Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:01:47 +1300
From: arthur carkeek <artcart65@gmail.com>
Subject: the adventures of howudino and kashin chapter 5

			     THE ADVENTURES OF

			    HOWUDINO AND KASHIN

				 CHAPTER 5

				 BY ARTHUR


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The three boys and two Gold Dragons, flew through the day and another night
until they came in sight of the coast, they had stayed high in the clouds
so any humans did not see them on their journey, they set down on a wide
expanse of barren coastline to rest before taking on the huge ocean that
lay before their startled eyes, none of the boys had ever seen the ocean
and the sight of such a vast expanse scared them a little.

Food was called up by Davin and the three friends settled down to rest,
their ever vigilant Dragons curled on the warm sand just above the high
tide mark, the Dragons abilities would keep them safe and warn the boys of
anyone approaching, it was a last chance to ready their many new
possessions and prepare to eat and sleep in the saddle as their Dragons
flew them Westward to what they hoped would be their new home among the
Dragon Islands.

The next morning, just as the first rays of dawn could be seen in the sky,
the three boys checked all their equipment, Sprat, who had talked with the
other two during the night about finding a real name for himself if he was
truly going to be some sort of Prince, had his sword held just like Davin
in a very fancy scabbard that hung over his shoulder.

Baragil held onto his staff with one hand and slung his bow over his other
shoulder just as he always had done, with their small packs hanging from a
strap on the saddle, the boys mounted and got ready for the long flight
ahead, wrapped and folded across their knees once mounted, were the warm
cloaks made by the Messadine to be used for sleeping or to keep away the
chill of flying high above the clouds.

Aktus told Davin that too the best of his Dragon knowledge, they would be
in the air flying nonstop for at least three days and two nights before
they could hope to see the first of the Dragon Islands, which ones none of
them knew, from there they would have to find their way to the place that
was to be their new home.

The strange group left Siava and took to the air high above the clouds and
out of sight of any humans, it was cold even though the sun was bright
above them, the boys welcomed their cloaks and tried not to think about the
night when there would be no sun to partially warm them, they settled more
comfortably into their new saddles and took short naps when they were able
to.

Time passed slowly for the three friends, the Dragons seemed tireless and,
when not using their mighty wings, would open them fully and glide
soundlessly in the still and clear air way above the blue ocean below, the
first day and then night passed and the boys could feel their butts
starting to get tender from sitting so long but they tried hard to ignore
it, they were on their way to a new life and could put up with a little
discomfort for a while.

The night proved more chilly than any of them expected, trying to nap as
best they could while huddled closely in their cloaks, the boys now and
again shivered in the chill, to prevent too much cold affecting the boys,
the Dragons dropped low above the ocean to fly during the dark hours, this
helped relieve the temperature on the boys but their speed still sent cold
chills through them every now and again.

The second day dawned and this time the Dragons stayed lower, they were
well away from any prying humans eyes and the boys would enjoy the heat of
the sun at the lower heights, the trio ate as they flew, Davin unable to
call up any meals in the confines of his saddle, the small bits and pieces
they had prepared for the trip would have to be enough for them until they
found the Islands.

By the end of the second night, the boys were starting to anxiously look
for any sign of the far off Islands, as the dawn broke and the Dragons
lifted a little high in the morning sky, the boys tried to move around a
little to ease the now very painful sore spots on their butts, while the
saddles were well made and comfortable for shorter journeys, they were not
made to be sat in for the extended periods that the three had had to
endure.

It was an hour after the full sun had risen above the horizon when both
Dragons suddenly lifted their heads and looked hard towards the West, a
tingle of excitement seemed to run through all five figures as, far off and
higher than they were flying, the group of five saw what looked like a huge
brown mass moving towards then, it was like a low lying cloud even with the
use of the Far Sight, in the lead appeared to be a bright spot of sunlight,
it glinted and reflected the strong sun as the huge mass moved towards
them.

Both Aktus and Baraset immediately flapped their huge wings and began to
lift up higher above the ocean, if this was danger it would be better for
them to have some height to fight from, the boys were too shocked at the
sheer numbers approaching them to even think of danger, slowly their Far
Sight made it easier for them to see the large mass of Dragons flying
towards them and led by a huge Gold Dragon with two small riders, the
Dragon looked easily to be larger than their own ones.

The time passed quickly as the two groups came closer and closer, suddenly
they were only a few hundred metres apart, the three boys could now see
just how much larger the Gold Dragon in the lead really was, the mass of
Browns behind him were about the same size as their own two Dragons, the
boys were outnumbered and out sized.

Slowly the two groups converge on each other, once they were only a few
metres apart, the browns changed into strange formations and began to set a
thick cordon of fighting Dragons around the group with the Gold's at the
centre, Davin noticed that they did not set up their ranks facing inwards
but outwards, they were in a protective mode for those at the centre.

The Rider of the large Gold was the first too speak.

"Welcome Riders, I am Prince Kashin and this is my Consort Prince Seb and
my Dragon, Prince of Tallas Weir, Howudino, how are you named?"

