Time Of The Knights (The Dragon Knight Order Series Book 2)

by Gabriel Vicioso

  “Princess,” said Lord Shadow, lowering his head as he walked past me without stopping. I was able to catch a glimpse of Blight’s motionless face before Lord Shadow folded his wings to better fit in the palace hall.

  “Glad to see you on your feet Princess. You are tougher than what you seem,” said Lord Zetzu. As he stopped to greet me he extended his hand in the awkward human tradition to shake mine.

  “Glad to see you are alright Lord Zetzu,” I said shaking his hand, before noticing the large wound on his arm. He seemed to notice my eyes.

  “It’s not as bad as it looks. This young man over here can’t see and has several broken ribs and a shoulder. It’s a miracle he was able to walk so far.”

  I looked at the young Knight. He was probably the same age as me and he had already been this close to death twice. It’s people like him who will change the world, not comfortable princesses from their throne.

  “You did well in protecting everyone Alexander. Elves all across this city are in your debt and we never forget a debt.”

  He didn’t answer. I looked at Lord Zetzu who in turn looked at Alexander, and gave him a gentle push with his own body. No response.

  “Amazing, to be able to walk across the city while being unconscious, he truly is something, even without his magic,” said Lord Zetzu shaking his head, “I best take this fellow to the healers of the Legion so they can start working on him.”

  “And yourself,” I added.

  “They will most likely need to spend all their magic on him, his wounds were caused by an Ancient Dragon. And instead of holding on to the last bit of his strength the fool gave it away,” said Lord Zetzu, in a light tone. Although he called him a fool it would seem he was praising Alexander.

  “What do you mean? I asked

  “While on our way here an old lady stopped him to thank him and Alex turned around and grabbed both of her hands with his and simply smiled and spent the last of his magic on a relief spell for the old lady. He then walked all the way to the final flight of stairs before leaning on me again and passing out.

  He nodded to himself as he started walking towards a group of elves from the Black Legion. As I stood at the entrance to the main hall I couldn’t help but think that the people who take brave actions will be those remembered in history. Alexander had already earned himself a place in elven history as a defender of Zulia during its only invasion from a foreign enemy, and I was sure it wouldn’t be his only mention. I couldn’t help but wonder what would be said of me.

  Back

  I opened my eyes to darkness. I had a tiny moment of panic when I realized I couldn’t see but then I remembered I was merely suffering from the backlash of using the red eyes. I tried to remember how I got here, wherever this was, but all I remembered was walking in the streets of Zulia. I took a deep breath recalling all the events that had transpired in just three days’ time. I felt a slight tingle in my chest followed by a burning sensation. I raised my left hand to rub it and to my surprise the hand was covered in bandages.

  “Awake are we?” came the familiar tone of Master Shadow.

  “Yeah, how long was I out?” I asked.

  “Not terribly long. Two days.”

  “The Irkanians?”

  “All dead.”

  “The city?”

  “A little bit burnt on the side but otherwise intact, it was fortunate Zetzu lost his temper because the rain was very helpful in putting out the remaining fires,” he said.

  “How is Tromuelan?” I said getting up.

  “Vaurion finished with him yesterday. He is still sleeping but his wings were fully reattached.”

  “What about Zetzu?”

  “His injuries were not as bad as they seemed. You, on the other hand, have a lot of thank you letters to write. It took the better part of all the healers within the Legion just to put everything back where it belongs in that body of yours. You are by no means fully healed but you should be able to move so long as you understand there are limits to what you can do for a while and keeping in mind your eye sight has not returned yet.”

  “What about you Master? How are you?”

  “I am perfectly fine. I am slowly recovering my magical energy but alas, we dragons have so much more magic than humans it takes us an extremely long time to fully recover after using it all up.”

  I nodded to myself and then raised my left hand and asked, “And how did this happen? I don’t remember having any injuries there?”

  “While you slept Zetzu and I discussed several issues, Thanos being one of them, and it would appear when you heard the name Thanos you subconsciously reached for your sword which is on the table beside you. You grabbed it by the tip and cut yourself. How you knew it was there is beyond me.”

  I reflected on just how scared I was during the fight. That would have been enough to make my unconscious mind react in such a manner. And as always, I was an open book to Master.

  “No one is above fear Alex; you will find it helps keep you alive sometimes. Although fear too much and you will be incapacitated by it.”

  “Yes Master,” I said as I clenched my right hand into a tight fist.

  “I suppose no dreams with the Devourer this time?”

  “No, no dreams, Devourer or otherwise,” although I thought to myself silently it was good to finally get some undisturbed sleep, even if it was due to magic eating creatures and the remains of an ancient dragon’s soul. There was some silence, as if we were both uncertain of how to continue, then I ventured, “What happens now Master? They attacked the elves and are clearly plotting something bigger. We aren’t just going to let this slide are we?”

