Jebidiah's Change B. 01

Welcome back gentle reader

This is the end, my only friend, the end... I am so thankful for the feedback and encouragement on this, my first writing effort. I honestly expected to bomb out by the third chapter and give up on it all with a 2 star rating. Thank you, thank you all. I even hit 100 followers!

As the chapters went along and I was able to flesh out more of the personalities I found there was more and more I left on the cutting floor as I tried to keep the word count down and the plot moving along. I've decided with the next few books that while the series and book story arcs move along I'll dedicate some personal story arcs to a few members of Jeb's family, switching them up between books. I already know who I am focusing on first.

Once again the standard disclaimer, multiply ages by roughly two to get equivalent Earth ages. Everyone is a consenting adult.

-- Chapter 15: Soldier's Rest --

-- Third Tenday of Yantaen 813 AGR --

The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.

- Jordan

Arrows rained down to bounce harmlessly from the dragon's thick red scales. The occasional shaft of a ballista managed to elicit a loud clanging sound when even their bulk was deflected. It was a massive beast. The opening where the city gates had stood was extremely wide, wider than either the gates of Tonstar or Silvertoe, though they were the only other gates Jebidiah had for reference. The dragon was some distance away from those now absent gates, but Jebidiah was unable to fully see the dragon's wings. It had to be at least 40 feet wide if not more in body girth alone. Its ruby red scales glinted in the sun while what could be seen of the wings flashed a deeper crimson color turning into hues of blue. Two great horns swept back along the skull, yellowed teeth looked to be nearly as tall as the figures in the army charging behind it. The dragon's eyes flashed the orange of flames and locked on to Jebidiah, unnerving him considering the distance.

Sift hissed something to Kelek. In reply Kelek began her hissing laughter which escalated to where she was practically choking out laughter, not unlike hysterical laughter he would expect from the others.

"What the fuck do we do about that?" Michael's voice came from behind him. Michael, Shirley, and Farrah along with the remainder of their Firsts joined his companions having come from the keep when the fighting started. "And who is fighting within the city?"

"I have to admit, this greatly exceeds my expectations. I figured on bad or maybe very bad, but not Bad with a capital B." Jebidiah kept his eyes on the dragon, not turning to greet the others. "These other party crashers are our missing Children. They have not been enjoying the city's hospitality."

"At least you retained some humor." Michael said dryly.

"It's laugh or cry time."

"You said to expect the unexpected, but I wasn't aware you had this in mind. That's Bellatrix!" Shirley said before she broke out in uncontrollable, hysterical giggles, matching Kelek's hiccuping hisses.

"That creature should not exist." Sift's voice did manage to pull his attention from the dragon. Sift and Kelek stood behind the others. They weren't part of the plan and he still wasn't sure what to make of their appearance in the middle of things. They were supposed to be safely housed in the keep. "Even with reduced gravity It is too large. No bone structure can support the weight. Why does it have wings? It cannot possibly fly. Why is it staring at you? Why is it melting?"

Jebidiah snapped his head back around, the dragon was changing shape, shrinking, taking on a humanoid pattern as the body collapsed on itself. The final result was not far off of what Shirley looked like, if her skin were changed from pink to red, horns elongated, body stretched to around fifteen feet tall, with wings and a fully formed tail tacked on for good measure. The transformed dragon entered the city gates, pulling in its wings to duck through the gateway, pacing towards Jebidiah. Behind it was a mass of small figures on horse, the enemy calvary was charging towards the city.

Tenner was the next to add her thoughts, "I think this is the part where we run." Jebidiah strongly considered Tenner's suggestion but something was bothering him about the situation, beyond all the really bad things happening that is.

"I think if it wanted to kill us, it would have landed right here and had itself a snack, or at least made our section of the city very warm. I... I think it wants to talk."

Dana didn't sound convinced. "Talk? You want to fucking talk with her? Are you fucking crazy?" It was definitely a 'her'. As the imposing figure closed the distance to them they could see the red flesh in reality was overlapping red scales, much like Kelek's hide, and while there were no distinctive features the prominent bulges were right where breasts would normally be, sans nipples. Its hips flared out to a smaller waist, the legs were longer and would be considered shapely outside of the scaly covering. What at first looked like boots were a form of darker red scale, jutting out in a sharp edge where the rim of boots would be. The hands were the same, generating the appearance of gloved hands.

