writing The Dragons of Worloch: Rise of the Dragon Empire

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Chapter 1:

 

The City of Dracondor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Captain! Prepare your men, and ready your sorcerers for battle. These troublesome dragons have defied our will long enough!” Qaltric bellowed. Qaltric was the general of the Menkaranian army. His armor forged from emerald-green dragon scales glistened under the morning dew. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon adding to the brilliance of the shimmer. His sword swung freely as he paced in front of his men.

 

“Yes sir!”

 

Qaltric then ordered, “I’m going into the city. I want all of your best men, and your strongest sorcerer to accompany me into Dracondor.”

 

“Yes sir,” he replied and left to find the men that Qaltric requested. He returned after only a few minutes with many heavily armored men and a one of his finest sorcerers. Beads of water rolled down the breast plates of their plated armor from the chilled morning air with longswords tucked at their sides. The Sorcerer wore plate armor along with a sorcerer’s robe both blood red in color. “These are my best men. They will serve you well sir.”

 

“All right then. Men, we’re going in,” He confirmed turning to his captain, “if we are not back by dawn surround the city and invade it from all sides. That should help spread out the dragons.”

 

Qaltric along with his men entered Dracondor from the south through the main gate. The gate itself was carved out of a solid wall of marble that he assumed wrapped around the city. When the general and his men entered the city, what they found struck them with awe. The streets were paved with white marble and where outlined in sidewalks paved with rubies and emeralds. Many of the buildings that had been established for what few humans and elves lived in the city had been crafted with gems of various types. Diamonds, topazes sapphires, citrines, and many other natural gems that could be found engraved along its outer wall.

 

The number of dragons that he found residing in the city had also caught him off guard. He had known that this was a dragon-based city, but he was not expecting quite this many to be gathered in one place. From what he could see, nearly ninety percent of the city’s population was dragons.

 

As Qaltric and his guards walked into the city, they took notes on their sizes to use for later should what he was planning backfire. If they had to end up fighting these dragons, it would be valuable information. Not only to know how many they would be fighting, but also how large the majority of them were. The sizes of the dragons ranged greatly. The smallest of the dragon races were the Pseudo Dragons. These dragons more often than not were no larger than a small cat. The Wyrms however, of the larger race of dragons, Qaltric estimated to be about eight to ten times the size of himself.

 

Most of the female dragons in the city were wary of Qaltric and his men. It was nearing the end of the breeding season for them and many of them would be expecting eggs to hatch in the near future. The larger more aggressive of the females had steam blowing from their nostrils in warning not to come near.

 

Qaltric decided to approach one of the less-aggressive dragons that were nearby. From the roundness in its scales, he was able to conclude that it was a female from his teachings. He moved over to her slowly and proclaimed, “I am not sure if you can understand me, but I mean you or your younglings no harm.”

 

A burst of flame landed about a foot away from Qaltric, “How dare you insult my intelligence! We dragons can read, speak, and write fluently in every language in Worloch! I am as insulted by your ignorance, as I am you foul presence here! If you do not intend to harm us, why the hell do you have weapons at you side and what the hell are you doing in our city?” The dragon voiced in a deep, pure tone that was unmistakably female. The voice sounded almost human. The anger in her though, gave her voice a slight rasp.

 

“We are armed for our own protection. We are not foolish enough to enter a dragon city without methods of which to defend ourselves. We do not intend on attacking dragons. That would be suicide. We will, however, fight to survive it we are attacked. The reason that we are here is to speak with your lord about a possible alliance. The reason that I approached you was so that I could ask for directions to the palace, I am sorry for doubting your intelligence as well. I knew that dragons were intelligent creatures. I was unsure though, if you dragons understood our language, or if you all had your own.”

 

The snow-white dragon eyed them with one of her wide white eyes, and said, “Humans, I thought the ones here were bad. Just keep following the main street to the center of the city. You will not be able to miss the palace. And for your information, we do have our own language as well, but it doesn’t mean it’s the only one we speak,” The dragon added in a snickering tone.

 

“Thank you for your help,” Qaltric told her.

 

“Don’t mention it, but I have some advice for you, do what needs to be done, and get out of our city as soon as possible. As you have noticed, we do not take too kindly to outsiders. Especially outsiders who bear weapons upon entering,” She warned them.

 

Qaltric nodded to the female and started to lead the group down the center of the streets of marble. The sidewalks of gems that were next to the streets continued on as far as they could see into the city. After about twenty minutes of walking, the group of men finally made it to the center of the city “That blasted dragon gave us the wrong directions! There is no palace here…” One of the men commented behind Qaltric.

