Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow

by J. Michael Fluck

  “Yes, my good wizard, the races will be exciting as always. Gallanth, Mkel, again you and your men are welcome here as always, and again we thank you for your part in the Battle Point victory,” General Becknor injected and motioned for the meeting to be concluded. Mkel and Toderan gave him a salute and Gallanth bowed his head to Michenth, after which they turned and began to walk back to the Weir landing and their guest quarters.

  Several other Weir dragons began to arrive at the capital. Mkel wanted to see his friends from his original dragonrider training and his general studies at the university before he focused on his military education as an officer. Slidess from High Mountain Weir, Bkert from Atlean Weir, and his brother Dkert from Talinor Weir were all his close friends, with whom he shared many a youthful indiscretion. Their mounts, the silver Trikenth, the bronze Rapierth, and the copper Selenth, were all Weir lead dragons. Gallanth knew them all and was fond of them as well, even the mischievous copper.

  Even as he thought about meeting them, he heard several greeting roars from dragons arriving over the bay through Gallanth’s ears. He knew at least one was a silver and the other a bronze. Bronze dragons had a distinctly shrill but menacing roar, likely from their ability to breathe under water and from the electricity of their powerful lightning breath weapon. This one sounded especially deep, which told him it was likely Bkert on Rapierth, for he was one of the largest and most feared bronze dragons in the Alliance.

  “It is Trikenth and Rapierth, my rider, and Selenth is teleporting in as I speak,” Gallanth said to Mkel as he heard the gruff roar of a copper dragon. “Excellent, my friend, I look forward to seeing them, as I know you are happy to see their dragons,” Mkel said out loud as they walked.

  “They are early, especially for Bkert and his brother,” Jodem said sarcastically, knowing of the sometimes flippant nature of the dragonrider brothers.

  Bkert, whose family always had a love of the sea, was a natural rider for Rapierth. However, he was not an Alliance officer or even a member of the military. Rapierth took the lead in overseeing Atlean Weir, along with Shaltor, the Weir’s lead wizard, who was one of the Wizard Council of Thirteen, along with Jodem. Bkert was content with just being Rapierth’s rider and helping him in any fight and in their adventures under the sea as well. Bronze dragons were incredibly fast swimmers, having webbed claws and partially webbed forelegs. Their powerful tail fins extended or frilled up and were almost as well suited for propulsion in water as they were as a rudder for flight. As with all dragons, bronze dragon wings could be used to aid in swimming, but theirs were especially designed to do so, and their hide could force water over the surface as it did air, aiding their speed. The fastest bronzes could attain speeds that rivaled those of dolphins, or greater.

  Like his brother, Dkert had a liking for the water, but he also had a love of the earth. This made him an ideal copper dragonrider, especially at Talinor Weir, which had a good-sized mountain lake beside it. He also did not choose to be in the military but preferred the simplicity of just being a dragonrider. His kidding and teasing nature was also a reflection of his copper dragon’s style, for they were the most sarcastic of all dragons and also enjoyed a good joke. Talinor Weir, the only Weir located within the interior of the republic, was part of a large mountain chain along the Severic River; it was also the home of the second largest dwarven city. The Weir overlooked both the Severic to the north and the small mountain lake to the south, which spilled over as a spectacular waterfall; it was the headwater of the Missora River that flowed to Lancastra Weir.

  “You are too critical, my friend,” Mkel teased Jodem.

  “I talk to their wizards, Mkel,” Jodem answered.

  “What of Slidess? He is also not an Alliance soldier, but a powerful wizard in his own right,” Mkel quipped back.

  “Kalger, the High Mountain Weir wizard, has a more favorable opinion of Slidess, but there is that wizard to wizard courtesy,” Jodem answered with a smile.

