The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6)

by J. J. Thompson

People weren't meant to stand on the top of mountains was his thought. Leave the peaks to the wind and the sky. And the dragons, he supposed.

  “Well, let's see if our 'ally' remembers his given word.”

  He raised his staff, looked out into the leaden gray clouds that smothered the mountain and took a deep breath.

  “Argentium!” he shouted. “Argentium, I need to speak with you.”

  His words were blown away and he stood there with the elementals, trying to hear through the howling wind.

  Time seemed to stretch and slow, and the minutes trickled by second by second. Aeris had risen to float above the wizard's head and was slowly turning around and around, searching the sky in all directions.

  Kronk had planted his feet firmly and stood with his arms folded, looking like an odd little samurai. Simon looked down at him and almost smiled. However, the situation was simply too grim to find anything amusing.

  “I guess he'd not coming,” he said finally, still speaking loudly to be heard above the wind.

  “You could call again,” Aeris said as he descended to float at the level of Simon's head.

  “Why bother? If he's as powerful as you say he is, he must have heard me.”

  The air elemental hesitated and then nodded dejectedly.

  “True enough. Well, as I said, I really wasn't thrilled with this idea to begin with. Perhaps this is the better outcome.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  Simon looked around again with a grimace.

  “No offense, Kronk, but you can have your mountaintops. People don't belong up here.”

  “Well, it is not for everyone, master,” the earthen said equably.

  “If I could at least see something,” the wizard muttered. “Frigging clouds.”

  He gave it another minute and then nodded at the elementals.

  “Let's get the hell out of here. I just want to go home and sit in front of the fireplace for about two days.”

  Aeris chuckled and even Kronk looked faintly amused, although he did look around wistfully at the barren peak.

  They moved closer to grab a part of Simon's robe and waited for him to cast the Gate spell.

  He raised his staff and then stopped as Kronk tugged on his robe.

  “Master, wait! What is that?”

  Simon lowered Mortis de Draconis and looked around.

  “What is what? I don't see anything.”

  “Neither do I,” Aeris said. “Where, Kronk?”

  “I do not see anything, master. But listen. Do you hear that?”

  Simon and Aeris strained to hear whatever the little guy was listening to.

  At first the wizard could only hear the raging wind. He looked down at Kronk, who nodded encouragingly, and kept listening.

  A sharp sound, distant but distinct, cut through the howling blast. And another. Was it...metal?

  The sounds became more regular. It was definitely metal on stone. Something was walking, climbing toward them, unseen in the fog of snow and clouds.

  “What the hell?” Simon said aloud. “Who is walking around on the top of a mountain?”

  “Armor,” Aeris stated firmly. “Definitely someone wearing armor.”

  “In this cold? They'd be dead!”

  The three of them exchanged sudden looks of horror.

  “Or undead. Goddamn it!”

  Simon slammed the butt of his staff on to the ground and held out his right hand. A ball of fire exploded into existence in his palm, blazing yellow and red in the colorless atmosphere. He was grateful for the diamond-hard skin protecting his palm.

  “Hold, wizard!” a voice thundered out of the snow and wind. “Fear not. I come in peace.”

  “Yeah, I'll bet you do,” Simon muttered as he squinted in the direction of the voice.

  “Wait, master. Whoever that is sounds familiar.”

  “Not to me they don't.”

  The heavy footsteps drew closer and Simon raised his hand, ready to strike.

  A figure appeared out of the gloom, perhaps thirty feet away. It walked deliberately toward the group, looming larger and larger as it approached.

  Armor gleamed even in the thick atmosphere, blazing like silver. Simon was reminded of Liliana in her paladin's armor, but this person, whoever it was, was heavily built, and huge.

  “Cripes, he's ten feet tall,” he said to the elementals.

  Maybe not ten feet, but the stranger definitely towered over Simon.

  The wizard had thought his friend Malcolm was the largest man that he would ever meet. He had been wrong.

