Scales and Honor: Swirling Storm
Chapter 21
“The Red Hand?” Jandar gasped, panic ever present in his voice as he placed a claw to his head, quickly scanning the room. “What would they even want with us....We aren't...” Jandar's eyes caught his scaled limb and his face darkened. “Oh..”
Ramakox growled in the back of his throat as his own mind was trying to piece it together. The group that had struck Fremra twice in her life was here? It made his scales itch at the thought of them being watched this entire time. Could it be anyone they already knew? People just hiding for the perfect moment to strike when the dragon's metaphorical back was turned?
“Cowards.” The blue dragon spat out, kneading the ground beneath his claws. He took a wiff of the arid smell, the burning vellum making his nose wrinkle in disgust. He flicked his tail and started to feel his blood start to simmer in his chest as he pictured some dark formless figure snatching Imzel away with a terrible cackle.
“We of course need to track them down...Simple as that.” Ramakox said with his next breath, keeping his rising anger and worry in check as he focused on the task at hand. “We were not gone for that long, they could not have gone too far...and I bet they had even less time to cover their tracks if they did so.” He snorted, looking up to the mortal who had crossed his arms and was simply staring at the books and tapping his tail against the wood in silent contemplation. “So take heart Jandar...We will find where they have taken her.” Ramakox glanced to Fremra, who had her snout raised in the air, taking long deep breaths of the air. Her frills twitched on either side of her head as a small ripple traveled down the membranes of her wings, causing the teal to wiggle her tail.
“Got them.” she said flatly, missing the usual joyous tone in her voice. She bounded from that room, her claws ripping little lines into the wood as she briefly glanced to Jandar. “Come on!Their scent goes outside! Least a dozen of them!”
Jandar nodded, and bolted after the dragoness grabbing a pack off the far wall hung by a dark iron hook. His tail vanished around the corner as Ramakox pulled his head out of the window, shaking any loose debris that might still be covering his scales in a fine powder. He took a deep breath of the night air as he trotted around the building to stand before his son's house.
Fremra came barreling out the front door, her eyes narrowed as she seemed to be following an invisible line straight from the entryway and out to the main path of the village. She came to a sudden stop, resettling her wings against her back as she dropped her snout to the ground and gave a few deep sniffs as her wing membranes started to glow faintly in the night air, painting the ground in soft light as the dragoness worked.
Ramakox also lowered his own head, nostrils flaring as he took in the night air. He shrugged and figured that two noses were better then one anyway. His scales shivered as he smelled the strong scent that could only belong to the dire wolf, the thick musky smell lingering in the air and making him wrinkle his snout. With the scent of wolf also brought a faint pleasing smell of lilacs. With that he also smelled the damp earth, the dry grass, and the various other animals that may have crossed this way throughout the day. Through these myriad of smells trying to sift through them for the burning vellum was quite the task. He sniffed for several more times, irritatingly not getting any closer to finding what he sought. It was possible that they had only used that smell inside, keeping it hidden until that moment. The blue dragon thumped his tail in annoyance as he glanced up at the collection of mortal living places, all quiet and dark. None of them expecting something like this to happen. He looked left, and then right in an attempt to see if anyone was around and could have at least seen anything that had transpired.
To the blue dragon's growing disappointment, he found not a single soul that could fit that description. It was as if this entire part of the village was empty, not even a stray cat or guard to catch his eye. The dragon simply stood there, staring at the dead like village before him, with only the sounds of his breathing and the frantic movements of the others.
“They could be using magic to hide their tacks, scent, and various other things.” Jandar growled, his voice taught as he strolled over to stand beside the blue dragon. “I can see you trying to pick it apart....You're not that hard to read.”
“Can you use magic to locate her?” Ramakox asked, grasping at the first thought that came to his mind. It was an ability after all that he lacked.
“That...if you can believe it...Is not one of the spells that I have learned over the years..” The mortal wrinkled his snout as he looked to the horizon. “Never needed it until this moment.”
Where could they have spirited her away to? The blue dragon asked himself as he tore his gaze way from Jandar and out to the rolling hills. He caught Fremra in the corner of his vision passing by him, changing back to her original size with each claw step that she took on the darkened path.
The teal dragoness continued to sniff upon the earth, her tail wagging back and forth as she seemed determined to not give up.
“Fremra.” He sighed, turning to her with a hung head. “You won't be able to smell them if they are hiding themselves with magic. You....will need magic to cast their spell away.” He sighed again, expecting the teal to look up, understand his words and sigh, or possibly start yelling at him. He did not expect for her to look away from him and keep sniffing.
“Shush your snout.” she replied quickly, returning her attention to the worn dirt. She suddenly stopped after a minute sniffing about. Her frills twitched as she rose her head into the air. “When it comes to the hand and I.” She said, her lips curling into a snarl. “I have always had the knack for tracking them down.” She finished the statement with a harsh thrust of a wingtip towards the road leading out of town as she stood proudly before them with her chest swelled out. “They fled that way to wherever their vile den may be.” she spat, unfurling her wings with a hiss. “I am through with them taking from me time and time again...Tonight...They all die.”
It was hard to not agree with her after hearing her explain her own experience with this radical group of mortals. He hated the idea of simply going into a place to murder everyone they saw, but if she was right about them...It was not like they would want to talk anyway.
Jandar was last to utter his agreement, his words course and underlined with fury. He without another word climbed onto Ramakox's back, the dragon's bones already yearning to take the fight to those zealots that dared to snatch the half-dragon's wife.
Ramakox kneaded his claws, the scales under them starting to itch as he desired to meet out any justice that needed to be dealt. “Lead the way.” he said, taking his place next to the teal dragoness who was standing perfectly still, her eyes filled with murderous intent as he looked to see that all her muscles were tensed. Like she was a coiled spring and was ready to leap.
“Come on..Every second we waste is another one they could be killing her.” Fremra hissed loudly, bounding into the air with a thunderous flap of her wings.
Ramakox followed in her wake, his breaths coming quicker as his heart started to pick up it's pace. He felt it thump powerfully against his chest like a drum, each beat wanting it to crack from his ribs and spring forth into the night. He focused on the teal dragoness' tail that was swishing back and forth as she glided close to the ground. It was like she was being guided by an invisible trail out of the village and into the hills. He tore his eyes away from her after the first few minutes of flight, her form a nice distraction from the dread slowly brewing in the back of his mind. He instead traded the view of the dragoness for one of the vast moon that lit the countryside below, bathing everything in a soft white light that was casting long shadows on the ground.
*
The dragons continued to glide above the road that rose and fell with each hilltop that their wings carried them over. The grass and any dirt that was loose being tossed around each time they beat their mighty wings against the air. Ramakox's heart had not ceased it's steady beat, the thing still pounding as his mind knew they were drawing closer to their destination. He glanced up to Jandar, whom was holding onto his neck tightly with his claws. The mortal seemed to be muttering something under his breath that sounded like.
