15 years ago…
All around him battle sounded. The entire bastion shook with the sheer force of the power being used. He raced down a long hall, moving at seemingly inhuman speed, a host of men and women running behind him. Finally he reached one of the many holes and breaches in the walls and stared out at the carnage.
Figures duelled and fought all over the mile long and wide grounds, flashes and beams of light danced between the fighters as they casted spells at a deadly rate, dozens falling every minute. He should have been able to see for miles around from this high up but the entire mountainside and sky was full of thick black smoke.
Dragons and other beasts of the sky dived and spilled though the air like massive darts, roaring as they swiped and bit at each other in Ariel combat, while many others already littered the churned earth, huge forms lying smashed amidst the carnage.
"Warriors! We must head them off at the main hall. All non-combat staff and the auxiliary companies are evacuating. We need to hold these scum long enough for everyone to get away. Sergeant Philips, get to the vault. Use the lockdown, get everything away. Someone dropped the wards; the order is compromised. Run hard, fun fast and I will find you when this is finished."
He stepped forward and clasped the sergeant's arm.
"The order has been battered but it will not fall. As long as the records are safe, we may yet have hope."
Turning his back he continued his charge down the hall, now passing duels between men dressed in armour of chainmail and scales and others in long black cloaks and robes, each with a mask concealing their faces. He saw bravery and courage as the armoured fighters fought the robed to the last, the spells being used so powerful that entire walls and corridors were exploding and collapsing.
Finally he emerged in a massive entrance hall, at least a hundred meters wide and twice that in length, with a statue of a dragon, phoenix and a wizard and witch at the centre of the floor. Despite the carnage around it, the statue was completely untouched, protected by the strongest magic.
The walls of the great hall were covered in pictures and writings, and all along were great urns and statues that lined the width of the hall.
Nearly forty of the armoured warriors duelled with three times there number using not only wands but hands to cast spells, many with drawn swords that seemed to be channelling spells though them from their wielders as they hacked and slashed with them. Drawing his own wand he readied himself to die fighting alongside his order.
"FOR THE FLAME! FOR BATORION! FOR RUS!"
With an echoing roar the warriors with him charged, crashing into the mob of Death Eaters before them and sweeping the frontlines away.
He launched himself in a full tackle bringing down one of the cloaked figures hard, using the same momentum to roll to his feet instantly. A second cast a curse nonverbally at him, only to miss as he stepped back, bringing his boot down onto the fallen figures hand seemingly on purpose, crushing the bones.
The man who had cast the spell had a flicker of fear run though his eyes; surly no one could be so precise? He smiled coldly as he cast his own spell of 'depulso' knocking the robed man flying to the other side of the hall. Drawing his sword he faced four more of the Death Eater's, his right handing glowing as it wielded a wand with carvings and strange symbols all along its length.
His opponents began to cast spells instantly, only to watch in disbelief as he flicked his wrist and moved so quickly that every spell they had cast seemed to be hit by two or three spells each, transfiguring mid air into birds or just simply blocking them.
The man rolled under the last two of the spells, in the same movement coming to his feet as he swept his left hand so fast the sword was just a blur as it cut the feet of one and slashing the stomach of another dark wizard. He swayed, bending backwards at the knee so far he was defying gravity, avoiding the green light the far right man had cast. Swinging back forward he blasted the left-hand man with his wand as his sword came down, straight into the chest of the one that had lost his feet.
"AVADA KEDAVRA" someone screamed behind him. In a flash he dropped rolling in mid-air to land of his back, facing the features of one of the few he had ever trusted, as the spell hit the man on the right. He didn't see that though as he stared in the direction the killing curse had come from.
"Tull! You did this? You dropped the wards?" he uttered in disbelieve.
Tull just smiled coldly at him, raising his blackthorn wand once more, his long cloak fluttering behind him as his pale sharp features flickered in the flashes of the spells and explosions all around them. His voice was cold and unforgiving.
" You really thought I would stay your lapdog Corbec? You truly are naïve. My new lord has shown me powers beyond your imagination and now you can not hope to defeat me. The order is weak. With the dark lord I shall rebuild it in his name and…"
What ever else he was going to say was drowned out by the roar of one of the greatest and oldest of the dragons left in the world as Corbec's dragon Ebonia swept though the broken roof, blazing her fire over a group of new arrivals of death eaters that were pouring though the massive oak doors on the other side of the statue.
Her scales were of the darkest green, though many were covered by the massive plates of sliver armour that covered her vast body from head to tail, easily two hundred foot long, and perhaps more than 60 high, and that was when she was crouching.
Seeing her gave him new hope and defiance leapt into his eyes and he rolled to his feat to face the traitor. He drew himself up to full height, his own armour of sliver mail and dark green scales from Ebonia blazing in the fire that raged all around. His eyes hardened with loathing as he looked straight into his once apprentice and friend.
At the same time they began to cast spells powerful enough to split the stone of the halls floor, diving and jumping at a degree of co-ordination that defied all reason of logic. Spells were ducked, jumped and dodged as much as blocked and deflected as they volleyed spells so fast at one point the trail could have been one beam instead of about twelve spells cast separately. The air was rent and ripped which the spells sheer strength.
"Incendia ledo" Corbec snarled as he cast a second spell non-verbally with his free hand, the power of the first splitting Tull's shield of magic allowing the second to smash him down with all the fury of ancient powers that the rider's possessed.
His eyes lit up in fear as he stared in horror at the sight before him; Corbec stood framed against a swirling inferno of flame and death, his eyes lit in the anger of betrayal, power crackling all around him in an aura of energy, his cloak of emerald green billowing in the air. It was a sight to inspire fear in all that beheld it.
All except one.
