Prologue
The barren lands of the city of Elomante, capital of the Neminaiil Kingdom were on fire, the screams of fear could be heard for miles, there seemed like there was no hope as rampaging dragons flew on the sky, spitting fire on the army of Elomante, whose weapons could not break through the thick scales of the dragons at hand. Houses, churches, shops and the castle itself were in ruins, blood ran through the water rives surrounding the city as the crimson red liquid filled the homes of the elven city. It was a catastrophic scene, the dragons were too strong, too numerous for the most powerful army in Carcaxia to handle, and the human reinforcements had not reached Elomante yet, having to deal with their own dragon attacks as well.
"Re-group! Archers aim for their wings!" A shout was heard coming from one of the alleys of the city, coming out from it was a rather damaged elven commander, his blonde hair was as dirty as could be, covered in dust and blood, his face showing the sign of struggle, scars covering both his cheeks and forehead, while his armor had been partially destroyed on the right side of his chest, he was fighting though, the wish to protect his city, his kingdom, ordering his body to move, to keep resisting the overwhelming force of a legion of dragons.
"Commander Lassdhrinoel! You are alive!" A group of elven knights came rushing to his aid, close to twenty of them gathered behind him, at the gates of the castle that was the receiving end of a dragon's fire breath. The majestic golden dragon circled the building, towers falling apart after the mighty tail of the beast struck them, soldiers inside burning alive inside their armors as the fire consumed the halls of the castle.
"Do you think we can win?" A nervous voice asked, clearly filled with fear
"Win? Can we even survive this attack?!" Another one shouted, the armor shaking in fear as his voice broke under the pressure of the sight of the dragon's might.
"It matters not, we swore an oath to protect the royal family, to protect our lands, our city, and our very way of living. If we cannot, we might as well not call ourselves soldiers" Lassdhrinoel said in a calm, but rather exhausted voice, the group of elven knights looked determined, but afraid, the dragon stood on top of the castle, letting out a loud, resonating howl that signaled the group of elves to rush into the castle, what seemed to be the last stand for them.
Inside the castle, the group found destroyed relics of the royal family, servants body's scattered everywhere, burnt alive, some still breathed which made them try and help, the scene was gruesome, the damage done by the dragon was noticeable and it was not the only one around. Lassdhrinoel frowned, thinking about how many enemies there were made his skin crawl, he could only wish the rumors he had heard were true: A group of six people had embarked on a journey to seal off the danger of the dragons.
"We have to keep going...we have to stop it" the Commander said as they ran up the stairs of the palace, rubble falling all over the place as the fire grew more vivid, hotter and fiercer, yet none of the flinched, it appeared as if the dragon's howl had vanished any doubts the knights had had. They reached the top without many casualties, a burn here, a cut there, but they were at the pad of the castle, at the very top from where they could see the burning city, the fleeing civilians and the real damage the dragon had made.
"No...This can't be..." One of the knights said in shock, his sword fell on the ground and soon followed his knees, slowly, he removed his helmet as his blue eyes stared at the horrifying scene that could only be seen from such a high place. Elomante was in ruins. There was nothing the knight could recognize, everything was on fire, turned to ashes, crumbled pieces of stone and clay, the greatest city in Carcaxia had been diminished to nothing, nothing but the castle remained standing and, on it, the dragon that started it all, a dragon known by the name of Lanut.
"Elves, humans, dwarfs, you are all parasites of this holy land, weak and feeble, fragile and stupid, your extinction will save this world you have so utterly defiled" The dragon spoke, as a highly intelligent creature could, its voice was deep and dark, full of anger and violence. The group of elves shook, but they all drew their swords, Lassdhrinoel stood in front, taking his sword as well, it shun bright, a single emerald at the hilt sparkled against the fire that covered the city, his eyes locked into the dragon's as fury started growing within him.
"Who are you to judge the actions taken by anyone?! You are nothing but a beast, an instrument of destruction, with no goals, no sense of belonging!" the Commander shouted in anger, the grip on his sword growing stronger as his knees buckled, more so to give him a dash of speed if needed.
"Fool, Galruze has a purpose, he's judge and executioner, he has deemed you unworthy of this world and, as such, you shall be destroyed"
With a might roar and a flap of its wings, Lanut took to the sky far away from the elven blades, the group watched in fear as the dragon took position, they were trapped at the roof top of a burning castle, nothing to defend anymore and, the words of their Commander now fell into empty ears. The golden dragon's fire breath came rushing down the group, a fire that could have melted the very stone the castle was made up, for sure they were dead, this was the end of it all and they had been unable to protect that which was dearest for them.
