Adonis (Part 5)

"I won't let you take her!" I shouted as I transformed and raced after the dragon who had just snatched Nairi up in its claws. My Uncle.  Why is he doing this? The dragons had maintained neutrality throughout the war? What could have changed?
"Adonis!" Nairi called out to me. The wind rushing over me was deafening.  I had never flown this fast in my life. But with all my speed, I still couldn’t catch my uncle before he thrust the cage door shut, imprisoning Nairi. I rammed my uncle with such force I nearly lost consciousness, and we went tumbling out of the sky towards the hard ground.
The impact of the earth against my back forced me back into human form. I leapt up onto my feet intending to fly up and destroy the cage. I couldn’t let them take her again. A calm, cold voice from behind me paralyzed me mid leap "We meet again after all these years, Boy." His cold voice echoed in my mind, awakening all the anger, all the hatred, all the pain I had ever felt because of this one man.  It seemed to flow through my body straight to my fist and I lobbed a huge ball of fire straight at him.
 He dodged just in time and laughed, "Foolish boy, you think you can beat me do you? You think that just because you are older you have the power to defeat me? You, the child of a human, a disgrace to the dragons."
"Shut up!" I yelled, anger pulsing within me. "You have no right to talk to me. You, who lied to me all these years. You, who killed my parents for power. You, who cast me out and disowned me. And you have just made one of the biggest mistakes of your life."
"Oh, and what would that be, little nephew?"
"That Uncle, is you have just taken the one thing I care about, the one thing I cherish, the one thing I love in this world anymore and thrown her in a cage to be taken away for whatever reason, and I will not let you off for that!" As soon as I said the words I knew they were true. Nairi really was that important to me, and the thought of having her hurt anymore made me furious.
My Uncle laughed, "You have feelings for the little Ceridwen girl? That is so...weak." He looked at me with such cold eyes that it was hard to believe he was actually my father’s brother, that he was related to me in anyway.
"Uncle Malum, I will not let you take anything important to me ever again." As the last word escaped my lips we were suddenly dragons once again charging each other. It seemed like we fought for hours I would knock him to the ground and he would do the same to me. Claws ripped through scales, teeth broke pierced flesh, and fire raged through the forest that we had landed in. With a stroke of luck I swung my claw and slashed a line from his brow to his cheek. Blood filled his left eye. In his moment of blindness I reared up and cut a deep gash in his underbelly with my other hand. He roared in pain and knocked me to the earth. The combination of my fatigue and the impact of my body slamming into the ground forced me back to human form.
"This," my Uncle rumbled, holding his injured eye shut. "Is where you will die, Nephew." He raised his claw to finish me, but there was a loud trumpeting roar from over where the battle between the rebels and the dragons was raging.
My Uncle looked at me, "You have lucked out today, boy. Next time I promise, you will not be so lucky." And with that he soared off. I watched him fly over to where the sorceress hovered. And there, next to her the floated that hideous cage. All I could think of in that moment, laying there out of breath, was that I had failed. I had failed at saving her. But also in that moment was the burning desire to get her back. No matter what I faced I would save her. I would save Nairi.

Anakis (Part 6)

   I awoke in a cold, dark cell.   One of my wings were throbbing, and my limbs were chained.   I gingerly touched the wing.   Broken, of course.   She looked about her.   There was Nairi, sharing a cell with her.   She too was chained up.
   "Nairi?" I whispered.   I didn't know her very well, and I was a bit frightened to speak.   "Where are we?"
   Nairi looked startled.   "You actually speak?"   I shot her a look.   "We were captured by Andromeda.   You were passed out the whole time."
   I seemed to remember a bit of something.   "Yes...something grabbed me and..."   I winced.   "It hurt my wing and broke it.   Did it get anything else?"
   Nairi nodded.   "It got Kaymele.   And me, obviously.   It does hurt.   They compleatly dug into all of our backs."   She stretched a bit, showing several deep wounds along her sholders.
   A sickening feeling came over me as I realized that Nairi and I were all alone, and Kaymele was nowhere to be found.   No one I really knew was there to comfort me.   I had no idea what would happen next.   I began to tremble.   "I feel quite worried."
   Nairi's brow furrowed.   "I am too.   Adonis must be sick with worry.   I hope he wasn't captured as well."   Nairi continued to ramble as I thought.
   Prid isn't really sane without me.    He gets all panicy.   I'm really all that he loves, and when I'm not there...oh, I shudder to think of it.    He must be going crazy.   When I finally tuned in to Nairi, I found that she felt the exact same way about Adonis.   I reached for her hand.
   "We must trust.   I'm sure they'll be alright."

Andromeda {part 4}

"Is anything left to puzzle you?" Andromeda's hands gripped the sides of the makeshift table that had been provided her.

The men around her murmured in the negative; her battle plans were flawless.  All were clad in armor of shimmering, scale like material that varied in color for each man, ranging from brilliant reds to earthy copper, green the color of a tree snake to the color of the Tawarthion foliage. 

