A Snake's Life

by Kenneth Arant

  "Do you remember what I told you about Master Uriel?"

  "He's the enchanter, right?"

  "Yes," she agreed. "Well... He was forced to put a barrier around the branch."

  "I didn't see one when I came through."

  "It only appears when someone tries to leave." She sighed. "It was originally supposed to keep children from wandering through the portal into the outside world, but Elder Ayas forced him to alter it so no one can leave."

  "Why would he do such a thing?"

  She walked over to a tree and sat down, then she buried her head in her hands. "Elder Ayas is the one who led the dragon here."

  "What!? What the hell possessed him to do that!?"

  "Have you ever met a druid of the dominator faction?" she lifted her head to ask.

  "Unfortunately."

  "Then you know why. He wanted power."

  I watched her for a few seconds in an attempt to make sense of what she told me. Then it hit me.

  "He tried to dominate the dragon, didn't he?"

  She pulled her knees up to her chest, then she nodded. "Yeah."

  "What kind of arrogant—" I began to ask, but after looking at her face again, I stopped.

  "You're not as angry about this as I expected you to be."

  She snorted. "Oh, I'm furious..."

  "Then why haven't you done something about it?"

  "I don't know. If it were anyone else, we wouldn't be having this conversation... and the gods know, Mom would have killed him for this—"

  "Wait. Mom?"

  "Caught that did you?" she asked with a derisive laugh. "Yeah... Elder Ayas is my stepfather. He married my mom after dad died a few centuries ago and they had a daughter together."

  "So, you have a stepsister? And what does she think of this?"

  "Probably not much, since she's been dead for a few years."

  "Ah... Sorry."

  "No, don't apologize. Aurea wasn't the easiest person to get along with. It was only a matter of time before her actions caught up with her," Lena said with a discontented sigh.

  The name Aurea struck a chord with me, but I played it off as concern. "What happened to her?" I asked.

  "No one knows. I asked the druids who were on the expedition with her, but all they would tell me is that she disappeared in the Myrkr forest one day. She probably wound up on the wrong end of an Alpha Deer's horn."

  "Or inside the stomach of a large snake." But of course, I didn't say that out loud. Instead, I directed the conversation back onto her stepfather.

  "I'm assuming Ayas didn't take the news of his daughter's disappearance well?"

  "Understatement of the year," she scoffed. "I'm told that after her disappearance he became erratic, and for some reason, he believed himself to be losing control of the tribe. That coupled with my banishment to Iorus led him to... drastic measures."

  "Like trying to dominate a dragon?"

  She nodded silently.

  "But why sacrifice the children? Wouldn't animals or even the adults be better?"

  "That's the part I don't understand as well. Elder Ayas loves his grandchildren dearly. Hell, he calls all of the children in the tribe his grandchildren, so this sudden change of heart doesn't make any sense. The Ayas I knew would have gladly killed or died to protect the children, but he would never have done this... Shows what I know, huh?" she said with a self-deprecating tone.

  I stared down at her. "Maybe you know him better than you realize," I quietly said.

  "What?" She raised her head and looked me in the eyes.

  "The dominator I knew tried to enslave me to her will, but I was able to fight her off—"

  "That doesn't surprise me," she laughed.

  My mouth quirked to the side for an instant, then I continued. "Anyway, what I was trying to say was... Maybe the dragon did so as well?"

  The humor drained from her face almost instantly and she stared at the ground.

  "What is it?" I kneeled in front of her to ask.

  She glanced up at me, then back to the ground. "I was thinking of an old horror story my mother used to tell Aurea and me when we were kids."

  "About?"

  She locked eyes with me. "She used to tell us that the true danger of the domination path came not from its inherent wrongness, but from the animal's wrath. Of course, Aurea never believed in the old stories, which is why she turned out the way she did."

  "Lena!" I called out to get her to focus. "What did she say would happen?" I asked.

