Yasilithi Ragrivin opened his eyes. His acute draconic senses tells him that the sun's blaze is about to touch the land. He opened his mouth in a yawning motion, and flapped his wings. He stood up on all fours, stretched, and chanted a morning prayer to the sun.
"May your holy light shine upon our blessed lands."
As he watched the sun slowly creep up the sky, he flew up to his perch to perform his morning duty. Atop a giant cave, built and ornately decorated by troll slaves to make life for dragons as luxurious as possible, a perch jutted out for the sun bearer to sound the morning call. Yasilithi stood on that perch, reared his head back, and as the rays of the sun rose in the horizon, he let out a mighty ROAR.
The sound reverberated throughout the cave, piercing through thin walls and intricate mazes that snake around the cave. Dragon and slave alike rose to the sound of the roar, which signals preparations for the former and routines to handle for the latter.
Despite having a relatively easy life with slaves handling most of the work, dragons still had enemies to be wary of, and everyone had to be prepared for war at the moment's ready. Draconic politics is very finicky at best, and war could be declared because of the wrong word said. Yasilithi did not believe in declaring war because a slave said the wrong word or the wrong dish was served, but swallowing one's pride was something the truly powerful could not grasp. Or perhaps they could not afford to swallow their own pride for fear of looking weak?
In any event, the caravans must be prepared for the day, and trading to begin soon. Dragons placed value in anything that is shiny and rare, with the highest regards for the rarest shiny materials like gold, platinum, or gemstones. These are used as currency, and are traded by weight. The standard mass used for measurement is a Dragon Egg, since all dragon eggs always start off as the same weight, no matter the size of the dragon. The rarer the material, the more commodities they can trade for per dragon egg.
Commodities include livestock such as cows and elephants, as well as large marine animals. Slaves are also frequently traded around. While certain dragon territories have no qualms with eating slaves as well as livestock, the dragons of the territory Yasilithi is in scoffs at such barbaric acts, and sees this as a primitive form of dragon behavior. They believe that one must be driven to desperation to resort to eating slaves, and to be driven to desperation is unfit for a dragon. A wealthy city would have more than enough production to feed all of its inhabitants, and if there aren't enough, then trade deals could be made.
Slaves are expected to craft their own tools, and tend to themselves. So long as they remain subservient to their dragon lords, and drop whatever they're doing to serve a dragon's needs, they are permitted to do whatever they need to survive. A slave that is on a dragon's errand will wear a dragon's emblem, which forms when a dragon casts an extremely cheap [Brand] wild magic spell. It fades at the discretion of the commanding dragon. Some slaves are under permanent servitude to certain dragons that personally bought them, and will always be wearing the [Brand] of their master.
Because slaves procreate on their own, excess amounts of slaves are either sold off or used as souls for costly Magic spells. In times of war, slaves with high reproduction rates become high in demand for their incredibly useful nature of rapidly replenishing numbers for use in Magic spells. The most popular slaves are troll slaves due to their extreme resiliency to abuse and longevity. Their only downside is that they are often overworked and die, causing their population to slowly decline over time, thus are always worth dozens of silver Dragon Eggs each. Ratmen, Goblins, and Antkins are popular for use in war, due to their extreme subservient nature and ability to replace numbers in an incredibly rapid manner. However, outside of warfare, their numbers could get out of hand, and thus must be reigned in during times of peace. Humans and dwarves are popular for their ability to design and smelt their precious metals into proper currencies. They're also extremely easy to train, but because of their weak bodies and high maintenance, only a small number are kept around.
Yasilithi, a dragon from the minor house Ragrivin, was a fairly powerful dragon, trained from birth by his mother and passed his test of combat crafted by his father, and succeeded in raising the status of his family by becoming a knight to the ruling House Loern. As a member of the Loern Knights, servitude to their superiors is an expected virtue. The Knights are considered the strongest class of dragons outside of the ruling House, and command unrivaled respect. However, these dragons must keep their pride in check, because an unruly knight damages the reputation of the House that they represent, and can cost a battle if an order was not heeded. Such behavior, that a dragon must be subservient to another dragon, would've been considered a peculiar sight, but dragons believed that the strongest have the right to rule. It was the law of nature that dragons are on the very top of the pyramid, and by that law, all who walk the land, sapient or not, must serve dragonkind as their masters. With this logic, only the strongest amongst the dragons deserve to wield power over other dragons. And thus, by this law, dragons are content with serving one of their own that is stronger than themselves. Yasilithi is on the second highest ladder in the draconic social ladder, right below Loern and above rank and file draconic soldiers. Not only was it his job to protect Loern territory, as sun bearer, it was his job to "wake the sun". The roar that he sounded was an alarm not just for the dragons of Loern territory, it was also to aid the sun in rising up into the sky.
