Dragon's Are The Righful Owners Of The World

                         

 

“This world has seen more than its fair share of uncontrolled hate, fueled by malice and guided by vengeance. And every day, dragons are only getting better at killing each other. If we weren’t worth saving in the past, then why would we be deserving of saving now? There is no prophecy.”

 

                                            

     I have never believed in prophecy. I hate prophecy. The notion that one day a
dragon, born from one of the factions, would unite the entire species and hold sovereign in a new era of peace is a disgrace. Mordrums and Norterites have been at war since The Awakening centuries before I was born. No one knows what separated the factions, but what we do know is we hate each other with a passion only curable by death. The Awakening changed earth forever. For us dragons, it was a rebirth. By 2045, the Earth’s multiple quakes from north to south exposed our petrified eggs within the Earth’s core and ended our millennia of hibernation. The humans called it the apocalypse. They, too, were expecting a savior to appear by the end of times; no one came. The dragons are the only rightful owners of this world.

     It’s been 470 years since The Awakening, and we are all still at war. Dragons
against dragons; dragons against humans. War had only one victor…evolution. The
evolution brought forth a new generation of dragons with the ability to transform our
massive scaly bodies. The Norterites, known as shapeshifters, could transform to appear as humanoids while retaining their fire force ability. This made them harder to detect. My species, the Mordrums, could shrink in size from 20-35 feet in diameter to a mere 7 feet while still retaining our full fire force strength. The ability to decrease in size also increased our short-range movements, allowing for more stealthier attacks. The humans never evolved, proving to be useless beings. Most are determined to fight, but their battles only serve as inconvenient distractions in this war. Many humans chose to aid the Norterites in their efforts to annihilate us, the scum of the earth known as the Hurbs. Others hid to avoid war and being eaten. However, there is a commonality shared amongst many dragons and humans- they want this war to end by any means necessary…not me. I am proud to be a Mordrum dragon. I live to annihilate theNorterites and fill my belly with as many repulsive, futile humans as possible. My name is Maleena, I am the leader of a unit within our faction, the Hawkeye. As a Hawkeye, I lead a special tactical unit with one objective- search and destroy. My purpose has always been great and satisfying, but this is the first time my assignment is not pleasing. Tonight, our sole mission is to locate and extract. We are to find and bring back a Norterite wyrmling that is said to wear the sign of a prophet. We must bring it back alive. I hate prophecy.

      The Hawkeyes operate in the core of a volcano, based on what was known as
Tonga Island. The Island has been a military base for the Mordrums; over the last
century, it has become our place of refuge. Tonight, I must follow orders, gather my unit, and explain the operation.

      “We have been ordered to locate and extract,” I state, appearing from the ashes
while they gather in a small room.

      “Locate and extract! Since when do the Hawks do that?” questioned Valdar.

     “Yeah, Maleena, we’re Hawks. I think you mean search and destroy,”
Rodamer says sarcastically.

      The other 3 Hawks breathe out heavily and flap their wings in agreement.

“We do THAT since tonight. You do it because you’re a Hawk. And if you want to
remain a Hawk, that will be your last question for the remainder of this operation,” I
respond to Valdar.

        Turning my attention to Rodamer, “I mean…locate and extract.” With my nostrils flared so he could see the fire in them, “Hawk, are you clear?” I ask.
“Yes, Maleena,” he answers immediately with his head slightly raised and facing
forward.

        “HAWKS! ARE WE CLEAR?” I shout with my wings fully expanded.

        “YES MALEENA!” they all respond simultaneously.

        “Now that we all understand, you will find what I’m about to say disturbing.
Our grounds reconnaissance team believes they have discovered the location of what the Norterites believe to be the Uni-Dragon. It’s said that the Uni-Dragon was found along the Ivory Coast. If this is true by any measure, then you all know what this could mean. We are to locate a single convoy being moved by Hurbs- of no more than ten. The Mordrums are trying to disguise the convoy as a typical water haul to avoid creating suspicion. But we are told that during the transport, the Uni-Dragon was sighted in the truck. We are to extract the supposed Uni-Dragon and leave no one alive. However, no harm is to come to the target. Any questions?” I ask. Everyone was silent at first, but the emotions of anger were clearly present on all faces.

         “Permission to speak freely?” asked Valdar.

         “Permission denied, Valdar. Let’s get this done and we can be right back to
killing them all,” I quickly respond to Valdar.

         “Anyone else?”      

         “Just an intel question,” Udree stated.

         “Yes?” I respond with slight irritation.

         “Regarding the Hurbs guarding the truck, would it be correct to assume the
Norterites are with the convoy and possibly disguising themselves as humans?”

         “That would be the correct assumption, Udree. We will take the intel as given
but be prepared for anything.”

         “Am I the only one that is a slight bit intrigued about the Uni-Dragon?”
interrupts Dredia. “I have to be honest, I hate the Norterites and I never gave the
prophecy a second thought. But, hearing this now, I… I can’t help but wonder what
this could all mean. That the prophecy could be true, and the war could end and…”
Dredia pauses.

