Vegenrage: Dragon Reclaim (10 page)

Gisewear was a very mature dragon and nearly the dominant dragon. This sends magical waves that all the dragons of all the worlds feel. Blethstole and the dragons talked at length before they had set out to begin their campaign to eliminate the magic-using races of men. The issue of Cormygle was one that the dragons were very concerned about, and their concerns have just been confirmed. The dragons know it was Gisewear that has been killed, and they know Cormygle has to be the reason, and this puts Cormygle against the dragons—a situation the dragons had hoped to avoid. The dragons on Fargloin feel the sensation and are a bit confused but all with the exception of Gisewear have set plans in motion to be carried out the next morning, and they rest, contemplating the loss of Gisewear.

CHAPTER 9
Blethstole and Dribrillianth

All dragons have left Mirrimya Mountain, and Blethstole and Dribrillianth instruct the eight remaining smallest and youngest of the dragons who dare venture near the dominant dragons to go to the Pinegrow Forest and hunt down Xanorax and eat him. After that, search Valvernva and Mytek Mountain for survivors, and the main target there is Inglelapse. Whether the dragons know the names of the races of man is not important although they do know most of the magic-using races of man by name. The dragons can detect the magical essence of a magic user unless they are protected in some way like Vegenrage is by his Cloak of Concealment. The smaller dragons are to stick together and hunt, and should they run into the new dragon, they are to contact all the larger dragons telepathically. The dragons head off to hunt the planet of Kronton, and Blethstole and Dribrillianth are left atop Mirrimya.

“It is my belief that you, Dribrillianth, are to be the next dominant dragon. Pryenthious, Kertinkpice, Gisewear, Bailseize, Gairdennow, and even Gannream are all dangerous and viable suitors to be the next dominant dragon, but I believe you to be the strongest. This unique situation we are in now has, for the time being, brought the dragons together, but this is not natural or normal. The dragons now hunt all three worlds of the Maglical System, and surely, the new dragon will show up, and when he does, we must all converge on him and destroy him.”

“Yes, we have already discussed this.”

“
Yes, but when he has been destroyed, the dragons will continue in our natural way like it was meant to be, and I believe you to come out the dominant dragon. You will inherit the dominant lair here on Mirrimya, the lair I inherited from your father, Rippencore. Soon this new dragon will be found, and I will take him on head on. I cannot repair my wing. Vergraughtu’s magic has severed it for good. If I do not survive and you inherit this lair, fill it with treasure, and may it bring you the strength and security it brought me.”

“Right now, we worry about destroying the magic-using races of man and the new dragon, and then we will see about who may or may not become the dominant dragon. We should go see Mother. None of us took the time to read through that book she had, and if it was written by Hornspire, it may have some valuable information for us.”

“Yes, the book. That future-talking dragon, writing what’s about to happen. I never believed in his prophecy-talking ways, but they have come to pass in a lot of ways as he described so long ago. All that so-called future knowledge, and he couldn’t stop his own death by a pig man.”

“Well, at any rate, I am curious, and I am going to see Mother and get a look at this book. There is no point us just sitting here and waiting for the new dragon to show up. We might as well go take a look and see what the book says.”

“Okay, Dribrillianth. Let’s go see what this book has to say.” The two dragons take to the air and fly through Dimension Doors to the skies above Shandeltowen. They fly over the mountain peaks until they find the entrance to Gwithen’s lair and descend into the magnificent cavern. Gwithen is resting with her newborn draglets and immediately stands with them under her, showing her teeth and growling viciously. Blethstole lands far to her left and Dribrillianth far to her right.

“Mother, we have not come to hurt the draglets. We have come to see the book you have.”

“Gwithen, may we see the book? We will take it and use the knowledge if you believe it to be useful.”

“I offered you the book, and you all ignored it. Now you come to my home in seek of it?”

“Yes, the dragons, all dragons, are out hunting for this new dragon, and the book may have some helpful insight for us.”

“Then take the book, but read it here and leave it here. You will see what I mean as you read it.” Gwithen magically retrieves the book from the wall and floats it over to Blethstole who is joined by Dribrillianth. This book is in its natural state, and it is massive. Five feet tall by four feet wide, and the two dragons start to flip through the pages written with the claw of Hornspire in the dragon language. The beginning of the book talks about a lot of events that have already happened, and although not exact to the events as they unfolded, it is close enough to keep them interested. Toward the end of the book, it talks about the rise of Vemenomous, the death of Vegenrage and Hornspire, and they both shall rise again.

