"I do," Hekla answered softly.
"To get started, we have to bag a goat. We can't do that while we're sitting here watching the day go by. Are you ready to continue the hunt?"
"No," Hekla replied honestly. "But I will, because we must. I already miss the days where we had fun. It was only this morning, but seems like a lifetime ago."
"It was a lifetime ago. When we were called to the Summoning Chamber by Palladin, our lives were changed. But who is to say they weren't changed for the better?"
"Are you two all right?" a voice cried from below.
"Be right down," Svana replied. "Are you up for it? You know, climbing down?" Svana chuckled.
Hekla turned her head, eyes focused on Svana's flaming red hair. "Is that how we have fun now? Right after we've almost died? And look, blisters." Hekla held out her hand where the flesh was already starting to bubble.
Svana rolled her eyes. "You blister when you sneeze."
Hekla gritted her teeth. "I can't help it."
"I could use something to eat. I'm famished." Svana dug into a pocket, pulled out something that looked like a furry peach pit, and ate it.
"How much food do you have stashed in your pockets, Svana?" Hekla rolled her eyes. "Nevermind... I don't want to know."
"Come on. Time to regroup and come up with a plan. I don't want to be the one who has kept the White Dragon waiting." Svana headed to the side that she'd climbed, faced the wall and looked down toward her feet, and started climbing. She hadn't thought it had been a long ways, but it took some time to reach the bottom. When she looked up, she was happy to see her younger sister slowly making her way toward them.
"She all right?" Astrid asked.
Svana nodded. "I'd like to think she's stronger than she was an hour ago. That which doesn't kill us. You know how it goes."
"She's climbing down at least. I wouldn't have carried her."
"Me neither. Maybe she knew that. When we get outside, no one will be there to help if something like that happens."
"Isn't that what we're going to see Palladin about?" Astrid wondered.
Hekla reached them, sighing when she stepped onto level ground. Svana and Astrid ignored her and continued their conversation. Hekla dug her fists into her hips and glared.
"The White Dragon. Maybe he's going to introduce us to our dragon guides. Or maybe he's going to take us himself. Can you imagine? Riding a dragon!"
"That would be magnificent, if we could only bring him a goat, maybe he won't eat us instead," Svana suggested.
Astrid turned to Hekla. "You had the right idea. We do need to chase them, but in a direction of our choosing. Svana can run up the slope as fast as any mountain goat. And you can pinpoint a rock throw at a hundred paces. Between the two of you, flush the prize goat toward me. I have my bow and will finish him. We will then use the spears to make a carry-slide that we can use to drag the goat to the Summoning Chamber.”
"I need to climb back up there?" Hekla shook her head as she spoke.
"Yes, but climb over there, where it isn't as steep. Svana will climb opposite. Keep going until you get into position halfway to the top and then wait. When you see the goats, throw stones beyond them to chase them down the hill. Svana will do the same from her side, and when the prize is close enough, I will drop him." The look on Astrid's face suggested she wouldn't miss.
Svana nudged Hekla and pointed. With her head bent and shoulders bowed, she did as her sisters had asked, and started to climb. She found it was easier to climb and soon she was heading upward at an easy pace. She watched for movement above her, something to tell her that the goats had returned, but they denied her a quick victory. She found her spot, loaded a nook with rocks to be thrown and leaned back to wait.
Across the way, Svana had reached the same height. She waved and settled in. Above the crater's rim, the sun headed toward its evening rest. Soon it would be dark. And yet they'd wait.
Astrid remained at the bottom, still, with her bow, arrow ready to be pulled. Her sisters remained in position along the crater wall. The only thing missing were the goats. They could only hope they'd return and would wait as long as it took.
Dusk arrived and the evening haze drifted lazily down the steep slope. Svana started to fade, eyes unable to focus. She blinked and shifted, trying to force the blood to flow. Shapes silhouetted above her, in and out of the haze.
