by Andy Holland
John was confused. This was a race he had never even heard of.
"Your face tells me all I need to know. They were your neighbours, once. A pale grey flightless dragon. Nothing special, all truth be told and not much of a threat to anyone, you would have thought. However, rather strangely they decided to attack your country; doing so at night, when things were a little more even and they probably had more success against you than any other race of dragon. They had some initial success, but of course, then day came and you crushed them, killing all of their attackers. To be fair, you didn't kill any that weren't in your territory, which I suppose was commendable, if a little foolish, but you made them sign a truce which meant that they had to let you keep some of your men near each of their cities. Little Golden Dragon villages to watch over them and make sure that they didn't gather troops to attack you."
"So?" John asked. "Sounds perfectly reasonable."
Wami nodded. "Very reasonable. And it worked; they didn't attack you again while you were watching their every move. Then your people started to make friends with the people in their cities. The Grey Dragons only had two cities, as this was a long time ago when all of the countries were smaller. Really good friends. Your men married their women and their men married yours. The children all had your lovely blonde hair, but no one thought to mention that they would also be Golden Dragons. And you kept it a tight secret as well. They didn't realise what was happening. Slowly everyone in their cities ended up with blonde hair and then one day they realised that there were no more Grey Dragons. No, you didn't attack your neighbours to steal their land—you're far too honourable for that. You just took their land in a more sneaky way."
John was stunned. "I never heard that story."
"You don't surprise me. No one teaches their children their dirty little secrets. And this is why we can never fully trust you. Because you're sneaky."
"But it has changed now. Everyone knows what happens with our children. And we have very strict rules about who we can marry."
Wami smiled sympathetically. "Yes, which gives you a big problem, doesn't it, John?"
John winced, clutching at his chest for a moment, the familiar pain returning, before nodding. "Unless her parents agree, I can't marry her."
"What's up with your chest? You look a little uncomfortable."
John looked down. "That's my other problem. A few months ago I transformed at night. I had to in order to save my friends."
"You what? How are you still alive?"
John shrugged. "We Golden Dragons aren't affected as badly as other dragons. At least, that's what I thought. It was pretty bad, but I recovered and I thought that was the end of it. But it isn't. I saw a doctor when I came back and she told me that I've damaged my heart and that these pains I'm getting will get worse and worse. I'm fine as a dragon, but not as a man."
"Too bad, John. What does that mean? Will you live a shorter life?"
John shrugged. "She told me that in all the cases she had heard of, none survived past a year. She said that being younger, I might make it to two, but no more."
"Wow! Two years! That's not long at all. I sort of feel bad for lecturing you about your past now, when you haven't much of a future. Seriously, just two years? Is there nothing that can be done?"
John shook his head. "I'll live longer if I spend more time as a dragon, but two years is as long as I can hope for. I guess that may make my other problem not such a big deal."
"I guess not. Have you told your Princess about this?"
"No, not yet. I thought I'd wait till after the war. I might die during the war, so there's no point telling her yet."
"That's the spirit! An optimistic way of looking at things! Look, John, you won't die during this war—I can tell. You're like me, a natural survivor. But you should get some rest; sounds like you're going to need it. And don't worry about your Princess. She'll be fine; you'll get to her in time."
"I guess you're right. We'll need to leave early in the morning."
"Of course. Sleep well, my friend…."
Chapter 29 - Planning the response
"So, have you any good news for me?" General Zygar asked Perak as he joined the rest of the generals in the command tent. "Any word on Farak yet?"
General Zygar was in a foul mood and had been ever since the news of the failure of the attack on Furnace had arrived yesterday afternoon. Kanesh considered it fortunate that Farak had not made it back, as he might have been executed on the spot—something that was beginning to happen rather too frequently.
"Nothing on Farak, but I do have news," General Perak replied calmly as he took his seat. "My spy managed to leave Furnace and make contact with one of my men. They're still evacuating non-combatants and he was able to use that as an excuse to leave the city."
"I don't care how he got out," Zygar snapped. "Just tell me what news he brought you."
Perak didn't react to Zygar's comments in the slightest. "The mood in Furnace is jubilant, as you might expect. Last night was one long party and had we the dragons in place, this morning would have been an excellent time for an attack."
Zygar snorted. "Excellent. Why would I be interested to hear how they're partying?"
Perak appeared to ignore his question. "My spy, much to my initial disapproval, has cultivated a number of social relationships with influential individuals within the city. I suspected that he was abusing his situation and merely seeking the attention of pretty women, but it appears that he has managed to have used his position profitably. He attended a party last night where he learnt that their King has issued communications to both the West and the North for reinforcements to join in a counterattack on Obud. By now their forces should be gathering in Furnace in preparation for an attack that will probably take place tomorrow."
"A lot of probables in there, Perak," Zygar pointed out coldly. "What do you know for certain?"
"Not a lot regarding timing or numbers," Perak admitted. "But the attack will happen."
Tarek laughed. "Do they really think they could retake it? Don't they recall how easily they lost it? How would they even hold it?"
