The Necromancer's Dragon

by C D Muller

Selena learned that the scroll spoke of how technologically advanced the dwarves were, in comparison to the other races. They abandoned the ways of magic to build alien machinery. Strange artificial devices made of metal combined with magic stones were discovered, throughout history, in abandoned ruins that were scattered across Armageddon. Several of these ruins were apparently discovered in the Hinterlands, but they were sealed off by large metal doors before they were completely abandoned to conceal whatever creations they had inside from ever being discovered.

  Selena scanned over the text several more times.

  “I never would have imagined. That could explain what I saw when I first came here.”

  She continued to read before a paragraph stood out to her. It spoke of a discovery made by Gundisalvus of ancient dwarven technology; a strange device that could read starlight and use it to predict future events. It gives the reading in the Elven Language, which was forgotten hundreds of years ago. The device was designed by the dwarves, and built by the elves during their enslavement.

  Next to the text were hand drawn pictures that speculate what the device might have looked like.

  “A device that reads starlight that can read the future,” Selena said again to herself, “that is absolutely amazing. If only I knew the Elven Language—and maybe I can find where this device is and maybe see the outcome of this upcoming war.”

  An ear-deafening sound roared outside. She froze in her spot when she saw the lightning flash before her window. Selena quickly dove under her bed with her blanket at hand to hide herself as it continued.

  The lightning shot across the heavens before the thunder bellowed once more, but even in her trembling fear, she heard Thor’s comforting words to help calm her down. As he spoke, the sounds around her dropped away and she fell asleep.

  About a week later, Selena was allowed to go back to basic training and had to work extra hard to catch up to her other brothers. She even stayed on the field well past the strike of five for a few days and asked Silver to work with her some more. Of course, he was more than delighted. He even showed her how to use pistols and together, they shot at the range until Selena started hitting bulls eyes with every shot. She was then assigned to take time off for the rest of her time in the Air Force training.

  Once she figured out what worked for her in aiming for a target and how to use the sights properly, she was able to also test her abilities with the bow. At first, she would fire her arrows too quickly before the apples became level. However, she learned how to time her shots accordingly and, after a few failed attempts, she finally got her first arrow through and pinned the fruit to the target.

  By the end of her third week with all of her extra practice sessions with Silver, she had surpassed the others. She ran faster than they when they had to run laps. She became the first and quickest to make it through the obstacle course. She became skilled with her stick weapon when they practiced their blade techniques and won every single match against her bunker buddy.

  Ashur always kept a close watch over her specifically, as if he were taking note of her sudden improvement since the snake attack.

  The next morning, Selena walked down the street with her new dragon rider armor that the dwarves had worked on since her arrival in Alfheim. Ashur presented her with the armor after she had gotten dressed earlier that morning before being ordered to head over to the dragons’ training grounds where Silver was to meet her.

  Her armor was made of steel, mixed with a bit of unicorn horn. Her helmet was a similar shape to a dragon’s head, with horns along the sides. The breastplate was like that of a dragon’s chest scales with light. Her boots were even in the shape of talons that clacked with every stride. The armor felt light, as it was forged in a way to not be heavy in battle, but strong enough to withstand blows.

  She carried her pistols on her leather belt and her bow over her back, but she still did not have a sword. The other recruits were already given one. Instead, she had her shield strapped over her back, tucked away underneath her bow.

  Selena walked down to the training field where Silver waited for her. She carried her helmet underneath her arm and walked up to him.

  “You look like a dragon rider,” he said with a smile. She felt slightly accomplished. Despite all that happened, Selena felt proud that she got to wear the same armor that the soldiers wore.

  “Follow me, I know this is an exciting day for both you and Thor! He’s been excited all morning!” Silver exclaimed.

  Selena smiled once again and she nodded at his words.

  “And so have I,” she admitted, “I have been looking forward to training with my dragon for weeks, now.”

  Silver nodded.

  “Thor has improved dramatically. I know that it’s been difficult since basic began and that you two had to be separated. I kept begging for the Council to override the initial decision but with the Empress’ help, we finally convinced Vidar to change his mind,” he explained.

  Her heart raced. Today was going to be the first of many where she would finally work with her dragon.

  She was taken towards the Dragon District, watching with amazement all the people that passed by her. Upon crossing the gates that separated the regions, she saw two guards standing post as they always do. They gave her and Silver a salute before passing through.

  “I wanted to ask you, Captain. I read something interesting the other day,” Selena began, trying to choose her words carefully.

  “Oh?” Silver asked.

  “I remember when you and I first met, you had a weird and uncomfortable look when you saw the mark on my hand. I don’t know if this was true but I saw somewhere written that it’s actually the Altessa family crest. Is this true?” Selena finished.

  Silver abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked all around him.

  “We are being watched,” he whispered.

  “What?”

  “Keep following me but to answer your question, it is,” Silver said carefully.

  Selena looked around in fear, wondering if he meant the Council.

  “Who’s watching us? Is it Vidar?” Selena asked.

  “It’s D,” Silver said quietly.

  “D? Why would he be?”