Were they real? She squinted.
The goats were grazing their way toward her. She looked to her sisters, but couldn't see either. Svana hefted a rock, bouncing it in her hand. Now or never, she thought. She rifled her projectile into the rocks before the goats, stopping their advance. But they only twisted their heads at the familiar sound of stone on stone.
She took a second rock. Let's see what you think about this.
Her aim was true, and the stone slapped into the prized goat's side. He jumped straight in the air and when he came down, he bolted toward her. She threw a third stone that glanced off the side of his face. The mountain goat turned sharply and ran the other way across the nearly sheer face.
Hekla's shout penetrated the fog.
The sound of a mini-stampede preceded a landslide of stones. Svana started to climb down after the sound of the goats as they disappeared into the distance. "Hello?" she called.
"Game on!" Astrid answered from somewhere below.
Game on. The prey has been speared.
"Hekla?" Svana shouted into the dusk. Darkness was descending. Before too long, the climb would become too perilous. They weren't versed in night climbing.
Not that they ever wanted to be skilled in something so terrifying. Svana's heart stopped pounding in her chest when she touched level ground. Astrid kneeled over a form on the ground. Hekla stood behind her.
"Thank the gods," Svana prayed.
"He fell right in my lap, almost as if it were meant to be." Astrid smiled. She had already prepped the goat so he wouldn't spoil en route, but left the entrails, supposing that dragons might consider the softest bits to be a delicacy.
With a length of rope wrapped to form a lattice across the two spears, the sisters horsed the carcass onto the sling. Two of them bowed under the front, one to a spear. Hekla brought up the rear, following as the older sisters dragged the goat along the shore to the steps that led upward to the chamber.
Once at the bottom, they stopped to catch their breath and drink.
"I'm beginning to question why we wanted the largest of the goats," Astrid muttered.
"To appease the greatest of the dragons," Hekla replied without hesitation.
"Push from behind." Astrid pointed at the youngest. "He's not going to carry himself up these steps."
Astrid and Svana attacked the stairs with renewed vigor. Their goal in sight, they climbed, one step at a time while Hekla pushed, grunting and slipping with her efforts.
But she didn't give up.
None of them did.
Eventually, they reached their goal, dragging the goat into the tunnel and to the chamber where they stopped to appreciate the White Dragon, slumbering in all his glory.
"Astrid, that is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen," Hekla whispered.
"Shhhhhhh, don't wake him!" Svana retorted.
Palladin's large eyes opened and the irises spun as he focused on the newcomers. He yawned wide, revealing teeth so large, it was all Hekla could do not to scream.
"Don't you dare," Astrid warned her sternly, placing a hand gently over her mouth.
"Is that tasty morsel for me?" Palladin asked, looking directly at Hekla.
Hekla jumped out of the way to hide behind Astrid.
"We bring the goat at your majesty's request." Astrid bowed, though she wasn't sure why.
"You are in the presence of a friend. Bring him to me, and please, just call me Palladin."
Trembling in awe, Astrid and Svana dragged the goat to Palladin. His great head hovered over them, and they hurried clear as he dipped and picked up the goat in his m
assive maw. The sisters fell to their faces.
"You don't want to be down there for this. Get up, please."
When they stood, he bit down, spraying chunks of goat and gore across the chamber floor.
He chomped hungrily, but chewed slowly.
"On the Astral Plane where I live, we absorb energy through our bodies. It is only here that I get to eat. It is a decadent pleasure, but we all have our vices, do we not?"
None of the sisters answered. They found it hard to watch the dragon eat. Blood dripped from his jaw as he happily chewed. Pieces of goat splattered on the chamber floor. When the White Dragon finished chewing, he licked the floor clean, not unlike an average dog.
In that, he became more real to the sisters. Unnoticed in a corner, Melifera revealed herself.
"You have done well. I am pleased." She took the hands of the sisters where they reveled in the moment.
