Daniel couldn’t see through the tears welling in his eyes. He lifted his arm to wipe them away. He hated this. No one should die for him. He would never be worth it.
They were quiet for what seemed like ages before Mila sighed and spoke with a tone far too chipper for the circumstances. “Did I ever tell you about the time I was in general training and I almost set Vigil’s library on fire?”
He lifted his head and stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
“It was my first year, and we were in the middle of a history lesson. The lesson had to be moved to the evening after a break-in to the vault in the keep. Everything was chaotic for a while after that. But because of that, the lesson was conducted by candlelight in the library. I was not the most graceful person when I was younger,” she said with a short laugh. “I was sitting by myself at the far end of the table, and when I had lit the candle in my lantern I forgot to close the lantern door on it.”
Daniel shook his head. “Mila, I don’t—”
“Let me finish. I forgot about the door and when I moved the book in front of me, and I accidentally pushed the lantern off the table. No one seemed to notice. When I bent down to pick it up, I saw I’d set the carpet on fire. I was panicking and didn’t want anyone to find out, so I did my best to put it out as quietly as I could. In my haste I thought to just put the book over it to snuff out the flames, but I covered them with the book open. Needless to say, the pages caught fire. I shut the book to snuff them out and gathered my thoughts enough to do what I should have the first time and slammed the book down on top of the flames, leather cover down. Everyone in the room heard and turned to look at me and all I could manage to do was shrug.”
In spite of himself, Daniel felt a smile creep across his face. He gave in to her attempt at lifting his spirits. “Then what?” he asked.
She smiled and laughed her rare laugh. “When the lesson was over, we had to turn the books in to the library keeper. He saw the marks on the edge of the pages and asked what happened. I just told him that was how I got it and sprinted out of the library. But he figured it out obviously and started shouting after me just as I got out the door. I had to run laps around the keep every night for a week straight.”
Daniel grinned. Then he looked down at his hands, which were shaking. A long silence followed that hung in the air between them like a heavy fog.
Finally he croaked out his words. “I don’t . . . I don’t want to be the reason you died.”
With his eyes still on his hands, he saw hers reach over and steady them. “You’re not.”
He sighed and gripped her hand. He would do his best to enjoy this time with her. No matter how hard it was. “Was the library carpet the only thing you set on fire?”
She grinned and leaned back into the pillows. For the next several hours, Mila told story after story. Of the first time she had field training and caused the senior Dragon Guard to break an ankle. About the day she was assigned to the rangers and how she was so nervous she missed the first training session. About the day she got married, to who, and how much of a shock it was to everyone. Daniel was equally surprised to learn this fact about her. She told him of her husband, Obadiah and how their life together. Learning so much about her life managed only to break his heart more. But he wore a smile for her. He knew these stories were as much for him as they were for her. She told them to ease his guilt, and to ease her own fear of what was coming. She told stories until the moment she was no longer breathing.
Chapter Sixteen
11th of Sanya, 26th year of the Fourth Age
Eleven uneventful and gloomy days passed aboard The Royal Jewel. For most of them, Daniel simply laid in the hammock below deck, with Aaron and Griffon keeping him company. But today he was on the main deck at the bow of the ship, eagerly waiting for the city to come into full view. They had woken early that morning and watched the sun rise and climb higher into the cloudless sky as they made their way further down the coastline. Now it was before them. At first they saw nothing but a hazy outline in the distance, slowly coming into focus. Once it was a clear picture, Daniel’s breath caught in his throat.
The city of Vigil sat on the edge of a cliff that rose out of the water. The wall around the city was made of light grey stone, with watchtowers set at regular intervals along its length. It was flat along the cliff edge before shifting into a half circle around the rest of the city. Several buildings towered over the wall, but none compared to the keep at the core of the city. It was set on a hill rising above everything else, with a squared wall around it barely visible above the neighboring buildings. The keep also had a tower in its center that rose nearly to the clouds. It was wide at its base and thinned out in the middle before expanding into a crown-like design that had the tower passing through it to end with a flat top.
At the water was a small flat area that sat nestled between two cliff faces with a wide path that wound its way up a steep ramp that seemed to be carved out of the stone itself at its rear that split off in two directions, one ran along the edge of the cliff towards a pair of watchtowers and the other continued winding upwards to the city itself. In the clearing at the water itself there were a few buildings dotting the area with docks built along the water’s edge with only a couple of ships sitting idle at them.
A few sailors walked the length of the docks or worked to unload their cargo with the pulley cranes on their ships and Daniel watched with fascination as The Royal Jewel made its way to one of the docks beneath the cliff. When the ship was alongside it, the crew swung into the practiced routine of tying off the ship and laying the gangplank over the gap. When his ship was secure, Captain Andrews ordered the crew to begin unloading their own cargo, then ushered his five passengers onto the dock.
“While I very much enjoyed having you aboard my ship, I’m afraid I have work to do,” Andrews said. He looked at Claudia. “I have to set out tomorrow if I’m to return home on schedule. I trust you will . . . uh . . . retrieve you’re . . . ”
Claudia sighed quietly. “Rest assured captain, I will make arrangements.”
