by Hans Bezdek
“Stop running away, you freak!” screamed Ulrich, punching out at me again.
Happy to oblige, I grabbed his fist with my right hand and squeezed it as hard as I could. The half black dragon winced and tried to pull away, but instead I yanked him toward me. As he stumbled forward I kicked him in the midsection, sending him flying back. Ulrich crashed into the wall, making a large dent and causing the entire cave to shake.
I flew forward, wanting to give my new wings a try. I reached the other side of the room in roughly a second, where I punched Ulrich and sent him deeper into the cave lining. The half dragon coughed as he fell onto his knees.
“This is incredible,” I mumbled, turning my hands over. I had never been so fast and strong before. To think I could’ve been doing this for weeks…
Ulrich kicked off and shot for the roof. I thought about letting him go so I could see what his plan was. It seemed like nothing he did could hurt me, after all. But I remembered the battle raging outside, and knew that the more time we wasted the more people would die. This fight needed to come to an end sooner rather than later. I hopped into the air and effortlessly closed the gap between us.
I noticed Ulrich had something orange forming in his mouth as he flew away. Knowing what was coming and wanting to test an idea, I inhaled and summoned my own fire. Ulrich spun around and opened his mouth, shooting his flame breath point blank at me. I let loose my own at the same time, unleashing a much larger flame, which was more blue than orange or red. My fire devoured his in an instant, then enveloped him.
Ulrich let out a painful scream and his flaming body shot immediately to the ground. The half dragon rolled on it as quickly as he could, eventually putting the flames out.
“This… This can’t be happening!” he roared, slamming his fists into the ground several times like an angry child.
“Thanks for putting that mask on me,” I said, landing a few feet from him. “I’m not so sure I’d have figured it out by myself. I had worn it before in my human form and nothing ever happened, so I had no idea how it was supposed to help defeat you.”
“I’m being bested by an imbecile!” hissed Ulrich.
“That’s hurtful and unnecessary,” I said.
The black half dragon leapt at me again, claws extended for my neck. I took half a step back, then spun around. My twin tails smashed into his face and chest, sending Ulrich spinning head over feet into his bookcases.
“You’re not going to get me like that,” I said, stalking toward the collapsed shelves.
Ulrich pushed the broken wood off of him. “I’m… I’m thinking no one will defeat you.”
I stopped and tilted my head. “What do you mean?”
“You’re too powerful right now,” said Ulrich, wincing as he got up. “You’ve yet to break a sweat while fighting me.”
“Don’t take it personally,” I shrugged.
“Imagine what the two of us could do together!” said Ulrich, clenching his fist and raising it up. “The two of us could bring Yaerna to its knees!”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “How many times do I have to tell you n-”
Ulrich tackled me with all his power, sending the two of us tumbling into his maps. The black half dragon tore at me as quickly as he could while we fought to get the upper hand, sending green scales everywhere while also destroying his maps. I grabbed his claws with mine after recovering from the surprise hit.
“Cut it out!” I hissed, pushing him down.
“You think I’d give up so easily?!” hissed Ulrich, sounding almost deranged. “I’m the crowned one! I’m the one that will bring the Dar’Ka back to greatness!”
With surprising strength, the half dragon began to push me back. Was he talking himself up to make himself stronger? It was starting to look like he had lost his mind.
“I’ll burn this world down and start it over fresh,” said Ulrich, his eyes going wild as he was slowly starting to lift his shoulders off of the ground. “Neither you nor your friends will survive long enough to-”
I headbutt him.
The half dragon’s eyes when blank and he plopped back down onto the maps, no longer putting up a fight. He was unconscious, at least for the moment.
I got to my feet and looked down at the black half dragon. For months, he had been terrorizing Yaerna. Up until a few minutes ago, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to defeat him. Now that he laid there unmoving, it was my chance to kill him without a struggle. I raised my right claw up to finish him off and then… stopped.