  “No, I don’t think the elves are going to take this laying down. There was an emergency meeting while you slept and after hearing Zetzu’s and my testimony of what happened at the entrance of the Council Chamber, the Council along with Dnailo, the acting commander of the Black Legion, are all calling for war. It would seem most if not all Elution Dragons are also calling for blood. And while extremely reluctant, even Nostrous agrees that striking the Irkanians might be their only choice.”

  “And what do you think is the correct choice?”

  “I have given the matter a great deal of thought but this does seem to be the only conclusion. Isolation won’t help the elves any longer, with something like the Celestial Gate in the hands of the Irkanians they could invade from anywhere. Given enough time they would strike again and next time they will be looking for the complete destruction of the elven race. I had never thought isolation was a good option, but again, I never imagined them coming after us in such a way. To be perfectly honest, like Zetzu, Tromuelan, and yourself, some of what happened is completely new to me,” he said, which was more then he usually revealed.

  “To war we march?” I asked

  “Nothing is certain at this stage. Lord Vicis and Lux are on their way to Alexandria and so is the Elven envoy. We will be joining them in two days’ time. With any luck Tromuelan will have awakened by then and will accompany us to Alexandria. I know it’s a little bit rushed but our work here is done. A new king was elected and we are needed back at the Academy if we are to prepare for war,” he said getting up from his chair.

  “A new King? What happened to Princess Keren?” I asked, afraid something terrible might have happened to her.

  “She has abdicated the throne. With Lord Stein’s death during the attack, that left only Nostrous as a contender.”

  “Did she give a reason as to why she quit?”

  “In her words, ‘I wish to be one of the doers, not the watchers as most seem content to do’.”

  “Is she around? I would like to speak to her.”

  “She left as part of the envoy. From what I am told she will be joining the expeditionary forces once she concludes her duties in the imperial capital,” he said walking towards the door. He stopped when he reached it. “We leave tomorrow, which will give us just a day to arrive at the capital. Be sure you are ready to leave at first
light regardless of your condition.”

  “Master… I have just one final question for you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Is this room white by any chance?”

  “That is a very peculiar question Alex, but yes it is. Now get some rest.”

  “Rest… as if it was easy,” I said to myself.

  I stared at the white ceiling, which seems always to dominate infirmaries and hospitals across the entire world. It was not exactly a heartwarming color but it could have been worse. Someone could have gotten the idea of painting them red. I was going to have a hard time resting with random thoughts like those so I decided I could occupy myself with a conversation.

  “Are you there?” I asked into my mind.

  No answer.

  “Still sleeping are you? You aren’t much of the conversational type anyway.”

  Still not answer.

  I sighed in defeat, but then I heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” I said, wondering who would visit me if Zetzu had left and Tromuelan was still asleep.

  “Hello Alex,” said a familiar voice.

  “Your Majesty,” I replied, attempting to rise from the bed.

  “Sounds like Lord Shadow beat me here. Please, there is no need for you to get up,” said the new king, Nostrous. “The two gentlemen accompanying me today are Commander Dnailo, Overlord of the Black Legion,” He said, patting one of the elves on the back, “And this fellow is Kinl, a highly accomplished member of the Legion.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” I said with a nod.

  “I have a lot to be grateful for because of you, Alex. Had it not been for your courage and strength many lives would have been lost and I am sure mine would have been among them given a certain item I have in my possession,” Said King Nostrous in a playful manner.

  “I didn’t really do much sir, besides, it’s something you would have done for me or anyone else who was in trouble,” I said.

  “You are a humble Knight. It has been quite some time since I have met one like you. A rare trait within a rare group,” came a comment from who I assumed was Dnailo, as his voice sounded older.

  “Yes well, it goes to show things can change Dnailo. However we are not here to discuss that right now. We are here to repay part of the debt we owe you Alex.”

  “You owe me no debt your Majesty. I was only doing what I must as a Dragon Knight,” I said with a new sense of pride.

  “That might be so, but you held your ground and fought with all your might even when you understood you had no chance of winning. For that you have earned the respect and admiration of every elf in the Harmony of Elution, even if it is a grudging respect by some. If there is one thing which can be said of us elves is our devotion to paying out debts.”

  “It really is not necessary sir.”

  “It is in this case.”

  I considered his statement for a moment. While it was true the elves were famous for their near obsessive payment of debts, there were several examples where said debts had been left unpaid. But then I was pretty sure I was not someone who they would just let be.

  “So how do you plan on paying it?” I asked, seeing no way out of it.

  “We shall have the brightest and strongest elf join you as a companion.”

  “As a companion? You mean as a sort of bodyguard… I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  “You are mistaken Alexander,” said Commander Dnailo. “Kinl is our own oddity, just as you are an oddity among your people. He is very similar to you in that regard. You are a Dragon Knight; he is a former Sentinel. You hold within you a being which should not exist in our world; Kinl holds an ability which breaks the logic of this world, much like what Thanos is trying to do.”

  Speaking up before the Commander could continue, King Nostrous said “The Black Legion functions under the idea of the ends justifying the means. It also has the very distinct idea the best should be paired with the best. Short of sending me across the world with you, Kinl is the next best thing.”

  “So it is true. The elves are marching to war,” I said.

