The Great Raid

 

The Great Raid
By- Saisu

Part 1- A Mistake

It’s an interesting feeling when an event hasn’t even happened yet, and it already feels like a mistake. That’s just what I feel like right now. I’m sure I’m not alone. The boys on my ship are all tired, anxious, and don’t want to be here. But all of them are greedy snakes, so here they are, on my ship, eating my food, and sleeping in my beds. Of course, the smart ones are feeling what I’m feeling: This is going to be a mistake.

“Captain Gale… we hit them tonight, right? A quick raid this’ll be, right?” Some young attack dog asks me. His voice is that of far too excited with the light undertone of inexperienced worry.

“Yah. Quick.” I answer. The boy is practically drooling in anticipation; he wants the prize. Greedy fool. I guess I’m no better, considering I don’t even have to be here. A draft brought many of our ranks here, but I volunteered. Sometimes, I’m a real fool, but only sometimes.

“Yes! We’ll be sure to win! These humans don’t stand a chance!” The kid continues. I note that all the other lads on my ship share this attitude. Cocky and over-enthused; they trust that they can take on anything that comes their way. The one wind dragon on my ship is an exception though. He’s the only one who looks ill about the whole thing, or he could just be sea sick- it’s one of the two.

I have to remind myself why I’m here, those two reasons. Those two reasons that stop me from throwing all these soldiers off my ship. Those two reasons that stop me from going back to doing what I do best; ignoring orders given to me by society. Royal blood and treasure, honor and wealth, pride and greed. These are the values that determine my action.

“Avest, Gale, when does the pillagin’ and rapin’ start aye, matey, yarg!?” These are the sarcastically taunting words of someone familiar to me. The kid finally goes, fearful the new man is actually asking me a serious question. This new man is skinny and tall with silver hair. His oval glasses sit crooked on his face. He smells strongly of Mercadian Rum. It depresses me.

“Gavril. You know pirates too well without ever being one yourself.” I grunt, harsh sarcasm dripping from my words. I learned the trick to conversation with Gavril is to maintain a strict, disdainful tone at all times. Otherwise, he’d be attempting to hug you throughout the entire dialogue.

“I’m a man of God! Why would I ever want to be a pirate!?” He shouts back, shifting his expression to look appalled at my suggestion.

I can only laugh. The idea that Gavril is close to any sort of God suggests that one of the Gods actually gives a crap about Gavril. This was lunacy, but Gavril doesn’t seem to think so. Actually, Gavril doesn’t seem to think at all.

The only reply the drunkard can give me is a laugh and a slight loss of balance for a moment. He supports himself using the side railing of my ship, which is scuffed and worn from years of abuse on the seas.

“If you ain’t a pirate then why do you follow me everywhere?” I ask, as unenthused as ever. I’m suddenly reminded of the orders I was given, the ones I wasn’t ignoring. These orders resonate throughout my skull, giving me an awful headache. This headache, I believe, is the side of my conscience with morals laughing at me and calling me unpleasant names.

“Anthrolig gets boring after the first few hundred years… you get to see the world. Yah dang pirate… arg… matey…. avest…” Gavril can only trail off, continuing to taunt my occupation. His eyes remain half closed, a side effect from all the alcohol he has consumed before this moment. If he were to get a cut, I suspect he would bleed cheap rum. Which reminds me, I’ve never seen Gavril bleed. I’m not sure he can.

“I’d figure.” I reply, shifting my green eyes away from his gold ones.

“You know what’ll happen to this army don’t you?” He asks me.

“Of course,” I bluff. “I’ve been to Adendra before. I’ve seen the people here. I know how they work.”

“Arg… matey… avest...” Gavril pointlessly blunders again. Conversations like this are probably why I’m the only one who can talk to Gavril. Being a pirate, I deal with drunken men on a daily basis, so I’ve learned the routine. Plus, Gavril had this odd air about him that suggested he really was smarter than he let on.

“You’re not going with the signal, are you?” I ask, getting straight to point. Gavril was remarkably unreliable, had been for a good 20 years now. I wait for the long excuse he is sure to give about why he’s not going.

“Nope!” He answers, twice as bluntly as I imagine he would. Hold on, where is the excuse? There is always an excuse!

“You pulling the man of God crap again!?” I bark, annoyed to high hell. “Everyone else from Anthrolig is going to be killing and getting killed in this and you can’t spare a single moment of your life to save any damn one of them!?” I don’t know why I say all this. Gavril had never cared for the dragon homeland of Anthrolig in the past. I wouldn’t expect him to now, due to the reason for us being here. The very idea only adding to our homeland’s decadent nature, our presence here the result of a selfish and jealous and hypocritical King.

“Nah… it's just real cold... and real windy… and real dark… and I do not want to go!” Gavril answers, adding a bit of upbeat sing-song to his last few words.

