Dragon Child

Rampage

“I believe that it is about time to launch our attack against the human settlement, Albervork,” Zasvron said with a joyful hiss.

“About time,” Albervork grumbled.

“Oh come now, this is the perfect time to do it," Zasvron said her smile widening as she thought about it, "Sivarria flew off in search of the boy, has yet to be heard from since, and is presumed dead. Two promising younglings have gone off in search of him and have yet to be found. All of this mixed together with the boy’s death and a deep hatred for humans has brought the clan to the verge of doing the attack itself. Now when we tell them to ready for war tomorrow they will cheer and fly eagerly into battle to recover the boy’s body.”

“And since humans are always looking for a reason to attack something. We simply leave a false trail leading to another settlement and watch as they kill each other off.” Albervork finished smiling.

“Very good dear," Zasvron hissed turning around, "now come to bed. We are going to need a good night’s rest for what we have planned tomorrow.”

Albervork gave a wicked smile as blood-lust filled his eyes. Tomorrow's attack was something he had been dreaming of for centuries. Tomorrow he would avenge the death of his clan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day brought with it a similar problem for the camp as the one before.

While the camp was passing through a valley there was an avalanche occurred not more than a hundred feet in front of the knight that led them. The horse reared in fright and most of the men scurried back away from the avalanche, even Rhzvanzin.Rhzvanzin and other dragons knew well the dangers of an avalanche or cave-in quiet well. While cleaning up after one was not a very long or difficult task, the event was still dangerous. Rhzvanzin had been told he lost his siblings in a cave-in.

While most of the camp was still recovering, Rhzvanzin leapt forward and started clearing a trail through the rubble. He tossed various stones ranging from pebbles up to as big as people out of the way, as he cleared his track. He was not going to let the cloaked stranger show him up again. Rhzvanzin had just finish clearing through the avalanche when a second on fell behind the camp.

Now Rhzvanzin was edgy, he knew something unnatural was happening, two avalanches didn't happen like this unless the ground shook. A single avalanche when the where approaching was nothing special, but two within minutes of each other was not from natural causes. Rhzvanzin quickly finished a path through the first avalanche before another could happen.

“Drop your weapons and anything of value you have on you or die!” A voice shouted from the top of the cliff.

Rhzvanzin turned and saw dozens of black clad figures with shell-like faces and strange objects that looked very much like a wooden talon connect to a beam. There was more of them but they carried swords that shown brilliantly in the sun. Rhzvanzin had no doubt about what these creatures where. They where humans, both Leatherhides and Longrangers stood atop the cliff looking down at the pinned in camp.

Rhzvanzin felt his blood run cold before it began to boil over. These humans where about to attack and kill his best hope of finding his way back to the Boulder Fall clan. Not only that, but they where going to attack his friends from the watchman clan because they believed they carried the metal they thirsted for. He would not stand by and allow either.

“HUMANS!!!” Rhzvanzin roared dropping to all fours, “YOU WILL DIE HERE TODAY!!! LEATHERHIDES AND LONGRANGERS BOTH!!!”

Rhzvanzin became so angry that his conscious mind completely shut down and was replaced by instincts.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sara was surprised with the efficiency with which Rhzvanzin had attacked the rubble from the avalanche. She saw him tossing rocks away at an amazing rate, a rate that only increased as the second avalanche happened. Sara almost expected the thieves to appear on the cliff side and demand for their weapons and valuables.

What Sara had not expected was Rhzvanzin’s reaction to the demand.

“HUMANS!!!” Rhzvanzin had roared the word as if it where a curse before he continued his roars in the hissing and growling language he spoke when they had first met.

Sara watched in horror as everything she had taught him seemed to vanish in a heartbeat. He bared his teeth at the thieves and rage filled his eyes. He dropped to all fours and let loose a wild roar that echoed across the valley before leaping directly at the thief leader.

The leader fell behind two of his men that were armed with swords who moved to block Rhzvanzin. The men with crossbows launched there bolts at Rhzvanzin in panic hoping to stop him. Rhzvanzin batted aside any bolt that came close to him with blinding speed and simple plowed through the men with swords. The thief leader swung his sword at Rhzvanzin and missed horribly in his panic seeing something more beast than human attacking him.

