Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow

by J. Michael Fluck

  “Master Wizard Jodem, your service is again appreciated. Master Hestal is eager to talk to you about the events here when you come to Draconia. Toderan, my favorite paladin, I see you are no worse for wear,” Becknor greeted Toderan, who had worked with General Becknor years ago, before he came to Draden Weir to be the senior Weir sergeant.

  “The giants were slower than I was, sir,” Toderan replied to Becknor.

  “That dent in your armor tells me that at least one wasn’t too slow. Just be careful next time,” Becknor replied. “Gentlemen, I want to congratulate you all for your victory. You took on great odds and prevailed, for this was the biggest fight since the Great War.” Mkel noticed the dragonrider general rub his left hand where a scar from an annihilation sphere was still visible. It amazed Mkel that the wound from over thirty years ago would still bother him, but he understood that those dark spheres had an unnatural and evil energy. This was how it could still affect Michenth to this date. “I expect all here to touch crystals so I and Colonel Therosvet can review what happened,” the general requested. All present gave a quick acknowledgment. “Daddonan, what was your final casualty count?”

  “We had twenty-four killed and fifty-two wounded; unfortunately sir,” General Daddonan replied. “We also lost four hippogriffs and had ten more wounded, along with nine land dragons with serious injuries and five more with lesser wounds. The support corps wagons are now en route to move the dead and wounded back to Handsdown and then to Battle Point. The more serious wounded were carried out by hippogriff as soon as the battle subsided. While we mourn our dead, we could have lost the whole legion today if it wasn’t for our friends and allies from Draden, Eladran, and Capital Weirs.”

  “We will transport your wounded land dragons and those hippogriffs that cannot fly back to Battle Point,” Becknor offered. “Delker with Lionoth and Bagram with Tigrenth will remain here to provide protection to the legion as you move back to Handsdown, in case the Morgathians decide to attack again. Your honored dead will be given full military burials, with the Capital Wing performing an overflight in their honor.”

  “That would be of great help, my friend,” General Daddonan told Becknor. “Those nine wounded land dragons could use a lift to Battle Point, as well as several of our hippogriffs. We also thank you for Lionoth’s and Tigrenth’s service and your sentiment.”

  “We are pleased to support those in the eye of the storm,” Therosvet stated, “and more pleased to deliver the hammer if we are called upon,” he continued as he grabbed his mithril mace with its large diamond dragonstone mounted on the top of the weapon. Mkel knew of its power; it could deliver destructive blows like Ordin’s hammer and fire sunburst beams like Lordan’s lance and Becknor’s sword. During the Great War, Therosvet was said to have personally killed a dozen giants and even a few chromatics almost single-handedly.

  Becknor’s sword was also a legendary weapon. It was pure mithril like Kershan, but a straight blade or long sword. It mounted a huge diamond dragonstone from Michenth in the pommel, which gave it amazing power. It could either fire a sunburst beam or empower the blade with that same energy for a devastating strike. This sword was the most feared in all of the Alliance and, likely, the world.

  “All right, gentlemen, we shall talk more at Draconia next week when the Dragon Council and I, with the Alliance generals, can review all the events of the last few days. We will also discuss what your rangers uncovered in the Fire Mountains, Captain Mkel, so we can determine courses of action there. And Mkel, I need to talk to you before you depart,” Becknor stated.

  The general motioned Mkel away from the gathered group. “Mkel, I wanted to tell you that the Enlightened senators are preparing to confront you on your testimony to the Senate next week,” Becknor said. “There are rumors that they will specifically go after you in any way they can to discredit you. I know Gallanth and Jodem will be by your side, but I also suggest you bring your Weir’s arbitrator as a precaution.”

  “No problem, sir, Captain Fogellem is very learned in the law, and in spite of that, he’s still a good guy,” Mkel said with a smile, to which Becknor gave a quick laugh.

