Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

Caelum was moaning in his sleep. He tossed from one side to the other, then back again. His breath came in short, desperate gasps, sweat coursing down his face. Eliana placed a cool, wet cloth on his forehead, trying to wipe away some of the sweat. His face burned her fingertips as she touched his cheek. Fear and anxiety clutched at her stomach.

“Why isn’t he getting any better?” she asked the woman standing next to her.

Ispera squatted and put an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “I don’t know, Eliana,” she answered truthfully. “I’ve dealt with Dark fevers before, but never anything like this. Peior’s magic is much stronger than even I expected—and I have seen him work for years, even been the subject he’s practiced on.” She sighed heavily. “Prince Caelum is beyond my ability to Heal.”

Eliana turned her head sharply towards her mother, her eyes growing wide with panic. “You mean there’s nothing that can be done?”

“No, no,” she answered quickly. “I simply mean I cannot do it. Not alone, at least.”

Caelum suddenly twisted, his back arching, a horrible scream ripping from his throat. “NO!” he screamed. “PLEASE DON’T! LEAVE HER ALONE!”

The two dark-haired women placed their hands on the elf’s chest and shoulders, trying to force his thrashing body back on the sofa.

“What’s the matter with him?” Eliana shouted desperately.

“It’s getting worse,” she answered through gritted teeth. “He’s started hallucinating. A Dark fever makes you start seeing things. Your greatest fears come to life in your mind.”

Caelum screamed again. “ELIANA!”

She blinked back her tears and pressed harder on his shoulders. At last, he quit thrashing and settled back onto the cushions, still panting in his sleep. Ispera sat back and pushed her hair behind her ears.

“We’re going to need help,” she said quietly.

“Laurus,” Eliana whispered.

Ispera’s purple eyes turned to her daughter’s identical ones. “Who?”

“Laurus,” she repeated, a little louder. “She’s the Healer in Iterum.”

Her mother smiled brightly. “I remember her. She was my apprentice. She must have taken over as Healer after I ran away with your father. She truly had the Healer’s touch.”

Eliana nodded. “Astrum says she’s the best there is. If anyone can help, it’s her.”

There was a sudden pounding on the door, and Eliana leapt to her feet, prepared for an attack.

“Eliana, open up!” a voice called.

Her heart settled, and she opened it a crack to see who was pounding so loudly and what they could possibly want. It was Caedis. He looked wind-swept and exhausted, but excited. She opened the door wider to let him in out of the snow that fell outside.

“Are you alright?” she asked cautiously. She was still adjusting to them being civil to one another.

He nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Better than fine!”

She suddenly remembered where he had been. Caedis, Teleas, and a few other men from Vegrandis had set off for surrounding villages two days earlier, hoping to ferret out a few allies among their neighbors.

“I take it you were successful?”

“Beyond what we ever dared to hope!” he exclaimed. “Every man in every village has agreed to align with us! Once they heard we had a Rider, they were more than eager. You’re what everyone’s been waiting for—a symbol to rally around, someone to lead them against the emperor.”

She sighed and shook her head wearily. “What have you been leading them to believe, Caedis? That some great general has arrived to lead the charge? You know that I am no leader.”

He grinned stupidly at her. “You are now.”

She made an irritated noise and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t have time to think about this right now. I have other problems to deal with.”

Caedis shifted his weight to gaze over her shoulder. “The prince?” he asked, nodding in the direction of the sofa.

She nodded slowly. “Yes. He’s getting worse. I need to go to Iterum and bring back their Healer. I’m hoping she can help him.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” he asked. “You should have gone there a long time ago. They need to see those books you showed us, and you need to warn them that Prince Nocens knows where they are. You never know when they’ll be attacked.”

She looked up at the man in surprise. She hadn’t thought of that, preoccupied as she’d been with Caelum’s state. But if Nocens and Peior were going to come after her, Iterum would be the first place they would look.

