DRAGON HALF By Donovan Howard @ All Worldwide, North American rights, 2000 "Oh, shoot, here they come!" said Donovan, almost out of breath. "God, why are they always after me?" he said, just passing over a large rock. Donovan had been traveling for days. Donovan was a sorcerer who loved dragons. He had studied sorcery ever since he was five, so he was somewhat skilled. He was being chased by some hunters who mistook him for an outlaw. "Hey! Hold it right there!" said one of the hunters. Donovan stopped right in his tracks. "OK," he said cleverly. Donovan put his hand in a fist, then blue bolts surged up his arm and into his fist. "Good (wheeze), now freeze," said the hunter, out of breath. "No! You! Frozen aura!," said Donovan, shooting his hand forward. Then a light blue light shown in his wide open hand. Then from the light, a humongous light blue beam shot out of his hand, freezing the two hunters and everything between Donovan and the hunters. "They should thaw out by tomorrow, but this will give me an even worse rep," sighed Donovan. "Oh, well," he said sarcastically. ***** It was a full 10 miles until Donovan stopped. He had traveled for a long time without food. "Must get energy. Need food, sugar, food, CHOCOLATE!" he said sarcastically. "I wish there was an inn somewhere near here," he said. Donovan looked up and saw a wooden sign. Donovan ran to the sign, hoping it was a sign for an inn. ""Oh please oh please oh please let it be for an inn," he said excitedly and exasperated. When he got to the sign, it said: DRAGON RANCH FREE FOOD 5 DIN DRAGON RIDES 4 CAMETERS AHEAD "DRAGON RANCH!" said Donovan excitedly. "Five din! Four cameters! Awesome! Dragon Ranch, here I come!" Donovan was so excited that he almost forgot he hadn’t cast his flying spell yet. "I might as well take the quickest route there!" Donovan said merrily. Donovan clapped his hands together, then tiny charges leapt from his hands. He slowly moved his hands six inches apart, and with each spark leaping from hand to hand, the sparks started to gather into a white ball. Then it lifted to Donovan’s face, and he yelled "Aria!" Donovan’s whole body started to lift into the air. "Onward-ho!" yelled Donovan, starting to zoom over the trees and timber. As he zoomed past all the trees and flowers, he left a tiny trail of sparks behind. There is something that I did not tell you. Donovan owned a necklace that was left by his mother. It was a silver raven-claw-shaped charm with the raven claw holding a red marble with a bubble in the center. It meant a lot to Donovan. His mother vanished a long time ago. ERIN: THE FIGHTER SORCERESS "Here it is!" Donovan said, really excited. The house was somewhat small. It had seven gables and two stories. He saw a small pet dragon in the front of the house. Donovan was dragon-connected, which means that he could talk to dragons, but only psychically. Or by telepathy, and that also means that a lifelong friend which would be a dragon. This mostly doesn’t affect people that are dragon mouth with other people. All it really means is that they have or will have a friend that is a dragon. They can talk to any dragon they want to as well. Donovan walked over to the dragon and started patting it on the head and started to say psychically, "You’re a very pretty dragon. You look pretty cool." The dragon opened its big round eyes and looked at Donovan and jumped on Donovan and started licking Donovan’s face. "Hey! Cut that out! Ha ha ha ha!" "Zonra! Don’t tell me you’re attacking another customer," said a voice telepathically. "Huh?" said Donovan. "He wasn’t exactly attacking me. He was giving my face a bath." "I think he likes you," said a girl with a smile. "This is a first. He doesn’t exactly take kindly to strangers." "Is that so?" said Donovan, interested. "I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself," said the girl. "I’m Erin of Sororania, and I’m dragon-connected, just like you." "How did you know?" Donovan questioned. "I heard someone outside, but I could only hear it in my mind," explained Erin. "Oh! OK!" said Donovan. "Com on!" Erin said psychically to Donovan. "How can you do that?" Donovan said aloud. "Dragon-connected can talk to each other dragon-connected as well as dragons," Erin explained. "Come on. I know you’re hungry." "Here