This is the first story out of a series of smaller stories with about 9 chapters in each. I hope that this story would be intresting to you.
DragonSlyfer
Prologue
Staring into the night Gardraêl, the lord of darkness, ponders while his pet raven sits on his shoulder and preens his feathers. Kreal, unlike most ravens, was very intelligent and Gardraêls advisor and closest companion.
"Kwraaa, Gardraêl, if the prophecy is true then we must dispose of the Empire before they find the one they call the DragonSlyfer, and all his companions before they realize were are still alive."
Gardraêl replies calmly while pacing around in the room.
"Kreal as much as I respect you highly, I believe that attempting to destroy the Empire now is one of the most unnecessary things to do, our attack force is not nearly big enough, and even though we have the orcs and goblins as allies, without a proper plan we will be defeated and risk being executed. Timing is of the essence."
Kreal flew of Gardraêl and landed on the table. Spotting a large chunk of meat still left on the table Kreal grabbed at it with his beak.
"Humph, not listening to me eh? I foresee misfortune coming your way. He will kill you and your men. Act now and you may get him to serve you, but it's your choice whether you want to get killed or not."
Sighing, Gardraêl sits down on his chair and thinks hard. "Unless I know what he looks like and what dragon he is riding I will not be able to persuade him to join our cause."
Kreal shrugged and landed on his perch and took a nap. Gardraêl got up and paced again thinking of some way to overthrow the emperor. Coming up with nothing he summoned his second most trusted advisor. A large shadow burst through the door and a dark form stood at the doorway. A raggedy cloak surrounded the form with only his face showing. All you could see was 2 glowing red eyes on the face. The rest of his face was covered in smoke.
"You haven't failed me yet Tartis. Tell me what to do. With the day of the prophecy drawing nearer, I haven't a clue how to find the DragonSlyfer."
In a hollow voice Tartis replied "The DragonSlyfer is a great warrior of all sorts. There is not a blade he can't handle nor a bow he can' snipe with. We could observe all warriors and find the most efficient dragon rider. Then we can capture him or her."
"The prophecy claims that the DragonSlyfer would have a mark on the palm of his hand."
"Making it all the more easier for us to find him. I could use dark magic to weasel out who would be the DragonSlyfer."
"No. I went into hiding for a reason. I won't have you go around using dark magic for you know it slays multiple people . That would make it seem obvious that we are rising into power again. For only we use dark magic" He shook his head "No. I will send a group of soldiers. They would look less conspicuous."
"As you wish my lord."
Satisfied Gardraêl waved and the shade left the room. He summoned a small group of soldiers and planned on how to carry out the capture of the rider.
Chapter 1: Meeting Ellie
Waking up to the bright sun Equidor gets up. Knowing that he has to do chores he quickly gets dressed and heads to the kitchen. Looking for food to eat he takes a loaf of bread and some cheese from the cupboard. Squeezing some orange juice he takes the cup, bread and cheese to the table. Sitting down and grabbing a bite he ponders about what the day might bring. Once he finished he looked for his father. Noticing a small piece of paper on the door Equidor took it and began to read it. It said:
Equidor,
I have left to go to the market to sell the extra crops and jewels that we had. I will be back in a couple of days. You know what to do. I expect that the house will be well tended and that the animals are healthy. I'll see you soon.
Halton
P.S. You know the old house by the river? I want you to go and meet the people that live there. I hear that there is a girl living there. It would do you good to make friends.
Throwing it into the garbage Equidor grabbed a sac of money on the counter and hurried of to the butcher shop. As he headed of to the shop he looked around him and noticed that it was getting humid. Worried that it was going to rain he quickened his pace and got there in a couple of minutes. Closing the door behind him he knocked on the counter, and tried to catch his breath. Behind the counter was a man as big as a tree wielding a butcher knife with blood all over his apron. When the man saw Equidor he smiled.
"Well if it isn't young Equidor. Gotten into trouble yet?" Wiping his brow Equidor shook his head and said
"No, just doing another errand for my father."
