by I Heaton
One of them said “You think we're scared of some children and a tiny wyvern?” he raised a mirror, seeming to signal something. They heard the beat of wings and saw a armored man riding a griffin flying down. The boys looked at each other. Tom said “I'll take him you guys stay here!” he launched himself into the air before anyone could argue. As he flew he heard the clash of metal beneath him and he gathered wind around him.
He flew straight to the man and when he was feet away he released the air straight towards the griffin rider, knocking him off balance and kicked at him. The Rider easily dodged the kick and swung his mace at Tom. Tom flew under the griffin to dodge the swing. The griffin, better trained than Tom thought, slashed at Tom and its large talons cutting his side. Tom nearly fell to the ground but managed to stay aloft. He flew away from the griffin and rider quickly. Tom looked down and saw the bandits there nearly defeated. He dove down and helped the others finish them.
The four looked at the griffin, flying high above them then they looked at each other. “Together.” they all said at the same time. They launched into the air and flew straight towards the griffin and it's rider. Tom flew around and the rest attacked straight on. Tom suddenly remembered what Alex had said after Alex had faked a bandit attack on the camp “Use your advantages,Tom.” he yelled at Zack “Get back!” Zack looked at him then turned Dejoni around and they flew a small distance away.
The rider laughed “You cowards! Come fight me!” he looked back as Tom said “You'll get your fight.” the rider realized something. Tom knew combat magic.
That was his last thought as rocks and dirt smashed him into the ground. Tom hovered for a moment then started falling.
Chapter 13
Dejoni dove as quickly as he could towards Tom's plummeting body but Madison and Zack knew he wouldn't get to him in time so they magically slowed his fall. They got to Tom and Dejoni caught him then glided down to land. He set Tom on the ground lightly, Madison and Zack sliding of his back quickly. Bryn ran over to them and stared at Tom. He was bloody with giant talon marks across his side.
Zack and Madison started trying to take care of the wound. Tom's eyes opened slowly, as if with great effort and weariness. Bryn started talking to him, in an effort to keep him awake. Zack and Madison stopped the bleeding and Zack said “Dejoni! We have to fly him to town! Hurry!” Dejoni quickly picked up Tom and Zack jumped on his back. He yelled to the girls “Stay here we'll be back in a little.” Dejoni jumped into the air and flew as fast as he could to Pine Grove. Within minutes Dejoni landed, panting at Pine Grove.
Zack yelled out “Someone help!” a man came out of a nearby house to see what was happening. He saw Tom's bloody body and said “We must take him to Steve, the town's healer. Help me carry him.” they lifted Tom and carried him farther into town and burst into the healer's shop.
The man yelled “Steve, get down here a boy is horribly hurt!” an old man came down saying “Put him over here, Joseph.” the two laid Tom on the bed Steve indicated. The healer started working on Tom and Zack turned around and found Dejoni. He jumped onto him and they flew back to where the girls were waiting.
They saw the girls and got them flying slowly back to Pine Grove, Dejoni after flying so fast to get Tom there and now carrying three people couldn't fly very fast and stop for many rests. Eventually they landed and Zack ran to tell Tom's family after telling Madison and Bryn where Tom was.
Tom woke suddenly not knowing where he was and tried reaching for his dagger at his belt, but it wasn't there. He spun around and his side burst into pain. His family and friends sat in chairs nearby most of them asleep, but Bryn was awake. She rushed over to him and said “Stop moving around, Steve says if you move too much you will make it worse.” Tom stopped moving and sat up asking “What happened, one moment I remember fighting bandits, next I vaguely remember flying then I wake up here.” As Bryn explained what happened Steve came down with some soup and gave it to Tom to eat.
He had just finished his soup when the door suddenly opened and in walked Alex. He looked at Tom and said loudly “Tom, feeling better? I heard you tried to fight a griffin yourself and that's why you got that nasty cut.” Tom nodded “Ya, pretty dumb of me wasn't it. But please be quieter everyone is asleep and I don't want to wake them.” Alex laughed and said quieter “That's something only you would do Tom, be sitting in your bed after nearly being killed and being worried for everyone else getting sleep” Alex and Tom smiled.