I come!" Donovan said enthusiastically. Donovan and Erin were sitting at the table and talking about the dragons she had. "So is it just you that owns this place?" Donovan asked. Nope," Erin said. "My dad and brother work here as well." "Oh. And who is the dragon outside?" asked Donovan. "Who? Zonra? That is the dragon I was destined to have," replied Erin. "Awwww. I still haven’t found mine. And I’ve traveled all over the world, too!" said Donovan He sighed. "Well, anyway, what do you like to do?" Donovan asked. "I like to kick box and sometimes mix my sorcery with it," said Erin. "Really," said Donovan. "Do you know energy kick, slash and punch?" "No, I use my best water and fire spells, like, I use fire kick, then water punch, and the real fun begins. But please teach me those moves!" Erin exclaimed. "Yeah. But before that, how do you use fire and water to make a strong move?" asked Donovan. "Well, you know that when water that’s hot will steam when it’s outside. Well, with mine, it’s 100 times stronger than that and causes an explosion," said Erin. "Oh, OK, but before I hit the sack, I want to go on a dragon ride. You don’t mind, right?" said Donovan. "Of course not," Erin said. "Just teach me the energy kick, slash and punch." "Sure," replied Donovan. Erin and Donovan went outside to the dragons’ area. Donovan looked around and asked, "Do you have any flying dragons?" "Yes. They’re over here," replied Erin. "Awesome!" Donovan exclaimed. Donovan looked around and talked with each of the dragons the way the dragon-connected do. He walked over to a blue dragon and put his hand on its forehead and said, "Would you please take me for a flight?" "Sure" the dragon replied telepathically. "OK, let’s go!" said Donovan to the dragon telepathically. Donovan decided to tell Erin in telepathy that he had found the dragon he wanted to ride, instead of yelling to her. "I found one," Donovan said in telepathy. Erin replied telepathically: "Which one is it?" "It’s a blue one," said Donovan. "Oh," replied Erin. "Sura. She’s pretty cool. Let’s take her out." Erin came over to Donovan with a ring of keys. As they were heading out, Donovan realized that if Erin had her destined dragon, then she would know what it feels like to find it. "Uh, Erin?" said Donovan. "Yes?" Erin replied. "Well, I was wondering, uhh, what does it feel like when you find your destined dragon?" asked Donovan. "Well, it feels like, to start off, you get this feeling. I don’t know. It’s just like something said something to you, but no words were used. Then you start walking toward it because the feeling is so strong that it just takes control. Then, when you find it, it feels like a friend or parent you’ve wanted to see your whole life. My dragon followed me home and we had an instant friendship," Erin explained. "Well, I can’t wait to find mine!" exclaimed Donovan. "Well, you have to understand that you don’t own each other. You’re really close friends," explained Erin. As they approached the exit to the riding valley, Donovan was really amazed at how big it was. "Whoa! T-this i-is all y-yours?" Donovan stammered. Erin replied, "All the way to the mountains." "Awesome!" yelled Donovan. As they went outside, Erin told him to use his telepathy with the dragon to get it flying. As Donovan saddled up, he used his flying spell to get up on the dragon. Donovan said to the dragon with telepathy, "All right! Let’s fly, Sura!" Sura replied, "All right!" Sura started out with a running start, then extended its wings, then lifted off. Sura steadily flapped her wings. "You’re really good," Donovan complimented. Sura replied, "You ain’t seen nuthin’’ yet!" Sura gained speed with every flap of her wings. Every cloud Donovan saw seemed to be white blurs. Then Sura sharply turned and did a loop-de-loop, and at the top of the loop, Sura dropped Donovan and caught him at the bottom of the loop. "Wow! This is fun!" said Donovan. "Sorry, Donovan," apologized Sura, "but we have to go down now." "Oh darn!" cursed Donovan. Sura landed, slightly dropping, right in front of Erin. "Fun ride?" she asked. "Yes," replied Donovan. "You’ve got a really talented dragon." "Thank you," said Sura. MEETING THE ENEMY Donovan was sleeping at the Dragon Ranch when he heard an explosion. "What? What’s going on? Oh, no! The