The Prophesy: Book 3 - The Hammer of Atlantis

 

The week passed quickly for the new addition to the royal family. It was spent training physically, magically, and in weapons. All slept in a tessaract to load with magic. With the help of all the newly graduated mages, the royal family managed to booby trap a quarter of the tunnels around the kingdom; no one bothered with the glaciers as they would be dealt with at the last moment. Paschal finished retrofitting the Spiders for battle, and to start the production of flame-throwers that could be strapped on the back of the dragons or affixed to Thebes' fortifications. The design of fragmentation bombs presented unforeseen problems, mostly due to the inertial impact triggers, but as the week drew to a close, he finally overcame the issue.

"I was dumb, Harp. I tried to detect inertia; what I needed to detect was sudden acceleration! Once I had this figured out it went like a breeze."

"No one is above doing blunders, Paschal. Don't cut hairs in quarters for it. Have you retrofitted the bombs previously built with the new accelerometer?"

"Yes, that was easy. I had left enough space in the tip for a rather large component, but now it's filled with the accelerometer, thermite, and some of the explosives supplied by the care of the Dwarfs."

"What do insects have to do with explosives?"

"No, it is spelled with an h, nut head. Thorsten came up with this chemical that is highly unstable and burns like hell if there is a spark. The accelerometer is immersed in the thermite and will produce a powerful spark as the two components rub against each other, thus triggering the detonator and the explosive charge. We won't need to keep an eye on the falling objects to detonate them at the right time, freeing our magic for other uses. I designed the accelerometer so it could move in all directions freely and yet produce a powerful spark. It takes ten times the gravity well of this planet to trigger the requisite spark so we can safely handle the bombs, as long as we do not drop them from too high."

A lot of debate had gone on during the week, and it finally came to a decision call made by Sitar.

"Dad, the reports indicate several thousands of these dinosaurs. I care not how they came back into being, I just want to make sure we gain and maintain absolute air supremacy. Dunbar and Williams' reports were accurate, they are inactive at night and must find a safe place to land. That has given us some idea as to their trajectory and we need to intercept them while they are concentrated on small islands. If we let them reach the mainland, we will have a much tougher problem because they will disperse and find places to hide and strike from."

"What do you suggest?"

"We attack. During the night, the dragons have an advantage: they see in the dark and fly; during the day, the Pegasuses fly much, much faster and much higher then the pterodactyls or, for that matter, the dragons."

"I see. What about fighting capacity?"

"I think the dragons and the pterodactyls are matched; both have very resistant skins, Pterodactyls have sharper teeth then dragons, but dragons breath fire. I think the wings of the pterodactyls are less flexible then those of the dragons giving them less manoeuvrability, but more resistance."

"Do we have an idea of their weakest points?"

"The eyes, for both species; the wing joints, for both species, the underbelly for the dragon, the neck for the pterodactyls."

"Do our dragons have at least one advantage offensively?"

"Yes, their tail is much like a spiny hammer."

"Ok. What about magic?"

"Pterodactyls have none; bonded dragons have the magic of their bonded."

"What about those dragons that have not bounded, the adults that gave us the egglings?"

"I plan to put a pair of mage dragon riders on them. One for defence, one for offence."

"Do we know if the pterodactyls are immune to magic, like dragons?"

"That is the only unknown dad. Maybe some are, maybe all are, and maybe none is."

"I want a high-flying dragon mage, ready to port a wounded mage or dragon back here instantly, Sitar. We have lost few Atlanteans, but still too many, and I consider the Dragons as Atlantean as any of us!"

"Agreed, dad. I will personally lead the first dragon assault. I want to study their strategy during a night raid. We will take all adults, except the Dragon Queen which is nesting again."

"Get me Typhoon. He will relay the call to battle to his people for me. When do you plan to take off?"

"Given your approval, dad, in an hour. Our Pegasuses reported that the pterodactyls took off an hour ago, and given their daily range there is only one archipelago they can land on. We will meet them there an hour after sunset, giving them the time to settle in and be static targets."

Typhoon walked in, his golden skin shining like armour of the same metal, and his multifaceted ruby eyes giving his grave face a look of determination.

"You called, Sitar?"

"Yes. An hour from now, every able-bodied adult dragon is to take off heading for... Tahiti. All Dragon Riders are called to duty. All adult dragons are also called. Those adult dragons that have not bonded are to carry two mages for their protection."

"Even dad?"

"Yes, even the King of dragons, Typhoon. We will all be involved in this battle, from Ian to myself; even Harold, Thor, Horus, the Pharaoh of Atlantis, will be present. Our numbers are so low compared to the opposing forces I dare not leave resources behind. Dismissed!"

"At your command, God of War!"

Just as Typhoon left to execute his orders, Nestor walked in.

"You requested my presence?" he asked Sitar.

"Yes. Every mage capable of offensive or defensive ward is to report immediately for boarding on dragons, even you, Nestor. We have a major battle ahead. Dismissed!"

Iridia walked in as Nestor was dismissed, and from what she had heard, she figured out why she had been so summarily called to the Royal Throne of Atlantis. Even before she could say a word, Sitar began.

