1 The Fall

"Lady Celine, we must leave the castle immediately!" A castle guard, clad in heavy white armor, warned his sister in arms, as they fought tirelessly through wave after wave of attackers, cleaving through flesh, bone and armor, with their mighty swords. The castle walls were white, though splattered with dark red blood, chipped and cracked in some places. The room they were in had elegant golden trim along the floor, and the ceiling, and once there stood a large, rectangular table in the center of the massive room, though it now lay shattered into splinters, much like the rest of the kingdom, the two warriors were fighting so valiantly to protect.

"You should worry about yourself!" The woman yelled, she was clad in gleaming white and gold armor, her long, blonde hair held up in a simple ponytail. This woman, was very unlike most, as most who were born with beauty like hers, would choose to pursue a life of luxury, she had trained her entire life, to be a skilled warrior. Her eyes were elegant, royal blue, though they had a fire fierce enough to make any beast cower before her. She was slightly taller than most women, with a lean, strong build befitting of a sister in arms. Ivory skin, bare of even a single blemish, other than a few scars she'd received in battle, or in training.

"M-my apologies, m'lady, but if we don't leave now, the castle may collapse!" Shouted the guard as he pulled his sword free from another slain enemy.

The woman looked sternly upon the guard, growing infuriated that he would propose that she leave the fight, but as she looked around, she realized that he was indeed, correct. The walls were chipped in many places, having taken impact after impact of bodies being thrown, or weapons that missed their mark, colliding with the stone structure, in some places, chunks of stone were missing big enough for a person to fit through. Columns were half broken, some, destroyed completely, she thanked the God's that the ones that had been destroyed, didn't appear to be load bearing. With a nod of her head, she signaled that she agreed, and they made their way out of the castle, as they continued their ruthless onslaught against their foes, through the long, desecrated corridors, lined with bodies of friend and foe alike, and onto the bloodied battlefield. She and the guard slung the hefty castle doors open, to be blinded momentarily by the sun's light, pouring through the new opening.

"N-no..." She whispered to herself, as she looked upon the bone strewn field that she once loved, now littered with the bodies of her comrades, as well as her enemies. Bodies were torn apart, seemingly mauled by some ruthless predator, intestines, strewn about as if they were some child's play thing. The sight churned her stomach, but she knew, that if they were to win this war, they would need her help, as she was the most powerful warrior they had. She pulled her arms back, and yelled to the sky. "Agranora! I summon you, lend me your strength!"

As she yelled, a majestic blue dragon descended from the sky upon feathery white wings, seemingly once belonging to an angel. Her body was slim, yet quite powerful, with spikes along her spine, all the way to the tip of her tail. Her talons were far longer and sharper than even the most deadly of predators. The dragon would have stood about twice as tall as the girl, had it been standing flat on the ground. The majestic creature let out a ground shaking roar, as it descended upon its prey, any who would dare threaten the dragons beloved home. She dove towards the battlefield, her wings tucked against her back, and just before she collided, she unfurled her wings, as she grabbed an enemy by the waist, and tore him clean in two, ascending back into the sky to continue her attack. 

"Soul form of the dragon!" The girl roared, her sword held high, towards the sky that had been blanketed, with the thick black smoke of war. Her body began to glow a beautiful sky colored hue, bright enough to vanquish even the darkest of shadows. Once the glow subsided, her new form was revealed. She now had wings, similar to that of her dragon, with patches of blue scales adorning her ivory skin, below her eyes, on her shoulders, and her elbows. Claws grew where her nails once were, and her canine teeth sharpened into fangs.

"Celine, the beast warriors have been wondering when you'd show up!" Yelled her good friend, Leonidas, as he fought alongside his soul forged Chimera partner. Leonidas was in his Chimera form, like this, he had the mane of a lion, along with the claws and fangs, as well as snake scales on his forearms, and unparalleled strength; as if he didn't have that in his normal form. He had seen many wars, and had the build and scars to prove it, he was a giant of a man, standing at least seven feet tall, he had a scar on his right bicep, as well as two on his right forearm, one on his left pectoral, and one just below his left eye. He wore no armor other than his steel gauntlets and greaves, he wore a long, battle worn cape, that had spikes protruding from the shoulders. Celine sunk her sword deep into the chest of an attacking enemy, who was readying himself to attack Leonidas from behind.

"Perhaps you should focus more on the fight than me?" Asked the woman, while she pulled her sword from the foe's chest, a smirk gracing her lips, as she had called out the battle hardened warrior she had trained with as a child.

