Legend Warrior

by Liara Woo

  "Of course, Lord Bloodthorne," Joran said, sounding confused. "Didn't Halthren tell you?" His voice was desperate with hope.

  "Halthren?" Bloodthorne's face darkened and he stood. "Come with me. We must talk. You too, Firdin. We must discuss many things, but not until I deal with Loriina. I can't just leave a dragon on my roof untended, can I?" He led them up the spiraling stairwell, past a second and third landing and up to a trapdoor in the roof. Bloodthorne pushed it up and open and the four of them emerged on the flat roof.

  "Who's Loriina?" Katie asked, not looking at anyone in particular as she gazed out across the roof at the sight of the city of Velana spread out all around her, surrounded by a thick forest and sprawling mountains.

  "An uncharacteristically generous dragon," Firdin answered.

  Bloodthorne looked up at the sky. Then he looked at the others. "She won't be here for another minute more; we have time to speak. I suppose I should start at the beginning. A little over two months ago, my spies heard that Nashgor would target the castle. They were severely wounded in the process and barely made it back here alive. I sent out my best warriors to aid you, but when we arrived we found the castle burned to the ground and pulverized into dust. Only two bodies were unaccounted for. Yours and Halthren's."

  "So Halthren's alive?" Joran asked hopefully, but his voice cracked, betraying his uneasiness.

  "As of two months ago, he was. Perhaps. The demons may have simply stolen his corpse, though I know not why. I only guess that he's alive because we couldn't find his body."

  Katie could see that Bloodthorne's words were making Joran feel worse. But the lord of Velana only continued. "Your father is dead, Joran. I'm sorry."

  "But I am not dead," Joran whispered. Katie couldn't imagine what he was feeling. She knew that he'd already known about his father's death; now knowing that his best friend was likely gone as well… if it had been her, she knew she would have rather died as well than live without them.

  "Then will you lead us?" Firdin asked hopefully. "Without you, none of the seven lords will ever agree on what strategy to employ."

  "Strategy?" Joran murmured, his eyes wide in panic.

  "Lord Bloodthorne," Firdin continued, briefly changing the subject. "This girl is Katie. An Earthling. She has the powers, just as the legends say."

  Bloodthorne nodded. "I guessed as much. Our prince has returned, and the Earthling has come. We have hope." He knelt again. "I await your orders, Joran."

  Joran blinked, his face devoid of color. He looked terrified and uncertain. "Er…do we know where the Darkness will attack next?"

  Firdin turned to Katie and whispered, "The only reason we're still alive and fighting is because we find out where Nashgor will attack before it happens and we build up strength in that place so that it survives. Of course, sometimes our spies are killed or gravely wounded, and we don't get warriors there on time."

  Bloodthorne shook his head. "They could be anywhere," he said to Joran.

  Joran swallowed nervously. "We must find out. I will lead a small force into Kratchene and attempt to learn their plans."

  "Good," Bloodthorne approved. "I told you that my spies, Relenthus and Krenej, were badly wounded, but they can tell you where they enter to eavesdrop. Who would you have on the infiltration force with you?"

  Katie looked at Joran. She knew his real reason for sneaking into Kratchene. He wanted to rescue Halthren.

  Joran refused to meet her eyes. She saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, likely out of nervousness. "I'll take Fen; she's good at finding hidden passageways. Dewrion as well; he's a master of unseen movement. Those two should be enough."

  Firdin dipped his head. "I will go and inform them." He left back down the trapdoor.

  "Wait," Katie said. "You didn't say my name."

  "You need to stay here," Joran said gently.

  "Why?" she demanded. A strange expression flitted across his face and Katie knew what it meant. "You don't trust me," she said in a low voice.

  Joran's gaze flitted over to Bloodthorne, who was watching with confusion. "Can we talk about this later?" he asked quickly.

  Katie opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by a sound like thunder. It came again, and again, and again, but there wasn't a cloud in sight. Katie looked up and gasped. A massive lizard-like creature that gleamed like silver was soaring straight towards them. It had gigantic, bat-like leathery wings; a long whip of a tail with spikes at the end; and a long, graceful neck from which a dark blue gem hung on a chain. The creature's elegant head had three horns—two behind the eyes and one above the nostrils, much smaller. Tall, thin spikes travelled all the way down its backbone, from the top of the neck to the tip of the tail. The creature's legs were long and muscular, covered in silvery-blue scales shining bright in the sun. Grasped in its jaws was a large brown box made of a pale reddish wood.

  The dragon wheeled in the air and swooped down to the roof, landing gracefully in front of Bloodthorne and standing ten feet taller than him. Then it dipped its massive head to gently set the box in its mouth at the elf's feet. "Your swords, Lord Bloodthorne. You'll find a hundred of them inside, with scabbards as well." Despite her size, her voice wasn't deep and she sounded younger than Katie.

  Katie couldn't stop staring. An actual dragon! With wings and horns and colorful scales and catlike eyes and claws and a tail and—

  "Thank you, Loriina," Bloodthorne smiled, breaking Katie out of her trance. He pulled a brown leather bag from a pocket in his tunic. "A hundred standard-sized diamonds, as promised."

