Chapter 4

The smell of incense permeated through the Warlord’s den, as one of his lieutenants entered. Covered in grey scales, the lieutenant announced her presence. “My lord, I have returned,” she said, her entry accompanied by the clicking of her claws ticking against the stony floor. “Me and my men have succeeded. The Draconist couple has been rescued from the clutches of the imperials. They are with us now.”

The Warlord turned his attention away from the fire he had kindled. “Splendid work, Merahn. And I assume our friends are now preparing for their ritual?”

“Yes, my lord. They are being enlightened to our offer as we speak. We expect nothing less than for them to accept the blessing, given their zealousness and daring whilst serving the cause as fragile humans.

A smile appeared on the gold dragon’s snout, as his pointy ears caught hold of the news. “Two new blood brethren brought into the world… Is it not beautiful, Merahn?” he said, his horned head tilted upwards to bask in the delightful news.

“There’s nothing more beautiful, Lothar,” Merahn said. Unwilling to keep her happiness to herself, she joined Lothar at his shrine. They gave each other a brief but pleasant look, before turning their slitted eyes towards the prayer fire.

The flame burned bright as Lothar and Merahn prayed. “Great Divinity, hallowed be your name, we have come to admire your unparalleled wisdom and benevolence!” Lothar yelled. The two dragons took turns saying prayers to venerate their god. Every time one finished speaking their prayer, the fire intensified in its power. When the fire was on the verge of spilling over from the shrine, Merahn finished off with; “Oh, great, merciful Divinity, thank you for granting us victory! May you continue to grant us the strength to retake all of Lokahn in your name!”

Roaring with energy, The flame shot up to the ceiling; Divinity’s way of thanking its followers. The two Draconists raised their heads out of respect. Having accepted the prayers, the fire calmed down to its original state.

With their prayers concluded, Lothar turned his attention back to Merahn. “Tell me, commander… how did your mission go? You know that I always enjoy hearing your tales.”

Merahn smiled. “Yes, Lothar. It is my pleasure,” she said. Usually, it was her who asked that question to Lothar. She enjoyed his company; eight years of struggle without their loved ones had knitted a tight bond between the dragon rebels.

“We flew to their home long before the raid was to take place. A simple task, given how close they had settled to our base. The couple were very happy to see us, in all our scaled wonder. They agreed that it was a fine time for them to leave their human forms behind when we told them of the raid that was to occur. Once they had been escorted to safety, we prepared an ambush,” Merahn said.

“And what came thereafter?”

“Then, we waited for the unsuspecting imperial scum to show up, expecting an easy catch…” A sadistic smile appeared on Merahn’s snout. “...And once they did… My men and I enjoyed slaughtering them, like the vermin they are!” Merahn’s sinister voice turned into laughter. “You should have seen their faces, as I ripped a throat out in front of them!”

Lothar stared at the walls of his den as Merahn cackled. Unease stung him in the chest. “Do not surrender yourself to bloodlust, Merahn”

Merahn’s laughing stopped. “My lord, what do you mean?” she grumbled, whipping her tail, “Do you honestly believe we should show mercy to those imperial monsters?”

Lothar took a deep breath, and exhaled. “Not the imperials, of course. Their fate has been sealed from the moment they set foot in our home. And I would never shed a tear for those who murder Draconists in cold blood, and enslave the innocent.”

He paused to take another deep breath. “No, this is about us, and that which we hold dear to our hearts. The people of Lokahn have revered dragonkind for centuries. You know why that is, do you not?”

“Yes, dragons have aided mankind for as long as either can remember.”

“Indeed. And it was they who watched over Lokahn, coming to the kingdom’s aid in its darkest hours. They are wise and benevolent creatures, not mindless beasts. Thus, to give in to bloodlust is to abandon that which makes you a dragon.” Merahn sighed. Lothar always teached his underlings by using their knowledge against them. Effective, yet condescending.

“And, there is another thing that you must understand.” Lothar briefly paused to ponder. “That being what our friends and families will think of us. Remember that we are human in soul still, even though our bodies received the blessing of dragonhood. You still love your family, do you not?”

“Of course I still love them!” Merahn’s voice rang, “I accepted the blessing in part because of them! I want my family and I to thrive again, not live in fear!”

“Good, you still love them, as you should… but would they feel that way about you, were they to see you now? If you were reunited at this time, you would see the family you have missed for so long, shaking in fear at the grey monster before them, with gnashing teeth and eyes glinting ravenously, that tears people to shreds without hesitation. Brutality will only make us accomplish that which they failed to do in eight years. Remember that,” Lothar said.

