《Rina, the Dragonslayer》


 Prologue

    ¡°What the fuck are you doing! You are going to get stomped on like that!¡± I screamed as I picked up a man in a suit of plate covered in ash and dirt off the ground. I looked up at what I could only call a nightmare of claws, scales, and fire. Fucking dragons. Lord Byron wanted this dragon''s heart¡­ and he would let 200 men die to get it. Ass. As the red-scaled beast swung its clubbed tail, smashing into the trees and taking half a mage corps with it, I ran and hid in the crater my squad had been using as shelter and slammed the whimpering soldier next to me. We kept our backs pressed against the upturned earth as I looked at the two remaining men of my squad.


    ¡°Captain Imgal.¡±


    I turned to look at the younger of the two remaining Guardians in my squad, the Ironwolves, his face covered in sweat dirt and blood. He looked at me, fear in the eyes.


    ¡°I don''t want to die. Not like this.¡±


    We are all fucked. I looked into his eyes trying to keep my expression calm.


    ¡°We are going to make it, Aldred,¡± I assured as I patted his shoulder, the sound of a fireball exploding over my voice, knowing full well that we had lost nearly half of our forces.


    ¡°Now when I say go, me and you are going to go for its left hind leg. I go right, Aldred, you go left. Alvin, you are gonna guard us on our retreat path, do you follow?¡± The two looked at me as of I was insane. I''m fighting a dragon, so maybe. I prepared my warhammer and looked at them again.


    ¡°Do you understand¡±. They nodded in unison.


    ¡°Good.¡± I gave them a moment to breathe. I looked over the edge of the crater and saw the beast had turned away from us to attack some other poor souls.


    ¡°Goooooo!¡± I screamed. As we ran to the monster, I kept in mind the first rule of fighting dragons: limit its mobility. Thankfully, a few mages had frozen and shattered its left wing before they got taken out.


    As we approached the dragon, I swung my warhammer, its momentum crushing the dragons ankle. The man running next to me managed to lodge his heavy spear into the back of the knee of the beast. I quickly retreated under the beast to his right side, as the blood red beast roared and turned to look back to his left at what had caused it so much pain and let out an indiscriminate wave of fire and ash. All I could do as watch as the wave of fire washed over the men. Shit. I didn''t have time to worry about others. I had to survive.


    As I was lost in thought the dragons right wing flared as its body flailed as it fell to the ground unable to support its weight, launching me into the air. I flew back, finally crashing into some trees, the sound of my bones breaking accompanying the splintering of wood. I felt my body shutting down, my lungs unable to supply me with air. I felt the blackness of death as I closed my eyes in pain.


    It was dark and all sound had faded. I was going to die. I felt only pain. And for what. All so some rich fucker who never held a sword can eat the dragon''s mana sphere and become a Dragonslayer? I thought of my sister, my mother, my father, the woman I loved as I fell into the inky blackness. However, through the darkness, I heard a voice.


    ¡°Maxima Heal.¡± I saw a light emanating from the darkness and I reached out for it. I felt small strings pull me together like a puppet. I felt something fly out of my lung, the pieces of my shattered ribs coming together like a puzzle. I opened my eyes to a elven healer, who promptly helped me onto my feet. I was a little disoriented and stumbled as I got up.


    ¡°Stabilize¡± the elf said as the feeling of a bucket of cool, refreshing water that had been dumped on me rushed over my body. I felt my surroundings come back into focus.


    ¡°Are you good to go?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I didn''t have time to say thanks before I was pushed out of the way to help the next broken body that was carted over. I knew she wasn''t trying to save me out oh the kindness in her heart. She did it to save herself. If I died who would distract the dragon. I chuckled. All I could do as thanks was to kill this fucker.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I ran back into the fray and found where I had dropped my weapon when I was hit, running to pick it up. As I ran, I reevaluated our position and saw that in the time I was away the remaining soldiers had managed to get ropes over its body and had staked them into the ground to pin the creature. Its front right leg had been blown off and was laying near it, the beast spitting fire at any that dared approach, tail swinging wildly.


    Now we go for the head. I ran towards the beast channeling mana into my weapon, magic seals floating around the end of it, changing its form from a warhammer to a greataxe. I saw the beast turn to me and saw fire explode out of its mouth. As the wall of flame approached me, a mage sent a fireball that intercepted it causing an explosion that knocked me to the ground next to the blown off leg.


