Hi folks! This is the final draft of of Parts 1 & 2 of an original fanfic
written
with anime settings and characters in mind. More to come next month.
Enjoy!

THE DRAGON'S TOWER

An original tale by Andy Skuse (c) 1996

Part One

Somewhere in the mystic East . . .

     The bleak, grey, stone landscape spread out before the exhausted boy's
eyes. Fat grey-black clouds rolled overhead in turmoil and chaos,
threatening to burst at their seems and deluge the parched tundra with much
needed rain. Windborne sand and dust blew across his cheek, the grit causing
his narrowed eyes to twitch in irritation. Brushing his jet-black hair out
of his face and looking up, a black cliff face filled his vision, the
distant rock appearing flat and shiny, almost slick. Atop the ominous
natural formation a pure white spire pierced the sky, its eminence shrouded
by low, shifting clouds. A single shaft of bright sunlight split the
moisture laden wreath around the tower, and illuminated a single wooden door
at the base.
     The boy stood thoughtfully for a moment longer before continuing his
journey across the brown lichen encrusted terrain to the cliff wall in the
distance.
     The  morning passed uneventfully, the rain remaining aloft, allowing
the boy to cross the gap between his previous survey point and the foot of
the massive black stone wall in relative comfort. The dragon had not
appeared for two days now and this gave pleasant thought to the weary traveler.
Besieged by day for many weeks, the boy had finally managed to elude the
pursuing winged serpent. He knew not why the beast was following him, nor
did he intend to ask it if it found him again.
     It was just before noon when the boy reached the foot of the cliff face
and placed a trembling hand on the cold black rock. The texture was as he
had foreseen, smooth and glistening. Looking up, the cliff appeared to rise
and then bend back over him. Looking left and right at ground level he could
see no solid foothold for him to begin his ascent. Stepping back, the boy
scanned the ebony surface carefully until finally he spotted a tiny piece of
rock jutting out at shoulder height. Grasping the protrusion firmly he
looked upward and picked out a vertical trail of similar protrusions leading
up and to the right, the direction that would take him directly to the east
side of the tower. With a grunt the boy leapt up onto the first "rung" of
black rock, and began his ascent.
     Moving like a tenacious spider, the boy climbed steadily higher, noting
the rising wind speed as he went. The bitterly cold wind whipped his clothes
against his legs and arms causing them to ache and sting. Late in the
afternoon, sweating profusely and out of breath, the boy paused to rest,
then looked down hesitantly to assess his progress.
     Far below he could see the dull patches of grey stone and brownish
lichen strewn across the wide plain that stretched to the horizon. In the
west, the river Katra wound lazily through a shallow valley that branched
into a wide delta and eventually emptied into the shining blue-green sea.
Far off to the east the sun's rays broke through the leaden cloud bank and
splashed about the tops of a vast green forest. Just above edge of the
treetops a small black spot suddenly appeared, growing larger by the minute.
The boy turned away suddenly from the panoramic view, and reached up for the
next hand-hold.

     The dragon had found him.

