by Tony Johnson
“Everywhere I go, I keep hearing your name,” Steve told her. “People are impressed with how organized you are and how you’re able to answer any questions that come up regarding our battle plans. Everything is coming together because of you. When they hold elections for the next mayor of Casanovia, I think it’ll be a landslide in your favor.”
“Thanks,” Shana appreciated the comments, “I always hoped to take over after Mayor Hughley retired. I just never expected it to be under these circumstances.” Shana looked bummed at the reminder her small-statured friend was gone forever, but proud of the legacy Mayor Hughley left behind that she planned to emulate.
“While I have you here, Steve, I was looking to run some issues by you and get your opinion. One thing we need is a safe place during the battle where women, children, elderly, and anyone in infirmaries can be housed. Should we put them all in one secure place or leave them where they are, scattered throughout the city?”
Taking a moment to think about it, Steve answered, “Leave the choice up to them. They can stay where they are, or we can offer the dungeon as the location where people can hide out. It’s the farthest place underground and its walls are cement. It’s the safest place to be.
“I want to make sure Emma and her son are underground,” Steve continued. “We need to protect the future king. If something happens and it looks like we might lose this battle, we need a contingency plan that everyone in the dungeon can escape Casanovia undetected. Can you put together a small group of warriors that can get them to a nearby town or village if that’s the case?”
“Sure, I’ll make sure that gets done,” Shana pulled out a notepad and wrote down the task on her long to-do list. “The other idea I had was regarding the ships in the harbor. With all the Almirian ships, the monsters may see them and know they escaped here. It’ll ruin our element of surprise if they know our numbers have increased.”
“I’ll check with Commander Artazair and let you know what he says,” Steve offered. “A lot of the ships they brought over were warrior ships with cannons. I’m sure there’s some way we can use them in battle.”
After creating plans with the Almirian Naval Commander, Steve spent the last part of his day visiting with blacksmiths, who had turned an entire district of the city into a makeshift workshop where they streamlined a process to produce as many arrows, bows, weapons, and armor as possible. Having not worked in a forge since before the Celestial Qualifiers, Steve enjoyed getting back into his old hobby by picking up tools and helping out for a few hours.
At the end of the day, he returned to Kari and found that she was not in her room. After briefly panicking while searching, he found her at the far end of the infirmary. Proud of how fast she was improving, Steve let her take his arm as they headed back to her room for the night.
The next day was more of the same for the Human warrior. Rylan and his sentries, who had flown out on Almirian monsters the previous morning, came back and reported that Silas’s army was only two days away.
Feeling anxious about the amount of work left, Steve continued moving around and helping in different aspects of the battle plans. Doing this allows me to see where we need to devote more time and resources for preparations while also showing me where our strengths and weaknesses are.
At mid-morning, in the middle of helping warriors fill cauldrons of pitch on the Casanovia battlements above the main gate, Steve was alerted to a large group of people heading west along Route Six. The crowd made their way to the main gates because all other entrances to the city were barricaded.
“That’s all the people Commander Nereus left with!” Rylan, who was on the battlements working with Steve, exclaimed.
Their numbers are a lot lower, Steve could tell.
Stopping in front of the main gate, Grizz and Nereus stood in front of a group that looked tired, bloodied, and injured.
“We came under attack by a group of gryphons in the night,” Grizz used his booming voice to call up to Steve on the battlement. “We don’t think they were part of a clan or army, they just found our caravan and wreaked havoc on us. We lost so many people!”
Even from far off, Steve could see Grizz’s general demeanor was one of embarrassment, regret, and failure.
“Let us back into our city,” Nereus commanded.
Before Steve could speak, Rylan stepped forward and angrily spat, “All of you abandoned Casanovia when it needed you the most. Now you come crawling back, begging for its safety. Why should we let you in?”
“Because I say so,” Steve dauntlessly told Rylan, asserting his leadership position of the Casanovian-Almirian army. “Now,” he whispered, “go find Nash and Dart and bring them here.
