Chapter I
The night was perfectly still in the forrest as
3 men stood against some bushes. Two wore the basic uniforms of the Wyndian
army, each bearing the rank of private. The third wore a more grand suit
of armor. It was covered with white plates and bore a single mark signifying
him as a lieutenant. The man had a giant zweihander sheathed on his back,
mimicing the feeling of power around him. He stood 6'1" and had the blonde
hair, much like any other Wyndian. Unlike the Wyndians of long ago, he did
not have wings, as did the rest of his people.
"Sir," one of the soldiers said. He was young, maybe 18 years of age and
had yet to show any marks of battle. He stood nearly a full head shorter
than the man in white and only had the standard short sword as a weapon.
"Are you sure it is safe to leave Princess Nina like this?"
The man in white turned around to see which of the two had asked the question.
His face was young and showed no signs of the 10 years of war he had seen.
He gave the faintest smile from behind his stern look, "The Princess will
be fine," he assured the troop. "Kyle and Gerad are still with her at camp."
He shifted a bit under his armor, "Besides, we were just taking a short bathroom
break."
"Of course, sir," the man replied with a quick bow. "I'm sorry for being
so worried."
"Not at all, Doran," the lieutenant smiled. "It's good that you take such
interest in the princess's wellbeing."
"Thankyou, sir." The soldier lifted from his bow and wiped the sweat from
his brow. Although it was night, it seemed unusually hot under his armor.
He would have brushed it off as just being from the armor, but his bare face
felt the same heat. It was a kind of thick haze that came with fog, but the
night sky was as clear as could be. "My, sir, it sure is hot tonight."
"Indeed..." The lieutenant squinted at an oddly shaped shadow deep within
the trees. It seemed to move the slightest bit, then vanish as if it had
never been there. A rustle in the trees where the shadow had been alarmed
him, "I'm done, come let us..."
A loud snap echoed through the silent night as something crashed through
some trees a ways back. A scream followed by a roar and shouting came from
the direction of their camp. The screams were that of a female and the roars
of a mighty beast. The lieutenant pointed back to the path they had taken,
"Lady Nina is in trouble! Doran, Miguel, you go ahead!" He pulled his mighty
zweihander from his back and rested it's 4 foot blade on the ground, "I'll
circle around!"
"Yes, sir!" they shouted. The two soldiers unsheathed their swords and lifted
them as they ran down the path. They quickly got to the camp, which had the
start of a fire on one tent. To their right they could see the princess hiding
behind Kyle and Gerad. To their left... "Good lord!" Doran shouted as he
first saw the beast that had roared shortly before. It was a dragon.
The dragon stood at least 12 feet high and had massive wings that probably
stretched 100 feet in order to lift it. It's blood red scales glowed in the
blaze of fire it had started and its mouth smoked of his rage striking from
his eyes. With each step the ground shook, causing Doran's heart to beat
quicker than he believed possible. "Kyle, Gerad!" he screamed as the beast
crouched to prepare to strike, "Get back!"
The two soldiers jumped back as the dragon snapped at them. Barely avoiding
its jaws, they pushed Nina back. "Princess Nina!" the taller of the two turned
his head back quickly, "you must flee!"
Doran and Miguel dashed into the camp area and surrounded the Dragon from
the side. It stabbed at the newcomers with the tip of its tail, but they
dodged and made two quick cuts that reached into its soft flesh beyond its
armor of scales. The dragon roared at its pain. Its neck glowed a bright
orange-red, and it blew flames carelessly into the sky. The blaze spread
and fell like the burning rains of Hell upon the soldiers, who used their
shields to protect the princess. When the flames stopped falling, Kyle let
the princess stand.
The woman wore a pale blue gown, not quite as regal as you would expect of
a princess. She had a small crown on her head and a pendant necklace around
her neck. She carried a rapier, although it would have done her no good against
the mighty scales of the beast they faced, "But, sir Kyle..."
"There is no time to discuss it, lady Nina!" Kyle retorted. "You safety is
our duty! Please! For the sake of your people, you must flee!" Kyle pointed
his sword to the east, "If you can reach the river, go north along it and
you should reach the village of Worrent."
The dragon became impatient and swung its tail around to take the trio out
at once. Gerad ducked while Kyle flipped over the attack. Nine didn't time
to react, before she could think of what to do, Kyle had pushed her out of
reach of the dragon. "Kyle!" Nina shouted as she got up. "I expect to see
you at Worrent." Nina sheathed her rapier and ran into the
forest.
Kyle smiled as she retreated and turned to address the monster, "Alright,
beast, all bets are off now that lady Nina is safe!" He lifted his long sword,
a weapon given to a sargeant. "Doran, where has Lieutenant Myn
gone?"
The private shifted to his right to get a better view of the dragon and said,
"He said he'd circle around!" Doran began to move. He kept pacing, hoping
to stay out of reach of the dragon. Although he had military training for
battle, he was ill prepared for a battle against such an opponent.
The dragon spread its wings, sending a gust of wind outward in all direction.
