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Rated: 18+ · Campfire Creative · Appendix · Fantasy · #1809489
Modern logic relies on science. But this group of teenagers is about to discover magic.
[Introduction]
In our modern day, we rely heavily on our science, to prove facts about the world that we had no explanation of before. The people, and groups, that believe in the supernatural are scoffed and scorned by the majority of the world, and often rightfully. However, there is a small group, descendents of the keepers of true supernatural knowledge, knows as The Cindurim, know of the hidden crevices of our world that contain secrets that no scientist can ever hope to explain. Demons, monsters, ghosts and every foul thing that draws breath have been in hiding for centuries.

The Cindurim, while human, made a powerful alliance thousands of years ago, with the only good supernatural being that existed, the Dragons. They fought side by side, but each race had their own motives. And when the time came that they believed to have vanquished all evil on earth, they parted ways. The Dragons returned to their heavenly plane, where they have stayed ever since. They did not realise that once they left Earth, they would not be able to return to defend it once more, for they balance of the world had shifted too far to the good side, and so they forgot Earth, and never again turned their eyes to it.

The humans relished in peace and prosperity, and they, too, forgot of the evil that had once dominated. Centuries past, and only the few who were taught of the horror that still prowled in the dark remained vigilant. Their greatest seceret, was several Dragon eggs. These eggs would not hatch until a time of great need. And that time has now arrived. The remaining Cendurim have called upon the eggs to help them once more, to which the eggs, through their magic, communicated a message that they would start a chain of events that would lead the new forces to them, and once again the Dragons and humans would fight side by side. Time is growing short, and they must act swiftly, before the monsters that lurk in the shadows reveal themselves in all their terror to the human race, and destroy them.





Alrighty! Hope that gives you a good preface as to what this campfire is about. General storyline when it comes to dragons, dragons meets human, human meets dragon, they become awesome killing, magic-using machines. But hey, I'm sure we can think up something to make it origional. A few quick extra notes about this campfire:

-It is set in modern times
-Characters will not have previous knowledge of weaponry, fighting etc, this is a learning curve we can go through in the campfire.
-The dragons are not traditional 'fly around breathing fire' type dragons. They are large, serpentine, but do not have wings and can only fly if they are intending to travel to their heavenly plain, in which case they will not return. So don't make your dragon fly unless you want to get stuck there :P They can, however, leap great distances and absorb majority of shock from a high landing, giving the illusion of flight.
-Yes, each person does get matched up with their own dragon. These dragons talk through their thoughts, but everybody can hear them. Each dragon has a special ability, eg fire-breathing, ability to camoflague, extra-strength etc, but PLEASE EMAIL ME your idea of the ability, there's nothing more annoying than an overpowered dragon that can, I don't know, kill with it's mind or something. As long as you keep it as a 'humble' ability, I will most likely approve it.
-Your character can be an age ranging from 17-28, girl or guy, whatever background you want. Try to make them as real as possible, this is the best way to ensure other people will make their characters interact with yours. As cool as they can be, not many people bother interacting with the 'silent brooding type who never talk and hate everybody' etc. Obviously elements of this can exist, but just not over the top :)
-I know I'm sounding very specific, but honestly I'm easy for anything. Main thing is to have fun while writing, and try and keep the campfire flowing as much as possible. I know life gets in the way, so you have 7 days to post, but if you know you're going to be away then just ask for extra time and it will be granted :)
-All you have to do now, is ask for an invite! I'm looking forward to writing with you all, shall be fantastic!
(Dragons come in all shapes and sizes, body builds, colours, and are mainly scaled but can have some feathers or fur should you wish it. Go nuts!)


The screen blipped as Adam switched off his computer. He'd just spent several hours playing his online game, to which he was in denial that he was addicted to. Just because he liked living in a fantasy world, didn't make him addicted. The only people to understand gamers, are other gamers. Sighing, Adam stood up from his chair and stretched. He groaned as he looked at his clock. 3:42am. He had to get up for work in four hours, and that was if he wanted to be late. Quickly, he changed and slipped into his bed, trying to will himself to sleep as fast as possible. After what seemed an age, he finally dozed off...

*Blip* Adam jumped, it couldn't possibly be morning yet? Bleary-eyed, he looked at his alarm clock. 4:17am. A small, flashing white light caught his attention. His computer screen seemed to have a will of its own, there was a small capital W in the middle of the screen. Intending to turn in off, Adam braved the cool night air and walked over, about to press the button when the W was joined by a E. Then a whole jumble of letters, flashing across the screen.

"Stupid virus buster, what a piece of junk. I'll fix it in the morning." He reached out to turn off the monitor screen, but his hand was stopped an inch away from the button, an invisible barrier protecting it.

"What the..." He took a closer look at the letters, which had stopped scrambling around the sreen, and seemed to glow.

