Dragon Sword

by Angelique Anderson

In that second, as her staff rested half tilted, the tip of it lit with the spark of magic and to her horror, a large flaming fireball began moving directly toward Svana.

  "No! I didn't mean for you to say that now! I was simply teaching you."

  Svana's eyes grew wide, the shape of the flaming ball reflected in their deep hazel hue as it flew toward her.

  15

  Hekla

  There comes a time in everyone's life where they must no longer look behind, but instead, look forward. Focusing on the past will do nothing but cause worry. Sometimes, you have to realize there is nothing you can do to change the past, and instead, look forward to the future. The past is good to remember your mistakes, and learn from them, but you need to realize those mistakes made you who you are; they define you. And because of those mistakes and hardships, you've become a stronger person; a person more adept to making future choices.

  King Thomasett the Kind, Second King of Aequoris, 329 A.V.

  Hekla watched with a horror-stricken face as the fireball she created flew toward her sister. It had been an accident. She had no idea repeating the words would create a fireball.

  Svana threw herself to the side as soon as the fireball materialized. Still it wasn't quick enough. The searing heat scorched her pack before she hit the ground, rolling to come back to her feet, instantly in a combat crouch. She glared at her sister, only for a moment as the poor girl stood still as a statue, eyes wide in surprise and shock. The fireball erupted against the ground, bursting the parched grasses, sending a cloud of smoke and flame into the air.

  "Do something, Hekla, don't just stand there!" Svana yelled at her while backing away from the growing wildfire, but Hekla was petrified.

  Letting out a long, exasperated sigh, Speltus casually flew over the flames, opening his maw and exhaling. Both of the sisters watched as hues of purple spread forth, encasing the flames. The fire extinguished and was gone, the ground below appeared unscathed.

  "Well, a fine warrior you'll make," Lingaria said snidely.

  "Lingaria! She's never done anything like this before," Speltus snapped.

  He seemed to have more patience with his human master than Lingaria did.

  "Lingaria!?" Svana chided him. "I can't say that I would know what to do the first time I threw a fireball." Her voice was soft, and she hurried toward her sister.

  Finally realizing that Svana was safe, Hekla blinked and sucked in a deep breath, as if emerging after being underwater too long. She panted with the effort and doubled over, hand on her knees.

  "Svana, I'm so sorry... I don't how that happened. I would never have forgiven myself had I hurt you!" she managed to say, not looking at her sister out of embarrassment.

  "Shhhhh... Hekla, it's all right. Calm yourself. As Speltus said, you're new at this. You need time to train and focus on this incredible gift. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I forgive you." Svana placed a caring hand on her sister's shoulder. "You need to learn, it is the best way to defend yourself, and you can't learn if you don't practice. It was most impressive! You will be formidable when you use that on your enemies."

  Hekla nodded her head, but felt ashamed regardless. How could I have been so careless?

  Speltus shook his head. "Do not fret, Hekla. I will make sure you are well practiced before you have to battle." His little body flew up onto her shoulder, and he laid his head against her neck.

  Hekla scratched his head, her breathing slowing as the fireball incident receded within her mind. "I'm sorry," she stammered one last time. She wasn't sure what the dragon was doing but liked having him nuzzle her.

  "I'm comforting you, is this not what humans do when they are sad? They comfort each other?"

  Hekla couldn't help but feel slightly taken aback with how much his attitude had changed in such a short time."Thank you, Speltus. I would never have expected such a thing from you."

  His attempt to pacify her, was comforting. He must believe I can do this, or he wouldn't bother.

  "We all started out not knowing, and we all had to learn," he responded, casting a dirty look to Lingaria. "Even if some of us have forgotten."

  Unmoved, Lingaria yawned. "I'm hungry," he told Svana.

  "Thank you," Hekla responded, grateful that someone understood, even if she did nearly singe her sister's entire body. Speltus laughed at her thoughts, and she smiled at him. Not wishing to repeat herself out loud.

  "What's so funny?" Svana asked.

