NAME WIPchapter 3From the journal of Vito
half way through the second week
I have decided to move my camp situations in the city are becoming problematic, the lord from the city my group has fled from it turns out survived, how I'm unsure but he has demanded my people to return to the flock, so to speak. He and his goons started to hound my camp demanding that the people there report to their proper lord and not some dragon, I'm sad to say that when I left not as many as I would have hoped followed me, oh well I'm sure they will be back. Their lord failed them once before when they realize he is a coward using his people as shields, they will no doubt return when he fails them again, then they'll never question who is actually looking out for them and who is just lording over them. In the meantime I know I don't have the supplies or skilled laborers I'll need to build a city so in the meantime I've opted to set up a campsite, to be honest I'm not as far from the city of Brakkon Root as I would like and Lord Vasheer's goons are spying on my camp, no doubt he'll try something but my people are my treasure, and hell have mercy if you try to take something from a dragon, or at least that's the message I've been giving off.
Regardless of Vasheer I still need Brakkon Root for food and other such supplies till I have what I need to start forging a city, first things first, I need to learn how to fight, in my old world I was just shy of a shut in, a gamer more out of necessity the a genuine desire to play the game, they did leave their marks though. After observing everyone around me I have come to a realization of the position I actually am in, I have an understanding of planning, strategy, grand strategy, and tactics that none around me have; I highly doubt even the self important lords have my grasp of skills, for the important positions they've been placed, just people with a title given a better title without earning it, their positions and people suffer under them. It took me two first hand encounters to discover that these monsters hide themselves in a veil like barrier of shadows they in a real sense use to hide their bodies, and that my dragon fire can rend that shadow at least for a few moments; it makes me wonder if it's only my dragon fire that has this effect or if magical fire as a whole will have the same effect, but at this point my range of spells are very limited and I dare not risk the life of a mage to test this theory, i'll wait till I know the magic needed. What magic I discovered I do have so far is mainly an array of dragon like breath spells, seems to be one of my racial magics much like the Elven long sight Jacob uses.
So yeah I 'm in a good position I know a lot that those around me don’t but you can't put a gamer into a new world and instantly get a hero, my body now matches the strength of my mind, but what point is there to this fact if I don't know how to fight, like it or not I'm no fighter I'm been coasting so far on the fact that I made myself a draconic thoroughbred but I can't keep falling back on this forever, I need to learn the actual ways of war, how to fight how to hold a sword properly, and luck is on my side Captain Trevor has agreed to teach me the art of war and how to fight, in exchange though he has requested that I teach him and his men how to fight the shadows, I agreed under the conditions that he and his men keep it to themselves, they are not to share this with their vaunted lord, if that man wants my knowledge he'll have to barter with me for it, not that what I told them would do the governor any good, as I told them that my dragon fire has the ability to expose these monsters actual bodies, keeping to myself the theories I had on if magical fire will have the same result.
That's all I have for this journal, not sure why I write this, so far no one here has been able to read English, perhaps it's for the best, if any of the spy's I'm sure that are watching my camp got a hold of my journal they'd learn nothing. Margret, though she prefers her friends call her Maggy, Jacob's and Jessica's grandmother has done a good job teaching me their languages, I have been able to get the grasp of common at least the physically written version, seeing as English and common hold only their written versions in difference I need not learn how to speak it English will do me just fine; there are still a few things in common I can't read so I've been using Jessica to aid me in that regard; I have also asked Maggy to teach me elvish though that is more for a personal desire, the nerd and geek in me demands I learn it, plus it could help.
Alright time to wrap this up, I have to get to Brakkon Root before lunch time, so I can make it to my training with captain Trevor.
