The Siege of Rantoz

Just a short story about knights and dragons.

Adam’s belly rumbled as he led the fierce war horse back into the murky stables. The smell of manure in the hay was something that he was generally used to, but on an empty stomach, it was almost as if taste it in the air. The fumes circulating his nostrils and invading his taste buds would have made him throw up if he had anything in his stomach to throw up that is.
Rations had been low in the city recently for the common people. Of course, the rations had no effect on those fighting for the kingdom; the knights and the archers were fed heartily, and the magi, well, they were they were provided for as well as the king. For a simple stable boy like Adam however, meals were oats and water. Of course Adam didn’t like situation, but he made do. After all, he’d rather be in here hungry and tending to horses than out there swinging sticks of steel around and hoping to slay a dragon.
This whole situation was king Pantar’s fault. He had inherited the greatest kingdom on the planet from his father, and he was determined to make it even greater. Back then his army of knights and archers numbered sixty thousand and was unmatchable. When working with the assistance of the king’s circle of magi, containing the 12 most powerful magi in the three lands, his expansion had been plain sailing. But the king grew foolish and proud in his wealth and power and tried to push his weight in places he had no business interfering. His counsellors warned him against it, the generals said it was ill-advised, but he was stubborn and proud and paid their advice no mind. He issued a decree to the clan of dragon riders, ordering their elders to come and swear fealty to him or risk being destroyed.
The village of the dragon riders was a relatively small and remote place located on a dormant volcano. The clan kept themselves to themselves and were relatively peaceful, but everyone in the three kingdoms down to fire-year old children knew they were not to be trifled with. Along with the magi the dragon riders were considered the most powerful people on the planet. They were raised with dragons from birth and dragons were like pets to them. There were about twenty fully-trained dragon riders and about three times as many dragons, and although the riders could only control the dragons that they were riding, all the other dragons would follow them due to having a herd mentality.
There were rumours that they were descendants of the ancient dragon soul clan, the lost clan that could speak to and command dragons, and even manifest the legendary dragon’s breath. Some of the riders claimed that they were themselves dragon souls, but none had manifested the dragon breath. At this point, people questioned where the dragon soul clan was just a legend and if they had ever existed at all.
Needless to say, the dragon riders hadn’t taken king Pantar’s threat very well, and before long war had broken out. The clan had sent out its twenty riders who quickly liberated their surrounding villages, as the few knights garrisoned there who had the balls to try and resist, were quickly incinerated. The riders continued on their spree of liberating villages for a few months and in that time liberated reduced the kingdom’s borders as much as they had expanded over the last two years. Eventually, the king ordered all his forces to return to the capital in order to bolster its defences but by this point, the skirmishes and fights had reduced his garrison to forty-eight thousand. The capital city Rantoz was a fortress, supposedly impenetrable with its large stone walls, and deep moats at all of its entrances, but Rantoz had never been laid siege by dragons before. The king was urged to sue for peace before the riders came to the city, but his pride had been hurt and so he refused and was determined that with the force of his whole army as well as the circle of magi, they would make light work of the dragon riders, so he let them come.
Adam was exercising one of the horses on the fields just outside of the city walls when they came.
About sixty of the terrifyingly awesome beasts turned the sky dark as their red and brown bodies soared through the air and they spread out their wings and blocked out the sun. Filled with amazement and in awe of the dragons, Adam forgot to be terrified at first until the sound of the watchman blowing their horns, sounding the alarm, brought him back to his senses. Adam turned the horse around and galloped to the city as fast as the horse would carry him. He managed to get over the drawbridge and into the city, just before the knights started to pour out.
That first night of the siege will forever haunt our dreams, as it was by far the worst night of the war. Most of the fighters had never seen a dragon before let alone fought one, and they dreamed that this was their opportunity to gain glory and fame and hoped to be named a paladin as one of the few who managed to slaughter a dragon. That dream was quickly shattered.
The riders, leading the dragons, rained down fire and turned the sky red with their flames. For a while, many of the villagers were sure that it was the time of Armageddon. The dragons swooped down out of the sky and with their powerful talons ripped the knights and their steeds into pieces. Thousands of knights charged onto the fields to face the riders and their dragons but their numbers quickly fell like leaves in autumn. Blood splattered into the air as their bodies were mutilated, and was boiled by the dragon's flames before it could fall to the ground, leaving behind a bloody mist. The field turned into a furnace and bloodbath.