He smirked back to her, "Your wish is my command, princess." Yes, it was true, she was the renowned princess of Leobrom, though she had wished her entire life she had been born to a normal family. He knew saying this would irritate her, as she was never one for politics, especially when it came to her friends, the beast warriors, she much preferred being called by her true name.

She dug her sword into another enemy, and looked to him, a fake scowl upon her face, as he cleaved through one with his mighty war axe, which he had set ablaze using his fire magic. "We'll settle this later." She stated in a mocking tone, challenging him.

He simply chuckled at her, smirking, and gave a nod of his head, before continuing the fight. Just then, the two heard a deafening roar, that sounded as if it came from all around them, one powerful enough to shake the mountains to their core, split the earth beneath their feet, and upset the waves of the ever turning seas.

"That's not Agranora!" Shouted Celine, looking towards the sky, in the direction that it came from. There was a brief pause in the battle, as everyone looked to the source of the monstrous roar, a massive red dragon, with scales as crimson as blood, and eyes that looked to be forged of fire, with massive leathery wings, and spikes along its back, tail, and shoulders. This dragon was bulky, whereas Agranora was agile, it's presence radiated power.

"Agranora, they have a dragon!" Shouted the princess, in fear for her beloved friends life, realizing that this dragon, was indeed far more powerful than her own.

"Understood, Celine, may the God's look after us all." Were Agranora's solemn words, her voice as soothing as it'd ever been, though still holding immense power. She turned to approach the coming threat, a look of sheer determination in her sapphire blue eyes, she lunged after it full speed, with a powerful gust of her wings, as she loosed a roar, challenging the beast that dare threaten her kingdom.

Celine looked back to the battle, which had begun once more, to find that someone else had joined the fray, someone, she did not recognize, but wasn't clad in the black, menacing armor her enemies wore. In fact, what he wore could barely be described as armor at all, he had a simple pair of black, loose fitting pants, with greaves that came up almost to his knees, and a shoulder guard, with large steel spikes protruding from it, that connected to a bracer, on his right arm, his chest bare, a waistcoat adorning his hips. However, what caught her attention most, was that this was no ordinary warrior, his skin was scales, as red as the dragon that quickly approached, he also had leathery wings, and horns, as well as a tail, with the claws and fangs of a dragon. This man, nearly looked more beast than man, she'd never seen a transformation this profound, nor this powerful.

"No, they have someone, soul forged, with a dragon?" She whispered to herself, before noticing that he wasn't on the opposing side at all, in fact, he was fighting them! As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy, is my friend. She flew at him full speed, decapitating and gutting several enemies on the way. "You! Who are you, why are you here?" She asked.

"The name's Ryder, I've been tracking these bastards for a while." Just then, he was interrupted by an arrow, whizzing through the air, nearly piercing him in the back, he immediately turned and caught it, one handed, just before it would have pierced his chest, and threw it back at his attacker, sending it straight through his heart, killing him almost instantly.

"Woah, nice reflexes." Stated the princess. "Well, I take it you're on our side then, what of the dragon?" Just then, the same dragon from before swooped down, and grabbed an enemy in it's powerful talons, harshly slinging him at a group of the menacing threat. "I guess that answers that." Stated Celine, before returning to the battle, alongside Ryder, and his dragon. 

While the dragon erupted hellfire upon the enemies, alongside Agranora, and several of the other beasts. Ryder and Celine fought on the ground, with deadly precision, as if they had trained together their entire life. Ryder delivered a swift uppercut to one of the enemy forces, lifting him off the ground, just before Celine buried her sword in his chest, forcing him to crash to the earth, as she pushed him down, with her hand planted firmly on the pommel of her blade. She pulled her sword out of his lifeless corpse, then, swung around, with deadly speed and accuracy, that could only be obtained through years of rigorous training, and decapitated another foe, continuing her beautiful dance of death. The two worked together to defeat wave after wave of enemies, so well, that they themselves weren't sure who was using claws, and who was using a sword. Who was breathing fire, and who was not, it were as if they knew what the other thought. The two gracefully landed in a clearing, causing the dust to swirl around them at the intense magical energy they were releasing, the clearing was barely big enough to fit the both of them, and surrounded in enemies who were preparing to attack. They glanced to the side, looking into the other's eyes for but a brief second, both wearing satisfied smirks at the carnage they had wrought. Her bright blue eyes, were a stark contrast to his glowing red ones, and with a nod of their head, they shared a secret message, that they both instinctively knew. They both took a fighting stance, arms pulled back, ready to strike, feet spread wide for more balance, and with a mighty roar, unleashed a powerful roar of hellfire upon the enemies, burning most of them to nothing but a pile of ash, and severely wounding the rest. The two looked to each other again, as if to ensure that they were thinking the same thing, which they knew by simply looking into the others eyes, and with a nod, they both rushed towards the remaining few. With her sword pulled back at her side, she gutted at least twenty in one foul swoop, as she flew past them, barely even a blur to the eyes of most. He tore through as well, using his claws, leaving his sword holstered on his waist.