"Iridia, you and the Fairies are to ready for a flight with the Pegasuses. Your objective is to intercept the pterodactyl flight headed to Tahiti on heading one hundred. Inflict as much damage as you can. Their current speed gives us twelve hours to reach and damage their ranks. The Pegasuses will be flying at match two for most of the time, heading two, two, five and the flight will last four hours and a half. Take-off is in half an hour. The dragons will be seven hours behind you. You should cross them on your way back, just as you leave the pterodactyls alone. Dismissed!"

***

Rumours spread in Thebes like wildfire. The sudden requisition of tons of high-yield explosives, the emptying of darts and blowgun reserves, the sudden mobilization of archers and their weapons of choice, the dwarfs walking out in full armour and carrying two axes on their hips, all cried out loud that something was up. If anyone had doubts that a major event was unfolding, this got dispelled half an hour later. Hundreds of Pegasuses in full war armour and carrying even more Fairies were seen taking off from Thebes. Any idea this was a massive exercise went out the window when the Royals and all those who had bonded converted to a dragon and took off along with hundreds of mages. The battle for air supremacy would be engaged today but under what sky was everyone's speculation. Two hours after prime, the roar of the dragons taking off was deafening, but no less then the supersonic boom of the Pegasuses as they pierced the thick cloud cover half an hour earlier: Their departure had been marked by a continuous shaking of the city as wave after wave entered supersonic flight less then a thousand feet above ground. As the Pegasuses, at eight thousand feet, were still climbing to their cruising altitude of one hundred thousand feet, their passage triggered avalanches and collapse of glacier fronts along the kingdom's south and western borders. Thousands of orcs paid the passage with their lives, caught as they were in either glacier tunnels or in the path of falling glacial faces. The passage of the dragons at sixty thousand feet went comparatively unnoticed after the amount of damage the Pegasuses did on the ground previously.

***

Four and a half hours later the first engagement of the battle began. The huge flight of Pterodactyls was still seven and a half hour away from their next nightly halt when the Pegasuses spotted them. The Pegasuses climbed even higher, and after veering to heading zero for a few minutes came down on the thick layers of the flying dinosaurs, the sun in their back. Thus began the biggest air battle of all time, pitting thousands upon thousands of lizards against Pegasuses numbering in the low thousands.

It quickly became apparent that the Pterodactyls could not climb much higher then thirty thousand feet, but could turn on a shorter radius then the Pegasuses. The Pterodactyls were carrying a heavy load of orcs, which slowed their speed and hampered their general mobility.

«Target the pilots,» ordered Black White-Wing.

As the Fairies kept firing darts at the two orcs handling the reins, the orcs pelted the attackers with rocks thrown with slingshots. The Pterodactyls tried to climb higher to gain an advantage but the Pegasuses were more powerful fliers and could easily outrace the reptiles. The tactic was to do fly-bys and pelt the orcs with poisoned darts. As the number of orcs diminished on each attacked Pterodactyl because the surviving ones threw the dead orcs overboard, the lizard gained speed and agility. An occasional one lost both pilots and broke formation, to be immediately assailed by Pegasuses working in tandem. Freed of their load, the pterodactyls returned to their natural instincts and began fishing rather then handle the Pegasuses.

Far below, as if in times old, sharks and sea predators of all sizes converged under the rain of food, in the form of falling orcs. An occasional Pterodactyl, suddenly taken by blood lust, ventured too close to a Megalodon and paid it with his life as well, as the giant fish breached the water to capture one in midflight.

Fairies themselves suffered losses, as an occasional stone caught one or the other in a vulnerable spot, mostly the head. The unfortunate Fairy was immediately ported back to Thebes for placement in a stasis chamber.

Occasionally, an orc fell and hit a lower-flying Pterodactyl, crushing some of his brethrens; and even more rarely, one would hit a pilot or the head of the Pterodactyl that would then lose flight stability and enter a roll, throwing its load of orcs to the sea.

«That behaviour is interesting! Tomorrow, I think we should bring bricks and rocks to drop on their heads," noted Iridia, as she witnessed the result of just such an impact.

«Yes, princess, it is more effective then our darts, which rebound on the reptiles' thick skin, or on the orcs' armour. We have to aim carefully between the head and the breast plate to kill them, an area no bigger then a narrow necklace,» commented one of the Fairy generals.

«How many losses so far?»

«We lost two and a half centurie, princess. The battle has been going on for two hours already. If this continues, our losses will be around seven to ten centuries, the higher estimate due to fatigue.»

«How many dead?»

«If you mean in our ranks, it is none. The port-able Fairies have been effectively protected by their team, and have been able to port those hurt directly to the sorting area in the General Hospital. This luck cannot hold.»

«Have we done a serious dent in the assailants?»

«I am sorry, princess Iridia, but the density of attackers had not been much diminished. We may have killed over fifty thousand orcs, and about a thousand of these dinosaurs, but it barely registers on their numbers. By the end of the day, their numbers will barely have dropped by one hundred fifty thousand, a drop in the bucket.»

«I didn't expect much today anyway, general. We are learning how to deal with them. Hopefully, things will improve as we develop better tactics. I see a cluster of Pterodactyls below. Let's disturb them! Hey, I think I have an idea!»

Using magic, the princess ported a huge Megalodon just above the formation of Pterodactyls and dropped it ahead of the advancing concentration. As it collided with Pterodactyls on its way down, it broke quite a few wings, knocked a few heads, took a bite or two at passing limbs and finally split open on impact as it hit the sea. Five Pterodactyls joined the fish down, along with a thousand or so orcs.