“Yes, my lord. I suppose there’s truth in that,” Merahn said, before letting out a sigh.

“Why do you sound so unconvinced, Merahn? Is there something you want off your chest?”

Merahn took a gasp of air through bared teeth. “It might be true, Lothar, but it’s not right. Those vermin killed so many innocent believers, entirely for the ‘crime’ of having faith in Divinity! We’ve had to hide out in the wilderness for eight years to protect ourselves and our loved ones! Eight years since I last saw my beautiful family, my beautiful son…”

Tears shed from Merahn’s purple eyes. Her tail once again lashed out, as she couldn’t hold in her bottled-up rage any longer. “Those imperial monsters deserve all the horrors we can give, even if it scares the common folk!” she said.

A soft rumble escaped Lothar’s throat. “Your anger is understandable. But imagine for a moment… imagine never getting to hold your beloved baby boy again, Merahn… you will see what I mean....” he said with a weak voice.

Merahn cleared her throat with a grunt. “I believe the couple’s preparations are finished by now. They must be waiting for us in the ancient temple. Let’s get to that, shall we?” Lothar nodded in agreement. He never liked having to argue, and would far rather busy himself with anything else.

Merahn and Lothar wandered out the den side by side, into the rocky tunnels that connected the base. Here, deep in the Origin Mountains, the group of rebels they led had carved out a large complex around an ancient Draconist temple, the one believed to be the oldest in the world. This was their home, far away from civilization, and far away from prying eyes.

* * *

Having traversed through the tunnels, Lothar and Merahn entered the ancient temple. The gathered rebel dragons raised their heads in respect upon their leaders’ entry. A path lay exposed between the dragons, leading to a large altar in the middle of the marble temple. The Draconist couple, standing on the platform, held their hands over their hearts, as the clicks of Lothar and Merahn’s claws on the beautiful floor grew louder with every step.

“Greetings, fellow Draconists,” said Lothar, staring down upon the couple.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Lothar,” the man said, shaking in awe at the magnificent beast. Lothar was big for a dragon, let alone compared to a human.

“The honor is mine. You have sacrificed so much for Draconism, entirely from the good of your heart. My brothers and sisters and I are proud to have you here.”

Merahn interrupted, eyes blazing, “Tell us, what is your decision? Will you join blood with us, and be canonised as some the greatest creatures to ever live, the children of Divinity itself? Or will you mistakenly choose to say no to such a blessing?”

“Yes, we have chosen to accept your great offer. How could we say no? Dragons are the living incarnation of holiness, why would we not strive to be one of them?” the woman said, overjoyed.

“Why would we not? We have admired, loved and worshipped Divinity for years, why would we turn our backs on it now?” her husband replied after her, with equal enthusiasm.

Merahn grinned. “I knew you would make the right choice.” Several dragons in the audience growled with joy.

“It always raises my spirit, seeing such devotion to divinity. You will not regret your decision, much as all others who have made it,” Lothar said. More dragons gave cheering growls. The couple gave each other a warm hug.

As they embraced, Lothar called out to the head priest sitting in the audience to prepare the ritual. “Now then, the time has come. Walk up the steps, once you are prepared to accept your destiny. Do not be afraid; The flames will only cause momentary pain. Pain that is nothing compared to the joy your transformation will bring,” he said. The couple nodded in response.

The priest, a black-scaled dragon, murmured a spell. His eyes glowed blue, as he stretched his claw out to the rune laid out on the altar. As the spell was cast, a presence manifested; familiar and warm, yet distant for far too long. Suddenly, the priest raised his voice. In a flash, the presence manifested itself on the rune as a bright inferno. The couple stared into the fire. The flames were easy on their eyes, as if they were being invited to step in.

“Now, enter the fire. Embrace your destiny,” said the priest, as he left the altar. Everyone deserved to experience the Blessing for themselves.

The couple held each other’s hand as they stepped into the fire, and kneeled. Soon, the flames had enveloped them, and their skin tingled with an odd yet pleasant singe. But it vanished in a flash, as the flames cracked open the skin, and pierced the organs. Both screamed, as their blood boiled and flesh cooked - a feeling akin to being dragged over a bed of knives.

Shrouded by fire, their bodies changed and grew at a rapid pace. Blue scales grew over their skin. Their feet stretched out and became digitigrade. Sharp claws replaced their hands, the two smallest fingers merging into one. Large webbed wings now grew out of their shoulder blades, which they reflexively stretched.

