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Hello hello^^
Again a long absence, but since I want writting to keep being a pleasure, I prefer to get to it when I feel the motivation striking. And I must say, it's really hard to come back to a project I had left aside for a few months, especially when it's already half way.
The other reason is that I've been working on another project lately with someone who kinda revived my interest for writing. I also hope I can be of any help to give a little push to this partner's first steps around here. Quality art has to be a bit promoted^^ More will come in time :)
He didn’t speak a word, and that was the most terrifying… Walking behind him, for the stairs were too narrow to allow her by his side, the dragoness observed her human without even knowing what to say. Like an automat, he repeated his steps, a hand on his sword pommel.
Even if he had never spoken it out loud, the young human admired Bolner. He was the fatherly figure he needed after the disappearance of his parents. His model. And for the second time in his life, he experienced the loss of a close one. The dragoness liked to think that this time, at least, he wasn’t alone in his pain. She was there, true... But she didn’t know how to reach him right now.
She sensed many emotions boiling in him, to the point his simple presence was intimidating. Rage… Sadness… Confusion… Doubt… If he ever opened the mouth, these pure forces would storm out of his being like a hurricane. And this was precisely why she was too nervous to talk to him. Besides, he had more important to think of…
Whether he accepted it or not, Bolner had entrusted him the fate of this city before dying… a city that was dying too, in a position that permitted little to no hope... And knowing him, chances were that his mind was entirely dedicated to a plan… She hoped so, at least. Because if he fell here, everything was over. The city would be defeated for good, but more horrible… he wouldn’t survive this failure. This was the fate she always wanted to save him from since the very beginning. And now, she had the growing feeling that the deathly grip was tightening on him.
All this, because she had brought him back to this stupid city in the first place! She wanted to save him, and she had thrown him into this hell! They were trapped, and if this last chance didn’t pay off, there would be no happy end for either of them.
Because in the next battle, she knew it, the head of the city himself would stand in the first line, and for the last time...
A sudden clinging behind took her back to earth; the enemy was coming! Hearing the sound of the approaching soldiers too, her human threw a worried yet imperious stare at her. Like on the previous battleground, it was like he managed to communicate his instructions without speaking a word. Run. It was what it meant… And she didn’t need it to be suggested twice!
Amaria ran after him, a delicate task considering the steps weren’t made for a dragon, and that his slower speed forced her to adapt. But they were close now! The gates of the vault were at sight! The young dragoness felt relief gaining her; if they could lock themselves in, they would have some time safe!
But once again, a human showed her a talent she didn’t know about… sneaky ambushes… Out of nowhere, she felt a huge mass covered in metal falling on her back. The weight alone was almost enough to make her collapse. But maybe letting her body collapse would have been a better reflex… A burning pain exploded on her shoulder as a blade pierced her scales, penetrating the muscle. She could even feel the blade hitting the bone, and the suffering was so unbearable that a loud roar of pain escaped her throat, with all the strength of her lungs…
Vision blurred by tears of pain, Amaria instinctively searched for her companion for help… but the face she saw was nothing like his. Torn in a furor she never saw before, it seemed like his eyes were glowing red, while his mouth showing teeth was similar to an enraged animal.
Moving so quickly that she barely managed to follow him with her eyes in her state of confusion, the young man grabbed the armored enemy, and in a scream of hate and insanity, threw him like he was a simple rock. Even with her mind hazed in pain, the dragoness had no doubt about what she witnessed: it wasn’t human strength. It was a power that made her own strength ridiculous. It wasn’t… possible.