"Ahhh…. Old Halton eh? Up to his old tricks down by the market? I hear that there is a dragon's egg there. Maybe he might get it knowing how rare one is."
"I doubt that he will buy it. Especially after his some of best sheep were eaten by one."
"Ah well it happens some times. Rouge dragons come down from the mountains and devour whatever they could find. Anyhow what can I do for you?"
Putting 3 shillings on the counter Equidor asked for some meat. When he got that he thanked the butcher and took off to bring the meat home. When he got back home he put the meat away and grabbed a few trinkets that he kept with him at all times. Picking up the ring that he kept with him at all times he slipped it onto his middle finger. Looking around he picked up his bag and took off back down the road. Sometimes he wished that he lived slightly closer to the village, and that the other children would play with him more. When he got to the village he decided to meet the people. Rounding a corner he didn't notice a girl reading a book quietly and crashed straight into her. Feeling somewhat dazed he gets up while the girl picks up her bag and puts her books into it. He caught a glimpse of a book called: Dragon training, he wonders why she was carrying it around. When she got up he noticed that there was a scar on her left cheek and that she wore a cap on her head. "Sorry, I didn't see you there" he mumbled. She just smiled and said "It's ok. My name is Ellie. What's yours?"
"Equidor."
"Nice to meet you Equidor."
Equidor spied something shining on her neck and saw that it was a necklace. He peered at it and saw writing on it. He tried to read it when Ellie took off the necklace and put it in her pocket. "So do you want to come over or should you go home. It looks like it's going to rain."
"I think that I will go home. Don't want to get wet. Nice meeting you Ellie"
"Thank you. Nice meeting you to"
Equidor turned around and headed straight home. That was strange. Why was she wearing a cap? Why did she have the scar on her cheek? And why dose she seem so strangely familiar? He pondered this all the way until he got home.
Chapter 2: The Dragon Egg
The first signs of rain had come. It started to drizzle by the time he got back home. Hoping that the rain wouldn't leak through he patched up all of the little holes with cedar sap. When the rain finally stopped Equidor went outside to start chopping wood. Taking out his axe he sighs and walks into the forest. Hacking away at a small tree Equidor wipes his brow with his sleeve. Muttering to himself he picks up the tree and puts it into a pile of wood he gathered and chopped. Gathering and bundling the rest of the wood with twine, he carried it while checking that his pouch doesn't get caught. Getting up, he picked up the bundle and was about to set back home when he spotted a large object under a shrub. Bending down to pick it up, he examined it carefully. It appeared to be a Dragon egg the way it seemed glow with anticipation. Wondering what species it was he turned it this way and that. Putting it into his pouch he hurried home quickly. On the way back he came across a massive pile of bones. Walking around them he saw that they once belonged to a dragon. Worried that there may be more about he hurried home as fast as possible. As he walked into the door he put down the firewood and set them to dry, then closed the door.
He checked that the dragon egg was still in his pouch and went to his room. There wasn't much in it, only a drawer, a small bed, a small table, and a window on the right wall. Looking around the room to see if anyone was watching him, he moved the drawer aside to show a small slate of mud that looked like the rest of the floor. He removed that one section to reveal a small door. Opening the door he entered a stairway and sealed the door again. The stairs led him into a large underground chamber filled with many things. A bookcase filled with books on legends, spell casting, cures for diseases and many more. Beside it was a small desk with blank pages and a pen. On the other side of the bookshelf were many shelves packed with herbs and medicine. Across from it was a small chamber with a large assortment of weapons. From swords to daggers to axes to throwing knives, most of the equipment was due to years of scavenging and exploring. In one corner sat a bag of throwing stars and knives. He couldn't remember where he found those, but all he could remember was that they were with him when Halton found him. Equidor took out the Dragon egg and looked for a good place to put it. He wanted to place it in a good place so that it doesn't ruin the books, scrolls and weapons if it did something funny. Thinking of no where to put it he plopped it onto the desk and began to study it. Writing down all of the details about it he also took out a book from the shelf: Identifying dragons and their eggs. Flipping through the pages he looked for a description that fit his egg. Unable to find one he closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Carefully putting away the paper that he written on he picked up the egg and brought it to his room. Putting it in the drawer, he made sure that he hid it from view knowing how valuable a dragon egg is. Then he thought better and took it out of the drawer and went back into the room. Putting it into the armory, knowing that it would damage the least there. He also took out a dagger from one of the racks, having a feeling that he would need it, and slid it down his boot. He then headed for the village to borrow that book from Ellie.
