Tania was whimpering and losing all her strength when he gave the sermon to the brigand to pray.
She did so and managed to say goodbye to her dragon friends...
She also regretted Isolde...
Then, slowly, the commando in her came back...
"Ok, I'm not a dragon anymore... I'm still alive... AND she looked around her, a knife, a sharp object or a way to break the shackle on someone's neck. But the 2 carts were followed by archers on horseback, the shackles on the feet would not allow an escape in the woods and rocks.
After she had said goodbye, the carts arrived at an outpost and soldiers were waiting near a huge heap of straw.
An executioner with an axe was waiting and an officer was holding scrolls with a list of the condemned and the reason.
One of the men fled but was shot in the back with several arrows after a few steps.
The officer listed the tortured one by one and then general Tullius arrived on horseback and shouted stop...
He wanted to see the dragon before he was put to death. He noticed that Tania's shadow was still a dragon...
He was afraid: Take her to the mouth of fire! ...and him with it! pointing at the Britain.
They made us get back on the cart, still hampered and I was so afraid that my trousers were wet...
Then I noticed a bulb in the seam of the pocket. If I managed to touch it...
In the Zergian uniforms, electronic fibres were used to call for help or to call a vehicle independently ...
I had the remote control for the tongue of fire... the underground tank.
I contorted myself but I needed the Britain in front of me...
"You, if you want to live, you see the drawing on the side of my uniform? There's a bump, press your fingers on it and squeeze the bubble..."
The Britain man looked at me, incredulous...
"This is technology from another world, if you want to live, I'll take you with me. But we don't have a minute to lose, it's for reinforcements.
The britain man hesitated between denouncing me to avoid capital punishment and a risky adventure, then he said to himself, I am britain and these dirty sons of .... ... I haven't said my last word, Ralof's word !
The britain man looked at Tania very hard : "I see that you want to live and you are able to fight. Well, well... I also have a plan...
You see, Tullius... The general, he does not always work for Vaillant. In fact, he's undermining his potential allies and is eliminating them one by one under false pretences such as treason, slave trade, alliances with dragon lords..."
With these words, Tania's face lit up...
"He has organised an army with technicians to force the hand of Vaillant and take power without dismissing him, in fact Vaillant will be nothing more than Tullius' puppet.
He is fearsome and a fine strategist. And he financed research on lost science and made discoveries in secret and they secretly built some kind of chariots like the Zergs', magic chariots... He wants to crush the Baltics and take their underground network, or at least bring it to heel and crush Altus, at least leave him only the spiritual power.
He has been careful not to lose his men in the battle against the orcs and the Dragon Lord George...
We arrived after a long journey in view of the sea, all the way to the west.
There were cliffs and down below, what must have remained of California collapsed for centuries in the Ocean. As the sea rose with the mass of stones and meteorites, there was no trace of the ancient civilization left.
The cliffs were high and must have been the remains of the San Andreas Fault....
Officers under Tullius brought up charred remains and loaded them onto a cart, covered with a canvas.
They were brought up from the middle of the wall.
The sun was beating down hard and one of the soldiers was bringing up cooked meat.
The soldiers looked at the prisoners and laughed...
It got dark and we were each tied to a rope with our hands undone.
Tullius: Any last words????
Ralof's words: "This is one mistake too many. By wanting too much, you will end up bursting. You don't know the Zergs.."
Tullius: "I have a very good network of spies... Their forces are scattered and it's not 2 or 3 tanks that will make the difference, we learned a lot from Ruby, the dragon from another time...And Ignar also made things move forward in his own way. Too bad you were on the wrong side, you could have made an excellent soldier."
Ralof then turned to Tania. "I wasn't praying to God and his pontiff, but to Crom!"
Tania: "Who is Crom?"
Ralof: "Crom is a sinister, gloomy and merciless god, always on the lookout from the top of his mountain, in the midst of dark clouds and obscure fogs, ready to pronounce a disapproving judgment on everything and everyone. However, it is also said that he appreciates courage and tenacity in mortals, even if humans ultimately prove to be too weak to achieve it. It is generally accepted that Crom does not answer prayers and disapproves of weakness, so his name is usually used only for an oath or a curse".
Tullius: "You will have plenty of time to speak of gods and prayers at sunrise tomorrow morning. You are fortunate the soothsayers have foretold of fair weather on your last day..."
Ah, Tania, a last word?
Tania : "Why? We haven't done anything to you!...".
Tullius: "Dragons are an abomination. There are still wild wyverns, but they are just animals that belong where they belong... You can even train them!
But dragons...they are demons... Unless ... if I put a saddle and a bite on you and you sleep in a stable for the rest of your life, I could reconsider my position...
Tania spat on the general...
