"Get clear!" Jarvan shouted as he grabbed Shyvana off the wall, sending her face first into a puddle. Forsythe had sense enough to grab Quinn as well, hauling her body off the wall and down into the mud. Jarvan dropped where he stood, laying most of his body over top of Shyvana as a wall of flames passed mere inches above him. Heat boiled the water in the air and he could feel the skin on the back oh his body tightening as if he had a bad sunburn.
"Can we use the plan?" Shyvana shouted through her coughing, pulling her face from a puddle.
"Do you see a cliff around here?" Jarvan gasped, an exasperated look on his face.
"So that's a no?" She said looking up at him, she poked her head up over the edge of the wall.
"Get down!" Jarvan growled, pulling her down below the wall as another wall of flame passed over the top of the wall. The dragon roared, tossing it's head back and belting an ear shattering note. The sound rumbled screeched like fingernails on a chalk board,Jarvan, Shyvana, Isaacs and Forsythe clamping their hands directly over their ears. It was a piercing sound, like the crack of lightning strike within feet of them. It echoed up to that of a high pitched screech before tapering off in a piercing ring.
"What do we do?" Isaacs shouted, looking to Jarvan for an answer.
"Run!" Jarvan shouted. He hauled Shyvana to her feet and shoved her forward, getting her running towards the south side of town where they had left their horses. "Grab the girl!" He shouted at Forsythe who was pulling himself to his feet. He hauled her up onto his shoulder, one hand upon his great sword as he began to haul ass directly after Shyvana. Jarvan took two steps to the side as Isaacs pushed himself up, hauling the man to his feet by his belt and the collar of his armor. Jarvan practically tossed him onto his feet, sending him stumbling in a run after the others.
Jarvan spun and met the dragon's glare as the beast reared its scaly head, shaking the rock and the rubble from his leathery wings, spreading them and shaking its green body, sending a cascade of water and stone rubble crashing to the ground around it. It's shoulders and back were covered with the stumps of broken arrows, the haft of a spear sticking out of its left shoulder. Scars dotted the dragon in places, deep marks marring it's body all over. The dragon moved a gnarled, clawed foot forwards, sending it crashing into the ground, a wall of water rising and falling like a wave breaking upon the shore. It reared its head and roared at Jarvan, sending a wave of hot breath over him. Jarvan felt his hood get torn back by the gale and he could feel the heat drying his damp hair, bits of viscous mucus landing upon him as the screech turned sharp again. Jarvan dived aside at the last second as the flames pouring out of it's mouth like a torrent of boiling water. He rolled and looked about for his lance, trying to find it about the wreckage and mud.
"Prince, get out of there!" Isaacs shouted. Jarvan looked back to where Isaacs had sought cover behind the ruins of a crumpled building.
"You're still here?" Jarvan shouted, surprised, pushing himself up against a crumbled stone wall. It was barely enough to keep the wall of flames from burning him alive. The wall of flame swept past him, all around him like an inferno, rolling and boiling with an intense orange light that made Jarvan's skin crawl. He sunk down closer to the ground, pushing himself up against his wall and into the mud. The flames finally receded and he stuck his head around the wall to check where the dragon was. "Get going you old fart!"
"I won't leave you, my liege!" Isaacs shouted as he scurried up to the small section of wall where Jarvan was taking cover. "Why hasn't he taken off?" Isaacs roared. "Surely he doesn't want to be trapped here on the ground..."
"It's probably the rain!" Shyvana shouted as she slid into cover behind a section of the same wall that Jarvan took was pressed against. "Dragon's hate the rain, especially flying in it!"
"Damnit, I told you both to get clear!" Jarvan bellowed, livid.
"Like hell!" Shyvana shouted at him. "I'm not leaving you again!" Jarvan bit his tongue. He exchanged a glace with Isaacs, and the man winked at him, a broad toothy smile as if to say 'Sucks to have someone who loves you so much'. Jarvan sat back against the wall and groaned.
"We're not going anywhere, you here me? So don't even try to get rid of us!" Shyvana shouted over the sound of rain and the angry thrashing of the dragon. Shyvana smiled at Jarvan; fire burning in her eyes. She was stuck behind another section of the same wall, a large chunk having been gouged out. Jarvan sighed and turned towards her, his mouth open to start issuing orders when a wall of flames swept through the gap.
