Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow

by J. Michael Fluck

  “Understandable; we will wait here under Gallanth’s illusionary camouflage until you are close to your assault position. We will then move into our over-watch position and let you know when we are ready. Hopefully the attack by the legion will drive most of their forces out onto the plain. Once this happens, we will see what is left over and decide who is going to take who. Once all remaining enemy are killed, we will then move in, repatriate the prisoners, and head directly back here to the mounts. Captain Decray, I assume you will still fly the prisoners back to friendly ground?” Mkel formulated the plan and then asked the senior ranger a question.

  “Yes; what if we run into heavier resistance than expected?” Decray asked.

  “My team will hold off any powerful creatures encountered, while your rangers rescue the prisoners. If we get too heavily pressed, I will call Gallanth up, which anything short of three or more chromatics, I am not too worried about,” Mkel answered.

  “I understand, Dragonrider,” Decray replied.

  “Any questions?” Mkel asked as he looked around to all gathered.

  “How far is our final position from the encampment?” Dekeen asked.

  “About one hundred fifty to two hundred yards, Master Elf,” the ranger answered. “Sorry we couldn’t get you in closer.”

  “That is perfect,” Dekeen answered. “That is an easy shot for me and Mkel, and out of their effective range.”

  “Good, then best of luck, Captain Decray,” Mkel said in parting.

  “May your swords serve you well, and a dragon’s luck to you all,” Gallanth said in his softest tone possible.

  Decray and all his men nodded in thanks, for he definitely wanted to test his pair of short swords, with their added power bestowed by Gallanth.

  “Rangers, follow me,” Decray spoke up and very stealthily led all but one of his men into the scrub hills.

  “All right, my friends, let’s gather close to Gallanth and wait for our signal,” Mkel said as he loaded his crossbow with a magazine of ten master-crafted bolts and leaned back against Gallanth’s front leg. The rest of the Weir council group followed suit, with only Dekeen moving up to the crest of the hollow to take watch. Between Dekeen’s elvish eyes and ears, and Gallanth’s foresight, he was not worried about being surprised. Now it was just a matter of waiting.

  Colonel Lordan and Lieutenant Padonan walked over to the legion’s gathering place, with Talonth and Strikenth right behind them. The legion’s soldiers had already been astonished when Gallanth teleported out with the Keystone Weir council group and the rangers. They now watched in amazement as the two large silver dragons approached. Strikenth and Talonth stopped just shy of the gathering legion and settled down on their bellies. The land dragons all looked over to the silvers and bowed their heads in a type of Draconic salute.

  The Battle Point land dragons did not see metallics often. They usually only witnessed the Capital Wing dragons on special envoys, but even then they almost never operated directly with them. Until now there hadn’t been a need for much metallic dragon support, for the most powerful enemy the legion had to deal with were giants or a very rare errant young chromatic. This was usually a single white, green, or black, with the worst being a young blue dragon, which several land dragons from the assigned battalion working in teams could easily handle. Those that were alive during the Great War worked with the metallic dragons to a greater degree, but there were only two left that old still serving. Land dragons had basically the same life span as their human crews.

  Lordan and Padonan walked into the bustling crowd of soldiers that were getting their weapons and gear ready for battle. The soldiers closest to the dragonriders quickly stood up and saluted them.

  “Soldier, do you know where General Daddonan or Colonel Sheer are?” Lordan asked the nearest legionnaire while he returned the salute.

  “Sir, I think they are over passed the land dragons and hippogriffs,” the soldier answered, sheepishly staring at Lordan’s mithril-headed dragonstone lance.

  “Thanks, my boy, and good luck today,” Lordan replied as he walked past the group of soldiers toward the hippogriffs. There were thousands of Battle Point soldiers moving about, making last-minute checks of their armor, weapons, and mounts. This legion is similar to mine, Lordan thought to himself; the legion under his command at Eladran Weir was a pure cavalry-based force, with a combination of land dragons; heavy, medium, and light cavalry; hippogriffs; and a ranger company mounted on griffons similar to Keystone Weir. All this accompanied with a battalion of centaurs. The difference at Eladran was that he commanded the whole legion, as opposed to Mkel commanding just his Weir garrison, which was the equivalent of a large battalion and was reinforced by the Draden regiment.

