by Liandra Jake
"Due to his guilt involving my family's death, he put himself under my command." Arend continued, holding up the hand with the grey ring.
The three immediately backed away. "No human can control a Pendragon." The stained one said.
"Who says I'm completely human?" Arend asked as he waved the skewer back and forth.
"You know such involvement with our kind makes you a danger to all Pendragons?" A fourth Pendragon asked as it joined the others from somewhere above.
He was significantly larger than the others, but nowhere near King's size. "Just how many Pendragons are in this desert!?" Arend exclaimed.
"There are other groups like ours throughout the different Steppes in this region. The stigma of these lands usually prevents any of us from being discovered. My name is Seing."
"Arend, Corenden, Iode Michael." Arend replied, naming them as they raised a hand.
"As interesting as this all is, we need to get going." Arend said as he stuffed the shells into his bag and returned Michael's lamp back to normal.
"You won't get out of here before nightfall." The stained one said.
"I don't care. Our friend needs our help. We have to get to the nomads as soon as possible." Arend replied.
"I have a proposition for you. In return for not telling of our presence here, my children and I can bring you to the nomads." Seing offered.
"Those are you kids?" Corenden asked. "What are their names? They never bothered to tell us."
Seing frowned, glaring back at his children. "I know I didn't raise you three to be so rude. Hurry up and introduce yourselves!"
"My name's Siv." The female said.
"Kenter." The stained one said.
"Cell." The last one said.
"Good. Now what do you say on my proposition?" Seing asked.
Arend shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's for our benefit all the way anyway."
Seing crouched down. Without hesitation, Arend hopped on. Corenden flew over to Cell, felling almost weightless to him. Michael awkwardly scrambled onto Siv. Iode and Kenter stared at each other for a long time.
"We both don't want to do this. Can we agree on that?" Kenter asked. Iode nodded. "The sooner we get this over with the better." Kenter grunted as Iode climbed onto his back.
"Why don't you tell us about yourself? We don't get many visitors." Seing suggested.
"I myself would like to know more about Arend." Iode said.
"I have to agree on that." Michael replied.
"Hold on." Arend said with a grin. Michael and Iode had a confused look. Seing leapt skyward, landing on the next scale. The other three followed soon after.
"AAAAA-" Michael screamed all the way up.
"For most of my life…" Arend began.
- - Home? - -
Kyrel stood before the gates of the BluZeph mansion. A massive spread of land in the far west of Karakas. The fire city of Fírstŏn was a short journey to the south. Kyrel was no longer dressed in his usual cloths. A blue blazer, black slacks, and dark blue dress shoes replaced them. He still wore his gloves as a reminder of his Guild membership. His usual clothing was stashed with a few toiletries in a suitcase in his right hand.
His hair was slick and combed back. He began his long walk up the blue-cobble driveway. The front garden was lush and filled with many vivid flowers. The occasional garden hand glanced his way briefly as he passed. To the left of the front doors, an ornately carved round wooden table was set out in the yard with matching chairs. Seated at it were affluent blue-eyed, orange-haired people enjoying afternoon tea.
Kyrel stopped at the edge of the driveway, his family three steps away.
"Father." Kyrel said, holding his head high.
He received no reply from the older gentleman sitting at the table. The others seated with him made no acknowledgement of Kyrel's presence. Even the butler made no move as he stood beside the man. A shift in the air stirred Kyrel's cloths.
"Erasur Iso-Zenith BluZeph!" King barked from Kyrel's side.
The old gentleman leapt back out of his chair, a look of shock on his face. "King! Why are you here!?" Kyrel demanded.
"I know what it's like facing your family like this. I came because all of Arend' friends are my own. You need someone who isn't afraid of these air-headed people." King replied.
"You… Why are you here?" Erasur asked, loosening his tie as if there was a fight to be had.
"If I was here to fight you, you would know." King replied.
Erasur lowered his hands slightly. The butler cleaned the spilt tea and picked back up the chair without a second glance at King. A young women about sixteen and in a pink frilly dress spoke up.
"Daddy, why are you so uncomposed?" She asked.
"Sorry my dear, but this monster and I have fought long ago. His kind has a tendency to hold bitter grudges." Erasur replied.
King's tail twitched, but he held his tongue. Kyrel spoke again. "Father…" He took a tentative step forward.
"Stop." Erasur looked more through Kyrel than at him. Kyrel stopped, his foot tickling the tips of the grass beneath. King nudged him forward, forcing him onto the grass. Erasur frowned. A servant stepped past Kyrel, whispering something to Erasur. Leaving with the servant, he said something under his breath to the butler. "Watch the Pendragon… And him as well." The butler bowed his heady slightly in reply.
The butler stepped before King. "My name is Walter Bleath; I shall be your escort during your time here." He said with a bow. King nodded his head in respect.
"Do you know when I can speak with my father?" Kyrel asked.
"The Master of the House shall be available for dinner, as he usually finishes business by then." Walter turned back to King. "The main hall is large enough for you to be present, but some preparations are needed."
