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One

Wrong

Turn

By Eric Fischer

***** ***** ***** ***** PROLGUE ***** ***** ***** *****

On the day that it happened, Adric seemed oblivious to the fact that today was his last day on Earth.

It was dark, and near dawn as Adric Listin drove home for the Holidays. It was on a clear early Thursday morning, as he passed through the hilly deserts outside of Phoenix. He had just 46 miles to go before he got back and was looking forward to seeing his family again. He was driving an old tan Saturn, a hand-me-down from his parents that had seen better days. The heater was on and the Radio chattered a stream of early morning news over the Public Radio station he was tuned too. Adric himself leaned back as he sped down the mostly empty Highway. He always enjoyed driving late at night or early morning, despite the hassle of time, he found it so much more pleasing not to have to worry about Traffic till he reached the city.

Adric was just 26 and looked forward to taking this break from college life. He had been attending Arizonans Northern University for about three years now and had met with varying degrees of success in his studies. He was a short lad, just about five and a half feet. His pale skin making no attempt to hide either his German or Scottish Ancestry; his hair was long and black, his eyes dusty and brown, and currently, the only thing on his mind was thinking of the biggest highlight from his time at college. Skimming through a few, he guessed it would have to be getting to fly the radio-controlled blimp at Basketball games. It was probably the closest he would get to flying the real thing, a dream he gave up long ago considering the lack of any large market for such pilots.

His thoughts were distracted as he noticed a soft glow in his rear-view mirror and soon he could see the first glints of light coming up from behind the mountains. The faint flickers of sunlight reflected off his rear mirror distracted him slightly from a, something, that was beginning to form in front of him. There was suddenly a terrible illumination.

His car came to a screeching halt, as he was nearly blinded by the light in front of him. He got out of his car, suddenly wondering what had nearly blinded him. As he got out, his face was met with the chill of the outside air. His breath came in puffs of condensed moisture as he scanned the horizon, looking for any low-lying craft, perhaps an early morning pilot who had buzzed the car. But nothing other the soft light of the sun illuminated the otherwise dark dessert terrain. . He turned to get back in the car when yet another burst of light came forth, then another, then another, then a sound that would have made a thunder clamp seem quiet. He was knocked back into the street, and when his eyes re-adjusted, his heart raced.

Before him was a wholly unearthly sight. A sphere like object hung in the air, it gave off a warm feel to it as an eerie blue fire seemed to dance and leap about it's surface. He found himself rubbing his eyes, wholly captivated by the sight. So captivating was it. That Adric didn't here the din of the truck's horn until it was right on top of him, till he remembered he was standing in the middle of the street, He panicked and did what anyone would have done, lept out of the way as fast as he could; an instant later the Semi smashed through the car and Adric was never seen again.

***** ***** ***** ***** CHAPTER ONE ***** ***** ***** *****

Far far away, on the 3rd planet of the Shandary system, was Trathala. There was a war on, and it was caught in the middle.

Two turns ago a fleet of alien star ships was detected moving into their sector. At first the people of Trathala ignored them. They knew all too well the trouble caused when dealing with aliens. Soon after this, the alien fleet invaded and seized a mineral rich asteroid field inside their own system. It was then that they first met the Tajlan Empire. And it was then that their troubles began.

It wouldn't have caused so much chaos, had it not been for the fact that the Alliance was already mining them. The Alliance, as they called themselves, was a union of three close by civilizations who had made contact with Trathala some thirty turns ago. At first they had kept away from the small world, respecting their wishes of privacy. However as time passed, the Alliance increasingly requested permission to mine Trathala's valuable asteroid belts. Eventually Trathala gave in and agreed to a brief diplomatic exchange of only one representative. This was mainly due to Trathala's already skeptical view of the Alliance. No one would forget how the Alliance handled their first contact with them. Landing in a massive ship, declaring good intentions, trade and friendship to all the backward people of Trathala. It never occurred to them that maybe their good intentions wouldn't be wanted.

After mining the asteroid belts for nearly twenty turns, the Alliance was completely stunned when the Tajlan Imperial battle fleet swept through. Unlike the relatively peaceful contact with the Trathalanís, the first time the Alliance met the people of Tajlan; it was to be a violent affair. After a quick retreat from their mining installations, the Alliance endeavored to understand their new foe. After some time, however, their knowledge was relatively limited. What was known was that their world, Tajlan, was home to two intelligent races, the Qwintoni and Tejlini, it was they who had worked together to build the Empire and its vast armada. With this knowledge, fear swept through the Alliance as war quickly erupted between the two powers, (an interesting feat, considering that neither side could speak the language of the other.)

To the Empire, Trathala was the strategic key to controlling the wealth of the asteroids. It had everything they needed, fresh food for their army, new resources, and lots of manual labor. It was theirs for the taking, and they took it.

A tall figure looked out from high atop a cliff. From his house in the tall grassy hills he could see the lights from Qwintoni ships from Tajlan against the pale night sky. He watched for some time from his vantage point on the cliff as one of the Tajlan Imperial cargo planes landed to transport supplies to their new base.

For almost a hundred days since they came to his world he had watched. Watched and planned for some way to get rid of them. He had spent hours meditating, searching for some peaceful way to expel them. But after two disastrous attempts, he quickly ruled that out. It would seem that the fates had forced him to choose the most hated and barbaric option available. The one option that was the cause of most of the problems he and his world had ever dealt with. Armed conflict.

"How did I ever get started in this?" Darnethlil grumbled deep in his throat. "And why, under the stars, did they have to come here? Not that they don't have their excuses. We ask and they say they have 'the right'. After all, they are the Tajlan Empire, powerful and mighty! Let those primitives they meet remember and serve them in all there glory!" The Trathalan finished sarcastically, as he struggled to keep his composure. Calming down he snorted indignantly as he waved his wings in an obscene gesture of anger and frustration. "Yes! Let us look and remember them, for how can one forget a race so utterly arrogant and barbaric"

He sighed, letting his wings curl in a depressive fashion. As he walked away from the cliff to the grassy field outside his home, he remembered vividly when the invasion began.

It was just past noon as the sky was a beautiful dark blue. Darnethlil had been watching clouds pass in front of their massive moon, Hurn, when something else caught his attention. They were black, winged ships, looking bloated with a horrible cargo. They were drop ships, and across his world hundreds began to descend.

