Pax Draconica 2 - Chapter 41 (11th Nov 2026)

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 40 - Confession

"First stop, Hadrovar," Fardon said, veering from their course slightly and beckoning Terry to do the same.

"But my capital!" Terry protested.  "My seneschal!"

"Hadrovar," Fardon said firmly.  "First, we must ensure that Pierce has not attacked it on his way.  If Zarnak lives, he must be appraised of the situation.  As must your loyal troops there.  For your people must know that you still live!"

"Yes," Terry conceded.  "Yes... once again, I am too focused on protecting the core of my kingdom and ignoring the plight of my Northern reaches.  And if things do not work out... Hadrovar may be useful as a base for those who wish to resist their new tyrant."

"Can they...?" Mermul asked worriedly.  "Could they hold out against an aggressively hostile dragon overlord?"

"With Dee and Dreadnought on their side, they might," Fardon pointed out.  "Pity... we could likely have done with the extra firepower."

"I want to think things over," Dreadnought said.  "I will stay in Hadrovar for now, but yes - I will help defend it if that becomes necessary."

"You still have me with you," Damien reminded them.  "And we can fly faster than most dragons.  If you can send a message to Hadrovar requesting urgent backup, Dreadnought or Dee could be with you in an hour."

Half an hour passed, and the farmland bordering the town came into view.  Then the centre was before them.

"Lord Terror!" Fardon said suddenly.  "Your form!"

"Shit," the white dragon snarled.  "Too late now.  We're in a hurry, and if Pierce wins it won't matter anyway."

Terry landed in front of the town hall and swiftly resumed his bipedal disguise.  Zarnak stomped out, looking horrified.

"My lord!  I thought you were trying to conceal..."

"I'm hoping that if anyone saw, they will think I was Maarvyn," Terry said.  "But that doesn't matter right now.  Are you aware of Pierce...?"

"I... have heard rumours of a high-ranking Hunter by that name," Zarnak admitted.

"Good, then I assume he hasn't come here.  Unless you've had any run-ins with a vicious blue dragon...?"

"No, though there were reports of two dragons heading south.  One of them was blue... the other had engines like Jake..." he trailed off, noticing Damien and Dreadnought for the first time.

"The reports could almost have described you," he said.  "Or Dee," he added quietly.

"There were only three of us made," Damien said.  "And we are all here, are we not?  It must have been one of Jake's kin, turned traitor... or taken as a captive, perhaps."

"Where is Jake?"  Zarnak asked.  "He... he did make it, didn't he...?"

"Yes," Terry said.  "Now... we are going to have to leave soon, Zarnak, but the situation is this.  We attacked the Hunter facility on the border, and Jake is staying with Fisk and others to hold it for us.
"However, the mission wasn't wholly successful.  While most of the Hunters are dispersed and their technical genius has defected to me, the base commander trapped us and used this head-start to escape.  He is named Pierce, and he was secretly a blue dragon.  He is winging his way now to the capital of Arstrom... to seize my throne.
"I will need to recall my men here, and return to the capital to confront the traitor.  If I fall... Hadrovar may need to become a centre of the resistance against his tyranny."

Zarnak looked as if he'd been struck over the head with a tree-trunk.

"That's a lot to take in, my lord.  And... resistance?!  You... you really think it might come to that...?"

"I don't know," Terry said quietly.  "I am a mighty dragon... I rarely consider the prospect that I might lose.  But Pierce is mighty as well.
"He has been eyeing Arstrom since the Great Burning, which he instigated, I might add.  He has been planning his coup longer than I've been lord, and has been stockpiling anti-dragon weapons for some time, specifically to take down me.  He also knows I have an invulnerability device and seems confident that he can somehow work around that.
"He might have weapons that can penetrate my defences, or he might simply be relying on sheer ruthlessness... executing my friends and valued subjects to try and force a surrender.  And in addition to all this, he has an invulnerability device of his own.
"We will be hard-pressed to slay him and even if we can... mayhem and death caused by an enemy dragon will undermine everything I have strived for.  I might win and still lose... especially when it comes out that I am also a dragon."

