The silence of the early morning was quickly and sharply broken by the crowing of the old rooster. As old as he was, he was still just as loud if not louder than he was when he was young and in his glory days. Again and again, the rooster crowed as loud as he could, nearly fainting as he grew closer to becoming out of breath.

In the farm house, sleeping upstairs in the master bedroom was Jacob Remington. At least he would have been sleeping, until the loud crowing of the rooster rose him from slumber. Knowing the bird wouldn’t be silent, he begrudgingly rose from his bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and would get dressed, sitting on the side of the bed as he got his boots on. He suddenly felt two arms wrap around his chest from behind, and held him in a warm and comforting embrace. His wife, Fiona kissed his cheek. “Morning~.”

He smiled and patted her hand before he took it and kissed the back of her hand. “Morning. How are we doing today?”

She got up from the bed to get dressed, revealing her large pregnant belly. “You know. A little stiff here and there. The baby kicking non stop. Nothing I’m not used to at this point. He’s gonna be the worst to deal with, that's for sure.”

He managed to get his boots on and spent the rest of his time watching her. Even eight months into her pregnancy she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. “Who’s to say it's not a little girl?”

“Trust me. It's a boy”

Once fully dressed, they stepped out of the bedroom. They would pass by a few other rooms as they went downstairs. One of the bedroom doors opened, revealing Jacob’s brother, Joshua with his wife Diana.

The brothers Remington were twins, though it would be hard to tell without prior knowledge, at least at first glance. Joshua was the tallest of the two, with a larger, muscular build compared to that of his brother. He had bright, aqua blue eyes and a thick dirty blonde beard to match his thick mane. Jacob however was slimmer. That wasn’t to say that he was physically weaker than Joshua. He had done a lot of work in order to maintain the farm. Even Joshua could agree that out of the two, Jacob did the most to maintain the farm.

Jacob had shorter hair and made an effort to shave, showing only small stubbles here and there on his face. His eyes were a dark green color to contrast with that of his brothers. Once downstairs they were greeted by Jacob and Joshua’s many children. The house was packed with kids, the eldest among them being only in their mid teens. Naturally breakfast was a tall order. A lot of growing boys and girls dotted around the table waiting for their meals while the older children watched and helped their respective mothers prepare the food.

It was quite common for successful farms such as the Remington farmstead to have large families like this. Before passing away early two springs ago, The matron of the home, Jeanette Remington had produced twenty three children in total including the twins. Though it remains that the twins were among the few that retained the farm life while many of the other siblings moved to live in the great cities of Sigurdsehre, like Dragons Landing. While the children awaited their breakfast, the twins put on their working clothes.

For most of the day, like every day, the brothers worked tirelessly in order to maintain the farm. Tediously feeding the chickens, protecting the cattle from outside dangers, tending to the crops in preparation for harvest time, fixing broken fences along the border to the farm, milking the cows, a list full of tasks that in a single day would break any man if they attempted to do it all alone. But not the Remington brothers. They had turned their work into an art.

Jacob would eventually find himself working with the horses, brushing their manes and making sure they had new horseshoes on while Joshua dealt with the problem child of the barn. The black horse Ebony had recently given birth to a healthy foal. What would normally be a joyous occasion was clouded in sadness as Ebony, for whatever reason had rejected the foal.

Joshua attempted time and time again to calm Ebony down so the little foal could eat, yet she tried to strike at him and the foal several times. In fact she seemed to be intent on killing the foal. Joshua pleaded.

“Please Ebony, you gotta let him feed.”

Ebony’s response was to attempt to buck the foal, yet Joshua was quick enough to pull the foal away. He cursed.

“Dragons spit! Calm down, girl! Hey Jacob!”

Jacob stood and went over to try to calm down Ebony, only to have the mare bite at him. “Son of a bitch! I’ve never seen her like this!”

Joshua shook his head. “I gotta find a way to feed the little guy. If we don’t then he’ll starve. She’s always been a handful, but Ebony’s never acted like this.”

