Darkness Falls P1

                                  Darkness Falls


[POV Ignitus]

Me and the rest of the guardians put the last of the dragon eggs in the hatchery. 100 small pods of pure hope. Promises, waiting to be fulfilled.

The Year of the Dragon........What an interesting time. I began to ponder why all the dragon eggs always came all at once, when a yellow elder dragon with grey horns and underside walked up next to me. It was Volteer, one of my fellow guardians. He stood in a happy pose, grinning from one side of his head to the other.

"Another year passes. You know, Ignitus, I've always wondered something. Just.....what IS so special about the purple egg in the center?"

"You've...never heard the rumors, have you?", I replied.

Volteer shook his head. Surprising. I had at least hoped he would have heard some rumors.

"Simple. It means that the dragon of the prophecies is going to be walking among us, soon. This means great opportunities. Unfortunately, it also means something bad is about to happen, soon."

"What are you suggesting, Ignitus? Your hypothesis is interesting, though somewhat perplexing."

"Simple. The prophecies fortell of a purple dragon being born. The purple dragon is a very rare creature, with powers beyond what anyone can possibly imagine. It tells how he or she will help balance the world."


"Okay. But, how is this bad news?"

"Well, it speaks about how the world will become troubled, on the brink of destruction. At that point, the dragon or dragoness will know what to do. The trouble our world will suffer is what worries me."

"Have the prophecies ever been wrong?", Volteer asked, hopeful.

I shook my head, and responded.

"No. The prophecies are always correct. I wonder......Perhaps we should move the egg down the river. I have a feeling that there is going to be a particularly unsavory character who wants to use this opportunity to abuse the powers of the purple dragon. A large number of dragons will be coming to get their eggs. It seems as though we should......"

"Now, now, Ignitus. I understand your concern, but I assure you that it would be unwise to send it down the river. What if some unsavory critter decides to have it for a little snack? I have a much more suitable proposition. I will hide it in my quarters, and you can pick out a proper set of parents, yourself."

"Hmmm. I suppose that could work.", I responded, looking over the grotto. Suddenly, I caught sight of a large group of dragons approaching.

The dragons were coming! We had to hurry.

"Volteer, they're here! Hide the egg, then let them inside. We wouldn't want them to get suspicious, would we?"

Volteer shook his head, then quickly ran into the hatchery. I ran into the commons room. Terrador was minding his own business, and Cyril was taking a nap. I quickly woke him up with a tap on the side of the head.

"Come! The parents have arrived! Quickly! You know the drill.", I responded. I refused to let something go wrong.

We had been doing this for decades. There was no realistic reason for something to go wrong.

We met at the front gates, and opened the doors to a crowd of dragons. They seemed eager, and content to be here, in this old, rotten swamp. Of course, they had a reason.

"Welcome, all of you. I hope your decade has been an.....interesting one. Before we begin, a quick word of note. Make sure you take whichever one you touch. Don't need anyone to be picky, do we?", I said.

A mild laughter ran through the crowd. I guided them into the hatchery, one at a time. I put my watchful eye on one particular dragon. He was a black dragon, with a sky-bluish underside and wings. He seemed to have an air of confidence on him. Or cockyness. This was the unsavory character i was worried about. I decided to let him go first. The quicker he left my sight, the better.

"Okay, okay. One at a time. Wouldn't want to damage any of the eggs, now, would we?"

The black dragon went first. He looked around for a minute, then carefully picked up a dark blue egg. It seemed to pulse and vibrate in his hand. I guess he made a good choice.

The rest of them slowly picked out the eggs, one at a time. As the eggs went into the hands of the adult dragons, I couldn't keep down a smile, nor could the other dragons. Even Cyril, who I had always considered an ice-hearted and pessimistic person, couldn't keep from smiling a little bit.

Finally, there was only one dragoness left. A fair-looking woman. She was a beautiful green dragoness with a yellow underside and wings. She looked down into the empty hatchery, and frowned. She turned, and started to walk away. I frowned, but then I remembered that there WAS one egg left......The purple dragon's egg. I motioned for Volteer to get the egg.

"Uh....Miss, hold on. Just a minute!", I hollered. She turned, mildly curious.

"Well, are you ready for YOUR egg?", I asked, resisting the urge to blush.

"What are you talking about? The hatchery is empty. There aren't any eggs left."

"Well, acutally, I took a point of hiding one. I didn't want to hand it off to someone who I didn't think deserved it. Tell me, have you ever heard of the rumors of the purple dragon?"

"Well.....I have heard a few things. Why?"

"You'll see. I was wondering, miss...."

"Oh, sorry. My name's Melinda. You must be Ignitus."

"Yes. Melinda, have you ever imagined about having a child that was destined to do something extraordinary? Someone who would go into this crazy world and change it....for the better?"

"No. I guess my mind's just old-fashioned that way. Why?"

Volteer finally handed me the purple egg. I grabbed Melinda by the paw, gently, and placed the egg in her open hand.

"Congratulations. You're about to find out. Inside this egg, a purple dragon will hatch out of it. A creature unlike anything you could ever have imagined. A dragon that can do anything, if he puts his mind to it. I want for you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll always watch out for him. It would be a tragedy if something was to happen to him. A dragon like him only comes around once every 10 generations."

She put the egg in her cupped hands, and smiled.

"Really? You....you mean it? Ignitus......I....I don't know what to say.....just....just...."

"It's my pleasure....Melinda."

The dragoness walked up to me and ggave me a peck on the cheek. I backed away, blushing. She winked at me, then walked away. I happily went back to the lookout area. The dragons all walked away from the temple, carefully carrying their eggs. The next morning, there would definitely be a lot of cheer and joy.