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The Burning Earth: The War Between Three Kingdoms

Book 2

Chapter 1: Not Dead Yet

In a spacious dark chamber, a robed man sat atop a stone throne. On each side of his throne, large braziers were ablaze; their cackling the only noise that was heard; echoing throughout the halls. These were the only sources of light and heat for as far as the eye could see. Only darkness surrounded the man on the throne, though a vaulted ceiling could faintly be seen. His robes were red, and in the center of them was a white dragon skull, with human skulls for eyes. Despite being hooded, the man acted as if he had a complete 360 degree view of his dark surroundings.

The sound of approaching footsteps echoed throughout the chamber, and the robed man set his gaze straight ahead, as a man wearing similar garb, though not hooded, slowly approached. The approaching man paused in front of the throne, and slowly got on his knees, and bowed his head.

"Master, the girl we brought from the village escaped with the dragon, not long ago," the kneeling man said, his voice cracking with fright. "Shall I send out a search party? In his condition, he couldn't have flown far."

For a long while, there was only silence, save for the cackling of the braziers. The hooded man on the throne didn't respond, or even move, yet he was staring directly into the kneeling man's eyes. His frown slowly curled up, forming a slight smirk.

The man on the throne finally spoke; his voice as cold and lifeless as he appeared, "No, Garen, my friend. Do not send out a search party. Let them leave; let them spread the word to dragons, as well as man, what they have witnessed here. You are dismissed, Garen."

Garen started to stand, but didn't leave. "There is something else, master," the frightened man said quietly. "While we burned their village, one of our pets brought back a man. It didn't kill him because he had your scent on him. He has your blood, master."

The man on the throne didn't even flinch, but seemed to acknowledge what he had just heard. He knew he had a son, but the woman who bore him ran away from him years ago. He wasn't sure either of them still lived.

"Is he here? If so, bring him before me. I have much to tell him," he told Garen, and with a snap of his fingers, the rest of the chamber was illuminated with the glow of torches scattered about.

The chamber was massive. Directly in front of the throne, nearly 300 feet away, was the entrance; an amazing archway, nearly as tall as the vaulted ceiling, stood guard over the chamber. Stone statues, both massive and small, lined the walls, as marble pillars were scattered throughout the chamber, holding the sides of the nearly 400 foot high vaulted ceiling in place. The stone and tile floor were gray, matching the color of the throne.

Garen walked away, the sound of his footsteps slowly fading away. He returned a few minutes later with a young man in tow. His hands were tied, and a sack was covering his face. The masked man was silent, almost as if he had given up trying to plea with these people.

"Remove his bindings, and take off the cover hiding his face," the man on the throne told Garen, his voice sounding like it was losing its patience. "Let me gaze upon my son."

Garen did as he asked, first untying the bindings on the captive man's hands, then tearing off the sack covering his head. Garen then shoved the man forward, and forced him into a kneeling position. The way he handled the young man seemed to attract the attention of the robed figure sitting on the throne, as he was standing now.

"You dare lay a hand on my son in that way? Garen, I am disappointed in you," the now standing hooded man said, his voice sounding sad. A slow smile formed on his visible mouth, as he started to cackle.

"Master, please, I was only..." Garen started to say, but slowly stopped.

The captive man was watching, his face turning to horror at what he was witnessing. The apologizing cultist's robes and skin were now solid stone, his face forever marked with terror and anguish. No one spoke for a few minutes, but robed men arrived and carried the human statue and set it against a free space along the wall, alongside the other statues, each with a similar looking face etched in terror.

The man near the throne sat back down, and turned his dark gaze towards the now shaking young man. "What is your name, son? I regret I wasn't around when she gave you a name," he said, his voice wasn't as cold as it once was. "What name did she give you?"

The cowering young man attempted to look at the robed man seated on the throne, but couldn't meet his gaze. Instead, he looked at the base of the throne as he spoke.

"My name is Seth," the cowering young man muttered.

The seated, hooded man leaned forward a bit, as if he was getting a better look at the now whimpering man. He was tall, had dark hair, brown eyes, and had the body of a soldier. He also had a hint of facial hair beginning to grow, but otherwise appeared to be clean shaven.

"Well, Seth, I am your father. My name is Justinius. Your mother took you after you were born and fled my loving embrace," he said, with a hint of sarcasm on the tip of his tongue. "Tell me, Seth, what has happened to your mother? Is she yet of this world?"

Seth merely paused. This man had to be wrong. His mother was alive, but was probably killed during the attack on the village. His father had fought in the Great War, and never returned. Or so he was told. Could this man really be his father? If so, he didn't really seem to be a paternal sort of man.

Seth finally found his voice again, and replied, "I think she was killed during the attack on our village. I think she may have burned to death in our home." Seth sounded like he was on the verge of tears, but made no attempt to hide it. He heard the familiar cackle coming from the seated man.

"Good. Good. She is dead then," Justinius responded. "Such is the fate of all those who try to escape from The One's grasp, unless he wishes it, that is."

Seth wasn't able to fight off the tears, and started to sob. He thought about his mother, his friends at Jeh's Crossing, and most importantly he thought about Morgan. The beasts had to have killed her as well. He was all alone now, in a very unfamiliar setting.

"Just knowing you are alive brings peace to my heart, son," the cold voice said over the sound of sobs. He then said something Seth did not expect, "I will not hold you here against your will. You may leave, but you may stay as well. If you leave, we will not see each other again for a long time, I fear."

That was all Seth wanted to hear. He wanted to be as far away from here as possible. He stood up, and headed for the archway leading outside. Cackling could be heard echoing throughout the chamber. Once outside, Seth turned around once, and saw all the lights inside were gone, and there was only darkness. The structure he had just left seemed to have been built into the mountain side; it must have served as some stronghold for some king a few years ago.

Once outside, the other robed figures seemed to ignore Seth. He didn't know where he was, or what he was going to do, but getting out of here was a start. He made his way to the edge of the encampment, and saw large box made of iron lie unassembled on the ground. He also noted a large tent with a huge hole in the side, as well as blood stains in the interior. He didn't even want to know what happened here, or what that cage held; probably the beasts that attacked the village.

The forest was right in front of Seth. He looked around himself, checking to see if anyone was watching him, but saw only robed figures walking around the encampment, minding their own business and not even looking in his direction. He turned his head back to the tree line, and started walking. He didn't look back, but the sight of that man turning to stone will forever be imprinted into his mind for the rest of his life.

Seth ran through the forest, under the cover of night. He didn't think they were following him, but he still felt like he was being watched. He wasn't sure which direction Jeh's Crossing was in, but once he found the familiar and welcoming sight of the Lyrius river, he knew he would be okay. If he remembered right, the river would eventually bank left into a smaller water way, which led right to Jeh's Crossing. He didn't feel the need to run anymore; as far as he was concerned he was nearly home.

Jeh's Crossing was destroyed, but Seth wanted to look at the village he called home one last time, before making his way to Exikni and informing the king of what he had witnessed. Along the way, he encountered the familiar river bank where he and Morgan first encountered the dragon who warned them about what was coming. They just couldn't get home fast enough.

Seth didn't stop once until he reached his old home in the burnt down village of Jeh's Crossing. His legs were exhausted, he was thirsty and starved, but he couldn't delay. He had to warn the king, no matter the cost. At Jeh's Crossing, Seth saw the gruesome scene the cultists left for any travelers to witness. Not one body was intact; severed arms, legs, heads, and torsos all formed the familiar sight of the dragon skull with human skulls in place of eyes. Seth didn't linger too long; the stench was unbearable for him. He wanted to search the bodies for Morgan, or his mother, but he couldn't bear to see them like this.

His legs weak and his mouth desperate for water, Seth headed back down to the river, and made his way back to the fork it made that led to the village. He didn't want to drink directly out of the river, but did so anyway. It tasted rather awful, but it worked for him. On the banks of the river, he found a dry log and rolled it into the river, and mounted it like it was a horse. The river would carry him as far to Exikni if he avoided the occasional fork that would take him to an unfamiliar location. He paddled to the middle of the river, and quickly fell asleep.

The sound of thunder and the pouring rain woke Seth up. He was still floating in the river, and appeared to still be near the center. He wasn't sure just how long he had been floating, but it was still dark when he drifted off to sleep, and although it was hard to tell what time of day it was with the storm clouds overhead, it had to at least be noon. If he had entered Exikni, he would have known. The gates in the river would have stopped him.

"Not there yet," he mumbled to himself.

For another day, he floated downriver, until he decided to get back on shore to look for something to eat. He hadn't eaten in more than three days; at least it felt like that. He was so hungry he wasn't even aware of how long it has been since he last ate something. The sky was clear now, at least.

"I wish you were here, Morgan, but I will get to Exikni and inform the king in honor of both you and my mother. Those cultists will pay for what they have done," Seth said to himself.

Seth knew that villages were few in Lyria, and the chances of him stumbling upon one seemed as likely as him finding a free buffet stationed alongside the river. Before disembarking from his log on the side of the river, he saw something that made his heart leap for joy. A couple of dead fish were washed up on shore, no doubt due to the thunderstorm and possible flooding the day before. Seth didn't even hesitate. Without even cooking them, without even pealing the scales off, he bit right into the dead fish. It tasted strange, but he didn't care about taste, only filling his gnawing stomach. He ate as much of it as he could, and did the same to three more. He had a feeling he would get sick doing this, but as long as he made it to the city, he wouldn't care. If dying meant he could be with his friends and family again, then he would die, and warn the kingdom in the process. He got back on the log, and continued to float down the river yet again, for a few more days.

Seth awoke a few times, and noticed that the trees on the bank looked very strange. They looked dead, and the soil looked black as night. He didn't even pay attention to it and continued to rest, for one more day.

Finally, Seth couldn't stand being in the water anymore. He had been pulling leeches off him nonstop, and was dizzy when he got back up on his legs once he landed on the shore. He continued to walk on land from then on out, until he saw the welcoming walls of Exikni. At first he thought he was dreaming. The gates were open, even though it was night, and not a single torch was lit. He encountered no person, no guard, and no stray animal in the city. It didn't stop him from eating as much as he could after raiding the castle larder. No king, noble, servant, or royal guard was around, so he figured he may as well help himself to all the food and wine he could get ahold of.

That night, Seth slept in the king's bed. It was the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in, and he never wanted to get out of it. For three days, he stayed in the castle, sleeping, eating, and drinking. The castle in Exikni wasn't the biggest. He had heard stories of castles the size of mountains in the Northern kingdoms. It was more or less the size of an inn, just covered in stone with a fancy roof and a few towers. Still, Seth finally could recuperate from his journey in peace and comfort, at least until he was healthy to travel again. He didn't know what happened here, or why. Part of him thought he was simply dreaming, or even dead.

After the third day, he decided it was time for him to leave. The ghost town was putting him in a sad mood, and he didn't want to linger here any longer. It felt wrong to him, and he felt it was disrespectful to the monarchy. Before leaving the city, he headed for the general store. There was only one travel pack remaining on a shelf, which he grabbed. He also grabbed a survival knife, tinder box, some food, a small blanket, a fishing net, and a few glass jars of clean water. The weight of everything he was carrying caused him to move slower, but he didn't mind. Clearly, he didn't warn the king fast enough.

Seth came to a crossroads outside the city, and the only road that was worth following led to Tiberia, the bordering kingdom to Lyria. He had heard stories about Tiberia; how it was full of barbarians that ate children, that they sacrificed virgins to their gods. They were just stories though, and Seth didn't fully believe them.

Seth traveled the road for about a week. He wasn't running but walking slowly. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know why he was going to Tiberia. With luck he would find a settlement and get a job. It would be what Morgan and his mother would have wanted for him; to live in peace and move on with his life. After sitting down to rest, he noticed he was out of water. He had last passed a stream of water a few days prior, and it was all gone. There was no sign of any water source as far as he could see, only hills.

Seth caught whiff of something in the air. It smelled awful to him, like someone spilled a chamber pot in a very small room he was trapped in. Seth turned around and his face turned blue. Not 30 feet behind him were four, very angry looking Minotaurs, each carrying a large club, or some other heavy weapon.

Minotaurs were large creatures, nearly twice the height of a man, and nearly three times as wide as well. Most possessed bulky bodies; some were teeming with muscle, and some were rather overweight. They were covered head to toe in short, brown fur. They each possessed heads that looked similar to bulls, with large, curved horns growing from their skulls. They had hooves in place of feet, and Seth could make out tails swooshing around behind them. They seemed to be wearing some odd looking clothes; two were wearing only ragged pants, one was wearing pants as well as what appeared to be overalls, and one didn't appear to be wearing anything at all.

Seth no longer cared about water. He must have stumbled upon their territory. He had only seen a Minotaur once before, and he was a friendly one who just stopped by in Jeh's Crossing while traveling. The one he met before didn't look anywhere near as angry as these four did.

"Here, I have some stuff in here you can have, just leave me alone," Seth said as he placed his pack carefully on the road. He backed away slowly, until he was about 30 steps from where his pack was.

The largest Minotaur stepped forward, and slowly started walking toward the pack. He picked it up, and tossed it off to the side of the road, where it rolled down a rocky hillside. The lead Minotaur let out a bestial roar, and the four of them started to charge. That was all Seth need to hear, and he took off, and didn't stop running. He didn't come all this way just to be bludgeoned to death by stupid creatures.

Seth ran, and didn't stop. He didn't stop even when he knew his pursuers had given up. He would run, then collapse on the road for a few minutes, then run some more. He was lucky enough for it to rain a bit, which he lapped up as soon as it hit the ground. He continued to do this for at least a couple more days, although Seth no longer knew how many days he had been running.

Only then did he stop running when he saw two massive armies fighting each other beside the wall of a cliff. Only then did he stop when he saw a familiar looking creature raining fire down on one army. Only then did he stop and collapse when he saw, in the distance, the face of the woman he loved high up in a cave, looking down on the chaos happening right in front of him. Seth finally shut his eyes, and passed out.

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Chapter 2: The Barbarian Horde

Korvorym let out a roar that echoed throughout the valley. He was flying in the clouds; the bloody battle was being fought right below him. His roar caused everyone on the ground, both barbarian and Tiberian, to stop what they were doing and cover their ears. Korvorym lowered himself below puffy clouds, allowing the men on the ground to gasp at the sight of him, circling overhead.

Korvorym let out a lower roar this time, making sure the attention of everyone on the ground was focused on him. "Soldiers of Tiberia, today is your lucky day!" Korvorym yelled as he continued to circle above the battle, which was now at a halt. "I have come to lend my assistance in removing this scum from the kingdom! Let's kill some barbarian filth!" he yelled. His voice was the loudest he had ever gotten it before, and his throat was a bit sore afterwards. Korvorym then swooped down, diving right for the army of Tiberia, but pulled up right in time to ram right into the barbarian horde. He had gotten close to the enemy as well as his new allies for him to notice a few things.

The barbarian horde and the army of Tiberia had many differences. Korvorym spotted the major ones right away: The advantages the Tiberian army had were siege engines; their catapults were lobbing boulders from a safe distance. The Tiberian army had foot soldiers that were equipped with chainmail, and had cavalry soldiers that wore heavy plate armor. The last major advantage the Tiberian army had at its disposal were pike men. These soldiers wore heavy mail armor, and were on the front lines forming a spear wall. They had very long spears that prevented the barbarian army from getting too close.

The barbarian horde had a few advantages as well: They outnumbered the Tiberians nearly four to one. They didn't seem to be wearing any armor; some were even fighting naked; their skin was covered in a dark, yellow paint. However, they were simply not going to run away at the sight of a professional army. Korvorym could see the looks on the barbarian's faces as he crashed into them. They were looking forward to massacring these men, and the barbarians wouldn't stop fighting unless they were killed to the last man. They simply didn't understand the concept of retreating.

After he swooped in at the horde, he knew he had to have knocked down, or even killed, around one hundred barbarians on the spot. Still, some were able to brace themselves and he knew he got a few cuts from their sharp axes. Korvorym flew to the sidelines of the battle. He had noticed that, through their sheer numbers, the barbarians were trying to surround the Tiberian army, like the dry side of a boulder in the middle of a raging river.

Korvorym turned, and lined up his dive perfectly. He didn't crash into the horde this time, but used fire. He was probably just imagining it, but he swore he heard cheers from the men on the ground. This moment took him back a few years. He remembered the fighting at the ruins of Bralesk, and how he went back to the front lines and slaughtered hundreds of demons and foul creatures, and how the men on the ground who saw it cheered wildly.

It wasn't that Korvorym liked battle, but he loved the feeling of being able to make a difference. He loved the feeling of being able to change the outcome of an event. There was no doubt in his mind that if he weren't here, these men would have been slaughtered.

As he flew up high in the sky, he looked down on the battle and saw the fields were on fire from where he let loose his flames. The scope of the barbarian horde was magnificent. Korvorym estimated that they were at least 40,000 strong. Even though it felt like a huge number, it simply wasn't enough for this to be the battle that ended the barbarians. The kingdom of Tiberia was very vast and uncharted. Only a handful of civilized settlements existed, and to say the kingdom belonged to a single civilized ruler would be to show one's ignorance. There were hundreds of thousands of savages in these hills.

Korvorym began to dive down again, this time at the main bulk of the horde. He was hoping that perhaps the savage leading this army would be at the center. When he was in range, he burned all those he saw. Korvorym was getting bored of using his fire. He wanted to fight the old fashioned way. He easily saw a large gap in the horde, and flew over to it. With a few wingbeats, he knocked down everyone in the vicinity, and landed.

He used his tail to crush and trip, his claws to shred and tear, and his teeth to rip and impale. Some barbarians managed to get enough to attack him but, but they used poorly crafted weapons. More often than not, their weapons would shatter as soon as they hit his hide. One wild looking man managed to make him snarl in pain when he smashed his two handed maul into his foot, but it was hardly worth paying attention to. He laughed to himself when he saw the expression of the man's face when the maul broke in half after he tried lifting it again. Korvorym knew what to do to this man. He tried maiming his foot, so Korvorym would do the exact same to him, only he would succeed. The angry dragon stepped on the man's foot, putting all his weight into it. He could hear the familiar sounds of bones crushing, and the man screaming in agony.

Korvorym had enough of fighting on the ground, for the moment anyway. With a few wingbeats, he knocked down those nearest to him, and took to the skies. He noticed that the Tiberian soldiers were closing in on where he had just been, so he saw they were at least making some progress. He was glad that there were no enemy archers. He hated bows with a passion. He turned his gaze elsewhere, and saw a sight he rarely got to see: a cavalry charge, right into the bulk of the horde. Korvorym loved the sight of cavalry charges. He loved the sounds of the horses galloping, the commander's horn blowing, and the rumbling of the Earth shaking like an earthquake. Korvorym wished he had stayed on the ground a few moments longer so he could feel the earth vibrating beneath his feat. He watched as the riders ran down the barbarians, trampling over them. It truly was a sight to behold, and he saw it from the air.

