Legend Warrior

by Liara Woo

  With a concerned neigh, the horse galloped into the distance. With no other choice, Relenthus pulled the poisoned arrow out with a grimace of pain and took Joran in his arms before running as fast as he possibly could towards the forest. Another arrow whizzed past him and embedded itself in the ground, but the next shot pierced his back, just under his ribcage. Relenthus yelled but did not falter, sweat pouring down his face.

  A fourth arrow sank into his calf, and he collapsed to his knees, his deep breaths shaky and uneven. Then a fifth arrow pierced the back of his arm. After a brief rest he struggled to his feet and limped away with Joran as fast as he could. He could see the forest shadows reaching out for him, and he collapsed in a thorn bush between the first two trees, breathing heavily. Blood streamed from multiple injuries, and brambles tore at his clothing. Quickly he dragged himself out of the bush, shielding Joran with his body. His blood stained the bush and the grass, but he didn't give heed to it. Coughing violently, he forced himself into a sitting position.

  He heard a familiar neigh. "Meliara," he murmured. The horse had a dryad on her back, and the green-skinned figure dismounted, rushing over to the two bleeding elves on the ground.

  "I brought herbs and bandages," he said quickly. "The horse explained everything."

  "Good," Relenthus moaned. "Focus on—on the prince. D-don't worry about m-me." He sank to the ground, shivering despite the sweat soaking his body. He could feel poison from the arrows burning through his veins and knew that he'd only last another day. There was no cure for him.

  * * *

  When Joran awakened, fully healed, the first thing he saw was Relenthus kneeling over him, eyes half-closed and face pale. The older elf fell over with a faint moan of anguish and Joran sat up in shock, suddenly remembering that Relenthus had saved him from death. Meliara lay down in the grass beside her close friend, sheltering him with her body. "The naiad could do nothing for him," the mare nickered. "I will watch over him until help can come. You must join your subjects."

  Joran nodded. "I will." He put his hand on Relenthus's fevered forehead. "I'll come back for you," he promised, drawing his sword and rushing back into battle with renewed strength.

  Flames

  Flames

  Loriina flew as fast as she could, and since she had a favorable tailwind, she was able to gain even more speed. Her two riders were nearly blown off of her back by the furious winds raging around her. Katie sat behind Halthren, clinging to his chest because she was certain that he wouldn't be blown away—he was gripping one of Loriina's spikes with his usual fervor.

  Katie leaned her head on his shoulder, gazing down at the landscapes racing past beneath them. They'd left the rugged mountain ranges of Fliuviel behind them an hour ago, and now they were in Dralantia once more. It was a foggy morning; the sea of green beneath them was mostly obscured by the mist surrounding them. Loriina turned her head backwards to look at her riders. "This fog is not good news," she called. "Dragons love flying through it."

  "I don't," Katie mumbled. She and Halthren were soaked to the skin.

  "We'll have to fly higher to avoid any potential encounters," Loriina responded. "Try not to faint from the lack of air." She flapped her wings several times, gradually gaining height until she was several hundred feet above the mist. Katie felt suddenly lightheaded, so she took several slow, deep breaths to counter the dizziness. Swallowing, she looked down at the barely transparent clouds beneath them and shivered; the wind blowing on her damp clothes and face made her cold, but her magic kept her somewhat warm and at least she had Halthren in front of her to act as a shield for the wind. A pang of pity raced through her; she could feel him shivering through his tunic.

  "How long until we get to Taklamen?" she asked Loriina over the roar of the wind.

  "About an hour if the tailwind doesn't change," Loriina panted. "And… the border control dragon is following us."

  "Border control?" Halthren asked shakily.

  "Yes. Dralantia's king is very picky about who goes in and out of the country. So far we've been lucky, but now…it's going to be a wild ride. I leave the choice to you: do we race or do we surrender? I'll have you know, if we surrender then we'll probably be held up for a couple of days at least."

  Katie felt Halthren tense. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

  "Of course," he responded firmly. "I think we should race."

  Katie was surprised. She'd expected him to plead for anything that wasn't a high-speed chase high in the air because of his fear of heights. Instantly she felt guilt rise within her stomach from doubting him. Just because he's afraid doesn't mean he's a coward. "I agree," she answered Loriina.

  "Alright," the dragon growled. "Let the chase begin!"

  With that, she folded her wings to her sides and dropped into a nosedive, steadily gaining speed. Halthren went rigid, and Katie felt a thrill of fear as the three of them fell from the sky, faster and faster until at last Loriina pulled out of the dive and zoomed over the treetops faster than the wildest roller coaster on Earth. Looking over her shoulder, Katie saw another dragon following them at lightning speed—a big, bulky dragon with fins on his back and tail. His scales were a murky gray-green color.

  "We aren't losing him," Katie called to Loriina.

  "Hang on tight," Loriina answered, banking and diving into the trees. Katie grimaced and held tighter to Halthren, expecting to feel leaves and twigs tugging at her, but Loriina shielded her riders with her wings. Once beneath the canopy, she twisted around one tree trunk and tucked her wings in for a split second to avoid hitting them on the next one. "No one," she panted, "can fly better than I can through forests."

