The Beast in the Woods

We have all heard the stories of the beasts from the Human-Dragon war, the war between the ground and sky, where the in between was destroyed by fire. How they stole and hoarded sacred treasures, encasing them deep in vaults of stone. Of how with glee they hunted our young, carrying them off, never to be seen again. With large silver scales and sharp talons that could cut through flesh these terrifying monsters kept me awake at night. I never thought I would see one for myself, and yet there it was, asleep nesting on the ground. It must have fallen from the tree above as its face was grotesque, red and swollen. It was smaller than I’d imagined, I wonder how old this hatchling could be. Its scales hadn’t grown in yet, it appeared so naked without them. Small. Shrivelled. Disappointing. Was it male or female? There seemed no way to tell. We hadn’t seen any alive since the final days of the war and yet here one was. The last of the beasts. The last human-beast.

Kronos The Younger is the name of the dragon who’d made this first contact. He wasn’t very old. His rose coloured scales had just finished growing in, a sign that he’d left his hatchling youth. He was ready and eager to prove his worth and to bring honour to his clan. It was today, his first hunting party beyond the mountains, that he found the creature in this clearing of the woods.

Kronos reached out a claw towards the head of this tiny creature. Was it poisonous? He hesitated. Claws inches away from the closed swollen eyes, the hatchling stirred. Kronos pulled back, transfixed, watching the movements as a predator watches his prey. The eyelids opened, revealing two large hazel brown eyes. Kronos stayed still, waiting, the human-hatchling looked up and their eyes met. The dragon and the beast. The first contact in a 100 years or more and yet the fear hadn’t diminished. Inspite of his instincts to run or bite, Kronos continued to stay still. There was something curious about the hatchling that he couldn’t quite place. The pair of them stayed there staring at each other until the creature opened its mouth and started to make a wailing noise that sounded like dragon nails on rocks. Was this the human-beasts attempt to charm him, with singing? If so, it wasn’t a very good song. The wailing grew louder and louder.

Irritated and not knowing what to do, Kronos grabbed a pile of fallen leaves and tried to cover the face of the hatchling to dampen the noise. With this the hatchling stopped and started to make a different noise, a high shriek and it pounded its claws together to make a clapping sound, the wailing had stopped. Kronos tried it again, grabbing a fresh pile of leaves. The hatchling clapped again, sat up and began eating the leaves. How strange. Clearly those stories from his youth were exaggerated, there was nothing to fear here. Feeling more confident, Kronos cleared his throat and attempted to speak to the child.

“What is your name?” The hatchling looked up at Kronos.

“Hungry.”

“That's not a name, where do you come from?”

“Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.” The hatchling started to make that wailing sound again. It was clearly an idiot. Kronos looked around and saw an apple on a nearby tree. Squirrels and rats ate these, as this hatchling looked like a rat perhaps it ate these too. Kronos flew up to the tree and grabbed an apple with his claw. At his grasp he accidentally crushed it into small pieces. Still, he dropped to the ground and offered it to the human-beast. To his surprise the creature began taking the pieces and began gnawing on them. At least it had stopped making that terrible noise.

It was then he heard the sound of crashing trees accompanied by a familiar dragon's roar. It was the sound of his hunting party giving chase. Two creatures running on two legs burst into the clearing and suddenly stopped at the sight of Kronos. Seconds later two dragons flew in from the sky above and landed spaced apart, surrounding the prey.

“Kronos! Look what we found!” It was the voice of Baraxos The Bold, a brown scaled dragon famed for his brave hunting kills. The dragon next to him was Evera The Night, a dark blue scaled dragon much older and much larger than both Kronos and Baraxos. Kronos looked closely at the creatures they had chased. Easily recognisable with their large silver scales across their chests with a large silver talon that looked sharp enough to cut through flesh. The game that they had caught were two fully grown human-beasts.

“Human-beasts!!” Evera exclaimed excitedly. “Look at them!”