«Conclusive!» exclaimed the princess as she witnessed the consequence of her inspired move. «To all those capable of porting! Port one of those big fishes that seem to have congregated below and drop them from our maximum altitude over the low-flying lizards. Target ahead of their general motion, The greater the number of layers of them there are between you and the sea surface the higher the probability of multiple hits!»

Thus began the first change in tactics of that battle, and the creation of the first fish-bombing campaign ever! The results far exceeded the princess' expectations; the number of downed lizards reached several thousands per hour, and the number of orcs thrown to the sea reached the million for the same period. Unfortunately, orcs were known for their stubbornness. They continued moving on their heading getting ever closer to Tahiti. The only change this brought was the sudden diminution of losses on the part of the Fairies.

***

As the sun came down, Tahiti loomed on the horizon and the Pterodactyls descended to land on the beaches. The Pegasuses retired to rest in Thebes, as the Fairies would reload their weapons and think over the day's outcome. As they flew east, they crossed path with the dragons, still an hour away from the island.

«There are millions of them, my lord. You will not lack of targets. We used fish to down them, but their numbers are considerable. We are flying back to Thebes to rest, and reconsider our tactics given what we learned. We downed twenty-eight thousand Pterodactyls, but it barely touched their numbers. I wonder how we could have missed that concentration of life?»

«They probably have been multiplying for ages, without recourse to magic. This battle has been brewing ever since the Ancients died out,» replied Sitar. «We do not know all in detail, princess; only those events that have major impacts. The origins of the Pterodactyls is less important then the breeding done by orcs.»

«Are you telling me this battle will have no impact?»

«No, I am saying that fighting it now will remove a thorn in our side, It is a battle amongst many, it is not the first, it is not the last, it has its importance now, but apparently, we took the right decision to tackle the opposition now; that way they will not influence the real outcome.»

«Will you be back in the kingdom after the night?»

«No, we will move ahead of them, rest for the day, and continue the battle tomorrow night. We expect you back here tomorrow morning, princess! You have eight hours of rest once you land. Use it well!»

The princess then gave a description of their tactics for the day, hoping it would be useful for the dragons as she continued her flight to Thebes.

***

As the sun descended over Tahiti, the dragons kept circling high up in the stratosphere. Their presence went unseen by the orcs but not by the pterodactyls that were nervous, sniping at their handlers insistently, as they felt vulnerable huddled as they were in the craggy terrain of the volcanic island. The orcs tried to figure out what the problem was, but how can you suspect an enemy's presence when you don't even consider night flying a possibility?

Meanwhile, the dragons noticed a strange phenomenon. As the pterodactyls cooled down, their body temperature matched the background and they vanished from eyesight! The only thing left on the ground were orc concentrations. This suited the prince quite fine. An hour after sunset came the long awaited order, the call for attack!

The dragons, which had been carrying boulders picked up from their last stop over an oceanic island, were suddenly feeling much lighter as each one dropped two hundred tons of rocks on the orc concentration below. The sudden hail had the expected effect: Thousands of orcs, which had been getting ready for sleep, would never wake up. Quite a few Pterodactyls also died, their porous bones designed for flight too weak to sustain the type of impact a fifty-pound rock travelling at one thousand three hundred and eighty-four feet per second after spending forty-three seconds in free fall from an altitude of sixty thousand feet can produce.

The panicked pterodactyls broke their leash and began taking off in a disorderly manner. Pterodactyls kept crushing orcs as they took their run to gain speed. Obstacles also took their toll, from trees to cliff faces. Pandemonium was total on the ground, as the surviving orcs tried to intercept the reptiles only to find their efforts thwarted by terrain, more rocks falling on them and their ride out of the island, gone suddenly wild, ignoring them and forgetting their training. Finally, those that could fly, still numbering several thousands, managed to get out from under the concentrated dragon droppings and gain altitude.

The sudden activity had masked the orcs to the dragons, as the ground below suddenly lighted with infrared activity produced by the pterodactyls trying to take off. The dragons observed the behaviour of the pterodactyls from above, watching them as they circled around the islands, unwilling to land and unsure as to where to go. Pterodactyls, although migratory in nature, were not in their period, and Tahiti was way off their standard migratory path. They felt lost. Suddenly a substantial group turned south and west, and began climbing ever higher.

«Ten to keep an eye on the island, the others with me!» ordered Typhoon.

The princes and kings followed, while the Gold dragon King stayed over Tahiti to monitor what was happening below with the orcs.

The dragons saw a pitiful sight. As the pterodactyls progressed south and west, more and more fell back, too wounded to sustain the speed of the others. Some came too low over the sea and Megalodons breaching the sea, caught them in midflight.

«This is sad, so sad!» whimpered Harp. «Can't we do anything?»

«Try healing one with magic,» replied Harold.

Harp dropped to two hundred feet and sent out a powerful beam of light using Bata that enveloped his target with a green halo. After a few minutes the Pterodactyl began climbing, his wings repaired.

«It worked!» he exclaimed, elated.

