Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow Read online

  Dragon Alliance:

  Rise against Shadow

  J. Michael Flück

  Copyright © 2012 J. Michael Flück

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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  ISBN: 978-1-4624-0357-8 (sc)

  ISBN; 978-1-4624-0356-1 (e)

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2012918321

  Inspiring Voices rev. date: 11/08/2012

  CONTENTS

  prologue

  chapter i: dragon dream

  chapter ii: war games

  chapter iii: battle point

  chapter iv: battle of handsdown

  chapter v: the gatherings

  chapter vi: repatriation

  chapter vii: counterstrike

  chapter viii: the arrival of lawrent and the raiders

  chapter ix: city of shadow

  chapter x: city of light

  Prologue

  It has been said that God created the heavens and the earth in seven days. With the billions of stars and planets in the universe, the beauty and intricacy of this amazing planet cannot be a single creation. With that premise, who is to say that the almighty Creator did not have other experiments? Other worlds with slightly different variables in the mix but centered on the same central theme: mankind’s gift of life and the freedom of choice to do good versus evil. According to Scriptures, the angels in heaven fought a brutal war over this principle, resulting in the fall of Lucifer. But what if this conflict was brought to the material world, and the angels and demons took the form of various species of dragons and other assorted creatures that fought each other for the power to guide the human race? This story also attests to the theory of God’s constant counterbalance of the dark side of our choices versus the infinite good we can also serve. All of this action and counteraction to slowly move our way toward the shining city on the hill is the ultimate chess game, with a move to correct every wrong decision made.

  On this world, this parallel earth, dark forces are already on the move as the Dragon Alliance Republic is slowly awakening to the dark storm on its horizon. Mkel, the Draden Weir fortress leader and gold dragonrider, wakes from his dragon-induced dream of the last horrendous war fought against the Morgathian Empire. His blood bonded dragon, Gallanth, a powerful gold dragon, had been having visions of both the past and a looming darkness that he perceived threatened the very existence of the Alliance. Mkel and Gallanth must ready their soldiers for the war to come, but their enemies are not just the vengeful Morgathian Empire and their evil chromatic dragon allies; there are also enemies within the Alliance itself. A conglomeration of greedy, power-hungry senators, known as the Party of the Enlightened (POE), is conspiring for the downfall of the Weirs and the republic. Amid this brewing trouble, Mkel and his dragon must lead their friends and the soldiers of their garrison through several pitched battles, with the haunting memory of his father always in the shadows of his mind. The true question he has is, with the odds stacked against them, can his Weir and the Alliance itself survive?

  CHAPTER I

  Dragon Dream

  In the ancient times, the kingdoms and nations of man were divided, and chaos plagued the world. The rift between the metallic and chromatic dragons over their opposing views on mankind fomented discourse, resulting in the initial tremors of the rebellion. From the fertile states of the west on the windward side of the Gray Mountains, to the Great Northern Plains of the nomadic Kaskar tribes, to the rough lands of the east, fighting, wars, and skirmishes between all the kingdoms kept those nations divided and weak. The ever-present danger of the insect-like orc hordes constantly threatened all. The elves held the forests, and the dwarves controlled the mountains in the west, but that was the best they could do. Then, at the commandment of the Creator, Michenth, the arch dragon and father to all the dragon races, directed the dragons to bond with human riders and guide the kingdoms of man in uniting the world.

  Michenth and a handful of gold dragons were the first to blood bond with human riders. The ritual that joined the souls of dragon and rider also greatly enhanced the dragon’s power, cementing the union between the two and strengthening the dragon’s oath to protect and guide all of mankind. This, however, was not accepted by Michenth’s mate, Tiamat, the dragon queen and mother, or her chromatic dragon disciples. She espoused that man should be subservient to dragons, with their superior power and intellect. The evil arch dragon then led the rebellion that initiated the first Great Dragon War.

  The five-headed Tiamat and all of the chromatic dragon types (the white, black, green, blue, and terrible red dragons) joined her against Michenth and the metallics (the powerful gold, silver, bronze, copper, and brass dragon species). The Creator then sent his spirit to mend the rift between the warring factions of dragons and men. Legend has said the spirit was dragon, some say man, some say elf, others say dwarf. It was not known anymore, but his message and presence was told to be awe inspiring. Tiamat and the chromatics could not touch him, so she had her dark-hearted human followers take him and break him on the stone square or pyramid: the symbol of the Creator’s divinity and the perfection of the universe. This sacrilege, this act of pure evil, led to the final battle of the war.

  There were also divisions among the elves and the giants when the battle lines were drawn; surprisingly, however, the race of dwarves did not desert Michenth. The elves split, and over a third of them joined Tiamat, which led to their banishment. Michenth and the elven king Denaris and queen Eladra cursed them, turning them dark as midnight. Now called the drow, they were to be forever envious of the light from which they had turned their backs.

