The Amari War

Chapter 20

I stumbled away from the cave, tripping over a rock and landing on the ground. I glanced up to see the golden dragon that I'd come to know as Amari soaring away, out of the deep valley that I was in. Like in the dream-realm, high cliffs surrounded a skeletal forest, except there was no lava. And this was completely, terrifyingly real.

"AMARI! I'M HERE! COME FIGHT ME!" I shouted, drawing my sword. The last of the dying light glinted off of the dark gray blade, catching Amari's eye. She swooped down toward me, breathing a plume of blue fire.

The fire hit me, and my skin burned like grass in a wildfire. It was much, much hotter than my own white flames. I scrambled out of range as the metal of my sword began to soften. I need to avoid the fire at all costs.

Amari stayed in the air, circling around and swinging her tail at me. I leaped up out of the way, letting the heavily spiked tail pass below me. She swiped down with her talons, and I ducked. Finally, she landed, the force of it shaking the ground so hard I almost lost balance.

I recovered quickly, straightening up to face my opponent. These are like the European tales where a knight faces a fire-breathing dragon. If they can do that, so can I. I charged at Amari, dodging a claw-swipe and slashing at her neck. My sword sliced deep into her throat, spraying blood everywhere. However, Amari wasn't even fazed. Her wound healed in seconds, and she lunged at me with teeth bared.

I jumped back, scrambling out of the way of the fire. In this moment of distraction, Amari's foot caught me in the side and tossed me away. I landed in one of the trees, but was protected from scrapes by my sturdy uniform. Still, Amari had managed to scratch me. And she was about to do it again.

She took off into the air again, barreling toward me with her mouth open. I jumped backwards off of the tree, letting her fly right over me. Her swinging tail grazed my arm as I dodged, and she spun around to face me again, breathing fire.

The fire had the benefit of cauterizing my bleeding wounds, but it was damaging my sword. I sprinted away as the trees caught fire. I need to stop that fire. This whole place will go up in flames, with the wood as dry as it is. I focused on stopping the fire, trying to rein in the fierce flames. However, the fire was just too powerful for me to control, and Amari was coming in for another attack.

This time, she exhaled a blast of wind so strong that I shot toward the opposite cliff wall, as quickly as if I was falling. I watched in terror, igniting myself as an instinctive reaction. My path arced down into the trees, and I crashed through several of them before coming to a stop. Without feeling any pain, I couldn't tell if the cracking sounds I'd heard were breaking wood or breaking bones. Likely both.

I gave myself a second to rest while Amari caught up, getting to my feet as she got close and tightening my grip on my sword. She hit the ground, lunging for me with her mouth wide open. I stepped back, slicing at her mouth. My burning sword broke some of her teeth, but then she exhaled a blast of fire that drove me back.

I need to get in closer for an attack. But if she's immortal, then what attack could kill her? I left that question for later, focusing on my next attack. I charged through the burning trees and leaped at Amari. She swung a foot at me, and I kicked off of it to propel me onto her back.

Amari took off into the air, trying to dislodge me. I unsheathed my knife and dug it in between two scales, holding on tightly as I swung my sword at Amari's neck. With the help of my fire, I managed to slice right through and sever Amari's head. The dragon head fell out of the sky and was impaled on a tree branch below.

However, Amari didn't die. She swooped down, picking up her own head and screwing it back on. Then she swung her tail at me, and I jumped off while I was still fairly close to the ground.