Deathsworn Arc: 01 - The Last Dragon Slayer

by Martyn Stanley

  Saul turned to her, “Company?”

  “Yes, one... No two elves are following us, we will not be capable of outrunning them - our best chance is for you to allow me to speak to them and go along with anything I say.”

  Saul raised an eyebrow, sporting a puzzled look on his face, she glared at him crossly, “Tell the others, and make sure they understand the importance of this, they must go along with whatever I say or I will not be joining you on our quest, neither will my Ri§ine!”

  This caused Saul to become even more baffled, but sensing the urgency in her voice he spread the message to the rest of them. Of course as the instructions spread to Silus, Votrex, Harald and Brael murmurs of confusion spread - but even the members of the party who disliked and distrusted the elf agreed to go along with whatever was going to transpire, out of curiosity if nothing else.

  As the party rode on through the thinning forest, they began looking around for whatever Vashni suggested was following them, one hand on their weapons. Their curiosity was satisfied after having trotted only two hundred yards, flapping could be heard overhead, followed by an unearthly screech. The warriors drew their weapons as two warriors riding Hippogriffs glided in to land.

  They were clearly elves, wearing light, flexible armour, of a material unknown and wielding strange looking swords. They controlled and calmed their flying mounts, which had an appearance of being composed of lion, eagle and horse, and spread out a little. Vashni addressed them before they had a chance to speak.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Tavion and Tubol... I would ask ‘What brings you to this part of Torea?’ but I can guess, I’ve been expecting you.”

  The leader, Tavion, slightly taller and older looking than his wingman urged his mount to trot forwards. If Votrex, Silus, Harald, Korhan and Saul were fazed by the appearance of these mythical beasts they didn’t show it, though their hands remained on their weapons. Tavion lowered his weapon, “Lady Vashni Ulthi§ira.. Your presence is requested in Eldenizar immediately.”

  “Hah! I am quite aware of Lord Su§ak’s desire for my presence in Eldenizar, however I shall politely decline his request for my company and return in my own time.”

  “You are a slippery one Lady Vashni, we have been tracking you since the incident in Cormaroth, Lord Su§ak has ordered us to apprehend you, by force if required.”

  “I am quite aware of that Tavion, why do think I have recruited some of the greatest warriors in Torea to accompany me?” She began gesturing about the clearing the group of warriors, “We have Saul Karza, master wizard, servant to the Empress herself, Votrex Vaughn, Gorthok of Durgheim Holt, Harald son of Korvak, Korhan son of Brian, Brael Truthseeker of house Krazic, and Silus Mendelson - dragonslayer... Two of the most powerful magicians in Torea and four of the mightiest warriors ever to ride into battle... I have ordered my bodyguards to slay anyone who attempts to kidnap me. So you can turn your mounts around, ride back to Eldenizar and tell my betrothed that if he so desperately desires my return he can come and ask me himself, though the answer will still be the same.”

  Tubol trotted forwards now, “How dare you refuse Lord Su§ak! You are dishonouring your house evading him, frolicking around Torea like a child! Have you no honour?”

  “I have my honour, but I also have my free will, I will not wed Lord Su§ak, he would do well to find another and leave me in peace! Now leave or I will order my guard to cut you down where you stand.”

  Tubol and Tavion exchanged concerned looks, then eyed the band of warriors suspiciously. Then urged their winged mounts backwards, as they backed off Tavion snarled at Vashni, “Lord Su§ak will hear of this! Next time we meet, we will be in greater numbers and you will return to Eldenizar hog-tied and lashed to the back of my mount!”

  “I look forward to it, but you are boring me now Tavion, leave and take your pathetic lackey with you.”

  They backed off further then leapt into the air with a flurry of furious flaps, before long they were out of sight and couldn’t be heard. Saul snapped his reins and the others followed suit closing in on Vashni, Saul addressed her, “What exactly was all that about?”

  “Is it any of your business Wizard?”

  “Seeing as you have effectively used us to threaten your pursuers, yes I think it is!”

