Dragon's World Past Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Six Reunited

Tourajé and Eig’nia dashed out of their master’s fortress and raced back to the village. They hoped that they still had time and that Saulstrance hadn’t found Agcro yet. If he had…no. They couldn’t think about that now. Eig’nia and Tourajé had to keep their minds on the task at hand and that was to gather those three to help them find Saulstrance.

“Tourajé, are you sure this is a good idea?” Asked Eig’nia. “I can understand asking the other two but are you sure about asking him? Especially considering how many times he and Saulstrance have—“

“I know he and Saulstrance have had their differences but right now we need all the help we can get. Saulstrance will just have to deal with it.” Tourajé said, sounding serious and determined.

Back on top of the mountain, the scarred dragon studied the two younger dragons. He asked them again what they were doing all the way up here but they didn’t answer. Saulstrance gulped, his gaze fixated on the dragon he was certain was Agcro.

“Are you Agcro?” Saulstrance asked.

“Perhaps…perhaps not. Why do you wish to know?” The dragon retorted with both a cryptic response and a question of his own.

Shashala watched without saying anything. He wondered if this dragon who stood before them really was Agcro the Carver. If he truly was Agcro, then it wasn’t a good idea for him to be there. He started to back away slightly. Saulstrance noticed this. Shashala may have been his rival and at times annoying but Saulstrance didn’t want to get him anymore involved or even worse.

“I apologize. You hatchlings must not have heard me. I asked you why you wished to know who I was.” The dragon said in a condescending tone.

Neither of them answered. Saulstrance turned his attention from the mysterious dragon back to Shashala.

“Shashala, listen. I’m going to charge him. When I do, you take off and try to get as far away from here as you can, ok?” Saulstrance said, explaining his plan to his rival.

The other dragon couldn’t believe what he was just told. He knew that if this dragon was truly Agcro, then he had to get away as soon as possible but he didn’t need Saulstrance to tell him that. At that moment, pride got the better of Shashala. He shrugged off Saulstrance’s plan, a decision he knew in the back of his mind was stupid of him to make and told him that he’d stay and fight with him.

“Don’t be stupid, Shashala! We both know you won’t be able to beat him!” Saulstrance exclaimed.

“And you think you’ll be able to beat him by yourself?? Don’t try to be the hero Saulstrance. What makes you think you’ll stand a better chance on your own than if we fought together?” Asked Shashala, all the while mentally kicking himself and yelling at himself to just leave.

As Shashala and Saulstrance bickered back and forth at each other, the scarred dragon stood there and watched. With their guards down, now was the perfect time. It was time for him to kill.

“The two little dragons fight amongst each other. Their guards dropped. Allowing the Carver what will no doubt be an easy kill.” The dragon who had just claimed himself to be Agcro said softly to himself.

He lunged at the two fighting dragons and with his tail, seized Shashala by the throat. The Carver’s tail constricted around Shashala’s neck, cutting off his oxygen. A psychotic look appeared on the Carver’s face as he continued to strangle Shashala, bringing him to his knees as he tried his hardest to gasp for air. The scarred dragon turned to Saulstrance and flashed him a smile that brought a chill to Saulstrance.

“You asked if I was Agcro. Well boy, you would be correct. I am Agcro the Carver.” Introduced the dragon who had just confirmed his identity as Agcro.

It was just as Saulstrance had thought. This dragon was indeed Agcro. Now that he knew this for a fact, he was ready to make Agcro pay but not before getting the truth straight from him.

“If you’ll be so kind as to wait just right there, I’ll soon be finished with your friend. Then I’ll take care of you.” Agcro said as he continued to asphyxiate Shashala.

With the only thing on his mind being that he couldn’t let Shashala die, Saulstrance jumped at Agcro and bit into his tail. Agcro roared in pain as his tail uncoiled from around Shashala’s neck. Shashala dropped to the ground, barely conscious as he tried to get air into his lungs. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing Saulstrance with his mouth still wrapped around Agcro’s tail. Agcro was trying desperately to get Saulstrance off but to no avail.

