Black Dragon

Snow drifted down upon the fortress. The ramparts slowly shifted from the grey of stone to the white of winter. The wind blew hard but the stone towers did not yield an inch. John stared out across the forest. The leaves that are usually a beautiful maple color had fallen off the trees, the Malpine woods had gone to sleep. Hues of orange wrapped around the slumbering trees as the sun began to set in the distant field. John grew colder and colder the farther the sun set. Even under many furs he could feel winter's grasp reaching into him. He breathed into his hands and rubbed them furiously. He watched in silence as the night overtook the land. After the sun had gone away John could still see an orange light on the horizon. In fact, he saw several.
John burst into his father’s hall. Everyone at the dinner table shot dirty looks, he was clearly interpreting. His father, who sat on a tiny roughly carved throne, rose in anger. “What is the meaning of this!” You were to be on watch boy! How dare you interrupt us in such a manner!”
John heeled over trying to catch his breath. “Hfff..Forgive me….But father.”
“What boy!”
“An army is on its way. A large one by the looks of it.”
“How large?”
“I could not tell, but I sent a rider to find out.”
The dinner guests looked at each other in shock and horror. They all looked to Landon, who had sat back down on his throne. He gripped the arm of his chair hard and looked out through the window. “It’s her.” he whispered silently. He snapped himself out of it and rose once more, this time with purpose. “John, ready the soldiers! Reinforce the gate, get archers on the wall!” He looked to his daughter next. “June, have the women begin boiling all the oil and fat we have stored!” John gripped the blade at his side and nodded, running back out the door. June got up from the table, still dazed and in shock, but she rushed out the door.
The sound of steel armor clinking as it was being fitted to the soldiers and the sound of axes on grindstones filled the courtyard. John slipped a breastplate over his gambeson and dawned thick leather gloves. Men were yelling at each other, dogs were barking and archers were fumbling over their arrows. John shook himself awake and ran up the courtyard stairs and onto the wall.
He looked out once more on the field. The fires were getting closer, they faded in and out as the snow and wind covered them, but they were there, and drawing closer. John looked down at the soldiers rushing about. “Men!” he yelled. A few stopped to look at him, the rest kept rushing around. “Men! I know this isn’t how you planned on dying!”
“Who said anything about dying!?” One of the men yelled
“Well, some of us will. That’s just the truth, but if we fight well and with purpose, very little of us will die.”
The men rolled their eyes and kept about their tasks. ***************************************************************************************** “Put more wood on the fire, quickly!” June said, rushing past one of the women. “More wood! We need to get this oil ready as fast as possible! Put all of it in, yes, good.”
Eric walked into the kitchen, spear in hand. “Uncle!” June exclaimed. “I’m glad you're here, we need more firewood from outside.”
Eric did not move an inch. “I’ll get someone on that. Your father sent me to check on your progress.”
“It’s almost ready now. Do we know who is attacking yet?”
“No. Your father has his suspicions but nothing has been proven yet.”
“Uncle, be honest with me, do you think we can win?”
“We have walls, and they are attacking in a terrible storm. Not to mention that the Ealdorman’s men arrived just days ago to reinforce us. If they make it here they, whoever they are, don’t have a chance. Keep working on that oil, we might not need it but make it anyway.” ***************************************************************************************** The archers took their places along the wall, baskets of arrows sat next to them. The rest of the soldiers lined up in the courtyard. They were armored and ready, shields bearing carrots and shields bearing silver boars stood side by side. John walked along the line, checking the men. His uncle came out from the shadows and joined him.
“Uncle, good, I'm glad you are here! The rider returned, father was right.”
“So it’s her then? Greenhaven really is attacking?
“I’m afraid so.”
Eric laughed quietly. “Afraid, why? We have an easy advantage, they don’t have a chance.”
“You’ve heard the stories, you know what she is capable of, we should all be scared.”
“If it was Filavandrel himself leading the army maybe I would be, but his little girl does not scare me. Snap yourself out of it boy! You are to lead these men outside and to the east. When Greenhaven’s forces get into the woods you are to flank and surround them. That’s an order!”
John stood tall, “Yes sir!” he shouted, putting his shaking hand behind his back. ***************************************************************************************** “Halt! We hold here!” Circi boomed. The army came to a stop, the bannermen staked their standards into the frozen ground. Black dragons on blue and white ravens on red fluttered in the wind. “Get the engines, get them placed!” Circi boomed once more.
Wagons were pulled out from behind the lines of soldiers. Men grabbed large cuts of wood and nails from them and threw them into piles, two carts equaled to one pile. Heaps of wood and iron laid on the ground in front of the soldiers Circi dismounted from her silver mare and approached the piles. The cold hair wiped about her black hair and snow trickled down onto her fur cloak. She grasped her wrist and lifted her other hand into the air. Her hand reached higher the wood and iron began to float into the air. They twirled and twisted. After a minute what was once trash piles were now fully assembled trebuchets. Circi dropped her hand and nodded to the siege engines. Men rushed out of line and began hauling carts filled to the brim with large stones and started to load the engines.