dragons!" Donovan leapt out of be, pulling on his cape and necklace as he ran to the dragon stable. He met Erin there, casting water spells. There was a gigantic fire. "Help me out!" commanded Erin. All right! All right!" cried Donovan. Donovan took his right hand and put it in front of him while saying "Tides of lakes, seas and oceans, come forth!" Then a dark blue light came shining from his hand and, from the air, a gigantic amount of water came splashing down on the fire. It put out most of the fire, but not enough. Erin put her hands in the air. A blue ball started to form. "Tidal... spin!" yelled Erin with an echo. She put a blue light in her right hand and put it in front of her. Then, out of the sky, a twister of water came down, destroying on the flames. "Erin!" yelled Donovan, "I’m going inside and I’ll teleport the dragons outside." "OK!" yelled Erin. Donovan ran inside the water-attacked stable. As he went inside, he saw the dragons jumping, kicking and lashing frantically to get out. "I better do this fast," muttered Donovan. He put his index and middle fingers to his head and yelled, "Transport spark!" Donovan put two fingers in a gun position and a white light appeared from them. Donovan ran frantically to touch all the dragons’ foreheads with the spark. He double-checked on Sura to make sure she was touched. Then Donovan yelled, "Transport outside, next to Erin!" All the dragons turned white, then ;disappeared. After all the dragons disappeared, a person who looked just like Donovan appeared. "Ash, so, if it isn’t the infamous Donovan," said the person. "Who are you?" asked Donovan. "I am Nedgar, the villain who people mistake you for," replied Nedgar. "Then why are you here?" questioned Donovan. "To destroy you!" yelled Nedgar. Nedgar, really fast, put his hand into a fist, then black electric bolts entered his hand, then opened it and there was a black ball with black electric bolts. Nedgar yelled, "Black bolt ball!" and he threw it at Donovan. Donovan quickly put his hand in front of him and yelled "Giga bolt!" A million-volt big bolt came surging from his hand then formed into one gigantic bolt and hit the black ball. But the black ball was too strong. The ball and the bolt fought for a little while, pushing each other back and forth. Suddenly, Donovan’s Giga bolt exploded, sending Donovan back through the wall, and the ball hit Donovan, knocking him out. Donovan landed outside with a thud. Erin and Sura rushed to Donovan. "Donovan!" yelled Erin, "Aww, I wish I knew a health restoration spell!" "What happened?" asked Sura with telepathy. "I don’t know," Erin replied telepathically. Then Nedgar rose out of the stable and yelled, "You improve your skill, Donovan, because I’ll be back!" Donovan opened his eyes and barely squinted, struggling to yell back, "I-I’ll g-get y-you!" "Quit! You can’t fight now," Erin whispered. "Ahhh, my leg!" screamed Donovan. Erin looked at Donovan’s leg. "Oh my!" she cried. Donovan had cuts and bruises all over his leg and the rest of his body. But his leg was more wounded. "I’m so sorry, I don’t know a single healing spell." "I-I d-do," whispered Donovan. With the last bit of his energy, Donovan sat up and stuck his arm out with his hand open and weakly said, "Restoration!" All the cuts and bruises were healed, but Donovan dropped to the ground, unconscious. He fell into a deep sleep that he wouldn’t wake up for a while. ERIN JOINS AND DONOVAN’S DRAGON OF DESTINY Donovan was sleeping soundly in another room, still knocked out from his encounter with Nedgar. Donovan found himself in a forest, surrounded by trees and mist. He looked around for anything living, but there was nothing. All of a sudden, a very quiet voice echoed out, calling, "Donovan." Donovan answered, "Where are you?" The voice just kept calling, "Don-ovan!" Donovan decided to follow the sound. He started running. There were only more trees and more mist, but the voice was getting closer. From out of the mist there was a dragon, but shadowed out. Donovan stopped, frozen in his tracks. He looked up and only saw the color of the dragon’s eyes. The dragon spoke to him. "Donovan, you will see me soon." Then the dragon faded and was gone. "But wait!" yelled Donovan. "When?" he whispered in an almost crying voice. Donovan woke up