Prolugue

We can see a peaceful small village. As we approach it, we can see a bridge, which is crossing the river next to the village. They use this bridge usually, since they're using this for export and import. They are usually carrying them with horse-drawn carriages. But sometimes, when the package is urgent or needs to transport far, then they asked the dragoness, who's living there. She usually accepts these requests, because she is happy to help these people.

One day they asked to deliver a very important package to a small village after the mountains. Although they are usually not sending her tot here, since she didn't like to fly there. She usually refuses these, but now they insisted that it was really important and urgent, so she accepted it.

When she arrived to this village, her first thing was to hand the package. After she had done her job a torn, already dusty paper flew into her face. On this paper, there was a faded white dragoness with a question written under it: „Where did Elaine disappear?". But who was this dragoness and why was they searched after her? Nowadays no one knows who her was, what happened to her, only who remembers her actions, only who knew her personally.

Chapter 1: The End

Natelien:      - Elaine, do you think this will be working?

Elaine:            - It has to, we won't get another chance.

Natelien:      - I know, but what if… What if it won't work?

Elaine:            - Then this is the end for us, not only for us, but for our universe.

With this they stared to work on the defence of the big crystal, which was the forever jail for everything that is evil, the devil himself. This upgrade was an old thing they wanted to be done, but up this point it was just a theory, a defence theory, since they had to make it possible to make it.

Elaine:            And it's done, we're finished with it. As I said there won't be any trouble.

Natelien:      - You were right. But go home for today, it's late.

Elaine:            - Okay Nati. Can I bring you home?

Natelien:      Don't have to, today is a nice night. I'll walk home.

Elaine:            Okay, sweet dreams!

Natelien:      - Have a nice dream Elaine!

They said goodbye to each other, and they started to go home, but they didn't notice one thing. While they did the upgrade, they made a little crack on the crystal, which is weakened the crystal.

The moon was on its summit. It lit the crystal as usual, but something was different. The crystal glowed much more intense, than usual, it's light was pulsed. Moved, moved a little. The defence's parts slowly fallen down, one by one. Now only the crystal was there, but with one move the crystal dropped down from the stand and it's broken to lots of little pieces.

Elaine got up much earlier, than usual. She was so excited about the defence system. They are so near to the end, the guardians' end. After this they won't have to guard this crystal, they'll can do whatever they want. There were only a few tests left for today and they'll done forever. At first, she thought she won't go to the crystal first, as usual, but she will go to her friend and guardian mate, Natelien first.

The guardians first, conspicuous different was the crystal on their forehead, which was already on their head, when they were born. This is changed their destiny forever. The second thing which was different was they grown up faster, but after they grown up, they'll reach much later the old age. With this they can guard the crystal much more, since guardians not usually born.

When the dragoness arrived in her friend's house, who's still sleeping. She noticed a strange thing. Natelien's door was open a little, which was usually closed. Elaine thought it was just because she was arrived home lately and she didn't close it perfectly. but it didn1T let her calm down, so she used her diminishing magic to go into the building through the slightly opened door. As it opened in front of her, an unknown smell and an uncommon mess from Nati greeted Elaine. Every drawer was pulled out, everything from the cabinets are on the ground. As if someone was looking for something.

Elaine without hesitation, shouting Natelien's name, ran to her partner.

Elaine:            - Nati! Natiii! Hurry wake up! Something is wrong, something strange has happened, that we never met before!

Natelien:      - What – sleepy, in half-dream, while yawning she asks the dragoness – What happened?

Elaine:            - There's a mess in your house! As if someone was inside! I also smelled an unknown smell.

When Natelien heard this, as if she had been awake before, she quickly got up from the bed, like she was fired out with a cannonball. She immediately ran to her kitchen, where she pulled out a small box, which was built into the wall with magic. When she opened it, there was nothing more, than a broken map and a key.

Elaine followed her, but she didn't know, what happened with her friend.

Natelien:      - They wanted this. They must have the missing part. They knew all along that it was here, that I didn't destroyed it.

Elaine:            - Wait a minute. What is this?! Who wanted this?! And what the hell is going on here?!

Natelien:      - Now we don't have time for that, and then you'll get the answer to everything later… Wait… The crystal! We have to fly to the crystal quickly!

Elaine:            - But…

Natelien:      - Hurry, we don't have time!

With this they rush out from the house. Elaine returned to her original size, and she was ready to fly to the crystal. When they got there, they only saw pieces of the crystal and, of course, pieces of their development.

Natelien:      - I knew it would be turn wrong. I knew, I felt it. Until now, with no one has been ever happened that to get broke in their home, anywhere. These activities stopped, when they locked him in the crystal. This was his jail, until now. Now he is free.

Elaine:            - you were right, unfortunately. What are we going to do now? How will we restore the peace?

Natelien:      - There is a way, but it's dangerous. It maybe costs our life – Elaine didn't wait for the end of the sentence, she interrupted it immediately.

Elaine:            - I don't care, I will do it. I caused the problem, I will solve it too.

Natelien:      - We caused the problem, I could stopped you. I wanted the holidays as much as you did. We have to work together.

Elaine said nothing, only smiling, nodding with courage.

They went back to Natelien's house. When they walked into the kitchen, Natelien cast the box out of the wall with the key and the map inside. Meanwhile she explained to Elaine.