Davin decided to take the lead.

"I am Davin of Ferringol and this is my Dragon Aktus, we are seeking a
place called Mastik."

"Welcome Prince Davin and Aktus of Mastik, we have been waiting for you to
arrive and who is the other Rider?"

"I am called Sprat also of Ferringol and this is Baragil of the Wood Elves
of Siava and my Dragon Baraset."

"Then welcome Prince Sprat and Consort Prince Baragil, also welcome to you
Baraset, Prince of the United Weirs we would escort you all to Tallas Weir
where I am sure you can rest in safety, you have all had a long flight and
there is still a full day to get to Tallas so, if you would like, we can
get away now?"

"Thank you Prince Kashin, we would really like to get out of these saddles
for a while." Davin replied.

With the greetings over and everyone now in one group, the three friends
watched as the mass of over two hundred Brown Dragons took up a defensive
square around them and they turned Westward, the three friends were at last
glad they did not have much further to go, their nether regions were really
feeling the strain of the long days in the saddle.

It was late in the afternoon when the trio saw Tallas Weir for the first
time, what they had at first thought was a dark cloud on the horizon turned
out to be a smoking volcano, it was for this tall landmark that their
escort directed them, not long after, they were surprised to see the great
Weir of Tallas, their escort took them down to the great stone landing
place at the mouth of the cavern.

Around the boys the Browns landed in perfect ranks, the great Gold Dragon,
Howudino was the last to land, all the Browns riders lifted their swords in
salute to the Princes of Tallas Weir, the trio of friends were overawed at
the numbers and size of the Weir, with Howudino in the lead, the friends
were taken inside the cavern where more Dragons stood in ranks around the
massive space, these were Bronzes and the boys were told by their own
Dragons that they were females.

Once everyone had arrived in the main cavern with Kashin and Seb on their
stone thrones at the head of the large space, the three boys were invited
to come to the front below the thrones, their Dragons were invited by
Howudino to sit by the lava pool and fill their empty bellies.

When the three friends were standing below Kashin and Seb, they were told
about the war that had just been fought and the result of the battle, it
was then explained that Mastik had enough Dragons survive to defend itself
but the other two Weirs had suffered great losses, to this end Tallas Weir
who now had control of the two Weirs, had decided to combine the two that
had the greatest losses into one Weir, this one was to be known by all as
the United Weir, it was this Weir that Sprat would now be Prince of, they
were also told that as the three Weirs were the spoils of war, they could
actually be claimed by Tallas but they would much prefer them to have their
own Princes with independence of action.

After all this was explained to the trio, Kashin then asked for one more
thing before they went to eat and rest. Kashin continued to explain
everything to the boys, he told them about the two Generals that were
watching over their Weirs until the boys took over, he also offered to let
the Generals stay with the boys until they could rebuild their numbers, at
the same time Howudino was also explaining all to the two new Princes as
they took great gulps of the hot lava to replenish their bodies after the
long flight.

"You three must understand that from now on you are not bound by Human laws
or standards, you will now live by the rules of Creator and the laws of
Dragons, and under Dragon law as I have already told you, we could claim
the three Weirs as spoils but that is not what we want, we would like you
to swear fealty to Tallas Weir and take over your own places, if in the
future there is a need for your help we would want you to come to our aid,
for this fealty we offer you and your Dragons the use of our lava pool or
the live volcano, we would also retrain your Dragons so if we go into
battle together we will all fight the same, I know you have a lot to talk
over and think about so, we will have a great feast brought out and
afterwards you can tell us your decision."

"What if we say no and want to go to our Weirs alone?" Davin asked.

"Then we will give you your freedom but if you are attacked, which is very
likely to happen as your Weirs are weakened by the last war, we would not
feel bound to help you, you would be on your own, if you decide to offer
your fealty to Tallas Weir we would make sure you are never alone if
attacked, is there anything else that worries you?"

Davin looked at Sprat and Baragil; both shook their heads and waited for
Davin to take the lead once again.

"No thank you Prince Kashin, we will think it all over and give our answer
in the morning if it pleases you?"

"Thank you Prince Davin, yes that will be fine, I know this is all new too
you three but we must have some sort of alliance if we are to all go
forward together, I have been told there is a bad time coming and the only
way we can survive it is if all of us work together."

"Yes Prince Kashin, we know about the bad time ahead, I've had a dream and
it's not good, as you can see we carry three weapons that may help us, we
are told that my sword is the Sword of Plenty, Sprats is the Sword of
Realms and Baragil's staff is the Staff of Life, we only have to find the
last of the four and we have a chance of winning the next big battle."

Kashin smiled as he drew out Dragons Claw, its white blade suddenly flashed
and a shower of sparks shot from the point, they then split into three
streams and jumped onto the three weapons of the boys, no one in the great
cavern knew how long they had been asleep but it must have been some time,
as they all began to wake up, Davin, Sprat and Baragil looked at each other
and smiled, they had found the Sword of Vengeance, they watched as the two
Princes on their thrones opened their eyes and stared around the slowly
waking cavern.

