chapter one
in the times when all was well with the world, and the humans weren't always thirsting for war and power, there was a species the gods created called the Dragons. Their job was to pretect the humans, and they lived aby a code, the code stated that the Dragons could not use their powers the gods gave them for ill use. they were to protect the humans, since they seemed to be incapable of doing it themselves. humnas believed the word of those who were good with words, and often believed the speeches of those who were aiming to manipulate them. to stop this, the Dragons were created and the people learned to listen to the ones who had special powers and had kindness reflected in their eyes. They called themselves Dragons from the Order of the Rose...
the Dragons that the people came to trust were mysterious and so different, that the people thought they might be the gods themselves. the dragons denied the rumors, and for that, the people respected them. soon enough, they discovered that the Dragons were mortal, just like them, except they lived longer and had abilities beyond their understanding. they realized the Dragon's only duty was to protect them.
if you had asked anyone to describe one of these warriors, you would get a glorious and lengthy description. Dragons had powers, yes, but different ones; no two dragons had the same powers or ablilities as the other. . they were kind, and would always refuse to take advantage of anyone or anything. they had reaspect for the people, an dwould only speak the truth. if you asked a question, they would answer to the best of their ability and would tell you bluntly. they all had a sweet temperament, and when their mood changed, you could tell because their eyes changed color. usually, they were beautiful, in fact unworldly beautiful, much like the gods themselves, but made in the form of human likeness. each dragon had a teasing aura about them, and they loved to play jokes and pranks, and were usually mellow and could laugh at themselves. each one had a unique but similar personality, making the Order very different from other forms of species, persay.
a dragon was chosen very rarely; an experienced Dragon with the gift of Sight, or the gift of visions and prophecies, would have a vision of a person, and they would travel to where they lived and have the boy or girl inducted into the Order by the Dragon King. once they had been inducted, they would then be sent ot sit in silent vigil on their knees for two days without food and water to test their endurance. when the vigil was over, the gods would have given them their abilities Dragons are famous for, and be whisked away to start training. they would go through a series of tests but no one but the dragons knew what kind of tests, and they would discover their powers. they would be immediately sent to train in mortal combat and learn how to control and reign in their powers. they were always taught how to use them in battle and for the good of the humans. they were trained in laws and rules of the Order, and when they completed their training, they were tough, but still kind.
it was very rare to have twins in the Order. twins told of great fortune and the pair of beings would be very dangerous in combat to anyone who opposed them. they told of changing times for the Order and the way of life for the rest of the world, and it was always a good omen. it was even rarer for a female to be inducted, and they were sometimes fiercer than the men in combat in order to prove themselves in the ranks of many men. those who were accomplished in the field werer refgarded with a high respect and granted a post in the Order of the Rose government. twins and a femal combined meant great change very quickly.
after a millenia, the Dragons would be shunned. stories would be forgotten, and the people would shake with fear at the mention of the Dragons andt he songs would be kept secret. but a pair of twins would change all that when they accomplished the task the gods wanted them to do.
Chapter two
looking over her shoulder at her brother, katie of ellicus laughed at the sight that
was her twin.
"hurry up now, kris!" she hollered down the hill. "We'll be late!"
"I can't with you running ahead of me like your life depends on it!" kris puffed. "and you're in much better shape, i can tell you that!"
katie laughed. "Oh really? i can tell you that you will be in shape by the time we get to the festival...or at least slightly better shape anyway."
kris glared at her. "and why is that, my lovely sister?"
"Because if you don't, i'll tell Rose that you wish to marry her, and she won't be surprised like you want her to. in fact, she'll be so upset that you didn't tell her yourself, that she'll refuse when you finally pop the question!" katie taunted.
kris turned bright red. "you wouldn't," he growled. he stared at katie with reverance and irritation. he loved her to death, but she was also the bane of his existance. she loved to tease him, and the whole of Ellicus knew it. daily she made him want to scream his frustration and laugh at the same time while somehow deepening the bond between them. it was like he was under her spell. each of her tricks had a method to it, or lesson for him. as much as he hated it, he thanked her for it. she was wise beyond her years, and was the town jester. she was also the beauty of the town; the pride and joy of Ellicus. she had marriage proposals daily, but she would refuse all of them. one day when he asked her why, she shrugged and said that she loved her freedom, and that being the slave of an ungrateful man was not how she pictured living her life. she was smart, with black hair down to her knees, and the skin of melted caramel, just like the treat she treasured with reverance. her tunic and skirt were held together by a leather belt, and they were earthcolored. the skirt was modest, and had slits up the side that allowed easy movement without risk of injury, and hung down to her ankles, where she sported laced up sandals like the romans used to have. the total outfit covered everything but her arms, shoulders, neck and head.
she was no stranger to hard work, for the muscles in her body showed sugns of great strength due to the hard work she'd been doing since she could toddle. sometimes kris looked at her and wondered how the gods created such a remarkable creature. katie was gentle and tough at the same time, but could also put her joking manner away when the time came to be serious. the thing he loved most was her good-nature and ability to laugh at herself. but she was also ruthless when it came to teasing him.