“Stay back! I’m warning you!” Yelled the shorter human, pointing its silver talon at Kronos.

“Wait until the king sees this! Two human-beasts!” Baraxos said eagerly, ignoring the threat from his prey.

“That's not all brother, there is a human-hatchling here” Kronos gestured towards the leaf eating creature on the ground, which began spitting out chunks of apple.

Suddenly the humans spotted the hatchling. “Anya!” The taller one exclaimed, running over to pick up the hatchling. Holding the creature to its chest.

“Three human-beasts?!” Baraxos could not contain his excitement. “We must take them to the king at once, before any other hunting parties come and try to take credit for our game. Let’s kill them now.”

“Come any closer and I will cut open your throat!” Shouted the taller human-beast.

“I would like to see you try.” Said Baraxos as he snapped his jaw at them threateningly.

“No.” Evera interjected. “The king would want to see them himself.”

Baraxos looked back at the human-beast curiously.

“Fine! Take one each” Baraxos commanded. “Watch out for the talons they cut well.” He eyed up the tallest human who was holding fast to his talon.

Without warning, Baraxos lunged into the middle of the humans to scatter them, a move he’d done countless times before whilst hunting packs of animals. Whilst the human-beasts were confused, Evera grabbed the short one. Kronos made to grab the taller human carrying the hatchling but it was too quick and with its talon, sliced into the side of Kronos neck, thankfully his scales were fully grown and they absorbed most of the blow, enabling Kronos to strike right back. Baraxos stopped him. “You found the hatchling, that one is yours.” As Baraxos grabbed the taller human-beast it dropped the hatchling, which Kronos picked up, blood dripping from where he’d been cut.

“Let us go!” Yelled the human-beasts trying to break free from their grip. Kronos looked down at the hatchling, it seemed quite content in his claws. Once all three were securely in their claws, with great swoops, they all took flight. Kronos could hear the fear in the screams from the human-beasts as they flew above the forest's canopy making their way towards the tallest mountain in the valley’s range, the Palatium Citadel.

The Palatium was the ancestral home of their Clan Molten Rock. To get to the Citadel, the hunting party flew high above the hundreds of perches, melted rock houses and nests and swooped low over the open lava pools to receive the updraft of hot air to assist with their climb to the top. Once they came close to the Citadel and the entrance to the palace to the King and his council of elders, they landed and walked over to the great iron doors. There at the entrance stood two guards. One asked;

“Who goes there?”

“Baraxos the bold and his hunting party, we come with urgent news for the king, and a great gift.” He announced.

“Baraxos, Evera and Kronos.” Evera corrected.

The guards looked at the hunting party and the prey in their claws. They whispered to each other.

“What is this gift that you bring?” The other asked.

“Human relics!” Laughed Baraxos.

At that the guards hurriedly sent a messenger into the palace.

“The King will see you shortly, follow me to bring the humans to the council chamber.”

Beaming, Baraxos led the way through the iron doors into the palace.

Inside the council chambers manifested the pinnacle of Dragon craftsmanship. It was full of great stone carvings depicting great battles from the human-dragon war as well as iron statues of old Kings and Queens. The hunting party shuffled in with their claws loudly clattering on the marble floor. The hatchling wriggled around restlessly in Kronos’ grip.

It was here that they waited as twenty or so council members assembled into the room, and they sat there in hushed tones pointing at the creatures in the hunters claws. Then came a roar of announcement to signal the King and the Elders' arrival. First in came Elder Sergia The River, the oldest and the wisest of the clan. Second came Elder Toros The Crippled also known as Smiler, brother to the King. Toros' jaw had been broken during a failed challenge to be king that left him with his teeth constantly exposed, creating an unending and unsettling smile. Lastly, in came the King himself, Basileous The Blood-Father, the largest and strongest of their clan. All three of the Elders were magnificent creatures in size and beauty, but the Blood-Father surpassed them all.

