by Jenna Payne
“What do you see?” asked Silas.
“What questions do you seek answers to?” countered the druid.
“Will I be king?” asked Silas. “Will I wear the crown of Garnet Valley? Will I fulfil my destiny and become ruler of these lands?”
“There are many paths that could lead you to the crown…” replied the druid, “but these paths are not yet certain…not while Prince Kirian remains the rightful heir…”
“Does Prince Kirian live?” demanded Silas.
“Yes…” replied the druid. “He lives, he has reached the safety of Castle Drakon, he is under the protection of his grandfather.”
“That sly old lizard!” spat Silas. “Holed up in his lair, gloating over his treasures…if he thinks that Kirian is beyond my reach he has another thing coming…”
The druid tipped the mixture of blood and powders into the burning flames of the fire, causing it to hiss and spark.
“What else do you see?” demanded Silas.
“You will bring death and destruction to us all…” said the druid calmly, standing up and walking away into the darkness of the temple. Silas was left staring at the embers of the fire, struggling to control the fury that burned so fiercely inside him.
After a few moments the druid returned, his assistants carried with them a small wooden barrel.
“I think this might be of some assistance…” suggested the druid.
“What is it?” demanded Silas.
“Fire powder…” replied the druid. “We use it in our ceremonies–in small measures it creates heat and smoke, however we have done some experiments as to what happens when larger quantities are used. I imagine that someone with your ambitions could find some practical applications for large quantities of fire powder.”
“What have you found in your experiments?” quizzed Silas. “What sort of effect can be created?”
“It creates an extraordinary amount of heat, eventually releasing a force of great power,” explained the druid. “We’ve seen it destroy stone walls like they were paper.”
“Stone walls?” asked Silas. “Like the walls of a castle? Like the walls of Castle Drakon? Give it to me–give me all the fire powder that you have!”
“My assistants are loading a cart for you as we speak…” nodded the druid. “It should be more than you require for your assault against Castle Drakon.”
“There’s just one other thing…” hesitated Silas. “Have you had any experience of confronting a shape-shifter? A shape-shifter that can take the form of a dragon?”
“I have heard of Lord Sarkan’s abilities…” nodded the druid, “but if you’re looking for some sort of spell or charm that might protect you against him, I’m afraid such matters are beyond the reach of our gifts. I can only suggest that you fight fire with fire.”
“Fire with fire…” nodded Silas purposefully. “Fight fire with fire.”
*****
Prince Silas assembled his troops almost within sight of Castle Drakon. They had marched across the border into Lord Sarkan’s territory unopposed. The villages that they marched through had been deserted, as if they had been evacuated, as if they had been expecting them.
Surveying the campfires of his men, Silas knew that he was risking everything on his ambition to kill Prince Kirian and to finally claim the throne of the Garnet Valley as his own. The fire powder that the druids had supplied him with was his secret weapon, but he knew that Sarkan was not to be underestimated. Silas had never fought against a dragon before.
As dawn broke, Silas and his generals made their final preparations for battle. But it was clear from their reconnaissance that Lord Sarkan’s forces weren’t going to emerge from behind the walls of Castle Drakon to engage them. Sarkan was preparing for a siege, hoping to be able to outlast the anger and vengeance of Silas. Silas smiled to himself, thinking of the fire powder that the druids had supplied him with, his secret weapon that would soon bring the walls of Castle Drakon tumbling down.
“They’re approaching!” shouted a look-out, high in one of the towers along the walls of Castle Drakon.
“So it begins…” mumbled Arken, staring out into the distance, just beginning to catch glimpses of flags fluttering in the breeze as the army of Prince Silas, the army of the Garnet Valley marched towards them. Arken didn’t like sieges. He especially didn’t like sieges when he was the one trapped inside, he much preferred a good honest, bone-crunching battle that pitted man against man until only one victor remained standing. But he had found himself drawn into this war that wasn’t his to fight, a battle for kingdom of which he wasn’t part, a crown that he did not bow to.
