Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow (3 page)

Gallanth then raised his mighty head and opened his jaws, exposing his razor sharp, eighteen-inch-long teeth and a pair of three-foot-long fangs; fire gathered in his throat and then spewed out, engulfing the evil beings in the searing hot, red-orange plume. Their faces contorted in fear, giving away to the screams of pain as they were incinerated. Their painful deaths did not lessen the gold dragon’s rage, but he had avenged his rider. However, he was not finished.

Mkel woke from his dragon-induced dream sweating, with his heart pounding. He reached out and his sword, Kershan, flew across the room to his outstretched hand, the red ruby dragonstone in its pommel glowing brightly.
It is all right, my friend. I was dreaming of your father and the war. You and Michen are all right. No harm will ever come to you or him, I promise that,
Gallanth said to him telepathically in a sincere tone. Mkel had felt this dream before, but it was becoming more common, and more intense. Dragons seldom dream, but Gallanth was doing so more often as of late. He knew the story of the last Great Dragon War, and his father’s induced suicide death, and Gallanth attacking the underground drow capital city alone in his rage. He had burnt half the city, killing hundreds of drow as well as two flayer villages. He was only driven off by repeated magical attacks by their most powerful sorcerers and female clerics that had stayed behind while others had been fighting on the plains of the unsettled lands.

Gallanth had then teleported to Aserghul, the Morgathian capital city, and let loose several devastating plasma blasts on the five towers of Tiamat’s fortress, wreathing it in flame. He retreated after being hit by multiple lightning bolts, disruption rays, and ballista spears. And that was only at the urgent request of the remaining gold dragons, especially his brother, or he would have been killed himself. The gold dragon then teleported back to the dying battlefield, leaving the Morgathian palace in flames. The single attack of an enraged gold dragon actually distracted the Morgathian leadership and caused a break in the dark army’s line, proving the pivotal point in the battle. The orcs, drow, Morgathian armies, and all of their allies were beaten back, both out of revenge for Michenth and by the courage of Gallanth’s attack, which boosted the morale of the Alliance armies. However, to this day it is not known how he penetrated the almost invincible magic shield provided by the largest pieces of dark crystal embedded in the five Morgathian towers. It was also not known how he survived the powerful disruption rays from those crystals. Not even Michenth could penetrate the shield with his photon breath weapon. Gallanth himself did not know how he got through it that day.

Mkel also knew of the guilt that Gallanth felt over his father’s death, even now almost thirty years later. Dragons, especially gold and silver dragons, display a deep affection for the human race and an intensely close bond with their riders. The loss of a rider can actually drive a metallic dragon that normally is among the most intelligent and wisest of all creatures, temporarily insane.

“I know, my friend. Please do not blame yourself for what happened. It could not have been helped. The Morgathians and the drow are to blame, not you,” Mkel said to his dragon partner. His wife, Annan, barely stirred during the episode.
She could sleep through Gallanth’s roar
, Mkel thought to himself. So much for the elf half part of her, with all the enhanced senses of her kin, for she was a very deep sleeper. Drake, their elf hound, lowered his head and went back to its watchful sleep at the entrance to the sleeping chamber of Michen, Annan and Mkel’s son. Drake weighed in at over two hundred fifty pounds and had incredibly keen senses. He could even see invisible creatures, and he could change the color of his coat, like a chameleon, to match his background. His large head and powerful jaws could rip a grown man’s arm off with relative ease.

Mkel was seven years old when his father died. He still remembered his mother and Gallanth waking him up the morning after the battle to tell him. His mother was crying but was still very strong, like always. Even though dragons don’t cry, he thought he could see tears in the gold dragon’s huge, yellowish eyes. He remembered the promise that Gallanth made to him that day to always look over him and be there for him. Gallanth was a gold dragon, and the biggest one at that. He measured forty-five yards in length, from nose to tail, and had a seventy-five-yard wingspan. He was colossal by a grown man’s standard and looked even more immense to a seven-year-old boy.