 

“Look again,” Said Qaltric. The men turned their attention to the black mountain in front of them. The longer that the men looked at it, the more they came to realize that the black mountain in front of them was the palace! There gaze was taken to the veins of gold, silver, bronze, diamond, ruby, and emerald that ran up the side of a wall that was made from black marble. In front of them were to sets of stairways. One stairway was built for dragons, which because of their ability fly, looked to be in perfect condition. The smaller stairs on the right, however, were a bit worn from the use of humans.

 

As they got ready to enter the path of stairs, two dragons, both wearing armor, landed in their path. One of the dragons was a very pale blue, while the other dragon was deep red in color. The blue dragon addressed the soldiers asking, “And just where do you people think you’re going?”

 

“We wish to speak with your lord if he is available,” Qaltric replied.

 

“Really, and what makes you think that he cares about what you outsiders have to say?” The red dragon replied with a deep raspy voice.

 

“Are you dragons always this rude to travelers? If so, I am surprised that this place is still here. I would have though war would have destroyed it by now.”

 

“Watch yourself human! May I remind you, that in this city, you people are not on the top of the food-chain!” The red dragon said menacingly. Then he snickered, “Why do you wish to speak with him?”

 

“We are soldiers sent from the Empire of Menkarane. We have been sent here to try to attempt to form a peace. Though the only thing I’ve found here is reason for the opposite,” Qaltric told him.

 

“You are treading some very dangerous ground general,” The blue dragon told them. Then he added, “Enter at your own risk. Your safety is not guaranteed. Our meeting chamber is at the end of the main hallway. Melocnr will be with you in a few minutes. His son Zil’caron will also be present for this meeting as well. He is heir to his throne and will need to hear the information you bring. I suggest you show them more respect than what you have shown us!” The Blue dragon told them.

 

“You have shown us no reason to respect either of you.” Qaltric told them.

 

“The facts that we are dragons, and could kill you and your men with ease, should give you reason enough to respect us.” The blue dragon told them. “But no matter, you will respect our lord and his son. Failure to do so will result in the deaths of you and your followers!” he added as they flew off to inform Melocnr of his guests.

 

Qaltric and his men continued towards the Palace doors, climbing the endless path of stairs. The main doors were, like the rest of the palace were carved out of black marble with a portrait of an exhilarating gold dragon embedded into it. While they were waiting for the doors to open, Qaltric just stared at the beauty of the city. He had been too many cities like this, but nothing could compare to the layout of this city. He turned when one of his men tapped him on the shoulder signaling the doors had opened.

 

Qaltric’s breath was taken from him when he and his men entered the palace. The marble made an elegant transition from black to white. All along the hallway and ceiling were portraits of dragons varying in sizes. All of them were rich and vibrant in color. The men then exited the hallway. The found themselves walking into an open chamber. Qaltric stared at the ceiling above them. They could not tell how tall it was, nor how it could support itself. They were able to make out some sort of portrait that was fired into it. It consisted of an exhilarating blue dragon in a graceful flight.

 

It was not long until an enormous gold dragon, and a significantly smaller black dragon greeted them. The black dragon caught the group’s attention first. This was partially due to its lack of size. He was barely twice as tall as Qaltric, but the vibrant colors of the dragon that left them in awe. The dragon was primarily black, and was very glossy. A thin band of gold outlined every one of his scales, and the veins in his wings. This also included the one on the tail edge of the wing. Qaltric eyed the gold colored spikes that ran down the dragon’s back. They started out small at both the tip of his tail and the back of his head. They grew in length from both sides reaching their longest in the middle of his back. The most stunning feature of this dragon was his eyes. In most dragons, the eye color usually matched the primary color of the dragon’s scales. However, for this dragon, his eyes took the golden color of his spikes.

 

The gold dragon was just as impressive. The sheer size of the dragon was enough to intimidate even the best or warriors. He was about five to six times larger than the black and gold dragon, and his scales shined in the light like a thousand bars of pure gold. He did not have spikes on the back of his neck though as the black and gold dragon did. Instead, he had three spikes growing out of his skull, two on the side, and one out of the back of his skull. He finally stopped in front of the men, and addressed them, “Greetings General. My name is Melocnr, and this is my son, Zil’caron. My guards have informed me that you wished a meeting with me.” He said with a deep thundering voice. Unlike the red dragon’s voice though, his had a pure tone.

 

“Yes, we have, and please forgive us if we do not address you or your son properly, for we are ignorant in the ways of dragons,” Qaltric told them.

 

The ground beneath Qaltric and his men shook as Zil’caron laughed at his statement and replied, “You need not worry about that. You can just use our names.”

 

Zil’caron’s voice was just as intimidating as his father has been, but took a lighter tone. Qaltric then gathered up his courage and said, “Thank you Zil’caron. Now we need to address the true nature of this meeting. My name is General Qaltric, and I am the leader of Menkaranian army. Zurcon, ruler of the Empire of Menkarane, has sent me here to attempt to gain the alliance of the city.”