~~Returning the stopper too his inkwell the dragon sat there in quiet contemplation of what he had to do today, the only urgent thing was his training with Trevor, he needed or more so to the point had to learn how to fight; He also needed to keep an eye on the camp, but he would leave Jacob and his father in charge of that while he was gone, he could use the pact sheets magic to talk to Jacob from the city if he needed to, which was why he wanted to leave at least one of the siblings behind. He looked back as Jessica walked into his personal tent, it wasn't as big as the last tent he had, but he had given it back to the elves he had got it from, with the camp living out of tents for the moment he knew they needed that space more than he did. The girl smiled at him greeting him with a marry “Good morning master.” as she brought him some food, a sandwich and some eggs, the girl saying with a smile,
“I hope you like it master, I made it myself.”
Vito smiled saying as he picked up the sandwich,
“If it's anything like your mother's cooking then I'm sure it's delicious.”
He took a bite certainly enjoying the food as the ham in it had been seasoned to roll into the lettuce and tomatoes rather smoothly. With a smile and a nod swallowing his mouthful the dragon responded with “Delicious” which lit up the elf's face with a wide smile, Vito then saying when he pointed to his sword on the other side of the tent,
“Do me a favor Jess, go grab my sword for me.”
She nodded at the dragon then fetching the blade for him as he quickly ate down his eggs, sunny side up, the girl was clearly fishing for brownie points, he had only told Maggy of his fondness for his eggs to be cooked in this fashion. Vito looked back eyeing the elf's ass as she bent down to get his sword, the dragon then thinking,
'Ok so maybe I haven't given up on the idea of having a harem but I'm not going to let that limit me to only females, still doesn't mean I can't enjoy my stuff.'He got up and approached her from behind as the girl fished his sword out of the bag he had left it in, then grinning as he pressed his hand into her butt, the elf letting out a startled eep her face blushing over, the dragon saying a little stiffly,
“What's wrong?”
The dragon then suddenly thinking,
‘Holy fucking shit, she's soft.’The girl looked back at the dragon stammering a little as she felt the dragon grab then rub on her butt, then giving a tender rub of her flower which surprised dragon and elf both when this earned him a little moan, the dragon letting her go after giving her butt a soft but firm spank The girl after a moment standing sword held to her chest, her face flushed over brightly and her ears sunken down behind her head, the girl saying,
“That was my butt, you were touching.”
The dragon grinned saying with another stiff almost practiced line,
“I would have called it more i was petting, Wasn't the only thing I was petting though, it doesn't bother you right?”
Holding his hand out to accept his sword the girl shook her head,
“Well, no, I guess it doesn't bother me to much, but . . . I . . . I would appreciate being asked first.”
The dragon gave her a smile and quickly said “I can respect that” than giving her a head pat after which he motioned for her to give him his sword, the girl nodding then handing him his blade, Vito then saying as he took another bite of his sandwich saying,
“Lets go, I have a few announcements to make to the camp”
As they walked out of his tent which was just tall enough for the dragon to stand in he thought to himself,
'Holy fucking shit that was harder to do then I thought, I can't believe that kind of thing is actually her fetish,'The dragon stopping his train of thought for a moment to remember that night a few days ago when he took his first glance at their finished sheets, and discovered the page had more information then he expected the sheet almost as if knowing what information he secretly wanted, finding out from the sheet the girl had a fetish for pet play. It took him off guard but he wasn't going to complain, it was something he could use as an in, it was still hard for him to actually pull off the act, in his previous life he had always been a little nervous around women, the idea of just touching the girl let alone without her permission was a harder concept to grasp then he had anticipated; she didn't pull away from him though. As he walked out he saw Bart and Jacob approach him, the boy greeting him with “Master”, and his father “My Lord”, Vito saying as he looked to the father son pair,
“Bart gather the camp for me, I have a few things I need to say.”
He nodded replying with, “As you wish” his son following after him, Vito saying as he looked to Jessica,
“And you, go fetch you mother and grandmother for me.”
