Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

The cave was crowded once again, the air crackling with tension. All eyes were on Ja’ol, willing him to take back the news he had just delivered. The tense silence seemed to drag on for hours.

At last, Kana spoke, her meek and quiet voice sounding powerful and commanding in the stillness. “Are you certain?” she asked nervously.

Ja’ol nodded curtly. “Aye, your majesty. Emperor Nocens began mobilizing the full force of his armies shortly before my men and I left.”

“But are you sure he was not sending them to Iterum?” Denio asked, leaning forward anxiously.

“Quite sure. I was one of the captains meant to lead the first squadron. We received the order directly from Peior. We were to take an indirect path through the plains, gathering men along the way, towards the eastern cliffs. Peior was supposed to meet us there to give us further instruction.”

Another silence fell over them as a dark and terrible certainty settled over them. This was it. Nocens was no longer underestimating their forces. He was sending his entire army to Amiscan.

“How many?” Caelum asked quietly, his voice low and anxious.

Ja’ol looked nervous. “I couldn’t place an exact number on it myself. But one of my commanding officers guessed there would be nearly a hundred thousand, once they’d gathered the men from the villages along the way.”

Eliana felt her heart drop into her stomach. A hundred thousand… It was nearly double the number of men, elves, and dwarves they had at hand—and that was only if Felsen’s estimates of the dwarves’ distant armies were accurate. There were those elves in the far-flung clans that they had sent ambassadors to, but Caelum hadn’t expected there to be more than a few thousand of those. They were outnumbered—greatly outnumbered.

Eliana swallowed hard and met Ja’ol’s eyes. “How long do we have?”

He chewed on his lip, calculating. “If you were to wait for them to arrive here, you’d have a month. If you were to meet them on the plains, two weeks.”

“They know too much about Amiscan,” Oriens said in her mind. “If they came here, they could corner us on the cliffs. We should meet them on level ground.”

The Rider relayed her dragon’s suggestion to the rest of the group. They considered this for only a brief moment before all nodding their agreement.

“Captain Felsen,” Denio said, “have you received word from the dwarves in other parts of the land?”

The stocky dwarf nodded. “They are readily awaiting the signal to join us.”

The king looked pleased. “Excellent. Send word that they are to get to the plains by any means possible as quickly as they can.” Felsen immediately sent one of his men off with the message. Denio looked at his brother. “Caelum, we’ll need to get word to our ambassadors as quickly as possible that they are to bring whoever is willing to fight to the plains. Send Astrum. I am not fond of having him away for so long, but he is the swiftest messenger we have.”

Caelum acknowledge his younger brother’s command with a firm nod. Eliana could feel nervous excitement mounting in her stomach. It was the beginning of the end—either for her or for Nocens. The time had come for them to march out and meet Fate head on.

Preparations began immediately. Once again, the excitement of war had all of Amiscan in a bustle. Nobody seemed to walk anywhere; everyone was constantly running, darting from one place to another in a frenzied enthusiasm. Plans were made for those who would remain behind—the human and elf mothers and their young children, and those too old to fight. They would take refuge underground in Zwûrdgit Stöhl. Many of the childless women—both human and elf—had elected to join the ranks and fight alongside the soldiers.

Those who would be fighting prepared themselves for the fortnight-long march to the distant plains. The wild horses had returned at the call of the elves. These, along with the tame horses the humans had brought with them, were prepared for the load of supplies they would carry. Every person in Amiscan had something to do—training, packing, or praying to whatever gods they believed in.

Most of Eliana’s time was spent with Oriens, doing all they could to refine their aerial maneuvers. Oriens proved to be an agile flier; there seemed to be very few things he could not accomplish when they were in the sky. Eliana only hoped that this would be enough when they had to face the black dragon and her mysterious Rider.

The prospect of facing them was like a dark, looming shadow—a piece of the unknown. They didn’t know what training their opponents might have available to them. Whereas Oriens and Eliana were left to fend for themselves in terms of aerial training, the Dark dragon and Rider could have practical guidance. Their skills in flying, fighting, and magic could far exceed that of Eliana and Oriens. But they wouldn’t know until they were facing them.