  The Battle Point legion also had heavy war wagons pulled by large, well-barded draft horses. These armored wagons brought the infantry forces to the battle, but they then dismount to fight. While they could fight from the turreted wagons if necessary, they usually formed the base around which the cavalry maneuvered and were supported by the power of the land dragons. “A different concept, but effective out here in the flat plains of the unsettled lands surrounding the city,” Lordan surmised. He sighted General Daddonan and his command group looking over the images of several seeing crystals and headed over to join them. Padonan walked with him, observing the detailed preparations taking place.

  “General Daddonan, good morning sir,” Colonel Lordan greeted him while rendering a salute.

  “Colonel Lordan, Lieutenant Padonan, welcome this morning. Glad to have you here. We were looking at the point of entry that your dragons will take us to. There are two of my rangers waiting for us at this location, in concealed hiding positions. How will you want us arrayed for the trip?” the general asked.

  “Sir, we will have Talonth and Strikenth stand wing tip to wing tip over there on the field,” Lordan explained. “We can take one land dragon company apiece, but I recommend that they are placed in front of our dragons in line under the fore part of their wings. Behind them I would put the infantry, which will have to be dismounted. Your war wagons will take up too much space. Each silver dragon can take a battalion, but the men will have to be packed tightly, shoulder to shoulder, several deep. The cavalry will be split, with half straddling Talonth’s tail and half behind Strikenth’s. There will be room for only one battery of your catapults though, sir, and we will have to see how many of the hippogriffs can be squeezed in.”

  “Well, we’ll get everyone formed up around your dragons and see what else we can fit. I would like at least one catapult battery per battalion and two companies of hippogriffs. The rest will go by conventional travel and act as our reserve once they arrive,” General Daddonan answered while thinking out loud. “Once we get there, we will align our forces for battle and attack to draw out their army to give your friend Captain Mkel and the rangers time to rescue our men.”

  “Yes sir, we’ll get Strikenth and Talonth up and ready,” Colonel Lordan replied.

  “Excellent; gentlemen, you heard Colonel Lordan. Let’s get formed around the two silver dragons in the order he just discussed,” Daddonan told the colonels assembled around him: Colonel Sheer, Colonel Magellan, and Colonel Ponsellan, the infantry commanders; Colonel Reddit, the cavalry commander; Colonel Dansar, the hippogriff commander; Colonel Ronson, the land dragon commander; and Colonel Tomslan, the support corps commander. “Colonel Sheer, I want you to be my second on the ground since you know this enemy the best,” Daddonan added.

  “Sir, I feel …,” Ponsellan started to interrupt but was stopped by General Daddonan raising his hand to silence him. Good, Lordan thought, he whines way too much, as Daddonan did not want to hear his complaints or grandstanding. Lordan turned and motioned to Padonan to follow him back to their dragons.

  “You just witnessed a dacul being silenced,” Lordan whispered to Padonan.

 
“You would call that colonel a fool?” the younger dragonrider asked.

  “I have dealt with him before and have seen his kind too many times. He is more interested in his own career and advancement than his men’s welfare. Those kind of officers crave power above all else and do not care who gets hurt or is crushed to get it,” Colonel Lordan explained. “Make sure that you never become a leader like that.”

  “Have no fear, sir,” Padonan replied. “I don’t think Strikenth would let me anyway.”

  “We do have that advantage of having a very active, larger-than-life conscience always present,” Lordan smiled as he spoke.

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Padonan smiled back. They walked over to their dragons, who both raised their heads and looked at their riders.

  “Is it time to go, my good rider?” Talonth asked Lordan. “Yes, my large silver friend, I hope you are ready for a fight,” Lordan replied.

