Tempest: Dragon Age
Summary: As the Battle of Battles draws near, the Free People ready themselves for War and as such they dare to tame the wildest, dangerous creatures known to civilisation.
Rating: T for safety.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately... Not one dragon egg.
All of my stories are interconnected unless stated otherwise.
Important: This story is heavily connected to my instalments "Tempest at War" series that explore the time before, during and after Dagor Dagorath. It will make more sense if you read them.
My stories are now available in the form of a list in chronological sequence on my bio.
Enjoy!
~S~
Former land of United Kingdom,
Modern Age,
Maglor knelt by the nest, his face troubled. The nest was made of stone, covered with moss and twigs. Burning embers were placed right in the middle and four eggs were arranged on top of it. All eggs were in full hues of blue, green, orange and red.
"Dragon eggs," Maglor remarked under his breath. Then he continued in a louder tone, "Are you sure about this? Are you absolutely certain the dragons will help us?"
Celegorm smiled apologetically and shook his head.
"There is no guarantee."
"Splendid," Maglor muttered. "Yet another variable we are not sure about." The other brothers murmured an agreement.
"I agree with Maglor," Amrod said thoughtfully. "This is too risky, even for us. This is the kind of mistake that will have most of our people killed." Celegorm looked annoyed.
"Contrary to popular belief of you all and our father, people and creatures do not work the same way as machines and other things we make in forges. They have feelings, opinions and personalities. I cannot make a judgement when I know they can be unpredictable."
"I agree," Maedhros said to Celegorm, raising a hand to calm him. "But we must see it from our armies' perspective as well. Seeing dragons amongst us will not be good for them. They were once enemies, after all."
"Well, he now has a nursery of them," Maglor said. He raised himself to his full height and dusted both his hands and knees before looking around. They stood in a wide hall with overly warm atmosphere. Numerous eggs were piled in many nests, all of them warming over a pile of burning embers. A few newly hatched dragons loitered around, stumbling over their claws, wings or tails. "I wonder what mother would have said if you dragged a baby dragon into our house when we were younger."
The seven brothers, all of them remembering how Celegorm brought animals into the house from a wood mouse to a lone wolf, laughed.
Suddenly, a black mass appeared out of nowhere and tackled Celegorm. He yelped as a baby dragon scrabbled up his legs, over his chest and tunnelled its way into his shirt through his open collar. Numerous buttons ripped in the process.
"Get out," Celegorm barked, grabbed the tail that still peaked out of his shirt. It flipped out of his grasp, striking his chin in the process.
"I think they see you as their guardian," Maedhros observed.
"Their father," Caranthir corrected with deceptive mildness. Everyone knew the milder he spoke, the likelier he was hiding his amusement.
"Dragon Papa," Maglor supplied helpfully. All six brothers quickly stifled their laughter as Celegorm threw them a murderous glance. He gripped the tail with renewed strength and pulled the baby dragon out of his shirt. It dangled upside down comically, like a misshapen possum on a misshapen branch. The creature's wings were curled tightly around the body, trembling lightly.
"Are you afraid of something?" Celegorm asked, his annoyance turned into concern. The dragon gave a noise that sounded suspiciously like complain. It unfurled its wings, and with a single flap, turned itself upright. Celegorm released the tail immediately and waited for the dragon to fall into his open arms. He cradled it close to his chest. The dragon gave loud, long noises and clicks before turning its snout to the corner of the room. Curious, all of them turned their attention.
A black cat sat in that corner, licking its paw lazily with a small pink tongue.
"You were scared of a kitty cat?" Celegorm sputtered.
"Frightening," Maglor remarked casually.
"If these are the fearsome dragons on our side, we will defeat Morgoth and his minions in no time," Curufin added.
"Granted, they are little young-"
"An excellent observation," Maedhros said dryly.
"And they seem to have mild temperaments with the way we are raising them-"
"Mild?" Amras repeated in disbelief. Celegorm ignored him.
"But with a little practice-"
"Little," Caranthir muttered. "He says little."
"They will turn out to be very loyal and very effective. I am sure of it."
There was a long pause.
"Effective against mice or something lesser, perhaps," Maedhros said finally.
All the brothers roared in laughter, except for Celegorm.
Celegorm smiled grimly, and turned his attention to the baby dragon in his arms and whispered something unintelligible in its ear. The dragon immediately pounced from his arms and on to a nearby chair. It leaped from there, wings unfurling and flew to a nearby ceiling light. He landed on it, causing the light to sway gently from it cable. It peered at the unsuspecting cat with large black eyes.
And then it blew fire.
The cat yowled in alarm and terror and ran for the door, fire nipping on its hind legs. The baby dragon snapped close its mouth, and shook its head in satisfaction.
"What did I say?" Celegorm said smugly to his stunned brothers. "They just need a little bit of guidance. First cats, and then the dark forces. We'll turn Morgoth's own creations against him."
The baby dragon crowed in a high-pitched, child-like voice of its victory.
~S~
Author's Note:
I initially did not plan to publish this, but since someone asked Celegorm's relation with dragons in the Tempest series, I decided to elaborate the dragons' role a bit more.
I couldn't resist poking fun a bit. :P Babies are cute, no matter the species.
The dragons are basically creations of Morgoth, meant to be used like fire-breathing weapons against his enemy forces.
This story takes place during "Tempest: Prophecy".
Tempest at War series have the following instalments:
-Tempest: England
-Tempest: Modern Age
-Tempest: Stronghold
-Tempest: Prophecy
-Tempest: Shade
-Tempest: Forever
-Tempest: Queen of Mirkwood
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