A dragonslayers tale

Shaluun and the two dwarves were fighting hard now, dragons were coming running towards them and some hadn’t shrunk that much yet, they were still large and fast and the vines and roots were swinging around trying to catch them but didn’t always hit the right way. Some trees had reached rather impressive size already and the branches were coming alive and grasping dragons as the roots moved and let the trees sort of glide forwards in a slow floating motion. It did look insane.

Dhokay and Phraan ran towards the next demon, attacking low and high at the same time but this creature was intelligent, it jumped out of the way and Phraan was hit and thrown into a wall with a crash. The armour protected him and Dhokay swore and got an idea, he remembered what the dwarves had said about trolls and he had to try. He ran around the demon and when the creature tried to figure out what the heck this luptay was doing he brought the hammer down with all his might, over the demon’s foot. He felt the very satisfying crackle of bones before the beast hit him and sent him too flying and he made contact with mother earth in a very unpleasant manner. Tersus came running, the man was waving his arms and did look like an utter madman and perhaps he was, two vials flew from his hands and hit two demons square in the chest. The creatures did look down and shrugged for it seemed as if the vials which broke on impact had contained just water but suddenly smoke started to rise from their skin and they started to claw at the affected area, howling with agony. Phraan got on his feet and he felt ice cold determination filling his veins, this was like killing a very huge dragon, there was just one weak spot and he saw that now. His gift was becoming useful once more and he knew from sheer instinct that decapitation was the only way to kill such monsters. His injuries did disappear within seconds and he realized why Imeah had given him what she had, he had become almost indestructible and now he knew that he could keep fighting, no matter what.

Tersus did disappear into the smoke again and now the pack of demons seemed to split, some ran off and Phraan swore. “They are after the people of the city”

Dhokay panted. “Yes, there is little we can do about that”

Phraan let out a roar to give himself strength and he rushed forth. Dhokay attacked again and the demon had most definitely lost its ability to move without pain for it was limping and Dhokay was large and heavy. He managed to simply collide with the massive beast and it lost its balance and fell and Phraan roared and brought Rivath down just as the demon hit the ground with a loud thud. The blade did cut deeply but didn’t decapitate the demon completely and it grasped him with one hand and threw him against a column. Phraan felt how the impact knocked the air out of him and he gasped and tried to get up. His ears were ringing and he had almost double vision. Another demon came rushing towards him, ready to strike and it had claws the length of long swords. Phraan got up on his knees and the demon snarled and spun around to slash him open but something rushed past Phraan and a sword did sink into the creature’s belly. It shrieked and fell and the claws cut deeply into the man who fell onto the ground, coughing blood. The friendly dragon and Phraan’s cat was taunting the demons which remained there, keeping them busy and Phraan looked up just in time to see wings in the air above them. Then they heard an almighty roar and something landed in front of them, facing the demons. Dhokay let out a small gasp. “Zaray!”

Phraan could just blink, he saw a dragon, the largest he had ever seen and it was shining like steel with both wings and four legs and it was both beautiful and terrifying at once. Her eyes were a colour of deep amethyst and the dragon was so huge you could have ridden a horse underneath it without touching the belly. The demons did hesitate and the cat and the old dragon attacked one and the cat tipped it over, the dragon finished the job by crushing the demon’s head with its jaws. The huge dragoness roared again, her throat swelling and the remaining demons turned to flee. Phraan felt Zaray’s voice in his head. “Let yourself free, kill the dragons, I will deal with the demons. They must not reach the other valley, people are hiding there, and Thiana and Taurin are there too”

Phraan swallowed, the night did resound of roars and screams from the dragons the now very strange plants were attacking. He got up, his body did ache but the armour had shielded him from the worst of the impact and he was healing as he moved, the pain dissipating as if it never had been there. He walked over to where Fastonar lay, the man was groaning, he hadn’t worn armour and he was cut open, the wound terrible. He had blood running from his mouth but he was still alive. A soul sworn is hard to kill, but such an injury would be lethal even for one as him. Fastonar let out a wheezing sound, the eyes rolling with the agony. “Brother…I…”

Phraan felt his heart restrict within his chest, his throat was taught and dry. “Why?”

