24- The Battle for Warfang
#29 of The Legend of Rift Book III: Downfall
The morning sun came faster than everyone had hoped. The four dragons quietly walked out of the house, arriving moments later at an unmarked building. A heavily armored mole guarding the front nodded at them, allowing access inside.
Hundreds of tables filled the building, armor laying on each one. Rift pointed at the tables furthest from the entrance. "Everyone has their own armor. Ours are this way."
Silvus smiled as they arrived at their section, rubbing the helmet of his old Messenger armor. It was his reward for becoming the Messenger of Light, and it had held well for him through the years. He rubbed at the two symbols engraved on it; family, and duty. His thoughts flashed back to its first engraving, shortly after he lost his horns, and when his cousin was still a child.
Seventeen Years Ago, Old Dragon's Claw
"You're a Messenger now?" Rift asked and I nodded. "Where are the symbols?"
"I don't have any yet." I said, taking off the helmet and placing it in front of the fire drake.
"Will you do the honors?" I asked.
He stared down at the helmet and held up one claw which began to glow orange. "What should I put?"
"Whatever you want."
Rift thought for a moment before proceeding to engrave a symbol. Once he was finished, he turned the helmet so I could see what he put. Neatly and much better looking than the first time he did this. It was in the center of the helmet, the symbol for family.
"Thank you." I said, taking the helmet from him at setting it down next to my satchel. "Well guys, thank you for everything." Rift got off the table to give me a hug that I gladly returned.
"Goodbye cousin... good luck." He said before pulling away. I gave a slight nod at that.
"Goodbye Rift."
Present Day
Silvus shook himself out of the memory, slowly attaching each piece of armor. Once he was satisfied, he reached for his helmet, only for it to be snatched from him by the orange drake.
Rift said nothing, using a claw to make another engraving, positioning it just under the other two. Silvus watched in awe as his cousin neatly finished the symbol and handing it back to him. Rift smiled softly. "You may not be officially a Guardian, but you are the most capable dragon I know."
The ice drake looked down at the helmet. The symbol looked as if it had been made by a professional; Leader. He pulled Rift into a tight hug. "Thank you cousin. I will not disappoint."
Smiling, Rift gave a knowing nod, turning to help his mates. He and Sithris started with Kara. The sky blue metal was slim and agile, perfect for her skills as Wind Guardian. She grinned smugly at her mates and chuckled. "When this is over, we're taking a vacation."
Both males rolled their eyes and Rift pulled Sithris into a deep kiss. "I had something special made for you." He grabbed a cloth covering a table and pulled it away.
Sithris stared in awe at his new armor. A thin bronze optimized for his own agility, each piece being adorned with cogs, the centers filled with lapis lazuli. A pair of goggles was forged into the helmet, and for the tip of his tail, a spear. He eagerly got into each piece, failing to resist a small squeal and wiggle of approval. "I am Sithy! Master of Tinkering, and lover of cogs and blue glowy things!"
Rift looked at the last table. He reluctantly began placing on his own armor, orange with silver trim. He would have preferred to go without, but he decided another implement wouldn't be good for his health. It was by far the heaviest, the chest plate specifically designed to ensure his old wounds would be protected. The helmet was colored inversely, silver with orange trim. In the center of the forehead, in place of a symbol, sat a deep red-orange spessartite garnet, representing his status as Fire Guardian.
Kara and Sithris both stood on either side of him and smirked. The black drake whistled at him, while Kara grinned. "Looking good, maybe you should wear that more often."
Rift blushed slightly. "Seeing as I'm already brightly colored, I figured I might as well play to my strengths, by being blatantly visible from miles away."
The group turned to look over at the entrance, finding the resistance beginning to arrive for their own armor. Silvus turned to Rift. "I guess it's time for you to start heading. Remember, have Sithy use that crystal once you three have grouped up Shara's army. Then I'll go and get some extra backup."
The orange drake nodded and gave his cousin one last hug, then motioning his mate's to follow him. They walked beside him, and once they passed the city line, lifted their wings and flew off.
The Queen of Warfang sat excitedly at her throne as a mole began uncovering the slab of marble that she stared at. Dark Rift was at her side, licking his lips in anticipation. The mole was silent, finally pulling down the cloth with a tug.
The statue was glorious. Pure white and showing a perfect depiction of the queen in a regal sitting position, one paw held up to bare the sharp claws at the end. With an approving nod from said Queen, the dark fire drake launched many fireballs at the statues of Shara's predecessors. They crumbled into nothing.
