Vegenrage: Dragon Reclaim (8 page)

“King Trialani, you seek my assistance again in such a short time.”

“Yes, Ugoria faces yet another destructive force. The dragons have set out again on what now seems to be the third Dragon Feast. I believe they will attack Ugoria in the morning. For some reason, maybe it is the trinket around my neck that tells me that in some way, the passing of Somgla has some bearing on this event. Do you know why I have these thoughts?”

“Somgla was in possession of
The Ugorian Stand
. This is a book written by the dragon, Hornspire, on the prophecy of dragons, and this book details the attack on Ugoria. The then very young but ambitious Cloakenstrike stole the book from Somgla and left her to Basters army. You now know he has become Bastrenboar. Of course, what Baster and his army did lead to Arglon trying to turn the army to pigs, and Cloakenstrike intervened, creating the race of humanors. The elves went on to kill most of the humans, and the humanors did the rest. Cloakenstrike knew the humanors would be killed all except for two, and the three of them are yet to make another appearance in Ugoria. They still plan to steal the Snow Gold Trinket, and it is written that they will succeed.”

“How is this possible? The Snow Gold Trinket can only be held by the king of Ugoria or someone that I personally present it to.”

“This is true, but the king of Ugoria is not determined through bloodlines. It is determined by power. Should you be killed without naming a king or presenting the trinket to another, the first to hold the trinket will be considered king—as long as they are Ugorian. This person must be fluent in the Ugorian language and also must be imbued with Ugorian magic or the trinket will be powerless. Even though Bastrenboar is not an Ugorian elf, he may hold the Snow Gold Trinket. We have not talked about this, but Bastrenboar mated with Somgla and impregnated her. Even though he took her by force and even though she died shortly after Bastrenboar violated her, he has created a direct bloodline to the kingship of Ugoria. Not only that, but Bastrenboar is also fluent in the Ugorian language and magic, so he can, in fact, hold the Snow Gold Trinket, especially if he takes it by force.”

“So you are saying that I will die?”

“I do not know, but it has been written that you will not survive the third Dragon Feast.”

“Is it written that Ugoria will fall?”

“Yes, but the future has not happened yet, and anything can happen.”

Cloakenstrike has entered his home, and Fraborn and Bastrenboar are with him. They have moved very cautiously, and Cloakenstrike has been casting detection magic of the strongest kind to survey his home and make sure no traps or spells have been cast here. He is very surprised to see that the dragons apparently have not invaded or found his home. His home is very different from those of the other human magic users. His home is a cave in the mountain. It is quite beautiful and comfortable. All the walls seemed to have been sanded smooth, and the grain of the rock is beautiful on the arches throughout his home. The floor is shiny like it has been lacquered, but it is just the smooth rock of this cave. It seems bare and empty, but as he approaches the back of the cave and waves his hands, it opens into another larger room, and the wall shuts behind them as they walk in. There is a fire pit in the center of the room, and Cloakenstrike casts fire, setting the logs within on fire, warming the room nicely. There are books lining the walls. Not nearly as many as Vegenrage and Logantrance had, but all these books are very valuable and rivaled in usable knowledge only by that of Vegenrage, Logantrance, and the magical orders of elves and dwarves. Of course, Vegenrage’s library has been transformed into the
Wogenkeld
, and Logantrance’s library has, well … what has happened to it is yet to be seen. Bastrenboar looks around.

“Cloakenstrike, this is amazing. I knew you had to live in an amazing place and this is.”

“Bastrenboar, you remember I said I would figure out how to get you in possession of the Snow Gold Trinket? Well, I think I remember something that will help us. Actually, it is what brought us together in the first place.” Cloakenstrike goes to a book on a shelf and pulls it out.

“I remember this book, Cloakenstrike. It was the book that Somgla had that I took from her. I remember it was much bigger than that, and you magically shrunk it down to this size. It was soon after I gave you this book that Arglon tried turning my army and I to pigs, and you saved us. I forgot all about this book. You were right. This book is important. What is it called, and how is it going to help us?”

Cloakenstrike can read the dragon language and tells them it is called
The Ugorian Stand
. He starts reading through the pages. He is consumed with his reading and ignores the humanors for the moment. “Ah, here it is. This is what I was looking for. Bastrenboar, listen to this part. The king of Ugoria will fall. The magical spear will penetrate his heart, ending the king. The race of man, not elves not dwarves and not human, will pick up the Snow Gold Trinket and hold its power, and the race of human will return to Strabalster. You see, Bastrenboar, you were always meant to hold the Snow Gold Trinket. I knew it all along.”

“Cloakenstrike, you could have taken the Snow Gold Trinket for yourself when we were in Trialani’s throne room, and you let me hold it. You could have taken it at any time, and you still let me strive for the trinket. I am sorry for questioning you back at the waterways. You have always been a true friend.”

“Yes, let’s read more of this. I forgot all about it. I don’t know how, but I forgot all about it.” Cloakenstrike reads to Fraborn and Bastrenboar, and the book tells all about the dragon attack that is going to happen very soon. They become aware that the dragons have summoned the lesser dragons to attack Ugoria with them, and Ugoria is destroyed. The elves are not eliminated, and the dragons suffer catastrophic losses, but Ugoria is destroyed, and the Snow Gold Trinket befalls the youngest of the races of man that becomes human once again. The three of them read all about the events and treat them like they are going to happen in the morning and prepare.

Those traveling from Mourbarria have made it to Valvernva, and they are looking through the demolished buildings and calling to see if there have been any survivors. Vegenrage is teaching Farrah how to use her magic to search for the presence of life, and she learns magic much quicker than Vegenrage had expected. They search the town of Valvernva, and surprisingly, they find many survivors that have hid underground. There are passageways under a lot of the houses that lead to the Uromwell Forest. Many have escaped the dragons’ onslaught and made their way to the forest. The people they find have horns that they blow, and it calls for others to come. Before long, there are hundreds of beaten down and weary people that have made their way back to the destroyed town of Valvernva. They all meet to the north of the town near the forest in case they should have to run for shelter. The people are not overjoyed to see Mournbow. There was not a good relationship between the people of Mourbarria and those of Valvernva. Mourbarria could not accommodate all that wanted to go there, and this leads to bad feelings. The people can see that far less had survived in Mourbarria and decide it is best they listen to what Mournbow has to say.

“We are all that is left of Mourbarria. The dragons attacked, and then a Changenoir led a pack of Grizenlorm to finish us off. The Grizenlorm were defeated, but the Changenoir escaped, and it was led by none other than Xanorax. The dragons came in and made us weak and defenseless, and then the Grizenlorm came to do the rest. I believe our only chance is to make for Breezzele, Shaspar, and Noireen. There may be humans that have survived there, and we need to unite.”

“Breezzele, Shaspar, Noireen! There have been no signs of life there, and how are we supposed to get there? Our forefathers have passed the stories down through the ages as to how the dragons come down from the skies every thousand years and feed on the humans. The last time, Shaspar was wiped out. The dragons have done their damage. They are done for another thousand years.”

“No, people, listen to me. The dragons have much more sinister goals this time. Maybe they let us live to continue their food supply, but they mean to kill all the magic-using humans alive. They mean to leave only the weak, unable to fight back. Is that what you want? Few survivors to rebuild and grow our race so the dragons can come back and kill our brothers and sisters at a later date? We need to unite and stop this constant threat that the dragons pose on us. The last time the dragons attacked, the races of man united and dealt the dragons a lethal blow, and they know how dangerous we can be to them. This time, they mean to eliminate the threat of man and continue their dominance. I say we unite all men and reverse the thinking of the dragons and eliminate them. I do not want my grandchildren and their children to have to go through this horrible loss of loved ones and then know it will happen again.”

“Okay, Mournbow. I will fight the dragons, but how do we get to the Elbutan Forest and Highlands? How do we fight back against the dragons or lesser dragons when we are stranded in the open? We cannot fight them with simple bows and arrows and swords. We need magic users to protect us and cast offensive magic. We have all heard of the adventures of Inglelapse, but he is old. What about these two? They seem fluent in magic. Will they help protect us and get us across to Elbutan?”

“I am Vegenrage, and I will help get you to Elbutan.” Loud sighs followed by a hush flows through the people as they look at one another and begin to talk.

“You are Vlianth, the spoken myth. You really exist.” A sturdy man comes forth. “I am Oliver, and my grandfather’s grandfather passed down the story of Vlianth, the magic user who will end the dragon reign.”

“You know of me? How do you know the meaning of Vlianth, which is dragon tongue for Vegenrage?”

“We are simple men and women here in Valvernva, just making a simple living, but we are not stupid. My ancestors long ago stole a book from one of the dragons slain after the last Dragon Feast. It told a lot, and we have kept it in safekeeping for just this day. This is Obare, my son. Obare, go to the safe place and retrieve the book. Bring it here at once.” Obare runs off into the woods. The people start to talk louder and smiles erupt. They look at Vegenrage with enthusiasm and call him their savior from the dragons. They touch him and crowd around him, asking him all kinds of questions. Oliver tries to hold them back and calm them down. Obare returns quickly from his fastest run with a huge book in his hands. The book is nearly as big as he is, and he presents it to his father. Oliver, in turn, presents it to Vegenrage. “Long ago, there was a few here in Valvernva that could read this book, but they have long since passed, and the knowledge of this language passed with them. Because of them, we have built the tunnels to lead us to safety in the event of the dragons attack on Valvernva. I give this to you in the hopes that you can reveal its secrets to us all.” Oliver gives the book to Vegenrage, and the book is massive—five feet tall by four feet wide. Vegenrage holds the book and concentrates with his eyes closed, and the book shrinks down to a more manageable size for him to read. Some of the people start to make a stand out of the rubble, and before too long, a wooden stand is made to set the book on, and Vegenrage places the book on it, while all the people gather round. While the people are preparing the stand, Farrah looks at Vegenrage with a smile and holds him focused on her.

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew they would ask us to stay with them?”

“I suspected.”

“What else do you suspect that I should know about?” Vegenrage smiles and begins to read the book for all the people to hear.

CHAPTER 8
Gisewear, Gannream, and Gairdennow

Gisewear, Gannream, and Gairdennow appear over the Dry Flats of Hilternor and rest on the dry plains. This is a barren land, not quite a desert but very dry with no trees and little rainfall. There are six smaller dragons with them. Megalla is colored in shades of black to silver. He looks very metallic. Oninblind is a very bright shade of orange. Reegaallia is a rose-colored dragon. Beteese is shades of brown that form patterns on his body, making his scales look like tree bark. Wisekee is almost white but has a bluish tint to him, making him look very gentle. Rungrunger is the meanest-looking of the young dragons and is rust colored. Gisewear is very familiar with his home world of Fargloin and all the lesser dragons they can summon here. He gives instructions for a plan to kill all the magic-using races of man in Erkensharie and Glaboria.

“Gannream, you know this world very well. Go to the Sarfuse Valley and summon the Wall Gliders. Let them know we feed on the elves and dwarves, and they are free to hunt with us. We feed in the morning. Gairdennow, go to the Ubwickesdon Dwelling and have Ubwickesdon march the ogres and orcs on Erkensharie. Reegaallia, you go to the Deserie Lands and march the hobgoblins on Erkensharie. Megalla, you gather the Meglasterns. Beteese, the Crainatours. Wisekee, the Zillwerns. Oninblind, you gather the Tronglebire. Rungrunger, you get Interford from his vanuary and have him bring the bog wolves. I will go to the Carbonheight Hills and see if I can bring Cormygle.”

“You watch that Cormygle. He thinks he can rival the dragons, and he is very powerful. If given the chance, he may spear you with his carbon shafts.”

“
Yes, I know, Gannream. He is a tricky one but one that can help ensure us an easy victory over Erkensharie. All of us, let us go now. We converge on Erkensharie in the morning, and then we take Glaboria.” The dragons head off to summon the lesser dragons.

Gannream appears over the Sarfuse Valley. This is a stretch of land that is two hundred and fifty miles long and almost one hundred miles wide at its southern end. There was a massive cave in, and all the earth fell here. It is twenty miles deep, and the slopes of this valley have been smoothing out, allowing for trees and vegetation to grow. There are still many miles of sheer cliff faces here, and this is where the Wall Gliders sit and wait. Wall Gliders are huge five feet across and eight feet long. Their size masks the fragile nature of this odd creature. They are mostly all wings. They have a slender body in the shape of an oval. They have a long tail and hands attached to the middle of their wings on the top and bottom with long sharp claws. They do have a nasty narrow head with sharp teeth. They are an ambush predator. They wait on the cliff faces, and when prey walks in sight, the Wall Glider let’s go of its perch and glides to the victim. They latch on the back of their prey, covering the animal with its wings, digging into it with its claws, and begin to feed. Most of their prey can do nothing except run around and roll over, but this does not detach the Wall Glider, and it feeds until the animal is subdued and dies. They usually bite at the neck of the victim into the bone in the neck, immobilizing them quickly. Being as big as they are, the Wall Gliders are very light, weighing only about one hundred pounds. They do not need to feed that often, only about once every three months, making them hard to detect and very stealthy on their attacks. They really are no match for the elves. Elven arrows easily penetrate their wings, and elven swords easily kill them. However, this is just another distraction that they will have to defend against from the air.

Gannream descends into the valley and invites the Wall Gliders to join in on the hunt in the morning. He will spend all day in the valley because the Gliders are spread all throughout the valley, and he intends to invite them all on the hunt.

Gairdennow appears over the Ubwickesdon Dwelling in Ilkergire. This is a very eerie place. It has a darkness about the land. There are swamps all around, and all the trees and vegetation seem to be dead. The ground is muddy and stinky with stagnant water. Gairdennow stays in the air, complaining to himself.
Of course, they send me, the most beautiful dragon, to the filthiest place on Fargloin
. Ubwickesdon is the most similar of the lesser dragons to the dragons. He is a large lizard, about half the size of dragons. He is more like a monitor lizard with wings and has an exceptionally long tail, and he is magical. He is more powerful in magic than brute force and a force to be respected. Ubwickesdon has had many run-ins with the elves and somehow has always come out of confrontations besting the elves and they have given him the nickname the Slippery Serpent. Gairdennow flies around looking for Ubwickesdon’s Dwelling and this is tricky because it is always moving but Gairdennow knows what to look for. Ubwickesdon has a lair that is a monastery that he once saw many hundreds of years ago. There were elves that took to a life of solitude and meditation and Ubwickesdon ended their life early. He actually moved the monastery piece by piece until it became his dwelling in the now Ilkergire bogs. This dark region is now known as Ubwickesdon’s Dwelling. It is fifty miles wide by fifty miles long and his lair is always moving from one place to another. He used great and very powerful magic to achieve this because the elves of Erkensharie were always trying to destroy him. Once he had his lair settled and able to move at any time he started to gather dark forces to live in the bogs around him. This prevented the constant threat of the elves moving into the bogs. Eventually this became a standoff and the elves keep to the Erkensharie and the lesser dragons stay at the swamps in Ilkergire which is all the land south of the Erkensharie all the way to the Smildren Sea. Gairdennow finally spots the tall dark rock pillar that he has been looking for and lowers himself to the ground. He uses his breath in a pretty fantastic way. He breathes his Gustament not in the form of a silt cloud but in a heavier cloud that falls quickly to the ground and covers it in a golden floor that is very shiny. This makes the ground more suitable for the dragon of gold to settle and stand on the earth. He stands on his hind legs as tall as the large pillar above the door to the entrance to Ubwickesdon’s Dwelling. There is a large rectangular-shaped pillar that rises about fifteen feet, forming a pyramid at the top of a mound of earth, and there are rock walls that lead down under the pillar to a door entering the dwelling.

