The journey was a long one, but at least she was never lonely with Aniljem by her side. Finally, though, they reached their destination.
Mari had no idea where they were, but in her heart, her soul, she knew they’d found
something important, something precious to both Dragon and Dragon-kin.
A large lush forest surrounded a single central clearing of stone; and sat within the clearing were thousands upon thousands of dragon scales. The ground was littered with them, creating a colorful mosaic of both bright and dull patterns.
They landed on the edge of the clearing, mesmerized by the sight. As Mari dismounted, she stared across the clearing.
“What is this place?”
Just as she was about to step out, a voice suddenly stopped her.
“Halt! Not another step unless you want to die, stranger!”
It wasn’t the warning that made Mari turn around with such speed, it was how they were
spoken, in Dragon tongue.
Mari felt like she could cry as she laid eyes upon the warrior pointing his spear at her.
“You’re a Dragon-kin…” She whispered.
The man blinked at her as if she grown a second head, “As are you, stranger.”
Clearing forgotten, Mari turned her full attention on the warrior, “How many of you are there? Please, I must speak with your tribe at once.”
“Tribe?” The warrior asked, “You really are a strange one, stranger.” He then shook his head, “Well whatever, you can’t stay here, you’re coming with me.”
More than happy to follow the first member of her people she’d seen in five years, Mari
happily, tagged along after the man.
So caught up in her thoughts, Mari hardly had time to pay attention to the path they took before suddenly she was surrounded with fellow Dragon-kin. Tears sprung to her eyes at the sight of so many of her kind.
She wasn’t the last one after all.
“Everyone, gather around!” The warrior called, stamping his spear to the ground.
Their attention was soon drawn, not to him or Mari, but to Aniljem as he clambered through the trees after the pair.
“Look, another dragon!”
“Has it come to hide here as well?” “That’s good right?”
“Good for who? Not us!”
“Kador, what is the meaning of this?” A tall and wrinkled old man demanded.
“Father, I can explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it! And who is this girl?”
Arguments broke out across the entire tribe, much to Mari’s confusion. Rather than be happy at the sight of Aniljem, they sounded on edge and even angry.
“Um, excuse me?” She asked, but when unheard by the quarrelling groups, she yelled instead. “Hello? Uh, can I just ask… I just want to know…”
Chapter 7
Seeing Mari was getting nowhere, Aniljem stepped forward and let out a mighty roar, silencing everyone. As all eyes turned to Aniljem at her side, Mari chuckled nervously. “Heheh, uh, yeah. I just wanted to ask; why are you all so upset? You’re Dragon-kin, shouldn’t you be happy to see Aniljem?”
“Aniljem?” The old man from before parroted, narrowing his eyes at her. “You have named it?”
“Of course!” Mari smiled confidently. “I don’t know how things are done in your tribe, but in
mine, we respected dragons.”
“Respected?” The old man murmured, his eyes widening in understanding. “Child, from what clan do you hail?”
Mari blinked, then bowed slightly as she introduced herself. “I am Mari of the Ri clan.” “Ri clan? Then, you are a survivor?”
“Survivor?”
“Of the Dark One, the beast who brought ruin to all Dragon-kin.”
“You mean the black dragon? Yes,” Mari sighed sadly, “Twice now actually.”
Whispers broke out all over as people stared at her in wonder.
“Father, what are you talking about?” Kador asked as he looked between the elder and
Mari.
“Five years ago, the Dark One came out of nowhere, laying waste to many Kin tribes all over the lands. We we’re only spared from destruction by the protection of the Sacred Grounds. The Ri clan we’re once vast across our tribes, but they were all wiped out, or so I thought.” He said, eyeing Mari. “But if you survived, then others may have as well.”
“I don’t know…” Mari mumbled, looking away. “After… then… I was alone until some
humans took me in. You’re the first Dragon-Kin I’ve seen in five years.”
“I see.” The old man sighed. “Then there really is no hope against the Dark One.” “That’s not true!” Mari cried, head snapping back up, “The black dragon was being controlled!”
“Impossible, Kin would order a dragon to do such a thing! The beast was wild, uncontrolled in its rampage.”
Mari frowned, “If that’s what you think then you’ve clearly never seen it. The black dragon was being controlled. It had armor and chains wrapped around it, and it’s rider forced it to attack.”
“Like I said, impossible! No dragon can be forced to do anything against it’s will.” The old man snapped, “How could any Kin order a dragon around so?”
“That’s just it…” Mari took a deep breath, preparing for the backlash to come with her next
words, “The rider wasn’t Dragon-kin.” “Preposterous!”
Just as she had thought, she was met with outrage at her claim. Only the Dragon-Kin had the ancient link to dragons that let them understand each other. The mighty beasts would never allow another being near, let alone ride them, only the Kin had that privilege.
“I know how it sounds!” Mari tried to say. “Good!” Someone shouted back.
“But it’s true, the rider was not Kin.” “Then what were they?”
“Do you have proof?!”
“No…” Mari sighed as she explained. “The rider is dead, killed in the attack against a human
city.”
“So, they were a human?!” “No… worse, an elf…” Silence falls at Mari’s words.
