Chapter I
A Prelude To Empty Skies
He surveyed the corridors once more. Oddly enough the entire ship was empty. Byuu scratched his head in disgust, he hadn't had a mission in several months and now when he finally had something to look forward to, it ended up being a false alarm. But alas this is the life of a soldier.
"Hey Rush, did you find anything yet? He called over to a blond haired soldier who was currently in the process of trying to kick down a jammed door.
"Nope," he replied shortly as the door finally succumbed to his demands. After the dust cleared a disappointed look returned to his face. "Dammit, remind me to show the guys on border patrol my sword next time I see them." He vehemently commented.
"Well this has been a complete waste of time, let's go. Byuu called to the rest of the search party. They quickly followed his lead. Byuu shoved the main door open. The rest of the dragon squad was parked outside waiting for their next orders. As soon as he was five steps outside of the door an overweight member of the dragon squad worked his way to the front of the group.
"Did you find anything Sir Byuu? He asked in one of his more eager tones.
"No, we couldn't find anything, it's nothing more than a false alarm." Byuu replied with little enthusiasm. This was all the rest of the squad needed to hear, they promptly mounted their dragons and took off into the endless sky.
"So do you think that this was some sort of trap, sir? Questioned another soldier with an oversized helmet.
" I wouldn't doubt it, Truce" Byuu responded contemplatively. He knew that something just wasn't right about the whole situation. He looked toward the sky for the answer. The skies had turned an odd shade of purple recently, this shade in particular having an ominous quality about it. It had been this way ever since the Granbelos Empire had started it's own blitzkrieg. Many lagoons fell to their endless armies. Apparently since then the sky changed into this melancholy purple shade. But that was impossible how could the sky react to the feelings of the people. Well either way, the great lagoon of Kahna was the only area that had not yet been conquered by the empire; he couldn't blame the border patrol for being extra cautious. He turned to his dragon and smiled. His dragon was a beautiful firewyrm named Salamando. Even if the day had been a complete and total waste of time he could find solace in riding her. He mounted her once again and Rush, Truce, and the larger soldier, now to be known as Bikkebakke, did the same. They pushed off of the abandoned aircraft and began their flight back to Kahna.
"So, Byuu how do feel about having a little race back to the castle." Said Rush making a note not to patronize his commanding officer. Byuu didn't mind at all besides Salamando needed a chance to stretch her wings. After convincing Bikkebakke and Truce to join their little wager they lined up near a shady cloud floating harmlessly nearby. Byuu had confidence in Salamando's speed. Not even Rush's dragon, Icedrake could come close to Salamando's blazing agility. If worst came to worst he could always torch Rush when they got back to the barracks. As soon as the cloud centered in front of them they pierced it. Rush managed to find an early lead but Byuu was wing gating. Bikkebakke and Truce were nowhere to be seen. Rush then decided that it was best for his dragon to lead the rest of the way. Bad move. Salamando didn't even need Byuu's order to knock Rush's dragon off course. She clipped Icedrake leaving Rush clinging to its wingtip. Saved by all those extra pull-ups back at the barracks, Rush pulled himself back into command over his beast. As soon as he took notice of Salamando's elegant figure flying off into the horizon he decided that it was time for drastic measures.
"Expect me to go down easy, eh Byuu. Frost Breath, Icedrake." The dragon quickly responded to his master's call and sent forth a giant cloud of ice towards Salamando. Byuu began to consider all the ways to use his newly won gold, when something suddenly came to his attention, he wasn't flying he was plummeting. A few quick glances at Salamando's frozen wings revealed the reason for this sudden loss of altitude.
"Have any ideas on how to get out of this situation old girl." He calmly asked his dragon, he'd been in worse situations and knew that he could trust Salamando's intuition. However what she came up with wasn't exactly what he had in mind. She released a large tuft of flame from her fangs that swept over her and her driver. Sure, her wings were thawed but Byuu's hair was thoroughly singed. After returning to the correct altitude Salamando doubled her speed toward Kahna keep. A wasted effort, Rush waited for them, with a grin that eerily escaped the outlines of his face.
