Chapter 14

An orange glow reflected off the scales of the dragons gathered around the fire, each listening attently to the grey dragoness on the other side. Teeth lay bare, and every attendee’s pupils were as sharp as the teeth they showed. A show of strength to one another, the same show of strength that the Hallowed Army wished to spread to all of Lokahn.

“My brothers and sisters of the draconic blood… Our enemies are distracted. The next phase of our glorious campaign is about to begin. To free our country from all heresies and weakness, to spread our faith to all those who inhabit our lands… until all is safe and prospering in the shadow of Divinity’s wings.”

A green dragon with red eyes growled. Darrus was his name.

“We are listening, Merahn,” he said with a flick of his tail. “Leave the platitudes for prayer. You’ve been claiming our time is at hand, and yet you are choosing to let the crown of Divinity falter into impure hands. Hands that would defile it. Place it on a head unfit to wear it.”

Merahn dismissed him with a harrumph. She flapped her wings once, and the fire in between them roared as it was revitalised by the wind.

“Reval’s crown is not so easily defiled by impure hands… much like time itself has not destroyed it. Do you not have faith in a disciple of Divinity, who dedicated their life for the advancement of all that is good and holy? Who struggled for the sake of a better world, not merely for the followers, but for all Lokahnians, and all children of the world?”

The grey dragoness tapped herself on the chest with a claw as she raised her head above the smoke. The other dragons were fixated on Darrus, and Darrus alone, sneering at him. Darrus had but one shake of his head to give.

“I certainly do have faith that you know what you are doing. That crown means more than a mortal can conceive to the people of Lokahn. It represents something greater… and if you were the one wearing it, this war would be over. Tomorrow.”

Merahn chuckled. “You worry too much, Darrus. I have calculated the risks myself. And rest be assured that I have every intention in the world of claiming that crown for ourselves. You need not worry about when. Let the heretics of the empire and the fools in the Homefront fight it out among themselves. Let them paint the country red and nourish our soil with their useless conflict.”

She growled, as she gazed up at the stars above. ”We will claim the crown from whoever is left standing. I do not care who it is. A miserable old general, whatever Lokahnian traitor sold their soul to said general, that golden fool Lothar, his worthless son… it matters little.”

Whispered murmurs passed through the meeting as the dragons conversed among themselves on the plan. Merahn watched, awaiting the next challenge that would come her way. She was in control. She and she alone had that divine right.

“My lady,” a dragon with the color of the ocean spoke. “I understand your intent. And I believe you wholeheartedly. Let them all fight and kill each other. We will swoop in when they’re finished… however, how would we go about doing this? We have been stuck in this valley for several years now.”

Smoke poured out of Merahn’s nostrils, as a low growl stirred in her throat. “The right doctrine has been implemented here. Slowly the people of this valley grow accustomed to the righteous way of life. We’ve learned our lessons, and we’ll apply it to the rest of the world,” she explained. “Slowly but surely, we will seize control of Lokahn. Wherever the enemy is weak, we will be strong.”

“And what if, Divinity forbid, the imperial attempts to reoccupy this valley start making progress?” Darrus asked.

A chorus of laughter came in response, as Merahn and all those on her side of the fire roared in amusement. Merahn struggled to catch her breath without wheezing.

“Oh, oh, oh Darrus, Oh Darrus! Come on now. Haven’t you seen those attacks yourself! They’ve been trying, oh Divinity almighty have they been trying! Don’t waste your energy worrying about that of all things. ‘Here they come, here we cooome!’”

Merahn waved her claws around. “‘Knock knock, it’s Justitia! And we’re definitely immune to fire this time, especially when going through a narrow pass! We’ll do it this time, for real! Oh no, why are we all getting killed?!’”

The howls of the dragons echoed throughout all corners of the valley, from the border posts to the mines.

“What a farce!” Merahn cackled. “They’re just like the Homefront! Probably got as stupid a leader, too cowardly to show himself! Where is he, even? What is the name of that golden idiot?”

“Lothar.”

“Lothar? Fuck him! I bet that he’s sucking up to his son right now! At this very moment, he is sucking up to his son!”

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After several minutes of laughing and roaring, wing beating and mimicking Lothar’s speech, Darrus’ patience was running thinner than that of a stray cat.

“This is not a joke, my lady. We are fighting for the future of our country, here.”

“I know that,” Merahn said, forcing a neutral smile to her mouth. “But you should know by now who these fools are. Our jokes speak the truth. They really are little more than an extension of the Homefront. As long as we keep a level head, victory is guaranteed.”

Darrus tilted his blue head in defiance. “Hmpfh. I hope for our sakes that you’re not making things up. Overconfidence is a silent killer.”

Merahn lowered her head, a growl stirring in her throat. “Oh, rest be assured of that. Let’s discuss the next step, shall we? Expanding beyond this valley.” She unfurled her wings with a thunderous snap; the dragons beside her recoiled away in shock.

“Gragh.”

In the spot right between Merahn and Darrus, the white dragoness Veraede broke the silence she’d kept since the meeting began.

“Took us long enough to get here… We’ve had more than enough armour and resources to expand, yet here we sat in this valley, getting fat while the enemy prepared…”

The other dragons were silent while listening to Veraede speak. She sounded on the verge of flying into a murderous rage. Merahn gave her an approving nod.

“We are all ears, Veraede. Go on.”

