The Grim Legion

by Kindred Ult

  "Oh," Brand grinned. "And how exactly do you strike said vengeance against us?"

  "Well, you see, I can let any werewolf in, but any other race must be crushed. However, I decide what a 'werewolf' is and what is not. I'm far more perceptive than any werewolf will ever be. I'm not fooled, but I let some in anyway, just to screw with you." It sounded so satisfied with itself.

  Something about the way it was speaking gave Brand pause, but he figured that he would have to press on if he had any chance of catching up to the dragon, so he just laughed. "Good job, you do your best to bring about our demise."

  As he ran off he heard Stone Wolf yell back. "Oh I will, inevitable and bitter death and destruction to your race and a good evening and good luck to you, Brand Kyrcerin, my friend."

  Brand found it hard to shrug off anything Stone Wolf said, but he focused on morphing into his first class form and running with all of his speed in the direction of the power Stone Wolf had specified. Even while he was in his first class form, however, he could not feel a trace of Deathbreak within him, and that felt good. He felt the miles slip past him with relish, and for a few hours he allowed himself to bask in the physical exertion of running. Monotonous tasks, while they may be an anathema to mortals, were relaxing to Brand. Their familiarity comforted him. He ran for a night, ran in his normal elf form for the day, and ran for most of the next night as well before he finally caught the scent of the dragon. It had been moving swiftly, but now its scent was motionless. He decided that it was either sleeping or resting. Either option provided him with the perfect chance to attack it.

  It was close now, close enough for him to realize that Dragons gave of very little scent for being such large animals. Had Stone Wolf not given him better directions, he may never have been able to find it. He had found it, though, and he could hear its steady breathing. It seemed to be asleep, so Brand very carefully crept up to the bushes that covered the clearing the beast was in and slowly pulled one aside. At first all he saw was bright, blazing red, and then it was eclipsed for a moment by darker red as the dragon blinked it huge eye. Brand lunged back as he heard the dragon's laughter bellow through the forest.

  "So they did send one after me. Every time I enter this worthless forest they send a werewolf or vampire or something after me, and every time the outcome is the same. The dragon backed away from the hole in the bushes, and Brand's eyes widened as he realized how gigantic the dragon really was. Brand was at least twelve feet tall in his current form, but he was dwarfed by the huge monstrosity that was before him. It could easily have been the size of his house, if not larger.

  Brand forced himself away from his awe at the Dragon's physique for long enough to notice that it was breathing in excessively. Brand did not need the dragon's red skin to tell him what was coming, and he desperately leapt to the side as the dragon exhaled and the air in front of its mouth exploded into a fiery inferno. Grass, bushes, and trees alike were burned in the flames that billowed forth from the dragon's throat. Thankfully, Darkoven wood is very resistant to fire, so forest fires were non-existent.

  Brand barely dodged the flames with his jump, and when he landed he drew his larger sword from the sheath on his back and held it in both hands before charging into the clearing. He was to the dragon's left, but the dragon quickly turned so that they were facing one another.

  "Good," it breathed, little wisps of fire licking the air with every breath it took, "I was hoping that this would not be over as quickly as the last three." It lunged towards him, and just as it came in reach it shot out its neck in a quick thrust. Brand had figured that it would do this, and he quickly stepped to the side. The dragon's enormous jaws closed just inches from Brand's body, and he even felt a mild discomfort as some of his chest fur was caught in its teeth. As soon as the jaws snapped shut, Brand ran forward and leapt into the air. He swung his sword behind him and smashed it into the dragon's neck with all of the strength he possessed.

  To his chagrin, the sword barely went a foot into the Dragon's iron-hard scales, and its neck was at least five times as large. When he tried to pull the sword out again, however, he found that nothing he could do would dislodge it from where it steadfastly held the line. In a way, he admired his sword's determination, but far more he wished that it would give up the fight and withdraw so that they could assault the enemy again.

  The time Brand spent trying to unfasten his sword, however, was far too much. The dragon brought one of its arms back, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground. He gasped at the sheer strength of the dragon, but he regained enough composure to roll over when the dragon tried to pin him to the ground with its claws, and then fling himself as far away from the beast as a single leap could take him. When Brand landed from his jump, he felt the ground around him shaking and spun around the see the dragon charging at him once again, only this time it was somehow running on its hind legs with its forelegs and neck coiled for attack.

  Brand readied himself and ducked under the first slash from a hand before leaping into the air, dodging above the second slash, and then flipping in the air to just barely dodge the dragon's snapping jaws. He finished the flip securely on the dragon's back, where he thought that he could have an advantage. He pulled his second sword from its sheath, but before he could put it to any use the dragon swung its tail up and wrapped it around him. He immediately realized the futility of struggling. The tail was many times stronger than he was. The dragon laughed as it brought him in front of it. A sneer was on its snout.

  "I've got five limbs, fool. Did they really think that you were strong enough to defeat me? Although I must admit that you're stronger than all the ones before you. For some reason they usually send weak ones to me. Still, now at least I'll feast well."

