Standing or rather hovering, in front of us stood something I had never seen before. It had wings on its back, four like an Ancient Dragon, but these wings did not resemble the bat like wing of a dragon they seemed more like a bird’s. It had the body of a human although it was completely covered in armor. I could tell from the shape of the body it was a female. Her hair was white and it went about half down her back. I could not see her face as a helmet covered it down to her mouth.
I gave Andrax a long look and noticed he had grown to be about the same size as Vaurion, something that added to my confusion as I didn’t feel any magical strain at all because of it. In fact, I didn’t feel any magic at all.
“Care to explain what is going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” said Adria, her voice bit shaky. She wasn’t use to crazy magical beings or trips into your own brain. Her uncertain reaction was normal, as normal as these things can be.
“I was asking Andrax. I am guessing we are inside my mind again and you are just part of my imagination but the other times the setting was in an ocean,” I said, focusing on my meeting place with the Reaper as to bring up the ocean and red sky.
“Oh, she is very much here. If this was your mind, the Reaper would also be here,” answered Andrax.
“So not part of my imagination then?” I asked, looking at Adria.
“Are you saying you have imaginary conversations with me?” was the witty reply I got.
“So what is this place then? How come you are that big and yet I cannot sense magic?”
“I don’t know, things like rules don’t really work in this place,” he said.
“So you have been here before?”
“Yes, once before. A long time ago.”
“Welcome young ones,” spoke the woman with wings, “I am sorry to drag you here on such short notice but I sensed we needed to speak.”
‘“About?” said Andrax sitting down in the white nothingness that surrounded us.
“You are Andraxsccl and yet I sense you differently than last time.”
“Yeah, I died. I am just a fragment of the original Andraxsccl,” he replied. It always made me feel uncomfortable, the ease with which he accepted that he wasn’t the entire Andraxsccl, just pieces the original deemed necessary.
“A most regrettable event but alas we are able to converse still. As to the reason why you are here, it has come to our attention one of your kind is attempting to break the deal we agreed upon.”
“It only took you five hundred years to notice that?”
“We don’t share the same concept of time, of this you are aware. I ask, what do you plan to do?”
“Stop him of course,” said Andrax.
“And if you fail?”
“We won’t,” I blurted out, even though I didn’t understand all of what had been said.
“You are the bearer of Andraxsccl and of something different, not of your realm anchored in your eyes,” she said, raising her hand and gesturing for me to come forward.
I looked at Andrax unsure of what to do. He nodded so I figured I would do as I was told. She touched my face with her hand. It was cold. She then dropped the hand back down. Just as suddenly as Andrax had appeared in this space the Reaper also, now appeared next to me.
This time however he seemed complete, red eyes shining inside the cloak he wore. The cloak itself appeared to be new and his skeletal hands seemed… I wouldn’t even know how to describe a skeleton looking better while still being a skeleton, but he did. He kneeled suddenly as he saw the winged woman.
“Rise,” she said.
The Reaper stood up uneasily and briefly looked around but remained silent.
“You are strong with these two to follow you. But are you strong enough?” she asked me.
“I have to be.”
“It is a yes or no question.”
“Yes, I am strong enough to kill Thanos.”
“No you are not; you merely have a trick to kill him. Should it fail you would not survive,” came the hard reply.
“And what do you suppose we do, cower in fear while he kills us?” asked Adria.
“No, we will intervene.”
“That goes against the rules,” said Andrax.
“You broke them first. You helped Thanos create the Irkanians and then found the spells he requires to complete his revenge.”
“We experimented with the idea but I stepped away from it as did the rest. He doesn’t call himself the Wingless one for nothing. I ripped them off when he went ahead with his plans.”
“Alright… Enough of this, would one of you explain to us what is going on because I certainly would like to know. Starting with who and what you are.”
“We do not have names like you we are simply called Valkyries, as such I am a Valkyrie. The Ancient Dragons refer to us as the spirits of the dead, an unfitting title.”
“Okay and what is this deal you speak of?”
“Long ago, during our war, Andraxsccl approached us with a deal. It was meant to put an end to our long and bloody war. Us Valkyries would enter a deep slumber with only a handful of us awake at any given time to carry on performing our role in this world.”
“Which role is that?” asked Adria.
“We help the spirits of the dead to cross over to the afterlife.”
“Like a caretaker? I don’t understand how that led to a war.” said Adria, making a point I shared with her, having never been told the details of the war.
“Sometimes the spirit held a grudge or refused to move on. So a group of them would gather to help said spirit. The thing about Valkyries is they cannot stay in one place for too long or else they create an area of space where nothing that has magic can live,” said Andrax.
“So they consume magic like the Reaper?” I asked, glancing at the still silent Reaper.
“No, we do not consume magic. If dragon and human magic is considered life magic, ours is considered death magic. When enough of us gather at a single spot it creates a change in the natural balance of the world causing everything within the area to die as our magic saturates it. Eventually it would balance back but it is sometimes too considerable an amount of time according to the Ancient Dragons. Our magic is stronger when we are together, thus why the deal required the vast majority of us to slumber as to avoid these areas of death as one of us is not enough to create such an area.”
