The Fire Within

by Nicholas Clausen

  The dwarves had come together to decide how to handle the threat the humans brought when they were attacked. They fought hard but, in the end, were driven out of the mountain. Draek turned in the air, so Hayden was tilted to the mountain. He thought he saw a few dwarf children playing near the top, but they disappeared before he could get a good look at them.

  Is Durgen the first King to retake the Bergelmir mountain? Hayden asked. He didn’t have to wait long before he got his answer.

  Durgen is the first dwarf King in a long time. They had clan chiefs before Bureg was taken and they had rallied around Durgen to save his brother. Draek said. The dragons made three more passes around Bergelmir before they made their way back to the entrance of the mountain. Durgen got off his red dragon and walked over to Draek and Hayden. Bjorn disappeared into the mountain.

  “Thank you for flying with me, I hope you learned a little about my people and what we have gone through,” Durgen said.

  Hayden wanted to respond but thought better to remain silent.

  “Your armor is finished, and the dragons have returned. We will be ready shortly.” Durgen said. He turned and walked the same path his dragon had just taken.

  “What do you want me to do?” Hayden asked as he undid the straps to his saddle.

  “Wait here, we won’t be long.” Durgen melted into the darkness, and his footsteps quickly died away.

  Are you ready? Draek asked. They were finally about to be on their way back to Celestial City. The fight was about to be over.

  I am. Hayden said. He quickly thought about all that they had gone through up to this point. The friends it had cost him to get here, the people of his hometown. All the people from across Arvain that had died so far.

  He thought about all this in the blink of an eye and knew that in his heart, he was ready.

  I am. He said one more time.

  Chapter Ten

  Draek was resting with his head laid across the cold stone ground. Hayden was picking up small rocks and throwing them over a steep drop off when they heard the first of the drumbeats.

  Draek had heard it first and had lifted his head up to figure out what the noise was. Hayden hadn’t noticed any sound and continued picking up small white rocks, tossing them over the drop-off and watching them crash to their new resting place at the bottom.

  Hayden. Draek said. Hayden stopped and turned to face his dragon. He followed his gaze to the entrance of Bergelmir and when he didn’t see what Draek was looking at he started to ask him what was going but stopped when he heard the faint sound.

  Boom. The sound was hardly an echo, but it was there, carried on the back of the wind.

  Boom. Again, a few seconds later but this time slightly louder.

  Boom. The sound had grown from a whisper to the sound of thunder. It shook the stones around them, and it seemed the very ground was moving.

  Fire erupted from the mouth of the entrance in a brilliant waterfall of light as red dragons spewed their molten breath. They roared as they took to the air and shot out of the darkness. Hayden and Draek watched as they flew in circles above their head, but the noise from the entrance of the mountain continued.

  Utahnen came spilling out of the mountain next as if the stronghold was bleeding the nightmares. They weren’t in any sort of order or lines, but rather crawling over each other to get out of Bergelmir.

  Hayden was taken aback by the creature’s ferocity as they pushed each other out of the way. It was like they were desperate to get to some unknown enemy.

  Draek put it together first and roared at the Utahnen as they surged forward at them. The nightmarish wave of gray skin, horns, and gnashing teeth didn’t slow down at the challenge.

  Hayden scampered onto Draek’s back, and they jumped into the air just as the Utahnen made it to where they had been waiting.

  Hayden was still unnerved by the creatures, but he could tell the dwarves that rode them were trying their best to calm the creatures down.

  How are we supposed to fight with them when they want to fight us? Hayden asked.

  We let them go first and point them at Celestial City. Draek replied jokingly. Hayden could tell Draek was a little worried about the creatures, but he was far more impressed by them and how eager they were to fight.

  It’s like they are little dragons. Draek said.

  Are you admiring them? Hayden asked. He looked up to the sky and saw that the red dragons had stopped flying around and instead had landed at different parts of the mountain. They were watching Draek and Hayden.