He nodded and started to turn away, but paused. “I am sorry for your loss,” he said.
“So am I.”
Claudia led the others down and past the rest of the docks. They sidestepped crates and workers, and then moved between and past several warehouses. On the other side of the warehouses, they stepped off the raised wood of the harbor and onto the hard-packed dirt road. They made their way up the long road, taking in the sights below them as they rose higher up the cliff. When they reached the gatehouse, Daniel was already exhausted from the walk, his calf and ribs throbbing in protest. He tried his best to ignore it as they stepped into the shadow cast by the gate.
It was far larger and more imposing than the one at Grey Gate. The gate itself was made up of light red wood covered in thick iron bands with a raised portcullis just in front of it. Two guards manned the gate, one dressed in simple chainmail and the other in Dragon Guard warden plate. The gate had a manway set into it on the right side that was left partway open.
Kenneth waved to the warden and jogged ahead, pulling him into an embrace. “Obadiah my friend,” he said, “it is good to see you again. It has been far too long!”
Daniel’s heart jumped into his throat and he stared dumbfounded at the man, Mila’s husband. The man wasn’t as old as he had expected from the first story told to him on the road so long ago. He looked to be in his early thirties. He was bald, clean-shaven and stood as tall as Kenneth, though was not nearly as wide. Slung across his back was a great sword wrapped in a black oil cloth. The hilt sat well above his head, while the tip of the blade nearly scraped the ground.
Obadiah broke their embrace before he spoke. “It is good to see you alive and well, Kenneth,” he said. He turned to Claudia and nodded politely, “and you as well, Ms. Wells.”
She smiled and gave him a ligh
t hug. “It is wonderful to see you again, Obadiah,” she said.
Obadiah turned to the rest of the group and examined them one at a time. “New recruits, I assume?”
Claudia stood behind the three and placed a hand on each of their shoulders as she told their names in turn.
Obadiah motioned for the other guard to open the manway. “I don’t wish to delay you any longer,” he said. “Commander Hall should be in his office.”
Claudia led them through while Obadiah grabbed Kenneth by the arm and leaned in close, speaking in hushed tones. Daniel didn’t hear what was said between them, but he had a pretty good guess when Obadiah’s expression changed and he fell back against the wall, his hand covering his face. He chose not to think about it and tried to focus on taking in his surroundings as they emerged from of the gatehouse.
To Daniel’s surprise, they weren’t actually in the city yet. What he couldn’t tell from the ship or down in the harbor was that were in fact two walls. They now found themselves in a large swath of open grassland between the outer and inner walls, which seemed identical. Both were made of the same stone, with bricks that were roughly four feet tall and wide, bringing the height of both walls to nearly forty feet. Spanning the gap between the two were narrow stone bridges with thick support pillars. The space between the walls seemed to mirror their height at forty feet.
Curious, Daniel was about to speak, but Griffon asked the question before he could: “Why are there two walls?”
Claudia smiled and glanced over her shoulder. “This is a defensive area called a ‘killing field.’ Vigil is the only city in Edaren that has one.”
Daniel saw Aaron nod slowly as he looked out over the tall grass between the walls. “Attackers break down one wall,” Aaron said, “and have to walk through a field of traps before having to break down another. Shale had one as well. It’s why they remained unconquered until the end of the war.”
Daniel glanced to the side and thought he caught several glints of metal through the blades of grass, but before he could lean in for a closer look, they were already across the field and at the second gate. Unlike the first, it had no manway and hung slightly ajar to allow passage. As at the previous gate, guards stood on each side of this gate, though neither were Dragon Guards. They both gave slight nods and friendly smiles as the group passed through the gap. When they were through the gate, Daniel felt a surge of relief.
He was finally here. He had made it. The city was nothing like he’d imagined. It was far bigger and more populated than he anticipated. The streets were made of the same grey stone as the walls. Along their length were light posts at regular intervals; hanging side by side from each were three narrow banners. One was colored red with a sword standing on its tip, the second was yellow with an open book, and the third was green with an open eye. All three were placed within a stylized kite shield.
Daniel was curious: “What do the banners represent?”
Claudia glanced at them before removing her glove and showing him the band around her wrist. He’d never gotten a close look at it before. Now he saw it was engraved with the same symbol as the yellow banner.
Claudia slipped her glove back on as she spoke. “Vigil has no crest, unlike other cities, so we tend to use the symbols for the Dragon Guard sects. Red is for the wardens, yellow are scholars, and the green is the rangers.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “The citizens are okay with that?” he asked. “Most people don’t really want to be associated with Dragon Guards anymore.”
Claudia smiled sidelong at him as they walked. “Most of the people here know better. They live with us on a daily basis. They don’t give in to the rumors that plague the other cities and are happy to fly our banners.”
“Most people?”
She shrugged. “There are always a few.”
