Summer, 1331
Gremenal walked over to Pope.
‘The wyrm seems to have an untreated arm, when were you going to look into it?’
Pope scowled ‘Unfortunately there were casualties in my corps to attend to first.’
‘Pity they are so busy.’ Gremenal turned to Albucasis, his personal physician standing beside him.
‘How did it look?’
‘It’s infected; we’ll need to cut it off.’
‘Hell no. The dragon’s a hero and the wyrms are already unhappy with the state of things. We don’t need another defection from our alliance. How would it look if we bring back one of their champions as a cripple? Save the arm; that’s an order.’ The army commander paused. ‘In fact I want you to attend it personally.’
‘Yes sir.’ His doctor saluted.
***
Though a chunk of flesh had been torn out, Mera’s arm was not shattered, and with the help of Albucasis the appendage was saved. Mera rested for the next three weeks, during which time the world seemed to flip upside down. He was hailed as a hero for seizing Miers Castle and feted and pampered through his recovery. Dragons which previously snapped at him or ignored his presence now gave respectful acknowledgments. Human prisoners tended his wounds daily and gave him blankets and straw for rest and plenty of freshly cooked food. Under these coddled conditions, the dragon rapidly recovered from his wounds, and was soon back on his feet, his broken arm protected in a cast supported by a sling thrown around his neck.
Late one summer evening Lord Ewarerfise found him walking along the Tiber, where the Tassurian hospice was now set up, slowly working his arm strength back up again.
Mera immediately tensed up when he saw her approaching; Ewarerfise was an old and powerful ruby dragon, famed for a battle in her youth when she destroyed an entire aviary of gryphons. The elder lord quickly dismissed his fears though by smiling at him.
*Lucky you.* The older dragon nodded approvingly. *General Gremenal was impressed at your work. Mier’s Castle was believed to need three weeks of siege and the investment of half of the 2nd army, and you took it in three days. For good measure you managed to wipe out the Auxian Excelsior Division.*
*Um…thanks* Mera muttered, before something in his head clicked.
*Wait a second.” The younger dragon shot up. “Half the army? That is twice the number of troops the general sent in. This was a trap?*
Ewarerfise nodded. *You were bait. Mier’s Castle was a strong position and well-guarded. Anhake wanted the bulk of the human forces to go after Plaesb’s troops, isolated and hemmed in in Mier’s Woods before striking down the river and severing their supply lines. Two squadrons of dragons trapped in the woods would be too tempting a target for Dodge. Gremenal expected our two squadrons to be decimated before the castle fell-* the ruby dragon paused, before continuing, *-only three of you were expected to return.*
Mera shook his head angrily. *Gremenal…that bastard.* Before shooting a fiery glare at his commander, Dragon Lord or no. *And you knew about it?*
Ewarerfise sighed but shrugged. *War is cruelty. There is both killing and dying. We Dragon Lords knew about it, but what can we do? We are thralls to the People of the Snow. Gremenal gave his order, and we obeyed.*
Mera recoiled from his commander. This was not something he wanted to think about. Theragmorth and nearly the rest of them...sacrificed in some perverse game. The bronze dragon was simultaneously horrified and disgusted.
Gently the ruby dragon poked her head around Mera's back.
*You know, he saved that arm of yours.* Ewarerfise gestured her head toward Mera's bandaged-covered appendage. *That arm almost went gangrenous; the doctors wanted to amputate. The general sent his personal surgeon to clean your wound and stitch it back up. Thank heavens we also naturally heal so easily.*
Mera forced himself to look back at his commander. He came off looking like a sad puppy.
*I guess I should thank him.* The bronze dragon finally said.
The ruby dragon absently nodded.
*Will pass it on. Anyways, however they were planned, things are quite good for you now. You’ve been promoted to Major and given command of the Eighth Wing, and Colonel De Rosseu is giving you a month to recover.* Ewarerfise handed Mera a necklace with a tag on it affixed with General Anhake’s seal. *Wear this and you’re free to pass through the lines.*
As Mera stared at the Tassurian writing inscribed on his tag without any sort of comprehension, the ruby dragon gave him a friendly nuzzle on the shoulder before turning and heading back off, calling back:
*Unlike the rest of us, you’re free to go home to relax.*
Bruce Springsteen - Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Commission from theroguez!