  “I know you and Gallanth have been through a lot the last few days, and I want you and your fellow Weir council members to stand down for the week,” the general said with a warm but concerned smile. “I am afraid that the fight you could have with the POE senators could be just as challenging as the one you had with the chromatics.”

  “I understand, sir, but I will be all right, and I will have Gallanth and Jodem behind me as well as the arbitrator in front of me to take their arrows,” Mkel again said with a grin.

  “I have faith, young dragonrider, and we will see what tricks they have in store for us this time. I will be there as well, but remember to have your council get some rest, as well as your garrison, for I have fear they will need it all too soon with the forces gathering in the Fire Mountains. Tell your rangers they did a good job in scouting out that area, and get Toderan to rest even though that will be a challenge unto itself,” Becknor stated with his toothy smile.

  While Becknor was of medium height and thin build, he eloquently managed to inspire both respect and authority with his demeanor. His short brown hair and green eyes added certain gentleness to his determined persona.

  “I will try, sir, and thank you for the warning,” Mkel answered.

  “Dragonriders must look out for each other, Captain, for if the POEs had their way, we would all be sent flying across the western ocean, never to be seen again until they realized how much our society depends on us. And then they would blame us for leaving in the first place,” Becknor joked.

  “Again understandable, sir,” Mkel answered.

  “I understand you and Gallanth tentatively agreed to a defense pact with Battle Point?” Becknor asked.

  “I still have to give Colonel Wierangan a chance to hear the proposal, since he is the Draden regiment commander. It is a matter of courtesy,” Mkel replied.

  “I have faith that he will not give you a difficult time about it, for I already talked to General Craigor, who agrees to the idea. Especially after these last two attacks,” he said with a wink. “We are making arrangements to get a few dragons out here very soon, which would alleviate your duel defensive role. All right, get on your way, and get some of the land dragons back to Battle Point. Then you, your friends, and your treasure, go back to Keystone Weir.”

  Mkel gave the general the dragonrider salute and walked back to the group. General Becknor walked off with General Daddonan to discuss matters on the Battle Point situation. Mkel walked back to the group of his friends and fellow dragonriders.

  “What did he say?” Lordan inquired.

  “He just wanted to talk about the senate gathering next week and my testimony, and told us to get the injured land dragons back as soon as possible,” Mkel answered. “Gentlemen, let’s get ready to go. Gallanth and I have to take one of the wounded land dragons back to Battle Point first, then we will take the treasure to Handsdown, then back home to Draden. General Becknor told us to stand down until the Honors Day games and the senate assembly in Draconia next month. This shouldn’t be a problem, with Lawrent arriving soon with his pirates,” Mkel said with a smile. Ordin and Tegent seemed very pleased with this, for they knew the drinking and festivities that would take place at the Weir to celebrate the transfer of goods that the Freiland raiders always had to trade. They also just enjoyed the general celebration and camaraderie with their allies from the island kingdom to the west.

  Most of their trading with the Alliance dealt with gems and foodstuffs, of which the latter were rare fish and seafood as well as spices and other exotics wines and ales. They kept perishables from spoiling with the cooling crystals that they received from the Alliance in trade. It was known that they sometimes dealt in the prisoner slave trade, even though this practice was illegal in the Alliance
and in Freiland. This was a part of the treaty that the kingdom of Freiland agreed to in their defensive pact with the Alliance, but on the high seas and in their raiding of Morgathian lands, the Southern Ontaror and eastern island kingdoms, and other unfriendly lands, many practices were hard to enforce and were overlooked. The Freiland raiders were excellent mariners and taught the Alliance Navy many lessons. They were generally loosely banded privateers preying on Morgathian, Shidanese, and non-Alliance-aligned kingdoms that supported the Blood Wolf pirate packs. Even the Alliance Navy looked the other way with their dealings with those nefarious groups.