The manes of hair on their heads fell out in large clumps, as the scale growth marched upwards. Their human ears gave way for pointed ones, and magnificent horns grew out at the crown of their heads. Their screams became growlsas their faces elongated, their human teeth falling out of their jaws and clattering on the floor . The final physical change were their eyes, which became slitted.

Then, their minds too, became affected by the transformation. New instincts arose within, alongside their human ones. The pain had subsided by this point; the transformation was complete. Into the fire had gone two humans, and out walked two blue scaled dragons, twice as big. Small breaths escaped their jaws.

“How does it feel, my brother?” asked Lothar, not wanting to delay hearing the couple’s reaction.

“This...t-this..!” The male struggled to find the right words. “This is beyond anything I have ever dreamed of…! The sensation is amazing!”

“And, my sister, how about you?” Lothar asked his wife, who responded with giddy sounds.

“Thank you…” she eventually replied. “...thank you!!”

Before Lothar knew what hit him, a sudden force caused him to fall over backwards. He laid on his back, with the female dragon on top of him, nuzzling and whispering her gratitude into his ear, again and again. He smiled. This was one of, if not the greatest reaction he had seen to the blessing.

“Now, now. That is enough,” said Lothar, nudging against the female dragon’s chest with the back of his claw.

The blue dragoness rose off of Lothar. “My apologies, lord. I just-”

“No apology is needed. Such behaviour is only natural upon receiving the blessing.”

The couple gazed straight at each other’s misty eyes. Unable to resist, they wrapped their forelegs around each other, embracing and crooning with each other, rivers of joy streaming down their snouts.

Lothar turned his attention back to his followers.. “My brothers and sisters… is it not beautiful, to see humans accept the glory of our beloved gods?” His voice boomed throughout the temple, evoking a great amount of cheers from his audience.

“Today, we stand tall in defiance of our enemies! For not only have we saved two more of our kin from their deaths, we sent their five would-be murderers into the abyss! No longer will we sit idly by, letting our families, our brothers, and our sisters be persecuted by foreign infidels! They shall learn to fear the might of the dragon!”

By now, the entire audience of dragons was in open celebration: All across the temple did dragons cheer, applaud, and roar with excitement. It was a demonstration of Lothar’s ability to inspire his followers and win over their hearts; a talent he had since rising up the ladder in the old kingdom’s . It is how he acquired his following, and how he became the leader of all Draconists in these dire times.

Merahn continued in Lothar’s stead. “Now, my fellow dragons, we celebrate our new brethren! and let the Imperial scum know true terror, as they hear our cries!” She then unleashed a savage roar, powerful enough to make one’s skeleton attempt to break out their skin in terror. The rest of the dragons in the temple soon followed, with Lothar and the couple last to join in.

After half a minute, the roars faded out. “Now then, my brothers and sisters. We all have our duties laid out ahead of us. Let us get back to them!”

“Yes, lord!”

The ancient temple cleared out, a few dragons loitering about. “I suppose I will get back to training our brothers and sisters, then,” Merahn said, still standing at the bottom of the steps.

Lothar grunted. “Hmm, why don’t you instead teach our new brethren a little about their new forms? I’m certain they would highly appreciate it.”

Merahn smiled in response. “It is always a great pleasure to assist new blood.” she said, before wandering off to prepare.

“Now then...” Lothar turned his head back to the couple, who were still embracing each other. “Is there anything more you wish to share?” he said, loud enough to catch their attention. The male raised his head to meet Lothar’s eyes.

“We cannot thank you enough, Lord Lothar…” he said, gently rubbing his mate’s body with the back of his talons.

“I appreciate your gratitude. Now then, it is time for you to familiarize yourselves with your new home. Chalroth,” shouted Lothar at a forest-colored dragon still loitering around the temple. The creature jumped up in surprise upon hearing its name called out. It panicked as it dashed towards the altar.

“y-Yes, lord Lothar!”

“Do not be so hurried, youngling,” Lothar said. The green dragon, who only reached up to a human’s size on all fours, making him small for a dragon, took a step back.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, lord…”

“I am not upset, youngling. I merely wish to correct your greenhorn wrongs.”

Chalroth gave a slight nod, before raising a paw to feel his curved horns. “Now then, Chalroth. Would you kindly show your new blood brethren to their den?”

“Yes! I will!” The little green dragon hopped towards the couple with a beaming smile on his snout. “Follow me, please!”

Lothar watched as the green dragon and the couple left his sight. He smiled with his teeth bared. No longer would he and his kin have to hide from the world. The day has come at last.

The Silence of the Dragons is over.