by Jordan Baker
Berant paused and caught his breath, and took a moment to calm himself, then he continued.
"Some of you may wish to throw down your swords, and I would not blame you for it, but there is another truth. We went to war for a lie, but now that we know the truth, we have a true reason to fight, to seek justice for the lies that have passed and fight for a tomorrow that is true. The one who lied to us, the one who enslaved us with dark magic that that stole our will, the one who even now holds our people captive, is there, in our kingdom, bringing yet more darkness to the world. Our hands may never be clean for the blood that we have shed, pursuing false vengeance and falling prey to darkness, those crimes are on our hands. There is no denying that, but now that we are free, our will returned, we have a duty, each and every one of us, to ourselves and to our honor, to stop this madness, to protect our people and any others who might fall prey to such power.
"We have the chance to restore our kingdom and see Ariana, our true queen, take her rightful place upon the throne, for you have seen the truth, that Ariana lives and she fought to save the people of Kandara, the people of Elvanar, and now she fights for Maramyr, for you, and me, each and every one of us, that the people may no longer fear the darkness. We fought for her, believing that she was dead, now let us fight for her again, and win back our land and the honor that was taken from us. Let us save our people and remove the shadow from the kingdom. Let us fight for truth, and destroy the lies, that no one will ever endure such torment, that we will know in our hearts and in our blood that we did some right in the world."
The soldiers stood silently, staring at Berant as he sat atop his horse, with his hand over his heart, his words echoing among the hills, and for a moment they did nothing. Then, one by one, they stood up straight, snapped their feet together, and fell into line, their faces grim and determined.
"The anger is hot," Kiva said. "A strong fire it burns."
"We march for Maramyr," Berant said, looking over at the group of commanders, who nodded and returned to their groups, and within moments, Berant's army was on the move once more.
"A very rousing speech," Margo commented.
"Was it?" Berant asked. "I've never been very good at such things. I just said the words that were true."
"Yes, truth does have a certain ring to it," Margo replied.
"That is why truefire burns hotter than other fire," Kiva said, and he put his hand on his stomach. "It is from the deep places."
"I will take your word for it," Berant said. "Thank you both for your help."
"You are an honorable man, Berant, and I believe you would do the same," Margo told him. "There is an oath from times of old, between the peoples of the world, to aid one another should the shadow return. We honor the oath."
"I heard of this oath, for it is mentioned in the oldest histories," Berant said, then he frowned, with a serious look on his face. "Perhaps it is time for us to renew that oath." He looked over at Kiva. "Tell me, dragon. What are they feeling now?"
"A burning rage, very deep, very deadly," Kiva told him.
"Good," Berant said. "For we will need that fire against the enemy we face."
*****
Calexis watched from the high window outside of her bed chamber as the dark clouds that hung over the city rumbled and flickered with flashes of light, as the darkness of night fell, the sounds and blinding light irritated Calexis with the memory of Stroma, the god who had long thwarted her efforts to gain dominance over the world. The lightning flashed again, and her thoughts strayed to the blue dragon, the whelp of a girl she had tossed from her loins, a seemingly useless wretch who had somehow managed to take that power, and foolishly thought to challenge her. She wondered where Lexi might have got to, but there was little doubt that she would return. Though her vision was beginning to cloud over and her senses had become dull, Calexis could still sense the many powers moving toward her, and she found their futility amusing. They thought to stop her, to fight the power of the shadow, but they were doing exactly what she wanted, all of them, except for one.
She turned and looked at the young man, Aaron, who sat in a chair, holding the cup of wine she had given him, in his hand, untouched. His gaze was dull, and he stared straight ahead, pretending that he no longer cared, making himself cold and unfeeling so he would not succumb to the fire that burned within him. It was a clever ploy, she thought, but one that would not last, for Calexis had glimpsed his thoughts, flashes of images that she had stolen and she knew that he cared for those who would come to face her. With her hold on him, with the power of the shadow, she could also tell that he was beginning to lose his sense of himself, and would soon forget why he continued to struggle in the first place.