Natelien:      - We'll need a relic to defeat him. This map leads us to it and this key will opens the lock.

Elaine:            - But this map has missing piece. This way we won't find it ever.

Natelien:      - While the map is not completed, it only shows the piece what is missing, and it doesn't show the relic's place.

Elaine:            - So that's why they knew you had the map piece.

Natelien:      - Yes, that's why.

As Natelien studied the map, she noticed something.

Natelien:      - This is strange… So far, when I looked the map, it only showed one point, but now it shows ten.

Elaine:            - Could it be that these pieces of the map revealed themselves as the crystal broke?

Natelien:      - Maybe, but there is only one way to find it out. – In the meantime, they left the house, into the open terrain.

Elaine:            - Get up on my back and tell me the first target.

Chapter 2: The Beginning

It had been a week since the evil escaped. It's been a week since the trouble hit our heads. It involves a plethora of looting, robbery, murder. But only one village rally knows why this happened to the world, only one village know the truth. Brightfall was the name of the guarding village, where they protected the crystal, which has since been only a constituent of the dust.

The guardians, Elaine and Natelien, are still there to prevent the evil, re-establishing the peace in the world. Currently they are trying to find and acquire the first piece of the map, to find the relic and with it defeat the evil.

Elaine:            - Is it still far away?

Natelien:      - Nope, we're almost there.

Elaine:            - Can we rest a bit?

Natelien:      - Why? We already rested enough for today.

Elaine:            - You're easy to talk, because you're not the one, who's flying nonstop.

Natelien:      - Okay, then let's walk.

When they landed, Elaine looked at the map to see how much was left. There was not much back, fortunately. When she was relieved, she noticed that one piece's mark was approaching another.

Elaine:            - Nati, I think there's a little problem.

Natelien:      - Tell me what it is?

Elaine:            - Watch this mark. Not so noticeable, but it seems to be moving to this, other mark… This can mean only one thing, they also have the locations of the pieces and they are there to get them.

Natelien:      - This means we have got less time, as I thought. – She didn't finish what she had to say, but she was already on Elaine's back – Come on, we need to move faster.

They flew further. When they were almost there, two griffins appeared in front of them, but something was wrong. Not only was there are no griffins in this area, but there was something with them too. Instead of their eyes, black crystals glittered, and large bags were carried on their backs. They may have had their latest prey in it. Gold, silver, all kinds of precious things. But something was wrong with one of the bags. Red juice dripped from it, which could only be one thing. Blood. These griffins have recently killed someone. But why they took the body with them?

Elaine:            - What's now? Follow them or focus on the map?

Natelien:      - The map is more important, but we should find out what's going on here.

Elaine:            - Okay, then I'll follow them.

When the plan was discussed, the griffins disappeared from their eyes, as if they had become fog. Suddenly, behind their backs, they heard two sharp griffin screams, and they knew they had been noticed. So, they turned around and looked at the griffins.

Elaine:            - Are you ready?

Natelien pulled her sword out from the pouch on her side.

Natelien:      - Me? Always.

They started to attack. The first griffin, who had the heavier bag, with the loot, was defeated with light hand. A quick attack on it, while cutting its neck with the sword. And it's already falling down, into the deep.

Only the other left, but it suddenly threw the corpse from its back, which fell freely, after its former alive companion. Then a familiar figure, a dragon, glittered in the eyes of the griffin. Elaine paused, drained her consciousness, and began to fall.

Natelien:      - Elaine, wake up! We are falling to death! Come on, wake up!... Goodbye my world!

Natelien closed her eyes and waited for death. They almost hit the ground, when Elaine awoke again. She stopped in the air, she was dropping tears from her eyes.

Elaine:            - I know… Who our enemy is.

Natelien was surprised to hear what Elaine just said, but seeing that she was crying, she did not ask her.

Natelien:      - Let's fly back, we have to defeat the other too.

When they looked up, the other griffin had a cool place. It was far away, they thought.

Elaine:            - It's gone… Then let's check the other one.

When they arrived at the other one, the black crystal was no longer in the place of its eyes, its feathers were lighter. But the bag disappeared from its back.

Natelien:      - It seems to be some kind of spell, that captivates the victim and makes it to do bad things.

Elaine:            - Yes, it's like him. In the past, he tried to conquer the world with this, but he failed. They said he died, I believed to them. But it seems they locked him in the crystal, which we had to guard. It's no coincidence that they closed him there, because the crystal contained the darkness inside. This was the dark secret of the grate, they didn't say that many times in vain, we have to be careful with the crystal. Somehow it corrupted his soul and his every memory.

Natelien:      - I know this will hurt you, I saw you cried. But please tell me, who is he?

Elaine:            - My grandfather. Even now, I recognize him, even if the crystal's power changed him.

Natelien:      - I'm sorry.

Elaine:            - Don't have to, what happened is happened. This is the past, have to let it go. Now we must find all the map pieces and the relic, before it's too late.

With this they continued their way to the first piece.

When they arrived to the marked place, a cave entrance greeted them.

Elaine:            - I could have thought… A familiar landscape, the evil is in the family. Of course, my family's old cave will have a map piece… Let's bet, we have to go in and find it inside, somewhere.

Natelien:      - Yeah, the piece will be inside, somewhere.

