Dragon Alliance Dark Storm : Dark Storm (13 page)

“An excellent demonstration of their precision and power, Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a cheer for the vanguard—the most feared creature that walks the land, save the dragons themselves—the Alliance land dragons and their crews!” Canjon whipped the crowd into a rousing applause. “May we all please give the 49
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’s catapult battalion a Draconian welcome,” he announced as the horse-drawn catapult wagons came around the corner. There were thirty-six wagons altogether, eighteen catapults, and eighteen supply caisson wagons, all drawn by eight muscular draft horses. Mkel surmised the new floating wagons would make this task much easier and give catapults a greatly enhanced flexibility in their employment. He looked forward to utilizing them with Willaward’s section but hopefully before the next battle.

The battalion commander rode an almost pure white hippogriff; he used its aerial and ground rapid transport to spot for the batteries as well as organize them for firing. He gave an order through his seeing crystal, and all of the catapults then turned away from the crowds, planted their supporting beams into the ground, and quickly entrenched them. The crews then immediately prepared the weapons for firing, which they could do in three minutes or less. He shouted out ranges and settings for the tension on the arm cables and ordered a dragons’ fire canister to be loaded; the weapon and supplies were quickly drawn from the support wagons. At a second signal, they were ignited, which was not customary unless the ground force they were supporting had a firm control of the battlefield or they were laying siege to a castle, for it was a sure sign to trace the origin of the projectile back to the crews. However, for demonstrations, it made for a good visual effect. With one more command, he ordered the launch, and all eighteen catapults cut loose. The fiery canisters streaked over their long arc like a deadly meteor shower, and all landed almost simultaneously with a ripple of explosions.

“Friends, was that not an impressive display? Those crews operate their siege engines with teamwork, speed, and precision. That is what makes the infantry’s job much easier,” Canjon emphasized to the excited crowd. “Now, please give a round of applause for the sapper and support corps battalions, for these brave souls make everything else the Alliance Army does possible. The sapper company, which is just slightly larger than an infantry company at just under two hundred, is marching in front of the legion’s support corps battalion, which is well over eight hundred proud men, women, halflings, and even a few dwarves. They are the ones who provide support the legion with all their supplies, digging, siege expertise, and repair, smithy, animal, and weapon support. Without them, the legion would be combat ineffective in a matter of days. Their long wagon trains are evidence of the total amount of supplies and general support needed by a standard legion,” he said, complimenting the unsung heroes of the Alliance Army.

“Now for the first part of the aerial demonstration, the hippogriff battalion of the 49
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Legion will perform a difficult double-flank strike of the target arrays to your front,” he announced as the council wizards changed the projected images to the ranger company and aerial battalion now flying around the side of the weir. The rangers, mounted on their s, were just a couple hundred yards in front of the hippogriffs of the winged battalion. The ranger company, just over one hundred strong, veered hard to the right and then began to swing to the left to come back in the direction of the crowd, flying just over their heads. The aerial battalion immediately split, diving in the opposite direction.

The rangers started their attack dive, which was echoed by the one hundred distinctive war cries of the s. All the rangers had their classic short bows ready or a dragons’ fire grenade in hand. As they swooped down, they fired their arrows and tossed grenades, hitting the wooden targets below as the images were amplified by the wizards’ projections. Fifty small explosions and fires littered the ground as the s flew low and then sailed just over the heads of the crowd up the sloped side of the mountain. The majestic beasts’ brown and gold feathers and hides were accented by the morning sun. As they climbed to the apex of their airspeed, they dropped, veered left, and began to fly toward the departing legion.

