The guardians woke up early in the morning; the golden rays of the sun shone between the buildings and over the cliffsides that surrounded the city.

The Commander was already standing out in the courtyard, waiting for them. He ordered them to fall in on him.

“Listen up, some heard this last night, but to those who haven’t: Headquarters has declared Vexx as “an enemy of mankind”; anyone can now bring him to any dragonguard personnel, dead or alive.”

Murmurs and whispers started flowing through the crowd. Blackthorn continued, “However, there are more pressing matters. Early this morning, I got a message that HQ has requested a handful of individuals for a special assignment. The names I’m about to list off will be traveling to HQ in Eldrya.”

The whispers got louder with anticipation of what the special mission could be and Blackthorn quickly hushed them.

“Azier, Sören, Ivis, Zella, and Airigold, you and your dragonkin will be leaving in a few hours.”

The guardians looked at each other, confused about why they were picked.

Blackthorn paused and looked around, then said, “Well, if anyone finds Airigold, tell him to go to Eldrya. Now, go eat. Dismissed.”

The guardians broke apart and headed for the mess hall. The group whose names were called out stood there talking amongst themselves.

After eating, the team packed for their trip. The Commander approached them and said, "Hey, we haven't seen Airigold yet today. Would you mind flying up north first and see if you can find him somewhere?”

The guardians agreed and then took to the skies, the cold air rushing by them. They crested over the northern cliff and followed the shoreline.

“I hope he didn’t go all the way back to Dragonspire up in Ravia,” Ivis stated with concern.

“I don’t think he can fly that fast; it’s only been like less than 12 hours since the last time we saw him and the novascale.” Azier responded.

“He never did get that gash on his hand bandaged, did he?” Inquired Sören, recalling the events from the night before.

Azier chuckled, “No, I don’t think so.”

After a few hours of flying, the team landed and rested on the beach, grabbing snacks from their backpacks.

A few minutes passed, and Sphyii spotted them from the sky and descended onto the sand.

“Hey!” she said as cheerfully as she could muster, “You haven’t seen Airigold have you?”

“No, we’re trying to find him ourselves,” Zella responded. “He’s supposed to come with us to Eldrya. I guess the Archon wants us for some ‘special mission.’”

“The Archon? Wanting to work with an Ancient after all these years? That can’t be a good sign,” Sphyii said with concern in her raspy voice.

“Well, I don’t know if he wants to meet him or actually use him in a mission with us,” Zella remarked. “To be fair, Ancients haven’t been seen in a century, so…”

The amphithere nodded slightly in agreement, the afternoon sun glinting off her iridescent scales.

“Well, I’ll tell him he’s needed in Eldrya if I see him then. Fly high, Guardians!” She said bubbly as if she’d waited a long time to say that again.

“Fly high, guardian,” the group responded, cracking a smile at the fact an Ancient had just saluted them.

“Wow, what a beautiful creature, such incredible scales,” Zella stated, her gaze fixed on the magnificent novascale disappearing into the clouds. The other guardians agreed.

They packed their things and headed off again, searching the tree line from the skies. Ivis and Thornfire flew much higher than the rest of the group, scanning the horizon with his binoculars in hopes of seeing a gilt of golden light from Airigold’s shiny claws and horns.

After several hours of flying, they reached the next city. Upon landing, they were met by a guardian.

“Rayhaven’s Dragonguard?” The soldier asked.

“Yes?” Zella responded.

“You’ve got new orders; just go to Eldrya. An important asset is missing. A ship will be ready for you first thing in the morning.” Relayed the guardian.

“Understood,” Zella said as she and the rest of the group saluted the guardian. He then climbed onto his drake and went on his way.

“Well, this can’t be good,” Azier commented, worried about the ancient dragon.

“Man, am I tired,” Sören said as he yawed, “We should just stay here for the night.” The others agreed.

***

The following day, the guardians woke up and ate breakfast.

“I hope he’s okay. I wonder what happened to him,” Azier said with concern.

“I don’t, but we should get going. It’s gonna be a long ride to Eldrya,” responded Sören, enthusiasm laced his voice.

The guardians finished their breakfast and then went to the dock, where a dragonguard naval ship awaited them. The captain waved them down, urging them to board the ship.

“Great, first I had to get used to flying high, and now I’ve got to deal with the sea,” Ivis remarked, a sense of dread in his voice.

They set sail northward and after reaching the tip of the continent, headed southeast and navigated through the channel between Ardenfell and Dragon’s Tail. From there, they sailed directly to Eldrya, an old city split between the borders of Drakemyst and Arkynshire, located on a large island deep within an estuary.

When they reached the port in the southern part of town, they were immediately met by Dragonguard Sentinels, a type of military police for high-ranking officers and guards of the headquarters.

The city of Eldya was unique, split between the borders of two continents, it doesn’t have its own city guardians, but rather uses the Sentinels to protect the city. The city, as old as the Dragonguard itself, grew over time, right up to the edges of the cliffsides of the island it sits on.

The guardians were escorted to the headquarters building, entering through the first set of gates guarded by Sentinels with their menacing drakes. A few guarded the skies, circling above the compound like vultures.

Once inside the walls, they continued into the building itself, with more security, and finally into a chamber with a round table. Sitting in one of the chairs was the Archon himself, the leader of the Dragonguard's military operations.