“You act like you have a choice!” I yell back.

“You don’t?” He replies, looking at me out of the top of his glasses. His uncanny, golden eyes make me cringe.

I can’t think of anything to say.

“Royal blood and treasure, aye, matey, yarg…” He hiccups. Those two reasons, I knew Gavril was smart.

The signal is lit; a blood red flare is shot into the fog, washing over the rank of forty or so ships, including my own. I see the boys on my vessel get ready for the final signal, for our attack to finally begin.

“Enjoy yourself; I’ll be in the bloodbath.” I smirk, letting the runes set deep in my blood and bones unlock. I look straight ahead, the red light of the flair does not cease to melt off my ship or crewmates. Gavril smiles eerily at me, with those damned golden eyes.

“You get out of there alive and I’ll be here... If you do not... Well… you will not be needing this fine vessel here, so I guess, I will just have to take...” Gavril says, talking extra slow and enunciating every little word. He runs his finger along the railing and I feel my cheek twitch. I kick him off the side railing with my boot. He simply stumbles backwards in a show of drunkenness, laughing in a bemused manner.

“NO.” I answer simply, looking back at him one last time before I let the last of my sealed runes unlock and jump into the sea. I feel wings peel out from my back.

Part 2- The First Attack

There is nothing like the feeling of all those runes unsealing after a long time. The more runes we have closed, the more human we appear, the more let loose, the less human we appear. When all runes are released, true-form shows us for what we really are: Dragons.

In true-form we are stronger, swifter, and grander than any other creature in this world. Our dragon form comes with greater control and stamina, heightened senses, and an awareness of all surrounding us. We might be faultless, but our ancestry is that of reasonless serpents. Simply put, the mind of a dragon is never to far from the mind of a beast. If I were to keep my dragon form for to long, my mind would eventually melt into that of a simple snake. Without such a flaw, the line separating dragons and Gods would be thin, to say the least.

I am first into the ocean’s depths, I can sense some of the other boys follow me in. Any other dragons fly above us, meaning the fire, wind, and any draconian that prefers the skies. We water dragons aren’t meant for flying, even though we have wings. We fly through the water faster than the others through the air. We hit the shores of Adendra first.

I can see the enemy humans before I’m out of the water. A few people are out on the beach, walking and having a grand time. Pity we have to crash their little festival. It is for the best, for us that is. By morning the humans will have their Guardians resurrected; this would be worse case scenario for us dragons of course.

 

The Adendrian Guardians are the Old Beast Gods in living form, incarnations of the earth, sky, and ocean. These Guardians made a pact with the humans of Adendra long ago. A pact to protect and watch over the people of the plains. In return for this protection, the humans most provide the Guardians with new bodies every century.

 

Such a ritual of resurrection is what we dragons are here to interrupt.

I signal the other water dragons to halt. There is a lapse between the swimming and flying units. I don’t know what anyone else would do, but I am definitely not rushing onto the shores of the notoriously militarized tribes of Adendra without a full force behind me. I turn to my soldiers, taking this moment to review the rule of the raid as the King’s advisers call it.

“Okay lads!” I start, in the stern and threatening way only a seasoned captain like myself can manage. “Priority one: kill the men. Priority two: capture the women and girls. As unwounded as possible mind you, the King won’t pay well for damaged goods! Use force only if necessary. Priority three: stop any ritual involving the Guardians, if they show up then this raid is over. Once the men are out of the way and the women captured, feel free to loot and plunder any goods. Horses would be the best to grab. The King will pay high for whatever is brought back. Got it? Good.” I finish my review with a glare and a scowl. Through it I realize how dumb this whole scheme really is.

It doesn’t matter anymore; once the attack begins it’ll be every man and dragon for himself. I expect no loyalty from any of these boys; I can see exactly who will stab me in the back for a little extra plunder. So it is best not to trust anyone in this situation. I see the other dragons flying in the distance. I begin for shore. The others follow my lead, if only to use me as a temporary shield.

The first attack takes seconds. The water dragons make the first assault, rushing the land and taking the humans by surprise. I manage to seize three humans within moments, a good score in my opinion. The other dragons land just as the humans begin to arm themselves. This is when I fall back, leaving everyone else to the front lines. I take my human form once more to gather my strength and self. This is a good choice I figure, since two humans are running toward me. The two men hold weapons but are blinded by panic. They see me and don’t even think twice about who, or what, I am. I look human enough, despite my deep blue hair. The monsters attacking their settlement are the ones they’re after, not me. They don’t even suspect I’m one of the monsters.

So after the faster one passes me I cut the slower one’s throat, quietly of course. The faster continues, not noticing his backup just perished behind him. Natural selection at its finest. For the moment I enjoy the feeling of being smarter than someone else.

