Dragon Wars Book 2 Pt. 02

We lost a third of that class on day one thanks to that, mostly humans. It was not a real breath weapon, but it scared the shit out of many of them. Literally and physically for some. The damage was minimal, but some stomach acid and they were being tended to."

The Copper King could not stop laughing at one of his dragons who had puked over an incoming class of Dragon Riders. The Silver Dragon Queen looked over, "I failed to mention it is your champion to who this occurred."

That shut up the Copper Dragon King as he only nodded after that. The others giggled at his sudden change of attitude in this matter. The Silver Dragon Queen looked over, "If he had hit him with a second one, your champion would likely be dead after crashing into the ground and then exploding.

Falius, Corellon's champion, kept it tempered. He only did one to prove he could do it. That is a devastating ability to pit against any black dragon and even a Black dragon Champion that might come. It also is effective against every dragon in the sky."

The Sapphire Dragon King looked over, "I have a pair of Sapphire Dragons females who are alchemists, sisters from the same spawning and they are from my line. It is the type of work behind the lines they would look to do as adults once Half-Dragon breeding is over. We have slots available and this would seem worthwhile for those in the fight. One of them would be well suited to be a mate and assistant in these injectable potions. The other could learn it from her sister later. I will work to set that up unless having healing in the air, being injected by riders into the dragons, is not something you would want going forward?"

The Council agreed on that point, got clarification on the saddle changes and how they would apply, and agreed those were relatively minor efforts to change. It did not take away from the abilities of the Rider or the Dragon. They were divided over this staff. The Copper Dragon King especially, "I want all dragons to know of everything this staff could do. Not just the court. Given the damage it does."

The Gold Dragon King was concerned about the obstacles it created in attack patterns. Things they had not trained Falius about as of yet, but the Gold Dragon King was clueless on attack patterns as he was not a Dragon in the Dragon Riders.

The Silver Dragon Queen looked over, "Attack patterns in a unit can be adjusted. That is not even a valid point of consideration. It is a matter of trust. Either we trust him, or we don't. We don't trust him and he does not give us any additional information on this staff."

The Gold Dragon King sighed, "I want all dragons to know what it can do as well and would demand as much."

She sighed, "Then I will be the one he rides into combat and I will keep his secrets of this Elven staff to myself, and not to the Council as a whole. We have all held secrets, from Champions to our affairs. I am a Queen and the leader of the Dragon Riders. He had been riding the Adamantium Champion on both of his evaluation runs. He is a King and a known champion of our people to us, if he agrees to do it and keep the object's knowledge secret from the Council then Falius could serve as his rider with the same restrictions."

The Adamantium King shook his head, "Bahamut has not given me any guidance on this."

She cut him off, "Ask."

The Adamantium Dragon King reached out, "Should I take on this burden, Bahamut?"

He heard back from Bahamut, "Only if the champion of Corellon still survives and the Silver Dragon Queen has passed. Then follow her lead in this matter. Corellon is worried about dragons trying to horde this relic. It would be sought after and it is a Greater Relic. I know what it does, that should be enough."

The Adamantium Dragon King sighed, "Bahamut said to follow your lead, and only if you fall and I take over the Riders while Falius is still alive. Then follow your action in this matter, in the same manner. He does not want this relic to be known. He knows what it does and does not want it known to the dragon community at large. It is a Greater Relic and someone might want to steal it for their horde. It is a matter of trust and if she falls, I, as a champion of Bahamut, would replace her and follow Bahamut's wishes."

The Silver Dragon Queen continued, "I oversee the Dragon Riders and the decision is mine to make as the eldest member who is a King or Queen of the riders. I know the next King or Queen of the riders will be Adamantium King who agrees with me on this matter. There is not an older King or Queen present who has volunteered to be tested for being a dragon for the Dragon Riders. A few lack inspiration. I have been one for a long time. I did not lead them as Queen until after the Hellfire Dragon destroyed my Life Mate and the elders ahead of me.

