Vegenrage: Dragon Reclaim (7 page)

Hornspire comes over the top of the cave and sees Bastrenboar sitting by the fire, and he pounces on him. He jumps over the top of the cave and turns his body, facing the entrance of the cave. Bastrenbore is flattened to the ground under Hornspire’s right front paw. He breathes deep and unleashes his Breath of Groinike on the exiting humanors, and they are ripped to shreds by the shards of granite that tear through them and all in the cave. Cloakenstrike is hit with the lethal shards, and they are deflected away as he escapes to the left of the cave. Fraborn watches as the last of his kind are shredded to pieces and draws his sword and attacks the dragon fearlessly. He runs around the fire, and as Hornspire finishes his breath attack, he swings at him full force, slicing off the bottom of his jaw. Hornspire steps back, grasping at his jaw with both paws, and stands on his hind legs. Fraborn runs at him, slicing a huge gash in Hornspire’s lower belly, spinning and slashing at his right hind leg. Hornspire cannot speak to cast magic, and he cannot cast his breath attack. Fraborn continues attacking, slicing another gaping wound in Hornspire’s leg. Hornspire turns to face Fraborn and swats him away with his right wing just to have Bastrenboar jump high and come down blade first above his right leg knee and drives his Lavumptom Drawer all the way to the hilt in Hornspire’s thick leg muscle. Hornspire screams, gurgling blood from his jaw in pain and gushing blood from both his legs. He flaps his wings hard to take to the air, and Cloakenstrike comes down from high in the air, sending a Blade of Sharpness driving right into Hornspire’s forehead going through his brain and neck to his belly. Cloakenstrike grasps the air with both hands like there are handles there for him to grab and pulls each hand apart, pulling the skull of Hornspire apart. His skull cracks, and his flesh rips apart as his head is ripped in two, and his neck is ripped apart as well, and he falls dead with his head and neck flapping to the ground.

Bastrenboar notices a bright light in the sky, falling very fast at Cloakenstrike, and casts a Wall of Force around him. Cloakenstrike is hit with great force and driven to the ground at phenomenal speed and bounced far behind what hit him. The Wall of Force saved his life as Vemenomous streaks to the ground and appears with an expulsion of air, sending the humanors flying back. Even the corpse of Hornspire is sent flying through the air. Fraborn and Bastrenboar stand to see the frightening new dragon, Vemenomous, walking right at them. Vemenomous is now fifteen feet tall. He walks on hind legs comfortably like a humanoid. His belly is yellow, and his arms hang to his sides arched inward like a bodybuilder. His wings are enormous, rising over his head and shoulders and bend in the middle, coming back down much wider than the girth of his shoulders. His head is flat on top with very defined scary eyes. His mouth is almost a rectangle, curving in at the end of his mouth. He has a single row of large round sharp teeth on his top and bottom jaw.

“Ah, Bastrenboar, I have never been scared of anything, but this thing scares me.”

Vemenomous walks at them with a bone-chilling hiss, and Bastrenboar and Fraborn walk backward very nervous. Cloakenstrike was thrown back the other way and comes flying from behind Vemenomous. He stops in air about fifteen feet in back of Vemenomous and fires magical flaming Blades of Sharpness at the right wing of Vemenomous. The blades slice through his wing and set it on fire. Cloakenstrike is awesome sending flaming blades with incredible speed and accuracy. One after another, he fires in huge numbers and keeps the blades moving to the other wing. Vemenomous turns to face Cloakenstrike who continues the barrage. Cloakenstrike concentrates the blades dead center the chest and stomach and chants, increasing the power and strength of the blades that are cutting into the beast. Vemenomous spits a lethal dart at Cloakenstrike that is deflected away. Cloakenstrike aims for the head of Vemenomous, and the dragon blocks the blades with his right hand that is pulverized and shredded. Vemenomous runs and magically flies like a lightning bolt and disappears into the sky.

“Cloakenstrike, you took on that beast. You are amazing.”

“That was Vemenomous, and he was not here for us. I suggest we are not here when he returns.”

It is too late to quickly teleport away as Hornspire’s head has reformed, and he stands. His left wing is golden and disappears, leaving his natural wing, and he unleashes his breath attack on the three.

