Wavebreaker

by A. J. Norfield

  Raylan put his hand on Galirras’ head, scratching the dragon above his eye.

  “I can’t seem to decide if Richard is unfit to lead our group, or if I resist him because he’s not Gavin. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a good man, and I would gladly have him by my side in a battle, but it looks like he doesn’t want to make any decisions by himself. Perhaps it’s just me, but I feel we’re being pushed forward down a road that we can’t step off.”

  The dragon thought about it for a while.

  “The wind has a nice feel to it tonight,” said Galirras.

  Raylan felt the smooth flow of air pass his cheeks.

  “It’s the warmth of summer,” he thought absentmindedly.

  “Maybe…but it feels like more. It feels promising. Inviting. Playful. Perhaps the road is not the problem. Perhaps you just need a change of perspective.” The dragon's eye twirled around to regard Raylan. “Come and fly with me!”

  Raylan stared at Galirras.

  “Fly with you?” he said out loud.

  “Yes! It feels amazing to fly! It might clear your head. Allow you to see things differently.”

  Galirras swung his head close to Raylan’s face, his three pupils shifting expectantly back and forth, glittering with golden sparkles.

  “What about your injuries?”

  “My injuries are fine. Most have completely healed already, and none bother me when flying,” said Galirras, demonstrating by stretching his wings.

  While Raylan had originally been curious about the possibility of flying with Galirras, the thought had not occurred to him once in the last few weeks on the airship. When Galirras plucked him from the sky after he jumped from a cliff to escape his pursuers, it had felt like a one-time act of necessity to save his life. Raylan was used to being on the ground, or in this case on deck, whenever Galirras took to the air and sheared through the sky.

  But Galirras had kept on growing during their ocean crossing, and Raylan figured he would have no problem carrying him through the air.

  “But how? You don’t want to carry me again, do you? Your claws aren’t the softest, you know.”

  Galirras took a moment to think.

  “No, I suppose not. Why not climb on my back, below my neck? That will be the most stable, and you will not be in the way of my wings, either.”

  Raylan looked back at the others on the lower deck. Most were still enjoying the huge fish Galirras had managed to bring aboard. This new prey almost had a meat flavor, enough so that Galirras had taken part of his kill to still his immediate hunger. The rest was then prepared as a tasty fish stew.

  The scent of the stew was carried over by the wind, the crew sat gathered around the hot pot that Galen had brought up on deck. Raylan saw Sebastian separate himself from the group, probably because he did not want to talk to Richard any more. None were taking any notice of Raylan and Galirras. Raylan looked at the dragon and made up his mind.

  “Let’s do it,” said Raylan.

  Galirras’ eyes swirled with excitement as he quickly lowered himself to allow Raylan to climb on his back. One step on Galirras’ front leg, another on the shoulder, and then Raylan sat at the base of the dragon’s neck. As he tried to get a feel for the unfamiliar seat, Galirras rose and leaned over the handrail.

  Raylan's stomach lurched as the deck of the airship disappeared, replaced by the drop toward the ocean waters below.

  “Wait, where am I supposed to hold on—”

  The words got stuck in his throat as his stomach flew upward, pushing all the air out of his lungs. Galirras had pushed off and was now headed straight for the dark water. Reflexively, Raylan threw his arms around Galirras’ neck, feeling the muscles move beneath the rough hide. The dragon’s scales scratched his skin, but the warmth of Galirras’ natural high temperature pleasantly warmed Raylan's arms and legs.

  Without warning, Galirras snapped open his wings. The forced change in direction made Raylan’s already displaced stomach rush to his toes. His chin bashed painfully against Galirras’ scaled neck as the powerful beats of the dragon's wings pushed them upward again.

  “Easy! Easy, please,” said Raylan, half out loud, half in his head.

  Realizing the impact of his takeoff on Raylan, Galirras quickly adjusted his powerful strokes to a more relaxed movement.

  “Sorry, I was not thinking.”

