It was September when the first dragon was spotted. The USA was thrown into worry, fear and disbelief. Reports showed the ‘crystal dragon’ descending from the sky at night, gliding just above Tongass, a forest reserve in Alaska. By dawn, reporters and the Alaska Newspaper, called Anchorage Daily News, had arrived in sleek black cars to showcase the site where the dragon had been seen. As formal businessmen stepped out of their cars with shining black boots and long suits, cameras flashed at the exact spot in the sky where the great beast had been seen. It had been declared that by the time people woke, they would find newspapers at their door telling about the mysterious sighting. Were dragons once real? Had they come back—or have they been here, with people, all along?
A few hours after that, as Alaska slowly awakened, they found the newspaper at their door. At the front, in big, bold letters were the words: Do dragons exist? This immediately caught the attention of many people, starting an argument. Soon, it was known as the Great Argument of the Dragons. It soon caught the attention of the president, then to other countries in the world. Little did they know, one dragon from each tribe was having an argument, far away from Earth, on a planet named Crelenia, but none too different.
10 weakened dragons from different tribes gathered, weakened. They had been driven out of their kingdom for not having an elemental partner, for when each dragon came of age they would find out the location of their partner, who not only shared the same elemental powers but also connected with the other and could support the other’s magic defense and strength. Partners were found out when dragons stepped in front of their tribe’s sacred crystal ball and gently placed a foreclaw on it. Then the crystal would state the name of the partner and where the partner was. Usually, dragons had dragon partners. Some special dragons had elves, fairies or even phoenixes as partners, but they weren't cast out for it. Instead, they were worshipped and looked up to.
However, it was a whole different experience for these ten dragons. Each of them had put their foreclaws on their own tribes’ crystal balls, all hoping for a great companion. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the crystal glowed brighter, brighter than ever before. At the most crucial moment, for all 10 of them, the crystal just spewed a prophecy. It went like this:
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“Of the ten with wings and claws,
One of them will soar
Ten dragons from different tribes,
Destined to roar with might
Though their partners are far from here
It would soon become clear
That their partners are near
A strange pull, a twist of magic
I promise you, this one won’t be tragic
Alex and Celine will reunite
While the humans…
Fight.”
Every dragon had been puzzled by this, the dragons disappointed with the results. Their elders had even argued over it for 12 nights before all of them were exiled, one by one, into the forest. There, the 10 dragons had been hunted, hurt and starving. Yet, they still found the will to live.
They had met each other, wary at first. But when they heard each other’s stories, they had all become quick friends. However, they were now arguing about partners and what the prophecy meant…
Barok, the fire dragon, gnashed his teeth and growled. “How long do we have to stay like this? On the run, starving, homeless, injured…”
Lucith, the water dragon, tried to calm him down. “We’ll find our partners in time.”
Barok growled louder. “In time for what? In time for all of our deaths?”
Zedge the ice dragon spoke up, “Calm down, Barok. If you continue like this you might as well roar and alert the whole woods to find us and we might really die.”
Barok exploded. “Do you think I'm a fool?”
Silence hung in the air, then Barok stomped off angrily as the others watched him.
Crest, the nature dragon, fidgeted a little, worried. “Barok’s not usually like that…”
Zedge gently placed a foreclaw on Crest. “It’s alright, he’ll return in the morning. He’s just upset about how we are now.”
Crest sighed and hung his head. “Good night…”
“Good night,” a chorus of eight other voices replied, accompanied by a growl from Barok
