The Dragon War

by Salvador Mercer

  The mage then swung his staff down to make contact with Uthor’s sword that parried the blow. The two men traded blow after blow, staff on sword and sword on staff until the High Mage stepped back slightly and looked high overhead. The moons had moved into position and the air around them started to warp in the direction of the twin moons and Dor Akun. An image appeared, distant at first, but then growing until all could see it. It was an immense red dragon.

  “Time is up,” The High Mage said, murmuring and preparing to cast a special spell.

  Uthor closed the gap and prepared to swing a killing blow at the Kesh leader. Galonin appeared to be waiting for this exact moment and he rushed with an unusual speed up the rubble pile to arrive at precisely the same time the red dragon did. The beast roared and blocked out most of the background visible to the armies and spectators. It reared its head back and sent out a sheet of flame at the same time that the High Mage and Uthor connected blows, staff and sword. This was joined by the ruby red rock on top of Galonin’s staff which resulted in an explosion of light.

  The druid had his own spell that concentrated the force of the blast in only one direction, the direction of the gateway and the red dragon. Still, the force of the blast was so powerful that it knocked everyone off their feet, and they fell on their backs as even the Kesh troops had turned their backs on their Ulathan adversaries to watch the spectacle unfold. Once the blast diminished, the thunderous sound diminished, and a relative peaceful silence ensued while the air around them continued to shimmer.

  It took some time for the troops to stand and understood what took place. Without their leaders there was the possibility of peace or utter chaos. The High Mage, Duke of Ulatha, and Chief Druid had all disappeared in the blast. It didn’t take long. The two sided had each blamed the other for the loss of their leader. They began to fight.

  “We need to reach that mound,” Diamedes said to Elly.

  Elister nodded, “Follow me,”

  The druid pushed his way past the warring armies using his staff to part them away from their path as if an invisible arm moved them physically with many on both sides falling down. The group of companions followed closely behind Elister as they reached the base of the rubble. The din of battle was heard all around them and Diamedes said to Elly, “So this is how civilization ends.”

  “It appears so,” Elly said sadly. “Are you sure you won’t stay with me?”

  “We have to follow,” Diamedes said.

  Elly nodded, “I will remember you, even if it takes a thousand years.”

  “And I will remember you too,” Diamedes said. “Don’t forget about Seth.”

  “I won’t,” Elly said. “I’ll be sure to take care of him as soon as I’m able.”

  “Good,” Diamedes said. “Well I guess this is farewell.”

  “For now,” Elly said, his face growing sad.

  Diamedes embraced him and then said, “Goodbye old friend.”

  Elly waved but said nothing, his own granite gemstone glowing from its power in the middle of the war between Kesh and Ulathan armies. He watched as the group ascended the pile of rubble and looked upwards at the twin moons and Dor Akun itself. Diamedes turned the group taking out his dagger which glowed a bright blue. “Ready?”

  Dour spoke first looking up at Dor Akun, “I am coming Father.”

  “This may not work,” Damien said doubtfully.

  Diamedes nodded, “We have to try to seal the gate from the other side or they may still come through.”

  “Let’s get this done,” Zokar said. “The alignment won’t last forever.”

  “I’m ready,” Alyssa said.

  Azor grunted then spoke, “Go now.”

  Everyone grabbed ahold of their companion to the right after forming a circle with Diamedes in the middle and used their left hand to grab hold of the historian’s shoulder. They were all completely connected when Damien murmured the words of the arcane to channel the power of the artifact towards the gateway and said. “Ready, Diamedes.”

  Diamedes nodded and feeling the power surging within the dagger he smote at the pile of rubble as its energy was channeled into the portal’s entrance on Agon. Instantly a flash of white came over them but instead of being knocked unconscious, they found themselves floating within a spherical tunnel moving at a speed faster than anything they could imagine.