A young man with long brown hair and broad shoulders walked up from the line and joined Circi in the front. The man cracked his neck, “Will this work?” he asked. “Are we not too far away? How can the trebuchets reach that far?”
“Ye of little faith Odda.” Circi chuckled. “They will reach I assure you. They will reach and the stone walls will crumble to them. Cutting a cute little hole right into the fortress.”
“My men are ready for when that happens.”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“No. I need your men for the ambush Amos has surely set for us.
Odda staggered back and laughed. “Why would he need to ambush us? He holds the advantage. Sending men out here is sending them to their death, its idiotic.” “Landon Amos never was a clever man.” Circi then turned and walked away. ***************************************************************************************** Landon scratched his narrow little chin. He stood peering out his window once again. All he could see was campfires flickering in and out, they had stopped moving and now stood still. The creaking of the rotted door drew Landon’s attention from the window, it was Eric.
“Everything is set brother.” he said with a slight bow
“Everything?”
“John has led the men into the woods. The oil is done and is readied at the machicolations. Archers stand guard, their arrows greased and ready. The bastards won’t know what hit them. What's more, our scout informed me that the army is just that, only an army. No ladders, no rams, nothing.”
Landon smiled slowly. It stretched across his narrow head. “Circi thinks she can win with brute strength alone? She is brave for a whore, I’ll give her that. Hehe, well then, let's go to the wall. No doubt she will try to, or send someone to speak with us.”
“Ha, no doubt demanding our surrender.”
So the two brothers walked out of the dinning room and through the halls, out through the rusted iron gate and into the courtyard, up the stairs and to the wall. Landon’s stomach dropped and his brow scrunched up. “I thought you said she has nothing!”
“That’s what the scout reported…”
“Then he’s a traitor! That doesn’t look like nothing!”
“How did she move trebuchets in this snow?!”
“I’ll have that scout’s head for this!”
“Don’t get too angry brother, John is still out there. He must be in position by now. He and his men will kill the fuckers before they fire their first shot.”
“I think you give the boy too much credit.” Landon grumbled, ruffling back his hair ***************************************************************************************** John huffed and wheezed as he threw himself behind a tree. Fuck. he thought to himself. They just stopped! They have no intention of entering the forest! That scout lied, damn it Hadvar! How could you?! John cupped his hand to his mouth and whistled like a bird. The other soldiers came out from behind the bushes and trees and joined up with John.
“What are you doing my lord?” one of the men asked. “We have orders.”
“The orders were issued falsely, but we are still going to attack.” John breathed in and out heavily and continued. “The plan is still the same, we go around and take them from behind. We need to draw their attention so they hopefully don’t fire those things.”
“That’ll never work!” another man yelled
“Shhhh! I know that! We all know that...but we are here, and we have to do something.”
One of the men threw down his spear. “I didn’t leave my home and family and come all the way here just to die like this!”
John grumbled heavily. “Grra, you’re a soldier! This is what you signed up for!”
“Dying defending my home, serving under my lord, sure, but this isn’t my home and you aren't my lord.”
“Fine! Go back to Furt, all of you can, but they’re people in that fort, good people, and if we don’t try to do something they could all die!”
Another man threw his weapon to the ground. “Even with those things they won’t win. I’m not committing suicided by attacking like this.”
“Maybe we will, in fact we probably will, but they are still going to attack, and they are going to kill as many people as possible. If we do something maybe we can limit how many people they take to the grave with them!”
Several more men threw down their weapons as well and walked back to the fort, but some stayed. They held up their shields and spears and nodded. John closed his eyes and looked upward. He felt each snowflake as they kissed his face. He stood in silence, only for a moment and then looked back to the men.
Strong and study. “Let’s go kill the bastards!” he yelled.
“YAAAAAA!” they all yelled.
*Clap* Clap* *Clap*. A man walked out from the left of them, it was Odda. “Beautiful, I’d follow you if I were them.” He drew a sword, its make was fine. The steel was clean, it reflected the woods perfectly. The handle was made from Rubywood. The pommel was a raven head, each feather had been hand carved to perfection.
John said nothing, so Odda spoke once again, this time with a smirk. “You wanted to kill us, so here we are. Attack!” From the shadows a battalion of men rushed forward. Benjamin joined the charge, the battle was on.
Blood spewed into the tree branches. Bodies fell to the snow and began convulsing. John ducked and weaved. A spear came forward! He bent back and broke it with his blade. He twisted forward and ran the enemy through, the cloud white snow turned red. John spun around, his blade raised to a guard. THUNK! Something struck him from behind!
