Chapter One
"We need a flying wing to confuse these Orcs quicker!" said Chancellor Haversholm to High Yarl Hrimgrimnir. "Is this another mystical scheme of yours Chancellor?" asked the High Yarl doubtfully. "No! This time it will work!" pleaded the Chancellor. "Is that like the time you tried to invent a device to help my father catch an Ice Bear?" said the High Yarl. "Better than that, and if your Highness will recall, my invention actually worked." said the Chancellor. "Those were the days!" laughed the High Yarl. "I will go to the dragon riders of the "Hand of the Blessed Light" and lease some white dragons from them and get some Vyir volunteers to ride them." said the Chancellor. After a few minutes of silence, the High Yarl sighed. "Fine! Go round up some volunteers from the Holds! I doubt a single Vyir will volunteer his time to ride something that might mistake him for lunch but it's worth a try." said the High Yarl. "Are you daft?" asked Prince Hornbori. "Dragons eat their weight in food on a daily basis and they burp fire when they get heartburn. Where do you propose to house these things? They'll burn down our barns in the first week. No, you need to arrange this more rationally. Keep the dragons in caves nearby and keep the riders close by." said the Prince. "I thought of that already brother. In fact, you can help organize the dragon riders into a fighting force." said the High Yarl. "Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut." said Prince Hornborri. "Get on the royal river ship and go find volunteers and bring them back here." said the High Yarl. "I believe that the Chancellor is planning to go south to Nordlandia to get the dragons we need." said the High Yarl. "And volunteers!" he added. Prince Hornborri saluted and left the Great Hall in a hurry.
Prince Hornborri went to the river docks and looked around for the Dragon Boat. "Oh hells! The Chancellor sailed without me!" said the Prince. "Need a ride? Only 100 guilder to any point north or south of here!" said the boatman. "The High King will settle accounts with you! Take me to all the Holds." said the Chancellor. The boatman nodded and allowed the Prince on board. The boatman took his dragon-boat all over the map. The Prince was only able to get 60 volunteers, all of them youths of seventeen or eighteen. "So we'll all have mounts to ride?" asked one of the youth. "Um, just wait. I'll explain all once we return to the Great Hall." said the Prince. The large, several boat party landed back at the city docks after a half-week on the rivers. "You will have a rigorous training regime followed by an actual flight on a dragon. I think you will all get your own dragons." said the Prince to the group as he led them to the Great Hall. "You think? What about those of us that get no dragon?" asked a recruit. "You might have to share dragons." said the Prince. "At least you didn't give us double-talk" said one recruit. "No, that is for the High Yarl to do that. Just listen to me and you'll get through this unscathed." said the Prince with a warning note. The recruits entered the Great Hall, amazed. In the corner sat a beaming High Chancellor with a nest of dragons eggs. "How did you get back so fast?" asked Prince Hornborri. "I was flown back. I have the eggs and we have three full-grown dragons stabled in Fenrir Cave. So I am the head of this project." said the High Chancellor. "Like hells you are! I am!" argued the Prince, who was hot under the collar at the fortunate High Chancellor. "Shut up, both of you!" came the rebuke of the High Yarl. "I found a Vyir that flew with that Order 20 years ago and looked him up through a contact." said the High Yarl. "Jormungandr the Airloft will direct this flying squad." said the High Yarl. The Prince and the Chancellor stormed out of the Hall. Jorm was sitting at the table and got up. "Recruits, come to me. I will teach you everything you need to know about this art." said Jorm. "You will be taking practice flights on our three adult fliers but each of you will get a dragon egg. You will raise each hatchling as your own and that dragon will become a full-grown flyer in ten years. There are 60 of you? We need more eggs then!" said Jorm, glancing to the High Yarl. "We'll have enough" said the High Yarl.
