Aathis Prequel #3

Aathis flew high enough to where the air is thinnest, then descended down in a steady decline. As a recently full-grown dragon, he could do that. He shot off a few fire blasts and rolled while descending, as most young adult dragons did.

The Redd Dragon knew that he would go undetected, as King Henry the First had everyone preparing for his own royal wedding.

Aathis entered his parents’ cave and home, a tight cavern by dragon standards that overlooked the sea. The dragons were meeting with two friends of their family, wizards Cromwell and his wife the Annora.

Aathis had decided to meet with his parents regularly as they were now ancient dragons, and he did not know how much time they had left. His parents, Adalbert and Orella had been around since all types of dragons had roamed the Earth. And now, these older dragons who were still immense forces of strength and intellect, were already starting to lose their scales.

“Aathis, come on in, have some tea!” called out Cromwell, warmly. The middle-aged wizard smiled from behind a bubbling cauldron of what he had called “terra tea,” a strange mixture of lizard blood, spring water, honey, and other secret herbs.

“Sure, don’t mind if I do,” said Aathis, as a huge bowl of boiling tea was placed in front of him.

“Now then Cromwell, Annora, what is the urgent matter that you need our help with?” asked Adalbert. Cromwell put down his human-sized bowl, sighed, and gathered his thoughts. Annora held her husband’s shoulder supportively.

“As you all know, the king of England has asked us not to intervene in his military doings. Normally we operate clandestinely like you dragons do and yet, this is different. Our King wants nothing to do with wizards or dragons. The arrogant fool!” No one in the cave could believe what they were hearing.

“What would he have us do?” asked Orella, “People and dragons of great abilities like us, and the king would have us gather in our caves and die?”

“It seems that way,” said Annora meekly. “The king of Albion, err sorry, England, sees us as individuals who are too hard to control. He no longer trusts us.”

“This is our reward for serving the interests of Albion. Well, it will always be Albion to me,” added Adalbert. “Is this really all there is for us?”

“Wait, we can work independently!” said Aathis, “I have been doing this myself, you won’t believe how much gold pirates are willing to give up if you keep their ship afloat!” Everyone looked at Aathis somewhat shocked. “Let’s find some land of our own and make our friendship a true alliance! Wizards and Redd Dragons will rule the world!” The humans shook their heads at him.

“Aathis please,” said Cromwell, “take it from us, the humans will unite and eliminate you. They will start with you dragons and then once they have earned our trust, will remove us wizards as well.”

“They are already planning this, in one form or another,” said Annora, “Unless we take action quickly, it will be too late.”

Cromwell added some shimmering water to the tea cauldron, then served the dragons another bowl full.

“What can we do then?” Wondered Orella out loud. “We cannot fight the humans when they’re united, there are too many of them. What can we do?” Everyone sat in silence for a long moment, the dragons drank some more tea.

“We must divide these humans,” said Adalbert. “There are no dragons in the kingdom of France. We will go there and get support from their king!”

“With dragons and wizards on their side,” said Orella, “The French could take over the Earth!”

“Perhaps wizards will never be useless!” said Cromwell.

“Or dragons,” added Annora.

“Yes, we will play a part too,” said Adalbert with a chuckle. As he laughed a few sparks left his jaw slightly, enough to distract him from one of his scales falling on the cave floor.

“Yes, that’s the answer!” Cromwell rose to his feet and made way for the cave entrance; his wife followed. “Everyone get ready to go to the kingdom of France.”

“Agreed,” said Adalbert, “Do you know their king?”

“Yes, I do,” said Cromwell, “his name is Louis. We suspect that he will reign for many years to come.”

“So, we will arrive in France together and once he sees you there with us dragons, he will be more likely to trust us,” said Orella.

“Precisely but should he be suspicious, we could use some of your gold Aathis,” said Cromwell. The younger dragon smiled at this.

“I would be happy to help.”

“We must make haste,” said Annora, “If we fly to France now, Aathis will you get your gold and meet us there? In Paris?” Nods went around the cave.

“I will do that.” And with that declaration, everyone left in the cave to travel to France as fast as possible.

Aathis arrived at his cave quickly and immediately sought after his gold. Where had he put it? Was it underneath the spare deer and human meat rations? Nope. Beneath his to-do list of charging tolls to the pirates? Nope, not there. Where was it? And why was he feeling a little drowsy?

Adalbert and Orella flew directly toward France with Cromwell and Annora on their respective backs. The humans held tight as falling was not desired. And the dragons were kind enough to fly at a lower altitude then normal to accommodate their passengers.

“I seem to be slightly weary,” called out Adalbert to both his wife and human companions.”

“I as well,” said the dragon’s wife.

“Perhaps a rest is in order,” said Cromwell. “Let’s land here and while you wait, my wife and I will make way to Aathis’s cave.” The dragons nodded and landed. They were a fair distance from Aathis’s cave. It was not ideal for walking but not impossible either. Adalbert was so drowsy that he did not notice his wife had already landed and gone to sleep. “Go ahead and rest Adalbert, we will find you,” said Cromwell.