Fastonar coughed, tried to grasp Phraan’s hand but the half elf didn’t let him. “Why did you do it? Don’t try to lie Fastonar, you killed them”

Fastonar moaned, Phraan stared at him and tried to ignore the memories, the feeling of brotherhood and camaraderie. He had loved Fastonar like he had been a brother and this was hard to accept, from several angles. The dying man swallowed, his skin was pale and grey and he was sweating. “Please, it wasn’t….it wasn’t supposed to….happen like this…”

Phraan was sneering, Dhokay and Tersus had joined Shaluun and the dwarves and Peter was guarding Ivran. The cat and the old dragon had vanished, they were probably out there hunting monsters. “Then tell me, what was supposed to happen? When did you put honour and truth behind you and join the service of the dark?”

Fastonar wheezed. “I was being forgotten Phraan, there was nothing to do, no challenges. They….”

He coughed blood. “They said…bring slayers…make it look like the last time…make the king…think it is no different.”

Phraan growled. His anger was boiling in him. “Then why kill Vitile? Why kill Imeah? I bet you caused Ivran’s weakness too?”

Fastonar closed his eyes. “I am so sorry, I didn’t want to, but she had seen…she had seen what made the dragons change. And Ivran, he could have reversed the magic back then, had he known. I had to…I had to bring him to this city, but he couldn’t…He couldn’t be allowed to know”

Phraan felt tears gather in his eyes, his body was shaking and the sorrow he had felt at the loss flowed into his soul once again. “I loved Vitile, and you stole her from me, with treachery”

Fastonar whimpered. “I am sorry, I am so sorry. But I though…a mage like Ivran, they would need his magic, and Vitile, she would tell him, eventually”

Phraan grasped the hilt of Rivath, the leather felt almost alive in his hand. “And Imeah, what about her? Why did you poison her Fastonar?”

Fastonar swallowed, his body shaking violently. “She…she saw…what I had…done. She saw…everything. She…was going to…expose me…”

The man coughed up a spurt of blood. “I couldn’t…let her enter the city…too strong”

Phraan was almost unable to breathe. “But you failed Fastonar, you did release her soul and it is stronger now than it ever was, and you brought us here, and we brought doom over the brotherhood”

Fastonar trembled. “I never meant for any of it to happen, believe me. All I wanted was for things to return…to what they once were…I didn’t know…the dragons…they had changed so very much…the brotherhood, they were lying to me”

Phraan hissed. “And see where it got you, believing in servants of chaos when you are supposed to serve the light. “

Fastonar was grasping onto Phraan’s cloak, tears streaming down his face. “I can never forgive myself for what I did…I dishonoured my oath, I dishonoured my name and I should have warned everyone. But…I believed…I believed…”

Phraan yanked his cloak free from the grip. “I do not bloody care what you believed Fastonar, our coming here was perhaps fore seen but it didn’t make it right. It gave you no right to murder two good women, and it didn’t give you the right to drag us in here without telling us the truth. If the fall of the brotherhood has broken your faith I am happy. You deserve it!”

Fastonar wheezed again. “I do, I agree….Please, I just…I craved what was back then…”

Phraan growled deeply, he felt like snapping the man’s neck but that would be too easy. “You betrayed us for fame, for glory. I can never forgive you Fastonar, I curse the day we met”

Fastonar made a gargling sound. “Please…”

Phraan got up. “No, I will not let you die in peace, you do not deserve it. You could have warned the king, warned us. The people could have been evacuated, the cities saved. I will not help you Fastonar. Imeah died slowly, in agony. You will too”

He walked away from the man and Fastonar let out a thin wail. “Phraan…”

He ignored it and whistled. The huge cat came out of the dark like a shadow and Phraan stared at the burning city. He had a job to do, and he was about to do it. He grasped the cat’s thick fur and got up onto its back and it purred and licked its jaws. “So Ghaday, let us hunt monsters”

The old dragon came behind it and it stopped by Dhokay who had returned to see if Phraan was alright. The luptay frowned and Phraan nodded. “It is alright, get up. He will carry you, use that hammer of yours for all it is worth now”

Dhokay grinned widely and Phraan turned his head, stared at Fastonar one last time, the body was convulsing and the soul was slowly leaving it. He felt nothing, no sorrow, not even disgust, he was hollow and only the need to kill remained. The breathing stopped as he watched and Phraan sneered and let the cat run forth. He was a dragon slayer, now was his time to do what he had come to do in the first place.