The sound of steel clashing near him drew his attention, and he paused for a moment at what he was seeing. A Minotaur was fighting a bunch of armored men, crushing their armor with his massive hammer. Why was there a Minotaur here, and why would he be fighting for the savages, Korvorym wondered. Morgan couldn't stand the taste of beef, but Kor loved it. He plummeted to the ground and grabbed the massive bull man in his mouth, and flew high into the sky. He tore off a piece of him, and swallowed it after flinging the Minotaur in the opposite direction of the battle. He liked the taste of cows better, but all this fighting had gotten him hungry.

Korvorym turned his attention back to the battle below, and was surprised to notice the battle was nearly over. He saw many savage looking men run into the hills, which baffled him. Maybe these weren't the fearless barbarians he thought they were.

Korvorym felt his job was complete. He started to fly to his lair, to Morgan. He could faintly see her in the distance, but it was rather hard. Still, he also wanted to land so the soldiers could give him praise and congratulate him on turning the tide of the battle. He loved it when humans complimented him. The cheering of the soldiers on the ground caused him to land instead, but just for a few moments. He wanted to hear what exactly was going on.

He landed in the middle of a large crowd of armored men, which did make him nervous, but he felt the rewards would far outweigh the risks. Nearly every soldier took their helms off and started to throw their sword wielding arm in the air while letting out cheers. The cheering slowly died down when some of the soldiers made way for a rider to approach. This must be the king, coming to thank him. Korvorym was shocked to see a young woman, wearing shiny plate armor, approach him cautiously.

The woman looked him over a tiny bit, and smiled. "My name is Queen Valarie. To what name shall I call the one who saved my army from annihilation?" She asked, still smiling.

She wasn't a bad looking woman, but she did look a little funny wearing heavy armor. It looked too big for her, and made her look rather overweight, but Korvorym could tell by her face that she was rather small. She had dark brown hair, which she wore in a bun. She also had olive colored skin, dark brown eyes, and a tiny round dark spot above her lips. The only thing in her face that made her look rather strange was that she had wide ears; they looked a bit like a dragon's ears, as if they grew only horizontally from her head, rather than vertically.

"You may call me Kor, and you have my mate to thank for helping your army out; she suggested it. I wanted to watch, to be honest," Korvorym told her. He really did want to fight, but he wanted to see her reaction to what he said.

The woman didn't give him the reaction he was hoping for, and instead simply said, "Fair enough." Korvorym could see wounded soldiers, as well as corpses being ferried around on carts. This was the part of battles he didn't care for.

"If you do not mind me asking, Queen Valarie," Kovorym stopped for a moment. He hated using titles, but he resumed, "but what was this about? Why were these barbarians here?" He wanted to know because they were so close to Morgan, he could care less about the kingdom.

Valarie looked down at the ground, her smile turning into a frown. "I was leading my army to do something else, to be honest. We had lost contact with trade caravans from Exikni in Lyria, and feared the city may have been captured. As we are allied with Lyria, I formed an army to go check it out," The woman said, while still looking at the ground.

Korvorym could tell she was lying, but decided to let her finish.

"While we were marching for the border, a scout brought word to me that one of our own cities, Cairnor, had just been sacked by this very barbarian horde. They killed the men, enslaved the children, and raped the women," the Queen told him. Her tone contained genuine sorrow, and Korvorym felt bad for her.

"I am no longer interested in the troubles that are occurring in Lyria, Kor," the queen said, this time looking at Korvorym in the eyes. "I plan to remove the barbarian presence from my kingdom, once and for all. I will accept all the help I can get, if you are interested."

Korvorym was interested. He hated these savage barbarians with a passion, almost as much as he hated the cult of demon worshippers, but he couldn't forget about Morgan. He couldn't go off to fight a war and leave her trapped up in their den, while a child was on the way. He would have to talk it over with her, first.

Before responding to her question, Kor asked another question of his own. "I fought a Minotaur fighting alongside the barbarians. I didn't think they recruited other races to fight with them," he asked her, hoping she would know. Korvorym didn't really care for Minotaurs. They smelled awful, but he did fight alongside some of them in the Great War.

Korvorym heard a small gasp from a female soldier, standing near the queen. The queen looked at her, and gently touched her shoulder, before turning around to face Kor. "The barbarians have an alliance with the Minotaur hill tribes," the Queen responded. "In exchange for offering their muscle to their armies, the barbarians offer them virgin women, to do with as they please." The Queen was rubbing the shoulder of the woman who gasped.

Korvorym seemed to understand. This woman must have escaped from one of the villages, and pledged herself to the Queen. He didn't want to know what she went through. "I killed him, don't worry," Kor told the woman, looking at her in the eyes. He saw a small smile form on her face, but he wasn't too sure she even understood what he was saying.

"I have to think things over, and talk with my mate," Korvorym told the Queen, returning to the original topic, in a voice that sounded like he was unsure. "Give me three months to think about it. I know it sounds like a long time, but that is the best I can do right now."

Queen Valarie didn't seem to mind at all. "That sounds perfect! Winter is approaching, and I'll need to garrison my men up for the next few months, anyway. It isn't wise to fight in the cold," she said, with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Korvorym was glad to make her happy, even without giving her a definite answer yet. He believed he saw hope flash across her face, but he wasn't too sure. She probably believed that if she removed the barbarian threat from her kingdom, it would help Tiberia grow more prosperous, which certainly seemed feasible. The ruling body in the kingdom acted like they were in control of their country, but in reality, the barbarians were. Korvorym was completely unprepared to answer her next question.

"Would your mate be willing to fight for our country, as well? After all, Tiberia is your home as well, and I think two dragons would help tremendously," the Queen asked Korvorym, while looking at the wounded and dying soldiers being brought from the fields.

Korvorym didn't know how to answer her. He wasn't sure if he should tell the truth about who his mate was; that she was with child, or if he should try to dodge the question. Korvorym didn't like to lie, as the last time he lied, it came back to bite him on the tail.

"Right now, my mate is in a bit of a delicate state," Korvorym replied. He thought she knew what he meant, as she started to shake her head. "Like I said, give me three months, and maybe you will get one or even two dragons on your side."

Korvorym wasn't lying when he said two dragons may fight for them as well. In fact, he had an entire plan that could work out, if he played his cards right. He hadn't spoken to him in years, but he didn't think his old friend would back down from a good war against barbarians. After all, his friend had a better reason than he did to hate barbarians.

"Three months from now, send your scouts to this very location. I may or may not be here, but just give me some time. You will know if I will join your war or not," Korvorym said, while laughing. He jumped into the air, and started to fly towards his home, where Morgan waited for him. He didn't care if the Queen or every soldier saw where he lived. They were all friends now, but he had no intention of them knowing about Morgan.

Chapter 3: Etched In Paint

Korvorym paced back and forth in their den. He had already told Morgan what the Queen had asked of him, and despite Morgan acting like it was fine, he could tell that she wasn't exactly okay with it. Morgan wanted him to help in a single battle, but not an entire war. She believed he had seen enough of war.

"Do you trust these people, Kor?" Morgan asked him, with her arms folded across her chest. "What's stopping them from betraying you when you least expect it, and draining you of your blood and building an army through the gold they could make?" Morgan also mentioned the possibility of them taking every part of him; his bones, his scales, his horns, and his hide, in addition to his blood.

Korvorym looked his mate over. She was clearly concerned for him. Maybe she was just moody, but he didn't want to ask her.

Korvorym let out a low sigh. "Cairnor has been razed to the ground, Morgan; the inhabitants had been killed, raped, or enslaved by those savages," he told her as he looked in her beautiful blue eyes.

He could hear her gasp, and see her face go pale white. He wasn't trying to convince her to let him join the war anymore. If his mate didn't want him to fight, he wouldn't. He would stay by her side, and happily tend to her. She did, however, have the right to know what happened to the town she had been visiting.

Korvorym hugged her close to his chest, using his legs to lock her in place. Morgan wasn't speaking. She was probably just trying to let it sink in. Even though he had fallen in love with Morgan, and knew her quite well, she was still difficult to read sometimes.

"So much death," she finally said. She had no love for the barbarians, but she didn't necessarily want her mate, whose claws were already stained with enough blood, to get them even bloodier. Morgan squirmed away from his embrace, and walked towards his rear.

Korvorym thought he might have had an erection again, and that Morgan went to check it out. He turned his head, and instead he saw that she was looking at his foot; the foot where the wild looking man had hit with his maul. Korvorym didn't even realize it was bleeding, but it wasn't too bad. He could feel Morgan's warm touch on his foot, feeling around the wound.

"I think it may be broken, at least the middle toe," she said as she continued to feel around his foot. "Can you wiggle it?"

Korvorym tried to wiggle his clawed toes, and all of them except the middle one wiggled freely. He had never broken a toe before. He remembered it had hurt when the man had smashed him on the foot, but he didn't recall feeling anything break. He saw Morgan get up and walk to the crystal chamber, no doubt getting one of her white flowers.

Morgan plucked the white crown from the magic soil, and almost immediately, a new one grew in its place. Jon's creations never ceased to amaze her. With Cairnor razed to the ground, he was probably dead, but she hoped that he managed to get to safety. Maybe when the barbarians walked into his shop, he tried to get them to buy some wild hair growing lotion, and they left him in peace. Though it was a childish thought, it did make her a little happy.

After she had given Kor the White Crown mixture, the two of them simply cuddled together. She wanted him to fight. She knew that there were good people in Tiberia who were being slaughtered by these wild men. She didn't have to like the idea of her mate fighting a human war, but perhaps it would be for the best.

"When you are fighting for Tiberia, what would happen to me? I can't stay here," Morgan asked him, a tear running down her cheek.

Morgan was right. If he was on some distant battlefield, he wouldn't be able to fly her out of their home when she needed to get food. Not to mention what the barbarians would do to her if they found out she was his mate. Korvorym reckoned that the savages wouldn't hesitate to climb the side of the cliff if it meant they could hurt her, and in the process, hurt him. He also didn't want her to stay in some human city, as well. Morgan probably wouldn't want that as well. He had thought about taking her to Nomas, to visit Griloraax.

Griloraax would be able to protect her. As would his old clan. It made sense to bring her there, anyway. She would be far from the war, and he also needed to go to Nomas to ask an old friend for help, as well.

"I will fly you to Nomas. Griloraax will be able to answer some of our questions, and you would be safe there," Korvorym said to her, as he rubbed her body with one of his legs.

Morgan was leaning up against the side of his stomach. Every time he breathed in, she would rise, and when he breathed out, she would sink down a little. She gently petted his side. Morgan loved the way his hide and scales felt. They were so smooth, but looked so coarse.

"Then we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's get some sleep," Morgan told him as she stood up.

They both walked to the crystal chamber, and Kor lied on his back on top of the blanket and rug. The blanket was getting a little dirty; mostly from dried bodily fluids. Morgan made a mental note to wash them sometime. She was getting rather good at climbing on top of Kor, and did so easily this time. She crawled up to his chest, and rolled onto her stomach, and placed her head on his warm body. Morgan was already asleep before he had even wrapped his wings around her.

The next morning, Morgan was cooking something in the oven, but the smell was foreign to Kor. It smelled good, but he just couldn't place his mind around what she was cooking. He only watched her as she did her work. He didn't understand why humans took so long to make something that would be gone in a few minutes, anyway. Though he knew food tasted better when prepared, he would simply rather just dig in right on the spot, and not wait such a long time for it to cook. He had heard Morgan mention that some food takes hours to cook and the thought of it nearly took his breath away: having to wait hours to enjoy a meal. He just couldn't fathom the thought.

"Kor, you will love what I am cooking. I am actually making it for you," Morgan told him. "Today is my birthday, or at least I think it is. I am afraid I am not craving any sort of treats, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a good cherry pie."

Today was her birthday, then. Kor knew she was 20 years old when they first spoke, so she would be 21 today. The concept of birthdays was a bit strange to him. His clan celebrated their hatchings every New Year. Every dragon in his clan shared the same hatch day, even if it wasn't necessarily true. Kor knew he hatched in the summer, not the winter. He knew that other clans of dragons did similar things, but he wasn't entirely sure. In fact, Korvorym wasn't entirely sure how old he was, but he knew he was still considered a young dragon. Maybe Griloraax knew his age.

Morgan took the pastry looking thing out of the oven, and set it atop the stove, the smell filling both their nostrils. This 'cherry pie' seemed to be calling Kor's name. Korvorym walked over to it, and sniffed the top of it.

"Are you sure you don't want some of it?" he asked her. He felt a bit guilty, eating something that should belong to her on her day. Before Korvorym even finished the sentence, he saw her face turn a bit white.

"I am good, but I could use some cooked venison once we start to travel," she tried to tell him with a smile, but it quickly turned into a frown as she swirled around and vomited right into the stream heading for the mouth of the cave.

Kor got a little squeamish at the sight. He didn't like it when anybody vomited, let alone right in front of him. It made him think about the last time he vomited, which was a very bad day.

Korvorym quickly devoured the cherry pie, to try to get rid of the smell. He knew it was because of the pregnancy, but he pitied Morgan for not being able to enjoy this treat with him. Though it was scorching hot, it didn't bother him, and he tasted every bit of flavor. It was delicious to Korvorym, and he decided it was well worth the wait of preparing it.

"Go lie down, Morgan. I will be back with the best Stag I can find," Korvorym told her, trying to get her to cheer up. He did see her start to smile. Kor didn't want to kiss her on the lips after she had just vomited, so he kissed her on the forehead instead.

"I will be back soon, my love, and then we shall fly for Nomas," he said, his voice filled with warmth. Korvorym leapt out of the mouth of the cave, and couldn't be seen from where Morgan was.

Morgan headed to the crystal chamber, where she undressed and started to wash herself in the pool. She swam over to where the calm rocky waterfall was flowing, and started to drink the water like she was drinking from a water fountain. She wasn't really looking forward to flying on such a long journey, but it would be a good idea for her to see this Griloraax.

Morgan spent the next few minutes pondering if the entire thing was a good idea; Kor joining a war that he needn't even join. She wasn't even sure if this would be a war, but more of a cleanup operation. However, if dragons helped the kingdom of Tiberia deal with their greatest threat, then perhaps they will welcome dragons into their kingdom, just like Lyria. She wasn't too sure if barbarians were even the greatest threat to Tiberia. Morgan thought about Exikni, and how it lay deserted. Where did the people flee too?

Korvorym returned, faster than Morgan had expected. He was carrying a large stag in his mouth, as he brought it into the crystal chamber. He dropped the carcass, and burnt the body with his fire. Morgan slowly got out of the pool, and using a dried rag, started drying her body off. She noticed Kor looking her over, but ignored his glances. She loved his attention, but she had far too much on her mind for such things. Instead, she hugged him once, and started getting dressed.

Going through her packs, Morgan picked out an outfit that would be comfortable for the ride; linen pants, and two wool shirts she would wear over her chest. It was starting to get rather cool outside, with winter approaching. The two of them were silent the entire time, as she continued to pack things into the bags. She made sure to pack two White Crown flowers, as well. With each pluck, a new one immediately grew to take its place.

The crystal chamber gave off a somber atmosphere. Korvorym knew what Morgan was thinking, so he decided to break the silence.

"You need to trust me on this, Mor," Korvorym told her while looking at the back of her head, her blonde hair now reaching down below her shoulders. "I will be fine, I promise."

Morgan turned back to face the dragon. "I am not a fool Kor, I saw what you did to those barbarians. I know you can handle yourself," she said, and then paused. "It is just that when I am in Nomas, and you are in Tiberia, odds are you won't be there to see the baby being born. I want you to be at my side for that moment."

Korvorym could tell she sounded upset. He wanted to be at her side as well. And he would be. He would never miss that. He knew Johanna gave birth after nine months, so he knew that she would give birth in early fall or late summer.

"I want to tell you something, Mor. It is about the moment I think I started to fall in love with you," he whispered, while approaching Morgan, until their bodies were nearly touching. "I think it was about five years ago, actually. Do you remember the time you saw the wounded fawn in the forest?"

Morgan thought back in time. She had seen many wounded animals while hiking in the forest. After all, she had hiked in the forest nearly every weekend for years. She knew that he watched her throughout the years, but she did wonder just where he would have been during those times, and how she never spotted him.

She asked him, "Was it the time I saw the wounded fawn, nursed it back to health, and stayed with it until its mother approached?" Morgan was rubbing Kor's snout with her hands, a small smile forming on her face.

"Yes, that was the time. You stayed with that creature, so no predator could get it," he said firmly.

Morgan was starting to see. So her looking out for little, helpless creatures made him fall in love with her? She didn't think Kor would ever kill a baby animal, but she wouldn't put it past him. He was an apex predator, after all.

"You helped the helpless creature, when any other human would have probably killed it, and taken it back to their home for food," Korvorym told her. "But that isn't what caused me to start to feel this way about you."

Morgan smirked. She should have seen it coming, but it made her laugh a bit anyway; the thought of his heart gushing over how she treated a fawn, which was no more than food to him. She continued to rub his snout, and slowly began to rub him behind his ears. She had never done that to him before, but he seemed to appreciate it.

"It was after the fawn's mother came, and they left. I accidentally stepped on a twig, or caused something to make a sound, and you looked directly at me," his voice sounding as if it were in amazement. "I was hiding behind some trees, and lined up against the brown mountainside, so I guess I blended for you. But you looked at me directly in the eyes, and I looked back in yours. You smiled, not at me, but at what had just transpired."

Korvorym paused a moment, and continued, "That is why I think I started to fall in love with you. I know humans can be cruel to any living creature, but I saw that you would never harm a thing; unless it was in self-defense, course. Or if it was a dragon slayer blinded with hatred," he said, his voice more of a rumble. He did enjoy the feeling of having his ears rubbed.

Morgan appreciated everything he had told her. She knew he watched her while she went into the forest. Maybe that was why she had never been attacked by a bear or wolves; because Kor was there.

"Mor, I will come back to you, no matter what. I promise you," Korvorym told her, in his most reassuring voice.

An idea popped into Morgan's head.

"Kor, go stand in the pool, right in front of the waterfall, and stare straight ahead," Morgan told him, while walking to the roasted stag on the cave floor.

She sprinkled some seasoning on it, and took a few bites. She turned, and saw that Korvorym was doing as she asked, but he looked a bit confused. Morgan helped herself to a few more bites, and then made her way over to her packs. She grabbed the paint, and the easel, and set it directly in front of the pool where Korvorym stood.

"I want to capture this moment, so I will always be able to look at you whenever I want, while you are away. I know you told them three months, but I want to have a picture of you in your lair. Our lair," Morgan told him, while carefully moving the easel a few inches to the left.

It made sense to Korvorym. Dragons didn't do artwork, at least not painting. They instead carved images into stone, but Korvorym didn't have the talent for that. In fact, he didn't know any dragon that did. The amount of patience and concentration required made him twitch just thinking about it. Korvorym noticed that Morgan had begun painting, and held still, staring directly at Morgan.

