The Necromancer's Dragon

Chapter 21: The Siege of the North

General Araneus marched forth with a helmet underneath an arm and united with Aracania, ensuring all was in order. As soon as Aracania helped him into the saddle, she signaled with her wings to take flight. The riders put up a great deal of noise as the dragons rose into the air, echoing throughout the covert. Doragon's blazing presence in his gold-silver brilliance overshadowed Aracania's slick and shimmering black and purple hide. Thor's crimson and golden gleam radiated with the morning sun's rays, casting flecks across the ground as the dragons beat up into the sky.

As the Pyre's war bell finished its last ring, the three groups positioned themselves above the wall, hovering aloft, waiting for any sign of the enemy. The archers below got into position, bows taut and arrows nocked. Giant boulders dipped in oil sat in piles beside the already armed standard catapults and trebuchets near blazing braziers. The eerie silence welcomed the glistening morning sun slowly rising over the horizon. When she noticed a flying object soaring towards them some distance away, Selena pulled out her spyglass and identified it as a fireball.

The blazing meteor collided with Alfheim's wall, destroying one of the catapults nearby. Not too long after, another comet rained upon them, and the Lich's army was soon drawn insight: from their perspective, the ferrying dragons flew in unison like a murder of crows. They were positioned accordingly, the larger weighted dragons above while the smaller ones swarmed underneath, shielding the transport vessels.

As the flight drew closer, Selena counted their fifty-and-more dragons compared to their twenty-five, the full might of Her Imperial Majesty's Air Force. Each ship from the enemy carrier valued close to a thousand soldiers apiece. The Lich's numbers far surpassed their initial estimate of thirty thousand; however, on Aracania, General Araneus sent up the first flag: Engage enemy at close range.

As the formation leaders took their separate battalion and, once the dragons chose their targets, they struck out immediately. Thor's eyes locked on an outlying transport dragon, a heavyweight riderless Blackland Steelwing; to Selena's surprise, its unwaning strength continued pushing towards the city. As its eyes fixated on the approaching pair, it paused mid-air without faltering from its heavy load. The smaller dragons guarding the Steelwing scattered like fleeing cockroaches as it reared its head back and exhaled another fireball soaring straight for Selena and Thor.

Thor folded his wings abruptly and made a steep dive to avoid the fire blast, but the Steelwing was relentless, unleashing a deadly volley of pure fiery destruction. Swiveling his wings and through a few mighty wing-strokes, Thor weaved through the inferno storm; one meteor launched towards them, and the two were set on a collision course.

However, before Thor could switch direction, Selena unbuckled herself from the harness, and, upon unsheathing Dragonheart, she dashed along his spine. Instinctively calling forth air magic, she jumped in the air, blade held high. Once more, she envisioned its energy, and Selena swung her sword at the dragon's fire as the fireball drew close; she repelled the attack, countering ten-fold, directing the blast into the transport dragon. Before the Steelwing could disengage, Selena's redirected offense struck it from the burning sky in a series of explosions, its vessel dropping with its body.

As she briefly floated while Thor swiveled around and focused on catching her within his claws, Selena pointed out their next target. Thor halted himself in mid-air while he dropped her back into the harness, and he beat up quickly once Selena strapped herself back in. Please, don't do that again.

I will only be that reckless if it means using its attack against it. Only a dragon's magic can harm another dragon.

Then you can do that without leaving the saddle.

While Thor worked on making contact with the next transport, Selena's eyes darted to Aracania for any signs of distress; facing another Steelwing head on, she had already reared her head back like a snake, green acid and poison boiling within her open maw. The other dragons beside her slowed their wing beats as General Araneus signaled: Fall back.