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"After dominating the continent for about twelve centuries, the Barthon Empire was ripped apart violently by the Great Barthon Civil War. From this chaos emerged the five Great Kingdoms that would persist until the Shattering. There did exist lesser kingdoms and princedoms alongside these five great territories, but they usually submitted to the authority of the larger kingdoms and rarely lasted intact for more than a few generations.

The Great Civil War began when the Lord of Caraphelle, whose house was third in line to the Imperial Throne, conceived a plan to assassinate the entire Imperial Family, a plan that relied heavily on the ability to make it look like it was orchestrated by the Lord of Lendor, for that house was second in line to the throne. The plan was soundly executed, except for the emperor's bastard son who managed to escape the attack. He fled to Lendor, where he was able to prove the truth behind the attack.

The other great houses of the empire turned on Caraphelle, but Lendor did not escape their ire either when his attempts to crown the bastard as emperor was not well received. Fighting ensued amongst the most important houses, and without the Imperial House to intervene, their fighting ability was mostly destroyed or crippled. With most of the traditionally stronger houses decimated, many smaller houses jumped on the opportunity to increase their influence and total chaos ensued.

Because the Garbanan Peninsula was the ancestral origin of the empire, many believed that gaining control of it rather than the obvious seat of power in Yorrol City would ensure the support of the other houses and it would eventually pave the way of any claim on the Imperial Throne. Therefore, the fighting on the peninsula would prove to be the fiercest of all.

Yet, any house with even a little bit of authority there was quickly crippled, leaving bandits free to roam the region unopposed. These bandit parties quickly grew in strength and became the new authorities in the region, fighting amongst themselves as hard as the noble houses did and usually not lasting very long themselves. Therefore, when it became clear that the empire would not rise again, any attempt to gain control of this new 'Borderlands' were ceased in favor of securing the territories that would become the kingdoms of Serephal, Kentereal, Naeve, and Arthulle.

Eventually, one bandit named Carl Thendor, would manage to gain enough control to name himself king of the peninsula. The Pirate King, as he became known, would be the first to create some form of government in the region since the fall of the Empire, albeit defunct and corrupt to the bone. It would be another two generations before the grandson of the Pirate King would impose some serious government reforms, and the Kingdom of Thendor was officially recognized."

• Extract from "The Five Kingdoms of the First Age" by Ealvine Serephal, renowned historian of the Second Age.

***

A still baffled Merec leaned low over the nape of the horse's neck as he urged the beast to run even faster. The last time he had been on horseback was before his father had died, and though getting the hang of it quickly again, he had trouble keeping up with the other four riders. Secretly, he suspected that they were trying to lose him, without making it obvious of course. And though he would like nothing more than to just disappear, some deep sense of duty insisted that he continued on with them. It was after all his fault that this was happening, wasn't it?

Almost immediately after the oryx's warning, sir Harald took command of the town guard. Gone was the old man who people said could only dream of glory days gone by. Instead, he showed his true colours as Captain of the Royal Guard. The people were just starting to panic at the news when he suddenly started issuing orders to begin preparations for the coming siege. He spoke with such authority that no one dared question him, and even the town's own sheriff was quick to fall into line.

Such was the power he commanded that there was very little arguing when Merec had been assigned to one of the squads he sent out to the outlying farm and hunting cabins. These groups of five horsemen were to warn people of the imminent attack and to make sure they them returned to the safety of the town.

Slightly to the right of the group he was trying to keep up with, he could catch glimpses of the sun only a finger's width above the western horizon. There was no way he would be able to make it back to his cabin by sunset and he cast a quick prayer to Nixoruma that the dragon won't do something rash when he failed to return.

They were one of the parties who was heading towards the wealthier farms to the south-west. But more specifically, and much to Merec's dismay, he was assigned to the group who had to go Sephan's farm... the son-in-law of Declan, the owner of the Gryphon's Roost and one of the people who most fiercely argued in favor of killing Gahntuar. In fact, most of the bounty on the dragon's head was sponsored by him. Merec wondered if it was an oversight by his tutor, or if it was a ploy by the old warrior to get the fat innkeeper to be a little more accepting of the dragon.

"Ha!" Merec prodded the horse he was riding, ignoring the distrustful glances his companions cast his way. He had to ignore the motives of others and focus on the task at hand. He may not be sure how exactly he got in this situation, but he did know that he was not going to fail.

"Mighty Nixoruma!" Kerron gasped as they neared the final bend in the road. He was a young town guard recruit and the first to have volunteered to ride out to the farms. At the curse, Merec looked up to see smoke already rising from around the bend.

"Faster you lot!" the leader of their company shouted, even though the horses were already galloping at full speed.

They round the last corner to see that the far back corner of the farmhouse was already set alight. Some eighteen lightly armored orcs were milling around the structure, some trying to push past a lone defender in the doorway while others were being held at bay from windows by a few unseen defenders wielding two pitchforks and a spade.

Even as they watched, one orc managed to wrest a pitchfork from a defender. It threw the farming implement away with contempt and was about to climb through the opened window, when an arrow planted itself into its back, punching easily through the ringmail it wore.

With a loud curse in its native tongue, the creature stumbled back and turned to see where the attack had come from. Three of the five horsemen that had arrived had already dismounted and started firing arrows at the attackers. A second arrow struck the orc in the chest and it fell, along with two more of its comrades who had also noticed the new arrivals.

The windows were abandoned for the time being, as the orcs charged their new prey. Five more orcs fell to arrows, but then the two sides clashed and frantic, close quarter combat ensued.

Merec found himself smirking, for once glad as the lessons he had received over the past year now paid off. Though the seven orcs initially pushed the five humans back, they managed to hold their line and working together as they were, they had cut their opponents down in short order.

The last two attackers that remained, fled for the cover of the nearby forest. Merec noticed that Sephan had also managed to finish off the last of the three orcs who had remained by the door with help from his two eldest children, each stabbing with a pitchfork and a scythe past their father. However, the fire now engulfed most of the house's roof and the family fled from the smoke.

"Come, help me put out the fire!" Sephan called frantically to them, already grabbing a bucket to douse the fire with, even though the house was lost.

"There is no time," the leader of their squad replied, authority heavy on his voice. "We need to go, now!"

"I won't abandon the farm..." Sephan insisted.

"There is an entire army of orcs heading this way!" the squad leader replied. "You cannot stay here."

"I won't..." Sephan continued to argue, but Merec cut him off.

"Forget about the building and think of your family!" Merec snapped irritated. "We have a chance to get away now, we may not be so lucky when they come back."

"What ... what is he doing here?" Sephan asked, too shocked to be angry at Merec's presence.

"We're not happy that he is here either," Kerron said "but he did just help us save your life. And he has a point."

"Where are your horses?" their squad leader asked, wrestling the bucket from the farmer's grasp.