And yet, she clearly saw the armored man literally flying down the stairs. The mass hit the floor hardly, rolling into the open door of the vault with a loud sound of metal and groans of pain. Astonished, the dragoness looked up at her human but… it wasn’t him anymore… It was a creature of pure anger she couldn’t recognize…
Coldly, the monster put his hand around her wound, and with his other hand, removed the blade swiftly. The pain made her roar once again, but surprisingly, it only lasted for a few seconds… Fearful, the young dragoness observed the creature rip its own clothes, and applying them with tight pressure to stop the bleeding. No compassion. No sympathy. No mercy. Only duty… She was literally frozen in fright of the boiling aura, like his body was literally irradiating heat. Even her instincts told her not to upset him; it truly gave her good reasons to be more terrified of him than the army coming at this instant!
Walking downstairs, Amaria followed him clumsily, her wounded shoulder making it hard to step. She also kept a safe distance though pressing a bit to enter the vault. More were coming… As soon as he entered, the young dragoness sneaked in as well, blocking the door behind her while the remaining soldiers barricaded it with many large objects. But the door was the least of her worries right now…
Still enveloped in that murderous rage aura, her human’s intentions seemed to get awfully clear…
What was happening wasn’t natural… And she thought him well able to hurt an innocent in such wrath. Fortunately for them all, this creature solely focused his interest on the aggressor who struggled to get back on his feet. His left arm seemed dead, probably broken in his violent fall. But he still held this spark of defiance in the eyes.
Unfortunately for him, death from his first fall would have been a merciful end… As the enemy tried to reach for his gun, the avatar of anger reached his wrist first. In a sinister crack, he twisted the hand in an unnatural way. And a scream of pain filled the room, sending a chill through the body of anyone who could hear it.
“I have had enough of you…” The creature spoke in a voice that sounded like death itself. Grabbing the victim by the throat, he threw him against the stone wall with the same ease he showed earlier. “Murderer. Killer. Tyrant. Hater. Lover of death. Bully. ”
With a boiling rage, the entity enumerated all the words it could use like a despising accusation. But the young dragoness doubted that the man in armor could even hear it… Groaning, it was like he struggled to even keep connection to the world of the livings. And she could guess what the entity was up to when it began to walk toward his injured victim. Like a merciless hunter, he left no escape to his prey.
In horror, Amaria couldn’t even look away. The first terrifying detail was the violent shock of his fist on the jaw she swore she could hear before the strike. And like a growing fire, the dreadful voice turning into a furious scream of madness as he armed another punch. The foolish soldier didn’t have any right for last words… only a desperate, weak growl of pain that was quickly silenced for good.
Relentlessly, like each punch was generating more power for the next, the crack of the bones soon mixed with a disgusting squishy mess of crushed organs. And when it couldn’t get any more frightening to her, and probably to everyone around, she realized the cracks weren’t only coming from his victim’s skulls… but also from his knuckles! What kind of mad creature would keep hitting an already dead body with a wrecked hand?!
With tears filling her eyes, she watched this beast stopping its frenzy when it began to hit more stone than bone or flesh. Still insensitive to the pain he should have been enduring, he threw the – almost – headless body on the ground and stared at it with an enraged face, breathing hard. Curiously hard even. While the young dragoness held her own breath in dread, he seemed to struggle to find his. If it didn’t feel pain… could it feel exhaustion?!
“Please… Calm down… It’s over now… you need to calm down, to tell us what we have to do… please…” She begged, terrified. The creature turned its furious face toward her. Under such stare, even the dragoness felt vulnerable… if he attacked her, she wasn’t even sure she stood a chance.
“A…Amaria?” he called her, like he was returning from a trance, then grabbing his wrist with a grimace of pain. His wrecked hand had to be a real torture. Nobody around dared to move; they probably still feared the monster that the dragoness felt leaving his body. He was back but… at which cost… Glancing around, panting hard, his eyes stopped on the big door that began to emit loud ‘BONG’. The enemy was at their gate, and who knew for how long the barricades would hold on… They were trapped, and everyone expected him to say what to do.
“Everyone, we have just one chance.” He talked to the crowd with some groans punctuating his words. “We can activate a weapon that will ensure our survival. But I need an element for that, a pendant that is hidden somewhere in this place. I need every one of you to look for it. A pendant, with two ovals crossing at the center, made of some kind of silver.”