Jacob sighed. He walked over to a barrel full of water to wash his hands. “Well, she’s never been a mother before. Tell you what. Daisy lost her foal, right? Why not give this little guy to her? Maybe she’ll accept him.”

Joshua sighed, petting the foal gently before taking him away and putting him in a small pen for the moment. Jacob shook his head.

Diana came up to Jacob. “Jacob. Do you have a moment?” He turned to look at her. “Maybe. Ebony is rejecting her foal. Gotta help Josh introduce Daisy to the foal and see if that won't help.”

“It's important…” She trailed off, looking from side to side.

Jacob understood and turned to Joshua. “Hey, I’ll be back to help in a bit. Don’t wait for me, okay?”

Joshua gave him a thumbs up and continued his work while Jacob and Diana discussed things in the barn.

Joshua went over to the pen and gently placed the foal inside it. He knelt down to stroke its mane. The foal laid down on its side. He looked depressed. Joshua gently smiled and stroked the horse’s mane. “Shhh. It's okay. You’re gonna be okay. Daisy is a good ol girl. She’s gonna be a good mom to ya.” The foal breathes heavily out of sadness. Joshua sighed and patted the little foal, staying with him and giving him some tenderness and love.

In the Barn, Jacob sat down as he looked at Diana. “...You’re sure about it?”

Diana said nothing, but offered a simple disheartened, worried nod and a frown. She rubs her eyes and looks down. Jacob runs his fingers through his hair in stress and sighs.

Diana looked to Jacob. “...What are we going to do?”

He stands up and places a hand on hers and nods. “We’ll figure it out…” Back at the pen, Joshua steps out to give the foal some space. He scratches his neck as he goes over to fetch some water to drink. Filling a glass up, he drinks. It was hot, strangely so as it was close to harvest time and in the dying days of summer. One last show of force no doubt? The wind began to pick up. A nice cool breeze for a moment or two before it became more intense.

Joshua blinked and looked around, fearing the worst. He turned around and faced the direction of the Iron Mountain. His fears were realized. He dropped his cup and quickly bolted to the alarm bell and rang it loudly. “Dragon!!! Dragon!!!” Jacob and Diana quickly ran out and looked to the west to see the ever growing black shape that was heading straight to their farm. Instantly Jacob called the children.

“Shelter! Get to shelter now!”

Instantly all of the children ran out of the house and fled to the safety of their underground shelter. The brothers stayed outside of the shelter to make sure everyone made it in,yelling to them.

“Come on! Let's move it! Move it!”

The large family hurried inside until they were safely inside. Jacob crouched down to the shelter door. “We have to save as many of the animals as we can!”

Fiona was practically screaming at this point. “You’ll be Killed!” Jacob went off with Joshua close behind him.

The air was full of noise. The sound of leathery wings beating against the air grew louder as the dragon approached. The dragon’s flight created great gusts of wind as if a typhoon and struck the land. The bleating sounds of the animals echoed as they began to panic. The large black shape drew closer and closer until it flew past the brothers, knocking both of them down on the ground. Jacob rose up. “He’s heading for the cattle!”

They rushed over to the cattle herd and would hear the bellowing wailings of the cattle as the dragon landed and began to burn them. The cattle were beyond terrified and scattered. The dragon, who’s size was as great as the day is long, burned as many cattle as he could before swallowing multiple cows in a single gulp, feeding on them as a Whale would feed on krill.

The cattle screamed and began to stampede through to the gate. Joshua and Jacob saw that the massive horde of frightened animals were about to bust through the gates. Jacob pulled Joshua aside in the nick of time and ducked away as the cattle rammed through the gates and charged through, almost trampling the brothers. The cattle tore through the farm, running over everything they could in order to escape the dragon. Once the horde had passed, the brothers rose up to check the damages of the farm. That was when they saw him. The Dragon towered over them as he hunched over to finish his meal. The great beast could have eaten anything out in the wild that was more than enough to fill his belly. That was not the point. This was far more vindictive. A vengeful, hateful act against humanity. Something meant to put down all men so as to ensure none could rise up against him. For if any man did, they would be slain.

