Chapter 7
The sun had risen, it was bright outside, and Fercius squinted as he looked down at the city below them. Where were they? Why hadn’t they come back yet?
“Fercy…” Rin’Tsu muttered, finally starting to wake up.
“They’re still not here.” he replied, his eyes fixed on the city.
He felt Rinny’s nose as she nudged up against his neck, freeing him from his trance and worry. Remembering last night, he licked her across the fangs and went back inside; he didn’t want her to catch a cold.
“I think Wei’s mad at me.” she said.
“Why?” Fercius asked, taking the time to press his nose up against Rinny’s smooth breastplate.
She laughed and jumped back, getting ready to lunge. “I think I did what he told me not to do.”
Fercy was knocked onto his back again, but last night had gotten him used to it.
“And what’s that?” Fercy asked.
Just then they heard the sound of hooves outside, so they went out to investigate, seeing both Darko and Xiu Wei dismounting from their horses. Fercy and Rinny jumped off the edge of the castle and glided down to them, startling them as they landed. The dragons felt better than ever, but Darko and Wei didn’t look too great.
“I wish I knew how to ask them what’s wrong.” Fercius said.
Rin’Tsu nodded, folding her wings back and taking an attention stance in front of her master.
“Fercius, we’re headed back.” Darko said, with a tone in his voice that was not to be challenged.
He really wanted to protest, desperately wishing he could stay with Rin’Tsu, but he knew duty called, so he leaned forward, letting Darko saddle him up.
This caught Rin’Tsu by complete surprise, if she had known that this was how Darko would respond to their greeting him, then she would have preferred to have had another few precious moments up by the roof. She didn’t have much time, and she knew that soon he’d be gone.
“Fercy – promise me you’ll come back again.”
“I’m not sure… it depends on – “ But the look in this Vulcan dragon’s eyes brought forth confidence that Fercy never knew he had before, “- I will, I promise. This won’t be the last you see of me.”
He wanted to give her a quick kiss, but he wasn’t sure how Wei would respond to that.
“Be safe Fercy!” Rinny called after him, following him with her eyes until he was out of sight beyond the tree-line.
What if that’s the last time I see her? The last time I could have kissed her?
The flight back to Sedon was a lot easier than the flight up, with Fercy barely having to flap his wings at all, preferring to glide from the high altitude they were at. His potential energy was limitless, and his speed was as high as he can handle. This flight was exhilarating, but as Darko explained what had happened, a pool of anger swam among them. Fercius did not know Sodo that well, but was aware of his family ties with Darko. Moreover, this sudden assassination had taken him away from Rinny, which gave him even more incentive to defeat this dreaded mage that was no doubt responsible for these attacks.
When they arrived at Sedon, all was quiet. The surviving assassins had already been taken away for questioning. Darko didn’t even want to see them. This meant war, they both knew it.
“The R and B control a small settlement to the south of Sedon, we’ve believed for quite a while that it has been from there where they have been hiding their arms and mounting attacks.” reported an officer by the name of Nolan. They were all settled outside, at the base of the meeting hall by the dragons, every lancer had been summoned. Everybody was here. They were all waiting. Darko stood beside Nolan, a King now, but still a lancer, just like everybody else.
“We are going to attack the settlement in two hours, during the sunset. This will show the R and B that we don’t take lightly to such disastrous events. Our non aggression pacts with their people have now ended. Get into your squads, make whatever preparations that must be done, and we will set forth, the best of the best.” Darko said.
Everyone nodded, their faces filled with anger from what had happened in the past few days. Fercius could see Lorna in the crowd, she looked away. Had she been looking at him? Her lancer didn’t notice, however, wearing the same mask of obedient rage that everyone else wore. There must have been at least 100 lancers here, all congregated at this one spot, with Fercius, Darsch, and Nolan standing at the base of the Castle at the tip of the stairs. Fercius wished this made him feel taller, but some of the dragons still shadowed him with their height and build, at least 5 times greater than his. Not only that, but Nolan’s dragon was massive, a green and brown woodland dragon, massive, even compared to the other dragons. Fercius wondered how old they were when they were first deployed, when they first killed… no, he shouldn’t think that, he wasn’t going to kill anyone… they were just going to take a settlement. How do you take something without violence? People were going to die. There was no other way.