Of all the races that inhabit the world, the elves had always been known to be vicious in their pursuit of both knowledge and land. They, above all others, had caused the most wars and strife across the lands. So, to say that an elf has somehow gained control over a dragon, is an omen of doom to all that might believe it so.
And of all the races, an elf was the most likely to succeed.
“If what you say is true…” The old man said shakily, “Then we are all doomed.”
“That is why I’m here!” Mari blinked at her own words, unsure of where she was going with this. “As Dragon-kin, we cannot stand by as our brethren are abused. It is our duty to them, who have always protected us. Now, it is our turn to protect them.”
“What are you suggesting?”
Looking to Aniljem, Mari knew in her heart that this was right. This was why they had come here, to find and rally the scattered remains of her people.
“I know we have always been a peaceful people, but it is time we took a stand. Not for us, but for our Kin, for Dragons! We must rise up and find the elves responsible for controlling the black dragon and stop them, before they can bring their cruelty upon any others!” “Are you mad?!” The old man shrieked.
“No, she’s right.” Kador suddenly spoke up, moving to stand beside her. “You said so yourself once before father, ‘we are a people on the brink’, well I for one don’t want to sit around waiting for someone to find us and wipe us out!”
“Yeah, he’s right!”
“We’re just sitting ducks here, waiting to be found!” Cheers of agreement soon began to join them. “Kador, this is madness! You can’t fight alone.”
Mari smiled. “But we won’t be alone, right Aniljem?” Her dragon roared loudly in approval.
“This is insanity!” The old man shouted but was drowned out by cheers all in favor of standing up for their fellow dragon
s.
Mari smiled wide as she was gathered around, her people rallying to the cause, but even as she cheered along with them, doubt tickled at the back of her mind. She couldn’t lead the humans, could she really lead her own people?
Three days ago, …
This was the moment of truth, they would either win the war, or lose. It had been a long two years of fighting. The humans, after their capital was suddenly swarmed with hundreds of refugees from their neighboring city telling of a terrible disaster, became on edge.
It was only thanks to Jacob vouching for Mari, that she was able to gain an audience with the human King.
Surrounded by guards, she didn’t waver as she knelt before him and explained her story, the black dragon, it’s attack upon the ruined city, and of the elf she saw controlling it.
Together, they negotiated an alliance between the human armies and the Dragon-Kin warriors. Her people were strong, Mari knew, but they were small and could not breach the elven border alone.
Luckily, she knew humans where ones to carry a grudge and used that to win the King to her side. Humans and elves never got along; this would only be another war in the hundreds fought between them throughout history.
The war went well for them. Unprepared to be on the sudden receiving end of an attack, the elves were taken by surprise. As they human armies covered the ground, Mari lead her people in an aerial assault atop their dragons.
When she first crossed into the elven territories, she could suddenly sense it. Danger unlike anything she’d felt before. It was what the elders had always been worried by, she realized, and at the same time understood just how little she had truly learnt since losing her tribe. Had she been more in tune, had she grown up and been raised to spot the signs, maybe things would have gone differently.
The assault was going well, the elves where on the retreat, and they we’re getting closer to finding the secret hidden within the elven lands. Little did they know, that the secret would come to find them first.
As the humans cheered another successful victory, Mari found she couldn’t sit still.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked. Much to everyone’s surprise, after their home was destroyed,
she joined the army, wanting to protect her family if danger ever came knocking again.
“I don’t know, something just doesn’t feel right…” Mari frowned, looking out over the wide rocky plains to the elven castle in the distance. “I’m going to go on patrol.”
Anna knew her too well to try to stop her, so she only nodded. “Come back safe.”
Mari gave a half smirk as she took off on Aniljem, but she wasn’t alone. Having seen her leave, Kador soon joined her in the air upon his own friend, a rather impressive looking blue dragon.
“What’s up?”
Mari didn’t have a chance to answer, as suddenly the ground below began to shake as cracks formed. People shouted and ran as they tried to avoid falling, the Dragon-Kin taking to the air, but it was what came out of the fissures that stunned everyone.
Dragons.
An army of armored dragons with riders rose up in a surprise attack and what followed could only be described as pure chaos. Dragon verse dragon, human against elf, Kin against rider.
All order was lost as everyone tried to just survive the attack. Mari lost sight of Anna and Kador as Aniljem weaved through the attackers, breathing his own fire and fighting back as best he could, but there were too many of them. Attacked from underneath, Aniljem was ripped from the sky as Mari was pulled from his back and tossed to the ground, her world turning to black upon contact.
They were overrun. They were defeated.
So, her she is, a noose around her neck, dragon less as the elves cheer for her death. The lever is pulled, and she sighs as she drops…
Chapter 8
Will of Fire
In life, there are only two guarantees. The first; nothing ever goes as planned, and the second? The second is death comes for everyone in the end.
But when that death is planned, now there’s a conundrum.
The roar of the crowd becomes background static as Mari listens for the click and clunk of the lever, feels the shift beneath her feet in the moment the trap door is released, free to drop away and let her fall.