    I scrambled behind the leg and regained my bearings. I got up off the ground again looking over the top of the leg. I was about 15 feet from the thrashing beast as I saw an arrow pierce the beasts right eye, causing it to launch random bursts of fire in the direction the arrow came from. I''m in his blind spot. I vaulted onto the beasts scaled leg and raised my weapon and jumped. I went for the base of the monstrosities neck. It roared in pain and I was flung away. Though I penetrated through its scales into the flesh, it was not a deep enough wound. Great, now my weapon is stuck in its fucking neck. I ran away trying to find a weapon on the way.As I ran I saw another crater and I dived in. Crashed into another body and slammed to the ground.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I said turning to the person I had crashed into. The sight I saw made me want to vomit up all I had eaten over the course of the last three days. I saw the upper half of a man, intestines hanging out of his body, blood soaking into the loosened earth beneath him. I held my reaction to the visceral scene in front of me back and reach down and picked up the dead man''s sword and shield and promptly jumped out of the crater.


    As I got out I turned my focus on the dragon again. I saw a giant thundercloud form. Those crazy mages. Not one second later a giant bolt of lightning hit my greataxe, still lodged in its neck like a lightning rod. I saw the behemoth writhe in pain as electricity coursed through its body.


    All of a sudden the dragon stopped moving. Normally an attack like that would have just bounced off,or chipped away at the dragon scales, but not kill it. Its body twitched violently as it finally stopped moving. I and a ring of the remaining fighters, warriors, and guardians slowly approached the beast, making breathing had. The men closest to its head slashed its throat and stabbed a sword into its remaining eye just to be extra sure. It took us some time to comprehend what had happened but we had definitely killed it. After a few minutes of discussion we figured out the lighting had fried its nerves and overloaded its brain. As we all cheered, a man ripped open the dragon''s chest with his sword to recover our prize, the heart.


    We regrouped back at our camp, far from the dead dragon withering away into dust. We started the fight with 200 men. We ended with 86. Most of the survivors were healers, archers, and mages as they were furthest from the beast. Only 15 of the close ranged fighters remained.


    We carefully locked the heart away in a chest that only captains had the keys for. After that, most of the group proceed to party into the late hours of the night, drinking and eating their way to exhaustion. However, I had other plans.


    I waited till the people around me had all passed out from there drunken partying. I snuck back to the tent that housed the chest and drew my knife as I approached in the darkness. A dark elf was watching over the chest as I approach his long ears twitching. As he turned around to look who was approaching, I rushed him and quickly sliced across his throat, the sound of his gurgling voice fading as I entered the tent. I pulled the chest onto a large table, unlocking it to remove the heart. I placed the heart onto the table, making sure none had followed me.


    I took out the heart and sliced carefully into it. The sphere was nested behind the three of the dragons ventricles, if I remember correctly. By consuming the sphere you gain the powers of the dragon you killed. I slid my knife into cutting away the 3 ventricles to retrieve the sphere. I plunged my hand into the section I had cut away and felt around, blood splashing on my clothes as I drew it back. In my hand I held the pulsating red gelatinous sphere in my hand as it glowed faintly in my hand. All this work for this.Its time. And I took a bite. And another. And then the last. The powers only manifested if only one person had eaten the entire sphere.


    All of a sudden, I felt something I could not explain. The Awakening. The moment the sphere bonds with you. I felt a fire burn in me, starting from my stomach radiating outward. I looked at my hand the blood of the dragon evaporating as I felt my body overheat. I felt the raging flames in me take over me. Become part of me. My blood boiled as I felt the skin on my body harden and small embers began dancing in my hand. I ignited as I roared out, an explosion of flame burning everything in a massive radius around me, leaving only ash, and incinerating the remaining survivors. The Overload. Don''t know why I ever worried myself with this garbage. Wait, what. I felt there was something locked away deep in the back of my mind, wanting to release death and destruction. I closed my eyes and I fell to the ground exhasted. And naked. This must be therest. As I faded into slumber, I swore I could hear a chuckle from the recesses of my mind.

 Chapter 1

    I woke up as our cart hit a bump in the road. I brushed my long red hair from my face as I looked around me, wincing as I felt my bruises on my side from the beatings I had received over the course of our 2 month trip. I shouldn''t be complaining. Some of the others had been beaten so badly they would probably wake up in a pool of their own blood. Well, if they woke up anyway. The slavers never hit the women''s faces. Lucky for me, we had to look ¡°presentable.¡±


    I looked at the shackles on my arms, cursing my birth. I was born into slavery, taken from my parents and raised to be a Diamond as most of the children of slaves were. But that was 20 years ago. They have probably been worked to death by now.


