by Toni Cox
They would have to ride for about ten miles to reach the meadow below The Outlook. Maia settled in the saddle, concentrating on the mare with her mind, and taking in the scenery with her eyes. It would take at least three quarters of an hour over this terrain and she would make the most of it.
When Lady Luck suddenly closed her mind off, clamped her teeth on the bit, and dug her legs into the ground, Maia was taken completely off guard and almost toppled over the mare’s head with the sudden halt.
Regaining her seat - and composure - Maia reached out to the mare, which stood with trembling legs and refused to move even one more step in the direction the stallions were going. The mare wanted to turn around and run the other way as fast as her legs could carry her. She was terrified.
Lady Luck’s terror was so great, it started to affect Maia, and she looked around apprehensively, searching for the threat.
Blaid! Maia called out to him with her mind; he was too far by now to hear her shout.
In the distance, she saw Siana and Blaid turn their horses and make their way back to her. She had no chance to watch them approach as she had her hands full with trying to keep Lady Luck from running for home. By now, the mare was lathered in sweat, her fear a tangible thing between them.
“What happened?” Blaid asked.
“I have never seen her do this. I am sorry, Maia,” Siana said.
“She is terrified,” Maia let them know. “Something has her spooked and there is nothing I can do to calm her.”
“Can you not calm her with your mind?” Blaid asked.
“I have been trying,” Maia replied, “but whatever she is afraid off has left such a deep mark on her that I simply cannot get past her defences. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to hold her here.”
“Maybe we …”
A deafening scream cut Siana’s sentence short, and then the air was filled with clacking and hissing. Lady Luck, her eyes rolling in their sockets in terror, reared high. Maia knew there was no convincing the mare that she was safe, so Maia jumped to the ground and let the terrified animal go. The moment Maia was on the ground, Lady Luck shot off towards the city, soon out of sight.
“What is going on?” Siana finally managed to say.
“Look.” Maia pointed to the rise ahead of them.
The three of them watched in awe as first Midnight’s enormous black form rose from behind the hill, soon followed by a scale of Fire Dragon’s so large, Maia could not count them all.
Within moments, they swarmed above them, the noise almost unbearable. Siana laughed; a sound full of joy and victory. Blaid took Maia’s hand and squeezed it.
As the light faded, the dragons began to settle on the fields and cliffs around them. Midnight took up most of the space of the meadow they were on, while the smaller Fire Dragon’s found what space they could around him, or on the mountain above him. Even in the dull light, Maia could see their beautiful, red colouring.
Out of the chaos, one especially bright dragon made his way towards them. Maia could tell he was a drake by the shape of his breast armour, which was markedly different on the females. With intelligent eyes, he investigated the two strangers, before bending his head to bring it level with Siana.
“I would like you to meet Vulkan,” Siana said as she stroked her dragon’s scaly hide. “It seems your dragon has decided to bring them all here, instead of us going to them.” She laughed again.
“I now understand what Midnight meant,” Blaid said. “When we were in the gardens, Midnight said he would fetch an army. At the time, his thoughts were too jumbled for us to comprehend, but it is clear now that he has brought the dragons here to fight with him in our war.”
In the distance, Midnight rumbled his agreement.
“All of them?” Siana asked.
“Yes,” Maia confirmed.
“I have thirty-seven warriors under my command that have trained dragons of their own. They already have their orders. There are, however, over four hundred dragons here. If we could utilise them all …” Her thoughts petered out and she just stared at the blanket of red that had spread over the mountains in front of them.
“Four hundred,” Blaid said in awe.
Midnight rumbled again, a tendril of smoke escaping his right nostril. Two Fire Dragons hopped out of reach, squawking.
“Midnight says there are several old ones, some nesting, and about thirty hatchlings. In total, there are three hundred and eighty-eight dragons that have pledged their allegiance to Midnight and will follow him into battle.”
Blaid enclosed their hand clasp with his other hand. “We may have a chance yet, Maia. We are going to save our people.”
Trumpets blared loudly as she looked out over the castle; the early morning sun just breaching the snow-capped mountains to the east. In the city, everyone was in the street; dancing, waving flags, singing songs; ready for the war procession due to leave within the hour.
Maia had hoped to leave quietly, but Lord Elderbow would have none of it. Once the dragons had returned to their secret roost in the mountains, they had ridden to the cave where they had hidden their things. Lilith had been ecstatic to see them.
Blaid had packed all their belongings and then Maia had ridden Shadowhound back to the castle, while Blaid had ridden Lilith.
“She sure is a fine animal,” Siana commented. “She is a worthy replacement for Shadowhound.”
Back at the castle, they gave the news about the dragons to the king, who decided to celebrate by bestowing them with gifts.
“I will be marching with my main army,” he said, “so I may not see you until the war. I want you to have this.”
To Siana he gave a shield, fashioned from dragon hide, impervious to sword and arrow. In design, it matched Siana’s style and fierceness, and it sat on her arm with hardly a weight to it. The king also promised to look after Lunar and bring the wolf along on the march to reunite the two of them in Grildor, but Siana assured him that the wolf was quite capable of travelling on dragonback.
