Dragons of Summer Tide (The Dragons of Hwandor)

by Robert Barton

  *****

  Young King Palavwar Bal Djundarbin had just turned eighteen summers old and officially had taken leadership of the kingdom – a kingdom which was at peace externally but with a court that seethed with intrigue internally, intrigue that threatened to bring that peace to an end. Now the new king needed all of his wits and education in order to eliminate the spies and the opponents to his rule – opponents of his peace. In the three years since the old king had died and while Regent Darus had ruled many changes had been wrought in the palace an in the court. The Ancient Order of Rangers had been dissolved; the army had been downsized and was now half the strength that it had been under the old king. A new Captain of the Guard had been appointed to protect the royal family and, of course, there were now all new guards who had an unquestioned loyalty to their captain. Duke Vrayah had continued to build his personal guard and to swallow up more lands in the north of the kingdom forcing many noble houses to swear an oath to him in order to keep their lands and positions. The palace was full of people who were loyal to Duke Vrayah, or loyal to the Regent and the Captain of the Guard – there were few left at the palace who had any loyalty to the king, and that needed to change.

  As the young king and his personal guard walked the short distance through the streets to the Tower of Mages the new monarch was thinking about the precariousness of his position and the position of the royal family. Palavwar had insisted on a small escort of guards and had only six men walking with him to protect him – six men who would report everything to their captain; every word and every contact. Well, he was still yet a king and he resolved that this winter he would gain control of his palace, his court and the Kingdom of the People of Hwandor.

  “Here is the tower Your Majesty.” Came the gruff voice of the sergeant in charge of escorting the young king. “I’ll past the men about the building and then we can go inside.”

  “Actually Sergeant, I will be going in alone. You are to post your men and remain outside the walls of the tower and gardens with them and make sure that none enter uninvited.”

  The sergeant looked shocked and immediately protested. “My orders are to...”

  “You orders have changed,” interjected the king.

  The sergeant continued. “But Captain Talonius …”

  “Is a captain and I, however, am a king. Your orders Sergeant are clear; you will remain outside of the tower with your men.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” the sergeant responded with a formal bow of his head.

  The tall red haired young king turned and walked through the gate of the tower courtyard. The eyes of the sergeant watched the young noble walking away from him. The sergeant could not help but show a glimmer of admiration for the young king after the way the young royal had faced dragons entering his palace. Sergeant Corless knew that his first loyalty was to his captain but there was something about this young red haired man that inspired a sense of duty. The young man was definitely a king and would likely have made a good ruler. It is too bad that the young king would not see another sunrise – but the sergeant had orders and those orders were very clear.

  As the king raised his hand to knock upon the door of the tower the door was pulled open ahead of him by Aldan the butler who bowed and said. “Your Majesty, it is an honour, the Magister has assembled everyone in the library and asks that you be shown the way. If I may.”

  “Thank you,” the king responded with a nod.

  As the king entered the Tower of the Mages Aldan closed the door behind the guest and then proceeded to show the young man to the library. As the pair neared the open door of the library the king stepped passed the butler and said a quick “thank you” before entering the room. As the entered the room quickly everyone came immediately to their feet in respect. The king headed for the nearest chair while waving everyone to sit. “We will dispense with the formalities and for the next several hours I am simply Palivwar.” The king sat and glanced around the room at all of the unfamiliar faces and he noticed that Ranger Commander Parenian had already arrived. He motioned for everyone to sit and then he addressed the Magister. “Now Auntie, I believe that you have a great deal to tell me.”

  Tornissa smiled at the young king and responded. “Actually I think that this young man here who is named Veer should begin”

  The king turned to look at the young dragon warrior and simply said, “please do.”

  Veer nervously said, “yes Your Majesty.” Then the young warrior started with his hunting trip, and how he saw the mother dragon then of finding his village burned and his family killed. As his voice cracked and tears came to his eyes the king pretended not to notice and waited for the young man to continue. Veer then told of fining the ranger Talenger and while he spoke he handed the leather pouch quietly to the Ranger Commander who began to read what was contained inside. Veer proceeded to talk about being bitten and then waking up with Shira there.

  At this point Shira began to join the telling and together Veer and Shira told the next part of the tail. The king occasionally would ask a question for clarification or for more detail but mostly the king sat and listened carefully to both the words and how they were being said. Soon the tail progressed to include Cyerant who joined into the telling also as he added his part of the tale.

  Before long the king heard how Joss was found and how he joined the tale. For the most part Jolss just say quietly th9ugh the king did occasionally ask him questions. As the battle before the forest fire was described the king looked at Jolss and arched an eyebrow but the boy didn’t see it since his eyes were on his feet. The companions described how they discovered that Jolss was really Daralce the younger brother of Cyerant. They told of escaping and avoiding bandits and guards as they worked their way south.

