Dragons of Fire and Ice: Part One

Chapter One: My Story Starts

It was around three in the morning and I was trying to fall asleep in the gutter across the street from the local Seven Eleven. I sleep on the street and sometimes in the park if it’s nice outside; but today it is raining. As it rained, I wrapped more newspapers around myself and tried to fall asleep

I was about to doze off when I noticed two men at the end of the block. I thought nothing of it at the time. They just looked around and walked behind the convenient store. I wrapped some more newspaper around me and went back to sleep. Five minutes later however, I was being dragged out of the gutter. I saw it was of the men who went behind the store.

"Who are you? What's your name?" asked the man.

"Mike Anderson sir," I replied.

"What are you doing sleeping in the gutter?" asked the man. “Don’t you have a home and a family?"

"No sir," I replied "my parents died in the fire that destroyed our house." The man seemed taken aback but quickly straightened his face. He opened his mouth as to say something when his companion appeared next to him. He asked the man a question and then reached into the folds of his cloak and pulled out a white gemstone. The stone was a little smaller than a football and weighted about the same when he handed the stone to me.

"Guard this with your life," said the man as I starred at the stone in my hands. "My name is Roxus. We might not see each other again, but I am pleased to meet you Mike." I was going to ask what it was, but before I could, Roxus and the other man quickly stood up, turned, and faced the end of the street from which they came from. At the end of the street, three men wearing red cloaks appeared.

They looked around the street and saw the two men and me. At the sight of Roxus and his companion, the three men in red cloaks drew the swords that were at their belts.

“Quick! Hide yourself and don’t make a sound!” ordered Roxus, so I ran and hid in an alley. Roxus brushed off his cloak and drew the sword that he had attached to his belt. His companion did the same and the two of them turned and faced the oncoming trio.

The first red cloaked man that reached them jumped up and aimed a slice at Roxus, but Roxus blocked it and sliced at the cloaked man, cutting off his arm. The one armed man threw back his head and shrieked at the moon as he dissolved to dust. Roxus had just killed someone and it was to protect the white stone I was holding in my hand.

At this point the other two cloaked men were fighting Roxus and his partner one on one. Roxus easily defeated the cloaked man he was fighting with, but his companion was having some difficultly. The cloaked man had already cut the man twice, once from behind his ear to the base of his cheek and once across his sword arm.

Suddenly, the companion disarmed the cloaked man in one fluid motion by cutting off one of his hands. The cloaked man slumped to the ground and I thought he had passed out. I cheered inside but it was short lived. The cloaked man stood up and pulled out a gun and shot the companion twice in the back, once through the head and one through the heart.

As soon as he was done with the companion, the cloaked man turned and picked up his hand and reattached it to his arm. After reattaching his hand he aimed his gun at Rowan. However, before he could fire, Rowan threw a knife into the gun’s chamber. This caused the gun to blow up in the cloaked man's hand, causing his hand to be ripped apart again. The again one handed cloaked man drew his sword with his good hand and rushed at Rowan.



Chapter Two: The Gemstone

Right then and there I turned around and vomited. I was sick to my stomach after seeing three men die. I could not stand there and watch two more men die. I picked up the white stone and took off towards who knows where. I did not stop until I was too tired to keep running. I just collapsed into a pile of garbage and fell asleep with the stone over my heart.

Early the next day, I was woken up by something scratching my chest. I ignored it but whatever was scratching kept at it until it bit me on the arm. I jumped up and looked around. I did not see anyone so I crawled over to the curb. When I sat down I heard something crack. Standing up again I looked down at what I sat on. It was my white stone.

"What the heck happened to the stone?" I shouted.

"Why don't you ask me?" asked someone.

"Who said that and did you bite me?" I asked.

"Look up and see for yourself," said whoever had bit me. I looked up, but I didn't see anything until it hit me. No really, whoever bit me went and hit me in the head. I looked harder and finally saw it. It was a small white dragon. It was about the size of a puppy. It saw me staring and it smiled a big toothy grin. At that I turned around and ran.

I didn't get far because the dragon flew and landed on my shoulder. I yelled and tried to throw it off. I succeeded in throwing it off but it simply glided a little and landed clumsily on a tree branch. I kept running for about five feet but then stopped. I turned around and looked at the young dragon. It looked sad. I walked back to the tree and sat down.

"What are you?" I asked the dragon.

"What do you think I am?" replied the dragon.

