Queen Kaida stood atop the highest tower in Scalehaven, her family's seat of power for centuries, and looked out across the burning city.
She had known this day would come. Known it since the first of the dragons had come down with the sickness.
At first, her people had not been concerned. For a dragon to turn on its kin was unheard of, but not impossible. When the first dragon turned on its rider, again her people did not panic.
But Kaida knew. The other riders knew. Only those gifted in the art of dragon smithing could fully understand. For a dragon and rider to quarrel was akin to wrenching out your own heart and soul and burning both to embers.
Her people started to question when the second dragon fell. Panic truly set in upon the death of the fifth.
And that was when the Aviori uprising began. Kaida shouldn’t have been surprised, she supposed. The Aviorian people had not been treated well under her family's rule. Their ability to call upon the great eagles and sail the skies had always been too much of a threat.
The Aviorian people had been forced in to a life of slavery and subjugation. They had rebelled of course. For years, factions of the Aviorian people had opposed her rule. Skirmishes were commonplace, but they never amounted to anything more than a nuisance.
The death of the dragons and their riders had changed all of that. The opportunity was too perfect for the Aviorian people. For the first time in known history the factions of the Avorian people had banded together, under Elysia, rider of zephyr.
For the past 3 years Kaida and her people had waged war with the Aviorian people. A brutal, bloody and debilitating war. Month by month more of her dragons fell to the sickness. Her forces had been perilously pushed back, ceding land and territories.
Kaida had tried to reason with the Aviori of course. Tried to end the war without so much bloodshed. But they had not listened. The sins of her and her predecessors had been too great.
And now, here she stood. At the end of it all. Only one dragon remained, her dragon. Vaeloren.
Gazing out across the city, her city, staring through the flames, Kaida remembered Scalehaven as it once was at the height of her family's power.
The city was made of white stone, the sun glinted off lines of black marble that accented much of the city. Kaida could recall gazing down at the city from atap Vaelorens back. She would often set off from the peak of the city, from atop the tower upon which she now stood.
She would ride Vaeloren down the tiers of the city, all the way to the outer quarter. The city was spherical, and she would exult in circling the streets, soaking in the order and structure of the military quarter, the chaos and charm of the traders quarter, and the calm and cohesiveness of the outer quarter.
Kaida had not spent much time on the streets amongst her people, an act which she now longed for. But she recalled, seen from high above, the bustling markets, the playing children, and the camaraderie that littered the streets.
Kaida longed to once again see the dragon statues, carved out of green emerald, that littered Scalehaven. She wished to once again fly down the Rivertide pass, the glittering stream of pure mountain water that flowed from the peak of Scalehaven, all the way to the outer quarter and beyond.
Now, the outer quarter was reduced to rubble, people lay dead in the streets and the screams of the dying pierced the night sky. The fire that engulfed the city was calming in a way, familiar. The flames could not harm Kaida, her bond with Vaeloren saw to that.
Vaeloren had not yet succumbed to the sickness. Kaida didn’t know why, nor did she know if he ever would. It didn’t matter now anyway. Tonight would be their last night on this earth, she would see to that. The thought of Vaeloren turning on her was too much for Kaida to bear. She wouldn't let it come to that.
But that was an act for later. For now, Kaida had one more task to accomplish as queen of the Lomanian empire. She had to buy time. Before the Aviori had reached her city, Kaida and her council had hatched a plan to ensure the Lomanian empire would not be crushed.
Kaida was to lead an outfit of her people to a distant land, to start anew. This outfit would comprise 4 people, 2 men and 2 women, from each profession known. Farmers, cooks, accountants, soldiers. If a job was essential to the starting and running of a new town, then her council had seen them represented. 45 all told, Kaida included, was her outfit that was supposed to march out 2 days hence, under Kaidas protection. In their possession, 4 dragon eggs, the last in the known world.
But the attack had come early. Seen from the battlements that ringed the outer quarter, the swath of great eagles blacked out the morning sunrise. Never in all her life had Kaida seen such a gathering.
In droves the Aviorian people, atop the backs of their beasts, had descended from the sky to lay waste to the city of Scalehaven. Clutched in their talons lay boulders and barrels of oil, set with a fuse, that were dropped to crush or burn the people of Scalhaven, her people.
From all sides the eagles dove, snatching man, women and child from the streets, flinging them high and low to fall to their deaths.
Kaida had fought back of course. Atop Vaeloren she had clawed, burned and crushed hundreds of eagles and Aviorian people alike. From dawn until dusk they had fought, but they were simply outnumbered and outmatched. Vaeloren had been raked and clawed from all sides, his green scales now glistling a crimson red.
The onslaught was unrelenting but Kaida and Vaeloren had needed to rest. So Kaida had sent Vaeloren up the the mountain that lay to the east of Scalehaven, while she herself had been unable to tear her gaze away from the carnage that engulfed her city.
Amongst the chaos, Kaida’s council had sent bid her closest advisor and friend, Seraphel, to flee with the last of the dragon eggs. If her people had any hope of surviving and rebuilding, then those eggs were the key. They had to be protected and they had to be kept out of the hands of the Aviori.
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Kaida did not know where Seraphel would take the eggs, nor how far she intended to travel. She knew that they had descended from her keep, deep underground into the caverns that lay beneath. All she knew now was that she needed to give Seraphel as much time as possible to escape and ensure their survival.
So here she stood, overlooking the city, watching her people burn. The Aviori were deep in the city now, their ground force had reached the military quarter and what remained of her army were putting up a noble, if ultimately futile, defence. In the skies the great eagles circled, diving to grab her people, swooping to collect and drop giant boulders.
It wouldn’t be long, Kaida knew, before the city was overrun and her empire would be lost. But she wasn’t all out of fight yet. Neither was Vaeloren. Time, Kaida thought to herself. Time is all Seraphel needs.
