The echo of a mellow cavern up high in the mountainous terrain near Trigua City can be heard from the distance. Nuns chatter about what could be creating such a horrid and vibrantly distinct noise. They fear the worst, as looming disaster hurdles toward the range.

“It seems you’ve found a reasonable place to call your lair. Is it that all dragons are naturally inclined to slumber in caverns?” Oreep asked.

“Mayhbe.” Nol said, his webby feet splashed against the puddled water. The marshy terrain of the cave was a colorful spectrum in contrast to the snow white of the mountains. It was cold, and the frost made icicles hang low from the ceiling of the chasm. A skeletal remain lies wrapped warmly in the clothes of a fur coat. The poor fellow didn’t make it through the chronic winter of these tall and rigid mountains.

“Well, might I ask what exactly we are doing here? I know you’re a free spirit and all, but I’d prefer you have some kind of goal in mind for this journey you’ve made.” He said.

Nol turned around and looked at the floating sheep. “Spweek easier.” He said, his teeth chattered against the gummy lining of his mouth.

The dragon flapped its wings into the air and glided deeper into the mouth of the cave, revealing a shiny golden door etched into the architecture of the cave. It had been here for a long time, a frosty hue encapsulated its entirety and rust had begun to wear at the metal within. Green vineyards of vegetation latched to it in manifolds of layers.

“Is this what you came for?” Oreep asked.

“Yhes.” The dragon chomped. He looked at the mechanism of the door, although he’d never opened a door. He knew they were a functionality of entering and leaving a place through a wall. This had been explained to him by Oreep. Oreep explained a lot of things to him that he didn’t understand.

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to unlock this door. The rotating wheel looks, for the most part, rusted in, and the door is likely frozen and sealed shut. This would be easier to mine around with tools than to actually wedge the ice off the door.” He explained to Nol.

“Whayt?!” The dragon said, yelling. It didn’t grasp anything besides Oreep doubting his abilities to unlock the door. It jumped up, hanging its claws into the groove of the circular spin-wheel. “Openn!” Nol grunted.

His claws mangled against the metal, the ice drifted down in sheets and forced the dragon to surrender to the ground in a mess of marsh. A cold liquid covered his back, along with a green vegetation that acted as a glue to keep him down. The dragon’s wings were now soaked, and he wouldn’t be able to fly like this.

“Move aside, I shall take care of this Nol,” Oreep said. He sighed. A yellow hue formed at his hoof, stretching into a convoluted ball. Nol opened his eyes and realized what Oreep had said. He tried to flap his wings to move out of the way, but he was soaked. The dragon flopped around in the puddle, scurrying out and through Oreep’s legs as a beam expelled from his hoof.

A large light emanated from Oreep and then the beam shot off toward the door, shredding it to pieces. A large explosion ruptured within the caverns and the mountain itself shook. “I may have overdone it,” Oreep said in a sheepish voice. The hole didn’t go through the door, it went through the entire mountainside. He’d essentially created an over cliff entrance into the cavern. Pebbles dropped down, the mountain feeling almost ready to collapse from the recent intrusion.

The nuns at the temple shrieked at the explosion, “Oh Lord have mercy on us and show us the light!” They screamed and prayed, a messenger went down to Trigua to report the strange disturbances in the mountains. The trip would take only a few hours.

“Well, at least we are in,” Oreep said, teleporting, just because it was easier. “Hey Nol, come here!” He shouted.

The dragon walked on its feet, unable to glide in. The wind was surging outward toward the vast horizon, from where Oreep had made the gaping hole of course. Nol turned his head, presented with a vast amount of gold and treasures that were burrowed deeper into the chasm.

“And you say that these ancient dragons told you to come here?” Oreep asked.

“Yhees.” Nol said, hissing a bit with his tongue. He remembered back to what had happened after he had eaten those miners. It was before all of this had happened and before they had entered the cavern. It was an overwhelming experience. Nol had once again drifted into the black fog that the dragon had activated within him somehow. It felt like an instinctive state of consciousness that was separate from the body itself.

The dragons appeared in a circle around the red dragon, who was resting against a dropped floor. He had to look up to see the towering dragons. One of the silhouettes was definitely a two-headed dragon. That one terrified Nol, but nothing terrified him more than Obrium.

“I, Obrium, have summoned Nol of common blood.” His voice echoed throughout whatever pocket dimension this was. Obrium, the albino dragon leaned his head down to meet Nol’s eyes. His towering neck shot downwards.

“Dragon, I understand you seek to find your brother Ekren. His blue skin is something that is not of this world. I hope you begin to understand the meaning of that.” He waited for a response.

“Nol wants to see browther.” Nol said, agreeing with Obrium. He couldn’t say much in the presence of someone so powerful. His will to speak was simply taken from him, although Obrium could read his thoughts and transmit his own thoughts to Nol.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“The reason I have called upon you is very different though. You have the Chosen Call, which is a rare soul-bound trait only found in the dragon born. You called upon the other dragons in the area with it.” He drifted upwards, creating a benevolent light in the area which revealed a floating, golden grail.

