One for the Ages
One For the Ages
The massive groves of conifer trees speared the morning mists that blanketed the forests and descended into the river valleys and grottos; Green barbs on shafts of brown that sheltered their secrets even from the eyes of God. A wilderness virgin to the cupidity of man, and the last refuge of the great masters of the air, this was their home. It was the home of Lathraxx and Quinneeda.
Lathraxx opened his glowing turquoise eyes and opened his jaw in a massive yawn, extending his red-yellow striped forked-tongue its entire two-meter length. He squirmed about on the meters-thick pile of tanned deerskins that was his bed and began the arduous task of flexing his stiff joints. As he stretched, he could feel the bones and ligaments creak in protest over his entire 20-meter length. He felt so old, and he was old, nearly a thousand years old; with a thousand years of painful memories floating through his mind like flotsam choking a river...
Centuries before, in the time of the exodus, when dragons were enduring their final siege at the hands of the crusaders, dragons that could practice the magical arts created their own refuges-some even taking-on the outer appearance of their enemies and living among them in blessed irony. Meanwhile, nonmagical dragons were helped to escape to another, beautiful world called Sunhearth with the help of both dragons and human mages that loved them. However, one dragon and one human had to remain behind to close the gateway to their salvation.
The dragon was Lathraxx. The human, Gilbert, had long since met his fate at the hands of his own kind, and his friend still mourns his death to this day. He had known so few humans so willing to sacrifice for their kind, and Lathraxx would see to it he was not forgotten so long as he lived.
Lathraxx limped out of the lair and walked stiffly into the morning air. The first rays of the sun to penetrate the morning brume shone down upon him and warmed his indigo scales. It felt good; nearly rejuvenating. Nearly...
Slowly, Lathraxx extended his massive wings. The joints creaked, and the atrophied flight muscles ached in rebellion, but he slowly managed to extend them to their full length of nearly 40 meters. He looked back upon them and smiled whistfully.
It had nearly been a century since age and injury had grounded him, but every now and then, he stretched his wings and dreamed of the times when he once soared amid the cloudtops with his mate, challenging the sky itself to hold them from leaving the earth altogether to glide wingtip-to-wingtip among the stars.
Lathraxx raised his wings high and brought them down with a mighty thrust, then felt the searing pains of arthritic joints and decaying power shatter his beautiful dream and return him to stark reality. His days as a prince of the air were indeed long gone. Even after all this time, he still sheds a tear over his lost dominance of the clouds.
He may have long since left this plain of existence were it not for his mate, Quinneeda, the beautiful honey-yellow dragonness that gave him a reason to live and love again.
She was young when he was already old. One of the few unlucky dragonnesses that did not make the journey to Sunhearth. He rescued her from a castle keep and together they found their refuge in this wilderness sanctuary. For 600 cycles of seasons they clung to each other, sharing their lives and love, and to his pride, though age may have taken his wings, it did not take his ardor, and he always was able to satisfy his mate--at least until she left him.
It was with his blessing, that he gave her leave to search the world one last time to see if there were any more of their kind in existence. That was two cycles of seasons ago. She promised she would be back, and he had no reason to doubt her.
Lathraxx folded his wings back and the pain eased as they settled into their customary position. He strode out into the forest, walking briskly to loosen his muscles. He passed tree after tree, calling each one by a special name, and remembering the time when they were but twigs in the earth's flesh. He followed his trails, paths etched deep in the soil from years of assault from his massive weight.
Eventually, he reached the river that snaked through his valley like an artery through a limb and slaked his morning thirst with several hundred liters of liquid snowpack, cool and sweet. He then stretched himself forward and strained, releasing a yellowish stream from the base of his tail into the water. Fresh in, foul out, he thought with a grin, remembering an old hatchling nursery rhyme. Always remember which one to do first!