Kashin shook his head and looked the three smiling boys.

"I guess you have been through that before by the look on your faces."

"Yes." Davin replied, "It happens every time we found one of the items, I
guess that answers any questions we might have had."

Davin looked at his two friends, with a nod from each, he turned back to
Kashin.

"We don't need to think any longer Prince Kashin, we would like to swear
fealty to Tallas Weir, it's obvious we were meant to be together."

By this time the rest of the Dragons and Riders had awoken and were
watching the three Princes and their Consorts to see what would happen
next, Davin was the first to move followed quickly by Sprat and Baragil as
Davin went down on one knee, once the three friends were kneeling on the
stone floor, Davin drew the Sword of Plenty and was soon followed by Sprat
and Baragil as they also followed his lead, once all four weapons were out
in the open, Davin led his friends in the oath of fealty.

It was not a set out oath but one he made up as he went but for all of the
Princes, Consorts and Dragons, it was enough to show their intentions, when
Davin finished his words, the three boys lifted their weapons and Kashin
joined them, as the four magical weapons touched, the cavern was again
filled with a flash of magical aura, everyone in the Weir felt the sudden
jolt of pure power fill them with a renewed vigour, it was then only a
matter of minutes before large quantities of food and mead began to flow
and the new Princes settled down to a very long night of feasting and
drinking, even as tired as the three boys were, they could not resist the
atmosphere in the Cavern, it would be well after midday before the three
would open their eyes to a new world and a new life.

For five days the three friends stayed at Tallas Weir, most of the time was
spent with Prince Kashin and the Generals to learn the new style of tactics
used by the Tallas Dragons, it was also a chance to get to know each other
more intimately.

On the morning of the sixth day, they told Kashin they felt it was time to
move to their own Weirs, Davin had been told that he would have a little
more than one hundred and twenty Dragons to [protect the Weir whereas Sprat
would only have about seventy in the United Weir, to this end Kashin also
sent an extra twenty Browns from Tallas to help until Sprat could have his
numbers built up, with those already there under the General, they should
be safe from attack until a better strength was achieved.

Unlike the Royal Gold's; Browns took six months to mature, they then had to
find their Riders after which they went into training with the older
Browns, the Browns were the product of the Bronze females whereas the
Gold's were a gift of Creator and their magic was so much stronger, all of
the Princes hoped they would have time to rebuild before the troubles
started as had been foretold.

For the next year, the Weirs built their numbers, Kashin sent out
messengers to other Weirs further away to tell of the coming troubles, only
Palomar Weir refused to listen to the warning and ignored Kashin's request
for an alliance.

Palomar Weir was one of the largest of all the Weirs, it numbered over six
hundred Browns, the only reason it had not attacked any of the closer weirs
to Kashin was the distance involved, they were on the far outer edge of the
Dragon Islands, the distance making it difficult to attack any Weir without
being seen on their approach.

By the end of the year Kashin had gathered all of the other Weirs under one
alliance, they could now put over two thousand Browns in the air when the
time came, as a peace offering, Kashin had made it clear that when the time
came to fight, all Dragons would have the use of the live Volcano and the
Lava pool inside Tallas, even the lowliest Brown knew it was an offer that
could not be brought for any price and also it showed the new alliance
members that Tallas Weir was prepared to give its best asset to its
friends.

There was also the added advantage of the new tactics that Tallas Weir
shared with the alliance, within months the thousands of Browns were
performing drills never before seen in the air above the Weirs, no matter
which Weir the Brown came from, he could immediately slot into any
formation with the others, they had now all become a formidable fighting
force.

Every two weeks all the Royal Dragons would gather in one Weir or another,
each taking turns as host of the alliance, it was here that problems were
solved and tactics revised or created, it had been decided that the host of
the Weir would be the head of the meeting at that time, this way everyone
had the same authority and no one had a position that gave them an
advantage over others, the leaders of the twelve Weirs all had the same
vote on decisions, if there came a tied vote it would go back for more
discussion until a clear vote settled everything.

It had become the norm for the four magical weapons to be laid on a stone
table when the holders arrived at a meeting, the weapons would stay there
as a reminder for all that they must work together if they were to succeed
in the upcoming troubles, and when it came it was without warning or pity.

The meeting was being held at Mastik Weir, each Gold had brought an escort
of only ten Browns as was normal, while they met inside the Weir, the
Browns would gather together and play at war games or other sports favoured
by Dragons, it was while the Browns were playing a game much like follow
the leader, that one of them saw three Browns flying in their direction
from the north, this was unusual as the only Weir in that direction was
Palomar.

As one of the Browns dived towards Mastik Weir, the others set out to
intercept the three lone Browns, they were flying in a very close formation
with the two outsiders almost touching the wings on the Brown at the
centre, as the Browns got closer they could see that all three were badly
injured, the Rider of the middle Dragon was barely able to hold on.

