Smoke in the Sky

[Xarkly 17299]

 

Avendal, the Smoke Drake

 

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"Did you hear that?"

 

"Ay?" From where he stood on the Santegian watchtower, Gonzo lowered his poleaxe and squinted across at Eli. "Hear what?"

 

Hoisting his crossbow up with a skeptical look marring the square face beneath his helmet, Eli stomped over to the walls before he scanned the scenic plains of farms and grassland beyond the city. "That ... roar." With a narrowed brow, he looked back to Gonzo. "You didn't hear anything?"

 

"Not a fuckin' thing, besides my belly rumbling," Gonzo grunted, before he frowned and prodded his stomach, prompting it to growl. "There ain't nothing out there, Eli."

 

Eli bit his lip. Across the green horizon, sparsely-placed trees swayed in the soft sea wind, and he could see distant farmers toil in their ploughed fields, and rivers shimmer like molten sapphire as they flowed into the city's canals. He could have sworn he had heard a distant roar, unlike that of any beast he had heard before. When he could see nothing but the peaceful Santegian countryside he had come to love, Eli only grunted and shouldered his crossbow before he marched back towards Gonzo. "Aye, you might be right," he grumbled, though his tone lacked conviction, "maybe I'm just hungry."

 

"No doubt about it," Gonzo chortled. "Only another hour now, and --" He suddenly cut off.

 

Eli shot his compatriot a scowl. "What, Gonzo?"

 

Gonzo held a finger up. "Shhh. Listen."

 

Immediately, Eli fell silent, and tried to listen over the buzz of the city behind him and the soft whistling of the wind. And then ...

 

"Oh, yep, there it is," Gonzo snickered as he farted. "You hear that, Eli?"

 

"Prick," Eli grunted, before he spat at his feet and began to storm off.

 

"Wait, Eli, hang on, look at --"

 

"Off yourself, Gonzo."

 

"No, Eli, quick, look--!"

 

"Gonzo, I will beat --" Eli turned just in time to see the fireball smash into the watchtower. The next thing he knew, he was burning; burning, and falling, until he felt himself crash into the water of the moat amidst a shower of fallen stone. He thrashed as he felt his chainmail pull himself down, and watched as shards of stone continued to rain down into the water all around him. His throat ached for air, until he finally grappled onto the muddied riverbank and pulled his head above the surface. He gasped as fresh air rushed into his lungs; his muddied gloves dug into the riverbank as he tried to pull himself further up. He suddenly froze as a sharp fragment of stone shot into the mud just an inch from his neck. The scent of thick smoke rushed into his nostrils, nearly choking him anew, when he noticed the thick wreath of smoke that enshrouded the stone. Then, as the water drained from his ears, he heard the sounds. The screams, the roar, the burning. With a thick lump in his throat, Eli turned, and looked towards Santegia.

 

The city burned. The ramparts and rooftops sent thick columns of pitch-black smoke into the sky as they burned with voracious fires. The watchtower upon which Eli had stood only moments ago had been reduced to a smoking stub, with the remaining stone turned glowing red under the immense heat. "G-Gonzo," he stammered as he tried to clamber to his feet. His eyes turned back to the moat in the hope that his comrade had fallen into the water too, but panic seized him when he saw that most of the water had been clogged by clumps of the burning watchtower. The few guardsmen he did see were floating corpses, their bodies twisted and burnt black. With his teeth chattering from the chill of the water, Eli fumbled to pull free his arming sword from his belt before he thrust it into the mud and pulled himself out of the riverbank. He was not a second too slow; a clump of burning stone smashed into the spot he had been lying in only seconds before. 

 

"BALLISTAE! GET TO THE BALLISTAE! ANOTHER BOLT, GO, GO, GO! IT'S BY THE BRIDGE!" As Eli staggered forwards, he heard the mechanical groan of a ballista as a thick bolt was flung through the air. Eli glanced up and tried to trace its path, but that quickly proved impossible: all around him, the sky had been clogged with thick smoke that nearly robbed Eli of all breath. He could distinguish blurry figures moving along the watchtowers as more ballistae sung their dull chorus and fired bolts through the smoky air, but the only thing Eli could properly make out was the fire: the endless sea of fire around him. As if he had lost control of his body, Eli suddenly sank to his knees as the smoke stung his throat. "What devilry is this?" he whispered as he tried to blink through the smoke-induced tears.

 

His answer came in the form of a roar.

 

From the veil of smoke, fire drew near him. The dim light of that fire outlined a long, serpentine head, mounted with a singular, misshapen horn. Narrow red eyes stared down at Eli, and the smoke briefly parted as massive black wings swept it aside with the force of a gale. For one, brief terrifying moment, Eli had a full view of the jet-black Drake, with smoke pouring from its flaming mouth. For a moment, he even thought he saw a figure clambering on its back, but it was then that he shut his eyes. His time had come; he accepted that. He felt the heat grew as the Drake growled, and the flames spilled out of its mouth ...

 

"SKRAAH!"