Part Two

     The boy continued climbing, increasing his pace. His hands were
beginning to sweat, causing them to slip occasionally, producing a wave of
adrenaline and fright each time it happened. The sheer cliff wall suddenly
seemed to be fighting him.
     Looking up he could see tufts of wind-blown grass and lichen hanging
over the topmost edge approximately thirty feet above him. Looking back over
his shoulder he could now pick out two large bat-like wings pumping up and
down forcefully, propelling the dragon towards his location. In its mouth
was the limp, bloody carcass of a deer. As the boy watched, mesmerized by
the ancient creature, the dragon's jaws opened slightly, and the deer
carcass plummeted to the ground far below. A distant bellow of prehistoric
rage followed, sending a shiver of dread through him. The boy did not bother
to watch the deer's complete descent. 
     Facing the black rock once again, the boy's hands and feet continued to
propel him upward, moving even faster now. The grassy overhang was
now only ten feet away. His heart pounded in his chest as his mind continued
to project the image of the approaching dragon, beating down
his will and hindering his resolve. Hand over hand he neared the ledge until
he could touch the long strands of grass that reached down invitingly like
green silk rope. As his left hand let go of its hold to claw at the ledge,
the wind suddenly picked up in velocity. The boy retracted his hand
quickly, and pressed himself into the cliff face to hold on. 
     With squinting eyes the boy turned to see the dragon hovering slightly
behind and above him, pumping its expansive, black, leathern wings to keep
its massive serpentine body aloft. The down-draft from its actions pulled
hard at the boy's aching limbs, his fingers clenching tighter and tighter,
slowly disintegrating the nubs of black rock that supported him into shale-
like flakes.
     Before the beast had even made the sound, the young climber could hear
a low rumble begin deep within the creature's gullet. The rumble gathered
volume and depth as it followed the path through the creature's lengthy
esophagus. The boy cringed and closed his eyes, yearning to lift his hands
to shield his ears from the dragon's final deafening bellow. A hot blast of
air preceded the dragon's agitated roar, it's prey's stubbornness causing it
to shake its head in fury.
     Finally the rocky protrusion under the boy's right hand broke into
dusty shards under his desperate grasp, swinging his body precariously to the
left until his right foot could no longer provide any support. For a
precious moment, the boy's will persisted against the reality of his fate,
believing
with all his heart that he couldn't die.

     Then fate stepped in and embraced him.

