Dawn of a Hybrid

by Ryan Johnson

  “And you managed to take on an army of Hobgoblins and come out again alive?” asked Marina. “I think I might just be marrying the right specimen.”

  “Marrying the right specimen?” the men all said at once.

  Vaeludar told them about his marriage proposal to Marina the night before under a starry night. Vaeludar was going to marry the Siren one way or another and she was happy about it.

  “Well, I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” said Flavius, who was lost for words. “But I find that debatable. I mean look at your parents: one is a fire-breathing lizard and the other is an ant to the lizard. I don’t see how two different species could hook up with each other let alone how they could even have kids.”

  “I don’t have the worm to put into the hole, alright?” said Vaeludar. “Marina and I are getting married, regardless of what we look like. I saved her life five years ago. And I found out if you save a Siren’s life you also win their heart for life. So even if I didn’t love her, she would be sticking about me for life until the day I die.”

  “Your future, not mine, Vaeludar. So since we’ll all here and we found a village unexpectedly, what are we doing?” asked Flavius. “The plan was to get this armor for the hybrid, and we got it. Yet there was nothing about battling a dragon and saving a village from its wrath.”

  “I already came up with a plan: I’m planning on going back south,” said Vaeludar. “I need to tell your father about these certain unfolding events. And the king would also need to be informed of what had been happening.

  “But these people, they need to know of what lies south from here. They’ve had no communication from the south so they have no knowledge of what lies south from here.”

  “I agree,” said Monico. “Last month, I didn’t believe in any of this nonsense. I only left the army because it was getting boring for me. But now I’m looking at a bigger picture: an ancient Spirit coming back that wants total domination.”

  Wonomi and Galvin nodded their heads. Both were soldiers in the king’s army and they only heard stories of Lusìvar, the Three Gods, and every legend concerning about Shadow Kings and whatnot. They were all in agreement that someone would need to travel back south. The question was who?

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to gloat, but I should be the one to travel back south,” said Vaeludar.

  “Why you?” asked Galvin.

  “As you saw: I battled a Dragon, I took out a horde of Hobgoblins, and I can fly faster than anyone here, including the Griffin. And I have far more power here than anyone, alright? Someone had to travel with the greatest haste back to the capital city and inform the king of these matters, and I can’t carry you all there.”

  “Well, you did carry us on a rock with a tail attachment,” said Wonomi.

  “All because you had to grab a weapon and caused a big ruckus waking two Dragons and engulfing me in a collapsing cave of rocks, burying me in there. There was a risk I could have died in there, but as rocks were falling upon me, I managed to slip the gauntlet. And once that happened, it got absorbed into my body and changed my appearance completely. I don’t know if I should blame you for touching a weapon that could have killed me or thank you for bringing together all of our enemies into one place and annihilating them all together.”

  “I won’t comment,” replied Wonomi.

  “As much as I want to stay and teach these people of the southern territories, I must be the one to go back south and tell the others of what was going on here. Flavius, I want to take Naìra back as well.”

  “I agree with you,” said Flavius. “A little girl shouldn’t be this far up north. She was once again a victim to those witches and she was almost drained. I’ve spent time with her last night and she needs to go back home. She misses the others and she no longer wants to be up in this village.”

  “Then I might as well stay and teach these people basic knowledge of the south,” said Monico. “I do have experience training new recruits in the culture and histories of what’s happening down south. The king may not like my decision to stay, but he will have to respect it. I saw what we’re up against and it is not going to be an easy task facing it. I’ll stay here in the Northern Region and see what peoples and different cultures live up here.”

  “If you’re staying up here, then I’m staying as well,” said Wonomi. “If you’re going to have the fun of being a showoff to these people, you’re not going to do it without me.”

  Vaeludar looked at Monico and Wonomi, who were volunteering to stay behind. Then he looked at Galvin and Flavius; they didn’t say anything. And the Griffin flying overhead came soaring down to join with the others.

  “I’ll for sure tell these people about the creatures living down south,” said the Griffin. “Centaurs. Dragons. My kind: the Griffins. All bunches of them. But we have been ordered by the king to be under your command. Whatever you command.”

  Vaeludar blinked once, not knowing what to think about that. Since Flavius and Galvin hadn’t said anything yet, he was thinking of volunteering them both to train what fighters the few clan leaders may have. He knows Flavius was the son of an earl who commands the largest army in the Western Region of Shimabellia, and the looks of Galvin make him a brute fighter to train the weakest soldier.

  “Then this is what we must do: Galvin and Flavius will find any potential fighters this village may have and see to it to start an army. Wonomi and Flavius will teach these people of the other people living down south of the mountain border. Flarefur will teach these villagers of the creatures living with the people living down south. And I will travel back with Marina and Naìra and try to inform the leaders of these events and try to have them send help here to the north. Agreed?”

  They all nodded their heads.

  Vaeludar smiled at their response. He was going to have to leave as soon as possible. The sooner he left the village and head back south, the sooner he could inform Geraldus and King Uragiru of Lusìvar’s latest evolvement. And he had no idea when the Shadow King may lead another attack.

