The Leviathan. The primordial serpentine beast and the mother of all dragons. She was once a divine and benevolent being. The Leviathan was a symbol of wisdom and balance in the world. She wasn't always the dreaded calamity she is now. But a thousand years ago, the Leviathan was corrupted by a wicked deity. Venenum, the god of bitterness and decay, eroded Leviathan's divinity and turned her into a horrifying monster.

Venenum then placed upon her children, the dragons, the Insania. A curse of madness. Many dragons fell prey to its effects and gave into bloodlust, wreaking havoc and despair in every corner of the world. The land and water alike ran red with the blood of the slain. The Leviathan and the cursed dragons, known as the Fallen to humans, nearly destroyed everything on behalf of the malevolent god.

However, something happened that Briar did not expect. Although many of Leviathan's children were overcome by his curse, some were capable of resistance. The remaining dragons who still held onto their reason formed a united front with the human monks, mages, and unicorns to put an end to the bloodshed and save their world. With their combined efforts, the Fallen were put out of their misery and the Leviathan was sealed away in the deepest parts of the sea.

Venenum was defeated by Octavia, the ancient matriarch of the unicorns. They battled in a contest of magic for five long days and nights until Octavia finally shattered Venenum's being into six pieces. The pieces of Venenum were then sealed into artifacts and scattered around the lands, never again to be in a union.

The world was saved and life continued. But the scars of the catastrophe never truly healed. Relations between humans and mythical creatures only seemed to worsen. Unicorns have since been driven from the open plains into seclusion. Humans have only grown more fearful of dragons, and that fear has festered into resentment and hatred. The conflict has only escalated even more within the recent decades leading up to the present.

In the present day, the monarchs of each dragon clan are attending their yearly gathering to discuss the growing conflicts and find a solution.

The night was cool and the air was crisp. The sky glittered with starlight as Madronna soared above the clouds with grace. She was a majestic, massive dragon with shimmering scarlet scales as strong as diamonds. Her powerful wings created gusts of wind as she carried herself through the sky. Bright emerald green eyes shone in the moonlight with the wisdom of the ages. Of all of the dragons in the clans, Madronna was hailed as the strongest.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of a distant mountain peak. One that towered above all the rest. Sensing that she neared her destination, the Firedrake increased her speed. She observed the other two monarchs that were waiting as she circled the mountain top. There was Feng, king of the Stormdrakes. He was likely the first to arrive at the gathering. The slender white dragon was the fastest flier of all of them. Ares of the Sandrakes was there as well. Madronna roared to announce her arrival and acknowledge the other leaders. The others bellowed back, the sounds echoing through the night. The scarlet dragon lowered herself down onto the rocky surface in front of her fellow monarchs.

"Alack tokahn! Greetings to you both," Madronna's voice was gentle, despite her size, "I trust that your clans are fairing well?" "Alack tohkahn, Madronna. My clan is doing well enough." Feng was the first to respond to the formal greeting.

The amber gaze of Ares appeared to harbor a great deal of anger and anguish when Madronna first greeted them. "Annam juoch," he snarled in dragon speech, "Dola is dead." The Firedrake leaned her head back at the sudden news. "How?" Feng questioned Ares in a state of shock. Dola was a skilled and agile warrior amongst the dragons. She could not have died easily.

"The humans killed her," Ares spat bitterly. His fury was more than understandable. Dola was his oldest friend and most trusted confidant. Her loss would leave a deep scar on the king's heart. "She was protecting the hatchlings. The humans had a powerful wizard with them. He was the one who killed her." Sandrakes are tenacious and cunning fighters. But they tend to be vulnerable to magic due to their lack of ability in magic themselves.

"This is unforgivable! The humans have gone too far!" Ares summed his stinger against the rocks in his outrage. Madronna moved her eyes to see an approaching figure moving from the clouds above. "Marlo is almost here. Let us wait a moment for her."

Silver and turquoise scales gleamed in the moonlight alongside the luminescent blue eyes of an Aquadrake. A long green tail fin trailed behind her in the wind as she came further into view. The sight of her would leave any ordinary creature in awe. Aquadrakes are considered by the masses to be the most beautiful species among all dragons.

Marlo landed gently down beside Madronna, folding in her webbed wings. "You're late," Feng noted aloud. "Juli arch," Marlo uttered a brief apology in dragon speech, "forgive my tardiness. Although I am capable of flying great distances, it isn't my forte."