  Then they told of Deelt and the Tower of the Mages there and of Partonius and how the fire on the docks was started and how it was extinguished. Then they told of the search for the captured dragon and the discovery of elves. It was then that Myalnar introduced himself, Pelinar and Talyat.

  It was now that Talyat began to tell the tale and as his voice began to ring out the others sat quietly. Talyat being trained began to explain the tale in detail making sure to include the type of information that he had noticed the king asking for earlier. So detailed was his telling that the king id not ask any questions of him and sat with rapt attention listening to every detail right up to the discovery of the tunnels earlier that day.

  By the time the tale had reached the point of the companions gathering in the library to await the king the day had worn by and it was time for supper. As Talyat finished he bowed slightly to the king and then he simply went silent. Everyone in the room sat in silence waiting to see if the king would ask anymore questions.

  The king sat in silence for a few minutes looking around at the animals curled up around the room and then he rose and spoke. “Thank you all for such a detailed explanation of things. It is near time for supper and I assume that Auntie has made sure that there is a meal awaiting us in the dining room. We should retire to the table and eat and then after a break I would like to meet with some of you in more private settings.” Then the king looked at Tornissa and offered her his hand.

  Taking the hand of the king the mage led them all from the library to the dinning hall where a meal was waiting for them. Everyone sat down to eat and the king insisted that there be no formalities and that everyone just have their supper in peace and speak freely. After supper the king decided to walk around the gardens as the evening settled in an the sun began to set. He asked Tornissa to join him and the two of them talked through a few things in order to make sure that the Tower of Mages would be able to continue to host the new guests.

  As night settled the king asked the elves to join him in a small sitting room where they could talk. The king spoke to Myalnar in some detail about what we transpiring in the mountains. “I am tempted to send some troops into the mountains but I fear that my troops would get in your way, so I will not send them.�
�� The king noticed Pelinar nodding appreciatively as he said this. “What I will do is to send some troops up river as the winter settles in. They will garrison some of the towns and strengthen the garrison in Deelt in order to protect the kingdom and to start denying these foreigners the free range that they have had. As for the mountains, they are yours and we will leave them to you. I will also send some of our rangers to start scouting in the hills and if acceptable I would like for them to work with your men there.”

  “That is acceptable though our men and women fight together and you will find that our forces in the hills are commanded by a female. As soon as we have a full agreement we will be returning to our people.”

  The king stood and held out his hand to Myalnar who took it in his own while the king spoke. “Then we are agreed in principle and over the next several days we will work out the details and documents.”

  “Agreed,” said Myalnar.

  Turning to Pelinar the king spoke. “Pelinar, I would like to ask you to remain as I speak with Carabice about his maps of the tunnels. I understand that you have some experience with tunnels and I would like to ask your advice.” The elven warrior gave a slight nod in acknowledgement and remained seated as the other two elves left. Shortly they were joined by Carabice.

  As the mage seated himself the king began. “These tunnels are very important to the future of the royal family. I need to get them cleared and back in use and I need to do it as quietly and secretly as is possible……”

  After another hour of this meeting the king had reached and agreement with the mage and elf and thanked them both. Then the king sent for Cyerant and the two of them talked into the night until nearly midnight. The king needed a noble of his own generation who could listen to his ideas and speak with him about plans. The two nobles, one a king and the other a baron began forming a friendship that night – a friendship which would eventually help save the kingdom.

  After the discussions the king readied himself to go back to the palace. The hour was midnight as he called everyone back together for a moment. He noticed that Daralce and Devron were not present and realized that at this hour they must have both fallen to sleep long ago. “I wish to thank all of you for what you have done. You have had a very difficult summer and you have all done very well. Auntie has offered to provide hospitality for you all here at the Tower of the Mages for the winter. I ask you all too please relax and rest after your efforts. The information that you have brought to me may very well be what allows us to save this kingdom.” Then the young king paused and looked around at the dragons present and then continued. “They really are amazing creatures. I will leave you now to your rest.” The king nodded to the mages, companions and elves and turned and walked out of the tower door with no pomp or formality and he stepped out into the night just a little passed midnight.

  “Well,” Tornissa said as she turned to face the others. “You heard His Majesty you are all welcomed to remain here and relax after your long journey. So perhaps we should all retire for the night.”

  Myalnar stood watching the door through which the young man had just gone. “Your nephew is impressive. Elves do not have kings and I have never met a human king. It is hard to believe that he has only seen eighteen turns of the seasons. He is like a council elf and we have to be at least three hundred years old to serve on the high council.”

  Veer said. “He is like Cyerant only more; lots more.” Cyerant smiled at the compliment.

  Shira said. “I thought that you had no use for flatlander kings.” Veer responded with a glare.

  Pelinar said. “I would dance beside him.” Which drew a long quizzical look from Talyat.

  The companions then retired to their beds for the first peaceful night of sleep that any of them had enjoyed in months. The larger dragons were unaccustomed to sleeping inside and so Corth, Cyool, Drace and the one non-bonded dragonet curled up in the courtyard gardens and settled in to sleep.

