Dragons Shining

by Michael Sperry

  “Thank you Owen, but don’t squeeze so tightly, ugh.”

  Owen relaxed his grip. “What were those?”

  “I call them collectors, although I cannot see them directly as you did. Spirits are more visible. Free spirits are collected either by light or dark spirit collectors if not able to find a host or sanctuary. You have my magic, but sifting through it could take you years. I will teach you how to create a sanctuary. Set me down over by Zaron and do what you can to minimize losses here. I can take care of myself now, give me the ring.” Baird slipped the ring from Owen's talon and placed in on his finger, where it shrank to fit nicely.

  The fighting was intense below. The Nomads were fearsome warriors on horseback, darting past their enemies, weaving and striking from advantageous angles. The Orcs, Trolls, and Soulless fought viciously though, and Nomads were dying. Every death released energy, and Owen was learning how to collect and store this into his Blood Stones almost without thinking, before it was lost into nothing.

  Owen spotted Zaron and his friends. Gander was toe to toe with a Troll, slowly ripping it to shreds while absorbing it’s blows with his shield. His friends and Zaron strove to keep the Orcs back and away from Gander, killing them in numbers. Owen opened his jaws and slagged a group of soulless that had moved in to break the deadlock. They died screaming, and the powerful blast of life energies almost escaped him as he shunted it into the Rubies. He set Baird down behind the lines and took off quickly. His friends managed to keep the Orcs off of him. The Orcs who tried exploded in a blast of emerald lightning. More life energy and blood freed itself for Owen’s collection, but not all. Baird was back, and he knew how to absorb this energy too!

  This time as he rose, he lifted and molded the blood into a shower of acid, and dropped it on a huge troll that was heading over to help it’s brother. The result was almost pitiful. The Troll melted into slag, hardly able to even gurgle in pain. Owen added it’s life energy to his Rubies.

  After creating a physical pulse shield that emanated from him in waves, Owen dove on the horde below. The shield took lots of energy, but he had recently stored as much or more. He spread fire, killing as he passed, and collecting more life energy. He could feel the spirits slipping by, and was tempted to try and collect them. “I am not ready for that”, he said to no one in particular. Arrows and spears glanced off of his shield. He rose before making another pass. He noticed Garth battling a Troll. They fought with axes, and Garth was getting the worst of it. Garth’s men surrounded them, and were surrounded in turn by attacking Orcs. Owen dove in. “Duck, Garth, Duck!”

  Garth recognized Owen and ducked down on his horse’s side. Owen swooped in and took the Troll’s head off with the edge of his wing. The impact spun Owen, and he hit the ground in the middle of a group of Orcs, bowling them over and ripping them apart with his talons.

  ”Help the Dragon Lord!” screamed Garth, and the Nomads fought to reach him. The impact had stunned Owen and the Orcs that had not been killed by his fall moved in. He changed, and released his grass armor. It piled around him and covered the Orcs. That gave him time to draw his Elven swords and re-arrange his wards. He spun, removing the fire wards on the grass as he set it on fire. Then he jumped over the ring of fire with his strong Elven legs. As the Orcs died in flames, their energy flowed into the rubies. He moved toward the oncoming Nomads and met two Orcs intent on killing him. He blocked two large swords, one with each of his, and broke one Orc’s knee with a kick. The Orc tried to grab him, and recoiled screaming. Owen’s contact ward had eaten his hands. Blood streamed from the severed stumps past Owen. He worked the blood into a streaking javelin that struck into the second Orcs eye. They both died, feeding the rubies. His arms ached from the sword blows. It seemed the Blood Stones were giving as much as receiving.

  Strong, friendly hands reached down to grab Owen. He quickly disabled the contact ward, and Garth grabbed him and lifted him into the saddle behind him. “Get me into an open area where I can take off again, if you can.”

  Garth led his men through the break in Orc lines, and back toward Gander and Baird, who was riding him. “All the Trolls are dead”, called Baird.

  Garth set Owen down. He did not hesitate, ran into an open area and changed. As he climbed, Baird sent him a scathing “Be more careful, Owen! The day is won, so don’t get yourself killed like a foolish boy.”

  Owen did not reply, and wheeled back toward the stubborn Orc circle that the Nomads could not penetrate. He blasted them with fire, again and again, filling the rubies all the while. Finally they broke, and the Nomads flooded in. Owen could do no more without hitting them, so he flew back to his friends. Tamaris was down, bleeding profusely and near death. The others backed away, as Owen approached, still in dragon form. He reached down and touched Tamaris with his snout. The blood reversed it’s course, streaming back into Tamaris. The wounds closed and he passed out, unconscious and whole again.

  “I am a much stronger healer as a Dragon, Baird.”

  “Then do this as a Dragon”, thought Baird.

  Owen moved about the field of battle, healing wounded men with the energy he had collected by killing others. The surrounding Nomads bowed to him and called him Dragon Lord, even the two surviving Generals.