"Oh right, duh. You were in the white stone?"

"Yep! That was my egg. I've been in it for ten years and now I'm free!" exclaimed the dragon as it jumped off the branch and glided next to me.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"What is your name?"

"Bryce. What's yours?"

"Mike. Why were you with Roxus?"

"He was guarding my egg so the Empire wouldn't take my egg and destroy me or enslave me."

"Were the people he was fighting human?"

"Define human.”

"Are they like me?"

"In that case they are not human. They are evil spirits put into human bodies by the Emperor's pet sorcerers. They’re called Death Stalkers."

"Wait a minute. There is such a thing as magic? I thought that was just a fairy tale."

"Hello! You’re talking to a dragon. There is such a thing as magic!"

"Who is this Emperor? I thought there was a president of the United States."

"The president answers to the Emperor. Almost all political leaders are under the power of the Emperor. The only free political leaders are helping the rebellion over throw the Emperor."

"How do you know this? I thought you have been in your egg for ten years."

"Just because I was in my egg doesn't mean I wasn't in contact with the outside world."

"Oh… I did not know that." I said as we rounded the corner onto Main Street. Suddenly I froze.

"What's wrong?" asked Bryce.

"What are we doing?" I shouted, "You’re a dragon and we are in the middle of a town. I don't think people will like seeing a dragon with a teenager in the middle of their town!"

"Don't be a worry wart. I'll hide in the shadows. Oh and we also now share a telepathic line,” comforted Bryce.

"Since when?" I asked.

"Since I hatched and you were the first human I came into contact with. You did throw me off your back earlier. Didn’t you notice that you are hearing me but my lips weren’t moving?" replied Bryce.

"So how do we communicate telepathically?" I asked.

"Just think what you want to say but don't say it out loud."

"Whoa! How did you do that? It’s like you’re in my head," I shouted.

"I am in your head. I just explained the whole telepathy thing you." replied Bryce

"Oh right."



Chapter Three: The Woman in the Red Dress

As I continued down Main Street, Bryce hid in the shadows. When I reached the middle of the street, I noticed a small group of people gathered around the T.V. store. I wanted to see what it was so I started making my way through the crowd. When I reached the window I saw it was an emergence news broadcast. A woman’s face appeared and started talking.

"There is a man hunt for the man known as Roxus no-last-name. He is wanted for espionage, sabotage, and man slaughter. If you see him, do not approach. Call the local authorities. If you know anything about Roxus, call the number at the bottom of the screen."

"At least he survived the men wearing the red cloaks," I said telepathically.

"They are called Hunters remember?" corrected Bryce.

"Oh right," I said as I turned around and left the store window. Heading back down Main Street, I noticed a woman wearing a red dress and black shades sitting on a bench watching me. I turned towards the woman but she was gone.

"Where did that woman go?" I asked myself. As I turned around, I felt a small jab at his neck. Reaching up, I pulled out a tiny dart from my neck. However now that I looked closer, I saw three. Looking up from the dart, I saw that the whole street was upside down.

"That can't be right," I said as I fell on the street and blacked out. But before I blacked out I heard Bryce call my name and the woman on the bench standing over me.

When I came to I saw that I was in a strange bed. I looked around and saw that I was alone. As I got off the bed, I noticed that I was wearing new clothing. Suddenly, the door behind me opened. Before I could turn around, something landed on my back and latched on.

"Get off me! Bryce where are you? I need help."

"I'm right on top of you."

"Are you okay? I thought that woman had killed me and was about to kill you!"

"Who, Sofia? She wouldn't hurt a fly."

"She hit me in the neck with a tranquilizer!"

"Sorry about that. I needed to get you off the street," said a stern voice. I turned and noticed a woman who had quietly entered the room and was standing in the corner. I then noticed it was the same woman from the street. She was now wearing a very simple outfit. She had on a red shirt with long sleeves, a dark red robe with short sleeves that ended at her calves, and billowing red pants.

“Let me introduce myself. I am Sofia Valentine,” said the woman.

"How long have you been standing there?"  I asked.

"Long enough. I undressed and redressed you in new clothes. I then threw out your old clothing on account of them being ruined. I hope you don't mind, you were starting to smell."

I blushed, realizing she had seen me naked and said "Oh, that's okay. Thank you for the new clothes."

"Don't mention it. You'll get the bill later. Now, would you be so kind as to tell me who you are?" demanded Sofia as she suddenly pulled out a long knife from somewhere in her shirt’s sleeves.