"Wake up damn it! Stop sulking around and attack his wings!" Lassdhrinoel shouted as the grouped looked up, their Commander had his sword horizontally set across his body, the emerald at the hilt of his blade resonating with power, creating a light barrier around them, rejecting the powerful fire the dragon had sent their way, this however, seemed to be taking its toll on Lassdhrinoel, it was evident he was exhausted, but he was still protecting those who he had sworn to protect, even if that meant his life had to be forfeited.
It wasn't long before they reacted, three of the elven knights had cross – bows with them and immediately started firing at the dragon's wings, caught sleeping by Lassdhrinoel's barrier, Lanut was caught by a few arrows on his wings, though the damage was light, it did nothing but anger the mighty dragon and a powerful roar shook the very foundations of the castle as he came flying down towards them, the knights tried to fight, they tried to stop the rampaging dragon from tearing them up, but a single swipe of its claws send the elves flying away from the roof and onto the land of ashes below them, the mere crushing power of the dragon's claw was enough to kill most of them, the fall dealt with the rest. Only one stood up, drenched in blood, with three of his right ribs broken and his armor completely gone.
"You can still stand up, Elf?
"As long as my heart beats, as long as I am conscious, I will protect that which is dearest to me" Lassdhrinoel said as his body could not take it anymore, his right knee fell to the ground, exhausted, using his sword to keep his body straight, watching as the dragon looked at him, ready to finish him off with yet another swift, powerful stroke of his sharp claws.
The sound of metal hitting against the claws echoed through the barren lands of Elomante, Lassdhrinoel was still breathing and he was surprised that someone had been able to block such a ferocious attack. He could only see the back of his savior, well built, tall, short brown hair, wearing armor that glittered in the fire as if magic itself had crafted such a glorious piece, he was human too. Had they finally been able to send reinforcements? No, that could not be it, this was no army. One by one, the rumored group came running to the Commander's aid, and one by one, they each stood next to each other.
"Who are you...?" The elven survivor asked before he passed out on the ground, exhausted by the fierce battle and the shock of watching his city burn, he was safe for now at least and alive to fight another day.
"Tagard, we cannot take long with this one, the Castle is already in ruins!" A small, bulky dwarf shouted to the man protecting the elven Commander, worry was on his face of course, after all, they were in front of the most powerful dragon known to men and, it had just destroyed the strongest city in the Elven kingdom.
"I know, I will try to be as quick as possible, but this one is no push over...he's Lanut, the messenger of Galruze" Tagard said in a rather...excited voice, as if the fight between him and the dragon could possibly be an even one, one that he had been looking forward to.
"Foolish human, you dare speak his name! I will crush you in the name of Galruze!"
The angered dragon took flight, away from the shinning blade of Tagard and the rather powerful axes the dwarf had, a smirk built up on its scaly mouth as he prepared to launch another fire jet towards the new group.
"Maros! Now!" Tagard shouted as another elf on his group stepped up the incoming fire jet from the dragon's mouth was directed towards the center of their group, the elf though, took out a staff and motioned it in a circle while mumbling some inaudible words, and he was so adept at magic that he barely even needed to recite them. As soon as the motions had ended, a huge blue runic circle appeared in front of the group, acting as a shield against the dragon's attack, the fire extinguishing at the mere contact with whatever spell Maros had casted.
"YOU...!"
Lanut growled loudly, infuriated by the creation of the mage, preparing another lounge attack but before he could even do so, another spell was casted, Maros had created a dark shade on the ground, shadows sprouted from it and launched themselves towards the powerful creature, they wrapped around its legs, arms and body and pulled him down forcefully, slamming it into the ground in front of them.
"You scare me sometimes Maros..." Tagard said as he rushed towards the downed dragon, his sword lifted up high, shining brightly against the fire surrounded the city, but Lanut was not that weak, he was not about to be defeated by such simple tactics, spreading its wings and tightening his body, the shadows broke their hold on the dragon, leaving Tagard open to a swift, powerful strike from Lanut's claw.
"Tagard!" A female human shouted as she rushed towards where the body of the knight had fell, his torso was covered in blood as the claws from the dragon had easily ripped through the fortified armor the knight wore. Two of the other members of the team rushed towards the dragon though, the dwarf and another human with long, black hair that rested below his shoulders, keeping him distracted from their fallen comrade.
"You were too rash, do you really think you could defeat Lanut that easily?