“Open the gates!” Steve commanded after Rylan left, an order which was heard and carried out by two men inside the city, far below him. Then, as the portcullis raised, Steve announced to the crowd, “Come back in. Your homes await you.”
Heading to the closest watchtower on the wall, Steve descended its staircase. At the main gate, Nereus brushed past him without a word and headed into the city, but Grizz came up to Steve, barely able to make eye contact with the warrior.
“I couldn’t save them,” the Dwarf explained, shrugging his shoulders. “Even with my element and the other warriors at my side, hundreds who were with us were killed. We didn’t know what to do. We were less than halfway to Misengard, so we headed back here.”
Extending his hand to Grizz’s shoulder, Steve looked the Halfman directly in the eye and said, “I’m glad you survived, Grizz.”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” Grizz lamented. “I'm sorry for losing control with my drinking. I’m sorry for killing Krause. I’m sorry for not being there to help in the battle in which Kari was injured. And I'm sorry for abandoning you guys. I just wanted to get to Misengard faster to confront the Python. I was so angry at losing my family and home. I still am,” he admitted. “It's an empty life when all you care about is revenge.”
“You're our friend, and we care about you,” Steve tried to lift his spirits. “Our hearts were crushed when we saw Serendale in ruins and even more so when we heard your family had been killed. We didn't like seeing you drinking to alleviate the pain. We'll get the Python. Don't worry. And you’re not the only one who has an apology to make. I’m sorry for the presumption I made, accusing you of torturing Krater without knowing all the facts.”
“It’s fine,” Grizz waved it off with his hand. “At the time I was angry you didn’t believe me, but what I said in response was wrong. I shouldn’t have questioned your competency in battle. It seems like all of us who have seen the visions were put together by Alazar for a reason. We are a team. And you are our leader. I should be building you up instead of tearing you down. I don’t know how this battle is going to go and I still don’t know if it’s a good idea to stay. But the fact you believe so wholeheartedly in fighting for this city shows a level of courage I’ve never seen before. I’d be honored to fight alongside someone like that.”
“And I’m honored to fight by a Dwarf who’s so strong he can double someone over with a quick thrust of his weapon hilt to a stomach,” Steve laughed, letting the Dwarf know he forgave him and their problems were in the past. After Grizz laughed too, he extended his hand to Steve, who firmly shook it.
Having seen the group enter the city from afar off, Ty, Shana, and Copper ran up to Grizz. The Elf and Human shared their salutations, followed by Copper, who jumped on Grizz and slobbered all over him.
“There’s something we need to tell you about,” Steve told the Dwarf. “It turns out that Silas’s Army did not take Almiria. Many from their city were able to evacuate on ships here,” he directed Grizz’s attention to the numerous white and blue flags flapping in the cold wind atop each ship’s masts in the harbor.
Figuring Grizz was wondering, ‘How did Almiria know the army was headed for them?’ as Steve himself had questioned, Steve explained, “There were two boys who survive
d in Serendale and were able to warn Almiria. Bring them out!” he shouted, knowing Rylan was with the five-year-old and sixteen-year-old somewhere in the vicinity.
“Nash! How in the world? How is this possible?” Grizz started crying as he laid eyes on his son. Running forward, he fell to his knees and embraced his youngest boy tightly. “You’re alive?
“It was him who saved me,” Nash pointed to a boy standing back who had allowed the father and son to have the moment to themselves.
“Dart?” Grizz moved to hug his blacksmithing apprentice. “I don’t understand,” he wiped tears from his eyes and lifted Nash, setting him on his shoulders so that the boy’s legs dangled in front of his armored chest. “Last I knew, you were heading back with your parents and the rest of the caravan from Hunters Den to Serendale while the warriors and I searched for Sabertooth. What happened?”
