LET THERE BE DRAGONS (COMPLETED)

Prologue

A misstep always led to death.

The hooded figure travelling through the woods believed it sincerely, and therefore he left nothing to chance.

Ancient trees surrounded him, their branches blotting out the sky, their deep shadows covering the forest floor. Dark, deep green leaves fell constantly from the trees, and rustled on the ground almost musically. Apart from the sound made by the falling leaves, the forest was silent. Not even a bird called. The forest seemed to be devoid of any animal life.

All silences hold secrets, all silences are deceptive.

The man in the black robes knew it well. His eyes gleamed under the hood, with which he had hidden his face. He knew in the depths of the woods monstrous creatures lurked, waiting to tear his throat apart. Of course, he had enough power to kill most of them, but he could never be certain. One had to be careful about these things. This forest had claimed the lives of the most brave and shrewd, and he couldn't just ignore that legacy. A misstep here could certainly mean death.

That was why he was not taking any steps. His feet were hovering two inches above the ground. He was simply and smoothly floating towards the heart of the forest. Of course, walking through this forest was impossible. The ground was full of fallen leaves, and if he crunched even one of them under his feet, he would die. That was the legend, anyway. And he knew the beasts of the forests won't try to hurt him if he didn't hurt the fallen leaves. Thus, even if flying required a lot of concentration--he had learned the art only recently, and he was obviously the only man who knew how--it was the only option.

Soon the man in the dark robes came to a clearing, and found himself facing a deep, black lake. The lake was huge,

almost forbidding in its vastness. The water was dead still, giving the impression that the lake was frozen in its entirety. But of course, in this forest, all appearances were a facade.

The man waited. He knew something was about to happen. His certainty and his confidence made him calm.

Ripples began to appear on the blackness of the lake's surface. They were small at first, then they began to spread. Soon the entire lake seemed to be surging from some unimaginable source of power. Tremors shook the entire forest, strange primeval sounds filled the sky. And then the dragon raised its head from under the water of the black lake.

The dragon shot upward with amazing speed. Its serpentine body blocked the lake from the man's view. It's head rose above the tallest of the trees in the forest, and still most of its body remained hidden beneath the lake. It's body seemed to be covered with large scales, similar to the scales snakes usually have, but these scales were stragely luminescent, with a green light. The dragon's head seemed to be a cross between a crocodile's and a lizard's head. It opened its mouth, revealing huge, yellow fangs. Then it rolled its tongue out--it was the tongue of some unimaginable snake, gigantic in size--and it curved and moved with agility, as if it had a life of it's own. Its tongue almost reached the ground before it drew it back in inside its mouth. The eyes of the dragon seemed to be blazing with the fire of a thousand lanterns, and when the dragon focused them on the man who had dared to invade into his territory, they cast a yellowish halo around him.

The dragon roared like an elephant, and its roar blotted out the other sounds which had now filled the forest. It then lowered its head and came closer to the man in the black robes, who stood firm and calm, as if he met dragons in deadly forests every other day.

In a deep, dark voice, that sounded like water rushing through an ancient pipeline, the dragon demanded: "What brings you here, human? Tell me your wish, and if it be fair, it shall be granted. Or else, you shall be killed."

The man then replied, and though his voice was nowhere near as loud as the dragon's, it was equally sinister: "I have successfully come to the heart of the Forest of Falling Leaves. You are the master of this forest, and you are bound by your own rules: now you must fulfill my desire."

"And what is your desire, human?" The dragon asked.

"It's simple. I want to be immortal."

"You dare to ask for immortality? You have formidable courage, human. Ask for something else, human. No one is immortal in this world. Not even me."

The man frowned, but he was not surprised. Then he spoke again: "Then grant that no one will be able to defeat me in a battle. That in any kind of warfare me and my army will always emerge victorious."

The dragon hesitated for only a second, then it said: "Fine then. No one born in this world shall be able to defeat you or your army in a battle. Now go back to where you came from, human. You have disturbed my sleep."

Having thus spoken and granted a wish that was going to let all hell break loose, the dragon retreated beneath the lake. The forest became still and silent again. Nothing moved. Not even a bird called. Only the leaves kept falling, and the trees whispered, as if in awe of the coming demise of the world.

The man in the black robes started laughing. It was a heinous laugh, and it filled the forest, and oppressed the sky. The dragon heard it from beneath the lake, and it chilled its blood.