"The Scourge of Dragons Tooth"

"The Scourge of Dragons Tooth"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

 

 

     The light was breaking the darkness , the ray of hope was creeping up on the fields and valleys , along the rivers and the trees and the thousands of soldiers that have laid siege to the castle called Dragons Tooth. Dragons tooth rose upon a hill that overlooked its domain. There was an ancient dragon who did live on this hill and though it was dead for hundreds of years , the desolation that it has brought forth still stretched for miles. The very forest it seemed was afraid of touching the land that the dragon carved by scorching the earth with its fire.

 

     Those who have claimed this land had built Dragons tooth on a plain that had a commanding view of all approaching armies. The limit of the forest tree line was the only place where the trebuchets and scorpions could not reach you and near the edges were various traps that had been lain by generations of the keepers. Sand bogs that have been carefully cultivated , deep pits with spikes in them covered by leaves , man eating plants that were brought in from the surrounding islands only to name a few of the hazards that have been spread all over the edge of the desolation.  Normal armies would have left the area long ago or would have succumbed to all these various traps. However the army that has camped there all wore the Sapphire hues of the wizard Albren. 

     Magically imbued armor that has kept them alive for the weeks that they have spent here. The Armor allows them to survive traps. Go through Enchanted wards that would waylay normal soldiers from the correct path but the long siege has worn the patience of these seasoned veterans. The wait for the defenders to move , the wait for the orders to assault. The waiting has been killing them. Then there was the news that piqued their interest once more. Albren their benefactor was joining them on the battlefield. The wizard has grown restless with the lack of progress in the capture of the famed castle. No one really knew why he wanted this particular piece of land. It was far off from the major cities and the ground here bore no fruit because of the wide desolation but some of the wiser commanders knew that you never questioned a Master Wizard to his face if you want to retain your rank and your general shape. Being in human form is preferable than let us say being turned into a frog and Albren has done this sort of thing from time to time to keep the others in line. The news passed like lightning from one lip to another until the whole camp was abuzz with their leaders arrival.

 

     Albren stood out among his order. He was the youngest and with his youth came the ambition to be the greatest. He was normally not content being at the back of the lines despite his military advisers best intentions. He was by nature the kind of Wizard who would boost the attributes of his troops like Stamina  , Defense and Strength. However in the years that he had spent fighting the various races of this plane he had experienced another strange growth. He noticed that as he defeated more and more foes he was absorbing all of their attributes and spells. He was becoming something that even his fellow Wizards could no longer match. He wanted this castle to be in dire straits. He wanted them call forth their guardian. The siege was but a ruse and when the time was right there was ultimate power to be had.

 

     Albren arrived near the camp at the edge of the desolation and before even a word of greeting could be exchanged a war horn was sounded but this was not the welcoming Horn of the Camp , this was a sound that came from within the Mighty Walls of Dragon's Tooth itself. Albren smiled at the sound drawing quizzical looks from his advisers. The sound of the horn continued. Its sound was different from all the sounds that preceeded it. Everyone knew the legend behind the Mighty Horn of Palanyx .Everyone knew that the low booming bass  would eventually rise to a shriek and then to a soundless cry that was said to reach the planes of the dead.

 

    The Soldiers heard and were turning to run away when Albren broke out in a maniacal laughter that rivaled all maniacal laughters in the known worlds. Some of his own soldiers thought that he was tethering on the brink of madness. The Sapphire mage was in the middle of all the chaos as some ran and some seemed planted where they stood. In a voice amplified with Magic Albren addressed his troops. 

     "My warriors , there is nothing to be afraid of , The Castellan of Dragons tooth believe that by summoning the Dragon Palanyx , they have saved themselves. They could not be more wrong in their assumption. Join me , reform your ranks and I will lead you to the Dragons Hoard itself! We will attack them now , we will show them no fear!!!"

 

     A mighty roar arose from the Host of Albren and one by one the soldiers returned to battle positions. Siege Weapons were being prepared for mobilization. Weapons that were hastily dropped were being picked up once more and there was a gleam in each mans eye of the treasure that they would partake upon victory. For a moment the horns sound was forgotten and each man carried his weapon with a purpose. Albren began chanting a complicated protection spell that would enhance each mans armor. The defenders of Dragons tooth always wondered why the massive siege engines seemed like they had no means to move. Initially Elephants were planned to draw them near the massive castle walls but the shipment of Elephants sank just before the shore and the animals drowned whilst still in their cages. It was Albren who would surprise the defenders when the machines of war were enveloped in a blue light and began floating on their own. The men then began to push them with such ease through the uncovered plain that the walls were reached in no time and the gates were immediately being worked on. The Sound of the trumpet had gone silent and the only thing to be heard was the massive thud of the rams against the castle door.