This was the means of a tyrant. The cruel ruler of the land who viewed himself over the kings of man. Every aspect of this creature inspired one emotion. One primal response to all who laid eyes upon him. Fear. Total, blinding fear that filled the hearts of all men as it did with Joshua and Jacob as they laid eyes on him for the first time. So great was his size that he dwarfed their two story house. So hard were his scales that it was said that nothing could pierce his hide. So black were they that they could be compared to the blackest, decolite, most hopeless pit in the seven hells. His horns curled and split into three sharp points on each side, adorning his brow like a crown, pointing back to the highest points of his head. A single scale off his side was so large, if one could take a scale and live long enough to tell the tale, they would fashion themselves a mighty tower shield. His head was akin to many different reptiles with features that of a monitor. He had folds all along his head which expanded as he was angered. It was like the hood of a cobra. His eyes were a blazing, hellish red that burned with hateful fire.

His teeth were sword-like, sharp enough to cut through flesh and bone, and able to pierce the hardest of hides. His large body was bat-like, with a massive wingspan that could lift him up without issue. He stood on two powerful back legs, with large talons that were perfect for carrying larger prey like the great mountain saurids, large dragon like beasts that were just under the size of a barn. Yet while he could kill them as easily as a man could kill a rabbit, he chose not to. His large, leathery wings acted as forearms to help prop himself up. This was typical of black dragons. Each dragon race was unto themselves their own private nation. Each species had something unique about them, and his ilk was no exception. His tail was long, and ended in a sharp, bladed club that was akin to a four pronged bladed mace. It was perfect for cutting into rivals, what few there were, and shattering bone.

This was the tyrant under the mountain. The slayer of the golden empire, and the ruiner of nations. He was more than just a dragon. He was more akin to the full wrath of nature scorned, akin to a hurricane destroying all in its wake. A tornado crashing through villages and towns. A falling star that would decimate entire countries, and send them into an era of twilight. The Great Wyrm who ruled over Vanlandius with an iron fist. This was the one who even great kings must walk on eggshells around to avoid his wrath. His very name in the ancient tongue of dragons summed him up. Black Terror Serpent. A fitting name for one so cruel as this lord of calamity. A name that tells one everything that one needs to know about him. His name was Vedmaarvith,and he had come to feed.

The brothers could do nothing but watch as the dragon fed. They knew how vindictive Vedmaarvith could be. The Iron Road was a testament to that. Vedmaarvith turned, having sated his hunger for both flesh and the misery of men. He noticed the two brothers as they watched helplessly. Vedmaarvith said not a word. A simple hiss and growl, flicking his serpentine tongue in the air while the brothers lowered their heads, afraid to react. The dragon opened up his wings and began to lift himself up from the ground, the force of the wind knocking the brothers down like lame children. As quickly as he had arrived, Vedmaarvith was gone, his black serpentine silhouette slowly vanishing the further he went.

Meanwhile, down the winding road, Ulysses and Illyana traveled. It was Illyana’s turn to ride the horse. She looked around the calm, serene forest path as she and her new companion traveled. Ulysses held the rein of the horse as he walked, leading the horse. Ulysses casually spoke.

“You’re a long way from home. Elynwyn forest is southeast of here.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Illyana sat silently. She looked away and seemed to pretend she did not hear the question.

Ulysses cleared his throat. He spoke to her in a tone that was clearer, and sterner. “Are you homesick at all?”

Illyana was again silent. She hid her face away from Ulysses.

Ulysses sighed, feeling slightly defeated. “Well, sorry. Just trying to strike up a conversation.”

Illyana turned her head to him and shook her head. “No. No. I’m sorry. I… don't like to talk about home.”

Ulysses smiled, finally getting some words out of her. “That’s alright. Everyone has that one thing they don’t like to talk about.”

Illyana looked down. She felt guilty so she tried to get the ball rolling. “What about you? Where are you from?”

Ulysses smiled, walking down memory lane as he spoke. “Sigurdsehre. Town of Owen’s Hearth. Lovely place, if you can stand the smell and rats.”

