by C D Muller
You’ve certainly done a good job at it, Thor replied, but that still doesn’t answer my question about where we’ll go.
We’re going to Alfheim and we’re going to join the Imperial Air Force.
Are you mad? How do you expect us to just go there and expect that they will take us in as simple as that?
I’m still working it out.
Selena attempted to place her pack on Thor’s back until she heard Rahim call out to her.
“You can’t expect to leave me behind!”
Both Thor and Selena turned around to see Rahim trotting behind with his packed luggage as well.
“I heard you shuffling in my room earlier. I couldn’t sleep after hearing what that pompous oaf was saying about you. I know what you're trying to do and I can help you act like a boy. Let me come with you. I don’t want to deal with mum after you leave. If I stayed, I won’t hear the end of it.”
Rahim waved his hand with a slight gesture to show his annoyance.
“Wouldn’t Matu be angry with you?”
“Oh yes, she’ll be mad. But she can’t be mad at me if I’m not here. And besides, I’m the only one who knows how to read a map and I have a compass. You need me if you are trying to get anywhere.”
Selena sighed, knowing that he was right.
“All right. I will put you in charge of directions. But I don’t think Thor is strong enough to fly yet,” Selena said sadly.
Rahim nodded.
“I know but he’s bigger than a horse and could easily carry the both of us. We can stop by the Grand Exchange and figure out what to do from there.” When Selena reiterated her plan to Rahim, he exclaimed, “What?”
“It’s the only way that Thor and I can be safe without the Council looking for us,” Selena said sadly.
“You’re mad! That’s where they were going to take you in the first place! We’ll be right underneath the Council’s nose!”
“And yet, it’ll be the safest place to be. I don’t think Thor and I have much of a choice at the moment.”
Rahim opened his mouth as if to refute her argument but stopped when he saw her point.
“Fine! I’ll help you two get to Alfheim. But we still need to go to the Grand Exchange first and come up with a plan on how to do it. I just hope you’re right.”
Selena nodded and walked to Thor’s side, trying to figure out how to climb on his back.
Allow me to help you.
Thor lowered his upper body. She set her foot on top of his forearm and landed her other leg over his side like she would a horse. Rahim tried the same with Thor’s lowered talon and sat in front with their packs.
“Try not to knock us off,” Rahim said, shaking on his spot.
Selena heard a slight chuckle coming from her dragon as he stood up on all fours.
I wish my wings were strong enough to carry the two of you.
Selena could feel his muscles tighten under her legs right before Thor broke into a full gallop.
His rough scales dug slightly into the skin of her legs. Rahim wrapped his arms around Thor’s neck. The little stubs that were growing into spikes along the dragon’s spine were dull and short, but they kept hitting him in the head with every subtle movement.
Selena wrapped her arms around Rahim’s waist as Thor ran through the Black Bog forest away from the only home she had known.
The moonlight guided their path. It peeked through the clouds that blanketed the sky before the land was covered in darkness once more. The cold winds were harsh with the rain droplets shredding their faces like icicle daggers.
Selena took one last look back as they left for the woods and whispered: “We will be back soon, Matu. I promise.”
* * * *
The world was filled with shadow and gray.
A large group of about fifty horsemen lead by their Commander made their way to the nestling village. A sense of gloom lingered over their presence with a murder of crows circling above.
One of the birds flew to the nearest wooden pole and perched on top of it. Its glaring red eyes were fixed upon the riders as they rode passed.
Azrael pulled hard on the reins and the horse came to a complete stop with his companions following suit. He hopped off his saddle, looked around, and sniffed the air. An evil grin then played upon his crusty lips. His eyes were deep black holes with a crescent shaped scar running through his right eye. His black hair flowed behind him.
“Burn it down. She will not escape this time,” Azrael ordered.
A couple of the riders held torches in their hands. As they galloped past one of the houses, they threw one on the ground. Soon the dwellings caught the flames.
“We will find redemption with our Master. I will not fail again,” Azrael barked.
“We hope, for your sake. I don’t think we need to remind you of what he already did to you,” his companion muttered to him.
“I will never forget.”
Azrael held up his hands with lightning dancing around his finger tips. He pointed them towards the wreckage that was Gundisalvus’ old home and the sparks flew towards the rooftop. Part of the house caved in as the flames bounced around inside.
The crow quickly flew back towards Chaliss’ home and into the open window of the guest bedroom. Unfortunately, she was no longer there.
The bird changed shape and turned into Loki. He had the ability to shape-shift into three different creatures, mostly to disguise himself so he could not be caught by the order.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Chaliss walk down the hallway towards Selena’s room with a lit candle in her hand.
“Selena,” she whispered, knocking on her door. There was no answer.
“Selena, I’m not going to let them do this to you.”
She opened the door and her expression changed. She gasped when she ran over to Selena’s bed and saw that she was not there.
“Rahim!” she called out. Her son did not respond either, so she checked his room as well, only to find herself screaming with horror that they were both gone.
Loki scurried towards Chaliss.
