"So," said the Star Dragon, "is this why I lost track of the Red Dragon?" His eyes glowed hotly. "Interesting."
Winds swirled around the Star Dragon as his armor melted away. His figure grew, long talons emerging from fingertips, head and neck becoming more serpentine. Wings and tail long hidden lashed out with vigorous life. Dark scales tipped with silver covered his body in a coat stronger than any mail yet forged by mortals.
Jeal lowered himself into a four legged crouch, wings swept back, neck coiled and eyes wary. The Star Dragon's bulk now exceeded his own, but likely not by more than a ton or two. Even so, the Red Dragon knew the Star Dragon had fought the greater number of battles between them.
"You have the form, but can you fight?" asked the Star Dragon, ignoring the sword thrusts Sadoul busied himself inflicting on the Star Dragon's shin.
Jeal raised his head slightly, teeth bared. He carefully recalled all he could that old Kamille had ever taught him about the transformation and how to handle his draconic form. It would have to suffice.
The Red Dragon sucked in a deep breath of air, feeling the rage burning within his lungs for the first time. He would have to take care not to injure the combatants below him.
The Star Dragon lunged to Jeal's left, and the Red Dragon swung his head to keep him in sight. Jeal shot forth his first gout of flame, scorching the earth just beyond his moving opponent's heels.
"Don't aim at him!" barked Mythril, now only a third of the size of his rider. "Aim in front of him! Otherwise he'll be gone by the time your flames get there!"
Jeal ducked out of the way of of the Star Dragon's talons and with a growl, barreled his head into his opponent's chest.
The two dragons tumbled over, writhing, each seeking to keep the other's teeth and claws from his neck.
The Star Dragon shot out a burst of pure darkness from his mouth. But the blast went wild, running in a streak across the ground and nearly striking Ghaleon and Sadoul.
Sadoul grimaced as he fell back in his effort to stay clear. All the plant life touched by the black beam had withered away as though the sun had forever been taken from them.
"We've got to get Kazyr and Solon out of here!" Ghaleon shouted over the draconic bellowing.
The ground shook as the Star Dragon hurled Jeal into the face of a mountain.
Sadoul nodded, sheathing his sword. He ran over to Kazyr's side and called up some of the magic remaining to him. The white-haired wizard's wounds healed just enough for him to survive the jostling of being carried without worsening his condition.
Ghaleon knelt to pick up the Magician of Water's unconscious form and turned to look for Sadoul when a column of fire seared a wall of flame only a few feet to his left. He raised an arm to shield his eyes from the brightness. A sudden shadow passed over him, momentarily blocking the sun's light and heat from his body. Ghaleon glanced skyward as he stood up, carrying Solon. The dragons had taken their battle to the air.
Ghaleon heard a shout, and the flames near him receded, although the earth lay black and torn where the fire had struck it. Sadoul appeared on the other side, a semi-conscious Kazyr, now in human form, leaning on him for support.
"Kind of dangerous to stay down here with those two raining hell quite literally down on us," said Sadoul as a mountain exploded somewhere behind him.
Ghaleon nodded. "I'm rather reluctant to simply leave Jeal to his fight. But with Kazyr and Solon in this condition we can't help both those two and Jeal at the same time."
Sadoul scowled. "Why even help Jeal at all?"
A greenish barrier popped up just in time to reflect a boulder that happened to fly their way.
"Jeal's a Dragon of Althena," replied Ghaleon. "I don't know how it's possible, but he is. And as a Dragon, it's his duty to protect Althena's creation. Since Althena passed away long ago, he now answers only to Lucia."
"Lucia."
"Yes." A roar wailed above them as the Star Dragon tore a gash into Jeal's flank. "Now let's drop these two off somewhere so we can help him!"
Kazyr stirred slightly although he did not raise his head. "No..." he groaned. "I can help... Phoenixes are born in fire."
Sadoul shook him gently. "C'mon, Kazyr. You're delirious. You shouldn't have gotten in the way. I won't take that excuse you gave me back there. Better warrior not withstanding, I'd probably be in better condition than you are now if I took that blow. Besides, you can always resurrect me. We can't do that to you."