WE'RE COMING FOR YOU. DON'T PANIC.


"DAD. DAD COME HERE! QUICK!" Footsteps frantically ran down the stairs and into Adam's bedroom, his Dad wide-eyed, holding a lamp as if it would be an effective weapon.

"What's wrong? Thief? Fire? Tell me quickly!"

"Look at the screen! What the heck does that mean?" Adam pointed to the letters, which were getting increasingly bright.

"Adam, I swear, if you woke me up for nothing, I will use this lamp on you instead."

"They're right there! 'We're coming for you, don't panic'. Can't you see them? I'm not imagining them." Adam stared, wide-eyed, as his father glared at him.

"You are banned from that game. Forever. Seriously, you're lucky I'm not going to get you to go to counselling or something." With that, his father marched off back upstairs, grumbling the whole way. Adam looked back at the screen. He blinked, and rubbed his eyes, and tried walking out of the room, then back in. But the letters just stared back at him. This was madness.

Too spooked to even consider sleep, Adam figured that he'd just drive to outside of his work. Maybe he'd be able to at least sleep in the car there. Besides, if he wasn't imagining things, and someone really was coming for him, he figured he'd be safer away from his house. He grabbed his keys, wallet, and work clothes, then left.

It was only a half-hour drive to his work, an electronics store, and he thought he'd be fine even at this time of morning, but for some reason he just couldn't keep his eyes open. He kept nodding off, then jolting back awake, but no matter how cold he put the airconditioner, or how much left-over energy drink he guzzled, he couldn't fight the mental strain to just nod-off. Eventually, he ended up face-planting into the steering wheel, and lost all conscious thought.

--------------------------------------------


A searing headache woke Adam up, and he ran his hands through his blonde hair. The steering wheel turned let, and the brake pedal was pushed down. By itself. Adam wasn't driving. Yelling, Adam leaped towards the car lock, but again, the invisible barrier stopped him. As if in response, the car lock clicked shut. So Adam was forced to sit, while the car drove itself to- well, he didn't know where. He knew he was in the countryside, far from the streets of London. He looked back and saw expansive green fields that they had obviously just passed through, with cows and sheep grazing, oblivious to the young man being abducted by a car. Now, though, they were entering a track that led into the woods. Adam couldn't recognise anything around him, and checking his watch, he had apparently been abducted over five hours ago. He could be anywhere.

The car started jolting about as it moved off of a track and into a dank part of the wilderness, which Adam doubted that no one had ever entered before. After another twenty minutes of being thrown about, yelling and cursing, the car came to an abrupt stop. Adam couldn't see why, they were in a small clearing that had nothing in it except for some oval-shaped boulders, as tall as a one-storey house. The car door opened. Tentatively, Adam stepped out, his volleys getting soaked instantly. The ground was so wet here.

"Hello?" he yelled. "Anybody there?"

Yes.

Adam swung around, hearing a voice from behind him, but no one was there. "It's not funny! Where am I? Where are you? Why am I here?

Patience.

"Patience?! Who are you to tell me to be patient?! I've just been assulted by glowing letters, and abducted by a car that, last time I checked, I usually drive, not it. Now show yourself!"

I will not. Not yet. We must wait for the others to arrive. Sit. They will be here shortly. I will not speak again. Silence. Sit.

Adam was not silent. He yelled until his voice went hoarse, but for some reason it never occurred to him to just leave the area. He was lost anyway, he'd either die here, or die there. Eventually, he went back to his car, and sat, unmoving for what seemed like hours. The voice told him to wait. He would wait. For now, at least.


---------------------------------



Name: Adam Marduk
Age:19
Appearance: average build all round. Not skinny, not buff, not fat. Just, normal. He has blonde hair, green eyes, light-coloured skin and usually just wears whatever is within reach.
Personalilty: Likes gaming, tennis, and hanging with friends. Obviously never the most popular person in the group, but he doesn't mind that. Very outgoing nature, and loves meeting new people and getting to know them, ignoring the people that don't want to know him.

Dragon's Name: Ryuutel
Gender: Male
Appearance: (Note: All dragons are hatched fully-grown, all the height of an average one-storey house, but their body shape changes from dragon to dragon. Up to you.) Ryuutel's head is fairly cylindrical, shaped more like a horses, instead of flat or skinny like others, with two long, straight, gunmetal-silver horns at the top of his head. He has a furry mane that runs from the top of his forhead to the tip of his tail, and the same fur lines the back of his legs, from the knees down. He is a very muscular dragon, more western-style than eastern-style. The 'base colour' of his body is white, with the scales on his belly being gold, the fur being a turqouise green, and dark-blue stripes running across his back. His tail ends in a large fan-shape, golden in colour.
Power: Can manipulate water, eg cause it to evaporate, turn to ice, move it to where he wants it to go. However, he cannot create water, and only water within half a kilometer can be influenced, so if he's in a dry place he's virtually powerless. Sort of. He is a dragon after all :P

So that's it kiddies! Looking forward to this campfire /so much/. Hope you are too :)


Name: Jamie Wood

Age: 19

Appearance: Tall and lanky, with not much muscle to speak of. Jamie has short dark hair and rich brown eyes, with a few dark beauty marks or freckles scattered around his body. He wears thin rimmed glasses occasionally to help him see, and besides that just your average jeans and sneakers, t-shirt kind of guy, even if due to his thin frame they are sometimes ill-fitting.

