Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

Denio, Oriens, Teleas, and Caelum gathered at the cliffs to see them off. There was a tension in the air around the group; each of them knew that what occurred in the stones beneath them could determine the outcome of the war. But nobody said it. Eliana hugged Oriens’ nose as he silently wished her good luck. Then she turned to face the two brothers.

The younger of the two embraced her and smiled, though she could still see the strain about his eyes. “Kana wishes you luck as well,” he told her. “She would have liked to come herself, but she was ill this morning.”

Eliana nodded in understanding. She was not blind. She had noticed the queen’s odd behavior, her recurring bouts of sickness, the protective way she wrapped her arms around her stomach; Eliana was certain there would be a prince or princess within the year.

Then, she glanced at Caelum, who was watching her with serious eyes. She hesitated, then steeled herself and stepped towards him. Whatever anger he might have towards her, she needed to speak to him one last time, in case things went wrong.

She met his firm gaze with an air of confidence. “Are you going to wish me luck, Captain?”

His answer surprised her. “You promised.”

She frowned slightly, forgetting to pretend to be indifferent. “What are you talking about?” she asked in confusion.

His voice was low, full of anger, disappointment, and pain. “You promised… no more stupid stunts. Do you remember?”

She did. It had been after her first encounter with Peior. She gave a short nod.

“Then what do you call this?” he snapped.

She returned his angry glare. “Don’t forget, Prince Caelum, that you’re not for keeping promises yourself.” He looked about to argue, but she plowed on. “You promised not to let the real you run off again. When that Caelum comes back, we can discuss me and my stupid stunts.”

Patting Oriens on his broad shoulder, Eliana turned to the two men who would be accompanying her into the dwarves’ dark tunnels. Caedis and Iocus both gave her curt nods, signifying their readiness. Without a single glance over her shoulder, Eliana began the descent over the steep edge of the cliff to the sands below, her two companions following close behind.

The dirt and rocks slid beneath her feet as she made her way down the rock face. There were plenty of ledges and handholds, so the three figures descended quickly and without much difficulty. Eliana jumped the last several feet to the soft sand, the two men landing quickly beside her. A white figure waited on the beach for them.

“Astrum,” Eliana said in surprise, “what are you doing here?”

“I decided it would be best for me to accompany you,” he replied. “I know the way, and I may be of some assistance with the dwarves.”

She lifted her shoulders slightly and gestured ahead of her. “Well, lead on then.”

He turned his tail to them and proceeded at an easy lope down the length of the beach. The three soldiers lengthened their strides to keep up with him. Tangled masses of cliff scrub clung to the rocks on their right, as well as a few gnarled old trees that had forced their way into existence in the squalid environment.

Astrum stopped at an inlet of the sea. The waves rushed past them into a small cave in the cliff, ocean spray shooting upwards in a fine mist. Eliana looked down at Astrum, who was gazing back up at her with a calm look of certainty on his long face. She understood the expression. This was it.

Caedis and Iocus seemed to catch the look as well. The human man sighed. “Well,” he said, “we could pull back the water with our magic. With the three of us, we should be strong enough that we can walk in on dry ground.”

“Not possible,” Astrum said. “If you force the waves back, when you release them, the entire cave will flood, and possibly even the dwarves’ tunnels. Unless you want to drown potential allies, I don’t suggest it.”

“It will take timing then,” Iocus said. “We’ll have to ride a wave in.”

“How do we avoid getting washed back out?” Eliana asked.

“I suppose we could use our magic then,” Caedis said. “If we can’t hold the water back, we can use our magic to spit us out inside. If there are tunnels in there somewhere, there must be some kind of dry ground. A simple spell should get the water to push us out onto land.”

Eliana sighed. “Alright then. We’ll leave our bows here, but keep your swords. If the dwarves are not as kind as we’d hoped, I don’t want us to be entirely without weapons.”

All three of them removed the bows and quivers from their backs, stowing them behind a shrub that clung to the cliff. A thought occurred to Eliana, and she looked down at the white wolf, who was watching them patiently.

“Astrum,” she asked, “how did you find this place anyways?” He looked back at her with silent, knowing eyes. Realization struck her. “You knew all along, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell us before?”

“I did not wish to bring the dwarves into a battle until I was sure of your decision to face your fate.”

