The Clash of Land and Sea_The Dragon Riders of Arvain

by Nicholas Clausen

  Cass had no response for the elf, neither did Hayden and Shane. The elf looked from one to the other and smiled as they lowered their eyes from his gaze. He nodded his head and turned around so he could see where he was going.

  Hayden’s mind ran wild with thoughts about what was happening to them, Draek tried to help but he was unable to do much considering the circumstances. Hayden found himself looking around and trying to spot the elves homes or any kind of buildings just to take his mind off their situation, but all he could see were more plants and trees.

  Hayden tried desperately to communicate with Cass and Shane but the elves stopped any time one of them made a sound. They did their best to keep up with the elves and stay completely quiet when Draek’s voice came thundering through his mind.

  Cass wants to know what we think is going on. Rilora is asking Shane as well. Hayden couldn’t help but look back at Cass but she motioned for him to turn around and keep walking.

  Tell her I have no idea but I think they have figured out we are fleeing the Metallic Riders. Hayden replied. Where is Shaylin and Rilora? He added as an afterthought. Hayden was hoping that one of them might be close to where ever the elves were taking them.

  All three of us have to fly a good distance to find good hunting grounds that the green dragons haven’t claimed. Hayden’s back up plan went up in smoke. They continued walking while Hayden awaited a response from his friends. Finally, it came while they were struggling to climb a muddy hill.

  None of the others can figure out why this could be happening. Hayden knew that that would be their response and he was waiting for the question he was sure they were going to ask. They want to know what we are going to do.

  I don’t know yet. Hayden was doing his best to think of a plan to get them out of their current situation. The only problem was he wasn’t sure what their current situation was. The elves kept them walking at the same pace until it became obvious that the thick forest terrain was taking its toll on the metallic riders and they would need to rest soon.

  The elves let Hayden and his friends sit together against a moss covered boulder. As soon as they were seated one elf threw down a water skin for the three of them to share. Hayden took a sip after Cass and Shane had both drank and was about to thank the elf but when he looked back up all the elves were gone.

  “Their gone!” Shane gave voice to Hayden’s thoughts. “We can go back to Outpost.” Shane was the first to get up but he did not walk off. Instead he just turned in circles and wore a confused look upon his face.

  “What’s wrong?” Hayden asked as he stood up beside his friend. Shane did not have to answer him because as Hayden looked around he saw the problem. There was no way to tell which way they had come from as the forest was so thick. All they could see in any direction were plants and trees.

  Hayden quickly scoured the ground to try to find his tracks but it proved to be futile. They were exhausted from their forced hike and now they had become lost.

  “Why don’t we start walking until we find a clearing or some way to signal to our dragons and they can fly around till they find us?” Shane asked. Hayden thought it was a good idea and relayed it to Draek.

  I am still surrounded by green dragons and they won’t let me take off. I don’t think this is over with yet. Hayden listened to Draek’s thoughts and hoped that they were wrong but it wasn’t long after that when the elves returned.

  Their elf guards seemed to materialize from the forest. One moment there was nothing but vegetation and the next they were surrounded by elves.

  “It’s time to continue walking; we only have a little further to go.” One of the guards said. Half of the guards started walking, not waiting for them, to get up, while the other half stayed back to follow after them.

  They continued their walk through a forest that Hayden was still trying to get his bearings in and was failing miserably. He had no idea how the elves were trekking through the woods without a map but they were doing so with the assurance of ones who knew where they were and where they were going.

  Finally, they came upon a small clearing where a solitary giant tree stood. The tree itself was hundreds of feet wide and made Hayden look and feel like the size of beetle in comparison.

  It appeared that over the years, water had eroded the soil from around the base of the tree because Hayden and the others had no problem walking under the roots as if the tree itself was a living roof.

  Hayden was amazed at the tree but once they were under it he realized it wasn’t the tree that he should be impressed by, it was the ancient looking elf sitting on a throne made of moss.

  Hayden’s first thought was that the elf might have been sitting there so long that he had turned into a plant. The cloak that the elf wore seemed to be made out of moss so it blended in with the chair and made it hard to tell where the throne ended and the elf began.

  The elf had long grey hair that meshed in perfectly with his beard so that all you could see of his face was the space between his cheek bones and forehead. He wore a crown that was made of wood and had seven emeralds imbedded in its seven points. The emeralds were dull in comparison to the rich green color of his eyes.

  A younger female elf stepped up beside the throne and placed her hand on the elder’s shoulder. Neither of them was smiling as they watched the three Metallic Riders come before them.

  “I present to you my father Aelfrie: The King of the Forest, True Guardian of the Woods, Chieftain of the Seven and rider of Alger the Emerald Giant.” The female elf stated loudly. Even though there were only a handful of elves and the three of them, she projected her voice as if she was addressing a large crowd.

  All the elves around Hayden suddenly knelt once Aelfrie’s daughter finished speaking. Hayden was not sure whether or not they should kneel as well but before he could make up his mind the king spoke.

  “Don’t worry young riders you do not have to bow down to me. I am not your king.” Aelfrie’s voice sounded like dried leaves in the wind, dry and raspy but yet there was still a fluid quality to it. “You will have to excuse Kirin. My daughter insists on formality.”

