Fragments Of A Dragon

Throughout the course of human history, the actions of Mankind have always forsaken the environments and other inhabitants of the globe. Lush forests turned to wastelands. Large bodies of water used to cut Corporate waste costs. The tides of Humanity shift time and time again.

In another world, this rule is the same.

Humans and Dragons clash over the course of generations, devastating the majority of socioeconomic landscapes of the past. Laws have been put into place, effectively banning Dragons from roaming in public. This is due to a recent spike of Dragon related fatalities in the last 10 years. 26 of the 390 different species of Dragon lives in a vibrant forest on the coast of present day Manila.

Explorers Brady and Diane Thompson are returning from the shore when they stumble upon a nest of baby Dragons near a thorn bush. In an attempt to rescue the nest, Brady draws the attention of the Mother of 4 newborn Dragons. In Diane's care, rests her 14 month old son, Tommy. As he begins to open his eyes from his long, energy building nap, he sees a large beast like creature moving towards him. Diane and Brady evade the Mother's initial attack, and sprint into the forest, weaving through giant oak and spruce wood trees. The vast array of colors inside of the forest works to the Dragons advantage, as her eyes are well adjusted to the bright assortments of leaves and foliage. Her sense of smell, keen on finding the outsiders. As the explorers run through the forest, Tommy begins to become unsettled. His whines start as nothing more than the occasional whimper, but grow into a beacon of human existence inside of the forest.

"I don't think we'll make it," Brady says with very little hope.

As the Dragon nears, Diane and Brady come across a stack of logs, next to a free flowing stream. The explorers need a plan in order to escape with some form of distraction.

Brady begins to look at Diane and Tommy with a look that could only be described as desperate. He moves towards Diane, looking to hold Tommy.

Brady reaches into his pocket and pulls out a solid gold coin, specifically belonging to his family's lineage. He places it inside of Tommy's hand, before wrapping him back in his cozy blue blanket.

"No! No! We will find a way with him!" Diane cries out as Brady drags her away into the forest, leaving Baby Tommy next to the logs. His cries echo throughout the woods.

The Mother Dragon continues the hunt for the explorers. She flies along the shore, only to find Tommy lying on the ground. The Dragon has no use for the baby, so she continues to fly. As she looks down on the forest, magical things can be seen. Gusts of colorful wind bring life to the plants and ponds. Animals can be seen exchanging goods on a larger scale. The sounds of the trees swaying in the breeze are reminiscent of musical notes. Near a valley, a backpack or two can be seen running in the distance.

Now in one of the driest areas of the region, Brady and Diane are running low on supplies. At the bottom of the valley, there is a pool of water. With the Mother Dragon closing in, and no way around the valley at this time, time comes to a halt. Brady must make a Life or Death decision before there is no decision at all.

"Follow Me," Brady says as he jumps 10,000 feet into the pool of water below. After watching the love of her life jump to his apparent doom, Diane turns around to see the Mother Dragon flying in her direction. At this point, she is not scared. She looks down into the valley one last time, before jumping into the same water that swallowed her husband. As the Mother Dragon flies over the valley, Brady and Diane's bodies cannot be seen at the time.

Four days pass before members of the Explorer Reservation go looking for the cause of their friend's disappearance. Brady was adamant about mapping out routes and keeping everyone informed about where you were going. In groups of four, campers branch out along the different routes to find the missing couple.

Back in the forest, the Mother Dragon takes care of her four newborns, along with her 16 year old son. The Mother and Son fly low to the ground and carry the babies, as to teach them to be comfortable in the air. The Mother is about to rebuild the fallen nest when she hears human voices in the distance. She urges her son to take his younger siblings away while she investigates the situation. The Son puts his four siblings on his back and flies to safety.

The Mother Dragon spots a single camper, and rushes towards her. The Dragon does not know that there are more campers, and she is surrounded. The explorers do not believe in hurting Dragons, but they have their rifles trained on the Mother just in case. The Mother senses the fear of the explorers, and in turn sees this as mistrust and charges at one of the campers.

[POP]

One large round is fired into the back of the Mother Dragon, bringing her to the ground. The explorer group takes off. In the distance, The Son can hear the shot. He sees the birds flying frantically from the direction for the sound. He leaves his siblings in a safe cave for a moment, in order to investigate. Once he flies over, he sees what is left of the altercation. By this time it is to let to save his Mother. The humans have regrouped in their base.

The Son flies back to the cave, before taking his brothers and sisters to the skies, vowing revenge on the people who hurt his family.

One Year Later, Tommy walks along the same stream he was once abandoned near. Having to fend for himself during this time has helped him advance faster than any other two year old in history. After returning from finding fresh fruit to eat, Tommy reaches in his pocket to grab his lucky coin. He has no recollection of how he got it, but it is his most prized possession. He reaches in his pocket, to find no coin present. Tommy turns around to retrace his steps to find the lost coin. He walks through the oak wood forest, past the pink and purple leaves of the spruce wood forest, and past the colorfully windy pond. Near a cave, Tommy spots a shiny object. He begins to make his way towards the shiny figure, but not before gaining the unwanted attention of a large grey wolf. Even as an advanced child, a wolf is still drastically too dangerous to be around.

Overhead, A mighty Dragon can be seen swooping in near the wolf. As the wolf begins to creep towards Tommy with a menacing grin, a ball of fire lands nearby. The wolf turns its head and proceeds to run away, after realizing that it is outmatched.

Tommy is very scared. He has never encountered a Dragon before, and has no idea what is in front of him. As the Dragon walks up to Tommy, a sense of calm comes over the forest. The breeze slows. The suns shines brighter. The birds melodically hum to the sounds of deer running in the distance.

Tommy is now face to face with the beast. He begins to crawl backwards in fear, looking for anything to defend himself from the monster. Rocks, sticks, and dirt are thrown at the Dragon's torso, with little effect. When all hope is lost for Tommy, he shuts his eyes to prepare for the worst. The deep shadow of the Dragon is cast over him. The Dragon sees the scared child and lets out a humorous snort. Tommy hears this, and begins to open his eyes. To his surprise, he sees the Dragon, holding out his lucky coin. The Dragon sees Tommy as someone who could grow to be very powerful. Tommy grabs the coin out of the Dragon's palm. Confused, he slowly stands up. The Dragon turns around and signals for Tommy to get on his back. Tommy looks around him. He sees the magical forest that surrounds him. He is indebted to the creature that saved his life. On that day, an unlikely bond was formed. And for the war that lies ahead, they will need each other more than they know.