"With their Golden Dragon allies," Zygar replied grimly. "Just as they've defended their capital. No, defending it wouldn't be too hard for them. Where they would struggle is taking it back in the first place. But they could do it."
"Where would they find the numbers?" Tarek asked. "They can't move dragons from their Northern Principality or risk losing Newcastle. And they won't move too many from their Western Principality in case we invade from the south."
General Xanot walked around the table and pointed to the map on the wall. "We know that their Western Principality is heavily populated with several large towns, so if they are sending across dragons then they will have the numbers to take it as things stand. We would need to strengthen our defences or we could lose the city. However, I think if we triple the numbers stationed in the city we could hold off an attack."
"What do you think, General Perak?" Zygar asked. "You pride yourself on your strategic thinking. What would you do?"
Perak looked up. "I agree; if we triple the number guarding the city, we would repel an attack, but what does that achieve? The city itself is unimportant now that we've destroyed their Dragonstones. What matters is destroying them all. If Xanot is correct, they're gathering in numbers that could destroy one of our armies—especially with their allies. I suspect even tripling our forces wouldn't be enough. This is a real opportunity for them to strike at us, but it also presents us with an opportunity. We could increase the numbers in that city twenty-fold. Make it enough not to repel an attack, but to crush them all."
"Move almost all of our forces into one place?" Xanot asked. "It would leave us open to attacks elsewhere."
"Not in the north or the west," Perak replied. "They don't have the numbers to threaten us there and we could leave enough to hold the cities. Only the Browns pose a risk and we could leave enough troops to fight them along the border with them.
We could crush all the Red Dragons in one go. After that, the capital would be ours for the taking and we could finish the rest of them one city at a time. Then, we turn to the Browns. On their own, we could swat them like the flies that they are."
Zygar nodded, rubbing his chin as he pondered the suggestion. "An interesting idea, but we couldn't bring all of our troops to Obud in time. The Reds will reach there first."
Perak shrugged. "Let them. Give up the city; it's of no importance. Stage the battle elsewhere. Our camp near the old border would work. It'll take them longer to reach and we can get our troops there in time."
Kanesh looked at Perak curiously. "You'd surrender Obud just like that? How would you draw them out? Why wouldn't they just stay in their city?"
Perak smiled. "I'm glad you asked…."
Chapter 30 - Fighting back
"Feeling tired this morning?" Prince Gerald asked as Mark entered his home, looking bleary-eyed.
Mark nodded. "That was quite a party last night. I can't understand how you look so well. You were drinking so much and I drank nothing, yet you look more alive."
"You spent a lot more time dancing than I did," Gerald pointed out. "I'm wondering if there were any girls at the party that you didn't dance with. Are you sure you're related to John?"
"Just doing my bit to improve Golden-Red relations," Mark replied with a smile. "Was John really that different? He was not very different to me as a child, or so my parents tell me."
"He's a serious one, your brother. Totally focused on his duties. Of course, Daisy managed to distract him now and then. I'd like to see what he's like now he can relax. Does he know how, I wonder?"
"He relaxes with me," Daisy declared as she entered the room. "He always has. Good morning, Mark. Have you come to tell us what's happening today?"
Mark shook his head. "I know no more than you, I'm afraid. Only Noah has been invited to the planning. I was hoping Gerald might have more information."
Gerald shook his head. "I haven't heard anything, but I have heard rumours of what will be discussed. The Prince will be urging the others to hit them again, to finish them off quickly, while Jeremy will urge caution."
"As will Noah," Mark added. "He thought yesterday's celebrations were premature."
"I noted his absence," Gerald replied, "although most of your lot were there, basking in the admiration of Furnace's young ladies."
Mark grinned sheepishly. "It's not really encouraged, flirting with foreign dragons, you know, but so far from home, they feel that they can bend the rules a bit."
Daisy frowned. "As did you. How seriously are those rules really taken?"
Mark sighed. "Dancing is one thing, Daisy. I'm afraid I can't comment on you and John. Look, if you hear anything from the Council, please tell me. I'll be with my men."
Mark departed hastily and Gerald turned to Daisy inquisitively. "What did he mean?"
Daisy explained what Leah had told her. Gerald nodded. "It's right that you get Grandfather's permission before you marry and I expect that we can persuade him, as long as we approach him when Mother isn't around. The King is another matter. We'd have to go through Prince Henry and our families do not get on, so I can't see him doing you any favours. Still, maybe after all the help they've given us, he might feel obliged to give something in return. Cheer up, little Daisy. Plenty could happen before you need to worry about this. If the Prince gets his way we might not live long enough to worry about weddings."
Daisy punched his arm in horror. "Gerald! That's a terrible thing to say!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure John will swoop in to snatch you out of danger at the last minute. It's the rest of us who have to worry. You'd be fine though; they can't make you get permission from a dead King."
"Gerald! Stop it! We'll win, won't we?"
Gerald laughed and ruffled his sister's hair. "I hope so. But I'm as impatient as Mark to find out what we're doing. I'll head to the Council to find out if there's any news. Go and kick your lazy twin out of bed, will you? I'll see you later."