He was the only other half dragon. We had gone through so many of the same experiences, worries, and loneliness. This very cave was proof that he might’ve suffered all of those even worse than I did. At least I had the Tumblers for a good chunk of my life, even if that didn’t end the best. Ulrich never had anyone.
Ulrich’s eyes flickered as I contemplated what to do. He let out a groan and his eyes fixed on mine, then on my raised claw. The black half dragon pushed off the ground in a final burst of energy, opening his mouth and going straight for my neck.
My left arm shot out and grabbed his throat right before he got to me. Applying enough pressure to keep him from freeing himself or coming at me again, I slowly inched him away while still holding him up. Ulrich glared at me, then relaxed.
“S-So this is h-how it e-ends,” he wheezed.
“It doesn’t have to,” I mumbled.
Ulrich’s eyes narrowed, waiting for me to continue.
“Stop all of this,” I said quietly.
“W-What…?” wheezed Ulrich.
“Stop this stupid war,” I said. “You’re the only other half dragon out there, at least that we know of. I don’t want to have to kill you. If you call off your dragons and agree to answer for the crimes you’ve committed, I’ll spare you.”
Ulrich spat blood in my face.
“That is so unhygienic,” I groaned, wiping away the surely diseased blood. Why did dragons keep doing that to me?
“I knew it!” hissed Ulrich, putting his face close to mine. “You are weak! You can’t finish me off… You’re a fool. Even if the people of Yaerna lock me up somewhere, I’ll find a way out.”
“That so?” I asked.
“There will always be those willing to follow me,” grinned Ulrich as he wheezed. “I’ll grow an even stronger army next time, and you and your pathetic friends won’t be so lucky. The four of you will face the most unpleasant deaths you could ever imagine! Your blood will fill the streets of Ra’Chok, your bodies will be hoisted up on poles for all to see, your-ugh!”
I shoved my right hand through Ulrich’s chest.
“I get it,” I sighed, pulling my hand out and letting the black half dragon drop to the floor. As his head thumped down, Ludek’s crown rolled off and came to a stop a couple of feet away.
I had done it.
Ulrich’s reign had come to an end.
Chapter 20
I didn’t have time to relish the victory. I picked up everything that fell out of my bag and put it back on. Grabbing Ludek’s crown in one hand and Ulrich’s limp body in my other, I ran back through the passageway I had come from. Being bigger made this a much tighter fit, not to mention dragging the black half dragon’s body behind me, but I eventually made it back out into the rain.
I flew up and back to Chundar. Thanks to my new speed, I reached the edge of the castle within a minute. The battle in the air was still going, while the combat on the ground looked to essentially be over. Groups of Greeners were being separated and taken as prisoners, and none of them were putting up a fight. The dragons were still going all out against one another, although both sides had tired dragons hanging back and recovering.
Flying down to the ground, I quickly scanned the area and found my friends. I got a lot of double takes from the Collective’s ground troops as I flew past them, landing a few feet from where my friends were getting bandaged. The rest of the surviving leaders of the Collective were gathered around them, with the ex
ception of Laurinaitis.
“Glad to see you made it back safely,” I said to the others. Everyone nearby jumped and took a few steps back from me.
“R-Reimar?!” stammered Emerich.
“The one and only,” I smiled at him.
“Yer voice!” exclaimed Braun. “It’s deeper!”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, clearing my throat. “It’s changed a bit, I guess.”
“I quite like it,” said Kiera, who had reverted back to her human form.
“What happened to you?” asked Dhot. “You look even weirder than usual, too.”
“Thanks for that,” I mumbled. “Long story short, I put on the Great Oracle’s mask while in my half dragon form, and it turned me into this. I’m a lot stronger, now.”
“Doesn’t that mean ya could’ve done this earlier?” asked Braun.
“It’s not my fault the Great Oracle didn’t explain it!” I said defensively. “He told all of you how your gifts worked!”
