“Take cover!” General Knox roared. The iron scaled Tortoise Dragon spread his arms and a dimensional field, with a ten-kilometre radius, ballooned instantly. The Dragons and the Demi-Gods blinked and a colossal iron fortress plopped onto the ocean. The metal structure landed on an invisible platform and hundred metre tall waves spread out in every direction.

The Dragons vanished and passed through the glittery translucent veil. They appeared on the ramparts, inside the gunnery towers and in the courtyard. General Knox inhaled deeply. His Dragon bone armour had lost its iridescent sheen decades ago and his mask had chipped edges. He closed his eyes and the atomic warheads detonated on impact.

The surrounding waters evaporated, and the barrier was bathed in radioactive light. The shockwaves warped the interdimensional energy field and the iron walls rattled.

“Stay calm. It will hold.” A blue feathered Dragon rumbled calmly and she turned to the Turtle Dragon. He clapped his hands and millions of automatons marched out of the four iron gates. The waves of Draconic cyborgs vanished and appeared all over the Demi-Gods.

The tiny automatons exhaled plumes of glittery fire, before they clawed at and gnawed on the giants’ beautiful suits of armour. A few of the iron cyborgs turned to gold and silver. They initiated their self-destruct functions and detonated before their transformations were complete. The explosions of Dragon fire burned the Demi-Gods terribly and they screamed in agony.

“Now! Attack!” General Knox rumbled and hundreds of magical circles expanded. The Dragons unleashed their spells and the army of giants raised their shields.

“They produce the unthinkable and then fight like mortals. I do not understand them.” A Demi-Goddess said, and she scratched her chin with a frown.

“Perhaps that is all they are. The height of mortality.” Izanami replied, with a hint of disappointment. “Then is it not our duty to guide them away from the darkness and towards the light?” Izanagi asked with a mixture of sympathy and regret.

“The darkness is not to be feared, my dear sweet brother. The fear of the unknown is what left us open to the Outworlder’s invasion in the first place.” The Demi-Goddess replied and her brother stared at her.

“No. I refuse to return That place, to bow to…Them. We were right to reject the Outworlder’s offer. The yoke of madness should not be confused with a crown. Those wretched things would have made puppets out of us as soon as we had outlived our usefulness. Promise me, sister. Vow you will never deal with those vermin again. We are the only ones who can usher in the next age, but we must do so ourselves. One achievement at a time.” Izanagi waved his hand, and he wiped the automatons away.

“Impossible.” Major Naudé muttered and the Tortoise Dragon let out a gruff laugh.

“Interesting, but I have fought alongside of and against the Moonglow Dragons.” He said, with a smile and the automatons materialised mysteriously.

“Oh? Having trouble, brother?” Izanami asked playfully. “Hilarious. These aren’t mere machines. They have souls. Impressive.” Izanagi replied and his sister stared at him. “Such a waste of divine blood. The Blood God’s Yokai would have made for excellent cannon fodder. Now we are the ones dying, brother.” Izanami said and the Shinto Demi-God sighed.

“As it should be. I will spill an ocean of blood and shed a thousand-fold more before I ever breath the same air as a Demon. Let alone fight alongside of one.” The irritated Demi-God replied, and he watched the glittery iron automatons with a scowl. They spread like a plague and left the giant men and women exposed. The thousands of magical circles shone and snakes emerged from their centres.

The fiery, watery, rocky and bright white serpents sparkled. They slithered through the air, opened their mouths and bore their fangs. The magical snakes crashed through the Demi-Gods shield, devoured the energy fields that reinforced them and sunk their fangs into their flesh. The giants screamed, howled and roared in agony. The serpents converted their bodies into Mana infused elements and devoured them slowly.

“What a horrible way to kill.” Laurence whispered. “Aye, and it was once used to kill our own kind. I am ashamed to say I was hoping it would work. But it still makes me shake with fear and it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.” General Knox rumbled and the Dove Dragon turned to him. She noticed that the old Dragon’s hands were trembling, but his gaze was fixed firmly on the horizon.

Laurence looked up at the cloudy sky, before she lowered her head. Her eyes flashed, and she watched the giants writhe from the Turtle Dragon’s observation tower.

