The city was dark and quiet, the perfect setting for a kidnapping. The dragon king, Zentorus, flew low over the city, searching for a child to be his chosen warrior of darkness. Landing silently, he smelled the air; he would find it by the scent of its blood. Homing in on a boy sixteen years of age, he scrutinized him closely. Long black hair, hazel eyes, and well-developed muscles; yes, he would do ly.nicely. Zentorus looked into the teenager's eyes keenly.

What is your name, boy?, he asked impatiently. The teen's eyes widened in fear as he answered,

“My name is Dracos...” The dragon king laughed quietly; the boy's very name meant “dragon”.

Tell me, are you alone in this world? Dracos nodded silently, and suddenly, Zentorus reared back and bit him on the shoulder. Dracos screamed as his blood became dragon blood, his eyes became red, and he grew the horns, wings and tail of a black dragon. He ran to a lake and almost screamed again as he discovered his new appearance. Tears ran down his face as he wondered what he had done to deserve this. From far away, the dragon king knew that Dracos would eventually succumb to the shadows. He swooped down and grabbed the boy in his claws, then took him to his fortress. There, the training would begin.

~ ~ ~ ~

The unicorn queen, Ashira, ran through the valley, searching for a child to be her warrior of the light. The sunlight warmed her back as she practically flew over the grass and went into the village. As she slowed to a walk, she noticed several kids on the streets, but not all of them were homeless. A fourteen year old girl with white hair and light blue eyes caught Ashira's attention immediately. The girl was staring off into the distance, a solemn expression on her face. As the unicorn queen approached her, she noticed that the girl was pure of heart and soul. Coming up to her, Ashira asked,

What is your name, child? The girl blinked, then replied,

“Alannis...My name is Alannis.” Ashira nodded, then asked further,

Would you like to be part of the Light? Alannis grinned, nodding slightly.

“Yes, that would be nice. Would I become like you, a unicorn?”

Eventually, yes. Do you still wish to do this?

“Yes.”

Very well. Ashira touched the girl's forehead with her muzzle, then watched as Alannis grew a short, lavender horn in the middle of her forehead, and a silver horse's tail.

Come with me, the unicorn queen said softly. Alannis did as she was told.

As the sun set, Dracos woke up, stretched, and put on his black leather pants, grabbing his sword and walking down to the common room to meet Zentorus. He had gone through this routine the past two years, always getting trained more intensely with each passing day. Standing in front of his master, he nodded firmly, then knelt down on one knee.

“As you wish, I have arrived for my training.” The dragon king smirked, amused by this formality.

“So formal, Dracos. You've known me as your master for how long?” Dracos blinked in confusion, then replied,

“Two years, Lord Zentorus.” Zentorus laughed.

“Exactly. When we are alone, there is no need for formality.” Taking on a human form, the dragon king grabbed his own sword and began to train Dracos strategically, never letting his guard down. Dracos evaded most of his master's attacks with ease, nimbly moving back and forth, side to side. He opened his wings, jumping into the air and kicking Zentorus in the jaw, knocking him backwards a couple of feet.

“Enough!,” Zentorus commanded harshly, “That is enough! You forget your place, Dracos!” Dracos dropped his sword and prepared for punishment, which came in the form of his arm getting slashed open. Holding his arm, he staunched the bloodflow with a small spell. “Now, I have something special for you to do tonight,” Zentorus continued, watching Dracos' expression carefully. Dracos's eyes lit up with excitement as he waited for the surprise; he had never once received a mission from his master in this way before.

“Yes, master? What is it?,” Dracos asked excitedly. Zentorus's eyes narrowed maliciously.

“I want you to kill a unicorn.” Dracos grinned; yes, this would definitely be a mission worth completing.

“I understand. When do you wish for me to do this task?” Zentorus returned to his natural form, looking Dracos square in the eye.

“Now. I want its horn by midnight.” Dracos bowed, then set off out of the fortress to go on his mission.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He felt the wind in his face as he flew over miles and miles of forest. He was beginning to think there were no unicorns in the forests around Transylvania, so he smelled the air to find the scent of one. He finally settled on going southeast; the scent was strongest in that direction.

As he came close to his destination, the scent became overwhelming, and he forced himself to land. He found himself on a plain, very close to a village. The scent of human blood drove him insane; he had a strange thirst for it, though he'd been human not long ago. Running towards the village, he hid behind a tree, waiting for someone, anyone, to come close to him. He got his wish quickly: a teen came out of the village and leaned against the same tree he was at, and he grabbed the teen, killing it quickly. Remembering his mission, he returned to the plain, following his nose to where his prey was.

At once, he found four stallions and ten mares, all grazing peacefully. But then, he smelled something else, a scent that reminded him of both a unicorn and a human...He dismissed it as a figment of his imagination, but then again...wasn't he a half-breed himself? He shook his head and focused on the task at hand.

Moving close to one of the stallions, Dracos lifted up his sword and prepared to bring it down upon the stallion's horn, but just as the sword was just inches away from it, a girl that was half-unicorn, half-human came between the two of them, her arms spread to block the stallion from Dracos. Dropping his sword as his eyes widened in shock, he could only stare at her while the stallion reared and ran off. He shivered, a strange feeling coming over him as he whispered,

“Who...Who are you?” He backed away as the girl came towards him threateningly, her eyes narrowed. “Please...I was just following my orders...”, he continued on, not wanting to get gored by her small yet formidable horn.

“Who is your master?! Who is he to have people kill others?!,” the girl yelled, tears running down her face out of fear and anger. Dracos held his hands up in the air and replied,

“He is my master, and I don't know why he is the way he is, but my name is Dracos. What's yours, if I may ask?” The girl looked at him warily, then said,

“Alannis,” and turned back to her herd of unicorns; Dracos now realized that the herd must be her family. He shook his head in surprise and took off back to the fortress, empty-handed.