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Now there was fire everywhere in the small village. What Bly-nnar were left desperately tried to escape the dragon's fury, but hiding places were becoming more difficult to find. The green dragon was smashing and burning everything in sight.
Groups of wide-eyed, frantic people were moving on little more than instinct now, running away from heat and brightness, trying to make their way to the forests to hide in the trees.
Having lost sight of the two magic-using humans, the dragon was now attacking anything that moved. Dozens of Bly-nnar died instantly as concussive blasts of flame ignited the air around them. Shrieking, the dragon spotted another scurrying batch of humans running toward the trees.
Instantly, a white-hot lance of flame exploded from the green's mouth toward the villagers. When it struck, another giant cloud of flame lit up the night. As it cleared, the villagers could still be seen running into the trees.
Enraged that the humans had not been destroyed, the dragon flexed powerful muscles and leapt forward, intent on smashing the helpless Bly-nnar.
Instead, the massive green-scaled beast smashed head-first into an invisible wall of force.
Stunned for a moment, the dragon prepared to unleash its full fury on the invisible wall. Then it suddenly stopped short. Its head swiveled around and the eyes darted here and there, peering into the deep shadows caused by the burning fires all around. It was searching for something.
Close to the town's port, and hidden behind one of the remaining houses, Anton knew fear again. Telepathically, he screamed at Shaine.
"Do something, you fool! I only stopped it because it wasn't expecting us. I can't hide from it forever, it will find me soon!"
Edging around the corner of the fragile domicile, Anton peeked quickly out at the dragon, which was still at least five or six burning houses over. Still not far enough away for Anton's liking.
Any moment now, he expected some sort of damnable Soryan magic to strike at the dragon, irritating it, distracting it's attention from the fleeing Bly-nnar. None came.
Just when Anton was about to send another telepathic message, he caught sight of one of the villagers moving in the wrong direction. Something was definitely off.
It wasn't a villager. Of course, it was Shaine. Running at full speed toward the dragon with his hideous sword raised high in the air.
Damnation!, thought Anton. When this capering fool is killed, I'll most likely receive the blame!
Just as Anton was trying to decide what to do next, the dragon noticed Shaine. A terrible roar shook the entire area and a huge gout of flame was spit down onto the young Soryan. A thunderous explosion rocked all the buildings that were still standing. Anton felt his teeth shake in his head.
But then he heard music. He heard the music as clearly as if it were right next to him. It was right next to him. It was everywhere. An upbeat, driving tune with a bit of mirth to it.
Entirely inappropriate, thought Anton. As he looked on, he saw that Shaine had made a massive leap to escape the flame, and had landed on the dragon's scaly back, in between the wings. This area was not safe, however.
The dragon's improbably long, sinuous neck seemed to unravel, and the large, fiery head was launched backwards until it came crashing down onto the spot where the Soryan used to be. For Shaine would not stand still. He ran further along down the dragon's back, until the creature was forced to use it's tail to attack the boy.
It succeeded only in thrashing its own body, for the Soryan could not be struck. Every time Shaine avoided a hit, Anton noticed that his damnable music grew more triumphant, if not downright taunting. From the dragon's reaction, Anton was certain it knew what that music meant. Very intelligent, he thought.
Finally, Shaine had some room to strike. In a quick movement, he spun, raised his sword, and sang a loud, clear note. Anton felt power building up, and he knew the Soryan was marshaling powerful magic. Then Shaine drove his sword into the dragon's back.
Or at least he meant to. Instead of penetrating the dragon's scales, the sword exploded into many pieces. Anton knew Shaine was startled, because the music he was hearing became a chaotic, harsh sounding mess.
The dragon's tail wrapped around Shaine in a flash. Anton knew it was time for him to act.
He chanted quickly, took two steps and then snapped his arm forward toward the dragon. Instantly, several of the rude Bly-nnar homes and buildings broke free from their fragile moorings and flew through the air. At least seven buildings struck the dragon at once. It shrieked again, and turned toward Anton.
Anton knew the dragon wouldn't be harmed by such a tactic, but he had hoped to startle and enrage it enough that it would drop Shaine, and so it did. Anton saw the Soryan fall to the ground and quickly pick himself up, running off in between some ruined Bly-nnar homes.
Immediately, the green dragon locked in on Anton. Realizing that he could hide no more, Anton prepared to teleport himself before the dragon was upon him.
He wasn't quick enough. Instead of charging towards Anton, the dragon ferociously swept its claw, sending one of the very houses Anton had just attacked the dragon with flying back at him. Anton was so shocked he cut himself off in mid-chant and could only stare as the chunk of debris flew toward him and struck him in the blink of an eye.