She continued to paint for a few hours, much to Korvorym's discomfort. He didn't really like standing in place for too long. It made him want to fly, but as soon as she was done, they would be on their way. Korvorym was a bit excited to see what the portrait would look like and a bit nervous as well. He loved Morgan, but he would be a bit offended if she messed him up.

He heard Morgan let out a long sigh, and beckoned him over. When he saw the painting, he was surprised. She certainly wasn't a professional artist, but she captured him perfectly. It almost felt like he was looking at a reflection of himself in a body of water.

"I didn't pay too much attention to your surroundings, I instead wanted to focus entirely on you, Kor," she said softly, staring up at Kor's yellow eyes.

Morgan then turned her gaze to the ground and whispered, "I wanted to have this, just in the event of the worst case scenario, for myself, and so our child can gaze upon his father."

Korvorym looked at Morgan, but she was still looking at her feet. "It is a boy, then? You can tell?" He asked her with genuine curiosity.

"No. I mean, I don't know. It is just a feeling I have," she responded. "Come, the painting needs time to dry, and I have an idea of what we can do to pass the time," Morgan said, staring at her lover right in the eyes, her own eyes full of lust.

Korvorym happily obliged, and they mated passionately for the last time in the crystal chamber.

Chapter 4: Meeting an Old Friend

It took them seven days to reach Nomas. Korvorym only stopped to hunt and rest. The two of them had to fly over three densely populated human kingdoms to reach Nomas; first, the kingdom of Gordium, the second was the kingdom of Marcium, and the third was the kingdom of Orimar.

The two of them hardly spoke the entire trip. Morgan was too busy feeling nauseous, but Kor did enjoy the feeling of her rubbing his back from time to time. When they flew over Nomas, Morgan was amazed to see the landscape from the air. She had heard stories of Nomas from Bill.

It was cold, and below them, tundra could be seen for miles and miles. It was rather strange for a southern kingdom to be this cold, Morgan thought. Perhaps the most amazing and breathtaking thing about Nomas was the sky. Colorful visuals that reminded her of rainbows could be seen in the night sky. She had never seen anything like it before. The sky was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Why is it so cold here in Nomas, where Orimar was so warm and humid?" Morgan asked Kor, her voice filled with amazement. It was strange to her; Orimar was covered in dense, tropical jungle, but right when they reached Nomas, the terrain changed completely.

Korvorym snaked his neck and head back to her. "Griloraax likes the terrain better this way," he said to her. "I am not too sure how he did this, but he is a very powerful dragon, Mor. He is after all, one of the only known living dragon gods that walk the earth."

Korvorym's eyes got big, as if he just remembered something. "Morgan, when we see Griloraax, I have to ask you, be on your best behavior," he said, as he slowly started to turn his head ahead of him. "Griloraax is a very old dragon, probably one of the first to have ever existed. He looks a bit different then his children."

Morgan nodded, although Korvorym was no longer looking at her, so she did it to herself. Perhaps Griloraax was much more fearsome looking than Kor was. For the first time since their trip, she started to feel very nervous about meeting the elder dragon.

Korvorym continued to fly for a few more hours, until he circled around a massive cave entrance at the mouth of a large mountain. To Morgan, the mouth of the cave was so large; it looked like it could hold an entire human city. The sun had started to rise, and inside the cave, she saw two enormous glowing green eyes in the dark. The eyes themselves were so large; they were probably the same size of the mouth of their cavern back in Tiberia.

Korvorym landed about 100 feet away the mouth of the enormous cavern. Morgan was inadvertently standing behind Kor's front leg, as if to hide herself from the being inside the cavern. She realized what she was doing, and slowly made her way out from under him, and allowed her body to be seen.

An enormous head slowly came out of the cave, like a turtle coming out of its shell. Morgan made a sigh of relief. Griloraax didn't look fearsome at all. His head, more or less, looked like an enormous lizard. She studied his head, although she couldn't see the rest of his body.

He had an enormous head, with gaping green eyes. His skin was a tan color, similar to the color of Kor's underbelly. He also had many horn like ridges surrounding the side of his face, but didn't possess any horns atop his skull like Kor. Although his nostrils were much smaller than his eyes, they were still large enough for Morgan to crawl into, although why she would do that, she didn't know. Although his mouth was shut, Morgan could make out the lines where it would open across his face. He could probably swallow the largest castle whole if he wished to.

"Griloraax, I have come with my mate, Morgan, in peace," Korvorym told the large dragon. "A situation has developed between us, and I was hoping you could offer us advice."

Morgan could feel Griloraax gaze upon her. She felt so exposed, and so little. She had never seen such an enormous being in her life before. Korvorym was the largest thing she had ever seen, until now. Griloraax remained silent, as if he were looking Morgan over, and studying everything about her.

"Your mate is with child, I see," a deep, regal voice filled the air. It was so calm sounding, but it didn't come from Griloraax. His mouth didn't even open to form the words.

"Yes, Griloraax, she is. I don't know how it happened. It shouldn't even be possible, should it?" Korvorym asked him.

So that really was Griloraax speaking. But Morgan decided not to act alarmed. Korvorym told her to be on her best behavior, and she intended to do just that. She was eager to hear what the big dragon had to say.

Griloraax appeared to sniff the air, in Morgan's direction. "She is carrying your child, Kor. However, it is a human child. A human with your blood coursing through it's veins," he continued. Griloraax paused, and looked more closely at Morgan's stomach. "However, the child will look a bit more like you than you may think, Korvorym," he finished, this time it looked like his mouth was forming a bit of a smile.

Morgan wasn't sure how he was able to figure this all out. She didn't even have a baby bump in her belly yet. As far as Morgan was concerned, she still looked like she wasn't even pregnant. Perhaps Griloraax really was a god.

Morgan heard Korvorym ask, "How did it happen? Our bodies are completely different."

Griloraax looked back at Morgan, this time looking at her right in the eyes. "She has spent many years consuming our flower, the pure dahlia," Griloraax stated, with a hint of fascination on his voice.

"The earliest of our kind created that flower, using magic and drops of our blood. We spread it's seeds throughout the world. It is possible, after consuming many of them, that her body was receptive to your own seed, Korvorym." Griloraax tried to explain. "I am not certain if that is the cause or not, but that is the only theory I have to offer you both."

Morgan was hugging Korvorym now, and looking up at his beautiful yellow eyes. He started to rub her side with his leg, when Griloraax interrupted.

"You plan to fight in another war, Korvorym?" Griloraax asked, with a hint of curiosity in his enormous, emerald colored eyes. Korvorym seemed to be taken aback.

"Yes, I gave my word to the humans of Tiberia I would help them be rid of their barbarian problem," Korvorym paused, and then continued, "That is another reason I have brought Morgan here. It isn't safe back home, Griloraax. I ask that you and our clan would watch over her, and protect her."

"We will do this for you, Korvorym," Griloraax said without hesitation. "I can feel the love you two have for each other, and it is very pure."

"You will do this for me, Griloraax, even after I left the clan so abruptly?" Korvorym asked him, his voice filled with amazement.

"Yes, Korvorym, I will take your mate under my protection," Griloraax reassured him. "However, I fear circumstances have changed in Tiberia. You will be needed back there immediately. Something unexpected has occurred, but it is not my place to tell you."

Morgan was shocked. Did she hear him right? She thought they would have at least a few months together. Korvorym must have noticed her concern, as he let out a small snarl at how she was squeezing his leg.

"I told them I would join their war in a few months," Korvorym said as he looked at Griloraax. "I wanted to spend some time with Morgan."

Griloraax let out a sigh, and it actually escaped from his massive mouth. Morgan didn't understand what he was saying now; it sounded like he was speaking in another language she didn't understand.

"The two Northern human Kingdoms have allied themselves with one another, and view Tiberia as weak now that they are focusing on barbarians," Griloraax told Korvorym, in Draconic. "They have already begun invading Tiberia, as well as Lyria. Lyria has already been conquered, as you know as well as I do that they no longer have an army or a ruler."

"Tiberia will fall now that they are being forced to fight on two fronts, Korvorym," Griloraax continued in Draconic.

"Then what is the point of fighting?" Korvorym replied, speaking in the common tongue. Morgan looked up at him, with a confused look on her face.

"You can change the outcome of this fight, Korvorym, especially if you recruit the help of Buldurak," Griloraax said firmly, his voice echoing in Morgan's ears. He was no longer speaking the foreign language she didn't understand.

Morgan was startled when another dragon landed right next to her and Korvorym. "Buldurak! I haven't seen you since the war ended, old friend," Korvorym said, while he hugged the other dragon.

Morgan couldn't see the other dragon, as Korvorym's body was in the way. She could hear the two of them speaking, but her focus was on Griloraax, who seemed to be only speaking to her this time.

"You have nothing to fear, child. Korvorym will be safe, and so will you, when he is gone," Griloraax told her. He was looking down on her like a human was looking down on an ant. He certainly looked regal, Morgan thought. She simply closed her eyes, and nodded at him.

Morgan felt Korvorym nudge her with his foot, pushing her out from under him. "This is Morgan, my mate," Korvorym told the other dragon, while looking at Morgan with a smile. "Morgan, this is my old friend, Buldurak."

Morgan looked up at the other dragon. He was roughly the same size as Korvorym, and had a very similar body shape. The main difference was his scales and hide were a deep red. It actually made him look a bit more ferocious than Korvorym. His underbelly was a yellowish color, a bit brighter than Korvorym's. Buldurak had two horns coming out of his skull, and ridges all along his neck and back. Instead of having a handful of long, needle like spikes that Korvorym had on his neck, he had spiked ridges instead. Whereas Korvorym had more of a lighter color of horns, Buldurak's were blacker than night, and they looked very sharp and dangerous. His tail looked equally as dangerous, and had spikes all along the sides of it, with a single spear shaped spike at the tip of his tail. The last thing she noticed was that he also had orange colored eyes. All in all, Buldurak looked like he was a much fiercer looking dragon than Kovorym.

"Hello, Morgan. I promise, as long as I'm around, nothing bad will happen to Korvy while we are at war," Buldurak told Morgan, with a smile on his face.

"Korvy? Is that a nickname you gave Korvorym?" She asked the red dragon, while stroking Kor's leg.

The red dragon laughed, "I call him Korvy, because he is my little brother!"

"He hatched seconds before me. Just a few seconds," Korvorym said quickly, his voice rather low.

"I wasn't aware you had a brother, Kor. I mean, you two look nothing alike," Morgan said in surprise.

The two dragons paused and stared at each other. "What? Any dragon can tell we are brothers, Morgan," Korvorym told her while laughing.

It was nice to know that Korvorym had a brother. He had told Morgan that he never knew his parents, but Morgan figured he was an only child.

"So, Buldurak will be our child's uncle than?" Morgan told Korvorym, as she continued to rub his leg.

"Yes," Buldurak answered for him. "And I will be the best uncle ever!"

The three of them just stared at each other. Buldurak was observing how Morgan was rubbing Korvorym's leg. Morgan looked toward the huge cavern, and noticed that Griloraax was back inside; his large green eyes looking straight ahead.

"Korvy, I think your mates' touch is starting to affect you," Buldurak told Korvorym, looking at him in the eyes. Morgan looked at Korvorym's hind legs, and spotted an erection which appeared to be staring right back at her. Morgan immediately blushed, and stopped rubbing Korvorym's leg.

"Buldurak, would you escort us into the lair, and then be kind enough to give us some privacy?" Korvorym asked him, the last part of the sentence in a bit of a whisper.

"Sure, just follow me, but you could show her yourself you know. It has only been two decades since you were last here," his brother replied, the hint of sarcasm in his voice.

The three of them walked up a small slope, and headed into the massive mouth of the cavern.

Morgan was surprised to learn that it wasn't actually a cavern, but a very large tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, Morgan could see light. Along the way, they passed Griloraax, who simply nodded at them as they walked by. Now that Morgan could see the rest of his body, she noticed that not only was he huge, he didn't have any wings. He just looked like a very large, regal looking lizard, but she decided to keep that thought to herself.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the inner sanctum of the mountain, where the sun was shining down below them. Morgan was amazed at the sight. They weren't inside a mountain; they were inside an enormous tree stump, which at one point probably belonged to the largest tree on earth.

Her surroundings were incredible. The wooden stump provided very high walls to protect them from danger. There was grass growing all over the place, and there were even a few trees growing here and there. Morgan noticed a small stream, and was shocked to see White Crowns growing along the banks. All along the upper walls of the stump, she could make out several holes, similar in appearance to cave entrances. She wondered if those were the lairs where the dragons in the clan slept.

Morgan could see other dragons flying above them, and noticed a few were lounging about in the moonlight. She counted nine of them, and noticed they all had wings. The nine of them all saw them approaching, and started to either walk or swoop down to greet them.

Morgan never felt so small. All the eyes of the dragons were on her. She spotted blue, red, green, and yellow eyes looking back at her. Each dragon was similar in size to Korvorym. Some had blue scales, while others had green scales. The variety of different dragons was amazing to see, and frightening at the same time. Only a few seemed happy to see Morgan; the others simply stared at her.

Korvorym explained the situation to them all, and they seemed to ease off on the stares for a little while, at least until he mentioned that she was pregnant. Then all the stares immediately fell back upon her.

Morgan heard questions like, "How is it even done with a human?" or "How did she get pregnant?" Although Morgan wanted to respond, she discovered the questions were directed at Korvorym, not her. The best thing about it was that none of them seemed to judge her or Kor. If their roles were reversed, and she took Korvorym to a human village and told everyone they were lovers, the villagers would have probably strung them both up and burn them at the stake, or even worse.

The dragons continued talking about Morgan as if she wasn't there. It was a bit frustrating, and she felt completely out of her element. Just like last time, she found herself rubbing Korvorym's leg, but stopped rubbing and instead hugged it, so he wouldn't get too excited again.

"I would love to stay and chat, guys, but it has been a long journey, and Morgan and I are both exhausted," Korvorym said while letting out a long yawn. "Things have changed, and Buldurak and I will be leaving three days from now."

"Yes, make way for the most decorated dragon that fought in the Great War," Buldurak said loudly, while laughing.

The rest of the dragons scurried off, going back to what they were doing before, and Buldurak led the Morgan and Korvorym to a small opening on the ground level. It was one of only two openings on the ground level, and they probably got this one because of Morgan being human.

"Can I watch?" Buldurak asked them. If his voice wasn't so serious, it may have been funny. "I am just curious to see how you two mate."

Korvorym looked at Morgan, and Morgan simply shrugged and laughed. She honestly didn't care, but it did seem a little weird, and sounded thrilling at the same time. Korvorym started to let out a nervous laugh.

"I suppose you can, but you can't join in," Korvorym told his brother. Korvorym then shifted his gaze to Morgan.

"Are you sure about this? We dragon's don't really care about mating in front of others, but I remember Aric and Johanna were very secretive about it," Korvorym whispered to her.

Morgan looked at Buldurak. He looked really interested in what they were about to do in front of him. Not necessarily interested in a sexual way, but he did seem to be curious about how they actually mated. She suppose she may have been interested, as well, were she a dragon.

"I am sure," Morgan said while smiling. "Let's put on a good show for your older brother."

Morgan didn't know what was wrong with her. The idea of having someone watch her while she mated with her lover would have seemed so strange to her not long ago, but the idea seemed so thrilling to her now. She was actually looking forward to it.

Luckily, the floor of their private room-like lair was damp and soft, and Korvorym rolled over onto his back. Before climbing onto his chest, Morgan threw the packs she brought into the corner of the chamber, and then immediately climbed up onto his chest, and saw his mating tool lying against his smooth, lower belly, dripping clear fluid, which ran down the rest of his shaft.

Morgan stood atop Korvorym. She took off her two wool shirts, and threw them on the floor, a good distance away from them. Then she took off the rest of her outfit, and noticed Buldurak staring directly at her breasts, and once she removed her pants, her sex. She wasn't too sure, but she believed an emerging monster was forming beneath the red dragon. She playfully threw her undergarments in his direction, but he didn't take his eyes off her nude body.

Morgan was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, but she decided to simply go on ahead with it. If worse comes to worse, she could just pretend he wasn't there. Morgan crawled over to Korvorym's shaft, and began to run her tongue along its length. She moved her hands down to where his purplish bumps were, and started to rub and massage them. Korvorym gently stroked her back with his front hand-like foot. She could hear the noises he was making, as well as the thudding of his heart.

His dark pink shaft was now a bit wet from the lubrication that was spilling out from his spear shaped tip, as well as from Morgan's tongue. She could feel her own vagina start to leak, as her own liquid ran down her leg until it hit Kor's soft underbelly. She loved how warm his shaft was, and how the scent it gave off drove her mind insane.

Korvorym could feel Morgan move her mouth over the tip of his shaft, and gasped at the feeling. He loved the way her mouth felt around his other head. For a moment, Korvorym wondered if dragoness's would please males this way, or if their teeth would get in the way. The thought almost caused his erection to shrink up. He was glad Morgan had flat teeth, not sharp and pointy ones. The way Morgan's mouth was shaped, and the way human's mouths were shaped in general, just seemed like they were made for pleasuring males in this way. The entire time, he stared at Morgan's round butt, which was facing him. He smacked her butt lightly with his foot, and heard Morgan give out a squeal.

Buldurak simply watched. So many things were racing through his mind: shock, amazement, disbelief, and most importantly, lust. He couldn't help himself. The sight was too much, and he noticed his own shaft was throbbing with need. For a moment, he thought about asking if he could join in, but decided against it. He needed to get a human woman as well, he thought.

Morgan could hear Korvorym start to let out a low snarl, and knew it would be any moment now. She stopped what she was doing, and shifted her position. She grabbed ahold of his spear-like head, and shoved it into her. It didn't hurt like it did the first time; she felt only pleasure from it. The feeling was almost too much; it was so warm, so slick, and so smooth. She started to stroke his shaft with her feet, and began to kiss and lick his lower belly, just like the night he seeded her. Korvorym looked right into her deep blue eyes, and she looked right back at his. He let out a muffled roar; he didn't want to get the attention of the other dragons, and spilled his seed.

The second it escaped from his shaft, the feeling overwhelmed Morgan and she quickly squirted as well. The thundering of his heart beating against her breasts, and the feeling of his seed filling her up, and overflowing out of her orifice was just too much to handle, and she gasped and bit her lip to stop from moaning too loud, but it easily escaped her, and the noise echoed throughout their little den. Like last time, the two of them gazed at each other in the eyes as their orgasms finished.

Morgan buried her face into Kor's chest, and Korvorym looked over to his brother. He laughed out loud at the sight.

Morgan looked up to see what had happened and noticed that Buldurak was sitting on his haunches in a small pool of his own seed, his shaft still in his feet, and his mouth was open; his tongue hanging out the side. The scene caused Morgan to laugh as well.

"Did you enjoy yourself, Buldurak?" Korvorym asked his brother, with the hint of sarcasm on his voice.

