What Lurks Behind The Trees

Blue flames of ice

"Lazarus! We can't stay flying, they'll shoot us down!" Venkalth said as he watched the man's dragon frantically trying to dodge the arrows and spears that were coming his way.

"Alright! I'm going down!" Lazarus replied patting Zander on the back "You've done well, now rest," he whispered to him and flew him down far from the battlefield.

The rest of the magicians had already charged towards the king's men. Sparks of magic flew through the sky as the magicians used all their power to overcome the force of the king's army. The fight was harsh, though it did draw the attention away from Cruin's fort and that was Venkalth's main aim until the others arrived. From what he could see, the king had not even used half his army, they must be hiding somewhere, ready to pounce on them when they had the chance. Venkalth had to think of a plan to stop this.

Venkalth could not see his brother from here. The battlefield sat between the walls and the small woods, he must be hiding there, between the trees, behind his men like a coward.

Venkalth motioned Lazarus to come to him.

"What is it?"

"Lazarus, I have to go somewhere. Make sure to keep an eye on the king, make sure Cedric is safe." Venkalth patted him on the shoulder.

"Wait- what do you mean you have to go?"

"The king is hiding the rest of his men, I have to find their locations and warn Raymond and Elias,"

"Venkalth that is not safe, I'll go with you," Lazarus said.

"I'll be fine. Now don't forget what I said, we don't want anyone to follow me, I don't want to die!" Venkalth said, laughing maniacally before he rushed away from the battlefield.

He ran through the small woods, making sure to stay a safe distance from his brother Edmund. His heart beat loudly against his chest. The sound of war was fading slowly the more he ran, the sound of heart-wrenching screams and wails of surrender. Venkalth had no idea how this would end, there was no way to determine his and his men's fate, it was all a gamble, that maybe, just maybe, luck would be on their side.

He ran until he reached the hill where Celia waited. She stood up in a hurry as soon as she saw him.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking slightly scared.

"It's nothing, I just need to check something," he said. This was a safe distance for him to ride his dragon. No one would see, no one would know. "Zaveo, come out,"

Venkalth grinned at Celia and saluted her.

Venkalth hopped on his ice breathing dragon and flew off. He looked back and saw the destruction that had been brought upon the city. He scoffed to himself and clenched his fists. I'll be the one to kill you brother.

He flew nearby first, trying to see whether the men were close. He stayed low to avoid anyone finding out. In this condition, he was vulnerable to any attack, if the enemy found him, they would bring him down in an instant.

"Woah woah, easy!" suddenly, Zaveo was flapping around frantically, grasping at the sky. Venkalth looked around and he instantly knew why. The blood drained from his face as he watched. His amethyst pupils shook in fear. Before him, a group, no, an army of Night Slayers walking, dragging their feet across the kingdom's fresh green land, tainting it with lifelessness and plague. They were coming from the capital.

His heart squeezed tightly. He couldn't believe there were this many Night Slayers, he couldn't believe they were roaming the forest quietly all these years and yet they could march towards a battlefield with a single command. Dark magic. It had to be. He had to stop them before they reached the city.

Zaveo stopped at once. He steadied his wings and spiked his scales. He could sense Venkalth's urgency, he could sense his determination.

Venkalth pursed his lips and let out a few firm breaths. He tightened his hands on his dragon.

"Zaveo, you know what to do."

Zaveo didn't need to be told twice. He surged up to the sky, above the clouds. Venkalth held on as tightly as he could, the air rushed passed them, cold and unfriendly. Zaveo circled the sky, grunting and snarling.

With one final flare of his nose, Zaveo splayed his wings wide across the red sky, then dived down so fast Venkalth almost lost his grip. Zaveo's dive became less steep as he reached the ground, and once he was right over the Night Slayers, he breathed in so deep that his body expanded slightly.

When he breathed out a thunderous growl, a blue flame of ice spewed out of his throat, blasting many of the Night Slayers until they were nothing but ashes.

"Haha! Yes!" Venkalth yelled happily. A few more of these attacks would surely wipe them out.

He couldn't celebrate for long, however, because when he looked behind him, he saw the rest of the king's army, lined up, row by row, with their arrows pointed directly at him. 

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Uh oh! What do you think will happen to Venkalth and his dragon Zaveo? 

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