Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

A warm kiss on her forehead made her open her eyes. She blinked as she looked up into Caelum’s face. He smiled gently down at her as she peered at him sleepily.

“Time to get up, Rider,” he said. “Dawn is near.”

She groaned and wriggled down in the bed until her head was beneath the blankets. He chuckled and pulled at the covers, but she held them tightly over her face. She felt him shift beside her as he slipped down beneath the blanket as well.

He smirked at her in the little blanket tent and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Hiding,” she groaned.

“From what?”

She sighed. “Everything.”

His smile slipped away as he caught the serious note in her voice. He squirmed lower until his face was beside hers. “What’s the matter, Eliana?”

She bit her lip and looked away. How could she explain her thoughts to him, when she hardly understood them herself? How did she put words to this hopelessness she felt? She could feel his eyes on her, so she turned back to face him.

“How long will this last, Caelum?”

“How long will what last?”

“All of this. How long will this battle last? I’ve killed their Riders, I’ve killed Nocens. How many more men do I have to kill for it to end? How long will this hatred among the races last? Can a war really fix centuries of prejudice and bitterness? And us… How long can we last, Caelum? It seems so simple here, hidden beneath a blanket, safe. But if we go out there… It could all end so quickly.”

The backs of his fingers caressed her cheek. “You take so much on your own shoulders,” he sighed. “I was beginning to wonder if you ever felt any of it, always so brave and strong. But you don’t need to be afraid, Eliana.”

“But I am,” she whispered in return. “I’m not brave. I’m not strong. I am only afraid.” She still hated to admit the words aloud, but she couldn’t try to deny it any longer—not to him.

“What are you afraid of? Death?”

“Yes. But not mine… I’m afraid to lose you.”

He smiled softly and kissed her. “You will never lose me. I will always be with you.”

“But not in the way I want. Not if something happens to you.” She curled closer to his chest and he put his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. “I want you to always be here like this. I want to always be able to find your arms when I need somewhere to turn. I want to be able to touch you, see you, kiss you, hold you, be with you. Always.”

He didn’t make her the promise she wanted to hear. He couldn’t, just as she couldn’t. That was what frightened her most. Caelum held her for several more minutes inside their safe cocoon of blankets.

At last, he said, “We need to go.”

“I know…”

Slowly, half-heartedly, Caelum pulled away from her and slipped out of the bed. She sat up, letting the blankets fall to her waist and watched him quickly pull on his boots and tunic. Then he headed for the door.

“I’ll let you change,” he said as he slipped out.

She’d forgotten that she was still in the clothes of a concubine. She crawled out from beneath the blanket, leaving the lingering heat from Caelum’s body behind, and grabbed her last uniform from out of her pack. She pulled it on, discarding the tattered sheer cloth, and looked down at her bare feet. Her only boots were back in Nocens’ tent.

“You’ll have to find someone who has a spare pair,” Oriens said.

“Do you think anyone has spares?” she asked skeptically. “Everyone that came with us packed light. They didn’t bring extra boots.”

“Perhaps one of the Thysians,” he suggested.

Oriens followed her bare feet out of the cathedral to where Caelum waited in the streets. The elf looked down at her exposed toes with a frown.

“I’d forgotten about your boots,” he said.

“Me too. Can we find an extra pair anywhere?”

Caelum nodded. “We kept a few pairs from our dead. You can try to find something that fits there.”

He led her to another room in the same building as the infirmary. Armor, weapons, and boots taken from the fallen were piled in the tiny room. She sifted through the boots, searching for a pair that would fit. At last, she found a pair made of thick, brown leather and pulled them on. There were slightly too large, but they would have to do.

Once she’d pulled them on, Caelum and Eliana made their way to the western wall. The sun was just climbing over the eastern mountains, and the armies of Vereor were already assembled at the wall. A tall figure in black now stood at the head of their forces, his pale hair nearly transparent in the sunlight.

Peior’s voice was high and menacing as he pointed up at her and shouted, “There! There is the beast who killed our emperor! They must all fall! Slaughter them! Murder them! Destroy them!”

The army rushed upon them so quickly that the city’s defenders didn’t have a chance to fire their first volley of arrows before the soldiers reached the wall. The battering ram was brought forward again, and was quickly hammering at the gate. The United Army’s forces scrambled to drive back the frenzied, furious humans.

