The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

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      I could see the catapults John had mentioned launch their projectiles. Seconds later, huge boulders that were engulfed in flames smacked into the ground, taking down many men and setting the ground below ablaze. Men screamed as boulders rained down on them from above, many of them crushed or knocked over by the boulders impacting the ground. We all flew up to avoid the rain of boulders from above, and as I got higher I could see smaller catapults throwing smaller rocks and shards of glass and sharp metal at the men on horse back. Many men were cut down by the smaller objects before they even had a chance to attack. Finally, We got close enough for the men to use their arrows. One by one, archers on both sides started flying in both directions, men falling back off their horses by the hundreds, or thousands every second. Doron rolled over and dove down to just above the ground as long range arrows starting flying past us at high rates of speed. Some of the arrows struck men off their horses, staking the men to the ground. As we closed in to use the dragons fire, I looked over the side of Doron to see the men below. Horses were toppling over as they were hit by arrows, and men falling back when arrows shafted them in the chest, knocking them back. 

"Watch out!" I shouted to Bailey as several long range arrows came flying towards us. 

We closed in on the shield wall, with Bailey and I leading the formation. Doron reared his head back and let a stream of fire down on the men below, followed closely by Magar. The sound of men being burned alive was disturbing, yet satisfying to hear. Magar flew up beside Doron as we circled around for another attack as the smoke from our first started to fill the sky. The long range bows right below us couldn't fire as we were right above them. As we turned back to attack from the rear, Veracon and Cumano dove and attacked as well, followed by Ragon and Tegon, and then the others. 

"Get back! Attack from the front again! We have to weaken the wall!" I shouted to Tahli.

All the dragons circled around and turned back towards the shield wall. Several long range arrows flew towards us as the dragons weaved back and forth to avoid them. Then I spotted one arrow heading straight towards Tegon, with Derion behind her, both of them just ahead of me. Tegon swerved to the side to avoid the arrow, but Derion was slower to respond, and before the dragon had a chance to react, the arrow plunged itself into the his neck, spilling blood like a water fall and causing Derion to screech in pain.

"No!" Bailey shouted.

We all broke off our attack as more arrows flew towards us. Doron roared and clicked as Derion screeched and shrieked as blood poured from his wound. He flapped his wings in an effort to regain control of his fall, but the attempt didn't do much for the dragon as it crashed into the ground, and flipped over several times and crushed dozens of warriors as its blood painted ground dark red. Derion came to rest upright on the ground as the blood flow from his neck wound slowed to a gradual trickle.

"Oh God...." I said to myself.

But before I had time to process what had just happened, more arrows were flying towards us. 

"Take out those bows now!" I shouted as I pointed in their directions.

We all turned back towards the shield wall and continued the flaming assault as more and more of our men fell victim to the raining arrows and catapults. Finally, the warriors collided with the shield wall and the close combat began. I looked down at the men swinging swords and jabbing spears at each other. Men began to die on both sides as the random throwing of spears and swinging of swords continued.

"Fire again!"

Doron dove down again and strafed the battalions of soldiers making up the rear of the shield wall, which is were the long range bows and catapults were located. Most of them went up in flames, with the remaining few being swarmed and over taken by warriors that managed to get through the shield wall as it got thinner and thinner. Then I spotted Magar fly down towards the soldiers as the fired arrows at Bailey. As the dragon banked away, Bailey lost her grip and fell to the ground.

"Bailey! Doron! Down!" I shouted.

Doron landed beside Bailey as she scrambled to get to me, before an arrow struck the ground in front of her. She fell back, stunned at the sight of the arrow. I looked up to see several men charging at us, before one of them fell to the ground seconds after an arrow lodged itself in his chest. I turned to the left to see John, Jonah, Theodore and Easton running at the remaining men. Jonah slit one soldiers throat as Theodore came to help Bailey up.

"Watch out!" I screamed as one of the soldiers took aim with his bow.

Theodore looked up at me on confusion before an arrow came through his throats and struck the ground in front of me. Theodore dropped to the ground choking and grasping his wound as blood poured out and ran across the dry ground.

"NO!" Johns screamed.

 He grabbed the archer and cut into his stomach, spilling the organs of the soldier out onto the ground before driving his sword into the soldiers skull and mutilating it with several violent jabs in the face. John then turned and ran to his dead sons side, crying and rocking back and forth with his sons dead body as it covered the man in an endless puddle of blood.

"Leave it! We've got to get out of here!" I shouted to John as I yanked him away from Theodore's body.

John ignored me and ran headlong into the swarm of men killing each other. I turned around to see Bailey and  Magar flying off and attack the soldiers off to the left. I mounted Doron once again and took off, rejoining the rest of the dragons up above. 

After several hours of fighting, and thousands upon thousands of deaths later, the remaining soldiers slowly started to retreat towards the center as the warriors, along with the remaining dragons bombarded them with an endless assault of fire and arrows. Magar dropped down below Doron and strafed the retreating soldiers before turning back towards what remained of the shield wall as the warriors over took and surrounded it. Doron landed in an open area of the mostly destroyed field as the warriors finished off the soldiers who refused to retreat. I dismounted Doron and turned to see Derion's body laying in the field in a pool of blood.

"Oh my God." I said as I ran over to the body.

Doron stayed close behind me as the other dragons landed around Derion. I walked around to his head and observed the wound on his neck. The arrow had snapped in half in the crash, with the front half still lodged in the wound. I looked to the dragons eye, but it wouldn't open. I knew the dragon was dead before I came over, but I decided to check just in case. I turned back to see Bailey, Tahli and Amy standing behind me with despair on their faces. Tegon groaned and nudged Derion's dead body, while Yulion tugged at his wings in attempt to flap them. Doron moaned as he turned away and roared in the direction of the last few soldiers while the warriors slaughtered them.

"Pay it no attention. Death is part of war. We have broken through the first defensive line. The grunts of the army. We have much greater challenges ahead." I said.