“What are you?” I asked, looking at it puzzled. It then did something which puzzled me more. It turned to face me.
“I am you.”
My jaw dropped open. It spoke. Vorms were not supposed to speak under any circumstances. They just weren’t supposed to. My darkness Vorms had always presented themselves with a certain degree of independence which was very uncommon, but none had ever spoken before.
“You can talk?” I asked, edging closer and keeping the air Vorm near in case he became violent.
“Yes, but not much,” it said.
“Are you the Dragon Heart in me?”
“Yes.”
I relaxed a bit and released the spell for the other Vorm.
“You are what Andraxsccl looked like while he was alive?”
“Yes.”
“You really can’t say much can you?”
“Can’t, Fragmented… Mind in a lot of places, time to collect.”
“Can I help you?”
“No, but I can show.”
He walked toward me until he was standing in front of me. Then he lowered his head and gently placed his forehead against mine.
“Close eyes, I will show.”
I did as I was told. As soon as I closed my eyes a stream of images started to flood my mind. At first it was convoluted with no meaning but eventually they flowed into a very familiar scene, only this time I was watching it from different eyes and felt it differently. I had seen it before in a dream.
The snow fell lazily onto the ground as flames engulfed the remains of a chariot. A small boy, perhaps two years old lay face down in a pool of his own blood. Curled around him lay a massive Ancient Dragon with deep wounds all over her majestic body. She looked up at me. The second I landed I went from being a glorious dragon to a small human and ran up to her and the boy.
“What happened here?” I asked.
“It was Thanos, he is trying to complete his perfect world by destroying any who might oppose him.”
“You are his mate Valceria, he would not attack you.”
“Not willingly no, but I threw myself in front of his magical blade and attacks. Even I was not strong enough to stop him,” she started to moan deeply; her life was at an end. I knew it and so did she.
“This boy is special Andraxsccl he must be saved,” she said, before putting her head down in the snow to rest one final time. “The time has come. I have outlived too many of our friends… I don’t regret my choices… but… I should have stopped him… I hope you will forgive me…” and with that she let out a final gust of air from her once powerful lungs and I watched as the light in her eyes disappeared slowly into the void.
Although it was already too late, I muttered, “You are my sister, of course I can forgive you.” A large tear ran down my cheek and fell on the snow, melting some of it away. I turned my attention to the dead boy.
“She is right you know. That boy will shape the future, do what none of us could,” said Vicis, walking out from the shadows.
I kept staring at the boy. Multiple emotions ran through me but mostly anger, anger at myself for not having killed Thanos all those years ago when he created those abominations, the Irkanians. How many had paid the price for my lenience. How many dragons, humans, elf, dwarves, stonewalkers… sentient lives had been lost over the madness of one.
“Tell me Time Dragon… Will this boy bring an end to Thanos’s madness? Can I not just fly myself to where he is and kill him.”
“The boy will play a part in Thanos’s downfall but I cannot be certain he will be the one to bring him down.”
“You haven’t answered me… What would happen if I slaughtered Thanos right now?”
“You cannot defeat him now, you are no longer the powerful dragon you once were. The only one who could perhaps fight him on equal ground is Vaurion and at this point I don’t believe even Vaurion could defeat him.”
I looked at Vicis. The Time Dragoness was one of my least favorite in all of existence yet her magical ability of future sight had been proven to be correct thus far… Maybe if I had bothered to listen before all this could have been avoided.
“If I do this… Will you promise me to keep the boy safe?” I asked.
“To the best of my ability,” she said with a slight nod of the head.
“Your best did not save him this time, nor his family’s.”
“Against Thanos no one’s best is enough now.”
“I will stick around to make sure you keep your promise Vicis,” and with that I began casting the necessary spell to gift my heart to the boy. I knew only a small part of myself would remain intact but it was the only way I could see this to the end.
I had no reason to believe the words of Vicis or Valceria but just maybe saving this boy would help atone for the sins of my past. My life was a small price to pay for the hope of a new brighter future.
Then the images became distorted again and the Vorm broke off physical contact with me, turning its attention to something else.
It took me a moment to realize what had caught its attention, since I was still in a partial daze over what I had just been shown.
“Come out, I have already sensed you, no point in hiding anymore.”
From behind a tree a good thirty meters away came out a young boy and girl. As they came closer I realized they were the kids from the tavern last night. The boy had a scared look on his face while the girl radiated curiosity all over. They both stopped a few feet short of me and both kept their eyes on the Vorm.
“Oh don’t worry, he is not a real dragon just something I made with magic,” I said.
Andraxsccl gave me a funny look as if to say he was real enough to save my sorry butt.
“But it talked,” said the boy.
“Yeah, everyone knows magic dragons can’t talk,” blurted out the little girl.
“What did you call it?” I asked with amusement.
“Magical dragon,” she repeated in a somewhat defiant tone as to show she wasn’t scared.
“Well this magical dragon is special and that’s why he can talk, although not a lot,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t question what was ‘special’ about him.