Calexis reached out her hand and gestured with her pointed claw for him to rise. At first he did not move, his thoughts distant, ignoring her, so she fed some of her power into the shadow that enveloped him and forced him to his feet. Aaron walked along behind her, his arms and legs heavy as Calexis strode from the room, and as they made their way down through the palace, she could hear the sounds of the creatures that had already begun to hatch and, many of which now scurried around, exploring the halls and passages of the palace. Calexis encountered one of her guards, his face rotting and crawling with maggots, and he reported to her that the kitchen servants had been attacked by several of the creatures, and that they were all killed. She ordered the guard to search the city for some new servants, and to make sure that if they encountered any winged Darga that had not reported to the palace courtyard, that they would do so at once.
It irritated her that the Darga were so resistant to her magic, that they would not fall under her compulsion, and she sighed at the annoyance of continually having to bargain with such stupid creatures. At least most of them considered her their leader, though she had heard through several of her greys that a number of the Darga already talked openly about challenging her, oblivious to how foolish an idea it was. Setting aside her aggravation, Calexis walked down the stairs of the grand foyer and out the front of the palace, where she found dozens of winged Darga, of varying shapes and sizes, kneeling in obeisance and awaiting her orders, a sight that pleased her somewhat.
"Darga," she said, her voice echoing across the courtyard. "An army approaches from the west, protected by dragons. Attack them, and fight like the proud warriors that you are, but you must not kill the dragons. I want them brought to me."
"If one of us kills a dragon, we become powerful," one of the Darga said.
"If one of you creatures truly try to fight a dragon on your own, you will become dead very quickly," Calexis said. "Prove to me that you are strong and smart, for there is wisdom in what I say. I want you to lure one of the dragons here, and I will fight it. Then, once I have taken the dragon power, I will share that gift with you, giving you back what was stolen from your people long ago. You will become powerful like the dragons once more, and then you can kill as many of them as you like."
"Calexis is wise," the Darga that had spoken said with a vicious grin, and the rest of them grunted and growled their approval.
"Of course I am wise," she said. "Now go, and you can kill as many of those pathetic soldiers as you can, but do not start a battle with the dragons. If they try to fight, then run away and make them chase you here. Do the same to the army. Attack then run away. Can you remember to do that?"
"Darga do not run away," said another one of the lizard men.
"You ran away from the battle without killing all the elves like you were supposed to," Calexis said, shaking her head. "And now I tell you to run away and you complain."
"Darga are brave," said the first one that had spoken.
"Yes, yes," Calexis said. "Brave but stupid, or are you smart Darga? Do as you are told. Kill but do not fight to the death. Make them pursue you to the city. This is part of a greater plan. Do you understand what I mean when I say that?"
"Yes, highness," grunted another Darga, and a number of the creatures echoed her wo
rds, nodding to each other about her greater plan, as though they knew what it might be.
"Good," Calexis said, barely hiding her amusement at how stupid the Darga truly were. She raised her hand and pointed a sharp finger to the west, where her scouts had reported the enemy army and their dragons were approaching. "Now, go. Attack them."
The creatures leapt from the ground, and spread their leathery wings, then they flew over the palace wall as a few drops of rain began to fall from the darkening sky. Calexis smiled at the thought of the carnage the Darga would unleash, then she felt the rain hit her face and she stepped back under the archway above the entrance to the palace as the dark clouds in the sky opened up and rain began to pour.