Zaray was chasing the demons, her claws did pick them up one by one and she ripped their heads off. The side valley and canyons were filled with survivors and the demons were heading that way, set on revenge but she wouldn’t let them reach it. Demons can climb very well but she could fly and she used her enormous body to simply tear them away from the rock face. The monsters knew what was chasing them now, and they tried to escape but she grasped the last two with her front legs, threw them into the air and spewed flames onto them.

They fell to the earth like screaming torches and she bared her teeth and turned around. The valley was teeming with dragons and other monsters and now she was going to help the others doing their job. She had made her choice, she wouldn’t be able to return to her elven form again in a very long time if ever but it was a small sacrifice. She would be needed now.

The valley was indeed coming alive, green plants were spreading everywhere, tearing down buildings and ripping through the streets, the city of the brotherhood was no more and the last remnant of that dark power was the monsters which were on the loose. She circled the valley, her friends were attacking from the front and she came from behind, using her flames to wipe out this spawn of unholy creation.

Phraan was feeling an odd sort of freedom, the sword did cut through flesh and bone as if it wasn’t there and he was creating a path of destruction behind him. The dragons which remained were just animals now, not much larger than the ancient one Dhokay now rode and he laughed as he charged and killed. These beasts could never be allowed to escape, the valley would be pure once more, a haven of life. The vines and trees did help them, snagged dragons and brought them down and the sword did even kill the other monstrosities. Rivath did end elementals and dreghil as well as dragons and Zaray was in the air and brought down those beasts which flew.

Tersus helped Shaluun, he had found a sword and swung it with surprising strength and skill and Rhuk and Dabin were covered with goo and dragon blood. Since they were small they attacked from underneath the beasts and cut their bellies open or cut off their legs and both dwarves were chanting the battle cries of their people as they hacked away at the seemingly endless stream of beasts. Zaray herded the dragons forth towards the hunters and time had seized to matter, all that existed was the battle and the knowledge that not even one of these monsters could be allowed to live.

Imeah was struggling, her soul had been strengthened by the heart stone and now that it was one with her she had become a force which this world had never before seen. She was a young Goddess now, the valley would be her temple and here many would come to worship life but as of yet she hadn’t fully embraced her powers. The human in her was still there, still holding her back. The rift was not closing, it had been created through sacrifice and hatred and she didn’t quite know how to knit it back together. Something was trying to get access to this world and even though it didn’t seem large or particularly strong she sensed that it was dangerous. She had never been a magician, she had never learned spells or incantations but she was smart and she knew how to think in a manner which others wouldn’t expect. She opened her senses and felt the magic which still permeated the ruins of the citadel, called it forth and brought it inn under her will. Within it was the lore trapped in books and scrolls which now had been destroyed and she started to weave.

The magic acted like the web of a spider, slowly it was healing the rift, bringing its sides together as if it was a tear in a piece of cloth. She was working as fast as she could and the tear the angry young mage had formed seemed to disappear. She was about to seal it off for good when she saw something slip through the last crack, a small dark drop, almost like a drop of water, and it was moving upwards, as if it was seeking the light. Imeah would have let out an angry shout if she had been able to create sound, she reached for it but it did evade her fingers and she realized that this was no good. She chased after the black drop and reached the surface above the ruin, the black drop stopped, hovering in the air and it seemed to pulse a little and shake itself like a dog shakes off water. Then it grew!

Imeah just knew it, this thing was something very dark and evil and it should never have been allowed to enter their world at all. She tried to reach around it, smother it with her light but the touch did send a searing pain through her and she reared back. Nothing should be able to harm a soul like that? She wasn’t supposed to feel pain? She tried again with the same result and the black drop took shape, an enormous dark figure which did look a lot like a man but it had the lower body of a snake and the head was also snakelike. Imeah realized that she was in trouble, this thing was so much worse than a demon, this was something old and forgotten and probably very wicked. She formed a sword with her mind, tried to attack it.

