Dragon's Ire

Unrelated stories that take place in a setting besides Star Wars...

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Dragon's Ire

Post by Dahdtoudi »

Twig's snapped and cracked under each boot-shodden footfall as a glimmering figure creeped through the green light of the forest. Along each arm was brightly polished mail, over which was a chest plate, shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, and shin guards. A helmet shrowded a clean shaven, handsom face. The checkered tunic tails that drifted from under the knight's chest plate depicted that of a royal family parhaps the baron from further north, near the stout hills. The sword clasped tightly in his hands was perhaps the most remarkable piece he carried with him. The blade glimmered white in the sunlight, bright silver in the shade. The canal between each edge was inlaid with runes of the old tongue, that which few others than the knight were familiar with. The hilt was wraught with similar script, and the butt of the weapon was adorned with a heavy metal sphere, to provide balance.

All around him, birds sung in the breeze, the trees aplauding their sarenade with their simple rustle of leaves and needles. Hear and there, a bird would hesitate, eyeing the shining piece of metal creeping carefully beneath its tree. Soon enough, the knight had passed as peacefully as it had arrived, and the bird might continue its ballad.

Soon, the knight's thick boot sunk into some moss, sitting upon some rather moist ground. Before him was a small pool of water, fed by a thin fall of water from a rock outcropping that was ajoined with the nearby hillside. No birds sung here; no wind blew. Beside the waterfall, there was a shadow in the cliff side, a hole in the hill, several feet from the waters' surface. The knight paused a moment, taking in his surroundings. It was in that cave that may lie wealth enough to supply him the rest of his life. The problem was getting there. He could already see the hazards. The water would slow his heavy form; he may even get stuck in the muddy bottom. Around the glade was a thick wall of thorns and other low brush, the way he came the quickest way out. It was a bottle neck.

The knight took a stepp forward, a boot tip touching the pool's edge, ripples fluttering outward in every direction. From within the shadow in the hill, there was a rumbling as a rock grinding against a larger stone, peices cracking against the pressure. The knight paused again, adjusting his grip on the sword's hilt. He would not be so lucky as to waltze across the pool to the cave.

"Dragon!" he shouted boldly, his voice echoing shallowly against the treewall that surrounded him. "Come out and face me, and meet your fate!"

There was another rumble, slightly more gutteral, and the shadow was suddenly illuminated by a thick, horizontal collumn of flame, bright eyes and teeth fleeting in the sudden light. The rolling fire flickered and licked, just falling short of the steadfast knight. The heat imediately called forth perspiration from his brow.

"Do you try and frighten me, drake?" the knight shouted in antagonistic indignation. He stood his ground, spreading his stance slightly.

Another grumble from inside the cave, accompanied by a deep slow thud and clatter, each heavy taloned paw shaking the ground beneath it. A small shape wavered just inside the blanket of shadow, half a claw venturing out into the sunlight. Ambient light glittered off of a narrow eye and a sharp tooth, and there was another grumble, scraping. "Go away," a deep, gutteral, and scraping voice groaned, pleading out of frustration.

"Are you frightened, dragon?" the knight shouted forth, egging the beast out of the safety of its cave.

The beast's speech came in the midst of a slow growl, "Are you?" The growl turned to an amgry, roaring bark, and the dragon leapt into the light, its foreclaws clasping the ledge outside the cave and pushing forward, launching the large beast from its den with frightening speed and agility. The knight staggered slightly at the sight of this mighty show of strength. The dragon was much larger than its shadow had led to believe; perhaps he had only seen its head and neck. Also, the dragon didn't even give him a chance to cross the water. The beast had crossed it for him, showering him in a wave of stagnant water.

Shaking the moisture from his eyes, the knight made a blind charge, swinging his bright blade over his head into a powerful strike towards perhaps a limb, or better yet, the gut. The dragon's hard claw met him half way, its paw wrapping neatly around the blade. Only the tip was visible; below it all the way to the hilt was shrouded in thick dragon hide. The knight didn't even seem startled as the dragon held the blade, glaring its teeth and stooping his head down and forward in a fierce, rolling growl.

Suddenly, a bright fiery light leapt from the blade, shining between the dragons claws and palm. The powerful drake shrieked in pain, withdrawing its hand quickly away in surprise. Astonishment turned to anger; and the knight was met with an angry glare and terrifyingly low growl. With the other claw, the dragon lashed out, clasping the entire knight in a hard fist of dragon flesh. The powerful drake stood to his full height, craning his neck to nearly see over the trees, a long growl trailing after his head. Giving the struggling knight a quick glance, the dragon's head swooped down taking only the knight's torso back up into the air. The claw slackened and the knights limp legs and waist fell to the water, only to join the other bones and remains of the warriors that had come before him.

After taking a deep gulp, the dragon feel back to all fours calmly, paying considerable consideration to the blade that layed across the moss beneath him, stained red by its weilders blood.

---

On the edge of the forest, the knight's page stood anxiously, wringing the hem of his tunic in his fists as he watched the forest carefully. He had heard the great shouts of the dragon distantly, deep in the forest, but it had died down suddenly, and there was no sign of conflict. Perhaps Sir Nyrid had indeed come out victorious, and was at this moment coming back with a sack full of riches, ready to take the pack animals into the dale to claim the rest.

Suddenly there was a great ringing as something bright seemed to be cast out by the forest, the piece of metal shining dully in the sun, spinning this way and that. Finally, the magic blade slipped neatly into the ground, the blade slippery with Sir Nyrid's blood. The page staggered back with a gasp, staring fearfully at the desecrated weapon. The page's stagger changed to a run as he turned and gropped for the reigns of his horse. Behind him, a dragon roared and bellowed.

"Send no more to Ezekiel's cave, unless more you wish not to return!" With this final statement, the trees shuddered as the hefty drake made his way back, leaves and branches scraping and snapping against his tough hide.

OOC- More to come later, but that's all I could manage for the moment.
I bet I have less than half as many posts as some of the people who've been here less than half as long as I have...
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