"I'm a general too!"
Tullius, wiping himself with a handkerchief, took back his condescending smile: "You're nothing at all!". Your troops have disowned you! You have no more powers and your dragon body has expired. You are not even a slave!
The Zergs and Pharotek returned to search for Tania.
They were afraid of Marise and especially of Alban who had meanwhile arrived with his men but dressed in civilian clothes, as adventurers. They would go last to see Vaillant.
Panic overcame them when they learned from the Zergs that Tania had been kidnapped by mercenaries or soldiers under false flags.
Without a command, and officially allied with the infernal army (by Tania in any case, but without any guarantee by Tiamat the infernal...), they fell under the command of Alban with the agreement of Marise.
Tania didn't blame them, it was their almost bestial and wild nature. Centuries of intellectual bludgeoning where only the strong ruled, and the disposable weak forged their character for generations to come.
Tullius. "Enough time has been wasted, let it end so that we may move on to the next stage."
Tania shouted: "I'm going to squash you like flies. Mother will pulverise you!"
Tullius laughed: "It's time to get your army out of a handkerchief... Come on, come on. Stop rambling and try to die with dignity like a Britain man... You are given the flower of dying slowly so that you can better pray and reflect on all the souls you have mowed down... I am sure that, like me, you can hear them roar in your head.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Tania: "Yes, you're right, but they're silent! They fear the Baron me!"
Tullius: "HAHAHA, titles are worthless in the afterlife..."
He signalled to turn the crank and they were hung over the cliff which must have been at least 150 meters high, without a ledge. And He said again, while they were being lowered: "So you are a demon if they have kept silent! Your execution is well justified... I would have helped you if you had asked for my help. I handed you two poles and you spat at me. Farewell Ex-General Zerg Tania and Ex dragon..."
They came to a sort of promontory recessed in the rock. A sort of gigantic geode at the top of a cliff, forming a hollow. Seeing that they were starting to cut the ropes, Tania, Ralof, an old man and an old dwarf were deposited. It was in extremis that the old man was caught by Ralof, his rope cut.
All four of them were squeezed into this alcove set with crystals.
The old man asked: "Why didn't you let me down? This is the mouth of fire here. "
Ralof: "Are they going to let us starve to death here?"
The old man: "Oh, no! We'll be dead long before we're starved to death". Look at the sea in front of us, due south!
The sun will rise in a few hours and we will cook in this oven. Look at those crystals... They will reflect the light endlessly and we will heat up, lose our senses, go blind and then die either by throwing ourselves on the rocks below, or with our brains cooked.
It will soon be a furnace.
Tania and Ralof became aware of the seriousness of the situation...
Tania: "You told me you had a plan...".
Ralof: "What about you?
She held out the zerg cape and pulled out a dagger / pistol from the pattern.
"I'll try to cut some holds to get down.
But it was harder than it looked.
The sharp edges cut her hand and bending down while hanging on to a descending wall, without a rope was proving an impossible mission.
Her hands were bleeding and guards shot arrows in her direction, just for fun.
They were done.
Tania cracked. "We're going to die... and she prayed after Ivan, asking him for forgiveness. To her great surprise, she managed to connect and asked him for the last time for forgiveness and "It's you I love". It was a heart-wrenching farewell. Ivan regretted what he had done, having chased Tania away like a child when she needed help the most, like Argentrix... Tania too was a victim of the war, in her own way."
Ralof, tried to cover as much of the surface as possible with crystals with their clothes.
"You have to hold on as long as possible."
Tania cried and listened to the vibrations in the rock. One could hear very faintly "Grind, Grind", a sound of rock being scraped and crushed. But it was far and long.
Pharotek was on board the tank tongue of fire and was beginning to break through to avoid being spotted and provoke a declaration of war (which was going to start anyway because of Tullius) [https://img.wattpad.com/2a195423de74ecc6726f97befaed61b966f6cd29/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3355564d326439506131674453673d3d2d3938363136313931322e313634613737363666316362333236303330353531363037313536382e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Pharotek was on board the tank tongue of fire and was beginning to break through to avoid being spotted and provoke a declaration of war (which was going to start anyway because of Tullius).
He didn't know the exact position but the general direction of the distress signal. Still it was the signal emitted by Tania...
He wanted to save her so that his head wouldn't jump...
Isolde arrived alone at the adventurers' guild and began her investigation. She was looking for Montaron and also Tania, because of the testimony of the guilty soldiers.
Then Tania, curled up and meditating on her life, watched it go by with the sunrise and the warmth, pleasant at first, never ceasing to rise.
They were in a real solar oven!!!!
Then Ralof looked at the sea: "Help is coming!".