The thing just veered out of the way, hissing and an arm shot out and Imeah was slammed against the ground, the goddamn thing had four arms and they were long and strong. She couldn’t believe it, she was spirit, not material and yet this thing could harm her? She got up, attacked again and the glowing sword she had formed with her mind slid through the nearest arm with no resistance. The arm fell off, but as she felt new hope being rekindled the arm grew back out, as if this monster was a salamander or some other creature with regenerative abilities. The thing stared at her, the eyes were cold, devoid of emotion and she felt its power like a heatwave gushing towards her. What was this thing? It seemed to grow and Imeah grew too but she wasn’t used to this, her still mortal mind was bound by its previous existence. She pierced its chest and the thing didn’t even seem to react, it slid out of the way and the glowing blade didn’t harm it.

An arm managed to grasp a hold of her, she was pulled into a tight embrace and felt that this dark figure in fact was hurting her physically, as if she still had a body. She was growing weaker by the minute and it hurt, it hurt so bad she had to scream. The sound couldn’t be heard by the ears of living beings for it was travelling through the astral plane and she saw to her horror that its claws were tearing into her body, leaving huge gashes which bled energy into the air. The dark snake creature seemed to enjoy hurting her and she felt panic surge through her entire being. It was feeding off the heart stone, through her. She screamed again, a desperate wail which echoed off the mountain sides, and this time it could be heard.

Zaray had killed off all the demons, now she was busy killing other monsters and she was feeling rather confident when she heard the scream, it came from where the citadel had stood and it was not the scream of a throat of flesh and blood but the scream of something insubstantial. She felt that something was wrong, there was a sort of heaviness in the air, something utterly twisted and unnatural and she turned and flew through the smoke and dust towards the source of it. The city was still burning and the flames had reached the slum area, the entire valley was lighted by the raging flames and the trees and vines couldn’t do anything to stop it and they didn’t try, the valley was to be cleansed, the ashes would provide good nutrients for the new life which would replace the rule of the brotherhood. The thick smoke and debris clouds created a rather hellish atmosphere and the screams and roars from the fighting dragons added to the entire mix and turned the scene into something out of a very surreal nightmare.

Zaray saw two figures in the distance, hovering above the crumbled citadel. One of light and the other of darkness and she just knew that this was it. The darkness could still win, the balance could still be destroyed and twisted in favour of evil. She saw Gods fighting and knew that light never can conquer darkness without becoming what it was supposed to destroy. The enormous dragon was a magical creature, it was in her blood, her heritage and she allowed that power to flow through her now. She started to glow, the scales on her hide became metallic and impenetrable and she let herself drop out of the sky like a meteor from the heavens above. The dark snake heard the sound of wind tearing into something falling fast but it didn’t have time to react and the dragon hit with tremendous force. It slammed onto the creature with terrible energy and ripped it down, smashed it to the ground. Imeah managed to get free, she slid away from the enemy and stared with huge eyes at the scene. This enemy was beyond her and she was afraid that it was beyond Zaray too, the she dragon was ripping into the dark foe, her claws were like spears and her jaws capable of ripping through rock. The dark creature shrieked and then it started to fight back, long arms reached out and tried to get a hold of the dragon’s legs and wings, it did have fangs and poison was dripping from them and it tried to bite.

Zaray did notice just what Imeah had, when one limb was torn off another grew out, it was like a hydra re-growing arms instead of heads. She sent a gust of intense flame over the enemy but the flames didn’t seem to harm it at all, it barely felt them and it got stronger by the moment. It was breaking the dragon down, reading itself for the kill and Imeah knew that when it had devoured Zaray’s magic and energy it would come for her again. This was like a demon, just so much stronger. Imeah remembered something and she reached out, her mind grasping one desperate straw of hope. She called out, hoping that what she had once seen was the truth and not some dream.