Elaine:            - Then let's head inside.

When they went in, an old dragoness greeted them.

Asithin:          - Welcome my daughter, long time no see. You haven't changed anything since I last saw you.

Elaine:            - Hello mother. The lots of work didn't allow me to visit you. The crystal always had to be guarded.

Asithin:          - I know, I don't blame you because of that. And I know that, the crystal was destroyed, which held my father captive. And you're searching for the map's pieces.

Elaine:            - How do you know all of this?

Natelien:      - From there, she is not your real mother.

Suddenly Asithin started to attack Elaine. Natelien was aware of what was about to happen and so she stabbed her sword through her neck. The dragoness died instantly. With this the magic fell from her and the missing griffin, or at least its body was found.

Elaine:            - Thanks for saving me. Its magic made me to forgot that my mother has long since died. Her own father, my grandfather, took her life. She protected me, she stood in his way, when he tried to attack me. He bit her neck, she died instantly.

There was deathly silence for a while. Elaine was crying silently. When she gathered herself, they quietly searched for the necessary map piece. They didn't find it anywhere. They almost given up the search, when they saw it below the griffin's corpse. When the piece was placed next to their map, it magically attached to the larger part.

When the map got bigger, they found one more mark, but three of them was gone.

Natelien:      - Hmm… We have to hurry, we should not be this much behind them.

Elaine:            - Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the next!

Chapter 3: The Dream

They arrived at the next location, a deserted village. This village was destroyed by Azaruth's brutal attack before he was locked in the crystal. It had been destroyed by him, because Elaine and her mother had escaped here from the cave.

Elane:             - I remember this place. My mother brought me here when she felt something was wrong with my grandfather.

Natelien:      - And why didn't your father come with you?

Elaine:            - I didn't know him. He left us before my hatching.

Natelien:      - I'm sorry.

Elaine:            - I'm not, I don't think he could have raised a child. Since he left us that early. So this way was better.

When they finished talking, Natelien felt bad for Elaine's miserable fate. She wondered about what could cheer her up or make her laugh, but she couldn't think of anything. Therefore, she remained silet.

Elaine:            - Let's find a less damaged house, where we can spend the night. We'll find the piece in the morning.

Natelien:      - All right.

After a long search, they found a house with only broken windows and a missing door. But it was big enough, so Elaine didn't have to shrink.

When they went in, they looked around for any danger. The house had been empty for a long time, no new occupant had moved in. True, there was a big mess in it, but it didn't bother them. They searched for the bed and found it. Natelien laid in it and Elaine laid beside it. They barely laid down, they were already asleep. Not only the long road, but also the battle near the cave made them tired.

Elaine was in tossing and turning in her sleep, as if something was wrong with her. In the meantime, she said something, she sometimes whispered something.

-

Elaine:            - Mom… Mom, where are we going?... Why did we leave grandpa here?

Asithin:          - We don't have time to answer these, when we are safe, I'll tell you everything. Now just make sure you're flying and keep close to me.

Elaine:            - But mom, answer me!

Asithin:          - Hurry!

With this they flew, they were splitting the air. They flew as far and farther away from the cave that once served as their home, but now it's the source of the danger. They left the cave at night, so he wouldn't notice when they left, but maybe it didn't work.

In the morning they reached a village along a nearby river. It wasn't a big village, but there were dragons, whose made community with humans and different creatures. They were received there. This wasn't a surprise, since many people there knew from their own experience what they could go through. When they felt safe, Asithin told her daughter her suspicion.

Asithin:          - I suppose you have noticed that your grandfather is behaving stranger than usual these days. You may also noticed that his eyes was beginning to crystallize, darkening. Something as if it were consuming his soul. My idea is that the crystal he is guarding, changed him somehow. It started to make him evil.

Elaine:            - But… But why? And how?

Asithin:          - I don't know. But I know he'll want to destroy the guardians, because he can't get the power of the crystal until then.

A big explosion in the village broke the silence, a big explosion launched a dark army that attacked the village. They were looking for two dragons. A mother and her daughter. The girl has a crystal on her forehead, indicating her future guardian status since she hatched.

The village was in complete chaos. Murder, destruction, fire and death. The killer soldiers turned everything around. Their eyes are gone, black crystals in place. they had one goal: to find the girl, alive or dead.

Elaine:            - Mom these – Asithin didn't let her daughter to finish her sentence, immediately shot her mouth. Then she whispered a few words to her.

Asithin:          - Sssssh, we don't want them to find us.

But it was too late. Behind them Azaruth appeared, the former father and grandfather.

Azaruth:        - Hello my daughter and my granddaughter. Where did you go in the morning? I've been looking for you.

Asithin stood between them, she was protecting her daughter.

Asithin:          - Don't try to do this! She's your blood!

Azaruth:        - Heh.. You think you can defeat me? You are so weak, you have no strength. you're not a guard.

Asithin:          - Neither are you. The crystal has infected you.

Azaruth answered nothing but grunted and rushed at Asithin. He caught her at her throat, he bit it immediately.

Elaine:            - Mom! No!

Elaine fell to the ground, she was sobbing. She was hugging her mother's lifeless body, she cried with closed eyes. Azaruth wanted to kill the defenceless dragoness too, but he couldn't get to her. A protective shroud appeared around the crying girl and the lifeless body.