“Ready yourselves! March!” General Knox rumbled. “Good luck. May the Universe be in our favour.” Major Naudé rumbled hopefully and Laurence nodded. Her Astral body vanished and she opened her eyes quickly. The Dove Dragon looked up at the sky and clouds shrouded the skies above her tower. She exhaled and her Mantis Ship sailed towards an archipelago of tropical islands to the southwest.

The bright blue waters shimmered, and the giants gathered around the landmasses. They raised their hands and summoned their armies onto the beaches. Millions of warriors, wizards, clerics and war machines appeared with a bright flash.

The mortal forces erected stone bunkers and dimensional barriers on the beaches, as well as dolosse in the water. The glittery concrete tetrapods stopped the waves from reaching the beach. The domes swelled, and the soldiers inside the bunkers pointed their guns and cannons at the muddy killzones.

One hundred Dragons sailed towards the islands. Their Mother Ships sounded deep horns and the mortal forces gasped. They breathed heavily and waited patiently.

“Here they come.” A captain said calmly. She gripped her spear tightly and her comrades locked onto the tiny dots on the horizon. The number of dots grew exponentially, before the dreadnaughts and warships came into view. Small lights flashed and a barrage of nuclear warheads barreled towards the beaches. The crystal shells shattered against the watery domes and unleashed waves of destruction.

The shockwaves flattened the jungles and repelled the salt water. The radioactive heatwaves scorched the muddy sea bed before the mushroom clouds stretched towards the sky.

“It’s a smokescreen! Open-” the captain shouted, but she was too late. The dimensional fields popped like balloons and thousands of heavily armoured knights slaughtered everyone in sight. They moved like blurs and collided with the most powerful warriors amongst the enemy.

“Vile monster! What have you done?” the captain snarled and spat. She glanced at the corpses strewn about and noticed something horrid. “It is a fairly common tactic, where I am from. Target the weak and surround the strongest. Now. Surrender or die!” the heavily armoured knight declared. He swung gingerly and sent the captain crashing into the broken bunkers. She smirked, and the knight’s head rolled off his shoulders.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Reinforcements!” another armoured warrior warned and the glittery thread was pulled. The loops tightened and the magical threads cut hundreds of knights to pieces. The beaches were dyed red as waves of Draconic forces clashed with the Demi-Gods’ armies. Bombs collided in mid air, spells were cast at point blank range and the sounds of metal clashing drowned out the shouting and screaming.

*

“More wounded!” a warrior called out. “Keep your voice down, we can see. Set him down and leave. Leave!” Dr. Sanders shouted, and she sighed at the sight of the young man. “H-how bad is it…doc?” he asked bravely.

“Well, you’ll have a new scar. I heard they're quite popular these days.” Eden replied jokingly. “Ow. D-don’t make me laugh.” The warrior replied. “Rest, you’re in good hands.” Dr. Sanders assured him and she hovered her left hand over the exposed cheek bone. Eden’s brown hair fluttered, her glasses flashed and a Mana field enveloped her hand. The glittery orb of interdimensional energy had just written dozens of coin sized spells, when her wristwatch beeped. A holographic monitor popped up in front of Dr. Sanders, and she answered the call.

“What is it? I’m busy.” Eden asked quickly. “I know. Our beds are full. Are there any available in your hospital?” the exhausted man asked, and Dr. Sanders looked up. She saw the panic behind her husband and sighed. “Dr. Barker! How many beds?” Eden shouted, and the young warrior frowned.

“Four!” “Occupied!” “Never mind! Three!” Voices shouted back from the distance and Dr. Sanders scanned the hospital. The tiled floors between the beds were busier than they had ever been. Automatons, nurses, healers, alchemists and doctors all rushed from one side of the one hundred by one hundred metre hall. Her Astral bodies fell through the floor and they saw the same thing.

“There are still three beds, but hurry.” Eden replied coldly. An explosion shook the stadium sized hospital, and the lights flickered. “I don’t know if they will be available for much longer.” She added, and Eugene sighed. “It’s only been a week. We don’t have the capacity to heal every army. We have to start turning people away.” Dr. Sanders said to his wife, and she looked down at the warrior.