He scoffed at their brutal methods of war. The manner in which the invasion was carried out was completely wasteful! The alien armies first landed near the capital city of the Orin Clan, on the southern continent. By the end of the day, reports were being relayed of Qwintoni solders tearing through the lands, pillaging and destroying all that stood in there way.

Darnethlil thought, wondering how could they take over a world when they were destroying all its beauty in the process? Shrines were defiled, temples destroyed. Ancient structures annihilated by explosive fire that had stood for hundreds of turns. And for what purpose did it serve? It wasn't as if his people were able to put up any sort of aggressive opposition to the invaders. How could they, when you considered the beliefs held dear by all Trathalans?

He pushed these thoughts away for the moment, trying not to let them weigh upon him. He looked up and sighed as he stopped in front of his home. It was a miracle he had a place he could still call home, since his world belonged to another. He paused under the moonlight, the night at it's peak contemplating its aesthetics and structure and gave a Blessing for such a place to live. It was piece of art inside and out. Like much of what Trathalans built, designed to be as lovely to the eye as it was lovely to live in. The Trathalan gave an additional blessing that it had been over looked and untouched by battle when the Empire invaded. It was because of that invasion that he owned the house now, his fathers' house, and the one he received when his father was executed...

He stopped suddenly as he fought for control of that painful memory. For a moment, he was shocked it had come upon him so suddenly, and that the anger that came with it was still so vivid. It was near the end of the Invasion when the rest of the Empire's armies had begun to meet up with the first few forces that had invaded. As leader his Father held responsibility over all those in the Lonti Clan. Most of the other thirteen clans had given in rather than risk armed conflict. But his farther was odd for a Trathalan, brash and emotional. He would never sit still and give in willingly. As much as it went against every thing he believed in, he had felt compelled to order the proud Lonti Clan to actually fight against the invaders.

The fighting however was less than what may be called a real battle. It lasted less than a day as Trathalanís who had spent their lives quietly living in peace and meditating on controlling aggression were forced to pick up arms and fight. Many ran as soon as they were confronted by the armored Qwintoni solders. Others promptly surrendered, mostly from the mental shock of actively engaging in the violence of war. His Father however would never yield or submit peacefully to their rule. He had been the only one on the planet who was known to have not just attacked, but killed one of the attackers.

He was captured, brought before the General of the local garrison, and humiliated. The Officers mocked him, tortured him, and then put him on display in the town square of their capital as an example to others. Even shackled, he wouldn't give up, and began speaking to all who walked by, urging them to resist. Given the lack of understanding of Trathalan language, the Tejlini Officers, rather then try and figure out what was being said, finally had him executed, before the eyes of hundreds.

Darnethlil shuddered; he could barely comprehend the thought of actively murdering another intelligent being, let alone forcing others to watch. How he wanted to destroy every last Qwintoni for that act. To maul and rend there bodies apart as violently as possible. He closed his eyes; he knew how impossible such primitive behaviors would be. Revenge would not bring his father back from the dead.

He reached the circular doorway to his room, as he finally suppressed his emotions. Now that his farther was dead, he would have to be Clan leader. Not that it meant much. The Empire had quickly abolished their 500-year-old clan system and reduced the thirteen clans of Trinasaki to simple territories dictated by the landmasses of their world. He tried to not to dwell on the constant negative emotions he was besieged with. He needed his control during these difficult times, and anything less wouldn't be Trathalan.

As he headed inside, he heard lighting began to crackle about him. He saw not a storm in the bright night sky and yet he could feel his skin stand on end with electricity. Suddenly he was knocked on his back as a blue-green hole erupted in front of him. Before he had time to think about it, something was hurled forth. As the hole shut the Trathalan looked at what had come through, his eyes growing wide.

***** ***** ***** ***** CHAPTER TWO***** ***** ***** *****

Adric blinked, his mind raced and he felt like he had just been run over by a cement truck. His whole body was racked with pain, he could feel his senses returning as he tried to figure out what had happened. He tried to think back to what had accrued, he had stopped his car to look at something, and there had been a truck. Suddenly he remembered the crash, and groaned.

"Oh heck, I am so boned," he muttered in a weak voice. Slapping his face he noticed two things. His arm cried out suddenly in horribly agony, as if the skin had been burned; and second, his hand smacked a tightly wrapped bandage that covered his whole upper head, the bandages dark with dried blood. Adric's eyes opened quickly as his heart began to race. It hadn't occurred to him that the crash between car and semi would have actually harmed him.

"Jeebus! I must have been lucky to survive!" Adric thought about his brush with death as he tried to picture what had happened to his car. Fearing the worse he conjured up an image of it, crumpled and wrecked by the side of the road. He moaned at once, knowing what it would do to his insurance costs. He realized that he must have been hit by debris, as a direct hit from the Semi would have him in a state to not be thinking at all and not bandaged up. Suddenly a thought crossed his pain-fogged mind. If he was bandage, it meant someone had found him. So the question was: "Where am I now?"

He immediately guessed the truck driver had called for an ambulance and he was no doubt in some Intensive Care Unit. Quickly a whole new swelling of doubt and concern grew. What happened to his car, or the wreck of it? Had his parents been informed? How long was he out? How was he going to pay for this? The throbbing pain all over his body seem to grow worse as he began to dwell on all the ramifications of this unwanted Hospital stay.

Yet the longer he thought about it, the more he didn't think he was in any hospital. It was far too quiet, too warm, and the bed was more comfortable then any he had ever imagined. Looking up, he noticed, something, he hadn't before. It was huge. As he strained his eyes to see what it was, the creature stepped into the light. He took a double take as his brain dropped into his stomach.

Standing over him was a demonic looking creature that appeared as if it had stepped out of some horror movie, only this thing was real. It stared intently at Adric with dark green eyes as it reached a clawed hand over him. Adric was scared witless. Panic and terror gripped him as he instinctively tried to flee from the monster. Even as he began to move away, he heard the thing make a screeching noise like nails on a chalkboard. He tried to lunge from the bed but was gripped by pain as his body was reminded of its injuries as bandages tore, and slightly healed injuries ripped. Rolling in newfound agony he felt something being placed on his forehead, there was a small flash of light and Adric fell dead asleep.

Darnethlil sighed, as he carefully placed the creature back in his warm bedding.