 

“Really?” Melocnr asked moving into a more comfortable laying position. “While I could see what Menkarane could gain from such an alliance, what would benefit would it be to us but to drag us into a war that we wish not to partake in?”

 

“We would be able to provide you with the political information, and information regarding a current trading spike.”

 

“Any information that we wish to obtain is gathered by out sentries. If we wish to know what is going on in one of your cities or one of the cities in Celtrien, then we’ll just send a scout to retrieve it,” Zil’caron replied.

 

“We also have no real use for trade either. After all, we are dragons, it’s not like we can use many of the items that humans and other races have to offer,” Melocnr added.

 

“Spices maybe?”

 

“We rarely cook our food…”

 

“Exotic beverages?”

 

“In order for us to even have a taste the amount of mead it would take would kill a human…”

 

“I understand,” Qaltric replied while mumbling aloud, “I’m running out of options here. I cannot offer them protection because they could very easily protect themselves. They’ve already turned down food enhan…”

 

Just then, one of the sentries flew into the meeting chamber and whispered something into Melocnr’s ear. “Tell me general, why exactly are you here?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You’re so called negotiations where shaky, as if they weren’t even planed but made up on the spot, along with the self mumbling about what to do next”

 

“We are here for peace.”

 

“Really? That is why armored men that bear your insignias are savaging the forest just outside the city?

 

“Yes, they are. In times like these though, we could not afford to take chances. Our men have already been ordered to attack the city if we don’t return.” Qaltric replied.

 

“For our protection, you didn’t think that we were going to come in here unprotected did you?”

 

“Then why are they trying to surround the city? If it was as simple as you say, shouldn’t the entire army waited at the gates?”

 

“They’ve been ordered to attack the city at dawn should we fail to return.”

 

“So there is something else going on here. Otherwise, why be afraid of not making it out of the city alive? Do we dragons seem that cruel as to have no respect for others?”

 

“You wish to come into the city, try to negotiate peace, but still order an army to attack us?” Zil’caron asked with a deep growl in his voice. His body was shaking from uncontrollable tremors, and he was already lowering his body for an attack. “That is not an act of peace,” he growled with his voice gaining a slight rasp.

 

Qaltric reasoned that the dragon had figured out the true intentions of this meeting, and decided to tell them the truth. “I don’t like what I’m about to tell you any more than you are going to, but my orders were not to attempt a peace.” Qaltric told them.

 

“Your orders were to attack us directly weren’t they?” Melocnr stated.

 

“Yes, they were, but neither I nor my men liked the idea of fighting dragons, let alone killing them. Therefore, we decided to enter the city to see if we could avoid battle. In addition, the only way we could do that was if we could convince you dragons to side with the Empire of Menkarane. I have defied my orders by coming in here, and if our proposal is unacceptable, I will have no choice but to attack your city, for I will not defy another order. I am sorry,” Qaltric said. Zil’caron let out a vicious roar, and started to lunge at Qaltric.

 

“Zil’caron! Control yourself!” Melocnr told him. There will be a time for violence later, I fear. Let us not rush ourselves into it sooner than we have to. He waited for his son to reply, and turned to Qaltric. “You listen, and you listen well general. We dragons have never supported either empire in this meaningless war that you engage in. This includes The Menkaranian Empire, and we will not be forced into an alliance we do not like. These rash actions have pushed us to the breaking point, and you have ten minutes to get out of my city before I give the all clear for my dragons to kill you all on site. I suggest that you hurry.” The large gold dragon then turned and exited the chamber starting the count down to their death while Zil’caron stood his ground. The bared teeth on the side of his maw, and the deep heavy growling made it very clear he would make haste with his father’s decree.

 

The men bolted through the hallway leading to the main doors of the palace. When the doors open, they found two medium-sized violet dragons: one male and one female, standing in front of them that looked like they were already prepared to kill him. “Get moving.” The male dragon commanded sinisterly

 

“What do we do now?” asked one of the guards as he pointed to the two dragons.

 

Qaltric responded, “We run, and get the hell out of here as soon as possible, and ready ourselves for a vicious bloody battle…” It wasn’t long until Qaltric heard the roar from the gold dragon, and almost instantly dragons began attacking the small group. The mage was the first one to get taken out, and they were only about half way out of the city. The alleys were the only place that the dragons could not fit and Qaltric used this to his advantage, and two of his other men were caught trying to follow him.

 

Within seconds of him reaching the alley, the rest of his men that had been caught in the streets where being dismembered. He used this distraction to navigate through the alley keeping close to the main street to see the gate. By doing this he managed to attracted the attention of a few of the other humans that had been alerted to their plot, and they gave chase. Qaltric quickly ducked into a side alley and waited for the first one to get close. With a quick, step and lunge his blade turned crimson as it protruded out of the back of the first human that approached him, and shoved him off the blade.