“That sneaky Hornspire. He had the Wings of Rebirth, and he has yet another life to lose,” Blethstole says, looking to Dribrillianth.

Dribrillianth rubs his chin and says, “So he had prepared and did not die to the hands of the pig man after all.”

They continue reading and are amazed to find out that according to the book
The Passing
, the new dragon intends not to mate with current dragons but with a human female, the female of tainted mind that will lead the human savant into a deadly trap, and there, the savant who has been implanted with the Demon Seed shall be subdued. Vemenomous will shrink in size and shall mate with the human female after the female and Vemenomous consume the savant soaked in the blood of dragon and demon altering her physical being. Her blood and form will transform and mutate to one compatible for Vemenomous, and she shall bear the new generation of supreme dragon. She shall be his queen, and they will rule supreme for a thousand years. The dragons of the current day will be hunted and slowly eliminated, and within a thousand years, that species of dragon shall be extinct.

Blethstole remembers Gwithen telling him and the other dominant dragons they have to figure out how to unite with the races of man and the dominant dragons disagreeing. “So this is what you meant by the dragons uniting with the races of man. You want us to protect Vlianth from Vemenomous.”

“I want for our species to continue and this abomination to be destroyed, or it will destroy us. The races of man may very well befriend us if we do not feed on their kind. I see how this is beneficial to our species and the species of man.”

Blethstole heatedly responds to Gwithen, “That is because you have not thought out the scenario completely. If we were to befriend the races of man and lose that food supply and now feed on only the beasts as do the races of man, how long do you think it will be before we are all out of food? If left unchecked by the dragons, the elves, the dwarves, and especially the humans will multiply at an exponential rate, and they will consume everything. We will be right back in the same boat we are in now. Of course we could lie to the races of man and then turn to feed on them when they become too numerous but they are smart enough to see through this and if left unchecked there is no telling how powerful they may become in the art of magic.”

“What would you have us do, Blethstole?”

“We wait as we are now, and when Vemenomous shows himself, we dragons converge on him and destroy him.”

“I have to agree, Mother. This is the best way. I do believe we should find Vlianth though and make sure he and the female are not taken by Vemenomous.”

Blethstole angrily shakes his head. “I cannot detect this human. He has the remarkable ability to stay undetected.”

“Another option is to kill the female or Vlianth. This will prevent the mating and the ability for Vemenomous to reproduce, and then all of us dragons protect Gwithen from this Vemenomous so he cannot mate with her. The same goes for Mezzmaglinggla. The female, surely, we can detect her. She has used the Staff of Barrier Breath and has become very powerful in the use of magic. We can find her and destroy her,” Dribrillianth says.

“Yes, Dribrillianth. Now you’re thinking. Vlianth and the female have killed or thwarted a dozen dragon already. It is written that Vlianth is more powerful than any dragon, and with the help of the female, no dragon can kill them. Maybe a better strategy would be to follow them, track them, and let them lead us all to Vemenomous.”

“So, Blethstole, she severed your wing with the Staff of Barrier Breath. Can you track her? Can you find her magical signature? She can lead you to Vemenomous, and then the dragons and the humans can kill Vemenomous together if need be. Maybe this is how we avoid this new species of dragon from taking over.”

“Gwithen, I like this train of thought. This could work. Dribrillianth, I believe I can find the female. Let us search together.” The dominant male dragons leave the lair of Gwithen and head into the open.

Gwithen breathes in deeply and exhales, relieved that the dragons have left her lair. The maternal nature of all mothers to protect their young was prominent in her mind. The fact that two dominant dragons were in her lair while she has young is first of all unheard of and very dangerous and almost always leads to draglet fatalities. Gwithen magically restores the book and snuggles up with her young who mostly sleep and were oblivious to the very real threat that was present.