She turned hastily to her mother. “I’m going now,” she said, quickly kissing her on the cheek. “Take care of him for me. I’ll be back before sunset tomorrow.”

Ispera looked at her daughter with a frown. “It’s late, Eliana. Shouldn’t you wait until morning?”

“No,” Eliana answered quickly, grabbing her Rider’s jacket. “Caedis is right. I should have gone a long time ago.” She pointed at the brown-haired young man. “You. You’re coming with me.”

His eyes grew wide. “What? Me? To Iterum? On a dragon?”

“Yes,” she answered, grabbing his forearm and pulling him to the back door. “I’ll need the elves to believe that the humans are willing to align with us. You’re my evidence.”

She dragged Caedis out of the house, bringing the saddle and books along with them, and into the grassy open area.

“Oriens!” she called.

“Already on my way,” he replied. “Caedis is right. We should leave now.”

The moonlight caught the golden hide as Oriens landed in front of them. He turned his emerald eyes on the pair, a slight smirk curving his mouth and revealing the points of his long, white teeth. Caedis stumbled backwards, apparently taking the smirk to be a snarl. He tripped over his own feet and landed heavily on his backside.

Eliana laughed. “It’s okay, Caedis,” she said, pulling him to his feet. “Oriens won’t hurt you.”

“Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly, brushing off the back of his trousers.

“Of course she is,” Oriens said to their minds. “I’m perfectly tame.”

“I…” Caedis started. He stopped, letting his gaze fall to the ground. His voice was low as he spoke again. “How can you forgive me for what I’ve done?”

Oriens lowered his head so that it was level with the man’s. Brown eyes met green as Oriens said, “My Rider led you to my mother’s nest. And yet I still chose her as my Rider. Neither of you knew that what you were doing was a sin. You were doing what you had been taught to do over centuries. You have my forgiveness, Caedis, as Eliana does.”

Caedis nodded once, slowly. “Thank you, Oriens.”

Eliana smiled to herself as she tugged on her gloves. “If we’re quite finished here, we should be on our way.”

Oriens bent his legs so that she could put the saddle on his back, and she tied the old volumes—still bundled in Caelum’s cloak—to the side. She swung up onto the saddle and extended a hand towards Caedis, who still stood hesitantly on the ground. He looked at her offered hand, then eyed the dragon warily.

Eliana sighed. “Will you swallow your cowardice and get up here?”

He scowled, his pride obviously injured. As she had known he would after her slight against his courage, Caedis grasped her hand and climbed up behind her. Once he was safely in the saddle, she signaled to Oriens, and his massive wings lifted them into the air. Caedis let out a shout of surprise and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

She wriggled slightly in his powerful grasp. “Stop trying to crush me!” she cried above the wind rushing past them.

His arms loosened a little, but he still held to her tightly. Eliana smirked to herself. The man who had tormented her from the time they were children was terrified, and completely at her mercy.

“Don’t you dare, Eliana,” Oriens warned her silently.

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t,” she responded with a silent laugh. “But you must admit, it’s a rather fun prospect. We’d only scare him a bit.”

“Fun? Yes. Right? No.”

“Fine. Killjoy.”

Oriens chuckled beneath them, and Eliana glanced over her shoulder at the pale face behind her. He looked slightly ill. “Are you alright?” she asked.

She saw him swallow hard, then nod. “Yes. Yes, I think so.”

She shook her head with a smile on her face. His discomfort was entertaining her far more than it should have, she knew, but the old ways between them were still hard for her to forget. They flew wide of Vereor, avoiding any villages in between. They couldn’t afford to be spotted. The night was silent besides the rushing of Oriens’ wings as they rhythmically beat at the sky. She felt herself growing drowsy as she leaned forward against the dragon’s neck.

“Don’t fall asleep!” Caedis cried out in surprise.

“I’m not,” she answered slowly. “Besides, it’s not like I’m steering him or anything. Oriens knows where he’s going better than I do.”

“I don’t care! Don’t sleep!”

