Soldiers of Legend

by Stephen L. Nowland

  Such relics emit a distinct odor dragons can smell, Salinder explained patiently. Relics created by the ancient ones are detectable in this fashion, but you should be more concerned about that gauntlet you bear. I could smell it from five miles away, such is its power. To allay your fears, Azurefang does not seek these relics personally, but the memory of those who once wore them is deep within our minds, and she will fear you.

  “I hope so, or we’re likely to have to kill her, or die trying,” Aiden muttered, moving on to the next horse. “You said there were other dragons remaining on Feydwiir — are they all likely to give us trouble?”

  Many of my brethren have been sleeping away the years, Salinder responded, but they awaken now as the Ironlord walks amongst us again. Aiden paused in his grooming duties as he was struck by a revelation.

  “It was made by the same people who built the Lexicon, and this gauntlet,” he breathed, looking at the ancient relic on his right hand.

  Correct. My kind will awaken and seek the means to fight it. The Lexicon is a repository of ancient lore and provides the best chance of understanding how such artifice functions.

  “Do I need to worry about them coming for me?”

  “Are you speaking to me, sir?” a short, dwarven monk said from the entrance to the stables, startling Aiden. The monk was carrying a large bag of oats over one shoulder, and a large water skin over the other. He was bald, and his beard was heavily plaited.

  “Sorry, no, I was just talking to myself,” Aiden blurted, trying to cover his embarrassment.

  “You’ve come to the right place for that,” the monk chuckled, heaving the oats to the floor and proceeding to pour the water into a nearby trough. Aiden held his silence, continuing to move amongst the horses until the dwarf had completed his task and left him alone once more.

  As I have explained, Aiden, my kind is on the brink of extinction. Salinder continued. I am reluctant to speed this tragedy by helping you slay more of us. There is one exception to this, however. Whereas the others either hide or attempt to manipulate humanity, one of my cousins is actively engaged in a war with you.

  He is known amongst humans is Leviachon the Destroyer, and should we be unfortunate enough to encounter him in our travels, I will help you slay him. He considers the culling of our kind over the centuries to be an act of war and he attempted to organise all of dragon-kind to obliterate humanity completely, Salinder explained.

  We refused to consider the genocide of your race an option, so he has been doing it on his own ever since. His power and size rivalled my own at my peak, and his command of magic is equally formidable. Combined with his cunning intellect, he is a force of destruction in central Feydwiir.

  “If he’s as powerful as you say,” Aiden whispered, “perhaps we could convince him to join our cause? If nothing else, he might be able to banish the Ironlord back to the Aether once more.”

  He would do nothing to aid us, Salinder warned. Only one thing has restrained him from conquering the entire island. For half a millennium, he has been collecting artifacts similar to your gauntlet, storing them at a secret location with a mind to using them against Feydwiir. He has been unable to understand their workings however, and is forced to fall back on his own formidable powers to conduct his war.

  “He needs the Lexicon to unlock their secrets,” Aiden remarked, suddenly understanding what Salinder was talking about. “What happens if he gets his claws on it?”

  Mankind would enter an age of darkness, Salinder intoned ominously. Under no circumstances are you to allow the Lexicon to fall into his clutches.

  “Yeah, I think that’s a good plan,” Aiden mumbled as he finished up the last horse. He was starting to regret asking so many questions — the term “ignorance is bliss” crossed his mind. Another thought occurred to him as he left the stables. “You know, I’ve heard you hint at things from your past, but you’ve never really explained why you’re helping me, and the Kingdom.” Silence ensued as Aiden patiently waited for a reply that did not come, leaving him to ponder what could have driven the ancient dragon to sacrifice all, to work with his enemies.

  Aiden hurried inside, closing the heavy door behind him and silently revelling in the relative warmth of the open space of the monastery. This was definitely an improvement over sleeping out in the cold, which of course meant Robert had proven his value to the group once more. If he kept this up, Aiden might have to start trusting him and he really didn’t want to go down that road. The man simply had too much blood on his hands, regardless of how it got there.