the next morning to find an old man sitting in a chair, reading. The old man looked up and said, "Oh, you’re awake. She’ll be happy to hear it." "Huh," said Donovan groggily. "What happened? How long was I out?" "You were out for two days," said the man, all bright and peachy. "Where’s Erin gone to?" asked Donovan. "Making dinner," replied the man. Donovan found there was a bandage on his head and a big bandage on his leg. "Hang on," said the man. "I’ll see if I can get her." "OK," replied Donovan. As the man left the room, Donovan got out of the bed and saw his cape hanging on a chair in a corner. Donovan walked over to it and pulled it onto his shoulders. Donovan heard from another room: "He is? It’s about time. I thought he’d never wake up!" It was Erin. She’d grown just a tad impatient. Donovan heard footsteps approaching his room. It was a thud-thud, thud-thud type of footsteps. Then Zonra ran into his room and pounced on Donovan, knocking him back on the bed. Then Zonra started to "clean" Donovan of all the dryness on his face. Erin walked in and surprised both Zonra and Donovan. "I see Zonra is a little happy to see you," Erin said sarcastically. "Really!" said Donovan, trying to escape from Zonra. "I couldn’t tell Bleah!" Erin used her telepathy and told Zonra to get off Donovan. Zonra got off and left the room. "Donovan," said Erin seriously. "Yes," said Donovan. "Who was it that nearly killed you?" asked Erin. "He said his name was Nedgar. Why?" replied Donovan. Nedgar?" asked Erin. "Yes, Nedgar. What’s wrong with that?" replied Donovan. "You don’t know? He’s the strongest man in dark arts magic," yelled Erin. "Yikes!" exclaimed Donovan. "They say he’s looking for the Stone of Romar, which could make him a god!" exclaimed Erin. "No way!" yelled Donovan. "And I was searching for him, too." "And I want to get him for what he did to our stables!" said Erin, excited. "Donovan?" "Yes?" replied Donovan. "May I please join you on your quest?" asked Erin. Sure! I’ll need all the help I can get!" answered Donovan. "But first," said Erin, "Let’s eat and get some rest before we start tomorrow." "Ummm, OK," said Donovan. The next day, Donovan, Erin and Zonra set out on their journey to stop Nedgar. They hadn’t gone far until they saw something incredibly strange. A wolf with weird clothes flew over them, screaming, "Wheeee!" and disappeared. They stopped in their tracks, wide-eyed. "Did you see anything?" Donovan asked. "Nothing," said Erin immediately. After getting over their denial, they headed off once again. "OK," said Donovan, "If you’re going to learn any fighting magic, you’re going to have to see it first." "OK," said Erin. "Here’s the energy punch." Donovan signaled Erin to follow him to a nearby tree. When Donovan was at fighting distance, he closed his eyes and put his hand in front of him, with it wide open. Suddenly, he closed the hand into a fist and quickly put it three inches away from his face. Tiny magic bolts began to enter his hand until the fist became a ball of light. Donovan opened his eyes with a furious look on his face and yelled, "Energy punch!" He pulled his glowing fist back and then punched the tree, making it shake. At that point, Erin thought the punch did absolutely nothing, until the tree suddenly splintered and fell heavily. "Oh my!" said Erin with an amazed look on her face. "How did you do it?" "Nothing, really, to it. All you..." Donovan paused. He felt something like it was really close by and that he had been waiting for. "All you what?" said Erin. "Sorry, but I think I’ve found him," said Donovan blankly. "Your dragon?" asked Zonra telepathically. Then Donovan ran into the woods. Erin Followed. Donovan kept running. Nothing, not trees, vines or rocks, would stop Donovan. Then Donovan stopped dead in his tracks. He saw it - his dragon, with the same glowing green eyes it had in his dream. The dragon was 20 feet long, orange, and the tip of his tail was shaped like a spade. The dragon spoke to Donovan telepathically. "I knew you would come," it said weakly. It tried to move, but it was hurt. It was dying. You’re ... my... dragon of destiny," said Donovan, amazed. Erin an Zonra came up to where Donovan was. She saw the dragon and gasped. "That’s your dragon of destiny?" asked Erin, amazed. "Yes, but it’s