The Age of the Dragon 4: On Silver Wings

Chapter 5

Fang shuffled her wings, feigning sleep as they waited for the signal that would allow her to attack the walls of her enemy's fortress, while Fallyn meditated nearby, drawing on deep wells of mana to cast a spell large enough to affect large sections of the wall.

When Roran had suggested Fallyn use magic to tear down the walls, she had refused - not because she wanted to make things difficult, but because the spell to do that would cause likely half the city to collapse and kill more innocents than necessary.

So they talked until they came to this plan.

While he and roughly six hundred of his men floated down on a barge and broke through the gates there, she and the other two hundred or so would make as much noise as possible and attempt to distract the enemy.

He had asked her if she could produce a phantom army, and while she had hesitated to say no, she suggested a different spell she'd learned long ago.

Waking Nightmare... it would trap those caught in the spell's radius in a horrible nightmare so realistic they'd have no chance of escape. She spent her time, weaving it with the magic of the Ancient Language, to avoid catching civilians in the mix. Once certain of the spell, she sensed the brush of Carn's mind against her own, as he indicated it was time.

With that, Fang rose and announced her challenge to the city with a mighty roar, rousing the soldiers around her.

War machines sprang to life, and Fallyn swung up onto Fang's back before the dragon took flight.

"Get me as close as you can so I might cast the spell," Fallyn said.

"Be ready," Fang answered, as she rolled away from a wave of arrows.

Chanting, staff held aloft with the glowing crystal on the end, she aimed it down at the wall of archers. A flash of dark, murky orange magic burst from the staff, twinning around the bodies of the archers who cried out in terror before collapsing where they stood. Rubble and boulders crashed against the wall, and Fang changed directions to allow Fallyn closer, to get the next batch of soldiers.

It was during their second pass that a sudden flux of magical energies caught their attention.

"We cannot risk searching out for Carn or Roran," Fang warned, as Fallyn cast her eyes over the city.

"Even this alone is a risk," Fallyn reminded. "I must know what happened, the explosion came from where their soldiers should be."

"Do we risk summoning a storm to alleviate the risk to ourselves to satisfy our own curiosity, or do we stick to the plan?" Fang demanded.

Fallyn frowned, sighing heavily before turning her attention back to the troops who were running distraction.

"If I do not hear anything from Carn in the next ten minutes, we will fly to them on wings of thunder and ice," Fallyn declared. "For now, there are those I must leave in waking horror."

Fang tilted in the air, turning quickly as another volley of arrows flew through the air. While Fallyn's wards would no doubt protect them from harm, Fang did not believe in relying overmuch on them. But she could also sense that Fallyn was growing weak from the use of magic and though her "mana" reserves did not overlap with her stamina, low mana resulted in affected judgement. Flying closer to the Varden, she swooped low, giving Fallyn a chance to quaff a vial of lyrium and restore herself some more.

When the ten-minute timer was up, Fallyn had Fang fly high over the city - most of the wall defenders had been placed under an enchanted slumber, and those that remained scrambled in a panic, which allowed the black dragon to fly unchallenged towards the heart of the city. Fallyn cautiously reached out with her mind, brushing against the minds of various soldiers until she came upon Roran's mind.

"I sensed something not long ago," Fallyn said. "When I received no word after ten minutes, I became concerned."

"We've lost Carn to that other spellcaster," Roran explained. "The walls?"

"Most of the defenders lay in troubled dreams," she answered as Fang swooped low, roaring and startling most of the soldiers into scattering while the Varden cheered. "Those pressing the wall can do without my help for now. Your survival in this is important."

"Find Halstead," Roran ordered. "Find him, the battle ends immediately."

"Not so immediate as you would like," Fallyn warned. "I have observed a ship being prepared - shall I deal with that first, lest our quarry escape to the sea?"

"Do it."

Fallyn removed herself from his mind, and Fang climbed higher again. Arrows flew up into their path, and with a frustrated snarl, Fang released a powerful plume of fire, which swallowed the arrows and left only ashes falling behind. Finding the ship in question, Fallyn unstrapped herself from the saddle and prepared as Fang dove into the water. With a deep breath, she kicked away from the saddle and swam towards the dock.

Her staff remained tied to the saddle, her blade at her hip, a dagger between her teeth. Fang burst out of the water near the ship with a hissing snarl as she tore at the vessel with claws. Men screamed and scrambled away, providing the perfect distraction as Fallyn stealthily climbed up onto the dock. She spotted a finely dressed man, pulling the arm of a beautiful and delicate young girl, and gave chase.

"Fight well, little one," Fang called as she bit the mast in two.

"And you, my heart," Fallyn answered. Other soldiers appeared, the Varden giving chase and helping her - though she needed no help with the humans she cut down.

Their movements were slow and sluggish in her eyes, and she quickly gained on the Lord and his child.

Ultimately, he locked himself in his cellar, and Roran ordered barrels of oil be burned to smoke them out. Fallyn was willing to watch, not desiring more death - but when the time reached a certain point, she cast a spell to filter the air before her with a few words from the Ancient Language, and darted in.

She quickly found the girl, who appeared to be suffocating, and gathered the girl up into her arms. She carried the girl out quickly, and when she appeared from the smoke, the soldiers tensed only to relax again when they saw it was her.

She set the girl down, and with spells to clear the air in her lungs and spells to heal the damage born from the smoke, the girl soon breathed easier, though she did not rouse from her slumber.

"Will she live?" Roran croaked.

"She will live," Fallyn answered, gently laying the child down. "I have left her in an enchanted slumber, to avoid further issues."

"And the Lord?"

"I suspect he has expired, if her condition was anything to go by," Fallyn answered.

Roran swore softly, then ordered for the next in line be brought to him.

"When I have finished here, I will need your help," Roran said. "I have taken an arrow to my back, and without Carn or another spellcaster to heal me, you are the only one I can turn to."

Fallyn inclined her head. "I could heal you now if you desired it. Then, I suspect, you will need to speak with Nasuada."

"Aye," he answered. "Heal me then, and let's get this over with."