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Chapter 4:

Evil Sneaks in!

Seven years passed since Raz, Maz, and their friends entered the cavern containing the Dark Angel. Raz blamed himself harshly for not recognizing the danger he was leading them into. Moreover, he still felt haunted by the Colossus in the cavern that almost killed them all, making him wonder if he would be a good king.

Aside from this worry, Raz started hearing reports from all over Dragos about Dragons acting out with random violence. Even the Water Dragons were not immune to this epidemic that swept their great islands. The first case Raz heard about was from Kyle, saying someone in the Wind Region went berserk and started attacking others for no apparent reason. This happened six months after the incident with the cavern, and Raz wondered if the two events were connected in some way.

Raz made his concerns known to King Zallerferd, who acknowledged that they might. However, when he sent his guards to investigate the cave's location, they couldn't find any opening or sign that the cavern had ever been there. On some level, this disturbed both the King and Raz because they didn't just imagine being in the cave.

For the moment, they both had no answers as to what was going on, but King Zallerferd most likely had a theory. However, he failed to share it with Raz. So, as the years went by, more Dragons slowly started being affected by this strange event passing through Dragos.

Notwithstanding, the most puzzling thing that caught Raz's attention was the Dragons were only temporarily in a state of rage. They couldn't remember what had happened afterward. Raz thought this might be the signs of possession and only knew because of a long article for one of his classes.

Raz wondered how these events would affect the future and knew that somehow, he would end up in the middle of it. He knew what his role was going to be from the time he could comprehend the idea. Maz, however, was a genius like their father and was constantly helping him with projects. So, it wasn't surprising to Raz that Maz had developed a knack for other feats of Magick besides Element Working. These were just little things that helped in everyday tasks and were not meant for combat.

Buckner was studying to become Governor of the Water Region. Along with these studies, he took several classes in translating ancient languages. Buckner forgave Raz for leading them into the cave, but the symbols on the walls became something of an obsession, and he wanted to learn all he could.

Kyle was studying under his father while taking classes to become Head General of the Supreme Region. Aside from that, Kyle studied music as a hobby and became very adept, carrying his flute with him everywhere. He loved playing to the melody of the day.

Finally, Rocky was his father's son, falling in love with the forest and wanted to do all he could to protect it. As a result, he took as many classes as he could on plant and animal care.

Today, however, was their last class before graduating from Michael's Academy and moving on with their careers. This class was called Tactics Training, and out of twenty-five students, only fifteen remained. The others dropped the course, complaining it was too difficult. Raz couldn't disagree with them because this class was way more intense than any other exercise they had encountered. Lieutenant General Rockwall was, by far, the most demanding teacher they all had. At least to Raz, and Rockwall was only second to Viento Whirlwind in the Supreme Region Army.

Raz knew, however, that he needed this class to be a proper king, and his brother, along with their friends, took it, as well. All fifteen worked hard to be here, not as much as Raz, Maz, Rocky, Kyle, and Buckner. As a result, they received top marks in the class and were now sitting on the edge of the Terrain Region, waiting for Rockwall to show.

"I don't get it. He tells us to wait for him at this exact spot, and he doesn't show." Raz complained as thunder boomed overhead.

"This may be part of our Exam, Raz." Buckner pointed out with a smile as Raz nodded.

"Yes, but it could be a little dryer," Maz said as the wind began to pick up.

"That could be part of the Exam, as well," Buckner said.

As Raz looked around, all of his classmates, including him, wore black outfits. There was nothing special about them, just a simple outfit they all wore during training exercises.

"What's the matter, guys? Too wet for you?" Said a female voice behind Raz.

Raz turned to find a female Fire Dragon staring him down with her blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Her blue eyes stood out in direct contrast to her very vibrant red scales on her back and yellow on the front. Her long sensual curves made almost every male do a double-take. Even Raz was not oblivious to her beauty. However, he found her so annoying that it was hard to appreciate her good looks. She would constantly pester him to no end.

The first time they met, she'd blamed him for tripping her into the mud when he hadn't even touched her. He, however, was put in detention despite his protests. Now, here she was in the same class, and he could have sworn that she was stalking him.

"We can handle it just fine, thank you, Amber Emberwood," Raz said as Amber let out a high laugh with all of her friends around her.

"That's not what I heard from over here. Poor little future King can't even handle a little rain." Amber mocked.

