Tightening the straps on the saddle, I patted Grimm, my dragon, on his side. His sapphire blue scales glistened in the sunlight reflecting the rays in a gleaming fashion that made the reflective flecks in each scale sparkle like stars in the night sky. A long exhaustive sigh escaped me as I let my hand rest on his side after the prong fell into the punch hole that was worn with use as the spot that held the saddle tight in place. My head drooped for a moment as I remembered all the fighting that had taken place in recent years. We’ve been fighting these damned Shadow Beasts for over three years now and all I could seem to see was the blood of my fallen brothers, spilled on the fields of Hogarth.
We were called to fight in a battle that we hope will end this struggle once and for all. Realization dawned on me. Placing one foot in the stirrups I pulled myself up into the saddle and paused again as sorrow and exhaustion hit me with full force.
“Are you OK Sebastian?” Grimm asks through our mental bond, concern evident in his tone.
“I will be when this gods damned war is over,” I replied. “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep going like this.”
The Council sent us to help a village with a Shadow Beast problem while the rest of the troops assembled for the major battle. As soon as we were done, we were to head straight to Nan Cuil in the west to meet up with the main force. Looking around at the village, I could see the people moving the bodies of the dead to the outskirts of town where they would bury them. The smell of burnt buildings and blood wafted to my nose as a few of the children still gathered around Grimm looking up at him with awe.
Three Shadow Beasts had plagued this town, and they have done nothing but make a mess of it. Having dealt with many of these beasts in the past, this was nothing new, but every time I saw the devastation they left, I felt anger and resentment at the situation we found ourselves in. These people were the ones suffering day in and day out because of the decisions that were made not to act so aggressively. Now, with the threat to the town dealt with, we needed to hurry to fight with the other Dragonriders, and I was feeling the weariness of one who had not rested in a long time.
“We have to go. We need to make haste if we are to be of any help to the others.”
With his wings extended to their maximum length in warning he was about to take off, the muscles of his shoulders and back bulged with anticipation of the movement as Grimm prepared to take off. The thin membrane that stretched across the wings shone in a lighter blue than his scales but still was a beautiful sight to behold. The children took a few steps back to be out of the way and he flapped his wings, the air buffetting their hair, faces, and clothing. Once in the air, he pointed west and we flew off to Nan Cuil. The landscape began to blur under us as Grimm powered on to reach the valley as soon as we could. It was a few hours away, even at this speed so I tried to relax while we traveled.
After a time the forests on the north and south sides as well as the cliffs that marked the west and east boundaries of the valley came into view. Smoke was already rising from the valley as we neared.
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“Damn! They already started,” I called to Grimm, fear gripping me as we got closer. “We have to get in there to help!”
I could see the battle raging on as we began to fly over the valley. The Shadow Beasts looked as though a sea of black had rolled in and was attempting to overrun the dragons fighting desperately on the other side. Beams of light shot out from the Dragonrider’s lines and into the mass of dark shapes on the other side, some exploding with force and leaving small pockets of ground that were quickly swallowed up by more of the shadows moving in to take their place.
Surveying the battle from the sky, I watched for where we could be the most help.
“There, the left flank,” I mentally sent to Grimm, pointing with one hand in a useless gesture that he couldn’t see from my seat at the base of his neck. “Get in there so we can shore up that area.”
The world turned in a partial roll as we banked toward the left flank and dropped out of the sky, diving to the ground. Shadows exploded out in dark ash-like flakes as we landed, crushing some of the enemies under the tremendous weight of an adult dragon. Vaulting from the saddle, I unsheathed my twin swords and took in the battle around me. Hot air brushed across my face from the fights and dragon breath attacks nearby, readying myself I twirled my blades in circles in my hands and sent a mental note to Grimm telling him which direction I was going. Striking out at the first enemy that came within range, I began to dance around my foes in a graceful display of death. Both blades bit deep into the shadow’s bodies releasing more of the darkened ash onto the ground as I slashed them. Pulling my blades in tight to dodge a blow, I spun quickly and extended my swords after a clawed hand missed me by inches, the head of the beast coming off in one clean strike.
Rearing his head back and then throwing it forward, Grimm let loose a blast of light breath into a group of shadows that were attempting to press in for an attack. Stabbing out, one of my swords took a shadow in the gut while the other slashed across the neck of another to my right. Pulling the blade from the gut of the first I blocked an overhand blow from my left and swung my right sword across to cut the beast in half that had tried to strike me.
As we continued to fight, it seemed like for every one beast we struck down two more were there to take its place. Slowly we gave ground, backing up and into the main force. The Shadow Beasts were moving around to encircle us, and with so many bodies nearby there was nothing we could do to stop it.
A cry came from my right and I looked quickly to see that a Dragonrider there had been cut down with a blow to the chest with a mace. Three four-legged cat-like beasts jumped on the falling body and began to tear it apart, blood spattering up from the body as he continued to cry out until he was cut off abruptly by a bite to the throat. Roaring its distress, his dragon had clearly felt the cutting of their bond and was going mad with grief. My heart began to grow heavier as I watched more of my companions die around me. One dragon was pulled to the ground by the sheer weight of what looked to be thirty or forty Shadow Beasts crawling over it like ants on a piece of meat.
We weren’t going to be able to keep this up. Our options were limited. Letting the magic flow from me as I gathered the spell, I let out an area of effect light pulse that cleared the area around me for fifty feet in all directions, killing dozens of the shadows as the light blasted through them. Retreating again, we moved to close the gaps in the line and moved to be closer to the main body of our force. This gave us a small bit of respite in that we were not separated and fighting together with others, but we were being hard-pressed. If something didn’t change soon, there would be no hope for this battle.