It didn’t take Eliana long to realize that this was not going to work. The red army was attacking with too much force to continue to be held back. Her murder of Nocens had not confused them as she’d hoped; it had enraged them. Thys was going to fall.

“Captain Tadal!” she shouted, spotting the man as he made his way to a nearby tower.

He stopped and looked at her, his expression frazzled. “I don’t exactly have time for conversation, Rider! What do you need?”

“That gate won’t hold much longer. We can’t keep them back. We have to get out of Thys, now! We have to meet them on the plains.”

Tadal stared at her for a moment. She could see his mind turning over the idea, trying to find a way around it. Then, he nodded. “Very well,” he said shortly. “I’ll assemble those below. Can you lead the archers that are on the wall?”

She nodded. “Yes. Seal the places that hold your women and children. Put the injured with them. They will be safe, so long as the army follows us out of the city.”

Tadal disappeared down the ladder, and Eliana stepped forward to fire another arrow down at the soldiers. She could hear the shouts of the men within the walls as they helped the injured into the hidden chambers beneath the city and began to assemble for the retreat.

Caelum found her and grabbed her arm. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’re getting out of Thys,” she told him.

“And then what?”

She considered his question for a moment, an idea forming in her mind. Motioning for Caelum to follow, she slipped down a ladder and led him to a dirt-covered alley. She drew in the earth with her finger as she explained her plan.

“You and Tadal can lead most of the men out of the eastern gate. Oriens can fly above you to make them believe it is a full retreat. Teleas, Ja’ol, and I will stay with a group of the men. Once the human army has begun to follow you, we will leave through the western gate. We’ll come around and attack their left side. Once they have turned to us, turn back on them and attack.”

Caelum looked up from her drawing. “Okay…” he said with a slow nod. “Let’s do it.”

~*~

Eliana watched from the wall as the eastern gate was pulled open and the men began to slip out. She signaled to those staying behind, and they all ducked below the stone precipices. At the same moment, Vereor’s troops saw Oriens in the sky and, below him, the retreating line of soldiers.

A shout rose up among them and, peering cautiously over the wall, Eliana watched them move around the stone walls of the city, chasing after the fleeing men. She glanced between Ja’ol and Teleas as they crouched beside her, waiting for the moment to move.

She peeked over the wall again to find that most of the soldiers were clear of the western wall. The men on the wall watched her for the signal. With two fingers, she motioned for them to start moving. They slipped silently down the ladders as the rest of her group emerged from Thys’ buildings and gathered in front of the western gate.

Ja’ol and Teleas pushed it open slightly and peered through the crack. The battering ram had been dropped in front of the gates and all of the soldiers that had once stood there were now gone. Eliana nodded, and they pushed the gates open all the way, allowing the remaining men to rush out into the plains.

She led her cluster of soldiers around the walls of Thys as they raced after the red uniforms. The army didn’t notice the troops that were gaining on them. They were far too busy gaining on the other portion of the United Army. Then Eliana’s troops fell on them.

That portion of the ranks seemed to crumble as the elves, men, and dwarves descended on the unprepared soldiers. But those behind them turned to face the attack with surprising force. Eliana dove into the battle without hesitation, using her blade on any red tunic that ventured too close, using her magic when she had the space to do so. Soldiers—both enemy and ally—fell all around her.

The armies of Vereor buckled under the blow as the men they’d been pursuing turned back upon them again. The united forces fought with incredible strength, but they were still outnumbered. Before long, they were being driven backwards, their comrades falling more and more quickly.

Panic began to rise in Eliana’s chest as she felt the shifting of the battle against them. This was a mistake, she thought. This was my mistake.

Then, the roar of thousands of new voices reached her ears, all of them deep and gruff. Through the sea of red tunics before her, Eliana saw a mass of small men rushing towards them. A great, white wolf charged at their head. The dwarves had arrived.

With Astrum leading them, the army of dwarves crashed against the other side of the red army, now penning them in on all sides with the United Army’s forces. Teeth bared, Astrum leapt onto a man’s neck, snarling like a wild animal instead of a dignified Seer. Close by, Oriens was fighting his way towards his Rider, tearing through men with his teeth to get closer to her.

At last, he was beside her and, with her left side protected from harm, Eliana fought on. Red-clad soldiers began to flee before them, dropping their weapons and running for the woods. Others simply dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, cowering with fear.