Chapter 3: A visit to Ellie's house
Arriving at the house Equidor knocks on it 3 times. He steps back and hears the door being opened. In the doorway stood Ellie, she seemed surprised to see him. "Hi Equidor, how nice of you to drop by."
"Hi Ellie. Can I come in?
"sure, want tea?"
"why not."
She left the door and headed to the kitchen. Entering the house Equidor looked around. He saw that it was well made and that there were many books and bookshelves lined on the wall. Scanning through them he saw one that seemed to stick out more than the others. He was about to take it when Ellie came in. He noticed that she was still wearing the cap, but the necklace was nowhere in sight.
Ellie sat down and gestured to the table. Sitting down Equidor took the tea and drank it. Looking at her more carefully he noticed that she was strikingly beautiful, in an odd sort of way. She had thick brown hair, and she had a striking figure, but the main thing he noticed was her eyes. They were deep sapphire blue and seemed to burst with knowledge, and although she was young he could tell that she was older than him by about 2 years.
"So what do you want to do?" Equidor shrugged and didn't reply. Ellie sighed and began to think.
"I know. Do you want to practice shooting? I have 2 bows that we could use and I have targets that we could practice on." Not thinking of anything else to do he agreed and headed out to the back.
"Ellie, I've been meaning to ask you. Can I borrow your book?" She frowned and asked "What book? We have so many books here."
"The one about dragon training. I though tha-"
At that moment Equidor felt the ground shake and a lour roar blasted from underneath his feet. He jumped up and grabbed the nearest thing he could find, which was his cup of tea in which he spilled it all over himself. Howling in pain he stripped off his shirt and tried to wipe the hot tea from his skin. Ellie rushed to get a cloth while stifling a laugh. When she came back Equidor was red all over. Not only because of the tea, but because he was blushing really hard. "Here wipe off the tea with the cloth. I have to grab a bin to clean up the mess." She said giggling at the same time. Grabbing the cloth he wiped of all of the liquid and soaked up as much moisture as he could from his shirt. Once he was sure that it wasn't too wet or too hot he put it back on and waited for Ellie to come back. He waited, and waited, and waited, until finally he could wait no longer. He stood up and walked around the house. He saw that there was a door half opened. Quietly he slid through the door and almost fell down some of the stairs. Steadying himself he creped down the stairs and came across another door. He slowly opened that one and a large claw shot out from the darkness. He yelped as it grabbed him and dragged him through the door.
Chapter 4: Pepper gives a greeting
The claw was strong and hot. In the darkness he couldn't quite make out the arm and the body, but that didn't matter now. Equidor was squirming and wriggling in the grasp of the creature. Stop squirming, it's making it harder to bite off your head and devour your body. Equidor heard, or rather felt the voice in his mind and faltered slightly. Then all of a sudden the claw released him and he fell to the floor. Whump! He hit the floor back first and saw 2 large beady eyes staring at him in the darkness. He herd heavy breathing and felt hot steam blowing at his face. His eyes widened and his nose began to twitch. He then let out a huge sneeze. AHHHHH-CHOOOO!!!!! When he looked up he saw that the eyes have gone, but the presence of the creature was still there. He wondered where it was so he slowly got up and he crept around looking for something with a light. He felt something, but it was warm and soft to the touch.
"Eek, Whaaa? Who is it? Equidor?"
"Yea, it's me…. Ellie?"
"OF COURSE IT'S ME!!! And I would appreciate it if you stopped TOUCHING MY BUTT!!!!"