  “They won’t know what hit them,” Strikenth replied. “I have faith, my friend,” Padonan replied, as they directed both silver dragons to stand up and move apart until they were exactly touching wingtips.

  The land dragons then started to form in front of their outstretched wings. Both of them conversed with the land dragons, easing their anxiety over both teleporting and the fight to come. They also gave them a description of the behirs and an assurance that they and Gallanth would handle any chromatics that would be encountered. The land dragon crews were amazed at how easily their mounts could converse with their larger winged cousins. Land dragons in general could understand common tongue but cannot speak it well. The crews worked out a series of commands with their mounts that were easily understood but were nowhere near the level of communication that existed between a metallic dragon and its rider.

  Both companies of land dragons lined up, almost touching side by side under the front part of the silvers’ wings to their outstretched heads, in a wall of greenish brown/bronze dragon hide. Their crews readied the ballistae on the platforms. This would be an impressive first onslaught, Padonan thought to himself.

  The three partial strength infantry battalions gathered behind the land dragons, standing in tight formation from the beginning of their tails to beyond the tips. All twenty-four hundred infantrymen gathered with weapons ready, in spite of being foot mounted rather than in their war wagons. The cavalry then formed behind them. Almost six hundred horses were attempting to form a dense line, but the mounts were skittish around the large dragons. Both Strikenth and Talonth turned their heads around and spoke Draconic in a surprisingly calming tone for such large creatures, which settled the horses immediately. The medium-type Battle Point cavalry stood up in their saddles in awe at the calming affect the silvers had on their horses.

  There wasn’t a lot of room for the hippogriffs; only half of the four hundred total creatures could fit. “That’s all we can get, General,” Colonel Lordan spoke into his seeing crystal.

  “I understand, Colonel Lordan. Colonel Dansar, you’ll have to get the other half of your battalion to meet us there,” Daddonan ordered.

  “Yes sir,” the aerial battalion commander replied and then ordered his other two companies to take to the air and fly to the teleportation point, after confirming the location with his crystal. The hundreds of hippogriffs all took to the air; the sound of their wings beating to gain altitude all at once was very loud. General Daddonan then ordered his six catapults to the back of the silver dragons’ tails, and his support corps commander started for the battle location as well as the remaining cavalry troop. They would be his reserve along with the hippogriffs; the winged mounts would arrive in an hour or so.

  “Whenever you are ready, dragonriders,” General Daddonan said into his seeing crystal. Both Strikenth and Talonth gave out a low but still very deep roar to get everyone’s attention.

  Talonth then spoke up for Lordan, who could not yell loud enough for all to hear and didn’t want to power up his dragonstone lance to amplify his voice. “When we teleport in, you will feel slightly disoriented, but it will pass in a few seconds. It is imperative that you do not move outside the span of our wings or past the tip of our tails. If you do, you could be lost forever.” The whole formation slightly tightened. “If you are all ready, we will go,” the senior silver dragon finished and looked over to Strikenth. They both focused on the same image together, and the familiar blue light streaks started to surround them and the thousands gathered all around their massive silver bodies and under their wings. In a blink of an eye, they were gone.

  “They have left Handsdown,” Mkel whispered to all of his comrades, and then he told Captain Decray through his seeing crystal. They all got up and did a last check of their weapons and armor, after which Mkel gave the ranger a nod. They moved out, following him closely, with Dekeen on their flank for security. Elves were almost impossible to detect and moved ever so stealthily. They then came to a small rise and stopped.

  “We have to crawl over this small ridge. There is a drop on the other side, and then we will be able to see their camp, for we will be within two hundred fifty yards of most of it. The only problem is that when we crawl over this rise, we will be exposed to the camp’s view for a second or two,” the ranger explained.

