Cybren

"There weren't always dragons in the valley!" Nucumbus yelled over the roaring wind. Jonah was flying as fast as his flamed wings would carry them, causing the wind to rip the words away. Was he trying to justify their presence?

"This is my ancestor's valley and those snake scum should not be here!" Looking back, he could see the tunnels beneath the forest floor as the Glycons burrowed after them. They were destroying the forest! Trees that had grown for hundreds of years careened of too the side as the snakes beneath gave chase. Cybrens chest puffed out as it filled with rage. The hair on his chest and neck started to glow- his magic within appearing again. He couldn't control it, yet, but the magic always appeared when his emotions became overwhelming. There was nothing he could do at the moment. He had just begun to experience his magic and even full grown he would have a battle of epic proportions with a Glycon. Not to mention there was a whole quiver chasing them now.

"Cybren! There's nothing we can do! Getting worked up with not help our situation!" Cybren looked at his companions face. He knew the truth of their situation. But to turn and run? That would be shameful to the lowest breed of dragon. A Glycon is a dragons natural born enemy- evil and twisted they poison the world they live in with their venom. Dragons live on the opposite side of the spectrum, maintaining the peace and nurturing life as it grows.

"What do you want to do, Cybren?" Jonah voice was deep and calm. He had no fear nor distaste of the Glycons that chased them. He could lift himself up and away from the world below and settle on a mountain where he belonged. Jonah was a Phoenix and Phoenix typically lived on the mountain cliffs- where Glycons cannot burrow through the rock.

Disappointment threatened to tear his heart apart but Cybren conceded. "Fly us out of here, Jonah." Obliging to Cybren's wishes, Jonah lifted up away from the valley. Cybren watched the valley drift away and sadness filled him as he realized how helpless he really was. I need to find my family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where should we search next?" Nucumbus slid off from Jonah's back and landed catlike to the forest floor below. It was a long way down and despite being a sturdy dragon, Cybren waited for Jonah to let his wing down.

They had flown out of the valley and found a clearing to land in. Surrounded by forest, Cybren felt oddly isolated- he preferred the skies. Once on the ground Cybren thought for a moment. "I'm not sure." Cybren looked down, ashamed. "My dream told us to go to the Valley of the Shining Waters. But there was nothing there.."

Jonah settled into a resting crouch and listened. "Cybren," He said with his low cooling voice, "you are young yet. You must give yourself time to develop your powers. Not even I was able to fly just after hatching."

"At least not very well, though you did try." Nucumbus said, smiled at his old friend.

Jonah gave a strange noise that sounded like deep clucking that Cybren knew to be laughter. "Yes, I still remembered how to fly after I was reborn from the ash bed." Jonah looked at Cybren thoughtfully, "Still took much time to practice."

"But I do not have the time to learn Jonah!" Cybren's voice rattled with frustration. Jonah was old and wise and the majority of his life had been living in a time of peace- even when he ventured down to the world below his mountaintop. Then he had been reborn and had become Nucumbus' companion, living in a peaceful valley. "You know what state the world is in! The magical world is at war and the dragons are no where to be found. I must find the rest of the dragons!" This was the main concern of their quest.

The dragons governed all of the other magical creature in the world. Without them, the Glycons had taken over and the world had become slowly poisoned. Dragons were the only beings that could keep the Glycons in check- never exterminating them but keeping the balance between their insatiable wrath and the rest of the world.

Cybren had been an orphan. Nucumbus had found his egg in an icy river under a moss bed. He thought the egg to be a regular stone of a rare quarts variety. But once back at his home (that Cybren accidently burned down upon hatching), Nucumbus had hatched the egg by setting it in his fireplace- much like a dragon mother heats her young. Resting upon the coals for four days, Cybren was finally warm enough to emerge into the world. The first dragon born in fifty years, they began their quest to search for others.

The ground began to shake. Deafening noise roared all around- grating steel shuddering against rock. Nucumbus clapped his hands over his ears and grimaced away from the sound. The hair on Cybren's neck raised. His internal instinct knew what the sound was. Involuntarily, his mane and chest began to glow.

Rock flew into the air as a Glycon burst through the crust of the Earth. Its massive head floated down to view them from above. "Ttthere you are littllle dragon." It sounded pleased as it hissed down to them.

Cybren felt horror threaten to drown him. Digging his claws through the grass into the dirt, he tried to steady himself. He was a dragon and would not cower to snake scum such as what was before him... Even if it was larger than any other creature he had ever seen. He swallowed to steady his voice. "What do you want Glycon?"

