Chapter 22

**Merianna**


*The wind was whistling past my face. The gentle rhythm of bobbing up and down was soothing to my soul. Thrilling but calming at the same time, such a strange feeling. I rubbed her neck which was in front of me, her pearly scales feeling smooth under my fingers. She rumbled deep in her draconic throat as her leathery white wings gently brushed the clouds. My leather clad legs were gripped around the base of her neck for stability, my arms were vambraced and my hands had fingerless leather gloves on them that clipped on around the wrist. Iron armor covered my leather clothing snugly. Every now and then with a beat of her wings, I heard the clink of my sword against my legs, my staff was tied to my back, making me feel safe and secure. I noticed that I also had a band around my head, dipped in red dye and black tips. The sign of my dragon riding clan, the clan of fire.*

*I looked back up at the endless expanse of clouds and blue sky and smiled, almost sadly. A feeling of peace and dread mixing together painfully in the pit of my gut.*

*She looked back to me, giving a questioning growl. Her pearly scales on her face shimmered in the sun’s rays, almost making her look transparent. The gold lines under her eyes and patches of gold and black sprinkled over her face and neck like freckles winked at me. Black lines ran over the top of her eyes, matching the intensity of the golden lines underneath. I took a deep breath and drew my sword.*

*No, I wasn’t ready. I conveyed my feelings to her. I wanted to stay up here and be free, I only wanted to see the white, and endless blue. But we had to descend, we had to help. We had to be there. My legs braced themselves while I stood up from my crouch and I gave her a nod while looping the loose leather straps wrapped around the base of her neck around my hands in a firm grip.*

*She showed me her feelings of apprehension and resolve. She had the same wishes as me, the same feelings. Which was why we made such a good match. I would be forever grateful that Lerina had chosen me to be her rider, her companion, and her friend.*

*I leaned in forward close to her back making myself streamline, taking a shaky breath.*

*She started diving, magic shimmered between us and her scales faded into the background, shifting to the environment, making us both nearly completely invisible.
For 3 beats of her wings we stayed in the tranquil clouds until suddenly we broke through the cloud bank and were assaulted by the sounds of roars and screams, the sight of burning woods and buildings, burning people and mounts, the smell of smoke, and the stench of boiling blood.*

*I swallowed hard and blinked rapidly, seeing the blue tribe wreaking havoc in my village made my peace disappear in the blink of an eye, and my anger to come boiling to the surface.*

*I roared with Lerina and we clashed with a blue rider, Lerina dug her long claws into the dragon’s flesh, slicing right through his scales and armored protection. I jumped off of her back and went diving at the enemy on the dragon’s back, my sword flashing viciously with cold determination. He barely had time to turn his attention to me before his head went tumbling to the earth far below us.*

*The Hisuin Mountain strider gave a screech of agony at the separation of his rider and went tumbling down to the earth just like his rider’s head, his bulky brown and black body disappearing amongst the smoke. I had moved swiftly and easily back on to Lerina’s back and we went barrelling to the next opponent with Lerina spitting molten gold flames.*

*With each swipe of my blade, a new life was taken and a new dragon fell. My eyes burned with tears as I battled, not for the riders, but for the dragons. Each screech made a new hole in my heart, each falling body made new tears spring to my eyes.*

*At a point I lost my sword and pulled out my runic staff and blasted spells and fire at the enemy for who knows how long. I couldn’t keep track of the amount of spells I threw, or the amount of attackers that came after me. Every time I felt my energy dwindle because of a spell I threw, I drew power from another storage crystal in my belt and kept on fighting.*

*Eventually I noticed my attackers were retreating. A panting Lerina and I went and descended in the ruins of my village and I slid off of her back. The sight of the village, ruined, burning, crushed under fallen dragon and human bodies, made my skin crawl and a feeling of emptiness opened up in my chest. Nothing stirred. Dragon and human carcasses were burning in dragon flames. The only sounds that could be heard were the crackling of the wooden structures, the wind shifting with the heat of the flames, and my heartbeat.*

*It was so hot. The flames were not letting up. I crumpled to my knees, my staff hit the ground next to me and I gripped the earth under my fingers. The grass was dead, wilted and trampled. Just like everyone in my whole village. *

*Lerina sat beside me and laid her nose on my back.*

*The flames were crawling closer, getting more intense as I just sat there. Empty and lost. No one was left alive. I was the only one that survived. I killed all those dragons, for nothing.*

*The flames were now licking at my fingers and my cheeks, but I didn’t move. If this was all that was waiting for me, if I had to stand retribution for killing those noble creatures so cruelly then I suppose that death by the flames they left behind would be fitting.*

*I screamed as I burned.*