  Led by Michenth and his powerful gold dragon Valianth, the metallic dragons and their riders routed the chromatics. Michenth then banished them to the eastern lands of the world, which eventually became the Morgathian Empire. Michenth could have ordered the eradication of Tiamat and her chromatics when they were at their weakest, but he allowed them time to repent the evil they had caused. Instead, she and her dragons seized control of the Morgathian Empire and its people, and they set up a puppet group of magic-using sorcerers to legitimate her position as their god. She gave them lands and dark crystal weapons with incredible magical powers to fortify their control.

  The middle kingdoms surrounding the Ontaror Sea slowly began to recover after the devastation caused by the spillover from the protracted war. The metallic dragons settled back into their thirteen Weir fortresses and the provinces that fell under their protection in the western part of the world. All these states were loo
sely held together by the dragons for mutual protection and trade. Michenth and Valianth coordinated them from the capital city of Draconia, the city of light at the end of Sauric Bay, center of commerce and prosperity in the west.

  Eighteen hundred years passed with only minor chromatic incursions and small brush wars, which were stomped out quickly. Then, as a long-awaited answer to the dragons’ prayers, a group of astute and incredibly wise men and women arose with the idea of a united land based on freedom and honor. With the guidance and cooperation of the metallic dragons, elves, and dwarves, this Founding Council created the Articles of the Alliance. Upon ratification, this profound document put forth the basis of the new government, and the Dragon Alliance Republic was born. This officially united the thirteen provinces as states of the republic, to form one powerful nation, with Draconia as its capital.

  The Alliance now stretched from Rom and Rem, the twin Weirs that guarded the oceanic entrance to Sauric Bay in the west, to the Gray Mountains three thousand miles east, which were guarded by High Mountain Weir in the northeast, Draden Weir in the middle, and what was to become Eladran Weir in the southeast. Ice Bay Weir, which looked across the great northern sea, to the humble Weir at the tip of the Adelif Peninsula almost two thousand miles south, marked the northern and southern extremes of the Republic. From Ferranor and Denar Weirs, which each border the ends of the dwarven Ferranor Mountains in the northwest, to the prosperous port Weirs of Atlean and Lancastra in the southwest, all now formed the borders of the Alliance.

  Lastly was Talinor Weir, which was situated in the middle of the republic along the mighty Severic River. It cut the Alliance in half and stretched from Draden to Draconia, emptying into Sauric Bay. This major waterway enabled the earliest of inhabitants to easily traverse the breadth of the nation. The Alliance was found to be the most bountiful and fertile land, rich in precious minerals and metals and many other natural resources. Now all thirteen Weirs bore the Dragon Alliance Republic standard from their massive peaks.

  The Alliance flag flew proudly with its gleaming white background, an embossment of Michenth’s head in a mithril silver and gold color in the center, to both represent and honor him and all the metallic dragons. A green oak leaf symbolizing the elves appeared in the upper right corner, and a brown and black hammer was in the lower left-hand corner for the dwarves; both were arranged in a diagonal line. In the upper left-hand corner was a deep blue square field with a circle of twelve white triangles and one slightly larger white triangle in the middle, representing the thirteen Weirs and provinces of the Alliance that protected and bound the republic together, forever linking dragon and mankind.

  Two separate kingdoms resided within the great nation: the elves of the grand Allghen Forest that lies over two hundred miles southwest of Ice Bay Weir, ruled by King Denaris and Queen Eladra, and the Dwarven Kingdom in and under the Ferranor Mountains, commanded by King Drekar of the dwarf capital city of Minara. Both kingdoms lived in harmony with the people of the republic. These two great races maintained their sovereignty but pledged mutual support to the Alliance. The small number of thunder and mountain giants that still existed mostly inhabited the mountains above the dwarven cities or the number of floating cloud fortresses that sailed the winds over Alliance lands and seaways. They were loosely allied to the republic, mostly out of respect for the metallic dragons.

  In the last two hundred years, the combined might of the metallic dragons, elves, dwarves, and people of the Alliance had rid their lands of evil creatures and made the Alliance a free, safe, and prosperous nation. Its borders were well protected by the Alliance Army’s legions and Weirs, which allowed prosperity to bloom.

  Jealous and fearful of such a united nation of men, dragons, elves, and dwarves, Tiamat and her Talon Council of dark crystal-empowered sorcerers and overlords, as well as her court of the five most powerful representatives of the chromatic dragon races, known as the Usurper Five, began plans to challenge the Alliance. They forced treaties with the drow and the orcs in preparation for war. The task of increased breeding of chromatic dragons and the raising of huge orc armies, along with conscripting their own divisions and provincial armies, took the Morgathians almost two hundred years. They had also needed time to mine and harvest as much dark crystal as possible for Tiamat to enhance and give to their sorcerers; these crystals, infused with chromatic blood, were used to create weapons of power for their death knights to counter the dragonstone weapons of the Alliance.