  “That’s what I would like to know, honestly. He drives me insane! I hate him! He can’t leave us well enough alone!” Silver spat out.

  The road wound behind some of the buildings, leading them to a large gate that cut off at a large, open field that stretched for miles. Dragons of the Air Force were practicing difficult battle maneuvers in the air while the trainers below used magic to create circular elemental rings for them to fly through.

  On the other side of the field was an archery range for bowmen and pistol carriers to practice their shots. Off in the distance were two riders she recognized as Gromm and Beck, bickering with one another while their dragon ate its meal. Next to them stood Azrael, practicing his shots with the pistol while his dragon, Doragon, was racing Thor in the sky. She was surprised to see them not fighting, but then again, competition was a good way to hide their hatred towards each other.

  “Go Thor!” Selena called out from below.

  Thor arched his neck and his expression lit up when he saw his rider. Azrael and Doragon also turned to look at her. Azrael’s expression seemed a little cold when she locked gazes with him, but this time, there was something different about his demeanor.

  In any case, Selena avoided him and ran over to Thor as he landed. His teardrop-scales glistened from the coat of oil that was applied to his hide earlier that morning.

  It’s wonderful to see you again, Thor said as he lowered his head for her to pat.

  How are they treating you?

  Quite well, he replied as he tucked his wings to his side, I have grown stronger! I can remain in the sky for hours.

  That’s wonderful to hear!

  Doragon landed beside Azrael as Silver mentioned for them to come over.

  “I’m sure you two are already acquainted,�
� Silver said as he watched Azrael’s every movement.

  Thor snorted in discontent, as did Doragon.

  “For the time being, I need to speak with Selena and Thor alone. Azrael and Doragon,” Silver said again, clasping his hands behind his back, “I want you two to practice aerial combat maneuvers for now. Dismissed.”

  Azrael raised his hand in a salute before turning sharply on his heels with Doragon following closely behind.

  Selena looked at all of the different types and species of dragons. A few of them flew around in the air through different hoops made of fire, practicing different maneuvers that gave them the advantage of dodging some attacks made by the dragon trainers. Some dragons had different breath abilities as well, from what Selena had noticed. Some dragons spewed out acid, there were a few with ice breaths, with others even controlling lightning.

  “Even though most dragons can use a single element,” Silver began, “I wished to tell you personally that Thor is a special case. If you did not know, Thor is an elemental dragon, but not just any. This was quite an extraordinary find! I had help from some of our scholars here in Alfheim to try and identify Thor’s specific breed. At first, we thought he was a normal volcanic dragon of some sort. However, our discoveries were astonishing and unusual. What we found was that Thor is actually a Divinity Dragon!”

  “How is that possible?” Selena asked in astonishment.

  “Yes, it is quite astounding. He has proven this ability through his training. In fact, he could use more than one element at once if trained properly! That was the reason why the Council did not want you and Thor to train together right away, so that we could confirm our findings.

  “Thor was able to show this from some of his elemental attacks, while practicing some maneuvers, but he was not able to hold each of his different breaths for very long.”

  “Did he learn how to breathe fire?” Selena asked enthusiastically.

  “He did, but like I said, he was not able to hold it for very long. They were just mere sparks.” Silver chuckled slightly.

  Selena looked up at Thor as he smiled and began to hum in delight.

  Isn’t it wonderful? Those dragons that we read about…It’s extraordinary!

  That is amazing!

  She tried to restrain her excitement. She then looked back at Silver with a smile on her face and grabbed Thor’s reins.

  “Thor, lord of all dragons! It is truly remarkable! Hop on,” Silver ordered. Selena placed her foot into the stirrup and placed herself on Thor’s saddle. The metal of the armor made it a little more difficult for her.

  “The dwarves are working on creating Thor’s armor as we speak. Within the next few weeks, you and Thor will be training with both of you wearing your battle armor,” Silver said again.

  “What about a sword?” Selena asked.

  “Your last week of basic training, we’ll show you how to make your own. You’ll be able to choose the material for the blade. It will take days of hard work, but it will be worth it,” Silver answered with a smile.

  Silver raised his left arm. Thor then suddenly took to the skies with incredible speed. Selena was taken back by how quickly Thor flew in the air, with finesse and grace.

  Silver then raised both of his hands and moved them in a circular motion. Three fire rings appeared in the sky near Thor and Selena.

  “I want you and Thor to fly through all three of these hoops while avoiding my attacks,” Silver announced.

  Selena swallowed hard, and placed her helmet on her head. Thor nodded and flew up higher once more. Selena grabbed hold of his reins and grabbed her shield, and placed her left arm through the straps.

  Thor then flew backwards as a blast of fire shot up into the sky. Selena was not quite sure what to do. Another fireball flew in her direction. Selena quickly held up her shield and it hit the metal.

  Thor dove down towards the first ring, but Silver quickly moved and shot some lightning from his fingertips instead. Selena gasped and once again used her shield. The lightning was reflected back onto the ground. Silver dodged the attack with ease and smiled as Thor flew through the first fire ring.

