Here be Dragons

The tower shook for the umpteenth time, as another shock wave rocked the building. Belladonna could feel the rumblings recede into the earth and vanish away. She filled her lungs with air and prepared herself for what was soon to follow. There was another rumble and a crash, as a force drove into the tower and blew the roof clean off the structure. Rain fell into the circular room in droves, making Belladonna wet in a matter of seconds. She snarled, her frustration at being in this predicament and the anger of getting drenched to the bone getting the better of her. Clenching her fists and releasing them, she took a gulp of air, preparing to meet the foe... then she looked up sharply and ran through the wall, as a flaming rock came from the heavens and totally decimated what was left of the tower. Perhaps it was best to reveal herself to the enemy and try a frontal attack.

Walking through another wall like a ghost, she stepped into the open, beneath an eerily dark sky which rained burning meteors like hail. It would seem that taking cover in the tower had protected her from much of the onslaught, which was by now coming to an end. Through the driving rain, she stared bleakly at the sight before her: a flight of dragons, large fearsome winged lizards with malevolent glares all honed in on her position. They were majestic beings, different in form and ability, with powers that could rival some of the strongest mages in Earthland. And they wanted her dead. Obviously.

Her heart was racing within her chest, her legs threatened to give way, what with the sheer power she was up against, but she focused her will into metal and forced her limbs to move. Resolutely, Belladonna walked towards the dragons, her eyes scanning the group, trying to find a leader among them. She was pleased that they had not attacked her on sight; they were probably curious as to what she wanted to do. And what she wanted to do was buy herself time to figure how to turn this mess in her favor.

"It's impressive, isn't it? Mighty dragons, before whom the world trembles, channeling all their powers into the destruction of a wee lass. I can't help but wonder, before my ruin is complete, what would warrant such an honor."

The dragons, being proud creatures, seemed slighted by her statement. Belladonna had made up a couple of assumptions as to the reasons the dragons were after her, and their indignation at her words hinted at a suggestion that there may be powers beyond their control that forced them to do the bidding of another. From among the dragons, a sleek dragon made its way to the fore and looked down at Belladonna with a lofty head. The way the dragons made way was fact that this dragon led the others. While Belladonna could have spoken with a tone of conceit, she needed to be careful. She didn't know whether having the dragons as allies could be a possibility (and that would be really nice, if it was possible) but the last thing she needed was all of them trying to kill her at once. Perhaps if she could find the reason behind the animosity, she could get out of this one alive.

"There is no honor in snuffing your petty life out, human. There are factors beyond your power and mine, that you know next to nothing about," the smooth scaled, almost-white dragon replied, a tinge of impatience in her voice. Belladonna gave a slight bow to the dragon. From the little she knew, dragons, like any creature which harbored strong pride, liked their pride being stoked, but she didn't want to look too patronizing. With her head respectfully lowered, she said, "I am Belladonna Black. Whom do I have the honor of addressing?"

"You speak to Talonexys, Queen of this brood you see."

There was something strange Belladonna had noticed. Some moments ago, she could swear that these creatures were trying to flatten her, but now, they were even exchanging names. Her Right Eye of the Mind identified them as more neutral than antagonistic, though previously, they had been on all out enemy mode.

"I admit that I am young and foolish," Belladonna said, "but I am knowledgeable in some things. These 'factors' of which you speak may not be much out of my sphere of control. I could be of help to you."

Talonexys scoffed, but it was clear Belladonna had piqued her interest. "Indeed? And what could you do?"

Belladonna looked directly into the dragon's eyes. She had been respectful; now was the time to throw about a little confidence. "You are the queen, so the others obey your commands. The mere fact we are having this discussion means that you are not interested in killing me... at least, not yet. That would imply that of your own accord, you are not desirous in my death. Would I be at least partially correct?"

Talonexys looked mildly intrigued. "Go on. Your clock is ticking, mind."

Belladonna smiled to herself. This was some progress. If she had been wrong, the dragon would have flat out informed her. So, that meant that the theory she was tailing was correct: someone was probably controlling the dragons through their queen. "Would I be correct if I said that someone was pulling strings in the background, trying to use you to achieve my demise?"