I had always had trouble understanding the differences of elemental and physical magic now I had to add to that life and death magic.
“And what did you promise in exchange?” I asked Andrax.
“A place for them to sleep.”
“Huh?” I said, almost by reflex.
“Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Varna Dragons and Elution Dragons, and Stonewalkers, it is really simple. Because Valkyries are a mix of a spirit and soul it was easy to anchor them to another being, it’s the same principle of a Dragon Heart but instead of a fragment it’s the whole thing. That is from where all your magic comes. Over time human souls, along with the other species developed a connection with the world after being exposed to the hearts the Valkyries shared. Since you are all alive the bond formed in life magic instead of death magic.”
“Alright I understand but what does that mean for us?” I asked before they managed to confuse me with something else. I was having a pretty hard time getting my head around the differences of a soul and spirit and the fact we all share our bodies with the caretakers of the dead.
“What Thanos has been trying to do is kill us. He was the mastermind behind the Mad Elf, who crushed the Elf bond with magic, something that forced us to flee to the only hosts which would serve our needs, the Humans, Varna Dragons, Dwarves, and Stonewalkers. It didn’t take long for Thanos to perpetrate the Dwarves and Stonewalkers loss of part of their bond as well, leaving now only the magical superior humans and Varnian Dragons as suitable hosts. His real motive is not the mere revival of one ancient dragon. He wants to bring them all back and he will use our souls
to do so. All of which have been concentrated in one place for him to consume. He needs the Dragon Hearts to start the spell which will consume us and result in the destruction of the Hearts, thus allow him to bring back their original counterparts. That is what he plans, not those lies he speaks to you,” said the Valkyrie.
Andrax was in deep thought and so was Adria. I wondered if I was the only one who thought that it changed nothing. Knowing the reason behind all of this didn’t change the need for stopping Thanos.
“It doesn’t change anything,” said Andrax, to which Adria nodded in agreement. I was glad to see we were all on the same page.
“I am glad to hear it. However there is something you should be aware of. There is a Valkyrie inside her,” said the Valkyrie pointing at Adria. “It has begun to stir. I know not the reason why. We are only supposed to start our awakening as a person approaches the end of their life cycle but you are not there.”
“What happens when the Valkyrie awakens?” asked Adria, trying to hide how much the Valkyrie’s words had frightened her.
“Quite simple. You will die.”
“Ah,” was all Adria said as a response.
“There is a solution. Every time the Valkyrie’s power manifests itself you must drain all the magic which manifests.”
“How will I know?” I asked.
“Her eyes will turn blue,” she then turned her face to look directly at the Reaper. “You will help him in this.”
The Reaper merely nodded which surprised me after the rebellious nature he had displayed with me.
“You must all get going. I cannot keep you here any longer, as you have a battle to attend to,” said the Valkyrie.
Before we could say anything else we were back in the air in the exact same position. Only we had moved considerably far from where we originally where and now found ourselves within view of BlackStorm Keep.
The sun was setting, which meant our time with the Valkyrie had consumed most of the day if not all of it but at least we had arrived at the Keep with enough time to rest and prepare for the battle which was expected tomorrow.
I looked at Adria, her face said it all. She was very troubled by what the Valkyrie had said or perhaps she was thinking of the battle tomorrow. If it were me I would be more concerned with the former.
“You know, it seems like you are now stuck to me officially,” I said.
“Yeah, I am sorry for that,” She answered.
“I meant it in light of what we spoke about before our little interruption,” I said with a smile, hoping sunset and orange sky were enough to hide my blushing face.
“Oh… In that case, I am not sorry at all,” she said, her face turning red with a smile. I guess she could see my blushing face as well as I could see her’s.
I moved around Andraxsccl’s back as he flew gently towards the Keep. When I had finally reached the position I wanted behind Adria, I spread my arms around her and hugged her, lightly pressing her back against my chest and resting my head gently on her left shoulder. As we watched the sunset I couldn’t help but feel that we were going to make it somehow.
“It will be alright,” I whispered into her ear gently.
“As long as you stay this gentle and caring I can’t see it going wrong.”
Last time
The storm was passing. It had been Zetzu’s idea, fighting on the wet and muddy ground would upset the heavier Irkanians more than us. It was a small advantage but every little bit could be used. I could sense them approaching, it had been early morning when I first sensed them. We had spent the rest of the morning getting everyone ready and now we all stood in the field in front of the keep waiting for them. I looked to my far left and saw Adria with Evey. Battle armor didn’t suit either of them but it would keep them safe I hoped. I gave them a gentle nod then turned to my far right to see Ilean and Axcel. Their battle armor seemed to fit them quite well. I guess it came with being a Noble. Even Adria had said I looked elegant in this bronze armor. The ground was soaked wet from all the rain. I wondered if anyone else was thinking of how uncomfortable it was to fight all wet and muddy but I guessed that when your life was in danger, water and mud were pretty mundane things to complain about. This last bit of rain had decided to shower us for the last ten minutes. It made me wonder just how much control Zetzu really had over this storm he had created.