“Welcome my brothers and sisters, thank you for assembling here today. You have been informed that a hunting party found something interesting in the woods and we can all see that this is indeed true. Two humans and a child.” Basileous eyes followed around the room staring at every dragon and human intently. “Bring the cage forward.”

At Basileous’ command two dragon-hatchlings, Basileous’ own young, carried in a human sized metal cage, a relic from the old war. Inside the hunting party placed each of the human-beasts who grabbed the child and clung together. The Elders were watching intensely and Basileous’ young hid behind the King, uncertain at the sight of the human-beasts.

“Your Young have nothing to fear.” Baraxos proudly announced to the Blood-father. “We have the beasts under control, they can’t hurt them.” Feeling safer, the two dragon-hatchlings perched on top of Basileous back staring at the strange creatures below.

Toros was the first to speak. “Eat them. Kill them. Be rid of them.” There was a murmur of agreement from several members of the council. One of the humans let out a small squeal.

Basileous bristled, “Thank you for your council brother but on what grounds would you have me kill them, Toros? Walking in the woods? They have done nothing wrong. This is against our laws.”

As Basileous spoke several different council members murmured in agreement.

“Don’t be so naive, Basileous.” Toros snapped back. “We know what these beasts are. We know what they are capable of. Let us be rid of them and be done with it.”

A shaking voice came from the cage. “Who are you calling Beast?! You... giant lizard monster!”

Toros leapt forward at an alarming speed, pressing his head against the cage. Shocked, both humans fell to the floor.

“You, Beast.” Toros breathed into the cage. Several members of the council let out a cruel laugh as Toros turned back to the King. “How many of our ancestors died fighting these creatures? We cannot ignore history. It is in their nature.”

“The war ended years ago, Toros.” Said Basileous, calmly.

“There was no end.” Toros spat. “The humans murdered our Queen, our own mother, then ran underground like rats. That doesn’t sound like an end to me, in fact I would say that we are owed blood.”

“Blood is owed.” Sergia spoke for the first time, eyeing the human-hatchling.

“I will not bleed a cat when it was the lion that attacked me. You speak as if these before us, young in their age, wielded the very sword that slew our mother a 100 years ago. That child is not yet 5 years in age. You do not seek justice Toros, you seek to justify yourself.” Basileous growled.

“If you would not raise your hand for the sake of our mother then you are unworthy to take her place.” Toros said, clicking his broken jaw menacingly.

The room fell silent. Sergia raised herself to her full height. “You forget your place, Smiler. Your brother is your King. You would do well to remember that.” Sergia said threateningly.

Toros watched Sergia carefully then calmly and purposely addressed the council.

“Then, my King, let us talk about a pest problem. A pest problem that threatens your clan, my King. A pest problem that if not solved would seek to destroy your people, my King. And as you can see the pests are breeding, what is your council?”

There were murmurs of agreement across the room. Basileous looked directly at Toros. “Humans are not animals. They are not our cattle or herds, we have no power to raise them or sell them. So don’t talk of pests and children.” He lowered his voice. ”You will do well to remember that dragons are also not animals, we are not mindless sheep, wandering, lost and vulnerable. Your delusions of enemies in every shadow will send you on a monster hunt that will never end.” Basileous turned to address the council at large. “This council session is over today. The humans will stay here in this chamber tonight and tomorrow we shall take a vote. But let it be known that the final decision is mine.”

At this Toros turned and with heavy steps stormed out of the chamber. As he went he was closely followed by a select group of the council. Kronos could hear Toros muttering faintly as he walked past. “You are weak Basileous, and have always been weak.”

After Toros and his allies' dramatic exit from the chamber, the rest filed out in an orderly fashion. Basileous, Sergia and the hunting party remained. Basileous addressed the hunting group. “Watch over the humans tonight, feed them and keep them safe.”

“It would be our honor.” Baraxos answered, chest puffed up.

“If anyone gives you trouble, my room is through that door, I will be there.” He gestured towards a small red door in the corner of the chamber. Basileous nodded at the three of them and walked over to the caged human-beasts.