Illyana smiled lightly. “Don’t like rats much, do you?”

“Of course not. Little disease ridden blighters.”

She giggled lightly as if the idea itself was ridiculous. “What did rats ever do to you?”

He blinked for a moment, there was a pause for a split second as he processed the question. “...Because they spread diseases? They’re dirty, they shit on everything, they were the cause of the last plague, need I go on?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure that any animal can carry a disease just as easily as any rat. A rabbit could spread the next plague,yet you don’t kill them on sight.”

“Well, rabbits are different.”

She smirked and cocked her eyebrow. “Okay. How are they different?”

“Well, you see…” He stammered with his words. “I…uh. They’re… Well they… I…” He tried to think of more of a good reason before he shook his head. “Because they are!”

Illyana chuckled and grinned wickedly under her face mask. “Right~.”

Ulysses groaned, having been soundly defeated in this debate of rats and their reasons to live. “By the Gods, I forgot how much elves loved to be right, even if they have to go through such mental gymnastics to be right.”

“Whatever you say, sir.” She realized that she was actually enjoying herself. They have a disagreement, but they are having fun talking about it. She was having fun.

Ulysses smiled a bit, glad to actually talk with her instead of her being in silence.

She looked at him curiously and would continue to pry. “So what makes your little rat haven so special?”

“Eh, little things here and there. I was born there. My parents died when I was a baby, so I was brought to an orphanage.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry.”

. “I never knew them, so I’m not too overly attached. They died in a dragon attack. Vedmaarvith.” He had lied to himself at that moment. He never knew them, and yet they sacrificed themselves so he might live.

“Ulysses?”

He shook his head to frighten away the ghosts of his memories. “Sorry, Lost myself for a moment. Anyway, I spent my younger years growing up in the orphanage. I met someone down the line. Tabitha. We got into a bit of trouble here and there. At night we would sneak out to look out at the stars. We grew close… very close.”

“Before long, I was conscripted in the army and fought the Khanjir.”

“You fought the Khanjir?”

“Aye, and if you’re wondering, they’re every bit as brutal as the stories tell you. They’re animals. Butchering, raping, pillaging, taking babies away from their mothers arms and forcing them into slavery. They are every bit as barbaric as you can imagine.”

She signed, looking ahead down the road as he continued to speak.

He scratched his beard for a moment before speaking. “Lost a lot of good friends to them. I swore to myself I wouldn’t let them come to Owens Hearth and take everything I cherished. At that point, the mine had been emptied, so the town fell on hard times. But that was still home. No way in the Seven Hells would I allow them to take what was left.”

She silently listened, twirling her fingers around each other as she listened, not even paying attention to the road anymore.

“But before the war ended, I… made a mistake.” He thought back to that day, where he had taken the wrong life because of fear. He shook his head. “I was kicked out.”

She looked at him with curious eyes. “...What did you do?”

“I saw some movement in a house. I was afraid, I didn't think straight. I just pulled my crossbow and opened fire. I was so damn sure it was a Khanjir trying to do the same. It… it wasn’t. It was a mother and child… I killed two innocent souls. I will have to live with that until the day I die…”

Illyana stepped off of the horse to hug him. Ulysses was surprised to be sure, but accepted it. Before he could ask her what had happened to her, she sighed. “Not… Not now… But I will tell you. You let me know about what troubles you, so I’ll tell you. Just give me time.”

“Take your time.”

As she got back on the horse she looked up at the sky and noticed a thick black cloud in front of them. She blinked and recognized it as what it truly was. Smoke. She pointed it out to Ulysses and he nodded. They ventured further down the road until at last they came upon the source.

The state of the Remington homestead was chaotic. The farm house itself had caught fire, not by the dragon's flame, but from an oil lantern that was knocked over by the beating of his wings. The brothers Remington tried desperately to save the house, filling up buckets of water and splashing them into the house.

Ulysses leapt off his horse and frantically tied the reins to a fence post. “By Anu. Is there any magic you can use?”

