Solris felt the Astir slam into her. She had still barely registered the collision as they tumbled head over heel. After seeing the dragon fade through Spyro earlier she had to question the solidity of his form. As Astir raked his claws across her crest leaving deep slashes, she realized just how real he was.
Solris screeched in pain. As she writhed under him the dragon's tail blade stabbed into her shoulder cutting the sound short, the sudden agony pulling the breath from her lungs. Solris looked up through teary eyes as Astir ripped the blade out still poised over her. She could feel herself quaking, the threat of her eminent death keeping her contained.
"It's amazing you've survived this long." Astir grunted as he raised his tail to strike again. As he was about to plunge it forward there was the sound of talons brushing across dirt. Astir's eyes darted to the side as he swung his tail around slamming it into Aegis sending the approaching dragon rolling sideways.
"You always were getting in the way." Astir grumbled as he eyed the drake. "Why don't I send you to visit your brother."
Aegis faltered at the mention of his sibling and bared his teeth a moment later. It didn't mean much as Astir laughed deeply ripples of purple energy bursting from around him. A veritable storm of energy blasted through the area. It was all the dragons could do to simply avoid being caught in it. Even so the searing plasma clipped them on occasion leaving blackened scales.
The sudden eruption of power seemed to at least jog Solris from her stupor. Her chest and shoulder wounds were burning. She could feel her blood dribbling across her scales. Still she forced herself to focus. Her silver eyes shimmered as the wind around them kicked up. Astir turned back to her looking satisfied with the damage he'd already done. Before he could take in her appearance however a torrent of air blasted into him. The force of the gust was so strong that it knocked him into the sky. As if he were defying gravity the wind held him there.
As the onyx dragon struggled Solris rolled over. Tensing her muscles momentarily she released the pent-up energy leaping skyward in the blink of an eye. The dragoness drilled her horns into Astir knocking him higher and out of her element's hold.
Solris landed on shaky limbs as Astir crashed down nearby. She could feel the lack of oxygen in her veins and she panted heavily trying to give her muscles their much-desired nourishment.
"Solris!" Cynder shouted rushing to the dragoness. Her speed was hampered by several burns that had been inflicted from the plasma storm earlier. She ignored the pain, as she came to her friend's side.
"I'm fine." The dragoness commented between breaths.
Cynder grimaced at the grisly wounds on her chest. "You need to stay here, we'll handle this."
"Like hell you will!" Solris retorted with determination that Cynder had rarely seen. "We fought him together before, we'll do the same now." She said pulling herself back up as her breathing steadied.
Cynder wanted to argue, but knew they didn't have the time. The two looked to Astir who was still lying on the ground after his fall. He had been surrounded by their friends. As they drew close the dark dragon's form broke into a black mist making Cynder's eyes widen, and the others back winged. Before she could say anything, the mist coalesced once more and the dragon was standing, a wicked grin on his lips.
"No dragon can do that." Cynder whispered as the engagement started once more.
"He isn't a dragon. Astir died all those years ago. I don't know what that is, but it has his memories, it knows about me, about us." Solris spat.
"Then we kill it." Cynder answered grimly as she charged forward Solris behind her.
As the two females grew close, they saw a smile stretch across Astir's face. The black drake tensed his muscles and the air around him seemed to quake. Each of the others faltered as the dragon roared. Above him the very air tore open, a purplish rift quivered in the air. The portal to another dimension erupted with energy blasting each of the dragons backwards.
Spyro tumbled a few times over before coming to his feet, talons raking the dirt to stop his momentum. He shook his head and looked back to the portal. Astir was still standing beneath it smiling, his attention already turned back to Solris. Spyro barely had time to worry as three massive eels slithered through the portal.
They hung in the air looking around slightly disturbed by their sudden change in surroundings. Their translucent bodies began to wriggle uncomfortably clearly agitated by the company they found themselves in. It had been some time since Spyro had been to convexity, but he still remembered the unnerving creatures. He felt slightly better about the fact that they were no longer five times his size at least.