"Shyvana!" Jarvan roared, the pit of his stomach falling out of his body. He tried to stick his hand out, grasping towards her, but Isaacs grabbed him and hauled him back. Jarvan struggled against his Lieutenants hold on him; he wanted to rush to Shyvana and find out if she was alright. Several agonizing seconds passed before the wall of flame ended, leaving a wall of steam in its place. The steam slowly thinned.
"Look!" Isaacs said, pointing towards the wall. "She's fine, now calm down." Shyvana looked frightened but she was intact, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she pushed herself up against the wall, her hands and boots scampering in the mud as she tried to gain purchase. She looked over to Jarvan, fear and dread draining away to reveal relief. . She gave him a shaky thumbs up as she closed her eyes for a seconds, calming her racing heart. "We need a plan!"
"Fine." Jarvan said, gritting his teeth and sticking his head out from behind the wall. "First thing's first: I need my damn lance."
"You lost your lance?" Isaacs hissed, a deadpan glare on his face. He rolled his eyes and sat back against the stone, grumbling, sliding his hands down his face. "And I thought this was going to be easy." Jarvan grinned and slapped his back.
"It wouldn't be fun, now, would it?" Jarvan said with a lopsided smile. Isaacs sighed, sucking in a lungfull of hot air, coughing. Jarvan laughed at the old man as he tried to regain his composure. "And that's what you get for being a smart ass!"
"And I bet you're going to tell me it's somewhere up there." Isaacs jerked his thumb towards where the dragon sat, hissing and watching for a sign of movement among it's prey.
"Yup." Jarvan said, sticking his head out from behind the rocks and then immediately ducking back behind the wall. The dragon roared, growing impatient as its quarry continued to taunt it.
"Shall we go for the 'Split Decision', then?" Isaacs said sighing.
"On three?" Jarvan said, a tight grin upon his face. Isaacs nodded, pushing himself up to his knees. Jarvan waved for Shyvana to stay put behind cover and wait. She nodded, sitting back her eyes stuck on Jarvan. "One... two... three!" Isaacs dived out of cover away from Shyvana and Jarvan did the same, but rolling straight towards Shyvana.
"COME ON YOU GREAT, SCREAMING, GREEN CUNT! I'M OVER HERE!" Isaacs bellowed, sprinting around the dragon for a few steps, waving his hands above his head like a bat out of hell. The dragon looked stunned for a few moments as it looked down it's snout at Isaacs in disbelief. That surprise soon turned to molten anger. Isaacs was too busy crab stepping along the wall, ducking in and out of cover to laugh. The dragon finally roared, taking the bait and turning towards Isaacs. Great balls of fire erupted from its mouth, flying through the air over and behind Isaacs. They exploded in the rubble beyond him casting a wave of flame over the impact zone, one of them just barely singing his cloak as he dived to the ground.
"Are you two mad!?" Shyvana screamed after Jarvan. He disapeared over the wall, barreling towards the dragon, her eyes wide as she watched their crazy maneuver. She stuck her head out from behind the wall and watched as Jarvan sprinted towards the dragon. He looked back at Shyvana with a adrenaline fueled grin plastered across his face beneath the splattered of mud that decorated his face.
"Quite possibly!" Jarvan said as he dived. He tucked and rolled forward beneath the dragon's tail as it twisted about to bring its flames to bear of Isaacs. He landed on all fours, scrambling forward as the tail swung back over, just above his head. Shyvana grinned as she watched the tail begin to pass over his head a third time. Jarvan didn't manage to clear it fully though, the dragon's tail suddenly changing direction and striking downwards at the last second. It struck Jarvan's leg, an audible crunch echoing as he collapsed to the ground mere feet from his lance. Jarvan bit back a scream of pain his face contorting as looked over his shoulder at the tattered limb. The leg was bent at an odd angle, the armor shattered and bent about.
The dragon snorted, twisting its serpentine neck about to look over its shoulder at what it had struck instead of the ground. Jarvan had clawed his way towards the lance and had just begun to drag himself to his feet using the lance when he meet the dragon's glare. Jarvan froze as the dragon blinked at him, twisting its head from side to side. It looked down at Jarvan with one eye and then the other, twisting about and lowering its head lower to get a good look at its prey. Jarvan dare not breathe.