Buldurak simply stared at the two of them. "That was quite the show you two put on. I enjoyed it immensely," Buldurak told the two of them. "Oh, and this is your room for the next few days, so have fun cleaning up in here."

And with that, he flew away, leaving the two lovers alone. "That was fun, maybe even the best one yet," Morgan said softly, while running her fingers across his scales. She had moved up closer to his chest, and Korvorym curled his neck so his head was right next to hers.

Korvorym ran his tongue along Morgan's ear, and then her neck. "It definitely was, Mor. Was it you, or was it me?" Korvorym asked, and with a laugh, added, "I think it was all me."

Morgan simply shook her head and looked into the side of his face, a smile forming on her own. She reached up to pet him on the snout, and he exhaled warm air on her face in return. It made her sleepy, and the two of them dozed off in their current position.

Chapter 5: The Clan

Over the next day, Morgan got to know most of the clan. There were four females, and five males. Seven if you counted Griloraax and Buldurak. Morgan started to talk with a female dragoness named Percellyma, and was shocked to find out that she was the one who Korvorym had almost mated with, before the Great War.

She was a very graceful creature. Percellyma had deep blue eyes, just like Morgan, and she had a deep sea color in her scales. Her scales were blue, but it was such a dark blue it could be mistaken for black. She didn't possess as large as horns, or as many spikes as the males. She was similar in appearance to the other dragons, but like the rest of the females, she was smaller, but her body was more lithe; every step she took, she looked so elegant and, in a way, lady like. Similar to ladies in waiting in some royal court, or even like a royal princess, she moved with such a graceful stride. As far as Morgan was concerned, Percellyma was beautiful.

That day, Percellyma took Morgan to see the hatchlings. There were only three of them, and they were too young to speak. Maybe it was because Morgan was pregnant, but she was simply lost in motherhood when she saw the hatchlings. The three of them were in their own little den, which was also on the ground floor, so they couldn't fall or get hurt as easily. Morgan wasn't sure if they could fly, but she didn't think so.

"Aren't they precious, Morgan?" Percellyma asked Morgan, her voice in awe of the sight.

The three hatchlings were sleeping atop one another, their little wings forming blankets. Morgan caught sight of one yawning, and her heart gushed. She inadvertently drew a hand to her belly, and was looking forward to bring her own child into the world.

"They are so adorable, Percellyma," Morgan answered truthfully. She felt a tear run down her cheek. She really hoped Korvorym would be here when she gave birth.

"You showed her the hatchling den, I see," Korvorym said with a sigh.

Morgan didn't even know he was standing right behind her. She turned around, and he licked the tear from her cheek. The gesture startled her at first, as it was so sudden, but she hugged Korvorym's neck as tightly as she could. Morgan could feel Korvorym embrace her back. After a moment, they released each other, and she nodded at Kor, who then walked away. Morgan looked back at the hatchlings, with a big smile on her face. They looked so peaceful, and looked like they were so loved.

"The one on top is mine, Morgan," she heard Percellyma say, her voice filled with pride. "I don't have a name for him yet."

Morgan looked at the one top. He was the same one who yawned before, but his eyes were closed tightly. Morgan let out a little gasp when she saw him yawn again.

"Percellyma, he is beautiful. He is just beautiful, I have no other words to describe him," Morgan said. She was being honest. She had never seen such a more beautiful baby in her life. It was hard to believe that these small, innocent creatures would grow up in a world where they were hunted for sport.

"Once you have your hatchling, you can add him or her to the den, where the other hatchlings can get to know them," Percellyma said with a smile.

Morgan wasn't quite so sure about that. Griloraax said she was carrying a human child, just with the blood of a dragon. She still didn't really know what that meant, but time would tell.

The two of them walked away, and headed to the stream. The inside of the tree stump was very spacious. It could easily hold a small city, but without buildings, it looked like a very well-fortified hidden paradise. Morgan decided she would ask Percellyma the question she was dying to know, but felt like it could be a hard one to answer.

"Have humans given your clan trouble?" Morgan asked her, biting her lip.

Percellyma took a drink from the stream, and looked up. Morgan could see the memories running through her eyes. She looked sad, as if she was reliving pain from her past. Morgan immediately regretted asking the question.

"You know, in Lyria, it is illegal and punishable by death to harm a dragon," Morgan said, trying to comfort her. She hoped she didn't just make the matter worse.

Percellyma sighed. "It is alright, Morgan. But yes, humans have given us a hard time."

"In Tiberia, a dragon slayer managed to climb into our den," Morgan told her. "He threatened to kill Korvorym because of a personal vendetta, which was twisted with falsehood, and he threatened to kill me when he found out about us."

Percellyma looked back at Morgan, her deep blue eyes piercing into hers. "What happened to him?"

Morgan smiled. She liked telling this story, even though this was the first time she had told it. "He lowered his guard, and I plunged my dagger into the chink of his armor. He hit me, hard, but Korvorym was on him in a flash," Morgan said, looking past Percellyma, as if she were reliving the entire thing. "He crushed him in his maw, and then threw him out of our home."

Percellyma took another drink from the stream, and then turned back to Morgan. "You stabbed a dragon slayer, another human, because he was threatening your mate?" Her voice sounded amazed.

"Of course I did. He was a man twisted with hate and ignorance," Morgan said loudly. "And he entered our home uninvited."

Percellyma smirked at Morgan, and said, "Good girl."

Korvorym was watching the two of them from the distance. He loved to watch Morgan, whether she was cooking, cleaning, or simply talking. It made him feel so at peace. His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice spoke right behind him.

"So, when we are in Tiberia, do you think any human women would be interested in me?" Buldurak asked his brother.

Korvorym turned around and looked his brother in the eyes. "Well, you are very charming. Just act like a wild animal, yet an animal that also has a soft side, and you will be scooping them off their feet in no time, brother."

Before Buldurak could respond, Korvorym quick asked him a question. "Why didn't you get with Percellyma? She was interested in the two of us before we went to war."

Buldurak paused for a moment. He hadn't expected this question. But Korvorym had been gone for 20 years, so he couldn't have known.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, so forget you heard it after I tell you, alright? The past 20 years have been very tragic to her," Buldurak told his brother, his voice sounding both serious as well as full of sorrow.

Korvorym simply nodded and allowed his brother to continue.

"While we were away, Percellyma fell in love with a human farmer. They loved each other, or so I have heard," Buldurak told him, his voice in a whisper. "The local lord found out and was disgusted. He had the farmer arrested and burned at the stake, and had dragon slayers come after Percellyma. She killed them all, in the most brutal ways possible, Korvorym."

"I was here for the next few parts of her life," he continued. "She spent the next five years stalking the lord who had her lover executed. She finally found him out hunting, and mauled his legs so he couldn't move. She used her claws, and severed all his toes and fingers. She then slashed the skin off from his face. After that, she cut off his genitals, and then finally, when he was begging for death, she burned him alive."

Korvorym was in complete shock. However, he couldn't blame her. If anyone harmed Morgan, he would do the same to them, only he would do it much more worse, if that was even possible. He cared for Percellyma, and felt very bad for her.

"There is more, Korvorym," Buldurak said.

"About 14 years after that incident, not even a year ago from today, she finally found love again. This time, she fell in love with a wondering male dragon that became part of the clan. He was a good guy, Kor. He was a good friend of mine," Buldurak told Korvorym, sadness creeping into his voice.

"They loved each other, even gave each other the Dahlia. One day, he went out hunting beef, which she hated. She was pregnant, and was craving it," Buldurak said, his eyes getting a little misty. "He never returned, so she went out to look for him. I came with her. It was a very sad sight, one I will never forget," Buldurak paused, and looked at the ground.

"We found his body, with a bunch of humans crawling on it like ants. The both of us killed the humans, and examined his body. Some of his body parts were taken out, like his heart, and horns. So was his brain. The humans were harvesting him like he was a crop. He had been shot by some very large arrow, which went right through him," Buldurak continued, this time he was crying and not hiding it. "She just stared at him, and flew away. She only returned six months ago, with her hatchling. She has never spoken about it, or where she went."

For a minute, Korvorym wanted to get Morgan as far away from Percellyma as possible, but saw that Morgan was hugging her, and she was receiving her hug. Morgan certainly had a way with dragons. Korvorym comforted Buldurak. Percellyma's lover must have been close to him, as well. Buldurak never played well with other males, so it must have been very good for him to finally be able to enjoy the company of his own gender. And that was taken away from him.

"Korvorym, I think we should leave tomorrow night, the sooner this war is over, the better. Another human kingdom will welcome dragons in their lands, right?"

"I met with the Queen before we came here. She seems like a very reasonable woman, and I think she would let dragons live in her kingdom, as long as she wins this war," Korvorym told his brother.

"You heard Griloraax. Other kingdoms are attacking hers as we speak. She can't welcome dragons into her kingdom if she is dead," Buldurak replied.

Korvorym realized it probably would be for the best if they left tomorrow night. The sooner they returned to Tiberia, the better. Saying goodbye to Morgan a day earlier would be so hard, though.

"You're right. I will tell Morgan later, though. Let her enjoy herself for the moment. Some female company might be just what she needs, especially from someone who has been pregnant before," Korvorym said, more to himself than to his brother

Morgan and Percellyma continued to talk by the stream. Percellyma decided to tell Morgan about her human lover from the past, and she was a bit taken aback when Morgan hugged her. Percellyma couldn't figure Morgan out. Korvorym trusted her, and she saw the way the two of them looked at each other. Every time she saw them together, it reminded her of her human man. Percellyma decided she would protect Morgan with her life, so Korvorym wouldn't have to go through what she did. But she was starting to take a liking to the human woman. She gave off such a soothing aura, it made Percellyma feel at peace with her life when she was around Morgan.

"This place is beautiful," Morgan told the dragoness.

The dragoness and the human woman were sitting on the shore of the stream now, staring at the calm, clear water gushing across the ground of the tree stump. Morgan could see the bottom of the stream and noticed that many clean pebbles lay on the bottom. The entire inside of the massive tree stump was the most peaceful place Morgan has ever seen. She wondered what would happen if humans discovered this paradise. Would they slaughter the inhabitants; build a city within the tree stump?

"I'll never forget hatching, and seeing this paradise for the first time. It was the first thing I saw," Percellyma said softly. "I have so many memories in this place, some good, and some bad. Someday I would like to leave, and live the rest of my life in a different place."

Morgan blinked, and thought of an idea. "Once Korvorym and Buldurak help out in Tiberia, you and your hatchling could come and stay with us," she told the dragoness. "If you want to, that is."

Morgan heard the dragoness laugh. Her laugh wasn't as deep sounding as Korvorym's, but was more lady like. "That sounds like it would be interesting. We shall see."

Morgan was starting to like the female dragon, and felt comfortable with her to ask her a personal question. "Percellyma, does it hurt? Giving birth?" Morgan asked, seriously, and then quickly added, "I mean, I know dragons lay eggs, but you know what I mean."

The dragoness looked at Morgan, and could see the concern in her face. She looked rather frightened. Percellyma supposed that she would be frightened, as well, if she didn't know anything about pregnancy. She had heard stories about Morgan's past, and how she never had a mother to talk about these things with. Percellyma wanted to be like a mother to her. She wanted to guide her through a difficult time in the woman's life.

"I won't lie, Morgan, it was the worst physical pain I have ever felt," Percellyma told her, truthfully. She rubbed her muzzle against Morgan's belly, as if trying to hear something; however it was much too early to be hearing anything. "But if you ask me, physical pain is better than emotional pain. Physical pain can linger, but emotional pain can last a life time."

Morgan looked into the dragoness's eyes, and instead of seeing a deep blue, she saw a deep sadness. She knew her new friend had suffered a lot in her life. Morgan just wished that she could help her suffering come to an end. Maybe her coming to live with them in Tiberia would be the remedy that would work.

"Is being a mother hard?" Morgan asked the dragoness.

"Yes, it is," she replied, and looked over to where the hatchling den was, and smiled. "But it is also the greatest thing that could happen to a female."

Morgan liked that answer. Korvorym will soon be off to fight in a war, but she knew from that moment on, Percellyma would be there to guide her through this. She would be there for her whenever she had any questions, or felt something was wrong.

That night, Korvorym and Morgan mated again. They mated like it was the last time they would ever be together, and that could very well be true. This time, Buldurak gave them their privacy, although he wanted to join in this time instead of watch. Morgan's only response was, "maybe someday." However, she didn't think she could handle two fully grown male dragons at the same time. One was enough; however, the thought of having them both did turn her on quite a bit.

Morgan woke up the next morning atop Korvorym. Last night, he told her that he and Buldurak were leaving at dusk. She groaned, knowing that today was the last day she would see Korvorym, for months at least. She set her head back down against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. She couldn't come near of wrapping them all the way around him, but it was a good embrace; she didn't want to let go. Fortunately, Korvorym seemed to still be asleep, so she stayed in this position for a long time, hoping to etch it into her memory; his scent, the warmth of his body, how he felt, the rhythm of his heart. She wanted to never forget this moment.

The two of them mostly spent the day alone, although Buldurak and Percellyma, and even some of the other dragons occasionally checked in on them. Morgan even heard Griloraax speak to them both, telling them everything would work out, in the end. Morgan didn't really know what he meant by that.

They spent the day walking around the grounds, with Morgan sitting atop his back. They even bathed together in the stream, but they spent most of the day in their own little den. Morgan's portrait of Kor was decorating the wall, opposite of the pile of leaves they were laying on. They didn't sleep, and weren't exploring each other sexually. Instead, they simply curled up together, spoke of memories; recalling the good times they had shared together.

"I told Percellyma that she and her hatchling could live with us in Tiberia, when things settled down," Morgan whispered to him, while stroking his front foot. She loved playing with his feet; they were so hard, yet so soft and smooth at the same time.

"She has had a tough couple of years; I would love for her to live with us. I think it would be good for you to have another female around, as well," Korvorym replied as he smelled her hair. He was actually starting to like her hygiene products. They made her look and smell so beautiful, though she didn't need them to be attractive to him.

Korvorym laughed, "And when I get bored with you, I could always go to her," he said, jokingly. He felt Morgan bend one of his clawed toes back, and quickly apologized.

"Kor, I love you," Morgan said as she looked up to him. "I know dragons do some things differently. I wouldn't be upset if you bedded another female, as long as you don't forget me."

Korvorym simply stared right back at her, his yellow eyes looking right through her skull. "We do mate with many partners, but why would I mate with another female, when I have the only one I could ever need and want right in front of me; the woman who I truly love, who makes me happy?"

His words made Morgan blush. She brought her head back down, and put it in the palm of his foot. It wasn't the most comfortable use of a pillow, but she wanted to be near him for as long as she could. She would miss sleeping on top of him and his loving embrace.

The hours flew by, and before Morgan knew it, it was time. Korvorym and Buldurak had already said goodbye to the other dragons, and Korvorym motioned for them all to give he and Morgan some privacy.

"Kor, I want you to take this. I know it is a stupid gesture, but it has my scent on it," Morgan said, as she handed him one of her woolen shirts. "Every night, when you go to sleep, look at the shirt, and know that I will be looking at your portrait."

Korvorym could see that Morgan had tears in her eyes, and he soon had a few in his, as well. He took one his claws, and scraped his chest, until he let out a low snarl. A scale from his chest popped off, and landed in his hand.

"Take this Morgan, I know it is a stupid gesture, but it has my scent on it," Korvorym reached out his foot so she could take it, while smiling.

"You better not be making fun of me," she said as she let out a sob mixed with laughter. She took his scale, and noticed that it was about the size of her palm. It was definitely one of his larger scales.

"It will grow back, don't worry," he said as he stared into her deep blue eyes.

"Korvorym, my love..." Morgan began, "Be brave. Be strong. I will be waiting for you, alright? No matter how long it takes, I will be waiting for you."

Korvorym kissed her on the lips, and she kissed him back, as tears ran down her cheeks. "Don't die," she said at last.

Korvorym slowly backed up, gave Morgan one last smile, and flew into the sky, in the direction of Tiberia. Morgan could make out the shape of another dragon leap into the sky and form up beside him.

Morgan fell to her knees, and started to weep. Will she ever see him again? If he perished, would she see him in the afterlife? All of those thoughts immediately rushed into her mind, as she wept quietly. She could feel the looks of the other dragons looking at her.

She felt Percellyma fly over, and guide her back to her den. "Do you want me to stay with you, Morgan?" the dragoness asked her.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I just need some time," the woman managed to say. She spoke clearly, despite being in sobs. Percellyma backed up, and gave her privacy.

"I will be out here if you need me," Percellyma told her. "Morgan, we are all here for you, no matter what happens."

Morgan stared at Korvorym's portrait, and took it off the wall. She placed it next to her bed of leaves, and clutched his scale to her breast. He will be fine, she told herself. He will be fine.

Chapter 6: The Front Lines

The two dragons flew through the night sky. They flew as high as they could, to avoid being seen. Even though it was dark, it was better to be safe than sorry. They were out of Nomas, and in the humid jungle kingdom of Orimar. The people of Orimar were rather primitive, but amazing hunters. They would probably love the idea of hunting a dragon.

Korvorym had Morgan's wool shirt inside a small satchel that was tied to his neck. He also had the last bottle of that sweet, carbonated beverage Morgan had gotten him inside that satchel, as well as the last of the pistachios. Morgan told him not to look inside until he was in Tiberia, but he couldn't help himself. Besides, he saw the bottle when she put the wool shirt inside.

The two of them only stopped to eat and rest their wings. They simply didn't care to sleep as they wanted to get to Tiberia as fast as possible.

Although they were exhausted when they did enter the hilly kingdom, their speed paid off. They flew over the capital city of Saron, and much to the two dragons' surprise, it was under siege, not by barbarians, but by the Northern Kingdoms Alliance. It was rather fitting that it was snowing, because the men besieging the city would soon want to be as cold as possible once the dragons decided to set the besieging army alight.

The two dragons split up; Korvorym went after the army besieging the Northern wall of the city, and Buldurak went after the army besieging the Western wall. The main targets were the wooden siege towers and catapults. If they destroyed those, then the besieging army would have to retreat.

The Northern Kingdom armies didn't even know what hit them. Nearly all of their siege engines were ablaze within seconds, and the seven siege towers were crumbling to the ground. The dragons then attacked the attackers, and forced them to abandon the siege after a couple of minutes. The attackers just weren't prepared for a dragon attack. Buldurak continued to harass the routing enemy, while Korvorym flew over the capital in a triumphant roar. He heard many cheers and whistles when he landed in the city square. Some of the city was on fire from the catapults, but the flames were quickly doused.

Buldurak soon joined his brother in the city square, and posed triumphantly. It had stopped snowing, and the sun came out nearly as fast as the battle had ended. Korvorym saw the familiar sight of Queen Valarie walk through the crowd, with a few guards and retainers following her. Her ears were what gave her away. The sun was shining right on her, and its rays made her ears as red as Buldurak's skin.

