CHAPTER ONE Foreword

From the Creators flaming Hand came the land, sun, and three moons of Rubid a world of unfathomable beauty; full of rustling forests, raging rivers, crystalline lakes, and smooth beaches. The only other divine act He took was to create Kings, users of his Flame, masters of the Threads of Enchantment. And then the Creator faded from existence, passing into a world that no one will ever see. Each of the Kings was unique, and shaped the land as He or She desired. There were Kings of Life, Darkness, Death, Ash, Storm, Dragons, Beasts, Lich, Knowledge and Light. Each King created a Relic of their power, which enhanced and supplemented their control over magic. When a King died, his power was passed down to their oldest child. In the beginning, the most powerful King was Light, but when the Creator faded and the sun and stars went dark, the King of Light sacrificed himself to sustain the light and illuminate Rubid through the day. After Light left, Life, Darkness, and Death reigned

and illuminate Rubid through the day. After Light left, Life, Darkness, and Death reigned Berkowitz / The Dragon's Key / 2 over Rubid. The three ruling Kings created Alagara a tiny island compared to the other lands of Rubid, but a place for the Kings to live. They also created a dozen races to spread across all of Rubid. Five of these races had the ability to use magic, and these five resided on Alagara. From the King of Death came the Celians, builders of marvelous structures and palaces, clever and crafty. From the King of Darkness came the Urgs, dwellers of the mountains, mining ores to create weapons. Though they are strong and monstrous in form, they are pure in spirit. Also from Darkness came the Drids Singing bows and scratching pens gave life to their forested homes. They are quiet and scholarly, but deadly with nimble feet and strong venom. From Life came the Lyrians, with blazing swords, noble and proud, honor aloft, as well as the Brakians, rogues and jokers, bringers of light to dark halls, with jabbing spears, spinning daggers, and an iron-hard will. For half an eternity, the races lived in peace. The island was free of evil, safely away from the influence of the other lands in Rubid. However, the peace came to an end. Half a million years after the Creation of the world, tension broke out. Pythien, a servant of Death, who was hungry for power, found and stole the King of Darknesss Relic of power. This Relic had the ability to call souls back from the World of the Dead and inhabit the living. With the Relic, he entranced the Celians and planted in their minds a quest for dominance. The seed grew and blossomed as more and more Celians joined Pythien. He then challenged Death and his remaining loyal defenders. Using the Relic, he faced the King in single combat. Without his power, the King was outmatched and Pythien slew him with a dagger of shadow. 2

Berkowitz / The Dragon's Key / 3 Pythien now had unchallenged dominance over the Celians. They waged war against the rest of Alagara, hoping for continental supremacy. Pythiens rule spread like a cloud across Alagara. Soon, the Drids were almost annihilated, the Urgs mountains taken, and Brakia was almost overrun. However, in a final battle, the combined forces of Darkness and Life overcame the Celians. Pythien watched as his enchanted followers were slaughtered at the field of Edrothes. The Kings of Dragon, Beast, Storm, Ash, and Knowledge watched neutral, from the side. The new King of Death, a girl almost four hundred years old, was greatly angered at her kind for becoming traitors and slaying innocent people, but was stopped by the other Kings from obliterating the Celians. Only 2000 years later, the King of Life was corrupted by his own power. He slaughtered thousands of helpless people of all five races, even his own. He slew the King of Darkness, leaving the enormous weight of being King to a mere six-year-old. The King of Life, completely insane, attacked his longtime friend, the King of Knowledge, and killed him in cold blood. With no heirs for the magic to go to, much was lost when the King of Knowledge fell, the magic of awareness fading in the air. At last, Death, an old friend of Life, killed the corrupted King, a bloody blade at his side, and tears streaming down his face. After the balance of Life was restored, there was peace for another seven thousand years. And then, balance was once again tipped. Acsuria, ninth child in the line of Darkness, went mad yearning for the power of darkness. She assassinated all eight of her older brothers and hired trained assassins to kill her mother, the last person in the way of the power of Shadow. When Darkness fell, the power had no place to go but Acsuria. However, the power was not meant for Acsuria. It was too much for her to 3

but Acsuria. However, the power was not meant for Acsuria. It was too Dragon's much for her Berkowitz / The Keyto /4 manage. So instead of her controlling darkness, darkness reigned over her. Over time, she allowed the black energy to take control, and the magic consumed her until she had a thirst for power that could not be quenched.