"Get out of there!" Shyvana screamed, the dragon snapping its head about to glare at her. The dragon sucked in a sharp breath and its cheeks expanded, the dragon expelling a ball of flame. She had started to jump, but her boot slipped in the mud and she was sent crashing to the ground as the ball of flame erupted against the wall she sought cover from. Bits of flame drifted down around her, smoking and steaming as it met the rain. The dragon flailed it's head about as turned back to Jarvan. Jarvan used his lance as a crutch as he tried to hobble away, slowed by the leg he dragged behind, the foot twisted about at an odd angle. He had just begun to lift himself over the low wall, lifting his shattered leg clear when he smashed by a flail of the dragon's tail.
The blow was easily enough to lift Jarvan clean off his feet and send arcing through the air as if he was just a rag doll. Shyvana watched in horror as Jarvan tumbled end over end seeming to hang in the air for the longest time, before finally crashing through a stone wall. The wall gave way as Jarvan smashed into it, both of them tumbling out of sight behind the ruins of the house. Only the sound of a landslide of stone on stone could be heard, the click and rumble carrying though the rain.
"Jarvan!" Shyvana screamed as she pulled herself from the mud. She looked to where the wall had been, but there was no sign of Jarvan at all, only the splatter of rain and the unnerving stillness of the burnt out house.
Shyvana felt the air around her began to boil and froth around her as uncontrolled flames licked her body and whipped about her like hurricane inferno. She stepped up and over the wall, launching herself towards the dragon, blinded by her anger. Flames continued to pour off her body as blind rage began to consume her. She twisted her head about as she ignored the pain of her horns taking form and bursting from her skull, shivers running down her body. She felt the pain of scales ripping through her flesh along her arms and legs, the strength growing as her rage became violent. She raised both of her fists back as she rode a wall of flames towards the dragon, anger burning in her eyes like gleaming rubies in the darkness of the night. Shyvana roared as she descended upon the dragon, her arms spread wide as she prepared to transform.
Nothing is happening? Shyvana's roar of a battle cry fizzled out as the Dragon turned towards her and open its massive jaw to reveal great, razor sharp teeth that would easily slice her puny human form into two. Shyvana started to flail her arms about, the blind anger draining away as she began to scream. In the back of its gruesome, crimson mouth, a black hole started to glow a brilliant orange as it prepared to meet her with flames. She clamped her eyes shut.
"Shyvana!" Shyvana opened her eyes just in time to see Jarvan smash shoulder first into the dragon's head, knocking it away.
Shyvana struck the ground with her shoulder, rolling end over end. When she finally stopped, she was looking up at the armored belly of the dragon, the creature stamping at the ground all around her. as it tried to through Jarvan off. Shyvana rolled onto her stomach and pushed up, scampering away on all fours. The dragon's tail swept past and tripped her up, sending her crashing to the ground a second time. The world was dark for a second before she wiped her hair from her eyes, gasping for breath; she had landed face down in a puddle of water. She coughed and sat back on her knees, gasping for breath, just in time to watch a wave of flames get sprayed wildly about. She shook the shock off she felt, looking down at her hands, only seeing the dirty, pale human hands, not the blue scales razor sharp claws of a dragon. She shook her hands angrily, feelign the sting of tears in her eyes as she shook her hands, trying to make the transformation happen.
"Bastard! Go down!" Shyvana ripped her eyes from her own hands as Jarvan's voice carried through the sound of the rain. She saw a standard sitting atop the pile of rubble, the black and blue fabric drenched with rain. Jarvan grappled with the dragon's head, one hand gripping his lance, the other trying to maintain its grip upon a deep gash along the crest of the dragon's head. Jarvan raised his lance up as the dragon tried to swing him up and over its snout. Jarvan started to swing back down towards the creature's eye, his lance aimed directly at the gleaming red orb. The dragon suddenly dropped its head straight down, Jarvan's gripp slipping and leaving him hanging in the air. The dragon smacked him away with a wing, sending him flailing through the air.