“Get behind me. Stand behind me.” The humanors get behind Cloakenstrike and duck as Cloakenstrike shields the humanors, and this is an awesome scene. Hornspire’s breath attack is hurling shards of granite that are deflected from Cloakenstrike and the humanors. The noise is deafening as all the shards of granite hit and deflect off Cloakenstrike’s shield of missile deflection with great force and speed, and Hornspire is brilliant-looking with the breath attack hurling in huge quantities from his mouth. The land around them is shredded, and debris is flying everywhere. Hornspire stops his breath attack, and Cloakenstrike retrieves his Necklace of Intensity and puts it on. Bastrenboar points his sword at Hornspire and yells, “Lavumptom blades.” This is so cool. The blade of his sword doubles then triples then quadruples and so on with amazing speed until it reaches Hornspire, and then all the blades that have formed fly into Hornspire. This is incredibly destructive and powerful. The blades jab into Hornspire, cutting and slicing a hole right through him. He tumbles back and rolls onto his back. He immediately begins to heal himself when Cloakenstrike casts a lightning bolt right at his wound. This is well timed and right on the mark. The lightning bolt strikes right into the wound of Hornspire, searing and burning his flesh. The bolt explodes out the back of Hornspire, leaving him gutless and very close to death. Bastrenboar points his sword again, and Cloakenstrike is about to cast another spell when a bright red and orange and yellow light shines from behind Hornspire, and the three have to shield their eyes from the light. A huge thud is heard as Vemenomous has returned and stands behind Hornspire. Hornspire yells, “The light. No, not the light.” Vemenomous bites down hard on the wound in Hornspire’s belly, ripping a huge chunk of flesh, and bites a couple of times, ripping flesh from Hornspire and maneuvers the flesh in his mouth and swallows it, staring at the humanors the whole time. Hornspire flares his teeth at Vemenomous, growling, which is ignored. Hornspire bites the leg of Vemenomous, and still, Vemenomous ignores it, ripping another large chunk of flesh from Hornspire and eats it. Cloakenstrike draws a Dimension Door and pushes Bastrenboar and Fraborn through, following behind them. Hornspire is biting and ripping at the leg of Vemenomous, drawing a lot of blood and biting right down to the bone. Vemenomous ignores it and continues to feed, biting huge chunks of flesh and ignoring the biting Hornspire who is losing his life. Vemenomous keeps feeding, and Hornspire is slowing and becoming weaker until his lifeless body lay at Vemenomous’s feet. Vemenomous keeps feeding. His belly is growing fat, bulging to the point you think he will pop. He walks away, leaving the head of Hornspire intact and the tail but just a ribcage and bones outside of that. He kicks Hornspire in the head. “Try to come back from that Dragon Writer.”

For the first time ever, Cloakenstrike has entered his home not alone. He has not actually taken them to his home but very close. They are in a small cave that has a closed entrance. They appear in the pitch black, and Cloakenstrike casts a spell, lighting three torches around the cave.

“Where are we?”

“We are very close to my home. I dare not take us right there because the dragons may have found it and set traps or alarms, telling them of my arrival there. I overheard Logantrance say the dragons have found his home, and we were at the home of Vegenrage. I have never known either of those locations, so it is safe to assume the dragons have found my home as well.” Cloakenstrike walks out of the small dirt cave, casting magic, and the earth pulls away, exposing the Hiplimson Forest. Far in the north and not too far from the Briganyare Sea, there is a small mountain cliff in which Cloakenstrike has made his home. They are many miles from the cliff, but they can see it just fine high up in the distance. Cloakenstrike points out his home. “We will make our way there slowly on foot, scouting for danger, and be on guard in case any dragons have decided to lay in wait for us.”

“Cloakenstrike, no one has ever seen your home. This is a great privilege.”

“Once there, if everything is intact, I am going to make you two the greatest warriors the Maglical System has ever seen. You probably already are, but there are a few more additions I have that you will surely appreciate. Let’s get there and be alert.” They slowly and cautiously make their way toward the home of Cloakenstrike.

Farrah and Vegenrage have decided to travel at least for a little while with the band of people going to Valvernva. They are heading down the Mytek Mountain when Farrah stops.

“Farrah, what is it? What is wrong?”

“I see Hornspire. Vemenemous is eating him. He is looking at that magic user and those pig men. The men have disappeared. Vemenomous has eaten Hornspire. Hornspire is dead, and Vemenomous has also killed all the pig men except for the two that disappeared with the magic user. I see it, Vegenrage. I can see it.”

“Does Vemenomous know you can see him?”