"It is perfect." Shara grinned. "Let it be known that I am the true Queen of Warfang, and eventually, all of the Realms."
Dark Rift smiled in agreement and kissed her cheek. "The Resistance should be here shortly. Why don't we get you cleaned up. You should be shining like the star you are when you announce your victory."
Shara waved the drake off. "I'll be there shortly." Once she was sure he was gone, she walked to a different room, the medical bay. She found a mole looking over some papers and nervously approached.
"Oh, Ancestors!" The mole quickly bowed. "My apologies my Queen. I was just getting ready to look for you."
The turquoise dragoness stopped him. "To the chase doctor, what is wrong with me? Why can't I get gravid?"
The mole shook his head respectfully. "Queen Shara, there is nothing wrong with you. If you had been with any other drake, you would have easily carried their egg."
"Any other drake, Riften is the problem?" Shara stared in shock. "But even when both of them were one, I could not bear his egg. What am I missing?"
"He cannot provide you with an egg. He seems to have been genetically altered to only produce halves of DNA strains." The doctor looked at her in sorrow.
The turquoise dragoness snarled loudly, anger overcoming her. "Of Course! He and those two had a child. That explains why that hatchling has her element and appearance. Riften requires them to make it happen!" She yelled in rage, slamming her tail accurately into the skull of the mole, killing him instantly.
She looked at the ground and growled. "They will pay for this, dearly."
The gates of Warfang were wide open for the trio, a smug sign of confidence of a city under corrupt control. The three exchanged nods before walking through. In front of them, hundreds of troops watched patiently. Panthers, Wyverns, and the dragons loyal to Shara. At the front, Carmine.
"You're finally here!" The red drake spat. "This is the day I've long been waiting for. Today, your...is it just the three of you?"
Sithris smirked, pulling from his satchel a small white crystal, holding it tightly. "Nope, Silvus just needed a way here without flying."
A portal began forming behind him, growing larger and larger until Silvus, and the majority of Dragon's Claw's population, armored and ready for combat. The silver drake moved beside the trio and smiled. "I'm gonna go get our secret weapon. Sithy, are you sure it will work?"
The electric dragon grinned proudly. "Of course. I am the Great Master of Tinkering. When they see what we have, the streets will need to be cleaned of fecal matter."
Silvus grimaced at the image in his head. "Pleasant. Well, I leave you guys to hold the line. I'll be back soon." With a flash, the portal enveloped him again, leaving the three mates and their rebellion, against Carmine and his army.
Recommended Song: Breaking Benjamin- Blow Me Away
The orange drake looked at the rebellion and took a small breath, facing them with a confident grin. "Citizens of Dragon's Claw. For many of you, Warfang was your home. Where many were born, where your Ancestors and children were born. Others found it home after the War with Malefor. I reluctantly ask that you fight one more. Queen Shara has maliciously murdered many of ours and other kin. She tried to kill an innocent hatchling in front of all the Guardians that would fall under her blood lust. She attacked New Schatten after enslaving me in an attempt to wipe it from the Realms. She will not stop until all of the Realm is hers, and anyone posing a risk is rid of. Let us ensure we stop this before it is too late. We are here to defend the Realms!"
The resistance roared loudly, bringing a smirk from the Wind Guardian. She and Sithris both joined Rift and rallying the troops. "Who's with us?"
Carmine snarled as the opposing force cheered. The red drake roared loudly to his army. "ATTACK! Leave none standing!"
In one moment, the two armies clashed, chaos being unleashed as numbers quickly dropped. Kara spun barely out of reach of a panther's spear, quickly launching at him and slicing his throat. Sithris dodged and weaved, using his agility to safely trip enemies for his allies to take them out. Rift clashed with a large wyvern, grunting as it overpowered him, just as the one from many years ago. Just the same, he clamped on its neck and burned its throat to nothing.
Strangely enough, Shara's dragons stayed back, refusing to fight. Carmine did the same.
Kara helped as one panther's mace pierced her armor, slamming into her shoulder and knocking her down. The feline prepared another attack before Sithris caught him from behind, his tail spear quickly stabbing through the heart before the black drake continued to more cats. The white dragoness smirked. "Not gonna help a lady up, eh. Guess two can play at that game." She jumped to his side, both downing panthers as a unit, keeping each other safe.
A break in their assault came as two moles managed to sneak up and stab the dragons, one in Sithris' rump, and one into Kara's shoulder. A few of their fellow dragons came in and covered them, allowing the mates to heal with crystals. They again resumed their assault.
