The Dragoso Series 1: Discovery in Hardship

Trevor was launched from the portal and right on top of Brenda.

“Trevor!” Brenda snapped. Trevor rolled off his sister and shook himself out.

“Sorry,” Trevor whispered, his voice holding uncertainty and a touch of fear. The rest of the team was a few yards away in what could only be described as hell.

It was like they were in a dark cavern of some kind, they stood on pinkish-red stone while the walls held brown stone and in random places fires crackled. Trevor flicked his tongue out and felt how hot and dry the air was.

“So this is the Underworld,” David mused, looking around. “Doesn’t seem...too bad.” He looked back at Trevor.

“Stay on your toes, guys. No telling what’s here,” Trevor warned and hurried forward to join up with the rest of the team.

“No welcome committee, I expected Brokenstar to have guards on this end too,” Deathbore stated. “A Hell Dragon or two at least. Maybe he couldn’t get the bastards to listen to him.” Deathbore chuckled and turned to the team. “Alright, listen up top worlders. You’re in my domain now, don’t think it’s like the living world, you can get trapped here if you’re not careful. Stay close.” He turned, only to stop short when something hissed in the shadows.

“The old master of death has returned?” someone hissed. From the shadows came red and purple scaled dragons, some with a metallic shine to them. Deathbore growled as the dragons started circling the group.

“Toxic Dragons,” Anna informed. Trevor looked them over carefully as they circled. Their claws even looked colored red, maybe to signify how toxic they really were. One snapped at David’s tail, not biting him, but making the young dragon jump and spin around to face the dragons. Trevor snarled and snapped at the Toxic that dared to bite at his brother.

“What are fledglings doing down here?” a Toxic questioned.

“None of your damn business!” Trevor snapped.

“Human speak? Yearlings.” Anna shoved between Trevor and David and blasted the Toxic Dragons before them with a cone of green force.

“Deathbore! Take the kids and move! We’ll meet up with you in a bit,” Anna commanded and Trevor turned to Deathbore who hit a Toxic with what looked like black light, causing it to recoil and fall to the ground. Deathbore took to the air and Trevor followed, hearing his siblings close behind him.

“What was with those dragons?” Brenda asked. “What were they?”

“Toxic Dragons and Toxic Metallic Dragons,” Trevor replied. “Their venom kills in minutes, I wasn’t gonna put up with their taunting.”

“Foolish, but brave,” Deathbore piped up. “Brokenstar probably promised them the gift to walk among the living again. They would’ve started another war and we surely would’ve lost.” Deathbore landed on a large overhang high above the main field of death and looked out over it. Everyone was silent for a moment before Trevor spoke again.

“Why did you even become the King of the Underworld?” Trevor asked. Deathbore smirked and chuckled.

“I had no choice really. Anna is my niece, you know this.” He lifted the charm around his neck, something they overlooked. It was shaped like a daisy and it was pink, almost as vibrant as Anna’s scales. “At one point in a young dragon’s life, they create these charms that contain a little bit of their power. Well, I was born a Moon Dragon, the natural enemy of the Flower Dragon. I had...much hate for my sister and my nieces. I stole Anna’s charm when she was young and it...turned me into a Death Dragon. With so much power, I went on a killing spree until I was killed by Sylark and Zoymey.

When I woke, I found myself in the Underworld, but they had no king. It appears when their king is lost, a new one is chosen. I don’t know what happened to the old king, I can only assume it has to do with a dark secret that none of us really know about.” Deathbore dropped the charm. “Loyalties shift when you are in high power and make alliances with those your subjects hate. I learned that the hard way, look where it got me. Stripped of my control of the Underworld.”

“What’s the dark secret?” Brenda asked. Deathbore looked back at her before taking a deep breath.

“Have you kids heard the human story of Satan and the Seven Deadly Sins?” They nodded. Deathbore looked back out over the field. “There has been a legend that went around. Very few are alive now that lived during the time, so we consider it a legend.

The deadly sins in human religion is more than just a belief in Dragoso. They say the sins are actually real, taking on the forms of dragons and a different race. Have you met Severik, Kyrin, and Salem yet?” Only Trevor shook his head. The others nodded. “Well, they say that there are eight members of this group known as the Council of the Underworld. You have Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, and Pride. The final member, the only one not ruled by his sin...is Agony.”

“Agony?” Trevor questioned.

“Yes, he was said to be a Nega Dragon-Tenkkoa.”

“How the heck were they made?” Aya asked.

“The Council is said to have essence twins. Living beings that were ruled by a sin and that was what created the Council. Some say Severik is Agony’s Twin.” Trevor shuddered slightly. His siblings had him for Magic Class. “The Council isn’t alone though.” Deathbore looked towards what looked like a pool of lava, but it was shaped like a pentagram. The middle of it was a pool, making it seem like a hole was in the middle.

“What’s that?” David asked.

“I’m sure you kids have seen movies about the use of Pentagrams in summoning. That is what was used to summon the first time the Satan of Dragoso appeared.” Deathbore growled. “Rakasa.” David and Aya squeaked. “He wants nothing more than to turn Dragoso into a barren wasteland of planets and to rule over the dragons that worship Kaylano.”

Trevor! We need you! Anna’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Anna’s calling, we gotta go,” Trevor announced and took to the air quickly, Deathbore following close behind him and his siblings following after him.