Loern dragons believed that the sun is actually an ancient primordial dragon that has transcended physical manifestation, and now serves as the herald of light, warmth, and life. The dragon's name, "Sun", waged a timeless war against his rival deity, "Moon", and sought to beat back the darkness each day. The roar is meant to give the sun strength, that dragonkind did not forget His deeds. In exchange for the roar, Sun would give dragons the life-giving light. As the day progresses, the Sun's energy would peak at noon, and wan until the darkness comes again. The Night Bearer then roars into the night to signal good-bye to the Sun, and ward off the Moon.
Some believed that it was Sun who originally created Wild Magic and taught it to dragonkind. Others believed that Wild Magic originally was the Moon's power, but the Sun purged it's evil nature and gave dragonkind its magic. And yet others believed that Wild Magic has been the power of dragons from the start, ever since the world gave birth to life. The oldest of dragons had either forgotten the origins, or had died in battle.
House Loern in particular has been, for countless millennia, one of the mightiest House in the continent, second to few other Houses and the Dragon Emperor himself. These are warrior dragons, gifted not in the art of Wild Magic, but in the art of melee combat. This gives them an edge over other Houses that heavily rely on Wild Magic, of which cannot even be used to harm other dragons. The Wild Magic used in House Loern and a few other Houses are primarily used to buff themselves or their subordinates in battle, so that claws can rend scales easier, muscles work more efficiently, or for draconic breath to deal more damage. This made Loern dragons extremely deadly in draconic combat, but their lack of specialty in Wild Magic leaves them vulnerable to endless numbers of slave armies assaulting them. While dragons are the mightiest individuals, they do not have damage immunity and finite health. Enough slave numbers would quickly overwhelm a small squad of dragons if they're caught off position, even if the slaves deal what amounts to scratches in damage. It would literally be a death by a thousand cuts, or at least, weaken the dragons until another detachment of enemy dragons are sent to deal with the squad in question.
As Yasilithi watched the draconic city rise up to his call, he noticed something strange in the distance. Several strange shapes formed on the horizon, making tiny blips of shadows against the sun's light. Below them, an amorphous blob covered the land. Yasilithi's sharp senses tells him that the ground was rumbling in the distance. His heart skipped a beat. This was too large, and too soon, for a caravan escort. He quickly rushed out of the cave, and towards the top of the mountain. He stood on the perch and peered to the east. Due to the sun lighting up the horizon, it was difficult for Yasilithi to see what he was looking for - a lit beacon. Almost as if it was planned by those in the distance. If Yasilithi waits too long to call the troops, then the hostile forces might be upon them before the armed forces could mobilize. However, if it was a delegation of other House dragons visiting...
Yasilithi decided to play it safe. He placed a necklace imbued with a weak Wild Magic spell, [Expanded Acoustics], around his neck and shouted, "Sound the alarm! Possible hostile forces, due east! Warn the House, and mobilize the Knights!"
Almost instantly, the orders were shouted further down the cave network, and Knights poured out of their homes to defend the territory. Non-combatant slaves were locked into their pens, and Antkins were rolled out into the fields. They quickly dug trenches and placed wooden stakes into the ground, working in unison. Each trench forms a semicircle around the entrance of the cave, and once the Antkins are done, they either fight the enemy slaves or get sacrificed for Wild Magic. What should've taken humans weeks to complete only took the Antkin several hours. Special slave troops specializing in ranged combat stood at the rear, ready to launch devastating projectiles towards the enemy. While the projectiles won't hurt a dragon, it will reduce the amount of enemy slaves that can fight. This was drilled into the slaves whenever an attack is coming, which comes frequently enough that drills are warranted despite the cost of slaves not working on whatever they need to do. This was because despite the might of dragons, slave defenders are still quite useful due to their sheer number. They are also useful for taking the brunt of enemy slave forces, if there are any.
Long ago, dragons were too prideful to use slaves in combat, but the rare slave uprisings taught dragons the tedious nature of dealing with massive waves of slaves willing to die for their cause. The more intelligent Houses began to utilize slave armies to beef up their offensive power, after observing how effective numbers can be even against the mightiest enemy. These Houses were branded cowards by other ancient dragon Houses. Those too prideful to use slave armies had their lands shrunk over time, until they were eventually wiped out or converted into the new age of draconic warfare. They have learned that pride means nothing if their Houses eventually gets wiped out. Eventually, shaped by millennia of learning and drilling, slave armies are fanatically loyal to their dragon masters, giving their life for even the simplest of Wild Magic casts. The composition of slave armies are determined by the size of the territory, the terrain, and how much the dragons can afford to maintain. House Loern is a very wealthy House, with abundant fertile lands, so it is able to maintain a large standing slave army that doubles as a productive workforce. They primarily deploy large numbers of antkins, cave trolls, and mountain giants. From their forests, they have enormous villages composed of goblins and ogres.