 

He noticed another assailant was charging towards him, and used his own momentum against him shoving the butt of his sword into his stomach and in one fluid motion spun around and decapitated him. Seeing that his path was now clear again, he bolted for the gate. One of the guards at the gate noticed him and moved to cut him off. Thinking quickly, he used the slick marble to his advantage and slid on his armor under the dragon, and took off behind him into the wooded area where they would not fit.

 

Qaltric finally managed to get back to his men just before duck, and found his captain, “Ready the men,” he started taking a deep breath, “We attack at dawn,” he ordered tugging his armor back in place.

 

The captain hesitated for a moment as the realization set in that war was imminent. Once he did, he responded, “Yes sir,” and executed his orders.

 

 

***

 

In the meantime, Melocnr, and Zil’caron were discussing their own plan of action in Dracondor trying to figure out how to fight to sorcerers the best.

 

“I can’t believe that Zurcon would resort to such treachery on us. We have naught to do with him, and he plans to attack us!” Zil’caron said.

 

“I know, I thought that he would have more respect for us than that considering that he used to be a rider,” He told him sighing, “But… one never can predict the movements of people like him. He’s been this way ever since the split of the empires when its leader was killed five years ago,” Melocnr replied as Zil’caron’s sister Shunaria, and soul mate Silvera flew into the room.

 

“Hello Silvera did you and Shunaria enjoy your hunt?” Zil’caron asked them.

 

“Yes we did,” Shunaria replied. Shunaria was a vibrant blue dragon, and was about two months younger than Zil’caron who was nearly ten years old. Like her father, she did not have any spikes, and her eyes the most brilliant sapphire blue there could be. “I managed to catch a few larica,” She told them.

 

“And I snagged a Celcarion lion.” Silvera added. Silvera was a stunning pure silver dragon, and roughly the same age as Zil’caron. Her scales shined like thousands of mirrors. She too had spikes running down her back like Zil’caron, and like Zil’caron, her eyes did not match the color of her body. Her eyes took on an icy-blue color creating one of the most beautiful dragons in the city. As dragons do not practice marriage, she took Zil’caron as her soul mate about six months ago, and the bond formed between them is stronger than any human marriage could be. Silvera then said to Zil’caron, “Zil, I heard you and your father talking about some kind of battle getting ready to occur when we flew in, is this true?”

 

“Yes, I’m afraid it is. The Empire of Menkarane has organized an army to attack us.” Zil’caron told her.

 

“But why, what did we ever do to them?”

 

“They tried to force us into an alliance that we don’t want. They said that unless we gave in, which would have never happened, they would consider us enemies of the empire. They would then have no choice but to attack. The kicker in the decision was they already had an army here waiting to attack. You do not go to a peace offering with an armada. That will never get you anywhere,” Melocnr told her.

 

“Now that you mention it,” Shunaria started, “I remember earlier today on my way out seeing a large group of humans around the outside of the city spreading around on my way back to meet Sil.”

 

Just then, one of the guards flew in interrupting the meeting, and said, “Sir Melocnr! We have just found a dead dragon outside of the city! It appears to have been slain through arcane methods!”

 

Zil’caron let out a vicious roar that rang even though the outer-walls of the city. “Damn it! I knew that we should not have let them leave the city. I have always hated sorcerer, and now I hate them even more. Those bastards always cause us the most problems!” Zil’caron said.

 

“I know, but if we can spread them out, then we could pick them off one at a time. I know that they plan to surround the city that much I could tell. I kind of sneaked a peek at his mind,” Melocnr informed. “That means that the sorcerers will already be wide spread, this should make it easier to fight them, but it makes it all the more dangerous as well, for with the sorcerers spread out, it makes it easier for them to catch us off guard while we are fighting another sorcerer.”

 

“Yes, but know the question is who should attack first?” Zil’caron asked.

 

“That is simple, since we were the neutral nation, they should attack first. With them doing so, it will show that we didn’t instigate anything, and will make it easier to gain allies against them in the future,” Melocnr responded.

 

“Yeah Zil, doesn’t take an elder to figure that out,” Silvera joked with him moving up next to him.

 

The night continued while the dragons discussed their plan of attack one thing they knew for certain, if at any point they felt like the city was lost, they would destroy it, and retreat to one of the other dragon cities. They were not going to let others bask in their glory.

 

“They could attack at anytime, we should alert the inhabitants of the city so they can prepare themselves, then get some rest while we can,” Zil’caron said.

 

“Agreed, I’ll take care of the announcement, you three get some rest,” Melocnr said as he told every person in the city with his mind about the possibility of the attack so that the opposing army could not here.

 

“Are you kidding? Sleep is not an option right now!” Zil’caron told him. “Not until we figure out what is going on!”

Edited April 2, 2012 by Elazar