Tag: dragon

About the Author, Story Time

Family Storytime: My Brother’s Title

KC J. Hutchins

Those who didn’t read my other story about my cousin’s title might not understand what this means. If you want the explanation, click here (https://kcjhutchins.com/2023/06/13/video-game-storytime-my-cousins-title/). Otherwise, I’m continuing on. So, I grew up playing video games with my younger brother. This, of course, meant we played a lot of co-op games since competitions would occasionally end badly. For those who’ve never played a game with someone, you might find people think very differently from you. For instance, boulders are blocking your path and your thought is to blow them up to clear the path. However, your partner thinks to jump over the rocks instead. When he was a kid, he’d always head straight to the treasure… often at my expense. There would be hordes of enemies after us, but the glitter of gold would pull him away… leaving me with the enemies.
Barely scraping by, I’d annoyingly yell for him to come back… which he’d often respond with, “We need the treasure.”
I’d remind him by saying, “We could grab it afterwards. You know once the enemies aren’t trying to kill us?”
“Oh, I’ll remember next time.” He’d always say.
While I was in high school, we played this dragon game (The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon) where we were linked. Try to pull too far away and you’d pull your partner. Surrounded, my brother went straight for the treasure. I, unable to stand my ground or really fight, soon fainted and this causes us both to lose.
He asks, “What the heck? How did you die?”
Which I responded, “I was a victim of greed.”
He laughed realizing what happened at which I joined in the revelry. However, it gets worse. Since he’d left me to fight on my own so often, I was a considerable high level… while he wasn’t. We ended up playing the stupid siege level sooooo many times due to this little hiccup. But, oh no, this isn’t what gave him his title. After all, this was too soon before the idea came to my head.

Fast forward to around myself starting college. My brother convinced me to play this Zelda game where we fight on a battlefield (I don’t remember the name). At one point in the game, you need to face three boss fighters at once. Now, they are quite far from one another at first… so you could take them down one at a time. I mean the only way they’d come together is if you lured them over. No one in the right mind would do this… right? Can you tell what happened? That’s correct… my brother purposedly lured them over to me as he went to swipe the treasures. An act of betrayal while he laughed and watched me take these down by myself. Which was working… until a boss noticed and rolled after him. The fight was much easier at that point.
When it was all over and done, I turned to him and exclaimed, “You are officially known as the Treasure Seeker, and I will remember that!”
We both were laughing our butts off from the whole thing. To this day, he continues to hunt for the treasure to stay true to his title.

Exploring New Lands, Scales Series

Exploring New Lands: Spiegel

KC J. Hutchins

The twinkling land of Spiegel was once a land inhabited by scientifically advanced humans. An unknown cataclysm caused their city to be in ruins and their land turned to sand. It was left untouched for many years, until the Betrachs needed a new home. With the help of the Matahari, they turned most of the land into smooth slopes of glass. Of course, this attracted the doppelgangers as they found a parallel home within the reverse world. Still the Betrachs rebuilt the city left by the humans, adding mirrors to the outside of the skyscrapers despite the risk of attack. Sand roads lead travelers through this reflective land where eyes are constantly watching their every move.

Scales Series, Species Spotlight

Species Spotlight: Betrach

KC J. Hutchins

Dragons that hold their appearance in high regard, these creatures are a sight to see. Their skin is made of colored metal that they design themselves. Panels of mirrors spread across the length of their body. Most members of this species contain either a frill, sail, or fan made of glass to decorate their elegance. They are masters of the strange force that resonates in mirrors. The Betrachs are a type of dragon that came into existence during experiments conducted by the Jiqeeran while working with the fear wielding dragons known as the Hofoka. They were attempting to make the images that the Hofoka display stronger and give them the ability to portray more than one illusion at a time. While in the middle of experimenting, the Dracux, dragons who can bend light to their whim, attacked saying that science was a cruelty to any living creature. The prototype armors the fear dragons wore helped indeed boost their powers but with the drawback of slowing their movements. As consequence, they became bigger targets for the enemy to strike. With a might blow, the light dragons burst forth a blast of energy defeating their foes, or so they thought. As the Hofokas lay defeated, they began to glow; absorbing the very light that had struck them down. Their bodies changed, giving them metallic skin and mirrors that coated various parts of their body. The Dracuxes started to blast light at their enemies once again. The now Betrachs brought forth mirror shields from their skin, reflecting the attack back at their oppressors. The rebounded energy struck the Dracuxes, knocking them down. Filled with rage they countered, drawing their swords, and slashing their steel against the metallic bodies of the Betrachs. They grimaced when they found that their weapons did no harm to the mutated creatures. Realizing that this purge was unsuccessful, the light dragons retreated. The new creatures decided that it would not be safe to move back to their homeland of Hofu which was close to the land occupied by the Dracuxes, Lux. They settled for a land that was once a major human city but had long been abandoned. The buildings were crumbling, and sand littered the streets. The Betrachs sought to turn the barren land into a paradise for them. With friendship, the mirror dragons requested aid from the Matahari, who used their abilities to create the hottest fire known to Magitotum, to convert the sand into glass. The Betrachs then used the glass to make the reflecting land of Spiegel.