Tom tried to turn but intense pain shot from his side. He looked down and moved his shirt out of the way to look at his side. He could see four parallel red stains through a bandage from where the griffin and slashed him. Tom grimaced, he looked at Steve “How long until I can go?” he asked. Steve walked over and started poking and pinching him. Steve looked up “About three days then you will be better. Because you're in shape and your training you didn't get permanently injured, but you will have those scars for a long time, if they ever go away.” Slowly people started waking, talking to him a little then leaving to go back to their homes and lives.
Zack and Tom's family barely left for anything but sleep and food. The next day Tom was able to sit up without too much pain. The second day he was able to walk to the table and eat. As he was eating some bread he looked at Zack and asked “How long was I passed out after the fight?” Zack yawned and answered “Only about a day, Steve is surprised you weren't out longer. Come on someone wants to see you.” Zack help Tom up and they walked out into the back of the Healer Building, as it was called. Tom saw a big black pile and he smiled.
Dejoni looked over and yawned, one thing you never want to smell is wyvern breath after it had just eaten. Tom laughed saying “Good to see you, too.Your breath smells awful, Dejoni.” Dejoni made a sound halfway between a laugh and a roar. After talking a minute or two Dejoni went back to sleep and the boys went back inside. Tom laid back on his bed and Zack left to go get some food and sleep.
He looked outside and to see how long the shadows were to tell what time it was. He sighed as he saw it was only noon. Why can't the day be over! he thought It is so boring laying here and not doing anything. Alex walked in interrupting his thoughts. Tom looked up and said “Please have something for me to do. I am so bored.” Alex laughed as he set some papers on the table and beckoned him over. “I finally might be able to teach you some of the calmer skills of a Dragon Guardian. Like making battle plans.” Tom sat at the table and listened as Alex taught him about things like cover, height advantages, battle formations, human battle reactions, terrain and how they affected battle.
“Describe the terrain of your fight with the griffin and the bandits.” Tom closed his eyes and described the land “On either side of the road there is a ditch and trees. The road is tightly packed dirt. The sides behind the ditches is slightly higher than the road.” Tom opened his eyes and saw Alex drawing a map of the fight.
Then Alex told Tom “Say you had fifteen archers, twenty five swordsmen, a griffin knight and you. How would you deploy all the units in this terrain.” Tom looked at the map and thought for a moment “Spread the swordsmen evenly across the sides of the road in the ditches and on end of the road, then put the archers on the far side of the ditch barely in the trees then have me and the knight flying above the site. Then when the enemy comes the archers shoot a volley and before the enemy know what happened they hide behind the trees again then the swordsmen jump out of the ditch and attack, the ones not in the ditch keeping the enemy from running that way. Then me and the knight dive down onto the opposite side of the enemy and keep them from running our way. The archers shooting to wound those who run.” Alex listened to his plan.
He nodded then said “I think you have it mostly how I would plan it, but instead of the swordsmen jumping out of the ditch have them stay there and defend the archers, the others keeping them bottled up as you said. Good job. Get some rest.” Alex stood up and walked out the door. “I think I should thank you for fighting those bandits, the mission
I was on was to capture or kill them.” Alex stood up and left.
The rest of the day passed slowly for Tom. The next day Steve came downstairs to do a final check on Tom. He said “You can go, Tom. But take it easy, tell Alex that too.” Tom gathered his things and left the building glad to finally be outside and moving again.
He walked to his house without much pain. He walked in the door and ate some food. He lifted his shirt a little and looked at the scars. The next day Alex came into the kitchen as he ate breakfast. He looked at Tom “Are you feeling good enough to go back to Hilltop Lake?” he asked. “I can go, but I will probably need breaks and I have to take it easy Steve said.” Tom answered. Alex nodded “We will leave after lunch.” and he walked out. Tom sat back in his chair. I have been his apprentice for nearly a year he thought then he got up to pack and say bye.