“I need to get you out of here! The Obsidian Order… they’re destroying the entire village!”
“But what about Selena and Rahim?”
“No time!”
The air grew thick with smoke that seeped through the cracks of the doors and windows. “This way!”
Loki led her towards the front door.
The fire spread from rooftop to rooftop, catching everything in its path ablaze. Chaliss and Loki quickly ran out the door and headed towards the woods to escape.
Azrael stopped in front of Chaliss’ home before summoning another large blast of fire. Her house caught the flames and, within moments, it burned to the ground.
He then looked up at the clouds above him. Lightning flashed once more, striking the ground not far in front of him. Fire danced across the earth, growing into a large firewall that began consuming all in its path.
Chaliss had a look of horror on her face as the residents ran down the streets in chaos, away from the fire. High-pitched screams filled the air as the Obsidian Order destroyed their homes. Many of the horse-riders pulled out their concealed firearms and began shooting some of the people running towards the Black Bog. They dropped like flies. Many other cultists relied heavily on their elemental magic for attacks. There was a barrage of fire, electricity, ice, shadow; all intertwined in destructive harmony that brought nothing but misery and woe.
Loki and Chaliss ran out of Helshire Village. The rain did not fall hard enough to extinguish the flames. Soon enough, the entire settlement was burning red and yellow.
Chapter 10:
The Grand Exchange was the largest marketplace in all of Armageddon, where those from the other kingdoms could exchange goods and conduct business.
When they arrived, Selena was paralyzed in shock at the blitz of noise, music, colors, and people. Everywhere she turned, she saw many of the kingdom’s inhabitants and their businesse
s, selling whatever elaborate merchandise one could imagine. Carts upon carts, filled with precious products, were rolling up the cobblestone road and their owners asking whoever passed by if they wanted to buy. An elderly woman with many necklaces around her neck came up to Selena offering a piece of jewelry with beautiful stones of various colors.
“Made from precious dragon eggshells,” she said, and pointed to a beautiful black stone as the pendant, “this one is from the Gold Dragon egg! Very rare in all of Armageddon! Get your dragon shell necklaces at half price!”
The woman stormed over to a half-giant wearing an overcoat further down the road. Selena backed up a little and accidentally bumped into a grumpy, elderly man.
“Watch where you’re going!” the grumpy man shouted and slammed his shoulder against hers.
“This sweater was woven from pure unicorn hair! Only four hundred and ninety-five pieces of gold!”
“Dragon hide gloves!” another merchant shouted, “Get your dragon hide gloves! Very useful gloves for the protection of your hands when brewing potions!”
“Dragon scale earrings from the Black Dragon of the swamps in the Hinterlands!”
Thor slowly made his way through, careful not to bump into anyone. To Selena’s astonishment, no one in the Grand Exchange seemed to take notice of the dragon.
“I’ve been here a few times when I was younger,” Rahim said as he looked all around, “occasionally mum came here to buy rare jewelry.”
He pointed over at one of the shops off in the distance.
“I think if I remember correctly, that’s the black market. There, you can find dragon eggs for sale, illegal potions and rare enchanted equipment, along with who knows what else.”
“A black market shop that’s right here in the open at the Grand Exchange?” Selena asked, “if they sell illegal items, then why are they right here?”
“There’s something weird about that shop. One day it’s there, and the next, the shop is gone. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I’ve heard rumors before that it’s usually nicknamed ‘the Wandering Bazaar.'”
Although Selena herself was not into illegal merchandise, that did not stop her from wanting to at least browse through it to see for herself if the rumors were true. She just was not sure as to how a shop could ‘wander’ around the Grand Exchange, or even the Empire, for that matter.
Up ahead was a black building in the shape of a dragon with its head on the ground, the mouth serving as the entrance. Its wings stretched to the sky and covered the dragon-shaped building as if it were protecting itself. The eyes of the dragon were windows, with smoke steaming out of the pupils and pouring into the night sky.
“The Black Pub. We can stay there for a while. And… Ahem!” Rahim held out his hand as if he were expecting Selena to hand him something.
“What? Oh...”
She flushed in embarrassment when she handed over his pouch of coins.
Selena watched a couple of people walk in and out of the dragon’s mouth. On the side of the threshold with torches whose fire kept changing into different colors and sometimes changing their shapes. It changed into a dragon flying off, and then changed into a young woman who bowed and did funny little tricks.
Thor stopped in front of the Black Pub and lay on his stomach to let Rahim and Selena off his back. When Selena got off, she rubbed the side of Thor’s neck and grabbed their packs.
“Bring Thor to the back. They must have some kind of stall or something he can sleep in. Soldiers and dragons come here all the time to rest.”
Selena nodded and beckoned for her dragon to follow.
You should probably practice your voice when speaking to Rahim, Thor mumbled to her, you still sound like a young girl.
Selena gave him a strange look as he laughed, but she knew that he was right.
I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, Thor.
Nor do I, but it is fun to poke at you. At least no one from the Council will recognize you.
