Dargonfire: Age of Legend

by LJ Davies

  All of this, and Aries has done nothing, even when they occupy the ground above his head!?

  Not only that, but the foul army had even begun to forge the ruins into something resembling Taldran. Crude structures were visible amongst the rubble, as were the deep pits the orkin had excavated throughout. The largest structures were three grand towers, each one in the advanced stages of construction. Meanwhile, dense swarms of beasts and pillars of smoke rose from the foundries, and the rasping chant of thousands filled the sky.

  "How... how, long has this been going on?" I managed to stutter through my shock.

  The princess gave me a solemn look, hopelessness and anger filling her expression. I knew that feeling: the frustration of being so powerless.

  "The orkin took the ruins of Andruid from my father's forces three days ago. We were too few to stop them, and without you, I didn't want to risk a battle we had no hope of winning. The remains of Dardien's army are still fighting within the ruins, but I fear it will not be long before the orkin find a way into the city itself," she admitted hopelessly.

  Despite the dire tone of her words, my mind set to work picking apart the pieces of information, stealing away the name of the former city as Andruid, then setting to work on what I could see occupied it. I tried to recall anything I'd learned about Balgore and his horde that would betray their strategy. Yet when my mind provided me with little more, I looked to Zephyra.

  The princess seemed to have even less to say about the matter. All I could see was her underlying fury, and that made me choose my words carefully.

  "What about your father?" I asked, trying not to let my tone turn sour at the mention of the sly dragon.

  She didn't seem eager to acknowledge or answer straight away, but as she continued to stare out over the horizon, her expression grew firm.

  "He’ll do nothing but hide where he thinks they cannot reach. Half of his army has abandoned him, and those that remain loyal he sees as expendable. He cares for no one other than himself," she stated, her voice fading into a whisper. "Including his daughter, it seems."

  "I'm sorry," I admitted quietly.

  "Don't be... I'm sure to him I was nothing but a means by which he could ensure his bloodline endures," she admitted.

  I couldn't help but sympathise, having an entire life planned out with no choices was a curse I knew all too well. Every aspect of one's existence forged for a single purpose, and all for another's gain. Yet she must have someone who loved her, unlike the gods that had forged me.

  Aries must think something of her? What of the rest of her family? I'd little idea about them.

  I said as much, but she shook her head and laughed emptily, as if it were a cruel irony.

  "There is no one else. I never knew my mother, undoubtedly another beautiful dragoness of the royal harem, but whether she cared for me or not, I cannot say," she explained.

  I pondered for a moment, the empathy of feeling alone in the world far closer to me than most. I looked up and for once, thoughts of what my friends had done for me in such times filled my mind, thoughts of Risha in particular.

  "I know that everyone here thinks you're more than that. I know I do," I assured, thinking of it as a compliment, if nothing else.

  It's the least I can do to thank her for what she's done for me. She smiled, almost humbled as she raised a forepaw to her chest.

  "That means a great deal coming from you," she stated.

  I shied away, wishing my words didn't carry such extra weight, but what she said next made me think again.

  "Especially as a friend; without whom, I wouldn't be here."

  I recalled the image of her at the celebration, pinned before the death-dealing claws of a vulpomancer. I'd saved her life, and I knew I'd have done the same for anyone.

  "Thanks," I responded somewhat sheepishly, a hint of the shyness I'd felt the day we first met resurfacing.

  Even so, everything I knew, be it good, bad or the words of a dark illusion telling me to go back to the ice, would soon be irrelevant. Ultimately, I didn't want anyone to die for me or because of what I'd done, and yet if there were anyone I'd follow in such a time, it was Zephyra.

  I trusted her, just as much as I trusted my friends. I swallowed my fear and hesitation, before finally quashing my instincts and thinking about what Risha had told me.

  "This plan. You can't win without it, can you?" I asked with a hint of regret.