The sun was a blood red off in the horizon. The dragons’ wings acted as the percussion to their aerial march towards the R and D. They were the quick reaction force, the fastest fighters in the fleet – the lancers. To his left, Fercius saw a contingent of larger dragons, an array of different colors, all of their lancers carrying bow and arrows. They were their range, the dragons – coupled with their archer counterparts – were going to rain hell on the enemy before him and the rest of the assault squadrons charged. His stomach churned from the near future, from what he’d most likely have to do. All of his years of training was for combat like this, combat he never actually thought he’d have to partake in. He wondered if it was worth it. If – given a choice – he would have decided to join an army. Why was he so loyal to these people, what drove him? Even he didn’t remember anymore, but whatever it was, it was all that would keep him sane during the next hour, for when the arrows began to fly, and the flame bursts from the dragons shot across the settlement, there was Hell on Earth.
The alert bell of the settlement rang, and people began to scatter, running to safety. The army barely had time to deploy.
“Dragons – charge!” yelled a commander, Fercius wasn’t sure if it was Darko, Darsch, or Nolan, but either way, he was diving down towards the people below him.
There, a group of soldiers, they were all braced against the settlement walls, their shields raised in front of them and their spears ready. Darko pulled on Fercius’ reign, signaling for him to attack.
“But their spears are raised!” he heard himself saying, even though he knew Darko didn’t understand his growls.
“Don’t question your lancer!” yelled a dragon that whizzed by.
Maybe they won’t notice me. He thought, as he began to increase his velocity, ready to ram into the core of the soldiers that were up against that wall.
“For Sedonii!” Darko yelled.
God dammit.
The soldiers immediately pointed their spears directly at Fercius and huddled close together, only to have a massive dragon plough through them from their right flank, knocking all of them off their feet and sprawling them across the ground, incapacitated. Darko immediately pulled back on the reigns.
“Excellent flanking maneuver.” Darko said, patting him on the neck.
“Should have told me!” he cried, shaken.
“Fercy land and brace yourself.” Darko said as a spearmen charged them from the right.
He winced as he felt the tip of the spear, but it was immediately dislocated from the rest of the stick as Darko brought his sword down on it. The spearman dropped his destroyed weapon and ran into one of the buildings.
Darko followed him.
When a lancer dismounts a dragon in combat, the dragon is never to leave his lancer, defending his position as fiercely as possible as he awaits his lancer’s arrival. Fercy remembered – 2 years ago – how he had waited in the rain for two hours for his lancer to arrive, to test his endurance. Only later did he realize that they were testing him on something he hadn’t learnt yet, and that he had still passed. Darko was so proud that day.
The sound of death and destruction filled Fercius’ ears now, with flames appearing to rain from the sky, some landing very close to him. He could see groups of people fighting other landed dragons off in the distance, and a pair of lancers brawling with a few swordsmen a bit closer. Massive dragons swooped in, cutting through ranks of enemies to even the odds for the lancers as they continued fighting.
“Die!” cried a soldier as he charged Fercy from behind.
He yelped and swung around, snarling at the soldier, who wore heavy chain mail and carried a massive claymore.
The soldier didn’t flinch, and Fercius saw him bringing his sword back, ready to do a vertical strike. Fercius pushed himself off the ground just before the blow landed and then propelled himself at the soldier, crushing him against the wall. The sound was sickening, and blood began to pour from his now destroyed body. There was blood all over Fercius’ nose too, but to his surprise, it was his, the sword had glanced the tip of his nostrils, and the pain just began to register.
“Time to get out of here Fercy!” Darko yelled, running out of the house with at least half a dozen soldiers chasing after him. “Nolan!”
“On it!”
A massive dragon came swooping down behind Darko, knocking a few of the soldiers away as others continued the pursuit. Fercy kneeled down and immediately took off the moment Darko grabbed his reigns. The soldiers took one last look up at their target before the place Fercy had been in a moment before was hit with a flame burst, incinerating the soldiers instantly. Nolan pulled up beside them.
