The Dragon Gems

In a faraway land, lived a little boy who was known for his mischievous schemes. He went by the name Leoric, which meant ‘Like a Lion’. Leoric lived in a small village that depended on a dragon. This dragon was all-powerful, he would care for many towns and villages that he owned including the little boy’s town. This Dragon goes by the name ‘Quassans Terra’ but in the village, his name was ‘All Powerful’. Quassans Terra is responsible for the towns and villages he owns but also for the earth. He cares for the earth and makes all vegetations proceed equally and fairly. Although those villages and towns had a dragon to protect them, dragon wars would usually happen. Conquering dragons would fight over villages and towns to win them. Once a Dragon was killed, the other dragon that was responsible for the murder would inhale the powers that the other dragon had. Dragons from all the land held jewels and trinkets, some would have lots of them while others would have little. Jewels would represent how much power they had. For example, if a dragon had little jewels, that meant they were incapacitated of being a dragon. If they had lots of jewels, that meant that they were all Powerful.

“Aye, it is believed that each of the dragons held a different type of power. Earth, Fire, Water, Ice, and Air. Each of those dragons has a special gemstone that connects them to their life and powers. It is also believed that if a wanderer collects all 5 of the gemstones he or she will be gifted a power. A gift as powerful as all of those dragons combined and more. It is said that Water is the most challenging dragon to fight but one day, a survivor will claim all five of those gems and be gifted those powers. For all we know, that day is close.” Elric, the village chief told the story dramatically to the children of Thegn Village.
“I wanna be that person!” A kid screamed,
“No, I wanna be!” said another child. Children kept repeating those words while fighting each other and climbing one another. Leoric just stared at them, planning his next evil scheme.
“But,” Elric sighted “I know someday one of you will be the escape of the dragons and lead us towards victory,” Elric said as he watched Leoric. And that’s when Leoric knew that he had to stop planning evil schemes and plan the escape from the clutches of the Dragons for his village and the other towns.

Over 10 years have passed since Elric told the story. Leoric has been planning for about 10 years on how to obtain all five gems, he's been observing and learning all of the dragon's weaknesses, battle techniques, special powers, and how they act in a battle in order to know their next move. Leoric was ready. He was ready to fight and serve good for his small village. He wanted justice, and revenge for everything that the dragons had done. As Leoric walked towards the Ice kingdom which held the first dragon gem, ‘Ice’ he lifted up his heavily stuffed Arctic Parka and wore it behind his back. As he kept walking closer to the Ice, a boy around his age asked him,
“Do you really believe in Elric’s Story? He’s known for being crazy, out of his mind!” Archibald screamed at him. “Your going crazy for believing in this stuff, you're going to regret it. Without dragons, we might as well be dead.” Archibald said as he slowly turned away from Leoric.
Leoric was impacted by his wise words, but not enough to stop him. He headed to ‘Renva’s Potionery and Spells’ where he had been learning evil sorcery for the past 10 years.
“Remind me of the spell again,” Asked Leoric impatiently.
“But your not ready yet,” Renva warned him. “If you do so, there will be consequences. I worry about you!” Renva told him.
“Just tell me the spell,” Leoric said once again. It looked as if something was bothering him. With the quietest tone ever, Renva passed him the spell, “Alis.” Leoric quickly wrote it in his journal and sprinted away and said “ALIS!” His arms quickly turned into wings, his whole body morphed into a phoenix. But without a flame.
“Only a true hero can light up the Phoenix’ Body,” Renva mumbled.