To Blaid he gave new fighting leathers, also fashioned from dragon hide. They were similar in style to what he normally wore, which was in the style of Caverna Estralis Maia now knew, but more elaborate and with the royal emblem embellished upon the sleeves, marking him once more as a son of Elbendal and the royal line.
Not expecting a gift, Maia was taken aback when the king and queen presented her with a helmet. It was beautifully crafted out of a strange crystal only found in the mines of Caverna Estralis, inlaid with veins of titanium. This crystal - leandreum - was the most valuable commodity on Elveron due to its rarity and its special properties. To possess a helmet made entirely out of leandreum made her immeasurably wealthy. It was not for its value that she appreciated the gift, but for its properties, for it afforded the wearer complete protection, enhanced hearing, enhanced eyesight, and the crystal would deflect any metal aimed at it.
Lord and Lady Elderbow would not hear her protests about such an elaborate gift and kept reminding her, hopefully soon, she would be part of their family, too. Blushing, she accepted the gift, simply so they would stop talking about it. They did not seem to know about the custom about Life and Death Elementals not being allowed to be together.
Finally, Siana went off to pack her things for their departure in the morning. The moons stood high in the sky and they should have gotten some sleep, but there was one more thing Blaid wanted to show her and, with everything that had happened during the evening, no one had allocated them a chaperon.
“We cannot leave Caverna Estralis before I have shown you what makes this city so special. It may take us about two hours. Are you prepared to stay up this long even if we travel all day tomorrow?”
“Aye,” she said with a lopsided smile, curious to find out what else there was to see. “I don’t think I can sleep anyway. If it was possible, I would have left already.”
“Then let us go.”
Taking her hand, Blaid led her along a narrow corridor and t
hen down a set of narrow steps. Maia thought there must be as many hidden passages in this castle as there were normal corridors.
Once on level ground again, they walked through a long tunnel in the dark, the only light coming from the little flame Blaid had conjured up within his palm.
After a while, Maia felt a breeze on her face and not long after they stepped through a low arch into the open. Millions of stars shone down on them in the dark, the city lights a long way behind them.
They walked along a well-kept path hugging the side of the mountain, cherry trees on either side, until they reached the entrance to a cave. Here, Blaid took a torch off a bracket on the wall and lit it, then led the way into the narrow opening of the cave.
Holding the torch high so Maia could see, Blaid showed her the paintings on the tunnel wall as they walked. The images depicted ranged from simple animals, to scenes of battle. Some images were clearly those of history, others were of more recent events. All of them were of exceptional quality and their colours brilliant, even in the torchlight.
Further down the passage, the murals ended. As the walls closed in and the ceiling lowered, Blaid took the lead and they walked at a steady pace for at least a hundred steps. Maia was just starting to feel uneasy, when she felt a breeze on her face again and she knew there to be an opening ahead.
“Mind your step,” Blaid said in a hushed voice and took her hand to help her over a low ridge.
The ground on the other side was soft, probably sand, or soil, but Maia could barely see anything past the circle of light from Blaid’s torch. The slight breeze that brushed against her face felt eerie and unnatural, giving her shivers down her back.
“This way,” Blaid whispered.
“Where are we?”
She, too, spoke in a muted voice, unsure of why Blaid was whispering; she sensed no person or animal within their surroundings, but at the same time was sure that the place they were at needed to be treated with respect.
“The Cavern of a Million Lives.”
Again, Maia shivered.
Still holding Maia’s hand, Blaid led her over the soft ground. It was impossible to tell where they were going; the light from the torch blinded in the absolute blackness around them.
The ground sloped gently downwards and soon Maia felt the presence of a large body of water ahead of them. The air cooled the closer they came to the unnaturally still lake and her shivers intensified.
“Here.” Blaid guided her around a large object. “Take a seat.”
Maia felt the object with her hands and realised it was a large, flat boulder. Turning, she took a seat upon it, relieved when Blaid came to sit beside her. To her dismay, he then stuck the torch into the soft sand at their feet to extinguish it.
Complete darkness immediately enveloped them. The urge to create light was irresistible within Maia, but Blaid draped his arm over her shoulders.
“Shh, do not be afraid. Open your senses. Listen. Feel. Tell me what you see without your eyes.”
Maia leaned into Blaid’s embrace and tried to relax. She closed her eyes, but it made no difference. After a while, she thought she felt the breeze again. She concentrated on it. The air had a stale quality to it; not fresh like what she had felt when they had exited the tunnel earlier.
Lifting her nose, Maia concentrated on the smell and thought she detected a trace of mustiness that was so typical of caves. It was so faint, however, it led her to believe them to be in a cave larger than any she had ever been in before.
“Large cave.”
If she concentrated really hard, she could even hear the faint movement of the water of the lake. She had thought the lake still, but she now noticed its minute wavelets.
“Very large lake.”
“Maia?”
“Hmm.”
“Are your eyes closed?”
“Aye.”
“Open them.”
