“We march together as one. Our hearts beat strongly in time to the rhythm of our bodies moving in unison. This is my first war and as their queen, it is my duty to lead our army into battle.
May the gods favour us in this darkness.”
Nymira leapt from the ground and took flight with all her strength, her enormous wings clawing their way into the night’s twinkling sky. She turned sharply into the path of the flying daggers, twisting her body on its side so that her armour deflected most of the sharp weapons as they rained down.
“No! Nymira!” screamed Vartan, as some of the blades landed deep in her unprotected scales and she winced in pain. She roared in response as she once again landed behind them both, shaking her head in anger. Quickly, she used her teeth to remove the embedded daggers from her scales and spit them to the ground, growling at their enemies in defiance.
Vartan and Leon stood ready to face down the vampire army that now stood abreast of the assassins, anxiously awaiting further orders. The night air was filled with the sound of shrieks and vicious hissing as the vampires eagerly eyed their prey and licked their lips in anticipation of fresh blood.
Vartan, I have a bad feeling about this, said Keturah.
“There’s too many of them!” exclaimed Leon. “Even if we were the best fighters in Marithia, we can’t take them all.”
“Then we shall take down as many of these bloodsucking bastards as we can,” responded Vartan. “I won’t die without a fight, and they will not kill me easily!”
Nymira bumped their shoulders with her nose before addressing them, the nudge startling both of the men. “We don’t need to fight these creatures. This must be a planned diversion in her battle plan, and we risk falling into Kassina’s web. Climb aboard, and let us join the fight where we are surely desperately needed. We are done here, and are running out of time.” She lowered her body in preparation for her riders.
A concerned look passed between father and son, both of them unsure as to the wisdom of her decision. They took a quick moment to gaze far into the distance, where flashes of light and distant rumbles surrounded the Elven Woods. Dark clouds of smoke filled the sky and greyed out the full moon.
They looked at each other knowingly and nodded before mounting the waiting dragon. Seeing this move, the assassins pointed at the dragon and blew their horn, once again giving their attack signal. The vampires snarled and charged at their position, at full force and with unnatural speed.
“This will be rough. Protect yourselves as best as you can,” said Nymira.
The great dragon beat her wings as fast as she could to rise from the ground vertically, changing her scales to hide them in the night as she twisted to keep the men out of the vampires’ view. Leon and Vartan groaned with pain, their arms barely able to hold on to her armour with the force of her ascent.
“Don’t let go!” yelled Vartan.
Do you go to special lengths to point out the obvious? Or does that gift just come naturally to you? asked Keturah.
Vartan growled. "This is not the time to be smart, Keturah!"
The vampires responded by throwing every weapon they could muster into the night sky, in the vain hope of injuring them. A silver dagger shot past their heads and barely missed Leon’s face by a hair’s breadth.
“Damn, that was close!” he exclaimed.
Quiet down back there! snapped Nymira. You will give away our position.
Vartan pursed his lips at his father, and Leon nodded knowingly in response and held on tightly.
Nymira, we have to avenge Tusdar’s death. I don't think he should have died for nothing, pleaded Vartan.
Nymira slowly levelled out her body and turned back to circle high above the confused vampires below. They waited on the ground like rats, sniffing at the air and hungry for blood.
As you well know, our magical powers take time to build. If I were to cast a spell of the highest order, it would completely drain me and I would be all but useless in the battle ahead of us. However, I can wipe out the vampire army below us. It is entirely up to you. I would have just enough strength left to fly us to Kassina’s front door. I will do whatever you think is best, said Nymira.
Vartan turned to Leon for an answer and was about to speak when his father’s voice filled his mind.
Son, if we don’t stop them here, we will have to face them in the Elven Woods. You have seen how fast they can run.
Vartan’s pale face said it all as Leon muffled a laugh.
Don’t forget that within my fragile human shell beats the heart of a dragon, said Leon with a grin.
Nymira, said Vartan, do what you can. We will deal with them here before we join Andrielle in the fight against Kassina. These are all the dark sorceress’s creations and must be destroyed to save them flanking us later.