"And who is this, brother? She is beautiful," Buldurak said to his brother in Draconic. He was staring right at Valarie, her brown hair and dark eyes made Buldurak nearly collapse at the sight of her.

Korvorym glanced at Buldurak. "That is the Queen, try to show her some respect," Korvorym replied in Draconic. "And no, she isn't married, as far as I know, so maybe you do have a shot."

"Kor! You have no idea how happy I am to see you," the Queen said with sincerity in her voice. "I am glad you came when you did, I don't think we would have lasted another day."

Korvorym nodded at the Queen, and then gestured to his brother. "This is my brother, Buldurak. I brought him, because my, uh, mate, is far from here. But she wanted to come."

"Well, your brother is fearsome looking, I wouldn't want to get on his bad side," the Queen said while studying Buldurak.

Korvorym knew that Buldurak would be blushing, if his cheeks weren't already red. On the flight over here, Buldurak mentioned to Korvorym that he wanted what he had; a human woman who loved him for who he was. Still, Korvorym wasn't too sure he had a shot with the queen. Korvorym looked past the Queen, and nearly gasped at who he saw.

"Seth? Seth, from Lyria?" Korvorym asked the man beside the Queen. "Is that you?"

"Dragon, I never thought I would see you again. You warned Morgan and me about that threat, but we were too slow. I escaped from Lyria, and came here," Seth replied, just as shocked as Korvorym was.

"We found Seth lying unconscious behind the barbarian horde, when you helped us win that battle," Queen Valarie said quietly. "But now is not the time for this. We have two big tents nearby that we use for military training. The two of you could stay in those tents."

"I would offer you both to stay in the castle, but I don't think you two could fit through the front door," the Queen said quickly, while laughing.

Korvorym looked around. He noticed that the parts of the city that were set aflame were slowly being handled. "How long has the city been under siege?" He asked the queen.

Valarie looked around, as well. The sight of starving men, women, and children who had gathered in the city square to see the dragons all stared back at her, desperation on their faces. She felt like she had failed them. She had no idea the Northern kingdoms of Garavor and Delinor would act against her kingdom. She was prepared to handle barbarians, but not other civilized kingdoms.

"Seven days," she replied while looking at the starving people. "We weren't prepared. We didn't even have our grain stores set up, yet."

Korvorym noticed that Buldurak couldn't take his orange eyes off of the Queen. "They were getting ready to launch an offensive. We set their siege towers ablaze, and destroyed their catapults, but I think they will be back," he told her.

"I heard, and you both have my thanks, as well as the thanks of my people," she told them both; her eyes were wide. "If the two of you hadn't come when you did..." she stopped and just shook her head.

Korvorym was eager to rest. He and Buldurak had been flying as fast as they could. He saw the Queen walk off; she headed to the population surrounding them. A large man trailed behind her, carrying a large wagon of grain.

"I will show you both to your tents," Seth told them, while looking at Korvorym.

On the way to their tents, Korvorym decided to tell Seth everything that had happened, but he left out the part about what he and Morgan were now, and her situation. He told her that she was in Nomas, safely away from this war. Seth was glad to know she was okay, and Korvorym was stunned to hear what he went through to get to Tiberia. He did laugh at how he spent a few days in the keep, living like a king.

When he arrived in his tent, he was amazed at how massive it was. Both he and Buldurak had separate tents, and each was as big as a castle, only a hollow castle where they could have plenty of room. He set his satchel down in the center of the room, and took out Morgan's wool shirt. He sniffed it, and held it close to him. For the first time in a long time, he fell asleep without her sleeping on top of him, or near him.

The next morning, Korvorym and Buldurak came up with a strategy. Korvorym would focus his attacks on the Northern Kingdoms armies, and Buldurak would focus on the barbarians. On some occasions, the dragons agreed to fly a special team of three soldiers for behind enemy lines attacks, such as sabotaging wagon trains, or spying. Seth volunteered to be one of the soldiers that would sometimes go on special missions with Korvorym.

It was on the third day of their arrival when Korvorym got a special mission, handed down from the Queen's top general. It wasn't necessarily a dangerous one, but a mission of propaganda. He would fly Seth and two others to three cities in Garavor, and under the cover of darkness, they would enter the cities and plant fliers on walls about the unjust war. They would also head into taverns and try to spread rumors about how their kingdom's soldiers were acting abroad; anything really to upset the civilian population of the enemy kingdoms.

Korvorym didn't like Garavor. It was an island kingdom, right off the coast Delinor. It always rained, and when it wasn't raining, it was either snowing or cloudy. The sun never seemed to come out. He dropped one man off in three different cities to do their job. He dropped Seth off at the capital city of Ondinium, and Korvorym was amazed at the sheer size of the city. Even though he flew to Ondinium in the night, he saw the lights of the city, and could make out the silhouettes of a few enormous cathedrals: grand buildings dedicated to the human gods. He could also see the silhouette and lights of the massive stone palace in the center of the city. Korvorym told Seth he would be on the outskirts of the city, near the river they marked on the map. The whole situation reminded him of when he took Morgan to Cairnor in Tiberia.

The mission went well, but they wouldn't be certain if it actually succeeded. One of the men came close to getting caught, after an off duty soldier overheard him bad mouthing the army of Garavor. Luckily, the soldier was drunk and passed out before he caused too much of a scene, and the agent slept out unnoticed. The rest of the operation went smoothly.

In addition to flying agents into the enemy cities, Korvorym also flew spies, as well as explosives he would drop onto enemy military targets located in the cities. Under the cover of darkness, Garavor didn't know what hit them. Korvorym continued to harass the enemies to the North in this way, and would occasionally switch his target to the Kingdom of Delinor. Despite Delinor being directly to the North of Tiberia, it was Garavor that had the stronger military. The kingdom of Delinor was more of a defensive ally to Garavor, and would rarely send out armed soldiers into Tiberia unless they were planning on raiding the countryside. Garavor was the main problem, not Delinor.

Buldurak rarely saw Korvorym. Korvorym was busy flying to the North, while Buldurak stayed in Tiberia, roasting barbarians. He flew three archers on his back, and they would use special flaming arrows to light barbarian structures on fire. This way, Buldurak didn't have to get too low to the barbarian villages. The barbarians reinforced their wooden walls with siege weaponry that could easily bring down a dragon. However, Buldurak made it a point to always be flying, and never stop. He simply flew around in circles above the villages, while his archers rained hell onto their hamlets.

Buldurak liked doing things this way. He hated barbarians. When he was a hatchling, he was captured by barbarians, and they hurt him and taunted him. The dragons of Griloraax saved him, once Korvorym asked for help. No dragon could refuse to help save a hatchling, after all. Once he was saved, he and Korvorym were welcomed into the clan. Buldurak sometimes stopped flying and would charge right into the barbarian hordes, much to his archer's fear. The best thing about staying in Tiberia was that he got to stay near Valarie.

The two dragons would continue to act like this, unless one of the enemies massed armies together to invade again. The first time that happened, Korvorym and Buldurak were immediately called back to Saron, and flew above as the Tiberian army marching below them. Before the Tiberian army met the massed Northern Kingdoms army on the battlefield, the two dragons flew high, and then swooped down to roast their armored cavalry. After they attacked the cavalry, they started to go after their most direct threat, the enemy archers. By the time they engaged the enemy archers, the Tiberian army had engaged the main battle line of the combined forces of Garavor and Delinor.

Once the archers were taken care of, Korvorym landed to fight on foot, which he loved best. Buldurak continued to fly above the battle, blasting any cluster of enemy soldiers with flame. Kovorym saw Seth on the front lines, wearing nothing but plate armor, and wielding a massive two handed sword. Korvorym remembered how terrified Seth was when he first laid eyes on him, but now he looked like a natural. He looked like he was meant to be a soldier.

Seth fought his way over to where Korvorym was fighting; he was pounding enemies into the ground with his tail. When Seth got near Korvorym, the two of them even exchanged conversation, ranging from topics about Morgan, to simply how many men the two of them had each killed. The two of them made quite the pair; the last time Korvorym had fought alongside humans was with Aric and Johanna. The nostalgia of fighting alongside a human friend made him smile from old memories.

The main difference between this fighting and the fighting that took place 20 years ago, was that Korvorym was killing men. Not barbarians, not cultists, and not demons, but regular men. These were men who cried when they were struck, and who cried out for their lovers or family while sliced open and bleeding out from edged weapons. The fighting was less enjoyable when Korvorym started to think about that. If he was dealt a fatal blow, and was about to die on the battlefield, he would probably be calling out for Morgan, and for his unborn child.

Korvorym was thinking so much about that, that he stopped fighting, and allowed an armored man to plunge a sword right into his chest. It didn't do any damage to him; his scales were too thick, but it did make him realize that he can't get distracted on the battlefield. Seth was the one who decapitated the swordsmen who had almost slain a dragon. The two of them continued to fight until they heard the horn of the enemy armies, calling for a retreat. This day, they were victorious.

It had started to snow during the battle, so victorious Tiberians retreated back to Saron, where it was warm. Korvorym later found out that over 8,000 enemies were slain, while only 738 Tiberian soldiers were killed or wounded. It was a good victory, especially considering they were outnumbered three to one.

Buldurak and Korvorym helped pile the dead upon each other, and burned the bodies. This battle took place two months after he had left Morgan in Nomas. He thought about her every day, but the fighting was going well, and with luck he and Buldurak could return home soon.

Korvorym made his way back to his tent. He had noticed he had been hit with a few arrows, all in his wings. None of them actually pierced them, though. The ones that did hit only drew blood, and he didn't feel a thing. He was going back to his tent to look at Morgan's wool shirt, and when he was sure he would be alone, cry into it.

Queen Valarie was waiting for Korvorym inside his tent. She was by herself, staring at the wool shirt on top of his belongings, next to his bed of sheets filled with feathers, which the Queen had provided both he and Buldurak.

"My Queen," Korvorym said, in a startled voice as he saw her in his tent. "Did you wish to speak with me?"

Queen Valarie still kept her gaze focused on the woolen shirt. "Your mate, she is a human?" The Queen said softly. Her voice wasn't filled with judgment, but understanding.

Korvorym didn't even care to hide it any longer. "She is, and she is carrying my child," Korvorym said softly. "I haven't seen her in two months, but every night, I smell her wool shirt, and I can see her as clear as day."

The Queen shifted her focus from the shirt, and looked at Korvorym. "I didn't mean to pry," the Queen told him. "I wanted to speak to you, and when I came into your tent, I immediately noticed this."

Korvorym continued to look at her. "Well, I told you a secret, now you have to tell me your darkest secret," Korvorym told her. He was being serious; he wasn't too happy to have to tell the Queen about Morgan.

"Fair enough," Valarie responded to him, with a smile on her face.

Korvorym was surprised at her answer, but was eager to hear her tell him one of her darkest secrets.

"I'll give you the short version," Valarie told him.

"I was 17, and I was the only child of my father. I would be queen one day, and he had expected a lot out of me," Valarie began. "Although no one knew, I would always sneak out of the city at night, and explore. Bandits threatened to harm me, and I was saved by a centaur named Vurk," the queen told him. "I always thought his name was funny."

"Well, we fell in love, and continued to see each other in secret for three years. He was going to rescue me from my father, and take me to live with him in his tribe, where we would raise a family," the queen said, her eyes glistening with memories.

"My father found out, and had my love executed right in front of me," Valarie went on, her voice turning to sorrow. "He continued to smile at me, even when they removed his genitals, and then beheaded him."

"I never spoke to my father after that, and he died a year after this occurred. He made it clear that if I were not his only child, I would have shared Vurk's fate." Valarie said with a sigh. "Before he died, he had every centaur in the kingdom hunted down and killed."

"Only my father knew about this, and now you do, as well. I will keep your secret for you, Korvorym, however, I am Queen of Tiberia. You both have nothing to fear from anyone when I am the ruler," Valarie said with a smile.

Korvorym felt a little embarrassed, and felt bad for judging the Queen. "You know, Buldurak has been smitten with you ever since he first saw you," Korvorym whispered to Valarie. He felt embarrassed, so he would take his brother down with him.

The Queen simply smiled. "I know Korvorym," she said with a laugh. "In fact, after I was done visiting you, I was going to go to his tent, and tell him I feel the same way about him."

Korvorym's mouth nearly dropped. Did she just say what he thought she did? Valarie only looked back at Korvorym, with a concerned look on her face.

"We could all very well be dead tomorrow, Kovorym. I felt the same way about Buldurak since I first laid eyes upon him, and if I were to die tomorrow, whether it is on the battlefield, or captured and executed by my enemies, then I want to die with no regrets," she told him.

The Queen started to walk towards the exit. "What did you want to tell me, Queen Valarie?" Korvorym asked her before she left the tent.

Valarie spun around, and simply said, "You both did great today. Thank you."

Now that the Queen was gone, and he could hear strange noises coming from the next tent over, he could finally be alone. He did just what he wanted to do. Korvorym smelled Morgan's shirt, and then, after reliving the horror of the battlefield, cried into it.

When Korvorym had finally managed to fall asleep, Buldurak stumbled into his tent, with a huge smile. He told Korvorym what he and the Queen had done, and although Korvorym was happy for his brother, the thought only made him miss his human woman even more, and he longed to feel her familiar embrace and warm touch. It was almost unbearable for Korvorym to sleep alone that night.

Korvorym dreamt of returning to Morgan, only to see that she had died in child birth, with the child dying in the process as well. The pain of losing her and the child was so unbearable; he ended his own life, and was finally at peace, as he and Morgan and their child spent eternity together in the underworld.

Chapter 7: The Last Tribe

The night Korvorym left, Morgan spent the entire night hugging Korvorym's scale to her heart. She only managed to doze off a few times, but horrible dreams kept waking her. She had dreamt that Korvorym was killed in battle; his body set up as decoration in some castle.

The next morning, she put the White Crown he had given her that special night with her belongings, next to the painting she had of him as well as his scale. Morgan didn't want to spend the next few days alone. She knew Korvorym wouldn't want that. When Morgan emerged from the den, she noticed Percellyma walking in her direction with a deer in her mouth. She dropped the deer, and roasted it with her fire.

"Korvorym told me how much you liked venison," Percellyma said to her. "He asked me to look after you, and make sure you get everything you need."

Morgan looked at the roasted carcass, her stomach rumbling at the sight. She certainly was hungry, but she simply wasn't in the mood to eat. Her stomach felt like it was tied in one large knot.

Percellyma dug a claw into the carcass, and handed Morgan a chunk of meat. Morgan gently took it, but only stared at it, almost as if she were admiring it. Percellyma only looked back at her, with confusion on her face.

"You have to eat, Morgan," the dragoness told her, her voice sounding concerned.

Morgan knew she was right. She didn't want to starve herself, or the child growing inside her. Morgan ate a few bites of the meat, although it was rather plain tasting without her seasoning.

"Thank you, Percellyma," Morgan said to the dragoness. "I am sorry if I am being stubborn; I just had a rough night."

Percellyma looked at the human woman, and saw only herself. She remembered what it was like to lose two beings she loved. Although Korvorym was still alive, he was thousands of miles away, and even she had to admit that it was possible the two of them may never be reunited. For Morgan's sake, she hoped that everything would work out.

The two of them headed over to the stream, where they bathed. The stream was warm, almost like a warm bath tub. Morgan was a little reluctant to remove her clothes, but did so anyway. Percellyma looked at her body, not in a sensual way, but in a curious way. She asked the human all kinds of questions, such as what her breasts did.

"They feed our young, Percellyma," Morgan replied, while giggling.

The two of them were having fun; some female bonding that Morgan desperately needed. However, she went red when a male walked by. He wasn't a dragon, but was something Morgan had never seen before.

He was covered in white fur, and was very large and imposing. He had to be twice Morgan's height, at least, and at least three times her width. He resembled a walking bear, but a bear she had never seen before; a bear that appeared to be able to blend into the tundra of Nomas. He was wearing linen shorts, which was odd, as it was rather chilly out. They were probably just there to cover his private parts, as his fur looked warm enough to protect him from the elements.

"Morgan, this is Banak, one of the tribesmen from the last tribe, right outside our home," the dragoness introduced her. "Banak, this is Morgan, Korvorym's mate."

Morgan could feel the white bear look at her body. There was nothing she could do to stop him; the water was completely clear. Morgan decided to just let him soak in her appearance. She could be mistaken, but Morgan believed she could see a bulge forming in his shorts. For that, she was thankful he had shorts on.

To Banak, Morgan was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her hair was dark because it was wet, but he could tell it was a lighter color when it was dry. She had beautiful, sapphire colored eyes, and smooth looking light skin. He turned his gaze to her soft looking breasts. Banak could feel his sheath and shaft tingling, but he didn't care. Her breasts were perfectly rounded, and he noticed how the pink nipples were pointing up. He gently moved his eyes down towards her curvy waist, and the pink lips of her sex. Banak knew he had a full erection now, but he still didn't care. Maybe if she saw how excited he was at her appearance, she would be interested, despite having a mate of her own.

"Pleased to meet you, Morgan," Banak told her, not taking his eyes away from her body.

Morgan was about to reply, but blushed when she saw a large, black head poke its way out of his shorts. It looked strange; the rest of his body was as white as a cloud, and that part of him was as black as the darkest abyss.

"Nice to meet you, Banak," Morgan replied, finally taking her eyes off his genitals. "It is nice to see another, uh, biped."

Banak laughed, "It is nice indeed," he said, while staring at her breasts.

Percellyma finally intervened, "Okay, Banak. It's time to go. Let the woman wash herself in peace."

Banak nodded to Morgan, a small grin on his muzzle. He turned away, and headed for the large cavern entrance where Griloraax was located.

"I am sorry, Morgan, I invited him over; I thought that having another mammal around might cheer you up. I didn't expect him to be that happy to see you," Percellyma told her while laughing nervously.

"It's fine, Percellyma. I appreciate the gesture," Morgan responded, laughing a little as well. "But what was he? I have never seen someone like him before."

Percellyma looked at the bear; slowly getting smaller the further he walked away. "I do not know what his race is called; only that he is a member of the last of his kind. They live outside our home, along the coast. Griloraax said that his race was wiped out by humans, so he lets them live nearby for protection."

Morgan pitied the white bear. He was nearly out of sight now. "Why is it that my race has to do terrible things to the others?" Morgan said, more to herself than to Percellyma.

Percellyma wanted to agree with Morgan, but she knew humans weren't the only ones of doing terrible things. Long ago, dragons once behaved a bit like humans, treating other races terribly.

The dragoness looked at Morgan, and told her, "Don't worry Morgan, other races, including my own, have done terrible things as well."

Morgan looked back up at the dragoness, and asked, "Why did the humans hunt down his race?"

Percellyma had heard rumors, nothing more, but decided to tell Morgan what she had heard anyway. She wasn't entirely sure of the accuracy of the story, but Morgan asked her. Percellyma loved gossiping, after all.