"I can handle it. You watch and see. Besides, you're just a silly female. Your opinion doesn't count." Raz retorted as fire flashed across her eyes and raised her fists just as Rockwall came out from behind a tree.

"Alright, you lot. Knock off this senseless bickering and gather around me." Rockwall said as everyone immediately obeyed.

"About time he gets here." Raz thought.

As Raz observed, Rockwall was just a little taller than Rocky by a foot--standing at a towering ten feet and one inch. Like most Terrain Dragons, he was built with muscle but wore the Supreme Region's Armor. His left eye had a scar that was from an old injury.

Rockwall's arms were crossed at his chest, and he said, "As you know, this is your exam location, but what you don't know is what the exam is yet. It's relatively simple but just as dangerous as any other mission. This time, you will not be allowed to use your Element Workings, or your team will be disqualified. Your objective is to be the first to capture a flag I have hidden in the forest."

Everyone started to smile and snicker as Rockwall cracked his own smile. "Think it's that easy, do you? Well, let us not forget that there are creatures in this forest that will have no problem eating you alive. Not only that, but as you Dragons will learn, sometimes you may not have time to use your Element Workings and rely on pure skill to accomplish the same task. Also, you will be pitted against two other teams who can and most certainly will attack you without warning. Oh yes, get to the flag if you can, but make sure you didn't lose any of your limbs along the way," Rockwall said.

Everyone looked nervous now, including Amber. Rockwall had a unique talent for scaring Dragons with his descriptions, let alone being vast and intimidating. Raz was half-nervous and half-glad because he was still comprehending the full effect of what Rockwall said and glad that Amber was just as nervous.

"Now, seeing as there are fifteen of you. We will split up into three teams of five called Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. The Alphas will consist of the Dragons with the highest marks in the class. When I call your name, come stand by me. Buckner Stillwater, Kyle Whirlwind, Mazial Drakken, Razial Drakken, and Rocky Earthbond."

Raz and Maz, along with their friends, went up and stood next to Rockwall, who said, "These are the top students in my class and therefore get to go first. Now go find that flag."

Raz set off with his companions through the forest as the light grew dimmer. Thunder crashed overhead as drops of rain started to fall.

"I doubt I could Element Work in this weather anyway," Raz said as they ran along.

"True, but I think this is more fun!" Maz said as everyone agreed.

"Rocky, where would Rockwall put the flag in this forest?" Raz asked as Rocky thought for a moment.

"Well, there is a ridge not too far from here. He might have put it there. That is a place to start," Rocky said as they all nodded and changed course.

They were doing fine until a swarm of Nerve Hornets came out of the trees. Nerve Hornets were a purple and yellow color at an inch long. Rocky saw these and stopped the others.

"We don't want to run into those. Their sting can kill in less than a minute." Rocky said as they turned and ran away with the hornets in pursuit.

"Rocky, they are catching up. What can we do?" Buckner asked as Rocky grabbed a few stones from the path, crushing them before throwing them at the hornets. Several went down but were so numerous that they were quickly replaced.

"Buckner? Breathing fire wouldn't count as Element Working, would it?" Maz asked.

Buckner considered this and said, "I don't suppose. So long as you don't manipulate the flame."

"Well, we need to do something to take care of these Nerve Hornets," Raz said as they came upon a lake up ahead and smiled.

"Rocky, how long can those hornets wait for?" Buckner asked.

"They can wait up to two minutes at a time," Rocky said.

"Good, everyone into the lake," Buckner said as Raz and Maz both wanted to protest. Still, it was better than being killed, and they all ran into the lake, submerging themselves.

Raz couldn't remember the last time he held his breath for so long and looked up to see the hornets still buzzing just above the water. He figured they were angry at the loss of a potential meal and slowly dispersed. It was a good thing, too, because Raz's lungs were beginning to ache from the lack of oxygen and very slowly crept to the surface of the water.

The hornets were nowhere in sight and took in a deep breath, watching the other's surface.

"That was close," Kyle said as they climbed out of the water and looked at Rocky.

"How far is it to the flag?" Raz asked.

Rocky screwed up his face and said, "Well, the ridge isn't too far, but those hornets threw us off course a bit. We should head southwest. Mm...that way."

Rocky pointed to a path leading into the trees as they all agreed and sped off again. Raz felt miserable in his wet clothes, clinging tight to his body, and wished he could use Element Working to heat them up. Besides, they all were doing good and making a great time until there was a flash of red, and Raz felt his chest explode with pain, shortly followed by crashing into the dirt.