The humans around looked at each other, visibly confused. It was like they pondered the sanity of the man trying to lead them, probably not understanding how a pendant could take over an army. But another big ‘BONG’ on the metal door blasted the remaining of his patience.
“NOW! BEFORE THE COME IN TO MURDER YOU ALL!” he shouted furiously. As kind as he usually was, he obviously had no time to lose with discussion. And Amaria joined him on this point… He had been put in charge against his will; at least they could have the decency of not contesting his orders!
Motivated by their fear, the humans dispersed around the huge room, digging into antiquities that had probably remained untouched for centuries. It was a little relief for the dragoness to finally see them making themselves useful, but she still couldn’t let go of how dramatic the situation was.
“Tell me you have a plan, my human…” she asked him, a bit desperate, looking down at his wrecked hand with concern. With a near future so dark, she needed some kind of reassurance. Forgetting about their rules in public, or rather disregarding them since it might be their last day together, she rested her head on his shoulder, holding him close with an arm. She wasn’t ready to let him go, and she doubted she ever would be… “We’ve been through so much… Please don’t let it end here…”
To her surprise, she felt his arms embracing her as well. He usually never wanted to express signs of affection in public. He had to be terrified as well, to ignore his most sacred rules…
“I love you, Amaria…” He whispered, his voice shaking a bit. “And I need you, now more than ever…”
Breaking the embrace, he looked at her straight in the eyes. His expression of silent fear, hidden behind the focus of the leader he had to be, gave her chills. Her human was too inexperienced, too young to lead an entire city. Why did it have to be him?!
“Bolner showed me a map of this place.” He spoke flatly, eyeing on her wounded shoulder. “I don’t trust these people… I think I know where he put the pendant, and I need you to go find it for me. I need to stay here to organize them. Follow the right wall of the room, and you’ll find a little room where Bolner stored the most valuable objects. It should be there… Could you do that for me?”
There was distress in his gaze. The weight of responsibility was crushing him on the inside; she knew him enough to recognize the signs. When he was like this, the dragoness couldn’t help but assist him, to show him he wasn’t alone in his demise.
She smiled to him. This was probably the best thing she knew to reassure him in hard times.
“When this is over, I’ll have to teach you that it’s kind of stereotype to use a dragon to find jewelry.” She served him this little joke, in hope it could relieve him from at least some pressure. And also to relieve herself with some. Amaria leant to give him a little lick on the cheek. “I’ll be right back. Make them hold on, and I’ll do the rest. Please just hold on.”
“I will.” He spoke like he was resigned as she began to walk clumsily to the place he indicated her.
She had seen him stressed in the past, but before, she was too naïve and innocent to understand the real danger. The young dragoness missed the times when her only response to crisis was to tease and reassure him, without thinking of the consequences. Now that she had seen his world, what humans were able to do… she genuinely felt terrified about what was happening. And she was glad to also have something to focus on, to make herself useful.
Around her, unknown wonders were being moved and thrown apart by people who didn’t even care about their value. Amaria didn’t know any of those either, but something in her felt upset to see them disrespecting these objects so casually. Like a feeling she couldn’t explain. Dragons sometimes valued treasures, but it was strange to instinctively consider these weird relics as precious. Fortunately, she had other matter to care about now…
Turning on the right like her human advised her, she felt a bit uncomfortable as she had to get through a narrower way. She could feel her wings rubbing against the stone, either side of her. If she had been one year older or so, her size might have been a problem to crawl in there. Finally, she arrived to a larger room, feeling her heart jump in hope.
But the room seemed empty… On the ground, there was a large puddle of a black, thick and liquid matter. The strangest was its smell… iron… copper… she could distinguish various scents, but most of them were metals. Like someone had taken all the metallic objects of this room to melt them… but she was alone in that room, and it was strange that the puddle didn’t solidify at such temperature.
