Ashfall

Yasen yawned again, claws leaving short furrows in the soft ground.  It was still light, although quite late in the afternoon.  Following the clearing, Yasen found herself at the edge of one of the many small lakes spread out below the mountains.  Not the best place for swimming, even if one wanted to, as most of them were deceptively deep and uncomfortably cold.

For a moment the clouds were reflected quite clearly in the still water, but a fresh gust of wind rippled across the surface, bringing with it an absolute rainfall of petals from the blossom trees lining the loch.  Yasen smiled and watched curiously as the water settled again, only to be stirred up by the next breeze.  The loose petals floated momentarily, but disappeared under the water almost immediately.

Flicking her wings back, Yasen watched the cycle repeat once more.  She bent her head down, gently removing the gem-studded mesh she wore for formal audiences, neatly folding the silver links on a stone. The small pieces of turquoise stood out in sharp contrast against the dull stone, interspaced with seed pearls.  The whole ensemble was dearer than it ought to have been, but it made the nobles happier if she wore something to show off the province's wealth.  It was definitely her favourite piece, and not really all that much trouble to wear.

But it was not particularly durable, and it would be a waste to melt it.  Yasen could hear the next gust of wind rustling through the trees behind her, and flexed her wings in preparation.  She took off when the first of the loose petals were almost on the water's surface.  A tightly controlled burst of flame spread, the heat accelerated by the downwards stroke of her wings.  At the same time she increased the flame, superheating it with her magic.  A moment later, and she landed on the far shore, a faint  heat shimmer and the  choppy  water left in her wake.  The water settled once more, but not one petal touched the surface.  Rather a faint silvery mist, finest ash made the whole body of water glitter briefly.

My assistant sat by my side in the palace, in the specially designed military headquarters. We were alone - with no warfare at present, there was no planning to be done, and we currently had no new recruits, so my days were spent taking care of other business.

"We've had complaints from Aelndrag, mainly Shadaira, that the drillmasters are too harsh on new recruits," Daigga said. "They wish for you to oversee a few sessions to make your judgment."
I nodded at the griffin. "Send word that I'll watch a random session in four days. I'll also watch a few sessions privately without their knowledge to get a better scope."
Daigga turned his head back to the scrolls the messengers had given him. "Patrols from the sky and ground also say they believe they have seen spies lurking near the borders of the no-man's land."
"How many reports have we had, and how solid are they?"
"Two dragons from the sky patrol have said they saw what they believed to be Black Dragon minions hiding among the dunes, likely elves or dramen, though they could also be locumni, it was hard to tell from a distance. Many of the humans from the ground patrol have also reported activities such as theft from their camps, and think they have seen dramen bearing Synacra's sign around the desert.
"Send Hyrion's unit into the desert to thoroughly comb it over. If needed, Turisa's unit can back them up."

I sat at the table and watched Daigga spread the papers over it for me to look. "I've also been given word that new recruits of Brenach have not been getting on with each other, and it has broken into much conflict between the units. No casualties yet, but..."
"I've heard of the problem," I cut him off. "I requested Thyr send some of his unit to Brenach to see to the problem yesterday. They should arrive there shortly to sort it out."
"Yes, commander. Finally, Neitel'an's field marshals request for your presence to motivate some of their...less interested new recruits. Some of their older trainees are losing heart, also. The generals and field marshals suspect that the presence of the chief commander will whip their blood."

I nodded. After all, I had no other desperate matters to attend to, and disheartened new recruits were a strain on the military. "I'll leave immediately. If urgent matters arrise, send the fastest messenger for me."
"Yes, commander."
I headed out the hall, out the palace, and took to the skies on the path to Neitel'an.

It was a simple trick really, the intense heat came from one of the first spells any student of magic would practice.  If given something, magic could easily be used to increase it, be it an object or a phenomenon.  Yasen had found she could adapt that crude spell to intensify the heat of her flame.  Shortly after that she discovered why it wasn't a particularly good idea; her scales were blistered and rough for the rest of the month, and the metal lanturns lining her first cave melted into the stone floor.