"Whoa, easy Sofia. I told you he's my Tamer. I side with him,” said Bryce.

“He just met you!” barked Sofia

“Big deal! I still side with him.”

"He's not even trained in the Sacred Arts!"

"He can be taught."

"He doesn't know how to fight with a sword or fire a gun!"

“Hey! Stop talking about me like I'm not in the room!" I shouted telepathically. Sophia and Bryce stopped mid telepathic argument and turned to stare at me. I stared firmly into her steel blue eyes until I flinched and turned around.

"At least you have guts."

"Will you teach him?" asked Bryce. Sofia turned and looked out the window. She watched two children playing outside in the street. Sofia gave a slight sigh and her shoulders dropped slightly.

"Fine, I'll teach him on one condition. You leave once your training is complete."

"Thank you. Can Mike stay in this room during his training?” asked Bryce as he curled up on the bed.

"He can stay where ever he feels comfortable. He just can not leave the house without my supervision,” ordered Sofia



Chapter Four: The Lesson

I was going to ask why I couldn’t go outside, but just then Sofia gave me a dirty look and turned to leave the room.D

"I'll be sure to do that," I said as she left the room. Since there was nothing to do in my new room, I opened the door and walked into a dimly lit dojo. There didn’t appear to be anyone in here, until I heard a noise behind me. Before I could react, I was pinned to the floor with Sofia on top of me with a knife to my throat

"What was that for?" I yelled.

"This is your first lesson. Be prepared for anything and anyone," She explained as she drew the knife that was in her dress. She spun it around and then dropped it towards my face. It hit the floor board two inches from my face.

"You will be needing this," said Sofia as she got up and dusted herself off. "This room is where you will learn how to fight with a long knife. Now pick it up," ordered Sofia. I stood up and picked up the knife. For some reason, it felt oddly familiar. Like I had held one before.

"What am I going to do with this? I asked.

"Try not to get yourself killed," replied Sofia as she charged me with another long knife. She slashed towards my neck but I used the hilt of the long knife to deflect the blow. There was a burst of sparks and Sofia had vanished.

"Is this part of the training?" I said into thin air. There was no one in the room but me and Bryce. Without a warning Sofia materialized next to me. She thrusted her long knife towards my side. I jumped up and somehow did a flip over her. She looked surprised but continued to try and stab me in the chest. I crouched down and attempted to stab her in the side. But she wasn't there. I stood up and looked around the room and then at the knife. Something wasn't right. Somehow I was able to parry Sofia’s attacks and perform a flip. And on another note, how was Sofia getting around so fast. One minute Sofia was there and the next she wasn't.

I was pondering this when the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I slowly turned my head to the right. Behind me with her long knife pointed at my neck stood Sofia.

"Hi sweetie, looking for someone?” asked Sofia

A bead of sweat went down my face. I didn’t know if she was going to kill me or not. Suddenly a strange surge of energy pulsed through my body and I closed my eyes. When I opened them I was standing about five feet from Sofia. She looked stunned.

“What happened…” I started, and then blacked out.



Chapter Five: The Elf in the Kitchen

I woke up in my bed a little while later to Bryce and Sofia shouting.

"What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything to him. He did it to himself. He somehow managed to materialize during the lesson. It was kind of impressed. I was about to skewer his head."

"You were going to do what!?!" yelled Bryce telepathically.

"I'm fine! You don't have to fight," I yelled. I saw that Bryce was at the foot of the bed. For some reason he looked whiter than usual.

"Bryce, I'm okay. It’s not her fault," I explained.

"Are you sure? I can freeze her if you want," said Bryce as opened his mouth and exhaled ice.

"No, I'm fine. How come you breathe ice? I thought dragons breathe fire."

"Well, most dragons do, but I am a member of a rare species of dragons. My species live up North in cold climates. Since our territory consists of mostly snow and ice, dragons that live in the north breathe ice. As you can guess, fire and ice don’t mix well. Also, do not get ice dragons mad. They have a habit of freezing their prey alive and keeping them as prizes,” explained Bryce.

“Well, now that you have had your little biology lesson, why don’t you come with me and get some dinner. You probably haven’t had a good meal for a while,” said Sofia as she opened the door for me.

