by Logan Jacobs
today?”
The little blue reptile smiled and nodded his head, and then he stomped
his front little feet and let out a little huff.
“He’s very determined,” I snickered, and I knew I was right. Blar
wanted to win this fight just as much as I wanted him to win, and I
appreciated his tenacity. He may be small still, but he was prepared to fight.
“I’m sure he’ll do great,” Kas said.
I passed breakfast out to everyone, and we ate quietly. I suspected we
were all too nervous to speak much, and after breakfast, it was time to head to
the tournament, so we got dressed and put on our weapons.
I helped Blar put on his armor. The chest and backplate fit perfectly, so
I tied the leather straps on the sides to keep it in place and stood back to look
at the little dragon. The bright silver of the metal reflected the blue of his
scales, and this gave the metal a cool blue sheen that almost made it look like
it was a part of his body instead of armor he could easily take off. Afterward, he looked at me with narrowed little sapphire eyes and gave me a hard nod.
“You got this,” I encouraged him with a smile. Then I stood up, and
the two of us walked out of the house and found the girls and the twins in the
yard.
“You look great,” Asta told Blar, and the little dragon preened and
smiled back at her.
Then Kas and Asta joined forces to put a protection spell on Blar that
would help keep him from getting hurt at all in the battle, even if he took a
hit. I could feel the spell was powerful, and it was at times like this I
appreciated having magical women around even more. If they could protect
Blar from actually being harmed during this tournament, then it definitely
gave me some relief.
It was a beautiful morning. The day smelled of dew and the flowers
that were in full bloom now with the summer, and the sun rose up high in the
sky as we walked through the city and made our way to the castle.
The hour-long trip had been quiet since everyone was on edge, and I
made sure to take it slow as we walked so Blar wouldn’t get tired out. It was
the first time we’d been back to the castle since we’d snuck in with our
invisibility spell, and part of me felt dirty for having done it, but the other
part of me knew it was necessary. So, I held my head up high, and I took the first step onto those white stairs that led up to the council’s room.
Blar was right by my side, and we walked up and right past the two
guards at the door. At this point, they no longer questioned our presence, just
nodded to me as we all passed by.
Once we pushed through the large doors and entered the great hall, I
immediately noticed the red rug that typically led down the walkway was no
longer there, Instead, there was only a deep-colored wood floor. I presumed
the council had done this on purpose so the linen wouldn’t get ruined or get
in the way of the fight, but I liked the look of it and thought they should keep
it that way all the time.
“Rath!” Rinbar called out as we entered the hall, and he stood up and
walked toward us. “It’s good to see you all.”
“Indeed it is,” Preyna agreed, and she stood up to greet us as well.
It was the first time the council members had come down to greet us,
and it felt as though we truly were on the same side now. Before, I’d been so
skeptical of them, but now I could feel their good intentions, and I knew they
were just as eager as I was to get dragons back into Asgard.
Beyer was the only one who didn’t come down to greet us, but he did
stand up and smile at us from the edge of the stairs that led to their chairs.
“We are glad to be here,” I told the council members as I gave each of them a small bow.
“These must be the twins,” Preyna said, and she bent down and smiled
softly at Uffe and Inger. “What lovely collars you two have on.”
Inger walked right over to the blonde-haired woman and rubbed her
head against her leg while she made little cooing sounds.
The little girl dragon definitely had a liking for beautiful women.
Uffe was a bit more hesitant than his sister, but he let Preyna reach out
and stroke down his back gently.
“The one nuzzling you is Inger,” Asta told the council member.
“Ah,” Preyna chuckled, and she smiled at the little girl. “Beautiful
goddess, how very fitting.”
At that point, Inger was in love. She rolled over onto her back so
Preyna could rub her belly, and the sorceress laughed and obliged.
“The little boy there is Uffe,” Kas added, and she pointed to the male
twin.
“Must be after the wolf you all rescued them from, eh?” Rinbar asked,
and he bent down and patted Uffe’s small red head.
The little dragon seemed to take to him more, possibly because he
wasn’t as gentle as his sorceress counterpart, and Uffe liked to feel like he
was capable and tough, so a firm pat on the head was all he needed to feel right at home. He smiled up at Rinbar and gave him a little nod.
“And Blar,” Preyna said as she looked at the determined blue dragon
next to me. “Your armor is wonderful.”
The dragon lifted his chin up slightly and gave her a big smile.
“I hope it’s okay,” I said. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”
“Of course, we do not wish him harmed, either,” Preyna replied, but
she frowned slightly. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe the protection spell on
him will be alright.”
