The Return Of An Old Rider

Tara'li

Later in the day we start moving out. I can see how many wings came now, as I see six wings in the air and the council. I don't lead my wing into the air as I help with the final preparations of some of the Dwarves. Then I turn to my squad. 'Sha'iva, I need you to do something for me. Sha'nok is ready to become a Dragon Rider herself now. Please fly her back to Celaris with your sub wing so she can get her own dragon. I got a letter to whoever is in charge there now that she is to not go through the trials and get straight to the soul bind before returning to the front lines with the first wing that gets send here where she will rejoin our squad. After that I got one more task for you. On your way back use the spare place in your saddle to bring an Elven smith back here so Tresh'ta can get a normal armor.'

I hand her two scrolls, both sealed with my seal but one with "Celaris" written on the outside and the other with "Emerald City" written on the outside. She takes them both and puts them in her saddlebags while Sha'nok climbs into the passenger spot. Then she turns to me. 'Will you be fine without me here? You know I'll kill you if you get yourself killed.'

I laugh softly with her about that. 'Don't worry about me. If you get there and back again in a decent time then I'll be fine. Know that I trust you with quite an important task here...'

She nods and commands her sub wing to take off. Then I climb on Rashter and see Tresh'ta standing nearby. I feel slightly conflicted at that point. Rashter notices my conflict and helps me out. 'You know... it would be good for both of you if you let her. She needs it and you need to connect with her again. This is the best way.'

For a moment I want to sputter but I sigh. 'Fine. You get your way. I'm not the one who has to carry the weight.'

Rashter walks over to Tresh'ta in response...

Tresh'ta

I hear the heavy footsteps of an old dragon and look up to see Tara'li on top of her massive, armored dragon. The dragon takes a couple of sideways steps before laying down and Tara'li leans forward. 'Rashter helped me make a decision. I didn't fully agree yet but...'

She stretches her arm out towards me with an open hand. My mouth drops open. 'Are you serious? Are you willing... to let me ride your dragon?'

Tara'li doesn't speak, instead her dragon does. 'You both need it. Now please make a decision because we are about to be left behind.'

I grab Tara'li's slender hand and she pulls me onto the saddle. When I sit I notice just how massive that dragon of hers is, with just how wide I have to sit to get my legs to the side. She must have seriously trained her body to stretch to get comfortable in this saddle.... Then I wrap my hands around her waste. Tara'li somewhat cool points down. 'There are leg straps on either side and a large ring to get your foot in. No need to grab hold of me.'

Mostly in shame I start working on the straps. I should have known she got the straps included in the saddle. She is both a queen and one of the council. Of course her saddle would have leg straps.... With the straps fastened the huge dragon jumps into the air. Somewhat in fear I wrap my arms around Tara'li again, who is actually sitting there in a relaxed fashion. With mighty wingbeats the huge dragon gains altitude and stabilizes his flight. Behind us Tara'li's wing gathers, and to my surprise she has a female Ork on her left and a Dwarf on her right. 'Ehm, Tara'li? How does it work again? The ones flying behind you are your left and right hand, right?'

Tara'li nods. 'On my right, the Dwarf, is Noruk. He is my right hand. On the left is Flashee. And yes, she is an Ork... but I trust her.'

An Ork as a left hand? A Dwarf as a right hand? And then also just in their peoples armor? Though... the Orks chest piece does have some iron plates underneath it that I suspect are made by the Dwarves simply because they are to smooth to be fully Ork. Then I smile. Who am I to criticize Tara'li on how she leads her squad? It is her squad and considering she is the one who had to offer me a lift... yeah I guess she is the one in the right. Especially with the giant dragon who I heard also burned down the village she lived...

Before she put the armor on him I saw many gashes in his scales, some well on their way of fading away. Those gashes seemed to me like arrow hit marks. Demons don't use arrows so it must have been her. Even with her Elven heritage hidden away... she was an Archer. An archer like me...

Tara'li

Impatiently I pace across the main path of the camp. They should have been here already. 'Where are you, Sha'iva...'

I feel a hand on my shoulder. Tresh'ta. She still looks like she is in some kind of cramps from sitting with her legs wide all day, which I did have an issue with in the beginning to. She speaks softly. 'Your sister will come in time. She is a fighter like you. There is no way she will be killed or fall.'

I turn to her. 'You may have that faith but I don't. Demons have proved to be sneaky before and until she is standing in front of me again I got no faith...'

She shakes her head. 'Tara'li, she has four Riders with her. You gave her orders to go there and back. I'm sure she won't engage any enemies.'

I smile. Then I walk to my tent to get a nap knowing in the morning we have to continue our journey when I hear the wingbeats. I turn around and see five dragons coming in for a landing. When she has landed Sha'iva steps from her dragon. 'Sister... we did it. The Elders did need a full day to check your orders but they allowed me to bring the smith...'