“To your positions!” shouted Arken, springing into action, “You know what you have to do!”
There was a skill, an art to siege warfare. While it wasn’t Arken’s preferred method of fighting, he was enough of a student of war that he knew how a siege would play out. He wondered if Silas had the patience for a siege, he suspected not.
“They will come at us hard!” shouted Arken, keeping the men in his command alert and focused. He knew that Silas would try for some sort of shock-value, something to test them, possibly with a chance of getting an early breakthrough, or at the very least to show that he wouldn’t give up and that he wouldn’t show any mercy. Arken surveyed the defenses that they had assembled along the wall–poles to push back the ladders, pots of boiling oil to discourage anyone from coming up the wall, and plenty of buckets of water to put out the fires that would come from the inevitable burning arrows.
“Ready to show them what you’ve got?” asked Arken, looking across to where Tabor had set up position with the best archers in Lord Sarkan’s army.
“Ready!” grinned Tabor.
“Don’t be too impatient…” cautioned Arken, “let them get close enough so that every arrow finds its mark. We need to be efficient, ruthless…”
“Yes, sir!” laughed Tabor, giving a mock-salute to Arken. The adrenalin of the moment clearly coursing through him.
The army of Prince Silas clattered forward, trundling towards its target, the walls of Castle Drakon. Silas knew that his only chance of success was to strike quickly, to get the fire powder in position and to breach the walls of the castle. His men knew what to do.
As the army of Silas came within range, the archers from Castle Drakon began to rain arrows down upon them. However, their shields, held overhead deflected most arrows at that range. Silas sent forward infantry towards the left and the right flank. He wanted the defenders to be distracted to think that he was attempting to climb the walls. With the infantry engaged, Silas gave the signal for the fire powder to be moved forward. His men were instructed to get it as close to the wall as possible, digging it down beside the wall if there was time. Once the fire powder was in position, then they would set it alight from a distance using their flaming arrows.
*****
Just as Prince Silas’s men had managed to secure the kegs of fire powder into position at the base of the outer wall of Castle Drakon, there was a thundering roar and an enormous shadow seemed to block out the sun. Looking up to see what was going on, the blood drained from Silas’s face. It was a dragon–it was Lord Sarkan in dragon form.
Sarkan roared again, the earth seemed to shake at the sound. The men from the Garnet Valley began to retreat in fear.
“Do not retreat you cowards!” shouted Silas. “This is our only chance of defeating these monsters! Launch the flaming arrows! Light the fire powder!” Silas’s men quickly lit the burning arrows and began to target the position of the fire powder.
“What are they up to…” pondered Arken, trying to see what Silas’s men were shooting their flaming arrows at, but it seemed to be something at the base of the wall, beyond his field of vision. All of a sudden there was an enormous explosion, triggered by whatever they had targeted. Arken found himself tumbling as the wall beneath fell away. Try as he might, there was no defense against the crushing weight of the falling stones.
Enraged by the destruction of his castle wall, Sarkan unleashed a fire of his own–scorching the earth with flames that streamed from his mouth, destroying the armies of the Garnet Valley as they fled from his wrath.
Prince Silas tried to take shelter towards the rear of his army. His plan had worked, the fire powder had destroyed the wall, but he had no answer for the dragon rage that he had unleashed.
As Silas was watching the havoc being wreaked by Sarkan, he didn’t see the smaller dragon landing close behind him. It was Kirian, in dragon form. Silas didn’t get a chance to appreciate the beauty and power of Kirian in his other form, because he was quickly torn to shreds as Kirian allowed his rage to consume him.
Seeing that Silas was dead and his armies dispersed, Sarkan instructed Kirian to take Tabor and to fly back Vacheron Castle to try and free his parents.
“We’ve lost Arken…” announced Tabor, as Kirian swooped down to collect him from the battlements. “He was killed by the explosion at the wall…”
“I wish Silas had more than one life so that I could kill him again and again and again!” roared Kirian. “We will grieve for Arken later, now we must fly to the Garnet Valley!”
