Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

The sun was just creeping over the walls of Thys. Countless eyes watched Eliana from every available vantage point. Some stood on the walls, looking down at where she stood in the square. Some leaned out of the windows of surrounding buildings. Most crowded the streets and packed the city square, surrounding her and her dragon.

She knew what they wanted from her—some great speech, some words of courage. And she knew that she should give it to them. These dwarves, elves, and humans had banded together in a time when all else told them to fight one another, simply because she had told them that it was what needed to be done. She knew that many of them would fall within the hour. She owed them at least a few words.

The Rider drew a breath, then turned and clambered up onto Oriens’ back, standing in the saddle and looking at the faces around her. She and her dragon were both clad in their armor, and she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. Gathering her courage, she spoke, her voice echoing through the silent city.

“My friends… everything we have struggled for comes to this. The end we have been fighting for is within our grasp. Our races, once divided, have now become united. We now stand and fight side by side, unified under one banner and by one purpose—to bring peace to our land.

“Today, the Last Battle begins. I cannot promise a swift victory, but I do know that victory will come. We cannot fail, because we fight for something far greater than ourselves. Nocens fights only for power. We fight for our freedom, our families. We fight for our right to live in this land. We fight for a cause that is just, and so I know that we cannot fail!

“We will sweep our enemies away before us as the morning dew is swept away before the rising sun. Daybreak has come! It is time to chase away the night that has too long covered our land. My friends—dwarves, humans, and elves alike—the time is now! To war!”

The noise around her was overwhelming as thousands of voices rose in loud cheering and shouting. Oriens raised his head and roared loudly, adding his voice to the din. The soldiers lifted their weapons, and stampeded to their various posts. The Rider jumped back down to the earth, praying that she had not just made them all an empty promise.

“Eliana!”

Her eyes searched frantically for the source of the voice, and found Caelum fighting his way towards her through the crush of bodies. At last, he broke free of the masses and sprinted towards her. He did not pause to see if anyone was watching them. He pulled her to him, crushing her against his chest and pressing his mouth to hers.

His kiss frightened her. It was frantic and desperate, as if he knew it would be the last time they would meet like this. She did not fight him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and responded with just as much urgency, needing to feel his touch and taste his lips one last time.

When at last he pulled away from her, his expression was serious. “You know the plan?”

She nodded. “I’ll stay inside the walls for as long as I possibly can.”

He returned her nod, looking somewhat relieved.

“Though I don’t see why I must be restrained to that arrangement,” Oriens grumbled from behind her.

Caelum gave the dragon a small smile. “Because, though your bond only dictates you must die if Eliana falls, I fear the opposite may occur if harm should befall you. Your loss would be great to our army, but even greater to her. You are a part of her, and so you must be defended from unnecessary danger as well.”

Oriens snorted out a cloud of smoke as he turned his face away from them. She knew that he was unhappy about being kept from the fight, but there was little else they could do. Their forces were trapped inside Thys for now. And because the pair of them were the army’s greatest weapon, they could not fly out above the enemy and risk unnecessary harm—not when the other Rider could appear at any moment. For now, they must both be confined within the city walls.

Caelum and Eliana made their way to the western wall and climbed up amid the archers. The soldiers immediately made room for them at the front of the line. As she stood, cradling her black bow in her arms, Eliana watched the army of red tunics approach. Their line seemed to stretch on for miles without end. Her eyes searched their ranks, but she found no sign of Dark sorcerer, dragon, or Rider.

The line of men on either side of her seemed to stand as still as the stones beneath their feet, watching the approach of Nocens’ men. The opposing army stopped just beyond the city wall. A tense silence filled the valley as the two armies gazed at each other—the brief calm before the terrible storm. A single figure on horseback rode between the troops.

The soldiers made way for him, and soon, Eliana recognized Nocens, astride the same charger. “This is your last chance!” he shouted, his voice echoing against the high, stone walls of Thys. “Give me your Rider! Join my army! Help me sweep away the filthy races that pollute our land, and you will be spared!”

The echoing of his voice faded away into silence. No one inside Thys moved. Nobody spoke a word.

“Very well,” the emperor said after a moment. He turned his horse to face his soldiers. “Men! They have made their decision! They have thrown their lots in with the vile beasts of Paerolia. Destroy them! Destroy them all! But leave the Rider for me.”

Nocens raced his horse to the back of his army, well away from danger. A voice near the head of the army shouted a one-word command, and the red tunics surged forward at the great walls.

