The bong of the gong rings out across the mountain. The earth shudders. My dragon takes to the sky. Her wings spread far to obscure the sun, and her roar causes my heart to speed up while she descends upon us. Her claws crash into the ground on either side of me. I look up. The dragon cranes her neck around and positions her head to look down at me. Her lips curl in what could pass for a sneer. The beast seems to scoff and shakes her mighty head at me. My body becomes cold and I shudder. In this instant there's a clear communication between dragon and woman. She doesn't think I'm worth shit. I'll need to prove her wrong.
I stand tall and pull my sword from my back. A low, feral growl a little behind my right knee lets me know my Mabari is with me. My lover and friend both make sure to stay a safe distance away from the dragon and I, though, they promise they're going to be helping. The dragon lets her jaws fall open. A maw of teeth the length of my sword greet me. Her wild, spiked tongue flails about while her red, meaty throat opens. A terrible roar deafens me as spittle and slaver rain down upon me. The dragon rears onto her back legs, kicks out with her front, and slams back down onto the ground in the exact same position she was. Her next roar can't get through my thick haze of confusion from the first roar. Finally, she stops screaming and the battle truly begins.
Morrigan begins raining down ice spells upon the dragon's front left leg. Leliana focuses her arrows on the dragon's back left leg. Duncan and I both charge underneath the creature's stomach, exit near its right side, and attack its right side together. I've never felt more alive in this moment. My heart is pounding my adrenaline-laced blood through my tingling body. My breath comes in sharp, hard gasps. My eyes snap to and fro with a speed I've never possessed before. My mind is buzzing and going blank with nothing besides a battle-plan filling my mind. The dragon lifts her wings high above her body, throws her head back, and screams her rage at the world. For a brief second, time seems to stop. It's as if the entire universe itself is looking down upon this gorgeous creature.
A universe so uncaring and cold like the one I'm in spares a thought for one of the most beautiful creatures in existence. Then, the universe goes back to normal and I keep ripping her scales away with my tremendous sword. Her thick, hot blood is beginning to pour out of her leg and soak Duncan and I. I know it's not fatal or even too painful for her. Flemeth taught me dragons are more durable than I could have ever imagine (which is saying something considering I thought dragons were living fortresses of muscle and bone before messing around with Flemeth).
Suddenly, the dragon raises her front right leg and holds it for a few seconds. I manage to glance over my shoulder. The dragon has turned her head and is judging whether she's going to hit us or not. I should move with Duncan. I don't. Instead, I'm thrown to the ground with Duncan as the dragon swipes us. My shoulder aches, but I ignore it as I push myself up. Morrigan and Leliana haven't let up on their respective legs. Sadly, the dragon has ran away from Duncan and I. She leaps around in a circle until she's half of the arena away from us, then roars a challenge at Duncan and I. Thankfully, Morrigan and Leliana are a safe distance away. Duncan and I charge at the dragon. The mighty beast raises her wings high above her body, then slams them back down until they hit the ground.
Duncan and I are already inside of the vortex the dragon has made with her wings. Leliana and Morrigan, however, have to stop attacking as they're pulled in. Morrigan grabs onto a rock by her foot and refuses to let go. Leliana turns towards the dragon and begins running. Duncan and I return to the dragon's right back leg and begin trying to tear it apart. Another slam of the wings. Leliana stumbles, but keeps running. Morrigan holds tight. A third. Morrigan holds tight. Leliana barely gets inside the vortex. A fourth. Morrigan's grip breaks. Leliana desperately tries to catch her breath.
A fifth. Morrigan is throw about ten feet and groans in pain. Leliana has caught her breath. The dragon takes one step backwards and stops with her wings. Morrigan pushes herself up while Leliana runs a safe distance away from the dragon. Suddenly, a crack comes from the leg Duncan and I were working on. A thick, rancid wave of scarlet blood washes over my Mabari and me. The dragon howls and leaps away from us using her wings to give herself a gigantic push to the side. Morrigan and Leliana run out of the way and position themselves farther away from the dragon on a different side of the arena. Duncan and I keep charging at the wounded dragon.
This time we begin working on her front leg on her right side. Morrigan and Leliana get on the same page as us and attack the same leg we're working on. The dragon growls deep enough to shake the ground. She lifts the leg we're working on. Duncan and I don't move for some reason. Instead, we tank the attack as we're knocked to the ground once again. Morrigan and Leliana don't give up as they keep attacking the beast's leg. The tremendous animal positions it so Duncan and I are in between her legs. My Mabari and I rise as she does her next attack. She pulls her head upwards and fire begins boiling over in her gigantic maw.