“I don’t know, but that’s all. There is no more. He is getting stronger and bigger with every dragon he eats. He has eaten one other dragon—a young one. I don’t know how I know that. I just know.”

“Do you know where they are? The magic user must be Cloakenstrike.”

“I don’t know where they are. The magic user is Cloakenstrike.”

“We will travel with Mournbow a little while longer and wait for a sign.”

“What sign?”

“I am not sure, but something is about to happen. I can feel it, and until it does, I just want to walk hand in hand with you for now.” Farrah is comforted and walks by Vegenrage with her head on his shoulder.

CHAPTER 7
Pryenthious, Kertinkpice, and Bailseize

Pryenthious, Kertinkpice, Bailseize, and a half-dozen dragons arrive over the Swapoon Mountains. They glide through the cold air, following Pryenthious. He finds a large peak where they can land, and he has some instructions for them. Pryenthious, Kertinkpice, and Bailseize are clearly the largest, and six smaller younger dragons travel with them. Browgage is a beautiful dragon. His scales are brown followed by yellow, and the colors ring around his body from his head all the way to the end of his tail, brown rings followed by yellow rings, and the colors blend and harmonize wonderfully. He has frills off the sides of his head, and his front legs are attached to his wings. Limbrone is about the same size as Browgage, and his bright lime color is very beautiful as well. Limbrone has tusks that grow from the end of his tail and is a very quiet dragon. Barquoke is a very young black dragon as is Nawlewn. Nawlewn is a deep navy blue dragon. The younger dragons are led by Flaren, a very rich flame red dragon, and his scales seem to shine and glimmer as the light reflects off him, and Icerock, a magnificent ice-colored dragon. Icerock has very unique differences from other dragons. He has no frills but has very long thin whiskers that grow on the top of his head and flow to his back. They actually sense heat changes in the air around him. His has very long spines that grow down the length of his spine to his tail and more whiskers that grow from the bottom of his wings.

Pryenthious gets their attention and has a way for the dragons to assault the planet of Strabalster. “For you younger dragons that were not here for the last Dragon Feast, we need to be a little more cautious this time and take the races of man as a serious threat. They are very smart and have dangerous weapons to go with very powerful magic. We thought we had them beat down, and they came back to hunt us and kill a lot of our kind. They multiply fast and set dangerous traps. You have to watch for their magic users. They are small but very powerful. This time around, we take no chances. Flaren, take Icerock and Nawlewn to the Mogle Lands and raise the Salcendreepes. Have them attack Ugoria from underneath the ground. Limbrone, take Barquoke and Browgage to Hunoria and hunt the pig men. Search the rock lands, the grasslands, and the lowlands. Here, the pickins should be easy in the open. Don’t take anything for granted and help each other. I will raise the Mountain Flats from here in the Swapoon Mountains. Bailseize, go to the Hunorian Forest and see if you can raise the Chestwerns to raid across Hunoria into Ugoria. Kertinkpice, I think you would like nothing more than to go in headfirst and take on Ugoria. You will be our initial attack, the lull before the storm of dragons and lesser dragons. Move in and remove the elves from their kingdom. We set out to remove the races of man. Tomorrow will begin their last days. Go now, and tomorrow we all converge on Ugoria.” They all leave and fly through Dimension Doors to their targeted area.

Pryenthious flies through the mountains and finds an opening that he flies into and walks down a long wide cave that leads into a very large cave. It is very cold here, but something warms the inside of the cave, melting the ice, and freshwater flows down the walls and forms a large pool of water in its floor that is tainted by the droppings of thousands of Mountain Flats. Pryenthious looks up at all the Mountain Flats and gets their attention.

“
I am Pryenthious, and I am here to wake you and let you know that if you want to taste the sweet meat of elf, you better come now because the dragons are awake, and the feast is beginning. Join us now because their end is near.”

The Flats begin to shake and move around. They are very large, six feet tall, and look like bats, but they have short arms and hands attached to their wings and the power of language. One of the Flats releases its grip from the rock and falls, opening its large wings, and glides down to meet Pryenthious.

“Why do the dragons tell us? Why do the dragons show us any interest at all?”