"What a fool I was, to completely neglect how my appearance might affect this, thing." He had probably scared the poor creature halfway to Carth. He meditated for a moment, scorning himself for being so abrupt in revealing his form. He remembered the disastrous meeting when the first forces from the Empire gazed at his people and acted much the same way. In terror and fear, these thoughts were all to easily felt. Even those races in the Alliance, whom to him were oddities, had regarded the Trathalans with a fearful caution. Was his race cursed with an appearance that all others would hate and despise?

He looked back at the poor creature on his bed. It breathed deeply as it lay resting in a deep trance like sleep. He thanked his star that the bluestone, which he had firmly fixed to its flat head, had worked on it. Darnethlil wasn't completely sure how he would have calmed it or kept it from injuring itself further if it hadn't. Granted, he hadn't wished to forcibly sedate it like that. But he saw little choice, and he hadn't much time to act. As he watched over it, he became more thankful then ever he had chosen the gift of healing when he was taught as a child.

Growing up under the watchful eye of his Mentor, Krahnos Galinsitelo, he was taught early on how to properly control his mind. Although Krahnos was not from his Clan he was always a welcomed member at their home. So at the age of twenty, as Darnethlil passed from childhood to adolescence, his Mentor was not at all surprised when Darnethlil announced that he wished to focus his mind on the art of healing. He had always had a weakness for helping those in need, and the poor creature before him certainly needed help.

If only he could guess what it was. It had no wings, no tail, light pale skin and five fingers.

"Five fingers. Truly, whatever it is, is alien indeed!" Darnethlil thought about this, even those strange races from the Alliance had four fingers. He twitched his wings up in a humorous fashion, thinking how silly it was to discriminate over such immaterial a thing as physical differences. Unlike the Empire, size shape and appearance mattered little to the Trathalan. The teachings of the Hashñaya taught him this. He rose to change some of the old bandages on its body as he contemplated the improbability of its arrival.

It had emerged from a legendary Crossgate, practically landing at his feet. Crossgates were ancient; no one knew where they came from or what they were. The ancient texts had told of brave Trathalan's who had entered a Crossgate to explore what lay beyond, only to appear Turns later as a charred corpse. Yet somehow this being had survived albeit barely. Its injuries were so severe that there were several open wounds, its clothes were nearly burnt off and its skin was severally burned as well. He had to use many of his herbs and a whole vile of Methla (which was very hard to come by these days) just to stabilize its condition. He was amazed at how well the alien creature healed after only a few treatments. It was recovering nicely over the past few days until just a few moments ago when it had awakened. Darnethlil sighed again as he looked at it, he placed his hand over it's head, feeling the confused and random thoughts surging through it's mind.

"You are a mystery my unknown friend. I hope when you awake again that I shall know more of you." It stirred a bit as he spoke. He sighed as the night wore on.

It was not until the next evening when night had fallen did Darnethlil choose try once more try and awaken his guest. After night when the Imperial patrols slacked off, after night when they would return to sleep, and most Trathalans where just becoming active. Darnethlil had made ready this time. He had treated his guest, he had a basin of water in case it was needed, and he had dimmed the oil lamps in the wooden paneled room. He also had retrieved something from his hidden wares, something he had not thought he would ever need to use. As the alien lay sleeping, its wounds closed once more, only the pulsing blue crystal on its head kept it in a state of deep sleep.

Darnethlil leaned forward, spoke a pray to Crie, and slowly removed the crystal before attaching a new one.

Adric gasped suddenly as he awoke from sleep. His heart raced and his body ached. Something had startled him good and he felt breathless as he, again, remembered.

"Good Lord what a dream!" The memories of the crash and his injuries were dragged back into his head. He felt a pain from his chest and then the bandages around his head and arms. He remembered what had happened, and then what he saw.

He tilted the gaze of his eyes just slightly till they came upon the thing from his dream. Unfortunately, Adric suddenly realized it wasn't a dream. The creature, for it's part, sat upon a large, wildly embellished wooden chair watching him intently.

Again his instinct was to flee, and put as much distance between himself and the monster as possible. Adric tried to get up but his body refused to move. He tried with his greatest effort to move a signal limb, but none worked, his mind panicked as he wondered if he had been paralyzed.

The creature for its part, slowly got up from its' lavish chair, it seemed just to stare at him, it's form largely hidden, backlit from an oil lamp behind it. It stood over him for some time as Adric began to feel slightly, odd. He suddenly felt as through he was no longer in danger, and soon after, heard the creature speak...

"If you would be so kind, I humbly request that you do not try and run again. I have already used more than enough of my medical supply to heal you and do not wish to squander any more on one who appears ungrateful." Adric was dumb founded. It did not move its lips yet he could hear its speech perfectly. Adric touched his head and felt a large ring with a strangely warm crystal pressed into it attached to his forehead, as if he were wearing some sort of crown.

He looked back at the thing standing next to him. A trifle more relaxed, he could see it wasn't quite as horrific as he had envisioned. It was however huge, almost over 7 ft tall. It had a large bony crown around its head that formed up into two long horns, behind it flowed long dark black hair, which almost hid the creatures two long, notched ears. It had a short reptilian snout that was attached to a long face where two large dark green eyes looked on. Behind it's long smooth skinned body were two huge wings that twitched like the tapping of fingers.

There was only one thought on Adric's mind when he finished looking at it. And he promptly spoke it out loud.

"Holy Cow, its' a Dragon!"

Darnethlil winced as he heard it speak. Its speech seemed loud and shrill, he wondered if its race always yelled so rudely like that? He couldn't quite understand what it had said; the spoken words were completely alien and sounded like mere grunts. Trying to comprehend what the translator he had attached to his guest's forehead had conveyed was confusing to say the least. As far as he was concerned, the first spoken words of the alien roughly translated to, "Religions animal, that is dragon" Whatever a 'dragon' was.

"At least its thoughts can be clearly heared." Darnethlil thought, a curious feature as most of his race had to concentrate deeply to hear the thoughts of the other Races that had used a Translator. As clear as the thoughts came in however, it was still difficult trying to understand them. He shuffled his wings, showing his confusion in hearing what the alien had said. When he got no response however, he decided to say something.

"Please forgive my rudeness, but when you speak, could you Endeavour to try and indicate precisely what you mean to say"

A bit numb from the experience of having an alien talking with him, Adric pondered what to do. He could barely move anything below his neck, but this wasn't on his mind right now. What was central on his thoughts was that for all intensive purposes, a Dragon like alien was talking him to.