  A massive attack was launched on the spring equinox, with the Morgathian land armada crushing everything in its path on its trek across the unsettled lands, marching toward the eastern border of Alliance territory. On their rampage, the Morgathian armies and the chromatic dragons conducted large-scale attacks against the northern portion of the middle kingdoms and the Kaskar tribes to keep them off balance and prevent them from aiding the republic. Draden Weir now stood to receive the full brunt of the onslaught, due to its strategic location at the break in the Gray Mountains that formed the eastern border of the Alliance.

  Instead of waiting for the Morgathians to strike Draden—or Keystone Weir, as it was now nicknamed—the military command of the Alliance decided on a different plan. Michenth and his rider, General Becknor; Valianth and his rider, Colonel Therosvet; and Jmes, the rider of the young but most powerful gold dragon in the Alliance, Gallanth of Draden Weir, all agreed to go on the offensive in order to dictate the terms of the fight. This was an attack to seize the initiative, a basic tenet of Alliance military operations.

  Both armies met in the unsettled lands on a rough plain by a small river, at an infamous place to become known as Battle Point. The Alliance Army came quickly at the Morgathians from the north, threatening to outflank them and forcing them to shift rapidly from their direction of advance. Using the river as a natural obstacle to tie their defensive line, the Alliance legions, the dwarf army, and the elven archers and warriors set the stage for a ferocious fight. Forcing the Morgathians to attack due to the longer range of their archers, waves of orcs, brutish hairy grummish, and Morgathian soldiers fell to the arrows, spears, swords, and axes of the Alliance. However, the republic and its forces were still outnumbered five to one. The battle in the skies above took on an equal ferocity.

  In a fury of breath weapons, and the deadly energies of magic spells streaking across the sky, with hundreds of dragons diving and swerving, locked in mortal combat, Michenth finally felled Tiamat. One final blast of the brilliant, golden energy beam of his breath weapon crippled the five-headed demon. His rider, General Becknor, hefted his powerful mithril sword and unleashed a fiery bolt of energy at her, striking the faltering evil dragon and sending her into an uncontrolled spin. Her limp but colossal body, with all five of her chromatic dragon heads flailing, slammed into the ground with an earthquake-like tremor. Whether or not she was dead was yet to be seen, but a wing of red and blue dragons surrounded her seemingly lifeless body, lifted her up, and carried her away, heading due east, back to Morgathia. Six of the largest red and blue dragons were needed to accomplish this, with the others acting as shields to protect her (very uncharacteristic of chromatic dragons).

  Although injured, the mighty arch dragon Michenth whirled around to regroup and join the main battle. The skies were still filled with hundreds of dragons and thousands of other flying mounts and creatures, from both the Alliance and Morgathia, diving and swirling, locked in aerial combat. A massive land battle took place below, with armies of tens of thousands of men, elves, dwarves, and their allies, fighting for their lives against a massive force of orcs and other assorted evil creatures, along with their dark-hearted Morgathian masters. The battle raged on, but the tide was turning. The metallic dragons, initially outnumbered six to one by their chromatic counterparts, were now evening the odds. After their evil queen fell, some of the younger green and black dragons began to break, but the Morgathians still had one more trick.

  A red drag
on, with one of the most powerful Morgathian Talon Council sorcerers mounted on it, charged into Michenth as the sorcerer fired a disruption ray. The deadly beam was stopped by the last strength of the mithril dragon’s spell shield. A return blast of Michenth’s powerful photon fire breath weapon wiped out the red dragon’s and the sorcerer’s magic shields, which he then followed up with sunbeam burst beams from his eyes. The beams struck the red dragon square in the upper chest and made him reel back in midair. A follow-on bolt from Becknor’s glowing mithril sword struck the sorcerer, almost killing him. The red dragon let loose a blast of fire that hit Michenth, who winced from the impact, but it was minimally effective against the mithril dragon’s armored silvery-white hide.

  The Talon sorcerer, in a desperate last attempt, fired a barrage of lightning bolts, which hit Michenth with a glancing strike and left smoldering wounds on his shoulder. Michenth then lunged forward, grappled the smaller red dragon with his large claws, and sunk his massive fangs into the dragon’s crimson neck, ending its life. Before the severely wounded sorcerer could prepare another spell, Becknor thrust his sword into his chest. At that moment, a demonic rohrlog flew from behind the arch dragon and began to dive on him, raising its huge flaming sword. Becknor pulled his sword from the sorcerer’s chest, swung around, and fired a bolt into the half-breed demon’s midsection, sending it cascading off its course from the force of the strike.

  A blue dragon then came out of teleport with a death knight and another Talon sorcerer mounted upon it. Gallanth immediately sensed the danger, disengaged from the spiraling green dragon he had just flamed, and headed toward the blue chromatic. Blue dragons have a limited power of teleportation, so the sorcerer must have helped phase the trio into battle, which was not an easy task.