Chapter 7: Wings of old - II

"Soldier get the camp ready while I get the firewood and water"

*Jason himself followed all the rules that he had imposed on his soldiers, that means gathering water and firewood becomes a task of menial labor. Even after hard march of the day, he did not use magic but rather located a new water source, and then they brought water and wood back to the camp*

*By the time they returned, soldiers had once again gotten into their routine, the fire was blazing the delicious aroma of the stew now hung in the air, the sounds of laughter echoed all around, the tiredness gone and the mood merry*

"Hey general, nice timing, hurry up now, Mike's going to sing tonight"

"Oh, come on Rafael, it's going to be great"

*Standing at 4feet 10' Mike had the height and appearance that matched a typical dwarf, but he was skinnier. The camp fell silent as he began to sing. He had a beautiful voice. A voice so melodious that it would put the best of singers to shame, a voice that somehow appeared to take the pain from Rafael's legs and tiredness away. He continued to sing as one after the other the camp fell asleep to his sweet lullaby*

*Once again Rafael was in the sky, and once again did he hear the voice*

"No time to talk today young one. I must make haste to you. We'll talk when we meet. I cannot wait to see you"

*Rafael felt himself smile at that remark. The voice seemed distant to him, but also it appeared of someone he knew, someone close to him*

"UP AND RUNNING YOU LAZY ASSES"

*Rafael woke up with a groan*

"You know what, I am beginning to change my mind about you. I hate you"

"oh! That hurts you know"

"How the hell are you so damn cheery the first thing in the morning"

"Come on come on come on we don't have much time"

*Despite his earlier protests Rafael found himself smiling with the rest of the camp as they got ready and minutes later, they all stood in their marching formation*

"Soldiers! Today we march to the nest. Today we fight or today we die. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir"

"ARE YOU READY?"

"YES SIR!"

"SOLDIERS MARCH"

*The soldiers began their march as one. Throughout the day, Jason gave them two water breaks, one at high noon, other in the evening. By the time they reached the nest, it was already dusk*

"Soldiers attention and halt"

*The soldiers stopped as commanded, but none of them seemed eager for the next command*

"You all did a good job today soldiers, we have reached the nest of the beast. Ready your weapons"

"Yes sir"

"Are you ready to fight?"

"YES SIR!"

"Are you ready to win?"

"YES SIR"

"Let's keep the casualties to a minimum"

"YES SIR!"

"MAKE ME PROUD SOLDIERS"

"YES SIRR!"

"wait wait wait, Jason aren't you going to fight?"

"Me? No way. How are they going to get stronger? If I fight, the fight will end before it even began. I would suggest you stay near me as well. Oh, don't make that face, the part about the casualties was a joke, I would never let one of the buffoons die on me"

*Rafael was about to say something, when a screech pierced the air*

"The beast has gotten our scent. Stay near me young one, this could get ugly"

"Yes sir"

*Another screech came in this time nearer, followed by another one, a different one, one farther away*

"There may be two of them soldiers don't let your guard down"

*Jason stood on his feet, now he was anxious too, a sword appeared in his hand from out of nowhere, a flaming sword*

*The soldiers formed a giant circle with their faces towards the outside. No sound was made, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. A sudden explosion in the center of the circle made some of the soldier's spin around in response while the others were thrown from the force of it. The beast had appeared in the middle of the circle suddenly sending soldier flying. It was no animal. It was a demon. A ten feet tall mass of flesh and fire, talons and claws and a long tale. It spewed fire from its mouth. None of the soldiers backed down, they simply blocked the fire with their shields while others, circled around it to look for an opening. They dropped their swords and grabbed newer and different weapons out of thin air*

*some of the soldier tried slowing it down with ice magic, others kept it off the ice users and the remaining slashed and hacked at its exposed area, but none of it appeared to be having much of an effect*

#Don't worry, I am really close. Stay alive a little longer, I promise I won't let anything happen to you#

*Rafael spun around to find the source of the voice, but no one was there, he tried to take a step forward when a soldier fell flying next to him, it brought Rafael's attention back to the battle*

*The soldiers were having a tough time keeping up with salamander, almost everyone was bleeding, but their tactic was working, the beast had slowed down, and though the soldiers were injured none of them was injured severely and miraculously none of them had died. The soldiers kept at it and minutes later the beast was dead, disintegrating into nothing. The soldiers sat on the ground, all bloody but laughing and smiling like fools, they had just brought down the monster and celebration was in order. The mood had just turned jolly when another screech pierced through the air and the terror returned*

"Another one?"

