Dragon Alliance Dark Storm : Dark Storm

by J. Michael Fluck

  “Our dragons have also produced a bronze egg, which is ready to hatch, and we have one copper and one brass dragon hatchling that will be ready to report to the Capital Weir within the month. The dragon complement of Lancastra Weir are all fit to fight with the exception of the brass dragon, Sallanth, who is healing from a nasty wound to his right wing from a kraken he slew. The beast managed to get a lucky strike on him, almost breaking his wing. We also killed three Shidanese or Morgathian sorcerers on those pirate ships that my rider mentioned we destroyed. He, being rather modest, killed the more powerful of the sorcerers by getting the upper hand against him with his multiple talents. This is a trend we are seeing, this proliferation of junior and apprentice sorcerers, both Shidanese and Morgathian, on these pirate ships as well as many saragwin shamans who accompany their sea devil kin on raiding parties. While most are not overly experienced or powerful, they are becoming plentiful,” Raptoth added to his rider’s explanation.

  Turjon was uniquely known among the riders as the “gentleman dragonrider.” He had had additional learning at the universities in Draconia in the ways of business and money and had used it to make the usually untenable Lancastra Weir profitable through his dealings and transactions. Mkel had always been impressed with his business savvy, and his family owned a very successful craftsman guild in the city. Turjon stood at a modest height, being roughly as tall as Mkel but of a thinner, sinewy stature. He was in excellent physical condition, being an avid runner and swimmer, as well as an experienced sailor as a young adult before becoming a dragonrider.

  His balding head and sharp features made him look more like a professor than a warrior/wizard and dragonrider; however, he expertly wielded a slightly curved rapier dragonstone weapon. He was also one of the very few humans who was both a fighter and a wizard. Through the dragonstone in his thin sword, he had attained a mastery of spells similar to that of Deless’s level of magic proficiency. This combination made him unique among dragonriders, who were either fighters or wizards, but rarely both. His mithril-alloy rapier was designed to be very effective in a close fight with lighter armored opponents and was an excellent thrusting weapon in underwater melees. His spell-casting ability also added to his dragon’s power, but he was also known for being a notoriously bad shot. Therefore, he mostly used area-effect spells, such as a barrage fireball spell or ice storm. Mkel thought that he must work with him again to help him improve his marksmanship and follow-through, if only as a favor to his dragon. He also enjoyed the conversation he had with the very intelligent and politically savvy older rider.

  Raptoth was a rather unpretentious bronze dragon of few words, but he was fierce in combat and a natural leader among his peers. An excellent swimmer, he could attain over forty-five knots underwater and was not a slow flyer either. A venerable dragon, his ferocity in battle made him legendary during the Great War, in which he took out dozens of green and black dragons and was even credited with several reds. Unlike his rider, he was an excellent long-range shot with his lightning-bolt breath weapon, giving him a distinct advantage over the larger red dragons.

  Lancastra Weir was the last of the original weirs to be constructed. The swampy delta it overlooked was home to a large but somewhat contained city, for high ground was at a premium in this area. The base of the weir was a rock outcropping on the southern portion of the high ground in the Missora River Delta that rose a thousand feet above the rest of the area. In a tremendous joint dwarf and human project, they built the rest of the weir from stone, dwarven concrete, marble, and steel to a height of twelve hundred feet at its rounded peak. The dwarf and human architects and builders basically capped the small mountain after they hollowed it out. Even with the aid of dozens of copper dragons and legions of dwarf and human workers, it took thirty years to complete the massive project.

  The finished top of Lancastra Weir was sculpted on a massive scale to appear very symmetrical for both defense and the natural control of rainwater. It still provided niches for giant eagles, s, and all types of avian life. Its irregular patterns and tiered construction would make it very difficult to attack or to scale and also allowed defenders to isolate various sections of it if necessary, with interlocking arrow fire. While one of the smaller weirs, it had still housed over thirty mated dragon pairs prior to the Great War, but there were less than half that now.