  "She said, 'If you open your mind to the creature and accept it as a partner, it shall accept you in return. But if you try to dominate the mind of a predator, be very careful, lest you be dominated in return.'" She paused for a few seconds, then she continued. "The thought of my mind being taken over by such a predator is what ultimately made me decide to follow in my mother's footsteps."

  "So... You’re saying that it's possible your father is being dominated by the dragon?"

  She nodded. "If the old stories are true... then yes, it's possible."

  "Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?"

  She slowly shook her head. "If it's true, and he is being dominated, our best course of action is to kill him and get it over with."

  "Why? Couldn't we save him?"

  "No. To be truly dominated is to have your mind completely devoured by the dominator. It's why so many of us look down on the dominators as evil people. They don't just enslave the animal they dominate, they completely erase its sense of self. Can you imagine such a thing? To erase someone's sense of self is possibly even worse than killing them, because they can no longer function without the dominator. Tis truly an awful thing to do to someone."

  My mouth formed a firm line, then I nodded my head in agreement. "Very well, then we kill him. Then I'll deal with his dominator."

  Her lower lip started to tremble and she had to run the back of her sleeve over her eyes a few times to wipe away the tears. "Thank you, Torga... You're a true friend."

  "Right... friend."

  After our little heart-to-heart, Lena and I made our way back to the group, then we all started walking towards the city. The group of hunters was out in front, while the family, Ayla, and I followed closely behind them.

  "What can you tell me about dragons?" I asked Lena, who was walking to my left.

  "Are you still going on about that?” Fenris butted in. “You should give up and focus on something else before you—“

  I reached over and grabbed him around the neck, then I pulled him into a headlock and covered his mouth with my hand. "Do you see that little girl over there?" I asked, nodding to Ayla.

  "Yeah?" he mumbled through the gaps in my fingers. His feet became tangled up and he almost tripped, so I lifted him off the ground by his head and carried him while we talked.

  "I met her and her grandmother long before I met any of you... And if I'm being honest, I'm rather fond of the little brat. Now, imagine my feelings when I'm suddenly told by Solon that the only family she had left was offered as a sacrifice to a piece of shit dragon."

  "Anger?" he mumbled out.

  "Yes, genius. I'm very angry. Now, as I've already promised that I would avenge her grandmother, I'm left with two choices: keep my promise and avenge her or break my promise to one of the few people I care about." I looked down at him. "Which do you think I'm going to do?" I asked.

  "Keep your promise?"

  "Exactly. And you can either help me avenge her or not. The end result will be the same... So don't tell me to Let. It. Go. Again." After I whispered the last word, I turned him loose and he fell onto his ass.

  "Sorry. Please, continue." I motioned to Lena.

  She cleared her throat, then she began speaking. "Dragons are called the 'Apex monsters' for a reason. They are often very large, very tough, and insanely strong. However, it isn't their bodies that make them so dangerous."

  "Powerful skills?"

  "Insanely so. Depending on their element, dragons are almost undefea
table while inside of a corresponding terrain. For example, 'Lord' Arroth is an earth dragon. As such, he has almost complete control over the ground beneath our feet and the plants around us."

  "So, we're fighting an uphill battle?"

  "That's putting it lightly."

  "Can a group of druids hold him down long enough for me to—"

  "No." She interrupted with a shake of her head.

  "I'm sorry?"

  "Magic doesn't work on dragons."

  "They can't be completely resistant to it."

  "It's not their resistance to it that's the problem. It's because dragons eat magic."

  "So... Any magic you send at it will get eaten?"

  She shook her head. "Any magic, period. If one of us so much as gets too close to it, then it could suck the magic out of our bodies, killing us in the process."

  "Is that why it wants the sacrifices? It's hungry?" If it was, then I completely understood the feeling. I was still going to kill it, though.

  But again, Lena shook her head. "No, definitely not. Dragons eat ambient magic, so the paltry amount of magic they would gain from eating one of us wouldn't be worth the effort... unless it just likes the taste." she conceded.

  "I see."