  Tall, moss-covered trunks rose into the air, and most of the branches were at the top, where they spread upwards like open umbrellas. That meant that there was a lot of space between the trunks themselves—enough space for a younger dragon like Loriina to fly through, but the border guard dragon was too big.

  "I think we've lost him," Loriina smirked.

  Then the trees all around them burst into flame. With a screech of surprise, Loriina brought her wings up, stopping her forward-motion abruptly and hovering in the air. Despite the humidity, more trees burst into flame, and the fire quickly spread. They heard an unusual crashing sound; the gray-green dragon above them was kicking at the tops of the trees, trying to cave them in. Flaming branches rained down all around them, falling to the ground and setting grass and vines on fire as well. After only a few seconds, they were in the midst of a raging forest fire. The heat and smoke were stifling. Katie coughed; her throat was stinging and her eyes watering.

  "Loriina, we have to get out of here!" Halthren exclaimed in a choked voice.

  Loriina looked around frantically. "Try shooting water on the flames!" she squeaked, panicked as she hovered in midair. Katie did as she suggested, but the fire had been caused by a dragon: no amount of water could extinguish it.

  "It's not working," she called. "Perhaps ice would…" She shot clouds of ice from her fingertips at the flames, extinguishing a few of them.

  "Forget it," Loriina replied quickly as her panic faded. "Too slow."

  "Loriina, since we both have Stones, wouldn't I be fireproof just as you are?"

  "Why are you addressing me?" Loriina asked grumpily. "Why not the brainy elf in front of you? Speak fast, Halthren. These trees will be falling on us soon."

  Halthren turned to face her. "You would be fireproof, but only for a small extent of time. Perhaps fifteen seconds at most. That would certainly be enough to get out of here."

  Loriina landed on the burning ground, looking wildly around. "Just a guess, but I'd say we have about five minutes before you two die either from the heat or lack of fresh air."

  Katie exchanged a panicked look with Halthren. "Is there anywhere we can go?" Katie asked, frightened. "Can't we just fly through the trees until we get out of the burned section?"

  It was then that one of the burning trees collapsed (no thanks to the border guard
flying above them), uprooting itself and leaning against another tree, blocking their only clear path of escape. Loriina gulped audibly. "Halthren would catch fire and I'd bruise my wings."

  Katie wrung her hands in despair. "There has to be something we can do!" she exclaimed. "Should I call a storm?"

  "The raindrops would evaporate," Loriina protested.

  "Can't we break through the upper branches?" Halthren asked, his voice shaking slightly. "Katie is fireproof, and I'm certain I can hold on for a few moments…" His voice was anything but certain.

  "If we did that, Mr. Border Guard will snatch you two off of my back," Loriina growled. "Believe me, you do not want to know the legal ramifications for trespassing elves."

  "Legal ramifications?!" Halthren exclaimed. "Why are dragons so…so…political?"

  "Shut up!" Loriina snapped, getting cranky as she always did in stressful situations. "We need to figure out something now, because those branches are about to fall on us!"

  Katie looked up in panic; the limbs above them were nearly completely burned out. Soon they would break off and fall directly on her and Halthren. "Any ideas?" she asked nervously.

  Instantly some of the branches above them budged, sending a shower of sparks down on them. Katie yelped and covered her head with her arms; she felt the sparks hit her sleeves and burn tiny holes from them, but other than that nothing happened. Then she looked at Halthren; his cloak was burning. "Um," she said. "Don't look now, but…you're on fire."

  Halthren spun around, his eyes wide. "What?!" he yelped, catching sight of the flames beginning to devour his cloak. Quickly he unclasped it from around his neck and tossed it to the ground, just as more sparks fell, landing on his right shoulder and part of his chest and arm. Flames sprang up from the dry cloth. Halthren screamed, slipping to the ground and twisting in the dirt, trying to extinguish the flames.

  "Hold still!" Katie exclaimed, her mind racing. She raised her hand and shot a stream of water from her fingertips, extinguishing the small fire.

  "Thanks," Halthren said in a strangely high-pitched, trembling voice. Shaking all over, he stood and returned to the dragon's back.

  "You gave me an idea," Loriina said, new hope in her voice. Opening her cavernous mouth, she sprayed the two riders until they were both soaked to the skin. Katie tried not to stare at the burns on Halthren's arm; his sleeve had entirely burned away. "The water will hopefully protect you for the time it takes me to run through the flames," the dragon continued. "Hold on tight."

  Katie wrapped her arms around Halthren's solid midriff as Loriina broke into a swift run, sprinting under the fallen trees and charging towards a distant glimmer of green among the scarlet and orange flames and charred black tree trunks. She ran straight towards a tree and swerved, dashing through several burning bushes and saplings. Katie felt her clothes begin to warm up uncomfortably, and her face and hands were soon completely dry. Breathing became even more difficult.

  The dragon leaped over a log and dodged another tree in her path. A third, much larger tree crashed to the ground just as Loriina passed underneath, and the impact made the ground shake like a terrible earthquake. Loriina lost her footing and slid to the ground on her side, accidentally dumping her riders off of her back and falling unconscious. Shaking from fear, Katie helped Halthren to his feet; the elf's hands were burned and blistered but miraculously her own hands remained unscathed, although she could feel the heat.