Lathraxx spent his days of solitude reading the scrolls and tending his deer herds. The deer were his pets and his food supply, and he cherished their company as much as he depended on them for survival. The deer seem to understand that, and he made sure of it. Every deer born in the valley he visited as a fawn and he nipped them gently, injecting just enough of his saliva to give them illumination as to what he was. He was their protector and the giver of their lives. He was their god.
The dragon strode upriver to an open marshy grassland and his herd. Upon catching his scent and seeing his massive form, the deer ran toward him like happy children, prancing about at the visitation
of their deity. He greeted each one by name and nuzzled them. He knew that eventually they would all wind-up in his gullet, but he still loved them for the life and devotion they gave him; and under his aegis, they all lived far longer than they would have were it left to the ravenous hunger of the local wolves that also knew him and dared not trouble his sacred trusts!
Lathraxx noticed the old buck standing away from the joyous cervine throng. Their eyes met, and he could feel his pain. Stiffly, the old buck limped away into the denser wood, stopped, and looked back at the dragon, eyes pleading for him to follow. Lathraxx understood. He trumpeted an order to the herd to disperse, then he followed the old buck to where they could have privacy.
The old buck, stiff, tired, and sore, stopped and looked about. Lathraxx came up beside him and spoke in words that the deer could understand.
"Great Antlered King," he said softly, "You are my favorite. You ruled your herd with justice and kindness for near ten season cycles. Many of your offspring danced about me today, my dear friend. You have served your lord well."
For a moment, the old buck stood straight and proud again at the dragon's words, and this made Lathraxx weep softly, for both knew what must come to pass.
"Now, my friend, the circle of your life is complete. I have given you life, now you shall give me life as your final gesture of devotion. Are you ready to fulfill your promise to me as your ancestors before you?"
The Antlered King lowered his head, his massive rack of antlers pointed their tips directly at Lathraxx's neck. Had he wanted to, he could have done the dragon considerable injury, but nothing was farther from his mind, for he knew that just as his lord took from his herd, he protected them as well, and they flourished in perfect balance with nature.
When the Antlered King finished his bow to the dragon. he stood erect and proud, ready to give himself to his lord.
Lathraxx nuzzled the deer's muzzle and licked his grissled-gray lips. He then slipped his tongue into the deer's mouth and squirted the venom into his throat. "Peace," the dragon said softly, "peace and no pain."
He watched as the deer's eyes glazed over and his stance relaxed, though he remained standing and in full control of his muscles; in his mind he was once again a young stag, fighting and mating and king
of his herd!
Lathraxx gently grasped the buck's neck in his jaws and bit down. His right upper fang penetrated the deer's hide and neatly punctured his jugular. The dragon then placed his snout over the hole and nursed on the buck's crimson essence, sucking gently as the deer's life fluid escaped from his body and into his lord's. All through this, the buck stood still, having his final glorious dream that was his lord's gift at the end of his life.
As the blood began to run low, the buck began to stagger. Lathraxx supported his body and gently laid him down as he continued to drain him into a peaceful void of release. Once he was there, he moved his snout down over his body, caressing the soft pelt as he went, then pressed his fangs into the deer's lifeless, but still warm belly, and proceeded to continue with the solid portion of his meal.
You served me well, Antlered King, he thought and he swallowed the buck's visceral components, and you will always be remembered. You are truly one for the ages.
When he was done, he skinned the carcass with a few deft strokes of his razor-sharp claws and left the remains for the hungry scavengers. Since he no longer flew, his food needs were not nearly as vast as they once were, so he would be satisfied with the Antered King's warm flesh digesting within him for this day. He slung the pelt over his shoulder and started back to the lair.
Lathraxx picked up the scent long before he saw his home. A scent he had feared he had forgotten, but knew he never could. His heart quickened as if to ready him to take flight, his nostrils flared and his whole body quaked as he quickened his pace from a trot to a cantor to a gallop. It had been a long, long time since he had moved this fast, but never before has the incentive been this great.