One of the officers of Mastik Weir drew closer and called out to the three.

"Who are you and what does a Dragon of Palomar want this far south?"

"We are all that's left of Palomar, the Weir has been destroyed, we've come
for help and to bring a warning to the Weirs of the South." One of the
outer Dragons said.

As the mass of Browns surrounded the trio, they could now see more clearly
that the two outer Dragons were using their small amount of magic to help
the Rider of the centre Dragon, all showed signs of a bad fight, there were
scales missing and large gashes in their hides, the Riders were also bloody
and their armour was now ragged where it had been struck with both fire and
weapons, all three Riders were injured but the centre Rider was the worst
of the three with a very deep gash in his side.

The mass of Browns whirled as one and escorted the three survivors down to
Mastik Weir where the twelve Gold's awaited them, already the alarm was
being sent out via fast flying messengers to prepare all the alliance
Weirs, every Dragon was to head for Tallas and begin to fill themselves
from the Volcano and Lava pool in readiness for the Royal Dragons return,
the time of the troubles had arrived with a vengeance.

When the three survivors had landed at Mastik Weir, their Riders were taken
immediately to the Messadine for aid, the three Dragons were brought before
the twelve Gold's to make a report on what had attacked them and how they
had done it, to the council of twelve it was important to have tactics to
counter the threat.

While the two most injured of the Browns tried to rest, the third started
with the report.

"Princes, the Palomar Weir is no more, we are the last survivors, had it
not been for our Prince ordering us to find you, we also would have
perished, the threat is vast and the horde was more than I have ever seen,
they are a species of Dragon I have never heard of and they number in the
thousands, at least three or four thousand to be more precise, their
tactics are unknown to us and, while we were much greater in size and
strength, they swarmed over us like insects."

The Prince of Salum Weir asked the Dragon.

"Can you tell us everything you saw before leaving to come here, the way
they fought, their tactics, their fire power, anything you think may help
to stem their attack?"

"They are smaller than us but built longer and thinner, they have two sets
of small wings, one set above each pair of legs, with the smaller wings
they are not as fast as we are but they are by far more agile, they seem to
be able to use their wings either together for speed or independently for
manoeuvrability, their leader rides a larger Dragon which is more yellow
than gold but the Rider carries some form of staff that has a vast power,
it is green with a yellow crystal at its tip, from what we saw he can only
use it once then has to wait for it to gain power again. They do not seem
to have any innate magic like we do but make up for it by swarming an
opponent, their fire is small and only good at a short distance, it also
dries up after only two or three blasts, they then come in close in big
numbers and swarm over a Dragon, from what we saw, they will have two
attack the underbelly of a Dragon while two more attack the head, there
will then be two or three that concentrate only on the Rider."

The Brown paused to think things through while the Princes talked about
what they had so far heard, a minute later and the Brown continued with his
report.

"Their agility seems to be their best weapon, unlike us they don't fly in a
straight line, their body seems to undulate much like a snake, they can
also use both ends to attack, while you attack their head they can turn
their body right around so the tail is striking at you even while you hold
its head, their tail flukes are like sharp swords and they have a compound
in their teeth that can eat away our scales, the main army is a very dark
brown, at a distance they look to be black but close up you can see that
their true colour is brown, when we left there were ten of us but for some
of us to fully escape, seven of our number formed a rear guard to let us
get away, had we stayed together we would never have made it and you would
be at their mercy."

Again the Dragon stopped while the Princes discussed the report, quickly
Sprat volunteered to have the three Browns join his Weir, which was quickly
agreed to, next came a discussion on how they could counter the many
advantages that the enemy had, as in the last battle it was decided that
they would be best to pick their own battle ground, the unknown factor of
the Yellow Rider and his power was a concern, even with their own four
weapons of magic they could not be sure of being in the right place to
counter the power of the Riders staff.

Davin, as the Prince of Mastik and leader of the meeting, told the Brown to
go with his friends and rest, when he felt better he could talk with Sprat
on how they could fit into the United Weir, it was now time to try to work
out some new tactics to counter this threat from the North, the most
worrying was the Rider with the magical staff, they had no knowledge of
such a staff and none of the Dragons present had ever heard of such a
thing.

The talk of tactics went on far into the night, by the time the first rays
of sunlight were brightening the land, they had formed a plan of defence,
they would only be able to take the attack to the enemy after they had
reduced its numbers, it had been decided that as the three princes held
swords of magic, they should each lead one section of the army, that way
they would at least have their own weapons to work as a counter to the
other leaders staff whichever group met them first.

The main basis of their defence would be their superior speed and strength
as well as their Dragon Magic, it was also decided to use similar hit and
run tactics with Howudino and Kashin forming the thick mists and clouds
again, they would use the many smaller Islands that abounded as staging
points for the attacks, no Dragons were to stay and fight the main enemy
army, they would move in fast using their superior speed, strike hard and
withdraw, every Dragon would be fed fully at Tallas Weir on fresh hot Lava,
it would give them the fire power for a long fight.