"Aegis, Azshea, can you handle those?" Spyro asked turning to the two recovering dragons.
"We're on it." Azshea replied eyeing the serpents.
"Be careful they use electrical currents to attack." The purple dragon added as he began to move towards the crystal.
"How do you know that?" Aegis called back.
"Childhood trauma." The violet drake shouted over his shoulder as he charged further away.
The couple gave each other curious looks, but quickly focused on their task. The eels were growing more restless by the second and they would soon lash out at something.
"If they use electricity, I'll take two." Aegis said pacing forward. "Kill the other one and back me up?"
"I'll be there before you know it." Azshea replied as she spread her wings and launched into the air.
The bulky lightning drake took a few more steps before letting the energy crackle between his teeth. He spat two bolts each hitting one of the eels. The creatures reared their heads and hissed as they turned on the dragon, finally determining an outlet for their ire.
As the snakes faced him Aegis watched as his mate slammed into the third crashing to the ground in a tangle as she wrestled to get the advantage. He had little time to watch however as the eels he'd annoyed came at him. Before he could blink, they were on top of him hissing angrily. The first snapped its jaw around his font leg while the other opted to curl around him, constricting his body.
Aegis felt a surge of electricity as both tried to fry him from the inside out. He blessed his heritage silently as he mitigated the energy. He couldn't deflect them forever, but he at least wasn't paralyzed.
Having few options, the large dragon threw himself to the ground crushing part of the eel that had been wrapped around his body. The creature cried out in protest loosening its grip. Feeling his opportunity, Aegis pulled himself back up the other eel now repeatedly biting into his flesh to cause more damage. With each chomp more energy entered the lightning dragon's body. It was steadily growing uncomfortable now, not to mention the fang wounds. Aegis turned to deal with the half-squashed creature, but found it had already recovered. The dragon grimaced as it swept forward its maw aimed at his neck.
Azshea wrestled with the eel but quickly found herself losing the struggle. The creature was still larger than her and more capable of contorting in every direction. After a few seconds of struggling she found that it was winding across her body slowly tightening its hold. Try as she might she didn't seem capable of finding a way out of the knotting. With a growl she watched as the eel hissed and snapped its head forward clamping its jaw around her shoulder. She felt the teeth sink through her scales and a moment later the shocking electricity course through her veins.
The dragoness shivered at the voltage. Her mind raced knowing she would have to act or succumb. Her eyes flitted to Aegis and she felt a flare of anger shoot through her as she witnessed his similar struggle. Her fiery emotions gave way to an idea. She did her best to concentrate through the static that was locking her muscles. Summoning her element Azshea's body temperature skyrocketed almost immediately.
Her scales quickly lit up like burning coals. Her brilliant coat was as hot as it was bright and the eel's grip began to weaken as it squirmed under the intense heat. Finally having some room to maneuver, the dragoness turned to face the head of the beast. Opening her maw, she let loose a wave of flames that covered the creature. Whatever hold it had was immediately lost as the eel unlatched its fangs and began to writhe under the fiery exposure.
Before long the snake lay dead at her talons, now nothing more than a burnt husk. Azshea stood and exhaled deeply her scales losing their glow. Knowing she didn't have time to pause, she whipped around and headed for her mate. As she approached, she felt her anger rising as she witnessed the two animals biting at the yellow drake. Aegis was still tangled up in their embrace, the eels resorting to biting him repeatedly after seeing that their electrical attacks weren't having much effect.
Azshea didn't slow as she neared. In one swift movement she leapt up and caught one of the creatures as it reared back. Using her momentum, the dragoness tore the creature from the golden dragon's body. As she landed on the ground again, Azshea spun on her talons yanking the eel further away before launching it through the air. Before it could recover, she spat a fireball. The sphere whistled briefly before colliding with its target and exploding into a cloud of smoke and ash. Through the smoke Azshea saw the eel's body plummet to the ground, the only thing missing was its head.