“Yes…that’s fine…” he turned to his wife, who was already fast asleep. “Cromwell, Annora, why did you suggest we stop if we are in a…hurry?” Cromwell smiled at him and said something, but Adalbert could hear nothing. The dragon only saw the wizard’s lips move as his vision blurred and he passed out.

Adalbert’s large head and jaw crashed to the ground, shaking the land. Cromwell stood at what would have been the dragon’s left leg but was now a scarred stump. The wizards studied the sleeping dragons.

“I wonder how he lost his leg? Or when?” asked Cromwell.

“No matter let’s stay on task. They are clearly asleep. Now my love! Now is the time to absorb the youthful dragon’s life force and we will become immortals! The greatest wizards of all time!” Cromwell hugged his wife.

“It’s amazing what you can do with a ten-time enchanted sleeping draught.”

“Now we need only tell the young dragon that we were ambushed and wait for him to rest.”

“Indeed,” said Cromwell, “then we will guard his cave as living statues until all of his life energy belongs to us. A mere 900 years later!”

“A short time if you’re undying, ageless immortals like we will be!” shouted Annora. After a kiss in celebration the wizards ran toward Aathis’s home.

Aathis finally recovered his gold which was placed beneath a ten-ton boulder which served as a false wall at the rear of his cave. Moving said boulder was no problem for a Redd Dragon, after all. In spite of his immense strength however, Aathis could barely keep his eyes open. Perhaps a short nap was in order. He lowered his head and glanced at the cave entrance, just as Cromwell was arriving. Surely a friend like Cromwell will help him get through all of this.

Orella stood up slowly and then forced herself to leap, as a way to get her draconic blood flowing.

“Adalbert, wake up!” She nudged at her husband. “Wake up! I woke up just before they left and-” She looked at her husband and he was still asleep and barely breathing. “WAKE UP!” She slapped her husband’s wing and middle.

“Aaah!” called Adalbert.

“My love, wake up! It’s a betrayal! The wizards mean to kill both us and our son!” Two scales fell free from Adalbert’s side.

“I…my love…” He gasped for air, “I cannot. They have poisoned us. I cannot continue,” He took in as much air as he could, which was not enough. “Please, you have to go on. You can save him!” Orella hugged her husband and cried. “I love you, Orella. Thank you, I am glad to have found someone who truly did love…me…”

The strength left Adalbert’s body.

Orella stared at her husband’s limp body and slowly moved away, then let his claw fall to the ground. She studied him as he lay there in complete rest. No! It could not end like this!

Orella leapt into the air as fast as she could! Her wings beat up and down faster than ever, she would be at Aathis’s cave in no time! She flew higher and higher and prepared to spin around and find her son. But which way was his cave? She looked at the terrain but only saw trees and ocean. Where was she?

The epinephrine from her rage wore off and she began to descend, faster than she had planned to. Aathis, where are you?! She continued to fall but now it was toward the water. Orella then realized that she had not fully overcome the wizard’s poison and would have to take a nap, as her head crashed beneath the ocean’s water.

The wizards entered the cave of Aathis. Annora moved forward and studied the great, sleeping dragon.

“Here we are Cromwell! Let’s begin absorbing his powerful life force!” She waved her hands and three yellow sparkles flew from Aathis toward their bodies. “Steadily we will become much more powerful!”

“And immortal!” Shouted Cromwell.

“As long as we wait!” Cromwell drew a dagger.

“My wife, I require more life force than I let on.” He drove the blade into the side of his wife’s throat. She writhed and struggled, but he held her there. She tried to cast a healing spell but he held her hands against the ground, until she died. A thousand sparkles of yellow energy shined over then into Cromwell. “Thank you, my dear. Now I can complete my task.”

With his newly acquired magical energy, Cromwell was now more powerful than ever. But the wizard was still not an immortal. He could now control and manipulate stone and the elements around him, but he was not immortal. He could now see the world around him, but he still was not immortal.

The dark wizard left the cave then placed a blue energy orb around the great boulder and moved the boulder to the cave’s entrance. The stone conformed to his order and sealed the cave.

“Rest well, young dragon. Perhaps we will meet again in 900 years. Thank you, you are going to make me a very powerful man!”

Cromwell then sprouted some full-grown trees around him and encased his body in stone. Then he needed other statues, so he fashioned elves, humans, a minotaur, and some goblin statues. This was all done in minutes, in what would have taken a normal man months to do; or what would have taken a normal wizard hours to do, not so for the dark, mighty Cromwell.

Cromwell needed a rest of his own. He stood there in statue form as three more sparkles of draconic life force entered his body.

“And do not worry, Aathis, I have a feeling that the sacrifices of your parents, my wife, and you, will all be well worth it.”