The crunch of gravel was the only sound to be heard as the hunting party moved silently through the trees. The thirty men were weary, having travelled a vast distance across treacherous paths to reach the famous Drake Nest of Erith. They were covered with cuts and gashes, but that only increased their resolve to return home with something to show for their efforts. The poachers would either slay a dragon, or die trying.

Up ahead, they saw the edge of the forest. Excitement surpassed caution as the men broke into a sprint to witness the legendary home of the dragons. What they saw took their breaths away. The forest sloped down a hill that sat next to a rolling river. Beyond that, there was a great sea of emerald green grass, rippling in the breeze. But the most astounding thing of all was the mountain. Its jagged peaks rose like a set of fangs out of the green plains and reached high into the clouds above. The sloping sides were peppered with a multitude of cave mouths, where the men guessed the dragons made their homes.

The sun was setting. It was now or never. The poachers scrambled down the hillside as quietly as they could and swam across the river. The grass on the other side was long enough to conceal them if they crouched, so they made a beeline for the mountain, moving briskly and praying that no dragons spotted them. The men had their pick of the caves, and many of them agreed to target one of the smaller caverns near the base. However, their leader was arrogant and prideful. He had spotted an immense opening behind a rocky outcropping. Wanting to prove himself as the greatest dragon slayer, he led his men up the mountain to enter the gaping cave.

---

SoNem drifted over the Eastern forest on the peninsula, turning lazy circles as he scanned the ground below for elk. It was his turn to attend the Queen, and she was hungry. Thus, he was out late looking for something to feed her. If it had been any other dragon, SoNem would have grumbled to no end, but the Queen was special. He always felt at peace in her presence and was eager to please her.

SoNem’s sharp eyes caught sight of a herd of elk in a small clearing. One of the bucks noticed him as well. Its head shot up from grazing and its ears swiveled, listening for the sound of dragon wings beating the air. No point in wasting time, now. He tucked his wings in close and dropped into a rapid dive. The elk scattered, but it was too late. Sii outstretched, SoNem plucked a cow from the herd by its back and rose up above the trees. He reached his neck down to deliver a swift, fatal bite to the throat and felt the warm blood flow into his mouth. It was delicious. He began to salivate and had to remind himself that this elk was for the Queen.

He flew back to the Queen’s cave and dropped to the ground just past the entrance. As soon as he landed he felt an instinctive urge to flee, although he wasn’t quite sure why. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He sniffed the dank cavern air and that was when he realized what had set him on edge: humans. He let out an anxious hiss. The humans had been appearing every once in a while lately, but none had ever come this far before.

A deep roar echoed through the cavern, jarring SoNem from his thoughts. The Queen! The humans must be attacking her. He charged deeper into the cave without hesitation. He found the Queen in her sleeping chamber. He also found the humans. They were everywhere, a score of them at least. They had bound the Queen in steel trapping nets and gouged her vulnerable underbelly, impaling her through her fire gland so she couldn’t burn them. SoNem stopped abruptly and stared at the scene in horror. His mind reeled. How could this have happened? The Queen was the oldest and most powerful dragonelle alive! How could the humans be overpowering her so easily?

SoNem was suddenly overcome with a blinding rage. He rattled his griff and lowered his head, letting out a throaty roar. The humans turned to look at him in surprise. They didn’t seem to be expecting a second dragon to appear. Their shock disappeared quickly though, and they began to circle him, armed with nets and dragon-bone weapons. He hugged the ground to protect his belly and lashed his tail, backing up slowly. The rational part of him knew he could never defeat so many humans all at once, but he had to protect the Queen.

Fly.

The urgent voice in his head took him by surprise. SoNem looked up at the Queen to see her staring back at him in terror. She didn’t want to see any other dragon get hurt at her expense. He couldn’t just abandon her though. He turned back at the humans, rattling his griff menacingly. He spit a torf of fire at them, hoping to stall them. The flames put a wall between him and the humans, but he knew it wouldn’t last very long.

You fool! Hurry! Get away from here!!

The Queen’s voice practically shrieked in his mind. She lashed her head, trying to break free from her bondage. This got the humans’ attention. They turned away from SoNem to tighten the nets they had on her. One of the humans – a particularly large male, from what SoNem knew about the species – approached her slowly, a dragon-bone-forged blade in his hand. SoNem couldn’t move. He stood rooted in horror as the man walked up to the Queen’s head and slit her throat. Dark crimson blood gushed out as the dragonelle’s life ebbed from her eyes. She used her last bit of strength to mind-speak one final message.

Leave. Never return.

SoNem managed to gather his wits enough to force his limbs to move. He fled to the edge of the cave, snapped his wings open, and flew off into the night; the image of the Queen’s dying moments burned into his mind forever.

---

Istaria lay curled with her nose tucked beneath her tail. She had taken to sleeping with one eye open since the humans began invading. As an Erithian serf, she had a small cave as the base of the mountains, where the humans could easily get to her. She had considered asking SoNem, her master, if she could sleep in a nook in his cave, but she didn’t want to risk sounding like a coward in front of him. He was known to tease her when she had moments of weakness like this.

