Dragon Prince: Guardians of Elarion (Re-Write)

Chapter Six: Eye of the Storm

Birds started singing their songs as the sun rose from the mountains and the faint silver of the moon could hardly be seen in the afternoon sky. As the sun had started to rise from the blue sky, the people of the village had started to awakening and getting ready to start their day. The adults had started heading towards nearby markets or started heading towards work. The teenagers had started working their morning jobs or meeting up with each other in their favorite hangout spots. While the kids had started helping their parents, playing with their older siblings or playing with their pets.
Sierra headed inside the stables and gotten to work in the morning. She helped lead horses into the stables and the horses would each get their own clean, spacious, sawdust-scented stall. Sierra was getting hay and fresh water for the horses, but she started helping some of the riders saddled their horses. She currycombed the horses, cleaned out their hooves, and combed their tangled manes. Once she was done, she saddled Tempest. She hitched himself further up on her saddle, the leather was bright blue, strong and soft, and speckled with unique stones, inset in the pommel was an opal etched with runes.
While Callum have started helping out with the farm work amongst his family. He helped gather apples and placed each apple into each of the baskets. When he was done with the apples, he started mending and washing the fishing nets for his stepfather. He never knew his birth father, so his mother married a man named Harrow and his mother gave birth to Ezran, Callum's younger half-brother. After he gave the nets to Harrow and loaded it into the donkey-drawn wagon. Once he was done with his chores, he saddled Barak. Callum hitched himself further up on his saddle, the leather was bright green, strong and soft, and speckled with moonstones, inset in the pommel was an opal etched with runes.
"Hey Callum." Sierra and Callum both exchanged bright smiles. "You ready to go?"
"Yup," said Callum.
A pair of paws splashed through a puddle and the eager sound of laughter was heard. Galloping into the depths of the forest was Sierra on Tempest and Callum on Barak racing through the forest. A little cluster of light rain clouds had passed through before daybreak, dampening the ground and filling the air with the scent of fresh rain. The distant mountains were delicately sprinkled with the appearing mist from the rain, like thick white frosting on cake slices.
They were running together, as though they're one in the same. Sierra felt the wind whooshed through her. She was intensely aware of Tempest's movements underneath her. She felt herself smiling and Tempest let out a loud whinny. Sierra raised herself up slightly as the grassy ground disappeared underneath them for a bit. Tempest had leapt over a log. She felt her hair flowed behind her and her stomach lurched. She almost felt as if she and the mare were both flying. She tightened her grip on the reins and Tempest slowed down for a moment, long enough for her to regain her balance again and calm down her excitement. Sierra took a deep breath, calming herself down and nodded to Tempest, who panted softly and continued the ride. The canines' paws thundered against the earth as they galloped through the woods. Sierra's eyes teared up from the force of the wind as she and the riders raced along. She felt Tempest jumped over a big tree root with Callum and Barak behind her.
It wasn't long till the two of them started galloping next to a river around night hours. But they both have saw something by the riverbank and pulled their mounts into a stop. Callum dismounted Barak and headed towards the riverbank when he picked up the item. They both realized it's a translucent egg as big as a human's head. Its iridescent blues, pinks, golds, and greens lit up the forest with a soft, magical glow. But the egg's bright glow had dimmed to a flicker by laying in the depths of the cold water.
"The egg of the Dragon Prince?" Callum said in awe. "The cause of all the fighting between humans and elves?"
"If the egg lives," said Sierra.
"Maybe it could stop the war," Callum finished. He stared at the egg intently. "We need to hatch it. It's dying."
Sierra looked up to see a mountain cave not too far from where they were standing. "Lets go then."
"Wait for me!" The two of them turned to see a new company has joined them. The person was Ezran (and his pet glow toad, Bait) on his pony, Patch.
"We're coming too!" They watched as Ellis rode on Ava and joined them too.
They jumped over ledges, climbed rickety fallen trees, and walked single file along narrow ridges. The hours passed quickly as they navigated the many obstacles, and by the time they reached a clearing halfway up the mountain, the day was ending. The moon was high, and the twilight remained.