"Ok, all right, yea sure, I'll believe this happening. I guess this could be some massive hallucination, but damn if it doesn't seem real." He said to himself as he began to think just what in the name of his slipping sanity happened after his car crash. "Maybe it's just curious about me, I'll get the photo's in my wallet to show it I'm a nice guy" Adric, making a sudden great effort to move, tried reaching down to his pants only to discover he wasn't wearing any. It was at this point that he saw his cloths hanging from a peg over a round door. Or at least the remains of his clothing as they seemed nearly completely burnt and in tatters. "Ok, great, not only I'm I talking to an alien, I'm also naked, and my clothes are gone! My 'Don't Panic' shirt is gone! I liked that shirt! Oh God what a day"

Darnethlil laughed as he listened to the thoughts as best he could. He didn't understand much of what it was thinking internally, going at far too fast a pace, but he could tell it at least wasn't terrified of him. Concerns over personal items seemed to currently be distracting it from the larger ramifications of what had happened.

Adric however, was still trying to comprehend how it was communicating to him. He guessed it had something to do with the ring he had on.

"Maybe this works both ways," he thought. Adric closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

"WHERE-AM-I? "

He tried to think as hard as he could, not sure he was being understood.

"Even in thought it is loud! I wonder if their whole culture is so loud and over bearing!" He said as he composed himself reciting a short pray to calm him as he formulated a proper response.

"You do not need to express your thoughts with such intensity! I can ascertain your thoughts quite well enough. As of present you need not worry about you current location. You are safe here as I have been caring for you ever since you arrived through the Crossgate. I must comment that it is surprising that..." Though that was as far as he got. He had planned a long response and was pleased with what he would say to the alien. However before he got any further, Adric interrupted.

"What are you talking about? Are you talking I am not location Earth anymore? Additional what do you know about how I got away? And for Religious afterlife sake! What happened to me and why I am so physical damaged?" At this, Darnethlil nearly lost his temper. Inside he was frustrated at the continual rudeness of the alien. It shouted at him in jumbled and poorly worded thoughts that could be more easily understood with a bit of patience; it had no respect for letting him finish speaking, and it almost seemed to imply that he was responsible for it's condition.

Darnethlil held his temper, though just barely. He arranged his wings in one of the most frightful gestures he could think of and glared at the creature. He chose his words carefully as he struggled against his primitive urge to rip the throat from the alien for his disrespect and rudeness.

"If you are somehow implying that I abducted you on my own account, you are grievously mistaken in your assumption. I know not from where you came from or how to return you to such a location, only that you were near death when you arrived and that your caretaking has used up my precious time and resources! " Adric froze with the stern look the alien now glared at him with.

It was one thing to listen to someone yell at you, quite another to have the words directly blasted into you mind. Adric tried to calm down, trying not to think about the once caring eyes of the dragon, which had taken on an expression of malevolent rage. His thoughts whirled with questions and confusion. It was all too much for Adric, who was still getting used to realizing his car was a hopeless wreck, let alone being teleported to another planet. He calmed himself down enough to try and speak to the alien again.

"Can you at least tell me where I am? " There was a long pause and then a strange look came over Darnethlil. But he never got a response as Darnethlils face suddenly went blank.

"Xarth! I'm late; the forces must of started ten clicks ago! " Adric looked confused, not realizing what was happening as the creature spoke in a series of high pitched clicks and trills.

"Are you talking to me? " he tried to think but he got no response. Hurrying to catch up for lost time; Darnethlil yanked the ring from his forehead and grabbed a sack from the ground as he bolted towards the door. Adric turned around, he had a huge headache all of a sudden and blinked as he saw him head for the door.

"Hey wait a minute! What's going on, where do you think are you're going?" He barked aloud in a loud, angry voice. Darnethlil whirred on his small feet and glared at Adric

"STOP ASKING QUESTIONS AND BE SILENT!"

The last thoughts boomed into his head with a direct forceful blast. And before he knew it, the door was locked and Adric was alone.

He lay back into the bed for a moment with a hand to his pounding head. The events of the last few moments beginning to sink into his mind as he recalled his bizarre benefactor and the curious surroundings. Looking up at the arched wooden roofed, his mind conjured up a clichéd phrase, '"Toto, I don't think were in Kansas any more.'"

"That could be a vast understatement." Adric said as he shifted, attempting to get comfortable with his deeply burned body. Trying to lift his head up slightly, he looked to the small table to his right and noticed something familiar. Lying on the table next to him was the burnt remains of his wallet, cell phone and his wristwatch. Straining to move his arm the short distance, his skin stinging maddeningly, he slowly picked up the remains of his wallet.

The plastic cards inside had melted into a solid mass, the various bills of money where deeply burnt around the edge and the wallet itself seemed to crumble in his hand. Setting it down less he destroy it further, he turned to pick up the wristwatch. The outer casing seemed blackened and the rubber melted in places, yet as he looked at the small screen in it, he realized it was still functioning. He blinked as he checked the date.

Dec 26, 2011. 2:38 pm. Four days. He had been out for almost four days before he had regained consciousness and he now tried desperately to think what had transpired during that time. His first thoughts turned to his family.

"Four days ago I was supposed to be home for Christmas, then a Semi hit my car, and then I woke up here. And wherever here is, it probably isn't somewhere that will let me get home." Adric thought to himself as the full magnitude of his situation sunk in. Not his situation, but his parents, his brothers, his friends. He had vanished, his car smashed, and no clue or evidence as to what happened to him. The police would be called, his mom would worry, his dad would fume, and Christmas...

Adric couldn't take it. He tried to calm down, couldn't, and began to sob. His heaving chest only making his bandages stretch and his burns ache as he wept. That he was somewhere with dragon like beasts, where they seemed to be able to read his mind and that something had caused him to be terribly burned and wounded didn't help at all. The great glow of moonlight upon him caught his attention as for the first time he noticed a window and looked outside at the sky.

The sky was strange, the stars where different, and a moon many times more massive then his own filled the night. It was not his sky, and he could no longer ignore that he was on another world.

He pulled a blanket around himself and wept bitterly.

