The Clash of Land and Sea_The Dragon Riders of Arvain

by Nicholas Clausen

  We need to slow down a little bit, we left everyone. Hayden smiled at his silver dragon’s strength. He felt them lose a little momentum as Draek began gliding longer between his wing beats.

  Rilora and Shaylin caught up to Draek just as he touched down on Out Post’s landing pad. Hayden did not wait for the servants to come and help him get out of the saddle. Instead he just threw his leg over Draek’s back and slid down his side. As his feet hit the landing pad and stung up to his knees he realized Draek was getting too large to simply slide off him anymore.

  Cass slid off of Shaylin and Shane jumped off of Rilora’s back and landed perfectly on the balls of his feet. Their dragons jumped off the edge of the platform and took back to the sky, leaving their saddles on their back.

  Just as the three riders made it to the trap door that led down into the Out Post Hayden saw Nignra’s head pop up at the end of the landing pad. The green dragon climbed up the side of Out Post and collapsed on the landing pad.

  Hayden knew what an exhausted dragon looked like and Nignra was a perfect example of one. Her sides heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath; her green scaled sides rising and falling rapidly. Her tongue laid out of her mouth as she tried to catch her breath. Kirin unstrapped herself from her saddle and began yelling for Hayden to wait. Hayden made sure both Cass and Shane were inside Out Post before climbing down the trap door himself and slammed the door closed behind him.

  The three riders walked at a brisk pace as they made their way down the twisting staircases. They did not run into anyone until they made it to the floor where their room was. There were two elves waiting in front of the hallway leading to their rooms and they stood in the door way, intending to block the young rider’s passage. Shane was in the lead of their group and he did not slow down as they neared the elves.

  Cass walked between Shane and Hayden, her fists remained balled up as they walked. The elf standing to the left of the door took a step forward and held out his hand to stop Shane. He opened his mouth to speak but only got a few words out.

  “What are you three…” The next sound was of the elves’ helmet smacking against the wall behind him as Shane pushed the elves’ head back without slowing down. The second elf reacted faster than Hayden thought possible.

  The elf moved into a fighting stance and drew out his thin sword. If Shane had been untrained, he might have been nervous about fighting an opponent who was faster than him. But Shane was trained, very well trained and the one thing he wasn’t was nervous. As the elf spun his sword in beautiful arcs Shane ducted and dodged the blade.

  Cass moved forward and punched the elf in his temple while the elf was focused on Shane. Her fist made contact with the elves’ head and knocked him off his feet, sending him sprawling across the floor; his helmet spinning on the floor where he once stood. Shane looked at Cass as she stepped over the two unconscious elves as if they were nothing more than rugs on the floor.

  Hayden followed behind his friends and quickly checked to make sure the second elf was still alive. Thankfully he was.

  As they made it into their room Hayden and Shane stood by while Cass paced back and forth. After a few passes around the room Cass started packing her gear up. Shane and Hayden quickly began packing their gear as well.

  Hayden had not worn a weapon since they had landed at Out Post because he feared it would be considered as a sign of aggression to the elves. Now he quickly strapped his silver blade around his back and he saw Shane nod his head as he did the same with his copper broad sword.

  “What’s our next move?” Shane asked, not taking his eyes off his pack as he shove the last of his belongings in.

  “We get out of here as soon as we can, before anyone else notices.” Hayden replied as he placed his shinning eagle helm on his bed.

  “I have noticed what you are doing.” A soft voice came from the corridor leading from their room. Hayden thought one of the elves had come too and quickly drew out his sword. Instead of an armed, angry elf there stood Aelfrie with his hands opened to show they were empty.

  They heard footsteps as someone came barreling down the corridor. Kirin ran next to her father and drew her own blade to meet Hayden’s. Kirin was panting and out of breath just as her dragon had been, her hair had become disheveled with errant strands everywhere.

  “You can’t keep us here.” Hayden said in his best commanding tone.