  "Nothing, my sister, let's leave this place. We have a long way to go."

  "I've something untoward to tell you both, and I know you're not going to like it," Speltus' tone caught both of their attention.

  "What, what is it?" Hekla asked, her eyes wide with worry.

  Leaving her shoulder, Speltus waited a moment before he spoke.

  "The Unseen Ones have requested that you part ways here. Hekla has much to learn, and we can shave a day off our journey if we head northeast now. If you continue along this path, you'll be at Telluris by nightfall."

  Hekla could feel a lump in the back of her throat. This was the moment she had dreaded when she would go forward alone. What if I let everyone down? What if my sisters succeed, and I don't?

  Speltus hovered to the side of her, and shook his head from side to side, though he said nothing out loud.

  "Svana, you must make your way to the main castle. I do not envy the journey you will have getting there, or who may try to stop you. Use your wits and keep Lingaria close and you will do well," Speltus finally said.

  Svana nodded her head in agreement. "Of course."

  She grabbed Hekla's arm and pulled her in for a hug. "Be safe my sister. Listen to everything Speltus says and always make sure to watch over your shoulder. We do not know the dangers that await us, but we will survive. We will win, because we must. And then, we will reunite."

  After releasing her younger sister, Svana took a step back. Both sisters fought against the intense loneliness that threatened to consume them. They hadn't stepped away, yet the pain had already found purchase within.

  There was no more pretending.

  Speltus had already began flying away from the two, without as much as a nod to Lingaria. Hekla wondered if he would later regret that. She waved to Svana, gritted her teeth under glistening eyes, and hurried to catch up with her dragon guide.

  "Speltus!" he turned to face her and smiled his toothy dragon grin, using his short front legs to wave her along.

  Hekla trundled after her dragon, settling into an easy gait, her scepter tapping the hard earth at a regular pace. She glanced back, seeing Svana's hard, emotionless face. Hekla wanted to be brave like her sister, but she already missed her. Her path was ahead, and her feelings needed to be behind her, where they needed to remain until the war was won.

  "Don't worry, Hekla," Speltus said. "Lingaria will not let any harm come to your sister. And I will not let anything happen to you. It is time you all grow up and become the women you're meant to be."

  "I know, Speltus. It's just difficult. There will always be a what-if nagging in the back of my mind," she admitted, her hand at her side clutching her scepter.

  "You'd hardly be a sister if there wasn't. You've much ahead of you. Are your boots secure, and your staff?"

  Hekla nodded her head assuredly. "Yes, I am ready."

  16

  Astrid

  The first step of a journey is hard. Your heart is heavy, your legs grow tired, and your eyes grow dreary. But if you stop, you'll never get anywhere.

  King Cedric the Just, Third King of Telluris, 473 A.V.

  Astrid ran until her legs ached and muscles throbbed from having been pushed to the brink. As day broke over the mountain range, she finally stopped to catch her breath. She leaned back against the scratchy bark of a large tree trunk, her chest heaving as she sucked in large breaths of air.

  "Well, if you don't get yourself killed one way, it seems you plan on doing it another," Aronus had flown side by side with her the entire night.r />
  "I got away from him, didn't I?" Astrid retorted.

  "You may have, but you've had no time to rest or eat. You need to gather your strength for the days to come."

  "I'm well aware of that. Do you ever stop telling me what to do? Why did you disappear? You could have roared, or blasted fire at him. That would have scared him off." Astrid's voice escalated as she spoke.

  "Or he could have tried to capture me, and then what do you think would happen to you?"

  "Really? You expect me to believe that you would have let him catch you?" Astrid made no attempt to hide the disbelief in her face. "Anyway, it's no matter. He's far behind us. I've got fruit and bread in my pack here, that's more than enough to keep me going until we set up camp tonight."

  Astrid removed an apple from the leather satchel at her side and took a large bite for emphasis.

  "Fine, don't listen to me, but if we're attacked, I'm not saving you." Aronus acted quite miffed at her response.

