Sky Riders: The Rising Sun

“Why are you here, two-legger?” The voice in Eliana’s mind shook her entire body with its great force.

Oriens turned his head to block his Rider from the red dragon’s gaze. “She is my Rider,” he said defiantly.

The dragon lifted his head, rising to his full intimidating height to glare down at the pair before him. “Silence, hatchling!” he bellowed in their minds. They both flinched at the shout.

“Please,” Eliana said softly, speaking aloud; she didn’t want to appear impertinent by trying to speak directly to his mind. “We come seeking your help.”

He rumbled somewhere deep in his red throat while the other three dragons exchanged curious glances. “Tell me your names,” he commanded.

“I am Eliana. This is my dragon, Oriens.”

He turned his great brown eyes back to the golden dragon. “Oriens, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Eliana couldn’t help but be amused by hearing her dragon refer to anyone as “sir.”

“You are a Golden Child. Do you know what that means?”

She sensed her dragon’s confusion as he answered, “No, sir.”

“A golden dragon is not born often,” the great, red dragon explained. “There have only been two in the history of our race upon this land. The first was Kyrthosi of the Gold Fire. He led our race to Paerolia after the Dragons’ War destroyed our homeland. The second was Parn of the Dawn’s Light. She was the first of our kind to mark a Rider, the first to forge the bond with the two-leggers after our treaty was created. The Golden Children always bring great change to our kind. So what change do you bring us, Golden Child?”

“We need your help,” Oriens said, repeating his Rider’s earlier words. “We fight Nocens’ armies, and their numbers greatly exceed our own. We need your aid to defeat him.”

The four dragons’ voices all echoed simultaneously in their minds, giving Eliana a headache.

“Why should we fight with those who have hunted us?” a feminine voice asked. Eliana sensed that this came from the green dragon with brilliant emerald scales.

“They need our help,” another female answered, this one with violet scales.

“This is not our war!” The third was also female, her scales a rich shade of brown.

“SILENCE!” The stone shook with the dragon’s voice as he snarled at the bickering dragons.

The three females flinched, then fell silent, shrinking under the fiery gaze of the massive male. He eyed his mates angrily for a moment. When he appeared certain that he had them under control once more, he looked back at Oriens and Eliana.

Before the red dragon could speak, Oriens asked politely, “Please, may we know your names?”

He seemed to consider this for a moment before speaking. “I am Thacodi of the Flaming Hide. These are my mates—Thysaer of the Forest’s Branches, Bolaer of the Violet Blossoms, and Tylal of the Mountain’s Earth. We are the guardians of Myli Ondo.”

“Why do you guard this place?” Oriens asked.

Thacodi shifted his great form to reveal the same large, stone table Eliana had seen in the mural back in Thys. “This is the place where our ancestors forged the agreement with the two-legged races. This place is a sacred place, enriched with magic. The stone table keeps our world in balance. Should the stone be broken, all of Paerolia would be lost to darkness.”

“It is being lost to the darkness now.”

Thacodi lifted his gaze from the table to them once more. He considered the Rider, who sat still and silent on her dragon’s back, for a long moment. “And what is your place in this Eliana of the Fire Hand?”

The girl swallowed and answered as confidently as she could. “A year ago, I led a group of men on a dragon hunt. They killed the dragon, a female, but she entrusted me with Oriens’ egg. She told me our fates depended on him. When he hatched, he marked me as his Rider.”

“I am not a fool,” Thacodi said impatiently. “I know how one becomes a Rider. I mean what is your place in this war, Fire Hand? Do you lead these people in their fight against the emperor?”

“Yes. They look to me and Oriens to lead them.”

“Why?”

“Nocens and his ancestors have shed too much blood on Paerolia’s soil. They have killed elves, dwarves, dragons, and humans. It’s time it ended. It’s time their dynasty was brought to a close.”

“And who do you serve? Are you under allegiance to another who would rule?”

“We serve only those who will fight with us.”

Thacodi grunted. “And those who won’t fight with you?”

“We have no allegiance to anyone who will not fight to defend their land and their people. We serve only those who will serve others.”

“And what do you expect of us, Fire Hand and Golden Child?”

“We expect nothing. We only hope that you will lend your aid to our army. Nocens’ forces are much greater than our own, and he has a dragon Rider as well. We’re not experienced with fighting other dragons. Your aid in that battle, and in the war against Nocens’ army, would make the difference between victory and defeat.”

“We are wild dragons,” Thacodi said, shaking his head from side to side. “This is not our war.”

“It is as much your war as it is mine,” Oriens interjected boldly. “Tell me, Flaming Hide, how many of our kind are left in Paerolia?”