"Nothing quite as delicious as wild meat to cure what ails you." The White Dragon laughed, "Welcome, Sisters of the Faith. I am Palladin, The Great. End this ill-advised war. Stop these kingdoms from fighting within as well as without. That is your task, and I will help you."
"Yes, Palladin. We cannot thank your magnificence enough for sacrificing your time to spend with us on our journey to save Verdil," Astrid proclaimed, speaking for all in her position as the eldest.
Svana and Hekla stood nearby, still in awe of the great creature squeezed into the chamber with them.
"You misunderstand. Dragons cannot get directly involved in the affairs of humans. I am offering you advisors who will be with you. They will help you to help yourselves, but they won't interact with other humans, only you."
Astrid opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She was confused and secretly disappointed. She had her hopes set on riding a dragon. Once she'd let that fantasy go, reality left a void. She heard the words, but didn't understand what they meant.
What did Palladin have for the sisters?
5
Choice of Kingdoms
There comes a time in everyone's life when they must make a choice. It isn't always as simple as what is right and what is wrong. Even a choice so black and white can be a hard one, but the choice between right and wrong seems so simple when you are faced with another choice, a harder choice. What if there are three rights, but you can only choose one? Does that make the two other choices wrong? And do you have the courage to make that choice, and the faith that if you do, to not look back years later to ask yourself if the correct choice was made...
King Everett the Honest, Second King of Caelestis, 325 A.V.
"When Melifera spoke of the dragon guides, it seemed they would be a servant to us. Does that not mean we will command them even if it is to fight? How can we hope to defeat the kings who would corrupt our lands if the dragons will not help us do so?" Astrid inquired.
Palladin tilted his head, his curiosity piqued.
"You are the one called Astrid. Servant to one, does not mean slave, Astrid of the Bow. Remember your place and remember the importance of life. All life has value." His great voice gently reverberating the cavern around them.
Astrid of the Bow? she thought. What does that mean?
"Simple child, you have not yet received your guide. When you do, all will make sense, but for now I will impart to you the knowledge you seek. I have called you Astrid of the Bow, because once you and your patron dragon have soul-merged, you will be the wielder of the bow, something that no one else will be able to use." The corner of his lips curved slightly upward in an all-knowing smile.
Astrid was struck speechless, but her thoughts were not.
And he can read my thoughts? The idea was unsettling. Astrid's thoughts raced through her head even though she knew he could see them as clearly as words on a slate.
"Never stop thinking, think faster, more, and mostly... about what matters." The last of his words resonated throughout the chamber until silence returned.
Seeing an opportunity, Hekla stepped forth. "Great Palladin, may I too know what is to be my fate?" Though her voice faltered, she bravely approached the White Dragon, close enough to feel the heat from his breath. In the presence of Palladin, her cuirass did not feel strong enough to protect her.
"All in due time, Hekla of the Scepter." He proffered a wink. "Now, you must ready yourselves."
Astrid stood taller, shoulders back, eyes watching Palladin's every move. Although she worried about what was to come, she was ready. She could only hope her sisters felt the same.
"And what of our dragon guides, oh magnificent one?" Svana asked, her voice rising with worry.
Melifera and Palladin exchanged knowing glances, then he nodded his permission to her at something unsaid. It was her turn to speak then.
"When you are given your dragon guides, it will be time for you to leave. The journeys are yours to undertake alone," Melifera said.
"We just proved we work better together!" Svana blurted, pointing at the blood stain on the floor underneath the dragon's head, all that was left of their recent kill for the great beast.
"How can you expect that of us?" Hekla burst out.
"Shhhhh, Svana. We have known of this day for a long time. Melifera has not been quiet in that respect. This is what we must do." Astrid's face remained emotionless, her voice strict. Even though she felt like protesting the very words that fell from her lips. She did not want to see her sisters in harm's way, it being her nature to feel protective of the younger two. "On this, we must be sure," she finished, shoulders back, stance at the ready.
