The battle was approaching its critical point, Cilio knew. He could feel it. In some battles there was one point, often one confrontation, one break in a line, that would decide the entire fate of both armies. Cilio wondered what it would be this time.
* * *
General Lithar Lifehater saw the weakness in his enemy’s line, and knew it was time to attack personally. If they could break through there, they would be able to capture the hill and gain the upper hand. He nodded to two huge ogres to follow him and dug his spurs into his gigantic armored horse. The horse was jet black and covered with armored spikes that protruded from every possible place. Lithar himself was armed with massive silver and black armor. His helmet had blades attached to it, and his shoulders, elbows and knees had razor sharp edges. The colossal sword he wore at his side looked as if it could decapitate ten men with a blow; although, the most he had ever killed at one blow before was seven.
Twenty men came to fill the gap. The ogres rained down blows with their cruel maces, destroying ten before one of them was killed and the other wounded slightly. Lithar rode into the breach, literally riding straight into the men. His massive sword and armor killed most, while his horse wounded countless others. Already the rest of Lithar’s troops were beginning to follow him through the hole. It seemed as if Lithar would break through…
Standing in his path was a bear-like man with a crazed grin on his face.
“So you are the leader,” he called out, and Lithar reigned in his horse. Why was this fool talking to him? “You are the one who is responsible for this murder, this slaughter of innocents. You are the one who destroys so much hope! You are the one who destroyed my town!!!” Lithar shrugged at the accusations. This man was too kind; he didn’t deserve all of the credit.
“Their souls cry out to me day and night! Their blood demands justice!” Yonathan was almost crying now, his anger, rage, and emotion filling him up and spilling out into his words. Lithar shrugged, unaffected. He was tired of this petty man. The remaining ogre rushed forward to take him out of the way.
Yonathan sliced down through the ogre, cutting him in half diagonally. Lithar raised his eyebrows in surprise. Maybe this man was worth destroying personally after all. Charging his horse forward, Lithar hurriedly mumbled some words and drew his sword, sending a fireball from the tip. Yonathan flung up the light sword and the fireball exploded, leaving the big man unhurt. Lithar charged his horse at him, and when he got near, his horse reared up on its hind legs while Lithar rained down two blows on Yonathan’s head. Yonathan blocked both with the Light Sword, and then sliced through the horse’s armored rear leg, diving out of the way just before horse and rider fell in a tattered heap of armor. Lithar barely had time to roll out of the way before his horse’s armor accidentally pierced him, and stood to face Yonathan on foot.
* * *
Cilio sent an extra column of men to be ready to finish Lithar if Yonathan died before he could do it. The hole was closed up for now, but if Lithar won and was able to get some support from his army…
The defenders on the north side weren’t doing as well. Although Yan’s force had the numerical advantage, some of Marhyn’s deadliest monsters had been placed there. Cilio realized that if Marhyn were able to break through there, she would be able to surround the hill that had the bulk of Cilio’s force. And if she could surround them in such a small area, she would be able to thicken her lines and give them little chance of breaking out. Then she could deliver the killing stroke. But it looked as if both of Cilio’s lines were holding, at least for the time being.
Right then Marhyn delivered her knockout punch. On the north side of the line, her huge black dragon rose from the battlefield and got ready to attack Yan’s force. Cilio knew if it was not stopped immediately his line would collapse. So that had been her plan! To put her men into battle in the south, but to concentrate her strength in the north and thus break through. Now that he saw it too late, he had only one hope left.
Yan quickly dispatched a monster that he had been fighting with, turned into a liquid silver, and rose. Their one hope flew up and faced the Dark Lady, who was perched high atop her dragon. “So, we meet again,” began Dragon Yan, in the ancient tongue of dragons. “Although, I would venture to say the circumstances are much different from last time.”
Queen Marhyn nodded as if she still recognized him, and then raised her hand and brought it down quickly. Her black dragon did not need to be told twice to attack…
Cilio watched the twin battles taking place above him and in front of him. Above, Queen Marhyn and her dragon circled, taking every chance to dart in and strike Yan, who held his space, hanging motionless in the air, moving only to counter the other dragon’s strikes. Before him, he saw Yonathan and Lithar, cautiously circling. The rest of both armies did not need to be told that these battles would decide their fate. The opposing forces had almost stopped fighting, watching alternatively the air or the sky. Both forces were loosening their armor. When these fights were over, they knew they would have to run. The losers would run away from the victor, and the winners would chase after them. Cilio could feel the tension mounting in the air, and felt small and helpless for the first time in his life. Now the battle was out of his hands.
* * *
Lithar raised his sword above his head and charged, bringing it down in an arc that glittered eerily in the artificial fire of the magicians. Yonathan brought up the Light Sword to block it, and then sliced down diagonally. Lithar instinctively spun out of the way, sending one of his protruding blades across Yonathan’s side. A slow trickle of blood soon seeped out of the side of Yonathan’s torn chain mail.
Lithar had not escaped unhurt, however. He felt his own black blood, cold against his chest. Lithar glanced down at his armor in surprise; it did not even have a scratch on it. So, he thought, if this human wants to play with magic, so be it.
