Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow

by J. Michael Fluck

  Put your mind at rest, my friend. I know Colonel Wierangan will not argue, especially if I tell him it is to his advantage, Gallanth explained to Mkel telepathically. I hope you are right, Gallanth, Mkel said silently back to his dragon. You just have to have faith, my friend, Gallanth answered back with a trace of humor in his mental reply.

  “We will have to trust in your dragon, Mkel,” Jodem whispered to Mkel.

  “Now my friends, you will need to find your courage, for it will be tested in the coming months. I know you will perform with bravery and honor. Trust in the Creator’s divine providence, trust in the Alliance, and trust each other. Faith and strength to you all,” he finished as he bowed his head in a kind of Draconic salute and took a step back. He then let out a full battle roar, which could shake buildings to their foundation, which was then echoed by all the land dragons.

  General Daddonan quickly sprang back up to the platform and called his subordinate commanders to attention. The clamor of over six thousand soldiers’ armor and weapons, and the rustling of beasts reverberated throughout the landing field. He then called for a presentation of arms as a salute to Gallanth. The gold dragon again bowed his head as a return salute. General Daddonan turned back to face the legion.

  “Soldiers of Battle Point, I welcome all of you to the celebration feast in honor of our Weir guests and the bountiful fall harvest. Commanders, you may dismiss your men,” he finished, saluting with his sword, and the battalion and regimental commanders returned the salute. Gallanth turned to walk back to the landing area in front of the visitors’ quarters. Mkel and Jodem quickly turned to walk back as well, for Mkel did not want to hear the slight gloat in General Daddonan’s voice.

  “Fear not, my friend. Colonel Wierangan will understand. I have an uneasy feeling about this region, now that we are here, in that conflict is just over the horizon. They will need us and likely all the garrison. Maybe even the Draden regiment,” Gallanth said out loud to Mkel.

  “I always have faith and trust in you, Gallanth,” Mkel replied.

  “Yes, but how will the Dragon Council react to this?” Jodem asked.

  “General Becknor and Valianth will understand. They know that even though the Capital Wing provides overall protection to Battle Point, they take time to mobilize, and time might be critical to these soldiers,” Gallanth replied.

  “I wish you luck, Gallanth. You know how testy Valianth has been as of late, and remember, he is senior to you,” Jodem added.

  “Also remember, Master Wizard, that my brother Falcanth is on the council as well,” Gallanth replied.

  “I guess it will depend on how the other senior Weir dragons and Capital dragons view the situation,” answered Jodem.

  “How about the Wizard Council of Thirteen?” Gallanth asked.

  “I will work on them,” Jodem replied.

  “I know Eladran, High Mountain, Atlean, Rom, Rem, Denar, and Talinor Weirs will back us up, with Lancastra and maybe Machren Weirs likely agreeing with us as well,” Mkel added, knowing the Weir leaders and senior dragons of those Weirs very well. He knew that seven of the twelve Weirs were closely aligned with Draden. Ferranor and Ice Bay Weirs were the other remaining fortresses that rimmed Alliance territory, with the exception of Talinor Weir and the Capitol Weir.

  “Just have faith, Mkel my rider, the council will go our way. We do not need permission or funds from the senate either. It is just a defense agreement to support and protect this legion,” Gallanth explained.

  As they walked back to the visitor quarters, cooks from the legion’s support section had already wheeled up two wagons with freshly butchered steers. They were lightly cooked over the large fire pits that were blazing on the south side of the landing field and well seasoned. General Daddonan did his homework, for this was how Gallanth liked his meat.

  “I see you’ve made General Daddonan very happy, my large Draconian friend. I wonder how he acquired the knowledge of your taste in meat?” Jodem asked with a slight hint of curiosity.

  “People come and people go through Draden all the time. The caravans that are headed to Battle Point will sometimes stop in the Weir for a weapons fit or trade. We are almost as large a trading center as Battle Point,” stated Mkel.

  “My rider is correct, Master Wizard, but nonetheless we should address it through Sergeant Toderan and Captain Hornbrag upon our return to Draden,” Gallanth added.

  “Sir, pardon me, Master Dragon, but your tables, food, and drink are ready,” a civilian support staff worker told Mkel and Jodem. While the inspection was taking place, the kitchen workers and halflings had moved all the tables out of the great hall and were bringing food out by the wagon load. Mkel wanted to go back to his quarters and stow his riding jacket.

  “Gallanth, go ahead and eat, I’ll be right back,” Mkel said.

  “I can wait, he replied.” Mkel hurried to the guest quarters building and put his riding jacket in his room. He was glad to have the dragon armor jacket off and would just wear his uniform tunic and mithril weave undershirt that Ordin gave him. The weather was warm and very nice for a late summer day, with clear skies, for they were on the plains and away from a major body of water and the mountains with forests.

  Mkel emerged from the building as the legion was gathering to the hundreds of tables set up on the landing. Gallanth was sitting down by the two wagons that had brought the steer halves; he would have to remain there until the legion dispersed. Even the slightest miscalculation on his part with his tail or his massively clawed foot could kill or maim a man.