"The ... the Shadowspawn already got to them," Sephan muttered dejectedly.

"And you still wanted to defend your farm rather than escape with your family?" the squad leader asked incredulously.

"I..." Sephan started to say, but could not come up with any reasonable answer.

"Um, we've got company," Merec called out a warning. The group of humans looked up at the treeline to see a new group of orcs appear. But unlike the previous group they had dispatched rather easily, the newcomers were much better equipped. An arrow was shot at them from one of the humans by the horses, only it bounced off one thick breastplate. The orc that was hit roared a challenge at the defenders and the group of twelve orcs charged.

One of the youngest children screamed in terror, and the family turned to flee down the road. But they had barely started to run when another child yelled in fright at something behind them. There was a loud flap of a sail snapping in the wind, and Merec just knew what was happening even before anyone could call out a warning.

"Shit, dragon! Behind us!" Kerron shouted even as Merec looked up and recognized the iridescent green scales of his friend.

But even as recognition set in Merec noticed one of the archers he had accompanied nock an arrow. The man was about to fire at the dragon, but Merec knocked the upraised bow down, unseating the arrow before the human could fire it off. The archer only had time to glare at Merec with a hateful, betrayed gaze. Then the dragon was on top of them.

But to the surprise of everyone, the dragon didn't attack them. Instead, it flew over their heads and unleashed a powerful cloud of fire at the orcs. They screamed in agony as they fell burning in their armor. One managed to escape the fire, but the dragon landed almost on top of it. The orc raised a wicked looking ax to strike the dragon, but the drake swiped it off its feet, delivering a death blow with a powerful set of claws.

The dragon glanced around a few times to make sure that the immediate threat had been dealt with, but whoever of the orcs survived had fled back to the covers of the trees. The deep honk of a battle horn a little deeper into the forest was the only evidence that this was far from over. The first horn was echoed by a second further to the north. As a third horn sounded in the distance far distance, he turned to regard the humans with an angry snarl. Unsurely, the group of defenders raised an assortment of weapons against the dragon, but he paid them little mind. Instead, his focus was trained on the one who didn't threaten him.

"What for the love of Gullivarth, do you think you are doing here?" Gahntuar demanded, ignoring the astonished looks the other humans were giving him.

"I can ask the same thing about you." Merec retorted without missing a beat. Gahntuar stepped towards the group of humans, who dissolved around Merec, leaving him alone to face an angry dragon alone.

"I'm here to save your sorry arse, that is what." the dragon snarled. Then as if a talking dragon was not strange enough, Gahntuar crouched in front of Merec. "Get on," he commanded, "we're leaving!"

"I'm not going," Merec stated stubbornly. The dumbstruck crowd gasped when Gahntuar nipped angrily at Merec, who for his part barely flinched.

"I'm not asking." the dragon growled dangerously.

"And I said I'm not going." Merec still insisted.

"Gullivarth's scaled arse Merec," Gahntuar swore "what do you want? Your sire's lair is already burning, the entire town wants you dead and there are several dozen orcs heading this way, maybe even hundreds. If you don't hurry, you all will be cut off as it is!" The dragon leaned in close to his human. "There is nothing left for us here."

Ignoring the stares from the others, Merec calmly raised his hand to pet the dragon on the bridge of his snout. The dragon snorted in annoyance but still leaned into the caress.

"I made a promise to bring that family safely back to town," Merec said, indicating the small group of children who stood there, gawking at the dragon. Gahntuar turned to look and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a little girl, a little younger than Erendile was when she died. "If you want to help me, you can take them to town."

"What?" Sephan yelped, echoing the shock of the rest of the humans. Gahntuar ignored them, instead, he nipped at Merec again.

"You are insufferable!" he grumbled. "But you're next; end of discussion!"

Then, quick as only a predator could, he had repositioned himself to crouch next to the stunned family.

"Okay," he stated in an annoyed grumble. "You heard my human: Get on!"

The mother of the children hesitated, clutching the youngest of the children closer.

"I will not let..." Sephan started to argue, but Gahntuar silenced him with a sharp nip in his direction. Sephan, not used to dragon behavior, stumbled back instinctively and he fell into a sitting position.

"Look" Gahntuar snapped, secretly grinning, satisfied at the human's reaction. "I don't like this either. But the sooner I get them back to the town, the sooner I can get the one I actually care about, to safety." He twisted his long neck to regard the human female with an equally stern stare. "Either you ride on my back, or in my claws... you decide."

To emphasize his threat, Gahntuar made sure to display his sharp claws, still wet with dark orcish blood. Again he secretly smirked to himself when he noticed Merec slapping his forehead in exasperation. But the threat seemed to have worked.

"Okay, Okay." she conceded a little bit pale, eying the dangerous talons. She gently picked the little girl up.

"Mommy?" the little girl asked worriedly, but her mother hushed her with a gentle finger to her lips.

"It's okay, my dear," she whispered as she lifted her girl onto the dragon's back. To help calm her,

Gahntuar started to purr, much to the continued astonishment of those regarding the strange situation. When the girl giggled, he nuzzled her as well, making sure not to show any teeth.

"I can take one more," he told her more gently when she hesitated again "as well as you."

"Rather take one of the boys..." she considered, but Gahntuar cut her off.

"No, it will be better if it is you," he said. "Someone needs to make sure that they don't fall off."

The mother suddenly had second thoughts about sending her children to town on the back of a dragon. But then there was another shout of alarm.

"More orcs are coming!" someone called. Quickly, the humans there lined up, taking up positions between the dragon and the forest from where they expected the attack to come from, readying themselves to face the new threat. The mother quickly picked up the other young child, placing him behind his sister. She turned to call one of eldest boys, but to her surprise, Sephan stop her.

"Julian," he said, voice tense with worry "you should go with Mary and Carl."

"But..." she started to argue, but Sephan silenced her with a quick kiss.

"We'll be Okay. Now please go," he begged her as the first clangs of swords clashing with axes began to ring through the night. Finally, Julian climbed onto Gahntuar, using the offered forepaw to help her reach. Once she was secure, Gahntuar took off amidst a surprised squeal from the young Mary.

Sephan watched the dragon he had loathed the past few years take off with his family, with mixed feelings. The dragon circled only once before darting east, towards town as promised. Grumbling worriedly at himself, he took up a position in the line next to Merec.

"That dragon of yours better deliver on his word!" he growled as he parried the first ax.

"I trust that dragon with my life." Merec retorted in kind. "Which is more than I could have said about you these past two years!"

Sephan grumbled but knew he couldn't object. With grim determination, he focused on the battle as the humans and orcs clashed on what was once the farm he was so proud of.

