Chapter 3

Belkio gasped. His heart sank. His stomach knotted up. And worse of all, he was speechless. But none of those helped the terrible fact known to the red dragon; he was found out! Centare eyed the bushes in which Belkio hid with amusement. His voice rumbled to Belkio's ears as trouble, "I know you're in there, it's no use hiding. And don't feel ashamed for what you did. In fact," The black dragon continued, "You've helped me to make a very difficult decision." The other dragons nodded, except the purple one, who looked confused. "And now, you can come out." Centare added with amusement. Belkio shivered. He tried to control his nervousness, but to no avail. For a moment Belkio considered launching into the air and flying away as fast as he possibly could. But Centare would certainly catch up or track him down. He had no choice but to step out and reveal himself. Belkio took a big breath and crashed into the clearing. And there he stood amidst a great hero, the one and only Centare, the 'Great Escapee' from his Iop torturers. And Canto, the x-Red Male, mate to the former Red Female Reepo. Except for the common young purple and the dazzling yellow dragon of which both Belkio knew no name, he was surrounded by celebrities. Now Canto stepped forward at a nod from Centare and looked Belkio over from his long scaly tail to the tips of his agile wings. "Yes." he murmured to himself. "Yes, he is good." Canto straightened up and reported his findings, whatever they might be. Belkio shivered uncontrollably, and the purple cocked his head sympathetically. Canto now spoke, "I have looked him over for signs of weakness and strength, and find it promising. However," Canto's eyes burned into Belkio's and he shivered harder, "He is too, um, anxious, if I may say so myself." He ended lamely. Cenare traded Canto's burning eyes for his own, but surprisingly instead of shivering even harder- if that was possible - it gave Belkio new strength and confidence. With one last shudder, Belkio forced himself to sit up straight and look more 'promising'. Centare turned back to Canto and whispered something out of range of Belkio's hearing. Canto looked hurt, but Centare didn't seem to notice. "Then it's decided." He swung his head towards the purple for a few moments, as if to verify that this was what he wanted. The young purple shifted uncomfortably, even though Centare only studied him for a couple of seconds. Centare jumped onto Scale Rock, the newly found rock that could finally be used as an addressing spot. "Now, we have agreed on one thing only, that the youngsters shall only be 'human' for a week. But in order to have them human for even a second, they must visit the Cloud King Brostiff. Therefore, I have sent my servant Clug to the Alfean Mountains, to tell him of their arrival. But before any of us goes to Stormflight Peak, we must all agree. Does anyone agree?" A hushed silence fell upon the glade, the only sound the wind rustling through the trees. Belkio's mind was spinning. What were they talking about? What was a human? And what did he have to do with anything? After a minute, the yellow raised her tail and said, "I, for one, agree that this is the right thing to do. If we don't do something, who knows what could happen?" Her speech worked like a spark on a hay bale, and soon Canto was chattering about what good this would do to the reds, followed by a smart remark from the yellow dragon about how this would do good for all the dragons, not just reds. Then Centare was whisked into the conversation by a question from the yellow, whom Belkio had discovered was named Nestria. They argued and questioned each other for about half an hour, until Belkio was ready to fall asleep on the spot. The purple had scooted over to him during the time and whispered quietly to him, "If they talk much longer, their mouths will fall off in exhaustion." Belkio murmered back, "Yes, if their ears don't do so first." The purple continued, "Anyway, my name's Jerru. I'm the son of Dimplo, and he sent me here to help out the elder's with their crazy plan. But so far," he guestured to the talking dragons, "The only thing they've done is killed their mouths." Belkio added, "And ears. And what plan is that?" which launched a big tale of what Jerru and Belkio were supposed to do, ending in Belkio's jaws dropping wide open. A human!

