The Third Red 1: The Enemy Within

A red dragon flew west after the setting sun, carrying a woman with a baby on her back. The woman, Margery Yagaro, looked down with tear-stained eyes at the land below. The Sorcerer Kingdom, a place torn by war for the last thousand years. Soon this war would end and she would do her best to ensure the side of ‘good’ prevailed. She used that term loosely, though, as even the side she fought for was not perfect by any means. Still, better than the other side.

Margery was a noblewoman of two and twenty years with long brown hair reaching down to her waist. She wore an elegant blue dress made of fine fabrics, a pair of silver badges on a sash over her chest, a wooden amulet around her neck, and a ring on her finger. Leather straps from the dragon’s saddle were fastened around Margery’s waist and legs to keep her from falling off. On her belt, Margery carried two daggers, one on either hip. They had been a wedding gift from her husband Derair.

Derair! Her Derair! That selfless hero who’d died just the day before! He’d given his life to prevent their enemy, the Demorians, an eastern cult of demonic worshippers, from acquiring something… or rather, someone… that would have guaranteed their victory: Derair and Margery’s own son, Eric Yagaro. She looked down at him as he lay in her arms, a baby just over two weeks old. He looked like any other infant, but inside his veins flowed a rare and powerful sorcery. Red sorcery, which appeared only once every thousand years and bestowed its wielder with powers like no other.

Eric was the one destined to end the war. Whichever side controlled him, controlled the outcome. The Demorians had attacked the capital city of Sortar to snatch him, but thanks to the sacrifice of his father they had failed.

Margery’s eyes let out more tears as she recalled the terrible battle. After Derair left to defend the city, the most powerful demon of all came to their castle of Soyagone just outside it. The soldiers stationed there froze at the demon’s mere presence, helpless as it mercilessly cut them down with its sword, each strike dealing a death blow. Margery had run out to try and help but only froze with the men, dozens of whom died before her eyes.

All seemed lost until Derair returned, having heard his castle came under attack. He’d managed to do what few others could, stand against the demon. A fierce battle erupted between them and eventually the monster took over Margery’s body, possessing her to fight Derair and eventually kill him. With the last of his strength, however, Derair cast a spell to trap the demon inside Margery. There it would remain imprisoned until the spell wore off.

That would take many years, but when the demon emerged it would surely kill hundreds if not thousands of people. So, she had two options, kill herself and bring the demon down with her or fight it when it came out. While it was trapped in her body, their lifeforces were connected. She died, it died. After seeing the full extent of its terror, Margery felt self-sacrifice would be worth it. Until now, there had been no chance to destroy the demon. Few could stand against it, and none could defeat it, for it was immune to all manner of weapons and magic. The only thing that could defeat it was the one with red sorcery.

That was her son. He alone could vanquish the demon when he became strong enough. That would require a great deal of training in the arts of sorcery and melee combat. Normally a sorcerer warrior would be taught by fellow men, but Margery would take on that role herself. She was not the typical woman who simply ran or offered mere support to the men with her magic, healing and shielding them so they could get all the glory for themselves. She was a Maiden of Mayhem, a sorceress who could fight beside men as an equal. This didn’t sit well with a number of men who wanted to keep their status as the dominant sex. Even a number of women were against Margery’s chosen path. They remained trapped in the old ways, the ways Margery would like nothing better than to see abolished, or at least lessened.

If she and her son destroyed the demon, Margery would share in the glory of defeating it. That was her dream, to be recognized as a capable warrior. Then she could bring about change to the Sorcerer Kingdom and turn her fellow women from helpless damsels and supporters into capable warriors like herself. But she dreaded the possibility of what could happen if they failed.

Should the demon triumph, it would take her son and use his power to achieve its own goal. Bringing about an age where all mortals were enslaved under a demonic rule for eternity. Margery shuddered at the thought. The fear of bringing about such a dark age weighed against her. It might be better to simply take her own life.

She’d almost gone through with it too, until her husband’s brother Chosan, her wed-brother, begged her not to. He’d convinced her to leave Sortar, and face the demon when it came out, saying this could be her biggest chance to fulfill her dream (as well as that Eric needed her as well).

She still felt conflicted though. She wanted glory, but not at the cost of innocent lives. That would turn it to shame, and even treason. Part of her wanted to draw one of her daggers and stab herself in the heart right now, to make absolutely sure no one else would suffer. But she had a chance, and she had to take it. For her family, for her fallen comrades, and for her dream. If she fell, no one would continue her work to make an order of equality between sexes.

The dragon Margery rode finally spoke. “I wish we didn’t have to go.”

Margery looked up from her son and toward her lifelong companion and protector. “Aye, Rubara. But if we’d stayed, there could be a civil war. Some in Sortar will stop at nothing to weaken the Demorians. Getting rid of this monster would surely be a crippling blow to them.”

Margery frowned as she thought of some who wanted her gone, not for the kingdom’s sake but for the sake of tradition. How they must have rejoiced when the queen ordered Margery to die! But others were just doing what they thought was best for the kingdom. Those people at least could be forgiven.

“They won’t try to protect you?” Rubara asked. “Won’t lend you their aid when it comes out?”

“It’s useless,” Margery replied, putting a hand on her belly. A while ago she’d been pregnant and had a large bump there. Now her body looked normal, but there was still something inside her, something evil. “An army wouldn’t help. I will not have others die because of me if I can help it. I just hope this wasn’t a mistake. Staying alive-”

“You did it to look after your son. They would have raised him as a weapon,” Rubara reminded her. “Your family should be your only concern.”

Margery would have chuckled if not for the loss of her husband weighing so heavily on her heart. She sighed instead, “If only I had simple needs like you.”

Rubara was solely concerned with protecting her loved ones, while Margery would defend everyone she could… well, almost everyone. That’s what a real hero would do, save everyone they could. But a little fame and fortune never hurt.

“Don’t worry, little one. We’ll get through this. I’ll be by your side when this monster comes out,” Rubara promised.

Margery managed a smile before suppressing a sob and stuttering as she spoke. “Thank you, Rubara. You’ve-you’ve always been there for me when I need you. I-I hate to think that we may be parted in another few decades.”

Rubara nodded. “I’ve almost repaid my debt to your family. Once your child has his own offspring, I will return home. I must say I never imagined I’d be going there while still paying my debt.”

They were headed to the land of the dragons: Dragoran; A continent far across the sea to the west. Soon they came to an enormous wall stretching hundreds of miles along the coast of the Sorcerer Kingdom. The Dragon Wall was made to keep dragons from entering the land. It was gargantuan, made of dark gray stone. A castle lay before it, providing housing to the soldiers and sorcerers manning this section. They stood on top of it, Margery saw them, and they saw her, or at least Rubara. The soldiers turned their ballistas, giant crossbows that could fire dragon killing bolts, in Rubara’s direction, sorcerers readied blasts of sorcery as well. Before they could unleash their attacks, however, Margery shot a beam of her own blue magic into the sky for all to see.

The soldiers and sorcerers held their fire, recognizing Margery’s signal that Rubara was an ally. But the dragon let out an angry roar as she flew over the top. Margery feared for a moment that Rubara would attack, knowing this place had claimed the lives of many of her kind. But the dragon simply passed over after her roar.

The land vanished below and was replaced with the lovely Soron Sea that reflected the setting sun. Margery looked back, taking one last look at the Sorcerer Kingdom, unsure if she would ever see her homeland again.

They continued west to the land of the dragons.