But those who remained fought all the harder, hacking like barbarians. Eliana’s men still fell. The dwarves swung their great battle axes, crushing bones even through thick armor. But still they fell. The elves fought with amazing speed, strength, and agility. But they fell too. The men swung their swords in blinding flashes of silver and red. But they fell too.

The battle raged on, appearing to be a nearly even match. For every red tunic that fell, one of their own soldiers fell as well. Eliana knew that it was still only a matter of time before the last of her supporters fell. My fault, she thought desperately. I failed them.

Then an earth-shattering chorus of roars shook the ground beneath her. She instinctively looked up at Oriens, though she knew the roar had not been his. He had stopped fighting quite suddenly and was staring off to the south. She followed his gaze to see two huge, winged forms flying towards them. One burned a deep red, the other a shining, rich violet.

“It’s Thacodi and Bolaer!” Eliana cried.

“They came!” Oriens laughed joyously.

The two massive forms descended and landed on either side of the golden dragon and Rider, scattering soldiers from both armies. Eliana looked up at them in amazement. Thacodi looked very calm, as if this was nothing extraordinary for him. Bolaer was crouched low to the earth, smoke rolling from her nostrils, looking ready to spring on anyone.

“Hello, Fire Hand and Golden Child,” Thacodi said, smiling down on them. “I have made my decision.”

“So I see,” she answered. “And what of your other mates?”

“I told them they were free to decide for themselves. Bolaer elected to come with me, though I think she would have come no matter my choice. Thysaer and Tylal chose to stay behind with the new hatchlings. Now, which ones are we killing?” he asked, looking around him at the battling armies.

Eliana smiled. “Red.”

“Very well. Bolaer, let us begin.”

“With pleasure!” she roared, and a jet of flame flew from her mouth as she sprang from her crouched position, landing on several of Vereor’s soldiers.

“Let’s go, Oriens!” Eliana shouted in her dragon’s thoughts.

They dove back into the battle, fighting beside the two ancient dragons. When the United Army realized the two massive beasts were allies, they cheered and fought with a newfound ferocity. The red army was crumbling now, terrified by the appearance of these two new, monstrous enemies. Many tried to attack the dragons, most of them sorcerers, but all of them ended up on their way to the great abyss.

Bolaer was even more frightening than her massive mate. Eliana could continuously hear the female dragon’s roars, as well as her angry thoughts. “I will have your blood! Egg-smashers! Murderers! This is for the children I lost! Die!”

A flash of black cloth amid the red caught Eliana’s eye. Peior blasted aside three dwarves as he strode towards a blonde elf, who was easily dispatching the soldiers around him.

“Caelum!” she screamed.

He wheeled around in time to see Peior lift a hand in his direction. He dove to the side as a blast of magic left a small crater in the grass. Caelum rolled to his feet, crouching with his sword in hand. Peior unsheathed his own blade, twirling it between his pale fingers.

Caelum rushed forward, swinging his blade at the Dark sorcerer. Peior blocked the attack and stepped aside. Eliana tried to make her way towards them as the pair continued to fight, but soldier after soldier blocked her path. She killed them without a thought. She had to get to Caelum.

He was losing. Peior was quicker and stronger, and he seemed to be toying with the elf, enjoying their battle. She wasn’t close enough to help. Caelum attacked again. With a twist of his wrist, Peior forced Caelum’s sword to the side. And the sorcerer did not hesitate.

Eliana watched in horror as, just feet away from her, Peior sunk his silver blade into Caelum’s stomach. Caelum’s fair face contorted in pain, and he clutched at his stomach. His wide, blue eyes stared in horror and disbelief at his bloodstained hands. The metal drew back again, coming out drenched in red blood. A scream was ripping through Eliana’s throat without her even realizing it. She continued to fight towards him, trying to reach him, to help him in some way.

Caelum fell to his knees as Peior sneered down at him. The hand not clutching the wound grabbed his blade, which had fallen to the grass. Blue eyes met black for a moment. Then the elf captain pulled himself to his feet.

“What are you going to do, little prince?” Peior chuckled.

Eliana was near enough to hear Caelum’s labored breathing over the sound of war around her. But still, she could not reach him. She saw him swing his sword at Peior, who met the blade with his own. Still with one hand over his stomach, trying to stem the bleeding, Caelum fought.