She sighed, still pressing her head to the scales. “You are so paranoid,” she muttered.

Despite Caedis’ insistence on her staying awake, she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes opened. She hadn’t slept through a night for longer than she could remember—the battle, then Vereor, and now helping Ispera tend to Caelum.

Quite suddenly, Oriens was in her mind, waking her up. “We’re nearly to Iterum.”

She sat up and surveyed the land far below them. She could see the long, wide river that bordered the elves’ lands. The sun was just beginning to rise over the city. She smiled. It felt good to be home.

Shouts rose up below them as they soared over the elven capitol. Caedis carefully leaned over to look down as well. “Where are those shouts coming from?” he asked.

She suddenly realized that he had no idea they were over Iterum. The city was difficult to see in the dim morning light. She pointed at the narrow walkways in between the trees.

“It’s Iterum,” she explained. “The elves have seen us.”

Eliana felt his muscles tighten behind her. She couldn’t blame him. They were landing right in the middle of his enemies’ capitol. As far as Caedis knew, she was leading him into an ambush.

“Caedis,” she called to him, as Oriens circled over the archery field to land, “you are with a Rider and dragon. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

Oriens’ feet hit the ground heavily. Caedis slid off first and Eliana followed. All around, dark shapes were rushing forwards. Some conjured up light orbs as they approached, lighting their smiling faces in the darkness of early dawn.

“Veholum! Veholum!” they cried repeatedly.

A familiar face ran through the crowd towards her. “Eliana!” Denio called.

She laughed as he pulled her into a tight hug. “Denio!”

“It’s wonderful to see you again! I heard about the battle in Amiscan. The messenger they sent said you and Caelum went to Vereor. Where is Caelum?” He looked over her shoulder to see Caedis standing where he expected to find his brother. He frowned as he took in the brown hair and brown eyes—clearly human traits. “Who’s this?” he asked slowly.

Eliana stepped aside and motioned Caedis forward. Caedis stepped up cautiously, doing his best to look unafraid. “This is Caedis. He is from Vegrandis, the village where I used to live. He and the rest of the villagers, as well as those in surrounding villages, have sworn to join us. They will help us fight the emperor and win the war.”

Denio’s reaction did not surprise her. He thrust his hand forward, grabbing Caedis’ firmly. “Wonderful! Welcome to Iterum, Caedis. I’m Denio, Caelum’s brother.”

Caedis looked surprised. “So you’re a prince too?”

Denio nodded. “So you’ve spoken with my brother then?”

“Um, not exactly,” he said, shaking his head. “Eliana told me he was a prince from Iterum.”

Caedis’ hesitation seemed to signal to the young prince that something was wrong. He looked at Eliana, his violet eyes full of concern. “Where is Caelum, Eliana?” he repeated.

“In Vegrandis,” she answered quietly. “He’s been injured, and he’s very ill. That’s why I’ve come back. I need Laurus to come back with me and help him. Ispera can’t do it alone.”

“Ispera? Who’s Ispera? How did Caelum get hurt? What happened, Eliana?”

She sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’ll tell you everything, but I only want to do it once, so I need to see you, Mara, Laurus, and your mother.”

~*~

They gathered in the throne room inside of Domus, and Eliana recounted her story as quickly as she could, telling about Caelum’s torture and finding her mother, and she returned the long-lost texts to the archivist, who accepted them with wide, tear-filled eyes.

She gestured at Caedis, who stood behind her in awkward silence as she continued, “The people of Vegrandis have been recruiting other villages to join us in the fight against the emperor. The humans are tired of the tyranny they’ve lived under—the emperors have done nothing but cause suffering for centuries, and they’re ready for it to end. I want to gather an army and move against the capitol.”

Denio met her eyes steadily. “You’re asking a difficult thing, Eliana,” he said. “We would be taking a great risk by doing this. Countless lives could be lost.”

Suddenly, a slow voice spoke from the entrance to the throne room. “Ah, there you are, young Rider.”