Chapter Two
Ten years passed and the volunteers were ready for action and so were the dragons. Each dragon reflected the personality of it's master so the quickest of the group was out of the cave first while the slowest was out last. Word came that 10,000 Frost Orcs had emerged from a cave to the north, all armed to the teeth and needed to be defeated immediately. The High Yarl led the Great Army of the Vyir but held the sheild wall away from the advancing columns of Frost Orcs. The Battlemage gave the signal. The dragon riders and their dragons appeared on the horizon and swept down and burnt up 90% of the Orc army in 20 minutes. The remaining Orcs fled back into the cave and the Grand Army followed the Orcs back into the cave and slaughtered the survivors without losing a single man. News of the fast victory reached the ears of the Orcish Emperor and he sent a troop of 100,000 Orcs into Vyirlund. The dragon riders swooped down on the Orcs and burnt half the Orcish force when they saw black dragons flying in. The white dragons squawked and tried to flee. "Forward!" said the dragon riders, the leader blew his horn to get the dragons to refocus but it was too late, the dragons had fled the battle and the Grand Army was forced to retreat to a more defensible position. "And that is that!" said the Chancellor, knowing that his scheme had failed. The battle raged on for three days as the Vyir held off the charging Orcs until the Nord Army with the Nord High Yarl marched in and attacked the Orcs from behind. The Orcs were defeated but the Vyir Grand Army lost 3% of their entire force. "Treason!" screamed the Vyir High Yarl at the High Chancellor. "I will find out what happened." said the High Chancellor. As the Vyir and Nord combined armies camped out near the battle field, the High Chancellor seeked out Jorm. "Where is Jorm?" asked the High Chancellor to the dragon riders. "Dead, his mount threw him off during the battle, when it saw the black dragons." said Lofn. "Who led the troop back to safety?" asked the High Chancellor. "I did." said Lofn. "Then you are the new Captain of the dragon riders." said the High Chancellor. "But we aren't flying them if the enemy brings out black dragons." said Prince Hornborri. "Wait. I can train these beasts to not panic at the smell of black dragons. We need a dead black dragon whelp to rub in the noses of the flight." said Lofn. "I'll get one, I saw one go down east of here!" said a rider. He mounted and flew off. "What is going on? Where is Captain Jorm?" asked the High Yarl. "He died in battle but we can condition these dragons to not panic at the smell of black dragons." said Lofn. "Good, I name you Captain. Do not disappoint me or I will disband this unit." said the High Yarl. The rider got the corpse and the riders flew their mounts back to the cave.
The riders spent a week retraining the white dragons to not panic at the smell or sight of black dragons. "Thank the gods for the battle-mages and the battle-priests, or we would have lost our entire Army to the black dragons." said a flyer. "We have to get it right this time, or we go back home in disgrace." said the Captain.
The next month, the Orcish Emperor threw another 10,000 Orcs and 20,000 Kelti warriors at the Vyir. The Frost Orcs used their small numbers to burn barns and Halls all over Vyirlund. The Grand Army met the Orcish combined force head on and the dragon riders swept in on the Kelti force and burnt 90% of their number and sent the rest fleeing as the white dragons ate the fleeing Kelti. The Orc Army kept trying every trick to get the shield wall to break but it held firm. Finally the Orcs withdrew and the Vyir pursued. The slow withdraw became a panicked, disorderly retreat and the Vyir slaughtered the remaining Orcs. Just as victory seemed assured, the black dragon riders came. The white dragons didn't flee this time but instead blew their flames into the black dragons faces. The white dragon riders were able to maneuver under the black dragons and spear them from underneath. The black dragons started to drop from the sky and soon the black dragon riders were defeated. The Grand Army cheered and the white dragon riders flew by in triumph.
The riders were awarded thanedoms and 1 million guilders each for their heroic actions. Just as everyone thought that the war was over, Frost Orc spies had discovered the cave of the dragons and had poisoned their food. The next day, the riders awoke to discover that their dragons, all of them, were dead. The riders bewailed their dead mounts and vowed revenge. They sent word to the Order and they sent in replacement mounts for the group. The group flew to a more secure cave in the north and set up headquarters there. They spent 10 months training the new mounts for the next battle.