Equidor quickly retracted his hand and blushed again. This time he was glad that the darkness prevented her from seeing him.
"You are blushing aren't you well you are sooooo dead when I find you"
Crap how did she know? I should better hide, but where?
"Hiding won't help you. I will know where you will hide"
Equidor was about to run when he saw light and the whole room lit up. He covered his eyes and felt a sharp SMACK in the face. He uncovered his eyes and rubbed the area where he felt the smack. When his eyes cleared he saw that the room was huge. He also saw Ellie with her hand raised ready to smack him again and grabbed her arm before she could deliver another one. Although he was looking at the room, all he could see was the large creature in front of him. Or rather there was a dragon that was blocking his view. It turned its head and stared at him again, only this time projecting its thoughts. Ellie talked me out of eating you. She said that you would taste terrible, cause you taste like tea and I hate tea.
All Equidor could do was stare at the immense creature and he let go of Ellie's arm. He didn't know what to say except.… "Am I dreaming, because if I am pinch me."
Ellie drew back a fist and landed it hard on his shoulder.
"OW. I said pinch. Not punch!"
"That was for grabbing my ass"
"Alright already I GET THE POINT. The slap was hard enough! God"
She smiled and looked at the dragon as though she was projecting thoughts to it.
It nodded and projected its thought speech at him. My name is Pepper. How are you Equidor?
"Um…..Fine thank you…Pepper…um are you male or female?"
He saw that pepper was huffing at him. At first he didn't understand, what it was doing, but then it dawned him that it was laughing at him.
I am a female, although I expected your first question to be somewhat more……how should I say… Intelligent? Equidor stood there paralyzed for a bit. Then he asked "How do you get out of the room?"
Instead of answering Pepper stepped onto a large slab of stone and one of the walls opened. He saw that the wall led up to a tunnel and that the tunnel led to the outside. Ellie climbed onto Peppers back and gestured him to climb on as well. He shook his head and started up the tunnel. He felt a huge gust of wind as Pepper bounded up the tunnel. The wind was so strong it twirled him around like a mere leaf. When he stopped spinning he walked as straight as possible up the tunnel until he got out. There Pepper and Ellie stood waiting. He could have sworn that part of Pepper's face flickered to a hideous black crystal like growth. He shook his head and his mind cleared he aw Pepper's face was normal and wondered if he imagined it, then he looked up and saw that it was dark. He turned to Pepper and Ellie and said "It's getting dark. I have to get home soon."
"That's ok we can play another time. Right Pepper?"
Yes, and hope that you get rid of the tea smell before you come back.
Equidor paled as Pepper licked her lips. Ellie frowned and shook her head at Pepper. She shrugged and turned her head to char some wood. Ellie then apologized for Peppers rude behavior. Equidor waved good-bye. He then headed off to his house. He then remembered with a shock that he wanted to borrow Ellie's book. Equidor ran back to the field where he departed with Ellie and Pepper, but when he got there they were gone. He searched for them, scanning the skies without luck. I'll ask her tomorrow. Little did he know what horrors the next day would bring.
Chapter 5: The Dragon
As he walked back to his house he kicked stones on the path, wondering how he would be able to befriend Pepper. As he neared the road to where his house was he looked up and felt that something was not right. He took out the dagger from his boot and headed to the front of the house. He saw in shock that the front door was almost torn off its hinges. He slowly entered his house and gasped as he looked around his house. All of the furniture was torn up and destroyed, he then ran to his room, clutching the dagger in his right hand. His room door was also a wreck. The table was completely destroyed, and the cupboard that was on top of the secret door was chopped into a million pieces. He hurriedly went to open the door and was relived to see that it was intact and untouched. Opening it he went down the stairs and into the room. To his relief he saw that whoever ransacked his house did not touch the chamber. Looking about he made sure that everything was in place and in order. All of a sudden he felt a presence in the room. He grabbed the dagger by the handle and slowly went to the armory. He heard a loud clang and the sound of metal falling and gripped the dagger more tightly. He gulped and went into the room. Something small lunged at him and he fell down loosing his grip on the dagger. He tried to look for it and saw it, under the beast's foot. He tried to pry the foot off of the dagger when he noticed that there was something about the toes that made him think twice. On its 3 toes were 3 very sharp claws Kinda like Peppers, only much MUCH smaller. That made him stop, and slowly look up into the face of a baby dragon.