  He met the leaders of the two other tribes in this way. “Well met Lord Owen”, said one. “I am Gelid Wesson, chief of the Wesson Clan. This is Doric Plaudit, Chief of the Wind Clan. We saw you take out that Wyrm. What a quick and magnificent fight that was.“

  “I am in deeply your dept, Lord Owen, for healing my men like this”, said Doric.

  “There is no debt for saving a life. Thank you both for risking your men in the Maker’s cause.” Vocalizing Common tongues as a Dragon was difficult. Dragon language was utterly different, and the dragon larynx could do Common no better than a human could speak Dragon. Luckily, a dragon was strong enough mentally to project it’s thought into almost any mind.

  “The Maker’s cause is our cause, Dragon Lord, although King Paul should show his gratitude after this”, said Doric.

  “I am honored to meet you both, even upon this horrible field. If I see Paul, I will be sure to mention this to him. I have others to heal right now however”.

  The battle was finally over. It took the rest of the day to pile and burn the dead dark ones and soulless, and the dead horses. They tied the dead Nomads onto horses, some behind a rider and made their way more slowly back to the Haven. The losses were not as heavy as they could have been.

  Owen flew back, basking in the beautiful, golden red sunset and the cloudless, storm cleaned sky. He was tired, yet the blood stone shone brightly. He had time to think, and his thoughts were troubled. Many spirits had whistled by and were collected today. He had been tempted to capture them and create something beastly to raze the horde and destroy them, releasing more spirits and so on. Was he strong enough? He knew this is what Kragon had done in wars of the past. “Where is the line between darkness and light if I am to take this same path? I need clear guidance before I would even attempt this, even to save my own life.” Kragon had erred. He would not, he prayed. Baird was no longer with him to answer.

  Owen flew around the Haven, noting the various pathways, and he saw the wood trailers still in good shape where they left them, protected from the wind by a small bluff. He had removed all wards and returned that energy to the Blood Stones, the rubies. After everyone was inside, he landed in full view of the sentries and changed. They backed away at first, then recovered and waived at him as he entered the Haven.

  Annette was waiting for him not far from the entrance. “She smells wonderful, looks delicious, and I am a mess”. She ran to him and they embraced fiercely.

  “They said you were great to have in battle, and careless of your own life. That is a high complement from Garth. I hate the last part though. Are you hurt?”

  “Only sore all over. I healed the injuries, but relieving sore muscles is not something magic can help me with.”

&n
bsp; They walked down the pathway, to the fork between the paddock areas and the main hall facilities.

  “You smell like .. (death), never mind. After you clean up, I will handle your muscles.”

  “That sounds wonderful. I need to speak with Baird first though, and check on Gander.”

  “See you later then, Owen. I will be waiting.”

  Owen continued to the paddocks, where Baird and his men were waiting, except for Tamaris who had been carried to his apartment.

  “Hello Owen.”

  “Baird, Rolph, Ender, and Purdy.” They performed high fives and each gave him a man hug.

  “You need a change of clothes, Baird. You look like one of them, but I like the improvement. Your not an old fart any more. I think you might get some Nomad lady attention tonight, if you change clothes.”

  “That’s rich coming from someone dressed in a halter and smelling like a dead Wyrm”, he replied laughing.

  Owen laughed with the others. “Your are right. I came over here to get my clothes back, and talk about tomorrow. Will you be coming with us, Baird?”

  “Yes, Owen. That was my job all along. I am certainly happy to have you guys with us,” he said nodding to the others. “We should leave at first light.”

  “We wouldn’t miss this, Baird”, said Rolph.

  Ender said “Right. I hope everyone else we meet is as friendly as these Nomads. Especially the women.”

  “Spoken like a salty sailor been at sea for too long”, Purdy said. He missed Tamaris, so Ender would have to do.

  “Oh. I saw that winsome wench leave your apartment, Purdy. Hope you didn’t bruise her with all that weight you carry around.”

  “Weight and size, puny sailor. Size matters, heh.”

  “Not to change the subject, but I need to speak with you, Baird, about something important, before too long.”

  “So serious, Owen? Have a good time this evening. This can wait”, he said with a wink.

  “Glad to have your ring back on your finger instead of mine?”

  “Yes, thank you, Owen, more than I can say. It does come in handy either way. I’ll see you in the morning, since I do actually have a date”, said Baird, and he walked away.

  “Good for him”, said Purdy. “If I had been stuffed into a ring for that long I would be really horny.”

  “You’re horny all the time, you big ugly fat man”, said Ender.

  Owen laughed and walked over to pet Gander. “You ok, boy?” Gander whickered and nodded, nuzzling Owen. He washed Gander with a bucket of soapy water, and then rinsed him off with a second bucket. After drying him off, he grabbed his clothes but did not put them on. The others had cleaned and dried their warhorses by then, so they all headed over to the bathhouse.

  Owen left his blades in the apartment after cleaning the harness with hot, soapy water and set it to dry.

  Then he joined the others to enjoy a long, hot bath with the others.

  “Am I going to meet your ladies, or are they to be a big mystery?” he asked.

