Faith and Fury

by Tiger Hebert

  “Let’s get out of here,” shouted Renlar, pointing to the northern side of the mountain.

  Vacinne hesitated. Her eyes saw the dragon battling the frost giants. She saw absolute chaos before them. Then her eyes caught the shinning dragon egg. The egg that had been stolen from her mother. And she watched as Valjin made his way to it, his double edged, blue steel battle axe in hand.

  “He’s going to kill the baby!” shouted Vacinne.

  “What? We’ve got to run,” screamed Renlar.

  “I’ve got to protect the egg,” she said. Vacinne had completely forgotten about the binding hex that Sutara had placed on her and Renlar. Thankfully the hex had already faded long before Vacinne sprinted away.

  “Damn her,” shouted Renlar before hurrying after her.

  Behind them, the dragon landed in the village square. The sheer wind of its beating wings sent snow gusting in every which direction. The dragon attacked the giants with tooth, claw, and tail as well as its deadly icy breath. Were their lives not at stake, Vacinne would have wanted to watch the incredible creature deal with these horrible creatures. Today she’d have no such luxury.

  Valjin drew close to the egg. It still sat atop the stone dais, raised slightly above the square. There it sat with warming fires below and around it. Valjin’s intention was originally to hatch the egg, then to raise it to be a mighty weapon for the frost giants. But with his plan falling apart, he was set to prevent it from ever seeing the light of day. He rose up tall before the egg. He lifted his massive axe up over his head. Its flawless black-blue surface shone as the light of the flames danced across it. He grunted as he began his swing.

  Vacinne uttered unheard words and in a brilliant golden flash, she was gone. Her phasing strike brought her shield with her full weight behind it, crashing into Valjin’s face. The sound of the bones in his nose snapping under the impact filled her with strange satisfaction. The giant staggered backward, caught completely unawares by the sudden assault. His axe slipped from his grip as he clutched at his shattered nose.

  Vacinne fell to the ground below, where Renlar’s swirling winds allowed her to drop in a controlled fashion. She landed with grace upon the stone dais, just beyond the egg and the reach of the fires. She stood there in defiance of the wounded tyrant with sword and shield blazing with holy fire.

  Valjin took a couple steps backward until he could regain his balance. He wiped away the tears from his eyes and the blood and snot that smeared across his pale blue skin. His eyes fixed on the human warrior, and his ire grew. He bellowed like some great beast. Barehanded, he charged her.

  Vacinne uttered words of power as he bore down on her. The glow of her shield grew greatly in intensity before a beam of brilliant light blasted Valjin. The intense light blinded him, but still he charged. More words flew from her mouth. The blind king of the frost giants tripped and flew head first toward her. His face slammed violently into a barely visible wall that only briefly shimmered yellow upon impact. There, just inches beyond Vacinne, Valjin lay upon the snow, bleeding and groaning.

  Renlar was nearly at her side, when she turned to survey the battle behind them. The white dragon fought with fervor, but dozens of frost giants had surrounded her. They attacked her from all sides. She’d fought valiantly, killing dozens of them, until they managed to throw the chains over her. Vacinne’s heart sank.

  “Renlar, you must help her!”

  He saw the stirring giant at her feet, but he heard the desperation in her voice. He needed to help Vacinne, but that wasn’t her command. He was torn, and she could see it in his face.

  “Go!” commanded Vacinne, before turning back to her foe.

  Renlar spun and launched a full barrage upon the attacking frost giants. Blackened blades darted forward in a storm of death. Twelve blades ripped through the first giant that he could see holding the chains. Blades ripped through the shoulder and arm of the giant, severing muscle and tendon alike. The chain fell from its grasp as it clutched at its wounds and howled.

  The dragon fought to break free. The giants were too strong.

  Icy breath shot outward, but it missed, and the chains continued to pull the creature down. One of the frost giants went in for the kill, its spear leveled at the dragon’s right flank. Renlar whipped his hands outward. The black blades ripped free from the maimed foe and shot forward, impaling the spear wielding frost giant. The dragon turned its head just in time to see Renlar’s blades disembowel the attacker. The giant fell to the ground, clutching at its own entrails. The giant’s spear clattering harmlessly to the ground.

