Иван Жолудь - Shadows of Alletria. Child of Mountains

– Cowards! Traitors and scoundrels!Elder Valn shouted from the locked door of the temple – " Saving your own skins at the cost of the lives of others, isn't that what your abbots and ancestors taught you?"

– Accept your death with dignity, old man, " one of the priests replied through the locked door."Today, everyone is saving themselves as best they can.

– The gods will punish you for your treachery!Valn shouted furiously, abandoning all attempts to negotiate with the terrified monks.– The death of all these people will be on your conscience…

After taking a few steps down the stairs and leaving the pillared terrace, Valn looked around for his enemy. Growling fiercely, the old male flew down from the temple roof like a tornado, landing in the very center of the courtyard. This wyvern was three times the size of its own kind, larger and stronger than even the largest of its kind, an old man covered from muzzle to tail with scales that were horny like stone growths, which even a well-equipped warrior could not break through. With its wings, the lizard could take down a squad of heavy infantry, and with the spiked tip of its tail, it tore down walls and towers built of strong stone that were beyond the power of even a well-assembled battering ram. The monster's fangs and horns were as sharp as sharpened dwarven swords that could split heavy carapaces of black silver, and the monster wielded them as well as a swordsman wielded his blade.

– I'm not afraid of you winged serpent!Valn shouted as he lunged at the alpha male.

The beast snarled angrily and swung its long neck, waiting for the elf to reach a certain point. Waiting for the right moment, the lizard lowered its head to ground level and let out a deafening wail that made the Elder's ears bleed. Covering his ears with his hands, the priest fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

– Valn!Leta shouted as she ran up to the temple, sending a magical swirl through the wyvern.

Kicking up dust from the stone-paved square, the tornado summoned by the elf rushed at the monster, which did not frighten the dragon in any way. With a flutter of its wings, the old dragon dispelled a powerful spell and charged in mid-flight. The elf loomed in front of the lizard, running left and right to confuse the monster, but the wyvern was constantly spitting blobs of caustic acid, blocking Lethe's escape routes. When there was nowhere else to run, the woman stopped and wrapped herself in a barrier of winds that was supposed to protect her from the monster's venom, but the cunning lizard was no longer going to attack from a distance. The dragon took the elf down with a flutter of its broad wings, then launched a powerful charge at the immobilized opponent.

" Mother!Huona cried through her tears, having lost all hope of saving her mother.

The lizard lifted its head and opened its mouth wide, preparing for a final attack, but a deep, commanding voice came from the temple roof behind it:

–Incurventur ante dominum!– hearing these words, the lizard jumped away from the fallen elf and turned in the direction of the speaker.

On the roof of the temple, a tall sun elf with glittering scales on his hands was walking slowly down the tiles. The elf's broad-shouldered and slightly thin frame spoke of a strength and agility that the Dragon's Son had in common. The lizard obediently took off and hovered in the air near Trion, who was standing on the edge. Holding the dragon's mouth, the elf looked into the monster's small, pain-filled, bestial eyes, then carefully examined the wyvern. After a few seconds of thinking, he opened the monster's mouth and pulled out one of its fangs. The Wyvern howled in sharp pain, shaking its head, but quickly calmed down.

" Tu libero damnant te,"the elf said, stroking the dragon's face. The monster let out a booming roar as the other wyverns swarmed around the temple.

Trion leapt onto the dragon's back, holding on to the lizard's dorsal growths as he descended to the ground. Drawing a knife from its scabbard at his belt, the elf shone in the sunlight and plunged it between the scales into the old lizard's throat, which quickly killed the monster. After circling the dead leader's body, the rest of the wyverns immediately flew back to the mountains, leaving the Monastery grounds.

– Poor guy.Trion said sadly, stroking the dead wyvern – It didn't deserve to die like this…

–What happened to him?"Huona asked, coming up to her lover.

– Merciless monsters are responsible for his death, and they have doomed a harmless animal to suffer for a long time… " Tryon drawled slowly, not taking his eyes and hands off the dragon."There were runes etched on his fang, and someone cursed him for personal use. The crazed lizards attacked the Monastery, sweeping away everything in their path, just to get rid of the excruciating pain.The elf paused for a moment, taking his hand away from the dead monster and looking at Huona.– We need to find their nest, because there's something there that's driving this pack crazy."

The elf's amber eyes, like two shining suns, expressed all the sadness and pain he had absorbed in saving the wyvern from its torment. His bronze skin glistened like polished metal in the afternoon sun, and his tousled, slightly curly locks swayed in the light mountain wind. Running her hand over the elf's hundreds of lash-scarred back, Huona took his hand.

– His abusers will pay a huge price for what they did.The girl said, trying to calm Trion down a little.

" Yes, cor meum, you're right. Just as the priests who betrayed you paid for their cowardice.– hugging his beloved tightly and leaning on her shoulder with a slightly wet cheek from rolling down tears, the elf replied.