An odd feeling began to creep over her. It was different from the usual nervousness she felt when going to sleep at night. It was almost like a hopeless despair, but she wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Its randomness frightened her. She woke up and lifted her head, looking around the dark cave. There was nothing strange or relatively dangerous, so why the sudden sense of deep sorrow and melancholy?

Leave. Never return.

The impelling voice rang in her mind, and Istaria suddenly understood why she felt such anguish. The Queen was dying. This place was no longer safe. She felt a flutter of panic in her chest and raced for the entrance of her cave, spreading her wings to fly. She had to escape. Once in the open air, she saw that all the other dragons must have heard the same dying message. The stars were blotted out by the forms of hundreds of dragons taking to the sky. Istaria rose up to join the ranks, wondering where they could possibly go.

Despite the fact that she was alone, Seulki was joyfully rolling around in a field of tall grasses. Usually, the young Wimborne dragonelle would be peacefully sleeping in a small cavern near the top of the mountain. However, tonight, she felt restless. She pawed at the ground, uprooting the grass and soil, wondering about what tomorrow would bring. Perhaps she would finally be able to muster up the courage to ask a young dragonelle or dragon to race with her. Or maybe it would be her turn to attend to the Queen.

Seulki grunted, plopping down on the ground as her tail lazily swept back and forth. She respected the Queen, but was to stricken with awe to ask her anything about life in general. She mostly wanted to ask the Queen about humans. Are they tasty? Would she be able to play with them? However, most of the older dragons she had seen had a deep-rooted of humans. Well, yes, they drove them into hiding but were they all the same? Bah, this whole business with humans just confused her. She sniffled, eyeing an insect as it buzzed around her head. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt pain stabbing her body. She widened her eyes and got off the ground, glancing around her. What was this?

Leave. Never return.

Seulki stretched her neck, a low guttural sound erupting from her. The Queen. She was dying. The last time Seulki had felt anguish was 77 years ago when she was kicked out of the nest. It was a feeling she didn't ever want to feel again. The sound of pounding wings caught her attention and she looked up to see hundreds of dragons taking flight. What happened? All she knew was that it wasn't safe anymore. She had thought that this place was well-protected but now...

Without another moments hesitation, she swiftly launched herself into the air, joining her kindred as the sense of impending doom clouded the night sky.

Ignasius sat on the edge of the river, barechested. He obviously washed himself recently, and now he was simply munching on a loaf of bread. His horse besides him was drinking the water from the river... The old warrior was travelling for days now. In a tavern of one of the town he has been in, the man heard someone talk that the hiding place of the dragons have been found, thus the hedge knight only followed an impulse, not sure what he was going to do. He knew that the hunters would come in numbers and that his swordplay alone would be not enough to hold off against a crowd, but he had hoped that perhaps he could warn them if he got there in time... But even then, he didn't know what would their reaction to an unknown human be. Ignasius knew they were intelligent... He also knew they were dangerous when facing a threat.

Ignasius finished his bread and started putting his armour back on. He slowly pulled up his chainmail cuirass as well as a pair of leggings and then he started strapping on the iron plates... While the man was used to the weight of it, he still found it very hard to put the armour on himself, no matter the fact that he had been living without a squire for about fifteen years.

About after a half an hour, when he was finishing strapping the last belt, Ignasius heard a beat of a huge amount of wings. He froze... The man knew they were dragons, and such a number of them is quite unusual to see just flying around... Suddenly, he understood.... The dragons were fleeing... The man was too late. The poachers have reached them.. And if they made a throng of dragons to flee... Ignasius didn't dare to think what size of the group was that of the hunters. The man was not afraid to die... But he knew that he couldn't stop such a group by himself. Ignasius finished strapping his gauntlet and climbed on his horse, trying to make the strong animal gallop after them.... But a horse is not nearly as fast as a soaring dragon.... He only saw how the masses of flying creatures were at an increasing distance... He knew that he cannot make it in time after them, so he just looked around, trying to understand where he was and moved to the direction of a nearest village.

Feneya's dreams were troubled as she tossed and turned in her cave. Suddenly she awoke with a searing burn in her mind and a deep sadness in her soul. Words echoed in her mind that made her eyes widen and a tear fall down her face.

Leave. Never return.

Feneya shook her head in disbelief before she raised her head and let out a pained wail that echoed through the cave. She felt rage and sorrow rise in her chest and she wanted nothing more but to incinerate every single human that dared take her beloved Queen from her. The Queen had been kind to Feneya, she never once raised her voice or reprimanded Feneya for her tactlessness, and Feneya was deeply devoted to her. She swallowed her pride and her rage and took off into the air as fast as her wings would carry her into the night with the hundreds of other dragons. She looked sorrowfully at the Queen's cave and let out another roar of pain as she cried and followed the crowd.

