An Act of Mercy

The ogre was running away from him, tossing away his broken club as he darted through the thick forest. The dragon merely looked at the ogre’s bloody back in amusement before taking a step forward. He had the thought that since his prey was not fighting back anymore, perhaps he should let him go. But the dragon quickly dismissed it as he crouched down.

He was not given the name Zuthiss the Ruthless for nothing.

Zuthiss took off from the ground with barely a sound as his lithe body effortlessly flew past the trees. The ogre never saw him coming. In a manner of seconds, Zuthiss was on top of his dead prey, the corpse no longer in one piece. As it should be. The tribe of ogres had stepped into his territory, and when Zuthiss roared at them to leave, they neither apologized nor ran away. Instead, they rushed at him with their clubs.

The arrogant fools.

As the dragon enjoyed his little snack, he used his senses to see if any of the intruders were still alive. He believed that he killed all of them but he wanted to be sure. He just claimed this forest and the nearby mountain as his territory, and he did not want there to be a rumor that it was possible to escape from Zuthiss the Ruthless’ rampage.

Zuthiss’ nose found something. It was very faint, but Zuthiss, whose nose was stronger than the average dragon, could tell that it was still alive. It looked like one of the ogres was more durable than he thought. Not concerned, Zuthiss took off from his perch on the ogre’s corpse and flew towards the smell. As the scent grew stronger, however, Zuthiss realized that he could smell giant and human too.

And they were coming from the same location as the ogre scent.

Not sure how he could have missed a giant and a human, Zuthiss touched down on the ground quietly and looked around. He saw trees, blood, corpses, and crushed clubs.

But no sign of any living prey.

Suddenly, he heard something shuffling.

Zuthiss turned his head just in time to see a nearby bush shake. The dragon sniffed the air and found to his surprise, that the ogre, human, and giant scents were all coming from that bush. Bewildered but on guard, Zuthiss slowly crept to the bush, prepared to strike at any time. When he got to the bush, he saw a burlap bag sunk deep into the middle. One of the ogres must have thrown the bag into the bush in a panic during the fight.

The bag moved, shaking the bush once again.

Zuthiss reached in and gently picked up the bag with his claws, before setting it down on the ground. He sniffed the bag and as he suspected, all three scents were coming from it. Zuthiss had the thought to stab the bag and be done with it, but he quickly decided against it.

He wanted to see for himself why the bag smelled of ogre, giant, and human. And he did not want to damage the bag or its contents before then. Zuthiss carefully ripped the top part of the bag with his claw and waited to see if the contents would come out.

He didn’t have to wait long before Zuthiss saw a young child crawl out.

The dragon’s eyes widened as he took in the child. The child had scraggly, dark hair and it was covered in dark bruises and bandages. It only had a loincloth so Zuthiss could see its ribs through its skin. The child, who had been looking at the remains of the massacre, whimpered before turning his head, giving Zuthiss a clear view of its fang.

It was then that Zuthiss truly understood what he was looking at. This child, a male he presumed, was the product of not one but three species. If Zuthiss had to guess, one of the child’s parents was one of the ogres he had just slain, while the other parent was half-human and half-giant. And instead of killing the child, the ogres kept him around, possibly as a slave or potential bait.

So this was very unusual because while most ogres saw nothing wrong with violating other species, they also hated the products of those violations. Ogres saw anyone with mixed blood as unholy and monstrous and would kill them on sight if they could.

So why would they keep this child alive? Especially since he had their blood?

The child, who had been eerily silent this whole time, tried to stand up, only to lose his balance and fall face-first. When he failed to pick himself up, Zuthiss carefully turned him over with a claw to see if he was still alive. The child blinked in response as he stared up at Zuthiss. The dragon, admittedly a bit unnerved at his silence, leaned his head closer to the child. The ogres he had killed earlier had reacted in either terror or anger, and all of them were much older than this child.

So how was this child able to look at him so calmly?

Zuthiss was so engrossed in this phenomenon that he did not react when the child clenched his fist. The child then aimed for Zuthiss’ nose, only to stop an inch away. Zuthiss quietly watched as the child lowered his fist, looking more resigned than any child his age should be.

For the first time in his life, Zuthiss did not know what to do. Zuthiss always had the sentiment that if someone attacked him, he should always fight back, if not kill them. But the child stopped himself from attacking though as if he wisely decided that it wouldn’t make a difference.

Would Zuthiss be following his creed if he killed the child for daring to attack, despite not following through? Even though Zuthiss was sure it wouldn’t hurt even if he had followed through?