Azaruth didn't understand how this was possible, she wasn't yet able to cast her magic and had not been thought anything. For a moment he saw the spirit of his daughter, she was still protecting her.

Azaruth:        - It can't be! But how?

Kumrath:      - The power of true love is stronger than anything. It's very simple.

Azaruth:        - You! How did you get here? No problem, so at least I can defeat you sooner and have the power of the crystal.

Cyrgath:        - Not so fierce!

Azaruth:        - You… Who are you?!

Kamriath:     - I called for some help from the old guards is enough for you.

With this the battle between Azaruth and the guardians was started. In the fight they could not defeated him with the help of the guardians' ghosts, but they could lock him in the crystal.

Elaine missed the great battle, unaware of it, because the shroud protected her from all external danger and sound. Her mother said her last words to her and handed her a piece of paper that looked like a piece of map.

-

Natelien:      - Elaine, wake up! It's already morning.

Elaine:            - Mom let me sleep five more minutes.

Natelien:      - Mom? I'm Nati, your guardian companion and friend.

Elaine:            - Okay, okay. I'm awake… Hmm?... What's this piece of paper in my paw?

Natelien:      - Let me just take a look…

Elaine gave the piece to Natelien, who was experienced in wonder that, this was the map piece.

Natelien:      - Did you find the map piece in the evening?

Elaine:            - No, I slept all the time…

Natelien:      - How did this get into your paw then?

Elaine:            - I don't know… I just know that I was reliving an old memory in my dream, where my mother's ghost gave me a piece of paper in my paw… Wait! Mom gave me this piece!

They didn't hesitate, quickly they attached it into the larger piece of the map. The bigger map didn't reveal any new marks, but there were only four marks left on the map.

Chapter 4: The Gorge

Elaine and Natelien looked at the map, astonished to see how quickly the marks were running out of the map. One further mark on the map was coming to another. However, two were relatively close to each other and stayed at the same place.

Natelien:       - Go and get these two pieces, since they're close to each other.

Elaine:            - All right. Then let's go.

So, they set off.  These two pieces were in Evilbite Gorge. When they got there, there was nothing bad at all, but its name wasn't referred to this.

Elaine:            - I remember this place. I fled here when I was alone. Hmm… But why did I leave this place almost immediately?

Elaine didn't have to think any longer, the answer suddenly appeared. A group of Ghouls emerged from the cave in the gorge and made their way toward them.

Elaine:            - So that's why… are you, Nate, ready for the fight?

Natelien didn't answer, but her sword was already in her hand and she already started to rush them. Elaine shook her head and followed her comrade. The Ghouls just fell like the flies. One head after another, one neck fractured after another. They ended up with the Ghoul team of ten, but the next one wave came along.

Natelien:       - These never run out?

This team has had fifty members of them. They fought with these Ghouls too, but it took longer. Not in vain, as they were attacked five times as before.

When they were done with them, they looked around to see if they were still coming, but they didn't find any more. So, they pulled out the map to see where's the first piece was.

Natelien:       - I have both good and bad news. Which one should I start with?

Elaine:            - Ohmm… Let's begin with the good.

Natelien:       - We are next to the map's piece.

Elaine:            - Well, that's good!... And what's the bad one?

Natelien:       - The bad thing is, it's at one of the Ghouls

Elaine:            - Then let's find it.

After a long search, the piece was found at the last Ghoul.

Elaine:            - Finally, we found it…

Natelien:       - Yeah. Now we can go for the other piece.

They set off for the other, which was also in the gorge. AS they went deeper and deeper into the gorge, it got darker and darker. It was becoming more and more scary.

Elaine:            - Are we still far from the piece?

Natelien:       - What is it, are you afraid?

Elaine:            - No, I just want to get the next one as soon as possible.

Natelien:       - Don't worry, we're not far away.

Slowly they reached the middle of the gorge. There something was waiting for them, or rather someone.

Azaruth:        - I've been waiting for you.

Instead of answering, Elaine made an attack on him. She wanted to bite his neck, she opened her mouth, but when she could bite him, she just went through him.

Azaruth:        - My foolish granddaughter. You wouldn't have thought that, just like this, I would trap myself and come here to you.

Elaine began to get up from the ground, while she was speaking to her grandfather.

Elaine:            - You're not my grandfather. You're the true curse!

Azaruth:        - Thanks for the compliment, my dear. But I didn't come here to compliment me, but to ask you to join me. So, we can rule the world together! Muhahaha!

Elaine:            - Do not dream about it! I am going to destroy you to save the world from you!

Azaruth was amazed at the reaction of her granddaughter, but he didn't show it.

Azaruth:        - As you wish… Then we'll see each other at the battlefield. Soldiers, attack!

Natelien:       - It's a trap!

Four beings appeared from four directions. A young dragon, a human, a llama and a rabbit. They were different species, but they had one thing in common: they all had black crystals at their eyes, and they were darker at the outside.

Elaine:            - I'll take out the dragon and the man, yours the llama and the rabbit.

Natelien:       - Roger.

Elaine first attacked the dragon, went straight to the neck, but the man didn't wait and attacked her from behind. She stopped the attack with a magic spell, she locked him in a magic cage. Meanwhile she dragged the dragon with her front paws, he tried to defend himself, in vain. With one bite she killed him.