I back up more and more as the reinforcements continue to land. I stand and watch as they immediately jump into the fray. Why am I the only intelligent being here? I mean, I could kill as many boys and men of Adendra as I pleased, hell I could kill every boy and man in Adendra, and I wouldn’t get any glory. This is a raid, idiots, the amount of people one kills doesn’t matter, it’s the amount of goods brought back that counts. Get in, grab what is supposed to grabbed, and get the hell out. I figure only pirates really get this concept. All the attacking is done by the military boys, they seek the wrong glory. I am looking for the ultimate prize. The only treasure worth fighting for.

Lilith.

Part 3- The Raid

“Go get them, men!” I hear some young general yell as he lands on the shore. His military boys snake their way into the chaos of battle, while he moves at a conveniently slower pace. I feel his runes lock up and his dragon body melts away until he looks as human as I do. The man walks slowly toward combat, stopping when he gets to me. He sneers at me expectantly.  He opens his mouth, but I cut him off.

“What do you want, boy?” I bark, putting a nice little emphasis on boy.

“Watch your tongue pirate, why are you not fighting!?” He barks back.

“Why aren’t you?” I can’t help but ask.

“I’m a general; you shall not talk to me with such disrespect!”

“If I cared for military ranks I’d have joined the military.”

“I outrank you, you filthy boat hand!”

“I do not know if anyone ever told you, but during a raid, your rank ain’t gonna be keeping you any more alive than anyone else out here.” Wait for it.

“Then what does keep you more alive than anyone else out here?” He asks me in a smug tone. I smirk. Here it comes.

“Knowing your enemies.” I state simply as I impale him through the back. Classic water dragon trick this one. You get a fellow talking, and as long as you keep him intrigued enough he won’t notice you’ve let the runes on your arm go. Then you never have to talk to him again. It’s one of my favorites.

I shake the general’s blood from my scales as my arm morphs back to skin. A pointless murder on my part, but still quite satisfying. Nobody is going to say one word about his death either. Who can question someone dying in a raid?

At this point I notice the newly armed humans are concentrating themselves in the center of the settlement. I feel bad for the dragons on the front lines; the Adendrian humans are all armed with weapons of the earth. I shiver at the thought of steel cutting through a dragon’s scales. I take this opening to start off toward the tents. The real treasures lay there.

“Come on little girl, you're going to get me a nice chuck of land back home.” I hear, this comment drawing my attention to a very confident looking fire dragon. The boy is attempting to drag a young Adendrian girl out of a tent. She is probably about thirteen or fourteen in human years.

He has the right idea but horrible execution. I see the next event before it happens. The girl pulls out a bronze dagger and slices the boy across one of his wrists, taking his hand off. He screams as the earthly weapon does critical and deadly damage. The girl runs as the fire dragon sprays red liquid, finally collapsing from the massive blood loss. It must be humiliating being killed by your capture. I take this moment to chuckle.

I look around the area I’m in. Deep red, purple, and black tents surround me, a few fires light up the area, and all is carefully arranged for the resurrection festival. Yet not a single human is left to protect such an area. Humans really are fascinating. They all rush off and leave the most precious cargo unprotected. Well, enough resting, time to get to work. I rip the closest tent open.

Nobody there.

I take to the next tent, looking around the insides. All that lies inside is a bed, some food, and a young boy, huddled in the corner. The boy is holding something sharp and unpleasant, but his shaking hands give away his lack of boldness. He doesn’t make a noise and I close the tent once more. No point in wasting time there, plus it’s not like witnesses are something to worry about. I open the next tent and the next.

Nothing I’m looking for, damn. Maybe the humans left this area for a reason. Perhaps they are protecting their most precious item.

The ultimate prize. The perfect treasure. The black haired women of the plains. The most beautiful women in the world: Lilith.Whatever title you use, that is what I need, that is what the King wants from this raid. Find her and I’ll be set for life, with both honor and wealth.

I go to open a fresh tent and am suddenly knocked aside by a massive body as it crashes to the ground beside me. I identify the body as a dragon’s, and my instincts alert me to danger. A human runs at me with duel swords drawn. I don’t bothering changing forms, I brought a simpler alternative.

BANG.

One well aimed shot is all it takes to kill a human. I let the smoke clear from the musket before I lower my arm. I look to make sure the shot was as lethal as its initial noise suggested. A wonderful invention really, only flaw being that it only had one shot in it before you needed to reload. One shot is all I need though. I have good eyes, missing is never an issue.

“Oh! Thank you, fine sir!” Coughs the body that crashed beside me, which I had figured to be lifeless. Heaped at my feet is a Draconian of the Sun, all bloodied up, now melting into human form. His long, curly hair is unbecoming to such a place as this, and the golden color shines oddly in the blue moonlight. “So sorry for the trouble; you see, I’m rather useless in this moonshine.” He adds, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. He pauses and stares at me for a few second.

A few more seconds. Even more. Okay... Getting weird.

