Dragons Of Three

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. It was mankind’s greed, vengeance, and lust for glory that violently ravaged the land. Countries and kingdoms were being decimated from the face of the earth; completely erased from our history. humanity impelling itself with the jaws of extinction.

In the most heinous war that we birthed into creation; one selfless act would save us all. Facing the trenches of choking smog, and burning lava, blistering his feet through the protection of his boots, my father staggered his way to the dangers of an enraged volcano. In brave efforts, he vigorously searched for an ominous spirit that was ordained never to be disturbed.

No one knows the mad methods of how my father managed to summon the intemperate spirit, not only to spare his life, but to coerce it into a deal with him. That night he walked into the magma abyss and offered himself as sacrifice to suffer. In his final moments, his skin melted off of his bones slowly dripping food to the flames, his agonizing screams left curses echoing from the volcano and my father’s body was engulfed in the tormenting incandescent lava.

After the excruciating exchange was made… my father’s body became a vessel for the spirit to roam the earth, freed from the confides of the volcano. In return, the spirit gifted my father with amass power allowing him to transfigure into the form of a colossus sized beast, that could take to the skies with wings measuring the size of fleets in the ocean. He could breathe fire and disburse armies just by stepping on them. Men swiftly ceased their quarrelling from fear of the unknown of which allied forces the beast would choose to fight with that day. Untamable, and malicious, Rage, the first dragon, was born.

“If he was supposed to be this great and powerful monster,” The young Prince Ira began to question, “Then how did my father defeat him?”

“Because King Sommel, tricked the great dragon into feasting on the enemy’s army,” A nurturing, lulled voice called from behind us. Prince Ira and I looked upon Queen Iinik as she gracefully ascended up the stone stairwell leading to my father’s temple. With a royal threaded dress of gold and white exquisitely tailing behind her, and a warm smile to greet her children. “Without Rage’s knowledge, King Sommel convinced the enemy to line their armor with poison. Should the great dragon devour just ONE soldier in the fight, it would be enough to kill him. Thus ensuring, King Sommel would defeat his enemy as well as any future threats to his throne.”

“But Rage, the dragon, was on our side,” The young prince stated in confusion as he looked back towards the mighty statue King Sommel, deceitfully, dedicated to my father.

Carefully crafted, the statue perfectly emulated the power of my father’s dragon. Being as his size was too grand to recreate inside of any building, Rage’s temple was open, built with pillars as strong and capable as he was. Placed atop the pillars was a grand roof, shielding him from the forces of nature, and the alter, heavily decorated with offerings of those who missed him, placed before his sculpture.

Every morning, in the early rays of sunrise, if you gazed upon his statue at JUST the right angle where the sun gleamed from the east… you could see life come back to Rage.

“Indeed, he was,” My mother mumbled, as she mournfully studied the intricate details of Rage’s facial structure.

“Mother, do you hate father for killing Sanguine’s father?” Ira walked up to the queen once he saw the sadness in her eyes.

“Ira!” I quickly correct him.

“It is ok,” mother comforts, walking up to gently clasp my face in her subtle touch. Then proceeds to kneel down eye level to Prince Ira. “I miss Rage every day, but I am still grateful for King Sommel because he gave me you.” Queen Iinik lied through her alluring smile while swiping away the wisps of hairs from Prince Ira’s face.

Prince Ira suddenly turns his attention to me.

“Brother,” he said, “Do you hate King Sommel because he killed your fa-”

“Questions like that have no place amongst us, Prince Ira!” a virile voice roared from behind us. “It creates a division among family… our family.” King Sommel gleams his focus in my direction.

“Your Majesty,” I bow in feigned respect.

“Forgive me father,” Prince Ira nervously utters clinging behind the safety of our mother’s dress, as she stood in between the boy and his father.

“He meant no harm, Sommel,” Queen Iinik said, reaching her arm around to push Ira even further behind her.

Instinctively, I move closer to our mother and Ira, recognizing the tension between the king’s threatening presence in front of a lioness and her cub. As overpowering as King Sommel stood over Queen Iinik, our mother never allowed such a thing to intimidate her if it meant keeping Prince Ira and myself safe. Such frustration would secretly sweep over King Sommel’s face from witnessing his wife take a stance as a mother first before she was a submissive queen.