Personality: Jamie is smart. He understands science and math like most people wouldn't believe. He's also shy and has a tendency to take hits without trying to defend himself. Your average nerd, he spends too much time doing others peoples homework, playing RP card games with other social misfits, and building some kind of weird machine in his apartment buildings garage.


Dragon's Name: Ilumia

Gender: Female

Appearance: Ilumia is much smaller than the average dragon, about the size of a Volkswagen. She has a graceful almost feline body and iridescent scales that look more like feathers. Her eyes are the color of liquid sky.

Power: Ilumia can manipulate... you guessed it, light! She can bend it around herself and others to make them invisible, blind her enemies, or even suck out all the light in the room like Professor Dumbledores put outer. She can also see in the dark quite well.

---------------------------------

"Jamie!"

A rude and too familiar voice broke through Jamie's revery.

"Jamie!"

Jamie sighed and rubbed his face, exhausted. He closed the book he was reading and pushed his chair away from his desk. He walked into the other room to his mother, who was sitting on the couch. She was pale, her skin drawn tight over her thin frame.

"I need my meds." She said.

"The doctor told you, you can't have any more Vicodin."

"I need it!" She threw a pillow at him, which he dodged. It knocked a bowl into the sink instead.

"I'll go get you some more Ibuprofen." Jamie said. "Do you have a tenner?"

His mother let out a cry. "It doesn't work! Those pills don't work!"

Jamie ignored her and instead dug into her purse for some money.

She sunk back into the couch and covered her eyes with her thin arm, tired.

Jamie pocketed the money and walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Outside the air was cold. Jamie could still see his breath and it was well into the morning. He walked the few blocks to the underground, and used his card to ride the train. It was full of business people who had the luxury of going to work late, dead beats asking for coin, and college students who spent the night partying and were now stumbling their way home. Jamie didn't pay anyone much attention though, because he was reading his book, doing his best to stay steady in the moving tube by gripping one of the metal poles tightly.

A stop before his own, he looked up from his book to find himself standing next to a pretty girl. An involuntary choking noise escaped his throat and she looked at him, curiously. Jamie smiled, embarrassed, and hurriedly looked back at his book. But for some reason, the history of physics wasn't so interesting any more.

He stepped off the tube without saying anything else, of course. He didn't introduce himself, he didn't flirt, he didn't ask for her digits. People like himself didn't date girls like that. Like math, it seemed to a universal formula that couldn't be thwarted.

Jamie walked the street down to the local chemist, and bought the Advil.

"Jamie." A soft, female voice spoke.

Jamie looked around. There were very little people on the street for this late in the morning, and no one close enough to have spoken his name so that only he could hear it.

He frowned, then shrugged it off. Jamie began to walk back toward the station when he heard his name again.

"Jamie."

A trashcan in an alley was knocked over and Jamie turned towards it quickly. A large, white, feline shape ran down the alley. It was way to big to a house cat.

Jamie's heart began to beat fast. He took a step closer to the alley, and saw a long tail disappearing around the corner. He shouldn't follow it. He should turn around, get back on the tube, and go home to his mother. Something compelled him forward, though. When he reached the corner of the alley he saw the edge of the wood blocks down. It seemed that's where the creature was heading. From the shadows, two clear blue eyes gazed at him. And so the chase began.
Hailey stared in shock at the bustling madness that was Heathrow Airport’s arrivals area. Passengers from all over the world chatted and yelled in a myriad of languages, and in that constant flow was not one face she recognised.

“Pull yourself together,” she muttered. “You wanted to do this. It’s too late to back out now.” Glumly, she pondered just how true that was. Nearly a whole day’s flight, plus the stop-over in Los Angeles, and over 18,000km separated her from home. Not to mention the price of her tickets, the three cats and a dog she’d had to re-home, and all her family, friends, and the colleagues from her old job, all eagerly awaiting news. Yes, it was definitely too late to turn back. Assuming at least a semblance of calm, she headed over to the car hire office.

“Hi,” she greeted the bored attendant. “I’m Hailey Ward. I booked a car for a week?” Despite herself, she heard the question creep into her voice.

“I.D,” the attendant said, and Hailey dutifully produced her passport. After a cursory scan, he leant back and pulled out a form and a set of keys.