The snake hissed and it's beady eyes locked onto him. "Why, to kill you of courssse!" Quick as lightning, the Glycon struck. Cybren's magic floated him away effortlessly- he could see the snake strike as if in slow motion. The maw of the great beast struck the ground where Cybren had just stood a moment before. The head of the beast lay buried into the ground up to it's eyes.

"Cybren!" Nucumbus shouted over the tremors that shook the earth from the impact.

Cybren smiled. Maybe he could handle this giant brute. "I'm fine." He said slowly through a smile. He may be bigger but I am much faster.

"Let's go!" Jonah called as Nucumbus climbed up his wing. Looking back to the snake, Cybren hesitated. "Cybren, now!" The giant snake began to jerk its maw from the earth- no doubt it's fangs had buried themselves. Images of the Glycon's large venomous fangs spurred Cybren toward the safety of Jonah's wing.

A massive tail flew overhead and crashed into Jonah. Nucumbus was thrown to the ground as Jonah clutched tip of the Glycons tail in his massive claws. Jonah flew a few feet into the air, the weight of the Glycons tail keeping him just above ground. The flames that covered the phoenix's body became brighter and engulfed the snake. The Glycon hissed with pain as its tail was burned. Writhing violently in pain, it freed it's fangs from the ground. Jonah, busy with the tail end of the snake, didn't see the great head strike until it was too late.

"Jonah! No!" Cybren ran without thinking of himself. Jumping into the air, he landed on the snout of the giant snake and sank his own talons into it's flesh. The tiny scales that covered the snake's body were surprisingly hard, not very different from his own. The scales bent under the pressure of his bite and the flesh beneath was revealed. Cybren took his claws and slashed the flesh with new vigor. He was much to small and outmatched in size and strength by the Glycon but maybe he could distract it long enough to save his friends.

Hissing in pain, the Glycon flung its head until Cybren's fangs and talons were tore from their grip. Cybren flew away from Jonah, to the other side of the clearing. Hitting the ground with the force of a falling meteorite, Cybren felt his own scales bend from the impact. He gasped as he tried to suck cool air into his lungs. As he stood, a cold shadow covered him. He looked up and saw the Glycon staring down at him. It's tongue flicked out once and the again a moment later.

"Tthat ssssweet ssssmell." Surprisingly, the giant snake looked pleased. Cybren stood and limped as his left forelimb collapsed under his weight. He looked down and was surprised to see that he was bleeding on his shoulder- he had never seen his own blood. It was dark, not quite red but not as black as the blood that painted the Glycon's snout. "Itttsss been a long time ssince I sssmelled a dragon'ssss blood." The snake stuck it's tongue out again, the forked end savoring the taste.

"You have smelled dragon's blood before?" Cybren looked to the other side of the clearing and saw that Nucumbus was back on Jonah's back. Distracted by his blood, the snake didn't seem to notice.

"Sssmelled and tasssted dragon's blood, little dragon." Cybren looked to the snake again. "Your kind is very tasssty." The snakes eyes bore into him.

He's feasted on dragon flesh? Cybren felt his rage return. He squared his chest to the snake. I will make him pay.

The Glycon hissed with humor, "What are you going to do little dragon? Sscratch my nosse again? I cannot even call you a dragon. You are nothing more than an nuisssance, that isss what you are."

Cybren's throat began to glow. Icy pins began to stab up his throat- threatening to split his neck in two. Cybren didn't care, all he cared was to make this abomination pay.

The Glycon coiled his head back as he made to make one last strike. Injured as he was, Cybren wouldn't be quick enough to evade the attack again.

"Cybren!" Nucumbus and Jonah yelled in unison as the phoenix pushed off from the ground and took flight.

Cybren didn't care if he died. His friends were safe, and they would be able to fly away from the clearing high above the wrath of the Glycon. But I will not die without a fight. With the daggers in his throat threatening to burst through, Cybren opened his maw to release icy flames. The Glycon struck forward just as the flames erupted, engulfing the snakes entire head. Cybren felt the rush of a cold breeze as Jonah flew behind him. He felt the flame extinguish in his throat. Nucumbus grabbed the dragon around the girth and Jonah tilted back so they both fell upon the phoenix's back.

Once they were high above the valley where the giant Glycon lay writhing, Nucumbus let out a whoop of joy. "Cybren! Did you just breath fire?!"

The icy needles that had crawled up his throat to his maw were now gone but he could still feel the ghost of them. He knew that he could do it again if he wished. "I.. I did." Cybren looked at Nucumbus with a look of awe. "Nucumbus, I breathed fire!"