The Calling of the Dragon

Warriors' cries, echoing in the wild air."Rakoridrax!" called the first. "Taste my presence, recognize my ancient blood. Rakoridrax, remember the ancient pact between your blood and mine."A second voice chimed in. "In the dawn age the Liberator herself walked into the lair of the queen of dragons. Great Tiamat nodded her head before the breaker of tentacles, and pledged that her children would come to the aid of the children of Gith whenever they ventured into the dragons' realm."The two voices continued as one. "So come, Rakoridra! Come to a child of Gith. Let the blood and souls pouring from this sacrifice bear witness that our end of the pact has been honored."Come, Rakoridrax, feast on the pain. Come, serve the githyanki..."The knight and the gish watched as the pool of blood reached its desired level. The last human slumped over, pale and shuddering, and then still.A great rushing filled the air. The earth trembled, trees uprooted, and the limbs of the corpses danced. The pool of blood and essence remained perfectly still.A dragon rose into the night. Its wings filled the ebon sky, the deep color of blood against the blackness. The arms of the githyanki rose in greeting.Its voice was the rumble of tearing mountains. "I see you," it said, "I taste you. I know you."The beast settled on the ground, its wings rippling like enormous sails. Its long, horny tongue began lapping the blood.After a time it rose its gory head. "Who is the executor of the pact," it asked, "and who is its keeper?"The knight stepped forward. "I am a knight," he said, "a hand of the Queen. I am the executor of the pact."Then the gish spoke. "I am a student of the Talents, a follower of the path of Gith. I am the keeper of the pact."The dragon nodded, and a breeze blew toward them, sickly hot with fire and death. It looked them both in the eye. Deep colors swirled, patterns forming and breaking apart. It said something aloud, its sorcerous language toying with their senses of perception. Something clicked, and all participants knew one another, their minds flowing into a single pool. The dragon slowly lowered its long, scaly back, its razor-sharp spines glinting malevolently as the githyanki climbed boldly between them, their leather-wrapped hands and limbs grasping firmly for purchase. The dragon's muscles bunched, and they were aloft, dragonfire raining random destruction below as they headed toward the githyanki castle.