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> THE GREAT DRAGONS CAN BRING DEATH OR LIFE ETERNAL...
A Knight speaks to a god, “Oh great and powerful god, I have done as you asked. Hiding the item in his room, he will be found guilty of the crime and banished as you require. What more can I do?”
The great god replied, “You will follow him, help him. You will go north also.”
The Knight replied, “Wise god of old, when will I get my rewards? When will my destiny be fulfilled? When shall my family rule the lands again?”
The wise god of old stepped forward from the shadows revealing a sneer on his face as the firelight flickered across his teeth.
As he slowly formed his words, he answered the Knight, “Once you have arrived far in the north to the Fire Islands, then you shall reap your just rewards.”
The Knight of the lands smiled, happy. And so, in a dark corner of an inn, they continued to plot and contrive the best path forward. The path that sends Sir James and Sir Bryan far far away to the north. The path created by a god who desires to control the fate of many.
**********
Sir James and Sir Bryan, Knights of the land, had been stripped of their titles, holdings, and banished. Only by slaying a dragon could they prove their metal to King Darnell. To bring the heart of a dragon was to give eternal life to its holder. That was the price. While their innocence was proclaimed, proof was lacking. Without options to consider, they set out to journey into the North. Far from home to the Fire Islands their goal, home of the rumored giant dragons of old. Fierce and deadly, none could survive the encounter. Desperate to clear their names, even in death their honor would survive. Having been stripped of armor and weapons they sat in front of their fire discussing their plight.
“Sir Bryan, I fear we can only succeed with armor and weapons of magic. The old stories proclaim our death before we nigh even meet our foe. Only by finding favor of the Elven Gods might we procure a way to prevail. We should seek out a good smithy in Elfwood. Contract a fine weapons and armor master to undertake our needs. Without good Elven magic, our failure is assured.”
Sir Bryan replied, “Your wisdom will save us, brother. I was in the midst of planning my pyre as I felt our goal was hopeless. Maybe our lives shall be longer with your keen mind to save us. Tis a blessing that I had saved a few silver. Me thinks it will not be enough. Mayhap we can offer more in trade to at least gain enchanted weapons. Elven weapons will greatly improve our chances.”
It was agreed. Off to Elfwood city to hire the forging of weapons and armor. Knowing they were lacking, hope filled their hearts that maybe, just maybe, an elf would take pity on two knights needing. Especially if it was told of their purpose as slaying a dragon would make legends of any smith whose weapons or armor were used in such a wild endeavor. Sir James smiled as he considered it all. Why should he not? To slay a dragon was the dream of any knight. It was the knowledge of the outcome that kept any from trying. The far journey into the north was a perilous undertaking all by itself. Few survived that alone. Yet to consider facing a thirty-foot tall dragon with claws as big as your arm was suicide. It was unheard of except in olden times. Back when wizards were many and knights sought glory with valorous ideas of peril. Yet it was those old tales which warned all of the stupidity of such things.
I suppose you could say that the stupidity of the past Knights has led to the wisdom of today’s Knights of the lands. You definitely would not describe a knight of today as stupid, maybe brave but that was pushing the matter a bit much, maybe wise but never stupid. In our times Knights were educated to grand heights of knowledge, given great Keeps to own and lands to oversee. Yet that also might be the divining thoughts of the greed of the King as he collects a grand percentage from all such endeavors. Also, he gains small armies spread across his land. Each Knight’s keep represents a decent force of soldiers, all at the beck and call of their King.
So then with a glimmer of hope and a strong desire to clear their name, Sir Bryan and Sir James spread their bed skins in preparation for a good night’s sleep. After picketing their horses for grazing nearby, Sir James took one last swig from the water skin as he lay down for the night. It was only by chance that he still had a small dagger on his belt as Sir Bryan had been stripped of all his weapons. Sir James had kept one small dagger hidden in his boot. Being weaponless was more than he could bear. If not for that one blessing on such a dark and bleak night, it would have been his last.
Not being used to traveling abroad, they set no guard for the night. A mistake usually not associated with wisdom, one that could have led to their death. Sir James was resting quietly on his comfortable bed skin as Sir Bryan began to snore. It was Sir Bryan’s snoring that woke him. As he lay there trying to go back to sleep, at the edge of his mind something kept attempting to capture his attention. An annoyance was creeping into his thoughts. He was beginning to be irritated. In his groggy state; he refused to pay attention to his feelings, preferring instead to continue his progress to find oblivion as he knew the forthcoming journey would include much pain and possible death. It would be a long journey and an impossible task. Now his very rest was at risk, his anger was building. Just as his thoughts were beginning to form into curses against the world itself, the realization that some noise in the background was being masked by Sir Bryan’s snoring. Before he even bothered to open his eyes, the sound reminded him of a childhood experience.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
**********
While growing up, his family had traveled to many foreign lands. Of course it was in luxury and the finest of all things. Still, he remembers that day when the night was in full swing and he had snuck out of his family’s tent. He wanted to get a peek at one of the local girl’s village without his parents knowing. He was in his early teens after all. Girls were keen on his mind, especially foreign girls which were all the more a mystery to him. He had spoken to this one very beautiful girl named Alena. She taunted him, daring him to find her that night if he was brave enough. Her, a daughter of the local tribal leader of the Bendal Clan, mostly goat herders but very powerful and quick to fight if offended. They were fierce fighters when provoked. Sir James was a stubborn lad, refusing to shy away from such a challenge.