Illyana froze, staring at the fire, her eyes consumed by the dancing flames all around the homestead.

“Illyana?”

The flames sparkled in her eyes, as terrible memories and haunting visions washed over her like the waves during a typhoon. She began to hyperventilate as watches. She could hear something growing louder in the back of her mind. She listened in, and could swear she heard her brother. He frantically called her name again and again, and each time she heard her name, she could feel the overwhelming sense of her judgment day drawing closer and closer to her.

“Illyana!”

Her eyes snapped shut and she looked around, noticing Ulysses staring at her. “I-I’m sorry. I… They need our help.”

Ulysses nodded as both tied their horses to the posts and ran to the Remington family’s aid. Ulysses ran over, waving his arms to the brothers to get their attention. “Hey there! Anyone inside the house?!”

Jacob shook his head. “No, Our family is in the shelter. You want to help?”

Ulysses nodded quickly. He rushed over to get a pail of water. He began to throw water into the window to get the interior, but the fire raged on. At first, it appeared to be a hopeless task. Then Illyana came. She closed her eyes and calmed her nerves. Fire magic was easy for her to use. It was a part of her, like her arm was a part of her, yet other magics were more difficult to learn on her own, as were the spells she was attempting to do now.

She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. Her mismatched eyes began to glow a bright blue. Her hands were covered by a very thin layer of frost, emitting a soft condensation around her arms. She took a bucket of water, and effortlessly scooped the water out with her bare hands, forming all of the liquid into a ball, suspended by her own will. She went inside the house to the fire inside, and took a handful of water and blew on it, turning it into a ray of snow and frost that began to put the fire out. She went from room to room to snuff out the flames with the cold until even the burning embers were encased in a thick blanket of snow and ice.

The effort took a toll on her body. She felt weaker with each room she passed, but she refused to quit. She wouldn’t allow her body to grow weak right at the apex of this task. When she was done, She stumbled out of the house and fell to her knees, the light in her eyes fading and the frost on her arms melting rapidly. Ulysses went to her side to help her up, putting her arm over his shoulder so she could hold on. Joshua and Jacob were stunned. Their home was damaged, but it could be repaired. It was not a complete loss. The same could not be said about the livestock.

After spending the rest of the day rounding up the cattle and other livestock that had scattered from Vedmaarvith’s arrival, The brothers Remington performed a headcount. They counted and recounted to make sure they had an accurate number. Unfortunately, it was not in their favor. Jacob read the makeshift list he had made and crumpled the paper and angrily threw it into the newly prepared campfire, startling Joshua and the other members of the family as they had previously set up a camp in front of the house. The house itself was much too dangerous to sleep in thanks to the damage.

Jacob sat down in front of the fire. “We have less than a quarter of livestock left. Because of the repairs we’ll need for the fences and the house, we won’t have enough to get new livestock. We’ve been crippled.”

Joshua stoked the fire and would offer his two copper. “Well, I mean it's not a total loss. We’ve been through worse.”

“Worse?! Our farm was just attacked by Vedmaarvith? How is this not the worst thing?!”

“W-Well. The house needs some repairs, sure, but a lot of it survived thanks to our mage friend over there. The fences shouldn’t be too much of a problem. We have plenty of cattle left. I mean, we can tighten our belts for a litt-”

Jacob stood up and barked, growing angry as his brother made light of what he thought was a devastating tragedy. “Tighten our belts?! Do you not understand that there's a war going on?! Think for one bloody moment. If the Khanjir manage to push further into Sigurdsehre, then the king will need to get more soldiers. More soldiers means more food. They will start to confiscate food from farmers and leave us with nothing! They’ve done so in other farming areas, and they will do so here.”

“If is a very big word, Jacob.”

“Not big enough. We’ll have to get more money for the family. I refuse to let them starve.

Joshua stood up and looked puzzled. “What's gotten into you? You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”

“And you don’t sound too concerned with keeping your family fed! Do you even care?!” Jacob thought about what he said and cleared his throat. “I-I’m sorry, Joshua. I… I’m just stressed. Look, we both agree that we need money, right?”

