War of Dragons (27 page)

Very good,
Perak remarked.
Can they manage that with each one?

He didn't have long to wait for his answer, as the second group had already begun their bombing run. They were just as accurate as the first group and a second Stonehouse was reduced to rubble. Each of the first five groups hit their targets, demolishing each and every one of the Stonehouses, leaving the remainder to attack less critical buildings, such as the military and government buildings from where the defences would be coordinated. Then the smaller groups took over, targeting the defensive towers containing the Red Dragons' powerful crossbows that would have otherwise made the ground assault impossible to succeed without heavy losses. Obud was being struck by heavy metal rain and the defenders had no way of stopping their destruction.

Amazing,
Perak said quietly to Tarek as the last of his troops dropped their load.
I do believe you've just won the battle.

We have, my friend,
Tarek replied magnanimously.
It's all over now. The ground troops will have an easy task. Come, let us fly back together. Neither of us should really be here.

Perak looked down to watch thousands of Blue Dragons landing all over the city, the third wave of the attackers arriving. These were the specialists in ground combat, who would now begin the laborious task of going from building to building, wiping out the Reds that were spread over the city. With the skies above them still filled with Blue Dragons and the attackers able to concentrate their efforts on one building at a time and outnumber their quarry each time, the Reds had no chance whatsoever.

Yes, let us leave,
Perak agreed reluctantly.
Time to join the celebrations...
 

Chapter 16 - An appeal to the parliament

Mark stood up and faced the crowded parliament, ready to address them. Just as with the initial appeal to approach the Browns, news of the Blue Dragon invasion had spread quickly and had resulted in a much better attendance than these sessions would normally attract. Facing the crowded room of black-robed representatives he was determined not to appear daunted by them and spoke as confidently as he could. "I request permission to travel to the Red Dragon Kingdom to both escort our guests home and volunteer to help with their defence. Furthermore, I request permission to seek volunteers to assist me. This does not contradict our laws forbidding acts of aggression and is in keeping with our tradition of minimising loss of life. We have a duty to act, and I request permission to carry out that duty."

There was silence for a few seconds. The representatives all knew why Mark was here so no one was surprised by his request. The chairman thanked him briefly before asking for responses. The first to speak was an old grey-haired man named Moab, one who Mark's father had named as a likely opponent. He rose to his feet and addressed his comments to the chairman, barely even acknowledging Mark. "Chairman, this still constitutes taking sides," Moab argued. "I am not in favour and recommend voting against this motion." There were quite a few murmurs of agreement. He sat down again, leaving the floor open. The chairman then recognised Solomon, another long-serving representative who was well respected.

"This act would not be without precedent," Solomon responded to Moab's argument, speaking slowly and calmly. His was a voice that conveyed wisdom and experience, and although, like Moab, he didn't acknowledge Mark, there was a warmth in his voice that Moab's had lacked. "This has been done before and was declared to be legal. In the war between the Green Dragons and the Mountain Dragons, in which the Green Dragons were intent on wiping out the Mountain Dragons, we provided substantial numbers of our forces to defend the Mountain Dragons' three major cities."

"Which achieved nothing," Moab countered, dismissing his argument with a contemptuous wave of his hand. "No one remembers the Mountain Dragons; they were completely wiped out." Mark of course knew the story of the Mountain Dragons well, taking a keen interest in the history of their neighbours. Sadly none of the Mountain Dragons made it to the Sanctuary and their form had been completely forgotten, with no Golden Dragons left alive who knew how to transform into one.

"That can hardly be true, can it?" Solomon asked. "I remember the Mountain Dragons, as do you or you wouldn't have remembered that they were wiped out, and they were not wiped out in that particular war. Our efforts were successful and we prevented the Green Dragons from destroying any of their three cities. Their demise was due to our failure to maintain good relations with the Mountain Dragons. Unfortunately, our forces were expelled by the Mountain Dragons shortly after the end of the conflict and the Green Dragons attacked again immediately."

The chairman recognised a lady called Orpah, who Mark hadn't heard speak before. "Our forces weren't just expelled, a number were killed, convicted of trumped up charges and executed hastily without a chance for appeal," she said. "I fail to see how anything that happened was our fault. How do we know that the Red Dragons won't turn on us as soon as the war ends? That also has precedent."

"May I respond?" Mark requested. The chairman assented. "From what I understand, the conflict with the Green Dragons was one where we sent an official force and troops were ordered to go. I'm requesting a volunteer force; it would be up to individuals to assess the risk of the Reds turning on us. I'm willing to accept that risk."

A young representative called Cain rose to his feet to respond. He was another that his father had warned him about. He was only a few years older than Mark, in his first term as a representative and was well known and very ambitious. Mark doubted he had strong views on any subject, but would just enthusiastically back whatever cause was likely to further his position. "Another volunteer force?" he asked scornfully, addressing his question to the representatives behind him rather than Mark or the chairman. "We have only just authorised a volunteer force to rescue the slaves and we only just had enough volunteers for that operation. Where would you find the volunteers? You wouldn't get enough to mount a serious defence. I would be opposed to sending a force that was too small to succeed and was doomed to die."

"Let me organise the appeal," Mark replied. "I don't think we had nearly as many volunteers as we could have had for the rescue. I actually believe in what we're trying to do and would be going myself. I'm not convinced that was the case for the rescue."

"Be careful with your accusations," Cain warned him, glaring coldly. "I organised that appeal, and as I recall, you weren't here for it."

"And you're still here," Mark pointed out, holding his gaze. "You asked people to do something you weren't going to do yourself. I'm volunteering. I can lead it."

Solomon smiled and shook his head. "Mark, we admire your courage and enthusiasm, and you may be a captain, but you're too young and inexperienced to lead such a mission. We could never allow it."