“Please be safe...Please be safe.” The mortal repeated over and over as Ramakox looked away with a snort and heavy heart.
The blue dragon snorted as his gut twisted the image of Imzel being dragged away from her home. He knew with each beat of his heart that this was partially his fault as well, for he had known this group had existed and took no precaution to guard himself or those he cared about. He narrowed his eyes as a flame seemed to ignite in his chest, warming his claws and making him gain on Fremra. He clenched his claws, feeling them tremble in anticipation on what they would find. He briefly wondered how many mortals he might have to slay to save this woman, but pushed it from his mind as he pictured her screaming into the night and uselessly struggling against her malevolent, diabolical captors.
“Don't worry Jandar....If there be any luck in this world...I will save your wife.” He snarled, the vow coming easy to the dragon that had filled this mortal's life already with much hardship.
“T-thank you. Although...we are certainly talking about lots of killing that is going to happen tonight.”
“Hopefully...It won't.” He quickly shot back, not sure if he believed the words that were coming from his maw the moment they left. He had already started to picture the multitude of ways he would inflict harm on these people if they so much as hurt a hair on Imzel's head.
“I would not refer to them as people.” Fremra snarled loudly as they passed over a wooden post with a sign pointing towards the village. “People do not sneak into houses or nests and murder innocent wrymlings or snatch people in the night. These “monsters” are just as bad as the demons and devils that they fight. It will be doing the world a favor if we slaughter each and every last one of them. Leave none of them alive to continue with their crusade.”
“Yes, but how many times have you tried this and it has not worked?” the half-dragon asked, tilting his head to the side.
Fremra snorted and rolled her eyes, casting her snout back to looking ahead. “They have to run out of members eventually.” The teal angled her wings and soared over the latest hill. “We will keep reminding them on how it is a poor idea to poke dragons with death and pain. For we poke back much harder.” Fremra bared her teeth as fire seemed to fly from her eyes, staring out to the countryside so intently it was hard to not agree with her.
“Then let's do this...Let's show them not to mess with us...Or anyone else.” Jandar let up his hold, a look of determination filling his face to no doubt hide the worry.
“Yes! Very good!” Ramakox snorted, returning his gaze back towards the teal dragon leading them through the sky. His eyes widened as he saw the stone building of Lord Aster on top of the next hill. It stood looking at him like an ominous monolith of darkened grey stone, trying to strike fear into his heart with each beat of his wings. He looked briefly towards Fremra, hoping that perhaps it was just in this direction she as heading. However he saw her eyes were locked onto that stone building, with that furious look of fire in her eyes. Ramakox's heart skipped a beat, for he had seen that man earlier. That frowning elvish bastard that had been unconcerned with the two dragons before him. If he was behind this...How could a man look to the woman with such a smile? Knowing he was going to try and murder her later? “That..bastard.” the blue snorted, his voice taught and threatening to break into a furious roar.
“No...I never...thought..” Jandar clutched at Ramakox's scales with a grip like steel. “This is bad...If hes a lord...Hes protected...We can't just...”
“No matter!” Fremra shot back, “Tonight it doesn't matter if you possess land, have a silly title, or have an army at your beck and call. You pay for your actions.”
“There is no going back from this.” the man spoke flatly. “We risk being labeled as enemies of the crown...Of all of Drenedar.”
“Then he should have chosen different targets then us.” Ramakox growled, unclenching and clenching his claws. “I can't wait to rip that smug little face from that bastard if he hurt her.”
“Aye.” Jandar replied cooly, steeling himself for the next few minutes that were surely be filled with death.
Ramakox observed the darkened monolith that was the estate, the cold stone illuminated by numerous torches that covered it so. It was like a shining beacon set before the darkened sky. The blue brought he and Jandar Higher into the air as Fremra did the same with her next few beats against the night. The whistling wind filled his senses as he studied the lords land that contained the woman, and planned his attack. The estate had a wall running around the outside of the structure, making it look more like an armored fort and keep than a house. The walls had several sentries at the ready by the look of some moving torches. In those walls were numerous buildings made of what appeared to be wood, no doubt to do the other things that this estate needed. The pair of dragons spread their wings to glide silently through the night air like the predators they were, their prey unaware of their fearsome presence above their heads.
The blue dragon fidgeted his claws, thinking to the invisibility spell as he flicked his tail. With the movement finished he felt a cooling sensation like that of an egg cracked over his head spreading down his spine. He shivered as the sensation spread to the rest of his limbs and finally ending in his digits. He angled his wings and descended towards the estate, confident that he would not be seen, the perfect choice for the task at hand. He smiled as he rounded the buildings of stone, passing feet over some guards head.
“Oi! Did ya hear somethin?” one man clad in chain mail asked to another as the dragon's passed by with a quick gust of wind that ruffled the man's long grey hair.
Ramakox looked down to the lit up courtyards, all too small for him to fit his full size into, an annoyance to be sure, but something they would have to overcome if Imzel was being held inside one of the structures. He already pictured himself as the beasts of old, attacking and laying waste to such a place like this. Although unlike those flattering stories that mortals told to scare their children, he was trying to save someone this day.
“There!” Jandar whispered harshly, “To the left of the main structure, look!”
He did what the man said, sure enough finding the courtyard that the half-dragon was talking about. The enclosed area was filled with numerous mortals clad in off-white robes or tabards, all gathered around what looked like an altar that was raised on a wooden platform. Right below the platform was a black as night cauldron, suspended above a roaring fire, the flames licking the cauldron's surface and casting the area and mortals in an eerie glow. Inside of all this was bubbling, boiling water, with steam rising off of the surface that curled and twisted in the air.
The mortals were all staring up at another group of various species, their arms bound behind their backs, and made to rest on their knees before the crowd. They all were looking to the crowds, looks of terror and defeat plastered on all of their faces and snouts, and gags stuffed into their mouths. Beside the bound humanoids, were two snowy white gryphons with fierce, vigilant looking eyes, and shining metallic talons that shined in the fires light. They stood like statues, flicking their tails every so often as a robed figure stepped up next to the altar. His face was hidden by a mask with the mural of a setting sun painted on it's surface, his green eyes briefly looking back to the captives, and then to the gathered crowd. The man held out his hands, and the crowd fell deathly silent instantly.
“Brother's and sisters!” the man spoke with a voice all too familiar to the dragon, for it was the one he had heard earlier today spoken by Lord Aster. “We continue the cleansing of those who would seek our submission to the evil forces that threaten our very existence in this material plane! The beings that view us mortals with malevolent intent!” The man gestured with an open palm to the wiggling mortals behind him, “Just like the others, there people that kneel before us, have helped the great beasts that seek to dominate us all!”
“Lies!”a brown furred wolven man spat out, managing to get the gag out of his muzzle. “The dragons don't do such things! You're all mad. They only seek to help and protect us!” the wolven struggled as the snowy gryphon's grabbed hold of him, and roughly shoved that gag right back into his maw with a muffled snarl.