By the time the circle of magi had rallied together about eleven-thousand knights had been wiped out. The magi managed to erect a barrier around the city, and started hurling lightning bolts at the riders, but the riders didn’t fight back. Satisfied with their accomplishment from one night they turned tail and left. The magi have been on high alert ever since, and they have not let the barrier drop even for a moment. The riders didn’t return for a couple of weeks however and the king ordered Adam and the other villagers to attempt to clear the fields and to gather the dead, but we quickly realised it was a futile task. There was nothing to collect. There was the odd arm her and the odd leg there, charred beyond recognition, but for the most part, the furnace of flame had melded the knights, their horses, and their armour into a black, sticky goo of death. Also, the blood mist in the air showed no signs of dissipating. It was clear that nothing would ever grow or live here again.
The dragon riders haven’t been back in full force since, instead choosing to come in packs of between five and ten, but the magi defences have managed to hold. The dragon’s fire has not been able to reach the city, and the magi had even managed to take one or two riders out with the lighting storms they summoned, but keeping the defences up constantly was tiring work, and it was clear that it was taking its toll on the magi. People that have left the city or have tried to come in, knights on patrol or merchants delivering supplies, they have been quickly plucked off of the roads by the riders. As such the city was in full lockdown, and only the knights were allowed in out and, hence the rations.
The lack of was getting to Adam. The hunger pains were distracting him from his increased workload. He normally just groomed the horses and didn’t have to exercise them very often due to them being ridden by the knights, but the horses were under lockdown just like the civilians. They were utterly useless before the face of a dragon, and would become so terrified that their riders were not able to get them under control. As such Adam was one of the people who had to walk the horses around the city. That said most of the horses were wiped out during the first night, so the workload hasn't increased too much.
The church bell rang twice bringing Adam out of his thoughts. It was time for him to bring Sir Roderick his horse. Sir Roderick was one of the few knights that Adam liked, he was a bit plumper than your average knight, and was a lot jollier. Adam brought the mare to the knight's barracks beside the castle where he agreed to meet sir Roderick and saw the knight standing outside waiting for him.
'Good afternoon sir Roderick,' Adam said, 'I have brought you your horse.'
'That's a good lad Adam,' replied Sir Roderick while giving Adam a slap on the back, ‘And look you've got him all cleaned and groomed for me as well. I tell you that this horse did not get nearly so good treatment when we were outside the capital.'
'Well that's no surprise, the smaller village's stables can't really be compared to the king's stables can they.' said Adam.
'Aye that's true,' the knight heartily replied, ‘The same can’t be said about the quarters. We didn't have such luxury outside of these walls, the beds here are like clouds compared to what I usually sleep on, and every day we eat here as though we were gods banqueting in Olympus.'
At that moment Adams's belly let out an inopportune rumble and Sir Roderick burst into laughter. He then brandished an apple from seemingly out of nowhere and gave it to Adam. 'I guess not everybody is faring quite as well as we are. I brought the apple for the horse, but you look like you would appreciate it more.
Adam quickly devoured the apple down to the core and spat out the seeds.
'Thank you, sir,' Adam said gratefully as he bowed his head slightly. 'So, when do you think you will be heading out to fight then?’ asked Adam.
Sir Roderick huffed and replied, 'When this horse grows wings and can breathe fire just like their dragons, until then, it’s just suicide. I tell you I'd rather be in my village with its hard beds and mediocre food than her. At least there all I have to deal with are unruly villagers and the odd group of bandits, but dragons... No, I tell you I didn't sign up for this.
'So why do you keep going on rides with your horse?' Adam asked, 'None of the knights ever request their horses.'
Sir Roderick sighed and said, 'Well the king hasn't got enough sense in him to see that we have lost this war, thousands of us have fallen, and the magi are exhausted. Hell, we never really had a fighting chance anyway. This siege can't continue forever though, sooner or later the king is going to send us out there to fight, and when the other knights who have let their horses legs weaken and their senses grow dull they will be the first to be incinerated, while me and my steady steed will charge straight ahead and will be gone before the carnage ensues.
'What, you’re going to run?!' Adam asked in surprise.
'Run or die,' Roderick replied' If it comes to it those are the only two options, and I'm not really in favour of dying a pointless death.'
They continued in a sombre silence for as they began to load up the horse and then Adam began again, 'I guess I can understand not wanting to die a pointless death, but what do you mean if it comes to it, isn't it inevitable.