“I have come for the boy,” King Sommel finally spoke while leering at my mother. “I have a task for him.”

I moved one step ahead of Queen Iinik to meet King Sommel eye to eye with might equally matching his own.

“An enemy ship has been spotted with Northern Kingdom flags,” Sommel arrogantly turns to begin his pacing, “Fly over there and destroy it. I do not need a ship full of spies infiltrating my armies and stealing my secure line of defenses for this kingdom.” His pacing ceases and I can feel his eyes glaring at the back of my head, “Every, little king wants the power of Rage fighting for them.”

“My son is not a weapon, Sommel-!” My mother protested.

Before I could draw my next breath, King Sommel held a hand full of Queen Iinik’s hair in his rigid grip, Pulling her backwards into his chest. “Alas, my queen, Sanguine is MY weapon, and as long as I have you and our son, Prince Ira, within my grasp the boy will continue to be my weapon!”

I cannot recall the cries of my kid brother that begged his father to stop, as the burning rage inside my bones began crackling like twigs in the height of a fire. I could only see King Sommel, a swirl of red slowly lined his face, and the irregular sound of his heartbeat rang loudly in my ears. The small beads of sweat on his forehead wrecked with pheromones of fear and slight distress. I could feel a small chill from the vibration of screams I could not hear. I wanted to kill King Sommel.

“SANGUINE!” Suddenly my head is locked between callused hands. “Sanguine, look at me!” the muffled screams start to ring clearer and the sea of red slowly disperses from me. Furiously blinking I come to and see Naviade violently shaking my skull back and forth. “That’s it! Come back to me!” She panics.

Regrettably, I could now hear the whimpering cries of Prince Ira, see the loathsome grin of King Sommel, and sense my mother’s knees fighting the urge to buckle. From their sights, I can feel the weight of my wings emerged as sails unfurling in the wind of a great unseen storm, and countless number of cuts upon my lips while my fangs continuously grazed them. The sense of shame falls over me from my lack of self-control.

“You see,” King Sommel smiles with a jovial energy surrounding him, “Witness the greatness of King Sommel! The first man to EVER tame and slay a mighty dragon! And now…” he pants with excitement through each breath, “The son Rage will follow under the same liege of my crown authority! Men will never fear the history of dragons! They will fear KING SOMMEL! I will have the continued bloodline of dragons fighting for me!”

“Sanguine, we have to go!” Naviade warns me. Continuously holding my face to solely focus on her, “We have to go now! Or else you will kill everyone here!”

My body was not mine, as it moved on its own in pulling Naviade into the cradle of my chest and taking to the skies. The moisture of the clouds remedied the deep secrets of my anger, that only King Sommel knew how to access. Small trickles of rain brushed against my cheek while the warm breeze of the afternoon sun shines gracefully upon the strength of my wings. The weight of Naviade’s body felt hallow and light in my arms.

Beautiful as she was, the free strands of hair that gently blew around her face, held an essence of calm whenever I found myself wrapped around her in my journey above land. King Sommel had assigned her to me as children to become my tamer before I would one day become the full form of my father. Instead, she became the anchor to my heart that kept me grounded and brought me back when the spirit of Rage would force me to lose control. In King Sommel’s violent escapades to force me to follow father’s footsteps, Naviade countered it every time.

“You are getting stronger,” Naviade expresses as she circles around me in the tall grass. I feel a slight tug on my left wing as she grasps it and forces it to fully expand. “You were able to hear me this time. You are also becoming more capable in controlling the dragon spirit.”

My eyes meet Naviade’s, as she carefully examines the characteristics of my body. A small grin dances across her rose-colored cheeks when she recognizes the chills upon my skin from the slightest touch of her delicate hand placed on my scales. Our gazes locked on one another, as she proceeds to tease me.

Naviade wistfully moved through the grass like a leaf being blown in the wind. She knew every step and pathway of our island, since bringing me here many years ago. It became our hidden secret from King Sommel, and seeing as she helped me make progress to present to him, we were never questioned about our whereabouts. This place of welcoming sunrises, calming sunsets, and surrounding ocean, had become the heartfelt secret of our relationship.

“You should have let me lose control, I could have killed him,” I snarled.

“Breathe,” Naviade ignored me, “breathe slowly and place yourself here with me.”

