In an unknown area of Derapen, a solitary island floated in the sky. From the outside, a terrifying hurricane formed a natural barrier separating it from the world, but if anyone was to brave the storm and peer inside, they would find a glorious wonderland of nature within the eye of the storm. A mountain range circled around the outer perimeter of the island shaping the general structure to be similar to a valley- one filled with an archaic beauty.
Huge Auracaria trees flourished in the valley grounds coming together as a vibrant prehistoric forest teeming with animal life. All manner of birds flew through skies, and various species of monkeys raced through the branches of the trees. Their cries united in a symphony of natural music. Along the trees, clusters of a gold and blue fruit resembling a banana hung down; all throughout the forest, the animals could be seen ingesting the strange fruit. Bisecting the forest, white-water rapids provided the flora and fauna with water.
Following along the river, moving against the current, the forest ended, becoming a grassy biome. Tall grass with interspersed flowers and weeds filled the lands. This time, the gold and blue fruit grew among the grass appearing like corn stalks. Goats, deer, bison, zebras, and other herbivorous creatures inhabited the terrain, living in harmony with wolves, bears, and the occasional pride of lions. Herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores shared the bounties of the land, seemingly uninterested in replicating the circle of life. Further up, the river became tame, and the climate became colder causing the occasional pine tree to be seen.
Reaching the end of the river, its source became evident. A majestic open lake lay adjacent to a mountain, feeding the river. Closer to the mountain, snowflakes began to fall. Snow covered pine trees covered the mountain range all the way to its peak. Between the trees, bears and rabbits were feasting on the gold and blue fruits on small shrubs, this time the fruit was mimicking cherry bushes. The animals of the forest, mountain, and the grassland biomes occasionally crossed over to visit other areas of the island, but they all circumvented the lake.
The land surrounding the lake was the only section of the island devoid of the blue and gold fruit. The water was crystal-clear allowing several feet of visibility, but despite its beauty, not a single life-form could be seen swimming within the lake apart from a group of three people and a penguin.
*Hick Hick* Pola sniffled lightly into Pengu’s furry feathers. The magical nature of their transportation to this lake had done nothing to appease Pola. With teary, red eyes, Pola meekly asked. “Did my big brother just die?” She was coughing again, the unwelcoming conditions of the lake not treating her body well.
Thomas reacted harshly. “Of course not! You think someone who can go toe to toe with me would succumb to a shark? Get a grip, kid.”
Between mouthfuls of water, Alexander blubbered out. “Go easy on her, Thomas. She just went through something traumatic. What he means to say, Pola, is that you know exactly how strong your brother is. It’s sad he wasn’t able to come to Mirage Island, but he’ll be waiting at the old man’s shack to hear all about it once we’re back.” He comforted Pola with a gentle smile as he bobbed in and out of the water.
Softening his tone, Thomas spoke again. “Kai is definitely alive so just stop moving so I can swim us to the shore. That goes especially to you, Alexander. Float on your back like I keep telling you!”
After the group had been teleported by the storm, they appeared a few feet above the lake. Thomas had attempted to raise a column of water to break their fall, but he was stupefied to learn he couldn’t control the lake’s water. Without Thomas’ control, the group was met by a disorienting, ice-cold bath. Pola was in shock from her last memories of Kai. She found herself somewhere between grief, anger, and worry which all meant she was in no state to swim. On the other hand, Alexander was still shaking from his close encounter with death under the jaws of the shark. Not even putting up a fight, he began to sink under the weight of his backpack. Thomas came to the rescue just when his lungs were beginning to give out.
Now, Thomas was swimming backwards, dragging Pola and Alexander from behind. They had dropped near the shore, but it still took several minutes before Thomas got everyone out of the water. While Thomas functioned as their workhorse, Alexander put his full attention to healing Pola, not allowing the little girl to succumb to hypothermia under the long minutes spent in the lake.
Heaving in exhaustion, Thomas collapsed on his back. “This is a weird place, dude. I can’t activate my mana. I could’ve swum that in seconds anywhere else, but here, I feel so weak… so normal.”
Alexander was laying on the ground with his eyes closed. He circulated his white flames through his body a few times before answering Thomas. “Okay, I’m calm now. What did you say?”
“Magic doesn’t work.”
Sitting up, Alexander tapped his index finger on his lips. “Are you sure? Maybe you’re just out of mana. I can use my white flames just fine.” Putting
A sloshing sound coming from the lake caught Thomas’ attention before he could respond. Exiting a large cave in the mountain, an empty rowboat moved through the lake. Its rows cycled through the water at even intervals even without anyone on board.