 

     There was no turning back it seemed and a war horn from the Albrenian army rose in defiance to the ongoing summoning. The signal for attack was given and thousands of soldiers came pouring forth towards the gate of Dragons Tooth , a wide and mighty Oaken double door that was ten times a mans height and and width. The rise leading to the gate was a hard one to hurdle as the ram would not gain any momentum and would need to have several monstrous recruits to push it above that rise...when they have reached the top of the rise and begin and acceleration toward the gates , they would be in between Curtain walls where defenders would fire arrows and trebuchets and scorpions on them as they try to break the mighty gates. If they get too close to the walls  , there would be burning oil waiting to be poured on them. The rams were designed to take a beating in this nasty corridor , metal plates protruded  like silver wings on all sides . offering protection to those who did the pushing.The defenders continued to fire burning arrows and there were some members of the Ram crew that had their legs severed at the knee when a huge javelin passed through them. A point where there armors did not offer protection.

    The gate was almost breached when the Horn of Summoning stopped or appeared to have stopped but it was on the phase where the whole sound cannot be appreciated by the human ear but can easily be heard in the spirit realm.

 

 

      The defenders stopped their barrage on the rams and seemed to withdraw deeper into the castle.

From above the massive gate a form was coalescing into a shape , a faint whisper here , a bony fragment here , a skull that appeared to be smiling for lack of flesh to cover it.It appeared as a Dragon Spectre would , its bones gleaming into a pale silvery hue , its wings like wisps , its claws , tail and spine ridges all the color of transparent bone. The Dragon roared and its sound was that of a thousand souls screaming in agony. 

     Those near it looked up and  could see the form of spirits from within , devoured and trapped for all eternity.

      An overwhelming fear gripped the attackers heart. They knew that they would be dead men. This was the geist of the Dragon Palanyx and it has grown hungry over the years. The mighty dragon bounded towards the ram , scattering sapphire hued cloaks towards all directions.  One leap and Palanyx was upon a cluster and with his touch ten human soldiers withered and died and their spirits free from the cumbersome flesh was inhaled through 2 ghastly nostrils. The Dragon seemed to glow even more as it took the spirits one by one. Panic was now in full bloom. Generals could be seen calling for calm and and some of them being stabbed for getting in the way of a soldiers escape. There was chaos and no one seemed to be able to put a stop to it.

     With the defenders gone Albren had surveyed the dragon from above. This was his chance for power.

Albren summoned a mass of lightning with a wave of his hand and it hit the dragon squarely on the top of its head which merely allowed it to pass through.

     A spirit dragon does not interact in the physical sense. It merely devours the souls of the physical plane and the Sapphire Mage could observe this as the surrounding areas where the dragon stood was crumbling and turning into dust. Prolonged exposure sucked away the living essences of wood , metal and stone. 

     Albren had no choice in the matter. What you cannot  touch physically must also be dealt with in its spirit form. Albren began reciting an ancient chant. Runes of Blue and Red started to surround him in the air. Palanyx was growing more hungry and blasted a white silvery smoke at the the flying Wizard. The Runes Deflected it and it fell on several soldiers who were fleeing. Their  souls were instantly severed from their bodies and were sucked in by the dragon who didn't even need to move.

     "You have eaten your last soul Dragon."Albren said. Clapping his hands as a sign that his incantation was finished. The runes all around him grew wider until all of them were twice his size.

The runes seemed to unlock as a disk seemed to form in their middle. A tentacle of light began to  spring forward from each of the disks grabbing hold of the dragon from its heads to its tail.

     The dragon seemed surprised that these tentacles could hold him and Albren recited the 2nd set of incantations that would bind the dragon to him. From below him the Soldiers have already stopped running and were watching as the dragon seemed to be slowly being ripped apart  by the blue hands that Albren summoned. 

     The Sapphire wizard slashed his hands forward like scooping a mound of flesh from the dragon. The dragon could feel its ethereal release. It began to roar and it was the most horrendous sound that could be heard from all the planes. The men nearest Albren immediately fell on their knees and were driven mad. The dragon could no longer hold its shape as the tentacles continued their merciless pull. With a slow massive ripping sound parts of the Dragon Palanyx were ripped off and stored in the Runes which closed one by one. 

     The defenders were momentarily stunned because no one had withstood the Dragon before. They were then driven back to reality by the horn of the Castellan. " The Dragon is gone but the walls have not been breached! The gate still stands!!Protect Dragon's tooth with your lives!!!"

     All around the wall thousands of men shouted in response and fired a hail of arrows directly where Albren was hovering. To everyone's surprise the wizard merely smiled and an armor unlike any other began to cover him from head to toe. It appeared to be partly made of bone and smoke, A Shade Armor! Hundreds of arrows found their marks on the silver armor. It was then that directly from behind the archers small holes of Silver began to open and arrows that they have shot hit them directly at the back of the neck. There was a steady rain of Archers from the walls  , long dead before they hit the rocky floor. 

     The Host of Albren shouted a mighty battle cry and continued their assault. With one blow the Wizard destroyed the gates and his Host destroyed every man , woman and child beyond the walls and thus was born Albren the Silver Scourge.