“What?” I ask, my rough voice sounding awkward in the confusion of the moment. I take a glance backwards, thinking there is someone there. Nope, nobody around at all.

“Captain Gale! Good to see you again!” The blonde man sings with a mischievous smile. I finally recognize him, the Court Jester of the Anthrolig Royal Family. The flamboyantly colored clothing gives his identity away, though now torn and filthy.

Wait... why would he be here? The nobles and women were exempt from the draft that required so many to take part in this raid; certainly the beloved Court Jester was excused as well.

“Court Jester Rashi, why are you here? Couldn’t buy your way out of the fight, aye?” I hiss, instantly suspicious. These higher class people were notorious for being manipulative. Yet he gives me a relieved look, as if he was just glad I knew who he was.

“Not quite... The King wanted me to send my apprentice in my place. I denied him the cruelty. ” The Jester spat, obviously bitter about the circumstances. I offer him a hand as I jam my musket back into the belt around my waist. I still don’t trust him, but there is nothing wrong with gaining a little good favor with people in high places.

“Get up. If you’re too wounded to fight, get back to my ship, there should be a silver haired healer still on the vessel who... might help you.” I finish, my hand still offered. Rashi nods and grabs my arm for the help up. He gets up and falls onto my right shoulder, I grab at my gun before I realize he isn’t trying to harm me.

“I repay my debts, Captain.” The Jester tells me, removing himself from my shoulder before leaving in the direction of the shore. I turn, rather baffled, back in the direction of the tent I was inspecting.

“Captain! Captain!” I hear, almost right next to me. A crewmate of mine is a slight ways off, looking very excited and yelling too loud for anyone’s good. I only nod to him, taking note of a rather sizable arm injury. Despite the fact he was in human form, the injury was surrounded by broken, blue scales.

“Come to complain about a flesh wound, lad?” I bark. He instantly straightens himself up, and a look of worry runs across his face.

“N-No! I mean...” He yells in response. He stops and seems to calm himself slightly. “Captain, we have located the Cheiftess; she is hiding out in a tent just around the corner.” The dragon announces to me. I nod once more, raising my brow slightly this time; the we catches my ear.

“How many boys do you have?” I ask, hoping my crew hadn’t all been stupid enough to get killed right away. I also hope they are alive enough to serve as suitable shields.

“There’s enough..! Follow me, Captain!” The boy says. He eagerly turns around and leads me through a maze of tents until we reach the before mentioned area. Here I find a suitable number of my crew stabbing a suitable number of humans. There is a suitable amount of screaming involved and I feel suitably proud.

”She’s right in here. One of these guards yelled to her as we arrived.” My first-mate announces. The group looks worn out, but well enough to overpower anyone still in the tent, especially a single women. I look over the ornate pavilion and I don’t doubt my boys.

“The prize is ours!” Yelps the rattiest of the group. “We’ll just kill the Chief and take Lilith! Then we’re home free!” I see him reach for the sliding door of the tent. I also see a shadowy blur reveal itself on the other side.

I really wish I could have warned the fool, but fools tend to die foolish deaths.

My crewmate gets the door just barely slid open before he is cut in half. Two black blades dance through the air, stopping to reveal their owner for only a split second. I can only stare as her black hair is sprayed with my crewmate’s blood. I’d have to say that I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my days.

My men are in shock for just long enough. Lilith takes the opening, jumping at the dragon closest to her. The time it takes her to kill him gives the rest of my men time to change. I see her smirking. The black swords sing, like the wind sings, as they cut through the air. The song is interrupted as the blades hit the soft neck of one my crew. The following juicy noise does not stop the other dragons from charging at her.

Lilith is not intimidated by any of the massive, fanged jaws aimed at her. The blades need only to be lifted at the proper time to do their job. My eyes burn just looking at these weapons and I realize what makes up such implements. The very bone and marrow of the Phoenix, Guardian of the Edan Tribe of Adendra, is the structure for these blades. I’d heard that the Adendrian Chiefs use the carcasses of their Worldly Animal Gods to exploit in weaponry, but I figured it was just myth.

One of the dragons charging her leaps, but clumsily misses her as she slides underneath his long neck. Lilith extends the swords to cut the length of the dragons belly as it soars over her, spilling the dragon’s insides all about as it crashed behind her. Lilith sheaths her bloody weapons, which make a squishing sound as they fit back into the holders around her waist. A final wave of dragons, some transformed and some not, take the opening, running at the Cheiftess.

She simply plucks off one of the long, red feathers adorning her dress. With a forceful breath, her lips send the feather swishing through the air, singing as the swords did. The feather explodes in a brilliant show of flame, but not as brilliantly as the dragons it hits.

A bit of the blaze licks the air around me. I practically choke as I’m swept with the sharp, burning pain of worldly fire. Just being near such a flame is enough to cause agony, but it is a small price to pay, because I am finally brought to my senses.