  Brand tried struggling, even if it was just out of principle. The dragon squeezed him painfully with it's tail, and his muscles clenched together as he was slowly crushed. Then they expanded back out just a moment as the tail relaxed, and it was at that moment that Brand smiled and shifted into his normal form. The dramatic change in mass sent him just under the tail's grip as it snapped together right above his head. Brand ran towards the bushes as he tried to think of a plan. Brute strength seemed extremely useless in this fight. He got out of the clearing and then quickly ran around the cover for a bit before finding a good tree to slump behind. He subconsciously slipped into his elf form, and let his special eyesight sweep over the forest. The dragon was still searching for him, but his change in scent had it disoriented.

  Still, this seemed to be a pointless battle. There did not seem to be an obvious way to beat this dragon, and he could not run away. As he was absently scanning the forest, however, he came across a herd of animals. He could see their life flow through them, and he suddenly got an idea. He wondered why he had forgotten about what he had been so long ago. He had to think back; back to before he had become a werewolf; back even to before he had become a vampire slayer. He went back to when he spent his second century of life devoted to the ways of a druid. The memories came flooding back to him, and he expanded the scope of his mind. He sent his consciousness directly to the herd of animals, and he wasted no time in contacting the alpha male.

  It expressed great surprise at his intrusion upon its mind, but in moments it eagerly welcomed him. He spoke in a language that was not his own, but that was somehow a universal language. Any person or animal, after hearing this language, would be able to understand it and respond.

  'Beast, I have need of your help. I am a druid, and I am in a dire situation. I desire for you and your herd to assist me in my battle.'

  The animal was able to give a gruff response in the same language. It was barely intelligible, but Brand was half surprised that he could understand it at all. 'We help…and you give…Blessing?'

  This one was rather intelligent. Brand had half suspected that it would know about the blessing, though, and he was prepared to give it to them. 'Yes. I will give you the blessing in exchange for your aid, but I w
arn you that many of your herd may die if you help me in my fight with a fire-breathing dragon.'

  'Swear that you will give blessing.' The beast was single-minded, but almost all were.

  'I swear by the leaf, branch, and root that I, Brand Kyrcerin, will bestow upon you and your herd the Eternal Gift if you assist me in my fight.' This was more than just a sentence. Saying it meant that Brand would have to do what he said. He was bound to follow his word now, no matter what.

  Its mind flowed over with joy. 'We help.'

  Brand would have been happier had the dragon not been very close to him at that moment. In fact, it had just recaptured his scent, and was very, very close to him.

  Morazar was angry. Not only had the werewolves sent a weak werewolf after him, they had also sent a cowardly one. Well maybe it was time to teach those werewolves some proper respect. He would find them and start killing them one by one…But what was that noise?

  Brand heard the noise as well, and he smiled. 'Good,' he thought, 'they're coming.' The dragon swiveled its head around to inspect the sound just when Brand leapt from the bushes and shifted into his first class form, he silently charged the dragon, but just when he was close enough the wind changed, and his scent pervaded its nostrils. It jerked its head back and grinned. "Fool."

  It charged him and shot out its head again. Brand dropped to the ground on his chest, feeling the heat of the dragon's breath pass over him as its jaws swept past him. The dragon moved to smash him with its claws, but before it could Brand gathered his feet under him and sprang onto the underside of the dragon's neck, clenching all of his claws into it and piercing through its softer scales. He then latched his jaws onto where its Adam's apple was, but he could just barely feel his teeth sinking into it. The dragon roared, blowing fire into the air, and grabbed Brand with one of its hands. Its hand almost covered his entire torso, and it tried to pull him off. Even with all of its strength, though, Brand refused to let go. He felt like his fingers, arms, and head would be ripped off at any moment, but he still stubbornly held on.

  Then, with one final roar, the dragon ripped him from it and flung him to the side. Before it had fully accomplished that, however, Brand had let go with one hand and grabbed onto his large sword that was still stuck into its neck. Amazingly, Brand managed to land on his feet, and he stood up in his battle stance. The dragon slowly walked closer to him, not close enough for Brand to attack it, but close enough for him to hear its wheezing voice and see the blood that dripped from its throat. Five large holes were oozing blood from where Brand had been latched on, and the cut from his sword was made larger by its dislodgment as well. The dragon looked him over before speaking in a low voice.

  "You have turned out to be very tenacious, werewolf, but that does not change the fact you are weak. You've survived longer than the others, but you will still die like they did."

  The dragon inhaled deeply, and backed up, trying to get the maximum range for its fire, but it had only begun to fully inflate its lungs when dozens of figures burst from the forest and ran at it. They ran at the dragon with abandon, and began to bash themselves into its side. At first, the dragon was unaffected save to be very confused, but then a look of alarm flashed through its eyes and it wobbled on its legs. Some of the figures ran under it and slammed themselves into its right side limbs and that, along with the rest of them battering themselves against its right side, was finally too much for the dragon. It toppled over, and in moments the figures were swarming over it. The dragon swiveled its head around to release his fire and incinerate all of these pestering animals, but just then Brand and several of the largest of them leapt at it and grabbed onto its snout, wrapping their arms around it so that it could not even open its mouth.