  “Stop where you are!” the wizard yelled.

  Surprisingly, the armored figure obeyed and halted his advance. He stood about a dozen feet away from the edge of the flickering, sparking shield, unmoving and menacing.

  Simon examined the man, if indeed it was a man.

  He was covered in silvery plate armor from head to foot. A visor covered his face, featureless except for two eye-holes that stared straight at the wizard. The armor was intricately etched with beautiful patterns that followed its curves in graceful swirls. Although it was undamaged, it looked like something forged ages ago.

  The figure held a massive sword in one mailed hand, long and keen enough to easily slice a person in half. A cloak was attached at his shoulders, shockingly blue in the white and gray landscape, flapping and fluttering around it, long enough to cover the man to his ankles.

  Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Simon saw snowflakes melt in puffs of steam as they hit the sword blade. It was magical.

  Crap, he thought. What is this thing?

  “Who are you? What do you want?” he shouted, trying to sound menacing and failing.

  There was no immediate answer from the armored stranger.

  “Speak up,” Aeris called out, surprising Simon. “Identify yourself and your reasons for being here.”

  “Reasons?” the man answered. His voice was a rumbling bass.

  “Do I need a reason to roam the free mountains? Do you claim ownership of these lands, wizard?”

  “How do you know I'm a wizard?” Simon replied in surprise.

  The stranger raised his sword and pointed at the ball of fire snapping and blowing in Simon's hand. Then he moved the weapon lower and indicated the elementals.

  “You command these creatures and control the element of fire. Only a wizard can do such things.”

  Simon looked down at the flames and closed his hand. The fireball disappeared with a sharp hiss.

  “Good point,” he told the stranger. “And you're right. The mountain is free territory. But why would anyone wander this high up in the frigid cold? And you're wearing armor. You can understand my caution, surely?”

  The stranger appeared to consider Simon's words. Then he nodded once and sheathed his blade in one smooth motion.

  “I understand. But I do not wander the wastes and the lonely places of the world on a whim. I seek solitude because it helps me to think. And it is beautiful, is it not?”

  “Um, I guess so. A bit deadly for my taste, but hey, to each his own.”

  “Yes.”

  The stranger's cloak flapped loudly and wrapped itself around his body for a moment before rising up behind him like wings. Simon watched it move like a living thing. It was almost hypnotic.

  “So you choose to wander the wilds. Then your meeting us here is just a coincidence?”

  A deep rumble of laughter echoed from inside the stranger's helmet.

  “Not at all. You did summon me, after all.”

  Simon's eyes widened in surprise.

  “Argentium? Is that you?”

  The armored figure raised his hands and lifted off his helmet. Long straight hair, as silvery bright as his armor, cascaded down and over his shoulders. Piercing blue eyes caught Simon's gaze like twin laser beams, feeling almost like a physical blow.

  The dragon's face, in human form, was flawless. Androgynous but masculine at the same time, he was simply the most perfectly formed man that Sim
on had ever seen.

  And yet there was an ethereal, remote quality to the argent dragon that made him obviously inhuman and the wizard found himself simultaneously attracted and repulsed by him.

  “Yes, it is I. I heard your call but it took me some time to reach this place.”

  “But why appear in human form?”

  “I like it,” the man said simply. “Riding the winds is a joy beyond measure, but being earthbound allows me to focus, concentrate on things. I was speaking truly when I said that I sought solitude.”

  Simon was finding it difficult to take his eyes off of the man. There was a weird fascination about him, knowing that Argentium was a dragon as well as a man. It was strange and remarkable.

  “And what of Esmiralla?”

  “What of her?” Argentium replied with obvious indifference. “She continues the fight, destroying red dragons where and when she finds them. It is her duty, after all, and I have also commanded it. She is rapidly becoming a terror in the skies to our enemies. So, she is performing satisfactorily.”

