Chapter II - 2: Smoking Sylvamarius
It felt as though time stood still as Severa watched the terrifying sight of the Pyroraptor hovering above the city. Her stomach churned.
Soldiers from the Kingdom of Brimsjá had invaded Sylvamarius. The ground forces numbered only about fifty, which was little compared to the hundred farmers from Sanguinaria who had entered the city last week.
But these were not farmers; these were trained men clad in expensive armor and armed with swords and bows that even the city leader, Ambrosius, could not afford.
The smoke Severa had seen rising above Sanguinaria since last night now had an explanation: it was the same fate that would befall them—an all-destroying, fire-breathing dragon.
While Severa already feared a Silvaraptor greatly, this Pyroraptor was even more merciless. A forest dragon might be strong, but it did not possess elemental powers. The head of this beast stood at least four times taller than Severa, and in length, it was at least twice as large as a Silvaraptor.
When Severa squinted her eyes, she understood. From her vantage point, people no larger than ants swarmed over the dragon's body. They seemed to have bolted iron cables into the beast's scales and wings, controlling it. The dragon flapped wildly, shaking its body, but the soldiers were firmly anchored to its back and neck. By restraining and releasing the dragon with all their strength at the right moments, they could control its direction.
Severa's eyes were moist, perhaps from the smoke rather than the pain in her heart, she tried to convince herself. She couldn't help but turn her gaze away from the devastated city, staring instead at the sea, which shimmered calm and innocent, reflecting the pale blue sky and offering her only solace.
Only the rising smoke from the burning ships in the harbor of Sylvamarius tempted her to look back at the horror unfolding in the city.
Severa pressed her lips together, swallowed her fear, clenched her fists, and descended the mountain. In her haste, she stumbled repeatedly, her feet tangled in the thick, winding roots of trees that grew closely together, unwilling to share any light.
On the flat, clay-like cliff where the dense forests ended, Severa scrambled to her feet and peered down, now able to see the cruel expressions on the faces of the Brimsjá soldiers.
Aside from the soldiers, no one was visible. Sylvamarius was shrouded in smoke and fire. It was a giant bonfire, with houses as logs surrendering completely to the flames. Only a few buildings made of dug clay and stones had withstood the fire.
The dragon had finally defeated the soldiers on its back and now rested on a mountaintop, presumably like the soldiers. The city lay largely in ruins; there was hardly anything left that the beast had not tried to burn. The stone buildings stood proudly above the blackened ground beneath them, their outer walls scorched by the fire.
Many residents had likely barricaded themselves inside these buildings, hoping to gaze at the stars that night. But the Brimsjá soldiers had no intention of sparing anyone. With massive hammers, felled trees, and stones, they exhausted all their energy to completely destroy the city.
Severa saw a house slowly collapse amid panicked screams. One of the refugees managed to escape but was immediately cut down by one of the soldiers.
Severa knew better than to play the hero, but she simply couldn't resist the senseless violence. Enraged, she drew her bow and shot an arrow at a soldier, hitting him precisely in the neck—one of the few spots not protected by impenetrable leather and steel. As he fell, the clattering of his metal armor echoed on the hard stones of Sylvamarius's main street.
All the soldiers turned around, their searching gazes quickly fixing on Severa's face. They probably weren't very impressed by her appearance, perhaps even a bit embarrassed that one of their soldiers had been taken down by a young woman from this humble port town.
Immediately, the soldiers aimed their arrows at her. Severa threw herself flat on the ground, dodging them, and crawled as fast as she could into the forest while arrows whizzed over her head.
Suddenly, the villagers' cries of battle rang out again as they launched a swift attack on the soldiers during Severa's distraction. From behind the trees, Severa saw the soldiers trying to spur the dragon again, but it stubbornly shook its head, and the soldiers, too exhausted, couldn't move it.
For a moment, it felt like a small victory. Severa sighed hopefully, but before she could breathe in again, she saw a group of about fifteen soldiers charging up the mountain slope, extending from the square below to the slope where she stood.
Knowing she was much more agile than the heavily armored soldiers in her thin blouse and supple leather pants, she chose nearly impenetrable paths over rough rocks and along narrow ledges.
In the background, she heard the splashing water of the waterfall, deeper in the forest. With every step she took, the falling water grew louder, masking the soldiers' growls and commands, who still hadn't given up the chase.
Severa knew it wouldn't be long before she reached the steep cliff where the water crashed down. That meant her path would end there, or she would have to climb up. Neither option appealed to Severa. She had never liked heights.
When she reached the waterfall and looked up, the sun shone directly into her eyes. Nothing could be heard of the soldiers anymore, drowned out by the overwhelming roar of the waterfall. She knew they were still after her, like hunting dogs. Even though she might have widened the distance, she knew her flight couldn't end here.
Fueled by arrogance and lust for power, the army wouldn't simply let her escape. Their insatiable urge to kill anyone in their path was likely why no one knew Brimsjá's army controlled a fire dragon.
Severa swallowed, knowing she had no other choice. She might hate heights, but that aversion was nothing compared to her resistance against dragons. Determined, she pulled her long leather archer's gloves from her pockets and slid them over her fingers. She tightened the gloves and stretched her bare fingers. Without further hesitation, she grabbed the rock face and began to climb.
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