  One of the figures was right in front of the dragon's eye, and this gave it the chance to finally see just what these things were. They were minotaurs.

  'That makes no sense.' Morazar could not help thinking to himself. 'Why would minotaurs help a werewolf.'

  He tried to struggle against them, snapping his tail and cutting several of them in half, but eventually they had pinioned each of his limbs to the ground, and he could do nothing. He saw the werewolf let go of his jaw, as another minotaur took his place, and pick his large sword back up. Morazar's eyes widened as it finally reached him that he would be killed. His fear made him renew his effort. He thrashed and fought with all of his considerable might, but no matter how hard he tried and how Herculean his strength was, the masses of minotaurs always kept him down.

  The werewolf walked up to Morazar's chest and lifted his sword before plunging it in. Morazar let out a roar that sounded through his clenched teeth, and molten tears fell from his eyes. The werewolf kept plunging the sword into him, and each thrust sent agony throughout his entire frame. Then the werewolf shoved its hand into his chest and ripped out his heart, and the entire world went black.

  Brand did not exactly know what to do with the heart, since it was huge, but he eventually decided that he should leave it alone, seeing as he did not know if the dragon would come back to life without its heart. He placed the heart back into the chest cavity while feeling a little foolish. He had not meant to do that. He had wanted to reason with the dragon and eventually just bite it and have it become turned eventually. Now he could only hope that the dragon would come back to life as a werewolf eventually. He dropped back to the ground with exhaustion and morphed into his normal werewolf form. The minotaurs slowly left the lifeless dragon and gathered around him in a circle. Brand knew what they wanted, and he also knew that they deserved it. The alpha male stepped out of the circle and stood before Brand.

  Brand smiled, and shifted to his elf form while contacting the minotaur with his mind. As soon as the connection was established, Brand was almost overwhelmed by the elation that flowed through to him from it. It was actually smiling in its mind.

  'You…Give gift now.' It sounded like it might have been a question or a command, but Brand could not tell.

  'You realize that if I give you this gift, you must serve me for the rest of your lives or until I release you, do you not?' Brand wanted to make sure that they knew what they were asking for.

  It almost laughed. 'Yes, small price.'

  Brand sighed. 'Very well, by the leaf, branch, and root, I hereby grant you and your herd the gifts of intelligence, feeling, and most importantly, of a soul.' As soon as he spoke it Brand felt his energy flow from him, exhausting him even more. He had felt completely drained before, but now he could feel his very life force being stolen from him and transferred to the animals. Such was the price of the gift; it took some of the caster's very soul to supply it to others.

  When it was over the minotaurs looked at one another as if for the first time. Some began laughing, and some began crying. They patted each other on the back, knelt on the ground, jumped with joy, or just stood in place and stared at the world around them with new understanding. The leader walked up to where Brand was panting on the ground and stared at him. Tears were in his eyes.

  "Thank you, master, you have saved us. My name is Brokenhoof, and my herd and I are forever in your debt. All of our lives and the lives of our children will be spent trying to repay you, though we know that we will never be able to come close to what you have done for us today."

  Its sudden understanding of his language did not surprise Brand. It was customary for animals to glean knowledge from their masters. He smiled even though he felt like grimacing. He had never given the gift to anyone besides Ben before, and he felt like a part of him was missing. He still felt glad for these…people, though. "I haven't saved you Brokenhoof, I may even have damned you. You have a soul now, but you are the ones who must decide how to use it. Had you lived your lives as animals, you would have died blissfully and returned to the earth, but now you must face eternity when death overcomes you." He did not know why he was waxing philosophical, but he figured it was because he was tired. "I thank you, though, because without your herd's help, I may ha
ve had to face eternity far sooner than I wish to."

  "It was our pleasure, master, and we now know well what we have been given. We would gladly spend our lives finding a way to deal with eternity. Like I said, you have given us the greatest gift we'll ever receive, and we will think about your words. Is there anything you would like us to do?"

  Brand looked worriedly at the dragon's corpse. "Well, I guess it would be smart to do something with the dragon. I don't really know how to convert anything to being a werewolf, let alone a dragon. I guess it would be best to try to drag it to the werewolf lair and see what they have to say about it."

  "I am completely capable of bringing myself to the lair, Deathbreak."

  Brand spun around to see the dragon raise itself from the ground. It looked different than it had moments before, and Brand noticed splotches of brown amongst its red scales. The splotches slowly spread, and Brand saw that it was fur. The dragon's scales fell to the ground as more fur grew from under it, and eventually the dragon was completely covered with brown, and its eyes were slowly but completely overtaken by black. What eventually stood before Brand was a strange mixture of werewolf and dragon, and it was somehow even larger and stronger than it had been before.

  Brand stared at the large were-dragon in front of him with awe.