Gremenal walked over to Pope.
‘The wyrm seems to have an untreated arm, when were you going to look into it?’
Pope scowled ‘Unfortunately there were casualties in my corps to attend to first.’
‘Pity they are so busy.’ Gremenal turned to Albucasis, his personal physician standing beside him.
‘How did it look?’
‘It’s infected; we’ll need to cut it off.’
‘Hell no. The dragon’s a hero and the wyrms are already unhappy with the state of things. We don’t need another defection from our alliance. How would it look if we bring back one of their champions as a cripple? Save the arm; that’s an order.’ The army commander paused. ‘In fact I want you to attend it personally.’
‘Yes sir.’ His doctor saluted.
***
Though a chunk of flesh had been torn out, Mera’s arm was not shattered, and with the help of Albucasis the appendage was saved. Mera rested for the next three weeks, during which time the world seemed to flip upside down. He was hailed as a hero for seizing Miers Castle and feted and pampered through his recovery. Dragons which previously snapped at him or ignored his presence now gave respectful acknowledgments. Human prisoners tended his wounds daily and gave him blankets and straw for rest and plenty of freshly cooked food. Under these coddled conditions, the dragon rapidly recovered from his wounds, and was soon back on his feet, his broken arm protected in a cast supported by a sling thrown around his neck.
Late one summer evening Lord Ewarerfise found him walking along the Tiber, where the Tassurian hospice was now set up, slowly working his arm strength back up again.
Mera immediately tensed up when he saw her approaching; Ewarerfise was an old and powerful ruby dragon, famed for a battle in her youth when she destroyed an entire aviary of gryphons. The elder lord quickly dismissed his fears though by smiling at him.
*Lucky you.* The older dragon nodded approvingly. *General Gremenal was impressed at your work. Mier’s Castle was believed to need three weeks of siege and the investment of half of the 2nd army, and you took it in three days. For good measure you managed to wipe out the Auxian Excelsior Division.*
*Um…thanks* Mera muttered, before something in his head clicked.
*Wait a second.” The younger dragon shot up. “Half the army? That is twice the number of troops the general sent in. This was a trap?*
Ewarerfise nodded. *You were bait. Mier’s Castle was a strong position and well-guarded. Anhake wanted the bulk of the human forces to go after Plaesb’s troops, isolated and hemmed in in Mier’s Woods before striking down the river and severing their supply lines. Two squadrons of dragons trapped in the woods would be too tempting a target for Dodge. Gremenal expected our two squadrons to be decimated before the castle fell-* the ruby dragon paused, before continuing, *-only three of you were expected to return.*
Mera shook his head angrily. *Gremenal…that bastard.* Before shooting a fiery glare at his commander, Dragon Lord or no. *And you knew about it?*
Ewarerfise sighed but shrugged. *War is cruelty. There is both killing and dying. We Dragon Lords knew about it, but what can we do? We are thralls to the People of the Snow. Gremenal gave his order, and we obeyed.*
Mera recoiled from his commander. This was not something he wanted to think about. Theragmorth and nearly the rest of them...sacrificed in some perverse game. The bronze dragon was simultaneously horrified and disgusted.
Gently the ruby dragon poked her head around Mera's back.
*You know, he saved that arm of yours.* Ewarerfise gestured her head toward Mera's bandaged-covered appendage. *That arm almost went gangrenous; the doctors wanted to amputate. The general sent his personal surgeon to clean your wound and stitch it back up. Thank heavens we also naturally heal so easily.*
Mera forced himself to look back at his commander. He came off looking like a sad puppy.
*I guess I should thank him.* The bronze dragon finally said.
The ruby dragon absently nodded.