"Then I wish you luck, my lord," Zarnak said.  "I truly do.  And if you should require a safe-haven to recuperate in the event that this Pierce should oust you, Hadrovar will be at your disposal."

"Make plans for evacuation," Terry said.  "Just in case Pierce attempts to sack the place.  And now," he added, "I must muster my troops, have them fly back with me.  I fear it will be necessary to reveal my true nature as we fly back there.  If only I could warn Sir Victor..."

"You might be able to," Fardon said.  "If your men have established a satellite link to the capital, as they were hoping to do."

*  *  *

"Oh hell," Fardon said.  The troop carrier, faster than most dragons, had crash-landed some twenty miles north of the capital.

"Did Pierce do this...?"  Fardon asked, looking appalled.

"Almost certainly.  So much for my troops."

"What do we do...?" Damien asked.

"I hate myself for saying this," Terry sighed, "But we will have to press on.  If we win, we can come back with Mermul and heal the victims.  But if we stop to help now, and Pierce overthrows me as a result... They'll die anyway."

"I can stay," Greene offered.  "Check for survivors and tend them as I can.  I can try to fetch help.  I'm not sure how much use I would be in fighting Pierce..."

"But you know Pierce best," Terry reminded him.  "And any advanced weapons he has, you are likely to be familiar with.  Your knowledge of them could yet be vital."

"I don't like this," Greene said sadly, "But I guess you're right."

"I can do it," King offered.  "I can't fly as easily as you, but I can run fast.  And I can tend the injured until a proper rescue team can arrive."

"That will have to do," Terry sighed.  "But I can't help noticing that my attack force is rapidly dwindling."

*  *  *

The sun was setting by the time they reached the capital. 

"That's not good," Terry remarked.  The main square was lit up by a portable lighting rig, and a guillotine had been set up upon the scaffold.  Upon it were several furres and men, taken prisoner by black-clad troops, each bearing the symbol of a claw-scratch.  As they watched, Pierce landed in the square and gazed down upon the crowd.

"Hear me!"  He roared.  "I am your new lord, mortals!  This realm belongs to me, now.  YOU belong to me, and my orders must be obeyed without question at all times!"

"Now," he added.  "There are some who are still loyal to the old regime.  You shall now witness the fate of those who would defy their mighty dragon overlord!" he craned his neck towards the guillotine.  "Let us begin!"

"I don't think so," Terry remarked loudly, dropping into a hover.  "They already have a mighty dragon overlord, you see."

"Ah..." Pierce said, grinning wickedly.  "So you did make it here!  Excellent.  I had originally spared you so that I could gloat over my victory, but now I realised that having you present will put my claim beyond all doubt.
"By killing you here and now, I shall usurp your throne, just as you did with Yyrkoon - and prove to all that I am their rightful overlord in true Arstrom fashion!"

"But that seems such a waste," Terry protested.  "We are both dragons, after all.  Could we not settle this in the Den...?  A wise dragon once said that we should make love, not war."

"It will take more than humping to stop me!" the blue dragon screamed.  "You will die, 'Terror-Wing-Devourer'!  And all your works shall be left to become mine!"

"One problem," Terry remarked.  "I have an invulnerability charm."

"Not against light, you don't!"  Pierce giggled.  "Down him."

There was a tearing noise and a beam of brilliant light sheared off one of Terry's wings.  Gritting his teeth he spiralled brokenly downwards and smacked into the ground.

Fardon dove forwards, claws out.

"STOP!" a robot voice called.  "Land, and make no further threats, or I will slice your head off!"

Fardon complied, as did the others.

"Who are you...?"  Greene queried, nervously.  "You look like one of mine, but... where the hell did you come from?!"

"I am Daemon," the cyberdragon said.  "D-4."

"But there were only three prototypes!"  Greene whimpered.  "I only had three of you built!"

"Two words," the robot told him.  "'Third shift'."

The green dragon threw back his head and keened.

"He means they overproduced each set of parts," Damien explained, catching Mermul's confused expression.  "And in secret, built a fourth robot."

"And a fifth," D-5 said.  "I am Diaboli, and we serve our creator, Lord Pierce!"

"That puts us at a stand-off," Damien said.  "If it had just been D-4 I might have been able to take him.  But with two of them and Pierce..."

