Destiny and Dystopia: A Tale of Dragons and Humans Book One: The Red Eyes

Before

Hello, reader.

Oh, don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm you.

My name? I suppose you can call me Crowbar God.

Where I come from is not important. It's where YOU'RE going that matters.

You see, you're about to read a story about a world I created myself. It's a gorgeous world, filled with all sorts of spectacular things. Like the beautiful Shimmer Lake.

But the thing I love most about this world are its diverse creatures. From the smallest mouse to the largest dragon, Shynalia is simply divine.

Now, this story? This story is about three young dragons and three young humans. I just love the number three, don't you?

Our story starts one sunny day on Mirahal Mountain with a young dragon by the name of...

Smokefire positioned himself behind a boulder, getting ready to pounce on a sun lizard that was stupid enough to bask on the mountain. Didn't the lizard know that this was HIS area? He would soon show it!

Just as he was about to pounce, in the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of white. His head swiveled. What was it? Smokefire was quickly disappointed. It had only been a seagull.

He turned to focus his attention back on the sun lizard, but it had scurried away while he was distracted. Damnit, Smokefire! He sighed and crawled up to the top of the boulder, yawning and stretching out his not-yet-fully-grown sky-blue wings. Maybe later he could ask his mentor if they could go hunting instead of having stupid history class...

Smokefire drifted into blissful sleep.

Smokefire is standing in the place of his birth. The FireLands. With the volatile Volcano of Blood standing ever-present above them. The volcano is named for its violent eruptions and the colour of the magma, he remembers.

But something is wrong. The sounds of the volcano bubbling have vanished. The ground is cold. What's happening?

"It's frozen over..." breathes a voice beside him. Smokefire looks beside him to see an unfamiliar golden dragon. She looks back at him, shocked. "But... that's impossible! Right?"

Smokefire opens his mouth to speak, but the scene vanishes before he can say anything. The world is dark. There's a ringing sound in his ears.

"Smokefire..." A voice comes from within the darkness. "Smokefire, you have to do your duty. Protect them. Protect Shynalia."

The ringing sound grows louder. There's a blinding flash, and he can just barely make out the words, "Wake up, Smokefire..."

Smokefire fell off his rock, his wings flapping wildly. He sprung to his talons and bared his teeth at the world around him.

Nothing was there. Phew, for a moment he'd thought that there was a landslide or something, from all that noise!

Smokefire sighed. Weird dreams were just that. Dreams. What wasn't a dream, however, was that super cool spider over there! Smokefire hopped over to it. It was silvery, with long delicate legs.

Smokefire wanted to eat it.

He opened his jaws as the spider idly stretched a dainty leg. He inched closer, ready to-

"Smokefire!!" Smokefire's neck swiveled. The source of the voice turned out to be another sky blue dragon, larger than Smokefire.

Tyrilyth. The current Dragon Guardian and Smokefire's mentor.

"Smokefire, you idiot dragonling, get away from that... thing!" It seemed as though Smokefire had messed up again... But it was just a harmless spi-

The harmless spider was now bigger than Smokefire, its gaping maw poised to swallow him whole. Smokefire recognized it now. It was a Shift Spider, the kind that lured its victims in with its angelic movements, only to turn on them by growing huge and devouring the unlucky victim.

Smokefire froze in place as the spider's jaws began to close. He heard a beating of wings and he was shoved aside, away from the spider.

"For Soarath's sake, Smokefire, fly!"

Smokefire shakily got to his talons and spread his wings, flying away as Tyrilyth had instructed him. He paused once, to look back.

Tyrilyth had apparently heard Smokefire's wingbeats stop, as he swiveled his head to look at the dragonling, pausing in his efforts to fend off the spider.

"Don't. Stop. Moving!"

And those were the last words Smokefire heard before his friend and mentor, Tyrilyth Stormflyer, was devoured right before his very eyes.