The Dragon Prince storyline altered

Chapter 77. Kokiri

Claudia was still pacing back and forth.

Claudia: What's taking so long? Come on, we have to get going.

Terry: Slow and steady wins the race.

Claudia: Why do people say that? That is not how races work. Fast wins the race. Every day that goes by, I get closer to losing the only family I have left.

Lepidolite: We won't let Viren down, Claudia. We're going to save him.

Terry: Now let's get this big hunk of Dad moving.

Kokiri, Lepidolite, Claudia, and Terry worked together to lift Viren up.

Terry: Great. We got him up. Now we need to start walking. Slow and steady?

Claudia: I guess. Slow and steady.

They kept moving day and night, and Claudia refused to sleep. She had huge bags under her eyes.

Terry: Claudia, you look exhausted. You haven't slept in two days.

Claudia: It doesn't matter. We have to get there before we run out of time. We can't stop moving or my father will die.

Lepidolite: If you take time to rest, you'll be able to move faster.

Claudia: Unless you can invent a way for me to sleep and move at the same time, we just have to keep...

Claudia fell asleep midsentence.

Kokiri looked over at the river. It was moving fast, and it was moving in the right direction.

Kokiri: I think there IS a way for us to sleep and move at the same time. We can build a boat.

Terry: That's a terrific idea! Let's do it!

Terry used his earth magic to create a boat for them to ride down the river.

The five of them boarded the boat. Terry paddled, while Viren and Claudia slept. Lepidolite took the opportunity to get some rest as well.

Kokiri looked up at the sky, which was full of stars. It reminded him of the day he finally understood the star arcanum. It was thanks to the startouch elf, Aaravos, who had appeared at the sunforge and blocked out the sun. It was the same day that Kokiri had rejoined the human armies who Viren had given a temporary power boost, briefly making them immune to fire for the final battle. It was also the same day that Soren had left them to join the side of the evil archdragons.

Kokiri (thinking): Now they're running the archdragons' errands. They're giving the elves and dragons even more power when they already have way too much.

Kokiri looked over at Viren and Claudia. He thought of Aaravos as well, who had been imprisoned in solitary confinement for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years, and was still trapped.

Kokiri (thinking): And they're taking all that's left from people who already have next to nothing. But no matter. We're going to free Aaravos, and we're going to save Viren. I won't let those villainous archdragons have their way. 

Author's note: More coming soon!