The crunch of gravel was the only sound to be heard as the hunting party moved silently through the trees. The thirty men were weary, having travelled a vast distance across treacherous paths to reach the famous Drake Nest of Erith. They were covered with cuts and gashes, but that only increased their resolve to return home with something to show for their efforts. The poachers would either slay a dragon, or die trying. Up ahead, they saw the edge of the forest. Excitement surpassed caution as the men broke into a sprint to witness the legendary home of the dragons. What they saw took their breaths away. The forest sloped down a hill that sat next to a rolling river. Beyond that, there was a great sea of emerald green grass, rippling in the breeze. But the most astounding thing of all was the mountain. Its jagged peaks rose like a set of fangs out of the green plains and reached high into the clouds above. The sloping sides were peppered with a multitude of cave mouths, where the men guessed the dragons made their homes. The sun was setting. It was now or never. The poachers scrambled down the hillside as quietly as they could and swam across the river. The grass on the other side was long enough to conceal them if they crouched, so they made a beeline for the mountain, moving briskly and praying that no dragons spotted them. The men had their pick of the caves, and many of them agreed to target one of the smaller caverns near the base. However, their leader was arrogant and prideful. He had spotted an immense opening behind a rocky outcropping. Wanting to prove himself as the greatest dragon slayer, he led his men up the mountain to enter the gaping cave. --- SoNem drifted over the Eastern forest on the peninsula, turning lazy circles as he scanned the ground below for elk. It was his turn to attend the Queen, and she was hungry. Thus, he was out late looking for something to feed her. If it had been any other dragon, SoNem would have grumbled to no end, but the Queen was special. He always felt at peace in her presence and was eager to please her. SoNem’s sharp eyes caught sight of a herd of elk in a small clearing. One of the bucks noticed him as well. Its head shot up from grazing and its ears swiveled, listening for the sound of dragon wings beating the air. No point in wasting time, now. He tucked his wings in close and dropped into a rapid dive. The elk scattered, but it was too late. [i]Sii[/i] outstretched, SoNem plucked a cow from the herd by its back and rose up above the trees. He reached his neck down to deliver a swift, fatal bite to the throat and felt the warm blood flow into his mouth. It was delicious. He began to salivate and had to remind himself that this elk was for the Queen. He flew back to the Queen’s cave and dropped to the ground just past the entrance. As soon as he landed he felt an instinctive urge to flee, although he wasn’t quite sure why. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He sniffed the dank cavern air and that was when he realized what had set him on edge: humans. He let out an anxious hiss. The humans had been appearing every once in a while lately, but none had ever come this far before. A deep roar echoed through the cavern, jarring SoNem from his thoughts. The Queen! The humans must be attacking her. He charged deeper into the cave without hesitation. He found the Queen in her sleeping chamber. He also found the humans. They were everywhere, a score of them at least. They had bound the Queen in steel trapping nets and gouged her vulnerable underbelly, impaling her through her fire gland so she couldn’t burn them. SoNem stopped abruptly and stared at the scene in horror. His mind reeled. How could this have happened? The Queen was the oldest and most powerful dragonelle alive! How could the humans be overpowering her so easily? SoNem was suddenly overcome with a blinding rage. He rattled his [i]griff[/i] and lowered his head, letting out a throaty roar. The humans turned to look at him in surprise. They didn’t seem to be expecting a second dragon to appear. Their shock disappeared quickly though, and they began to circle him, armed with nets and dragon-bone weapons. He hugged the ground to protect his belly and lashed his tail, backing up slowly. The rational part of him knew he could never defeat so many humans all at once, but he had to protect the Queen. [i][b]Fly.[/b][/i] The urgent voice in his head took him by surprise. SoNem looked up at the Queen to see her staring back at him in terror. She didn’t want to see any other dragon get hurt at her expense. He couldn’t just abandon her though. He turned back at the humans, rattling his [i]griff[/i] menacingly. He spit a [i]torf[/i] of fire at them, hoping to stall them. The flames put a wall between him and the humans, but he knew it wouldn’t last very long. [i][b]You fool! Hurry! Get away from here!![/i][/b] The Queen’s voice practically shrieked in his mind. She lashed her head, trying to break free from her bondage. This got the humans’ attention. They turned away from SoNem to tighten the nets they had on her. One of the humans – a particularly large male, from what SoNem knew about the species – approached her slowly, a dragon-bone-forged blade in his hand. SoNem couldn’t move. He stood rooted in horror as the man walked up to the Queen’s head and slit her throat. Dark crimson blood gushed out as the dragonelle’s life ebbed from her eyes. She used her last bit of strength to mind-speak one final message. [i][b]Leave. Never return.[/b][/i] SoNem managed to gather his wits enough to force his limbs to move. He fled to the edge of the cave, snapped his wings open, and flew off into the night; the image of the Queen’s dying moments burned into his mind forever. --- Istaria lay curled with her nose tucked beneath her tail. She had taken to sleeping with one eye open since the humans began invading. As an Erithian serf, she had a small cave as the base of the mountains, where the humans could easily get to her. She had considered asking SoNem, her master, if she could sleep in a nook in his cave, but she didn’t want to risk sounding like a coward in front of him. He was known to tease her when she had moments of weakness like this. An odd feeling began to creep over her. It was different from the usual nervousness she felt when going to sleep at night. It was almost like a hopeless despair, but she wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Its randomness frightened her. She woke up and lifted her head, looking around the dark cave. There was nothing strange or relatively dangerous, so why the sudden sense of deep sorrow and melancholy? [i][b]Leave. Never return.[/b][/i] The impelling voice rang in her mind, and Istaria suddenly understood why she felt such anguish. The Queen was dying. This place was no longer safe. She felt a flutter of panic in her chest and raced for the entrance of her cave, spreading her wings to fly. She had to escape. Once in the open air, she saw that all the other dragons must have heard the same dying message. The stars were blotted out by the forms of hundreds of dragons taking to the sky. Istaria rose up to join the ranks, wondering where they could possibly go.