Dragon Unleashed (Book 1 of the Dragon Mage Saga)

A Plan of Sorts

            Darla gulped-her destiny was scrawled onto a flimsy piece of paper. With a deep breath, she unwound the ribbon and opened it.

            The girl from the world of monster origin

            Coming again, the dragon mage

            The devils are there, born of sin

            They’ll release the great ones from their cage

            Darkness comes in the shadow

            Havoc released in the night

            The sword of might can only do

            As the mage leads the final fight

            Death is her middle name

            Golden fire will devour her whole

            At the end, the dead will be the sane

            And Earth reduced to coal

            The words sent chills down her spine as she read the ominous prophecy. After rereading and rereading, she still could barely understand.

            The girl from the world of monster origin…that was her. She was the coming again of the dragon mage. They’ll release the great ones from their cage…She assumed that part was referring to the Wreckers that the White Maidens summoned. They were still out there, the ghastly smoke beasts. Darkness comes in shadow…the Shadow Master, most likely. After that, she stopped understanding. What sword of might? Why is death her middle name? If she’s supposedly the human incarnation of golden fire, how will it devour her whole? But the last two lines made her shiver as if she was doused in freezing ice water.

            At the end, the dead will be the sane.

            And Earth reduced to coal.

            Was that what the prophecy was saying? The world was going to end? All would be left dead and Earth, Darla’s home, would be destroyed? Even though Darla no longer lived on Earth, she didn’t want it burnt to a crisp.

            “Are you okay?” Hugo asked, his eyebrows creasing. “You look like you’re about to faint or something.”

            Darla nodded, feeling her heart pound in her chest. She didn’t understand anything about what she was supposed to do.

            “So…what’s this quest?” she asked quietly. “Because I think we should leave tonight before things can get even worse.”

            Hugo paused. “I think we’re supposed to find “the sword of might” otherwise known as the Spirit Sword.”

            Darla remembered seeing the Spirit Sword in the painting. It was the legendary weapon wielded by Laurel Crowe, the first Mage.

            “But no one knows where it is,” Darla said. “How do you expect to find it? It could be anywhere-the mountains, the oceans, the forests.”

            Hugo looked taken aback. “I know the odds are not with us. We have little to no clues or evidence to where this sword might be. But all I know is that we need to find it. I don’t know why, but I think it may be the only thing to stop the Shadow Master. From what it says in the prophecy, I think it wants to…destroy Earth.”

            “Destroy Earth?” Darla was dismayed. “Why? It’s not even from Earth. If it could destroy anything, wouldn’t it plan to destroy Pharix?”

            Hugo shrugged. “I really don’t know. Anyways, I think I might have an idea where we should go first.”

            “Where?” Darla asked.

            Hugo reached into his side bag and pulled out the Dragon History textbook, flipping to the section on Laurel Crowe.

            “Before she vanished, she was heading up to the Crystal Temples in the mountains. She had her sword with her. I think we should follow her path and see where it takes us. It might just lead us to the sword-or the Shadow Master,” Hugo explained.

            Darla read over the textbook page. “She went to a lot of places before she reached the Temples though.”

            “Then we’ll have to visit them all,” Hugo shrugged. “I’m not saying this will be easy. This could take weeks, and we might not find anything. But I have a feeling that this is what we should be doing if we want to save Fern.”

            Darla took a deep breath. “Okay, so we should pack something-clothes, food, water, and weapons. Oh, and bring some textbooks.”

            Hugo hurried over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out three faded-looking books with leather covers. They all looked ancient.

            “Volume 1 Vince Pharix’s Manifesto, Forbidden Magix Guide, and the Secrets of Pharix,” he explained, dropping them all into his bag. “We leave tonight. Tell nobody.”

            It was time for an adventure.