Age of Gold, year 158.

    If there's one thing you should never do it's cross borders between dragon nations.

What? You thought the dragons that lived in Skylark were the only ones? They're not, and far from it.

While Skylark is the first and oldest of the nations, there are actually four. Skylark, Edna, Collini, and Kronos. You can tell where the dragons have come from just be looking at them. It was so blatantly obvious, and when you have differences like that, you seperate them. The four nations have never been at war, but they keep strictly apart. Anyone found across border so however rare this is, would be roughly tossed out without care for where the intruding dragon ended up. Just as long as they went out, and never came back. This bitter rivalry started back in the Age of Fire, when some of Collini's dragons brutally attacked the hatchlings of Gideon himself.

At least, I thought they were savage enemies until I found myself in a twisted predicament as well. He doesn't remember much of his past, due to the fact of a flaunting goddess who oversteps her boundaries. But I suppose, all the more better it is still a story.

I was flying peacefully over the Specterspic Ocean, the strait between Skylark and Zan Zar, when I became aware of a loud roaring. It was a young drake by the sound of it. But the tones of his voice were off a bit and that sparked my curiosity. I banked sharply down to Zan Zar, and landed with a quiet thump in the multicolored grass below. Red grass, purple, blue, you name it. If it were a color you could find it here, some dragons even said no two grasses were the same color, codswallop in my opinion.

I scented the air, chills running down my spine when I discovered the alarming metallic smell of blood. Not the meaty smell of prey, or the festering, vile smell of human blood. It was tangy, fruity, moldy scent of dragon blood. I followed the smell until I heard the roar again, it was closer, and in the air. I glanced up to see a small flare of drakes blaze over.

    Red splotches fell onto the dirt in front of me.

    I ruffleld my feathers and kicked off the ground, snorting a bit of smoke as I went. I hated bullies. As I neared the trio I could clearly see two things. First, they were two older drakes mercilessly chasing a younger dragon. The second thing made me clench my talons in disgust.

    They were Edna.

Bullied or no, they were the enemy. The had to be disposed of with prejudice. I was older than all three of them combined, so this should be no problem. I gave a warning roar that promptly scared the scales off them. The two bullies instantly turned tail and fled back to their homeland. The drake they had been chasing let out a small gasp and stopped flapping so wildly. Then, without warning, dropped from the sky.

I folded my wings and dipped after the small green wyvern. Catching him easily and snapping my wings out last second, pulling up. And completed a rough landing with just one foot to work with. I was a wyvern myself, only two legs, and two wings.

I set his small fragile body on the ground and examined the scum. Definitely Edna, with short stubby legs and and rounded wings. In my opinion their tails were to short for their heads. I could see he had a large cut across his flank that was bleeding heavily, the webbing was torn in one place, and it looked like some sort of poison acid had been thrown onto the left side of his neck and face. It was almost enough to make me feel sorry for the lowly creature.

"Get up." I snarled.

He was still gasping for breath, but flinched under my gaze and rolled into a lying position. Then weakly pushed himself up onto his two small legs. I growled sharply.

"Do you know where you are?" I asked coldly.

"Y-yes, sorry ma'm." He mumbled.

"Come on then Gresatch." I informed, using the dragon word for someone beneath you.

He nodded and limped forword after my feathery tail.

"May I ask your name m'am?" He asked.

"Lazara." I replied without to much thought.

"Thank you, Fea Lazara." He rumbled.

I slowed down a bit. He was using the prefix Fea, reserved for someone of high respect.

"Why did you call me that?" I inquired.

"You are higher than me, I should respect you."

"Is that what they teach all Edna hatchlings?"

He looked down, a pained smiled on his face. "No just me."

I didn't pry anymore. It wasn't really my business by there was twisting feeling in my stomach.

The grass thinned out more as we neared a small beach. I stood above the small shore and breathed in the salty wing blowing from the west. A perfect place to begin the journey home.

"Off you go then." I said, then turned around and walking away.

    He nodded before spreading his wings and leaping into the air. I huffed, not turning back, and watched the smoke swirl around my face. It was blue and smelled like yesterday's breakfast. Slightly annoying and intoxicating. It distracted me from seeing the slightly human figure in the snow white dress in front of me.

    She coughed, and I jumped, my tan feather's fluffing up threateningly. I eyes her warily, she had pale skin and large black freckles that matched her wavy hair and long cape. There was a silver circlet upon her temple that held a glittering green stone, the same color as her eyes. For a second I was mesmerized, I really wanted that stone, it would go great with the rest of my hoard.