*****
Storming into Castle Vacheron, Prince Kirian made directly for the castle’s dungeons. Tabor followed close behind, along with a contingent of guards from the army of Castle Drakon.
“Father! Mother!” shouted Prince Kirian, throwing open the door of the cell in which his parents were being held prisoner.
“My boy! You’re alive!” gasped King Ludus, wrapping his arms around Kirian and drawing him into a warm embrace.
“What’s been happening?” asked Kirian’s mother. “What’s happened to Silas? Are we in danger?”
“Silas has been defeated Mother…” replied Kirian. “We have led an army against him, an army from Castle Drakon.”
“Lord Sarkan?” asked King Ludus. “Your grandfather is here?”
“Soon…” nodded Prince Kirian. “He has risked everything to help us reclaim the Garnet Valley, to reclaim the throne. He’s not the only one who has risked everything I’ve been blessed to have at my side the brave and loyal Tabor, the son of Lord Ayre.”
“My King…” bowed Tabor respectfully, stepping forward in response to Prince Kirian’s introduction.
“Tabor…” acknowledged King Ludus. “It’s been many years since I have seen you. I wish we were meeting in happier times.”
“My parents?” asked Tabor, desperate for news of his family who had also been taken prisoner on the night of Silas’s coup.
“They have been killed,” confirmed King Ludus. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Your father was not only my closest ally but he was also my friend. I miss him greatly. I know that he would be very proud of you.”
“I expected the worst…” nodded Tabor, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks, “but somehow I kept hoping that they had survived.”
“Come,” said Kirian, “I will take Tabor to my quarters. Mother and Father–there are servants here from Castle Drakon who will care for you. My grandfather, Lord Sarkan, will be arriving tomorrow and we must hold the victory ceremony to demonstrate that once again we rule the Garnet Valley.”
Alone in Kirian’s bedchamber, Tabor allowed his grief to overwhelm him, sobbing and crying as Kirian held him in his arms.
“There were so many times that I thought we would never make it…” whispered Kirian. “So many times when you kept me going, kept me hoping, kept me dreaming that one day it would all be worth it… You have achieved what your father tasked you to achieve–not only have you kept me safe, but you have kept all of Garnet Valley safe by returning King Ludus to the throne as its rightful ruler.”
“I know, you’re right,” nodded Tabor. “I guess it’s the combination of relief that we finally defeated Silas and the shock of having it confirmed that he had my parents killed. What matters now is that I’m here to serve you, to pleasure you.”
“You’re not here to serve me…” corrected Kirian. “I don’t think of it like that. I think of us as equals, as lovers. Together we are stronger.”
Kirian brought their mouths together, their kiss an intense connection reflecting the intensity of what they had been through together.
“Your skin is glowing…” whispered Tabor, feeling the heat building between them, sensing Kirian’s quickening desire.
“I feel so much stronger when I’m with you…” growled Kirian. “Are you sure you’re not too tired for this?”
“I’m never too tired to be with you…” whispered Tabor, quickly helping to undress Kirian, pulling off his own clothes so they soon they knelt before each other on the bed, naked, their cocks hard. “Are you going to take the form of a dragon?” asked Tabor.
“Not unless you want me to?” asked Kirian. Tabor shook his head and they kissed again, deeply, passionately. Their mouths mashing together, their tongues wrestling.
“How do you want me?” asked Tabor.
“Suck me first…” instructed Kirian. He took hold of Tabor by the hair and pulled his mouth down on to his cock. Tabor eagerly opened his mouth and savored the taste, as Kirian’s cock slid across his tongue and pushed down towards the back of his throat. Tabor was an expert cock-sucker, but with the urgency of Kirian’s thrusts he was struggling to cope with the size of his cock. He assumed that Kirian’s cock had grown in size as his powers had been also been growing. Tabor used his mouth and tongue as best he could to get Kirian’s thick cock wet, spit-slick and lubricated.
