“The what?” Cody asked.

            Heyrone whispered in his ear, “The Duel of Barbarians. Dragons have existed as long as humans, dwarves, and elves, and there have been riders as long as dragons. Just as we twolegs have a barbaric past, so too have the dragons. Even though we have all become more civilized, there are those instincts among dragons that cannot be tamed. It comes as second nature to some, and that is how Micah and Inferno both knew how to respond. During and just after the challenge, their thoughts are so primitive that they can’t communicate through thoughts. If I remember correctly, if Micah still wishes to challenge Inferno, he will use the draconic language alone to communicate the reason of his challenge. Perhaps Argos can translate for us.”

            “Challenge to do what?” Autumn asked nonchalantly.

            “Quiet!” Argos growled.

            Micah paid no attention to the anything but the dragon before him as he lifted his head in a roar. Cody felt Argos connect to his mind in preparation to translate. The white dragon spread out his claws and growled low in his throat. Occasionally he would give another roar, a bark, or a ferocious hiss, while Inferno stood unmoving, listening to the challenge with intense interest.

            “Weakling lizard-biter,” Argos translated for the twolegs, cringing, “you follow a wolf-rider blindly into unknown dangers and risk your rider’s life as though it were nothing. You are no more than a horned snake given the honor of magic and flight, and you are undeserving of being bonded with a rider! The Great Dragons must have humored themselves when they thought of creating a hornless, dim-hearted, ice-brained fool like you. It’s a miracle they gave you the hide of our kin, and you are the first-born of the new generation? You’re a coward, and I cringe to think of what shame your rider must feel.”

            “Argos said that there is more, but he can’t bring himself to repeat such curses,” Heyrone said when Argos stopped but Micah continued. “Let us see if Inferno accepts the challenge.”

            “If the curses are so awful, why would he refuse?” Cody asked, dreading the answer.

            Heyrone shook his head in despair, “The stakes are high in the Duel of Barbarians, Blackscales. Argos won’t tell me what the stakes of this particular duel are, but in olden days the winner would win almost everything from the loser. Oftentimes one of the dragons would die in the struggle.”

            “What was on the line in your time?” Cody asked.

            Heyrone looked at him carefully before answering so that only he could hear, “If Micah should win and Inferno dies, you will be left to do what you please, and Autumn will be left the same if Micah should die. But if the loser is left alive, the winner would own absolutely everything of theirs. Some dragons have even gone as far as taking the loser as a slave. If Inferno should lose and be left alive, Micah could do whatever he pleased of you and Inferno. Most likely, based on what I understand from Argos, he will take all of your armor and weapons for Autumn and banish the two of you from Mrana Akano Furista. But be assured, I’ve never seen a fight for myself, so perhaps the stories are exaggerated.”

            Cody wasn’t entirely sure that he fully grasped what was at stake, but he remained silent from what he did understand. I could lose Inferno. He froze when Micah finished and all was silent. Inferno looked over at Cody and his iron gaze melted, showing more love and affection than Cody had ever seen from him. It was a primordial emotion, stronger than most others in the entire world that had somehow survived through millennia in the form of this archaic race. Inferno’s gaze hardened once more and he turned on the white dragon, letting loose his most powerful roar yet. The power and emotion behind it was beyond anything that Cody could have ever imagined. It was the final testimony of a dragon’s eternal love for his rider. Right then, Cody was overwhelmed by the passion in the draconic word. He didn’t need Argos to translate the simple but powerful message, for my rider!

            Heyrone nodded, appearing shocked himself by the force of the reply. “We will fly with them to the beach, where the fight will take place.”

            Cody was numb from head to toe. He didn’t realize that his legs were carrying him to Argos’s side and he didn’t notice when he was forced onto the dragon’s back. He felt himself almost fade in and out of consciousness for a few minutes until the whole world was suddenly revealed to him in clarity again. Everyone stood about a hundred yards from the white and black dragons, but every agonizing detail was plain to Cody. Inferno was a bit larger than Micah, but the white dragon was built for battle, with curved talons designed for tearing off the scales of enemy dragons, dazzling, large horns made for bashing through armored flesh, and teeth as sharp as razors, each one easily capable of slicing through muscle and bone alike. Inferno matched or neared most of his traits, but overall Micah had the advantage.

            “It begins,” Argos said, not even attempting to conceal the fascination in his tone.

            The two dragons crouched low in the sand.

            With a vicious roar, Micah stormed forward. Inferno returned the roar as loud as he could as his own paws ripped at the earth and he lunged forward. There was a deafening crack as their horns collided. Micah’s straight horns were aimed at Inferno’s chest, but the black dragon blocked the blow with his curved ones. The two pushed with all their might against each other with little success, until Micah drew back and drove his horns at inferno again. They caught at the base of his skull, pinning his neck in place until Micah lifted both of their heads high into the air. The white dragon lashed out at inferno’s chest with his hooked claws, but the distance was poorly gauged and his claws missed. Inferno snarled in anger and pushed down with the strength of his neck alone, forcing them back to the ground.

            The horns still on his neck, Inferno rushed forward and slashed at Micah’s neck, just barely managing to make a cut no larger than that on Destiny’s neck, but it was still blood. Smelling it, both dragons attacked with renewed vigor. Inferno pulled away from Micah’s horns and turned around to smack the white dragon with his tail. Instead, Micah dodged and leaped onto Inferno’s back, where he dug is claws under the rough scales and tore at Inferno’s flesh. With a merely a grunt of pain, Inferno tossed onto his back and crushed Micah beneath him, all of the spines on his neck driving a half-foot into the white dragon’s underside.

            Micah roared in fury and pushed Inferno away, which made Cody’s dragon collapse sideways onto the ground. The white dragon rushed forward with miraculous speed, his jaws open and dripping with saliva. Autumn’s dragon latched onto Inferno’s neck and lifted him halfway of the ground. Cody watched in horror as blood poured over the dragon’s teeth and dyed his muzzle red. Inferno let out a scream that Cody didn’t know was possible, a scream so shrill and painful that it apparently even made Avalsmokes faint. With a shower of black and red scales, inferno tore free from Micah’s grip and raced away, leaving a long trail of blood.

            The white dragon instantly pursued, making Inferno spread his wings to escape into the sky. Micah followed instantly in pursuit, ignoring the thick globs of searing blood that stained his scales. Inferno turned on his pursuer and scraped his flank roughly with his right forepaw. Several scales came loose, but there was only a tiny trickle of blood that game from the wound. Nevertheless, Inferno skillfully dove around Micah and gripped his tail in his jaws, drawing out a roar of anger. The two tumbled out of the sky until, with a massive splash; they disappeared under the surface of the lake with only the little bubbles of air to betray their presence.

            A coat of blood rose up from the depths of the lake and covered the area that the two dragons were under. There was a thunderous roar as one of the dragons rose out of the water and raced for land, his wings stretched out to reveal the tattered, bloody webbing. When the dragon reached land the water rolled off, showing his black hide for the world to see. Even though the blood had been washed off, Cody saw Inferno’s wounds begin pouring out once more to coat his dark scales in the scarlet liquid. Accompanying them were a few new wounds along his flank, which added to the pool that was slowly forming at his paws.

            The lake parted once more to reveal the stunning white dragon, only a few new scratches coating his skin. Knowing that his wings would no longer work well enough, Inferno folded them painfully to his sides and faced his opponent. As the fight had begun, they charged at each other and lowered their heads at the last moment. Inferno managed to land a blow on Micah’s jaw with one of his curved horns, making the white dragon stumble back for a moment. The black dragon seized the opportunity and struck at Micah’s foreleg.

            The white dragon roared in pain, the noise accompanying the cracking of bones as Inferno bit down with all his might. Micah wrenched his leg away from Inferno’s grip and lunged faster than a viper. The white dragon latched onto Inferno’s neck again and forced the black dragon onto his back. Micah shoved Inferno’s head into the dirt and clawed at his exposed underbelly and chest, earning another gut-wrenching draconic scream. Inferno lashed out with his paws but no matter what he did he couldn’t land a mark on Micah. He made one last effort and then lay still, contemplating what he should do.

            Inferno let out a faint, weak whimper and stretched out his neck as much as he could with the white dragon still holding on. He turned his head towards the lake and winced as it stretched his wounds. Micah let go and roared, loud as he could, next to Inferno’s head. With one last swipe at the chest, opening three new, terrible gashes, Micah turned to the others, who sat watching, waiting. He roared his victory to the world as he stood on his hind legs and pawed at the air in front of him, his feral eyes gleaming at the knowledge of his success.

            Cody took a step forward so he could run out to his dragon, but Argos stopped him, saying, “We must wait until Micah declares what is to become of the two of you now.”

            Cody thought that the white dragon was going to talk in the draconic language and Argos would have to translate again, but instead came a deep, unfamiliar voice, “I wish no harm to come to you, Human. I choose to banish Inferno from Mrana Akano Furista until the day that I should die, and if he returns I shall kill him. You are free to stay here, but he must go, and you will never be allowed to see him again. Or you can choose to go with him and suffer the same punishment.”

