Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 059 - Hard choices

Stay back, Amaranth.  I don’t want you to risk getting hurt or Tharnok being upset at your presence.

Without complaining, the green dragon turned to the right and circled back, staying at the same altitude but not coming with Pammon and him.

Look at the land.  I cannot believe Tharnok has done this.

Kaen nodded and felt a knot forming in his stomach.  They had seen traces of the destruction half an hour ago when they got close to here.

Large swaths of the forest below had been burnt to ash.  They could see the lines that Tharnok had breathed out, melting rocks and dirt after it disintegrated the trees.

Very little wildlife was still around, having fled to other parts of the region they were in.  The large trees that had stood for most likely three hundred or more years were gone.

Small sections of green still dotted the rolling landscape, but black ash was the new carpet of this land.

You must not risk your life.  If he cannot be calm, do not hesitate to attack.  Pammon paused for just a second as Kaen felt his mood go dark.  I will not hesitate.

Gently scratching his dragon’s neck, Kaen looked across the sky to where he saw the massive dragon coming toward them.  Even as far away as Tharnok was from them, Kaen remembered the first time he had seen the pair years ago.

Has he grown?

Looking through Pammon’s eyes, Kaen couldn’t believe it, but it did look like Tharnok had gotten larger.  His scales were now a dull grey color, reflecting no light.  His eyes looked to have nothing but anger in them.

He has.  I didn’t even begin to think about what Amaranth said.  She mentioned his size and how much bigger he was than us.  She compared him to the council.  But now I see that has changed.

His mind raced as Kaen tried to consider how that was possible.

Was it –

Yes, Pammon interrupted him, knowing what he was about to ask. He has killed at least three dragons and consumed them.  If he is not stopped, he will kill every dragon on this land.

Grief and sorrow threatened to extinguish the burning of his lifestone for a moment.  Knowing how badly Tharnok must be hurting with Elies gone overwhelmed him.  The fear Kaen had hidden for so long was brought to the surface.  If something like this happened to him, what would Pammon become?

Focus! Stop letting yourself be distracted by what may happen one day.  If that was me, we both know I would need to be stopped.  We are the only ones able to do that now.  One way or another, his reign of destruction must end.

Closing his eyes, Kaen took a breath and focused.

He didn’t want this path.  It wasn’t one he ever imagined.  The weight of it all felt so heavy some days.  Yet he wasn’t alone on it.  His friend and partner was carrying him right now.  Back home, he had a family.  He had a wife.  Those reminders hardened him in this moment.  Prepared him for whatever might come.

Both dragons flew straight toward each other.  Kaen had his bow out, and an arrow already knocked.

When they were only a few more minutes away, Kaen felt the rage and hurt of Tharnok suddenly hit.  It was as if someone had taken a club and smacked him in the chest.  They were still miles away, yet he could now sense Tharnok like never before.

You must try to reach him now.  If we get much closer, our only option will be to fight.

I do this for Elies.

That thought, that focus, turned his lifestone into a furnace again.  The pain of being the one who had to carry this burden.

Tharnok stop!  Stop right now!  It is Kaen and Pammon, your friends!

Confusion flooded both of them, and they saw Tharnok’s wings falter.  His path for a moment wavered before he let out a massive roar, sending a wave of anger toward them.

Ignoring the sensation coming from Pammon as concern rose in his friend's mind, Kaen focused his mind and his will.

Tharnok stop!  Elies wouldn’t want this!  Fight the anger you feel!

Again, Tharnok let out a roar, but this time, he flared his wings out suddenly, coming to a quick stop in the air before beating them to stay where he had stopped.

Pammon repeated the maneuver, and miles away, each dragon stared at the other as they felt the one they had called teacher and friend fighting with a beast that had consumed him.

You… must… kill me.  I… can’t fight this.  You have become…

Kaen and Pammon waited as the wind blew over them, hearing the strain in Tharnok’s voice in their head.

Tharnok roared, shaking his head from side to side.

You have become a King of Dragons… What Elies, when Tharnok said that name, sorrow and pain swept across a bond Kaen had not realized they had, replacing the torrent of rage that had been leaking out every few breaths. He knew… knew you were.  Kings make hard choices… dragon riders even more… end me.  Send me to my friend.

For a single heartbeat, Kaen’s heart broke.  When it did, his lifestone waivered.

Tharnok angled down and forward, coming at them again, his mind once more consumed by the rage.

Focus!

Kaen’s head hurt from how loud Pammon had shouted, but he realized he had been lax.  His feelings and concern had replaced the need to be unwavering.

His lifestone raged once more, burning so hot it flowed from him and into Pammon.

I command you to stop Tharnok!

As if a mountain had appeared before him, Tharnok stopped, beating his wings again as he hovered and watched Kaen.

