The Four Guardians

Prolouge

The large, blood-soaked dragon reared on her hind legs, roaring.

Kiroki glared down at the puny human city at her claws through glazed eyes, or at least, what was left of it. What once had been her patron city, the city of Kipae, now lay as a mass of flaming rubble, tiny, weak humans running every which way to try and escape the inferno, to no avail; they where trapped by a circle of flames Kiroki had set around the rubble, in order to keep her play things in place. Through her clouded mind, Kiroki saw these tiny, two-legged creatures as little more than pests she'd foolishly allowed to live at the foot of her volcanic den.

In the corner of her eye, Kiroki caught a glimpse of a few faces she'd hope not to see; her fellow Guardians. Leading the trio was Roku. He always put himself in charge. Typical, egotistical griffin. Kiroki turned to them and snarled, bearing her teeth.

"Kiroki, stop this at once!" Roku squawked, coming to a halt in little ways away from the raging dragoness. Kiroki simply scoffed at him, letting a plume of smoke drift from her nostrils. She didn't even turn to face him. "You have no say in my actions, Griffin. I am simply exterminating these pests." She motioned her long, reptilian tail towards the blazing ruins unfurling in front of her.

Shira hissed, the serpent's long, forked tongue darting in and out of her maw. Roku motioned for her to stay silent. "I have say when you are willfully putting innocent lives at risk," he retorted, "You will cease this destruction, or we will be forced to stop it for you." Roku bared his own teeth, to no avail. The dragoness laughed, a sinister, booming laugh.

"Fools! What could you possibly- AAGHH" Kiroki was cut off when Shira blasted a power jet of water at her, sending the dragon onto her side, hissing in agony. She pulled herself to her feet, a claw wrapped around the steaming scales on her neck. She glared at Shira, her gaze shifting only when Aren spoke.

"Kiroki, we don't want to fight you," The lion begged, sounding almost like a kitten, "But we cannot allow you to continue this." He cast a glance to the rubble, which was still blazing with crimson fury.

Before Kiroki could retort, the earth around her grew and stretched, climbing up her legs, until her limbs where covered, and her wings where held to her side like a hen's. She pulled at the earthen shackles, but it was futile; the rocks held strong.

Aren muttered an apology under his breath, before Shira hit Kiroki in the face with another blast of water. Her scarlett scales steamed and hissed, and after a few, agonizing moments, all went black.

♦  ♦  ♦

She awoke to a blackness, akin to a starless night, on which the moon refused to shine.

Kiroki looked around, and tried to stand. She found, not only was the room far to small to allow her full height, but her neck was chained to the rocky floor, just behind her horns.

The only light came from a small pool of lava within the dragon's reach, which bathed a laughable portion of the room in amber light. Out of sight in the darkness, Kiroki could faintly hear the trickling of a shallow stream, though, the water never snaked into the firelight.

"Hello...?" The dragoness called into the darkness. Her only response was the echo of her words. "Hello?" She tried again, louder. Still, no one replied.

She didn't recognize the cave, nor why anyone would find it acceptable to trap herself, Kiroki, Dragonic Guardian of Fire, in such an ill fitting enclosure. She had no recollection of the events leading to her current situation, which only fueled her hunger to answers.

Kiroki struggled to free herself, but whatever kept her skull chained to the floor didn't give. She continued to struggle for what seemed like hours, every now and then swearing she could hear stone crack. However, she couldn't escape, and decided, instead, to wait for rescue. There is no point in wasting energy. Someone will come to free me, she believed.

However, as time wore on, that hope dwindled further and further. No one came to free her, and her prison remained sturdy and uniform. After her determination had been replaced with dispair, and hope with longing, she gave up.

Legend has it she has remained there to this day.
Unfortunetly, Lady Luck has a way to turning sour when you give up in her.