A Selfless Sacrifice

by Paul Cude

  Pouring on as much speed as his wings would allow him at this height, he swooped across in front of the storm he’d been towing, readjusting his trajectory, aiming for the rocky side of the valley, hoping to clear the deadliness that his magic had created. Two seconds in, hope died as the freezing cold air, debris and fragments of goodness knows what hit him like a sledgehammer pummelling a weak wall. In that moment, he was wolfed down by the chaos, caught up in its misery and power, tumbling about in the shadows like a handkerchief in a hurricane. Unable to fly, think or even breathe, the brave and fearsome warrior’s fate depended on the elements of his own making.

  One piece of fortune though, was that his second hope came true... the grey and black, shadowy monstrosity continued on its way, momentum forcing it forward despite losing the tip of its spear. Without warning, and much to their surprise, the ra-hoon were taken, flung up into the air, their unicorn shaped bodies tossed around and around in a funnel of high velocity wind, pummelling and pounding, relentless in its ferocity, taking away what magic was available to them, causing them all, for once, to be afraid for their lives.

  A split second away from striking, the two gargantuan dragons that must have only just fitted through the passageway itself, towered over the shy and timid librarian, about to pummel him to dust. Jaws open, teeth bared, fierce and brutal snarls engrained across the scales of their prehistoric faces, about to annihilate one of their own, suddenly the whites of their eyes reversed completely, returning to what they would have once regarded as normal. As more of their kind skidded to a halt in the cool, yellow sand, confusion reigned with the masses unable to comprehend either where they were, or why they were here.

  Through a combination of Orac and Keesha boosting their telepathic powers by using the rainbow array of crystals in the cave, and the ra-hoon getting sucked up into the vicious vortex of high winds and death defying darkness, the abominations that were the unicorn lookalikes had lost, at least for now, their grip on the dragon villagers, in the kind of timing that only Lady Luck could have come up with. Fate looked on, intrigued to see what would happen next.

  “I... I... I don’t understand,” the garbled words spat out of the first of the dinosaur-like monsters to race into the cavern, the one currently hovering directly over Orac.

  Before the stunned librarian could say a word, Keesha, from further back amongst the crystals, came forward.

  “It’s okay G’rth... he’s a friend. Stand down!”

  As confused as ever, the gentle giant of a dragon did as the young female he’d known since birth commanded, now aware of others pouring into the subterranean grotto.

  “What... what... what are we all doing here?” echoed a familiar voice, at least to Keesha anyway, one that she was most grateful to hear, even more than the rest, not because she hoped that they would come to harm, far from it in fact given her heroics across the day. No, because this was her... MOTHER!

  “MOTHER,” she yelled, barrelling forward, barging others out of the way, throwing herself into the pink and purple hued dragon’s arms without any other thought in the world.

  “I’m so grateful that you’re okay,” the youngster whispered, despite the fact that every other being there could hear with their enhanced magical senses.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” asked her mother inquisitively.

  “It’s just that...”

  “STOP!” shouted the librarian, raising his voice as loud as he could, attracting everyone’s attention. “We don’t have time for this. If you’re all to remain safe, you must all learn this mantra and enact it straight away.”

  “Of course,” mumbled Keesha, cursing herself for not realising immediately that the others were still very much at risk of being overwhelmed by the ra-hoon. “Do as he says,” she yelled. “He’s a friend from a faraway land and has managed to save you all from a particularly unedifying fate.”

  This got them all gossiping.

  “Enough!” growled the young golden, yellow and orange dragon, putting some venom behind her words this time in an effort to convey just how serious she was, something that caused all of them to be quiet. “Orac here is going to recite to you the words of a mantra. You will immediately apply them in your mind with as much willpower and magic as you can. This should keep you safe, at least for the time being, from those damn unicorn lookalikes. Do it now!”

  And so the repository guardian did, with as much haste as he could, careful to get it right. Once finished, to a dragon, all of the villagers applied it to themselves, something that immediately became evident.

  “Now would you care to explain exactly what’s been going on... little one?” asked Keesha’s mother, a graceful looking dragon by the name of Lil’th, who, staring down at her daughter, right here, right now, looked like a dragon not to be messed with.

  “You’ve all been under the influence of the ra-hoon, those dreadful unicorn lookalikes, for days now. You chased the both of us in here. We used our telepathy combined with the crystals in this cave to snap you out of it. The mantra should give you all at least some limited protection from their mental attacks. Keep it up at all times.”

  “And what about the creatures themselves?” one voice enquired, floating out over the top of all the others there.

  “DAMN!” cursed Orac, disappointed with himself for not realising it sooner, knowing that his friend was still out there, in the middle of God knows what.

  “What is it?” asked his young companion.

  Taking a second or two to reply, because he’d sent part of his mind off in the direction of his friend in an effort to garner more information, all that he got in return was an inky black kind of chaos. They needed to move, and they needed to move fast.

  “For’son,” he replied. “He’s in trouble... we have to get to him.”

  “Who the hell is For’son?” implored G’rth, now starting to get a better grip on things going on around him.

  Before the librarian had a chance, his stunning companion butted in.