Do not wait… you are strong… but one mistake will be the end.  Kill me.  Set me free.  Please…

Tears fell from the black eyes of Tharnok.  Kaen ignored the fact that they had not been black before.  He was no longer the dragon who had trained him.  He was a shell.  A ghost living in the body of one he had called a friend.

I will set you free.  Tell Elies when you see him thank you.

Those giant wings missed a beat, causing Tharnok to drop slightly in the air before recovering.

Pammon began to move closer, closing the distance as he watched Tharnok’s movements.

Kaen could feel Pammon's readiness to react if the dragon did something aggressive.

Hurry… it hurts… I cannot hold on much longer…

Flying faster, Pammon flew straight for the dragon that had trained him for two long years.  The dragon that had given him wisdom and advice.  Told him secrets when it was just the two of them.  The dragon knew what having a rider meant.  The pain and joy it brought.  The closest thing Pammon had to a father.

As he flew toward Tharnok, Pammon’s heart was set.  Tharnok had prepared him for this day.  Told him that it would come.  Explained what had to be done.  Reminded him that if he failed, either Kaen or he would suffer because of his hesitation.

Kaen felt the rock that was Pammon’s will under him.  As they drew close, Kaen pulled the arrow back.  He felt the cold metal against his cheek.  Power flowed into the arrow.  It didn’t just flow into the tip as so often it had, but this time, the entire shaft and tip of the arrow was glowing.  It burned.  The silver metal turned red.  That red became blue, threatening to burn his face, yet it didn’t.  A few seconds later, the metal became white, glowing as it surged with so much power.

His lifestone told him it was time.  Time to let go.

[ Archery Skill Increased 1 ]

The air rushed against them as they fell from the sky.  They flew behind Tharnok, watching his body flip repeatedly as it hurtled toward the ground.

The arrow had struck their friend right in his chest.  Tharnok had not moved, doing everything he could to hold still.  To be set free.

The arrow had struck, blasting through his scales that had hardened more than most people could imagine.  Torn through as if it was a scale on a youngling.

It pierced his body, tearing the muscle of a lifetime of flying, and flew to where his heart was.

Inside his body, the arrow erupted, snuffing out the life of their friend in a moment.

One second, his wings were flapping, and the next moment, Tharnok went limp and fell.

I can reach him before he hits.  It will be close.

Kaen said nothing, trusting Pammon as he knew he had his own motives for this.

The ground was coming toward them quickly.

Pammon was meters away as he waited and watched the massive creature turn again in the air, his tail whipping around like a weapon.

When that threat had passed, he surged forward, beating his wings to dive faster, and used his massive back claws to latch onto Tharnok’s body.

He then slowly adjusted his wings, adding resistance to the air rushing over them.

I need your strength.  Give it to me.

Without a second's hesitation, Kaen poured the power of his lifestone and his own physical strength through their bond.

Pammon’s wings began to beat now, buffeting the wind that would have snapped them in half a year ago.  He fought against the weight of the dragon he had a grip on.  He battled the wind, that speed that wanted to bring him down.

What felt like minutes was only a dozen heartbeats before their descent slowed down to a point Pammon could control.

He angled their path, finding a section of the ground that would work.

Slowing down as much as he could, Pammon let go of Tharnok’s corpse, watching it roll for hundreds of yards in the ash-filled ground.

I am good now.  You can stop.  Thank you.

Cutting the flow of his own strength, Kaen sagged for just a second as the life force he had given began to return slowly.  Taking a few deep breaths, he looked at the body of Tharnok, covered in black ash, as it lay still on the ground.

Pammon turned, coming around and preparing to land next to his mentor.

Kaen walked away.  The trees were still a solid mile away, but he needed to keep walking.

He had said his peace.  Put his hand on Tharnok’s body and said a prayer.

Then Pammon had told him what he must do.  It hadn’t surprised him.  Pammon had mentioned it before.  Yet, at that moment, he couldn’t watch.

Even having been well over a hundred yards away, he had heard the first crunch.  The tearing of the flesh.

Pammon would eat every bit of Tharnok that he could.  For days, he would sit there and consume his friend.  Tharnok had told him that he must do that.  To be as large as he could be.  To grow to his full potential.

That first bite had been hard on Pammon.  Kaen felt it through their bond.  The moment he had started to walk away, he could feel Pammon trying to do what he said he needed to do and yet being unable to.

Right now, both of them needed a moment.

Pammon turned, looking at Kaen, who was coming toward him.  He could feel his presence as he began to return.

A slight thrum came for a moment as he swallowed the bite in his mouth.

His rider was dragging a log. No, not a log, but a tree through the ash-covered fields.  It had to be at least thirty feet long, and yet there Kaen was, dragging it behind him with the rope he had walked away with.

Turning back, he took another bite and chewed.  He saw Tharnok’s head lying against the ground.  His reservation was gone as each bite filled him with a power like nothing Tharnok had told him about.  He would do this task for not just Kaen and himself.  He would do this for Tharnok and always carry a piece of his family with him.