***

It was a short flight back to town, yet it seemed like it was the longest two minutes in Gahntuar's life. He flew as fast as he dared, careful not to let his strange charges fall from his shoulders. He just knew that if he were to lose them, Merec would be the one who would have to repay his mistakes.

Inwardly he cursed the human for asking this of him. They should have been well on their way to the cliffs of the Shipwreck Coast. They would have been safe from most attacks there where the sheer walls of rock dropped into the ocean. Instead, he had to ...

The town sprung up suddenly before him and Gahntuar had to backwing frantically, lest he fly completely over the town. He did not want the town guard to see him, that would only make this drop-off more difficult. But his attempts were in vain; His aerial speed was too great and he had to bank sharply to keep from flying over the town wall. The yelp from his back would have made him smirk any other time, but now it sent a fearful chill down his spine. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder and was relieved to see that his three passengers were still holding on firmly.

There were shouts from the town below him and with a snarl to himself, he realized that he had been spotted anyway. With another curse in his native tongue, he glanced back down and saw a few arrows already flying towards him. He managed to avoid those easily, though it earned him another yelp from his passengers before he dove for a clearing some way away from the southern gate. He had noticed that it was almost completely blocked up now with whatever wood the townsfolk could find: From overturned carts and tables to whatever looked heavy enough to strengthen the barricade. It will take a while for any human to reach him here and he can make his delivery safe enough.

"Okay, we're here," Gahntuar said, trying to sound calm and friendly for the sake of the young ones, but the anxiety was still clearly audible in his voice. "Now get off. I need to get back to the others as quickly as possible."

The mother was quick to climb off and with a relieved sigh, she lifted her youngest off the dragon's back. Only, as soon as the youngster was set down, she immediately ran towards Gahntuar's snout, grabbing it in a fierce hug.

"Mary!" the mother yelped fearfully, but the little girl ignored her mother's frantic call.

"Thank you, draggy!" she mumbled as she hugged the dragon. For his part, Gahntuar gasped surprise and tried to pull back from the affectionate child. But memories of young Erendile rushed through his memory, and he found himself purring in delight as he leaned into the hug. His trepidations of the ongoing attack, the proximity of the hostile town, all of his worries and fears melted away even if only for a brief moment. Even more surprising, the young lad had also climbed off his shoulders unnoticed and eager not to be outdone by his sister, was hugging him around his neck.

"You are very welcome, young ones," he whispered in return, much to the little girl's delight.

"That is enough, you two." the mother spoke softly, the tension in her voice has faded as well. Reluctantly, the little children let Gahntuar go, and the dragon found himself unable to hold back a smile. He was actually feeling better than he had since that morning. Carefully, he nosed the little girl back to her mother.

"Go to your dame, little ones." he crooned. "She needs you."

"What about you?" the little boy asked, reluctant to leave the friendly dragon. "Will you come to town with us?"

"No," Gahntuar sighed, nosing the young lad to his mother as well. "I must go back to get my human."

"But ..." the young lad started to argue, but he was interrupted by a shout of surprise from the town.

"Julian!" a very fat man called desperately out to them, as he can jogging along. Along with him, Gahntuar saw several other townspeople, all armed with hastily made spears or other implements that looked dangerous enough. They were running at him, quickly overtaking the fat man who was already huffing desperate for breath.

Gahntuar snapped his jaws in irritation and uttered a bark that would have made Merec blush. He had allowed himself to get distracted and remained on the ground for too long.

"I need to go!" he snarled, and with a nod of farewell to the mother, he took flight again. He disappeared quickly, missing the stunned expression of the guards who had slowed to a walk to stare at the unexpected spectacle completely in his haste to get away.

***

The fighting at the farm was hectic, to say the least. The line of humans had been pushed back into a tight circle that was centered around defending the horses. The orcs seemed to target them specifically, as it was the human's only hope to get back to town safely. But the fight was not going well for the defenders; Gerald was already dead when he tried to mount his horse, Kerron was badly wounded as were Leander, and the rest all suffered from wounds of various degrees of seriousness. It was doubtful that they would last much longer, and as if realizing this, the orcs pressing in on them even harder.

"They say you're a magus right?" the leader of their company snarled at Merec as he blocked another ax blow. "Why don't you throw a fireball or something at them?"

"Get it into that head of yours:" Merec snarled back, slashing at his own orc but failing to land a blow. "I'm not a real magus!"

The leader was about to argue again but the comment was lost when he had to block yet another incoming blow.

"Look!" one of Sephan's elder sons shouted. A sense of relief flooded them as they saw Gahntuar diving at them with the break-neck speed of an attacking falcon. Realizing what was happening, the small group of defenders stepped back slightly. The orcs grinned, believing that they were pushing the humans back, and eagerly pushed forward again.

They never looked back to see the approaching dragon.

Gahntuar landed hard on top of them, crushing two orcs in the process and with a great swipe of a forepaw, he sent a third flying some yards away. He managed to slash at a fourth before the group of orcs realized what was happening and charged the dragon with angry roars of their own.

"Mount up and get to town!" the leader of their squad ordered even as Gahntuar struck his third victim. They finally had an opportunity to escape and they shouldn't waste it. Quickly, everyone started to climb onto their horses or help those too injured onto theirs. The leader, Merec, and Sephan remained back, pressing forward to fight along side Gahntuar least he be overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers.

"That means the two of you as well!" the leader snarled, though he failed to hide a grin as they were finally starting to make progress against the attacking horde. Most of their party had already started to gallop off down the road towards the safety of the town.

"We don't have enough horses..." Sephan started to argue, but Merec cut him off.

"You can take mine!" he shouted. "I'll be going with Gahntuar."

"Who?" Sephan asked with a frown. But before Merec could reply, Ghntuar spat a column of fire at the orcs to push them back enough for the last of the humans to escape. Against the wall of fire, the orcs had to retreat.

"Go! Now!" Gahntuar snarled, even as he crouched for Merec. His human was quick to scramble onto his back, while the other two only stared at them in amazement. However, the sound of an orcish horn blaring nearby brought them back to their senses and they rushed towards their horses. Gahntuar didn't want to make sure that they escaped. He took flight as soon as Merec was seated and immediately turned directly east.

"Where are you going?" Merec asked surprised.

"We're leaving like we agreed this morning!" Gahntuar snapped back without looking around. "These orcs cannot follow us into the cliffs to the east of here. We'll be safe there ..."

"We cannot leave like this." Merec started to complain but immediately received a reprimanding nip from his dragon.

"Did you not want to get away from them only an hour ago?" Gahntuar snapped exasperatedly "What could possibly have changed your mind?"

"An invading army," Merec replied. "You know they are here for us, and the town needs all the help it can get!"

"After how they treated you?" Gahntuar snarled irritated. Sometimes, humans could be completely irrational.

"I don't know how to explain it," Merec admitted sheepishly "but I feel responsible and I need to do something about it."