“On your back now…” instructed Kirian, pulling Tabor’s mouth off his cock and forcefully positioning his lover into the position that he wanted him. Tabor lay on his back and grinned up at Kirian, impressed by how quickly the young prince had matured, and grown with the responsibilities that had been thrust upon him. Tabor placed his hands behind his knees and pulled them towards his chest, exposing his hole so that Kirian would have maximum access. Kirin spat a mouthful of saliva onto Tabor’s hole and smeared it around with his fingers. He spat another mouthful of saliva into the palm of his hand and smeared it over the head and down the shaft of his cock. The two young men locked eyes as Kirian lined the head of his cock up against Tabor’s hole.
“Ungh…” moaned Tabor, as Kirian pushed forward, the head of his cock slowly entering Tabor’s hole. “Oh fuck yeah…” Kirian pushed forward slowly, inch-by-inch sliding his cock deeper and deeper into Tabor’s ass.
“It feels so good to be inside you…” growled Kirian, gradually beginning to pull his cock backwards and then push it forwards, driving his cock in and out of Tabor.
“Give it to me…” urged Tabor, using his ass muscles to clench Kirian’s cock-shaft, ensuring that he was delivering maximum pleasure to the dragon prince that he served, the dragon prince that he loved.
“I’m going to fuck you all night…” growled Kirian, leaning forward and kissing Tabor passionately. “I’m going to fuck you for the rest of your life!”
*****
The ringing of the ceremonial bells summoned everyone within Castle Vacheron to the great hall where the victory ceremony would be held.
The crowds cheered enthusiastically as King Ludus entered the great hall and took his seat on the throne of the Garnet Valley–the throne that his family had held for generations.
“My people!” greeted the king as the cheering eventually subsided, “My people! It is indeed an honor and a privilege to be able to return to the throne as your rightful ruler…” The crowd erupted again in cheers and applause. The king patiently waited for the noise to subside once more, he looked tired and frail–the ordeal had clearly aged him. “My safety and my return to the throne could not have been accomplished without the bravery and courage of my son, our beloved Prince Kirian!” The king beckoned Kirian to step forward and Kirian bowed respectfully to his father and acknowledged the cheering crowds. As Kirian moved to step back behind the throne, King Ludus nodded towards him expectantly, clearly indicati
ng that Kirian should address the crowd.
“It has indeed been a dark period for the Garnet Valley and its people…” began Kirian, his voice growing in confidence as he continued to speak. “I have played my part, as have we all, and I am proud to have been able to have been of service to our King, our throne, and our people…” Kirian paused while the crowds cheered enthusiastically. “I want to add one thing…” continued Kirian. “At my side throughout this ordeal has been the most trusted and loyal Tabor…” Kirian turned and took Tabor by the hand, drawing him forward so that they were standing side by side. “Without Tabor I would not have survived. He has taught me a great deal and I owe him my life and my love. I pledge to you today that as long as I am able to serve the people of the Garnet Valley, then Tabor will be at my side and in my heart.” Kirian wrapped his arms around Tabor and embraced him passionately, their bodies pressed together, their love for each other was evident to all.
“We are very proud of you my son…” smiled King Ludus, as Kirian and Tabor stepped back behind the throne, “and you will be like a son to us as well Tabor,” smiled the king, placing an affectionate hand on the arm of his son’s lover.
The crowd waited expectantly as King Ludus stood from his throne.
“Our victory against the evil that had taken hold in our kingdom would not have been possible without the support and leadership of our greatest ally–the father of my wife, Lord Sarkan of Castle Drakon.” The crowd cheered as Sarkan stepped forward to acknowledge the acclaim. “It is the bloodline of Castle Drakon that gives some in our family unique powers and strength…” continued King Ludus. “Powers that can cause fear and distrust among those of us without them, but in the hands of a trusted and loyal ally such as Lord Sarkan we can see that shape-shifting abilities can do great good in this world. Lord Sarkan has brought peace where there was war, he has brought hope where there was only darkness.”
The crowd cheered as Lord Sarkan stepped forward to address them.