The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

72

      It didn't take us long to see the full damage to the nearest burning village. We landed at the edge of the village between the outermost buildings and the forest and dismounted, weapons in hand.

"Stay close." I said to Amy as I pulled her close to my side.

We wandered cautiously through the mostly destroyed village. People dead in the streets in pools of blood, internal organs, and in some cases, severed limbs. People who had survived sat up against buildings, shaking in fear. Since virtually all of the men from every village were with us, the only people in each of the villages were women and children, with the exception of men to old to fight, or unable for some other reason. People looked up at us as we walked down the street, stepping over dead bodies, and into puddles of blood. Buildings were smoking, though not long ago they were likely engulfed in flames. Finally, after some time, I got the courage to speak to one of the survivors.

I selected a young woman sitting up against a house with her son and daughter curled up in her arms.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I knelt down in front of her.

She hesitated, but managed to nod her head.

"What happened here?" I asked softly.

"S-s-s-soliders. Th-they attack us. They were slitting peoples throats in the streets, dragging people from their homes and killing them for no reason. Then they left, I-I thought I heard them saying they were going to the next village. They said that they skipped the bigger villages because they didn't want to encounter resistance, so they came right to us instead." She said.

Amy knelt down beside me as the young woman finished.

"W-wait, are you Jessica Albo? The dragon rider? The one who intends to bring the king to his knees?" She said as her face lit up slightly.

"That's me." I said with a smile.

"D-Do you have your dragon?" She asked as she started to stand up.

"I do. I have one other with me as well." I replied.

"C-Can we see them? My children have loved dragons since they were old enough to know anything." She said.

"Let's do it." I said.

I turned around as I stood up to see dozens of survivors surrounding us. I hadn't even heard them approach during my conversation with the woman. I started towards the edge of the tiny village. I could see Doron stick his head up from where we were. The people stared in aw as we approached the dragons. As I stroked Doron's jaw, I felt a tiny hand on my leg. I looked down to see the womans son and daughter looking up at me with big smiles on their faces. 

"Doron, down." I said.

Doron lowered his head, as the children placed their hands on his lower jaw. They held them there for several seconds before their mother came to collect them.

"We will avenge those who have died today. We will find the men who did this and burn the alive, then we will do the same to the man who commands them." I said firmly.

Without another word, I turned to mount Doron, as Amy mounted Veracon. Doron let out a loud roar as he spread his wings and took to the air with Veracon close behind. I looked down to see the survivors looking up at us as we ascended up to survey the ground below.

We flew over the other two villages that had been ransacked, though we didn't land to investigate. The sun slowly got lower and lower, though still high enough to provide light. I spotted a clearing far off to our right. I could see formations of soldiers, which looked like ants from that height, traveling along the ground. I waved to Amy to signal her to prepare for battle. We turned and headed towards the formation of soldiers, with bows and arrows in hand.

"Amy.... Please don't mess this up." I thought to myself.