"It's a sexy look." Shirley's blurted admission made most look at her in surprise. She just giggled in response. "Sorry."

"Fucking daft," Mila said to herself.

"I should have stayed at home in bed with my wives." Michael groaned to himself.

"Please stay back everyone, I want to see what this is about and if she takes me out just run for it." Jebidiah commanded as he moved to meet the imposing figure. He kept to the side of the boulevard. In doing so he also drew Bellatrix to the same side to meet him. The city calvary swept passed on the other side, charging out to defend the city while pockets of melee combat had resumed in the survivors scattered about.

"I wonder if you are who you appear to be. Whispers have reached even my distant ears." The dragon said as the two came to a stop, nearly twenty feet from each other. It spoke in commonspeak with a strange accent.

"That depends on who you were expecting." He kept his voice as calm as he was able, considering what he was doing. He felt lucky he hadn't pissed or shit his pants yet, his own level of fear had been amping up, magnified even more by the fear flowing into him through his bonds. His wives were emitting terror on a, well, a truly terrifying scale. He nearly chuckled at the thought but knew if he started laughing now his fear would take hold.

The dragon moved faster than he could register, her tail streaked out, elongating, until it struck his cheek, slashing across his face just below his eye. The attack was so fast he did not have time to feel it before the dragon brought the end of her tail up to her mouth and licked the blood from the tip. It was only after he witnessed her forked tongue tasting his blood that he felt the burn on his cheek, just below his eye. "So you truly are a Valor, though there is a difference in you I cannot place. You taste... newer. You should not be here."

Something rushed past Jebidiah, a blur of motion that ruffled his hair in its passing. Bellatrix, moving impossibly fast once again, reached a hand out before her to catch Sift in a clawed grip. She managed to stop Sift cold but not without giving ground as she slid back on the street, leaving ruts in the cobblestone. "What is this?" Bellatrix asked with a smirk. She visibly squeezed her hand as if to crush Sift with no result. She brought Sift up to her face to examine her more easily. "A golem?"

"The Project must not be impeded." Sift answered.

"She is a guardian, nothing more. What do you want with me?" He acted dismissive of Sift and the situation, not wanting to portray just how worried he was about Sift's predicament or how scared he was of everything.

"What I want is to finish what I started and erase the Valor name from the face of this miserable world I am stuck in. However, I am forced to question just why you and I are here. She closed the distance to Jebidiah and tossed Sift to the side with enough force for Sift to break the wall and disappear into the building she impacted. "I can taste the bonds hanging on you. Tell me Valor, have you already begun to procreate, spreading your miserable seed upon this world? More infestations to burn away? Will I be forced to trace your bonds to snuff out, one by one, those you hold dear before I finally roast you in your own skin? It took me a while last time. I wonder what you will taste like? Your foremothers gave me heartburn for days."

"You are being played by the Divine. I am not your enemy, I do not pull your strings like a puppet master. Are you so weak you would do their bidding?" One thing that Jebidiah knew of dragons is their absolute sense of self importance. All the stories told of the hero only escaping by playing on the ego of the dragon involved. There was only a single recorded instance in the chronicles he had read mentioning a group who managed to kill a dragon, and that was a young dragon, not the ancient beast he faced.

Bellatrix laughed. "You read too many stories, human. NO ONE pulls my strings, you insignificant WORM! I care not for your

Divine

, they are beneath my concern. I existed before them and I will still be here when they are gone, the last in this miserable world old enough to remember them. Now ANSWER ME! WHERE did you come from, HOW did your line escape my wrath. If you do not answer true, I will lay waste to this ENTIRE enclave leaving a single soul to tell the tale. And that one will have to drag their legless body from the flames." Her rage was building, she roared out words as her anger got better of her. Jebidiah's mind raced furiously as he tried to come up with an answer that would get him and his wives out of this. The hissing yell from beside him made him jump.

Kelek's anger boiled over when Sift was thrown through the wall. She stomped forward to stand beside the man Jebidiah as the dragon roared in anger. The People spoke of the dragons with reverence, as mighty foes to be honored, but this was too much. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" she yelled, admonishing the dragon and startling Jebidiah enough to make him jump. "You dishonor both your kind and the hunt!"

