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Old Alliances

Chapter 2: The Unexpected

King Thane didn't know what to expect when he marched through the blasted lands that surrounded the Red Scar. It was an inhospitable place where nothing grew, the land itself was clack with poison. There were no animals in sight, not even vultures dwelled in these lands to feed on the few animals that mistakenly wandered here. The rivers, although large were brown and had somehow stagnated even though the currents were swift. These were not good omens for what laid ahead. The volcanic ash that had been slowly drifting down on him and his army blocked out the sun, casting them into an eternal twilight. King Thane would be more than happy to leave this place once negotiations with the dragons of Numor were finished.

Word had reached the king that Haedric had successfully recruited the help of the Dragons of Bragon and had sent fliers to aid in his own negotiations. He had seen several of the dragons heading towards the volcano from afar over the past several days and he hoped that their coming would do some sort of good. This lightened the heart of Thane who feared that he would not be able to convince Trymal without assurances from other dragons.

Word had also reached Thane about King Tal's departure and this troubled the king for he did not believe that Tal, even with the great host at his back would be able to relieve the city of Naxwell. He thought the young king who, even though was a cousin to King Haedric who was approaching 40 years of age, was only 23, not long enough to acquire the wisdom necessary to go off alone. Despite his troubled mind, Thane was eager to get back and reinforce Tal's forces with his own.

Thane was always known to be hard headed and eager for battle and to know that others had already left to fight without him boiled his blood. He had never fought demons before for that was the domain of the Paladins and he was interested to see their martial might. If they had bested the armies of Gree, then surely they would be a worthy foe. Yes, he would gladly fight alongside old enemies for the glory of battle.

With new thoughts of courage and his desires for battle heightened, King Thane approached the roots of the Red Scar. The volcanoes were treacherous as the liquid fire could been seen from the base of any of them. It would take time to find a safe path through. He did not know how long it would take to meet the dragons, so he had given instruction for his men to wait until Haedric himself sent word for them to return. He also gave instruction for some food to be left behind in case he returned after the army had left.

Like Haedric, King Thane would only take the greatest of men to represent their cause. King Mar, and Archmage Phane were already waiting for him along with an emissary from Bragon which was the same red and silver dragon that first met King Haedric.

They wasted no time and began their ascent to the tallest volcano in the Red Scar, for a dragon's ego would only allow him to sit upon the highest perch in the land. Unlike Haedric, no dragon made itself known and the emissary who now identified himself as Cormack told the men of Trymal's feelings towards humans and that Trymal was most likely doing all he could to deter them from approaching. King Thane would not be deterred though, he had set his mind upon the task and would complete it.

The Red Scar was surprisingly more hospitable than the lands that surrounded it. Small trees and bushes that bore fruit grew at and animals were seen. There were some deer, although sparse, and a multitude of small creatures as well. The water could be filtered and drunk without the need to boil it since it came out of the ground steaming and rank with sulfur. This eased their ascent and allowed them to retain a positive mood.

The group continued to go farther into the volcano. They walked for two days before the first dragon of Numor appeared before them. He came out of a small cave and was apparently waiting for their approach. The dragon was but a hatchling, or at least that was what Cormack said. The young dragon stood at the height of a full grown man and was colored green and yellow. This was to be an insult to the group for Trymal did not feel that they were worthy enough to be met by an official emissary. The hatchling was probably the child of some unimportant couple as well.

Though due to the ignorance of humans to the many standards of dragons, they only marveled at the sight for the one thing that was rarer than a full grown dragon was a hatchling. Even Thane could not help but to stare in awe at such a rare sight though his heart still harbored ill feelings towards the creature.

The attention frightened the young dragon who himself had never seen humans and only knew of the stories that Trymal told them and at first cowered. He thought of humans as many humans had thought of dragons, feral beasts that destroy all that they touched. The only thing that stopped the young dragon from fleeing was the presence of Cormack who being the official emissary of Bragon, was known to him.

After sever awkward minutes and exchange of pleasantries through Cormack, the group once again began to move. The young dragon explained to Cormack, since he was too afraid to speak to humans, Trymal only chose to speak to the humans because Azsteric bid that he give them at least half an ear. It was only due to Azsteric's prestige and respect among all dragons, that they were given the chance to speak.