The force of the gust almost knocked the knights off of their feet, but they
managed to stick their ground. Kyle pulled his sword back and began to charge,
"Gerad, move to the dragon's left! If we attack from all sides we're sure
to strike him!"
Gerad ran to the dragon's left side as Kyle took the beast head on. The dragon
heated its breath once more, and as the glow swelled within its throat, flames
came forth to swallow Kyle. He spin in midair, just managing to brush past
the flames. Coming out of his maneuver, Kyle gave a downward slash at the
dragon's right front leg. As he struck, sparks flew and the scale refused
to reveal the dragon's flesh. "Damn!" Kyle landed and took a short leap back
to avoid bing crushed by the dragon's advance. "His scales are too
strong!"
"Yah!" Gerad struck his own blade against the scales, but nothing gave. The
beast did not even flinch under the steal weapons, but gave a look of rage
with each strike.
Doran watched as Kyle and Gerad made another strike, and suddenly remembered
drawing blood from the beast's under side. "Kyle! The beast's underside si
not well protected! We can strike there!"
"Rah!" Kyle shouted with all his rage and twisted his sword in an upward
motion. The cold blade punctured the dragon's inner thigh, bringing forth
its red blood. "Yes! We have you now!"
The dragon roared to the sky in pain, slashing at the Wyndian soldiers with
its tail. Its throat glowed brighter than ever, and flames came bursting
out in all directions as the beast went into a frenzy. The soldiers quickly
scattered as the flames rained down on them. Trees caught on fire and sent
the forrest ablaze as the dragon tore through the trees with its massive
tail. It leapt into the air and sent gusts of winds down with its wings as
it began to fly. It took to the east, sending chills through Kyle's body
against the hot blaze he stood in. "Princess Nina!"
****
Nina had reached the river Kyle told her about.
Turning to her left, she began to make her way up north along the river.
She could still here the dragon roaring as her soldiers fought it, and even
saw the red glow as it blew fire upon the forrest. She stopped, looking back
as the flames grew larger, the forrest had caught fire. "Oh no!" Nina turned
to run when the scene became silent. The faint sound of something passing
overhead caught her attention. She looked up and saw the shadow of something
just passing her. The ground shook violently and sent her tumbling to the
ground. Nina looked up again and saw the dragon, in all its glory standing
before her.
"Ah!" Nina screamed and shielded herself with her arms as the dragon began
to heat its breath. The dragon pulled its head back and shot forward to blow
its powerful flames when Myn came vaulting over it.
He screamed with all his fury and dragged his
zweihander in the back of the beast. While the others were unable to break
the dragon's armor, Myn's zweihander proved too sharp. When Myn landed, a
large cut spanned the dragon's entire back and blood leaked to the ground.
"Princess Nina!" Myn shouted back as he drove his blade through the ground
creating a shroud of dust to blind the dragon, "Retreat to Worent. I shall
handle this!"
Nina didn't need to be told twice. She got to her feet and made tracks as
Myn lifted his mighty zweihander to his face. "Come..." He whispered to the
monster, "come and face your doom!"
The dragon charged despite its injuries. Myn flipped over the dragon's snapping
teeth and made another cut along its back, this one crossing with his first.
The dragon collapsed to the ground, but refused to die. It rose again shortly
and began to swing its tail at the knight. Myn, unable to dodge each swing
was batted into a tree. The tree cracked as he collided with it, and his
breath was stolen by the sudden pain he felt. The tail came around for another
strike, but Myn brought his sword up and let the tail's own path cut itself
off.
The dragon seemed to reflex its entire body in shock and gave a waning roar
as it fell back to the ground. ITs glowing through faded and Myn rested his
breath as the dragon died peacefully.
"Sir!" Kyle came rushing through the trees followed by the three privates.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes..." Myn said as he got to his feet. "How is our
camp?"
"Completely destroyed by the fire, sir." Kyle took a closer look at Myn,
"Your face..."
Myn brushed his hand over his face and felt a cold substance. He looked at
his hands, and under the glow of the night sky, he saw a purplish liquid.
"It's nothing. Just a little blood." He rubbed the blood on a tree and explained,
"I took a blow from its tail, thankfully I wasn't knocked out." He retrieved
his b;ade and sheathed on his back, "We better get to Worent."
****
He watched as a man dressed in white armor drove
his blade through him. His body felt the cold of the blade followed by the
heat of blood rushing through the cut. Falling to the ground, dirt clogged
his nostrils, forcing him to cough. He watched in fear, but was not himself.
His form was inhuman, and the experience seemed out of place. The man in
white stabbed and the man suddenly awoke to the roar of a dying beast in
the forrest. "Man..."
"Hey, Ryu..." a man mumbled from below, "you up again?"
"Yeah..." The man rubbed the sweat form his face and looked at his hands.
I'm ok... but what was that dream about? He looked to the window and
saw that the sun had already begun to rise over the horizon, golden beams
just barely lighting the sky. "Well... I might as well get up." Ryu leapt
off of his bunk and made his way to the showers. He removed his clothes and
turned the water on, relaxing in the hot shower. Today we move
out...