  "The legend of Dardien’s true power is mighty. Only Seraphine herself and my great aunt Aria have ever been worthy of it," she explained, betraying a hint of fear in her eyes. "Unfortunately, the fact that it is needed makes it abundantly clear that the orkin are not the foe we should truly fear," she added, and at that my heart sank.

  She obviously knew there was something else, she'd seen it all, along with everyone else who had attended the season of fire celebration.

  Do they know about the Great Master and all he plans to do? Do they know about me?

  I knew that if I did go back, if I found the amulet, Mordrakk would win.

  He'll kill everyone and everything, and after that, what does it matter? The idea chilled me to the bone, and despite my efforts to hide it, I knew Zephyra saw right through me.

  "You’re right, there is something else," I muttered, the truth once again on the tip of my muzzle and yet unable to escape.

  "That is it, isn't it? What you're hiding?" she asked, and I froze.

  Does she know? How has she figured it out so easily? I stuttered, and after failing to speak, I simply nodded.

  Yet she said nothing; she merely looked back over the war-ridden horizon.

  "They never gave up on you, you know? I don't doubt they'll follow you to the end – not this so-called ‘guardian’, but you," she finished, gesturing at me with her tail.

  I really hope she's right. I thought as the beating of leathery wings sounded overhead.

  "Your highness, King Halfbeak has arrived and requests your presence. The scouting wings from the valley have also returned," a soldier announced through some heavy exertions.

  "Thank you, I shall meet him immediately. Please direct all returning wings to the dining tent and the healing tent, should they need it," Zephyra ordered, in a tone that sounded as though it came from a different dragoness, so much so that when she looked at me, I hardly recognised her.

  "The council will be meeting to discuss the battle plan in a few days," she informed me. "I trust you will be able to find your friends from here?" she added, prompting me to recall the directions Risha had given me.

  "Of course, your highness," I responded more formally, and at that confirmation, both the messenger and Zephyra disappeared from sight.

  "Still think you made the right choice?" Mordrakk’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

  "Do you?" I responded.

  A wicked smile broke his muzzle.

  "I have no choice in the matter, I go where you go," he replied.

  "Maybe you’re right about the future, but if I'm going to lose, I'm going to bring every last shred of you and your plans down with me," I countered, spreading my wings and leaping toward the camp.

  Chapter 10

  Midnight Watch

  The camp itself looked larger from above. Yet the number of eyes I could feel focused on me as I flew did nothing to settle my emotions.

  Mordrakk sat in the back of my mind, the easy choice and the right choice either side of his brooding image. He didn't seem concerned about which I took, yet his dark future felt far too close for comfort.

  Nevertheless, I peered down over the crowds amidst the tents, then at those in the sky about me. Images of Dardien's vibrant population coupled with Storm Peak’s and even my old home resurfaced.

  They could all be gone because of me, and if my choice doesn't matter, what then can I do to save them?

  All I had left was the belief that Mordrakk couldn't be right, and I focused swiftly on something other than that bleak future.

  Risha's direction
s returned to me as I searched for the training area and the red tent she'd described. I found the former first, the sight of several sparring dragons and other creatures striking battle dummies catching my attention. It was a large, open area surrounded by fallen walls, clearly having once been the foundations of a long since fallen structure. The lake and a pebbled beach sat to its left, with the tents bordering to the right.

  Many of the smaller structures differed in colour from the larger white ones, and just as Risha had advised, only one was red. Circling round, I landed close to the training ground, shifting the soft snow under my weight. Smoke rose from several braziers as I made my way along the edge of the practice ground.

  "Glad to see they didn't take up hours of your time," a familiar voice observed, and I turned to see Neera.

  "It's not like I'd have let them," I joked.

  "So what did they say?" she asked, leaping down from a ruined perch, her ears standing tall.

  "I thought you'd know?" I proposed.

  She sat back, tail coiling over her claws as her wings ruffled.

  "So they are going through with it?" she murmured.

