Time Of The Knights (The Dragon Knight Order Series Book 2)

by Gabriel Vicioso

  “It doesn’t matter Lux, even if our enemy got wind of our plans time spells cannot be stopped,” said Master.

  “They can be, but this one specifically cannot,” said Vicis.

  “Can you tell us already? Alex has had me guessing since yesterday. I would like to know what you are planning Lord Vicis,” said Adria.

  “There is really no need to call me Lord, Vicis is just fine by me. And the plan is simple; we get Alex to stop time for us.”

  “You have already said that before Lo-” Axcel began, before getting a bloody look from Vicis. “-Vicis, but how exactly is Alex supposed to stop time, aren’t you the time dragon? And if he stops time what do the rest of us gain? It’s not like he can just walk around an entire battlefield killing our enemies while we are all frozen in time.”

  “Much as we would like, no, Alex could only sustain such a massive spell for about ten seconds without great personal risk, and that’s with considerable amounts of magic drawn from dragons. The beauty of time is it works just like a storm. It can rain in a single spot or rain all around save for one specific spot. The Time stopping spell can be cast exclusively on Irkanians and Ancient Dragons or individuals. For ten seconds they could all stop moving,” said Vicis.

  “Ten seconds is not a lot of time,” said Adria and then she suddenly gasped; Chairman Zeak had tapped her shoulder with a water blade. It was still pretty alien to me, having a war meeting with teachers and other students. Usually I was the only one new to this but I could tell a few of the teachers looked uncomfortable as did Adria and Axcel. The Sentinels, princess Keren, and other Dragon Knights, including Ilean and Evey, stayed quite because they knew when it came time for the battle the ones giving them orders were going to be Vicis, Lord Lux, Master, and myself. Not that I looked forward to commanding people. I could fight but I wasn’t sure if I could tell others what to do during a battle.

  “My dear Adria, ten seconds for even the dullest of warriors is an eternity and more than ample time to strike a killing blow. The use of such a spell is called a Decisive Moment, because if used correctly even the most hopeless battle can be turned around. The trick of this one in particular is actually the casting time, is it not?” asked the Chairman, already knowing the answer.

  “Yes it is, even for me, casting such a spell takes time. Time is an ever moving force and getting ahead of it and stopping takes time, which is why it will be attached to another spell I will teach Alex.”

  “So you are basically staking the lives of our student, our own, and those of the citizens of the Empire on Alexander?” came a question from a teacher I did not recognize.

  “Unless you are willing to face off against the Irkanian leaders on contest of strength... Yes we are,” Master paused for a second as if letting it sink in, “Thanos is trying to convert Alex to his cause, if he can help it he will not kill Alex, while if it were any of us they would strike us down without a thought,” said Master.

  “Can he really pull it off?” asked the same man.

  “He is sitting right here,” I said. I heard a chuckle from Adria and Axcel and saw an amused expression from Master, “I don’t know if I can stop time or kill an ancient dragon, but I do know I will not give up trying until I am long past dead,” I said, putting the hardest face I could.

  That seemed to calm their minds, as the questioning ceased.

  “Now to address the question of the combat abilities of the students,” said Vicis, “It is my understanding that you think only a few of the first years and most of the second and third years are prepared for actual combat. Is that right Alex?”

  “Yes it is,” I said looking at the faces of Adria and Axcel, which were not happy.

  “Why? They have basically received the same training as you. If not more, as they have stayed here training and studying while you were off in Alexandria and Zulia,” said Professor Tim.

  “Because, unlike them I do know what the Irkanians, Death Knights, and rogue ancients are capable of,” I responded calmly.

  “You would do well to listen to what he says. Not only is Alexander in a unique position in terms of power, but he has also been spending a lot of time fighting for his life. Those sorts of events carve a survival instinct in you,” said Commander Purge.

  “I agree with the Commander. You have only heard of the power of an ancient or a Death Knight for that matter.”