He was struck full on, and he flew backwards, along with a chunk of the frozen ground. The house, and Anton, landed out towards the center of the lake, crashed through the surface ice and sank below the water.
Shaine screamed inside of his mind when he saw it happen. He had jumped on top of one of the remaining intact rooftops for a better position, and he saw Anton take the full brunt of the dragons surprise attack.
One moment later, Shaine realized that he must have screamed out loud, because then the dragon's head swiveled sharply around and the terrible eyes narrowed, focusing on the small Soryan.
***
Anton floated in darkness. He felt lightheaded, he couldn't breathe. Breathe...AIR! There was no air! In a terrifying flash, Anton came back to the present. The dragon had blasted him into the lake!
Normally, with the proper precautions taken, no priest of Aeremon, especially one of Anton's level, could ever drown. However, Anton had not made the necessary preparations, and thus, he was now drowning.
Panic set in. Anton realized he was underwater in darkness. Which way was up? He bumped again something. Ice! It must be the top of the lake, he thought.
His foot sank into the ground. He must have floated close to the shore, but it did no good since he was under the ice!
Frantically, he clawed and punched at the thick ice. Inside his head he desperately prayed for Aeremon to save him. Finally, he made a crack, then he furiously attacked that spot until he made a break. He could now feel the tightness in his chest, so he used his head as a ram and forced it upward, finally breaking through.
He inhaled a deep breath of air, then coughed out some water that had went down his windpipe.
Now that he could breathe, he focused his powers and shattered the ice around him, forcing it back so he could walk out of the lake. He staggered out and then collapsed on the shore.
I could have just teleported, he thought to himself.
Soaking wet, he lay there, feeling inadequate and beaten. I could have done a lot of things. We should have called the Holy Order...or the Soryans.
There truly had been time to call for reinforcements. Help could have arrived instantly, but they hadn't done it. Neither boy had voiced it but they both knew that to call for help would make them look like children. They had too much pride for that. He couldn't go begging for help when the Most High was counting on him.
Should he just leave right now? Surely the remaining Bly-nnar had fled by now. All the two of them need do now is escape with their lives. If they teleported back to Il'Doran, this green dragon would not dare follow.
Off in the distance, flame was exploding all around, and the dragon's hisses and screams were filling the night. In the tiny spaces in between the dragon's shrieks, Anton could hear the song of Shaine's Soryan magic. He was still fighting. He wouldn't do that unless there were still people to save.
Hauling himself to his feet, Anton voiced a small chant. His clothes and skin dried out as he stood. Using his magic to see further into the ruined town, Anton saw the the dragon was lashing out with claws, tail, wings and fire trying to bring down the elusive Soryan, who was leaping and somersaulting from roof to roof of the ruined buildings, moving at seemingly impossible speed.
Anton could also do the impossible.
When he reached his full height, Anton raised his arms above his head in a quick, forceful motion and slapped his hands together. When his hands met, there was a sharp, echoing CRACK!
Instantly, the dragon turned toward Anton and roared.
But the dragon's roar was overpowered by crashing, rolling thunder. In the night sky, black clouds moved in from seemingly nowhere, appearing out of thin air. As the moons were obscured, heavy rain began to fall.
The dragon launched itself towards Anton, but it was too late.
Anton screamed. "AEREMON!"
Out of the sky, a thin bolt of lightning flashed down and struck the green directly on its back. A bright explosion followed, and the force of the bolt pinned the dragon to the ground, spewing up huge amounts of earth around it.
Shaine looked away from the explosion and light, but Anton did not.
"AEREMON!"
He kept his hands together and then another bolt came down and for a moment, the lightning connected the sky and the earth. The dragon's skeleton was visible when the bolt hit, and it screamed in what was obviously agonizing pain.
The night was lit up in a garish blue and white contrast. Terrible wind and rain buffeted Shaine as he tried to concentrate enough to prevent himself from being washed off of the rooftop. He heard the other boy calling out to his God, and he could feel the incredible power that was now assaulting the green dragon. The creature was being pummeled by the lightning.
But it wasn't stopped. Although it's scales were smoking and burning, it recovered quickly, then charged toward Anton, stomping over the smoldering piles of rubble it had created to get to the boy. Anton called down another bolt, knowing that he probably had only time for one more.
"AEEREMMONNNNNNNNNNN!!!"
It missed. With a surprise burst of speed, the dragon flexed its wings and shot like a missile over the ground, dodging the lightning bolt, which did nothing more than dig a large crater in the ground.
Anton tried to form another bolt, but he was out of time. With frightening speed, a huge claw flashed out and snatched up the small boy. Between one moment and the next, Anton found himself in the painfully crushing grip of a green dragon.