"So that will be 50,000 gold pieces, won fair and square." Rush stated holding out his hand.
"What are you talking about? You cheated." Byuu responded, refusing to remove his wallet from his fatigues.
"What do you mean? You clipped me!" Rush fired back.
"And I suppose that ice cloud was an accident?" Byuu tried to end with a touch of finality. What then followed almost broke the record for profanities uttered in a Kahnaian principality. Fortunately this was all soon broken up by the timely appearance of a guard.
"Sir Byuu, the king wishes for your appearance." Called the guard taking advantage of the fact that as of right now he looked a lot more respectable than his superior officer. Forcing Rush off of him Byuu stormed across the drawbridge. With his hair a dark brown instead of it's usual shade of gold and his black eye he hardly looked ready to confront the king. Especially considering how unsuccessful his last mission was. He pushed open the great golden throne room door. The throne room seemed grander and grander every time he passed through the chamber door. He was never quite certain the reason why, was it the never-ending sea of red carpet or the great mural of Bahamut on the ceiling? Today he would be greeted by not only by the king but the highest generals of the Kahna military. Why did he have to accept that wager? He took his position near the generals. He felt as if everyone was staring at him, this was especially true of General Matelite. He always felt as if the guy had it out for him.
"Colonel Byuu, what is the meaning of this? Called an old man from down the line. " Your clothes are filthy! Are you having problems with Salamando again? Asked the physically wizened man as he hobbled closer. His name was Sendack, and to put it simply he was the king's right hand man. Speaking to him was just like talking directly to the king himself. Thank Bahamut he was on his side.
"Apparently it's Salamando's time of the month." Byuu replied casually, it was the best thing he could come up with at the time. He couldn't risk telling the king's messenger about his little wager. Gambling was generally frowned upon and the melee might have set him up for a court martial.
"Um, Byuu about that…." Sendack's advice was suddenly cut off by the sound of the royal chamber's door. The king emerged in his traditional ceremonial robes and then proceeded to saintly perch himself upon the throne. Beside him stood the chief reason for his attention, Princess Yoyo. In the dragon commander's eyes there was no woman fairer than her. He always found a way to get lost between her long blond hair and those bewitching green eyes. If his eyes could ever get off her face the rest of her body not only found, but also mastered the use of her mother's genes.
"My loyal servants, I regret to inform you that my ability to speak with the holy dragons is slowly slipping away." Spoke the king with surprising volume considering the sadness intertwined with his words. "The great dragon has not yet awakened from its slumber. However, my beloved daughter Yoyo is beginning to sense the dragon's power. If for some reason that I perish, I wish for my legacy to be passed on by her." With that he concluded his short speech. The great ruler then called the generals forth. Byuu's feet froze beneath him; all the other generals probably had great victory speeches tucked away within their armor. Sure he had the scars, but Rush's fists were hardly the topic to be brought up before the great King Kahna, especially when your last mission was completely pointless. The line made its last shudder and it was time for Colonel Byuu to report, but fate pushed open the chamber door.
"General Matelite! Granbelos's at our gates!!!" shouted a guard. His legs were caught in a tremor. Byuu's ears popped up at the distress call, he finally had a chance to see some real action. General Matelite rose from the crowd.
"Knights of Kahna, we will meet the enemy. Everybody else shall the guard the King." Roared the general with his most commanding tone. "Our time has finally come." He spoke to himself. Byuu overheard the comment and relished the fact that the general was just as bored as he was. He scrambled for the front gate. Salamando waited for him at the stable. The look in his dragon's eye reflected his own, a longing to return to battle. He mounted her and unsheathed his swords. As he pushed on to the battlefield, a pair of stragglers crossed his path.
"What kept you?" he yelled toward Bikkebakke and Truce who had only just crossed the finish line.
"We…uh, got lost sir." Truce smiled sheepishly, Bikkebakke doing the same.