She nodded then left him alone to go do her task, a short while later the all of twenty five people living in his camp were gathered around the central campfire which had since burnt out, the dragon saying when all were gathered,
“I want to state for the record to all here, my honest agenda, make no lies about It, my goal is to take over this world, but to do that I will first have to save it from its fate, there is after all no point in ruling over an empty kingdom.”
There was a general understanding from the gathered people, Vito then going on with,
“Now since you have all followed me here most have been referring to my as my lord, today I make it official from this day forward I want to be your king, I ask any who agree to this please take a step forward.”
It was quiet for a moment, Jacob and his sister the obvious first two to step forward followed by their grandmother then their parents. Before not to long everyone had taken a step toward the dragon, leaving a smile on his face. He then said,
“So be it, from this day I am your king, please refer to me as your majesty or my lord I don't mind either unless I give you permission to call me by name, and know that from this day onward, you are all my treasures, in a sense you are now all kin, regardless of race or creed where you came from or where you want to go, you are all my precious treasures, and i will protect you come hell or high water.”
The others nodded some glad to hear the idea of a dragon laying such a title on mere peasants. Vito then went on saying,
“Second, you must be informed of a development, though I shall not inform you as to the why, from this day forward there are two of you I must make an announcement about, Jacob, Jessica step forward.”
As the two siblings walked toward the dragon, Vito thinking as he patted both their shoulders,
'Time to make this official'“Jacob, you have showed me an unbridled desire to improve, your actions may have saved my life, you have been nothing but loyal to me, and Jessica you have been my trusted aid since my awakening, an important asset and a vital tool, So this morning I will make it official, Kneel.”
The two jumped a little seeing the dragon actually draw his sword, the father a little dumbstruck their mother and grandmother holding their hands over their mouths in both shock and amazement, Vito saying as he held his blade before himself,
“Jacob and Jessica Rivergreen, do you swear to serve me in a way no others can, to fight by my side in both battle and in everyday life?”
Jacob nodded followed suit by his sister the dragon then saying, trying to put up his most formal front he could,
“Then by my own right as king, and as witnessed by all gathered here today who have agreed to give me that title,”
Taking his blade starting first with the boy, he tapped the blade first on his right shoulder, then his left, then his sister, Vito then saying,
“From this day forward I dub thee my champions, now rise Sir Jacob, and Lady Jessica, as my Dragon knights.”
The two stood, the siblings turning to look at the others gathered, their family couldn’t have looked prouder, and there was more than a few cheers from the others. Vito stepped forward and rest his hand on both their shoulders then saying,
“Bartholomew, step forward.”
The elf nodded joining his children, looking up at the dragon who said,
“For all intents and for all reasons from this day forward, this man is my steward, treat him with the same respect you would me.”
They all nodded some walking up to and patting the mans back, Vito then saying,
“Though I would be making the final decision on things, in the case that I am either unable to make a call or if it is an emergency Bart will make decisions in my stead.”
The elf bowed saying as he day,
“Thank you sir, you honor me, I will do my best not to betray the trust put in this humble shopkeeper.”
With a nod Vito said, “you have my unwavering faith.” Looking to the others Vito then said,
“I know how this may look I have knighted the children of the same man I appointed steward, rest assured that I have my reasons but also rest assured to all those gathered here no act will go unnoticed, earn your place and you shall have a title of your own, for in my kingdom titles shall be earned by merit not birth.”
With his speech done and out of the way, he excused himself the rest of the camp going about whatever task they had to take care of, leaving the dragon and the family of elves he had come to know. Looking to them Vito then said,
“I'm going to head out for Brakkon Root, Bart you're in charge of the camp till I return,”
He nodded leaving the dragon to his business, Vito saying once it was him, Jacob, and Jessica, the dragon then saying,
“Alright, i've made arrangements with captain Trevor, he's going to teach me how to fight, Jacob i'll leave you here look after the camp with your father while I'm gone, and should something come up use our link to let me know alright?”