He was making good time getting there. He would show her just how brave he was. Just as he approached her father’s enclosure, he began to notice a strange humming noise in the air around him. It wasn’t loud really. Just beneath the normal sounds of his surroundings it almost blended into the night perfectly. If not for the fact that he had never heard anything like it before, he might have been caught off guard. Just as he turned to look behind him, the most horrible beast resembling a giant scorpion with wings about four feet long came whizzing down on him from above. The sight of it caused him to stumble, saving his life as the tail of the beast shot directly for the center of his chest. Instead of hitting him dead on, it simply brushed along the top of his head.
This gave him just the time he needed to pull out his sword to exchange blows. Leaping to his feet he prepared his defense. Those sword classes would now pay off. The creature had swung around, coming back for another go at him. Dodging aside as it attempted to impale him, he slashed down, watching in slow motion as half its wing tumbled to the side causing it to veer down and to the left as it smashed into a tree. Everything happened so quickly, yet to Sir James, it was as if time had slowed. This astounded Sir James. Everything was moving in slow motion except for him. Sir James quickly moved towards the beast slicing down as the creature slowly turned. Before the creature could even turn halfway, a large chunk its tail was falling to the dirt. Drops of black ooze settling into a pattern of raindrops flitting nicely to each side of the partial tail. Sir James marveled at his ability to manipulate time. It was an unexpected mystery to him but a wonderful thing.
Pushing forward Sir James lopped off the head of the creature, finishing the battle before it had hardly begun. Suddenly, time found its footing once more pulling Sir James back into the moment. This is when he noticed eyes looking at him from the shadows. It was the girl, Alena. She had seen the whole affair. Sir James smiled back into her stunned gaze. He watched as she suddenly closed her mouth that had just been gaping wide.
She quickly asked, “How did you do that? You were like a ghost, shooting from place to place as the creature fell to pieces. How is this possible? Are you a god?”
Sir James smile grew brighter as he explained, “No Alena, I am but a man, just as you.”
That was years ago in his youth and he had actually wanted to marry Alena, his parents had forbade it. After all, Sir James was destined to be a knight. His blood was of noble heritage. He would never be allowed to marry a commoner, let alone one such as her.
**********
Sir James recognized that sound, reaching for his dagger he focused on the direction of the sound. Knowing what was coming he prepared himself. This time the creature was not a baby. Instead of the four foot long wings, this one had a good thirty-foot span giving it twelve-foot wings. It must’ve been a good fifteen feet long. The tail being pushed beneath it, aimed at Sir James as it planned to finish him in one swoop. Just as in his youth time retreated leaving his task much easier. Rushing forward, Sir James leapt into the air, driving his dagger deep into the heart of the beast. Pulling his blade out, upon landing he stepped forward quickly as he sliced off the pointed spearhead meant to deliver its poison. Calming his mind, Sir James released his grasp on time, watching the beast slam into the ground sending a cloud of dust and debris through the forest just behind them. As it flailed, dying from the death blow, Sir Bryan awoke.
Knowing the need to keep his identity secret, Sir James feigned exhaustion, not wanted to risk exposing what must not be known.
Wiping sleep from his eyes Sir Bryan asked, “What the blazes is going on? Can’t a man rest in peace?”
Then as Sir Bryan took in the scene around him, his eyes cleared expanding as full moon orbs in astonishment.
“May the god of fire protect us! What has befallen us in our sleep?”
As he watched the beast in its last moments of life, he looked from it to Sir James, mouth wide, eyes staring; he appeared to be at a loss for words.
Sir James replied, “It was just a horrid beast seeking dinner. It happened so fast, I had no time to rouse you.”
Sir James could not allow his secret to be exposed. His nightmares come to life. Acting as though he had just gone through a heavy ordeal, Sir James found the nearest tree to lean against. No one could know his identity or the myth surrounding his abilities. He had no desire to fulfill the prophecy, no desire to rule the lands. He would remain simply, Sir James.
“Sir Bryan, we should gather some of the parts of this beast, it will make for good trading. The tail tip, eyes, poison organ along with a few scales should buy us the best weapons and armor from the elves. This was a blessing in disguise.”
This diverted Sir Bryan from thinking about how I had slain the beast while he slept. I could see it was working. His facial expression changed from one of confusion to one of contemplation, a good sign.
Sir Bryan hesitated one last time, looking back at me. I could tell his ideas of my prowess had shifted, shifted a lot. He looked at me as if I were a god or something.
“Sir James, you should get some rest, I’ll see to the beast. Then I’ll stand guard for a few hours, I’ll wake you later. I can see we should keep watch at night. The woods are very dangerous. If not for your valor, we would both be naught but food for this vile creature.”
I nodded, continuing to feign weakness, breathing heavy as I held my shoulders drooping to lend it support. I shuffled off to lie on my bed skin. Having handed Sir Bryan my dagger, I could hear him putting it to use; the sickly sounds of it lulling me into the darkness of rest. My dreams were filled with the horrors of the prophecy, my parent's death, the land in turmoil, farmlands burning. The cleansing it was called. The day when our people must face their sins, it is said, the day when the great god of destruction comes again.
I don’t believe in fairy tales or prophecies. While magic is real and many vile beasts roam the lands, the old tales of gods and their destruction on the world is nothing more than stories to scare small children into obedience, nothing more. When Sir Bryan woke me, I felt as if I had not even slept, my dreams having tormented me.
The night proved peaceful, leaving us to continue our path without incident, our trip to Elfwood city without further incident.