  They leveled off as Galirras steered them into the wind. Feeling the breeze blow through his hair, Raylan forced himself to relax. As he unclamped his arms from the dragon’s neck, he slowly sat up, rubbing his chin.

  “That was…unexpected,” said Raylan, forcing a grin.

  Adrenaline rushed through his body. Now he had a moment to take it all in, the entire experience surged into him. The slow beating of Galirras’ wings; the small adjustments as his winged friend used his head and body to steer; the cool night air penetrating the cloth shirt below his leather armor; and he felt Galirras’ excitement rise up from the place where his stomach was settling back in.

  Slowly, Raylan felt a more genuine smile form on his face. The first time Galirras had took him through the air, it had felt like limbo. The place between life and death, a place where time stood still. But this was different. He felt lighter. He let his arms hang loosely as he tilted his head back and took a deep breath. He felt…free.

  Raylan let out a sigh and breathed in deeply again. He shifted his legs slightly to make it easier to clamp down with them.

  “Okay, let’s try this again. Gently,” he said.

  Keeping himself in place with his legs, Raylan grabbed two spikes along Galirras’ neck and tried to follow Galirras’ movements with his body. As the dragon tilted from left to right, Raylan took note of the specific muscles working below him. Being so close to the wings, he felt them move together or separately, changing the pressure and influence on the wind.

  “Now up.”

  Galirras responded immediately. He beat his wings strongly and his body waved from head to tail, adjusting his bearing. Raylan’s stomach still rose and fell, but he was able to compensate for the movement more easily now that it was not unexpected.

  With his hands on Galirras’ spikes, Raylan kept pressure on them for extra support. All those weeks on horseback were slowly flowing back into his posture. And although the flying movements felt much more abrupt and powerful, some similarities surfaced between steering a horse and maneuvering together with the dragon. He straightened his back and loosened his hips to move in sync with the beating of his friend’s wings.

  In no time, Raylan was unthinkingly repositioning his weight as Galirras steered toward the right, hanging into the turn, only to shift it to the other side as he felt Galirras swap directly back into a left turn. Slightly pressing his heel into Galirras’ shoulder seemed to signal the dragon to make the turn tighter. They made turn after turn, sometimes climbing slowly, sometimes diving slightly.

  After a while, Raylan bent forward, tapping on Galirras’ neck.

  “You were right. This feels amazing,” said Raylan loudly as the wind rushed past them.

  “I am glad I can let you experience this,” replied Galirras with a satisfied rumble. “Now, how about this? Hold on tight.”

  Raylan felt Galirras’ back arch just before he dove forward. This time, Raylan did not fight the movement, but let himself be led by the dragon. He felt the pressure build again as Galirras pulled upward into a steep climb. As Galirras kept going, Raylan felt the force of the turn push his body into Galirras, and suddenly, for a brief moment, he was completely weightless. Stretching his back, Raylan tilted his head and looked upward. He did not see the stars any more; instead, he was staring at the dark ocean waters, as Galirras followed through on his loop.

  Raylan let out a whoop. “This is incredible!” he shouted.

  “Better than sailing, right?” teased Galirras.

  “Much better!”

  By now, Raylan's legs were beginning to cramp. He shuddered involuntarily; the night wind had cooled hi
m down significantly.

  “Let’s head back, my friend,” said Raylan. “I think I will have some of that hot fish stew to warm up again.”

  As Galirras steered back toward the airship, Raylan saw every member of their squad looking at them. They looked as though they had a million and one questions to ask.

  “On second thought, maybe just one more round?” suggested Raylan.

  In some ways, Raylan felt a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. When he and Galirras finally returned to the airship, everyone had been waiting for them, asking all kinds of questions. Even Xi’Lao had seemed genuinely interested again, asking several questions about the link and how it felt to fly together. The unusual performance seemed to have boosted morale after their gloomy crossing of the great eastern divide.

  By the time they neared Azurna, the first rays of sunlight were lighting the sky again. They had stayed clear of the coast, though the ships they had inevitably encountered so close to the harbor often held baffled crowds on deck if any were awake.

