they met the horizon beyond the Ralifensteinian countryside. A
small girl walked carefully towards the water well with her cup in
hand. She weighed no more than thirty-three pounds. Her face was
stained with dirt. She wore a dingy white ribbon in her hair. She
owned no shoes. Her small bare feet trekked towards the well across
rough Ralifensteinian gravel. This particular night just happened to
be the eve of her birthday. The following day, she would turn four
years old. This cup of water was her birthday gift to herself. She
lowered the water pail into the well. It took all of her strength to pull
the pail back to the top of the well. She filled her cup with water and
began walking back toward the cave she lived in. She sipped the
water as she walked. Suddenly, something struck the girl on her
backside and knocked her to the ground. Her teeth crashed against
the rocks on the ground. Blood trickled from her mouth. Tears fell
from her eyes. She did not cry because of the pain she felt. Even at
her tender age, she was used to pain. She cried because her water
had spilled, and was now seeping into the ground. A twenty foot tall
dragon curled its tail, which it had used to strike the girl.
“Back to the cave with you little human!” hissed the dragon.
“You know that you slaves are not allowed to be near the well at
night.”
The dragon snaked its long neck around the girl, shaking its
forked tongue between its fangs and scaring her.
“The next time I catch you out, I will eat you!”
Two arrows simultaneously pierced each eye of the dragon.
Before the dragon could even roar in pain, a large, muscular man
quickly grabbed the dragon’s head and ripped it from his body.
“Like hell he will!” cried Aspen.
Of the two arrows that pierced the dragon’s eyes, one was fired
by Aspen. The other was fired by Simprella. The man that ripped
the dragon’s head off was none other than Oni-Rex the dragon
slayer; the combined form of Mark and Matthew.
“Be strong little one,” Oni-Rex said to the girl. “You must survive
to tell about the night the Smokesnuffers took Linquisht! How
foolish and arrogant of the dragons to leave only five guards at the
cave where the humans sleep.”
They had already killed the other four dragons in charge of guarding
the slaves. The Smokesnuffers crept into the cave and quietly
woke the sleeping slaves. They furnished them with weapons. Then,
along with the Prayers and the slaves, they attacked the dragons
sleeping in Linquisht. The dragons awoke furious. They attacked
with tooth, claw, and fire, but the battle went as planned. The former
slaves were more than excited for the chance to lash out at their former
oppressors. They followed the examples of the Prayers and the
Smokesnuffers, and saw that the dragons were not invincible.
Oni-Rex certainly lived up to his name. He felled more dragons
than any other that night. He worked in conjunction with Braden.
Braden blinded them with a flash of intense light, and Oni-Rex
ripped out their hearts, each moving with amazing speed.
Each of the Prayers was significant to the battle. Simprella
perched upon the tallest building in Linquisht and shot arrows at the
dragons from above. She singled out the dragons that the slaves
were having trouble with. Hurricane’s ice magic was a big help. His
freezing blasts gave the Smokesnuffers and the slaves the edge they
needed. He also helped douse the flames of the fire breathing dragons.
Dylan, Aspen, and Symphony stayed close to each other. They
attacked the dragons at the same time. Aspen used his spear, Dylan
used his knife, and Symphony gave in to her dragon rage and fought
savagely with her claws. Major Minor flew across Linquisht, punching
dragons and helping others wherever he was needed. Occasionally,
he flew up to the building that held Simprella and fired his
APC. The blast from the APC instantly killed any dragon it hit.
However, the APC had to charge after each blast, so rapid fire was
not an option. High above Linquisht, Mr. Easter floated and
watched the battle below. He used his magic to attack with the elements.
Lightening struck where he willed, and any dragon that tried
to take flight was instantly thrown into a twister of devastating
winds. When the sun rose the following morning, the battle was over.
Over two hundred dead dragons lay scattered across Linquisht.
Sadly, there were nearly three hundred dead humans. Of the three
hundred dead, only thirty of them were Smokesnuffers. The other
two hundred seventy were slaves who had died fighting for their
freedom. None of them were Prayers. Still, the battle was a success.
More then nine hundred slaves survived the battle. About two hundred
of them were women, children, and men who were too injured
to go into battle. Those two hundred prepared themselves to travel
to Erud, escorted by ten Smokesnuffers. Everyone who remained
put aside their inhibitions and drank the vile blood of the dead dragons.
Everyone drank except for Dylan, who did not need the aid of
the dragon’s blood. Proud of their victory, but saddened by their
losses, the Prayers, the Smokesnuffers, and more than seven hundred
former slaves prepared to venture into the Burdened Forest.
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