They all turned in surprise to find Astrum walking towards them, though none was as surprised as Caedis, whose face turned ghostly pale at the sight.

“Hello, Astrum,” Eliana said quietly to the white fox.

He did not answer her greeting, but moved to stand in front of Denio, his golden eyes boring into the prince’s purple ones. “Denio, do you believe the old prophecy I made so many centuries before your birth?”

Denio looked starled by the question. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

Astrum moved again, standing beside the Rider, his eyes still on the prince. “Then you should not hesitate to join Eliana in the battle. The prophecy cannot be fulfilled if the elves do not fight. Without them, Eliana will fail. Your Rider and her dragon, and all who fight with them, will be killed without the aid of your armies.”

There was a long silence. Then Denio looked at his mother. “What do you—?” he began.

The queen shook her head firmly. “No, Denio. This is your choice now. It will not be long before I give my power to you, and make you the king of Iterum. You must learn to make these decisions on your own.”

Denio sighed and looked at Eliana again. “Very well,” he said with a short nod. “You have the full support of Iterum’s armies. Whatever you require, you will receive it.”

“I need the elves to leave Iterum.”

The elves all looked startled. “What?” Denio sputtered.

“Nocens knows where Iterum is. I don’t know how or when he found out, but he’s been here, Denio. I invaded his thoughts, and I saw Iterum. Every street, every tree was clear in his mind.”

“But where would we go?” he asked.

“Amiscan.”

“They know where that is as well. They will find us easily.”

Eliana shook her head and answered quietly, “The time for hiding is over, Denio. The time for fighting is now. Move all of the elves to Amiscan as soon as possible. We don’t know when Vereor’s armies will decide to attack. It’s a miracle they haven’t already. Caedis and the other men from Vegrandis will gather the humans who will fight with us. They will join you in Amiscan as soon as possible. We will gather our troops there and prepare for the final battle.”

Denio covered his face with his hands. There was a long moment of silence before he whispered, “I suppose I have no choice. I have to protect them. We’ll leave for Amiscan within the week.”

Queen Ivi spoke again. “Then I suppose we have a wedding to plan.”

The prince’s face pulled away from his hands to look at his mother. “What do you mean?”

She smiled at him softly. “It’s tradition for marriages of the royal family to take place within the palace. I will not allow that tradition to be thwarted by some silly war.”

“But,” her son stuttered, looking frantic. “But you haven’t chosen anyone for me yet!”

A small laugh escaped the queen’s lips. “I’m old, Denio, but I’m not yet blind. Kana will do nicely.”

Denio stared at her in shock for a moment, then a bright smile lit up his face as he embraced his mother, who laughed warmly.

The smiling prince turned to Eliana. “Will you and Caelum be back for the wedding? It wouldn’t be the same without you both.”

She sighed. “I don’t know, Denio. I hope he will be well before then, but if he isn’t… I don’t want to leave him again. Not unless the time for war comes.”

He nodded in understanding. “But if Laurus is able to Heal him, you will come, won’t you?”

She matched his happy grin and answered, “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. And I know Caelum wouldn’t either. He’ll want to be here even more than I.”

Denio stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. The earthy smell, so much like Caelum’s, brought tears to her eyes. When at last she pulled away, Eliana turned to Laurus. The Healer was staring off into the distance, looking like her thoughts were a million miles away.

“When can you be ready to go?” she asked her.

Laurus jumped to her feet, her dark curls bouncing, and looked at Eliana as if she’d forgotten she was there. “Oh! Within the hour! I just need to gather my… my things, and we can be on our way.” With that, she ran off down the staircase.

Caedis leaned close to Eliana and whispered skeptically, “She’s the Healer that will save your prince?”

“Don’t underestimate her,” Eliana answered in an equally low tone. “She’s more powerful than she appears.”