More worrying, no trace of pendant anywhere. A somber thought crossed her mind, what if it had been melt with the rest?!
She looked everywhere, but all her eyes could find was an inscription on the wall, written in large, dark letters, like written with a piece of coal.
“We fell because of our power lust. Never again.” A voice read it out loud, behind her. “Seems kind of ironic… Now we’re falling because we didn’t seek power hard enough…”
***********************************
Focused on the hell to come, the young man watched the remaining soldiers doing their best to contain the assault on the door. The massive hit that came from behind bumped them through the metal at each impact, but they relentlessly came back to their post to accomplish their mission. Keep the innocents safe. A mission they surely knew was meant to end in defeat…
Part of him regretted their position. How nice it would have been to be the one receiving orders instead of giving them, at the moment. At least they didn’t have to bother themselves with questions; they knew what they had to do.
But fate had put him in charge… and all he could do was trying his best.
“E-Excuse me, Mister Drake… Could it be this?” a timid voice called him.
His eyes instantly searching for its owner, they fell on a lady in her mid-age, visibly intimidated. He couldn’t blame her… He didn’t remember what happened earlier, but his hand and the head crushed cadaver gave him a good idea of what everyone saw him doing. Even Amaria had been hurt in the process, apparently… He truly was no decent ruler… If the new head of the city inspired fear to its citizens, then he was no better than the monster that was trying to force their ultimate defenses.
Looking down at the little shiny thing she showed him, the young man felt a new hope gaining him. The ovals, joining at the center, circled by a ring of silver… He recognized it! Not believing that chance was finally smiling at them, he took the pendant in his hands, feeling like he could embrace the lady in a burst of joy.
But at the exact moment he finally grabbed this last hope, an explosion blasted behind the door, and it fell in a deafening sound of resonating metal, crushing the objects that constituted the barricade. Smoke began to invade the entrance, and shadows began to emerge in this cloud.
They were coming…
*****************************************************
Amaria turned to face a soldier in armor, the same that the city’s army wore. Except this one wore lighter metallic parts, a protection that seemed quite insufficient for direct combat… Only the head was entirely covered by the helmet, a particularity she hadn’t seen on other soldiers. The young dragoness could usually see more than only eyes on their faces…
And most intriguing, he didn’t wear any usual weapons, at the exception of a dagger to his waist. Instead, his body was circled by what seemed to be an intertwined rope, and chains with weights at their end.
“We have no time for philosophy.” She couldn’t help but reply harshly as she heard something that alerted her. A massive explosion, and the sound of the door collapsing! She had to come back to him now!
But the soldier only removed his helmet, revealing longer hair, and a thinner face… A female? Amaria wasn’t sure, her dragon eyes found it quite hard to certify. Especially since the soldier spoke in the same tough tone, and served her the same hard stare as the others. Apparently ready for a confrontation, the armored soldier blocked the way, starting to unfold the rope.
“I’m afraid this is all I found to distract you.” The feminine voice became clearer without the helmet. Confused, the dragoness couldn’t help but listen to what she said. Until now, she was convinced only male humans were versed into fighting. “But please, I’d like you to not force me to use other methods. I kind of like you, dragon. And I wouldn’t want to do this the hard way. Don’t make my orders more difficult to accomplish.”
She really spoke in the same manner as all guards and soldiers of this city. Female or not, there was the same tint of honor and righteousness in her voice. Amaria truly believed her words, but it wasn’t reassuring… She had no idea what orders she was talking about. And time was running, she had no time for this!
“What do you mean?! Let me go, the head of the city needs me!” she growled, stepping forward. But something tied her front legs mid-step, and she lost her balance. The chain restraining her movements, the dragoness fell forward and grunted as her lower jaw landed hardly on the stone.
“My orders come from him. I’m sorry, but you’re not leaving this room.” The soldier stated, though the dragoness could distinguish a tone of regret in her voice.