Raz slowly looked up with a groan and noticed Amber standing there, laughing, and said, "That was for the comment you made earlier, and forget about getting to that flag. Our Beta team will prove we are better than Alpha."

Amber laughs with her teammates and takes off.

"I hate that female!" Raz growled through gritted teeth as he rose to his feet and rubbed his chest. He knew there was going to be a bruise from this but ignored it for now.

"Hey Raz, she made you eat dirt," Kyle said.

"Shut up! We need to get going," Raz muttered.

They sped off again and came to the edge of the woods to see the ridge. The flag was tied between two oak trees, flapping silently in the light breeze.

Raz looked back at his teammates and said, "What do you think, guys? It's kind of feels like a trap."

"I agree. It seems too easy," Kyle said.

"Well, we need to capture it either way, so I suggest we use someone as bait," Buckner said as everyone looked at Raz.

Raz sighed and said, "Okay."

Raz quickly ran out of the tree line and jumped onto several different ledges before reaching the top of the ridge. He looked around before approaching the flag.

"This doesn't feel right," Raz said to himself and heard the snap of a twig behind him and jumped high into the air.

Raz gave credit to his reflexes because Amber had landed where he was standing, creating a small hole the size of her foot around. Then, Raz saw two more Dragons jump out of the trees and had to twist his body to block the attacks. He landed in a crouch and looked up at Amber.

"I told you, Raz. The beta team is going to win." Amber said as she went to reach for the flag, only to find it missing. Amber looked up to see Maz smiling at her along with the rest of the Alpha team.

"Wait, but how?" Amber asked as Raz smiled at her.

"We figured you would pull something like this, which is why, I'm assuming, my teammates wanted to use me as the bait. You let your feelings for me cloud your better judgment," Raz said.

Just then, Rockwall came out from behind a tree and said, "Well done, team Alpha and team Beta. Even though team Beta didn't capture the flag, you still worked as a team and almost succeeded. Top marks for all of you."

Everyone cheered as Raz and Amber shook hands. Then Raz remembered the third team never making it to the flag at all. He looked at Rockwall and asked, "Sir, I am wondering what happened to team Gamma. I haven't seen them come back yet."

"You are right, Raz, and what is the motto of the Supreme Region?" Lt. Rockwall asked as everyone replied, "To never leave a Dragon behind."

"That's correct. Now, let's go find them," Lt. Rockwall said as they all took off back into the tree line.

"I think teams of three or four should help coordinate our search efforts. Buckner, you will come with Maria Wildwind and me; Rocky, you will go with Kyle and Iris River; Raz, you will go with Maz and Amber; Melody, you go with Ian. If you find anything, do an Element Working to let us know." Lt. Rockwall said as they all nodded.

Raz, Maz, and Amber went off in another direction. Raz felt his heart pounding in his chest as he ran along and said, "Amber, do you remember running into the Gamma team?"

"Yes, and we kind of had a fight, but when I left, they seemed to be fine," Amber said.

Maz replied, "It would probably be best if we check that spot first, then proceed from there. Can you take us there?"

"Sure! Not a problem," Amber said as she took point and led them all to the place. They stopped and looked around.

"It looks like they are gone," Maz said as Raz looked around.

Raz saw something on the leaves of a bush and, upon closer inspection, found blood on it as red as his scales. "Hey, guys! Over here!" Raz shouted as Amber and Maz came over.

"What is it, Raz?" Maz asked.

"There is blood on these leaves, here, and it looks like someone has been dragged away," Raz said, horrified.

"But what or who could have done this? When I left, none of them were bleeding," Amber said as both Raz and Maz looked just as perplexed.

"Come on. If we follow the trail, we'll find out the answer," Raz said as they set off following the blood and the disturbed underbrush.

Raz was utterly beside himself because what had been a simple exam was turning into a blood bath. The blood increased with every step until they finally came upon a Wind Dragon lying face down in the mud. However, the most horrifying thing was the claw marks across this Dragon's back.

Raz quickly ran over and put his hand in front of the Wind Dragon's nostrils. For a moment, Raz didn't feel anything, but then he felt the tiniest breath on his hand.

"Quickly! Send up an exploding fireball," Raz said as Maz shot a huge fireball up into the air. There was a loud BANG as it exploded like a firework.

Soon, they heard something coming through the bushes and thought it might've been Lt. Rockwall. But this proved to be wrong. A Fire Dragon named Blaze Kindle came charging at them at full speed. In fact, Raz noticed that his speed was way too fast for a regular Fire Dragon and jumped out of the way.