Tull's new master strode uncaringly thought the fire, contempt filling his face. His name was one that the entire wizarding world shook in fear of. Voldemort. His presence seemed to fill the entire atmosphere in fear and suffering as he strode up to the two figures.
"The esteemed Corbec I assume?" he said, bowing mockingly " such an honour I'm sure…… then again, maybe not as you wont live long enough to savour it" He smiled, so cold and snakelike.
Corbec matched his smile with one of his own, full of contempt.
"Well if it isn't old mouldymort himself, come to see what a real duel is?" he asked sweetly, smiling inside as the features of the snake face In front of him snapped into anger.
Voldemort's wand already rising as Corbec ducked into a fighting stance.
"I'll make this perfectly simple. First tell me where the Potter's are. Secondly you will hand over the contents of your order's vault. Do it or I will destroy the Order of the Flame once and for all, each and everyone of you will suffer beyond imagination before you die!" the dark lord hissed with his voice full of malice.
Corbec just calmly said exactly what he could do with his 'suffering beyond imagination'. Unsurprisingly Voldemort was not amused.
"Crucio" Voldemort screamed the power he was pouring into the spell evident as the air crackled once more. Corbec calmly shot a large piece of rubble from the ground into the spell's path, effectively stopping it.
" Incidere, Redimo, caliga vultus" he snapped back in return, the first one looking like it had missed, second being stopped by Voldemort's "protego" and the last hid the air around Voldemort in smoke, hiding him from view. Barley a second later and the smoke formed in a great black snake which was shot forward with Voldemort's wand directing it toward Corbec.
"Incendia contego mihi ex vulnero" he rapped out quickly as the snake sped toward him. A disc of fire burst into existence, flying straight the down the middle of the snake which split in half and was consumed by the flames.
Voldemort then saw Corbec was watching something behind him and spun round to see one of the huge urns that lined the hall falling straight toward him. His thought flashed to the first spell Corbec has said, translating it into cut in his head. He jumped to the side to avoid being crushed but the ancient urn shattered at it struck the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces.
Voldemort swept his wand in a great arc, and the urn pieces flew toward Corbec in a hail of clay shrapnel. A shimmering barrier sprang between them, the clay fragments simply disintegrating upon its surface. A killing curse from Voldemort shattered the barrier and flew over Corbec's head as he sprinted forwards casting a barrage of hex's and curse's from both wand and sword.
With barley ten feet between the two combatants he lunged forward, sword point straight and levelled at Voldemort's chest. The dark lord swayed to the left and cast a fierce curse which smashed into Corbec's chest and flung him across the hall.
Rolling once more onto his feet, the now bloodied fighter flung everything he had at the approaching monster. Voldemort was literally forced onto the back foot, desperately defending against the relentless barrage.
"ENOUGH!"
A blinding flash of light exploded from the shield Voldemort had encased himself in, smashing any nearby back and demolishing a large part of the hall's wall. Panting slightly from the sheer magical effort he had just used, Voldemort advanced into the swirling smoke and dust, toward the place Corbec had been standing.
With a yell, the man in question flew out of the smoke and physically slammed into Voldemort, knocking him down. He rolled swiftly and sprang to his feet, facing the Dark Lord.
Who was looking in disbelief at the dagger imbedded in his chest, black and oily bloody dripping down his front.
A loud clang sounded from deep within the depths of the fortress; the evacuation was complete.
With a grin Corbec gave a mock salute to the shocked wizard.
"A little reminder Voldemort; I may not be the one to finish you permanently but you are far from being immortal or immune to harm. You have failed, to kill me, to destroy the order, to find anything you wanted here."
With that, Corbec leapt a full forty foot into the air, defying everything that remotely linked to logic, rolling mid-air to avoid the spell Tull had finally found the wit to cast. He landed with practised ease in the large leather saddle on the mighty dragon's back as she bent forward to catch him. She crouched immediately, in preparation to launch herself up and out of the down collapsing hall.
"WARRIORS WITHDRAW! ALL COMBAT TEAMS FALL BACK!"
Ebonia leapt and Corbec turned back, casting spells to defend them both from both Voldemort's and Tull's fury as they rose above the ruined fortress.
" Voldemort, you will fall. This I know. It's just a matter of time." Corbec yelled as they sped away.
Ebonia roared, giving the signal to flee. Almost at once they could see other dragons rising from the ruins and joining them from the sky, each with its own riders, some carrying those they had saved. Spells flew backwards into the attackers that began to rush forward to stop escape, but their wasn't much they could do to stop the mighty beast's. Falling into formation the remaining forty dragons of the order of flame raced away to regroup and warn those who were not present at the time of attack. Around them others arose on brooms or being carried away by the phoenixes that had aligned themselves to the order.. Behind them, their ancestral home for over a thousand years burned and collapsed into ruin.
Corbec swore that both Voldemort and Tull would pay. He knew that he could only deal the revenge to one but for now the only choice was to go into hiding. Ordering the riders to regroup in the mountains he left the column of flying beasts to travel north to Scotland. As the dragon and rider flew he could only hope that one day he could rebuild the bastion. The order of flame had been broken but not lost. For thousands of years that had remained in the shadows, appearing to help and defend the world when darkness and tyranny arose. He swore to himself that they would do so again but until then He could only hope.
He cast a protounus charm, and transferred a message to the glowing message phoenix that kept pace with Ebonia as they raced though the sky.
"Go to Dumbeldore and tell him this: he is looking for them. Time has run out, you must perform the charm tonight and get them into hiding. The order is broken, Voldemort assaulted the bastion with the aid of treachery. We must regroup and secure all the remaining strongholds before we can do anything else in this war. For now, you are on your own. Waste no time. You must get the potters into hiding NOW!"
With a flick of his wand Corbec sent the patroni on its way, before collapsing against the back of the saddle. It was going to be a long night.