  They kept the back and forth going for a while. It amused me how people who had never gone out to fight could have an opinion on the matter.

  “Silence all of you!” shouted Lord Lux, “You look like a bunch of babbling baboons. You want a test of his strength? Aside from the ones he has passed already. Pick someone to fight him, a duel. It will put all your minds to rest about whether or not we should send all your students to die fighting or just those that will fight back before dying!”

  “Lux, that was a bit harsh may-” started Vicis.

  “I am weary of all this squandering as if we didn’t know what we are doing. Let them fight it out. If they think they can take an ancient, then surely they can defeat the kid who was barely able to survive his last encounter. Mind them, an encounter which almost killed 2 dragons, the strongest of elves, and ended in the death of one of their brightest.”

  While he was harsh everyone did fall silent. He seemed to have shocked them all into submission.

  Master, in human form, cleared his throat.

  “Yes well, now that that is out of the way, who do you think should accompany us Alex? Please do keep in mind I have seen and fought the same adversaries as you so I will know if you are keeping certain people out of it for personal reasons,” he said.

  “I doubt the few people I might want to leave out would forgive me for that,” I said, looking at the now smiling faces of Adria and Axcel.

  It took forever but once we had a list and Master looked it over, the final draft of the plan was agreed on. We would deliberately leak information of my being in BlackStorm Keep accompanied by several dragons, Knights, and Sentinels, while the largest of our forces moved elsewhere to counterattack when Thanos hunted for me. It was a plan to end this war before it got a chance to start. And if it worked, within three weeks I would be either buried and forgotten or sitting in triumph in the Dragon Hold. I had mere weeks to learn all that I could in an effort to stand up again the might of Thanos and Rafurious in the event worse came to worse and they both came after me.

  How It Works

  “You know, it’s been three days of this already. Maybe we can take a small break?” I asked between pants.

  “I have yet to warm up Alex so quit the complaining. I doubt Lux will have the sense to dull his blows as much as I have,” said Master.

  “What do you mean Lux?” I asked.

  “Oh? How did you expect to learn to fight Thanos and Rafurious at the same time with only me fighting you?”

  “I don’t know Master; I have barely slept since we arrived at the academy. It’s been training all day and when it is not I am supposed to attend those boring meeting where you talk about the logistics of war all night.”

  “You will have enough time to complain when you are dead,” said Lord Lux as he approached us. He stopped next to Master and surveyed the area. We had picked one of the most remote parts of the Dragon Hold for our practice matches, both to avoid damaging parts of the school and to avoid onlookers. That however did not deter those with access to the Hold to come and watch, as had been the case with all the Dragon Knights, Sentinels, elves, and Guardians who came here to watch and practice alongside us.

  “On guard Alex. Here we come,” said Master before vanishing into his own shadow.

  “Always with the theatrics; I prefer the more direct approach,” said Lord Lux as he came at me with a sword constructed of light as well as a light based Brunas.

  My darkness blade clashed with his light blade. The friction of the two opposing spells caused a gust of wind to emanate from the clash.

  “Not bad, but light a
nd darkness magic are opposites, what happens when two opposites clash fool?” he yelled as he pushed his sword harder against mine.

  “The one with more strength will shatter the weak one,” I managed, while kicking Lord Lux on the stomach to break away from him. Under any other circumstances I would have been very afraid for my life when kicking a Dragon Lord but it seemed when in combat titles didn’t matter for either of them.

  As Lord Lux stumbled back from the kick, Master Shadow came out from inside my shadow which barely gave me enough time to dodge his blade.

  “Alright then two on two it will be,” I said.

  Within seconds of saying that Andraxsccl had formed, mighty as always although considerably smaller than usual because of all the constant training but still about three quarters the size of Master.

