Dragon Books: Ash Drake (Incomplete)

Dragon Books: Ash Drake
2007

A dark night on the eve of the Blood Ritual, a hatchling took its first breaths. Emerging from the shattered egg shell was a baby ash drake. Once a year, the people of the Bad Lands come out of their dark, dusty caves and onto the desert to feed a captured child to a new baby ash drake. The prison child started crying when he saw the large, ferocious looking hatchling in front of him. Although he was an infant, the drake was ten feet long, with large, scary orange eyes and jagged teeth.

“This is the great new god-prince you see before you!” shouted a red robed Blood Priest, pointing a finger at the ash drake from the top of a large black and white temple. “His name shall, from this hour hence forth, be Izac! Blood Prince!” a roar went up from the crowd.

“And now, here is our sacrifice to the Ash God Hirondie! A child for his young to feast upon!” boomed the evil priest. The child was pushed into a cage with the creature. The child wiped away his tears, knowing he was doomed. The ash drake looked at the boy curiously. And hungrily. Then, the drake seemed to change his mind.

“Hmmm… no hungry. No eat. Come play?” Izac hissed. The crowd fell silent.

“Play?” asked the boy, wondering what had happened.

“Yes, play. We fly round. We find pretty place. This ugly place. In pretty place we play.”

“Ok.” the boy said happily. The drake picked the boy up with a talon and dropped him on his back. Izac pumped his wings and flew out the open top of his cage and toward the Forest East. Stunned, the Blood Priest said uncertainly,

“That was a, uhh… message from Hirondie! He does not want his young to feast on children! He wants them to eat adults! Any volunteers?”

* * *

“What your name?” asked Izac.

“My name’s Chase. Thank you for not eating me.”

“Why me eat you? Me eat… me eat… me don’t know what me eat. What you eat?”

“Well, I eat bread, and apples, and meat, and cheese. And I drink water.” Chase answered.

“Well, than me eat breads and apples and meats and cheeses and waters.” said Izac happily.

“Why do you talk so funny?” asked Chase.

“Whatcha mean?”

“I mean, you talk strange… oh, never mind.”

“’K!” replied Izac. He landed in a clearing surrounded by trees on three edges and a small river on the other. Flowers and soft green moss covered the ground. There was a large log with one end in the grass and the other on a pile of rocks that seemed to be blocking the entrance to a cave. The water sparkled clear.

“See, this pretty place.” said Izac. “Me feel weird. Throat hurt. Feels dry.”

“You’re probably thirsty. Go over to the stream and drink.”

“Drink what?”

“Water, silly!”

“Ohhhhhhhh… you eat waters, me eat waters.” Izac walked over to the small river and dipped his head in the refreshing liquid.

“Look at this!” Chase said. He went over and tapped the rocks that held the log up.

“I think that something’s behind this.” Izac raised his head, clear water dripping off his chin.

“Me can move rocks. Me am strong.” he afford. Izac walked to the boulders and pushed on the right side with his wings. The rocks fell away and into the river, forming a sort of bridge. The space where the rocks were was a dark cave.

“Us go in?” Izac asked. Chase gulped.

“OK. But we’ll need light.”

“Grab stick.”

“What?”

“Grab stick. Me make fire on stick. Stick light up. Us see in dark.”

Chase picked up a small, nearby branch. Izac breathed fire gently on the tip of the wood. Sparks set the fire alight.

“Me make fire. Fire light way. We go in hole. Have fun!” said Izac. They walked into the cavern.