“Sir, this was supposed to be a surprise attack, but a fleet of enemy lancers is engaging our ranged unit off to the south. They’ve pulled back into the thickness of the woods, but most of our dragons can’t maneuver properly in there.” reported Nolan.
“I see.”
“I’ve mustered up some smallish dragons that can maneuver in these woodlands, would you like to lead the assault.”
“Fercy?” Darko asked.
“No.”
“We’d love to!” Darko replied, obviously misinterpreting Fercius’ angry growl…
With the ranged flame bursts gone, the lancers were having a harder time fighting off the horde of surviving soldiers that had dug themselves in at the town square, there must have been at least 50, with 45 or so assault dragons prodding their defensive hedgehog of spheres they had set up. Their flameproof shields easily assuaged the flames of the assault dragons, but a focused flame burst from the ranged squadron that was currently being suppressed would be able to finish them.
Now… to unsuppress them. Fercius thought, heeding to Darko’s commands and diving towards the tree line to the south. Four more dragons soon joined his formation, one of them being Lorna. They were deep in the forest now, and the noise from the war seemed to have been tuned out by the trees. It echoed here. It was eerily quiet. A dragon’s cry split the air among them, and they immediately rushed towards it. Fercius had never heard anything like it before, it was the sound of death. A ranged dragon had just been killed, his lancer’s remains sprawled across the forest floor by some jagged rocks, the enemy lancers were nowhere to be seen, probably having retreated into thicker territory. Fercius could sense the fear of his fellow dragons, and Darko led him on to the small cluster of trees ahead of him, when there came another cry from behind them. He immediately veered himself around, but a dragon of his formation had already been jabbed in the gut, falling to the floor, his lancer missing. Another scream reverberated through the forest, this time a lancer’s. The lance had gone through the dragon’s thick hide and out just above his right leg. He was a Vulcan dragon, and Fercy helplessly watched him bleed out on the ground before he heard the beat of wings and his peripheral vision saw a hostile lancer heading right towards him from the thick bit of forests behind him. Time seemed to slow down as he tried to react. The lancer had a real lance, extending several meters out ahead of him. He was almost certain he would meet the same demise as that Vulcan, but the lance was aimed right at Darko, and it slowly flew towards his torso. Darko was quicker, however, and in a moment the lance was in both of his hands, knocking him and the enemy lancer onto the ground a few meters below.
“Darko!” Fercy cried, flying down to aide him, but before he could arrive, the now lancer-less dragon tackled him, knocking him against the ground and biting into his left fore leg. The dragon wore the colors of the R and B, it was Vulcan, and had sharp incisors, similar to that of a crocodile’s. Fercy could hear the sound of metal on metal as the hostile lancer drew a sword and began to duel Darko. Lorna came to help them, but another five hostile lancers emerged from the thick cluster of trees behind them. The remaining three assisting dragons immediately had to engage the hostile lancers. It was chaotic, with Fercius desperately trying to clamp down on his predator’s neck, hoping he would loosen the grip on his leg. He bit till he tasted blood, and the dragon finally let go of his leg, beating himself a few feet up in the air. They should have gone into the thicker forest sooner, they were very vulnerable here, and now there were at least a dozen hostile dragons here. Fercius could only catch a glimpse of the slaughter, as he already had two dragons trying to penetrate the tough armor on his stomach. The situation seemed hopeless when Fercius saw a line of dragons forming around the circumference of the opening in the forest, but suddenly the dragons opened fire and arrows began to rain down on them. Four bursts of flame cut into the two dragons on top of him, mortally wounding them and giving Fercius enough time to fly to Darko, who had already defeated the other lancer. There was nothing around them, and the flame bursts were flying into the hectic frenzy of dragons near the center of the circle. They were several meters up in the air as they fought, and Fercy could see several dragons lying on the ground below them, two of them were dragons in his formation, one of them being Lorna. He stayed near the edge of the circle, too exhausted to help his allies. The flame bursts stopped as the dragons retreated, and the ranged dragons immediately filled up the open space in the forest, every archer dominating a different angle of this circle. The