Closing her eyes, Kaiden called to her dragon.
Come to me Vaeloren she thought.
And he came. Rising up from the hillside, his green scales coated in blood, glistling in the moonlight, Vaeloren took to the skies. His great wings, each the length of an aged oak, beat a silent rhythmic dance.
Eyes glistening a sun burnt orange, Vaeloren opened his maw wide, revealing razor white teeth stained a muddy brown from the battle, to let out a piercing cry that reverberated throughout the streets.
Climbing higher, Vaeloren tore through the skies towards Kaida. Kaida could feel him approach, their bond making them one and the same.
When he was nearly upon her, Kaida stepped lightly off the edge of the tower upon which she stood, to land astride his back, nestled in the nape of his neck. Kaida grasped the bulbose lump that nestled there as she lay against his hardened scales, thick as fists. Behind her, down the line of Vaelorens back, lay scale emerald hardened spikes tipped with white, that trailed down the length of his needle pointed tail.
Closing her eyes, Kaida sunk into the feeling of flying, exulting in the rush as she willed Vaeloren to descend toward the military quarter.
Time, she thought, they just need time.
Feeling her will, Vaeloren roared and increased his speed, arrowing towards his foe.
From their left and right, the great eagles came. Rushing to end this assault. Rushing to kill the queen of the Lomanian people, and the last remaining dragon.
In moments, the first eagles was upon them. With but a thought from Kaida, Vaeloren dove and rolled wrenching his claws across the eagle's underbelly, felling it and its rider. Righting himself, Kaida willed Vaeloren up in a great spiral, to arch and fall upon the next rider, taking his torso from his body, his eagles back broken from the impact of Vaeloren jaws.
Down they flew, towards the press of soldiers that were battering her own. Without a thought from Kaida, Vaeloren unleashed a stream of golden flame that engulfed them all, the screams of the burning fading as kaida willed Vaeloren to bank and climb.
Time, she thought, they just need time.
Turning, they faced two more eagles, both flying full speed, intending to ram their pointed, elongated, beaks into Vaeloren sides. Willing Vaeloren forward, sending him but a simple thought through their bond, Vaeloren angled for the eagle and its rider on the left.
At the last moment, Vaeloren beat his great wings, increasing his speed ever so slightly, to ram straight into the giant bird, taking its feathery kneck in his mouth, its rider knocked to fall the some 80 feet to his death.
Just before the impact Kaida had leapt from Vaelorens back, angling toward the rider on the right. From her belt, she unsheathed the long blade, crafted from emerald dragon scales atop Vaeloren back, and slashed out wide, raking the blade across the riders neck, blood coating the eagles back.
Down she fell, as she resheathed her blade, calling to Vaeloren, who swooped low and she landed atop his back.
Vaeloren pulled up and again they climbed. The next two eagles fell to Vaeloren scolding flame that crispened their skin and sent them tumbling.
The two that followed met much the same fate. But their assault was endless. Their long talons and sharp beaks scraping Vaeloren scales, seeking to draw blood and drop him from the sky. But for every nick or scratch the eagles put on Vaeloren, two or three of the great birds fell.
For two more hours they raged battle in the sky, dropping eagle after eagle, burning the streets and the Aviorian people an inferno.
Wounded and tired as the both were from the day's battle, focusing their efforts on the larger beasts that could pierce Vaeloren scales with but a scratch, they missed the smaller bird that flew low and underneath, scraping his pronged beak across Vaeloren flank.
With a roar, Vaeloren bucked and faltered, the wound sapping his waning strength. Wounded and tired as he was, Vaeloren failed to turn in time to miss the piercing beak of the larger bird that flew in from the left, ramming its beak into his shoulder.
Kaida slashed out with her blade, catching the bird on its side, causing it to tumble away.
A second bird slammed into Vaelorens wing, no care for its own life, piercing through the sinuous webbing that lined the length of his wing.
Vaeloren roared, lashing out with fire, turning the air around him into a blistering tornado, felling another bird and its rider.
Through it all, Kaida gritted her teeth. Through their bond she could feel Vaelorens pain, feel his rage and fury.
Time, she thought, they just need time.
Despite her best efforts, willing Vaeloren to climb higher, faster, he was wounded. The eagles were all around them now, pecking and clawing, drawing more blood and slowing them down.
In the streets below, the fighting continued but despite their best efforts, Kaida could see the Aviorian soldiers bearing down on Scalehavens keep.
Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, Kaida reached out her bond with Vaeloren, feeling his mind as if it were her own. She had one final card to play.
Feeling their bond in her mind, she grasped it, cupping it like water from a stream. It felt thick in her mind, like honeyed water, built from the years they had spent together, growing and learning.
Blocking out the sounds of battle, the screaming, the dying, Kaida reached into her own essence, her very being, and poured it into her bond. Vaeloren filled with energy, his speed increasing, his strength doubling.
Vaeloren unleashed a fiery death on all who came close, the flames now tinged a pale blue. He lashed out with razer claws and a whipping tail, gutting or crushing bird and person alike.
Time, she thought, they just need time.
Pouring everything she had, all that she was, into her bond, Vaeloren screamed with power. Inside she could feel him cry in anguish, cry in despair for what was happening. With one final push, the last of Kaidas strength left her, flowing into Vaeloren.
Their bond snapped, and with it the tether holding them both to this earth. Vaeloren exploded outwards, a sphere of silver blue power, raging outwards and turning everything it touched to ash. Countless were killed in the blast.
Kaidas final thoughts before she, the last ruler of the Lomanian empire, and Vaeloren, the last of the dragons, died, was for her people and all those that had died that day. She just hoped she had given Seraphel enough time.
Time, she thought, as her world went dark, they just need time.