"How did you get here?"
Then he remembered that he brought the dragon egg into the house and put it into the chamber. "Oh" he said quietly. The dragons started to sniff around the armory and then it started to smell him. Alarmed he quickly stood up and the dragon snapped open it's mouth. Equidor reeled around and tried to grab something but slipped and fell back to the ground. He felt somewhat dazed and got up. He then suddenly felt a buzzing around the back of his skull, then a presence replacing that buzzing. He tried to pull at it with his mind but it refused to move, instead seeming to snap back at him. He withdrew the attack and slowly tried to figure out what it was. He could hear sounds and voices there, but none that he knew. Also he felt that something was trying to communicate with him. His first response was Hello?
What he got was a rush of words. He struggled to sort them out and managed to get a grasp on a sentence. Feed me!! He suddenly looked at the dragon again and he heard the voice again Well what are you waiting for I AM HUNGRY!!! Equidor turned and rummaged in his sac and found small chunks of salted meat. He brushed as much of the salt off it and gave it to the dragon. It sniffed it and ripped off large chunks of the meat and chewed. He kept knelt down and stayed there until the dragon swallowed the meat. It squeaked and Equidor stroked its head. "What type of dragon are you?" He heard a sharp shrill and covered his ears. Then he heard "I don't really know. Thanks for the food though." Equidor starred at the dragon for a long time, and examined it. It was a dark black and its eyes are green. It's wings were also black like its scales. He gently picked it up as the dragon yelped in protest. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"Fine, but …OW! Your nails are sharp"
"I thought that dragon scales are hard. I know a lot of knights that broke their swords against dragon scales."
"Their weak when we are first born, but they get harder as we grow older."
"Oh"
Equidor placed the dragon down on the floor and said "I'm gonna grab what I can down there. There are many weapons that we could use if we get attacked, herbs that we could use and books that could sell for a lot."
"Ok, I'll stay here and find food to eat."
Equidor rolled his eyes and headed back down the stairs. He went into the armory and he took favorite sword and a couple of throwing knives. He tucked those into his pouch and grabbed a bow and a quiver full of arrows. He put the bow into the quiver along with the arrows and put an axe into his belt. He then took out a case from under a shelf and opened it. There in the case was a rifle along with ammo and gunpowder. He took the ammo and gunpowder and put it into his pouch. Then he took out the rifle and shouldered it. He then went to his book shelf and took out certain books he knows would be good if he gets lost. He also put those into the pouch. Looking around he remembered to take some herbs. Finally Equidor looked around one last time and headed up the stairs. He sealed off the entrance and headed to the kitchen. He heard a loud crash and hurried into the kitchen. There he saw the dragon trying to reach a steak hanging from the ceiling.
"what are you doing?"
"Trying to get the meat, I'm hungry"
"Again? I just fed you."
"I get hungry a lot"
Equidor sighed and looked around for more food, and then he stopped. He didn't remember a large steak hanging from the ceiling. He suddenly felt nervous and he grabbed the dragon again. It protested again and even flapped its wings as hard as it could. Equidor put him into the pouch and tried to keep him quiet, without success. He yelps in surprise as a blade cam bearing down on him.