He galloped up the trail, passed the trees he called each by name, and back to the opening of his lair. When he arrived, he saw that his nose had not deceived him, for standing at the entrance, looking back at him with brilliant copper eyes, was his honey-yellow dragonness mate, magnificent wings unfurled. After two season cycles of waiting for her name to pass his lips once more, he uttered their sweetness.
"Quinneeda."
The dragonness smiled back. "Yes, my mate, I am back, and I shall stay with you forever. My mission is complete."
Lathraxx approached his mate slowly, wanting this special moment of reunion to last as long as possible. He wanted it to be as much a part of his memory as was the first time they flew side-by-side after he set her free so many years before--several lifetimes before.
When he got close, he stretched out his neck, and Quineeda did likewise. Then their snouts touched. Lathraxx felt his body tingle as if being drenched by hot rain. He pressed his snout into hers. Their jaws parted and he turned his head at a right angle to hers, allowing his gaping maw to slip over; their fangs locked together and both clamped down hard. Within their oral embrace, their tongues danced together and intertwined in serpentine ecstasy.
After a time, Lathraxx and Quineeda separtated themselves and just gazed at each other, both drinking in the other's body hungrily with their eyes. Centuries of each other's company failed to cause their love for each other to wane, and the long two years' separation had only proved to refresh their desire for each other. Now each was finally poised to unleash upon the other the ardor they felt and had repressed for so long.
Still, Lathraxx was always respectful of his mate, and realized she may be tired from her flight. He said, "My precious one, so happy am I to see you once more. Please, take your rest, then tell me of your travels. I am eager to know what you have seen."
The honey-yellow dragonness, who matched Lathraxx in size, also matched him in kindness as well. She knew what she had to say would be unpleasant for his ears. And yes, her body ached for him as much as her wings ached from the final leg of her flight home. "My love," she replied, "I shall tell you all when the time is right. For now, all I want is to feel you within me once more. Please, my mate, let us make this one for the ages!"
Lathraxx's eyes widened. He did not expect that she would want to do this so soon after her arrival, yet her words had already caused his own body to warm and tremble. The desire he had contained within the wineskin of his heart was ready to burst forth.
He nuzzled his mate's snout and then caressed her neck and she did likewise, causing him to be further aroused. The pair pressed their chests into each other's and each could feel the other one's heartbeat. There were no words left to be spoken as their bodies communicated to each other their needs.
They stood side-by-side now, the lover-mates probing each under the other's tail, rediscovering their mate's scents and most delicate flesh with snout tips and tongue, probing into and over and around each other until both had stimulated the other to readiness for their joining.
Quinneeda then turned her back to Lathraxx, her tail upraised and swung aside, her body arched and ready to receive her mate. Lathraxx approached and caressed her flanks with his snout, making purring sounds that caused his mate to shudder. He rubbed his snout against her opening one more time and was rewarded with a dousing into his nostrils of her sweet cloacal jisms. He blasted his nostrils clear with a snort, causing the dragonness to turn her head and look back,
eyes half-closed, and grin. He returned to her again with his tongue, probing her deeply and causing her to release her slick mating fluids in massive quantities. He drank her in deeply.
Lathraxx pressed his chest against his mate's backside and pushed himself forward, up, and over with his hind legs, Quineeda dug her claws into the ground and held fast, lowering herself to allow her mate to slide upon her more easily. He continued to push forward until his hindlegs were up against hers.
The two draconian lovers then shifted their bodies against each other until the underside of their tails were pressed against each other. Lathraxx's bulging genital slit pressed against Quineeda's and his
mating shaft erupted from its haven of flesh and pressed through and into her. A meter of his raw dragonflesh sank deeply and smoothly into his mate. He thrusted hard against her, grasping her neck with his powerful jaws, fangs digging into her scales. The pain only added to her pleasure, and she responded by grasping his organ within her muscular canal tightly.
