by Sarah Hite
The dralic bellowed and tried to dislodge the dragon from his side. He turned his head around and tried to bite back, but Kwan had expected that. He dug his claws deeper into the dralic's side and launched himself off the beast, but did not relinquish his hold on the wing. He bent the wing backwards as he landed squarely on the dralic's back. He heard an audible snap, and the creature cried out again, but the damage had been done.
The wing folded and they dropped from the sky, spinning uncontrollably. Kwan no longer cared that they fell hundreds of feet. He bit the dralic's other wing, right at the central joint. He did not hear the beast bellow again, but instead he made sure that both wings were useless. Only a few hundred feet from the ground did he release his hold on his opponent. He flung himself from it and corrected his flight. Then he flapped to gain altitude before watching the beast slam into the ground. He snorted with satisfaction. As far as he was concerned, it was the dralics' fault that Shaelynn had come here; she would be safe in Ciciana if not for them.
He turned and flew back to where the younger dragon had disappeared. He landed a short distance from the woods and walked under the limbs. The younger Forest dragon stared at him, not daring to believe what he had just witnessed. Kwan ignored him and asked, “Are you all right?”
The scout shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. He slowly nodded. “I think so, at least for the most part.” He looked down at his foreleg. It was burned from the knee down in small patches. Now that he looked at it, and the adrenaline had begun to wear off, it began to pain him greatly. As the pain spread through the appendage, he sucked in a breath before looking up and adding, “I kind of flew right into them.”
“Why don't you lay down; I don’t need you collapsing. It could do more damage.” The younger dragon nodded and Kwan helped him to the ground. When he was settled, he asked "How many of them were there?"
“I'm not sure, five at least, probably more.” His speech was deteriorating and was filled with pain.
Kwan let out a slightly irritated sigh and walked passed his companion thinking, but turned his head and declared, “Don't let Moon find out what just happened.”
The scout smiled through his pain. “I won't tell her, but she will…probably still find out. I don't know…who else saw that.” He paused a moment and studied the thin dragon standing in front of him. A mischievous look wiped the pain from his face for a moment. “How much trouble do you think…you'll be in if she finds out?”
Kwan sighed again. "A lot." He knew he was being teased and turned to look for the other dragons he had called back. He needed a shaman quickly. There was not a lake in this area of the island, and the worse the burn got, the more of a chance his friend had of losing his leg. He also hoped none of the other dragons had seen what he had just done.
Unfortunately, a Mountain dragon landed a moment later from behind; he was not alone. “Did you really just bring that thing down, by yourself?”
Kwan sighed again. Great, he thought. “Yes, but none of this gets back to Lady Saydene, understood?” They nodded, but he had the sinking feeling not all of them would keep their word. To change the subject, he said, “There are more dralics in the area. They cannot be allowed to take us by surprise.” He looked at the faces around him. The Fire and Ice dragons nodded and started working on defenses. The other breeds followed their lead, but Kwan stopped one of them. “Where’s Floran?”
The Ocean dragon, Marltos, stopped to look at him. “I am not sure. He should have been with the third team, but they have not seen him for an hour.”
Kwan slowly let out a breath, letting it hiss between his teeth. Floran was one of the shaman assigned to him. Several of them had been instructed by Shamans Pali and Ketowa on how to treat both Shaelynn and acid burns, but the Ocean dragon had been one of the best. “Where are the other shaman?”
Marltos studied him a moment before asking. “How bad?”
“Acid, down the foreleg. He's nearly passed out,” he said, glancing toward the trees.
Marltos was in charge of the second team. He looked around and realized that three teams had not yet arrived. There were ten teams, five dragons each. Teams two, four, and eight had not arrived. Out of the fifty dragons only four were shaman, and at the moment, none of them were present. “Is there any water nearby?”
Kwan shook his head. “Not that I've found.” The older Ocean dragon looked down at him, then over at the rest of the group. Kwan could tell he was thinking, and he let him.
Marltos turned back to his commander and asked, “What would melt ice better, heating something frozen, or trying to freeze something hot?”
Confused, Kwan did not answer right away. “I don't know, melting something frozen I would think.”
The Ocean dragon nodded and ducked under the trees. Kwan followed him and they stopped in front of the scout. The Forest dragon had indeed almost passed out, but he looked up at his superior with pain filled eyes. Sir?
“Easy Larnek, you’re going to be alright.” The younger adult merely nodded. He was in too much pain to really talk.
Marltos looked from one to the other before turning to Kwan, “Help him to the edge of the woods. I'll get us some water.”
Still confused, he only nodded and watched the other commander leave the cover of the trees. He leaned down and helped his friend to his feet. While he steadied him, he heard Marltos call to two dragons. “Mico, Faren come here. Mico, I need you to fill this hole with ice, as much as you can. When you are done, I need you, Faren, to melt it. We have an acid burn, but no water to cool it, so we will just have to make some.” Kwan smiled to himself. Melting ice to make water was something Shaelynn would have suggested. His smile instantly faded at the thought of her. He hoped she was okay, and tried to make himself believe it.