An answering command rose from the nearest tower, and the archers on the wall—Eliana and Caelum among them—raised their bows in unison. They all drew back on their strings, waiting for the front line to come within range. Then, they released their arrows. The points imbedded themselves into shields and tunics alike, and many of the enemy fell to the earth.

The first line of archers stepped back to reload their bows as a second line stepped forward and fired their arrows into the ranks below. As the humans fought to raise ladders against their walls, the process continued. The lines of archers switched back and forth methodically, firing arrows down into their enemies, shoving their ladders away from the stone. Whenever a man on the wall fell, another stepped into his place, and they continued.

Eliana suddenly spotted a cluster of raised shields moving forward, protecting and blocking from view whatever was beneath it. She narrowed her eyes at the area, firing an arrow into a gap in the shields. Her arrow found its desired place and struck one of the shield-bearers. The man fell aside, and she caught a glimpse of a massive tree trunk, being carried on either side by a hundred men.

“Battering ram!” she shouted to the men on the wall. “Direct your arrows there!”

The archers obeyed without question, focusing their efforts on bringing down the men carrying the ram. Several of the bearers fell, but more stepped into their places, and the soldiers around them lent the cover of their shields to their fellow soldiers, protecting them from further harm. Soon, they reached the gates.

Boom. Eliana felt the wall beneath her tremble slightly. Boom. She hurried to the edge of the wall and looked down into the city square.

“The gates!” Oriens called to her. “They’re ramming them! I don’t know how long they’ll hold!”

She looked at Caelum. Judging by the frightened look in his eyes, she knew he had heard Oriens’ words as well. They both climbed quickly down the ladder and hit the cobblestones at a run.

Hundreds of men were trying to place large, wooden beams against the trembling gates. Each blow from the battering ram on the other side made a splintering sound, and shards of wood flew away from the cracking gates. Eliana turned her eyes to Caelum.

“How long can your magic hold the gates on its own?” she asked quickly.

He looked confused. “A few seconds at most,” he answered. “Why?”

“That’s all the time I’ll need,” she responded. “I’m going to tell the men to move. Use your magic to hold the gates closed. I’ll raise the earth behind it. That should hold them off for a while.”

Caelum gave a sharp nod. They both planted their feet wide, bracing themselves for what they were about to do. Eliana touched Oriens’ energy and drew on it.

“Ready?” she asked.

Caelum nodded again, his mouth pressed into a thin line of concentration.

“Okay… Everybody, move away from the gate!” she screamed. The men looked at her in confusion for a moment. “Do it!” she shouted. They scattered. “Now, Caelum!”

Another blow shook the doors of the city. Caelum’s body trembled, his feet sliding backwards on the cobbles. Eliana’s mind called up every ounce of energy her body could spare, tugging on Oriens’ life force. With a grunt, she seized the earth with her magic and pulled it upwards. A wall of rock began to rise in front of the gates. The soldiers outside rammed them again.

“Hurry, Eliana!” Caelum groaned as he took a stumbling step backwards.

With a shout, she heaved the earth upwards, pulling it up to cover the entirety of the city gates. They both released their magic and fell to the cobblestones, panting and sweating. Even Oriens sunk to his knees with fatigue.

Eliana stared at the earth wall for a moment. It shook slightly as a muffled thud echoed around the square. She let out a sharp, surprised laugh.

“We did it!” she chuckled.

Caelum grinned back at her. “I think it will hold them for a few days, at least.”

She sighed and took a moment to draw energy from the earth, restoring a part of her strength. Then she struggled to her feet. Caelum stood as well, and they climbed back up to the wall. They reloaded their bows, and rejoined the lines of archers.

The battle raged on for endless hours without much change. A few times, a handful of red-clad soldiers struggled over Thys’ ramparts. They were met with swords and spears, and were quickly driven back to their ranks at the base of the walls. Though Nocens’ army never gained real purchase on the walls, the defenders within Thys continued to fall, one by one, at the hands of the soldiers and sorcerers below.

“This isn’t working!” Eliana cried in frustration. She stepped away from the wall once again, reloading her bow. “We cannot hold them back like this forever. Our men are dying and we are gaining no ground!”

“I know,” he answered through gritted teeth. They stepped forward and released another round of arrows. “But what do you suggest we do?”

Her answer came automatically to her tongue, as if she should have known this all along. “We have to meet them on even ground.”

He looked at her in surprise. “You want us to leave Thys to go out into the unprotected plains and fight them head on?”

“It’s the only way.”

