True Dragons

Katharina had not often fought true dragons. The ones she had encountered so far had been creatures of air and fire that took to the skies on bat wings. They had been difficult to catch as they were fast and agile as they chased through the sky. They relied on their speed and agility. But once they had been confronted and **** into close combat, a well-trained and well-armed human could easily defeat them. Katharina had reckoned with such an opponent - dangerous, but surmountable.

Her current adversary, however, appeared to be a being of the element earth. Massive and down-to-earth, obviously strong and resilient. The scales on its head and back gleamed metallically in the last light of day and would surely be too hard for arrows to pierce. Crouched, he crawled towards his prey, his reptilian eyes narrowed to slits. She could not hope that he would straighten up and turn his more **** belly towards her.

Katharina did not want to attempt a direct fight on foot. She would be no match for the dragon's physical strength and stamina. Her only chance was to injure the beast so badly with a mighty lance thrust and weaken it through blood loss that time would work in her favor, and she would have a chance of defeating it in the end.

Even if such a frontal attack was highly dangerous, she had to dare. The only alternative would be to retreat, which would have meant abandoning the maiden to her grisly fate. Katharina could not reconcile that with either her honor or her conscience.

"Prepare to die!" Katharina shouted her challenge to the beast, her voice sounding dull and tinny under her helmet, "I will send you back to the hell you belong in."

The dragon replied with a deep laugh that was horribly reminiscent of a human's laughter. Humor flashed in its narrowed eyes, as well as an unexpected intelligence.

Katharina spurred her horse and charged towards the monster with her lance set. Just before she reached her target, the dragon blew a hot cloud of fire at her. Katharina smelled burnt fur, her mount tried to break free in panic and, blinded by the brightness and smoke, she could no longer see her target. A whipping tail strike against its forelegs caused her horse to buckle and she flew out of the saddle in a high arc. While she was still in the air, she saw out of the corner of her eye how the reptilian head struck in a flash and severed the horse's neck with a single bite. The impact on the rocky ground drove the air from her lungs. She had lost her lance and shield in the fall, but as soon as she rose, she unsheathed her sword and stood with her legs apart in a fighting stance. She would rather die in battle than lose her honor by abandoning an innocent victim.

"You have courage, I'll give you that," the dragon's voice sounded surprisingly full and melodious, a vibrating bass deep from his throat, "it will be my pleasure to defeat you."