“Stone, how goes the training? Do we have some exceptional knights in the offing?”
Stone paused and then nodded as he considered his response. “A few are promising your majesty but most are hopeless. Many have the desire to be a knight but not nearly as many have the skill. Desire alone can get one many things but not a knighthood.”
The king nodded. “That’s too bad because you can never have enough knights.”
“What if we had as many knights as there are stars in the sky?” Stone smiled.
“I suppose if we had that many we wouldn’t be able to feed them all but you know what I mean.” The king placed his hand on Stone’s shoulder. “Is Alexa again with child?”
The knight’s eyebrows tightened. “No I don’t believe so your majesty.”
Darius crossed his arms as his eyes met Stone’s. “Why not?”
The question had taken Stone aback. “I beg your pardon?”
Darius sighed. “Stone, I’d like to see her slow down a bit and another child might do it. Every time I send knights out on my behalf she wants to go with them and I don’t want Abbey to be a motherless child.”
Stone smiled. “So you want us to fill the castle with kids?”
The king laughed. “Perhaps not all the way up to the top but a few more wouldn’t hurt.” Darius suddenly looked skyward, as if he was inexplicably drawn to something up there. He gazed at a speck that started to grow larger, whatever it was it was quite high, barely within viewing distance.
Stone also looked up but couldn’t see anything. “What do you see?”
“I’m not sure but there’s something up there. A dragon or a bird.” The king had the most awful feeling and a sense that he had lived this before, and soon he could see that it was a dragon, a few seconds after that he could tell it was in fact a grey dragon. “Oh my good lord! It’s a dragon! A grey!”
Charox swooped down and was so large that he blocked the sun; his huge wings cutting through the air producing its own wind, creating a large dust devil in the courtyard. The monster circled as it took in the sights of the kingdom, appreciating all the frightened faces. The beast headed directly for a collision with the castle, the king was sure that it was going to destroy part of it but luckily for all concerned their shield was working and the dragon smashed into it hard and then slid down. Charox reappeared furious as he hovered, launching a huge ball of fire and was disappointed when it didn’t penetrate the shield, instead deflecting harmlessly. He flew up to the top of the shield and stared at it, then set down upon it, watching the humans gather below. Charox continued to enjoy all the scared faces pointing up at him, but still they should be nothing but ashes by now. He tapped his claws onto the shield which sounded like he was tapping on glass, considering his next course of action. Prior to his nap he had never seen such powerful enchantments. The dragon lay down on the barrier and pretended to go to sleep, but what he was doing was going through spells that might be able to take care of that damn shield.
Stone stared up at the beast with his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Your majesty, should the shield disappear that monster will fall upon us.”
Darius couldn’t take his eyes off the dragon. “Indeed. Best you assemble the knights and bring the catapult. We could sure use Adorok right about now. I’d wager that thing would destroy the entire kingdom and everyone in it.”
Charox went through more than a hundred spells in his head but none of them appeared in green which would indicate that they would succeed against the shield. It seemed that he didn’t have a spell that would actually penetrate it. The dragon snorted and took to the air and headed east, now more than a little discouraged.
THIRTY-ONE
THE SUN WAS A THUMB WIDTH over the horizon if the thumb was held at arm’s length, puffy white clouds filled the sky and the morn was already warm, a black dragon was spotted in the far distance launching a burst of flame at something, or perhaps simply amusing itself. Dragon fire after sundown could be quite entertaining. A breeze blew out of the west with the slightest smell of smoke from a campfire.
General Dochacra was on his horse looking down at the kingdom of Bywood in the distance, its conical spire being visible over the forest, the castle was soon to be his headquarters of that he had no doubt, an area as good as any to branch out from he thought. He had a scar across where his left eye used to be but now an empty eye socket. This was the land of a 101 kingdoms and some of them were relatively small and distant from one another; Bywood only had about a thousand citizens, an army of a little less than half the population, but had been ten times its size before joining the war against the Yurrosy. It would take decades to fully recover.
The lanky King Emerson of Bywood had no idea that his kingdom would soon be under siege as he made his way up the spiral staircase where a guard was waiting to point out what he had observed, between the trees of the thick forest one could just partially make out the army that had gathered in the distance. Of course the king immediately realized that it wasn’t good news, usually wasn’t when one received word of unknown warriors in the area.
“Do you see them your majesty?” the guard asked.
“I do not see anything except trees.” It wasn’t that the king didn’t see them but he certainly wished he didn’t.
“Follow the large oak and then up to the left. Do you see them now your majesty?”
A bit of red caught his eye. “Yes alright I see them. One thing is for certain we are incapable of withstanding much of a siege.” The king thought about it, the nearest kingdom that might help was more than five days distant, and that would be riding as fast as the horses could manage, never mind that that kingdom was in no shape to come to their aid.
“What are your orders your majesty?”
The king was silent for a time as he thought. He envisioned his head on a pike. “I would suggest that we all run around and panic.”
“Your majesty?”
