DRACONIA: The Prophecy of Terror - Prologue

Prologue: The Prophecy is Given

The night underneath the Dōrahkahdōnīunah stars was frigid and desolate. The season of Īlahtah was slowly gripping its freezing claws onto the continent. Every creature across the land hid in their dens and nests from the chill of the howling wind. Even the mighty dragons slept on this night. All but one.

He was a black dragon, one so immensely ancient that most other dragons towered over him and the others of his kind. He was an Ahtīset.

While the others and his family rested peacefully, the dragon crept out of his cavernous home onto a flat ledge. Below was a sheer cliff, leading down the steep, rocky slope of the Mountain of the Ancients.

The night had an air of eerie tension, hovering over the dragon like a thick fog underneath the dim light of the halfmoon. A threat was arriving quickly, and the black dragon could feel its evil.

The Great Alliance the kingdoms had worked so hard to maintain would soon be thrown into great peril.

Suddenly, the Ahtīset was momentarily blinded by a brilliant flash of light. As his vision cleared, he saw the glowing white outline of a dragon lighting up the sky around him. He knew immediately who it was. Before him was the starry body of a dragon of long ago. Knowledge of her revered name had faded with the thousands of years of time, now only known as “The First Seer.” While she was smaller than most other dragons, she was the wisest dragon in the history of Dōrahkahdōnīah. The First Seer spoke:

“Ancient Tooth,” said a voice full of wisdom. She wore a face of worry and anguish.

“It is an honor to see you again, Seer,” Ancient Tooth responded, his spine prickling with anxiety. “What brings you here on this dark night?”

“I have a prophecy,” she said, “the Prophecy of Terror, and I am afraid it threatens the very fabric of life in Dōrahkahdōnīah.” She looked over her shoulder, as if she suspected they were being watched. “There is a threat to the Great Alliance, promising to destroy it if the prophecy is not fulfilled.”

Ancient Tooth’s worst fears were being proven. “What is the prophecy?”

She recited the prophecy:

“A Kingdom of Darkness lost to time,

Will return in time of peace.

When on the darkest night Dōrahkahdōnīah sleeps,

A new era of war will release.

A Prince of Terror and Dark and Sky

Will be chosen by the Ancient One.

His mission is to save Dōrahkahdōnīah,

But the king will not let the war be won.

One of Terror, born of sea,

Will follow in the Promised One’s wake.

Through a forest of venom and death

To the desert of Ancient heat and quake.

The Kingdom of Thunder will be lost,

The king’s throne abdicated.

A Prince and his sister will join with Terror

Until their quest is completed.

The Palace of Claw will be in danger as well,

An ancient kingdom born.

The only Scythe Prince will follow the quest

To save his kingdom and throne.

A Kingdom lost to betrayal and Vigilance

Will be found and restored.

But one of true Darkness and vengeance

Will be the destruction of all.”

Ancient Tooth had a dozen questions buzzing in his mind. “What is the threat?” he asked, frantic with nerves.

“I have told you all that I am allowed by the Elders. The future is uncertain.” The Seer looked at Ancient Tooth with deep worry in her eyes. “It is time that I must leave you. Warn the kingdoms of this. I urge you to do the right thing.” She began to fade. “You will not be deserted now.”

The night darkened around where the Seer’s glowing outline once was. The ancient dragon shivered. The night seemed colder now, and much darker. He realized that while he spoke to the First Seer, dark storm clouds had covered the dim light of the moon.

Just then, a booming roar sounded in the quiet sky. Ancient Tooth looked toward the sound and saw the silhouette of a massive dragon, the largest he had seen in years. It seemed to have a stinger. The roar sounded again, forcing the black dragon to plug his ears with his talons. He lashed out around him, hoping to injure the evil beast.

Darkness crept around the edges of Ancient Tooth’s eyes as he struggled to maintain consciousness. It slowly closed in, before finally engulfing his field of vision fully.

Ancient Tooth gave into the sensation with a defeated whimper. He fell unconscious.