Eye of the Wind –Ch. 1 – 3: The Elixir

  • A chill breeze crossed with the underlying heat boiling out of the pools.  Grey light slowly bloomed in the northeast.  Derk, Jorin, and I crept out onto the flatland, feeling for all the world like the first beings to walk upon the earth.  We were exhilarated, determined, bright, alive, and afraid.

    Like shadows we crept to the top of a low rise in the land, hearing the dragon's cries battering against our ears painfully.  We could see it plainly in the growing light.  I signaled to Derk to keep fifty paces on my left at all times.  We would circle him.  Jorin, I knew, I could no more tell what to do than I could the wind.  But I trusted his keen senses and judgement.

    Standing straight, I fired a shot into the beast's wing.  It swerved in its flight, barely flinching in its graceful, large movements, and unleashed its wrath upon us.  I ran for cover, hiding under the ledge below me until it passed over.

    On top the rise, the creature landed, attempting to destroy Jorin with a breath of lightning.  It never succeeded.  The dreadful power in those sparks broke as Jorin grounded himself as best he could.  Derkeethus and I fired arrows into weaker underbelly, some of which I had poisoned with slaughterfish venom.

    With a great blast of air from its wings, we were knocked off our feet and the dragon rose into the air once more.  We fired relentlessly at it, missing more often than not, until Derk by sheer luck lodged an arrow deep under the overlapping scales.  It shuddered in the air, crashing in a floundering heap.

    "It's down!" I cried.

    Calling a wolf spirit from the Void, I drew my knives and we all charged.  Lighting sprang up from the ground as the power from the dragon spilled over and out of its body.  Undaunted, Derkeethus drew this power into the metal head of one of his pickaxes, and planted the tool squarely in the beast's right eye.

    "Now!  Kill it now Gwaihen!"

    With all the force I could summon, I plunged both knives deep under the soft tissue below the jaw.

    My weapons were almost wrested from my hands as the thing's body shuddered and convulsed.

    At last, the dragon threw up its body against the sky in a last gargling bellow.

    Heat blazed from the corpse as its power began to consume the body.  Knowing I had but moments to spare, I plunged my hand into the dissolving, roasting chest cavity and pulled free the heart.  

    The heart, too, began to burn with an unearthly flame as I bit into it, feeling the power of my foe mingle and merge with my own.  My mouth and throat were sore as if from screaming and my body trembled for a moment--grappling with the concept of its own mortality.

    And it was gone.  Kneeling, I scoured the charred bones for any useful materials, quietly singing a psalm to Yffre.

    Derkeethus, ever watchful for an opportunity to scrounge a few trinkets, pointed towards a hill several leagues off.  "There has to be something on that hill it was circling.  I'm sure whatever it was was worth some coin," he grinned.

    "Then we should go investigate what was so important to this creature," I croaked, still feeling the lingering effects of the burning heart.  Jorin yipped in approval.

    "As long as there aren't more of them..."

Comments

5 Comments
  • Premier Eden
    Premier Eden   ·  September 9, 2013
    Hrm... Is the dragon actually a Wamasu??
  • Bryn
    Bryn   ·  January 20, 2013
    Wait a minute... Lightning dragon?!?! I want to fight a lightning dragon, it sounds amazing!
  • Piper Jo
    Piper Jo   ·  December 6, 2012
    This chapter really shows off your skills--great battle scene.  I also love that he eats the heart. It's totally in keeping with the Green Pact, and at the same time, is such a great way to envision absorption of the dragon's soul.
  • Eviltrain
    Eviltrain   ·  September 5, 2012
    I haven't seen or heard mention of dragon born in this tale so far. Is it really there Bilal?
  • Kynareth
    Kynareth   ·  August 31, 2012
    Biting into that heart adds quite a dimension to her ferocity and being Bosmer and Dragonborn. It really reinforces the whole transference life force. I know you have many ideas for this story, and I cannot wait to see what you decide to weave for us.