"I thank you for joining us, and rejoice for your safe journey here," Madronna addressed her respectfully. "Let us begin the Gathering. The first subject of discussion will be the seal of Leviathan." Ares bristled at the scarlet dragon's words. "We will discuss the human conflict next," Madronna assured the Sandrake king. "Marlo. As we know, the Aquadrakes must keep watch over the seal of Leviathan." The mere mention of their mother sent a chill in the night air.

"The seal is as strong as ever," Marlo announced confidently, "My guards have not reported any waning of its strength. Leviathan remains dormant at the bottom of the ocean. However," Marlo bared her white fangs in the starlight, "the humans are getting uppity. Especially the Maradian Empire." The Maradian Empire has been developed over the last two hundred years. The empire has grown infamous for its practices of forbidden magic. So much so that they began hunting unicorns for materials to use in their ritualistic practices.

Madronna tapped her claws against the rocks, deep in thought. "Marlo, you were not present just yet. Ares came with the tragic news of Dola's passing." The Aquadrake gasped in horror. "Juli mae! How could this happen?" Ares raked his curved talons on the ground, leaving deep scars on the earth. "A wizard using foul forbidden magic struck her down while she was guarding the little ones! We must have justice!" "Ares, what are you suggesting?" "Isn't it obvious? It's time we protected ourselves for once! We must retaliate!"

Madronna narrowed her eyes slightly. "Madronna, you don't agree?" "Ares, do you understand the magnitude of what you are suggesting?" "You can't expect us not to act!" " I didn't say to act. I am merely addressing your suggestion that we war with humans. Such an event would only sow more despair and needless bloodshed. The humans fear us because of the Insania cast upon us." Feng chimed in "But Octavia subdued both Venenum and the Insania." "Yes. But acting on pure rage presents the possibility of reawakening the curse in us. Would you thrust the world back into chaos once more?" Ares scoffed. "So we do nothing? That's the cowardly way!" "Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is nothing. But it is too soon to act just yet. We must gather more information before deciding on any action. To act rashly would be most unwise."

Madonna's heart ached as she spoke her words aloud. She understood better than most the pain of losing a dear friend. But too much is at stake if they go to war blindly. Aria sneered at the Firedrake queen. "Great and mighty Madronna is afraid of fighting. How pathetic!" Madronna roared in his direction to silence him. "Perhaps you have forgotten the bloodbath a thousand years ago! I have not. I never will." Ares huffed, propelling himself into the air above the mountain top. "I'm returning home! I never imagined my time would be wasted like this!"

"Wait," Marlo tried to stop him, but Madronna cut in. "Let him go. He needs time. If there is nothing else, the meeting is over. Let us meet once more in six months." The other chuffed in agreement, taking to the sky in their respective directions.

Madronna was lost in her thoughts on the flight home. She lamented that she could not have done more to ease Ares's pain. But more death wasn't the answer. War will only continue the vicious cycle of violence. The Firedrake opted to settle in a grassy clearing to rest just before returning home to her clan. As she was landing, screams of terror rang out in the night. Alarmed, Madronna turned her head to see a group of four humans. There was a man, a woman, and two small children. The adults shrieked at the sight of the great dragon, throwing the children at her feet. "Eat them instead!" They begged her to let them live as they ran, abandoning the little boy and girl.

Madronna was baffled. Disgust piled in the back of her throat as the parents of the children disappeared into the trees. The young ones trembled at her feet, frozen in terror. Madronna looked down upon them, contemplating what her course of action should be. Slowly, she lowered her head down to the shaking pair. They couldn't be any older than four or five years of age. "Don't be afraid. I will not harm you." The children stopped crying for a moment. "You can talk?" The young girl inquired. "Of course. I don't eat children, I assure you." The boy continued to cry. "Our parents left us here! We can't get home!"

Madronna tensed, thinking. She had no way of bringing them back to their home. And even if she did, it appeared that their parents intended to leave them out here in the wilderness anyway. "Come with me. I will take you to my home." The boy crossed his scrawny arms over his chest. "It's a trick! You'll gobble us up for sure!"

The dragon chuckled at his audacious behavior. "It is no trick," she reiterated that she did not and will never intend to devour human children. Interestingly enough, the boy's twin sister moved even closer to the lofty creature. She peered up at her with curious green eyes while reaching out to touch one of her ruby red scales. "My name's Malania. That's my twin brother, Lucian." "What are you doing? Don't talk to it!" "It's a she," the girl hissed at her brother before looking back up at the patient queen. "What's your name?" "I am Madronna." "Where do you live?" "My home is in the Braemar Mountains."