Shyvana dragged herself up and started running as Jarvan arc up through the air towards her. She was looking over her shoulder as she watched Jarvan slowly began to descend, the entire world slowing around her. She jumped upwards when she realized he was going to pass over her head. She wrapped her arms protectively around Jarvan, immediately using all of strength she had left to try and soften the impact. It worked at first, but her legs gave out as she felt Jarvan's weight. They hit the ground hard, rolling end over end. Shyvana held on to Jarvan, her eyes clamped shut, rocks slicing her arms up. Her spin finally stopped and they started skidding when Shyvana felt her head strike something hard and immediately saw nothing but darkness.
Pure, utter, darkness.
...
Blurred images of the darkened sky filled her vision as she blinked a few times. It felt as if knives were being driven into the side of her skull.
"Jarvan..." Shyvana moaned, her hands flailing about as she tried to find him.
Darkness followed as she closed her eyes, taking in the kiss of the cool rain striking her face. She opened her eyes again and rolled her head to the side, a pillar of orange flames illuminating the world around her for a brief second. A large figure leaned over her as it held something to her lips. Shyvana tried to swallow, but she couldn't feel any part of her body as the warm liquid rushed past her lips.
"Jarvan..." She tried to speak again, but word weren't formed. Something warm bubbled from her lips and dribbled down her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut and she was floating amid the darkness again, as if she were disconnected from her body. She felt something warm growing deep within her body. It began to spread, first filling her chest and then beginning to spread out through her arms and legs. She felt her toes grow warm and she wiggled them, opening her eyes again. The blurriness was gone as rain drops rushed down from above to meet her. "W-w-what..." She stammered, running a hand over her face. She gasped, holding her hand in front of her face. It was glowing green. She turned her hand over, wondering if she was seeing things, but her entire arm was glowing green. Something beyond her arm moved.
The dragon!
It opened its mouth above her, two dark red orbs glowing in the rain, along either side a sharp silhoutte against the night sky, a single brilliant orange light beginning to glow below them. She clamped her eyes shut and raised her arms above her, as if that was going to stop the flames from burning her alive. She expected the pain like she had felt in her nightmare, the pain of an inferno peeling the flesh away from her bone.
...
The warmth she felt was comforting... not cruel and violent. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the orange light as if she were staring into the sun on a hot day. The light was soft and golden, like the familiar heat of a Shurima afternoon.
"This... the Golden Aegis!" She finally recognized the bubble of energy that was wrapped around her. That means... She tried to sit up, but she found her shoulders were already cradled in Jarvan's grasp. "Jarvan..." She whispered. She reached out and touched his cheek, as if she didn't believe he was real. He had a grim look of concentration on his face as he kneeled over her, one arm holding her shoulders up in a sitting position and the other raised up and across his body. He opened one eye and managed a weak smile.
"Get ready..." Jarvan said, his voice strained. "As soon as I drop the shield, we break left and attack head on." Shyvana tried to hide the tears that were welling in her eyes, but she sniffed and nodded bravely. His face visibly softened. "That's my girl..." Beyond the golden light of Jarvan's light shield was rolling orange inferno. It was as if they had descended into hell in a golden bubble. She grabbed Jarvan's collar and pulled her self up, putting a single hand on his cheek as she pushed her lips against his.
"I'm ready." She said quietly. Jarvan looked up, a dark hole breaking in the seemingly unending inferno that had sealed them in. She felt Jarvan's arm tighten around her shoulders, the shield evaporating around them. Jarvan slammed the butt of his lance into a stone block, sending a standard shooting out in a horizontal trajectory. The standard landed in a pile of rubble and stuck fast. Jarvan extended his lance as the dragon readied another gout of flames , rearing it's head back. Jarvan held onto Shyvana as they slid along the ground, using his body like a sled for Shyvana as he pulled her onto his chest. They dipped down into a rut in the road and then were launched upwards getting a little air. Jarvan did his best to reorient their fall, but he didn't have enough time or height to do it, and he only ended up crashing down onto his knees. He stuck out his leg to slow their slide, their window of opportunity to attack quickly closing.
"Go now! Strike at his neck!" Jarvan's leg collided with the rubble first, crumpling with a sickening crack.