I take this moment to realize the ultimate prize is not going to submit to me just yet. I turn to my immediate left and dash. Lilith might have seen me take off, but she doesn’t pursue. I’m very grateful for this.

Damn. The Adendrian’s don’t need any Great Guardians to destroy us. They themselves are the Great Guardians. I don’t stop running.

The low, wet resonance of an Anthroligian rally horn sweeps through the settlement, causing me to finally slow and stop. I turn to see the Sound crawling across the ground behind me. I feel the Sound scale up my legs and torso before squeezing itself into my ear. The orders come through my brain loud and clear, but cause a most horrible headache.

The third Adendrian Tribe is almost here, rally in the center of the settlement or attack the inland horizon. The message lingers in my brain before the Sound crawls out of my other ear and onto my shoulder. It hisses. I brush it off my shoulder.

Center of the settlement and inland horizon. Now I know what areas to avoid.

“For the King of Anthrolig!” I hear some military boys yell in the distance. I can’t help but spit at the thought of the Dragon King. If I survive this, he’ll be seeing the next world sooner than he expects. This entire raid was his devising after all. I heard there was some big scandal with his Queen having the child of a human. The King apparently didn’t figure this out for several years after said child was born, so it hurt his pride all the more the realize his little prince wasn’t his at all. I was visiting the Princess, who I know surprisingly well, when the King killed his wife’s lover. That very day he gave the order to attack Adendra. A simple revenge against his wife, if she was to have a human lover, he was to have a country of them, whether the humans liked it or not.

 

Even then I thought the whole thing ridiculous, but the glory of royal blood and the promise of grand treasure lured me in. Greed drove me then, and still drives me now.

This big, damned mistake of a raid made out of jealousy. I hate royalty.

Yet, all this escapes my mind as I look to the inland horizon. The hillside is being swarmed by humans, all armed and ready to kill. I see a few dragons attacking from the air, but the number the humans displayed is overwhelming. Great, I either have to run in the direction of the army or back toward that Phoenix of a woman.

I choose the army.

Part 4- Carnage and Finality

“Come on, men! Let’s get something of value and get out of here!” I hear around the corner. I peek around the turn and see three fire dragons, injured and weary. The group stands outside a tent, not unlike Lilith’s ornate pavilion. The youngest of the dragons opens the sliding door. I half expect that black haired women to jump out and cut them open, but it doesn’t happen.

“I-I’ve found something! It’s amazing! The King will find this a most wondrous pet, take a look!” the youngest dragon yells, childish mirth filling in his wounded voice. The others rush to his side to get a look.

“It’s to dark, I can’t see anything.” the second mutters, the others smack his arm.

“Let’s just grab whatever it is and get back to the ships!” the third barks, but in a more confident tone than the other two. I stare with intrigue, wondering what could be in this ornate a tent. I’m speculating if I could kill these boys and take whatever it is for my own. I’m getting desperate too. The thought of Gavril getting my ship because I die out here is really starting to bother me.

“It is a horse, right?” The third in the group asks, reluctant in his questioning.

Just a horse?

“Of course it’s a horse! A magnificent horse! Come here horsy!” The first to open the tent sings. The boy finally begins inward; holding one hand out, trying to lure whatever is inside out.

An eerie sensation suddenly crashes into me, making my chest ache. Something just isn’t right here.

“Why does it have scales?” The second asks, with an indifferent tone.

Wait a second…

…My heart skips a beat.

“No! You idiots! Don’t get near it! Run! Run for your pathetic lives!” I yell this and I don’t know why. Is it to save them? Is it save myself? I guess my primal instinct throws these words into the air. It doesn’t matter though because nobody even looks in my direction.

The first dragon cries out in pain and stumbles backward out of the tent. He trips and falls hard onto his tailbone. The other two look at him concerned as their friend grabs at his arm or, as I realize a second later, lack thereof. Everyone suddenly backs away from the tents entrance, and I see why.

The beast toddles out of the tent like a newborn. It grips the boys severed arm in its jaws while it looks at the three with blameless eyes. I also note its tail, which flops merrily back and forth.

“What is this thing!?” The boy screams, as his arm is dropped at his feet. -What’s that boy? You wanna play fetch boy?- I can barely believe what I’m seeing at this point.

Three and a half feet tall and deadlier than anything one could ever imagine.

The Great Horse, the fiercest and most deceiving of the three Great Adendrian Guardians, stands only yards away from me. The boys see it coming, each and every one of them, but not a single one can escape. I bare witness to why the creature is so feared.

The horse gets the legs first, reducing each boy to a snails pace. One of them tries to transform, but the beast tears his wings off before he can flap them once. Any other limbs are next, but keep in mind it doesn’t kill anyone of them. Oh no! The horse just lets them watch as its razor sharp teeth slice through skin and cleave over bones. I can’t watch any more, if only because I can taste their screams.