“Let go you runt!!” Exclaimed Agcro.

But Saulstrance didn’t let go. He continued to hold on until eventually he drew blood from Agcro’s tail. Angered by this, Agcro headbutt Saulstrance which was finally enough to cause Saulstrance to let go.

Saulstrance staggered back, then proceeding to be smacked in the face by the very same tail he had just bitten into. Some of Agcro’s blood ended up on the side of Saulstrance’s muzzle. Regaining his composure, Saulstrance wasted no time in making sure Shashala was okay. He rushed to his side and called Shashala’s name a couple times. Finally, the dragon opened his eyes yet again and looked up at his rival. He couldn’t keep them open for long and passed out. Saulstrance breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Shashala was still alive.

Agcro roared in shock and anger, startling Saulstrance. He quickly swung around to see Agcro holding his tail in one paw as he winced in pain. His eyes bulged, his claws digging into the ground. The longer Agcro starred at his bleeding tail the angrier he became. He turned to Saulstrance, shaking violently as he held his tail in front of Saulstrance.

“Look at what you did! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!!!!” Agcro roared at Saulstrance.

“What’s wrong? You like causing pain but you can’t take it?” Asked Saulstrance tauntingly as he prepared himself for a fight.

Agcro growled. He was absolutely furious. “I’ve changed my mind: I was going to save you for last but after what you just did to me, I’ll kill you first!”

Saulstrance wiped the blood from his muzzle and charged. A fireball shot from his throat, causing Agcro to jump out of the way. Agcro followed up by breathing ice on the ground. The ice spread towards Saulstrance, encasing his paws and trapping him. With this, Agcro raced toward his prey, readying himself for the kill. Saulstrance used his fire to melt the ice surrounding his feet. His attention having been on defrosting his paws, Agcro took this opportunity to grab Saulstrance by the neck with his tail just as he did Shashala. However, instead of choking Saulstrance, he used his tail to throw Saulstrance to the ground. As Saulstrance got back on his feet, he found them once again being incased in ice. Just like before, Saulstrance was ready to evaporate the ice with his fire breath but before he was able to breathe his fire, Agcro grasped his paw over Saulstrance’s muzzle.

“Not this time, little dragon. This time, I’m going to send you to see your parents. Then you can ask them yourself if I killed them. Now then, what did your friend say your name was? Saulstrance?” Said Agcro as he prepared to carve Saulstrance’s name into his stomach.

As Agcro brought his claws closer to Saulstrance’s stomach, he wrapped his tail around Saulstrance’s neck just as he did with Shashala. Saulstrance struggled to get free as he tried to think of something, anything to save himself. He didn’t know what he could do. His legs were frozen and he couldn’t exactly use his fire to free himself and with Agcro’s paw covering his muzzle, he wasn’t exactly able to bite him in order to get free. There was nothing he could do. His only potential hope lay with Shashala who was currently incapacitated. Saulstrance quickly realized that this may be it. At the very least, he’d be able to see his parents.

Just as Saulstrance had given up all hope, something smashed into Agcro, knocking him off his feet and removing Saulstrance from his grasp. Saulstrance fell to the ground and as he looked up at the figure who saved him, he realized who it was.

“Tourajé!!” Saulstrance exclaimed, happier than ever to see his friend.

Using his own fire breath, Tourajé evaporated the ice that bound his friend. Saulstrance smiled and nuzzled the side of his head against Tourajé’s. Saulstrance asked Tourajé what he was doing here but before the older dragon was able to answer, a voice called to them from the sky.

“Hey, don’t forget about us!!” Said a familiar voice.

Three more dragons descended, landing before Saulstrance and Tourajé, one of whom was Eig’nia. The other two were dragons Saulstrance hadn’t seen in a long time yet he was able to recognize them right away.

“Mayza?! Roasch?!” Exclaimed Saulstrance, surprised to see them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Roasch said with a grin.

“Are you okay, Saullie?” Mayza asked, nuzzling against Saulstrance.

“Well, I’m…wait, ‘Saullie’?” Asked Saulstrance, confuddled by the nickname Mayza had given him.