“Can I touch it?” she asked.
“Rosanna! You can’t touch it, he could be a bad man,” said the boy.
“He doesn’t look like a bad man and he hasn’t done anything bad,” said Rosanna.
“I don’t trust him. He was doing something weird earlier.”
It was at that point my Vorm… it wasn’t correct to simply call it a Vorm… Andraxsccl moved his head to stare at the boy.
“He is good,” managed Andraxsccl with difficulty.
“Wow, it spoke again!” said Rosanna gleefully.
Andraxsccl moved to her and slowly closed the space between them. He tilted his head from side to side while observing her attentively. She raised an unsteady hand, unsure of what Andraxsccl might do, as was I.
“She will be one, he too.”
I looked at him and it seemed he understood that I didn’t follow what he meant. He pressed his tail against my Dragon Knight Noble emblem. I looked at him amazed and he simply nodded in reply. These two would be the first of the new generation of Knights in a few years.
“So, do you like magic?” I asked, squatting down so I could be at their level.
“Yes,” Said Rosanna.
“No,” said the boy.
“What is your name young man?” I asked.
“Lee,” came the answer. It was almost like talking to Kinl with the single word answers.
“Why don’t you like magic Lee?”
“Magic is violent and people get hurt.”
“But it also makes pretty things,” blurted out Rosanna.
“She is right, look I will show you.”
Although I hadn’t begun to train with ice magic I knew the principles of it. It should not be too difficult to make an ice flower. I laid a hand on the grown and focused on bringing up water from the soil. It w
asn’t hard, in forests like these it usually rained a lot and the soil retained water because of that. The water started to rise and formed a puddle around my hand. Once I had enough water I started to give it the shape of a flower, then I focused very hard to make it stay still and it began to freeze slowly. When it had stopped, I looked at my handy work and hoped it was enough to impress Lee.
“See magic can be used to make nice things too,” I said, handing the flower to Lee who turned it and admired it to a great extent. I wasn’t sure if I had convinced him but I hoped I had. It would be strange seeing a Knight who was afraid of magic.
I stood up while they both contemplated the ice flower as if it was some famous painting. Andraxsccl bumped his head against my back and pointed to the sky with his head, “Time,” he said. I looked at him and wondered what he meant but when I looked up it hit me. It was late, the sun had already risen, which meant I had spent more than an hour here.
“Fly,” said Andraxsccl.
“Yeah, that consumes a tremendous amount of magic. I don’t want to be tired for our day in the capital, so maybe not.”
“Heart helps.”
I looked at the Ancient Dragon and realized the magical flow was very minimal. The Vorm should have collapsed long ago because of the small quantity of magic flowing to it. He said the heart was helping so perhaps the Dragon Heart was sustaining the spell for me, in which case I didn’t have to worry about magical consumption.
“Well I have to go.”
Lee tried to hand me the flower back.
“No, keep the flower; it’s a gift from me to you. It should not melt unless it comes into contact with a magical flame. Be good both of you and prepare yourselves for an exciting future,” I said after I had climbed on Andraxsccl’s back. Even though he was considerably smaller than Master and Zetzu, he was still big enough to accommodate me and someone else.
As Andraxsccl took flight the kids waved up at us. I wondered what sort of future destiny had in store for them. I guessed the outcome of this war and our ability to stop Thanos would be the forces that shaped their future. Our battles would decide if they grew up to be warriors or scholars or both. I hoped that it might be the latter. Although for some reason I was rather excited for what the future would bring to them. Perhaps being a Dragon Knight was starting to rub onto me.
It was a short flight to town, but from the sky it was seemed very far away. From up here one could appreciate how large the town really was. It was surrounded by fields. I wasn’t sure what they cultivated here but this entire region was famous for its vacta, which made it a particular wealthy area, as vacta had several medicinal uses. Something I had failed to notice and perhaps Master as well, was the keep in the middle of the town. It wasn’t particularly large but it was strange for a keep to be located in such a remote area of the Empire. I would have to ask him about it.
The flight back was pretty short considering I didn’t walk very deep into the forest and when I arrived over the town I was confronted with something I had failed to remember. I wasn’t supposed to display magic and nothing said magic like a flying miniature dragon that could speak.
“Master is going to yell at me for this,” then I thought about it and every time I thought he would get mad in the past he didn’t. I was hoping the streak would hold this time too, “Take us down slowly, all you dragons like to rush down like an arrow from a crossbow.”
It didn’t take long for the townsmen to notice the approaching Vorm and the town guard to mobilize. They were a rather ill prepared group of guardsmen. In the capital or academy, if someone were to approach by air on a Vorm they would be met by a volley of enchanted arrows if the person in question were unannounced. These men were just staring at me with swords drawn where they assumed I would land. To avoid causing any more panic I decided it would be prudent of me to land in the spot they anticipated I would land.
Andraxsccl lowered himself to the ground as slowly as possible, as to not startle the already frighten guardsmen.
“Dismount the dragon now!” shouted the man standing in the middle of the group.