 

Eli's eyes suddenly shot open as the shriek of pain replaced the roar of fire. Blood began to drip down like, as heavy as rain, and he watched as the Drake's long, serpentine tail suddenly fell through the smoke, and landed with a massive thud just half a dozen feet from where Eli had fallen to his knees in despair. The bolt of a ballista, caked in dark blood, speared through the tail where it had been separated from the Drake's body. Burning droplets of blood sizzled against Eli's helmet as he looked up, only to find the tailless Drake writhing in the sky, depositing its would-be rider as it vanished towards the trees. A horde of men ran past Eli towards the Drake, weapons drawn and crossbows loaded, but Eli could only stare at Santegia, and listen to the shrieks as men burned in the Drake's fire.

 

All he could hear were the screams. All he could see was the smoke.

 

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Spoiler

Thanks to everyone who participated in today's event and all the events leading up to it. There's more to come.

 

[Wulfery 832]

 "All this chaos that occured... It was messmerizing, but also brought deep terror to Lieutenant heart. Having a small party of Royal Army join him, with Jace being his right hand, it was obvious that they'll need help. And being let on the walls to man the balista was a great idea. Jacob, Captain of seemingly Santegian army was at first giving out orders. Few of the bolts got even close enough scraping off dragon scales, but in the end, they were one of the two only balistas to remain ready to shoot."
 - Remember wha' father said... if ye see a giant dragon, make it a story worth rememberin'. - "He would mutter to himself, as the fight turned to the city center. And from now on, the saga begin."

 - Nei let ye'self get killed! - "Wulffrey shouted to Jace, before rushing off to the bridge, where beast began it's carnage. Fire, flood, smell of burning meat. And to say the very least, it wasn't any animal, but human. It was the type of situation for which Wulff was born to be. To seek glory for his ancestors, to create a name worth of remembering.
 Chaos, clash of swords on the scales, bolts constantly being shot. It seemed as if entire world was spinning around, and yet, even though it seemed too fast, he found himself perfectly. Shouts that were coming from everyone were turning into one constant buzz that came deep in Wulffreys mind. Axe slidding off the scales, bolts whizzing by his ear, sudden sound of fire, being spread on crazy speed around. And then, it fell into the water. Many jumped straight after it, and so did Wulff, yet at this point being like a child that seeks to play, not able to do anything more than try again and again, heart pounding, mind filled with sheer madness.
 And then something happend. It sunk. And after it some people came too, stupid enough to try and get it's scales. That was the moment, one of those he would probably consider close friends, if he only had a chance to meet him before, came to face his creator. Beast took foolish Vincent with him to the bottom of the canal. He deserved to die, for his greediness. But in opinion of Johnatan, apparently not. to save him, he lost his own life, finding eternal peace between fangs of the beast. "

 "More chaos followed. And in that situation, young lieutenant found himself stuck on the dragon that was slowly flying off, trying to plundge his axe into beasts neck, again and again, feeling helpess as the blade was sliding off. And that was his bad to stay on so long, as suddenly dragon decided to get rid of him, launching him into water. Only sheer luck (And 20/20 roll) saved him from doom, being helped out from water by Jace. There was no time to waste, and no chances to lose. And their chance was to use the balista, as beast was struggling to get above the gates."

 - Help me with it! - "Auda shouted to Wulff, as they manned the balista. First shot the took? Completly missed. Went off leaving no sign of risk to the dragon. And that was the point, where beast was already far enough to guess, that they have lost it. Truly shameful moment."
 - RELOAD IT! - "Who was that? Oh. Apparently it was Wulff himself. Alright. Never give up! Hurr! Fight to the end! Durr! Or something like that. And this time he took the aim. Pulled balista in such a position to see it most fit. A quick prayer, and the moment he begged his ancestors for help. His grandfather would be proud..."
 "Sudden sound of a bolt escaping from the balista seemed to echo in his head for eternity, as green eyes followed the path, massive projectile took in the sky. Each heartbeat, it was getting closer. And not long, before it actually struck the beast, so perfectly, that it's tail lost any attachment to the rest of the body. With a wild roar of happiness, Wulffrey watched as the beast began to bleed, marking it's path, that later on he took with rest of Royal Army, to find the creature, and slay it for good. But it was not the day, that it had to happen. If luck allows, he'll have his revange for all those, who have died. Unaware of that one poor Eli lad, that he have saved."

~
 "FOR HAENSE WE STAND, FOR ROYAL ARMY WE SERVE, PROTECT THE KING, PROTECT HIS QUEEN. NEI LET FEAR STRIKE YE DOWN, FACE DEATH WITH BRIGHT SMILE! BE IT MARCHIN ON YE, BE IT FIGHTIN, NEVER GIVE UP, NEI EVER RUN!" ~ Wulffrey, before the dragon battle

[Publius 4098]

Hadrian ran his hand through his hair, his eyes wandering the skies and the tundras with anxiety atop Vischgau Pass. This winter had been brutal, and the earth quaked just from the oncoming wave of bad news; messanger hooves were loud after the portal opened aneath Allemagne. Horses broke legs trying to navigate over the thin layer of snow and thick layer of ice...

[herculean_wud 3662]

Sweaty Stefan muttered a quick prayer to Godani once news reached Haense of the devastation.

[lev 627]

'He was a fire Drake from the north...' Averey muttered to himself.

[ThumperJack 927]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

If you feel this is a mistake, please contact myself or any FM and we'll restore it.