Natelien first cut the llama's neck, it was simple. But the rabbit rushed to her and cut her face with its claws.

Natelien:       - You little frick!

As she spoke, she used her magic power, he caught the rabbit in the air, and she broke its neck.

Natelien:       - I'm fine, what about you?

Elaine:            - Good too, just have to kill this man too.

Natelien:       - Why didn't you do it yet?

Elaine:            - Because he's so familiar to me. And anyway, he's locked in a magic cage.

Natelien:       - Hmm… He's familiar to me too… Elaine… Isn't he that crazy mand from our village?

Elaine:            - Really! How did you get here, my pal?

Natelien:       - You must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tie him up and take him with us. Maybe we can dissolve the curse later.

Elaine:            - All right.

Elaine tied his hands and feet together with a rope. Then she removed the cage, so they could carry the unlucky.

They looked at the map, where the mark was, now there's nothing, it was gone.

Natelien:       - Hmm… That's interesting… The mark has disappeared.

Elaine:            - Maybe it was the part of the trap.

Natelien:       - Maybe… Never mind. Let's go to the last mark, which is not moving.

Elaine nodded. He picked up his roped friend and, now three of them was on their way to get the last free piece. But now not only they wanted to get it.

Chapter 5: The Decepticon

They were halfway to the last piece when the crazy man spoke.

Vigor:             - Eh?... Let me go… Let me go, my dear friends!

Natelien:       - Do you think that we're that stupid?

Elaine:            - I hope didn't take it seriously…

Vigor:             - Let me go, you won't regret it!

Elaine:            - Yeah, you'll just run away, and you'll make sure for us to not fins a way to dissolve your curse.

Azaruth, sawing that his plan didn't work, turned to another. With magic her removed the crystals from the crazy man's eyes. With that Vigor screamed.

Elaine:            - Vigor calm down on my back! Nati check him, what's wrong with him.

Natelien nodded, then she looked back, at him.

Natelien:       - Elaine stop, you must see this!

Elaine stopped and looked back.

Natelien:       - The crystals, disappeared from his eyes.

Elaine:            - True, but the darker skin remained.

Vigor:             - What… What's going on here?! Why am I tied up?! Guardians, my friends?! Where are you taking me?! Let me go!!!

Elaine:            - Calm down Vigor, we don't want to hurt you.

Natelien:       - The opposite. We're here to save your life.

Vigor:             - Then why am I tied?!

Elaine:            - Because the crystal, we were guarding, broke and the wicked escaped. With his magic he made you a member of his dark army.

Natelien:       - And now we are in the process of stop him and to dissolve the curse on you, to change you back to your old self.

Vigor:             - I'm not that stupid, I won't fall for you…

At this point Elaine and Natelien couldn't decide if he had already changed back to his old self, or he was still under the curse. Maybe he said it because he is crazy and it's too amazing for a crazy man to believe. Or maybe Azaruth is in the background and that's why he's not a crazy man right now and that's why he's lying.

Elaine:            - Are you sure Vigor would have said that?

Vigor:             - Well, you know him, so you should know what he used to say usually… Oops…

Elaine:            - Ha! Azaruth you failed!

Vigor:             - Who is Azaruth? I didn't know anyone with this name.

Natelien:       - Who is Azaruth? You didn't tell me anything about him before.

Elaine:            - I did, it was my grandfather's name, before he transformed into this.

Vigor:             - I'm not that old, but always handsome dragon, I'm Vigor, who's living in the village, the always grinning crazy man.

Natelien:       - You betrayed yourself again…

The crystals returned to Vigor's eyes as he spoke to the guardians.

Vigor:             - Fools! You don't even know what power you're facing! Hahaha!

He finished with what he had to say, he slowly began to rotate his head in one direction until he can… then he rotated it even more!

Natelien and Elaine screamed almost at the same time:          - Vigor, no!

But Vigor hadn't heard anything, any longer, with a big crack at the cervical vertebra, he ceased to exist.

Elaine and Natelien shed tears for a few minutes, they were watching at the crazy man's body on Elaine's back. After a while Elaine broke the silence first.

Elaine:            - Give him the ultimate respect, bury him up the hill, at the foot of the tree there.

Natelien:       - He deserves this, since he was born crazy and his life ended this way.

They carried the corpse to the top of the hill, to the tree, where they ug the hole for him, at least Elaine dug, while Natelien watched her. When she was done with the pit, they placed Vigor in it. They took a tearful goodbye and buried him. They stood above the tomb for a while, then they set off, the worlds counted on them.

As they got closer and closer to the final piece, the sky darkened, and there were fewer and fewer living plants around them.

Natelien:       - I think we're on the right track…

Elaine:            - You don't say?! I thought these destroyed crops are here just because of a prank… And anyway, we're following the map.

They moved inward and deeper into the destruction. There was no living plant around them anymore. The trees had dried up, their leaves fallen already. The grass was no longer in the concept of this area.

Natelien:       - Look ahead! There's something familiar!

Elaine watched where her friend was pointing. She finally noticed what she wanted to show to her, she saw a hillside with a waterfall. Around the waterfall and its small pond everything was green and alive, even the trees weren't dried up there.

Elaine:            - I see, it's really familiar to me too, which is really rare in this place: Everything is green and alive.

