The Gifted Isle

Prologue

-Gulf-

Life on the coral reef was peaceful, the bright hues of the fish and plants contrasting the infinite cerulean of the sea around it. A figure was moving faster than any shark in the reef, closely followed by many more, larger than the first. A dragon was swimming for his life.

Gulf was swimming as fast as he could, his heart beating wildly against his blue chest as he was being pursued by the SeaWing guards. There were twelve of them, male and female, green and blue, all following after his retreating figure, with white, wickedly pointed spears in their talons, and angered expressions on their faces.

He was being chased for a crime he didn't mean to commit, and for being something he couldn't help being hatched as: an animus.

Gulf had been the first SeaWing animus born in a decade, but he hadn't been praised and trained for it like Princess Anemone, or even hidden it as well as Prince Turtle had done. Well, he had tried. For eight years, he had attempted to do so, knowing if he had been found, he would have probably been captured and maybe killed.

There had been a couple of slip-ups that his parents had gotten mad at him for, like getting upset at Taimen for taking the exact fish that she could clearly see he wanted, so she obviously needed to be smacked in the face with that very same fish. Eventually he had gone too far, and his temper had gotten him into more trouble than he had bargained for.

He had become friends with one of the pearl divers near his home who was a very nice dragon, but as usual, Gulf's temper got the best of him and disaster once again struck at the most inopportune time. His mother said his temper was like a storm at sea.

A dragon was dead because of him, and he was on the run. Gulf looked back, seeing the soldiers talking to him in aquatic. Stop! They flashed, their glowing scales illuminating their faces, You must pay for your crimes.

He wanted to stop, he truly did, to explain what had happened, but if they caught him, they wouldn't even listen to him. He put in another burst of speed, losing them momentarily behind a colourful coral reef, but he was beginning to tire. They would catch him soon. You could just kill them, a dark voice in him said, They wouldn't catch you, and you would be able to rest.

That dark voice in him made sense, but Gulf promised himself that he wouldn't be hurting any more dragons. Ever. The voice must be Gulf's sanity going away, slowly making him as mad as Albatross, an old SeaWing prince who had killed his family.

He decided to use his magic to escape, but not to murder. He dashed to the sandy bottom of the water, picking up a small stone that had been battered by the waves, making it smooth and slippery, making hard for Gulf to hold onto it. He thought, Enchant this stone to make the dragons following me not able to see me.

Gulf peered behind his shoulder and saw that the soldiers had indeed stopped in confusion, but instead of just looking confused and wondering how the dragon they had been chasing had disappeared, they clutched their eyes in apparent pain, crimson floating into the ocean. When they lifted their talons from their snouts, Gulf gasped in shock. The eyes of the guards that had been following him were blank, with a fresh red line slashed vertically across them. The guards were now blind and they could not see him, so the spell had worked.

I shouldn't have cast that spell, he thought.

He faced forward again, knowing he wouldn't be stopped, and kept on heading in one direction. Schools of fish drifted in closely knit groups near him as he swam at a steady pace. After a while, he saw a large blurry shape up ahead.

He looked up and burst towards the surface. He broke through the water, looking all around him. There - an island.

He went back under the waves, speeding towards the landmark. He shot out of the sea, flying the last few seconds to reach the island. The water dripped from him in what seemed like a waterfall, making the sand slippery to walk on, causing the grains to stick to his talons. He collapsed, too tired to move.

He gasped for a moment, spread-eagled on the white-yellow sandy beach at the edge of the isle, tired from swimming for hours on end. He rolled onto his back, enjoying the view of the slowly dimming sky and the radiant sphere of the sun on the horizon turning the water orange and molten, and casting long shadows across the beach.

Gulf stood up, looking around for the first time. The beach stretched all the way around the island, but inwards, it abruptly ended to give way to a tangle of trees and vines, creating a barrier between sand and forest.

He started flying far above the island to see if there was anything interesting. The island was a bit bigger than the Deep Palace in area and was almost perfectly circular. The rainforest covered the entire island with only the sand stopping it from reaching the ocean, but there was a clearing near the center with enough room for him to land.

Gulf dove down, the wind whistling in his ears, and came to an abrupt halt in the grassy floor of the forest, scaring the local wildlife. He looked around and saw plants dotted here and there across the clearing and a cluster of large boulders near the edge. He wandered over, marvelling at the peacefulness of this island.

If he could ever return to the Sea Kingdom, he would build a house here. But he had to keep on moving, hopefully finding a neutral place in Pyrrhia to live. Wait. He could use his magic to enchant a stone to do something, so why couldn't he enchant an entire island? An idea was coming to him, and if it worked out...

He had to make sure that the SeaWings wouldn't find him since this island was probably on one of their maps, and they would scour the entire Bay of a Thousand Scales to capture him.

He clenched his claws into the soft dirt under the grass, feeling as if he was holding onto the very island.

Enchant this island to always hide me from any dragon who wishes to find me, so that I can never be found on purpose, he thought, pausing, wondering for a moment, and become a safe haven to any dragon who needs somewhere to rest and hide. Enchant the island to always be able to provide food, shelter and clean water to the dragons who live on it, and for those dragons to be safe.

He was happy with himself, knowing the spell would work, and was happy for thinking of other dragons who could be fleeing from their own queens for doing something they didn't mean to.

He laughed at himself, The enchantment sounds like something from a scroll, all dramatic and fancy, but it will work, He sat down again and let out a long breath. He felt at peace. He would be safe and other dragons who came to this island would be, too.

The sun finally dove into the ocean, bringing twilight to Pyrrhia, and the stars started peeking through the painted clouds. The moons began their their dance among the heavens and a dragon was finally at peace.

A/N:
Yay! I'm proud of this and I hope it's not too dramatic.
Please enjoy and comment with any suggestions!

Almost forgot, I had to republish this

Question of the day:
Does anyone know where I could ask someone to make a good book cover for this story? I'm not that a great artist. :|