Again a long absence, but since I want writting to keep being a pleasure, I prefer to get to it when I feel the motivation striking. And I must say, it's really hard to come back to a project I had left aside for a few months, especially when it's already half way.
The other reason is that I've been working on another project lately with someone who kinda revived my interest for writing. I also hope I can be of any help to give a little push to this partner's first steps around here. Quality art has to be a bit promoted^^ More will come in time :)
He didn’t speak a word, and that was the most terrifying… Walking behind him, for the stairs were too narrow to allow her by his side, the dragoness observed her human without even knowing what to say. Like an automat, he repeated his steps, a hand on his sword pommel.
Even if he had never spoken it out loud, the young human admired Bolner. He was the fatherly figure he needed after the disappearance of his parents. His model. And for the second time in his life, he experienced the loss of a close one. The dragoness liked to think that this time, at least, he wasn’t alone in his pain. She was there, true... But she didn’t know how to reach him right now.
She sensed many emotions boiling in him, to the point his simple presence was intimidating. Rage… Sadness… Confusion… Doubt… If he ever opened the mouth, these pure forces would storm out of his being like a hurricane. And this was precisely why she was too nervous to talk to him. Besides, he had more important to think of…
Whether he accepted it or not, Bolner had entrusted him the fate of this city before dying… a city that was dying too, in a position that permitted little to no hope... And knowing him, chances were that his mind was entirely dedicated to a plan… She hoped so, at least. Because if he fell here, everything was over. The city would be defeated for good, but more horrible… he wouldn’t survive this failure. This was the fate she always wanted to save him from since the very beginning. And now, she had the growing feeling that the deathly grip was tightening on him.
All this, because she had brought him back to this stupid city in the first place! She wanted to save him, and she had thrown him into this hell! They were trapped, and if this last chance didn’t pay off, there would be no happy end for either of them.
Because in the next battle, she knew it, the head of the city himself would stand in the first line, and for the last time...
A sudden clinging behind took her back to earth; the enemy was coming! Hearing the sound of the approaching soldiers too, her human threw a worried yet imperious stare at her. Like on the previous battleground, it was like he managed to communicate his instructions without speaking a word. Run. It was what it meant… And she didn’t need it to be suggested twice!
Amaria ran after him, a delicate task considering the steps weren’t made for a dragon, and that his slower speed forced her to adapt. But they were close now! The gates of the vault were at sight! The young dragoness felt relief gaining her; if they could lock themselves in, they would have some time safe!
But once again, a human showed her a talent she didn’t know about… sneaky ambushes… Out of nowhere, she felt a huge mass covered in metal falling on her back. The weight alone was almost enough to make her collapse. But maybe letting her body collapse would have been a better reflex… A burning pain exploded on her shoulder as a blade pierced her scales, penetrating the muscle. She could even feel the blade hitting the bone, and the suffering was so unbearable that a loud roar of pain escaped her throat, with all the strength of her lungs…
Vision blurred by tears of pain, Amaria instinctively searched for her companion for help… but the face she saw was nothing like his. Torn in a furor she never saw before, it seemed like his eyes were glowing red, while his mouth showing teeth was similar to an enraged animal.
Moving so quickly that she barely managed to follow him with her eyes in her state of confusion, the young man grabbed the armored enemy, and in a scream of hate and insanity, threw him like he was a simple rock. Even with her mind hazed in pain, the dragoness had no doubt about what she witnessed: it wasn’t human strength. It was a power that made her own strength ridiculous. It wasn’t… possible.
And yet, she clearly saw the armored man literally flying down the stairs. The mass hit the floor hardly, rolling into the open door of the vault with a loud sound of metal and groans of pain. Astonished, the dragoness looked up at her human but… it wasn’t him anymore… It was a creature of pure anger she couldn’t recognize…
Coldly, the monster put his hand around her wound, and with his other hand, removed the blade swiftly. The pain made her roar once again, but surprisingly, it only lasted for a few seconds… Fearful, the young dragoness observed the creature rip its own clothes, and applying them with tight pressure to stop the bleeding. No compassion. No sympathy. No mercy. Only duty… She was literally frozen in fright of the boiling aura, like his body was literally irradiating heat. Even her instincts told her not to upset him; it truly gave her good reasons to be more terrified of him than the army coming at this instant!
