The sunlight began to pierce the dark, thick clouds of the fog banks and the sun shone through to the waters. Aegwyn had managed to scramble atop a large plank of wood and was shivering and cold. Even though the warm breezes of the sea winds swept over her she wasn’t sure she would be able to survive. What would happen to the Guardians of Tirisfal if she failed? She didn’t know.
She sat there, bobbling and floating amidst the pile of wreckage that was once a great elven vessel. Torn and splintered pieces of wood floated around her and shreds of the great sail were swimming around like ducks in a pond.
Aegwyn saw the vastness of the ocean about her. In the distance she could see some more wreckage of other ships that had fallen during the sea battle. She dipped her hands and started to paddle towards the north. It was a long way to go, but it was probably better to die in the middle of the ocean than to the hands of the Orcs.
She heard a shrill cry in the distance. Aegwyn sat up straight and then whipped her head around, trying to locate the sound. She looked up the sky and saw several clouds floating overhead. She looked around and tried to find someone who was calling to her but there was no movement that she could see.
Aegwyn continued to paddle and she heard the sound again. Aegwyn looked southward and shielded her eyes against the sunlight. She could see a big black blot on the sky that was moving towards her.
Aegwyn gasped and then looked around frantically for someplace to hide. If it was a dragon she was as good as dead. If it were a griffin rider, her chances were scarcely better. She started paddling towards one of the larger pieces of the sail that was floating on the sea. Maybe she might be able to hide under that.
She looked back to see a form silhouetted against the light of the sun. Great wings shadowed the light of the sun and the long neck craned around, looking for something. There was no mistaking it. It was a dragon. And a big one too!
Aegwyn took a deep breath and then dove into the water. She came up for air and then looked to see the form of the dragon. The bright green scales of the beast glittered against the sunlight like emeralds and great streams of black smoke came from its nostrils and open mouth. The dragon let out a piercing cry across the sea, the force if it’s blast so powerful that it caused the sea beneath it to ripple.
The dragon craned its neck and then looked at her. She saw a dark twinkling in its eyes.
Aegwyn gasped and dove underwater just as she saw the hot fire of the dragon coming from it’s gaping mouth. She dived downward as far as she dared and then felt great heat blast against her back. She saw clouds of bubbles behind her and the force of the blast drove her downward.
Aegwyn’s lungs began to burn. She struggled upward and then gasped for air. The dragon was circling overhead, coming around to make another strike. The dragon let out another great wail that caused the clouds to shake and then came towards her, darting with its great jaws open.
Aegwyn took a great breath of air and then dove underwater. Boiling hot water surrounded her, scalding her skin. She let out a cry that was muffled by the water and yet she struggled to go further down, trying to get away from the full fury of the dragon’s fire.
The water pulled her downward. Aegwyn looked in horror to see that the dragon had dove into the water. The light of the sun shining through the water caused its scales to shine brilliantly. The dragon swam downward like a great sea serpent and then turned around. The great red eyes pulsed like beams of light and then rushed towards her.
Aegwyn furiously swam to get out of its reach. The dragon snapped at her, trying to catch it’s elusive prey. The dragon submerged from the water and let out a frustrated cry that echoed from the surface and sent waves of sound down into the water. Aegwyn’s lungs screamed out for air and she began to choke. She surfaced and took a deep breath before plunging under.
She looked around, trying to find the dragon and anticipate it’s next move. The water was clear around her and she could see nothing in any direction. She surfaced and the looked around in the air and found nothing but the clouds.
Aegwyn’s heart pounded and she took great gulps of air, trying to catch her breath. She dove underwater and tried to find the dragon but it was no where to be found.
Her whole body began to hurt. Aegwyn groaned and started to swim slowly towards the log that was still floating nearby. She scrambled upward, her hands stinging painfully and her whole body hurting. She looked at her hands and saw they were a slight red color. There were a few small patches of deep red all over her. Her body stung painfully and her skin felt as if she had been dipped in scalding oil.
Aegwyn laid down and pulled the cloak about her, shivering from the cold of the wind and her soaking clothes and hurting from the burn of the dragon’s fire. It was all she could do not to whimper with pain.
“Ahoy!”
Aegwyn looked up to see several sailors were rowing towards her in a small lifeboat. There was one woman that was sitting near the front of the boat. There were two sailors sitting in the middle, pulling the oars and one that was lying down near the rear of the boat, covered with a blanket.
“Are you all right?”
Aegwyn stood up and groaned, gritting her teeth. She raised her hand and waved towards them.
They rowed closer and she saw that the woman was human and one of the rowers was human as well. The other rower was a dwarf, but she couldn’t see the person lying down.
“I’m surprised you survived the wrath of the dragon. Even the greatest warships cannot take the full fire of the lizard-whelps without severe damage.”
As they got closer, the woman’s eyes widened. “Row faster! She’s been burned!”
Aegwyn tried to shake her head, tried to tell them she was fine. Her head began to swim and her vision blurred as they got closer. It got harder and harder to stay upright.