“Here’s the papers. Details on the back. Needs to be back at one of our locations by half six, next Thursday. Sign at the bottom.” Hailey scribbled her signature, and was pointed in the direction of the carpark. “Right at the end of the row. Can’t miss it,” she was told.


“Can’t miss it,” Hailey grumbled to herself, ten hours later. “It must mean something different in England.” It had taken her over half an hour to locate the car, finally going back and convincing the attendant to walk her to it. By the time she’d loaded her luggage and found her way out of the airport, it was nearly noon. She’d stopped for lunch, and then, after several failed attempts, made her way onto the London Inner Ring Road. Gaping like a tourist, which, she supposed, she was, she drove through the city and across the Tower Bridge. Then onto the M1. It had been a relief to get out of the congested city. She’d grown up in Auckland, and thought herself used to traffic, but this...This was something else again. At least on the motorway, she didn’t have to worry about where to turn. She followed it north for two hours, before turning off onto another, minor highway. Another hour had her on the M6, and by half past four she had reached Lancaster. There she took a break, thankful that the route so far had been simple. At five she set off again, headed now for her final destination, Ingleton, a small village on the Yorkshire Dales. According to the internet, it shouldn’t have taken much longer than half an hour to reach. So when quarter to eight found Hailey sitting in her car at the side of a narrow road, surrounded by forest, she knew something had gone seriously wrong.

“I knew I shouldn’t have listened to that old woman,” she berated herself. “Take the next turn off, it’s a short cut. You can’t miss it. Shortcut! Humph!” With growing concern she studied her map, searching for a familiar name. Unfortunately, while perfectly adequate in its depiction of the major roads, there was no sign of any of the backways and villages she’d seen.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she yelled, pounding the steering wheel. “Settle down,” she told herself. “This will get you nowhere. Now, you just have to think rationally. You passed through a village not far back. If you turn around, you’ll end up back there soon enough. Then you can borrow a phone and call Ingleton.” She nodded, pleased with her logic. Get back to the village, work things out from there. Just as she shifted the car back into gear, there was a soft spluttering sound, and the engine gently died. The petrol gauge rested on a sorry E.

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This is not possible! Start, you useless, rust-clad, no good excuse for a car. Start!” The car remained cold to her protests, and eventually, Hailey gave up. She slumped in her seat, head resting on the steering wheel. The tears she had forced down ever since she landed were close to the surface, and she silently debated the benefits of letting them loose.

Behind you.

“There is nothing behind me,” Hailey moaned. “There is nothing in front of me. There is nothing at all, in fact, except this stupid forest and this impossible road.” She was in the habit of talking to herself, so she found nothing strange in the appearance of the new thought. Even so, she turned, hoping whatever fragment of her brain was speaking, it knew what it was talking about. She saw nothing, and had just decided that a good bawl was exactly what she needed, when she noticed it. There, by the edge of the road, faintly red in the glow of her tail-lights, was a tree with a great chunk of its bark stripped away. Hailey was a city girl, but she had read enough books and spent enough time on farms to know that that wasn’t natural. The wound was far too large, far too sharp, to be caused by some animal. And that meant... She scrambled out of the car, and hurried over. To her delight, the bare wood still oozed sap. Someone had come this way! And recently, too. Despair forgotten, she dug out her phone. It was still on the New Zealand system, useless in England, but the torch worked just the same. She hunted around, searching for another sign of humanity. Almost immediately, she found a small, overgrown lane with obvious tire tracks running along it. It wasn’t surprising she had missed it driving by in the dark, but now, peering cautiously into the darkness, she thought she could see a light.

You should check.

“I don’t know,” Hailey replied. “What kind of people would live all the way out here, down such abandoned track.” She was excited about her find, but it was her nature to always argue both sides of any point, even with herself.

They’re nice people, they just don’t like crowds. Hailey considered this for a moment, then nodded. She was hardly likely to get into any less trouble out here on the road. Worst case, she could always pretend her cell worked. She jogged back to the car, grabbed the backpack that carried all her essentials, and headed off down the lane.



Human


Name: Hailey Ward

Age: 24

Appearance: Hailey on the tall side, though not remarkably so. She has brown hair that falls in waves when it behaves, and is all over the place when it doesn’t. Her eyes are brown, although she likes to think that in some lights they are almost hazel. Hailey is one of those lucky girls who stays reasonably slim regardless of what she eats. She is tanned, but has some interesting tan lines, as it was gained from working on farms rather than sunbathing, which she feels is pointless.

Basic info: Hailey is a veterinarian. She graduated from Massey University in New Zealand two years ago, and has been working in a mixed practice animal clinic up until a few months ago. She has come over to England for her OE, and plans to do locum work at various practices across the country.