Walking downstairs, Amaria followed him clumsily, her wounded shoulder making it hard to step. She also kept a safe distance though pressing a bit to enter the vault. More were coming… As soon as he entered, the young dragoness sneaked in as well, blocking the door behind her while the remaining soldiers barricaded it with many large objects. But the door was the least of her worries right now…
Still enveloped in that murderous rage aura, her human’s intentions seemed to get awfully clear…
What was happening wasn’t natural… And she thought him well able to hurt an innocent in such wrath. Fortunately for them all, this creature solely focused his interest on the aggressor who struggled to get back on his feet. His left arm seemed dead, probably broken in his violent fall. But he still held this spark of defiance in the eyes.
Unfortunately for him, death from his first fall would have been a merciful end… As the enemy tried to reach for his gun, the avatar of anger reached his wrist first. In a sinister crack, he twisted the hand in an unnatural way. And a scream of pain filled the room, sending a chill through the body of anyone who could hear it.
“I have had enough of you…” The creature spoke in a voice that sounded like death itself. Grabbing the victim by the throat, he threw him against the stone wall with the same ease he showed earlier. “Murderer. Killer. Tyrant. Hater. Lover of death. Bully. ”
With a boiling rage, the entity enumerated all the words it could use like a despising accusation. But the young dragoness doubted that the man in armor could even hear it… Groaning, it was like he struggled to even keep connection to the world of the livings. And she could guess what the entity was up to when it began to walk toward his injured victim. Like a merciless hunter, he left no escape to his prey.
In horror, Amaria couldn’t even look away. The first terrifying detail was the violent shock of his fist on the jaw she swore she could hear before the strike. And like a growing fire, the dreadful voice turning into a furious scream of madness as he armed another punch. The foolish soldier didn’t have any right for last words… only a desperate, weak growl of pain that was quickly silenced for good.
Relentlessly, like each punch was generating more power for the next, the crack of the bones soon mixed with a disgusting squishy mess of crushed organs. And when it couldn’t get any more frightening to her, and probably to everyone around, she realized the cracks weren’t only coming from his victim’s skulls… but also from his knuckles! What kind of mad creature would keep hitting an already dead body with a wrecked hand?!
With tears filling her eyes, she watched this beast stopping its frenzy when it began to hit more stone than bone or flesh. Still insensitive to the pain he should have been enduring, he threw the – almost – headless body on the ground and stared at it with an enraged face, breathing hard. Curiously hard even. While the young dragoness held her own breath in dread, he seemed to struggle to find his. If it didn’t feel pain… could it feel exhaustion?!
“Please… Calm down… It’s over now… you need to calm down, to tell us what we have to do… please…” She begged, terrified. The creature turned its furious face toward her. Under such stare, even the dragoness felt vulnerable… if he attacked her, she wasn’t even sure she stood a chance.
“A…Amaria?” he called her, like he was returning from a trance, then grabbing his wrist with a grimace of pain. His wrecked hand had to be a real torture. Nobody around dared to move; they probably still feared the monster that the dragoness felt leaving his body. He was back but… at which cost… Glancing around, panting hard, his eyes stopped on the big door that began to emit loud ‘BONG’. The enemy was at their gate, and who knew for how long the barricades would hold on… They were trapped, and everyone expected him to say what to do.
“Everyone, we have just one chance.” He talked to the crowd with some groans punctuating his words. “We can activate a weapon that will ensure our survival. But I need an element for that, a pendant that is hidden somewhere in this place. I need every one of you to look for it. A pendant, with two ovals crossing at the center, made of some kind of silver.”