“See how the beast's words snake into an unprotected mind? They simply have to speak lies of protection and kind deeds to mask their true intentions. Then pour souls like this wolven before you believe the silver tongue of these winged devils. I have a cruel truth to enlighten to you my wolven friend. The beasts that claim to protect and offer their help are long lived creatures. They can position themselves to play the long game, subvert and weave their twisted plans until they have us under claw once more. Just look around to the countryside of the Swirling Storm! Over the years he has taken more and more control of the area!” The robed man strode over towards the captive wolven, patting his fur several times with his fair hand, earning a low muffled growl in return.
“Don't you worry that furred head of yours wolven. You shall be set free this evening, and see that corruption stripped away in a moments notice! The beast shall no longer have sway over your soul, I promise you that you will be clean!” The man turned on his heel, gesturing to the boiling cauldron with a wave of his hand, and a roaring cheer of shouts and claps from the audience.
Ramakox circled around the courtyard nary making a noise as he angled his wings. He stared down into the fire light lit mortals, finding that a myriad of races were counted among them. He spotted the hardened faces of bearded humans, fair elves, fierce wolven, and some muscled minotaur to name a few. It seemed that anyone could be counted among this flock, and that thought made the blue dragon's scales itch something awful. The smiles plastered on all their faces at this “cleansing” did not help matters either, his eyes went to the boiling cauldron, wrinkling his snout. He could almost already hear the muffled screams of those being “cleansed” in the boiling water that would no doubt echo into the night. The blue perked up as he heard a muffled cry of a man in pain, only to have it silenced just as quickly as it had come. He glanced down to one of those towers atop the wall to find Fremra wrapped around the roof of one such structure, a limp bloody corpse held within her powerful jaws.
The teal dragon's muscles were all tensed as she glared down to the mortals with narrowed eyes, her breaths coming fast as the frills on the side of her head slightly twitched. She fidgeted slightly, as if she were counting all the gathered humanoids one by one that she was going to kill. She let the corpse held within her jaws slip from her grip, it falling to the stone below with a quick jingle of chain and a sickening thump. Her tail swayed back and forth, letting the blue dragon know it would not be long before she made her move.
Ramakox's eyes gazed back to the wolven who had been patted by the robed man, now being dragged by the smug looking gryphon's by his paws with hardly any problems. The wolf tried to wriggle free, grunting as he clenched his eyes and tried to wrench himself from their talons. However his captives seemed to not pay him any mind as they continued to dragon him along, his efforts in vain.
“You will be anointed in our most pure of holy waters, ensured that way by the cleansing flames of our righteous fire. That way, when you enter the great beyond your soul will be cleansed...Free of any corrupt influence.”
“They are going to drown him in boiling holy water?” Jandar asked softly with a growl, his claws grabbing tight against Ramakox's scales. 'Those....Monsters.”
Ramakox circled the courtyard once more, finding it hard to not agree with the mortals assessment. His eyes scanned the bound mortals for the face of Imzel, looking for the comfort that she was at least safe. He had only gotten to the second such face of a half-elven woman before the wolven shouted out once more.
“Please, I don't want to die!” the wolf struggled, spitting out his gag and straining once more in the gryphon's iron like grip. “I will help you! Join you! I will even help you kill the dragons!”
The blue dragon narrowed his eyes, if he was going to do something it had to be now, finding Imzel would have to wait if he wanted to save those mortal's lives. But if we blow our chances..His mind reminded him. They might spirit her away...or simply kill her...But if I don't...That mortal will die... Ramakox curled is lips into a snarl, letting lighting spark from each tooth and fill the air with his crackling fury. And that...I cannot allow. The dragon let loose a great bolt of lightning from his maw, a single stroke of defiance against those of the red hand. It raced through the sky like a tossed spear, crashing into the ground right behind one of the gryphons. The bolt exploded powerfully, tossing up dirt in a thick cloud and sending the gryphons toppling to the ground with squawks of pain and ruffled feathers. It was then that Ramakox swooped in, catching one of the stone walls with his claws and digging into the stone with his talons. He swelled up his chest with small clinks, unfurling his wings, and letting the brilliant light of his spiderweb pattern on his membranes leave the mortals in awe.
“Unhand them all now!” The dragon roared, his teeth sparking even more electricity into the air as he bellowed. “Or I swear to the nine hells all of you will be visiting that wretched place this very night!”
The crowd let loose a round of terrified screams that echoed into the night and made Ramakox smirk in delight. Although a majority of the cultists shivered and trembled in terror, that lead clothed man and a handful of other stood confidently before the dragon, seemingly unafraid at his threat. “
“Ah yes.” the masked man dusted off his robes as he stared to the blue dragon with his bright green eyes that lacked any of the fear present in the others. “The ever powerful Swirling Storm! The beast that I was telling you about!” The man gestured to the dragon with a thrusted finger. “Look at his insidious ways, the hundreds of mortals that he has corrupted into his influence!”
“Silence you're drivel little man.” the blue dragon roared into the night, drowning out the man with his fury. “I did not come here to listen to your jabbering insanity. I came here to spirit all these mortals from your vile hands.” he glanced out to the cultists, hoping that they could see the fury raging in his eyes. The death he could bring with his claws, and the devastation he could let loose with his breath. He hardly noticed when the invisible Jandar slipped free from his neck,uttering a spell under his breath to cushion his fall from the drop. “Now release those mortals now...and I can see that things are made easier for you...It does not have to end in your blood being spilled. However.” He growled, showing off all his gleaming teeth. “If you decide to test me, I will be see that you are put down.”
“See how the creature speaks words of peace lined with more threats and promise of spilled blood?” The man pulled off his mask to reveal an elven face that looked like an exact match for Lord Aster if only he was a few hundred years older. His fine features slightly marred by wrinkles around his learned green eyes, his dark brown hair streaked with whites. “Your kind has sought our dominance since you were mere younglings upon this earth. Just like the demons and devils the abyss. Just like them, we must resist your kind time and time again, lest we be corrupted and brought under your sway.” The elves lips curled into a sneer as his eyes narrowed and his voice darkened. “So no.....Tonight will end in the cleansing of your thralls just like every time before it. Hopefully by the blessing of the gods, we will count you among the dead tonight.” The elf held up a hand quick as a flash as Ramakox watched his offer of peace melt away like ice on a hot summer's day.
“So be it.” the dragon snarled, electricity dancing around his teeth, setting the air aglow once more with it's brilliant white light. He was about to press the attack until out of the corner of his eye he found a group of Archers hiding on one of the walls closest to him, thinking themselves so clever. The blue dragon tilted his head toward the collection of archers, letting loose another great bolt of lightning that struck their hiding place like a strike from the gods. It exploded stone, wood, and anything foolish enough to stand against it's mighty fury. Several of the mortals fell clutching bows, making them spasm and gasp. Their bodies twisting in agony before falling , dead before they even struck the stone.