Jacob was silent for a moment Jessica watching as the dragon side,
“Jessica you're coming with me,”
He was interrupted however when Jacob said,
“Vito I want to go with you.”
Looking to the boy the dragon cocked a brow at him, the boy then saying,
“I want to be a warrior you can depend on someone respected by all, I can't do that shooting arrows at a tree, please let me go with you so I can become stronger too.”
Vito looked at the young elf, he had a solid look of determination plastered on his face, Vito then saying after a moment,
“Ok then, Jessica i'll leave you here to watch the camp, Jacob, get ready to leave.”
He smiled saying with a firm nod,
“Yes sir.”
The elf rushing off to get his stuff, his sister than saying with a giggle and a smile,
“I've never seen him so happy, you bring the best out of him master, thank you.”
He gave the girl a pat on the head as he too got ready to leave.
~~
From the Journal of Vito
end of week three
It's been a good while since my last journal entry, I've been busy though, Captain Trevor has taught me a great deal about war and combat, I feel that I've still got a long way to go, but even I have to admit I've made some drastic improvement, but the thing I have to say has improved the most is Jacob, the boy dived head first into training with me, he has impressed me with his determination, his drive to be better is something to be respected and admired, I have a hard time believing that I would have made as much progress as I have if I hadn't been inspired by just how much Jacob has improved, though he's still a long way from being a warrior, at the least his aim has gotten worlds better.
In other news I've had more problems with Vasheer, the man has attacked my authority directly this time, he tried to march a small army of troops into my camp to force those following me to return to the fold, they refused though, and as a result I had to get rough with some of his men when he refused to walk away, in response I've had to move our camp I can no longer rely on Brakkon Root for support or aid as his follow lord, the governor of this region has branded me an outlaw, a false king seeking to uproot their lawful authority.
~~The writing on the page stopped when Jessica rushed into his tent, the girl saying,
“Master!”
Looking to the girl Vito said,
“I'm writing in my journal what's wrong if it can wait I would like to finish,”
She then said pulling on his hand,
“I don't think it can master.”
He nodded putting the stopper in his ink setting down his pen then heading outside his tent with the girl, Bart and Jacob as well as a few others gathering to the dragon Vito asking,
“Whats going on?”
Bart told him as the dragon got close, Vito seeing the anger in his eyes,
“Its lord Vasheer, that fool is making a move.”
Motioning to one of the men next to him, Vito looked at the man who then said,
“My lord, I was tasked by Sir Bartholomew to keep an eye on the other refugees on your behalf, Lord Vasheer is raising an army, he went to all the refugee camps and pressed all the men and young lads old enough to bare arms into his service.”
Vito nodded it wasn't good news at all, the dragon then asking,
“The fool would go so far to try and attack me? Does he intend to use an army to uproot our camp?”
The man then said with a grim look,
“No sir, from what I know, he doesn't know where our camp is now, he has his people looking for us though.”
Vito nodded the dragon then asking,
“Than what is his play? Where is he marching this army of his?”
The man gulped then said,
“Tristrell, he moves to reclaim his city, thinking that it's just a matter of numbers.”
Vito was shocked for a moment, then saying almost as if dumbfounded,
“Wait, you mean to tell me that fool would march his army on a horde of monsters his men can't kill?”
The man nodded then said,
“From what I understand, several people including Captain Kitsmen and several other members of the governors staff have objected to his plans but he doesn't care and the governor has made it worse by giving the man his blessing and allowed him to march with half of his own troops as well, his army currently stands at around two thousand men, at least a third of which are refugees he pressed into his ranks.”
The dragon growled loudly for a moment then saying as he fought to keep his anger in check when he felt it start to boil again,
“That fool is going to get people killed, Bart!”
Turning to is right hand Vito then said,
“Gather all the volunteers as you can, if we move now we may still save most of them.”
The dragon saying as he turned back to his tent,
“Get ready, we go to war.”
