Chapter 1 - A Fallen Seed

The wind whipped the treetops back and forth, thunder crashing as lighting blazed across the sky. Creatures scurried for cover in burrows or beneath the old trees in the forest, former rivalries and marked territory forgotten in the face of true power. Predator and prey alike ran for shelter, avoiding the groaning trees and blasted winds.

Lightning struck, a wailing rip was heard, as an old oak split in two and toppled over. The storm became subdued for a brief moment as if in mourning of this former symbol of strength.

“You have nowhere left to flee Dragon, I am your enemy today, as well as your doom!”

A voice boomed across the forest, bouncing back from the mountains, returning to their source, a glowing blue wand. The wand was clutched in the hands of a middle-aged man, with specks of grey in his hair, and a plain brown robe. The wild wind buffeted against his brown robe, outlining his body, and billowing behind him. The Wizard stood high above the forest's chaos, suspended by blue, almost black, wings. Once more he called out.

“Dragon, I know you're here, there is no use in furthering this farce, come and die with what little dignity you have left!”

His voice cracked down upon the large valley, silencing the storm for a moment. Then a mighty gust of wind blew, and the clouds parted for a brief second.

“Fool, you may have injured me with that ancient artifact, but I know it took a toll upon you as well. What point is there in this battle except to give our enemies' a greater opportunity?"

The Wizard quickly muttered something under his breath, and the wand began to glow brighter almost imperceptibly.

“Your crimes are too great to ignore this time. You will be destroyed."

Anger and hate dripping from the Wizards ice cold voice. His face contorted by the force of his emotions.

A blue orb shot into the center of the stormclouds, fading out of sight. Suddenly the clouds within a mile of the wizard disappeared with a visceral wrench. The large form of the Dragon was revealed coiled up, more than several miles in length. Its dark amber eyes hid a wrathful temper, and sharp claws and fangs spoke to danger and death.

"You are but a child to me, my power is beyond your feeble mind, human."

The Dragon's voice hissing like acid poured on flesh, with haughty and prideful eyes.

His tail whipped towards the Wizard, uncoiling its body in the process. This revealed a long gash running up half of its side, and deep into its body. He snarled at the pain as droplets of purple blood fell. It fell, sizzling through the forest canopy, killing many beasts, and dyeing the earth a strange color.

The tail struck, creating a shockwave that blew the nearby trees away leaving a circle of dirt. A hexagonal shield flashed into existence around the Wizard, protecting him from all elements and attacks. The tail bent around the shell, unable to harm or move him from his position.

The wand dimmed as it released a blast of light towards the Dragon. The blue light slammed into the Dragons side. A physical force then blew the wound open wide, scattering scales and blood below. The Dragon let out a shrill wail, before diving towards the Wizard. Scratching and biting the barrier frantically, the Wizard's face whitened and hunched over. The toll of maintaining his shield against the Dragon's fury was immense.

Despite the apparent strain, the Wizard was quickly able to activate a jade bracelet on his arm, shifting to the right, and out of the Dragons reach. Just as the bracelet was activated, the shield broke into glimmers of fading blue light, squeezed into nothingness. The Dragon's mouth snapped shut, catching the Wizard's arm below the elbow, as the shield pushed him out of harm's way.

Grunting as he emerged from his spell, quickly reorienting himself. His robe bound itself around the stump of his arm, cutting off the profuse bleeding. He flew backward, hoping to buy more time, dismissing the wings in favor of a simple flight spell.

“You think this will stop me!? I will never stop! And once the kingdom's troops arrive, You too will suffer unending pain!”

“Help isn’t coming Wizard, my brethren are already in position to ambush your so-called allies. Let's see how willing they are to help you once they see the might of the Dragons!”

Slightly hysterical now, the Wizard activated an amulet hanging around his neck, sending a bird of pure blue mana back whence he came. Screaming, he withdrew a short dagger from within his robes. Slicing his hand with the burnished copper dagger, he pointed it towards the Dragon and began chanting.

Aware of the danger, and afraid, the Dragon retreated and coiled its tail around itself to protect against the attack. Then began to glow a burnt orange, light leaking from within its coils. Suddenly the Dragon struck like a viper, flinging its fangs towards the Wizard, a ball of Fire held within its throat.

The Wizards wand was burnt first, disintegrating into dust, all that remained was a small jewel falling towards the forest below. As he saw death approaching, he resolutely thrust the dagger into his heart. A blue light shot out of the hilt of the dagger, fueled by the last remaining life of the Wizard. It cut nearly all the way through the neck of the dragon, leaving its head hanging, eyes glazed. Spinal fluid and blood infused with the vital energies and essence of the beast fell to join the Wizards remains.

Suddenly the body of the Dragon shook, suspended in the air it began to decompose. Until a serpentine creature emerged from within the corpse, a gash nearly severing its back half was visible. The creature exuded exhaustion, looking disdainfully at the resting place of the Wizard before it slowly flew away.

Pools of the Dragon's blood and flesh were left all around the valley. Combining with the remnant mana from the Wizard to change the flora and fauna in mysterious ways.

The last of the storm had faded away, leaving the destroyed forest damp. A remnant wind tossed about the forest, seemingly reluctant to leave. One of the former forest giants laid crumpled over. The wind wandered closer, intrigued, lifting and tearing off a loose branch. It fell, one seed left hanging on, the branch struck the ground, sticking upright. The lone seed was buried beneath the purple-blue soil, an act of fate.