I use the time the creature takes devouring the boys to make another escape. I break around a nearby tent and the boys screaming combined with the other wet noises cause me to lose anything in my stomach.

“Damn, damn!” I gasp aloud, almost doubled-over. I can’t remember doing anything more foolish in all my life. The creature hears these words and I hear it coming. It’s faster now, trotting innocently after me. I can’t imagine three whole dragons not being meal enough.

In a panic, I slip into the closest tent, closing the sliding door opening as fast as possible without being seen. I’m not fast enough in this and am forced into leaving a small crack left open. I see the horse's shadow pass in front of the tent, it simply stands there. Looking. Listening. Feeling, for any sign of my flesh and bone.

I don’t breathe; which is code for I can’t breathe. I think of Gavril sailing off with my ship. I think of everything really, but mostly Gavril sailing off with my ship. Damn it, Gavril.

“The rebirth was successful! Oh, Corrine, we will survive this yet! Stay with this wondrous horse, you will be safe!” I hear a female voice, just a little ways off. I see the horse’s shadow turn and run in the direction of the human voice.

I expect to hear the creature ripping the woman limb from limb, but it doesn’t happen. I adjust so I may observe the scene, my curiosity grateful for the crack left open. I see a human woman holding a weapon in one hand and a small girl in the other, whom she sets down next to the Guardian. The girl is nuzzled by the animal god and after the women leaves, the remaining two head in my direction. They pass the tent I’m in, and for a brief moment I see the young girls face. She is only six or seven in human years, with greenish hair and similar colored eyes.

I decide I will never forget the girl’s face. The girl who saved my life and never knew it.

I finally breathe as the human and the monster depart. My relief is destroyed as I hear a rustling behind me. I whirl around and see the last thing I expect.

Black hair. The ultimate prize.  Lilith? No... not quite. There is one key difference; the person hiding in the tent with me is far younger, just a girl.

“No! Leave me alone! You horrible monster! I’ll die before you’ll take me!” she yells. Cheeky, considering she’s maybe fourteen at oldest. I smirk.

“I won’t rape you girl. I do, however, know someone who might.” For a moment I am blinded with greed. I think of taking the girl back to the Dragon King, of what he’ll give me in return. Her face as she’s ushered away to some chamber some where in the castle. I don’t care what’ll happen to this girl, what pain she might feel because of my actions. I think only of my desires for fame, wealth, and easy living.

I do wish I would have cared about the damn bow and arrow lying next to her.

She can only scream as she fires a single shot. It hits me with less than deadly accuracy, yet I feel like I’m going to die. No matter how long one lives one never forgets the feeling of jagged steel piecing through their eye. One just doesn’t.

I scream in pain and grab the arrow.

This next moment I can only compare too stabbing a grape with a fork, while the grape is still attached to the vine. Either the fork has to come out of the grape, or the grape has to come off the vine. I do not know which one I choose exactly, but I do know that my grape was not on the vine after the fork came out.

“Lilith said her daughter should be hiding in one of these tents! Check them all! Move!” cries an Adendrian a few tents away. I hear a troop of men coming my direction and I break. The pain and anxiety lets the seals in my body go, a sort of self-defense mechanism unique to the dragons. Pain, plus worry, plus danger makes us lose our sense of self.

My dragon form causes the tent to rip around me. In my attempt to curse, blue flames erupt out from my mouth in all directions. The tent collapses and I see the black haired girl, her big purple eyes pouring over with tears. This image is the last I see of her, before the burning tent collapses.

”Nisha! Quick! Someone help her!” a boyish voice yells. Blood has worked itself into my other eye, but I manage to see my attacker. A boy, with long, white hair, runs at me. In a panic I can only flail at him. He dodges before managing to slit one of my wings open. Looking extremely proud of himself, he starts into some fancy footwork, which does him no good considering I land a swift smack to the side of his head with my tail. He falls over, possibly dead. The other humans rush to him, weapons drawn, and attempt to block my path.

“Gale!” I hear someone yell, in an unfamiliar accent. A burst of wind flies over us, stoking the blue fire and knocking the humans over. Instinctually, I run with all my force away from the danger. I don’t look back, but I hear a few arrows being fired. These don’t hit me, which is all I really care about.

I manage to get around a corner before my stamina fails me. My dragon form falls away and I land face first into the dirt. My first reaction is not to catch myself, but to grab at my empty eye socket. I lay on the ground, wishing I wouldn’t have chosen the latter.

I pant, pulling myself out of the bloody dirt. The most my body can handle is supporting myself on my knees, which allows me to properly wipe the blood from my face. My working eye manages to focus itself, but I fight to keep it open. Pain forces me to lurch forward and curse quite a bit. I feel something land rather hard in front of me. My fatigue is still not greater than my curiosity, so I glance up.

