Prologue

  “Cottonmouth, are you sure there are dragons up here? Or if they even still exist?” Coyote nagged for the fifteenth time that day. “Yes,” Cottonmouth answered in an annoyed tone. “But if you don’t learn to shut your loud mouth we won’t find any!”

  “Okay, geez, calm down.”

  “I would if you would just shut the fuck up!” He shouted in frustration towards his brother. “Cottonmouth, maybe they went further north to the Diamond Empire? If there was a dragon this close to our empire’s City, we’d know about them.”

  That would be logical, I’ll give him that. But there has to be one around here somewhere.

  Dirt crunched from behind them, a twig snapped, and they could hear someone huffing, struggling to breathe. Both he and Coyote shot around to see Argyll jogging to catch up with them.

  Great, Cottonmouth thought disapprovingly, growing more annoyed. Another liability to get on my nerves.

  “Hey guys, looking for dragons?” Argyll asked them. How did he- nevermind.

  “Yes, we are. I planned on doing this with just Coyote, how did you find us?” Cottonmouth pressed, giving him Argyll a glare.

  “The Emperor told me, we’re both his advisors, we’re supposed to do things like this together.”

  Well, if- no, when we find dragons and crumble the other empires, I’ll be the emperor. You, Argyll, He dreamed of ways to get rid of him. You will just have to wait.

  The dirt below them turned to stone; in front of them was a giant cave. An odd smoky smell hung in the air around the opening. It was faint, but at the same time oddly menacing. Cottonmouth’s heart started to beat faster, and he saw both Argyll and Coyote grow nervous.

  I shouldn’t be nervous, why am I nervous? We have the finest swords the empire's best black smiths can make. It should just be one in there, if any at all, right?

  Faint growling could be heard, but it grew louder, and louder, and louder…

  “Get behind that rock! Don’t let it see you!” He half-shouted, half-whispered to his companions.

  They complied and followed him the few steps it took to get behind cover. His heart rate skyrocketed. Barely peeking over the stone, something emerged.

  A huge, slightly greenish red dragon. It lumbered out, one of the claws landing right next to them, the arms and legs as thick as trees as it walked out. Its tail was as long as one as it swayed slowly. Must have been two stories tall, maybe even taller.

  It was even bigger than described! It had to be some kind of anomaly! There was no way something could be that big and still be able to fly. Yet, it was, and it was right in front of him.

  Smoke poured from its snout, the smell was now so strong he thought he might as well be in the middle of a fire.

  Good… GOOD! He was excited, the emperor’s plan, well, his plan could be enacted if it just left for long enough.

  The dragon took a deep breath through its nostrils, the smoke disappearing for a second before spilling out once more.

  Is it really unaffected by breathing its own smoke?

  It snapped its head in the direction opposite of them, away from the emperor's city, and took off. Cottonmouth, Coyote and Argyll sat still for a moment, until Cottonmouth stood up.

  “You two, go get its eggs.” He commanded, this was their chance to please the emperor. “W-What? We don’t even know if it has eggs! And are you sure this is really a good idea-”

  “Was I asking for your input, Argyll? I said, go get them!”

  “Y-Yes sir.” Argyll and Coyote obeyed.

  I can’t wait to watch the other empire’s fall! Nothing will stop my titans of fire and death!

  After what felt like an eternity, or in real life, two minutes, Argyll and Coyote both came back out. Coyote was visibly shaking.

  “What, did you get attacked or something?” Cottonmouth mocked his brother. “No, I was following your orders. It was just nerve racking to go into a literal dragon's den!”

  “Yes, yes, anyways. Argyll?” Cottonmouth whipped around to face Argyll. Yes! Inside Argyll’s arms was an overly-large egg shaped object. Not just egg shaped, but an actual egg! It looked so smooth, and it had a multitude of colors. Mainly green and red, sparkled in was some gold and black.

  We will find more, and when we do, we will break them, mold them to our use and win this war once and for all.

  Chapter 1: Scorched Earth

  His cart rattled at every crack in the shoddily built stone pathway, he pulled with some difficulty at the weight of it. Brush scanned the area, searching for a place to stop and set his merchandise for sale.