"Look here now;" Gahntuar started to reply when a sudden movement to their left caught Merec's attention. He turned just in time to see another blue dragon fly straight at them.

"Look out!" the human shrieked.

Gahntuar snapped his head about and also saw the dragon that was nearly on top of them. He backwinged frantically and was able to slow down just enough. The other dragon could not react in time and with a frustrated roar, the blue flew completely by them. Still the new dragon twisted in the air to face Gahntuar again, and with a sinking heart, Gahntuar realized that with Merec on his back, he was at a serious disadvantage in the air.

"Hold on!" he yelled over his shoulder. Without looking to see if Merec had heard, the dragon quickly beat wings to gain as much altitude, as quickly as possible.

Merec yelp at the sudden change in flight pattern and clung tighter to Gahntuar's neck. Gaining speed in a desperate dive, Gahntuar tried to push past hostile drake. But the other dragon managed to outmanoeuvre him easily and the black drake was forced to backwing again to avoid his foe. This time it didn't help. In a desperate movement, Gahntuar struck at the blue, and though he caught him on the shoulder, the other dragon still managed to grab onto him. The hostile blue bit at Gahntuar's neck, but Merec slashed at the blue's head as it came in a range of the human's short sword.

The human's attack did not achieve much, the blade clanging off a protective horn. But the distraction gave Gahntuar the opportunity he needed to kick the dragon off again. Gahntuar managed to twist away from his attacker without throwing Merec off and he dove towards the ground, to get as much distance between them and their attacker as possible. He suddenly snorted in irritation when he realized that the blue drake was pushing him back more towards the north; in direction of town.

"There's another one!" Merec suddenly yelped and Gahntuar noticed blue-grey draine almost on top of him. Instinctively, he rolled over in flight to kick at her as she approached, but instead, he felt his heart stop when Merec dropped away. Frantically, he twisted away from the new draine and dove after the falling human. He caught him in his claws, flinching as he felt the sharp tips dig into the human's shoulders in his desperation. But this was better than allowing his human to fall to his death.

The drake was suddenly on top of him again and with Merec dangling from his claws, he had to twist away from the incoming attack. He was flying low over the trees now and had no more space to maneuver. And unable to avoid the harassing dragons either; despite often threatening to carry people in his claws, he now realized that it was terribly uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the town appeared before them and Gahntuar cursed in his native tongue. The drake struck at him again, and when Gahntuar tried to avoid this attack, he struck one of the taller treetops. The black dragon was flipped, tail overhead, to crash with an indignant squawk into a field near the northern gate.

In the spectacular crash, Merec was thrown clear of Gahntuar. The draine that had been chasing them immediately tried landed nearby the dazed human. But even as she extended her claws to grab him, she roared in pain as several arrows struck her exposed flanks in rapid succession. Even though most of the projectiles didn't find purchase in between her scales, the two attacking dragons could not take the chance to land as several of the town guards came rushing up to the downed pair and were forced to flee.

"Are you OK?" one of the guards asked as he knelt down by Merec.

"What... what is going on?" Meerc managed to stutter, still very disorientated.

"That dragon of yours was pushed out of the sky by the other two." another said. "We all saw it happen."

"Gahntuar!" Merec gasped at the mention of his dragon and tried to get up, but the two guards by him held him down.

"Take it easy!" the first guard to have talked to him said. "You got quite a knock to your head."

"Your dragon is fine;" the second added.

Merec stopped his attempts to get up, staring at the man as if he had suddenly grown another head. Then as he calmed down a bit, he noticed Gahntuar also struggling a bit to get to his feet amidst more people surrounding him. People who seemed concerned about someone being hurt rather than trying to keep a dangerous creature at bay.

"You guys are safe now." the second guard continued.

"What ... is going on?" Merec asked, still dazed but starting to come to his senses.

"That dragon of yours got the whole town confused..." One of the guards started to answer him, but he was interrupted by the arrival of the squad Merec had originally been sent with.

"Get to town! They're hard behind us!" one of the horsemen shouted as he galloped past.

Several more horsemen dashed past, including Sephan and his two eldest boys. before the leader of the party pulled his horse to a halt.

"How did you get here so fast?" he called to Merec astounded, but as he noticed the situation he changed it to "What happened?"

But there was no time to explain any of his questions as a series of orcish horns sounded not very far off.

"Never mind," he dismissed his own questions. "Get that dragon of yours inside the town quickly! The shadowspawn are coming in right behind us in force."

And with that, he kicked his horse and dashed off himself towards the safety of the town.

***

"Close the gate!" someone called as the last of their party passed through the great stone arch. At his command, several people slammed their shoulders to the heavy iron gates and pushed with all of their might. At first the doors didn't budge, but then there was a puff of rusty dust around the old hinges and the gates started to swing closed.

It was a very confused Gahntuar that watched the gates close behind him, locking him safely inside the town. Safely ... the walls had always looked rather small when he had flown overhead in the years gone by, but now that it towered in front of him at eight yards high, it seemed suddenly rather imposing. Still, this was truly a perspective he had never thought he would ever see.

There was a shout of joy and he glanced around to see the mother he had brought to town emerge from the gathering crowd to embrace her husband, who had just dismounted from the horse he had ridden. They hugged each other as if they had been sure that they would never see each other again. The rest of the town, however, gathered around to gawk at the dragon that they had tried to get rid of for so long, arguing amongst themselves what to do about him. They kept their distance, of course.

"What the hell is that thing doing here?" he heard one man yell angrily.

"He saved Sephan's family!" someone answered determinedly. "He is on our side!"

"I saw that as well!" another agreed.

"He's shadowspawn!" still another argued. "He can't be trusted!"

"He fought with us against them." one of the group who had been with Merec on the farm interjected. "We wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him!"

At that, Gahntuar turned and noticed one of the elder boys who stayed with his father on the farm, hand Merec his bow he had to leave behind in their mad scramble to get away. His human seemed to have recovered from the heavy landing and was trying to appease yet another group of people arguing about what to do with the dragon that had suddenly been thrust into town.

"I bet he's the reason why we are under attack in the first place!" one yelled angrily.

"I agree!" a friend of his joined in.

"So you want to aid those Shadowspawn attacking us?" Merec questioned, not really keeping his cool either. "Wouldn't that make you a shadow-fiend?"

That seemed to have caused most around him to hesitate until some wolf the voiced his opinion.

"I say we kill him now and share the reward." the adventurer from outside town declared loudly. "There is enough to go around..."

"Don't you dare!" Merec growled dangerously, suddenly lifting his sword that was still unsheathed up at the wolf. The action made several people step back in fright.

"The reward for the dragon head is off the table!" another loud voice suddenly declared from yet another direction. Gahntuar looked and saw it was the fat and he had noticed earlier.