"What do you mean, you got lost?" Byuu barked toward his minions. "This is Kahna airspace, you have no reason to get lost."
"Bikkebakke was navigating, sir. It wasn't my fault." Said Truce, panicking.
" That doesn't matter right now! We're in the middle of a war!" yelled Byuu trying desperately to bring this conversation back into reality.
"Do we have to? I'm hungry." Whined Bikkebakke. Byuu ignored this last comment and proceeded toward the battlefield. Truce and Bikkebakke followed suit. It didn't take long to find the other member of the dragon squad. Rush was already on the frontlines. He wasn't the only one there; all of the generals had reached the battlefield as well. The enemy had gathered on the other side of the river. But to Byuu's surprise the enemy army hardly looked like a threat. His dragon squad alone easily dwarfed it, not even considering the phalanx that General Matelite had rallied.
"General Matelite, we can't let them cross the bridge." Sendack informed Matelite.
"Don't worry, that's about to be taken care of." Said Matelite calmly, while at the same time trying to find the best way to make his armor look shinier. "So you want to cross this bridge? Not on my watch! INSPIRE!" the oversized axe held in his hand began to spark. Jumping to add extra effect he plunged the axe into the walkway. Upon impact a gigantic shockwave ripped the bridge to pieces. He gazed upon the ruins with a sense of satisfaction.
"General Matelite, do you realize how much it cost to build that bridge!" Sendack gaped, stunned by Matelite's sudden showing of shock and awe.
"Shut it, you old geezer. You know that king Kahna has enough gold to build his own lagoon for a summer home." Matelite shot back at the old man. Byuu gazed over the ruins and took note of one minor problem; the enemy was still on the move. The Granbellian mage squad was freezing over the river creating new paths for their soldiers to traverse the stream. Byuu forced Salamando into a nosedive. He didn't have much time, he had to halt their advance before…well it didn't really matter that much, Matelite's armor squad could easily crush the soldiers as soon as they reached landfall. Byuu ordered Salamando to use her fiery breath. She obliged her master sending all the Granbellian soldiers who had neglected their swimming classes to an untimely doom. After the cleanup crew led by Rush finished off the rest of the soldiers who had not attempted to cross the bridge, they had a brief celebration over their minor victory. Something still didn't seem right about the whole situation. Why would Granbelos send such a minor platoon to conquer such a significant adversary? The truth behind that statement abruptly came to light as soon as they reached the castle gates. The guards that they had expected to greet them were lying in pools of their own blood. Time was not on their side. With great haste they made there way to the throne room. They had failed Emperor Sauzer stood at the helm, a badly beaten King Kahna at his side.
"Sauzer, what is the meaning of this?" Called the king from the floor.
"Do you know of the legend of the holy dragons, Kahna? Spoke the emperor maliciously.
"You don't mean…" The king gasped.
"Yes, only one hero can awaken the dragons." The Emperor stated. "But I lacked a certain talent, a talent that only lies in your bloodline. But that's no longer a problem." Sauzer scanned over his army with his grin widening over his face. "Palpelos!" A tall blond haired general in green armor emerged from the crowd with Princess Yoyo slung unconscious over his shoulder.
"Yoyo!" echoed the entire Kahnaian army in unison.
"Sauzer, you bastard!" yelled Matelite as he charged forward. Byuu and the rest of the dragon squad scrambled into action as well. Their path was clear; they could end this madness right now. Just then, a raven haired general apparated in front of them. One man could hardly be a problem right? That wasn't the case, as within moments the man not only disarmed Matelite but the entire dragon squad as well.
"Good work, Irvine." Replied Sauzer, even though he was accustomed to his handiwork. Irvine didn't even react. "Now, were was I, Kahna…Oh yes, to put simply you're disposable." Sauzer then unsheathed his sword. "May all remember the fall of the house of Kahna!" as soon as he finished he brought his blade across the monarch's neck, decapitating him. Byuu could only stare forward, his body frozen by what had just transpired. It was a prelude to empty skies.