The sneak attacks would be with fire from a distance, once they had
disabled or killed a number of the smaller Dragons, they were to disappear
back into the mist before the enemy got close enough to strike, they would
keep this form of attack up as long as it was needed or until the enemy was
beaten, if they reduced his numbers to much like their own two thousand,
then they could perhaps go in for the kill en-mass.

They would also not use the same Island time after time, they would attack
from one place no more than twice then retreat past another prepared Island
where a fresh group would take over while they went to rest, they would
retreat back slowly until they had a numerical advantage, that would be
when they would try to strike a final blow.

Next was the division of the army into three groups, each sneak attack
would contain one hundred Dragons so that each Dragon group could send up a
number of attacks before retreating and letting one of the other groups
take over, it was decided that Kashin would take one thousand Dragons as a
last line of defence in case the worst happened, Sprat and Davin would have
about five hundred each, the other nine Gold's would lead the smaller
groups of one hundred into the actual attacks, it was up to them to make
sure they retreated from the attack before they themselves came under
attack from the swarm.

At mid morning, the meeting broke up and the Dragons headed back to their
Weirs to ready for the upcoming battle, Kashin hurried off to make sure the
Weir was ready to receive the many Dragons that had to use the Volcano and
Lava pool, once home he sent out a number of Bronze females to the north,
they were to stay high and not engage the enemy at any cost, as soon as
they saw and noted the position of the enemy they were to return and
report, Kashin hoped they had at least a couple of days before the attacks
began, he would need that much time to get everything ready and assemble
all the forces available to him.

The return of the first Bronze gave Kashin a little hope, something the
Dragon of Palomar had missed during the battle that had virtually wiped out
the Weir, the Bronze had been a little lower than the other dragons as a
sea mist had moved in when she first spied the mass of dark Dragons, as
soon as they saw here they climbed to the attack however the Bronze had
done exactly as told by Kashin and climbed for height, her speed giving her
the advantage, as she glanced behind her she saw the smaller Dragons trying
desperately to catch her.

She had put on a little more speed and then saw that the dark Dragons with
their smaller wings, did not have the lift of the larger Bronzes and so,
after trying to gain height for more than a minute, the smaller Dragons had
to call off the pursuit of the Bronze as she gained even more height, when
fully out of range, the Bronze had turned for the home Weir to report.

As she told Kashin about her discovery he began to see another way to cut
their numbers, with the added use of height they would be able to attack
but still stay out of range of the horde, his old tactic of attacking both
from above and below would work even better with the lack of height
reachable by the smaller Dragons, Kashin sent out a report to all Weirs on
the new discovery and the revision of the initial plan to include high
attacks.

The bronze female had estimated that the Dragons would reach the first of
the Islands in the Northern chain in about one and a half days, it was time
for Kashin and Howudino to set things in motion, to this end he sent out a
messenger to the Mastik Weir, Davin would lead the first attack but split
his force to work from both below and above just as they had in the
original battle of Tallas.

Davin sat on his Dragon with the three hundred, below, hidden by the thick
mists called up by Howudino, lay two hundred more waiting for the first
appearance of the dark horde, it was almost like the dream Davin had had so
long ago, with the rising sun behind them, Davin's Dragons were almost
invisible to the approaching horde, they did look much like a growing dark
cloud as they swept over the horizon, as yet Davin could not make out the
lead Dragon, if he was with the horde then he was well hidden among the
others, the worry about the upcoming battle began to disappear as Davin
realised this leader was not a true fighter.

The great mass of sinuous Dragons closed on the first Island, as soon as
they were thought to be in range, one hundred Browns flew from the hiding
place, they were all in one single line which enabled them to cover more of
the vanguard of the attackers, once within range, the Browns began to pour
molten fire into the massed ranks, the smaller dark Dragons began to fall
like burning leaves, the massed fire taking a heavy toll.

When it looked like they had done enough damage, the Browns turned and fled
back into the mist as the second line appeared, they too blasted the now
disorganised ranks with more heavy fire then turned and disappeared, as the
last Brown disappeared into the mist, Davin drew the Sword of Plenty and
waved it in a circle above his head, this was the signal to form up line
astern, in this formation he led the three hundred Browns in a long low
pass above the rear and upper fliers of the horde, each dragon emitting a
long sustained blast of molten fire as they passed over the smaller Dragons
below them.

At the sign of more Dragons above them, the dark horde tried to turn and
chase them back up into the sky, once again the superior size and speed of
the Browns saved them from a frontal confrontation as they out ran the
chasers, when the chasers had reached their maximum height, Davin turned
his Browns and dived on them once again, the bright blue morning sky was
filled with the fluttering of burnt Dragons as the fire tore through their
ranks, but still the horde came on, they seemed to be unending in their
numbers.