“You did it!” gasped Cassandra, pointing at the body in my hands. “You killed Ulrich!”
“Oh, right,” I nodded. “That, too.”
“We’ve got them Greeners well taken care of,” said King Julfr. “Those Deathbringers caused em all to surrender almost immediately. Guess they knew what was good fer em.”
“Deathbringers certainly aren’t fun to fight against,” I said, grinning at Cassandra. “How’s the fight looking above us?”
“Like it’s not going to end anytime soon,” said Cassandra. “Our archers are mostly worthless down here.”
“And I don’t have my scope for Helga anymore,” nodded Dhot sadly.
I unceremoniously dropped Ulrich’s body and fished out the goblin’s looking glass. I handed it over, along with Cassandra’s necklace and Braun’s stone. “This should help.”
“You didn’t lose it!” smiled Dhot, quickly attaching the scope to his gun.
“I’d better go see if I can end this fight,” I said, picking up Ulrich again. I was about to leap into the air, but paused. “Our dragon’s might be a little cautious about me in my new form… Cassandra, could you come with in case they need further convincing?”
“W-Why can’t Braun go?” she asked, not looking eager to be in the air again.
“He’s not as diplomatic as you,” I pointed out. “Same with Dhot. No offense, guys.”
“None taken,” they said in unison.
“I can accompany you if Cassandra feels uncomfortable,” smiled Kiera, taking a step toward me. “I bet you make for a wild ride.”
“That’s okay!” said Cassandra quickly, putting her arm out in front of Kiera. “I, uh, I think I’ll be okay up there. It’s best if you rest.”
“You’re injured, too,” pointed out Dhot.
“Let’s get going!” said Cassandra, ignoring the goblin.
I leaned down and let her get on my back, wrapping her good arm around my neck. When she was as secure as she was going to be, I gently lifted off and made for the center of the fight.
Breaths of flame shot out at random intervals as the two sides continued to punch, bite, and claw at one another. Some reds were chasing a blue, but were quickly routed by a pair of gold and silver dragons. Laurinaitis was barking commands at some of the Collective’s dragons, pointing to where they most needed help. Everyone looked tired, but the fight continued.
“What should we do?” I asked Cassandra.
“I-I don’t k-know,” she said, holding me as tightly as she could and refusing to look down. “W-What was your p-plan?”
“I kinda thought the others would notice me carrying Ulrich’s body and would give up,” I said. No one appeared to have noticed us, or if they did, no one cared. “That doesn’t seem to be working…”
“M-Maybe try another way t-to get their attention?” she offered.
There was one thing that might work. Holding my head high, I picked a spot that was empty air. I opened my mouth and summoned as much fire into it as I could. When I was sure I couldn’t summon more and that no one would run into it, I let my flame breath loose. Blue fire filled the sky.
That got people’s attention.
All of the dragons I could see stopped what they were doing and glanced our way to see what had caused the blue fire. Knowing I’d only have a few seconds to keep their attention before they went back to killing one another, I let out a big roar and lifted Ulrich’s body high above me.
“Reimar?” came Laurinaitis’ voice through the silence that followed. “Is that you?”
“It is!” I roared, speaking as loudly as I could. Thanks to my this new transformation, that was pretty loud. “I have defeated Ulrich! The crowned one has been killed!”
I heard some gasps from both sides.
“Er… what now?” I whispered to Cassandra.
She took a second to reply as she thought. “M-Maybe put the crown on?”
“Really?” I asked, glancing at it in my other hand. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“I-I don’t see how it could hurt.”
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I put the purple crown on my head. There were more gasps at this. “I am now the crowned one!”
I noticed a few of the Collective’s dragons exchanging worried glances. They might’ve been thinking this was my plan all along and I had used them, but that was far from the truth. I just wanted people to stop fighting.
“He wears the crown!” one of the black dragons shouted.
“He is the rightful savior!” called out one of the reds.
The black and reds flew closer to me, all of them bowing their heads.