    I shook my head and growled meanly. Usually humans turned and ran at the sight of me. I didn't care for them, and they tasted horrible. She didn't move though, but she did laugh.

    "Hello Lazara, I've always wanted to meet you up close." She said openly.

    "You speak the dragon tongue?" I answered, marveling at her ease with the language. It's a rare sight to see a human speaking dragon due to the fact they don't have forked tongues, but it was certainly possible.

    "More than that." She stuck out her tongue and upon closer inspection I discovered it was forked.

    And the dark splotches on her skin weren't freckles, but scales.

I bowed respectively. "Forgive me, Fea Skylark, I had no idea."

The dragon goddess waved it off. "Nah I get that all the time. You were quicker than most."

"Why have you graced with with such a visit?"

She smirked. "I just wanted to let you know things are about to be shaken up again."

She dissipated into smoke that drifted down to the beach. I groaned, the presence of such a powerful sorceress made me keep my tongue, but everyone knew she can be a real pain sometimes. Every single tragic event across history has been caused by some sort of magic slip by that goddess!

Then I stiffened, I had left the little drake by the beach. I wouldn't have killed him, but Skylark most certainly would.

I spread my wings and danced into a choppy flight as I pushed off the edge and into the open air. My feathers caught the wind and I soared forward. I spotted the tiny green dragon easily, he was trying to land on a small island, the smoke was not far behind him. I opened my mouth to shout a warning roar when a voice rang through my head.

That's a no, no, Lazara.

Skylark appeared again in front on the green drake, her huge black wings that I had mistakes for a cape pulled her into the air easily. And just as the drake pulled up in front of her she tapped him on the nose and he fell limp. Then she disappeared on the island.

I roared and pulled into a stoop, the mist pulled at my feathers and might have tugged me down faster I dare say. Then snapped out of it and landed and the island. Which was actually more like a large rock with a few trees on it. And instantly spotted the white robed figure and the sleeping drake.

"Don't hurt him!" I called out.

She turned towards me and I shivered under her gaze. It was cold now, unforgiving.

"I could turn you into a Lich now if I wanted, what makes you think I will spare this trespasser?"

"He's just a little hatchling," I pleaded.

"He is one of the creations of my siblings." She hissed.

Then she paused, before a wicked smiled curled across her lips.

"Oh, thank you very much Lazara, you have given me and idea."

She touched the forehead of the drake and a shining darker green scale appeared there. I gasped.

"You've given him you mark?" I sputtered. "But only a Skylark dragon can bear one, oh no..."

"Oh yes." She cooed.

The drake groaned softly in his sleep and he started to transform. His wings crackled, growing thinner and wider. The fingers stuck out more, growing small hooks at the end. His feet snapped and lengthened until they looked almost normal. His large head shrunk, becoming flatter. Then with a few pops his neck become long and lithe. Last but not least, Skylark ran her hand down his thin tail and a shining isosceles appeared.

"Doesn't look like Edna anymore, does he?" She observed.

I bit my tongue from cursing her that minute. What she had done was truly unspeakable.

"Don't worry, he won't remember a thing." She said warmly, waving her hand and letting his body rest on the soft island grass. His wounds were healed now.

She whipped out her wings then seemed to disappear into them.

I ran forward to the drake and checked him up and down once more to see if he were hurt. He looked exactly like a Skylark dragon now, except for one thing.

The drake was undeniablely, ridiculously small.

He might have been teen size back where the Edna lived, but here he looked no bigger than a five year old. Even though the spines under his chin told me he was probably around sixteen.

Give him a good name. The voice whispered in my head again. I was tempted to tell it to stuff it but I refrained from doing so.

He stirred, his eyes blinking open and staring up into mine.

"Who are you?" Was the first thing he said. "Where am I?"

Then he paused. "I don't remember anything, not even my name."

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth before I finally spat out. "Your name is Lloyd, and you're sticking with me."

=+=+=+=++===+=++=+
Well that was interesting wasn't it?

An fun fact is most of the Dragons Of Skylark stories are based off true events. Back when I was a wee lass and made dragons out of whatever I could get my hands on (still do) This one in particular was inspired by the time I was looking through a box of mangled chenille sticks and came across a rather sorry looking dragon of my sister's. I took the poor thing and made it look more like mine did, and to this day I will never figure out why it turned out so incredibly shorter than the rest.