Commendable
Legacy Name: Commendable

THE BATTLE: PART ii

Jumping off the stone tower, the blue dragon angled his wings and followed his older brother into the sky. Deep down, he knew it was likely their last flight.
But he was going to make it count.

Behind them, in the fortress of stone, the last of their race hid from the approaching army. Two dragons against thousands of humans and their siege engines. This was one time Commendable knew his brother was right; This wasn’t a winnable battle. Not with force.

Glancing over to the red dragon, Commendable then turned his gaze to the grassy hills below. His older brother had been hardened to life, and justly so. He thought the humans would never want peace. Maybe he was right, but Commendable knew that option was the only way to save the last of their kind.
How, he didn’t know. Maybe he’d fail, but at least he’d get to fly with his brother one last time.

They hadn’t ever been super close, but Commendable still had fond memories of Honorable teaching him tricks of how to hunt, to fly, and all the other things a brother helped out with. His parents taught him the basics, and Honorable then helped fill in the rest.
Of course, with the ongoing war, it had changed Honorable quite a bit, and for good reason. Losing a mate to the humans….

Commendable sighed, shaking his head slightly. Both sides had equal blame in the matter, possibly the dragons more so. Perhaps he’d be able to set it right, or perhaps not.

Either way, it was time for war.

As he followed Honorable down, fire burning in his throat, Commendable scanned the army before him. It was the typical setup that had worked so well for decades; infantry guarding the siege engines and protected by magical shields.

The fire from Commendable’s maw simply splattered off the shields, forearm sized arrows whizzing past his head. A hit or two from the hardened projectiles would be the end of him.
Ever the strategist, Honorable angled his fire, sending it at the base of the magical shields and causing it to creep underneath them. Other than starting a few fires, the strategy didn’t appear to work.

Two streams of flames just weren’t enough.Commendable saw an arrow punch a hole in his brother’s wing, the larger dragon letting out a roar of pain. It wouldn’t be long now, more and more arrows beginning to fly-

And then, the young dragon saw a chance.
Perhaps it was a mis-fire or some sort of mechanical failure, but a volley of large flaming arrows lobbed themselves at an abnormal arc. The four siege engines had let loose their gunpowder-enhanced arrows directly at the army they were supposed to be protecting. They missed Commendable by a large margin, but the dragon dove after them, and saw his brother pause with wide eyes.
I’m sorry Brother. But I have to try.

He reached the ground moments before the arrows did, spreading his bulk across a dozen soldiers, wings half-spread.
Commendable felt the impact before the pain, explosions billowing out from the sides of his vision. The pain…wasn’t that bad. It was like other strikes from past battles, but somehow deeper in his body.

Collapsing to the ground, the dragon saw the soldiers standing above him in shock. A mage, violet robes rippling in the wind could only stare. Honorable landed nearby, looking at his fallen brother.
“N-no…..” Was the only thing that he uttered, the larger dragon placing a gentle set of claws on the blue dragon.

A human clad in gold-trimmed armor trotted up on a horse, dismounting to look at the fallen dragon. Taking off his helmet, bright blue eyes looked out from under the messy black hair.
“…Dragon, why?” The human asked, voice holding genuine confusion.
“One of us…had to stop the cycle.” Commendable whispered, wincing as the pain became a full body ache. Sleepiness crept into his limbs as well, but he managed to keep his eyes open a moment longer.
“We just…want peace.”

Sleep seemed to claim him, but Commendable suddenly felt lighter, his perspective darting up to a cloud’s eye view of the entire scene. He saw Honorable hug his body- before the comforting feeling faded.
Commendable watched as the human waved to the army, and the entire force began to move back. He wanted to be closer, to hear what they were saying-
And suddenly he was on the ground, close enough to hear the exchange between Honorable and the human. A few soldiers still remained; those who Commendable had saved.
“So the war is…over? We can have peace?” Honorable asked, looking to the human with sorrowful eyes. The human nodded, and surprisingly bowed his head.
“Yes. I give you my word. No armies will come into these lands. That dragon’s sacrifice is proof enough that you are not the monsters many believe. We shall have peace.” The human paused, then looking to Commendable’s body.
“May I leave a token of my respect? This dragon saved my men…”

Honorable’s eye’s narrowed slightly but he nodded. The man drew an ornate dagger from his belt, laying the weapon next to the fallen dragon.“Dragon, I know not your name; but you saved my men, and showed us a path to peace. For that, I thank you. And, for what it is worth, I am sorry.”

The men Commendable had saved bowed their heads briefly, then retreated with the rest of the army.
“We have both made mistakes.” Honorable rumbled, causing the human to nod.
“True words. It pains me that it took the fall of a noble dragon to show it. But he brought about peace.”
“As…he wanted.” Commendable’s brother sighed, breathing out a concentrated bit of dragonfire to the ground. The magical blue flame ate away at Commendable’s fallen and broken body; a final funeral pyre. The human stayed for a time, then taking his sword and laying it at the feet of Honorable.
“This is all I have to offer, a sign of our peace. These lands will be safe for you.” The human remarked, then bowing his head a final time before retreating with the rest of his army.

With that, Commendable’s view darted back to the clouds, and instead of sleepiness, a strange energy took hold of him. Looking down, he saw his body had gained a spectral outline, almost completely see-through. Time seemed to both slow and speed up; he saw grass grow over the battlefield, his brother visiting the charred area a few times before a tree sprung up in its place.

A strange tension hummed in his mind, and Commendable homed in on it, his view shifting to the edge of a forest. On a border of the dragon lands, a party of humans was creeping towards the castle.
No, that would not do.

Before they left the forest, Commendable tapped each one briefly, and watched them look around in confusion.
Interesting. So he could…influence them? Stop raiders from intruding?The humans abruptly turned around, getting lost in the woods for a time until returning to their own lands, leaving the ethereal dragon slightly bemused.

Again, an odd awareness plucked at Commendable’s mind, and the ethereal dragon now saw a lone archer. This human was sighting in a lost dragon along his bow…

Perhaps this is what my duty is, until I rest forever. The blue dragon mused, tapping the human and spinning a claw. The human’s bowstring snapped, and his arrows fell out of the quiver to the forest floor. After tripping and smacking his head against a tree, the murderous archer retreated.With another gentle tap, Commendable turned the lost dragon, a hatchling, back towards the distant draconic castle.

His curiosity piqued, Commendable focused on the final stronghold, and was able to look through the now lively halls. He saw his brother teaching some young hatchlings about their history, and youngsters bounding this way and that. Torches and tapestries hung where bare stone had once abided.

Time seemed to stretch again, and now Commendable saw a sight that made his entire being hum with happiness.

A trade caravan was bringing goods to a few dragons; gold changing hands and claws peacefully. As the individuals bought and sold goods, another exchange was occurring in the grassy meadow off to the side of the road.

A young dragon hatchling and human frolicked together in the grass, both unaware of the silent guardian that watched over the lands under their feet.

____________________________________________

This story began in Part i on Honorable's Profile! A link can be found on the Friend Section to the right!
____________________________________________