A roaring, burning fire engulfs me, Duncan, and Morrigan because she's still standing too close. Duncan and I withstand the flame, but Morrigan has to down a healing pollute in order not to get knocked out or killed. Eventually, the dragon stops her assault when it becomes clear none of us are being moved. Once again, she raises her front right leg where Duncan and I are. We don't move, and find ourselves on the floor. Leliana and Morrigan continue targeting the leg we were attacking while we heave ourselves off of the ground. The dragon flares her wings backwards and begins taking a few steps backwards to get away from us.
Duncan and I stay right on her as our companions never stop their onslaught of arrows and spells. Finally, the dragon jumps away in a circle again that gets her half of an arena away from us. Duncan and I charge while Leliana and Morrigan keep firing. The dragon surprises me by walking towards us as we approach her. Duncan and I attack her front left leg. Morrigan and Leliana switch targets to keep up with us. The dragon growls deep in her throat before knocking us down once again. Her claws have done some damage to Duncan and my defenses are about to be breached. Still, Duncan and I stand and begin attacking her leg once again. The dragon growls before raising her tail high into the sir to the side of her body.
The beast even cranes her neck around and spreads her legs to see where her tremendous weapon is. Thankfully, Duncan and I somehow manage to avoid her tail as we rush to her front left leg. Suddenly, the dragon rears before slamming her legs down and roaring loud enough to shake the mountain. Red runes surrounded Duncan and I, and I'm assuming they surround my allies. The dragon takes a few steps to the left to give herself more room to work. Duncan and I keep charging for her leg and never letting up in the slightest. She rears once again, but when she comes down there are four booms that echo through the mountain range. I can already tell that the runes are exploded. Leliana and Morrigan briefly break off attacking and I assume they're taking healing pollutes and not knocked out.
Thankfully, my hunch is correct and the two eventually resume attacking the leg Duncan and I are going after. The dragon flares her wings and takes a few steps back while roaring. Her roar is significantly weaker. The dragon suddenly starts to move her wings; however, her front left leg cracking and spewing blood stops her. The dragon flies across half of the arena with another hop and flap of her wings. Leliana and Morrigan are once again forced to move further away from the dragon. Meanwhile, Duncan and I go after her front right leg.
Leliana and Morrigan soon join us in our assault. The dragon's front right leg is already weakened. She doesn't break like I want, but the dragon lifts the leg and hops a little ways away from Duncan and I. My Mabari and I are already charging before she's done. The dragon lifts her wings again as we reach her. A powerful slam downwards. Morrigan and Leliana both dig their heels into the ground, but they're ultimately pulled closer. Still, the two don't stop attacking. A second pull. Neither of their attacks get through. A third. Both of them begin running. A fourth. They get inside the vortex of air and manage to get a few attacks off. A fifth. The dragon closes her wings and walks backwards away from all of my party members. Leliana and Morrigan retreat to the opposite side of the battlefield.
Duncan and I resume attacking the front right leg. When Morrigan and Leliana are settled they pick up the attack again to. The dragon rears her head back and more fire starts bubbling from inside her snout. Fire washes over Duncan, myself, and (very briefly) Leliana. None of us have to stop to take a pollute or anything. The beast growls and spins around again while covering the distance of half of the arena. However, just as she lands her front right leg cracks. A scream of pain as the mighty beast attempts to get away only to run out of arena.
Leliana begins firing off moves that drain her of all of her energy, Morrigan lays down a blizzard to hit all of the dragon's legs, Duncan starts tearing into the only uninjured leg with vigor (after charging over to it like a wild beast), and I find myself hitting the beast harder and quicker than I ever would have thought possible. It's like we can all taste and smell the blood we've brought forth from this mighty beast. My pulse continues to pound away in my ears as my entire body hums with a comfortable high of battle. The dragon attempts to lift her leg to swat us away, but she can't put all of her weight on her already-wounded three other legs. She tries to raise her tail. She can't seem to get it high enough or aim it right. Finally, the dragon begins trying to get away.
That's when the fourth crack resounds across all of the mountain. The beast falls onto her side. Her belly is bombarded with icy spells and snowy arrows. Duncan begins tearing at the scales on the beast's throat. In the end, I'm the one to do the deed that must be done. I walk forward with my sword drawn and a fire in my eyes. The dragon doesn't fight or snarl when I come near. I stroke her once between the eyes. For a moment, we are not foes. We are both warriors. She's much older and stronger than me, but we're still warriors. I whisper to her.
"Thank you.". I plunge my sword into her skull and kill her.