Archmage Phane scoffed at this, being the wise man he was, for he knew of the sin, Pride. He had seen pride consume even the mightiest of men as it led them to be reckless, leaving them vulnerable. Dragons were already a proud race and to be consumed enough that he thought himself above talking with greatest man could send only angered Phane.

Phane made his thoughts known to the others who agreed that Trymal would indeed most likely not listen. Yet, they were already here and to refuse to see him when he agreed to meet them, although under less than favorable circumstances, would only insult and anger the dragon. They didn't know how Trymal would act if enraged and the thought scared them for they did not need a second war.

It was not long before other dragons began to appear. The path had begun to narrow and the black walls heightened where the other dragons perched themselves. All but the hatchling that was originally sent out kept their distance and glared at the humans. Their hatred of man had festered for nearly half a millennia and the dogma that had formed would be difficult to change even in the slightest. Many of the dragons believed that their mere presence was enough justification to have them killed, but they made no move for they were protected by the tradition which dictated that guests were not to be harmed until they themselves did harm.

The humans were getting close to the summit of the highest volcano where they were told by the young dragon is where Trymal made his throne. Trymal not considered a king of dragons for he was not of royal blood like Azsteric. Instead he was more of a Lord or a Duke who simple had ownership over the land. The reason for this was that Trymal did not believe the dragons to be split and by refusing to claim kingship over the Red Scar, he convinced himself that one day Azsteric would see his way.

The summit was chocked with heat and a great plume of ash rose out of it except for an island that sat in the center of the maw. Some sort of magic kept the center at a bearable temperature and kept any poisons that rose from the fires below out. There sat Trymal, much to the shock of the men, he was no larger than Cormack. His scales were of yellow and turquoise and he sat upon a simple granite platform that was raised a few feet above the ground. A few younger dragons were standing about close at hand if necessary. He did not surround himself with treasures, but seemed to have an obsession with marble and there were massive statues and great pillars of the rock not unlike a shrine.

Cormack, before they approached, explained the reason to Trymal's size. He explained of how there were different flights of dragons, each can be told apart by the dominant color of their scales. The most common kind was the red dragon which Cormack was. They grew their entire lives and had an average life span for a dragon which was about 600 years.

The green dragons were slightly larger than a red dragon of the same age and had small tempers. They were also adventurous and were the dragons what often had the rare clashes with humans. Due to their tempers, it is not uncommon for a green dragon to go through its entire life, which lasted about 400 years, without finding a mate. This led to small numbers.

The blue dragons, which Azsteric was one of, were the most respected and were of royal blood. They grew slowly, but like red dragons, grew through their entire lives. This coupled with a life span that could last upwards of 1200 years led to a few blue dragons of absolutely massive size.

Then there was the yellow dragons who were known to be wise and caring. They were small in stature as they never grew much taller than a man. Trymal was only his size due to his advanced age which was in fact coming near to its end. Trymal was 634 years old and the average life span was only 600 years like the red dragons.

Then there was the black dragons. They were absolutely vicious and uncaring for the world. The greediest of all dragons and they had a hate for the other dragon flights, preferring solitude or the company of their own kind. The last known black dragon disappeared shortly after the civil war that had led to the introduction of man. Since it was so long ago, not much more was remembered about the black dragons.

With their quick lesson done, Cormack only reminded them to remain respectful and signaled for the young dragon to lead them forward.

Upon closer inspection, Trymal's advanced age began to show. His scales were dull as if covered by a layer of dust and although he tried to keep his head high, there was a definite hunch in his back. The material of his wings looked of old leather and they sagged on his sides while others would take the effort to hold them slightly above their bodies. When he moved, he moved gingerly as if his entire body was wracked with arthritis and the popping of joints during the movement was barely audible. One thing that caught their attention was his eyes, they had a weariness to them that compounded his advanced age.

Trymal noticed their scrutiny would have none of it. Before the humans could properly present themselves, Trymal told them that he did not care for tradition of introduction for he had no use for the pleasantries of men. This shocked the humans as they did not expect such utter contempt.