“Fine!” The elf shouted, his hands starting to glow a bright purple as he thrust it towards Ramakox. The elf moved his body in a flowing motion as if he were guiding a wave of water through the air. The blue dragon went to flap away from the man, avoid the incoming attack with his next breath,but he didn't need to. Just as the man had finished with his movements, his arm suddenly bent upwards, a blue scaled claw forming around his wrist. The purple magic he had conjured curled around the form of Jandar as he sprung into being before the man. The purple magic wound around him all the way to his feet before dispersing with a brief explosion of brilliant purple sparks.
That's my boy. Ramakox gleefully though as the collection of cultists started to scramble and scatter towards the exits of the courtyard with numerous cries and shouts. They did not get far before a fiery explosion detonated among them. Bodies flew like rag dolls, while those closest to the detonation were incinerated instantly in a bright flash of light. If it were not for the fact they were going to boil people alive, Ramakox might have felt sorry for them. Instead he observed with delight how they tumbled and screamed into the night air. With Jandar squaring off with the elf, that left Ramakox to look for additional threats. He swooped down, plucking up one of the guard gryphon's that went to leap at the half dragon, the bird struggled in his grip, uttering numerous curses and insults at the dragon. With a snarl the blue snapped the gryphon's neck with a sickening crack, then letting the limp body tumble downwards and impacting one of the wooden roofs and shattering wood as the corpse fell inside.
Ramakox made another pass, lighting starting to once more flow to his mouth and lighting the sky with a thin brilliant line of energy. He observed Fremra leap from tower to tower, plucking any who dared to raise a weapon before her and tossing their bloody forms from the wall with a wicked hiss. He pulled his gaze from the fierce dragoness to see that Jandar was holding his own against the elf. The half dragon was practically dancing across the ground to avoid the multicolored sparks if various spells that the pointy eared cultist was tossing his way like they were nothing. There was a look of pure determination on the mortal's snout that came no doubt with his years of practice as an adventurer. It was after Jandar tossed a bright yellow hand back with a crackling wave of purple energy did Ramakox spot the other white gryphon of the pair eyeing the duel with narrowed eyes.
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Wisely the gryphon did not do what his comrade had done, instead the bird rose his gaze to glare at the blue dragon and unfurl his wings with a loud squawk. The gryphon flashed him a look of fury as he bound into the sky with a leap from his strong hinds, his feathery wings carrying right for the armored dragon.
Ramakox admired the gryphon's bravery and strength to continue to press on against a much stronger and well armored opponent. He of course could not let the gryphon win this day and angled a wing, heading straight for the white beast with a snot. He summoned forth another bolt of lightning from his maw, an attack meant to cook that bird before he could even close the distance. However the crafty thing was already ready for this, flipping away from the deadly beam and recovering with a flap of his wings. The gryph let out a shriek into the air, and dove at Ramakox with renewed purpose.
The blue dragon growled as the two closed the distance between another. If the gryph wanted to test the strength of dragons, then let him break like the rain against the stone. The dragon unclenched his claws, readying himself to rip into that white feathered being and paint his plumage red.
“Now!” the gryphon flipped away again, to reveal something the dragon had not seen before. There was a collection of archers on one of the walls, that had been right below the gryphon hidden by his wingspan. They held bows taught in their hands, letting loose knocked arrows right for him. The wooden thorns broke against his scales uselessly, his hide simply too tough for the puny attempt on his life. Ramakox relished the cry of his attackers, distraught that their attack had apparently failed.
He turned away from the gryphon, letting loose another bolt of lightning towards the pathetic archers. Men shoved and pushed others to get clear from the wall and his deadly attack, some even leaped the wall to try and avoid it. The bolt exploded, catching several unable to get clear and striking them dead where they stood. The blue flapped his wings to begin another pass, the sounds of cries and explosions filling the night air as flames set fire to anything that would burn in their flickering grasp. He winced as he felt a burning sensation in one of his joints, a terrible thing that actually had the strong dragon gasp at it's white burning intensity. He glanced back towards the source of the agony to see an arrow sticking out of his wing joint. How could a small thing like this cause so much pain? I have taken arrows before...They stung for mere moments but...not like this.. It was then that he saw with the dark wood, a small bead of green liquid dripping from the wound's edge. It made his eyes widen before letting out a loud hiss. “Dragons bane poison.” It was the one poison on this earth that could easily poison a dragon as if he were a mortal. It brought intense pain, and had the additional effect of slowing the dragon down like a tranquilizer. Ramakox shook his head as he focused on Jandar swatting aside a fireball so that it exploded uselessly in the air, lightning up the night with a brilliant golden flash of deadly light.
Ramakox blasted apart another section of the wall, whispering thanks to his limbs that the poison did not seem to be in such large amounts as to slow him down, but only fill every over wing beat with pain. He heard Fremra's battle roar as she landed in the courtyard in a whirlwind of teeth and claws. She had apparently shrunk herself down so that she could fight unhindered as she ripped into them with tooth and claw. She let out another roar as reinforcements rose up from stone steps towards the courtyard. They were clad in iron chain, metal tipped spears, and large iron shields. Before they could even attack her armored hide, Ramakox passed over them, letting magic flow into his claws and enter the stone below them. He could feel their steps across the hardened surface as they ran with shouts of battle towards the snarling ness. With but a thought the stone below their feet rose to snag them, made crevices to trip unaware boots, and even little stone limbs to drag those not tripped up to the ground. It did not take much before the fresh wave of armored men were all prone before the angry dragoness, who had whips of water coiling out from her. The purple of her eyes faded away to the darkness of the deep sea.
Ramakox looked away to the rest of the keep as he heard Fremra cut into them with all of her water whips. The screams and shouts sending shivers down his spine at how easily she was cutting them down, her whips gliding through their armor meant for swords and not magical whips. It made the wounds caused by those very whips ache as he remembered the deep cuts. Thankfully an explosion snapped his focus once more towards the blue snouted mortal.
Jandar had been tossed back to a skidding stop, his clothes having been burned an leaving little black marks at it's edges. The elf stood opposite of him, whips seemingly made of fire wrapped around his hands and dragging slowly over the ground. Jandar flung a spear made of ice right at the elf, conjuring the thing from the very air. Cultist merely smacked it down by a casual whip, the flames cutting the ice in two.
The dragon belted out into the night, his eyes locking onto that smug looking man. His roar drawing the man's attention for a brief moment, who gestured towards him with a snarl. Ramakox let loose another bolt of lightning, faster then the man could drop his arm, the air around him crackling with fury as it speared towards the elf. The bright bolt looked like it was about to connect and fry that pointy haired mortal and rid the world of his twisted views, but at the last moment the bolt was redirected towards a new comer to enter the courtyard.