The dragon moved its massive head to stare at Kelek, the irises of its eyes a dancing flame instead of a solid color. Kelek was unaware of the dragon's alternate form she projected to the others, only seeing the entirety of the dragon's body. The head moved forward to sniff at her. "What form of creature are you? I smell human blood on your maw. You feast on them but stand by their side?" it asked in genuine interest. "You are not one of the dragonborn, miserable twisted creatures they are. You are a brave one though, I will grant you that. Explain yourself."

"This is not an honorable hunt." Kelek waved toward Jebidiah, "For prey such as this you must give notice, not come sneaking about like a thief raiding a nest of eggs. Even the smallest child knows to roar a challenge at the great swamp drakes before the hunt can begin! You mask your entrance in the battle of those inferior to you, hiding in fear and shame. You dishonor the hunt! Do you fear him?"

The dragon laughed, a low rumble that shook the ground enough to be felt. "You chastise me? You take issue with the way I kill him then? You are not here to defend him?"

"I care not that you would kill him, only that it would be an honorable death. He is honorable and our fates are entwined. You will hunt me as well and I demand to be honored. I look forward to this hunt, you are the mightiest opponent I will ever face. Give me your challenge as I give you mine, when next we meet there will be a battle that none have witnessed before. Fulfill the honor of the hunt!"

"I have witnessed more in my lifetime than most civilizations have, and yet I have never been challenged before, not like this. You amuse me. What care should I have for honor?"

"Honor brings order to the hunt, order brings excitement, excitement brings joy. What fun is there in dishonorable kills? What joy can be gained by avoiding the challenges, cheapening the kill? When was the last time you had fun? Name the terms of your challenge, I shall meet them."

The dragon laughed harder then. "So you really do seek to challenge me?" She raised her head to its full height, higher and higher in the air above Kelek, to regard the group before its gaze. The heat of its internal fire was building to where the air around Kelek and Jebidiah grew warm.

Jebidiah stood in shock as Kelek

yelled

at the dragon. The dragon reacted in kind and the two conversed for a time. Nobody moved, amazed to still be alive and afraid to break the current stalemate, knowing any attempt would be futile regardless. When the dragon began laughing he felt the first strands of confusion and hope in the bonds. When next the dragon gave out a belly laugh that shook loose shingles from the nearby shops it seemed to grow in size. It spoke again and with a roar it unleashed a stream of fire above everyone's heads making them all cower.

"Lord Valor, Last of Your Name," the dragon chuckled at its joke. "To satisfy the

honor

of the hunt, I give you notice. You are granted... two turns of the seasons to prepare yourself. At that time you will come to me and our hunt will begin. We will do battle, there is no escape from that, and I will eradicate your line from this world once again. If I have to come find you again, this entire kingdom will suffer your cowardice. When next we meet I fully expect, what was it little one? 'A battle that none have witnessed before'." Looking down at Kelek the dragon added. "Do not disappoint me little one, I have your scent. Your challenge is accepted and I expect to have... 'fun'."

Kelek hissed back a reply. Whatever she said amused her, she broke into another of her hissing laughs.

The dragon took to the skies, slowly gaining altitude while transforming back into a dragon shape before taking off to the north.

"What the fuck just happened?" Dana asked first.

"I think Kelek just saved our collective asses." Crystal answered.

Kelek turned to face them all. "Yess," she hissed out and laughed some more.

Sift made her way back through the hole she had made in the wall, the sight of her made Jebidiah blow out a sound of relief. "Are you okay Sift?"

"I am still fully functional. How did that creature have enough mass to do what it did? I cannot reconcile what just happened."

Kelek hissed a question at Sift.

"Friend Kelek, I did not consider that fun. Do you in truth intend to hunt it?" Jebidiah noted that Sift's response was in commonspeak and not Kelek's language. He hoped that was not a sign of internal damage. Kelek began laughing again.

"What now?" Corporal Simmons asked. Her voice was shaky. "I am at a loss."

What did one do after a confrontation like that? The question had no readily apparent answer and he looked about him to collect his bearings. Most of the fighting in the streets had died down, another wave of calvary was making its way onto the boulevard and there was a massive battle in the roadway past the gates as the Faltha forces attempted to gain entry. Jebidiah rejoined his group with Kelek and Sift in tow. "We should go up to the walls, find Yantzee, see what aid we can lend. I think we are done with the bigger surprises today."