  “You aren't concerned for her safety? The red dragons are mating now, which I assume you know. She might face two of them at a time.”

  Argentium tucked his helmet under his arm and shrugged.

  “She already has, several times. It is of no consequence. There is no red dragon still alive that can stand up to Esmiralla. Only the primal would have been a threat to her, and he is dead.”

  “Then the danger from the red dragons has passed?” Aeris asked eagerly.

  The man looked directly at the air elemental and smiled for the first time.

  “Ah, another one who rides the currents above the clouds. We are kindred spirits, are we not, small one?”

  Aeris stared at Argentium in obvious surprise and then gave him a respectful bow.

  “You honor me, my lord argent. But you are as far above me as the stars are above this mountain.”

  The argent dragon's smile widened.

  “You do yourself a disservice, small one. But to answer your question, the danger has indeed passed; mostly.”

  He turned his eyes to Simon.

  “I have some news to share with you, sir wizard. Some good, some rather dire.”

  Uh-oh, Simon thought.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “First, as I have said, the menace of the evil dragons is fading quickly. Partially due to the silver dragon's efforts.”

  “Partially?”

  “Yes. You see, when the primal red dragon was killed and his servants survived, things changed.”

  Simon planted Mortis de Draconis more firmly on the ground and leaned against it. This discussion might take a while.

  “Changed how?”

  “Because the primal twisted his magic and used it to not only allow his people to survive his death, but breed as well, he altered them. They became independent. Free thinkers, you could say. They were no longer mindless tools of the lords of Chaos; mere beasts that answered the will of the gods.”

  The wizard wondered what Argentium was getting at.

  “That's fascinating, I suppose, but so what? They are still our enemies, aren't they?”

  The argent dragon actually seemed pleased with himself.

  “Not all of them. As I said, Esmiralla is hunting down those who still would prey on your kind, and is eliminating them in a methodical and efficient manner. But there are others who pose no threat to you and yours, wizard. They simply wish to live, as most lifeforms do. They want to raise their young, enjoy their new-found freedom, find happiness.”

  “Really?” Simon said skeptically. “I find that...”

  “Hard to believe? Yes, as did I. So I spoke with them myself. All of them. There are not a large number of these creatures, but those that have chosen to break away from the darkness have passed my examination. No one can lie to me. Not dragons and,” he narrowed his eyes as he watched Simon, “not humans. Do keep that in mind.”

  Simon ignored what seemed to be a veiled threat and focused on the more important news.

  “Just how many red dragons are we talking about here. Two? Three?”

  “At last count? Twenty-seven.”

  Both Kronk and Aeris gasped and Simon gripped his staff harder as he felt an abrupt sense of relief.

  “Twenty-seven?”

  Argentium nodded once.

  “But that's remarkable! Why? Why so many?”

  And now the argent dragon's expression became grim.

  “Because of what the dark gods are doing. I am aware that you have been attacked by an undead army, as have your allies. You also faced a dracolich, did you not?”

  Simon shivered at the memory.

  “I did. It was horrible.”

  “It was an abomination!” Argentium spat in sudden fury. “Reanimating the bones of dead dragons? Those twisted evil beings who style themselves as gods have gone too far. Too far!”

  The elementals and the wizard looked at each other. The dragon's anger was unexpected, and frightening.

  Argentium's armor blazed for a moment, as if the sun had peeked through the thick cloud cover and bathed him in its light. It faded as he shook his heavy head and took a deep breath.

  “Forgive me. That was uncalled for. Necromancy is evil. It goes against the very laws of nature and of life itself. At any rate, the red dragons who have turned against these so-called gods have done so mostly because of what is being done to their kin who have fallen.”

  “Wait a minute. Sorry for the interruption, but are you saying that there are more of those dracoliches out there in the world?”

  A gust of wind swirled ice crystals around Argentium and his figure was obscured. When he answered out of the blurry whiteness, his voice sounded even more ominous.