The two hundred from the Island mists had now joined Davin high up in the
sky, as yet he had not lost a single Dragon, the surprise had been total,
the losses for the dark horde as yet could not be established but they were
heavy and yet it did not slow them, from high above Davin reset his lines,
this time he dived in with all five hundred Dragons in two tiers, one above
the other, the solid wall of fire that met the horde was like a stone wall,
just as they got close enough for the enemy to retaliate, Davin swung his
sword and they all twisted in the air and ran for height once again leaving
the horde in disarray.

Once back at height, Davin reset his Dragons into small groups of ten, with
fifty units he began to snipe at the dark Dragons from all directions
always running back for the height advantage they held, it was at this
time, with smaller units operating over a far larger area, that Davin saw
the leader for the first time, he was placed near the centre of the horde
and well protected, Davin lost any respect for him as soon as he saw where
he had been hiding, the thick blast of yellow light from the leaders staff
soon made Davin start to re-think his opinion.

In that one single blast, Davin lost five Dragons from one unit, their
wings scorched until they were no more than stubs, their little Riders hung
limp in their saddles, whatever the staff was, it was powerful, Davin
called thirty Dragons to his side, with his own ten he now had a force of
forty, forming up into a wedge shape, he led the dive towards the leader at
the centre of the horde, his sword was vibrating in his hand and beginning
to glow brightly.

As his Browns sprayed fire into the guarding horde, Davin aimed his sword
as best he could at the leader, the bright bolt of power left the sword and
struck the staff even though Davin was trying for the leader, his results
however were just as effective, the leader was jolted as hi s staff took
the full force of the blast from Davin, as the leader swayed in his saddle,
Davin lead the others back out of range, the leader immediately being
surrounded and covered by many of the dark Dragons.

It was not the losses that made Davin begin his retreat but sheer numbers,
as they fought from above, others of the horde slinked through below them
and down onto the Island, Davin decided it was time to pull back to the
next Island where Sprat and Baragil waited with their five hundred, by the
Gold Dragons communicating to each other, Davin was able to report his
battle and the tactics he had used to the best effect, how many of the
enemy had been sent to their deaths he did not know but they were many but
still the horde flew on as though unaffected by the losses, they seemed
never ending as the horizon filled with more and more.

As he retreated, Davin kept up the continual sniping, he also noticed the
leader had not used the power of his staff again, perhaps he had damaged it
or the leader in some way, it was after midday when they flew past the
second Island in the chain, as his own Dragons flew on to get some rest
from the continuous fighting, Davin slowed beside Sprat and Baragil, he
took some time to relate all they had done and seen and the tactics they
had used even though the Gold's had already passed on the information
amongst themselves.

Sprat and Baragil decided to take all five hundred Browns down into the
mist, it was one way of changing tactics so the horde would not know what
was happening next, they would attack en-mass up through the mist and make
for the heights, there was the risk of losses by driving through the very
centre of the horde but, if it was effective, it could disrupt the masses
further.

Sprat and Baragil estimated they had a couple of hours before the masses
arrived, it appeared they had slowed to feed at the first Island while
smaller groups went ahead as scouts, they were quickly picked off by the
last of Davin's Browns as the other two stayed hidden in the mist, there
was one more Island to defend before they were able to make it to the point
where Kashin waited with the larger force, it was here that they would make
their final stand with all the Dragons together, Kashin was still working
on tactics for the larger force, with luck they would have a full night to
get ready.

Sprats battle went very much like Davin's, they cut through the centre of
the massed Dragons breathing molten fire in all directions and driving
straight up and through to gain height, of the leader there had been no
sight, during the charge, Sprat lost ten Browns in the melee that came as
the last Dragons tried to gain height and join the rest, it was felt by
every Brown in the group but did not take away from the huge losses of the
horde.

After reaching height, Sprat divided his forces into units of fifty and
then returned to the dive and retreat tactic, there was a noticeable
lessening of numbers in the horde but they still did not give up trying to
reach the larger Browns above them, it was as though something unworldly
was driving them on, Sprat's Dragons took their toll on the masses but were
still vastly outnumbered, it was time make for where Davin waited at the
third island, they had about four hours of daylight left.

The last plan was to harry the horde for an hour then retreat towards where
Kashin waited with the rest of the Brown army, the leader had still not put
in an appearance, this alone was a worry as there had to be more going on
than they were aware of, Sprat led the first fifty into the attack, the
same tactics were continued in dive and run, there was little cohesion in
the vast ranks of the dark Dragons but they still tried to attack the
larger Browns in any way they could devise.

When Sprat thought the time was right, he called off the attacks and
directed his army towards where Davin waited for them, the dark horde of
smaller dragons were hot on their heels but unable to make the height to do
any damage to their retreat, as his Browns came over the misty Island where
Davin lay hidden, Sprat once again massed his Dragons after waiting for the
following horde to close up on them, with a flash of his sword he went into
a fast dive towards the middle of the army below him, at the same time
Davin appeared at speed from the mist, with a little correction, Sprat hit
the upper echelons of the horde just as Davin hit them from below, for the
horde it was total confusion, as the two armies drove through them from
above and below at the same time.

