Dragon Prince: A Warrior's Journey (Under Editing)

Chapter Ten: Fire and Fury

Callum couldn't believe it was time to say goodbye to Captain Villads. He could barely believe they'd survived the trip with Captain Villads, come to think of it. But there they were, on the other side of the bay and all in one piece.
"Well, thank you for everything," Callum said.
"Aye, well, I do what I can to help out the young folks," said Villads. "Good luck to you. And Callum, remember the wisdom of the wind."
"I will." Callum smiled and nodded to Villads before the captain walked away.
"We got to find a place to stay before it gets dark," said Sierra.
"Lead the way," Callum said.
"I think there might be caves up in those mountains behind you," said Rayla.
A few hours later, the team were sleeping peacefully in the warm cave that Rayla had found for them. But Sierra remained awake with Zym on lookout duty.
Sierra shook her head, trying to shake the drowsiness. She got up and did a quick lap of the camp, which woke her up a bit. Now more alert, she settled into keeping eyes and ears out for danger.
The two hours passed slowly. With nothing, but the occasional late night animal noises and soft snoring from mountain cave to break the silence. The animal noises were far enough away that he wasn't worried about any predators stumbling across them. She spent a lot of time staring up at the sky — the stars shining brilliantly in the sky with no artificial lights to hide their glow.
She pulled out the scroll, she gently ran her fingers over it and gazed at it thoughtfully. Sierra heard a gentle yip and looked over her shoulder to see Zym sitting by her side. Sierra smiled at the baby dragon's support and gently stroked the baby dragon's white mane.
"I know it's strange, Zym, but it's like right now there are words she hasn't said to me — and they're all right here, waiting to reveal itself to me. But once I read it... Then she'll really be gone. Forever." It was such a strange sensation — holding on to these unread words. But Sierra knew she was just fooling herself. Her mother has been dead for years even if Sierra had never read the letter.
Zym looked at her sympathetically and placed himself on Sierra's lap gently. Sierra took a deep breath. She was ready as she'd ever be. She placed her finger on the blue ribbon and loosened it.
As she read, Sierra could hear her mother's warm, kind voice.
Dear Sierra,
Over the years, there may have been a slight distance between us at times from your father's absence. I see myself and your father in you. I am proud of you. I love you unconditionally. Sierra, to know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart... mind, body, and spirit. I love you with all of myself. In this letter, I am going to reveal a lie and a secret.
The advisors and scholars will tell you that history is a narrative of strength. They will recount stories of the rise and falls of nations and empires, and they will be stories of armies, battles, and decisive victories. But this isn't true strength — it's merely power.
I believe that true strength is found in vulnerability. In forgiveness. In love.
There is a wonderful upside-down truth, which is that these moments of purest strengths appear as weakness to those who doesn't know any better.
I ask you to reject history as a narrative of strength, and instead have faith that it can be a narrative of love.
The great secret that I have to reveal to you is the most important. I wish I could of have told you before I have left you.
When you arrive to the Moon Nexus, ask the Moon Mage, Lujanne, to help you remove the enchanted bracelet. I had placed it on you when you were young to protect you from anyone who is paranoid about elves.
Long before you were ever born, I had fell in love with an elf. He is a Skywing elf, a great Sky Mage. Nothing I believed about elves is true. He is kind and good. He's brave, protective, and amazing...
I know that you hold some anger towards him. But I know that, in your heart, that you want to learn why he left us. I had discovered that there's a penalty of death made by the Dragon King if any elves and humans fell in love and have any flenimu. Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure that you have room in your heart for your father.
As I write this, the sun is setting, I'm just on the edge of falling sleep. My time is almost up, and yours is just beginning. I won't be able to change anything, but you have the courage to do so. I won't be able to use my visions to protect you, to keep you safe.
Lean into your kindness and empathy in the face of evil — but do not let evil win.
You are the only person who can decide who you want to be. Don't let yourself get stuck on someone else's path. Search for what's true, and think for yourself.
Be happy Sierra, Warrior of Xadia. You can change the world with your joy and hope.
All my love, Daphne."
Sierra let out breath, rivulets of tears ran down from her face and she felt her heart become full at her late mother's words. Sierra tried her best to wipe away her tears.
She carefully slipped her scroll away into her satchel and looked down to see Zym. The baby dragon gently snuggled up against her and licked her cheek, try to ease her pain. She smiled gratefully at the baby dragon and encouraged him to head back to his sleeping dad.
After their sleep, Sierra woke up to see a dark shadow passing high above their heads. She wandered outside onto the ledge to watch the shadow heading somewhere. Before she could wake up anyone else, she was alarmed by a loud sound.
"GAAAAHHHRRRR!" The team woke up to an earth-shaking rumble.
"Oh no, I know that sound," Rayla said. "That's not a good sound." She ran out of the cave and everyone followed behind. Night was about to end, and the first pink rays of sun were peeking up above the horizon.