  I admire anything that fights like they have no option but to win. Draek explained. Hayden didn’t understand but he stopped worrying about it as Durgen walked out of the entrance, Bjorn was beside him with a giant drum swung over his side.

  Durgen continued to beat the drum every few steps. The dwarves and Utahnen moved out of his way until he stood in between them and an area large enough for Draek to land.

  He wants us to land, doesn’t he? Hayden asked. Durgen continued to hit the drum and never looked up to where Hayden and Draek were.

  He does. Draek said. Neither one of them wanted to be on the ground and so close to the horde of Utahnen that was only being held back by Durgen’s presence.

  They had no choice if they wanted to get to Celestial City with the dwarves by their side and they both knew it. Draek lowered himself to the ground, but Hayden knew he was not relaxed and was ready to jump back into the air at a moment’s notice. If one of the Utahnen growled the wrong way at them, Draek could be in the air.

  Draek landed, but Durgen did not stop beating his drum, and the thunderous sound threatened to split Hayden’s head.

  Why won’t he stop? What more does he want? Hayden asked. Draek looked to Bjorn for an answer, but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

  He wants you to walk over to him and hit the drum one time. Draek explained. If Hayden did as Durgen wanted that would put him just a few feet away from the nearest Utahnen, and Draek would have no chance to save him if the creatures decided to forgo their King and attack.

  The drumbeats continued as Hayden slid out of the saddle and slowly started walking over to Durgen and Bjorn. Draek did not try to stop him or walk with him, they both knew this had to be done.

  Durgen continued to hit the drum as Hayden walked in front of Bjorn. The red dragon nodded slightly as Hayden took the drumstick from Durgen. He lifted the stick and slammed into the drum with all his might, the sound was still not as loud as Durgen’s.

  All the red dragons roared, and the Utahnen screamed. Hayden wanted to run before he hit the drum, but now he wanted to fly away as quickly as Draek could go.

  “Hayden,” Durgen shouted. His voice echoed louder than the drum had.

  Every dragon and Utahnen went silent at the king’s voice.

  “You have asked for the help of the dwarves,” Durgen shouted. “And we have come to answer you.”

  Durgen began digging through his saddlebags and pulled out what had been Hayden’s armor. Hayden saw the shield first which they had cleaned, and a metal frame had been added around the edge so that the shield could catch a blow from an ax and not be damaged.

  Durgen handed the shield over to Hayden, and he expected to find it more cumbersome then it had been. Instead, it somehow felt lighter in his hands.

  He placed the shield down next to Bjorn as Durgen handed him the rest of his armor. A few dwarves got off of the Utahnen and helped Hayden put it on.

  The silver scales on his armor seemed thicker and had ornate drawings dancing across them. The entire armor looked like he was somehow on fire and even seemed to glow in spots. Just like his shield, the armor had been reinforced and was thicker but seemed to weigh less. The armor had been cleaned, and they had added in the other scales.

  Now his chest piece was adorned with a shining scale from each race of dragons like a necklace. Including a red dragon scale in the center with Shaylin’s golden scale directly underneath it like a pendant.

 
; Hayden had all his armor on and looked like a King in his own right, a King ready for battle.

  He wanted to thank Durgen, but the King was not finished.

  “Your blade was another rider’s,” Durgen said. “Draek told Bjorn what happened at the Lighthouse and how you had taken blades from other riders as you have traveled.” Durgen pulled out a sheath that was a glossy black leather that seemed to absorb the light instead of reflecting it.

  “This is not a rider’s blade. It is your blade.” Durgen held the sword out so that Hayden could grab the hilt and pull the blade free.

  The grip felt perfect in his hands. Like they had measured his hands and knew just how long to make it so that he could hold it either one-handed or with both.

  He pulled the blade free from the oiled sheath and almost dropped it. He thought it was some horrible prank.

  The blade looked like it was made out of black and gray stone but had lava running through veins that stretched across the edge.