Mayza giggled affectionately. Then she, Roasch, Tourajé, and Eig’nia looked around in an attempt to determine what had happened. When they turned around, they gasped in shock when they saw Shashala laying on the ground not moving. Everyone rushed over to him, calling his name in an attempt to wake him up. Slowly, Shashala’s eyes opened. Just like his rival, he was both surprised and grateful to see them. He smiled and thanked them in a weak voice. Saulstrance smiled back.

“You’ll be okay, Shashala. We’ll protect you. I promise.” Saulstrance said in an assuring voice.

“Ok, are you guys ready? We’ve got to beat this guy and protect Shashala. So let’s do it!” Tourajé exclaimed.

Tourajé, Roasch, and Mayza took to different corners of the sky while Saulstrance and Eig’nia remained on the ground. Agcro looked around at each of the five dragons, finding them amusing. He was looking forward to killing them.

“Four new victims had come to play. They thought they’d be able to beat The Carver but they were mistaken. It was a mistake that would cost them their lives.” Agcro said to himself.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia began by charging at Agcro. Saulstrance attempted to bite Agcro but was unable to as Agcro quickly stepped back which unbeknownst to him, was exactly what Saulstrance wanted him to do. Saulstrance leapt back and swung his tail. It smacked Agcro right in the face, sending him rolling back some feet. Not wanting to allow Agcro to get back on his feet, Eig’nia attacked next. She attempted to tackle Agcro but was stopped as a large block of ice shot out of his throat, hitting Eig’nia and sending her flying back. Before the dragoness could retaliate, Agcro launched himself up and slammed into her, sending her flying towards the edge of the mountain.

Before Agcro could try and finish Eig’nia, Tourajé, Mayza, and Roasch swooped down and tried to attack Agcro. One by one their attacks were blocked. They flew back into the sky, figuring that they would try another method.

Tourajé swooped down from the sky, once again attempting to attack Agcro. Just like before, Agcro blocked the younger dragon’s attack only this time, Agcro followed up with an attack of his own. He clenched his paw into a fist, hitting Tourajé in the snout then finished by slamming his tail over Tourajé’s head.

With Agcro’s attention on Tourajé, Roasch and Mayza used this opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The two dragons tucked their front and back legs in and spiraled downward, striking Agcro in the back. He roared in pain as he staggered forward then turned around and glared at the two dragons, growling loudly.

Eig’nia flew back over to where everyone else was and Tourajé returned to his feet. They all closed in on Agcro, knowing that if they all charged him at once, he wouldn’t be able to block all their attacks. They had him right where they wanted him…or so they thought.

Before they could attempt anything, Agcro breathed ice on the ground. It spread towards the five dragons and covered their paws. They weren’t worried as they were about to melt the ice with their fire, just as Saulstrance had done before. Agcro however knew they would attempt to melt his ice yet again. He ran towards them and smacked them all at once with his tail. He then proceeded to slam his head against Saulstrance’s, sending him crashing next to Shashala. Saulstrance’s paws were still encased in ice.

“Saulstrance!!” Tourajé exclaimed.

As Tourajé swung back around, he found Agcro’s face an inch from his, eyes wide and a wide crazed smile on his muzzle. Before Tourajé could react, Agcro used his ice breath to cover Tourajé’s head. Agcro continued this until his ice completely spread over Tourajé’s body. Eig’nia, Mayza, and Roasch watched this with horrified looks on their faces. Roasch, who was the closest to Tourajé was about to attempt to thaw him when Agcro used his power to cover him in ice as well.

The only ones who were left now were Mayza and Eig’nia. Saulstrance, whose paws were still encased in ice, watched helplessly as Agcro approached his friends. He melted the ice that covered his front paws and slowly tried to stand up. He found this hard to do however with his back paws still frozen over. Struggling to keep his balance, Saulstrance looked back at his paws and then over to the others. He watched as Agcro carefully observed Mayza and Eig’nia. He must have been deciding which one to freeze first. As soon as Agcro’s attention returned to Mayza, the dragoness jerked her head towards Eig’nia and used her own fire breath to free her.