Personality: Hailey is a very practical person. She likes to see the logic of every situation, however stretched, and is uneasy when she can’t. She is reserved with new people in new situations, but once she adjusts, she is very friendly, and a bit quirky. Her favourite pastime is reading a good, fat fantasy novel, a hobby she somehow maintained throughout vet school.


Dragon

Name: Peleyaronai, vritha ki Aiketha Abran, vrisha ke Yarhinor Kisaial. Own Jewel, daughter of the elder, Golden Serpent, the only daughter of the ancient, the first, my lady the Sky Mother. Or just Dreamer.

Gender: Female

Appearance: Dreamer is about 5 metres long, with another 4 metres of tail. Her body is long and cylindrical, about 1 metre across. However, her full length is seldom obvious, as she usually stands neck upright and body hunched up in a loop. Like that, her head is just above the level of Hailey’s. Dreamer’s legs are short and stocky in comparison to her body, which is thickest at the chest, and tapers off into her tail. She is silvery grey, darker on her back, and fading to almost white on her belly, and with faint tabby markings. Her eyes are bright yellow (not gold) and sit deep in her blocky, ferret-like head. She has no external ears, instead she has four long, tapering horns. The upper two are fixed in place, on either side of her head, and connected by a thin membrane to the lower two. The lower horns are mobile, so the whole set-up acts sort of like a crest. Dreamer has no horns or spikes other than these and the sharp, dextrous claws on her hands and feet.

Power: Dreamer’s bulk means she can do a fair bit of damage purely by throwing her weight around, but she is still small enough to be reasonably quick and agile. Her main peeve is when she is unable to fit between obstacles she thinks she should. Her tail is also a formidable weapon, despite its lack of spikes or clubs, because of the momentum it can build up. Dreamer’s power, in the Cindurim sense of the word, is what her name implies. She has dreams, frequent and convoluted, and all but impossible to interpret. She is convinced that they have great hidden meaning, and will enable her to one day save the world, assuming she works out what they mean. Hailey is sceptical.{/dropnote}
Jordan had set the perfect night up in his mind. He had just bought his own apartment three weeks earlier, and now had planned for a woman he had been pursuing for six months to come over for dinner. Frances was the object of his affection that ignored him for the better part of six months, but finally warming to his attention. She has hazel brown eyes, with a bronze skin complexion that went perfect with her long black hair, not to mention her body most women would kill for. She has a determination is borderline scary which is what attracted Jordan to her in the first place.

However, in his haste to make sure the apartment was up to its proper standard for company he had forgotten the main reason she was coming over, dinner. In a rush he called the only fast food place he knew he could get a good home cooked fast food meal.

It had been about a week since he had moved into his new apartment that he ran into a woman being harassed by a couple of thugs. They were saying nasty things to her, along with knocking the packages she was holding to the ground. Jordan had been raised to respect all women, and to help those in need. He jumped into action by grabbing one of the thugs by the neck, pulling him away. Then went on to describe what they looked like into his phone as if he were giving the police their description.

Samantha, was a beautiful woman in her own right, with cream-colored skin, long brown hair, and curves that could make a man cry. She had a no nonsense attitude and that day it had gotten her in trouble. Jordan remembered the look on her face when he made the thugs ran away.

“What did you do that for?” He remembered how she had asked, angrily with a flustered red face.

He stood there dumbfounded as to what to say to that, and only managed to mumble, “Just trying to help?” wondering just what he had done wrong.

“Is that a question? I could have handled it myself, thanks.” She snapped, gathering the things she had dropped, then hurrying into the store.

It wasn’t until later he found that she was actually scared and had broken down once she was in the store. Since then they had become friends, and he had also become friends to her husband, which is the main reason he didn’t try to talk to her himself.

Tonight was an emergency, so there wouldn’t be time for any chit chat.

He dialed the number for “Sam’s Dine and Dash” as he threw his front door open. Jordan was on the stairs taking them two at a time by the time call connected. One of his neighbors, Mrs. Abernathy had just come in the downstairs door. So, it was nothing for him to give her a quick greeting of “hello” before slipping through the closing door.

The light was fading quickly outside, and he knew he didn’t have a lot of time before Frances would be there. It was 7:45 p.m., and she would be arriving at 9,but knowing Frances she would be there at 8:30.

“Hey there lover boy,” answered the all too familiar voice of Samantha.

“Sam, I’m in a rush. Remember that woman I told you about? Well, she’s coming over tonight, but I forgot about making food.” He informed, a bit out of breath as he jogged down the street.

“Whoa, slow down baby, what do you need?” Samantha purred teasingly into the phone.

“I need the Saturday night dinner for two special, stat!” Jordan replied anxiously as he began to run.