The two made their way past the wooden fence that led to the back where there was a decent-sized field. There were two large wooden sheds that were the perfect size for Thor to stay in. Selena did not want to think about her insane plan. She had not thought it all the way through but she knew that Thor was right. If her dragon was not able to recognize her at first, how would anyone else?
Make yourself comfortable.
Thor nodded his head and snorted.
I will go and see if I can get something to eat, but I will be here later for you when I finish hunting, he replied before galloping away. Selena watched as he found some sheep to chase after. They were raised as fodder for the soldier’s dragons.
After she was satisfied, she went into the inn.
The Black Pub contained four different floors. The first held the bar and restaurant while the remaining three contained different rooms that could be rented out to the public. A strong scent of pine needles lingered in the air. Selena loved the pinewood foundation of the building. Incense burned in holders. Everywhere Selena turned were statues of dragons made of marble, and up in front was a black granite statue of the Fire Lion. It was perched on a pedestal, hanging up above the fireplace. The flames from the hearth danced in the air, casting shadows along the wall.
A bar table stood against the wall with four different servers helping customers. A side door near the entrance of the Black Pub led to the kitchen. On the other side of the restaurant were glass tables that could seat five people at once. Every window had midnight blue curtains made of authentic unicorn hair.
She looked up and noticed that the ceiling was painted with stars that lit the path across the night sky.
Rahim walked over to her with a small paper.
“I got us a room. Follow me.”
The two walked upstairs and ventured towards the second door on the left. Rahim used the key they had given him to open it. The tapestries hung nicely on the walls, the complex embroidery making it feel as though it were regal.
Rahim closed the door and collapsed on the bed by the window.
“We should be fine here. Unless of course we’re captured by either the Lich or the Council.”
He gave out a laugh, but stopped when he noticed that Selena’s expression did not change from his joke.
“We’re now wanted by the Council,” Selena muttered.
“I’ve gotten into worse situations,” Rahim said with an annoyed gesture.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Selena replied.
“Argh! Be quiet!”
Selena rolled her eyes.
“You probably almost talked Vidar to death.” Selena laughed at her own joke.
“Ha, that’s very funny. But in all seriousness, we cannot go back to Helshire now. We just have to keep moving forward and get to Alfheim. Then we will have to get you enrolled in the Air Force. It shouldn’t be too hard! Just go in, say you already have your own dragon and that you wanted to do the right thing by enlisting for the Empire! It’ll be that easy!”
“Are you sure it’s that easy?” Selena asked, squinting at him.
“How hard could it be? You heard Vidar say so himself! There’s a draft going on! I can help you forge the documents that you need, and bam! Entry into the force.” Rahim smiled at his cleverness.
“That sounds like it’s going to be much easier said than done.”
“Why do you think I pointed out the black market?” Rahim asked, nudging Selena’s shoulder, “they have forgers all over the place in there! I’ll go and check it out before sunset and see how long it will take to get them.”
“Are you sure that this will be a good idea?” Selena nervously asked.
“Have I ever steered you wrong?” Rahim asked.
When Selena gave him a menacing glare, he waved his hands in defense.
“Please don’t answer that. But this will work, I guarantee it. I’ll be back later tonight to let you know what I found out, but first, we need to find you a new name to use.”
“A new name, huh?” Selena said and started pacing back and forth with her hand to her chin.
“How about… Elf Fire?” Rahim asked with a huge grin on his face.
“Elf Fire?”
“Because Alfheim is the city of the elves in the Fire Kingdom!”
She heard Thor snicker in the back of her mind.
Elf Fire? It suits you. Rahim is very clever with names.
Stop being sarcastic! You’re not helping.
“Uh… I’ll think of one myself,” Selena stuttered.
“Also, while you’re thinking of one, you need to work on your voice too,” Rahim pointed out, “because you still sound like a girl.”
“But I am a girl,” Selena said with an irritated tone.
“Yeah but that’s not what you’re trying to do here,” Rahim said, slapping his forehead.
“I know, I know,” Selena said.
“While you think of a name, I’m getting something to eat because my stomach is starting to eat itself,” Rahim said as he darted out of the room.
“I’m terrible with names,” she said to herself. She recalled some of the names of the first soldiers in the force from about two hundred years ago. The founder’s first name was Andric.
That sounds like a nice name, although I think it’s strange that you humans have another following it. I think you call it a ‘last name’ or a ‘surname.’
Thank you, and it’s a little more than that.
I don’t understand why your kind needs more than one name.
It’s because surnames can be traced back to those who you’re related to.
What about yours then? Does ‘Liongod’ trace back to anything?
There are no records of that name anywhere, sadly. I’ve tried searching for it before.
I see. Humans are very interesting. We dragons are unique in our own right and don’t need to be labeled with several names to distinguish between one another.
I know, it’s very interesting but wouldn’t you still like to know where you came from?
Maybe, but personally, I couldn’t care either way about my lineage. If anything, I wish I knew what breed of dragon I was. Of all the books you’ve read to me, I haven’t seen any dragon that looks like me.
