The woman walked slowly through the passages of the white dragon's cave. Determination rather than fear or hesitation marked her steps. The cold bothered her, but the thought of the dragon within bothered her even more. She pulled her cloak a little tighter around her graceful frame in a vain attempt to ward off the chill of the cavern. The cut of the cloak wrapped most of the way around her, only opening slightly in the front to display a patch of her simple armor. The woman's hair was pure black and as vibrant as a raven's feathers. She wore it bound in a ponytail extending from the peak of her head to past her waist. Though the woman appeared to be in her late twenties, something in her strange grey eyes spoke of a power and experience that belied her youthful appearance.
As she walked, she did not see the lovely way the light reflected off the crystalline walls. She paid them hardly a glance, her gaze locked on the path ahead and her thoughts turned inward. Had a dragon or human seen her now, they would wonder that so many of the cave's guardians left her alone. But she ignored that fortune as much as the texture of the cave itself. Her time had come, and she would not be bothered by such tedious details. However, when attacked by the braver, perhaps more foolish, of the beasts, she spared them a flicker of a glance and a quick spell... and they were no longer a threat.
She had never actually seen a dragon before, but she knew that the Dragon Tribe was corrupt. She dealt with their "friends" on numerous occasions; those people who claimed to know them. The dragons wielded tremendous power, everyone agreed on that, yet she knew they were not worthy of it. The world needed protectors who cared about it, not some lazy beasts who slept their lives away in caves; creatures who did not care about the lives of the "little" humans. She had practiced her skills for longer than she could remember, preparing for the time when she could correct that mistake. She remembered all the hope, all the tears, all the pain. She knew. It was finally time.
The woman stepped softly into the dragon's lair on padded boots. There, laying before her on an icy ledge, was the white dragon of myth and legend. Nall. As per her expectations, he was sleeping. But the very sight of him wrenched her breath away. She found the creature beautiful. His white, silky fur, the snowy white feathers on his wings, the reddish mane running down his magnificent neck. How could such a sinful thing be so lovely? She admired his looks with a twinge of jealousy, for being what he shouldn't.
As she stood there, the dragon, Nall, seemed to sense her presence. The white dragon stirred slightly, rocking his body into wakefulness. He opened his eyes and lifted his head as he turned towards her. In a hearty greeting that would do his father an injustice, his deep voice rumbled:
"Yeah? What do you want?"
The question snapped her out of her reverie, bringing all of her senses to full alert and sending her mind into a flurry of thoughts. Instead of answering him, she glossed over the large chamber with her eyes, searching for the emanations that would show her the position of the item she sought. The dragon would not tire of her presence so quickly as to eliminate her. He was such a curious, slothful thing.
Indeed the white dragon regarded her with a pointed look, waiting for her to answer. He seemed to think she hadn't heard him. She continued to ignore him for the half minute since he spoke. She felt the power, it could not hide from her, and then her eyes caught a gleam. There it was, suspended in a crystal of ice behind the dragon's sleeping ledge. The White Dragon's Crest.
Nall shifted his weight, extending his head down to peer more closely at her. "I haven't got all day here, you know. If you came for a Dragonmaster ring, I'm all sold out." He snorted, shooting out a jet of frost as he lifted his head back up. "Kids these days..."
She turned her gaze back towards the dragon, noting the impatience in his voice. No, he was not worthy of the power he wielded. She clenched an immaculate hand into a fist, not to gather courage, but to remind herself of her conviction. When finally she spoke, her voice filled with power and confidence.
"Nall, the so-called white dragon of Althena, Tetrarch of the Dragon Tribe; I demand that you turn your power, and your crest, over to me. You have not used your position wisely, so step aside and accept a replacement gracefully."
Nall blinked at the demands and rubbed a paw under his furry chin in disbelief. He shook his head with a raucous laugh and smirked broadly at her, showing off a few of his deadly fangs.
"Well, if it isn't Ghaleon... the words sound the same, but you've changed your look. I always thought there was something funny about you."
The woman angrily jerked her head into a negative shake at the sarcasm. Dragons were at least supposed to be noble, if distant from human affairs, but it seemed that they lacked even this quality. Her words had been straightforward, yet he took her for a joke. She furiously decided she should not have even bothered speaking with him. He wouldn't admit that he had been a failure as a dragon and hardly acknowledged her sincerity.
With a swift motion, she cupped her hands together, forming a ball of light. She needed no incantation, only the barest of thoughts, to send the sphere speeding towards Nall. The bright ball exploded in his face before he even registered her movement.
The dragon reared back with a roar as the light blinded him. She did not want to injure the dragon or the rest of his kind without cause. Simply because they could not live up to their positions did not give adequate cause for a death sentence. She leapt across the room and over Nall with a magically enhanced jump as the dragon thrashed madly below her. She landed lightly in a crouch before the crystal containing his crest, and brought herself back to a standing position before her streaming hair caught up with her movement. Ignoring the throes of the dragon so closely behind her, she gestured towards the ice. Flame enveloped her hand and she reached with it deep into the ice, sliding through as easily as with water. Her hand closed over the small, shield-shaped object inside and she let out a breath of satisfaction. She pulled it out and held it to her chest. She could feel the object's power, filling her heart with a welcome warmth. Her plan had started, and it would not fail.
Nall stamped a clawed foot so hard against his icy ledge the entire cavern shook. Ice cracked beneath his talons. "Okay, that's it!" he growled. "You're in for a world of hurt now, Missy. If you put the crest down, I might let you off lightly."
She turned to see that the dragon had gained his eyesight back. Nall had lowered himself into a panther's stance, ready to spring, and his tail lashed out menacingly behind him. He wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, and she'd rather not battle him. She did not fear she would loose, but if he would not look after his own health she would have to see to it that he did! He wouldn't fall for the same trick, no, but perhaps a similar one.
She stashed the crest in a pocket within her cloak and extended her arms towards him. Nall gathered his legs beneath him just as she whispered two sibilant words. A heavy mist filled the chamber.
Nall stumbled as he caught himself in mid-leap, scraping his knee on the ice he crushed. He thrust his head in a wide sweep around him, but couldn't find her. The dragon breathed in deeply, drawing in the cold of the cavern. He snapped his head in the direction he had last seen her and exhaled a powerful cone of frost. He succeeding only in freezing the mist to his face.
Her voice came from somewhere to the side of him. It did not mock him, it even seemed concerned, but her words cut into him as deeply as any sword. "You have failed Nall. All of the dragon tribe has. Concede defeat, and you will not be harmed. If any of you try and stop me I cannot guarantee what will happen."
He shuffled ponderously on his ledge, trying to face her. Ice splintered as he forced an opening between frozen lips. "Who are you!"
Her words came softly, reflectively, but measured in bitterness. "You will know soon; the whole world will know."
Nall growled loudly and leapt towards the sound of her voice, managing to slam his head into a wall in the process. He slumped to the ground, unconscious, as the entire chamber shook from the impact, dislodging stalactites from the ceiling.
When he woke up--he didn't know how much later it was--the strange woman was gone... and so was his crest. He should have been able to feel its power and track it down, but he couldn't, and he did not know why. The woman must have found a way to prevent it, somehow. That meant big trouble. But the first thing he thought of, as he sat up rubbing his head, was:
"Man... Ruby is going to have a field day with this."