He didn’t look convinced, but made no further comment. Eliana looked to Denio again. “You should probably find Kana,” she said with a smile. “She may like to know that she’s going to be marrying you in less than a week’s time.”

Denio laughed. “Yes, you’re probably right.” He followed Laurus down the spiraling staircase.

Eliana sighed and looked around her. Queen Ivi sat on her throne, her face lined with deep thought. Mara was reverently poring over the old volumes, which had been lost for so many centuries, Astrum at her side. Caedis stood in the corner, beginning to look overwhelmed.

Astrum looked up at her, his golden eyes bright with what looked like pride. “Thank you for returning these to us, Rider Eliana. They mean much to our people.”

“I only wish I could have found them at a better time,” she answered. “You finally have them back, but now you must leave them behind to go to Amiscan. It seems a waste.”

The fox shook his white head. “Don’t concern yourself with that. We have ways of protecting the archives in times of war—even in our absence.”

Mara stood, lifting the books with her magic. She smiled at Eliana, tears still in her eyes, as she said, “Come with us. Let’s restore these books to where they belong.”

Caedis and Eliana followed Mara and Astrum out of the palace and through the city. The archives were silent as Mara carefully placed the ancient texts in the long-empty spots on the shelves. At last, she stepped back and surveyed her handiwork. Every space was now filled. Not one book was missing.

Suddenly, Mara grabbed the Rider, pulling her into a tight hug. “You truly are the answer to the prophecy,” she sobbed.

As she tried to pry herself out of Mara’s choking hold, Eliana heard Caedis ask, “What’s this prophecy everyone keeps talking about?”

Eliana finally freed herself from the archivist’s grip and turned to him, answering, “Astrum made a prophecy hundreds of years ago about a girl who would raise a dragon and end a war. She’s supposed to be a rogue, an outcast among both humans and elves. The elves think it’s about me.”

“And you don’t?”

She sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think I am the answer to anything. And… I don’t wish to believe that my future has already been decided for me.”

Mara sounded exasperated as she interjected, “Follow me, Caedis. You can decide for yourself whether or not Eliana is the prophecy.”

She stepped briskly off in the direction of the next room, where the circular disk lay hidden in the floor. They all stepped into the area and, with the same circular motion of her wrist, Mara lifted the disk out of the floor and they rose up to the hidden room with the bejeweled mural.

They stepped into the room, sunlight speckling the floor through the canopy above. Astrum swiftly and silently stepped in front of the three large figures in the center of the mural and sat in front of them, gazing upwards at them with those golden eyes.

“Incredible,” Caedis whispered respectfully. “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Eliana found her attention focused on the raven-haired woman on the right. She was beautiful—far fairer that Eliana was, by her own estimation. She had features that could be attributed to any elven woman—pure black hair, amethyst eyes—but what about the prophecy? Not everyone was an outcast among both races. But surely there had to be someone better suited to end this war, she thought.

It can’t be me, she thought. I don’t want it to be me… I don’t want this responsibility. I don’t want my choices to already be made for me.

Her gaze drifted downwards and landed on the soft, white fur of the immortal spirit. Why hadn’t she thought of it before?

“Astrum,” she said.

He turned his eyes to her, a knowing smirk on his foxy mouth. “Yes?”

“Is it me?” she asked slowly. “Am I the girl from the prediction?”

His grin grew, showing the points of his teeth. “That all depends on you.”

“Don’t be silly, Eliana!” Caedis suddenly cried from beside her, gesturing up at the mural. “Look at it! She looks just like you!”

She shook her head. “Caedis, have you looked around you since being in Iterum? There are many elven women who have those same features. It could just as easily be Mara,” she said, gesturing at the archivist.

“Perhaps, but Mara doesn’t have a golden dragon hovering over her.”

Eliana had no response to this, so she turned her attention to Astrum again. “What do you mean, it depends on me?”

Astrum stood and turned his back on the mural so that he was looking directly up at her. “Perhaps it would be easiest if I simply repeated my prophecy from all those centuries ago…”