Chapter 6: Surprise attack
Equidor just barley dodged in time and felt the wind of the blade as it missed him by barley a centimeter. He grabbed the axe in his belt and swung it, only to have it parried by the blade. Thinking of nothing else he punched under the blade where he thought the stomach was. Equidor felt his fist connect and heard a grunt. The sword loosened and Equidor flipped the sword to he was wielding it. He stood in a ready stance and looked around. He couldn't see very much and he just noticed that it was dark he slowly backed out of the kitchen and headed out the door. There he saw 2 soldiers standing in the front yard with pikes pointed at him. He then heard the unsheathing of a blade and turned around. He saw another soldier with a sword in hand blocking the front door with a smug grin on his face. Equidor realized that it was that soldier that attacked him in the first place. He dropped threw the axe and the sword. The soldier in the doorway slashed his sword and the axe fell in half. The sword however totally missed his mark. He quickly took out the bow and an arrow. He pulled back the bowstring and let the arrow fly. It hit the swordsman square in the chest. He grunted and fell over with the arrow petruding from his chest. He heard yelling and he instinctively ducked as 2 lances flew and hit the walls of his house. He saw the 2 soldiers rush at him with daggers in hand and he didn't have time to dodge as a knife was thrown from a soldier and cut his arm. Pain lanced through his arm as blood started to pour from it. He knew that this was the end as the second soldier came foreword. He closed his eyes and heard a yell of surprise. He open his eyes and saw the dragon claw at the second soldiers face, and the first soldier taking aim with another dagger. The second soldier yelled and swung his dagger here and there. Thinking fast he placed another arrow into his bow and pulled back. He let the arrow fly and it hit the first soldier into his neck. The soldier fell over with a gurgle and went still. Equidor was about to let another arrow loose when he remembered about the dragon flying around he soldier. Not knowing what to do he put the bow and arrow back into the quiver search into his pouch for something he could hit the soldier without hitting his dragon. He suddenly saw out of the corner of his eye a flash, then a silhouette of something big. He turned his head and saw Pepper with Ellie on her back. Ellie gave a yell and threw a javelin at the soldier. Equidor gave a yelp of fright, but the small dragon flew up above the javelin and it hit the soldier in his hip. He let loose a yell of pain and fell over. Equidor ran up to the body and took out a throwing knife. Pepper put a foot onto the soldier, while Ellie held a spear at his throat. Equidor went up to the soldier and he examined him. The soldier was well built and his armor was scratched and stained with old blood and new blood from his side. "Go ahead and kill me boy." he rasped "It's a pity; you could have been a valuable player in the master's plan."
Shaking his head Equidor replied in a quiet but steady tone. "No. Killing you won't do me any good. I'm going to ask you some questions and you are going to answer them. Got it?"
"You can threaten me with death, but it won't work. All it would do is do me a huge favor. I will not spill any of my master's plan."
Ellie looked up at Equidor with an expression that probably said Can I kill this bastard now? Equidor shook his head and stuck out his index finger and hit a point on his neck and the soldier fell unconscious. Equidor looked at Ellie and Ellie starred back at him. Then she gasped in surprise. "Equidor your arm! It's been cut badly" Equidor looked at the cut that the dagger inflicted upon him and winced in pain. "It's ok. It's not that bad." Ellie insisted that she bandaged it immediately. She took out a small vial and poured some of its contents onto the wound. Equidor grunted as the liquid came in contact with the wound. Whoa, I just had a serious case of deja-vu. Ellie then took out some cloth and wrapped it around his arm. Pepper gave a small huff and smoke blew everywhere. Then she spotted the small dragon flying around her head. Equidor noticed that Pepper was interested with the dragon What is his name? Pepper suddenly asked. Equidor realized with a start that he didn't name the dragon.
What's your name?
How should I know? I wasn't born with one. You choose.
Um… ok…..Uhhhh. How about…. Spellfire?
Hmmm……It has a nice ring to it. Not to long and not to short. I like it.
"His name is Spellfire."
Pepper seem to jerk back in surprise. Then Ellie looked at Equidor with an inquiring look. "Interesting choice of name Equidor. Why Spellfire?"
Equidor shrugged and replied "It was the first name that popped into my head. Besides Spellfire likes it."
Spellfire nodded his head and said "Yeah. I like it. It sounds nice."
Ellie jumped back in surprise, then looked at Equidor. "Your dragon. He can talk!"
Spellfire looked puzzled "What did I do?"
"Nothing Spellfire, it's just that not very many dragons can talk."
"So?"