He turned around when the door opened and said, “Ah! Rayhaven’s best guardians, I presume?”

“That would be us, sir!” Exclaimed Ivis, his excitement bubbling over like a pot of boiling water that wasn’t being watched.

“I like the enthusiasm of this one,” the Archon chuckled, “Sorry you had to leave your companions outside. We have a strict no dragons inside the chamber rule—not even mine.”

He then held out his hand and said, “Hallard, Hallard Null, if you didn’t know that already. I know most people go throughout their whole dragonguard career without knowing the man commanding it all.”

They each shook his hand and introduced themselves. He then gestured for the guardians to sit at the table.

“There has been a new development since I requested you all to come here,” Hallard began to explain, his expression and tone changing. “I have been informed that the ancient, Airigold, has been captured. Your original mission will be delayed until we get him back.”

“What happened? Who captured him?” Asked Azier.

“Nyrak,” the Archon responded, “another ancient, told me the Dragonbane Order has captured him.”

“Dragonbane Order?” Ivis questioned, confused.

“Yes, a secret order that began after the Draconian War. I thought they had dispersed since then, but even after a hundred years, it seems they’re still around.”

A few of the guardians gasped.

“This is not good,” he continued, “their objective is to undo what we’ve accomplished after all these years. They think dragonkin should not have been assimilated into human society. Many Scalebreakers work with the Order, an older group who specialize in assassinations and know how to take down practically any dragonkin.”

Hallard paused and leaned in, then said, “I cannot stress this enough; if we do not get to him, Airigold is as good as dead. We are all dead.”

He got up and gestured for the others to exit the room. They went out into the courtyard, and the Archon mounted his dragon.

“I’d like to meet with someone,” the Archon said as he ascended into the sky. The guardians followed suit, along with a few Sentinels.

They flew off the island and onto the mainland, just past the estuary's shoreline.

“This is Nyrak,” the Arhcon introduced, “He’s been guarding the Drakeridge Pass for the past 100 years and is evidently still alive.”

The Ancient Drake stood there in a menacing pose. His jet-black scales were lustrous in the sunlight, almost like obsidian.

He chuckled and spoke with a booming voice like any Ancient dragonkin, “I noticed some suspicious humans in Drakeridge; I had a bad feeling about them. So, I left my post and tailed them. Eventually, I found their hidden base of operations in an abandoned, decrepit town. They’re likely underground because it doesn’t look lived in by any animal for 50 years.”

“So… what’s that got to do with us?” Ivis asked impatiently.

“I saw Airigold just before they took him in. He was shackled, caged, and all that.”

The guardians gasped in surprise; their excitement of meeting another Ancient changed to worry.

Nyrak continued, “When the Archon here requested you guys, I heard Airigold was a part of that list, too. So, I decided to break the silence, show my Ancient ass publically, and tell the Archon about Airigold’s situation.”

He paused momentarily, trailing off in an angry thought, then came back.

“I saw a symbol,” the drake said, more simmering hatred laced his voice, “for a brief moment when the door was open, just inside the hidden entrance. I recognized it as the symbol of the Dragonbane Order. If we don’t get him out of there, he will die.”

His last three words echoed throughout the edge of the forest and sat in the pit of the guardians’ stomachs. The weight of the reality that one of the most revered Ancient Dragonkin might be so brutally slaughtered was almost too much to bear.

“Where is this place?” Asked Zella.

“Further in Drakemyst, quite a ways. I’ll lead you there,” Responded Nyrak.

The Archon spoke, “This, Guardians, is your new mission. Get him out of there—alive. Bring him back here, and we’ll proceed from there.”

“We’ll need to first do some recon, both from the air and the underground parts. Do you know any other ways to get in?” Inquired Azier.

“Not that I know of. I didn’t dare go near the town; I hid just outside in the bushes and trees. We’ll have to see what is there when we recon.”

“I’d say the best bet is to do it at night,” Sören suggested.

“At night? How would you see?” Nyrak questioned.

“Night vision!” Sören responded excitedly, “As long it’s not a new moon.”

“Ah, humans and their technological advances,” Nyrak said with an impressive tone.

“It might take a few days if we only do this at night and how big the compound is,” Ivis said.

Nyrak quickly responded, “We don’t have a few days.”

“Yeah…” Ivis said quietly in defeat.

“Oh, we can give you an earpiece so that you can be in contact with us,” Zella mentioned, holding one up.

“Hah!” Nyrak exclaimed, “Even after a hundred years, you humans came up with a new way of using old tech. Not once during the Draconian War did anyone think of putting an earpiece in an Ancient.”

The drake paused momentarily; a thought bounced around in his head. When it came through, he said, “Hey, does Airigold have one?”

“Well, we did work with him back in Rayhaven, so maybe? I don’t remember anyone taking it out.” Replied Azier.

“We can try to make contact when we get close; maybe it’ll reach him, depending on how far underground he is,” Sören added.

Azier continued, “And let’s hope they didn’t find it in his ear. Although, I wouldn’t suspect they would since no one expects an Ancient to have one.”

“We should get going; it’ll probably be night by the time we get there,” suggested Nyrak. The guardians agreed and flew back to Eldrya to pack their equipment.