Thomas stared for a second before speaking. “Am I crazy? I don’t think that cave was there before. “
“I imagine all sorts of crazy things happen when you visit a dragon’s land. We should prepare ourselves. That boat looks like it’ll take a few minutes to get here and who knows what will…” Alexander’s voice trailed away as he noticed the boat faded away. “WOW, are we riding on a ghost ship?!”
Vanishing in and out of existence, the ghastly rowboat covered the distance between the cave and the shore in remarkable time. By the time it reached the group, only a few seconds had gone by. Apart from its disappearing act, the rowboat had also physically changed in its journey through the lake. It was now white and seemed to have expanded to fit the four of them. A smaller seating area with two seatbelts materialized in the front of the rowboat.
Thomas enthusiastically nodded his head. “We’re totally riding a ghost ship. My goodness, Grandma’s stories sold this place short! If we’re already greeted by a ghost ship, I can’t even imagine what’s next.”
The two enthusiastically carried Pengu and Pola into the boat and securely fastened them to their seats. After a failed attempt at conversation with the ghostly rowboat, the boys turned their attention to their surroundings.
It was a headache inducing trip through the lake. Although they were aware the boat was teleporting, it was as if their eyes could not register the magic. Instead, the world looked like a collage of mismatched pieces. Luckily, the odd magic ended once they entered the mountain. Within the tunnel, the rowboat sailed normally giving them time to analyze the walls.
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Upon entering the cave, fire braziers standing on pillars of marble brought light to the mountains. A new brazier would appear beside the rowboat as soon as the darkness trickled back. In the space between each fire, murals were etched into the stone depicting what appeared to be the story of several beasts.
The first mural told a story of companionship. A small egg hatched, revealing a turtle with a snake-like neck. It prospered along with a clan of similar turtles during its youth, but the peaceful times ended with the arrival of hunters. The majority of its clan was captured in the first raid. The turtle, now larger, managed to save a few of its clansmen, before relocating to another river, but wherever it went, hunters followed. The turtle’s lives were bleak, with not many surviving the hunts. Finally, the turtle met a dragon who invited the clan into its home. A bloody war followed, where the dragon was deeply injured while protecting the clan from the hunters.
The second mural depicted the next steps of the war. The turtles were much larger now, matching the dragon in size. It appeared many years had passed, but the blood feud between the hunters and the beasts had not lessened. Many battles, wins and losses, were illustrated as the dragon began to push the hunter’s out of the territory. The deciding factor for the war was an alliance made between the dragon and a reindeer. Heading into the final battle, an army of turtles and reindeers ravaged the human battalions. Death ran rampart, but the beasts were victorious.
The final mural showed a story of vengeance. More years seemed to have passed as the dragon and its ally clans had all grown. No reason was evident, but they appeared to be enraged. Traveling through the ocean, the army of beasts landed in unknown territory. Finding themselves in a vast canyon, the beasts attacked what appeared to be the hunter’s homeland. Rivers of blood swept through the canyon: both human and beast. Overcoming the hunter’s resistance, the dragon freed a group of bears found in an underground prison. Despite the pictured victory, the beast army decided to retreat back to the island, displaying the dragon roaring into the skies- whether this was in anger or celebratory was not clear.
After the last mural, the tunnel opened up into a grand cave large enough to allow the water to reform into a lake once more. Two more fire braziers appeared within the internal lake, laying on a small marble island just large enough to hold the group. The boat slowly turned beside the platform and stood still, waiting for everyone to disembark.
Stepping out of the rowboat, Thomas was shaking with excitement. “I can hardly wait, dude. This is it! We’re about to meet a natural dragon. I’ve met dragons before, but my grandmother told me the dragon residing in Mirage Island is powerful beyond belief, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. That’s what’s gonna train us!”
Alexander placed Pengu back in his backpack and helped Pola out of the boat. A large smile made its way into his face. “I’m gonna be so strong. Do you think I’ll be able to understand the red color now?”
“Heh, don’t underestimate a dragon, my guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if you walked out of here with full prowess over three or four colors. Hell, Pengu and Pola will probably be at least Master tier.”
With shining eyes, Pola jumped up and down. “Really? I’m gonna be so strong! I can’t wait!”
Pengu’s only response was a squawk, likely from literal hunger as opposed to a hunger for strength. Alexander gave the chick a chin scratch as he shifted the backpack to hang from his front. “I’ll move you right here, Pengu. That way you can bear witness to the majesty of a dragon.”