I must admit the bastards were cunning in their manner of attacking. They had waited until most of the dragons had moved off to help the elves down south and further north after the sudden attacks made on those fronts. Vicis and Lux had gone to each of the frontlines respectively and left Master and Zetzu here with a small contingent of dragons. I wondered if it would be enough to stop our opponent and while I wasn’t sure who it was, that massive magical presence which accompanied the Irkanians could only come from an ancient dragon. I secretly hoped it wasn’t Thanos who had fallen into our trap. Experience had proven our power was not enough to stop him but perhaps now that I had my own secret weapon, we could achieve a degree of success.
“You know, standing inside the magical defenses of the keep was cleaver,” said Zetzu from my right side.
“Agreed. We would have won nothing by pulling this into a drawn out match from outside the barrier. Inside it our archers and siege weapons would be relatively safe from any long range attack the Irkanians tried. They will all have to come into our battle range,” said Master from my left.
“I think the only one who can be credited as to coming up with an effective strategy is General Nark,” I said, my voice sounding odd to me from within my helmet.
“A smart man that one,” said Master.
The monstrous magical presence that was heading for us was close. It passed the detection perimeter of the main barrier which made the entire barrier around BlackStorm Keep visible to the naked eye.
“They are here,” said Master and Zetzu at the same time.
A powerful beam of light hit the barrier followed by a series of lightning strikes and yet the barrier remained.
“Perhaps it will hold the entire battle,” I said hopeful.
“Well it was designed to ward off those kinds of massive attacks and for forcing dragons to fly low enough for regular humans to attack them,” responded Zetzu.
And then as if by magic, the rain stopped and revealed a good two hundred meters in front of us, a massive line of Irkanians warriors. Their entire line was as large, if not larger than our own and the entire front row was composed of Death Knights. It was easy to tell them apart from regular Irkanians by their heavy armor with the large pointy helmets. While the power they emanated was strong there was one that stood out from the rest and it came from the one wearing the golden armor who was directly in front of me.
“Dragons!!!” I called out.
From our line five dragons appeared which proceeded to unleash five devastating Dragon Blasts. I wanted to watch what a genuine dragon looked like using the strongest magical spell I knew but something about that golden armor forced me to keep my eyes on him. The moment before the blasts connected with the Irkanian line, the ancient dragon inside the golden armor raised a spear in the air causing the Irkanians to break formation and charger madly at our lines. The ground shook as the Dragon Blasts hit their targets.
“Archers, rain death from above!!” shouted Axcel from his side of the line, and after two volleys of arrows, Master whispered into my ears “Its time,” as the Irkanians approached us with a savage run and no regard for the arrows that found themselves stuck in their flesh.
It was a gruesome sight and I could tell more than a fair amount of the men were frightened by such a display of savagery, but it was already too late to back down so I did the only thing left to do.
“Charge!!!” I shouted after raising my arm, sword in hand and taking off in a sprint.
“This time kill him,” said the Reaper in my head as I ran.
“Just give me those red eyes and I will get it done,” I replied mentally to him.
As we were about to clash he threw his spear at me which I easily dodged but before I could consider myself lucky for him being unarmed he shouted “Vaben!” and a magical sword formed in his hand mid swing. The sword Vaurion had given me was shattered instantly but I was able to mouth the word Brunas before the kick that followed his strike connected with me.
“Not bad for a human,” said a familiar voice.
“You are just an old dragon after all, Rafurious,” I snapped back before moving out of the way as Andrax emerged from his shadow sinking his magical teeth into Rafurious’s arm.
“Not bad at all,” he said as he used his other hand to pick up Andraxsccl and throw him into the air. Two Vorm heads popped out of the ground and attempted to lock Rafurious in place.
“These sad attempts to refrain me will only serve to delay me momentarily human. Your magic is weak compared to my own,” he said as he took a step forward. “I am an Ancient Dragon! Our magic is pure and thus unstoppable,” he said as he hit me with an invisible man size fist. It was strong enough to send me tumbling into a group of soldiers engaged with other Irkanians at the moment.
“You think you stand a chance. You never have. Thanos just didn’t want to damage one of his potential tools. I however did not agree to play nice with you,” he said as the invisible fist hit me again but this time from above.
I stood up and cast Vaben, which took the shape of one of the blades in my emblem. A katana I think it was called, and took a strike at him which he pared. We danced around each other for a few minutes before he brought his large magical sword down on me. I managed to catch the blow with my sword but the force of the impact forced me onto one of my knees.
“The natural state of humans, on their knees begging,” he said.
I shouted into my head for some help from the Reaper and got perhaps more then I bargained for.
Time Of The Knights (The Dragon Knight Order Series Book 2) Page 16