Thacodi sighed, his warm breath nearly blowing Eliana off of Oriens’ back. “Few, Golden Child. Very few.”

“Nocens would have our kind driven to extinction. He would have our life flames extinguished. My Rider and I would have our kind rise back to the glory we once knew. If you are too afraid to defend your own kind—.”

Thacodi roared furiously. “Do not impugn my courage, hatchling!”

Oriens fell silent as the roar echoed throughout the mountainside. Once it had faded away, there was a long silence.

“Thacodi,”a soft voice said, “they are fighting the men who kill our kin—the men who stole our egg.”

The red dragon sighed again, turning his eyes on his violet-scaled mate. “Entering a war that is not ours to fight will not bring our egg back, Bolaer.”

The dragon hung her head. “I know. But sometimes revenge is enough…”

“When was this?” Eliana asked quietly, cautious not to anger Thacodi again.

It was Bolaer who answered, her voice sad. “Several months ago. I kept my nest towards the west, where the setting sun could warm my eggs before the chill of night set in. I returned there one night to find a man in black in my nest. I tried to fight him but… his magic was too powerful.”

Bolaer fell silent, and Thacodi continued her story. “The pale-haired man took an egg from the nest, but not before destroying many of the others. Only three eggs from the clutch survived.”

The pale-haired man… Peior…

“It was a beautiful egg he took,” Bolaer continued sadly. “One the color of sapphires in the moonlight. I could sense the egg would be a female—the only female in the clutch.”

“Your daughter lives,” Oriens told her. “Nocens has raised a Rider against us. He Rides your child. Only now, her hide is black from the Dark magic of the man that took her from you.”

Bolaer’s violet head turned sharply to Thacodi, her large eyes filled with desperation. “We must save her from him!” she cried.

“No,” her mate answered in a firm but quiet voice, “my decision is made. This is not our battle to fight.”

“But our daughter—!”

“We have no daughter.”

Eliana could see the hopelessness in the violet dragon’s eyes as she bowed her head to the stone. It was the same hopelessness that was now welling inside of her. How could he have made his decision so suddenly? Their army needed the dragons desperately. It couldn’t be over so quickly.

“Please,” she begged, “Thacodi of the Flaming Hide, I ask you, in this place where our races first made peace, to make another treaty to bring our land back together. That is what the stone table is here for—to bring us together. Will you break the treaty and break the stone table you so faithfully guard?”

Thacodi gazed down his long snout at her. “These are bold words from a two-legger, Eliana of the Fire Hand.”

“These times call for much boldness,” she answered, “even from two-leggers.”

This seemed to amuse the great dragon. He gave a snort as a dragonish smirk curled his lips. He drew a deep breath, then a confused frown replaced the grin. He studied her closely with his brown eyes. “Your blood smells strange to me. What species of two-legger are you?”

“I am human… and I am elven.”

She hadn’t thought the mountain-sized dragon capable of being surprised by anything, but this news seemed to startle him. His eyes widened and he drew back slightly. “Human and elven? Then I fear I have addressed you improperly. You are not merely Fire Hand and Golden Child. You are the Guardians of Fate.”

“What do you mean?” Oriens asked.

“The elves have a prophecy about creatures such as you, do they not?” Thacodi replied. When they nodded, he went on, “We have prophecies of our own about a two-blooded two-legger and a Golden Child. They say you will be sent to end wars and bring peace to this land.”

“Surely they can’t be the Chosen Ones?” Thysaer said incredulously. “They’re mere hatchlings! The Rider is hardly grown by her own short-lived species’ standards, and from the smell of him, the dragon is hardly a yearling!”

“The Fates choose strange vessels,” Bolaer interjected.

“Strange indeed…” mused Tylal.

“Please, help us,” Eliana begged of Thacodi once again. “If you believe us to be these Guardians you speak of, then you must believe our cause is just. Join us, and help us bring the peace your kind have prophesied of.”

His mass heaved with another sigh, and he blew a plume of smoke skyward. “You ask much in little time, Guardian Eliana. My kind does not make such decisions hastily. We live long lives, so things move slowly for us. Our kind has not changed for millennia, while yours is constantly shifting, and we don’t much enjoy change in our unchanging lives. I cannot deny that this decision would bring about much change. It is not a choice to be made lightly.”

“There is not time for deep consideration,” Oriens said. “Nocens’ army is already upon us. By tomorrow, it may be too late.”

Thacodi stared condescendingly down at Oriens. “Though a Guardian of Fate you may be, Golden Child, you are still very young. You should not make demands of those more than a century older than yourself. Though you may not think time allows for deep consideration, time and consideration is what I require.”

“But—!”

“That is my word for now,” Thacodi interrupted. “I need to consider this and discuss it with my mates. May the wind carry you safely home, Guardians of Fate.”