- - -


The diner was only four blocks away so it didn’t take Jordan long to get there. Unfortunately, on his way there he spotted a couple of the people that were giving Samantha a hard time the first time he met her. Yet he was in a hurry so he just disregarded them to get the dinner and get home as fast as he could.

He had just come out of the diner after saying good night to Samantha and her husband when he saw the men again. Jordan didn’t notice they were following him until it was too late. By now the light had faded to almost total darkness and the street lights had come on. Jordan ran for his apartment because the two punks enlisted the help of some of their friends.

Jordan ran down a dark alley to get away but found he came to a dead end. He turned back toward the men that had followed him thinking he could reason with them.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Jordan asked, stalling.

“Yeah, you put your nose in business that had nothing to do with you.” A thug announced stepping up and grabbing Jordan by the scruff of his shirt.

“Is there a problem here?” A deep gravelly voice boomed, from the surrounding darkness of the alley.

Jordan and all five thugs looked around to find where the voice was coming from.

“Mind your business, whoever you are,” the guy holding Jordan, commanded.

Something seemed to ripple in the darkness of the alley, something that didn’t seem right to Jordan.

“I cannot do that, lowly scum. That man is my human, so you will unhand him or face the circumstances.” The voice demanded.

“Heh, whatever.” The thug replied, raising a fist to hit Jordan.

Jordan closed his eyes waiting for the punch that never came. A strong wind rushed through the ally followed by a growl. When he opened his eyes there was no one there but him. He looked around, but there was no sign of the thugs that had chased him there.

“We have to be somewhere, Jordan.” Informed, the same deep gravelly voice from before.

The voice surprised Jordan almost making him drop the dinner he had gone through so much to keep.

“Uh, I don’t know who you are, but thank you for the help.” He stammered.

“No thanks needed, just hold still.” The voice commanded, from just out of Jordan’s sight in the dark.

“Actually, I do have some place to be, so I’ll be on my way.” Jordan gulped, edging his way toward the entrance to the alley.

The darkness in the ally writhed with what seemed like a large snake like body that began to surround Jordan.

“You don’t seem to understand. When I said we have some place to be, that wasn’t me asking.” The same voice explained, from the writing darkness that surrounded Jordan.

Cold surrounded Jordan and the only warmth seemed to be coming from the dinner bag with the “Sam’s Dine and Dash” logo on it.

Jordan didn’t know when he did it, but he must have closed his eyes at some point. He awoke in the middle of a clearing surrounded by others still clutching the bag of food. As he looked around at all the people there he knew Frances would be upset for standing her up.

- - -


Name: Jordan Xanathos

Age: 23

Appearance: Tall, average type build, with a lean amount of muscle. Jordan has medium dark hair and intelligent grey eyes, with a small cut in his left eye brow. He wears wire rimmed glasses. He is usually seen wearing khaki casual pants along with a beige short cut shirt, or whatever he has clean in his closet.

Personality: Jordan is a good guy, or tries to be at least, he’s a dork to be honest. He is not the kind of guy that is into D&D, but the kind that tells jokes when he’s nervous. He isn’t hung up on his looks nor does he care about anyone elses’. He is happy in his own skin basically, and does try to make friends with everyone. To him there is no situation that can’t necessarily have a happy ending. One thing he does first is make sure everyone he knows is safe. Deep down however, he feels alone even in a crowd of people.

Dragon Name: Scátha - Amhain Arsa - Senyor de la Foscor: Shadow - Anicient One - Lord of Darkness

Gender: Male

Personality: Scatha doesn’t care to show emotion, nor does he care for anyone other than himself that he feels is beneath him. Scatha is one that demands respect, and only gives it back if one deserves the honor of his respect which isn’t easy to obtain.

Appearance: Scatha’s size is . . . immense, however he can contain it in any size he wishes usually as an average size dragon, metallic black scales cover his long slender body. He has large golden honey-colored eyes. The shape of his body is the resemblance to an anaconda only one hundred times larger normally, but increases his size depending on his mood. His wings are half the size of his body, and change in size along with his body. Scatha’s body radiates a dark aura that can at times be confused for a dark mist.

Power: He can manipulate all shadows causing anyone whose shadow touches his to be paralyzed only able to do as he wants them to like a puppet. His own shadow can be used to attack or move independently. In other words’ darkness is his realm, a realm where he thrives.
She had been turned out, thrown from the nest. Although, when she thought about it, it was more like a prisoner being released. She had physically lived at this house for the past eight years but her mind had refused to be trapped within man-made walls. She had allowed herself to escape into books every moment she could spare.

“When you share a room with three other girls and a baby who wouldn’t want out?” She muttered to herself as she walked down the lane. Her foster mother had arranged for someone to pick her up and drop her off at a bus or train station. She wasn’t sure which, she hadn’t been paying attention.

“Mind you, go to the Bradburn’s mailbox or you won’t get a ride anywhere.” Mag mimicked Helen’s nasally voice. “What kind of woman turns a girl out without even a goodbye?”