The smith kinda roughly dismounts Sha'iva's dragon and then kneels before me. 'You called for me, my queen?'

I motion him to rise. 'Yes. I got a task for you... though it may be a far reach and I will understand if you say no. Someone needs armor...'

As I step aside to show Tresh'ta to the smith his mouth falls open. 'The old queen... she never died...'

Tresh'ta steps forward in silence, touching the smiths cheek. 'I have not seen your face in almost a millennium. Yet I remember it as if it was yesterday. I guess you made your masterpiece for queen Tara'li to prefer you?'

The smith points to me with his head bowed forward. 'I forged the queens armor, miss. Together with two of the Dwarves she travels with everywhere.'

Tresh'ta lets go of his face and turns to me. 'A fine work of art it has become. You should be proud of it...'

I interrupt them. 'And now your task is simple. To make a full set for Tresh'ta. To get her armor and weapons again.'

The smith nods. 'I will accept your majesty. If you say she can once again wear our armor into battle then I believe you. That hole in her shirt tells me enough. But... where can I forge it?'

I point to one of the big carts. 'Some of those have full on forges inside them. I made a deal with the Dwarven king that you can use one of those for your work.'

The smith runs to the nearest one and starts talking with the Dwarves. I smile when I see it. 'I guess, despite your fall, you are still loved by some Elves.'

Tresh'ta smiles and looks at the smith. 'He wished to become a smith in his younger years. The only thing was that he was born from a family of tree whisperers meaning he would have to become one to. I saw him staring at the smiths while inspecting their work and had a guard bring him over to me. When I heard his wish to become a smith I somewhat broke tradition and assigned one of the master smiths to become his teacher. So it is because of me he became a smith.'

I turn to look at Sha'iva. 'Your actions that day have done more than just fulfill one Elves dream. He alone is responsible for every Elven armor my squad wears, including the Dragons. Same for the armor Tera'shi wears. I'm alive because of him and can wear my armor while flying because of him. He even invented a type of armor that can be worn by Lamia, which both Lamia in my squad wear.'

Tresh'ta looks at Sha'iva and then at me. 'I never knew it back then but my actions then caused my daughter to beat me years later and salvage me...'

This causes my mood to turn acid for a moment. Why does she have to say that? 'Please leave the past there. I'm trying to forget about your entire ordeal but if you keep bringing that up I can't.'

Tresh'ta nods. 'My apologies. It is still heavy on my mind to and to redeem myself from my past wrong doings will cost me a lot.'

I find myself doubting once more. However with her having shared the saddle with me before I find myself stepping up with the offer without help from Rashter, whom I noticed is really pushing me to accept Tresh'ta. 'I'm willing to help you there, Tresh'ta. Now with Sha'nok becoming a Rider on herself I got a free spot in my saddle. Ride into battle with me, on my dragons back. He seems to like you anyway. Let you be remembered as the one who rides into battle with me.'

Her mouth drops open and she falls to her knees. 'I... would be honored. Thank you.'

As we push on slowly into the Demon lands the emptiness is replaced by a single tower on the horizon and a slight depression into the landscape. As we approach the tower I soon notice it is a citadel or fortress of sorts. Dark stone walls rise into the skies. Some distance away from the citadel I notice what looks like three ships. Rashter flies towards them and lands next to them, my squad following. As I dismount and walk up to the ships I realize they are Elven ships. Their sleek lines once white, but now some darkness is spreading. As I lay my hand on a still untouched part of the hull I feel tears form. 'Once this was a ship worthy of the pride of my people. Now it is a corrupted shadow of itself...'

Tresh'ta also dismounts and stands behind me. 'These ships were trade ships. Send out to trade with Dwarves for iron and coal, humans for cloth and grains and the Guard for things like fallen dragon scales and very occasionally an abandoned dragon egg. When the Demon invasion started the sea that was here died and evaporated. Now these ships are nothing but shells of what the world once was.'

I step away from the ships. 'We will camp on the hill over there. Don't let anyone touch the ships. I have a feeling that darkness could spread into people to.'

As I turn away from them Rashter spits a flame at them setting the ships alight. For a moment I'm shocked but Tresh'ta stops me. 'It is for the better. The ships took root on now cursed soil. They would never float again, only linger at the bottom of a dried up ocean. To burn them is the best solution. Now they can't harm anyone.'

Then we move to the hill top. We have to set up camp and prepare for an invasion. That fortress seems to me like a hard nut to crack even at the best of times. We only have limited resources at our disposal to do such and who knows how many Demons inside there to kill...