“NO!” Agcro cried in anger.

Thanks to Mayza, Eig’nia was able to get free. She flew over to Saulstrance and melted the last chunks of ice that had trapped his paws. As he stood up, Saulstrance noticed as Agcro finished trapping Mayza in ice. He turned to them, visibly upset that Eig’nia had gotten free.

“One got away…But that’s okay. After all, if you don’t do something soon, your friends’ organs will freeze along with the rest of them and then they’ll truly die.” Agcro explained, smiling at the thought.

Seeing this dragon smile at the thought of his friends dying made Saulstrance angry. He had to free them but how could he do that and keep Agcro preoccupied at the same time? Then it hit him.

“Eig’nia.” Saulstrance whispered. “I’m going to try and distract Agcro. And while I do, you need to free Tourajé and the others. OK?”

Eig’nia nodded in understanding of her friend’s plan. She hoped that this plan of Saulstrance’s would work. Otherwise…no, she couldn’t think about that.

Saulstrance thought of how the best way would be to keep Agcro’s attention long enough so that Eig’nia could save everyone. He figured the best way to do it would be to make him mad. Saulstrance then wondered how he would do it. He contemplated hitting him with something such as a rock. The only problem being…there were no rocks around. He thought of what else he might be able to use and as he looked down, the answer hit him.

With his powerful claws, Saulstrance dug into the ground. After several attempts he was able to unearth the part of the ground he had been digging. Because he needed all four of his legs to be able to move, Saulstrance stored the dug up ground in his mouth. He and Eig’nia looked at each other one last time before setting the plan into motion.

First, Saulstrance charged at Agcro. He swung his tail at Agcro who opened his wings and flew over him. Saulstrance took to the sky as well. As the two dragons battled overhead, Eig’nia slowly and carefully approached her frozen friends.

“Don’t worry guys. I’ll have you out of there in no time.” She said to them.

As Saulstrance and Agcro flew past each other, Agcro noticed Eig’nia about to unfreeze her friends. The murderous dragon flew as fast as his wings could allow. Just as Eig’nia was about to begin melting the ice, Agcro crashed into her, knocking the both of them to the ground. As Agcro stood up, he turned to Eig’nia and said:

“I am not letting you ruin my work!!”

Agcro approached Eig’nia, ready to freeze her along with the others but before he could, Saulstrance crashed into Agcro, just as he had crashed into Eig’nia. This once more knocked Agcro off his feet and sent him flying a couple feet away. While Saulstrance was successful in saving his friend, the part of the ground he was carrying in his mouth had gotten stuck in his throat. He gagged, trying to spit it out. However, it was already too far down his throat. It moved further down, eventually dropping into his stomach. Once it was over, Saulstrance panted as he realized what happened: he had just swallowed the part of the ground he had dug up. A worrisome look appeared on his face. He wasn’t looking forward to when it would eventually come out.

Agcro once more returned to his feet and glared at Saulstrance and Eig’nia. As they prepared themselves for battle, another figure rose to his feet and wearily approached the dragons.

“Shashala!” Exclaimed Saulstrance, surprised to see him back on his feet.

“Saulstrance…you deal with Agcro…while Eig’nia and I set everyone free.” Shashala instructed.

“But Shashala, are you sure? I mean you…”

“You guys have all been fighting as hard as you can. I can’t just lay back and do nothing…So please, let me help you save them.” Shashala said with a truly determined look in his eyes.

Saulstrance could tell Shashala really wanted to do what he could despite what had happened to him earlier. Against his better judgment, he agreed to let Shashala help Eig’nia.

As Shashala and Eig’nia prepared to free their friends, Saulstrance ran towards Agcro. A blast of fire erupted from Saulstrance’s throat. Agcro’s wings unfolded as he flew into the sky, barely missing Saulstrance’s assault. Saulstrance also took to the sky as he fired another fireball at Agcro who dodged that one as well. Agcro retorted with a blast of ice. Saulstrance unleashed a mighty stream of fire, melting the ice in no time at all. He followed up with another fire stream meant for Agcro. Much to Saulstrance’s surprise, Agcro countered this with his own stream of fire. Saulstrance didn’t understand. How was it possible for a dragon to have two powers? He had never heard of such a thing before.