The preparations were made, rushed as they were, the dragon getting into the armor Trevor had gifted him days ago, then saying as Jacob also in a kit of lighter armor meant for arches to keep them light and mobile, stood before what volunteers had gathered in the short span of time,
“Good is everyone ready to leave? We must move fast, and i’m sorry to say we don’t have horses, if you don’t think you can keep up, please stay behind, i’d rather not needlessly risk your lives by taking you into battle while tired.”
Everyone nodded with a salute the dragon thinking to himself a shade of anger in his eyes as he lead his troops away from the camp,
'That bastard is going to pay for this, most of these people aren't warriors or even trained we're so not ready for a battle of this scale but if we do nothing too many people will be slaughtered, it's up to me to keep both my people and his safe, I have to save as many as I can.'Vito marched with his troop as fast as they could arriving on the outskirts of the city about a day later, grimacing when he saw that the battle had already started. Looking to what was going to have to pass for his troops he then said,
“I can only say one thing, stay close to me, I will light up the field, that is the only time you'll be able to do any damage.”
The men nodded following the dragon into the fray of the battle, the obvious losing side was struggling to hold any ground. It took a while for the dragon and his group fighting their way to the fool Vasheer, the man himself was tall maybe six one and around one hundred and fifty pounds, his clean well groomed short black hair as done up in a style meant to make him look more important then he was, and at first glance the dragon could tell the man was obviously over his head, a leader in title only. Vito growled at the man yelling once he and his men arrived,
“You fool, what the hell are you thinking!?!”
The man was about to retort however a shout of “Look out!” made all go on edge as the shadow rolled in and instantly someone was nearly ripped in two, the dragon then saying as he and his people got ready for a fight,
“You idiot are you even watching the battle how could you let your foe get this close?”
The man shouted
“Silence you insolent peasant, how dare you mock me!”
The dragon however had more important things to worry about then this fool, the dragon saying,
“Everyone get ready!”
Vasheer leered at the dragon saying “Don't you ignore me” as the dragon then said,
“NOW!”
At which point he unleashed a gout of fire Jacob and several others unleashing a volley of arrows into the swarm of shadow creatures once his dragon fire had pushed the shadow back, the others rushing into the monster to take advantage of the creatures roiling from the light. Vito followed suit charging in after another gout of fire, yelling to his troops “Stay close!” then unleashing another gout. It took a short while but they managed to push back the push the dragon saying as his men tried to recover around him,
“Take a moment but keep your guard up, there is only one way to save this battle,”
Looking over to Vasheer, the lord who had been dismounted from his horse in the previous battle, Vito then shouted,
“This is your one chance to save face and be a real leader, Order the retreat now! or i will.”
Vasheer however looked over at the dragon like he was mad then said,
“This is my army and my city dragon I will not hand it over to the beast,”
The dragon however was already tired of him and the fact no one stopped him lead the dragon to realize most of his men were aware of it too the vaunted lord crying out in pain as the dragon decked him in the face, then saying as all others around him watched the man go down,
“You fool, what army do you have left?!? Are you so blinded by your own false glory to realized your army has been routed, there is no winning this battle, if we retreat now though we can still save a lot of people!”
The man the said however scowling up at the dragon,
“I will not run from beast!.”
The dragon however was done with him, saying as he turned his back,
“You have no right to your title, have you no idea of the concept of strategy or tactics at all? You left your arches on the front line, you're melee troops have no formation, you left your flanks open, if your emperor is dumb enough to appoint an idiot like you the lord of a town, then i'll do this world a favor and remove him from power!”
Vasheer growled in anger saying “How dare you mock the emperor” however the dragon turned his back on him finally ignoring the fool and unleashing another gout of fire large enough to bring the battle to a sudden stop as the creatures recoiled from the light, the dragon shouted somehow loud enough for what remained of the army to hear him,
“TO ANY WHO CAN HEAR MY VOICE! THIS BATTLE IS LOST RETREAT! FALLBACK!! I’ll cover the retreat! RUN!”
