Gorgon and the Great Beasts: A Tale of Dragons and Danger

The wind whipped past the creature's face as it soared high above the land which it ruled. It had slept for thousands of years, waiting for a beautiful day like this to spread its wings. A fire burned in its belly and smoke flowed out of its maw.

"Life has been cruel to these poor creatures," A deep rumble came from its chest. It looked at the humans scrambling below, and pitied them.

"You run away now, and that makes it all the more enjoyable," It flexed its talons, "I shall enjoy the hunt." The fires from the beast's belly tickled its throat. "I shall enjoy my first feast in thousands of years."

It let loose a roar, and chuckled as the puny creatures scrambled away, trying to find refuge. Fire erupted and crackled around its scales. The smoke billowed from the corners of the creature's maw. It roared again and swooped down, quickly losing altitude and gaining speed. Its wings tucked at its sides and its four legs were tucked underneath.

The ground was quickly approaching.

Its mind raced at the thought of tearing into flesh. It suspected the humans would fit in his mouth in just one bite. It hadn't killed a human in two thousand years, it hadn't tasted their blood. Its mouth watered.

It spread its wings, and filled them with air. It slowed to a stop and landed on the ground, which shook at its might. Some of the humans ran, some of them froze with fear, a few even fainted. It growled and its scales vibrated. They glimmered, casting reflections onto the ground.

"What do you think of your apocalypse? I am called Lamrock, the Powerful. The bane of the human race, and the last thing you shall ever see." The beast opened its jaw and blasted fire, which consumed several of the people frozen in fear.

It laughed, and found pleasure as it heard the screams of pain. Its chest swelled and it let out another blast of fire. This one went out farther by several meters. It blossomed and spread out near the end, and resembled a flower.

"I cannot imagine what kind of lives you lived," The beast said, "But I can imagine what your death will be like." It took the nearest burnt corpse in its jaw and threw its head back, and swallowed him whole.

The beast roared, and stepped forward. Its massive wings were folded tight against its sides. Its night black scales ruffled creating a sound like two bars of iron hitting each other. Its claws dug into the dirt as it walked. It stretched its neck, which was nearly three meters long, and picked up another corpse.

It placed its front claw on the body's legs and tugged away. The body split in half above the hips. The dragon swallowed half of the body and shook its scales, much like a dog would shake to dry off. It took the bottom half of the body and threw its head back as the body slid down its throat.

Not a single soul remained in the field in w

hich the dragon landed. Lamrock the Powerful took flight again. It stayed close to the land, dipping with the hills and the valleys, letting the currents of the air control its path.

About a mile away a city was in panic. Thousands of people ran around trying to prepare for the dragon that would terrorize them. They could not prepare enough. Nothing would stop the Beast of the South.

Lamrock the Powerful filled its lungs with air, the vital fuel for the fire that would burn the city to the ground. It exhaled and sent smoke out of its nostrils.

The beast angled its wings down and it began to lose altitude. When it was at the outskirts of the city, it opened its wings and came to a stop in midair. It hung motionless for a moment before it slammed to the ground.

Upon impact, its muscles rippled to take the shock, and its knees bent.

"Hello," It growled before blasting fire at the cities wall. The fire curled over the wall and caught. The wall was made of stone but the guard towers on top were made of wood. The tower caught fire and the humans inside filled out. One of the party stopped and aimed a bow at Lamrock and fired. The arrow slammed into the dragons scaley armor and bounced off, harmlessly. He said something under his breath before trying to turn and run, but the Great Beast of the South jumped upon the wall and grabbed the man in its jaws.

He screamed as the dragon's teeth sunk into his flesh. Lamrock hummed as it felt the blood trickle down its throat. The screaming went silent and the dragon swallowed the man whole. Its head was much larger than the man so he slid down easily. Lamrock's tongue was thick and shaped much like a humans. The only difference was the light blue color of the beasts.

"I have slept for two millennia!" The dragon roared, "I have waited just as the gods told me! 'Lamrock the Powerful, the destroyer of worlds!' I have come to kill you all and feast upon your flesh." The dragon jumped from the wall and spread its wings, which filled with air. It hovered for a moment before tucking its wings and slamming to the ground.

It blasted fire at a near-by house made of old, dry wood. The house caught and went up in flames faster than the dragon could close its maw.

Against the backdrop of the buildings the dragon was tremendously large. It stepped on a brick house like it was a stair step. It jumped and took flight, beating its tremendous wings.

I feel as though I could destroy this entire city tonight. Smoke billowed from its maw as it flew. A slim smile seemed to form as the corners of its mouth rose.

Below the great beast, on the streets of the city, people ran. Some ran to the walls, others to try to fight off the dragon. Others ran in circles, unsure of what to do.

Lamrock swooped, and with the precision of an eagle, plucked a human off the ground. Its claws dug into the human, gouging holes six inches across into the man's torso. He stopped screaming as the pain set in. His lungs were pierced and there was a chance his heart may have been punctured. The dragon brought the man up to its jaws.

"What is this city's name?" It asked.

The man, pale in the face and light of breath opened his mouth to speak but only blood came out.

"Whisper it."

"Phinea."

"Phinea," The beast's voice rose, "Then Phinea shall burn!"

The exclamation reverberated throughout the city, there was no way not a single person did not hear it.

The beast landed, tore the man from its talons, and swallowed him whole. The man died long before he could be eaten. The dragon closed its eyes, savoring the taste of human blood. Its tongue wrapped around its lips, getting as much of the red liquid they could.

The clack of metal armor snapped the dragon back to the present.

Surrounding it were nearly a dozen men and women in shiny iron armor. They whispered amongst themselves.

"He's huge,"

"He dwarfs most of our buildings,"

"We're going to die."

The dragon felt tickled that they were brave enough to stand before it. It cleared its throat, which sounded like a muffled roar.

"I agree that most of you will die, if you are smart you will turn around now, and run." Not a muscle moved, "Very well. You shall all die then. But first, let me get one thing straight. There hasn't been a male of my kind for years, many more years than any of you have been alive. Maybe the Beast of the North is a male, but not here. You have the honor of speaking to the most legendary of all dragons, for I am the oldest, most honorable, and most important dragon you will ever meet," I'm also the last, she thought. "I am the Queen, and I am Lamrock, and I am the last thing you will ever see!" The Queen of all dragons reared up on her hind legs and came down, crushing two of the armor-clad humans. A roar and a blast of fire spewed from her mouth, engulfing the rest of the force, except for a few who finally turned and ran.