A small drakkar sailboat was sailing along the coast. This boat was steered by dwarves, wanting to save Ralof and one of their friends.
You could see bamboo ladders on the deck.
But Ralof wondered if there would be enough?
The dwarves quickly disembarked and placed the ladders against the vertical wall, and one of them climbed up first and fastened the ladder like nails. He hoisted the second one, but the verticality made it go backwards and they had to start again several times.
An hour later the second was fixed.
Three hours, the third.
Ten more were needed and several fell backwards, smashing into the reef.
This dragged on and eventually alerted the guards.
They fired arrows from the top of the cliff and the rescuers had to flee. They waved a flag from the Rolaf coat of arms as a sign of farewell. They waved a white cloth so that Ralof could see that they had tried everything, but it was impossible.
Tania already knew by default that it couldn't work that way. The only way would have been to make a hot-air balloon or hydrogen balloon out of pig bladders in a hoop, by decomposing the cabbage?
The heat would become a furnace. Rolaf took Tania's pistol and Tania lost her strength as her brain cooked.
Ralof: "What's it like to be a dragon and then become human again?
Tania: "It's mean, what you're asking... Sniff... I loved my dragon body. I was me! I was happy..., I was part of nature.
Ralof "But we too are part of nature... we are born and we return to the earth. What could be more natural?"
Tania: It was super... indescribable... I was flying, I was strong, I dominated nature and I was a great predator... But I always kept my heart and my mind."
Now it's a nightmare... When I die, I will do everything to be reincarnated as a dragon... everything! If I can reincarnate!!!!"
Ralof: "Any regrets?"
Tania: "Yes, plenty! .... I wasn't strong enough!..."
Ralof: "Why, you were a dragon, weren't you?"
Tania: "Ah.... But also not fast enough to save those I loved..."
I arrived each time too late... and I also made some errors of judgement, I also found myself on the wrong side but it was too late when I realised it... I destroyed my future, my destiny, and I betrayed my friends and even my family. If I could turn back the clock..."
Ralof: "What would you have done as a dragon then?"
Tania: "Ahhhhh. Only a dragon could have helped them... I was one and I failed everything...
I dragged myself along by stupidity, leaving me to my instincts instead of rushing to find my beloved, I built a portai for my government which was under the control of the enemy, causing thousands of deaths because of me, and I screwed up many times... I was too zealous ... and this is where I am ... Condemned to roast in the sun...
Sorry Georgie, sorry Argentrix, sorry Ivan... sorry Iseultbella, sorry Marc and Blanche, and sorry Mama Tiamat...
Ralof : "You have come with the sphere of prophecy...?"
Tania: "Yes, I disappointed Mama so much that she left me here...".
Ralof: "Did you know your mum, your family?".
Tania: "We were conceived in glass tubes and we had no human rights. We were clones... I don't even know if I came out of an egg or a womb. Every trace was systematically destroyed but we were very strong from the start and after the destruction of my organisation, I was taken in by the British army, the old empire that is now gone.
Ralof: "The kingdom of Argenteuil... yes, an old house... An honourable people".
Tania: "Ah, there are still people there? I would so much like to go and see this land that was once mine once again... Ah, yes, it's true, we're in another world... Well, maybe I'll find something there...
Ralof: "... Too bad for you...".
Tania: "Yes, my family, I destroyed it...I screwed up...But now I only have my mother. My real mother by blood... It's true that I neglected her, that I only saw my own survival... And I have the annoying habit of ruining everything... She also gave me a pole with her son... I ruined everything..."
Ralof: "I'm sure she hears you and feels your sorrow..."
Tania: "She is Tiamat, the infernal one!!! she is my mother, my only and true mother!!!"
"Ralof : !!!!"
Then Tania screamed! SORRY MAMAAAAN!!! I didn't love you enough... I've been an ungrateful girl... and I don't even know how to contact you anymore...!!
Ralof: "To die is one thing, but to have one's soul swallowed up is worse than death!"
Tania: "You don't understand anything! Mummy is not like that! .... She's changed too!!!
She protects her children and her allies.... Humans abandoned to their sad fate, a whole army, she has integrated them into her army of demons. None of them dared to harm the humans who fought next to them... And they were rewarded... They were able to keep their ship and friend Helldrakes! and their rank in the infernal army... But beware of enemies and traitors and those who dare to make a contract without weighing the pros and cons."
Ralof didn't listen any more, he had fainted, just like the two others who were entering a sunstroke coma. Death was gradually drawing them into his shadow. The old man had already passed away. Nobody knew his name... except his executioners...
I closed his eyelids and put his clothes on Ralof's head and the dwarf, who was not much better.
I was prepared to die. And I took off what clothing was left to protect the dwarf and the britain.