"That's what I thought as well, my friend, but this is different, it sounds like something much worse, like something much more ancient"

"What would that be?"

"I have no idea Rafael"

*Another shriek echoed through the night as a pattern of trees near them caught fire. Everyone turned around when something huge and heavy landed behind us. Hesitantly everyone turned around and the color faded from their faces. Standing in front of a group of exhausted and injured soldiers was this, this hulking monstrosity. Standing at least 2 stories tall and at least 30 feet long, its entire back was covered by greyish-white scales and its abdomen covered by pure white scales. It had green reptilian eyes and then it opened its mouth to reveal rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. On its back were resting nearly completely white colored wings*

"D...D...D...DRAGON!!"

*It was all one of the soldiers could yell. Jason with his flaming sword in hand stepped forward, ready to strike the dragon*

"Stop"

*The dragon spoke in a voice so soft it didn't fit the beast. A voice like the voice of nature itself. Jason's weapon dropped immediately. Rafael went towards the dragon despite the obvious objections from everyone around him*

*Rafael now stood mere inches away from the beast and was in awe. It was a beautiful creation of the lord, magnificent beast, it had power to snap all of them in half within its jaw but yet it stood peacefully and calmly here. Rafael bowed in its honor, to everyone's surprise, the dragon bowed as well, and then urged Rafael to pet him*

*Rafael extended his hand and then touched the dragon on its face, the dragon looked like she wanted to edge him on but stopped herself*

"I don't know who you are, or why are you here, but I have been seeing you in my dreams, but I know you from before don't I? maybe a previous life or something, but I know you don't I? who are you?"

"As much as I would cherish staying here with you and spending time with you, I must go, I took a great risk in coming here but seeing you was worth it. Call on me when you are ready, you are right though, we do know each other from a long time ago. I have waited centuries no millennia for your return but I must waste for few more years. Call on me when you know my name and I shall come. Call on me soon Rafael"

*Saying that the dragon spread its wings, and was off. Rafael saw a tiny symbol etched onto the side the dragon's face where he had touched her, Rafael knew nothing about it, but he knew he should keep that information to himself and that he did*

"Dragon caller? Rafael you are a dragon caller?"

*Gorion's voice made everyone jump*

"That cannot be right Gorion. The dragon caller tribe has been extinct for more than 10,000 years"

"You are right Jason, dragons left almost right after the split. Them being purely magical beings, they were affected very severely with the sudden deficiency in magic, and they all disappeared. With the dragons gone the tribe of the dragon caller got tremendously weak and in couple of thousand years they disappeared. I don't like this all Jason. Your theory about an intelligent void dweller, the ignorance of the council to it, and now this coming back of the dragons and the dragon caller. These are not small omens. Things are changing for the better or worse I do not know. But we must be prepared for anything"

"Could anyone please explain to me WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?"

"Rest up well for now young one, we will talk tomorrow. Looks like not only yours but the entire world as we know it is going to change"

"I agree with Gorion Raf. You should rest for now. You are tired and scared and we too have a lot to think about. Rest for now, we shall talk about this some other time"

"Alright guys but you are scaring my wits out right now"

*The silence around the camp continued as the soldiers set up their camp, cooked their meals and ate in silence. Mike was the first one to break it, again with his voice. Slowly everyone gathered around, and then one by one they drifted off to sleep. Mike's voice always tends to have that effect on people and once again to the sweet lullaby of Mike's voice Rafael too drifted off*