With the raging torrent of fire from the browns, Sprat, Davin and Baragil
never got the chance to use their own weapons, not that they wanted to get
caught in the middle of the mass of small Dragons that they were carving
into, once both armies were well clear, they looked back at the carnage
they had wrought, it was not a pretty sight, burnt and dead Dragons were
spiralling towards the waters below or landing in a cloud of sand and mist
into the Island.

With little more than an hour until dark, Davin called off the continuous
attacks and they turned and sped towards the last far off Island where
Kashin waited for them, with luck they would be able to go on through to
Tallas Weir to replenish their bellies with fresh Lava, they were still
able to fight but with the chance to top off they felt better.

It was just on dark when they made the rendezvous with Kashin, after a
quick exchange about the earlier battles, the boys set off for Tallas Weir,
they would be away for two hours then return to wait for daybreak, tomorrow
was going to be the final day of battle, win or lose, they now had no more
backup to continue with a long drawn out fight, it was time for the final
curtain.

The first streaks of dawn were showing in the sky as the mass of Browns
lined up in their pre-ordained positions, with all the help arriving from
every Weir in the Islands, they now numbered over three thousand, the final
battle would be conducted from up high, there would be no low flying
formations, they were going to use their distinct height advantage.

There were now twelve Gold Dragon Princes, each representing one of the
twelve Weirs, all had agreed that Tallas Weir would lead them into this
last battle for their Island homes, the army of Browns had been divided up
into units of five hundred which gave them all two Gold Dragon Princes to
each unit, the tactics had been worked out and all the Dragons knew what
they had to do and what lay in front of them, this was the final battle for
the islands, if they lost they would have nowhere to go for those who
survived and their females would be at the mercy of the Dark Hordes.

The three Gold's hovered high above the massed Browns, their only advantage
was that of fire and height, the Horde had the numerical advantage but
their fire was small and relatively ineffective against their larger foes,
the first signs of the enemy could now been seen on the horizon, it was a
dark smudge as the first rays of the sun grew stronger.

To those watching from their lofty place, the horde did not seem to have
decreased even after the horrific losses it had sustained over the last
battles, it was the sharper eyes of Howudino that saw the reason for the
increase in the horde, far to the rear of the enemy, Howudino saw a bright
yellow glow, it was not that which drew his attention, they all knew the
leader had some magical powers with his staff, what brought his attention
was the unbelievable sight of a rent in the very fabric of the sky itself,
Howudino sent his thoughts to Kashin as he saw what was happening.

"Their wizard is using very old magic, he is calling up forces of the long
ago, that's where he is getting his army from, we have to find a way to
stop him before he floods this realm with those who have long passed, tell
the others, we need to find a way to stop him."

Kashin called the others closer and then explained what Howudino had seen,
as they sat and watched, the massed Horde grew closer, with the rising sun
behind them, the defenders were almost invisible so high in the morning
sky, Howudino had made large tracts of mist close to the ground in the hope
the enemy would be watching that instead of above them, it was just a ruse
to keep them from seeing the defenders until too late.

The four boys talked over what Howudino had seen and looked for a way to
stop the Wizard from getting more of the enemy through his sky gate, it was
sprat who came up with an answer, if all three Gold Princes could come
together and touch wings, he would use the sword of realms to take them
next to the Wizard, by the use of all four magical weapons, they should be
able to finally take down the Wizard and turn the tide of battle before it
got started, it was a dangerous plan as the glow of the Wizards staff could
be seen far behind the mass of attackers, they would have to work fast and
fight hard then escape if they hoped to return to their homes.

The three Gold Dragons hovered close to each other, their great wings
touching as Sprat raised his sword high over his head, there was a faint
feeling of weightlessness then the three Golden Dragons and their Riders
were hovering almost beside the Wizard, they were close enough to see not
only the shock on his face but the fear as well, his own staff began to
shake in his hands as the three turned in his direction, their magical
weapons at the ready.

Knowing that the Wizard could not fight them all at the same time, the
three Dragons split up and attacked from three sides, much to the horror of
Davin, the scene was reminiscent of his almost forgotten dream, as they
attacked, the Wizard raised his staff and a bright flash of power shot
towards Howudino and Kashin, although they were protected by their magical
shield, the blast was so powerful that Howudino staggered in his flight,
Davin then saw the prince consort behind Kashin slump in his saddle while
Kashin looked as though he had been hit by a bolt of lightning.

The sudden attack by the Wizard made the other boys pause, Howudino shook
his massive head as he dropped a hundred feet then turned and strove to
gain height again as the others drove at the Wizard, he was now without
power to his staff and tried to counter their charge by using the more
agile abilities of his smaller Gold Dragon, the fight became a free for all
aerobatic display as one after the other the boys tried to bring the Wizard
down.

The fight had begun to bring unwanted attention from the Horde of Dark
Dragons, as they took notice of the small fight above and behind them, the
other defenders of the Island Dragons, dived into the attack if for no
other reason than to take the attention of the Horde from the private
battle going on in the back ground.