With the negotiations already threatening to buckle before they even began, King Thane presented his pleas to Trymal who, not at any single moment appeared interested. Thane noticed this and convinced himself that begging would only look weak to the dragon and that shock and awe, being his specialty and diplomacy his weakness, was his best chance. He stood his ground, looked the dragon in the eyes and called him a bigot and a coward that would hid in his volcano while the world fell to the evil in the North. That Trymal, who believed that the dragon's would one day be united again was now throwing away the opportunity to fight alongside Azsteric once more.

The silence that followed lasted but just for a moment before Trymal slowly rose despite the objections of his aides and lumbered over to the human king. They stood there for several minutes simply staring down each other, neither daring to falter in the slightest. The yellow dragon, despite his small stature among his own kind, was still larger and far stronger than the human. He could easily kill him and the other humans, though the mage might prove a bit more resilient. Though as more time passed, Trymal just continued to look at the human until a smile crept across his maw.

Trymal suddenly broke out in a laughter which was quickly followed by a small coughing spell which made his aides rush over to comfort him. He quickly dismissed them and reminded that he was not helpless and that coughing would not kill him any time soon. He then turned his attention to the human who had a look of shock and uncertainty on his face, but had not moved from his place. The dragon explained that no one had ever spoken to him like that in nearly 300 years which was the last time which was the last time he spoke to Azsteric face to face. He had become so ingrained in his hate and distrust of humans that he did not contemplate that they may change. Although he voiced that he still did not trust humans as a whole, he admitted that King Thane's hash words had gained him some respect, something that was not earned easily by anyone.

Trymal decided that he could not stop those that wanted to help since he knew that although the older generations shared many of his beliefs, the newer generation of dragons had shown an interest in reintegrating with humans. Therefore he allowed for any dragon of age who desired his permission to leave with the humans. This warranted a great reprieve in the humans who expected to leave with no help at all.

After another day to ready themselves, 140 dragons volunteered, not as many as those that came from Bragon, but that was ignored. During that time, Cormack took time to relay a message to Trymal from Azsteric. He did not inform the humans of what the message was, only that it was of great importance. This did not sit well with King Thane who despised any attempt at a plot, but was consoled by Phane that to act rash now would only anger Trymal who could bring his dragons back at any moment. King Thane having no choice, left to head back to his soldiers who had been camping at the base of the Red Scar for nearly a week.

The trip back only took the afternoon as the dragons were able to simply fly them to the camp, much to the surprise of the soldiers beneath. The dragons were not welcomed nearly as warm Haedric's men had, but the dragons were left alone. The hunters took a great interest in the dragons, not to hunt, but to study for very few hunters who went out to kill a dragon ever returned. Those who returned rarely brought anything back other than burns. The chance to converse with dragons overwhelmed any reservations they had. The hunters, who previously had no other desire other than obtaining trophies, quickly became the friendliest of the men who came with King Thane.

The camp was quickly broken up and began their long march back to the main camp at the northern borders of Ishmil to reunite the two halves of the crusade. With their forces bolstered, it would not be long before the rest of the invasion followed King Tal and his great host.

Half-way through the march back, a dragon from King Haedric spotted. The messenger relayed a truly urgent message. King Tal had managed to break the siege at Naxwell, but it was a trap. As soon as Tal had his forces in the city's wall, a massive force of demons and undead promptly surrounded him and cut him off. Once again the city of Naxwell was under siege. King Haedric had no choice but to march into Gree to hopefully stave of the siege long enough for King Thane, who now was in command of the largest force of men, to come with the necessary reinforcements to save King Tal and his men.

King Thane was furious at King Tal. All thoughts above King Tal's foolish invasion, which had been put away at the time, came back to the surface in a rage. King Tal had left with 32,000 and now had an addition 16,000 or so with him in the city, leaving Haedric with a mere 20,000, that would not be enough. He knew that all he could do was quicken his pace in the hope of shaving a day or two off of their march, but that still made King Thane feel hopeless to help. He was taking a stroll through the country side while his allies were out at the front fighting.

With nothing else to do, King Thane had 100 of the dragons with him rush off to aid King Haedric and then ordered a forced march.

Time was of the essence and the only hope King Tal and Haedric had for survival, in the form of King Thane and his army of 54,000 soldiers, was still many days away. The fate of the Crusade of Man was tied to the fate of the men who fought beneath and on the walls of Naxwell.