Dragon Prince: Guardians of Elarion (Re-Write)

Chapter Two: The Mountains

As the sun rose from the horizon, the village has started to come to life. Birds started singing their morning songs as the sun had started to rise to from the mountains and the faint silver of the moon could hardly be seen in the morning sky.
But a certain family in the lodge lived together in a lodge in the southwestern part of Xadia. They lived by trading goods of the land like most people in the area.
While Sarai was cleaning up from her family's breakfast and has called a quick meeting with her eldest son.
"Hey Mom." Callum sat down at his seat and looked at his mother curiously. "What's today's plans?"
"You have to sell the grain in the nearest town," said Sarai.
"How much are we going for?" Callum asked her.
"Not us, you." Sarai ran a hand on Callum's dark brown hair. "The harvest is abundant, and I need you to go to the nearest town to bring the grain."
"By myself?" Callum felt uncertain about going into the town alone.
Them and their village lives at the northeast side of Xadia. But the mentioned town is southeast, but it has wild nature and there's trouble dodging the storms there.
"Okay. I'll get ready." Callum has gotten dressed in his favorite clothes; purple undershirt, tucked back by a black belt with a silver buckle, and was topped by his dark blue, long-sleeved jacket. He wore baggy, dark gray trousers and dark brown boots with purple accents. On his hands are brown fingerless gloves and a red scarf with golden markings given from his stepfather. He also strapped on his satchel and backpack.
Once he was ready, Callum spotted his mother, his stepfather, and his little brother with his pet glow toad standing next to the horse-drawn wagon. The wagon is full of tan-colored bags and the wagon is being harnessed by a beautiful white stallion.
Callum hugged his family and gotten onto the wagon's seat, while taking the reins as he sat down onto the seat. "Lets get going." At that, the white stallion took off in a canter with Callum hanging onto the reins and the wagon.
It wasn't long till any sign of farms and cottages had started to disappear from his sight. He started traveling on the road and humming to himself quietly. But he soon spotted a pretty
Xadian Songbird landing next to him as he continued steering the white stallion. The
Xadian Songbird is about the size of a male falcon. It has dark brown feathers, with long, dark blue head feathers, and a blue crest on his head. His beak is light brown and his eyes are bright green. Callum hummed thoughtfully and offered his hand to the Xadian Songbird curiously. The bird tweeted as he let Callum pet him. "I think I'll call you Rain." The bird sang softly and with a flutter of wings, the bird's talons gently clutched Callum's shoulder.
Despite the cold weather of the mountains, it's uniquely beautiful around them in Callum's eyes. In the gathering dusk, the icicles glowed like firelight marble, covering most of the snowy forest and the valley. Snow dusted around them and the ground all around them; more crystalline flakes were falling more quickly from the sky. Soon, an incredible mountain range appeared before her after they continued walking through the mountain pass, rivaling the Mountains of the South in height and breadth. Its surfaces were frosted with bright snow from the peaks to the bottoms. The snowy landscape was dotted with sheer cliffs and pure blue lakes. Ahead was a valley, and the snow seemed to be trampled from wild horses, revealing pine trees and bushes. He saw a herd of elk were hidden amongst the forest, a couple of winter foxes went into the woods, a few white owls swept past them, and a pack of wolves had slicked across the tundra. But, at the foot of the mountain pass, was a massive frozen lake. The wind was strong, and it pushed the fog towards the mountains and blew the snow around them hard.
Callum and his horse-drawn wagon soon came up a hill to see a mountain village. The small, quaint houses were covered in at least a foot of snow, and smoke rose from the chimneys. A towering mountain with a flat top created a backdrop for the town.

