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Alright, the much anticipated (I hope), first chapter of the continuation of the storyline that began with the last dragons (http://www.sofurry.com/?pid=25461) is here. I hope that you enjoy it. If you think there are places where I can improve, I would appreciate you letting me know in a comment. Thank you.

Alrighty, here we go, the first installment of many. So begins the Annals of the Knights of Juno...

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"Excuse me Doctor Hanes, but the security feed you requested is ready." Mikael stated, handing the small video feed to the doctor. When the doctor took it, the marine stared at the huge eggs that were sitting in the containment unit. Mikael hadn't liked that his marine company had been picked to go and capture these eggs. He had been one of the soldiers who carried them out of the cave to the waiting helicopter to be flown to this facility. While he had had the golden egg in his hands, he had felt the great untapped power within it, but he had also felt something else. He had felt a feeling of strange hope emanating out from the egg. It was the innocent hope that every child feels when they are young. It was the hope for a good life of peace. At first, it hadn't bothered him, but now, he was feeling very dubious about keeping innocent children prisoner. He knew it wasn't right, but he didn't know what he could do about it.

"Well, it seems that we have company." The doctor stated and the strange man's brother walked over to look at the screen.

"Hmm, never seen him before in my life." The man stated.

"Well, let's give him a proper reception then." The doctor said and then looked at Mikael. "Call out the guards."

"Yes sir." He said and left the room. Mikael headed for the security office on this floor of the research facility and tapped the alarm activation button set into the console. Mikael's post, as the one sounding the alarm, was in the security office, so he sat down in an empty chair and looked at the security feeds. He watched a young man in marine fatigues that he had never seen before suddenly take out one of the checkpoints. He was shocked a moment later to see the man suddenly become dragonlike, shedding its human characteristics like a snake shedding skin. The other marine controllers in the room began to panic because they had never seen a dragon before. Mikael had seen two before, so he retained his composer, but the sight still made his body thrill with fear. The moment the dragon-man tore open the doors to the elevator shaft, Mikael knew that they would need reinforcements. He picked up the com handset to make the call...

***

A few hours later, Mikael was waiting in a crowd of soldiers outside the facility for the dragon to appear once more. His hands were sweaty on the stock of his M-16 rifle as he waited. He had seen what a dragon could do. He knew that they were probably all doomed, but he didn't waver. He knew his duty. At least he thought he did. At that moment, he wasn't so sure. After all, the dragon had only come to recover his children.

All at once, the roof over the entrance to the building imploded, landing in a heap of rubble. The general in charge waved a few soldiers forward and Mikael suddenly had a terrible feeling of foreboding and he started to sound a warning. He needn't have bothered. The rubble suddenly exploded outward from where it had been heaped. Mikael was one of the first to recognize the being that rose from the wreckage. It was a dragon, one larger by far than the other dragons he had seen. It was gigantic, but, as he sighted with his rifle at it, he realized that it was also magnificent. White and silver scales covered it and he felt a distinct reluctance to fire on it. The general looked about to order them to fire and Mikael wondered whether he would actually be able to do it. Then, to his great surprise, he heard the dragon speak English.

"Sure you want to do that General?" It asked and suddenly, the sky was filled with dragons of all hues. Mikael knew that even with all the men that had been gathered for this encounter, the fight would be over quickly, and they could not hope to win. He had seen what dragons could do and he had no wish to face that again, especially against so many. The huge dragon continued after it was sure that the soldiers had seen the dragon army. "Perhaps you would like to talk?"

"Perhaps." The general said and, to Mikael's relief, motioned for the soldiers to lower their weapons. As Mikael watched, the huge dragon stepped forward, the soldiers making way for it to pass. As Mikael watched, the red dragon mother that had been guarding the eggs swooped down out of the air and landed in front of the huge dragon. The pair began to speak in a language that sounded bestial and totally alien to the young marine. When the pair had finished speaking, he felt an odd sense of relief when the huge male gave the eggs he had been carrying in some sort of magic field to the female and she lifted off. When the mother was gone, the huge dragon continued to walk forward until he was face to face with the general. Then, with the rest of the marines watching with bated breath, the pair began to speak together.

"What is it that you want?" The general asked, looking the dragon in the eye.

"To live in peace." The dragon stated and the general seemed truly surprised. He wasn't the only one. Most of the soldiers looked shocked at this pronouncement. "That is all we have ever wanted. Contrary to what the hunters have no doubt told you, we are not evil beings who wish to destroy or subjugate humanity. Nor are we beasts lower than you. We are at the least your equals."