Slowly, the dragon brought its claw, and the troublesome sorcerer it contained, up close to it's head. Anton was having trouble breathing, and this was made worse by the crushing grip of the giant claw. He had never been more afraid, especially when he saw the bright yellow eyes narrow and focus on him.
The one thing in the world you don't want, is a dragon giving it's undivided attention to you. Anton thought that in a hysterical state. He would have laughed if he had the breath for it.
The dragon opened it's mouth, and before Anton could even consider the imminent pain of being torn apart by the large, horrible, sharp teeth, fire filled up in the wide open maw. But it didn't project out, the dragon just let it build and burn, huge clouds of flame were flowing freely out of the gaping mouth.
Anton felt he would be boiled alive! The HEAT! It was incredible! He was protected against fire to a large degree, but this...this was too much. He could feel the heat, it was burning him. He was suffocating! The dragon obviously meant for him to die slowly and in agony. He finally opened his mouth to scream but the searing air rushed down his throat and choked him.
Aeremon, he thought. He would see Aeremon soon.
At that moment he heard a different sound. It was Shaine, but instead of singing, he was screaming out an unintelligible sound.
The flame instantly ceased, and the cool rain and the night air rushed in over Anton. He had never known such relief! But he was still in the dragon's grip. Looking down, he saw the miniature figure of Shaine on the ground before the dragon.
Waving his arms frantically, Shaine screamed the gibberish at the dragon again.
Anton thought that he had suffered some sort of mental damage. He could hear the Soryan's words crash over him. But it wasn't anything he understood. There was no Soryan music.
The dragon loosened its grip, but did nothing. Anton saw the large head swivel on the long scaly neck, the better to see the tiny speck screaming at it.
Again, Shaine screamed out the unintelligible noise. The dragon's head drew back sharply, and then it was completely still.
Long moments passed. Nothing moved, neither boy nor dragon. The rain fell, though it was tapering off. It had quelled all but the largest fires already. The clouds were dissipating without Anton's will to drive them.
Finally, the dragon's wings flexed. They spread out to their full span, and the creature reared up on it's hind legs to it's full height. Anton thought it must be terrifying to anyone on the ground. He was terrified, held fast in the dragon's claw.
The beast then let out a fierce hiss that was filled with fury. It quickly thrust it's head forward toward Shaine and trumpeted. An awful shriek that echoed across the entire area. Anton thought his ears would burst from the sound. He could feel it physically, it was too much for his ears! Anton saw Shaine pounded to the ground by the sound alone.
Whatever Shaine had tried, it hadn't worked, Anton thought with resignation.
But then, Anton was proven wrong. Stopping abruptly, and the dragon simply opened its claw, letting the poorly used boy drop from the great height. Frantically, Anton tried to concentrate to slow his fall, but he was too disoriented.
Then he heard music. Felt it envelope him, and he felt safe and time seemed to slow along with his descent. Anton felt himself floating gently to the ground and he came to land next to Shaine. When he stepped on the ground, his knees buckled and he fell awkwardly.
Shaine helped him up, although he never took his eyes off of the still present dragon. Anton did not refuse the help, and he held onto the Soryan, trying to brace himself for another attack.
It never came. The dragon turned and flexed its wings. With a surge, it catapulted into the air. Within a matter of moments it was nothing more than a speck in the night sky, and then it was gone.
Anton thought he had been relieved before. That was nothing compared to what he felt now. He also felt like his bowels needed to release. He ignored it.
Pushing himself away from the Soryan, he forced himself to stand up straight. It was time for answers.
"What was that magic you used on the dragon? Some new Soryan power?" Anton was almost afraid of the answer. If Soryans could control dragons, then what could stop them?
Shaine was still watching the distant sky, even though there was no longer any trace of the dragon in it. "It was no magic.", He said flatly.
"No magic??" Anton was becoming irritated. "Then what was it? You yelled out a magic command, and the dragon followed it! Now, what was it? Was it Elven? Why didn't you just do that in the first place?!" Anton's stomach roiled. If it was Elven magic, there would simply be no contending with the Soryans.
"No, it wasn't any magic, Elven or otherwise."
"Damnation! Soryan, what did you do!?" Anton was furious. His fists clenched and spittle was spraying from his mouth.
Shaine finally turned to look at him, and there was no smirk or other look of humor on his face for once when he spoke.
"I called out his name."
Now Anton's eyes went wide. This he hadn't expected.
There was a long moment where nothing but the sound of the increasing wind was heard. Anton considered his next words carefully.
"Dragons have names?", he asked.
Click to read Chapter 6 - THE AFTERWRATH |
