Chapter 29

As the clouds gathered overhead, and reality set in, Victor broke into tears. He wrapped his forelegs around Eric's body, crying and wailing and pleading for him to wake up, for any sign of life. Guilt clawed at his heart, and tore up his soul as he felt William lay a hand on his neck.

“Vic…”

Victor couldn’t bear to look William in the eye. How could he, after what he had done? After he robbed him of a friend? All thanks to him, his friend was gone forever. A soft lamenting sound left his throat, as he continued to hold his friend’s body ever so tight in his claws. His stumbled paw and scratched scales still ached, their pain well deserved after what he had done. No one should forgive him, the monster. The beast, who had savaged his best friend, all to sate a primal, insatiable bloodlust.

A soft drizzle took the surrounding woods in their grasp. The little droplets washed over Victor’s body, the low hum of their descent a reprieve from the distant sound of war. It was a small comfort, which meant so much in this grand pit of despair Victor had fallen in. His grief relaxed a little, giving him strength and the courage to open his eyes.

William was at his side, crying and stroking the back of his neck. Every shaky breath he took was heartbreaking to hear. As Victor let go off Eric’s body and turned to him, William wrapped both arms around the dragon’s pale chest, and let out all his sorrows. Victor too, couldn’t hold it back anymore. He took the human in his forelegs, and laid his snout over his shoulder as he held him against his chest.

“W-will… I’m sorry…”

“No, d-don’t be… it’s all my fault, not yours…”

The red dragon pulled his head back, blue eyes staring at his friend with sorrowful confusion. “But… why? I bit him on the neck, I ended his life, not-” He shuddered, and couldn’t go on. Everytime he relived what he’d done, his blood boiled with fierce loathing. A hatred of himself. Part of him hoped that William would take Eric’s sword and plunge it into his neck.

“I… I shot him, in the chest… I could’ve aimed for the leg, he would’ve had a chance to live, and… and you would never have had to…-” William buried his head into Victor’s chest, sobbing. The red dragon stroked his living friend on the back with the back of his talons. The friend he thought lost, until now. Does William… feel guilty? But why? I did it, not him… he shouldn’t be, he doesn’t deserve to feel this way…

They continued to hug and gently stroke one another, until the sound of wings beating overhead reached Victor’s pointy ears. He looked up to see Raghes land in the clearing, his familiar smell surging into Victor’s nostrils right after.

“My friends, what has happened?”

Raghes eyed the two distraught souls with curiosity. Their shiny cheeks and shaky breathing revealed enough of the tale for him to empathetically rub Victor’s hide with his talons. The blue dragon then raised his snout to smell the blood-drenched air. Soon after, his gaze fell upon the body, soaked in the red-stained grass. “That uniform, isn’t this the enemy commander?” he said belated, after having stared at the body for a few seconds.

“That’s my friend… I killed him…” Victor’s jaws hung open, as another wail forced its way out.

“No, I killed him...” said William, staring at Raghes with guilt-ridden eyes.

Raghes’ mouth opened a little. “Your friend? The enemy commander is your friend? Please, tell me more. This is important.”

Victor and William gave Raghes a basic explanation as to who Eric was, and what he meant to both of them: Their friendship, the trials and tribulations they experienced, how they ended up on separate paths, and finally their tragic confrontation. All those pleasant memories of them exploring the woods near Riverside, their service in the Ravens Hill Civil Defense now served to make Victor’s heart melt with grief. He was gone. He was really gone, never to come back. And as it set in further and further, to live and breathe became an ever greater challenge.

“Oh, wow… I… did not know this. Victor, William, I’m so sorry for your loss,” said Raghes, tail curled around his legs.

“It’s my fault…” said Victor, shaking his head, “Why did I listen to him? He could’ve lived, we could’ve brought him to Novekk… but instead I listened to his pleas, and I…”

“Listen carefully, both of you,” Raghes said. William had raised a hand, which the dark blue dragon gently pushed down, as he paced around his two students. “Both of you seem so eager to bring this loss under your own wings. But the truth is, it does not matter. Neither of you ought to pull out your scales, when all you’re guilty of is defending yourself.”

“But how? He’s dead, and I-”

“No, Victor. You’ve said it yourself. When you stood victorious over him, and offered him your aid, he instead demanded you to take his life. You could’ve begged for hours, it would not have made a difference. Your friend had accepted the imperial lies as the truth, and would never have surrendered. Believe me, this is not your fault.”

Victor lowered his head, and squeezed his eyes shut. As much as he wished otherwise, Raghes was right. But it was not propaganda Eric had fallen for. He had simply kept his promise to take up arms against the cult of Draconism. Tears resumed flowing from Victor’s eyes, as the sun broke forth from the grey skies. The red dragon raised his head, and stared longing at the sun-glazed clouds high above.