RoShan was busy sitting in one of the forested regions of Erith. Sleep didn't come easy for him, not this far from the Nest and Mirfield. The bronze scales that covered his rigid, spiky body did little to camouflage him through the trees. Animals were quiet, and stayed hidden in their dens as the great, massive beast waited for sleep to finally overcome him. It'd been a long time since he'd left the Nest, even when others had before him. Distrust of humans and their willingness to hunt for one of the most dangerous creatures to ever live had kept him planted in the Nest for years after the others had left to return to the world.

As he laid there, allowing his thoughts to wander, finding little ways to entertain himself, a sharp pang of anguish overtook him. It didn't last long though, and in a moment it faded back into his hearts. He raised his head hi, and looked to the stars above. What had been able to cause sadness in his cold, hollow hearts? Ever since he'd left Mirfield for the Nest, he hadn't felt sadness.

Leave. Never return.

Sadness turned to anger, and anger turned to rage. As in the distance, the anguished roars and cries of his fellows pierced the night sky, RoShan let out a mighty bellow that would make the hearts of men quiver in fear. It was one of pure rage and malice, filled with centuries of aggression and hatred. The dragon from Mirfield would not stand for this sort of transgression. If the Queen had fallen, had been slain, then there was nothing tying him to the Nest anymore. No one holding him back. As the rest of his kin fled from the nest, RoShan returned, searching the dark ground for the village that dared make its home closest to the Nest.

The humans would pay for their crimes.

NeDro was sitting near the top of a mountain, resting down. He had been flying around, trying to help a bit around with his fellow former Wimborne-region dragons. Help with food, health of the young hatchlings, the like. It was a fairly normal day. The black dragon covered himself with his enormous wings, in a cave that he was allowed to stay in, almost like a hotel reservation. He had his own place, it was just the amount of rest that he really needed at the time, it was a bit overwhelming for him. But, like I said, it was actually a bit normal for it to be this busy. Not too normal, mind you, but it was normal. But then. Then. He heard this voice. This very, very familiar voice, the voice of the queen. The sacred queen, the one that had lived since BEFORE he was a hatchling, the one that the Drakes and Drakkas usually looked up too, at least, the ones he knew well.

He looked outside for a bit, before he heard this voice. He looked into the sky in front of him, the sky that was sort of a mystery. What else is in the sky, except for the human's mountains and forests of metal and stone and wood, and lots of unnatural objects. The pollution the dragon hunters caused, the pain. But, not to NeDro's knowledge, there were some that wanted to make friends, to help, to ride, to fly with them. To be with the dragons.

Leave. Never return.

No. What. What was the queen telling us? To leave our homes? Is that what we were hearing? He heard screeches of several dragons, the flapping of wings, and he felt a gust of wind. Yes. It was. He got up, and started walking to the entrance/exit of the cave, and got out. He looked around, spread his wings, and took off. He dived down, and swooped up before he hit the edge of the path below him. He saw his fellow sliver and black dragons, some with hatchlings in their mouths, some with Drakes and Drakkas following. Soon, he figured it out.

The queen was dying. It was happening.

So, he just followed the rest. He didn't know where to go, so he went with the nearest, biggest group of dragons he could find, and went with them.

SoNem flew aimlessly, hardly aware of the presence of the other dragons around him. The only reminder was the occasional brush of his wing tips with someone else’s or the passing thought of another dragon through mind-speak. None of them spoke aloud, and the night air was rendered into a mournful silence. Try as he might, SoNem couldn’t get the picture of the Queen’s final moment out of his head. He felt an emptiness deep in his hearts that he had never felt before, and he didn’t know how to cope with it. He tried suppressing it, but it always reared its ugly head again when his thoughts flitted back to the poachers.

He wondered passively how long they had been flying. It felt like days now, but it couldn’t have been more than three or four hours. His shoulders strained as he beat his leathery wings, his muscles slowly wearing down as his endurance faltered. Looking around, he saw the dark forms of dragons descending into the forest below. It appeared he wasn’t the only one tired of flying. He tilted his head to eye the ground, searching for a place to land among the trees.

“SoNem!”

The voice pierced through the silence, and startled him awake. SoNem craned his neck around to see who had called out his name. There, a little ways back, a small Erithian dragonelle fluttered towards him, beating her wings rapidly to try to catch up. He recognized the emerald and gold scales of his serf, Istaria. He felt a wave of relief that she had gotten out alright, and slowed to a gentle glide so she could reach him.

“What happened? Why did the Queen tell us to leave the Nest?”

Istaria stared at him with wide, confused eyes. She always was a timid one. SoNem hesitated. He felt the need to protect her, but he knew she was a fully grown dragonelle – even if she was half his size – and she could handle the truth. He angled his head slightly so he could meet her gaze. He could see the moonlight reflecting in her amber eyes, and imagined his own looked the same way.

Humans. They invaded the Queen’s cave and murdered her. She didn’t even have time to defend herself.

Even though they were right next to each other, SoNem preferred to use mind-speak. He didn’t want to break the solemn quiet any more than Istaria already had. Upon explaining the horrific attack to her, he felt a fresh pang of despair. Where could they possibly go now? He had lived in the Nest since he was a hatchling and, like all the other young dragons, didn’t know anything about the outside world. His head began to hurt.