  The smell of fresh breads, cooked meats, and stews wafted through the air. The kegs of draft ales and wine were tapped, and the bards and minstrels were beginning to play. An impressive feast, Mkel thought to himself. Not quite as good of quality as what the Weir put on, but a non-Weir aligned legion did not have the resources or riches that Draden or the other Weirs possessed.

  “Mkel, come, sit down; the first course is excellent, and the ale is almost as good as the amber brews of Draden,” Jodem yelled over to Mkel.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming, just save a few ales for me,” Mkel answered.

  The melodies of lyres, guitars, flutes, drums, pipes, and the voices of bards could be heard over the low roar of the conversations of a whole legion gathering. These soldiers were a lively crowd but not quite as rambunctious as the garrison or the Draden regiment. The dwarves and halflings that inhabited the Weir and Mkel’s brand of leadership tended to make his soldiers more closely tied and less restricted. Dwarves loved to drink, and halflings loved to drink, sing, and dance, and they had a way of drawing all around them into the merriment.

  A horn sounded with the legion commander’s call. The conversations and music quickly ceased. “Soldiers of Battle Point, a toast,” General Daddonan shouted as thousands of glasses and tankards were raised. “To those who fell in battle, to our honored Draconic guest, the gold dragon Gallanth, and to the Battle Point legion. May the Creator grace all of us and give us strength and wisdom,” he finished and was repeated by the legion as a whole. Tankards were quickly drained and slammed on the hundreds of wooden tables. Gallanth lowered his head as both an acknowledgment and prayer.

  The food trays were now pouring out of the kitchen buildings with the main course and being put on the tables. Seasoned roasted beef, mutton, hearth breads, and several vegetables were the main dishes out here on the plains. There were as many steer and sheep herders as farmers supporting the town and the legion. As far as foodstuffs, Battle Point was more than self-sufficient.

  Gallanth was given wide berth to eat the four well-seasoned steer halves. He could later go to the central water fountain, where all the mounts got their fresh water. It was as large as a good-sized pond with the fountain in the center. The water was fed from the central tank that was supplied from a deep spring that provided the whole city with water.


  Many soldiers came up to Gallanth to pay their respects. It was not often an Alliance soldier who was not with a Weir garrison or legion got to talk to a dragon, much less a gold dragon. Several soldiers also talked to Mkel and Jodem throughout the meal as well. As the soldiers finished greeting Gallanth, drinking and dancing started in earnest.

  The wizard Andellion came over to Mkel’s and Jodem’s table with difficulty; his arm was bandaged and in a sling, and he used his dragonstone-powered staff to help him walk, because of his leg injury. Mkel sprang up and helped him into a chair. The slightly built wizard looked tired but happy nonetheless. His rust red-colored hair was relatively unkempt and made his light complexion more apparent. He was smiling and very happy to see Mkel and especially Jodem. Andellion had been an apprentice of Jodem’s years ago when Mkel was still a lieutenant and a relatively new dragonrider. He was a very intelligent and talented wizard who quickly mastered his dragonstone-powered magical ability. His selection to be Battle Point’s senior wizard was due to his quick learning and somewhat aggressive nature, along with his mastery of the magical power of his staff.

  “Welcome, my young apprentice,” Jodem said. “Sit and have an ale. I have a lot of questions for you since you were still sleeping in the healing hall earlier,” he asked with a grin while Mkel shook his non injured hand.

  “Let me have a drink first to clear my head from the healer’s stones and Aloras,” Andellion answered.

  “Take your time, my friend,” Jodem replied as the red-haired wizard took a long drink from his tankard, grabbed a piece of seasoned beef and bread, and ate it. “I see your appetite hasn’t changed,” he chided. “You can eat more than a dwarf and still be as thin as an elf. So tell me about your little encounter with the drow.”

  “He was very powerful and talented with his dark crystal death staff, being at least a master sorcerer. I defeated him, but it was close,” Andellion explained.

  “I couldn’t tell,” Jodem again teased the younger wizard. “Give me the details, Andellion.”

  “Well, we departed here as soon as the ranger patrol told the commanders the situation,” Andellion began. “We left with a battalion-sized task force of several infantry companies, one heavy cavalry troop or company, a company of land dragons, and a wing of hippogriff riders, making as much haste as possible. We skirted along the river, for that allowed us to move at a good pace, riding throughout the night and into the next morning until we were just behind a small rise that shielded us from the village.

  “The rangers sent a dismounted patrol to get a better look,” he continued, “and I sent two seeing eyes from different directions. The enemy had just over a thousand orcs and a band of thirty or more common giants, with a mountain giant as their leader. Several dozen trolls, ogres, and assorted other monsters were also accompanying their group. The leaders and I quickly got together with the colonel in charge and formulated a plan. He and the other officers quickly tightened the troops into a small formation. I put an illusion spell over the whole battalion to make us appear as the background, and we started to move into position behind the enemy. We noticed a couple of mounted manticores and hymenoids flying in from the southwest, but we remained unseen.