Blethstole begins to magically scan for the female, and this is a tedious process. Blethstole knows he can find her, but her presence is not well known to him. He knows he will detect the magical force of Vergraughtu that flows through her, and with her magical ability grown in strength the way it has, she will be easy to detect, but still, she will have to be within a few hundred miles for him to detect her. Blethstole has three worlds to search, and she could be anywhere, so he doesn’t waste time. He and Dribrillianth begin the search, and maybe they will run into Vemenomous first. Either way, events are about to unfold in a dramatic way throughout all the Maglical System. Blethstole is heading for Noireen and plans to veer north to Shaspar and then Breezzele and then head to Valvernva and Mytek Mountain. He has no idea where the humans that he is looking for are, but if they are on Kronton, they will most likely be where the people are, and that is just where Blethstole is going to search. “Do you think they are here on Kronton? The last we knew, they were on Vlanthis, and you had Vlianth magically frozen. Did you see him rise?”

Blethstole quickly responds to Dribrillianth, “No, I did not see him rise, but the female was there, and she is very powerful. She used the Staff of Barrier Breath and, with it, cut off my horns and wing. She is, or at least was, protected by the staff as well. I am sure I will pick up her presence. I will never forget it. I have a little payback for that human female and for Vlianth.”

“Do you think we should go to Vlanthis? Maybe they are there, or maybe they have gone to Richterblen and wait there with that other magic user, Logantrance.”

“They are good places to search, but I think, for now, we search here. The dragons are uniting with the lesser dragons, and tomorrow morning, we all begin a three-world united attack on the magic-using races of man. Surely, the dragons have been spotted, and I think if Vlianth is to protect the races of man from us, then he will surely be with them. We search Kronton and let our brothers search the other two worlds. If by tomorrow’s end we have not found them, then we search the realms of the magic users. We left nothing there for them. They are on one of the worlds. I am sure of it.” Blethstole has no idea that Vegenrage and Farrah are right in Valvernva heading for Elbutan and he and Dribrillianth are right on track to fly right into them.

Vegenrage is reading from the book, and all the people are very interested and listening intently to his translation of the dragon language. Here are some excerpts from the book
The Valvernva Uniting
read by Vegenrage:

“Valvernva shall be the hardest hit population center at the beginning of the third Dragon Feast. The town will be flattened to the ground by the dragons and many of its inhabitants eaten. The Valvernva people are very elusive, and many survive to join forces with the very few that survive the destruction in Mourbarria. They are led by Vlianth to join all the surviving races of man on Kronton. The savant, Vlianth, is being hunted by dragon and Vemenomous and lesser dragons. The dominant dragons actively searching for Vlianth cannot find him by what must be divine intervention, and the dragons just miss their chance to kill the female with tainted mind.”

Farrah is standing right by Vengenrage and squeezes his arm, asking “Vegenrage, who is the female with tainted mind?”

“I don’t know. Let’s keep reading.” He reads for about another thirty-five minutes, and everyone is entranced, including Vegenrage. It is incredibly accurate up to the point where the people of Valvernva unite with the people of Mourbarria, and their plan is to head to the Elbutan lands to unite all the humans. It tells how the events of the near future somehow keep the travelers out of harm’s way but not why. It also tells how the travelers make their way to Elbutan, but Vlianth is diverted from them. Why he is diverted is left unknown. Vegenrage almost finishes the book when he looks up. He takes a deep breath and looks, staring off like he is daydreaming. Farrah feels a strong pain in her stomach and kneels over, holding her stomach. The people notice the sudden absence of Vegenrage’s voice, and they see as Farrah kneels over in what looks like pain. Visions are coming to her mind that she cannot stop. She sees exactly how Cormygle kills Gisewear, but she has no idea who Cormygle is. Vegenrage bends down to Farrah. “Farrah, are you all right? Did you feel it? An elder dragon, a dominant dragon, has been killed.”

“Yes, I feel it, and I see it happening.”

“Is it Vemenomous? Is he killing the dragon?”

“No, it is something else. I don’t know what it is. It looks like a dragon—a dragon made out of black sand.” Vegenrage stands, helping Farrah up. The people in the crowd start to ask what is wrong. What is going on?

“A dominant dragon has just been killed. I think this is a sign that we should move. Gather your things but only what you need. We have a long journey in front of us, and you need to travel light. Oliver, may I hold on to this book? I can keep it safe in my Bag of Holding.”

“Yes, you can. You are the only one who can read it anyway.”

“Have everyone get ready to travel, and remember, we have a long way to travel. We must be swift yet as hidden as possible.” Oliver and some of the other leading citizens mobilize everyone and hurry them to gather the necessities that they need. What little they have are in the passageways and tunnels that hid them from the dragons.