The other royals immediately joined Harp and began healing the most wounded. Several hundreds were saved, but the number of hurt Pterodactyls far exceeded the healing capacity of the group. More and more dropped below the security margin to be assaulted by the Megalodons taken by a veritable feeding frenzy. Eventually the reptiles reached a waypoint and dropped to the island to rest. Paschal dropped to three hundred feet, converted into a sparrow, and then, finding a relatively quiet place, dropped to the ground before converting to his human form, thus gaining access to Mitsuko. He created a generic image of the flying reptiles and, taking Mitsuko out, raised it above his head.

«Heal those that need healing!»

A deep green dome that permeated the very fabric of space and time covered the island. For the next three hours, the green light pulsed, going from deep green to light green. Finally, the light faded.

«It's done. Let's go back to Tahiti. We are an hour off.»

***

Figure 11: A Pterodactyl Leaving Tahiti

Meanwhile, the dragons that had stayed to monitor orc activity on Tahiti were baffled by what they observed. The orcs were trying to bring order into those pterodactyls that had stayed, while disposing of the wounded, be they orc or reptile. The flying lizards did not take to being butchered lightly and fought back with all the energy they could muster.

«What a butchery!» said one of the mages flying on the back of the Dragon King.

«I admit it's disturbing. But from what my son prince Typhoon told me about orcs, this behaviour is to be expected,» replied the Gold king.

«The only solution we have is to heal the Pterodactyls and hope they will fly away leaving the orcs behind,» replied another mage, flying on a red dragon.

«We are twenty mages flying with ten dragons, I don't think we can do much.»

«Maybe not, but if we do nothing, I won't be able to sleep for years! Our goal is to save life, as much as we can, and from the behaviour of the Pterodactyls, they are not much interested in assaulting anything other then fish!»

«I agree, my son has explained to me the goal of the Kingdom of Atlantis, and saving as many as we can is part of our mandate.»

«Then so be it, lord King of the Dragons. I suggest we fly low and try to heal as many as we can. Mages! Try to select those that are the least harmed; it may not be easy, but do your best. How many of us know healing spells?»

All reported knowing some basic healing spells and the dragons began flying low overhead, passing repeatedly over the ever more furious Pterodactyls, that kept battling the orcs.

«It doesn't work! We cannot maintain aim long enough to effectively heal a Pterodactyl!»

«Dragon King, can you drop us on the mountaintops then climb up?»

«Certainly, but you will be ten in the midst of millions of orcs!»

«I know. Try to keep the orcs away from the Pterodactyls. Roast them!»

«It will work for a while, but our supply is limited. And this forest is way too wet to catch fire.»

«We will work in pair, one will heal, the other will keep the orcs at bay.»

The dragons dropped very low, flapping their wings furiously in an attempt at stationary flight. The mages repelled from ropes to the ground and dispersed quickly in the thick vegetation cover. The behaviour of the dragons, hidden by cloud cover and the fury of the battle the Orcs were fighting with the Pterodactyls, made so that the manoeuvre went unnoticed. The dragons then climbed over and the Gold dragons began looking for ways to separate the fighters without adding to the misery of the Pterodactyls.

«That beach seems to be a good starting point. There is a concentration of orcs, and the Pterodactyls are holding the forest cover. Let's blaze the beach!» ordered the Dragon king. He dropped to a hundred feet and carpeted the beach with a powerful breath of fire. Behind him, in a classic V formation, other dragons did the same, covering the beach in flames on its entire width as they swung their heads right to left and back.

«Let's move to the next beach!» ordered the Dragon king, as he climbed over the cliff that separated the two sandy spaces.

***

The mages progressed undercover silently, porting from one overhang to the next and getting ever closer to the ongoing battle as best they could judge from the terrible noise. They could see the dragons' breath as they hopped from one high place to another, and guided themselves on it at first.

Half an hour after the drop, he mages spotted the first Pterodactyl, and two mages took position under cover, one to deal with orcs and the other to heal the poor dinosaur. It took ten minutes to bring the pterodactyl to flying condition by fixing he leather that composed its wings and repairing the bones and muscles damaged by the falling rocks. Healed, the lizard cowered and stayed to the ground too shocked to fly.

«Leave it alone. I'm sure not a single orc will be able to get near it and stay alive. It has seen us, and probably recorded our smell, and we all know we do not have the same body odour as the orcs, by a far shot!»

Other pairs of mages progressed forward, ever deeper into the ongoing battle. The number of healed Pterodactyls rose steadily, if at a snail pace. An hour into their salvation work, barely fifteen Pterodactyls had been treated.

***

The dragons had run out of fuel for their primary task, but not before a million orcs paid with their life the dragons' intervention. As still more beaches needed a visit, the dragons decided to recharge their torches by feeding on the orcs that seemed to crawl on them like ants on a giant beached whale. The dragons skimmed the beaches, mouth wide open like blue whales skim plankton, and scooped dozens of orcs too slow to duck under cover. After doing the circumnavigation of the island and collecting for lunch the slowest of the orcs, they climbed up to regroup.

«What next, my lord? We did a number on the orcs while we roasted them, but our feeding barely scratched their ranks!» asked a red dragon.

«How many of you feel like some exercise?»

«What do you have in mind, your Majesty?» asked a green dragon.

«We land and fight them. I doubt they stand a chance against us. Let's not forget we have twenty-four inch long teeth, and a natural mace that rivals the Hammer of Atlantis.»

«Should we stay grouped?» asked another red dragon.

