Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow (76 page)

“Do these floating crystals have a recharge time?” Toderan asked.

“They can apparently operate for one to three days straight without shutting down,” Therosvet answered. “Afterward they need six to eight hours to recharge. If not used continuously, they can go for almost a month without significant resting periods. We envision cargo wagons, armed wagons, and catapults able to maneuver and transport as fast and almost as freely as cavalry. We will start to field these to both Draden and Eladran Weirs and their supporting units as soon as possible. Draden is, of course, our strike legion, and Eladran is pure cavalry, but their support corps still has wagons, which they need for their logistics. You are only as fast as your slowest brother.”

“I see a great potential for these, sir,” Mkel commented, “but I think Battle Point could use them as much as the Weirs.”

“You are right, and we are working to produce them as quickly as possible to fully equip that legion. The expanses they must control and patrol are vast, but we also have a surprise for them in that they will have at least one or two dragons soon. They are the first legion scheduled to have Avenger dragons assigned to them,” Becknor said, answering Mkel’s concerns.

“We believe that Battle Point will be calm for at least a short while,” Michenth explained
.
“Strikenth, Talonth, and especially you all helped to see that all Morgathian forces in the area were eliminated. The horse clans of the Kaskar kingdom and the Southern Ontaror kingdoms will get the word of the Morgathian defeat soon, if they have not already, especially of the two wings of chromatics that were felled. This will keep them in line for a while, knowing that the Alliance will still back its far-off province city. However, we still are addressing General Daddonan’s concerns.”

“What of the Kingdom of Ian, Lord Michenth? I have heard from several Alliance naval wizards and Freiland raiders of chromatics flying within Shidanese lands,” Jodem asked.

“I see the Wizard Council is up to date, Master Jodem. We are planning to send a makeshift wing of brass, copper, and Avenger dragons when they are ready,
Michenth said, “which should be very soon. This will give them some degree of protection for their land dragons and keep their edge over the mongrel Shidanese.”

“How many of these floating wagons do you think we will get by the end of the games?” Toderan asked.

“We will have enough levitating crystals for your support corps wagons and your catapult sections,” Becknor said. “As for the regiment, you will have enough crystals to equip an integrated battalion with all of your combined arms sections. Colonel, this will give you at least a fully fielded strike battalion to work with until Licanth and Zumanth, with all of their subordinate bronzes, learn to create the new stones and increase our production rates. Once the rest of the republic learns about them, there will be a demand like we saw after the Great War for the heating, cooling, and lighting crystals.”

“And the Enlightened senators will want their cut from the sale of these new crystals for the general fund coffers, which they can then dip into for their misguided projects,” Tegent said with his normal poignant opinion.

“You are likely correct, Warrior Bard Tegent,” Michenth said
.
“The trick will be to keep them in the dark as long as possible while we outfit the Weirs and our legions. While they will greatly enhance the quality of life and commerce in our Republic, there are other pressing issues that must be addressed first. The soldiers of the Alliance must always have an edge or measure of superiority over our adversaries. This is what we owe our young men and women who bear arms.”

“Well, Captain Mkel, I know the marksmanship competitions start soon, and you and Jodem, as well as your archers, will want to get some practice in. It is always interesting to watch both the incredible accuracy of the dragonstone weapon competition and the traditional shooters display their skills. The wizards’ demonstration this year will also be spectacular, won’t it Jodem?” Therosvet inquired.

“Why yes, Colonel, as will the races, especially the Dragon Run,” Jodem said with a smile, referring to the dragon race and the subtle competition between Gallanth and Valianth as the largest and fastest dragons in the Alliance. There were several silvers that had the ability, on a good day, to outdistance their gold cousins. This always made the race interesting, plus he liked to see the confident senior gold dragonrider placed slightly on the defensive. He heard Gallanth let out a slightly extra hard breath, akin to a muffled dragon chuckle.