"Someone should stay with Zym," said Callum.
"Bait will stay here," Ezran said to them.
From the top of the overlook, Rayla could see the nearby town. The entire village was burning. Flames licked at dozens of buildings, some of which were so damaged they were beginning to crumble. The dragon circled high above. If Rayla knew everything about dragons, this one was preparing to attack.
"What's it doing here?" Callum asked them. "Why is it attacking that town?"
"I don't know." Rayla shook her head, stunned.
"Are we too late?" asked Callum.
Before anyone could answer, Rayla saw blood dripping down from underneath the dragon's wing. The dragon roared again in agony.
"They hit it," Rayla said.
The dragon was a lot closer now, close enough for them to see it a lot better. The scales of the dragon were red and gold, a lot similar to the flag color of Katolis, with piercing blue eyes and a huge wingspan. Sierra hadn't seen many dragons in real life aside from Zym, but this one looked pretty small compared to the other grown dragons in the history books.
Ezran stared at the dragon and hoped with all his energy that it would escape. He felt the dragon's fear and pain. He reached his hand out into the sky. Although the dragon was still flapping its wings, Ezran knew the dragon was going to crash.
"Get down!" Rayla yelled.
The dragon's wings could no longer support the weight of its body. It nosedived into the forest, passing right over their heads. Branches snapped off the trees as it plummeted down, and a huge wind followed in its wake.
"BOOM!" The dragon crashed, and the earth shook. A shock wave of dust rushed up into the air like a volcanic eruption.
Ezran got onto his feet and started to run before the dust had even settled. He skidded down the hillside and into the clearing where the dragon had gone down.
Ezran froze. There was a crater in the earth surrounding the enormous creature. The ground beneath the dragon smoldered, but the injured animal remained still and silent.
"Wait up, Ez!" Callum yelled. "You can't take off without us!"
It wasn't long till the team had joined Ezran and looked down at the dragon.
"Is the dragon okay?" asked Sierra.
Ezran approached the dragon until he was directly in front of it. As a calm spread through Ezran, he reached out his hand and placed it softly on the dragon's snout. Something stirred beneath his hand.
Very slowly, the dragon opened one blue eye. Ezran knew the dragon didn't trust him, but she didn't seem angry at him. She was waiting for a cue.
"Don't worry," said Ezran. "We can help you." He received an answer from the dragon and he turned back to the others. "It's beneath her wing."
As Callum and Rayla worked together to lift the dragon's limp, injured wing, Ezran continued to soothe her. He just had to keep her calm long enough for them to remove the bolt. Ezran knew the dragon was listening to him. He could feel her head nestle further into his arm.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ezran saw Rayla extract the bolt. The dragon groaned and shuddered. Then she slumped in Ezran's arms, and her eye drifted shut.
Sierra wanted to help the dragon when she heard horses approaching. She didn't know exactly who to expect, but Sierra knew they weren't safe in this clearing and they have to fight to protect the dragon. Apparently, Callum and Rayla both have the similar idea.
"Quick Ez," hissed Callum as he gotten ready to fight. "Go!" Ezran quickly left the clearing and headed back towards the cave.
That's when two sides both clashed into each other. They all started fighting each other, one for protection and the other for destruction.
Callum grabbed Claudia by the arm, wreathed in dark magic and redirected it to strike the wood stakes holding the chains in place and blew them out of the ground. But in the process, he took some of the dark magic into himself. He fell to the floor in pain, keeping his mouth shut.  That's when the Fire Dragon stood up and started fighting alongside the team.
"Enough of this!" Sierra is more than a little angry to fight against the soldiers.
Sierra started tracing a shimmering rune shape in the air. As her fingertips moved, arcs of light formed, creating the blue glowing curves of the ancient, powerful symbol.
"Aspiro." Sierra exhaled. She pushed all the air out of her lungs, and she could feel the difference. It wasn't a normal breath. A powerful blast of wind erupted from her lips. The wind rushed around her eyes and nipped at her cheeks.
The magic wind swirled and grew stronger. Sierra closed her eyes and pushed Claudia, Soren, and all of the soldiers away from them.
Sierra flinched when she saw the dragon's red leather scales and huge quivering nostrils near her. The dragon made eye contact with Sierra and walked towards her, looking curious about her. She offered her hand to her, the dragon sniffed her hand and nodded gratefully. Then she beat her wings, kicked up a cloud of dust, and took off into the sky.
"Lets get Callum out off here." Sierra nodded to the others before they headed back into the woods. But she kept close to Rayla as she carried an unconscious Callum by her side as they disappeared into the woods.
However, they didn't see that as Pyrrah was taking off into the sky, her tail ending up hitting Soren and sent him flying into a rock and paralyzing him waist down.
"Soren!" cried out Claudia.