The buildings lining the wide street all seemed to be shops of some sort, with display windows taking up the majority of the walls that faced the street. Along the road were hundreds of people heading in every direction. It was overwhelmingly crowded. It took the five of them just under an hour to reach the wall of the keep. When they did, they were greeted by two more wardens who quickly ushered them inside with short greetings to Claudia and polite smiles to the trio following closely behind her.
The other side of the keep was wide open, with a stone-bricked path leading to the main door. The rest of the area was grass that stretched from one wall to the other and, from what Daniel could tell, all the way around the keep itself. Directly ahead of them was a set of wide stairs that narrowed as it climbed toward double doors that Daniel would have called a gate if they weren’t such a marvel. They were intricately carved, displaying a battle at the base of the doors that slowly gave way to a line of clouds, and above them, a trio of intimidating-looking dragons.
The dragon at the center was the largest, with a squared jaw and a sword displayed at the center of its chest. The one to the right had a set of long, curved horns and an open book on its chest. The final dragon on the left was the smallest and most slender of the three, with an open eye at the center of its breast. It was hard to miss the fact that the three shared the marks of the sects. As curious as Daniel was about the shared symbols, he figured now was not the time to ask.
The keep itself seemed smaller up close but no less impressive in spite of it. It was dotted with windows higher up, while the first floor seemed to have none. From what Daniel could tell, there appeared to be five floors in all. For the most part the exterior was rather plain aside from a few decorative pillars going up its length to the roof, which sloped steeply until it met the base of the tower that was at its center.
Daniel craned his head to look up the length of the tower. When he glanced at the others, he saw Griffon doing the same with wide eyes and Aaron standing with his mouth agape. Claudia let them marvel for only a moment before ushering them up the stairs. She gripped an iron ring to pull open one door, allowing them inside.
The first room was wide and long, with a set of stairs at the back and doors lining the walls. Between each door was a glass display case. Daniel looked closer as Claudia led them to the stairs. Most seemed to be old weapons and armor. There was a large war hammer with a shattered head and a broken handle, as well as what looked like a longbow that had been snapped in half. They didn’t look like anything terribly important, but to have them on display in the main hall of the keep, they clearly had some significance. He didn’t have time to see what else was displayed before they started up the stairs, which quickly turned into a spiral with a landing at every floor. When they reached the sixth landing, Daniel knew they were now in the tower itself.
“So, where are we going exactly?” Daniel asked as they passed the seventh.
Claudia responded over her shoulder. “To see Commander Hall. He needs to approve of your entry into the Dragon Guard. Just a short interview with Captain North and then he’ll take you to where you’ll be staying.”
“When do we start training?” Griffon asked with a slight grin.
“On the first of Eren,” Claudia said. “The current trainees will have their band ceremony, then you’ll start your training.”
“Current trainees?” Daniel thought for only a moment before it clicked and he continued, “Training takes five years?”
She nodded and urged them down a short hall connected to the tenth landing, which quickly ended at a plain, dark, wood door. She reached up and gripped the iron ring to knock twice. Moments later, the door opened and a woman in warden plate with long, white hair and vibrant viridian eyes looked to each of them in turn before letting them pass and shutting the door behind them.
They found themselves in a circular room. The walls were lined with the same type of glass cases they’d seen earlier, though these were filled with what Daniel could only imagine to be trophies. He saw several large teeth and scales, as well as various weapons with serrated b
lades and jagged edges and a few pieces of ornate, steel-plate armor, dented and warped by some long-finished battle. At the back of the room was a tall, stained-glass window depicting a red, a green, and a yellow dragon standing side by side. Below that was a wide wooden desk with several open scrolls and stacks of books atop it.
At the center of the room was a squared table with a map of Edaren spread out on top of it. The map had several figurines placed on various cities and landmarks, with others placed in the wilderness. Standing around the map table were three individuals, all of them were dressed in Dragon Guard leather.
At the head of the table was a warden with short, blond hair and dark, forest-green eyes. On his right was a ranger, his black hair tied into a tail and face covered in stubble. The ranger looked the three of them up and down with grey eyes. To the left of the table was a scholar with short, black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He never took his ocean-colored eyes off the map.
The warden at the head of the table addressed them: “Scholar Wells, I’m glad to see you’ve returned safely. To what do we owe this visit?”
Claudia crossed her arms over her chest, bringing her wrists together with a clank. “Commander Hall, I apologize for the intrusion. I did not realize you were in the midst of a meeting.”
He waved his hand. “We’re not,” he said, “just getting a quick update on our operations. Nothing terribly important at the moment. What can we do for you?”
“Approval for these three.” She uncrossed her arms and stepped aside, gesturing to the trio.
Hall smiled widely and waved the three of them forward. They stepped up nervously and waited as the woman who had opened the door for them retrieved a set of papers and spread them out on the table before she picked up a nearby quill from an inkwell.
She placed the tip on the paper before speaking: “Names?”
They spoke their names in turn and she jotted them down on separate papers. She then asked for their ages and where they were from. When she finished recording the information, she made her signature at the bottom of the pages before passing them to the other captains who likewise signed them, finishing with the ranger who then tucked them under his arm.
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