The dragoness turned to Aegis ready to jump once again into a fight. She stopped short however as she watched the dragon rip the eel from his leg and smash it into the dirt. The creature was only phased for a moment as it floated back into the air before darting forward attaching itself to the dragon's other leg.
Azshea could hear the hum of electricity and knew that the creature was pumping current through her mate. Aegis hardly seemed bothered as he growled in annoyance. Electricity arced across his scales. At first it was directionless, but soon it all focused towards where the eel was attached. Aegis focused and increased the current, redirecting all the excess energy that had been fed into him. The eel flinched at the sudden backlash but managed to stay attached. His eyes narrowing, Aegis forced his own element into the mixture and a moment later there was a deafening crackle. The sound was quickly followed by a sickening spray as the creature exploded, the overabundance of electricity tearing it apart.
"Are you alright?" Azshea asked grimacing at the splatter of guts as she drew close. She knew they didn't have much time as the others were still fighting. She reached a paw towards one of his many bite marks and yelped as a small surge of electricity coursed through her.
"Sorry, it'll take a little while for the excess to discharge." Aegis replied. "I'll be alright, you?"
"Peachy." She answered affording him a small grin.
"Come on then, let's not keep them waiting."
As the eels found their prey in the form of a dragon couple Astir focused on the two black dragonesses before him. It was exactly as he'd hoped for.
"Quite the reunion this has turned into." Astir said idly as he paced towards the Cynder and Solris.
"He wants me." Solris whispered to her friend. "I'll distract him, you flank."
Cynder nodded slightly as she began to create distance between them. Astir watched her with an almost tired expression as she began to circle around him.
"I'm surprised to see you in such good spirits Astir." Solris said flatly drawing the black drake's attention once more.
"I've little to be upset about." Astir smiled.
"Oh? I never thought you were one to take failure so lightly." Solris jeered. The dark dragon leered at her, but he kept quiet. "Or did you already forget about your legacy, or the lack thereof?"
"I struck terror into this world!" Astir snarled. Solris was happy to see such a reaction, she hadn't been sure if taunting him would work. It seemed however that this entity truly did have Astir's entire personality.
"Hardly." The dragoness responded with a snort. "You were nothing more than a whelp at play. Big plans, with no means to accomplish them."
"I had the scale." The dragon growled. "You would have all perished, and this world with you."
"But we didn't." Solris interjected. "And now here we are years later, our world standing, and you nothing more than a phantom."
"Then it's high time I rectify my mistakes." Astir spat as he broke into a sprint.
Solris was more than ready this time as she ducked to the side and bashed the black dragon in his side as he passed her. Astir slid away a few feet before unleashing a wave of shadow fire. Solris beat her tattered wings the winds responding to her call. The fires exploded in a storm of embers. Through them, Astir charged the dragoness again this time his curled horns found their mark impacting her chest,
Solris felt her breath leave her lungs as she tumbled across the ground, dirt caking her still bleeding wounds. As she struggled to rise Astir closed the gap. Giving her no time to recover he breathed more shadows the pitch-black fires enveloping the dragoness.
Cynder heard her friend's screams and knew she didn't have much time. With a graceful dive she phased into her own shadow, black wisps erupting from where she'd seemingly entered the soil. A moment later she burst out from beneath Astir. Her horns caught his soft underbelly and she felt blood trickle down across her skull as the two soared into the air.
With a guttural roar she swept her head to the side flinging the dragon back towards the ground, the loose soil exploding into a cloud around Astir's impact. From her position in the sky Cynder could still make out the shape of his figure. With only a second's hesitation she spat several globs of green acid towards his form. Cynder landed as they sizzled on contact, but she heard no screams of pain.
"Solris?" She asked worriedly not taking her eyes off where Astir had landed.
"I'm okay." The dragoness coughed as she rose back up groaning.
"Get ready, I think we are about to have a problem." Cynder replied as she watched the shadow in the dust moving.
Astir didn't take long to make his appearance. "Truly Malefor did a splendid job with you Cynder." The dark dragon's voice chided as he stepped back into view.