Refining the technique had taken many years, and much experimentation.  Now, Yasen had found her boundries and could test them constantly as her abilities improved and her resistance grew.  All dragons were fire-proof to a certain degree, both from their scales and an innate magical defense that masked the heat.  Initially, Yasen had struggled to maintain that defense for more than a scant two seconds, before she would have to cut short the attack, but as she grew older, and somewhat wiser, that resistance increased.  On a good day, she could withstand the magical heat for at least eleven seconds, longer if she kept moving, and from a single burst of flame, she could reduce anything vaguely flammable to ash, within a short range.

Good days were hard to come by, but the eight seconds she could manage comfortably had seen her through many a tight spot.  Yasen paused, smugly enjoying the sight of the ash gleaming on the water, before taking flight again.  This time she flew up the full length of the clearing, straight into the wind, and the dried leaves dissolved into silver powder behind her.  Banking to the left, she rose above the trees, searching for a good spot to continue her practice.  For the sake of any innocent woodland creatures, Yasen roared loud and long, effectivly emptying her immediate surroundings.  There might have been a deaf squirrel somewhere, but if she waited for absolutely everything to be out of the way, she'd never get to practice.

There was another clearing, dominated by the greying skeleton of an old tree.  Rapid wingbeats driving her forward, Yasen drew in a breath.  At greater speed it was much harder to aim, but that made it more interesting.  In the moment she was directly above the tree, she released her breath between the branches, driving the fire in with her wings.   Again, the flame was barely visible, a mere shimmering of heat.  The trunk crumbled, brittle branches falling around it.  For good measure, Yasen flipped herself over and made a second run, this time targetting the remaining wood.  Not bothering with finesse, she simply let lose a long jet of flame, leaving an empty clearing with a perfect blackened circle in the middle.

It was a short and relatively uneventful flight to Neitel'an. During the trip I kept careful eye on the Nidarie desert for any sign of the type of spies I had been informed of, but it was too distant to notice any sort of activity, let alone the type that's designed to remain hidden. I saw pointing and staring from below me, and though any voices were quickly carried away by the wind, I could only assume that the creature below were expressing some level of confusion as to my appearance and my flight - commanding the military of the entire Ordragc Empire was a demanding job, and so I never too often was able to make trips like this.

When I saw myself over the familiar formation of the Claw Mountain range, I dipped my wings and begun my descent into Neitel'an. I alighted near the city of Neitel'an and folded my wings, walking into the busy streets. Members of all races respectfully bowed out of the way as I headed towards the home - not quite a palace, but more than worthy of the title of mansion - of an old friend and one of the province's most important and influential man. I lifted a foreclaw and rapped it against the door a few times, as the human tradition was. Why I was unable to roar out my arrival like a sane dragon I didn't know, but I never was able to fully understand humans.

The door opened, and High Cariff Jieran answered, smiling at me. "Commander," he said with a bow.
I bowed my head in turn. "Cariff. Good to see you again."
"You too, but let's drop the formalities. How've you been? Bored with no battle to rush to, eh?"
I shook my head. "Jieran, this isn't a casual house-dropping. My assistant Daigga reported to me that much of your military are beginning to lose heart. I know that a weak heart will lead dangerous morale, which in turn will lead to failure in battle and possibly even revolt."
He shrugged. "I never much paid attention to the military and war matters. I've always left that type of thing to the Ahari. You dragons always seem to have a head for combat."

"It doesn't matter. Daigga has told me that the field marshals believe an overseeing of their training by the chief commander may help put the spirit back into recruits old and new."
"Ah, I can help you there. Excuse me for a moment." He went back into his mansion-house and returned with a scroll. "I have here the times for the training sessions. There's one going on right now over by the coast, but it'll be over before you reach. I think your best bet would be the midnight session at the foot of the Claw Mountains due west from here."
"Thank you, Cariff Jieran. I'll be sure to attend."
"You should stay in Neitel'an a little, Commander," he replied. "You seem to spend a lot of your days cooped up in the Rathi's palace, and by the stars in the sky, you're so young. Hundred and sixty seven is it?"
"Sixty three."
"So young."