  The people of Lancastra were generally a down-to-earth lot with most either actively employed in the export trades that flourished from the port or in support of them. Fishing in both the open ocean and the extensive swamps that went inland for over two hundred miles was also a major industry of the region as was agriculture with the abundant, rich delta soils. Lancastra was also the terminal end of the Missora River that flowed from the Talinor Mountains several hundred miles to the north. While this area of extensive swamps was ideal for black dragons, there had not been one found there since the Great War. Only an occasional group of lizard men, who still managed to hide in the most remote areas of the swamps, had evaded eradication. Active hunts and drives had been organized to rid the area of these invaders, but a few had proven just too slippery. The lizard men had never been able to conduct raids of more than twenty to thirty, but for the innermost communities and family clans of the swamps, these had proven troublesome. Sea elves would not venture into the swamps themselves and stayed strictly within the banks of the Missora River. Only on the rare occasion would they venture up to Talinor from the south, for they did not like the muddy backwaters of the swamps and mostly moved inland using the Severic River or Conesquen River.

  The legion garrisoned at Lancastra was composed of four infantry battalions of which one was heavy, one medium, and two light. Many were trained to move in flat-bottom boats to help the local constables patrol the swamps north of the city. The weir also had one cavalry battalion, one aerial hippogriff battalion, one catapult battalion, one sapper battalion, one land dragon battalion, a whole latouc battalion, a robust support battalion, and a ranger company. A mountain giant clan also resided at the weir, and both trained and worked with the legion as well as the fleet in Lancastra, for they were the more aquatic of the types of giants. Lancastra, like Atlean, had a larger legion because of its location and population as well as the constant but small problem with the lizard men. There were thirty-four dragons stationed at the weir with nine bronze, twelve copper, and thirteen brass, making it the third largest complement in the Alliance.

  Michenth replied to the Lancastra Weir leaders, “We wish the best for Sallanth for a speedy healing and will welcome all of your hatchlings for their formal training here at the Capital Weir. Congratulations for your continued efforts against these incursions.”

  “Your steadfast production of the crystals and conducting of the transactions that you manage are also a great service to the Alliance. The more we maintain our autonomy from the senate the better,” Becknor added, as Turjon gave a wide grin as a happy response. “Sighbolt, Glaiventh, what news from the peninsula paradise of Machren Weir?”

  “General Becknor, Michenth, Machren Weir is also no stranger to the overspill of the saragwin war with the mermen and the sea elves. We have also had multiple engagements with these devils and their allies as well as an increased number of pirate attacks. Our assigned fleet, the rest of the Alliance Navy, and the Freiland raiders has been doing an excellent job policing the trade lanes, but the warm, shallow waters around Machren Weir and the Adelif Peninsula with the multiple islands that dot the surface offer hiding places for many. We have even seen numerous attempts by young black and green dragons to infiltrate the mainland to settle into our large swamps and lakes. They have a much harder time hiding than the saragwin or lizard men, but we are constantly looking to contain these incursions,” Sighbolt stated.

  “We know many young chromatics are being pushed out of Morgathia by their sires, which tells us that their numbers are increasing faster than we had once thought. Our fights with them indicate
that they are very inexperienced and do not fare well even against our brass dragons. While they cannot take root, they still keep coming, likely for the food and treasure that they cannot get in their homeland or in the dozens of kingdoms that lie in between us and Morgathia. Our weir has been busy stemming the tide of these new invaders. Normally chromatics kill off all their competitors for their territory, but now they are not following this practice. This is another sign that Tiamat and the Talon Covenant are up to something, as are the incursions by the strong numbers of chromatics that Gallanth, Talonth, and Strikenth had to contend with at Battle Point,” Glaiventh added.