  “Yes we can.” Kirin responded. Aelfrie stepped forward and placed his hand on the edge of Kirin’s green tinted blade.

  “No we can’t daughter.” Aelfrie still spoke softly, as if he had not slept since the last time they had seen each other. “They are Metallic Riders after all.”

  Chapter 6

  Hayden was just as shocked as Kirin after hearing what Aelfrie said.

  “But father, I don’t understand.” Kirin lowered her blade.

  “It is simple daughter, they are Metallic Riders. There isn’t anything we can do to them to make them stay. If we fight them and lock them in a room what would they do to us when it was their turn to rule over Out Post?” Aelfrie turned away from his daughter and faced Hayden.

  “I am sorry for what happened today, it was not our intent to upset you.” Aelfrie spoke to Cass and for the first time since Feren, she responded. Cass looked up from her bed, hands still shaking from anger.

  “How could they do that to people?” she responded. Aelfrie walked past Hayden and Shane as if they did not exist.

  “There have always been evil deeds, some done by evil people and others done out of ignorance. What was done cannot be undone. It is in our past and makes us who we are.” Aelfrie sat next to Cass on her bed as he spoke.

  “It’s not right, it’s not fair.” Cass growled. Hayden had never seen Cass act this way. She was normally the strong willed person who could think of a way out of any situation, but seeing the elves in Feren had shaken her to her core.

  “You’re right, it isn’t, but the three of you can change that.” Aelfrie looked up at Hayden and Shane.

  “What can they do?” Kirin asked, not trying to hide the anger in her voice.

  “Shane, your Rilora is stronger and faster than any copper dragon I have seen in a long time. You will quickly go up in the ranks and you could very well oversee all the fighting dragons one day, or possibly even sit on the Copper Throne.” Shane lowered his head and hid his smile. He was still awkward about receiving praise.

  “Hayden, you and Draek together are natural leaders. Draek is unlike any silver dragon I have ever met. The two of you could do anything including taking the Silver Throne for yourselves.” Aelfrie nodded at Hayden as he put his silver sword back in its sheath.

  “Cassidy the Gold, the name alone tells you what your future holds. Copper dragons are common and that’s why Shane and Rilora must stand out. Silver dragons are rare and that allows Hayden and Draek more prestige in the Metallic Rider ranks but none of that applies to you. You are the rider of a golden dragon.” Cass looked up and locked eyes with Aelfrie.

  “There is only one place for you in Arvain and that is on the Golden Throne, one day you will rule over all of Arvain. There is a chance that all three of you could sit on the Thrones of the Three which would be ideal. Only one thing is certain though, Cassidy will sit on the Golden Throne.” Aelfrie let his words sink in for everyone.

  “You might feel like you can’t change anything now but one day that will change.” Aelfrie got off the bed and made his way to leave the room. “I may be assuming too much but I believe that the three of you will be staying with us?” He asked over his shoulder.

  Hayden looked at Shane and Cass for an answer but they were looking at him for that. What do we do Draek? He asked after getting no help from his friends.

  Aelfrie words are true and wise Hayden. We will have to face the Metallic Riders and go back with them but one day we will be able to fix the wrong that they have done. Draek’s thoughts confirmed what Hayden had been thinking. Hayden put his bag back onto
his bed.

  “We will stay.” Hayden replied. He noticed a slight easing of the tension that had been building in the room. Aelfrie nodded and smiled at the young riders as he began walking out of their room. Kirin turned to follow him but Aelfrie stopped her.

  “What is it father?” Kirin asked when her father would not let her leave.

  “You need to stay here and make up for what you have done to our new friends.” Aelfrie did not yell at Kirin but his tone made it very clear that he was not to be questioned on this.

  “Yes father.” Was Kirin’s soft reply. Aelfrie kissed his daughter on her cheek and walked down the corridor to leave. He stepped over the two elves that were still lying on the floor unconscious and as he did he shook his head and looked back at the riders.