Modern draconic tactics now even employ specialized slave troops that are bred specifically for war. Their utility in warfare range from destroying enemy production by killing off their non-combatant slaves to bearing the brunt of a draconic assault without too many slaves dying. House Loern in particular employs far more slave troops than most other Houses to compensate for their relatively weak Wild Magic specialization, although the commanders within the House aren't known to be the best strategists, preferring to throw raw numbers than worrying about efficiency. However, this means that Loern has the largest slave army in terms of numbers, as well as the highest potential to grow their numbers further. Unless several Houses unite their slave armies, Loern is almost guaranteed to overwhelm any opposition.
Commander Svalinn Loern, the de-facto Knight Commander in a general defense scenario, ordered the dragons to take flight to deal with airborne invaders. Two dozen giant dragons took flight above the mountain cave entrance. Her steady voice had the confidence of a thousand battles under her wings.
"Ready your breaths! Steady your wings! We shall feast on the flesh of our enemies today! The Sun shall witness our might!" She then casted a wide-area buff that augmented all dragons' natural weapons, like claws, wings, and breath. Below, several dozen Antkins suddenly collapsed, their souls spent. Several dozen more Antkins moved their bodies away and readily replaced them. By now, the horizon army drew closer, and a clearer picture could be painted. The sun was also higher up in the air. In the horizon, a sign of a collapsed beacon had smoke wafting into the air. The beacon was lit, but the black smoke rising up was a sign that it was destroyed. Definitely hostile forces.
"Who is foolish enough to attack Loern territory?" Yasilithi growled. Several other Knights grunted in agreement.
"A confident enemy. They destroyed the beacon, and killed the garrison of troops stationed there. They are prepared for an invasion. And we'll stop them here," Svalinn answered. She looked at the incoming army with steel in her eyes.
"Shall we charge? We have the number advantage," asked a Knight. He was referring to their superior slave numbers.
"No, we will hold our ground. We mustn't throw away our one advantage," Svalinn replied. She looked around.
"I'm unsure if this is a sufficient number of Knights to deal with the enemy dragons, but the Knights' duties are to ensure the survival of the House." She frowned.
"Then this must mean each Knight must kill at least three enemy dragons!" roared another knight.
Knights are reliably strong enough to emerge from most fights victorious. That was how stringent the recruitment process was for a dragon. While all dragons are powerful in their own right, some dragons choose to live a life unmarked by combat. These dragons, during a time of war or defense of the city, are expected to be conscripted into the dragon army. All dragons above age 400 are to defend the city until the assault is finished. Usually, however, these dragons aren't expected to hold their weight, as they were not bred for combat from birth. They make up a sizable chunk of the non-Knight Loern troops. Thus, in times of war, they're usually the first casualties when the fighting is done. A single Knight would, in general, be able to best three of these non-combatant dragons in a full-on melee battle, two regular troop dragons, and tie with their peers.
Enemy draconic soldiers may have a different set of rules for their own armies. However, it would be unheard of for commanders to include dragons that can't fight efficiently into their army, since that would hurt the productivity of a city. Therefore, when the Knight said that each Knight must be worth 3 enemy dragons, he really meant for each dragon to die with three bodies to their name.
The enemy army slowly rumbled closer, but it appeared that their speed had slowly picked up. They were aware of the fact that Loern has been hastily throwing together a defense, and were trying to take advantage of an underprepared defense. A force of around 100 dragons could be counted flying in the sky, with countless number of slaves running below them. Given how massive the numbers were, it had probably destroyed the beacon garrison force before any survivors could send a message to the mountain city. Svalinn sensed that something was wrong, and sent messenger slaves running to other cities to warn them of a coming threat, and to request reinforcements to the frontlines. While it is possible to teleport using Wild Magic, the soul cost of teleportation is extremely expensive, and only one slave could be teleported per cast. It was better to wait for the messengers to reach their destinations and hold out for reinforcements.
Antkins continued to dig trenches and placing sharp wooden stakes within them, stopping only when the enemy troops are upon them. Between each trench lay thousands of caltrops, to slow and damage the waves of invaders. Several trenches lay between the defenders and their assaulting army, although this still wouldn't stop a majority of the invaders. Several long-distance slave snipers with specially enchanted bows took position in the mountain's murder holes. The bows are enchanted with magic that allows the users to be strong enough to knock back a giant with a single arrow, and is able to pierce even the scales of a draconic warrior. The reason why the bows cannot be mass produced, given their awesome power, was because only the most loyal slaves could equip them, and the amount of souls required to enchant each bow was staggering. While the amount of souls depend on the skill of the dragon enchanting it, even the most efficient itemweaver would still require a costly amount of soul.