"On it!" She shouted, as she kicked off, a swirl of flames now ringing around her and she picked up speed. Blue scales appeared along the visible sections of her body and horns appeared from the crown of her head as she sprinted, her body close to horizontal along the ground, a bed of flames and heat just managing to keep her from the ground. She bore her fangs in a vicious smile as magenta slits glowed in the dull, rainy light. She kicked off the ground, launching herself upwards at the dragon, spreading her arms. She felt her skin begin to boil and her bones begin to change.
The dragon slapped Shyvana from the air like a simple plaything.
"How..." Shyvana uttered a single word as the breath was expelled from her body.
Jarvan had just managed to pull himself into a standing position, his leg now almost completely useless. He wore a victorious grin as Shyvana charged forward, but the dragon refused to allow her to transform.
"SHYVANA!" Jarvan howled. She hit the ground like a cannonball, her back striking first. Blood erupted from her mouth as she let out a silent scream. Her body fell still. Jarvan stood frozen as he watched, waiting for Shyvana to rise up again, to stand up and shake it off, but this time she didn't. She stayed down.
The dragon turned towards Jarvan, with what he could best call a vicious grin as it stepped between Jarvan and Shyvana. Jarvan felt ice flood through his veins and his hair stand on end. The Dragon took a step forward as if it was taunting him. The dragon took a cursory glance over its shoulder at the dragoness where she lay and then looked back to Jarvan. It's shoulders shook and a rumble like rolling thunder resounded as it chuckled. Jarvan clenched his fists, white knuckled around his lance as water ran down his face.
"You bastard..." Jarvan growled through gritted teeth. Jarvan picked himself up, standing up straight, pain shooting up his leg. He flipped a pouch on his belt open and drew a red-liquid filled vial, snapping the top off with his teeth and spitting it out. He downed the crimson potion and began to feel the energy flow into him. His leg still burned in agony, but Jarvan ignored it, trying to completely shunt the pain aside in his mind. He pulled himself up to his feet completely, stepping away from the rubble, holding himself up with his lance, the Dragon staring directly back at Jarvan.
"Shyvana... if you're dead I'm going to dive straight into hell and pull you back out..." Jarvan whispered, his teeth grinding as he tried to ignore the pain. His faced distorted in rage. "YOU HEAR ME? I'M COMING FOR YOU!"
Jarvan closed his eyes for a second, feeling the warmth of something wrapping around his leg. He looked down and was glad to see the glowing gold wrappings of his Aegis wrapped around his leg. He let out a strained sigh as the shield tightened onto his leg, the pain like a great sword getting slid up the entirety of his leg, along the bone. Red tinged the edges of his vision as he threatened to black from the pain, but the health potion kept him on the very edge of a full black out.
Jarvan took a step forward, the dragon snorting as if it were a bull stamping at the ground, ready to charge forth and gore him. Steam poured from it' nose as its breaths lengthen and deepened. The dragon blinked, the lids of its eyes coming up and shutting one at a time, the left first and then the right. The black slits among the blood red eyes were haunting, like something you would see in a nightmare. Jarvan shivered and shunted his fear aside, trying to steel his will as he raised his lance in both hands, holding it across his body. He took a second step forward, the dragon still staring at him. He took another step, pain shooting up through his leg and into his entire body as the limb threatened to give out completely.
But it didn't. Jarvan took another step.
And another step.
And another, the pain arcing through him.
Jarvan winced with every other step, his legs struggling to carry him barely into a sprint. He leaned forward, letting him momentum drive him onward as the dragon roared. It opened its mouth and settled on Jarvan, the black hole of its throat starting to glow like a miniature sun. Jarvan braced himself as he saw the first peek of rolling flames in the back of the Dragon's mouth, between the fangs and the salivation that dripped.
Jarvan threw himself to the side as a solid wall of flames burst forth and licked at his boots, the steam and heat of the boiling inferno lashing at his face like an vicious living being. Jarvan rolled, his shoulder striking the ground harder than he had intended as he came up, sliding along through a puddle, trying to roll up and onto his feet. He put one leg out onto the ground and felt it finally gain purchase as he finished the poorly executed combat roll. He launched himself into the air as the dragon started to bring its flames to bear on its target. Jarvan slammed the butt of his lance into the ground, sending a standard arcing through the air. It settled into a pile of stone with a heavy chunk! Jarvan extended his lance, hook the tip of his lance around the standard. He slapped the trigger, the lance immediately retracting with a force that nearly yanked his arm from its socket.
