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The Newlande Legacy

by Dragon Knight Arkwright

Chapter One - Phonis: Life on Newlande

"It is the eve of the 200th year that we have lived upon the surface of this wondrous land we all call home, and all those of you that dwell within the capital live in prosperous fulfilment. Yet as you go blindly in your day to day existence you cannot see that which is happening all around you, the Council would have you believe all is right and tranquil, but i have seen the truth. This world we all think of as a haven is nothing more than a veil, i have seen what this world truly is... the doorstep to the great darkness. It stirs just beyond our gaze, but believe me it is there and it will come to swallow all that you know. It is coming, i have seen it."

The Dragon had been stood at the street corner for about 3 hours preaching some insane nonsense about the coming Darkness, some people stopped to listen while others just walked by shaking their heads at the possible psycho. One listener stood and regarded the dragon for a while while he listened, he didn't believe what he was saying but found it interesting none the less. He may have been young but history was one of his many passions and he had never heard of anything of what the dragon was preaching and he'd heard a lot. From strange creatures to simple Civil conflict, he had no doubt that Newlande was an interesting place to live, but the threat of an unseen darkness was just a touch too... fantastical. It was the kind of thing that only happened in movies, books and video games, and as with any young fantasy fanatic he wished life could be more like a video game, to be some warrior hero out to defend the world from evil. He chuckled to himself at the thought and reminded himself of reality and he'd probably just end up working with his dad as a mechanic. As the dragon continued to preach the worlds inevitable doom a team of Security officers led by what appeared to be a Vanguard stepped into view and crowded in front of the old dragon.

"Okay folks keep it moving, nothing more to see here." One of the officers instructed.

As the small crowd began to disperse the Vanguard restrained the dragon and was probably reading him his rights, a little more tactful than the usual situation handling by a Vanguard who usually inflict pain before the reading of rights. As he watched his ears perked up as he heard steps moving in his direction. He turned to see a friend of his coming to stand beside him.

"A Vanguard huh, you don't see them everyday... that guy snatch a purse and Security was just dying for help or what?" He asked,

"Hey Brish, nah, that guy was just going on about how we're all gonna die in the inevitable black abyss that is coming."

"You don't half attract some weird ass people Phonis..." Brish said with barely hidden sarcasm,

"I know, just think if i didn't i wouldn't be here telling you now would i?" Phonis shot back with a sly grin,

"Okay i'll give you that one, but be prepared for retaliation. I'm gonna cook up a scorcher." Brish replied sweeping his hand in front of himself,

"Lemme know in a week how it's going, anyway i think we better get going if we wanna get to school in time." Phonis said.

As they walked to school Brish had to work a little harder to keep up with Phonis' brisk pace. It was only just over 200 years ago that them being friends would've been considered taboo since they were from different races. Brish was human and Phonis was an Animorph, a term used to describe the half human half animal beings. It was incorporated after people got confused when they were referred to as Furry's as it also was used to describe a hobby or lifestyle some humans took to. Phonis was just over five and a half feet in height, he just seemed taller because of his ears. It was said that the hatred to Animorphs existed openly right up to the founding of Newlande, not everyone likes them but it's only a minority according to surveys... even going as far as saying 1 in 3 humans prefer dating one than one of their own species. Brish had never considered it, thought of it on the same terms as making out with Santa Claus and it always made him wanna hurl.

"You finish your history report last night?" Brish asked with a pleading look on his face,

"As i always do... and by the look on your face i'm guessing you forgot Hmmmm?" Phonis probed tactlessly,

"It was the BarrelBall Tournament Finals, how could i miss it... i got more or less all of it done last week, just needs a bit of extra pep." Brish defended,

"History isn't till third, i guess i can help you out... again." Phonis said letting out a defeated sigh,

"Your the best bunny pal a guy could have." Brish said as he kissed him on the cheek roughly and ran off,

"Gross... that shit was funny when we were younger!" Phonis shouted after him and headed off to class.