  The monastery was quiet, save for the crackle of flames coming from large fire pits along the walls and the soft murmurs of hushed conversation nearby. Aiden could see Nellise and Pacian speaking with a robed raelani of advancing years. He was bald, with a sharp nose and sharper brown eyes that exuded a sense of inner contentment.

  “You must be mistaken,” Nellise said to the monk in a voice little more than a whisper as Aiden walked over to find out what was going on. “I was knighted by Princess Criosa and inducted into the Order of the Rose Eagle. I had been given the option of coming here and joining the Keepers, but it was never a serious consideration.”

  “I am sorry, Dame Nellise,” the little monk said evenly, “but Archon Cain was quite adamant about bringing you here. Upon learning of your arrival, I assumed you had accepted his offer to join our order.”

  “I have the utmost respect for what your order stands for, Abbot,” Nellise continued diplomatically. “It was not however, a path I would choose to take at this point in my life.”

  “The Church felt differently about that, did it not?” the abbot asked pointedly. “To break the oaths of your order so completely required some disciplinary action, the least of which was your expulsion. I see you are now caparisoned for war. Have you abandoned your faith so completely?”

  “Never,” Nellise said coldly. “I dispute the idea that faith and martial prowess are in conflict. Archon Cain was… incorrect in assuming I would join the Keepers for believing in that philosophy, and if he were alive today, I would—”

  “He is no longer with us?” the abbot interrupted.

  “The inquisitor perished some time ago,” Nellise explained. “It is thought he died at the hands of the assassins and traitors who attempted to usurp the crown.”

  “That’s right,” Pacian agreed. “There were a bunch of those thugs moving through the city and he probably ran into them.”

  “Was he alone?” the abbot inquired curiously.

  “His body was discovered in the aqueducts, alone,” Nellise confirmed.

  “Curious, as the archon informed me he was hiring a dozen local strongmen to assist him while in the city,” the raelani mused. “Were their bodies discovered also?”

  “Nope,” Pacian answered with a shrug. “That’s the problem with hired help — they’re unreliable. They probably took his money and left him to die.”

  “I do recall that Valennia, rest her soul, encountered a group of ruffians near the Fair Maiden Inn on the night we returned,” Nellise said, struggling to recall the specifics. “They apparently attacked her without provocation and she killed every last one of them as a result.”

  “They were just common thugs, I reckon,” Pacian suggested.

  “Why would common thugs, with poor weapons and no protection, attack an armoured warrior?” Nellise protested. “That’s something that has bothered me ever since it happened. They never stood a chance and I have to believe that as the only Akoran in Fairloch at the time, her reputation preceded her.”

  “We’ll probably never know,” Pacian insisted.

  “Alas, you’re right,” Nellise sighed. “So much was happening back then, it was difficult to keep track of it all. I’m sorry, abbot, but I have no further information regarding the demise of Archon Cain.”

  “I understand, and I appreciate your candour,” the monk replied. “You’re tired from your journey, so I will leave you to get some rest. From what Robert t
ells me, you will need it.”

  “We appreciate the accommodation,” Nellise said as he bowed and walked away.

  “That sounded awkward,” Aiden remarked as he made his presence known.

  “Oh, just a misunderstanding,” Nellise assured him, although her brow was ever so slightly creased in thought. “You look cold, Aiden. There’s some soup over there you can warm yourself up with.”

  Aiden headed in the direction she had gestured, noticing Pacian’s worried expression as he went. Aiden didn’t show it, but he too was secretly worried about the impending confrontation with the dragon, although a nagging voice in the back of his mind told him that wasn’t what had his old friend so concerned.

  * * *

  After a sleepless night, Aiden and the others ate a simple breakfast of porridge and fruit provided by the monks, before setting out just after dawn. Despite Salinder’s assurances, Aiden wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of standing before Azurefang and hoping she wouldn’t simply devour them on the spot.