Rhzvanzin curled his hand into a fist and seemed to put his entire body weight behind it. With a resounding crack, the man shot backwards as a blur and splattered to pieces against a nearby tree. Rhzvanzin then turned and ripped the heads of the two swordsmen who had guarded the thief leader. Sara was starting to truly believe what the guard had told her about Rhzvanzin’s combat abilities, before she had thought them exaggerated. But he was fighting to kill now, something she had never seen him do before, and it was terrifying.

The man who had made the bridge the other day followed Rhzvanzin suit. He leapt up onto the cliff side and pulled the great sword from his back, still in its sheath, and smashed the head of an unlucky crossbowman open. He then broke two more men in half with a horizontal slash before grabbing another man’s head and crushing it to a bloody pulp in his hand.

The two men proceeded to wreak havoc among the unprepared thieves who turned to flee from the onslaught. Both of the monstrous men proceed into the forest in pursuit of the fleeing men. The sounds of battle continued from the forest growing fainter by the second. Soon bird song returned to the valley.

After a brief pause the knight roused himself and turned his horse toward the trail Rhzvanzin had forged through the debrie. The men from the camp hesitated before following after him in twos and threes. Sara was shocked that he would send his two best men against an army and ride off without them.

Sara stormed over to the knight and demanded to know just what was wrong with him. Though she did not use those exact words.

When the knight had recovered from the verbal assault he said quiet plainly, “I am moving my force out of the valley to avoid any other bandits that might be around. We will wait for them to return at the end of the valley.”

“Yes sir,” Sara said grudgingly.

She looked back at the forest wondering if the two men where still ok in the forest. Rhzvanzin might be at home in the wild, but bandits weren't known for fighting honorably.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep in the forest, Rhzvanzin hunted the remaining humans he knew where still out here. He had counted ten heading this way, their where only four left to kill before they were all dead.

Rhzvanzin spun around as he heard a branch snap behind him.

Rhzvanzin grunted as two arrows struck him in the chest knocking him back a step. The arrows fell from him after failing to do more than prick his thick skin. Rhzvanzin spotted the attackers and saw that, while their shell-like faces remained unchanged, their eyes where wide with fear. Rhzvanzin sparred them no mercy as he pierced their shell-like face with his claws bringing them out bloody and smiled.

Rhzvanzin felt two more sharp pricks at his back and felt the pain stay their this time. He knew more arrows had been fired at him and that these he pierced deep enough to stick.

Rhzvanzin picked up the two arrows that had failed to pierce him deep enough to stick and turned to face the humans that had attacked him. The had turned to run and Rhzvanzin threw the arrows at them.

The first arrow tore right threw the first human tearing out its heart and killing it instantly as it fell. The second arrow caught the human in the back of the head and its head was sticking through one of the eye holes in the human’s shell-like face. This human stopped and managed to remain standing long enough to say one last curse before it fell to the ground dead.

Rhzvanzin let out a mighty roar of victory that caused another human to emerge and run away from Rhzvanzin. Rhzvanzin turned to hunt what he was sure was the last human in this clan. As soon as Rhzvanzin started to pursue the human, the shrouded figure dropped from a tree and caved the head of the human in with his sword holster.

“He was mine to kill,” Rhzvanzin hissed in anger.

“No he wasn’t,” the shrouded figure replied in the same language, “he had been running from me until you made him change course.”

Rhzvanzin growled at the man as he turned and started walking away.

“Where do you think your going?” Rhzvanzin demanded.

“I’m heading back to camp,” the man said calmly without looking back, “are you coming?”

This snapped Rhzvanzin out of the rage the humans had thrown him into and made him remember why he was angry. He remembered the camp that was searching for dragons to meet. He also remembered the Watchman clan and Sara.

Rhzvanzin felt something under his back and chest flatten out as he said, “Yes I’m coming.”

Rhzvanzin straightened up and followed behind the shrouded figure until they emerged from the forest and saw the camp down bellow in a large clearing. Rhzvanzin had not noticed how dark it had gotten and saw that they had already started setting up camp and getting to work on fortifications. Apperently they expected a second attack from any surviving humans.