“And what is my fate?” she asked quietly.

He shook his head as he looked away. “I cannot say, Eliana.”

“But you do know, don’t you?”

There was a short pause before he answered, “Yes, I do know, so far as you remain on the current path you are on. As I said before, what I see is not written in stone. You always have a choice. And every choice you make changes your future, so every time you make a decision, I can see a different end for you.”

“What kind of end do you see now?”

He looked up at her again. His white fur heaved with a sigh, and she thought she saw something sad in his expression. “Eliana, please do not ask me any more questions.”

She nodded respectfully and said in a quiet voice. “As you wish.” She looked over her shoulder to see that Caedis and Iocus were watching her, listening to her conversation with the wolf. “Are you ready?” she asked.

The two men nodded and stepped up beside her. They poised themselves on the very edge of the inlet, watching the rise and fall of the waves. They waited until the water had almost completely pulled back into the sea, then dove into the waves. They surged forward on the next wave, rushing towards the cave. Eliana ducked beneath the water to avoid colliding with the top of the cave mouth.

The sunlight almost completely disappeared as they were thrown into the cavern by the water’s force. She felt the sea start to pull her back out. With a flick of her fingers, the water around her spiraled upwards and roughly deposited her on a slab of smooth stone. She grunted as she tumbled on the rock, then sat up with a groan, looking around for her companions.

Astrum sat calmly beside her, his white fur somehow completely dry, watching with patient golden eyes. She spotted Caedis several yards away on another outcropping of rock. His spell had not been as precise as he had hoped, and he was now left in a precarious predicament. He would have to navigate around a thin ledge of wet stone to get to where Eliana was lying in front of the dwarves’ tunnel.

Iocus sat on the same slab of stone she had landed on. He had a hand pressed to his forehead. Blood oozed between his fingers and trailed down the side of his face. The always-cheerful elf gave her a sheepish grin.

“What happened?” she asked, moving quickly to his side.

He shrugged slightly. “Didn’t duck quickly enough when the wave pushed us in. Hit my head on the edge of the opening.” He seemed to see some sign of horror on her face, because he asked, “Is it really that bad?”

Eliana pulled his hand from his head to examine the wound, then sighed. “I don’t think so,” she answered. “It seems rather deep, but I should still be able to Heal it. My mother taught me how.”

She touched her fingers to his forehead and felt the familiar rush of magic through her body. Iocus’s skin knit itself together before her eyes, completely closing the gash. Eliana sat back with a small smile of satisfaction.

Iocus touched the spot where the wound had been, then looked at her with a crooked grin. “You’ve leaned quite well, my dear.”

The term of endearment made her stomach twist with discomfort—quite a different sensation from when Caelum had called her “darling.” The elf leaned forward suddenly, catching her unawares, and covered her lips with his. She stiffened, freezing in surprise as one of his hands laced through her wet hair, pulling her mouth more firmly to his.

An angry roar in her mind startled her back into her senses, and she quickly shoved the elf away. He looked down at her, apparently disappointed and confused. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, breathing heavily.

“I will kill him!” a voice screamed in her mind. It was not Oriens’ voice, as she’d expected. It was Caelum. Evidently, Oriens had allowed the elf into his mind while he shared Eliana’s sight, just as they’d done back in the palace in Vereor. She quickly pushed the two prying presences from her mind and threw a wall around it, blocking them both out.

A pair of soggy boots hit the rock as Caedis landed beside Eliana and Iocus, after making his journey around the perimeter of the cave. “Two elves, Eliana?” he asked in obvious distaste.

Eliana and Iocus both looked up at him. “What are you talking about?” the elf asked.

“You and that prince,” he answered.

The normally childish elf seemed to be becoming rather irritated. “What? Caelum? What about him?”

The human shook his head in exasperation. “Eliana, you, and Caelum,” he responded slowly, as if speaking to someone with dim wits. “Both you and that prince seem to be pursuing her.”

Iocus turned his blue eyes to the silent Rider beside him. “Caelum?” he repeated incredulously. “Captain Caelum? He is pursuing you?”

Eliana turned away from his gaze to find Astrum watching them with what appeared to be amusement. “Perhaps we should discuss this another time,” the wolf said softly. “There are much more important things we should be tending to.”