The grail had a foreign inscription written into its metallic form. “This is the Dragon Grail. There are twelve of them in the world. Some are held by human kings, and others are lost deep within the earth. You’re near one now.” He paused.

“What are grails for?” Nol asked, looking up at his ancient companion.

“When all of the grails are gathered, they will summon a portal from the draconic realm. That is where we came from child.” He said. “The ancient heroes who are known throughout the world defeated the dragons who spawned from the portal nearly a thousand years ago. Now all of the dragons in your realm are persecuted against and hunted by adventurers. The kings drink with the grails, acting as if they own the world. It is your duty as a Chosen Call to restore the portal to the draconic realm.” His voice became heavy as a rapture of light erupted from his eyes.

“From the blood of the Great One, we descend and our impurities become obvious. The Chosen Call are genetically similar to the Great One, but he himself is a mystery to us of the Twelve Gates.” His eyes grew even more bright, and a ghostly aura spurred out and seeped into Nol. “You have been recognized as a Chosen from a predecessor, whenever you are in trouble, you should be able to rely on the Call.”

A great power boiled in Nol’s blood, energy vibrant throughout his entire being. This feeling was a powerful bestowal from one of the greatest dragons in the land.

Unique Trait Granted: Chosen Call

+LEVEL UP +1 TO ALL STATS

“Now go to the mountain range near Trigua City, and find the Dragon Grail!” He commanded, the black chalked into light instantly, and the dragon was left to his thoughts.

The distant memory faded from Nol’s mind, and a resurgence of reality bubbled forth. “Hey--hey! Are you listening to me? Did you fall asleep or something?!” Oreep was beginning to lose his patience for the first time in a while.

“Shut up! Nol was remembwing.” He said. He stepped over the gold and treasures, uninterested in any of them.

There it was. The Dragon Grail, sitting aloft a hefty amount of treasure. Though, it was held by a skeletal man who had passed away in this very room. He wore a black robe with a bone-necklace that had a green gem attached to it. His hat was made of an eccentric fabric with light pastel colors and his fingers had an assortment of different rings on them.

This man had died alone, but his field in wizardry was still obvious almost a thousand years later. That was truly the mark of someone who’d ascended to the next level.

“Oreep, take grail,” Nol commanded.

“Wait, when did you become my boss? I’ll put it in my satchel, but you should learn your place kid.” He said, jokingly. He grabbed the Dragon Grail and put it in his bag that he carried around his torso. The orange colored sheep stopped levitating when the mountain began to shake violently. “Oh--I don’t think this is a good thing Nol!” He screamed over the mountains roar.

The stone of the mountain began to grow around the holes that Oreep had created, enclosing them into this dark room of treasure. A violet color of flames erupted as the wall torches were lit with a strange and corrupt flame.

The skeleton stood up, a flesh consumed it into a living entity. A proud face of victory was brandished across this wizard’s face. “It’s been over a thousand years since I last saw life. Thank you for activating my witch curse!” He laughed.

A black hair grew out from his head, his eyes were purple in color. He held his hand out, and his wooden staff zipped into the palm of his hand. “Forgive me for killing you two after you’ve done me such a favor. I wish to enjoy my immortality.” He laughed evilly.

“To think it would be a dragon and an orange sheep that would be the ones to activate the curse. I can understand the dragon, but how the hell did you get up here?” Looking at the sheep, it was like he knew there was more to the sheep instantly.

Matter distorted around the wizard, making the image blurry as if heat were emanating off of his body. He was nearly seven foot tall, and his face was hollowed out like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. “I wonder how my dead friends are doing. Ahh’ the Ascension Party was the best. They could take out dragons with ease.” He smiled at the dragon.

“Nol, I recommend you get behind me. This man isn’t someone to mess with, and if he speaks the truth about being a thousand years old…” Oreep clenched his herbivore teeth and then opened his mouth to speak again. “That group of ancient heroes is still talked about nearly a thousand years later, he’s a monster among men!” He shouted.

“I, Rogunshire, have an appointment with my dead friends. It’ll be interesting to exterminate the dragons once and for all!” He laughed, morphing through the stone and exiting the mountain. The torches diminished as the man left their presence.

“Well, this is bad,” Oreep said. He turned to Nol, “So, we have the grail that I guess he forgot about. I mean he was pretty livid about being alive again, so I don’t blame him. The problem is that the Ascension Party was a band of heroes that destroyed the portal to the draconic realm over a thousand years ago. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming for the Dragon Grail?! I thought it was a regular chalice! Now we’ve fucked up and summoned the most powerful wizard of all time!” Oreep covered his face with his hoofs, sitting back against the wall.

“Explain aygain!” The dragon hopped. Oreep sighed, “I should have known you wouldn’t understand.”

Name: Nol Attributes: Skills: Race: Dragon (Uncommon) STR: 20 Stealth: 1 Level: 11 AGI: 22 Hunger Resistance: 2 Age: 9 Days DEX: 18 Meditation: 3 Gender: Male END: 19 Flying: 6 HP: 380 INT: 30 Fire-Breathing: 2 MP: 335

WIS: 27 Diving-Attack: 1

UNIQUE TRAITS: Chosen Call