I shuffled backwards. "I wish I could stay longer High Cariff, but I'm afraid after my attendance to a few trainin sessions here I must be off to Aelndrag and see to another matter. Even without war, I'm a busy dragon."
He sighed. "Oh well. But you really should get out a lot more, Arix. The only time you come out of that palace is to fight. Just get out and enjoy the scenery every now and then."
"I'll try, Jieran."

Yasen flew for a little longer, in no particular direction.  It was almost time to head for the mountains for the training session.  Strictly speaking, the training of the recruits wasn't one of her duties, but Yasen had yet to elect someone, dragon or human, to take command of the training regimes.  Her subordinates did a good job, keeping it as organised as possible, and it would soon be necessary to give them more official positions.  The old Lord of Neitel-an had performed both duties, with his second in command taking over the military whenever it was needed, but that dragon had left, choosing a more secluded position in Jaret.

"If only I could be so fortunate," Yasen muttered irritably, flying back to the first clearing fetch her things.  Jaret was infinately nicer than Neitel-an in her opinion; the mountain city was small and remote, and there was no lingering odor of fish from the offshore wind.  The port city was not too offensive, but it was hard to feel enthused about it while enjoying the sharp mountain air above the forests.  Yasen had considered moving the capital city and the audience hall, but it was a selfish idea really, and it was important to have a strong military presense so close to the border.  The recruits weren't a bad lot either, they simply lacked resolve.

In all honesty, Yasen was not idealy suited to inspire them, since she truly disliked practicing in groups, and had less patience than was necessary to help train the newcomers.  But, today's session could be interesting.  At midnight, the darkness would make it much more challenging to keep clear of the others, attacking in tandem, and fire-breathing was somehow more satisfying at night.

The light was beginning to fade when Yasen landed in the broad training area.  The trees were sparce here, and the periodic presense of the dragons had effectively cleared a broad circle of packed earth.  Empty circles were left all around the border for the dragons to land.  The sheer rock face of the first mountains was dotted with charred marks left by the fire-breathers, and stark white patches gleamed in between, an ice-breather's handiwork.  The recruits were beginning to assemble; three of the younger dragons had already arrived and were taking it in turns to race through a narrow opening behind the cliffs.  The face was almost vertical, but it was broken into many columns, a veritable maze of dark lines extending along the mountainside.

There were humans as well, some preparing to join the dragons in their flight, others coming to watch.  Baori, Yasen's most inteferring assistant was seated patiently in the circle left clear for her landing.  Nodding as she landed, Yasen folded away her turquoise and pearl finery, inwardly grinning at the woman's slightly aghast expression.  Baori was so fussy as to how things ought to be stored, and one's jewels, in her opinion, deserved a place of honour in some precious container.  Merely folding it up neatly and stashing it in a wooden crate was tantamount to throwing it in the fire.  Baori glared disapprovingly at the box for a moment, then shrugged in a resigned sort of way.

"Mistress, the training session should involve another dozen dragons, but they still have time to arrive.  You didn't specify what you were planning -?"

"I hadn't decided yet," Yasen said absently.  Another dragon, this one well into her prime, landed in another of the circles.  A military veteran, Maril was almost 400, and had helped with the training of the recruits under three successive Lords of Neitel-an.

"If it suits you, I'll take the newest flyers through the pinnicles," the blue dragon offered, referring to a well-used route through the stone columns.  Yasen nodded; Maril was one of the most agile flyers in the province, and often instructed the more inexperienced dragons.

"I'll take the fire-breathers then," Yasen said, coming to a decision.  "Maril, if you and Pirrin would take groups through the basic air runs, I'll take the others out over the top; we need to work on close-knit attack runs, without setting eachother on fire."  A smaller dragon, listening in, ducked in embarrasment; the previous session he had almost burnt his own tail, turning over in midair.

As it grew darker, dragons continued to arrive, the clearing outlined with thick torches, mostly for the humans' benefit.  It was almost time to begin.

I walked my way to the midnight training by the Claw mountains. If I flew, I would have arrived there far too early. Walking would make me a little late, but that was okay - I'd prefer to pop in a little after it had begun.