The Orcish Emperor ordered the 5,000 Frost Orc rebels to burn halls and barns all over Vyirlund. The Thanes used their best warriors, mounted on White Dire Wolves, to pursue and kill the rebels. The white dragon riders burned large gatherings of Orcs when they could find them and helped bring the campaign to a speedy end. The Orcish Emperor brought in an elite wing of Red dragons and Kelti riders to burn down the Great Hall. The dragon riders met them midair and fought them against overwhelming odds. 200 Red Dragons flew in to fight 60 White dragon-riders. The last White Dragon rider fell dead off his mount and soon his mount fell dead but the Battle-Priests came to the battle and used their light bolts to bring the Red Dragons and their Kelti riders out of the sky.
"It is over my Liege." said a sad Grand Chancellor to the High Yarl. "It is not over. We'll seek more volunteers, get more dragons." said the High Yarl. "We can fight the dragons more effectively with a ground force of battle-priests." said the High Chancellor. "That might be true but who will roast our enemies from above?" asked the High Yarl. "The men are all dead." said the High Chancellor. "Not all, Hervor forgot to wake up on time for the battle and missed the whole thing." said the High Yarl. "Hervor will recruit a new force. This time we will come back with a force stronger than ever. 1,000 dragon riders." said the High Yarl. "Fine, but I doubt anyone will want to volunteer after this." said the Grand Chancellor.
Hervor traveled all over Vyirlund and recruited 2,000 men for the Dragon Flyer Squadron. He also sent for Green Dragon eggs, the Green Dragons were a bit easier to train and grew quicker than the White Dragons. Within 10 years, the Squadron was ready for action and they brought the Vyir Army victory after victory. Hervor earned a new nickname: "the dragon wise". Hervor also used his own funds to raise a stone tower with a bronze plate on it listing all the original dragon-riders at Boddi's Mountain.
The End.
"We need a flying wing to confuse these Orcs quicker!" said Chancellor Haversholm to High Yarl Hrimgrimnir. "Is this another mystical scheme of yours Chancellor?" asked the High Yarl doubtfully. "No! This time it will work!" pleaded the Chancellor. "Is that like the time you tried to invent a device to help my father catch an Ice Bear?" said the High Yarl. "Better than that, and if your Highness will recall, my invention actually worked." said the Chancellor. "Those were the days!" laughed the High Yarl. "I will go to the dragon riders of the "Hand of the Blessed Light" and lease some white dragons from them and get some Vyir volunteers to ride them." said the Chancellor. After a few minutes of silence, the High Yarl sighed. "Fine! Go round up some volunteers from the Holds! I doubt a single Vyir will volunteer his time to ride something that might mistake him for lunch but it's worth a try." said the High Yarl. "Are you daft?" asked Prince Hornbori. "Dragons eat their weight in food on a daily basis and they burp fire when they get heartburn. Where do you propose to house these things? They'll burn down our barns in the first week. No, you need to arrange this more rationally. Keep the dragons in caves nearby and keep the riders close by." said the Prince. "I thought of that already brother. In fact, you can help organize the dragon riders into a fighting force." said the High Yarl. "Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut." said Prince Hornborri. "Get on the royal river ship and go find volunteers and bring them back here." said the High Yarl. "I believe that the Chancellor is planning to go south to Nordlandia to get the dragons we need." said the High Yarl. "And volunteers!" he added. Prince Hornborri saluted and left the Great Hall in a hurry.