Natelien:       - Not that… The place! don't you remember? I found you here. When I went around here, looking for potable water, I stopped to see if it was potable. I filled my bottle and then drank its content. Fortunately, that was what I was looking for. That's when you came out of the cave behind the waterfall. But when you saw me, you ran back in, in hope of you didn't get noticed.

Elaine:            - But you noticed me. And what a luck, because I didn't know how long I could stand it alone.

Natelien:       - We've been best friends ever since that day!

Elaine:            - I guess we're not here for nothing…

Natelien:       - No, not in vain…

Elaine:            - Here's the last piece, right?

Natelien:       - Yeah…

Elaine:            - Before we go in, could you check where the enemy's map is?

Natelien:       - Of course… Hmm… There's a problem…

Elaine:            - Please don't say that the only mark on the map is the piece in the cave…

Natelien:       - Okay, then I won't say it.

Slowly they begun to approach the entrance, which was hidden by the waterfall. When they got to the entrance Natelien spoke up.

Natelien:       - I hope you brought a sleeping bag with you, because this will take long!

Chapter 6: The Key

When they entered, they were face to face with an army. But this army hadn't got only one species. There was everything. Humans, animals, aliens, mythical creatures.

Natelien:       - There are more than I expected…

Elaine:            - Where's that sleeping bag?

Natelien:       - Heh, that was good.

There was no time for more conversations as the first team rushed them to fight with them. There were only humans in it. Children, women and man. It seems that there are teams from each race. So, they didn't have much hard time, yet.

As they approached them, sword and energy were drawn to prepare them for the attacking army. But they didn't have much time for that either.

They were lucky here, as they weren't that many, at least on this team. They were in three rows, five in each row. Elaine and Natelien didn't speak for atactic, they started to fight without it, they didn't have time for that either. The heads and bodies were just falling before them.

The first two rows were down, only the third was back. But here they stopped before the attack.

They all were from their village. There was the blacksmith, the baker, Natelien's old nanny, the neighbour widow's only child, and the stableman's apprentice.

Elaine:            - Now what?

Natelien:       - Whatever we did, we're fighting.

Elaine:            - But they are our friends!

Natelien ignored that, she continued the fight. First the apprentice's head fell.

Natelien:       - Don't just stand there, fight!

Elaine realized just before the blacksmith had jumped on her back.

Elaine:            - What do you think?! You can't go there!

With her tail she kicked him up and then cast a stone on him with magic.

Elaine:            - Now you won't climb anywhere anymore.

Natelien:       - Don't just bluster, help me!

Elaine glanced at Natelien, who was in the middle of the fight with the boy, the nanny, and the baker. The boy with the dagger in his hand injured Natelien's belly. This was his last thing he had done in his life, his lifeless body was hanging in Elaine's mouth.

She hadn't even dropped him out of her mouth, but she was already at the nanny. AS the boy fell to the ground, the nanny flew up to the top of the cave, where the sharp, dangling rocks waited her. She no longer struggled on, her pieces were falling off in chunks.

The baker wanted to attack Elaine from behind while she was busy with the other two. But he just wanted, because Natelien pierced his heart from behind.

Natelien:       - It was pitied to think so.

Then she pulled her sword out of the lifeless body.

In the second wave, there were not only fifteen, but one hundred soldiers. However, there was not only one species in the team, but perhaps all of them.

Natelien:       - Maybe this'll end here, but you must know that I was happy to meet you.

Elaine:            - Me as well.

With this they attacked the big army. They rushed right in the middle, until one-one soldier was executed. They thought that they could destroy the army from the middle. This technique was worked for a while, but not to the end.

They had already killed the quarter of the army, when they had to deal more of them than they could. They were permanently fenced.

Elaine:            - I feel like the end is here, not just for us, but for our world.

Then the map and the key from Natelien's pocket flew out of it, she noticed it. She tried to catch them, but she failed. She didn't have left enough power to spell them back to her.

They watched despairingly as it flew towards one of the soldiers. When the soldier noticed that, he was amazed, but quickly recovered from it and he tried to catch it. When he took it, his hand burned as if it was just paper. Then his pocket, where the other piece was, was lit on fire too. Finally, his whole body burned.

The solders and the two guardians watched the event in astonishment. They were so surprised, so they forgot to fight.

The map's other piece flew out from the ashes, as if it hadn't been hit by fire, and it merged with the other piece, which was still in the air.

When there was only one big map, it disappeared.

Natelien and Elaine shouted at once:              - No! The map!

But then, when the map disappeared, a dragon-shaped, pale blue crystal left there, which was immediately united with the key. After this a chain appeared on the key, after this it flew back to the guardians, better said it flew above Elaine. When it was arrived above her, it shone a huge light, which changed back all of the still living soldiers and they run out from the cave in panic.

After the miraculous event, the key pedant with the crystal and with the necklace chain reached Elaine's neck and locked itself on her.

Elaine:            - What… What just happened?

Asithin:          - You collected all the map pieces and liberated me.

Elaine's mother, Asithin, appeared before them. Elaine almost cried when she saw her mother's ghost.

Elaine:            - Mom? I miss you so much! Grandfather…

Asithin interrupted.

Asithin:          - I know sweetheart, I'm not here for nothing. Let's get on to why we are all here for, even you Natelien.

Natelien:       - Yes, I know.