It was around night hours till they had started to arrive to a cliff that has a hollow tree. The truck was as large as a small cottage and rose what had to be at least one hundred feet into the night sky.
Sierra and her friends looked up to see a figure emerging as if from the moon, getting larger as it approached the ledge. They could make out wings so broad they appeared as wide as the moon itself.
They took in the bird's dazzling plumage. Streaks of teal and purple highlighted its thick dark blue feathers, which appeared iridescent and magical in the moonlight.
They all watched as the phoenix knelt and a passenger dismounted. The woman sprang lightly from the bird's back. She wore a long blue cloak covered with crystals. Her snow-white hair was wound up in a knot on top of her head, and two braided plaits hung in front of her ears. Her very presence seemed to calm their racing heart.
"Lujanne, we need help." Callum kneeled and pulled out a huge black egg with a flickering blue light from the bag. "An illusion won't help us."
The moon mage gasped at the sight of the egg. "It's the egg of the Dragon Prince," Sierra explained. "We found it, but a terrible accident happened."
"There must be something we can do," begged Callum.
Lujanne inspected it sorrowfully. "Its life is fading quickly. The only change of saving it now would be to hatch it."
"Well, how do we do that?" Ezran asked.
She closed her eyes remorsefully and said, "I don't know. I know that the eye of the storm could hatch the sky dragon."
Sierra looked up at the night sky and said, "But there's no sight for any storms for miles."
She felt even more helpless and worried than before. More for the innocent baby dragon inside of the dragon than for her own sake. The egg needs help and that help is needed right now.
She looked at the dragon egg worriedly. The egg would die. There would never be peace.
A wave of grief washed over her, it was bitter and sharp. Much like how she had lost her mother, but just as worse. But there was nothing she could for the egg. Just like there was nothing she could do for her family back then.
"Wait a minute." She sensed that Callum had a certainty that he had ever felt welled up inside him. "I know what I have to do." Stepping a couple of feet away from the egg, Callum took a few breaths before he drew a rune. "Aspiro Fulmimus!"
Sierra also drew a rune at the same time. "Proferte Tonitru!"
Wind surged upward with torrential force. Blue lightning zoomed into the sky and gray thunderclouds rose into the night air.
Down on the ground, the wind whirled around faster and faster, strong as a hurricane. Everyone crouched down and gripped the ground to resist being injured by the blowing storm. Down below, the soldiers looked up from their victory to see what was happening in the cliff above them.
A few moments later, the winds died down to create a calm space within the storm. Above them, cracks of lightning sparked in the clouds, occasionally crossing through the eye of the storm. It wasn't long before stray lightning found contact with the egg. They both saw the electricity linger within the egg, and then something began to change.
Callum, Sierra, Ezran, Ellis, Lujanne, and the animals watched as the egg as it began to glow brightly again. It grew brighter and brighter, attracting more and more lightning bolts. At first the lightning was white, but as the storm interacted with the egg, forks of gold, pink, and teal began to appear. The egg slowly rose off the ground.
To their amazement, the entire storm came alive in a spectacular rainbow of colors. Callum, Sierra, Ezran, Ellis, Lujanne, and the animals stared at the wonder in the clouds, hope growing in their chest, then turned their attention back to the egg.
"Crack." The sound was barely audible above the roar of the storm. A crack appeared on the egg, then another, then many more. They could barely believe it.
The cracks widened, sending beams of light streaming out into the sky. They never felt so amazed before.
Then all at once, the storm went still. The light from the egg faded, and it came to rest on the ground.
A piece of the egg fell away. Callum broke into a huge smile and leaned in.
Out of its shell popped out the head of a cute baby Storm dragon. He is light blue with six baby horns poking out of his white-maned head. He tripped over the pieces of his egg and fell to the ground, his eyes shut tight.
They had done it. They successfully hatched the egg of the Dragon Prince and now the baby dragon was born at last. Seeing the baby dragon struggling to open up his eyes, Callum licked his thumb and wiped it on both of the dragon's eyelids. The newborn dragon blinked a few times before his bright blue eyes were able to focus.