  The dragon reared back and shot its icy breath toward Renlar. He dove to the ground and cursed, “You ungrateful b—”.

  The icy blast from her mouth turned the axe wielding frost giant behind him into a crystalline statue. Renlar looked back and saw the giant’s axe was poised to strike. A massive wave of relief washed over him.

  “Good girl!” he shouted in correction as he climbed out of the snow and to his feet.

  She responded with a roar, but the chains held her tight. He commanded his daggers and shot them below her belly and out the other side. Another frost giant howled in pain. He hit his mark. The chains became looser still. The dragon thrashed about trying to break free. Her tail whipped and struck like a bolt of lightning. The last chain bearer was sent careening off the mountain’s north precipice. The white dragon struggled to cast off the chains and grew frantic. Renlar switched his focus. All his daggers fell from their flights as he switched his focus to the massive netting of chains.

  The chains were made with a drenamine alloy.

  Carefully he lifted the thousands of pounds of chain from her. It took all his will, but the white dragon was freed.

  Vacinne phased out of the path of Valjin’s stomp. She’d put up a tremendous fight, but she was growing weary. She wouldn’t last much longer. She sprinted away from him before turning to taunt him. He was already on her. She blinked away, her phase strike landing her right behind him. Her empowered blade slashed deep into his right Achilles. She tugged on the blade, but it was stuck in the thick tendon. The frost giant roared in pain, and he fell. Vacinne phase out of the way just in time for him to crash right through her mirage.

  She’d done a great job keeping him from the egg long enough for it to begin hatching. The broken flecks of the egg’s stunning blue pearl shell began to crack and fall away as the baby whelp poked its tiny beak out of the shell. She saw it all. As did Valjin. The frost giant roared as he willed himself forward on the strength of his arms. He would attack the whelp in seconds. Vacinne phased herself right in between Valjin and the whelp. She brought up her glowing shield and braced for the attack.

  He was too strong. The king of the frost giants swung at her. The impact sent her reeling. The giant lifted himself up on one arm and raised his right fist up in the air over the whelp. The baby dragon squawked but didn’t understand the danger. Renlar was too far away to help Vacinne or the whelp, and Vacinne still hadn’t gotten up. Valjin’s roar was met with one from the white dragon. Her icy breath blasted the king of the frost giants. With his natural resistance to the cold he fought against it, but he was no match against the fury and might of the mother dragon. His massive, crippled form was crystallized in seconds under the full assault of her breath. There Valjin froze like a statue, his arm raised for a killing blow that would never land.

  Vacinne finally came to in time to see a vague outline of the whelp sitting there squawking at the frozen remnant of the frost king tyrant. Renlar rushed to her side.

  “He hit you hard, are you okay?”

  Her vision swam for a moment. When it came into focus, she saw Renlar’s enchanting green eyes looking back at her. His handsome, rugged face showing genuine concern for her as he held her head in his hands.

  He’s so handsome, she admitted.

  “What?”

  Vacinne realized she might have been thinking aloud. Her face flushed with embarrassment and she looked away.
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  “Just help me up,” she said as she rubbed at her aching head.

  Renlar was behind her. He had already grabbed under her arms and begun lifting her to her feet. She was on her feet before she realized it. He bowed down, ducked under her left arm, and wrapped his right arm around her back to steady her and help her walk.

  He’s good, she thought. Then she stopped in the event that she might possibly be thinking aloud once more.

  He never said a word. Instead, he just steadied her until her vision stopped swimming and the world around her stopped spinning. Vacinne’s world kept spinning though, and she forced her eyes closed, lest she vomit.

  “Easy girl, I’ve got you. I’m not letting go.”

  She kept focusing in on his steady voice. It was a voice that had pissed her off in every possible way since they’d met two days ago, yet it was the only one she wanted to hear in this moment. It was a voice she trusted, and a voice that gave her some odd sense of comfort. She just listened to his voice as he tried to calm her.

  Then the world finally stopped spinning around her. Even with her eyes closed, she felt that her feet were finally directly underneath her, on solid ground. Her head still ached, but she dared to open her eyes.