  Just then, Trikenth flew into the Weir interior, with Rapierth close behind. They both circled the inside of the Weir twice, descending as they glided, and landed a hundred yards from Gallanth and the Draden crew. Selenth then entered the Weir; his triangle-shaped tapered wings, with their copper and brownish hue, slightly twisted to make a tight curved circle before he landed. Coppers were ideal for sprinting flights but lacked the sustaining ability for great speed and distance. On short flights, however, coppers were very agile, especially in tight places. This ability, as well as their ground speed and jumping capability, made them particularly effective in ground and near ground flights. It allowed them to survive against and even win occasional fights with red dragons, which they took a particular joy in killing.

  Slidess and Bkert dismounted as Selenth landed. Even though he was large for his species, Selenth was still visibly smaller than the silver and bronze dragons. Selenth’s wingspan was just about fifty-five yards, and he was roughly thirty-three yards in length, being large for a copper dragon. His short but thick ribbed protruding eye horns were used as much for breaking rock as they were for weapons. His talons were also thick, being suited for digging and cracking rock as well as for grasping and rending. Their fiery acid breath weapon was similar to that of green and black dragons, but coppers had a longer range and a greater acidity, being iodine based. Selenth’s deep copper and brownish tone almost blended in with the surrounding rock base of the Weir.

  Slidess and Bkert waited for Dkert to dismount and then walked toward Mkel and Gallanth. They met at the midpoint on the spacious Weir grounds. The silver, bronze, and copper dragons bowed their heads to Gallanth, who returned the salute. The three Weirleaders walked up to Mkel and all gave him a group hug.

  “My friends, it’s great to see you again,” Mkel said with exuberance.

  “Well, Mkel, glad to see you and Gallanth in one piece after the fight we heard you were in. You should have called on us to come and help,” Slidess said.

  “You know we always like a good fight, my brother,” Bkert said with a big toothy smile. His greenish blue eyes always had life in them, which were accentuated with his long wavy blond hair.

  “I know, but there were several other issues that had to be taken into consideration, plus I know all of you are busy as well,” Mkel answered while still shaking his friend’s hands in the traditional dragonrider lion’s grip.

  “I also heard that you and Jodem took out a company of drow on spiders, and you know how much Selenth likes his poisonous delicacies,” Dkert said, referring to copper dragons’ fondness of taking down poisonous creatures and then devouring them.

  “It all happened very fast and furious but was handled nonetheless. In either event, I fear we will all be busy soon. But until then, we are all here now, for a couple of days, and we need to have ales together,” Mkel replied.

  “We also need to practice for the events of the games as well,” Slidess stated, being the most serious of the group, likely from his discipline as a wizard. His tall lanky stature and short but well-kept dark hair and focused green eyes also added to this appearance. Slidess was a powerful wizard in his own right, with his dragonstone-powered wizard’s staff that doubled as his quarterstaff in hand to hand combat. He was just shy of being a master wizard of Jodem’s capability. The High Mountain Weirleader was also a very skilled monk, being deadly in hand to hand combat and wielding his staff with blinding speed and striking with magically empowered force. He frequently trained with his Draco Guards or the skilled bodyguards, who as a warrior caste were sworn to protect the dragons and especially their riders. Mkel and Lordan were the only dragonriders who refused to employ them.

  Mkel’s friend Bkert wielded a mithril alloy pole arm or short lance with a long mithril dual-edged main blade with smaller blades on each side. It was a very menacing weapon that he utilized in fights in the air, on the ground, or underwater. The emerald dragonstone imbedded in the ce
nter of the broadhead-like blade was empowered with the ability to fire powerful lightning bolts and deadly ice rays. He was a very skilled fighter in his own right but chose not to join the army or seek a commission.

  Dkert was a cleric of notable piety and power, wielding a smooth ball mithril mace with an imposing pick on one side and a hammer on the other, powered by a dazzling green emerald dragonstone, surrounded by garnet. It was able to fire a disruption spell or ball of disruption energy, which was especially deadly against evil creatures. He had an amazing power to heal through his mace, along with a unique ability to manipulate rock and soil. The Talinor Weirleader also skillfully used his mace to aid the dwarves in their mining operations deep within the Talinor Mountain chain.

  “Gallanth, I understand that the drow witch you captured mentioned a threat by sea,” Rapierth said with a bronze dragon’s businesslike, to the point, attitude. “That would make sense with the increase in enemy activity with bolder saragwin attacks and the Morgathian and Shidanese pirates.”