"Gah...I just couldn't stand still any longer...look at the destruction he has caused Alerya"
Alerya's hands emanated a white energy over Tagard's body, it didn't take long before his wounds were completely healed as Alerya's healing techniques were incredibly advanced. Soon, he was back on his feet, holding his sword as he watched the dragon fight against his comrades.
"They need me now...do your work" Taggard said in a teasing voice, winking at the cleric and making her blush somewhat, as soon as he rushed towards the dragon, Alerya began to chant in a language that not many could understand, her hands made signals as the chant was ended and from her white, divine hands streams of magic where sent towards the bodies of his companions, making them stronger, faster and way more durable against the dragon's attack.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Lanut scowled as he was being overwhelmed by the three warriors, the black haired human was specially giving Lanut a hard time.
"Lorjas, swift as ever, one would wonder why you could never defeat me back in the military" Taggard said as Lorja's sword struck the dragon's scales over and over with ease, exhausting already pilling up on his body though, as dodging and blocking the creature's attack was no easy feat.
"Everyone did, your determination to win was insane, no matter how many times I struck you...you always got up!" Lorjas responded as a tail sweep from the dragon connected right on his gut, sending him flying backwards, he cried out in pain, as the powerful hit cracked his ribs and blood spilled out from his mouth.
"Fools! Your swords are no match to my scales...your body will fall before mine does...and your extinction will conclude!"
"Lorjas!" Taggard and the dwarf shouted as they got distracted for a brief moment, the dragon flapped its wings one more and took flight, but Maros and the sixth member of their team were prepared.
"You are not going anywhere" An tall, elven figure said with a smirk as he took out a long bow from his back and fired at the dragon's wings, Lanut laughed at the attempt, as his scales would be strong enough to fend off such a weak attack.
"You are mistaken if you think we have defeated so many dragons before without some kind of strategy..." Maros said in a calm, laid back voice as from his staff, a cloud of shinning blue magic flew towards the arrows shot, they covered them with ice property and as soon as they hit the dragon's wing, they froze completely, dropping the dragon back down.
"You will all pay for this...none of you shall leave alive" Another growl came from Lanut's mouth, enraged at the group's tactics for dealing with him, his eyes though, set on something else on the battlefield. He saw Alerya, her hands shinning white on Lorja's torso, the blood that was coming out from his broken ribs slowly subsiding and the knight slowly regaining consciousness. He then thought back at how stronger the three were after her white magic had come to them, she was the one empowering these warriors, thus, the one who should fall first.
"Bralin, now!" Taggard shouted as the attacks on the dragon continued, the sword and ax of Taggard, and Bralin striking the thick scales of the dragon as suddenly, it dashed through them both, knocking them away. Surprised, Taggard and Bralin gathered themselves up and looked at the dragon as he dashed away, reading their weapons once more.
"I never heard of a dragon running from a fight!" Taggard shouted as he ran behind Lanut
"Yeh, you are supposed to face a challenge!" Bralin added as the plump, small man ran behind Taggard when he noticed something bothersome.
"Lorenze...what's wrong?" Bralin shouted as he hit the back of Taggard's body, his comrade had stopped moving and seemed to be in shock, he looked around and even Maros, who was as cold as ice had that same expression.
"T-Ttaggard..." A blood filled mouth spoke, spitting blood onto the ground next to Lorjas, the knight was still unconscious, though his wounds where healed, in front of him, Lanut stood victorious, his claws drenching in blood as the body of Alerya stood on her knees, her back ripped by the claws of the dragon, a hole on her side bleeding profusely and her life essence slowly running away.
"ALERYA!" Taggard shouted as tears dripped from his eyes, he rushed towards the dragon in a mad driven frenzy, Lorenze, Bralin and Maros all tried to react towards their frenzied companion, every ounce of strategy was dropped as the violent attack ensued.
"Taggard, calm down!" Lorenze shouted as he had already started firing arrows at the dragon once more, with the help of Maro's magic, Lanut had to be incredibly careful about those arrows, but the patience of the dragon seemed to be running out. These group of humans was pushing him like no other had before.
"You...insects...you really think you can defeat the messenger of Galruze?" Lanut laughed and with a single, powerful shake, he destroyed the ice that covered his wings. Maros looked shocked, Lorenze in disbelief as he kept firing arrows at the mighty dragon.
"That can't be...that spell has downed countless dragons in our journey..." Maros said as he tried a different spell, this time it was aimed at Lanut, rather than the arrows Lorenze was firing. The spell turned the air into a cold, hard blizzard, slamming against Lanut, whose skin this time started to shine, it looked like something was about to happen.
