by Ryan Johnson
Marina’s face blushed a little red.
“Father, how could you ignore me?” asked Stephanie.
“And you seem to have already met the powerful fighter, my daughter. I’m not ignoring you, my princess. I’m admiring how much of a daredevil he is: taking risks and blowing fire. I had never known he would be so strong of a fighter. I needed to need how strong he was and see if the rumors were true.”
“I can assure you, Your Highness; the rumors about me are true” said Vaeludar. Vaeludar soared into the sky and blew out a wide, red-orange, thinly-stretched fire.
His fire was very big and wide it covered a third of the sky from the humans gazing at him. Then he landed a short distance from the king and the two princesses. With one whip of his tail, a hole had had plumped.
Vaeludar brought his hand and suddenly brought up a large rock shaped of a Minotaur. It was of the same shape and size but in stone form. Vaeludar made sure they were watching, along with Geraldus. He smiled and pulled out the sword, slashed the stone with ease, and placed the sword back into the scabbard.
The upper part of the Minotaur-shaped rock slid and split in half. The upper half fell from the standing bottom half. Before he walked back to the people watching him, Vaeludar snipped his tail into the bottom half.
The rock exploded into smaller chunks of rock in the dozens.
After showing the people a small demonstration of his power, Vaeludar walked back to King Uragiru, Stephanie, Marina, and Geraldus. “How did you like that?” asked Vaeludar.
King Uragiru was sparked with the greatest amazement. “More powerful than I thought you would be. I’d never thought a hybrid would be able to go solo against a two-legged cow.”
“I’d never thought I would be this powerful, let alone now wielding something that makes me stronger than ever,” said Vaeludar, showing the sword he had found. “I have a weapon of my own and I hear there are some things happening around the island.”
“Many raids and thieving are spreading across Shimabellia,” said Geraldus. “Every village of the island are being raided and attacked, and this village should have been the largest one there; the Minotaur, the four giants, and the thieves were going to attack my village. Elsewhere, smaller raids consist of only human thieves.”
“And I have heard from Geraldus and the Dragon King what is being currently planned and the proper action that was needed to counter these small raids against my home,” said the king, brushing his white beard. “But going to the Northern Region is strictly forbidden. Anyone who travels there never returns.”
“This is a great concern, but it seems Ralenskrit and Belverda made it to the Northern Region and made it make down,” said the Dragon King. The giant lizard descended with his escort of bodyguards. His eyes had shown great concern. “Those two scientists made it up and down from the forbidden place, and the map we’ve shown you lays an artifact from the White Knights themselves. We all know Lusìvar is coming back and we need someone with the strongest manpower to go against him, and Vaeludar seems to be the only logically choice here.”
“Wait, hold up,” said Vaeludar.
The two kings stared at Vaeludar stunned.
“Don’t go sending me to the Northern Region as if I was some kid. I’m a living being as well. I’m not a weapon to be used for war.”
“Vaeludar, don’t talk back to the kings that way,” said Geraldus.
“No, Geraldus, he’s right,” said the Dragon King. “There’s much wisdom in him, and we’re forcing him into something against his will. The Three Gods gave us freewill and we are taking it away from him. We aren’t his parents and they haven’t been around since they left him on your doorstep.”
“And it is my responsibility to take care of him under my roof,” said Geraldus. “I’ve raised him since he was a kid. He once walked a twenty mile distance from my village and had never been in the capital city. He had never seen the outside world. I’m not sure if he is ready to leave this village yet.”
“But I was ready to leave this village the day I killed the Minotaur, which had its eyes bent on the destruction of this village,” said Vaeludar. “It is time for me to see the outside world. But what people say is true: the return of a Shadow King? Supposed to be in those tales I’ve heard about. Then what am I to argue with people who lived a lot longer than I have.