  Mkel always looked forward to Lawrent coming to Draden Weir. The raider captain had the typical Freiland outlook on life: it was to be lived to the fullest. He had served with Mkel on and off for several years and was made the official Freiland ambassador to Draden Weir. This was a special title for a scoundrel such as he. In any event, the Weir always livened up when the Freiland raider sea serpent ships were docked by Draden Weir along the Severic. The Weir was the farthest point that was navigable up the Severic River from the sea and Sauric Bay in Draconia. Up to High Mountain Weir, it was too shallow for anything but barges and small boats.

  “Mkel, go ahead with Gallanth and take the wounded land dragon on the far left back to Battle Point. We will watch over the treasure and secure the gems before you get back,” Jodem told him.

  “No problem, my friend, we will be back quickly,” Mkel replied.

  “I think this gem here,” Jodem said, pulling out a good-sized ruby, “will make an excellent dragonstone. We’ll have Gallanth inspect it to make sure. These gems will refill our coffers for Gallanth, for in spite of the two Ordin gave you a couple of days ago, we are running a little low, and we can’t have Gallanth be out of precious stones. Where would he get the energy to power that bad breath of his?” Jodem joked.

  “It is just a little more than that, but if any good has come out of these last several days, besides a little more stability to this region, it is that we will go home with a little to offer the Weir and Draden,” Mkel replied.

  “We’ll give Mayor Guilored a little token of our hard-fought reward. I don’t think the chromatics will mind,” Jodem said, again with a small smile.

  “As long as the mayor appreciates it,” Mkel quipped back.

  “Gold and silver are the universal gifts to a politician, my young friend, and our good mayor is a consummate politician,” Jodem answered, “but at least he is not a POE.”

  “I will take your word for it,” Mkel stated back as he fastened his dragon hide riding jacket and slung Markthrea over his shoulder in preparation to mount Gallanth.

  He along with Lordan and Padonan climbed up on their dragons and gave General Becknor and General Daddonan a salute. Gallanth, Talonth, and Strikenth bowed their heads to Valianth and walked over to where the wounded land dragons were gathered. It was only three hundred yards away from where they had landed, so it wasn’t worth flying over and kicking up all that dust and debris with their huge wings. The land dragon crews, along with several other soldiers from the legion, were working on applying layers of aloras salve on the injured creatures, and the battle healers were introducing dramites to the ones with internal injuries.

  “Ah, dragonriders, General Daddonan called me on my crystal and told me you were coming to take our wounded dragons back to Battle Point,” Colonel Ronson yelled up to the dragonriders as they approached. “We arranged the land dragons into two groups of wounded, and the injured hippogriffs and one griffon have been gathered as well. We put our more serious wounded with the hippogriffs to get them back to the healers, so haste is important.”

  “We will get them back momentarily, Colonel Ronson,” Lordan yelled down to the land dragon battalion commander.

  “Talonth, I will take the larger group of land dragons. You take the other, and Strikenth take the men and their feathered mounts,” Gallanth directed the two silvers as he moved over toward the group of five land dragons. “Have no fear, my little brothers,” he comforted the wounded land dragons. “We will have you all home soon.” He moved carefully into a position where he could cover all of them with his wings for the teleport back to Battle Point.

  Mkel looked down at one of the land dragons, who obviously had a broken front leg and severe burns from the behirs’ lightning bolts. He felt bad to see them and the soldiers in pain, but as long as they could get them back to Battle Point, he knew their chances of survival were very good. Alliance healers were the best known, utilizing their inherent skills, and the healing crystals, aloras, interefron, dramites, and their great knowledge and experience derived from the elves. They could save lives and ease suffering in a manner that was unheard of before the Great War.

  The severe internal injuries of some of the men and hippogriffs would have to be healed using the dramites. The incredibly small creatures were derived from the dwarves’ skorts, which were insect-like and almost too tiny to see. The dwarves and the Weirs used the skorts to clean their underground dwellings. The skorts resembled small headless armadillos that silently crept along the ground, walls, and ceilings, eating small bits of organic matter such as hair, dust, bits of food, mold, and even small insects. The elves took these creatures and, utilizing dragon blood and a little magic, created the incredibly small dramites. A hundred could fit on the head of a pin. They were combined with a drop of blood from the intended patient and then introduced into the body and the blood stream via the nose or a wound, going to the affected or damaged area to heal or fix it. Once they were finished, they remained for a short time before they naturally died and were passed out of the body.