Mkel also remembered the trip that he and Gallanth took years later to Draconia to see Michenth (on one of the rare occasions that the arch dragon was awake). Even today, thirty years later, the arch dragon was still healing from the wounds he received that day from the vampire blade and dark crystal sphere. Michenth was even larger than Gallanth, being fifty yards long with a wingspan of over eighty-three yards. Mkel remembered entering the great hall in the Capital Weir and walking beside Gallanth and Jodem, the Draden master wizard. Speaking in Draconic, Gallanth introduced Mkel to Michenth as his future rider and soul partner (Mkel did not understand the language at that time but later realized what Gallanth had said to the arch dragon). Michenth raised his huge head from the ground and spoke to Mkel in a soft yet commanding voice:

“You have a large, caring heart and a good soul, young one,” the arch dragon said. “You will make a fine dragonrider and leader one day. Remember to always fight the good fight, be honorable and true to yourself, and take care of all in your charge. For with this great power comes greater responsibility, and the lives of many will rest in your hands. Have faith and honor above all else
.
” The mithril dragon finished talking, nodded to Gallanth, and then lowered his head and fell back asleep.

Michenth would sleep for weeks or months at a time, rising only for special occasions, to attend conferences, and to eat. It would take decades for his wounds to heal, for the most powerful evil weapons known to the Morgathians had hit him when he was the most vulnerable. By all rights, he should have been killed.

Mkel walked over to Michen’s sleeping chamber and watched his son sleeping soundly in his crib through the lighting crystal’s shielded glow. The elf hound did not lift its large head, but Mkel knew he was aware of his presence. The seven-foot-long elvish canine would defend his son to the death, if need be. He then proceeded out of his room into the adjoining landing that served as Gallanth’s ledge. He had put his room shoes on, for the gold, silver, and platinum coins and gems that littered the floor were hard to walk on with bare feet.

Mkel knelt beside Gallanth’s immense head and leaned against his cheek. “I will always be there for you, my friend,” Gallanth told him. Lying beside his dragon was always comforting to Mkel. Gallanth had been his protector, tutor, soul mate, and friend since his father’s death. His wisdom was unsurpassed, and the depths of a dragon’s emotions were almost beyond human comprehension. “I know, Gallanth. I have always been able to count on you,” he replied. Mkel started to fall back asleep lying next to the mighty dragon, as if the rest of the world did not exist.

When morning came, the Weir watch guard blew the warning horn that signaled the arrival of the rangers, returning from patrol on their griffons. Lupek, the ranger platoon commander, had attended this patrol himself; his instincts had made him (and Deless, his elf comrade) wary of some type of problem. They had been patrolling the southern chain of the Gray Mountains for over two weeks, for they had felt that the fire giants were up to something before the onset of the fall season. Mkel got up from Gallanth’s side and walked back to his chamber. Annan and Michen were still asleep, so he went into his bathing room and began to prepare for the day.

Using his seeing crystal, Mkel called Lupek to be ready to give the brief from the senior rangers and their men. The rest of the day would consist of training the Weir garrison in preparation for next week’s combined exercise with the Draden regiment. He, Gallanth, and Jodem would be taking a trip to Battle Point afterward. The Senior Sergeant of the Weir, Toderan would be in charge of the fortress during his absence. The Battle Point legion’s commander had sent a message through his wizard that there was a lot of activity to his northeast and south, and he wanted to have a meeting with him and Jodem.

After Mkel bathed, and while he was shaving, he started thinking about the legion at Battle Point and the frontier city it protected. “A rough life out there,” he said to himself. That legion was in the middle of the unsettled lands at the place of the immense battle some decades earlier. The loosely held empire of the Kaskars was to the north, the middle kingdoms (or Northern Ontaror kingdoms) were to the south, and small independent kingdoms were to the east. The Morgathians were much farther east, but within a long striking distance of the fortified city. All the while, they were a three- to four-week ride from any reinforcement from the Alliance, other than from Draden Weir and those that could be sent through the teleportation circles at Draden. The Capital Wing from Draconia was now capable of teleporting an entire legion if needed, along with the incredible power of the wing itself. All could be of quick assistance, but it would be difficult to plan and execute rapidly. Battle Point endured constant skirmishes from Morgathians and its allies and a host of other independent forces.