“As soon as we got to Serendale, it was only a couple hours later that the attack happened. I knew you were still hunting for the monster and your family didn’t have anyone to protect them, so I grabbed a horse and sped off to the schoolhouse where I knew your wife worked and kids attended. When I got there, it was already boarded up by goblins who set it on fire. I quickly dug into the ground on the side of the building. Nash was the smallest boy.”
“I was the only one that could fit through the gap,” Nash explained. “I had to leave my crutches behind, but I was given new ones later on.”
Finishing their account, Dart said, “A Serendale warrior told us to ride for Almiria and warn them that there was an attack coming from Serendale and Celestial and tell them to evacuate. He told us not to look back and not to stop riding until we arrived there. So we did.”
“You saved my son,” Grizz told his apprentice. “I can never thank you enough.”
“And you may have saved tens of thousands of people through your actions,” Steve told the boys.
“Did you end up killing the monster?” Dart asked, intent on finding out if the Evergreen Forest Beast that had killed his brother had been slain.
“I told you I would,” Grizz happily revealed his fulfilled promise. “It was an albino Sabertooth. It’s dead now. Let me show you what saved my life during the encounter with him,” Grizz said, knowing his son would find his powers entertaining. He turned his plate, spaulders, and gauntlets into stone, showing off his elemental-improved armor.
“Woah!” Nash and Dart were impressed, realizing Grizz was one of Alazar’s elect.
“You three should go relax and catch up,” Steve suggested, picking up Nash’s new pair of crutches and handing them to the boy atop his father.
“Grizz, one last thing!” Steve jogged to catch up to him before he had gotten too far to ask a question he’d forget. “How did you and the rest of the caravan avoid being killed by the gryphons?”
“We were saved,” Grizz shared. “It was a big, red dragon that swooped in and completely obliterated the monsters attacking us. People were saying it was King Zoran’s legendary dragon. They said its name was...”
“Crimson Singe,” Steve finished the sentence at the same time he looked up and watched as Element’s most famous red dragon soared through the blue sky above.
Chapter 99
“That’s him!” Ty came alongside Steve, pointing upwards. “That’s Crimson Singe!”
“I don’t believe it!” Shana was shielding her eyes from the sun to see the bright-red scaled dragon.
Others around them were gasping, talking amongst themselves about the legendary monster. Dart kneeled next to Nash to explain the importance of what Crimson did in helping Oliver Zoran defeat the five-headed Imperial Dragon Draviakhan.
Swooping down and powerfully flapping his wings to lower himself to the ground in front of the main gates where the caravan had just been before reentering the city, Crimson Singe landed.
“I’m going to talk to him,” Steve told Ty and Shana. “Keep everyone back. We don’t need to scare him off by having a crowd of people swarming around him.”
This is so surreal, Steve thought as he began walking forward. This is the dragon from the stories Thatcher told me as a boy. And here he is, standing in front of me.
Ahead of him waited one of the most intimidating sights Steve had ever seen. Normally, dragons were twenty-five feet tall, but Crimson was closer to thirty-five. As Steve got closer, the giant red dragon, over five times his height, kneeled so he could get a closer look at the Human. Now I can see him even better, Steve noticed Crimson’s spikes on his back, massive talons, and menacing, ivory teeth.
“My name is Stephen Brightflame. You must be Crimson Singe.”
“I am,” the monster bellowed, speaking through a deep, voice, the bass of which rumbled through the sand Steve stood on.
“I’m don’t know if you heard, but your friend, Oliver Zoran, is dead. I know he raised you, so I’m sorry if you had to hear it first from me.”
“I heard,” Crimson stated, although he still looked sad at the news.
“I thought I saw you in Celestial,” Steve mentioned. “Were you there during the recent attack?”
“Yes, I heard about the attack, about a man named The Faceless and his army,” Crimson explained. “But I found out about it too late. Even flying to the capital as fast as I could, I wasn’t able to make it in time.”
