Magic Dragons ?

white swirl was blown open and down, down, down he saw the sea. Upon the sea, Narg knew it was called the Ocean of Storms, was well known and loved land named Fardania! Of course Narg loved the land, he was a native. He was a powerful native at that too, he was the Arch Wizard. But even so he was at the moment a very cold Arch Wizard and was looking forward to his cosy warm chamber in the palace.

There was also someone who was not cold, well cold blooded yes, but not cold. His wings glided him and Narg down in a large spiral towards Fardania. He was content, he was coming home.

It was dark, warm and occupied. Squig scurried along the burrow to the familiar main entrance. She had just finished preparing for a long trip. Far across the field and twice as far again lived her uncle. He was very old, for a Greater Spotted Rabbit, and also becoming frail. Squig just had to look after her poor uncle, she was so scared for him. From within the hole Squig took a careful peep, just in case a fox was around, and saw that the way was safe.

Squig had a lovely furry black coat, of which she was very proud. Her ears were long and sensitive, which was a very good job these days with the increased number of foxes around! She was nimble on her paws as she once found out. A Great Eagle had seen her from the sky, only its shadow had given it away, Squig belted for the sanctuary of the burrow. Since then Squig had always been very careful, always.

"Oh, why-oh-why can't uncle live closer? It is so much safer here and I could look after him more often" thought Squig. Now uncle lived over the hill and on his own. This gave Squig the journey through the mysterious Ever-Spirits, to the Rabbits they lived forever. These woods, as any, held danger especially to a lone rabbit.

His wet nose wriggled, sniffed, "Yess... close am I." and white teeth flared in the Sun.

Scampering the quick rabbit only paused to take quick bearings on route. Her eyes and ears strained as she perched up her hind quarters. "Safe." she concluded and dashed back into the long grass.

His panting rose with the excitement swelling up inside, "Closer, so close." The expected fluffy tail was only a glimpse but he was sure.

Warrior rabbits were well respected in any warren. They are hand picked, by the rabbit Elders, once a year from the keenest, smartest and toughest of the Greater Rabbits. In the beginning days, the main role of the warriors was fighting rival warriors of hostile warrens. Nature in recent ages has united all rabbits against common evils such as the sly fox.

With the Scourrinies behind him Flazar headed towards his goal. Desert has replaced once fruitful and populated land. Now the years of Flazar had left little of the Scourrinies, only the toughest plants survived on the valley sides. A new home was needed, and complete with fresh pickings of course. Flazar is the age of many rabbits which explains why he is so good at flying. He has had so long to practice, Flazar skimmed the clouds with little effort. With such good feeling Flazar chuckled with his power and took a look below at Fardania.

Squig wrinkled her nose, "Nearly there no... AH FOX!", the scent was unmistakable. She dashed for her life, never had she ran so before.

Flazar loomed down, he saw the lush green hills partly overcast by his own winged shadow as he blotted out the life of the Sun.

"It's almost too easy", thought the fox. Almost at the same instant both animals plunged down a hidden slope in the grass and bushes. A small then a larger splash stopped the racing pairs' steep fall. Squig's eyes bulged in terror as she helplessly flowed with the river, still stunned by the shock.

Ganaw shook his body dry on the bank, "Aw no, so close, no fair!". Disheartened Ganaw limped off into the thick woods dreaming about rabbit pie.

A blurred vision and buzzing noise was all Squig could make out for quite a while once she awoke. Beside her the noise of the river rushed by. Slowly she could start to see the grass of the river bank. Still exhausted she rose up and dried herself and vowed never to go near rivers again. A forest trail lead away from the river and so Squig, heart still pounding, scampered away.

The forest trail passed through a rocky clearing. Squig bounded over the rocks and boulders taking care to look out for foxes. Upon one extremely large boulder Squig could see the whole clearing. "Oh a large burrow?", she thought. Before her beyond the boulder gaped a cave entrance into the ground. Gingerly she crept nearer to the slope of the hole and peeped inside.