floor was covered with wounded dragons and lancers, and Fercius saw Darko running to Commander Darsch , who was lying up against Lorna’s stomach. Lorna was lying in blood, but it may not have been hers, as there were dead dragons all around her, most of them having been killed by the flame bursts. In fact, none of the dragons in their formation had been hit with a flame burst, and of the dozen or so dragons lying on the ground, it was his formation that was quivering, fighting to stand up. As Fercius tried to sit down, he accidentally put pressure on his left fore leg, the pain making him cry out and curl up on the ground, resting his head on the tip of his tail, his wings wrapped around his body, hoping they would somehow protect him. What had just happened seemed unreal, all the combat he had just experienced, all of the death. He only now began to actually comprehend what had happened, now did he see the look on the enemy dragons’ faces as they were hit by the flame bursts. Those were their last few seconds of life. It could just as easily have been them. His life could have ended in this pile, just like the lives of at least ten dragons, maybe more. Not to mention the countless ranged dragons that had been killed in the forests, some probably being silently devoured as he spoke. The thought of it sickened him, and he closed his eyes, trying to drown out the sight, sound, and the horrible smell of this forest. Nobody seemed to mind, and he could hear Lorna whimpering, as well as several other dragons, more than just his formation, enemy dragons that had survived. They all had a Vulcan skin, reminding him of Rin’Tsu. He was the most lightly colored dragon, easily visible in this environment, the red streaks from the blood on his foreleg and across his body clearly visible.
“Fercy’s going to make it.” Darko said.
“So is Lorna.” Darsch added.
“How about the others?”
“Jaden is nowhere to be seen, and his dragon has already bled to death.” Darsch said, pointing at the Vulcan dragon that had been the first to go down.
The R and B probably considered him a traitor, Fercy thought.
He then continued talking about the status of the other dragons, but Fercius couldn’t help but stare at the dead dragon ten or so meters away from him, away from the pile, the lance having so easily penetrated his armored stomach. The long ears and spikes reminded him of Rinny, but he didn’t have time to miss her; he was too shocked to feel anything. The rest of his formation was healthy, and soon they all congregated around Fercius, who had enough energy now to stand on three of his four legs, keeping his front left leg retracted a bit to avoid accidentally stepping down on it. It had become numb from the pain, and was as red as the skin of a Vulcan, in fact, if he was as bloodied as Lorna, then they were all wearing Vulcan colors today.
The four surviving Lancers stood in front of the dragons, looking out at the wall of ranged dragons that had survived the battle.
“I thought you guys needed help?” Darko said.
“There are only 12 of us left.” said the ranged wing commander. “We didn’t have the maneuverability of the smaller dragons that attacked us after they chased us into the forest. Forty of our dragons and archers are unaccounted for. We have to find them.”
“No,” Darko said, “we will find them, you must ascend up above the forest and attack the town hall, it is where the surviving defending soldiers are congregated.”
Fercius walked away from them towards a whimpering enemy dragon.
“Let them talk.” he said to himself. “I don’t want to hear any more of it.”
“Your friends… are dead.” said the enemy dragon, she was young, as young as him, struggling to speak due to her wounds. She was lying on her left side, but he couldn’t see the webs of her left wing at all, a pool of fresh blood below her. Although she looked finished, she glared at him with a cold determination that he did not yet have. There was blood seeping from her mouth, but she still grinned at him. “I… fought well.”
“That makes you proud?”
She looked surprised to hear him say that.
“Why… wouldn’t it?” she asked, and then she convulsed once and cried out, the red sea under her expanding. Death was coming for her, but as he took a step closer, he wanted to help her.
Her eyes were much more placid now, and she spoke drowsily. “I…”
Fercius felt a tear stream down his eye. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, lying there… helpless in her grave, forelegs stretched out in front of her, her right wing torn and spread out behind her, singed from the flame bursts. She was speaking too quietly for him to understand, so he leaned closer, “I’ll be fine. I don’t even feel any pain.”
He couldn’t yet understand how a dragon in her situation felt no pain.
“Aren’t you scared?” Fercius asked, trying to imagine him in her situation.