"wouldn't i? dear brother, i think you underestimate me!" and with that, katie took off, taunting kris to come along or she'll tell everyone about him and rose
crashing through the brush, and cursing under his breath, kris ran after her, yelling and puffing until he lost her, and had to find his way to town on his own.
when he finally arrived in the square, two hours later, katie was already there, taling to his beloved rose. his clothes were ripped and dirty from crashing and parading through the undergrowth and his hands and face were covered in dirt. he had a couple leaces stuck in his hair, a sign that he hadn't found the main road into town. then again, it would be helpful if katie actually told him where it was.
"MY DARK LADY" a pretty blond exclaimed. "kris, dear, what happened?"
"Rose relax," a tired kris soothed, "just a bit of trouble getting here."
katie couldn't help but full out guffaw at her brother; it was just too funny to pass up. he looked absolutely ridiculous. sometimes she wondered how they were related. kris looked nothing like her, with his blonde hair, and a complexion the color of cotton white clouds. he had blue eyes, like hers, which was the noticable comparison between them. he was tall, while she was just a tad shorter than him.
rose herself had to be blind. she was the prettiest maiden in town next to katie, and she went for the bafoon with the googly eyes. katie kind of figured. rose would have been married by now had it not been for her personality. rose was whiny, needy, and was always complaining about something. to most of the young men in Ellicus, she was not the ideal wife they imagined. she was hard to please, and had an addiction to spending coins on material objects instead of things she really needed.
Embarrassed, the handsome youth draggeda gasping katie to the showers with him, good-naturedly nodding and laughing alon with the witnesses. kris was heading toward the men's showers when kaitie finally got a grip on herself, and went to go wash and mend his clothes.
when he came out, kris was still had a sour expression. "what'd you do that for?" he asked.
"Do what brother? torment you; embarass you? for fun you fool! you have heard of that haven't you?" katie answered.
when her brother's expression didn't change, she nudged him. "Come on sour puss! you got to learn to laugh, you idiot! besides; i did you a facor, rose was mad that you were late, and when i didn't show up with you suckerfished to my side, she got worried. she was fretting like a acat frets over its kittens. quite disgusting actually, but if it helped you out, it was worth the agonizing converstation."
kris laughed.
"it was delicious though when i fed her all the possibilities that could happen in woods like that, and she turned whiter than usual. i was sure she was going to faint, but then you came, and she was all perky again. shame," she sighed dramatically. "See? there's a method to my madness; it's to make funof you or save your ass without going through the lengthy process of explaining it to you, which i'm doing right now."
chuckling, kris growled at her. "Give me my clothes, you beautiful monster!" he teased.
hissing at him like the monster he called her, katie tossed his clothes at him. pulling them on, kris kissed his twin good bye and with a determined stride, walked back to where they had left Rose.
content, katie strolled to the heart of town, where her parents could be found selilng trinkets and some of their harvest, and where everyone elsesat around telling the previous year's gossip.
"Morning, beauty!" her mother chimed. "seeing you up and at it this early in the morning gives me the feeling that you're going to get a head start on some mischief today."
katie smiled at her. "Already started," katie smiled.
laughing, her mother raised an elegant eyebrow. "and who is your subject of torment this morning?"
katie grinned like an imp.
her mother put down the trinket she was trying to sell, and looked at her daughter. "you didn't. not today," she groaned. "You know how important today is."
"i do," katie answered. "but that shouldn't stop me from belittling him. it's fun!" she explained, an innocent lok on her face.
just then, her father came up from the crowd, holding a wad of money in his hand. katie guessed he just got done selling some of his weird objects he liked to create.
"what's the matter?" her father questioned. "what did i miss?" he asked, kissing his wife and tapping his daughter on the nose.
katie's mother sighed. "she's been at it again."
"Oh dear," her father mumbled, distracted by one of the trinkets that had come apart.
there was a silence between the three of them as her mother went to help one of their customers and her father fixed the object in his hands.
katie's father put down the object, temporarily giving up, and looked at his daughter.
"Now you've been up to trouble i see." he said, raising one comical eybrow.
thinking her father was kind of a lunatic, katie answered honestly.
"yes, i've been up to mischief. and my favorite subject of torment is unscathed. so now worries."
warming up to her charm, her father smiled, and opened his arms to her.
as she stepped into his arms, katie could never imagine ever leaving him. she somehow couldn't see him dying, but instead, seeing him living on forever as his weird old self.
he let go of her, and she watched as he fixed the trinket, and sold it to a grumpy old man looking for an anniversary present for his wife; he was going on about how she was sensitive, and why the hell a woman would want something anyway when she should be doing housework.
her father sold the trinket, sent the man on his way, and gave the money to katie.
"share it with your brother," he chuckled as katie kissed him, and ran off.