"How did they get here, though...?"  King asked.  "Zarnak said there was only one dragon accompanying Pierce..."

"Did you think my master did not have another base, closer to the capital...?" Diaboli sneered.  "I was sent here some days in advance, along with his worshippers," he added, glancing at the black-clad troops.  "Now shut up.  He is about to speak!"

"Now we are all here," Pierce boomed.  "I shall start again for their benefit.  We can get to the guillotinings later.  As I was saying... this land is now mine..."

"Terry..."  Mermul whimpered, touching the fallen dragon.  The white dragon gritted his teeth, and assumed his anthro form.  He still looked half-dead.

"You have to change back, your lordship," Mermul said.  "I can't heal your wing otherwise."

"But the shock could kill me," Terry protested weakly.

"Then I'll un-kill you," Mermul said.

"But they... they won't let you," Terry moaned.  "I have done terrible things, Mermul...  I shall go to the Punishment Place for my crimes.  And I'll have earned it."

"I don't believe that," the frost-dragon said firmly.  "You have done well with Arstrom.  You have cared for those you rule.  You have been a fine host to Sir Fardon and everything I have seen you do, has been to improve the lot of your citizens.  You pose as a dangerous ruler, but in the end, you are a good dragon."

"Thank you," Terry said, looking miserable.  "But you are speaking from a position of ignorance.  I have tried to do right these last few decades, but in my time I have also done wrong... great wickedness, unforgiveable crimes."

"You... didn't eat people, did you...?"  Mermul looked appalled.  "Surely... given how angry you were at Graghmunn..."

"Not that," Terry groaned.  "I have never eaten the Small Races, nor a fellow dragon... but I have done worse.
"The protection gem... The one I had implanted in my body...  I didn't find that enchantment somewhere... I made it myself," Terry said, grimacing.  "Necromancy... I harvested souls to power it.  My enemies... not random innocents like Pierce has done... But to trap their souls at all...   I'm scared, Mermul..." he whimpered.  "I'm scared to die, because I know I won't be given another chance...."

"I have never asked about Lord Varl's enchantments," Mermul said softly.  "They say that to become a ruling lord... it cannot be done without breaking some eggs.  To make an enchantment from souls is wrong... but I understand why you did it.  You are not the first, and if you should meet the Great One, I am sure He will understand."

Sadly, Mermul breathed his healing breath on the anthro-dragon, knowing that it wouldn't help his crippled dragon form, but hoping it might at least do something.

Pierce droned on, and despite Mermul's best efforts, Terry found himself unable to cling to consciousness.  His eyes closed and the world faded black.

[Tapewolf]

Chapter 41 - Lord Pierce

"Well, shit," Terry said, looking around at the blasted desert.  A silver dragon was waiting for him.

"Huh..." he said.  "I thought you were supposed to be gold, Oh Great One.  That's what the church always said."

"The Great One is busy, Lord Terror.  I am Akirion, Lord of Hell."

"Fuck," Terry said, collapsing to the ground in despair.  "I messed up hard enough to get a summary judgement...?  Very well, I guess I deserve this."

"It is not you I have come for," the silver dragon said, "But the souls you bear in your invulnerability artifact.  They must be taken to judgement, which is why we are on the ground instead of soaring through the air as is customary for dragonkind.
"You are a dragon, Lord Terror.  An apex predator.  Few among us have lived a blameless life.  But as with most dragons, the evils you have wrought are balanced by the good you have striven to achieve."

"Take the souls," Terry said.  "If I am dead, then I would see them freed to their fate.  I only regret that I could not have done so while still I lived."

"Ah," the silver one said.  "But you have not yet crossed the threshold.  Alkrash has watched you with interest, Lord Terror.  Though it is a wicked deed to trap souls for enchantments, you at least took the souls of your attackers, your would-be slayers, spoils from those felled in righteous battle.  And best of all, you regretted it.  But there is another... who took the souls of innocents."

"Pierce...?" Terry said, expression hardening with disgust and anger.  "It's him, isn't it...?"

"That is what he calls himself now, yes.  I give you a quest, Lord Terror.  The enchantment Pierce bears must be destroyed, and his wicked life ended.  See to this, and when your end should truly come, the debt for your necromantic works shall be paid."

