Chapter 1
Chili Pepper always knew that he was different from the other dragons. First off, he was a lot smaller. Most dragons were the size of a house or bigger but Chili Pepper was the size of a house cat. Second, while most dragons were fierce, Chili Pepper was timid. He was always too afraid to defend his territory from another dragon or do battle with a knight. But he did have one thing going for him; what he lacked in size he made up for in brains. Chili Pepper was a lot smarter than other dragons and not just by the standards of animals. Chili Pepper was also book smart.
While most dragons could speak the language of the country they lived in, Chili Pepper could speak fluent English, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Latin, Scottish, and Irish as well as his native French. He was also interested in geography, mythology, theology, and history; spending hours in his cave reading up on the subjects. Most dragons sought out gold, silver, and precious jewels to add to their ever growing hordes. Chili Pepper sought out knowledge, scrolls, and books. He had met with and studied under some of the most learned men in Europe and Asia and had even been down to Egypt a few times to learn the history of the pharaoh, pyramids, and Great Sphinx.
In his travels he had made many friends among many different creatures and a few humans. Many scholars found him to be a great student; always eager to learn and curious about everything there was to know in the world and beyond it. Many of the creatures loved to hear his stories of his time with the humans and what he learned from them thus allowing him to pass his knowledge on to them. But his greatest adventure was yet to begin.
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Chili Pepper had just settled down in his cave for the night. He had found an ancient text on the Roman Empire and was eager to start reading it. Suddenly someone called form him from outside the cave. Grumbling, he set the book down and went to see who it was. It was rare that he got any visitors. Coming to the entrance, he found a large wolf. Right way he knew it wasn't a regular wolf but a paranormal wolf and one that he knew well.
"What can I do for you, Hunter?" Chili Pepper asked.
"We thought we would stop by," Hunter said.
"'We'?" Chili Pepper repeated.
A griffin, a fairy, and centaur came into view. All three were young like Hunter and all four loved to stop by and hear Chili Pepper's stories.
"Sky. Wisp. Ares." Chili Pepper greeted each in turn. "Shouldn't the four of you be at home? It's getting late."
"We were hoping for a lesson," Sky the griffin said.
"Yeah. Please," said Ares the centaur.
"A lesson on the history of the Orient," said Wisp the fairy.
"Fine," Chili Pepper said, he was always happy to pass on the knowledge he had gain to eager students. "Follow me and stay close. You know there are a lot of twists and turns in a dragon's lair making it easy to get lost and my lair is no exception."
The four young creatures stuck close to the little dragon as they made their way through the tunnels of Chili Pepper's lair. As dragon lairs go, Chili Pepper's was small, about as big as a gold mine. Dragons prefer much bigger lairs to accommodate their massive size. However, Chili Pepper's was just right for him, small enough for him to reach and store his things but big enough for his students to comfortably fit in. When they reached Chili Pepper's living area, the dragon curled up in his favorite chair in front of the fire while his four students settled down in front of him.
"Now then," Chili Pepper said. "The history of the Orient."
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The lesson ran late into the night; so late that Chili Pepper had allowed Ares, Hunter, Sky, and Wisp to stay in a few of the caves he had set up for just such a case. When morning came, the five friends said goodbye and Chili Pepper saw them off, hoping that they wouldn't get into too much trouble with their elders for being out all night. He had just finished straitening up after the lesson when he heard the sound of rushing paws, talons, and hooves coming towards him and several someones calling out his name. Turning, he saw Ares, Hunter, Sky, and Wisp coming towards him looking frightened.
"Guys, what's wrong?" Chili Pepper asked.
"It's the others," Sky said. "The centaurs, the werewolves, the fairies, the griffins, the dragons; all the mythical and paranormal creatures are gone!"