Leta and Valn watched from afar. No one was going to come any closer, knowing that only Huona could help Trion calm down. Most resolute of all was Zarri, who gradually approached her sister and her lover. The girl was genuinely surprised and moved by Trion's emotionality. The elf mourned the slain dragon as if it were a comrade or a close friend, which made those present wonder who the monster really was – a lizard that killed against its will, or its abuser, who brought the beast heavy torment.

–What happened to the cloistered monks?"Zarri asked as she approached the sun elf.

– They are waiting for their punishment.Trion said, taking Huona's hand and turning to Zarri, " The elder must pass judgment on the traitors.

– Are you sure they didn't run away?"Leta asked, putting her hand on the boy's shoulders as a sign of regret for his loss.

– Chained in a casemate, they can't escape anywhere. And those who were punished before their accomplices can no longer go anywhere.

– How many of the monks have already suffered retribution at your hands?Valn asked, trying to find out as much as possible about what had happened.

" Three. A traitor, a conspirator, and a coward. They were in league with the Templars. I could hear the guards whispering in dark corners at night, discussing their plot.Trion spoke in a prophetic manner, closing his eyes as he spoke.– To them, I am a deity who must be rescued from here, sacrificed to Eira in my glory, to raise the new Dragon of the Sun to greatness.

– It can't be… " said Valn, tossing and scratching his head.– The Dragon Cult couldn't get in here, we did everything we could to keep you safe here.

– But they didn't take into account that cult members can hide everywhere, " Trion said confidently and reproachfully.

– If this is the case, then you need to do something about it.Valn was lost in thought, but was interrupted by the sun elf.

– Just move on with your life. The cult's affairs are my own, and I will not allow them to harm anyone close to me. Not Huon, not Lethe, not Zarri.

Zarri glanced at Trion, surprised by the words. She hadn't expected the elf to consider them close, but then she smiled broadly, realizing that she was now also a friend to the Dragon's Son.

– Huona is my family, which means that her life and the lives of her loved ones are more precious than mine. Ad sumptus de vita sua tueri, " Tryon quoted from the Order's tablets.

– Don't devalue yourself.Huona said, snuggling up to her lover.– You're just as precious to me, and you don't have to risk your life for us.

" Risk is in my blood.The elf answered with a smile, and kissed Huon on the cheek, to the delight of the others present.

– Good. I don't doubt your abilities, and I'll leave it to you. There's no point in keeping you in a dungeon anymore, so you can leave the monastery safely. Just be careful.Valn said as he left."Huona, I forgot something –" the Elder began, pausing.– Your abilities have already reached the right point, so I'm excusing you from your classes. In the future, you will learn everything you need yourself. Leta, come with me, we need to figure out what to do with this mess and how to clean it up before Aire Day.

" Yes, My Lord. Zarri, " the elf said to her youngest daughter.– You'll have to be home alone.

– Mom, don't worry about her. She is no longer a little girl – she has stood up for Huon's sister.– She can come with us if she listens to Trion."

" Hmm, that's even better," Leta smiled.– Trion, come to us tomorrow morning, we will be happy to meet you at our house.

– I will gladly accept the invitation of the Lady Lethe, " Tryon said, bowing, and leading Huona by the hand, he walked out of the temple courtyard.

– So where do we go?Huona asked, stopping the elf.– You have some thoughts."

– We need to find the old wyvern's nest and find out what happened there. But I don't have any thoughts yet.Trion said thoughtfully.

– We met them near the Wards.Zarri prompted the elf, who remembered her first encounter with the lizards.

– That's something!The sun elf replied happily."There are chamber caves under the plateau, and that's where you should start.

" Back to the Wards, then.Huona said with a sigh.– The ascent will be difficult…

– Don't worry.Running a hand through her hair, Trion assured her.– We will solve this problem. But first, let's get to the ruins of the bridge.

****

– Trion.Zarri began as they neared the bridge.– You were talking about the monks you punished.

" Yes, three of the traitors have already received their punishment.– turning around and slowing down to wait for the lagging girls, the elf replied.

– Did you kill them?"The girl asked uncertainly, bracing herself for a frightening answer.

– Trion reassured her with a small smile.– They are cowards, of course, but until it is proven that they were really conspirators, no one has the right to take their lives. Especially since they are priests, and I saw what happened when Gael was executed.

– Damn Aire.Huona answered quickly, " a rain of fire was sent down on the city where the execution took place.

" Yes, that's right."Et caeli revolvit, sagittis fireballs ad homicidae 'capitae," Tryon said, words he had read from the books in the Order's Library, where he spent much of his free time.

– Were you present at Gael's execution?" But that was before the Ancients were born.Zarri exclaimed in surprise, waiting to hear another interesting story.

" Yes, long before that. But the Order of Five was founded by the white elves in the early days of Alletria. During my initiation, I saw many terrifying visions and experienced most of the events of the Order's bloody history firsthand, which I would not wish on any living being.fragments of memories surfacing in his head sent goosebumps down Trion's arms.

– I've noticed that you speak the language of the Ancients very well.Zarri said, not having said it before.