He kissed Daisy on the forehead and hurried out of their home. The Council was meeting not too far away and it didn't take long even travelling on foot. When he arrived, there was a lot of activity outside the meeting room and only Lord Robert was still in the room.
"What's happening, Lord Robert?" Gerald asked.
"We've just finished," he replied. "I'm just finalising communications. You would have received a message shortly."
"Yes, I know," Gerald replied impatiently, "but tell me, what has been decided?"
"To attack," Lord Robert replied. "We're summoning the remaining available forces to make one consolidated attack on Obud and retake the city. We will then turn to Black Rock and take back the cities one by one. We believe we've struck a powerful enough blow to have weakened their army to the point where we can push them out."
Gerald nodded gravely. "What about Noah? Did he agree with the decision?"
Lord Robert shook his head. "He doesn't get a vote, of course, but no, he was unhappy with the decision. He doubts they are that weak and thinks we should let them try and attack again."
Gerald nodded. "I suspected that he would think that. Apparently he thought we were premature in our celebrations last night. But what about you? You're renowned for being the voice of caution. How did you vote?"
"The votes are confidential during a time of war," Lord Robert replied. "You know that. I stand by the decision and am hopeful of an excellent outcome tomorrow."
Gerald nodded, interpreting that response as a confirmation that he voted against the decision. "How will the Golden Dragons be used? Can they attack a city directly? Don't they have to wait until they're attacked?"
Lord Robert nodded. "It's an unfortunate situation. I suspect they could more or less take the city on their own otherwise. Still, once they're engaged, they'll play a part. They'll try to secure a spot where they can transform into one of those monsters, then they can secure the ground."
"Won't they be vulnerable to the city's defences? I know they're huge, but the crossbow bolts are very powerful and they won't be hard to hit."
"Yes, they'll have to disable the towers first, but they have some plan for sneaking in as tiny dragons to take the towers one by one. Noah was unhappy with the overall plan, but didn't hold back in providing ideas."
"Excellent; when is the attack?"
"Tomorrow. We want to waste no time letting them prepare their own response. Messengers went out first thing this morning. You'll be joined by a number of your fellow westerners."
"Thanks for telling me all of this. Will I be playing a leading role?"
Lord Robert smiled at him. "Not tomorrow, I'm afraid. Your father sent word to Lord Jeremy; you're not to risk yourself again. You will play a role, of course, but leading from the back."
"Funny, I never really saw that as leading," Prince Gerald replied sourly. "Let me know what's required of me. Good day, Lord Robert."
Gerald left the meeting room feeling irritated. His father’s actions did not surprise him, although how he had sent word so quickly he didn't know. He'd go and tell the twins the news and then go and see Mark. Interesting man, John's brother. Facially similar, but they couldn't be more different. He had never considered friendship with other races possible, but now that he had met the Golden Dragons, a world of possibilities was opening up. Just as long as they could survive this war….
***
The following morning the massive Red Dragon Army set off from Furnace, with the Golden Dragons buzzing around several hundred metres above them, watching them leave.
Do you think this is really such a bad idea? Mark asked Noah as they flew above the Red Dragons. They've put together a formidable force here and this is the last thing the Blues would expect. Surprise can be a big advantage.
The Blues will expect it, Noah replied confidently. They will have their scouts, just as we have ours. They may even have that spy still operating. What I don't understand is why th
ey haven't been bringing in reinforcements to Obud. Jude's men report that numbers haven't changed that much.
Surprise, Mark said, equally confidently. As I said.
Noah laughed. I admire your optimism. It's a welcome change. Even if you're completely deluded.
Mark laughed with him. Fancy flying ahead of these slow dragons to test your theory?
Not really, Noah replied. I don't think that would help anyone. If this really will be a surprise, then you'll spoil it. You'll just have to wait.
Mark said nothing for a moment. Still, you have to admire their spirit, throwing caution to the wind and risking it all on one big attack, instead of cowering in their safe city, waiting for the inevitable second invasion from the Blues. They're even being led by their nobles. I thought that Prince a complete coward, but he's going to lead the attack.
I suspect you will find he has a different understanding to you of what to lead means. Besides, why did they have to allow those two children along? They can't fight; they're just a liability.
Good for morale, Mark said. All our men love the Princess and the fact she and her brother have been allowed to come reassures the troops. They assume this is already won.
They're fools then, Noah said. Most of them won't come back.
You don't know that. Besides, it's five children, not two. All of them came along.
What? Crystal's father allowed her and her cousin to come?
He may not know—I couldn't say. Not sure he could stop them though, so best not tell him.
One day, Mark, when you have children, you'll understand how wrong what you're doing is. That's if your brother doesn't kill you first for letting his precious Daisy get this close to a battle. Weren't you meant to be protecting her?
John will be alright about this. He always thinks ahead and this is in her long term interest. Hey, I think I can see the city ahead. Doesn't look like many Blues above the city. Get ready to eat your words, my friend, this looks like it'll be an easy victory.
The two Golden Dragons flew higher and faster, trying to get a better view. Sure enough, it looked like there were not that many defenders in the city and far too few to hold it. The two dropped down to speak to the commanders.