  Hayden looked at Kirin as she stood perfectly still like a statue, with her head held high and an obvious air of authority about her.

  Shane spoke first, “Thank you your highness. If you don’t mind me asking why are we here?”. Hayden loved how straight forward Shane could be at times but Hayden was unsure if this was one of those times.

  “Funny, that is the same question that I was about to ask the three of you.” Aelfrie smiled down upon them. Hayden quickly jumped into what had become their rehearsed answer to that question.

  “My friends in the stone tree have already told me what you told the other Metallic Riders. That does not tell me why you are here.” Aelfrie interrupted Hayden.

  “I am not sure what you mean your highness.” Hayden responded.

  “Let’s try the truth.” Aelfrie’s smile appeared nice but Hayden saw the undertone to it. He knew that they had lied to the Metallic Riders and he wanted answers.

  Draek, any ideas? Draek had calmed down but he still stood in the same spot and just stared back at the green dragons that were watching him.

  We only have two options, tell them what they want to hear or tell them the truth and see what happens. Draek’s tone told Hayden that he had said the latter just to show that they really only had one option.

  Hayden looked at his friends and nodded at them. There was no way to keep their secret to themselves any longer, they could only tell the king everything and hope for the best.

  “It all started at The Orchard of Souls, that’s where I learned the true nature of the Metallic Riders.” Hayden told Aelfrie and all the elves around them everything. Starting with how he met Bureg the Swift and about going through the Festival of Games.

  He told them about the events and about what had happened at the awards ceremony. He told them about the battle, about how Elizabeth the Gold had slaughtered the dwarf captives
.

  Aelfrie showed no emotion as he listened to Hayden’s story, he sat patiently as Hayden tried to remember everything that had happened. When Hayden got to the point of their story about Fendrel’s death he could not bring himself to say the words.

  Hayden knew Fendrel was dead, he knew that he would never see his old friend again but somehow saying it out loud seemed wrong to Hayden. Cassidy put her arm around Hayden and Shane continued with their tale.

  “We fled from Celestial City that night. The other riders were still enjoying the party while we disappeared into the darkness. Fendrel had often spoken about the kindness of your people and we were hoping to hide in Eytherka until we can figure out what to do next.” Shane finished their story to Aelfrie.

  Aelfrie sat in silence for a long time, looking at each one of the riders in turn with a look of sorrow clearly visible on his face.

  “I must ponder upon the words that you have spoken. I know it wasn’t easy coming here and telling me the truth but I applaud you three for doing just that.” Aelfrie did not rise from his throne, he simply nodded his head to the elves that had brought Hayden and his friends to him.

  The elves gently, as gently as guards could, directed Hayden, Cass and Shane away from Aelfrie and out from underneath the giant tree. Hayden was more nervous now then he had been while talking to the Metallic Riders in The Outpost.

  Hayden knew that one day soon those four riders would make it back to Celestial City and find out the truth about what had happened. Hayden also knew that there was a patrol of Metallic Riders heading straight for them that they had to somehow avoid.

  Now there was the potential for the entire elf nation to be against them. Everywhere we turn we find another enemy waiting for us. Hayden told Draek. Draek had calmed down but was still on edge, the only image Hayden got from Draek was of the ever present green dragons still watching him.

  The guards led Hayden, Cass, and Shane to a small stream not far from where they had met Aelfrie; they could still see the giant tree looming over head. Hayden and the others sat down by the stream and began eagerly drinking the clean, cold water.

  While they were drinking two elves that Hayden had not seen standing near them suddenly appeared and brought them small bread rolls and dried meat to eat while they waited. Hayden grabbed the food and divided it amongst themselves. He ate the meager meal so rapidly he hardly had time to taste it.

  As soon as his food was finished, Hayden leaned up against a tree and focused his thoughts back on Draek. He had expected to find his dragon still sitting in the stream but this was not the case. Draek was walking through the forest with the determination not be stopped by the green dragons.

  Draek where are you going? Hayden asked in a panic. He was waiting for the elves to threaten him again if Draek didn’t stop or worse, make good on their earlier threat.

  I am trying to find Rilora and Shaylin. It would be much faster if I could fly to them but these green dragons won’t let me in the air. Hayden realized why the elves didn’t care if Draek walked, it would take hours for Draek to make it to where Hayden was by foot so he posed no real threat while walking.

  Hayden relaxed and allowed his mind to be filled with Draek’s thoughts, he could only guess how long it was going to take for Aelfrie to make a decision and he was worried about Draek.

  As it turned out Aelfrie did not need very long at all. Hayden and the others had only been waiting for what seemed to be a little over an hour when an elf ran over and whispered in one of the guard’s ears.

  “Stand up Metallic Riders, the king wishes to speak to you again.” As Hayden lumbered to his feet he had to stretch out his muscles.

  They made the quick trek back to under the giant tree and just as before, Aelfrie was waiting with his daughter and a small cluster of guards around them.