Once the dust settled, the two looked at their surroundings, it appeared the war was finally over, they both let out a sigh of relief, and transformed back into their original forms. He was still taller than her, but not quite as tall, nor as bulky as he was in his dragon form, and where red scales once were, was now caramel tan skin, he had a black tattoo of a dragon on his left pectoral muscle, and a scar along his abdomen. His hair was as golden as the sun's light, with a red tint on the ends, and even without the enhanced strength brought on from his dragon form, he still looked as if he were chiseled from marble, though still being built to be quite agile. She also noticed his golden amber eyes, they looked every bit as bright and elegant as the sun. Not to mention his chiseled jawline, perfect nose, and long black eyelashes, he looked more like a God than a man.

"Hey, who the hell is this guy!?" Asked Hunter, one of the beast warriors of Leobrom, as his Hellhound companion, Shadow, joined his side. He was wearing a loose fitting black shirt, with a shoulder guard, steel bracers on both wrists, and loose fitting pants, that hung over the steel shin guards on his boots. His companion looked to be a large wolf, standing nearly six feet tall, with demonic horns protruding from his skull, and fangs peeking from below his flews.

"Cool it Hunt, I saw this guy fighting, he's been on our side the whole time." Stated Nikita, her hand on her hip, with her Sphinx, Lionell, at her side. She was clad in tight black leather armor, with steel bracers on her wrists, and steel shin guards, her daggers holstered on her waist. Her companion was a giant male lion, with eagle like wings adorning his back, he had bracers on all four legs, a tail guard, and a saddle upon his back.

"That true?" Asked Hunter, looking to Celine.

"Yeah, he was a huge help during the fight, without him, I doubt very much that we would have made it out alive." Stated the princess, in a tone that left no room to argue.

"That's damn high praise coming from this one kid, you must be one hell of a fighter." Stated Leonidas, his Chimera, Atlas, by his side, he gave Ryder a hard pat on the back, even with Leonidas's immense strength, Ryder was hardly affected, whereas anyone else would have likely fallen over. 

"I was the best of my kingdom, Dragonrise, I was their prince, as well as the champion, these monsters destroyed my home as well, I've been tracking them." He replied, disdainfully looking to the body of a deceased foe. "As you might have guessed, Dragonrise is famous for, well…" Before he finished his sentence, the red dragon from earlier approached, and gracefully landed in front of Ryder, before bowing his head.

"Your majesty, I saw a few of the enemies fleeing, should I attempt to capture them for interrogation?" Asked the red dragon, in a deep, powerful voice, a strong contrast to Agranora's, which was almost always gentle and soothing.

"Yeah, thanks Blaze." Stated Ryder, the dragon gave a small nod of his head, before loosing a fierce flap of his wings, and quickly ascending into the sky, disappearing completely behind the thick smoke of war.

"As I was saying, Dragonrise is famous for dragons, those monsters stole hundreds of dragon eggs from my kingdom, and killed almost everyone there, I want to beat them, and find those eggs, to return them to where they belong." Explained Ryder.

Just as Blaze vanished, Agranora could be seen rapidly approaching, but something seemed, off. She landed with a heavy thud, barely even slowing down before landing, she came skidding to a halt as she dug her sharp talons into the ground, her tail colliding with the ground a few times, tearing up chunks of dirt and rock, before finally coming to a stop.

"Celine, your parents!" She frantically yelled before turning her side to Celine, motioning for her to jump on. Below the dragon's eyes appeared to be wet, her sky blue scales glistening in the sunlight, evidence she had been crying.

The princess's face grew deathly pale, as all the possibilities ran through her mind, she was frozen for a moment, before she whispered, "No…" And began frantically running to Agranora, she leaped into the air, grabbing one of the spikes on the dragon's neck, and pulling herself up, as she slung her left leg over the saddle on the dragon's back, she had mounted the dragon, and held fast to one of the spikes on her slender neck.