From: OnyxScarab <onyxscarab@yahoo.com>


Day 7- Evening

Darrkon paced the warren grounds. He had been
slightly on edge all morning. Something would be
happening, and it would be happening soon. There
were those that sensed something strange in the
air, and there were those that sensed something
more. A scant few among the warren's number, men
and women who had lived through enough conflicts
to recognize its scent as easily as a florist
does that of a rose, knew that somewhere the
sounds of battle would soon ring out.

S'ron and Galen were two such men. Earlier they
brought Darrkon into their confidence, seeking
his opinion. The fact that these two men, who
each had far more strategic and tactical
knowledge and experience than Darrkon, thought he
might have something useful to add to their
discussion, troubled him all the more. It not
only confirmed his suspicion that trouble
approached. It fully affirmed his feelings that
death followed in its wake. Each man shared his
feelings about what would be the best course of
action. Two things all easily agreed on; keep an
eye out for Naomi, and stay alert!

In the time that passed since the meeting,
Darrkon's unease had grown. A thought struck his
mind that this trouble was heading directly for
Norwall. His pessimistic self spoke of a cursed
Norwall, and laughed at Darrkon's foolish decree
that she had finally found luck. Doom had simply
waited for a queen to clutch again, and now
decided to strike!

Darrkon quickly quieted those thoughts, only to
have others trumpet their worries loudly in his
head. The most vocal among them announced itself
by screaming two words.  Lacey!...Aurianna!! And
then their correlation struck Darrkon like an
iron fist. In the last attack on the warren,
Darrkon lost any chance at fixing things between
himself and Lacey. A thought occurred to him that
it may be -he- who is cursed. That every time he
finds a woman to love, her life must be taken to
make up for all of the loves and lives he had
ruined. Perhaps disaster had attached itself to
his fate, and he brought that fate along with him
to the warren.

Guilt over a past he could never escape, and a
general uncertainty of his future twisted and
turned those thoughts into something truly ugly.
What if Lacey's death, the destruction of
Amethyst's last clutch, the sickness of the only
surviving dragon, and the misery and suffering of
multiple dragons and riders were all because of
his fate, his destiny, his curse? Maybe he
should...

*That has got to be the -stupidest- thing I've
ever heard you think!!* Calindeth's thoughts
broke into his mind.

*They were only thoughts. Something bad is in the
air, and my mind got caught up in it.*

*Of course something bad is going to happen!*
Calindeth snorted *Something bad is always
happening somewhere. But I do know what you
mean...the land is too quiet. Something is
definitely on its way, but until we know what it
is...Wraiths!!!* Calindeth hissed.

*What?!* Darrkon was taken aback by the sudden
transition in topics.

*Lonnisgrave has run into wraiths. I will be
waiting on the green*

*On my way!* Darrkon replied *And bring the
strap!*

< .. >

By the time Darrkon reached the green he was
feeling relieved. Wraiths he could handle. He
hated them more than anything in the dragonlands
simply because he could not stand alone and face
them. He would enjoy watching his dragon
obliterate this threat. Darrkon grabbed the strap
out of Calindeth's muzzle and pulled his varied
weapons from it. Rolling the weathered piece of
leather, he climbed into his harness.

In a short time he was in the air along with some
of the other Alpha wing members. Dragonriders he
had been offered a chance to lead. Soon more
riders followed, including his wingmate, and real
life mate, Aurianna. Despite himself, he felt a
tinge of anxiety about her going into battle. 
Even though he knew she had been a part of a
warren, and training for this type of fight
longer than he had, he was still worried. Yet he
was also confident that she would take care of
herself, her wingmate, and her fellow
dragonriders. There was no worrying, no doubt
about that.

The instant Alpha wing appeared at their
destination, they sprang into battle. Dragons and
riders split into groups to attack their foe.
Seeing that Lonnisgrave was being backed by two
other riders Darrkon and Aurianna turned their
dragons' efforts to a less secured area infested
with wraith.

The pair worked in perfect tandem. First one
would fly low flaming any wraith in its path,
while the other watched for any of the vermin
trying to attack from behind. Though relatively
young for dragons, Calindeth and Alora worked as
though they had been wingmates for decades. They
flew seamlessly, leaving the sickening globular
forms of wraith dying, still aflame. Each watched
the flank and back of the other. They made an
impressive team.

After pulling up from another run at the wraiths
Calindeth spoke *Darrkon there is trouble at the
warren. Some dragons will have to leave to
assist.*

*Wraiths?!* Darrkon asked confused that they
might organize a diversion.

*No, humans!* Calindeth replied.

*Then let's go!* He said to his dragon who
continued to search the ground below him. *I can
be put to better use on the ground!*

*I can be of better use here.* Calindeth replied
finding what he was looking for.

*How is that?* Darrkon asked as his dragon began
a dive, with Alora close behind him.

*With my magic!* the gray dragon answered as they
closed in on a large group of wraith.

Darrkon didn't argue any longer. He could feel
the confidence in his dragon's mind *Show me this
magic of yours!*

Darrkon sat atop his dragon as they plummeted
towards the scourge of the land. The group in
question found itself contained at every side.
But the dragon fire could only pick them off a
few at a time. Calindeth stayed focused on the
large patch of wraiths held at bay by the other
dragons' flame. It was Alora who watched his
tail, his belly, his back, and any other area a
wraith attempted to attack. Suddenly the dragon
cut their flame and rushed out of the area. A
second later, a bright orange ball of flame
erupted from Calindeth's mouth.

As their dragons gained height, Darrkon and
Aurianna watched the ball careen to the earth.
This ball was much brighter than any Calindeth
had produced in the past. And it hit the ground
with a thunderous crash.

Debris flew everywhere, but all dragons and their
riders were at a safe distance. The wraiths were
not so lucky. Fire exploded into the air and
spread along the ground, engulfing anything in
its way in flames. With one major  threat out of
the way, Norwall's dragons turned to dispose of
the rest.

Submitted by
Ismail Abdur-Rahman
oKa
Darrkon&Calindeth

NRPG: For those of you who don't know, Calindeth
has long been able to spit balls of flame, but no
one recognized it as a magic ability. They
thought it was a lack of control and so he
ignored developong it. More details will follow
soon.

Darrkon's there in the fray, use him as you will!
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