Monday, August 25, 2014

Lady Saura, Slayer of Dragons - Chapter Five - Leaving Fire Island

I carried the Princess Luquasia over my shoulder, away from Yellow Tail's cave. It was then that I heard the piercing sound of a dragon's scream. I turned to see the giant scaly face of Yellow Tail poke his head out of his large cave.

The Princess Luquasia began to stir in my grasp. Her eyes opened slowly. She was weakened from her days in captivity. She looked over my shoulder to see the bright eyes of the dragon and she let out a scream that rivaled Yellow Tail's wail.

I held her over my shoulder tight and ran as fast as I could down the rocky hill. My faithful steed Lavros waited below ready to carry us out of the burned dry island.

I turned my head back to gain full sight of Yellow Tail. Yellow Tail's wings were spread out and with two quick flaps of them Yellow Tail head taken flight and was above us a great distance. The Princess Luquasia screamed loudly at the sight of him and braced me as hardly as I braced her.

Towards the end of the path I could see my faithful horse Lavros, waiting patiently. Yellow Tail was above us now and I feared at any moment he would release the full fury of his dragon's breath. Or if not on I and the Princess Luquasia then on my faithful horse of golden brown.

To my surprise Yellow Tail did not release the full fury of his Dragon's Breath. Instead he hovered above us and stretched his claws out. Yellow Tail was preparing to recapture the princess.

I released the Princess Luquasia to the molting ground and unsheathed my sword. The princess screamed and ran down the hill towards Lavros. But instead of coming towards me as expected, Yellow Tail instead, flew towards the running princess. With my sword in hand I chased after the flying dragon waving my sword in the air in hopes of scaring away the large dragon. It was then that Yellow Tail decided to release the full force of his dragon breath.

The ball of fire eclipsed Yellow Tail. With one flick of my wrist I released my shield from by back and shielded myself from the hot flames of Yellow Tail's breath.

I've been burned by dragon's fire before and it's intense. Dragon fire is more powerful than fire born of wood.

When the fire of the dragon vanished I unshielded myself to see the Yellow Tail snapping his long talons at the Princess Luquasia. He was trying with all his might to capture the princess in his grasp once again.

It was then that I threw my sword into the belly of Yellow Tail. Yellow Tail, in pain, flew away from the princess and into the side of a mountain. The dragon hit the mountain with such force that it cause him to loose consciousness and fall to the burnt road.

The princess smiled at the sight and climbed on to Lavros. I followed suit and the Princess Luquasia braced my back as we rode past the sleeping Yellow Tail and out of the fire islands over the bridge and into the vast desert known as The outlands.


End of Chapter Five

Monday, August 18, 2014

Lady Saura, Slayer of Dragons - Chapter Four - The Cave of Yellow Tail

Most think in order to rescue a virgin or claim a handful of gold one must slay a dragon but the truth is many slayers have received great riches by never slaying a dragon. The ability of stealth and trickery is usually all that is needed when dealing with dragons. Most dragons have two many ladies and too much gold to keep a watchful eye on all. All that is required is to locate the princess and hope that the eyes of the dragon are turned on other matters and sneak away with her in to the night. For dragons it is out of sight, out of mind.

When I approached the cave of Yellow Tail I expected to hear the screams of many but was surprised to hear none.  For a dragon with a representation such as Yellow Tail this was most confusing. All I could hear was a lady crying and the heavy breathing of a beast. A sleeping beast.

Yellow Tail was asleep and the Princess Luquasia was left unattended.

I steadied myself and prepared to enter the cave.

She was standing there, the Princess Luquasia. Dirt covered most of her. Her cheeks were moist from tears and her hair was long and matted but it was her.

Before her laid Yellow Tail. A giant dragon of green and a tale of blinding yellow. It laid across its cave floor directly in front of her and me.

Princess Luquasia appeared asleep as she lay against the side of the cave wall. Her hair blowing in the air at each exhale of the dragon's heavy breathing.

I was unsure of my next move. It was important not to startle the princess for fear she will wake the dragon in her excitement of her apparent rescue.

I unsheathed my sword and approached the princess with steady caution. She laid sobbing, unaware of my presence. When I reached her I moved my hand across her cheek gently, startling her.

"Princess," I whispered.

She did not respond. She instead stared at me blankly unable to tell if this was real.

"Princess," I repeated.

Her eyes began to flutter and slowly began to rise to her feet.

"Princess are you okay?" I asked her in a soft whisper.

She looked at me. Her bright brown eyes starring daggers into me. Then her eyes fluttered,, closed shut and she slowly drifted back to the ground, having fainted.

Many years as a dragon slayer has increased my strength more than most ladies. I was able to lift the Princess Luquasia over my shoulder and remove her from the hostile cave of the dragon Yellow Tail.