"Supposedly, a female of Banak's race wondered into a human settlement. The human settlement she had wondered into was a primitive settlement, filled with barbarians. They raped and then killed her. The rest of her race found out, and retaliated," Percellyma murmured to the human woman.

"Hundreds of her kind attacked both barbarian and civilized settlements and villages, not knowing the difference. They raped every woman they could, but didn't kill them. They killed all the men they could find, instead," the dragoness continued

"Many, many, women, who were raped, later found out they were carrying children. Too ashamed with themselves, the ones who were with child committed a mass suicide. The king formed an agreement with the barbarian chieftains, and decided to hunt down the last of that species, and nearly succeeded, as you can tell. That is why Banak is known as a member of the Last Tribe," Percellyma finished.

Morgan, who was now drying her body and hair off, felt badly for Banak. To her, it was sad when innocents had to suffer, and both parties seemed to be at fault. Morgan decided she wanted to get know Banak better, and would remind herself to talk to him every now and then. Maybe hanging out with another mammal would be what she needed.

Over the next few weeks, Morgan and Banak would become very good friends. He was there for her when she needed to cry or when she needed someone to vent her worries to. Percellyma was always there for her as well, but Morgan just seemed to relate to Banak more. Every night, he would wait for her by her den, and the two of them would simply talk. He would even pray with her to the gods to ask for Korvorym's safety. Morgan wasn't necessarily a religious woman, but praying made her feel better. She also prayed to the dragon gods, as well. Korvorym had told her a bit about them, but she was sure she wasn't praying the right way, but it didn't hurt to try.

Two months had passed since Korvorym and Buldurak went to war, and Morgan's pregnancy was advancing steadily. She had a small baby bump, now, but it more or less looked like she had simply eaten too many cakes or pies, and wasn't pregnant. Banak was there for her whenever her hormones kicked in and needed to cry into his fur.

Banak and Morgan would sometimes walk around the outside of the massive tree stump, where his village and the coast were. Sometimes, Banak would jump into the icy cold ocean to hunt fish for Morgan. Her pregnancy made her crave fish unlike anything else, and Banak was able to provide for her.

Morgan was worried for Banak, as the cold ocean off the coast was filled with terrifying monsters; massive fleshy beasts with multiple arms which stuck to everything they touched. The ocean was also home to enormous whales, which would happily eat Banak if they spotted him. Morgan had heard stories of these creatures when she was a girl; whales that could swallow galleons in one bite. She never believed those stories until she saw one with her own eyes.

One day, Morgan was on dry land while her massive furry friend was diving for fish. The water was black as coal, but she could easily make out the white silhouette of Banak. About 400 feet off the coast, she saw one of the massive whales jump out of the water, and spun in the air. The waves it created were enormous, and easily swept Morgan out to sea. The water was freezing; it was so cold Morgan couldn't even kick her feet, but Banak was there for her. Had he not been there, she would have either froze to death or been a whale's lunch.

The two of them would stay outside at night, and gaze up at the beautifully colored night sky; the rainbow like colors lighting up the starry sky. It was one of the most beautiful sights Morgan had ever witnessed, and the image would forever be imprinted into her memory. The two of them got up, and slowly started to walk back to the tree stump. She only wished Korvorym was there with her, and she started to cry.

Banak was massive to Morgan. When she cried into his fur, she cried into his furry, lower abdomen. She cried to him about wanting Korvorym to visit for a few days, so he could see that the pregnancy was going smoothly. Morgan had to bend her head completely back to look into Banak's face. She was startled to see love in his brown eyes, looking straight down at her. Morgan knew he had always been interested in her. She saw the way he looked at her; it was just like how Seth looked at her. Unlike with Seth, Morgan felt something for Banak, as well. She loved Korvorym with all her heart, but it was so difficult to be alone. Though it was hard, she turned away when Banak leaned in to kiss her.

"I think you better go; I'll make my way back on my own," Morgan told Banak quietly, not looking at him.

"Morgan, I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me," Banak said softly to her. She wasn't looking up at him, but looking at the ground. Banak simply looked down at the top of her head. With a furry paw, he gently stroked her hair.

Morgan pulled back from his embrace. "Just go, Banak, I want to be alone," Morgan told him as she walked away, with tears in her eyes.

Morgan returned to her den, and picked up Kor's scale, as well as the White Crown he had given her. She held them both close to her chest, and started to cry softly. She was so confused. She never thought she would develop feelings for two males. She didn't want to hurt anyone. But she was pregnant with Korvorym's child, and she knew he was still alive, somewhere out there. Tomorrow, she would tell Percellyma what she had been feeling, and ask for advice.

That night, Morgan had a dream, of when she and Kor first mated. She didn't want to wake up. The dream felt so warm; the touch of his scales, his beating heart, and the warmth of his maleness inside her. She remembered how he looked at her that day, with loving eyes. She would never forget his face when he climaxed inside her; how his spines around his face all flared out. The dream made her wake up in the middle of the night, and with a groan, she went back to sleep.

The next morning, Morgan spent an hour staring at the portrait of she had painted of Korvorym. The way his yellow eyes looked back at her through the painting made her feel so calm, almost as if he were there in the flesh. She was definitely glad she painted the portrait, and brought it with her.

Percellyma brought her another roasted stag, but came into her den. The dragoness noticed her staring at Korvorym's portrait, her face lost in thought. Morgan didn't even notice Percellyma was a few feet away from her, and jumped when she spoke.

"You are a good painter," the dragoness told her. "Could you paint me sometime?"

Morgan spun around, with a smile. "Of course, Percellyma, though I do not have an easel or paints," she told her, her voice sounded like it was a bit disappointed.

"No big deal, I think Banak's tribe has some painting supplies," Percellyma mused, while staring at Morgan's face.

Morgan froze at the mention of Banak. She hoped he wasn't upset with her. It wasn't as if she was being mean; she loved someone else, and was carrying his child.

"Morgan, I know you have feelings for Banak, and it is okay," Percellyma whispered to her. "It is perfectly natural to feel that way toward another, even if your heart belongs to someone else."

Morgan thought about it. She knew it would be difficult to go through life without ever having at least some feelings for another; even if she truly loved someone else. But Morgan didn't like the feeling. She felt like it was betrayal to the one that mattered most to her.

"Morgan, Korvorym would understand," Percellyma told her. "You are a woman, a woman with needs that Korvorym can no longer fulfill. If you were a dragon, it would be completely natural for you to mate with others while your true love was away."

Morgan looked back at the dragoness. "Last night, Banak tried to kiss me. I could feel his erection beneath his clothes, and I wanted to give in," she said quietly. "I just couldn't, but it was so hard."

"Morgan, as long as you love Korvorym, it would be okay, I promise," she said. Her hand-like foot was digging into the deer carcass, and she handed Morgan a piece of meat, which she took and quickly devoured.

Maybe Percellyma was right, but she just couldn't fathom the thought of being with another while he was at war. It didn't sit well with her. However, she longed to be embraced by another; to feel the love of someone when she needed it most.

Later that day, Morgan walked down to where Banak lived, outside the tree stump along the coast. He was inside his hut and his parents left when she walked in. He must have told them about her. Morgan shut the door behind her, and faced the towering white bear, who was staring at her with curiosity in his eyes.

Morgan took her shirt and pants off, and smiled when she saw Banak's mouth drop. She was completely nude, and didn't cover herself up at all. Banak just stared at her in shock. Morgan had to walk over to him, and take off his shorts for him, and Morgan was taken aback at his pulsing, black shaft, which was aimed right at her face. She just stared at it. It was a charcoal color, and was somewhat similar to a human penis. It was sort of rounded at the base, but Morgan wasn't sure what that was. It almost looked like a second set of testicles, just inside the base of his shaft. Below that, Morgan could see a furry scrotum, containing two testicles that were each about the size of a plum. Morgan didn't have to kneel down, or bend over. She was able to stand as she took his black head into her mouth, and used one hand to stroke his furry sack, while using the other to stroke his shaft. She could hear Banak let out an audible gasp at the feeling, and could feel his furry paws hold her head into place, and helped to move her head up and down his length.

His shaft wasn't as long as Korvorym's, but it wasn't tapered. It was wide the entire length, and Morgan could barely wrap a hand around it. She continued to suck and move her hands, and could feel his heart beating into her mouth. His shaft tasted more animalistic compared to Korvorym's, and had a stronger taste. She could taste a preview of his excitement, occasionally oozing out from his head and right onto her tongue.

Morgan could feel he was getting closer to his peak, and she pulled her head off of him. He looked disappointed, but quickly smiled when Morgan got on her hands and knees. Banak got on all fours as well, and was over top of her, and quickly shoved into her soft, wet lips, and started to thrust in and out. She looked up, and could only see Banak's massive chest directly above her, his fur rubbing against her back and her head. Morgan bit her lip to stop from moaning, and more importantly, yelling Korvorym's name out from her mouth. It wasn't that she wasn't enjoying what Banak was doing to her, but she couldn't get Korvorym's face out of her mind. He continued to ram her, slowly at first, then steadily picking up speed. His furry groin slapped against her butt, his scrotum shaking back and forth; his weight and height made him thrust into her with such force, she had never experienced it before. He was being rough with her, and she loved it. Morgan could feel his manhood start to swell inside her, until it felt fit to burst.

Banak shoved himself as far into her as he could, and let out a bestial roar that shook the wooden cabin they were in. His seed shot out of his shaft with such force, he could hear Morgan's reaction while most of it leaked out of her hole. He subconsciously wished that Morgan wasn't already pregnant, so he could be the one who sired her child, because odds were, this night would have been a conception.

Morgan couldn't stop herself, and let out a loud gasp as she felt him thrust all the way into her; his head engorged and plugging her orifice like a drain. The warmth and sheer quantity of his fluids brought her over the edge, and she squirted her feminine juices.

Morgan spent the night in his cabin, but she couldn't get Korvorym out of her mind. She felt like she just committed the ultimate betrayal, and she hoped he would be able to forgive her, and more importantly, that she would be able to forgive herself, for having a moment of weakness and giving in to her desires and loneliness. However, that night, she didn't cry, and that night, she didn't have any nightmares, but only the same dream she had the night before; the first time she and Korvorym mated with each other in their den back in Tiberia.

The next morning, while Banak was still sleeping, she squirmed from his grasp, as he was embracing her while he slept. Luckily, he didn't wake up, and Morgan headed back to the enormous tree stump. Although it felt amazing, she felt completely disgusted with herself, and told herself that she and Banak were just friends, and would never do that again. Even though it felt incredible, and so right, she wouldn't lay with him again, and would instead wait for Korvorym to return.

That day, Banak approached her while she was bathing in the stream inside the tree stump. He asked why she left while he slept, and she was honest with him. She told him that they wouldn't do anything like that again. She had never seen the big bear look so heartbroken.

"Morgan, we belong together!" Banak pleaded with her, his big brown eyes looking right back at hers. "Last night meant something to me; don't tell me it didn't mean anything to you, because I know you would be lying."

Last night did mean something to Morgan. After a few months of being alone, she finally felt whole again when she had mated with Banak. She looked up at Banak, and she did feel attracted to him. He was everything she could want in a male; he was caring, brave, kind, and she knew he loved her. But she just couldn't do it.

"No, Banak," she told him, firmly. "I will happily be your friend, but nothing else."

"Korvorym is dead, Morgan," Banak said loudly to her. "I love you, and I live! Do not give your love to a ghost, Morgan!"

His words were like venom to her. With all her strength, she slapped him on his stomach, only because that was where her face stood to him. She would have swatted him on the face, otherwise. Still, her slap didn't even seem to affect him, and he didn't even wince. She could feel the look of every dragon watching them, and even saw Percellyma staring in her direction.

"Stay away from me, Banak," Morgan said sharply, and walked past him, in the direction of her den.

Banak stood there silently; his mouth open as if he was about to say something. Instead he shut it, and headed for the entrance to the massive tree stump, back towards his village, embarrassment on his face while tears welled up in his eyes.

Morgan had previously set up a large drape over the entrance to her den; for some privacy. Percellyma gave it to her, although she wasn't sure where the dragoness got it from. Morgan grabbed the portrait of Korvorym and stared at it.

"I told you I would be waiting for you, and I will," Morgan told the painting, and with a tear running down her cheek, added, "Just don't make me wait much longer. How can I live not knowing?"

She clutched his scale, his portrait, and the flower he had given her to her breast, and slowly cried herself to sleep.

Chapter 8: Mercy

The war in Tiberia was at a standstill, but over the last few months, the Tiberians had slowly been pushed back, right into their last bastion of defense of Saron. Korvorym had received word that the peoples of Garavor were furious over the war, so he knew that his agents had been doing their job well. However, the king of Garavor simply didn't care about the people, and continued to attack Tiberia alongside Delinor. It was soon too dangerous to be flying to Garavor, and when Korvorym suggested that he attack the city and set it alight, the queen refused him outright; she didn't want innocents who had nothing to do with the war to suffer.

Korvorym smelled Morgan's wool shirt. It had been nearly nine months since he had last seen her. He knew she would be giving birth any day now, if she hadn't already. He desperately wanted to be there for her, but he wasn't able to leave Saron. Over the past few months, the armies of the North had gained much ground, and there wasn't anything they could do to stop it. They were losing the war. The last time they won a victory was that day he and Seth fought side by side. Since then, they had suffered defeat after defeat.

The Northern Armies had developed a new weapon, a weapon that frightened Korvorym as much as it frightened his brother. The enemy archers were equipped with a new arrow, an arrow that exploded when it hit its target. This new weapon would have killed the two dragons multiple times, but Korvorym was smart enough to bring the pot containing the White Crown Morgan had planted in their den. It was risky to fly to get to it, but it was worth it. Although the flower had a different name to dragons, Korvorym and Buldurak both started to call them White Crowns. If it weren't for Morgan telling him about the healing qualities of these flowers, they both would be dead.

Buldurak was much different than he had been a few months ago. He had given Valarie a White Crown, and she accepted it. Every time Korvorym looked at Buldurak and the Queen, he saw himself and Morgan, and it made him jealous. He saw the way they looked at each other, and although he was happy for them both, he was angry that he couldn't see his love and his child being born.

It was late summer now, and if he was still with Morgan, they would have been together for nearly a year now. The thought of it made him angry. If he could, he would just abandon Tiberia right then and there, his word be damned. As far as he knew, the war was over, and it was pointless to continue fighting on. He thought about telling Buldurak to start to talk the Queen into surrendering, and he would bring it up to Buldurak when he gets the chance.

Korvorym headed out of his tent, and for the first time in the last month, realized just how bad of shape Saron was in. Houses were vacant, dead animals lined the streets, starving homeless citizens wondered about aimlessly, and orphaned children lie dead in piles; starved to death. The sight of it all was a lot to take in. This wasn't like the war he fought in 20 years ago. The sight of it all made him miss Morgan even more, and he longed for her warm embrace.

When Korvorym entered Buldurak's tent, he was startled to see the Queen and a few of her generals gathered around Buldurak. "Ah, Korvorym, I just sent someone to get you," Valarie said to him, and a young man came scurrying into the tent, a few moments later.

"What is going on?" Korvorym asked the group, their gazes all on him. "Is this a war council?"

Buldurak looked a little upset, and was running his muzzle over the Queen's shoulders; she was softly petting him as well. The general's looked at one another, and sighed. Korvorym noticed one had tears in his eyes.

"Korvorym, this is General Corbin," Valarie said to Korvorym, her voice sounding very low. "As I have no children, I have named Corbin my heir."

Korvorym looked at the man who had tears in his eyes. He was a tough looking man, wearing plate armor, except for his head. He had shoulder length brown hair, as well as a beard that wasn't too wild looking. As far as Korvorym was concerned, he looked rather regal. He remembered him; they had fought in a few battles together. Only why was he on the verge of tears?

Before the Queen could continue, Buldurak began. "Korvy, the war has been lost. You are to fly General Corbin to safety, where he will one day gain enough strength to take Tiberia back," Buldurak said sternly. "I will remain here with my mate, and we will continue to defend the city as long as possible; make them bleed for every inch of it."

Korvorym wasn't sure he was hearing them right. He knew the war was lost, but it stung his heart when he heard it out of the mouth of someone else, especially his brother. Korvorym gulped. "Should I instead take the Queen to safety?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, my place is here," Valarie said sharply. "I will go down with my city, no matter what. Korvorym, this is your last mission. Survive, and go home to your mate and child."

Korvorym noticed that Valarie also had tears in her eyes now, as did Buldurak. "Buldurak, they will execute you both!" Korvorym tried to plead with his brother, but he knew it would be no good. Buldurak only nodded.

"I will gladly die," Buldurak told Korvorym. "I will die for my love; wouldn't you do the same, Korvorym?"

Korvorym already knew the answer. He just didn't think it would end this way. Up until earlier that day, he thought things would turn out so much differently, that Tiberia would become a stronger kingdom, and welcome dragons into its lands. Griloraax asked him to defend Tiberia, and he failed.

"Korvorym, we have received reports that the Northern armies have formed two large hordes, and are moving in from Delinor to the North, and the conquered kingdom of Lyria to the West. The barbarians have also formed a horde, and are approaching from the South. The rate they are marching, we probably have a day, maybe two," General Corbin told him, but he sounded like he was speaking to everyone in the tent as well as to Korvorym.

Korvorym was silent for a moment, and he felt the stares of everyone in the tent fall on him. He wanted to leave, but he felt guilty, leaving these people to their fate, as well as Buldurak. He was still in a bit of shock from the words he had heard. If the North hadn't invented those arrows, then Tiberia would have won this war, and the kingdom would be welcoming towards his kind.

"I accept this last mission, Valarie," Korvorym said hesitantly. "I will take General Corbin to my old home for a few days, and then we shall fly to Nomas."

Korvorym noticed a man he hadn't seen before move a bit besides the queen. He saw it was Seth, though he hardly recognized him. His face was scarred, he looked very strong from using that heavy claymore in battle, and he simply looked different, as if he had found a purpose.

"Seth, come with me to Nomas. To Morgan," Korvorym told Seth.

There was no reason for him to stay and die, and he knew Seth would cheer Morgan up. He imagined flying back to Nomas, just in time for Morgan to give birth, and he would surprise her with her best friend she had thought was long dead. He knew Seth knew everything about him and Morgan; he had told him a few months ago, and he seemed completely okay with it. It was almost as if the war had changed his personality a little bit

"I am sorry, Korvorym, but my place is here," he replied, his voice rather nonchalant.

Korvorym respected that decision. He just didn't agree with it. He didn't want to tell Morgan that Seth was alive, only that he ended up throwing his life away because of honor.

"Seth, if you change your mind, I plan to bring Corbin to my old den for a few days, as you have heard earlier. We will be there," the bronze colored dragon told Seth.

"Korvorym, your mission will begin tomorrow, during the evening, under the cover of darkness. I need to brief Corbin on some matters, and I want you to get your rest," Valarie said to Korvorym. Her voice sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown. She and her generals, as well as Seth and the messenger, headed for the exit of the tent.

