Fire And Ice

Two great beasts duke it out on the battlefield.

A thunderous blast ripped through a pair of giant iron doors. And troupes of soldiers in black armor stormed from the veil of dust. Some of them rode on horseback, others on foot. They wielded wicked, curved swords and metal shields that contoured to their forearms and elbows. A runic glyph was embedded into their helmets.

Soldiers in silver armor braced to oppose the oncoming horde. Most of them were only civilians pulled from the streets and had some to no combat experience. A man in broke through the soldiers.“The enemy is advancing quickly! What shall I do?” he cried.

“And soon they'll be right at our feet.” The bearded man muttered “Ready your magicians. I'll take care of the rest.”

The robed man saluted. “Will do mi'lord.” he said and disappeared into the sea of men.

The opposing army stormed towards the silver clad soldiers They gained ground at a shocking rate and were lead by a large, heavily armored man who adorned a horned helmet.

“Archers, ready your bows and aim!” the bearded man barked.

The archers raised their bows at an angle ready to fire.

“Fire!” the bearded man shouted.

The archers released their arrows in unison and balls of fire cascaded towards the opposing soldiers.

Hundreds of enemy units fell limp as arrows plunged into their armor. Cries echoed through the city as arrows tore through flesh. The enemy units directly behind stopped dead in their tracks. Arrows stuck in the ground in front of them, a few were hit and fell hard. The rest did not budge.

A gratified expression appeared on h bearded man's face. it soon  turned to horror when he heard the sound. A bellowing roar shook the ground and rattled armor. His men began to scramble and flee to the back. He was more worried about what made the sound than his men.

A pair of translucent wings flared from behind the enemy soldiers. Some of the soldiers were tossed aside like dolls from whatever beast was making a path. Soldiers began to step aside for fear of injury or death. From the crowd, robed men emerged. A thick chain was slung over their shoulders. 

The men staggered their way into an opening. A scaly, rough snout emerged from behind them.that was bound in more chains. The ring men attempted to flee. But the dragon whipped its tail around, shattering ribs and limbs. A few of the men were too frightened to flee and kepttheir grip on the chains. The dragon thrashed its head back and forth, flinging the men left and right. It flexed its jaws and the chains around its snout broke into pieces.

The crimson beast stalked forward and coiled its head back.

“Move!” the bearded man cried/

 A blue flame erupted from the dragon's throat and surged forward. It billowed into the silver clad soldiers, searing their flesh. Bloodcurdling cries resonated throughout the city. Cries of agony and immense pain.

The bearded man pressed his back against the stone statue he sought cover behind. He was reluctant to survey the battlefield. When he finally did, the taste of bile rushed into his mouth. Bodies lie all around him burnt to a crisp. Armor and weapons were melted into the soldier's bodies. It was horrifying. The worst he had seen was decapitated limbs and large gashes made by blades. But this was something no commanding officer wanted to see. Deep sadness filled him. Then, a smile. A smile that crept over his lips as he remembered his second line of defense.

“Magicians, now!” he cried.

Eleven spell-casters came from the crowd of men. They began to chant in an ancient language and rose their staffs in the air. A dark circle formed around them. It filled with runic symbols. And a chrysalis of ice slowly began to manifest in the center. It rose to a great height and pulsated with a white light.

After a few moments the chrysalis shattered and snowy mist spilled into the city streets. Every soldier retreated backwards as a great creature stepped from the frozen throne. It shook like a dog and let out a terrifying screech. The creature rose to its back feet and flared out its silver wings. They were dazzling and glimmered with a metallic sheen. It was a second dragon.

The crimson dragon snarled and immediately sprung forward. It tackled its snowy foe to the ground and began to rake with its claws. The magicians stamped their staffs on the ground and began to chant louder. The white dragon blocked its enemy's blows with its wings and kicked with its powerful legs. The crimson nightmare went flying into a crowd of opposing soldiers.

The spell caster's eyes went blank and the white dragon rose up again. It coughed up a jet of crackling ice that soared towards its enemy. The frozen jet just missed the target and crashed into the soldiers. They were instantly frozen.

The crimson beast strafed towards its foe and lashed with its tail. It struck the silver dragon in the chest and two of the spell casters fell dead. The beast followed up by biting the white dragon in the ribs. Three more spell casters fell, lifeless.

The crimson dragon relentlessly attacked the white dragon. Then, it backed away from its foe. The white dragon was battered and ruby blood streamed from its body. It limped backwards towards the chrysalis. Only five magicians remained.

The bearded mans' face went stiff with  worry. He ordered a final attack for the magicians to execute.

“Do it.” he said.

The magicians nodded and fell back into a deep trance. The crimson dragon approached its foe. As it drew closer for the finishing blow, the snowy dragon lurched and locked its claws and wings around it. Its eyes glowed white, it braced its self for something. Every magician rose their staff into the air. Then fell dead.

The white dragon's body flashed white. Its foe thrashed and rolled, trying to throw the creature from its self. The snowy dragon's grip was like iron. The two of them rolled on the ground for a few moments. Then, a pillar of ice instantly formed around the two of them. It shattered in sparkling array of frozen chunks of meat and scale. Then all was silent.

The two armies faced each other. The dropped their weapons and moved to shake hands. They had seen the true killing power of mankind. The raw death it has created. Then they began to clean up their fallen allies.

Author's Note

My first fantasy story re uploaded. Rate and review. Be specific in your review. Tell me what you didn't like and did like. And what I should or need to improve on.

Thanks, Kyle~

Reviews

[Will Neill]

Kyle, a wonderous tale of knights and dragons, I liked the idea and was hooked------but- I feel you have fallen into the classic trap of telling as apposed to showing, the action of war or battle is felt while you are writing the scenes but sometimes it can come out as quick fire paragraths (Read it again and you will see what I mean) try not to start each with 'The' be more sutle with introducing the story line and use discripions, sounds and smells to make it thicker. I hope you find this helpful, and above all keep writing.
Will

[Kyle J. Lawson]

Thanks for the constructive criticism Will. I actually feel the same way you do when I re read it. I'm trying to find my own way of correcting this, whilst adding my own personality to it.

[Will Neill]

have a read at my story 'How do you know if you are afraid of Giants' Kyle this took me a week to write, I kept reading it over and over to try and get it just right, even now I can see it's faults--its like every thing we do practice makes perfect, and a writers work is a lonely road.
don't try to write like some one else, find your comfort zone and the rest will follow.
Will

[Kyle J. Lawson]

Okay, thanks for the inspirational words. :)