Any one of you who wishes to try and be a dragon for the Dragon Riders know, that it is a lifetime commitment that you can only step away from except in death. I added that to the bylaws of the riders for as long as this war rages without a Peace Treaty if you remember. That amendment had been unanimously approved after the losses we suffered from that battle and the numbers would have been greater without the Dragon Riders. You have 2 in the council already who would veto any effort to change it as long as the 2 of us live.

Maybe longer as the Kings receive divine direction from the Gods to address the issues. King of the Sapphires, Day after tomorrow. Bring those 2 to the training ground to meet Falius. We can lock in the form of the one who goes home with him."

---

It had been almost 8 days since the petitions ended up in the Grand Cleric's hands. They were now on King Goldeagle's desk to finalize. King Goldeagle went through the various papers on his desk from the church and remembered seeing this woman's name on another form for starting her own house. He commented, "This is strange."

The Lady of Dreams spoke to him mentally, "You will approve those and the one for Morona. The woman listed you will likely never meet, at least for a long time. She is a Champion. Her marriage fell apart after being selected and it was not a happy one, to begin with. She plans to keep her new name and marry into the Silver Cloud House. You are not to identify her as a Champion. Instead, read the divorce petitions and show your son and heir what compassion is all about. She will be working with Wild Elves and traveling through their lands with a Hunter Squad.

Compromised of Moon, Wood, and 1 Wild Elf druid in the group. A druid not loyal to you, but loyal to her. It is in the petition and the roster from General White Oak. We approve of the 2 new Wood Elf Generals you assigned just so you know. Dividing the area of a fourth between them for now. Her having a Moon Elf name would do damage to the plans. Her having a new Wood Elf House is another matter. Easily explained and justified because of what she did for Morona. Read it all and you will understand."

King Goldealge waved his son over to read the 2 divorce petitions out of one Wood Elf village. Then the name change request for one of them. It was sponsored by House Silver Cloud. The King looked at his son, "The women and the lies revealed about what occurred only help us in the long run. Strengthen Moon Elf and Wood Elf relations in that area. She wants to keep a Wood Elf name and is getting close to where her fertility would be lost. I saw this name on General White Oak's Roster.

Someone he will be using for a Hunter Squad and mentioned in the petitions. A Wood Elf name makes sense dealing with the Wild Elves if she is traveling through their lands. We already discussed the 2 new Wood Elf Generals yesterday as I merged 4 areas into 3 areas to cut down on Wood Elf Generals for now.

Generals Ironwood and Birch. The importance of those lines always having Wood Elf Generals to deal with Wild Elf, Centaur, and Fay cooperation. The squad is new. Searching for and investigating Drow sightings.

With a Wild Elf druid who is not a part of our military. Working for this new Captain. Impressive scores from the Academy are listed. It has a note she did spell research to make Arcane Archers more friendly to the wilderness areas. She is a diehard Wood Elf in those matters. Made her ideal for this command. We have had no Drow sightings thus far. None noted anyway, but it was a good idea to start setting this up now. No telling when that spider bitch will burrow her followers from underground."

---

Queen Westoraxon was angered and fumed as the 6th exploratory tunnel up hit yet another underground river or collapsed and killed the slaves. All in the area of Xantria, though she did not know it. The 7th was on the far end of the map, they had lasted all of 3 seconds on the surface when strafed with Chromatic Dragons breath weapons on them. She had to seal and trap that entire tunnel to the surface and waste valuable resources in the process. Her 8th came up under the ocean and quickly flooded within hours of the failure of the 7th tunnel.

The shaft fail-safes worked to contain most of the flooding but she lost over 10,000 Drow from that effort. As it led straight to one of the Drow cities. Raxtorrinax glared at her mother, "You are approaching this all wrong! We should be expanding outward, at this level first. Setting pits and traps across the way in case we find water or Magma. We know that location is water. We know that location is Chromatic Dragons which we blew apart and trapped the hell out of it. Which was the wrong move! We should have tunneled here.

The source of the Magma event from weeks ago. Send in 2 expendable miners to breach it after we sealed the breach section coming to us. Send the magma to the surface to seal it and kill the fucking Dragons. Now we have to unseal those. Dig it again, and do it the way I told you the first time. To seal those breaches and give a big fucking volcano to the fucking Chromatic Dragons!"