  “We set up roughly three hundred yards behind them,” Andellion said. “One of our land dragons’ tails mistakenly swung outside the area of my spell and was seen by a manticore rider. Colonel Sheer quickly ordered the archers, crossbowmen, and the ballista gunners on the land dragons to prepare to fire. I readied a meteor spell, and as soon as I stopped the illusion, I sent the fiery projectiles toward the enemy, followed by a hail of arrows and ballista spears. My spell caught them just as they were turning to face us, and the explosions felled at least two giants and severely wounded three more along with dozens of orcs. The archers’ arrows sunk into their ranks as many more fell. Our heavy horse company spurred to the right to attempt to flank them and was met head on by a mixture of mounted dire wolves and regular Morgathian cavalry. The land dragons formed their line in front of the infantry, and our charge began.

  “Several volleys of arrows were exchanged before the orc charge hit our infantry line,” he continued. “The ballista gunners scored at least fifteen hits on the giants, and one land dragon’s shoulder was injured by a boulder thrown by a giant. The land dragons all breathed a barrage of fire, which incinerated the giants’ lead charge and took out several of the brutes. Our infantry took the onrushing orcs well, skewering their first line and holding firm as the second wave hit their shields. A basic melee started to break out. Our archers and crossbowmen were dishing out tremendous punishment on the Morgathian reserves. Just as the hippogriff wing entered the fray and started to engage the few manticores and mounted giant wasps, the drow sorcerer teleported in on a nightmare steed.

  “He started to make a dive on the rear of our lines when I fired a lightning bolt at him,” Andellion continued. “His spell shield took the hit, but it surprised him. As he veered off, I let loose a frost ray, which I knew might do more damage to the nightmare. Again his shield absorbed the spell, but his demon horse did take a frost burn on its hindquarter, which slowed it down quite a bit. I spurred my mount away from the soldiers to draw his attacks. He swung around and cast a disruption beam at me. My shield stopped the dark ray of deadly light, but I felt the powerful shudder to my core.

  “I unleashed a barrage of fireballs that bracketed him,” the younger wizard explained. “Four of the six fiery projectiles hit their mark, and he reeled back, for his shield was starting to buckle. He let loose a meteor swarm spell back at me, which I tried to outrun, but two of them hit me. My shield was still intact but was weakening. I then fired a chain lightning spell at him; he had cast the same spell at almost the same time I did. His spell shattered my shield and hit me in the shoulder, arm, and hip. My lightning bolts struck the nightmare, almost killing it, and hit the drow hard. I don’t know if he was dead or just severely wounded, but a nearby hippogriff rider dove on them and finished them off with an arrow shot and a front claw swipe. I struggled up on my feet and leaned on my staff, for my horse was killed. Colonel Sheer had already sent a hippogriff and rider down to me to take me to a healer.”

  “The drow didn’t have any markings or a standard?” Jodem asked.

  “No, he didn’t have any markings on his cloak, just the standard drow death staff with a rather large piece of dark crystal on top,” Andellion replied.

  “A rogue drow,” Mkel said.

  “There have been a few drow sorcerer and clerics that have attempted to go independent for a wide variety of reasons,” Jodem explained, “such as falling out of favor with the spider cult, greed, or even revenge. However, this is rare, and those are usually apprentices or low to mid degree sorcerers or clerics, not one as powerful as the one you tangled with.”

  “Then what could this mean?” Mkel asked.

  “There are too many missing pieces to the puzzle, too many things that do not make sense, like Gallanth’s dreams and his feeling of a significant threat. Eladra’s visions and these attacks that are growing in strength and frequency are all tied, but we just don’t know how. They must be connected to the gathering of giants and dragons in the Fire Mountains to the east of Eladran Weir,” Jodem theorized.

  “I guess time will tell,” Andellion said. “I just hope we are ready for it and have the will to confront it.”

  “You are concerned with the Enlightened senators and their movement at the capital?” Jodem asked the young wizard.

  “Yes, although news comes slow out here, we still hear of the politics,” Andellion stated. The way I understand it is they are attempting to convince the senate to cut our budget again and divert most of the weapons-quality dragonstone gems to their projects and other kingdoms as a measure of good will, along with the regular heating and cooling crystals. I understand they want the dragons to just donate them or give them away. That is rather p
resumptuous, is it not?”

  “Yes, but remember they are still a minority in the senate and in the Alliance as a whole. However, they are a very loud minority and gaining popularity among the civilians and some disillusioned veterans. Things will likely come to a head at the next senate gathering at the end of this month,” Jodem replied. “Just keep the faith, my young apprentice.”

  “I will, as always. So Mkel, how is the mighty Gallanth?” Andellion asked to lighten the conversation.

  “He is still precocious as usual, but a little more somber as of late. These dreams he has been having about the Great Dragon War, and the foggy, unclear visions of a widening conflict have been plaguing me especially,” Mkel answered.

  “Well, he is a gold dragon with the power of foresight. That kind of talent can take a toll on anyone, even a metallic dragon,” Andellion answered.

  “Yes, but it doesn’t bode well for a good night’s sleep on many an occasion,” Mkel answered with a grin.

  “I understand, Mkel,” Andellion answered.