Jarvan flexed his arms, concentrating on summoning the last of the power of his ancestors to his side and into his lance. He would raise the lance above his head as soon as he clear the standard and bring it down with every once of force in his body upon the dragon's exposed neck.
The standard shifted amid the rocks.
The force on the lance went slack and the standard came loose from the pile of rock. It spun about and clattered to the ground as the tip of the lance suddenly raced back to meet Jarvan. He hit the pile of rock instead of shooting over it, his shoulder striking down upon the stone, the force of the blow causing Jarvan to black out momentarily. His leg was gone now; it only felt like a stump of fire. He tried to twist about as momentum carried him through the air, but without the ability to use both of his legs, his body simply bounced off the stone and tumbled end over end like an overdressed rag doll.
So this is what hell is like... Jarvan coughed as he ground to a stop in the mud and felt something warm trickle down his cheek. He could taste copper, and it hurt to breath. Ribs? Jarvan snorted, choking on more blood. I've got nothing left to break... Something lifted him into the air, the ground racing away from him as his head rolled to the side. Jarvan saw nothing but the sky, rain drops striking his face as he blinked. It was the only thing he could move in his entire body. He looked up at the gray sky, a blank expression upon his face as darkness began to fill the corners of his vision. He tried to sigh, but the pain in his chest caused him to cough, and the coughing only made the pin in his chest worse.
What a gloomy day.
For some reason, that was the only thought that came to Jarvan's mind as the sky rushed past him. The ground came into view, the ruins of a peaceful village dominating the horizon. The open mouth of the gnarled, green dragon came up to meet him, latching onto his torso. Jarvan wanted to scream out in pain as the fangs cut through his body, but he couldn't breath. His lungs felt empty, the burning sensation of a lack of breath filled his chest. Darkness swept over his field of vision as he blacked out completely.
The dragon caught the nimble little pest in its jaw, each of its fangs easily as long as the vermin's forearm. He twisted the creature back and forth, whipping its body about trying to make sure the painful like rodent was finally dead. The dragon's rumbled unhappily, the taste of steel something it did not enjoy. It could taste a hint of the coppery human blood, but the armored human flesh was hardly appetizing, the steel grating against its teeth and sent chills through its body. The dragon whipped him about again before it finally spit the creature out onto the ground. The dragon sneered with mock-satisfaction as the other vermin, the half-breed, let out a pained cry.
Shyvana cried out as a heavy weight fell upon her.
Her head swam as she blinked the tears and rainwater from her eyes and looked up into the sky. She swept her hand across her face, wiping the water from the side of her face where the rain he soaked her. She tried to sit up to catch her breath, but there was a heavy weight upon her chest and stomach. She pushed against the weight with her hand, surprised when her hand came away warm and sticky. She blinked a few times as she held her hand in front of her face, surprised; her pale hands looked black in the darkness.
Blood?
She pushed herself up, pain wracking her body as she tried to sit up. Her entire body ached, and red tinged her vision, a myriad of colors playing about in front of her. She groaned through the pain, finally propping herself up with her elbow and looked down for where she had been wounded. Her entire body hurt, but that was a good sign. Pain meant that something was still attached.
She blinked through the tears the pain brought to her eyes, but she froze when she saw the gleam of silver and gold on her lap, crimson blood coating much of it.
"Jarvan!" She felt her voice get caught in her throat. He was lain out on top of her, his body splayed out in an awkward position, several of the spikes upon his shoulder pauldron having been snapped clean off. The ground rumbled as the Dragon twisted about to face her. The sound of her voice had caught it's attention. It brought it's head to bear, the darkness of it's throat beginning to glow a violent orange. "Jarvan... get up!" She shook his shoulder, the weight of his body heavy upon her stomach and her legs. "Jarvan!"
Horror filled her mind as the flames started to envelop her and she clamped her eyes shut, fear gripping her heart.
This is just like my nightmare.