The humans around looked at each other, visibly confused. It was like they pondered the sanity of the man trying to lead them, probably not understanding how a pendant could take over an army. But another big ‘BONG’ on the metal door blasted the remaining of his patience.
“NOW! BEFORE THE COME IN TO MURDER YOU ALL!” he shouted furiously. As kind as he usually was, he obviously had no time to lose with discussion. And Amaria joined him on this point… He had been put in charge against his will; at least they could have the decency of not contesting his orders!
Motivated by their fear, the humans dispersed around the huge room, digging into antiquities that had probably remained untouched for centuries. It was a little relief for the dragoness to finally see them making themselves useful, but she still couldn’t let go of how dramatic the situation was.
“Tell me you have a plan, my human…” she asked him, a bit desperate, looking down at his wrecked hand with concern. With a near future so dark, she needed some kind of reassurance. Forgetting about their rules in public, or rather disregarding them since it might be their last day together, she rested her head on his shoulder, holding him close with an arm. She wasn’t ready to let him go, and she doubted she ever would be… “We’ve been through so much… Please don’t let it end here…”
To her surprise, she felt his arms embracing her as well. He usually never wanted to express signs of affection in public. He had to be terrified as well, to ignore his most sacred rules…
“I love you, Amaria…” He whispered, his voice shaking a bit. “And I need you, now more than ever…”
Breaking the embrace, he looked at her straight in the eyes. His expression of silent fear, hidden behind the focus of the leader he had to be, gave her chills. Her human was too inexperienced, too young to lead an entire city. Why did it have to be him?!
“Bolner showed me a map of this place.” He spoke flatly, eyeing on her wounded shoulder. “I don’t trust these people… I think I know where he put the pendant, and I need you to go find it for me. I need to stay here to organize them. Follow the right wall of the room, and you’ll find a little room where Bolner stored the most valuable objects. It should be there… Could you do that for me?”
There was distress in his gaze. The weight of responsibility was crushing him on the inside; she knew him enough to recognize the signs. When he was like this, the dragoness couldn’t help but assist him, to show him he wasn’t alone in his demise.
She smiled to him. This was probably the best thing she knew to reassure him in hard times.
“When this is over, I’ll have to teach you that it’s kind of stereotype to use a dragon to find jewelry.” She served him this little joke, in hope it could relieve him from at least some pressure. And also to relieve herself with some. Amaria leant to give him a little lick on the cheek. “I’ll be right back. Make them hold on, and I’ll do the rest. Please just hold on.”
“I will.” He spoke like he was resigned as she began to walk clumsily to the place he indicated her.
She had seen him stressed in the past, but before, she was too naïve and innocent to understand the real danger. The young dragoness missed the times when her only response to crisis was to tease and reassure him, without thinking of the consequences. Now that she had seen his world, what humans were able to do… she genuinely felt terrified about what was happening. And she was glad to also have something to focus on, to make herself useful.
Around her, unknown wonders were being moved and thrown apart by people who didn’t even care about their value. Amaria didn’t know any of those either, but something in her felt upset to see them disrespecting these objects so casually. Like a feeling she couldn’t explain. Dragons sometimes valued treasures, but it was strange to instinctively consider these weird relics as precious. Fortunately, she had other matter to care about now…
Turning on the right like her human advised her, she felt a bit uncomfortable as she had to get through a narrower way. She could feel her wings rubbing against the stone, either side of her. If she had been one year older or so, her size might have been a problem to crawl in there. Finally, she arrived to a larger room, feeling her heart jump in hope.
But the room seemed empty… On the ground, there was a large puddle of a black, thick and liquid matter. The strangest was its smell… iron… copper… she could distinguish various scents, but most of them were metals. Like someone had taken all the metallic objects of this room to melt them… but she was alone in that room, and it was strange that the puddle didn’t solidify at such temperature.