  The heat blazed against his skin, sweat fell even when he was only standing still. He quickly got to work, putting wedged against the wheels, raising the rain cover, and opening the drawers of food, jewelry and clothing.

  His cart was always where he was, and he was always where his cart was. Brush and his cart are inseparable, a duo of sellable items and the actual living person to sell those items.

  “Treasures and trinkets, ready to use – wherever you are!” His cart boasted proudly, trying to call the attention of all passing shoppers.

  There were contenders, of course, all saying the same things: “Only the freshest produce in Lyra!” or “Softest fabrics in all of the empire!”

  They were either phony and expensive, or true and even more expensive. Brush had a different strategy, lowering his prices to attract more people. People want to spend as little money as possible, unless you’re in a really high class or just incredibly irresponsible, those were the best customers.

  “Buy high quality fruit for lower prices!” Brush exclaimed loudly, the streets were loud. “Lowest prices you’ll find!”

  Some heads turned, but only one person actually walked up to him. She was a short woman that seemed frazzled by the kid she was dragging around. “Hello,” she greeted him with a tired smile, he smiled back. “What do you have here?” She asked curiously. “If it’s fruits and vegetables you’re looking for, I have nearly everything you could want! Tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, oranges, too many to even count!”

  She investigated the fruit drawers and racks thoroughly, “What about clothing? Or jewelry? I really love the look of shiny rocks.” she said.

  “I have all of those ma’am, here I have some earrings made with real gold.” She let out an “ooh” sound at his statement.

  After a short and quick conversation, she walked away with some bananas and apples.

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  Throughout the day, a variety of people stopped by. There were old folks wondering if anything would help with back pain; little kids walked away disappointed when he didn’t have any sweets.

  Brush was ducked down behind the cart when someone cleared their throat from above. Brush quickly jumped up. When he looked forward, there were two men, dressed in shiny, grey armor. Both had swords laying at their hips. They must be soldiers for the Lyran Empire, his home.

  “Good afternoon,” Brush greeted them, “what is it that you need?”

  The man on the left, who was taller and had less visible muscle, reached into a pouch and pulled something out. It was a paper with the government seal. Brush took it from the man's hand and started reading it.

  The other soldier opened his mouth, “The Empire of Lyra is searching for any man that is fit and able to be drafted into the army.” Brush froze, “You, sir, appear to be among such descriptions. You will meet us at Fort Ares in two moon cycles. Failure to comply will result in your arrest.”

  Brush slowly looked up. “What about my family? What will happen to them?” Brush asked.

  “Their lives will continue on as normal, again, you have two days to go to Fort Ares. It is recommended that you use today's time to say your goodbyes and maybe write a will.”

  What?!

  “A will?!” Brush asked, shocked. “Well, there is the possibility that you will die. Bravely, if I may add.” Explained the tall one. “Listen, there has been a build up of combatants from the Diamond Empire, we believe there may be invasion plans.”

  This is something I’m not getting out of…

  Brush sighed after not saying anything for a moment. “I’ll be there.” He said, defeated.

  “Good, long live the empire!” The soldiers bowed and walked away. Brush stood there, pinching his nose in frustration. Soon enough he put a “closed” sign on the cart and did something he almost never did, he left it. He was going to his mothers house, to say his probably final goodbyes.

  He raced down the city, the smell of a bakery nearby made him hungry but he continued on. Soon enough he arrived at an older looking house, the door hung at a weird angle and the steps were cracked and broken.

  He swung open the door and stepped inside. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness before moving along. “Mother!” Brush called out, “I need to speak with you.”

  Almost immediately a “Brush!” came from his mother's voice. That sweet and comforting sound brought him happiness. Soon enough she was visible, she was average height and had smooth brown skin. Her eyes glowed in the darkness, she walked up and enveloped him in a warm hug. “I’ve missed you!” She happily exclaimed, “You rarely ever get to come around anymore, you’re so busy.”

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry. But there is something I need to discuss, some soldie-”

  “Sit down,” she said, cutting him off.