  "If you mean sending us all into battle on a wild hunt for Dardien's last hope, then yes," I confirmed, feeling a slight stab of betrayal, before pressing. "Why didn’t any of you tell me?"

  "Look, it had nothing to do with me, I just do what you all do. Skies above, I don't think they'd even let me stay here if I didn't know you," she explained, waving her forepaws in emphasis.

  That fact made me both angry and ashamed, and any idea that I may have upset her didn't make me feel better.

  "Who else knew?" I requested, trying to restrain my frustration as Neera glanced around.

  "As far as I know, only the four of us, but I'm not the most informed, as you probably know," she confessed.

  I sighed and nodded, stepping away to the edge of the ruined wall.

  "I am sorry, but they said you'd never come back if you knew," she continued, sounding genuinely remorseful.

  I don't have to guess who made that assumption. I felt ashamed that they would think so little of me, and even more so at the fact that I knew they were right.

  Mordrakk gave a low, raspy laugh, and I slammed a mental door in his smug face.

  It still doesn't mean he's right about the true reason I ran.

  "You still don't think it'll be enough, do you?" Neera asked, reading my expression like an open book.

  I glanced down at my paws, at the bare white scales in the wet mud, for what felt like the first time in ages. I shook my head.

  "Don't tell them," I implored, and Neera nodded.

  "For what it's worth, I think you can... Win, I mean."

  I wish I could believe her as much as she did herself, but unfortunately the mental vision of the fire that may soon ravage the world quickly consumed any hope.

  What's hope really worth next to that?

  "Neera!" the sound of new voices interrupted, cutting off my grim thoughts.

  "No, I want her today!" another announced.

  "But you had her last time!" the first voice replied.

  The faldron was quick to turn her attention toward the commotion, her attitude abruptly turning from solemn to eager. Looking over, I saw three dragons, no older than a few years, run out from the camp and stop at Neera's forepaws, eagerly beaming up at the faldron.

  "Come on, she only got back a few days ago, you can wait your turn," one small, red dragoness with yellow markings around her eyes and down her neck snapped at another teal-green dragon.

  "But she has feathers, she's so cool, I shouldn't have to wait!" the second dragon, clearly a water elemental, responded.

  "Why can't we just share?" a small bronzy-metallic dragoness, with scales like topaz, asked timidly, earning a disapproving look from her two enthusiastic peers.

  She dropped back with a small ‘eek’, folding her wings over her head as she sank to the ground.

  "Hey now, I'm good enough for all of you," Neera stated, playfully placing a foreclaw on her chest as she puffed up her feathers.

  I cocked my head curiously: Neera is a teacher?

  Risha had suggested desperate times called for desperate measures, but knowing how adept Neera was at surviving, it was a pleasant surprise.

  My shock was nothing compared to that on the little dragons’ faces as they laid eyes on me.

  "By the skies, it's him!" the red dragoness muttered, tugging at the wing of her watery-coloured friend. "I thought he'd be taller," she added.

  "I... I really like his... wings," the timid one added, once again garnering a perplexed look from her companions.

  "I told you I knew a few dragons who'd love to meet you," Neera commented wittily as she edged my way.

  "Wait, you're a teacher?" I finally asked.

  "Yeah, I mean everyone other than Risha is, and she only got out of that duty because they need every healer they can get," Neera explained as her students continued bickering.

  "Told you she was telling the truth," the red dragoness stated, spitting her tongue out at her aquatic companion.

  He growled as she added proudly.

  "Dragonesses never lie, we're all too pretty to lie." She puffed up her chest in a way that made her bright yellow markings stand out like intense bolts of fiery lightning.

  "Now, pay up," she added, holding out a forepaw.

  "I didn't bring any dragoons with me, so it looks like you lose after all," he retorted smugly, but the young dragoness grinned.

  "Looks like you'll have to give me one of your meals every day for a week then," she finished, withdrawing her paw and patting him on the back with her wing.