  “Understood; Dekeen, go ahead and get over to get eyes on the camp. Let us know when it is clear to send someone over to you,” Mkel stated. Dekeen nocked an arrow and crouched down, wrapping his elvish cloak over his head and back. The cloak turned a yellowish brown color within seconds, matching the surroundings. He quickly slid over the rise and went down the other side. “Toderan, you and Ordin will go over last, for you have the heaviest armor and will make the most noise, so it will take you the longest. Tegent, you go next,” Mkel ordered. Everybody nodded as Tegent slowly crawled over the rise after Dekeen gave the clear signal from his crystal. One by one, they all made it over into the slight depression. They used Dekeen’s cloak over top of both Ordin and Toderan, and Tegent’s underneath them, for camouflage and to dampen the sound of their armor.

  Mkel, Dekeen, and Tegent took positions to overwatch the camp. Dekeen’s elf eyes and Mkel looking through his crossbow’s sight could ascertain the enemy situation. The camp was littered with the still burning cooking fires, tents, and the thousands of orcs, grummish, gnolls, and Morgathian soldiers moving about finishing meals and getting ready for something. He saw a large tent toward the back of the encampment, roughly two hundred yards from them, and a smaller tent beside that one. “Dekeen, what do you make of that large tent, and the smaller one to the left?” Mkel asked.

  “There are several guards and a beholder in front of the large tent,” Dekeen answered, “which tells me that someone of magical power or a warlord is in there. I can hear screams from the smaller tent. Screams of men.”

  “I guess that is where our soldiers are, or if it isn’t, it is a good place to start. Wait, I can see the heat signatures of eleven men against poles, and several other figures around them. Let me tell Captain Decray,” Mkel answered, for Markthrea’s sight could also see the heat given off by warm-blooded creatures like a dragon can. This ability, which he can choose to use or not, allowed him to look through light materials like a cloth, vegetation, and thin wood to see what was inside, as well as being able to see in the dark. “Decray, are you and your men doing all right?” he asked.

  “Yes, Mkel, we just got into position. There was a great deal of traffic on the road through the valley. We could only get across one at a time, and it took almost an hour. I assume you are in position and the legion teleported in,” Decray answered.

  “Yes, and Dekeen’s elf ears hear screams from the small tent by the largest one, and I confirmed it with my crossbow. That should be our target,” Mkel replied.

  “I see it. You will take out the guards, and we will seize the tent,” Decray asked.

  “Yes, hopefully the legion’s attack will driv
e most of them to the battle. Strikenth and Talonth will let the legion attack first to lure this army out onto the plain, away from the encampment. They’ll then attack and will quickly even the odds for your comrades. I estimate well over five thousand here, and that is probably low,” Mkel surmised.

  “Yes, I’ll give General Daddonan the revised enemy troop strength,” Decray added.

  “Listen, Alliance battle horns,” Dekeen whispered to Mkel and the rest of their company. “The Battle Point legion is on the attack.”

  “I see them moving. They are about three thousand yards from the edge of the camp,” Mkel said as he looked through his crossbow sight, barely able to make out the line of Alliance forces over the horizon from the depression they were concealed in. A flurry of activity started among all in the encampment. Leaders and warlords started to shout orders to get their troops up and ready to meet the advancing legion.

  “What is going on out there?” the black robed sorcerer demanded of the guard.

  “I don’t know, my liege. I will find out immediately,” the guard quickly answered.

  “I will go to see as well and get the orcs and those dog grummish up,” the death knight growled.

  “Fellaxe, make sure that oaf of an orc warlord, Barlog, gets his vermin to fight in the front,” the sorcerer ordered. “This is likely just a Battle Point cavalry troop or reconnaissance force.”

  “Yes, Lord Ashram,” Fellaxe answered as he grabbed his black iron battle-axe and walked out of the tent.

  “Now, my good Alliance soldiers, there are more questions to be asked,” the sorcerer declared to the chained and bleeding Battle Point legionnaires in an evil and condescending manner. “What are these Avenger dragons that the Alliance is breeding?” he demanded.