"So, Ellie isn't used to talking dragons. Who would?"
"I guess your right."
Ellie tapped Equidor's shoulder and pointed at his house. "What happened? Your house looks like a wreck."
"These guys" he motioned to the corpses "trashed my house while I was visiting you."
"Soldiers right?"
"Yeah, except that one" He motioned to the one at the doorway. "He looked a little different and he was crazy good with his sword."
Ellie went for a closer look and she gasped in surprise. "How did you kill him?"
"I shot an arrow and I shot him in the stomach."
"I'm surprised that he didn't deflect it. This isn't an ordinary soldier. This is a Myrmidon."
"A Myrmidon?"
"Yeah a master of the blade. They are very skilled with the sword and almost never miss."
"Then how did he miss me?"
"Did you dodge at the last possible minute?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Oh, figures"
Equidor turned his head to the corpse and took the Myrmidons sword. He put it back into the scabbard and clipped it onto his belt. Then he turned to Spellfire and Pepper. He suddenly noticed that Spellfire had grown in such a short period of time. "Spellfire. Come here"
Spellfire obeyed and stood on the ground close to Equidor. He noted that he was almost the same height as him. Note to self: keep track of Spellfire's growth.
I can do it for you
Hey! What are you doing reading my thoughts!
Oops, Sorry Equidor.
Equidor sighed as he turned to Pepper and Ellie. "So now what do I do? I have no home now and I doubt that your parents would appreciate me sleeping over."
Ellie looked down at her feet and said in a sad voice "My father is dead, and my mother is missing. I don't know where she is or where to look."
"Oh, I'm sorry then."
"It's ok."
"I could help you find her if you'd like"
Ellie looked up and smiled. "Would you?"
"Sure why not? We could even ask the emperor if he has any idea where she is. Maybe even join their army"
"Ok, but the castle is all the way in Kalara. Pepper can't travel that far, even with her…." Ellie stopped herself before she said anymore.
"Her what?"
My powers. I can teleport from place to place, but I can't go too far or I lose a lot of energy.
"You have powers?"
That's how we got here in the first place.
"Oh, that explains how you got here so quickly."
Pepper sniggered and turned her head to look for Spellfire, but couldn't find him. Equidor also looked for Spellfire and also couldn't find him. "Spellfire's gone"
"WHAT!!!!!" Exclaimed Ellie "We have to find him!"
"But where would he be?"
Panicking Ellie and Equidor look around franticly. Suddenly Ellie stops and seemed to close her eyes. Equidor stopped as well and looked at Ellie with a puzzled look.
"Look Ellie we have to look for him, not just stand around and look at our feet. Now come. Ellie? Are you there?"
He noticed that she was still, very still. Ellie suddenly open her eyes and they were green. Equidor jumped back in surprise and landed on the ground.
"He's right there."
"I don't see anything."
"Right there" she says as she pointed at the black shadow
"All I see is a black shad……. Ooohhhhhh. That's where Spellfire is."
"What?" chimed in Spellfire
"You are a shadow. I can't seem to see you very well."
All of a sudden Equidor heard multiple screams, and whipped his head to the village. He could see fire blazing from some of the houses and he could hear screams ripping through the air.
"The village is under attack!"
"Hurry climb aboard Pepper, I think she can carry our weight. Spellfire can fly on his own."
"Are you armed?"
"Yes I have my silver lance and my mother's sword. What about you?"
"Yeah, um… I'm pretty loaded."
"Alright then unsheathe your blade, were going in."