“Of what?” she asked. “I’ve already done what I set out to do. What happens to me now doesn’t really matter.”
She was speaking much more clearly now, as if she had gotten a burst of energy from some unknown source. For a second she seemed perfectly healthy, her eyes very lively and optimistic.
“It’s not fair.” Fercius said.
“What isn’t?”
“That you’re there and I’m here.”
The dragon looked up at Fercius’ foreleg.
“At least, when I sleep today… I can rest comfortably with my head on my paws.” she said, letting out a weak laugh.
“What about your wings? Your tail, your body?”
“I won’t need them anymore, I’ll get new ones soon, but I might as well be comfortable while it happens.”
“What happens?” Fercy asked.
“You haven’t been in combat before, have you?”
He shook his head.
She motioned towards Darko, who was walking towards them, his sword drawn, the tip sliding across the grass below him.
“It’s the least you could do.”
“No…” Fercius began to understand. “I won’t let him.”
“It doesn’t matter. I made sure I didn’t wound my paws, I can rest my head on them now while he comes, I can close my eyes, relax… “
Fercius broke away from her and ran towards Darko, blocking his path.
“Are you crying Fercy?” Darko joked, walking past him and towards the dragon.
“Don’t Darko!” he exclaimed, but Darko didn’t understand.
He stood before the wounded dragon now, who opened her left eye to look at Darko, whimpering slightly.
“Free me. Give me wings.” she said.
Darko raised his sword.
I could stop this. Fercius thought. I could kill Darko. He’s going to kill her. I can save her. I can kill a human to save a dragon. Doesn’t that make more sense? Shouldn’t those that share my blood be my priority? His stomach tightened as he saw the sword come down, and looked away as it finished her.
“That’s the last one of em, let’s go Fercy.” Darko said.
“You really expect me to keep fighting after this?” he asked, knowing Darko would hear nothing but more growls.
Allowing him to rest was not a good idea, as now the aches and pains from combat began to assert themselves. He wanted to do nothing more than lie down and sleep. It seemed unreal, his walking, how he traveled through the forest, too tired to fly. He could sense Lorna to his left flank, it was the only familiar dragon he knew here, but the look in her eyes showed that she couldn’t have really cared less about him, sharing the same look that the other two dragons in his formation shared. They were all withered from combat, scars marking them veterans of today’s battles, but even now – after having luck and skill both in their favor, they still moved on, looking for more fights.
Why keep going? I could turn around right now. I could just shake my head, ignore my lancer, and go home, go back to the Apalenes. I could see Rinny again.
But what would she say?
If the R and B won, and they found her, they’d consider her a traitor, slaying her the way they had slain the dragon in his formation.
“She’s smarter than that.” Fercy said to himself.
“Who is?” Lorna asked.
Slightly embarrassed that he had been overheard, he began to explain Rin’Tsu. “She was a dragon, a Vulcan, up in the Apalenes.”
“Hmph,” Lorna replied, “she should be fighting here alongside us.”
“She’s a…” Fercy searched for the word Darko had used. “A sentinel, I believe.”
Lorna laughed at that. “Sure she is.”
“I didn’t know it was such a prestigious position.”
“Who was her master?”
“Xiu Wei.”
Lorna just looked at him after that, with a bit of disbelief at first, but then, after realizing his status, she sighed, “It’s not fair.”
“I’ve always wanted to meet Wei.” said another dragon.
“I didn’t know he had a dragon.” said the other.
“He has several.” Lorna answered.
“I only saw one.” Fercy said.
“That’s because he’s a trainer.” Lorna replied.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He trains the dragons to be his sentinels, but he also has them up on the market.”
“If someone bids high enough for them.” continued the dragon behind him.
“Then the dragon is sold to that person.” finished Lorna.
“I… always thought he was a lancer.”
“He was…”
“How do you all know this?” Fercy asked.
“We aren’t blind.” Lorna replied.
“Hmph!” Fercy hissed.
“Halt!” Darko ordered.
The dragons stopped and waited, grooming themselves slightly, very tired of combat.
“Do you hear that?” Darko asked Darsch.
All the dragons stopped fidgeting and stayed still, tuning their ears to the forest.