“Do you really have the heart to do that?” Eden asked with a smile. “No, which is why I was hoping you would do or say something out of character. Still, what is our Lady thinking?” Eugene wondered out loud, and his wife scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious?” she replied.

“How do I save as many lives as possible?” the couple said at the same time. Eugene and Eden laughed before the gruff doctor scratched his beard.

“But will we at this rate? I’m going to request an audience, before She decides to take in enemy combatants as well. I don’t know if I can play mediator between different camps, and I don’t want to risk the lives of my staff. Not again. I can’t go through something like that island again.” Dr. Sanders said, and his wife held her breath for a moment. The injured soldier looked up at her, before he looked away.

“Aye.” Eden whispered. She ignored the horrible flashes of mangled corpses, the distant screams and the debilitating fear. “I’m sorry.” Dr. Sanders said softly and his wife gasped. She cleared her throat and carried on with the procedure. “We are stronger now. Our defences are stronger. Our Lady is stronger and our allies are stronger. But still, I pray that no one goes through what we did.” Eden said, and the soldier glanced at her.

“Pray all you want, Doc. No one is listening.” The young soldier said bitterly. “That’s what I thought as well, and then He appeared. He showed us a vision of the future and our place in it. Mortality has a great and long role in this play. Now our Lady has her gaze fixed firmly on the horizon and our plight. If you want someone to pray to, then imagine a golden tree of light and your prayers will be heard.” Dr. Sanders said calmly and her husband listened to her carefully. Eden described the tall trunk, that stretched beyond the clouds, and the starry canopy with a smile. The soldier listened reluctantly, before he closed his eyes and prayed on a whim.

*

The Dragons launched another coordinated attack. Their Mother Ships drew nearer and the Demi-Gods threw their glittery golden spears. The back ends of the polearms exploded and beams of light pierced the colossal flying whales. The cities on their backs crumbled and the Mother Ships fell slowly.

Suddenly, thousands of Dragons burst out of the ocean. They grabbed the giant men and women’s heads, twisted and vanished immediately afterwards. The Dragons reappeared above the Demi-Gods. They slashed, shot, stabbed and burned, before they vanished again.

“Retreat!” A Demi-God called out. They produced glittery crystals from their pockets, pouches and satchels. Laurence tilted her head to the side, when the giants grabbed their comrades’ arms and slung them around their necks. They crushed the crystals in their hands and disappeared with a flash of light.

The Dragons let out mighty roars, while a dozen Mother Ships hung in midair and repaired themselves slowly. Their cheers were silenced by the sound of ten thousand trumpets. Glittery white clouds blotted out the sky and golden arrows rained across the battlefield.

“Take cover!" "Barriers!” the Dragons shouted and dense Mana fields ballooned. “We are just whittling each other down at this point.” Laurence muttered and the two forces collide in the air. The Dragons incinerated a large swath of Demi-Gods and they cut down dozens of winged giants in return.

“I thought the battles would be more drawn out. Will there be any of us left in the end?” the Dove Dragon rumbled solemnly. She stared at the horizon from her tower and the light blue waters were dyed red. Clerics, in beautiful robes, appeared beside the injured and deceased Dragons. They placed their hands on their allies and vanished along with them.

“This is just pointless destruction. Like a pendulum swinging back and forth. What territory we take they will surely take back and more people will die as a result. Yes, it is not Our numbers I should be worrying about.” Laurence rumbled shamefully. She glanced at the number thirteen next to the pine green silhouette of a woman, in the bottom right corner of her field of view.

The Dove Dragon closed her eyes. She stared at the tree of light in the distance and the migration towards it. Laurence smiled and inhaled deeply. She opened her eyes and nodded.

“Pave the path and let them decide. Freedom. Can the answer be so simple? If not, then I will make it so.” The Dove Dragon rumbled hopefully. She spread her wings and lowered her gaze. The cities near the coast drew nearer and the meadows between her and the medical facilities contracted. Laurence waved her hands and a single road branched out like a tree. She stitched the medical cities to her own and the world expanded like a spring. The roads wound up, down and around the meadows, while the highway stretched over the horizon.