  Onward:

  Ambassador, the Imperial Princess Arindina walked into her apartments on the top floor of a home near the palace. The building had been purchased many generations ago to house the representatives of the Empire of Khatstan. While it was large and well appointed by local standards it was not anywhere near as lavish as the surroundings to which an imperial princess was accustomed. Princess Arindina did not notice anything in her surroundings since she was in a world of her own – a world that now included a small black dragon with wonderful green eyes.

  The princess could already feel the gifts that the dragon bond bestowed. Already her hearing far surpassed that of any normal human. She could feel that she was becoming even better able to bend others to her will. And there was the feeling that she could bring a silent quick death to anyone through a simple small dragon bite. If possible she was becoming even more perceptive of people and what they think and feel.

  She finally understood why this barbarian king didn’t appear to be struck by her charms. But she knew that she had a weapon to gain some control over this new king. She and her spies had been working to keep the new king alive as his own people tried to assassinate him. But Arindina was a master of courtly intrigue and she was a long term planner and she knew that this was going to be a long and interesting winter here in this barbarian kingdom. But first things first, a little piece of information had just arrived from her spies and the she had something for her new little treasure to do. And so she carried Green Eyes outside onto the balcony and watched as the tiny black dragon took flight and quickly vanished becoming a shadow in the night.

  *****

  Barroon settled in nicely in his small room at the floating inn. Just the thing for which he had been searching – a small inn owned by a widow. Barroon knew that he could be a happily married man by midwinter and a propertied widower by spring. He thought to himself of how he had followed these dragons all the way to the end of civilization. With winter coming he would need to stay here in this city and so he should make an effort t become a man of some position. A widow with property was exactly what he needed in order to become a man of means this winter. He smiled as he thought about what it would be like to be a husband and owner of the Inn of the Water Dragon. With an inn he could show the face of a respectable businessman and behind that mask he could build some wealth and power in the shadows. Just as he had done as a young man back in the empire.

  *****

  The human king had gone out into the night in order to return to his palace after he had heard all that the humans and elves could tell him. The king had also shared some information with the companions though certainly he had a great deal more information being kept to himself. The young king was impressive and something about him felt inspiring and now Pelinar had agreed to a task while the three elves were in this human city – actually the elven warrior had offered his skills to the task at hand.

  Pelinar lay there in his but still yet awake in the darkness listening to the steady breathing of Talyat beside him. It had been months since he had heard that comforting breath right next him. Pelinar thought back to the year that he spent learning underground battle tactics from the dwarves and how to clear tunnels in order to make them safe. The tactics of the dwarves call for the use of many warriors rotating constantly in order to use pressure upon the denizens of the tunnels to clear them. Pelinar did not have an army of dwarven axes to command so the tactics would have to be modified to suit a small party of fighters – a small party that would however include a dragon warrior, mages, dragons all guided by the eyes of a night dragon and a blind child. Sleep may not come this night at all thought the elf warrior.

  *****

  Shira lay down in her bed and she could feel an exhaustion overwhelming her and so she quickly began to drift off to sleep. As her mind sank into darkness she, for a moment, thought of the tall handsome red haired king. She wondered if the king had made it back safely to the palace or if he were still one his way. He had really only left a few moments before.

  Cyool felt
the urge to know what was happening to the tall re haired man. She could feel that her bonded had drifted off into sleep. The dragon stirred a bit and then she had to satisfy her curiosity before she could sleep so she quietly leaped into the air and flew out over the city.

  *****

  His Majesty King Palavwar Bal Djundarbin, had only ruled for a week since coming of age. In the last three years he had survived numerous strange accidents while he waited to take over his dead father’s throne. In those three years control of the kingdom and the palace had been wrested from the royal family and the young king was struggling to assert his authority and maintain peace throughout the kingdom. And now he finally had some plans in place which may take his opponents by surprise and shift the power back to the throne and a new Conclave of Nobles.

  It was with all of this spinning around the young king’s mind that he stepped out into the night. The tall red haired young man stood in the forecourt of the Tower of the Mages thinking about the meeting that he had just had and all of the things that he had learned. The meeting had taken half on the day and half of the night and now the king stood in the quiet of the night just after midnight. The streets would be nearly empty as the king was returning to the palace with his guard of six men. His Majesty walked across the forecourt to the gate where his guard would be waiting.

  As the king approached the gate he heard the sergeant let out a sharp whistle that would signal the other five guards that the king was ready to return to the palace. The young king stepped through the gate into the street and only had to wait a few moments before his personal guard was once again assembled around him. Then the group of men set off toward the palace with the king at the centre as the sergeant walked in front and one man walked in back with the other four men forming a square around the king two men to the left and two men to the right. There were no taverns or inns operating within the walls of the old city so the streets were quite and very empty.