***** ***** ***** ***** CHAPTER THREE ***** ***** ***** *****

Darnethlil was not happy, and feeling himself angered made the situation all the more upsetting. He had spent entirely too much time with the creature and was nearly late for the rendezvous with his clan members. While he wished to help the creatures needs, the needs of his clan, where paramount.

Moving as fast as he could, his broad shoes barely touched the ground as raced down the side of the hill. His wings spread out, aiding his speed and balance, as he made short gliding hops. While large and impressive visually, his race had long ago lost the ability of total flight, and quick hops across the ground where about all the functionality that was left in them, at least, as far as flying was concerned.

Picking up his pace, he leaned forward to climb up the soft grassy slope of the next hill in front of him, hoping his clan-mates would wait for him. After spending more than three days healing and nursing his guest, he had neglected his other duties to the resistance.

Such a strange word to use he thought, resistance; It seemed an absurd idea to wage war when everything you knew, everything your people knew, and had lived by for thousands of years, held the act of violence as something never to commit. Even under such circumstances, with his world held hostage, he dreaded the very notion of killing another. The teachings of his faith and the words of the "Hashnaya" would mark him as being no better than the Empire should such a thing take place.

Tonight, all of this would be put to the test. After a few timid, anonymous acts of vandalism and thievery, tonight would be their first act of bodily violence. He knew that during the day, a task force of Imperial soldiers, Qwintoni, had established a forward survey camp in the next valley. Tomorrow another group would arrive with electronic equipment, equipment that could detect radio signals and could even detect gamma radiation. Darnethlil would could ill afford such a thing, especially now. He would have to act tonight, and would have to be successful.

Coming over the crest of a hill, Darnethlil saw the camp bellow and the few lights that where still active. A few solders where outside, most where inside. In his mind he could count them all, identifying each ones presence, before locating those of his clan-mates. They where ready and waiting for him.

From far away, yet clear in his mind, he could make out each of those who had attended tonight. He conveyed his thanks at their arrival, and patients in waiting for him, at such a distance he did not expect to be able to convey full thoughts, or hear any for that matter, he was glad to be wrong.

"Greetings and welcome to you Darnethlil! I am honored to be here to serve the leader of the Lonti, as are all of us!" Darnethlil heard suddenly in his mind over the great distance; looking out over the hills suddenly surprised, he felt for a while, and with no mistakes, knew it was Mekal who had contacted him. He meditated for a moment before sending instructions, knowing now he would be heard.

"Thank you for your greeting Mekal, I am pleased you chose to join us, it will be useful. Inform the others to use the weapons only if absolutely necessary, and than only in non-vital areas. Though off-worlders, these are people who spent their lives learning to kill, we must not forget that they shall be more relaxed in battle then we." He bespoke as clearly as he could. Using the time waiting for the response to pray for his actions. Soon a response came.

"Of course I will remember your warning, Toranth agrees, as do the others." Darnethlil was glad Mekal had come, that he wished to participate. The youth was talented far beyond his years and could coordinate the thoughts of others farther then anyone he knew. Under such circumstances it was much easier to bespeak orders by thought than using clumsy tools such as radios.

"Mekal, since you are here, you know what is wished of you, the vessels of gas they use for fuel, once they are away from it, send it aflame, we shall need such a distraction. Darnethlil relayed as he surveyed the tanks of hydrogen used for their fuel-cells, knowing with Mekal, the spontaneous ignition of them would provide a perfect cover if they needed it.

"Of course Darnethlil! I have longed for such a night! Let us go let us go!" Mekal relayed almost excited at was about to happen as everyone suddenly concentrated. A moment later the collective minds of the Qwintoni solders bellow cried out in pain as they ran from they camp. It was an act Darnethlil would try again and again to justify.

"For the Clans!!!" He screeched as from atop more then forty Trathalans winged down the steep valley cliffs. The short, brutal, mental attack upon the Qwintoni warriors was enough for them to close their distance without a shot fired. But it was all the time they got. Even Darnethlil was surprised at how quickly the twenty or so solders recovered, and even those that didn't where driven by the will to fend off what had attacked them. The sounds of gunfire rang out and in an instant Darnethlil knew how foolish the whole idea of a bloodless war was. He would not let it stop him.

As he watched the first of his people fall to the bullets of the solders, Darnethlil returned the gesture as he brought forth a dagger and pierced the shoulder of the first solder he met. Long practiced on dummies with stolen body amour, he knew the exact spots to which a blade could pierce, and did not hesitate to drive his blade forward.

Ripping the assault riffle from the injured warrior, Darnethlil watched, as others seemed to be swept up in the moment. Two and three of his clan members would be upon one of the faceless solders, driving forth a blade and disarming them. Even as he counted off the number of his clan-mates who had dropped from wounds and worse, he knew this battle was already his. And then he turned to see himself about to be shot.

The solder he had first pierced had recovered his gun, the knife wound bleeding furiously, it seemed to phase him little as he had removed his long conical helmet. Darnethlil saw has face, the face of someone he had tried to kill. Until now, he could dismiss them all as agents of evil, all as faceless, soulless solders, each one alike. He could comfort himself in this, and worry about such things as their families and friends later, but not any more.

He saw the long muzzle of the Qwintoni, his teeth snarling, his lips curled back, the large pierced ears atop splayed down as blood matted his short fur. The gun he held was pointed directly at Darnethlils face. Darnethlil simply froze.

"He is going to kill me, he will shoot me and it will be over, and in this moment I cannot bring myself to stop him, how could I have tried this?" He thought in the single instant they shared between them. A moment later he heard a noise, but not the one he expected. The tanks of Hydrogen exploded suddenly as Mekal let out a shout. The explosion sent out shrapnel in all direction as many fell near by. By the time Darnethlil gathered his wits, he realized the Warrior was dead, apiece of aluminum embedded in his head.

After that things ended quickly. Those solders that had been disarmed where bound and restrained, those that had been wounded where sedated by several others. A tall figure walked through the billowing smoke toward Darnethlil, seeing him, he began to make a tally.

"Kalinpel, Relinpel, Malthran and Kretha have serious wounds. Tedal has a broken wing and Oplum, may not live the night." A stern, imposing Trathalan said as he walked directly up to Darnethlil, throwing aside an assault rifle he has just used to his disgust before looking down.

"And, it seems we have killed now four of these beasts. Was it worth it Darnethlil?" Darnethlil looked at Toranth, his friend, his deepest ally, and the one most dubious about his actions. He couldn't bring himself to look into his eyes, but could not force himself to look down, at the face of the dead Qwintoni.

