by Andy Holland
War of Dragons
By Andy Holland
Copyright 2016 Andy Holland
Kindle Edition
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Beginning the Journey
Chapter 2 - The Caves
Chapter 3 - A long rest
Chapter 4 - End of the Journey
Chapter 5 - Golden Capital
Chapter 6 - City Tour
Chapter 7 - Before Parliament
Chapter 8 - Official Party
Chapter 9 - Meeting the Browns
Chapter 10 - The Report
Chapter 11 - Beginning the invasion
Chapter 12 - The Rescue Mission
Chapter 13 - Raising the alarm
Chapter 14 - Inside the Prison Camp
Chapter 15 - First attack
Chapter 16 - An appeal to the parliament
Chapter 17 - Attacking the Prison Camp
Chapter 18 - Return to home
Chapter 19 - Consolidation
Chapter 20 - Evacuating the Camp
Chapter 21 - Strange encounters
Chapter 22 - Flying the prisoners home
Chapter 23 - Planning the defence
Chapter 24 - The Circle of Death
Chapter 25 - Succession
Chapter 26 - Return to Furnace
Chapter 27 - Under siege
Chapter 28 - John's war
Chapter 29 - Planning the response
Chapter 30 - Fighting back
Chapter 31 - Rushing back
Chapter 32 - Final Victory
Chapter 33 - Aftermath
Chapter 34 - Peace Treaty
Chapter 35 - The End
Chapter 36 - Never over
Chapter 1 - Beginning the Journey
It was to be Crystal's last night in the Red Dragon kingdom before departing for the land of the Golden Dragons and she found it almost impossible to sleep. She felt very tempted to wake her cousin, Jenna, and to tell her everything. That she was not a Red Dragon as they had believed for so long, but was a Golden Dragon—a race which they had not even known existed up until a few days ago. But at the same time she dreaded what her cousin would say and think. John had delayed telling her the whole truth for so long solely because of how much her adopted race hated all other races; would Jenna now look at her differently? John had tutored Crystal over a number of months, slowly softening her views and opinions of other races so this truth would be easier to take. Jenna had had no such preparation.
Outside her tent, Crystal could hear that she was not the only one awake. The twins, Prince Arthur and Princess Daisy, were talking together near their campfire, whispering in low voices. Daisy had secretly listened in while John told Crystal the truth of her identity and now insisted on coming with the two of them on their trip to the south-east, determined to never give up on her relationship with John. Crystal wondered how this relationship could be possible now, between the granddaughter of the ruler of the Western Principality, and a foreigner—a boy from an unknown race. Daisy had insisted on telling her brother everything, much to Crystal's horror, and also insisted that they both came on the journey, arguing that they would need to come if the journey was to be a success. For the trip was not just to take Crystal home, but also to negotiate an alliance with the Brown Dragons in the coming war with the Blue Dragons. Daisy argued that only a Red Dragon could represent their government, not two Golden Dragons. Crystal would have loved to known what they were speaking about, but their voices were low and as much as she tried she couldn't make out what they were saying. She wondered what Arthur would tell his friend Seth; how could he explain this complete change of plan without telling him what she was?
Eventually Crystal succumbed to sleep. She woke as soon as the sunlight reached the tent she shared with Jenna. Her cousin was still asleep, so she crept outside as quietly as she could to avoid waking her. Outside, she found that John had already packed and Arthur and Daisy were up and putting away Daisy's tent.
"What's the rush?" Seth asked sleepily as he crawled out of his tent. "Why are you all up so early?"
"I want to cross the border early in the day," John told him. "There isn't a safe time of day to do this, but this will be a long journey, so the sooner we start the better."
"We start?" It was Jenna, who was looking out through the flaps of the tent. Even after a night of camping she still looked immaculate, not a hair out of place. "I thought you were going alone."
"We're going too," Daisy told her as she rolled up the tent with Arthur.
"What? Are you completely crazy? When did you decide that? Arthur, surely you can't allow this."
Arthur shrugged, not even looking at her. "It was decided last night after you were asleep. She's going, so I'm going. Seth, keep the tent. I'll share with John."
"But this wasn't the plan!" Jenna objected. "Arthur, what would your parents say? You can't go! It'll be more dangerous with the three of you, you'll be easier to spot and you'll slow John down."
"Four of us," Arthur replied flatly. "As I said, she's going, so I'm going. Speak to Daisy about it."
"Four of you? Seth, you can't be going as well. This is craziness. Arthur, just tell her she can't go."
"Not Seth," Daisy replied, "and Arthur can't tell me what to do. We're going. That's all you need to know."
"Crystal!" Jenna turned to look at her, the blood drained from her face. "You can't be serious! Aunt Jane would kill you—oh, and let alone Uncle Robert! That's if you make it back!"
"Hmm. I'm feeling left out here," Seth commented drily. "If everyone else is going I think I might come along as well."
"No!" John and Crystal shouted in unison.
"Is everyone crazy?" Jenna asked. "We're here to say goodbye to John—probably for ever. Not to join him on this death-wish trip across the Blues' territory. He's only just brought you out of there; why would you willingly go back into their land?"