“This isn’t going to be another ‘lesson’ waiting for me on the other side of the door now, is their?” I questioned. While I stood there defiantly with my arms crossed, Bryce jumped on my shoulders and perched himself there with his tail around my neck. He then continued to give Sofia an evil eye.

“What? No. You used a lot of stamina and magicka unintentionally. We will continue your training after you have a warm meal and a good night’s rest,” persuaded Sofia. I was too hungry to argue, so I stepped through the door and walked into the kitchen. Wait a second, when I first walked through the door, it lead to a dojo. This time it led to a kitchen. I turned to ask Sofia but she walked past me as she explained my conundrum.

         “It’s a dimension charm. You are not walking through a different dimensions, it is just compressing all the rooms. All you have to do is think of the room you want to go to and step through the door. It safes time since you don’t have to walk all over the mansion to get to a room,” explained Sofia. Even though I thought the dimension doorway was cool and all, I wasn’t really paying attention. What really caught my attention was the female with pointy ears washing dishes in the sink.

         “What’s wrong?” asked Bryce.

         “Is that an elf doing the dishes?” I asked.

         “Yes, why do you ask? I’m sure you have seen movies with elves in them,” said Bryce.

         “Well yes, but I didn’t think they were real…” I responded.

         “You do realize it is rude to talk about others behind their backs,” said Sofia who had appeared behind our backs. I flinched spun on my heels.

         “Stop doing that!” I yelled.

         “Doing what?” asked Sofia nonchalantly as she walked past us again and stood by the elf.

         “Since you are curious, I will answer your questions. This is Jasmine Glyndwr, and yes she is a wood elf. She is my personal chief and body guard. Jasmine, this is Michael Anderson and Bryce BleakClaw.

         “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Jasmine as she bowed. I looked towards Bryce who met my stare. We stared at each other for half a second until Bryce inclined his head slight towards Jasmine.

         “The pleasure is all mine,” I replied as I bowed, “I have never seen a wood elf let alone an elf.”

         “Jasmine, we will take our dinner in the dining room,” ordered Sofia as she turned and walked through the door again.

         “Yes my lady,” responded Jasmine with a slight bow.

         “Well, it was nice meeting you,” I said as I turned to the door. I picture the word ‘dining room’ in my head and stepped through the door.



Chapter Six: Dinner and a Story

I stepped into a large room with a table in the middle with a fire place on the wall opposite the door. The room was lit by several candles on the dining table and by the light from the fire place. Above the table was a large crystal chandelier. There were windows in the room, but the curtains were drawn, so I could not see outside. I was transfixed by the dark room until someone cleared their throat.

         “Would you please have a seat, dinner will be served shortly,” ordered Sofia. I took my seat opposite Sofia. Right as I sat down, Jasmine entered the room carrying three covered trays, two in her hands and one on her head. She placed one in front of Sofia and took off the cover. Sofia was having beef and broccoli. Jasmine then walked over to me and placed the other tray. She pulled off the cover and revealed a 10” ground beef pizza and a glass of diet coke. After taking the cover off, she removed the tray from her head and placed it on the table next to me.

         Underneath the 3rd cover was a 72 ounce steak. At the sight of it, Bryce jumped off my shoulder and attacked the steak. I laughed a little and turned my eyes on Sofia, but she wasn’t laughing. My laughter quickly died off and my attention turned to my pizza. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took my first bite. After my first bite, I attacked the pizza with the same gusto as Bryce and his steak.

         It wasn’t until Sofia cleared her throat that I looked up from what was left of my pizza. I quickly nudged Bryce whose face was buried in what was left of his steak. I took my napkin and cleaned off his face as I stared at Sofia.

         “I don’t know which one of you have worse table manners, you or the dragon,” commented Sofia. I just sat in my chair with my gaze on the table.

“Now that you two are done with your dinner, it’s time for you to share your story,” commanded Sofia.

         “My story?” I asked

         “Where you were born, who were your parents, do you have any history in the uses of the Sacred Arts…”

         “Oh, okay. Well I was born on May 5th, 1995 in Lincoln, Nebraska to Thomas and Lucy Anderson.

         “I knew your parents, but they had different names at the time. Your mother’s real name was Cynthia and she was a Sorcerer, while your father’s real name was Drake and he was a battle mage,”

         “Wait, what? No they weren’t. My father was a lawyer and my mother was a high school teacher,” I corrected.

         “Only when they were not battling demons and raising their only son,” said Sofia.

         “That not true. My parents taught me there is no such thing as magicka,” I said forcefully as I stood up.