As Leoric flew away in a swift movement, he quickly arrived at the Ice Kingdom where he quickly changed back into his human form. As he slowly stepped deeper into the kingdom, the ice started breaking and Ice Guards were summoned. They were large and had icicles buried in them. Without a worry, Leoric threw sorcery that defeated them in less than seconds. With a small breath, he opened both doors. As he walked, his footsteps sounded throughout the kingdom. There was a large beautiful icicle frozen with a large wing. Without making any noise, Leoric took out of his backpack a small blade and hit the large frozen icicle with it. The whole kingdom started to come down as the large wing started moving. Out of it came a large dragon. He was enormous, he probably had the size of a dragon.
“Who dares enter Fractum’s Glaciem kingdom and disturb my sleep?” The dragon's voice was so loud that it made most of the kingdom fall. She also sounded proud that she was ‘the Fractum Glaciem’.
“It was me, I come looking for a battle. I challenge you to a battle. If I win I get the gem.” Leoric smoothly said.
“Oh. And what's in it for me?” The large dragon grinned. As the large dragon kneeled to take a look at Leoric he added. “Nonsense, you're a mere mortal. You wouldn't be able to defeat me. For I am a dragon and you are a human.” The dragon proudly said as she chuckled.
“Well, if you say so.” Leoric quickly commanded a spell within his sword which made his sword into a flame. He quickly stabbed the dragon's leg with it and within a few seconds, Fractum Glaciem started to melt.
“UGH! YOU SNOTTY LITTLE BRAT!” Fractum roared angrily. With her anger, she quickly used her icy breath and took a nice shot against Leoric. Leoric who was in the progress of jumping fell down to the ground and was hurt. Leoric used one of his healing pineapples which in a matter of seconds healed him back to his old self. Leoric tried jumping again and used his fiery sword against both of the eyes of Fractum Glaciem.
Fractum roared the pain. As he roared, the kingdom continued to fall apart. Her eyes started to melt but quickly stopped because of the temperature of the atmosphere. She struggled to open her eyes and with a small voice said “Please, have mercy on me.” She closed her eyes in order to mark that she had passed away. A gust of wind with snowflakes came out of her as she quickly decomposed to what was ice and a pile of gold. Leoric lifted his head and watched the particle of snowflakes and wind move away. He came closer to the frozen dragon whose skeleton you could see.
“Trash, Trash, and Trash. Oo. What's this?” Leoric approached a glowing blue orb that could almost blind your eyes. He touched the orb which made him obtain the powers from Fractum Glaciem. He felt new and cold. A dash of air passed through him. He quickly saw the dragon gem and investigated it for some seconds. In order to make sure that it was the dragon gem. As soon as he noticed it was, he kept it inside his backpack. Leoric also saw a pile of gold which he lifted. ‘For later’ He thought.

As he walked away he started moving his hands in a circular movement which opened a portal. He jumped in and closed the one he had opened. He landed near a volcano. The fiercest volcano in the entire land. Also known for keeping Accensa, the fire dragon in. The temperature there was really high so Leoric took off his Arctic Parka and kept it inside his backpack. Leoric’s plan was to enter the volcano but there was no way of entering. But, there was a way to summon the dragon. Leoric took out the paper that was guiding him and saw that lighting up a fire would supposedly summon the fire dragon. He did what the paper instructed and the earth started moving. Leoric stared at the volcano and in a few seconds, a dragon started coming out from the volcano. It was Accensa. He looked similar to Glaciem except that he was covered in magma without wings. Accensa stared down at the mortal and asked him,
“Why do you summon me?” As the great dragon spoke, Magma started dripping and forming into wings. He held them out as if he was ‘soaking out the water he had inside’. Accensa’s voice was deep. He crouched like the ice dragon to see Leoric. “A challenger I assume?” Accensa was staring down at Leoric as if he was a puny little human.
“Yes. I’m here for the dragon gem.” Leoric said boldly.
“Well, let the battle begin.” The fire dragon roared, he started to open his mouth and while he did, a small green particle that by the second became larger and larger soon from being a small particle became fire. The dragon blew a strong force of fire at Leoric and hurt him real bad. Leoric was burnt. With a minimum effort, he blew ice breath at him and nothing happened to the dragon. He weakly used one of his spells which damaged the dragon by a little. The dragon stared at Leoric for he had left a small hole inside him.
“HOW DARE YOU?” The dragon yelped as magma poured out of him. He quickly rushed towards Leoric and swallowed him in one whole. Leoric thought it was the end but he then realized that he was alive, and inside his mouth! He quickly used his ice powers and started touching the inside of the dragon. As he touched the fiery inside, it turned to ice. It made a sizzle which could remind you of grilling any type of food. Within a few seconds, the fire started turning to ashes. Later the dragon started melting and Leoric, inside the dragon started burning even more. He quickly got out of the dragon before he could be killed. The dragon exploded and small pieces of magma were all over him. Leoric weakly dragged his body around the volcano’s floor as he tried to get closer to the glowing orb which would supposedly heal him. He inhaled the orb and received the dragon’s power. He then lifted himself and picked up the dragon gem.
“Three more to go.” He mumbled.