  Loriina shook her head. "I'm not going back to my lair. I'm sick of jewels. I want to forge swords for you for free, and I want to fight for your cause."

  Bloodthorne blinked several times, his features going slack with surprise. "Loriina…that's very…selfless…of you." He hesitated, then continued quickly, "But it isn't up to me. The prince of Kylaras will make that decision."

  "Where can I find him?" Loriina asked.

  "Here," Joran answered. "And I welcome your allegiance."

  "What do you want me to do first?" she asked.

  Joran thought for a moment. "Fly over Kylaras and destroy any unfriendly demon patrols," he responded uncertainly.

  "Of course," Loriina said. "I'll return here to report to you every morning." She spread her wings wide, blocking out the sun, and began to run, beating them quickly. By the time she reached the edge of the roof she was airborne, sailing gracefully away. Soon she was only a speck in the sky.

  "That was wise, Joran," Bloodthorne smiled. "But try to be a bit more confident."

  "I'm not at all used to commanding anyone," Joran mumbled, looking miserable and lonely.

  Katie noticed his forlorn expression instantly. Maybe I can help. "Lord Bloodthorne, is it alright if the prince and I have a little talk alone?"

  "Of course, my lady." Bloodthorne bowed and went down the trapdoor, closing it behind him.

  Katie turned to Joran and folded her arms. "Okay, seriously. What's wrong?"

  He looked down, biting his lip. "I don't know. I thought Halthren would have escaped by now. He made it out the other five times in less than an hour. It's been two months. What if he's dead?" He met Katie's gaze, his blue-green eyes watering. "What if he's dead?"

  "You'll save him before he dies," Katie said confidently. "Isn't that the whole reason for the spy mission thing?"

  Joran nodded, wiping his eyes. "Sorry… I…He's my best friend, Katie—actually he's more like my brother. He's my only family now—I don't know what I'd do without him."

  "Why didn't you want me to come with you?" she asked bluntly. "I could help! Amd you knew I wanted to. So what's the deal? Don't you trust me?"

  Joran sighed heavily. "I trust you, Katie. I just don't trust your Dark powers. On Earth when you were angry with me, it seemed as if a dark cloud went over you. It was the same in the Ocean of Storms, with the sea serpent. I felt like I couldn't breathe."

  "What's your point?"


  "Your magic is incredibly powerful; Light, Dark, and neither. I fear that if I brought you into Kratchene, where Darkness is everywhere, your Dark powers would take over and you'd turn on us. I don't want to take that chance. Please understand."

  Katie's shoulders slumped. He had a valid point; when she'd been exposed to Darkness before she'd had little control over herself, and afterwards, looking back, she knew that ordinarily she never would have acted so Dark. I'm still figuring this out. I don't know how it all works yet. She hated this, not knowing what she was capable of, not being able to trust herself. "I do," she sighed resignedly. "But I still wish I could go."

  "I'll see that Firdin trains you for battle. I know you said you had a gift for archery, but more training is always a good thing."

  Katie nodded reluctantly. "Maybe he can teach me sword fighting, too."

  Joran's taut shoulders relaxed, displaying his obvious relief. "Yes. Thanks for not arguing."

  Katie smiled sadly. "I'm not at all happy about this, but I'll do what you want."

  Training

  Training

  "Prince Joran has assigned me to be your mentor in the elven ways of fighting," Firdin said, selecting a long, wooden recurve bow from a rack in a large closet neatly organized and full of weapons. He bent down and picked up a quiver of arrows. "Today we'll do archery. Joran said you've already had some experience with bows and arrows, but if Earth training is the exact same as ours, slap me, because I'm quite certain it isn't. You've never really been trained for battle before, have you?"

  Katie shook her head.

  Firdin led her through an open doorway and into a large room to the right of the weapons closet. The two of them were in a large dome built of wood in a clearing a few miles out of Velana. Early in the morning, they'd ridden two horses here, and as they entered the dome the horses began to nibble contentedly at the grass outside.

  Within, the dome was very dark. Katie squinted and could barely make out a layer of sand on the ground and a fenced-off walkway running around the outside of it.

  Katie looked uncertainly at Firdin. "I can't see much in here," she said.

  "One moment," Firdin responded. He raised one finger to his chest, closed his eyes, and inhaled sharply as if in pain.

  "Are you alright?" Katie asked as a large, dazzlingly bright sphere of white light appeared in his palm. Katie blinked at the sudden illumination.

  "I'm fine," Firdin replied. "But it always hurts some, taking out part of my soul and using it for light. As long as it isn't stolen, then I'll be fine."

  "How can you steal Light?" Katie wondered.

  "By surrounding it with enchanted Darkness," he responded gravely. "Then whoever holds the stolen Light can destroy it if they have enough power." He shuddered. "But we're safe in here." He waved his hand and the one ball of Light split into five, which shot out of his hand and into five of the strange brackets she'd seen the day before.