A nearby shriek drew all their attention. One of their captives, the unconscious one the First had been dragging along, was awake. She had a dagger in hand and charged at Jebidiah, quickly closing the distance with a final lunge. After everything that had just transpired, the shock of her charge rooted Jebidiah to his spot. As the dagger swung forward another body hit Jebidiah, knocking him backwards into Sift as she tried to intervene herself, knocking both of them down.

A scream of rage filled the air as Jebidiah tried to regain his feet. He saw the Child withdrawing her dagger from Farrah's breast; she had jumped in between Jebidiah and his attacker, taking the attack meant for him. Her words from earlier made his blood run cold, she knew what would happen to her here but came despite that knowledge. The scream of rage had come from Shirley, who threw out Words of Power like daggers, pointing at the Child who promptly burst into flames.

Jebidiah crawled over to Farrah on hands and knees to check her wound. Her sightless gaze did not meet his as a massive amount of blood pooled around her, soaking into Jebidiah's clothes. He stared into those bright blue eyes, watching as they dulled, and something deep inside him snapped. He grew cold in the midday sun, even the flames of the burning Child next to him were ignored, as his emotions bled out of his body like Farrah's blood spilled from her own. He closed Farrah's eyes with a calm hand and, with their closing, he felt his bonds with his wives falter before falling silent and then they were gone. He stood up fully, straightening his blood soaked tunic, looking around him at the startled looks on everyone's face before settling on Shirley.

He bowed deeply, "Mad Lady of Battle, shall we?" It was like hearing someone else talk, even though the words came from his mouth. In some ways he supposed that was what was happening, he was a spectator of his own actions. He locked his eyes onto the fiercely burning golden orbs of Shirley. Something connected between the two of them, not a bond but something deeper, and it replaced the emptiness in his soul where his bonds had lain. He turned without waiting and marched to the open gateway ahead, not having far to walk before he would reach the main battle.

"Jeb, I can't feel you." Crystal whispered as she collapsed to her knees in the road behind, overwhelmed with conflicting emotions as her husband abandoned her and marched off to battle.

In a cold and calm voice Jebidiah answered her without looking back, "There's nothing to feel."

"My Mad Lord. Thank you for having me at your side." Shirley said when she matched his stride. She was once again in all her magnificent glory, the spirit of battle, this time her overall demeanor was interlaced with overtones of immense anger, the set of her jaw, the increased, agitated state of her hair, everything adding to the effect.

He knew the others followed behind them at a distance, but the coldness inside him had excluded them from his attention, he cared not what they did. Shouts from Stern and Yantzee fell on deaf ears. All he had eyes for was his enemies. Both he and Shirley continued to ignite the Children they passed, not caring how many they killed, until they exited the city just as the second wave of calvary rushed around and past them. They moved along the center of the boulevard with the rest trailing behind, forcing the calvary to split into two columns to avoid their steady pace. As the wind of the horses passing brushed against them, Shirely began her laughter. "They will burn for what they have done."

"Tell me when we are close enough, Mistress" was his only answer.

Shirley stopped nearly 200 feet away from where the enemy lines were advancing, Jebidiah and Shirley were alone, the others still somewhere behind them, but they had held their distance. The wave of calvary had masked their presence from the enemy, they were well within range of the archers now but none had targeted them.

Shirley began gathering threads, speaking her Words of Power and Jebidiah followed along, mirroring her actions, realizing what the spell was as they progressed, adjusting accordingly. A massive wall of flame grew along the front of the enemy lines, engulfing the first ranks. Jebidiah extended her wall out beginning his own where hers ended. No mage should have been in range to do something like what they did, the Faltha forces were caught completely off guard and marched directly into the flames before their lines faltered. Jebidiah knew Shirley was casting with more power than she should have been able to, the new bond between them was pulsing with power. That increase made her wall of flame stretch further than was possible. But then so was his own spell. Even the range from which they cast was too great. It happened nonetheless and the Falthans died by the scores. Shirley's peals of laughter lashed out as more of the enemy burst into flame, prompting Jebidiah to cast a cantrip on her. Once finished, "The Mad Lady"'s maniacal laughter boomed across the battlefield.