Dragon Bow

by Angelique Anderson

  His blade flashed in the air faster than Svana could have imagined. Even with her dragon aiding her sword, she could barely keep up against his strikes. They weren’t only swift, but they were powerful as well. His stance was solid, both his feet placed firmly on the ground, and his form was unlike any she’d ever seen. He used The Tiger Swims Upstream as his form, and it was one Svana hadn’t exclusively studied to defend against. It was a bolt strategy, and one that was giving him the advantage. She cycled through several different sword forms from Butterfly Touches the Lilypad to Dance with Fireflies to even Chase the Raccoon. None of her sword forms could match his fierce strikes.

  She spun around, bringing her blade up to parry against blow after blow without rest. He didn’t seem to tire as he continued his overhead swings, his blade arching down from left to right with barely a second between blows. Svana was having a hard time just keeping up with his strikes. She backed away from his strikes, but he continued to move forward, not giving up his fight against—just like a Tiger swimming upstream. However, tigers would grow tired after so long. That was not true for the king though, it seemed he could stay in the form The Tiger Swims Upstream indefinitely. That did not bode well for Svana. She sidestepped as his blade passed right next to her cheek, then before he could react, she dove to the ground, rolling to her right. His blade slammed into the ground where she had just been. Before she could get back to her feet, his blade was upon her again, knocking her back down, and keeping her from a standing position.

  Tellurians all around them scattered throughout the courtyard. Many of them fled the fight entirely, but others lingered as they watched the king and the young red-headed warrior face each other. They watched as Svana was on her knees, looking up to the king who grinned down upon her.

  Svana had been confident in the beginning of the battle, but after it began, she realized how powerless she was. Even with a dragon helping her—as part of her sword, she still couldn’t defeat the king.

  Don’t give up faith, Lingaria said into her mind.

  Svana bit her lip. She didn’t want to give up faith, but she was having a hard time focusing on the positive. Her defenses were falling, and she could barely defend herself against an outraged king. His strikes hadn’t let up in the slightest. Svana was on her knees defending herself, and his offensive blows were still making her back away farther. She took a deep breath as his next strike contacted her sword, she leaned forward with all her might, unbalancing him, then duck and rolled into his legs, knocking him off his feet. She ran over him, swinging her sword into his chestplate and denting his armor in the process.

  When she turned around, he was already on his feet. But she had changed forms to Mantis Attacks the Hummingbird. He rushed at her, but she was prepared, watching and anticipating his every strike. She went from barely parrying each strike, to flawlessly deflecting each attack. All she had to do was find the proper form to defend against him. And, so far, it was working.

  “Why won’t you die, you mangy female! You don’t belong here!” He swung his sword at her middle, and it was her sheer speed that protected her from being sliced in two.

  Svana responded in kind, but he had already anticipated that she would reciprocate, and had stepped back. King Armand advanced on her again, swinging diagonally, and in defense of herself, Svana stopped his attack, but not before the tip of his blade sliced across her arm.

  “Ow,” she yelled out, cringing.

  She stepped back. Tellurians filled the courtyard, watching the two fight with hawk-like intensity, and seeing the growing number of people, Svana cast one long last look at the King. I could kill him now and be done, but I don’t know where their allegiances lie. If I am to do this, I must do it right. So rather than continue to fight the king, and risk losing the trust of those she knew she would need most, Svana fled. She didn’t run because she was afraid, but because she knew that her time was not yet at hand.

  I need these people to trust me when it is time. But, if I kill their king, they never will.

  The sound of men yelling, followed quickly behind Svana, and she knew without looking that the king had sent his guards to track her down and kill her. She wouldn’t turn around to face them; she would run as fast as she could.

  “That’s right, run traitor! A large reward, and great honor to anyone who can bring her back, dead or alive!” The king’s voice dripped heavy with raucous laughter, and Svana could feel the evil in it, permeating into her soul.

  It’s decided then. The only way to stop the king from waging war is to find the advisor—the dark wizard—and kill him.

  That’s dangerous, Svana, Lingaria said. When we set out on this journey together, we never expected to face a dark wizard.

  We’re left with no choice.

  How are you going to reach the wizard, seeing as how you’re a wanted criminal now? Lingaria teased.

  I’m sure you and I will figure something out, Svana said.

  45

  Hekla

  Greed is a flaw all men and women have. It isn’t always for monetary gain, but sometimes spiritual. If we let our greed take control of us, whether it’s monetary or spiritual, we lose ourselves and we lose everyone around us. We must remember that the most important things in life aren’t our possessions, but our friends and family.

  Palladin, The Great, Ninth Dragon Elder, Tenth Age of Verdil

  As Hekla’s magic-encased body sped through the water toward the Aequoran castle, her mind spun with everything that Miralee had told her. Why had the king abandoned his sister-in-law? Why had his men taken Jakobe?

  As she neared the Aequoran kingdom, its pastel towers reached up toward her like a friend welcoming her home. Only she knew it’s embrace would be less than friendly this evening, as she anticipated her meeting with the king to be less than pleasant.