"Very well" she rolled up the Leather map she had brought along, and tucked into a special pack that hung from the waistline of her dark red and black dress.  "Gather the forces, prepare them for the final stage of our attack on Revelin" she scanned the group of leaders around her, the smell of musty smoke filled the tent "and the rebels". 

The men bowed their heads and filed out, the sound of their strong, deep voices coming back to her as the arranged the forces under their lead. 

"My Lady" 

Andromeda turned, and lifted one eyebrow as she beheld the man before her, the only one to remain in the tent. 

"Yes, Malum?" 

Like the others, he wore the same shimmering armor, but while the other's had been a solitary color or shade, his was an arrangement of golds, reds, oranges and yellows. resulting in a uniform that clearly marked him as different. 

"I inquire about my bargain with the lady, and whether she still plans to uphold it" 

ah, of course. 

Andromeda pressed her lips together, and crossed her arms, "Remind me of our bargain, as it seems to have slipped my mind" 

Malum's posture never changed, but his lit in a glint of slight fury.  It had been hard to gain the man's allegiance, and even then, it hadn't come without having to compromise something to him. 

Of course, the compromise was nothing to Andromeda. he had wanting something that she had no need for anyway. But just the fact that she had had to bargain with him was infuriating. she much preferred being obeyed without handing something over in return. 

but she couldn't very well just kill him and be over with it, for his kind would have rejected her leading of them, and he hadn't wanted something important anyway, so she had granted his desires, and ruled his people through him. 

"I want the half dragon, Adonis. no other shall set hand or claw upon him, but myself" 

a laugh bubbled up with Andromeda, but she stilled it, saved it for later. 

"and why in all of Incantevole would you desire the life of a simple half dragon? what threat is he to you?" 

Malum's hands clenched at his sides, and his face twisted into a grimace, "It is private business that I have to desire to recount. but you promised him to me in return for my, our, allegiance to you, and the king, of course" 

His tone carried a threat, if she didn't uphold her side of their bargain, he would withdraw his allegiance and that of his men. 

It made Andromeda summer inside. 

That she had to please this man in order to have his followers of despicable, and entirely not her style. 

"Very well" she shrugged nonchalantly. "I have no need of his life, except one" 

she drew a crystal vial out of the pouch her map was in, and tossed it towards Malum. 

"Fill it with his tears". 

"My lady?" Malum caught it in a fluid moment, and looked at it with wonder, and confusion. 

She repositioned the wide neckline of her dress, and walked towards the entrance of her tent, "I said fill it with his tears" 

"but why-"

"It is private business that I have no desire to recount" she copied his former words, and brushed past him to the outdoors beyond her tent flap. 

The delightful smell of charred lands greeted her like a warm embrace of home.  She closed her eyes, not paying attention as Malum passed on her right, giving her glares that might frighten a normal individual.  

It smelled heavenly, this land that was the charred remains of Afriki. 

She hasn't realized what a haven she had made when she had ordered it burned to the ground. 

"Oh, but that all of Incantevole was this lovely" she whispered, inhaling a deep breath of the smoke still floating about. 

"Lady Andromeda" one of Malum's men roused her from her delighted daydreaming of a land entirely nothing but flame aftermath, and she sighed, giving him a look that clearly told she was most certainly not pleased with his interruption. 

"what is it?" 

he bowed his head and gestured towards the soldiers, her army, lined up to heed her orders. 

She roved her eyes over the ranks; the higher officials, Malum at it's head, stood in front, and the ones with lesser ranking, stood in the back. 

to the common eye, it was a small army, only 200 at it's best, but 200 of such kind as she had gathered was plenty. 

They all awaited her orders, solders garbed in shimmering scales, both men and woman mingled, all fierce and ready to destroy. 

Victory was sure. 

Andromeda smiled, and created a surge of smoke to lift her a couple feet higher, causing her to tower just above the heads of the gathered fighters, so they had to look up slightly to view her. 

"We reach Revelin today" 

her words caused a pleased rustle among the group. 

"However, as much as we all, including myself, would delight in its entire destruction, we cannot allow that to happen.  not yet. our objective for this battle is capturing key traitors" 

After today, she would be so much closer to saving Felix. 

The army seemed to breathe a massive sigh, apparently they did not share her joy at simply capturing Rebels. 

"I have given each corp leader a person to capture and bring to me, those under their leader must assist in the capture.  They guarded heavily, so don't balk at slaying anyone who is in your way, and..." a smile lit her face, even she couldn't resist the urge, "we might as well have fun, so, if there is some extra destruction of their base, anything to weaken them, I won't be found complaining" 

She waited for the cheer to settle down, and continued, "and so, rise my warriors, let us attack from the skies, victory will be ours!" 

The cheer that rose from their throats changed in pitch, as the scale armor clad warriors' changed form. 

The armor convulged and stretched, and the air filled with growls and snarls. 

Her dragon army was ready. 

A red dragon, his scales shimmering as if gold were also mixed in with it, lifted into in the air in a fluid movement, and the rest followed, the skies filled with a frightening number of bloodthirsty beasts. 

