I tossed a rock over the encompassing wall, only to have it bounce off an invisible barrier. Translucent blue glyphs of energy appeared momentarily in the air, connected by curving lines of silvery magic. Sitting back in my saddle, I considered the situation.

For centuries, the abandoned and impenetrable Towers of Ga'lur had stood silent watch over the lands of Bahreen. No one really knew why they'd been built or even when. Most had believed they were relics from some civilization lost to history until today when walls had burst from the ground and connected all the towers, sealing off everything within. I'd been searching for a way out since yesterday but had yet to find a weak point.

My mount, Crystahl, shook her head and caused the metallic green scales of her long neck to shimmer in the morning light. I reached down and patted the scale armored flank of my dragon.

"Easy girl," I told her gently. "It's just a wall. If it can be built, it can be removed."

Despite my words, Crystahl had been acting strange since before the wall had gone up as if she'd sensed something upon the winds. It gave me pause as I considered how close dragons were to the magic of the world. I decided to let her lead and see where she would go.

"Let's go," I urged. Keeping a loose hand on the reins, I let Crystahl choose the direction. With a single, powerful burst of her wings, we soared upward. When she banked sharply to the east, I had to hang on to keep from falling out of the saddle.

The flight was fast and enjoyable, as all of them were. The wind whipped past my face, cooling me even as yellow of the morning sun imparted its warmth. I knew when we were approaching our destination as six other dragons and their riders were waiting near one of the towers. Glacial blue, fiery orange, shimmering violet, gleaming gold, reflective black, and lustrous white, each of the dragons had their own color and matched the armor of the person riding them.

"It looks like all our dragons were drawn here," I commented as Crystahl arched her wings upward to descend upon a large, gray boulder. "Anyone have an idea as to why?"

"I would think it has something to do with that," suggested the young elf seated atop her golden dragon, pointing beyond the wall.

I turned my gaze in the indicated direction and saw a blackness slowly spreading across the lands outside the walls. I couldn't tell if it was a massive army of dark warriors or if the world was simply being swallowed into an endless void. In the back of my mind, I wondered if the wall had been built to keep the approaching darkness out or prevent us from escaping. Being unable to cross beyond the magical barrier encompassing the lands, we could do nothing but watch as the darkness surged toward the wall.