«Why should we? Let's spread on ten beaches and deal with them. Move inland but not too much; sand and rock we know, quagmire and quicksand are more treacherous to us.»

«At your command, like that Atlantean prince, Sitar, seems to say each time our Liege orders something. I like that expression. It bluntly puts responsibility where it sits!»

«You, my friend, have been in contact with our Liege lords too long. You have grown impertinent.»

«Yes. Cousin, I know. But that's what you like in me, and why I'm on your Privy Council, my lord.»

«As if I needed smart-assed dragons!»

The dragons did as their king suggested and descended on the beaches, composed mostly of volcanic ash and black sand. The orcs were definitively more dumb then the Tasmanian devil, as they charged the dragons with everything they had, mostly to no effect. Blades bounced on their rock-hard skin, giving rise to a show of sparks that rivalled a pine tree on fire.

«That tickles so much! Maybe we should keep some for fun!» said a green dragon as a dozen orcs tried to slice his underbelly.

«I know, but remember we do have sensitive points, the eyes mainly, so keep your head high. Sweep your rear and beware of one or more climbing on your back!»

Dragons kept spinning on their axis, using their long tails as orc wipers, throwing some high in the trees, others against rocks and a lot more into the lagoon that encircles Tahiti. Baby Megalodons did not lose the manna and fed voraciously on the raining orcs. Hour after hour, the dragons danced on the beach, making the sand slippery with blood and guts. The exercise also accelerated the replenishment of their natural gas supply, readying them for another burning sweep.

«How many Pterodactyls did you save so far? We saw none fly away,» asked the king from the mage contingent.

«It's been going for four hours and we managed to treat sixty. How about you, my lord?»

«We have cleansed up ten beaches. We are moving to the ones to your left. Expect more pressure from the orcs now, as they see us leave. They have retreated under the cover of the jungle and we have decided not to follow them.»

«That is why we have met none so far. Thanks for the assist. It is matins here. We are still six hours away from dawn and the return of the Fairies and the Pegasuses, my lord.»

Just as the dragons moved on to another set of beaches, the expeditionary forces that had followed the retreating Pterodactyls to they last waypoint returned.

«So, what's going on around here?» asked Sitar as he noticed the dragons were on the ground and the Mages were nowhere to be seen.

«We are orc hunting, God of War,» replied the Dragon King, as he took off for another beach.

«And where are your Mages?»

«Under the forest cover, healing as many Pterodactyls as they can, but it is a slow, painstaking process!»

«Angostini! Ready your team for intervention! Your goal is to go help the twenty mages down there in their task! Paschal! Join them with Mitsuko and speed up the healing! The others! With me! Pick your beaches and deal with the orcs on the ground!» ordered Sitar.

The sudden arrival of the two hundred or so dragons and four hundred mages changed the dynamics of the battle considerably. The orcs, unaware of how things had been going on the other beaches, charged head first toward the dragons as soon as they touched down. Dragons replied by massive stumping, and a ballet that would have made the Kirov³⁴³⁴ ("The Kirov ballet is based in St-Petersburg, Russia.") troop jealous with its wild, natural and powerful elegance.

The rate of rescues exploded and over the next three and a half hour, with the help of the additional mages and a judicious use of Mitsuko's blanket treatment of heavy cases, the number of Pterodactyls rescued reached several thousands.

If most interventions by the mages went without a glitch, some were confronted with concentrations of orcs that charged the mages the moment they spotted them. One such group assaulted Angostini's two-man team, and while his companion healed the Pterodactyl, repairing a broken wing, Angostini held the orcs at bay with repeated offensive spells, collapsing trees on the advancing troublemakers, setting others on fire, and porting the most obstinate off into the high atmosphere over the ocean.

"Are we done?" he asked as he watched the ever-increasing concentration of orcs trying to progress toward them and dispensing with a wand movement a stream of fire to the closest one.

"Yes, let's move on the other side of the Pterodactyl so I can check it."

The mages moved under the giant lizard's wing, and progressed to his torso, so the healer could fix some ribs. Apparently the landing had been catastrophic, and a tree branch had perforated the right lung.

«Holy shit! Paschal! You are needed at our location!» Angostini thundered over the telepathic waves, as he assessed the situation while sending another bolt of lightning to ward off a nosy orc, instantly converting it in a smoking pile of ash.

Paschal popped beside Angostini and immediately noticed the precarious situation.

"Angostini, keep the orcs away! You! Port the branch out to sea! I'll heal the wound as quickly as I can by using Mitsuko. On my count! Three! Two! One! Port!"

As Angostini fired several bolts of energy toward a group of orcs, his colleague displaced the branch, which opened the wound and covered them in blood from head to foot. Mitsuko's healing beam flashed a blinding green and the blood flow slowed then stopped as the arteries and veins were healed; then the bones were reset, and the muscles fixed, allowing the use of the wing; finally the scaly skin reformed and apart from looking much cleaner then the rest of the body, nothing revealed the drama that had been the agony of the Pterodactyl.

"It has its bits and saddle in place! Dispose of them on the left side, I'll do the right side," ordered Paschal.

Once the animal was free of any orc impediment to its freedom, the mages ported on its back to get a better view of the strategic situation.