The gutteral promulgations of their union nearly had the air of desperation, sounding like the reports of bombards against a castle wall. Their long tails, nearly as long as the rest of their bodies, wrapped about each other and swished slowly in unison.
Lathraxx's thrustings became rapid and fierce, but Quineeda dug deeply into the soil with her talons and braced herself even as her body spasmed in rapturous pleasure against his penile intrusion. The colors of their worlds melted together into one bright spark, like the universe waiting to be reborn.
Then, like a stellar eruption, Lathraxx released and howled with delight at the shear power of his climax. It seemed to last forever, which was fine with him. Quinneeda, having already undergone several rapturous moments of her own, purred softly as she felt his warm essence fill her inner chambers.
As the last of his seminal fluids drained into Quinneeda, Lathraxx's body relaxed, and she continued to support him until he gradually disentangled himself from her and laid down on his side next to her.
She settled down next to him, and they lay side-by-side. Though the warm afternoon, they were content to lie together, stroking each other's scales.
Lathraxx gazed at his mate through dreamy eyes and said softly, "By the Gods, my love, I felt just like a young drake taking you for the first time. For one shining moment, you have taken away the pangs of my age, and gave me my youth. Bless you, my precious mate."
Quinneeda smiled at Lathraxx and licked his snout gently. "You are worth it, my love. I have been away too long, and now that I have seen what I have seen, I wish I had never left."
"What have you seen?" Lathraxx asked, ready for her report.
"It is no longer our world, precious one," Quinneeda began, "It is man's world. His making is becoming vast and ominous. I've seen vast villages of stone, glass, and iron. Tall spires of stone ejaculating black jisms into the womb of the sky. Iron serpents belching black carry masses over the plains, mountains, and steppes. And now man has begun his assault on the havens of the clouds themselves."
Lathraxx raised a brow. "You mean to tell me that man... flies?"
Quinneeda nodded solemnly.
"How can this be? Human magic left this world with the mortal dragons when the last of the great mages fled with them to Sunhearth. I know! I was there!"
"Yes you were, my love," Quinneeda nuzzled his neck gently, stroking his tail with her own, "but it is not by magic they fly. It is by constructs of wood, false-skins, and strange whirling spears mounted upon iron drivers that burn dark oils that make fire within them and the most loathesome sounds! These are man-makings; non-magic magic. I have not the words."
"I have a word." Lathraxx said in a rumbling voice, "abominations! How dare humans challenge our domain with their paltry skins and sticks! Why, if I still had my wings, I would-" He lowered his head, pushing his snout into the ground. "Fool. Old fool. Old, wingless fool."
Quinneeda lifted a forelimb and placed it on Lathraxx's shoulder. "No, my great, lovely drake, proud dragon! Noble dragon! Great dragon! You shall always be these things in my heart."
Lathraxx lifted his head to hers and she kissed him tenderly. "Beautiful Quinneeda, how undeserving I feel to have you. I-"
Lathraxx's body lurched and spasmed. Eyes shut tight, his jaws opened in a silent roar. Pain exploded from his chest as if a mage had pierced him with lightning wand.
"Lathraxx?" Quinneeda spoke, feeling her mate's distress. She could smell the pheramones of his terror. "Lathraxx!"
The agony subsided and became a dull pain in his chest, yet Lathraxx could sense that something was still terribly wrong inside him. "Quinneeda?" He moaned.
"I am here, my love!"
"Did I tell you I had to put down the Antlered King this morning before you arrived?"
"I knew it when you came over the rise with his pelt. He was a special one to you. I liked him as well. It must have been a sad feed for you."
Lathraxx nodded, rubbing his chest hard, as if trying to force the demon that had seized his heart to flee, "I knew his time was short, but I waited for him to come to me. He was in so much pain, my love, so much pain, yet I granted him his dignity."
"You have always been kind to your herds, my love. You love them even as you consume them, and yet they thrive under your protection."
