Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: Laeltilat

Laylith heard Chathi's screams in one of the tents. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I will kill everyone, every scum, I will spare no one, I will kill every bastard and every female creature that allows this! I will cut them one by one! I swear!"

It was night, small fires were burning in a camp. Suddenly, Laylith heard a flap of wings. Tukhtaashes sounded the alarm. Laylith was delighted.

The mages ran out and stood in a circle, beginning to conjure something. When the dragon landed nearby, Laylith saw her father and Slu.

"Daddy," Laylith shouted.

The father rushed to her. Slu ran after him.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender," a skinny Shard Khoshta shouted.

"Dad! They are raping the Chathi!" Laylith shouted.

Edelmer drew his sword and assumed a fighting pose, while Slu began casting a protective dome spell.

"Daervartalanjir," Edelmer shouted, "your help would be useful here," he looked at the dragon and realized that his consciousness was suppressed.

"The dragon is under our control," Shard said, "and this childish tukhtaash protective dome can be cast by any seven-year-old child, and an eight-year-old can easily pierce it," and he laughed.

Chathi in a half-torn dress screamed, her face and curly hair had traces of seed. She was held by the short-haired Kyatkhi, putting a dagger to her throat.

"She is your whore, northerner?" shouted Kyatkhi, "she now smells of our men," and about a hundred tukhtaashes laughed.

"Surrender and your life will be spared." Shard addressed to Slu, "Sister, if you did not betray our people, then what happened to her will not happen to you," he pointed to Chathi, "she is a traitor, and you know our ancient custom I hope. You know, women traitors are punished before death!"

Slu's fury flashed in her eyes.

"Dad, Slu don't surrender or they lock you up!"Laylith shouted.

"Shut up, you vile half-blood," Shard shouted.

Edelmer finally boiled, flushed with hatred, and almost walked from under the dome, but Slu managed to grab his hand, and she looked at him and shook her head. He stayed inside.

"Come on, ikhagatber, appear, turn me into a bird!" said Edelmer quietly.

Suddenly, everyone heard a bird scream. It was Kundaminokh. He flew pretty quickly and landed right in the crowd, and began to peck and trample the tukhtaashes. Tukhtaash mages could not use offensive magic without hitting their own.

Slu and Edelmer began to move. Edelmer ran out of the dome and attack the tukhtaashes, they were moving toward Chathi.

At that moment, Kyatkhi cut Chathi's throat.

"Nooo!" Edelmer shouted, and rage overwhelmed him, and he fiercely pierced the tukhtaashes, cut off his hands, thrust his sword straight into the skull. Once he even cut the tukhtaash from head to chest. Slu Tis strengthened her dome, not knowing who to attack, so as not to hurt the bird or Laylith.

Kyatkhi ran to the cage with Laylith. Edelmer noticed this and rushed to her. Nigshi ran there too. Several tukhtaashes were able to hit Kundaminokh with spears, and several spears and arrows sticking out of the poor bird, but he kept pecking, trample and tearing with his claws, taking off slightly and crashing down on his opponents again, but he was seriously wounded.

"Get away from him," the mages shouted and directed the dragon towards the snow argiphone. Kundaminokh could no longer take off, the tukhtaashes ran away from him and the controlled Daervartalanjir spewed a stream of fire, turning Kundaminokh into a charred corpse.

Suddenly Edelmer felt something, and he began to turn into a bird.

"The half-blood must be his daughter," Kyatkhi said to Nigshi.

"What are you doing? Stop doing that or I'll cut your daughter's throat," Nigshi shouted.

Edelmer turned into a bird and quickly flew to the cage and grabbed the cage with his claws and carried it. Nigshi cancelled the cage's spell, and Laylith fell on her father's huge claw and clung to it, he carried her not far to the west, and then screamed something, and Laylith looked at him with wide-eyed eyes.

"Dad?!"

He wrote in the sand with a claw, "wait." And then it took off and headed back.

When he flew up, Slu was running in his direction from the tukhtaashes and the dragon pursuing her. Edelmer picked up speed and crashed into the dragon with force. Then with a keen bird's eye, he saw the mages controlling the dragon and flew towards them. He was so huge bird that he crushed two mages at once, the rest fled in panic. The dragon came to his senses, trying to comprehend what was happening.

Edelmer screamed and shook his head, Daervartalanjir looked and saw a Slu running away from the tukhtaashes, but she had already created another dome, reflecting mainly physical attacks, and arrows and spears bounced off it, but fireballs flew right through the dome, and she had to dodge.

Edelmer and Daervar flew towards her. The dragon spewed a stream of flame, and dozens of tukhtaashes turned into charred corpses and some into ashes. Edelmer pounced on others with his mass and began to peck and trample on them. With his giant claws, he pierced and crushed several outlanders. The tukhtaashes scattered.

Several dozen boats sail to the coast from the huge ships.

Laylith ran as fast as she could to Slu, disobeying her father, and she was close. Slu stopped running and began to cast fireballs, releasing them at the fleeing tukhtaashes.

Finally, Laylith ran up, shouting,

"Dad, Slu, there are boats, they've sent reinforcements!"

Edelmer turned to his daughter, and then looked, and screamed to the dragon. Daervar flew to the boats, Edelmer followed. Then he saw that mages were sitting on the boats, and he instantly blocked the dragon's path in flight, screeching, and pointing his head at Slu and Laylith.

"You want me to leave you, take them and fly away?" the dragon asked.

Edelmer nodded.

"Alright, I'll take them to my mother, where we left her!"

Edelmer nodded again approvingly and flew to the boats.

Daervar flew up and burned several more fleeing tukhtaashes, and then turned to Slu and Laylith,

"Climb in, we're leaving, that's what the argiphone wants!" the dragon said.

"No, we'll not fly without my father! And we still have to kill them all!" Laylith resisted.

"No time, we have to leave," Slu said and grabbed Laylith's arm.

"No, Slu, you don't understand, she died because of me!" and Laylith tears welled up, "Chathi wanted to save me! She did it for me! And I won't fly anywhere without my father! I won't leave my dad!"

"Laylith, we must trust him, it's his decision!" Slu said.

"But I have to kill them all. Don't you understand? I have to kill them all. I have to!" and Laylith suddenly burst into tears, and she hung on Slu.

Slu lifted her. The dragon burned several tukhtaashes, which wanted to attack them.

"And we will kill them all, we will, I promise you," Slu said, and tears came into her eyes, "but now we need to fly away!" and she pulled Laylith along with her, and the girls climbed onto the dragon, and Daervar took off, heading towards the Dyerderar river.