A large minotaur holding out his hand into a curled fist stepped a hoof forcefully onto the stone. The lightning flowed around his arm, dancing it's way across his meal armored chest, all the way down to his equally armor clad limbs. In his left hand he held a large warhammer that looked like any other mortal might need two hands to do what he was doing with one. The brown haired bull rose that weapon to point right at Ramakox, sending the lightning bolt right back at him, and colliding uselessly against his scales. He hardly felt a thing as he angled his wings and felt the wind batter against his membranes. He spotted more archers peaking up from the still smoking walls, with no doubt more dragon's bane tipped arrows to send his way. He was ready for them this time however, and focused on turning his scales to the hardness of stone. The blue scales shifting to a dull grey as he passed the archers, who fired their volley of little thorns at his underside. Ramakox smirked as the wooden arrows struck his protected hide and splintered upon impact.
The dragon's eyes trained on the minotaur as he could safely ignore those pitiful attacks by the archers. The bull had been busy tracing a glowing circle into the air with fire that enveloped his hands without pain. Ramakox only had a beat of his wings to contemplate what spell could possibly be summoned forth before a pillar of white flames seemed to spring forth from the very sky. It wrapped around the dragon with intense heat that burned his very scales with brilliant light. Ramakox clenched his eyes shut as he angled his wings and preformed a quick spin, crashing through the flames with another roar and flash of intense heat. He exited the spin with a sigh of relief, unfurling his great wings wide as he rotated a claw. So you want to play with fire huh? He finished the spell by sending a cerulean ball of fire shooting from his maw towards the intense looking bull.
The man tried to leap away from the rotating ball of flames, but only managed to get a few feet before it detonated in a brilliant flash of blue light. The force lifted the large man off his feet and sent him crashing hard against the stone, his head hitting with a loud sickening, wet smack that left an imprint of crimson. The bull only managed to let out a pained groan before slumping over with his eyes closed.
With that annoyance taken care of Ramakox spun back around, the archers that had poked at him with their weapons bolting and trying to hide from his murderous glare. He glanced to see Fremra, now beset by three mortals still standing among the dead of the ones that had come before them. Their once shining armor had been covered in layers of sticky blood that looked to be more from their comrades then the dragoness that was currently slicing through one of their allies with little effort. The blue strafed the archers once more, his tail knocking several from the wall as he passed by with a snarl. He landed atop the building overlooking the courtyard, his claws digging into the stone as he flared out his wings, letting out a loud dominating roar into the night. He let electricity dance across his teeth as his neck and wings glowed a brilliant white. The red hand seemed to be scrambling to hide, any left that he could see were hiding behind stone and shivering in terror at the two dragons and mortal that had ripped into them so easily with their surprise attack.
He looked to Jandar, was busy still with the elf, trading spell after spell as he was still locked in that deadly dance. Neither one seemed to be out of energy either, going back and forth with some bolts of fire, clouds of green acid, or even rays of blue magical ice. It was when Ramakox roared again did the elf look up, look around at the collection of bodies, and his face darken. With a quick curse leaving his lips the man snapped his fingers, vanishing into a cloud of mist that flew hastily away from the half-dragon, down one of the branching corridors to the keep.
The half dragon made his way swiftly towards the collection of bound mortals, pulling out a sharpened dagger with a hiss. His eyes looked to each one in turn, no doubt looking for the woman that he loved. It happened almost instantly when his eyes fell to the last mortal, his face darkened and he lowered the dagger with a wrinkled snout. “Shes not out here.”
“What was that?” the blue called out, landing closer to the mortal as he started to look down at the others.
“I said she is not out here!” the half-dragon called back, his voice cracking.
“Do you mean the woman that was calling out for a Jandar?” suddenly asked the wolven, gesturing to his bindings. “They spirited that feisty woman inside....Something about interrogating her before the cleansing was to begin. Could...you help us from our bindings?”
The half-dragon's face looked shocked for a moment, as if ice had wrapped it's way around him and made him shiver. Jandar looked down to the blade, quickly grabbing the man and cutting the rope bindings as quickly as he could. “Here.” the mortal thrust the hilt into the wolven's hands. “Free the others, I am going to rescue my wife before those monsters can do away with her.” Jandar spun on his heel, his voice starting to become more confident as glared up at the blue dragon. “Ramakox! I'm going inside to rescue her! The bastards took her inside the keep!”
The blue dragon responded with a snort of dismissal. He hated that idea, if she was inside he would not be able to help on account of his size. The best he could do was make sure that this courtyard remained clear for the mortals departure.
“I know you hate it...But I have to go Ramakox...she could....die.”
“Then you are taking me with you.” Fremra patted over on her blood soaked paws,her eyes gleaming at the continued slaughter of the red hand. “You're going to need all the help you can get, and Ramakox can't change his size to assist.” The teal gestured to the collection of mortals that were getting their own bindings cut by the wolven. “They don't look like they could wield a sword, spear, or any other weapon as well.”
Jandar thought for a moment, looking to Fremra, Ramakox, and then to the weary mortals before them. “Then it's settled.” He muttered with a flick of his tail. “Fremra, you're with me.” Jandar tore off one his tattered sleeves with a loud rip. “Ramakox, you stay here and make sure this place stays clear and they remain safe.” he turned towards the mortals, thrusting a claw towards a dead red hand member that had been bisected by one of Fremra's whips, the corpse still grasping it's spear. “The lot of you grab something, anything to defend yourselves until we're back. Then the dragon's can either fly us or cover our safe retreat!”
Ramakox might have minded being told what to do by any other mortal, possibly snarled or growled at such a brave man. Instead he nodded at Jandar's words, turning to the other mortals with a snort and narrowed eyes. “Well you heard him.” the dragon rose his voice when the others had not stirred or moved an inch. “Grab something before those cultist are back and looking to cook your hides!” With that powerful statement, and most likely helped by his final growl, the collection of mortals quickly scoured the corpse laden courtyard for piercing spears, gnarled bows, steel swords, sturdy shields, and helmets. Thankfully with the amount of people that they had all killed, all the would be sacrifices had gathered an assortment of weapons.
Jandar offered a quick wave, dashing off in the direction that the elf had spirited away. Fremra bound after the man, shrinking down further in size until she would be able to fit through a door meant for a mortal without squeezing her way through. With a loud crack the fierce dragoness plowed straight through a wooden door meant to bar their path, the fine wood being reduced to mere splinters with the force of her strike. The teal dragoness turned back to flash Ramakox a quick tooth filled grin before bounding inside with a roar and swish of her frilled tail.
The blue dragon watched with a swollen chest as Jandar disappeared into the keep, leaving him to observe the rag tag troops at his disposal. “You there.” he pointed to a wolven woman who had grabbed a bow. “Position yourself there.” he pointed to a raised section with some boxes that could be used for cover. “Take that position, it should give you clear lines at the doors as well.” the white furred female simple nodded, only for the dragon to give some orders to the others as well. He swiftly with his confident, booming voice, arranged his mortals in preparation for the possible counter attack. They sat there in silence as the minutes crept on by, the blue dragon's scales starting to itch as he fidgeted in place.
