The Exodus.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Warning: It was another quiet morning in the valley of Tycosa Veltraz sat perch atop Mt. Tyfone he breathed the fresh morning air and the scent of the Lycona forest below. He dove from atop the cliff and flew through the cloudy skies over the valley to the Terresa river he took a drink and continued his morning flight he returned to his lair just as he had done every morning only this morning was different he arrived home to find a familiar face. "Hello sister" said Veltra,. The dragoness looked at the aged dragon, "Veltraz your still here protecting our ancient home.." Veltra nodded "A century ago our Father died protecting this valley I chose to stay, I shall protect this land for him ." The dragoness Triyan looked at him, "Then I'm afraid it will be a lonely existence." "What do you mean?" Veltra responded curiously. Triyan got comfortable, and begin explaining "You remember I once told you of Caloka and the rebel dragons?" " Yeah? " Veltra nodded, "Well" Triyan continued, "They went through with it.. Tyraku slayed Caloka but it was too late the arconians declared a war on dragons, and are now preparing to hunt us the council has decided that we shall remain peaceful we will leave this region, dear brother I cannot stand to lose you please flee with us." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Decision: After some time Veltra responded to his hatch mate "I have made my decision I shall continue to remain in Tycosa the humans will probably never come here, and if they do the tycosians will disperse them so I should be fine. I shall stay, but I will escort with you to your new home then return here" . The dragoness was relieved that at least he'd be accompanying them, "okay we plan to begin our journey tonight." she told him. Veltra made a slight motion of acknowledgement then asked if they had a destination? Triyan was not informed of such. "I do not know I suppose the council plans to find the location of the other dragons." Veltra was a bit concerned about that, "To journey without a destination is unwise." He responded. "The humans know were the clan is located if we stay much longer they will hunt us we don't wish to fight so we will have to leave the Arconian region." Triyan argued. Veltra nodded, "It still sounds unwise but I trust in the others judgment, fine I will meet you later tonight." Triyan soon left the mountain of Tyfone and Tycosa she returned to her clan over the Sycala mountains. While Veltra remained in his ancestral lair to contemplate the current state of affairs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time is Short: Meanwhile Tyraku now back in his meadow behind the hill was waiting for a friend it had been a month since Caloka and his rebels had attacked the Arconians in an attempt to chase them away from their native land. Tyraku had stopped Caloka but the damaged had been done the humans of Araconis had appealed to their leaders to wipe out the dragons, Arconia being a militaristic kingdom sent out an army to assist the townsfolk in searching out the remaining dragons of that region. Tyraku was waiting for news, bored he went to the stream and got a sip. "Where is he?" Tyraku thought to himself. "Sorry I'm late!" called a voice from behind. Tyraku turned around, "Graf I was worried what did you find out?" Graf looked toward the dragon, "It seems that the Arconian military will be arriving near Dorana village tomorrow." Tyraku begun to get concerned, "They're getting close, my clan will be leaving tonight but they will be going with the wind that will most likely take them near Dorana." "You should warn them." replied Graf. Tyraku looked back towards the Sycala mountains, "I will as soon as possible." "Will you be traveling with them?" Asked Graf. Tyraku continued his gaze, "No, I was banished I will not return." Graf walked over to him, "I'm sure they'd let you back now that you've stopped Caloka." "I choose of my own will not to return." replied Tyraku. "Well you can't stay here this whole area will be swarming with soldiers soon." Advised Graf, Tyraku looks back to his friend, "I am aware of that but I'll be fine." Tyraku then flew off to warn the others. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Veltra's History: Veltraz was flying outside Tycosa looking for the Sycala clan when he saw Tyraku, he called out and gained the younger dragon's attention they then landed. Veltraz looked down at the silver dragon "Aren't you Tyraku? Are you the one that defeated Caloka and tried to prevent the war?" The silver dragon looked over to the other dragon, "Yes I am Tyraku." Silver dragons were usually smaller then other dragon species and Veltra was surprised that Tyrakus had been able to defeat the larger dragon Caloka. "Can you take me to the Sycala clan?" Veltra asked, "Sure I'm heading there now." Replied the silver dragon. The two dragons begun their flight towards the Sycala caverns and talked along the way becoming somewhat friends."Your friends with Triyan?" She's my sister her mate was of the Sycala clan so she left Tycosa. The silver nodded, and asked "You and her are from Tycosa?" "Yeah it's a good place but not much prey in there." Replied Veltra, "I remember being told about the fire clan of Mt. Calakos and that they fought with the wind clan of Tyfone often, so there had to have once been a lot of prey there." Mentioned Tyraku, "Yeah, that was over five hundred years ago. now I'm the only dragon left in that valley, the wind clan moved outside Tycosa for better hunting, the dragons of Sycala are their descendants, the other clan left the valley when the other dragons left this region of Terraset." Responded Veltra. "Where did you learn all this?" The silver asked. "Long ago I was trained to read the Tycosian's language and in my ancestral lair are hundreds of tomes over the years I have read many of them and journeyed to other lands, so I know much of our world." "but you don't know were the others of our kind went to?" Questioned the silver, "No, after the ancient dragons left nobody knew fully where they had traveled to, but not all of them left a lot of them are just in hiding like yourself." Closing in on their destination the silver said "okay" and mentioned "It seems we've made it here this is the grand cavern." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Grand Cavern: The two arrived at the entrance to the grand cavern, a cave hidden near the center of one of the Sycala mountains it was concealed from a distance but from up close it was clearly a large cave narrow near the opening and spreading out the deeper within one would go. The two dragons entered the cave and went deeper within as they continued Veltraz noticed that dim light illuminated the cavern through cracks in the ceiling he was kinda of jealous for his lair on Tyfone did not have such luxuries. The two dragons continued past many other dragons while heading towards the back of the cavern to the leaders of the clan, four dragons elected by the others, they were the council. The leaders of the dragon council consisted of the eldest of the clan, they looked down to the silver dragon, "Welcome back Tyraku we have heard of your deeds and the defeat of Caloka we forgive you for past deeds and will allow you back in if you should desire." The silver dragon looked to his elders, "I would like to remain self exiled for the time being there is still much I would like to see and learn." The elder dragons noted such and responded that "The search for knowledge is indeed a noble quest, you shall be well known someday, you are welcome to return whenever you are ready." "Thank you." Replied Tyraku, the elders looked behind him to the accompanying golden dragon, "Who is your companion?" They asked, The yellow dragon moved forward "I am Veltra sivala skyburn son of Velatron of the Tyfone mountains, Triyan a member of your clan is my kin I was asked to escort her to your new destination." The elders looked to him impressed, "Then you must be aware that you are quite possibly the last dragon of Tycosa, It was a beautiful land, before the Arconians arrived I as a youngling would often fly those skies. You may accompany your sister we welcome you as our own." Veltra thanked the elder dragons and was dismissed, he left while Tyraku warned the council of the army near Dorana village and also other nearby areas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Journey Begins: And so it begun, it was a silent night not much wind and no thermals the dragons had to rest every few hours Tyraku had gone back to his hideaway to wait for Graf, they were planning on following behind incase there was any trouble. As Tyraku had predicted the clan was planning to fly towards the west right near the town of Dorana, he had requested that they avoid that area but the council would not heed his words claiming that since they flew under the cover of darkness they would not be seen. Tyraku had just arrived to pick up Graf as they flew back to catch up with the others he told Graf about the day. Graf simply shook his head, "That was not a wise decision on their part the army will most likely have look outs after what Caloka had done to our town, they will most likely be expecting another attack and watching the skies." Tyraku nodded, "I hope for their sake they don't get seen." Meanwhile Veltra and the other dragons of the clan were flying towards their new home a destination unknown. At the town of Dorana an army which had been sent to find and hunt the dragons had set up camp the clan had decided that the clouds and night would shield them they were not aware of the possibility of lookouts or the council would have reconsidered their path. As the dragons flew Veltraz looked down at the fires of the camps far below. As this was happening the posted lookouts were staring up at the cloudy night sky. Two soldiers stood at their lookout, speaking with each other. "Gods this is boring, the others get to party all night while we're stuck staring and the sky like morons." The other arconian nodded " I know but orders are orders don't worry just get through tonight and it will be some other poor saps turn." While the two soldiers looked out at the night sky complaining and thinking of beer they begun to see something different shadows within the clouds giant bat like shadows many of them and through a gap in the clouds their thoughts were confirmed, dragons groups of them quickly they sounded the alarm and the army and townsfolk exited the tents to stare at the spectacle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hunt is on!: The clan had traveled the whole night they had eventually found a patch of forest far from human establishments that was were they had decided to sleep for the day. Meanwhile back at Dorana the army had assembled to hunt the dragons heading in on their convoy in the same direction that the dragons were flying. The general was aware that if the dragons had been flying all night that they would be weary and taking a rest in some remote location. Meanwhile high above in the morning skies Tyraku and Graf flew through the clouds, from their position they could see the army on it's march but could not be seen from below. Graf looked down at the marching army, "Well I suppose it's safe to say your friends were spotted, you should find and warn them quick." Tyraku flew a little lower for a closer look, "They have steeds this will surely make things more difficult." It didn't take Tyraku long to find the hiding place of the clan the two flew down to find almost all of the dragons asleep. Graf looked around and laughed, "They're sitting ducks you have to wake them up." Tyraku looked around, "Everyone wake up!" The dragons awoke demanding to know the meaning of the intrusion. Veltra looked up, "What is wrong tyraku?" Tyraku looked back at him and the others, "The humans had apparently spotted you last night, they are currently following you, that normally wouldn't be a problem but with their steeds their speed is increased." The other dragons looked past Tyraku at Graf, he noticed and hastily explained that he was not an Arconian spy but was a friend of Tyraku. Veltra thought for a moment, "I have explored these parts well in the past, if you can get past the northern mountains the land is not under arconian control and the people are peaceful you should be able to find refuge near there." Graf knew of that uncharted region, "That's right if you can get past the northern mountains they should be unable to pursue you there." