The Shadowblade

Fletcher Millstone, "The Shadowblade"

An aerial fight wasn't what Fletcher had planned for this day, but after the amount of blood and gore he'd waded through on the battlefield, he'd take a chance at fresh air. Finn, Raine, and Terra were each on a dragon of their own, taking to the skies to rid Drotid of their air support and the immense Limestone dragon

The mighty flapping of Gek's wings had pulled them into the air before Fletcher could even finish getting himself settled onto the back of the copper dragon. He gripped the makeshift reins and peered over his companion's shoulder, seeing the ground disappear below them as a charge of Shaahesk moved in on his friends and allies. A low growling laugh escaped from Gek's throat as he sped up, and Fletcher could sense how anxious the dragon was to engage in combat. A whispered prayer to Dru'El to protect those he left behind, and nudging Gek with his boots. "Drop below them at the last moment, and we'll see if we can break them up!" he shouted, to be heard above the sound of the wind rushing by them.

"Got it. And don't kick me, I'm not a horse!" Gek rumbled back.

The Wyverns swarmed towards them head on, and Fletcher hurriedly tied the reins around his waist. He'd done this sort of flying with Gek enough times that he knew how reckless the young fellow could be. He was still young, for a dragon at least, and in his actions and attitude Fletcher saw some of his own younger days. His breath almost left him as Gek dropped to make a pass just under the Wyverns, but he held himself up and slashed at a couple as they flew by.

"Gek they're turning around, on your tail, four of them!" Fletcher yelled, nudging the dragon yet again while getting his bow ready. "No problem!" was what he heard in return as he nocked an arrow and aimed for the rider on the closest one...

...the sky swirled away, and he felt himself almost fall, his legs caught by the reins, and hurriedly grabbed onto the dragon with his bow in the crook of his arm. "What the hell was that?"

"A barrel roll."

"I know damned well it was, but you forgot the part about letting me know it was coming!"

"...and you forgot the part about not kicking me!"

Fletcher muttered something and drew his bow again. "Steady... and..."

The arrow let loose, and caught the Shaahesk rider in the shoulder, causing him to fall from his mount. Fletcher watched the hissing warrior disappear into the clouds and leaned forward, clinging to the dragon's neck.

"Ready for a blast?" Gek said. Fletcher gripped the reins tightly and ducked his head. The roar as Gek breathed on the wyverns almost deafened him, and he felt the sharp pull as Gek swerved away. Raising his head back up he could see their new target: the limestone dragon, already being engaged by the others.

"Careful, Gek... we've got to help down him first..." Fletcher managed to say, but the young copper was already driving full force towards the massive target. Gek attacked and swooped away, using his speed and agility against the much larger foe, while Fletcher looked for an opening to strike on his own. As the combined efforts of the four fliers finally grounded the behemoth, Gek dove hard for the battlefield in pursuit, taking time to buzz a group of Shaahesk on the ground, spreading his wings to knock them aside. He skidded to a hard stop, and Fletcher jumped up from his seat, leaping from Gek's head into the fray to join his friends in pushing back the attackers to get at the wounded wyrm (He made extra sure to step heavily on Gek's face as he did so).

Two Shaahesk fell to his blades easily as he continued to run forward, his head down, knives out. The wyrm's tail knocked a couple of people aside, fending off the attacks, but taking a lot of damage and being overwhelmed. In one swift move, Fletcher ran up the tail of the limestone dragon, and stabbed along the back, burying his blades wherever the other dragons had exposed a weak spot previously. The wyrm lurched back and forth in battle, and Fletcher thought to himself how this had seemed like a much better idea in his head. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that his dragon friend was already fighting off a clutch of spear wielding shaahesk. Suddenly, Gek disappeared from view as the Shaahesk piled onto him, stabbing away. Fletcher moved to head towards him, forgetting for the moment that he was in a precarious situation himself. A mighty roar reached his ears, with Gek erupting from the pile, an Annihilator in his jaws that was soon tossed aside like a stuffed toy. The copper had as much fight in him as it did attitude, that was apparent enough.

Another roar, this one much closer, bellowed out from below him, and Fletcher felt his footing slip as the limestone wyrm began a dramatic collapse to the ground, finally beaten by the forces below him. At the last second he jumped free, rolling to the ground in a somersaulting move before being pulled back to his feet by Gurkz. The blood covered gnoll grinned and roared to Ra-ghul before the two friends charged forward to join the rest of the strike force taking on the next wave together...