And then the golden age of the dragons and the golden age of her childhood was over. I could feel it. A period of darkness and cold filled the world. There were terrible battles, and terrible defeats, and the sun did not shine again for a long time, even in dragon years.
I opened my eyes and found them wet with tears. Yesenia had experienced the golden years of the dragon and humankind, the years of which I should have no memory but of which my blood sang. Those years were over before she had ever found a rider. And now she had one, centuries later.
We are almost there now, Anders. You would do well to prepare yourself. I will send warmth to your limbs; I have sent word to the others as well.
Will I fight from dragonback?
Without a harness I think it is impossible. You may want to drop down and fight on the ground.
I reached out my mind to the others. I will fall to the ground and fight there. I could feel the screams of the forest, the pain of the plants and trees being trampled. And burned. And cut down.
Woltan nodded slightly from atop his dragon. We will do the same. The dragons will fight from the air and the ground. Beware of Gerard. You know his power. Can you see the smoke? There is the mother tree, who does not yet burn.
Ulrike cried out then, and I felt it too. They are attacking the tree mother with magic. My father is fighting, but they have hurt him…
I could see the smoke now, and the flames from the surrounding trees. It hurt to feel the trees being knocked down, but I knew this strategy would backfire; they were creating room for the dragons to come in and attack.
We will burn and blast them, and into the confusion you and your friends will drop. Be ready to draw your sword and shield, Anders Tomason.
We swooped down into flames and smoke, into cries of rage and evil laughter. Three keiler had cornered a treeman against one of the trees; his transparent skin was covered with red blood. Yesenia swooped down and bit one in half, raked the other with her paw, and blew fire on a group of approaching trolls.
Now, Anders!
I rolled off the dragon and tumbled onto the ground, coming up to a crouch with my hand on my sword. I pulled the sword free, and before I could pull out my shield, the sword swung me around and clanged against the pike of a troll.
The troll must have been as tall as Arboris, several feet taller than me. His weapon was long and huge. The shock of the weight of it ran though my hand and up my arm to my shoulder. I would not be able to take much of this kind of pounding. All around me the battle raged. I could smell woodsmoke and dragonsmoke; my ears were bombarded with the sound of dragons making screams that blew enemies off the ground, or blasted them apart where they stood.
I feinted to the left, and then my sword moved almost faster than my arm could wield it, and the troll’s arm lay on the ground, the pike beside it.
The troll roared in pain, and blood spurted from its shoulder.
It started to run, and I looked around, trying to make sense of the chaos around me. Something huge swooped down out of the sky, and the troll was gone, leaving only its arm and pike behind.
XI
To me, Kinsmen!
It was Eric, king of the treefolk, fighting off a hoard of almost ten keiler.
Yesenia! Give me an opening to help the king!
But Adalbjorn was faster; suddenly above them the light went out, and there was a great piercing cry; it shot out of the dragon’s mouth like a great spear; and blasted four of the keiler straight into the underworld.
With me now Anders!
It was Ulrike. Her sword glowing, she was swinging her way through a mass of kobolds to make it to her father. They seemed to be everywhere now, more and more kobolds, with tiny swords and no armor to speak of. I moved through them, slicing off heads and limbs all around me. The smell of blood was sickening. My shield was low to protect me, as I moved as fast as I could to protect my back. Then I was with Ulrike, and we were fighting back to back. Her father fought his way to us then. I could see his was wounded, bleeding profusely from his chest. Soon all three of us were fighting in a triangle, with keiler and kobolds on all sides.
Anders, we can’t attack; you’re too spread out among the enemy. Bring your friends to you, and let us attack the enemy from behind.
I reached out my mind to my companions and the folk of the tree, broadcasting only to them as I parried and cut and shielded myself.
To me, and to the king. Clear the field so that the dragons can attack.
And they came: Arboris, with a great cry of rage, swinging his great staff left and right and cleaving a path through his enemies, the others behind him. A great troll came in front of Arboris, almost as tall as him, blocking his way. He swung a great sword. Arboris ducked, parried with his staff, and then the troll was gone, picked up by a dragon.
I was busy with the keiler around me. They shied off from attacking me directly, and I heard little currents of thought from them with their squeals.
Herr.