  He complied, making himself comfortable in a padded seat. “Okay, mom.”

  “Yes?”

  “Two soldiers walked up to my cart, and they handed me this.” He pulled the paper out of his bag and handed it to his mother. Brush sat in awkward silence as she read it. Tears began to well up in her eyes, “Brush…” she said, her voice shaking. “I know… you’ll be alright.” Brush reassured her.

  This time he was the one to pull her into a hug, he felt her sorrow in her warm tears. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I’d rather be there e-early rather t-than late.” He said, his own tears started to fall. His mother only nodded.

  With that, he reluctantly left his mothers home. He stopped to look back, wondering if he’d ever see this place again – if he’d see anything again.

  He looked to the horizon, towards the palace where the emperor lived. It was far but visible, next to it was Fort Ares. Brush took a step, then another, beginning the journey.

  He stopped at a fellow merchant’s cart to buy a few apples for the trip. These should suffice until the halfway point. He thought as he continued.

  ***

  Hours later, he was sitting under a tree he had found. It was shocking that it hadn’t been cut down yet, it was right next to a bar and ironically, a lumber shop.

  He closed his eyes listening to the tweeting of birds and the conversations around him. But out of nowhere there was a commotion in the distance. He opened his eyes but found nothing to the north. Brush got up to get a better view, still, nothing from the north. He turned eastward, and…

  There were dragons flying low to the ground.

  Nobody had seen them for years, they were so secluded that nobody except curious kids or researchers tried finding them. There was a black one, along with a red looking one. The biggest, however, seemed to be a mix of them both and had other strange features.

  He looked at them with awe and curiosity, now others near him noticed them. Nothing really happened, they were just flying towards the city.

  Well, nothing was happening until they reached the gardens.

  Then, fire engulfed the plants and the poor people.

  The dragons were attacking.

  Oh shit oh shit oh shit!

  He fell back and immediately got up as they flew closer to his area. He started running away from the flying beasts as they engulfed more of the capital of Lyra in their wrath.

  Why the fuck is this happening?! We haven’t done anything! His head screamed in panic as he tried to gather his bearings.

  He looked back to see a person get bit in half by the red dragon before it set fire to the surrounding people.

  Oh, the screams made is blood curl. They pierced the sky like a knife, loud enough to show the entire empire their agony, to let everyone hear the wails of the damned. The smell of burning flesh arose quickly soon after in addition to the smell of smoke and sulfur, he was forced to fall to the ground and started to retch and gag, but he managed to pull himself together and keep moving. He couldn’t stop looking at the carnage as he walked, like hell had opened it's gates, and it was now waiting for him.

  He turned down a street, which was a mistake as a dragon was right there. By the time he noticed it, it had already launched itself towards him. He attempted to dodge out of the way, but a claw caught his leg and pierced into his skin. Blood pooled onto the road as he fell, wailing in agony.

  The dragon that had passed him turned and faced him once more, its claw still embedded into his leg as it leaned its head closer to him. Brush could only look up as the dragon’s nostrils flared, releasing puffs of steam from the creature’s nose. It slowly opened its mouth and reeled its head back as it prepared to cook the human, only for its ears to perk up as it heard a loud groan from above.. It looked up and as broken pieces of stone rained down on the pair, wood and debris falling to bury them. The dragon quickly took its claw out before strongly beating its wings, sending itself back out of range and leaving the debris to fall on the human alone..

  The dragon, who believed its job was done, moved on to find another victim.

  ***

  Uuuuuurghh, everything hurts…

  Brush slowly opened his eyes, little beams of light poked through the debris he laid under. Everything down from his legs up to his shoulders felt as if fire was flooding through his veins. He felt something puncturing his torso. Blood trickled down his forehead.

  Oh fuck. The dragon attacks… the fires… all those people… burnt to a crisp… could anyone have survived that? Was everyone dead, was-- “Mother!” He cried out suddenly.