  “I will send someone down to take them to our healers and don’t worry; I won’t be sending anyone else to watch over you.” Aelfrie disappeared around a corner.

  Hayden and Kirin stood staring at each other, neither of them wanting to say the first word. Shane began unpacking his bag and putting his stuff back where he had gotten it from.

  Cass got up from her bed and walked over to Kirin. Just as Kirin was about to speak Cass began talking. Both girls kept trying to talk over the other until they realized they weren’t getting anywhere.

  Finally, they both stopped talking and just started laughing. Hayden looked at Shane and shrugged his shoulders; Shane’s response was the same.

  “So.” Hayden said to get the girls attention

  “I am sorry.” Kirin finally said.

  “I know.” Cass responded.

  “So what happens now?” Hayden asked.

  “I hope that you all will give me a second chance to show you around the forest. I know that today did not go so well but I promise I will do better.” Kirin said with a determined look on her face.

  “I believe we would like that.” Cass responded and both Hayden and Shane nodded in agreement.

  “It’s still early in the day, we could go flying together.” Cass suggested. The idea of flying cheered Hayden up immediately. Even though he had spent the majority of the last month in the saddle he still hadn’t had enough flying.

  “I think that is a great idea.” Hayden said. “Let’s unpack first while our dragons return.” Hayden had already told Draek to return but it was going to be a while before he made it back.

  Shane was almost done unpacking already so Hayden dumped his bag out on his bed to try to put all his gear back up as fast as he could. Clothes went flying all over the bed and floor. Hayden picked up all the gear when Kirin asked him a question.

  “What’s this?” She asked as she picked up a grey shirt that was wrapped around a dagger.

  Before Hayden could react to her question Kirin unwrapped the simple dagger and pulled the blade out from the sheath. Hayden hadn’t taken the blade out since the night of Fendrel’s death; he hadn’t even cleaned the blade. The small hammer necklace hung from the dagger’s handle.

  Kirin looked at the dirty blade and knew instantly that it was blood and saw that it was starting to cause the blade to rust.

  “That’s Hayden’s dagger that he made back in Celestial City.” Shane answered Kirin’s question.

  “Why is it so dirty, did they not teach you how to clean your blades in Celestial City?” Kirin jokingly asked but when no one laughed she became confused.

  “That’s the blade that killed Fendrel.” Hayden said in a hushed tone. Hayden hadn’t spoken about Fendrel’s death; he had done his best not to even think about it. Now didn’t seem like the time to start.

  Hayden walked up to Kirin, gently took the discolored blade and put it back into its sheath. Before Kirin could ask any more questions Draek’s voice boomed in Hayden’s head.

  We are back. The words were simple but Hayden was so glad to have an excuse to change the subject.

  “Draek and the others are back.” Hayden wrapped the dagger back up in his shirt and put it in his now empty bag. I am glad you made it back so fast. Hayden told Draek as they made their way up to the landing pad. With the riders back on their dragons they took off to fly over Eytherka.

  The next morning the riders followed Kirin back to Feren. They did not need her to guide them to the city as the once hidden entrance to Feren was so evident from the previous day’s events. Hayden felt bad about what they had done but it had been necessary.

  Kirin’s Nignra landed first with Hayden and Draek following closely behind her. The two riders quickly dismounted their dragons and made room for the other two dragons to land, just as the day before. Hayden, Cass and Shane had been given clothing similar to the elves’. This was not done to try and hide that they were Metallic Riders, but just to draw the focus of everyone’s attention away from that fact.

  They wore long flowing robes that covered them from their shoulders to their feet. The robes were colored in different shades of green so it looked like they were wearing living trees and shrubs. They had long brown trousers underneath the robes and long sleeved brown shirts under the robes to help fight off the chill in the air. The robes came with hoods but they were of no use while on a dragon’s back.

  They wore thick gloves and kept the robes tied around them with soft sashes. Their old travel worn boots had been replaced with new dark brown leather boots that had soft fur on the inside to keep their feet warm. Winter was ending but it was still cold.