“If no one will go to the north, I will go and fetch these armor artifacts. If Lusìvar is more powerful than I am and seeks to conquer the two islands, then I will go to the north and get myself that artifact, even if I have to go alone. And when I go, I am going of my own freewill and for future generations of life that don’t deserve to be enslaved.”
The adults were stunned by Vaeludar’s sudden change of mind. They couldn’t tell what was talking: a human or a Dragon. Marina looked happy for Vaeludar’s decision. Princess Stephanie took no comment in the matter, since she was still drenched in cold water.
“And there is one more thing before you depart on your mission, Vaeludar,” said King Uragiru.
“What is that, your Highness?” asked Vaeludar.
“You’re going to need some people to go with you on this quest, and I have the perfect people to go with you,” said King Uragiru.
SIX COMPANIONS
A
fter the little meeting, the Dragons flew away, and the humans and Vaeludar went into Geraldus’s house and close to the fireplace with a dimming fire lit. Before entering, King Uragiru ordered his guards to wait outside. Vaeludar, King Uragiru, and Geraldus stood by the fireplace to discuss of what was going to happen while Marina kept her distance from the males and sat down.
Before they did, Eliana was at the fireplace at the time and she saw Princess Stephanie wet. She had a thought Vaeludar was the one to get a princess wet. So Eliana led the princess away.
King Uragiru and Geraldus sat on two close wooden chairs. Vaeludar decided to stand on his own dragon feet. They was to seat for him to sit, due to his long tail that stretched long and a heavy weight Vaeludar felt in his legs.
“These companions you’ve mentioned,” said Vaeludar.
“The right people with the right talent with the right personalities should travel with you on your journey to the Northern Region,” said the king. “They’re the best of the right people a king can ask for. There is a troubling barrier in the mountain range bordering the Northern Region that destroys the power of flight but it seems Griffins can only fly. You’re going to be walking through the mountains bordering the known Regions and the unknown Northern Region.”
“Well, I have indestructible skin. I have other abilities the normal Dragons don’t have. I have wings that make me fly. I was planning on going alone. I guess people are welcome to join if they can keep up on the ground. ”
Marina and King Uragiru remained silent.
“What’s with the deranged looks? I gave a suggestion of how to travel.”
“Traveling alone to unknown lands is a dangerous idea,” said Geraldus, stroking the burning wood in the fireplace with a metal stick.
Then Princess Stephanie was running back downstairs, dressed in one of Eliana’s robes. She looked at Vaeludar angrily. This princess was about to unleash a fury of dragon fire at the human dragon hybrid, although Vaeludar had doubted dragon fire could harm him.
“You!” she said in a furious tone. “You ruined my dress! Do you know how it took for my maidens to make that dress?”
“Did you know how much of a poor fashion sense I have?” asked Vaeludar, showing her his half-human torso. “I am nearly naked, princess. My half human body is as bare as a wolf without fur. I don’t wear human clothes since dragon wings are permanently attached to my back and near my shoulders. Also, I am facing against a great crisis that is worse than just a wet dress. In other words, the islands are in grave danger from a shadowy threat.”
The princess was getting angrier by the second. Her head was going to blow right from her shoulders
and leave a giant hole in Geraldus’s ceiling. She is quite the spoiled princess and Vaeludar couldn’t bear the thought of being the groom of this spoiled princess.
“Also I will never be your lawful wedded husband. I will only marry the girl I love, not the girl who just wants me. And for another thing, I lack some necessities a full human had. So what’s the point of marrying a full human when I can marry something that is half human? I will marry the girl I love and not the girl who just wants me for my magic power I wield. I won’t choose you, and I never will.”
Stephanie was about to unleash her fury at the no-good hybrid she was now considering a real outlaw, disobeying a royal command from a royal princess of royalty. She darted to him.
Before she could take another step forward, Vaeludar drew the sword from its scabbard. The blade’s end point was pointing directly at Stephanie’s heart, if she moved an inch she would die.