Until History began at third period Phonis had to endure his two most hated subjects, maths and Phys Ed... he didn't hate Phys Ed generally... he just always seemed to be a target of a barrage of dodge balls on a weekly basis and it was starting to grate on him. As he sat watching the teacher prattle on about Algebra and such he was just wondering about what would be next in history, he'd gained a good student/teacher relationship with the history teacher who had a passion for time gone events as he did and she always told him about something else she'd just read up on or something she'd heard about. He sat for a minute and wondered what about it he found so interesting and came to the conclusion that it was learning about stuff that happened and what it must've been like to experience it. His favourite area was Avalonian history, Dragons seemed to have had the most interesting stuff happen and he found it fascinating. While he was pondering this the classroom door suddenly opened and there were a group of security officers led by another Vanguard in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt your lesson sir but we believe one of your students has been sighted displaying magical abilities and we need to take her into protective custody." The Vanguard said sweeping the room with a strange device.

He stopped the device in front of a girl sitting at the front of the class and waved the security team inside to secure her, she tried to resist them insisting that they had the wrong person but they began to drag her out of the room.

"You can't do this to me, lemme go." She cried,

"Under section 33c of the Council Code Directives we are authorised to hold you for a period of 48 hours to ascertain the presence of magic potential or not." He said to the girl then turned to the teacher, "Thank you for your co-operation, return to your lesson."

The rest of the lesson was a half-hearted attempt at learning, with most of the students and probably the teacher in shock at what had just happened. It wasn't unheard of for people to be dragged in for having magic potential but since most usually volunteered themselves it was rare to actually witness someone basically being arrested. After the lesson he briefly met with Brish in the hallway and told him of what had happened, Brish seemed to be as stunned about it as he was but had to put it on hold as the bell rang for his next lesson... maybe ducking and weaving incoming rubber balls would help get his mind of things. He'd hoped any way, for the first 20 minutes of the lesson there was no actual activity as everyone was too busy discussing the events from earlier, Phonis didn't know if he was glad to be getting out of Phys Ed or worried that this experience would mess up the whole day. He decided not to dwell on it much longer, as he knew he'd get something worthwhile out of his next lesson.

As much as he tried to push the mornings events out of his mind and focus on his favourite lesson he was still drawn to the fact someone was basically abducted from school... so what if it was legal it was still abduction. As everyone filed into the classroom the teacher gave Phonis a quick smile and went back to the large folder on her desk, Brish strolled in and sat down behind Phonis.

"Thanks for the extra notes, i managed to finish my report in Geography... not like there's much Geography to learn, Civilisation, Civilisation and big ass uncharted territory." Brish said quietly,

"Good to see you've got your schooling in perspective." Phonis whispered back,

"My parents think they should be teaching us the Geography of Earth too... so i had to remind them that the continental boundaries on Earth have changed more times than my mind on a multiple choice quiz." Brish whispered even exaggerating the sarcasm in his hushed voice,

"Hard to believe they all get on now, it was only 400 or so years ago they were all trying to kill each other." Phonis said.

The teacher stood up and hushed the class and asked everyone if they had their reports ready to hand in before they started. With everyone holding up their reports the teacher collected them and returned to her desk and then set the lessons criteria on the board and asked everyone to open their books to the designated pages. The lesson was interesting enough for Phonis, although it was something he'd already covered himself, there were enough bits he hadn't covered to peak his interest. The lesson was over way too quickly for him, he always thought to himself, other lessons should be short and this one should be longer, but he knew wishing it would never make it true. As the other students piled out the door Brish waved him to let him know he was going for lunch, Phonis walked up to the teachers desk and wondered if she had anything more interesting since last week.

