The Flames of Rage - an Enchantica story (novel) by Peter Van Mol

Chapter Six

Whether they are birds, griffins or dragons, all creatures that fly look for thermal updrafts that make it easier for them to stay aloft - and usually know to look for gusts of rising hot air around mountains or hills. The waves of heat emmanating from the fire on the other side of the mountains, however, was too much for any flyer to handle - and Tabrah barely managed to keep its wings stretched. Straining to keep from falling off the obviously struggling griffin, Cray bent down low over his mount's head and ordered it to put them down at a spot between the western slope and the burning village.

Built in a valley between the Burrief Mountains and an even broader part of the same river the companions had camped by, a large section of the village seemed completely engulfed by flames. In the part built on the other side of the river, men and women were trying to keep the fire under control, and attempted to form a chain to transport water to the burning houses.

High in the sky, a blazing creature, seemingly made of fire, briefly halted its attack when it spotted the new arrivals. Blinding the eye, the fiery dragon was as huge as any Cray'd ever seen, and almost radiated heat over a distance of at least two hundred meters. Four pairs of eyes were looking at the monster, none of them knowing what they were seeing, but all of them instinctively realizing it was evil and had to be stopped.
"Tabrah doesn't stand a chance against that dragon if it has to keep carrying all three of us." Cray shouted, "We'll put the two of you down close to those villagers. See if you can help them, or find out anything about the nature of this monster or why it attacked their houses." As he'd expected, Virr immediately started to protest, and tried to convince him that he might need magic to defeat the fire dragon. Greiss, however, seemed more than anxious to get his feet back on solid ground, and finally got his uncle to agree with the griffin's master.

Barely holding on to their senses after being attacked by a flaming monster, and desperately fighting to save their houses from being consumed by the fire, the villagers hardly even looked up as Tabrah landed behind them and dropped off the two dwarves. All things considered, griffins and dwarves were almost normal sights compared to a dragon made of fire, and an extra pair of helpers in the chain were definitely welcome.

Watching Greiss take up a spot in the line near the river - and Virr approaching the villagers' leader to find out what was going on - Cray urged Tabrah to take off again. As the griffin did and turned towards the direction where they'd last seen the fire dragon, the monster passed only meters above them and nearly set Cray's clothes on fire.
"I don't know how we'll ever get close enough to this thing to hurt it," he shouted over the howling of the wind, "but, if we don't try, those people down there are as good as dead." Shrieking its own version of a battlecry, the griffin acknowledged its master's words and furiously pumped its wings to gain altitude. The fire dragon had no intention of allowing its opponents to take an advantage, though, and was already turning hard for another pass at them. When he spotted its change of course, Cray gripped his sword in both hands and steered Tabrah on a collision course. At the very last moment, the griffin dipped below its enemy and gave its rider an opening to slash at the monster's belly.

Cray's sword failed to make contact with anything solid, however, and both rider and mount escaped the encounter with blisters and smoldering hair. The warrior's powerfull sword was twisted and bent from the heat where it had "struck" the fire dragon, and Cray's gloves had almost burned into his skin. The moment he looked at the state they were in, it dawned on him that they'd never faced anything like this creature. Their weapons were useless against it, and its next attack would probably finish them.

Suddenly, two familiar black and gold shapes streaked past below and headed for the flaming dragon. Instantly recognizing what they were, and that they didn't stand a better chance of stopping the monster than he did, Cray yelled at the dragonriders. As he did, a third varrazauga pulled up in mid-air behind him.

"I tried to stop them, Cray." he heard a woman's voice cry, "but they wouldn't listen to me. They just charged straight ahead." Watching the two knights and their chargers burn and fall from the sky at the touch of the fire dragon, Cray felt his strength drain away and finally turned to face their leader. "Even if you'd managed to hold them back a while longer, Princess, it would've been only a matter of time. Whatever reasons you had for following me, it seems we'll end up dying together."

Tears coursed from her eyes as Silde looked at her lover's face and saw his despair. She would've given anything to have gotten one night in this man's arms, and had decided to follow him on any quest he'd agreed to take upon him for no other reason than that. Before she could tell him how sorry she was, though, a flaring green light shooting up from the ground caught their attention.

Holding his dagger with the emerald in the hilt aimed at the fire dragon, Virr spoke words of magic in his own attempt to find a way to harm the monster. When the light surging from his power crystal struck the creature, its flames wavered for a fraction of a second. Inspired by what he thought he'd seen in that instant, the griffin's master spurred his mount on and readied himself for another strike.

On the bank of the river, surrounded by the villagers, the dwarven disciple of Spring waited untill he could time the last spell he had strength for. When he estimated the moment to have come, he spoke the words again, and watched his energy speed upwards. Then, he fell back and lost consciousness before he hit the dirt.

Watching the fire dragon loom ever larger before him, Cray too had timed his attack to co�ncide with Virr's spell. The precise moment the emerald light engulfed his opponent, its flames withered - and a small black dragon the size of a sheep appeared where the fire dragon had been just been. Raising his sword in both hands, the warrior brought his weapon down in a sweeping arc that actually made contact before the flames returned. Split in half, the body of the dark dragon that'd been at the heart of the flaming monster, tumbled towards the ground and landed in a cloud of dust. For a brief couple of seconds, Cray stared at the thing he'd just slain and wondered if the whole battle had been a nightmare. Then, he remembered Silde and turned around to see what'd happened to her. Apparantly, the Princess had recovered from the shock of the battle sooner than he had, though, and was already pushing her varrazauga to land where Virr had fallen.

Tabrah rose its head to the heavens and repeated its battlecry one more time before it agreed to descend as well, but Cray was eager to find out if the dwarf was still alive. He jumped from the griffin's back as soon as it touched down, and stormed towards the crowd that'd formed around the wizard. Pushing and shoving, he finally forced his way past the villagers, only to find Silde already holding the smiling dwarf in her arms. "He'll be fine in just a few minutes." she looked up at him, "He's always been capable of handling powerfull spells like that one, but it usually takes him a while to recover."

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