The sun was just setting as the four heroes rode back to their lord's castle. Fiery sunlight burned behind grey clouds, streaks of red and orange bleeding through. A storm would coming that night.

Guards patrolled the high walls of the castle, walking atop it. At the sight of the heroes, they moved to meet them. The leader of the band - a handsome young man with amber hair - raised his arm up into the air, extending his sword. That was the sign.

The mission had been a success.

A horn sounded out, then a long, low groaning - the drawbridge was being lowered over the moat. Not missing a beat, the heroes passed over the moat and into the castle's grounds. Their lord and his court magician were already waiting for them.

"Ah, hello, hello!" the lord was young, barely older than the teenaged heroes he had just eagerly welcomed back to his castle. Next to his wizened mage, he looked like he could've been among their ranks. "Tell me, how'd everything go?"

While the man had been talking, the amber-haired hero had slid off his horse. He had a burlap drawstring bag in his hand, which he passed to the mage. The old man pulled open the bag, peering inside. Not to be left in the dark, the lord leaned over to take a look too.

"One dragon's egg, scrambled." the heroes' leader said. "Just like you ordered. We took some of the shell, you wanted that, right?"

"Yes..." the court mage began, only to be interrupted when the lord shoved his hand into the bag. Before he could tell him not to, the lord had already selected a piece of shell to examine closely.

"Ooh!" he brought it close to his face, adjusting his eyeglasses. One side was white as chalk, sticky, while the other side was a speckled purple. It was at once both leathery and fragile as glass. "Why, this is quite pretty... I see why you wanted them to retrieve such a treasure. Well done, heroes!"

While the court mage pulled the eggshell back from him, the lord continued.

"I'd say you've more than earned your reward. But, ah... shall we have a feast, first?"

The guards cheered. Beaming, the young hero scanned the crowd of excited faces... this was what he lived for. He tossed a glance back at his companions.

"We've got time, don't we?"

Beneath the castle, in a subterranean chamber, the court mage toiled away. Odd instruments of invention surrounded him, ones that would be alien to the common man. This was where the court mage ate, slept, and studied. He could hear the feast, the clapping and music and raucous laughter seeping down through the floor. Soon, it would be over... but only he knew that.

He laid his latest creation down on his worktable - a silvery amulet, hung on a chain of the same metal. It was a simple ring, but a purple gemstone had been inserted within. Tall, skinny and polished to a lustrous shine, the impeccably cut amethyst ran down the ring's center. All together, the amulet was just under the size of his palm, and the chain would let it be worn like a necklace.

It had finally been put together. But it still wasn't complete.

With a pestle and mortar of hard stone, he ground up some of the eggshell the heroes had retrieved, stirring it into a potion. With a small brush, he spread it over the amulet, not missing a spot. And with an ancient incantation, he poured magical energy - mana - into his creation, until it glowed from the core from the raw power it contained.

The light slowly grew in intensity, until it was nearly blinding. In all his many years of life, the old mage had only seen one thing that blazingly bright before.

When he was a child, his village had been attacked by a dragon. It was the most fearsome creature he had ever seen - big as a barn, with teeth long as butcher knives and horns that stretched out to the sky. Dazzling violet scales covered its body, and it could breathe out a white stream of light that destroyed whatever it blasted through. He had watched that beast raze his hometown, and as the amulet glowed in front of him, he could see the light that scorched away the houses.

Ilbolia.

Soon, the light faded. And from above, he heard a loud rumbling.

"Damn, it followed us!"

The amber-haired hero raised his shield to block some oncoming debris. He stood with his companions and the lord's guard against a foe they could just barely see - night had broken, and the monster had burst through the castle's wall, kicking up a vast cloud of dust. But they could all tell what it was... a vengeful dragon.

"Watch your left!" one of his friends shouted out, trying to aim at the beast with her crossbow as she darted to avoid the falling rubble. A split second before it would've hit him, the hero leapt out of the way of a man-sized chunk of stone.

"Ouch..." a small part of the stone had cracked off and knicked him across the arm. He clutched it with his hand... a jagged edge had cut through his sleeve and drawn blood. "That hurts..."

The dragon flew up into the air, letting out a wailing roar as it prepared to divebomb the castle. The hero's eyes followed it, preparing to dodge. Maybe if he could get in close, he could wail on the thing with his sword...

"Hold on, guys!" another of the companions raised her voice. She waved her staff around, calling out a few words in a language known to few. A dome of electricity crackled into existence around the humans, expanding in size until it encompassed the entire castle grounds.

"Nice thinking!" the leader of the band called out. While he tried to project confidence, his voice wavered. His friend's ward spell had stopped a hail of ballista bolts before, but an angry dragon? Could it really hold up for long?

The first time the dragon slammed into the barrier, the hit was absorbed. The second time, cracks formed. But there wasn't a third time... the violet-colored monster flew up, stayed high in the air, but aimed its head down. Initially, the hero thought the beast was going to ram it again, but then he realized what was about to happen.

"Everybody, run!"

The beast opened its jaws, and a light like the sun was burning within. Smoke billowed out from the creature's nostrils... instants after the words had left the human's lips, the light burst forth in a concentrated ray.

Thick as a tree, the blast pierced straight through the magical barrier, which shattered apart like glass. It evaporated away as the dragon began to move its neck around, chasing the humans. The burning light sliced apart the castle, ruined the rest of the wall, carved a ravine into the ground, and reduced trees to scorched tinder. It seemed to last an eternity.

When the attack was over, the damage was massive. Ears ringing from the noise, the hero stumbled out from where he had ran to, surveying his surroundings.

"Oh, oh no..."

Everything was ablaze. He could see his friends struggling to get up. Luckily, they were all okay. But they weren't about to be.

Above him, the dragon was readying another beam. He could tell it was about to happen... he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Suddenly, a strange sound tore through the battlefield.

The court mage stood in the middle of everything, his arm outstretched to the sky. A violent red aura throbbed around it... he had just sent a bolt of energy at the dragon. Faster than an arrow, faster than most eyes could see, it shot towards the dragon, jagged and thin as a pen.

The dragon had no time to move out of the way, the mage's attack tore a hole in its right wing. With an ear-rending cry, it plummeted to the ground. A deafening rumble shook what was left of the castle, and a crater formed under the dragon's weight.

Injured but not entirely dead, the violet dragon managed a weak roar, shaking in pain. The destruction it had caused proved to be its undoing: when it had shifted its beam towards the wall, it had unintentionally sliced part of it into a spike. That's the part it fell onto, and it had skewered the monster through the left wing. It had no chance of flying again.

Everyone was silent as the mage strode up to the dragon, staring up at it all the way. A smirk bent his thin lips... he had waited long for this moment, and most of that time had been spent planning for this moment.

He got close to the monster, as close as he could, so close that he could extend his arm and feel one of the dragon's claws. That's just what he did... pressing one of his hands against the dragon's, he closed his eyes. A pulse of mana was sent from his body into the beast's. The hero, his companions, and the guards watched in bafflement as the dragon's wounds stitched themselves up. It was a healing spell... but why?

"Wh-what are you doing?" the young hero stammered.

The dragon was just as confused as the young man. It's strength restored, it rose to its feet. For a second, it wondered if it could trust the old human. But then, the old human took something out from its robe, something small and sparkly, and held it up.

Words spilled from his mouth. Ancient words. Powerful words.

A shimmering purple glow began to surround the violet dragon. It tried to move, but couldn't... before anyone could tell what was happening, the beast had vanished into thin air.