Firebloom touched down in the cave and plopped her books on the floor. She was still obsessing over the fact that Falgon had found the absolute perfect books for this situation. Or maybe she was thinking about how he was perfect. Anyway, how could she not have thought of that?!
They all flopped down in exhaustion from their flight hauling heavy books. Her plan worked out much better than expected. Then a pang of gratitude hit her like a hammer to the head. She was so glad that there wasn't anyone around when she had...uh, did something to Falgon. Except Mayka, although she would have preferred her to not be there either. Such as a librarian or a passerby. Firebloom gathered up the books so she could find a more peaceful spot to read than a stinky, drippy hollow. It wasn't the worst, yes, but she worked best in natural light and peaceful surroundings.
"I'm going to go read in a different spot," She reported. They were beginning to gather their books too to follow her but she protested.
"No, no, I do my best work alone, where I can think. No offense," She added nervously at their slightly offended looks. "Trust me, it'll work out better this way. If you need me, I'll be in the flower patch at the top of this ridge." She said, pointing about a mile east. They nodded and opened their books, and she was relieved to see that they weren't angry.
She took off and glided through the crisp afternoon air, the sun resting on the perfect spot. It was absolutely beautiful outside right now. She expanded her wings and landed gracefully at the ridge. She set her books in a tidy pile and curled up against a warm rock. Gently she picked up one book called The Analysis of Dragon Diseases by Koobak Surahgo and began to read. She flipped to the section about rare epidemics.
The most common epidemics occur by extracting germs into the air, like coughing, sneezing, or
in the worst cases, even existing in the same general area will transfer to another being. Some of
the worst diseases have very strange ways of taking over a dragon's body. For example, the
Gamp disease had a strange, pus like substance seeping through grooves in scales.
Firebloom cringed at the sound of that disease. But that's not what she was even looking for. She began to scan again.
Other different diseases and their histories are Forgol (page 323), Manew (page 348), Hanar
Plackus (page 365), Lungar (page 377), and Phlangon (page 386).
Firebloom had never heard of Phlangon and Manew before. But she definitely knew that Manew had nothing to do with ice since the Ancient Dragonese word for fire was 'manew'. So she flipped to page three hundred eighty-six and started to study the text again.
Phlangon is one of the worst epidemics of all time for dragons. This is where the dragon that
contains the Phlangon bacteria makes a being completely freeze up, quite literally. A dragon's
body will actually freeze against its will and make the wings expand to full length, and it has
been described as if icy needles were poking you starting from the tail and ending in the horns.
This disease can spread extremely easily, even by just being in the same area!
Phlangon may sound like an ominous natural threat, but it is anything but that. It is believed
that an evil dragon of great power named Koorak Mov Is behind this horrible disease. It appears
that he was going to punish one of his servants for disobeying him and cast a spell he
created on his own that would freeze him up and spread easily to others. This has only
happened once before, nearly two hundred years ago. The only known cure is crimsonroot,
found only on the mountain of Florack. They usually are seen on steep cliffs and in deep caves.
They look crimson and have several roots, but the stem and leaves above ground is a tiny
sprout with two leaves and a small yellow circle with pink speckles in the middle. They grow in
very isolated patches. If you need to find the cure to Phlangon, take your crimsonroot and add a
few leaves of healing herbs and boil for two weeks minimum.
Firebloom gasped. This was exactly what they were dealing with!! Phlangon is the strange virus going around! But...two weeks at the minimum? That was way too long! They needed this, like, yesterday! But all they could do is try. She read on to find out more about how you should apply the cure once complete.
Once boiled for two weeks or longer, you take about a tablespoon (make sure it is still warm),
and pour it on their underbelly. This may sound like it would be unaffective, but we assure you
that this is the best spot to apply it. It should take about six minutes to return to normal. If you
ever catch the Phlangon disease, do not resist. You will try to, but the harder you resist, the
shorter amount of time until you are dead.
Firebloom realized with a jolt of realization and terror that the Gamons' were resisting hard, so they had only a little while until they were dead!! She read more about how it would only take one week until you die from it, and that's just when you don't resist. If you resist a lot, then it could be shortened to five or even two days!
She gathered her books again, for she needed no more proof. But right as she spread her wings to take off, a folded piece of old and weathered parchment fell out of a book. She picked it up and examined it. It was a map to Mount Florack! There were small red splotches of ink to symbolize the rare patches of crimsonroot.
She clutched the map protectively and torpedoed back to the cave where her friends were. She stumbled when she landed and tripped over her books that thankfully didn't fall off the cliff. She was still holding the map so she had no free talons to catch herself, and almost fell on top of Falgon. She felt her face burn as Falgon helped her up. Mayka was grinning with a look of, 'I wish I could have a picture of this.'
"Are you okay? Did you find anything?!" They asked excitedly.
"Yes and yes," Firebloom moaned as she rubbed the scraped spot on her snout and leg. Falgon still hadn't let go of the talon with the map in it. She did not pull away.
"What did you find out?" Mayka asked eagerly.
"Everything about Phlangon," she said. They both looked confused. She smiled and explained. Once she was finished, both of them just looked part shocked, part impressed, part admiration (especially Falgon), and part chilled to the very bone.
"Wow," said Falgon.
"You got something right for once," Mayka teased. "But seriously, that is just plain weird!"
"I know," Firebloom answered solemnly. They all sat in silence for a long while.
"Well, I say we do it first thing in the morning," Mayka yawned. "I'm exhausted. But we should get some dinner at least." They all nodded in agreement and took off together in the gradually darkening sky.
YOU ARE READING
The Curse of Phlangon
FantasyFalgon is the type of dragon that doesn't really care for anything. His own parents shipped him off to boarding school for unintelligent dragons, and life has been a bore. He doesn't need rules or parents or to care about anything, anyway. But one d...