This was a child though, and a very young one at that. And one of his grandfather’s few creeds, a dragon he respected yet never met, was to never kill a child. It didn’t matter what species it belonged to, a child was still a precious young life and must be protected.

But this child also technically trespassed on his territory. And when Zuthiss claimed the forest and the mountain as his own, he never planned on being merciful. Not even to the elves that lived on the neighboring mountain. He planned on living up to his epithet until the very end of his life.

Also, even if Zuthiss did not kill him, he had no idea how to take care of the child. And if he just left him, the child would surely die anyway. He was too weak and young to survive all by himself. Even if he somehow survived, there would probably be no one that would accept him. He was too much of an ogre, a human, and a giant for anyone from any species to either like him or not fear him.

So really, killing the child would be an act of mercy. This way, the child wouldn't suffer more than he already had.

Zuthiss pulled his head back and raised his foot. He thought that maybe now the child would scream or at least make an attempt to get away. But instead, the child closed his eyes, his expression still calm.

What had the ogres done to this young child to make him so accepting of death?

Zuthiss slammed his foot down. The child opened his eyes again and looked surprised when he saw that Zuthiss’ sharp claws surrounded him instead of being in his body. Zuthiss did not blame him.

But even though Zuthiss still had to figure out what to do with the child, he did not regret his decision. In the end, the child decided not to attack him. And the child had been in the bag when the ogres had trespassed onto his territory, he did not freely choose to enter the forest. Zuthiss had no right to kill him.

Also, no child should give up in the face of death that easily, like he was too tired to maintain his desire to live. Zuthiss was not afraid to admit that he felt disturbed by the fact that the ogres had driven the child to this point.

But now that Zuthiss had spared him would his life get any better? Zuthiss still had no idea how to properly raise him, due to them being different species. If the child had been a reptile, it might be a different story, but since that was not the case, Zuthiss had to think of someone else. But who would be able to get past the child’s complex heritage and take him in?

He then recalled the elves that lived on the mountain outside of his forest. He had yet to interact with them, but elves generally respected and valued life, though they hated anything they considered evil with a passion. And ogres were far from being a respectable species.

But Zuthiss saw no other option. He only hoped these elves would see an abused child and not an abomination of evil.

Having made up his mind, Zuthiss gently curled his claws around the child and picked him up. He then took to the skies and headed for the mountain that was on the opposite end of the forest, the one he didn’t claim as his territory. In the minute that it took Zuthiss to fly to the mountain, he wondered how he should best drop off the child. While he had yet to interact with the elves, Zuthiss was sure the elves knew he was not a benevolent dragon. It was highly likely that the elves might attack him on sight. And thanks to their magic, they were much tougher to kill than ogres.

Well, if it came down to that, then so be it. Zuthiss was not afraid of them anyway. Though, he needed them alive if he wanted them to take in the child.

Zuthiss then realized there could be a way that he and the elves wouldn’t have to interact at all.

Then the mountain was right in front of him, with the elven village in plain sight near the peak. Zuthiss then dropped down low so that he was flying in the forest on the mountain. He flew past the trees until he saw the edge of the elven village in the middle of a clearing. Zuthiss saw only two guards standing in front of the gate, leading him to assume that the elves had yet to notice him. Good, though it would only be a matter of time since elven eyes are much like dragons. His dark-green scales would only hide him for so long.

If Zuthiss truly did not want to interact with the elves, he would have to make this quick.

So he gently touched down the ground on three feet, and despite the landing being very quiet, Zuthiss saw the elven guards pick up their heads. Knowing he was running out of time, Zuthiss carefully placed the child on the ground. The child, who had again been silent this whole time, looked up at him. He still looked calm, though he tilted his head as if to ask Zuthiss what he was doing and why.

“. . . I am only following my creed,” Zuthiss answered.

“Hey! Get away from him!”

Zuthiss looked up and saw one of the elven guards had entered the forest and was now running towards them, his spear now covered in a green glow. The dragon glanced at the other guard just in time to see him put a horn to his lips.

With a great flap of his wings and without a word, Zuthiss took off into the skies once again, though he didn’t take his eyes off the elven guard with the spear and the child. The elf staggered under the afflux of wind, but he pushed through regardless and reached the child. Zuthiss was not able to see the elf’s face since the elf was looking straight down at the child, but Zuthiss did see his back stiffen.

Only for him to drop his spear before taking off his cloak and wrapping it securely around the child.

Zuthiss smiled in satisfaction as he turned around and headed back to his territory.

Next: Martyn and the Pifronna Flower: https://vocal.media/fiction/martyn-and-the-pifronna-flower