He stared down to the courtyard, half expecting there to be a new wave of reinforcements, cultists clad in armor and spouting nonsense with weapons drawn. He narrowed his eyes for the sixth such time as they did not come. The air remained silent, the only noise the occasional cough from a mortal, or the steady in and out of his breaths. Surely the hand should be shouting orders? Trying to slay me? Is that not what they wanted? Ramakox shifted uncomfortably as he snapped his jaw several times in irritation, drumming his talons loudly against the stone with a series of clacks. Part of his mind reminded him that the silence was good, that it meant the red had given up, or possibly that Jandar had not been spotted. That the surprise attack they had done, had utterly devastated them in draconic fashion. Although despite that voice his nerves never calmed or relaxes, the entire time her expected something to leap out from any corner and strike at his scales. It was the wolven archer who was the first to spot something as she yelled into the air.
“Manticore!” she shouted, ducking behind a wooden crate as several hard sharpened spines sunk into the wood with dull thuds, until the last suck spine shattered the boxes frame into a pile of splinters and shards.
“Cover!” some of the mortals shouted out, echoing each other as they dove for safety from the rain of sharpened spines, from not one but seven of the fly beasts.
The creatures called manticores angled their bat like wings, as they avoided several arrows that were loosed at their lion like bodies that had large spike along their necks, shoulders, and all the way down to their tail. Once you reached the tail, the similarities with a lion ended as that appendage was tipped with numerous spikes and spines. The black manticores let out roars as they sprayed the courtyard with sharpened spike after spike.
Ramakox roared out as two mortals took spines to their chests, the sharpened points piercing their bodies and sticking out the other side covered in dripping blood. They collapsed with pained groans as Ramakox bound towards the pack of flying beasts, lightning already flowing to his paws as he focused on the snarling spiked beasts. He felt their spines strike his scales at several spots, some of the points sticking out of him and making him flinch in irritation. It was like a large thorn stuck in his shoulder, each movement sending ripple of intense pain. The blue dragon quickly grabbed the thing and pulled it free, gasping as something else caught his eyes. Alongside the pack of manticore was that snow white gryphon who had brought six more archers to the fight. They all glared at him with narrowed eyes and knocked bows, each one a face of experience. They were all clad in white leather armor made from dragon scales, a grim reminder at their quarry.
With a snarl the blue dragon lashed out with his claws, slicing into one of the manticore's neck. The beasts hide was no match for his sharpened talons, making it roar in pain as his talons glided through it's flesh with ease. The lightning he had been focusing on sparked right through the lion like head, making the beast twitch and snarl in his grasp as he delivered a bolt of lightning as powerful as if had come from the very heavens. The electricity sprung from the unlucky manticore like a spiderweb of shining white light that crackled in the night with sparks of death. Only two creatures briefly caught a jolt from the magical spell, while the others darted away, opting to shoot spines from their tails at the dragon instead.
“Get him! Aim for his head or membranes!” came a shout from a female wolven adorned with bone jewelry in her dark grey fur. She loosed a string on her gnarled bow, an arrow flying towards the blue dragon, no doubt dipped in dragon's bane poison. With that arrow came a volley of others as their owners joined in the attack, shooting through the air like a deadly school of fish intent of plucking him from the sky.
With a quick though and focus on the hardened earth and stone, the blue dragon's scales were once more turned to the hardness of the strongest stone. The barrage of spines and arrows broke against him uselessly as he ripped a manticore from the sky with his large claws and stifling it's roar with a quick snap of it's neck with his strong claws. He flung the body towards the archers, breaking apart their line and stone, causing some to dive out of the way of his gruesome projectile. One man was not so lucky, getting crushed by the dead beast, no doubt the place that he would die as well.
“He used stone skin!” came the hunter's cry as the woman's voice tried to stay calm. “We need a dispel!”
So she knows how to fight against a spell caster. Ramakox swooped as another volley failed to do anything to him. He felt a small tap as three of the flying manticore pounced on his scales, uselessly lashing away with their claws and teeth.
“No you don't!” the woman dodged out of the was as Ramakox snapped at her with his sharpened teeth. “today will not be my end you foul thing!” she boasted, back flipping away from a horizontal slash of his claws.
Ramakox scowled in irritation as his next attack by his claws missed the woman by mere inches. In his frustration he tossed off a manticore from his back, and pinned the beast beneath his bulk. He then opened his maw and bathed the struggling creature in lightning. When it's violent struggles had ceased he pushed himself off of the dead winged beast with a ferocious snarl and took flight once more. As long as the spell holds.. Ramakox claws tasted blood as they ripped a solid chunk out of another manticore, spraying the stone below in a mist of crimson. They can't do a thing. It was of course in this moment that his armored scales started to turn back to their shade of blue once more. The dull sensation of the manticore's attacks suddenly lightning up in pain as two arrows pierced his wing joints. The flapping limbs feeling as though they had been shoved into an open flame. Ramakox roared into the night, taking the last few manticore and ripping them to pieces beneath him.
“We almost got him!” the woman gleefully shouted as several more arrows found their way into his hide through vulnerable spots.
How could they take out the spell? He was almost certain that they lacked a spell caster to deprive him of his enchantment. The blue dragon angled his wings to swoop around his attackers, his eyes training onto the wounded minotaur from before. The bull was holding up his trembling arm, as blood leaked profusely from his brow. His fingers were pointing right at the dragon, and he appeared to be muttering something under his breath. There we are... Ramakox opened his maw and let fly another bolt of glorious light that was the bull's reward for his spell. The mortal was ended right then with an explosion of bright white light, and the dragon's blue of his scales started to shift back to grey once more. That's more like it. The dragon roared in victory as arrows shattered against him, and saw his collection of mortals enter the fray against the hunters.
The hunters fell one by one to the combined assault of mortal and dragon, each time they would focus on the blue, the equipped mortals would press the advantage. If the hunters dared to take focus off his blue scales he made them pay for it in blood, each claw strike and mortal that fell taking away their power. It was not long before the hunters were greatly reduced in number, and manticore gone.
“Retreat!” the woman hunter cried out as a wolven man plunged a sword through another hunter's heart, who had been distracted by Ramakox passing inches over his head. “Retreat damn you! Fight again another day, the beast has won!”
Oh no you don't, not after all of this, you die here tonight if I can help it. Ramakox let loose a terrible hiss as he swooped around and electrified two fleeing hunters in his wake. Satisfied at having wiped their filth from the face of the earth with his glorious lightning. His eyes came to the female hunter, whose manticore had taken position beside her, it's tail spines and her bow felling two mortals that the dragon had rescued as the last of the hunters scaled down the walls and attempted to flee. The blue dragon beat his wings and headed right for her, electricity dancing across his teeth once more. It was then he felt a force crash into his wings, claws ripping through the soft membranes and making him snarl in pain as the stone skin spell failed instantly. He flipped over, taking his attacker with him and roaring as he crashing into the stone with rippling waves of pain. He gasped as he felt something pop inside of him, making him curse the horrible keep.
Damn the foul thing. Ramakox struggled to stand as his attacker emerged again to assault his scales. It was the white gryphon from before, his beak and talons glowing a bright green as he lashed out with his sharpened points, surprisingly slicing easily through his scales.