  Very nicely done, Thor said and flapped his wings higher towards the second ring, which was levitating much higher than the first. Selena pulled the reins back as Thor dove through it when Silver summoned another fire blast from his fists.

  “Thor, watch out!” Selena cried out. To her amazement, Thor opened his mouth and exhaled a small breath of frost to extinguish the flames.

  Thor flew down below to finish their training by making it into the final loop.

  Silver stopped and lowered his hands and smiled as Thor landed.

  “That was nicely done!” Silver said excitedly, “let’s continue with more!”

  For the next several hours, Silver created even more complex maneuvers to challenge both Selena and Thor in an aerial combat simulation. He pretended to be their enemy, who would shoot more magic attacks at the both of them, and guided them on what they should do if ever a given situation occurred.

  When the Pyre struck five, Silver immediately stopped.

  “That is enough training for today! Very well done indeed!”

  Thor plopped onto the ground and Selena forced herself to dismount.

  You were brilliant!

  We were brilliant, Thor corrected, and extended his wings once more.

  Silver bowed his head but whispered before regaining his posture, “Please forgive me if I acted rude earlier when you asked me about the mark on your hand. I will meet you in the barracks tonight. Hopefully then, I’ll be able to better answer your question without being under D’s watch.”

  Chapter 20:

  Selena felt ecstatic as she walked back to the barracks. She could not help but feel lucky to have such a powerful and mighty dragon. She never thought that fate would be so kind to her, to grant her such a wonderful gift.

  Selena looked up and noticed that Rahim and Niamh walked down the street in her direction, arguing. The Oracles walked behind them, whispering among themselves. Selena stopped and crossed her arms over her chest, examining the situation before her.

  It took them a few moments to realize that she was standing nearby.

  “Ah, welcome back!” Niamh called out, “I take it that today was a good one for training?”

  Selena nodded.

  “I finally got to train with Thor.”

  “So my dear friend,” Rahim said, wrapping one of his arms around Selena’s shoulder and allowing her to walk with him down the street, “how was it to train on dragon back?”

  “It felt wonderful and natural,” Selena said.

  “It sounds delightful,” Niamh said.

  “I heard you two arguing down the road earlier. Is everything all right?” Selena asked.

  Niamh stopped and looked at Selena.

  “I am sorry that you had to hear that. But I wanted to ask you something,” she asked while scratching the back of her head.

  “Oh no, here we go again!” Rahim said as he slapped himself in the head.

  “Ask me what?” Selena asked.

  Niamh’s face turned red.

  “I know that it would be hard for you, since you are in the Air Force and… I know your sole duty is to protect the Empire and to your dragon...”

  Selena raised a brow in confusion and looked over at Rahim, who was waving his hands as if he wanted her to say no to whatever it was that Niamh was asking.

  “I don’t understand,” she replied.

  Niamh looked as though she wanted to scream. Instead, she quickly wrapped her arms around Selena’s neck and kissed her on the cheek.

  Rahim almost fell over in shock; Selena did not know what to do but to immediately push away.

  “What are you doing?” she asked Niamh.

  “I’m sorry!” Niamh started crying and fell into Selena’s arms.

  Selena then finally caught on to what Niamh was trying to say earlier.

  “I really like you, Andric, an
d I… I was hoping that maybe you would like me back,” Niamh said in between sobs.

  Selena was at a loss for words. However, she blushed and helped Niamh to her feet.

  “I do like you, but as a friend. I don’t want to lie to you, but I actually like someone else. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends,” she said with a smile.

  Niamh’s eyes widened as more tears trickled down her face, but she quickly wiped them away and nodded.

  “I’m sorry for that. Of course I would like to still be your friend,” she whispered and gave Selena one last hug before running back the way she and Rahim came.

  Rahim scrambled to his feet and placed a hand on Selena’s shoulder.

  “If only Niamh really knew,” he muttered in her ear.

  Selena glared at him.

  “Does it matter?” she asked.

  Rahim recoiled from her glare.

  “That’s not what I mean! It’s just that, I think I know who you meant when you said you liked someone else earlier,” he quickly said.

  Selena watched Niamh disappear behind a corner.

  “Even so, that doesn’t mean that he likes me back. It would be unethical,” Selena sadly reasoned.

  Rahim’s eyes widened.

  “Do you mean Silver?”

  Selena’s heart skipped a beat when she heard him say his name.

  “I’m done talking about this,” Selena quickly said as she stormed off.

  “But that’s madness! He’s your Captain! I don’t even think that would be allowed in the military,” Rahim said again.

  “That’s why I said I’m done talking about it and that I’m not pursuing anything,” Selena grimly replied.

  The Oracles ran past Rahim and quickly caught up to her. Morta placed a hand on Selena’s shoulder and shook her head.

  “Poor Niamh, and poor you,” she said.

  “You’re already in too deep,” Cassandra continued.

  “With both your feelings and disguise,” Nona finished.

  Selena glared at the three of them.

  “Are you in on the Empress’ plan too?” she quietly asked them.

  “We did not say anything,” the triplets said at the same time.