"What? Since when." the lupine bounty hunter shouted incredulously.

"Since he brought my daughter and grandchildren back safely." the fat man replied, the tone of his voice making it obvious that there would be no arguing his decision. Suddenly, things started to click into place in Gahntuar's mind. The family he had helped save had been talking about him and now suddenly there was an obvious reason not to fear him.

"You can't be serious!" the wolf complained loudly, but he was interrupted by a worried vixen that shoved him out of her way to get to the dragon. Gahntuar growled irritated as she grabbed the forepaw he had been cradling to his chest and started to examine it.

"What is wrong?" she demanded, ignoring or misunderstanding the dragon's irritated growl. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"It is just a sprain." he grumbled, having half a mind to pull from her. Instead he allowed her to work, reminding himself that she was only trying to help. "I'll be fine. Rather look at Merec."

"It can talk?" there was a surprised shout from somewhere, but he paid it no mind. The arguing was not really achieving anything useful.

"Adulf is tending to him," Felicity replied patiently, as she started to mold a simple healing Manashape.

"Who?" Gahntuar asked, looking around to see another wolf busy inspecting Merec. "Who is that?" he growled, but then gasped as the small healing spell sunk into his injured wrist.

"You behave now," Felicity replied a little curtly. "He is an old friend and a much better healer than me."

"Oh;" Gahntuar muttered, feeling a little ashamed of his rude behavior. "Um .. thank you. For the healing."

The dragon turned his attention back to the townsfolk where they were still arguing, despite some of the town guards trying to get them to calm down. Some of the groups were so involved with each other that they seemed just about ready to punch each other. Then everything fell silent as there was a sharp screech of an angry gryphon that seemed to echo from the heavens itself.

There was a sudden rush of feathers and a dark brown gryphon landed right in front of the still unsure dragon.

"What in Keor's name is this?" the gryphon demanded.

"Sir Iago," the leader of the squad that had been sent out with Merec said crisply, stepping in between the gryphon and the dragon. "This dragon helped us save Sephan's family and played a critical role in getting us back to town. We owe him our lives!"

"Out of my way, lieutenant!" Iago hissed at him, but the man stood his ground.

"Sir, if you would..."

"I said out of my way;" the gryph snapped "or I will have you locked up for insubordination!"

At that, the human had to relent. Meekly, he stepped to the side. Iago glared up at Gahntuar.

"And who are you?" Gahntuar asked, the tone of his voice betraying his immediate distaste of the gryphon before him.

"You can talk?" Iago asked a little shocked. But he quickly recovered himself though. "Good, so listen carefully. Leave my town and take that ... pet of yours with you!" He spoke the last dripping with discontent as he waved a wing at Merec.

This attitude of the gryphon just rubbed Gahntuar the wrong way. Angrily, he took a threatening step towards the insolent gryphon, his frill raised in a hostile display that had most of those standing take a step back.

"Make me!" the dragon growled, baring his teeth. To the gryphon's credit, safe for a little whimper and a slight step back, he didn't seem to be intimidated by the display. At least not very much.

"Begone foul beast!" Iago screeched a pitch too high and slashed at the dragon with a forepaw. is own action was also more display than a true attack, and Gahntuar only turned his shoulder into the attack. Though it would have been crippling to a biped, the strike had no real strength to it and the claws glanced of the tougher scales of the dragon's shoulder harmlessly. Still, the dragon had not expected the gryphon to follow through and as the blow connected, Gahntuar's frustration snapped.

Now truly furious, he stepped towards Iago, raising his own forepaw to strike back at the gryphon, fully intending to dismember the creature. But Merec quickly stepped in front of him and soothed the angry dragon with a gentle caress.

"Leave it, Gahnt!" he said. "It's not worth it."

Iago seemed to have realized how close he just came to being ripped apart and had stepped quickly out of reach of another possible quick strike from the dragon. Still, he wasn't going to be giving up on his stance.

"I said: Be gone!" the gryph repeated again, though this time his voice seemed a little tight.

"I'd love to leave this friendly town;" Gahntuar grumbled, still baring teeth at the gryphon. "But it seems I'm kinda trapped here."

"You have no right to be here, Shadowspawn!" Iago continued. He started to take a threatening step towards the dragon again, but quickly remembered himself.

"I'd not challenge my rights to be anything if I were you, Jigsaw!" Gahntuar snapped back.

That insult was too much for Iago. With his feathers all puffed out, he screeched and was about to jump at the dragon when another loud shout stunned everyone to silence.

"Enough!" sir Harald roared in a voice no-one had ever expected him to poses. Even in his rage, Iago stopped instinctively at the authority in the man's voice. "We have an army on our doorstep. Save your strength to fight them, not each other!"

Sir Harald had some great experience with unruly crowds and the fight. And had he not been retired, he would have outranked even the sheriff of the town. But he was retired and had no true authority, even though many now looked up to him to lead them in defending the town.

"Give me one good reason why he should remain in town!" Iago snapped, clicking his beak angrily.

In direct answer to the challenge, there was the familiar caw of the phoenix before he repeated a part of the by now famous rhyme.

"The fate of one be shared by all!"

The crowd looked up to see a group of three phoenixes sitting on the roof of the watchtower that was erected next to the gate.

"Unite to stand." a second declared.

"Divide and fall." the third promised.

"You ... can't be saying... " Iago stuttered as he blinked up at them.

"What is going on here?" the sheriff of the town finally managed to push his way through the crowd. He blinked when he saw the infamous dragon sitting in the middle of the street. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Raphael sir! This ..." Iago quickly responded, still glowering at Gahntuar "... Shadowspawn has been allowed entry into the town."

"Who has authorized this?" the sheriff asked sternly.

"I did, sir." the lieutenant who had been in charge of Merec's squad replied, stepping forward again.

"I'll have him ..." Iago started, but the sheriff interrupted him.

"Enough, Iago. What's gotten into you?" the sheriff asked, eying the dragon. The creature was obviously agitated but keeping calm quite admirably. Although much of his obedience might be due to the controversial Merec who saw still trying to sooth him with tender caresses to the throat and jaw.

"I cannot allow this ..." Iago started to explain, but was again silenced.

"I said enough! I'll handle this!" the sheriff snapped before turning back to the lieutenant. "And why would you do something like this?"

"Like I explained to deputy Iago," the lieutenant replied crisply "the dragon helped save Sephan's family, and helped us escape the farm once it was overrun. There are also dragons with the orcs attacking us, and they seemed very interested in the dragon here. We owe him our lives, and it is only fair that we repay that debt in kind!"

"And like I said, I'd love to leave but I can't!" Gahntuar growled, still clearly frustrated. The sheriff blinked in surprise when the dragon spoke, but took it in stride.