Malania turned her head to look at her twin brother. "They left us here." The children didn't have many options aside from accepting the offer from the talking dragon. "Let's go with her." 

                              *******

In the light of the rising sun, an obsidian black dragon perched on the cliff edge overlooking the wooded mountains. Amicus was his name. He serves as Madronna's right hand and has been her friend for the past six hundred years.

He searched the sky with one eye for any sign of his leader's return. "She's late," he noted to himself. "She's never late." Madronna always returned home from every gathering before the first light. But she still had yet to arrive.
Amicus knew better than anyone just how powerful she is. Despite his knowledge of her status as the strongest dragon, he couldn't shake the fear that perhaps she was attacked in the night. The increasing number of corrupt wizards and blood mages was alarming, to say the least.  

Daylight diminished the darkness of the night, turning the sky into various shades of rose gold and flaming red. The black dragon glanced up at the sky once more and breathed a sigh of relief. They familiar vermilion shape of her could be spotted flying in the distance. Amicus dismissed his previous fears and waited patiently for her landing. Madronna soared over his head, lowering herself onto the soft grass behind him. He turned to welcome her home when he noticed that Madronna wasn't alone. Upon her back were two, tiny human children clutching onto the spines along her backside.
*******
Lucian was terrified during their journey in the sky. The view of the world below was magnificent. But it would've been so easy to slip and fall to his doom. Fortunately, he and Malania made it back to the ground safely upon the enormous dragon's back.
Just before Lucian could relax from his fear, he shrank back once more at the sight of another dragon. Unlike the one that transported him and his sister, this one was heavily scarred all over its body. Lucian noticed patches of missing scales on its face and that the battle-torn dragon only had one silver eye. There was a dark hole where the other one should be. The female dragon lowered her body as much as she could to make climbing to the ground simple for the twins. 

"My queen," the black dragon boomed, "I am relieved to see that you are safe."  He peered at the children climbing to the ground from her back. "But I must ask why there are two humans with you." "Their mother and father threw them at my feet. I have decided that I will raise to adulthood as part of the clan." Lucian's fear ebbed away as she stated her intentions to her fellow dragon. She turned her head back to him and Malania. "This is Amicus. He is my closest friend." Lucian's sister piped up to greet the new acquaintance. "I'm Malania! How do you do?" "Lucian," the boy uttered just barely loud enough to hear.

       Amicus appeared to be caught off guard for a moment. "I am well enough, thank you. Madronna, I should like to discuss the matter of the children with you sometime this morning. What news is there from the Gathering?" Lucian looked back up at Madronna. There was an emotion in her large green eyes that he couldn't quite pinpoint. Worry? Sadness? But how could a dragon be sad? 

"I fear that Ares may do something dangerous. Dola was killed by a corrupt wizard. I suspect that he is from that Maradian Empire." Amicus lowered his head, closing one eye. "May she find rest. I suspect Ares wishes to avenge her." "Precisely." Lucian couldn't quite grasp the things being said, but he did know that the dragons were talking about something big. Lucian felt his jaw open wide as he yawned, drowsiness overcoming him. He was awake all night, after all. 

         Madronna noticed the twin's weariness. "You need rest. Come, little ones." She locked eyes with Amicus one last time. "I will speak with you in detail soon." "Understood." 

The children followed her across the grass towards the entrance of a cave. Lucian paused at the opening, fear slowly creeping back into his heart. Madronna noticed the boy's hesitation. "Don't be afraid. This is my home. You will be safe here, I swear it." "Well, she hasn't eaten us yet," Lucian noted to himself. If dragons were truly anything like the bloodthirsty beasts the village adults said they were, surely he and his sister wouldn't be alive at the present moment. 

   Lucian stepped into the cave, following the ruby dragon and his twin. As the group traveled deeper into the cave, Lucian's moss green eyes widened with wonder. Stones glowed in different shades of blue and violet, filling the seemingly dark cave. Crystals stuck to the walls and hung from the ceiling. Soft moss grew on the cave floor along with white fleabane flowers. "This isn't scary at all," Lucian thought, "it's so pretty."

 "Make yourselves comfortable and rest. I will keep you safe," The dragon rumbled gently. Malania chose a patch of fleabane flowers close to one of the cave walls. Lucian chose a patch of moss to rest on that was near his twin, settling down onto the soft green cushion. The boy yawned one last time, closing his eyes to slip quickly into a dreamless sleep.