It took a moment but the army agreed many echoing the order oh fall back to the dragon so all knew what to do, seemingly siding with the dragon over the man whose title alone demanded they risk their lives; the army falling back to the dragons position, Vito shouting as he tried to organize what troops he had inherited from the now disgraced Vasheer who's men had had largely agreed to follow the dragons orders, Vito Shouting orders,
“Swords front-line, Pikes and spears behind them, archers to me, we have to hold this position long enough for the wounded to retreat!”
There was a shout from the troops of “Yes sir” as the men rushed into their positions, the dragon unleashing more fire to expose the monsters, the front line holding them back, and the arches now free to rain hell on the creatures. Looking over as Vito heard Kitsmen's voice the man said,
“Vito my friend, I've never been so happy to see your face.”
Vito gave the man a quick hug then unleashing more fire to help his tiring troops,
“Captain Trevor, I didn't even know you were here.”
The man nodded then said,
“I shouldn't be, gods bless their souls my men told me to run I hated to do so but sad to say you need a sword arm to wield a sword.”
The dragon had been to distracted by commanding his troops to notice even as he hugged the man, his right arm had been ripped off right at the socket, Vito quickly asking as he took his eyes off the battle for only a moment,
“How you holding up?”
The man sighed, then said,
“My men are dead, and I've been maimed, the healing potions I brought with me stopped the bleeding but not even magic can't restore my arm, i'll live, but i'll never wield a sword again.”
The dragon nodded ordering his now spent front-line to fall back to him, the dragon then asking as he mentally connected to Jacob,
“Jacob, how's the retreat?”
The elf looked up from where he was leading the wounded away, then saying through the link,
“I think we're far enough away, you should pull out now too master.”
The dragon nodded saying,
“My next move I'm right behi. . .”
However someone shouted
“What the hell is that monster??”
The dragon looked back as another man then said,
“More shadows from the rear we're surrounded.”
Vito cursed under his breath then said,
“Gah Now who's the fool I forgot he never set people to cover the flank!”
Turning he saw a creature that he had yet seen, the creature was huge easily taller than him by six or seven feet, and seemed to be covered in some kind of bone like plates, the large creatures slamming his men around like they were nothing but rag dolls, Kitsmen saying,
“What in the name of the gods are those monsters?!?”
Vito however had no time to think saying as he looked back to the wounded man,
“I'm leaving these people to you, flee this field now!”
Vito then shouted the order to retreat, getting the new monsters attention as he set the creature aflame, the beast screeching into the night. Vito then charged the creature saying as he lead the beast away,
“I'll buy you time, run!”
Kitsmen bit his tongue then said calling the attention of the survivors,
“The dragon is buying us time to flee don't waste his sacrifice run as fast as your legs can carry you abandon your kit if you have too! RETREAT!”
The dragon lit up the battlefield again and again with his fire watching as more and more of the creatures where attacking him, however watching as the new additions were pursuing them, Vito then thinking as he fought,
'Damn it, i'm not a big enough threat this time, there's far too many for me to hold like this this time, I have to do something or they'll be wiped out'The dragon then thought of something recalling what the Storyteller has said,
“You blow your top, no one in this city will be able to contend with you.”
Vito then realizing, saying as he lit more of the monsters on fire with another breath of fire,
“Why am I not better than this, this is such a dumb game trope, why is the only thing I can do now is go berserk?”
At that moment in the confines of his mind, the soul looked over the ledge, far below him was the boiling dragon rage he had been containing for the last weeks the event the Storyteller had told him was only supposed to last twenty four hours, asking himself as he looked at what he was thinking of doing,
“There's no guarantee I'll return to normal if I do this is there?”
