One man and a cursed sword, versus a dragon. For most it was a fairytale, a dream, something unreal. For those standing around a small clearing under the moonlight, it was a nightmare. Bodies laid strewn about, crushed and ripped in half, some on fire, some melted into puddles of acidic waste. Others were still alive, crying out for help that never came. Drefan felt ecstatic at the pleas, moreso when they finally went silent.
Charging across the rocky clearing he skidded to a stop, thrusting a wing in front of him as a sword sliced through it like butter. Roaring in pain he pushed out, tearing his wing further, but shoving the general from his glossy black horse. Walking forward, Drefan sighed. Perhaps he shouldn't have been hopeful for a fight of the ages, the general was just a human after all. What a disappointment.
Then, he was blasted back a dozen feet, the concussive shockwave pushing friend and foe alike, blood and guts falling across Drefans scales, and eyes. The general staggered to his feet, teeth gritted, and yelled thrice.
“From the sun and moon, grant me a boon.” By the end he was screaming the words, his body growing larger, and glowing, even as the sword in his gloved hands turned a sickly red. The man charged, slashing a broad stroke across Drefans left leg, scales shrieking as they caved and cracked like glass. Drefan snarled and snapped down with his teeth, but the general spun away. Lunging again, he met claw with blade.
The resounding shock sent a shockwave of force, but Drefan weighed more, and he watched as the general shot back like a cannonball into a cliff side hundreds of feet away. Roaring, Drefan stood up, energy building in his chest. This fight was over. Crawling to his jaw and dripping from his teeth like raindrops, the dragon's fire within him stoked itself for the third time that night. Condensed into a beam of pure acidic energy it melted through the cliff, obliterating anything in its path. Drefan was sure to win, nothing could survive such a force- screaming, Drefan stopped his energy, twisting and stumbling away. A silver alloy spear was lodged under his arm, where they had taken one of his scales earlier that day. His magic roared, pulled it it like a magnet, no longer under his control. Shuddering, Drefan felt his dragon fire go dormant. Then the humans charged.
Stolen story; please report.
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Crawling from the rubble the general discarded his armor. It was reduced to slag. His boon was exhausted, but he was alive and his sword required more blood. Stalking towards the dragon he watched in grim satisfaction as it thrashed to and fro, roaring as more silver alloy spears began sprouting from its body. By now it should be on its last breath, life energy pulled every which way.
“Chain the beast to the ground!” Pointing to four massive spikes the engineers had prepared soldiers set to work, tying rope to spear and slamming spikes through paw, straight into the stone beneath. The dragon had stopped fighting now, breathing in discomfort.
“You said your name was Drefan?” The general walked forward, looking straight into the dragon's fiery eyes. “Mine is General Kaleth.” Nodding, the general lifted his sword. The beast heaved, turning it's head to face him. Nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell of Drefans breath. The general shook his head. “Today is the day you die. May you sleep peacefully in whatever hell you belong.” Crashing his sword into the beasts neck he felt scales give, cracking like ceramic as the sword dug further into the neck. He hacked a dozen times, before pausing for his breath. Then, the dragon spoke.
“You made a mistake. Have you seen it yet?” Eyes narrowed, the dragon huffed another labored breath. Frowning, the general looked around. He was sure he had thought of every eventuality, every possibility. He had won. “You trick and deceive to prolong life. Not very admirable for a dragon, wouldn't you say?” the dragon just laughed in response. Laughed. Kaleth ignored the beginning of anger, and set back to work.
“What you forgot, tiny human, is that dragon magic has a mind of its own. And you took control of it away from me. I look forward to it deciding our fate.” Kaleth froze, looking at the dragon. He wanted to scream lies, but then he watched the dragon sigh, and close his eyes. His chest didn't rise again. Face paling in a moment, Kaleth turned to run. God's damn those silver tipped spears! No one had removed them. Those were his last thoughts as his body disintegrated, an explosive blast of corrosive gas killing everyone in seconds. When it was gone nothing remained, save the claws of a dragon, and a cursed sword, eternally hungry for blood.