  Looking down at their feet, they saw the ground rocketing away from them below as the magical gateway propelled them towards the twin moons of Tira and Sara. As they passed, they saw side portals extending at ninety-degree angles. Their momentum slowed greatly allowing them to catch a glimpse of two figures, one at each moon, standing guard on the other side of a shimmering force field. The figure on the left was tall and lean and looked magnificent in gold armor with a silver spear. The guardian on their right was short and stocky armored in polished bronze with a war hammer that looked like it could kill a dragon.

  Without warning they were sucked faster along the gateway towards Dor Akun as the planet loomed larger until they could see nothing else. In a second flash of light, they arrived at their destination on a desolate, rocky plain. The sky was no longer blue but instead purple, having the light refracted from the sun around its atmosphere differently due to its composition. It was also nighttime on Dor Akun.

  Several things were notable to the companions. They were aware that they were conscious and alive. They were also surrounded by hundreds of dragons of several different colors, five distinct colors in fact. White, black, blue, green and red. Smaller wyverns with their bulbous, poisonous tails flew overhead. The nearest dragons were hundreds of yards away and they seemed to be circled around this central plateau that must have some significance for them. They also noticed that they were not the only humanoids on this planet.

  The High Mage and Great Druid were alone a hundred yards in front of them dueling with their staves in physical combat while further behind them a large red dragon lay dead on its back, limbs curled up against its body, fangs sticking out from its mouth as well as a great tongue that lay on one side. The dragon, along with the two men, were all within the circle shaped plateau while the hundreds of dragons remained at a ring of stone further out.

  Seven small figures approached them. They were dressed in chainmail with iron covered boots and hammers hung from their wide leather belts. Each had an open-faced helmet, also made of iron, and all were bearded with braids in them. Six of them were carrying what looked like a stretcher with Duke Uthor on it. He had his shield at his feet and his arms were folded in with his hands gripping the hilt of his sword. His eyes were shut, and he appeared ashen as if dead or near dead. Three of the small humanoids were on either side with one in the lead and they approached them with the leader saying, “Akon dor amoth a gol stu’don.”

  The companions looked at one another and then a flash of light appeared from behind them. They turned in confusion to face three tall figures with smooth ashen skin and deep piercing eyes and pointed ears. Their hair flowed past their shoulders and they wore casual silken robes cinched with elaborate cloth belts. The small breast plates were worn over their clothing and they each had a large magnificent bow secured to their backs as well as a quiver with many arrows. Swords hung on their scabbards at their sides and they each had knee high boots made of supple leather. The leader also looked at them and said, “Il alath non tourith mila so’lila.”

  The look of confusion was obvious on their faces and Diamedes stuttered, “I’m sorry but we don’t understand you.”

  The leader pulled a gem encrusted rod from his belt and held it up saying, “Al anon ti lith.”

  Instantly, a shimmering field of energy encompassed them all and the sound of staves disappeared as if the fighting mage and druid had stopped. So strongly was this noticed that the companions turned to look past the shimmering sphere that they found themselves in and saw everything frozen in place. The fighting men weren’t moving, and the wyverns overhead appeared to be as statues in a pai
nting. Turning back to the leader, Diamedes asked, “Who are you?”

  The man smiled and looked past them at the smaller men, “They are from Agon and only speak the common tongue.”

  The companions turned as the small men arrived and the leader there replied. “What are they doing here?”

  Diamedes struggled to speak again and said, “We came to block the close the portal for good.”

  “You have learned then,” The tall man said. The smaller men were considerate enough to continue walking past the group to stand next to their three taller companions so that the human group didn’t have to constantly turn a hundred and eighty degrees each time one of them spoke. Leaning over to look at Uthor the tall man said, “He smote the queen dragon dead?”

  “Aye, he did.” The small man replied. “In sole combat.”

  “That is quite a feat for a human.” The man said.

  Diamedes could hardly contain himself, “You are the ancients!”

  The tall man smiled at him and said, “I guess you could call us that, especially considering the length of time that we’ve been away.”

  “Well what else would we call ya?” Dour spoke up, impatient as usual.