In the village, Sierra (she's from Dragon Prince: Warrior's Journey) was busy with her morning chores. The cottage was slightly hidden by the nearby forest. Outside of the cottage stood three horses (a dappled gray stallion, a palomino pinto mare, and a dark bay mare) eating hay. In the front yard, there was a small piece of land and behind the cottage was a barn and a larger paddock. Inside of the pasture are two cows, three pigs, and three goats.
She led the animals away into the stable. The cows were led into the united stalls, as did the pigs, goats, and chickens. But as Sierra led the horses towards their separate stalls, a buckskin mare with a white rose-shaped white spot on her forehead poked her head out of her stall, watching them curiously. The mare is Rosie, Sierra's late mother's horse and nursing a buckskin colt named Dash. All of the farm animals would each get their own clean, spacious, sawdust-scented stall. Sierra get hay and fresh water for the horses. She currycombed the horses, cleaned out their hooves, and combed their tangled manes.
But something had caught her eye and saw a group of friends laughing and chatting with each other as they rode their horses. Sierra was all alone and she felt the familiar pang of loneliness creep into her chest. The way the riders stand together is something that she had longed for so long: friendship.
The girl was all alone and she felt the familiar pang of loneliness creep into her chest. You would think that after traveling alone for years, she would get used to staying by herself... but she never did. Her nomadic lifestyle was fun and beautiful in its own way; no fights with anyone, no set schedule, she was living off the land, and so on. But she longed for one thing: friends. The people she usually came across out here were either liars or thieves, so there were no real opportunities for friendships.
Though, she has a slight heartache as she remembered how grim and lonely she was, roaming the village and everyone had started avoiding her for some reason. Many people tried to avoid her for some reason and she does the same, but some people hurt her and she keeps away from other people. Not many people around her age would show her the same kindness as grownups do for her. She was living off the land, taking on challenges, and so on. The people she usually came across out here were either liars or thieves, so there were no real opportunities for friendships. She knew that people have their own reasons for their own choices. But it doesn't quench her loneliness and the longing for friends.
She saw some people were dressed in everything from armor to winter clothes. Their styles ranged from the armor of men to the winter clothes of women of the village. A few drivers with carts jostled each other to get closest to the passengers with the most luggage. A few porters with stooped backs took remarkable quick steps under the heavy burdens of trunks and bags.
But she stopped midway from her walk when she saw a newcomer coming into town. Callum soon spotted some other grain wagons by a long and shady corner, the horses being well cared for by some Moonshadow Elves. He soon steered the white stallion towards the wall and saw a lean Moonshadow Elf with a journal and a pencil by the shade of a small cottage.
"Excuse me?" Callum said to the elf. "Do I place my wagon and horses here?"
"That's right," said the elf. "What's your name?"
"I'm Callum," the boy said.
"Just put this on your wagon." Callum took the placket and placed it on his seat next to him. "And placed your wagon and horses over there. They will be well looked after and you shall be paid for."
"Okay. Thank you." Callum steered his horse and the wagon to the shady wall, and he exchanged a nod to the Moonshadow elf.
Callum tied his stallion at the wagon line. He patted his stallion before accidentally bumping into a girl that he recognizes. His expression softened into amazed disbelief and joy when he saw her. "Sierra? I-Is that you?"
The memories of Callum was slammed into Sierra's head. She looked at him in the eyes as she remembered playing with him, watching dragons with him, and trying to learn magic without touching the dark magic in the past. Her cousin is a creative artist and she's a skilled warrior.
"C-Callum?" Sierra stepped towards him, feeling nervous and hopeful. He smiled at her, his eyes were suspiciously bright. Suddenly, the two of them wrapped their arms around each other. Sierra closed her eyes and let her whole body relax into the embrace. She felt Callum placed his head on top of her right shoulder, while Sierra placed her head on his left shoulder.
The two of them slowly released each other from their hug. But they kept their gentle grip on each other's hands. "I'm so glad you're here. I thought you were..." His expression was filled with distress.
"Not a chance." Sierra's smirk became a gentle smile and she gently squeezed his hand. "It'll take more than that to finish me off." But she gained a mischievous look in her eyes. "So, wanna explore a bit?"
"Sounds fun." Callum and Sierra started looking around the town.
The town is mostly a human town, but it's a descent elf trading post and has a mixed reputation most of the time. There's good selling, but occasional fighting with different people.
There's a lot of huts and houses, with thatched roofs and smoke drifting from the stone chimneys. There was a firm stone-made bank, a number of markets, a few smithies, and a couple storehouses in the mix.
Sierra could see a few people were dressed in everything from expensive suits to richest dresses. Their styles ranged from the suits of men to the colorful dresses of women of the town. Four drivers with carts jostled each other to get closest to the richest passengers with the most luggage. A few porters with stooped backs took remarkable quick steps under the heavy burdens of trunks and bags.
A cheerful old woman nodded in their direction as they passed by, wishing them a good morning. They both saw a milkmaid was placing her basket of milk into a small milk wagon. A young man was making a vase made of clay. A young woman was holding a bouquet of lovely flowers in her hands.
They soon heard voices coming from an archway with opened black gate and a courtyard with a sand-colored horse behind it. Callum and Sierra both peeked through the door to see a rundown courtyard and two humans mixing freaky animal parts in a wooden bowl and some utensils. They both had watched as the dark mage started crushing herbs, mixing powders, straining plants, and applying a mixture of animal parts.
It wasn't long till the dark mage have revealed his features as he pulled back his black cloak.
One is a young man, around his early twenties or so. He has pale skin and his hair is in the dark shade of jet black, though his dark brown eyes showed great greed and ambition. The two kids could see that he is wearing a black tunic over a black shirt underneath his black cloak, with brown pants and boots that frame tightly around him.
But the other man seems to be around his early thirties. He has fair skin splashed with freckles and his hair is fiery red, while his eyes are sharp dark green. The two kids could also see he's wearing a white tunic over a dark blue shirt, with blue pants and boots that frame tightly around him.
The two of them both exchanged uneasy looks at the sight of the two men and knew who they are: Dark Mages. When dark magic has been banned from Xadia, a group of human have continued performing dark magic and were immediately banished to the west. But sometimes, one or two dark mages will slip into Xadia and probably be imprisoned (or worse) by King Avizandum.
"Did you get it?" asked the dark mage.
"Yes." The merchant took out a vial of some red liquid inside. "But it was very difficult to get."
The dark mage snatched it and said, "Perfect. Just two more ingredients, and it'll be set."
"Pleasure doing business with you," said the merchant.
"Lets get out of here," Callum whispered to Sierra, who nodded her agreement.
They both slipped away from the courtyard and started heading back towards the grain line when Sierra realized that they were both lost as they entered a dark alleyway by accident.
"I still think we're lost," observed Sierra. "I never wandered this far before."
"Maybe we should keep going?" Callum suggested.
"Fine by me." Sierra shrugged.
"I wouldn't advise that if I were you," said a voice behind them.
The two of them both tensed and exchanged swift glances with each other. Hidden words passed through their gazes as they looked at each other.
"Is your loyalty with me?" Callum looked at her intently.
She gently took the boy's left hand and placed her hand over her heart. Sierra looked at Callum. "My loyalty is with you and our families."
Sierra and Callum whirled around. A single dark mage was standing in the way of the alleyway. His hand was holding onto a black staff with a round purple crystal on top of the staff, and his matching expression was malevolently delighted.
"It's not nice to earsdrop," said the dark mage gruffly. "I guess I better teach you some matters."
The two of them both stood side-by-side as the dark mage muttered cryptic words of a spell, in a deep, throaty voice, and the whites of his eyes began to glow a purplish hue.
They watched as two wolves appeared. These were smoky, incorporeal shadows and they will not stop till they complete the task.
But Callum and Sierra are both ready to fight back against this dark magic.
"Kill them," said the dark mage.