     The young climber fell away from the sheer cliff wall gracefully at first,
as reality dealt its crushing blow. As his descent gathered speed, his arms
began flailing instinctively at the rushing air, refusing to believe what
his mind was screaming at him; he was going to die before his quest had even
begun. The ground rushed up at him, objects and colours losing their
definition in his moistening eyes. His limbs continued their flailing,
refusing to listen to his spirit. 
     Then suddenly his muscles relaxed, the ground a few feet below coming
into sharp focus, and then becoming more and more distant as he reversed his
descent. A tightening feeling around his chest and waist caused him to look
around. An enormous, scale-clad claw encircled his midsection, flowing
upwards into a similarly scaled leg and thigh. Jerking his gaze further
upward, the boy saw the blinding sun in his eyes until a massive, membranous
wing pumped downward and cloaked him in shadow. The rhythmic rising and
falling of the dragon's body unsettled the boy's stomach a bit, forcing him
to align his stare at the relatively motionless torso of the beast.
      Moments later, the dragon increased it's wing pumping motions as it
prepared to land atop the cliff. Dropping its human cargo unceremoniously on
the thick green grass, it landed gently to one side of the boy. Once firmly
on the ground, the beast flexed its sharply-curved wings, twitched them once
or twice, and then folded them back behind its body.
     The boy lay on the ground unmoving, afraid to provoke the beast into an
attack. A deep, raspy, wheezing voice rumbled from behind him. "Why are you
here?"
     The simplicity of the beast's question surprised the boy. Shaking his
head in disbelief, also due partly to the fact that he was still alive, the
boy turned over onto his back slowly and sat up. Still trembling from the
fall, his eyes hesitantly looked up into the piercing glare of two yellow
cat-like eyes, heavily lidded with a ridge of black scale that gave the
creature its
menacing appearance. Long spikes of ivory-coloured enamel poked out
from under the creature's upper lip, furthering the dragon's vicious look,
and causing the boy to think carefully about his answer. "I have come on a
quest-"
     A rumbling wheeze interrupted him. "Slowly boy. Your language is . . .
difficult. Full of useless words. What is this 'quest'?"
     The word 'useless' stuck in the boy's mind. Fiery pride overrode common
sense for a moment as he grew a little indignant at the dragon's suggestion
that his 'quest' was useless. Remembering where he was, the boy held his
tongue and answered slowly, adjusting his wording. "I have come here to find
a princess, that local legends say is trapped within yon tower." 
     A low rumble emanated from the beast's sides, the backs of its lips
curling ever so slightly. The boy paused, attempting to interpret the
serpent's reaction to his answer, then continued. "Let me pass wyrm. It is
my destiny to free her from-" 
     The dragon's lips curled back further and the boy thought he spotted a
gleam in the beast's eyes. "Destiny? What know you of destiny boy? There is
no such thing as desssssstiny," the creature hissed, the gleam still in its
eyes.
     The boy rose to his feet quickly, his pride fueled by the dragon's
indignant statement. His young voice cracked, then stabilized, buoyed by
his growing hurt. "You're wrong!" he cried, the defiance visible in his
bright blue eyes. "Destiny has brought me here, and destiny saved me from
certain doom when I fell from-"
     The dragon's sides rumbled again, overwhelming the boy's thin voice. "I
saved you- *boy*. "
     The boy's eyes narrowed. He had forgotten completely who he was
conversing with, his pride inflamed into a defensive posture. But that did
not deter him from continuing to fume. The serpent was trying to trick him,
he thought. His father had told him long ago that dragons were the wisest
and most cunning of creatures that had ever lived. It would be wise to think
twice about accepting the creature's word at face value.
     Before the boy could continue his argument with the beast, the dragon
rose up, blocking the sun and casting a cold shadow on the boy. Reaching its
peak in stature, the dragon spoke, its voice full of malice and mischief
this time. "I will grant you access to the tower boy, to search for this
princess that you seek. Under one condition."
     The boy waited anxiously, holding his hand up to shield his eyes as
shards of bright sunlight peeked over the towering serpent's shoulders. "If
you find the princess, and you are able to exit this tower with her alive,
then you are free to go."
     The dragon brought its massive body low to the ground once more,
allowing the sun to temporarily blind the boy. When the young adventurer
could see again, the dragon's snout was only a few feet away, steam
venting idly from its nostrils. The boy spoke, a tremble in his voice."And
what if I live but fail to rescue the princess? What then?"
     The dragon's ragged lips curled back deeply, revealing daggers of white
and a thick black tongue beyond. "Then you shall replace the meal I dropped
before I arrived."
     Shivers of fear ran up the boy's spine as he contemplated the idea of
being chewed alive, and then digested in the gullet of the beast. But he had
come this far. Destiny had seen him through the perils of this journey,
including a fatal fall, no matter what the serpent bespoke. Now it was his
turn to finish the quest, and perhaps find the princess that he so
desperately sought.
     "I accept your contract wyrm. Upon my honour as a dalesman and a
volunteer in my village's army, I give you my word that I shall not renege."
The boy stood proudly before the scaled monster, a mere fly to an albatross.
     "Agreed then. " The dragon paused, "I shall return in the morning to
see how you have fared. The door is open."
     No sooner had the serpent spoke, then a loud 'click' was heard and the
thick, wooden door that he had seen from below swung open into the
tower, revealing a dark room inside. The boy squinted in the setting sun,
attempting to pick out the room's detail when a light rustling of the air
made him turn back to the dragon. Seeing nothing the boy looked up to
spot the dragon flying almost straight up into the clouds surrounding the
tower. In the blink of an eye the dragon plunged into the circling mists,
and was gone.

     The boy stood on the high cliff for a moment, a sudden thought
occurring to him; he could turn back now, and face no more than a dangerous
climb back down the cliff face to possibly escape the dragon, or cross the
few yards that lay between him and the beckoning doorway, to face uncertain
obstacles. 
     The wind whipped about the young man, sending more dust and grit into
his eyes, distracting him long enough to forget why he was hesitating. The
boy strode forward until he reached the doorway. Peeking in, and still
seeing little in the way of detail, the young man entered the tower's base
and disappeared into the inky blackness, the door shutting slowly behind him.

End of Part 2

-----------------------------------
"Bubblegum Cross"
"The Dark Traveler"
"The Dragon's Tower"
askuse@execulink.com
BG Crush & Raven's Garage web sites:
http://www.netzone.com/~ozymand/