At that moment, the legions’ hippogriffs screamed in from both flanks of the amphitheater, over two hundred on each side. They streaked toward the targets as if on a collision course, all the riders readying their bows, crossbows, or canisters. The lead two squadrons were shoring up their positions, for this maneuver keyed all around their timing and angle of attack. Their whole battalion followed them, so if they were even only slightly off in their timing and direction, there would be massive midair collisions of the war birds. Just as the two converging parts of the battalion seemed about to collide, the lead riders unleashed their arrows and canisters and performed an alternating crisscross pattern. The crowd gasped as the maneuver started, thinking the hippogriffs would slam into each other. As the battalion performed the carefully orchestrated maneuver, the area below the strike angles was peppered with arrows and small flame bursts. That portion of the battlefield would have been nullified quickly if it were an actual fight.

The rangers swung back behind the aerial battalion to simulate their mission to pick up any hippogriffs and riders that might have been hit by arrows and brought down. These were tenacious fighters in the air and on the ground. Many times, they could land in force, pick up any survivors, and take off without a fight because of the sheer intimidation factor. However, even if they were engaged, they could surely back up their reputation. After the battalion and the rangers completed their attack run, they turned to the west and began to head out, while the aerial legion began to fly in from the top half of the Capital Weir Mountain at the highest altitude they could reach.

“Citizens and Civilians of the Alliance, please give the 49
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Legion’s aerial battalion a great round of applause for that excellent display of skill and precision,” Canjon announced. “Now if you would all look to the east, the Alliance Aerial Legion, otherwise known as the Hurricane Legion, is approaching.” The Alliance’s only pure aerial legion comprised three combat flying battalions, a support battalion, and three separate companies. One battalion was pure hippogriff; another was a mix of hippogriff,, and giant eagle, while the third was a mixed battalion of s, giant eagles, and the Sky Knights or paladins mounted on winged horses. The battalions had three wings or squadrons a piece with approximately one hundred to one hundred twenty aerial troopers and flying mounts each. The three separate companies were specially trained giant eagles that would fly cover for the rest of the legion by soaring at high altitude and performing diving interceptor attacks against enemy aerial forces. Their riders were armed with long, mithril-alloy-tipped lances, and their giant eagle mounts had mithril-alloy coverings for their talons, giving them extraordinary slicing capability. Each aerial battalion also had an attached support corps company from the support corps battalion, which was both aerial and ground based.

The Sky Knights led the legion around the mountain; their gleaming armor like a hundred sparkles on top of their pure-white or pure-black winged horses shone brilliantly in the sunlight. Their long lances were raised, all flying the white over black silk scarves of the paladin, symbolizing light over darkness or good over evil, fluttering wildly at the speed they were flying. Their shields were ornamented with a blue sword cradled in a white wing, leaving no room for doubt about their origin. They led the over fifteen hundred flying mounts and riders past the amphitheater, creating their characteristic hurricane-like sound with the wing wash of so many feathered mounts. Once over the crowds, they then started to climb and turn to the north. They were initiating the famed vortex or tornado attack that only the aerial legion could perform. The interceptor eagle companies separated from the rest of the legion and took their places high above their comrades.

The long line of Alliance flying mounts started to take the form of a large band as they ascended in one long, curved line and began their circular pattern. The winged horse mounts of the knights then began the spiraling descent, which initiated the vortex attack. The tens of hundreds of mounted avian creatures began to follow the flying horses in a downward circular pattern, and the ones who possessed dragonstone weapons started firing arrows, energy bolts, and spells. The rest of the legion then initiated arrow and dragons’ fire grenades to add to the legion’s destructive power. As the Sky Knights descended to within a few hundred feet of the ground, they tightened the circle, which focused the fire on a smaller area, intensifying the number of projectiles hitting the targets directly below. This grinding effect would have annihilated any forces at the terminal end of the tornado. The lead paladins pulled their mounts up and began the initial unwinding of the funnel of destruction they had started.

The follow-on s, giant eagles, and hippogriffs continued the onslaught of the vortex to the targets below. The base of the funnel did move horizontally to ensure an equal dishing out of the punishment below and giving the maneuver the appearance of one of the tornadoes that moved across the plains of the southern part of the republic. As the legion unwound, they left a devastated field below. If there had been an army on the receiving end of that maneuver, they would have been utterly annihilated. The crowd went wild as the aerial legion pulled up and started to fly to the west and out over the bay.