At first, Peior seemed amused by this. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, Caelum wedged his blade beneath the hilt of Peior’s sword. He wrenched the sword from Peior’s hands, sending it flying to the grass, leaving the sorcerer without a weapon.

“This is for my people,” he hissed. He shoved the sword into Peior’s stomach. “This is for Eliana.” He stabbed the sorcerer again. “And this… is for my mother.”

The blood-soaked blade cut through the air, meeting the pale skin at Peior’s neck. The white-haired head fell to the ground beside its truncated body, staining the green grass with deep, red blood.

Eliana fought through the last cluster of men around her and rushed towards Caelum in time for him to collapse into her arms. She cradled him to her as he stared up at her face with his pain-filled blue eyes. His breath came in short gasps, his face growing paler.

“Caelum, you’re going to be okay,” she told him quietly, pressing her hand over his. She felt his warm blood on her trembling fingers. “Everything is going to be fine.”

He gave her a small, weak smile. “Of course,” he breathed. “You’ll be just fine without me, Eliana.”

Tears fell on her cheeks, and she shook her head furiously. “Don’t talk like that, Caelum.” Her words were punctuated by sharp breaths and quiet sobs now. “I don’t… I don’t want to be without you.”

All around them, enemy soldiers were dropping their weapons, surrendering without further fight. The United Army was cheering, oblivious to the fact that Eliana’s world was dying in her arms.

Ispera was suddenly beside them, Astrum with her. The Seer’s white muzzle was marked with blood. The Healer pulled Caelum’s hands away from his stomach to look at the wound. Her face told Eliana what she refused to accept. The wound was not within her powers to Heal. Ispera looked up at her daughter’s tear-streaked face, then back down at Caelum’s bloody tunic.

“Eliana,” she said softly, trying to find the most delicate way to rip the girl’s heart from her chest.

“No!” the Rider screamed.

She pressed her hand firmly over Caelum’s wound. A small light glowed from under her palm, and she felt her lingering strength begin to leave her. She didn’t care what it would cost; she would not let Caelum die.

The elf’s blood-stained hand pushed hers gently away. “Don’t be silly,” he whispered, his eyes growing cloudy and distant. “You know you can’t Heal me.”

“Yes I can!” she sobbed pathetically.

Caelum shook his head slightly, a small smile on his pale lips. “You’re so very stubborn. But I love you in all of your bull-headed foolishness. I love you… so very much…”

“Don’t leave me!” she pleaded helplessly, clutching at his tunic.

“Never,” he whispered with a smile.

“Caelum,” Ispera said quietly from where she sat at her daughter’s side, “move your hand.”

He obeyed silently, once again exposing his wound to her. Ispera pushed the sleeves of her tunic up her arms slightly, then placed her hands over Caelum’s stomach. A bright glow began to surround her hands, appearing to sink into the wound.

Eliana watched her for a moment in confusion. Ispera had taught her enough for Eliana to know the extent of Healing magic. A fatal wound could not be Healed without costing the Healer her life.

“Mother, what are you doing?” she asked, still holding Caelum’s head in her arms.

Ispera looked up at her with a sad smile, but said nothing. Eliana saw the strength slowly leaving her mother’s body as she tried to do what could not be done. Color began to return to Caelum’s pale face.

“Mother?” she asked again, her voice edged with panic.

At last, she spoke. “You need him, Eliana. I know you do. I can’t let him die, knowing it would kill you as well.”

“But you’ll die!”

Ispera reached out to her with one hand, touching her cheek with the back of her fingers. “My sweet girl… I had to give you up once. I can’t lose you again. I just want you to be happy. That is all I have ever wanted.”

The Healer’s voice was growing weaker as strength continued to leave her.

“Ispera, please stop,” Caelum pleaded. “Don’t do this for me.”

She shook her head. “Not for you, Prince Caelum. For my daughter.” Ispera closed her eyes as she closed the last part of the elf’s wound. “I know you’ll take care of her for me.”

Then the Healer’s body slipped to the ground beside Caelum.

“No!” Eliana screamed, crawling quickly to her mother’s side.

She was still breathing softly, the last flutters of life fighting to stay in her weakened frame. Her amethyst eyes—so like her daughter’s—peered up at Eliana through a cloud of exhaustion.