There was no response, but the dragons seemed agitated. Belladonna continued. "But I am fortunate, because dragons are beings of immense power. The ability of this 'string puller' is limited as far as you are concerned. But by your statement concerning my ticking clock, this person may soon attempt to exercise their powers once more."

"Aren't you the smart one?" Talonexys asked, with a mirthless chuckle. "I will admit that you are mostly correct. The big question, though, is: what are you going to do about it?"

Belladonna shrugged. "By your leave, I will find this string puller and neutralize it. It probably has a vendetta against me, and I hate looking over my back all the time."

"Very well, we have a deal. Free me from his grasp, and I will reward you with a boon. If you do not, you will end up dead anyway, whether I should like it or not." The dragon paused, as though listening for something. "His power returns, Black. Let's hope you can survive for so long."

The words had scarcely left Talonexys' mouth when her eyes seemed to glaze over, then they narrowed, focused on Belladonna. She spoke a word, which was not in any language Belladonna knew, but Belladonna needed no interpreter to identify the meaning of the word. One of the dragons leaped into the air, flapping his large wings as they caught fire. Then he made a mad dash at her, aiming to crash into her with his now blazing body.

"Oh sna-" There was a massive explosion as the dragon made impact. Smoke and dust filled the air, and there was a slight whiff of burned flesh about. The fiery dragon stood in a crater, casting about to see whether he had succeeded in roasting his target to a crisp. But nothing remained of his victim, not even bones. It would not be surprising, if he had struck, for his flames were known to burn even bones to ash. Still, the dragons had to make sure their prey was dead. Their queen commanded it.

Beneath the dragons, about eighty feet into the earth, a lone figure ran in an ancient tunnel. Belladonna was still alive, though she was seething in pain. Her 5th Verdant Miracle had enabled her to phase through the ground just before the dragon had struck her, but the lizard had managed to burn her left arm clean off. All that was left was a cauterized stump. She ignored the pain and the injury, and kept moving. What she hoped for was that whoever was targeting her would believe that she had finally been killed. She knew that dragons had powerful senses, so she hoped that her Transient Whisper Amulet would protect her from being detected. As she ran, her arm regenerated back into a fully functional limb, in a matter of seconds.

Now that she was off the grid for a moment, she needed to plan wisely. Her Right Eye of the Mind had revealed to her a lone figure somewhere removed from the battlefield. No sane person would hang around where dragons were frolicking, let alone fighting, so she was sure that whatever this creature was was connected to the target she sought. There were extensive tunnels beneath the ruined city that had become a war zone, and she was sure she could get as close to the target as possible without risking detection.

Her steps led her beneath another tower, and thanks to her Verdant Miracle, she easily phased through the walls, and found herself on a spiral staircase. Quietly, she proceeded, till she found herself at a door which led into a massive courtyard at the top of a castle. As she proceeded, she noticed a figure up ahead, sitting in the air, deep in concentration. He looked familiar, in fact, Belladonna was sure that she had picked his scent up from somewhere before, and a bad memory was attached to it. Then she remembered. She had made a wager with him, and won, which cost him a fortune. Being a bad loser, he had furtively tried to get the group he led to kill her and obtain his possessions. Unfortunately for him, she had slaughtered them down to the last one, and had almost sent him to join them, but he'd managed to escape, swearing vengeance. So, this was his way of getting even.

Belladonna had to admit that this was very powerful magic at work here, but it likely meant that this mage was not very good at close quarter combat, due to the way he had concealed himself. Now she had found him, and she would end this. She started walking towards him, not using any ounce of magic power save the Transient Whisper, so as to remain untraceable. She would take him out with a single powerful attack when she was close enough...

All of a sudden, a large dragon, which looked to be made of the earth itself, burst out from beneath her and swallowed her whole, ground and all. The mage opened his eyes and began to laugh. "You think I'm some fool? How do you like to have a trap sprung against you now, eh? Having put me in quite the pickle you did a few months back, my only grievance is that you don't get to suffer more than being dragon lunch. Hahahahaha! No one crosses me and gets away with it! No one!"