  “Hmmph! If you must know, part of the reason I am wandering around Torea is because I have eloped... Su§ak was promised my hand a long time ago by my ‘parents’, for political reasons... To strengthen the relationship between our houses and help to maintain political stability in Eldenizar - however he is boring and I do not wish to spend to my days either at his side holding court, nor wandering around his dwelling commanding his servants. Now, hadn’t we better get going? Don’t we have a dragon to slay?”

  “How did they find you? How long is it likely to be before they catch up with us again?”

  “They probably used magical means; I suspect my sudden need to whisper fairly regularly has given them a trail to follow. I just hope we can find and defeat this ‘dragon’ before they catch up with us - as your chances of success are likely to be more or less zero without my assistance.”

  Votrex and Silus looked at each other, the dwarf grunted, “Hmmph! Maybe we should have just let them take her!”

  “She’s caused nothing but trouble since she joined us!”

  Vashni glared at them, “Hmmph! You wish to die? If you do wish me to part company, I would follow you in secret, simply so I could watch the dragon devour you and so I could laugh at your inept attempts to defeat it!”

  Korhan held his hands up, “Enough! We are nearly there now, Vashni has proven her worth, at the very least with the Berger of Trest, plus her ability to heal Harald’s arrow wound and save the Berger of Briem’s daughter... You are all fools if you think her presence does not increase our chances of success!”

  Harald sighed deeply, “Korhan speaks the truth! Vashni has proven her usefulness time and again in the short time since she’s joined us. If not for her intervention we would all be lying dead on the forest floor outside Trest, full of quarrels!”

  Saul and Brael were nodding agreement as Korhan and Harald spoke. Votrex broke the deadlock with a sigh, “My apologies Mistress Elf, they speak the truth... You have my gratitude for joining us... I just find the thought of warriors from Eldenizar pursuing us on winged mounts... Disconcerting...”

  “Hah! Understandable stout one, your race spends so much of its time deep under the ground, the thought of soaring through the sky on a Hippogriff must be terrifying indeed... Apology accepted. Now - we ride!”

  She snapped her reins and trotted to the front of the line, with Korhan taking his place behind her and Brael following along after while Silus scowled silently at her. As the morning turned into afternoon the forest thinned and gave way to plains, with the towering sky cleavers in the distance.

  As they rode Korhan snapped his reins to ride closer to Vashni, “Mir§a Vashni... May I ask you a question?”

  “Yes Ri§ine... What is it?”

  “Tavion and Tubol... They seemed... Hmmm, they seemed rather easily inclined to believe your somewhat fanciful tale of bodyguards, great magicians and mighty warriors... Did you use some enchantment on them?”

  “Enchantment? Dear me Ri§ine you have a lot to learn. Like most elves, Tavion and Tubol do not venture far from Eldenizar... They do not have the experience of travelling around Torea that I do... They... Hmmm, they are very susceptible to being deceived. Elves are generally uncomfortable with deceit; it is something they struggle to wrap their heads around... I have no problems both detecting and using deceit - but this is unusual for an elf, and it is a product of my time amongst humans. If ever you face an elf in battle, then you should bear it in mind... Your hand and your mind may never be as swift as an elf - but you have something valuable which you can use to your advantage.”

  “The elves, they seem so.... Hmmm, I cannot understand why elves are not more prominent in Torea, masters of the blade, whisperer
s, skilled in the magical arts... Why do humans rule Torea and not elves?”

  “Hmmm, good question Ri§ine, and there is an answer... A long time ago battles were fought between elves and humans for sovereignty of Torea. The humans won, partly because of their skill at deception, but also because of something else they are very good at. That other ‘skill’ if you could call it that, is also why they rule Torea instead of the dwarves. Hmmm, humans breed very quickly and effectively...