But Mari didn’t come all this way, survive fire and destruction, learn and grow, just to die here. So, as she sighs, she knows this is not over yet. No, this was never meant to be her end.
She sighs, because the elves have made one big mistake…
Now the wooden planks quickly fall away, Mari moves even faster, reaching up above her head to grasp the rope of her noose, and swing. It’s only a matter of strength and leverage as she kicks off the last inches of the trap door and backflips over the hole to land safely on the edge of the platform.
Back on solid ground, but far from saved, Mari tugs fervently at the knot of her tightened noose, but her manacles are making it rather difficult to do, as the executioner turns on her, the two guards not far behind as they hurry back up the steps. The crowd falls silent for only a second, before they roar with renewed vigor in their outrage at her antics.
Mari may not be a skilled fighter, but she’s fast, and agile.
Taking a moment to look between the hooded man and the incoming guards, Mari grins as she grabs her rope again and jumps. She swings across the open trap door and back, kicking out a leg to bounce off the first guard. From there, she changes her angle to the hooded man, high enough now to jump off his tall shoulders and up to crouch on the cross beam of the gallows.
Safely out of reach for the moment, Mari smirks as she’s finally able to tug herself free of the noose. But she’s not out of the woods yet. The crowd are furious and looking across the courtyard, she can see more guards rushing to stop her.
Turning her gaze to the sky, she prays her voice will be heard.
“Aniljeeeeeeeeem!” She cries as loud as she can, her lungs burning with the effort. “Aniljeeeeeeem!”
Nothing.
The blue sky remains clear as the guards close in, surrounding her.
With a cry in the elven tongue, the reinforcement traps her within an all-encompassing blue force field.
“Aniljem!” She tries to call once more, but her voice does not escape her magic prison.
The walls of blue energy close in around her and she screams as what feels like a thousand lightning bolts courses through her.
Unconscious, she falls to land at the feet of the eleven guard.
Far below, in the darkest caverns, a distraught young dragon roar. His flames serve as the only light, revealing the heavy chains binding him, and the stout figures that shrink back at his rage.
“Don’t just stand there! Tie it down!” One of them shouts, as the small group rush to further restrain the dragon.
Fighting against his chains, Aniljem stretches out his wings and swings his tail, getting a few good hits in on his captors.
In the absence of his flames, the darkness is slowly lit by the gentle white glow of an approaching light. Aniljem narrows his eyes and growls lowly at the figure that stands back, watching.
The elven wizard only grins back at him.
“Good, this one will serve us well.”
The captured dragons all rage from several more days, but eventually they begin to calm. They all do in the end. Held under the watchful eyes of a few dozen elven wizards, but they are not the ones who do the heavy lifting.
That job, of forging chains strong enough to withstand dragon fire and tie down such mighty beasts, is given to one group of enslaved captives of the elven kingdom.
After all, no one knows darkness and caverns like a dwarf.
The unlucky losers of past wars, those not fast enough to escape their homes when the elves invade, now all dwell down here, as the keepers of the dragon army.
Thurnik Warmtoe is one such dwarf. He was never a fighter; his life was simple. By day he dug in the mines deep below Mount Dromer, and by night he sifted
through the rocks for anything valuable.That was his life, and for a dwarf it was a pretty good one. But working so deep in the mines to the tune of his own pickaxe, he never heard the warnings. Never saw the elves coming, never had a chance to get away, before they came and dragged him away.
Eight years he’s been down here. Not the longest of their unhappy group, but still far too long for his liking.
Elven dirt sucks. The miles upon miles of rough stones and loose sand never have anything remotely valuable in them. Also, the whole ‘dragon slave army thing’ is a bother.
So, when one of the elven watchmen order him off to help deal with a particularly troublesome new dragon, he’s not surprised in the least.
Wandering through the lonely caverns, it’s not hard to find where he’s meant to go, especially when everyone is shouting, and fire was spewing all over the place.
Huffing at the sight, he slowly meanders his way over, grabbing the end of a particularly hefty chain as he goes. Some people might be somewhat disinclined to approach an angry, fire breathing monster that wants nothing more than to bite your head off, but Thurnik isn’t most people.
He makes it look easy, fearlessly walking up behind the raging beast to clamp the chain onto a spare hook in its metal harness. Apparently surprised by this, the dragon turns to look at him. Head tilted, Thurnik locks eyes with the wild beast and something in them makes him pause.
The dragons’ momentary stillness is all it takes for the others to rush into resecure the silvery beast.
As the group heave a collective sigh, the watchman hardly gives them a passing glance as he moves off, taking their only light with them, the bastard.
“Bastards.” Thurnik grumbles as he watches him go, before giving a hard smack to the small jar clipped to the side of his belt.
The glow worms held inside light up at the disturbance, their bioluminescence a poor substitute for the light orbs the watchmen tote around. It’s only thanks to the dwarf’s ability to pick up even the slightest of light that the glow worms are of any use to them. Thurnik could almost chuckle at the old Dwarf saying: ‘So long as there’s light, we can see the tunnel ahead.’ Well he can see the tunnel alright, and quite frankly he’s sick of this one.
Last of the Dragon Warriors- a Will of Fire Page 3