"It is never worth it, never. We have done what we had to do, and no doubt set into motion things we shall all regret till our last day. But that is what we must do. We sacrifice ourselves so our world may live." He said impassioned as the two fell silent for a moment before Darnethlil turned away.

"Where is Mekal?" He asked as Toranth turned away now.

"Coming to terms with what he has done." He said as he led Darnethlil away. The two watching as a line of rather shocked and perhaps humiliated warriors where led away. Looking to a group of in the middle of healing the wounded, Darnethlil suddenly leapt forward.

Mekal lay on the ground, his wings curled around him as he rocked back and forth, muttering incoherently. Toranth caught up to Darnethlil as he sighed.

"He became like that moments after forcing the gas vessels to erupt. One moment he shouted you where going to be killed, the next moment he began to scream that he had killed. Darnethlil, my clansman, my trusted one, we should not have used him for this." Darnethlil looked down and tipped his wings in agreement, yet realized had Mekal not acted, he would surely be dead.

"Come Toranth, it is time we took stock of what we have set into motion. The off-worlders will surely suspect our people, and there will no doubt be repercussion. We must be ready to be responsible for them. " He said as he began to walk away, Toranth following behind him as the others departed, carrying wounded and dead from both races.

Darnethlil watched it with disgust. No amount of meditation and pray would relieve him or the others of this, yet it was all they had to try and subdue their own emotions over such actions. Reading a full volume of the holy Hashnaya would not begin to calm his nerves. But it would be a start.

As they left, a flash illuminated the area from atop a hill.

"A Crossgate? I wonder if it is a sign." Toranth spoke softly as he watched, Darnethlil turning to him.

"Toranth, do you ever wonder what lays beyond them?"

"Beyond? Who has not wondered of such a thing? Perhaps the Inferno, perhaps the Paradise, it is something our people cannot enter though for it would only bring death." He said as he began to walk on, Darnethlil behind him.

"Perhaps, if we cannot enter, what if something else exited?" Darnethlil spoke under his breath.

***** ***** ***** ***** CHAPTER FOUR ***** ***** ***** *****

The sheets were still damp from his tears as Adric woke up. It had been about two hours since he cried himself to sleep, and now sat up in his bed coming to terms with things, in his hands where the burnt remains of his personal affects. Slowly he was going through them, as if groping for something familiar. His wallet was the first thing he looked through, and like virtually all of his affects, it was hopelessly burnt. His credit cards and ID cards were almost fully melted. The money was all burnt around the edges and crumpled as he touched it. Heaving a sigh he placed the wallet gingerly down on the polished wooden table next to the bed and noticed something.

It was the melted remains of his rather simple digital watch. Looking at the lump of half melted plastic and metal, Adrics heart quickened. For whatever reason he could not fathom the watch still functioned, reminding him once more of just how long at had been since he arrived. He turned the watch over as he tried to calm himself down. He tried for some time and failed. He tried to tell himself that worrying wouldn't do any good that he had to come to grips with what had happened. It wasn't helping things.

He slumped back in the bedding as he examined the round wooden door in front of him and wondered if he could get out. The thought of escaping however didn't seem too prudent; he still had wounds over much of his body and could barely walk. Not only that but where would he escape to if he was on some other planet? As Adric sat back down on the bed he wrapped a blanket around himself "There has got to be some answers around here." He looked at the room he was in, for the first time really noticing the size of it.

It was at least nine feet to the ceiling and probably fourteen feet across. The biggest thing he noticed was the wood. It seemed the whole room was made out of it. For one thing, all the walls, even the ceiling, seemed covered in wood panels. On either side of him, was a large wooden desk, elaborately carved. On one of the desks was a large box with a door. Next to this was an old-fashioned oil lamp that gave off a soft light. The floor was carpeted in thick fur rugs. Looking at them he decided to try his feet. Steeling himself for the pain, he slowly moved his legs toward the floor.

"Aarrrrgggg!" He grumbled as he felt his skin crack as he moved. His whole body felt as if it had been dipped in wax, and every time he moved it stretched and pained him. Still he slowly eased himself down onto the rug, the wooden floor underneath creaked as he carefully walked on it.

It took him a while to steady himself against the desk as his eyes adjusted. In front of him, built as an arch around the door, was a large bookshelf containing volumes of large colorful books. Looking at them his body reminded him of its condition, less then a minute or so was all he could stand as he sat back in the q wooden chair, the same one the dragon had first been in when he woke up. He chuckled, then wished he hadn't as his lips ached.

"It is impossible, utterly impossible. He can't really be a dragon, I'm not even on Earth, and he has to be some sort of alien." He pondered the evolutionarily improbabilities of such a creature, but it only wound up giving him a headache.

He decided to get his mind off this by taking a look at one of the books. He slowly got up, winced and grunted aging in pain as his body told him he really should not be moving, and removed the closest books he could get at before falling back in the chair. The first thing he noticed when he opened the book was the writing. Staring at it for just a few moments made his eyes hurt. It looked like Chinese, but highly more elaborate, vast stretches of elegant characters and symbols with no two looking the same. Shaking his head and blinking his all too quickly watery eyes, he moved on to simply look for pictures.

After some time he had finished leafing though the few books he removed and struggled to return them. Adric carefully placed the book back into carved wooden bookshelf, trying to make sure its disturbance would not be noticed. He had looked through about three of them, being careful with their worn cloth covers, and was trying to piece together some of the information he had found. As he had suspected, the written was impossible to guess at, but he had found some useful pictures. In the first book there was a detailed map of what might the planet he was on, if it was it seemed much smaller then his own, at least by land mass. One large continent seemed to be on the east, while a variety of small continents, almost oversized islands, seemed to make up much of the rest of the world. Pictures of other aliens in various robes and colorful garments were abundant in most of the books. But near the end, he found something that caught his attention.

He nearly missed it at first, but when he took a second look there was no mistake. Near the end of the third book was a series of paintings of what had to be a dirigible of some sort. It wasn't so much that it held an uncanny resemblance to a blimp that bothered him, it was the fact that it looked like it had been painted several hundred years ago, and the background had it in space, or at least what he thought was space. It reminded him of the flat painting style used in medieval times just before the renaissance and was hard to make out. Of course, for all he knew, this was the way most of their art was. Lying back down in the round bed, he closed his eyes and rested.