“Yes, my good wizard, the races will be exciting as always. Gallanth, Mkel, again you and your men are welcome here as always, and again we thank you for your part in the Battle Point victory,” General Becknor injected and motioned for the meeting to be concluded. Mkel and Toderan gave him a salute and Gallanth bowed his head to Michenth, after which they turned and began to walk back to the Weir landing and their guest quarters.

Several other Weir dragons began to arrive at the capital. Mkel wanted to see his friends from his original dragonrider training and his general studies at the university before he focused on his military education as an officer. Slidess from High Mountain Weir, Bkert from Atlean Weir, and his brother Dkert from Talinor Weir were all his close friends, with whom he shared many a youthful indiscretion. Their mounts, the silver Trikenth, the bronze Rapierth, and the copper Selenth, were all Weir lead dragons. Gallanth knew them all and was fond of them as well, even the mischievous copper.

Even as he thought about meeting them, he heard several greeting roars from dragons arriving over the bay through Gallanth’s ears. He knew at least one was a silver and the other a bronze. Bronze dragons had a distinctly shrill but menacing roar, likely from their ability to breathe under water and from the electricity of their powerful lightning breath weapon. This one sounded especially deep, which told him it was likely Bkert on Rapierth, for he was one of the largest and most feared bronze dragons in the Alliance.

“
It is Trikenth and Rapierth, my rider, and Selenth is teleporting in as I speak,” Gallanth said to Mkel as he heard the gruff roar of a copper dragon. “Excellent, my friend, I look forward to seeing them, as I know you are happy to see their dragons,” Mkel said out loud as they walked.

“They are early, especially for Bkert and his brother,” Jodem said sarcastically, knowing of the sometimes flippant nature of the dragonrider brothers.

Bkert, whose family always had a love of the sea, was a natural rider for Rapierth. However, he was not an Alliance officer or even a member of the military. Rapierth took the lead in overseeing Atlean Weir, along with Shaltor, the Weir’s lead wizard, who was one of the Wizard Council of Thirteen, along with Jodem. Bkert was content with just being Rapierth’s rider and helping him in any fight and in their adventures under the sea as well. Bronze dragons were incredibly fast swimmers, having webbed claws and partially webbed forelegs. Their powerful tail fins extended or frilled up and were almost as well suited for propulsion in water as they were as a rudder for flight. As with all dragons, bronze dragon wings could be used to aid in swimming, but theirs were especially designed to do so, and their hide could force water over the surface as it did air, aiding their speed. The fastest bronzes could attain speeds that rivaled those of dolphins, or greater.

Like his brother, Dkert had a liking for the water, but he also had a love of the earth. This made him an ideal copper dragonrider, especially at Talinor Weir, which had a good-sized mountain lake beside it. He also did not choose to be in the military but preferred the simplicity of just being a dragonrider. His kidding and teasing nature was also a reflection of his copper dragon’s style, for they were the most sarcastic of all dragons and also enjoyed a good joke. Talinor Weir, the only Weir located within the interior of the republic, was part of a large mountain chain along the Severic River; it was also the home of the second largest dwarven city. The Weir overlooked both the Severic to the north and the small mountain lake to the south, which spilled over as a spectacular waterfall; it was the headwater of the Missora River that flowed to Lancastra Weir.

“You are too critical, my friend,” Mkel teased Jodem.

“I talk to their wizards, Mkel,” Jodem answered.

“What of Slidess? He is also not an Alliance soldier, but a powerful wizard in his own right,” Mkel quipped back.

“Kalger, the High Mountain Weir wizard, has a more favorable opinion of Slidess, but there is that wizard to wizard courtesy,” Jodem answered with a smile.

Just then, Trikenth flew into the Weir interior, with Rapierth close behind. They both circled the inside of the Weir twice, descending as they glided, and landed a hundred yards from Gallanth and the Draden crew. Selenth then entered the Weir; his triangle-shaped tapered wings, with their copper and brownish hue, slightly twisted to make a tight curved circle before he landed. Coppers were ideal for sprinting flights but lacked the sustaining ability for great speed and distance. On short flights, however, coppers were very agile, especially in tight places. This ability, as well as their ground speed and jumping capability, made them particularly effective in ground and near ground flights. It allowed them to survive against and even win occasional fights with red dragons, which they took a particular joy in killing.

