The Dragon Prince: Breath of Hope

Chapter 27- War

The sun was rising as Callum got into position, the army of monsters doing the same.

General Janai and the army of Lux Aurea stood between two natural boulders, creating a wall of elves to block the path that led to the base of Storm Spire. Queen Aanya of Duren was waiting on the other side of a rise with her cavalry ready.

The dragons, waiting on top of the spire itself, would be used to create chaos among the enemy troops so the forces of Duren could come through undetected.

The plan was to let the monsters draw close, then attack from both sides, hopefully leading to a quick surrender. The prince stood at the back of them all, able to see everything and to be seen by everyone. He glanced at the tower behind him, then sighed deeply, drawing his new blade and holding it steady.

Below, he could see Amaya raise her shield and a group of Sunfire elves stepped forward to create a wall. Each one of their shields linked with the next.

Suddenly, one of the monsters charged out across the field towards them, but then someone on a horse gave a command, and all of them charged forwards. As they got closer, Callum realised how little of their humanity was left. They didn't look anything like humans anymore. Soren was right. They were monsters.

As the army just about reached the wall of elves, the shields dropped, and a wall of golden light radiated from the linked shields to knock many of the creatures back. Some even managed to fall unconscious.

The others didn't even blink at the attack and continued to charge at them. Squeezing his weapon, Callum watched as they met the line and pushed against it. The line held, and from behind it, the elves began to defend. A smile came to his lips. If they held them back, they could-

A bolt of black light came from the other side and collided with the line, exploding against the shields. His smile fell as he felt the Dark Magic crash through the air, and witnessed the line fall apart from the blow. Humans, elves, and monsters alike had been hurt by the blast, and now they had a clear entry to the tower.

He wanted to run down and help, but he knew his place was here. He had a job to do, not just as bait to draw them in, but also as defence. So, he could only watch as a force much stronger than his own attacked his home.

They somehow managed to make a line of shields again, but then one of them, a larger one, broke it once more.

He tensed, watching them carefully before raising his arm to the sky and reflecting sunlight off his blade. The light shone up the mountain to initiate the signal. Above, a roar broke out, and suddenly, twenty dragons dropped down from the clouds. The black and crimson form of Pyrrah led them, Ezran riding on her back.

They roared, then ignited the rear side of the field, bellows of flames charring the grass and army behind the main line. Callum spotted a disturbance in the flames; probably a Dark Magic shield, he reasoned, but he didn't care. The dragons had taken out several hundred of the enemy and terrified the rest.

Just as planned, when they attacked, the forces of Duren came out of hiding and attacked from the rear. They came around to block any retreating forces, forming the second line.

However, as the flames started to die down, Callum realised in horror that the creatures were getting back up. "Oh no," he whispered, watching as the dragons started to land so they could assist the ground troops. As the cavalry of Duren attacked with a volley of arrows, charging into the fight, the prince noticed the ballistas being pointed at the dragons. Dragon bindings quickly pulled down at least six of the dragons while only some made it back up into the safety of the sky.