  “He appears to be one of yours,” The tall leader said to the short leader.

  The short leader nodded, “Definitely has some blood from our ancestors in him.”

  The tall leader said, “You once called my race Elves and his race Dwarves. Rather crude to us but these were the terms of men thousands of years ago before our exodus from Agon.”

  “So you did leave a thousand years ago,” Diamedes said, snapping his fingers and smiling at learning the truth of the ancients.

  “Nine thousand to be exact,” The elf said. “You may call me Lindron and his name is Korstud.” The lead dwarf bowed slightly. “We must go soon, it is not safe for us here.”

  “Wait, I have so many questions and we must close the gateway before it’s too late,” Diamedes said.

  Lindron motioned with his rod at the two men fighting, frozen in time for the moment. “They will close it now.”

  The elf motioned with the rod and the shimmering slowed and almost went away completely. The fighting resumed and Galonin noticed them. He took a step away from the High Mage and waved with one hand in farewell. The companions returned the wave and the man reengaged with the High Mage and smote their gemstones together. The effect was almost identical to what they had witnessed when Morgan did the same thing to Amsel. The explosion, however, was much more powerful. “Watch out,” Diamedes cried.

  The shimmering reappeared and the blast was frozen though it had nearly reached them in a fraction of a second. Lindron asked, “What are their names?”

  “The druid is known as Galonin and the High Mage is…” Diamedes said pausing for a moment.

  “Torra,” I believe was his given name,” Damien added.

  “Then we will remember your champions, Galonin and Torra and honor their sacrifices in closing the portal this passing.” Lindron pulled the rod down slightly and looked at Diamedes. “We must go soon now. The rod’s power over time is limited. The temporal anomaly will fade, and the explosion caused by your friends will destroy everyone or everything within its blast radius.”

  “Did he just call the High Mage our friend?” Dour asked, raising both brows.

  “Now is not the time,” Diamedes said to Dour then turning back to Lindron he asked, “We will have time to learn from you the history of your races?”

  “Of course,” Lindron said. “We have a thousand years together before we will finish our quest.”

  “What quest do you speak of,” Zokar asked.

  “Yes, what will become of us?” Alyssa added.

  Lindron nodded at them, “Fate has decreed that our races will unite to end the carnage that has assaulted Agon for ages.”

  “We don’t follow ya,” Dour said. “What ages?”

  Azor grunted in agreement, “My people will need me.”

  Lindron spoke, “The gateway opens every thousand years. Until now, we could only guard against the draconus incursions into our new home worlds, the moons you call Tira and Sara. This is the first time in millennia that the gateway has been closed and the dragons have not feasted. They will be weak and depleted after another thousand years in hibernation and your two champions will have killed many of them. If we can hold the gate again, it could be enough to rid our worlds or the draconus scourge forever.”

  Diamedes snapped his fingers together, “That’s why the dragons kept a force on Agon during the centuries between passings. They needed to ensure that we did not grow strong enough or technologically advanced enough to shut their gateway.”

  “Very wise for a human,” Korstud said.

  “I still don’t understand what that means for us,” Alyssa said.

  Lindron addressed her concern, “This means that per the Elder law, the champions of our races will have one last quest in a thousand years to seal the portal shut forever and prevent the gateway from ever opening again.”

  “What champions?” Damien asked.

  “We are limited by fate and the law,” Lindron began. “Three elves, seven dwarves, and nine mortals.”

  “We number only six,” Damien said.

  “Seven with your Dragon Slayer,” Lindron said, motioning with his head at Uthor. “You would have had seven had not your champions sacrificed themselves this year to close the gateway. Now you may have two more join you.”

  “It’s a little late for that now, don’t ya think?” Dour said.

  “There’s a thousand years for two more champions to prepare,” Lindron said. “Come, we have a refuge here on Akun. We must reach it before the sun rises.”

  “What happens when the sun rises?” Azor asked.

  Lindon became serious, “The land burns.”