            Cody looked around and saw that Micah had projected his thoughts for all to hear, but the words were directed at Cody. The rider bowed his head, grieving for the outcome of the duel. He lifted his head just enough to look at his wounded black dragon and knew that he had to go with him. Whatever happened, he could never leave Inferno to die on his own.

            “I choose to go with him,” Cody announced weakly.

            Micah’s gaze hardened, “Are you sure? If he should die after you leave, you will still never be allowed to return.”

            “We will be with you,” came Mournful’s reassurance, and she showed Cody a picture of herself, Ashheart, and Omen staring at him determinedly.

            Knowing that he would have them, at least, eased his suffering. He looked at Heyrone, Autumn, and Aval for their reactions. Avalsmokes seemed horrified, but held his tongue, while Heyrone watched him with the same grief that Cody felt. His blood boiled when he looked at Autumn. Her gaze was filled with contempt, while a stiff but smug expression rested on her lips that stretched the scar on the side of her face. Cody’s nostrils flared.

            “I will go,” Cody announced, making Avalsmokes sigh with sadness.

            Micah snarled at him before replying, “Then begone! You have the ability to teleport that weakling with you. Go to Semiones, now, and if you ever return…I shall kill you!”

Cody looked at Micah and bowed his head as he thought about places in Semiones where he could bring them, until Mournful said to him alone, “Cody, Inferno won’t make it if we go to Semiones. Micah won’t know the difference if you take us elsewhere in Mrana Akano Furista. Bring us to the spot where you and I first met and he will think we have left the Pass.”

The rider sent a brief confirmation through his thoughts and concentrated on the spot she had mentioned. He closed his eyes and imagined the lake glimmering off to their side, and then he imagined himself, inferno, Mournful, Ashheart, and Omen, all gathered in that one spot for a second time. He opened his eyes, and they were all there.

Instead of the others being a few feet away like before, the three of them were right next to him. He looked forward, and a mere five feet away he saw one of inferno’s paws stretched out towards him, every claw gleaming with a combination of Micah’s and his own blood. Cody let his horrified gaze drift up the leg and he beheld the gruesome sight. Inferno’s chest and belly were oozing scarlet blood, and even as the rider watched it pooled beneath him. Most horrific was the dragon’s neck, where a score of scales were missing to reveal many deep tooth marks. Inferno had rolled onto his side sometime before, allowing Cody to get a good view of his spines, half of which were crimson and gory, and the tattered remains of his wings.

“Will he ever be able to fly again?” Cody asked, grief-stricken as he gently lifted the parchment-like folds and inspected the tears.

Mournful bent down to Inferno and sighed, “I don’t know, Cody. If he lives through this his wings might heal, but I don’t know how likely it is.”

“One thing’s for sure, we have to bandage his wounds somehow,” Omen said slowly. “Mournful, do you know of anything around here that we might be able to use?”

Mournful nodded, “I have nothing that will guarantee his survival, but I do have some cloth and a good knowledge of nearby plants. Ashheart and Omen, there isn’t much here that can be used for the wounds on his neck, but for the smaller injuries we can use yarrow and plantains.” She sent a picture of the two plants to all of them, in case they should find any and then looked at Cody. “You have to come with me so I can get cloth and furs.”

“But we can’t leave him alone! What if something attacks him?” Cody asked, horrified.

Mournful snarled at him, “It’s not that far, and I can’t carry the materials in my talons without risk of getting them dirty, now climb on!”

In less than three seconds Mournful was a gryphon again, white feathery white fur blotched with black. Not daring to argue, Cody hauled himself onto her back and grabbed fistfuls of her soft fur. She didn’t waste any time and leaped into the sky, climbing quickly towards a mountain about a mile away. Compared to dragonback, the ride was incredibly bumpy and Cody struggled to stay on with each burst of speed. In a few minutes they landed in a small cave, about half the size that Cody was used to.

Cody fell off her back as she landed, but she didn’t seem to even notice as she ran into a side tunnel. She emerged seconds later with a beak full of cloth bandages, which she dropped in front of Cody. She reached around and pulled a thick, massive bear fur down and tossed it on top of the pile. In one paw she held a bundle of ropes, which she dropped on top of the pile.

“Use the ropes to tie the fur and cloth onto my back. Tie it around my neck and under my belly and then climb on.”

Cody obeyed as he put the layers of cloth on her back and draped the bear hide over it. In the hide he found several holes that had been punched in with her talons, and he used those to tie the ropes on her neck and stomach, as she had said. When he was confident that they would survive the trip, he pulled himself onto her back and clung tight to her with his legs and held on to the rope around her neck so tight that his fists turned white. He closed his eyes as she leaped over the ledge and sailed down towards the faint black figure lying by the lake. This time it took just over a minute before they arrived and Cody slipped from her back.