Let’s just find a place to rest. I don’t want to think about this anymore.

Istaria watched SoNem with sadness in her eyes. She had never seen him act this way before. He was always so boisterous and full of life, but now he was just an empty shell of his former self. She couldn’t blame him, though. Witnessing the murder of their beloved Queen would change any dragon, no matter how hard his hearts were. She let silence draw out between them as they glided down to a small clearing in the forest below.

The foliage was soft underfoot and the trees were dense, so any humans who might happen to be wandering nearby would have a difficult time spotting them. SoNem decided it would make a decent place to spend the rest of the night. He tucked his sore wings against his back and lay down, curling his tail around his body. Istaria did the same a few meters away. She dozed off quickly – the long flight took a harsher toll on her smaller frame – but sleep didn’t come quite as easily to SoNem. He closed one eye, leaving the other one open to look out for humans, and tried to let his consciousness fade away. Instead, his mind was stuck on an unending loop of the earlier attack and questions as to how the hundreds of now-homeless dragons would survive.

Feneya's eyes had glazed over hours ago, she was mindlessly following the rest of the dragons as her hearts broke bit by bit. She wondered how any of them would survive without the Queen, especially the hatchlings that had barely taken their first steps. Her eyes had run out of tears to shed long ago and her thoughts turned to memories of her Queen. Feneya realized then that the Queen was more than a mentor, more than her Queen. She was her friend. Of all the dragons Feneya had known, the Queen was the only true friend she had. On the days that Feneya tended to the Queen, they always had conversations that went far deeper than what the Queen wanted to eat. Feneya had confided her every thought in the Queen, and she always listened with patience, kindness, and wisdom. Feneya sighed as her shoulders ached for rest. She saw two dragons break away from the group and land, so with another sigh she descended into a clearing that was close enough to the other two to warn them of danger, but far enough away as not to disturb them. She sniffed the air for any trace of human and slowly lowered herself into the soft grass.

She sighed wistfully and wearily stretched her wings before folding them up at her sides. She opened her mouth and let out a small but bright torf, taking comfort in the moment of warm light in front of her. Even for a dragonelle of Aramoor, Feneya's foua was stronger and more potent than most other drakes and drakkas she met. But now...That didn't matter to her. Nothing did. She shook her head and tried to pull herself together.

She thought to herself This isn't what She would want. I can't give up and wallow in my sorrow, that's not what She would want me to do. I will remember Her, but I will not let Her death be in vain. I will live on, I will pass on Her memory, and I will protect Her legacy. I don't care what I have to do, I will fight for our survival. The hatchlings will live, and the humans will never do this again!

Feneya settled into the grass and decided to stay awake for the rest of the night, just to make sure there weren't any humans following them.

Seulki flew. She had the ability to fly faster than the other dragons, but her wings felt heavy, as if weighed with stone. How long had it been? Three, maybe four hours? It felt like an eternity. She was exhausted and tired; her mind in swirls of confusion. The silence was overwhelming and Seulki just wanted out. However, she had to keep moving, less the humans catch wind of the large group. Within moments, a few dragons swooped down, their wings tired. Seulki would have liked to go farther, but the hatchlings needed rest. She sharply turned, spotting an Aramoor dragonelle settling down on some grass, obviously keeping watch for humans. It was then when she decided to keep watch as well.

The young Wimborne glided near the dragonelle, cautiously planting herself near her as her wings folded back. She was going to respectfully keep her distance and keep watch. However, loneliness and sadness got the best of her. She scooted closer to the Aramoor, her silver scales brushing against copper. Without really noticing it, she had started to pruum. Within moments, Seulki had already drifted off into a weak sleep.

Feneya was a bit startled when the strange wimborne dragonelle landed next to her but she saw the pain in the yound drakka's eyes, a pain that Feneya was all too familiar with at the moment. She let the wimborne scoot closer to her and stayed silent as the stranger started to pruum. Feneya weakly smiled as the wimborne fell asleep and after a few moments, Feneya gave in to the loneliness. She softly extended her wing and put it over the wimborne's back in a protective gesture, making sure not to wake her up. She sniffed the air a few times to make sure there was no trace of humans and looked around at the dark foliage. The shadows cast by the trees and vines were comforting and frightening, depending on how Feneya looked at them. At times, they reminded her of the Queen's smile, her soft voice, her gentle but firm nature, but other times Feneya saw human daggers and dark shapes coming to kill her along with the rest of the dragons.

Feneya shook her head and glanced down at the drakka beside her. She seemed young but strong, Feneya could sense a quiet power in her and that made Feneya smile weakly as she thought. I wonder why she came down with me...Well, all of us need to pull together if we are going to survive, we can't allow ourselves to drift apart. Feneya gently prummed a soft lullaby her mother taught her when she was a hatchling to help the wimborne sleep better.