  He started pushing at the rock above him. He weakly pressed his hands against the rock till enough of the smoke entered his system, triggering his adrenaline at last as he roughly tried to escape his prison of rubble and debris. The stone knives spears formed from the debris and onto the broken wall sliced into his hand, he quickly pulled his hand back as he hissed in pain. More red liquid dripped onto his already struggling husk of a body from the new wound.

  Finally, his efforts turned out to be worth the pain. He had made an opening just big enough for him to crawl out of.

  He took a breath of fresh air. Then another. Oh man, it was wonderful! It felt like he had spent an eternity with the dusty air, but the sun itself hadn’t even set.

  The scene around him however, was an entire other story. No longer was this a prosperous kingdom that had great wealth and power, filled with hundreds of people, this is what hell looked like.

  Bodies – no, body parts lay scattered everywhere in the streets. An entire sea of bloodied and beaten legs were just a few feet away from him. It was weird that so many weren’t connected to the rest of the bodies till he looked further, the road was completely covered in charred black flesh, still smoldering and steaming while proudly displaying their burning stench.

  Brush started retching, bile and his stomach contents threatened to spill out and add to the scene around him.

  I didn’t even know people could die like that, are we really this vulnerable? What if the dragons come back to check we’re really dead? What am I feeling? He started to breathe faster and faster as he darted his eyes around, expecting one of those demons to rear its ugly head at him and finish him off.

  When the smell hit him he finally vomited.

  Charred flesh smelt like death had come alive just to be burned again, it was agonizing. Tears fell from his eyes onto the debris below as he gagged one last time.

  Was he the only survivor? There had to be some others, right? Even with what he sees in front of him they can’t all be dead, can they?

  His clothes that were once a vibrant red had lost their color and turned a flaky white. The ash… he was wearing the burnt houses, the livestock, the people… He brushed them a couple of times with his hands, desperate to rid himself of the remains and death the dragon’s had brought.

  Finally getting enough courage to take a step, he slowly walked through the destruction and hellish landscape. Turning a corner, he walked into a huge pool of blood that coated his pant legs and feet. He looked around for any other routes, but one was covered in debris, the other, corpses.

  Brush walked to a pile of debris, Could there be anyone in here? Alive? His heart and mind panged with sorrow, but there was something else.

  Hate. Hate, he felt an insurmountable amount of pure hate. Those scales, those teeth, their fire, he hated it all. These people, innocent people, are dead because of those animals! Those demons! How could those beasts-

  He let out a gasp as he looked up at the burning scene in front of him. “N-no…” He mouthed but no words came out as he stared at the flames, covering what used to be the main barracks of Fort Ares. He began to hyperventilate and struggle to keep his composure.

  If Fort Ares has burned, then our chances of defense… there was no defense, not anymore! They’re dead, dead, dead!

  Brush did a full sprint to the fort to check for survivors, also partially because he knew weapons would be there. Food, however, had definitely perished in the inferno.

  Just what he thought, no survivors.

  His sorrow increased as it ate at him. From what Brush has seen, he is the only survivor. The only one. His gut started to churn as he walked further in the barracks that were now a tomb, it almost felt like walking here disturbed the dead. He was just… lucky that the building saved him. Imagine if it hadn’t, imagine if that dragon used its breath instead of charging at him. What about then? I’d be with the rest of them!

  A faint shine caught his eye, standing out among the despair. It called to him, tempting him to grab it. Brushed obeyed his curiosity. An ash covered sword, that’s what he was now holding. It was sharp, sleek and beautiful.

  I’ll need this, Brush thought. I’m not trained to fight people, let alone a dragon, but it’s something.

  He gave himself a maximum of 3 minutes to grieve for people he didn’t even know, before leaving in a hurry. “I have to get her out of here, but if the soldiers couldn’t even stop them… no… I can't think like that!” He had to hold onto hope.

  Passing by an unrecognizable street, he froze. He heard a groan, coming from the rubble. A sign of life. Instantly, he ran to the noise and started digging. There was a living person in there. He almost couldn’t believe it, another survivor! Brush gasped as he finally dug through enough of the debris to reveal their form.

  A child, sitting all alone, survived the hell, and Brush had found him. If he and this child survived, maybe his mother did, and maybe there was hope after all.