Seeing his boss’s sudden downcast expression, Larnek looked up at the slightly shorter dragon. He cleared his voice for a moment and pulled strength from his core. Don't worry, I'm ...sure she'll…be fine. She...has her…parents' strength.
Kwan looked down at the sagging dragon next him. He was right, the youngster did have strength that was unusual for children her age. He sighed, “She gets it from her mother.”
Larnek was one of the few dragons they had found who actually supported Shaelynn. He had been one of the dragons assigned to Kwan during the battle of Ciciana and had seen the child's sacrifice. He also knew what it was to lose a child. His first clutch consisted of two eggs. One did not hatch, and the other died during a rockslide when he was three months old. Having been reassigned to the Keep after the tragedy, he had found himself under Kwan's command and had gotten to know the family. The oldest boy in his second clutch was the same age as Kwan's children and the boys had become friends.
As the bigger dragons helped Larnek to the hole, Kwan looked up when someone called his name. At first he could not tell who it was, but when they called again, he recognized the voice. Floran! You’re a sight for sore eyes. Where have you been?
The Ocean dragon flew over the trees and landed a few feet from him. Water dripped from his wings and back and he dropped a completely soaked medical kit to the ground in front of him. “The strap broke.”
Kwan did not need further explanation. The leather strap had held the whicker pack to the dragon’s neck. It had broken and fallen into the ocean, leaving the shaman no choice but to go after it. Unfortunately, it had not been sealed with pitch, and the contents were most likely broken or ruined. "Is any of it any good?" he asked as the shaman flipped the lid open. He pulled out several drenched herbs, a large clay jar, a stone mixing tray, and a small clay jar.
He looked over the contents and shook his head. “Everything seems to be usable, but the herbs will need re-dried.” He opened the two jars to see how wet the salves were, and slowly tilted them over one at a time, draining the water. After making sure the kit could be saved, he returned everything to the wicker basket. “Did anyone get hurt?”
“Larnek. He ran head first into a pack of
dralic's. He's lucky to have escaped with just the single injury.”
"How bad?"
“Acid burn, down the foreleg.”
“Has it been soaked?” the shaman asked somewhat alarmed.
Kwan smiled, “Currently. We're a little distance from a decent water source, but that didn't stop us from making our own. Who needs a lake when you have Fire and Ice dragons around?” he replied somewhat humorously.
Floran smiled and nodded, understanding what he meant. “Where is he?” Kwan led the way to the scout and let him take care of injury. He looked up when a Pebbline suddenly landed on a nearby tree stump.
Sir! Dralics are headed this way!
“How many?”
The tiny dragon shook her head. I am not sure. There were at least eight of them, and they were not happy.
He realized that the monsters must have found the body of their comrade. “What direction?” She pointed to the northwest, where the first dralic had come from. He nodded and looked over at his men. “Dralics are heading this way. Floran, help Larnek into the trees. I don't need him in the middle of a fight.” The shaman nodded, and with the help of another dragon they moved the nearly unconscious scout to a safer location. Kwan looked up in the direction they had come from, and did not like what he saw. Several dralics were flying straight towards them. At first he thought there were only five, but four others appeared behind them. Nine! How can we take on nine?
In the first battle with their enemy, it had taken seven to nine dragons per one male dralic, and there had only been seven then. Now there were nine adult male dralics, and only thirty-five dragons, leaving only three dragons per dralic. Horror gripped him as he realized that they were horribly out matched, and even with the other three teams, they still would be. The added fifteen dragons would only increase their numbers to five to one, and they needed at least seven. He knew they would not be able to outrun the dralics, and even though most of them could be invisible, he refused to leave the southern dragons exposed.
Marltos joined him and asked, "What are you thinking?"
Kwan turned to him and answered so the rest could not hear. That we don't stand a chance.
Marltos silently agreed, but refused to give up. He suggested that some of the dragons hide, and attack the dralics from the air. Kwan studied him as he listened to the older dragon's idea. “If we can bring even one down before they reach us, we might stand a chance. If we can repeat your feet from earlier, and bring more to the ground, we might at least be able to chase them off.”
Kwan understood, but he still did not like it. He had been angry and had put himself in danger without thinking of what his mate would do if he died. He finally sighed, giving in. Together they walked out to the warriors. “We have a plan, but it's dangerous and I won't force anyone to do it. I know many of you saw what I did earlier. Take no offense, but I'm asking Forest dragons to volunteer to try and repeat that action. I need two per dralic, and at least one Mountain dragon per team. The Mountain breed will act as a defense for the Forest dragons while they break their wings. I need the Fire and Ice dragons to stay as close to trees as possible. We already have one wounded, and only one shaman at the moment. I also need volunteers to guide or drag the wounded to safety, the rest will fight. Am I understood?" They nodded and several dragons volunteered. When he had his attack teams, he said, “I will lead the air assault, Marltos will lead those who stay on the ground.”
He turned to the Forest and Mountain dragons who had joined him. Follow my lead. They agreed and hid themselves before taking to the air. When they were airborne, they split up, nine teams of three. The Mountain dragons showed themselves mere feet away from the dralics and released torrents of fire in their faces. Some of the dralics roared in pain while others dove out of the way. Kwan led his team over one of the larger dralics. When they were several hundred feet above the male, he called out to his partner. Take the left wing. Dive, and break it off when you pass.