Suddenly, he heard the main door at the entrance open as something came inside. Adric craned his neck back, being careful not to strain his bandages, to see what had entered. Peering down a hall from the bed, he caught a glimpse of the alien in an adjacent room.

Darnethlil stopped; he just stood for a while in the doorway before entering. At that time, Adric was the last thing on his mind. He slammed the brightly painted door behind him as he hurled the sack of Imperial low yield rifles next to a wall. Adric cringed suddenly, he didn't know why it seemed so upset, but he knew he didn't want to get in its way. As Darnethlil marched down the hall, his wings waved in anger. Passing his room where the injured creature was he let a raptoric hiss.]

---"The fool! The young and reckless fool! He knew how dangerous it was to ignite an object from that distance! And he knew that all of us, no matter how gifted we are, must properly meditate before attempting any sort of mental ability." Darnethlil stopped. When he had left the scene of the battle, he had felt more depressed than angry over the needless death. However on his trip back home, he constantly dwelled on how reckless Mekal had acted. He knew how pointless it was to dwell on the past, but he had gotten upset all the same. He breathed deeply and tried to meditate, hoping to get a hold on his rage. Yet he couldn't focus or concentrate enough to calm himself and this just added to his frustration. Realizing his anger was getting the better of him, and that he would have to curtail it immediately he decided to go to his Tear room.--

Opening the door, Darnethlil looked at the flight of stairs leading down. Mad as he was, he simply jumped the short fifteen feet down to the bottom. Once down he lit candles to add some light as he looked about his Tear room. His father had often joined him here after a Clan dispute or to settle a family argument. For Darnethlil, and all other Trathalans, it was the one place where they could fully vent their anger.

The room was large, the ceiling almost twice Darnethlils height. Several colorful banners hung from the wall, inscribed with the names of the past Lonti Clan leaders. He looked in front of him were he had written his name and hung it next to the others. Feeling once more upset at how pointless his title was during these dark times.

Near by, to one side of him stood a trio of cloth Qwintoni statues. He appreciated their life like appearance and grinned in anticipation. Although as much as he wanted to relieve his anger he knew he had to stop and at least pray first. Taking a handful of mixed salts from his pocket, he threw it around himself before recanting one of his favorite prayers from the Hashñaya. With formalities out of the way now, he could get down to business.

Letting lose with an ear splitting cry he began with a flip as his foot smashed into the first and closest of the models. The weight of his body crushed it into the floor where he proceeded to brutality Eviscerate it's fabric insides. Bits of cloth, leather and hide where cast wide as he shrieked. Extending the talons on his hands to their full length, he slashed at the second, quickly decapitating the head before reaching down into the neck and ripping out the faux organs he had so carefully made from bits of fabric. Leaving the first two in heaps of rubble, he charged and leaped at the third, using his wings to slow his decent, clasped his feet around the dummies neck. Digging his talons in deep he pulled it to the ground with him before using his tail to impale the cloth Qwintoni through the heart. Landing next to the now mortally wounded statue Darnethlil drew himself up and smiled. Breathing heavily, he heaped the remnants of the three cloth statues into a corner as he thanked Crie for his newfound calmness. Coolly walking up the stairs, he meditated, successfully this time and with great ease.

Adric however was not so relaxed. As soon as the alien had walked out of sight, a cry, like some hideous monster, made his hair stand on end. The tearing and slashing sounds of what, he did not want to find out, made him cringe even more. Yet just moments later, that same creature walked into the room with the most placid and calm expression Adric had ever seen.

Darnethlil sensed that his patient had been terribly frightened by the cries and violent exercise in the Tear room and to his horror realized how terrified he must of made the injured creature, he extended his hand and handed it a translator. Carefully taking the ring, Adric attached it to his forehead.

He blinked as he was hit with a slight moment of disorientation. When his head cleared, he once again heard the thoughts of the alien in his mind.

"I ask your humble forgiveness for my recent actions. I had failed to consider how you might respond to how I relieve my anger." Adric wasn't to concerned with that, just so long as it wasn't taken out on him. He sat up as it continued to speak in a quiet, placid tone.

"I realize you are from another world and that my customs and way of life shall no doubt appear strange to you. Never the less, I feel it is my duty to heal and make you feel welcome. For as long as you stay here my home shall be yours" Adric had to sit and think about how he was being treated by the alien, eh dragon, thing... It had saved his life, put up with his questions and tolerated his 'apparent' rudeness. And after all this, the dragon like creature still continued to make Adric feel at home. Adric thought about this until something more important entered his thoughts. He remembered he hadn't eaten in almost three days.

Darnethlil was trying to make sense of what the creature was thinking. He could feel that it was confused, but couldn't understand why. The next thought he felt through the translator was more clearly understood. Hunger. Realizing as diligent as he had been healing it, he had completely forgot to feed his patient!

"I am terribly sorry for neglecting to keep you fed. I shall remedy my mistake immediately." With that Darnethlil left Adric and headed to his kitchen. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what it ate, or if the food he normally consumed might be poison to it. Darnethlil decided he didn't have much of choice, since he wasn't about to simply let it starve. After first fixing himself a meal, he prepared a small amount of meat, with two spiced bread rolls before walking back to the his patient.

Adric smelled the food from down the hall and sat up in the round bed. As the alien walked back into the room, Adrics mouth watered at the savory smells. Placing one plate next to Adric and the other on a near by table for himself, Darnethlil gestured once more in apology with his wings before waiting for his guest to begin eating.

Adric meanwhile studied the food that had been placed in front of him. On one side was sweet smelling bread that looked like a rolled up pancake. To the other side was a well-cut slab of meat. Figuring the bread was meant for desert, he went to the meat when he noticed a lack of both forks and knives.

Darnethlil, who was still waiting for his guest to eat, couldn't fathom as to why it simply stared at the meal he had placed in front of it. He knew it wouldn't be proper for him to start eating first, but by now, Darnethlil thought it didn't matter that much. Throwing protocol out the window, and letting his stomach get the better of him, Darnethlil grabbed his meal and began tearing into it.

Adric, who was just about to ask what he was supposed to eat with, got his answer. He stared as he saw the dragon begin savagely devouring its meal. The delicate looking fingers seemed to turn into talons in the blink of an eye as they slashed at the meat before immense teeth sliced it into small chunks.