  “Welcome back.” The king spoke politely, giving nothing away with his voice. “I trust that you all enjoyed your rest? I know the journey from Outpost to here can be tiresome on foot.”

  Hayden and the others waited in silence as he spoke. Aelfrie continued on with his ramblings. “One truly does not know the importance of having a dragon around until there are no dragons around.” He looked at the three young rider’s faces and saw that they were not amused.

  Hayden and his friends listened to Aelfrie’s small talk but they made no response to any of his statements or questions. As far as they knew, they were not here for a friendly visit.

  “Well there is no sense in avoiding the subject of what to do with the three of you any longer.” Aelfrie’s countenance changed to that of sadness as he spoke. “I have thought about what you three have been through. No one under stands the corruption and villainy of the Metallic Riders’ rule better than the elves.” As he spoke, the elves around Aelfrie nodded and shouted their agreement.

  “I believe that the three of you desperately want to leave the Metallic Riders and want no part in what they do but here in lies the problem that I now face. You three don’t want to be part of the Metallic Riders but you are, in every essence, Metallic Riders. You have the metal dragons, you have been trained by them, lived with them and served with them. They will come for you and when they do, we will have no choice but to give you over to them.”

  Aelfrie’s words struck like a hammer blow to Hayden’s chest. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he thought about how far they had come, how close to freedom they were. Then his thoughts moved onto the subject that he was going to have to go back to Celestial City.

  “Please, you must reconsider. We can’t go back there with them; you don’t have to help us just let us go.” Hayden tried to plead but Aelfrie cut him off.

  “And what happens when the Metallic Riders come to my forest and find the three of you missing? Their wrath will be great and it will fall upon us and our people. I am sorry, truly sorry, but I will not throw my people into a war they cannot win solely for the sake of helping the three of you. I will not sacrifice my people for your cause.”

  Aelfrie sat in silence and seemed to wait for one of the metallic riders to try to argue his decision again but they remained silent. Hayden understood his Aelfrie’s predicament and knew there was no point in fighting the elf king’s decision. They would have to go back to Celestial City and face judgment for what they had done.

  “Your dragons can fly here and take you back to the Out Post. The three of you and your dragons may fly around and travel anywhere within my realm but if you try to leave, my green riders will bring you back.” Aelfrie was trying to sound like his demands were not a decree but his tone left no doubt that his words were to be obeyed.

  “When the Metallic Riders come for you, I will present you to them and do my best to defend you to them but I will do no more.” Aelfrie looked at Hayden and saw the pain in his eyes. Hayden stared right back at the elf king and saw his feelings reflected in Aelfrie’s bright green eyes.

  I don’t blame him for the decision he is making. Hayden thought to Draek. Draek was already in the air, with his band of ever present green dragons not far behind him.

  Why do you think that way? Draek asked more aggressively than he meant to.

  He knows what we have been through and his people have been through worse. He knows that if he does help us that alone we will not be enough to turn back the metallic riders. Only death and sorrow will come to Eytherka.

  It wasn’t long until Draek, Rilora and Shaylin landed in a clearing close to where the elf king’s tree was. Strangely, Hayden and the others did not feel their normal joy when they saw their dragons land before them.

  Hayden climbed onto Draek’s bare back; they had not saddled their dragons this morning because they had not planned on flying. Hayden grabbed onto a silver spike in front of him and held on tightly with his legs.

  He glanced over at Shane and Cass and saw that they had both done the same and were prepared to take off. Hayden gave the signal and Draek shot into the air, with Rilora and Shaylin just a few dragon’s lengths beh
ind them.

  As Draek gained height and began to level out an idea came to Hayden. What if we fly off now? The green dragons aren’t in the air right now and they couldn’t catch you if they were.

  Before Draek could respond they watched as the whole forest around them came alive. Trees began to sway and rustle and leaves feel to the ground. Hayden thought that a strong breeze was disturbing the forest but then he saw the countless green dragons jumping over the tree tops, soaring a short distance and then diving back in amongst the foliage.

  Hayden was reminded of fish jumping out of the water; he would have been amazed if he had not just gotten the point of why the green dragons were doing it.

  The green dragons were everywhere and there was no way to escape. Hayden, Cass, Shane and their dragons were once again prisoners. Now more so then ever.

  Chapter 4

  Hayden sat on top of Out Post with his feet dangling over the edge. He looked out over the forest and found himself still in awe of the view, even considering his current circumstance. They had just flown back from Aelfrie’s giant tree but Hayden didn’t join Cass and Shane back down in their rooms just yet. He had told them that he wanted a little alone time which they granted him.

  “What are we going to do Draek? How can we go back to them?” Hayden knew that there was no need to ask the questions out loud but he did anyways. Draek sat off to the side of Hayden and stretched out his neck and wings as he listened to Hayden.

  I don’t have an answer to either of those questions. In this situation, I am as lost as you are. Draek’s words came as little comfort to Hayden’s already heavy heart. They sat in silence for a while longer until Draek made it apparent that he needed to hunt.

  Good luck Draek, and be safe. Hayden told him as he watched his silver dragon lazily walk off the edge of the Out Post and soar out over the trees.

  I will. Was Draek’s only response.