Prince Hornborri went to the river docks and looked around for the Dragon Boat. "Oh hells! The Chancellor sailed without me!" said the Prince. "Need a ride? Only 100 guilder to any point north or south of here!" said the boatman. "The High King will settle accounts with you! Take me to all the Holds." said the Chancellor. The boatman nodded and allowed the Prince on board. The boatman took his dragon-boat all over the map. The Prince was only able to get 60 volunteers, all of them youths of seventeen or eighteen. "So we'll all have mounts to ride?" asked one of the youth. "Um, just wait. I'll explain all once we return to the Great Hall." said the Prince. The large, several boat party landed back at the city docks after a half-week on the rivers. "You will have a rigorous training regime followed by an actual flight on a dragon. I think you will all get your own dragons." said the Prince to the group as he led them to the Great Hall. "You think? What about those of us that get no dragon?" asked a recruit. "You might have to share dragons." said the Prince. "At least you didn't give us double-talk" said one recruit. "No, that is for the High Yarl to do that. Just listen to me and you'll get through this unscathed." said the Prince with a warning note. The recruits entered the Great Hall, amazed. In the corner sat a beaming High Chancellor with a nest of dragons eggs. "How did you get back so fast?" asked Prince Hornborri. "I was flown back. I have the eggs and we have three full-grown dragons stabled in Fenrir Cave. So I am the head of this project." said the High Chancellor. "Like hells you are! I am!" argued the Prince, who was hot under the collar at the fortunate High Chancellor. "Shut up, both of you!" came the rebuke of the High Yarl. "I found a Vyir that flew with that Order 20 years ago and looked him up through a contact." said the High Yarl. "Jormungandr the Airloft will direct this flying squad." said the High Yarl. The Prince and the Chancellor stormed out of the Hall. Jorm was sitting at the table and got up. "Recruits, come to me. I will teach you everything you need to know about this art." said Jorm. "You will be taking practice flights on our three adult fliers but each of you will get a dragon egg. You will raise each hatchling as your own and that dragon will become a full-grown flyer in ten years. There are 60 of you? We need more eggs then!" said Jorm, glancing to the High Yarl. "We'll have enough" said the High Yarl.
Chapter Two
Ten years passed and the volunteers were ready for action and so were the dragons. Each dragon reflected the personality of it's master so the quickest of the group was out of the cave first while the slowest was out last. Word came that 10,000 Frost Orcs had emerged from a cave to the north, all armed to the teeth and needed to be defeated immediately. The High Yarl led the Great Army of the Vyir but held the sheild wall away from the advancing columns of Frost Orcs. The Battlemage gave the signal. The dragon riders and their dragons appeared on the horizon and swept down and burnt up 90% of the Orc army in 20 minutes. The remaining Orcs fled back into the cave and the Grand Army followed the Orcs back into the cave and slaughtered the survivors without losing a single man. News of the fast victory reached the ears of the Orcish Emperor and he sent a troop of 100,000 Orcs into Vyirlund. The dragon riders swooped down on the Orcs and burnt half the Orcish force when they saw black dragons flying in. The white dragons squawked and tried to flee. "Forward!" said the dragon riders, the leader blew his horn to get the dragons to refocus but it was too late, the dragons had fled the battle and the Grand Army was forced to retreat to a more defensible position. "And that is that!" said the Chancellor, knowing that his scheme had failed. The battle raged on for three days as the Vyir held off the charging Orcs until the Nord Army with the Nord High Yarl marched in and attacked the Orcs from behind. The Orcs were defeated but the Vyir Grand Army lost 3% of their entire force. "Treason!" screamed the Vyir High Yarl at the High Chancellor. "I will find out what happened." said the High Chancellor. As the Vyir and Nord combined armies camped out near the battle field, the High Chancellor seeked out Jorm. "Where is Jorm?" asked the High Chancellor to the dragon riders. "Dead, his mount threw him off during the battle, when it saw the black dragons." said Lofn. "Who led the troop back to safety?" asked the High Chancellor. "I did." said Lofn. "Then you are the new Captain of the dragon riders." said the High Chancellor. "But we aren't flying them if the enemy brings out black dragons." said Prince Hornborri. "Wait. I can train these beasts to not panic at the smell of black dragons. We need a dead black dragon whelp to rub in the noses of the flight." said Lofn. "I'll get one, I saw one go down east of here!" said a rider. He mounted and flew off. "What is going on? Where is Captain Jorm?" asked the High Yarl. "He died in battle but we can condition these dragons to not panic at the smell of black dragons." said Lofn. "Good, I name you Captain. Do not disappoint me or I will disband this unit." said the High Yarl. The rider got the corpse and the riders flew their mounts back to the cave.