“Please, good people of the Alliance, that demonstration deserves a proud Draconian salute,” Canjon announced with exuberance as the applause and the cheers were reenergized. The two interceptor companies dove from their great height all giving out their fierce war cry and swooped over the practice field, chasing after the legion. “Now a special treat, the Capital Weir is pleased to announce the debut of a grand project undertaken by the top wizards and alchemists in the Alliance. With the generous help of the elves and the Capital Wing dragons, the order of the Dragon Knights now appears with their three new types of mounts escorted by the Capital Wing. We first bring you the ground-mounted knights on spike drakes.

“These fierce creatures are the size of an elephant, faster than most horses, and as tough as a wolverine. Their formidable dorsal spikes make them a nasty mouthful for any chromatic dragon, and their tails can fire, spear-like projectiles like a manticore’s, but larger, farther, and more accurately. Their stubby bulldog-like snouts hold a formidable set of bone-crushing jaws, not to mention their unique but powerful breath weapon,” he explained as the twelve spike drakes moved across the parade grounds in front of the stands, their mounted knights heavily clad in mithril-alloy or lined armor, with their long lances and dragonstone weapons ready at both the front and back. These stout creatures had thick torsos and short but powerful legs and were a unique reddish-brown color with black stripes running perpendicular to their dorsal spikes.

“They can also change colors rapidly to match their surroundings, making them almost invisible. The powerful beasts can emit a fearsome roar, which doubles as their breath weapon. It can fell an ogre in one blast. The spike drakes, while just a little over half as long as a land dragon, are more compact and faster, also able to leap great distances as well. This increased agility and speed does not allow the use of a reinforced platform like on the land dragons, so only two riders mount the creatures. The dragon knights that General Becknor and Colonel Therosvet assigned to this detachment are the larger ones among their comrades and will be tasked with ground escort given the speed and tenacity of the new mounts. Woe to the giant or anything other than a chromatic that dares to challenge these tough new beasts,” Canjon added.

“Next, we have the second contingent of the famed Dragon Knights, flying in on their new mounts, the brilliant dragon horses or dracogriffs,” he continued, keeping the crowd enthralled. A troop of oversized dragon horses flew in from around the weir, their dragon-like membranous wings stretched to their full thirty-six to forty foot wingspans to keep their twelve- to fourteen-foot-long sleek, smooth dragon-skin bodies streaming through the air. Their colors were a mixture of the five metallic species or a blending, but all were slightly different. “These beautiful but formidable creatures are a true crossbreed between a dragon and a horse with distinct features of both. They are also able to turn to the color of their background, deliver a nasty bite, rend with two sharp front claws, and unleash a thunderous line of sound disruption as their breath weapon has twice the range of their stouter land-bound cousins. These fierce mounts are almost as fast as a winged horse and just about as tough as the spiked drakes. The knights of this order will form the backbone of the premier’s bodyguards and his and Michenth’s personal strike force. All are experienced and powerful veteran paladins. I would think twice before crossing their paths!” he exclaimed.

The Dragon Knights themselves were high-degree paladins who had sworn oaths to defend the dragons and especially their riders, for the cause that is the Alliance. They were Michenth’s and Becknor’s handpicked warriors, guards, escorts, and limited emissaries. They were chosen from the best among the paladins of the Alliance for their courage and virtue and swore lifetime oaths pledging their lives to the arch dragon and his rider. They were given dragonstone weapons and took a potion that contained a minute drop of Michenth’s blood, which gave them great strength and constitution, magic resistance, and keener senses. They now mounted dracogriffs, spiked drakes, or the avenger dragons.

The troop veered toward the crowd so they could get a better look at them and their riders. They then circled around and turned into the color of the blue sky in the background, almost becoming invisible in the air. The powerful squadron then began to fly toward the west, turning back to their original color almost as if appearing out of teleport.