"You claim to cherish life." The General stated and the dragon nodded slightly. When next the general spoke, his tone was a challenge. "What about the soldiers that you killed? What about the dragon hunters that you slew?" Mikael thought that the General was deliberately provoking the dragon, something that the young marine felt was totally unnecessary and without a doubt foolish in the extreme.

"I have never killed anyone who has not tried to kill me or the ones I care about first. Have we not the right to protect ourselves?" The dragon asked and the general shook his head. Mikael could sense that something was wrong here. The dragon's statement seemed reasonable to him, but the general obviously didn't think so.

"You have no rights and you are not our equals." He shouted, and Mikael looked at him in shock. Swiftly, Mikael shifted his aim. "Prepare to fire!!"

"Wait!!" Mikael shouted and the general turned around to find Mikael's assault rifle pointed right at him.

"What the hell are you thinking soldier?" The general asked, looking at the young man.

"I have seen what a single dragon can do." Mikael called out, loud enough for the entire army to hear. "One dragon that was not nearly as large as this one slaughtered an entire platoon by itself. Only the hunters had the strength to fight it and they are dead, killed by this dragon before you. I say we listen to what he has to say instead of blinding attacking something we cannot kill." A rumble of agreement passed through the assembled soldiers and the general at last nodded.

"I know that the hunters promised you the magic of a dragon would be yours." The dragon stated. "We had done nothing to provoke you and you tried to kill us or make us slaves. General, all that I want is for my people to be allowed to live without the fear that has forced us into hiding for thousands of years."

"What are you talking about?" The general asked, his hand gripping the butt of his pistol.

"Millennia ago, we two races lived together in peace. We taught you magic and many other things." The great creature continued. "But your religions taught you that you were meant to rule everything on this world, including us. We didn't see it that way and a war began. A terrible war, in which countless men and dragons died. In the end, we dragons lost the final battle. For we had made a terrible mistake by giving our magic to you freely. You used it against us, slaying our unborn children before our eyes. At last, we were forced to hide. But now the time has come for a change. I believe that in this age, we can live together in peace once more."

The general seemed to consider this for a moment and then, suddenly, he drew his sidearm and pointed it right at the Dragon. All the soldiers raised their weapons once more, most leveled at the dragon. Everything slowed down for Mikael as the young marine saw what would happen if this madman had his way. He could see whole cities burning. Dragons filled the skies above the world and millions would die in their fire. Dragon and human alike would lay dead together in a thousand battlefields. He could not let that happen. He knew his duty now.

In an instant, Mikael made his choice. He squeezed the trigger of his rifle. The weapon kicked into his shoulder and he smelled the acrid cordite scent of spent gunpowder. The empty cartridge ejected from his weapon's breach spun in the air as it flew, glinting in the sunlight. The general looked down at the bloody hole in his chest for a moment in horror and then slumped to the ground slowly. It was Mikael's first kill, and it had been his commanding officer...

***

Mikael woke from sleep with a start and looked around. A first, he didn't recognize where he was, but then it all came back to him. He was in a cave in the Dragon Mountain, in a place once called Colorado. He sat up and swung his legs out of bed, setting bare feet on cold stone. He sighed and stroked his long grey mustache for a moment, deep in thought. This wasn't the first time that he had had this dream. It came to him two or three times a year and ever it woke him from sleep. He sighed once more and rose from where he had been lying carefully so as not to disturb his wife. She too was grey haired, but like all the Knights of Juno, her face and body were eternally youthful. The grey hair was the only sign of age they ever showed. The aged knight slipped into a jumpsuit with a white teardrop scale pattern on it; every scale was trimmed in shimmering silver thread that danced and glittered in the light. Once he was inside the suit, the openings sealed to his skin, and he became totally unencumbered. If he hadn't known he was wearing the enchanted jumpsuit, he would have thought he had nothing on. Smiling at the familiar feel, he slipped his boots on and walked out of his chamber. He decided to head for the stairway, searching for the oldest of his friends.

As he walked, he thought back to all that had happened in the centuries since that day. The day he had claimed his first kill had been more than two hundred years ago. Since that time, things had changed in the world. Magic, a force that hitherto had existed only in legend, had returned to the world. At first, people had been wary of it, but then, gradually, they had seen the many uses of it. Old technology like nuclear fission and fusion were rendered pointless by magic. Now, reactors had been rebuilt by the dragons to run from ever powered magic crystals that produced a huge amount of energy with no waste and harmful side effects. Internal combustion engines were also outclassed by similar technology. Pollutants were being eliminated one by one by magic. The quality of life was improving all over the world. And people too were changing, slowly. And all because of the Dragons.