Slidess and Bkert dismounted as Selenth landed. Even though he was large for his species, Selenth was still visibly smaller than the silver and bronze dragons. Selenth’s wingspan was just about fifty-five yards, and he was roughly thirty-three yards in length, being large for a copper dragon. His short but thick ribbed protruding eye horns were used as much for breaking rock as they were for weapons. His talons were also thick, being suited for digging and cracking rock as well as for grasping and rending. Their fiery acid breath weapon was similar to that of green and black dragons, but coppers had a longer range and a greater acidity, being iodine based. Selenth’s deep copper and brownish tone almost blended in with the surrounding rock base of the Weir.

Slidess and Bkert waited for Dkert to dismount and then walked toward Mkel and Gallanth. They met at the midpoint on the spacious Weir grounds. The silver, bronze, and copper dragons bowed their heads to Gallanth, who returned the salute. The three Weirleaders walked up to Mkel and all gave him a group hug.

“My friends, it’s great to see you again,” Mkel said with exuberance.

“Well, Mkel, glad to see you and Gallanth in one piece after the fight we heard you were in. You should have called on us to come and help,” Slidess said.

“You know we always like a good fight, my brother,” Bkert said with a big toothy smile. His greenish blue eyes always had life in them, which were accentuated with his long wavy blond hair.

“I know, but there were several other issues that had to be taken into consideration, plus I know all of you are busy as well,” Mkel answered while still shaking his friend’s hands in the traditional dragonrider lion’s grip.

“I also heard that you and Jodem took out a company of drow on spiders, and you know how much Selenth likes his poisonous delicacies,” Dkert said, referring to copper dragons’ fondness of taking down poisonous creatures and then devouring them.

“It all happened very fast and furious but was handled nonetheless. In either event, I fear we will all be busy soon. But until then, we are all here now, for a couple of days, and we need to have ales together,” Mkel replied.

“We also need to practice for the events of the games as well,” Slidess stated, being the most serious of the group, likely from his discipline as a wizard. His tall lanky stature and short but well-kept dark hair and focused green eyes also added to this appearance. Slidess was a powerful wizard in his own right, with his dragonstone-powered wizard’s staff that doubled as his quarterstaff in hand to hand combat. He was just shy of being a master wizard of Jodem’s capability. The High Mountain Weirleader was also a very skilled monk, being deadly in hand to hand combat and wielding his staff with blinding speed and striking with magically empowered force. He frequently trained with his Draco Guards or the skilled bodyguards, who as a warrior caste were sworn to protect the dragons and especially their riders. Mkel and Lordan were the only dragonriders who refused to employ them.

Mkel’s friend Bkert wielded a mithril alloy pole arm or short lance with a long mithril dual-edged main blade with smaller blades on each side. It was a very menacing weapon that he utilized in fights in the air, on the ground, or underwater. The emerald dragonstone imbedded in the center of the broadhead-like blade was empowered with the ability to fire powerful lightning bolts and deadly ice rays. He was a very skilled fighter in his own right but chose not to join the army or seek a commission.

Dkert was a cleric of notable piety and power, wielding a smooth ball mithril mace with an imposing pick on one side and a hammer on the other, powered by a dazzling green emerald dragonstone, surrounded by garnet. It was able to fire a disruption spell or ball of disruption energy, which was especially deadly against evil creatures. He had an amazing power to heal through his mace, along with a unique ability to manipulate rock and soil. The Talinor Weirleader also skillfully used his mace to aid the dwarves in their mining operations deep within the Talinor Mountain chain.

“Gallanth, I understand that the drow witch you captured mentioned a threat by sea,”
Rapierth said with a bronze dragon’s businesslike, to the point, attitude
. “
That would make sense with the increase in enemy activity with bolder saragwin attacks and the Morgathian and Shidanese pirates.”