  Firdin set up a target the size of a dinner plate at the far end of the enclosure and handed her the bow and quiver of arrows. Then he walked to the middle of the arena and drew his sword, fighting with an imaginary opponent. "Shoot the target. Don't move from where you are and please don't kill me. Try to hit the target where it is red."

  "Uh, what are you doing?" Katie asked.

  "In a battle, you may need to shoot someone who's behind an elf. You don't want to wound your ally, do you?"

  Katie shook her head. "Of course not, but could you stand still for the first few times please?"

  Firdin grinned at her. "Of course," he said, placing himself almost directly in front of the small target.

  Katie nocked an arrow and pulled it back to her cheek, aiming carefully. I'll never forgive myself if I hit him, she thought worriedly. She let the arrow fly and it soared passed Firdin's face, missing his skin by a millimeter as it flew past and hit the target. "Sorry," she said, relieved. "You have…admirable…self-control."

  "Thanks," Firdin smiled. "I had to work two hundred years for that."

  Katie's eyes widened in astonishment. "Two hundred?! That's how old you are?"

  "Two hundred and fifty, actually," he replied with a modest shrug. "I'm guessing from your perplexed expression that humans don't live that long."

  Katie shook her head, all of a sudden feeling sad about the tiny life she had. "No, we only live to be about eighty or ninety. A hundred if we're lucky."

  Firdin frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said sincerely. "In Allagandria, rodents and insects are the only ones with lifespans that short. Everything else lives far longer. But…perhaps, since you have Allagandrian magic, you'll be able to live longer as well."

  Katie didn't know what to respond. To outlive her parents and her siblings…did she really want that?

  "Are you alright?" Firdin asked tenderly.

  Katie hesitated. How could she explain? Living so long, he wouldn't be able to understand the concept of watching family die of old age. "I miss my home," she answered eventually. "My friends and family."

  "The Forest of Mist isn't going away any time soon," Firdin assured her. "You will always be able to get home."

  "But what will my parents think?! They'll assume I ran away! They'll be furious when I get back! How can I ever live a normal life again?"

  "I don't know," Firdin replied gently. "But at least when you return they'll be happy. I know that for certain. Do you want to keep training or would you like a break?"

  "I'll keep going," she answered. She nocked another arrow and sent it whizzing past Firdin's cheek and into the red center of the target. Firdin grinned encouragingly at her.

  She shot several more arrows, mostly missing Firdin each time. Her tenth arrow grazed his neck, but her eleventh arrow split one of the others in the target right down the center.

  "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked nervously, looking at the small cut on his neck. A thin rivulet of blood was dripping from it down into his tunic.

  Firdin laughed. "You worry too much! I've been injured far worse than this by others while training."

  "Like…how?" Katie asked.

  "Let's just leave it at the fact that I've had to spend weeks recovering from a youth's stray arrow before," he answered with a shrug, drawing his sword again. "Keep firing."

  He began fighting an imaginary demon again, and Katie nocked another arrow, aiming carefully. She let go of the bowstring and it sank into Firdin's shoulder. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed before he could react. She dropped her bow and raced over to him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

  "Don't feel bad," Firdin said lightheartedly, tugging the arrow out with a faint grimace of pain. Katie cringed at the blood on the arrowhead. "It didn't go in very deep. I wear thick leather armor under my tunic."

  Katie grimaced. "Well… that's good. "I'm so sorry…"

  Firdin put his hand on her shoulder. "Honestly, I'm fine," he insisted. "Don't worry about hitting me. Just keep shooting at the target."

  Katie went back to her bow, feeling sick with nerves. What if I kill him?! She nocked an arrow, pulled it back, and let it go, watching anxiously as it soared past Firdin and hit the target (although not on the red area).

  "That's it," Firdin encouraged. "Keep going."

  She fired five more arrows. Two missed the target entirely, but three hit the red spot. She paused, but at Firdin's encouragement she shot eight more. All of them hit the red area (and the target was starting to look like a porcupine).

  "Good," Firdin smiled. "Now we'll work on your dodging arrows."

  Katie frowned as he went out of the arena and returned with a small shield and armor.

  "Put these on," he instructed. "Don't worry; it's a lot lighter than it looks."

  Katie eyed the armor doubtfully but did as he asked, bending down and buckling a pair of greaves around her calves and fastening various pieces of metal to her waist where they fit. Firdin helped her with the breastplate, fastening the buckles she couldn't reach. She pulled the helmet over her head
, cinching it under her chin, and shoved her hands into a pair of gauntlets. When she was finally encased head to toe in armor, she had to admit to herself that Firdin was right—it felt like she was wearing a thick winter coat and snow pants instead of a heavy metal suit.

  "So now you'll be shooting me?" she asked.

  Firdin nodded and slung his own quiver of arrows over his shoulder. "These are blunt and there are small pillows on the end, so they won't hurt very much if I do hit you, but try not to get hit."

  Katie swallowed nervously. "Okay."