Chapter 2

He was following Centare, one of the legendary dragons to escape from Vertra, and Centare didn't even know it! Belkio couldn't believe it! He, a normal red dragon had secretly followed Centare by mistake and Centare had no clue! What he had done kept repeating its self over and over in his head. Then Belkio realized with a start that the reason black dragon hadn't noticed him was because of his hurry. Wondering what Centare was rushing to do, Belkio couldn't bring himself to pop out of the blue and say sorry to the legendary black. So Belkio decided to keep following him, at least to the edge of the forest. But Centare had disappeared among the countless trees and Belkio had to rely on sent and sound alone to locate the black hero. After a few minutes Belkio heard talking near Dragons' Glade and soon found the sound came from Dragons' Glade. He quietly landed and crouched into a creeping position, his huge belly crushing a good number of trees. Belkio winced. He disliked making a wreck to nature, even though the dragons needed to do so to make homes and such. Luckily the trees here were mostly dead ones, since this place was Dry Meadow. Quietly creeping forward on the path made by dragons long before he was born, Belkio slithered through the forest until he was hiding in the bushes and trees around the Glade. Three were there talking together, one of which was Centare. Belkio gasped silently as he recognized the former Red Male Canto. For a moment Belkio considered turning back before he was noticed, but the excitement kept him in his place. He leaned forward just enough so he could hear what was going on without reveling himself. It seemed Belkio had come in at the middle of the meeting for they were already chattering loudly. Centare was talking about some machine the Iops had created to capture dragons, and Canto was listening intensely. Even elder Males and Females are awed by his adventures. Thought Belkio, awed himself. Centare continued, his voice growing more tense and gravelly every second. "They were right there in front of me, a thousand Iops all ugly and armed. The Brigit Capturer was twice as big as me, and the black mother dragon Reeba's head hung on it like a curse. I even shivered, but held strong against the tide of monsters washing over me. They threw ropes over me, and I pulled the hardest I could but-" Centare stopped as he watched the leaves about the glade whirl around and around in a huge gale. A shadow fell over them, and Belkio backed up, knowing what came next. He strained to see who it was, but leaves and twigs, even an occasional mouse or squirrel, scratched his eyes and blocked his view. A few moments later the wind died down and Belkio could once again see into the clearing. A new dragon with scales as yellow as the sun was sitting next to Canto, and another dragon, a young purple one, was uneasily sitting next to Centare. Belkio didn't blame him for being nervous. He would likely shiver to death next to such a famous dragon. Then Belkio realized his mistake of not quietly backing up, but it was too late. The legendary dragon's nostrils flared, catching the sent of young but smart red dragon. Belkio gasped as Centare turned his head towards him, showing a wisdom in them only other elders could partially identify. His voice was not mad, possibly even a little pleased with a hint of surprise in it. "I think we just found our red dragon."

Chapter 1

Belkio yawned, his white teeth glinting in the moonlight. He hated it when he woke up this early, but so far he knew no way to prevent him from waking at midnight. The fresh night air filled his lungs and the lake below him dazzled a spectacular silver. The chilly air made him shiver; tonight was very cold for spring. He curled himself into a ball, wrapping his tail around his muzzle so as to keep warm. But even with the beautiful sight below him and the comfort of his nest in the forest, Belkio remained awake. After about half an hour, Belkio gave up and lumbered over to the edge of his nest. His nest was dug partially into the side of Kokio Hill, a mountain to most animals. Of all the places in BrightFawn Woods, Belkio had chosen this place because of it's shelter from the wind, which usually came from the east. But wind wasn't the only reason Belkio had made his nest here, there was also the beauty of Burning Star Lake, just below. Belkio's nest was in full view of the lake, and could see it even at night; especially at night. The water had ancient dragon dust in it that made it sparkle with the moon's reflection. Now, gazing out at the silver water, Belkio could just imagine he could hear the flaps of the legendary dragons' wings. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of peace- then all of a sudden Belkio realized that the flapping was real. His eyes shot open, searching the sky for whichever dragon was passing by at this time of night. Odd. He thought, his emerald eyes still combing the black night sky. Most dragons passing by usually slow down to admire the lake. Yet this one seemed to be in a hurry to get someplace, but Belkio couldn't possibly think where he could be going. Or she. he added to his thoughts. Curious and having nothing better to do, Belkio decided to follow the unknown dragon. His crimson wings spread wide, he launched himself into the air, his wing beats at first fast then slowing to a steady beat. The few squirrels out gathering food had to use all their strength to keep from being ripped into the air by the mighty wind created by the ruby dragon's ascend into the air. A little bit smaller than most elders and with more mussel power, the younger dragons didn't have much problems taking off, thus making less wind. Belkio was one of them, and being a red dragon meant flying fastest and being the best sky hunter. Belkio only had to catch a wind current and glide for a while and he could follow the other dragon easily without being detected. Unless it was a purple dragon of course. Everyone knew the purple dragons had the best senses of all dragons. Large nostrils and small curved ears allowed them to smell and hear with utter accuracy, and the younger ones had great vision due to their sharp amber eyes. But unfortunately the ancient war between the dragons and the two-legged Iops had left these dragons almost extinct. There were more these days, as nothing killed the dragons except old age and the occasional sickness, but there was still too small an amount of them to call the purples common. His thoughts filled with the possibility of the dragon he was following being a purple, Belkio made his way up into the clouds where his scent would partially be masked by the moisture in the air. But the sky was mostly clear and the clouds only helped for a few brief seconds before they were behind him and he was once more vunerable to discovery. Belkio quickly lowered himself until he was just barely missing skimming the top of the trees as he quietly glided over the sleeping forest. Belkio's heart raced when he saw who he was tracking. A black dragon. One of the ones to know struggle. He noted, easily spotting the scar that ran down the black's head and onto the cheek. Wait a minute- Belkio's eyes widened in shock. Only one black has known struggle.... That meant only one thing. He was chasing the legendary Centare.