“Do you hear anything?” Fercy asked Lorna.
“Quiet Fercy!” Darko hissed.
“There!” Darsch exclaimed, pointing, keeping his voice low.
Fercius followed Darsch’s finger to the base of a cluster of trees a hundred feet away, he focused, seeing two dragons around a rock.
That isn’t a rock. He thought. The dragons were circling their prey, a ranged dragon almost twice the size of its predators.
“Quickly, let’s move, stay quiet.”
The dragons made haste, staying light on their feet by fanning out their wings. They ran majestically, taking strides into the air, using their wings to glide back down before taking another stride.
The Vulcans were silent, victory in their eyes, the ranged dragon in the center cursing at the two Vulcans as they waited for an opportunity.
“Steady.” said the mounted archer, he had long exchanged his bow for a short sword that many archers kept sheathed by their left leg.
“Attack already, you cowards!” yelled the archer.
Laughter was the only response the archer got, as the two dragons and their lancers kept circling their prey.
Fools. Fercius thought.
They were now right on top of them, only a few yards away, his whole formation could ambush them, he knew what Darko would call next.
They were too pre-occupied with their prey to remain situationally aware, and now they were going to pay for it, “Attack.” Darko said calmly, the four dragons lunged towards the two Vulcans, Fercy and Lorna flying towards the one farther away as the other two in his formation already knocked down the one closer. Fercy could hear the flesh ripping and jaw snapping from the battle they were fighting, and knew that in a few moments – him, Lorna, and that R and B would be fighting the same battle. That Vulcan.
This dragon had become aware of the attack, however, and as Lorna lunged at him, he knocked her back with his tail, dodging the strike from Fercius.
“Cowards!” yelled the R and B dragon, flying up past the tree-line, only to be greeted by an array of flame bursts.
Fercy looked over at Lorna, and Lorna said, “That was easy.” or at least half of that, before the R and B dragon behind her tore into her back, knocking Darsch off of the saddle. Instead of continuing the fight, the R and B dragon flew off and came about.
Darsch was still in the air.
I know that maneuver.
Fercius propelled himself towards the incoming dragon and braced himself, Darko raising his sword and the R and B raising his.
The dragons head butted each other, the shields on their horns taking the brunt of the impact, while the two lancers struck at each other with their swords, sparks flying through the air, no blood drawn. Fercius and his opponent dropped a few feet as they re-oriented themselves.
At this moment, not too much existed for him, he noticed a few trees, perhaps the scent of death in the air. He saw Lorna on the ground, hurt but moving, and saw Darsch talking to her as he watched them. He then saw the cold eyes of his opponent, readying for another lunge, there was no doubt in his eyes, he would be victorious, the expression in his face made it obvious. Fercius would just be another dragon that would die to him, just another fallen soldier with a fallen lancer, a statistic.
No, I shouldn’t think like that. He is not faster, he is not stronger, he is as afraid as I am, he fears me as much as I fear him. His pain is no greater than mine.
The R and D dragon struck him hard, the shield on his horns cracking as he fell back towards the forest floor. The adrenaline gave him an eternity to think as he saw the ground careening towards him.
Flap your wings, it isn’t hard, you can do it, fly. Come about, it’s not over. You promised Rinny you would come back.
I promised her.
Fercius thought he had hit the ground, but within a few moments he was back up in the air and coming around, instinctively having listened to Darko’s commands to gain altitude. The remnants of the shields were covering his eyes, so he shook the shield off, letting it clatter to the ground that was now flying by at enormous speeds.
At one moment, the dragon was a mere inch glued to his sight, not moving in either direction.
The next moment, Fercy remembered a cry from the other dragon as he struck, a tremendous amount of heat erupting from the point of impact, sending the other dragon careening hundreds of feet to an open space while on fire. He looked behind him, expecting to see the massive ranged dragon, the smoke from the flame burst still fresh in his breath, but instead he saw nothing, he was alone up here, far from anything.
How did I do that?
The battle was over, they had taken the city.
“Fercy – from the moment I saw you in those caves nine years ago…” Darko patted him on the horns heartily, proud, “I knew you were special.”