"Heya Teach, anything good since last week." He asked,

"Nothing regarding my last batch of research, but i've been looking more into other things... mainly how the past can spill into the present." She replied,

"Intriguing... what've you been looking into then?" He asked genuinely intrigued by this different angle,

"Looking into what we know about the last Avalonian war, seems like there is still one of the fabled Knight Guardians still around today. As much as they want you to believe they're all gone now, looks like their may be one still hanging around here on Newlande." She said,

"But if that's true how did you find out about it... i would've thought an individual such as a Knight Guardian would be like super hush hush classified... aren't they supposed to be like super powerful almost Godlike Dragons summoned only during the war?" Phonis pondered,

"Like i said i'm looking into it, it may be true, might not be... but wouldn't it be an amazing opportunity to get to know what really happened during the period. I mean the four Guardians were the ones at the front of the battle and the only ones to enter the black tower." She grinned with barely contained glee,

"First hand telling of the last great battle... would be definitely worth a go if the chance ever arose, but i thought all four of the Guardians survived the war... how can only one of them be around today, aren't they ageless?" Phonis asked quizzically,

"The story goes, that three of them ascended to the Astral Kingdom after their work was done. The last decided to stay behind to build a life among the common folk." She replied,

"Any idea why anyone would give up the chance of ascension to live among regular folk?" Phonis asked raising an eyebrow,

"Now that is a question i don't know the answer to, wanna find out... better find this Guardian and ask it." She said with a hint of dry humour,

"Yeah like i'm gonna find a living legend that doesn't want to be found." Phonis grinned,

"You always wanted to do something extraordinary and become a part of the history you love so much." She smiled back,

"In fancy it sounds great, but unfortunately we live in reality and i gotta face the fact i'm gonna end up doing something boring for about twenty years till i shoot myself out of said boredom." Phonis groaned as he turned to leave,

"Maybe next time you'll have something fun to tell me." She said as he left.

At the end of the school day Phonis set off home sans Brish as he had to go do whatever it is Brish did that was all secretive on Wednesdays. When he made it home he checked the roster to see if he had any deliveries tonight, turns out he had a few. Some of his deliveries were fairly straightforward and fairly close to each other so he suspected he'd be done within a couple of hours, Phonis worked as a part-time courier it wasn't the most glamourous job but it paid pretty well and his boss, a dragon called Ketrell was a pretty okay guy treated Phonis and his other employees like a close knit family than a workforce, Phonis thought it was the fact Ketrell didn't have a family of his own that he held them in that regard, it didn't matter because Ketrell was well connected and treated his business as a hobby rather than a business venture. He delivered his first two packages with little excitement befalling him but ended up running into Brish and a couple of other friends of his while on his way to the last destination.

"Hey there Brish, thought you were doing stuff in your secret lab on Wednesdays." Phonis said sarcastically,

"Thought about it but there's only so much science you can do in an afternoon... thought i'd just hang out today, thought you'd be busy running for Ketrell or i would've asked you to come." Brish said,

"I'd probably take you up on it but i got one more package left and it's gonna take at least another hour." Phonis said seriously wanting to unwind after a rather odd day,

"Well when you finish we'll be at Frangano's if you wanna join up later." Brish said thrusting his thumb over his shoulder indicating where they'd be,

"I'll do that, catch you in a while Brish." He said to Brish and with a courteous nod, "Ladies"

_The girls in the group let out a low giggle as they walked past and he could swear one of them was giving him the eye, a rather slender looking Tigress. With a slight grin at his natural charm he set off to his next destination with a little more haste than usual. _

With his last package delivered he began heading in the direction where Brish and the lovely ladies were waiting, he started running a quick scenario in his head about how he would introduce himself to the striped seductress when a rather frantic looking dragon ran into him while he wasn't looking. After picking himself up off the floor the dragon extended a hand to Phonis who was shaking his head at the shock of the collision.

"I apologise to you young one but i was a little distracted." The Dragon said picking Phonis up,

"It's alright, i guess we both were a little oblivious." Phonis said patting himself down,

"Still i'm usually more mindful of my surroundings." The Dragon said seemingly looking for something,

"Like i said no harm done, take it easy though... you don't wanna be knocking down old ladies or anything." Phonis said attempting humour,

The Dragon looked puzzled for a moment, "Oh, humour i see now... i'll be more careful i'm sure. But i must be away, good fortunes to you young one."