More worrying, no trace of pendant anywhere. A somber thought crossed her mind, what if it had been melt with the rest?!
She looked everywhere, but all her eyes could find was an inscription on the wall, written in large, dark letters, like written with a piece of coal.
“We fell because of our power lust. Never again.” A voice read it out loud, behind her. “Seems kind of ironic… Now we’re falling because we didn’t seek power hard enough…”
***********************************
Focused on the hell to come, the young man watched the remaining soldiers doing their best to contain the assault on the door. The massive hit that came from behind bumped them through the metal at each impact, but they relentlessly came back to their post to accomplish their mission. Keep the innocents safe. A mission they surely knew was meant to end in defeat…
Part of him regretted their position. How nice it would have been to be the one receiving orders instead of giving them, at the moment. At least they didn’t have to bother themselves with questions; they knew what they had to do.
But fate had put him in charge… and all he could do was trying his best.
“E-Excuse me, Mister Drake… Could it be this?” a timid voice called him.
His eyes instantly searching for its owner, they fell on a lady in her mid-age, visibly intimidated. He couldn’t blame her… He didn’t remember what happened earlier, but his hand and the head crushed cadaver gave him a good idea of what everyone saw him doing. Even Amaria had been hurt in the process, apparently… He truly was no decent ruler… If the new head of the city inspired fear to its citizens, then he was no better than the monster that was trying to force their ultimate defenses.
Looking down at the little shiny thing she showed him, the young man felt a new hope gaining him. The ovals, joining at the center, circled by a ring of silver… He recognized it! Not believing that chance was finally smiling at them, he took the pendant in his hands, feeling like he could embrace the lady in a burst of joy.
But at the exact moment he finally grabbed this last hope, an explosion blasted behind the door, and it fell in a deafening sound of resonating metal, crushing the objects that constituted the barricade. Smoke began to invade the entrance, and shadows began to emerge in this cloud.
They were coming…
*****************************************************
Amaria turned to face a soldier in armor, the same that the city’s army wore. Except this one wore lighter metallic parts, a protection that seemed quite insufficient for direct combat… Only the head was entirely covered by the helmet, a particularity she hadn’t seen on other soldiers. The young dragoness could usually see more than only eyes on their faces…
And most intriguing, he didn’t wear any usual weapons, at the exception of a dagger to his waist. Instead, his body was circled by what seemed to be an intertwined rope, and chains with weights at their end.
“We have no time for philosophy.” She couldn’t help but reply harshly as she heard something that alerted her. A massive explosion, and the sound of the door collapsing! She had to come back to him now!
But the soldier only removed his helmet, revealing longer hair, and a thinner face… A female? Amaria wasn’t sure, her dragon eyes found it quite hard to certify. Especially since the soldier spoke in the same tough tone, and served her the same hard stare as the others. Apparently ready for a confrontation, the armored soldier blocked the way, starting to unfold the rope.
“I’m afraid this is all I found to distract you.” The feminine voice became clearer without the helmet. Confused, the dragoness couldn’t help but listen to what she said. Until now, she was convinced only male humans were versed into fighting. “But please, I’d like you to not force me to use other methods. I kind of like you, dragon. And I wouldn’t want to do this the hard way. Don’t make my orders more difficult to accomplish.”
She really spoke in the same manner as all guards and soldiers of this city. Female or not, there was the same tint of honor and righteousness in her voice. Amaria truly believed her words, but it wasn’t reassuring… She had no idea what orders she was talking about. And time was running, she had no time for this!
“What do you mean?! Let me go, the head of the city needs me!” she growled, stepping forward. But something tied her front legs mid-step, and she lost her balance. The chain restraining her movements, the dragoness fell forward and grunted as her lower jaw landed hardly on the stone.
“My orders come from him. I’m sorry, but you’re not leaving this room.” The soldier stated, though the dragoness could distinguish a tone of regret in her voice.
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Western Dragon
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 22.4 kB
Listed in Folders
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