The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

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      I could feel my heart beating uncontrollably as the man approached, with his knife drawn and  pointed towards us. He slowly circled us, looking us up and down. The light of the fire lit him up just as the sun normally would, exposing a long, relatively fresh scar running down his exposed chest. I felt Bailey clench my hand tightly in hers as she pressed her head up against my shoulder, just as the man opened his mouth to speak.

"Who are you?" He said in a raspy voice.

I stuttered as I gave my answer.

"I'm Jessica Albo."

He grunted.

"You say that as though I should have heard of you." He replied.

I was confused for a moment, unsure of how anyone couldn't have heard of the years of fighting that had gone on since the first dragons had been born in decades.

"You haven't?" I replied in surprise.

The other members of his group looked around at each other in confusion due to my response.

"What makes you think any of us should know who you are?" He asked as he stepped closer to me.

"Have you not heard of the years of fighting? The fall of the king? The arrival of a new enemy with weapons so devastating that even a dragon could not best them?" I exclaimed.

He grew a confused look on his face as I finished my sentence, before stepping back.

"Dragons? We thought the dragons were nothing more than bloodthirsty killers. They've killed many of our people ever since they suddenly appeared once again." He replied in a much more passive voice.

"What do you mean they've killed many of your people?" Tahli asked from behind me.

He sighed, before breathing deeply, and began talking.

"Our people have lived in the mountains ever since the king and his followers came to our land so many generations ago. Ever since then, we have had no contact with anyone anywhere outside of the mountains. We got rather good at killing small groups of soldiers who ventured to close to our territory. But, we didn't kill the four of you because you don't come across as soldiers, but you clearly are not one of us. There were many thousands of us spread throughout the mountains for many years, but when the dragons suddenly reappeared to reclaim their mountains, many of us died to their flaming breath and massive claws. More than a year ago, hundreds, perhaps thousands of dragons came to the mountains, seemingly under the control of one we have come to call the night devil, as he only ever showed himself at night, and his thick black scales made him invisible at night. But, after more than a year, the dragons have mostly died off due to starvation, fights with one another, or on a few occasions, encounters with us. We have spread all through the mountains with what remains of our people to track the last remaining dragons to ensure the safety of our people, and we count only thirty-six dragons still alive, ranging from young dragons not much larger than a large elk, to the night devil himself. Recently, it has been suggested that one young female dragon has died due to lack of food, considering we haven't seen her in several days, and this is her territory, shared with a much larger and more aggressive female that she did her best to avoid." 

I felt my heart sink into my stomach. 

"Only thirty six dragons left alive? All the others have died?" I thought to myself.

"Which ones do you know of that are still alive?" Tahli cut in.

"Well, there's the night devil himself, but there are also two others who are almost as large, though still noticeably smaller. One is green, and blends in with the forest from above, we call him the silent forest. The other has scales as white as a dead mans eyes. We call him the winged star. The three of them have long since made for the coast to feed on whales and fish, as their simply isn't enough food to support their massive size. The other's have remained within the centre of the mountain range, feeding on whatever they can find, including each other." He said.

"Each other?" Bailey asked cautiously.

"Yes. Many of the smaller dragons have been hunted down and killed for food by the larger ones. I've seen the night devil slaughter several smaller dragons with the help of a much smaller purple dragon with fabulous streaks of silver running across its body. We've only seen her a few times, but she seems to share a bond with the night devil."

Bailey stumbled forward slightly.

"D-Did she die?" Bailey asked hesitantly.

"No. She has a territory far off in that direction that she maintains on her own. She did not follow the night devil when he left for the coast. She seems to be far more timid, though still willing to kill others of her own kind if need be. The silent forest and the winged star however are the most aggressive. Unlike the night devil, they always seemed far to eager to fight when it isn't required for survival. Hundreds of our people were killed when the two of them clashed in the sky and crashed to the ground. The winged star nearly killed the silent forest before he managed to make his escape to the coast. The winged star left only a few days later, with the night devil being the last to leave." He said, finally putting his blade back into his shirt, setting me more at ease.

I looked over at Tahli, then over at Amy. The looks on their faces where those of confusion and frustration. I could tell that their hearts had dropped just as deep as mine at the information that was being bestowed upon us.

"Have they had hatchlings?" I asked.

"Not that any of us have seen. When they first arrived, their were many newborns, but most of them died either to starvation, or to predation from larger dragons. Only a few have survived to this point, and as far as we can tell, no new eggs have been hatched. The thirty-six we know of still being alive are, as far as we know, the last living dragons." The man said.

"Thirty-five." Tahli said.

The man cocked his head to the side towards Tahli.

"Pardon?"

"You were right about the younger female being dead. We encountered her body on our way out here." Tahli replied.

The man sighed, before looking behind him into the endless darkness.

"We must go. Come. We will protect you. We are being hunted." 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!