The Dragonic Adventures C2

Far to the west of the dragons’ world lies the inhospitable Kar’dra desert, a vast, seemingly never ending wasteland completely devoid of life. Only the bravest or most desperate dragons ever attempted to cross it, and none ever returned. Legends speak of evil, vile monsters, capable of devouring even the biggest dragon in one single bite. But there are some people to who fate leaves no choice but to take risks, people like the young dragon Alistar.

Alistar trudged across the endless sea of sand. The sun beat down on him relentlessly, the biting sand got in-between his dark green scales and the canteen in his hand was empty. But his biggest burden was the one around his neck. The amulet, a round ruby set in an ornately carved golden base, hung on a leather cord. The amulet was one of the most powerful magic artefacts that existed, and Alistar had been entrusted to guard it with his life. To try to take his mind off his increasingly desperate situation Alistar cast his mind back to what had started his ordeal.

It had all begun with the sorcerer, a fearsome looking black dragon from some distant land. He had marched into Alistar’s home town and demanded to be given the amulet. No-one knew how he could have known it was there, but the amulets original guardian, Alistar’s own father, denied all knowledge of it. The sorcerer became angry and used his magic powers to set half the town ablaze. Despite this show of power, Alistar’s father still refused to reveal the amulets location. At this the sorcerer stormed, swearing he would return and take the amulet by force. Fearing this promise to be true, Alistar’s father had secretly given Alistar the amulet, told him to sneak out of the village and get the Amulet as far away as possible. Alistar was reluctant to leave his family and friends behind but eventually he realized he had no choice, for the sake of the world. As Alistar fled further and further away from home, his worst fears were confirmed. He began hearing reports about his home. He heard that the entire town had been destroyed, the surrounding area had been scorched beyond recognition. There had been no survivors. That was when he decided what to do. He planned to walk out into the desert with no plans of returning. With any luck he would perish out there, reuniting him with his family, and the Amulet would be forever buried beneath the shifting desert sands.

Alistar was jolted back into the present by a shadow looming over him. He looked up and saw the sorcerer standing on top of a massive sand dune. He spoke with a deep voice.
“You’ve caused me quite a few problems. But now I have you and you are in no state to fight, even if you could match my powers” he held out his hand “ give me the amulet, and I won’t leave you to die under the suns merciless glare”
Alistar pulled the amulet from around his neck.
“Go to hell” he said. Summoning the last of his strength Alistar ripped the gem from its base and began to mutter an incantation. But as he did so, the sand around him shifted, knocking him off balance and interrupting his concentration, breaking the teleportation spell he was trying. The gem vanished in a bright light, whisked away to no-one knew where. The sorcerer was not amused. His red eyes went completely white and he began muttering. The ground around them began to shake. Suddenly a massive mound of sand started to rise up. As the sand slid off it, the form was revealed to be an  enormous dragon, as long as a football field and already half way though decomposition. Its scales were hanging in tatters, the soft flesh of its underbelly had rotted allowing some of the ribs to stick out and its webbed wings had massive holes in them. It reared its ugly head and gave an ear-splitting roar. Alistar watched in horror as the monster shambled towards him, dragging most of its internal organs beneath it though the hole. It opened its mouth and Alistar recoiled from the nauseating stench of decay. Then he realized exactly what was about to happen. He threw the Amulet base into the back of the dragon’s throat and then closed his eyes as he waited to the still razor sharp jaws to close around him.