As they approached the camp, several charged towards them with weapons drawn. When they saw who was approaching many of the men drew back or sheathed their weapons before returning to camp. One small group remained behind and Rhzvanzin saw it was the members of the Watchman clan.

“Welcome back,” Sara said in a neutral tone.

“Hello Sara,” Rhzvanzin said reverting to her language, “Am I in trouble?”

Sara could not help but smile before her face hardened and she said, “Not this time, but if you go off like that without me or the knight ordering it again you will be in trouble.”

“Yes mam,” Rhzvanzin said bowing his head to show he understood.

Sara looked nervous before she asked, “What did you call those things back in the valley?”

Rhzvanzin’s face darkened as he said, “Humans, two of the three types I know of. They barbaric and unpredictable race who is evil and cruel. Fight among selves all time and do much damage to any near them.”

Before Sara could ask her next question, Rhzvanzin noticed that the shrouded figure had pulled his hood back to reveal a light tan face with long gold soft scales. The man looked around before making several quick signs and breathing fire onto a pile of wood before him. Rhzvanzin jumped over Sara and the watchman clan to race over to the man.

“How’d you do that?” Rhzvanzin asked sifting back to draconic, “I’ve been trying to learn how to do that for years!”

“Come I will show you,” the man said getting up and walking off.

Rhzvanzin followed the man deep into the woods until the came to a stream and stopped.

The man turned to face Rhzvanzin and said, “This should be far enough away to show you what you wish to know. First you must focus your energy into your hands and mouth; you’ll know when you’re doing it right when you’re doing it right when the parts you’re focusing on start to tingle.”

Rhzvanzin tried to do as the man said and soon felt his body start to tingle as the man said it would.

“Good, now make these exact signs with your hands while continuing to focus your energy.”

The man made several strange shapes with his hands, which Rhzvanzin promptly repeated. Rhzvanzin felt the energy ignite for a brief second before it fizzled out.

“Good now repeat the process but when you finish inhale deeply and blow as hard as you can.”

The man gave an example and a wave of fire flowed from his mouth onto the stream causing the entire stream to temporarily vanish into a cloud of steam and blackened nearby plants. The man blew a little more and a small cloud of smoke exited his mouth.
Rhzvanzin shook off his surprise at the size of the flame and repeated the process himself. He inhaled deeply, but when he blew only a few small wisp of flame appeared and they quickly fizzled away into nothing.

“Not bad for a first try," the man said eyeing the tiny wisp of smoke that had once been Rhzvanzin's fire, "but keep practicing and you’ll get better. Eventually you can do away with the hand signs and be able to shape the flame better. Though when you use hand signs it will always be stronger than when you do not. Know that how hard you blow can have a great effect on the shape and size of the flames as do emotions.”

The man reached into his robes and pulled out two silver bracelets, which he promptly snapped onto Rhzvanzin’s wrist. Rhzvanzin reached to pull them off but the man stopped him with a sharp hiss.

“Don’t take those off," the man said sharply, "they are yours and you must promise to always wear them. They will become attuned to you and your needs.”

“But what are they?” Rhzvanzin asked.

“You will find out in time youngling,” the man said mysteriously.

“Rhzvanzin?” Sara’s voice called from behind them.

Rhzvanzin looked away only for a second to see where Sara was and when he looked back, the man was gone. Rhzvanzin search for the man and sniffed for him as well, but there was no sign the man had even been here other than the charred plants. Rhzvanzin cocked his head wondering where the man had gone.

“Rhzvanzin their you are!” Sara said as she stumbled over to the riverbed, “Oh lord you still have arrows in your back!”

“I do?” Rhzvanzin asked calmly trying to look at his own back and failing.

Sara pulled the arrows out before she asked, “What did I just get through telling you about running off?”

“That if I run off after humans without permission I be in trouble,” Rhzvanzin said still looking around for the man in black.

Sara snickered before saying, “No I meant that if you leave camp without my permission you will be in trouble.”

“Oh.” Rhzvanzin said drooping knowing he was about to be punished.

“But," Sara sighed, "I guess I can’t punish you for something you didn’t know was wrong.”

“Good.” Rhzvanzin said perking up instantly.

“Nevertheless," Sara said holding up one finger, "you’re coming back to camp with me now.”

“Yes mam.” Rhzvanzin said frowning saddly.