In the evening I'm sitting in the planning tent again with the maps in front of me. The knife is for some reason still embedded in the table. As king Derkley enters the room and Tresh'ta leans towards one of the tent posts I get up and try to pull the knife out of the table. With a snap the handle breaks off. Surprised I look at the handle and then the blade that is partially embedded in the table. 'Well, so far that knife. Good thing I never used it in combat.'

The king shakes his head. 'Why do ye use such garbage? Ye can get so much better as the queen of the Elves.'

I look at the knife. 'I don't know. I don't even remember when or where I got it. That does make me suspect I got it in the village but still...'

The king grabs his hammer and slams the blade out of the table sideways, which breaks the tip off of the blade. Then he grabs the blade. 'Dull blade, badly tempered making the steel brittle... yes this is human forge. Specifically human forge from someone with no respect for steel. Let me make ye a proper blade. I can do better than this meself.'

Then the others arrive. When everyone is there I lay my hastily drawn map on the table and point to where I saw the fortress. 'This is our issue. There is a fortress up ahead. If we don't take it out we may find ourselves getting attacked from behind. It has high walls, unscalable if you ask me. With how tall it is I fear for traps inside it and who knows how many Demons.'

Tresh'ta nods. 'Traps there are. And Demons to. This is one of three fortresses guarding the roads to the Demon Lords citadel. If we take this one out we have access to the road to their boss. Now as you said, the walls are high. There are some good points about this: Demons don't have anything to take us out from range. They only got few mages. That means the Demons prefer to take on anyone in close combat, so the gate can be taken down. However inside it is a maze. Each fortress also has a Commander, most likely near the top. They are your every day commanders but still a worry as the impact of a Commander on the Demons below them is massive.'

King Richard is the first to talk. 'To siege this fortress is to ask us to die. I can't do this. My people and I are out of this.'

He walks out of the tent. Then Tera'shi speaks. 'With that quitter out, lets start with the real work. Now does anyone have ideas?'

I remember the words of king Derkley. 'Demons have the most trouble sieging... what if we turn the siege of their castle into a siege of a castle of our own?'

Tresh'ta, the leader and Tera'shi all look at me confused. Only king Derkley understands what I mean. 'Now yer talking. We bash their gate down and let 'em siege us. Let them see what a Dwarven siege machine can do!'

I nod. 'I'll meanwhile go in from the top. I'll be using my own wings to fly in, gliding the last part to not sound the alarm. I'll kill their Commander.'

Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of the Dwarves machine is sounding through the night. Some kind of wheeled, armored cart is standing in front of the gate, banging against it in an attempt to bash it down. From above, on Rashter's back, I can see the Demons rush to the gate. Not one is looking upon they would notice way above a single dragon flying. Tresh'ta puts a hand on my shoulder as I'm undoing the straps. 'Remember, the Demon Commander of this castle will probably be hiding behind some guards in a throne room. Kill him and the connection to his Demons will be cut. But be quick about it or our forces will be decimated so much we cannot siege the Demon Lords castle.'

I nod. 'I've done things like this before. Not without my squad but I have done it. Trust me on this.'

As I get up the saddle she speaks once more. 'Good luck, Tara'li. May you be victorious.'

Then I dive down. As I gain speed faster and faster I twist my body to steer, waiting for the last moment to open my wings. Slowly I open them to at first sheer but then slow my dive down. It is only very late that I realize a single Demon is standing on the flat roof of the central tower. I grab my bow and arrow but don't dare shoot I yet. Then I speed past him, landing with slipping feet while drawing my bow during the landing. As the Demon curses and turns around he only has enough time for a surprised look before my arrow hits him between the eyes. Fearing the dead Demon may have been enough to sound the alarm I rush towards the stairs downwards. On my way down I put my bow away and draw my sword and grab my shield. A couple of Demons stand guard at the bottom of the stairs which I quickly dispatch off, not even pausing my step for them.

Now the challenge starts. As I walk on the top layer I notice it is build like a maze, just as Tresh'ta said. Walking quickly but silently through the halls I notice the top floor is empty. No guards, though I do find a single ornate bedroom. Got him. He must be one set of stairs down. As I run through the top floor it seems like forever until I find a staircase down. There I see a single straight hallway going to a door guarded by six Demons. I decide to play it risky. I bang my sword once against the side of my shield and call at them. 'Hey uglies. Over here!'

The Demons seem surprised but still charge me. I bash the crude spear of one aside as I slice a second in two. Then I block a thirds sword with my own and slam it into the throat of a fourth. Meanwhile one of them tries to get past my guard, which I answer to by diving towards him and past one swing of another sword with my own sword forward. I spin around on my heel kicking the leg away from one of the Demons, who falls and takes his comrade with him. Then I bash the sword of the only one standing away and stab him in the throat. One of the two tripped Demons tries to stand up while I walk over to him, chopping the head from his last remaining comrade. As he gets up I look at him. 'Boo.'

The Demon drops his spear and runs away. Then I walk over to the double doors and kick them in. A single human in dark armor sits on a throne at the end of the black and red hall. He sees me and seems to hyperventilate. 'That... is not possible! The daughter... of Tresh'ta! You... should be... dead!'

I put my shield away and draw moms sword. 'Think again. I'm alive. That's more than what can be said about you in a moment.'

As the Commander gets up and grabs a spiked sword he starts swinging it wildly. 'Begone shade from the past. The Demon Lord had ordered you executed so you cannot be alive. You must be a ghost!'

I lash out with moms sword to stop the spiked sword mid air. The eyes of the Commander enlarge as he feels the sword stopped. 'Ghosts can't kill. Sadly for you, I'm here to kill you.'

I bash the sword aside with my own and lash out with moms sword, though he quickly regains his footing and manages to hook one spike behind her sword and pull it from my hand. In return I kick him in the stomach and strike out with my own sword, this time consciously hooking my sword on his. As we stand there, swords engaged with each other he laughs. 'Now what? You can't kill me if you have no free sword.'

I draw the knife forged by king Derkley and stab him in the neck. 'Take this for size.'

As he drops down I clean the blades on the cloth and collect moms sword again before getting ready to fight my way out of this place.

Sha'iva

'Forwards! We have to push forwards! We need more people in the battle!'

The battle is complete chaos. Until moments before the Demons were unpredictable but organized. Now they are all over the place. The battle turned into a full on slaughter fest where it is only about survival. The Dwarves machine worked fine for bashing the gate down and the initial assault but as soon as the Demons discovered that piling up in front of the wheels would stop it in its tracks we had no choice but to lead the assault on foot. On Tara'li's orders we aren't on our dragons, mostly because she expected them to prepare specifically for that.

As I dive into battle I see the Demons somewhat gather in a choke point. I rush towards them with the four under my lead with me. As I kill the first Demon and turn around to engage another one I see a sword stopped an inch from my face. I think I'm about to die until I see it. Run through the Demons chest is a blade shaped like a flame. I step aside as the blade gets pulled out, to reveal Tara'li with her spear. 'Sister! You did it!'

She hugs me with one hand and then looks up. 'The Commander is dead but the castle is filled with this filth. We will be needing a lot of cleaning.'

I'm surprised. 'How did you do it, sister? Getting out of there without fighting your way out?'

She spreads her wings for a moment. 'I jumped out a window. Kinda had to more to the point. They were about to overrun me...'

She then puts her spear on her back again and rushes in, leading the charge against the Demons. My sister really doesn't know when to take a break... well, whatever. I run after her, knowing she will need someone to protect her back now. As she lashes out with her sword at one Demon but almost getting stabbed by another. I strike its blade aside and stab it in return. Holding my sword with two hands I follow sisters movements and occasionally strike at a Demon who doesn't keep his cover up. With them surrounding us we can not afford to make a mistake.

I hear the best sound I could hear. A sound I never thought I'd like so much. The war cry of three Orks running into battle. The small distraction it causes is enough for both Tara'li and me to start engaging the Demons and not die in the process. As we work around each other we exchange blows with the Demons and cover each others backs. Then Ra'iki shows up. 'I can't even let the princess and the queen alone for five minutes or they get into trouble...'

As I chop a Demon into two I respond. 'Not really trouble. Just a stand off. We could have dealt with it...'

With Ra'iki joining in we start pushing into the castle itself. Behind us not just our squad gathers, but the armies are finally pushing in. For some reason Tara'li wants to push in first. I grab her shoulder. 'No. Don't push in yet. We don't know where they placed traps in there. What if they didn't trap against dragons but against ground invaders?'

Tara'li turns to me. 'Sha'iva, I can fly. I can evade traps easily.'

I shake my head. 'Don't risk it. If you fall I can't lead this war on. Neither can Tresh'ta as she is seen as a traitor by most. None of us can move in right now...'

Tara'li wants to push in it seems but sees my logic. 'Then what do you suggest? We can't leave them bunched up in there.'

I look up. 'You killed the Commander, right?'

Tara'li nods. 'Yeah, he is dead. Tested out my new Dwarven dagger on him. What are you suggesting?'

I motion out. 'Instead of sieging this place, let them come out. Let them try to escape and kill them off then.'

Tara'li thinks for a moment. Then she yells at the people standing around. 'I want archers there and there! The rest of you get out of here! Change of plans!'

The archers start climbing up the walls and up into the buildings Tara'li pointed to to make a crossfire pattern where any escaping Demons would be killed. Neither of us like this as we both would prefer to just meet them in battle, but both of us know it will get us all killed. As Tara'li and I walk out of the gates with most of the armies I know we did it. We got the fort, all we need to do is be patient and let the Demons make the mistake.