Caelum redoubled Eliana’s combat training, pushing her to her limits every day, testing her to the very ends of her abilities with sword, magic, bow, and fist. No matter how well she did or how much she improved, it was never enough to please him. He grew tenser each day, snapping and barking at her, always reminding her that one mistake in battle could cost her her life.

He needed her to be as prepared as he could possibly make her for the battle that lay ahead. Anything that he could do to increase her odds of survival, he did it. They both knew that this battle was a great chess match, and Eliana and the Dark Rider were the kings. If she fell, their chances fell with her.

He was also sure to remind her upon occasion what her death would do to him. In the moments that he was not barking orders at her, he held her tightly, begging her to do all she could to survive. So, he did everything he could to prepare her for the near future. She was simply happy he was not trying to keep her from the battle.

In a mere three days, every soldier in their ranks was ready to move out. Those who remained behind exchanged tear-stained goodbyes and embraces with their loved ones before being ushered down the hidden tunnel to the dwarf city. Eliana and Ispera said their own fond farewells to Otium, then the widow joined the rest of those staying in Zwûrdgit Stöhl. Once they had disappeared from sight, all eyes turned to Caelum.

There was a pause, in which the troops seemed to tense like a drawn bow, waiting for the command that would send them forward into the rest of their lives. “Let’s move.” Caelum spoke the words quietly, but they seemed to still echo around the now-deserted village. The bow had been released, the arrow had taken flight, and only time would tell if it would strike the target.

Eliana’s body felt heavy with anxiety and dread as she pulled herself into Oriens’ saddle. His wings lifted them into the air, buffeting the troops below them with the heavy downdraft. They climbed higher into the dawn sky, their senses keyed for any unexpected changes in the western sky. Eliana let her mind reach out to those that were open to her contact—Caelum, Denio, and Ispera. They each acknowledged her silent touch with acceptance, but made no effort to speak to her. Like Eliana, they had too many other things to think about.

She was afraid. Afraid to die. Afraid to lose the ones she loved. Afraid of what she had led these innocent people into. But mostly, she was afraid of the unknown. The near future suddenly seemed like a dark veil, shielding what lay beyond until it was too late to turn back. She didn’t know what would happen, or if all of their efforts would make any difference. All she knew was that she knew nothing.

She sighed and leaned forward against Oriens’ neck, allowing herself to sink into a sleepless stupor, her mind drifting freely between her body and her dragon’s. She felt a low hum of comfort vibrate in his throat, and he wrapped his warm presence around her, keeping his silent vigil for the rest of that day’s long journey.

They flew without stopping for the remainder of the day. When those on the ground below them stopped to rest, Oriens and Eliana would fly ahead to ensure there were no approaching dangers. By the time they flew back to the army, they were on the move once again. Eliana ate and drank from the supplies she’d packed onto Oriens’ saddle. The faithful dragon insisted he could wait until nightfall to replenish himself.

It wasn’t until the sun had begun to sink below the western horizon that Caelum touched her mind and told her they were stopping for the night. Oriens settled himself on the ground on the outskirts of the camp. Weary and saddle-sore, Eliana slid to the ground and relieved Oriens of his burden. Once the straps had been removed from around him, he trundled over to the nearby river and dipped his massive maw into the cool water.

Eliana set off to find Caelum, Ja’ol, Felsen, and Teleas. They would not be getting much sleep that night. There was planning to do—strategies to arrange, options to consider, supplies to ration. The five of them had been selected as generals over the armies, with Caelum and Eliana heading the chain of command, answering only to Denio. Eliana suspected it would be a while yet before any of them got a full night’s rest.

As Eliana trotted into the circle of tents, she passed Iocus setting up for the first watch. He threw her a wary glance, then became preoccupied with finding something in his pack. He had not spoken to her since they had brought Felsen and his men to Amiscan. She couldn’t blame him, considering he had been punched by his commanding office and threatened by a dragon the last time they’d been together. But she missed his friendship and easy-going manner.

The men were right where she had expected them to be—in a large tent in the center of the circle, already talking about battle strategies. They were gathered around a large map, which was sprawled across the floor and held down by four stones. Eliana took her place on Caelum’s right side and sat herself on the ground beside him. She groaned as her aching legs protested the movement after a long day in the saddle.