Howudino and Kashin recovered but Seb was still slumped in the saddle, as
they flew back into the battle, Kashin suddenly realised his Consort was
limp and unresponsive, with a loud cry that almost shook the very air
around them, Kashin raised his sword of Vengeance and rose to the battle,
the Wizard had been evading the others just long enough to get power back
into his staff as he raised it once again, the boys saw the action and
raised their own weapons as if to deflect the Wizards power.

The Wizards staff this time was not glowing with yellow power but was now
shining bright with an unholy red rage as though it would spit fire at the
three attacking Dragons, as the battle with the Horde raged below them, the
boys felt the power of their own weapons, as the Wizard stuck forward at
Davin with his staff, all four weapons of the boys suddenly started to
vibrate and glow, as the Wizards staff released its shaft of bright red
power, the four weapons of the boys suddenly increased their glow.

With an astounding crackling of magical power, the four weapons of the boys
sent their own bright lance of power towards that of the wizards staff, as
they all met in the middle between the two battling groups, the blast of
the boys weapons joined making one single and very powerful beam of light,
the results were far more than the boys could have expected, as the shaft
of power from their weapons struck that of the Wizards staff, there was
another shattering crack of energy, as the bright blast of light faded and
the boys eyes once again could see after the explosion, they saw the
results of the clash of magical power.

Kashin looked around at his other friends, they all showed the same look of
exhaustion as he did, the powerful blast of raw magic had drained them all,
of the Wizard there was little to be seen but the sight did bring a touch
of satisfaction, both the staff and the Wizards arm below the elbow were
missing, all the remained was a shrivelled burnt stump, the Wizard was
slumped in his saddle and his Gold Dragon was trying valiantly to maintain
his ability to fly, its wings were singed and his scales were blackened and
buckled, there was no sign of movement from the slumped Wizard.

The air around the small battle field seemed silent although the main
battle raged on, as Kashin looked to the masses below them, he was
surprised to see a large force of the female Bronze Dragons flying quickly
into the fray, this was unheard of as females were not known for their
fighting skill, as he watched the unusual occurrence, the females lined up
much like their male counterparts and, with long hot blasts of raw fire,
they descended on the whirling mass of the dark Horde, with the additional
females arriving as they did, the Horde began to break apart, there was
nowhere for them to go so they tried to fight but their efforts were
becoming more and more useless as the larger Browns and Bronzes took their
toll.

The numbers of Browns and Bronzes had increased their numbers to well over
four thousand, the Horde was now outnumbered, as more and more fell to the
ground those that remained tried as best they could to escape by any means
they could, it was now a rout and the Browns took an even greater toll, as
the last few Dark Dragons tried to escape, the Bronze females turned back
towards the Weir, they had provided just enough support to turn the tide of
the battle, the clean up was now the work of the more and better trained
Browns.

Kashin called his friends to his side, all their faces had the same look of
weary satisfaction, loosening his thigh straps, Kashin turned in his saddle
to look over Seb, his Consort was still breathing but unconscious, hoping
his Seb would be alright, Kashin gave the command to pursue the last of the
Horde, the ground far below them was littered with their dead and dying.

It was towards dusk before the last of the combined Weir's Dragons landed
at Tallas Weir, they had pursued the last of the Horde to well outside of
the Islands boundaries, Tallas now had the largest gathering of Dragons
ever seen in the Islands, every weir, friend or foe had turned up to defend
their homes and were now welcomed as friends into Tallas Weir where every
Messadine had begun to prepare a large feast, it was also time to pay
tribute to those who had fallen in the battle.

The combined Weirs had not got off scot-free, they had lost one hundred and
ninety Dragons, two of which were Golds, the females had also lost twenty
in the brazen attack on the Horde, for the first time in any Dragons
memory, every Weir had fought alongside each other, Kashin looked around at
the camaraderie that was being shown, perhaps, he thought, we can make
something of this and stop all the small wars between the Weirs, however it
felt it was not the time to mention it, they all needed time to relax and
tell stories of bravery and battles.

In the back of his mind Kashin was still worried about Seb, he had been
taken away by some of the Messadine elders for care, they had assured
Kashin that it was only the effect of the magical power that had knocked
him out and that he would recover with time, Kashin looked around the large
hall, Dragons were for the first time feeding on the raw Lava pool, the
looks of enjoyment at being given such a chance did not go unnoticed by
those who were used to feeding in such a way, perhaps, Kashin thought, this
could be a start to untie all the Weirs.

The night drew on and it was late before the Dragons and their Riders began
to seek a place to sleep away the heavy eating and drinking, Kashin had
called for all the surviving Gold Dragons to meet the next day in the hopes
of settling any outstanding issues and try to bring a sense of peace and
cooperation, the meeting would be held the day after next and all the
Dragons were welcomed to stay at Tallas Weir until everything had been
settled, this announcement had been greeted with cheers as members of each
weir realised they now had a common bond, one that had been forged by
battle as well as losses, it boded for a new future of the island Weirs.


END.


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