  “Yes, my brother, she started to allude to this but was killed by a Shidanese black scarab assassin before we could get more information from her,” Gallanth answered.

  “This could mean many things, Rapierth,” Jodem said; “an all out war with the saragwin, the Shidanese, or a combination of these. Open war at sea will affect trade and commerce for the Alliance. The Freilanders are also experiencing this, as you know.”

  “Only a week ago, my rider and I had to respond to a distress call from a merchant convoy,” Rapierth stated. “They were attacked by a whole tribe of saragwin and two kraken. We killed the evil beasts, but strangely they were uninterested in fighting the two Alliance warships defending the merchants. They just focused on sinking the unarmed vessels themselves, even though it was costing them lives from being exposed to the naval infantry’s and Alliance ship’s arrows and ballistae.

  “What are the sea elves saying of this?” Dekeen asked.

  “The normal skirmishes have escalated into full battles,” Rapierth explained, “as the saragwin have been carrying greater and bolder incursions into sea elf territory. They have been reinforced by Shidanese ships ferrying orcs and other powerful sea creatures, including black and green dragons. All of the bronzes from the coastal Weirs, along with our supporting dragons, have been increasing our patrols of the sea lanes and experiencing ever intense fights.

  “Yes, Rapierth, my Freiland friend had a saragwin hunting party attack his raider ships only a few miles from Sauric Bay,” Mkel explained to the bronze dragon.

  “The saragwin took us by surprise by being in Alliance waters,” Lawrent stated, “but they mistook us for merchants at night and got more than they bargained for. They did have a sea witch of some power, though, and while my wizard slew her, he was taken by a lucky spear thrown by a saragwin chieftain.”

  “We knew of your fight after the sea elves found the saragwin bodies the next morning, but we assumed you handled it since we didn’t get a call for assistance from you, and far be it from us to assume otherwise,” Rapierth replied with a bronze dragon’s usual sarcasm.

  “We shall discuss this further and get the whole Wizard and Dragon Council to think this matter through, not to mention the senior Alliance military theory and strategy soldiers as well,” Gallanth stated. “Until then we must always have a sense of caution but look to the games now, for the people of the republic want to view the competitions, and more importantly trust in the Alliance’s might,” Gallanth ended the conversation to focus everyone on the closer target, at which they acknowledged.

  “My friends, before we start to practice for the games, I think we need breakfast; we have a lot to catch up on,” Mkel corralled everyone up and ushered them to the dining hall of the Weir. He wanted to talk to his old friends before they got too serious into practicing for the games and the demonstrations.

  After they had breakfast and talked for over two hours, they decided to fly the racing course, for Mkel did not want to shoot so soon after eating. They all mounted with Lordan and Talonth leading, as well as half the capital dragons including Strikenth, Falcanth, Draconth, Tigrenth, Lionoth, and several female dragons from the Capital Weir and other Weirs. Silvanth would occasionally fly the race, but now that she was nesting, she would not place the stress of a race on herself, for fear of losing the precious egg inside her.

  Eighteen dragons gathered on the practice field in front of the Weir’s north entrance, where the contests and the actual race would take place. Mkel stood up in his flying saddle as far as his riding straps would allow him, to view the other dragons. He sat the highest, as Gallanth’s back was at least a foot higher than the next biggest dragon there, which was his older brother Falcanth. He enjoyed the view, for he rarely saw so many dragons this close together, being from Draden with only Gallanth and Silvanth there. Lloydell and Falcanth took charge, being the senior rider and gold dragon.