He shook his head. “No, Eliana,” he responded. “There is always another way.”

“But not a better one!” she snapped. “We have to—!”

Her sentence was cut off by a raucous cheer from Nocens’ men. She immediately cast her eyes about for the source of their excitement; whatever was good for their enemy did not body well for them. Her gaze settled on two dark spots in the western sky. One was much larger than the other, and both were approaching fast. Time seemed to slow as her heart sped up. Peior and the Dark Rider were approaching.

She tore her eyes from the shapes in the sky to look at the elf beside her. He was already looking at her, terror in his eyes. They had both known this moment would come sooner or later. But they had foolishly hoped the battle would be won before these—their greatest enemies—arrived.

She forced herself to look away from him. “Oriens!” she shouted.

The golden dragon was hovering in front of her in a matter of seconds. She could sense his eager, confident energy, but it did not stifle the trembling inside of her. Caelum grabbed her arm.

“Wait!” he cried.

She turned back to him. “Caelum, I have to go. I have to do this!”

She had never seen him look more frightened. “I know,” he answered, his voice brimming with emotion. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again, sweetly and gently this time. It felt horribly like a goodbye kiss. “Be safe, my love,” he whispered.

She nodded, stepping away from the safety of his arms. “And you.”

Then she turned away and, with one long leap, landed in Oriens’ saddle. He took off over the walls with record speed, flying quickly over the red army before their enemies had time to try and attack them. Eliana leaned low in the saddle as her dragon’s wings pounded beside her, carrying them closer to their two most powerful enemies.

For a moment, she wished that the wild dragons were beside her, but she forced the thought aside. The dragons were not coming. She and Oriens were fighting alone.

She could hear Oriens’ voice roaring in her mind. “Blood! Traitor! Egg-smasher! I will have your blood!”

The two black figures were before them now, and Peior suddenly stopped and let the dragon fly ahead. The Rider, cloaked in black, bent low in the saddle, a silver sword flashing in his hand. His black dragon was armored in dark grey metal, and she bore her teeth as she snarled. The two dragons raced towards each other, smoke rolling from between Oriens’ teeth.

The two serpentine forms collided, making Eliana’s teeth clack together. Claws and fangs screeched on steel and clattered against scales as the two tried to gain an advantage over the other. All Eliana could do was struggle to stay in the saddle during the snarling, tumbling battle in the sky.

The dragons finally sprang apart as Oriens released a jet of flame. The agile black female snaked out of the way, growling in anger. She was obviously not yet mature enough to breathe fire; Eliana and Oriens had at least one advantage. Oriens roared a challenge, and the black dragon seemed to draw back in fear.

“You stupid animal!” the Rider screamed. “Don’t you dare run away again! Fight! Fight, or Peior will deal with you!”

The voice slammed against Eliana’s memory like a kick from a mule, and her heart sank into her stomach. She knew him. She knew that Rider.

“Oriens!” she shouted to him. “Try to get into that dragon’s mind if she’ll let you. And get us above them. I want a look at that Rider.”

With one powerful thrust of his wings, he pulled them into the air above their enemy. The black dragon darted out from underneath them and lifted herself and her Rider above them. Oriens immediately responded, and the two dragons continued climbing skywards, darting around and over each other in rapid succession. Suddenly, Oriens snapped his wings closed, diving towards the earth.

“After them!” the Dark Rider shouted.

Eliana glanced back to see their dark shapes hurtling down after them, the female’s triangular black head pointed straight at the earth, gaining on them. When they were nearly level, the golden wings sprang open, lifting them above the black dragon. The female reacted immediately, opening her wings as well, but the split-second delay was all Eliana needed.

She threw herself from Oriens’ back, falling directly towards the Rider in the saddle below. He looked up at the last moment, but was too late to react. She slammed into him, knocking him from the saddle so that they were both falling through the air, tumbling over one another, struggling to subdue the other.

Oriens’ large, golden form dove past them, and the Dark Rider’s back struck the saddle, Eliana’s knees in his stomach. She glared down at the Rider—the young face, the dark hair—anger and betrayal growing inside of her. It had been so long since she’d seen his face, and it had changed.

He was paler, lines of anger and hatred marked his forehead and mouth, and the irises that had once been a deep purple had turned to solid black. The Rider sneered up at her with the same, familiar expression from so many months ago.

She had tried to convince herself that it wasn’t true, that the pain she’d felt in the boy’s mind would not allow it to be true, but she could no longer deny what was in front of her.

She clenched her teeth and snarled down at him, “Ater…”