“Sir, this is all a terrible misunderstanding. If you would allow me to explain, I am,” I tried to get out before being interrupted.
“You will do all the talking you please from the inside of a dungeon where you can’t hurt anyone,” came the frightened response, at which Andraxsccl emitted a low growl.
They were all clearly frightened but I thought suddenly dismissing the Vorm would cause an even greater stir. I had to try and explain to them who I was. I jumped off Andraxsccl’s back and tried again.
“Look, I am a Dragon Knight…”
“Enough! You will come with us silently or be slain where you stand.”
Although I knew fear made even the most rational of men forget themselves, I was surprised by the extent at which it had managed to control these men. They had completely forgotten their code of conduct, threating my life without due cause.
“Captain… He was seen together with two others asking question yesterday in the Tavern,” said a man from the far left.
By this time a sizable group of people had gathered to watch what the commotion was about, although they all maintained quite the distances from the guards and myself.
“This is your final warning. Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head,” ordered the captain.
“This is ridiculous! I have done nothing wrong and will not kneel,” I barked back.
With no warning five of his man charged me.
“Don’t do anything Andraxsccl!” I ordered the Vorm, as he was about to attack. I could restrain myself from causing harm to them but I wasn’t sure Andraxsccl would, judging from the two other times his consciousness had awakened.
All five of the men wore light armor and I could detect no trace of magic in them. So I would not have to use excessive amount of force. I cast a few strength and reinforcement spells on myself and drew the sword Vaurion had given me.
The first of the men brought down his sword in a manner similar to that of a blacksmith. I took a simple side step to avoid it and tripped him with my foot. The second man swung his sword from the side, this time I parried and used a maneuver I had seen an elf use, which I spun around and stroked the man at the base of his skull knocking him out cold. The remaining three stopped and opted to surround me, a strategy which might have worked if I hadn’t been able to use magic. I cast a simple gust spell which lifted all three men a good three meters in the air before dropping them like rocks and getting the air knocked out of them.
“Will you let me explain now?” I asked.
The answer I got was the largest of the guardsmen charging at me with a two handed sword. A show of force might make them reconsider letting me speak. I concentrated all of my strength spells to both of my arms and when the large guardsman took a swing at me I swung my sword with all my might. The resulting impact shattered the man’s two handed sword. As he stared at the broken piece of his blade I walked towards the captain unchallenged by the rest of his men.
“I guess now you will listen to what I have to say,” I said at the man.
Before he could muster the courage to reply, from behind him appeared Master and Kinl.
“Done having fun?” asked Master in a dull voice.
“Master, let me explain… I was just…“ I started.
“Save it, we saw the whole thing, and while the captain was in the wrong you could just have shown him your emblem and it would have solved the issue.”
“Well he didn’t let me speak,” I said in a low voice.
“Who are you people?” managed the captain.
“Ah yes, well my good captain you are standing before the Dragon Lord Shadow, a former elf Sentinel and the head of the Laiks household and Dragon Knight, Alexander Kerm. I believe you should be bowing and asking forgiveness,” said an elder woman walking towards us.
“My lady?” he asked.
“Just leave with what little dignity you
have left captain, I will deal with our very important guests.”
“Yes my lady...” said the captain as he stored his sword and collected his men.
I watched the guardsmen and the crowd gave me eyes of awe and wonder as they left. It seemed that knowing who I was cleared the fear out of them. I cast a minor relief spell on the five guardsmen I had gotten physical with and turned my attention to the elder lady. Usually when someone knew my name and Master’s they turned out to be important.
“An attentive Knight you are young Alex. Most from the old Order would have not shown restraint against any opponent even if it was a fellow man, much less heal their cuts and bruises. Oh don’t give me that look. You should have learnt by now things are never as simple as they seem,” she said with a smile, and then began walking toward Andraxsccl.
“It’s been a long time since I have seen you old friend. Even if it’s just a fragment of you. I still remember when we would race through the skies and dive into Crystal Bay. Those were the fun days and if I recall the best fish around,” she lamented as she pet a willing Andraxsccl, something that intrigued me since he didn’t like anyone save for Adria.
“What are you doing here Petra?” said Master
“I got tired of the Imperial court and came here to indulge in my hobby exploring ancient ruins. I find those here to be of particular interest. The king of the old Antrious kingdom lived here. A good six hundred years ago this small agricultural village was the capital of one of the richest human nations of the time and the only memory of that time is the keep which stands in ruins at the center of the town.”
“I recall the last king of Antrious eventually went crazy and turned to cannibalism,” noted Master.
“Minor details,” she said as she waved her hand around and continued petting Andraxsccl, whom seemed to enjoy it because from him emanated a small humming sound. “The beauty of a culture cannot be defined by one crazy individual,” she shot back, “but I will admit, I also came to meet the one who holds Andraxsccl’s heart.”
“News travels fast among you Ancient Ones,” said Master.
Time Of The Knights (The Dragon Knight Order Series Book 2) Page 9