"Easy Gahntuar." Merec tried to calm him down, but Gahntuar nipped at him, much to the shock of the people looking on.

"No!" Gahntuar snapped, raising his frill again. "I am tired of having to defend myself, even though I'm just sitting here!"

"They have to think about the safety of the entire town." Merec tried to explain. "Especially now that we are under attack."

Even as he spoke, the mayor of the town arrived as well.

"Fine!" Gahntuar grumbled before turning to the sheriff, making an obvious point in ignoring Iago. "I promise to behave, Okay?"

"And this?" the mayor asked, and the sheriff quickly informed him of the situation.

"The phoenix said we need his help to defend the town." someone suddenly shouted from somewhere in the crowd when the sheriff came to the part of Gahntuar saving the people from the farm, and several people started to either agree or argue with that statement until the sheriff quieted them down.

"More dragons you say?" the mayor asked when he heard about Gahntuar being forced from the sky by two more dragons. At that, he turned his attention to Gauntuar. "Will you help us to defend this town?" he simply asked.

"Sure!" Gahntuar muttered a little disinterested, but at when Merec shoved an elbow into his chest, he quickly added. "Yes, I will help where I can."

"And you will do as you are told while in town?" the mayor added.

Gahntuar growled but noticed Merec quickly nod and with a sigh he relented.

"Very well" he muttered again. "It will be as you say."

"Very well then, he can stay." the mayor declared, much to several people's astonishment.

"But sir!" Iago started to complain, but the mayor only held up a palm to silence him.

"A dragon may be very helpful to defend the town, especially if the attackers has dragons of their own." He turned to Merec with a serious tone. "But he is your responsibility... if he gets into trouble, you'll be the one to answer for it, understand?"

"Yes, Sir!" Merec quickly answered, relief obvious in his voice. "Thank you. I will make sure both of them stay out of trouble."

"Both?" the mayor asked surprised, but then remembered something. "Oh yes, so the rumors that he has a mate was true then. Very well, she may also come into town if she will be willing to defend it like this one."

He turned to leave, but with a loud voice shouted at the crowd. "Right, then. Everyone back to your posts. There are still a lot of preparations to finish up!"

At that, the crowd started to disperse.

"Well then," Merec said, sounding a little surprised that this had actually happened. "Welcome to Corrumwhelle, I guess."

***

Eric surveyed the waist-high defensive wall that had been erected all along the bank of the river. He had more faith in the ancient town wall that he was sure was crumbling in places. Just one good siege weapon would bring it down if the attacking force hit it in the right spot.

The stallion was not impressed, to say the least. The group he had gathered over the past few years specialized in hunting troublesome monsters, not fighting actual battles. That was the main reason why he and his hunter group had come to this far-flung corner of the borderlands; to hunt a lone dragon that had somehow ended up here. If they had wanted the higher pay that came with warfare, he'd have taken his group to the elven forest of Ealyndore where the elves were still fighting against the incursion of orcs even so long after the sacking of the Eyledvice Palace.

But now they found themselves in a proper siege in the land furthest away from the shadowlands, from anything else for that matter. And if that was not strange enough, now the dragon they had come for was to help them defend this unimportant patch of the world.

What was this world coming to?

"Do you really think we will be able to fend off an entire army with the defense like this?" he asked dubiously. The wall was a repair long overdue, and one gate was completely missing for who knows how long, but what was still there seemed sturdy enough to hold. For a while at least.

"Even with the few Magi you have in town?" the stallion added as he eyed a lioness that stood nearby suspiciously. "How old is this town wall anyway?"

"The wall and the two towers by the gates were built during the time of the Pirate King" the sheriff of the town admitted. "It had been upgraded during the Dark Age to withstand a full assault, to help defend the port of Perston to the south-east. But we never saw any really heavy fighting during those times, and never expected to have any either after the fall of Juinkarr, so they were mostly just left, except for these sections in the south and east on the riverbank. They had been torn down to grant easier access to the river. Despite this, the rest is still in a relatively good condition, and sir Harald assures me that we should be able to put up a decent resistance."

"You have a lot more confidence in this wall of beds, tables, and chairs than I do." the stallion muttered. "How can you be so sure that this makeshift construction will be dependable?"

"The river is currently flooded with meltwater." sir Harald said calmly. "As it is, that mass of water is right now our the best defense on this side of town."

"The Gryphon's Roost was also added during the Dark Age as another defensive tower to watch over the river" the sheriff added. "And it is still in prime condition, even though it had been converted into an inn. The owner, Declan, has already helped Hultre set his team up there."

At the mention of one of the other groups, Eric snorted.

"Those minotaurs are purely dragonslayers." he snorted. "Do you really think they would be able to defend the river?"

"No" sir Harald admitted. "Which is why we need some of your mercenaries to take up positions there as well. If we need you on the wall, we can easily reposition your people."

"Very well." the stallion replied with a nod. "We'll defend this wall until further notice." And with that, he turned around to head towards the large blocky building that was the Gryphon's Roost.

The two humans in charge of defending the town, turned around to make their way back to the wall on the western side of town. As they walked, they were joined by the lioness Eric had indicated to previously.

"The river won't hold them off for long. The water levels will drop soon enough, and then the horde outside will be able to cross it without much trouble." The red magus commented. The lioness spoke in a tone that suggested that she thought the old Captain didn't know what he was doing and that it would be better if the town council just deferred to her.

"It just needs to hold for two or three days." sir Harald commented unphased. "We have sent gryphon messengers to call on the aeries to the west for help."

"And you just expect that these messengers will get through?" the lioness queried.

"Never assume anything during war." sir Harald replied as if he was teaching a student the art of war. Much to the lioness's irritation, though she did well not to show it, other than a slight narrowing of the eyes. "This wall only needs to dissuade our enemy from attacking us here. If the gryphons doesn't send a reply by tomorrow morning, we can start preparing a better defense along the river when we have more time."

"But it will take a while for them to muster enough strength to relieve us." the sheriff admitted, looking out over the swollen river himself.

"Meltwater doesn't run off that quickly;" sir Harald replied, still not too bothered. "I've heard the gryphons can muster all their forces in only five days; it took only two during the Dark Age, when the entire peninsula was constantly on standby. So this only has to hold a few days."

"Right;" the lioness muttered, realizing that she was not going to be influencing these humans today. "So I assume you want me to defend the south-eastern corner of town as well?"

"No," sir Harald replied, much to the lioness's surprise. "Our weakest point is the southernmost gate; the one we call the 'Broken Gate'. It is currently blocked off with whatever we could find, much like this wall, but I'm not confident that it will survive a direct assault. We've up one the last dragonslayer party to overlook the barricade there, just in case one of the enemy dragons tries to burn through it, but I would like the magi to focus their efforts there. We suspect that they will be focusing their attacks mostly there, for obvious reasons."