“Really?” I asked, and my heart fell into my stomach at her words. The
protection spell made me feel much better about my infant dragon entering a
fight, and without it I knew he could actually become injured. Sure, Kas
could heal him quickly, but he still would have to experience the pain of the
initial blow, and that thought absolutely crushed me.
“I don’t wish him hurt,” Preyna told me with a soft smile as she stood
up and looked me in the eyes. “But we need to see what he is capable of in a
real battle, and this protection spell is simply too strong. It would give him
far too much of an advantage.”
“A little pain is good for any man,” Rinbar said and slapped me on the
back.
“I understand,” I murmured, but I could feel the frown on my face. I
knew they were right. If you knew you couldn’t get hurt, then there was no
point in being tactical or careful when fighting. It would be easier to see how
Blar actually thought in battle if he had the fear of getting harmed like every
other warrior had when they entered combat.
“If any of the opponents are too strong, we will stop the test
immediately,” Preyna assured me, and her light brown eyes were soft and
consoling as she met my worried gaze.
I smiled faintly in return, and I appreciated the council member’s
support for my small little reptile.
Blar thumped his front paws on the ground then and looked up at the
sorceress with narrowed blue eyes. He was clearly upset the sorceress had
even suggested one of the opponents may be too strong for him, but I just
smiled down at him to let him know it was okay and that I believed in him.
“T
hank you,” I told Preyna sincerely, and then the sorceress closed her eyes
and waved a palm over Blar to remove the spell.
“Shall we get started, then?” Beyer asked with a grin, and he looked as
eager as Blar did.
“I suppose we shall,” Rinbar said, and when he gestured up to the
chairs behind him, I noticed three other chairs sat to the right of the council’s.
“Let’s all have a seat.”
“Oh, thank you,” I responded as I followed the dark-haired man up the
steps and took the seat closest to him. Kas sat next to me, and Asta was on
the end. The twins curled up at my feet, and I could feel their nervousness for
Blar. They didn’t want anything to happen to him, but I could also feel they
were excited to watch the fight.
The little blue dragon stayed in the center of the open hall, and his
small face looked incredibly determined as he waited for the tournament to
begin. Inside the huge room, he seemed even smaller, and my heart began to
pound in my chest as I stared at him.
Kas reached over, grabbed my hand, and gave it a squeeze, and I
turned to see both her and Asta smiling at me softly. They both knew how
difficult this was for me, I felt like a father sending his child off into battle.
“Blar,” Rinbar intoned. “Are you ready?”
The little blue dragon huffed and pounded his front paws on the ground
in response.
“Let the tournament begin!” Beyer exclaimed, and my heart rate
accelerated again as I heard something being wheeled down the hallway.
I knew Preyna would have put a spell on whoever was assisting with
this today so they didn’t remember anything they saw, I wasn’t concerned
about that, but the way the wheels sounded on the floor made me feel as though whatever was headed our way was big.
The wheels creaked and made a continuous whooshing noise that grew
closer and closer. I watched the grand door to our left that led further into the
castle, and after a moment, a large shadow appeared just before two guards
wheeled in a massive cage made of iron.
My eyes widened at the sight of the beast inside. It was at least ten feet
tall with gray skin and rock like bumps all over its arms and face. The thing
almost could pass as an Aesir if it weren’t for the hugeness of it and the
strange skin. It had two arms, two legs, and a face like we did, but its features
flattened, and its eyes were set much too far apart.
The thing let out a roar and shook the cage so it rattled with great
force.
I’d never seen one in person before, only in books, but I knew
immediately this was a troll. Typically, they weren’t seen in Asgard, though
there was tell that some still lived here, but for the most part the consensus
had been they’d moved on to other worlds where there were more caves and
things for them to hide in. From what I knew, they never came out during the
day, and rarely even at night. They lived underground and made tunnels to
lead from place to place, and entire civilizations of them lived just below the
crust of different planets, which was all the better because rumor had it they
were nasty creatures.
Trolls supposedly weren’t incredibly intelligent, but they were very
strong and easily angered. It was also said they would eat just about anything,
including people and animals. The few times I’d heard hunters describe
running into a half-eaten or rotting corpse of something in the woods, there
was inevitably one guy in the bar who would claim it was the work of the few
remaining trolls in Asgard.
I had no idea where the council managed to find this one, but he was
obviously pissed off, and he was damn big.
He was too big, and my chest began to constrict. I was a warrior of
Asgard, and a battle with such a beast would test my own skills to their
limits, perhaps even break me.