Ignasius sighed as he saw a roof after hours of riding. He had finally reached the village. The man checked his pouch... It had enough silver for a meal, but he will probably have to sleep under the stars. As he reached the tavern, the knight dismounted his horse, tying it near a bucket of water and came inside. While he had left his shield and warhammer on the saddle, the sword was still on his hip, just in case. Ignasius occupied the nearest table and took of his gauntlets, waving his hand towards the tavern wench. As she had finally come to the old man he nodded. "Greetings, good lady, perhaps you could fetch some food and drink for a weary traveller?" Ignasius placed several coins on the table and watched the maiden pick them up and heading towards the kitchen...

The man had waited for a while as a woman brought a mug of ale and a swine roast. He smiled and thanked her before digging into his food. All the past week he was feeding on bread and water... The taste of these treats almost brought a tear to his eye... He munched and though... He has only three coins left now... Would be enough for some bread and water, but not more... Ignasius sighed as he finished his meal and once again called over the woman. "The food is unlike anything I had for weeks, good lady.. Please, give my compliments to the cook." He took a sip from his mug as he looked at the woman again "Perhaps there is anyone in this village that needs some help from a warrior? I'd like to earn some more meals here... And perhaps a right to sleep under a roof as well?"

“Well, there’s not too much work around these parts since the Dragon Slayers moved in,” The bartender cracked a grin at the traveling warrior. “They take care of all our problems –for a hefty price, mind you– but I’m sorry to say there’s not much left for you, good sir.” The front door slammed open just then, and a large group of men poured in.

“Ah, here are our famous Dragon Slayers now,” the bartender gestured extravagantly with her hand. “Slaughtered a mighty big lizard, too, by the looks of ‘em!”

The men she referred to as the Dragon Slayers entered boisterously, swinging their sheathed swords around and hollering in triumph. One man broke free of the throng and approached the bar, dropping onto a stool and waving over the bartender, who practically skipped over to serve him. One could easily guess that this man was the leader of the Slayers. He tossed a dragon-skin pouch onto the bar. It slipped open, revealing a small collection of cerulean scales that were so bright, they almost seemed to glow.

“Take them,” the Slayer said proudly. “We have thousands more where that came from, and a beautiful girl like you could use some fine jewelry. In return, I’d like to treat my men to some ale –in fact, I’d like to treat everyone.” He spun around to face the crowd that had gathered in the tavern. “Drinks are on me tonight, my friends!” He tossed another pouch of scales on the table, earning a roar of approval from his audience.

“Must have been some kill, Gerbold,” the bartender said, snatching up the pouch of the blue scales hungrily.

“I should say it was!” the man called Gerbold responded melodramatically. “The beast was enormous; largest one I’ve ever seen by far. This devil was at least ten times the size of any fully grown one I’ve encountered. It put up a sure fight, but of course it was no match for me and my men.” He puffed out his chest. “We will be bringing the leviathan back in pieces. Anyone who is willing to pay can have a bit of tail, leg, or heart.”

“Gerbold!” a voice called out from across the room. A young man stumbled through the crowd to reach the Slayer at the bar. “Are you and your men going to chase after the dragons that fled?”

“Fled?” Gerbold raised a brow.

“Surely you must have seen them,” the young man said, mirroring the Slayer’s look of surprise. “There were hundreds of dragons flying past here earlier. They blocked out the moon and stars!”

“Oh?” Gerbold looked at the young man greedily. “Which way did they go? I still have plenty of energy left for a good hunt before the night ends.”

“They traveled to the East, towards central Erith.”

“Men!” Gerbold trumpeted above the noise of the bustling crowd. The tavern fell silent. “I have just received word from this fine young lad that the dragons fled East when we slayed the leviathan. If we leave now we may still be able to catch up with them.” He stood up from his stool. “Come on then; the real hunt begins now!”

---

SoNem tossed and turned, stretching out his limbs in the tall grass. Try as he might, he could not fall asleep. He snorted and sat up, finally giving in to his insomnia. He turned to look at Istaria, who lay snoring nearby. He wished he could have her peace of mind. The little dragonelle was blissfully ignorant of the horrors of the Queen’s bloody demise, while he, however, was scarred for the rest of his life.

SoNem took a deep breath, inhaling the various smells of the forest. He picked up traces of woodland creatures and made a mental note to go hunting tomorrow morning. He also detected the distinct reptilian odor of his dragon kin. There were at least two others nearby; both female. Despite the situation, he couldn’t help but feel drawn to the scent of dragonelles. He closed his eyes, suppressing his primal instincts to find a mate. Survival was top priority.

He sniffed again, this time smelling something else mixed in with the aromas of nature. The new scent was distinctly dirty. Like sweat. SoNem’s scales bristled and his griff fluttered anxiously. Humans. His upper lip peeled back in a snarl. The wretched creatures just couldn’t be satisfied with the death of the Queen; they had to kill more.

SoNem pinpointed the humans’ location. They were approaching the two dragonelles he had scented earlier. He hurriedly stood up and brushed his tail over Istaria, rubbing her scales the wrong way to wake her up. She lifted her head sleepily, gave a halfhearted sniffle, and then leapt to her feet when she smelled the humans.

