Wednesday 13 September 2017

Dragon Battle for the Oasis


Authors note: Head hopping story, each paragraph swaps between the two main characters.

It was time for me to leave the lair before my siblings. I grabbed a clawful of gems and coins and flew out into the desert sunrise.

Mother says it is time for me to go. I am the last of my clutch still in her lair. This morning she handed me a sack and says if I come back tonight, she will eat me.

I fly high up in the sky, the blue camouflaging my scales. I see an oasis by a rock formation that looks nothing like the nose horn of a great wyrm. As I land on a high ledge, I see that there are even humanoids present for enslavement.

I fly just skimming the sand. I enjoy the warmth on my brass scales. As dragons go, I am still little and the sand provides swell camouflage. I stopped to examine a rock formation. The walls were mostly sheer. The sandstone was smooth with a deep crag in the center that has a sand bottom.  The few overhangs pointed toward an oasis that contained a temporary encampment. I lay on a lower ledge with a sigh of contentment. Watching humanoids is my favorite pastime.

I heard a sigh from an outcropping below me. I looked and saw a brass dragon, my size, with a sack, staring at my slaves. This is my territory. I breathed a line of lightning at the interloper.

A bolt of lightning struck me from the clear, blue sky. I swung my head to look and saw a blue dragon on the shelf above me. He would not corrupt or enslave these people. “Be gone beguiler.” I blew a line of fire at him.

I leapt off my perch, leaving my coins and gemstones, partially avoiding the return breath weapon. “This is my territory, you be gone.” I felt the tingle in my back teeth and let loose another bolt of electricity.

I rolled to the right, off my pedestal and dropped the sack to the sand, to avoid the second bolt. “Wrong. I will cauterize this territory of your presence.” Flames licked my throat so I sent a second line of fire at the evil dragon.

I spent too much on that last blast of electricity. Instead I dove toward the interloper, claws extended, prepared to tear it apart. I screamed, “I shall save my breath and simply rip you to shreds.”

I dodged his attempt to claw me and again spit a line of fire at the offender. “Liar. You have no breath left with which to do battle.”

Now I was below the other dragon and still without a spark. I took off, away from the oasis. I could come back and reclaim it another day.

Typical blue dragon, if they cannot win they run. “Coward.” I bellowed giving chase with a line of flame searing his scales between his wings.

I was in pain and still had no spark. I had one chance, to turn and attack the oasis. I could dry up the water, then kill the brass dragon when it is distracted, then replace the water to my grateful subjects. I banked and turned straight back towards the brass dragon. “I am no coward.” I declared. I would hit it on the way through.

The blue brute was coming back towards me, intending no doubt to hit me head on. I rolled in midair just before he could bite me. His claws missed me but I scraped his underside. “If you are not a coward then why do you run?” I demanded, as I had to turn and again give chase, this time back towards the oasis.

Now I got the electric tingle. I could wait until after enacting my plan; but, I should have another charge built up by then. I was not a coward. I made an S-turn to send a bolt of lightning back at my pursuer.

The electricity stung. I had flames to return fire and did so with gusto. It was a direct hit and the blue dragon smashed into the backside of the rock formation. I flew back to the blue dragons perch and sat triumphant. This was my oasis to guard and these were my people now.

 

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