The wind whispered as it
Whipped their cloaks away
The warmth escaping their bodies
To merge with swirling whirlwinds of Ice.
They turned to the west
Drawing their blades
Sheaths rattling
Empty in the wind.
The tallest spoke
His voice was like gold
Warm and flowing
Over the rocky mountains.
They saddled their horses
That turned from the bare patches of rock
And galloped silently
With sure-footed strides
To the destination of their riders.
Arriving at the crumbling walls
Of the Fortress
They left their horses
And strode into a room
Cold and dark.
They lit a torch
Which shone brightly
In the darkness that enveloped them
And they made their way towards
A pyre that stood alone
In the centre of the room.
Kneeling, they extinguished the torches and reached inside a coffin
Careful not to disturb the sleeping
They extracted a scroll
Yellow with age.
With shaking hands, the tallest broke the wax seal bearing
Coat of arms from long ago
The will of the deceased was strong.
They laid down their weapons
And entered a room
On the far side of the dark place.
Torches shone brightly and illuminated
A sleeping dragon.
Within the belly of the golden beast
Lay the man who belonged
To the throne.
The men retreated to the safety the dark place,
Collecting their swords from its depth.
They crept silently
Around the creature
The light shone and sparkled
Bouncing off the hard gleaming scales.
The tallest man lunged forward then
His accomplice staying
In the shadows.
The man’s sword hit the scales, knocking
Some away but not penetrating
The tough skin.
The dragon opened one eye
Then another
Shifting its weight on the mounds of treasure
On which it lay.
It noticed the two intruders
Circling it
Like eagles.
It reared up
Horns knocking jeweled chandeliers
From the ceiling.
The men retreated
As fiery breath licked
At their chain mail
The dragon charged towards the accomplice,
Who jumped out the window onto
A balcony.
The Dragon continued forwards, rubble crashing down on the stone floor
As he charged though the wall.
He twisted around, inches from the accomplice, to see him with his eye
Of pure amethyst.
The man trembled and fell to his knees.
The dragon spoke
Slowly and deeply
A thousand years of knowledge
Flowing from his mouth.
“Why do you disturb me?”
The man behind ran forwards
Holding the golden dragon by the neck he
Held on tightly
Covered in blood
Stabbing wounds in its head.
The dragon roared and stumbled
Backing away from the accomplice who
Took a jeweled weapon from the
Hard stone floor
Moving quickly and with ease,
He thrust the sword through
The dragons exposed chest.
The dragon stumbled and smoke escaped its nostrils
Before the mighty beast
Fell heavily to the ground
Its violet eyes cold.
The men worked together
Slicing the dragon’s stomach
And the heir climbed out
And claimed the crown.
The kingdom was safe
The enemies retreated
And though the past king lay dead and bloody in the battlefield
There was peace.
The two men rode forwards once again
But this time with a dark burden
For they had not heard the tale
Of dragon spirits following their killers
Till time was at an end. |
