The planet Tsuris..
A magical planet full of creatures you could only dream of. From elemental Drakis, to the six-legged Skif, Tsuris has endless wonders that would boggle the minds of humans for centuries. There is... darkness here, however, as most places are known to have. Though, like most places, there is a light to cancel it out.
In this case, it's a Droken. A humanoid capable of dragon transformation, one of the only Tsurin Drakis with wings.
. . .
"It could be him, Shisani," an older man says, his voice hushed as not to wake the babe in his daughter's arms.
"I pray to the stars he isn't," she whimpers in reply, holding her son to her bosom.
"Now, don't say that, love," her husband snaps quietly, his arm around her shoulders. "If he is, we could finally be free. Free of Tsukui's curse."
"What do we call the gem?" Yaguwa, Shisani's mother-in-law, chimes, petting the soft brown wisps that had already grown on the child's head.
"You could name him after your father."
"Mitsu is hardly a name," the old man chuckles.
"We'll name the boy, Ryuu. If he's the one, he'll need a proper title."
"Ryuu Senshi," Yaguwa smiles. "That means 'Dragon Warrior', don't ya know?"
"Alright, everyone out," Shisani demands in a loud whisper, laying her son in his bassinet before shooing everyone from the room.
"Let the babe sleep."
With everyone gone, the woman sighs sadly. Her son had been born just around the eclipse, exactly the time stated in the scrolls for when the chosen one would be born. But, the requirements for such a destiny? Training started at a young age. Constant lessons and teachings. He wouldn't get a normal childhood.
Not to mention he had to defeat the guardians that encircled their floating island in hopes to break the curse.
Not even Shisani's uncle Noraki, the strongest warrior in the village, was able to defeat them. His wing is still mangled from his failure.
She walks over to her son and plants a kiss on his soft forehead.
"I pray to the stars... I can't lose my baby."
. . .
Years later...
"Ryuu!" Noraki yells, grabbing his great nephew's shoulder and pulling him away from the islands edge. He smacks him upside the head as he scolds him.
"Pay attention, boy! You're going to get yourself killed one of these days!"
"Grandest apologies, Uncle Noraki," the child fumbles, heart still racing from his near fall.
"But, I saw a beautiful creature! It flew over my head, and I didn't realize it had crossed over the barrier."
"That's why I said pay attention. You would've been keilen food if it weren't for me."
"Yes, thank you," Ryuu smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I-"
"Have a tendency to lose focus? Yes. I noticed," the warrior interrupts, frustrated. "We all know. We've gathered that much from the past fifteen clumsy years."
"Right. Sorry."
"What I was saying before you wandered off to get yourself killed, was that you need to work on your transformation," Noraki grabs Ryuu's arm, pulling him further from the island edge before continuing.
"What's your center space, boy?"
"The field usually, but it's been acting weird lately."
If you're wondering what a "center space" is, it's when a Droken reaches a point of concentration that separates their mind from their flesh and directs it to the wind, giving their Dragonair form a strength that matches it's cunning.
As Ryuu mentioned a field, usually a certain location can connect with a young Droken, to help them with their focus, since they can feel the energies in the air.
"The field is no longer silent like it used to be," the boy continues.
"It's now full of whispers about the unknown."
Noraki perks up at this.
You see, long ago, when Ryuu's father still toddled through the grass and brooks of the land, Noraki worked alongside his brethren as they hunted quinkin and small keilen, breeds of sea-faring life that allowed them the satisfaction of full stomachs.
They had freedom and had the ability to roam and interact with the other Drakis and life on Tsuris.
But when Tsukui Rakushi, Ryuu's great grandmother and his father's mother, cursed the land, she cut it off from the surrounding mountains and lifted it into the sky, setting sentries, or guardians to keep the Droken confined.
It's said she had plans to rule all of Tsuris, and her tribe would have stopped her, so she trapped them to keep from foiling her.
Garogi Senshi says otherwise.
He would tell Ryuu stories of his mother, Tsukui, everytime the boy visited.
Said visits were held in secret, though, as the man was kept in the Home of Stars; a place Droken go when they're minds travel higher than the wind, breaking way to the stars. A nice way to say: "They've lost it."
Garogi knew he was not to speak to the boy, the others worried he would teach his lunacy to him, ruining his practice as the Chosen One.
Which is why he demanded their encounters be kept secret, for fear he wouldn't be able to teach the truth of the matter to his grandson.
You see, Garogi believed his mother to be innocent; that the curse she set was justified.
"What do they say?" Noraki asks his nephew with raised eyebrows, but the boy begins to zone off again.
"Ryuu!"
His head snaps up, stuttering an apology.
"The whispers flutter around with the wind, talking about the Drakis of sea, land and spring."
The older man nods, scratching the stubble on his chin.
"Continue your practice until I get back."
"Where are you going?"
"I need to speak with your father."
. . .
Ryuu sits cross-legged in Pruffin Field, his eyes closed as he listens to the whispers blowing past his ears.
"...fly..."
His eyes softly open, his gaze flickering around the field as his back arches, the boy transforming into his larger body, amber scales rippling on his wings.
It only takes a few flaps of these extra appendages for him to lift off the ground, then he dive bombs over the edge of the island.
He chuckles as he soars towards the water below, but looks around in confusion as things seem to get bigger. Or rather, he gets smaller.
His eyes widen as he crashes into the surf.
