The roars filled the sky like clashing storms. The fire of the dragon princes illuminated everything like a midnight sun. A cloud of smoke surrounded the combatants, emanating from their wounds and their fiery snouts.
It was the image of fear, surpassing each of her nightmares. For Eri, her dragon siblings represented everything that made her suffer, everything she hated or feared about the world and herself. Since her birth, she was reminded daily that she was a dragon, but she hadn’t known what it meant until that day in her grandfather’s castle courtyard. She had seen for the first time the monster that others saw in her. She never judged those who feared her, for she herself was afraid of her nature.
She didn’t know if she had somehow devoured Bestenar’s sister, or if one day she would irreparably harm someone. She only thought about proving that she was a good girl, while riding her unicorn, lance in hand, towards where the most fearsome beings in the world awaited her. Accepting, at least, that she was as powerful as they were.
Her teacher followed closely, along with those other two people Eri knew very little about. She didn’t believe they could do what Mom and Dad couldn’t. Her hope lay in Queen Clessa, who was still fighting with the weakened green prince and a swift, seemingly tireless black prince.
Eri could hear the roars more clearly as she approached, realizing that it was a conversation after all. They used their dragon names, impossible for humans to pronounce. Eri knew her name meant something like “Sky,” and she heard Queen Clessa being called “Sun,” while she called them “Night” and “Wind.” The White Prince had been called “Moon.”
As she got closer, she infused Lady Val and Master Genwill with her orange fire, bathing herself in it as well. She had never known if it made a difference before; she was already remarkably strong. But she felt a new fire within her, the one she had stolen from Wind. She couldn’t remember what power it had, so she simply exhaled a purple fire that surrounded her like any of the others.
When the fire died down, Eri realized she was seeing strange things. Colored lights surrounded the world, like a rainbow stretching everywhere. But what caught her attention was that she could suddenly see a third person riding the black dragon she called teacher. And it was none other than… her teacher. There she was, unmistakable, the woman and the dragon who were the same person, looking at her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. This day couldn’t get any stranger.
Questions would have to wait, as they were already within reach of the battle. The three enormous dragons continued to clash with claws and fangs, opening wounds from which flames and smoking blood emerged. They had been fighting for hours, their fires slowly consuming. If she could do the same to the black one, the queen could win. Her teacher signaled for her to come closer.
“Eri, dear,” Master Genwill always treated her like a child, which Eri loved. He spoke to her while drinking something shiny from some small bottles. “I will try to protect you from here. You must empower the queen as soon as possible. Do it and return; we will focus on taking down the green one first.”
Eri looked at Peony, who hadn’t spoken for hours, but sometimes nodded or shook her head. Eri thought it might be because she didn’t want others to hear her. The unicorn shook its head insistently in the direction of Lady Valderant.
Eri looked at Peony, who hadn’t spoken for hours, but sometimes nodded or shook her head. Eri thought it might be because she didn’t want others to hear her. The unicorn shook its head insistently in the direction of Lady Valderant.
“Alright, alright, I understand, Peony,” Eri said, removing the horn from her mount and placing it on her lance to hand it to the woman who claimed to be as incredible as Dad.
“Eri,” Valderant said to her, “this is your weapon, don’t you need it?” However, she took the lance from her hands, which extended to the size of an adult’s weapon.
“I think Peony doesn’t want me to fight,” she said, not hiding her disappointment. She pulled the reins and rode through the sky towards the worst of the battle, her heart in a knot but her eyes completely dry.
The unicorn’s hooves sounded as if it were truly galloping on a path of crystal, the sound was like the voice she had heard before, sweet and musical, yet ominous, each step bringing her closer to danger.
It didn’t take long to draw attention; the unicorn’s glow gave her away in the night sky. The black dragon tried to focus on her, but the queen intervened. The dragons, who had been flying around each other launching sudden attacks, were now grappling in the sky, locked by their claws, their heads clashing as they swung their long necks, trying to impale each other with their horns. The green dragon took the initiative, trying to reach her, but the teacher, now empowered by the orange flames, attacked the slow prince’s neck, effectively immobilizing him.
Magical shields were usually invisible, but Eri could see the bubble Master Genwill placed around her. The poor man struggled not to fall from Lady Mera’s neck while protecting her. It was a blessing; seeing the shield made her feel less afraid as she sped towards the black prince.
She could try to take his fire from a distance, but if she did, she would also take the queen’s, and the queen had begged her not to, as her human body could die. She had to be close.
The problem was that both dragons kept moving continuously. With their enormous size, each frantic wing beat threatened to throw her off, and she didn’t believe the trick of jumping from Peony would work again; the black dragon was much faster. They were snapping, charging, and clawing at each other, continuously clashing.
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A flash and the sound of an explosion behind her forced her to look back. The green prince had fallen, and the teacher was flying downward, possibly injured. The shield around Eri disappeared.
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A few moments earlier.
Valderant didn’t intend to waste time. She ran to the head of the dragon woman when her jaws made contact with the green prince. The girl’s silver lance seemed a much better weapon than her broadsword, although the old elf had taken all her potions, so she couldn’t summon him. The jumps she learned from Master Akdergos had always been useful, especially at sea, but at that moment, she had that grumpy dwarf in her prayers. One jump had saved her from falling, a second had taken her to the snout of the dragon she was riding, and a third to the neck of her prey. She felt like a flea jumping from one dog to another; now she had to know where to bite.