  With all four riders off their dragons they began walking towards the city of Feren. Hayden kept eyeing the surrounding elves as they made their way to surround them. Everything seemed to be going the exact same way as it had the previous day.

  This time though it was Kirin who did something that she hadn’t previously done. She grabbed Cass by the hand and led her through the elves of Feren. She made no public speech; instead she introduced them to the elves personally.

  The elves were still nervous around the Metallic Riders and Kirin but soon their curiosity overcame their fear. After all, they were just humans, important humans, and humans they had seen up close before. Metallic dragons, on the other hand, were an entirely different story.

  The elves pushed past Hayden and the others and began to swarm around Draek, Shaylin and Rilora. The elves seemed uncomfortable with getting close enough to touch the dragons so they stayed a little ways back. Draek shuffled his wings nervously and all the elves quickly took a few more steps back, worried that the silver giant was about to attack them.

  A young female elf stood her ground as all the other elves backed away from Draek, leaving her to stand in between them and the dragons. She did not seem to notice that she was alone in front of the three dragons as she slowly moved even closer to them.

  Hayden had a sudden flash back to when he had first stood before the three metallic dragons during his final trial and he smiled at how familiar the scene in front of him seemed.

  The young elf wore the same style clothes as all the other elves did but she was noticeably dirtier and her hair was pulled back as if she was more concerned about moving through the woods than with her appearance. She fearlessly inched her way closer and closer to Draek while Rilora and Shaylin both leaned down to get closer the elf.

  “Who is she?” asked Hayden as Draek tilted his head down so that his silver eye was right in front of the elves’ face. The elf closed her eyes and leaned her head against Draek’s and hugged him.

  “That would be our young Raena” Kirin spoke as the elf went and hugged both Shaylin and Rilora the same way she had hugged Draek.

  “It’s amazing that she has no fear of our dragons. The others still look nervous to get any closer to them.” Cass said as the other elves, seeing that no harm had come to Raena, began slowly moving forward towards the dragons with outstretched hands.

  “It truly is, especially since both her parents were killed by Metallic Dragons.” Kirin’s comment shocked Hayden and made him turn his attention from what his dragon was doing to Kirin.

  “What did you sa
y?” Shane asked.

  Kirin nodded at Shane as she spoke. “When she was but a child her parents were killed. She was just old enough to know what it meant when we told her. No one really knows what truly happened to them though. One day the Metallic Riders brought us their bodies and told us it was our own fault for not being more obedient to them. The people of Feren have done their best to raise her and even though she has had a hard life she has the kindest heart I have ever seen.” Kirin spoke with admiration and pride; it was obvious she had spent her fair share of time personally raising young Raena.

  “Come; let them admire your dragons while I show you all that Feren has to offer.” Kirin said as she gently pushed the riders back towards the hidden city.

  As it turned out Feren indeed had a lot to offer.

  A few days after their second introduction of the people of Feren, Cass thought it a good idea to move in with the elves and out of the Out Post. They were each given their own small sleeping area; most of the elves lived the same way, none of them having large dwellings. Their dragons slept in the landing area with Kirin’s Nignra and two other green dragons. Along with losing the luxuries that the Out Post offered them, like having their clothes washed for them and food made for them daily, they now had chores to do.

  Hayden and the others learned that Feren produced something that was used all over Eytherka; the giant deer that the elves rode. Each elfish city provided for their own city but they also produced something for the elf nation. Some made weapons, others made clothing and Feren bred the biggest and strongest deer, bred specifically for work and for battle.

  Hayden had seen one of the animals grazing in a field and watched as one of the bucks raised his head and showed off his giant, sharpened antlers. Hayden didn’t have to be told why they were a good animal to have.

  The elves still loved to spend time admiring Draek, Rilora and Shaylin and the metallic dragons were beginning to enjoy the attention. The dragons did their best to impress the elves and show off everything they could do.