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.