Surprised that the red dragon could speak so fluently, Steve’s facial reaction must’ve shown, because Crimson began explaining monster language by saying, “It was other aerial monsters who told me. Dragons, gryphons, and phoenixes are the only Animal Monsters that Zebulon gave the ability to speak. And not even all of us can. It’s just like with Anthropormphic Monsters, only those who have minds capable of learning language can speak.”
Steve knew some about monsters’ ability to speak. He was reminded of an example he was told in Warrior Training. A goblin who has no elemental powers may be able to speak, but the strongest minotaur with all five elements may hardly have a vocabulary. Capacity for language is based on genetics and if the monster grows up and lives in a culture where other monsters speak.
“I’ve talked to monsters before,” Steve thought of his recent encounter with Krater, “but never one at your level of diction. I guess you pick up language the more you age.”
“That’s true,” Crimson confirmed, but then said, “Wait a minute! How old do you think I am?” Answering his own question, while heartily laughing, he said, “I’ll have you know, I am still in my prime. Dragons can live up to four times what you Humans do.”
Four-hundred years, Steve was astounded anytime he thought about the fact that some aerial monsters in cities had been around for four generations. “You’ve got quite a lot left then,” Steve calculated, knowing from the legend when Crimson had been born. “But a lot of us are surprised to see you. Everyone in the kingdom believed you died from injuries sustained in your battle nearly fifty years ago.”
“That was a lie Oliver and I created,” Crimson explained. “We knew Nightstrike wanted to kill me for killing his father, Draviakhan. For me to have lived in Celestial would’ve brought unwanted attention and possibly put the civilians in danger. So we spread a rumor I had succumbed to injuries so I could live in recluse in safety and peace.”
“Can you tell me about what he was like? Zoran that is,” Steve clarified. “I met him in his final moments of life, but was he really the great man people say he was?”
“Everything I’ve heard about the way he is portrayed is accurate,” Crimson shared. “Oliver was,” the dragon paused to think about the best way to describe the deceased king, “my best friend. I miss him.”
“Part of those who had a hand in his death are marching here. Will you help us in our fight against them?”
“I thought you'd never ask! I've been dying to get my hands on some of the monsters that attacked Celestial.”
“We’d be honored to have you. We need all the help we can get to overcome this army.”
“I will say this,” Crimson asserted, “ever since Zoran’s and my battle with Draviakhan, I no longer allow a rider in battle. It goes back to what I said earlier. I’m a prime target for the enemy. Everyone wants the glory of killing me because they want their own legacy. If I go down, I don't want anyone dying with me. I hope you weren’t planning on me being your mount.”
“No,” Steve answered, slightly disappointed he couldn’t fight with his childhood-favorite dragon in battle, but then Crimson gave him a glimmer of hope by saying, “I keep in mind though, that a monster has a higher survival rate when there’s another set of eyes on his or her back, so if the situation calls for it, maybe there will be a day I allow someone to fly on me again.”
“At the very least, I know you’ll help us as we seek to defend Casanovia,” Steve was assured. “I’ve got to get back to our preparations, but I’ll put you in touch with my friends Tyrus and Shana. Ty will be one of the aerial leaders during the battle, and Shana is handling a lot of the logistical stuff. Plus, it’d be nice for you to meet them because they, two of our other friends, and I have been receiving visions from Alazar along with the elements that previously belonged to King Zoran.”
“Small world,” Crimson smiled at the reveal that the man standing before him was one of Alazar’s Chosen. “Oliver always said, ‘being elect is an incredible privilege, but also an incredible burden.’ It was an honor working with him as the last elect, and it’ll be an honor working alongside you and your friends as well.”
For the final day of preparation, Shana worked on incorporating the returned Casanovians into the battle plans. Ty explained the strategies he and the other aerial warriors would be employing to Commander Nereus, who critiqued all of them, but once Crimson spoke with Ty and commended him for the ideas, Nereus supported them as well.
Meanwhile, Grizz spent the first half of the day meeting with Almiria’s Commander Artazair, learning of the attack plans with the ships in the harbor of which he would be apart of.