  “He’s the king’s protector, a dragon that’s come all this way to save us, and one we no doubt owe a huge debt to. He’s in trouble, fighting those monsters further up the valley. Please... we have to go and help him.”

  With not a decision to be made, and not one single one amongst them hesitating even slightly, the rowdy rabble of villagers, with their intellects now their own, started to storm back up the underground corridor, only one thing on their minds... to save the dragon that had become their salvation.

  In the dreadnought of a storm that now enveloped almost a quarter of the valley, the wind had taken on a life of its own, not powered by the supernatural now, but by the dark, vengeful thoughts of those trapped within, and by that I don’t mean the brave, light-sided warrior that the king regarded as his best friend. No. I mean those diabolical unicorn lookalikes that thought nothing of others or using violence as a means to an end.

  Trapped, using his vast experience to ride the turbulent and buffeting winds all but an impossibility, For’son was tossed around like a rag doll in a washing machine, debris pummelling his ancient scaled body causing him no end of harm, the damaging gusts tugging at his exposed weak spots, tearing holes in his powerful wings, at one point almost ripping off the right one. In absolute agony, magic of no use at all even if he had been able to concentrate enough to use it, all he could do was let nature, or in this case, the ethereal energy that he himself had let loose, take its course.

  For the ra-hoon, all three scared out of their mind, it was pretty much the same, each getting tossed around violently, careering into not only all the whirling stone, rocks, plants and wildlife, but each other. They were a hardy race, that’s for sure, but even they weren’t faring well in the midst of the severe winds and the tempestuous nature of everything going on. Something had to give. And it did.

  Abruptly the magic, or rather the propensity for evil died, instantly vanquishing the harsh, angry typhoon that had torn up nearly half the valley. In one last hurr
ah, everything within was spewed out onto the dust filled and debris ridden chewed up ground, leaving an absolute mess, one in which there were very few survivors. Plants and animals had died in their thousands, as had one of the injured ra-hoon, the body of which lay coated in blood and guts, both its horns shattered, that in itself enough to deal the killer blow. The other, the female whose doubts had almost gotten the better of her earlier, had suffered a few minor injuries, a twisted ankle, a torn hoof, a bleeding cut above her left eye, but nothing that would stop her fighting. However, those doubts had torn her consciousness in two during her brief rollercoaster ride inside what felt like the mother of all hurricanes. And so on finding herself still alive and pretty much in one piece, she stumbled to her feet, selected the words that she’d stolen from another’s mind quite some time ago, and applying a little of the ransacked dragon magic that still remained inside her, in one fell swoop, became totally and utterly invisible. Not wanting anything more to do with the struggle that was going on in the valley against the dragon villagers, figuring that even from the start they’d been way out of their depth, slowly she cantered off in a northerly direction, determined to find more of her kind, share the warning of what had happened here, which, given how the ra-hoon’s memories can become engrained in their very DNA, could potentially serve their kind for millennia, and live a long and peaceful life. Amongst the chaos, not that anybody would have picked up on it, a set of four hoof prints padded off into the distance, sticking to the flat of the land, avoiding any kind of population.

  And that left one, well... one ra-hoon at least. Stuffi, whether through fortune or fortitude had survived with only a few minor cuts and grazes, having used his skill and cunning to erect a rudimentary magical shield, something he’d procured from one of the villagers who had been experimenting with such a thing. While it hadn’t kept him totally safe, it had deflected the worst of it, making him one of the luckiest beings alive. The same could not be said of the courageous, mighty blue warrior that had started all this off some time ago at the head of the valley. Lying deathly still, half buried by a pile of orange rock that had been flung out of the sky, both wings draped across the ground at excruciating angles, the king’s friend and protector was out cold, barely breathing, at the mercy of absolutely anything or anyone.

  Disorientated and covered in sand and dust, gathering his wits, something of a challenge given exactly what he’d just been through, despite the fact that he was still in one piece, Stuffi scrambled to his feet in an attempt to take in the situation. For as far as he could see, the landscape was wrecked, the cold hard rock cracked and broken, tiny fissures opened up where previously there had been none, sand and dust sparkling everywhere in the air, and stone and rock tossed asunder. Then, through a haze of debris, a tiny glint of blue caught his attention, and the cold calculating grip of evil that so often drove him on asserted itself with its full force. Shaking off his minor injuries, slowly he trotted over towards what was left of the dragon that had done so much damage, determined to make him pay for what he’d done should there be even the tiniest spark of life left inside him. Reaching the prehistoric winged monster’s battered and broken body, on first examination it was clear to him that the beast was still alive, noticing tiny movements of his chest rising and falling. As a delicious smile crept across his horse-like face, he briefly wondered where he should start. Invading his enemy’s mind would be child’s play, ripping apart his thoughts, memories and will. That was always delightful. Perhaps forcing him to hurt himself, he mused, but maybe not straight away because that, fun as it was, usually made a superb aperitif. And so knowing that the very first thing he had to do was bring him round, the unicorn lookalike, with all his might, raised his front leg, and adding all the power he could, stamped his hoof down on the dragon’s clearly damaged kneecap in an attempt to get a reaction. Boy did that work.