Obediently, she opened her eyes, not expecting to see anything. Yet, the moment they fluttered open, she clearly saw Blaid’s face in front of her, lit from above by starlight. Startled, she looked up. She had been so sure they were in a cave.
“Oh.”
High above her, the dome-like ceiling of the enormous cavern shone bright with white stars. With wonder, she stared at them, watching them flicker and pulsate with light. They varied in size, but the ceiling was so high, she could not have said how big or small the smallest of them was.
“What are they?” she whispered.
“They are the souls of our ancestors,” Blaid answered. “We believe that when we die to go to the Afterlife, a piece of our soul comes here to watch over those that remain behind. This is the Cavern of a Million Lives and what you are looking at are Soul Crystals. Watch.” He paused. “Elders, I bring before you Princess Maia Longshadow of the Longshadow Clan. Life Elemental and partner of my heart. Will you give us your blessings?”
Taken unawares by his request, she squeezed his hand tightly and both waited with bated breath. Maia did not know what to expect and mostly watched Blaid for a reaction.
Then, a deep thrum sounded throughout the cavern, pulsating, and a flicker of light caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look over the lake just in time to see a ripple of pale blue light keep pace with the pulsating thrum, moving across the crystals as if they were alive.
The wave of light passed over them and they tilted their heads to follow it as it made its descent to the far side of the cavern. Once it reached the end, the thrum faded and they were left in silence once more.
“That was beautiful,” Maia said, breathlessly.
“Maia.” Blaid swallowed hard; he could barely speak. “They have given their blessing. I no longer care what the people of this world regard as right or wrong. We belong together. Nothing in this world would ever keep me away from you, and I know you feel the same about me. I know there is still much we have to do, but once it is all done and the war is won, Maia, please, will you be my wife?”
Aaron led his party carefully along the narrow, twisted paths beneath the main routes of Shadow Hall. Jasmin had shown them to him once; the children played here, pretending to have their very own city.
He raised his hand for them to stop and remain silent as a Vampyre walked across the path above their heads. They waited for him to pass before they continued. Silently, he thanked the Mother that he had sent Wolf away the moment they reached the city.
At first, Aaron had struggled to concentrate when he woke in the morning. What had happened during the night, and every night since that first four nights ago, kept replaying in his mind, and keeping the foolish grin off his face proved to be a full-time job. Nothing could have prepared him for the wonder of loving an Elf.
Once they reached Shadow Hall, however, and they discovered the city’s calamity, Aaron’s focus returned. Now, cold, calculated and angry, he had taken charge of Rothea’s Regiment. No one had dared challenge him on that decision, not even Rothea.
They had spent some carefully planned time gathering what information they could and, once he ensured himself that Jasmin was safe, made the decision to assist Jaik, which was why they now found themselves on their way to the Hall of the Guardians.
The chaos that had settled on Shadow Hall made Aaron grind his teeth in anger. His travel weariness forgotten, replaced by a duty to protect and avenge his city, he single-mindedly led his men through the ravaged city, picking up warriors of various Regiments and the Legion as he went.
By the time they met with Elmar and several Commanders and their Regiments, their group had swollen to over a hundred men and women.
“Aye, it is to the Hall of the Guardians we are to go. Jaik may be in trouble,” Elmar replied to Aaron’s questioning.
“We have gathered the same information. My men are ready to fight. Lead the way.”
The time for hiding in the shadows was past and they marched the rest of the way in the open, dealing with any threat head-on as it presented itself. They were
now a group so large that nothing stood in their way.
When they reached the Hall of the Guardians, the place was eerily silent. Looking in through the windows, they saw some of Jaik’s men kneeling on the floor of the large entrance hall, knives to their throats and their hands bound behind their backs. Vampyres paced silently between them.
It did not take long for them to make a decision. Upon hearing Jaik’s scream of torment from within, their minds were made up and they stormed through the doors, slaying the Vampyres before they had time to react.
They freed their bound brethren as they passed through the hall towards the oaken doors of the king’s chambers; with the sheer weight of their numbers and momentum, they broke through the doors and into the room.
The few Vampyres within posed no threat. Within moments, they lay dead, Aaron’s sword still quivering, stuck in the back of the one he just killed.
Although crowded to capacity, the large room was eerily silent as everyone watched Jaik bend over Silas’ still form, tears falling from his eyes.
“Jaik …”
“Not now, Aaron,” Jaik said harshly.
“Please, listen.”
“Leave, just leave,” Jaik yelled at them.
The Commanders ordered their men out until only the Guard remained behind in the room. Rothea and Aaron stood by the door, watching in anguish as Jaik sobbed over the broken body of his mentor.
“Filithrin,” Aaron whispered to the tall Elf standing a few strides away.
The blonde Elf frowned at Aaron, but took the few steps that separated them.
“What?” he asked.
“Is there any life left in the old man? Have you checked?”
Filithrin narrowed his eyes, but did not answer. Instead, he went towards Jaik and knelt beside him. Careful not to disturb his Commander and grieving friend, Filithrin reached out and felt for Silas’ pulse. For a heartbeat, or two, nothing happened. Then, Filithrin’s eyes widened and he nodded ever so slightly.