“Your father died as well?”
She nodded.
“Well, Astrid of the bow, we have quite a bit in common. We’re both oddballs with dead parents,” he teased, offering a small chuckle to help ease the sadness of the moment.
“I suppose we are. I still don’t believe you’re over three hundred though. Who knew that Caelestans could live so long?”
“It’s a little-known fact, because we’re so prone to being killed. We have sensitive immune systems, and battle is not our forte.”
“That’s interesting, so you can die easily, but you have the potential to live for a long time.”
He nodded. “Yes, enough about me though. So, if your mother and father died when you were young, how did you survive in the volcano by yourselves? Did you hunt? Is it like Telluris in there?”
“A bit, as in it is definitely land oriented. Only we do not have beasts like the Toverak, or the rodent-like Barinella, or your sky-born Averectas.” She shuddered again as she said the name. “We have goats, birds, and mice. My father grew fruit trees, and my mother had a garden with herbs and spices of all assortments. I’ve never learned how to distinguish them all, to this day. We survived because Melifera cared for us, like we were her own.”
“Who is Melifera?”
“A friend of my father’s. She was like a mother to us. Only, as we got older, she spent more and more time away. Returning only to teach us battle skills, or to bring more books for us to learn from. I miss her terribly, but not as much as I miss my mother. The woman whom I barely have any memories of.” Astrid wiped away a single tear. “Melifera was good to us though, and she taught us so much. She prepared my sisters and I, for who we were to become, and what we should expect the day we left the volcano. She knew all along she would send us out into the kingdoms to try to save all of Verdil.”
“That must have been hard for her—to raise you and teach you for the sole purpose of letting you go when it was time,” he said.
“I never thought of it that way. I suppose it was a loss for her, just as it was a loss for us to have to leave her behind. I can only hope that with all that has happened, with all I’ve done, and all my sisters have done, would make her proud.”
“Is Melifera dead as well?”
“No, not at all, but she often spoke of how her time was ending, and soon she would go to be with the Unseen Ones. It was a cold truth she taught us the moment we could understand what that would mean.”
“That is a lot for a young child to understand, even more for a young woman to carry as she leaves her homeland to fight for a kingdom, she knew nothing of until she arrived. I commend you, Astrid.” The expression on his face was one of pure awe.
“No, Quimby, you mustn’t think like that. Yes, it was our destiny, but I am far from ready to do what is needed, I can only hope to aid you, and others like you, in restoring Caelestis and bringing peace. I feel that is one area that I will fail greatly.” Astrid looked down at her hands, which she had folded in her lap during the conversation.
“As I told you, dear Astrid, you cannot equate the amount of death and the battle to your failure to bring peace. The world is not yours to carry on your shoulders. These things happen because change happens. So, trust me, and trust yourself. I know that you have this kingdom’s best interest at heart, and I do not believe that Melifera would have allowed you to leave the volcano if she did not think you could do it, and did not believe you to be ready.”
Astrid processed what he said for a long moment, realizing that he was right, and wondering why she always found herself coming back to this self-doubt that she couldn’t seem to let go.
“We all doubt ourselves from time to time, it is the mark of a great leader.” It was his turn to reach across the table and place his hand on her arm in an act of comfort. Her eyes met his, and she knew then what she had always known, even if she never voiced it. She would be the new leader of Caelestis.
It was inevitable.
23
Svana
You would do almost anything for friends or family. You want to help them—to protect them. But all that pales in comparison to true love. You will put all your goals on hold and do absolutely anything to protect and save those whom you love—no matter what the cost.
Nuldronian, The Protector, Fifth Dragon Elder, Sixth Age of Verdil
Although Percival and Eloise were clearly bothered by the presence of a dragon, they offered him anything he could desire, which he politely turned down. Not wanting to waste any more time, Svana gathered her things and headed down the stairs, Lingaria sitting on her shoulder, a look of smug happiness on his face.
