Chapter 11

To all the people who have yet to read the Author's Thoughts section of the chapters (located at the end of every chapter), please start doing so. The questions that are asked of me and the concerns brought up are addressed in my Author's Thoughts 95% of the time. Don't be a goober; read the Author's Thought's section. 

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Hurtling through the air, I opened my maw wide to take a chunk out of him. After all, I have only been hunting, and this usually works. Getting closer, I saw him raise his hand with a mace held in it, and there I saw it. On his ring finger was the One Ring to Rule Them All. I will not lie; I am fangirling a little while watching it, but I know that he must die. Physically, at least.

Crashing full force, I run into an invisible wall, and due to my momentum, I corkscrew over his body and slam into the mountain hard. Dust kicks up as I shatter slate and rock from my weight. A glancing pain rips through my left wing as I feel my shoulder joint dislocate.

That wasn't smart. Magic is unfair.

Quickly turning myself over, I swing my tail in the general direction I think he is and feel myself hitting something solid again. Sweeping my other wing from right to left, I clear as much dust as possible. Now able to see, I see Sauron standing there, hands clasped behind his back as he stares at me. Scary.

Snarling, I stepped toward him.

"Why do you oppose me, Spawn of Morgoth?"

His voice was hollow and powerful. Every instinct in my body wanted me to stop and listen to it.

Charm Magic.

Shaking off his influence, I struck the ground with my right claw onto the ground and roared again.

Hell no, this bitch isn't controlling me!

Resuming my charge, I felt sparks building in my stomach and merging in the back of my throat. Releasing a mass of flames at Sauron, I emptied my fuel gland that had been building up forever.

Some might think that it is stupid to waste all of it at the beginning of this fight, but my logic is that I need to wear down his magic reserves as much as I can as soon as I can. He has more battle experience than me, so I do not want to have a prolonged fight. On the other hand, I am also physically bigger and stronger than him, so if he loses the Magic to make up for the difference, I win easier.

The flame burned the earth and turned some surfaces molten. I held my breath until the last embers quieted, but Sauron still stood there, hands behind his back. Snorting in derision, I closed the gap and aimed my right-wing at him horizontally.

Sauron raises his mace and strikes out. As we clash, I can feel the weight of his magic behind his swing, which forces my wing to rebound. Stumbling back, I quickly right myself, only to hear a guttural language in my ear. Sauron finished casting his spell in the Black Speech, and suddenly, the mountain rumbled. From behind me, rock suddenly shattered, and boulders flew at me.

Twisting as much as I could, I threw myself to the ground, hoping to dodge as many as possible. Unfortunately, I land on my left wing, which sends a piercing pain through me. Screaming in pain, I roll over as some of the lesser boulders hit my right side, above my wing. Snarling in pain and anger, I claw the ground angrily to purchase myself and coil to jump.

Springing forward, I leap up and come down on Sauron's position. His ward holds successfully, and I use my proximity to repeatedly strike at the invisible barrier with my claws.

A cracking sound rings out, and we both freeze as the ledge we are standing on starts to crumble away at an alarming pace. I try to jump back the way I came, towards secure ground, but as I get close, the ground gives away completely, and we tumble down the mountainside.

I want to think Sauron was having as bad a time falling as I was, but I was too busy wincing from every stuck-out rock and even some orcs as we continued to somersault. My left wing was now in complete and utter agony with each hit and sharp stone that dug in. I could feel the soft tissue of my wing's membrane being ripped and punctured.

This sucks.