Jens Hoffmann - Simon Knox and the Prophecy of Asragur

With strength fading and devotion to his great dream, Asragur nurtured the Well of Hope one last time by sinking down himself in its depths. Only one of his scales did he leave behind, the one he wore directly over his heart, to be found by the person who would one day come to free Morana.

Centuries went by in the land and it seemed that Rodan was to remain imprisoned in his castle for all eternity. But Asragur's magic was not powerful enough to protect his kingdom from Rodan's dark powers forever. The Well began to dry up and hope started to fade in the once flourishing country. Fear and distrust made their way into Morana. And the first bloody battles raged for the dragon throne of the once gracious ruler", Grewels continued, the boys spellbound by the words of the dragon.

"Like every other creature in Morana, Rodan also knew about the prophecy of the dragon king. But Asragur's magic was still too powerful for him to break out of his prison. He has therefore had no other choice than to sit around idly.

However, he has succeeded recently to subdue the people of Raven. The clever blackbirds have since been crowing treacherously in the air. He sends them in great flocks throughout the land so that the skies are darkened over Morana. Fear and terror has ruled our lives since then. Like a spider that lies in wait in its web for the next fly, Rodan is waiting for the Well of Hope to gradually dry up and to withstand the Chosen One.

The time has come!

The great Gateway to the Worlds has opened to clear the path to Morana for the Chosen One. The One, who can keep the Well from drying out and thus bring peace and hope once again to Morana. But the black elf will do everything in his power to stain the prophecy with the blood of the Chosen One so that he can finally rise up over Morana", the dragon explained and looked at Simon with imploring eyes.

"You are the Chosen One, Simon! You are the only one who has the power to block Rodan's way and free our country from this curse. Many dangers will await you, but trust me, you shall not be alone. Please, you must come with me through the Gateway. We are lost without you!", Grewels finished his story, blew his nose loudly and looked up again to see two incredulous faces.

Simon, holding Asragur's scale in his hands, was the first to speak up.

"Oh man, what an exciting story! I might be crazy, but are you absolutely sure that I am the Chosen One or did you lose your way coming here?", he asked the dragon in disbelief, who again had one of those little animals in his mouth.

Simon looked on in disgust as their gluttonous visitor reached into his leather bag again, grabbed one of the frightened, squeaking fur balls, threw it in the air and contently swallowed it with a grunt.

"And what in the world are those things you keep scarfing down?"

"Oh, those are deep-burrowers", the dragon replied absently while rummaging in his bag again for another snack and, finding a specially fat one, popped it into his mouth. "Hmm, they're simply delicious. But they are not easy to find since they usually hide between the roots of grass apple trees. We cliff dragons love these little beasts. They tickle your throat when you swallow them in one piece!", Grewels laughed and then pondered Simon's actual question.

"And yes, Simon", smacking his lips in contentment. "We are certain. Asragur's scale is assigned for you. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken this long trip upon myself. Not to mention the detour coming here. I had no idea you were planning to make a journey", Grewels grumbled, who impressed Simon and Richie as rather lazy and gluttonous. "When you were first born, the prophecy was revealed to one of our own that you are the only one who can save Morana. We knew of you and just had to wait until you were old enough", Grewels added while chewing.

"Who is we?", Richie butted in, after listening the whole time in silence. Grewels considered Richie with an unfriendly look, rolled his eyes and continued.

"We are cliff dragons, the last of our kind. There are an estimated one hundred of us left, and if the Well dries up completely, we will be no more in a few years", Grewels explained sadly. "We have always been the guards of the Well, and still are today. Asragur was our king until the day he gave himself up for the benefit of all. Somehow he has remained our king to this very day. And we shall protect his legacy for all time. Should the Well dry up one of these days, which will soon be the case, young man, nobody will remember our kind Asragur; they will forget all about us as well", the dragon predicted.

"Therefore let us get going quickly. The Gateway to Morana is opened only this night. If we miss this point in time, then everything will be lost and we will be doomed.

Rodan will rise and defile or even destroy the Well, and hope will never return to our land again", Grewels lamented. Looking sideways to Richie he added: "If it has to be, your friend can come along as well", he confessed sullenly.

"That's really generous of you", Richie told the dragon. "Thanks a lot. I believe I'll pass", he was reluctant to help the unfriendly beast.

"Then I'll go by myself", Simon decided and saw how his friend's jaw dropped.

"Man, Richie, don't be an idiot! We have to help! At least I do! This adventure is right up our alley. We will never again experience such a thing", Simon tried to persuade him.

"Sure, if we survive", Richie replied with doubt. But of course he couldn't let Simon go alone. He was his best friend and he would definitely need his support on this journey. Letting him down was completely out of the question. If only it wasn't for this strange dragon's obscure story and his gross eating habits. Richie didn't trust the scaly beast the least bit and planned to keep an eye on him.

"Practically nothing can happen to you", the dragon said with a wide grin. He was so sure of himself.

"Well, OK", Richie gave in. "Let's pack up a few things. They quickly packed the absolute necessities. A couple of sandwiches Aunt Aby had made for Simon at midday, the bag of cookies from Mr. Twiggle's Ice Cream Parlour, a couple of lambchops, corncobs and some bread from dinner as well as Simon's pocket knife, the binoculars and the compass from the attic, and also a blanket.

Grewels told them to hurry. The dragon hopped around nervously and flapped his wings in a flurry. Simon looked at the dragon king's scale. "It's changing its colour again", he said to Grewels and held it up to the dragon. "What does it mean?", he wanted to know.

"Well", Grewels began a bit rushed. "Simply this: When the scale turns black, that means we were too slow! Is that explanation good enough for now?", he asked gruffly. Without waiting for an answer, he lumbered into the air with flapping wings and called to the boys. "Follow me! We've no time to lose and there's a long trip ahead of us".

Hurrying the two friends along, Grewels flew in the lead. The full moon was out on this cool night and Simon was glad to be wearing his thick pullover and jacket. But what was awaiting them? Could he trust the dragon? Richie, who was running next to him and cursing under his breath, didn't seem to trust Grewels.

They reached the foothills of Exmoor and made their way deeper into moorland along the cliffs. They could hear the raging waves of the windswept ocean slamming in the rocks below.

Quiet and spooky, the moor stretched out before them.

"Simon, I'm afraid!", said Richie. "What if this is a trap and he is just waiting to throw us off the cliff, so that he and his scaly kind can devour us bit by bit?", he whispered in worry.

"I don't feel so good about it either. We've been travelling well over an hour now without knowing where we are actually going, let alone how much further we have to go", Simon whispered back, making sure Grewels couldn't hear them.