While Saulstrance tried to make sense of what he had just seen, Agcro used this to his advantage. With just a little more strength, his fire overpowered Saulstrance’s. It struck Saulstrance, sending him plummeting through the sky and crashing into the ground. As Saulstrance slowly regained his footing, Agcro dropped from the sky and body slammed into the younger dragon. Saulstrance roared in pain, eyes bulging as he collapsed once more to the ground.  

Agcro walked in front of Saulstrance. He looked down at him with a triumphant smirk. It was over. All that was left for Agcro to do now was carve his victim’s name into his stomach and then…

Saulstrance felt as Agcro’s tail moved under his neck. This caused him to launch himself right up. Without knowing it, something erupted from Saulstrance’s throat, hitting Agcro in his right eye, blinding him. Agcro roared as he fell backward and held a paw over his eye. Saulstrance wasn’t sure what just happened. He looked at the spot where Agcro was standing and noticed the dug up ground he was keeping in his mouth. It was on fire! Saulstrance wondered…could he have done that?

Still holding his paw over his right eye in intense pain, Agcro sat up, looking at Saulstrance angrily.

“That…So then, you’re just like me. You have another power too.” Agcro said, angry at Saulstrance yet curious at this new revelation.

“Another…power. What do you mean?” Asked Saulstrance, not understanding any of what Agcro had just said.

Agcro chuckled, amused. “Of course, it would seem your powers aren’t quite as contradictory to each other as mine are.”

None of what Agcro was saying made any sense to Saulstrance. What did Agcro mean that he had another power? Saulstrance thought that all dragons had only one power, either being able to breathe fire or something else. He had never heard of a dragon who had two powers before.

As Saulstrance and Agcro had been talking, Eig’nia and Shashala finished unfreezing the last of their friends. The sight of this made Agcro furious. Even with his blinded eye, he charged towards the five dragons in a blind rage. Before he could try to do anything though, Saulstrance flew over Agcro and body slammed into him, just as Agcro had done to him. As the two dragons wrestled, Saulstrance had managed to wrap his tail around Agcro’s neck. He strangled Agcro, who was gasping, trying to breathe. Saulstrance didn’t let up though. He kept strangling him, shaking in anger as his eyes widened and his teeth clenched.

The other five stood watching in shock. This was not the Saulstrance they knew. The Saulstrance they knew would never act like this. This was too much. Eig’nia walked up behind Saulstrance.

“Saulstrance!” That’s enough!” Eig’nia demanded.

Everyone else slowly walked up behind Eig’nia.

“Wasn’t the whole reason you came after him because you wanted to know the truth about what happened to your parents? If you kill him, then this was all for nothing!” Eig’nia exclaimed.

Slowly, Saulstrance began to regain his senses. He released his grasp on Agcro as the unconscious dragon fell to the ground. Panting heavily, Saulstrance tried to calm himself as he looked back at everyone. He half-expected everyone to have terrified looks on their faces after seeing him like that but what he saw instead were looks of sadness. Saulstrance sighed sadly and looked away, ashamed that he let them see him like that.

Eig’nia placed a wing on Saulstrance’s back in an attempt to show him empathy and understanding. Tourajé followed, placing his wing over Eig’nia’s. Then Mayza did the same, followed by Roasch and finally even Shashala. Saulstrance looked at them and then closed his eyes. He thought that after what he did, he didn’t deserve to have friends like them.

“I’m sorry…” Said Saulstrance softly.

With Agcro unconscious, they decided it might be best to take him back to Lord Léruc’s before he wakes up. Despite how weak they still were from their fight, it would take all six of them together to transport Agcro to their master’s fortress. As they journeyed back, Saulstrance tried to push what had happened with Agcro out of his mind for the time being and focus on what he sought out Agcro for in the first place: to hear from his own mouth the truth about what happened to his parents. Saulstrance wondered what Agcro would tell him as soon as he woke up.