    The sad reality of the world is that not everyone is equal. Not everyone gets to be happy. In this world everyone bowed down to someone stronger than them. I just had it in the job description. I looked down at my right foot grimacing as I ran my hand along the tattoo of a red diamond.


    I looked out the barred windows of our cart to see the cliffside city of Astrakhan, founded over 500 years ago by the dragonslayer Victor Imgal, who was the sole survivor after killing a fire dragon. The city was dug out of the side of the cliff, long bridges of stone and the large staircases connected the walled base to the balconies above. Most travelers would be in awe of such a spectacle. Unfortunately, this would be the place I was sold. Where all of us would be sold.


    Slaves came in all ages, races, and backgrounds. As I looked around me, I saw the faces of dwarven men who could not pay their drinking bills, feline women who were tricked into going into the wrong alley, the children of negligent parents who were kidnapped. And more. Some of them were even ex-slavers that couldn''t make their dues to their bosses. Slavers didn''t really care who you were. They only saw you as as a means to make money.


    In the cart there was only one other Diamond, a young Lycan like me named Slate who was 9 years old. He was very cautious and did not stir up a lot of trouble. Maybe he was just smart and knew how to avoid becoming a practice dummy for the guards. Most Diamonds like us would be house servants as we were taught to read and write and could help our masters with their work. I often had to protect the boy as the other Suits didn''t like us. I suppose we deserve their hate considering we had it better than most. The Clubs would be sold as gladiators to fight in the arenas. Well, that was assuming they could survive their almost daily beatings till that point. Conditioning the slavers called it. I don¡¯t know if it actually helped them in the ring but if they got lucky, they may eventually fight there way to freedom. Highly unlikely though. Spades would almost always be sent to work in the mines, who had high turnover rates. Just like my parents. If they were lucky, they would be bought by a farm and work to produce food but slaves on farms rarely needed to be replaced. All I can say is I¡¯m glad I wasn''t a Heart. In my book, they had it the worst. With good luck they would become the wife of a rich and lonely man forever catering to their sick desires. Or dead in the gutter behind a brothel if they were not so lucky.


    I called Slate to me with a harsh whisper, and he crawled over slowly, trying not to make too much noise.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I won''t be able to protect you much longer.¡± I whispered to him, his young face showingconfusion.


    ¡°What do you mean Rina?¡± He asked his dirty, white ears drooping, tears welling up in his eyes.


    ¡°This is the last stop of the slave caravan. Here we will either be sold or dumped into the slave pens till someone decides to buy us. I will try to convince whoever buys me to buy you as well.¡± He hugged me crying into my rags. All I could do was pull him close to me and gently stroke his ears in an attempt to calm him.


    ¡°Please don''t leave me Rina.¡± He mumbled into me. I wish I had that choice.


    We had slowed down and finally stopped. I looked at the towering walls protecting the city, mounted with cannons and ballistas. The walls had enough firepower to kill a dragon if necessary. In the past large groups were needed to fight dragons. However, nowadays they were not as big of a threat.


    My ears twitched as I heard the city''s gates creak open as our cart pulled forward. As we pulled into the city I looked out the window to see a man race through the busy streets stealing bread from a nearby stall and darting up a staircase that led to a dark alley. The sound of vendors trying to sell cheap products at high prices filled the air as we were carted through the city. I looked out at the vendors selling their wares the sounds of arguing and cheering coming from the many alcoves surrounding us. As we passed through I felt the stares of the populace.


    There were usually three types of people that looked at us anywhere we went. The first consisted of people who thought slavery was wrong, and hurled insults at our captors as we passed by. To afraid to actually do anything though. The second group of people included those that looked away from us,trying to ignore the reality of our situation. Finally, there were the people shamelessly looking at us, trying to decide which one of us they wanted to buy. At least they were honest.


    By the time our cart reached the market where we would be sold at it had grown dark. I heard footsteps approaching as the lock on our cart opened.


    ¡°Ay, you lot better be prepared to bought in the morning.¡± The guard said as he tossed in a sack of bread and 2 flasks of water. As an emaciated elven man reached out to grab the food, the guard brought down the end of his polearm, crushing the frail hand.


    ¡°You stupid needle ear. You need to learn patience¡±.


    The man wailed in pain and the guard proceeded to kick him across the face, his blood and teeth hitting the floor.