With that the Dragon took off again as if the conversation had never took place which made Phonis a touch irritated, however something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He walked over to the small black box on the floor and thought to himself "That Dragon must've dropped this." but he was now nowhere to be seen, he shrugged and put the box into his bag and carried onwards to where Brish was waiting thinking he could find the Dragon later with Ketrells help.

He found Frangano's without too much difficulty and headed inside, it was a youth club of some kind which he should've guessed as much and also wondered why he'd never been here before it actually looked pretty cool. There was all sorts to do, pool tables, arcade machines and even bowling alleys and a fairly large empty space where he guessed a lot of dancing took place when there was music... however it was still fairly early. He spied Brish talking to the girls he met earlier by the so called bar and decided to play it casually and coolly.

"Ah Phonis buddy ole pal, glad to see you could make it." Brish said playing up the scenario,

"Glad i could oblige such an invitation." Phonis agreed,

"Phonis i would like you to meet some friends of mine, this is Erden, Melville and Micah." Brish said pointing to each one of them in turn,

"Hey Guys." Phonis waved at them,

"And this is Valentia and Betinya." Brish said with a slight grin aimed at Phonis,

"A pleasure to meet you." Phonis smiled trying to be as charming as he could,

"This is my good friend and partner in crime Phonis Tobai." Brish said his words mainly aimed at the two girls,

"Also a pleasure." Said the slender Tigress Betinya.

They all spent the evening having as much fun as they could, with the occasional glance from Brish seeing if Phonis and Betinya were making any progress which Phonis concluded was Brish's plan from when he woke up this morning, going back to a conversation they had a week ago about Phonis' lack of dating experience. It was evident that Betinya was a little more than flirty towards Phonis, but he didn't care as she was very attractive and he had to admit he enjoyed the attention she was giving him. Despite all the attention he'd been getting from Betinya Phonis couldn't help but feel something was not right, like a cloud over his head, a cloud of wrongness waiting to descend, a thousand eyes burning into his back but when he turned round there was nothing. He tried to ignore it and maybe work some of his charm on Betinya, he spied the absence of the rest of the group and decided now was as good a time as any.

"So Betinya, i've never seen you around before, you just moved here or you live in the next district?" Phonis asked,

"I live in District Twelve but Valentia insisted that we go visit her ExtraNet friend, so we came." She said, with a slight sultry tone,

"How are you finding it here, everything you expected?" He asked with a subtle grin.

She walked up to him and put an arm round his waist and one hand on his chest and looked him in the eyes keeping her face fairly close to his.

"It has certain qualities i did not expect, but am delighted to have witnessed." she almost purred,

"I'm glad i could make your experience here enjoyable." Phonis said nervously slightly taken back with her sudden forwardness,

"Oh i'm sure you could make it more enjoyable hon, be right back." She said as she walked away slowly rolling her hips seductively as she went,

"By Zeus' Beard." was all Phonis could say as he watched her walk away.

Phonis sat down for a moment as he worked the hot blush out of his ears when Brish appeared seemingly out of nowhere and sat in front of him with his interrogation face.

"Hows things going buddy." He asked with barely contained enthusiasm,

"A lot better than usual... how the hell do you know these girls, no offence but i know your no Casanova." Phonis said inquisitively,

"Online dude, was totally honest about myself and everything, some people just wanna be friends... none of that perv bullshit. When i said i had a friend she insisted she bring hers." Brish said,

"This was all to hook me up with a girl?" Phonis raised an eyebrow,

"I can't believe you're complaining." Brish said looking a tad irritated,

"Actually i'm not... for once one of your plans seems to be working out well." Phonis grinned,

"I noticed, she looks about ready to eat you buddy." Brish said nodding enthusiastically,

"Probably one of the times i wouldn't mind being eaten." Phonis said the blush returning to his ears,

"Well there's still plenty of time to work your magic." Brish said standing up,

"Don't say that word, you wanna get me arrested." Phonis growled quietly,

"Not like your an actual magic user, just have a flair for swaying the females." Brish laughed,

"Then just say it like that... better safe than sorry." Phonis said,

"Kinda rolls off the tongue..." Brish started when he spied Betinya returning, "Speaking of rolling off the tongue, later bud."