Without waiting for the serf to follow him, SoNem took off in the direction of the dragonelles to warn them. His slender frame allowed him to weave easily through the dense trees, and he reached them within minutes. Just in time. The humans had just begun to burst through the foliage on the other side of the small clearing. SoNem spat a stream of foua, creating a wall of fire between the humans and the dragons. The tall grass burned easily and the fire spread. Nevertheless, the humans were persistent. They fired arrows from crossbows on the other side. Luckily they couldn’t get a clear shot through the brilliant flames.

“Hurry,” SoNem snapped at the dragonelles. This forest was not safe anymore. He spread his wings, all previous soreness evaporating beneath the adrenaline of the fight. Beating them forcefully, he lifted off the ground and rose above the tree line. He sensed Istaria close by his side and glanced back to check if the dragonelles were following.

That was too close.

Seulki snorted, deeply in sleep as she felt something warm covering her. For the first time in many years, she actually felt like...as if she was home. So this is what it felt to have a family. A soft lullaby reached her ears; unfamiliar to her but she could tell it was friendly. Comforted, she let herself relax, forgetting for just one moment that the Queen was dead. However, she was jolted out of her sleep by the sound and smell of burning. Seulki's eyes opened, looking around as she assessed the situation. She took one sniff and she knew. They were close.

Was it not enough for them to kill the Queen and force the dragons to leave their home? Were these humans all about blood-lust? Seulki left the warmth of the Aramoor's wing as a throaty shriek left her jaws. A few arrows had landed a few feat in front of her, prompting the Wimborne into action. Her wings snapped open, and in one swift movement, she propelled herself up in the air. Seulki blasted another wave of foua onto the humans, enraged. No doubt that a few of them and their weapons had caught fire.

She then sharply turned, heading towards the dragon and another unknown dragonelle. She easily caught up with them, glancing back at the streak of fire and the horde of humans. "Thank you for warning us," she said.

Ignasius froze as the hunters came, he sat there, not saying a word and mostly having half of his face covered by a mug of his ale. He also glared at the new mug of ale he received for the blood of an noble creature. To his mind, this was wrong, as soon as the hunters moved out, the knight stood up, flipping the new mug over and walking out. He looked at the men preparing for their journey. The old knight waited for them to make a reasonable distance, yet be close enough for him to follow. And so, he hopped on his horse and tightened the straps of his armour. He checked through his weapon and rode out.

After hours of following, without finding a single opportunity to pick off any unfortunate sod who was pissing too far from his camp, he saw as how the group started charging... He also started hearing the beating of a lot of giant wings. The warrior groaned, as he took his lance and simply charged. One of the dragon hunters didn't even have time to scream, when the long thing impaled through his throat, the force and the speed of the inpact was enough to literally tear the man's head off... Ignasius' lance still hadn't broke, as he charged once again, now hitting an armored man in the chest, piercing through the breastplate and making him fall on the ground in terrible pains... The knight's lance was now broken, so he took his warhammer and started charging at the nearest one, only realizing that it was a terrible mistake, when he saw the man having a spear. Ignasius tried to maneuver away from it, but it was too late, the horse impaled itself on the spear, making the man fall off his horse to the dirt with a heavy thud.... He ached everywhere... But he had to get up if he wanted to fight on.. Adrenaline gave him enough strength to stand, no matter the weight of the armour and the pain, he was still holding his hammer, and saw the man who killed his horse coming at him now with a sword. He swung the hammer at the man's head, caving it in like a melon, and obviously making him regret for not wearing a helmet. Suddenly, Ignasius had felt an impact on his back. Some silly sod tried to swing an arming sword at plate armour, doing pretty much nothing. The warrior rose his hammer, and bashed the man... But just after that, he felt a piercing pain in his back as a crossbow bolt perforated through the plate and the mail underneath. Ignasius tried to go on, but another hit him in the hind-quarters, making him fall from injuries, exhaustion and pain... He was alive.... He only wondered for how long...

Feneya's eyes widened in alarm as she caught the scent of human but they moved too quickly for her to get away or warn any of the others. She sprang up to face the human invaders just before a dragon swooped from behind her and used his foua to create a wall of writhing flames. The wimborne dragonelle awoke immediately and the dragon yelled "Hurry" as crossbow bolts shot through the flames. The dragon and a small dragonelle flew quickly into the sky and Feneya shouted to the wimborne as she started to fly.

"Get everyone out of here! Now! I will hold them off!" Feneya turned and spread her wings to shield the wimborne from the onslaught of arrows. She bared her teeth and stretched to her full height before she let out an outraged roar at the humans who took her Queen. A few of them seemed frightened but the fire was dying and the other dragons needed more time to get away. Feneya used her own foua to replenish the fire on the grass and used all the energy she could to shout in the mind speak.

Humans are here! Humans are here! Get away! Everyone get away!