  He pounced on Master, who reverted back to his dragon form to deal with the large and unique Vorm. I heard some vicious growling and thumping as the two dragons tumbled across the hold in an effort to gain leverage over the other. The few people that had been watching were now running about trying to avoid both dragons.

  I then drew the Izaanion blade Vaurion had given me and charged Lord Lux while casting all the strength and fortitude spells I could manage without risk, plus a darkness based Brunas. While the pure magic armor was the most resilient, it was also the most magically consuming so I avoid using it yet.

  This time when our blades clashed I was able to stand my ground.

  “Much better Alexander, divide and conquer are the basics of war. A more adequate blade, set of spells, and new armor to combat those superior to yourself will help. However I am still stronger then you, so what do you do now?” asked Lord Lux as he broke our blade lock and engaged in the dance of swords with me, blocking, parrying, attacking, dodging, spinning, and attack again.

  I did my best to keep up but I could feel as his blade struck my Brunas it drained me a little bit more every time, and he managed to make contact with the magical armor. Were it not for said armor I would be covered in cuts by now.

  I broke off our engagement momentarily at the sound of a roar of defeat as Master had finally pinned Andraxsccl under his weight and caused the magical dragon to dispel. Master then reverted back to his human form and walked over to us blade in hand.

  He made a gesture with his hands which asked, “What are you going to do now?”

  I took a deep breath. I had not wanted to bring out my last ace in the hold, but I had no choice. I knew if these two dragons figured out I was holding back they would keep this torment up for a lot longer.

  I concentrated momentarily on the Izaanion blade and then said in a normal voice, “Vaben.” Immediately, an exact copy of the blade on my right hand appeared in my left. It was the first time I had tried to cast the indestructible weapon outside of the private lessons I had managed to coax out of Chairman Zeak.

  I took the stance appropriate for handling two swords and just waited. I was pleased when they looked at each other in surprise. I wasn’t sure what exactly it was, the fact I could use Vaben, use two blades or both, but it sure was nice to catch both dragons off guard.

  “Well I wasn’t expecting that, you are definitely full of surprises Alex,” said Master as he ran towards me with Lord Lux charging me at the same time.

  I also charged as Chairman Zeak had advised me. The only way to take on two skilled swordsman using two swords was to break their center, which is exactly what I aimed to do by stepping in the middle.

  It all happened all too quickly but once I got within both of their guards it was an elegant dance of blocking and attacking, one that if I stopped I would lose and alas it was only a matter of time before I reached my limit for the day. Just as the thought was abandoned by my brain, Master struck the magical blade and it shattered and before I knew it I had two blades to my neck.

  “I surrender,” I said, dropping the real Izaanion blade and raising my hands.

  “I wouldn’t say you will successfully be able to fight Thanos and Rafurious, but at least you can stall any regular dragon for a while,” conceded Lord Lux.

  “I wonder where all that fighting spirit came from. You could have definitely done a lot better against me had you been more forthcoming with that Vaben,” said Master.

  “It’s always good to have one final surprise,” I said, putting my hands down as they dispelled their blades and the remains of the crowd clapped.

  “Well you have earned yourself a small break. Let us go make some of these by standers sweat a bit,” said Master as he and Lord Lux walked towards the largest concentration of Dragon Knights and Sentinels.

  Walking over to one of the larger trees with shade, I sat down to rest a bit, when a towel fell on my head.

  “You should dry yourself, you are covered in sweat. I wouldn’t want the hero to catch a cold,” said the all too familiar voice of Adria.

  I pulled the towel from my face and wrapped it around my neck, “Can’t be much of a hero with a cold, can I?”

  “Well that’s a surprise,” She said as she leaned against the tree. “I didn’t expect you would have ever considered yourself to be a hero. Whatever happened to that shy and quiet personality of yours?”

  “I am not a hero, that’s for sure,” I said, recalling Blight’s lifeless body, “As to my personality, it’s all still there but the world has forced me to bury it and change it into a make shift leader of sorts.”