She pulled Jarvan's body closer up into her lap as the thunder of the Dragon's roar echoed around her, snapping her mind out of a fog. She was conflicted as she looked at Jarvan's body; she wanted to strike out in revenge, but she also want to stay with Jarvan and try to help him. She could feel her temper starting to heat up, the flare of heat surrounding her causing her hair to swirl and dance around her. Anger, pain and fear all were welling up inside of her as she clutched at Jarvan's body and watched as the Dragon moved closer. The Dragon snorted as it turned about, looking at her down its long snout. It lowered its head down to her level and met her eye to eye. It examined her, its eyes dilating as it glared at her, finally its chest expanding and rumbling as it laughed, like the roll of distant thunder.
"I'll kill you..." Shyvana growled through gritted teeth, her hands clenched into fists. The dragon backed it head away from her, as if it was surprised to hear her speak. It chuckled again, closing its eyes and backing away, letting its laugh of thunder rumble deep from within its throat.
"IT HURTS DOESN'T IT?" The dragon's voice rumbled around her, almost inside her head as it loomed over her. Shyvana felt her mouth open in disbelief.
"Wha..." She started to say, but the dragon cut her off with a snort of hot air that rolled over her body, the stench of sulfur heavy on the creatures breath.
"I WAS TOLD TO PASS ON A MESSAGE BEFORE I KILLED YOU..." The dragon rumbled, its voice a mixture of rumbling bass and a snake-like hiss. The creature pulled back its leathery chops in what was best described as a wicked sneer. "ANOTHER MAN YOU LOVED HAS DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR BIRTH. YOU CAN REPENT IN HELL, HALF BREED SCUM."
"Kampf." Shyvana hissed and the dragon nodded, chuckling aloud. She felt all of the hair on her body stand on end, ice crawling through her veins. She closed her eyes as the Dragon opened it's mouth and lower it's razor sharp fangs towards her neck. She pulled Jarvan's body towards her, holding onto it.
"Shyvana!"
The dragon snapped its head up and away, snorting again, growling. It was a sound like an army marching to war, low and menacing, deep inside your chest. Shyvana brought her head up from Jarvan's shoulder and looked around quickly. The dragon took two steps towards the side, roaring, its head twisting about as it finished with a high pitched screech. Shyvana turned and looked in the direction the dragon was going.
"Shyvana!" The shout came again. The dragon answered the shouts with a wave of flames that lit the area around her like a hellscape. The dragon shivered as its flames began to die, smoke and steam swirling out of its mouth as the dragon growled violently. The dragon hissed as it took a half step back, suddenly becoming defensive. It snapped angrily, hissing menacingly as if took another step back.
"SHYVANA!" She blinked several times and looked back over her shoulder. Isaacs stood perched on a wall of rubble, his shield in hand as he looked over the clearing, full of flame-blackened rubble and stagnant water. The dragon seemed surprised and took several seconds to stare at him before snapping it's jaw shut and taking a step forward, the ground shaking beneath it's massive gait.
"Isaacs!" She said, surprised, her voice lost amid the roaring of the angered dragon as it stepped backwards hesitantly. The dragon roared defiantly, raising its head back as it sucked in a breath, its chest beginning to glow a faint orange beneath the overlapping armored scales.
"Stay down!" Isaacs shouted, leaping off the rubble and over her head. He hit the ground and twisted down into a crouch, slamming his shield into the ground as he hunkered behind it. His body and shield were silhouetted against the flames, only harsh orange outlines showing upon his face as he grimaced, pushing back against the shield. He struggled to hold his shield steady, the thin piece of metal and wood all that stood between Shyvana, Isaacs and Jarvan and the flames that could spell their end.
"Get ready to move!" Isaacs bellowed, his boot slipping as he shifted his weight, struggling to keep the shield angled, the flames billowing up and over it. "I can't hold it forever!" He pulled his sword from his sheath and slammed the blade into the ground between two cobblestones. He put one foot up against it as he pushed back against his shield with the might of his entire body.
"What about you?" Shyvana struggled, and though it pained her emotionally, she groaned as she shoved Jarvan off of her, sliding her body out from underneath his limp form. She drew his arm up and over her shoulder, the weight of his body heavy upon her slender frame. She managed to get her feet underneath her, and she levered Jarvan up into a position where she could halfway drag him.
"Don't worry!" Isaacs said with a strained grin, "I've got a plan!"
"No way!" Shyvana protested. "I remember your plan earlier!" She was hoarse, her entire body sore. "Like hell I'm leaving you!" Isaacs tried to smile at her, pain and strain both clawed at his face as she struggled to hold the shield in place.