“You killed my wing mate dragon!” the determined gryphon shrieked into the air as he avoided Ramakox's return claw strikes more quickly then the dragon would have thought possible.
“You will meet the same fate as your twisted kin little gryphon.” the much larger dragon replied, hissing as the gryphon sliced into his hide, causing him to stumble backwards. Ramakox winced in pain as twin arrows found their way through his membranes.
“Come on Ironwing! We have to go! You don't stand a chance on your own!” the female wolven shouted, mounting her manticore with a concerned look on her muzzle. “Hes going to kill you if you stay!”
“I'd listen to her little bird, if you all scatter in different directions you might escape my vengeance tonight.” Ramakox spat out, his claws glancing the bird and making him squawk in pain as the dragon drew blood.
“I can't!” the gryphon roared as he dodged a horizontal strike from the dragon, digging his beak right through Ramakox's scales, taking a good deal of blood before quickly bounding away with a satisfied chirp. “It's him or me! One of us is going to die!”
“Oh it will be you little gryphon. That is certain. You may be swift.” Ramakox snarled, chasing the illusive bird as he stayed just out of his reach. “But it only takes one mis-step, one miscalculation and you will be dead by my claws.” he lashed out again as he noticed the gryphon's hind leg slip, denying him his agile dart away and leaving surprised bird to take a few talons to his sullied fur. The forceful strike sent Ironwing tumbling to the stone, tossing and turning until he crashed into a far wall.
The white gryphon shivered and shook as he tried to raise his battered, blood covered body back to all fours. One of his eyes was tightly shut, blood oozing from the clenched lid as his other glared at Ramakox with a great fire. “Finish it dragon.” the defiant gryphon gasped, his limbs trembling to stand.
“Its a shame you chose such poor taste in friends. You could have been a force for good.” Ramakox opened his maw as he saw the wolven and her manticore leave their friend to his fate. He made a mental note in what direction she was heading, knowing that he would be following her later to ensure that something like this did not happen again. Burn the hive. His mind whispered to him, recalling a similar story that he could not remember the title of. Good bye gryphon. He let electricity flow into his maw, as he was about to let loose a final bolt of lightning to end Ironwing in one burst of white light, but an explosion stopped him. The shear force of the thing found the blue dragon lifted off his limbs and crashing into a wall with a pained groan, the air driven from his lungs.
He struggled to see as the winds picked up to near maelstrom levels, forcing him to squint and hold out a claw to shield himself from the raging vortex. He heard thunderous cracks as stone was violently ripped out of the keep, easily being lifted into the air as a humongous vortex of chaos appeared out of thin air in the sky. The blue dragon struggled to stand, the force of the winds possibly even stronger than him as he pushed himself to all fours with great effort. He turned to look for the mortals he had helped save, a grim realization sitting in him that there was no way their fragile bodies survived that forceful blast. He grit his teeth and dug his talons into the stone as large sections of the damaged wall broke away to join the half of the keep that was rising slowly but surely into the stormy sky above.
What in the nine hells could this be? Ramakox mind screamed as he struggled to hold his ground and not be swept away to oblivion. From the keeps now broken and mangled corpse he saw two forms within the destruction of ripped stone,broken wood, and dead floating bodies. It appeared to be a humanoid like figure in the middle of a swirling ball of lightish purple magical energy that was whipping around him. The other was a form of no doubt Fremra, holding her paws up to shield her maw from the force of the winds. He fought the urge to simply take off and fly away from this vortex of wild magic by shoving it down into his chest and gritting his teeth again with a snort. Jandar his mind whispered as he could make out the forms whipping robes, similar to the ones that the mortal had been wearing. Without another thought he took a strained pull forward, his limbs trembling from the effort as he fought the updraft of powerful wind that seemed determined to throw him away.
“Jandar!” he called out as he tried to bellow over the thunderous sound of cracking stone as more sections of the broken keep rose into the sky to swirl around with the rest. A knot grew in his stomach with each struggled pull, each gasp that passed through his maw, his eyes never leaving the humanoid form with it's arms out stretched. What happened? His mind asked as he felt his claws start to slip, only for him to grind his teeth, ignoring the wave of pain, and dig deeper into the stone lest he be lost to the storm. What could make this happen? His first thought was to Fremra and her nature magic, it had been shown she could summon rain after all, surely it was possible for her to call forth the greatest winds? He briefly looked up to the floating form of the keep, making out floating corpses of various mortals that must have been caught inside when the blast had struck,
“Ramakox!” came the concerned scream of Fremra, her voice cracking and full of terror.
The blue dragon snapped his attention to her as he lowered his body and held onto dear life as another powerful gust swept over him. This time in addition to the overpowering wind he felt warm tingle, almost as if acid had been poured onto his scales. That heat grew hotter, and the possibility that this magical storm might disintegrate him became a growing concern in his mind.
Fremra was on her haunches, with her claws held up against a shimmering golden force field of water, the only thing seemingly untouched by the maelstrom raging outside of it. “Get in here quick! Before it's too late!” she screamed, a pained look crossing her snout as she swiveled her head towards the mortal, struggling to hold up her protective barrier.
Ramakox crawled towards the teal dragon painfully slow as that slight warmth grew in each passing moment until it felt as though he was shoved into an oven, and he was being cooked alive. It was all he could do to not scream out into the swirling winds, collapsing with a thud as he passed through the golden barrier. He hardly noticed that his smoke had started to rise slowly in little wisps from his scales as he released a relieved sigh.
“Thank the gods.” Fremra groaned, gritting her teeth and struggling versus an invisible weight once more with trembling limbs.
“Wh...what happened?” Ramakox gasped, his body feeling like it was being weighted down by the heaviest stones as he pushed himself back to all fours.
“We...we found Imzel.” Fremra replied through struggling grunts, “It wasn't
pretty....They...They drowned her Ramakox...” The teals frills drooped for a second before snarling and pushing her claws out and clenching her eyes as a tears rolled down her cheek. “They drowned her in boiling holy water...The monsters....Gods above...I can't...” The dragoness flicked her tail as the bubble of golden water started to recede towards them, the strain of maintaining the spell appearing to be too much for the dragoness.
“But why the storm?” he asked, his nerves standing on end. It felt like he had been tossed in the coldest of waters, all his scales going numb as he stared at the half-dragon who was standing in the middle of a crater within the howling storm. “What's going on?” He looked up as a meteor crashed down from the sky to collide with a far wall, ripping up stone and earth as it exploded violently against the hardened surface. It was like the gods themselves were trying to smite this place from the earth.
“I...don't know...he just...erupted into this...Barely got up the protective dome in time...If I hadn't..”
“Right.” Ramakox snorted, looking to Jandar as he watched the ground around the mortal rip up around him in large chunks. There was no way he could just sit here with an aching heart, not while his son was hurting and possibly in danger. The thought that this was all from the ritual rearing it's ugly head occurred to him and made him wrinkle his snout. “It's the damn ritual again...I bet my very scales on it...It seems with traumatic episodes it progresses further and further..It clearly has gone too far this time..” He felt a dagger plunge into his heart as he remembered the Emerald Ladies words. The fear that he could lose both Imzel and Jandar this night a very real terror.
