The Iron Dragon

Chapter. 31 The flames of a dragon

When the others noticed that we were already about to have visitors again, I could see that everyone had gradually had enough of fighting. I usually had as many opponents as I had today within a week and this made me wonder whether it was normal that the people of the Inquisition got into fights so often. But before I could go any further into these thoughts, I decided to make it a little easier for the others and to make sure that we were not too much in distress. This day really felt longer than others. I walked slowly towards our quickly approaching enemies and moved my right arm up towards the birds still circling above me. After reaching the top, all the birds shot at high speed against each other at the same time and it almost seemed as if they wanted to destroy each other. Our opponents slowed down and some even stopped to decide whether it would not be better to retreat again, but what they did not know at this point was that it did not matter at all whether they still decided or not because their fate was already sealed. The birds above me had in no way tried to destroy themselves, but had only formed a big ball of flames, which now burned brightly above me. I closed my eyes and concentrated completely on the warmth and security that these flames brought me, and then I imagined the form in which I would like to have them. I only needed to touch the flames for a fraction of a second and they were already in my imagination and became the image that I had in my head.

Even after all the centuries I had lived, it was still fascinating even for me in which forms the fire bent to my wishes and what I could achieve with it. Fire had always been something unbelievable for me, not only because the dragon's blood deep inside me was drawn to the flames, but also because it was the element that was probably the most complicated of all. If you keep a flame too small, there is a great danger that you will make it go out, and if it is too large, you can easily lose control over it. A flame needed to be held in a perfect balance of caution and confidence in order for it to shine to its full potential. A fire could take life on a grand scale, but it could also give life in the same way, but many did not understand this. I saw it myself again and again how nature blossomed after being hit by a big forest fire. Although a forest or any country in general looks really terrible after a fire, there are many plants and many animals that profited from such a fire. Plants that had never dared to do so because of the big trees with their full crowns, which claimed most of the light for themselves, now had a chance to grow on their own, although this would not have been possible before. A fire could give you the warmth you needed on a cold snowy night and it could scare away those who were lying in wait of the dark. Fire has always been able to give and take and this fascinated me again and again.

Where I had touched the flames, the fire deformed according to my wish and only a short time later a scream that could not have sounded more beautiful was heard over the entire battlefield. A giant phoenix had risen from my fire and now looked down on our enemies who were consecrated to death. It remained calmly flying above me, waiting for me to tell it what to do, and I really didn't want to keep it waiting.

"Kill them." It took no more than two little words before the Phoenix screeched with another loud shriek, like that of an eagle descending on our enemies, turning them to ashes in a matter of seconds. After he finished, the fire returned to me and disappeared again in my hands. There was hardly anything left of the Templars we had just fought against, only a few small piles of ashes that were dispersed with the wind.

"Well I'd say we've got rid of those Templars for now. I don't think they can rise from the ashes again, whether they had lyrium in their bodies or not. I completely agreed with Freya's statement, as I, too, strongly doubted it. If freshly roasted Templars were able to rise from the ashes, then we had clearly underestimated Corypheus.

"I think we have our peace for the time being or maybe it's just a little bit of hope that speaks for itself. Anyway, Fairbanks and his people are now as safe as they can be here. Many of the Templars and Free Fighters are dead and their campsites don't look too good either I would say the Inquisition has managed to make these forests a good deal safer. The only thing that still has to disappear here are the remaining rifts, but that all has its time. After that the emerald graves are back to what they were before, and that's good. Now you only have to do that with a few other countries and then Corypheus should be in trouble, which is probably what the whole plan behind the rift will close". I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked directly at the Inquisitor.