Phraan and the others were working with the tenacity of a gardener trying to eradicate weeds growing in a lovely lawn, Dabin was hurt and had sought shelter behind some rocks and now Peter too had found a weapon and was fighting. He was no warrior but he knew how to swing a sword and there were many small dragons there now, some not much larger than a dog and they were left to him and Tersus. The tiny dragons from the basement had spread out and the queen was like a general now, sending her troops to the places where they were needed. The bite of one of them brought down even the largest beasts and she was letting out piercing cries, her crest of spines standing up and she did look very majestic there and then. Ivran had woken up and now he was busy trying to deal with the wolf like monsters which were scurrying around, trying to get behind the fighters to attack from the back. He was not weakened all that much which was a surprise but there was so much going on at once it was very hard to concentrate. He had discovered that intense cold did these beasts in more efficiently than anything else and he froze them and then Dhokay came with his hammer and shattered them into thousands of tiny pieces with powerful strikes.

Phraan was everywhere, all that was left in him was the need to forget it all within the rush of battle fever, the need to bring his enemies down. He was roaring as Rivath cut into flesh and bone and Ghaday was a perfect companion for this job. The enormous cat didn’t hesitate, didn’t fear and it drew strength from him and together they were a terrifying unit. Vines shot out of the ground, ripped dragons to pieces, tree limbs squeezed them and squatted the smaller flying ones like flies. Shaluun went for the legs while Rhuk cleaved heads and since the dragons by now was free of the magic which had transformed them they were no longer indestructible. The old dragon had no problems killing its kin, they were perhaps returning to their normal state physically but they could never be normal, their minds too twisted by what they had been through. Killing them was a mercy, an act of compassion and the ancient one felt no guilt over this. The mages of chaos had disrupted the very balance of nature and used it to create something which never should have been.

Phraan and the cat rushed towards a huge iron belly, the dragon wasn’t even half the size it had been before and its tormented soul only knew pain and anger. The transformation hurt terribly and whatever sentience they had owned before was long gone, now the dragons were killing machines more than ever before and they had to die. There was no way around it. Phraan dodged the powerful jaws and cut the creature’s neck in half and it dropped with a bang. He was preparing to attack another dragon which had to have been a storm fire but he suddenly heard a voice in his head, it was weak and trembling but he did recognize it. He turned the cat around, clinging to the rough fur on its neck and the creature took off, running towards the citadel as fast as it could, it did really read his mind and that was no wonder since it was a manifestation of his own soul.

The dark snake creature was too strong, it was breaking Zaray down, curling up around the dragon like a constrictor and slowly squeezing the life out of her. It was sprouting arms like an octopus and they were everywhere and terribly strong. Her fire couldn’t even scald this thing and its skin was so odd and unnatural. It felt like living stone and Zaray wished that she could transform back to her elven shape but she had spent the magic needed to do that. Imeah was weakened too, she tried to draw some strength into herself again but it was so very hard. Then she got an idea, through the heart stone she felt the magic of the land too, the natural power Thiana and Taurin had awakened and she sent a desperate plea. If this thing won there would be no peaceful forests, no lush oasis. The ancient power answered, the vines and trees seemed to freeze up where the battle against the dragons happened and instead the ruins suddenly came alive. Huge living bundles of thick vines shot up through the rubble and wrapped around the dark creature and it growled and the cold eyes didn’t reveal any sense of shock although there had to be at least some.

It ripped itself free, slammed the head of the she dragon into the ground and tried to tear through its neck, Zaray screamed and a foot managed to get a hold of the snake creature’s abdomen, she kicked with all her might and the claws did cut deep but the wounds did close themselves up again. She doubted that even dragon poison would be lethal to this creature.

The snake snapped the vines and branches like they were made from twine, the power of the monster was terrible. Zaray was sure that this was it, the end. She had never imagined that she would die thus, she had helped bring down the brotherhood, just as she had once sworn but now something way worse was going to be unleashed upon the world. The beast raised an arm to finish her off and then the smoke seemed to split and a huge cat jumped out of the darkness and from its back Phraan did almost fly towards the beast. His blade drawn and his armour had changed again, it had added a helmet and now it had sharp spikes and blade like structures everywhere.