Elaine:            - All right, mom. Tell me what this key is, which is a pendant, and what is this map, which is a crystal.

Asithin:          - They are actually a relic of the most powerful force, the true love. This relic can only be used by a true, pure-minded guardian, when the time comes.

Elaine:            - So now is the time.

Asithin:          - Yes. And that's why I'm here. The other guardians had already guessed that this was going to happen, so I was asked to prepare you for this. But when Azaruth, who was jailed in the crystal, found it out, he closed me into the map piece, which was with Natelien.

After this Asithin told her how she could use the power of the pendant in the final battle, which was closer, than she would think. After telling her how to use it, they started to get ready for the fight until the evening. In the evening Elaine said goodbye to her mother, who said she would always be with her in the pendant. Then they went to bed, so they could start the next day well rested, which would decide the fate of their world.

Chapter 7: The Disappearance of The Darkness

The next morning, they got up early and set off to find her grandfather's hiding place to prevent the destruction of the world, now prepared.

Natelien:       - Do you know where we will be looking?

Elaine:            - I have a guess.

Natelien:       - Then lead us.

With this, Natelien began to follow Elaine, who went forward as if she had a map in front of her and she followed that.

Their path led to their village, where was a cave system, thought they couldn't know it, since there was only a farther entrance to this underground system.

When they reached exactly where the weakest point was, of course, it wasn't that weak to break under anyone, Elaine spoke.

Elaine:            - We are here.

Natelien:       - But there's nothing here…

Elaine:            - I know, we have to dig…

She couldn't finish her sentence, because a huge explosion shook the area. The ground beneath them collapsed, but Elaine realized it in time and caught Natelien, they flew up in the sky.

Natelien:       - Thanks, this was close.

Elaine:            - You're welcome. I see you've been waiting for us, grandpa.

Azaruth flew out of the gap. He stopped in the air, in front of them.

Azaruth:        - Hello my granddaughter. I see you talked with your mother. – He looked at the pendant, he already knew what it is. – How are her ghost years going? Hahaha.

Elaine:            - Better, than yours will!

Azaruth:        - Suddenly what a big mouth you have… Not like in your childhood, when you were always hiding behind your mother, when something threatened you.

Elaine:            - Life was hard.

Azaruth:        - It just raised your ego, but you're still the little hatchling, you were. Women will never be good fighters, it is not in vain that men protect them.

Natelien:       - I doubt that… Do you see a man in our team?

Azaruth did not appreciate the answer, he waved to his soldiers to be ready.

Azaruth:        - My granddaughter I'll give you another chance to join. You'll get everything you want. I'll teach you everything that crystal has provided me. Then we two will rule the whole universe!

Elaine:            - Can you even get Mom back?

Azaruth:        -Of course, as I said, you'll get everything you want!

Natelien:       - Don't believe to him Elaine, he's just lying. You can see it in his eyes!

Elaine:            - But he doesn't even have eyes!... Anyway Nati, relay, I was just curious about what he would say to my question. Azaruth my answer is still the same, I will never join to your side! This is my final answer.

Azaruth:        - I'm sorry this is your final answer. I'd rather not see you between the dead, but on my side.

With that he bowed his head, waved to the soldiers to attack. Griffins, dragons and other winged creatures attacked them in the air. The creatures on the ground were waiting for them, below them, for their fight.

Natelien:       - You bastard! Fight like a real man!

Azaruth didn't pay attention, he was going back to the gap, that had served as a cave, for hiding place.

Elaine had already fought the second griffin and had successfully changed the first one back.

Elaine:            - Nati, don't use only your mouth, help me!

Natelien instead of saying anything to her, she jumped off from Elaine's back to capture and knock out the people on the ground. They didn't want to kill them, since they knew how to change them back to normal, how to break the curse.

Several creatures attacked Elaine at once, they injured her right face and left too, but there only above her nose. Fortunately, none of them were too deep, but one of them was enough deep to blind her right eye.

Elaine:            - Ah! You bastards!

With her rage and pain, everyone, whose attacked her, was killed with just one spell.

When she defeated them, an attack came from her back that she didn't expect. This gave her a not too long scratch on her left hind leg. For her surprise she saw a little dragon hatchling behind her, she used sleeping magic on the kid.

There wasn't much left up there, when she glanced down at Natelien, for how she was going, then she continued the cleaning.

Natelien had already closed at least ten soldiers. although she didn't count it after the first five, since she already saw that there's much more left. Between two defences and sword strike she spilled a spell and looked up to her comrade whether she needed any help. She saw that Elaine was solving even the worst case, unfortunately with a little loss. But at least she succeeded.

Natelien:       - Hi, oh wait, I wanted to say goodbye!

With this she cut off one of the men head. True, she should not do it, but she wanted to do it anyway. She recognized that he was one of the inhabitants of the village, whom she disliked because he always examined her and addressed her. Of course, he didn't say she was ugly or anything, but because he was always drunk and that's why his mouth was big. He always wanted to take her to the bed, but not in the nice way.

She knew she shouldn't have killed him, she shouldn't let her emotions over herself, but she did, and she liked it. But she almost immediately got the answer, because she paused in the fight for a moment to enjoy her success, and she got stabbed with a sword from behind. She didn't scream, because she didn't want to Elaine to notice that she was injured, probably seriously. Instead she stabbed the one, who stabbed her at the back and then she pulled out the pulled out the sword.

