Of Victory

A/N I'm doing a bunch of 'promotional' pieces for my new story/world. This one is part of a two piece series, the sequel is 'Of Vengeance'

Enjoy!

The tall teen stood in front of the village official. Tendrils of his long crimson hair hung around his face, it had escaped from the leather strip he had used to tie it back. A thin layer of dust clung to Nikkotor's honey coloured skin, the dirt made him appear darker.

He was a perfect contrast to the village official, Lee Kwon. Lee Kwon was dressed in a dark green robe. It wasn't particularly expensive, it was just well taken care of. Lee Kwon's ink black hair was pulled up into an elegant topknot. His porcelain skin was clean and free of cosmetics.

Lee Kwon fit inside the clean building in his high-backed oaken chair. He matched the silk flags that draped down the wooden walls. Nikkotor was only too aware that he didn't fit in. He was the intruder, he did not belong.

"No, I cannot spare five men for an unprovoked attack on the Ky'goth's slave caravan," Lee Kwon narrowed his dark eyes, "Neither I, nor my people, have quarrels with the Ky'goth. Attacking would ally ourselves with a people who have been dead for the last one hundred years."

Nikkotor felt the tattoo on his tongue grow hot with his anger. He pushed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, there he felt the True Name of Fire burn a replicant of itself. Tears gathered in the corners of his blue eyes. As if separated from the action, Nikkotor felt himself bow to Lee Kwon, mutter a, "Thank you," and leave.

Outside of the log building Hakon waited for him. The half dragon's green cat eyes glittered with curiosity. Hakon had lived, hunted, in the mountains for the majority of his life, so spoken language was harder for him that it was for Nikkotor. Hakon vaguely gestured towards the building, indicating that he wanted to know what had occurred.

Nikkotor titled his head back and exhaled. He felt oxygen leave his body through the tattoo on his tongue. In the air above him, orange and red flames twisted like the great pythons that merchants brought from overseas. When Nikkotor's body could no longer handle the lack of oxygen, he stopped.

He took a few deep breaths and looked to Hakon. He looked to his friend and his people's only ally. He sighed, his gaze cast downwards. For a moment he allowed how he felt to show. Nikkotor let the hopelessness shine through his mask, he displayed all of his insecurities. How was one sixteen-year-old boy supposed to free a people who had been enslaved one hundred years previously? Any potential allies already looked down on his youth, he didn't need to give them another reason to ridicule him.

"Lee Kwon condones our actions," Nikkotor walked across the stone courtyard to where Hakon sat.

A smile tugged at the corner of Hakon's black, reptilian lips; he tilted his head, as if debating on what to say. Finally, he forced out a single syllable,"So?"

Nikkotor's eyes widened at Hakon's words. He was flustered by his friend's unconcern at the ratio of their forces. They were outnumbered sixteen to one, odds that any military strategist would deem 'unwinnable.' There was a sharp intake of breath when Nikkotor realized that while Hakon dwelled in the mountains he had faced worse odds everyday, entire villages had banded together to kill him.

Maybe they could do this, with just the two of them. Nikkotor's heart swelled at the thought of a victory, but he cast an iron blanket over that too. Expectations were dangerous, especially when they were not met.

"Come on," Nikkotor said to Hakon as he clasped his shoulder, even through the fabric of his tunic Hakon's rough scales cut into the pads of Nikkotor's fingers.

o0o

It didn't take Nikkotor and Hakon long to locate the caravan. They had known the route it would take for weeks. Nikkotor had poured over the map for hours. He identified the best places for an ambush, where the enemy soldiers were most likely to retreat, and where the best places they could retreat were in case the raid didn't go as planned.