The equatorial sun beat down on GFantis’ scaly hide as he lay entrenched on the canyon floor, eyelids clamped shut. If you were close enough to the creature you would have been able to hear the crackle of the solar energy being absorbed through the dragon creature’s skin.
GFantis had been restoring for several hours and could already feel the power returning to his limbs. The sluggishness from his journey was slipping away, vim and vigor taking its place. Once to full power he would begin establishing a wide territorial net.
Suddenly, the monster’s gigantic nostrils twitched as they plucked a unique scent from the airstream. Accompanying the scent was a slight tremor that GFantis could feel along his back as he lay nestled firmly into the earth.
GFantis’ sub consciousness, analyzing the data in milliseconds, began sending warnings to all of his receptors. Slowly, his limbs began to lurch with movement, the vast amounts of blood needed to power the creature rushing to their designated locations. GFantis’ eyes began to flutter, his vision slowly returning.
But, by the time GFantis fully awakened, it was too late.
In an astounding display of ingenuity and dexterity, the mighty Gargantua serpent Durontus was soaring through the air above the dragon GFantis.
With pinpoint accuracy, Durontus had located his enemy. Using his tremendous swimming speed, the serpent had used the beach as a natural ramp, allowing him to vault over the coastal mountains and to land directly on top of the invader. His spring attack also had the benefit of making detection difficult since contact with the earth was minimal. It was the kind of attack that only a savage, primordial creature could perpetrate, senses and intuition honed by a millennia of battles.
The sky cracked with the primal roar of two Gargantua commencing a bloody struggle to the death. Durontus landed atop GFantis’ defenseless form, pinning him down with a fury of tooth and claw. The serpent slashed downwards with both claws in tandem at GFantis’ upraised arm. Durontus’ long neck snaked in over the dragon’s defenses, striking GFantis’ head several times with cobra-like quickness.
Towering over the smaller creature, Durontus reared on his hind legs with claws upraised.
“Brrr-Wraa!” screeched the serpent.
But, though he was the smaller of the two giants, GFantis was faster with less bulk to move than the monstrous water serpent. As Durontus came down with his claws with the intent of eviscerating the reptile, GFantis spun in the loose earth, presenting his enemy a sharply horned back instead of a tender belly.
Durontus roared in unanticipated pain as his fore claws were pierced by the dragon’s protective spines. With the reaction putting the serpent off balance, GFantis seized the moment by rolling into Durontus’ leg, tossing the monster and freeing himself from the serpent’s onslaught. Durontus landed in the barren earth with a deep groan from the ground. In a cloud of dust and debris, both Gargantua clambered their huge bodies into position to face one another.
GFantis stood upright, forearms poised for attack or defense, a soft glow surrounding the reptile’s absorptive scales. A low growl trailed from his open maw, fangs caked with spit and dirt from the furious encounter. He breathed with heavy snorts, head slightly lowered in an aggressive nature.
Durontus whirled to all fours, muscles and limbs tight and pulled in to make himself a smaller target. His lethal tail coiled around him in defense, slapping the ground in front of him in an attempt to enrage his formidable enemy.
What he got instead was a massive beam of white-hot solar energy straight to his flank, sending the serpent into a roll across the terrain back towards the coast. GFantis roared in triumph as the glowing, crescent-shaped horn on his crown crackled and cooked from discharging the sun’s radiation which he had spent hours taking in.
Unknowable to the feuding Gargantua was another casualty from GFantis’ solar beam; a G.W.G. scouting drone.