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Continued from First Chapter of Tanna's Tale

Having heeded of the coming attack of Evo-Humans, our parents had us gather the things that we would need and one personal item that had sentimental value. I took my sword given to me on my last birthday, and Rika took her doll that had the bright red hair and green eyes. We retreated from our home in the village into the mountain caves which were dug out and made for situations like this war. It was a small safe area, enclosed by a magic shield which was maintained by the oldest dragons in the community for they had the most power. For at least a few months we remained in that small cave among the several other caves fearing the worst. It was a small retreat place to hide from invaders. In our community we often had invasions from the other neighboring villages due to difference of opinion. But this was far from that. The scene was that we were afraid to battle with the Evo-Humans and literally locked ourselves in the caves with a Sealment spell. The only communication was with those who had psychic powers, they bound our minds together to communicate. We had few weapons with which to defend ourselves, those were mothers weapons from her commanding service in the Royal Armada. We only had are skills and knowledge of magic, poor as that was, it was all we had. I wanted to help the other families and so did the others but we were afraid. Afraid that they would find and kill us. All I could do was sit and listen to the telepathic cries of those who went mad with fear. Strangely, my sister and I were the only ones among mother and father that could hear the psychic pleas. We kept that fact to ourselves. I could never understand why mother was afriad, her being the captain the Royal Armada which she quit to raise us. She was never afraid before...why now?

My sister and I were not completely immune to the psychic cries of the other dragons for we had not fully developed our mental, psychic and telepathic abilities. To pass the time our parents would teach us to hone our powers to their highest point of power. As little as they knew of that ability they tried regardless of their ignorance of it. Mother taught us how to breathe fire through the nostrils so as not to burn the throat. Father taught Rika not to fear and how to fly in that small cave. The most she was able to do now was glide which was fairly good considering the size of the cramped dwelling space we had. The day the Evo-Humans convered on our hide-away is still a horrid memory in my mind. I would wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares of that day.

I was outside, on volunterr guard duty. The late afternoon sun was setting, the reds and yellows trailing after its half setting image. Rika played with the other children in the designated area close to the cave holes so they wouldn't have to run far to safety. The oldest of the dragons in the village were adding more power crystals to the sheild that protected us. I kept getting strange sensations in my mind and my eyes would go into tunnel vision, as if they were closing on a target. I ignored these warnings, like a foolish child I ignored them. That was when I heard it, the thundering sound of a thousand hoof beats against the sandy ground. Just above the horizon I could see a line of horse-like animals converging upon us. Like a siren I screamed raid.

"RAID! RAID! Back inside, NOW!" The children scattered and ran like maniacs to their holes in the mountainside. Rike stood there in shudden shock of my screeching voice, her red haired doll fell to the dusty ground. Silence, terrible silence as I turned to look back at the converge of Evo-Humans. The horse-like creatures they rode were not horses, but Unicorns they had captured and bound against their will. Some of them had no horns, only a bald discolored spot where the horn should have been. Those poor creatures! I could do nothing for them now, I had to get Rika and run. And run I did, I grabbed her by the arm as I passed and her and ran straight for the cave. All the other adult dragons heard me scream -how could they not have- for they had sealed themselves in and made it look as if the caves were empty with an illusion spell.

"No! Forget the doll, we can get you another. Just GO!" I had put Rika down as soon as we got to the cave entrance and headed for the back to hide with our parents.

"I want my dolly!" Rika would not relent, ignoring the shouts of our parents she went back for the green eyed doll. The Evo-Humans were just outside the valley of the mountains.

"Rika! Come back!" Mother screamed in vain, her voice breaking because she knew it ws too late. What happened then happened in slow motion to me. Rika bent to pick up her doll, her head bent to the oncoming Unicorns which carried the Evo-Humans. Her head bare to their ill-gotten weapons. A blade was raised high, the setting sun glinted off the metal.

"RRIIIKKKAAA!" Mother's terrified scream only made it worse. Her head jerked up just as they surrounded her, just as the hoofs clattered around her, surrounding her small form making a circle to trap her. They converged on her. My eyes went wide in terror. Her fearful wimpering was all I could her between their shouts of triumph for they had "caught" their first prey. A small helpless dragon, they were cruel to kill a helpless creature like my sister. One sword was raised to make the kill. The extreme slow motion began the second the arabian style sword lowered. The sream was the last sound I heard, the last thing that ran through my mind as I charged the circle of horses with all my might. I heard the pained thoughts of my mother as I did this.

Humans fell, Unicorns scattered and reared in fear. I grabbed the riens of one of them and jerked it down, breaking the strap in my teeth setting it free. Then I saw her, her small form lying in the dirt, dust fallen on her head, the doll's head broken. Blood covered her chest area and splattered across her face. The humans had scattered and began heading towards the other caves. I sat there with my sister's limp body, the warmth drainging from her body as I held it close to mine. Now I hated humans more than ever because they murdered an innocent child for no reason. The fact that they chose my sister only made it worse. Rage filled every core of my being as I rose to defend my friends. None of them would live.

Screams filled the valley, I had to act quickly. I had to reach the cave. I blinked to clear the dust from my eyes and the scenery changed. I was in the cave! No time for shock, just go! My hand grasped the sword in the cave as my parents rose to defend me.

"Tanna you can't! You musn'!" My father pleaded with me.