  "What is the issue anyway?" Astrid crinkled her forehead. "You're more snippy than usual."

  "Easy. You're human. You need things that I don't. Proper rest for one, a proper meal for two. Yet, you have no regard for your own well-being."

  "Aronus, I appreciate your concern and all. I assure you that if I get so tired and hungry I cannot continue, I'll make sure to stop. For now, let's keep going, shall we?" Astrid's tone had softened when she realized he was only looking out for her.

  "Fine," he answered, "I suppose I can accept that."

  As Aronus nodded his head at her, the light reflected off his iridescent scales in such a way, that Astrid let out a soft gasp.

  "What now?" He asked, turning his back to her and flying ahead as if he didn't really want an answer.

  "Nothing, Aronus." She laughed softly to herself, noting that he would be probably be offended if she told him that he was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.

  "Then you haven't lived much," he called over his shoulder.

  "What? How?" She paused, her forehead crinkling. "Oh." Astrid had forgot about the annoying little oaf being capable of reading her thoughts. "Perhaps you would like it better if I thought you were ugly?"

  Aronus didn't answer her, and not wanting him to get too far ahead, she bent to readjust her leather boots then jogged to catch up to him.

  Walking in silence, many things went through Astrid's head. She wondered how her sisters were getting on in their journeys, and if they were having as much luck with their dragon guides as she was having with hers. She recalled visions of home, and the crystal waters they had traveled across.

  "What is the Dragon Realm like?" Astrid suddenly wondered.

  "I don't know that there's much to tell you. There are lots of dragons, all sizes. Many different types as well. I know you've only seen the great Palladin, myself and my companions, but there are many more. Some, much larger than Palladin himself, and some with horns so long and sharp, they'd slice through a human in moments flat."

  Astrid gasped.

  "Would they do such a thing?"

  "No, not really. Legend has painted us as beasts with a hunger for human flesh. I detest such things, but there are a few, who if given the chance, would. The majority of us tend to err on the side of goat or fish when it is allowed. Not that we need to eat there, our food is the surrounding energy. Only in your world do we get to eat as you do."

  "That makes no sense," she said. "You don't eat like we do?"

  "Of course not, because you are human. You live and think with your urges: hunger, sleep, emotions. We do not have such things to deal with."

  "That must make life very simple, though I confess that I do not understand how you cannot need to sleep or eat." It was unnatural. "So then tell me this, Aronus. Is Palladin in charge of all of you? What is to stop your dragon friends from coming here and killing all of us?"

  "That is forbidden, human." Aronus had stopped flying next to her, and calmly sat on her shoulder, enjoying being carried. "We have to eat and sleep here, but not there. It's completely different in the Dragon Realm."

  "Forbidden? Who is to enforce it?"

  "A long time ago, the dragons of old, we call them the Wise Ones, guarded humanity. Their watchful eye, ever protective. A few of them left the dragon realm and went rogue. They took human lives for sport and pleasure. Eventually they were all killed. Over time, the rest of the Wise Ones died out, their energy released into the Dragon Realm for the rest of us to absorb, and so it goes." Aronus' voice was like a melody in her ear, and she began to feel sleepy. I'll have to stop soon.

  "All right, but who enforces that no one else strays?"

  "There is a cave a little way ahead, on that mountain. It's a short climb, we can rest there."

  "How do you know that?" Astrid looked ahead, hoping to see it from where they stood.

  "I know a great many things, which you will come to find out. In the Realm of Dragons, we all are at different ranks. Much like your kings and princes here."

  "That seems odd to me," she pondered aloud. "Why?"

  "It's simple really, it allows us to serve and be served according to our purpose or potential."

  "So that must make you pretty low if you have to serve a dirty human," she joked.

  "Not at all, Astrid. It is not just you I serve, but the whole of humanity. As your purpose is to take down the king and become queen of the land chosen for you... I shall serve you and your people for the rest of my days. It is not one life that is my duty, it is all lives that you would govern."

