Chapter 8 (part 2)

[Content Warning: This chapter contains depictions of violence that some readers may find disturbing]

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Ellizea: flight of the red dragon

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It was still daylight when a soldier rushed unannounced into the building of General Mavic's center of operations.

"General. General ...!"

Mavic lifted his head. "What is it, boy?"

"The northern outpost … it has been taken!"

"What?!"

"Yes. The Brute, he rides a saraph dragon, and now he makes flight here!"

"How much time do we have?"

"Minutes … maybe less."

The General looked down at his table that was littered with maps that told of his troops' locations, plans of how, when, and where to strike, and letters from the Queen telling of her progress, among other things. They cannot obtain possession of all this! He instantly began picking the stuff up and throwing it in the already-burning firepit in the house,

"Evacuate the town immediately. We have not the power to stand against them here." Without hesitation, the soldier exited the building.

The General's right-hand man, who had been in the room hastened to him. "What will you have me do, sir?"

"Finish burning this stuff. Make sure not one shred of information can be obtained from its ashes. Burn down the whole building if you have to!"

Mavic then grabbed a small piece of paper, jotting a few words. He then rolled it up, grabbed his faithful messenger hawk from its perch, and inserted the message into a small container on its leg. He whispered to it and took the bird outside, releasing it into the air almost a moment too late. 

There they were, consuming the near distance, the saraph dragons in all their beauty, in all their strength. One male was flanked by four females. One could hear the beating of their wings from afar. It was true that saraph dragons were of an average size, but their size was not what was so frightening about them. They were the only dragons that had the ability to breathe fire. This was a thing which little could be done to defend against.

Staring intently at his approaching enemy, he could feel an immense heat on his face. Turning for just a moment, he saw that the house was ablaze and his faithful man was standing beside him.

"What are we to do, my lord?"

Mavic turned back to the dragons. The male's four strong legs reached out for the ground and the females followed. "There's no point in running now."

The male's flashy arrangement of scales resonated in the setting sun. Down its back was a large V of red, ending with a red tail that was adorned with a large spiked ball for the tip. Streaks of red ran down its legs, and the backside of its wings was covered with brilliant red scales. Its head was crowned with red. Its underbelly was cream, and the rest of its body was made up of brown scales.

The females were noticeably smaller. They were predominantly brown. Flashes of red could be seen on their faces and on their wings. Their underbelly was cream-colored like the males. Each ridden by a man, they hissed and ruffled up their scales. The somewhat calmer male approached the General and the men who had come to stand with him.

He held a stern look on his weathered face as the village was stormed by many men riding on horseback. The gray-skinned creature, who had become known to the world as the Brute, dropped down from the male dragon. He stood towering over General Mavic and his men. His orange eyes peered down on the slender, silver-headed man.

"It is long that I have heard of you. And now, at last, we meet."

A man rushed up to the Brute. "Sir, it seems these men here are all that are in the village. The majority have fled. What do you want us to do with these here? Shall we dispose of them?"

The Brute looked over the men who stood with General Mavic. There were about twenty-five men in total. "Kill a handful and put their body parts out for display. Perhaps with this, combined with the fact that we now hold their General captive, we can lure the rest in." A fierce look came over his face. "And make sure the butchered corpses are far enough away from the village. There's nothing worse than the stench of rotting human flesh." With a flip of his cloak, he began to walk away. "The General comes with me. Bind the others."

The General was readily escorted away behind the Brute. The massive man barged into a random house and paused on the far end of the room and waited for them to bring Mavic in.

"You can leave now," he snapped harshly, and they left the two military leaders alone. The Brute turned to face the General. "You're a hard man to find. Frankly, I was glad for the challenge. What has been even more challenging is the termination of your queen. I admit, I did not foresee her being this elusive …" He paused, but the General said nothing. With his hands placed in the small of his back, he simply continued to follow the Brute with his stern, fearless stare.

The Brute continued, "She's not even in the country, is she?" He turned away from the slender man. "If you were any other man, I would just torture you for the information I want, but I remember what you sacrificed for your previous queen. Such loyalty is hard to find." A cold look came over his face. "I may raze the rest of Ellizea to the ground, slaughtering all in my way, but not you." He turned back to face the General. "You, I'll keep alive, and when I find her …" He held out one of his massive hands. "I'll make you watch as I squeeze the life out of her."

The Brute was trying to get a response out of Mavic, and the older man knew it. Struggling to try to keep from showing his rage, he suddenly burst out in laughter, causing a confused look to come over the Brute.

A smile came across the man's face as he leaned back. "In spite of all your strength and intelligence, at the end of the day you are nothing but a dog, a mangy mutt begging for scraps from your master's table-" Mavic was stopped short as the creature backhanded him, knocking him to the floor. His blue eyes became fierce. There was still fight left within him. "Who is it you serve, dog? To whom do you give allegiance? Even if you succeed in this life, you will burn in hell the next."

The beast flung off his cloak, revealing four massive arms. He picked the General up by the throat and threw him through the door. He towered over the now heavily-bruised man. Reaching down, he grabbed him by the ankle and began to drag him. The tall, slender man could feel the small rock pieces scrapping and cutting into his back. Suddenly, as he was dropped to the ground, he rolled over to see the Brute had taken him to where his soldiers were being held captive.

He snatched up one by the neck and held him high in the air for all to see. With two of his other arms, he reached up, grabbing hold of the soldier's arms. The shriek of pain nearly drowned out the sound of his body being torn apart as his arms were ripped from him in a bloody display. The soldier's face went white as his whole body trembled from the shock as the Brute tightened his grip on the man's neck. In the stillness that had overcome that area, came the sharp, audible crack as the Brute snapped the man's neck. He flung him to the ground. His orange eyes, fierce and angry, peered down on the General.

"For every day that you do not tell me where the queen is, someone will die painfully before your eyes." He leaned down. "There are many terrible ways for a person to die." He stood and began to walk away. "Bind him and separate him from the rest … and clean up that mess."