"You always had my best interests at heart Brish." He said as Brish trotted off.

As Betinya returned Phonis stood up again, which she quickly grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him to the dance floor. Phonis wasn't all that great at dancing but then he wasn't interested in doing much of it once he saw Betinya start. He was just in awe at the way she moved, her slender form flowing like water over a stone, he had never seen such a limber lady, well he might have but never got a show as captivating as this. Once she got bored of dancing around him she grabbed hold of his waist and encouraged him to dance along with her, not one to decline such an offer he let her lead the way. After about twenty minutes of action packed dancing Betinya felt fatigued and collapsed into Phonis' arms which he thought was more of a ploy than fatigue, but what the hell did he care, here he was with a gorgeous Tigress in his arms. After she had regained her breath they walked off to a quiet corner, when Phonis sat down she sat in his lap and wrapped her arms round his neck.

"And so the trap is sprung." Phonis smiled at her,

"What can i say, it's hard to resist something so... tasty." She said comically licking her lips,

"How do you like your Phonis... roasted or..." He started to say as Betinya's lips collided with his.

The way she ground her lips against his was all that was stopping him from grinning like a six year old, he didn't know how the day had suddenly gone from average school day to making out with an attractive girl. He wasn't willing to question the ways of the universe because obviously things were going a lot better for him, he decided to stop analysing everything and just enjoy the the feeling of this girls tongue intruding into his mouth. As the kiss continued Phonis started to slip away into the proverbial 'happy place' where everything but Betinya who was now trying to extract his tongue with her own ceased to exist. However the kiss was suddenly broken by a voice coming from not far off, which got a discontented growl from Betinya. Brish appeared from round the corner with Valentia and Micah.

"Oh there you are buddy, we've been looking for you... last shuttle to Twelve is departing in fifteen minutes." Brish said, a look of apology apparent on his face,

"Brish wants us to come back this weekend... says he's having a barbecue." Valentia said to Betinya subtly trying to smooth things over with the rather irritated Tigress.

As Brish and the others started walking off Betinya got up off Phonis' lap and pulled him out of the corner she'd basically dug him into. She wrapped her arms around his waist again and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I had a lot of fun tonight, i hope you can make it this weekend... we can pick up where we left off." She smiled seductively,

"Yeah sure, i don't think there's anything i can't move aside for someone of your... special skills." Phonis smiled back,

"Oh you haven't seen half of my skills yet handsome." She said as she walked off again swaying her hips as she went,

"Hoo boy." Was all he could muster as he cocked his head sideways.

They had escorted the others to the awaiting shuttle station and it was waiting to go, while Brish was saying good bye to the guys and Valentia, Phonis was saying his own good bye to Betinya who just wanted another minute alone with him before having to go.

"I never expected to come here tonight and meet someone as charming as you Phonis." She said a hint of sincerity showing,

"I didn't even expect to come out tonight... but as it goes i'm glad i did, to have met someone like you Betinya." He said also showing his sincerity,

"You promise to show up this weekend... i'd hate to have to hunt you down." She replied with a slight grin, "Although that might be fun too."

"I can't think of anything that could possibly keep me away. And that's the truth." He smiled at her.

With a quick hug she rejoined her friends on the shuttle which was waiting for her and it took off heading back to District Twelve. Phonis watched as it disappeared into the distance and thought that this day was a turning point, from this point on his whole life was going to be different, he didn't know what was waiting when the sun rose the next day but he was going to face it with a renewed sense of purpose.