"It's to late. They did something stupid, now they must pay." I knew that they knew. What hurt was that I knew what would happen. But it was too late. They had already reached our cave. Several rushed in to attack.

"here she is! Get her! She killed Bud!" It isn't my fault if clumsy Bud -which in my opinion is a dumb name- fell off his steed and broke his neck. I only caused it, not comited the action. Fools. Before I could act, father took charge. A pointed staff he often carried gorged one of them sending him to the floor. A female human's scream filled the air. I don't understand why women have to get into men's fights, especually when their "man" dies and they have to avenge his death. Half of them can't fight worth shit. Human females are bitches, female dog sluts. My father always defended us in any matter when the odds were against us. If only he weren't so stuborn he would know there was no way this fight could be won. The female advanced towards father, sword raised. All it took was one swift stroke. Father was not much of a fighter, only a teacher in many ways. He never screamedout in pain. Mother's fear and anger mixed ran through my thoughts. She stood, her anger risining to blood rage. Mother roared at the injustice and brutal slaying of father.

In her anger she became invisible, a talent she had since hatching. She lunged at the humans in their silent stupor of her disappearing before their eyes. The first to fall was the stupid female. In her furious rage, I could see the outline oh claws as she raked them through their skin, bringing out vital organs and intestines. The gruesome crunch of bones as she walked over their dead bodies while others fell. One Evo-Human saw her coming and thrust his sword straight into the air where she stood. Her high pitched screech filled the air...he struck home, straight through her heart. That is the only soud a dragon emits when in extreme pain, when someone has broken the rib cage and pierced the heart. Blood flowed in a trickle out of thin air. It streamed down the sword, over the handle and onto his hand. He screamed in agony, dropping the sword as the blood burned through his skin and muscles of his hand. Our blood becomes acidic when it comes in contact with human skin. Mother fell to the ground, her body faded back to her visible form, the sword fallen from the wound.

"Mother..." The word came out in a croaking whisper. How could they? Why? Why would they kill us just for this? Mother spoke her last words to me and those words were forever etched into my brain.

"Leave this place Tanna. Get as far away from it...as you can and seek shelter elsewhere...to the Ancient Ones....Elemental..." Then she was gone. I turned to see one human standing, the wretched female.

"You just won't give up will you bitch?" I spoke to her in her language. She yelled some unintelligible words and lashed out at me. Thinking quickly, I grabbed the bloody sword from the hands of the human corpse and threw it at her. It hit her straight in the skull, right between the eyes. Blood trickled down from the wound and she fell back hitting the ground with a thud.

My body trembled from the dremlin rush. (Dremlin is the equivalent to the human Adrenaline.) Tears welled in my eyes and fell to the dry dirt, crystalizing with the sand. My death wish had been fulfilled, not one human stood, dead corpses littered the ground inside the cave and all about the valley. The one thing was, that not one dragon survived either, our cave was the last, they reached us after they finished all the others.

After dumping all the bodies into a pile outside in the walley I returned to the depths of the cave and wipped my hands clean of the human's blood. I would not have their death on my hands, they deserved it for what they did. A body for a body. Those Evo-Humans didn't deserve a decent burial, let them rot! The Unicorns were still skittering about, fear and confusion clouding their minds. Calling them together I broke their restraints and set them free, watching as they galloped out of the valley. Once they were out of sight I fell to my knees and wept bitterly, my hands covering my face. All the pain and hurt that I held back flowed forth in a flood of tears. The wet tears mixed with the dry dirt and crystalized. I could not would not weep diamond tears because I was a hybrid. The family genes were polluted somewhere along the line. They were all gone! What am I to do now? I can't live without my family! After sobbing my heart out for some time, I drug myself from the ground and returned to the cave where their desecrated bodies lay. Rika's doll lay just outside the cave, its head smashed like broken glass. Those plantive green eyes staring up at me, the red hair now dull and mixed with dirt. She was gone, taken from me, she was my only friend in this world...what shall do now? Her words came back to me...find the Elders...Elemental.

As I reached the back of the cave where mother had kept all our things we took with us. They lay in a wooden crate against the stone wall. My hand slowly removed the lid, my eyes registered in calm amazement. It was all still there. The case given to me on my birthday by Rika. I opened that gilded case to find several spells in small glass squares, runes and amulets for protection, medallions and talismans to enchance powers...it was all there. Next to the case lay a small, purple, velvet drawstring pouch with a wide mouth. Inside that were medical supplies, bandages, healing liquids, pollutants, ointments, and other medicines. I took the case and its contents and placed that inside the velvet pouch. You see, this was no ordinary pouch. This pouch, this pouch could hold anything, it was like a black hole storage unit. Its difficult to explain but put anything in it and it will remain there until you remove it. I took one item out to wear, mother's favorite rune which she used to wear. Kenaz, primal fire, or illumination. Under the pouch and case, I found some clothing that would help disguse me. There was a body suit and a cloak and hood. I donned these and made my way out. I would have given the dragons a proper cremation but human hands had scared there bodies, descreating them. This place was now sacred for innocent lives were lost. Let this place be a reminder to those who come upon it, let the dragon soldiers find it and report it. Not me. I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing, it would hurt too much. Taking the remaining clothes, food and blankets from the bottom of the wooden crate I set out to find the Elders/Elemental. Mother had always told us that if anything ever happened that we were separated or lost, seek out the Elders, they would know what to do.

Chapter Two