They had been dismissed. Eliana could feel Oriens’ dismay as well as her own. They had accomplished virtually nothing. With a nod and a few words of quiet gratitude, Oriens lifted them into the sky and carried them back towards Thys.

Eliana sighed as she stared out at the sky. It had taken less time than she’d expected; there were still several hours of darkness left before they would have to face the battle once again. Nocens would still be waiting for their answer to his demand that she be given to him. She was beginning to wonder if that wasn’t the best option after all. Without the dragons, there was little hope of victory.

Oriens landed outside of the city, and they slipped inside the gate. No sooner had she shut the wide doors behind her than she was grabbed roughly by the shoulders and spun around to face a very angry face.

“Where have you been?” Caelum snapped. “We’re in the middle of a war and you just disappear? Do you know how worried I’ve been, what possibilities I imagined? Don’t you ever disappear like that again!”

Eliana sighed and pushed his hands off her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his solid chest. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. The last thing she wanted in that moment was to argue with him.

She felt his chest rise and fall with a deep breath, then he wrapped his arms around her in return. “Are you alright?” he asked in a softer voice. “You seem upset.”

She pulled back and looked up at him, bracing herself for the outburst that was about to come. “I went to the Cliffs of Myli Ondo, where the wild dragons nest.”

His reaction was exactly as she’d expected. “What? You could have been killed! Those are wild animals, Eliana! Not all dragons are like Oriens! Why would you go to a place like that without telling me?”

She pressed her fingertips to her temples and closed her eyes, trying to fight back her frustrated tears. “Please don’t yell at me,” she murmured.

Caelum immediately fell silent, hearing the distress in her voice.

“I went to try to gain the dragons’ support,” she explained quietly. “There are four of them that nest there. I thought they might help us. But they won’t. They say it’s not their war. I failed…”

Her voice cracked on the last word as the full truth of it struck her. She had failed. She knew, in her heart, that the dragons were their last hope. Now that hope was gone. She had failed all those who had relied on her, counted on her, trusted her enough to put their lives at risk because of the promises she’d made them—promises of a better world, which she knew now would never come. She had been desperately posing as someone who could lead this army, and now her careful façade was crumbling.

Caelum pulled her into his arms again, trying to comfort her as her tears of self-loathing began to fall.

“They only said they would consider it, Eliana,” Oriens reminded her.

“It was clear Thacodi had made up his mind, Oriens,” she answered. “Why harbor false hope?”

Her dragon didn’t try to argue with her. Caelum held her in his arms until she managed to force back the tears and steady her breathing. Then he stepped back and held her at arm’s length. He wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.

“I was looking for you because I have something for you,” he said with a small smile.

She knew he was trying to distract her from her failure, and she accepted his attempt with gratitude. “What is it?” she asked.

“Come with me,” he answered, lacing his fingers with hers. “I left it in the cathedral when I realized you were missing.”

Caelum led her by the hand, Oriens following along behind them. They entered the wide doors of the cathedral, and Caelum released his hold on her to rifle through his bag. At last, he pulled out a small wooden box with intricate detailing. He turned to her, looking both nervous and excited.

“Tonight, you said you would marry me.”

She nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

“And you’re certain?” he asked.

Eliana smirked and stepped towards him. She placed her hands on his chest and gazed up at his lovely face.

“Caelum,” she said, kissing his lips softly, “I love you. And if it were not for this gods-forsaken war, I would have married you long ago. So yes, I am more than certain.”

He smiled, returning her kiss before saying, “Very well then. I want you to have this.” He stepped back and held the box out before him, opening the lid. “My father gave it to my mother on the day they were betrothed. Mother gave it to me after Father died. I brought it with me from Iterum, hoping that… perhaps… you would soon wear it.”

From the box, he pulled a beautiful silver necklace inlaid with small jewels. The pendant was a shining, interlocked sun and moon. He set the box aside and made her turn around, slipping the pendant around her neck and fastening it in the back. He kissed the back of her neck before putting his arms around her waist.

“A sun and a moon,” he whispered in her ear, “locked together for eternity. For as the day is not complete without the night, so am I not complete without you—forever.”

~*~

Thys was as alive through that night as it had been during the day. Nocens’ message had been spread to all of the soldiers and, as the waning moon made its way across the sky, they prepared for war. Anxiety and adrenaline kept Eliana from any sleep. She busied herself with polishing her and Oriens’ armor and re-bandaging her injured leg.

When these tasks were done, she wandered through the city, searching for some task where her help might be needed. There was none. Every person in Thys seemed determined to keep her from aiding in any preparations. They all insisted she should rest and gather her strength. Eliana suspected Caelum of scripting that response for them.