Cynder expected to see him mostly unharmed assuming her acid had missed its mark, and a moment later she almost wished it had. She refrained from using her poison when possible, she had always found it a bit too gruesome. Her attack had in fact landed despite Astir's apparent nonchalant attitude. The dragon had a hole in his chest nearly the size of his head. His organs could be seen pulsing inside beneath bloody ribs. The scales on his flank had congealed and melted in the acidic goo. But most disturbing was his face, which had been borne the brunt of one glob. Nearly half of the scales covering his skull had begun to rot away. Beneath the ragged tatters was blood and bone.
"You should be dead." Cynder mumbled in shock.
"You seem a bit slow on the uptake." Astir said grinning. As he smiled his body began to miraculously heal itself. Wisps of purple energy fizzled around his wounds as they closed. Within seconds it was as though nothing had even happened.
"What are you?" Cynder asked in disbelief.
Astir cackled as he readied himself for another fight. "More than you'll ever be." He spat sinisterly.
As Spyro ran up to the crystal he ducked a sudden bolt of purple energy. He glanced back to where it had struck seeing an indent of blackened soil. Since Astir had shown himself it seemed as though the gem had grown more agitated.
He couldn't be certain, but he'd guessed that the dark dragon's appearance had something to do with the crystal. He'd been dead for nearly two decades, it was too coincidental for him to reappear now. Not to mention his apparent control over convexity. If he could destroy the crystal Astir would likely disappear with it. The only concern was the consequences of simply smashing such an object.
Knowing he didn't have time to contemplate it Spyro reached out a claw. As he drew close, he felt a surge of energy course through him. He pulled back as he suppressed and mitigated the power. Suddenly he was very happy that none of the others had touched it earlier, he imagined such raw energy may have knocked them out or worse.
Seeing that physical force wouldn't get him any results, the dragon took a few steps back and prepared himself. With an earth-shaking roar Spyro opened his jaws, a concentrated beam of convexity bursting forth. The beam impacted the crystal and to the dragon's surprise it didn't simply shatter.
Seeing that this would be a struggle, the purple dragon continued his onslaught holding out hope that eventually he would push past it's limit. He glanced to the others to find them each in their own engagements. Aegis and Azshea had finished off the eels and were making their way to the others. Looking to Cynder, Spyro flinched as he saw her get knocked aside, Astir turning onto Solris.
The assault on his mate and the danger he saw approaching his friend triggered something within him. A fear and rage he hadn't felt in some time. With renewed effort the energy spewing from his maw grew larger.
Finally, the crystal cracked. It sounded as though the very sky had shattered. More and more cracks formed as the deafening sounds continued to assault them all. Resisting the urge to stop, Spyro forced himself to push one last time. Through the purple energy the dragon could see the crystal crumble to pieces. A wave of energy cascaded across the clearing sending every dragon tumbling away.
When the dust settled Spyro opened his eyelids and began to rise. He shook the dirt from his hide as he scanned the area. Nearby he saw each of his friends slowly rising as well. There was, to Spyro's surprise, one additional figure pulling himself from the dirt. Astir was still very much alive.
The dark dragon scowled seemingly unphased by recent events as he once again charged at Solris. The dragoness who was still recovering struggled to prepare herself. As Astir drew close there was a sudden deafening screech. Solris turned to see Cynder as the source of the sound, her eyes blood red.
Astir faltered and quivered before the shriek. He willed his muscles to move, but found himself unable as chills repeatedly ran down his spine. A moment later fire and electricity engulfed him. Through the carnage his eyes stayed pinned on Solris. The dragoness looked away unable to watch any longer.
A few moments later Astir's corpse fell to the ground, charred and broken. Without any ceremony it slowly disappeared into wisps of black miasma. None of the dragons moved until he was fully gone.
"Is everyone alright?" Spyro asked, his voice carrying across the now silent landscape. The others gave various forms of affirmation and Spyro nodded as he approached Cynder. His muscles ached from the use of his power, but he ignored it. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly.