"You need to get Jarvan out of here!" Isaacs shouted. The flames died away, leaving a sea of steam and hissing stone as the rain began to fall again. "Go now!" Isaacs shouted, sliding his arm into the leather strap that bound the shield to his arm. Steam rose from Isaacs' shield as he brought the shield up in front of him. He yanked his sword from the ground and wheeled about, sprinting towards the dragon.
"That's not a plan!" Shyvana shouted at his back, but he paid her no heed. "Damnit, you old idiot!" She glanced back and forth between Jarvan and Isaacs. "Damn... damn, damn, damn..." She muttered as she hauled Jarvan along the ground.
Isaacs raised his shield above his head and blocked a wall of flames that was rushing forth to meet him, the flames singeing his cloak and sending up a wall of steam around him. The dragon tried to lower the stream, but Isaacs matched it and he hunkered down on the ground just in time, the flames bouncing up off the stone and splitting across either side of his shield.
"You scaley fuck!" Isaacs muttered as the flames receded and he started forward again, anger driving him onwards. "I may be old, but I WILL see your end!" He growled as he ducked the Dragon's claw as it lashed out towards him. He spun sideways away from the blow, and then had to deflect a second strike as the dragon snapped at him. Isaacs slammed the shield into the side of the Dragon's head and the wheeled about as it roared, shaking it's head violently back and forth to try and dispel the shock it felt.
"How do you like them apples, huh?" Isaacs said as the dragon shook its head, the force of the blow clearly surprising it. "Punk ass dragon." He had to jump back as the dragon charged forward, sending him crashing to his butt, his sword skittering away. "...shit." He muttered, a sickening feeling in his stomach. The Dragon reared it's head back, preparing to strike. It came like a viper, striking with blinding speed. Isaacs threw himself backwards, sliding along the surface of the ground through a puddle.
THUD!
The Dragon slammed it's head into the ground right where Isaacs had been sitting, sending up a wave of cobble stone and dirt that crashed down around Isaacs, mixed with the rain. The Dragon howled angrily, shaking it's head from side to side, spitting out stone and dirt. Isaacs wore a grin that displayed his satisfaction with the dragon's pain and displeasure as it struggled to spit out the stone and mud. He struggled up to his feet, Isaacs still wearing his grin triumphantly. The glint of steel drew his eye and he scampered along the ground, snatching his blade up as the dragon came again.
Isaacs felt his heel strike something vertical, and he didn't need to look to tell what it was. His back was up against the wall. The dragon shook its head, panning left to right looking for Isaacs. It passed him the first time, but quickly snapped back. It reared its head back and launched another quick attack, its mouth wide open. Isaacs dived aside and hit the ground hard, the wind getting knocked from his body. He rolled over, not even taking time to catch his breath. He brought the sword up as the dragon howled, it's nose smashed into a block of granite as large as a small carriage. The blade slid upon the armored scales that lined the dragon's underbelly before it hit a groove under one plate, along the surface of another.
Isaacs levered his body around and then drove the sword up with all his might, sinking it deep into the dragon's neck. The creature immediately howled in rage and pain, jerking its head up and away from the pain, lifting Isaacs off the ground, leaving the man to kick and struggle, holding onto the blade. The dragon yowled aloud as Isaacs held on to his blade, not willing to lose it and his shield again. The beast whipped its neck about, trying to throw Isaacs off, but the old man was obstinate. He tried to maintain his iron grip on the hilt of his blade, but the sword was slick with rain and blood, and Isaacs could feel his hand slipping. As the dragon swept its head about, Isaacs tried to grab the cross piece, letting go of the hilt with one hand. The tip of his gloves brushed the hardened steel, but he felt the hilt slip from his grasp. His stomach turned as he flew up through the air, the world swirling around him.
"So this is how birds see it..." Isaacs mused as the ground seemed to fall away from him. This could make for a great joke... Isaacs closed his eyes as the ground began to come up to meet him.
The impact didn't come though.
Isaacs opened his eyes, expect to see stars or at least the ground of the sky, but he didn't expect the pool of blood that he was laying in.
"Well..." He grunted, vaguely becoming aware of the massive pain that started at his left knee. "I suppose death would have been too easy..."