Westoraxon glared at her daughter, "You might be, 'the favored of Loth,' but I am still the Queen."

Loth had enough of the failures, "Kill your mother. She has failed in reaching the surface. Institute your plans. Open the tunnel, seal the spur to us and send the magma to the Chromatic Dragons. They captured some of our Drow slaves. Some they just ate. Others are being held for Null's experiments or breeding. Hard to tell as they have lost faith in me and I cannot follow them. A wider tunnel at the base and narrow at the top so it explodes on them when it is breached. I want that first to those fucking Chromatic Dragons.

Use your plan. Spread the base web. Build it in layers. Not to where it is coming all back to our fucking cities. It will take years this way. The previous champion failed in that and we lost over 186 million Drow when the oceans poured into the breach on the surface. Have them monitor for explosions from dwarven miners."

Raxtorrinax looked like she was going to storm off but instead turned and launched a 'slay living' spell on her mother which Loth ensured she failed to survive. She picked up the crown and jewelry and looked at the others, "I rule now by the direction of Loth. She is sick of failures. Back to that location. Narrow until this point, and then wider. Dig out the traps, the rubble, and take it to just below the surface or we hear digging. Then seal this narrow section well.

Use multiple stone-shaped walls to block it from coming back at us. Two miners will penetrate the magma vent with human explosives. With it wide at the base and narrow at the top, it will pick up speed and explode upward and fry the dragons and those coming toward us. Keep an ear open for digging and for explosions. Mark the maps when you hear them. Track the numbers. It will lead us to the dwarves eventually. Tend to this exposed path first.

I want 4 other lines started as I instructed. Dig out trenches. Build bridges if we don't have natural boundaries we will create them! Then we will build this web right. We have years, but that tunnel makes us vulnerable to the Chromatic Dragons. Get started on it now with every available slave we have!"

The room jumped into action, and for the second time in centuries, Loth has made a new champion Queen to see to her actions. They knew better than to question what they just saw.

---

Falius had been essentially told he did not need to return the next day. He dropped off his paperwork at the Palace and still went to the training ground the next morning. The Silver Dragon Queen spotted him and stuck her hand on his shoulder, "You were not needed here today."

He thought back, "The rest are catching up today, I know. They are still a part of my class. I came to support them personally. I gave my advice to them yesterday. I want this to be a large graduating class as it were. I stopped and dropped off my paperwork first."

She thought to him, "I will be your dragon going forward. I am a Queen and a hidden Champion to Lendys. He wanted me to take you under my wing when you arrived. I understand why now. I lead the Silver Chargers unit. We will have to get you the heraldry for that."

He thought to her, "The Council?"

She chuckled in her head, "This is beyond the Council. I challenged those older than me to join the riders. If they do, it's for life. They would have a say in keeping the information private at that point, except they do not know I am a champion. There is one other champion and you would fall to him if I fall. Technically a third, I have not talked with him. The second would hold it between you and him. The council was split. I took definitive action as the Silver Dragon Queen and said I would swear to keep information on the staff between us."

Falius thought to her, "I trust you, Champion. The staff is called the staff of Elemental Extension. I can add fire, cold, and electrical damage to any spell that does not carry it. Web spells that burn, force walls that arc electricity. If the staff is getting too full, on charges, then I can release the elemental tempest 3 times per combat.

Each one consumes 5 charges. I used 6 yesterday. I cast a couple of spells and breathed on it last night to take it back to 32. I know how many it has. I get hit by a lot of dragon breath weapons and it could build fast. Same with spells. I can also change the elemental composition of spells, with one charge on each. Fireballs are ice or electric instead. You get the idea. Frozen force walls to make them think I had a variant of an ice wall that would stand in mid-air. A white could try and bust through it and think it would break.

Instead, they slam into the force wall and start to plummet. A red dragon would think nothing of a firewall until he slammed into it. Magic missiles with elemental properties. Dragons, I know magical resistance, but not on Half-Dragons."