The dragoness smiled back at him. "You never stop worrying about me, do you?"
"Always have, always will." Spyro answered planting a light kiss on her cheek.
The dragoness exhaled lightly in response as she rubbed her head into the crook of the purple dragon's neck. "Come on, let's check on Solris." She hummed, as she started off towards the black dragoness while idly wrapping her tail around Spyro's.
Solris had just managed to stand back up as the two approached her. Aegis and Azshea were on their way as well. Of all of them it seemed she had come out of the fight the worst. Aegis was sporting more than a few bite marks and Azshea some electrical burns however neither seemed life threatening. Solris bent her neck in order to view her own injuries. Her sky-blue crest was spattered with blood. Slash marks were still oozing small amounts of blood as her body did its best to clot the area.
"How are you feeling?" Cynder asked drawing closer as she examined her wounds.
"I've felt better." The dragoness winced. "I think I'll be fine though. Just a few more scars to keep for the memories."
"Any idea why Astir showed up?" Cynder inquired. "He seemed pretty focused on you."
"Like I said, that thing wasn't Astir. It may have had his personality, his memories, but it wasn't him. It's not possible." Solris remarked. "We all saw him die years ago."
"But then what was it?" Azshea asked.
"And those eels." Aegis added looking down to the bite wounds that plastered his leg. "They sure seemed real."
"Those things live in convexity." Spyro answered. "I saw them when I went there as a child. Which means Astir drew them out."
"Do you think that's why there are no guards here?" Cynder asked. "Perhaps this is how the crystal defends itself."
"By manifesting your fears." Spyro said looking to Solris who frowned.
"Sorry." She apologized quietly.
"Don't be. It's not like it was your fault." The purple dragon replied shaking his head. "Do you think you can fly; we need to get you back to Warfang."
"I'll accompany you part way." Solris answered stretching her wings. The others looked at her curiously waiting for an explanation. "I need to return to the order. I already took a risk leaving the city beside you, I shouldn't show myself openly with you again."
"You still want to hide out among them?" Cynder asked sadly. She had hoped that maybe Solris would drop the idea.
"If the gods are using things like this, we need all the information we can get." The dragoness answered. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I have dragons I can count on over there. I think."
Her hesitance only made the others more skeptical. Solris didn't seem to notice as she pondered the circumstances, she would find herself in when she returned. With some measure of resolve she pushed the thoughts away. Regardless of what she faced; she would need to talk to Jaskir first. He would likely be in an infirmary. As she looked down at her bloody body, she imagined she would be too.
"Still no signs of movement sir." A guard reported as he stood a little straighter.
Kalim grunted as he nodded to dismiss the dragon who immediately turned to leave. The elder tilted his head to Clove his doubt fully on display.
"They'll be here tonight." Clove answered sounding annoyed. The previous night had passed without interruption despite his warnings. The dragons of the town had been put on full alert since then. After a full day of waiting for a horde of apes to attack them most were beginning to feel the tension.
"You said that yesterday." Kalim growled. "How do we know you aren't simply wearing us down and once we're good and tired your tribe will attack."
"I don't have an answer for you, and you know it." Clove snarled, sick of the dragon's accusations. "Believe me or don't, either way they will attack, and it will be soon."
"What makes you sure it will be tonight?" Ryn asked taking a step forward. The younger dragons were all in the room watching the two bicker.
"Most apes lack self-control." Clove said eyeing Lyara who looked at him curiously. Her impression was clearly different, but she buried the comment. "Falk won't be able to hold them in place for long. It's amazing he's managed to keep them under control at all."
"Then tonight?" Taelas asked. "You're sure?"
"At dusk, expect them." Clove answered firmly. "If they don't arrive you can kill me where I stand." The proclamation made the younger dragons cringe, but a grin burst across Kalim's lips.
