The Girl with the Silver Scales - Prologue

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So this is my first attempt at writing a story for the Whateley Universe. I originally started this several years ago but after a few chapters I found myself with serious writers block. Recent stories on here and on the Whateley site have encouraged me to reattempt the story. This is only the prologue. There is hopefully much more to come. Of course any help would be appreciated and if you spot any mistakes or issues don't hesitate to let me know. I will apologise in advance if I have made any mistakes with the lore. I have tried to keep it as correct as possible and where I am not sure I have tried to keep it as close as possible to the universe. Anyway that's enough from me. Please enjoy!

PROLOGUE

Somewhere beneath the Rocky Mountains – 1996

The beast awoke to the sound of something different. It had been a long time since anything but the sound of scratching or water disturbed it's sleep. Darkness surrounded her but she began to sense something new. Her long enforced sleep retreated quickly as the noises began again. Turning towards the source of the noise the creature watched as a small crack appeared in the wall of her prison. Light spilled through it and she could make out the outline of something strange poking through the hole. Swiping at this new intruder with her claws produced a cloud of blue sparks. The strange object was quickly withdrawn and the clattering noise of the new enemy quickly stopped. It was quickly replaced with something else new as voices began to speak from the other side of the wall.

“What the hell. Did we hit something?” someone asked.

“Not sure” a second man said. “Looks like we reached a cave” he stated.

“We'll check the damage later” a third man interjected “Leave it alone”.

“Almost looks like claws” one of the previous voices joked before all three voices faded away still discussing what they had found.

After a while there was movement and heavy breathing again from the other side of the wall. A bright light suddenly pierced the darkness as the humans moved their machine away from the hole they had made. Backing away from the light it began to move deeper into the cave but all the while the beasts icy blue gaze remained fixed on this intrusion into it's prison.

“Told you. Looks like a cave” one of the humans said. He sounded smug. “Bring up some more light so we can look around”.

The voices faded away for a second time and then returned. They were accompanied by a strange scraping noise. The creature's chest expanded as it prepared to roar at the intruders. However before it could let loose its challenge there was a clattering noise as rocks began to fall leaving an even larger hole in the wall.

The home of a member of the Mystic Six – 1996

A screaming artefact is not something you expect to hear at 2am in the morning even in the home of a powerful shaman but that's what woke Totem from his sleep. Tracing the source of the disturbance he stood up quickly and headed for his bookcase. Behind several old books he discovered the problem; An old stone statue, covered in dust lay on his shelf, staring back at him with it's lifeless eyes. Picking it up quickly he stood for a moment staring at the object in his hand. It took almost a minute before the memory surfaced. His eyes widening in sudden shock Charlie Lodgeman reached for the phone. If the wards had been broken then time was not on his side.

Somewhere beneath the Rocky Mountains – 1996

The beast heard the last of the rocks fall away from the hole the humans had made. She smelled four of them, all stinking of sweat, stone and metal. The humans began to enter through the hole they had made. Two of them lifted and dragged strange machines with them as they moved through the hole. The one who entered first swept a beam of light over the cave walls. The others followed and quickly spread out to explore the cave.

“Hey Jay come and check this out” one of the intruders said.

Two of the remaining humans turned back towards their friend but the other kept facing in the towards the corner where the beast crouched. It looked like the creature was about to be discovered but after a moment he also turned around and faced the others.

“What is it now?” he asked as the small group were all looking at something on the ground.

When they didn't answer he just sighed and turned back to scanning the walls with his light. Almost immediately there was a bright flash of silver as the light reflected back into the cave. All the men stopped what they were doing and faced in the direction it had come from. An unspoken conversation seemed to happen between the four of them as they all focused their torches on the corner

Again the light hit the beasts scales and silver spots danced off the walls and towards the intruders. However they kept their torches focused on the corner and started to advance towards it. As they watched a large head was lowered blinking in the light. Ice blue eyes stared at the four men who froze as they saw the origin of the reflection. Before they could speak the beast released the roar it had been holding in. Echoing off the walls it almost deafened everyone present. There was no hesitation. All four turned and ran back the way they came.

A rumbling sounded and a small burst of silver-blue fire came from the beasts mouth and shot towards the hole. However the humans dived through it before the it could reach them. Footsteps echoed up the tunnel heading towards the surface. The thing they had discovered didn't follow. The hole wasn't big enough for the creature to escape through but it could afford to be patient. It lay down and began to watch the hole through which freedom could be found.

A mining operation in the Rocky Mountains – 1996

Terry Campbell let out a yawn. He knew his shift was almost over and he longed for his nice warm bed. The night was quiet apart from the constant clanking of the machinery and the occasional howl of an animal. His eyelids were starting to droop but just as he was about to fall asleep, there was a loud banging on his door. Jumping to his feet he strode towards it. Pulling the door open he noticed four men standing in front of him. It took him almost thirty minutes to get the full story out of the group and even then he didn't believe them. They just kept babbling on about what they had seen down there. In a last ditch attempt to convince them Terry decided to head into the cave himself. After another twenty minutes he returned. He stood there in shocked silence as he tried to process what he had just seen. He reached out to grab the phone but suddenly he stopped, unable to decide what to do. Who the hell was he supposed to call about a dragon?

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Comments

Can't go wrong with dragons.

Podracer's picture

Unless of course you happen to assume that they think like humans. Heed the ketchup warning.

"Reach for the sun."

One should never

Trifle with dragons, for one is always good with cocktail sauce!

ohhh. I hafta...

Agree.. Dragons.. Whateley.. Good combination.. Don't keep us waiting!! we have ways to get that reluctant muse into cooperating..!!

alissa

More please.

Very nice start.