Gatekeepers Book 1: Darkness

“That’s enough, Draycos,” Theravor spoke softly as he looked down at the surprised young man. “You won the match as soon as that lightning hit the orc. Look; he’s already out cold.”

Theravor stepped to the side to allow Draycos to see what was before him. The orc had crumpled into a heap on the ground, clearly unconscious as his eyes had rolled into the back of his head and his mouth hung open.

“You won, Draycos,” Theravor repeated. Draycos continued to look at the scene for a few moments before his eyes glazed over. He fell face first to the ground, dead to the world from the massive outburst of magic he had displayed.

Back up in the top box, Vinzgar gave a low growl, looking between where Theravor stood in the arena and where the king had been sitting a split second ago. He thought of himself as Theravor’s greatest rival, but he didn’t even see Theravor move before he saw the king down in the arena.

He’s been holding back every time he participated in the Dragon King Festival, wasn’t he? Annoyance flared up in the back of Vinzgar’s mind. No one ever had a chance at winning against him; just how powerful is he?

While Vinzgar shook his head to rid it of these thoughts, most of the other dragons just now realized that their king was no longer in their presence. The head of the Vizard family, Zero, had a similar expression on his face to that of Vinzgar. Today, Zero wore a white tank top in addition to his normal attire. Zero shook his head in disbelief. That was too fast. Only Vinzgar and myself, and probably one or two others even noticed Theravor stand up from his throne. The next instant, he just vanished. He’s unbelievable…

“Huh? Where did Theravor vanish to?” Boreta questioned She continued to look around the room, searching for Theravor like most of the other dragons were doing.

Vinzgar snorted and pointed down at the arena. “He’s down there,” he announced. “Looks like he blocked that last punch Draycos threw before he ended up killing that orc. I’m not surprised Theravor managed that; he’s always been a monster among dragons.

Murmurings began to fill the air as the audience quietly conversed about the match they had just witnessed. Theravor remained where he was for a few moments before looking up into the stands, causing everyone to go silent.

“I realize that that was a dramatic opening match for all of you, but I think we can all agree that the outcome of this fight is apparent for all to see,” Theravor boomed in a loud voice. “Even though both prisoners are down, I declare that the victory in this match goes to Draycos!”

Draycos regained consciousness at the mention of his name. He lifted his head and saw Theravor still standing beside him, and the entire coliseum was quiet. Draycos flopped over onto his back and sat up, utterly exhausted.

“That was a great fight!”

Draycos’s head snapped to his right upon hearing a voice shout this. A young boy wearing tan-colored desert robes and brown sandals had stood up from his seat and cupped his hands around his mouth to make himself be heard. All the spectators around the boy turned and stared at him.

“I really had fun watching that!” the boy went on, giving Draycos a thumbs-up. “Go for it and win the rest of your matches! I wanna see you come out on top after seeing that awesome black lightning!”

Draycos and Theravor were dumbfounded upon hearing the child cheer for Draycos, identical expressions of shock on their faces. One person in the crowd began clapping slowly until another joined him, and then another. Loud applause and cheering gradually filled the air as the results of the match finally sunk in.

“They’re...cheering for me?” Draycos was too astonished by this development to fully comprehend what was happening. Theravor laughed.

“Well, that was a pretty flashy show you just put on,” he commented, reaching down and grabbing Draycos’s shirt collar between his thumb and index talons. He lifted Draycos up and got him on his feet. “It would be surprising if you didn’t get any fans after that display.”

Draycos looked around at the crowds still cheering at him. A smile broke out on his face as a rush of excitement bubbled up inside of him. A shaky laugh escaped from his mouth moments before he unceremoniously fell face-first in the dirt.

Well, that was not entirely unexpected. Theravor gazed down at Draycos’ motionless form, ignoring the sudden screaming from the MC at Draycos’ collapse. That’s to be expected after the initial rush of awakening one’s magic; his body has gone into shock from the results of having a rush of newfound power coursing through it.

The gate in front of Draycos’ waiting room lifted, allowing Vertex to walk out and join Theravor in the middle of the arena. His eyes darted down to Draycos before returning his gaze to Theravor and uttering a short snort. “It appears we won’t find ourselves with a moment’s respite while Draycos is around.”