  “Yes, we have been attacked and will respond in kind. Now that we know part of what the Irkanians are up to we must act swiftly to stop them,” came the Commander’s reply.

  “While I might be against war, it is something that cannot be helped. We can no longer sit idly as the enemy amasses its strength. The status quo can no longer be kept given the forces at work here. The Irkanians were exceptional and dangerous foes before adding a deranged Ancient Dragon to the mix with a personal army of his twisted version of Dragon Knights, the Death Knights. The potential for total destruction of both the Harmony and Empire is dangerously evident. We have quite the ways to go before we are fully prepared to go to war but the arrangements are already underway. The Black Legion will be sent in full strength followed by every single able bodied elf.”

  “How long do you think before you arrive Commander Dnailo?”

  “Given no unforeseen events from the weather, we shall be at the southern end of the human-Irkanian border in three weeks’ time, sufficient time for your people to begin amassing along the northern and central areas of the boarder.”

  “I must say my farewells for now. Being king has made me a sudden center of attention of a lot of people who are constantly focused on questions. The debt we owe you will never be fully repaid but I hope Kinl can start now for the whole of the elven race,” said King Nostrous.

  “Thank you, your Majesty.” I said as Kinl and Commander Dnailo bid me farewell and walked out of the room following their new king.

  Departure

  “I dislike having to rely on someone else to walk me around,” I said.

  “It cannot be helped Alex and complaining about it won’t help you in the slightest bit,” said Master.

  “It might not make it easier to do, but it certainly makes me feel better to voice it, so you could say in a way it helps,” I replied, trying for a reaction from the otherwise occupied dragon.

  He had been serious about leaving. Not twenty minutes after I woke up came the order to leave my room and prepare for the journey back. Kinl had been sent to help me move along since I still couldn’t see. However even with the silent elf’s help I stumbled quite often. Once we had arrived at the royal court yard we found Master busy as ever directing elves and helping plan which supplies would be needed in the weeks to come.

  King Nostrous and Commander Dnailo were talking amongst themselves, with large maps laid on the table in front of them. They were most likely planning the invasion and the best possible way to achieve victory.

  “How well do you think the elves will fare against the Irkanians?” I asked Kinl.

  “If the past is any evidence of what we might expect, the Black Legion is more than prepared. However the same cannot be said of the rest of the elven military forces. They have grown lazy and weak in their idle state, much like humans who live far away from the boarder have grown weak,” came the answer from the elf.

  I was eager to see what Kinl looked like. I had just met him yesterday but I was intrigued by him. He was what in my head would be a perfect solider. Didn’t ask questions unless asked directly, kept his opinion to himself, was extremely efficient even in his speaking, and to top it off he excelled at magic, by elven standards. More important than seeing Kinl was the question of when my vision would be returning. The Reaper had said it would eventually return but what did eventually mean to that creature?

  “Well this should be enough,” exclaimed Master.

  “You shall be leaving then Lord Shadow?” asked King Nostrous, walking over from the table he had been at.

  “Yes, it will take me a bit longer than usual to complete the trip with the added weight but we should still arrive by late afternoon if the winds are favorable. If the wind is a problem we will be forced to land once we reach Varna and finish our journey tomorrow morning.”

  “I wish you a warm farewell,” replied King Nostrous, who then a
ddressed me. “Alexander, I hope this is not the last time we will see each other, nor the last time you visit the Harmony. You have not seen it in its full glory and there is also the matter of our debt to you.”

  “Thank you, your majesty I hope to come back sooner rather than later,” I said taking a bow.

  “I expect you to complete this assignment with the same diligence you have completed all the others before it Kinl,” said Commander Dnailo.

  “I will sir,” came the short reply.

  Following our goodbyes both Kinl and I mounted Master’s back and he walked to a spot where he could spread his wings and jumped into the air to begin our journey back.

  It wasn’t long before I became bored since this time around I couldn’t keep myself entertained looking at the landscape or speaking to Zetzu, as Master preferred to fly in silence and Kinl wasn’t much of a conversationalist unless questioned.

  “Tell me Kinl. Where are you from?” I asked him expecting a short answer.

  “Mar'Drayke,” came his simple answer.

  “And where is that in the Harmony? Is there anything of importance there? Is it a big village or perhaps is it a city? Try to be detailed.”

  “Mar'Drayke is just south of Zulia. It is the home of the Black Legion and is where we are stationed, which make it very large given the military nature of the Black Legion. Architecturally speaking the entire city is uniform in its buildings shape and size with most buildings being painted black. A tactical choice, as the uniform architecture would make it impossible for any invading enemy to find our headquarters, and in the event of a siege the black buildings would make it extremely difficult to make them out at night, which is when most attacks take place in sieges.”

  I was actually surprised he added a fact about the tactical importance of having similar buildings all around. I guess he took my ‘detailed’ as an order too. I considered what I should ask next.

  “Tell me about yourself Kinl, why you joined the Black Legion if you were a Sentinel. From what I gather the Legion is respected but not well liked among your people.”