The Silver Dragon Queen chuckled in her head, "Anything else with that magical staff?"

Falius thought back, "Not that I have discovered yet. I know if you breathe your breath weapon on it or another dragon uses a breath weapon on me it will gain 3 charges. I do so and it is 1 charge unless I am in dragon form and it is 3 charges. It won't stop damage. The bracers are a failsafe. I can store it if needed in them. I drop it because it is now attuned to those bracers, I could recall it back to my hand. It goes over 50 and it will explode. It's a Greater relic of the Moon Elf people.

It was previously held in the vault of the Palace until delivered to me. Delivered by the champion of Vandria Gilmadrith, who is the only one...other than the Dragons, my wife, and future wife who know I am a Champion and to whom. Send me images of your heraldry."

The Silver Dragon Queen sent the images of a massive Silver grappling a smaller Red Dragon from the back and holding its broken wings and breathing a cone of cold breath weapon onto the Red Dragon's head with the image of a saddle on the Silver Dragon.

He put it on the front and back of his sash. The Queen smiled, "Alright, that is new. We usually leave the front available for a house."

Falius smiled and thought, "Rather the unit get hunted because there is a champion than the house. It could use a redesign to reflect the new saddles and a rider on the saddle. Leave it open to the type of rider, elven, human, or Half-Dragon. As to the house, thoughts of mine on the fears and concerns of Tallion.

Passed on through ancestors to any who might become a Champion. To not make the houses hunted. I had not expected to be made a champion as it was a Blade Singer, not a Dragonblooded Sorcerer going to ride dragons. We don't know much about how our Gods select champions or why."

He changed the design and the Silver Dragon Queen smiled, "Alright, Fair enough on the heraldry. They could also leave the saddle blank. We do that for our meeting hall, but it should reflect the new saddle. As we cannot select which rider will be on us generally, the riders should be able to reflect them if they wish. They generally tell us what action made us a candidate for them. I lost my Life Mate to the Hellfire Wyrm. You missed that battle. As big as it was and with your immunities. You could have changed forms and helped to bring that creature to the ground.

Your abilities aligned with the way Champion Moon Blade died. He was not well suited to fighting that hellish creature. With that staff. It could have been over much faster as every spell you cast could have had a cold effect instead. A new champion to Vandria Gilmadrith gave it to you. You were not chosen until after he fell. That is telling to us. Your multiple dragon lines, 3 out of 5 of them being royal told us the why. Made you well suited to that staff. Likely pulled from the Royal vaults. Nothing on the staff will be passed back.

Information on this second Champion and the fact it likely came from one of the vaults is information I will share with the Council. There is more than one vault in the Capital. That means the King knows who the Champion of Vandria Gilmadrith is, but not of you. That is also telling. As I am hidden from the council here as well. The Gods are sending a lesson of humility to our Royalty. Both of them. Other males of our kind have multiple mates going forward. Something you could not reveal easily without passing it back to the other champion."

Falius smiled and spoke, "I have no idea where to even look for him. He will be known on the field at some point."

He left the heraldry with the rider on the front and had it with her unit on the back. The Silver Dragon Queen smiled at his solution.

She thought to the Amethyst Queen, "He came today, see about those Sapphire Dragon Alchemists. He wanted to be here for the return of those being tested."

He thought to the Silver Dragon Queen, "I could hear you make that request when touching you. Sapphires don't polymorph normally. How do they participate exactly?"

The Silver Dragon Queen smiled and spoke, "They polymorph through a spell cast by another to reflect the form or a ring. For mating purposes, it is safest as a spell. The ring will work as long as it does not get disenchanted, the magic gets dispelled, or is removed. The spell is draconic and cannot be dispelled easily and then only with a draconic version of dispel magic. It could kill the children and the mother. The males are less of a problem with that and use rings more than the females to be able to switch afterward.

We have a spell to lock them into an Elven, human, Half-Elven, or another form if they choose. Mythic magic is far harder to disrupt, but these are draconic and not mythic. We use it on ourselves as well, we can just polymorph at will but lock our forms using that spell for breeding with other species. If it were mythic it would restrict how many we could do."