“Er, this is a bit unexpected,” I muttered to Cassandra.
“Definitely,” she nodded. “B-But we should use it t-to our advantage. Call the fight off.”
She was right. That would also make the Collective’s dragons feel a bit more comfortable. I flew a little higher to make sure everyone could see me and puffed my chest out.
“This war is over!” I announced. “The Dar’Ka officially surrender.”
The Collective’s dragons exchanged surprised looks, then roared in victory. Several of the black and red dragons didn’t look happy with this news, a few of them muttering to one another. I didn’t exactly want a revolt on my hands before things got started, so I decided to lower their numbers.
“And another thing,” I added. “Any dragons that were forced to join the Dar’Ka under the previous regime are freed to leave whenever they’d like. That includes right now.”
The reaction was almost immediate. Nearly two thirds of the black and reds flew off in every direction. I had a feeling a number of those were probably loyal to Ulrich and were just pretending to have been forced in, but I didn’t care. I had no intention of keeping an army of black and red dragons together, especially one whose main purpose was to commit genocide against the other races.
“What are you doing?” hissed a red dragon. “We could’ve defeated them under Ulrich’s command!”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” I said firmly. “Ulrich intended for the dragons to wipe one another out. He planned on building his army up from scratch after today. That’s why he didn’t stay and fight with you all.”
The red dragon looked hurt, then nodded. “I… I suppose that’s not very surprising…”
“The Dar’Ka will no longer strive to destroy the other races of Yaerna, but will instead attempt to work peacefully with them,” I continued. I hesitated, then added another part that I thought would be key for making sure there wasn’t a Third Dragon War. “We will integrate with one another, both on Ra’Chok and the mainland.”
The red dragon looked excited at this, as did the rest of the Dar’Ka dragons that hadn’t flown off yet.
“I’m thankful for all you’ve done for us so far, Reimar,” said Laurinaitis. “But you can’t be serious. They were trying to kill us just moments ago.”
“They had a corrupted leader,” I said, shaking my head. “And they’ve been forced t
o live on this island for too long. Even if we keep the peace for now, how long will it be before another dragon rises up to lead them back to the mainland?”
“H-He’s right!” shouted Cassandra. “If we want the fighting to end, we’ve got to try something new!”
Laurinaitis looked like he was going to disagree some more. Instead, the dragon sighed. “Very well. We can discuss the matter further at a later time, but I give you my word that I will try to keep an open mind.”
“Works for me,” I smiled.
“You should dismiss the other dragons,” recommended Cassandra.
“Oh, er, right,” I said. I cleared my throat and addressed my new followers. “You, uh, you can all go home now.”
The black and red dragons nodded and left. The red that had addressed me earlier flew close to me before heading out. “It sounds like you may be the savior we needed after all.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so instead I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. The red dragon laughed then flew away.
“Y-You did it,” said Cassandra, as only the Collective’s dragons remained. “You ended the war.”
“We did,” I corrected her, as I slowly glided back down to rejoin the others. “The four of us, plus everyone that fought for the Collective.”
“I suppose it was sort of on us to fix the mess we created, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“We were only slightly to blame,” I lied.
We touched down and Cassandra quickly jumped onto the ground. She told the others what had occurred while I looked over Chundar. The castle was largely damaged, especially the top section of it. It also was in the middle of an island where it always stormed. But… now it was mine.
I’m not sure I wanted it. I was pretty sure I didn’t have a choice.
“Me other side will be thrilled to hear the war be over,” grinned Braun, walking over to stand next to me with Dhot and Cassandra now that the elf’s story was done. “Guess I’m a bit happy, too.”
“I’m still in shock we lived through it,” nodded Cassandra.
“Maha! That makes four of us,” laughed Dhot.
The four of us listened to the rain fall and watched as the soldiers moved the Greeners away from Chundar. Everything we were supposed to do was done. It never seemed like we would actually make it this far and live.