“My Eliana,” she breathed. “Your father would be so proud of you… I love you…”

Ispera’s eyes closed and her chest fell as she exhaled. It did not rise again.

“No! No, Mother!” Eliana sobbed. “Please, don’t go! Mama! I just found you! Don’t leave me again! Please!” She shook her mother’s lifeless body frantically, trying to awaken her, frantic and desperate. “Mama, I can’t let you go yet! Please! Please!”

Caelum’s arms wrapped around her, trying to pull her away.

“No!” I shrieked, clinging to the body, to what was left of her mother. “No!”

“Shh,” he breathed in her ear. “I’m sorry, Eliana. I’m so sorry. She’s gone.”

Her entire body shook with the force of her cries as she turned to Caelum, burying her face against his blood-stained tunic. The sounds of the last of Vereor’s army retreating fell upon her ears, but she was deaf to it all. Loss numbed her to anything but her own pain.

~*~

Oriens, Eliana, and Caelum plodded slowly away from Thys. The elf and dragon watched her closely, searching for any signs that she may collapse from grief once again. But she wouldn’t. The ability to weep had fled her hours before, the tears long since dried away. She knew she would have more time to mourn the loss of her mother. But for now, she had one last promise to fulfill.

The sun was beginning its descent to the west as they at last stopped in front of the dark piece of forest. There was a movement, a shifting shadow within the shadows, then a large shape extracted itself from the darkness. Aelodi eyed them warily from beneath her armor as she slipped out of the woods.

The black dragon’s sapphire eyes met Eliana’s. “I… I watched the battle,” she said cautiously, unsure of whether or not it was safe to enter the girl’s mind. “I am sorry for your loss.”

Eliana acknowledged the dragon’s empathy with a small nod. “I have come to fulfill my promise to you, Aelodi,” she said aloud, respecting the privacy of her mind.

Aelodi nodded her angular head and sank to her knees in front of them. Eliana and Caelum moved around her swiftly and silently, removing the saddle and heavy armor. When the last piece of metal clattered to the grass, Aelodi shook her body gratefully. What appeared to be a black dust fell to the ground.

The young dragon blinked at them, her dark grey hide looking unnatural in the sunset. “I have waited for what feels like an eternity to be free of Ater, Iocus, and Peior. Now that the day has come… I fear I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“We offer an answer to that,” Oriens said. Aelodi turned her eyes on the larger dragon with a look of awe and respect. “Stay with us, and I will teach you to hunt. Whenever you so choose, you may return to the wild, to the life you should have led from the moment you hatched.”

“And what do you expect of me in return?” she asked uncertainly.

“Nothing,” Caelum answered simply. “You will be free. You have no obligation to us. We only hope you will carry our message to the rest of the wild dragons; tell them that they will no more be hunted, that the two-leggers—humans, elves, and dwarves—will return to the old peace with the dragons.”

“You will have help in delivering that message, if you choose to accept our offer,” Eliana said. “Your mother is waiting for you at the Cliffs of Myli Ondo.”

Aelodi glanced between the three of them, considering their offer. Eliana felt the dragon search her mind for some sort of trap or manipulation that she may have overlooked. The Rider pitied her; the young female could hardly even trust a fellow dragon.

At last, Aelodi spoke again. “Very well. I accept your offer. And I thank you.”

After a few more words, Aelodi took to the sky to enjoy her first true taste of freedom, promising to return in the morning. Eliana gave Oriens permission to find prey to fill his belly while she and Caelum turned back to Thys.

“Caelum?” she said softly as they walked in the growing darkness.

He turned his eyes to her. “Yes?”

“I never asked this before, because I never felt that it mattered, but… what do the elves believe happens to us? After death, I mean.”

Very cautiously, he took her hand. She accepted his touch and leaned into him, waiting for his response.

“Our beliefs are not so different from those of the humans, I suppose,” he said. “Elves believe in a spirit in every living creature, and a greater being that created them all. When any creature, no matter their race or species, passes on, their spirit returns to the creator.”

“To heaven?”

“Yes.”

Eliana turned her eyes to the sky, which was just clinging to the last traces of sunlight. A single bright star had appeared above them, seeming to smile down at them.

“I suppose it’s rather foolish to believe in such things,” she whispered, her gaze riveted on that shining star.

“Perhaps,” he answered. “But one must have hope.”

“Hope… Yes. Hope is a fickle thing.”