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Race Against Time: The council agreed with Veltra that the northern mountains would probably be a safe haven for the Sycala clan, but despite Tyraku's pleas would not depart until nightfall, the previous night had taken a great strain on the wings of their follow dragons and they needed to rest. This delay provided the Arconian army of dragon hunters much needed time to catch up, the army journeyed all day scanning the skies for the form of any dragons, they journeyed untill nightfall and set up their makeshift camps dangerously close to the hideaway of the Sycala clan. Fortunately for the dragons the hunters did not know that the dragons were in the nearby forest or they would have been in a battle already. And so it continued like this for five days the dragons would fly at night with short breaks to rest and then sleep during the day, they had few opportunities to hunt or get drinks so sleep was virtually their only form of rest. Meanwhile the Arconians would pursue them during the day well equipped with food liquid and steeds they remained in top condition and should a fight take place they would have had a slight advantage. Tyraku and Graf traveled with the clan while Veltra and Triyan caught up on old times, the dragons would try many things to take their minds off their fatigue and the threat that followed quickly behind them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Confrontation: And so it went on like this, the dragons stayed slightly ahead of the hunters until the last day, that fateful morning the dragons were about half a days journey away from their destination but due to their condition had to, as usual rest and sleep during the day. The Arconian military had somehow managed to catch up with the Sycala clan it was midday when one of the soldiers went looking for a stream to refill a water bucket and accidentally stumbled upon the hide way of the sleeping dragons. He was not noticed by the dragons and quickly snuck away back to his camp where he told his general of their location and such began the calamity. Veltraz, Triyan, Graf and Tyrakus were all awake talking and doing small things they weren't expecting an attack, Suddenly a rain of flaming arrows fell from the sky and battle cry's were heard! "THEY FOUND US!" Shouted Veltraz, Tyraku looked to his friends, "Triyan, Veltraz! We have to wake up the others quick!" Veltraz then looked to Graf, "Graf you should hide if they find you with us they will kill you to!" Graf stood still in his spot, "I'm going to stay lets wake everyone up!" That day the dragons awoke to the sight of fire, the smoke burst up to the skies and the Arconian warriors charged upon the dragons, spears and swords drawn they came through the fire and attacked fiercely the weary dragons defended themselves but to little avel! "They're everywhere there's no escape we'll have to fight our way through!" Rallied Tyrakus, They looked back to see the leaders of the clan battling the generals, they were no match on the ground and though they fought hard they began to fall one by one in battle. "They've got the elders!" Shouted Triyan, "It's to late for them we have to help fight with the others." Veltras shouted back, The dragons fought to the death tooth and claw they continued to fight, The enemy continued coming and the blinding flames and smoke where a constant threat but the humans numbers eventually waned many of the dragons were able to take to the skies and escape. Triyan, Tyraku and Veltraz stayed and fought aside the remaining dragons even Graf managed to take out many of the Arconites, the battle was short but fierce and in the end the majority of the remaining clan managed to escape to the northern mountains. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Safe Haven: The Remaining dragons met up in a clearing on the other side of the northern mountains. After they had regrouped they found that despite the viscous battle many had escaped. Veltraz looked to the others, "That was a terrible battle but you all should be safe from the arconians here." Tyraku and Graf arrived and joined the others. Tyraku looked to Veltra, "Glad to see your safe Veltraz!" "Same to you it appears your human Graf is wounded though." Replied Veltra, Graf had a large wound on his right leg and many burns. Graf looked at his wounds, "I'll be fine it's nothing I've been through worse, I'll live." Triyan arrived though was greatly injured by a barrage of arrows during her escape. Triyan looked down, "I'm in allot of pain but I should survive." Graf walked over to the injured dragoness and began to remove the arrows from Triyan. Triyan growled in pain but reluctantly allowed Graf to remove the arrows and treat her wounds. Veltra looked around to access the Situation, "It seemed a lot of the other dragons have made it here alive." Triyan looked up, "But they killed the elder dragons." Veltra simply looked back, "Triyan your clan can elect new ones they will mourn the loss but, it will soon pass, I personally would elect you and Tyrakus." Triyan was a little embarrassed, "I don't think I could be one of the council but I gratefully accept the praise." Tyraku looked at the others, "I will stay here until things are under control, the pursuers should stop now and after Graf is better we will probably go on more journeys, I still have more to see perhaps when I return I could be the leader, though why not you?" Veltraz looked back to the horizon, "I am going to return to Tycosa it will be lonely but that valley is my home and I will protect it." Triyan looked at her brother, "I understand if you wish to follow fathers path return there it is were you belong, I hope others may find you there someday if the need should ever arise you are welcome here anytime, me and my clan are forever in your debt dear brother." Valtras looked to the others, "Good bye" Tyraku looked up at him, "I'm glad to have met you, perhaps someday me and Graf will explore your valley, if so we will visit you." Veltraz prepared to leave and looked back one last time, "Thank you all, good by dear friends." Triyan and the Sycala clan found a new peaceful land to call their own, near peaceful people far from the Arconians. Tyraku and Graf went on many journeys and Veltra returned to his mountain home to protect his ancestral homeland. The Tycosian valley. The End!