In an instant a vision of the Queen appeared in Feneya's mind and she let out another mighty roar before she opened her mouth and created a flame her ancestors of Aramoor would have envied. She managed to set at least two of the humans alight and burned the others before the largest one aimed his crossbow at her exposed shoulder. Feneya didn't see the bolt in time to move so it struck her and went deep. She roared in pain and swiped at the humans with her claws. The humans were aiming at her again so she quickly turned and flew as high and as fast as her wings would carry her, but blood dripped down her side and every beat of her wings caused the bolt in her shoulder to shift and dig deeper. She winced and whined in pain as she looked around for any sign of the wimborne and the drake that had bought her enough time to attack.

Gerbold growled as he watched his men fall around him. They had not been expecting an assault by another human, and were taken off-guard. The lone man was able to get away with the lives of more than one of his men. No matter; he did not escape unharmed. Gerbold saw the arrow that pierced attacker’s armor. He could not have gotten far.

Looking back at the brawl with the dragons, Gerbold decided the man could wait. He had to get his Slayers away from the spreading fire. He shouted above the sounds of battle for them to retreat. They would regroup and follow the dragons at a distance, then strike when the moment was right. Gerbold swore that the dragon-lover would get what he deserved as well.

---

SoNem hovered at a safe distance above the poachers, Istaria trailing at his side. He watched the silver dragonelle fly up to meet him. He simply dipped his head in acknowledgment when she thanked him, then returned his attention to the humans below. They were retreating from the glow of the flames, but he doubted they would give up that easily.

In the distance he saw the silhouettes of dragons against the moonlight. His kin were moving again, except this time they were scattering! SoNem felt his hearts speed up.

“Where are they going? They’ll be weaker against the humans on their own!” Istaria voiced SoNem’s concerns, staring wide-eyed at the rapidly shrinking bodies.

SoNem didn’t reply. He had noticed that the other dragonelle wasn’t with them and swept his gaze over the forest floor. He tried to ignore the idea that she was captured by the humans. He couldn’t stand the thought of any more dragon blood spilled that night. However, he felt a wave of relief when he caught a glimpse of copper-colored scales rising above the tree line.

“This way,” SoNem said, tilting his wings to glide over to meet up with the Aramoor dragonelle. Safety in numbers, after all. As he got closer, he noticed she was injured. An arrow shaft protruded from deep within her shoulder, and dark red blood dripped down her scales. He flew up next to her, brushing his wing tip against hers to let her know of his presence.

“Come with us,” SoNem offered, giving her a sideways look. “I think I see a place to rest in those hills.” He indicated the spot with his eyes. “The humans will have much difficulty getting through those craggy rocks, which will buy us time.”

Without waiting for a response, he glided below the copper dragonelle to cross over to the rugged hills. Istaria hung back and looked at the others. She let out her breath in a sigh. SoNem could be so curt sometimes. Istaria brushed her wings over those of the other dragonelles, gently guiding them after SoNem.

“I apologize for my master,” she said formally, dipping her head. “He is not aware of his abrupt impression. I promise you though, he means well.” She hesitated, staring solemnly at the Aramooran dragonelle’s injury. “I also could not help but notice you need a rest. Please, come this way.”

Feneya swallowed a growing lump in her throat as the pain in her shoulder kept getting worse. She thought about the dragon's offer but she realized with a glance at her wound that she would only slow them down. She took a deep breath and turned towards the young serf.

"Your...Your offer is kind, but you need to leave." She winced "Go get your master and go find the other dragons, try to..." Feneya felt herself growing weaker as she turned slightly towards the mountains "Try to regroup." She saw the concern in both dragonelle's eyes and she forced herself to stay firm "If the humans are following us, I can't out fly them, not like this. None of us know how many they will bring, or what vile weapons they will use. If you stay with me, you are putting yourselves at risk, and I won't let any dragon's blood be shed for me." She turned her face towards the wimborne "The death of one dragon is better than four."

Feneya quickly dived towards the rocks and tried to see the drake but her mind was growing fuzzy and before she knew it, she was losing control. She forced herself to stay awake and only just managed to land without crashing. Unfortunately, she hadn't gone as far as she wanted to and wound up on the same mountain as the drake. Feneya struggled to stand and pointed weakly to the sky.

"Drake...Thank you...For giving us time but...You have to...You have to go..." Feneya collapsed and struggled to stay awake. Blood loss, lack of sleep, and hunger had taken their toll on her.

Ignasius has been unconscious for several minutes, before he managed to wake up... It had hurt everywhere, he was shot twice in the back, while the man couldn't determine the location of them both, the fact of how painful was it to breathe and made him cough up blood, indicated that his lung was punctured. This was bad for him. He tried to crawl somewhere, but was unable to. The man only smiled weakly when he saw that the dragon hunters were now gone and the dragons were flying away in different directions. He saw some of them having a conversation... At least it looked like a one, even if they were not moving their mouths. Ignasius coughed once again and groaned from pain... Now only hoped that his suffering might end soon..