“Naviade,” I plead for her to listen while pulling her well curved body into me once more.

“You would have killed him, yes,” She finally acknowledges, looking up at me with those willow brown eyes, “But you would have killed Prince Ira, and Queen Iinik in the process.”

“I can control myself-”

“When I am around, yes, but you let his majesty best you every time and you turn into… this” Naviade refers to the beast like features slowly fading from my body. “One day you will let him push you too far and I will not always be there to stop you. That is how Rage fell to his demise. I push you, so that you will not follow in the same mistakes he did-”

“My father made no mistakes with his dragon,” I defensively pull away from Naviade, “Except to trust King Sommel and those scoundrels of the Northern Kingdom to fight with honor.”

“Those ‘scoundrels’, were just as deceived by King Sommel as your father was,” Naviade surprisingly defends, while taking a step back from me defensively. “The Northern Kingdom-”

“How DARE you defend them, Naviade! I do not care for the deception they fell for, they wiped out the greatest being the world has ever seen-! The greatest protector that mankind needed!”

“And the Northern Kingdom knew that!”

“Did they,” I curiously question, “Something about cherishing someone so much that you would kill them just does not make sense to me.”

“That poison was meant for King Sommel’s men! It was supposed to release a scented aura throughout the battle, slowly killing any man that got to close to breathe it in, and our soldiers drank the antidote before putting the amour on! Sanguine, my love, you have to believe me, no one cherished the great protector more than the Northern Kingdom! Rage blessed that kingdom with more things than King Sommel is allowing you to see, his deception runs deeper than you know! You are harboring hatred to the wrong people-”

“Our?” I ponder over Naviade’s words.

She appears just as confused as I was.

“Naviade, you just said ‘our soldiers’ while speaking of the northern kingdom-”

“No,” she immediately objects, "I said the northern soldiers-”

“No,” I briefly pause, “You didn’t”

A moment of silence passes between us, and I suddenly see a small panic in Naviade’s eyes.

“Naviade,” I move closer to her, “Why did you say that?”

“My apologies my prince, I just became passionate in my speech.”

Again, I was taken aback as Naviade has never referred to me as 'her prince' since our first meeting as children all those years ago.

“My love, what is this? Naviade, tell me why you referred to the northern kingdom as ‘our soldiers’?”

“It’s nothing, I made a mistake with my speech-”

“I would believe that if you were not in such a frantic state right now-”

“I had to calm you down again, I am still a little shaken up, that’s all-”

“My dragon has never scared you! Nor is it even close to my father’s full form.”

“Your majesty, please,” Naviade begs, turning her back to me, “It was an error of speech.”

“You don’t refer to me as ‘your majesty’ when we are alone.”

“I only did that to make you feel more comfortable with me, but now I am feeling nervous with you-”

“Why am I making you nervous?” I step closer to her as she curls away from me.

“Your majesty, I-”

“Look at me!” I command.

“It was a mistake-”

“Look at me!”

“I did not mean to bring up the past-”

“Look at me!”

“I tripped over my words and-”

“LOOK AT ME!” I roar, reaching around to grasp both of her arms and spin her around to face me. Instantly her face filled with tears that I have never seen before. The sight of her soothed the rage that began to burn inside the bellows of my gut. Shaken and confused, I had never seen Naviade in such a vulnerable state, as she was the one always teaching me self-control. One trip over her words and here she was before me, melting in her emotions.

As angry as I wanted to be with her, seeing my heart in human form becoming this distress, instinctively made me pull her into my embrace once more. I buried my hand in the thickness of her tangled curls behind her head. Naviade answered with wrapping her arms around as tightly as she could around me, all while crying more abruptly once seeing I would not punish her for whatever deception she was hiding from me all these years.

“I am sorry,” Naviade weakly whimpered in my ear, “I am so sorry… for everything!”

My heart sank from the confirmation of treacherous acts.

“Naviade,” I sigh, pulling her face into my hands and wiping her tears away with my thumbs, “I can help you, but starting now, I need to know everything.”

She nods her head.

“I think it is better if I show you,” Naviade speaks through her tears.

“Show me?” I reply.

“Can you transform?”

“Of course.”

“Good… then let’s go.”

