Dragon Ultimate

On the great slope carved by Eras stood the pyramids of the Sinni. Bathed in the perpetual brilliance of the giant blue sun, they resembled a small city, clustered in concentric rings.

Within the protection of these pyramidal 'structs, the Sinni dwelled in crystal bubbles.

From here they fought the war against chaos and darkness, right across the Sphereboard of Destiny. Thus they had dwelled for aeons. But now an ancient menace had turned its attention to them.

"And I say unto you my brothers and sisters. He was defeated, but not destroyed."

"I hear you, great Yeer," said Vuga, known for his mildness of temperament. "But what can be done? He retired to Haddish, and there he broods."

" We must prepare, for he now knows where we are. For aeons we have kept him from that knowledge, but he has now acquired it."

An anxious silence fell. Then debate welled up, colored by newfound fear.

"If he has learned our location, then it is only a matter of time." So spoke grave Auriga. "He will find away to attack us."

"How can he approach us? It is not as if he can simply come here. He wouldn't survive a moment on the surface."

"My dear Voolan, you have not thought it through. He will come in some protected form. He is a master of transformations. He will find a way."

"
Then we must destroy him We must seek him out and put an end to his existence, as should have been done long, long ago "

"But we have never had the strength to do that "

"I fear that he cannot be destroyed He is beyond the power of the mortals "

"We must make some provision, " said Yeer "For he will come "

The bells of the Temple in Marneri rang out with wild exhilaration. Drums thundered in Tower Street and crowds stretched all the way down to the harbor, where the great white ships
Barley
and
Oat
rode at anchor, flying flags at every mast. Their ships' horns blared out a response to the bells of the land, adding to the riotous joy.

The siege of Axoxo was over. The enemy fortress, that matchless barrier of serried walls, mighty towers, and frowning battlements, had fallen. By a brilliant stroke of arms, the most difficult military engagement ever undertaken by the armies of the Empire of the Rose had come to a sudden and complete success.

As a result, the strategic balance of power with the old enemy in Padmasa had shifted toward the Empire of the Rose. Victory in the long war, which had continued for hundreds of years, was now conceivable. Armies of the Argonath cities now held both ends of the Padmasan defense system: Tummuz Orgmeen in the northern Gan had fallen a few years before. Now Axoxo of the White Bones Mountains had succumbed as well.

All over the Argonath bells were ringing as the troops came marching home. The crowds along Tower Street had come from all across Marneri, and even from the other city-states. Together they cheered the men of the Marneri First Legion, the Bea Legion and the Pennar Legion, who had fought alongside the Marneri First in the final assault on the fortress.

There was a manic edge to the joy in the streets. Just a few months before the city had been facing the possibility of a siege at the hands of rebels from the province of Aubinas. Now not only was that threat removed, but the long, draining siege of Axoxo had ended.

Marneri and the other cities had suffered heavy casualties in recent campaigns, particularly the mission to distant Eigo. That cost in lives had a disastrous effect on morale, and the fear of further casualties had inhibited the Argonath army at Axoxo. Now, that mighty fortress was taken, and with the loss of only 130 men and no dragons.

The stunning victory was achieved through a daring surprise assault, performed by meticulously trained troops in the hour before dawn. They had breached the walls and caught the troll guard asleep in quarters.

Trolls that were lying down, groggy with sleep, proved quite killable by men working with spears and axes. They cut the monsters' throats and bashed in their skulls before they could get themselves onto their ponderous feet and seize their weapons.

The slaughter of imps, trolls, and mercenary men had continued fitfully through the day as pockets of resistance were taken, sometimes in fierce fighting. But by then the Argonathi soldiers were assisted by the dragons of the 66th, 59th and 120th Dragon Squadrons, and this kept the casualties down to a minimum.

The city of Marneri was decked out in bunting and flags for the occasion, and the taverns were dispensing free wheat beer, and feasts were being held on every street and every corner.

Folk had flocked in from all the surrounding provinces. Men of Seant, Lucule, and Blue Hills, were there in great numbers. But they also came from places much farther away, like the village of Quosh in Blue Stone, which was a good five days' ride to the south.

There were even folk from Aubinas, the great wheat-growing province in the west. The rebellion there had subsided to a sputtering guerrilla conflict, consisting for the most part of raids by night riders. The towns were pacified, and the chief rebels were either in custody or had fled. The common folk of Aubinas had not been altogether behind the rebellion, except when inflamed by the burning of Redhill a much-misunderstood event during the early fighting. Now the common folk of Aubinas were there in the city to celebrate alongside their fellow citizens.

For once, the 109th Marneri Dragons were not in the ranks of the marching victors. Following their special service in the Aubinan fighting of the previous summer, they had been put on reserve duty. Since then the 109th, the most famous dragon squadron in the Legions, had been cooling its heels up at Dashwood Camp.

During that time there had come a move to disband the unit and disperse its members to other, newer dragon squadrons. Voices high in the army command claimed that the unit was too famous, too well known, and too prone to insubordination. All sorts of rumors abounded about what had happened at the battle of Avery Woods as well as in Aubinas.

The fighting 109th broken up? Never! Roared their supporters. A fierce bureaucratic struggle was joined.

Meanwhile the winter passed, then the spring and the summer. Again and again they received word that they were about to be sent to Axoxo. Again and again the final order never came. Officers relaxed, dragonboys wearily gave back all the extra freecoats and other equipment they'd accumulated for the arctic conditions to be expected in the White Bones Mountains, and dragons cheerfully took up their axes and marched out to the woodlots to cut and haul firewood.

And then there'd come the sudden, groundshaking news that the fortress had fallen to a brilliant surprise stroke. So the 109th Marneri Dragons were standing among the crowds welcoming home the conquering heroes, a change for them, they had noted with some amusement.

"This dragon happy not to have had to march all the way to Axoxo in the first place," said Alsebra, expressing a view held by all.

For the parade they were positioned very well, just where Tower Street opened out onto the wide parade ground in front of the tower. They sang dragon songs and even a round or two of the Kenor song to welcome the men back, but they really lit up when the dragon squadrons came marching up the street. The dragons roared welcomes back and forth.

There was Burthong, the champion Brasshide dragon, who'd stood beside them at the battle of Sprian's Ridge, and Champa, the old leatherback veteran from the Teetol Wars.

After the marching and the speeches were over, festivities got under way in the dragonhouse. Beer and hot vittles were served up in great quantities, and dragonboys from all the units present were mixed together in the refectory. It wasn't long before the question was asked.

"Where's Relkin?"

"Don't ask," came the response from Swane of Seant.

"Poor Relkin," said little Jak.

"What happened?"

"Witches got him. They took him away."

"Where?"

"The Islands. Months back."

"He wrote us a letter once."

"They cut bits out of it before they let us see it."

"He'll never get back."

"Who's looking after his dragon?"

"Curf."

"Curf!"

"Don't ask."

Indeed, dragonboy eyes could instantly see the difference in the Broketail dragon. His hide hadn't been brushed very well in a long time. His joboquin was full of loose places. The dragonboys sighed at the waste. The legendary Broketail dragon, which any one of them would have given an arm to tend for, was in the care of Curf!

The carousing went on late into the night. The dancing on the temple forecourt was still going strong as the bells rang for midnight.

In all the commotion no one noticed the hunched figure stumbling along Dock Street. No one noticed it drop a squirming sack on the ground behind the run-down warehouses by Bleek Street.

A knife flashed and the sack was cut open to disgorge a dozen or more black rats which streaked away to cover as soon as they were out of the bag.