Ghaleon murmured the words to the transfer spell and traced a sigil in the air. The four wizards disappeared to the lands closer to the remains of Mt. Bole, several miles south of the battlefield.
"Give up, dragonling!" bellowed the Star Dragon. He flapped his wings unsteadily. The membrane of his right wing bore a long tetrad of shallow claw marks that had not pierced all the way through. Most of his wounds remained minor, although his left forelimb hung limply, burned by Jeal's dragon fire.
"No." Jeal snarled, half in anger, half in pain. "A Dragon lives to serve Althena's cause. You know that as well as I do." Jeal fought to keep the Star Dragon in his sight. One his eyes had swollen shut from a gash to his head. "The Maker doesn't intend to preserve the Blue Star. Otherwise you would not threaten to destroy Danek."
The Star Dragon laughed, a deep coughing sound issuing from his throat. "The Maker only preserves that which is worthy! He seeks to improve! The mistakes of Althena will be corrected. Our goddess was always distressed whenever the humans quarreled and made war. We are merely improving upon her own designs! The Danek are a scourge to the mortals of the Blue Star, just as Zophar was to Althena."
"Liar!" roared Jeal, dodging the Star Dragon's feint. "Just because we don't live on the continent, just because our customs and beliefs are different," --Jeal twisted his bulk over the Star Dragon's back, gouging his claws into the older dragon's shoulders-- "doesn't mean we are evil!"
The Star Dragon flapped wildly and dipped into a roll in an effort to throw Jeal. "The Maker offered you your revenge against the man who gave your nation such a reputation!"
"So he could remove my Empire later?" Jeal chuckled. "What the Maker gives he takes. The Danek may be different, but we are not stupid. I see now that we do not need his help."
The Star Dragon flung Jeal off him and the Red Dragon tumbled down several hundred feet before righting himself. "What is this 'we' thing you have for the humans?" the Star Dragon demanded. He dove down at Jeal, catching him in the midriff and sending them both hurtling towards the ground. Jeal grappled and writhed in an effort to get out from under his opponent. "Are you a man or a dragon? I saw you use that Crest to transform..."
"Neither." Jeal grunted, pushing back the other dragon's claws. With an effort he thrust out his right wing, spinning the two so that he rose on top. "I am a Segazzi!"
The two crashed into the mountains, bringing the peaks down around them.
Jeal slowly backed off the Star Dragon, having let his opponent take the brunt of the impact. The dark-scaled dragon twitched, and much to the Red Dragon's surprise, righted himself. Though his wings hung crumpled and useless at his sides, the Star Dragon could still raise his head.
"Fool! The Maker will not let me die that easily," the Star Dragon spat.
Jeal tensed himself for a spring. "I pity you then."
The Star Dragon leaped forward and a blast of flame struck his right flank. His head swiveled to take into account this newcomer. Jeal didn't dare look to see who had arrived; the caster stood on his blind side. But the Red Dragon had a feeling he knew who had returned.
"Hey, Star Dragon, you haven't stepped on us yet!" shouted Sadoul. The Magician of Fire stood confidently beside Ghaleon on a ledge roughly level with the dragons' heads. Fireclaw and Torene had alighted on a second outcropping slightly above them. Mythril had been sent to Kazyr and Solon's location to bring them back once the battle ended.
Jeal sucked in a deep breath during the Star Dragon's distraction and blew with all the strength his lungs could find.
The elder dragon's reflexes spared him from taking the full force of the flames, although his burns now ran the entire length of his left side. He swiftly planted his rear legs and supported his torso with one good forelimb. The Star Dragon swung his head back to face Jeal.
Another burst of flame struck the Star Dragon's side, this time from Ghaleon.
"Don't forget us just yet!" Sadoul chortled. "We've still got a present for you!" He raised his hand, swiftly chanting the words to his most powerful spell.
The air crackled with magical energy. Ghaleon's gaze hardened as he raised his hands, a sparkling black sphere appearing between them.
The Star Dragon raised his head, sucking in a deep breath.