“Indeed,” Theravor agreed. He focused his eyes on Vertex. “Can I trust you to carry the lad to the infirmary? Judging by the performance we just witnessed, he will require some rest before he can muster the energy to fight again.”

Vertex silently dipped his head towards the Dragon King before bending over and gently scooping Draycos up in one hand. “You know that we cannot leave him like this. If we don’t make an effort to teach him to control his magic, then--.”

“I am aware of what must be done,” Theravor interrupted Vertex quietly, his flat tone causing his advisor to fall silent. His tail slapped the ground a few times. “Needless to say, I will be making the necessary preparations for Draycos before his next match.”

Nodding at his king, Vertex turned around and walked out of the arena without a word, letting the gate slam shut behind him.

When Draycos regained consciousness, the first thing he became aware of was the mild pain pulsating throughout his body. Every muscle felt exhausted, as if he had just finished competing in a triathlon. With a groan, Draycos opened his eyes. He was laying in a bed in the now-familiar infirmary room. Just as before, Vertex stood next to his bed reading the same book as before. Vertex looked over the top of his book and saw Draycos looking at him. He grunted and snapped the books shut.

“Are you attempting to move into the infirmary?” he jested.

“Shut up,” Draycos muttered wearily. He struggled to sit up in the bed, groaning again as his muscles ached with every movement. “How long was I out this time?”

“Just a few hours,” Vertex answered. He pulled up a massive chair and sat down in it. The wood creaked as he put his full weight on it. “Damrabe left not too long ago. He was unhappy with the state of your injuries; your gouged-out back took a great deal of effort to repair.”

“Like I could do anything about that magical morning star that brute was swinging around.” Draycos rolled his shoulder in discomfort. Something. . . feels different now. Despite the exhaustion weighing down on his body, Draycos could feel something new hiding just beneath the surface of his skin. Something powerful. He refocused his gaze on Vertex. “Something doesn’t feel right. Did Damrabe finish treating me before he left? Or did he have to leave before he did?”

Vertex’s lips curled as he snorted. “If I were you, I would not doubt Damrabe’s skills in the restoration arts. However, there has been a major change to your body since your battle this morning. Do you not remember what you did?”

“Kind of,” Draycos admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Truth be told, everything about the fight after Brock nailed me in the back is a little hazy.” Draycos looked down at his right hand. “I remember suddenly getting pissed off about everything. I kept getting angrier as I thought about it until I completely snapped.” He curled his right hand into a tight fist. “In that moment, though. . . I felt like I could do anything.”

A chill ran down the back of Vertex’s spine as he stared at Draycos. I suppose I shouldn’t find myself surprised at hearing this from him. The magnitude of the magic power he displayed far surpassed what humans should be capable of. Just what are you, Draycos?

“Well, I suppose this means I can use magic now, right?”

Draycos’ question drew Vertex out of his thoughts, and Vertex quickly put on a nervous smile. “Yes, it does. However, this also means that you need to learn to control this newfound power of yours before you do any more intense fighting. Attempting to fight without having control over your own magic is asking for a fatal accident to occur.” Vertex pointed to the bedside table next to Draycos with his tail. A stack of some worn out leather-bound tomes sat on top of the table. Draycos picked up the book on the top and looked at the front cover. Basics in Magical Aptitude and Control written in a flowing Dragonscript was carved into the book cover. The rest of the books appeared to be on the same topic.

“Now that you have awakened your magical potential, the first thing you need to do is to learn more about magic in general,” Vertex announced as Draycos cracked open the first book. “Damrabe has forbidden you from leaving your bed for the remainder of the day, so you might as well spend the time studying the very basics of magic before tomorrow.”

“I’m supposed to read these?” Draycos asked incredulously. The very first page of the book was filled to the brim with small Dragonscript. “I only started learning Dragonscript two months ago. This writing is way too advanced for me to read.”

An uncharacteristically pleasant smile curled the corners of Vertex’s lips. “Hence why I plan on keeping you company for the remainder of the day. If you find yourself unable to discern anything, just ask.”

Draycos looked up at Vertex with a surprised expression on his face. He then sighed and stared down at the first line of Dragonscript as he began to read in the midday light pouring through the infirmary windows.