With all her energy, she reached the head. The beast seemed tired, sluggish. Was that the effect of losing much of its fire? The wind made her stumble; she took a moment to balance and breathe, but only that. She remembered Eri on her ship, several days ago, and couldn’t help but smile. She jumped as high as she could, took the lance almost by the base, with the tip down, using the harpy pose, with the weapon upside down, as a lance wasn’t good for cutting while falling. It was Eri’s technique.
“The dragon pose,” she muttered through her teeth as her weapon embedded itself in the dragon’s skull, escaping her hands, following its path like an arrow. Valderant fell to her knees on the scaly head.
The green prince died. Purple flames burst from the wound in all directions. Valderant made one last formidable jump, not knowing where it would take her.
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Eri wanted to go back, to see if everyone was alright, but the unicorn’s voice sounded in her head again: “This is our chance.” It was true; the explosion had distracted the battling princes. She had a moment to get closer, even without the shield. Before she could nod with the reins, Peony had already shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
The moment wasn’t long enough. The black dragon saw her coming and shook to try to hit her with its tail, but the queen also reacted, holding it tighter, entangling it with her own tail. The scaly skin of the black prince passed very close, almost grazing Eri, but she finally reached him and began to inhale.
The black prince, desperate, used his power. An intense and horrible roar came from the monstrous creature’s throat, causing intense pain in Eri’s ears. It lasted only a moment, but when she opened her eyes, she realized Peony was unconscious. Both were falling, even the queen was shaking her head in agony, releasing her rival. The little girl also noticed that the black prince was suffering too; his fire had reduced significantly without her consuming it. If that was the cost of using his power, he couldn’t do it again. Eri held onto her unicorn’s saddle as firmly as she could while flapping with all her might, trying not to stop inhaling, any advantage she could give the queen…
She felt herself weakening; it was too much effort for her small wings. She didn’t want to fall; maybe she would be fine, she always fell and nothing happened to her, but her friend, she had no idea if it would be fatal for her. Eri was special, Dad always told her, “The rest of us aren’t as strong as you, that’s why it’s your duty to take care of those around you.” That reminded her…
She enveloped herself in her strengthening fire. Of course, she had never needed more strength, but the white prince had used it on himself to face Dad, it had to work.
Suddenly, she could move her wings as if her body weighed nothing. She even dared to rise; she had never truly flown before, but at that moment it seemed the easiest thing in the world. Even carrying Peony, her little chest had stopped heaving.
She saw the dragon fires as clearly as sunlight. Now she could fly on her own, suddenly feeling prepared. Fear was giving way to confidence. She even noticed that with Peony unconscious, they were no longer glowing, allowing her to use the darkness to get closer. Unintentionally, the black prince had given her what she needed.
Eri smiled as she circled a confused black prince like a fly or a little bee. Being small compared to the enormous monster gave her an advantage. She could feel that he had almost no fire left while she grew stronger every second.
The queen recovered and attacked again, this time her claws digging much deeper into her rival’s flesh. Eri spun in the air to give her orange and blue fire, the wounds closed, and for a moment, the immense red dragon glowed with power.
Eri’s fire had revealed her location to the black prince, who attacked her with his claws at a speed too great for even Eri’s strengthened wings. But a red, imposing claw intervened between them.
Eri was able to retreat; her job was done. At that moment, Caramin, the red prince whom she knew as Queen Clessa of Pellegrin or simply her sister Sun, was the dominant being. Her eyes glowed a red more intense than her scales as her roar reached her rival, trying to dominate him, using her power to give an absolute command. Eri understood what the dragons called words; she was asking him not to force her to kill him. The black prince responded by trying to bite her neck, to no effect, as weak as he was, he couldn’t harm her.
In an instant that lasted an eternity, the queen broke free from the bite and drove her long horns into her brother’s belly. Then she stepped back and tore off one of his wings with a bite.
The proud black dragon fell towards the palace, his body crashing into the floor of the great chamber where Clessa had slept until a few hours ago. Life left him upon impact, and his body was consumed by the remnants of his own fire, just as had happened to the white prince in Artemia.
Eri called for help from the queen with a little roar; Peony was starting to get heavy. She allowed them to land on her head. From there, with her friend safe, she could see the teacher flying back; maybe everyone was alright. That relieved her greatly.
The roars of Meraxes and Caramin echoed throughout Pellegrin. People who didn’t understand the situation were afraid, while others, like Bestenar and Oregdor, saw it as a sign of victory. They were lessons, telling Eri what she needed to do, how to save the city, and hopefully, once and for all, end the ancient dragon war.
She inhaled the queen’s fire, just enough to take her power. Now that she could see the fire, she knew when to stop. She reignited it immediately and prepared to do what they had asked.
Combining all her powers, strengthened, connected to the ether, she let out the most powerful roar ever heard in the world… perhaps, it was also charged with the power of the absolute command. It was a simple word: “Leave.”
Using the power this way left her exhausted, but when they reached the ground, into Mom’s arms, everyone was happy. The dragons had left the city in all directions. The attack was over. Maybe now, she wouldn’t be in trouble for sneaking out at night.
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Valderant was badly injured, as was the human body of Meracina. Master Genwill kept apologizing for not being able to contribute to the battle in the end. No one had magical power in a city where elves didn’t live, so they would have to rely on traditional medical care until they had rested, or until Eri’s unicorn woke up. Runaesthera clung to her exhausted daughter’s body, crying with relief as the first light of dawn reached them. Her husband Frey held her as if letting go would make her disappear. Hundreds of scared and confused people surrounded them, but that moment was theirs.