  Instinctively For’son’s huge primeval body reacted as only it could, eliciting a ferocious dragon howl that rang out across the valley, snorts and licks of orange and yellow flame roaring out of his mouth and nose simultaneously.

  “Welcome back,” observed the sadistic unicorn lookalike, pleased at how events had turned around, with him now having the upper hand.

  “Uhhhhh...” sighed the broken blue dragon, pain igniting in every single part of his body from the damage it had suffered being thrown around in the middle of the almighty hurricane that he’d deliberately created.

  “I suppose you think you’re clever, taking down my kind like you did. Let me assure you here and now, you’re going to pay one hell of a price for what you’ve done, of that I can assure you. But before we get down to that,” continued the ra-hoon leader, stamping on the shaded blue dragon’s broken wing with one of his other hooves, causing an outrageous cry of pain, “I’d like to know just who you are and exactly what you’re doing here.”

  Mind and body on fire, the agony coursing through him, For’son could barely arrange his thoughts, let alone reply to the questions.

  “I can take the information that I want from you, something I’m sure you’re well aware of. Your choice!”

  The very last thing he wanted was the monstrous beast inside his head, and so the king’s friend fought with all that he had, just to reply.

  “I... I... I... I was sent by the dragon king,” coughed For’son, nearly choking on all the dust and sand he’d swallowed whilst being tossed round and around inside the hurricane he’d created.

  “Why?”

  “Because one of the villagers came to us, informing us what you were doing.”

  “And you’re his best response?”

  All that For’son could do was cough and nod his head from his trapped position on the floor.

  Out of nowhere, Stuffi the ra-hoon leader threw back his pale grey head, his long scraggy mane flailing all over the place and sent skywards a huge roaring laugh, which sounded more menacing than anything else.

  With the ra-hoon’s attention elsewhere, For’son knew that he had exactly one chance to act and in his mind, he did just that. Unfortunately, nothing happened, because he was simply too broken, in way too much pain. He had no access to his magic, not that a direct attack would have worked, no way to get up and deliver a killing blow, no way to call out telepathically for help, not that he could see how any would arrive, having absolutely no idea where his friends were, or if they were even still alive. In that exact moment, his hope died, and despite not knowing it, he resigned himself to a very painful and undragon-like end.

  “Halfway up the valley, somewhere on the left,” Orac screamed, as he flew in the midst of a pack of about two dozen dragons, answering the question that had just been asked of him... about the exact whereabouts of his friend.

  “On it,” was the reply from the leader of the pack, adjusting their trajectory by just a tiny amount.

  Only then, with his telepathic senses still stretched out, did the librarian realise the extent of his friend’s predicament.

  “He’s in real trouble. We have to get there NOW!”

  Surging forward that bit more, accelerating towards the ground, the scales on their faces contracting just a little due to the forces applied to them, the orange and yellow cloud of sand, stone and debris suddenly started to clear slightly, revealing an all grey horse-like shape hovering over the unmoving broken body of a bright, blue shaded dragon. Out of pure reflex, each and every one them found just a touch more speed, and almost acting as one, set aim for the unicorn lookalike protagonist, one all-out head on attack their aim, keen to do everything in their power to save the dragon that had gone some way to freeing them from their enforced servitude.

  Still shaken from his rollercoaster ride in the twisting tornado, and distracted by the idea of getting his revenge on the only being that had ever bested him, with his back and tail facing the oncoming dragon horde, he had no sense of what was about to happen. But peeking through the ra-hoon’s legs, past its fluffy stomach, the brave, courageous and selfless warri
or, unable to move, bereft of his magic, caught sight of what could very well be his salvation. Knowing all he had to do was buy a little more time, For’son fought through the pain and attempted to get the malicious creature’s attention.

  “Why do you do what you do?” he croaked. “Surely working together with other species would be a better way to go? Dragons everywhere try their best on a daily basis to improve not only their lives, but the lives of others. They’d gladly share what they have if asked. That’s all you have to do.”

  Reining in the laughter, showing his huge, bright white teeth in a massive sneer, Stuffi had decided to end things there and then, wanting nothing more than to move on to another region, eager to rebuild what he hoped would eventually become some kind of empire. But before he did, he would grant the being before him an answer. He supposed that was the least he could do, something that would turn out to be his total and utter downfall.

  “Why ask when it’s possible to take? Unlike you, we can plunder exactly what we want, at any moment at all. Not one single being thinks of us as prey, because we’re simply too powerful. You might consider your own race to be at the top of the food chain, but I assure you that we, the ra-hoon, are the apex predators across the planet. Nothing can harm us, and there isn’t a single being that can resist our mind control.”

  With that he stood there, the snarl on his face turning into something that could only be described as smug. And that, For’son knew, was only a moment or two from being wiped away forever, as a horde of fast moving dragons closed in on their position.

  “Now it’s time for you to see firsthand just how pow...”

  That was as far as the ra-hoon, the all round apex predator got, before the first three dragons, travelling as fast as they could, took part of him each, the outside ones taking a leg, whilst the one in the middle wrapped his massive prehistoric jaws around his torso, clamping down immediately, the monster’s life over in the blink of an eye.