As I carried the princess toward the cave exit I took one last look back at the ferocious dragon. I studied him as he lay asleep in the dark cave. My next move will be to carry the princess as quickly as I can out of the cave and out of fire islands without the dragon Yellow Tail's knowledge. I knew that if I could preform this simple task than the threat of Yellow Tail would be of no consequence to me.

End of Chapter Four

Monday, August 11, 2014

Lady Saura, Slayer of Dragons - Chapter Three - The Fire Islands

It is said that in the middle of the fire islands there is a throne and on the throne sits the charred body of Ragu, the former lord of the fire islands.

Its mountainous caves made it the perfect the home for the dragons and after knights and dragon slayers moved them from their homes they took to the fire islands then known as Ladena Island. It is said that they took it over by burning the lord of Ladena to death who refused to leave his throne to the dragons.

At night you can hear the screams and cries of the virgin ladies, kidnapped by the dragons and by day you can hear the roar of the dragons breath and see the flames burning in the air.

One of the challenges of rescuing a lady from a dragon's cave is finding the right dragons cave. There are many dragons and even more ladies in need of rescue. Some dragon slayers simply come to the fire islands, find a lady who appears to be of great wealth, rescues her and returns her to her home in hope of a great bounty. Some run the risk of going straight for a dragons gold. Which is not advised, because dragons protect the sight and smell of gold much more than they protect the smell of  virgins. A breath of fire is never spared when it is for the golden shine of gold. Other slayers, like myself, take specific bounties to rescue specific ladies. Payment is much higher due to the risk and the difficulty in finding the specific lady. These dragon slayers have great knowledge of the island and if the detail of the dragon given is specific enough finding the dragon becomes less of a challenge. Experienced dragon slayers of the fire islands know exactly what caves belong to which dragon.

The princess of Landwall was taken by a well described dragon. The dragon was described as being large and green with a tail of golden yellow. A large dragon with a yellow tail is well know amongst dragon slayers. He has captured many a lady and is possessor of mounds of gold. I know the cave of this Yellow Tail well and a bounty this high is well worth the rescue.

The closer I come to the cave of this Yellow Tail the more I hear the screams of captured ladies. Screams of fear and terror. But I must block those sounds from my ears. I come only seeking the rescue of one lady. For more than one will be to greedy and the overwhelming effort to rescue more than one will surely be my downfall.

I must remember I seek only the princess of Landwall. The Princess Luquasia. She has been described to me as dark of hair, this of face with eyes of brown. When taken by Yellow Tail she was dressed in the color of the clouds and a headband of silver lay on her head.

It will be hard to ignore the cries of the other ladies trapped by Yellow Tail but I must do so if I am to successfully rescue the princess and collect my bounty.

End of Chapter Three

Monday, August 4, 2014

Lady Saura, Slayer of Dragons - Chapter Two - The Outlands

The outlands are a barren land.

It's filled with desert sands and savage tribes that do nothing but rape and pillage nearby villages.

The outlands are avoided at all cost.

At the center of the outlands exist the fire caves of fire island. The dwellings of the most ferocious of dragons.

A place I have journeyed to many times.

The outlands are ruled by nomadic tribes. One such tribe is called the Rukrons. In order to survive the outlands it is necessary for me to pay them for protection

"Saura, slayer of dragons," said Lord Galtrak, ruler of the Rukrons. "You have returned. What fair lady do you seek to rescue this time?"

"That is a matter of extreme privacy, Lord Galtrak," I responded. It is not wise to tell another the bounty you seek for fear you may be speaking to competition who may want to still reward right from under you.

"Yes, of course. Lord Galtrak is well aware, but I'm afraid I have some bad news, Saura."

"And what is this bad news, Lord Galtrak?"

"I'm afraid the price of protection through the outlands has doubled."

"And why is that, Lord Galtrak?" I asked.

"War, my lady Saura. We are at war with our neighboring tribes. Getting you to the fire islands will be at great risk to you and to us as well."

"Well I'm sorry, Lord Galtrak but double is to steep a price for me to pay."

"Well then, Lady Saura I'm afraid we won't be able to assist you on this journey. Maybe you should turn back and return when things or better."

"I'll take the risk, Lord Galtrak."

"A huge risk to take for a captured lady. The bounty must be high, yes. Surely you can part with double for safe passage."

"I'm sorry, Lord Galtrak but I rather not."

"Well, Lady Saura it's your risk to take," said Lord Galtrak. He gave me a sinister smile and waved bye as I rode away on Lavros.

Lord Galtrak was never a friend and therefore has never earned my trust and if there was anytime I could trust Lord Galtrak it would not be now. I wasn't sure if Lord Galtrak was telling the truth about war between the outland tribes. All I knew was money was hard to come by in the outlands and it stood to reason that trickery was at hand to receive more coin from me.

Never the less I will have to journey to the fire islands alone and pray to the gods the outland tribes are unaware of my presence on the way there and back.

End of Chapter Two