“Do not fear tomorrow. You will be safe, we will not hurt you. Try to sleep.” The human-beasts had been shaken by the events of the council but were able to nod in response. And with that, Basileous, his dragon-hatchlings and Sergia exited.

Left alone, Baraxos, Evera and Kronos began to curl up near the cage, getting ready for the night ahead. After an hour or so, it was agreed that Evera and Baraxos would share the watch and Kronos, as the youngest, would fetch the food. Kronos was happy to leave the chamber and lazily walk behind a guard to the kitchen, as his mind was busy thinking about the human-beasts.

Basileous was right, they hadn’t done anything but everyone knows that the human-beasts are dangerous. It wasn’t about what they have done, it was about what they could do. And Kronos knew from the many gruesome stories what the creatures were capable of. But why was the King so eager to protect them? Giving them a trial and deciding their fate by vote, is the law for captured dragons, giving the same rights to these humans seems ludicrous. Why was he treating them as equals?

Kronos was so lost in his thoughts from the events of the council that it felt like no time at all to; walk to the kitchen food store, collect several chicken carcasses and to start walking back.

The guard and Kronos were walking along the long corridor that led to the council chamber when they heard an almighty crash! The sound of metal falling to the floor echoed down the corridor, emanating from the council chamber door. At this sound, the guard with Kronos yelled and they both dropped the chickens they were carrying with a splatter. They began running towards the door. A dragon's roar pierced the air and a human scream followed. They took flight, desperate to get back to the chamber. The corridor was small and narrow, only Kronos was able to fully stretch out his wings. Kronos had almost reached the door when it burst open and out flew Sergia. She was covered in blood and seemed to be carrying something in her large claws, but Kronos couldn’t make it out. Sergia crashed into the wall opposite them and turned towards the exit of the palace. Her wings were so huge that she struggled to open them fully as she clumsily and desperately attempted to fly down the corridor.

“Stop her!” Yelled a voice from within the room. The guard with Kronos turned to give Sergia chase, but Kronos flew into the chamber.

What awaited him inside horrified him. There in the middle of the room, next to the empty human cage, was the body of Basileous The Blood-father. His neck had been ripped open and his scales and blood scattered the floor. He was dead. Next to Basileous lay the broken body of one of his hatchling young and the headless corpse of a human. Standing over them all were Toros and Baraxos.

“Kronos, my brother, what…?” Baraxos exclaimed, shocked at the sight of Kronos.

“Yes, Kronos!” Toros clicked his jaw as he spoke. “It was Sergia, she conspired with the humans! She opened their cage and they attacked my brother!” Kronos was too in shock to reply. “Baraxos here bravely tried to fend off the attackers but she got the better of him. She let the human-beasts murder my brother and took them with her in her escape.” Baraxos seemed uneasy. Kronos looked back at the cage to see Evera, also dead. “Sergia is a traitor! She needs to be brought to justice, as the acting king I order you to hunt her down and bring the vile beasts to justice!”

Kronos didn't move. His eyes were staring at Basileous' open neck. He looked from the neck to Toros. Toros was bearing his teeth with that unsettling smile, he was watching Kronos. Kronos saw the bloody dragon scales that had been lodged in between Toros’ teeth. They were Basileous’ scales. Kronos took a step back, Baraxos and Toros took a step forward.

“Kronos...” Warned Toros.

Kronos spread his wings and dove head first out of the council chamber.

"After him!" Bellowed Toros. Baraxos burst out of the doors right behind Kronos and gave chase. Kronos knew that he couldn’t win in open combat, his only hope was to escape. His size was his advantage as he knew he could out fly him in this corridor. Still, close behind he heard the sound of clumsy claws and wings battering the walls as Baraxos chased his prey.

“Traitor! Traitor! They are all Traitors! Kill him! Kill them all!” Toros maniacally yelled to the guards.