Andromeda grinned, and with a flick of her hand, the smoke pillar beneath her vibe rated before changing its own form into a black smoke dragon, much like the one she had sent after the party heading into Voronwë. 

It joined the real dragons in the air, and she sat astride it, "and now, let us conquer!" 

She pulled a strand of fire from one palm into the other, and shot it down into the earth, resulting in a massive boom, and the dragons surged forward, and on to Revelin. 

-------------------

The rebels hadnt been expecting their attack, but, being in the position of opposition, they were prepared for any attacks. 

Andromeda watched from above Revelin as her dragon army laid waste to the city. 

She had wanted to join them below, but it was as if the creatures had gone into a bloodlust, snapping their jaws and clawing at anything with a human form. 

And she wasn't entirely sure if she would excluded from their mad razing.  Of course, they were also doing a splendid job of destruction, and it was pleasant to simply watch and fire firebombs into Revelin from time to time. 

One corp had already reported back, the leader carrying a unconscious fairy in its claws with remarkably gentleness. 

Andromeda had formed a floating smoke cage, and deposited the blond fairy in it, allowing the dragon to return to destroying. 

Now she looked back at the black cage, and the still unconscious fairy, the pulsing of her colors showed that the girl was still alive, just in extreme shock. It didn't matter, as long as she lived, what was shock and injury? 

A scream wafted up, and Andromeda tore her eyes away as another dragon snatched up another girl. 

Ceridwen, good. 

Malum was her capturer, and he quickly brought her up to Andromeda. 

"The Ceridwens, as you requested, Lady Andromeda" he spoke, the sound being gravely and deep from his Dragon throat. 

"wonderful" Andromeda opened the door to the smoke cage, and Malum swung her into it, the girl tumbling onto the floor next to the fairy. 

Surprisingly, the Ceridwen was still awake, and fighting, if the way she pounded against the smoke formed bars was any evidence. 

"She put up a fight, she's little but hardly easy to take" Malum growled, and his red eyes narrowed at the little tigeress. 

"Im not little! and once I get out, you'll be sorry!" the Ceridwen shouted, as she reached through the bars, not even coming close to reaching Malum or Andromeda. 

It was almost entertaining. 

A deep roar caused both Andromeda and her Dragon warrior to turn their attention away as a Younger red dragon lifted from below, and rammed into Malum. 

he was smaller, and his red was a single color, unlike Malum's mingled gold, but he was magnificent in his own way. 

Malum twisted in the air just before the two crashed into the ground, causing the attacking dragon to fall first. 

The Ceridwen sucked in her breath sharply, and ceased her futile escape antics to watch with a pale face. 

"know him, do you?" 

Andromeda moved closer to the cage, and the Ceridwen glared without moving her eyes from the dragon vs. dragon fight going on below. 

"I don't have to answer you, witch" 

For some reason, that prompted a laugh, and the Ceridwen girl's fingers tightened on the bars. 

"Witch, am I?" 

but it seems the girl was through talking, and Andromeda took to studying the girl. 

She looked familiar, but in an odd way. 

Her facial features, the way her eyes sharpened, and her mouth pressed in a thin line while worriedly watching Malum and the younger dragon fight seemed very similar to someone Andromeda had seen before...

but she couldn't place who. 

"We have the mermaid" a snarl from behind stole Andromeda's attention, and she turned, facing a dark green dragon holding another unconscience girl. 

The female dragon's claws had sunk into the mermaid's shoulders, causing a deep wounds which blood flowed freely from. 

The girl was injured, but still alive, and that was the important thing. 

The female dragon moved towards the smoke cage, causing the Ceridwen to gasp when she saw the condition of the Mermaid.  

As the finale girl was tossed into the cage, the Ceridwen girl scuttled over, and gently moved her head to her lap.  It was so sweet. 

and pathetic. 

"Call up the corps, the Elf is not in Revelin, and so our duty here is done" Androneda ordered, and the female dragon complied, her roar splitting the air. The dragons below looked up in unison before joining them in the air. 

Malum joined by her side, and Andromeda gave him a once over. 

His side had a deep gash that was bleeding rather profusely, and a claw's slash across his eye was going to leave a rather unforgettable scar, and perhaps blind him, but otherwise, he seemed uninjured, escpecially compared to the almost pulverized younger dragon. 

"Move out" Andromeda shouted, and the female dragon repeated it louder. 

After crossing a few miles, Andromeda again turned to Malum. 

"Is he dead?" 

She sensed the Ceridwen lean closer against the cage to hear the reply. 

Malum's wings beat the air a bit more violently before growling, "No. not yet. if I had a few seconds more, perhaps. and maybe he will die yet. When he awakes, he will be in a poor condition" 

the Ceridwen beat her fists against the bars, "if you've killed Adonis, I'll, I'll, I'll...." she trailed her sentence off, and looked at her unconscience friends behind her before slumping to the floor. 

Andromeda grinned. 

good. 

a defeated soul would be easier to handle.