Darnethlil quickly realized he was being stared at and turned to look at Adric. Seeing his wide-open mouth, he realized why it couldn't eat. The creature's teeth, in comparison to his own, were terribly small. He wondered how its race could survive with such primitive eating tools. Soon he caught himself, quite to his own surprise, staring rudely back at it. Before he could stop or give it a second thought, he found himself asking.

"Are all your teeth that small?"

Adric was a bit surprised at the question. He hadn't thought something as unimportant as teeth would interest the dragon. Darnethlil looked back from the meal, that word again "Dragon" He had been called it ever since the creature awoke, and thus far he could only interpret it as 'monster'. He sighed and ruffled his wings.

"My self name is 'Darnethlil' off-worlder. Perhaps it is something I should have learned to you upon your awakenment, but your awakening was ill planned and I regret not having the time needed to properly communicate with you." Adric paused at this, after all his time here he finally knew its name. It was odd, all the times he had heard it 'speak' it always came out as hisses and screeches. Yet his name, his words, came to his mind so easily.

"I called 'Adric' I live world of dirt" Adric responded, or at least tried to. The 'translator' being far from ideal on his end, he sighed as he realized he must have been sounding like a child to the dragon, or 'Darnethlil'. Darnethlil simply chuckled, or what passed for a chuckle from his mouth.

"You need not overly concern yourself with your thoughts, I can, mostly understand your mind. But your planet does seem to have a curious name."[/i] Adric glared back. His brain thought out again "Earth" but all that was understood was "dirt" he paused, realizing how literally the translator seemed to take things, Earth DID mean 'dirt'. He tried "Terra" next, but it seemed to have the same result, finally he looked back up.

"Gaea"[/i] he thought, and it seemed to come across. Darnethlil nodded "Gaea, world mother, a good name. You may know my world as "Trathala" Adric nodded, though he was still annoyed, unlike Darnethlil, he seemed to receive no clues or meanings on words. 'Trathala' might mean dirt as well for all he knew. Darnethlil seemed to chuckle once more and quickly interjected.

"It means 'gift of the holy one' to us in our most ancient tongue, and we are his people." Adric nodded, though he seemed a bit uncomfortable, he wasn't exactly a religious person, but didn't pay it too much mind. He finally had a chance to simply talk, to learn. Yes he was on another planet, and yes he seemed to be having dinner with a dragon. But he had for the most part accepted these absurdities so far, and now he wanted to know more.

With the ice broken as it were, the two began to relax and discuss one another's worlds. Darnethlil making jabs and criticism about the violence, politics and a great many other things of Adrics world, and Adric, realizing he seemed to be in a pre electric, pre industrial revolution, civilization that prided itself on fierce religious obedience and a fanatical pacifism.

By then, Darnethlil had found a knife for his guest to finish his meal for which Adric thanked him. After cleaning up, the Trathalan let out a low sigh and eased back into a chair. Draping his wings around himself, he listened to the tales of the far away world Adric had come from. Although he did not mention it, he found it surprisingly similar to his world's own dark, and ancient past. After a time Adric seemed less and less interested in his world, asking more of the world he was now at. Darnethlil seemed to hesitate now, almost reluctant in discussing things further. Yet Adric pressed, perhaps a bit too earnestly, and it was then that Adric first found out about the war.

" Your arrival upon my world is at a poor time I am afraid young Adric, we seem to be in the middle of a great war between aggressors from off world." Adric looked up, he felt himself run cold, landing on an alien planet was one thing, landing in the middle of an alien war was quite another.

[i] "Your world attacked, not from your people, from another world? In space vessels?" Darnethlil leaned back and gave his wings a short flap in confirmation. He had wondered how best to let his visitor know of his dire situation. Though he wanted the alien to simple rest and heal himself, free of worry, insulating him from the world outside was foolhardy.

"You should know that it would seem the space we live in is, crowded. Five races have come down from the stars to us. Over thirty of our 'years' ago, three races came to us, the called themselves 'The Alliance' They were brutish, arrogant and overbearing, they saw us as primitive and arrived to 'enlighten' our people." Adric listened, holding his tongue, if these were extra solar racers, that had mastered planetary travel, well wouldn't it make the Trathalans', primitive? He thought he caught a glance from Darnethlil before he continued.

" We did not wish their presence upon our world, and at that, they did respect us. We sent a small family with them, 'ambassadors' they called it, as a sign of faith. After that, they spread out into the rocks beyond our world and left us in peace." Adric listened, caught on his every word, well, every 'thought' as it were. The throbbing ache in his body from the burns faded for the first time in ages as he became focused on the unwinding story.

"After such a long time we grew relaxed, word was exchanged with the aliens but once a solar year, and we thought little of them, until the others arrived. I remember many of us noticed a new star growing in the sky, it was dim, but grew brighter over the course of many days. I know now that this was a ship, a great rock they somehow used to journey here from their own world far awhile. When they came, there was no attempt to talk, no attempt to understand or speak of our wishes. They came as conquers; landing in our cities from the sky." Darnethlil paused as he leaned back, his wings slumping around himself. Adric could see the pain in his eyes, he wasn't sure if it was the device he wore or something else, but he could sense an immense overwhelming sense of both sadness, and rage and what would come next.

"How great numbers did aliens kill? How wide destruction of cities?" Adric asked, trying to understand just how desperate the situation around him was. Darnethlil looked at him, eyes at his eyes.

"There seemed no reason to it, no logic. Great lights fell form the sky, devastating the largest settlements of our people. One by one each of our leaders went to them and begged them to stop. I think it was the only time they bothered to listen to us. Of course, not all gave in Adric, and this is perhaps what you should know most of all. My Father, for he was leader before me, resisted, he stood against the invaders, and was killed because of it. And it is his cause, that I have taken up." Darnethlil said, standing at last from the table, finished with saying anything else, anger creeping into him, which he did not wish to meet with so soon.

Adric's mind still boggled at the situation as he watched the dragon leave. His head was filled with question and wonder, all he could think about was the other races. If they had come to this world, surely both powers must have means of space travel, could it, just possible be he might have a way home? He shock his head, such timid hopes he couldn't let consume him.

Any chance to reach the people who might have access to a 'starship' was blocked by the simple fact that a far more unpleasant group occupied the world he was on, which he guessed would not be sympathetic to his plight.