Note: Written by Wyvern, posted by Paradigm due to technical difficulties. Please don't post here, I'll go put up a feedback thread right away. The Dragon's Gifted - Presented by iWrite Co. Chapter 1: Soul of Darkness The black asphalt street, boiling in the heat of day, finally cooled at the fall of darkness. Dim street lights, lit by magical flames that give out no heat and go out only when the sun is shining, illuminated the way along the lonely street. Trash littered the nooks and crannies of alleyways, swept there by the cool nighttime wind. The black street, the flickering flames, the debris—all served to give the neighborhood a dark and ominous vibe, one that warned solitary strangers away. Nevertheless, a boy crouched under the cover of darkness, not intimidated by the creeping shadows. His clothes were shabby and thin: not much protection against common weapons such as knives and arrows. His young hands showed no sign of callous; the boy had never touched a farm plow nor a weapon. He was barely five feet tall, and was surely not older than ten years. But this was no ordinary boy lost in the streets. He peered around the corner, the fingers of his right hand twitching with anticipation. When he spotted his mark, he whipped back to his hiding place and stood still so that he was cloaked in shadow. Along the street walked a lone man, tall and garbed in clothing reminiscent of military uniform. His dark blue hair looked almost black until he walked near one of the street lamps, and his green eyes were sharp and seemed to be carved of emerald. The man passed the boy's hiding place, and the boy stepped out silently, his light shoes making no sound on the asphalt. The boy followed him, never making a sound, but as he drew closer to the man the boy started to change. Shadows swirled about him like fire, and when they settled upon his body they took the shape of armor similar to that of a knight's. In his right hand formed a blade of shadow, black in color and as solid and sharp as one forged of steel. The boy—no, the assassin—leaped, his blade aimed straight at the back of the solitary man's throat. The next few seconds were a blur. Another figure had appeared just in the nick of time to block the assassin's shadowy blade with another thin longsword. “No!” The boy gritted his teeth and threw his weight against the blade, but the defender was too powerful; the boy could no nothing but struggle in vain. The blue haired man, the one who had been the marked victim, laughed. “Still trying to kill me, Chaos Shadowkin? Give it up.” The boy did not reply, but released his weapon and leaped backwards. The shadowy sword disintegrated as the boy retreated. But the assassin was not beaten, not yet. He moved his hand and the swirling shadows moved to obey; deadly spears materialized in the air, and he aimed them towards the man and his defender with deadly accuracy. The man's bodyguard was a flash, parrying every single spear with one manmade longsword that shone silver in the moonlight. On and on the mad dance continued, but no matter how the boy wielded his shadows, he could not get past the bodyguard. He finally gave up, the shadowy weapons receding and fading away. He fell to his knees. “To blazes with you!” he swore angrily, trying to hide the tears that leaked out underneath his eyelids. “It's not fair!” The blue haired man sighed. “Get out of my sight.” He swept the dust from his shoulders and continued on his path. “Come!” he commanded his defender. The bodyguard glanced at the fallen boy assassin once with dark red eyes, and followed the man obediently after sheathing the longsword. The boy was once again alone. “Fine. So be it,” the boy hissed to himself, the boy named Chaos Shadowkin. “You'll regret this, Gale.” The boy reached for his powers again—the power to create anything and everything as long as it lay within shadow. His trusty blade in hand, he set out to destroy the guild of Dragon Haven from which he had been unjustly expelled. He would have his vengeance. There would be no turning back.
Chapter 2: Capture or Destroy Lily shuffled her feet impatiently, sitting on a sofa while readjusting the flower tucked into her brown hair. A guild member, a quiet one with his black hair tied in a strange bun on his head, sat on the other side of the sofa. The third member was not quite so patient. He was a tall blonde with blue eyes called Icicle, and he constantly honed his daggers while his eyes flitted side to side as if he expected an enemy hidden in that room. Lily felt anxious but didn't want to show it; she longed for nothing more than to be dismissed and allowed back in her garden. The door opened and closed. All their heads turned as one to the man who entered the room, the blue-haired man who founded and governed the guild of Dragon Haven: Gale, wielder of wind and storm. “I'm pleased you have listened to orders to gather here,” Gale began. “You can stop hiding now, Onyx.” Lily blinked and turned around; behind her, a figure shimmered to visibility, leaning against the corner. He was another young man near her age, with hair streaked in black and white; his pale azure eyes glared at Gale. “How'd you know I was here?” “That does not concern you. You came as ordered.” Gale turned to face all four of them, his hands behind his back: the exact image of a commanding officer. “We have a special mission for all of you to work on together.” Lily listened, dumbfounded; she rarely ever went on job requests that were sent to the guild by the humans. The quiet black haired boy sitting on the other side of the sofa asked Lily's question for her: “What kind of mission?” Lily thought back and remembered his name to be Sniper, the gifted who never missed his mark. “Capture or destroy an enemy to the guild. Chaos Shadowkin.” The tall blonde, Icicle, stopped sharpening his daggers and blurted, “That little kid you expelled a few weeks ago? How is he a threat?” “Chaos is powerful for his age,” Gale answered. “He made an attempt on my life. It won't be long until he turns to the weaker members of the guild. For the safety of the Haven, you must capture or destroy him.” The protection of the Haven. No one, not even Lily, would hesitate to give their lives to protect the Haven. For the Haven was family--family that was normally denied to the gifted. Ostracized by human society, they had to gather in this small guild, seeking protection and safety in a tightly-stitched group. Lily, like many others, owed her life to Gale and the guild. There was nothing for Lily to do but accept the mission. Both Lily and Icicle nodded to Gale to show their answers. All that was left were Onyx—the young man who could become invisible at will—and Sniper. “Well?” prompted Gale. Sniper finally nodded his agreement, but Onyx crossed his arms. “What's in it for us?” Onyx said aggressively. “You could go hunt down the kid just as well as any of us. He failed to assassinate you. That qualifies you to the task of bringing the kid back. Or do you not want to dirty your hands in this?" Gale returned Onyx's glare coolly. “As a matter of fact, the guild has important plans. You can follow orders or follow Chaos Shadowkin's footsteps, Onyx. Your choice entirely.” Gale turned so that his back faced them. “Our target has been spotted within a one mile radius of the guild. The Haven counts on you.” With that the man left, leaving the four in the room: a fuming Onyx, a silent Sniper, a nervous Icicle and Lily. Lily, who had never used her powers to harm anyone or anything. She finally got up and straightened out her green dress. “Well, it won't do to sit here and wait for Chaos to come to us!” she said cheerfully. “We'll have to work together to bring him back.” Or kill him, Lily thought to herself, although she knew she could never bring herself to kill anyone. “Let's go!” To her relief the others followed her, all the way to the outside of the guild. Lily took a deep breath of the fresh crisp evening air. The early stars were starting to appear in the darkening sky, and the setting was just perfect. She could reach out to the nature all around them; the trees that were planted along the street rustled from her presence, and the pigeons cooed and strayed near her to attract her attention. Outside, she was free and faced the world with the power of nature at her fingertips. We're coming for you, Chaos, Lily thought dangerously. And none of us will hold back.