Mikael returned the salutes of a trotting line of aspirants as they jogged by on their way to training and continued his walk, headed for the central stairway of the mountain. The dragons did not think like humans did. While humans had the instinct to hoard valuable resources bred into them by endless generations of hardship, the dragons had a different view of the world. Greed, jealousy and spite did not exist in the dragon world. The dragons shared equally, and though they competed often, it was never anything more than friendly. Slowly, as generations of humans lived with dragons in the world, they too were picking up these traits. More and more, generosity and courtesy was the rule. 'But not everywhere.' Mikael reflected as his thoughts went to the scars he bore from those who still opposed the dragons and everything they stood for. With the return of magic to the world, came magic's return to humans. More were able to use it all over the world ever day, and though they would never be as powerful as the dragons, they were still a threat when they stood against them.

He paused for a moment on a landing beside the winding stair, looking into one of the vast machine shops honey combed into the mountain. Here, magic was blended together with technology, creating wonders that were only dreamed of before. Even as he watched, a group of technicians fitted a young violet dragon with a massive railgun and harness. The huge, magic-powered guns, capable of piercing a tank's armor at a range of more than a mile were one of the greatest weapons possessed by the Knights and their mounts. Shaking his head, Mikael continued his walk up the mountain's core. At first, he had thought the weapons unnecessary because the dragons were already formidable opponents, what with the sheer strength of their bodies and their magic. But, they had proved very useful in the years since then.

About fifteen minutes later, he reached the final landing where the humans normally tread. This floor of the huge mountain base was known as the Hall of Heroes. It was here that statues commemorating the best of the knights had been erected by magic. And here, closest to the stairs was a statue that many had originally thought did not belong here.

The statue was of a man dressed in ancient Japanese clothing, and on his arms was tattooed a mark that marked him as a Dragon Hunter. This was Juno, the man for whom the order was named. He had sacrificed his life to defend a creature that he had once called enemy from his own brother. And for that, he was honored by the order. Mikael looked up at the statue and pondered it for a moment. He was one of only three living knights who had ever seen this man in the flesh. All the others had long gone into their graves. He shook his head and continued his walk up the stairs into the top of the mountain. He saw a band of gold circling the stairs above him and braced himself. As soon as he passed the mark, the magic that held back the cold would be gone. But the cold still did not bother him as it once had. The rider jumpsuits were marvels of magic and workmanship. They were just as light and thin as a single layer of silk and yet they retained heat better than anything in the cold and breathed better than cotton in the heat. And it was a good thing too. The dragon mountain had originally been the same size as all the other mountains in the Rockies. But the dragons had fed magic into it until it grew taller and larger than any other on the planet. Now, not even Everest rivaled this peak.

The dragon's magic alone allowed them to live at such a height. And, by extension, the same magic that kept the knights living so long in youth also protected them at that height. The Knights of Juno, because they dedicated their lives to defending the dragons and their ideals, had been gifted with greater magic than normal humans. Eternal youth and long life were just a few of the gifts that they possessed.

Finally, after another fifteen minutes of climbing the stairs, he stepped out in the vast hollow top of the peak, its walls dotted with entrances of various sizes. This was where the dragons roosted. He walked out onto the floor and looked around at the honey-combed nests, looking for one dragon in particular. The senses of the dragons caused all the dragons present to peak out of their nests to see who had come to visit them. And there, high above him, the two familiar heads were visible. His old mount Argil, and his mate, the leaders of the dragon race, peaked out of the largest nest in the walls. Mikael smiled when the gigantic dragon whose color matched his jumpsuit took flight and spiraled down to the floor to meet with him.

"Hello Argil." Mikael said, bowing low as the dragon landed lightly on the ground before him. The dragon returned the bow gracefully despite its bulk and spoke quietly.

"Hello Mikael." Argil stated and then continued. "What brings you way up here on this cold morning, old friend?"

"I am troubled." He stated, not wanting to discuss the problem with all the dragons in the mountain within ear shot.

"How do you feel?" Argil asked and Mikael thought about the question for a moment.

"How do I feel?" He repeated. "Old. Worn out. Tired." Argil's laughter boomed in the cavern and Mikael smiled as the warm sound resonated in his heart. A dragon's laughter had a mysterious power that warmed the heart of anyone who heard it.

"That is easy enough to fix." Argil commented and a wry grin came to his face. "Feel up to a brisk morning flight?"

"Of course." Mikael said and waited while the great dragon lowered its front paw to allow him to sit astride his shoulders. Once he had settled himself, Mikael smiled as his old mount got up from the kneeling position and took to the sky, flying up towards an entrance to the cavern. Normally the riders sat on a specially made saddle to make the ride more comfortable, but the most experienced riders rode without it. This was because riding without a saddle meant that the rider must trust the dragon completely to not allow him to fall. A special bond was forged between dragon and knight when they rode bareback in flight, and that bond was something that had an almost addictive quality to it. After his first flight without the saddle, Mikael had never again ridden with it. Even in battle, he rode Argil bareback, their movements as one because the bond was so strong. When the huge Dragonlord burst from the mountain side a moment later, Mikael reveled in the feeling of the chill wind whipping past his face. He took a deep, chilly breath and felt some of the weariness leave him. Soaring high in the sky, Argil took his friend through a cloud bank and then dove out of the bottom of it and into clear air once more.

On instinct, Mikael held on tight to one of the spikes sticking out of his friend's neck as the great dragon flipped over. Mikael did not feel fear as he stared up into the ground far below, only the familiar rush of adrenalin. He grinned as Argil suddenly soared into an upside down loop and then returned upright. Argil suddenly turned his head so he looked back at his rider and Mikael nodded at the dragon's questioning look. He was ready.

The huge dragon instantly nosed over and tucked his wings back behind him, diving like an arrow towards the ground. Mikael flattened himself to his friend's neck, and began to laugh as the pair shot out of the sky. Argil's wings snapped out to the sides barely a hundred feet above the treetops and the pair soared low once more, Argil barely brushing the trees with his claws. This game never got old and it always made Mikael feel young again. Every dragon and knight pair played the game, but none with the skill and precision of that pair. Over the many years, there had been some injuries incurred by those who had tried to match the pair and failed, but still, the game was more popular than ever with the new generations of knights and dragons.

Feeling invigorated, but very cold from the whipping wind, Mikael tapped Argil's side with a hand. Even the enchanted jumpsuits could not protect the wearer against everything. The dragon nodded and soared towards a small offshoot of the Dragon Mountain. The pair soared into the lone cavern there and settled to the ground. Mikael slid to the ground from his seat and brushed a hand along his friend's scales in affection.

"Thank you old friend," he said, smiling at the familiar rush of endorphins into his mind that the aerial acrobatics always brought. "I needed that. Now let's go warm up."

"You are welcome." Argil answered, and walked down the sloping tunnel into the heart of the mountain with his friend beside him. As they descended, the air got warmer and warmer until it felt like summer beneath the earth. A few moments later, they came out into a vast, dimly lit chamber in the mountain. At this time of day, the place was empty and the pair made for the far side of the chamber.

This chamber was a wonder that no outsider had ever or would ever see. It was filled with hot pools of spring water and pools of still molten lava side by side. The bathers in the water were protected from the heat of the lava by magic. Once the pair reached the deepest lava pit in the room, Mikael disrobed and slipped into the pool of water nearest the lava pool. He shivered as the heat rose in him and lay back with a sigh against the side of the pool. The water was very hot and he felt the weakness in his limbs and muscles subside. The heat washed away the stiffness that the dream always seemed to bring and Mikael relaxed at last. Argil slipped into the deep lava pool and sank his huge body out of sight in the liquid stone. The dragon let out a sigh of deepest satisfaction before lying back as well, resting his arms on the sides of the pool, looking all the world like a scaly human in a hot tub.

"So my friend," Argil began after a moment, "What is troubling you?"

"The same thing that always troubles me." Mikael commented, looking over at his friend. "I still cannot get over killing that General all those years ago."

"I keep telling you this and I am going to say it this last time." Argil said, his blue eyes looking at his friend with understanding. "It was the right and honorable thing to do. If you hadn't done it, the world would have dissolved into a terrible war that would have claimed millions of lives."

"I know." Mikael said with a sigh. "But besides all that, he was still my commanding officer. I was still sworn to obey him. I cannot help the feeling that it was wrong."

"In one way it was." Argil stated. "He was indeed your commander, and you did swear an oath, but at the same time, it was in the best interest of millions."

"I know, but that doesn't help me." The Knight said and sighed.

"Then perhaps this will." The dragon stated and Mikael looked at him with interest. This was new. "The exact wording of the oath that you took was 'I solemnly swear to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.' was it not?" The old marine nodded and the dragon continued. "Don't you think that what the general was doing constituted a direct threat to the country you swore to defend?"

"I suppose so." Mikael stated. His friend did have a point. The General, with his arrogance and stupidity, had been going to start a war that would, in all likelihood, have destroyed the United States. He considered this for a moment and then looked up as the sounds of another dragon and rider pair came from the tunnel. A youthful knight, his hair still blonde with youth, entered the cavern with his mount, a young dragon with silvery blue scales that Mikael recognized as one of the grandchildren of Argil. The pair made their way over to where the elders sat and bowed low before speaking.

"Forgive my intrusion sir," The knight said, looking at the master of the knighthood. "But urgent news has reached us that requires your attention..."

To be continued...