As time passed by the dragons milled about. Each was on edge. There was little on anyone's mind other than the impending battle. Taelas and Aria in particular felt quite trapped. They'd heard tales from their parents over the years. Stories of war and battles, many with the apes of old. The implications of facing them here made them both unable to stand still.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon the young dragons went down to the edge of town, Kalim and Clove in tow. From where they stood, they could see clearly into the swamp before them. For what felt like ages they waited, wondering if Clove's prediction would come true. As the sun set, there was no movement at the edge of the swamp.
"Ready to face your fate ape?" Kalim asked, brandishing his tail as the last rays of light faded over the distant mountains.
"Grandfather, you can't kill him." Ryn argued sounding tired. "He's done nothing but help."
"Your mind is clouded Ryn, the creature has put on an act, but he's nothing more than a mongrel." Clove bared his teeth at the sentiment. The group went quiet for a moment none of them sure what to do.
"Wait." Ryn snapped, making Kalim pause if only for a moment. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Ivarik asked, tilting his head slightly to see if he picked anything up.
"Exactly." Ryn replied darkly, confusing the yellow dragon further. The earth drake turned to his grandfather. Kalim seemed to understand what he meant much to the other's surprise.
"It's quiet." He answered furling his brow.
"The insects and creatures in the bog are never silent after sundown." Ryn explained looking back to the swamp, straining his eyes as he tried to peer into the darkness.
Lyara was the first to put the pieces together among the young dragons. "Unless something is forcing them to hide." She surmised, as she also turned her crimson eyes to the tree line.
"Inside, now." Kalim said bluntly, ushering the group behind the gate they were standing under. "Close the gate." He barked. Within seconds the doors swung closed.
Taelas opened his wings and leapt up to the small ramparts the town had. Their defenses paled in comparison to Warfang. The purple dragon imagined that anything wanting to get through wouldn't even be slowed. At the very least the wall provided a view of the bog.
As the dragon peered over the wall, he felt the others join him. Slowly the dragon started to hear something. A chant began to emanate from the forest. It began small, but quickly swelled into a cacophony. Slowly, eyes began to light up the darkness, a mixture of yellow and purple slits.
As the chant reached its climax apes burst past the swamp's edge. So many piled into the open area that Taelas immediately lost count. While most were the typical variety an alarming number of the creatures had clearly been mutated by convexity. Their eyes were purple, muscles swelled, fur ashen, and jowls slavering.
"Don't let them reach the wall!" Taelas heard Kalim shout over the din. On queue every dragon standing ready focused their power. In the blink of an eye the area between the bog and the town exploded into an elemental cataclysm. The earth was torn asunder, flames swirled across the expanse, lightning sent bodies flying through the air, and ice coated any who remained.
Through it all, the apes pushed forward. Any semblance of ranks gone the first mutant leapt the wall in a single bound tackling an unlucky drake off the backside. Taelas heard the sickening crunch as they landed and the ape began to pummel the dragon into oblivion.
"Don't stand there!" Kalim snarled looking to the young group. "Go take care of things, we'll hold here." The elder said as he spat another ball of fire causing an explosion beyond the wall. Without waiting for an answer, the elder leapt over the edge into the fray, his nimble movements surprising all of them as he tore through any nearby enemy.
"He's right we have to go." Lyara said as she spread her wings.
"I'm going to stay here." Ryn stated suddenly making them all falter. Met with questioning looks he continued. "I'm sorry, I thought when the time came it would be fine but..." The dragon trailed off as he looked around at the worsening battle. "I can't just leave things like this." He finished.
"We wouldn't blame you for a second." Syra answered smiling. "The focal point is our business; you take care of things here."
"Wait." Taelas called, once again stopping his friends as they readied themselves to leave. The violet dragon looked to the ensuing carnage and back to Ryn who seemed to have paled a little. While he hadn't been witness to all of it, even Taelas knew the attack a few days ago was minor in comparison to this one. The violet drake could see why, this was no warband, it was an army.
"Taelas?" Lyara questioned skeptically. She could see the thoughts running through the purple dragon's mind already.
"You know I can't just turn my back." Taelas shrugged as he looked to her, clearly torn.