"Only the sick and the weak and the aged I took from them; that's what kept them strong." Another brief spasm of pain seized him then passed.
"My mate, why are you telling me this?" The tone of Quineeda's voice grew concerned.
Lathraxx looked hard into her eyes, already communicating to her by sight what he was about to say. "My time approaches."
Quinneeda's jaw parted and her eyes narrowed. "No."
"I would not tell you this if it were not true! I have felt the grief of my heart as it lay under siege within me. It calls to me, asking for release."
"Perhaps you ate the buck to quickly, and it is just-"
"Shhh, my love," Lathraxx whispered. "Listen to me. In our lair, you will find a chest sealed with with ebony straps. Please bring it to me."
Quineeda got up and bolted into the lair. Moments later, she returned with the chest in her jaws. She placed it in reach of Lathraxx. He nipped the straps with his teeth and nudged the box open with his
snout. They both looked inside. There within was a glowing white sphere. Quinneeda looked at the sphere, then at her mate.
"This was a gift to me for remaining behind after the exodus. It is pure dragon magic. I was told that, at the end of my life, if I knew my time was upon me, I should shatter the sphere and release its energy unto the world. It would also serve as a beacon to all the dragons in Sunhearth that I have passed into the darkness."
"But," Quinneeda said, "I don't understand."
"The power within it is great, my love, a light powerful enough to light the world with its declaration.
"But you are not ready, my love." Quineeda replied.
"I-- I am, my love. I hear the call of the Wings of Infinity and I must heed my master. For your sake, you must go now and be many leagues away when I do this, for its power is indeed great."
"I promised I would stay with you forever, my mate--my Lathraxx!" Quineeda said, tears welling in her eyes, "I will not live with a lie and you shall not die with one in your heart. What you will, I shall
affirm."
Lathraxx looked deep into his mate's eyes and knew her heart. The love of half a millennium flowed between them and both knew when the other's decision would be final. He had neither the strength nor the will to argue with her. Only his tears revealed his feelings. He said solemnly. "Then, if we are to do this, the time is now."
Quineeda nodded, then held up a forelimb. "Then, my love, let us make it one for the ages!"
She stood over her fallen mate and grasped his body in her talons. She unfurled her wings and thrust powerfully. Realizing what she was doing, Lathraxx seized the sphere in his foretalons. Summoning all the power she had within her, Quinneeda lifted her mate into the air, wings flapping furiously under the incredible strain. With power and determination drawn from beyond this earthly plane, she slowly rose skyward with her mate.
By now the sun had set and the stars greeted the mated pair as one did the flying for both. The earth was far beneath them now. Lathraxx looked down and despite the growing numbness of death that spread within him, he smiled and wept, for he felt once more as master of the sky. He grasped the sphere tightly in his talons.
Suddenly, he felt his mate falter in her flight, and knew she was spent carrying his weight skyward. "Let me go," he said.
"But you'll fall!"
"I have never fallen out of the sky!" Lathraxx said proudly. As he said this, he slowly, painfully, extended his wings. Quineeda, her wings already damaged by carrying the extra weight, released Lathraxx. He dove groundward, gaining speed, then using what little strength remained in his atrophied wing muscles, he managed to pull himself into level flight. Quinneeda swooped down and joined him, wingtip-to-wingtip. They looked at each other and smiled broadly.
They were airmates again--for the final time.
Lathraxx had not the power in his wings to flap, drive, thrust, or land; only to glide, and his mate had strained her mighty flight muscles to failure, so both knew that their talons had kissed the earth for the last time.
Together they dove, gaining speed in exchange for altitude. Side by side the descended and accelerated to speeds no dragon ever achieved before. Lathraxx held-out the glowing sphere with his talons and looked over at his mate, who nodded.
"For the ages," Lathraxx said.
"For the ages!" Quinneeda affirmed
With one mighty contraction, he pressed his palms together, crushing the sphere and releasing its power.
A story by Byzantyn