  Dwarves and elves generally do not procreate until they are at least a hundred years old in the case of dwarves or five hundred years old in the case of elves. I do not know too much about dwarvish culture, but in elvish culture a council meeting is held every time a couple wishes to have a child, agreement of the council has to be won and for political reasons the case for a couple to have a child may be fought... Possibly by members of another house, possibly by persons of your house whose power and prominence will be affected by your spawning a child. The net result is having a child is a long, drawn out, difficult process... Elven mothers carry their children in their womb for twenty months, during which time they are generally encouraged to do little or nothing at all... The cost of a child on elvish society is very great, and as such, most elves simply do not bother. Even when an elf is born, they are considered an infant for at least sixty years and a child for at least two hundred years. Think of it this way Ri§ine, in the time it takes for a hundred elves to breed a hundred warriors, humans could breed and breed and have many thousands... I hate to embarrass you with this fact, but the main reason for the prominence of humans in Torea, is you breed very successfully, usually by the time humans are twenty five years old, most of them have five or more children.”

  Korhan screwed his face up, what she was telling him sort of made sense, but he couldn’t imagine a reality where the times and lifespans were stretched out so. He looked at her, studying her pointed features, her skin was smooth, almost milky. When she spotted him looking she frowned, snorted and pulled her hood up.

  “Mir§a Vashni, how old are you?”

  “How rude to ask a lady such a question! Especially your Mir§a! You do not need to know Ri§ine, so I will not tell you. I have not set you any exercises today thus far, I shall allow you to use your senses, but I want you to practice containing your thoughts again. No stray thoughts, keep your mind on what you are doing!”

  “Yes, Mir§a Vashni...”

  He allowed himself to fall back a little. As the party rode, the forest grew thinner and thinner, eventually giving way to large, flat, windswept plains with the sky cleavers rising out of the mist in the distance. Focusing came a little easier now, he felt himself building a mental wall around his thoughts, and considering all aspects of the ride. For long spells, the rest of the party rode in silence, pulling their cloaks tightly about them to shelter from the driving wind. The road here was almost non existent, signs of civilisation were sparse and the only sound was the rushing of the wind, the tapping of the horses’ hooves and distant growls of wild animals.

  As the afternoon wore on, grey clouds gathered overhead and a light drizzle started to fall, made worse by the howling wind. As they rode a large rocky outcrop jutted up from the plain, jagged and angled. It looked like might offer some shelter, and though it was still only late afternoon the miserable weather and the fact that it was becoming so dark caused Saul to point at it and lean close to Votrex, “We should take shelter over there, we will not be able see where we are going soon and Duramer is still many hours ride from here.”

  Votrex snorted, “Hmmph, speak for yourself wizard - I can see perfectly! As would you, if you had lived most of your life underground... Hmmm, but aye - the weather is getting worse... I’ll spread the word.”

  Gradually he manoeuvred his horse about the group and told everyone what the plan was. They all muttered agreement of course and soon the group was leaving the road, trotting along the scrubland towards the jagged rocks, which overhung a sheltered nook.

  Tired, cold and wet, the riders dismounted. Korhan of course, tying up Vashni’s horse and setting it’s nosebag before attending to his own steed. The rocks offered some shelter from the wind and the rain and drearily they set about making camp. Some floor space was cleared for the sleep mats, a small fire pit was built from loose rocks. Dead wood was scarcer here than in the forest and it took some time to throw together a small fire. Fearful of giving Tavion and Tubol an easier job of tracking them Vashni declined to light the fire with a whisper and Saul wanted to preserve his magic for the encounter with the dragon, so Votrex set the wood blazing with some kindling, a tinderbox and a lot of skill and patience.

  As the group took their seats around the fire and started opening their packs Korhan rose and strode away from the fire. The thought of watching them tucking into dried meats turned his stomach. Whatever Vashni had done to him had worked, and worked well. As far as he was concerned he never wanted to eat a piece of meat again in his life.

  His attention was drawn by soft footsteps approaching. He glanced over his shoulder to see Vashni stepping up.

  “Are you alright Ri§ine?”

  “Sigh... Yes... Whatever you did to me... The resonating whisper... It has worked spectacularly, I feel hungry... But meat... Urgh!”

  “Hmmm, good... You need to lose weight anyway Ri§ine... Come, I wish to see how well Harbinger suits you now.”

  He then noticed she’d been carrying the elvish great sword. She lifted it and handed it to him.

  “Take it; show me your ready stance.”