The evil warrior clapped his hands together, and then split into three identical figures who rushed at Yonathan.
* * *
Yan spat out dragon fire hot enough to boil rock and Marhyn flung up her wand and sent her own blue fire to counteract it. Yan stopped as he quickly realized that this would be fruitless, and instead darted his head in and snapped a bite of the black dragon’s tail, whipping his head back to avoid her counterattack. The people on the ground could barely make out the movements of the lightning quick dragons. It was said that dragons lived in their own time—that was why they could move so fast and live such long, long lives, spanning centuries and ages. Whether this was true or not, the two dragons were in a fierce contest.
Yan rose, seeking to gain the upper altitude. He hovered there for a second, and then dove straight for Marhyn. The black dragon rolled out of the way, but Yan got a slice of its soft underbelly. Blood dripped for a second on those below, then stopped as the wound closed itself. It appeared that Yan would have to exhaust this dragon’s supply of magic first.
* * *
Yonathan stared at the three Lithars now facing him, and actually he was glad. Where before he was only able to destroy his hated enemy once, now he could do it three times. He rushed toward the one on this left, who swung his sword horizontally, as if to cut Yonathan in half. Yonathan not only parried the blow, but he hit Lithar’s sword so hard that he knocked it from his hand. Unhindered by any danger, Yonathan brought the Light Sword down, slicing through armor, flesh, and bone as easily as air. No scream of anguish rewarded Yonathan. Lithar turned into a puff of smoke, and vanished. The middle Lithar laughed shrilly, then split into three again. There were four now. Yonathan knew he would have to guess the right one…
* * *
…But how to do it? Dragons had an almost infinite supply of magic. If this one could heal itself so easily, Yan might never be able to destroy it. Unless…perhaps his healing magic only covered small wounds? Yan flew backwards, into a cloud. Under his cover, he slowly sank, keeping quiet. Marhyn could probably sense him, but perhaps…
* * *<
br />
He would get the right one with luck. Yonathan faced two more of the Lithars, who were now surrounding him. He used the Light Sword on one, cutting him in half and watching as the cloud of smoke rose to greet him. The other one sliced at him from the back, but Yonathan was able to partially block it. Lithar struck his sword into Yonathan’s thigh. The blood ran out, reminding him of the other cut in his side. Yonathan sliced the Light Sword through the creature, leaving his armor and sword that he had vainly attempted to use as part of the dust cloud. So apparently even the fake ones could hurt. Yonathan needed a plan to decide…
* * *
How to attack? From the bottom, of course. That was the one weak point of a dragon, and it made them nervous to have another dragon underneath them. Yan filled the air around him with his cloaking magic, thickening the cloud and the night so that the other dragon could not tell where he was. The other one could sense that he was using magic, but she could not pinpoint Yan’s location exactly. Yan was about to burst upwards in a powerful stroke when he saw a white light emitted from Marhyn. It spread outwards in an oval shape, burning away the cloud and exposing the star filled night sky. Everything was clear…
* * *
…Around Yonathan and Lithar, the other members of their armies had respectfully moved aside, leaving a twenty meter circle for the dueling combatants. Yonathan still didn’t have any ideas. He could slice through fake Lithars all day, but each time more of them sprang up. How could he tell which one was real? A pile of stones at his feet grabbed Yonathan’s attention. He picked one up and hurled it at the nearest Lithar. The stone went through him without stopping. This gave him an idea…
* * *
His idea was to create several sections of cloud large enough to hide a dragon and when Marhyn illuminated the wrong one, to attack her while she was using the illumination magic. That way, she would be weaker. Yan sent out four clouds, himself in one of them. The clouds swirled around him, in the way of a magician with a ball under one of three cups, making it indecipherable into which cloud the shapeshifter had originally ventured. Then Yan had another idea. This one would surely work…
* * *
To defeat his hated enemy, Yonathan had waited since the destruction of Freeton. Dreams of his citizens, the citizens he was supposed to protect, filled his every sleeping hour. He saw their pain at being used by the evil wizard, their hatred of their false lives, and at the same time their helplessness. He saw their salvation at the hands of Tarthur and Derlin, their hope under Kandan, and then their deaths, horrible and graphic. Their charred, cut up bodies followed him everywhere. No punishment would be fitting for those who did this, but he would now deliver the ultimate punishment that he could. Yonathan stumbled into the dirt, pretending to fall and instead picked up a handful of rocks, which he hurled at the various Lithars. All of the rocks hit against the Lithars’ armor and bounced off.