Imeah let out a small shriek, her soul glowed more intensely and she just hoped that this was real, that he would be able to save them all. Phraan didn’t feel afraid, it was odd but he knew that this was something which would decide everything. If this monstrosity won it would make the brotherhood seem as benign as the baker’s guild back at Twelve towers. Phraan did send Ghaday away, the cat could be damaged by this and he didn’t need that worry on top of everything else. The snake hissed and tried to grasp onto Phraan but he was small, much smaller than the dragon and the spirit it had fought before and now that became an advantage for Phraan. He was able to avoid the arms rather easily and the vines seemed to coordinate their attacks with him. The thing seemed to be shocked by his sudden appearance, it didn’t look as if it truly believed that this was real since he was just an elf.

Phraan brought down Rivath and the blade cut through the arm with ease and this time no new arm appeared. The snake creature let out a shriek of anger and suddenly it became frantic with motion and rage. This puny thing had caused it real pain, and it realized that the elf was more dangerous than he had believed at first. The vines doubled their efforts and Phraan remembered what Zaray had said, this blade could kill a God. He aimed for the things neck but the snake was not without tricks, a tentacle shot out of its very body and threw Phraan off like he was a piece of cloth. He slammed into the rocks with bone crushing force and he felt that the armour did take the most of the impact but he was injured. Ribs had broken for sure and pain shot through him, but it disappeared within seconds, the gift from Imeah was indeed very useful. He got back up, he had to kill this being, or else everything would be lost. The spikes and ridges of the armour meant that the arms couldn’t get a decent hold of him, the metal seemed to hurt the terrible dark deity and Phraan let out a hoarse roar to give himself courage and charged again. His blade did just have time to cut through a hand before he was grasped and thrown yet again, the thing tried to bite him but the armour protected against the fangs and poison did drip everywhere. He screamed in pain as drops hit his skin and the thing seemed to smile. He heard its voice in his head. “Die now puny elf, this world is mine, so is your death”

Crassian and Eimar had sailed down along the river and now it was getting dark fast, but they had passed by the fishing village and the one named Greywater too. Both villages had been burned and there had been nothing left, even the foundations had been glowing red with heat and the stench of burned meat and scorched dirt had drifted along the river for miles before they even reached the villages. They hadn’t stopped, there was no point in it, nobody was left alive and Crassian had tried not to look at the devastation. The village of Greywater had been larger and the buildings made from bricks but that hadn’t helped at all. The houses had been turned into stoves, cooking the inhabitants alive and Eimar had been crying the entire time. The river was so swollen the rapids were easy to get through and they made good speed. Crassian did take the helm a few times, Eimar was tired and Crassian knew that the young man was in pain but he refused to say anything. Instead Crassian held a keen eye on him and insisted that they’d take a break whence they reached Ardubad.

The mining city was built on a peninsula and it was rather ugly looking, the buildings made to be practical and built in a hurry but it had a sort of ragged charm and Crassian was in shock when they sailed around the bend in the river and saw it. For the first time they encountered a city which had survived the attack and Crassian stared at the piles of carcasses which lay in layers up from the river. There were fires burning but they were being put out and people were running around, making repairs, taking care of the wounded, and dragging the dead dragons into heaps to be burned. Crassian couldn’t believe it until he saw the dragons up close, these were not the terrible monsters which had attacked the villages up north, these beasts were smaller and more natural and he felt a surge of new energy. “Oh Gods, they have been changed back to their original shape?”

Eimar was gaping, the stench was intense but they didn’t care. Crassian saw that some men wearing grey robes ran around and he recognized them as mining mages. They used their magic to find valuable ore and gems and were regarded as very weak when it came to other types of magic but here they seemed to have been responsible for the victory.

Crassian steered the barge towards a pier and a man came running, helping them tie it up and unload Crassian’s horse. The animal was very hungry and attacked some dry grass the moment it got its hooves onto solid ground. Crassian petted Eimar on his shoulder and the man who had helped them smiled, he was covered with sooth and dirt and did look terrible but he was not injured. “You must be survivors from up north? We haven’t seen any other than you two”

Crassian nodded. “Yes, the beasts have burned absolutely everything, what happened here?”

The man scratched his beard. “A miracle, the dragons started to shrink as they approached the place and then the mages discovered that they weren’t immune to magic, they used some spells meant to blast rock to kill them. It was efficient, nasty but it did the trick” ¨

Crassian did believe the man, the carcass nearest him lay there with what looked like its innards hanging out of its mouth. “I believe you, so you managed to save the village?”