Caelum gave her a concerned look, but continued with what he had been saying. Pointing to the center of the map, he said, “If we keep moving at the same pace, we’ll meet them on the northwest edge of the Shyrn Plains and prevent them from taking the cities there.”

Eliana let her eyes drift across the map in front of her. It was a highly detailed rendering of Paerolia; it was clearly elf-made, as it had Iterum and several other hidden elf cities marked. Caelum’s finger rested near the center of the continent, on the edge of the Shyrn Plains. The sprawling flat lands covered the southwest quarter of Paerolia.

Most of the rest of the land was either mountainous or covered in forests. A few isolated valleys dotted the land, including the Maraeria Valley, where Vegrandis was located. A strip of desert traveled east and west, traveling across the northern part of Paerolia. It was called the Shesol Mal, or Burning Sands.

Legends said that it had once been a fertile strip of land that traveled the length of the continent. At some point in the early years after humans had arrive, before they had learned to work with the dragons, the wild ones had laid waste to the farms there, burning straight through the lush area and leaving it the wasteland it was today. A mountain range bordered the northern edge of the Shesol Mal, with a few forests beyond. These were distant, uninhabited regions that no man dared traverse.

Eliana stared blankly at the spot marked “Iterum” in the middle of the Eilol Forest. She wondered distantly if she would ever return there—if anyone ever would. A pale hand suddenly appeared before her eyes, waving across her vision and breaking her self-induced trance. She looked around quickly to find the five men watching her closely.

Caelum studied her face with concern. “Eliana, are you alright?” he asked.

She put on her best smile, trying not to look exhausted. “Of course. Please, go on.”

He gave her one last worried look, then continued to explain the status of their supplies. Eliana mentally shook herself and put every ounce of concentration into listening to Caelum’s words. They had several long days ahead of them, and if she gave in to exhaustion now, she wouldn’t make it the Shyrn Plains.

The days continued in an endless sea of trees and mountains, filled with the constant beat of Oriens’ wings beside her. Eliana developed sores from the endless hours in the saddle, but she refused to complain. Her body was heavy with fatigue, growing heavier each day. Despite her exhaustion, she found it impossible to sleep at night, when the darkness and the quite allowed her fears to come upon her.

She knew Caelum had not been sleeping either, judging from his haggard expression and bleary eyes. There was little time for them to spend together. Their responsibilities to the army kept them apart except for when they met with the other generals to plan and strategize.

The soldiers marched through endless forests and over countless unnamed mountain ranges. All the while, Oriens and Eliana flew continuously, going ahead to look for danger, returning to ensure everyone was safe, then circling overhead before repeating it all again.

In the late afternoon of the ninth day of their march, Oriens shook Eliana from her mental haze. “Look,” he said. It was the first word he’d spoken that day.

Eliana squinted at the horizon ahead of them to find a massive shadow looming in the distance. “What is that?” she asked in awe.

“The Kaer Mountains. The last thing standing between us and the plains.”

She stared in wonder at the looming monoliths. They were taller than any mountains she had ever seen; the tallest peaks disappeared into the clouds. She had heard of the Kaers, just as she’d heard of the Shesol Mal. There were stories of the monsters that lived in the dense woods covering the mountains’ lower face. They were creatures that lived only in the Kaers and in one’s nightmares—giants, goblins, trolls, ogres, and flesh-eating birds as large as a young dragon, called Rocs.

Few people ever dared to enter that mountain range. Those who did never returned, or lost their minds completely. It was a terrifying place, the backdrop for Paerolia’s most bone-chilling legends. The monsters that now lived there had once populate the entire continent. But men, elves, and dragons had driven them into the mountains, where they hid in the impenetrable forests. There they stayed, only venturing forth occasionally, leaving behind petrifying tales of bloodthirsty monsters and the heroes that destroyed them.

Oriens stopped and hovered as Eliana reached her mind towards Caelum for the first time that week. “Caelum,” she said, once he had allowed her into his thoughts, “I can see the Kaers.”

She felt relief, coupled with fatigue, cross their mental link. “Good,” he responded. “Only a few more days.”

That was all he said, then the link was closed. Eliana sighed, wondering what could lie in wait for them in those towering mountains. A cold realization settled over her. They would likely leave those mountains with fewer men than they entered with. A shiver trickled down her back, like ice rolling along her spine. This would not be easy.