Featured Story
Adventures in the Sidelines II: Fires of the Past
This week we are featuring another interesting story! This week's story is a newer one, by 5936. Enjoy the prologue and look forward to the future of this story!
Prologue
"Run, why don't you? Go on without me. I'll be fine." These were the words of Beatrix Dunechill, eldest of the grandmasters dispatched to Dragonspyre shortly after news of the chaos unleashed by Malistaire reached Headmaster Ambrose.
"We're not leaving you!" Veronica Springtail, one of the group's healers, shouted. "Fred, help me!" A short blonde boy joined the efforts of the life wizard to lift the column sitting on their comrade's leg. But the column would not budge, and Beatrix, though she would not show it, was beginning to lose hope.
"Move out of the way." Xavier Ironpen, leader of the group, said calmly. The two wizards reluctantly complied. Xavier gave a quick flick of his wand, and a Hydra sprang from the sky. It breathed heavily on the column, which instantly crumbled, and vanished back from whence it came. The balance wizard (Xavier) scooped up Beatrix into his arms, then continued on, leading the wizards from the destruction of the Grand Chasm. The cliffs grew smaller, and the wizards had to travel in single-file.
They reached a large expanse of open space, and across the bare area was the bridge leading back to the Atheneum. Xavier's hopes rose, and he led the grandmasters across with a powerful determination.
But it was not enough. Xavier tripped on an unseen rock, and from the sky came a net, set to trap any wandering soldiers left after the attack from the Dragon Titan. It captured Xavier, and sent a wave of Storm Magic pulsing through his body. The balance teen writhed in pain, jolting as the electricity sparked through his body. The death wizard of the group, Stephanie DeathFlower, immediately rushed forward with her obsidian dagger. She cut the net, and freed Xavier. Unfortunately, the trap had alerted the nearby Draconians of fresh prisoners. In a matter of seconds, the wizards were ambushed.
Xavier hadn't run more than five feet before two magic-proof chains made their way around his legs, throwing him to the ground once more. Similar chains caught the other wizards, and one by one they went down. Stephanie was the last one standing, but she too went down after a short struggle. She fell beside Xavier, a little discombobulated.
"Take my hand!" she called, and Xavier did. For a few moments their bodies were linked together as they both experienced the sorrow of seeing their wands shattered by the Draconians. The wizards were dragged away to various Draconian camps, and despite some resistance, Stephanie was pulled away as well.
In a desperate effort to leave a sign of the capture, Xavier pulled off his pin. It was a Hydra, given to him by a young Quinn Lifeshield just before Xavier left on the mission to Dragonspyre. Xavier threw it from his cloak, and by some odd work of the Spiral, the pin vanished. Now Xavier could only hope the pin would end up in the hands of someone who knew its significance. He winced as the chains pulled against his legs, and he was dragged against the ground away. The last thing Xavier heard before he was knocked out were the screams of his companions as they were yanked away to months of torture.
5936/Cody Earthgem
The story can be found here!