A tiny piece of the circlet broke off, landing on the stone block. The dragon smith lifted himself into the air, roaring as the circlet began to glow. The other dragons were transfixed, watching the circlet glow brighter and brighter, until it unleashed a torrent of blinding white light and a powerful gust of wind.
The dragons were thrown back by the force, falling down the steep mountain slopes until regaining control of their wings, slowing their descent. The mountain unleashed an avalanche of snow cascading down onto the dragons. The fortress towers reaching up to the level of the peak were obliterated, stone flying in all directions. Snow from the avalanche piled up against the fortress walls, threatening to break through.
The dragon queen hovered in the air, watching the dragon smith from afar, the smith hovering above the peak. He cast a glare at the queen while flying down to retrieve the circlet.
Before the queen or any other dragon could fly up to meet him, the smith snatched the circlet and soared into the fading light, never once looking back.
***
It took weeks to rebuild and recover. The queen commissioned a new circlet to be made for her, this time from gold instead of silver. As dragons finished repairing the fortress, their hammers and tools tinkering around the fortress, the queen stood on the ramparts, overlooking the valley below. The silver advisor appeared next to her.
"Your Majesty?" she said.
Something glowed in the evening sky, and it wasn't a star. The queen pointed to the glowing object. "Do you see that?"
"Yes," answered the advisor in awe. "Perhaps the smith was right. Things from beyond the stars are better off away from here."
The queen nodded. "What was the warning the smith gave?"
"He had said, much worse will descend from the stars." She stared at the sky. "However, that was only if he didn't get the circlet..."
"Unless he never left this world," finished the queen quietly, "and his enemies are still after him."
THE END.
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The dragon smith will return in the sequel, THE KINGDOM OF DRAGONS.