Jeal leaped up and back, giving the two mages plenty of room.
"Coming up," --lightning crackled around Sadoul-- "one Mega-"
Ghaleon drowned out Sadoul as he hurled twin lavender tinged thunder bolts.
"Dragon-"
Lightning joined with lightning, barreling through the Star Dragon's blast of darkness.
"Cannon!"
The Star Dragon shrieked as the giant mass of raw energy enveloped him. A hot wind surged back at the two wizards as a bright light exploded. The Star Dragon lay still, a great black corpse on a bed of molten rock.
"I've never seen the like," said Torene, referring to the magic as Fireclaw slid down the mountainside to join Ghaleon and Kazyr on the ledge. From the look on the two mages, she surmised that they hadn't either.
Sadoul's expression quickly recovered with a cocky smile. "Well, you know it's only because Ghaleon here was yelling so loud. He messed up my concentration. He didn't even let me finish my sentence!"
Ghaleon glared back at Sadoul. "It's probably more than that. Perhaps a result of casting too many powerful spells in succession. The land couldn't support the two of us casting Mega Blast and Dragon Cannon at the same time and so the attacks melded."
Fireclaw lifted his head, interrupting their conversation, and bellowed in the draconic speech for Mythril to return. The great roar echoed for miles.
Jeal weakly staggered over to the ledge. He nodded to the group settled there and briefly raised his head, adding his own trumpeting call to Fireclaw's. Then with a sigh he collapsed at the base of the mountain.
Torene gave a slight gasp, and ushered Ghaleon and Sadoul to mount Fireclaw. The foursome glided down as Jeal's body was enveloped in a scarlet glow and began to shrink. They landed beside the Danek emperor just as the light faded to reveal the form of a heavily battered human, still clutching the Red Dragon's Crest in his right hand.
Sadoul scampered off first. "Let me see to Jeal. I think I'm the only one with healing magic here."
The Magician of Fire knelt by the Danek emperor's side and elevated his torso. "Well, Jeal, you're sure full of surprises," Sadoul said with a smirk. He raised a hand, using the last of his magic power to close the gashes the Star Dragon made.
The group made little in the way of movement for the rest of the day. Jeal remained unconscious until nightfall. Mythril wasn't certain if it was due to the severity of his injuries or the transformation or a combination of both. Since his rider needed time to recover, Mythril requested that Torene and Fireclaw go to the rest of Jeal's soldiers and let them know of their victory. The pair left and returned just as the sun sank down in the horizon.
In the meantime, Sadoul did his best to recover his magic and tend to Kazyr and Solon. When the white-haired wizard seemed hale enough, Sadoul gave him a stern lecture about not taking hits for him. Kazyr took it graciously and smiled obediently to placate him.
"I swear that we are never going to set out from anywhere again without me seeing to it that we're all in perfect health," Sadoul muttered. "Solon and I were still weak from fighting. Ghaleon had been carting that injured shoulder around. Am I really the only person who can heal here?" He grumbled some more at an unintelligible level before raising his voice again. "You'd think there was some rule that all powerful wizards aren't supposed to know how to heal themselves!"
Dinner began to roast about an hour after sunset. Sadoul allowed Kazyr to leave long enough to scare up something fresh to eat. And a white wolf returned not much later with two large conies to supplement Solon's hard rolls.
Not much later, Jeal awoke.
"Just in time to eat, eh?" Sadoul joked as he saw Jeal sit up.
Jeal joined the ring around the fire with Torene, Ghaleon, Solon, and Sadoul. Mythril and Fireclaw lay on either side of the ring, shielding them from the night wind. The Danek emperor wondered where Kazyr was when a white wolf popped up near him, a third rabbit in his jaws. The wolf regarded Jeal with some amusement before taking a seat beside Sadoul.
"That's Kazyr, I take it," Jeal said, pointing at the wolf.
"Um hm," said Sadoul. "He's a bit of a shapeshifter."
Torene offered Jeal some of the rabbit, which she put on a plate from her mess kit.
"Are you feeling well enough to some talking?" asked Ghaleon.
Jeal nodded to Ghaleon as he accepted the food.
