The dragon arched its back, turning in the sky and then descending toward the fields below. Black scales glistened in the moonlight. Its rider leaned low against the beast's neck to avoid the wind which threatened to pluck her slim body from her mount. The warm, humid air rushed past as they descended. The late spring air smelled of the lush vegetation that filled the land below.

The lights of the village below twinkled in the darkness. Its poor residents would never even know what hit them. She wondered how many people below were sleeping soundly. She smiled as she imagined herself to be nightmare personified for the human debris below.

The dragon was graceful in his attack. His head whipped back and from his mouth spewed a liquid torrent of death. In the space of an instant the creature bathed the homes and fields with a think blanket of the noxious smelling liquid. The acidic substance rained through the roofs of every building below. It burned wood and seared flesh as it poisoned the land. The rider laughed gaily as she heard the screams of the dying.

"Roshor, I adore you," she laughed. The dragon turned his massive head toward her before he ascended again. He regarded her with huge, wise eyes. "Come, there were more fields south of the village."

In the moonlight, the neat rows of seedlings were easy to recognize as they flew over a small hill. The dragon flew low to the ground now, making her work easy. She reached behind to the saddlebags immediately behind her. With a deft motion, she thrust a dagger into the first one, pulling the blade gently towards herself. The sliced fabric opened and white grains spilled into the darkness below.

"Slowly, Roshor. Turn at the end of the fields and double back the way you came. I want to saturate the ground," she called. The dragon followed her instructions effortlessly. They flew back and forth across the rich croplands repeatedly as she emptied first one, and then the other massive bag. When she was finished, it looked as though a light snow had blanketed the land.

She could scarcely contain her delight at this new game. She looked toward the horizon, noting the graying skies to the east and smiled.

"So much to destroy, and so much time in which to savor it," she whispered to herself. She made a gesture in the air, and a violet gate opened in front of them. The dragon sped through it, disappearing from the night sky.