“Gale..!” The broken accent mutters. I finally realize who my rescuer is; a dark skinned, girlish looking boy who had been stationed on my ship. He looks at me desperately, and I look back with distain. This couldn’t have been the wind dragon that saved me, he’s just a kid. I look him over once more and notice his oddly angled ears.

Wait. Oh yes, I remember now. This boy, he was the wind dragon that could see further and sharper than anyone, but he had this odd hearing problem.

“Tahmores!” I yell, remembering his disability. I try and sound commanding, but my voice is too shaky from exhaustion. The boy excitedly nods, overjoyed to hear his name. I notice his black nails pointing at my bleeding eye socket, his expression that of unmatchable concern.

He quickly hands me a messy roll of cloth, which he pulled from a medic bag I had assigned to him prior to the attack. I figured he would be worthless in battle after I was inform that he couldn’t hear very well. Not only that, but the boy was also only 17 and couldn’t understand our language very well. Now I feel I made a good choice in making him a medic.

My hand snatches the bandaging from Tahmores. I quickly fashion myself a makeshift eye patch, wrapping it firmly around my head. I feel the blood slow from its wild surge from my eye socket. A strange, grateful feeling overcomes me, so I nod a quick thanks to the boy. This is when I notice he is covered in blood and dirt, but with only a few injuries himself. Perhaps he actually is a decent fighter.

I stand myself up, looking down at the boy. I want to leave him behind, but I notice something that changes my mind. He unconsciously moves his left leg to where we both can see. At least three arrows are stuck firmly into his skin. My horrified expression goes unnoticed as the boy takes each one out, not wincing or crying or screaming once. Each steel tip leaves a searing, coin sized hole in his leg. I realize he was the one the humans were shooting at, not me. This boy had saved me three arrow wounds, and for that, I’m in debt to him.

In all the fast paced chaos I stand still, waiting for the boy to finish wrapping each of his wounds with his own bandaging. I should probably stop calling him ‘boy’ at this point. He was obviously more of a man than I give him credit for. I offer the man a hand up.

“Tahmores, if we get back to the ship soon we could get out of here!” I say, moving my lips so he may read them easier. His relieved expression lets me know he understands somewhat. I turn in the direction of shore, but he grabs my shoulder and pulls me back.

He is looking behind us and his eyes grow to about double their natural size. I can tell something bad is coming. Nobody’s eyes get that wide over nothing.

I had only heard Tahmores speak twice before this, and he only spoke names, well yelled really.

“Lion! Run!” he yells desperately. I know just what he means by this, the third and final Animal God of these humans is heading our way. I can’t see anything behind us, but I know his hawk eyes can. There was no hope for the dragons winning this battle. The human tribes have resurrected all their horrible Guardians.

 

Reacting as fast I can, I let my runes go; Tahmores does the same. The wind dragon flies in front of me, as I run at my maximum pace behind him. We dodge around at least seven dragons, all fighting some heavily armed humans. Tahmores is much faster than I am, but he doesn’t leave me behind. He knows I’m slowing him down, but he risks his safety to stay with me. I really thought loyalty didn’t apply in raids. Shows how much I know.

Our position finally becomes clear to me. We ran straight into the initial attack area. One last battlefield to pass by? One last challenge? This thought is cemented in my skull as I see Tahmores quickly barrel roll to the right. I do the same, only much slower. Something horrible passes just narrowly by my neck, a feeling like an invisible ocean wave knocks me to the ground and attempts to choke me.

I look back to see a single arrow flying through the air. The projectile hits one of the dragons we had passed by, ripping through it. I’m surprised to see the arrow continue on its path, hitting each and every dragon Tahmores and I had passed. The arrow pieces through seven dragons before it finally stops. Seven dragons hit with a single arrow. I’m in awe. My body wants to panic, but I keep it under control. I can’t lose self again. I can’t escape without my mind.

I take in the entirety of my surroundings. A mile wide area, probably used for the central area of the festival, is the worst battlefield I’ve ever seen. Oddly enough, only a few humans are fighting here, the rest are dragons. I see why soon enough. Lilith, red dress and matching eyes, is standing with her swords drawn. A small, hawk-like animal on her right shoulder. The red and black painted bird takes to the air singing, as a lightning storm sings, a chaotic line of fire trailing behind it. The worldly flame engulfs dragon after dragon, washing over the humans without harming them. The Great Bird of the Edan tribe is far from a welcoming sight, though it’s beauty rivals Lilith’s.

Another notable figure is a tall man, dressed in deep blue and ocean green. Fog falls around him, as if he is the source of it. He raises a magnificent long bow with his left arm, and places an arrow on it. Mist falls from this weapon, it is the true source of the fog, not the man himself. He fires the arrow, which I recognize as the same type that I dodged only seconds before. The second arrow shoots through the air, leaving a wet haze that one could drown in trailing after it. No wonder that arrow could rip through seven dragons before slowing down, it most be made from the remains of that damned Horse God. This man has to be the Chief of the Maylin tribe, Nibal.