Mkel finished with his personal hygiene and put on his uniform tunic, riding pants, and boots. He checked his uniform, which the halfling tailors always cleaned and prepared with impeccable workmanship. His captain rank symbol of three silver diamonds was aligned correctly on his right collar, as was his dragonrider symbol (a gold dragon with outstretched wings over a crossed sword and arrow). Dragonriders always wore the symbol of the dragon they were bonded to on their collar. All were treated as Alliance officers, but Mkel also wore the infantry officer insignia in conjunction with his dragon symbol, for he was one of the few dragonriders who also served as a commissioned Alliance officer. Most dragonriders were either wizards or fighters, with no prior military leadership background.

He left Kershan, his sword; hanging in his bedroom chamber with Markthrea, his special crossbow, on the wall in Gallanth’s landing. He walked down the winding stone stairs to the ground floor and then to the dining hall. He met Lupek and Deless half way across the grounds beside the Weir’s lake, hugging Lupek after a rough salute and a courtesy nod to Deless. “You fared well, my friend,” Mkel said.

“Much better than the orc scouts that were making their way across the plains heading to the Weir,” Lupek replied. “We killed six of them mounted on dire wolves and hellhounds and let one get away so we could track him. We followed him for over a hundred miles to the outskirts of Lucian Forest, which he skirted to avoid Haldrin’s elven patrols. We kept with him until he entered the northernmost fire giant border, where we slew his mount and captured him after he spotted us. After Deless interrogated him in his special way, we extracted some surprising information.”

“Hold on, my friend, why don’t you get something to eat and see your family, and we’ll continue this after lunch,” Mkel interrupted, for he knew Lupek’s dedication to the mission, and he would have given him the whole briefing right there, but he wanted him to rest up and see his family first. Lupek was the leader of the thirty-six-member griffon-mounted ranger platoon and third in command of the Weir’s garrison, after Mkel and Toderan. He was a master ranger of great skill and also carried the rank of senior lieutenant. He oversaw the deployment of the rangers, who performed reconnaissance missions and raids into the unsettled frontier. They also flew over the Gray Mountains as well to ensure no surprises crept into that area. The ranger platoon was based in the Weir along with the rest of the garrison.

Lupek, being a trained ranger, would first put his weapons away. He was an expert with almost all martial varieties, and he could use two weapons simultaneously with great skill. His special elven-made mithril alloy scimitar, given to him by Eldir, the elf clan’s best swordsmith, was hanging from his belt. This weapon was capable of dealing incredible wounds from its mithril edge, delivering enough damage to cleave an orc with ease. He also was clutching his powerful dragonstone-powered lightning javelin, which could fell an ogre from over one hundred yards.

Mkel had seen Lupek in action and was always impressed with his ability to fight with two weapons simultaneously, as well as being excellent with the throwing daggers and hand axes he carried on his armor and hips. The ranger leader usually carried at least six daggers and two axes for close-in fighting. He was renowned and feared for his hand-to-hand combat expertise. Lupek’s dragon hide-reinforced studded leather armor, as well as a mirrored mithril-lined buckler, did not look overly dirty in spite of being in the field for the last several weeks. This told Mkel that he had not engaged in much fighting, so he was not hiding anything from him. Mkel knew that his friend was very agile and was a whirlwind in a melee, with many an enemy never laying a weapon or hand on him before the ranger finished them. This time Mkel knew that Lupek’s excellent tracking ability was his primary mission, as he was as good as or better than any elf (save Deless).

Lupek’s rangers all rode the fierce Alliance griffons. These majestic creatures were bred and cared for by the elves in the adjacent Draden Forest with the aid of their riders. They had the foreparts of a giant golden or bald eagle and the hindquarters of a lion, with a plume of feathers at the tip of their tail for flight agility. The average griffon was extremely tough, having twice the constitution of an ogre, and was more maneuverable than an average chromatic dragon, while also being just as fast for short sprints. They were fairly intelligent, being able to understand simple commands, and they could communicate through gestures and croons. Their curved beaks could practically fell an ogre in a single snap, and their claws would tear an orc to shreds. They were also physically powerful, with the strength equal to or greater than that of ogres. Their torsos were as large as or larger than the biggest horses, and they had a thirty- to thirty-five-foot wingspan; their deep eagle-like cry instilled fear in their enemies. Their keen senses also aided the rangers in their reconnaissance missions, making them excellent hunters and fighting mounts; they also defended their riders to the death, being fiercely loyal.