"Korvorym, I am staying with you tonight, simply because it will be the last time we see each other," Buldurak said to Korvorym.

Korvorym noticed that the tears in Buldurak's eyes had dripped down his face. So this really was the last time they would see each other. Korvorym gave his brother a draconic embrace, and the two of them simply stayed in that position for a few moments. They spent the next hour talking about their pasts, and the memories they had formed together.

"Remember the time when we were hatchlings and we stumbled into that barn to eat a cow?" Buldurak asked his brother. "The farmer's wife came running out when she heard the commotion?"

"Yes, she fainted, and hit her head on a piece of wood when she saw us," Korvorym replied, while laughing.

"Then the farmer came out, and gave the most feminine sounding scream I have ever heard, and ran out of the barn, and into the forest," Buldurak said, sharing in the laughter.

"Remember how we chased him into the woods, and he turned his head to see where we were, and he ran smack into that oak tree?" Korvorym said as he looked at his brother, the both of them laughing.

"We were barely the size of cats, and we had them scared out of their minds!" Buldurak yelled. He was rolling on the ground now, laughing.

After a few minutes, the two dragons were lying on their backs near each other, staring up at the ceiling of the large, striped tent. Korvorym remembered he had something they could both enjoy. He stood up, and headed over to the satchel Morgan had given him before he left. Korvorym dragged it back to where his brother was, and pulled out five pistachios, as well as the glass bottle of the sweet, fizzy liquid.

"Oh, what are those," Buldurak asked him while staring at the pistachios.

Kovorym tossed the five over to Buldurak, and replied, "Pistachios. Morgan loved them, and gave me the rest."

Buldurak picked them up, and tossed them into his mouth. He chewed through the shells, and swallowed. The sight made Korvorym laugh, and reminded him of the time Morgan flipped out at him for doing the exact same thing.

"You are supposed to remove the shells, first, but I think they taste better with the shell on," Korvorym said, in a sort of whisper, as if Morgan could have heard him.

Buldurak loved the way they tasted. He had no idea non meats could taste so good, let alone seeds, or nuts, or whatever the heck these things were. He wished that his brother had more of them, though.

"They were pretty good, but now I am looking at that bottle," Buldurak told his brother, while staring at the bottle. "It's not ale is it? Remember the last time you had a barrel of ale?"

Korvorym simply smiled. The last time he had an entire barrel of ale, he tried flying, and immediately crash landed in a thicket of trees and bushes, where he passed out. He would never forget how his head felt like it was going to explode the next day; he wanted to grab his horns and yank them out of his skull.

Korvorym uncorked it, just as Morgan had done for him, and poured half the bottle into his gaping maw. He remembered what happened last time, but this time, he got it all in, without spilling a single drop on his face.

He then handed the bottle to Buldurak, and warned him not to eat the bottle. He laughed at how his brother spilled it all over his face, and how he only got a few drops of the liquid in his mouth. They both laughed as Buldurak tossed the bottle behind his head, and let out a belch.

With a laugh, Korvorym said, "If Morgan was here, she would make fun of you for that."

The two of them laughed, until silence entered the tent.

"Do you think they would be proud of us, Korvy?" Buldurak asked his brother, while staring up at the tent ceiling.

Korvorym knew who he was talking about. They had never met their parents, before. They didn't even know if they were still alive. In fact, the two of them weren't even sure if their mother had abandoned them as eggs, forgotten them, was killed, or they were stolen and left to die.

"Wherever they are, I hope so, Buldurak," Korvorym said as he let out a yawn. He clutched Morgan's shirt to his chest, and the two of them dozed off.

Korvorym awoke to the sound of the cities bell ringing. The bell only rang when enemy armies were in range. Last night, they told him that the city wouldn't be under siege for another day, but he had underestimated his enemies multiple times already.

"Kor!" Queen Valarie shouted as she came running into the tent. She was wearing full plate armor, equipped with her mace and shield, and was carrying her helm under her arm. The two dragons stood up quickly, and looked at Valarie.

"They marched through the night; they are here!" The Queen told them both.

Korvorym noticed that the general he was being told to get to safety was alongside the Queen, carrying a large pack filled with documents and other strange papers. Alongside the general, he recognized a familiar looking woman, and remembered her the day he helped them win over the barbarians, many months ago.

"Kor, you must leave now," the Queen said, her voice in a panic. "Take General Corbin and Tavion to safety, please, before their archers get in range!"

"Tavion," Korvorym asked Valarie. "Who is she?"

"Please Kor, I love her like she is my sister. She doesn't speak the common tongue, but I beg you, take her to safety!"

Korvorym didn't even get a chance to reply, as the two humans were already climbing on top of him. Tavion nearly made him howl in pain as she tripped and head butted his rib cage. The two of them were clearly in a rush.

As the two of them climbed onto him, he headed for the opening in the tent and turned around to see the Queen crying into Buldurak's chest. Korvorym stopped, and approached his brother and the Queen. He had a few last words to them both.

"I will bring them to safety, I promise," Korvorym whispered to them. "The world will know what happened here today; how Queen Valarie and her men held the city with everything they had, and never backed down from unbeatable odds."

"It was an honor serving you, my Queen," Korvorym shouted. He could hear noises and men shouting in the background. He whispered something in Draconic to Buldurak, and he smiled back at him. Korvorym gave them both one last look, and headed outside, where he took to the skies.

He spotted Seth in his armor on the ramparts, shouting orders to the men. He wanted to say goodbye, but when he saw the approaching sea of black shadows, he knew his time was up. Not since the days of the Great War had he seen such a force of men. The city was completely surrounded on all sides, and the sheer mass of the attackers was impossible to count. Instead of flying in one direction, he flew as high as he could; much to the discomfort of his passengers.

After gaining a high altitude, he flew in the direction of his and Morgan's old den, where he slowly descended until he reached the familiar side of the cliffs. The once green hills at the base of the cliff were now rather dead looking; no doubt due to the marching of thousands of men. After all, the enemy army coming from Lyria would have probably passed through here.

Korvorym flew into the den, and Tavion and Corbin got off his back, to finally touch the earth. Tavion didn't seem to mind the flight; but Corbin had to sit down and catch his breath. He noticed that Morgan's stove still worked, and her cupboards were still full of cooking supplies. These two humans could stay here for a few days, but Korvorym had some unfinished business with his enemies. He knew they would kill Buldurak, and for that, they had to pay. Korvorym knew just what to do.

"Make yourselves at home; food is in that cabinet, drinking water is at the rear of the cave, as well as fresh fish," Korvorym told them both.

"I will be back in no more than five days," the dragon told them both. Before they could respond, he was already flying away.

Korvorym chuckled to himself; the look on the barbarian woman's face was priceless. Not only did she have no idea what he was saying, but the thought of being trapped up there until he came back to rescue her as well as Corbin made him laugh.

He didn't do it out of malice, but he had a score to settle with Delinor and Garavor. Although Valarie gave him strict orders to not attack their kingdoms anymore, he was free to do as he wished now. He flew in the direction of Delinor, with thoughts raging in his mind. For his brother, and his mate, they would suffer.

It took Korvorym about a day to reach Delinor. It was night when he reached their capital city, and everyone was probably sleeping. Sleep wouldn't protect them from his fury. He strafed row after row of buildings, setting them alight, for at least 20 minutes until the city seemed to know what was going on. Half the capital of Delinor was ablaze when he heard bells ringing. He had one last target: the royal keep.

Although it was made of stone; the roof was wooden. He planned to cause as much destruction as he could, and that was what he did. Although it did pain him a little, justice had to be served. Even as he flew away, and was hours away from the burning city, he could still hear the screams of the women and children crying out for mercy echoing in his mind.

A day later, he reached Garavor. He had something special in mind for Ondinium. As Garavor was the kingdom most responsible for the invasion of Tiberia, he would burn their entire capital to the ground. He only spared half of the capital city of Delinor, because they only supported and helped Garavor invade Tiberia.

When he entered Garavor, it wasn't quite late enough to attack the capital city. While he waited, he hunted and rested his wings. The only things going through his mind was his brother, Valarie, and Morgan.

Only when the moon was at its highest in the night sky did he fly over Ondinium, the capital city of Garavor. His first target was the great cathedral. He didn't necessarily want to hurt the spiritual men and women of the kingdom, but the cathedral was a monument, and he wanted to burn it down.

Korvorym flew into the enormous, stain glassed window at the rear of the massive cathedral, and set the interior ablaze. The wooden benches and paintings inside all burned to the ground. The rest of the windows also shattered due to the heat of his fire. The support and columns holding the roof in place collapsed, and the massive structure caved in.

Unlike the keep in Delinor, Korvorym wanted the royal palace in Ondinium to remain unscathed. He wanted the royal family to be alive, when they awoke to see the carnage of his fury when the sun rose in the East. He wanted to imagine the looks on their faces as their prosperous and populous city lie in ruins. He wanted them to suffer, as they would make Valarie and his brother suffer.

Unlike the capital of Delinor, Ondinium was more populated, but their buildings and structures were more packed together; it was almost too easy. He didn't stop until the sun was slowly rising. Only then did he start to fly back South. Korvorym turned back to look at what he had done, and smiled at the sight. If only he had done this sooner, then perhaps Garavor would have been the one who had surrendered, not Tiberia.

On his way back to Tiberia, he saw the smoke rising from the capital city of the kingdom of Delinor, and he felt terrible. He had just proven that dragons were mindless, terrible monsters, and the survivors of his attack would never forget what he had done. He had just slain tens of thousands, maybe more. Men, women, and children were all burned to a crisp. For a moment, he thought of Morgan. He wondered what she would say when she learned what he had done. Would she flee from his sight, call him a monster, or would she welcome him back and understand what he had done? In a way, Korvorym felt like he deserved the first two.

He arrived in Tiberia on the fourth day he had been gone, and he flew over Saron. It was raining, and cloudy, but he couldn't see the city. It was completely gone. His wrath complete, he headed back to the den, where Tavion and Corbin were waiting. He decided he would tell them what he had done.

"Buldurak, I love you, and I will be waiting for you in the afterlife," Queen Valarie told her dragon, as tears fell down her cheeks.

"We will spend eternity together, Valarie, and no more tears will be shed again," Buldurak replied. "I love you with all my heart." His mouth was muzzled, but he managed to say that just fine; the two of them smiled at one another.

The two of them were on a large, wooden platform, in the center of Saron, facing each other while strapped to guillotines. Buldurak had a specially made one, just for him. They were each surrounded by a large crowd of enemy soldiers, though none looked happy to see them like this. Some even looked sad.

They had put up quite the fight, but that was all they could have done. There were just too many enemies, and Valarie stayed in Buldurak's tent when they stormed through the town. She and Buldurak surrendered right then and there, as fighting would be pointless at that point.

A man appeared on the stage, and looked once at Buldurak, smirked, and then faced Valarie. Valarie saw who he was. He was King Frederic the II of Garavor. Valarie heard stories about him. He was famed for his cruelty, as well as ignoring the wishes of his subjects. His own soldiers, as well as his closest friends feared him.

King Frederic the II was a middle aged man, but not quite old enough to be greying in the hair. He had very short, black hair, and was clean shaven. He had a large scar across his face, and one of his eyebrows was singed off, but Valarie didn't know what happened to it. She laughed to herself when she imagined a dragon once bested him, but showed him mercy. She was awarded for her laughter with a backhand across the face, which drew blood.

"Queen Valarie, it brings me great pleasure to finally meet you, at last," King Frederic told her, his voice loud enough so the crowd of soldiers could hear.

Valarie noticed that there were a few civilians in the crowd as well. She saw the baker, the innkeeper, and she nearly gasped when she saw Seth, disguised in priest garb. She noticed he had great sadness in his eyes. Valarie decided to not let her gaze linger on him. She was told all her soldiers were executed, or given to the barbarians to do with as they wished.

"You don't wish to speak? I am disappointed in you Valarie," the man bellowed, sounding amused.

King Frederic kneeled down, so his eyes were leveled with hers. "You are going to die, but first," he paused. "I have some things I need to say."

"All you had to do was surrender when I invaded, and yet, you continued to stretch this conflict out as long as possible," he whispered. "If you had surrendered, you would have been my vassal, and been allowed to live in peace; I wouldn't have given a rat's ass who you took into your bed, centaur or dragon."

Valarie seemed to flinch at the mention of her former centaur lover. She was angry now, and just wished he would get this over with.

King Frederic continued, "Instead, you humiliated me by turning my own subjects against me," he laughed. "There were so many executions back home."

"Because of the way you acted, I hereby give this strategically unimportant kingdom of shit to the barbarians," he yelled, so everyone in the town square could hear.

"I was told there were two dragons, but killing one is fine, I suppose," he told her, and turned to face the dragon. "Your skull will make an excellent addition to my throne room, my winged friend."

King Frederic backed up, allowing Valarie to face Buldurak. Before anything could be done, the blade came down, and Buldurak was decapitated; his massive, red scaled head hit the wooden platform with a thud.

Valarie let out a sob, and looked back at Frederic. He was smiling down at her, his face twisted with hatred. Valarie looked in the crowd for the last time, and saw that Seth was gone.

"I have many powerful allies, my Queen," King Frederic told her in a serious tone. "Your death is only the beginning of great things that are going to happen."

Valarie felt no pain as the blade came down, and her world went dark.

Chapter 9: Kormorym

Morgan hadn't seen Banak since the day she told him to leave her alone. She felt awful, but it was for the best. Her due date was any day now, and she had slowly come to the realization that Korvorym would probably never return, though she always kept her hopes up.

That day, she needed closure. Morgan left her den, and wobbled to the cavern entrance where Griloraax stayed. Percellyma told her that she should stay in bed, simply because she was so large she didn't want her to fall over and hurt herself. She approached Griloraax, and for the first time since Korvorym left, heard his voice.

"Morgan, I no longer feel Korvorym's or Buldurak's life force, I fear something terrible has happened," he telepathically told her. That was all Morgan needed to hear, and she wobbled back to her den. She had cried enough since Korvorym had left, and this time, no tears fell from her eyes. She was filled with sorrow, and she couldn't even weep for her fallen love.

For a couple of hours, all she did was touch his scale, and look at the flower he had given her. Morgan didn't notice Percellyma had walked in. She must have heard the news.

Morgan noticed that the dragoness had been weeping. She looked at Percellyma and whispered, "I don't want to live anymore, Percellyma. After I give birth, I have decided I am going to go for a swim, and never return."

Morgan finally was in tears now. The sight of Percellyma crying must have set her off, as well. She sobbed the loudest she had since Korvorym had left, and let out a loud shriek of sorrow. It was then, that Percellyma decided to tell her about her lover. She had already told her about her human lover, but Morgan didn't know she had a dragon lover. She knew she must have gotten pregnant by a dragon, but she didn't know what had happened to that dragon.

Percellyma told her what had happened to him, and what she did when she was away for six months. She told Morgan that she flew across the ocean, to the unknown regions. She told her how she saw sights she never imagined existed. She told her how it was on that pilgrimage; she found her heart again, as she saw the beauty of an undiscovered world.

Percellyma explained that that world had inhabitants, but she never got close enough to them to study them. She continued to tell Morgan about mountains that touched the stars, forests that grew for miles and miles, and lakes where beautiful creatures swam and relaxed. She told Morgan that the clouds were white and fluffy; the skies as blue as the ocean. She told her that the grass was as green as emeralds, how the ground had never tasted blood.

Percellyma told Morgan that she had planned to fly until her wings gave out, and she was forced to crash into the ocean, where she hoped to drown; so her suffering would finally be at an end. She told Morgan that the sights she witnessed made her realize the beauty of their planet, and how she no longer wanted to die. She laid her egg on that continent, and watched her son hatch. She said that he was the best thing that has ever happened to him, and how much joy it brought her to watch him come into the world. With her son, she would never be alone again.

"Morgan, I would love to fly you across the ocean, so you could see what I have seen," Percellyma told her, as her tears finally came to an end.

Morgan knew what she was telling her, and Morgan listened. Korvorym wouldn't want her to give up; throw her life away. She decided she would see what happens, and make her decision from there.

"Morgan, we are going to hold a funeral for Korvorym and Buldurak, soon," Percellyma whispered to the woman. "I want you to be there, to say your goodbyes."

Morgan simply nodded, and could feel a kick from her womb. She rubbed her belly with her hands, and smiled, as a tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away, and felt happiness at the feeling.

"May I feel?" Percellyma asked her, staring at her belly.

Morgan simply giggled, and replied, "Of course."

Percellyma had never felt a kick from inside the belly. She imagined that if she swallowed a person whole, they may be able to kick from the inside, but this was different. The feeling of it made her laugh, in shock. She held her hand-like foot to Morgan's stomach for as long as the kicking lasted; the two of them laughing whenever it occurred.

The two of them were interrupted when Morgan's blood turned cold at the sound of a voice. It was Banak, telling them the time of mourning was upon them. He looked once at Morgan, and walked away. Morgan wasn't sure what Banak would be doing there. To him, it was probably Korvorym's fault that she wouldn't return her love to him. Maybe he came only to see that she had finally gotten closure, and would try to swoop in for her after the funeral. It didn't matter; she would probably never love anyone again, and she was okay with that.

Morgan and Percellyma walked out to where the stream was, and Morgan noticed that all the dragons were there, as well as Griloraax, his massive body taking up half the space inside the tree stump. She noticed that every dragon looked upset, and could see some of them start to actually cry when she approached.

At the center of the circle they had all formed were two massive pyres, only both were empty. Morgan was upset they didn't have their bodies to actually burn, but this was what she needed. A time to finally say goodbye to the one she had given her love to.

Morgan approached one of the pyres, the one covered in bronze paint. The other was covered in red paint, so she assumed the bronze one was for Korvorym. She knelt down in front of it, although it was difficult with her pregnant belly, and began to speak.

"Korvorym, you watched out for me throughout my life; saved my life multiple times, and I never even got to thank you for it," Morgan started. "I will always love you for as long as I live, Kor, and I will never, ever, forget what you have done for me."

"I promise to tell our child everything about you; your bravery, your spirit, and your love," Morgan said as she started to weep.

"Be at peace, my love, and know that someday, we will meet again," Morgan told the pyre, as she started to get up. "Good bye, Korvorym."

Before Morgan could stand, she felt a sharp pain in her belly, and felt liquid dripping down her legs. She gasped in pain, and held her belly with her hands, nearly falling over. She heard some of the dragons gasp, and felt Percellyma grab her with her hand-like feet as she carried her to a clearing in the grove by the stream. Morgan let out another gasp of pain.

"Morgan you need to rest a little bit and allow your cervix to dilate before you can safely give birth," Percellyma told her.