  "What are we going to do?!" she exclaimed, her voice hysterical with terror. She'd grown up in Flagstaff, Arizona, a city surrounded by pine forests. Fires—especially forest fires—had always been her one great fear. She'd seen smoke billowing miles high in the air from her house. She'd seen images on television of angry flames devouring forests, and now she was watching it first-hand.

  "There's a river nearby," Halthren said. "Look!" He pointed, and Katie followed his gaze to where the fire hadn't yet reached. "We should be safe there until the fire spreads…"

  "What do we do when it does spread?" Katie asked, her eyes wide. Her heart had jumped into her throat.

  "Can you change the direction of the wind?"

  Katie blinked. She hadn't thought of that. Then she saw noticed hot coals and flames on the ground, separating them from the river for at least fifty yards. "How are you going to get to the water? Loriina said that fire won't burn me, at least for fifteen seconds, but for you…"

  "It'll take more than fifteen seconds to get there," Halthren predicted. "I'll carry you. I know how to place my feet so that I don't step on anything burning. Would you get me wet again?"

  Katie nodded and sprayed him all over with water from her Stone. Then she held onto his damp neck as he swung her up into his arms and began to run across the burning ground. Even while carrying her, he was running much faster than a human ever could.

  They were both coughing violently because of the smoke, and Katie's eyes and throat were stinging. She pressed her face into Halthren's neck, breathing in his fresh scent and focusing on the comfort of his arms around her, trying to calm down. At last Halthren waded into the river with a moan of relief, setting her down in the cold water before collapsing to his knees. The current was weak and slow, and the water was dirty from ash and smoke. Quickly Katie changed the direction of the wind, touching her stone and blowing softly in the opposite direction of the river. I can't stop the wind entirely, but I can make it weaker.

  Halthren looked sadly at the burning forest. "All of those dryads… the fairies… they'll die." He was speaking in between coughs.

  "There's nothing we can do for them," Katie said gently, feeling less panicked now that she was safe in the water. Halthren lowered his head. He was coughing harder than she'd ever seen anyone cough before. "Are you alright?"

  "Elves…are more sensitive…to impure air…than anything…else…" he answered between coughs. He allowed himself to fall backwards into the river, presumably to sooth the burns on his shoulder and arm with the cold water.

  Katie sat down beside him. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked when he'd straightened, his dripping hair in his face. He shook his head. "Will Loriina be alright?" she inquired.

  "Dragon. Fireproof," Halthren answered shakily, his shoulders slumped.

  "Thanks for carrying me," Katie said, shivering and coughing again.

  "Don't mention it," Halthren smiled grimly. "Look, Loriina's waking up."

  Katie turned her gaze back to the charred forest. Loriina was getting to her feet and shaking her head as if to clear it. Seeing the two figures in the river, she bounded towards them. "This is the Felefin River," she said in surprise. "That tailwind was better than I thought. We're only a few miles from the Taklamen border."

  "Good," Halthren coughed. "Let's get out of here."

  Loriina nodded in agreement, smirking. "I wish I could see how much trouble that border patrol dragon will get into for starting such a massive forest fire. It's breaking over ten laws!"

  Halthren shook his head in disbelief. "Dragons," he muttered as he walked out of the river and climbed up the dragon's back. Katie pulled herself up beside him, dripping wet. Loriina sprang into the air, soaring swiftly to the south. Beneath them, the trees grew less numerous, gradually becoming shorter and bushier. The ground turned into a desert, with cacti, bushes, and scattered patches of short, dry grass.

  "We're in Taklamen," Loriina growled. "Where do we go now, Halthren?"

  "A canyon," he answered confidently. "A canyon with red stone and turquoise water."

  "Let's go ask the locals, then," Loriina smiled. "I have a good friend who's a dwarf, and he lives pretty close to this part of the country." She changed direction and flew closer to the ground, eventually landing in front of a small house that looked to Katie like an igloo made of clay. The entrance was clearly made for someone who was half her height.

  She and Halthren dismounted, and Loriina transformed into a human, approaching the entrance and calling out, "Balkan, it's Loriina! Would you come out?"


  "Just a mo'. Lemme get a hat on," a gruff voice called from inside of the igloo, thick with an accent Katie couldn't quite place. She reached inside the satchel slung over her shoulder and pulled out the bottle of green sludge meant for burns.

  "Here," she said, handing it to Halthren.

  "Thanks," he responded gratefully, opening it and slathering it all over hands and gently rubbing it on his burned arm.

  Seconds later a short, squat man walked out of the igloo. He had a long black beard that went to his knees; large ears, and a weather-beaten face; he wore a short crimson tunic and brown trousers. His feet were clad in large, clunky black boots and when he walked closer, he hardly came to Loriina's waist. "Well, now. Loriina. What have ye gotten yerself into, now?"

  "Well… I need some geographical assistance, Balkan. Naturally I came to you, since you're Taklamen's best cartographer."