Mark Of The Dragon Book I: Past

Chapter 10

A giant silver creature charged through the meadow, blasting fire all over. It had four legs that ended in claws. An elongated snout and... Two more arms on its back? Wait. Those aren't arms. I thought as it leaped into the air, desperately flailing with the limbs on it's back. Claws, fire, snout, wings. This was a dragon.

It fell to the ground but its body seemed to cushion the fall. The gooey substance it was made of was silver but it also seemed to have purple streaks here and there. Why would it cushion itself? Shouldn't it be strong to stop attacks? Or maybe it was cushioning something inside. The creature got up and continued to wreck havoc. It was just taller than an adult dragon. I saw this as a green dragon swooped in only to be knocked aside like someone swatting a fly. It let out another deafening roar and carried on rampaging about the meadow.

"Drakosima! Come on!" My mother shouted.

We begun to flee from the havoc. We rushed past the council building again where dragons with armour were emerging.

After awhile running I turned to see the monster was almost on top of us. It sent a barrage of fire in front of us, blocking our escape. It walked up slowly and examined us carefully. It turned and continued to destroy the meadow. Shouldn't I be dead? Why did it not obliterate me then and there? It carried on burning everything in sight, leaving a trail of liquid behind it.

Some armoured dragons begun to attack the silver dragon. I guess someone else had noticed it wasn't solid, as a dozen ice dragons joined the main attacking force. They encircled the monster and unleashed their frosty breaths upon it. A statue of silver metal with dark red streaks remained. Once one of the dragons went to deliver the finishing blow, the statue split open to reveal one battered, mercury-poisoned Garraxeron.

After Garraxeron was whisked away to the council building, My mother wanted to help out with the injured. I was supposed to go home, but I couldn't help worrying about my fiends. I walked around the grassy fields, searching for anyone I knew. There were other dragons looking about too. There were no casualties but there was still lots of injured. As I wandered the meadow, I noticed the trail left by Garraxeron's creature. It came from the forest. No one was around, so I followed the mysterious liquid.

I had been in the forest several times now, so I wasn't that scared. And anyway, I could fly this time. And... I had my breath... If it comes down to that. The trail wasn't that hard to lose, as the monster had barrelled down trees in its rampage. I carried on. I gazed into the sky. Grey clouds had rolled in. I carried on. I made it to the end of the trail. But not to the end of the mystery. There, stood in the centre of the clearing, was a small, old man in a yellow cloak.

"Welcome... Young one..." Said the old man.
"Who are you?" I asked cautiously.
"My name is Quowal." He replied, seemingly annoyed.
"What did you want with the dragon blood and the mercury?" I questioned him.
"I think you've seen Drakosima." He said. "Don't be surprised. A name is a name. It is quite easy to find out who that name belongs to." He said. The man turned to face me. His eyes were small and pale blue.

"Now let's have a look at that mark." He said.

I backed away, only to slam into an invisible wall. He came closer to me. His hand outstretched with a blue glow in it. I blasted flames in his direction.

"Woah! Do you want to get us both killed?" He exclaimed. I looked back, confused.
"That breath of yours is dangerous." He said.
"Everyone has told me that- but not why." I snapped back.
"You see that there." He pointed at grey haze left in the air. I nodded.
"That is what's dangerous. It burns up all the oxygen, and contains that void in the area the flame went." He explained. "If you burned someone with that, it would prevent them from getting oxygen to that part of the body. That breath has dark magic in it. It's been tampered with."

I didn't know how to respond. I hadn't messed with any dark magic. I guess my father had though. But I couldn't think about that. All I could think about was the pain rushing through my body as Quowal touched my mark. He held on, laughing at the surge in his power. Me? I was gasping at the loss of all my energy. I managed to swipe him with my tail and knock him away. His eyes were glowing. I turned to escape but the force field blocked my path. I breathed on it. Apparently dark magic and force fields don't mix, as it popped like a bubble. I was deafened, and I'm presuming Quowal was also. I tried to run but I slammed into another dragon. Desperately I looked up, but it was Rampargaros. I was safe. Rampargaros and the dragons that followed tried to capture Quowal before he teleported. They were too late. And I had a lot of questions to answer.