“You’re enjoying that they’re slightly afraid, aren’t you?”
“Well, it can’t hurt, considering that you’re not afraid at all. If all humans think we are just little soft balls of warmth, everyone will want a dragon. It could prove to be very dangerous for my kind.”
“I understand that… what I don’t understand is why you’re still visible,” she snapped.
“I suppose you’re right. I’m disappearing now. You may tell them the truth if you wish and remember that I am here for whatever happens next.”
“Thank you, Lingaria. I appreciate you.” She steeled her reserve to go find Jakobe, descending the rest of the way down the steps.
“Any idea where they could have taken him?” Svana called loudly, not seeing Percival or Eloise anywhere.
“No,” Eloise called from the front of the tavern. “Hold on, just gathering some supplies for our journey.”
A loud banging echoed from the locked doors of the tavern. Svana jumped, startled by the sound. Percival and Eloise exchanged worried glances.
“Help, someone help! Percival, are you in there!?”
“Dorian? What are you doing out there? I thought you died in battle?”
“Please let me in! I have information, it’s Jakobe! I think they are going to kill him!”
Svana’s face drained of color. “Please, let him in!”
Percival nodded his head, hurrying to the doors and unlocking them. Dorian burst in, black hair matted and disheveled, dirt and blood on his arms and clothing.
“What happened to you? I saw you fighting, and then you disappeared.” Percival hugged the man, relief evident on his face.
“I thought I was dead, and then I woke up, and I felt this sort of tingling all over me. I can’t explain it, but one minute there was a sword slicing through me, and I was dying—and the next thing I knew—I wasn’t.”
“Oh, my word, it was my sister, Hekla! She saved you! She has the ability to save people from the brink of death, but it’s limited. You’re lucky she got to you when she did,” Svana said.
“Would she be a blue-haired, blue-eyed beauty?”
“Yes, that’s my sister!” Svana exclaimed excitedly.
Svana thanked the Volcano Goddess that it had worked in her favor, especially now.
“Then I suppose I owe you one. You’re the one who angered the king aren’t you?” His left eyebrow raised.
“No, I assure you… anything I said or did, I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t want there to be a battle. I wanted to bring peace, but King Armand…. He cannot be reasoned with. He is a very difficult man. You have to trust me… that wasn’t what I wanted.” Svana panicked, hoping not to lose the man as an ally if he had information that could lead them to Jakobe.
“No, no, you needn’t worry, Svana. I never trusted that man. I’m not even sure how he became king honestly. Anyway, if you see your sister, tell her thank you for me.”
Svana nodded. “Of course! Please… you mentioned Jakobe; can you take us to him?”
The man breathed heavier by the moment. “I need to rest; I’ve just escaped an angry mob near where the battle took place. Seems some of the soldiers went back to retrieve the dead and when they found the battlefield cleared, they got very angry. They blame you, Svana. That’s why they went after Jakobe.”
“Tovera
ks breath,” Svana cried out. “They’re going to kill him and it’s all my fault, I need to save him. I’m sorry, I can’t wait any longer. I have to go!”
She ran out of the tavern, toward the battlefield, knowing that she would run into the men who had Jakobe before she could reach him. She heard faint yells from behind her, but she couldn’t stop. She needed to save him.
Svana’s feet flew over the dirt, her hair trailing behind her, as she hurried the direction she hoped to find them. It wasn’t long before her efforts were rewarded. Yelling and jeers grew louder by the second. She’d hoped to surprise them, but someone spotted her first.
“There she is. She’s the one responsible for all of this! Get her!”
With evening drawing in, Svana had the advantage of decreased visibility. She immediately withdrew her sword, holding her stance steady as the men advanced on her. I didn’t think this through, I should have waited for Percival and Eloise.
Once again, her hothead and anger had gotten her into trouble. At present, there were five men advancing toward her. With her sword held firm, she immediately took a swing at the man who neared her. Her anger made her quick and more focused, and she fed off it in the moment, her sword form moving into the form Ride the Boar.