“I'm going out there...and I know what you will say my Sea Lilly.”
“That I want you to go?” She raised a brow, flashing him a smirk. “To go rescue him before he is ripped apart by his very power?”
“You...surprise me.” he gasped, nearly taken back by her words. He laughed, it eventually turning into a cough as he calculated the distance between him and the mortal. It's not that far...throw up a protection spell and head out there...you can do it.. His mind egged him on with each anxious breath. “Wish me luck my Sea Lilly.” he said quietly, already tracing the signs for his protective magic. He figured the one to protect versus spells would work here if his theory about the storm's source was correct.
“I would...If you needed it my Radiant Sapphire....Now go get our son.” She flashed him a grin as her limbs started to tremble, the storm ever apparent in her eyes.
He gave her a quick nuzzle under the chin, uttering the spell past his lips as his scales started to shine a bright cerulean, a beacon of calm in this swirling storm of chaotic energy all around them. The dragon took a deep breath, passing through the magical field of water with his next step and having to instantly grip onto the stone as the calm of the bubble was left behind and he was subjected to the terrible winds once again. The arduous task of hanging on was even harder now, each step forward was a herculean task that only an adrenaline fueled parent could make. He silently whispered a vow and marching towards the mortal that he loved with all his heart. Nothing was going to stop him, not even the fiercest of storms.
“Jandar!” Ramakox cried in desperation as a large section of nearly under his claws broke from the earth and bolted into the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow. He almost lost his footing out of shock, quickly recovering with his next breath and whispering to Bahamut thanks for the divine luck. His next step brought the faint burning once more, signaling that the protective spell had reached it's limit, and that the storm was more powerful then he even thought. He looked back towards Fremra, now further away then Jandar and still holding up her barrier with her snout full of worry as she stared at his hide. There is no going back now. He closed his eyes, taking another step as the heat increased and almost made him grit his teeth with each passing moment.
You wont get long you know. He shook his head. It did not matter now, he had no more energy left for spells to protect himself anyway. Ramakox pressed on as his scales started to burn and his vision started to get hazy with each ragged breath that he took. “Jandar!” he gasped aloud, feet from the mortal who was now slumped over the clear dead body of the wife he loved. The mortal's snout was buried In his claws, clearly sobbing as thin bright lines of intense light cracked and spread all over his scales.
“Jandar!” he roared louder than before as it now felt like he was rapidly approaching the intense heat that felt like it was more at home in an active volcano. The great dragon took one last step and collapsed before the mortal with a pained groan. “Jandar!”
The mortal dropped his claws, his eyes leaking glowing tears of the brightest white as the mortal let out a pained cry that drove a spear right into the dragon's heart. “Shes dead!” he shouted, looking to the form of Imzel at his feet. She had remained untouched despite the raging storm, her face frozen in terror and of the brightest of reds from the horrible burns. The blue felt a cold grip once more snatch around his chest even though his scales were burning in agony.
“Graaaah!” Ramakox groaned, clenching his eyes shut from the white blinding pain. “You have to stop this!” he shouted in desperation, hating himself for pushing Imzel to the side. Right now he had to try and save Jandar, there was nothing he could do for the woman now. “Or you're going to be ripped asunder!” With his words the lines that were covering Jandar shined brighter as twin dragon wings suddenly erupted from the mortal's back along with an agonizing scream.
“I cant stop it!” the mortal cried, collapsing on himself before the dead woman. “I can't....control it!.....Shes dead Ramakox!” his pained words were soon drowned out by the whipping winds, the latest gust making Ramakox whimper in pain as the dragon started to feel his scales start to peel away.
“AAAAAHHHH!” the blue dragon roared out as his body trembled, he knew in his heart he had only moments at best before the chaotic magic would see him torn apart. “Jandar!'.....Do it for Imzel! Shut this whole thing down!” he hoped to the gods that watched above that by some miracle the mortal would be able to heed his words and find the strength to gain control once more.
“Ramakox!” Jandar shouted, his voice starting to crack. “I can't...You have to get out of here....Or you're going to die as well!”
“No...I am going to stay here with you Jandar....To the end if needed be.” The dragon dragged himself towards the mortal, groaning in agonizing pain as he could almost feel the blood starting to literally boil in his veins. It wont be long now...Fitting end to the swirling Storm...Torn apart by the ritual he placed on a little boy.
“No! Get out of here!” the half-dragon screamed, the lines on his face glowing ever the brighter as tears continued to fall. “Ramakox please!'
The blue looked up briefly into his son's eyes, finding the desperate plea of his words echoed in those silver spheres. “I have a plan.” he grumbled, “I...do apologize for this.”
“Yes anything! Try it!”
“Very well.” Using the last of his strength Ramakox rose up and struck Jandar over the head, not hard enough to kill the man, but enough to knock him out. His claw struck with a dull smack, sending Jandar onto his rear end and sprawling out onto the ground. With the mortal's departure from the waking world, the maelstrom like winds faded and grew silent leaving the air a stagnant calm. Ramakox's hide started to cool with each breath, wisps of smoke crawling up from some of the blackened scales. Floating pieces of debris suddenly stopped their rotation, twitching slightly in the air. The clouds that had been swirling ever so violently overhead scattered to the winds, almost as if they had never been there at all. There was a brief moment of silence as Ramakox took a coughing breath.
“Ramakox!” he heard Fremra scream, pointing to the floating keep that would not be there for much longer.
Struggling to stand the blue dragon grabbed Jandar, his body feeling weighted down as the adrenaline started to wear off. He spread his wings with a pained groan before bounding into the air. His lungs felt close to bursting as he drew his next ragged breath, his wings burning as if they had been dipped in acid. Ramakox found himself crashing to the ground after a few beats of his wings to stay aloft, grunting as pain radiated through him, and left him gasping and weakly flicking his tail against the earth. He glanced back briefly to the remains of the estate, crashing down behind him. Thunderous noises that shook the very earth and echoed throughout the moonlit countryside. Ramakox shuttered as Fremra came flying over, relief in her eyes as she landed onto her hinds with a quick back-wing. The blue dragon looked to Jandar, the mortal peacefully unconscious in his grasp, the white lines gone and seemly the disaster avoided. Ramakox blinked his eyes as the first few tears started to fall, the tragedy of the night sinking into his bones and making him tremble. Flashes of his time with Imzel though brief flashed through his mind, knowing the pain his son would feel on his awakening.
“Oh Jandar.” he sobbed, nuzzling the mortal weakly as tears came like a bursting dam, drenching the ground beneath his paws. He hardly felt a thing as Fremra closed in, nuzzling him frantically like she would have never seen him again. Ramakox simple sat frozen, sobbing uncontrollably as he hung his head for the mortal he had failed again.