Carmine smirked when to his joy, hundreds of remaining apes flanked the resistance from behind, their brutal nature attacking the dragons with all their ferocity. He finally gave the order for his dragons to attack, grinning as his most hated enemy started to breach the war zone.
Rift hacked and clawed as he passed by each creature, wincing as felt each blow back-bounced from his armor. He looked up in shock as the opposing dragons charged, a large drake successfully tripping him over. He yelped in pain as the large group trampled over him, dislocating one shoulder in the process.
He slowly pushed himself up when a red scaled knee slammed up to his jaw, dazing him, and knocking his helmet from reach. He tried to claw as the same paw clamped onto the back of his head tightly, slamming his face into the ground.
"I'll make sure this time that you won't have a skull to grow your horns back!" Carmine sneered, pummelling the smaller drake with his full strength. He gasped as he saw something in the sky.
Sithris grunted as he slayed another wyvern, panting slightly as the large number of foes. He whimpered as a feeling twisted in his gut. The black drake looked to Kara. "Rift's in trouble."
Kara nodded. "You go, I'll hold the line." She watched her mate run off and she sniffed the air. "It's starting to smell stormy."
The electric drake grinned as the scent hit him too. "Perfect." He found Carmine staring at the sky as the sound of thunder boomed. I guess he never forgot about when he attacked me. The agile drake snuck begin Carmine and released a medium jolt to the large drake, temporarily paralysing him. He frowned as he ran to Rift. "This is gonna hurt hon."
"What the- AHH FIND ME IN THE ALPS!" The fire drake screamed loudly as his mate popped his shoulder back into place. With help getting up, he looked at his mate.
"Maybe later hon." He cooed softly as the scent grew, rain beginning to pour over the city. He grinned at his mate. "Excuse me a moment." With a flap, he took to the sky, gaining altitude.
Rift grinned. "I pity them." He rejoined the fight, engaging with another drake.
Sithris finally came to a halt high in the air. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I know you haven't done this in years, but please do refrain from giving out on me, my body." He flipped onto his back and closed his eyes, letting himself drop.
With a yell, he stretched his wings out, coming to a halt as a bolt of lightning struck. He grunted, then gasping as multiple other bolts hit him as well. His eyes and wing membrane glowed bright blue, arcs of electricity flowing around him. Small spikes formed down his spine, turning from black to blue at the extra charges. Unlike his previous time doing this where his black scales seemed to glow, they were now practically blinding, the electricity vibrating them to create a loud humming noise.
A hollow roar left his maw and strengthened as it hit the ground, waves of electricity launching at a group of panthers now surrounding Rift, blowing holes through their chest with his high voltage. He turned to another group attacking Kara, paralysing them as well. He finally landed, fighting multiple wyverns with a gusto that Rift had never seen from his mate.
An hour passed and Sithris returned to his normal self, collapsing from exhaustion. Rift yelped and dashed to him, blocking a spear from hitting his downed mate, growling as it dug into his tail. The resistance was starting to falter, more dragons falling than the army had.
Kara joined her mates, helping Rift fend off attackers as they realized they were out of gems. More and more troops closed in on them, spears and daggers starting to hit their mark through exposed gaps in their armor. The trio beginning to fear the worst.
On two sides, troops were being knocked down as the others were electrocuted to a lethal point. A green earth dragon pushed up to the trio and smirked. "What'd we miss?"
Rift grinned in relief. "Good to see you Tygor." Two dragonesses finished clearing their opponents and joined them, one giving Kara a tight hug. The fire drake bowed gently. "Mera, Ferossa, welcome back."
Sithris finally pulled himself up and chuckled. "And you guys were worried that it wouldn't work. Well shame on you for doubting the Great Tinkering Master!"
Tygor looked to Ferossa and Mera. "We better help, let's go." He stopped and gave a small smile to Rift. "Earth was great by the way. They have these things called PopTarts, really good. I left one for you with Rose."
Rift chuckled. "I'll trust you on that. You be safe, and kick some ass."
Two roars in the distance stopped the fighting altogether. A purple and a black speck in the sky were approaching, bringing cheers from the resistance, and gasps of horror from the army. Spyro and Cynder quickly landed in attack poses, joining together to take down the apes with powerful Convexity beams.
A portal opened as Silvus joined the three mates. "Sorry it took so long, had to explain to those five what happened."
Rift smiled and hugged his cousin. "Just in the nick of time. Thank you."
Silvus nodded and motioned Kara to his side. "We'll take it from here. You and Sithy better get to Dark Rift and Shara."