Blar was too small and inexperienced.
My blue dragon stared at the monster in the cage with narrowed eyes
full of determination, and he let out a little huff and lowered his head further
to the ground to show he was ready.
It was the moment of truth, and there was nothing more I could do
besides watch as I struggled to take even breaths.
I sensed someone looking at me, and I turned to see Preyna’s brown
eyes. We locked gazes, and she smiled softly. Then she gave me a small nod
to show she sympathized with how I felt, and I nodded back to show my appreciation.
“Release the troll,” Rinbar commanded, and I leaned forward slightly
in my seat.
I watched as the two guards pulled open the front of the cage, and the
beast jumped out and tried to swing at one of them. The man was quick,
though, and he dodged back before the two guards quickly disappeared
behind the door.
The creature let out a scream of rage that his captors had gotten away,
and after the scream was over, he stood with his back to us so we could see
his shoulders move up and down as he dragged in heavy, angry breaths.
The troll turned around then and saw Blar across from him. The little
dragon was in his fighting stance, and his long blue tail twitched back and
forth as he watched the troll’s every move.
The massive being grunted before he started to head toward Blar, and
the ground seemed to shake with each heavy-footed step he took.
Blar was ready for him, though, and as soon as the troll got close
enough and reached his long arms down to try and capture the dragon, Blar
shot straight up into the air, and the troll was left to grab his own hand and
tumble forward.
My little blue dragon was up in the air as the troll fell forward, so he had the complete advantage as his opponent’s back was to him. Blar took the
opportunity to dart down as fast as he could, and he raked his claws down the
troll’s back.
Black blood oozed out of the gnarly open wounds as the troll let out a
terrible sounding scream of pain, and then it whipped around and grunted at
Blar.
The dragon flew toward the giant then, and the troll reached out to grab
him, but stumbled over its own feet in the process and nearly fell to the
ground again.
It was at this moment that I realized the stories of trolls not being very
smart were definitely true. This creature didn’t seem to have a bit of sense or
tact, but his stature was definitely intimidating.
“He’s doing well,” Kas whispered into my ear, and I felt a grateful
smile come to my face, but I couldn’t let myself look away from the fight for
a single second.
Blar let out a huge blast of blue fire at the troll, and the beast screeched
once more and held its hands over its face. It didn’t seem to burn like an
Aesir or other animal might, and I figured it was probably because of its
incredibly thick skin. Blar had managed to penetrate the beast’s hide with his
claws, but the fire definitely didn’t damage it as much as I figured it would.
Then I realized that was probably why the council had chosen such a
creature. They would have known dragon fire wouldn’t be a successful
means of killing it, so Blar would have to do more than ju
st blow some
flames at the beast to take it down.
Still, the fire injured the creature, but not enough to stop it, only
enough to slow it down slightly. After Blar finished with his fire breath, the
giant came at him again, this time angrier than before.
Fire wouldn’t kill the thing, but it had pissed it off for sure.
Blar noticed what happened, too, and I saw the gears turn in his little
head as he hovered in the air and considered a new tactic.
It only took him a few seconds to think, and then he was off. The small
dragon became nothing more than a blue blur as he whizzed around the troll,
and I grinned as I silently cheered him on.
The massive creature grunted in confusion and tried again and again to
catch Blar, but to no avail, which only made him angrier and sloppier in his
movements.
As I watched, I saw Blar whirl by the troll’s head, and then suddenly
the dragon was almost completely across the room. I shook my head, unsure
if I’d seen what I thought I saw, but I knew I had. The blue dragon had
transported himself somehow. I’d never seen him use that skill before, and I doubted he’d even realized he had it, but the stress of the battle brought it out,
and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
He’d been able to see into the portals when the twins couldn’t, though,
so I wondered if maybe this new ability had something to do with that. Could
he make his own portals to travel through?
I shook the thoughts away so I could focus on the battle at hand, and as
I watched, the little dragon transported again, this time right above the troll.
The ugly, gray creature lifted its arms up to try and reach Blar, but then
the dragon transported and landed right at the beast’s neck. Blar scratched
and bit as the troll reached for him, but Blar flew away, and it was much too
late.
The damage was done.
Black blood flowed down the troll’s chest as it tried to clutch its hands
around its own neck to stop the bleeding. It let out a pitiful grunt and fell to
its knees first, then with a resounding thud, it fell forward onto the solid
wood floor. The creature’s dark black eyes stared at us as blood pooled
around its body, and it let out a giant, heaving breath before it went still.
Everyone was silent for a moment as Blar hovered in the air, and then