"Then tell me, how are you the Red Dragon of Althena?"
Jeal sighed, leaning back on Mythril's flank. "I suppose I may as well." He smiled slightly. "And then I'll have to hear your story again. This time in a more conventional fashion.
"Anyway, get comfortable. It's something of a long tale. I don't know the full of it myself either. Mostly things my mother and old Kamille, Mythril's father, used to tell me.
"Ages ago the Blue Star finally reached the level at which life could reasonably survive here. Lucia, as guardian of this world, called the Four Dragons from Lunar to help oversee its reconstruction. All went well for many millennia. The Dragons traveled back and forth between worlds as they pleased, although they rarely did so.
"Then, a thousand years ago, the Armor fell down from the sky, landing on the Blue Star, which by then had been renamed by its inhabitants as Vay. The destructive capabilities were beyond anything this planet has seen since the days of Zophar. Garnet, the Red Dragon of the time, would not wait for Lucia's chosen heroes to gather together. Having newly reached adulthood, his temper was hot, and his patience short. The people of Vay had forgotten their origins. Don't ask me why human travel stopped between worlds. But the people had not forgotten the legends of dragons.
"During Garnet's travels fell in love with a heroic young woman by the name of Illia. He admired her spirit and gave her his Red Dragon's Crest so that she could help protect herself. Later, once the danger of the Armor had passed, Garnet was at loathe to return to Lucia's tower. He petitioned Lucia to make him human so that he may stay with her. Garnet's request was granted. To him, it was but a small sacrifice to stay with the one he truly loved.
"From the marriage of Garnet and Illia, all Segazzi are descended. Normally only their human descendants are referred to as Segazzi, but in truth, all the dragons of Vay are as well. In the dragon language segazz means 'half', for in truth, that's what we are. Half dragons, half humans, but all with the same two ancestors.
"Because of this unusual union, Lucia instilled just enough power in the Red Dragon's Crest so that whichever of Garnet and Illia's descendants was freely given the Crest by another of the Segazzi would be able to tranform into the Red Dragon and take his or her forefather's place. The Crest would allow for the transformation as well as the endowment of all full draconic abilities.
"Over the years the Crest kept being handed down, for the lifespans of the dragons of Vay were not much longer than that of the humans, until at last Kamille gave it to me."
Jeal glanced around to see if his tale was accepted before eating from his plate.
"So, is it possible for you to teleport us to to Lucia's tower then?" asked Ghaleon.
Jeal swallowed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen Lucia in ten years. Sometime during my teenage years, a barrier was erected, blocking any attempt to teleport there. I now think that's the Maker's doing."
"Ten years?" Solon repeated. "Are you sure she's still around?"
"She is," said Mythril. "We Segazzi would know if she died. It is likely she is in stasis within her tower. The other three Dragons should be with her as well. Last we heard, they decided to temporarily reside there. Temporarily in their terms could very well mean decades or even centuries."
"However, if you are intent on seeing Lucia, I believe I can help you get there," stated Jeal. "I have a stake against this Maker now, as well as my duty to her. If you have a map-"
"That we do," Ghaleon interjected.
"-then I can arrange for our transportation," Jeal finished.
"The Red Dragon ?" asked Sadoul.
Jeal shook his head. "No, an airplane is not the wisest mode of transportation right now. I have done some scrying with Torene's help. We've discovered there is the equivalent of hurricane winds surrounding the tower, which itself is on a rocky island in the middle of nowhere far to the east. No airplane yet designed will stand a chance in those winds. A solid ship of steel however; that may stand a chance of getting through."
"I can influence the waves if we go by boat as well," added Solon, looking at Sadoul. "I can't do anything to slow the wind."
Sadoul sighed. "All right, by boat it is. Not like I like water or anything."
The discussion continued on into the night over supplies, what size ship to take, and whether or not a crew should go with them. Then it shifted to a retelling of Ghaleon, Kazyr, and Sadoul's adventures for yet another time. Kazyr lost interest early on, and curled up, head between his paws, and went to sleep. Dawn was only hours away before the others followed his example.