          “And what, Dredia?” I ask her while slowly moving toward her.

          “Peace, Maleena. Everlasting peace,” she says with a sigh of relief.

          “We have been at war with those human imposters and Hurb-loving demons for as far as anyone can remember. We have lost more loved ones to their actions than either of us can count. This world has seen more than its fair share of uncontrolled hate, fueled by malice and guided by vengeance. And every day, dragons are only getting better at killing each other. If we weren’t worth saving in the past, then why would we be deserving of saving now? There is no prophecy Dredia. There is no Uni-Dragon…just a target. And our only peace is when we torch those demons alive,” I press my head against hers for a moment and then walk back.

          “Hawks. Let’s fly!”

          We each spread our wings and take off like missiles being shot into the air. As we approach the destination, I begin to think more and more about Dredia’s words.

          “Everlasting peace,” I’m a warrior. And for a warrior, there is no such thing. There can’t be such a thing…my thoughts are broken by Valdar’s update.

          “We are closing in on the location, Maleena.”

          Beginning to fly lower to land, “Hawks, go stealth,” I command.
We shrink down to size and use smoke signals that are only detectable by other
Mordrums to communicate while in stealth mode.

          “Rodamer, have you spotted the convoy?” I ask, sending several short smoke
signals into the air.

          “Yes, Maleena. Moving east along the mountain range. Ten Hurbs as advised.
They seem to be armed with the standard crossbows,” Rodamer signals.

          “Okay. Valdar and Rodamer, on my mark, swoop down and create a barrier on
both sides, locking them in- ruining their line of sight. Dredia, Udree, and Dolbum,
firebomb their weapons. I’ll light them up after that. Once the threat is neutralized,
Dredia, retrieve the target.”

          It all happened so fast…

         Once we were in position, I gave the signal. A huge fireball launched at the summit, sending large-sized rocks crashing down over the Hurbs. They immediately make a diamond formation near each other and then start to flank outward. I signal to Valdar and Rodamer.

         “The barrier now!”

         Valdar tries to send a flare back to me, but it’s hard for me to make out what he is saying with the rocks crashing into the ground.

         “Maleena, their arrow tips are covered with something, I can’t see them!”

         Valdar tries to have me understand. As the first batch of arrows begins to fly, I signal back to Valdar and Rodamer, “Now, the barrier, disrupt their vision, now!”

         Valdar and Rodamer widen their chest and flare up their nostrils, and a second
before they can release their fire force, arrows pierce their chest, and they explode into bits. My eyes draw wide as I watch their wings fall to the ground. The Norterites
armed the Hurbs with military-issued arrows made to look like standard issues (which couldn’t pierce dragon skin). The tips of the arrows were explosives set to ignite from the gas in our chest seconds before we fireblast. And because our bodies are smaller, the gas in our chests is more concentrated, turning the arrows into bombs. Dredia, Udree, and Dolbum begin firing at the Hurb’s weapons, exploding them one by one. But without the fire barrier, they were able to see us; their diamond formation allowed for their shots to get out. The others on the outside served as sacrificial lambs. It was an excellent plan. Too excellent. Udree and Dolbum blow up one after the other. I couldn’t make out what happened to Dredia. I dropped stealth mode and grew back to my normal size. The Norterites knew we would be stealth for the attack. I flew straight into the sky, then dropped to give myself the proper momentum and speed. The Hurb’s diamond formation worked for the attack we planned, but it made them easy prey for a full-size sky drop and dragon fire force attack. The remaining humans disintegrated within seconds. I landed on the ground, heavy. I was overcome with defeat. The Hawks, 215 successful missions- no casualties, came to a horrible end. All because of some ridiculous prophecy. All this devastation because of THIS target. Well, this mission won’t be in vain. The mission will be completed if only by one Hawk. I walked to the truck swiftly with my wings spread out. I stood on my hind legs and ripped open the truck, and an explosive arrow pierced my chest sending me flying back to the ground. I didn’t blow up because of my size, but the explosive arrow caused me to burn internally.

         As I lay on my back dying (wondering how this could happen), I see a dragon
emerge from the surrounding flames. In the arms of the dragon is a Norterite wrymling with blue scales, unlike any other dragon I have ever seen. Holding the wrymling was Dredia. I close my eyes while shaking my head. Coughing, with blood dripping down my mouth, I speak…

        “So, this is peace?” I ask, slowly.

        “No, Maleena, this is war. A war that must come to an end so we can have peace,” she said as she pressed her head up against mines.

        “I am holding the prophecy in my arms. I am holding the potential of peace. I wish you could live to see it. But you’re better off dying right here in this devastation. In this war,” she stands up, spreading her wings to full size and disappears into the night. I look down at my body, watching it burn from the inside out. My head tilts
back, and my eyes stare into the sky…I hate prophecy.