Berkowitz / The Dragon's Key / 5

CHAPTER TWO Prologue

The black marble doors swung open, thudding softly against the opposite wall. Two burly black-clothed men walked through the opening, carrying a huge black chest adorned intricately with golden patterns. , but they were putting a great deal of effort into carrying the chest. One of the men grunted that he needed to take a break, but the other man refused, stating flatly that they were almost finished0 with their job. The men looked around the room. They had never been inside the Crescent Cave, the cavern that hosted the Dark Queen and it made them uncomfortable. The air itself seemed to have a weight to it. Thick black smoke made it nearly impossible to see more than five feet away from them, making the heavy men choke and cough. However, they could see white veins throbbing through what they thought must be the wallsliterally throbbingas if the rock was alive. As the two men continued walking, the smoke slowly began to clear, revealing a large cavern, which could easily fit at least two large palaces inside. 5

revealing a large cavern, which could easily fit at least two large palaces inside. Key / 6 Berkowitz / The Dragon's Colossal stalactites hung from the ceiling; drops of green liquid dripped from the tips of the spears, dissolving and sizzling as they hit the ground. And at the end of the cave, circled by a ring of bright silvery light, was a black throne, made out of the same marble as the walls, except that the veins in the rock were golden, not silver. At the moment, the throne was empty, so they didnt know what to do, but they continued nevertheless. Finally, they reached the throne, and set the chest down outside the ring of light. What do you spose we should do now? One of the men asked. His voice was low and gruff, and cracked many times during the short sentence. Should we leave? The other man considered him for a moment and answered slowly. We wait if the chest is somehow stolen, the Queen will show no mercy She never does, and you should know that. And you know perfectly well that no man can destroy us when we are together, Sarlith, so you have nothing to fear. His voice was quiet and smooth, like a snake. It coiled around the room, echoing softly. Please, Dreymore. This chest is really weighing mdown. Dreymore waved off the protest. The two men sat on the cold floor in the dark cavern for a long time, occasionally coughing on the smoke. Neither moved or spoke. The only sound was the continuing liquid dripping and sizzling onto the floor from the huge stalactites above. All of a sudden, a fine silver mist took the place of the thin smoke, filling the chamber with the smell of sulfur. A moment later, a resounding CRACK rang through the air. Both men winced at the sound, but immediately composed themselves when the 6

the air. Both men winced at the sound, but immediately composed when the Berkowitz /themselves The Dragon's Key /7 figure of the Dark Queen filled the throne. The air got colder, and the sizzling slowed as the liquid turned to ice. The Queen was completely clothed in black, gleaming armor, with none of her body showing. Some supposed that was because she wasnt mankind. Others presumed it was just an extra precaution, even though anyone foolish enough to attack the Queen was likely to be killed anyway. Only her eyes showed, and they were a poisonous color of green, casting an erie glow onto the smoke. She slowly considered the two men, as if trying to decide if they would leave the room alive. After a minute or so of complete silence, she spoke. Iss it in the chessst? Her voice was quiet but menacing, and the men could hear the power in it. As she spoke, the cold silver mist that engulfed the cavern grew thicker. The Queen literally breathed magic. Sarlith began to speak, but the other man cut him off. Yes. We are the only men left that you sent to capture the final, unfound Key. Yet we found it. The Queen surveyed him, and saw the truth sitting in their feeble minds. Bring it inssside the cccircle, she hissed. The men glanced at each other uncertainly, and then, picking up the chest, they walked into the silver glow that encircled the throne. As soon as they stepped into it, the temperature dropped. Their breath fogged up, making white clouds billow around them as they panted with the effort of carrying the chest. The men shivered even more as they set down the box at the Queens feet. The bottom of it melted into the marble floor, and the Sarlith and Dreymore knew that if they tried to move it, they would find it stuck. 7

Berkowitz / The Dragon's Key / 8 Open it, the Queen commanded icily. Trembling, Sarlith pulled an intricate golden key out of his backpack and fitted it into the chest. He turned it and the box clicked open. A cloud of golden mist escaped out of the chest, making the air considerably warmer, but it was quickly dispelled. The Queen peered into the box, contemplating the object within. She murmured a quiet spell, and after a second,ave a scream of fury. The very air around the two men froze, and before they could do anything, before they could even make a sound, they fell to the floor, shattering into little shards of ice.