Motherheart Dragon Priest

Prologue 1c - The Challenge: New edit

The Usurper faltered as the King lunged from the opposite side to which he had been prepared for. He tried to recover but the King pushed harder and up over the Usurper, preventing him from regaining his balance and then suddenly, it was over.

The Usurper fell sideways his great body unable to recover. He threw his great head at the King in a last feeble gesture as his front legs hit the torn up ground. The King reared back, his neck flaring and his colours brightening as his front legs came up and he reared to his full height. The great clawed feet hung threateningly in mid air and he let out a long hiss as the Usurper scrambled to his feet and stalked off into the scrub.

The clearing remained silent for but a moment and then all the sounds of the forest returned now that the furore had faded from memory.

The old man was of a mind to prepare himself, and at the right moment rush forth and clamber onto the back of the victorious King of the Mountains. This would cement his relationship with the King and reinforce in him, that Stillness Desert was his companion in all things.

Desert had returned home with his Master nary a year ago, from the wars of the Soong Empire and the Qhan of the Monqhul, and he desparately needed to hone his Dragon riding skills. Today, though, he decided he would let his friend enjoy his victory in peace. There would be time enough later for them to ride together in victory to Forestpool Temple.

The King dropped down onto all fours and turning his head back and forth tasted the air with his great tongue. He appeared to Stillness Desert to savour the moment of his victory and the retention of his dominion. Was he reading too much into the way the King held his head or the stiff legged walk. No, Desert knew him too well for that. The nature of the hissing and the guttural huffing were the closest Desert had heard to what he would call laughter and Dragon joy.

Stillness Desert made to move from behind the shield of the OilLeaf tree and announce his presence and King turned as he did so and looked directly at the Master of the Temple of the Mothers Naked Heart. The Kings head not two fingers, some six paces away from him. The great mouth began to open.

The old man grabbed the bolus of herbs from the pouch at his waist and raised his arm. As the huge maw opened and the great front fangs glinted in the afternoon sunlight, the old man threw the bolus into the waiting maw. The mouth snapped shut and the King turned to the right, away from the old man. Desert hesitated but a moment, then rushed from his cover and leapt upon the outstretched front left leg. With deft footing upon the sleek scales he bounded up onto, then sat astride the armoured shield of the neck of the King of the Northern Dragon Mountains.

Stillness Desert scratched around the King's skull and ears and called him great and powerful in the Mountain Peoples dialect that the King was used to. Their ritual completed, the King moved off in that slow, stiff legged walk he had when he was going into or coming out of a challenge with another male. Desert made no attempt to guide the King. The victorious regent would make his way down to the grasslands of the lower hill slopes where the fertile females tended to congregate around the trackways of the herds of Longleg and Leathernose that grazed the hills this time of year.

They would smell his success and know he, remained the King. They would smell the presence of Stillness Desert and know him.