  On their own ship, some were on deck looking for a suitable place to land while most of the squad was busy strapping everything down below decks. After all, they had no idea how smooth the landing would be. Raylan was in the process of tying up sails while he kept an eye on Galirras. Ca’lek was on the bow as lookout and Marek had gone back to the vapor oven, readying it for what he hoped was going to be a controlled landing.

  As they rounded one of the final cliffs before the harbor city, the full details of Azurna came into view, illuminated by the rising sun. Galirras, who had been gliding next to the ship, trumpeted excitedly. A dozen ships came and went while more lay anchored off the coast. The city itself was surrounded by high walls with a few large gates that—even this early in the morning—let through a constant stream of people. Fishermen, merchants, soldier patrols, beggars trying to appeal to anyone’s generosity; the city was already buzzing with activity.

  “I guess it’s true what they say,” said Raylan to Ca’lek as they regarded the harbor.

  “What’s that?”

  “Azurna never truly sleeps.”

  Located between the great eastern divide and one of the largest rivers in Aeterra, Azurna was the most important trade harbor on the eastern coast. The large inner harbor could hold twenty ships with ease, while the entrance had deliberately been kept narrow. From the ocean, one saw that parts of Azurna had been rebuilt over the centuries. Originally the main capital of the eastern kingdom that was ruled by the Thyraulos royal family, the harbor had endured numerous attacks during its existence, some more devastating than others. But the peace and prosperity Aeterra had established a hundred years ago had clearly done the harbor city well, as large areas of housing had been built outside of the original city walls. These neighborhoods stretched along the coast and toward the river, formed along the main roads that led to the city gates. From the air, the white buildings and red roof tiles made the city bright as a painting as the sun rolled its warming rays over them. Small colored flags could be seen everywhere, hanging between the buildings. They made the city look alive.

  The sight of the welcoming city had Raylan considering the extent of the damage an unexpected attack would have, but before long his attention was drawn by the start of their landing attempt.

  “There!” Ca’lek called out as he pointed at one of the beaches a little farther away from the city. “We can set her down there. Plenty of room, and there aren't many people or boats around.”

  As Ca’lek signaled their destination to Richard, Raylan ran back to his post to help adjust the sails. Richard shouted commands down the pipe leading to the vapor oven room, telling Marek to start releasing the vapor from the balloon.

  Another pipe, leading directly below the stern, was used to order Galen and Kevhin down below to reverse the direction of the bladed wheel. Marek—who had the best understanding of the ship, even if he was the youngest—had figured that would at least slow them down somewhat.

  Headed straight for the beach, their transportation was drawing a crowd, with people seeming to pop up out of nowhere to look at them.

  “Not good!” called Ca’lek, “We’re going to hit some of them if they’re not careful.”

  Raylan thrust his head over the side to see a small group of people gathering precisely where they were aiming to hit the sand.

  “Galirras! Can you try and clear our landing spot?”

  He could almost feel the dragon smile.

  “No problem!”

  With a few powerful beats of his wings, Galirras moved himself in front of the ship, accelerating further by pushing himself forward with his wind power. It had already become second nature for Galirras to constantly manipulate the airflow around him as he flew through the sky. Literally splitting the air in front of him, he minimized his drag and, if needed, could thrust short bursts of air toward himself to either push himself to higher speed, or greatly slow himself to make a quick turn.

  Now, the dragon went for speed, darting toward the beach. Coming in low, he let out a roar over the heads of the spectators, who instantly scrambled to get away from the roaring monster.

  Raylan had been right; people were terrified of him, perhaps even thinking he was set on eating them. The dragon still found it strange, but Raylan had explained that people simply could not know he was an intelligent creature and not a mere beast. In this case, though, Galirras was clearly enjoying showing off to Raylan how well he was able to clear the beach for them. To top it off, he added a windblast for the fun of it. The blast sent up a spray of loose sand as the wave of air rushed over the beach.