  “It is a technique that only the King of the dwarves knows,” Durgen explained.

  “It is taken directly out of the heart of Bergelmir, and as long as there is a fire in our mountain, there will be a fire in your sword,” Durgen said. Hayden heard the words of the king, but he could not take his eyes off his sword.

  It was a blade that he couldn’t have imagined when he was a child pretending to be a legendary dragon rider flying across Arvain. He had never heard of anything like it, not even a whisper or a myth.

  Hayden felt the weight of the blade, but it didn’t feel heavy, it felt perfect to him. The glowing sword was more balanced then his first rider’s sword had been. Hayden wanted to swing it, he wanted to hit something with it.

  Durgen saw the look in Hayden’s eye and pointed to one of the stone statues that was still standing. Hayden didn’t want to destroy the beautiful stonework, and he was nervous about using his sword on stone.

  He would have never tried it with his silver rider’s sword, but Durgen was confident and pointed to the statue again.

  Hayden swung the blade through the air for a few practice swings. As he did so, he noticed the glow got a little brighter, and he could see the heat rising off it. It even seemed to hiss the faster he swung it.

  He walked up to the life-size statue of a dwarf holding an ax above his head, ready to chop an invisible enemy in half. Hayden looked back at the King again to make sure he could do this.

  Durgen nodded, and Hayden had a fleeting thought of doubt that he was about to break his new sword. He pushed the idea out and swung the blade at the dwarves’ stone arms, right above the elbows.

  Hayden felt the stone collide with the sword, but the glowing blade pushed through both arms and dislodged the ax. The ax slipped back and stuck into the soft ground behind the statue with a thud. The cut on the statue was clean and smoked a little.

  The sword was glowing red hot, the veins larger and more pronounced, but seemed to be in perfect shape still. Hayden lifted his hand to touch the stone edge of the sword, but Durgen stopped him.

  “I wouldn’t do that unless you hate that finger.” The dwarf King smiled as he spoke, but Hayden knew it was not a joke.

  “I have never seen anything like this,” Hayden muttered.

  “The blade will never cool, and it will never need to be sharpened or repaired.” Hayden walked back over to the King as he spoke and carefully put the sword back in the black leather sheath.

  He looked to the King before touching the sheath, worried that the glowing hot sword was going to burn through. When Durgen did not stop him, Hayden grabbed it. The leather was not even warm to the touch.

  “Thank you,” Hayden said, still in amazement.

  “You can use the blade as you see fit, and you can name it if you so choose. After this war though, it comes back to me.” Durgen said with a stone look in his eyes. “You agreed that things made by my people’s hands would be returned to us.” He explained as if he thought Hayden was going to argue against him.

  “Thank you for allowing me to borrow it, you will have it back when we reach Celestial City,” Hayden assured.

  “Then you may keep the armor since it was made by your people, we just fixed it.” Durgen laughed.

  Hayden smiled at the king’s laugh but did not add his own. The Utahnen were looking more eager than ever to lunge at him, and Hayden was ready to be off. He strapped the borrowed blade to his back and hefted up his shield. Hayden was about to turn to Draek when a thought crossed his mind.

  “Durgen, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. Especially after all of this.” He pointed at the armor, sword, and shield. “And that you are about to march down to Celestial City with me.” Durgen raised his bushy eyebrows in anticipation of what Hayden was about to say.

  “But?” He asked when Hayden paused a little too long before asking his question.

  “But, did you happen to find a helmet that would fit me?” He asked. He could feel Draek’s disappointment in him asking the question.

  “Yes and no,” Durgen answered.

  “Yes and no?” Hayden asked.

  “We had only one helmet that would fit a human, but it was the one you brought here,” Durgen answered.

  “I made a few changes to it though.” Durgen pulled out a silver helmet and handed it to Hayden.

  The actual helmet that protected Hayden’s head felt and looked to be the same, but the eagle was gone. In its place was a roaring silver dragon, its wings pulled back to cover the sides of the helmet.