I turn to Tahmores. He screams.

“Lion!” I hear Tahmores yell far more urgently than he did before. I instantly turn to the direction of the wind dragon’s alarm.

I see the final Guardian of the tribal humans, the Great Cat. The newly resurrected God is the size of an average lion, yet the mammal has an adolescent quality. It’s half-matured features, a partial mane, patchy fur, and short teeth, leave an earth colored streak behind its heavily moving body.

It is so close now, but I can’t get up and move. My fear keeps me completely still, and the cat doesn’t give me a second glace. The lion jumps over my body and I feel selfishly relieved. However, the Guardian lands on the last person I wish it to.

I hear a horrified yell from Tahmores. My dread finally emboldens me enough to react. My tail lands a hit critical enough to knock the lion away. I look to my wind dragon friend, expecting him to be as ripped apart as the boys the horse devoured. I’m shocked when the only damage I see is six scratches neatly arranged on his face.

I hear the lion recovering from its fall. Tahmores and I both make eye contact with the animal, and it roars with the fury of an earthquake. This sound is so devastating that my mind fails me. The seals in my body all seize up and I fall backward to the ground, now in my fully human form. Tahmores hits the ground next to me, landing on his face, his dragon form faded away as well.

The lion crouches; ready to pounce on us one last time. I think about the man running at me with the duel swords and of the court jester I had met earlier. My hand reaches for my pant leg, and I point my musket at the lion.

CLICK. Not Bang, Click. No powder, no bullet, no bang. One shot was all it took; one shot was all it had. You didn’t reload it, Gale. You didn’t reload it!

This, I believe, is the only time I will be saved by this man. The only occasion he will ever re-pay me for the endless amount of time he spends on my ship and all the trouble he causes others that I have to deal with. I do know, however, that all this is worth it, just to see that massive, midnight black body land on top of that blasted cat.

“Bad kitty…” the black dragon murmurs, sun-colored eyes glaring down at the animal. The cat scratches and claws at the ground, but the colossal dragon keeps it pinned. This dragon’s appearance draws unwanted attention, though completely out of shock and fear.

“I thought it was real dark, and real windy, and real cold?” I grunt.

“..And I didn’t want to come… but I couldn’t get the ship to go by myself.” The golden eyed dragon replies.

“You’re a bloody snake Gavril, you know that!?” I screech, through gritted teeth. Gavril doesn’t reply and I am glad. The black dragon is the center of attention now, even Lilith stops her fighting to stare. Gavril is the ancient sort of dragon only seen in fantasy novels; the size of a two story building, with a long neck and tail, a mysterious black chain wrapped around his left arm, and ash colored feathers making up patchy wings.

His neck c***s to look at all the eyes on him. He smirks, and flaps a single wing. The gust produced knocks half the spectators over.

By this point I am already sitting comfortably on the back of him, along with Tahmores, who is poking at the black feathers in amazement. Gavril can only laugh heartily as he begins to lift off the ground. The lion is left alive, but stunned in the dirt. A few panicked humans begin shooting arrows at the drunk, but the wind from his wings blocks any from reaching us. Soon enough we are out of sight, the fog working as our cover.

“Couldn’t get the ship to go by yourself, huh?” I ask Gavril, in a bitter tone.

“Not an inch… and that blonde fellow won’t help me one bit.” Gavril comments, sounding oddly satisfied. Blonde fellow? So Rashi obviously made it back to my ship. Gavril turns his head to look at me, sitting bloody and wounded and dirty on his shoulder, he speaks through sharp teeth.

“You look like a real pirate now, Gale--”

“Oh, shut up.” I bark, looking at him through one eye.

The End

 

Author's Note

If you enjoyed this there is a printed, illustrated version that should soon be available for purchase at Prospiracomic.com and/or local comic book stores in the Las Vegas valley.

This story is published as of 2008.

Reviews

[Philosophile. (Maddy)]

I actually loved it. Clever of you to use Gavril as the name of the God loving dragon. I had suspected that your names were symbolic. That's the same route I took with my story, though it centers on demonology. I liked the humor you put in, too. Also, the details in the battle scenes are something to be admired. In fact, I declare you're my inspiration for my own battle scene I should be writing right now! Though I might be delving too much into symbolism, was Lilith symbolic too? I came across that name in my research for my story. Though I didn't realzie having blue hair made you unhuman. My hair's blue right now. When you introduced dragons, I celebrated!! I'm not being sarcastic, either. Anyways, congrats on publishing! I'm thinking of doing that too once I finish my trilogy. Lastly, stupid Gale! Is Tahmores going to be present more later on? I liked him.
Adendra...faith right? Jiayoh