I trudged my way through forest and plain before I smelled a gather of other dragons. I heard a whoosh and looked up to see roars of flame rushing across the sky. I could certainly see the problem from here alone - the fire was going everywhere. There was no sort of pattern or anything like it involved - it seemed just as likely to engulf a friendly griffin than an enemy one in the air.

I shook my head and took to the air, soon appearing over the gathered recruits. The fire stopped at the drillmaster's - no, the drillmistress's - request, allowing me to alight and walk towards the group. They all watched me intently, though I doubt many of them other than the female in charge of it all actually knew who I was.
I turned to the drillmistress. "I received word to come oversee a few training sessions."

Yasen had seen the red dragon approaching, but hadn't reconised him immediately.  It was true; she had sent word for assistance only a short while ago, but it seemed too soon to have gotten a response.  It was rather hideous timing actually; the last run had been one of their worst.  Poor Tawere had looked up just before releasing her burst of flame, and on spotting the overseer of the whole military, had rather forgotten where she was supposed to be aiming.  Yasen called out to cut the run short, leaving the recruits to circle in the air while she landed near the red dragon.

"Commander," Yasen acknowledged the larger dragon, bowing her head politely.  "Thank you for coming, if you'd like to observe the rest of this session, please, take your pick of the landing circles, Baori will assist you if you need anything."  Yasen leapt aloft again, picking her paws up neatly and barking out instructions to the ground crew.  The formation had fallen apart without the guiding posts, and it was obvious that the group needed much more practice.

The humans and dragons on the ground ran out into the centre of the clearing, raising tall stone posts of various heights; something for the dragons to aim at.  Atop each post was a rough piece of wood; a good hit would completely destroy it.  Yasen headed to the back of the formation, waiting for the ground crew to get clear.

"During the pass keep your wingbeats as controlled as possible, or you will completely distort the flames of the rest of the formation.  There are nine targets, you all know which one you are supposed to dispatch," she called out, hoping that the next performance would be better.  The formation was arranged in two levels, each one three dragons wide.  The front dragons would strike first, but would have to glide over the rest of the targets to aviod disrupting the second and third volleys of flame.  Her own target was at the front, and she would have to aim carefully to avoid scorching her wings on the downward stroke.

The first dragons were already bearing down on the targets, smoke trailing behind them.  Yasen saw in relief that they didn't interfere with eachother as much, with the guiding posts up.  The firelight ginted red, and she suddenly saw that the Commander had placed himself directly below where the formation would finish.  He was an impressive looking dragon, thick horns branching down from his skull, and the firelight made his scales gleam bloodred in the dark.  With a start, Yasen realised she had almost overshot her target.  A short backstroke saw her back in the right position, without upsetting the others, but she landed on the far side feeling slightly abashed.  Eight out of nine targets were destoyed, with one of the younger dragon's still smouldering from a slightly off-target burst, but it was a good attempt.

I visibly cringed as I watched the formation - or more, the individual dragons that were supposed to make up the formation. I could see why they had sent for help. The dragons had difficulty staying in formation, aiming at targets, even maneuvering in the air. They did manage to destroy a good number of the targets, yes, but targets were immobile wooden objects that didn't fight back. In battle, the lack of discipline these warriors showed would allow the enemy to destroy them with ease.

As they landed, I shook my head and turned to the drillmistress. "These dragons have not even been properly trained in ground combat yet, have they?"
She averted her eyes awkwardly. "We find it suitable to train the dragons in different methods of combat at the same time."
"Suitable? You think that performance was decent?" I turned to the assembled dragons. "Warriors, you are far from the worst fighters I have seen in my years in the military, but you're still a far cry from being able to fight a battle. Lady Yasen - you must learn how to properly train these warriors. Training them in many different styles at once will take much longer for them to learn than accomplishing one before moving to the next."
"What do you suggest, Commander?"

I pawed the ground. "Start from the most basic of combat techniques and work your way up. Begin learning how to fight on the ground before you tackle the skies. Have you taught hind-fighting yet?"
She shook her head. "We have never taught -"
"Lady Yasen, we shall demonstrate. Rear."