“Yes,” Eliana responded eagerly, jumping to her feet; she would have agreed with anything that would change the subject at that moment. “Let’s go.”

She turned and quickly marched down the tunnel without looking back. After a moment of hesitation, two pairs of boots and one set of large paws began to follow her in silence. They wound their way through the tunnels without speaking. As Astrum had said, lit torches began to appear, illuminating the tracks of hundreds of pairs of booted feet in the dirt ahead of them.

Eliana, Iocus, and Astrum all cast their minds outwards, searching for any signs of life. Slowly, she became aware of a cluster of consciences around the next bend, like a bright light at the end of a dark and empty tunnel. She stopped, holding out an arm to halt the others.

“Do you sense them too?” she whispered.

Caedis looked confused, while Astrum and Iocus nodded. Eliana placed her fingers on the hilt of her golden blade. Then, with a slow breath, she started forward again, rounding the bend. They found themselves staring down the shafts of a hundred spears.

On the other end of those deadly sticks were the dwarves. Denio had been correct in his description of the race. The tallest of the group would have only reached Eliana’s chest, and their faces were engulfed in unruly beards. Dark, beady eyes glared out at them from skin that was pale from a lifetime underground. Each dwarf was fully outfitted for war, from the helms on their heads to the metal-studded boots on their feet.

“Who are you?” barked a dwarf from behind the line of spears.

Eliana slowly lifted her right hand, seeing the dwarves’ grips tighten around their spears. The men on either side of her grasped the hilts of their swords, ready for an attack. Even Astrum was crouched low to the ground, tension emanating from his every muscle.

Slipping the leather glove off of her hand, Eliana showed the dwarves her palm, where the shimmering mark of a dragon Rider shone in the torchlight. “My name is Eliana. These are my friends, Caedis, Iocus, and Astrum,” she said calmly, pointing to each of her companions in turn. “I am a dragon Rider, and we have come to seek your help.”

The dwarf in the back eyed her suspiciously from behind his line of warriors. Then, he barked, “Mühel!"

The spears were slowly lowered, though the dwarves that held them continued to eye her group suspiciously. Eliana’s companions relaxed slightly, and she allowed herself to let out a small sigh of relief.

"Fehr Zähmer,” the dwarf—evidently their leader—said quietly. “So you have returned after all. We’d heard the roars of a dragon above us for some time. We assumed the wild ones had ousted the elves.”

She shook her head. “What you heard was my dragon, Oriens.”

“Sigkeit!” the captain shouted impatiently at his warriors. They hastily made a path for him and he trundled forward. Iocus and Caedis loosened their swords slightly from their sheaths. Then the dwarf captain bowed. “Forgive the unfriendly reception, Fehr Zähmer,” he said, “but we had no reason to suspect that one such as you would come.” He stood, touching his fist to his forehead in an apparent salute. “I am Captain Felsen, leader of King Stährklav's armies.”

Eliana gave a slight bow in return. “A pleasure, Captain.”

“Come,” he said, turning back down the tunnel. “I will take you to King Stährklav. I am certain he will be happy to aid you in any manner possible.”

The dwarf soldiers turned and marched back down the tunnel in two perfectly marshaled lines, the stone echoing with the clang of armor. Eliana followed, Astrum trotting on her right, Iocus and Caedis close behind, still tense with suspicion. She knew what they must be thinking—that all of this was going far too well. Only Astrum’s obvious calm eased her own worries. If they were in danger, the Seer would know.

The tunnel seemed to continue for miles, dropping lower with every step, twisting and turning and branching off in a confusing network of stony halls. At points, Eliana, Caedis, and Iocus had to duck, continuing forward in a doubled-over position. Then, suddenly, the tunnel began to widen, the ceiling slowly rising.

As they rounded yet another bend in the stone hall, an extraordinary sight appeared before them. Rising from the stone, as if growing from the earth itself, was a city as large as Vereor. Thick walls surrounded the city. Behind them rose buildings of solid rock, their spires reaching towards the top of the cavern. From where she stood, staring in amazement, Eliana could see the gleaming of massive jewels and the sparkle of gold in the torchlight. The dwarf city’s size and beauty left her breathless.

“Welcome,” Felsen proudly announced, “to Zwûrdgit Stöhl.”