         “Then how do you explain what happened during your lesson today?” said Sofia. She wasn’t looking at me, she was focusing on her food. I just stared at her. I had no response for what happened during the lesson. I just sat down in my chair and stared at my hands. Bryce crawled over and jumped on my shoulder again. I listened quietly while Sofia explained who my parents really were.

         “Your parents were members of a secret organization called the Haven that studied magicka and its effects on people without magical properties. It was also a haven for those running from daemonic entities. Members of the Haven were of human, faery, and elven backgrounds, and they were all skilled in the Sacred Arts.

         Your mother was born into the Haven, while your father fled there after the death of his parents. Your father’s mother fell in love with a dragon, and with the aid of a transformation spell, became pregnant and bore your father.”

         “Wait, you’re saying my grandfather was a dragon?” I stated bluntly.

         “Yes, and your father was part dragon. If I remember correctly, your father had claws, scales, and could breathe fire,” explained Sofia.

         “So, what does that make me…?” I asked hesitantly.

         “I don’t know… Usually the draconic characteristics start appearing by 18, so you might start turning into a dragon in your sleep,” hypothesized  Sofia as she stared intently at me, as if I would sprout wings suddenly or breathe fire.

         “You don’t mean…” I said. Suddenly, Sofia started laughing hysterically.

         “I was just kidding. Boy, are you gullible. But you still might have some draconic traits. You are one fourth dragon, thanks to your Grandmother. This is one of the reasons I got you off the street in the first place,” explained Sofia.

         “Oh, okay…” I said. Sofia did not hear me and continued talking.

         “As I was saying, your parents grew up in the Haven. They learned from the Masters and eventually got married. They only knew life in the Haven until the Uprising,”

         “What was the Uprising?” I asked.

         “The day the Haven was destroyed. There was a dark elf named Ahriman. Dark elf means his compaction was dark. There are three races of elves: dark, wood, and regular elves,” explained Sofia

         “I understand that not all dark elves are evil. But I am guessing Ahriman was not the best dark elf,” I guessed.

“You would be correct in your judgment. He was unsatisfied with what the Haven stood for. He wanted to use the strength of the Haven to control the world. He and his followers attempted a coup d’état and took control of the Haven. However, unbeknownst to him, your parents caught wind of the rebellion tried to convince the Masters of the upcoming coup d’état,”

“Did the Masters listen?” I asked.

“Were you not listening? I just said Ahriman was successful in his takeover of the Haven,”

“Oh,”

“As I was saying, your parents tried to convince the Masters but the Masters would not listen. So your father took matters into his own hands. He knew he could not fight Ahriman and his followers alone, so he, your mother, her unborn child, and some of their friends banded together and fled the Haven. The Haven was located somewhere in the Yukon, and your parents somehow made it all the way to Nebraska. Like you said, earlier you were born in Lincoln, which is where your parents settled down and raised you. They taught you about magicka as a child, your life was full of magicka,”

“Then what happened? Why am I here?” I asked.

“It happened two years ago… Ahriman somehow got word that your parents were now living in Nebraska. He wanted to erase all that was left of the old Haven. He sent some of his best warlocks to dispose of your parents. Your parents fought a good fight, but they were outnumbered 20 to 1. The warlocks then must have tried to dispose of you, but my guess is you materialized just before the warlocks used their flame spells. Thus you escaped your house while it burned up,” explained Sofia.

“But that doesn’t explain my memory loss,” I grumbled.

“I was getting to that. You must have hit your head as you materialized. The head wound must have convinced the warlocks that you were dead,” explained Sofia, “Look, I know this was a lot to take in. Why don’t you got get some sleep? You look tired.”

“Okay,” was all the response I could muster. I stood up and walked to the door. I stood in front of it for a while before stepping through. Once in my room, I walked over and sat down on the bed.

         “Hey, what’s wrong?” asked Bryce

         “I don’t know… maybe it’s the fact that I don’t really know who I am anymore,” I stated.

         “Don’t say things like that. I know exactly who you are. You are Michael Anderson, my Tamer. You are the son of Drake and Cynthia Anderson. You are a powerful mage, and most importantly you are my friend,” corrected Bryce. I looked at Bryce and he looked at me with a big goofy smile.

         “Thanks little guy,” I responded with a smile on my face. I got into bed and Bryce laid down on me as the two of us drifted off to sleep.