"You're a nuisance, you know that." Lyara huffed. "We had a mission, you already deviated from it once."
"But, I-
"Why couldn't I have just run into a normal dragon?" The dragoness lamented as she shook her head. "Instead I get stuck with someone who has a sense of justice."
Taelas frowned at her not knowing what to say. The dragoness exhaled tiredly. "I suppose there's worse things." She said turning to him with a faint smile.
"You aren't mad?" Taelas asked confused. He was sure he was about to be reminded of his duty and not to be distracted.
"At least you didn't just run off without giving it a second thought this time." Lyara replied. "For you that's probably some sort of improvement. Besides, it's hard to be mad at someone who's being altruistic." Her explanation brought a grateful look from the dragon.
"Is everyone okay with that?" Taelas asked looking to the others. They each nodded in unison. "Alright, let's take care of this quickly, be careful, watch each other's backs."
As though it had heard him, a mutant clambered over the wall only a few feet from the group. The creature snarled as it reached out and grabbed Taelas' tail pulling him closer. The purple dragon skidded across the surface as he turned and blasted fire into the face of the enemy. The flames hardly seemed to phase the ape as it wound back its fist and punched the dragon square in the chest. Taelas coughed hard as he was sent over the wall and into the cobblestone street.
As he struggled to recover on the ground, he looked up to see his friends charging the creature. Rising up so that he could join Taelas noticed something odd. The ape's ashen fur was beginning to tint towards a violet hue. A warning on his lips, Taelas opened his mouth to shout, but it was too late. Energy exploded from the ape's body. He watched as his friends catapulted away from the force of the explosion, each scattering in a different direction. The wall itself faired no better as it shattered on impact leaving nothing but rubble.
Taelas watched as the ape landed heavily on the ground and beat its chest in triumph. After celebrating its victory, the creature turned its eyes back to him, apparently not having forgotten where he'd fallen. The purple dragon grit his teeth as the hulking ape began stalking towards him.
A spear of ice formed next to the drake and launched forward. The ape, who was only a few feet away now, batted it from the air as though it were nothing. Taelas scowled as the creature swiped at him. Deftly, he ducked the blow before clamping his jaws around the ape's arm. Powerful as he might be, they were still somewhat close to the same size.
With some effort the Taelas wrenched the creature around by the arm slamming him head first into the ground. Once he'd been felled the dragon twisted his jaw making sure to rip through the muscle and sinew at the shoulder. As Taelas jumped backward he watched the mutant's appendage fall limp.
The ashen ape snarled at him as it started to rise, but Taelas was already thinking further ahead. As he landed the earth beneath him cracked from the impact. A ripple of rock spread from him to his opponent. Columns burst forth and held the monster in place. As it struggled to get free Taelas considered his options. He didn't have to think long as he noted the ape's fur beginning to tint once more. Almost without thinking, he conjured ice from the air and sent the spear plummeting forward. This time the projectile hit its mark impaling the ape's skull. The body went limp immediately still held upright by the stone.
Taelas looked away. It wasn't the first time he'd killed something, but in one on one combat the impact of a death stood out more. He knew what would happen had he not acted however. This was a battle; hesitation would lead to death. He pushed away any prying thoughts as he turned back to the hole in the wall the ape had made.
"Ancestors…" The dragon whispered to himself as his eyes went wide. Through the gap he could see a veritable horde charging for them. The barrage of elements outside the wall had stalled out as the dragons had been pushed back. Now that the assault had thinned a second wave of apes was headed their way. Between packs of unaltered apes were the bulky creatures Taelas had just faced down.
The dragon frowned as he stood staring through the gap in the wall. He had to do something to slow them while the others recovered. Only one idea came to mind as he focused his energy. He simply hoped it wouldn't drain him too much.
The earth began to quake in response to his call. As the rumbling continued it meshed with the sounds of the charging army. Suddenly, the ground shook and ripped. The earth beneath the invading forces feet cracked and crumbled. Many lost their footing tripping each other up. Others were swallowed whole by openings in the earth.