*Will pass it on. Anyways, however they were planned, things are quite good for you now. You’ve been promoted to Major and given command of the Eighth Wing, and Colonel De Rosseu is giving you a month to recover.* Ewarerfise handed Mera a necklace with a tag on it affixed with General Anhake’s seal. *Wear this and you’re free to pass through the lines.*
As Mera stared at the Tassurian writing inscribed on his tag without any sort of comprehension, the ruby dragon gave him a friendly nuzzle on the shoulder before turning and heading back off, calling back:
*Unlike the rest of us, you’re free to go home to relax.*
Bruce Springsteen - Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Commission from theroguez!
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Western Dragon
Gender Multiple characters
Size 1280 x 902px
Poor Mera. Really drives home that fact he's just a pawn here, even being such a great thing like a dragon.
Yah, a big theme of this story is that people will get dragged through and suffer from larger events beyond their control, even in this case, dragons. The Other Men aren't evil per se, they just see the war against the humans as existential to them and are willing to do whatever it takes to win, and that includes forcing allies to fight and die for them.
There's a quote I love from the A Song of Ice and Fire Series (Game of Thrones): “The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are.” —Jorah Mormont
I'm hoping to raise similar themes, though I also want to emphasize a second part: knowing that they're pawns will cause pawns to fight against the game itself. Part of the reason for my massive cast of characters is how pretty much any action leads to characters suffering, and in turn cause them to respond. Stones and pebbles are carried on by the currents, yet change the currents themselves. As a dragon and a big stone, Mera is in a way privileged that even he doesn't really understand (imagine any human or Other Man wounded getting such specialist treatment after the battle), and he certainly gives little thought to the suffering he himself inflicts (such as the likely hundreds of people he casually slaughtered), issues that do come back to haunt him. Still that privilege is given precisely because as a dragon Mera has more power; he can control more things than the average human-and after this scene he ends up doing just that.
Thanks!
There's a quote I love from the A Song of Ice and Fire Series (Game of Thrones): “The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are.” —Jorah Mormont
I'm hoping to raise similar themes, though I also want to emphasize a second part: knowing that they're pawns will cause pawns to fight against the game itself. Part of the reason for my massive cast of characters is how pretty much any action leads to characters suffering, and in turn cause them to respond. Stones and pebbles are carried on by the currents, yet change the currents themselves. As a dragon and a big stone, Mera is in a way privileged that even he doesn't really understand (imagine any human or Other Man wounded getting such specialist treatment after the battle), and he certainly gives little thought to the suffering he himself inflicts (such as the likely hundreds of people he casually slaughtered), issues that do come back to haunt him. Still that privilege is given precisely because as a dragon Mera has more power; he can control more things than the average human-and after this scene he ends up doing just that.
Thanks!
Thank you for the detailed explanation, I admire the thinking that goes behind all this! It's quite conflicting, even if he is still a pawn, over time Mera has influenced so many events and other beings. I'll look forward to the next read :)
Aside from this scenario involving a medieval or renaissance level of medicine, just think about what the medical practice would be like in a world with multiple sapient species. Give the Dragoneye world a few hundred years of technological progress and what will their medical field look like?
Oh yah! I've been kicking around another idea where modern fantasy creatures are "harvested" for their say antibodies or platelet factors, much like we do with horseshoe crabs: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/hors.....0from%20toxins.
Haven't done besides thinking about that idea though-maybe something along the lines of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH or The Plague Dogs?
Haven't done besides thinking about that idea though-maybe something along the lines of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH or The Plague Dogs?
Well, that's a darker route to go down. I had just thought of how much more complicated it would be figuring out appropriate treatments and such.
I read the Rats of NIMH a looong time ago. Not at all familiar with Plague Dogs. But funny enough, I recently rewatched an episode of Stargate SG-1 with such a theme.
I read the Rats of NIMH a looong time ago. Not at all familiar with Plague Dogs. But funny enough, I recently rewatched an episode of Stargate SG-1 with such a theme.
Lol I guess that could get dark. I can also have lighter stories involving antibody research lol (there's some hippie farms in Santa Cruz that sell polyclonal antibodies from like a single goat they own).
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