The last of the Dragons-Set 2

239

Later That Night

   The sky was clear, with the moon and stars lighting up the sky, like a thousand dragons breathing their flame down from the heavens up above. Magar had given us a warm fire to sit around before settling down for the night along side Doron and the others, which we were all grateful for. We had flown for a few hours east from the field of the days fighting before setting down, this time with nothing but wide open space around us, again with the exception of randomly scattered trees that dotted the landscape. Noah had long since fallen asleep and collapsed to the ground at my feet, exhausted from the sick excitement that arose during the day.

"Six deaths in one day.... Can we really afford to risk that again?" Tahli asked, breaking the silence that had befallen us.

"That was a freak accident. Next time, we'll be ready. There's only four of them. We can bring them down." I replied.

"Yeah, but at what cost....?" Amy added.

I shrugged my shoulders, before pulling the same book from the bag of seven as before.

"Speaking of death, I'm intrigued to read more from this." I said as I opened the book and opened it to the page I had previously folded.

Everyone fell silent, waiting patiently for me to begin reading as I re-positioned myself to use the fires light to brighten the pages, nearly kicking Noah's limp body in the process.

"The First Flight

Starlight had been enjoying a nap under the warm sun as it beat down on the field, along with several of the other dragons that were taking advantage of their last moments of secrecy. Teramex had taken flight early during the day, having gone in search of a viable target to attack from above. Though any would do, the revelation of dragons still living in the world would prompt efforts by the opposition to bring them down at all costs, so we knew that our strike had to yield a reward as plentiful as we could muster.

It was around mid day, when the sound of wings flapping from above began filling my ears. We all looked up as Teramex began to descend down on us, with his rider. Thomson perched proudly atop the mighty dragon. After Teramex had set down, Thomson approached us all as we gathered.

"Soldiers to the south. Thousands of them. If we attack from directly above, we will be able to use the element of surprise to its maximum advantage. Good luck, and fair skies to you all. I look forward to reuniting with you all and your mounts later today. Should we eliminate every target presented to us, the revelation of dragons in the world may yet be postponed."

We exchanged short nods, before hurrying to our mounts, and prepared to take to the skies. Starlight prompted her children into a large tree that would keep them safe from the ruthless predators that ravaged the landscape around us. Without question, they scrambled for the tree as I mounted starlight, and instructed her to take off. All at once, the flock of dragons took to the air, with Teramex leading us all into battle.

Not long after we took to the air, our targets came into view. From what the old texts from the first years of the war had given us, the most reliable tactic of using dragons on ground forces was to hide in the clouds and dive from directly above, provided that clouds were plentiful. Doing as such, we flew through the clouds until the dragons could sense our targets just below. Then, all at once, we dove to the ground, our dragons spitting flames wildly in all directions as we surprised our query with a deadly ambush. The battle was short, but effective. Withing only a short while, to vague for me to recall, the entirety of the once lethal force below us had been reduced to nothing but flames, smoke, and ash. But, that victory had not come without a cost to us. Eighteen dragons engaged our foe that day, but only seventeen would return. While our attack had been largely unopposed, a few lucky bow shots from the ground were managed, and one such arrow found its mark in the gut of the dragon Termision, sending the dragon to the ground in a pool of his own blood, crushing his rider, Gord, under his weight as he collided violently with the ground. As we circled over head, the once proud, Yellow dragon now rested broken, beaten, and killed amidst the remains of the first fight that saw dragons in years. Regardless of the cost, the dragons had made their return, and would cause great havoc to their enemies during many more brutal fights to come. Though, regardless of the sheer power of any dragon we possessed, even the great Teramex, the flying bull, we all dreaded the day that we would be forced into battle with the legendary Tario. Killer of dragons, and master of the air."

I paused, sensing a satisfying note to end on for the night. I again folded the page down and closed the book before setting it back inside the back with the others.

"Well... The Dying of the Dragons has now seen its first dragon die." I said.

"Can you imagine how incredible it must have been to see dragons of that size fight, and die? I wish we could see it." Bailey said.

I chuckled.

"It does haunt my mind on occasion. The dragons are incredible works of nature. The thought of them growing to the size of those documented is beyond my imagination." I replied.

"Well, that's all in the past now." Amy added.

I smirked, before looking to Doron as he slept off to the side, his normally glowing eyes covered by his scaly eyelids, and his enormous lungs emitting deep groans with every exhale.

"For now. But should even one dragon live to old age, they will too go down as the largest, and the last dragon." I said quietly.

Hi All! Just thought I'd let you know that I have 2 new stories available on my profile page. "The Dragons of Lithia" and "The Lost Dragon" are both stories that you will certainly enjoy if you enjoy The Dragons Daughter! And obviously you do if you've made it this far! Enjoy all!