  “Well, you have become awfully gloomy as of late, I don’t suppose that is part of being a leader?” she said with a tease. She leaned forward and stuck her tongue out at me.

  I will admit it made me giggle a bit seeing the silly expression in her face but she was right, since when had I become this willing to accept leadership and eternal gloominess that seemed to follow me around?

  “But you know, a lot of people believe in you, even those that don’t really know you,” she said pointing to a group of Knights and Sentinels sparring with Master and Lord Lux. “Even if you think you are a make shift leader they all train and practice for you to lead them in battle. The fact you are here, alive, and unwilling to give up… It gives us hope,” she said, sounding wiser then what her age was.

  “I guess that is so,” I said, although I wasn’t sure if I was answering her or myself.

  “You know… the elves princess that came to the academy told us about what happened in Zulia,” she paused, “In detail…”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, you saved a lot of people, even Lord Shadow and another dragon.”

  “I am not sure about that, to me it seemed like they saved me.”

  “That’s not what the princess said. Even when you could barely walk, you choose to help those you thought need helping. Even after you could no longer stay wake or walk,” she said as her voice began to crack, I turned around to see the tears forming in her eyes, “You kept walking, with no regard for yourself. Alex, how are you supposed to keep your promise to me if you don’t care about yourself!?”

  I stood up and thought about what I should say but I couldn’t come up with anything good. “Adria…. I ju-”

  “No, don’t say you’re sorry. You would be lying. It’s not like you to avoid a call for help even if it’s a silent call. You could be dying and you would still try to help,” she said, wiping the tears with her hands and her voice returning back to its original tone, “I just wish you would think about us sometime,” she said as she pushed past me and walked away.

  I stood there like an idiot and watched as she stormed off yet again. I had so many things to say and yet my voice seemed to fail me when it mattered.

  “If you were waiting for the right moment, I would say you just stood there waving it good bye,” said Axcel, standing where Adria had been a second ago.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” I said, using the towel to cover my blushing face.

  “Yeah, sure Mr. Hero. You know, for a guy with so many talents you sure are bad at relationships.”

&n
bsp; I felt the all too familiar magical tug in my chest of my Dragon Heart and sure enough Andraxsccl formed right beside me, but a miniature version of the ever growing magical body of his.

  “I happen to agree with him on this one, Mr. Hero.”

  “I would prefer if it if you could refrain from calling me that,” I said, annoyed and confident my blushing face was sufficiently masked from my rubbing the towel over my face.

  “You know we are connected in all aspects so I know exactly how you are feeling right now,” said Andraxsccl.

  “And I could dispel you if felt like it too. Remember that?” I said, upset at how easy it was for the Ancient Dragon to get under my skin, but he was right. He knew exactly how I felt. Question was why I was having such a hard to accepting it myself?

  “So what are you doing here Axcel? I was under the impression you were busy getting all the Guardians assigned to their posts.”

  “Yeah, but I had to consult with Adria something so I came to find her. Naturally she was in the one place where she can always be found.”

  I gave him a puzzled look. Asking as to why she would come all this way into the Dragon Hold before it became a training ground and then I realized what he meant.

  Andraxsccl leaned his head as if he was going to whisper something into my ear but then spoke loudly, “he means, she is always with you, you boneheaded idiot.”

  “I know!” I shouted back, and then regretted doing so immediately, as everyone turned to look at us, but quickly returned back to their training when they saw Andraxsccl. Truth was, all trained Knights and Sentinels had read about Andraxsccl and they knew quite well of his distaste for humans and elves alike. As such there was always tension in the air when he was out and about. I had tried to explain he was different from the original Andraxsccl but that didn’t seem to help much.

  “Who would have ever thought I would see the proud and mighty Andraxsccl joking with a human,” said Vicis, walking towards us in her human form. She avoided her dragon form as often as she could within the academy as she drew a lot of attention, something she hated profoundly.