She hefted her knapsack a little higher on her left shoulder. There was a change of clothes and all the money she had managed to tuck away. This was everything she owned shoved into a knapsack with room to spare. She frowned at the thought. Mag decided to indulge in her ‘woe-is-me’ attitude until her ride picked her up and then she would ride out of this old life and into her new one.

“Two miles, couldn’t have picked me up at our mailbox. Nooo, has to be the Bradburn’s. Gah, don’t even get to say goodbye to the girls.” Mag swiped at her eyes with her forearm. As much as she felt trapped, at least Mag had felt the love of the other children fostered there. She hated to think what they would say when they returned from school to find her gone. Probably think she abandoned them, for most of them that wasn’t a new feeling.

“Best be gone before I get back,” she imitated, “else I’ll report an intruder and have you carted away.”

Mag frowned. Her foster mother had never before been openly hostile, her normal behavior was negligently indifferent. A truck blew past her, surrounding her with dust which caused her to cough and sneeze violently. She felt an overwhelming feeling of anger. She wanted to run after the truck and beat on it or the driver until they apologized. Her one pair of jeans were now a dusty mess.

The truck’s brake lights flashed and stopped half a mile away at the Bradburn’s mailbox. Oh great, that’s my ride. She threw up her hands as she stomped her way to the truck. The driver didn’t even try to back up to get her.

*****

Now that she thought about it, she probably should have been paying more attention. As strange as her life had been lately, she might have guessed nothing would go right for her. The man driving the truck hadn’t been anyone she had known but he had said her foster mother had sent him. She had climbed in and kept her mouth shut so none of the angry things she was thinking could have slipped out. And then the man dumped her off in the middle of some woods. There was no civilization in sight just trees and more trees. He had actually driven her down some dirt roads to drop her in the middle of this clearing. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t getting dark and if she had supplies to keep her warm. The chill had begun to creep into her bones.

Mag sat on a fallen tree to the side of the clearing assessing her options. “Well, I can’t see without a light so I best wait until sun up to try to follow the tire tracks back to the dirt roads.”

We’ll wait here and see.

“Yeah, just wait here and freeze to death or get attacked by a wild animal.”

No wild animal would dare come near.

“Right, because I’m so terrifying to them sitting here alone in the dark.”

That is preposterous.

“Thank you, that is what I was trying to say.”

That’s when Mag realized it was not her voice talking in her head.
A Non-Existent User
Lilith sat at her desk with her eyes on her computer screen and her hands flying across the keys. At the moment she was getting past a small firewall to get access to a site that had information on a cult case that happened a while back. She was working with a team on the location and events that happened in the woods located outside of her town. They were going to do a documentary for their class but they needed some information. It’s regarded as a classified case but Lilith volunteered to get the info on the case anyway. The cellphone on her desk vibrated-the buzz being drowned out by the loud music Lilith was playing at the moment. The light from the phone caught her eye and Lilith quickly turned down the volume on her speakers before answering.
         “Hello?”
         “Hey, lili!” It was the person leading this project—the director and camera man. “Did you get some info on the case?”
         “Jason, I just got the assignment to look up this stuff yesterday morning.”
         “And now it’s thirty six hours later.” Lilith sighed.
         “Yes, I have your information right here.”
         “Can you give me anything right now?”
         “Nothing that we haven’t heard from alike cases before. People being sacrificed for some ritual concerning some demon but it says here that the demon still resides there today. Just a week ago a person jogging in the area went missing.”
         “Why would she be jogging around that area?”
         “I don’t know. Maybe we can ask her ghost when we get there. Anyway that’s all you’re getting tonight. I’ll have it all printed out by the time we get to the woods tomorrow.”
         “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” Then Jason hung up.
         “Jackass.” Lilith muttered as she turned up her volume and got back to work.

         Lilith arrived in her Volkswagen at the site that the filming would take place. She adjusted her glasses and got the four detailed papers about the cult investigation as well as the recent happenings. She was the last one to arrive it seemed and most of everything was already set up. Jason saw her and broke off from what he was doing to greet her.
         “There’s my little Lolita Lilith.” Jason had a history of messing with Lilith’s name starting from the day they met each other. At first it bothered her but after the first six months she got over it and accepted the half a dozen aliases she got every day. “I see you’re twenty minutes late.”
         “Good, then I’m right on time. Here are you’re papers. So how long are we spending time here today?”
         “We only have a two day shooting schedule so we’re all going to be here well into the night.”
         “And you didn’t bother mentioning this to anyone before now? What if we had plans?” Jason raised his hands in defense.
         “Actually, everyone except you, it seems, knows. I sent out an email and a text to everyone.” Lilith thought to herself. She didn’t have texting on her phone and she didn’t check her email recently. So this time she messed up.
         “I see. Well, when do we start filming?”
         “Right after we finish reading through this and get some lines prepared. It’s not a problem because the set crew is still working with stuff on their end.”