“Well yeah, But we can bounce right back. We have before.”

Jacob nodded weakly. “Yeah?” He gave Joshua a forced, fake smile. Something was eating him up, and it was showing. He looked over to Ulysses and Illyana and thought about the added debt of having to reward them. He sighed and stood up, Joshua following closely.

Ulysses had overheard the yelling from where he sat with Illyana. Illyana was still recovering after straining herself with the spell. She had used a lot of her energy to maintain it for so long. Magic was taxing on the body, yet Illyana would do so again in a heartbeat. Though now, she was resting, slumbering peacefully in her sleeping bag.

Jacob stood in front of Ulysses. “Thank you again for saving the farm. I’ll admit, it was almost much worse than I could fear. However, we’re still in a bit of a bad spot.”

“Yeah. If there's anything we can do to help, We can do it, though we’re on a schedule, and before you ask, no: I probably don’t have nearly enough gold to help with cattle.”

“Do you happen to know of any odd jobs that are open in town?”

Ulysses cocked his eyebrow and looked puzzled. “Uhh. No? We haven’t even made it to town yet. We were just passing by. We’re on our way to do a job.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what job?”

Joshua stepped up. “Hold on there.” He placed his hands on Jacob’s shoulders. “Think my brother and I need to have a quick talk over here.” He led him to a more secluded spot before confronting Jacob. “What's gotten into you?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? You’re acting like it's the end of the world. I mean, we have food. We have money left over at the bank, we’re not destitute.”

“Joshua, we need money asap. No matter how much money we have in the bank, it won’t be enough to pay for the new cattle. If the army comes now, then they will take every head of cattle we have left, and we’ll be in worse shape than before. If we at least have some gold, then we can pay them off.”

“But we just met these guys! Yeah they helped us, but we don't know how dangerous this job of theirs is. They look like adventurers, for all we know they could be trying to slay a giant or-or a vampire or something.”

“Listen to me.” Jacob placed both hands on Joshua’s shoulders and looked firmly into his eyes. “We have a duty to our family. Do you want them to live in poverty?”

“W-Well no, but-”

“Then Trust me, Joshua. We have to see if we can get involved in this. Even a little bit more gold will go a long way to getting us back on our feet. Whatever it is, we can handle it. Together. Okay?”

Joshua looked over at their wives and children. Jacob had never steered them wrong before, so why now? He relented and nodded. “Okay. Fine. We’ll see what they want, but if they want to fight a dragon or something, we’re not doing it, alright?”

“Deal.” Jacob went back to Ulysses. “After some careful consideration, my brother and I have decided to help you in your task.”

Ulysses chuckles slightly. “Have you now? And why should we take you with us?”

“Because, my friend. Joshua here is the strongest man I’ve ever seen. He literally grabbed a bull by the horns and brought it down.”

Joshua twiddled his thumbs sheepishly. Joshua was not a glory hound. He was a very modest man with modest ambitions. “It wasn’t that big of a bull, to be honest. I was trying to clip his hooves and he got loose and-”

Jacob interrupted. “And, I know the lay of the land and can get us all some good supplies for a fraction of the cost. With my brains and his brawn, there will be no challenge you can’t face.”

Ulysses thought for a moment. He could admit, he could go easy on the spending when it came to buying supplies, and Joshua was a large man. Taller than even he. He sighed and relented. Besides, there was more than enough gold to get the family double their cattle. “Right. If you’re going with us, then you need to understand, this isn't wrestling bulls or getting a good deal while shopping. This is dangerous territory we are going in. We don’t know what we’ll face, but you can expect we will get into some type of trouble. You may have to defend yourself. You know how to do that?”

“We know the basics, yeah.”

Ulysses nodded. He stood up to look the brothers both in the eye to see if they were truly ready enough and determined enough. “Right. We’re heading to some house named Hawthorn house. We have to rescue some baron's daughter.”

Jacob smiled and gave a chipper response. “When can we start?”