"But I am not," his father stated, speaking for the first time.

"Please, sir, wait till I have recognised you before speaking," the chairman objected. "You are not a representative."

"Apologies, chairman. May I speak?"

"Go ahead."

"I have spent a long time in the borders between these two lands and know them as well as anyone. I have a long and distinguished career and have more than enough experience to lead this mission. I will accompany my son and lead this mission."

"We cannot allow that," Solomon replied. "I appreciate the noble gesture but your health is not what it was. Besides which, Paul, we are well aware of your wife's health. Your place is here."

"May I speak?" All eyes turned to the man sat next to Paul, who had remained silent so far.

The chairman introduced him. "For the benefit of the representatives, this is Captain Noah, former commander of the capital's defence forces. Please proceed, Noah."

Noah was someone that Mark knew well, as he was an old friend of his father's. He was highly respected within the defence force and would be known to many of the representatives. He rose to his feet and smiled at his audience. "This is a mission that requires an experienced leader. Someone who has years of training and experience of combat with the Blue Dragons. I do not claim to be an expert on their ways, but I am one of the few who has fought them before. I have been stationed with the Brown Dragons on several occasions when they were attacked by the Blue Dragons—attacks that were of course, unsuccessful. I have led numerous expeditions into our neighbours' territories, both as an invited guest and clandestine visits, and of course, I fought in the war with the Banshee Dragons. I've served in many different capacities within our defence force and although I have recently retired from active roles, I still train with those who patrol our borders to keep my skills fresh. I volunteer my services to lead this mission and believe that given the right numbers and support, I can lead it to a successful conclusion."

There was a momentary silence following his statement and Solomon was the first to respond.

"Thank you, Captain. I doubt there are many who could claim to be better qualified to lead this mission. I propose we vote on granting approval on a conditional basis. We have a leader, but this mission requires experienced support. I propose allowing it on the condition that they have at least five captains volunteer and at least thirty volunteers in total."

"Thirty sounds far too low," Moab argued. "I'd want to have at least triple that. What do you say, Cain? You organised the last volunteer force."

"I agree. As I argued before, I'd be very reluctant to risk sacrificing so many of our men on such a foolish venture when it didn't have a chance of success. Thirty would be totally unacceptable. One hundred at least. With ten captains." He turned and regarded Mark smugly. "If the young man thinks he is able to gather that many volunteers, he would have my blessing."

"I suggest we hold a vote on the condition of ten captains and one hundred volunteers," Moab said. "Any objections? Excellent. Chairman, shall we vote?"

"All those in favour of the motion raise your hands? All those against? Motion carried."

"Well done, Mark," Solomon said without any enthusiasm. Like most people in the room, he probably suspected that Cain and Moab had set the bar too high. "If you can raise five times as many volunteers as Cain did, you may proceed with our blessing. You may leave."

Mark smiled, nodding politely at Solomon, and throwing a quick glance at Cain. "Thank you all for your time and your blessing. We anticipated that you would require a significant force for this mission and we already have a list of one hundred and twenty volunteers and the required number of captains. Noah will submit the list to the chairman. We will leave first thing in the morning. Goodbye."

There was uproar in the chamber, but Mark didn't wait to listen, walking swiftly from the room with his head held high, feeling pleased with himself. The motion had passed and they had the approval they required. Cain would be furious but there was little that he could do now. He rushed back to Immigration House and hurried up to Arthur's room, impatient to tell them the good news. 

"Arthur, we have the approval from parliament and can leave when we want. Please go and organise the others. We will not leave this land till tomorrow but we will leave the capital immediately. I will not give them the chance to reverse the decision they just made. We'll head for the border immediately."

Arthur was sat in a chair, reading a book, with his bags packed beside him. He was clearly waiting for this news. "Could they do that? Reverse the decision?"

Mark shrugged indifferently. "I don’t know. They deliberately set conditions they thought I couldn't meet, and given time, they might be able to find a legal loophole that stops us. Either way, I don't intend to give them the opportunity. Will all of you come?"

Arthur looked surprised by the question. "Of course! Why wouldn't we?"

Mark looked at him soberly. "Arthur, you're going back to a war zone and this war is one which you might not win. If you lose the war or get yourself captured, you'll die. For the girls, they might end up in the camps. Now, let's be honest: none of you are ready to fight. You haven't the experience or training. The only reason to go back is to introduce us to your leaders. After that, you would be best advised to seek refuge in the West, wait for the end of the war and just hope that you win. Why take all of you back now? You could go alone and leave the others here till the war is over. If you win, then we would bring them back. If you don't, then they would be welcome to stay here indefinitely."

Arthur shook his head sadly. "The same thing has crossed my mind. The only one you might convince is Jenna, but I don't think even she will stay on her own. No, we will all return."

Mark shrugged. "Can't say I blame you as it is your home, but I think it is the wrong decision."

Arthur frowned. "There's something I meant to ask you about. I asked Naomi if she knew of your father's friend, Noah, and she said that he was a hero from the war with the Banshee Dragons. They're not mentioned in any of the books I've been reading while I've been here, and John has never mentioned them and I thought you had good relations with all of your neighbours."

"John probably doesn’t know about them," Mark replied. "The war happened while he was away and it was the first time we'd even heard of them. They're from the Forbidden Quarter. It's called that because we're forbidden by law from going into it and that law is there for our own protection. It's a mixture of jungles and swamps populated by some of the strangest dragons you'll meet. One of our neighbours borders the Forbidden Quarter and the Banshee Dragons attacked them while a delegation from our government was with them. They killed a number of our people so we ended up fighting with our neighbours against the Banshee Dragons. The war didn't last long but it was pretty unpleasant. Both Noah and I fought in that war."