As you wish, Vartan. Cover your eyes as best as you can. The dark sky will be bright tonight, said Nymira.
She circled high above the vampire army and focused on casting her spell.
“ Elemento incendii de stellis animus phoenicis evocat, ” chanted Nymira.
Out of the corner of his eye, Leon noticed that some stars began to pulsate in the dark sky and then started to change colours.
Vartan, look at that! he said with amazement as he pointed at the night sky.
Vartan glanced up and watched the beams of light shoot down from the stars and ignite into pillars of blazing fire as they entered the Marithian atmosphere. Nymira lifted her head towards the heavens as she opened her mouth wide to accept the spell’s power.
Duck down and hold on! Now! ordered Nymira.
The men followed her order as the beams of fire were sucked into Nymira’s mouth, and her eyes lit up in flame. The force of the spell rocked her body hard, and the men almost lost their grip on her armour with the impact.
Don’t be afraid of what will happen next-the flames will not hurt either of you, said Nymira. So much power, I can barely hold it in. Even to their minds, her voice sounded strained.
Nymira’s scales changed back to her true form, and her wings suddenly burst into flames. The vampires screamed, shrieked and pointed at her fiery form. They appeared excited for the renewed chance of spilling blood.
Nymira took a deep breath before sending a steady stream of fire into the sky, as if her mouth was an erupting volcano. The scales and flesh around her maw shuddered violently as she tried to control the inferno spewing from it. Vartan and Leon watched in bewilderment as phoenixes rose out of the flames and lit up the sky around them. Upon their birth of fire they shrieked as life filled their bodies. The men shielded their eyes as countless firebirds continued to spawn from the flames. Soon there were firebirds high in the sky wherever the eye could see, the flames lighting up the ground beneath them as if it were daytime.
Now, my little ones, destroy all who follow the path of darkness below us, commanded Nymira. Leave none behind.
An Armageddon-like rain fell from the sky, the summoned fiery army descending and each selecting their own targets. The vampires fled toward the forest canopy, but it was far too late for them to escape now.
An assassin bolted toward the farmhouse and a phoenix landed hard on his back and pounded him into the moist ground. It extended its fiery wings and shrieking before sacrificing itself onto his melting body. The dark creature’s screams were heard by Nymira overhead as he thrashed on the ground in an attempt to put out the flames. Like eagles on mice, the phoenix army slowly picked off the vampires, setting them alight as they ran for safety. Some of the summoned phoenixes landed on the ground without targets, their forms setting fire to the hay and grass around them.
The firebirds’ communicated through cries which were reminiscent of a bushfire in the wind as they coordinated their attacks. The vampires that chose to fight slashed at the flames wildly with their weapons in an attempt to defend against their attacks. Balls of fire from the birds turned the vampires into ash as they hit the ground. The injured screamed in pain and frustration as they pulled back before running at full force into their attackers.
The screams of countless vampires burning were enough to satisfy Vartan’s desire for revenge. His heart pumped adrenaline-fuelled blood through his veins.
Vartan shouted, “Nymira, that was amazing! This battle is won!”
The flames on Nymira’s body had extinguished with the release of the phoenix army and she weakly flapped her wings. Leon noticed that the great dragon was slowly gliding towards the earth.
Leon leaned forward and his voice strained. “Nymira, are you okay?” he asked.
Nymira's voice wavered as she answered. “This spell has taken more out of me than I had expected. I had not anticipated such a weakening, but how was I to know? It has been thousands of years since any of us has cast an elder spell of such power."
She groaned as she forced her wings to beat hard, and began to climb again. “I am not going to give up just yet. We still have a war to win.”
“Great dragon, are you sure you are able to take us to the battle in the Elven Woods in one piece?” Vartan asked.
They now flew at great speed, and left the many flames of the vampire massacre behind them.
“That is my concern now, young knight,” she responded. “I have my responsibilities and I will not fail them. You just worry about what we face ahead of us. Hang on tight and I will get us there as quickly as I can.”
Nymira strained as she climbed as high into the sky as she could and then suddenly dove headlong into the air below them.