John’s head was pounding and his ears rung. He crouched up, spitting out dirt from his mouth. He was grabbed by his hair and thrown back to the ground! The ground was cold, but not as cold as the sword at his neck. Benjamin stooped down and grabbed John’s collar, pressing his sword to the lad’s neck. “Circi sends her regards.” John looked up at his demise. He shot his arm out, he could feel it cracking. He scooped up the snow and flung it into his attackers eyes. Benjamin shot back, gripping his face. John rolled back up to a fighting stance. He grabbed his blade and gave his foe a kick to the gut! Benjamin coughed up blood and stepped back. The two warriors stood ready now. John rushed forward!, but fell to a stop, for an arrow had found its way into his chest. John’s vision blurred and he fell back down the chilled dirt.
Benjamin jumped right back into the fight, the raven head of his sword turned from black to red as he went on. The soldiers who only moments before stood confident and ready now cried out. They gave screams and tears, their enemies only gave steel. ***************************************************************************************** “Ready! Knock! Loose!” Eric shrilled, throwing his hand forward. Flaming arrows lit up the night sky like stars as they flew to the front line. It was a beautiful spectacle but not a single one hit its mark. Eric went again, “Ready! Knock! Loose!” Once more they all failed. Hundreds of arrows were fired but they all failed. The engines that opposed them were suddenly illuminated.
“She fucking lit the stones on fire!” Landon yelled. A mechanical CHUNG was heard, Circi now was returning the favor. The fires of the end drew closer. The first stone hit!, obliterating the men and sending Eric and Landon into the courtyard! Five more stones just like it battered into the stone wall. Sharp rocks and archers flew about.
Landon’s face fell flat right into the ground. He crunched over and got to his knees. Everything he saw was swaying back and forth and he couldn’t make anything. He was struggling to breathe. The only thing he could do was hear, and he heard much. Stone on stone, the screams of his men, bones breaking. Now he could smell. He could small the tar on the flaming stones, flesh burning. Finally his vision came back and the first thing he saw was Eric. His brother lay next to him, with a sharp stone lodged in his belly. Landon was kneeling in his brother's blood. His eyes widened and he puked profusely.
The lord got to his feet, his legs shaking. Before him his wall fell. It crumbled and shattered right in the middle. Landon now had a perfect view of Greenhaven's men. They were a sea of steel and iron, now moving for the breach. They roared with fury, their rage burned hot enough to melt the snow.
Landon looked them down, he waited. “Drop the oil, now!” he commanded. The large iron vats of scalding oil rushed down onto the soldiers, now at the breech. Oh how they wailed. They dropped their weapons and began running about. Their screams rivaled banshees.
Lord Amos got himself back onto the wall, what men he had left rushed into the courtyard to defend him. The men were stuck in a gridlock, but slowly Circi’s men started gaining ground. June rushed out of a tower door and into her father’s arms.
“June my love, what are you doing? You must go now!”
“Where is John? We will all flee together!”
“John is dead! You will join him if you don't go!”
“But dad!”
“Enough! I won’t lose you too! In my bedroom there is a hatch. It leads into a tunnel that will take you away from here go, now!”
Yet there was no time, A torrent of wind blew them off their feet. They looked to the night sky. What was a pale black night turned to the blackness of oil. Something growled and another torrent of wind thundered into their bones.
The night sky began drawing closer, coming down from the heavens and closer to the fort. Landon did nothing, he froze completely as the night sky got closer. Then he saw it, two milky white eyes, and he felt it, the warm breath, this was not the sky, but a dragon made of shade, shadow and malice. With it, The Lord of Greenhaven herself. ***************************************************************************************** John staggered to reach the fortress, the arrow still rooted inside of him. A shrill roar so sharp it could cut diamond pierced his ears. As he got out of the thicket of trees he wet himself in fear. The dragon outstretched its wings and unhinged its unruly jaw. It blanketed the wall in black fire.
He watched the first people covered, his father and sister. His father fell back off the wall. June screamed out, the shadow fire singed the skin from her bones. She cried and screamed, falling off the wall.
Circi reached her hands into the sky. From the clouds white lightning crackled and thundered down onto her palms. She turned her hands and unleashed everything onto the men, women and children below. The lighting blew apart the stone as if it were paper. Her men rushed back out of the fortress as everyone still inside met the same fate as June.
After the screams stopped and silence finally returned the dragon slowly dissipated into the air, lowering Circi gently onto the ruins of John Amos’s home. The walls were now at best, thin pillars of pebbles encased in black fire. The Lady Lord’s men stood in utter silence and simply beheld what was before them.
John lowered himself onto his knees and bowed his head. His tears felt cold as they ran down his windburned cheeks. Everything he fought for, everyone he had known had been killed, by the Black Dragon.