  In full control of her body now, and the watery environment becoming like second nature to her, she landed quietly on the familiar road to the palace. She entered the gold adorned main hall where she had first met the elders, their seats long since empty. Hekla tip-toed past the elegant seating and made her way to throne room. Two guards stood outside the door, eyeing her suspiciously as she came nearer.

  “What are you doing here, land-walker?” the first guard said.

  Hekla didn’t recognize his face and wondered what happened to the last guard that was there.

  “I could ask the same of you, where’s my friend?” she joked.

  The guard looked taken aback by her remark. “Your friend?”

  “The guard who used to stand here.” She shook her head. “Never mind. I’m guessing you two weren’t close.” Hekla’s voice was still light, fighting off the tension that threatened to overtake the conversation.

  “None of us are ever around long enough to get close, as you say. Now, what do you want with the king?” His eyebrows furrowed angrily, clearly irritated at her lack of seriousness.

  “Well, that’s depressing. I am simply reporting back to him. Right now, as we speak, I have soldiers being trained for battle with the Tellurians, just as he requested.”

  “Hmmm,” the guard looked her up and down, seagreen eyes darkening as he studied her face. “And the king asked you to report back?”

  “No, good soldier, but a good captain always reports to their head without being asked. Not only that, but I think it would be best if he was prepared for any repercussions from the surface people. I would not want his life, or our kingdom, put in jeopardy by land-walkers, as you call them.” Hekla’s tone was steady, just as her gaze. The water world around them, was like wind, pulling at the magic encasement around her body that allowed her to move and breathe like one of them.

  Hekla could see the lack of trust in his face by the way his eyes shifted quickly, and the increase in the flaring of his gills. The other guard who had remained stoic the entire time, now stepped forward.

  “She makes a valid point, my liege,” the man said, his youthful expression eager.


  Hekla could tell that the second guard was clearly much younger and held the untrusting one in high esteem.

  “Step back, Cevius. Do not fall under her spell as so many else have,” the older guard warned him, gills still flaring.

  “Just what does that mean, sir? I wish you no harm. Nor do I wish harm on your king. I am here as an ally to the kingdom of Aequoris. If there are so many under my spell as you say, it is simply because they see that I am here to help you all. Now, please let me pass, I need to speak to the king.”

  She sashayed her way past the two guards as if she owned the place. With fire in her eyes, she dared them to challenge her.

  Neither of them tried to move to stop her, and she took that as a sign that she could do as she pleased. Pushing open the large, light wood doors, their surfaces lightly coated in soft green algae, she entered the throne room. It’s pastel corrals, and gold accents took her breath away as it had before.

  “My King,” she said softly, as she bowed before him.

  “Ah, Hekla of the Scepter. You have returned. Have you done as I have asked? Did you rid the kingdom of Verdil of the rodents known as the Tellurians?”

  “Your majesty, as we speak, your soldiers train with the best there is. When sun rises, we march on Telluris.”

  “So, there has been no battle?”

  “No, my lord, but there will be one. I promise you.” She stayed respectfully bowed to show her allegiance to the king, until he gave her permission to do otherwise.

  “Rise, Hekla, and approach.” The pale haired king rose, his scepter held before him, both of his hands wrapped tightly around the top, just below the pearlescent orb that adorned it.

  Hekla purposefully strolled toward the throne, stopping just a few feet away at the base of the small steps that led up to him.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “My king, I’ve only come to report that I am doing as I was told. I’ve also come to warn you that this war, it may be the end of any hope of peace between the kingdoms. You must prepare yourself for invasion, King Renault.”

  He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, while looking past her. “The sooner, the better…” King Renault finished.

  “The sooner, the better for what?” Hekla rested her hands on her hips, watching him curiously. Noting that though his gills didn’t flare as dramatically as the guards, his eyes flashed with several emotions she couldn’t seem to sort through.

  “All of them dead. They all need to die. There isn’t a single Tellurian who should remain standing after this is all over,” he mumbled quickly, repeating the phrases as if he had somehow lost a bit of his sanity.

  “King Renault, there is always life worth saving. Surely even Tellurian life, for a price, is worth saving?”

  “Not a single life!” he yelled at her, causing her to jump.

  So not even for a price? Perhaps it wasn’t money he was after? But why the sudden hatred for all Tellurians? There had to be another motive.

  “Your majesty, forgive my ignorance, but you want all Tellurians dead… why?”

  “Yes! For the last time, you stupid woman. I want them dead, and I want their treasures for myself!”

  Hekla resisted the urge to gasp or look taken aback. She simply kept her composure. His mention of Tellurian treasure a sign that he was interested in the monetary rewards that could be gained.

  “King Renault, with all due respect, why would someone of your stature need the treasure of two kingdoms? Do you not have enough of your own in the treasury? I mean… I’ve seen it, and it is vast,” she said appreciatively, hoping that he would take her tone as one who was impressed by his fortune.

  “Don’t you dare touch my treasure, any of it. It’s not yours! Do you hear me? It’s mine! All of it is mine! Neither Caelestis, nor Telluris are worthy of such exquisiteness! That is why they must die… all of them must die!” His eyes glazed over, gills flared quicker and quicker, and his face paled even more. He didn’t even appear to be there in the same room with her, it was as if his mind had taken him somewhere else.