“We have feasted on the flesh of man, elves, and dwarves, and the races of man have become very powerful they have retaliated and hunted the dragons with devastating effects on our race. This time they will not be able to hunt us as they have in the past. We invite all the lesser dragons to feast with us and make sure none of the magic users survive. We don’t want to wipe out the races of man completely. We want to leave only the weak, but we want them strong enough to continue our food supply and yours. The choice is yours. We hunt in Ugoria in the morning. The invitation is yours for the taking or miss out. You can feast with no reprisals from the dragons. You can hunt with the added security of the dragons, and we can hunt with the security of the lesser dragons. This is a united front, and the elves will be left in ruin. Tomorrow morning, be there.” Pryenthious leaves the Mountain Flats to consider his invitation.

Flaren, Icerock, and Nawlewn appear in the Mogle Lands and glide down to the earth. It is very dry and clear here. The land is crusty with dried brown grass. There is very little rainfall here, and dry earth is as far as the eye can see. “Why does Pryenthious send me here? I am a dragon of ice and water. I should be in the mountains, summoning the Flats.”

“Relax, Icerock, we are here to summon the Salcendreepes, and then we feast on elf in the morning.” Flaren starts to talk in dragon tongue. “Sanceeen dreee pee carniall seee. Crinoliann dreee pee unrissseee priseee carniall seee. Ichwaaa nalen charauuu ssseee. Ureeenile comsss kreilneee breee.” The dragons stand waiting, and nothing happens.

“Well, where are they? Aren’t they supposed to be here?”

“Wait, Nawlewn. Give them a minute. They will be here.” The ground starts to tremble and off to the side of the dragons rises a Salcendreepe.

“We heard your call, master. I am Slanceender, and I am here to answer your call.”

“Slanceender, I am Flaren, and the dragons feast on the Ugorian elves in the morning. We are taking no chances with the races of man during this feast. We summon all the lesser dragons to feast with us. This is the end of all the magic-using races of man. They have become very powerful, and we no longer take them for granted. Tomorrow morning, take all that you want to feast on and attack Ugoria from underneath. We dragons will attack from air and ground. What do you say? Will you feast with us?”

“We will feast with the dragons, our masters. Our masters will not turn their hunger on the Salcendreepes?”

“You shall feel no harm from the dragons but be cautious. The races of man are very powerful with strong magic. Beware them and feed cautiously.”

“Yes, master, we will be there come morning.” Slanceender sinks back into the earth.

Limbrone, Barquoke, and Browgage appear in the skies over Hunoria and fly down to what was Hunoria. “What has happened here? This is not the doing of dragons. The humanors have been eliminated. This is very strange. I have heard that the human race once thrived here and the elves, and then the humanor wiped them out, and the humanor took over. Must be the elves wiped out the humanor too. The signs of war between the races of man are strong in the air here. Looks like they are making it easy for us. Only the elves remain.”

“I think you are right, Limbrone. Well, we might as well search all the lands. Surely, there are humans or humanors somewhere. Barquoke, you go check the lowlands and see if any have survived there. Browgage, you check the rock lands. I will check here and the waterways. If we find nothing here, then in the morning, we feast on the elves.” The dragons head off to search the lands.

Bailseize arrives over the Hunorian Forest. This is one of the most dangerous forests in all the Maglical System, rivaling that of the Wickenfall Forest in its lethal predators. The most lethal predator is the Chestwerns. Chestwerns are among the most powerful of the lesser dragon legions even though they are not magical. The Hunorian Forest is very neat because it has rings and lines of grasslands throughout the forest. This is made possible by the enormous land herbivores that live here. The Biclonadon is a massive thirty-foot tall four-legged grass eater. They are a big reason why there are rings and lines of grasslands in the forest. They walk around the forest on a constant migration. They feed on all the young trees that sprout and grow out into the grasslands. They also feed on the thick, lush grasses found here. It is very interesting the way they feed. They are very large and cannot reach the ground to feed when they stand, so they sit on their legs to feed. When small trees grow large enough, they can feed on them while standing, but when they feed on the grass, they have to sit. They travel in small groups of eight to twelve members with the oldest largest males, roaming freely and individually. They are so big that they have little to fear from the predators of the forest, but every once in a while, they are ambushed and taken down by a pack of predators. Chestwerns are their biggest threat.