"No...This can't be..." Lorenze said in a terrified voice, his bow started to shake and shine, as the dragon flew up into the sky, as the group looked up they could see the figures of more dragons gathering towards the destroyed city, even as powerful as they were, there was no way they could defeat more than one dragon at a time.
"Taggard...go to the castle...finish the ritual! We will fend off Lanut!" Bralin shouted and Taggard nodded, even though he did not wish to leave his comrades behind, there was no other choice with Alerya now dead. The ritual to seal off the dragons, to strip them from their power had to be completed and only him and Alerya knew the language needed to do so.
"So that's your goal? You will go nowhere!"
As the dragon lounged towards Taggard, Bralin jumped in the way, placing his Ax against the beast's claw, a loud, metallic sound echoed through the battlefield as Taggard approached the crumbling castle, Lanut kept trying to chase after him, but his efforts were interrupted by Maros, Lorenze and Bralin.
"He's strong...stronger than any other dragon we have fought before!" Bralin said as he blocked yet another of Lanut's claws, while Maros created another shield to fend of his fire breath, then, the unthinkable happened once more. With a swift swipe of his tail, Lanut hit Bralin's legs, making him fall to the ground and lose control on his ax, with that split second of chaos, Lanut's claws found their way into the dwarf's chest, sinking deep into it and causing blood t be spit out from his mouth.
"Bralin!" Lorenze shouted as he tried rushing towards their fallen comrade, Taggard lost in the crumbling castle that was now completely destroyed, Lorenze, being as reckless as he was, got distracted by the death of Bralin, not noticing what was coming towards him, a jet of fire hit through him, the pain and burn making him fall to the ground, Maros watched as his comrade burnt alive, the bow he held though, didn't seem to be getting damaged at all.
"Now...only two left" Lanut said with a grin as he approached Maros, he stared at him, angered and hurt, finally showing emotions towards his friends, though, there was nothing he could do, in a flash of light, Maro's disappeared from the battlefield fleeing the scene of horrific death.
"He is dead...isn't he?" Lanut questioned himself as he looked over to the crumbling castle, the fire and stones that had been destroyed must have taken Taggard's life, and as he pondered this, he approached Lorja's body ready to give him the final strike.
As Lorja's eyes opened, he saw what they had come here for, Lanut was about to strike him down, to kill him, but his body started glowing bright and a sense of panic took over the dragon's body. Not long after the body of the dragon shrunk, turning into a golden orb with the figure of a dragon in its center, the flying dragon's coming disappeared as well and Lorja's knew what this meant. Taggard had completed the ritual.
He got up and saw the scene, Alerya bled to dead, Lorenze burnt alive and Bralin's body mauled by the dragon, the elven Commander behind him was still alive, but he had to go to Taggard's, to inform him of the terrible faith of their group.
It didn't take long for him to reach the crumbled castle, a deep, heavy rain had started pouring down, putting out the fire that remained on the destroyed city of Elomante, as he reached the center of the castle, Taggard as sanding right in front of what would be the throne room, his head held down, his sword on the ground, as if he already knew the faith of his friends.
"They're dead...aren't they? Taggard asked
"Yes...they are" Lorja's answered
"Did the dragons vanish?"
"Yes, you did well, my friend" Lorjas said as he held the golden orb Lanut had turned into on his left hand, watching it closely.
"I guess we can now claim the throne from Siverius, we defeated Lanut" Taggard said, sorrow obviously filling his body.
"No, my friend WE do not claim the throne...Iclaim the throne" Lorja's said with a smirk as Taggard's head started to turn around, but before he could finish his motion, Lorja's dark blade piercing through Taggard's body, blood dripping down from both the back and front of his body.
"W-why...I...I thought..." Taggard coughed up blood as he held the open wound on his torso, he fell to his knees as Lorja's looked down at him, the knowledge of becoming the King of Men after Elomante had fallen making him feel like the strongest man in the world.
"Now...you cannot say I never defeated you...but the world will think you were killed by dragons...and I was the one who saved them" Lorjas smiled and sat down on the badly damaged throne, a smirk on his face and a dying Taggard at his feet.
Meanwhile...
Outside, Commander Lassdhrinoel woke up, watching the destroyed city, dragons gone and the bodies of the heroes who had saved him, and by the looks of it, defeated the dragons as well. He crawled towards Alerya, Bralin and Lorenze, taking them under his body and with a quiet chant, disappearing from the site, just like Maros had done.