Eric… why? Why couldn’t you believe us? Why did it have to end this way?!

With Eric’s body firm in his claws, Raghes spread his wings to their fullest. “Come, both of you. We should get back to the others. Your father wishes to see you, Victor.”

The red dragon sighed, and spread his wings.

* * *

On the short flight to the outskirts of Westedge, the two saw firsthand how intense the battle had been. Siege weapons lay in soot-covered pieces, on a ground bespeckled with red smears. The foul stench of blood hung about high above the pass; a reminder of the many men who had given their lives, all for a stretch of rock. Victor shielded his eyes with a claw not long after first taking the sight in, out of fear it would never leave him otherwise.

They descended towards the road springing forth from the city gates, where Lothar awaited them. The garrison had already surrendered; disarmed troops now either loitered around in the fields, or worked on the gruesome task of burying the fallen, all under the supervision of a few dragons. Merahn was among those dragons, watching over her prisoners like a hawk upon its prey. Victor gulped. Oh gods, those poor people…

“OW!”

A jolt of pain shot up Victor’s stumbled paw as it connected with the dirt. He let go of Eric’s body and stumbled on his other three legs, bumping into Raghes in a desperate attempt to not fall over. Alas, with William on his back, it became a Revalian task, and together they tumbled sidewards towards the ground.

Raghes grunted. “Oh, this isn’t good, he’ll-”

“Son, son!! Are you alright?!” Lothar called out to them from the gates. Within seconds, the gold dragon stood at their side, lowering his head and laying a claw on Victor’s back. “My angel, what has happened? What are these scratches?”

Victor scrambled to his feet, while holding up his strained foreleg. “They’re uhh, nothing, father. I fell into a tree by-.”

“You fell?! Raghes, what is the meaning of this?” Lothar roared. Across the field, the garrison’s troops fled from the road, eyes wide with terror. The blue dragon dropped onto his belly, wings sticking to his back and tail curled behind him.

“Nonono, father, it’s my own mistake. I jumped down myself,” yelled Victor at the top of his lungs, lest all those who had witnessed his father's outburst would end up unable to sleep for a month.

Lothar sighed “Forgive me, son. I find it challenging to remain calm, after such a stressful battle.” He gently tapped the nape of Victor’s neck in a rhythm. “And, I assume what came of your claw is also…?”

Victor nodded. “Yes, I stumbled on it by accident. Uhh, I don’t know how it happened, it eh, was just a little mistake, hehe,” he said, then bit at his cheeks. He’s going to kill someone if he finds out, I swear.

“Hmmm…” A grunt rolled out of Lothar’s throat. “And who, if I may ask, is this man who has lost his life?” The dragon rolled Eric’s body onto the back. His friend’s still remained at peace, his eyes and mouth closed.

“I...no, it’s...!” Victor gritted his teeth, and froze. He instinctively draped a wing over William, who leaned against his side out of fear. Lothar eyed them both with concern.

“My Lord? If.. you don’t mind, I can explain it for you,” muttered Raghes over the whistle of his breaths.

Lothar turned around, and nodded. “Hmmm, go ahead, Raghes. But before you do, I would like to apologise for my misguided anger.

“It is okay, my lord,” Raghes said.

Raghes explained in detail what Victor and William had told him earlier: Eric’s history with both of them, his role as commander of the reinforcing army. and how they ended up in a fight to the death. By the end, when Raghes explained how scarred it had left the two, Lothar let a soft sob escape his jaws. A tear slid out of his amber eyes, as he glanced towards his son. It was as if he felt what Victor had gone through, and felt the same pain.

“Son…” Lothar laid a claw on Victor’s shoulder, “Is this the truth?”

“Yes, yes it is, father…” Victor sniffed.

Lothar closed his eyes, and sank to his belly, pressing his nose against Victor’s. “I am so, so sorry…”

“F-father…”

Misty-eyed, Lothar gently nudged his son onto the ground, and dried his tears with a talon, his own tears given no heed. He then grasped William with a claw, and comforted him with soft strokes on the cheeks. The gold dragon then gently placed William at Raghes’ side, and gave them both the warmest smile he could muster.

“Son… you feel it, do you not? The pain of losing someone dear to your heart…”

“Yes…” Victor gritted his teeth, and took in a deep breath. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this! Eric didn’t deserve to die, he never did anything wrong… and I still…” Tears fell from his snout, and sizzled away between the tiny grains of dirt.

Lothar nodded. “My child… I feel it too. I have known it for eight years. Eight, long years of solitude, away from my darling, Elizabeth… and my two little angels. My two beautiful, beautiful angels. I never got to see you grow into adulthood, nor did I get to see my daughter beyond her infancy… I had dreamt for years of spending my twilight years with my darling, exploring the wonder that is our beloved homeland. And then, it was all gone. I had to answer Divinity’s call, Lokahn’s very future depended on it… and now, I will never see my darling or littlest angel ever again. They are gone, like snow at the break of spring.”

