The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2 novel Chapter 39

Part 8

“They both knew that whoever won, it would make a big difference on whether all the dragons agreed with the treaty or not. So they agreed to fight on the plains of Xervia a month after Kergok accepted the challenge, so everyone could go there and watch. But no one got to watch the whole fight, because it lasted for three years straight! Every week they stopped fighting for half a day so they could hunt and eat and get a drink of water, and maybe take a quick nap, but other than that they fought continuously for one thousand, one hundred and five days. The dragon who was Eldest when they fought made all the spectators go home to hunt, or they’d have eaten everything in central Xervia by the time the fight was over, and that’s why no one got to see the whole thing. But almost all of them watched as much of it as they could, and they stayed about four hundred meters away from the fighters all the time so everyone knew there was no interference. After it was over, Readings were taken from almost everyone that watched it, and a continuous record of the whole fight was edited together from the best views available at any given moment. Because of that, the view of the fight changes a lot, and it’s mostly a flying fight seen by flying spectators, so be careful if you haven’t flown much or you have a weak stomach, because parts of it might make you dizzy.

“Millions of years after the fight, Somonik watched the edited Reading of the spectators’ views, and Quewanak got that memory from him at the founding of The Just Alliance, and we got it from Quewanak.

“Now since it lasted for three years, we can’t show very much of it. We’re going to show the first nine minutes, the best ninety-three minute sequence, and the last twenty-one minutes.

“We begin.”

He and Helemia floated back to their seats and closed their eyes in concentration as the Illusion began, and a window covering a quarter of the interior wall of the hall opened into elsewhere and elsewhen.

Somonik was soaring about a hundred and fifty meters above the rolling plains, and Kergok approached from the north, flying hard and making good speed. Millions of other dragons surrounded them, keeping their distance. First there was only the sound of the wind and their wings, then Somonik growled menacingly, Kergok snarled in reply, and as the distance between them closed to thirty meters, both cast spells while making short-range Translocations to avoid the other’s attack. That set the tone for the entire first sequence. The hall was filled with the cacophonous sound of mighty energies released; the roar of fire, the crack and crackle of lightning, the boom of great explosions, and the indescribable report of unidentifiable magics. The nine-minute sequence was spectacular, but neither dragon managed to injure the other due to their phenomenal abilities to Shield from attacks, to dodge and duck with amazing and sinuous agility, and to Translocate almost instantly. Both were incredibly fit, healthy, and vigorous. At a moment when they’d paused for a few seconds to catch their breath and let their power recover a bit, the sequence ended.

“The next sequence was about nineteen months later.” Helemia announced, and the Illusion resumed.

Their battle was rejoined after a hunting break, and both dragons were covered in wounds; a few fresh, most in various stages of healing, but both still seemed mostly unimpaired. The fight was no longer over plains, and had moved to a region of rocky foothills. They cast far fewer spells than they had at the beginning, and never Translocated, instead relying on their fire, their flying skills, their claws, and their teeth. When they came close to the ground they often snatched up boulders to throw at one another. The skill and agility they displayed in both fighting and flying was awesome, and everyone in the hall was captivated. Finally the combatants’ post-break burst of energy was expended, and it became a slower-paced and more grueling battle. The sequence ended.

As the next sequence began it was seen that both dragons were covered in blood and horrible wounds. Neither flew, or had any energy left for spells, or fuel for their fire. They bit and clawed and wrestled as they rolled across the ground in a furious tangle, desperate to finally finish their conflict. Every once in a while they held each other at bay for a few seconds as they panted and struggled to overcome their almost-debilitating fatigue, then suddenly the thrashing, roaring, snarling fight would resume. Even at this late stage of the fight, the incredible toughness of dragons was readily apparent, and most of the bites and claw strikes failed to penetrate the other’s scales, unless they scored on a previous wound.

Finally Somonik managed to get a good bite on Kergok’s entire muzzle, clamping the brown dragon’s mouth closed and blocking his nostrils. Kergok frantically thrashed and clawed for more than four minutes before he lost consciousness from lack of breath. To administer the coup de grace, Somonik held his fallen opponent’s mouth wide open with one foot and one hand, summoned the last dregs of his magical energy, and cast a small explosion straight down Kergok’s throat that blew out the back of his neck.

Somonik raised his head and roared his victory to all the dragons who were watching, and they roared back in almost-hysterical approval. Then he slowly collapsed to the ground in bone-deep exhaustion, panting as fast and as deep as it seemed possible for him to do.

The sequence ended, the window faded, and there was not a sound in the gathering hall of Hiliani.

Helemia spoke into the silence. “Somonik. He is Most Noble.”