Tears of Steel and Fire

The knight descended from the horse and stroked his companion’s head with love and trust. While doing so, he noticed his hand tremble slightly.

“Looks like I’m a little scared after all,” he murmured to his steed with a nervous smile.

The horse, as if it understood its master’s fear and anxiety, nodded. The knight smiled.

He untied his sword with its sheath from the saddle and swung it over his shoulder. He took the crossbow and placed it over his back and tied the quiver with bolts over his left thigh. There was a small rug sack tied to the back of the saddle, which he took and placed on the floor. It contained the remaining water and bread. He left his horse on a nearby ruin untied (the only clearing in this forest as it was once a watch tower for the Kingdom but abandoned long ago) because he knew the job at hand would not be done in a day, and this would ensure the horse can go and graze the nearby grass that surrounded the ruins in case he came back a day late or never came back at all.

“Be good,” he murmured to the steed. The golden-brown mare bowed at him, knowing her master was leaving her behind, and the knight bowed back. He tightened his boots, gloves, and his vest and carried the rug sack before he marched into the dark forest. The trees were thick, and the surrounding area was dark. The early morning sun could not penetrate the canopy of this forest as it was covered by centuries-old trees that were as tall as a castle tower, swaying ever so slightly to the invisible breeze.

The morning was cold, and he was able to see his breath mist as he panted while jogging through the forest bed. The presumed dragon’s lair was at the heart of the mountain that lies at the center of this immense forest. At the current pace, he would reach the base of the mountain before sunset. Around noon, the floor of the forest lit up by the sun as it was finally able to penetrate through the hundred-feet-tall branches and leaves. Feeling the weight of the day and tiredness from the long journey, he finally halted at a clearing which was dominated by an ancient oak that had crashed down eons ago and slowly been eaten by the flora around it, sinking into the ground.

He removed the sword, crossbow, and the quiver from him and placed them on the floor and sat heavily on the base of the fallen tree. He was wearing a light leather armor with steel only covering his shoulder, arms, and thighs as he knew agility would be the key to his success or demise. He unpacked his sack and took a long sip of the water. He knew there would be a stream nearby and he could fill it up, so he took a generous amount to quench his thirst. And unrolled a leaf that held the honey butter bread and took a bite. The scent of the baked bread washed him over with a memory.

“That’s a lot of bread,” he exclaimed with a smile as he entered the pantry.

She smiled looking up. Her eyes glistened.

“You need food for the long travel,” she whispered. Her voice cracked, knowing that her lover was leaving soon and there was a chance she would never see him again.

He moved close to her and held her hand. “When I come back, we will buy that farm and sheep…” but he couldn’t finish that sentence as she sprang on him and kissed him. The warmth of her embrace and sweetness of her lips froze time and made his heart beat out of his chest. He hugged her tight and held her in place as her legs dangled off the floor, unwilling to let go.

“Theon, son of Vale, you better come back alive or I will be mad at you forever,” she whispered, looking at him sternly with tears clouding her pale blue eyes.

“I promise,” Theon whispered back as tears rolled down his cheek unknowingly.

Theon was reeled back from the memory as the earth under him trembled. He bolted upright with his sword in his hand. He heard a faint rumble far away, which made all the birds flee from their nest as if someone were chasing them. His breathing became heavy as he knew who the rumble belonged to – his nemesis, the dragon – Vyrethra. The last dragon of her kind, who had destroyed three villages of the kingdom. Her activity had been relentless for the last few months. Initially, it started with devouring cattle and sheep on the farmlands, to a full-blown attack on the villages and cities that surrounded the capital.

No one knew why she was this aggressive nor where she came from, but one thing was certain: the dragon had to be slayed if peace was to prevail in the kingdom. Initially, the king sent armies against her, only to be vaporized like ashes. Then multiple parties of warriors and mercenaries went after her – no one returned. Only after losing waves after waves of good soldiers, they decided to hunt her down, not in numbers but through deception. Hence, Theon Vale was selected by the King himself to lure the dragon out of her lair and into the trap that was set just outside Eldoria – the last great city left in the kingdom (which was at the edge of this forest), where two armies from different kingdoms waited for Vyrethra.

Vyrethra was restless. She walked in circles in her lair. She burrowed herself deep into the mountain, which was an abandoned ancient mine. She was anxious about her upcoming ritual – laying her egg. She knew this was crucial. This was the only chance she had to ensure that she was not the last of her kind. Two winters ago, she and her partner landed on a snowy mountain miles away from here in North for mating. However, that following summer, they were ambushed by humans. After a relentless onslaught for many seasons, her partner gave out his last roar and breath, buying her enough time to escape down south as a ballista pierced his heart.

The last thing Vyrethra wanted was any attention from a human, but she had no other choice but to consume meat through cattle and sheep, then later humans as they invaded her to keep up with her demanding energy that was required to safely produce and lay her egg. The last battle left her scared and tired. And she knew she and her unborn child were at danger since she had been hunted once again by humans. The pain started, and she knew it was time. Tonight, would be the night. The pain came in waves, which made her let out a roar that shook the walls of this mountain and the surrounding forest.