"But, I..." Svana began to argue again.
"It does not matter what you say. I hear your words, but they fall on deaf ears. You must go on your own. You will not be the first to depart from here, and must take the rough-hewn steps to the east out of the Volcano of Shadows. From there, you will do as you must, to reach the kingdom that you alone will be challenged to save," Melifera said.
"Can we not recruit people to help us?" Hekla asked in desperation.
"Of course. Any citizen of the whole of Verdil who would serve you, would be welcome to help. But timing is critical. You must repair the pain in the heart of each kingdom at the same time. That is what you seem to miss, Svana. You will fight for your own lives and the lives of all those who live in our world. All three kingdoms must be challenged and corrected singularly and simultaneously."
"We have accepted this, Great Palladin, but I still sense a hesitancy with my sisters. Would you please spare me a moment to speak with them?" Astrid asked.
Palladin lifted his great white head and gave her a single, solemn nod.
"Do as you must," Palladin replied.
Astrid linked her hands through theirs as she did when they were children, and together they exited the Summoning Chamber. Once outside the cave, Svana was the first to speak.
"Forgive my hesitancy, Astrid. In my mind, it makes no sense to save nations that are bent on destroying themselves. It is what our father died protecting, and now, must we die too? I will go forth and fight. I just ...."
"I know, Svana, but if our father died protecting it, and the great Palladin himself has requested this of us, do you not think it of some importance?" Astrid's head cocked to one side, her large green eyes wide, and brows furrowed.
"I am afraid," Hekla said quietly, before beginning to cry silent tears.
"Hekla, Svana... the two of you behave as if you are still children. We knew this day was approaching, we cannot pretend now like it is such a surprise. We certainly cannot act like ungrateful children, when everything we could have wanted has been given to us."
"What if something happens to you? Or you?" Svana asked of them.
"That is enough, Svana. No more of this. We will do what is required because it is what the Unseen Ones have prepared us for. It is what our father would have wanted us to do." Astrid pulled them both in tightly for a hug. "No matter what I say, the choice is out of our hands. It is not a matter of conscience, it is a matter of
what is right." Astrid's voice resonated in low, comforting tones.
"It does not make the situation any easier, sister," Hekla said.
"Why us? Why must we risk our lives for nations and people so callous, so selfish?" Svana sobbed. "Are our lives not valuable? Are we not worth saving? Is there no one else?"
"Listen to yourself, Svana. It is you who act selfish! It is you who have deemed man not worth saving because you seem to think your life is more valuable, when it is the opposite. Our fight will save many lives. If we lose our own, are not the many lives more important than ours?" Astrid's irritation at her youngest sister could not be contained.
Unheard, Melifera had joined them. "Quiet yourselves and allow me to speak. It is not that your lives are not valuable," she said softly, "they are the most prized possessions Verdil has ever boasted. Not just because of what you mean to this land." Melifera pointed indiscriminately at the entirety of the Shadowlands. "When your father died, in the battle of Telluris many years ago, and I was tasked with your training, I grew to love you like my very own. My days of teaching are now over. This is where I must trust the Unseen Ones. Had they not foreseen what was to come, and appointed you for such a time as this, I would have no hope. The very reason you are here, is they believe you to be the chosen ones. Chosen ones do not fail, and so I believe all of you will succeed."
"We are flesh. If we are stabbed, will we not bleed?" Svana countered. "Why? Why put us through this?"
Astrid opened her mouth again to scold her sister, but Melifera shook her head. Her dark eyes flashed a warning which silenced them both.
"A long time ago, dear ones, the kingdom of sky, Caelestis was the most ethereal and awe-inspiring of kingdoms. To see it was to know the depth of true beauty for its colors and majesty were unrivaled. At one time, I would journey there just to experience the beauty it beheld. Its avian creatures were some of the most striking of any animal I've ever seen.
Dragon Sword Page 4