"There are hundreds of orcs around us. I've had enough of these creeps! Fire away!" ordered Paschal as a ruby light left Mitsuko, slicing everything within three hundred feet of their position as Paschal spun on himself.

"Ok guys, get back to work. We still have thirty minutes before the Fairies show up."

***

Dragons were busy on the beaches, as more and more orcs left the cover of the jungle to assault them with all they had. As things began to look rather desperate given the number of orcs never seemed to drop, the dragons took to the sky in order to regroup and torch the beaches. A few barrel rolls managed to dislodge most of the orcs and send them plummeting down toward the sea far below.

As the Dragon king was looking for a target below, he suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his right eye. An orc had managed to hold on to the straps that held the saddles used by the mages he had been carrying. Once the Dragon king had stabilized his flight, wrongly thinking he was free of the pests, the orc had progressed slowly along his neck and rammed his blade in the eye.

With a sudden roar, the dragon king tried to dislodge the orc, to no avail. The orc held to the blade's handle with two hands. The more the dragon king fought back to get rid of the intruding object, the deeper it carved its way in his eye socket. The pain reverberated across all telepathic links, almost blinding everyone.

«Dad!» roared Typhoon as he ported instantly beside the panicked king. Typhoon immediately saw the issue and dissolved the orc into its components. The blade was another question. How could he remove it without causing more damage?

«Dad! Stop spinning! You are making things worse! Paschal, Harp! I need your help!»

The two princes joined Typhoon and immediately saw the sword's handle sticking out of the king's eye socket. The dragon king couldn't maintain a stable flight as the loss of an eye and the damage to the ear's otholiths had gravely compromised his sense of balance. Paschal understood the issue immediately.

«Typhoon, fly under your dad and lift him up! If things continue he will crash! Sitar, we are escorting the king of dragons to the nearest safe island! I cannot do anything until he is immobile!"

«Who is we?» asked Sitar.

«Typhoon as carrier, Harp and myself as escort!»

«Noted! The nearest safe heaven is an island one hundred forty-eight miles off, heading thirty degrees! Stay above two hundred feet ASL³⁵³⁵ ("ASL: Above Sea Level.")!»

The dragons became enraged at the harm done to their king and began systematically torching any concentration of orcs they could find, not that it made much difference for the orcs.

«Cool it and pair up!» ordered Sitar. «I want each of you to watch your wing dragon's back!»

***

Typhoon had lifted his dad and carried him piggyback across the dark seas to the safe island mentioned by Sitar. The flight had lasted twenty horrendous minutes as the king kept trashing around and compromising his son's flight stability. As they neared the island, Harp guided the struggling pair to a long beach along the northern coast.

«Dad, you have to land on your own! I cannot carry you on landing; my flight is already seriously compromised by your drag! We will guide you! Extend your wings to maximum and glide!»

The dragon king, in excruciating pain, nonetheless understood the directives and extended his wings to their maximum extension, thus gaining the maximum lift. Typhoon dove, gaining speed until he felt his dad lift from his back.

«Legs up dad!»

The dragon king obeyed the imperative command, even if his mind was beginning to fog up seriously. Typhoon took a nosedive and veered left to get from under the path of his dad. The wingmen took over guiding the king to the beach landing.

«Veer left! Nose up! Veer right! Nose up! Nose up!» guided Paschal as Harp kept watch for sea-bound predators. Typhoon kept a secure distance from his dad, following his every move slightly above and behind him.

«Two hundred ASL! Gliding at twelve degrees of slope. Down nose, you are near stall speed! One hundred fifty knots!»

Paschal kept the dragon king in the air, gradually making him turn so he faced the dominant wind and gained more relative airspeed while reducing his ground speed.

«One hundred ASL! One twenty knots. Slope at six degrees! Fifty feet ASL! Extend legs! Twenty feet ASL! Pull tail up! Ten feet ASL! Nose up! Curve wings! Extend flaps! Touch down! Keep straight! Slow does it on the brakes! Slow and steady!»

The dragon king slowed down and came to a stop some two hundred feet after landing on the beach. The others landed on a much shorter run, even the very massive Typhoon. As soon as they were on the ground they converted to human form and took at a run for the dragon king, who stood shakily on his four legs.

«Lay on the ground dad! The princes need to have a better view of the eye!»

The King did not need to be told twice, as he slumped heavily on the ground. Paschal and Harp immediately began assessing the situation.

"Before removing the sword, I have to check what it damaged."

"Alright, Paschal. Typhoon, ward off the beach! We really do not need to be taken by surprise should there be any unknown predators around! I'll be busy blocking your dad's pain centres!"

After half an hour, just as the Pegasuses flew over them at six thousand feet, gliding down silently toward Tahiti, Paschal came back to the others with a sombre verdict.

"Typhoon, the blade cut the optic nerve; it perforated the right ear, so your dad not only is deaf, but his equilibrium is compromised. He won't be able to fly any time soon, even if I managed to repair the eye using Mitsuko. The problem is you guys are so tough you have virtually no need for healing, and Mitsuko has to grip at straws to do its work. You die of old age not of wounds. The last dragon that did get wounded was the Black Dragon Thorsten killed, and it had been alive and well for at least six thousand years."

"What are you saying? That dad will die of this?"

"No, but he won't be able to hunt for a living. I think I need to go to Thebes and create an oversized stasis chamber for your dad and, for that matter, other dragons. It should be ready within a few hours. I'm sorry, Typhoon, I had not considered the possibility one of you could even get hurt!"