He looked back for a moment almost second guessing himself knowing that as he was debating this plan his body was fighting desperately for his life, unsure what to do till he heard Jacob say,
“Master the horde has caught up to us, I can't get the wounded to move any faster we're going to be overrun”
Vito was silent for all of a moment hearing Jacob ask “What should I do master?” looking at the pit then saying,
“Get everyone, as far away from me, as humanly possible.”
The boy didn't understand what he meant Vito then saying as he turned away from the pit,
“For everyone I have sworn to protect, no matter what it takes.”
~~~
All came to a sudden halt, as a very out of place near computerized female voice said as everything quietly faded to black for a moment
“Story destabilization detected, anilizating, damage detected activating rewrite protocols.”
Please See Meta-verse for side story
~~~~the Dragon Rage~
loop play advisedEverything came back at that moment to the soul looking over the pit the bubbling dragon rage below him, At which point he threw himself in, the moment the soul felt the rage hit him, he almost blacked out, the dragon then suddenly stopping in his tracks, and much to the amazement of those fleeing them, so to did the horde, the wide spread knee jerk reaction in the horde allowed the people to resume fleeing as all eyes suddenly fell on the dragon, Vito saying in the confines of his mind,his internal voice weak and soft,
'Fuck this hurts!'The dragon began growling, his power surging making even the shadows back away for a moment, till in a violent explosion of movement he lunged at the creatures. From his head he grew a pair of twisting draconic horns growing out into a wide arc before sweeping back over his head a little, the scales extending over his body as the full extent of his dragon blood began to boil, the loud roar he let out being heard even by Jacob and the wounded he had been leading away. At that moment Both the elves heard the dragon say his telepathic voice strangely soft and weak,
“If i don’t recover from this, i’m sorry.”
The dragon began to fight more savagely with less thought, more like a reaction to instinct then any kind of planed or thought out attack, his jawline suddenly filling with rows of razor sharp teeth, then using them to rip into one of the larger creatures, crewing away on the beast which shrieked in the only comparable sound being a blood curdling scream as the dragon then ripped a large chunk of the monster away spitting it on the ground then ripping another piece off. The dragon now well fully out of his own control roared into an explosion of fire, before in another flurry of movement rushed the creatures to any onlookers at that moment it would have been hard to tell which side was the monster as the dragon resorted to slashing them open with his claws, the monsters shadowy barrier now shoved away by pure raw magic overflowing from the dragon. Kitsmen and the men he had been leading away stopped when they realized the shadows were no longer chasing them, looking back when the flash of dragons fire was bright enough to make the twilight sky as bright as dawn flashed like an explosion. Looking back only to see the half dragon, looking more dragon than anything else, his size had increased by at least double and with the light glinting off of him it wasn’t hard to tell he was wrapped in scales, Kitsmen and the men with him watched as the battle raged the man asking as they watched almost awestruck, the captain then asking,
“If this is the potential power of one dragon, how in the gods names did our ancestors win that war?”
~Three days later~There was relative silence on the field till someone asked,
“You see him?”
Another man shouted,
“No sir, i have a team investigating the ruins though sir.”
Kitsmen walked up and said as he was joined by the two elves Jacob and Jessica, the human saying as he looked to the elves,
“Where in blazes could he have wound up at?”
The elves shook their head Jessica then saying,
“We don’t know, all we can feel is that he is somewhere nearby, and the fatigue, the fatigue is rolling off of him is immense.”
Jacob nodded saying to the man,
“Yeah, it might be for the best that we’re the only ones who approach him, we can’t risk him hurting anyone, he’ll never forgive himself.”
Trevor nodded saying as he rubbed his chin with his left arm,
“Right, in that case we should treat this the same we would with a wounded animal, i’ll make sure the orders not to approach him get around to the other teams.”