  “Lets get them all together for dinner. How about it guys?” said Rolph.

  “Dinner was not what I had in mind, but ok”, said Purdy.

  “Good grief, Purdy”, said Ender. “There will time for that later. I’m in.”

  “Annette, would you like to meet us for dinner?”

  “Of course. I will find Cindy, Bonnie and Tammy, so tell the boys to relax.”

  “Thanks, sweetie.”

  “Annette says she will collect the girls, so we don’t need to go looking for them.”

  “Does she listen in to everything we say?” asked Purdy, red faced.

  “You bet, Purdy”, he lied. “So you better watch your tongue.” Rolph and Ender laughed, and Owen kept a straight face, wishing Tamaris was there with them.

  “How is Tamaris, Annette?”

  “Bella is in there with him. She is taking very good card of him,” Annette laughed in his mind.

  After returning to the apartments to dress, they met on the way to the little diner Annette had told him about. There was noise from the common area. “They must be having a party over there”, said Ender.

  “No doubt a victory celebration”, said Purdy.

  “Actually, Cindy told me they would celebrate the lives of their dead tonight, by getting quite drunk and bawdy”, said Rolph.

  “We better go over there after dinner and join the fun for a little while at least”, said Owen.

  “You got any spells against a hangover, Owen?” asked Purdy.

  “Nope. Elves don’t get hangovers, so why bother?”

  “Lucky bastards”, said Ender. “Oh look, they are here already.”

  The four girls were sitting at a large table talking. “Hello boys”, said Annette. “All clean and pretty again?”

  “The pretty ones are all sitting”, said Owen. “How about introductions?”

  After introductions, Owen sat down next to Annette, Rolph sat next to Cindy, Ender next to Tammy, and Purdy next to Bonnie.

  “Will the party last until after we eat?” asked Owen.

  “Until everyone is passed out drunk probably”, said Annette.

  They ordered beer with dinner. There was only one selection, but it was very good Antelope chowder and Buffalo steak.

  “There seem to be more ladies than men around”, observed Rolph.

  “That’s because our men are always fighting with someone, or killing each other if no one else”, said Cindy. Owen could tell she was taken with Rolph.

  “We have many parties”, said Tammie.

  “Send word, and we will party for you”, said Bonnie.

  “That’s one party you won’t be having”, said Purdy, and he gave Bonnie a quick kiss.

  After dinner, they made it over to the Commons. There was free beer on tap, and most everyone was there, except there were no kids. Four musicians and a female singer were playing Nomad music with the beat of a drum, bagpipes, a lute and a guitar. The floor was full of dancers performing their seductive routines. Garth spotted them, and dragged Owen up onto a stage, stopping the music. “Here he is, the Dragon Lord, my Brother! I owe him my life. Without him out there today, many more of you would be causing us to get drunker this night.” There was a deafening roar as the drunken Nomads cheered wildly.

  Owen spotted Baird with a strikingly beautiful, tall redhead. “I have seen through the eyes of a 10,000 year old Wizard, which have seen no one fight as well or as hard as you do. Those that died today did not die easily, and it’s they you should honor, not we the survivors. But in the end it is our Maker to whom we owe everything. Drink to him as well this night!” They roared even louder, and the music continued.

  Owen managed to escape Garth, get a mug of beer for him and one for Annette, and made it over to speak with Baird. “Her name is Rachel”.

  “Quite a catch, my friend.”

  “Look who’s talking .Try not to embarrass me.” Baird was smiling.

  “Hello, Baird, and Rachel. It’s good to see you here.”

  “Hello Lord Owen”, said Rachel. She saw that Annette had his arm in hers. “Are you truly brother to Garth?”

  “Yes, Rachel.” Annette answered for him.

  Rachel smiled, showing gleaming white teeth. “I know what that means for us all. Congratulations!”

  Annette blushed. She and Rachel had been best friends as long as she could remember. They had only separated somewhat after Annette had shown her talent. She hoped Rachel would enjoy her duties as much as she was. From the looks of the man Baird had owned, it looked like she might at that.

  “The beer is good”, said Owen.

  “It’s the hops. We have the best in all the land. It was originally brought on the ships, and flourishes here”, said Annette.

  “Don’t drink too much of it though”, said Baird. “It packs quite a punch.”

  “Let’s dance, Elf”, Annette challenged. After another mug of beer, he agreed.

  After a few comical slips, Owen
caught on to the dance, so he and Annette stayed at the party long enough to see most of the Nomads fall out, and then retired for one last night of alcohol fueled, gymnastic sex.

  Early the next morning as he brushed the hair from her sleepy eyes he asked tenderly, “You know the dangers of having my child, don’t you? I am son of the only pure blood vampire. My grandchild could be born a ravenous monster.”

  “I know, and I swear to you and the Maker on my soul that I will take the necessary steps before your daughter leaves my womb.”

  “What will you name her?”

  “Diana will be her name. Who is your adoptive father, Owen? I will keep his name.”

  “His sir name is Hodgen”.