"What will that accomplish?"

"First, once in a stasis chamber, I can remove the sword safely; second, he will be immersed in an appropriate regenerative fluid for your species, which will help speed the healing; third, he will be kept asleep all the time, being fed and cared by the stasis chamber, thus removing the need for him to feed on others' catch. Finally, the stasis chamber will speed the healing considerably, and rebuild all systems destroyed by the blade."

"Ok. Do what you must, Paschal. But how do we plan to get him back to Thebes? We are immune to magic."

"To standard magic, yes. But we will do something so rarely attempted I cannot be sure it will work. It is called side-along porting,"

"Ok. I'll wait here with dad."

"Harp, stay here as well, to keep the king comfortable. I should be back in two hours!"

***

As Paschal popped away to Thebes and began designing and assembling an emergency stasis chamber for the Dragon king, things escalated on Tahiti and the nearby islands. The arrival of more mages along with the Fairies brought the rescue of the Pterodactyls to full gear. The dragons continued to occupy the beaches but the Pegasuses dropped their load of Fairies in clearings behind orc lines before joining the front line and fight beside the still very infuriated Dragons. Pegasuses would run along the beach and in the surf, as Dwarfs would hang on their side, dicing any orc stupid enough to come within axe range. They understood the Dragons' blood thirst and partook into it fully, considering the Dragon king a friend and his son as one of their own given how close he was to King Thorsten. The fact was made clear for all to see when Thorsten ordered his flag-bearer to raise the red banner. It told of no mercy for the orcs.

The fairies themselves, although their size prevented them from flagging their intentions, took the indication of the Dwarfs for what it meant, and began killing every orc they met, wounded or not. Their diminutive size made the Fairies perfect infiltration agents, as they could literally run under the bushes and catch an orc off guard well before it had an idea the jig was up. More and more orcs, which had taken refuge under foliage from the incessant attacks of the dragons and now the dwarfs and these winged horses, paid his distraction with his life as a dart suddenly found its way on an exposed hand, a neck or even a foot. The virulence of the poison used was such that the Fairies had to make sure they were far enough not to be crushed by the falling body.

As the sun rose above the eastern horizon, the Pterodactyls that had been healed so far took off southward toward their point of origin, leaving behind their tormentors. The only ones left were those caught in the crossfire of the orcs and the Mages.

Angostini realised they had assistance from the Fairies and decided to ask for a more coordinated effort.

«Princess Iridia! Can your Fairies assure protection detail of the Mages while they heal the wounded Pterodactyls? It would double our output!»

«No problem, but who is asking?»

«Angostini, your majesty.»

«Ok, I am dispatching half of the Fairies to assist.»

As the rescue progressed, more and more pterodactyls left the island for their home. Orcs within the jungle noticed the number of their rides was diminishing considerably but the orc leadership had been decimated, leaving the foot soldiers with no real leaders. Sporadic groups formed spontaneously as orcs tried to capture one or the other of the healed Pterodactyls, only to be met by furious resistance from the animal and even more furious intervention from the Fairy elite fighters or, occasionally, a pair of infuriated Dragons.

The battle swayed somewhat when a group of orcs and Pterodactyls, which had landed on Bora-Bora, showed up unexpectedly. They were ready to join the main flight. The Pegasuses flew up to meet the challenge head-on. Unicorns, which had been held in reserve for just such an occasion, ported from Thebes to the beach and began assisting the dragons on the ground, effectively replacing the Dwarfs and Pegasuses. Thorsten, leading his group, took the blunt of the assault as he used his capacity at shape-shifting to completely disorient the orcs; he would drop in their midst after flying as a dragon, use his hammer to clear a passage to the straps holding the orcs carriers on the side of the pterodactyl, and cut them off using his axe. The orcs would rain down on the reef, or, occasionally on the beach. It then was a piece of cake to dispose of the pilots, left alone on the neck of the pterodactyl. A careful aim of the axe and a head or an arm went flying releasing the reins, which were then ported, along with the bits, right over the ocean.

Some twenty-five Dwarfs had bonded with Dragons over the years, and all took to their king's tactics like ducks to water. The result was as expected. Hundreds of orcs learned the taste of iodine, while the freed Pterodactyls fled at speed toward their homeland.

By sext, things began to calm down, as the number of orcs and Pterodactyls still on the island dwindled.

***

Paschal came back three hours later, and talked to Typhoon.

"Sorry it took so long, I had to design and test the stasis chamber. Unfortunately, the number of adult dragons around is limited, as I had only the queen and she is incubating egglings; one of the yearlings accepted to be a guinea pig. It required some adjustments in the composition of the physiological fluid, which is silica-based for your species, rather then carbon-based like ours. Anyway, after a few false starts, he managed to live in it so I think your dad will too. The next issue was size. I installed the stasis chamber in one of Harp's tessaracts, in fact, right beside the area reserved for the dragons' nesting. The power source taps directly into the tessaract's source, and it will ease your people's worries if they can go and check on your dad's progress once he is moved into the stasis chamber."

"Ok, how do you plan to bring dad to Thebes?"

"That is my biggest concern. Harp? You are the theorician of magic here. What do you suggest?"

