Ryo led the horse carrying Lara and the young and always cheerful Cody along the narrow road that led through the forest. If it wasn’t for Cody’s non stop games, there would be no sound other then the natural noises of nature. Ryo hadn’t spoken since his conversation with Lara last night, and she was too afraid to speak to him after what happened. So they traveled in silence, trying to ignore Cody’s constant questions about everything they passed. Suddenly, the questions were silenced by a loud cry from a man bursting from the bushes ahead of them.
“Please! Help me”, the man cried as he staggered towards
them.
“Calm down old man”, Ryo said grabbing hold of the man as he
collapsed in front of him.
“Please. My village…it’s been poisoned…everyone has it…I’m
supposed to get help…please…help…me…”, the sickly man gasped as he went
limp in Ryo’s arms.
Ryo looked the man over. His face was pale and greenish, and his eyes were almost completely white, as if his pupils had lost all color. Ryo gently laid the man on the ground and rose to his feet.
“My god! What happened to him”, Lara asked as she got down
from the horse.
“I’m not sure. His village must be close by, but you must
stay here with Cody”, Ryo ordered.
“What? Stay here? But why”, she asked.
“Because, whatever affected this man and his village must be
highly contagious, and that means you and Cody would be vulnerable to its
affects. I am not, so I will check it out. Make camp in that
clearing over there, I will return as soon as I’ve discovered what is happening”,
he replied, pointing to a small open area just off the trail.
“Alright, Cody come down and help me”, she said as she lifted
her brother off of the horse and down to the ground.
Ryo started to walk away when Lara stopped him.
“Ryo…be careful”, she said with a smile.
“I will”, he replied as he returned her smile and headed off
to find the village.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The other side of the world, in a dark and long condemned part of the realm called the Darklands. Here, only the vilest and disgusting of all creatures take refuge in this abominable climate. But for Korak, it has long been the place he has called home.
“Hello Korak”, a female voice said in a sexy voice.
“Sasha? Where the hell have you been”, Korak demanded as
he turned to face the beautiful woman who entered his chamber.
“Is that how you greet the woman you love”, she asked as she
walked up to him and placed her hands on his chest.
“If you weren’t my wife I would kill you”, Korak growled.
“I love you too”, she said annoyed.
Sash walked over to a nearby table and picks up a piece of fruit that was sitting in a bowl. She turns and sits on the table as she bites into the blackened fruit.
“So, have you gotten around to taking over the world yet or what”,
she asked sarcastically.
“As always, you get way ahead of yourself. I am working
on a plan, but we have to take it slowly, Ryo is still out there, and he
could be trouble”, Korak stated as he folded his arms.
“Ryo…I remember when he was the greatest of us Dragons.
Boy did I have a crush on him then”, she said rolling her eyes.
“What?”
“Oh come on Korak, he is gorgeous, but he doesn’t have the cold
and ruthless heart that you have. That’s why I’m still with you”,
she said smiling.
“Well, Areaus is dealing with Ryo right now. Hopefully,
his plan will get him out of the way for a while”, Korak chuckled.
“Areaus? That fool…he is no match for Ryo, or for anyone,
sometimes I wonder why you keep him around”, she sighs.
“Areaus has his qualities that are useful to me. No matter,
he isn’t going to fight Ryo, he’s just going to mess with his mind a little”,
Korak laughs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ryo walked through the dozens of small cottages that stood on each side of him. It had only taken twenty minutes or so to find the village, but looking over all of the dead bodies and sickly faces that were scattered along the ground, he almost wishes he hadn’t. Many people had fallen victim to what looks like the same affliction that took the old man’s life earlier. Ryo turned in circles, all of the death, the waste of life that surrounded him filled his heart with rage.
“A shame isn’t it Fire Dragon”, a voice from behind asked.
Ryo didn’t turn around to see who it was, for he knew from the voice exactly who it was.
“Areaus, I had a feeling you had something to do with this”, Ryo
growled as he turned to face the fellow Dragon.
“Well, you know me. Always looking for something, or someone
to amuse me”, Areaus chuckles as he walks over to a nearby girl’s lifeless
body, “so young this one, almost makes me regret doing this…almost”.
“Why did you do this? These people were nothing to you”,
Ryo asked.
“Your right, they mean nothing to me, but you do. This
was just a way of getting your attention. Tell me Ryo, how close
did your two friends get to that infected man you encountered in the forest”,
Areaus asked smiling.
“What”, Ryo growled as he glares at Areaus, his eyes glowing
fire red.
“Well, the poison affects anyone who comes within twenty feet
of a carrier”.
Ryo lunged at Areaus, grabbed a hold of his cloak and lifts him
into the air.
“You bastard! If anything happens to them, I swear, I’ll hunt you down and destroy you”, Ryo roared.
Ryo throws the cowering Dragon away and hurries to find his friends.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Elsewhere, in a small house deep within a darkened forest, a large group of figures, wearing ceremonial garb stand over a young woman giving birth. Their chants are mostly drowned out by the cries caused by the pain of a baby boy emerging from the woman. The woman looks at her newborn son, smiles, and goes limp as the exhaustion takes her life. One of the clerical figures takes the child and places him on an altar. Dipping his fingers into a bowl filled with a crimson liquid, he draws a strange symbol on the boy’s chest. The chants grow louder as the figure lifts the boy into the air, and energy begins to swirl around them. Suddenly, the energy pours into the child and the chanting stops. Soon, this boy will become a great and fearsome warrior. His enemy will be the legendary Dragons. For the Dragonslayer has once again been reborn within the soul of an innocent child, and soon, no one will be safe.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“My god Ryo, we’ve been poisoned”, Lara cried as Ryo approached.
“Yes, I know. It is the work of Areaus, a Dragon”, Ryo
replied as he crouched next to her, “How is Cody?”
“Not good, the poison seems to effect him more than me.
What do we do? Can you cure it”, she asked worriedly.
“No, I can’t. Only two people can cure this poison.
The first one is Areaus, and he isn’t going to do it”, Ryo said sadly.
“And the other?”
“The other, is someone I never expected to talk to again.
But it is the only way”, Ryo sighed as he reached down and picked up the
feverish child.
“Who is this man”, Lara asked as she weakly hurried towards the
horse.
“The Dragon of Life”, Ryo said in a low voice.
“Kero?”
“Yes. Come”, replied as he helped her onto the horse behind
Cody.
“Lara”, the child moaned.
“I’m here Cody. Everything is going to be okay”, Lara whispered
as she wrapped her hands around her little brother.
Ryo grabbed the reigns and led the horse quickly down the trail.
They would have to travel non stop all night in order to reach Kero in
time. For long ago, the Dragon of Life set his home atop the highest
mountain in the realm, Mount Orius. Ryo knows that getting there
in time will not be a problem, convincing that stubborn bastard to think
about someone other than himself will be the only challenge. For
he knows that Kero long ago vowed never to involve himself with the people
of the land, or any of the other Dragons. Ryo knows this, because
two hundred years ago, he beat the Dragon to near death when the Dragon
of life refused to mend his heart. He refused to return the one thing
that had ever made Ryo truly happy. The Dragon of life refused to
bring back Emma, and for that, Ryo will never forgive him.