Packing was easy because he had barely unpacked anything, but saying bye took a long time. As he walked towards Bryn he realized this could easily be the last time they saw each other. They had only known each other for a few days, but had already been in a battle and flown together, he had never carried anyone flying before her.
He returned to his house and ate lunch. Alex came and got him and they left. It took about four hours to get to Hilltop Lake. He saw Zack, Dejoni, John and Masdifi, John's wyvern who was named after the Aminac goddess of victory and war, flying around the island. He wanted to fly and join them, but because of his injury he couldn't fly very much
A few days later Tom was completely better. Alex walked into the living room where Tom was sitting making water fly around him. Tom set the water back in the bucket and looked at Alex. “It's time for your final lesson on basic water magic. Follow me.” Alex said.
Tom got up and followed him excited. They got out of the cabin and flew off. They followed a stream for a few miles. They landed and the lesson began. “What makes the air feel thick in some places?” Alex asked. Tom shrugged “I don't know.” Alex nodded “I doubted you would, but the answer is water. Water is everywhere. This lesson will be of harnessing the small amounts of water in the air and of some of the hardest water spells.” Alex taught Tom to gather the small amounts of water from the air around him. After a little practice he had figured it out. Suddenly Alex said “Now let's see what you can do with water!” and he launched a spike of water that froze on the way towards Tom.
Tom magically won control of the ice and sent it in tiny pieces back at Alex, while he also sent gallons of water at him from behind. Alex made a shield of ice from the air and blocked the tiny shards of ice. The other attack splashed down on him and instantly froze. Alex eventually broke the ice and panted. “That's good, but the spells I am going to teach you are even better.” he said after gathering his breath. Alex taught Tom how to control giant amounts of water at once, change the water into something else and to use stillwater to view other places and people.
Two weeks later Alex again took Tom out into the forest. This time they fought using plant magic. The fight ended with Tom's body encased in wood. Alex taught Tom how to make plants grow faster, harden plants, hide himself in trees and make the trees and plants turn into wooden creatures.
The next day, after training, Tom was sitting in the living room with Zack talking. Alex walked in and sat down. He looked at Tom and said “In a month we are moving to the south, to Blangto. It is a desert town. You have mastered the basics of water and plant magic and those are the only things we needed to be here for.
In Blangto you will continue learning earth and air magic along with metal, heat and desert survival skills. But first, tomorrow you begin your final test on forest survival and magic.” Tom looked shocked “How far is Blangto? Are Zack and John coming? Are Zack and Dejoni coming on the survival thing with me?” he asked rapidly.
Alex shook his head “Blangto is about twenty miles. Zack and John will stay here until John decides to move somewhere. This is going to be a solo survival test. I will teach you how to start a fire with magic and you will have no tools but magic. I will send many challenges against you.” Alex answered. Early the next day the four humans and the two wyverns were just outside the cabin saying bye. Alex was going to take Tom to the survival area while Tom was blindfolded. The two flew out of sight and in minutes Alex landed in a clearing. The sun just cleared the horizon as Tom watched Alex fly away.
Quickly he started creating his base. He gathered food, made walls, created guards, laid traps and prepared a shelter. Tom sat down exhausted on a chair he made. He looked around him. There was a fire pit, a small hut, thick walls of wood and dirt, living trees patrolling around the walls and he had made all of that before the sun went down. He started a fire and cooked some meat one of the hunter-trees had brought back earlier. He finished eating and went to sleep.
He woke to the sound of fighting. He rushed out of his hut and looked around. He could see three or four crantos attacking his base. “Alex wasn't kidding when he said there would be challenges.” he thought.
He flew over to a cranto that had just squeezed one of his guards to splinters. He magically drove a branch into its eye and brain, killing it quickly. He looked over as three of his guards smashed one of the giant snakes after it set one of them on fire.