  As the sun rose above the horizon, the sky cleared and revealed beautiful scenery amidst the mountains, with sunlight sifting through the morning fog and reflecting from snow covering the ground. A river gentley cascaded through the lowest point of the land, and the whole area was eerily quiet.

  They made good time through the picturesque valley, ascending the other side in roughly two hours before Robert called for a halt on a plateau which revealed a breathtaking view of the surrounding lands.

  “This is close enough,” he muttered to the others, who brought their horses to a standstill around him. They stood in the middle of the highway, deep in the heart of the Stonegaard Mountains where the snow was still thick upon the ground.

  The mercenary dismounted and handed the reins to Sayana, who appeared nervous and unsure of herself sitting alone on the back of the huge stallion. Aiden also climbed down, knowing it was time.

  “I’m still unconvinced that we should stay behind,” Criosa protested.

  “This isn’t a guaranteed win,” Aiden replied. “The dragon is likely to know the scent of Pacian and Sayana, and I see no point in risking your life without good reason.”

  “Then why are you going?” she asked.

  “One of us has to keep an eye on Robert,” Aiden explained, omitting the fact that Salinder had a backup plan.

  “How will we know when you are successful?” Criosa asked, the tension audible in her voice.

  “When we get back and tell you,” Robert said with a shrug. “You’ll probably hear us screaming if things don’t go well, in which case, I’d run if I were you. Come on, let’s get this over with.” Aiden turned to follow the mercenary, hoping that they weren’t walking to their deaths. The two men trudged through the snow, unable to bring the horses along for fear they would bolt at the first sight of the dragon.

  “This didn’t really go according to your plan, did it?” Aiden pointed out to Robert after they’d lost sight of their companions.

  “Maybe, but it’s not over yet,” Robert answered.

  “And if we’re killed here today?”

  “We’ve all got to go sometime,” the mercenary replied, pausing a moment to look out over the landscape. “If this helps me atone, then perhaps some good will come of it after all.” Aiden looked at him with the realisation that here, facing the possibility of death, Robert was still prepared to go through with it in spite of the risk. There was no longer any doubt in Aiden’s mind that the mercenary had indeed undergone a profound change in recent months, and there just might be something left of his soul to salvage.

  The first sign they were entering the domain of the dragon came when they saw a pile of snow and rock almost completely blocking the road ahead. A path had been cut through the ice, matching the description Sayana had given them. Looking carefully, Aiden could see frozen arms and legs jutting out, some of which had been bitten off completely. Robert exchanged a knowing glance with Aiden as they tried to ignore the remains of the company of dwarven warriors that had attempted to face Azurefang.

  Aiden felt his heart pounding in his chest as they squeezed through the narrow gap in the icy barricade, searching for signs of the dragon. Once they emerged from the other side, the way ahead seemed clear and for a fleeting moment, Aiden thought she might have abandoned the highway after all.

  On a hunch, he squinted and looked at the world with his arcane sight, hoping to see any signs of magic in the area. The place seemed normal, but he pushed his vision further still and saw the shape of the dragon come into view, a hazy blue shape of immense proportions against the dark background.

  When Aiden’s eyes locked onto the sight of the dragon, she instantly knew she had been spotted and slammed one of her huge claws into the ground behind them, blocking any retreat. The scene of empty land warped and twisted as her invisibility spell ended, revealing the dragon sitting there, glaring down at them with her blazing blue eyes.

  Did you think you would simply walk right past without attracting any attention? the clear, feminine voice of the dragon boomed in Aiden’s mind. You stink of ancient evils that cavort and caper through my mind.

  Her azure-scaled body was thin and serpentine, with jutting spikes along her back which tapered off to a point nearly a hundred feet away. She was nearly twice the size of Vindictus, with glistening blue scales covering most of her body. Azurefang was beautiful and deadly in equal measure.

  Do nothing, say nothing, Salinder instructed him. Aiden had no trouble following those orders.

