The Battle for Blackwater

(Part 30)
"Sterling?" Embyr called, her voice echoing in the great expanse of the cavern. Several silent moments passed as her call died away and worry began to bubble within the black dragon's stomach.

Where was he?

Then movement to the far side of the cavern drew both the red eyes of the Black Terror and the golden eyes of the smaller blue dragon. From the crack they had seen earlier a small form emerged, staggering slightly from the wound on its thigh.

Both dragons darted forward, clearing the distance to their friend in moments. The human barely had the opportunity to give a cry of surprise when two pairs of giant arms circled him, bearing down on his frame in a crushing but friendly embrace.

"Where the hell did you go?" Crystal asked after several moments. The trio broke apart, the smallest of the three stepping into Embyr's hands so he could be brought up to eye level.

In explanation the boy drew out his new weapon. The ancient blade seemed to faintly glow with an inner light, marking its magical heritage. If there was any doubt as to what the blade was from the simple aura of its presence it was dispelled by the design of a lightning bolt that ran down its side.

Sterling had found the Eye of the Storm.

"You… you got it!" Embyr exclaimed, reaching her unoccupied hand up to run a curious finger down the side of the blade.

"It wasn't easy." The human admitted, nodding down to the reopened wound on his side. The wounds on his face were also fresh and still actively bleeding, making it clear how difficult the fight had been.

"You killed the Keeper?" Crystal asked. "All by yourself?"

"For being the strongest of the guardians he wasn't very big." He said.

"So… we're done? We can go home?" "Yeah, Sterling; we can go home." Embyr said, affectionately nuzzling the boy's sandy hair with her muzzle.

"I can't thank you enough. I don't know if we could have done it without you." The Black Terror said. "It was almost like I was meant to bring you along…"

"Maybe the Inner Council planned it that way." Sterling reasoned. "Onyx certainly seemed to know I would be coming with you, so it is a possibility."

"Can we talk about this when we're out of the cave?" Crystal asked impatiently. "I'm hungry and tired of fighting things that can bite back."

The words brought back memories of the draco zombies Sterling had left his friends with. He looked around in alarm, putting a hand on his dagger in case the skeletal dragons returned.

"Where-"

"They crumbled to dust a few minutes ago. It looks like the Keeper's magic just left them." Embyr explained.

"At the same time that happened." The blue dragon said, gesturing towards a new passage at the side of the cavern. "The wall fell apart. It looks like that was the main entrance; the way back should be pretty straightforward from here."

"Then let's get out of this damned city." Embyr said with a grin, making for the exit. Crystal followed close behind, a weary but proud smile across her muzzle.

What had taken them hours took mere minutes on the main route; though it was clear that, had they gone this way to begin with, they would have reached a dead end. Sunlight appeared at the end of the tunnel almost immediately and, with a mischievous grin the dragons broke into a run, racing each other to the exit as Sterling bounced helplessly against his friend's palm and chest.

Crystal put on a burst of speed and beat the black dragon to the exit, letting out a victorious cry as she emerged into daylight. She spread her wings and soared into the air, doing a summersault as the larger dragon shook her head and leaned back against the mountain's slope.

"And now for my prize," the blue dragon said, landing beside her friend. She held out her hand and, with a sigh, Embyr passed the human over. Sterling squirmed in the smaller dragon's grip as he was brought up before Crystal's face.

A pink tongue passed between the golden-eyed girl's lips as she eyed the struggling human.

"What a tasty little morsel we have here…" she purred, sending the muscle across the boy's face to leave a trail of saliva behind. "I just can't resist…"

"I swear to god, Crystal, if you eat me-"

Before he could finish the dragon popped the boy into her mouth, closing her lips behind him and giving an exaggerated "Mmmmmm."

"Tasty," she said, her words slurred as the human struggled about on her tongue.

A moment later her delight turned to a grunt of pain and she spat her companion out into her hand, massaging her jaw with her unoccupied fingers.

"You little bastard," she cursed "you shocked me!"

"I warned you not to eat me." Sterling grunted. "The sword taught me a few tricks; I guess I'm not a chew-toy anymore."