~oOo~

Trevor dove at the Demonic Hellhounds that ran about trying to attack the Compass Dragons and Special Needs Dragons. He released his icy water over them, freezing them instantly so that Zoymey, Sonar, or Anna could blast them away with what Trevor figured was an Earth Dragon’s breath element. Once the hounds were dispatched, Trevor landed and approached Anna who was panting.

“The Toxics ran off, hounds came out of nowhere,” Anna panted. Deathbore landed.

“The spirits of the Underworld avoid the Demonic hounds as much as they can, the hounds eat the souls of the damned, it’s why I had them locked away,” Deathbore informed. Anna huffed and looked to the team.

“Everyone alright?” she asked. Sonar had a cut under his eye and Malice’s wing was bleeding, but everyone seemed alright. “Can you fly with that wing?” Malice shrugged and licked his wound. Anna turned to Deathbore. “What now?”

“No doubt Brokenstar will send more goons when the Toxics warn him that we’re here, he has their loyalty. I wouldn’t be surprised if they snitched.” Deathbore looked around at the different passages high above them. “The one thing to know about the Underworld, the one with control can change up the passages to get to the throne room as much as they please.” Deathbore turned his body quite a bit as he looked around. “But they’re set entrances and dead ends. Ones that I’ve learned in the years I’ve been King.” He narrowed his eyes before nodding. “There.”

“Deathbore, Tikimune can’t fly,” Anna reminded him.

“And I advise against being in human form down here. But it won’t get you killed if you don’t separate from your flying partner there.” Deathbore nodded at Sonar who was staring off into the field, but Trevor knew the blind Earth Dragon was listening intently. Tikimune nodded and turned to her human form, scrambling onto Sonar’s back quickly.

The team took to the air, but something caught Trevor’s eye. He closed his opened wings and looked towards it. Something told him to investigate, the warning of separating from Deathbore long gone from his mind. Trevor stepped towards it carefully and something squeaked before running away.

“Wait, it’s alright, I won’t hurt you,” Trevor whispered, following the unknown creature. It led Trevor to a passage that Deathbore had overlooked that was at ground level. Trevor looked towards where the team had flown before he entered the passage, almost crawling on his belly. The passage was small, maybe for Hellhounds? Trevor had his breath element, he wasn’t worried.

Trevor?! Where are you!? What are you d- Anna’s voice echoed in his head but was abruptly cut off. Trevor lifted his head slightly before shaking it and continuing through the passage, finding himself climbing up an incline and coming to a cavern. A platform stood before him and on it sat a small dragon. Black scales with a pink underbelly, wing membrane, and eyes. A young Death Dragon.

“Greetings, mortal!” The dragon squeaked. “Who are you?”

~oOo~

Using Cenod’s powers, Brokenstar was but a shadow in Demise’s own natural shadow. He watched the dragon that had followed Demise.

“Trevor,” the large male replied.

“Bit human if you ask me,” Demise commented.

“That’s enough, Demise,” Brokenstar stated and Demise bowed his head. As a shadow, Brokenstar moved behind Trevor and appeared in a solid form. “No need to be rude to the mortal.” Trevor looked over his shoulder and was visibly tense. Brokenstar walked around Trevor to the platform, Demise backing away quickly and off of it.

“Brokenstar,” Trevor remarked.

“Ah, so you do know who I am.” Brokenstar sat on the platform. “I trust Anna told you then, yes?” Trevor nodded. “Do you know why I took the Underworld from Deathbore?”

“No, and I don’t really care. You only plan to release the Underworld beings into the living world to create chaos and hell for humans and dragons alike.” Brokenstar chuckled.

“Clever yearling. But it’s not just that. That’s only part of a master plan.” Trevor winced slightly, pain in his head, but he ignored it. “What would your mother think of you doing this? Being on a team, risking your life, the lives of your siblings.”

“What?” Trevor snapped.

“Be a shame if she were to...” Brokenstar sneered. “Become a target.”

“You stay away from my mother you son of a bitch!” Trevor roared and Brokenstar snapped his claws. A sickly yellowish-brown dragon with glowing green eyes launched from the shadows and collided with Trevor. Trevor kicked the dragon off of him and noticed how thin it was, and the way it drooled. Glowing green slime. What was this?

“You like? Deathbore decided to use Hellhounds and turn them into dragons. They only ever listen to Death Dragons, but with Demise, I gained control over them.” Demise appeared around the platform, his pink eyes glowing brightly. “Kill the yearling.”

Trevor looked to the Hell Dragon as it pounced at him again, jagged teeth biting into his shoulder. Trevor roared and attempted to blast the dragon with his breath element, but it refused to come up. Trevor swiped his claws at the dragon’s eyes, landing on his target, the Hell released him and roared in pain. Trevor swung his body to face the dragon, his head low, feet apart, and wings open. The Hell roared and a sudden blast of green hit Trevor right in the heart.

Trevor fell, barely able to keep his eyes open. Was this how he lost his life? He’d never see his mother or his siblings again... Trevor eyes closed slowly, hearing Brokenstar chuckled nearby.

-vor... That voice, he knew that voice. Faint as it was, he knew that voice.

-evor... Trevor forced his eyes to open, but they refused to listen.

Trevor... The darkness seemed to waver.

TREVOR! It’s not real! Wake up!