"That makes sense," the lioness pondered aloud, actually a little impressed. "I'll protect that gate for you."

As they reached the market square, the lioness bid them farewell and headed to take up her position by the southern gate. She paid the dragon who was laying comfortably in the cobbled street that ran by the Trapper's Rest little mind as if she had been living with dragons her whole life. Gahntuar ignored her as well, rather eying the town around him suspiciously as if expecting the nearby dragonslayers to jump from a dark allay at any moment. With him, as expected, was Merec who was sitting between the great forepaws, leaning comfortably against the large, scaled chest. They were talking about something the dragon didn't seem to appreciate very much.

Sir Harald noticed the wolf that had been with the vixen appear from the inn and quickly made his way over to him.

"You are a druid, right?" sir Harald asked the wolf.

"That is correct." the wolf replied. "The name is Adulf."

"I'm Harald," sir Harald introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Adulf replied. "Though I suspect that you would like to know if I'm skilled in healing?"

"You are correct." sir Harald admitted. "A magus skilled in healing will be very welcome indeed, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"I'm afraid my studies had mostly focused on biological augmentation and alterations," Adulf admitted sheepishly "but as a Green Magus, we are expected to be sufficient qualified in healing as well. I am quite capable of healing, but not to the extend of some of my colleagues. Still, I will not let you down."

"I'm relieved to hear that!" the sheriff replied with an audible sigh. "And I see that you have already reported to Keal at the Trapper's Rest then; As you could see, we have instructed the owner Kael to have it ready as a field hospital."

"Yes I did, Sir." Adulf confirmed. "I've already spoken to Rossea."

"Hi, Adulf?" Merec suddenly interrupted them. None of them had seen him come over to then. When the wolf turned to regard him, Marac handed him something wrapped in soft leather. Apparently, the wolf knew exactly what it was, as his face lit up even before he unwrapped it to reveal some kind of bone wand.

"Take this." Merec continued. "I think you'll need it in the coming days."

"Are you sure?" Adulf whispered, a little shocked.

"Yes." Merec decided determinedly. "You know very well that I don't have any real ability with magic. Its power will be better used at the hospital."

"Thank you," Adulf replied unable to hide his smile.

"Don't thank me so quickly," Merec smirked. "Adarah had already come by to confiscate it; Said she could use it better to defend the town than I could."

"And that would have been the last you saw of it." Adulf agreed with a grin of his own. "I'll be sure to return these to you as soon as this is all done."

"Still, I think it will be in better hand here;" Merec started to say, but he was interrupted by a sudden warning bell that started to toll from the Northern Gate.

"Dragon approaching!" someone yelled and everyone looked up to see the shape of a white dragon approaching from the north.

"Hold your fire!" sir Harald ordered as he recognized her. The archers that had already trained drawn bows at the creature hesitantly obeyed the order. Gahntuar roared something and the other dragon replied. She circled over the town once when she recognized Gahntuar's call, hovering hesitantly for a moment before finally landing next to Gahntuar.

"Have you lost your mind?" she snarled at him in dragonic. "What in Gullivarth's name are you doing here? Did the humans capture you?"

"I might have lost my mind, yes," Gahntuar replied in common for the sake of the humans around them. "And no, the humans have not captured me. And as for what I'm doing here ... I'm still trying to figure that out."

Lainah stared at him dumbfounded, then turned her gaze at the humans pretending not to be starting at her. She snorted dismissively at them before returning her attention back to the black drake.

"That phoenix was right, it is Seghrien who has come over the mountains to the north." she finally stated, following Gahntuar's lead in speaking in the common tongue. At the news, Gahntuar hissed angrily, making one or two of the closest humans jump with fright.

"You saw him?" Gahntuar growled, feeling his frill rising unbidden in a challenging display.

"Only caught a glimpse from far-off." Lainah grumbled, obviously upset. "I couldn't get very close to him, thanks to all those around him."

Gahntuar snorted at that, but didn't comment on it. He didn't like the idea of Lainah facing the red drake alone.

"You must be Lainah I've heard so much about." sir Harald introduced himself when it seemed that the two dragons had finished their conversation. "Pleased to finally meet you. I'm Harald, Merec's tutor in swordmanship."

Lainah regarded sir Harald for a long, awkward moment.

"Likewise" she finally completed the pleasantries in a dry, uninterested tone.

"Have you seen what it is we are up against?" sir Harald finally asked what he wanted to.

"I assume you've heard of the red dragon that wants to kill Gahntuar here?" she asked. When the human nodded his agreement, she continued. "Well, he has finally come for him, but he is not alone. He has at least four other dragons with him, as well as an army of I'm guessing at least five thousand strong."

"Do they have any heavy equipment?" sir Harald asked, his voice a little tight with worry. Lainah mulled the question over in her mind a bit before answering.

"Not that I have seen," she replied.

"They probably couldn't get it over the mountain passes." sir Harzld replied, thinking aloud more than addressing anyone. "That is some good news, at least."

"Forgive my forwardness, but I need to know." the sheriff asked, a little unsure of how to address the draine. He shrunk back a little when she turned to regard him, but he regained his composure admirably. "Your mate has already promised to help us in the fight ahead, will you also help us to defend the town, please?"

"He is not ..." Lainah started to argue, but then registered the rest of the statement. She turned to glare at Gahntuar, who only smirked with a quick shrug of his wing shoulders.

"As things stand, I cannot get to Seghrien on my own," she grumbled, turning her attention back to the two humans who appeared to be in charge of defending the town. "So I guess I will."

The two humans visibly relaxed as they sighed with relief.

"Thank you very much." the sheriff replied with a slight bow.

"I agree, thank you." sir Harald added "but I'm afraid we must leave you for now. There are still preparations to inspect and time is short."

"Of course." Merec greeted them and the two continued on their way. The walk to the wall seemed shorter than usual and with heavy hearts, they climbed the ramparts to look out at the orc gathering just out of range of the heavy longbows many in town had grown up with.

"Five thousand strong, with the support of five dragons?" sir Harald muttered, sounding a little distressed. "And how many defenders do we have?"

"Not nearly enough." the sheriff admitted. "Around a hundred and fifty defenders, eighteen gryphons ... and the two dragons of our own." The sheriff turned to regard the old royal guard with a critical eye. "You knew more about the two dragons than you let on."

"That is true." sir Harald stated, neither ashamed nor worried about repercussions. "I don't know the silver one at all. As far as I can make out, they aren't really mates, though I suspect it will only be a matter of time before that changes. But right now, she seems to be just tagging along with him. As for the drake, he is actually very friendly and loyal to Merec, as is the young lad towards him. It was only a loss for the town to try and push them away as we did."

"And when were you planning on informing me?" the sheriff asked, turning to glare at his old friend and crossing his arms in irritation as he did.

