Dragonstone
Dragonmont, Underground Caverns
"Roar!"
Roar...
Vermithor was on all fours, blood gushing from its neck, snarling furiously. Silverwing stayed close, snorting warily and staring into the tunnel, where the heat was already beginning to bite. The pungent smell of ash grew closer and closer.
Sssss...
Footsteps and the low growl of a dragon's throat could be heard in the tunnel. Vermithor and Silverwing braced for the worst.
Click!
A slight noise broke the tense atmosphere, as audible as a pin drop. At that moment, the black and red young dragon, curled up into a ball, opened its wings and peered around cautiously. Seeing that no dragon was paying attention to it, it quietly crawled down the stone bridge.
The heat transmitted quickly, and the stone slab under its butt began to warm, forcing it to move. As soon as the young dragon slipped under the stone bridge, a gust of wind suddenly blew.
"Roar!"
A grayish-white dragon shadow flashed past, rushing into the underground cave. Vermithor and Silverwing opened their mouths simultaneously, golden and orange Dragonfire swirling out.
"Ga~~"
Gray Ghost spun around, easily avoiding the two streams of dragonfire, and flew out of the underground cave. The Long Bridge was a passageway for humans and, of course, an entrance and exit for dragons.
Outside the cave was a cliff halfway up Dragonmont. The dragon flew out of the cave to a view of rolling mountains and green meadows.
"Roar!"
Vermithor stopped attacking, looking doubtfully at the cave entrance. It was a mistake. It wasn't Cannibal.
"Huh?"
The Grey Ghost flew halfway up the mountain, sticking out its dragon's head and emitting a high-pitched chirp. Its clear vertical pupils were a mixture of fear and curiosity. Yes, it was forced to scout the way, being small enough to escape easily.
Seeing the dragon outside the cave, Vermithor realized he had been tricked. He climbed up the stone bridge to attack, with Silverwing following.
Two against one, they had the advantage.
Suddenly, a strong smell of ash hit their nostrils.
"Roar!"
A pair of green pupils appeared, and then a black dragon leapt out.
Plop!
Cannibal crashed into Vermithor's chest, tearing scales off his belly with its claws and engaging in a brutal close-quarters battle. Initially passive, Vermithor quickly responded with a counterattack. It tried to kick the Cannibal away with its feet while opening its huge mouth to bite at its neck.
Crack!
Vermithor's sharp teeth collided with the Cannibal's dark scales, sending sparks flying. Vermithor lunged forward, its teeth slicing through the scales and finally tasting blood.
"Roar!"
In the blink of an eye, the Cannibal shook its head and knocked Vermithor away, spewing a mouthful of long-simmering, dark green Dragonfire.
Roar...
Silverwing roared, spreading its silver-white wings and swooping down on the Cannibal. Old grudges and new ones merged; today was the day of reckoning.
"I've been waiting for you!" Rhaegar locked his eyes on the ferocious Silverwing and swung his whip with all his might. The dragon-taming whip stretched out, its barbed spikes protruding like a flexible, strange snake.
In an instant, the whip struck Silverwing's neck.
"Roar..."
Silverwing let out a roar, and its attack halted. A black mark appeared on its green scales where the whip had struck, as if it had been bruised.
Rhaegar raised his whip and commanded in High Valyrian, "Back off!" His voice echoed loudly throughout the cave.
Silverwing, uncertain and wary, stared at the whip and slowly backed away. It understood High Valyrian and felt the sting of the whip. The unfamiliar pain made it retreat.
"Roar!"
Vermithor roared in anger, struggling to break free from the Cannibal's grip. The Cannibal took a step back, then spread its wings and prepared to pounce again. It was bigger and stronger. In a one-on-one fight, it didn't need to maneuver much.
Rhaegar sat on the Cannibal's back, with no chains around his waist, and almost fell off due to the shaking. At such a critical moment, there was no room for error. He held the handle with one hand and used his feet to keep his balance on the saddle.
"Roar..."
The dragon-taming whip no longer pointed, and Silverwing, like a runaway horse, was determined to re-engage in the fight.
Roar!
Grey Ghost flew back from the outside and spat out a massive fireball with a diameter of two meters. Silverwing, unable to dodge in time, was hit in the head by the fireball, nearly knocking it unconscious.
Roar~
As Silverwing regained its composure, the black and red young dragon flew out from the ground and shot Dragonfire at its wing. The Dragonfire was pure black, leaving a small black spot on the silver-bright wing membrane. It didn't burn through, but it was smudged.
Silverwing was furious. With a flick of its tail, it sent the black and red young dragon flying like a fly, straight at the grey shadow at the mouth of the cave. Grey Ghost, smart and quick, knew when to run. It flew out of the cave in an instant.
As Silverwing arrived at the entrance, a huge fireball smashed into it.
Bang!
Silverwing's wings blocked the fireball, which shattered into a shower of sparks.
"Roar!"
Silverwing let out a roar, and its huge body emerged from the cave, leaving its nest for the first time in months. Once out of the underground cave, its silver wings spread out completely. The green scales resembled leaves, and the silver dragon wings mirrored two bright shields.
Silverwing, over 90 years old and more than 70 meters long, was an undisputed giant. In terms of size, it was larger than the three generations of dragons before it, including Dreamfyre, who had swallowed the Dragon's Essence. Grey Ghost, flying in the air, was barely 30 meters long, not even half the size of its opponent. A glance from Silverwing's vertical pupils almost made Grey Ghost run away in fear.
Silverwing was huge and striking, a dragon of both strength and beauty. The only drawback was the two obvious missing patches of flesh where the neck connected to the shoulder blades. That was the work of the Cannibal. Even after the wounds healed and the scales grew back, the dents remained, devoid of muscle tissue.
"Roar!"
Silverwing glared at the gray wild dragon, its green scales shining in the sunlight. Grey Ghost, smaller and more agile, dove into the clouds and hid its body as it always did. With its gray-white scales, it blended perfectly with the clouds.
"Roar!"
Silverwing was furious, spitting Dragonfire at the clouds, the orange flames stretching for hundreds of meters. At this moment, a grayish-white dragon head poked out from a cloud behind Dragonmont. Grey Ghost trembled, torn between fleeing and fighting. Its instinct told it it could not defeat the green dragon, but it wanted to prove itself.
Grey Ghost, in his young-adult years, had been bullied by Sunfyre and hunted by Cannibal, and it was covered in scars.
Rhaegar happened to save it. Grey Ghost had seen Rhaegar ride the Cannibal out of Dragonmont, and the image had burned into his mind. It had already escaped once and lost a possible rider.
Dragons have their pride, and overcoming their nature is the hardest choice. The thought came to him.
"Roar..."
Grey Ghost's reason prevailed. It snorted and burst out of the clouds, spitting Dragonfire balls at the green dragon. It was not a timid little dragon!
(Word count: 1,245)