Two left.
Suddenly both turned towards him, as if they were both tied to a string.
They slithered as fast as they could over to him whipping any guards that came near them with their tails. Tom looked around and made two stone spikes erupt from the ground underneath the crantos that skewered them. He sighed with relief and set about repairing the damage the crantos had caused. When all the guards were either repaired or replaced Tom had an idea. He gathered all the tree-guards in a clearing.
They all lined up in ordered ranks and he started creating a small defensive army. He appointed leaders and started training them. He armed them with stone weapons and armor. He taught them how to fight crantos and other dangers of the forest. He created a way for some of them to launch sharp sticks from a range. He made towers for those archers. Soon the training was underway and Tom worked on the side creating new warriors and archers. He made a gate so that the guards could enter and exit his base easily. The next day he looked up from his lunch as he heard the guards' yells. He saw one point up and saw what was coming. A large blue wyvern.
He thought for a moment “Maybe it is John and Masdifi. But if this is a challenge from Alex if I let it come to close it could prove a giant problem.” he came to a decision he started flying towards it. When he was a fair distance away he called “John, Masdifi! Is that you?” the replying roar made it clear it was not and it wanted to fight. He dove back down to his fort as it spat acid at him. The tree-guards aren't trained to fight enemies in the air. He thought then had an idea. He got the wyvern's attention and led it to a clearing near his base. He called his guards to the clearing and landed in it.
The wyvern landed also eyes staring straight at Tom. It raced forward at Tom but Tom sent it flying back with a large stone in its chest. Any second now the tree-guards would come into the clearing and attack the beast.
But as the guards entered the clearing the wyvern threw off the rock and smashed some of the tree men with it's tail. The ranks formed up and made a turtle formation, all the shields interlocking so they were defended on top and all sides. The warriors moved forward but holes were quickly being made as the wyvern spit at them. Tom mentally gave a command to the commander of the guards to spread out. He had another idea. He reached magically into the trees. He forced his will on the wood and made ten wooden crantos. They wrapped around the wyvern but the beast smashed one of them.
One wrapped around its neck and then the tree-guards fell on the wyvern as it staggered. He brought his mind from the wood crantos and they became lifeless once more. He watched as the wyvern turned into stone. He made changes in the guards training, now they were being trained to fight flying enemies. He also made griffins out of the trees and gave them will.
&nbs
p; His fort seemed impenetrable. He had made the walls three feet thick and ten feet tall. Each corner was a tower that was twenty feet from the ground. His personal hut was a small shelter against one wall. The food storage building was just to the side of that about the same size. In the center was a large common. A large fire pit to cook with and a large pavilion.
Two days later Alex came to his base. Helanded in front of gates and Tom opened them. Alex walked up to Tom and said “You get one request for something. I will come back in two days to get your answer.” Tom started to say something, but Alex jumped into the air and Tom watched his purple form fly away.
Tom walked to his hut and went to sleep thinking of what he would ask for. The next day Tom passed time thinking of what to ask for, watching the training and improving his fort. He had some of the tree-men help him dig a moat then put sharpened stakes at the bottom. He used a spell Alex taught him and changed some water so it would burn easily and put it in the moat. Tom went to sleep after he ate a good meal.
One good thing about being alone with only tree-men for company is you only have to feed one person, the tree-men only needing sunlight and water. He already had enough food for the rest of his time. He woke and found the guards fighting some bears and wolves. He grabbed the stone axe and shield he had made and flew over the wall.
He landed on a bear and crushed it's head with his shield. He jumped off it's body into another bear and slashed the new bear's neck. He threw his axe at a wolf and made a knife. He jumped from bear to bear until only the wolves were left.
He dropped the knife and summoned his axe. The guards fell into a formation behind him as the wolves grouped together.
They stood looking at each other for a moment then jumped at each other. Tom hacked, smashed, chopped and bashed, cutting down many wolves. The tree-guards widened the hole he made.
