Phantom's Tribute

The Krystallin (Part Two)

          Phantom stopped abruptly, still hovering in the air. I held on as to not slide off his back. Looking down, I saw we weren't too far from the ground. The trees spiked up and threatened to poke at us. The stars above us shone brightly without city lights there to dim them.

          What?!

He barked loudly. Instant guilt plagued me, but we couldn't just go back. He wanted to save Scaretta as much as I did.

          "I- I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was afraid you wouldn't have gone!" I shouted, wanting him to pull back up so that I wouldn't slip off and fall into the trees. Phantom placed a claw to his face and growled.

          Ugh, Alicia I would have gone anyway- if you told me we could have prepared sooner!

Well it was too late for that now. I felt horrible, but what happened happened and I couldn't change that. The air was dry and Phantom turned down and began flying flatly again. I regained my balance and held on as he picked up speed, probably subconsciously.

          "I'm sorry, I don't know why I didn't tell you, but we can't go back." I said worriedly.

Of course we can't go back, but fighting a dragon?! What kind of dragon is it anyway?

Surely it couldn't be as difficult as defeating an Ostobird, right? I was once again hesitant to tell him, but the loud rushing wind in my ears made me fear he'd go too fast and I'd fall off.

          "Krystalline dragons- do you know about them?" I said quietly. "Also- um, would you mind slowing down a bit?" I asked, gripping tighter onto his shoulders.

          Oh, sorry- but no I know little about them, just that they're super dangerous and have colorful fire-breath.

Phantom slowed down quickly, back to where I was comfortable not holding on so tightly. I was a little afraid myself, I didn't know what to expect even though I had read countless books on them and searched thousands of questions on the internet.

          I guess I'll have to tell him all I know about Krystallins.

As I looked ahead at the silhouettes of mountains in front of me, I knew what was there.

"Okay so first, the proper term is Krystalline Dragon, but for short, people just call them Krystallins. Krystalline dragons don't live in colonies or groups, once the egg is hatched they are taught how to care for themselves and then left. Females are born without wings, and never develop them, they are completely crystal, impenetrable- unless you find its weak spot, which is usually near it's chest. The weak spot is a thin part of crystal which reveals a bright red glowing crystal- colors can also vary from pink to purple to blue- as can their fire-breath. They are incredibly spiky and you'll want to avoid it as much as possible.

"Males are scaled and have wings, they usually are out hunting for the female, who must protect the egg. The egg is also a crystal, though easier to break, you don't want to mess with it- it's all the dragons are protecting. Krystallins mate for life and live in crystal caves high in the mountains, usually exposed to the world.

"Though killing them is not what we want. The caves they live in have the crystals we need, and luckily it has nothing to do with the egg. We especially don't want to kill any of these as they are sacred to the city of Darrsko. These dragons have been protecting the area for years, by now it's almost been 16 years.

"They call her Praesidia. It comes from the latin word 'praesidio' meaning protect. If you kill it, you're going to prison for a long time. Our best bet is to stay out of dodge, if we encounter her, we probably won't last very long. She might be sleeping up there, she might be awake, or she might not even be there right now. When we get there, stay quiet and stay out of sight, it'll be dark so you might be able to get the crystal."