Roderick stopped what he was doing and ushered Adam closer and said, 'Look, you didn't hear this from me, but there are rumours of insurrection in the ranks I'm not the only one who doesn't want to die and many of the knights have realised that the only way that we can assure our survival is if we dethrone King Pantar. Anyway,' continued Sir Roderick as he stepped away from Adam, 'that's enough of this talk, these are dangerous times and rumours like this could easily get you hung drawn and quartered. So instead, why don't you come and help me get this armour on so that I can finally go on this ride. I tell you, if we both survive this dragon siege, you'll make a fine squire.' Adam put Sir Roderick's armour on him and buckled it tight and as the knight and as the knight went on his ride, Adam continued on with the rest of his jobs.
Eventually, the clock struck five and Adam realised his work day was almost done, the stables were cleaned and the horses were groomed and exercised, and all that Adam had left to do was go and collect sir Roderick’s Horse. Adam went to the barracks and found the horse tied to a stump outside, but Sir Roderick was nowhere to be seen. As he untied the horse he noticed that the barracks were quiet, eerily quiet. No shouts of merriment and no clanking of swords, the place seemed abandoned. Adam began to lead the horse back to the stable, but as he walked he noticed that there was a sense of anticipation in the air.
He had just passed the castle when he heard the first scream and immediately looked up expecting to see dragons, but there was nothing in the sky. The next moment he caught movement in the corner of his eye and then all hell broke loose as legions of knights charged out of alleys, streets, houses, and every hidden corner, intent on charging the castle, but the castle returned in kind. The gates flew open and knights charged out and fighting ensued on the streets.
Knights who had been friends a couple of weeks before were now slicing each other’s throats. Some fought for their king, the others, for their lives. Most of the villagers ran and boarded themselves in their houses, but some picked up their pitchforks and joined in the fray, tired of the rations and of living in fear, they too wanted to take out the king.
Adam scurried into a corner to get away from the danger, and hiding in the shadows silently watched the fighting. The carnage ensued for hours and the rebels seemed like they would soon break through when the unthinkable happened. The dragons returned. Not the small packs that had recently been the city, but the full force. Once again they darkened the sky with their brown and red bodies and then they lit it up as though the sun had been placed in the centre of the village as their flames bounced off of the mage's barrier.
The fighting stopped at the sight of the dragons, but as soon as they saw that the barrier was holding up, the rebels went for one final charge. Their vigour renewed as now more than ever they wanted it all to be over. They quickly forced their way through the rest of the defences and stormed into the castle.
At this point, Adam stepped out of the alley and witnessed the dragons parting. From behind them came another rider. This rider rode a dragon a neck bigger than the others with scales as dark as obsidian. The dragon reached the barrier and let out a flame as dark as death itself that seemed like it would consume all. At first, the barrier held, but as the other dragons added their flames again, the barrier quickly dissipated and Adam was hit by a sweltering wave of heat.
The dragons then flew over the walls setting fires as they flew towards the castle. At this point, Adam noticed a small village girl standing among the slain knights crying. He shouted out to her to run but she was scared stiff and the dragons were quickly approaching. Adam leapt out of the alley with a burst of speed he didn't know he had intent on grabbing the girl and running to safety, but by the time he reached her the grand obsidian dragon was upon them, fire pouring out of its mouth. Adam could no nothing but hold the girl and close his eyes and await his death.
A few moments passed and Adam realised that he still wasn't dead. He opened his eyes slowly and turned to find the black dragon with its red eyes stood in front of him staring intently. The rider on top of the dragon looked just as confused as Adam felt, looking back and forth between Adam and the dragon. Then the rider’s eyes lit up in surprise as he had a Eureka moment, and he pointed at Adam exclaimed, 'You, you're a dragon soul.'
At that moment, large shouting erupted from the castle as one rebels stepped forward on the roof. As Adam looked up he noticed that it was Sir Roderick. In his hand, he held a head which he threw in-between Adam and the black dragon.
'The king is dead,' Sir Roderick shouted, 'The war is over.'
It was then that Adam noticed that the bodiless head belonged to king Pantar, and he had to keep himself from throwing up as he averted the little girl’s eyes.
The rider on the black dragon picked up the head and inspected it, confirming that it was king. Satisfied he remounted the dragon and they lifted, the dragon generating a great gust of wind as he flapped his wings. The rider then flew around the city holding the head up like a trophy and soon all the other riders and dragons fell in behind him and then they flew off.
Adam let out a breath he hadn't realised that he had been holding as the riders flew off. It had been a terrifying night, but finally, the war was over.

Author's Note

This is my first time trying to dabble in fantasy writing, so any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks :)