Shadow Cradle Chapter 1&2
#1 of Dracon Chronicles Shadow Cradle
this is the first chapter of the story i've been writing recently, for the most part it wil lbe fairly family friendly, however the further the story goes the more grown-up it will get.
this story is set in a world in which dragons fly, dwarves dig in the earth, humans fight petty wars and elves are pompous jerks which get a learning disorder at 20. I'd go into more detail but it might get difficult not to spoil anything.
the story follows the perspective of multiple charectors, but for the most part it will follow the adventures of a young Skygge dragon. these chapters are the introduction and shoe multiple charecters, the main charector,(Auvith the skygge) and several others (namely Vingya the half-elf and Vinkiir the elf high-druid)
Chapter 1
Auvith
"you are the second. the second born, and the second to save this world" that's what the shadows keep telling me, but i'm not sure. the world doesn't seem to need saving, especially since all that there seems to be in it are me and the shadows. they tell me stuff about an "outside" but i don't think that's a real place. everything in the world is just down here. they talk about something called... "Colors"? but I think that's just another hatchling-story they've told to help me sleep. there's nothing but grey and black in the world. but that's okay, really. what would I even do with so much world anyway? there's no way i could see everything then! although... the stories do make the world seem more exciting... and it IS pretty dull here... whatever, may as well explore some more, even if i do already know the layout of home as well as i do. I walk over to the "door" something that's supposed to open to the outside world, but there's no way to use it. it has 2 thick lines carved through it on around the center and one around the edge. at the top of the door is a small hole which lets in fresh air, about the size of a paw. the door is made of dark grey stone, like the rest of the world, the difference being that it is noticeable hear because of the hole letting in "light". the shadows talk of massive crystals and lights brighter than imagining, and if this is all there is their tales are quite disappointingly false. that's when i notice that both the rings are glowing, the outer ring is glowing gold and the inner ring silver... i've never seen both glow before, usualy only one is. hmm... "I wonder what-" then the door starts shaking! it slowly begins turning with a horrible shrieking of stone on stone, and dust billows out. i rush back and away from the door, towards the center of the world, back to the place of my birth, the shadow-font. I watch warily as the door slowly is pulled out of it's place, outwards, then slides to the side. the shadows urge me on, to my destiny, they say, to the world they've told me about. they tell me that this is my birthday, but this time, it is an "eclipse". i don't know what that is, but i listen to them.They tell me that today is the day I prove their stories right, and see a world full of colors and lights and make myself a god... but they don't tell me what that means and they just keep telling me to go instead of explaining anything... typical shadows. I head out through the door, into a tunnel, wider than the door is with the bands of silver and gold going along the sides of the walls, i turn back and see the door start to screech closed again, the shadow font, the library, the wall i used to scratch the shadow's stories on... it's all being shut away.I turn back to the end of the tunnel, promising the shadows "I'll come back on the next eclipse!" I run towards my future.
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Vingya
I am with a human family, learning what i can of Irrigation and other practices the farmers use. it's not what i'd like to do, but the Druids were clear, all half-elves should learn as much as they can to help the "pure" elves learn as much as they can whilst they can. I sigh deeply, and the farmer's boy, Kevin i think, looks over "you okay, miss?" I nod "yeah, just bored, is all" he nods back and replies" well, miss, there's gon' be a Eclipse t'day, that oughta cheer ya up some." I smirk, i'd forgotten that the eclipse was coming. in fact, it looks like the moon is going to do it's part early! i can see it coming about right- that's when the farmer, Gerrick, starts yelling off in the field, and me and kevin go running. he's screaming something about the hill coming down? that's when i see it, a massive billow of dirt and dust is coming out, and a stone, circle comes out, with lines glowing gold and silver. behind it is a massive tunnel leading deep underground. i sense an aura of shadow-magic coming from it, and then the moon passes in front of the sun,and the world goes into a grey-dark state. I see something coming from the hill, a large ,dark grey creature... a shadow drake! I take out my Venethenanon, and yell to the farmer and his son" get back! it's a shadow-drake!" what happened next though i still can't understand
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Auvith.
I rush out and start yelling at the shadowy creature, telling it to stop. it looks like a shadow but also like me, but not quite like either. it turns and bows its head, then it sits down. the shadows encourage me to give it an order, but i don't know what to do so i just tell it not to hurt anyone, and so it leaves, off to the weird looking things over a few feet away, really tall things with feathering thigns at the top... the world is so... different. nothing is the same anymore. nothing here seems to really be the same, nothing is grey or black except for me...it's so weird, i look around, confused, several creatures, on two legs, no scales or fur on them except on top of their heads, the smallest one with lighter hair and pointer ears is pointing something shiny and pointy looking at me, screaming something i don't understand. i try to tell her i'm not a threat but it doesn't seem like she understands me, either. the shadows tell me she's a "half elf", and she's dangerous. i don't know what a half elf or a she are, but it doesn't LOOK dangerous to me! i approach slowly,head down and wings outstretched, when the thing in the sky starts moving again, and it gets insufferably bright, it hurts my eyes and when it gets to me it hurts a lot! The ends of my fur starts smoking and my skin starts burning and i hiss in pain, running back towards the door, but it's closing! the shadows are telling me to hurry "to the field! to the field!" and pointing towards a bunch of the tall pointing things going upwards. i rush forwards, my feet being tickled by the weird pointy-looking things covering the ground. it's all so bright i can barely handle it, i get into the field and it, thankfully, stops the burning. the half elf comes out to the field and looks for me, but the shadows hide me from it. i was told the world was bright and great... but so far it just seems painful. i don't know what the word is but my eyes get wet and i feel weird in a bad way, making a strange, wet noise, and it's hard to breath.