  “Ready stance? Mir§a Vashni I do not -”

  “You do not have a ‘ready stance’? Hmmph! Then stand how you would stand if you were about to defend yourself.”

  He spread his legs a little for stability, and raised the sword vertical to one side of his body, the blade was light and very well balanced, it felt moulded to his hands and almost like an extension of his arms. Vashni smirked at his expression, “You like Ri§ine? You now have an excellent weapon, but your technique is pathetic... I’ve seen more finesse from a butcher’s apprentice than you showed with your lump of iron - I shall correct this... Hmmph! How exactly did you learn to fight Ri§ine?”

  “Ever since I can remember I have sparred with sticks, wooden swords and old swords with dull blades. I have fought in battles against the orcs, and the men of Habarata and -”

  “So nobody has ever actually taught you any techniques? Hmmph! It’s a wonder you’re still alive. You must have some talent hidden away there... Stand with your feet a shoulder apart, hold your sword out in front of you... Good... Now lower the blade so it is pointed slightly, slightly upwards...”

  Korhan was carefully following her instructions. He would not have been able to hold his own great sword for long in this position, despite the lightness of Harbinger, after a few seconds his hands were shaking. Vashni looked at them disapprovingly, then stepped forwards and slapped him hard across the cheek, making his face red, “Show some determination Ri§ine! Hands higher, blade lower! Bend your knees slightly... More!...Hmmph! I can see we have at least as much work to do with you here, as we do with your spongy mind... Now hold that position!”

  Korhans forearms were soon burning, his shoulders feeling pulled, Vashni turned her back on his and began walking towards the fire, “Where are going Mir§a Vashni!?”

  “To eat silly! Keep holding that position, after I have eaten I will teach you the beginners sword form. Keep your mind on what you are doing, focus! Feel the weight of the blade in your hand; try to feel the length and balance of the blade!”

  With that she was sitting by the fire unpacking some bread, fruit and other provisions. He saw her out of the corner of his eye talking with the others, eating, and drinking. He began to feel bitter, and somewhat cheated. He straightened his knees a little to ease the pain, but Vashni spotted him and called over, “Bend your knees Ri§ine!”

  At the fire Harald shook his head at Vashni, “Why do you treat him so?”

&n
bsp; She shrugged, “It amuses me... Training Korhan amuses me greatly, hmmm, plus I do not wish for the fun to end when we meet this ‘dragon’ so I am trying to ensure he can survive the encounter.”

  Silus laughed, “Hah! And what about the rest of us!? You do not care if we live or die?”

  Vashni smiled warmly at him, “No... Not particularly, you are boring... I shall try to keep you all from being killed when the time comes... Provided Tavion and Tubol have not been successful in apprehending me that is... But I can only focus on one person at a time; I have decided to try to make Korhan the greatest warrior he can be... Partly because watching him suffer and fail is quite funny... And partly because I like a challenge, when people tell me it can’t be done - I question that... The more impossible the challenge, the more attempting it intrigues me. Korhan is very inept, clumsy and has an undisciplined, mind, somewhat like a wet sponge. Training him will be an excellent, near impossible challenge.”

  Harald chuckled, “That is why you seek the dragon too then? Hmmmph, Korhan is as skilled a swordsman as I have met - you mock his skill, but he is brave and - “

  “Yes, yes, I’m sure he fares as well against Goblins, Orcs and destitute farmers turned bandits as the next man - but he would be no match for any of the magical races I am sure. There are creatures beneath the earth more dangerous than any you might have encountered Harald - ask the short one, his race knows this well.”

  Votrex nodded, “Aye, there are evils beneath the world which cannot be killed, which can only be contained, at great cost to life and magic. Wyrms, trolls, giant spiders, giant scorpions and worse, undead, the ratmen, daemons, extra-dimensional beings which have escaped from the Nether... Tis a constant battle to keep such things out of a Holt.”

  Sweat was pouring off Korhan’s brow now and his legs and arms were trembling. Vashni finished her mouthful, rose and strode over to him. She stood at his side eyeing him up and down critically for a few moments, “Hmmph! You are weak Ri§ine... You must repeat this exercise every day, until you can stand like this comfortably... Now copy me.”