    ¡°You need to learn to shut up as well¡± said the guard with a sneer. He looked over us and pointed at two of the Hearts.


    ¡°You two are coming with us, you seem under trained.¡± He said with a sleazy look on his face as he grabbed their chains and dragged them forward. I could see the tears in their eyes as they were taken away from the rest of us. I didn''t have time to worry about them. It''s almost time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get yourselves killed¡± the guard joked as he left with the two women.


    The second the door closed behind the guard, a brawl ensued in our tiny cart. I was close to the front of the cart and rushed in and got a loaf of bread which Hid in my rags. I dove for one of the flasks, managing to take a few sips before tossing it to Slate who did the same. Water was a scarce resource for us and people would kill to get it. A wall of people crawling over each other rapidly approached Slate as he proceeded to throw the flask to the back of the cart. The crowd turned back and ran to retrieve it. I scrambled next to Slate and huddled together with him scarfing the hard bread down quickly. Once we had eaten we found a corner to rest in away from the fighting.


    We had come up with that plan and had been using it for the last few weeks. Overall it was working out well. It was nice to have someone help execute your plans...liar. I tried to be cold and distant to the boy as we would be separated shortly. But as I looked at Slate resting his head in my lap, sleeping, I only had one thought drifting in my mind. I''m gonna miss him.

 Chapter 2

    It was early morning when I was woken up by the sound of loud knocking on the sides of our cart. I quickly shook Slate awake as it was time for ust to get up or we would be punished. The door opened and we were greeted by the sleazy guard from the night before.


    ¡°Good morning, you lot. Hope you had a good sleep. I know two people who didn¡¯t.¡± He said as he pushed the two girls he had left with the night before, with a smirk. They did not look up at any of us as they crawled to the back of the cart, one visibly holding back her tears. Pig.


    ¡°All right, get in to your lines, you sad sacks.¡± He ordered. We lined up against the walls of the cart, men on the left, women on the right facing towards the wall as we had been trained to do. He proceeded to walk in, two other guards flanking him, while another stayed stationed at the door.


    ¡°Arms!¡± He called. We quickly held our arms behind us as the guards flanking him proceeded to weld chains into our shackles with magic. The guard on the left quickly finished welding the men''s chains and rushed over to help the one on the right. The guards made a point to push themselves onto us at any possible moment. Even in our final moments, they would torment us.


    I could hear the gasps of the women around me getting closer as they received the unwanted attention of the guards. I wanted to turn around and throat punch these fuckers. I also wanted to bolt out that door and run away forever, but somethings are impossible. As I heard steps approaching I closed my eyes and prepared for my turn.


    ¡°Ahh D-154.¡± The guard sighed as he approached me, his voice making my skin crawl. No. Please not him.


    ¡°Hey Levi, this was that Lycan bitch I was telling you about a few weeks ago.¡± He said grabbing me by my ears forcing me to look at him, his yellow teeth smiling down at me. I wanted to knock them out.


    ¡° You remember me, girly?¡± he asked as he ran his hand down my side, pulling me close. All I could do was nod in silence. Fuck this guy. At least I''ll never have to see him again after today. He slapped me across the face harshly, causing me to fall and proceeded to lift me back onto my feet by my ears.


    ¡°Remember what we went over. Remember what I worked so hard to teach you. I''ll be really sad if you forgot.¡± He whispered, angling his head to me, obviously faking a frown. I could barely quell my anger. Barely.


    ¡°Yes, sir, I remember you.¡± I said in a hushed voice. He finally let go of me, pushing me back to the wall.


    ¡°Good, because I certainly remember you.¡± He said laughing as he finished attaching the chains to my shackles.


    ¡°Too bad your being sold today, I''d have loved to train you again, beast.¡± He finished binding my chains and proceed to harass the next girl in line. After about ten minutes, the guards had finished ¡°checking¡± us and pushed us out of the cart. A group of guards followed closely behind us as we were marched to the slave market.


    We entered a small hallway carved out of the stone wall and were lead into the well lit depths of the cliffside. The walls started to spread out after a few minutes, the and the smell of alcohol and smoke filled our noses. We walked through the hall, guided into pens based on our Suits. As I looked around I saw large array of patrons. Some were standing around drinking wine, discussing how the companies were doing and bragging about how much money they were making. Others were in lavish seats, built in alcoves in the rock, being fanned as they laid snacking on trays of food that far exceeded anything I would ever hope to taste.