  Turning to face the blast, Diamedes held his hand up again and said, “Farewell, druid.”

  There was a flash of white as the elf transported the group to a castle high upon a mountain top surrounded by a lake of molten lava. They stood at the very top of the structure and looked across a dark purple sky at a growing ball of orange fire and flame. The explosion had to be leagues distant, but there could be no mistaking that blast.

  Lindron placed a hand on Diamedes and said, “We will show you how to sleep now. You and your companions will wake with us every two hundred years and we will guard the portal together.”

  “I thought the gateway only opened every thousand years?” Diamedes asked.

  “It does to Agon,” Lindron clarified, “We must guard it from opening to the moons which is does every two-hundred years. That can be just as challenging. My people and those of Korstud’s, will count on us as they have every passing to protect them from this menace.”

  “Will my world survive?” Diamedes asked.

  “Only time and fate can answer that question.”

  Epilogue

  Elly

  The people of Ulatha would suffer for a long time. The volcanoes and tidal waves that swept the lands would scourge their civilization to its very core. The Kesh war had prematurely awoken the dragons on Agon and caused much destruction. Tyniria would never recover and Ulatha would become a shadow of its former self. Kesh and Balaria would be greatly diminished as well and many advances in science would be lost in the dark age to come.

  Elister Brown walked back to his abode in the Earlstyne forest. He scratched at the green dragon’s jaw eliciting a squeak of delight from the creature. It was small, just recently hatched from its egg that Elly had nurtured the last year, but it was already deadly. It had feasted on Kesh soldiers and would do so many times in the future, especially to those who came into its forest.

  Looking at the receding planet of Dor Akun, Elly thought fondly of his companions and the journey that he had taken the years before. He spoke aloud as was often the case due to his isolation and loneliness. “I am the last Arnen on Agon… almost.”

  He watched as t
he seasons returned as did the animals and he prepared to sleep for two centuries or until his sleep was interrupted by intruders or some other emergency when the Mother would awaken him to danger. He knew now why he was relegated to this forest and this forest alone. He would have to be the guardian of the portal when it was ready to be reopened a thousand years from now.

  The Mother would send a family his way, one that he would care after and nurture and look to their protection. From this family a protector would rise once again. A Ranger would rise and take his place as the right hand of the Mother and protect the weak and innocent. Coupled with this protector, this Zashitor as the druids called them, there would be something even more rare. A Kesh wizard with a conscious. Together, the Ranger and Wizard would be necessary to perform one last heroic feat in order to save their world and one task that would change history forever.

  “Elizabeth,” Elly said to her from far away as he laid on his bed within the hill home he inherited from his predecessor. “When the time is right, I will send you a Ranger and a means to wake you from your sleep. I promise you, Wulfric, Edric, and Dunric. I will keep my promise.”

  Elly then slept.

  Appendix A

  The “Science” of Claire-Agon

  Claire Agon is the second planet orbiting Tau Ceti, located just less than twelve light years from our own planet Earth. It circles its star in the habitable zone, just over two-thirds of one AU, or astronomical unit, which is the distance of Earth from the sun. This places it in orbit about the same distance around Tau Ceti as Venus is to Sol. It has an atmosphere similar to Earth’s, but it is different in composition, because the inhabitants of Claire Agon are silicon-based life forms, not carbon-based as on our planet.

  Claire Agon has two companion moons about half the size of Earth’s moon, but circling the planet much closer, four times closer, in fact. The two moons are tidally locked to Claire Agon, each showing the same face to the planet. The two moons in the common tongue are called Tira and Sara, in that order. Tira rises first, followed a few hours later by Sara. Both moons are named for Claire Agon’s daughters in Agonian mythos. Lunar eclipses are not uncommon due to the close orbits of the two moons to the planet, and a full lunar cycle occurs approximately every nine days. Both moons are much like small Agonian worlds, and their blue, green, and white cloud-tipped atmospheres can clearly be seen from the surface of Agon.