dying. Nedgar did this. so I can’t heal it," Donovan said gloomily. "Then, what can you do?" asked Erin. But Donovan didn’t answer. Donovan went to the dragon and patted its head. Donovan began to cry and a teardrop landed on the dragon’s head. He said to the dragon in telepathy, "I’ve searched for you all my life, and I finally meet you, but you’re dying. I won’t let you! Not when we finally meet!" Donovan said with tears in his eyes. "I will save you. You will become part of my soul. You will become half of me." Donovan gave the dragon a final hug and then put both of his hands on the dragon’s forehead. Donovan said out loud, "With God’s love and my heart, I will save you." "You will be me and I will be you! We will become one!" Donovan and the dragon began to glow. Then the dragon turned into a ball of light. Donovan stood up with his eyes closed as the white glow entered his chest. Donovan and the dragon awakened in a white room. "You have not named me," said the dragon. "Then I shall name you," said Donovan. "You are now Nabuyuki! You understand that we are one body but two souls. When I call you, my body will transform into yours. You are not dead. You are living in me now." "Thank you," said Nabuyuki. At that point, Donovan’s life was changed forever. TRANSFORMATION "What did you do? What happened?" asked Erin. Donovan had been quiet for the past two hours, and hadn’t spoken. "You know my dragon of destiny?" asked Donovan. "Yeah. Wait! Don’t tell me your dragon died!" exclaimed Erin. "No, no, no, no,!" said Donovan, shaking his head. "It’s still living. It’s inside of me. We share this body -- one body two souls." "OK, I’ll try to talk to him. What’s his name, by the way?" asked Erin. "His name is Nabuyuki," answered Donovan. Erin called to Nabuyuki with her telepathy. "Nabuyuki? Nabuyuki? Answer please." "Yes?" replied Nabuyuki. "So, it is true. You share Donovan’s body," Erin said gloomily. "Yes," said Nabuyuki. "We share this body. But I should thank him. He saved my life." "Wow, that’s cool," said Zonra telepathically. "Uhh, yeah," said Nabuyuki sarcastically. They kept walking and Donovan got over his quiet spell. He also showed Erin how to do the energy punch. Since Erin was more of a fighter than a sorceress, she got it right the first time, and stronger than Donovan’s. Donovan also showed Erin the energy kick and Power slash. The Energy kick did the exact same thing as the Energy punch, and yet again Erin’s was stronger than Donovan’s. But the power slash was a lot different. Donovan put his hand into a fist, then put facing down. Donovan yelled, "Power slash!" and eight long glowing blades come out of his knuckles and backhand, like a razor. Then he pulled his hand sideways all the way back and then did a full swipe with the blades releasing energy and cutting down sixteen trees with one swipe. "Whoa! I can’t wait to learn that!" squealed Erin. Erin did the exact same thing as Donovan, with yelling "Power slash!" and the blades come out, except twice as long as Donovan’s. Then she did a full swipe like Donovan releasing energy and cutting 32 trees down. As the blades faded, Donovan and Zonra were wide-eyed and open-mouthed in amazement. "So, how’d I do?" asked Erin, scratching the back of her head. Donovan and Zonra went to their knees and started bowing simultaneously with Donovan saying, "We are not worthy." "Oh my," thought Erin. They began to walk on and it wasn’t long until they saw a horrible thing. A village was under attack by demonic beasts. "You wanna have some fun with your new attacks?" asked Donovan cleverly. "Sure," said Erin. "Let’s take the quickest way there." "Right," agreed Donovan. "Sorry Zonra, but you’re going to have to stay here, OK?" said Erin sweetly. The dragon replied telepathically, "Oh, all right." Donovan and Erin clapped their hands together, then slowly pulled them apart with a ball of light shining between their hands. Simultaneously they yelled, "Arial!" They began to hover in the air and immediately sped toward the town, readying their spells. Erin was preparing for an Aura bolt while Donovan was preparing a Gigabolt. As they landed, Erin had her hands above her while Donovan had sparks flying from his hand. Erin shot her hands in front of her and the energy she had been gathering shot in