"Raphael, my friend, would you have listened to me if I did?" sir Harald asked with a smirk. "Especially with Declan on one side and the informants of the Alliance of Light on the other?"

The sheriff regarded the old royal guard for a bit but then sighed in acceptance.

"Probably not." he agreed.

"Pity they are not here, the Alliance I mean." sir Harald suddenly remarked. "This is after all the fight they had been yearning for. Where are those avid supporters of theirs anyway?"

"Holed up in the Catarrii's Pledge." the sheriff grumbled. "They said they will never fight alongside any Shadowspawn, so I doubt we would ha e received any aid from the alliance anyway." He was quiet for a moment, regarding the retired captain with a stern gaze. "Did you know that this was coming?" he finally asked.

"Our resident black dragon was afraid of this red one coming for him here," sir Harald admitted "but we've always believed that this confrontation would remain between the two of them and happen well away from town. I never thought he'd actually lead an army over the mountain to do so. In fact, I've assured him several times that this red drake won't dare to come to the peninsula, let alone do this."

"I still would have liked to know about this." the sheriff grumbled.

"No-one could have foreseen that it could come to this unless one has an innate ability to see the future like the phoenixes do." sir Harald muttered.

"He does have a point;" a new voice suddenly added. "It doesn't matter how one looks at it, this whole thing doesn't make sense!"

The humans turned to look at the new arrival. It was the vixen that had come regularly to town to check up on Merec and his dragon from time to time.

"The orcs are fiercely independent." the vixen continued. "They won't just follow anyone like this, especially not to just settle some family feud. No, there is something bigger going on here; someone with real power is pulling strings that we cannot see."

"Did you suspect this would happen, magus?" the sheriff asked, glaring at the vixen. "I remember you came to visit our town regularly to see our dragon."

"I suspected there was more going on than meets the eye," Felicity admitted "but this is beyond even my wildest fears. Something big is happening here. And the massive presence of the phoenixes suggest this could be age defining."

"Here? In the far north of the borderlands?" sir Harald asked. "How many phoenixes are there in town now?"

"Last I've heard, there were claims of around twelve of them." the sheriff replied with a confounded shake of his head.

"There hadn't been this many of the magical birds together since the last fall of Juinkarr!" Felicity replied with a sigh. As if called, one of the phoenixes landed on a merlon near the trio.

"Well, speak of the devil!" the sheriff smirked. "So, why don't you tell us what is going on here? Why is this red dragon defying all logic and decided to lead an entire army in attacking our town?"

"To bring away he does here strike; The hearts of Lúg and Roccan alike." the phoenix declared, much to the surprise and confusion of those present.

"Can't you for once give us a straight answer?" sir Harald grumbled.

"Will you at least help us in this siege, or are you just going to observe?" the sheriff asked. "If I'm not mistaking, the phoenixes did actively fight against Barathrum during the Dark Age."

The phoenix clacked its beak annoyed like if insulted that the human would even consider that they would not do anything to step the tide of darkness.

"We have come to help!" it declared the meaning of its words for once crystal clear.

The two humans sighed with obvious relief.

"Then," the sheriff started to speak "I have something I need of one of you to do for me."

***

The sun had started to set when the sudden tolling of one of the warning bells filled the silence. Sir Harald, who had been talking to Merec about the possible role the dragons could play in the defense of the town, rushed to the section of the wall from where the warning came from. He was closely followed by the young human as well as the two magi that were sticking close to him.

They climbed the ramparts, finding the sheriff looking out over the great horde of orcs that had gathered around the town. A section in their ranks had parted to allow a small group through to the front lines; three dragons and judging by his impressive war helm, the chief of the orcs.

"I assume that is the dragon you have been preparing to slay?" sir Harald queried, indicating with a nod of his head to the group. There was no need to specify whom he was referring to.

"The red one, yes," Merec grumbled, eyes narrowing angrily. A sudden growl behind the group on the wall warned them that Gahntuar had also followed them onto the ramparts, even though there was barely enough space for him to stand comfortably.

Whether Seghrien had seen Gahntuar on the wall or not, they could not tell, but the red drake rose up onto his hind legs, weaving his forepaws around each other in a simple motion.

"Great Garvon, it can't be." Adulf gasped shocked. Even though they were too far away to actually feel the molding of Mana, there could be no doubt of what the dragon was doing.

"People of this town hear me now." Seghrien's magically amplified voice boomed across the field towards the defenders. "You need not be destroyed today. All we want is the dragon Gahntuar that is hiding amongst you. Him, and his human companion named Merec. Deliver them to us, alive or dead, it does not matter. If you comply, we will leave you in peace; But fail to do so, and you will be destroyed." The drake was silent for a moment, allowing what he said to sink in, before he completed his demand. "You have until the last light of the sun fades away to answer."

Angrily, Gahntuar roared out in acceptance of the challenge, but after the immense volume of Seghrien ultimatum, his own voice seemed like a weak hatchling in comparison.

"Why would he want Merec as well?" Felicity asked surprised. "Isn't this supposed to be a family feud?"

"Because I care for him!" Gahntuar growled angrily. "That ... monster wants to destroy everything I hold dear."

"Are you going to give in to his demands?" the vixen asked the sheriff worriedly.

The sheriff shook his head determinedly.

"We will never sacrifice one of our own," he grumbled. Then, turning to them he added. "Time to take up your positions, this is going to get messy."

***

The day died slowly. Seghrien stared to the west as the last rays of light slipped beneath the hilly horizon. The time limit was done, and still, there was no reply from the town to his demands. With a disappointed shake of his head, he turned back to regard the town.

"So, the Unblessed plans to defend the Shameblood?" he muttered to himself. He had truly thought that showing up with an army several times larger than their entire population would have scared the little creatures into giving in to his demands.

"Pitty, I thought they wouldn't risk it," Ikessa replied, obviously not relishing the fight that was about to begin.

"It is probably because you demanded they deliver us the human as well?" the blue that had first caught up with Gahntuar suggested.

"Truthfully, I didn't expect anything less of them, given the rumors I've heard about the fighting for the peninsula during the Age of Legends," Seghrien admitted. Then a sudden grin split his muzzle. "It is kind of poetic, don't you think, that the last of the traitor's blood should die along with those he had chosen to betray us for."

Seghrien turned to the orc chief who stood patiently by his side. With only a simple nod, he gave the order that sealed the human town's fate.

With unnecessary flare, the orc chief drew his broadsword and raised it high over his head. With a blood curdling roar, he dropped his sword arm. As one, hundreds of orcs joined their chief's roar with a war cry of their own as they started to run at the little town.

Seghrien watched on in silence. Yet the grin on his muzzle seemed to grow as the first wave of his horde approached the defensive wall. Then finally, he spoke.

"Thus it begins."

... to be continued