I promptly release the spirit of Rage once more, and allow the freedom of my wings and fangs to reside. Naviade quickly jumps upon my back. She slowly regains her strength to tell me the coordinates of our destination and I go as instructed. Feeling her light touch wrap around my neck, I can even sense the vulnerability Naviade still possesses.

“Naviade,” I address while the moisture of the sun-lite clouds kissed our cheeks once more, “You know I would never hurt you, right?”

Her heart skips a beat, as I can feel it continuously beating irregularly on the skim of my back.

“Trust me the same way I am trusting you right now,” I reassure.

Naviade gives me no reply, but her heart beat begins to slow down. Good.

Moment’s pass, and our awkward silence is quickly forgotten by the surrounding peacefulness of nature itself. The pheromones of fear I could smell on Naviade slowly disperse, as her grip around my throat begins to loosen. The feeling of being exposed and weakened no longer shrouds her body. Her trust for me renewed. I spin through the clouds a little bit to console her. Causing her to release a small giggle into my ears, even if she didn’t mean it. For a moment, in the sky, it was just her and I.

“Do you trust me?” She finally spoke with the confidence she had always carried. Naviade had returned.

“With my life,” I reply.

“Good,” I could hear the smirk through her words.

Suddenly, a loud, booming, roar, stretched throughout the sky. The vibrating sound of thunder and war drums sending chills down my spine.

I search frantically through the clouds as the sun shined brightly today, and left no residue of a storm.

Another roar is released, except this time it comes in waves of three. I become fearful for Naviade’s safety. If I have to battle, how can I protect her at the same time?

“Lower yourself from the clouds,” Naviade commands, unphased by the continuous roars.

“Naviade, I-”

“Trust me,” She calmly speaks.

I listen, and without any more objection, I descend from the clouds. Only to find myself flying over the vast ocean surrounding the outskirts of the kingdom. What I saw next was something Not even Rage, the first dragon could have ever imagined possible.

“Dragons?!” I look in astonishment.

Great beasts flying over an armada of ships lined in four perfect rows. Impossible! King Sommel always taught us that Rage was the only dragon the world had ever known. But here, there were dragons of different sizes and colors, breathing out water, thick smog bellowing out of their mouths, all sorts of mysterious powers and personalities swarming near and on the ships. Mighty as they all were, I did notice, none of them were even HALF the size of my father’s dragon.

Before I could fully comprehend everything that was happening around me, two dragons, one white and one purple, fly next to me on either side. They showed no sign of aggression, but rather moved in a guarding manner that proved almost as escorts.

“Follow them,” Naviade advised.

“Where are they taking us?” I question still in disbelief.

“To my father,” She confesses, “King of the Northern Kingdom.”

We came to a ship with Northern Kingdom colors, where Naviade and I land abroad safely. Without hesitation, the crew all begin to cheer for the arrival of Naviade and myself. Naviade paid no mind to it as she pridefully strides pass all of them, and I follow suit.

I had never heard such praise for myself before, I knew my father was well beloved of the people, but was he so highly respected that just carrying his bloodline alone, earned my placed to be highly revered?

We walk up to the helmsman while the ship was anchored out.

“Father,” Naviade calls out while taking one knee to the deck.

A man of great posture and might, covered in the fur of his past hunts, turns in our direction. He has the same willow brown eyes as Naviade, and the same slight smirk. His majesty stood prideful, but somehow not arrogant, humbled, but still powerful, and based on the actions of his men, this king was admired and well respected of his people.

“Welcome, Prince Sanguine, we have been waiting for you,” The king’s voice boomed in a baritone similar to my father’s, and my heart sank as I thought I would never hear such a sound again.

The king of the north welcomed me with open arms. A feast had been prepared in his quarters, as we drank and ate to our heart’s content. We sang, and danced until the starry twinkle of the evening. The older men of His Majesty’s crew even told me old war time stories of my father; stories I did not even know of.

I gazed upon the northern king’s interaction with ‘princess’ Naviade, and saw just how close they truly were. He sung to her, and she danced with him, and for once, I saw what it was truly like to exist in a family that admired being in the presence of one another. I felt myself becoming overwhelmed with such emotions that I had not experienced since the last moments my mother and I spent with my father before his murder.