As Raz looked, he saw black smoke rising off Blaze as the scales turned a dark purple instead of the usual red. His eyes were pure black as his clothes had blood all over them. A low growl came from Blaze as he charged at Raz, who activated his own speed ability and dodged the attack. Raz trained with his speed ability and has gained some control over it. However, there was one little catch that he had to be mindful of, and that was not to use it too much.

Controlling his speed ability took great mental concentration, and combined with Element Working, Raz was glad for all the exercise in the past. But now, his powers would be put to the test.

"Raz! What's happened to Blaze? He's never acted like this before!" Amber said as Raz knew precisely what had happened but wasn't sure how she would take it.

"He is under the influence of an evil spirit. Do you know the technique for Fire Exorcism?" Raz asked.

Amber nodded and said, "But, that's crazy! How in the world did Blaze get possessed?"

"I'll explain after. I will distract him while you two moved into position," Raz said as the other two nodded and went to their spots.

Raz fired a few fireballs at Blaze, who tossed them aside like they were nothing and charged again. Raz side-stepped him and struck him hard in the gut, causing him to double over as Raz stepped back to form a perfect triangle.

All three breathed out fire and started to manipulate it as they spread their arms out to let the fire outline the triangle. The evil spirit in Blaze recognized this and tried desperately to escape. However, it found that the fire had created a barrier to which it couldn't escape.

Raz, Maz, and Amber started chanting in a drone-like voice as Blaze began to scream in pain. Suddenly, it shot an energy blast at the barrier, causing it to buckle.

"HOLD FAST!" Raz yelled as the winds picked up and the clouds up above swirled.

"Raz, he's so strong!" Amber said as she slacked a little.

Raz yelled, "Amber! You must hold! GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

Amber nodded, and determination replaced the fear in her eyes.

"WE ALMOST HAVE HIM! KEEP GOING!" Maz yelled as they all continued to chant. Blaze screamed louder as the smoke started to lift from his body.

Lt. Rockwall, along with everyone else, including the other members of Team Gamma, watched in horror as the evil spirit's form rose out of Blaze. He collapsed to the ground. The ghost smiled and shot an energy blast at Blaze, but Raz dove to intercept it. The explosion was blinding as it knocked everyone back off of their feet.

Maz looked up and yelled, "Raz! RAZ!"

The spirit disappeared with an evil laugh as Maz quickly ran to the small crater, covered in debris.

Maz started digging through the rubble as he called out, "RAZ! ANSWER ME! RAZ!"

Suddenly, an arm poked out of the debris. Maz quickly uncovered the arm more to find Raz laying there over Blaze. Raz groaned out as he very cautiously rose up out of the debris and staggered a bit as Maz steadied him.

Raz's clothes were all torn up with his upper body laid bare, with only a single strap of fabric left. However, his wings remained intact.

"Amber, go see if Blaze is alright," Raz said weakly as she went over and pulled Blaze out of the debris. Other than a few cuts, he was perfectly fine.

"Lt. Rockwall, how is Coda Nightbreeze?" Raz asked.

"He's barely alive, but I think he will pull through. It's you that I am curious about. How in the world were you able to take a blast like that and not die?" Lt. Rockwall said, sounding impressed.

"At the last minute, I used a fireball to collide with the energy ball. I didn't know if it would work, but it seems it did," Raz said as he slowly sat down on a log.

Soon, King Zallerferd and his guards arrived after Rocky was sent to fetch them. Everyone told the King what happened except for Raz, who was waiting patiently. The evil spirit confirmed Raz's deepest fears and the events in the cavern came haunting back to him once again.

Then, King Zallerferd called him over, and they walked some distance away before Raz explained what happened. King Zallerferd listened closely to every word.

"...So, I think the events in the cavern seven years ago are the cause of what is happening now. I honestly think that the barrier is close to breaking down," Raz said as the King nodded.

"Then we shall have to watch it more closely. I know you blame yourself for what happened, and maybe you are partly right. But I believe you have more than made up for it by saving that young one's life. I know you will be a just King," Zallerferd said as Raz smiled.

"Thank you, my lord. Now, I believe a bath is in order," Raz said as he looked at his clothes, and the King laughed.

Raz knew that the spirit escaped and would cause more problems, but all he wanted was to rest right now. But how do you relax when the weight of the world is on one's should