*

It didn’t take long for news to spread and soon the streets were full of clerics and healers. They embarked on a pilgrimage to the Golden City to learn from the Dove Dragon herself. The rest were patients, small and large, that sought aid from the glittery city beyond the medical paradises near the shore.

Automatons in white robes circled the skies above the Golden City. They marched through the streets and occupied every building. Several Dragons nearly jumped out of their skin, when they stepped on powerful barriers. Some looked down quickly and apologized to the mortals they nearly crushed beneath their feet.

“This is absurd.” A Boar Dragon complained. “Then leave and seek aid elsewhere!” Laurence scolded and everyone’s eyes bulged. They peeked out the corners of their eyes and the entire city fell silent. “My apologies…human. I did not see you there. I will be more careful.” The Boar Dragon apologized reluctantly, before he nodded humbly and walked away.

“Are you alright?” the Dove Dragon asked softly, and the humans blushed. “Y-yes, my Lady. Thank you.” The young man said quickly. “Follow your guide and stay close to the pavement.” Laurence advised, and she vanished before their eyes.

*

“You are allowing her to undermine our authority, sir.” A Cat Dragon complained. “Ha! Your inexperience is showing, Corporal Klein. Perhaps if you were a better sponsor, their hearts would not be so easy to steal. Ensign Mokoena is doing what all healers do during a war. They soften the hearts of friend and foe and make it difficult to fight without questioning your motives and methods.” General Knox rumbled proudly.

“General Knox.” The Dove Dragon said politely and a few Dragons glared at her Astral body. “My apologies for prying you away from your duties, Specialist Mokoena.” The Turtle Dragon replied and dozens of smiles broadened. “Sir?” Laurence asked quickly. “We would not have advanced as steadily as we have without your services.” General Knox replied and the Dove Dragon sighed. “That wasn’t my intention, if I am being honest.” She muttered, and the Turtle Dragon laughed.

“I know, but still you played an important part in our conquest. In a month, we will erect the pyramid and activate the beacon. There will not be a need for senseless violence once we complete our objective.” The Turtle Dragon rumbled, and his kindness surprised Laurence. “Then may I request permission to take in enemy combatants?” she asked, and General Knox’s demeanor changed.

Do you understand what you are asking me to permit? Having the enemy so close to our medical camps will lead to disaster. No. Request denied. The risks are too great.” The Turtle Dragon rumbled sternly. “I appreciate your concern, General. However, we brought this war to these people’s lands. We have a responsibility to them as well. If not, then we are no better than monsters.” The Dove Dragon rumbled guiltily.

The topic of the discussion moved and worried the Dragons on the Turtle Dragon’s observation tower. However, it shocked the mortals at their feet. Some had never heard a Dragon refer to them as people before. The highly decorated men and women looked up at Laurence. They blinked and saw a flash of gold. It was warmer and kinder than the cold and enraged light their enemies emitted.

“Then so be it. I will become that monster to ensure our victory.” General Knox rumbled apathetically. “General-” “-that will be all. Dismissed.” The Turtle Dragon rumbled sternly and the Dove Dragon nodded, before her Astral body disappeared.

“Damn it! Stubborn dinosaur.” Laurence muttered and a Stalk Dragon sighed. “You didn’t tell him. Why didn’t you just tell him?” he asked and the Dove Dragon blushed. “Well, I was hoping he would grant my request, then I would reveal that I have already done it.” She replied, and Sergeant Matshabane groaned.

“It will be fine. We just have to be creative.” Laurence said optimistically and the Stalk Dragon shook his head. “Wait! We? You, convinced me to do this. You, told me you already had the General’s permission. Then You, failed to get said permission. By the Universe, this woman is going to get me court martialed.” He rumbled nervously.

“They won’t, if we end the war. What if we could set up a meeting with the enemy and broker a peace treaty? Are those soldiers still on your ship? I will send someone to speak with them.” The Dove Dragon said as she thought out loud and rubbed her chin.

“You’re joking? Yes, that won’t draw suspicion at all. No, I will send them to you. My people are more adept at concealing themselves.” The Stalk Dragon replied, and Laurence hugged him. “Thank you, Sergeant Matshabane. I am glad to have found a like-minded ally in this madness.” She said gratefully. “So am I.” he replied.