  "You'll have to forgive me. Melifera taught us a great many things, but this was not one of them."

  "I understand, Astrid," Aronus paused, growing still. "Stop!" he suddenly yelled in her ear, and she felt his weight shift. Had he disappeared again?

  "Aronus? Aronus? Where did you go?" she spun around looking to see if he had flown away from her, but there was no sign of him anywhere, but from a heavy wood near the road, horses emerged.

  "Well, well, well... what gives fair maiden?" A deep voice grabbed for her attention, and she realized why Aronus had suddenly disappeared. A small cavalry of soldiers rode out and blocked the path, the man in front of her heavily armored, his face twisted in a sinister grin.

  "I am only a stranger traveling through," she answered quietly, not breaking eyesight with the man.

  "What gives fair maiden stranger?" the captain said, happy to accommodate her request.

  "I am just a stranger, not anyone's maiden. Tell me, good sir, what does that title mean to you?"

  "A damsel in distress.... These roads are perilous and for one as lovely as you to travel alone? Well, it is dangerous."

  "Maybe for those who would cross me." She smiled. "Otherwise, it has been a pleasant journey through Telluris. I am from Volican and on a private journey."

  "There is nowhere to pass through to, stranger." Some of the troop began to dismount, their hands on the hilts of their swords.

  "If we stand still, the world will pass us by. I prefer to be the one who does the passing and not put my fate in a dragon's claw, so to speak." Her arm reached behind her back, ready to draw her bow if need be.

  The captain paused. "Where are you going, stranger?"

  "Caelestis, the Sky Kingdom."

  "No one is permitted to travel there."

  "Our destinies have brought us here for a reason. Yours is to keep the peace. I hope you've seen that I am no threat to those who don't threaten me. My destiny is there." Astrid pointed to the permanent cloud that was Caelestis.

  "I cannot let you travel to the airies. We are at war with them, haven't you heard?" The troop continued their efforts to surround her. She backed slowly away, keeping them from getting behind her.

  "Your war is not my war. I am not picking a side in this ill-conceived conflict."

  "That isn't very neighborly." The captain signaled to his people to attack her.

  At the speed of thought, four arrows raced from her bow. The captain was the first t
arget. The arrow thudded home, propelled faster than a lightning bolt, throwing the captain backward into the soldiers standing behind him. The three closest died just as quickly.

  "I've left eight of you alive to carry your four fellows. If I have to kill you all, I will, and then you'll be carried away in the bellies of crows. You brought this on yourselves!" she cried.

  The men slowly backed away, stopping when they reached a safe distance. As one, they turned and ran.

  "What about your fellow soldiers?" she called after them. She made to do the distasteful task of recovering her arrows, but Aronus appeared on her shoulder.

  "There is no need."

  She watched the arrows turn into a wispy smoke, carried away by a light breeze.

  "You shall not want for arrows when I am with you, remember?" he told her. "Good aiming. How long do you intend to stand around here, among the dead bodies?"

  "I think now is a good time to leave," she replied.

  "That's my good, little human." The dragon snuggled against her head as she started to run, embracing the dragon's suggestion to put as much distance between her and the dead. "Now, try to keep yourself out of trouble so I may rest. Also, I think it best you journey near the road and not on it. There are more soldiers ahead."

  Not making a sound, or even acknowledging him, she veered to the west of the road, a journey which took her through heavy woods, over autumn's fall of dried leaves, and barren, low-hanging branches. She ran as quick as she dared, making sure to watch her step so as not to trip, or run head first into a tree.

  After almost an hour, Aronus awoke, and Astrid could hear him sniffing the air.

  "Slow your pace, Astrid, and tread softly. Just to the right of us, ahead sixty paces is another soldier outpost. Lest we have a repeat of the last meeting with them, make no sound."

  Astrid nodded her assent, using the trees as her shield. She saw the soldiers he spoke of and hid herself behind a tall acacia tree that had begun to turn from red to brown with the changing seasons.