  “Many more. These evil wizards, these necromancers, are scouring the world for the remains of dragons. And they are killing any red dragons that they can find and raising them as dracoliches as well.”

  “What? Even the ones that are still loyal to the Chaos lords?”

  “Even them. The evil gods no longer trust their own control over the dragons. A dracolich is a mindless, obedient servant. Perfect for their needs.”

  “I am surprised that any of those dragons remain loyal to the dark gods,” Kronk rumbled.

  Argentium stepped forward so that they could see him clearly again as the wind became even more violent. Obviously a storm was moving in and the mountaintop was getting darker and the wind louder by the minute. The dragon didn't even seem to notice.

  “No one said they were very clever,” the argent dragon replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. “And that was the dire news I wanted to pass on to you. Now, you summoned me for a reason, wizard. Tell me what you need.”

  “Oh. Right. Well, you already know about the necromancers and their undead armies, so that was part of it.”

  “And the rest?”

  Simon looked off into the raging wind and snow that spun around the mountain. How was he supposed to tell this powerful being that he had been frightened by a bad dream? It sounded ridiculous now.

  “I...well, I mean...”

  “My master has had a premonition,” Kronk spoke up firmly.

  The wizard looked at him in surprise. The little guy wasn't usually so assertive.

  “A premonition? What kind? What have you seen?” Argentium asked him, his electric blue eyes piercing even the snow and ice flakes.

  “It was in a dream,” Simon told him reluctantly. “Look, normally I don't go in for all of this predicting the future and acting on feelings stuff, but damn it, this dream was so vivid, so real. It filled me with foreboding like nothing ever has before.”

  “Go on.”

  “I saw undead armies. Not like the ones that attacked me or my friends in England. These armies were vast. They covered the Earth like swarms of insects. They seemed unending, and unstoppable.”

  Argentium seemed to be assessing his words. His hair blew around his face and his cloak ros
e again behind him like wings.

  “I see,” he said slowly, his eyes unfocused. “Nothing is unstoppable, wizard. I can assure you of that. And unending? Doubtful.”

  Simon felt a mixture of disappointment and relief. Apparently the argent dragon didn't believe him but was also being reassuring as well. It was a weird blend of emotions.

  “However,” Argentium continued, “that does not mean that you did not foresee something. I think that you and I should take a little trip and see for ourselves.”

  He walked forward, covering the distance between himself and Simon in three steps.

  The wizard tried to hurriedly cancel his shield but Argentium walked right through it as if it wasn't there.

  My God he's powerful, Simon thought.

  Up close, Argentium towered over him. The wizard had to crane his head back to see the dragon's face.

  “I apologize,” the man said as he noticed Simon's discomfort. “This form is as small as I can make it. Any smaller and it could not contain my power.”

  Whatever that means, the wizard thought in confusion.

  Kronk and Aeris had scrambled out of the way and now seemed to be waiting to see what would happen next.

  “Where do you want to go?” Simon asked nervously. “I can Gate you anywhere, as long as I have a picture of it in my mind, or map coordinates.”

  Up close, the man smelled of ozone and, oddly enough, honeysuckle. It was a strange combination.

  “Very effective, I am sure,” Argentium said coolly. “However, we are short on time. So we will do it my way. I trust that your servants can return home on their own?”

  Without waiting for an answer, the dragon put a heavy hand on Simon's shoulder and the two of them vanished.

  “What?”

  Aeris looked around as he was suddenly hit by a blast of wind and cruel cold air. Without the wizard's shield, they were exposed to the elements.

  He flipped over several times before he managed to stabilize himself and return to where Kronk was standing, braced against the wind.

  “Master?” the little guy shouted. “Master!”

  “They're gone, Kronk,” Aeris yelled as he fought against the wind. “Damn it! That dragon could have taken him anywhere. I warned him about Argentium. Didn't I warn him? I told him that it was dangerous, but no, he wouldn't listen.”