Water kingdom was extremely close to the volcano. In fact, it was kind of weird how neither of the dragons had died because of the closeness they were to each other. They were also enemies since Accensa challenged Aquatillis for the throne of the strongest dragon. Accensa lost which made him retreat back to his land. As Leoric stared at the water, he peacefully opened his journal within every page he turned he lowered his finger as if he was finding something. ‘Sprain Sub Aqua, will allow you to breathe underwater.’ The spell said. Before doing so, he continued watching the water. A large catfish splashed around the water and a little amount of water sprinkled over Leoric. He grunted back and shouted
“Spiran sub aqua!” Leoric said as he threw himself under the water.

The water had beautiful colored reefs. Everything underwater was planned perfectly. There were no wars just peace. The Water Dragon was responsible for all. As Leoric got closer to the kingdom, he prepared himself for battle. He knew the legends talked greatly about this beast for he was the strongest out of the five. As Leoric entered the doors which were covered by marine animals and pearls he stared around thinking as if someone was going to attack him. But surprisingly, there were no guards near. Just marine animals swimming around. Leoric slowly entered the kingdom and watched. He appreciated the beauty of the kingdom, and then he saw it. It was the water dragon. The water dragon quickly swam towards Leoric.
“Ooh! A visitor. We never get any of those around here. By the way, my name is Aquatillis.” The water dragon sounded excited. A particle of bubbles circled around Leoric.
“I’m here to challenge you for the dragon gem,” Leoric said. As soon as he let those words out, the particle of bubbles popped.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” The Aquatillis said. Looking angry. Leoric showed an act of aggression and used ice on him.
“Didn’t you know I’m immune to that?” He said and with his fin he hit Leoric.


Before Leoric could do anything else, Aquatillis used water that traveled around his whole body. Although Leoric was able to breathe underwater, that triggered his system, his spell quickly broke and he started to struggle to breathe. Feeling guilty, he hit him again with his fin which made him go far away from the kingdom. Leoric was thrown away at a large distance.

I’ll come for you later… Leoric thought to himself as he headed to Mt. Peak where Air was found.

Leoric teleported up there since it was the tallest mountain known to man. He teleported and used his ice powers to communicate with the Air Dragon. A strong gust of wind started. Clouds opened and moved away because of the wind. A large white dragon, as white as air came to Leoric.
“The air has told me that you are a fearsome warrior. A wanderer who has fought and killed all of the other dragons you’ve come upon. Except for one, Water. If you defeat him, I’ll reward you my Gem. As long as you prove your worthy.” He spoke with a majestic tone. Deep yet majestic and magical.
“I don’t need to prove my strength.” Leoric said as he combined fire and ice. And with an instant hit, the dragon fell from the mountain. There was no battle. Just death. After a few minutes, the earth started to rumble because of the heavy fall that came from the dragon. Each time, the world became more unbalanced as a result of fewer dragons. Leoric threw himself from the mountain and quickly said ‘Alis’ which allowed him to fly. He went down and stopped as he saw the glimmer from far away from the dragon. He grabbed the gem and then went for the orb. Blood was coming out of the dragon. As well as some air as if it was a balloon that was in the progress of being disinflated. As Leoric walked away, the earth started to rumble even more. Cracks started forming and a giant whole gobbled up Leoric. Leoric quickly fell into a large cave that had a small river. Leoric chased the river and soon saw a larger entrance.
“Woah,” Leoric said. As he spoke, a large echo came out. He started looking around and saw two large trees. Larger than any he had seen before. He saw really large stairs as if a giant lived there. He started climbing it and saw a giant orb that somewhat was connected to the outer world. He climbed the large rock platform and saw his village. A deep voice then spoke
“I know you came here for a reason.” A voice started. Leoric started looking around the cave trying to find the source of the voice.
“Who are you?!” Leoric shouted trying to create a larger echo. The earth started to rumble as a large figure came out of the two trees.
“‘Tis was I.” The dragon said deeply staring at Leoric “I am the earth dragon. Protector of your town and many more. I rumble the earth and keep it balance ‘tis my work.” The dragon once again spoke.
“Are you Quassans Terra?” Leoric asked.
“Yes. I am the mighty Quassans Terra.” The dragon answered. Without a doubt, Leoric told him,
“I come to challenge you for the Dragon Gem,” Leoric said.
“If I win, I kill your town. Deal?” Leoric knew what he was risking by the wise and mighty words the dragon said.
“Deal,” Leoric answered.
Leoric was looking around the dragon and there he saw it, a dragon gem. It was outside the dragon. This seemed pretty strange since all the dragon gems would be inside the dragon. Leoric quickly used his ice powers and hit the dragon in his weak spot which was his throat.
“AH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” The dragon roared as the cave started to fall apart. Large rocks started falling and destroying both the cave and the dragon. Leoric ran for the Gem and kept it safely inside his backpack.
“YOU, WILL, PAY, FOR THIS!” The dragon struggled to talk as he was hurt. He rushed towards The glowing orb and with a touch of his claw, he scratched a small location which was Leorics town. Leoric noticed that instant and tried stepping on him but before he could, he fell and vines started to stop him.
“NOOOOO!” Leoric screamed his soul out. Desperate tears started rolling down his face. He desperately moved his hands trying to shake off the vines but nothing worked. Although he had the option to choose using his fire powers, he was too weak to do so. More vines started coming in and ‘hugged’ the earth dragon. The vines soon lifted up and the dragon was dead. Small flowers flew through the air signifying he was dead. With only one dragon left, Leoric was close to victory. But today, he lost. He lost his family. The vines stopping him were still there, Leoric channeled all his anger as his hands started getting in a higher temperature, the vines soon exploded. He walked closer to the dragon orb and then inhaled it. Now, more than ever he wanted to kill all the dragons. Missing only one, he was closer. Next stop, water kingdom.