Victor gulped his saliva, as an unsettling sensation bubbled under his scales. He could hear his father’s suffering dwell in his deep voice. Lothar appeared on the verge of tears. All this time, he hadn’t forgotten about his family. A family which lay forever broken, at the hands of people he thought were friends.

With a sniff, Lothar continued. “In the end, we have no choice but to press on, and leave their souls to rest. And I have no doubts that you can press on, my son… you are strong. You are so very strong, my child. I have never seen such fortitude, such stubborn willpower in the face of tragedy. Even after losing so much… after believing you had lost everything dear to you, you still press on. I’m proud of you, son.”

“T-thank you…” Victor said. The corners of his mouth forced themselves upwards. “But, what has become of Eric? And mother?”

“Have no fear, my child. Divinity is kind, and I have faith that it has brought their souls to a pleasant place, where they can rest for all eternity. It might be hard to believe, but… your friend is still with us. Look to the skies, and you may just see him amongst the stars, smiling down upon you. Your mother is up there too, smiling. She loves you and me dearly, son. Always has, and always will. Be strong, and make her proud. She would love nothing more than to see you stand triumphant, as the master of your own destiny.”

A flare of heat coursed through Victor’s bloodstream. His mouth curled up into a full smile, and he pushed himself back to all fours, wings spread out and tail swishing back and forth.

“A great destiny awaits us all. Me, you, Raghes, all the others, and yes, you too, my little friend.” he said, as the grand city gates behind were thrown open. Lothar glanced over his shoulder towards the gate. A black dragon stood proud, a beaming smile on his snout.

“Lord Lothar, the preparations are complete!” the dragon announced. It was Novekk, bright and cheerful as ever, even after everything he had seen today.

Lothar craned his great horned head upwards, and addressed the men and women under his command. “Brothers, sisters, it is time for us to greet our liberated countrymen! Onwards!”

Cheers arose around the field, as human and dragon alike flocked towards the city. Raghes asked William if he wanted to help prepare Eric’s burial, to which he had no objections. After watching them leave, Lothar patted his son on the shoulder. “Come, Victor. It has been so long since we last did something fun together.”

A soft purr-like growl rolled out of Victor’s throat. “Oh, I still remember! The national carnival!”

Lothar broke into a hearty laugh. “Haha, fantastic! Do you recall your first taste of Citadel Cider, Victor?”

Victor’s eyes widened. “C-citadel Cider?!” It was good his scales were as red as blood, for his pale cheeks would’ve been as red as the morning sun had he never transformed.

Lothar laughed even harder. “Haha, it is as if you have seen a ghost! Do not worry, I would never be so irresponsible as to let my children drink alcoholic beverages! Now then, let us go. How I have missed the taste of fresh cider...”

* * *

Father and son entered Westedge to a hero’s welcome. All across the main square and the central road, citizens cheered enthusiastically at their liberators. Many in attendance gasped in astonishment at the gold dragon, who wasn’t much shorter than their city’s massive gate. On a large wooden platform, the man Lothar had selected to govern the city thanked the crowd. All across the city, dragons celebrated with humans in the lone way a true blooded Lokahnian could: With barrels upon barrels of cider.

The people of Westedge had kept true to their traditions, even after eight years of imperial rule. They waved Lokahnian flags around, old and homemade, and threw colorful petals from various flowers out of cheap baskets, all to the jovial sound of music from various local musicians, playing old Draconist songs about the wonders of Divinity. They stumbled over their words at times, yet their passionate voices marched on, without a care for such little rains.

A crowd gathered around Victor. Merchants, town guards, mothers with children, and many other groups of people took turns cheering him on.

“Thank you for saving us!”

“Great dragon, Westedge salutes you!”

“I can’t believe it, a dragon, an actual dragon! In the flesh!”

“Divinity be praised! They’ve returned, our pleas have been answered!!”

“Blessed red dragon, can my daughter touch you?”

Victor breathed out in relief, as the petals brushed past his scaly hide, and people touched him on the snout. Even with sharp claws and teeth, people enjoyed his presence. After everything, he wasn’t alone. He still had a father who loved him with all his heart, friends he could trust, and teachers who supported him. As he stared over the celebrating masses, his gaze met with a purple dragoness, who gave him a wink. Victor smiled, and returned the gesture.

Of course, the celebrations weren’t to last. Deep inside, he wished he could turn the clock back. Was it all worth sacrificing a happy life on the farm with his mother and little sister, who were hopefully in a better place now? Was it worth losing his best friend, all by his own hand? He longed to find repentance for their deaths. Whether or not the transformation could be reversed, he didn’t know. Perhaps it was meant to be, forever.

But for now, all was well.