  “We have still been able to conduct escort and reinforcement to the navy and will continue to do so. However, the undersea war has been affecting our ability to produce both dragonstone weapons and the heating and lighting crystals; our production is down to just over half. I know that Talinor has been shipping a good amount overland and through the teleportation circles, but a general lack of numbers is still a problem. We will attempt to divert a percentage of our production to the levitation crystals when you request, for the demand for the heating crystals, while still high, is the least number we have to produce given our average climate. The sea elves are still in firm control of the reefs off our long shoreline. On a good note, there has not been a single successful raid on the port at Machren so our beaches are still pristine if any of you want a relaxing holiday. The mayor of the city would be happy to take your drachlars for such a vacation.” Sighbolt spoke in his usual to-the-point manner but the out-of-the-blue humorous statement he ended with drew some surprised chuckles. Everyone knew of the Machren mayor’s penchant for promoting tourism to his city to boost the coffers.

  “Mkel, you and your weir did well in your fight out on the plains. You are to be complimented; your father would have been proud,” Sighbolt stated with a smile to the younger dragonrider, who accepted the compliment with a slightly embarrassed look on his countenance. While these references were indeed an honor, he still felt a bit uncomfortable with them. Sighbolt had been Jmes’s mentor when he was Gallanth’s rider decades ago, before the Great War, and had a fondness for Mkel. He took Jmes’s death very hard and even resigned his rank as a colonel over it, though he still commanded Machren Weir and the legion assigned there. General Becknor never truly accepted Sighbolt’s resignation, but he refused to wear the silver oak leaf rank of colonel on his riding uniform though he was to be promoted to senior colonel after the war. His experience, leadership, and naturally commanding personality made him and the venerable Glaiventh a dynamic pair.

  “This month, we did manage to create one dragonstone staff for a navy wizard for you and your guild to train, my honorable master Hestal,” the Machren Weirleader also added.

  “Why thank you for looking out for us, my good dragonrider. I assure you she will receive the best of training and will then be returned to the navy, to add to our complement on the high seas,” Hestal replied.

  “I have full faith, Master Wizard, and am always glad to be of service. There is other good news; we have a bronze egg ready to hatch, a young brass dragon ready to come to the capital and a copper dragon pair ready to mate. The sea elves almost have the secondary tunnel entrance leading from the weir to the bay ready and are putting the finishing touches on the main underwater tunnel,” Sighbolt added.

  Apart from the main entrance to Machren Weir, which faced the sea toward the east, the entirely man- and dwarf-made weir had an underground entrance that went from the secondary lake in the structure to the ocean. This underwater tunnel was large enough for a bronze dragon to fit through and allowed the sea elf battalion that Machren Weir commanded to assemble in the safety of its confines. The tunnel itself could be shut off with a series of reinforced iron gates that were closed by the mountain and thunder giant clan that also inhabited both the weir and the surrounding bay area. The mountain giant clan preferred to live under the water but could dwell on the land if they desired. The thunder giant group had an area in the weir as a secondary home with their cloud castle being their primary residence.

  Machren Weir itself was unique in that it was the last weir constructed and was not a mountain-based structure. The dwarves and local human construction guilds began building it over two hundred years earlier as a response to the vulnerability of the Adelif Peninsula to sea attack. Lancastra and Eladran were fairly far away, especially before the advent of the teleportation circles. It was mostly completed just prior to the Great War, which was fortunate for the residents there, as the second largest battle in the war took place off the shore of the weir. In the momentous fight, the gold dragon Machrenth and his rider spearheaded their squadron and the naval fight against the Morgathian fleet.

  Machrenth had led his thirty dragons and a small Alliance fleet with an under strength naval infantry legion against twenty-three wings of over two hundred and twenty chromatics and an armada of Morgathian warships. He and his rider were the ones who first used the wedge formation with a gold dragon in front and alternating silver, bronze, brass, and copper dragons in the wings of the wedge. This allowed the metallics to reinforce each other, cover each other’s weaknesses, and give maximum firepower forward while still being able to protect their flanks. In this formation, they were able to slice through the chromatic mass rushing attack while inflicting severe damage.