A tear dropped from her eyes as the pain engulfed her, and her legs were barely able to hold her anymore as she crashed to the floor with a thunderous thud. The physical pain and the sorrow of being alone and the fear of the thought that it could be the end of her kind if she were to be slain before her child was brought into this world drained her completely. She prayed to her Dragon Gods to protect her and her child and let out another roar, which was filled with anger and pain.

Her lair was dark, cold, and dry. She had been dragging in some old trees, bushes, and created a small nest for her future egg, which was imminent in its arrival. She slowly crawled near the nest and sat on it with her head tucked into her tail and closed her eyes.

Theon saw the sun gently set behind the mountain Dunharth, which was as ancient as this realm. And the dragon’s lair was deep in the heart of this mountain on a mine called Ironvein Hold. There were two paths to approach this mine – one through the foot of the mountain, which was the path all the previous warriors used and was destroyed by the Dragon’s breath since it was big enough for the army to march in but no place to pivot or hide. The second path was a few hundred meters high – a small opening on the side of the mountain that had just enough room for a man to walk upright, as this hole was created to act as ventilation for the Ironvein mines.

Theon knew what must be done. He had to enter the mine through the ventilation hole, get the Dragon’s attention, exit through the main entrance at the foot of the mountain, get back to his ride, and let the dragon chase him down all the way to Eldoria, where large iron arrows are waiting to pierce through the dragon’s hide.

Theon scaled the sides of the mountain with much difficulty as his heavy gear pulled him down. He thanked the heavens that he didn’t have to get out of this mountain through this path, especially with a very angry dragon on his tail. When he finally reached the opening, he was a few hundred meters off the forest floor, and he was able to see the whole forest lying out there like algae on the water. The opening was just tall enough for him to walk straight but not wide enough to run, so he was slowed to a walk and making sure none of the sharp edges of the rocks slashed him.

He was able to hear the breathing of the dragon; the sound reverberated off the walls. And occasionally the Dragon let out a roar which made his blood run cold. The closer he approached, the louder and more frequent it got. It made him wonder why. The ventilation opened into the mine with an old, derelict staircase winding down to the floor. It was dark, but every breath of the dragon made its nose flare up with fire, lighting the whole mine, and it was breathing fast. And the roars made even more flames which lit up the interior like a sun.

The dragon was pacing on all four. Almost crawling as if it was in pain – Theon thought. “Good,” he whispered to himself. “The beast is hurt.” He slowly made his way down as the staircase missed a few steps as age had rotted them away. All the while keeping his eye on the beast. He readied his crossbow as he approached, loading it with one of his iron bolts. Around ten meters off the floor, the steps abruptly stopped, making him jump over to a nearby pillar which supported a roof of a room below. From there, he scouted the surroundings. Part of the mine was flat and raised off the floor. The dragon had made its lair on that flat ground. Some old, crumbling buildings surrounded that, which would be a good hiding spot for him, but he wanted to know where his exit was.

Finally, he spotted it; it was behind the dragon, a large opening that would lead him straight out to the forest. All he now had to do was get this monster’s attention and make a run for it.

The pain was unbearable for Vyrethra. She let out another cry as the egg was almost out. The fire from her breath was getting weaker as she was getting physically frail. She kept crawling to find comfort, but the pain was excruciating. Her roars had become slow moans as the egg almost passed through her when a single iron bolt hit her snout. It was not powerful enough to breach her scales, but it hurt, nevertheless. That’s when she realised that she was not alone, and fear crept into her heart.

She swung her massive tail in the direction of the attacker. But her tail missed the mark and slapped against the old, crumpling buildings, which toppled them like dust. After discharging the crossbow, Theon navigated the dilapidated buildings adjacent to the nest, positioned himself behind the dragon, and took cover behind a wall. He proceeded to load a second bolt, this time directing his aim toward the creature’s belly.

She felt it when the bolt hit her on the belly. The pain seared through her. The warrior hit the spot where she got hurt in the last battle with humans. The wound was still raw, and the cramps her little one caused amplified that pain during this birthing process. However, now this bolt breached through that wound and had entered her, causing a gush of blood to ooze out. She gave out a massive roar out of pain, painting the roof of this mine with fire. The roof was scorched with heat and rained glass-like sand.

Vyrethra blinked but couldn’t clear her vision. The pain was so intense that her vision was blurred. She thought she saw a movement near her, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. She was uncertain about the number of assailants present; however, she became aware of her egg being released, experiencing a brief sense of joy and relief before collapsing to the floor. She knew her time had ended, and a new fear crept into her— fear of losing her child too to this new invasion. So, she used her tail, cupped the egg with it, and pulled it under her as she lay on the floor, her head crashing onto the floor. Making it hard for anyone to see the egg. They would have to move her physically to reveal it.

However, her heat was fading, and without her body heat, she wasn’t sure her little one would survive in the egg. A tear formed in her eyes. She let out one last roar as Theon walked up to her with his sword drawn. For an instant, the knight met the mother's gaze. Her breathing was heavy and slow. Theon saw a drop of tear fall from the dragon’s eye, and that made his heart ache a little for this monster.

“Forgive me, creature. May my sword bring the peace that the world denied,” Theon uttered, and Vyrethra closed her eyes as the sword pierced her.