  The small metal dragon looked identical to Draek, even having a little discolored scale in the center of its head.

  For the second time, Hayden was at a loss for words. “Thank you.” The King nodded his head and put on a helmet of his own. His was a blocky metal helmet that had a crown of what looked like liquid gold flowing around it.

  Durgen climbed onto Bjorn and Hayden climbed onto Draek. He strapped his remade shield to his saddle and put on his dragon helmet. It fit just as it had before, but Hayden knew it felt different. Better somehow.

  “Are you ready?” Durgen asked. Hayden nodded to the king.

  “My people!” Durgen shouted, his voice carrying to every dwarf, Utahnen, and dragon.

  “We march again, to Celestial City. This time we don’t go alone.” Durgen raised a giant battle ax and pointed it at Hayden.

  “We go together. With all the races of Arvain. We go to kill and erase the evil blemish on our land. Just like a blemish on a sword.” As he shouted, no one made a sound. All listened to the king.

  “And just like a blemish on a sword, we will smash it with fire and steel!” The last words from the King brought out screams and roars from everyone.

  Some dwarves shouted their battle cries while others screamed. Screamed for the loss that they had suffered and for the loss that they knew was coming. Hayden added his voice as did Draek.

  Bjorn jumped into the air with Draek right behind him, and the dwarves began their final march to Celestial City.

  Chapter Eleven

  Draek was alive with excitement while Hayden was filled with dread. Durgen had stayed true to his word, and the dwarves were all either on dragon back or riding the Utahnen. No one was walking, and they were able to move faster with nothing holding them back.

  Once that had pushed through the Stone Gates, the Utahnen tried to go through the opening all at once and created a major problem for their riders.

  After several attempts to get the animals working together, they were able to get on the flat land of the Starlight Planes. With nothing but open fields, the Utahnen were able to race and stretch out without hitting each other.

  They weren’t as fast as dragons. They were, however, faster than horses and they didn’t seem to tire.

  Hayden had noticed that over half the dwarves riding with them didn’t have beards sticking out from under their helmets. Hayden assumed it might have been something the other clans did, but when he inquired about it to Durgen, that wasn’t the case
.

  “They are our women,” Durgen said. “Everyone fights, especially in this war.”

  “I couldn’t tell they were women, not by their armor,” Hayden said as he looked down at the warriors. The women wore the same armor and carried the same weapons, the only different feature was their lack of beards.

  “We don’t make women or men armor. We make armor.” Durgen explained with a smile. Hayden did his best to make sense of it all.

  When they had started flying, Draek had tried to figure out what kind of formation the red dragons were flying in. He had planned on falling in behind them.

  Instead, the red dragons flew like the Utahnen ran, mashed together with each dragon trying to get in front. They acted like it was one big race.

  Hayden was going to mention it to Durgen when he saw Bjorn break free from the group and take the lead, Durgen on his back raising his hands in victory.

  They are eager. Draek said. Hayden could feel that Draek was trying to fight back his own desire to race the red dragons.

  I am glad, but they need to calm down a little. We will be there soon, and it will do us no good to arrive tired. Hayden complained.

  Draek agreed with him, but it didn’t change the feeling he had. The feeling they all had that something great was about to happen.

  Ask Bjorn how long until we get to Celestial City. Hayden said, trying to change the subject.

  Draek did as Hayden asked and Bjorn quickly answered.

  He says we will be there tomorrow before the sun sets. Unless we fly into the night, then we will be there in the morning. Draek answered.

  Hayden didn’t like the idea of flying at night, and he knew that wouldn’t help as much as it would hurt them. He was slightly shocked to find that they were going to arrive so soon. Part of him had hoped that it was going to take a little longer to get there.

  Are you sure we will make it that soon? Hayden asked. He remembered how long it had taken them to get to Eytherka from Celestial City, and he felt like it should take them longer.

  We are flying faster now. We are bigger and stronger than we were back then. Draek explained.