"Whatever," Daisy said coldly. "Goodbye. Have a nice flight back."
"Arthur, please. Why are you agreeing to this? Please don't go!" Jenna pleaded.
Arthur ignored her and wandered away from the tents, presumably to go to the toilet. Crystal pushed past Jenna to go back into the tent and began to pack.
"Crystal, please explain," Jenna begged. "Why are you all doing this? Has something happened? I'm your cousin. Please talk to me!"
"I'm sorry, Jenna, but not this time. I can't tell you."
"Seriously? You can tell that annoying boy who you couldn't stand a few months ago and that half-witted airhead he's with, but not your cousin?"
"We can hear you!" Daisy called from outside the tent.
"Whatever," Jenna muttered under her breath. "Well I can't go back without you. Your parents and mine will kill me. I'll just have to come with you."
"No! You can't come! I won't allow it!"
She laughed without humour. "You won't allow it! As if you could stop me! I'm coming too! Unless you agree to stay."
Crystal had finished packing her bag and took it outside of the tent. "Fine. Come along. See if I care. Just pack quickly; we won't wait for you."
"All set to go," Seth told her, sitting on a log and smiling up at her. His tent and things were packed into his flying bag on the floor beside him. Crystal shook her head helplessly, knowing that there was no stopping him now
. Daisy and Arthur were also ready to go.
"How much have you told him?" Crystal asked Daisy quietly.
"I know," Arthur replied coldly. "I understand, but I'm not happy."
Crystal coloured up. "Please, Arthur; I'm still the same person—"
Arthur waved his hand to cut her off. "I know you are. I'm not unhappy with you, but I feel John tricked us."
"For me," Crystal replied. "And this trip is for us. This war isn't really his business; he could just fly away."
"John would never do that," Daisy insisted. "He'd die before letting us get hurt."
"But he's putting you in danger now," Arthur argued. "He should have just left this morning without you to keep you from danger, but he's letting you come. That I can't forgive."
"No, he couldn't. I'd have followed anyway. This is my decision and he's only agreeing because he has no choice."
Crystal backed away to let them argue on their own and went to help Jenna put away their tent. "What was that about?" Jenna asked.
Crystal shook her head. "You'll find out soon enough. The main issue is that he's not happy about Daisy coming."
Jenna shrugged. "I don't blame him. Are you sure you need to do this, Crystal? I mean, what will we do if we meet a patrol at the border? Or when we're past the border? John does have a plan, doesn't he? He's not just leading us to our deaths, is he?"
"John can look after us. Don't worry about that."
Jenna didn't seem convinced. She put the tent in her bag and walked with Crystal to where the others were waiting. They all looked at John expectantly.
"Right, since you're all coming, I had better explain the plan. Quite simply, the plan has changed. The route I gave to the Council was false; I never intended to go directly to the Brown Dragon kingdom, but to the Golden Dragon's territory. We will need their help to strike an alliance with the Browns, so we will fly there first."
"Golden Dragons?" Seth asked. "How could we do that? We didn't even know of their existence till a few days ago. How would you know where to find them?"
"And why did you give a false route?" Jenna asked. "Why not just tell the Council of your plan?"
"There's a spy in Furnace," John replied. "If he tells the Blues of our plans it will make the journey even harder—not that it will be easy anyway. Now they will be watching the wrong part of the border and we should be able to slip through more easily. As for the Golden Dragons, let's just say that I know a lot about them."
"Well, if that first one was anything to go by this seems like a good idea," Seth commented. "We could do with his company right now though. No disrespect, John, but as good as a flier as you are I'd be happier if he was our escort."
John smiled. "Jenna, what do you think? Would that make you more comfortable about this trip? If we had a Golden Dragon escort?"
Jenna shrugged. "Yes. Because then at least I'd have a reason to believe they exist. Sorry, Crystal. I'm not saying you and Seth were lying, but you were pretty scared and tired, and could have imagined the whole thing. So, yes, if they're real and as amazing as Seth claims, I'd like one as an escort. At the moment the plan appears to be to fly to a place only you have heard of, and let's face it, it's a place you haven't even been to. How do you even know that they exist? And if they do exist, how would you know where they live? Other than a short trip to the Blue Kingdom, you've never left this place, have you? Why does no one else see that you're taking us to our deaths?"
"Fine, don't come!" Daisy responded flatly. "No one is making you join us."
John smiled patiently. "Daisy, be fair. Jenna knows the least about Golden Dragons here. She deserves to be put on a level footing with the rest of you. Now, Jenna, I've been outside this Kingdom more than you could realise. Not only have I entered the Blue Dragons' lands many times, but I've also travelled through a number of other lands—most of which you haven't heard of. And yes, I have been to and know how to take us to the Golden Dragons' homeland."
"How is any of that possible? No one ever leaves the Kingdom, and especially not sixteen-year-old boys. I don't believe you."
John nodded calmly. "That's to be expected, but you will believe me, I promise. Now, what you and Seth don't know about Golden Dragons is something known to almost everyone except Red Dragons. They are totally unique among dragons in that they and they alone can adopt not only their own golden form, but also the form of any other type of dragon they have encountered."