  “This… this is why you have taken Jakobe? The man that resided with Miralee and Luna, while he got better? You took him because he is a Tellurian and unworthy of your treasure?”

  “Yes, Tellurian,” he hissed. “All Tellurians must die. He will die. Soon he will die. Soon they will all die.”

  A darkness had seeped into his eyes, and nothing she said seemed to reach him. No amount of kindness in her voice, or pleading, would bring him back to reality.

  “No one can touch my treasure, Hekla, any who look upon it should die. It’s mine, all of it is mine. That man wanted it for himself, so I must kill him too.”

  Fear gripped her chest, and she realized that time was running out for the man that her sister loved. Hekla had to figure out a way to save him, if she still could.

  46

  Astrid

  Stories change when they pass from ear to ear. Rumors start, and whispers start fires. It is always hard to discern the truth among the masses, especially when everyone who spreads the rumor is fueled by their own personal emotion. The best way to find the truth is to seek out the original source.

  Voadria, The Life Giver, First Dragon Elder, Second Age of Verdil

  Another day had passed, and Aronus had not returned, much to Astrid’s chagrin. As the sun rose high above them, it was as if Astrid’s insides were warning her of the battle to come. Her stomach was in knots, and her mind was constantly playing out scenarios in which she, or all her sisters, died. She tried over and over to devise a plan that would protect the three of them, but there was always just no way to do so without one of them being in danger.

  Without a word to the soldiers, she arose early that day and started off toward Telluris. The warm wind in her emerald hair felt like the caress of a familiar friend. Dirt crunched beneath her leather boots as she walked through the land kingdom and was a comfort to the storms that threatened to overtake her mind.

  “Where are you, Aronus?” Astrid called out, wondering where the blasted beast could be hiding. She wondered if he was shielding himself from her, or from everyone. “You sure know how to disappear when you want to. Of all the dragons in the dragon realm, I get the one who doesn’t want to be around me.”

  She kicked the dirt under her feet.

  “Hey, green-hair… I wouldn’t go that way if I were you,” a voice called.

  A man with long, blond hair and green robes strode toward her, a small white cylinder in his mouth red at its tip with ember.

  “Green hair?” she said, her tone growing with irritation.

  “Sorry, Astrid.”

  Her eyes bulged. “How do you know my name?”

  As far as she knew, they were complete strangers, yet, there was a familiarity about him, and he’d known her name. At first, it had taken her aback, but word had been traveling around Verdil of the three sisters. She suspected that’s how he knew her name, but when she looked into his blazing green eyes, there seemed to be knowing lingering inside of them.

  “All I mean is, I wouldn’t go that way. Women like you aren’t very welcome in Telluris right now. The king casted out Svana just yesterday afternoon. And he put a bounty on her head, dead or alive.”

  Astrid gasped slightly, suddenly fearful for Svana’s life. If that was the truth, then where was her sister hiding in the meantime? Had she already been captured? Did the king have her locked up on the castle? And how did this man know her name as well?

  “Are you well?” he asked as a puff of smoke came from his mouth.

  “Do I know you?” she asked.

  His eyes glittered. “I’m just a friend.”

  “A friend?”

  “You may call me Shronan.”

  “Shronan?” she muttered.

  Astrid was not normally given to confusion, but she was still wrapping her mind around the fact the Tellurian King was awake, and not only that, but he was clearly alive enough to want her sister, Svana
, dead. They were going to need Hekla. Things were beginning to get out of control, and if one of them was injured… only Hekla could save them.

  “Thank you, Shronan, for your kindness.”

  “Oh, don’t thank me. I’m just too old to see a pretty girl like you walk into danger without being warned.”

  “Old?” she asked.

  The man didn’t look over thirty. She bit her lip as she looked at him.

  “Appearances aren’t always what they seem.” He winked.

  Astrid watched as he walked away. As she began to unfocus her eyes, she saw something: a soft green glow. She refocused her eyes and saw both of Shronan’s hands glowing green, then he disappeared entirely from view.

  Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. Had she seen what she thought she saw? Did Shronan use magic to disappear. And if he had magic, was he truly a friend? Or did he have ulterior motives for keeping her away? Astrid contemplated on it for a few moments, before deciding she needed to heed his warning. There was something about him that felt good to her, like he was genuinely trying to help.

  Astrid wondered if she should continue, knowing that it could be dangerous to do so. Why was the king after Svana? What had Svana done?

  “There’s another freak, just like that one dressed in red that tried to kill the king!” A small group of onlookers watched her approach, their voices growing in irritation and intensity.

  “Tried? That red-haired demon nearly had him assassinated. I hope they catch her before she kills us all!”

  “Pardon me, my good people. Are you saying the one they call Svana of the Sword, tried to kill the king?” Astrid’s voice was calm, offering comfort. She could only hope that they would be drawn in and would want to trust her.

  “Yeah, what’ve you done? Have you come to finish the job?” an elderly woman with a bitter tinged voice asked. Her eyes squinted at Astrid, making her feel heavily uncomfortable in that moment.