In the darkness brave little Squig carried on deep into the cave. Finally the slope levelled out into a huge domed cavern. Rocky spikes poked out from both the ceiling and floor. Splashes and dripping of water echoed through the cold darkness. A strange glittering caught Squig's eye. Faint as it was, even to a rabbit, her young eyes could see hoards of golden coins.

Squig could feel a strange warm breath against her whiskers, creeping further still, silently as only bunnies know how, she could see a vast sleeping bulk. Black scales faded into the depths of the cavern. Next to Squig a huge head rested upon a large mound of coins. It was a dragon, Squig felt herself go cold with terror, as she had heard of these only in fairy tales.

The sleeping dragon's breath gently blew against the smell bunny as she once more gazed upon all the treasure. "Just a few coins from here would feed my warren for many Winters when we have little food", thought Squig. Gently as if playing Jack Straws, a game Squig used to win a lot at, she collected just two coins. "The terrible dragon will not notice these, it has so much anyway. The warren will be safe for many years with money to buy carrots with.", thought Squig, she smiled then remembered that she was in extreme danger.

Later Squig stopped running. Out of breath she rested by a hillock under the warm gaze of the Summer Sun. The coins weighted her down a great deal but she knew she had only to follow the river back a little further before she would be back in her own land.

In the darkness an eye scanned the lair, then suddenly another eye opened and did the same. An uneasy feeling flowed through a keen mind, "I have been robbed, two of my coins are out of place!", thought the black dragon, Flazar. Dragons have great minds for remembering treasure piles, including every coin's position.

The dragon's great nostrils twitched, "A rabbit has been here, I can smell it, a rabbit has stolen my coins!", roared Flazar to himself, "I'm going to kill all the rabbits I can find, little thieves!", with that he stretched his large black, bat like wings and took flight from the cave and climbed high into the air.

Squig looked up into the sky as a large shadow flew past. "The dragon!", cried Squig, "It's going to eat me!". But the shape didn't notice small Squig but flew on over the Ever-Spirits. "That's where the Warren of Noses is." thought Squig, "What would a dragon want to go and visit them for?". "Oh no!", realised Squig, "The dragon is going to seek revenge, he must have sniffed my scent like the foxes do!".

The long grass hid the terrorised Squig as she saw the dragon finish its work and then rise into the sky. "I must warn my own warren quickly, oh I have done a terrible thing!", with that she left the smoking, scorched landscape that marked the Warren of Noses. At the centre of the destruction was a great clawed hole, ripped into the hillside. Some remains of rabbit lie about, the warriors had fought and died helpless against their foe. Now only the sound of the wind could be heard, where once peaceful nibbles and squeaking of a content race had been.

Squig dropped the heavy coins then ran as fast as she could back home, without any worries about passing foxes.

"I demand to the Elders!", shouted Squig. The warriors looked at Squig with surprise, "And what could you possibly have to say to someone as important as an Elder?", said one of the two guards. Behind them Squig could see the ancient portal to the chambers of the Elders. "Stupid warriors all brawn and no brain.", thought Squig, "Let me past, we are all in danger!" insisted Squig. "In danger! What from? Down here we are safe from even foxes as well as the swiftest Barn Owl!", bragged the other guard.

The Chief Elder called himself Furumble (as of course he has for many years), and had seen a long bunny life, for a rabbit that is. Standing in the shadows felt silly but he was interested in this young rabbit's tale, he listened on...

"A dragon, a DRAGON!" Squig was almost beyond herself with desperation to see the Elders as quickly as possible. The thought that no one would believe her seemed so stupid.

"A dragon, did you hear that, a dragon indeed! Ha go away little bunny, you've been reading too many stories." the head guard beamed.

"Ah, young Squig" Squig and the pair of guards jumped at the unexpected voice, Furumble stepped from the shadows. The head guard was the first to recover from the surprise, "Oh it is you, Lord Noble Elder!".

"Of course it is I, who else could it be?" snapped the Elder. "Now Squig this tale of dragons...".e was cut off for at last Squig could tell her tale.

