Varheiman Myths: The Dragon And Her Fire

The Taste Of Sky

Alistair hit sir Lambert with the hilt of his sword when the sturdy knight stroke him with a deadly blow. He skewed from the way, and attacked sir Lambert. The knight groaned in pain pressing his against the bleeding nose, Alistair kneed him in the groin. Sir Lambert fell on the ground Alistair lifted him up by his hair and dragged near the princess, ‘is he really your guard, princess?’ Alistair scoffed while sir Lambert coughed up in agony. ‘you don’t need a guard like him, believe me. When I was in queen’s regiment I had better knights.’ Alistair stabbed the knight in his chest callously, and left him in the oozing pool of blood. Sanlysia stared infuriatedly at Alistair, ‘I do not need protecting old man...’ she said, ‘find yourself a guard I’ll be hunting you down. I am plentiful for myself to rip your heart out.’

Alistair crouched and gazed in his daughter’s fierce eyes. How she’d reminded him of his old days, those days when blood boiled in his vain, the days when every Bustian knight shivered to battle with him.

‘My child...’ Alistair whispered quietly, gently stroking her hair, ‘... You are the pride of your father. The most precious blade, and sharp.’

‘W – who are... you?’ Sanlysia asked. She felt an familiar concern in his touch, the way a father concerns about his child. She’d never felt that from Edgard.

‘Tell your mother that you met Alistair of Bustia, former sir commander of queen’s regiment...,’ he grunted softly and rose on to his feet, ‘... give Pysenia my regards.’ He left walking out of Sanlysia’s sight leaving a thin cloud of dust and flurrying questions in Sanlysia’s head.

Alistair of Bustia, Sanlysia reprised the name over and over to see if it reminds her something, but to her despair none she could remember.

Rhineas clumsily fiddled with the cuffs and fetters around Jiua. The dragon’s golden eyes – deep in it’s angular skull – followed his movements. Ivory teeth poked out of it’s mouth and a big horn emerged from it’s forehead spiralling back slightly. The long blunt thorny trail of tendrils followed down by it’s spine. At the end of the tail was extended by flattened leathery skin alike it’s wings, which were curled back at its sides. There were a pair of sharp dagger like fang at the tendons of both wings. Four thick limbs carried the humongous body, paws almost as wide as almost elephant’s feet with claws sharp enough to even cut through the blade. Who would dare to go near this magnificent creature? Rhineas wondered. He drew a deep breath and then frowned at the foul smell of the dungeons.

‘Oh flame help me...’ he muttered to himself, ‘how do I get this chains down?’ Jiua rumbled softly wriggling it’s neck violently. Rhineas, startled moved back fear crawled through him briefly. Didn’t mean to startle you. The alien thought ran through his mind, if you could free the cuff around my neck I could melt the fetters, the thought ran again. Rhineas nodded. Jiua extended her wing to the ground asking Rhineas to climb on it’s neck. Rhineas crawled up it’s neck and sat astride, he noticed a big bolt holding the lock around Jiua’s neck. The bolt was almost half of his size and thick as his forearms. He stood on his feet warily, balancing himself and crouched to get the bolt and heaved it. Too heavy. He sighed, and sucked a long breath, heaved again. He felt like as if his arms are going to rip off pulling the big bolt out. His face reddened with the efforts, veins popping out on his forehead beneath little sprinkles of sweat.

‘Oh lord...,’ he grunted, his face had become taut. After a great labour the bolt finally came off and the cuff hit the ground causing the lair tremble. Jiua roared triumphantly and spat a column of fire at the fetters. Rhineas, still on his feet tumbling and staggering as Jiua began to pace forth. He managed to get a grip of it’s horn and sat astride again clutching a bony spike leaning against it’s neck, clung to it’s body. Jiua cantered with her heavy paws shuddering the walls. Rhineas’s felt as if he is sitting on the ground whilst the earthquake. As the dragon moved Sanlysia glared struggling to free herself from the cape, but it was a flop she could do nothing but just watch the dragon going, and make certain not to get trampled.

Somewhere from a distant the horn blared. Hadrites’s men needs help... Jiua stormed through the passages of the dungeons – seemed surprisingly cramped from Jiua’s back – to find a way out.

The bellowing and shouting of muffled voices crowded Rhineas’s ears. Where might Alistair be? He wondered. The stairs ascended out of the dungeons leading into the great corridor of the palace taking them straight out in the main hallways. The opening was too narrow for the huge creature to pass. Jiua breathed out fire and melted a big hole in the sandstone wall. It looked out at the Daelus sea stretched wide to the point it met with the violet starry sky. The dragon leapt into the relentless skies, Rhineas shrill aloud like he’d never did before. His drained energy after a lethargic battle has seemed to be retrieved back, the blood gushed through his veins tingling him from within. The wind whipped his face blowing his hair with it. Jiua surged upward cleaving through the wind the moon appear to be very closer, if he reached out his hand, maybe he could touch it. The palace looked nothing but a mere cluster of turrets. He hooted exuberantly with delight, the memory of his childhood flashed before his eyes when he first saw a dragon soaring above the clouds, he wondered if it was Jiua. He smiled when he read Jiua’s thought. Yes, it was her. He got so lost becoming unaware of everything, he didn’t remember Alistair or the men of Hadrites neither who he is? He rejoiced the liberty here, Jiua agreed and responded with a screech. She missed the taste of the sky, the touch of the wind and most of all the freedom in it.

Rhineas reluctantly asked Jiua if she could go back to the palace to rescue his friends. She obeyed sincerely and wheeled around the palace and shot down at the royal gardens where the men was surrounded by soldiers. Rhineas felt a queasy tingle in his stomach when the dragon aimed straight down, they lighted with a jolt midst the soldiers and Alistair along with the Hadrites’s men. The guards stared widely their mouths hung open without any movements scattering away in all directions like ants. Alistair’s face hinted Rhineas that he is trying to hide his amusement, ‘we were supposed to get dragon’s breath...,’ Alistair said, ‘...and you bring the whole dragon,’ he muttered. Rhineas snickered at him and said, ‘be grateful we arrived sooner...,’ and gestured him to climb up. Alistair looked at him uncertainly, ‘I am not climbing on that thing.’ He grumbled.

‘No...,’ Rhineas yelped when he sensed Jiua spitting fire on the soldiers who were approaching with their bows ready to loose. ‘...soldiers we apologize for the intrusion. We leave in peace now. Let us go.. would you?’ The archers lowered their bows rationalising with their brains that it would be a losing side, and they didn’t preferred to scatter on the ground in ashes.

Rhineas gazed down at Alistair exasperatedly. ‘Heard the boy climb up on the beast...’ Alistair bellowed. The sea lords hastily climbed up on Jiua and Alistair followed behind. Jiua flailed her wings and again in the sky they were.