Short Stories From The World Of ARTK

An Empress's heir, Part Six

*add dragon names and coloring in editing*

Alexander silently thanked the gods for the day's clear sky. Aythos weren't a fan of storms and refused to fly in the worst of them; whilst Paddos began to refuse all sorts of orders with the slightest rain. He needed all of them to listen if he were to have the slightest chance.

  The journey to the center of his mother's empire were fast enough, and with him staying high above the clouds the only thing anyone could run and tell his mother were that a shadow had passed over them- but she'd know.

  He did not meet with one of her dragons until he believed himself to be right over her stables. It were one of the smallest, most unremarkable ones who's name he'd never bothered to learn- yet it came at them as if if knew why they were there. Perhaps it did; but that one were easy pickings. When it were close enough Vindraeriass acted without needing a command; bit through the dragon's neck in one go and flung him like he were nothing.

Alexander smiled as he imagined the screams from below once they realized who had come- and then another idea came to him. Aythos and Paddos would stay close by in the sky but..... he needed another thing to get his mother's attention.

Alexander closed his eyes, thinking the silent command- and made no noise as Vindraeriass fell nose down, straight for her streets. As they got dangerously close he could hear the screams, though only for a moment. He commanded the beast to stop again when they were damned near touching building tops; then to burn as much as she could.

A younger version of him would not have appreciated what he'd become- but he'd get over it. The people would mourn their dead and hopefully their empress.

She came into the sky quickly then, on the back of her quickest beast with her other four dragons surrounding her. Alexander smiled, and commanded Vindraeriass to create a wind with her tail that would be talked about for centuries to come. The dragon whipped around , and two of his mother's were knocked off balance. One went tumbling towards the earth a few moments- and the one she were on flew (against it's will) so far backwards that the beast began screeching and itching to get it's teeth around something.

"Not yet." The Empress Naralia whispered, trying to contain her own anger from the death of another one of her children- while stroking the beast as if it were a large horse. "Be patient and you will have your turn."

She could not allow the anger to cloud her judgement, to force her into killing her own son. She knew she could still make him see reason..... but two dragons for however many of hers he killed were more than fair.

She were in the midst of assessing her new postion and that of Aythos and Paddos when it happened again-

In the form of her son commanding Vindraeriass to fly straight into two of hers. They were not her smallest beasts by any means, and as they saw the attack coming they lashed out too- but it weren't enough.

One took a small chunk of the soft part on the back of Vindraeriass's leg before a single swoop of it had the beast impaled by a claw- and the other slammed against her side before it went tumbling. Before Vindraeriass opened her mouth and set him and everything below the other dragon ablaze with a near purple fire.

Three to three should have lowered his mother's odds to zero, but life had been a cruel and confusing thing for a thousand years before the emperor and empress lived- and would continue to be for thousands of years after their death.

The two beasts remaining to her looked at their commander for only a moment, a silent communication only a dragon rider would understand- and launched themselves far into the sky to find Aythos and Paddos. And as those beasts were still larger than his mothers- Alexander thought nothing of it. They would surely be gone in mere moments, he thought.

"We can end this now." His mother were shaking as she brought her dragon up- slightly above Vindraeriass's face. And when she made eye contact with her son- there were zero emotion left there. "No more of these beautiful beast have to die if you simply leave this place. To combine my empire to that of your dead wife, it would be talked of for a thousand years to come-"

And in that moment, all four of the beasts that were higher up came tumbling down. Aythos were dead before Vindraeriass turned his head and bit through Naralia's already injured dragon- before eating them both. Paddos were harder still to kill- yet it happened so fast.

His mother's beast ignored her commands and flew slightly sideways to help the other- but were a moment too late. Paddos clawed him so deeply he fell into a couple of connected cottages below, at the very edge of the fire. His death would be drawn out and incredibly painful-

As would the incredible roar Vindraeriass let out. Alexander's mother grimaced, taking her hands away from her saddle to cover her ears- but he simply stared ahead as the blood trickled from his ears.

  *extend in editing*

  What happened next.... It were so unlikely that it could not be believed, had there not been witnesses.

In a single moment, Vindraeriass opened her mouth to open fire. Empresss Naralia's beast ignored her commands- and flew straight into the other's mouth and into the throat before it could crush him with her teeth.

  On that day, the most massive creature the world had ever seen had its throat ripped open from the inside.

  And on that day, the beast tumbled to the ground-

  And took out well over half a city.