~~~
as the day went on, and katie got a few kicks out of playing a few pranks on the townsfolk, the people grew more excited. the story teller that came out of his hut once a year always came out on the day of the festival. the people loved his stories, the ones that everyone else had forgotten. he was old, with white hair that stuck out in tuffs on his head, and seemed to be placed randomly. he wore a tunic and trousers, pale white, and wore nothing to protect his feet. no one knew the actual age of the man, but he seemed ageless. his eyes told of a thousand years of knowledtem,that not one of them ever hoped to gaim, and his wrinkled face told of hardships that he had conquered throughout his life. katie loved everything about him.
when the time came, everyone traveled to the west side of the village, and the old man came out. excited, they began speaking of the weird old man, who was also the prophet of the town. he would tell a story, and then prophesize about a particular teen, usually good news. as the villagers settled in on the ground, in trees, or other various places around the hut, the old man raised his hands, and it grew silent.
"When i was a boy, which was some time ago," the prohpet started, getting a few laughs. "there were those who protected us, the ones who seemed immortal, like the elves we are so often at war with today. they were called Dragons, and they had the most unique power given to them by the gods. hand chosen, teh gods would mark them with a tattoo, a rose design with the face of a dragon of old in the middle. though they weren't immortal, the dragons were granted long lives so they may service us humans longer. righteous in every way, they're job, again, was to protect and teach the normal human race, and pass judgment on those who disrupted the balance of peace.
"for a while, all was calm between our world and theirs. then suddenly, it was tossedaway when a Dragon named Draco came upon a village inthe east side of the kingdom. a man there had stolen countless women's virtue, and then had murdered them to keep them quiet."
several women in the audience flinched, and buried their faces in the arms of loved ones.
"Draco had judged him fairly," the man continued. "he even got him to confess. the people agreed that he should be publicly hanged, to make an example of him, and when the deed was done, the people rejoiced. they thanked the dragon for getting rid of the evil and fear that had plagued them for so long."
the old man then looked at katie, a knowing look deep in his eyes. katie wished she knew what he was thinking as he continued his story.
"but there was one woman in the crowd that had not agreed that the man was guilty. an old woman by the name of Sarah was the man's mother, and the hanged man was her only son, after the oher four had been fighting off raiders. she was angry at Draco for taking her only heir, and planned to kill him in payment for the death of her son.
"that night, the woman watched as her enemy accepted praise and thanks for the death of her boy, and hated the Dragon so much, it drove her mad. Not standing to see him breathing one more second, she attacked from behind, letting out a terrible scream that made the hair on the back of everyone's neck stand up. one woman saw sarah, and pushed Draco out of the way, and was stabbed in the chest from the blade that sarah brandished.
"Bleeding, and on the floor, her life's blood pouring from her chest, the woman's eyes gave nothing away, and she smiled; a moment later, she was still, and her body was just an empty shell. the Dragon's eyes turned red, and picking the old woman up by the neck, he tried to squeeze all the breath out of her. Stabbing Draco with the knife she held, sarah was dropped, and she tried again. Protecting himself from her blow, the Dragon threw fire from his hand, and the woman dropped next to the maiden that had saved Draco's life, dead. Grotesque burns covered her entire body.
"seeing the attack on this woman was beyond anything the villagers had ever seen. defending himsefl against a grief-stricken mother and old woman was unthinkable. the villagers bean wondering why he didn't just move to the side. they were scared at the amount of power the Dragon could harness, and they started yelling accusations at him, and backed him into a corner. afraid that he would ruin all Dragons' reputation, and scared that he might frighten them more, draco did not protect himself this time as the villagers came at him with everything they had. when the crowd dispersed, there were three bodies: the brave maiden, Sarah, and Draco, his body nearly unrecognizable from the beating that ended his life.
"news of this outrage spread quickly, getting more distorted everytime it was told. the result was the same; fear. people started hunting down Dragons, and they could do nothing but hide and run. But as time went on, the Dragons knew they had done nothing wrong. they began to use their powers to protect themselves without harming the people, but, as i've said, stories get twisted like crazy. now they strike against whom ever, not caring if you're there to hunt them or not. they will do anything to protect themselves from a crime they didn't committ.
"So before you decide to get all Dragon Slayer happy, remember this; the people were afraid of Draco because of his outrage at injustice, and the power that was given to him by the gods. Put it this way," the prophet said after getting blank looks. "Would the gods give someof their most precious gifts to those who would misuse it? would you protect yourself if you were accused of something you didn't do? Or were attacked by someone you didn't even know?" j
the people listening to the story that the old man was telling were shocked at which story the prophet had decided to tell. the rhetorical questions asked had sunk in, and Katie looked around to find brooding faces and brows twisted in thought. even little ones were thinking, their eyes looking at something only they could see. No one talked of Dragons, not even the bravest of souls: to do so would set a curse on yourself and others who heard it. But coming from the prophet? People just accepted the idea. After all, the prophet wouldn't put the town in danger, or the inhabitants.
"And now," the man said, raising his arms. "It's time for the prophecy!"
the story forgotten, the villagers looked around, tring to guess which lucky teen the prophet would speak to.
pointing a crooked finger, the man pointed at katie.