         After the sun set Jason came up with another brilliant idea. He suddenly started handing some people some hand held cameras and radios. Lilith was one of them.
         “Oh, my god, Jason. What the hell is this for?” Lilith asked.
         “You’re gonna go out searching for the house in the woods. I emailed you about it already.” Lilith mentally kicked herself. “You’re going to go out and search for it with these cameras and film your progress. We’ll keep in contact with you through radio and don’t worry about being alone because you’ll each have a buddy with you. We all have our buddies?” The crew murmured things that Lilith guess sounded along the lines of, “yes.”, “whatever.” And “I can’t wait!”. After everyone was paired up Lilith moaned in frustration. Her partner was Jason.
         “Why? And I swear if you sent an email—”
         “It was all random, I assure you Lil. Come on let’s go.” Jason and Lilith walked in silence for ten minutes before Jason felt completely awkward.          “Okay, Lilith, if you hate me so much just say so.” Lilith remained silent. “When you first came to class you never interacted with anyone and I thought they were all just intimidated by how you look and I felt sorry for you. Now I see that it was you.” Lilith stopped.
         “I’m sorry but you’re not the type I normally hang out with. Our personalities are too different. You’re loud and I’m not. I don’t hate you but you embarrass me a lot and put attention to me that I’m not used to. I’m grateful though that I at least have one person to talk with. But the truth is you get on my nerves a lot.”
         “I guess I can understand that—” Jason suddenly stopped. Lilith stopped too and once again there was complete silence. Then Lilith smelled it.          “God, what is that smell?” Jason asked while covering his nose.
         “It smells like iron but where is it coming from?” Jason shone his flashlight around and gasped when something reflected back.
         “Did you see that?” Lilith merely nodded her head and Jason continued forward. He then saw that the reflection was a window on a two story house. “It’s the house in the woods! This is where the cult resided and did their sacrifices.” Jason whispered. “Are you getting this on camera?”
         “Screw the camera! What if what happens to that jogger happens to us?” Lilith got out her radio and pressed the talk button. “Is anyone there? We found the house.” Both Jason and Lilith listened to nothing but static as a reply. Lilith tried again. “Is anyone there?” Once again there was nothing. Jason tried for the door but Lilith grabbed his arm. “What do you think you’re doing, Jason?”
         “I’m going inside.”
         “We should go.”
         “Lilith, I know how much you love the paranormal and cult type stuff. We have something big here and don’t tell me you want to just walk out on it. We’re getting this stuff on camera and just this alone could make up the entire documentary. That’s an extra four days off. I’ll do the editing myself. Come on, Lili.” Lilith thought about it and then lifted the camera.
         “Open the door but be careful.” Jason pushed the door open slowly and the smell of iron intensified.
         “Wow, that reeks!”
         “What if that’s the smell of blood? Blood smells like iron doesn’t it?”
         “Only one way to find out what it is.” Jason said as he stepped through the door with Lilith right behind him, camera in hand.

Name: Lilith Melanie
Age: 20
Appearance: on the slim side. Pale skin from living in Germany. Has an assortment of black tattoos running down her left arm (but it’s not a sleeve tattoo. You can still easily make out her natural skin color). Loves wearing black. Yes, she’s gothic. Hey, most good stories/games/movies/shows have at least one. Her style is usually consisting of a Gothic Lolita/Victorian Goth/or soft cyber Goth attire. cyber being what she’s in the most because it’s the least flashy (most times).

Personality: Ilaria is a cyber-hacker but is normally absorbed into books or laptop about things that other people are either too afraid to look into or too rational. She believes in things like ghost, vampires, witches, curses, etc. (although dragons never cross her mind). She is also heavy on facts. If it has been proved to be there then it most existed or happened.

Dragon’s Name: Amsel Ilaria (Lilith gave him the first name)
Gender: Male

Appearance: Amsel is a slim dragon of black colored scales and blood red eyes. He has a long slender neck as well as a long tail. His scales are very shiny and polished so that at night the stars are reflected off of his scales giving him a beautiful look. His height is mostly added when his head is up which add up to 10’ tall. The length of his body is two and a half times his height. The four small jetting back horns seem to be made of diamond. (the jewelry)

Power: Amsel’s power (watchout!) Fire. He can manipulate flames from around him as well so he doesn’t need to resort to fire breathing. If he does his flames can be any color. (well almost). He is still trying to master the power to harness the energy from fire to condense it and make electricity.

© Copyright 2011 `lemur`, Wiskers, Jeska Grace, Lonewolf, A.J. Barretts, xx-xx, (known as GROUP).
All rights reserved.
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