Even Oriens was too busy to distract her, providing his flames to heat more metal for weapons and armor. Her mother and Laurus were helping distribute rations for the evening. Caelum and the other captains, as well as Kana and Denio, were meeting to discuss strategy. They had insisted that she wasn’t needed.

And so, Eliana wandered through the city alone, idly toying with the pendant around her neck.

“Hello, young Rider,” a smooth voice said from the shadows nearby.

Eliana’s gaze landed on the white wolf that sat against the building to her right. “Astrum,” she said with a smile, relieved to have at last found someone to speak to. “Where have you been?”

“Searching for the remaining dwarves that have sworn to join us,” he answered.

“Did you find them?” she asked eagerly. “Will they be here to fight tomorrow?”

“I did find them,” Astrum answered. Then he shook his head. “But they will not be here by dawn. The tunnels they travel have not been used in this part of the land for a century. They are having trouble overcoming areas where the tunnels have collapsed.”

Hopelessness returned to its nest in her chest, and she groaned quietly. “We need help…”

Astrum nodded calmly. “I believe that, if we can hold through the day tomorrow, aid will reach us when we need it most.” He paused, then asked, “You went to the Cliffs of Myli Ondo tonight, did you not?”

She nodded. “I did. I’d hoped the dragons would help us, but they say it is a war for two-leggers.”

“Do not fret, young Rider. It is merely another trial we must face. No matter how long the night, the day will break.”

There was a brief silence, then Eliana sighed and sat beside the wolf, leaning against the wall of the building. “Astrum,”she said, “can you see what will happen tomorrow?”

He nodded again. “Yes, Eliana. I can see what will happen.”

She looked at him, knowing the answer to her question before she asked it. “Can you tell me?”

“I could,” he answered, “but then the things I see will change.”

“Why?”

“As I told you when we discussed the prophecy about you and Oriens, people always have an influence over their own futures. I see only what will happen if things continue on their current path. If I tell you what I see now, your actions can change. And even the smallest change can completely alter the future. For example…” He turned his head to look down a nearby side street. “There is a man down that street that has just decided to do something that will turn the war against us. You should go speak to him, so that things do not continue as they appear to now.”

With that, Astrum stood and silently disappeared around the next corner. Eliana gazed at the alley the wolf had indicated, squinting in the darkness, trying to make out the form of the single man who could do something to end their already waning chances of victory. After a few moments, she stood and made her way to the narrow street. There, sitting in the darkness, was Ja’ol.

“Ja’ol?” she whispered. “Is everything alright?” She couldn’t see his face in the darkness, but she could hear his breaths trembling, as if he had been crying.

“My little girl,” he answered quietly. “I want her back…”

Eliana’s heart quickened for a moment, remembering the things Nocens had promised Ja’ol—and what he demanded in return. She sat against the wall opposite the soldier and waited for him to speak again.

“I will not lie to you, Rider,” he said at last, briskly wiping the heel of his hand against his cheek. “I have been considered the things Emperor Nocens said. I had made up my mind to take you to him in exchange for my family. But then you appeared at the end of that alley, asking after my well-being and I…” He drew a shuddering breath. “I just can’t do it.”

Eliana sighed, leaning her head back against the cold stones. “I would not blame you if you did, Captain Ja’ol,” she answered quietly. “They are your family. I am nearly a stranger to you.”

He looked up at her in apparent surprise. “But, Lady Eliana, our army depends on you. Your value to our cause… even I know that it outweighs the value of my family.”

She lifted her head again and looked at him, able to see him more clearly now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark alley. “But this is not a war between individuals, is it, Ja’ol. This is a war of ideals. It is only natural that you should care more about your children than some ideal embodied by a silly half-breed girl and her dragon.”

A small laugh escaped him, and he crossed his arms over his knees. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

Eliana leaned forward on her elbows and responded, “You do not have to choose between my ideals and your family, Ja’ol. There is always another path. Stay with us, fight with us, and your family will be free. Even if I fall tomorrow, there will be others to carry on with what we are fighting for. They will not stop until Nocens falls. Then your family will be free. Then we will all be free.”

The man’s face hardened slightly, and he returned her steady gaze. He nodded. “Yes, Rider. I will fight with you. I will fight for you.”

She held out her hand and he clasped it firmly. “Thank you, Captain.” An idea occurred to her and she added, “After the battle today, if we have not gained significant ground over the enemy, come see me in my quarters.”

As dawn crept over the valley, a war horn sounded from the distant human camp. The time for making their decisions had passed. Eliana moved to the western wall and climbed atop it, looking out over the valley, watching Nocens’ soldiers assemble.

She took a breath and sighed. “And so it begins…”