"Gladly would I take on that burden," Terry said.  "But if I may raise one small query..?  I willingly agreed to surrender my invulnerability for you, for Father Alkrash.  But sending me to confront a dragon who does still have that power...?  Surely this seems a little... unfair?  Or is that to be part of my punishment?"

"We shall see," Akirion said.  "Now, the souls, if you please...?"

"Take them," Terry said.  "I... I don't know how I can release them myself, especially since the device was implanted in me.  And I am only here in spirit, am I not...?"

The silver dragon moved towards him, and raised a claw.  It struck Terry's chest, roughly where the artifact had been implanted.  He gave a cry of pain, and then several figures walked out of him, men, women and furres.

"Dragon...!" one of them yelled, reaching for a sword that was no longer there.

"Enough of that," Akirion snapped.  "Arbar and Anah will see to your judgement shortly.  But you do yourself no favours by attacking us."

*  *  *

"So you see..." Pierce boomed, "Your old lord is entirely within my power.  And soon he shall..."

"Not quite," Terry said, rolling over and getting to his feet.  He was still in his anthro form.  As he stepped forward unsteadily, two of the black-clad troopers grabbed him by the shoulders while a third pinned his arms.

"Oh, perfect!" Pierce crowed.  "I sense that your protection charm is dispelled!  Oh, that will make everything so much easier.  Now, I can simply bite your head off!"

"I'll give you indigestion," Terry growled back.

"True," Pierce mused.  "Having your head revert to its true size while it's in my throat would be a problem.  Besides, I'd rather have it on display as a trophy!  How about the guillotine?  I am not so cruel as to deny a fellow dragon a noble death."

"...and if I do...?"  Terry queried.

"Then I won't need to kill your friends," Pierce said.  "A martyr is all very well, but they're not exactly going to be putting you back on the throne without a head, are they?  Your lordship will be ended, and mine will be cemented as your vanquisher.  I can afford to show mercy by allowing them to leave this realm alive.  So what do you say...?"

"If it will save my friends," Terry said slowly, "That might be a price worth paying.  To surrender my head and my throne, in exchange for their lives."

"Most of your friends here are from abroad," Pierce conceded, looking from Lady Silver to Fardon and Mermul with a look of amusement.  "It would not do to make enemies of other realms... Not so early in my lordship, anyway."

"But you don't..." Mermul protested.  "You can't just end it like this!  Why give up on your dreams now...?"

"It has been thirty years," Terry sighed.  "Thirty years of hiding, of lying to my subjects.  And after all those years, my grand vision for Arstrom is still just that.  A vision.  I'm tired of fighting an uphill battle."

"But there must be another way!"  Mermul wailed.  "You don't have to do this!"

"I think he does," Pierce butted in.  "If he lives, if he goes into exile, I risk having him show up for a rematch.  Can't have that, and the best way to make sure is to split him in two."

"Exactly," Terry sighed, "It's over.  All I can do now is to trust in Father Alkrash's great plan.  And the Destroyer," he added quietly.

"So be it," Pierce said, grinning widely as Terry's black gloved hands were bound behind his back.  Leather straps were placed around his wings to keep them from unfolding.

"You know the drill," Pierce added dryly as the dragon-man was marched towards the guillotine.  "I know how much you loved doing this to others, after all..."

Yes, Terry thought.  I have done this to so many... for it to happen to me too... that is surely karma.
Soon he lay upon the bench, heart racing as he was slid into position, hands tightly grasping his shoulders and pinning him in position.  A twisted sense of excitement flowed through him as he stared down into the waiting basket, hands slick with perspiration in his gloves.  I am a dragon, after all, he thought.  Is this not the most dragonly way to go...?
The seconds ticked on, Pierce stalling to draw out the suspense, until Terry finally lost his patience.  "Do it," he snarled.  "Get it over with!"
He breathed in sharply as the lunette snapped home around his furry white neck.  Then there was a loud thunk, a flash of pain, and a lurching sensation as he tumbled forwards into the basket.