"I have been studying the magic of your dad for the last three hours. It's severely depleted, Typhoon. It's been trying to fight my magic and my pain blocks ever since I began applying them. I think we can port him without much fuss. It's in no condition to mount an effective block."

"Will he continue to try and block the magic in the stasis chamber?"

"I think so, but he won't be able to win, since it will be in a tessaract, which will be reinforcing the stasis chamber's control over the individual considerably. By the way, Paschal, we will also move the stasis chamber occupied by Francesca in there. It would speed up her healing and we need her functioning and kicking by the end of the month!"

"Ok. Typhoon, I understand you wish to accompany your dad to Thebes, but your warriors need you on the battlefield. Report to Sitar for duty! We will move your dad to the chamber, settle him in and return as quickly as possible to the theatre of operations. Dismissed!"

Typhoon was shocked by Paschal's tone, but understood the validity of the point. He took off to contribute to the battle intent on making the orcs pay for the pain his dad had endured and would endure.

"Ready for porting?" Paschal asked as Harp folded the ward.

"Yes, everything is back to normal. I'll take position on the other side. You do the count."

The two princes counted mentally backward from three and on zero, merged their power to port the ailing Dragon king to a stasis chamber, which was already humming with power as it waited for its life cargo. As soon as the dragon lay immersed in the fluid, Paschal began dissolving the sword that was still stuck in the right eye. Once the process was done, he closed the double lids, and activated the regeneration cycle for the brain tissue of the king.

"Damn, we are lucky this is going to be done in there. The estimated regeneration period is estimated at twenty-five years! Dragons are hard to harm but slow to heal!"

As the pain finally subsided for good in the brain of the king, he managed to send a last thought to Paschal and Harp.

«My son is king! Long lives the king!»

***

As the battle over Tahiti came to a close, the units involved regrouped on the beach. The dead orcs were unceremoniously dumped into the ocean to contribute to the food chain, while the dead Pterodactyls were taken to Bora-Bora's active volcano crater to be disposed of. By vespers, the last traces of the battle had vanished. Some rare animals got ported to the Ark, as well as some rare plants.

"Let's assess the situation before taking any decision," began Harold. "First, let's consider the timeline. How long before the orcs invade the kingdom?"

"Three weeks."

"Ok. How long before the orcs left in New Zealand learn of their defeat?"

"I think the Pterodactyls will move slowly back home, they have nothing rushing them back, except their nest mates. They should take about three days instead of the week it took them to reach this point, given they are flying light," replied Harp.

"Should we let things stand?"

"No, we can and should catch up with the returning Pterodactyls, and be around when they return to the nesting ground. We have not found them when we explored the island, my lord. It would be good we did."

"Why is that so, Dunbar?"

"Because where the nests are the orcs are. We clean up the orcs, and then we can move their nests into a tessaract, saving them as per the Ark Project."

"Does everyone agree with Dunbar?"

No one objected and it was decided to fly by night to stay behind the Pterodactyls that had a six hundred mile lead.

"Everyone rests. The weather is warm, and there seems to be no major predator on the island. However, I want a dragon wing in the air at all times, and a ward around camp. Angostini, you proved yourself today. You have first watch. Thorsten, Typhoon, Harp, Sitar, Paschal come to my fire. Annabelle, you take the watch from an hour before compline to an hour after. Enron you take watch after Annabelle, and wake everybody up at matins for departure an hour later."

The five called for the meeting walked with Harold, as the others dispersed to prepare for diner and the short night.

"Ok, what happened with the Gold Dragon king?"

Each relayed what he knew to Harold, and what had motivated their decisions at the time.

"So he is now in stasis for twenty-five years?" asked Typhoon, for whom this was news.

"Yes. There is more."

"Are you the harbinger of other bad news?"

"You are now king, Typhoon. Your dad has officially abdicated. The Throne of the Dragons is yours."

"What brought this?"

"He knew of the long time he would need to heal, and he decided, just before giving in to the soma unit, to abdicate in your favour. It is recorded. The only issue is dad's acceptance of the resignation, since we did for him under the emergency circumstances."

"I will not undo what you two did. Given what I know, I agree with your dad, Typhoon. Your people need a strong leadership, and you are it. As of now, I confirm my two sons' decision."

"Then so be it. How should we inform our people of the change?"

"It is done, Typhoon. I transmitted my acceptance of your dad's resignation to the Dragon Conscience, which acknowledged its validity. That is all that is required."

"What will happen to mother?"

"She has two more years of incubation to do on the current clutch. Then she can rest. Given how long dragons live, Typhoon, she will be around when your dad comes out of stasis. You, my friend, need to find a nice gold female to bond with, but it's not urgent."

"I need not look far. I have my bonded, Ian. We can alternate being male or female, and it would bind us even more tightly to Atlantis if we shared progeny."

"Well, that's going to lead to some interesting events in the future! I hope the bedroom is sound-proofed!" exclaimed Harp, as the others laughed hard.

The night passed quietly and, as matins came there was a quick lunch and then everyone took off, leaving behind a deserted Tahiti. Paradise birds had been moved massively to the Aviary; tropical fish and vast expenses of corral reefs now found residence in the shallow water of the oceanic tessaract. Numerous plants were ported into the Eden Project tessaract, each island in the archipelago being kept separate by wards to protect their unique ecosystem.