*****
The Darga struck fast through the driving rain, smashing into the ranks of the army, only moments after the three young dragons, Crag, Kaz and Raz bellowed their warnings of the attack. Borrican leapt from his horse and shifted to his dragon form, attacking several Darga and dragging them away from the army. The three dragons immediately pursued the larger of the winged Darga, and fought with several of them in the sky, while dozens more of the creatures dove straight for the soldiers, slamming into them with their heavy, scaled bodies and causing chaos on the ground, then flying away before swords could be brought to bear. Nathas and Kaleb called out orders for the troops to take cover under the modest protection of the trees that lined the road, while Ariana called upon her flames and spurred her mount forward to attack a Darga that had landed just ahead of her and was attacking a group of soldiers. Keira, followed her, and Storm leapt from his horse then shifted to his dragon form and leapt into the sky, attacking a winged Darga.
Borrican slashed the wing of a Darga, and the creature went spiraling down from the sky, then his dragonfire burned through the rain as he blasted one of the creatures that was heading toward the soldiers on the ground. The Darga ducked out of the way, and instead of continuing its attack, it turned and fled into the darkness. Borrican beat his powerful wings and pursued the creature as it dove through a stand of trees, using the same cover as many of the soldiers below. Borrican circled around, scanning the woods for the creature, but he spotted another Darga flying directly toward Ariana.
"Ariana, behind you!" Keira shouted as she slashed at one of the winged lizards, her moment of distraction nearly leaving her open to a powerful rake of its claws.
Ariana leapt away from the Darga in front of her, sending a blast of flames into its face, and she felt a gust of wind brush by her as another one, not as big as the others, flew through the spot where she had just been standing. She sent another blast of flames, aiming at the creature's leathery wings as it tried to circle around, and it bellowed in pain as Storm smashed into the Darga, and caught the creature in his mouth, then belched acid fire over it. Keira leapt in front of the other Darga and thrust her sword toward its face as vines flew from the ground, swirling around the creature's feet. The Darga leapt back, narrowly avoiding the tip of her blade and the grasp of the vines, then it spread its wings and flew off into the night sky. The other Darga circled around, dodging another blast of Ariana's flames, then it turned away, but before it could flee, Borrican slammed hard into the creature, carrying it from the sky and landing hard upon the ground atop it.
The Darga squirmed, held in his powerful dragon claws, as Borrican took in a deep breath, then he blasted the creature with blazing fire so hot that its reptilian scales melted away and the Darga screamed as it died in flames. Nearby, the Darga that Keira was fighting suddenly took off from the ground and tried to fly away, but Storm slashed the creature with his claws and sent it hurtling to the ground.
"Remind me never to get on the bad side of a dragon," she said as Borrican stepped from atop the charred lizard corpse, and Storm landed on top of the other Darga and began to tear it apart with his front claws.
"They are cowards," Borrican growled, looking to the sky. "They attack from the darkness, then they run, but I can still see them."
"This isn't a proper attack," Keira said. "They are harassing us. It is a similar tactic to that used by the defenders of the forest, either as a warning to leave the forest, or to force intruders into a trap."
"What trap?" Ariana asked aloud. "They have simply attacked us and run away."
Borrican used his dragon sight to survey the army, which was in disarray but was returning to some semblance of order now that the Darga had fled. In the sky, he saw the three young dragons circling around, still fighting with winged Darga, and more of them than before. The fight had moved east, over the lake and toward the city, and he saw several Darga that were fighting with Crag suddenly break away toward the city walls. He growled when he saw Crag pursue them, and he leapt into the air after the young dragon, moving as fast as his wings could carry him, looking over his shoulder
"Storm, keep them safe and don't follow me," he growled, and he flew even faster.
Three Darga dodged and circled as they flew toward the city, infuriating Crag and he bellowed his challenge to them, demanding that they turn and fight, but they kept flying away, apparently hoping to hide behind the safety of the city walls. The winged Darga were nimble and fast, but he was faster and he had almost caught up to them when they passed over the wall. Letting out a ferocious roar, Crag snapped at one of the Darga and caught hold of its tail in his sharp teeth. The creature screeched as he swung it sideways, the abrupt change in direction folding its wings as he tossed it against a thick stone wall. Crag growled, laughing at the foolish Darga as it smashed against the stone and fell to the ground, then he chased after the other two, and he did not notice the lizard men on the ground.