  "Hey, Mom! Come over here!" Hali called from her spot off to the side of the groups. She and Ayla and been talking privately ever since Ayla hugged me.

  "Coming!" she yelled back. "Sorry, but we'll talk more after I find out what Hali wants."

  "Don't worry about it. You've answered all of my questions."

  "You sure?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

  "Just go," I said with a chuckle.

  Lena nodded her head, then she walked over to the younger girls.

  "Hey, Fenris?" I called out to the Warg.

  "What, snake?"

  "Regardless of whether or not you help me... You’d better protect them all, with your life. Am I clear?" I whispered just loud enough for him to hear me.

  "As if you even needed to tell me that," he scoffed.

  "Ayla too, Fenris."

  "Not like I was going to leave her to fend for herself. You're not giving me enough credit, snake," he replied with a smirk.

  I responded with one of my own as I looked him in the eyes. "Whatever you say, mutt."

  Upon arriving at the city, we were stopped by a group of armed guards. Ten of them stepped in front of us and pointed their spears at the goblins and me.

  "Halt!" the apparent oldest of them said as he stepped forward. It was a fox-man with yellow hair.

  "Virion, what the hell are you doing? Put those down!" Lena yelled as she ran to the front of the group.

  "I can't do that, lady Lena. Your father received word of a flash of light in the forest and has ordered any suspicious people to be detained until he can meet with them."

  "Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any." I reached out and grabbed the spear closest to me, pulling the dryad holding it into a backhand. Then, I swung the blunt end of the spear at the guards.

  "Watch out!" the leader yelled, as he ducked under my swing. But his warning came too late, as the spear collided with five of them and sent them flying.

  "I would prefer it if you would let us pass without resistance," I said to the remaining guards. However, they ignored my request, and the remaining guards charged at us.

  I let out a sigh as I swung the blunt end of the spear into a charging wolf-man. He was much larger than the rest of his compatriots, so when the spear smashed into him it broke against his chest.

  "You'll have to do better than that!" he laughed.

  "Okay," I shrugged, then slammed my right foot into his stomach sending him flying away from me.

  "Reinforcements!" Fenris yelled.

  I turned in his direction and saw another fifteen guards running towards us. I sighed. "Fenris, you take Lena and the kids and go find Uriel. Force him to remove that barrier if you have to!" I barked out as I backhanded a charging elf.

  "What about you!?" Fenris front-flipped over a spear and dropkicked his attacker in the face, then he rotated in the air so he would land on all fours. After a flash of light, Fenris had returned to his normal form.

  "Didn't you hear? Ayas wants to see us, so it's only polite for me to comply."

  "If you were going to surrender anyway, then why attack them!?" Lena yelled as she caused large vines to sprout from the ground and wrap up the hunting group to prevent them from assisting the guards.

  "Who said anything about surrendering? I'm just going to go find him." I picked up a yellow-skinned elf in a dark green robe and slammed my head into his.

  "Enough chitchat, we need to go!" Fenris jumped into the air to avoid a group of spears, then he dashed around to each of his family members and threw them onto his back.

  "Don't forget this one!" I pulled Ayla out of the way of a spear thrust, then I threw her into the air, which made her scream. "Holstig, You and Siofs follow after the mutt and guard Ayla with your lives!"

  Holstig nodded as he grabbed her out of the air and sat her on his shoulders. "Hold on, little one!" He blocked a sword-strike with his shield, then he sliced the attacker in two. He and Siofs then fought their way out of the mob and dashed after Fenris.

  I watched them go until I felt a dull pain in my side. When I looked down, I saw a broken spear poking me, so I grabbed its wielder and lifted them into the air. "You're the one that tried to stab the girl, right?" I didn't wait for an answer, and I instead crushed his head between my hands.

  "Enough!" A booming voice echoed throughout the camp.

  The guards stopped attacking us, but maintained their positions, as an old dark elf came into view. He wore an open black robe that dragged the ground. Beneath it was a set of leather armor, and the pommel of a sword poked out from behind him. His long silver hair was braided and hung over one shoulder, and he had piercing red eyes.