Grabbing my cup that was filled with the finest drink, I walked out to the edge of the ship. For a moment of silence, I reflected under the cold breeze of the moon.

“Are we to much for you?” I heard my father’s voice, so deceivingly, call out to me.

“I, apologies, your majesty, love like this has been extinguished from my family for many years now,” I admitted in deep remorse.

“I understand-”

“Why did you kill him,” I blurted in slurred words. I did not know why, but the more I drank, the blunter and more impolite I felt.

His Majesty sighed before answering.

“It was not my intention to kill Rage-”

“Then why did you?”

“Because your father and I were pitted against each other by-”

“King Sommel,” I grit through my teeth.

Silence.

“Something tells me you thought you were the only dragon alive.”

“Rage was when he was alive,” I drank more, “I thought it would be the same for me.”

“I see,” The king comes to stand side by side with me, facing the moon, “I see Sommel is still as deceptive as ever.”

Silence. Another swig.

“King Sommel, myself, and Rage, were all good friends at one point. Even fought together many of times-”

“What?” I nearly choked on the honeyed mead.

“It was only once King Sommel was appointed to power did things turn violent for us,” His Majesty confiscated my cup with a swift motion. “When your father made the sacrifice, he did, he unleashed a spirit that abided in many beings, thus creating more dragons. Rage, became the divine leader of the great beasts, and as you can witness, many of the dragons were bred out of the Northern Kingdom. I had the dragons, and Rage had the respected leadership and strength to tame them-”

“King Sommel had nothing.”

“Precisely.”

He smirked once the realization became plain on my face.

“Rage was killed, and it became vital to recover you and your mother to protect you. But we failed. Sommel had gotten a hold of Rage’s family first.”

“I knew he was after my power, but I had no idea-”

“How much power you truly possessed from your father,” His Majesty interjected, staring off into the night.

“There is a prophecy young prince.”

“Prophecy?”

“One, even I, am fearful of.” His Majesty took a giant gulp from my cup. “Should mankind continue for power and greed, Rage will born in the beast of three.”

“Three?”

“Yes, three dragons of Rage, all of which are to be revealed on the first dragon’s twentieth year of birth.”

An ominous silence passed over us for a brief moment.

“Young prince,” His Majesty starts again, “How old are you?”

“Nineteen years of age,” I reply miserably.

His Majesty passes me my cup back after taking one more gulp.

“I am afraid to ask when your day of birth is-”

“Tomorrow.” I try to hide my trembling, as I only knew of one dragon of Rage… myself. But who were the other two? Were they more powerful than me? Were they hiding this whole time? Had they already taken their full form? Would I be able to fight them off if they threatened Naviade or Prince Ira, or Queen Iinik?

“Calm yourself, Prince Sanguine,” His Majesty grabs my wrists to cease my shaking. “The prophecy will only take place should an act of greed be committed against mankind somehow. If you stay with us for all of tomorrow perhaps, we can prevent-”

“I am afraid I cannot do that, Your Majesty.” I turn to face him, “I have to protect my mother and brother from Sommel. If he learns that I am not there by morning, there is no telling how he will retaliate against them. Right now, he thinks your fleet is just one spy filled ship.”

“I see.”

Silence.

“I should count it a blessing that King Sommel is blinded by greed, it has allowed me to infiltrate his forces for years using Princess Naviade.”

“Were you ever scared for her?” I question.

“Every day… as a king, I knew she could do it, but as a father, I was terrified.”

“Then I will go back alone-”

“No!” His majesty protested, “Take Princess Naviade back, you two will protect each other. Retrieve your mother and brother, and I will grant all of you sanction with the Northern Kingdom. We will properly teach you the ways of Rage, and I will hold off my attack until you have returned.”

“Thank you,” I clasped His majesty’s forearm into mine.

“It is the least I can do for the blind betrayal of my brother.”

The crisp of dawn broke the next morning, and Princess Naviade and I took our flight back to King Sommel. We returned back to the temple of Rage, but there, stood King Sommel eyeing down the statue of Rage. Glaring, as if he knew we would be there. Behind him, stood my mother and Prince Ira, seized by guards.

“Sommel!” I roared. Naviade quickly bracing herself for battle the moment my feet touched the ground. “What is the meaning of this?! Unhand her!”

“You do NOT make commands around here, BOY!” King Sommel argued, “Where is my dragon?!”