The two elves nodded agreeing to the mans plan, then joining a team looking for him. It was hours later, but finally a team did find him, utterly spent, wounded, and on edge, but the dragon was still alive. Jacob and his sister, accompanied by Kitsmen and a small band of men arrived where he had been spotted, the closer they got the more the elves could feel their master, what little of his mind was currently registering anything echoed pain and fear, rage and worry, and fatigue endless amounts of fatigue. Trevor looked to the men with him saying as he and the elves got ready to make a move,
“Stay here and keep watch, we don’t know what condition he might be in its best we don’t approach with to many least we startle him.”
The men nodded in agreement, the two elves and Kitsmen entered the ruins of the castle. The dragon’s battle with the shadow horde had moved into the city, in which point what was left of the city was destroyed, the castle laid to ruins. Jacob was the first to speak, saying as they looked around at the claws slashed and almost burnt through the stonework,
“Master did this?”
It didn’t take too long to find him,the dragon was still bleeding but most of it had stopped, his size had reduced nearly to his normal size, but was still large, and though they were receding he was still covered in scales. Looking at him, it was hard to tell if he was even still in his own head at that point, the dragon weakly growling at and getting into a posture to ready an attack, that he obviously didn’t have the energy to do. He reared back for a moment moving to billow fire at them, only succeeding in spewing smoke; the dragon before them gagging then sputtering into a cough, then losing what strength he had managed to muster, like a tide rushed out, the dragon falling on his backside, his size shrinking a bit more as this happened. It was Trevor who made the next move saying as with his hand held up in a non threatening posture said,
“Easy lad, we’re not here to hurt you. You remember me right, Trevor Kitsmen, captain of the guard for the city of Brakkon Root, you've been training with me for a few weeks now, told me you wanted to be an honest to god knight.”
The dragon looked at him, more waves of fatigue rolling off of him, what life that was in his eyes was spent utterly in every sense of the word. Trevor then motioned to the elves, Jacob then saying,
“I’m here to master, Jacob Rivergreen, you made me your knight remember?”
It took a moment the dragon then snapping in a barely audible and it barely resembeled his normal tone, this one echoed fear and anguish,
“STARY BACK!”
Jessica then followed up the girl wondering if a more feminine touch might help, saying as she tried to make her voice sound as soft as she could,
“Master, i’m here too, may I approach you?”
The dragon recoiled, more in pain then anger, saying “no, stay back” the girl after a moment and a nod asking,
“Your thirsty? We have water master.”
Jessica flicked her wrist at her brother saying to in in the telepathic link,
‘Hand me your water skin, he’s thirsty, it might be an in.’Her brother nodded the elf grabbing his water skin and handing it to his sister, the girl then shaking the skin to slosh the water, the dragon gulping the girl than saying as she could feel the pulses coming off of him, the faint whispers his mind was emanating. The girl than saying,
“Why not come over here, you can drink the nice cold water and relax, nothing’s going to hurt you.”
It took a moment, but she finally managed to talk him down, temping the tired dragon with some water, Vito then gulping down the water, taking a short while before Vito’s subconscious finally came around, the dragon asking in a broken telepathic message,
“What . . . happen?”
The girl simply said keeping her tone as soft as she could,
“Shhh, its alright master, why not lay down for a moment and rest, then talk if you feel better, ok?”
The dragon was barely there, but what pieces of his shattered mind that was actually working at that point knew she was trying to help, and after a bit of coaxing managed to get the dragon to lay down, resting his head on her lap, Jessica saying waving the others to backup a bit,
“That's right, just relax.”
The dragon let out a deep sight, his mind still frayed but back enough to start registering his own body, then saying when his eyes listed in her direction,
“Hungry.”
The girl nodded looking to the other two,
“Its alright we brought food, just save your energy, I’ll help you eat.”
The dragon nodded, going in and out of a general consciousness barely even feeling the food the girl ended up feeding him. It was hours later when the dragon had recovered to the point that he finally feel asleep, the group setting up a temporary campsite to give the dragon the time he’d need to start recovering.
~end of chapter~