The old man managed to drag himself another meter, but this was where his strength has ended. Ignasius stopped and carefully breathed, still coughing up blood once in a while. He tried to roll over onto the back, where the arrows where stuck, but he was too weak for that now, so he just laid on his chest, staring and waiting.

Seulki glanced around, noticing that the large herd of dragons was no more. In the distantce, small groups had flown off, but to where? Certainly, the humans would have a much easier time picking them off. Her wimborne kind had already left - and she was left alone with the three near her for now. The other dragonelle had apologized for the SoNem's attitude, which Seulki gracefully took without a word. At this time, everyone was tense and curt. As she flew towards the the rocky hills, the sharp scent of blood filled her nose.

She turned round, whimpering at the sight of the arrow in the Aramooran's shoulder. Despite the copper dragon's attempts to get her and the others to leave, Seulki shook her head ferociously. "I won't leave you," she protested, landing next to the dragonelle as she fought for consciousness. It was rather foolish for her to be going against the most rational choice to make, but she wouldn't leave the Aramooran knowing that the humans were coming after them... She sniffed the air once more, catching the scent of something else. Something not dragon.

"Wait," she hissed, her neck poised as she searched the surrounding area. She didn't see the glint of metal from the hunters nor did she see those vicious weapons. So what was the source of that smell? "Please, take care of her," she whispered to the Erithian. With that, she took off into flight. Worried that the hunters would be looking at the sky, she stayed low tot he ground. Eventually, she snapped her wings shut and crawled on the ground, her belly brushing the dirt ground. Within a few minutes; she found what she had been looking for.

The stench of blood and human was overwhelming. She spotted a human lying on his chest, two arrows protruding from his back. Was he still alive? Seulki saw the man's body move as it desperately tried to fill its lungs with air. She prickled, staying a good distance away from the human. Was this all part of an elaborate ploy? She glanced left, then right, seeing and smelling no other humans but him. Another long minute passed by and her curiosity got the best over her. The Wimborne crawled towards the human, stopping just a few feet away from the human. She bent down her head, just a few inches from the head of the human before taking a whiff. Yup, still alive and kicking.

She tilted her head in question. Her first instinct was to just kill the human. After all, they were her enemies. Yet, a part of her refused to lay a claw on the human. Confused, she just sat there, waiting for the wounded human to attack her.

Dovah landed with a thump as the friendly and much older dragonelle dropped both him and her hatchlings to the ground before landing herself and rested. Although partially annoyed she swooped him up with her saa claws when the sudden dragon migration happened, but he was also grateful because he knew he wouldn't be able to get to where they were without her help. Before the dragonelle could lay down to take a break, some flames could be seen nearby which caused the two hatchlings to squeal and the dragonelle stiffened. Through the trees, Dovah could see the silhouettes of both dragons and humans. Before he could tell the dragonelle what was happening, a voice shouted in his skull

Humans are here! Humans are here! Get away! Everyone get away!

The dragonelle panicked and scouped up Dovah and the hatchlings without a second thought and started to fly off. Dovah sighed silently as he looked at the combat. The thought of missing a chance to face the humans disappointed him. His vision went from the melee to the hatchlings within the dragonelle's front claws. They had both fear and curiosity painted on their faces as they watched the battle below occur. Dovah grinned slightly, maybe it was better for him to stay with these hatchlings after all, to help protect them from the destructive humans. The drake then heard a sudden and sickening thuik above him. He didn't even have time to look at what happened as he felt the dragonelle's grip loosen, which in turn set him tumbling to the ground. As he fell he caught a quick glimpse of a crossbow bolt stuck in one of the dragonelle's saa. He could hear the voice of the older creature enter his head, telling him that she's sorry. Dovah didn't have time to answer as he entered into the tops of the trees below.

Dovah felt himself spin wildly as he crashed through the various branches before landing with his chest to the ground. He felt his body plough forward through the dirt from the speed of the fall. The drake's vision stopped spinning just in time for him to see the tree directly ahead of him quickly approaching. With a thud his forward motion was stopped. The drake laid there stunned for a few moments, probably minutes. When he did move, it was slow and painful, like he had done some kind of marathon run and tired out every muscle in his body to the point of uselessness. He groaned as he turned around to look for any sign of possible danger, only to see a few dragons in the nearby. He wondered if they had even noticed him, wouldn't his smell give him away? He took a quick look at himself to find that he was covered in sticks and leaves, all holding on by sap and one very unfortunate bird's nest. Since he didn't smell like a dragon to much anymore, he figured that's why they didn't notice him.

The very messy drake moved forward with a heavy limp in his right saa, with everything else also sort of limping. The movement made his joints feel very old, if that were even possible for a dragon. He slowly approached the dragons before announcing his presence, "Is it all clear?" He observed a wimborne dragonelle approaching what seemed to be a dead or unconscious human. Good, one less to worry about in the world, bet she was going to fry what's left of him in that unfortunate waste of metal he wore. He also noticed an aramoor dragonelle who seemed to be very hurt. Dovah sat himself down at a respectable range of the group, hoping they wouldn't find him too retched with the smell of sap dominate on him.