  “Mighty Azurefang,” Robert intoned formally, his voice quivering slightly. “We do not come here seeking conflict, but to parley with you.” The eye on the side of the great head snapped its terrible focus onto the mercenary, who somehow managed to remain calm under her unrelenting gaze.

  Robert Black, she growled, the talons on her claw twitching with anticipation.

  “Yes, it was I who asked you to come here and burn the town to the west,” Robert nodded. “I was the one who gave you a mountain of gold to add to your hoard.”

  You also said the town would be helpless, Azurefang purred dangerously. You lied. They stung me with their arrows.

  “I was mistaken, Great One,” Robert corrected her, bowing his head low. “You still caused carnage and sowed terror in the hearts of men.”

  I do enjoy sowing terror, Azurefang conceded. But it has been almost entirely carnage-free since then — why did you not release me from our agreement? I have done everything I said I would, longer than I said I would do it. You have imposed upon my legendary virtue, black one.

  “The task was not yet complete,” Robert informed her, “but I have come to let you know your service is now at an end.”

  The dragon purred a low growl that vibrated the ground, and a moment later a claw lashed forward and knocked Robert over. It slammed down, pinning him completely in a cage of razor-sharp talons. Her serpentine head moved closer to Aiden, as if daring him to intervene.

  Wait your turn, capering demon, Azurefang advised. I will deal with your lying friend before I cut you out of my mind.

  “Are you going to just sit there and watch?” Aiden hissed at Salinder as Azurefang moved in to drool over Robert, who was desperately trying to free himself from the dragon’s claw.

  Brandish me! Salinder roared in Aiden’s mind, and almost without thinking, he drew the blade and held it high. As it had back in the city, the blade shimmered with intense power as the spirit of the dragon within made its presence known, blasting back snow and ice all around him.

  Right next to Aiden the form of a dragon twice the size of Azurefang materialised — Salinder, appearing as he had in Aiden’s dreams from years ago, towered over his smaller cousin. There was no sign of atrophy or injury upon his magnificent golden hide, and although Aiden was certain this was some sort of illusion, it seemed absolutely real and he took an involuntary step backwards in fear.

  Azurefang cowered before Salinder’s might, whimpering and growling in the ton
gue of dragons. Salinder responded by snaking his head towards her until they were eye-to-eye, emitting a low growl that vibrated the ground. They faced off for several seconds, and Aiden wondered what would happen if she tried to fight him. Though Aiden couldn’t understand their language, the meaning of Salinder’s posture was clear — “leave”.

  Then, without another word, Azurefang spread her wings and leapt into the air, sending up billowing clouds of snow in her wake. Aiden watched as she wheeled around and flew away as fast as she could. Once she was a dot in the sky, Salinder’s visage promptly vanished, leaving Aiden and Robert alone on the cold road. The mercenary got back on his feet and looked at Aiden warily.

  “How the hell did you do that?” Robert growled as he dusted himself off.

  “It’s complicated,” Aiden replied hesitantly, unsure where he would even begin.

  “That’s not an answer,” Robert persisted. “I came here half-expecting to die, but you had some sort of magic to chase her away and didn’t tell me? Was that even real, or was it some sort of illusion?”

  “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t tell you any more because I wasn’t sure that was going to work, either,” Aiden explained as he noticed Criosa, Sayana and Pacian approaching the area on horseback. Criosa had Robert’s stallion by the reins, much to Sayana’s apparent relief. The sorceress looked into the sky where Azurefang had departed, before turning her attention to Aiden.

  “Why is there a dragon in your sword?” she asked, catching him off-guard.

  She is clever, Salinder purred in Aiden’s mind, and he was quite certain it wasn’t a compliment.

  Chapter Five

  Aiden drove the sword point-first into the ground, around which he and the others gathered to listen as Salinder revealed his presence. He spoke of holding the Ironlord at bay in the Aether, bringing Aiden back to life after he was killed on the high plains of Akora, and finished with the channeling of his spirit into the sword when the Ironlord broke out of its otherworldly prison, and Salinder’s plan to destroy it once and for all.