Her opponent answered with a sword swing of his own, and their swords clanged loudly, reverberating through their arms as they prepared for another strike. With a man on each side, and the one in front of her coming straight for her, Svana had to time her steps and strikes perfectly. She switched into the sword form Nightcrawler Fury to face her multiple opponents.
She darted to the left, swinging her arm in a double round-strike, hitting the weaker of the three with two direct horizontal cuts into the sides of the man who barely knew how to handle the sword in his hand. He yelled out in pain, and immediately retreated, dropping his blade to hold his wounds. It clattered to the ground, metal making an echoing ring as it vibrated.
The man in front of Svana, angered that she had taken down his companion, attempted a run through, his form matching Ant Climb the Anthill. She braced for impact, using her sword as a guard to deflect his upward strike, moving her hand to balance on the flat of the blade for extra support. He hit hard, and she immediately swung her arm down, slicing at his mid-section. He jumped back from the blow, and she missed.
Yelling angrily, he came after her again, using a horizontal swing, which she again deflected.
“Children know how to strike better,” Svana mocked him, hoping to anger him more so that he would lose focus.
“Do children take heads of their enemies?” he asked, growling at her like an animal.
She laughed. “No, but then, neither do you!”
He swung high that time, nearly taking off her ear.
“Hey! Careful! I need that ear!” she shouted.
Heavy steps behind her alerted her to an unwelcome enemy. Svana turned around, her sword stretched out firmly, and struck the man in his middle section. His face showed surprise, as he stumbled back landing on his bottom.
“Svana! Behind you!” someone yelled, and as she turned back around to face the dirty-faced man who dripped with anger, he had his blade lifted in the air. He stabbed its point toward her throat.
“I guess this makes me a child,” he said, driving the blade down, Svana didn’t have enough time to react. He was too close. She closed her eyes, preparing for the cold tip of the blade to rip through her.
The man let out a violent yell, and she heard a clang of metal. Percival stood in his place, swinging a blade as if he’d been born with it. With no time to offer her thanks, Svana discovered that the angry mob had dropped Jakobe’s body on the ground and were coming after them.
Svana secured her blade in her hands, and reached out with her senses, or rather, with Lingaria’s senses as the two of them were connected while in battle through the sword. Her blade flashed from the left to the right, parrying against incoming strikes from her opponents. The bandits had multiplied, and when she’d first seen them, there’d only been five she’d noticed, but now when she did a quick count, she noticed more than twenty of them. And she was only one person. Percival was by her side, and he was a skilled swordsman, but still, they couldn’t face ten bandits each.
“Percival!” someone called in the distance.
Svana turned to see another man approaching with a sword. He looked like a warrior, unlike most of the men from the small village, though, he was much older, as if he used to be a soldier but was now retired. His black beard stretched to his chest, filled with salted grays and whites. At first, Svana was worried about how well the old man would do, but as soon as he reached them, and raised his sword, she realized his skill outmatched Percival’s, perhaps even hers—if she hadn’t the Dragon Sword.
Her confidence in their odds turned around instantly. She was worried about two against twenty, but now that there were three of them, and they were all skilled swordsmen, unlike the bandits, Svana was much less worried.
She changed her stance into an elegant form, Kiss the Waterfall. She gracefully maneuvered her blade from left to right, deflecting her two opponents with ease. Her sword dipped down to block one, then twist and turn back upward to parry against the next. The metal continued to clang all the while, but each strike was measured, and calculated masterfully, until she covered them completely with the waterfall. Her attacks moved swifter, changing to Catch the Grosshopper, a more offensive stance, with plenty of jumping around, until she disarmed her first opponent, knocking him in the back of the head with her sword hilt, and rendering him unconscious, then moving to her second, where she maneuvered her blade to twist as he made a forward thrust, unbalancing him and slapping his wrist with her blade. He dropped his weapon to the ground. She slammed the flat of her sword against his side, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground before turning tail and running away.