King Emerson had a faraway look in his eyes. He continued to have nightmares, hearing the screams and cries from the last war. “I want you and you alone to check out their numbers; don’t get too close or you won’t be coming back, and tell no one of what I have asked of you.”
Alphonse knew they probably had scouts out there as well and so did the king but he couldn’t refuse. If he died right now it would be over and done with, perhaps the best he could hope for was a quick death; he had always looked upon the darker side of things. Thus far life had not been kind.
When Alphonse returned that afternoon with the bad news, that they were far outnumbered by the new enemy, the king sent out two emissaries on white horses carrying white flags to see what the terms of surrender would be.
General Dochacra watched as the emissaries approached and he wasn’t at all impressed. Did they want to surrender without even a single battle? What kind of cowards were these?
Emissary Henry. “I bring a message directly from king Emerson. What are your terms for the surrender of Bywood?”
General Dochacra turned his head slightly to examine what he considered to be an inferior warrior. “There are no terms for surrender and we take no prisoners. Best you enjoy the next few days before we arrive to take your heads.”
They looked at one another and then trotted off back towards Bywood, with one fellow receiving three arrows in his back and falling dead off his horse, the other permitted to continue on his way.
THIRTY-TWO
THE FULL MOON REFLECTED IN THE GURGLING BROOK, the image shimmering near where the white tailed deer was drinking, casting sparkles of light that appeared to dance. A toad jumped on a rock in the brook, then in the water and out, continuing on its way. The deer looked up to see where the noise was coming from, ready to bolt if necessary. It was three and a half hours after midnight and Marcus was again sleepwalking in the courtyard, mumbling to himself, gesturing wildly with his hands. The doe was now fixated on him but as the boy spoke angrily the deer bolted, best to be safe lest she take an arrow, that
very morning she had barely escaped one that remained stuck in a birch tree.
Marcus wandered around conversing with his imaginary companions, stomping his foot hard to make a point as he started to repeatedly shake his head. He stopped suddenly as if he’d felt something, bent down and dug into the soil with his bare hands for a time, then suddenly wandered off into a different direction, searching for something that escaped him. A goat approached Marcus; he stopped and started a conversation with the goat. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
That rose bush I ate was delicious; Marcus imagined the goat as a young boy with a silver staff, wondering why a boy would be eating a rose bush, not receiving any affection the goat wandered off. Marcus took up a spot near the well, turned around on the spot but wasn’t quite satisfied with his location, moving away from the well to locate another area that felt more appropriate, one where he could feel more energy surging up from the soil. Several minutes later he discovered a location that felt right, and taking a single step to the left it was perfect, plenty of energy flowed from it, so much so that it felt warm.
Marcus threw his arms into the air, summoning white emanations of energy, joining with a whirlwind of golden elements that exited the soil; the white energy collided with the gold and slowly formed another golden knight. Satisfied the sorcerer lay on the ground and commenced to snore loudly.
Raina arrived the next morning as the sun slid over the horizon, riding up on her stallion she discovered Marcus staring at not one but two golden knights standing side by side; the new knight was just a little shorter than the other. The sound of the carpenter’s hammers was heard as they had commenced work on the watch tower, which was to be twice as tall as the castle.
“Marcus, you made another knight?”
“I guess so,” said Marcus.
“You don’t remember conjuring it?” She walked up to Marcus and kissed him in greeting; he wanted to do a lot more kissing but he supposed it would have to wait.
“Don’t remember a thing. This one is a girl.” Marcus wished that he could stop the sleepwalking but had no control over it; maybe he would eventually outgrow it.
That fact made Raina smile. “Really? How do you know it’s a girl?”
“I asked her.”
“But if they’re not really people how can they be male or female?”
Marcus laughed. “Don’t ask me how it works. I’m calling her Kadyn.” Marcus went over and made sure the provisions on the back of the cart were secured properly. “Okay so once we reach Kaday how do I find the wand?”
Raina thought that Marcus was so handsome in the morning light. “Tavarot said you should feel a pull to it. Here smell my neck. I used some rose petals. Do you like it?”
He smelled her neck and thought it was nice enough but he thought her natural scent was more exciting. “It’s nice.” Marcus thought about what she had said about the wand. “I’ll feel a pull towards it? What does that mean? I’ll just know where it is?”
“I guess.”
Less than an hour later they started off for Kaday with the two conjured knights, giving his father’s knights orders to stay at the castle and keep a keen eye out, less they end up being slaughtered as well. Ryxa joined them as well and it would have been easier to simply fly to Kaday but for whatever reason the knights were unable to remain on the back of the dragon, and the prince didn’t feel safe without Brother at his side. He hoped one day he would be an adept wizard able to defend himself, but he feared that he would remain forever incompetent.
The first two days and two nights of the journey were without incident but on the third morning they discovered that Bywood was under siege, the sounds of men fighting and dying were unmistakable, the harsh sounds of swords clashing against swords. Raina and Marcus took to the air and came up behind the Dwagord.