Chestwerns have been evolving over the past millennium, and they look like large bulls with underdeveloped wings that grow from their back. They have hooves that have begun to develop into claws, four on each hoof. They curl inward and can spread wide on their feet like fingers. They stand ten feet tall on all fours and have long horns on either side of their head, which is long and narrow with a long jaw full of razor-sharp teeth. You would think it is a herbivore, but it is a flesh eater. They are very dark in color, and even though their wings are underdeveloped, they can run very fast, extend their wings, and glide through the air. Their feet are developing clinging claws like talons, and they glide to trees and latch on. The trees here are very tall and thick and can support the weight of the Chestwerns without a problem. The Chestwerns wait motionless in the trees for herbivores to pass the grasslands, and then they glide down on them and claw and bite them to feed. There are many very large species of herbivores and many species of carnivores, making this one of the most deadly forests on all the worlds.

Bailseize flies over Hunoria and enters the forest from the west. This is a very large forest running for hundreds of miles. Bailseize flies high, calling to the lesser dragons, and floats down to a clearing to gather them and invite them to attack Ugoria in the morning with the dragons. It will take Bailseize all day or most of it to gather as many Chestwerns as he can to join in on the attack in Ugoria. The day goes by, and the dragons work on uniting the lesser dragons to fight with them. The Salcendreepes, Chestwerns, and Mountain Flats will unite and fight with the dragons come morning.

King Trialani has been warned that dragons have been sighted in the skies above Hunoria and the Mogle Lands. He calls the magical order and the high class of warrior to his chambers to discuss the possible dragon attack on Ugoria. Arglon and Reinlith are there for the magical order. Bronsilith and Verlyle are there for the Bowelves. Verlyle is Zilndor’s brother who was killed when the humanors attacked in Ugoria and a great bowelf. Verlyle has taken over the command of bowelves that his brother previously commanded. Tornsclin is there for the warriors on the ground. “Arglon, what of the dragons spotted in the air? Do you think they mean to attack in Ugoria? The last time the dragons hunted in numbers, they quickly realized that Ugoria was well fortified and lost two dragons before breaking off their attack.”

“I think they will attack, Tornsclin. All the humanors have been cleared, and the humans are now gone. They may feed in the great forests, but I fear the worst. They have been spotted in the Mogle Lands, and there is nothing there for them except the lesser dragons. They may be gathering the lesser dragons in the Hunorian Forest, along with those in the Swapoon Mountains. I think we should prepare for the worst. They learned during the last Dragon Feast that Ugoria was very powerful, and this time, they mean business, calling on their allies.”

“Then we should do the same.”

“I agree with Arglon. I will send Reinlith to the Westfall Heights at once. Reinlith, meet with Dona’try and let him know the dragons may attack and soon. He and the Helven may come to Ugoria and help fight off the dragons like they did a thousand years ago, or they can stay in the heights and be less protected against the dragons. Make sure he knows the dragons have been spotted, and they will attack very soon. Tornsclin, go to the Creshian Forest and gather the Blood Reeds. Let them know the blood of dragon will soon be here. Verlyle, go to Pinitrill and call for the Landgangers. We may find their sturdy backs much needed. Arglon and I will sound the call to arms and ready Ugoria for the dragons. Now everyone go with haste. I am sure the dragons will attack in the morning if not sooner.” The elves head off to complete their assignments, except for Reinlith, who bows to King Trialani. “Yes, Reinlith?”

“Are you sure I should venture to the Westfall Heights? The Helven may ignore us altogether and take my head.”

“This is a dangerous venture, I am aware, but we need their help, and their hellish ways may find excitement in warring with the dragons here in Ugoria. I send you because you are one of our best users of magic, and if anyone can persuade the Helven to fight with us, it is you. If you are fearful, then do not go, but if you go confident, you may persuade them to fight with us. The choice is yours.”

Reinlith thinks about it for a minute. “I will go, my king, and I will bring the Helven back with me.”

“Good, Reinlith. Be strong, be brave, and you will succeed.” Reinlith heads through a Dimension Door, and Arglon talks with Trialani. “I can’t remember a time in our history as dangerous as this time has been. First, the human magic user and the humanors and now the dragons. If the dragons do unite all the lesser dragons to fight with them against Ugoria, there could be a much different outcome this time.”

“Yes, Arglon. You know I have held this trinket for eight hundred years and never saw the power of it or needed its wisdom until recently. Now for the second time, I need the guidance of the trinket. Come with me. We need to talk with Shenlylith. For some reason, the passing of Somgla has some bearing on the events we now face. I feel it. I just can’t put the why to it yet. Shenlylith can help us.” Trialani and Arglon go to the room high in the Ugorian Palace, and Trialani places the trinket in the golden base on the pedestal, and the miniature Shenlylith appears.