Short Dragon Story

Flames streamed past Solana's face as she threw her back against a large rock. Where was he? She took a deep breath and leaned carefully around the corner of the rock, squinting through the smoke and steam. Two blood red eyes glared angrily at her through the smoke. She spotted her bow laying a few feet away where she had dropped it in her scramble for cover. Her arrows were still strapped onto her back. Solana peered back into the smoke. The eyes were gone. Where had it gone? She scanned the area, even looking over her shoulder just to be sure it wasn't behind her about to swipe her up in its vicious claws. The only other place it could be was in the - A screech finished her thought.

She looked up and saw it turning toward her, beating two colossal wings hard as it sped straight for her. She had never seen such a magnificent yet terrifying sight in her entire life. The dragon was a brilliant red, with horns and spikes all over its scaled body. It's eyes glowed a fierce red and smoke streamed from its nostrils as it prepared to spume more ferocious flames from its terrible maws. The dragon's snout and claws were slick with fresh blood from its meal that had been interrupted by an arrow that bounced off its sturdy neck.

Solana reacted quickly, diving for her dropped bow. Too late, she realized that she didn't have enough time to get behind any rocks to survive the blast of fire already coming from the dragons mouth. She covered her face with her arms, bracing against what she knew would be the end of her.

Suddenly, someone bellowed a war cry and two shadows passed over her closed eyes. Could it be him? She heard a whoosh and felt the heat of the flames, but nothing like she expected. She opened her eyes. The flames seemed to be bouncing off of an invisible bubble that surrounded her. A man in dark blue robes stood in front of her with his hands stretched out in front of him, focusing on creating a force field around Solana, himself, and a man clad in heavy armor with a large round shield and a sharpened double-edged sword in his hands. The mage's brow was furrowed in concentration, pushing the flames around the three of them.

"Theron! Zeke!" Solana cried in relief.

"Sorry it took so long Solana! Healing my arm took longer than we thought," called Theron over his shoulder to her. The dragon had knocked Theron aside when one of Solana's arrows had pierced the membrane of one of it wings, angering it to the point where it didn't care to really go after anyone other than her. Theron had slammed into a jagged rock, snapping his sword arm. Zeke, the mage, had been hiding nearby, preparing a thunderbolt to hurl at the dragon, but stopped to pull Theron to safety and heal his arm, otherwise he would be useless. Solana had been forced to just focus on staying alive until they came to help.

The flames stopped as the dragon flew over their heads. It screeched in anger when it saw that not only were the other two back, but they had kept Solana from burning to a crisp. The dragon landed heavily not too far away, deciding to try a new tactic. Zeke hurled an energy sphere at the dragon, hitting it in the same wing the arrow had pierced. It shrieked in agony. Theron was already sprinting at full speed toward it, so it lashed out at him with its tail. He narrowly dodged it and slashed at the dragons leg, drawing blood. Not a critical hit, but it still caused the dragon pain. A small burst of flames came out of the dragon's mouth as it shrieked angrily and swiped at Theron with its claws again. He buffeted the blow with his shield. Solana quickly notched an arrow and drew back the bow, aiming for the dragon's eye. She let it go and watched it barely miss its target, bouncing off of the dragon's cheek. That got its attention.

Forgetting Theron, who was quickly climbing up onto a ledge of rocks, the dragon turned back to Solana. Once Theron was on the ledge, Solana shot another arrow, this time hitting her mark and piercing one of its eyes. The dragon screamed, thrashing its head against the rocks around it, trying to knock the arrow free. Flames were being released everywhere in the dragon's anger. Theron dropped his shield and leaped onto the back of its neck as it swung by the ledge he was on.

This particular dragon's weak spot was just behind its head where the head and neck met. Zeke had determined that before they had interrupted its meal. Theron raised his sword and plunged it deep into the weak spot. The dragon screamed again, but this time it was cut short. One final burst of flames spewed from its mouth, and it collapsed heavily to the ground, with Theron still clinging tightly to its neck. When the smoke and dust settled, they could see the dragon on the ground, unmoving. Theron climbed over its outstretched neck, panting heavily.

When Theron limped over, the three of them looked at each other and began to laugh and cheer. The dragon that had tormented their city for so long was finally dead! They could finally return home for a well earned rest, for their long, arduous journey had come to an end.