  “All right, my friends, we will do a slow run around the flight course for the race. For the younger dragons, please keep an altitude of at least five hundred feet so as not to knock over any citizens or ships. During the actual run, we will fly lower to negotiate the sharper turns around the city, but today is just a familiarization run and to get the people of Draconia in the mood for the games. This as well gives all those of the Enlightened faith a little stomach ache,” Lloydell said with a smile on his weathered face. “My brothers and sisters, you will follow my and Gallanth’s lead and not pass us; keep an even pace,” Falcanth stated to all dragons present. Falcanth had a great fondness for his younger but larger brother, as did Lloydell for Mkel, who he felt slightly responsible for; he was also proud of him for being the son of Jmes, an Alliance officer and a dragonrider. All dragons nodded an acknowledgment and began to move apart for room to spread their wings for takeoff. Mkel, Lordan, and the members of the Capital wing that were present gave Lloydell a salute, for he was a senior colonel, with only Therosvet and Becknor being higher in rank among the military officer dragonriders.

  As soon as they were spaced well enough, Falcanth gave a signal bellow, which was then echoed by all dragons present. The earth shattering combined roars rumbled across the field and into the city. Falcanth took to the air, with Gallanth right on his tail. All the other dragons followed behind them. The rush of air from the push of so many massive wings almost seemed to flatten the already smooth parade ground. Mkel looked back at the crowd of dragons behind him. An impressive sight, he thought to himself, as if he could lead all these dragons and take on the whole Morgathian Empire. They rose quickly to the agreed altitude and soared east and then south to round the large Weir Mountain toward Sauric Bay and the large port of Draconia. Sauric Bay was more like an inland sea, being over a hundred fifty miles long from its northern to southern shores and almost three hundred miles from the city to the ocean past Rom and Rem Weirs that guarded the choke point that separated the bay from the ocean. It provided a definitive buffer from the sea and a large source of income for the fishermen that inhabited the shores of the bay.

  Mkel looked back to see Rapierth instinctively looking for large grouping fish in the waters of the bay. Bronzes were excellent large fish hunters, and he knew Gallanth wanted to look for some as well, an unusual treat for him. They began to cross over the edge of the bay and the Weir port. The ships were lined up to the docks by the hundreds, maybe thousands. The port of Draconia was very well thought out in its construction. The natural rise of the ground from the piers was reinforced by thick granite and dwarven concrete walls that shimmered in white and gray. Many cuts in the walls allowed for easy loading and unloading of the ships, but all could be quickly closed by carefully poised blocks in case of a hurricane storm surge or an invading seaborne assault. Attacking to the north would force an enemy army to move past or through the Capital Weir, and moving to the south they would have to cross over many small tributaries of the Severic River and well-placed swamp
s. These allowed for proper drainage from the city while also making an invading army get bogged down in the attempt.

  The buildings and structures of Draconia were equally well made and sturdy. Dwarven concrete and brick were an extremely strong material, and when reinforced with steel rods, they made excellent structures. Most buildings in the city were constructed in this way, but the larger or taller ones were built in a pyramid-type of fashion for even greater strength. In the center of the city rose a great pyramid that reached a height of almost a thousand feet; this was ringed by four others that rose up to six hundred feet. The middle structure was the capital seat of the Alliance. It was the center of the government of the republic, and while holding all vital works and directorates, it was the home to no one. Its flat top mounted a massive mithril and gold triangular ovoid that showed brilliantly in the sunlight and also glowed in the focused lighting crystal illumination at night. All services were centered from here as well as the ringed Great Hall for the senate gathering arena. One of the two of the smaller surrounding pyramids that lay east and west of the main structure actually housed the senate chambers, with the other being the Grand Arbitrators Court and Council. The pyramid to the north was the premier’s temporary home with all his staff and support, and the last structure to the south was the headquarters of the Alliance Army and Navy. This was the center of power of the Alliance, where all decisions and indecisions were made.

  The huge Alliance flags were flying from atop all four of the smaller pyramid structures, and a gold and mithril coated triangle symbolizing the trinity of the universe and the Creator showed brightly from the outer face of all pyramids, as if to announce to all four corners of the world. The rest of the sprawling city surrounded the central government pyramids. Some of the housing and guild buildings rose up over two hundred feet, for Draconia was also the center of most of the major guilds in the Alliance. These ranged from the Wizards’ Guild to the ship building guild, and everything in between. A great deal of merchants, businesses, and storage structures also dotted the city.