As Leoric flew through the air, thanks to the Air Dragons gem, he threw himself into the water and swam towards the water dragon. He quickly arrived at the gates of the kingdom and challenged the last dragon.
“I’m here for your gem,” Leoric said deeply.
“Well, if you want it that much, then go ahead. Prepare for death.” The water dragon said. They both swam against each other and a battle started. The water dragon used his weakest moves first, although some would call them weak because he had stronger ones, they were incredibly strong. As the dragon sent a wave of bubbles towards his way, Leoric lifted his arm and used ice to freeze them. He then lifted himself from the water and used air to move away water. As the waves moved away, the dragon rose up from the water. He had to be the largest dragon he had fought. The dragon majestically used his water breath which quickly made Leoric fall to the ocean once again. Leoric was weak but he still had hope. He then managed to summon all of his powers into one and threw it against the Water Dragon. The dragon fell as he withered away in bubbles. Marine life noticed the end of their defender and quickly swam away from what they believed was danger.
“Alas, the last dragon gem,” Leoric said as he looked at the dead dragon's body. He slowly inhaled the last orb and lifted up the gem. Leoric flew away to where all the five gems should be placed. As he arrived, he took out a piece of paper that said the details on placing each of the five gems. There was a specific order when placing them. The first gem was Earth, the second Fire, the Third Water, the fourth Ice, and lastly, Air. The gems then lifted themselves and summoned a beam with the color of the gem, those beams hit Leoric and he then transformed into what was his ‘gift’. He started transforming into a large black dragon, this dragon had all the powers of the past dragons he had killed. He then transformed into a dragon that had a special power, his power unbalanced the land, it was Aether. He grew to a size like the Water Dragon. And once the transformation was complete, Leoric notice what he was. A ‘monster’ all around him was wars, and there was no stopping them. He looked down only to see a black gem that soon entered his body. It was the “Aether Gem” There started being less food and water. Dragons disappeared as their leaders were no longer there. Everything went wrong. As Leoric stepped closer to the problems, they only got worse, everything he touched became dead land. He then looked down at the paper which in small letters said,

‘But weary traveler, be aware that whoever completes this or is responsible for the killing, would be transformed into an Aether Dragon, A dragon who destroys all of the lands,’

People started charging at him and throwing arrows at him.
“Stop!” Leoric left out a large roar that soon released fire. Surprised, he tried to cover his mouth but he no longer had arms. More arrows started charging towards him and Leoric used his wing for protection which allowed him to protect his face, with a touch of his skin, the arrows withered to dust. Humans started running and attacking him since their arrows weren’t working. They also vanished. As Leoric looked around, he noticed all that was going around him. Leoric felt ashamed and selfish for everything he had done, as he carefully flapped his wings, and flew away to a land far away where he could do no harm. A place with peace. He hid away in a dark cave where no one could see him. As the years passed, legends passed the word of the mighty dragons. Some say you could find the Aether Dragon in the biggest and darkest cave you’ll find, others say it’s just a myth.

But the real question was, “Or was it?”