"Yes, yes a dragon, it has wrecked the Warren of Noses, our closest neighbours. I fear it shall come here next! It's all my fault for I found its cave and took two coins to buy our warren food"

"Ah yes, oh dear, at last it comes. You have done well young one to tell us, dragons are very wise and can tell if a coin is taken from the biggest hoard. They can smell as well as the greatest fox too. The coins would have brought us much food true, but now as you say we are in terrible peril!", explained the Elder. "You stole from a dragons greatest possession, for they eat gold. It boils it their stomachs making a lighter than air gas to let them fly, also their fiery breath is fuelled from the precious gold."

Furumble said quietly, "You must be brave for this is a dark time, you must travel quickly to the King. For he is the only one who can save us"

Squig looked upon Furumble, nodded and ran to the exit. Furumble turned to the guards and ordered "What are you waiting for? Raise the alarm".

Even at the break-neck speed of a rabbit it took Squig a whole two days to ring the King's palace. Unnoticed she easily slipped by the clumsy human guards on the gate. Inside she scurried down a wide, long passage until before her a huge double door blocked the way to the King's throne room. "Oh no! After all this way and I can't get to see the King.", sighed Squig.

Into Squig's mind came a reply, but she could hear no one talking. "Do not fear young Squig, I sense your peril and can help. For I am Narg the King's Arch Wizard".

Looking back she could see a tall robed old man with a long, white beard. He had a gentle smile so Squig relaxed slightly. "Yes young rabbit I can speak your language, but I do so by reading your very thoughts and replying in a similar way. Come we have little time, already your warren may have been destroyed." Squig and Narg turned away from the door and headed back up the corridor.

The air flowed through Squig's fur and chilled her bones. She ducked lower behind the neck of the dragon and could feel the warmth from Narg behind her. "Oh I hope we are in time", she thought desperately.

Ahead the clouds parted. Silazer dived through and Squig could see her homeland and warren. "We are here. Here!" shouted Squig. Narg commanded "Dow, swiftly, DOWN" and Silazer roared through the air beating his huge leathery wings against the sky.

The line of, admittedly brave, but obviously stupid Warrior Rabbits caused a smile to cross Flazer's face. "Hail mighty bunnies", greeted Flazar with a heavy hint of sarcasm. These first booming words sent a few younger bunnies to the lowest chamber of the warren in terror.

"Stop mighty cold one, it is your brother Silazer", the dragon screamed down to Flazar as he swooped across the warren and landed beside his close relative. Flazar turned slowly to face the other dragon, "Indeed it has been long, dear, dear brother. It seems as if you have resorted to giving rides to humans and bunnies."

"I choose not to kill and destroy, we are the last of our kind, but even so I find many friends!", replied Silazer. "Why choose so lonely a life?"

"How can a mighty creature find friends amongst mortals?"

"To be sure I live peacefully. I do not need to attack, to find gold to fly, or food to eat. explained Silazer, "In return for these gifts I aid the King and his subjects."

"Oh, err ah, no killing?"

"No none."

"Sure?" doubted the mighty black dragon.

"Yes, except in honourable battle with mighty armies, to protect my friends."

"But how often?" queried Flazar.

"Err, oh, every King has jealous enemies!"

"Would a king have gold for two?"

"I'm sure", insisted Silazer.

"Could I be your friend again dear brother?"

"Yes of course, would you like to see the King?"

"Yes, let us fly, we can carry all!", announced Flazar, at that Flazar's black scales slowly flaked away revealing silver-white underneath.

After a big banquet that night, the rabbits ate hoards of carrots, Flazar announced, "The rabbits have played a part in returning me to good after so much time of evil deed. For this I pledge a third of my gold to them as well as my life long friendship"

Back at the warren Squig received the post of Elder from Furumble. Squig was the youngest ever rabbit to become an Elder and managed to keep the warren safe ever after, but always found time to visit her uncle every week, safely on dragon back.