When Kronos reached the doors he had expected them to be barred shut but they had been knocked completely off their hinges and there was not a guard in sight. He burst into the moonlight. Where should he go? What should he do? Baraxos wasn't far behind. All he knew was that he had to get away. But where could he hide? The forests! He turned and dove straight down. Streamlining his wings he flew at incredible speeds toward the bottom of the mountain. It was dark; he had no sense of the world around him. Baraxos could be a from a wings width to a mile away, there was no way of knowing. All Kronos could do was fly. After a couple of minutes he was almost at the bottom.

With a sound of thunder and a force of lightning, a dark figure of a dragon collided into the side of Kronos, sending him ricocheting off into the canopy of trees. He fell to the ground gasping for the air that had been knocked out of him, he felt the ground shake as the dragon landed nearby. He was dead.

“Turn around and leave now or I will kill you before you take a breath.” It was Sergia! She was standing at her full height, humans and hatchlings on her back with her sharp claws gleaming in the moonlight.

Gasping and wheezing Kronos managed to spit out. “Toros… Killed…King… Hatchling…dead…human…dead…they are coming.”

Sergia lifted her claw to strike and hesitated. “You know?” Kronos nodded. With the confirmation that Kronos wasn’t a threat, Sergia collapsed. Kronos flew over. Basileous last hatchling and the humans fell off Sergia and onto the ground. Sergia was covered in blood, and as Kronos got closer he could see that she had a huge chunk of flesh bitten out of her belly. She wasn’t going to survive. She began coughing.

“Toros and his supporters will come for the human-beasts and Basileous' hatchling. You must go, now! They will be able to smell my blood. This is your only chance. Take them.”

Kronos quickly picked up Basileous’ hatchling and looked round at the human-beasts. They were standing there, shaken. Both the adult and the human-hatchling had swollen red eyes. Knonos hesitated, unsure of what to do. Sensing the conflict within Kronos, the adult human said. “We are not the monsters you need to run from.”

Irritated that the human-beast spoke, Kronos turned and spread out his wings to fly away. He wouldn’t be able to carry the adult anyway.

Sergia gasped as she struggled for breath.“Honor your word to your king, Kronos. Take Basileous’ young and the humans. Take them far from here. Watch over them, keep them fed and keep them safe. There are many monsters in the night… You need to run from the beasts.” Sergia began coughing again.

Kronos took a step toward the humans and then stopped, the ground shook. Another dragon had landed in the woods.

“I told you we should have killed the human-beasts when we found them." It was Baraxos. "You have now become prey." Kronos' heart dropped, he was too small to stand a chance with Baraxos without Sergia. He stretched out his talons and bared his teeth, resigned to his fate but unwilling to go without a fight. He then felt a weight being pushed into his open claws. He looked down into the eyes of the adult human, she had placed the human-hatchling in his grasp.

“Her name is Anya, keep her safe for me.” Letting go of Anya, the adult human turned, raised the long silver talon and charged at Baraxos. Taken off guard, Baraxos was unable to move out of the way in time before the human had sliced off one of his wings. He let out a monstrous roar.

Sergia shouted. “Go!”

Kronos, terrified, took off and flew into the night. Fly, fly, fly, he thought, they flew deeper into the dark. Fly, fly, fly, they heard the screams of the human. Fly, fly, fly, they heard the roar of Baraxos. Fly, fly, fly, they heard the bellow of Sergia. And then, it was silent.

He flew till the sun rose from behind the Palatium Citadel and where no sounds could be heard other than the beating of Kronos' wings and his shortened breath. Fear wasn't strong enough to ignore the ache in his muscles and the thirst burning his throat. He slowed his pace to check on the dragon-hatchling on his back and the human-hatchling in his claws. He looked down at the creature in his grasp. In the daylight of the morning its small face seemed less grotesque and more familiar. At the sight of Kronos, the human-hatchling began to make the singing like wailing noise again. The dragon-hatchling joined in the song. The sound was like a battle cry to Kronos and it gave him the push he needed to continue on and as he gave another three great swoops he thought; they were both terrible singers.