The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

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      The sun began to fill the sky with light, slowly blurring out the stars, and dimming the light of the moon. The air turned from cool to warm as the sun itself popped up and looked down on us over the valley wall. Easton struggled to stand as his wound continued to bleed, and Hudson's lifeless body remained in the grass, which was stained with blood as it ran from the wound in his torso and the slit on his throat. John, Theodore and Easton gathered around Hudson's body and gazed at it, with little expression being shown.

"I'm.... Sorry about your friend." I said as I placed my hand on John's shoulder.

He turned his head slightly and half grinned.

"It's alright. Better him than you." He replied.

"Well, now what do we do?" Theodore asked.

Just ask he asked this, a pair of deer came into view in the distance, which the dragons took immediate notice of.

"We get some food." I said as I picked up my bow.

I crept up on the mother and calf between the trees, pulled back the arrow, and fired at the calf. The young animal moaned as it toppled over, while the adult looked around and grunted, trying to figure out what was going on. I drew a second arrow, but before I fired it, another arrow flew past my head from behind me and struck the adult deer in the neck, taking it down. I turned around to see Bailey holding Tahli's bow. She smiled, and I gave her a nod before turning back to the fallen pair of deer.

Later that day as we ate our freshly killed food, I herd a rustling sound off behind me. I turned around to see Magar waddling around as Doron held his head up above her. I didn't think much of it, and just assumed Doron was harassing Magar again.

"That black dragon is as dark as the kings heart." John stated.

I chuckled when he said this.

"Well, soon enough, i'll have his heart in my hands." I replied.

"So, when do you plan to actually attack the king? What's holding you back?" Easton added as he swallowed his food.

I sighed before replying.

"We've tried several times now, and every time, we suffer to many casualties. I've grown to fear the harsh reality that we may not be able to defeat him." I said while looking down at the ground.

"That was so long ago, and you were facing many more adversaries than you would be now. I have seen what the king has left. He has an army a fraction of the size that it once was, and many of the soldiers that he has are younger men with little to no experience fighting against you. Most of the men who fought you years ago have either been killed during the fights, or have been replaced by younger, fitter soldiers. They have no experience, and smaller numbers. You have the advantage over both." John said firmly.

"John, we lost most of our army in the last battle with the kings military in the mountains, and I sent the few survivors back to their homes to live out the rest of their lives in peace." I replied.

"Again, that was a rather long while in the past. There were still young men and boys in the villages around the world, and many of those boys have matured into teenagers and adults by now. You may have lost most of your men, but many of them may be replaced. Do not pass up the chance to avenge what the king has done to your people." John said.

I looked over at Amy, but she made no expression on her face as she nodded her head in agreement with John. Then I looked back to John as he gazed around at the valley walls.

"Does the king still have the amount of weapons and guards he once had?" I asked.

He nodded his head.

"Yes, and in the time since your last confrontation, he has developed new, long range catapults the lob anything from shards of glass, to piles of rocks, to massive boulders set aflame after being coated in mesh from distances that even a dragons fire can not match." He replied.

"How many does he have? And has he still got an abundance of long range bows?" I asked.

He sighed.

"He does, and he has spread them out over several defensive lines surround the center." He said.

We all fell silent for a moment, everyone unsure of what to say.

"Could we punch a whole through those lines?" I asked as I straightened my back.

He looked up at me.

"Only if you're smarter than them." He said.

Hey Everyone!

If you're enjoying this story, be sure to check out my new story "The Dragon's Bond"! It can be found on my profile page and is still in progress, updates are daily or bi-daily on average.

Enjoy!