"Too dirty?" King asked.
The butler nodded. "In the mean time I suggest taking a look at the gardens around the estate. Flora from every land can be found here." Walter suggested.
King shook his head. "I've seen enough of such plants. In my time, I've traveled much of this world. I am however, interested in a few things in your libraries." King replied.
Walter raised his eyebrows. "I did not know you could read."
"I'm over 900 years old. You pick up things after a while." King replied.
"Very well. While you are properly bathed I will have the librarian look for your requests and have them delivered to the dining hall for you pleasure." Walter said as he walked to the south, waving King after him.
Walter led them into a small courtyard with a tall, gapless wooden fence. Locking the gate behind them, Walter relaxed slightly and called a group of maids into the courtyard.
King sat down, yawning widely. "This Pendragon is a guest here, but needs to be properly cleaned before he is to be allowed inside." Walter explained to them.
"Don't you think this is demeaning?" Kyrel asked as the maids fetched tubs, brushes, and lots of shampoo.
"Kyrel do you know how demeaning it is to have to clean yourself with your tongue? The last time I got treatment like this was before Kronth and Arend' night out. I'd much prefer a good scrubbing by some lovely ladies than leaving my fur to the whim of the wind." King replied.
Kyrel stepped back away from the splash zone as the maids began their work. Walter shimmied over to stand next to him. The two watched as King was bathed. To start off, King was soaked with a series of hoses that where then turned to the tubs. Climbing up stepladders, they stared the arduous task of brushing out the dirt and grime from his fur.
As King got worked over, Kyrel and Walter talked. "Things haven't changed much." Kyrel remarked.
"No Master Kyrel, things have changed." Walter replied. "Since you left and joined a Guild, it's become very quiet around here, but not a powerful silence. I do not understand why he treats you like he does, but it was going against his wishes that infuriated him." Walter replied.
"That's because my father's afraid of tarnishing the family name,
a name he refuses to set on me and yet still tries to control me." Kyrel replied harshly.
"The Master was raised like that, as was his father before him. He only wants to protect what they've worked so hard for." Walter said.
"That's just it!" Kyrel exclaimed. "I've worked hard to get myself where I am. He's just too busy 'working' to see what his oldest son has been building for himself! What they've worked so hard for can never grow if they try to shelter it. It takes a few disasters for something to better itself." Walter didn't reply.
King was into his third shampoo cycle when Walter spoke. "You're young Kyrel. You have a whole lifetime ahead of you and yet you speak like someone who's already given up on himself. You can't give up on what he's done for you. The passing of your mother brought him to his knees. It was the second time I've seen him cry, the first being when he learned your mother was pregnant with you.
"He truly loves you no matter what you think. You are all that remains of her and he wants to make sure you last in this unforgiving world. I believe he's forced to be so callous to you lest the Head of the Family cast you out completely."
"I'm not here to rekindle relationships." Kyrel replied. "My friends need something from him and I've come to collect." Kyrel walked away, leaving his suitcase with Walter.
King watched him go, but made no move to follow. Walter left to convey King's request to pull a few things from the libraries' shelves. A few hours later, King's fur was cleaner than it ever had been before. He dried off high above before landing at the front doors. Walter awkwardly slid off his back.
"That was fantastic. I never knew flying felt so free." Walter said as he brushed a few stray hairs back into place.
"You're one of few that have ridden a Pendragon, let alone one like me." King replied.
"How so?" Walter asked.
"Not all Pendragons can fly. What makes it so we can is completely arbitrary. Some entire families can, or just one out of all of them. My brother was also able to fly." King explained.
"I take it he was a victim of the Pendragon Hunts?" Walker asked, taking a hint at King's tone. King nodded.
Walter dipped his head in respect. The two walked through the front doors. The entrance hall was gigantic, and King found it easy to maneuver in the high ceilings and wide rooms of the mansion.
"These halls were once home to BluZephs that could lift upwards of a ton with their powers and fly on the wind itself." Walter said as he gazed lovingly at the swirling designs on the walls.
King laid down at the end of the dining hall, which spanned the entire width of the mansion. Two large windows were at either side, letting in the sunlight and fantastic gardens surrounding the mansion. Walter stood by King's side as a servant left to see where the librarian was so King can get his books. The servant came back with a curious librarian and a stack of books in his hands.
"A Pendragon!" The librarian exclaimed as he adjusted his glasses.
"He came with Master Kyrel. He will be waiting here until dinner." Walter explained.
"My name is Fole Crawly." He said as he bowed to King. "So, just how old are you?" Fole asked.
"Not that it matters, but about 965 years. Fole's eyebrows shot up. "So you were alive during the last two Great Wars."
"Yes, but I'd rather forget them. Nothing good comes from those times. Every technological advancement came at the cost of millions of lives. Those wars almost wiped humans off the face of the planet." King replied.
"So the billions of lives lost aren't just a myth?" Foe said with a scared look.