Mournful turned back into a human and the ropes, even the one around her neck, were loose enough to drop to the ground. Without hesitation she pulled a knife from the inside of her shirt and cut the cloth into pieces large enough to cover Inferno’s wounds. Cody just stood still, looking at the blood-stained earth around the dragon. A river continued to stream from his chest like water. The smell of hot, salty blood permeated the air, making Cody hurl as the bile rose in his throat.

When the bandages were cut, Mournful calmly pressed them against the wounds and held them there. Within two seconds the bandage was soaked with blood, so she applied another. When that one was soaked through, she added another cloth. Within a few minutes of the process, and with one of the five cloth sheets used up, Omen and Ashheart returned carrying a bunch of foot-long plants. When Mournful asked Omen, he came over to the bandage and took her place while she grabbed the plantains and walked around Inferno’s body.

“Cody, can you tend to Inferno’s other bite and hand me a few pieces of cloth?” Mournful asked.

Cody nodded dumbly and handed her the bandages before he grabbed a sheet’s worth for himself. He sat on his knees in the grass, ignoring the wet sensation that climbed up his legs as his pants absorbed the blood on the ground. Omen sat a few feet away, now mostly hidden from view as Inferno’s curved neck blocked him. Cody took a deep breath and looked at the wound.

At least a dozen scales had been torn from the wound, but where each bite mark originated, he couldn’t tell, for there was an endless stream of blood oozing from numerous places. The wound was about a foot and a half wide and two feet long, and Cody knew that a similar injury was pressed exact opposite him into the ground, where hopefully the pressure of the dirt would stop the flow of blood.

Swallowing the fresh wave of bile that rose in his throat, Cody grabbed a bandaged and centered it over the wound before pushing it down. Instantly the cloth began to absorb the thick liquid, and within a few seconds Cody’s hands turned red. He grabbed a second piece of cloth and repeated the process. After another few seconds, he needed another and another soon after that. Soon Cody had used up an entire sheet. He sighed with relief when one last bandage managed to slow the bleeding a little bit, giving him hope that the wound would scab soon enough.

The group worked throughout the day, Mournful having to fetch more bandages sheet by sheet to keep all of the wounds covered. At the brief moments that she was allowed to stop between flights, she would grab the plantain leaves and try a combination of techniques, from dripping the juices on the wounds to just pressing the leaves against them, to chewing them up and spitting them on the wounds. It didn’t look like she knew exactly what she was doing, but Cody knew that she knew more than him about healing anyway, so he kept silent.

As the sun began to set, Mournful stood and cracked her back before looking at the others and saying in a weary voice, “The last thing we can do to help him is either stay up through the night holding the bandages, or we can wrap them tight and rest, and frankly, I think we should rest.”

“That is a good idea,” Omen said, pausing only to yawn before continuing, but how can we do it? Lifting a dragon, and not just a dragon but one that is wounded and that we have to be careful with. It can’t be done!”

Mournful glared at him before answering, “As a gryphon, I have just enough strength to hold his neck up long enough for you to wrap the bandages around a few times on each wound. Then we can lay out a few pelts and carefully shift him over. It will be difficult, but we can either try or leave Inferno to fight for life through the night alone, cold, and in pain.”

Omen grunted in response and walked over to Inferno’s neck again. The bleeding had just managed to stop, and Cody shared his concern for reopening the wounds, but Mournful’s plan sounded as though it was worth the risk. He nodded and joined Omen. Without a word, the four of them slowly lifted his head and neck, and while Ashheart strained to hold up his massive head and Mournful struggled to stay standing under his beefy neck, Cody and Omen grabbed the bandages and wrapped the remainder tight around his two neck wounds.

Next, they slowly put his head down, and all four of them slowly dragged his immense body onto a pile of furs that Mournful has made. Last of all, Mournful grabbed the remaining three pelts and draped them over Inferno’s side and the base of his neck. Then all of them but Cody stepped back and observed their handiwork.

One of Inferno’s wings was draped awkwardly over the dirt by his stomach, which Cody slowly crawled underneath, like he had during their travels through Semiones. Bits of moonlight streamed into the shelter through the many rips, gashes, and tears in the membrane, but Cody ignored it and pressed his face gently against the dragon’s bandaged stomach.

A tear rolled down Cody’s cheek as he listened to the usually strong, slow heartbeat now beating a bit more rapidly and weakly. Inferno wasn’t quite as warm as he should have been, and his breathing was a bit rapid. The smell of herbs wafted toward his nose from the many treated cuts, but Cody ignored the world and nuzzled closer to his best friend.

                Just before he fell asleep, he prayed with his thoughts, please; whoever’s up there, please, please let Inferno make it through the night.