Mercenaries of the Gods: Chronicle One - Stories

A Storm is Born

At my highest speed, I raced back to my island with Mitasi doing her best to keep up. I could feel her heart crack more and more as she searched her logic for another reason her father sent her off. While part of my compassion wanted to comfort her, most of it was focused on the fate of my friends. At this point I knew not why the young Mitasi followed to be honest, but I felt it irrelevant in the moment. After the long flight what is left of my decimated home come into view. Mitasi's gasp fades quickly as I speed towards it. The island lost about ten percent of its mass. The corpses of over sixty orange and nearly eighty purple dragons dot the cratered surface. As I fly around it, my eyes fall on a deep blue mass. Without thinking, I speed to the surface, land rough and hurry my might over to it. I look down at the torn-up body of my dear friend. Mike was dead. Judging by the half dozen bodies around him, he gave them all he had and a little more. On this day, it wasn't enough. Setting my grief aside, my focus turns to the jungles. About seventy percent of the trees are down. My claws thunder across Gaia while I race into it. As I get closer to the center the concentration of dead dragons increases. I pause for a moment to see a Mit clan member writhing in pain. His body is swollen, and he vomits dark blood repeatedly as the life seeps away from him. I can tell Kathshema gave it a full dose of her powerful and potent venom. Knowing the dragon's fate is sealed, I continue to the center of the jungle with haste. Locating the center but not my friend, I stand in silence and sadness. Both are broken at the same second when I hear groans coming from a pile of downed trees. Flinging the trunks in every direction, I come across my dear friend Kathshema. One arm is shattered, her left eye is damaged beyond repair and her flesh still gives off a burnt smell from a powerful blast of lighting that ripped across her side. None of that matters, for she lives. 

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank Gaia you live Kathshema! My soul couldn't bare the loss of both my friends." 

Her good eye looks to me as she smiles. "I am pleasssed you live. Mike and I fought them the bessst we could, but we were hopelessssly outnumbered." 

"Be still mighty Kathshema. You are very injured." I say while I finish uncovering her. Once removed from the trees, she lays there for a moment and lets out a saddened sigh. I let her have a moment of reflection before I ask, "What in the name of Gaia happened to our home?" 

She lets out another groan as she rolls on her belly. She spits up some dark green blood that is as poisonous as her venom. "The vile Mit dragonsss came in from the wessst firssst. Mike and I did well to hold the weaklings off for some time. But then the foul Uli clan ssstruck from the sssouthwessst. They fought each other asss much asss usss. Total, about four hundred dragonsss converged on our home. I think they were looking for Mitasi and the ssseeing ssstone. I killed over thirty of the dessspicable whelpsss before they left." She grimaces in pain as her good claw digs into the soil. 

Rage fills me for a moment. "They will feel the revenge of Gaia for this! No one defiles my home and kills my friend and lives!" I return my attention to the aid my dear friend. Once I did what I could, I examine her and feel confident in her ability to survive. "Can you move Kathshema?" 

"I think I can." She slowly starts slithering to the beach, groaning slightly with her movements. I follow close by. Her toughness surprises even me as I give her many wounds a second look. As we pass through the sea of felled trees, I feel the deep sadness within her over the loss of her jungle. In a short time, we make it to the body of the noble Mike. In a stew of sadness, we both bow in a moment of reverence. Suddenly on the beach one of the orange dragons moves. He is rather small, only eighty-seven feet total, and heavily injured. My might moves over to him in only three steps as he struggles to make it to his feet. 

He looks up to me with fear when I shout, "Why did your clan attack our home?" Collapsing back to the ground he struggles to find words. As my already thin patience wains, I order "Tell me or you will find that the pain you feel now isn't real pain!"