Dawn of The Dragon

Prologue: Stand Down

The droplets on Kalera's face are like a light sprinkle on a cool spring morning as she descends through the clouds on Xavgon's lumpy, warm, hard back. I'm in need of a saddle, she thinks to herself, because of how uncomfortable the ride is. But she is grateful her body did not plummet nor smash the ground after her leap from the top of the Super Dome. Her grip on Xavgon's spiked ivory horns is secure while the cool breeze ruffles her curly hair.

The blue dragon's roar is shocking when he lands on Sugar Bowl Drive. With a one-hundred-ninety-one-foot wingspan, and standing twenty-five feet in height, his shadow blocks the sun. Wind from his mouth forces cars, trucks, and semis on their sides. The chief of police requests the National Guard.

Kalera rubs her hands along Xavgon's neck to calm him as she speaks to him in his mind, using telepathy, just like they had communicated in Zaylen, the realm Xavgon is from.

"Shh. Give them peace. They are confused and afraid, as am I. At least the confusing part. How did you know I was in trouble?" Kalera asks. "How did you get here from Zaylen?"

"Search your soul, Mother. The answers lie within you. And you are correct. They are afraid, but more of you than me. I will kill them if they approach you," Xavgon adds.

"No," Kalera replies. "Let me speak to them. Please."

She slides down his massive wing as he brings the sides upwards so that she may still hold on. Her feet meet the ground, and she takes her stance in front of Xavgon as he lowers his head and smoke protrudes from his snout. The sight of peering men and women in uniform engulfs her. All she has known from her world is depression, anxiety, stress, and grief—but not today.

"Mother!" Xavgon says.

"If I don't speak to them, they may fire upon us."

"It doesn't matter. Their weapons will have no effect. They will try to take you as if you have broken their laws. Because of those laws, they will not let you go. Prison is where you will end up. There, you will wither away as shrubs on a bush. Remember: I had one jump to this world to save you."

Kalera turns to Xavgon and places her hands near his nostrils. "I have broken the law," she declares, pointing to the Super Dome. "I trespassed there."

"I must get you back to Zaylen immediately. Something is coming," Xavgon replies.

"Ager, I know, and that's my fault," she says." I should have allowed you to kill him, but I didn't, and now the former king of the Zaylen Realm may have gained full control again."

Xavgon warns her that they must find Gros Cave. It is the door to Zaylen. Kalera's assessment of Ager is correct, but she shouldn't judge herself for having a heart, even for him. Ager took her for granted, just as these humans take her for granted now.

"What's the Gros Cave?" Kalera asks.

"I will explain, but for now, let's deal with them," Xavgon says as he turns towards the men and women and snarls.

"Just let me talk to them," she repeats.

Reluctantly, he agrees. "My breath will echo your voice so all may hear."

"I am ready," Kalera replies as she turns towards the men and women pointing guns and bazookas at them.

Introducing herself, she explains that she was born in this city, right down the street at what was once Charity Hospital. She loves New Orleans, because it is her home, and she also loves her family and friends. She tries to ease their fear and anxiety, but she has to stand firm at the same time.

"This great dragon will do anything to protect me. You can't harm it, and your weapons will only anger it. All you will manage to do is destroy yourselves. The choice is yours. Now stand down!"

Stillness fills the air, and she can feel the palpitations of their hearts.

"Xavgon!"

"I feel it too."

F/A-18s approach, and without warning, open fire from the sky as the soldiers in front of Kalera and Xavgon retaliate. Clearly, the men and women did not think through their plan. They are firing upon their own kind just to destroy Xavgon and Kalera. Shell casings strike the ground as the soldiers begin to fall.

No, Kalera thinks as she looks on in horror while the blood of innocent people is spilling to the ground. Without knowing if her powers have returned, she swiftly walks towards the blockage as bullets bounce off Xavgon's tough scales.

"Mother!"

Quickly, the blue dragon calls upon his Dred power, shifting it into Kalera, which allows her to absorb the remaining shots. Reaching the soldiers and officers, she turns to raise her arms, focusing on the jets. Within seconds they break apart, only allowing enough time for the pilots to eject.

The soldiers and officers who are not harmed rise, looking upon Kalera and Xavgon as if to say thank you as more national guards arrive, guns drawn. Xavgon rises from all of his four legs to his back legs, blowing a mighty wind as Kalera pleads with him not to harm the humans as she focuses on their weapons. Lifting their guns from their hands, she turns the guns towards them.

"What you feel right now is true fear," she calls out. "The fear of death and the unknown. I pleaded with you, but my dragon has a mind of his own."

Shredding the metal in their faces, she watches the debris fall to the ground as they all run back towards the dome. She focuses on silencing their radios, but it won't last.

Xavgon takes a breath to release flames upon them.

"No. I know their decisions enrage you, but you are no mindless beast. You protect the innocent and the weak, and they are weak and following orders. Killing them will not help us."

"They are no different than many in Zaylen who cower behind evil while presenting it as the greater good, or following orders," he responds. "But you are right, Mother. Killing them will make us something we are not."

"Thank you."

"Gros Cave, Mother. We must go!"

"What is Gros Cave?" Kalera asks again.

"Let me show you," Xavgon responds.

He takes in a breath and releases it into Kalera's face. She sees endless silver glitter, and then white icebergs leading to the side of a glacier mountain. Inside the hollow glacier, crystal-clear water runs from a blue ceiling.

"Do you know this place?" Xavgon asks.

"No," she replies. "But I know someone who might."

Kalera steps onto Xavgon's left-wing. He lifts it and then turns it forward. She grabs on to the horns protruding his left arm, climbs them as a ladder, and then mounts him.

"Where might we find this someone?"

"My house," Kalera answers him.