Destiny of Sapphire - Book One: The Baron and His Elf

Chapter 11 - Rogue Dragons

Rogue Dragons

The lake frothed as the horns of a dragon rose. The birds had flown off leaving the lake eerily devoid of any sounds except from the lake. When the blue dragon was out of the water, it maneuvered its water platform on the shore. Without any words, the platform rolled back into the lake leaving the shore damp.

Shaking itself dry, it surveyed the surroundings and snorted at the trees in contempt. Flicking its tail, it rambled towards the trees, crashing through them. Upon reaching the open land, the blue scales reflected the mid day sun, glittering. ‘Ladon.’ The dragon stopped and turned towards the voice.

‘Queen Chessune,’ the blue dragon spoke in distaste.

Unruffled by his lack of respect, Chessune spreaded her white wings and flapped twice without lifting up. The wind from her wings spoke of strength that Ladon did not possess. He took a small step back from the pressure but pressed forward when the wind stopped. ‘To what do I owe this visit?’

‘Sapphire is gone. The rogue dragons have begun their attacks outside the borders of this land,’ the white dragon folded her wings, still looking at Ladon through her silver eyes as she spoke.

Ladon snorted, ‘It is not a concern of mine, Queen Chessune,’ he refused to be intimidated by her eyes that seemed to look into his soul by attempting to stare back.

‘It is when they used your name to look for Sapphire, Ladon. The villagers are being killed and buildings razed to the ground, all in your name.’

The air stilled, nothing stirred. Finally, Ladon broke the silence, ‘Where are they?’ his voice tight with restraint.

‘North-west. They have been gathering in numbers since the first pillage, heading towards the Kingdom of Leralath.’

Ladon gave a nod and rose on his platform of water that he drew from his surroundings. Heading north-west, he plotted on how to punish the rogue dragons. While Chessune may not have the powers to punish them as they were not in dragon land, he could punish them in any form. He was allowed to since the reputation of his name was at stake. This was how Chessune ruled. She could only punish those who disobeyed her directly or attacked her. Her rules were simple for any dragon to follow except for those rogues who chose to rebel against any rules.

So far, she had not needed to launch any attack on them as they had taken to twist the way the rules set. Although she lost a few dragons who fought the rogues because their own reputations were being smeared, she had not found a way to change the rules so that the rogues could not be so bold. Chessune ruled the land alone as her mate was killed in a vicious war just twenty years ago. He was beloved by the other dragons and they had shared similar sentiments when his life was lost. No one knew who was the killer as the death was swift. No marks were found on his body. Chessune always suspected it was the rogue dragons but they were not known for their subtlety and there were no evidence that pointed to them. She had come to the conclusion that something more sinister was at work. Something that was finally surfacing now.

Sapphire was gone. The news of the disappearance was swift. Hence, the rogues were on the move; making use of Ladon’s already dubious reputation to rampage the borders and perhaps, further away from the borders to spread fear and have the time of their lives. Chessune was not fond of their antics but she had to stick to the rules that she had created. Once her rules were set in stone, she was bound to them until the next king and queen arise to take over. She was not keen on fighting the rogues, enough lives had been lost when the last Dark Mage tried to make the dragons his slaves.

Chessune shuddered at the memories, it was doing her no good reminiscing the past. The present was of more importance, yet, something about those memories made her feel that there was some connection to the current disappearance of Sapphire. She just could not figure out what it was. Right now, it was time to continue her survey of the lands. It would serve her no purpose to think about things that she had no answers for.