  He was going to be looking at a long flight back. He may have strength to his wings, but he doesn’t have the speed to fly back in a matter of days. He was going to have to start about now.

  He was having a certain, icky gut feeling sometime somewhere the Shadow King was going to strike again. Vaeludar couldn’t tell how he was suddenly having a dreadful, sickly feeling, but he was just feeling it and it wasn’t pretty. He just had a sudden feeling Lusìvar would strike somewhere and he felt like it was going to be on a glorious, happy day that would be ruined.

  Only time would tell what would happen when Lusìvar strikes again. After all, Vaeludar was the one with the strength and power to fight the ancient Shadow King. He is just going to have to wait and see what would happen next.

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  B

  ack down south, where Geraldus and his children: Alaric, Arron and Nerio, and two of the three daughters, Eliana and Andrei, had stayed; they were living briefly at the castle. They knew Flavius traveled with Vaeludar, but they had noticed the other twin girl, Naìra, had completely disappeared a day after Vaeludar and his group left for the north.

  The twin girls were present when Vaeludar left with the dragon king, but Naìra suddenly disappeared without a trace. Whispers began to emerge about the hybrid kidnapping the girls and taking them north with him. Many rumors ran around Geraldus’s homeland about the girl’s disappearances like rabbits running from their predators.

  It had nearly been three weeks since Vaeludar traveled north to find the armor artifact and there had been no word from them. Geraldus regretted not going with Vaeludar into the unknown of the north. Behind those mountains lay monstrous trolls and cyclops. Geraldus raised Vaeludar without training him how to fight let alone lead a small group on his own, and a battle with a Minotaur was pure luck.

  But his doubts of Vaeludar were the least of his worries; there had been staggering reports of pig-faced, sloth-
swaggering Hobgoblins and winged, human-like Harpies throughout his homeland of the west.

  Hobgoblins and Harpies attacks are happening everywhere. Normally, there would be less than five Hobgoblins or Happies attacking through a series of years. This time attacks had dramatically increased and dozens of Harpies and Hobgoblins had attacked countless places in a matter of weeks. Attacks grew from three attacks in five years to twelve attacks in three weeks.

  Geraldus had his own matters to take care of. He could not travel north to find Vaeludar. With the attacks happening on the west side of the island of Shimabellia, which happened to be his ancestral homeland, Geraldus had to focus his attention on the growing enemies.

  Luckily, his soldiers are trained every day to fight in dire situations. He had somewhere between seven and ten thousand men to fight.

  Geraldus, as the head of his army and a lookout of the western borders, had to keep his gaze on his homelands, since the majority of his land was occupied by peasants. He needed to protect his people; peasants were needed to care for crops and livestock.

  Basically, they were responsible for food for the entire island. If there were no peasants, then people of higher class would die of starvation. And Geraldus had to watch his peasants and make sure they were harvesting the crops and livestock like cows and pigs.

  Over the past three weeks, after Vaeludar left and Naìra had disappeared, Geraldus had to give up a few hundred of his soldiers to transport several trade routes that move in and out his homeland. Here and there skirmishes erupted and lives were lost.

  Word soon reached his ears that Lusìvar had returned. More rumors began to spread of the rise of four demonic ghosts from the past. In ancient legends, Lusìvar had a group of men that revered him like a god: Shadow Men, cultists doomed to worship the ancient Shadow King for all time to come.

  After being cast down by the Crystal Dragon, Lusìvar left behind four men to fight for him and find potential boys with potential talent to become a new Shadow King.

  Word began to spread of an ancient Shadow rising from everywhere on the island. The ancient Shadow King and his Shadow Men were believed to be rising again. With an army coming behind them, it seemed hopeless to fight against an evil threat.

  However, the last few days, the attacks seemed to have ceased, for the time being, as if the Hobgoblins and Harpies had gone extinct already. The Dragons sent their own patrols across the island of Shimabellia and kept their eyes on every strategic access point that could give the enemy a distinct advantage on Shimabellia.

  Geraldus knew one day they would attack again, it would be a matter of time before they attacked in bigger squads.

  In the days following the cease of attacks, Geraldus rode toward the capital city of Shimabellia. Geraldus needed to talk with the king and see what problems King Uragiru was facing. They had been friends for many long decades and endured many hardships. They were like brothers in how well they knew each other.

  Geraldus rode straight from his homeland to the capital city where King Uragiru was residing. Geraldus took a large battalion of armed soldiers and rode to King Uragiru’s castle. They rode for two weeks long; a few days after the attacks had disappeared. Geraldus thought the road to be perilous, but only sounds of monstrous roars and grunts were heard.

  It was a smooth ride to King Uragiru’s castle, aside from the dangerous sounds they heard as they rode all the way from the western region to the castle. As the end of the second week passed, they reached the square, temple-like castle. They saw the main doors opened to all travelers and entered upon seeing it open. Geraldus rode from the entrance all the way to the top of the castle.

  Geraldus dismounted from his horse and saw the king sitting on a table, drinking tea. He walked towards the sitting king who seemed to have no worries.

  “Geraldus,” greeted the king.

  “Your Majesty,” said Geraldus. “Have you heard of these recent attacks happening right on your doorstep?”

