Rising Dragons

What if...?

This is something I've been planning to write for a while, and I had started but I lost the work ages ago so I hadn't been bothered restarting it. So, here you go enjoy:

What if Alvah hadn't been discovered by Mark and Thirak?

Only goes for the plot of A Dragon's View

I'm just going to take one thing, and... change it. There's this one thing I want to show you, and I think... I think it'll be interesting.

So, let's change one thing, yeah? I'm going to give you a world and tell you its story. I'm going to give you a world where a lost boy and a lost dragon don't find a white dragon hidden in the caves who goes by the name of Alvah.

Let's say the story starts off very much the same – all the way up until the battle where Thirak and Mark experience death for the first time. They mourn and wish to be heroes, and this doesn't change because their resolve crosses universes. Here's what does change: they don't go flying because when someone begs them as their last wish, they think this is more important than appeasing their feelings. Why do they do this? They do this because they're both tired and took part in the fighting, and they just want to sleep this off, sleep until everything's gone. Once they landed afterwards, this time they land and fight in the battle.

From there, there aren't too many other changes except there are results:

1. Mark doesn't lose his brother but he still withdraws away from him; Thirak doesn't lose the only dragon friend he has, and they stay close

2. Sky finds self-confidence and friends and she never really finds herself trapped between a rock and a hard place

This story takes a turn and twists. There is no division between two forces in the Academy and no one is banished. It matters little though, in the end. Alvah never needed someone to help her, and she rises anyway.

This story would never begin with Seeryath – Rya – getting to the Academy and finding a home alongside Sky. That happens anyway, just in a different way to the way it once did. Sky meets Rya as Rya flies, wings outstretched and refusing to let anything hold her. They bond and this stays the same.

This story would begin with death – three deaths, to be exact. It begins with the aftermath of an attack, where the three leaders of each dragon rider academy are killed in a meeting. It begins with Alvah stating her claim on the world and the world erupts in blood and war. No one knows who's an ally or who's an enemy.

Factions and leaders come through. Aaron and Daisuke rise, rise like the wind, with strength and determination unrivalled. They stand with those at their side and allies hidden in pockets of the world, Fáelán and Aldrys wait for their call, and the four of them know who they can trust. Sky and Rya grow and learn and their power increases with every murmur of their names and every friend they make. Mark and Thirak take their places as leaders, and this is something they have always had and always been. They stand tall and proudly, and they do not hide but rebel and resist as a force, beside them stand Pruzuh and Tiid.

As enemies close on their borders, the division between the sides becomes clear. Aaron and Daisuke, Sky and Rya, and Mark and Thirak take flight with each other and their allies. They find holes to hide and talk with Fáelán and Aldrys and find Rako and Daruka and gain more allies.

As villages are taken and they collaborate and confluence; they ascend as Eggja. Their group splits into three, knowing that such a big force cannot stick together. It may weaken them, but it allows them to weaken the other side even more.

There is still a battle, final and deadly. It's the one that they all think will be final; a summoning of forces and a fight over sands that glowed golden in the sun.

Before it starts, the call goes out.

Fáelán and Aldrys are out of contact unable to give their support, but Aaron and Daisuke understand this and know that there is a back-up plan for if they fall. Fáelán and Aldrys are out of touch from the rest of the world, struggling to survive in harsh climates not made for any but for those with magic-in-blood. Aldrys thrives instantly and Fáelán survives, but with every breath he takes, his lungs expand and he learns what living is. They are out of contact but not out of mind and they are preparing for the next step, readying more allies and ensuring that everyone knows what's happening and that they might need to escape.

Sky and Rya are the ones who sound the call because they are the ones who are the most defensive, the most willing, the most protective. They stand in the desert with Daphne and Apollo beside them, their seconds-in-command and powerful in their own right. But it is Sky and Rya who lead, and they have a reason for that. They are the ones who learn how to thrive, but this time Sky doesn't need to learn self-confidence, but rather self-assurance. This time Rya learns determination in the midst of battle rather the darkening of caves. This time they do not hide away but gleam in the light and call the attention to themselves.

Aaron and Daisuke are the ones who arrive second because they have always been swift and even with others at their backs, they are no different. They stand in sands that seem to sing beneath them, with Alu and Drake at their backs, because they are bred-and-born from the streets and their power comes from that. Here there is no change, for Aaron and Daisuke are constants in every world. In every world, they are cherished for the same reasons, and they always flew in the storm. They have, and will always be, the untamed wind that screams and howls and whispers. They are still dangerous and fast; they are still strong and deadly.

Mark and Thirak arrive last, with the furthest to travel and the most careful about the energy of those that follow them. They come, and this is not wondrous or amazing – this is expected. This is who they are. They are known for their strength and power and their ferocity in battle; they are feared as much as they are revered. There's more though. They are more known for their stubbornness and determination and their inability to give up hope. They are known for planning and meticulousness and refusal to leave anyone behind. When they land on that desert, with the sun bearing down on them, they do not bother with the environment because the fight lies ahead of them, and they will not allow anyone to die on their watch. They had once wanted to be heroes, but their goal had changed – just as they did. They wished now to stop as many deaths as they could, and although they knew that not everyone could be saved in a fight, they knew they would always try their best, come what may.

This is the battle that they think will be final. Much of the battle goes the same way, with death inching closer to everyone and everyone trying their hardest to stay alive and win the battle.

There is still a blue dragon who lands, surrounded and injured, with a rider on her back, alive and desperate thoughts rising in her mind; words on the tip of her tongue waiting to be said – words that bring destruction that is an ultimate form of saving.

This time there is others who refuse to let death and destruction and sacrifice be the only way to save others.

A golden dragon, powerful and strong, lands, striking out with teeth and talons and fire. A boy on his back leaps down and away with a sword in hand, intent on pushing the enemy forces back.

This is what is to be expected. A boy helps those on his side; a dragon fights with everything he has because to do otherwise would let others – and himself – be killed. A girl fights as it is all she can do; a dragon fights for what she believes in. They survive, all four of them. This is a change, but it could've been what had happened (but it isn't, because a boy found a white dragon).

They survive and they escape. The world shifts and changes. They are not alone in their survival and there are allies waiting to be contacted. This is what the world could've been.

Edited: 3/02/2021