I reared up on my hind legs as she did, and we locked foreclaws.
"This is a basic method of dragon combat," I said to the assembled warriors. "This is how we fight in nature, or at least how we used to before combat became an organisation as it is now. Your instincts will guide you much of the way. As long as you remain strong on your rear legs..."
I pushed the female forward a little, causing her to stumble.
"...never let go of the opponent's foreclaws..."
I tightened my grip and heard her begin to whimper.
"...and protect your chest..."
In a swift, fluid motion, I lowered my head and butted the female dragon in her chest, quickly unlocked my talons, and put a paw on her stomach as she lay on the ground.
"...you'll have the enemy dragon defeated in no time."

Yasen followed the instructions willingly, the exercise had been messy, but she couldn't help feeling indignant at being asked to demonstrate ground fighting; flying was a perfectly logical place to start with the cliff face so hard to land on.  In fairness to the red dragon, it was his area of expertise, but that didn't mean she had to be graceful about it, at least inwardly.

It was clear from the moment they locked claws that she was going to lose; she was not very good at grappling at the best of times, let alone against a heavier, much more experienced dragon.  He tightened his grip painfully, and Yasen fell heavily, overbalancing as he shifted his weight into a headbutt.  She stood up awkwardly, keeping her long wings out of the way as much as possible.  For a moment she considered arguing, but it was true that she needed to improve her own groundfighting skills, and it was something the recuits needed to know.  In the background she could see Maril's group coming back.

I looked in the distance and saw another group of trainees arriving, led by a female blue. As they approached, I saw the blue dragon stop her recruits and they bowed their heads respectfully to me.
"Rise," I told them. "I am here to observe and to help with the training. But first, I require a messenger."
The blue nodded and called two of her recruits. "Areya and Haikim! Come!" Two of her group stepped forward nervously. "You two are excused from training. Your new duty is to relay whatever message our Commander has for you. Understood?" They nodded, and I took the two aside.

"I want you to get this message to the Palace within two days. When there, speak to nobody other than the Rathi or a griffin named Daigga. Tell them that I will be unable to make it to the observation of training in Aelndrag, and Daigga is to send a grand marshal in my place." I took the pendant off my neck and handed it to them. "This is my insignia, it will show I sent you. Do you understand?"
The gold dragon, Areya, nodded slowly. "Daigga is to send someone else to Aelndrag."
I sighed and shook my head. "I need more detail. You can't just tell them that."
The other, a silver named Haikim, nodded. "You are unable to observe the Aelndrag training, so Daigga is to send a grand marshal of his choosing in your place. We are to tell only Daigga the griffin, or the Rathi himself, in no more than two days."
I smiled. "Well done, Haikim. I'll see to it you are both rewarded upon your successful return. Now go."

As I watched them fly away, I sighed. I wanted to view the training for myself, to make my own judgments...but the recruits here needed much more help than two or three days would allow. I turned back to the blue female who I had heard named Maril. "I understand you have been training your recruits in various different areas at once. I want that changed so that recruits can master one area before they move on."
She looked puzzled. "But Commander, what if -"
"No. The faster they learn one technique, the better. That way if they must be pulled out of training early for whatever reason, select groups will be adept in select areas, and we may be able to use them as needed. This is how we train warriors in Eiaron, and how I've heard them trained elsewhere, and they are indeed very skilled when they come out of training, and earlier. My order is for you to adapt to this system."
Both females nodded. "Yes, Commander."

I turned to Yasen. "How many drillmasters do you have access to in this area?"
I watched her do a quick count in her head. "Five to my memory, Commander."
"Good. I want you to continue training them in their breath weapons, and nothing else until they can fry a dwarf from the mountaintops. Maril, you are skilled in groundwork?"
"I like to think so."
"Good. Then you will train your recruits in front line combat. The remaining three may teach back line combat, aerial claw-to-claw combat, and defensive maneuvers. I'll leave it to your judgment who should teach what. When your warriors are adept in your area, pass them on to the next. Those are your new orders for training. Understood?"
"Yes, Commander."
"Good. I shall remain for a few days to attend your training sessions."