“Ubwickesdon, I am Gairdennow, the dragon of gold, and I summon you to feast with the dragons on the elves of Erkensharie and the dwarves of Glabor. We hunt come daybreak and invite you and all the lesser dragons to hunt with us. This is a united front, and all the magic-using races of man will be hunted and feasted on. I ask you to gather the orcs and ogres and march on Erkensharie. Show yourself and give me your answer.”

The door opens, and a white mist creeps up out of the entrance up to the earth where Gairdennow stands. Ubwickesdon slithers out of the dwelling, and he is very cool-looking. He slithers like a snake but with long skinny arms or legs kind of like what a salamander has, helping him move on the ground. As he gets close to Gairdennow, he levitates in the air and is quite a sight. His body rises in the air magically and forms a large S. He has a dragon’s head at the front of his snakelike body. At the top arch of the S, he has two beautifully colored wings. His wings are feathered in red and blue and white, and he does not flap them. They extend out and slowly sway up and down. He magically hovers; however, his wings are still fully functional. Below his wings on the bottom half of his round body that is about four feet wide, he has long narrow legs that he can use to walk on the ground and grasp things with. His snakelike body is a dark greyish blue covered in scales, and at the bottom of the S on the underside of his body, he has two more legs that help him walk on land if he desires. They also have hands on them for grasping things.

“So the dragons seek the help of the lesser dragons during this third Dragon Feast. Must be the races of man have become so powerful in their ways, so numerous in their numbers that the dragons fear reprisals from them. I too have felt the sting of elven arrow, the slice of dwarven ax, and the magic of man. I will gather the orcs and the ogres, and we will march on Erkensharie, but do not turn this into a war between dragons and lesser dragons when we eliminate the magic of the races of man.”

“Do not fear the dragons, Ubwickesdon. We mean to set the Maglical System to the way it was supposed to be, but remember, the dragons are and always will be the dominant species. We decimate Erkensharie in the morning.”

“It shall be done, Gairdennow, and the legions of Ilkergire shall be there.” Gairdennow takes to the wing and flies off.

Reegaallia appears over the Deserie Lands. These are the northwesternmost part of the Ilkergire and the beginning of the swamps. The Long Forest is only ten miles away, and there is soft earth between the Deserie Lands and the Long Forest. The land gets noticeably darker, colder, and eerier as one gets close to the bogs and swamps. The Deserie Lands still have a lot of trees here, but they are noticeably less healthy than they should be. They look like they are dying, and there is a mist that grows and gets thicker the deeper you venture into the swamps. Reegaallia flies over the Deserie Lands, trumpeting a deep bellow from his chest, lungs, and throat, making the hobgoblins aware of his presence. The hobgoblins have just as much to fear from the dragons as do the races of man. The dragons feed on all; however, the hobgoblins will serve and allow themselves to be led by dragons where man will not. This rarely happens, but the lesser dragons are only called lesser dragons because in times like this, they will follow the dragons and do what they are told in the hopes they receive good graces from the dragons and, hopefully, be spared from the dragons feeding on them. The hobgoblins recognize this call as one of at least limited friendship and hurry to the call. Reegaallia flies around for about an hour, calling, and the hobgoblins follow from the ground to rendezvous with him. He flies to a large clearing, and slowly, the hobgoblins come forth from the scattered trees and form around the much larger but heavily outnumbered dragon. Hobgoblins are humanoid in shape, much like a large man, but they have long thin hair with gnarly teeth and thick skin full of pits and deep wrinkles. They have long fingernails not at all maintained and tattered clothes. They are capable of speech but do not work well together and spend much of their time fighting with one another. Reegaallia begins to speak, and they listen to what he has to say.