Then a voice came out of my head...
"TANIAAAAAAAAA! Taniaaaaaaaa!!!!! You remember me???? "
"Who are you? I'm hallucinating."
"Hakumen... Do you remember me? We had already spoken... If you want, I can arrange everything...
I could even bring Georgie back to you! And put Isolde at your feet...
You won't have to fear your mum or die, because you'll live forever!
See this world???? It can be yours alone! Just reach out your hand to your heart."
Tania was angry that her inner demon was spoiling her last moments of life.
"Turn around, Tania... Look, you're really me!... I am only a piece of your conscience... You're the reins, you're the mistress of this world, of this body..."
And she saw that she had nine fox's tails behind her.
Her hands became hairy and clawed and her ears pointed like a fox.
Her mouth lengthened, revealing long canines.
But she was overwhelmed by the heat.
"You see, this body is like a dragon's, only cuter, isn't it?"
Tania calmed down and thought about the situation...
A new life, a new chance... There was no way she would miss out on the chance she was being offered...
She had become the new Hakumen-no-mono, killed by the Dragonlord Ivan.
Her soul destroyed, there was only a fragment left in Tania, to start all over again.
So it was Tania's fight to the death, her soul's ultimate test.
To remain Tania and absorb Hakumen or to be devoured by her demons and risk being absorbed in turn and thus revive the terrible God Yukai?
To remain Tania and absorb Hakumen or to be devoured by her demons and risk being absorbed in turn and thus revive the terrible God Yukai? [https://img.wattpad.com/9b68d09553118564b07087b81911f872032812e4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f575f327a6d62312d4331504330513d3d2d3938363136313931322e313634613737383361333364343231393831373132313830383539322e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Only a spear forged with a virgin plunged into the magma, his soul trapped in the blade being able to kill him for good.
Tania then thought of Ivan and Tiamat.
Ivan sacrificed himself and did not hesitate for a moment to die to protect those they loved, thus killing the demon.
Tania loved Ivan very much... But also Isolde. What horrors was she going to do to the poor human being with this demon body...
Even the Baron had been silent in the face of the power of this demon who lived and fed on the fear of others.
Then she sat down like a dog, her strength returning.
Will I be able to save them in time?
She grabbed them by her tails, wrapped around them and jumped into the void, walking on air and up the vertical wall.
The guards were all butchered and their equipment sent down the cliff.
Then it began to grow until it reached a height of about ten metres at the withers.
Tania moved backwards as she looked at her new body of white fur.
She sighed and the earth rose, revealing a fiery tongue of fire.
out of sand and rock
She looked on from a distance and the tank stopped [https://img.wattpad.com/eb297b49084137ece3497896bec6e1c38a501f7f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f76627a78704f6f36344d466233673d3d2d3938363136313931322e313634613737386432333036333161323333323333383431373230312e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
She looked on from a distance and the tank stopped. Humans rushed out of it and ran to Ralof... He had Tania's cape...
Isolde screamed! TANIA??? TANIA??? where are you???
Then she looked up and they met ... (Tania)
The demon in her increased her appetite. It made Tania see how appetizing humans are.
Even as a hungry dragon, it never occurred to her. Even as a raptor...
It was another level. Worse than space drug cristal. Every thing she would give up was a little more Hakumen and a little less Tania.
Iseult "Tania??? Is that you??? You're no longer a dragon, but a fox???"
Tania replied with a small moan, a small but serious yelp...
Isolde wanted to throw herself on Tania to hug her, but Alban landed between the two of them, protecting his sister with his mechanical wing.
Alban: "It's a demon... Be careful... I know their smile. Tania has to make an incredible effort not to devour us... step back!".
Isolde wanted to touch Tania... but Alban held her back and against all expectations Tania let Alban do it.
Isolde then shouted: "TANIAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! why?????? I'm pregnant with YOU! I am expecting your child! What do I have to do???? Tell me?"
Isolde was happy to know Tania was alive but these successive transformations had shaken the poor woman.
The dragons were one thing, but the demons... were too much.
Tania was crying, but the demon was pushing her to transform her mind and her will as well.
Then she succeeded in screaming... "SORRY ISEULT!!!! PARDON MOTHER!"
And she put her back against the cliff, the precipice just a few centimetres away from her.
"SORRY MUM... I GIVE YOU BACK MY SOUL! "
Isolde yelled with his brother: "NOOOOOOOOOON! TANIA, don't do that! We love you!"
Tears were ejected from the front as Tania fell backwards into the void, closing her eyes and waiting for the deadly and perhaps life-saving impact.
The demon shouted "nooooo aRRGH why her and not me????"
BANG! (DEVASTATING IMPACT ON STONES)
Then everything went black....