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Vingya
I look for the creature, wondering what this is, wondering if it is what I THINK it is... if so the world's about to get a LOT more exciting... the farmer isn't sure a "Young lass" like me should be looking for "that darn critter" but i have to, the bumpkins would probably get themselves killed. I don't see it and i turn around when I HEAR it. not what i expected though, not a growl, or a roar or something else the ferocious beast of the histories is supposed to be like... i hear crying. the crying of a child injured and lost and scared. I yell to the farmer" go get your wife and get something, a large blanket or a tarp! quickly!" he looks at me funny before telling his boy to go and see if they have anything like that at the home and to get his ma. it takes a little bit, but she comes out with a couple of blankets and asks me "whatcha need dese fer huntin' a monstah?" that's when she hears the crying "oh lord" I nod and grab on side of the blanket "can you help me with this? it seems to be in pain." she nods, thankfully her motherly instincts out-way her superstition. we find the creature, covered in shadows, tears visible in it's eyes, when it sees we've found it it closes its eyes and puts it's wings over itself. we put the blanket over it, it's not long enough so we need another one. We have the old man get a large wheelbarrow, and i slowly get the thing into it. As it climbs inside it slowly curls up, in what I imagine a dragon would call a fetal position... or would that be hatchling position? We put the blanket over top the wheel barrow and we wheel it off to the house and keep it inside. the father seems worried about it killing 'em in their sleep or something but i'm more worried about what would happen if we DIDN'T help it, the stories of the Skygge and Lys fighting each other during the setting of the crystals speak of brutality, rage, millions of humans and elves slaughtered, the Lys apparently commited genocide against the Elder dragons...
Chapter 2
Vinkiir
I read the message sent to me via sparrow, "a Skygge hmm? more likely just a powerful shadow drake but.... i must go." I shake my head and send the sparro aloft, I personally doubt that a half-elf, especially one as young as her, would be blessed enough to see such a magnificent creature as a skygge, let alone one whilst it's so vulnerable! though if she did i must keep the creature from her and her kind, lest she fill it's head with her foolish notions. I transform into my other shape, a large black and silver eagle, and i let fly. I have a god to save, or a monstrosity to kill. And if it's the later, i'll have a half-breed to punish.
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Auvith
The "humans" keep babbling away in a language i don't understand. it's so loud and gangly, nothing like the one me and shadows speak in. This place is very confusing, everything is so... bright and different, the colors hurt my eyes to look at.The "half elf" took a weird little animal with wings, but different. oddly shaped. with sharp-looking things all over it and tied a little tube to it and sent it flying somewhere. The biggest of the humans with wierd fur on "his"face brought me something with a cold liquid in it, it was clear and cold. i didn't really know what to do with it so i just licked at the liquid inside. it was really really cold and it tasted nice so i kept drinking. right now the second biggest is holding something in a bundle of what looks like the thing they draped over me. she's saying something but i still don't understand. the shadows tell me it's a baby, a human hatchling, but it just looks like a bundle of soft-things to me...
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Vingya
The mother is showing off the baby girl to the Skygge, but it's obvious the dragon doesn't understand a word she's saying. though to be fair, I barely understand a word she's saying either, and i've been deciphering her nonsense talk for a few weeks now. I sent a sparrow to the high-druid telling her of my findings here, but she probably thinks it's just a shadow-drake or something. She is ancient and powerful, but like all elves she got a learning disability when she grew up and she can't handle anything new. which just-so-happens to be almost everything. she knows a lot but her knowledge is outdated, and like most elves, she doesn't accept that she's no longer on the top of the food chain. she's enforced laws which make it so the few of us "high-born" which DON"T get learning disorders when they turn 20, are forced to become teachers after spending most of our short lives learning as much as we possibly can. I personally think she's reprehensible but she's also signed contracts with other kingdoms making THEM enforce it as well, so i've got no-where to go. may as well make the best of it, right? maybe if this IS a skygge her superstitious mind will let me go or something...
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Auvith
It's gotten darker now, and they've put the human hatchling in a strange sleeping bin. I'm exploring now that i don't have to worry about the painful brightness. the world is still colorful and still bright, but a lot closer to the darkness i'm used to, and it doesn't hurt like the really bright light did. I'm looking around the "home" they live in and seeing what things are when i hear something odd coming from where the hatchling is. I go in to investigate it and something strange is happening, a tall dark skinned creature with weird-looking wings that are clear and pointy , it has a hatchling of it's own and it looks like it's going to do something with the human one. I hiss at it and rush between it and the hatchling. It tilts it's head at me and then RUSHES out the hole in the wall. I check up on the hatchling and it seems distressed. An odd glow is around it's head whilst it's crying and whining. I don't know how to describe it and i act on instinct. I open my mouth and take the strange glowing substance fro maround it's head. it tastes... bitter, like old dust from the "library" back in the old world and then... horrible things flash through my mind, things i'd prefer not to describe.
Vingya
I see a changeling running from the home and i chase after the foul creature shouting "get back here you foul fae!" and it shouts back in that squeeky, high-pitched voice changelings have " i must tell the court of the skygge! I hasn't has the human kid, the lor-" and that's when Lady VInkiir lands atop him and changes her shape back to that of an elf. she doesn't look quite so happy, and neither does the changeling or it's child which has rolled away from it. The Untvir know the skygge is here, A changeling nearly stole the human infant, and the worst part about this? Lady Vinkiir forgot her clothing, like a bloody fool. "lady Vinkiir, you're-" "standing on a changeling, I know" "i was going to say naked, my lady." she just looks down at herself for a moment then says" oh yeah. that" we both sigh deeply "i'll get something for you to cover yourself with." and then, under my breath "daft elf"