  It had the desired effect. As the airship came in low, the beach was completely cleared of any curious bystanders.

  “Call it out!” yelled Ca’lek from the bow.

  All pipes were opened at once as Richard shouted down them as loudly as he could.

  “Brace yourselves!”

  Raylan grabbed the nearest rail as the ground suddenly rushed toward them for the last few feet. With a loud crack and heavy thump, the ship touched land for the first time in weeks. A fountain of sand was flung upward as the ship’s bow dug into the beach. The sudden decrease in speed threw everyone forward, including Raylan, who twisted around the point he had securely grabbed, slamming his back into the rail.

  A loud crash came from the cargo deck as the dormant ghol’m rammed through the hinges of the wooden cargo door and ground to a halt, half buried in the deep, loose sand. The airship shook and rattled as it tore across the ground, leaving a deep groove behind it. But the sand was acting too much like water, moving away from the hull as the airship easily cut through the sea of loose sand.

  “We’re still going too fast!” yelled Raylan.

  Richard had steered the ship as parallel to the line of trees as possible, but it had not been enough, and the forest was rapidly coming closer.

  Galirras swooped in front of the airship, hovering above the trees. Furiously beating his wings, he used his power to push the moving air toward the ship in an attempt to slow it down.

  Raylan’s eyes, tearing from the force of the dragon’s wind, were locked on the trees in their path. The airship's speed was decreasing, but its mass did not easily surrender to the forces that were trying to stop it from moving. As the ship slid through the sand, the upward-sloping ground slowed it further. The crew flinched at the loud cracks of saplings snapping like twigs as the airship burrowed itself into the first line of trees. With this added resistance, it finally admitted defeat and ground to a halt. Slumping slightly to one side, the airship lay half buried in the forest with the stern still sticking out onto the beach.

  Raylan pushed himself to his feet. Sweeping small branches from his face, he checked himself for injuries.

  Seems like everything is still intact.

  He saw Galirras’ shadow move above the trees as the dragon circled their landing site nervously.

  “Raylan, are you okay?” his winged friend asked.

&
nbsp; “No worries. I’m still in one piece.”

  “Next time, you are not staying on the ship. You are much safer on my back,” said the dragon, clearly worried about the rough landing.

  “I appreciate your concern, little one, but we talked about this. I had to help with the sails, being one of the few real sailors on board. We can’t just abandon our friends when they need our help,” Raylan explained. “But don’t worry about next time. I don’t expect us to fly in another airship any time soon.”

  On deck, Richard and Ca’lek were back on their feet as well. As Raylan moved to the lower deck stairs, he noticed dark green smoke coming from below. The three of them rushed over to the stairs, shouting the names of their squad mates. The smoke stung Raylan's eyes.

  Heavy steps followed by coughing and Peadar, Kevhin and Rohan were the first to emerge. They were followed by Xi’Lao, who was supported by Sebastian, and finally Galen, who was half dragging, half lifting a black-faced Marek up the stairs.

  Marek let out a heavy cough as the others filled their lungs with fresh air.

  “What happened?” asked Richard. “Is there a fire?”

  “Not yet,” coughed Marek, “but one of the pipes broke when I got knocked into it during the landing, and I think the vapor oven also ruptured. But I didn't see a fire yet.”

  “Well, let’s not stay here to find out,” said Richard.

  “Hold on. Where’s Harwin?” asked Raylan, looking around.

  “He was guarding the prisoner before we touched down,” said Kevhin. “He must still be down there.”

  Raylan pulled his shirt in front of his mouth and nose and rushed down the stairs. The dark green smoke stung his eyes and he moved as low as possible in an attempt to stay underneath it. At the bottom of the stairs, he turned toward the room where they had been holding the enemy soldier captive.

  Raylan lowered himself even further to try and see below the smoke. Thankfully, with the cargo doors now completely missing, the smoke had a second way out of the lower deck.

  A soft moan caught his attention. Turning the corner, Raylan stumbled over Harwin’s feet.