"Enjoy it while it lasts." The blue dragon said, her golden eyes gleaming. "When I get the chance you're lunch, understand little man?"

Sterling grinned at the challenge as he was passed back over to the black dragon's waiting palm, wiping the saliva from his body.

Before he could say more a roar split the air, dispelling the joyous atmosphere among the party. The trio looked in the direction of the sound, to the peak of the mountain just under the still-rising sun. A form could just be made out far above them, a dark silhouette against the ball of light in the sky.

Then the form swooped down from its perch, descending to earth with incredible speed. The ground shook as the creature touched down several yards away, turning to face them with its glowing red eyes.

It was a dragon; not a living dragon, but another undead abomination.

The monster stood at nearly one hundred feet in height, towering above even Embyr's massive frame. What remained of a tattered set of ancient draconic armor – the same revealing, two piece garment that most female dragons wore made of a dark metal – clung to the skeletal body of the creature. The bones, unlike the other dragon zombies, were a shade of dark gray and riddled with mysterious glowing black and red runes.

The eyes of the monster glowed just like the other draco zombies, but the gleam of this particular monster's orbs seemed more powerful, as though a great intelligence lay behind them.

The massive skeletal creature seemed to sniff the air through its bone nostrils, taking in its surroundings. After a moment the undead monstrosity turned to the stunned trio, a wicked smile crossing its muzzle.

"Well, well, well…" the dragon purred in an ancient voice, all trace of gender gone from its speech. "What do we have here? Two little upstarts… and a snack."

Sterling was protectively pushed to Embyr's chest as the living dragon snarled, crouching down defensively.

"I haven't tasted a human in so long… but this one seems important to you, doesn't he? I suppose you won't let me have him; not while you're alive, at least." The ancient dragon said.

"It wouldn't be the first time I saw a dragon take pity on a human. I myself have let the little creatures escape from time to time, when they put up a good fight or gave me a good hunt. But to actually befriend one of them, to take him with you on your Trial? That seems a bit extreme."

"Go to hell, you won't touch him." The dragon snapped, her blood-red eyes staring down the larger monster with no hint of fear, only rage.

"Ah, manners are ever lacking among the young." The skeleton said, shaking its head. "When will you hatchlings learn?"

Embyr, never taking her eyes off of the living corpse, placed her friend on the ground. She let loose a low growl as she brought her claws up to bare.

"When I attack," she told Crystal "charge in behind me. The two of us together can take it."

"It?" the skeletal dragon asked. "I am no 'it' little one. You are looking at Eclipse, the Sorceress Queen of Blackwater! Show a bit more respect, will you?"

"You lost that title a long time ago, when you left this world." Embyr said simply.

"I am clearly still here." The ancient queen relied. "And I am doing quite well, thank you. A few millennia of sleep can do wonders!"

"How is she moving? The Keeper died back there…" Sterling muttered quietly.

Eclipse's powerful eyes turned to the human, a grotesque black tongue running over her skeletal jaws.

"The Keeper was my finest accomplishment," She said "a nearly-impossible magical animation with the ability to control the dead. He was well worth the centuries I poured over his creation.

"The ancient Council frowned on the idea of immortality, even among dragons. But it was clear that, eventually, our empire would fall; and when it did, we would need to protect our secrets from the greedy. So I convinced them to work a fall-back plan into the five guardians of the city, to have them ready to protect our secrets when Blackwater fell.

"But then I worked my doubts into their minds; the five animations would eventually be bested, since they were not alive, since they could not adapt to the powers that would come to be in the distant future. The city needed a reasoning protector, one that could grow in power as the rest of the world changed. That seed of inspiration was my ticket past the Council's wishes the ticket that brought me immortality!

"After months of countless meetings the Council agreed to my proposition. I adorned my body in the correct runes, drank a carefully brewed elixir, and covered my body in the proper herbs. Then it was up to my creation, the Keeper of the Dead, to end me by his own hand. I swallowed him whole and allowed him to tear his way out."

