The Dragon's Cry

You fly toward the early morning sun and the mountains of the east. You want to get as far away as possible before someone starts going after the dragon who wrecked the castle and kidnapped the king.

What the hell am I doing? you think. I must be crazy! You let the whistling wind drown your racing thoughts. Faster and faster you fly, wanting to get away from the terror and fear that fills your memories of recent events... but they're still there, inside you. Hurting.

The fields below you blur into streaks of gold, and slowly you begin to feel the elation of your first flight once more. The ache fades, thoughts slip away, and at last there's nothing but the flight. After a few loops, you become aware of a screaming sound -- The King! Jarred back to reality, you return to a level flight path.

"Uh... sorry, Your Majesty," you say, hoping your deep dragon voice doesn't intimidate him any further.

"Unhand me this instant!"

"I don't think you want me to do that..."

"Gleep!"

A jet of flame roars past you, and you almost drop the petrified King in panic as you look to see its source...

Dragons! Up ahead of you is a flight of six, maybe seven or eight dragons. It's hard to tell, looking into the sun. And it almost looks like some of them have... riders? Yes, two or three have human shapes perched upon their backs.

One of the dragons dives below, and as you turn to avoid the attack, you feel something tugging at your captive. You turn your neck, and find that the other dragon has latched her claws onto the King's chair. You find yourself hoping whoever tied him to the chair did a hell of a lot better job with the knots than the guy who captured you in the first place. To your surprise, you see a collar wrapped around the neck of the dragon grappling with you over the king. To your greater surprise, she has a rider -- and he looks familiar. But you can't place his face.

Rrrrippppp! The ropes break, and the king starts falling. Damn!

You dive down, trying to move faster than the free-falling King, and find yourself in a race with the other dragon.

The ground comes up closer, and you creep closer and closer to the King...

Your opponent suddenly cuts in, grabbing the King and flying away, and you make a last-ditch effort to gain altitude...

You tuck your claws in and graze within what must be centimeters of the ground -- you can actually feel blades of grass against your legs -- and you pull into a nearly vertical climb, winging your way toward the dragon who has just re-kidnapped the King.

Suddenly, you feel intense heat as a fireball or twelve slam broadside into you. You shriek in agony, and as your climb halts, you black out from the pain and the g-forces....

The End

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