Pupandaka 2

Chapter 11 - The War Has Begun

When Drele awoke, he noticed his bed was wet with sweat. He merely huffed. "If this is what we're going with, we may as well follow it." He did his usual morning routine. He threw pans onto the induction stove and placed some cracked eggs onto it. The doorbell rang just as he was about to eat.

Drele opened the door and there stood Queen Tearlach, with an angry expression on her face. "Top of the morning?" Drele said nervously. "Tell me, Drele, what conversation did you have with Tanark the other night?" Tearlach was furious. "We- we- we..." he stammered. "Had a talk about you going with Tanark on her adventure? What did I tell you? You can't go! No wonder you disobey me and my rules," Queen Tearlach yelled.

"Actually," a voice sounded from next to Tearlach. Drele opened the door wider and there stood Tanark, an expressionless dragon. "Yes, we did, and I allowed him to go," Tanark continued. Drele was shocked at this news. "You mean it? I thought you said I couldn't go," he said. "I've contemplated this through. I've made up my mind. We need all the help we can get. What do you say?" Tanark explained. "No, no, no! I forbid it!" Tearlach yelled from behind. "He's only 16 years old! He can't be doing this sort of activity!"

"Tearlach," Tanark said, "if you're worried about his safety, I'll be right by him. Salvation is my job. If he gets hurt, it's on me." Drele looked dumbfounded. "I can't risk the blame on the Dragon of Dragons. Kingdom laws clearly state that if a promise made by the ruler is broken, the person who agreed or came up with it will be punished by being locked up or worse, banished," Tearlach said with a quiver in her voice. Tanark leaned down close to her. "Hey, listen. How many innocent people have I hurt since we arrived here?" she asked. Tearlach thought about it. "Zero," she said softly.

"That's right. And how many people have I saved?""Too many to count," Queen Tearlach said. "Exactly. You can trust me on this one. It wouldn't hurt if Drele came along with the most powerful dragon, would it?" Queen Tearlach sighed deeply and there was a long pause. Finally, she said, "Fine, go on. I don't want to see Drele come back here in pain. Keep him safe. Oh, and, take this," she handed Tanark a blue-green amulet in the shape of a dragon. "Use it to defend you and Drele from Sapta in case it gets close," she said. "Now go, before I change my mind."

Tanark and Drele whooped with glee. "I promise I won't let you down!" Tanark exclaimed as she flew off with Drele to the Garden of Dragons. When they arrived, thousands of dragons were already gathered around the stony outcrop in the center of the island. "My friends, the time has begun. I brought along some help just in case," she points to Drele. "Remember, we will not back down until the battle is won! For Pupandaka!" All the dragons around them cheered and flew off towards the mainland. "Climb on my back," Tanark ordered. Drele got onto her back between her wings, and in the blink of an eye, they're in the sky.

"Whoa," Drele gasped. An endless cover of blue surrounded them side by side and overhead. When they got above the clouds, he could see the mountains peeking out above them. They were beautiful from a birds-eye view. The snow on the summits glistened as the sun shone onto them. It was like the snow wasn't snow, but glitter. Drele was amazed by this view. He also noticed that it was freezing up, especially since Sapta already made it colder. He shivered.

"Cold?" Tanark asked. Drele nodded. "Alright, hang on," she said. They slowly dropped down until her belly was scraping against the top of the clouds. It was somehow warm here. He's not sure why, but he's enjoying it. Then a loud scream erupted from below. "What was that?" he said. "It's the battle cry. The war has begun. Hang on tight, I'm dropping down low." Tanark said.

Drele closed his eyes as he felt the air quickly rush past him while they fell. The warm air is cold again. As they dropped and flattened their level right above the treetops, Drele could see the kingdom in the distance. He squinted and saw what seemed like dragons using their battle talons against some multiple mists. "Wait!" he said. "What is it?" Tanark stopped flying. "There's a thousand Sapta's? This makes no sense," he said.

Tanark looked in his direction. "It's using the exact same battle tactic it used in the last war! That's a dangerous power to grant. Come on!" she said as she started flying fast back towards the kingdom. Upon their arrival, one dragon said, "Tanark, thank goodness you're here! Help us block off these clones!" "Clones? Can it clone itself?" Drele asked. "Yes, that's what made the previous battle so difficult to win. But with this relic, we should be able to get through this phase," Tanark explained as she took out the dragon-shaped relic and held it out towards the clones. They extinguished as soon as they saw the relic in her talons.

"We need to piece together the relics. A bigger one will defeat more of these. A fully mended one kills all of these things," she said. With all the clones, it's hard to distinguish which one of the thousand is Sapta. The border has already been shattered. Drele found a piece of relic on the ground. He climbed down from Tanark and picked up the relic. One of the clones came after him. He pulled the relic away from him towards the clone then it's gone. "Tanark, quickly!" Drele said as he gave her the piece. Tanark grabbed it and pieced it with the original one. What amazed Drele is that the pieces simply stuck together, like long lost partners. There wasn't even a crack.

One of the clones drew in closer to Drele. With nothing, he was defenseless. "Tanark!" he yelled. She paid no attention. He tried for a louder scream. "Tanark!" Still nothing. "TANARK!" He was doomed. He doesn't know where Tanark is. He was trapped in an endless maze of black mists. The clones approached him slowly. He was sure he was about to die. He was going to be turned into stone.

Just then, Tanark came in and swatted at them with her tail. "Come on, stay close to me!" she ordered. Drele breathed a sigh of relief and climbed onto her back. They slowly levitated into the air, searching for the source. Sapta is darker than the clones, and there were thousands of them, so spotting it is no easy task. A loud rumble shattered the land. Drele looked at the Orienda Palace. It was crumbling. "No! Queen!" he cried. Tanark saw the situation and suddenly was racing towards it.

On the fourth story of the palace, Queen Tearlach stumbled. "What in the world is going on?" she said. Cracks were appearing in the floor and walls here and there. Even the ceiling was collapsing. There was a sudden deafening thudding noise that sounded nearby. "What?" she said. The Orienda Tower had collapsed to the ground. Dust and debris seeped through the cracks. It was suddenly hard to breathe.

"Why? Why does this happen to me?" she exclaimed. She went down to the third floor, where there were less cracks and damage. A ceiling piece fell and hit her hard on the head. She stumbled around in a frenzy and fell to the floor, unconscious.

As Tanark and Drele arrived at the entrance, it was too late. The palace was going to collapse. "Tearlach!" Tanark shouted. The palace rumbled and shook, bringing itself to the ground in shambles. Clouds of debris swirled throughout the village. Drele gasped in disbelief. He put his shirt onto his face to avoid breathing in the filth. "Queen?" Drele called. Tanark and a few other dragons came over to the palace and moved each part piece by piece in search of Tearlach.

"This can't be happening," Drele said softly.