The Dragoso Series 1: Discovery in Hardship

Deathbore laid on his throne looking down at the team. He brushed off something on the platform and smiled.

“I’d like to thank you all for helping me reclaiming the Underworld. Duty or not, I would be lost without my domain.” Deathbore’s gaze landed on Trevor. “I especially want to thank you, Trevor. Without your quick thinking to use Brokenstar’s influence against him, we never would’ve stopped him.”

“Thank you,” Trevor graced and bowed his head slightly. Deathbore nodded to him before pointing a claw to the empty space beside his throne. A blue portal appeared and Deathbore looked to the team.

“We still have the matter of Brokenstar’s Shadow Dragon abilities,” Anna stated.

“I’m sure you will figure it out in time. For now, you all deserve a break, my niece,” Deathbore replied and Anna nodded before looking to the team.

“Let’s go home.”

~oOo~

Trevor leaned his arms on the fence of the griffin field. The wind blew his hair away from his face and he inhaled the fresh air. He felt something tug his hair and he chuckled, turning to Stephanie who danced away, chirping happily.

“Oh you’re gonna get it now!” Trevor teased and lunged for Stephanie, laughing. Stephanie flapped her wings and jumped into the air out of his reach. “No fair, Steph!” Trevor held his arms out to his sides before letting them drop. Stephanie landed and cooed, approaching Trevor.

“Having fun?” Trevor jumped and Stephanie screeched in surprise before they looked over to see Kathey standing at the fence outside of the field. Trevor ran his fingers through his hair and walked over to her.

“Enjoying my day off,” Trevor replied and smirked. Kathey smiled back.

“Don’t get used to it. You and your siblings still have classes and you have a duty to the team now,” Kathey reminded him and Trevor nodded.

“I know.”

“How’s Stephanie?” Trevor looked back at the spoken griffin that was picking at the grass.

“She’s healed up pretty well. Malice said the bandage can come off tomorrow.”

“She’s a fast healer, always has been.” Kathey watched Stephanie for a moment before looking back at Trevor. “Any theories on Brokenstar’s unusual powers?” Trevor looked at her, surprised.

“Uh...well...obviously it was another dragon that was helping him,” Trevor started. “Somebody you know from your past, if we actually listen to Brokenstar about that.” Kathey nodded slowly.

“Obviously a part of my past that I have very vague memories of. I had a part of my life that is somewhat lost to me. As a result, some of my kids were born.” Trevor listened intently.

“So it’ll take some time before you remember correctly, I take it?”

“I’m afraid so. But it’ll come to me, we have time. Only big threat right now is Dragon Hunters.” Trevor scoffed.

“I had a feeling those weren’t all fantasy either. What are we up against?”

“Trust me, Trevor. You don’t wanna tussle with a Hunter.”

“Why is that?”

“The Hunters have years of experience killing dragons. They know how to deal with us efficiently and quickly. Their leader is a psychotic sociopath that will stop at nothing to eliminate dragons from Earth.”

“How exactly do you know that much about their leader? Is he that well known?” Kathey huffed and gave Trevor a knowing grin.

“Let’s just say he and I have had our fair share of battles.” They looked up when Sylark approached them from the Academy.

“It appears our job is not yet done,” Sylark announced and Kathey stared for a moment before nodding.

“Let’s go, Trevor.” Trevor vaulted over the fence and followed Kathey and Sylark to the conference room. Already the rest of the team was present. Kathey stood in her place and took a moment before exhaling.

“Dragon Hunter outposts are increasingly being abandoned without warning. Typically the guards of the Royal Family scout the outposts to gather intel on when they plan to strike a clan or family next. They’ve been discovering the outposts have been packed up and left empty. No weapons, no supplies, no hints as to why they left. It’s safe to assume that the Hunter Leader plans on organizing an attack that will surely put millions of lives at risk, human and dragon alike.”

“So put more scouts out there!” Arkin demanded. “Find an outpost that still has hunters and stalk them when they leave!”

“That does not solve the heart of the problem, Tides!” Sylark snapped.

“Hey!” Trevor snapped and the room grew silent. “We’re not going to get anywhere arguing. Think about this rationally. Where would the Hunters go?”

“They’re bound by an oath, they can’t abandon their leader. They probably went to the base,” Kathey replied.

“So unless we can catch them attacking dragons and follow them back to the base, we can’t do anything, but prepare for another battle.” Trevor looked around at the team.

“He’s right, there’s nothing we can do,” Sonar spoke up. Trevor pointed his hand to Sonar and crossed his arms.

“I’ll get word to the castle about the situation, I only hope we caught this before they find some kind of power that gives them an edge in fighting,” Kathey said. Trevor didn’t have to be a telepath to know everyone in the room silently hoped this would be an easy mission.

~oOo~

Gray eyes stared at the dark figure in front of him. A hand with dirty fingernails supported a head with white hair tied back in a ponytail. Upon the human’s face was a series of scars that matched that of a three clawed beast.

“I have a proposal for you, dear leader of the Dragon Hunters,” the dark figure spoke. He wore a black cloak with a hood over his face, but anyone with eyes would see a human. The Leader grunted and motioned for the stranger to continue. “You have your weapons against the dragons to kill them and the technology to find and enslave them, I can see from this specimen.”

Beside the chair that served as the Leader’s throne sat a blue and orange dragon with a rider’s harness. Its eyes were black orbs with green grid lines and it stared blankly at the space in front of it. The figure approached the dragon and it didn’t budge, it didn’t even flinch. The Leader raised an eyebrow.

“But even enslaved dragons only have so much strength. Which is why I have the solution to maximize the fight inside of them.” The stranger held up a hand and floating above it appeared a gelatinous spider like creature wiggling in an orb. The look on the Leader’s face turned to that of interest. “Caught your attention, did I?” He held the orb up for the Leader to get a better look. “Parasites, my means of control.” The stranger chuckled and the Leader’s eyes widened before he snapped his fingers.

The dragon snapped its jaws at the stranger who dodged gracefully and phased into the ground. The dragon and its master looked around when the stranger appeared near the door, holding the orb still. He threw it at the dragon and the parasite shoved itself into the dragon’s jaws and down its throat. The dragon coughed and the green lines were lost to its eyes, replaced with pure black.

“I’ll make a deal with you, Leader. Help me destroy Anna Dragon and her meddlesome team for my master, and I’ll let you use my minions to destroy the rest of the dragons on Earth.” The Leader stared before narrowing his eyes. “I’m sure you’re asking what is in it for you. Well...” The stranger’s cloak fell away and revealed the pitch black wyvern known as Cenod.

“Do this for me and I won’t kill you, how does that sound?” Cenod threatened and the Leader grinned, standing from his throne.

“You have yourself a deal, beast,” the Leader’s raspy voice replied. Cenod grinned and flew at the Leader, phasing into his body. The Leader’s body shook for a moment and his eyes squeezed shut. After a moment he relaxed and opened his eyes, revealing black orbs.

Now, let us begin.