  Her vision was white and blurred. She tried to relax to allow her eyes to focus and separate the scene from the snowy peaks beyond it. Renlar’s secure embrace held her steady as her eyes allowed detail to come into focus. And she nearly leapt back as brilliant, pearl like scales of the brightest white she’d ever seen came into focus. The dragon lowered her head down low as it came close enough for her to feel the icy breath from the dragon’s nostrils.

  Vacinne and Renlar shuddered in terror before the mighty dragon.

  Then, suddenly, like an ocean wave as it’s drawn back out to sea, the fear washed away from her. Vacinne said, “It’s okay. She understands that we are not her enemies.”

  With that, she came out from Renlar’s embrace. She slowly stretched her right hand out toward the dragon. The dragon leaned forward ever so slightly. Vacinne gently placed her hand upon the dragon’s nose. The dragon merely blinked. Vacinne moved her left hand right next to the other. Both hands lay gently on the white dragon’s snout. The dragon closed her bright blue eyes and sighed loudly. A powerful breath exhaled through her nostrils blew Renlar’s and Vacinne’s hair back. Vacinne kept her hands upon the dragon’s snout though, and gently ran her fingers over the smooth pearl like scales.

  “She’s so beautiful,” said Vacinne.

  “Yes, she is,” said Renlar.

  “And she’s smart too. Incredibly smart,” said Vacinne.

  Renlar replied, “Well, she just saw you risk your life for her child.”

  As if acknowledging what he’d said, the dragon opened her eyes. Massive swirling sapphire orbs the size of grapefruits stared back at her. There was a gentleness, a peacefulness there. Vacinne could see it—more importantly, she could feel it.

  “She is... grateful,” said Vacinne with surprise.

  Renlar nodded, his grin couldn’t be any wider.

  The dragon slowly pulled her head back and sat up. She lifted her right wing back, revealing her whelp. It was the size of a baby calf, and it was white with swirling streaks of the faintest blue. Its horns and claws hadn’t grown in yet, they wouldn’t for a few weeks, and its wings were way too small for its body.

  “He’s adorable,” gushed Vacinne with a glowing smile.

  The baby dragon just sat there and cocked its head as it stared at them with curiosity. The mother dragon cooed to it, then she gave it a gentle nudge with her wing. The whelp cautiously moved forward. Vacinne dropped down to her knees and welcomed the whelp with open arms. The clumsy baby squawked as it lumbered forward and crashed into her arms. The two toppled backwards into the snow. Vacinne giggled as the playful pup lapped at her face.

  After the pup’s excitement wore off, Vacinne rose to her feet. “This has been the most terrifying, most amazing day of my life. But we’ve still got a mission to accomplish, and we are now as much as two days behind them.”

  Renlar said, “Perhaps our new friend can help us out.”

  “You’re joking,” replied Vacinne.

  “Only if it doesn’t work,” he replied. Renlar turned to the white dragon.

  Vacinne nodded, then turned back to the majestic creature, “We need to get down the mountain. We are hunting a demon, and we need to try to catch up. Can you help us?”

  They waited in silence for several seconds. The magnificent creature just sat there.

  Renlar sighed and said, “I guess we better get our packs and get moving.”

  Vacinne smiled and stretched her hands out and placed them on the dragon’s broad chest. She looked up at the dragon that towered a good ten feet above her while it was sitting. Her eyes met the dragon’s and she smiled.

  Renlar smiled at the dragon and said, “Thank you for saving us, white dragon.”

  “Her name is Ausaliia,” said Vacinne with a smile.

  Renlar turned and gave her a questioning glance.

  Vacinne tossed her hands into the air and shrugged.

  Renlar nodded and turned to the dragon and said, “Thank you, Ausaliia.”

  The dragon cocked her head as she looked down upon them. She cooed. Ausaliia laid down low onto the ground and folder her wings back. She then gestured with her head, toward her back.

  Vacinne and Renlar just watched.

  Ausaliia cooed at them again, then with her head, she gestured toward her back.

  Vacinne said, “I think she’s offering us a ride.”