  "You must be Ayas," I said, while discreetly motioning to Findral. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her nod, then she walked behind Hogunn and disappeared.

  "And you're the one causing a ruckus in my city!" he accused.

  "Yes, I suppose I am."

  "Why have you come here?" he asked, as he came to a stop fifteen feet away.

  "Well, I promised a friend of mine that I would help you."

  "And, just how does attacking my city 'help' me?"

  "Because it allows me to do this in a public place." I snapped my fingers and a few seconds later Ayas' head fell to the ground.

  The surrounding guards and civilians watched as their leader’s head slid off of his neck, his body dropping a few seconds later. Panic quickly ensued as people began to scream, but I silenced them by roaring out, "Be silent!" A hush fell over the crowd as they stared at me.

  "Now, you have two options: Stay here and be eaten by me or flee with Fenris and his family... You have ten seconds to choose," I declared, but before I could begin counting, a majority of them had already begun to flee.

  "That's what I thought." Not long after seeing the civilians flee, the guards decided to cut their losses and fled as well. Findral took this time to fade back into view.

  "Good job, Findral. You too, Hogunn. Now, split up and search the city. I don't want anyone here for the dragon to feed off of."

  "Of course, Master!" The two saluted, then they left the area to search for any remaining humanoids.

  "Now I just need to set up my backup plan."

  "Master, I believe that is everyone inside the city," Findral said, as she and Hogunn returned.

  "Excellent work you two, but now, I need you to do something else for me."

  "Yes?" Hogunn asked.

  "Get these bodies out of here, then I want the two of you to stay with Ayla."

  "Understood, Master—" Hogunn began to say, but Findral interrupted him.

  "I'm not leaving you, Master."

  "That wasn't a request, Findral."

  "I understand that, Master... But I'm not leaving you here t
o die."

  I stared her down for several seconds, then I sighed and turned to Hogunn. "Then you stay with Ayla." I turned back to Findral. "However, you both will get these bodies out of here, Am. I. Clear?”

  "Crystal, sir." Findral replied with a smile.

  "Then get moving."

  They nodded and began to follow my orders, while I continued to prepare for the upcoming battle.

  Three days later...

  A COLOSSAL REPTILE approached the city. It had brownish yellow scales, spikes along its spine, and on the back of its head rested four horns with a fifth on his nose. The reptile was easily twelve hundred feet long, over four hundred feet wide, and six hundred feet tall. Its tail made up almost a third of that length and its apparent weapon of choice was displayed prominently: A three-pronged spike stuck out of his tail for all to see.

  "Ayas, where is my sacrifice!?" the beast roared. But his words were only met by silence.

  "Don't try to hide from me, mortal. You won't like what happens." The beast reached out for the connection it shared with Ayas for the first time in over a month, but nothing was there.

  "What the—"

  MEANWHILE, HIGH ABOVE the dragon’s head, Findral, with a familiar blade sheathed on her back, was using micro explosions to keep herself afloat in the air.

  "Here I go, Master.... Protect me, father!" She flipped upside down and triggered a massive explosion to propel herself downwards.

  AT THE SAME TIME, JUST below the dragon's feet. I was lying in wait for the signal from Findral. I listened as the dragon came to a stop just above me and began to speak.

  "There you are." I tilted my head up to look at the ceiling of the cave I'd dug. It wasn't big, which is why I was waiting down here in my “human” body. I heard the dragon roar for Ayas, then it went quiet until... *Boom!*. The dragon roared in pain and I exploded out of my body.

  Findral

  I USED THE MOMENTUM from the explosion and the fall to slam a mallet of fire into the dragon's head. The impact caused it to drop its head and scream in pain.

  Almost immediately after, Master came bursting through the ground on a collision course with the dragon's neck. He opened his mouth and clamped down on it, then he lifted the dragon up and carried it far away from the city and out of sight. I ran across the sky after them.