Elaine descended on her, she noticed that Natelien got injured, but she didn't know how seriously.

Elaine:            - Are you all right?

Natelien:       - Of course, just a little scratch. Are you?

Elaine:            - You can see, yes.

Natelien: Well, I'll catch the rest, while you're changing back the captured ones.

Elaine:            - Okays.

They parted again. Elaine would have started it if her grandfather hadn't intervened.

Azaruth flew out of the gap, straight ahead of her granddaughter.

Azaruth:        - Slowly with that granddaughter!

Elaine:            - Why? Will you not have army in the end?

Azaruth didn't answer. With magic and the power of his own body, he attacked Elaine, who also was ready for the fight.

Azaruth:        - did you know that, you have no chance, even with your pendant?

Elaine:            - We'll see.

Elaine began to concentrate. She was thinking of her loved ones: Natelien, her mother, the villagers, and her grandfather's old self. And to save the world from the evil.

She focused on the power of the pendant with such a big force, the crystal on her forehead got broken, her scaly skin ruptured there. All her power went into her necklace. The crystal in the pendant could not stand the high energy, and it exploded.

The energy was released by the big explosion reached Azaruth. His body became dust, so did his strength, with this everybody changed back, his curse was no more, than a history. The sky at daytime wasn't dark anymore.

The explosion also injured Elaine: a piece of her left horn broke off. Of course, this was almost nothing for what happened right next to her.

The explosion left a huge dust, but Elaine was able to make sure that the evil was gone. But she couldn't reconcile. She blamed herself for everything that had happened since the break of the main crystal, so before the dust could ceased, she fled from there forever. She didn't care about her friend, she didn't care about anything, but getting as far away from here as possible.

Epilogue

Thirty years later.

We can see a peaceful small village. As we approach it, we can see a bridge, which is crossing the river next to the village. They use this bridge usually, since they're using this for export and import. They are usually carrying them with horse-drawn carriages. But sometimes, when the package is urgent or needs to transport far, then they asked the dragoness, who's living there. She usually accepts these requests, because she is happy to help these people.

The people, who live there don't know her past, they don't know who she really is. For the first couple years she was almost constantly asked about where she was coming from, because when they found her, she was a very bad shape. Her wings were broken from the falling, full of wounds. She was almost on the verge of death, luckily, they found her.

She never told them she is Elaine, the shining star, the guardian. The one, who had to save the world from her own grandfather and survived it by losing her power forever. In the village she was Zinnie, the dragoness, with a mysterious past, who's helping to everybody.

One day they asked her to deliver an important package to a small village after the mountains- She knew that village well. Not surprisingly, since that was her old home with her best friend, Natelien. How is she? The dragoness didn't see her in about thirty years. She might need to visit her. She had many chances, but she always postponed it. At first, she thought it would be the same now too, but she accepted it at the last minute.

When she arrived to her old village, her first thing to do was to hand over the package. Fortunately, whoever had to hand over it, doesn't recognised her. She wanted to go back to her new village after handing the package over, but a torn, dusty paper flew into her face. There was a faded picture of her on it and a question below: „Where did Elaine disappear?".

With this she remembered why she accepted this. She quickly turned back and headed to his friend's house. When she got there, it was kind of weird. The house's garden was not tidy, the door was not closed. In fact, the windows were broken, the plaster too. And the roof was torn off. Elaine didn't understand what had happened here, didn't know what really had happened here.

Elaine:            - Nati! Where are you?!

The neighbour, because of the familiar voice, came out from her house. Although she was almost always inside, because she was already widow and she was suffered by the loss of his son. Because these she was almost always inside her house.

Azoura:         - My dear, you are so familiar to me… Just tell me, who you are just called, just say her name again.

Elaine:            - I called Nati, although only me called her this way. Her full name is Natelien.

Azoura:         - I remember her, she was friendly. She was one of the guardians, her partner was a dragoness. They guarded the crystal, which was broke thirty years ago.

Elaine:            - Yes, I know. I was that dragoness, who guarded the crystal with her. Because of my fault the crystal got broken, because I forced the development.

Azoura:         -Say so my dear. You know very well that, it wasn't because of you. It just came out that you did it right that time.

Elaine:            - I know, but I didn't dare to come here until now, so I could meet with Nati again.

Azoura lowered her head and a tear fell from her face to the ground.

Elaine:            - What's wrong my mother? Something happened to Nati?

Azoura:         - In the big fight, when you defeated Azaruth, she was so badly injured, that she died a few days later. She was looking for you all the time, she called you.

Elaine in tears listened to what Azoura told her.

Azoura:         - Even in the last moments of her life, she whispered your name.

Elaine:            - Where she was buried? I have to see her!

Azoura           - The top of the hill, which runs between the village and the battlefield.

Elaine tearfully thanked the neighbour's widow for the help. After it, like the wind, she immediately flew to her friend's grave. When the widow returned to her house, she disappeared forever, she was only a ghost, who's waiting for Elaine to help her.

When Elain arrived to the grave, which was not just a simple stone slab, but her friend was formed of stone. She was crying, she was sobbing, that she had fled. She laid tightly around the statue, embracing it. Another tear fell from her face to the ground and she became a stone, forever.

The End