The dragon pointed to a hole in her armor, clearly torn apart by force.

"The guardians do not live, but they have a magical life force. That life force, upon the death of the final guardian, flowed into me. Now I walk again, no longer bound by the restrictions of the living; I have become a draco lich."

"You have become an abomination." Embyr spat. "And I am going to put you back in the earth."

"You're certainly welcome to try, little one." Eclipse purred, her terrible eyes fixing themselves on the black dragon. "And I will be merciful enough to end you before I devour your little friend. I wouldn't want you to see him suffer."

"Hide, Sterling." The Black Terror ordered. "This is not your fight. Get out of here."

"She's right." The draco lich said. "My new form is resistant to magic. You are nothing but an insect to me, your sword and dagger small mandibles with which you can bite and irritate me, but with which you can never kill me. Run away, child; I will come for you soon enough."

"That's enough!" the black dragon roared, her body springing forward to slam the ancient ruler to the ground. Crystal, surprised by her friend's sudden attack, took a moment to orient herself and enter the fray, by which time the larger of the two struggling dragons had already reversed the tide of battle.

Sterling sprinted from the scene, his gut – or possibly his somewhat sentient sword – telling him that Eclipse was right: magic could not harm her.

He was so useless, so powerless in the fight. It made him angry, but he was not foolish enough to try and join the battle.

He stumbled through the sea of buildings as he tried to put the sounds of battle behind him. He would be in the way if he was too close to the dueling dragons; and the last thing he needed was to be a burden to Embyr and Crystal.

He stopped behind a pile of debris to catch his breath, having put a good distance between himself and the fight. As his breathing quieted he heard the sound of approaching footfalls and he ducked further back behind the rubble, not knowing what to expect.

He was thoroughly surprised when two figured passed his hiding place, coming to stand in the street before him.

The first of the pair was an old man with long white hair and an even longer white beard. He wore robes and carried only a small black wand in his hands, which he gripped with white knuckles as though it were some sort of life line. It was the first human Sterling had seen since the incident back in the Council nearly a week before.

The second figure was even more curious. He appeared to be a male dragon covered in green scales. He had no hair, an unusual trait, but the most unusual characteristic concerning the creature was that he was barely six feet in height, smaller even than most hatchlings. The dragon appeared to be full grown, however.

"What the hell was that?" the dragon asked, his brown eyes rimmed with fear. "It was a blessing, Bane." The old man said. "The Black Terror has encountered another threat. She can overcome the monster but it will leave her tired; that is when we make our move."

"Why not fight her now, while she's occupied?" Bane suggested.

"Do you want to kill her and be left to fight the lich?" the old man snapped. "No, we let her fight this one out."

Sterling shifted behind the debris pile, anger boiling within him again. Why was this old man hunting Embyr, and why was a dragon helping him? He wanted to ask no questions; he didn't care about the answers.

He wanted to stick his new sword through the old bastard's heart.

The green dragon sniffed the air then, closing his eyes in concentration. After a moment the dark brown orbs opened again and he turned to where Sterling crouched.

"We aren't alone here." He growled, turning to face the pile. "Come on out where we can see you, human."

Sterling obliged, drawing his weapons as he moved out into the open. He stared down the pair of opponents before him, his lip curling up in a hateful snarl.

"What do we have here?" the mage asked "A little upstart with a sword and a bit of bravery? How very touching."

"Try saying that with my blade up your ass, old man." Sterling growled, his gray eyes flashing warningly.

"A pleasure to meet you, too." He said sarcastically. "My name is Antonidas, renowned mage of the Eastern Empire and famed dragon slayer. And you would be…?"

"Sterling Blade," the boy replied "knight of the dragon Council."

The title seemed to pop into his head as though it were a naturally fitting name. He had never heard or used it before, but he figured he couldn't just call himself "the kid."

"Well, Mr. Blade," the wizard said mockingly "it is an honor. My companion – Bane – and I were worried about getting a bit bored while we waited for our prey to finish her little squabble. Would you mind… entertaining us?"

"It would be my pleasure." The swordsman growled back.