The Prophecy: Chapter One: The Inn Of The Second Light

The moon shone brightly above, giving just enough light for a lone man to been seen heading towards the Inn of The Second Light. Circling above was a small black dragon searching for a resting place. Looking up, the man saw it and raised an eyebrow wondering what a dragon was doing in these parts.1

The dragon apparently discovered a suitable resting place for it disappeared behind the trees. Shaking his head and making a mental note of the dragon's landing place, the man walked into the Inn. At that moment a tall woman, cloaked all in black, strode out of the woods. She too had spotted the Inn and marked it as a suitable spot to stop for the night.2

Pulling a few coins from her robes, she walked up to the Innkeeper and paid him for the night. They exchanged a small, polite conversation and she sat down. The common room was small but full of life. The woman sat in the far corner where only a bit of the firelight flickered on her right profile.3

She scanned the room from her dark hood. Not a single table but hers had an empty chair. Her eyes stopped abruptly as they landed upon the man she had seen from the road talking with another man clothed all in dark brown and green.4

"A Ranger..." she hissed under her breath, staring at them both.5

Rangers were assassins hired by Lords of lands to assassinate all half-breeds who left their designated lands. Half-Breeds are considered the dirt of society. Even the peasants of pure blood were able to look down upon even the highest nobles of half blood.6

The woman prayed that neither man nor Ranger had seen her on the road. There was a good reason for this prayer. She herself was a half-breed amongst dragons and elves. A silver circlet around her forehead with a series of complex designs and symbols engraved on it marked her as a noble of the highest rank amongst Elf and Dragon half-breeds.7

She kept this circlet well hidden on the road and especially now. With a Ranger in such close proximity, the circlet would reveal and kill her. The only reason she was even outside of her city now was to find her mother.8

Her mother was an elf who fell in love with her dragon father. A year ago her father had died from a mysterious illness that had swept their city. It had wiped out many. Her mother had blamed herself for his death and banished herself from their city.9

This woman was now hell-bound and determined to find and bring her mother back. Hopefully, alive.10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~11

Resounding footsteps pulled the woman out of her thoughts. She sunk further into the shadows as the Ranger stepped closer. He stopped just short of her table and swept a bow.12

"Lady, I beg of you a chair." He asked her. She merely nodded so as not to seem suspicious and he sat down on the vacated chair across from her. "Might I ask of you a favor?"13

"You just did but yes." came a dark, musical voice from underneath the hood. He looked slightly taken aback by her response.14

"I am looking for a small black dragon."15

"A half-breed?"16

"Yes. One that has broken the bounds of the treaty."17

"Treaty?"18

"Yes. You know... Where the half-breeds are forbidden from leaving their designated cities."19

"Ah. It does not sound like much of a 'treaty' to me."20

"Well that's beside the point anyways." The Ranger shifted. He was rather uncomfortable around the hooded woman. He cleared his throat.21

"Go on." She resisted the urge to shift. The sooner this Ranger left, the better.22

"Well, ah... have you seen this dragon?" No sooner had he asked than she shook her head.23

"No I have not." She spoke harshly, hoping to drive him away. He simply stared into the darkness of her hood.24

"Draw back your hood,” he demanded.25

"What?" She was surprised at this and almost fell backwards.26

"Draw back your hood. I wish to see who I am talking to." He was deadly serious. She did not want to raise suspicion and a small pale hand rose, reluctantly drawing back her dark hood.27

The firelight glinted off her small, pale features. Her eyes were a light, hypnotizing blue. Long black hair framed a thin face. A thin, silver circlet drew her bangs back over her brow.28

The Ranger studied her carefully. He looked at the circlet intensely. She was for certain. An elfin noble. The weak light and darkness of their corner prevented him from seeing any other markings however.29

“What is your name fair lady?” he suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence. 30

“R… Raiynalay.” Her voice cracked slightly and nervously.31

“And I am Alasdair, now that wasn’t too difficult was it?” He smiled at her warmly. She relaxed a bit and half-smiled back. Just as things were getting better, the man at the table next to her stood up.32

“HALF-BREED!!!” he shouted, pointing directly at Raiynalay and her circlet. Alasdair glared at her.33

“I knew it.” She panicked and stood up abruptly. She threw her hood back over her head. Alasdair pulled the crossbow off his back. A hush fell over the tavern as everyone backed up. Her heart pounded in her ears as Raiynalay ran out the door. An arrow whizzed past her head, stirring up the air near her neck. 34

“Hells…” she muttered, disappearing into the forest, concealed by the night. 35

Alasdair lost her and looked up. A small black dragon flew off into the moon’s rays…36

End Chapter One37