Marina was struck with a shocking wave of wind up her spine.
“This is a magic sword I found inside a cave, along with an arsenal of weapons and I chose this to be my primary weapon,” said Vaeludar. “And it is now mine. I learned of some legendary weapons choose the users and I happened to be its new user. With this sword in my hands, I could be able to kill some long-dead king and maybe you as well. But as the good-looking specimen and good-hearted hybrid I am, I’m going to let you live under the condition you do not bother me again. Good-bye.”
Vaeludar sheathed his sword, slung it around his back and tied it down, before walking to the front door without looking back. He wasn’t going to hear another word of what people King Uragiru had found to go with the hybrid. Going outside, Vaeludar saw a small battalion of soldiers looking at him, from his perspective, Vaeludar thought the soldiers were ready to attack him.
The hybrid moved a few steps forward and the soldiers stretched from a single-file position into two opposite lines, making a pathway for him. He halted suddenly at the quick movement he saw the soldiers reposition themselves of making a pathway for him.
At the end, Vaeludar saw his two oldest foster bothers and two men around the age of thirty-three Vaeludar walked through the pathway without hesitation. When he got to the end, the two men bowed to him as did Alaric and Flavius. The men seemed to be twins and were very pale skins with orange hair.
The soldiers behind him even bowed to the glorious hybrid. Then everyone stood back up.
“Everyone knows you for what you did and they gave you a nickname for doing a single thing: Minotaurslayer,” said Flavius. “You’re famous all around the island for killing the Minotaur. You won’t be able to escape the spotlight anywhere.”
“That means I won’t be able to escape the eyes of a lot of female attractors. The king did bring the Siren with me, and if she ever finds me looking, she’s going to let her teeth do the talking.”
“And we already found the six companions for you to go with,” said King Uragiru, coming from behind.
King Uragiru, Geraldus, and Marina came walking behind him. Vaeludar saw Marina close to the king, thinking she may have heard him, and he could tell he was right: Marina gave a “Don’t you dare cheat on me” face.
For Marina, the Siren was dressed as a fine huntress. She wore brown trousers a light amount of emerald armor garments that covered a small portion of her upper body, left lower arm, left thigh, and emerald armored boots she wore on her feet. And a small skirt that hung like a cape from an emerald belt around her waist.
He didn’t know how Marina managed to change clothes that quickly. Maybe she was wearing the clothes under the dress, which she may have ripped, but Vaeludar wasn’t going to question it.
After the three familiar faces arrived, two more figures walked behind the king, Geraldus, and Marina: a big-bulky man in humongous battle-armor and a Griffin. The big man and the Griffin walked beside the king, and they were soon joined by the two other men who were standing next to Flavius and Alaric.
“These are your companions, Vaeludar,” said Geraldus. “And you will be able to lead this squad to find those armor artifacts. Vaeludar, I may not have been able to give you anything your heart desired under the seventeen years you’ve lived with me, but that will change because the is giving you your own group to lead.”
Vaeludar was speechless.
“I've watched you grow. Now it is time for me to let you go and allow you to venture out on your own. Go on and save this island from a terrible fate, otherwise we face a major crisis in the future.”
“A month ago, I was an outcast,” said Vaeludar. “Today, I am an icon. If that Minotaur hadn’t attacked this village, I’d still be in the closed room, shunning myself from the outside world. Where should I go first to recover these lost artifacts?”
“King Uragiru and I had thought that you should travel to the unknown Northern Region first. Go to this Lost Castle and find that armor artifact. We’re going to keep these raids at bay until you return. We’ll try to find this laboratory, but right now there are so many raids going on, we are going to have to be put the search on hold.”
“Well, let’s get on with it,” interrupting King Uragiru. “These are your companions: Flavius volunteered to come, the Siren I raised as a second daughter Marina, my two fast-fighting men Wonomi and Monico, and my strong-fighting machine Galvin. The Griffin is one of the best flying scouts: Flarefur. They are your soldiers now.”