  The chromatics used almost a reverse tactic, wherein the most powerful red or blue dragons would send in all the subordinate dragons and then attack when their opponents were weakened. During that battle, the now demon red dragon Uthrex coordinated the attack under a senior red, who was then Tiamat’s Talon Covenant dragon. They ordered the eighteen wings of white, green, and black dragons to attack. Machrenth’s wing and the other metallic wing under Glaiventh interwove with each other as they tore into the main body of the chromatics’ attacking group, alternating altitude so as not to leave the enemy dragons an easily tracked target. The tactic worked extremely well and after a short but fierce battle, the lesser chromatic wings were decimated with only moderate losses to Machrenth’s complement. The senior red then sent all the blues and one red wing into the fray, which while defeated, took Machren Weir down by two-thirds.

  As the final fight between the remaining metallics and the chromatic remnants with what was left of the remaining red squadron took place, Machrenth formed one wedge with the survivors of his and Glaiventh’s wings. Uthrex knew that they were about to be defeated, so he led two dragons to strike the city in order to distract Machrenth and break up their formation. This tactic worked to some extent, which allowed the red dragons to attack more effectively. In the end state, the senior red and Uthrex attacked Machrenth directly, aided by two blues. Machrenth’s rider was killed by the Usurper dragon, but he slew the beast when it bit down on him by making a final thrust of his dragonstone lance, which pierced the chromatic’s brain from inside the roof of its mouth. Machrenth took the other two blues with him as he plummeted into the sea. Uthrex fled as Glaiventh and Sighbolt attacked in retaliation, which routed the remaining chromatics.

  The battle was won but at a terrible price with the loss of Machrenth, his rider, their two silver dragon wing mates, his own gold dragon mate, and all but one bronze. A total of twenty-five metallics in all fell in the defense of freedom. Glaiventh and four other Alliance dragons were the only ones left in the air in the end state. The weir was then renamed by Michenth and Becknor in Machrenth’s honor, for leading his dragons against such incredible odds and for being a member of the only mated pair of gold dragons to die in the war.

  Machren Weir, being the only weir that was constructed from the bottom up, was the most massive project ever undertaken by men, dwarves, dragons, and elves, being even grander than the stepped pyramids of Draconia. The weir rose thirteen hundred feet above the bay and could house up to thirty dragons. It currently had a complement of just over half of that amount. The architecture of Machren was magnificent.
It was sculpted to mimic a mountain but was very carefully built with interlocking tiers for strength. Its walls at the base were between seventy and eighty feet thick, made of steel-reinforced dwarven concrete that thinned to a couple of feet thick at the top of the rough-cut dome. The apex of the weir was adorned with huge carved-stone busts of the five types of metallic dragons, each with dragonstones embedded in the eyes. These, like the ones that adorned Draden and the other weirs, were what controlled the ventilation, heating, and cooling of its interior. It was like a living being controlling its internal temperature, circulation, and body functions. They could also defend the weir if necessary with deadly energy beams.

  The outer surface of the fortress was made to look very natural, mimicking a true mountain. There were hundreds of culverts and drainage ways that channeled rainwater into the weir and into small pools on its surface to support the giant eagles and other avian life that called it home and nested there. On the lower levels, the defensive works were almost hidden in the surface of the structure but strategically placed to allow arrow and ballista fires down and for interlocking support between positions. This would make any attempt at siege or attack of Machren Weir very difficult and extremely costly.

  Sighbolt and Glaiventh commanded the unique legion at Machren, which was composed of a mixed giant eagle and hippogriff aerial battalion; a mixed cavalry battalion of heavy, medium, and light horse; one reinforced land dragon company; a sea elf battalion, which resided in the bay and in the bottom of the weir; a sapper battalion, which also specialized in marine construction and defense works; and three infantry battalions of which one was light and one medium; and one amphibious battalion mounted on latoucs. The latter specialized in operations in the swamps and in fast strikes for the many islands off the coast. The weir also had a ranger company, which operated in a quick-strike capacity in the surrounding islands against pirates and the elusive lizard men in the swamps. Two giant clans also reinforced the weir’s complement with one mountain giant and the other thunder giant, a very powerful force unto itself. The dragon complement of Machren consisted of six bronze, seven copper, and eight brass dragons.