Prologue

The wind stirred the fresh juvenile leaves that were clinging to the trees and the squirrels played in the trees as spring moved on. Only once did anything interrupt this peaceful scene, and once the squirrels identified what it was, they continued their business as if nothing had happened. But something did happen, and very near by at that. A scaly beast could be seen lumbering through the forest quietly, its nostrils flaring to catch any sent of the other dragons supposed to meet here. After no luck, the one dragon eventually settled down in a huge clearing obviously cleared by the dragons so as to have a place to rest without crushing a tree or an animal foolish enough to be anywhere near the huge beasts. After about a full half hour, a blood-red shape appeared on the horizon and glided over the forest with ease. As it came near the clearing, it readied its self to land. A wild gust of wind pierced the peace as the dragon flapped its wings and descended into the glade. The other dragon grunted and made space for the newcomer. The red dragon made its landing and the squirrels regained their senses after being thrown into the air with such momentum. The red dragon seated himself by the edge of the clearing, the other dragon exactly opposite. After a few minutes, the other dragon rumbled,"When will Nestria arrive?" His black scales seemed to offer the blooming forest the prospect of night, yet the wisdom and kindness in his eyes suggested otherwise. An ugly scar ran down his head and onto his left cheek and one of his claws was chipped, but besides these he was a strong dragon, even for the blacks. The red turned his head, showing many years of peace upon his face, yet you could easily tell he was old by the fading colors of his scales and the yellowing of his teeth. He looked wise as well, yet he wasn't as old as the black. His eyes met with the other elder, respect and worry in his yellow eyes. "I don't know where she is, Centare, except she promised she'd be here around noon." He let his eyes scan the sky, looking for a shadow on the horizon, a distant roar of greeting, even another dragon to ask where she was. Yet there was nothing but the song of birds and the chatter of squirrels welcoming the new life of spring. The black dragon spoke again, his voice that of thunder. "She will come, she always comes." He closed his eyes and savoured the quiet after a lifetime of struggles. "Ah, a good choice of words, Centare. Yes, I always come." The sudden reply made both start, the red's tail swinging in alarm. But after a quick sniff Centare and the red calmed again, welcoming the voice with rumbles of greeting. Eyes akin to balls of fire peered out at them from the trees, then a yellow dragon emerged from the forest, her bright colored scales reflecting the sun and making her sparkle. She was also an aged dragon, but the youngest of the three. And still, her limbs seemed not to care that she was old, working nearly as well as the younger dragons. "I see I am late." she said, strutting around the others, "Which is why I must talk quickly. We may be in danger even as we speak." The red dragon gasped, "Danger? But what danger could there be? There hasn't been danger for centuries!" Nestria eyed him with her fiery eyes, and puffed a wreath of smoke. "That is why I have come to tell you." she replied matter-of-factly. She climbed onto the huge boulder in the center of the clearing, cleared her throat, and began, "My friend, Dimplo the purple, has reported seeing strange creatures that resemble miniature Iops over by Twisting Creek." At this, Centare stiffened, and his nose filled with smoke. Nestria paused, seeing this change, but after a stiff but encouraging nod from the black, she continued. "They have built homes for themselves and even grow plants for food. But Dimplo also reports that they practice fighting, and some steal the foods of others. This cannot go on. They may turn into Iops for all we know. So I need suggestions." There was a silence for a while, then Centare spoke up,"We can not declare war on them, for they have not done wrong yet. However, I think we should keep an eye on them. Perhaps we could place a spy or two amongst them."The red dragon now spoke up, a bit nervous to say something in front of Centare, who was a legendary dragon that had escaped from the Iops centuries ago. "But to do that we would need the help of Brostiff the Cloud King!" Centare looked a bit amused at this, and replied, "I think he will listen to my request. He and I are good friends you know, Canto." Canto looked slightly disappointed, then brightened considerably when Centare said, "You know, I think a red should do the job. They are the fastest and most graceful in the air, and would be quick about escaping if needed. But a purple would also be useful..." Nestria finished the conversation by adding "Then we will use both. Now, we need to meet tomorrow, but we have to be careful of who hears our conversation. Centare, when do you think we should meet?" Centare stood up, spread his wings, and said, "How about midnight?" Then, not waiting for an answer, he leaped into the air, steaded his wingbeat, and flew off into the distance.