Morgan wasn't sure if giving birth would be the same thing for a dragon, but she knew she was right. She had to dilate first, but she wasn't sure how long that would take. She started to feel herself having contractions, and the pain was almost unbearable. She screamed out in pain, and noticed the other dragons gathering around her. Though she wanted to give birth in private, there really wasn't anything she could do now. She even saw Banak staring at her, but she only saw love in his eyes, and noticed him wince when she screamed in pain.

It felt like days of excruciating pain went by before Percellyma finally told her to start pushing, and she was eager to get this baby out of her as soon as she could. She had always wanted to have a child, but she never knew the pain would be this bad.

Morgan yelled, "Korvorym, where's Korvorym!" as she cried in pain. "He said he would be here!"

The other dragons just looked at one another, and Percellyma continued to stay near her opening, helping to spread her legs as Morgan pushed. "Push Morgan, keep pushing," Percellyma shouted.

Morgan continued to push with all her strength, and heard Percellyma tell her she sees the head. Morgan was nearly out breath, and felt ready to pass out. She gave one last push, and finally, it was over.

Morgan could hear the sounds of a baby crying, and could see her child in Percellyma's arms. She heard Percellyma gasp, and could even hear Banak, as well as the other dragons let out gasps of shock as well. Before Morgan could ask what was wrong, Percellyma took the baby to the stream, to wash it off, and then when she came back, Morgan nearly fainted at the sight.

The baby had sharp, yellow eyes, just like Korvorym's, but other than that, appeared to be completely human. She noticed it was a boy, just as she predicted. She heard one of the dragons say, "That is a dragon, not a human, I can smell him!"

Percellyma also said, in a laugh, "He doesn't smell like a human, he smells like, well, Korvorym."

Morgan just laughed, and let the tears run down her face. She already had a name in mind.

"I want to name him Kormorym, after the two of us," Morgan said, before she passed out from the exhaustion.

The next morning, Morgan was back in her den, and awoke to Percellyma standing over her with baby Kormorym in her arms. Percellyma looked so elated, as if something amazing had just happened. She had just given birth; a human giving birth wasn't that fascinating to Morgan, so she didn't know why Percellyma looked the way she did. Maybe it was fascinating for a dragon.

"You have a visitor, Morgan," the dragoness said, and gave the baby to Morgan. She then left the room, shutting the drapes over her den for some privacy.

Morgan wasn't in the mood for Banak. She knew he would come in and try to tell her how they could raise the child together, and all that nonsense. Morgan had given him her answer, and that was that. She looked at Kormorym in the eyes, and started cry. Not tears of sorrow, but tears of happiness.

"Hello, my love," a familiar, deep voice whispered to her.

Morgan's heart stopped at the sound, and she got goose bumps. She slowly turned her head to the den entrance, and stared when she saw Korvorym standing in the entrance. No, it couldn't be. He was dead. Was she dreaming? Did she die in child birth, and was finally in Heaven or some other place?

"You're dead, Kor," Morgan whispered, and shut her eyes, hoping for the mirage to go away. Instead, she felt his warm tongue kiss her on the mouth, and she started to cry. He had finally returned to her, alive and well.

"Morgan, I am so sorry I left," he said, rubbing his snout against her face. "I promised you I would be back; I just wish I could have come sooner."

Though Morgan couldn't stand, Korvorym leaned his head down to her lap, and she embraced him for as long as she could. She gently placed the baby down on the pile of sheets while she held onto Kor. She sobbed into his scales, and he cried back into her cheeks. The two of them didn't move for a long time, until Percellyma came in and offered to watch Kormorym, and give them their privacy.

"There is also someone else here," Korvorym whispered to her, while grinning. "But you can see them tomorrow."

Morgan didn't care about anyone else, she had Kor back and that was all that mattered to her. He laid his massive head next to hers, and the two of them went to sleep, both with smiles on their faces. He would never leave her side for so long again, as long as he could help it.

The next day, Seth walked into their den, and for a long time, the three of them simply laughed without saying a word. It seemed like everyone Morgan had thought dead was coming back to life; she half expected to see Bill walk in next.

Korvorym and Seth told Morgan everything that had happened. Seth told her he saw the queen and Buldurak executed, and how he ran as fast as he could to their old den. Seth also told the two of them what had happened in Lyria, after Jeh's Crossing was burned. It was the first time Korvorym had actually heard what had happened, and it made him angry just thinking that the man who had tortured him was Justinius; a man he thought was long dead. Seth left out the part about him being the mad man's son.

Morgan felt very bad for Korvorym when she learned what happened to Buldurak. She had liked that red dragon, and didn't want to know what Kor was going through. She was very frustrated that the war was a waste of time, and nearly took her lover away from her. However, the crying of Kormorym shifted her attention, and she began to feed him

Korvorym watched in amazement as Morgan breastfed their son. He had never seen anything like it before. If he were a hatchling, he would need fresh meat right away, yet all his son needed was the part of Morgan he really enjoyed. Seth left immediately when Morgan whipped out her breast, mumbling something to himself.

"Like father, like son," Korvorym said, as he laughed.

Morgan laughed at that as well. She missed Kor's sense of humor, and wondered how long she would have to wait to be able to mate with him again, a thought he shared as well. Korvorym dropped the satchel he had around his chest, and opened it.

"Here, your shirt," Korvorym said as he pulled the shirt out of the satchel, and dangled it with hit foot. "It no longer smells like you, but rather smells like, well, me."

Morgan looked at it, disgusted. It looked awful. It looked dried and hard as a rock. What had he done to it?

"Did you masturbate into it?" Morgan asked, stunned at the appearance of her shirt.

Korvorym just looked at the floor, smiling. "Maybe," he whispered.

Morgan just shook her head. "I love the name Kormorym, but let's call him Kormor for short," Morgan said, smiling down at the suckling baby.

"I like that," Korvorym replied. "Little Kormy."

Morgan got up, with difficulty. She shooed Korvorym away when he tried to stop her. She wanted to move her legs, and with Kormor in her arms, and Korvorym walking beside her, ready to catch her should she fall; they walked to the entrance to their den.

Morgan had to squint at the sunlight beaming down on her face, but when her eyes adjusted, she saw the dragons flying around; some talking to each other. Morgan was stunned when she saw Banak talking to a wild looking woman, and was even more stunned when she saw the wild looking woman start to pet him, with curiosity in her eyes. She laughed a little when she saw how surprised Banak was as well.

Morgan saw another, unfamiliar human man sitting under a tree, his face full of confusion and uncertainty. She didn't recognize him, but he must have come with Korvorym. He mentioned to her how three humans came with him from Tiberia.

Morgan then turned her eyes to Seth, and smiled a little when she saw him speaking to Percellyma. The sun was bouncing off his dark haired head, and his visible muscles were outlined in his shirt. She wondered if the two of them might...

And that was as far as she got when she saw Griloraax, emerging from the entrance, with anger on his face the likes of which she had never seen before. He slowly started to walk in their direction.

Chapter 10: Gordium

Morgan had never seen Griloraax so angry. It was rather terrifying, as he could easily either flatten them on accident, or simply eat them like a person eating a crumb of bread. The ground literally shook everyone standing on it when he approached. Morgan remembered Lyria was hit by an earthquake when she was a child, and Griloraax walking over here was causing her to relive it all over again. The enormous dragon's emerald colored eyes were wide, staring directly at Korvorym.

"What have you done, Korvorym?" Griloraax shouted telepathically, his voice so loud it forced every living being in the tree stump to cover their ears.

"You killed hundreds of thousands of innocent humans in Delinor and Garavor!" Griloraax shouted at Korvorym in anger. "As we speak, hundreds of dragons are being hunted down in those kingdoms in retaliation! Hatchlings are being put to the sword; eggs are being crushed!"

Morgan didn't believe her ears. Korvorym killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people? He wouldn't do such a thing, she thought. Still, he had been acting a bit strange since he returned. He acted as if he had witnessed terrible things happen. Surely he wasn't the one responsible.

Before Korvorym could respond, the lonely man by the tree stood up and ran over. "Korvorym did what was right!" He shouted. "Those monsters executed his brother, as well as my queen!"

Griloraax looked over at the man, his enormous emerald eyes piercing his soul. In the blink of an eye, the man froze, and his skin turned to stone; his body forever in the position he had been when his life ended. Morgan, as well as everyone else watched in horror. She heard Seth let out a sound of terror.

"You and the people you brought with you have one hour," Griloraax growled. "You and your people will leave this place, and never return."

"Morgan, you had nothing to do with this, so you are free to stay," Griloraax said as he looked at Morgan. Morgan felt terror in her soul as she looked at Griloraax, her eyes wide with fright.

Griloraax turned away, and walked back into the entrance of the tree stump, each footstep shaking the earth below them. Korvorym couldn't take his eyes off the now stone statue that had once been General Corbin. He had just failed Queen Valarie's last request, and he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

Everyone in the center of the tree stump was quiet. Finally, Korvorym looked at Morgan and said, "Come on. We can find a new home elsewhere."

Percellyma slowly walked over. "I am coming as well, as is my son," she whispered. "I don't want to leave the only friend I have left, as well as my godson."

So Kormor was her godson? Morgan liked the idea. Percellyma was there for her when she needed it the most, and she was happy to name her Kormor's godmother.

"Tavion, we are leaving," Korvorym told the wild looking woman, who nodded and walked over. Banak looked upset, and walked over as well. Seth was already nearby, and they all stood around each other.

"I am coming as well," Banak said, while looking at Tavion, who simply smiled at him, not exactly sure what he had just said.

Morgan didn't mind if Banak came. He was her friend, but nothing more, and she loved him as one. Percellyma went to gather her hatchling, who had grown quite a bit since Morgan had first seen him. Morgan went to get all of her things, and while holding Kormor, she climbed atop Korvorym, and Seth quickly got on behind her.

Tavion and Banak got on Percellyma, while she held onto her hatchling, who she had named Romurlak, after his father. Morgan looked over at Banak, and saw that Tavion was sitting in his lap like he was an enormous chair; the back of her head using his lower chest as some sort of headrest. Morgan giggled at the thought of a certain body part poking at her rear, and knowing Banak, it would be happening soon. Morgan laughed out loud when she noticed Tavion's sudden change of facial expression, and saw Banak simply wink in her direction.

Hardly ten minutes had passed since Griloraax exiled them, and they were in the air, heading North. The two dragons flew side by side, and Morgan caught Seth staring at Percellyma, admiring her in flight. Morgan hoped that maybe Percellyma would find love again, this time in one of Morgan's oldest friends, although she didn't even want to imagine how the two of them would mate. Then again, she supposed that the average person probably didn't want to imagine how she and Korvorym mated, as well.

Morgan remembered that Griloraax told her that her egg was receptive to Korvorym's sperm because she ate White Crown's. Seth ate many of them as well, and she wondered if it would be possible for him to impregnate Percellyma? Since she was a dragon, maybe she would lay eggs, and not have a human child, like Morgan did.

The ride on the back of her lover hurt her a lot. Her crotch was still healing, but she had to suck it up. At one point, it was so uncomfortable that they had to land and let Korvorym carry her in his front feet. She wasn't scared at all; she trusted her lover with her life, and she could finally stretch out and take the pressure off her sore parts. Also, it was nice for Seth to carry her and Korvorym's child. Although Seth never wanted to admit it, he loved babies.

They occasionally stopped and rested while the dragons hunted for food. Percellyma took Romurlak with her while she hunted; probably for experience, although the hatchling could hardly even walk. Maybe she just felt more comfortable keeping him by her side.

While they waited for the dragons to return from hunting, Morgan breastfed Kormor, while Seth wrote in some sort of diary. Morgan noticed that Banak was trying to teach Tavion the common tongue, and was having a bit of difficulty. The sight was amusing, as the enormous white bear man sat on a tree stump trying to sound out simple words and explain their meaning, Tavion simply nodded, and didn't speak at all.

Tavion wasn't a bad looking woman; she was probably around 17 years old, and had a nice, healthy looking body. She had brown hair, held together in some sort of twig on her head. She was rather short, a little over five feet, which made the sight of Banak, who had to be over nine feet tall take an interest in a woman who was so much smaller than he was. Still, he took an interest in Morgan, and she was only a tiny bit taller than Tavion. Then again, Korvorym was massive, and he took a liking to Morgan, as well. Maybe most males just liked to have petite females, which made the thought of Seth and Percellyma to be quite laughable. Maybe size didn't matter to everyone, after all.

The dragons returned, each carrying a stag in their mouths, and Korvorym was carrying a boar in his feet. Strangely, the thought of eating a boar made her hungry again. She definitely wasn't having cravings any more.

Korvorym set the carcasses down, and walked over to Morgan and his son, and kissed them both. "Thought you might want to try boar again, Mor," Korvorym said to her.

Before Morgan could even stand up, she noticed that little Romurlak had scurried over, and was eating little pieces of the boar carcass, which made everyone burst out laughing. The seven of them ate their fill, and there was plenty left over for the three dragons to finish up.

"Korvorym, where are we now? What kingdom?" Seth asked Korvorym. Morgan was eager to know as well.

"We just left Orimar, and are in Marcium," he replied. "Percellyma and I talked about it; we think it would be a good idea to get to Gordium, and set up there. You are all welcome to stay with us, of course. We could create quite the little clan."

Everyone seemed to agree on that, except Tavion, who simply nodded and smiled, which caused everyone else to laugh. Morgan noticed that Romurlak was trying to get to Kormor, and she reluctantly lowered her baby down to his level. Everyone watched, and some were even a little nervous. All Romurlak did was lick the baby on the face, and smile at him. It was one of the most heartwarming things Morgan had ever seen, and she hoped that the two of them would become good friends when they grew up.

They flew for another day and a half until they reached Gordium, however, the dragons landed near the border of Gordium and Marcium, to avoid getting to close to the kingdoms of Lyria and Tiberia. They flew around, as far away from human settlements as they could, until they found a large cave behind a waterfall.

"Percellyma and I will go in first, to make sure it isn't already occupied," Korvorym said as he looked at Morgan, and winked. "Don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

Seth and Banak both looked at Morgan, as if waiting for an explanation. She simply looked at them, and said "Basilisks," which caused them both to gasp in fear. She wondered how Seth knew about basilisks; she had never even heard of them until Korvorym rescued her from that one.

They got the all clear, and walked into the cavern. It was spacious, and had a few smaller chambers, but they weren't large enough for the dragons to enter. It was rather dark inside, so Seth and Banak went out to collect wood for a bonfire inside. Morgan wished she had the enchanting torches she had bought. Still, they were at a safe spot, for the moment, and she felt secure.

When the men returned from gathering wood, they created a large bonfire, and the cavern was illuminated quite well. It wasn't as beautiful as the cave back in Tiberia, but it felt snug, and the thought of living here with her love, their child, as well as her friends, warmed Morgan more than the bonfire ever could.

"This is a nice location to live," Banak told everyone. "I can easily make beds and things like that from wood and stone, just like back home."

"Bed, yes," Tavion responded, excitedly. "We.... Make."

Nearly everyone laughed at Tavion, who looked a little confused, but laughed with everyone. She was sitting in Banak's lap, leaning up against his white fur, gently stroking his chest and lower abdomen.

Morgan remembered Banak's bed. It wasn't as comfortable as a bed could be, but it would certainly work. The tribal knowledge that Banak and Tavion possessed could prove very useful.

"I think tomorrow, I may fly into Tiberia, and get some of our things from our den, Mor," Korvorym told her. "Our blankets, those magic torches, maybe even your stove."

Morgan didn't like the idea of him leaving again, but he wasn't going to fight a war. There was still the matter of what Griloraax had said; that he killed hundreds of thousands of people. She didn't know if she should ask him about that or to never speak of it. Maybe she could ask Seth what had happened sometime.

"As long as you don't keep me waiting this time," Morgan responded to him, trying to smile.

"Oh, and get the seasoning as well," Morgan added with a wink of her own.

They all dozed off beside the fire; Morgan holding Kormor while sleeping up against Korvorym; Seth using Morgan's pack as a pillow. Banak was sleeping on his side, and Tavion was sleeping up against his underbelly, using his massive arm as a pillow, and Percellyma was curled up, holding onto little Romurlak, who was sleeping soundly.

The next morning, Korvorym kissed his mate and child goodbye, and told them he would be back in a few days. He didn't want to leave so soon, but their group needed the supplies back in the den in Tiberia. The chest of gold, the torches, blankets, cooking supplies, as well as Morgan's oven needed to be brought back. It was a shame the pot containing the White Crowns had been in his tent in Saron; it would be nice to have that, as well.

Korvorym remembered that he should bring Morgan's easel, as well as her painting supplies. Carrying all this stuff back wouldn't be an issue, as the wagons Morgan had bought from Cairnor were still in their old home. The landscape of Tiberia seemed different to Korvorym. It no longer felt like it was a kingdom, only wilderness. He flew into his old cave, and gathered everything he could.

The dragon gathered everything in the den, and put them in the largest wagon. It was a tight fit; the oven and the cabinet full of cooking supplies took up most of the space, and the blanket and rug stuck out from the side of the wagon, in an awkward sort of way. The everlasting torches were rather difficult to bring back; they had already been set alight nearly a year ago, so Korvorym decided he would bundle them all together, and carry them in one of his rear feet, while carrying the heaviest wagon full of everything else in his both his arms. It was a lot heavier this time, and Korvorym had to stop and take breaks quite often on the return trip. Korvorym had a lot of bad memories in Tiberia, and he was glad to finally leave the kingdom.

It was worth it though. Their new home was a lot more livable now. The rug and the blanket were in the center of the den, while the torches were scattered about, making it a lot easier to see, especially when it was nighttime. Morgan liked the oven and the cabinet full of cooking supplies at the rear of the cavern, so she could cook and not be bothered by her friends coming and going. Korvorym put the chest of gold in one of the smaller chambers of the cavern, although he could hardly fit into the small room.

Morgan had put the tarp Percellyma had given her for her den back at the tree stump over the mouth of the cave, as a sort of door. While Korvorym was away, Banak and Tavion were already attempting to build beds and other things out of wood from the forest outside the cavern, but it looked like it would take a long time. Banak even told her he could make a couch, but beds were the priority at the moment.

Banak had made spears out of sticks and stones, and he and Seth would practice fighting sometimes. Despite Banak towering over him, Seth usually would best him, being a veteran of war against barbarians and civilized peoples. Tavion would simply watch, and her gaze never strayed from Banak as she watched him fight Seth in mock combat. Morgan would watch the way she looked at him, and her eyes were similar to the way Banak's were when he looked at Morgan, the day they mated. Morgan wanted him to be happy, so she was hoping the two of them would start something together.

Morgan would also sometimes catch Seth watching Percellyma; not in a sensual way, but he looked at her with amazement and respect. Everybody in their new "clan" loved Kormor. Even Banak smiled when he interacted with the baby. Korvorym would always comment on how soft his son's skin felt, and how he always wanted to be a father. That night, he, Morgan, and their baby snuggled together, and slept as a family. Morgan didn't have recurring dreams or horrible nightmares.

She slept peacefully, with no worries or cares.