  “I’d rather not try to ride a dragon only to find out something was lost in translation,” quipped Renlar.

  Ausaliia stretched her neck out and brought her face close to Vacinne’s and she cooed gently in her face.

  Vacinne grinned. “Well, I suppose it is impolite to refuse a dragon.”

  Then Vacinne patted Ausaliia on the head and moved toward the dragon’s back. She made sure she stepped on the dragon’s arm with great care so as to not hurt her, then she pulled herself up onto the creature’s back. Ausaliia lifted her head skyward and cooed.

  “Your turn,” said Vacinne with a grin.

  Renlar shook his head and mumbled something under his breath, but he gradually moved toward the white dragon with a slow and steady gait. The last thing he wanted to do was to startle or unnerve her. She remained calm, even as a human sat on her back, and her whelp hopped around clumsily. Renlar used care to climb aboard her back, sitting right behind Vacinne. Once more Ausaliia lifted her face skyward and cooed with satisfaction.

  “I think she is actually happy to help us,” Vacinne said.

  “I guess we’ll find out if she drops us or not,” was Renlar’s snarky response.

  Vacinne gave him a gentle elbow and a playful smirk.

  The whelp’s hopping only grew in the anticipation of what was to come, but the mother reached down and licked her baby before saying something to him in a series of growls and coos. The whelp stopped hopping around for a moment, and the mother gave further instructions to the baby. Then the whelp sat still, well as still as possible for an energetic pup. Its tail waged so hard it nearly rocked his little body from side to side.

  Ausaliia continued her conversation with her baby, and Renlar looked around. Every direction he turned he saw nothing but death. The small Frost Giant city of Frizjarda had turned into a frozen graveyard. Statues of frost giants that were frozen solid dotted the landscape, but many more than that were the corpses. Renlar knew that it was kill or be killed, and he knew that frost giants were notoriously violent—yet he still couldn’t help but feel a certain sorrow for the loss of life—even for wretches such as these.

  His stream of thought shifted however, as Ausaliia began to beat her mighty wings. Her little one squawked even louder as he hopped up and down. It did not dissuade the white dragon. With Renlar and Vacinne upon her back, Ausaliia rose into the sky with easy grace. She coo
ed at her child one more time before turning away.

  The dragon’s smooth but sudden movement left Vacinne throwing her arms around Ausaliia’s neck. Renlar leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Vacinne and held her tight. The dragon was gentle with them though, soaring off the mountain’s northern face. With gradual, easy movements, Ausaliia carried them down.

  Still hundreds of feet from the ground, Vacinne relaxed her death grip. She sat up with newfound confidence and courage. Instead of clutching at Ausaliia, she stroked the smooth scales of the beautiful white dragon’s neck.

  Renlar just watched in amazement. He’d traveled far and wide. He’d even encountered dragons before, but he’d never seen anything like this before. He’d never seen anything like Vacinne before, either. She was stubborn, and naive, and judgmental; and she was strong, and courageous, and selfless. He’d already known it, but he finally admitted to himself, he would do anything to protect her.

  Bounties be damned.

  13

  Braegen’s Hold

  Vacinne and Renlar climbed down off the great white dragon’s back. Their feet touched down on something other than the snowy slopes of the Drechic Mountains for the first time in two days. Vacinne smiled. It felt good to be back on track. They were now on the road to Drenamere, South Road to be precise. It was the same road that they’d have been on had the tunnel not been sealed. They were at least an extra full day behind the vorthor demon, Sutara, and Warden Masoc at this point. She didn’t know what to expect, but she knew one thing, she was thankful for Ausaliia’s help. Were it not for the dragon’s arrival, they might not have made it out alive.

  Vacinne turned toward the stunning white creature whose scales managed to shimmer even under the light of the moon.

  “You have been a great aid to us. We are proud to have known you,” said Vacinne.

  Ausaliia cooed as she burrowed her massive face into Vacinne’s chest. The dragon’s playful show of affection was innocent. It was also a simple reminder of just how powerful dragons were, as it nearly knocked Vacinne from her feet. Vacinne laughed as she stroked Ausaliia’s long snout.