A special thanks to JonB1969 for his editing. Hope you all enjoy my story and remember to vote and comment, it's what encourages me to keep writing.
This Story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright (c) 2015 by Yshomatsu
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this story or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. The following is meant for Adults only, if you are under the age of 18 leave now.
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Inquisition ch 6
Sir Blake combed his greasy black hair back along his head with a gloved hand, while watching two large dragons fly off. He had been dropped off a few minutes' walk away from his own people to avoid issue with the "mythological" beasts, which were very much alive. Starting a village wide panic wouldn't be wise, after all.
The knight sighed, realizing how much work had to be done before the battle of a lifetime.
A few minutes later he walked into view of the village among the trees. The first thing he noticed wasn't the wooden walkways linking trees together or the sight of innocent villagers going about their day. It was the armed guards, with arrows nocked within their bows. The guards didn't linger long, recognizing him. Arrows returned to quivers, before greeting the honored knight.
Blake shook hands with a guard he realized was Jake, the man that introduced him to Emilia. Guilt and pain filled his aching heart, as he remembered holding the beautiful, yet dying ranger in his arms. Dragus had been kind enough to dig a grave, and they buried the ranger, saying their good byes. It was a sad time but Blake didn't have time to mourn. If actions weren't taken now, there would be countless more innocent lives lost. The time for mourning would come later.
"Plymouth has been awaiting your return, my lord." Jake's face was covered by a helmet. Only his eyes were visible, which explained why it took Blake a moment to recognize him.
The knight nodded and followed the man as he led the way.
They walked past many people going about their lives without any knowledge of the danger they were all in. Blake hoped they would never find out.
Plymouth paced back and forth at a table with a large map. Two heavily armored men stood with him. Blake recognized them as two Generals from the legion. A thin smile formed on his lips as he greeted them. Plymouth let out a sigh of relief as the knight entered the room.
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you! I've alerted the generals of our problem and only these two believed me. The others said I was a hallucinating fool to speak of demons."
Blake placed a hand on Plymouth's shoulder as he looked to the other two men. "If this man is a hallucinating fool, then I'm the emperor of the known world." The two men understood and wanted to get into details.
Over the next hour the four men discussed plans and set a course of action. The army would be ready by sunrise the next morning. The other generals would have no choice but to follow suit and prepare. Messengers went out to relay orders. Everything would be rushed. Thanks to Plymouth they already had a head start. Actually Plymouth's actions saved them a week of preparation, and Blake was glad the man had volunteered to stay behind.
Blake didn't get any good sleep that night, as he twisted and turned, his mind constantly on that pale woman that stole Emilia from him. His dreams turned to nightmares. Bright red eyes haunted his every thought.
The knight woke up screaming, completely covered in sweat. In a panic he searched the room, expecting to see his nightmare come to life. The morning rays of light warmed his wet skin and revealed his room to be empty. Relief filled him as Plymouth burst through the door.
"Are you alright!?" He had rushed out of his own bed as he heard the screams.
"I-I'm fine, just a nightmare."
He returned his sword to its sheath. "Ok, sir can I ask you a question?"
The knight wiped sweat off his face and chuckled. "You just did." Before the man had any time to react he continued. With another chuckle, he said, "Go ahead."
"I didn't want to pry in front of the generals but where are the others?"
The knight replied, while sliding his hands through his hair, slicking it back, "Emilia didn't make it, the demon spawn Amber was captured by agents of the demon and the others set off to rescue her. They left me behind to gather the army. Thanks to you, we should be ready to march in a few hours rather than a week."
"I had thought it wise, just in case."
"I'm glad you did. We'll need every able man to survive what is coming." The man nodded and kindly left Blake to change into dry clothes.
A few minutes later the knight exited his chamber in his suit of armor and smiled, pleased to see Plymouth in his own. Another armored man greeted them as he came across the rope bridge and told them the army awaited, prepared to march. And he was right. The jungle below was filled with soldiers in formation, knights upon horses and generals out in front. Rivers of plate metal and pike weapons made the ground appear as a flowing machine, a marvelous sight.
Blake's mind flashed back to how General Titus had gathered his men and marched off to their deaths. No one had been prepared for that demonic fight. Deep down he hoped he wasn't making the same mistake twice. His heart wasn't filled with hatred or revenge this time and he planned to stay with the army to the end. No matter what happened, he would fight alongside these men to the death.
The men began to march. Loud stomps echoed throughout the jungle as every man stepped in unison.
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Wind blew through Bree's long hair as she held tightly onto Athan. They were both riding on Dragus' back, allowing Yshomatsu to fly unhindered. This, after all, happened to be the monk's first true flight as a dragon, and they didn't want to risk giving him extra burdens, a gesture that had been greeted kindly with flips and spins, as the monk enjoyed flying immensely. His heavy crimson body soared around them, laughing.
Dragus worried that he'd exhaust himself before battle but didn't say anything. It warmed his heart to see the monk so joyful, and he didn't want to ruin the moment. They could be flying to their deaths.
They flew past the jungle and over the high grass until valleys of green hills filled the horizon. They avoided the villages and dirt roads to prevent any chance of the succubus learning of their arrival. Dragus could sense Meridiana's presence and allowed it to lead the way.
A great hunger filled him that he hadn't felt for a long time. It was his body's way of alerting him to the presence of evil. Dragons hungered for the unnatural meal, and it had been the reason he considered himself a guardian of the world.
Being a carnivore, he loved the taste of fresh meat, yet he didn't feast on humans or animals. His body only craved one type of meat, as if he had been created to fight demons. After the dragons defeated the age of demons and allowed the humans to flourish, times changed. Their food source ran out and oddly enough they found themselves being hunted by the very humans they had freed.
Dragus had defended himself and had devoured a few humans at the time. He had discovered quickly that their flesh didn't sit well with him, making him sick. As his family slowly fell and no new demons spawned, he fell into isolation.
A long time had passed before a grumble in his stomach woke him up, his hibernation interrupted. That had been the time he discovered Athanatos and Yshomatsu. He watched silently from the shadows as they fought human cultists. Then the demon spawned and his mouth watered. The two monks were defeated and he fed for the first time in ages. Yet he didn't leave. Something tugged at his soul. For reasons he couldn't understand he saved their lives, and returned to hibernation.
Many years later both monks appeared and interrupted his slumber. Only this time he hadn't felt the great hunger. Now that he felt it grow during the flight he realized something. He had to be close to feel their presence. The closer they flew, the hungrier he grew.
It wasn't long before his great vision could see a large unnatural tower of black rising up into the sky. He knew instantly that the tower marked their destination, like a giant X on a human map. The ancient dragon also noticed that Yshomatsu had stopped carrying on. The monk could feel the demon's presence as well and had gotten nervous as they closed in on her location. The tower grew as the dragons flew closer, constructed by a strange shiny black material that appeared to consume the light around it.