"Neither was the dragon. But the numbers would be closer to trillions if you factor in non-human deaths and the centuries where any kind of conception, human or not, was near impossible. There's a reason the world's population never recovered for 600 years." King said.
Fole, Walter, and the servant were shocked. "However, the planet developed a neat trick to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. Possession and Changed didn't appear until 200 years ago, when conception returned to normal." King continued.
Fole was enchanted by King's words, pulling out a ragged book and scribbling down what King had said. "You are the world's most important source of information."
It was well past nightfall when dinner was finally served. Erasur and the two blue-eyed BluZephs sat at the far end of the long table along with Kyrel's stepmother, Kyrel at the opposite end with King. The day-shift servant and maids ate with them, filling the space in between. The table was laid out with foods of many kinds. From simple, single ingredient dishes to complex ones only a master chef could produce. King didn't go unnoticed; the head chef personally looked up an array of dishes he would like and set it out on a large platter for King to enjoy.
Kyrel only picked at his food, effectively swirling it around in ever smaller circles. He finally stopped when half the food on the table was gone and King was on his third platter, much to the chef's pleasure. "Father, I need the Aero Fìra." Kyrel said suddenly. Erasur stopped mid-bite, looking down the table at Kyrel as the piece of steak on his fork slowly leaked its juices.
Slowly setting his fork down, he addressed Kyrel. "Why?" Kyrel was taken slightly off guard by how quickly he replied.
"Celestial Rim, a Guild organized with people who wield Legendary Weapons has become aggressive. The Guild Alliance has declared them hostile and the chance for a war is great. The Legendary Weapons have to be hidden to prevent their advantage from increasing."
Erasur laughed, joined in by Kyrel's half-siblings. "You should go ask that man Arend for help! He's more likely to help your cause than you are capable of wielding the bow!" Kyrel's half-brother said in between laughs.
Kyrel let out his own laugh, silencing the others. The servants continued to eat quietly. "You don't know what Guild I am in do you?" Kyrel was met with shrugs. "I'm a member of Dragon's Den, the same Guild as Arend."
"I can vouch for him. I'm currently under Arend' command." King added.
Erasur's eyebrows shot up. "This man must be truly something if he was able to tame you. Maybe a Myshcell could benefit more from the bow than a dirty BluZeph." Erasur's outspoken thoughts were cut short when King crushed the table under his massive paws. He was nose-to-nose with Erasur.
"Kyrel is my friend. I don't care if you must disown him, but speaking of him like he's a weakling insults me, Arend, and the entirety of Dragon's Den." Kyrel's half siblings had stepped back from the table, ready to face King head on.
Erasur hadn't moved. He took his napkin and wiped the splattered food off of his face. In a single motion, Erasur shot to his feet and delivered a backhanded slap across King's muzzle.
King went flying into a wall. "Know your place Pendragon." Erasur straightened his coat and turned to leave.
Kyrel shot over the table, punching Erasur as hard as he could across the hall. A blast of wind shifted the furniture and scattered the food. Erasur landed on his feet, steadied by his own wind. Kyrel's stepmother and half siblings were in a state of shock. The servants had the same shocked look.
Erasur gingerly touched the bruise on his cheek. "This isn't a matter of family pride!" Kyrel shouted. "There's more at stake than the 'household name.' A good man has died because some jackass caught him in the cross fire! Because of his mistake, the Alliance has looked deeper into Celestial Rim and we've discovered they've destroyed numerous Syndicates in search of the Legendary Weapons! Others surrendered and were forced to act as they ordered!
"I may be weak in your eyes, but I'm strong. Strong enough to face you for my friends. Strong enough to fight against any Legendary Weapon to protect them. Right now you have two choices; fight alongside us or be destroyed by Celestial Rim. I know you're too stubborn to let them control you." The dining hall was silent. The servants hadn't started cleaning due to the intense presence Kyrel had as he stared down his father.
"He's right my dear." Kyrel's stepmother said. "If you truly want a strong heir, look to the boy that is staring you down like you were the one who kille
d his friend."
Walter spoke up as well. "Kyrel has never been a bad child. He tried time and time again to reach the lofty goals you set for him. These friends of his in Dragon's Den must be spectacular if he can face a man like you without fear in his heart." Walter's words were met with a murmur of agreement from the servants.
Erasur let out a long sigh. "He has gotten more confidence since he left. As long as he can handle Aero Fìra's power, I have no qualms with him taking it."
Kyrel's eyes lit up. "Thank yo-" King leapt over Kyrel, destroying a gigantic ball of molten rock with a powerful head butt. The force of their impact knocked King back like Erasur had done previously.
A man was standing just outside the dining hall, a hole broken through the large window. Shards of glass fell around him as he stepped across the threshold. Pieces of the molten rock set fire to the area around them. He had orange tinted grey eyes and black speckled grey hair. A black bomber jacket with bright orange fluff covered his chest. A pair of black leather pants and black boots completed the outfit. A large handgun was in his left hand, the barrel larger than Kyrel's fist.