Taelas gasped the quake subsiding as he felt his legs buckle. He thought back to his father's display when they'd first confronted Sol and Arum in Warfang. He still had a long way to go obviously. Regardless, his attack had served its purpose. As the army wavered it gave more time for other dragons to draw closer. Taelas grimaced as the first mutant charged across the rubble heading straight for him.
Lyara soared through the air. She had absorbed the convexity energy the ape had emitted, but the force of the explosion had sent her flying regardless. With some effort she flipped herself over and spread her wings. She angled downwards and skid across the cobble, sparks flying from her talons.
As she finally ground to a halt she looked around. Most of the fighting was still at the entrance of the town, but even now she could hear the sounds of combat spreading as apes naturally ducked past the front lines to canvas the streets.
Lyara's head snapped to what she felt was the closest noise and sped off towards it. It didn't take her long to cross the empty streets and duck through alleyways. When she finally burst onto the scene, she cringed seeing the one dragoness she'd hoped she wouldn't run across.
Syra rammed an unfortunate ape into the cobble and breathed a wave of fire that engulfed him until he was nothing more than ash. Before she could react to her next opponent, the dragoness got a face full of fist as a massive grey ape pummeled her into the stones. The fire dragoness coughed as her vision blurred. She struggled to get up expecting another blow any second.
As she blinked through watery eyes, she saw the ape before her fall to its knees its arms wrapped around its body as if it were trying to keep warm. Lyara stared at the creature curiously as it began to howl and shrink, wisps of purple energy wafting from it like steam.
The rosy dragoness turned around to see a purplish figure standing nearby. At first her heart skipped thinking Taelas had come to her aid. As she blinked several more times, she realized her error. Her eagerness was quickly replaced with annoyance as she realized it was simply a violet tinted Lyara.
The silver dragoness had once again pulled the energy from one of the mutants and was storing it inside her own body altering her normally pale complexion. Lyara's eyes flitted to the dragoness before she turned to another nearby mutant who, surprising, seemed to show some concern about what was happening.
His worry did him little good as Lyara opened her maw a beam of purple energy erupting forth. The attack sliced the air punching a hole straight through the unfortunate creature. Lyara winced as the creature fell flat, a gaping hole through its chest.
"Are you alright?" She asked turning back to Syra. Her display had bought them a moment of reprieve from the other nearby apes.
"Fine." Syra mumbled as she stood and turned to face her enemies. Lyara sighed and joined her side, taking notice as the fire dragoness inched away from her presence.
Ivarik spat a bolt of lightning that bounced between three unsuspecting apes laying them low as they shook from the energy. Hardly slowing, the lightning dragon bounded over the bodies to slide up next to the blue dragoness.
"You came for me?" Aria asked sweetly. The question seemed odd as she spat a spread of ice chunks that pelted several nearby apes.
"I wouldn't just leave you alone at a time like this." Ivarik smiled. "Looks like I was a bit late though." He said looking to Ryn who whirled around bashing away another approaching ape with his tail.
"Don't worry I'm not trying to play hero and make you look bad." The earth drake replied as he waited for the other onlookers to gather their courage. "Besides, she isn't my type." He said. Realizing that no ape was going to approach him, the dragon charged forward his talons ripping up the stones beneath him as he dove into the terrified enemy.
"Well that was rude." Aria huffed. The dragoness squeaked as Ivarik fired a bolt directly in front of her snout. She was about to scold him when she looked to see a paralyzed ape on the ground next to her.
"You can tell him off later." Ivarik replied. "For now, we should focus."
"Agreed." Aria answered turning a quarter and diving in the yellow dragon's direction. At first Ivarik thought she was tackling him, but quickly realized the angle was wrong. The lighting drake watched as she soared over him and rammed her ivory horns into an ape that had been approaching him from behind.
"Take your own advice Ivarik." The lighting dragon whispered to himself as he sought out his next fight and bared his teeth.