  “Have no concern, my friend,” said Uragiru. “All is fine now. These attacks are mere small skirmishes.”

  “Do you not care what is going on at these borders? Do you not care what was going on weeks ago? We have been attacked by Hobgoblins and Harpies. They have been attacking several livestock and unwary travelers. How can you be so calm in a great crisis?”

  “I do care, but this city grows its own crops. Inside these walls, we can survive through the years and withstand great sieges. Have no worry, dear friend. I’ve already sent ravens to every corner of the island. Every duke, earl, and lord knows of these attacks, and their knights will be ready to fight back. The creatures already know of my messages. Sit down.”

  King Uragiru offered his friend a cup of tea, which Geraldus couldn’t refuse. “And of Teutates?” asked Geraldus. “Your distant relative? The one descended from that prince who rebelled against his brother? Have you notified him of these resent events?”

  “Teutates’s ancestors were exiled from my island,” said Uragiru. “They no longer have the right to live here. Teutates is living on the island of Isla Maeli, and there he serves that island as his own kingdom. He doesn’t trust any magic-wielding creatures such as Dragons and Unicorns or even magicians, for that matter. He prefers the strength of mighty men and weapons made by hand. He has no liking for magic.”

  “I know of the history of Teutates, but have you notified him?” Geraldus asked again. “Letting him know what had been happening? These attacks are happening upon our people. Have you let him know?”

  “We’ve sent ravens to him, and there have been no responses from him,” Uragiru finally answered. “I don’t know what he is doing, but we have to believe he is allying himself with the ancient Shadow King.”

  “If that be true, your Majesty,” said Geraldus, “then we’ll be having war on all fronts. Who knows what lies in the Northern Region behind those mountains? Those who dared walk through those dangerous, dark mountains never return. Vaeludar and his companions have gone for three weeks now. I worry about him. I took him under my roof, adopted the lad myself when his mother came running to my doorstep.

  “And I am quite surprised myself he had been raised under my roof yet he had been to master some aspects of magic. He received no special training from the Unicorns or the guidance from the Dragons. Vaeludar had no magical training yet he was being able to master the advance style of magic, and I’ve seen some magic he uses that Dragons don’t have. His father and mother must have defied several magical boundaries out of their reach.”

  “If what you say is true about his unique skin and remarkable powers, then have no worry about your hybrid. He will surely make it back, alive and well. Such power he possesses may help with the fight with the Shadow King. Not many people have the same powers he has or have a single person fought a Minotaur and lived to tell the tale.

  “Vaeludar is a rarity of the living; a hybrid of many talents Dragons or humans don’t have. He could be the new key in a new evolution of man.”

  Geraldus stopped drinking his tea. He placed the teacup on the table and asked his friend, “The next step in evolution?”

  “Your hybrid is the first kind of hybrid ever known. There had been no written record of a human dragon hybrid. We humans evolved from cavemen ten thousand years ago. With help from certain specimens, we evolved from people living in darkness to people living under the light of the sun.

  “But long before we even existed, Lusìvar was casted away by the Crystal Dragon. Your hybrid could help humans evolve to the next level. Vaeludar could share his magic with us, as the other creatures did for us when we lived in caves. You know him; you should try to persuade him to share his power.”

  “I am not sure,” said Geraldus. “I may know him, but I don’t know the power he wields. I don’t know what his parents have even wielded. His parents were people of science, learning and improving certain things from dead creatures.

  “And I knew them as they were partners o
f studying, not lovers from two different worlds. They never loved each other. I wouldn’t know how they came up with the idea of Vaeludar. I even wonder if Belverda even gave birth to Vaeludar.”

  “They were the big brains of science,” stated Uragiru. “I know they have figured a way. Look at Vaeludar now: upper half body of a human, with wings, legs, and tail of a dragon. It would have been a painful process.”

  “Enough!” grunted Geraldus. “Enough talk about power. Vaeludar is not old enough nor has enough experience with power. He has yet to be trained, like I have mentioned. He is not ready.”

  “If he was not ready, then why did you let him travel to the forbidden north?” asked Uragiru.

  “Because I have my own experience in dealing with criminals and maintaining order in these lands. Vaeludar had only learned the path of violence. I don’t want the hybrid I raised as a son learning to be a tool for Lusìvar.”

  “Or maybe he doesn’t want to be someone’s trophy!” said a familiar, dynamic voice that sounded of a complaint.

  King Uragiru and Geraldus were startled by the strong voice. They both drew their swords and readied themselves for battle. They thought they were going to fight against a grim ghost, but they only ended up seeing the human dragon hybrid Vaeludar, in the flesh.

  “Vaeludar?” gasped Geraldus.

  The two men saw the hybrid’s body had grown more and looked more evolved. He seemed to be the same height, but he had more dragon scales that had grown from his elbows to his shoulders. His eyes had remained the same coloring, only darkened in deep contrast.

  The hilt of the Crystal Sword was seen on Vaeludar’s back, apparently being strapped by a leather belt.

  “I am a living, breathing, fighting, talking human dragon hybrid, thank you very much for noticing.”