The riders spent a week retraining the white dragons to not panic at the smell or sight of black dragons. "Thank the gods for the battle-mages and the battle-priests, or we would have lost our entire Army to the black dragons." said a flyer. "We have to get it right this time, or we go back home in disgrace." said the Captain.
The next month, the Orcish Emperor threw another 10,000 Orcs and 20,000 Kelti warriors at the Vyir. The Frost Orcs used their small numbers to burn barns and Halls all over Vyirlund. The Grand Army met the Orcish combined force head on and the dragon riders swept in on the Kelti force and burnt 90% of their number and sent the rest fleeing as the white dragons ate the fleeing Kelti. The Orc Army kept trying every trick to get the shield wall to break but it held firm. Finally the Orcs withdrew and the Vyir pursued. The slow withdraw became a panicked, disorderly retreat and the Vyir slaughtered the remaining Orcs. Just as victory seemed assured, the black dragon riders came. The white dragons didn't flee this time but instead blew their flames into the black dragons faces. The white dragon riders were able to maneuver under the black dragons and spear them from underneath. The black dragons started to drop from the sky and soon the black dragon riders were defeated. The Grand Army cheered and the white dragon riders flew by in triumph.
The riders were awarded thanedoms and 1 million guilders each for their heroic actions. Just as everyone thought that the war was over, Frost Orc spies had discovered the cave of the dragons and had poisoned their food. The next day, the riders awoke to discover that their dragons, all of them, were dead. The riders bewailed their dead mounts and vowed revenge. They sent word to the Order and they sent in replacement mounts for the group. The group flew to a more secure cave in the north and set up headquarters there. They spent 10 months training the new mounts for the next battle.
The Orcish Emperor ordered the 5,000 Frost Orc rebels to burn halls and barns all over Vyirlund. The Thanes used their best warriors, mounted on White Dire Wolves, to pursue and kill the rebels. The white dragon riders burned large gatherings of Orcs when they could find them and helped bring the campaign to a speedy end. The Orcish Emperor brought in an elite wing of Red dragons and Kelti riders to burn down the Great Hall. The dragon riders met them midair and fought them against overwhelming odds. 200 Red Dragons flew in to fight 60 White dragon-riders. The last White Dragon rider fell dead off his mount and soon his mount fell dead but the Battle-Priests came to the battle and used their light bolts to bring the Red Dragons and their Kelti riders out of the sky.
"It is over my Liege." said a sad Grand Chancellor to the High Yarl. "It is not over. We'll seek more volunteers, get more dragons." said the High Yarl. "We can fight the dragons more effectively with a ground force of battle-priests." said the High Chancellor. "That might be true but who will roast our enemies from above?" asked the High Yarl. "The men are all dead." said the High Chancellor. "Not all, Hervor forgot to wake up on time for the battle and missed the whole thing." said the High Yarl. "Hervor will recruit a new force. This time we will come back with a force stronger than ever. 1,000 dragon riders." said the High Yarl. "Fine, but I doubt anyone will want to volunteer after this." said the Grand Chancellor.
Hervor traveled all over Vyirlund and recruited 2,000 men for the Dragon Flyer Squadron. He also sent for Green Dragon eggs, the Green Dragons were a bit easier to train and grew quicker than the White Dragons. Within 10 years, the Squadron was ready for action and they brought the Vyir Army victory after victory. Hervor earned a new nickname: "the dragon wise". Hervor also used his own funds to raise a stone tower with a bronze plate on it listing all the original dragon-riders at Boddi's Mountain.
The End.
No comments:
Post a Comment