The other Forest dragon answered and did as he was told. Together they dove at the dralic. Kwan grabbed the right wing with his teeth at the exact moment Parnen, an almost completely brown dragon with dark green markings-- markings that were so dark that they were almost black-- bit down on the other.
The dralic bellowed in pain and folded his wings. He dove straight at the earth and rolled, trying to throw them off. Kwan dug his claws into the dralic as he had done before and cautioned Parnen, who dug his claws deep into the dralic's belly. The commander repositioned his hold on the wing and pulled it with him, forcing the dralic to straighten his flight. When he did, Parnen bit down even harder. They knew when the wing bone broke, the crunch was so loud they could hear it over the wind. The dralic squealed painfully as he plummeted towards the ground.
The two Forest dragons leapt from their perch and turned back to the fight. However, the dralic was not going to let a broken wing stop him. He twisted in the air, and faced the two dragons. A call from one of his group was the only warning they got. The dralic released a mouthful of acid at them as it fell. Kwan barely dodged the burning liquid, but Parnen was not so lucky. He had turned to see what caused the alarm, and was hit in the side. The acid splattered across his side and stomach. Small drops landed on his foreleg and neck. He cried out as the acid bit through his scales causing him to drop. He fell one hundred feet before righting himself, but could not get his wing to work.
Kwan had seen him get hit and was at his side in a moment. He had indeed been hit. The burns on his side and belly were nothing to the burns that had splattered across his wing. The membrane was almost completely gone in sections. Alarmed and angered, he called to the Mountain dragon who had been helping them. Get him to safety! The larger dragon dove under one of the dralics, and hovered on the good side of the badly injured dragon, and helped him to the ground.
Kwan looked around, only two of the dralics had fallen, and the rest were angered by the attack. He heard several dragons scream in pain as they were injured; one of them fell past him unconscious. An Ice dragons caught him and took him to safety. Those who had been waiting on the ground now leapt into the fight as the first of the dralics landed. Looking around, he saw that ten dragons were already down. Floran had his work cut out for him. Mico had dug a very large trench in the ground quite a distance from the fight and had filled it with ice, which Faren was currently melting. He also saw that the larger breeds were helping to take the wounded there.
Seeing that one of the teams was having trouble, he went to help them. He did not bother landing, but instead told the dragons in his way to duck. Kwan had come to realize that the wings were the most vulnerable part of the dralics' body. He dove at the dralic and clawed at its wings as he passed. He landed in a spray of dirt and bellowed a challenge at the dralic.
He folded his wings protectively and roared his answer. Standing up on his hind legs, the dralic roared again. He lashed out with giant claws and reared back his head.
Watch out! Kwan called as he understood what the dralic was doing. He released the torrent of acid and let out another roar. The dragon just to Kwan's right screamed as the acid splattered his front. He had tried to dodge it, but had moved too slow. Kwan pushed the injured dragon to a larger breed who had heard the scream and turned back to the dralic. He dodged a blow, and bit down on one of his massive toes.
The dralic squealed and threw Kwan through the air. He landed several feet away and rolled over. Standing up, he ignored the pain in his side from where he had landed and charged back to the fight. He ducked as another dragon flew passed him, but this one did not rise. Red rimmed his vision as Kwan charged back into the fight. He did not even notice when the missing three teams arrived to help. The shaman joined Floran, and the rest jumped to help their friends.
Kwan dodged a blow from one dralic and jumped on another. He dug his claws deep into the dralic's back and bellowed his rage in his opponent's ear. He clamped down on the dralic's massive neck as hard as he could. The dralic roared and twisted in both
pain and fury. He tried to throw the very angry Forest dragon off his back, but could not. Kwan was determined to bring him down. He had several friends in his group, all who supported his daughter coming home, and he did not like the fact that only a few were still on their feet.
The dralic bellowed again as the commander changed his position and tore through a soft spot in the armored scales at the back of the dralic's neck. The dralic tried to fight back, but could not reach the small dragon. Finally, in a desperate act, the dralic reared up and fell on its back, smashing the Forest dragon to the ground and pinning him there.
“Kwan!” Marltos cried as he watched his commander hit the ground. “Fire and Ice, get that thing off him!”
Several of the large breed dragons pushed the dralic off of their leader and disposed of him, while Floran ran over to see if their commander was okay. Even after they had removed the dralic from on top of him, Kwan still did not move, neither was he breathing. Marltos and Floran looked at each other before returning their gaze to their fallen leader. He had taken out three dralics alone. He may not want his mate to know what had occurred, but there was no way to stop the news from spreading.
“Kwan? Kwan, answer me!” the shaman yelled.
He did not answer and they looked at each other, fearing the possibility that he was lost. However, they breathed in a sigh of relief when he suddenly sucked in a deep breath. He slowly opened his eyes and rolled over. He shook his head and looked up at the dragons standing around him. He said nothing, but shook his head again.
“Are you alright?” his second asked concerned. The dralic could easily have squashed him.