“Hobgoblins, the dragons invite you to feed on the elves and dwarves of Fargloin. Tomorrow morning, the dragons feast in Erkensharie, and you are welcome to join us and feed on the races of man. Tomorrow morning, go to Erkensharie and help us eliminate the magic-using races of man, and the dragons will hold you in high regard and spare you from our hunger. The dragons rally all the minions of the Ilkergire to Erkensharie. In the morning, the hobgoblins attack from the southwest. Will you be there?”

“Yes, yes, the hobgoblins will be there.” The hobgoblins rally, shout, and cheer, and Reegaallia takes to the air and moves off.

Megalla appears south of the Deserie Lands in Meglern. This land is much like the Deserie Lands, dark, swampy, and full of dying trees, but the Meglesterns dominate the land here. The Meglasterns are very much like large bulls, and they have no language and very limited intelligence. Megalla can communicate with them telepathically, and this is the most tedious process and one Megalla feels is very much beneath him. He has to seek out the male bulls, and they are solitary, so he has to find them individually and communicate telepathically to each one. The best he can do is set them on a course that is outside of the bogs and just inside the Long Forest, but once he gets them running, there is soon a stampede of two hundred Meglasterns, heading for Erkensharie, and this will be difficult to contend with. The Meglasterns will simply run right through Erkensharie. Meglasterns are very well adapted to forest life, and the damage they will do is to trample everything in their path, and they are now on their way. They know enough to stop and rest before they get to Erkensharie and after they have rested they will stampede again. They will be very difficult to stop, and you don’t want to get in their way.

Beteese appears over Crantour, the home of the Crainatours, which is just south of Meglern and still a stinky dark bog. Crantour is the southwesternmost point of the Ilkergire, and this is definitely a swampy land with a unique tree that grows. The Trialsky trees grow eighty feet high and are the largest trees in Fargloin, with a few exceptions of very old and tall trees here and there and, of course, the Erken trees that grow to one hundred feet high. The Trialsky trees are not densely populated and have a lot of space in between each tree, but they are the kind of trees well suited for the Crainatours. Crainatours are large stork-like creatures. They have large stork-like legs with very wide webbed feet that allow them to wade through the swamps, searching for fish and other life in the swampy pools here. Their body, growing up from their long legs, is feathered and widens up to their shoulders and wings, and this is where the similarity to the stork ends. They are a swampy brown color with spots of white in their feathers, and the wings they have are very large, and on the bottom of their wings, they have long barbed spears that lay facing the back of the wing. But they can extend the spears forward, and using the motion of their wings, they can stab or impale victims, which they do a lot, and the prey becomes stuck to the wing, and then the Crainatour can use its long pointed beak to stab the animal to death, or they can use the spears on their other wing to impale the animal as well. They have long slender heads with large stereoscopic eyes, giving them great vision when hunting in the murky swamp waters or when soaring high above. They have a sharp long beak used for stabbing prey, and it has a powerful bite that can crush and break bone. They are powerful predators but have to be careful because they have thin weak bones, and if their initial attack on larger prey is not well timed and executed just right, they can become prey to the larger animals they sometimes try to prey on. They nest high up in the Trialsky trees and far out of reach of most danger. One danger they are not out of the reach of is the dragons, and Beteese is flying through the trees. Fortunately for the Crainatours, he is calling for them, and they leave the trees to follow him. He flies all around Crantour, and his following gets larger and larger until a few hundred Crainatours are following him. He finds a clearing and lands on a patch of earth strong enough to support him. The Crainatours land all around him on the large rocks, the fallen trees, and even the earth by Beteese. The Crainatours are really just large birds that are evolving into something else. They have no language that they can communicate with, just gestures and calls that they can recognize. They are evolving toward language, but it is far off in their future yet. The Crainatours are like most of the minions of the swamps and bogs, being no real threat to the elves, but they can understand enough to know that Beteese wants them to follow him in the morning and they will. This is just another obstacle that the elves are going to have to deal with. Beteese will stay in Crantour through the night and hunt some of its delicacies, and in the morning, he will head for Erkensharie with a lot of Crainatours behind him.