"That's ridiculous!" Jenna said scornfully. "Impossible. How could they do that?"
John smiled. "When you put it like that, could you explain to me how it is possible that you can transform into a Red Dragon? You can change shape into a creature almost ten times your size. That should be impossible as well, yet you can do it."
"That's totally different," Jenna replied quickly.
John shook his head. "No, the only difference is that you've seen it and you can do it. But talking about this is a waste of time and will get us nowhere. Let me ask you another question. What happens to your eyes when you transform?"
Jenna hesitated. "Well, they turn red—the same as everyone else's eyes."
John shook his head again. "Not everyone's eyes. If you'd watched your cousin's eyes, you'd have seen them flash through a range of colours first."
Jenna shrugged. "If you say so."
"I do say so. The same is true for me. I change too fast for anyone to notice, but my eyes do the same. Watch!" John's eyes changed colour, flashing through the colours of the rainbow at a dizzying pace.
"Wow!" Jenna said, staring at the spectacle in front of her before managing to regain her composure. "Well, that's very pretty, John. But I don't see what it means."
"You can't do this," John replied, his eyes still flashing before her. "Once your eyes turn red, you'd find it impossible to stop or even pause your transformation. I can. I have total control over my transformation. Which is why I can do it so quickly."
Daisy gripped her brother's arm with excitement. "Watch this, Arthur." Arthur was stone-faced, staring at John with suspicion.
Jenna shrugged. "Great. But I already knew you could transform quickly. You've been showing off with that trick all year."
"No, not showing off," John replied, his eyes still changing colours. "Concealing. I didn't want you to see my eyes when I transformed because Red Dragons can't do this."
John stepped backwards and his eyes blazed gold. Brilliant shiny gold scales formed on his face, reflecting the sun as they slid over each other. Jenna gasped, staggering backwards, and Seth shouted "Wow!" After the scales covered his head, John somersaulted backwards, wings sprouting as he did, the transformation complete when he landed on the ground. He gazed at them, his scales shimmering in the morning light. Daisy turned to face them all, beaming proudly.
"Very good," Arthur said, clapping slowly. "Now I've seen as much as Crystal and my sister. But I fail to see how having one small dragon accompany us is going to be of much help. You're even smaller than a Blue Dragon. How are you going to be much use in a fight?"
John the Golden Dragon nodded, unable to communicate to Arthur any other way, then without any warning he leapt into the air and beat his wings hard, flying directly upwards with breathtaking speed until he was high above them.
"Wow!" Jenna exclaimed breathlessly. "That's incredible. How can he fly that fast?"
John continued to climb until he was several hundred metres above the ground. He abruptly changed direction and began dropping back towards them in a dive. He beat his wings rapidly as he plummeted towards them, accelerating towards the ground alarmingly fast and pulling out of the dive when he was just above their heads and releasing two fireballs in succession, which struck the ground to the left and right of Arthur, causing him to cry out in alarm. John flew overhead twice, passing them with incredible pace before returning to land in front of them.
Daisy squealed with delight and clapped her hands. "Impressed, Arthur?" she asked her brother. She walked away from the others and turne
d to face them. "Shall we?" She loosened her cloak and began her transformation. Arthur and Seth quickly turned away, a little embarrassed. She completed the transformation, stepped up towards John and gently touched noses. He was half her size and looked strange next to her. He reached over and picked up his bag, attaching it to his chest before taking off again and then circling above their heads. Daisy, now a Red Dragon, nodded at them, somehow conveying a smug pride before performing a less impressive take off to join him in the air.
"You're not... You can't do that, can you?" Jenna asked Crystal. "Are you the same as him?"
She shook her head. "I can't do that. At least I don't think I can. I didn't know any of this before yesterday." She turned to Seth and Arthur and said, "turn away," before undoing her top.
"A little more warning next time, please," Arthur requested indignantly, holding onto Seth's head and turning his gaze from the rapidly disrobing Crystal. "Let's do likewise," he instructed Seth. They faced away from the girls and started removing their clothes. Crystal pulled Jenna's shoulder to turn her around to face away from them.
"Behave, Jenna, and hurry up."
"Me, behave? I'm the only girl here who hasn't started stripping with the boys staring straight at them. What's got into you two?" Jenna reluctantly started to undress.
"Just hurry up," Crystal replied impatiently. She wasn't sure why, but seeing John transform had made her feel a little more free. She began her transformation, wishing that she had let John start teaching her earlier; perhaps now she would be flying as a Golden Dragon. She spread her red wings and gazed at them. What would it be like to have golden wings? she wondered to herself. Jenna nudged her with her head.
Ready? Crystal nodded and they took off together, flying parallel to each other. The others were all circling above, with John much higher than the others.
Stay here, he told them. Get as high as you can. I'll be back shortly; I just have to deliver a note for the twins. With that, he flew to the north as quickly as he could, leaving them behind rapidly.
Pretty fast, eh? Seth said to Arthur. See what I mean now?
Arthur didn't reply; he just continued to soar in parallel to Seth.