* * *
Lithar chuckled inwardly. He had anticipated Yonathan’s ploy. This boy was smart, though, and it made Lithar glad that he had had a chance to do battle with him that day. The boy could not last much longer, though. There were fifteen Lithars now, and his enemy was tiring quickly. Soon it would be all over…
* * *
…If Yan’s plan worked, that is. He transformed a small part of himself into wind, and sent the invisible wind into the next cloud. Dragon Yan became a shade lighter, more transparent. The wind moved the second cloud around under Marhyn and her dragon and made it look as if Yan was in that cloud. Marhyn’s dragon twitched imperceptibly when he noticed the cloud with the wind in it. Marhyn nodded as she prepared to send a bolt of fire into the cloud and Yan tensed his muscles, waiting…
* * *
…For the right moment, the Light Sword had lain dormant during the entire fight. Now, the blade began to glow yellow, and the ruby that formed the eye of the dragon began to burn with an unearthly fire. The exhausted Yonathan glanced down at his sword and he felt its warmth pulsing through his veins, giving him new strength. The sword jerked upwards, pointing to a Lithar a little bit off to the right. Yonathan felt his vision clearing, he saw the other Lithars as only thin shells of magic, while the real one looked every bit as cruel as he was. Then the vision vanished. But he had seen enough. Yonathan charged forward…
* * *
Into the cloud filled by Wind Yan, Marhyn sent her full fury. The attack and loss of part of his essence hardly disturbed Dragon Yan at all. He had already begun to launch his attack from behind Marhyn’s right. Screams of warning from her troops died in their throats as Yan tore into the black dragon, his claws ripping apart its soft underbelly. Dragon entrails fell to the field below, hissing and burning the grass when they fell. Yan’s forked tail sliced into the black dragon’s wing, ripping through tendons and causing the dragon to hover precariously for a moment and then fall to the field below…
* * *
…Where Yonathan was charging forward at Lithar. Lithar threw his sword at Yonathan who barely dodged it as it cut into his shoulder. It bled, but he did not feel it. Unconsciously, he switched his sword to his other hand and then continued his charge. He rushed forward and brought a slice down diagonally across Lithar’s chest, and then another one across the other side. Yonathan spun his sword in a circle, and then came vertically down through Lithar’s helmet, stopping when he had reached the evil general’s midsection, where he turned his blade and ripped it free on his left, only to double back and slice through Lithar’s right leg, whirl in a circle, slice again through his midsection, spin once more in the same direction, and with all his might bring the sword down in a vertical arc, leaving a pile of body parts where the evil general had been. Yonathan looked at his shoulder, which had now begun to tingle. The black, frothy mixture around the wound told him one thing. His vision becoming blurry, Yonathan collapsed from exhaustion and the poison.
* * *
Dragon Yan mustered the effort to land, roar in the direction of Marhyn’s already fleeing troops, and then he too collapsed into a heap of dragon flesh. His strength would return when the fire-heated air returned to normal and was able to rejoin him, but for now, he just lay there in an exhausted heap. Marhyn’s mangled body lay underneath the carcass of her dragon. They had won the day!
THE PLAN
The plan to make Valena enamored of Derlin was going nowhere. For one thing, Derlin would acquiesce to nothing unless it was absolutely perfect. He had rejected several ideas that Tarthur thought would work, and everyone was becoming frustrated. The planning was, however, a welcome diversion from the military drills that they were subjected to every day. The army was new and green, and King Garkin was making sure that everyone was trained and ready to go. He also wanted to make certain that the troops were well rested, however, so he gave them a few hours a day to do as they wished, relaxing and becoming friends with the people from all around the world. That was when they planned.
Everyone brought something different to the plan. Tarthur, of course had the magic he had learned from Akin and that which he had learned on his own. He also had much experience with little tricks and subterfuge. Derlin brought an impassioned desire to make the plan perfect and a knowledge of the subject. In the weeks that Cilio’s army was engaging Marhyn in the south, Derlin had gotten to know Valena better, in fact, the two had become good friends. Valena seemed to like Derlin very much. Yvonne brought a feminine touch to the planning, and both boys had to admit that they would have been lost without her suggestions on what colors went well together and what words would make a girl’s heart beat faster. Yvonne threw herself wholeheartedly into the planning, and it seemed the poor city girl was somehow trying to make up for the childhood that she had never had. She would never admit it to anyone, but secretly she envied Valena. As a child Valena had had dolls and dresses and friends to play with her hair and share secrets with, in short she had had all the things that little girls treasure. And now, she was going to be romantically courted by Derlin. Years of living side by si
de with reality had numbed Yvonne to prettiness and had robbed her of girlish diversions. Yet she cared for Tarthur very much…
When the day of the plan finally came, Derlin was more nervous than ever. He combed his hair at least a dozen times with a wooden comb, and worried incessantly whether or not he had chosen the right outfit. He only had two, one dirty and one clean, so no one else could understand his worrying. By the time he went to pick Valena up for their daily horse ride and learning session, he was practically dripping with sweat from his armpits and various other parts of his body. When he arrived at Dalin’s tree, he was barely able to stammer out a greeting and mumble something about Tarthur having to meet with Akin and study some magic, so it would be just the two of them alone. Valena smiled and nodded, and Derlin relaxed slightly.
Elven horses were slightly different than those in the rest of the world, being both smaller and more agile. This was necessary because they had to dart in between the trees without getting stuck. After his weeks of training, however, Derlin had become used to riding them and had even become quite skilled. So it was that Derlin suggested a far away clearing for them to ride to that evening. Valena agreed, and soon they were on their way.
Lands of Daranor: Book 01 - DreamQuest Page 27