    ¡°That one looks nice.¡± said a stout man dressed in a blue satin shirt to a rather tall man dressed equally well, pointing to me.


    ¡°Hmm you are right, but our fine establishment can¡¯t have just any hussy.¡± He replied, getting a laugh out of the shorter man. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°The only thing fine about your establishment is the women.¡± Was the last thing I heard before I was ushered into the Diamond waiting pen. I immediately looked for Slate, finding him squeezed in a corner.


    ¡°Rina!¡± he cried out as he rushed over to hug me. I knelt down to meet his eyes and gently brushed his ears.


    ¡°I''m gonna make sure we can stay together.¡± I said in a soft voice, trying to reassure his.


    ¡°I know you will.¡± he muttered out in a somber tone.


    ¡°What¡¯s your number?¡± I asked, listening for my number to be called.


    ¡°167¡± he replied with tears welling up in his eyes. ¡°What if they don¡¯t want me.¡±


    Before I could answer, I heard the pens guard


    ¡°153, 154, get up here.¡±I started to walk up to the front. I promise. The other slave that walked up with me was an elven Heart. I watched as she wiped away her tears as she put on a stoic face preparing to perform.


    ¡°All right folks! next-up we have a beautiful Heart and good addition to any of your establishments. Not that you can¡¯t have some fun with her. I mean just look at her.¡± he said, getting a few laughs from the crowd.


    ¡°Anything you wanna say, honey¡± the auctioneer said holding a hand to is ear, putting on a show for the audience.


    ¡°Please, give me a good home and treat me well, dear masters. It¡¯s all I can ask for.¡± She said bowing, causing a large uproar in the auction hall.


    ¡°100 gold.¡± one man shouted through the noise.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you 120.¡± a woman shouted from one of the alcoves.


    ¡°Get out of here with those low bids. You obviously don''t know her value. I''ll take her for 200.¡± cried out another man in the from the crowd. This went on for a few more moments till it was settled that a rather old man would have her as a personal assistant. Next was me.


    I stepped up on the block, looking at the crowd around me. The faces of the people scrutinizing every last detail of my body, trying to decide whether or not they wanted me, didn''t .phase me as the auctioneer began to speak. It''s the same as every other day.


    ¡°Up next we have a Diamond who looks as if she should have been a Heart. Just look at that chest. Smart and sexy, what a great combo, folks. Lets see if she has anything to say before one of you gets to take her home.¡± He said enthusiastically.


    ¡°Good morning, dear masters¡± I forced out, putting on a fake smile.


    ¡°I have only one request of you. Please buy slave 167 with me. That is all.¡± I said bowing, hearing murmurs fill the room.


    That''s certainly a odd request but let''s bring out 167, who coincidentally is also a Diamond.¡± Said the auctioneer.


    Slate was brought up the steps and hid behind me, getting a few jeers from the crowd. The auctioneer started talking again as the room quieted down.


    ¡°This just got significantly more interesting folks. Look how cute he is.¡± he said ruffling Slates hair, causing him to grab hold of me.


    ¡°Maybe some maternal instincts kicking in. You know how those beasts get at times¡± he said winking at the crowd getting laughs from the crowd.


    ¡°So any of you wanna take these two Diamonds and keep them together. Double bids people. There are 2 of them after all.¡±


    One man raised his hand and said ¡°I''ll take both for 100 each.¡±


    ¡°Alright folk and Mr.Salvis throwing the first bid out for 200. ¡±


    ¡°500.¡± Another man called from a large crowd.


    ¡°I heard 500, anyone want to go higher. Come on I know one of you sick bastards is just waiting to tear these two apart. Think outside the box folks.¡± He yelled out at the crowd pushing Slate from me back to a guard who grabed him, causing the young boy to erupt into tears. This garnerd a large reaction from the crowd. Not one I entirely liked.


    ¡°750 hundred each.¡± said a woman with a hint of malice in her voice, surrounded by young men in one of the alcoves.


    ¡°800.¡± cried out a man dressed in fine silk robes being fed grapes.


    Finally a woman''s voice rang out from the highest alcove.


    ¡°3000, each.¡±


    The auctioneer stood stunned for a moment and looked up at the buyer.


    ¡°Do I hear higher than 3000, folks.¡± the auctioneer yelled choking on his words.The people on the main floor stood silent, trying to look up at who had spent so much on two slaves, as did I.


    After a few seconds the auctioneer yelled.


    ¡°Sold for 6000 gold, to Lady Emily Imgal.¡±