  "Hey, what did I say about gambling?" Neera demanded firmly, and the pair immediately froze with guilty expressions.

  "Besides, I'm a faldroness, to be precise," she added, giving the red dragoness a wink. "We can lie sometimes."

  The fiery hatchling smiled back while her companion wrinkled his snout, flared his fins and looked to me for support.

  "Err... good job," I improvised, awkwardly waving a forepaw at them.

  The only response that earned me was a fit of laughter from all three, even the timid one.

  "You're funny." Was about the only thing I could discern from the childish din.

  "Don't worry, you'll get used to this," Neera offered.

  "I wouldn't hold your breath on that one," another recognisable voice interrupted.

  The laughing stopped abruptly, and both Neera and I looked to see Ember approaching, still wearing her order armour.

  "Good to see you back in the land of the living. Not that I thought you were dead or anything," she added swiftly.

  "Thanks," I answered, putting her awkward words to rest with a smile.

  "Sorry I didn’t come after you; I would have, only they need all the soldiers they have here," she stated somewhat shamefully.

  She knows she made the right choice; I can't blame her.

  She stretched out one of her wings, inspecting her armour closely.

  "After all, I didn’t meet Pyro over a romantic meal for two. It's just a shame he'll never get to see me like this after all we did together," she added, folding the leathery limb and standing straight.

  "He'd be proud of you," I offered sheepishly, doing my best to hide the cold spear of guilt lancing through me.

  She nodded, but swiftly turned her attention to the now silent hatchlings, who were still gawking at us.

  "Teal, Scarlet, you two are with me and Storm today," she explained in an orderly fashion.

  "But you two are so boring, Neera lets us hunt each other and practise take-offs over the lake," the watery dragon, who I assumed was Teal, moaned, pointing a foreclaw at the faldron.

  Neera shifted, as if she may be in trouble, but Ember smiled.

  "Well, maybe when you've convinced your brother and I that you've earned it, you can try for real," she offered, and I noticed Neera mumble something about how real her lessons actually
were.

  Regardless of whether she'd heard the faldron's muttering, Ember waved goodbye before she moved on, motioning with a flick of her tail for the two hatchlings to follow.

  The disgruntled pair reluctantly followed, a series of dry groans and snide comments replacing their eager laughter as they trudged after her.

  "She's changed," I commented, glancing back at Neera.

  "I know, she keeps this up and she'll be the new head of the Fire Order," Neera proposed, pausing when she saw my crestfallen expression.

  "Oh... I, I'm..." she stuttered.

  "It’s fine, there was no way things were going to stay the same forever," I assured, waving a wing dismissively.

  She appeared as if she thought it was anything but fine, yet didn't press the matter.

  "Well, Brass, looks like it's me and you again," she announced, prompting the timid dragoness waiting behind us to raise her head while the rocky spines on her back stood up in excitement.

  "See you later," Neera finished, turning to follow in the same direction as Ember and motioning for Brass to follow, an invitation the little dragoness eagerly accepted.

  I waited for a moment, peering out over the field of battling dragons and griffins as the early sunset illuminated them all in a golden hue.

  All of this, all they're fighting for, those small dragons who've yet to experience a long life. All of it's going to burn, and it's my fault.

  The grinding stones in my thoughts reminded me that there was no way I could let him win; not only that, but I had to do it without risking the lives of my friends. I had to find some way to fix all of this, and running back to the ice wasn't an option.

  If there's a way, I owe it to all of them to move the sky itself until I find it. I thought, yet deep in my mind, Mordrakk's smile curled wickedly.

  *

  The inside of Risha’s tent was far less regal than the others I'd seen. A skeleton of wood supported its inner walls, and the crimson fabric danced in the wind. Loose beds hung from chains and a small fire burned within a dish at the centre, filling the air with the light scent of smouldering oils. A set of stands held the armour I'd seen Risha wearing, an empty space beside it where I assumed Boltock stored his.