The stone dragon, having pulled itself onto the courtyard ground while completing Belladonna's ingestion, now attempted to return the way it came, when it suddenly stopped. It had a shocked expression on its face, which was followed moments later by a large explosion which went off from within its body. The dragon crashed to the ground, writhing and thrashing, a large hole in its side. As the mage started with shock, he suddenly clapped a hand to his neck and gasped. From the dust and debris heavy in the air, Belladonna emerged from within the dragon, which rapidly melded into the courtyard and was gone. Her finger was pointed at the mage, and she had a dark smile on her face.

"'You think I'm some fool?' Eat your words, knave. And for the record, no one crosses me and gets away with it."

The mage's eyes widened in pain and terror, as the Bite of Orochi inflicted its damage on him. A shadow fell over the courtyard, as most of the dragons she had seen back then were now airborne, hovering above the two mages and watching intently. The mage's eyes glowed, despite the fact that he still clutched at his neck, and he croaked: "Kill her!"

"Not today!" Belladonna leaped forward as the dragons closed in on them, placing her outstretched hand on the mage's forehead. The man's body jerked violently as his flesh began to slough off, and in a moment, a skeleton stood in a puddle of very questionable, greenish goo, with Belladonna's hand still on its head. Then it collapsed, its bones giving way, crumpling to an unsightly heap at her feet.

Belladonna looked up at the dragons, and was relieved to notice that they had stopped their charge. That could only mean that she had broken whatever spell it was that the mage had used to control them. Talonexys approached the courtyard, though she didn't bother alighting on it. The damage caused by the stone dragon would cause it to gave way beneath her weight. She looked at Belladonna with an impressed glint in her eye.

"Who knew this would be the outcome? I was initially intrigued at your ability to deduce, but this feat is an impressive one. I believe I mentioned something about giving you a boon?"

"Your words do me great honor," Belladonna replied.

"We are spirits of an ancient race of dragons... not considered living, and not considered dead. You have shown resilience and strength in your actions, and thus I make a covenant with you, should you be willing: the Covenant of Dragons."

Talonexys exhaled, bathing Belladonna in a purple spectral mist. "In our current existence, we exist only to be summoned, yet our former master was lord against our will, and did many an injustice to us. Having freed us from his clutches, and taking vengeance, you are hereby granted with our power. The dragons of Talonexys are yours to command, without question."

Belladonna gave a slight bow. "Well, thank you. I accept the covenant, Talonexys."

One by one, all the dragons disappeared, until only the Queen was left. "I hope you don't mind my blowing up one of you in the heat of battle..." Belladonna said, suddenly remembering. Talonexys shook her head. "A spirit never truly dies. It may be banished, but its ties to your world can always bring it back. And you will discover in time that there is more to just summoning us to help you. Until you have need of us, Belladonna Black, fare well."

Belladonna was left standing alone on the shattered castle height, scarcely believing her luck. She had been lured to this place to be the victim of a vendetta, but it had backfired and not only left her alive, but in charge of a new magic.

"Let's put it to the test, shall we?"

As Belladonna closed her eyes, she instinctively was aware of a 'catalog' of summons she could draw on. She selected one and focused on it, and a bright blue circular formula appeared before her, in mid-air. Within the formula, a large dragon appeared as energy, then consolidated. It looked like it was more suited to an aquatic habitat, which was honestly why Belladonna summoned it... out of sheer curiosity.

"I am Tyrgahl, and I come at your bidding, master."

"You can fly..." Belladonna said, an obvious statement, though it was made because she didn't expect it to be able to fly with fins. Looked like what she considered as fins doubled as wings for this dragon.

"As well as the best of them," Tyrgahl replied proudly.

"Splendid. I should very much like to get out of this place, if you don't mind."

The dragon nodded. "Hop on, then. And you might want to hold on tightly, unless you are used to riding dragons and have a taste for speed." Belladonna climbed onto the great beast and sat astride its neck. "I'll let you know when I'm about to fall off."

With a great flap of his fin-wings, Tyrgahl was off, taking Belladonna with him and leaving the shattered castle behind.