Upon seeing Callum, the young dragon tackled the teenage boy with affection, giving him zappy kisses and rubbing himself against him as he made happy puppy-like sounds, before Callum pried the dragon off of him. Yet, the little dragon didn't stop and continued to give Callum love and affection by rubbing against him. Sierra watches on a beaming smile at the new hope of being born. For a few moments, Callum looked at the dragon giving love and affection before he finally spoke.
"Now that you're born, little one, what should we name you?" Callum asked the baby dragon.
"Azymondias," A bright voice came seemingly out of nowhere.
"Who said that?" Callum asked, confused as he look for the source of the voice.
"Wasn't me." Sierra suddenly realized what he was saying and looked at him in confusion. "Wait. What?"
"I did." Callum looked around in confusion, while Sierra was worried by Callum's confusion and looked around.
"Where are you?" Callum asked the voice.
"Right here, in front of you, Father," replied the voice.
Callum became more confused when he heard the voice call him "Father" and Sierra became more confused and concerned towards Callum before they both turned to see the baby dragon before them.
"Did you said those things?" Callum
"Yes, I did." The baby dragon met his eyes and licked Callum's cheek, making him laughed softly.
Callum couldn't believe it. The dragon was talking to Callum with his thoughts, seemingly knows his own name, and has even imprinted on him as his father. The last bit made Callum a little sad as the dragon's real father was killed four months ago. He'll be the only father the young dragon will ever know and Sierra will be the only aunt-like figure towards the young dragon. Shaking the thought out of his mind, he began to wonder how Azymondias was talking to hm with his thoughts.
"I can understand him," he said, bewildered like Sierra.
"Don't hear that everyday," said Sierra in a half-joking tone. "And now it looks like you're a Dad now." Sierra laughed softly as Callum shot a dirty look at her before his expression softened and gently snuggled with Azymondias.
"How is this possible?" Callum asked, wondrous.
"It must been because you were the one who had started the storm that helped him hatched and it somehow connected you two together," Sierra said thoughtfully. "It's a miracle. Good on you mate."
Callum hummed thoughtfully as he continued petting Azymondias and said, "Is it okay we call you 'Zym' for short?"
"I love it." Zym licked Callum's cheek again, making him laugh.
The team soon sat down on the cliff to catch their breaths from their mission. Callum (and Barak), Ezran (and Bait), Ellis (and Ava), and Sierra (and Tempest), sat down in a circle and watched Zym learn to walk and play. The newborn dragon bounded around, testing out his brand-new legs, tripping over his own wings, and sniffing the cool mountain air.
As Zym played, an unusual blue light rose from the night sky and shone down on the caldera.
"Look." Ezran pointed to the blue arc. "What is it?"
When the meteor reaches a zenith above them, it burst like a firework, and thousands of tiny lights dispersed in every direction. The group danced around the blue balls of lights, laughing and giggling.
One of the unusual lights landed on Ellis's hand and she smiled. "It tickles!" She blew the delicate creature off her hand, and Zym batted at it in the air.
Another one landed on Bait's nose and he crossed his eyes in a grumpy stare. Then he flicked his tongue out and swallowed the creature... only to burp it back up a moment later. Everyone laughed.
Callum hummed thoughtfully as he continued petting Zym. "Gah! Zym!" Everyone laughed again when they saw the situation that Callum was in. The young dragon tackled the boy with affection, giving him zappy kisses and rubbing himself against him as he made happy puppy-like sounds, before Callum pried the dragon off of him. Yet, the little dragon didn't stop and continued to give Callum love and affection by rubbing against him.
Sierra rolled her eyes in fond amusement. She laughed as she played and danced amongst the glowing lights. She soon saw Zym watching her, curiously. Sierra chuckled and lowered herself to the ground to have a closer look at the baby dragon. Zym tackled the girl with affection, giving her zappy kisses and jumped onto her shoulders, nuzzling her happily and making Sierra laughed at the adorable baby dragon.
Lujanne observed the merriment, but didn't join in. She looked back at where the meteor had originated. The birth of the Dragon Prince had been a great miracle, but danger and darkness would soon come.