Once everyone had unboarded, the ghostly boat sailed back into the tunnel. The chatter amongst the group stopped as the cave began to rumble, seemingly taking the boat’s exit as a signal to begin the show. Stalactites crashed down from the ceiling of the cave under the seismic movements. The lake roiled as something appeared to be rising from its depths. The only thing keeping the group safe was a magical barrier protecting the marble platform.
Peering through the invisible barrier, Alexander saw a giant reptilian body coiling out of the water. None of the murals could do the dragon justice. Blue scales ran down most of its body, with white scales covering its underbelly. Yellow colored lines could be seen separating every individual scale, appearing like a river of molten gold. Along its back, thin water blades made up its spine tinted with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, black, and white: the colors of magic, and on its face were two whiskers which seemed to be made out of sand. Flowing in the air, the sand would drizzle away before floating back. Two horns emerged from the sides of the dragon’s head with a flowing multicolored mane resembling the blades of his spine over the crown of its skull.
The dragon made no sound, but its very presence gave Alexander the illusion of a harmonious symphony. Glaring down at the group with eyes that seemed to contain the mysteries of the universe, the dragon spoke in human tongue. “WHO DARES TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF THE MIGHTY NIDRA.”
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Sitting beneath a wooden canopy on a cliff side overlooking the ocean, the Pirate Empress knocked back a shot of heavy alcohol. Smiling down at one of her favorite bottles, she addressed her audience without so much as looking up. “I am happy in Kedra, you know? I make my own rules, and, at least I’d like to think so, everyone lives a happy life. I don’t judge anyone. It doesn’t matter to me who you are, where you come from, or what you’ve done. You’re a killer? Fantastic. Go murder my enemies. You’re a thief? I can use that! Go steal from our competitors. A liar? Work as one of my ambassadors. To others, we are criminals, but I know we are bound tighter than any real families. We all have some sort of sad backstory. I don’t give a shit about that, but you wanna know what does bother me?” Drawing a knife from behind her, she stabbed it loudly at the table before her. “I fucking hate traitors! Now, I hear ol’ Kai has decided he doesn’t want to roll with the Green Mamba anymore. My new pal, Gabriel here, tells me he went as far as killing our men! What do we do to those who betray the Green Mamba.”
6 voices came together to simultaneously yell out, “We kill them!”
Finally raising her eyes to look at her executives along with Gabriel and his butler, the Pirate Empress spoke once more. “Perfect. I appreciate the enthusiasm. I really do, but that doesn’t mean I intend to send any of you to get yourselves killed. I hear there’s a stupid little prince hanging around Kai. That half-Inquisitor piece of shit is already strong enough on his own. I don’t care to have any of my closest men killed so how do you propose we fix that?” Her final words were addressed to Gabriel as she unleashed her aura on him.
Taking a knee, Gabriel spoke with respect. “I wouldn’t dare put any of the lady’s own executives in danger. The prince is our problem. There is no reason for pirate blood to be spilled for him. Jacques and I will travel with whoever is available to hunt Kai. We will deal with the prince while you guys capture your runaway.”
Nodding her head, the Pirate Empress glanced back at the six shadowy figures. “Any takers for killing Kai?”
A rough voice spoke out. “I believe… *grrrr* most of the execs are out on missions, but I find myself quite bored in the den. I’m not scheduled to travel anywhere until next month. I would be happy to take care of the Green Mamba’s stain.” The voice whistled brightly as it seemed to gain joy at the thought of murder.
Clasping her hands, the Pirate Empress concluded the hearing. “Wonderful! Isaac kills Kai, and little Gabriel kills the prince. God, I love it when these calls go so swimmingly. End the mission by next week, and bring me back a souvenir, please. One of the skulls from my collection broke last month so a new one would be perfect. Later.” The Pirate Empress cheerfully pressed a button, ending the video conference as the holograms of her executives faded away.
Gabriel, the only real person in the canopy, rushed towards the Empress. “Thank you so much for providing some manpower. Your greatness knows no bounds. I will make sure to- AGHHHH!”
The Pirate Empress stabbed her knife into Gabriel’s cheek and slowly dragged it down to his mouth. “You’re smothering me, Gabriel. Stop kissing my ass and go complete your mission. I do not take well to failure.” Licking the blood off her knife, the Pirate Empress smiled cynically as Gabriel writhed in pain on the floor.