Pierce gave a moan of delight as Lord Terror's body shuddered, tail, wings and boots spasming, blood flowing freely.  Then there was a massive crash as the dying body reverted to full size, dragon head bursting the wicker head-basket, the sides of the guillotine splintering, table crushed beneath the bus-sized dragon's bulky corpse.

"See!" Pierce roared, throwing back his head excitedly.  "Now you have watched the pretender's head fall!  Now, I am your uncontested overlord!  All who defy me shall get the same!"

*  *  *

"I failed," Terry said, soaring through the dawn sky.  "Did I err...?"

"But what could I have done...?" he pondered sadly.  "Without the protection... I would never have been able to best him.  Not in my guise... and in my true form I would just have bled out.  What did I miss...?"

"A prophecy," Akirion said.  "And to be fair, those things do tend to be pretty cryptic."

"I'm sorry," Terry said.  "I'd say I tried, but it doesn't really feel like I did.  All I managed to achieve was a deal to save my friends.  And now Pierce still has his protection charm and he'll ruin Arstrom.  I should have fought him..."

"Then you would have lost," Akirion said.  "You were right the first time.  In mortal guise he'd have bitten your head open and eaten your brains.  And your true form was too injured to challenge him."

"Damien," Terry wailed.  "The robo-dragon!  He'd have killed Pierce, protection or no!"

"Yes, but then Daemon and Diaboli would have killed him, and then all your friends," Akirion said quietly.  "While it may seem cruel, you have, I think, taken the optimum path."

"I don't think I want to hear any more about how badly I fucked up," Terry snapped.  "Go on, take me to Hell."

"Ah," Akirion said.  "If you really want to go to the Punishment Place, I could certainly take you.  But I warn you that you are being a little premature about it.  See, usually when someone dies we have a pretty good idea of where they're bound.  But for you... the situation is still very unclear.  And if I may say so, you aren't giving your friends enough credit."

"Then there's still a chance...?"  Terry looked hopeful for a moment, and then worried, fearing that they would be dashed at any moment.

"You have some powerful allies," Akirion said.  "Things are still in the balance.  Your sacrifice might not have been as vain as you think.  I don't want to curse things by saying so, but yes... there is still a chance."

"Then I will wait, if I may," Terry decided.  "Until that hope is finally gone."

*  *  *

"The grey fluffy one," Pierce said, looking at Mermul with a hungry expression.

"You promised Terry you'd let us go," Mermul retorted indignantly.

"I said you'd be allowed to leave the realm alive," Pierce purred.  "I didn't say when.  The usurper wanted a trade deal with Taria.  Having one of their lords hostage might make the terms I get a little more... favourable.  And if not, I could do with a sex slave..."

Suddenly a large green fist punched the side of his head.

"Fool!" Pierce boomed, craning his neck around with an expression of fury as he glared at his attacker.  "Idiot!  You dare challenge me, Lord of all Arstrom?!"

"I am lord-slayer," Falnar said.  "And you must be slain."

"I am invincible!"  Pierce roared.  "And your head shall be piked as a warning to all, next to your so-called Lord Terror!"

"You!" he added, pointing at Daemon.  "Kill him now!"

There was a whining sound as the robo-dragon's systems charged up, readying his x-ray laser.

"Cover your ears," Greene hissed at Damien.  The other robot looked startled but obeyed.

"Ashagahabnamemnon," Greene called out loudly.  Daemon and Diaboli froze, eyes wide with shock.  Then the light went out in their eyes and the two cyber-dragons crashed to the ground.

"Last chance?"  Falnar asked, looking at Pierce hopefully.  "Surrender and not be a lord...?"

"Men!" Pierce commanded.  "I order you to-"  Falnar's clawed hand lashed out again, this time slashing at Pierce's neck.

"Nnnnghhh..." the blue dragon gurgled, feeling the blood running down his neck in a torrent.  "H-how...?  I am protected!" he whimpered, eyes widening.  "This can't... it can't..."

"I am lord-slayer," Falnar repeated.  "I was Chosen."

The blue dragon gurgled again, as if to give some kind of protest, but his strength failed and his body crumpled, head flopping over and smacking into the ground.

Lady Silver glanced from Pierce to Terry's headless corpse.  "Well, shit," she said.  "Now we've got a power vacuum."