“Let them go-”

“Maybe I was not clear on my expectations with you, Sanguine! I want Rage the dragon!”

“So, you can fulfill the prophecy, right?!”

King Sommel pauses in a shocked stance; his eyes widen from my question.

“How did you know-”

“Let them go, Sommel!” I demand again.

Suddenly, I see anger explode upon Sommel’s face. He storms over to Queen Iinik while withdrawing a guard’s swords. Fiercely, he holds it against my mother’s neck.

“Mother!” Prince Ira screams.

I begin to rush to Queen Iinik.

“You take another step and I will slice her open!”

“She is your queen!” I protest.

“Give me the dragon, Sanguine!”

“Is this not enough?!” I open the spread of my wings.

“I want the full form! I want the power of the dragons!”

Suddenly, the screaming came from every direction.

“Give me the dragon!”

“He cannot do it!”

“Mother!”

“Do not do this!”

“I demand the power!”

“She will die!”

“I need more time!”

“Queen Iinik!”

“King Sommel!”

“Father!”

“Mother!”

“Someone stop this!”

“ENOUGH!”

Within a blink of an eye, King Sommel took his sword and buried it into the belly of my mother. The sound of metal slicing her intestines open, and the strong scent of blood filled the air. My eyes turned with horror as I watched her drop to her knees to fight for her life.

“MOOOOOOOOTHER!” Prince Ira screamed out.

A scream that began to shake the earth, and sent the ground rumbling. The lining of red began to fill my eyes as it ensued around King Sommel. The ground underneath my feet violently shook, as though the weight of the temple started to become too much. My skin started to tighten almost as if it was being forced to, and ripped off of me. I felt a burning in my chest that I thought would melt me from the inside out, and consume me with an unknown hatred that even Naviade could not erase me from.

I thought King Sommel would be happy with the final result of his consequences unraveling before him but I sensed an anger just as powerful nearby. Glaring over to Prince Ira I saw the guards restraining him, now running back in fear as he too, begin to take a physical form of the dragon Rage. The ground under his feet began to melt and his body grew to the might of my father.

In the distance I heard a small chuckle, as King Sommel turned and saw it was my mother laughing in her final breath.

“My apologies, ‘your majesty’,” Queen Iinik mocked, “But it appears that ‘your son’ is the SON of RAGE, like his brother.”

“Impossible!” King Sommel terrifyingly looked upon the two dragons of Rage taking their full form, “I killed Rage long before Ira was born!”

“How adorable," My mother continued to choke on her own blood, "That you thought you could actually defeat the mighty Dragon of Rage!”

Before Queen Iinik could say another word, King Sommel withdrew his sword from her stomach and my mother’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

Knowing she was gone only made me more determined to murder the guilty before me! In unison Ira and I released a booming roar together that sent thunder and lightning racing throughout the sky! Her death fed our Rage to kill Sommel, but what joy it would be to destroy this man alongside my brother.

The ground continued shaking, as the sink hole sunk the statue of Rage into the ground, but in its replacement arose the third dragon, one whose presence I could recognize anywhere… Rage himself.

A look of fear trembled across King Sommel’s face as he shakily waved his sword back between Ira, myself, and Rage. My father inhaled the air breathing life into the entirety of the area, and exhaled it back to create a circle of fire around his temple. I felt Princess Naviade struggle to climb onto my back to escape the dangers of the flames, but my anger had surpassed my own control that I did not care what happened to anyone except King Sommel.

“Rage! Mercy!” King Sommel pleaded.

The three dragons released another hatred filled roar into the, now dark skies of the day.

“Remember! It was the Northern Kingdom that wanted to kill you! I wanted to extract your revenge from them! I-I thought you were dead!”

Never, had I ever seen King Sommel beg, and look this weak before.

“They have come with their dragons and weapons to kill Sanguine! We have to protect him! You were bred to end wars, right?! Well end this one! Which one will it be Rage-”

Before Sommel finished his words, Ira’s dragon burned him to ashes, setting his body to dust. After that, the rage and anger my brother’s dragon felt was not enough. I could sense in his spirit he wanted BLOOD. In a rush, he picked up the strongest scent he could find and followed it.

“He is headed towards the armada!” Princess Naviade screamed.