Some of my favorite characters to create are hybrids. And among the hybrids I've created, my favorites are ones that are half-dragon since I'm a dragon lover. This piece takes place in a fantasy version of the modern world where dragons and hybrids sometimes appear, but the world is also divided into several Realms where dragons and other fantasy creatures are more common than they are in the modern world. The concept behind this piece is two rivals who find that a common enemy is a strong unifying force.
---
A
Common Enemy
How
could anyone be so strong? I was lying on the ground, slowly fading out of
consciousness and gazing at the man who just defeated me. I could no longer see
his face, but I could still tell that, like me, he was a dragon-hybrid. But he
was far more powerful than I was. I was a skilled fighter, but he still
defeated me with minimal effort. My vision continued to darken and I heard the
faint sound of his laughter.
“How
pathetic,” he said, “You honestly thought you could take on me by yourself?”
I
opened my mouth to retort, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
He
continued, “I have taken on dragons and hybrids far stronger than you and still
won. No one can defeat me alone.”
And
with that, he left and I slipped into unconsciousness.
---
“Danae!”
“Danae,
wake up!”
I
became aware of someone calling me and slowly opened my eyes. In front of me
was the dragon Isador and he looked concerned. I tried to get up, only to feel
a wave of pain. Isador gently pressed his claws against my torso and forced me
to lie down again.
“You
shouldn’t move yet,” he said, “You were badly injured and losing a lot of blood
when I found you.”
I
looked around and realized that I was no longer on the streets, but instead in
Isador’s cave. He must’ve brought me here while I was still unconscious.
“How
long was I out?” I asked in a hoarse voice.
“A
couple days,” Isador said, “I would allow you to continue sleeping, but I need
to know what happened to you?”
“I
was attacked…by another dragon-hybrid,” I said, “He was so powerful and…he said
that…no one can defeat him.”
“Not
alone at least,” Isador said.
“What
do you mean?” I asked.
“To
win you will need allies,” Isador said, “I know that you prefer to fight alone
and you are good at it. But there is strength in numbers. Forming a team with
other hybrids will give you an advantage over any solitary opponent.”
“He’s
right,” a new voice said.
Isador
and I turned to the cave entrance and, to our surprise another dragon-hybrid
was standing there. And he was one that I recognized as Daren, a friend of
mine, who was almost as badly beat-up as I was. His shirt was torn and he was
covering a bleeding wound with one hand. His long brown hair was a tangled mess
and the tie he normally used to hold back his hair had come undone. He was
covered in scratches and one of his wings was punctured, making me wonder how
he was able to fly here.
“I
was attacked by a dragon-hybrid as well and I believe it’s the same one who
attacked you, Danae,” he said, “He goes by the name of Vince and he is one of
the strongest hybrids I have encountered. I barely escaped with my life.”
“And
I believe you two are not the only ones,” Isador said, “I have heard rumors of
similar attacks on other hybrids living in this Realm. One of which is Elsa”
I
scowled at the mention of that name. Elsa was a water dragon-hybrid who worked
as a mercenary. And she was my biggest rival. I’ve lost track of how many times
she tried to kill me either because of her hatred for me or because she was
offered money for my hide. Often it was both. For that reason, I wondered why
Isador was telling me this. I didn’t care if Vince attacked Elsa. If anything,
Vince would be doing me a favor if he killed her.
I
decided to voice my question. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because
Elsa can be a valuable ally if you two would be willing to work together,”
Isador said.
“Never!”
I cried, “Why would I work with someone who constantly tries to kill me?”
“She
does have a point,” Daren said, “Elsa is more likely to stab her in the back
than work with her, especially if she is offered money to do it.”
“I
know,” Isador said, “But you two would be surprised with how strong a motivator
a common enemy is.”
---
A
few weeks passed since Isador suggested that Daren and I team up with Elsa. We
were able to recover from our fights with Vince and Daren decided that we
should take Isador’s advice. Naturally, I rejected the idea, but Daren insisted
and he can be pretty stubborn sometimes. So we flew to a beach bordering the
Atlantic Ocean where Elsa lives. To our surprise, Elsa was not underwater and
instead on land, sitting on a cluster of rocks and gazing towards the ocean.