“Then I am honored to have them,” said Vaeludar, smirking. He saw Flavius walking beside Marina. “I’m surprise you two are coming, Flavius and Marina. I’ve never expected a Siren and a second son of Geraldus would be joining me on this big rash mission. I really should be honored by this group.”
“I wanted to go see what lies beyond the borders instead of doing the same thing here every day,” said Flavius. “I’m bored and I want to see something new and do something dangerous instead of feeding the horses in the stable and watching over the twin boys getting into trouble all the time.”
“I feel alive and very livid when I’m ever with you,” said Marina.
Vaeludar nodded. “Now the question is: how do we get to the northern mountain border? I can’t transport everyone there at once.”
“The Dragons will guide you towards the edges of the mountain-ranges that border the mountain border,” answered the Dragon King, flying down with seven of his bodyguards. “We will take you to the borders of the island.
“From thereon, you will be on your own. Take some advice: if you see any people or any creatures, don’t trust them unless they mention the names of Ralenskrit and Belverda. I don’t know what lies beyond those mountains.”
“Don’t worry,” said Vaeludar. “With my powers and armored skin, we will be back before you know it.”
“Good then, let us take you to the far mountains. But first we will take you to the King’s Castle to get some supplies you won’t be able to find here. Your journey to this Lost Castle may take weeks or months, so you don’t want to end up starving in the wilderness.”
Three of his bodyguards laid their bellies on the ground.
“When you’re ready to leave,” said the Dragon King, “get on their backs.”
Vaeludar suddenly flew into the air and saw to it to fly himself there instead of riding on a full grown dragon’s back. “I couldn’t be more ready than I am now,” he said.
Flavius, with Wonomi and Monico, got one Dragon, Galvin got his own Dragon, and Marina on another. The Griffin, Flarefur, having wings of his own didn’t need a Dragon and went into his own flight.
“Before we depart for the capital city, is everyone ready to go and have everything they need?” asked the Dragon King.
Everyone nodded their heads.
“That is easy enough, but if you forget anything, we Dragons are not going to be making any second stops back to this village or stopping at any other village. It’s going to be a few-hour ride to the city. After we make that stop, it is off to the mountain border, and you people
are on your own from there.”
“Now you’re sounding like a father reminding his son or daughter before departing on a vacation trip,” said Vaeludar.
“That’s a big problem with lots of humans: they travel without remembering to take what is needed on a long trip,” said the Dragon King. “Since everyone is saying no and there is nothing to get here, we must be off before the sun sets; traveling in the dark will be most troubling. Dragons: let’s fly out and meet at the capital city of Shimabellia.”
The Dragon King went into flight, as well as his bodyguards. The Dragons all went flying toward the northeast, toward a high towering castle that would be conserved a few week’s journey.
UNEXPECTED EVENTS
T
he Dragon King and his guards were nearing a nine leveled, squared-wall temple-looking castle. It was long as a hundred miles wide. It consisted of nine walls, spiraling from a south entrance towards a high point where the real castle was. Each level went thinner on the next level. It was a wide, long pyramidal castle built over dozens of miles of landscape. On the top, there was a regular looking castle built atop the square, pyramidal castle: a castle over a castle. And it was the capital city of Shimabellia.
As they descended, Vaeludar floated above the levels he saw many marketplaces, blacksmiths, and tradesmen on every section of each squared wall. On the lower levels, there was surprisingly farmland.
Basically, the capital city had the supplies needed to survive for years, if it was ever invaded by an army. At the looks of the capital city, it would take more than a hundred thousand men just to get to the third level, which had tens of thousands of soldiers.
The Dragon King and his bodyguards landed on the fourth level where there was a long platform with other Dragons. The Griffin landed on another where Griffins were coming and going. There were a handful of human soldiers on each platform meant for each flying creature of the sky.
