With four dragons all on opposite sides about to close in on him, the raging magic within him found the most appropriate mantra almost without his help. Whispered words backed up by his indomitable will instantly turned the air surrounding him into thick grey clouds, heavy with ionised particles. Their vision obscured, all four murderous dark dragons closed in on their opponent's last known position, but unknown to them he'd hovered much higher up in the air, using the newly formed clouds as cover. Converging on the apex of the shield, it only then became apparent what was going on.
Waiting for the inevitable, knowing that the mantra he thought of as a lightning conductor was about to kick in, a flicker of a brief smile crossed his face. In some ways he loved everything about being in battle: adrenaline surging through his veins, the taste and smell of everything going on around, the confusion, misdirection and of course the vicious and cruel bloodlust he knew to be part of his dragon DNA. It wasn't right, that much he was sure, and the king inside him would have gone to great lengths to avoid any sort of conflict, but here and now, without any choice, he found himself fully immersed in all of it, his supernatural power going ballistic, fulfilling its natural intent. It was rapture, pleasure personified, and most definitely satisfying a dragon's most basic purpose.
FLASH, CRACKLE, BANG... no, not the latest incarnation of the cereal characters, but George's sleight of hand coming to fruition. In an onslaught of power filled lightning blasts designed to culminate at the top of the shield, all four dark dragons found themselves being electrocuted over and over again. An added by-product of this trickery was that George had enabled the power from the strikes which missed the monstrous beasts, and there were many hundred in such a short space of time, to be absorbed by the barrier covering his allies, in the hope of reenergising it, allowing those inside one less thing to worry about. As the last of the thunderous bolts of lightning fizzled into nothingness, and the smell of roasted dragon flesh wafted through the air, the current monarch dropped back down on top of the domed energy barrier, resuming his previous position, fully focused, ready to protect those whose side he stood by.
Relieved to see not only her king return, but the extra power added to their shared defensive barrier, without thinking about her actions she blasted one of the wicked creatures that had stolen away behind them inside the shield, with a thick stream of superheated flame she'd conjured up at a moment's notice, watching with satisfaction as its twisted, charred form wriggled, smoked and writhed in tortuous agony for the last few moments of its life. It proved to be a good tactical choice within the confines of their small fighting force, as the other dragons soaked up the excessive heat from her attack. Turning to face back out, she conjured up an explosion of acid directly behind the naga now attacking her part of the shield with some sort of sonic screech. Snake-like body parts and thick, green, gooey acid flew in every direction as the detonation decimated not only her immediate attacker, but the two behind him and both either side. Momentarily pleased with her handiwork, she willed the walking shield she hoped was trying to rescue them to hurry up. The sooner the king was back by her side, the better she would feel about the whole situation they found themselves in.
'Damn!' thought Flash, frustrated and ultimately disappointed at the turn of events, having not managed to finish off Manson, something he'd not only been close to doing, but actually looking forward to. In a matter of just a few short seconds, he and Vasuki had been swarmed over by what under normal circumstances he would have considered a small naga and dragon army. Here and now, it was of course only a side contingent of Manson's massive force, but it felt like much, much more. Having just agreed with the naga king to take the forces attacking them in the air, leaving the ground for him to deal with, Flash in his breathtaking new dragon persona leapt up, and with one flap of his giant aerodynamic wings, glided into position above his serpent-like friend, belting out fireballs and torrents of superhot flame in almost every direction, falling back on his Crimson Guard training, determined not to go down without a fight, all the time keeping an eye on the smirking form of Manson in the distance, who now watched with studious satisfaction. All that did was rile Flash, something most beings who knew him would be super wary of, and for Manson, it just might prove to be his undoing.
Lines of nagas six deep had no idea what approached them from behind, well... at least not until it was too late. Led by Richie holding out the laminium dagger in front of her, the sizzling, thick shield of magic walked straight into them, crushing some, electrifying others, Yoyo's band of young dragons mentally and magically attacking even more, whilst Fredric and the great healer himself picked off the odd stray one that might have caused a problem. In essence, a huge swathe of the nagas were massacred in but a few moments, creating a straight path to the domed shield of their allies, something the light sided rescue force took full advantage of.
Marching straight ahead, Richie stood face to face with Amelia Battlehard, the two female dragons each giving the other a deep nod of respect. Wondering what the plan was, Captain Battlehard was shocked when the young lacrosse playing dragon, shield and all, just walked through her defences as if they didn't even exist. Once there, and in conjunction with Yoyo and all his charges, they immediately extended out the shield, forming a barrier around the one all the King's Guards had put in place previously. In a split second, Fredric killed the remaining two infiltrating nagas who were wrestling with a couple of the king's protectors. Knowing that they were now guarded by something far more serious than the meagre barriers they'd all conjured up between them, the disheartened, dismayed and exhausted fighting force slumped to the ground, exhausted, wary, tired, and nearly all out of magic. Acting on instinct, Yoyo instructed the spare young dragons not tied to powering the shield to start healing the wounds of those they'd just rescued, while he did the same, attending to the most serious himself.
About to open her mouth to ask about the king, staving off multiple attacks from outside the shield, directly above them, she watched gobsmacked as a gap at the top of the barrier opened and, without warning, George was drawn in, much against his will and to his great surprise. As the king crashed clumsily to the marble floor, the magical barrier again became whole, closing up and thwarting those dark dragons that were hoping to get inside. Explosions, fireballs and colourful magic rocked the huge, supernatural defensive structure, but not at any point did its integrity waver or even look like doing so. For the moment, they were safe. How long it would last was anyone's guess.
Straining the muscles in his powerful legs to get to his feet, the king, a furious expression chiselled into his prehistoric face, whirled around to see exactly what was going on. Before he had a chance to vent his anger at being so unceremoniously dumped to the ground within the shield, a huge human shaped body threw himself at the king's mighty belly. Surprised, purely because of royal protocol, it was only when he looked down to see the thick, matted, long, ragged hair of his friend that his demeanour transformed.
"It was me who pulled you through. Sorry!" announced Fredric, looking up into the mighty jaw of his friend the monarch."
"REALLY?" stated George sarcastically. "I'm shocked!"
Not knowing what the hell was going on and deeply disappointed that somebody had gotten past her to get so close to the king, Captain Battlehard fingered the hilt of her appropriated sword, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice, should she be required.