Her
back was to us, so Daren called out to her. “Elsa!”
She
turned around and faced us. “Danae. Daren. I’m surprised to see you here,
especially you Danae,” Elsa said, standing and flying towards us.
“I
couldn’t let Daren come alone,” I said as Elsa landed in front of me.
“Why?
You don’t trust me not to take his hide for money?” Elsa asked in a mocking
tone.
I
glared at Elsa and was really tempted to reach for the swords mounted on my
back. But Daren came here to make an offer to her, so I restrained myself.
“We
didn’t come here to fight,” I said, “Daren has an offer for you.”
“I’m
listening,” Elsa said, her gaze shifting to Daren.
“I
heard you were attacked by a dragon-hybrid named Vince. Is this true?” Daren
asked. Elsa nodded and he continued, “Danae and I are going after him, but the
dragon Isador said we need allies. Will you join us?”
“Depends,
will I be getting paid?” Elsa asked.
Typical
Elsa. Only willing to take a job if she can get paid for it. No wonder she
became a mercenary.
“Sorry,
but no. I’m asking you to join us because of our common enemy,” Daren said.
“Not
interested,” Elsa said. She then spread her wings and took flight, “Come back
if you’re willing to offer me some kind of payment.”
She
dove into the water after that.
“I
guess Isador was wrong about Elsa,” I said.
“I
guess so,” Daren said.
“So
what now?” I asked.
“We
return to Isador and ask him what other hybrids might be willing to join us,”
Daren said.
But
we never got a chance to.
Just
as Daren and I were about to take flight, we were hit from behind by a wave of
black fire. Being fire dragon-hybrids, both of us were unharmed by the fire, but
we still turned around to see our attacker, who was another dragon-hybrid. And
one I recognized. He had black hair and a goatee in the same color and his skin
was pale. He was wearing a long, but slightly torn black coat, which I thought
would’ve made him look like an aristocratic vampire if not for the black dragon
wings and tail. This man was Vince, the hybrid who almost killed me.
I
drew my swords and Daren shifted into a full dragon, but Vince just smiled like
a madman and sent a wave of black energy at Daren. Within seconds, he was out
cold. Vince tried to do the same thing to me, but I was fast enough to evade
his attack.
Seeing
that he missed, Vince scowled at me and drew his own swords. He swung his
swords at me and I blocked. I tried to make a counterattack, but he pressed his
swords against mine and to free them, I would have to make myself vulnerable to
his attacks. So rather than using my swords, I unleashed my fire breath in his
face. Vince cried out in pain and pulled back, but to my surprise, his face was
unburned, probably because he also had some fire power.
For
a while, we exchanged blows, but like before, Vince easily got the upper hand
and disarmed me. After that, it was easy for him to injure me and force me to
my knees. He grabbed my neck, though his grip was not tight enough to choke me.
“I
should kill you now, Dragongirl,” Vince said, “But I admire you for having the
courage to fight me twice, so I’ll make you join me instead.”
His
free hand started to glow purple and I knew what he planned to do. Corruption
magic. Vince planned to use a spell that would force me to join the dark side
by magnifying my faults and reversing all of my positive traits. The spell was
difficult to break because to do so, I would have to engage in a mental battle
with myself and if I lost, the spell would become permanent.
I
struggled to free myself, but Vince was too strong and his grip only tightened.
He lowered his glowing hand to touch my face and cast the spell, but then I
heard the sound of something leaping out of the ocean and a massive wave of
water crashed down on us. Vince released his grip on me and both of us turned
to the source of the wave. To my surprise, it was Elsa. She was flying above
the ocean with her sword drawn and she used it to manipulate another wave,
which she sent at Vince. He tried to stand his ground, but was knocked back by
the water.
Soaking
wet, Vince glared at Elsa and then took flight. Elsa landed next to me and
offered me a hand. I hesitated before taking it and Elsa helped me up.
“I
thought you weren’t interested in helping me,” I said.
“I’m
not, but I am interested in taking down Vince,” Elsa said, “I’ll fight with you
and Daren, but only until Vince is dead. And I suppose I’ll do it for free.”
So
Isador was right. Nothing united two former rivals like a common enemy.
