Temple of Robinshore

1. Cave As Dark As My Soul

      It's hard to stop wars, y'know? Well, you probably don't, but my point is that you nearly die when you get stuck in the middle of a fight. And wars are that times five! So, I'd highly suggest that you don't get trapped in a cave and then emerge again into a world of death, blood, and gore. You think I'm lying? 

      Then maybe the story of my life will help you see that what I am saying is true! At least, most people think I'm not lying after I tell them this story. But, after all, it's hard to believe something that was partly a very obvious lie . . . but, ignoring that, let me introduce myself! Then you can learn about my life, and how I became the savior of Horamora. Cool, right?

      I guess you could say that.

      My name is Kairo Ravenwood. My friends call me Kai. I'm the weird kid who doesn't resemble anything at all. Not my species, not my parents, not my friends, not my cousins or uncles and aunts. Literally no one. But that is what makes me special; I'm my own person, with my curly brown hair and hazel eyes. I'm not a copy of anyone. 

      My whole family are elves and all somewhat resemble each other. My sister has my mother's long, wavy blonde hair and bright golden eyes. She is practically a copy of her. But she has my father's personality. Fun, sly, and smart. My dad has gray-green eyes and graying black hair. He's strong. I'm incredibly weak. See how I resemble them? Yeah, me neither.

      My other family, which includes my uncles and cousins, etc., mostly look like my mother. My father only had one brother, no sisters, and I've never seen him. But, who knows, maybe I look like him! Oh, another difference between me and my family is that all elves have pointed ears. I have round, monkey-like ears! I'm starting to believe that I'm not even elven. Oh, well. 

      Anyway, let the actual story commence! 

      It was a day like any other when you're trapped in a cave. I had just awoken to a bright light and the sound of horns blowing after three days trapped in a pitch-black cave. Of course, I have no actual idea how long it had been. Probably not that long, though.. Three days with no food or water, no light, nothing. So, when I saw the light, I thought I had died. But that would have been strange, because I should've gone to the Underworld, not the Skyrealm! So, maybe it was something else.

      I was saved!

      Saved from the cave, and stranded in the middle of a fully-fledged war. Most likely my parent's doing. You see, elves are a small species, and any missing report is taken way too seriously. And I was on the boreder with the dragons when I got trapped in this cave, so the elves probably thought I was taken by the shapeshifting creatures.

      Later I would learn that I was . . . kind of correct. 

      "Hello? Is anyone there?" a soft voice called out. I looked to the light, nearly blinding myself before looking away. I let my eyes adjust before looking back at whoever had spoken. 

      "Yeah. One starving someone," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I pressed my hands against the wall, slowly pushing myself up onto shaky legs. "Who is it?"

      There was silence, then there was someone pulling me out of the cave. 

      "Tell me. Why, in the name of Astrala Skyfire, did you trap yourself in that specific cave? And how did you trap yourself in that cave?" the person questioned, their tone sharp. Upon closer inspection, I realized that they was actually a she and that she had short white hair and stunning red eyes with slit pupils. 

      Red eyes meant a dragon.

      I scrambled away desperately, right back into the cave. "D-dragon!" I yelped, tripping on a rock and falling backward, only to be caught by something scaly and thin.

      "Yes, idiot. You got a problem with me?" she spat in my face. She pulled me back out of the cave, and the scaly "something" was soon discovered by me as her tail.

      "No! Absolutely not!" I said, panicked. She narrowed her red eyes and sniffed. Apparently, something smelled bad, because she pinched her nose with her thumb and index finger. I did the obvious and asked her why she was doing it, and she responded with something no one would ever think to say.

      "You stink!" she snapped. She took a deep breath through her mouth, gagging like she could still smell me. I lifted an arm and put my nose to my armpit. Sure, it smelled awful up close, but not something to get the reaction the dragon got.

      "What even are you? You smell like nothing I've ever seen before! Well, smelled before." She tilted her head to the side, looking me up and down. I let me arm drop to my side and eyed her back. I definitely wasn't intimidated! Who told you I was? Because I'm not!

      "None of your business, that's what!" I retorted saltily. 

      Another hunting horn blew, and I could hear the faint sound of metal clashing against metal, the war-cries of various creatures, the screeches of the Metora-Beasts that the elves rode in battle.

      "What . . . what is going on?" I asked quietly, my voice barely strong enough to rise over the noises of fighting off to the west.

      "There's a war. I don't know what it's about. Outcasts don't get information like that. I've just been looking for survivors." the dragon shrugged and looked away, tossing her short white hair gently. 

      "Oh." I stated blandly. Look, I wasn't one for empathy, let alone sympathy, so leave me alone! "Well, uh, do you know when it started?" I questioned. 

      "The first war horn was blown two days ago. What I do know from travelling around is that the dragons are fighting the elves and merpeople. I don't know why, though," she repeated. I felt something loosen from my waist, and realized that her tail had still been wrapped around me for our whole conversation.

      "Okay. Well, that's great," I grumbled. She looked back at me, sad eyes sharp again.

      "No, no it isn't!" she yelped, "why would you even say such a thing?"

      "It's called sarcasm," I retorted. I could see she was uncomfortable. I may not be sympathetic, but I wasn't one to put someone through pain! Not mental, emotional, or physical. "Well, what is your name?" I refrained from adding "or should I just call you 'Dragon Lady'" and risking making her mad.

      "Depends on what yours is," she said. I stared at her blankly and she sighed, before giving me her name. "Velvette.

      Well, I still couldn't trust her because she's a dragon, but what would telling her my name do?

      "My name is Kairo. I guess you can call me Kai," I mumbled begrudgingly. I twisted the golden ring on my thumb. Two times. Four times. The silence dragged on until I had twisted the thing more than twenty times. Then another hunting-war horn went off, in a pattern of one, two three, four, five, the last blast dragging on for a few moments. 

      "I need to get home," I gasped. That specific pattern meant that someone important had fallen. 

      I panicked, and that's when Velvette turned into a dragon. Also when I realized she had no wings, like most. But her dragon form was beautiful, with gleaming white scales mixed with gold and pink around her face and bright red eyes. She used her tail to scoop me onto her back, and I sat like I was riding a horse.

      I pointed towards the distant woods, and she took off quickly and suddenly. We raced towards the looming trees, another horn being blasted. I got even more scared and panicked. 

      You want to know why?

      Because that pattern I heard earlier meant that someone important had died or gotten fatally wounded, and yes, I know that you know that, but the only important elves in the elven kingdom were my father, the queen, and her advisors.

      My father.