. : D R A G O N B O R N : . (a MCSM fanfic)

Chapter 17: Legends

Aaaaaaaa you guys are too nice!  Here's another amazing fanart, this time from  HatsumiBamboo ! <3

Also holy wow when did this story get to almost 2,000 views???

***

"Soren, why did you give Petra that book?"

Soren frowned a little, brow furrowing.  "I mean, she did take in a baby dragon..."

"But that's not the only reason, is it?" Jesse asked quietly.

He hesitated.  "...No.  It's not."  He let out his breath in a long sigh.

Jesse was quiet for a moment.  "You think she's the Dragonborn," she said finally.

Again, there was a pause.  "I... don't know for sure," Soren told her, "But... it has been many years since a dragon rider has walked this land...  It would seem fitting..."

"She doesn't want to be the Dragonborn," Jesse protested.  "You saw how upset she got when the subject came up!  I... I'm just not sure this is good... is it right to put this burden on her?"

"The legend of the Dragonborn is considered a prophecy," Soren explained.  "And as a prophecy, that means it's destiny.  Like it or not, if Petra is the Dragonborn, there isn't anything we can do to change that..."

"But what if she isn't?" Jesse asked, "What if you're wrong?  You could be putting her in danger!"

"And if she is, she'll have to face that danger!  Jesse, there are no good options here!"

Jesse exhaled.  "Maybe not.  But you'd better hope you didn't pick the worst one..."

Without warning, a roar echoed through the air around them.  Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and Jesse struggled to keep their horse under control.  "What was that???" she gasped.

Soren's eyes narrowed sharply.  "Dragons."

***

"Axel, do you believe all that stuff that Soren and Lukas were talking about?"

Axel scrunched his nose, seeming thoughtful.  "I don't know," he murmured at last.  "I mean, we know dragons are real, but... this is also coming from the guy who moved to the End alone and built a fake Overworld so he could study Endermen.  Soren's a good guy, don't get me wrong, but sometimes he's a little..."

"Out there?" Olivia agreed, "Yeah, no kidding.  But he does have a thing for old legends..."

"Yeah, legends," Axel pointed out.  "Sure, there probably was a war between humans and dragons at some point, but... a prophecy?  I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure that'd break a lot of laws involving time..."

"You're right about that," she muttered.  "For any sort of a prophecy to be possible, it would take something capable of traversing or altering the flow of time.  And nothing we know of can do that-- not science, and not magic either..."

"Right," Axel agreed, and furrowed his brow.  "Do you think dragons are capable of it?  They do seem a little... different.  I mean, Petra and Xann have that whole talking in their heads thing..."

"Telepathy?  Yes, that's something we haven't observed before..."  She exhaled.  "The trouble is, we've only ever met one dragon.  Those books can only tell us so much.  If dragons can use telepathy, maybe seeing through time isn't a problem for them either-- but we won't know that just based off studying Xann.  We'd have to find more dragons-- and to do that, we're banking on the assumption that Lukas is right about this whole 'homing beacon' thing..."

A sudden loud roar interrupted them, followed by a blinding flash as lightning struck a nearby peak, and a roar of thunder that shook the mountains around them.

Axel gazed in the direction the sound had come from.  "You know, somehow I get the feeling we just did..."

***

"Oh, you've really done it now," Harper muttered, watching the circling shadows in the sky overhead with narrowed eyes.

Ivor rummaged in his bag for another potion.  "Well at least now we know potions don't phase them..."

The larger of the silhouettes stopped suddenly, rearing back with a shriek, and unleashed a blast of lightning from its jaws, clouds whirling about its wings.  Ivor shoved Harper to the side, knocking both of them out of the way, as the blast scorched the rock where they'd been standing.  Their horse whinnied and bolted away down the mountain.

"Ivor, give us regen!" Harper shouted above the screams of the angry dragons, and pulled Ivor to his feet, "Quick!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" He grabbed another bottle out of his satchel and flung it to the ground, dousing both of them with the contents.  "This'll help, but not for long!  Where are the others??"

"YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!"  Jesse pelted in on her horse, sword raised high, while Soren held on for his life.  "Get away from them!"

The smaller dragon screamed again and blasted lightning at them, but Jesse urged the horse out of the way.

"Jesse!" Ivor shouted, "Thank goodness!"

"Thank me later," Jesse told him, "What the heck happened??"

"These dragons came out of nowhere!" Harper explained, "We tried to climb the peak, and both of them dove at us!  Ivor hit one with a potion, but I don't think it did much-- and now they're both just circling around up there firing lightning at us!"

"So they really do breathe lightning!" Soren gasped in awe. "Spectacular!"

Ivor shot him a withering glare.  "Save it until after we're out of danger of being roasted!"

"Jesse!" Olivia stared to the sky with wide eyes as they rode in.  "More dragons???"

"Storm dragons, to be precise!" Soren told her, "They breathe lightning!"

"Look out!" Harper yelled, "They're coming in for another attack!"

Both dragons had stooped from the clouds, wings tucked in as they dove toward the travelers.

"Brace yourself!" Jesse warned, but before the dragons reached them a loud cry pierced the storm.

"Stop!"

Xann came barrelling up the trail, wings flaring and jaw wide as he unleashed a screech of his own.  Petra clung to his back, brandishing her sword to the skies, as Lukas held on behind her.  "Stop!" she shouted again, "Leave them be!"

Both dragons immediately broke their dive, wings flapping frantically as they fought to slow their fall.  In a few moments they'd stabilized, hovering slowly backwards, and landed on a nearby outcropping of rock.

Petra leapt from Xann's back, sword still outstretched, but gave a stifled gasp as her leg gave out beneath her, sending her sprawling onto the slope.  Her sword clattered to the ground and skittered across the stone.

The dragons exchanged glances, a sort of questioning wonder in their eyes, and seemed to converse in some unintelligible speech for several moments.  Finally, the larger of the two turned and leapt gracefully from the outcropping to the land below.  With one deft move he scooped up the sword in his jaws, turned to Petra, and laid it in front of her.  Fanning his wings elegantly, he placed one forepaw in front of him and bowed low, dipping his head in respect.  "Hail, Dragonborn, commander of destinies."