  Mkel took a long drink of cold water from his canteen. The cooling crystal kept it just above freezing. He needed that but looked forward to drinking an ale back at the Weir. Gallanth lifted his right claw and reached over to the wounded land dragon next to him. A light emanated from the palm of Gallanth’s claw and literally transferred into the land dragon’s body. As the light faded, the wingless dragon’s leg straightened out, and the burns were half healed. “Do not put weight on your leg yet, my little brother. I have healed it, but it is still tender and needs further attention,” Gallanth directed the land dragon. “Are you ready, Mkel?

  “Yes, Gallanth,” Mkel answered. “Let’s get these poor lads back to Battle Point.”

  Gallanth spread his wings, and Talonth and Strikenth followed suit. With a last warning from the dragons and coordination with the healers on the parade grounds at Battle Point, the dazzle of blue light enveloped all around them and they blinked out. Mkel was accustomed to this but he knew it could be disconcerting to those who had never teleported before. Within seconds, they emerged in the middle of the grass landing at Battle Point. They were immediately surrounded by dozens of healers and support soldiers, as well as the few infantry that were left behind to man the city’s defense. Gallanth and the two silver dragons furled their wings and aided the more injured land dragons back to their compounds. Gallanth even supported one with his tail, almost lifting the fifty-foot land dragon off the ground as he helped it into its stable.

  Healers began to crawl all over the land dragons, spreading generous amounts of aloras over their wounds. Mostly what the land dragons needed was more salve, for their natural healing powers were almost as good as true dragons. They were a tough lot. The wounded men, horses, and hippogriffs were also being treated as fast as the healers could get to them, attending the most seriously injured first. Several men and beasts needed dramites, for their wounds were deep and would be fatal if left untreated for very long. As soon as the healers formulated the tiny creatures with the patient’s blood, they quickly introduced them to the wounds for faster healing and immediately applied aloras to stop blood flow.

  “Gallanth, we should get back,” Mkel said. “They will attend to their own, plus I think you used up your remaining healing power on that land dragon.”
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br />   “You are right, and Talonth and Strikenth agree with you as well. It has been a long day,” Gallanth replied as he carefully walked away from the wounded and those treating them. Talonth and Strikenth followed the gold dragon, and as soon as they were a couple hundred yards away, they launched into the air while emanating a salutary roar in deference to the wounded. Within moments, they were back over the battlefield.

  The three dragons circled and landed almost in unison. “Jodem, Toderan, is our crew ready to go?” Mkel asked through his crystal.

  “Yes, we’re all assembled and ready,” Jodem replied. “Ordin just needs to get up onto Gallanth. You know his whole flying trepidations, and Tigrenth and Lionoth transported the treasure back to Handsdown while you were gone.”

  “Send the good dwarf over,” Mkel shouted as Ordin quickly sprinted over to Gallanth and jumped onto his forearm and crawled up the riding straps. “Good to see you are still fit, my stout friend,” Mkel yelled back to the dwarf.

  “You know I only like to fly on mighty Gallanth’s back, Dragonrider,” Ordin replied with a smile through his haggard brown beard.

  “It is always a pleasure to convey you, Master Dwarf,” Gallanth said, turning his head to Ordin, who was securing the flying straps on the rear seat of the saddle rig. “Best of luck, General Daddonan, General Becknor. Colonel Lordan, Padonan, thank you,” Mkel said into his crystal. Gallanth spread his wings and, with a not overly loud roar, took to the air and quickly disappeared with the blue flash of light; he and their companions emerged back at the north end of Handsdown, where they had spent the night before. There was a flurry of activity going on from the support corps personnel, making the evening meal, getting enough water purified, and setting up the amenities, for the lion’s share of the legion that would be returning from the battlefield by nightfall.