Pain shot through his wing, then his leg, and his shoulder, and Crag suddenly felt himself being yanked downward, his entire body suddenly heavy. He glanced down and saw heavy, black bolts with hooks on them, attached to chains and he bellowed in anger as he crashed into the ground. Borrican had warned him and the other dragons of this trick, and Crag cursed himself for being so foolish. As he rolled upon the heavy stone cobbles of a large courtyard, he grabbed at the bolt in his shoulder and tried to yank it free, but it had a barb at its end and he roared in pain as it threatened to pull his flesh apart. Another bolt hit him, this time in his side, followed by another, and another, and he looked up and saw lizard men standing behind large curved wooden devices, grinning at him, while others pulled on the chains that were now attached to him. His vision began to blur as he saw a strange woman standing on stone steps, with what looked like flames around her but they were not orange, yellow, and red but swirled with black instead. Crag felt himself begin to fade, but then he heard a familiar roar, the call of the Akandar from somewhere above him, and he gritted his teeth and began to struggle against the chains once more.
Several bolts flew toward Borrican, but he was ready for them and he caught the heavy iron rods and sent them hurtling back toward the Darga who operated the oversized crossbows, smashing the devices and injuring a few of the lizard men. He circled around the courtyard and saw Crag lying upon the ground with at least a half dozen iron bolts sticking out of him, each of them attached to heavy chains that were anchored to the ground. Borrican saw two figures standing upon the palace steps, one of them a woman he recognized as Calexis, and the other was strangely familiar, and he had to focus more closely before he realized it was Aaron that he saw standing next to the dark queen.
Borrican blasted a circle of fire upon the stone cobbles around Crag and spit fire toward several of the Darga that were trying to place another iron bolt into one of their devices, sending them running, then he dropped to the ground between the fallen dragon and the dark queen. Another iron bolt flew at him from the darkness atop the palace wall, straight toward his neck, and Borrican caught it, then he yanked the chain and chunks of stonework pulled free from the parapet as another device and two Darga came tumbling down. Another bolt fired but it missed him completely as Borrican shifted his form and drew his sword.
"You fight lik
e your son, Draxis," Borrican said to the dark queen as she walked down the steps toward him. "Without honor."
"Welcome, Akandar," she said, ignoring his insult, as though she cared about such trifling ideals like honor. "I thought this little dragon was an amusing catch, but you are a much more interesting prize."
"I am not your prize, Xallan," Borrican told her, then he glanced up at Aaron, who stood silently watching from the top of the steps, in a black outfit that was a more intricate version of the captain's uniform he had once worn, and his jeweled sword glittering at his waist. In so many ways, he looked the same as he once did, except that while everything about his friend always seemed light and warm, the look of him now was dark and cold. Borrican did not like the look in Aaron's eyes, nor the strange darkness that flickered around him, that reminded him of the dark withering smoke that had destroyed so much of the elven forest, and he knew at once that it was the shadow itself he was seeing. The same darkness swirled around Calexis as she continued down the steps, and Borrican knew that, not only was Crag in serious danger, but he was as well.
"I learned much about the Akandra from your brother," Calexis said. "It gave me great pleasure every time he would divulge another secret as he suffered in his poor, confused state."
"What have you done with him?" Borrican growled.
"The traitor of Kandara?" Calexis grinned cruelly. "I didn't know you cared."
"Answer me," Borrican said, his eyes blazing angrily.
"He is gone," she replied. "I plucked out his eyes, cut out his tongue and left him bleeding upon a table in my dungeon. Is that not a fitting punishment for betraying the throne of Kandara?"
"That was not for you to decide," Borrican told her.
"Oh, but it was," Calexis said, as she walked through the acid flames that burned upon the ground. "I do what I like, for that is the point of power."