Svana turned to the older man who had joined them in battle as he defeated his second opponent, stabbing him through the thigh and pushing him backward with his heel. Svana saw the opening the man had at the end of his fight, and he could have killed his opponent, but he opted to strike the thigh instead. She respected that.
“Welcome to the fun,” Svana called.
The man grinned. “The pleasure is mine.”
“Svana,” she said.
“Dorian,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, and thanks.”
Dorian nodded as he stepped next to them.
The remaining bandits charged. Dorian, Svana, and Percival separated enough to allow the remaining bandits to attack. Their ranks didn’t falter as the bandits attacked. Each of them parried the bandits with skill. Percival using Catch the Butterfly, Dorian using Turtle Swims the Ocean, and Svana using Chase the Dragonfly. Even though the three of them used different sword forms, they moved as if they were doing different dances to the same melody. One by one, their opponents fell, and the next one filled their place, but the bandits couldn’t keep up.
“Fall back!” one of the bandits yelled in the distance.
Svana watched as the bandits who were attacking them stepped back, grabbed their injured companions, and dragged them along with them toward their leader. For a long moment, the three of them stood there, resting and allowing their breaths to come back to them as they watched the bandits leave. They hadn’t killed anyone this day, but they’d injured dozens. Svana wondered if they’d be remembered for that mercy, but somehow, she doubted it.
“Your sword fighting was impressive,” Svana said.
“As was yours,” Dorian said.
“How long have you been out of the Tellurian army?” she asked.
His brows furrowed. “What makes you think I was a soldier?”
Svana smiled. “It’s obvious. You use the same sword forms they use in the army, but you do it with more skill and precision than the rest of them, like you’ve been doing it for a long while. That tells me you were in the army for quite some time.”
“I
retired five years ago,” Dorian admitted.
“Well, I’m glad to have you on my side.”
“Percival said he needed help. Friends don’t ask what with—only when.”
“Thank you,” Svana said.
Dorian nodded.
Svana never felt more grateful in her entire life for the help of a stranger. Between the three of them, they were unstoppable.
Svana slid her blade back into its scabbard while breathing heavily. What the men had lacked in skill and experience, they made up for in voracity and anger. The fight had been quick, but anger fueled it. Svana was worn out. That’s when she saw Jakobe. His dark hair rumpled, and his muscled forearms bloodied and cut. Svana rushed to his side, dropping to her knees, and flipping him completely onto his back.
She grabbed his face, and stared into his eyes, begging the Unseen Ones to open his beautiful cerulean eyes. She wished they would stare back up at her, and that he would crack a flirtatious joke as he often did.
“Jakobe, please… I’m here… I came for you.”
Jakobe didn’t move, and his breathing came raspy and shallow.
“What have they done to you!?” Svana asked.
Tears stung her eyes; she couldn’t lose him. She just couldn’t. She studied his body from head to toe, noting all the bruises and cuts. His leg was bent in such a way, it caused her stomach to become queasy.
Svana cradled his face again, leaning in to speak with hopes that he could hear her. “You listen to me, you big lout. You’ve gotta pull through this, I need you.”
All her hopes were tied up in him responding, but he didn’t. He barely moved, and his lips moved not at all.
“Svana,” Percival’s kind voice spoke softly behind her. “I think we’re too late, dear one.”
“No! We’re not too late! I need him! He can’t be gone! I won’t give up on him!”
“Svana, he’s lost too much blood, please, you’ve got to let him go.” Percival tried to reason with her.
Svana was seeing red.
“I will not leave him to die, he deserves more than that. You should know that. He’s your friend, your best friend. We can’t just let him die.” She took a deep breath. “If we can get him to Hekla, she can help him. I know it… please… you have to help me!” Tears began to cascade over her cheeks. “Please! What more do I have to do?”
Dragon Bow Page 16