Veraede growled. “Yes… all that waiting around certainly hasn’t helped, for starters. The imperial scum have kept a tight watch over the mouth of the valley… kept ballistas, and hordes of unwashed vermin at our doorstep. They are itching for the moment to wield those little weapons of theirs… muskets. Ready to shoot us out of the sky…”

The glow in Veraede’s orange eyes intensified as she bared her teeth. The fire keeping them all warm surged with heat until it towered above all, flickering aggressively towards the white dragoness. Some of the other dragons backed away, tails tucked between their feet. Darrus kept an iron gaze trained on her. Merahn, sensing that the mood was souring, grunted for everyone’s attention.

“Yes. No surprises there. But we have fared through much worse, and like in the past… we will pull through. And they will meet their end.” She breathed in, then out. ‘Veraede’s been getting angrier lately.’ “Do continue. Have you found a weakness in their lines?”

The white dragoness nodded, albeit slowly. “Yes. To the southeast. Steep hills are blocking their ballistas and their weapons. There may be some of the scum in the two villages there… though, they are so small that they do not even have names. We can overwhelm them there, and flank the rest of their defenses. Bathe them in a tidal wave of fire…”

Merahn nodded. “Good. I propose the following: We will strike just before dawn, when the day is young and their bellies are empty. Swift, deadly, decisive. They will be no match for us.”

She reared her head back, then unleashed a breath of fire into the flame. “If anyone disagrees, voice your counterarguments now.”

One by one, the dragons present breathed their essence into the fire, starting with Veraede first and foremost. Dragons of various colours followed her lead, some in as calm a manner a dragon was capable of, others with the furor and passion Merahn expected.

Just one was left. Darrus. Merahn raised one of her eyes in a distinctively human manner.

‘Come on. Don’t raise a ruckus over this.’

Darrus scoffed at the others, before rearing his head back, and sending a final spark of approval into the fire, which flickered and danced as his flames melded with it.

“All I was asking for earlier was a plan, you know.”

“Hmpfh,” Merahn grumbled. “We will get to it. You are all dismissed…”

Gradually, the meeting site cleared out, as the other dragons took wing to their posts around Solemn Valley. Merahn decided to leave the flame be; it would peter out on it’s own, no assistance required. The chance of it setting fire to nearby vegetation was minimal; the remnants of an old Draconist temple would make sure of that. Merahn had selected it as a meeting site for symbolic reasons, but it turned out to have some practical ones after all.

Before she took wing back to Revalsburg, however, there was an unsolved problem left to take care of here. Or rather, a problem that wouldn’t leave by itself. Whereas the other dragons left, Veraede remained, staring into the fire with her teeth bared. Merahn intervened.

“Veraede? Is something wrong??”

With a growled sigh, the white dragoness turned her head towards Merahn, her orange eyes meeting Merahn’s purple ones. Her stance relaxed a little, though she remained on edge.

“He.”

Veraede shook her head, and continued to look into the fire. Merahn watched the flames dance with her.

“You mean Darrus, I take it.”

“He has the colours of the sea,” Veraede answered. “Of home.”

Merahn took a deep breath, before getting beside the white dragoness as she reminiscenced.

“You lived in Kaldedam before the occupation, didn’t you?”

Slowly, Veraede tilted her head towards Merahn. She seemed exhausted, the scales around her eyes appearing weary and cracked.

“I did. But it wasn’t living. No likeminded folk. No work or activities. No hopes, no dreams. All my parents wanted from me to marry. Be a good little girl and abandon who you are. I refused. They were furious…” she clicked her pointed tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That constant nagging? That’s the Kaldedam spirit. I know it when I see it.”

Winds blew past, carrying a handful of leaves. One by one, they drifted into the fire, fueling it with their life. Merahn looked into it for a moment.

“Do you miss it?”

Veraede gagged, as if she’d been served a plate of sewage.

“Miss it? You know what that damned city is like. Everyone in Lokahn knows what that damned city is like. You didn’t even need to live there to know the stories… It’s been the center of rot before the invasion had even started. Foreign peoples and their heresies all over the street. That includes our ‘favorites’ who run the country now.” Veraede spat into the fire. “Wasn’t seriously following my religion at the time, but nothing will ever make me forget their attitudes. They thought themselves superior the whole time. Called us demon worshippers. Said we’d go to the Abyss. Assaulted me. And of course, no one did anything about it. Told the idiots that gave birth to me everything, they told me to not condemn people so easily.”

“Hmpfh.” Merahn spat into the fire; the life of the leaves faded. “No surprises there. So many among us Lokahnians were too blind to see the truth. Too secular and foolish to see what our country was turning into… even our King didn’t know any better. It ended with his head on a pike.”

The grey dragoness shook her head. “I knew from the beginning that Lokahn had to be reborn in fire if it was to survive. All the weakness must be burned out of our people. All the traitors dealt with. And you think so too, don’t you?”

Veraede growled. “Of course… my parents first and foremost, if they are still alive. They did nothing for me. Did nothing for Kaldedam. Did nothing for Lokahn. And most important of all, nothing for Divinity, who they claimed to believe in. Draconists in name only.”

“What do you have planned for them?” Merahn asked. Veraede only scoffed back.

“Either they accept dragonhood and reeducation, or else.” She dragged a claw over her neck. Merahn chuckled.

“You truly are ready to do anything for this cause, aren’t you?”

“For Divinity?” Veraede whipped her tail. “No loss is too great. No bloodshed is dishonourable. I spent years walking through the streets of that damned town, looking for my purpose in life. And it is to reestablish Divinity’s kingdom. To retake his world, home of the noble dragon race.”

A smile spread across Merahn’s snout.

“For eternity, sister.” For eternity.