Bywood had sent out a dozen of their knights in an attempt to get details for surrender but the one-eyed general simply had them all slain, having no desire to entertain prisoners or to grant mercy to anyone. The Dwagord were aggressive from early childhood, children were encouraged to fight one another for food. They simply had to fight and without someone to battle they would eventually seek battle amongst themselves.
“Look, those are the bastards that killed our knights,” said Marcus. “Ryxa, burn them all.”
Ryxa swooped down low and released a long blast of flame that incinerated more than two hundred of them but then they all turned their attention to the dragon, and more than a hundred archers launched their arrows simultaneously upon command, Ryxa had to block them with her belly and fly higher to protect both Marcus and Raina. Cheers came from the castle walls, having watched their own knights slaughtered, those bastards were getting what they deserved; perhaps the dragon riders were the miracle that they had prayed for, they certainly hoped so.
Ryxa climbed to more than a thousand feet, launching another fireball ball towards the enemy, but just before the flame reached them a reddish dome appeared, blocking and deflecting her fire, scorching parts of the earth and setting small fires. “Oh, they must have a wizard down there.”
“Yes well we have a wizard up here,” said Raina.
Marcus sighed. “Yes a wizard that doesn’t know how to do anything, at least not while I’m awake.”
Ryxa launched another fireball with the same result, unable to penetrate the magical defence. “They think they’re so smart but watch this.” She flew around the dome, all the while breathing out her fire and heating up the ground around it, so hot it turned into red embers and heated the inside of the dome as well, forcing them to move further away from Bywood lest they be roasted, with the dome following them for protection. One of the Dwagord loosed his arrow at the boy but it broke as it hit the inside of their protective shield.
Ryxa landed with a thud as Marcus and Raina got off the dragon’s back and went up to the shield; the one-eyed general was staring out at the dragon, looking as though he would rip all their heads off if he were able. Sorcerers always complicated matters. He wondered how they were in control of the dragon, must be a powerful enchantment.
“Why did you kill my knights?” Marcus demanded to know. “We’ve never done anything to you or your people. Why would you do such a thing for no reason?”
General Dochacra looked down at Marcus. “Nothing personal boy, to the victor go the spoils of war. This entire land will be ours in a year, perhaps less. I’ll use your skull to decorate my chamber.”
Marcus shook his head as he imagined it. “Not very friendly is he.”
Daijulan approached the shield and stared at the boy, still weak from a previous spell, adjusting his red cloak as he did so; the aura around the child was quite something. A powerful wizard by the feel of it but his age of course indicated his lack of experience, and that would be his downfall. He showed the boy the small glowing coin that was keeping the shield above them. Marcus was impressed but pretended not to be.
The golden knights had finally caught up with Marcus; they immediately pulled their swords and commenced to strike the shield, with cracks appearing and surprising Daijulan. He didn’t even think that such a thing was possible. The look on his face was most worrisome, the sound of the shield cracking most unpleasant. Seven of the Dwagord gathered in a circle and commenced whispering.
“General, I believe we need to pull back. These are no ordinary knights and they will bring down the shield. We’ll be burnt alive.” Daijulan now thought it possible that he would die here.
One particular hit by Brother resulted in one huge crack that slowly continued to spread, the sound of it unnerving, making its way completely around the enchantment. It was a rare thing for the Dwagord to retreat but general Dochacra knew that the dragon would incinerate them, his wizard too weak to defend them properly. Withdrawing was the only smart thing to do.
The general grunted his displeasure. “We’ll consult with the king. These kingdoms may not be so easy to take after all.”
They rode off with the shield
continuing to surround them.
Marcus, Raina and even the dragon spent the night in Bywood where they were treated like heroes and they feasted long into the night.
THIRTY-THREE
CHAROX WAS PERCHED HIGH UP on a rocky cliff staring down at the kingdom of Fairfall, repeatedly scratching grooves into the solid rock, thoroughly enjoying the attention he was getting from the archers that had gathered below. Almost a hundred archers, some with enchanted bows glowing red were waiting and watching the huge grey dragon, with orders not to attack unless the dragon initiated it. Legend told of such a dragon that had almost destroyed their entire kingdom some four hundred years earlier, and even though none of them were around then it was a story that had been passed down. Four centuries earlier the dragon had taunted them for days before it had attacked, their history books describe that terrible time in great detail, great bursts of fire burning families alive inside the castle, the king killed as heavy stone was pushed down upon him.
The dragon knew he was going to kill them all, burn them alive, perhaps stomp the life out of some of them he just didn’t know when. But anticipation was the best part; he loved to see their frightened faces. Their terrified faces were as appealing as a puppy to a child. It was fun to make them nervous. Charox saw the glowing red bows, knew there was magic in them but wasn’t overly concerned, being a wizard he could conjure up something nasty; it was more entertaining to get rid of them the old fashion way. It would be fun to see them run and scream and roll on the ground trying to put the flames out, that never worked but they tried nonetheless. Alas it was always over much too quick. The ones that were incinerated died too abruptly for his liking.
Knights of the Wizard (of Knights and Wizards Book 2) Page 11