The mountain itself has several entrances, but the largest entrance was the place where the invaders picked their assault. The quality of Loern Knights shine when fighting in tight spaces. This lessens the impact of superior enemy draconic forces, as it allows each Knight to crush only one or two dragon soldiers at a time, which the smaller entrances allow. The other gates were also manned by the rest of the Knights, which means even if the enemy tried to flank, they'll be met with stiff resistance. However, the main entrance was large enough for several dozen adult dragons to comfortably fly in and out simultaneously. While there were murderholes built into the top of the mountain entrance for snipers to shoot from, it's still not enough defenses for the city to defend from an onslaught of dragons. Slaves are not strong enough to harm dragons badly enough without proper equipment, and dragons do not trust their slaves with the power to challenge their rule. Therefore, if the Knights lost their battle, the city is lost.
Soon, the enemy slave army rushed into the trenches that the Antkin was building, and engaged in combat with the numerous ant-like heteromorphs. The advantage of the Antkins were their almost telepathic ability to send messages to one another, allowing every Antkin to essentially be each other's eye. They have no blindspots as a result, if they're fighting in a group, but their strength comes from sheer numbers rather than individual combat power. Thus, if the enemy forces outnumber them, they will quickly be wiped out.
As soon as the Antkins were finished off, the slaves started to pile into the trenches without any regard for their own life. Caltrops slowed down and even killed some due to excessive bleeding, but more slaves just piled over the bodies of their dead comrades. The dragons hung back, keeping out of range of the snipers. Svalinn started to look worried. It wasn't because of the enemy slaves baring down on their territory, as dragons do not concern themselves with ants that significantly harm them. She was more worried about the amount of enemy dragons. She had 24 Knights by her side, about 100 conscripted dragon troops, and 5 other Loern family members within the citadel. She estimated that the number of enemy dragons must number around 200 to 300 dragons. She turned to Yasilithi.
"Call every last Knight to the front lines. Leave the regular guards to the side entrances. My family should be able to deal with any no-name dragons. All dragons who are still undergoing the Test of Combat are to report to the front lines. This will be their Test of Combat."
"My Lady, even the freshlings who have just started their Tests?"
Svalinn sighed, and wavered. The Test of Combat was the rite of passage for all Young to enter into adulthood. It tests their basic draconic abilities, such as their breath, hand-to-hand techniques, and their affinity for Wild Magic. The mothers usually teach their Young and the fathers issue the test. While the test isn't something one can fail, it gauges a dragon's ability to fight. If a Young performs poorly, they're confined to apprenticing as caravaners, crafters, or other second-class citizen jobs. The ones who passed spectacularly are referred to House Loern to receive special training to become a Knight. Those who are average are permitted to do whatever they please. Every dragon who have completed the test receives a ring with a symbol indicating their performance level. Yasilithi was one of the very few who was able to even best his father in mock combat, and survive the brutal training Knights are required to go through. It is evident that Svalinn is grasping for anything that can fight because Young dragons still have scales soft enough to get hurt by well trained slaves, but given the number of enemy dragons and the importance of the city, she had no choice but to draw on this pool of combatants.
Yasilithi swiftly flew back into the cave. As soon as he did, the enemy dragons made their move. They had noticed that the number had dipped by one, and decided to charge. The difference of one knight is life or death for both his comrades and the enemy. Each Knight was trained to work perfectly in tandem with each other, so one less Knight means that their formation could not hold out as long.
Svalinn glanced at the disappearing silhouette of Yasilithi, and prayed that he makes a swift return. Then she focused on the enemy ahead of her.
"FLY, KNIGHTS!"
Every Knight rushed forward. The dragon troops that stayed on the ground opened their mouths, and unleashed a large torrent of fire, lightning, frost, and other elemental breaths. Even if the fighting ability of regular and conscripted troops are weaker than Knights, all breaths are more or less the same strength. It was a good opening attack that can devastate enemy ranks.
The enemy dragons opened with their own breaths. The sky was soon filtered with the awesome might of draconic breaths, with different elements clashing with each other. The slave troops on the ground filled the enemy airspace with flying projectiles, like stones and arrows. Even if the projectiles cannot pierce draconic scales, a lucky hit in the eye or soft tissue where scales do not cover can be debilitating. The projectiles will also land on enemy slaves, softening the impact of their charge.
Knight and soldier clashed. The first dozen dragons perished easily to the Knight's enhanced claws and teeth. But for every dragon that falls, another takes its place. The enemy soldiers were evidently not used to fierce resistance, while each Knight was trained to deal with multiple enemies at the same time. The formation of the Knights were unbreakable; it a wall that was capable of easily rending dragon scale. The enemy wavered after several waves of dragons perished from engaging in combat. However, the numbers were on their side, and the Knights did not have unlimited stamina.
And thus, the Battle of the Mountain City began.