Chapter 7: Village raid
Equidor could feel the beating of Pepper's wings as they flew closer and closer to the village. When they got near the village Equidor could see about 10 houses with blazing fires from the roofs. When they got to the village center, he could hear Ellie gasp and Equidor himself widened his eyes in shock. In the very middle of the square was a raging battle between villagers, soldiers and large, heavy, armored, lizard-like creatures with wicked looking scythes, frost pikes and large swords massacring the villagers. Ellie took out a bow as Equidor did the same. They shot arrows at the heads of the creatures and the soldiers. Many of them hit their mark as Villagers started to scream and yell as they saw Pepper flying overhead. Then the Lizard like creatures also looked up. Equidor started to aim at the insect like mouth when he suddenly saw Spellfire zoom out of no where as a shadowy haze about half the size of Pepper. Equidor recoiled back to avoid hitting Spellfire and the arrow went wild. It rebounded off of a villager's shield and straight into a Lizard creature's neck. It gave a loud bellow and dropped dead on the stone floor. Pepper came in for landing and Ellie jumped of her. Equidor stayed for a bit picking off at enemies, but ran out of arrows. He then took out his sword and the sword from the myrmidon and started to slash and hack like crazy. He slained many soldiers left and right, but when he fought a lizard creature he saw that he was no match for its heavy armor and brute strength. They traded blows until the creature picked him up and threw him onto the ground. Equidor lost grip on his swords and fell on the floor. Helpless and bloody he closed his eyes and waited for the creature to deliver the final blow. He then heard flapping and the loud cry of the creature. Opening his eyes he saw that Spellfire had attacked it from the air and ripped the creature apart. He then noticed the other soldiers and Lizard creatures retreat as they saw Spellfire's creature in shreds. They then bolted and dropped all of their arms in a rush to get out. Only the 2 dragon riders and their dragons were left on in the village square.
"Well that was fun." Ellie said cleaning off her blade.
Equidor kept quiet and looked for his blade. He found it on the floor next to the creature that Equidor slained with the rebounded arrow. He examined the creature hard. It was large and muscular. The armor was made with a strange blue metal. Its hand was strange as well. Instead of 4 fingers and a thumb it had 3 fingers and 2 thumbs. One thumb on each side. He then looked at the tail of this hulking beast and noted how strong it was. His eyes traced all the way to the tip where he saw a large bone sticking out into a spade like shape. Equidor stood up and was about to leave when he spotted the large scythe that it wielded. He bent to pick it up, but stopped when his hand was about 2 inches away. He had an uneasy feeling about this weapon. It's just a scythe. What can it do to me? Taking a deep breath he reached for the weapon. He then put his hand on it and jumped back with a yelp of pain. He could feel a searing pain on his hand, and looked down. His hand was charred and blood began to seep out of some small cuts from the scorching metal and he felt his energy draining fast. Ellie came running to Equidor. When she saw the burn, her eyes widened and she fumbled in her bag. Equidor started to feel dizzy and his surroundings seemed blurry. He saw Ellie's lips move, but couldn't hear a thing. He also saw some of the villagers run to him and could feel Pepper and Spellfire coming to him. HOLD ON EQUIDOR!! But he couldn't and he slipped into oblivion…….......................
SPLASH!!!
SPLASH!!!
"He's waking up!"
"Splash him again, he needs to drink the tea."
SPLASH!!!
Equidor sputtered and woke open his eyes with a start. He saw an old women sitting in a chair and a young boy standing beside him with an empty bucket. Equidor was lying on a sack on the floor of a burnt down house. He got up, but keeled over and fell to the floor clutching his stomach. He saw the old women give the cup of tea to the young boy who gave it to Equidor.
"Take it and drink it. The tea will restore your blood. You look as pale as a ghost."
He took the tea and took a sip and spat it out as fast as he could.
"Drink it. It tastes bad but it will help you get better."
He took a gulp as fast as he could, but not fast enough. He could feel the foul liquid flow down his throat and the bitter aftertaste of the herbs. He made a face, and the old woman laughed.
"It helps you produce blood and increases your stamina, but not by much. So finish the cup."
As Equidor struggled to finish the cup he heard gravel shift and he saw Ellie enter what was left of the doorway. Then he put the cup down and rose, preparing himself for another shockwave from his stomach, but got up without a problem. Ellie ran across the room and hugged Equidor so hard he lost his breath. Ellie let go of him, her face almost completely red.
"I'm sorry Equidor. How are you feeling?"
"Yeah. I still feel kinda gross, but better than before. What happened?"
"You passed out when you touched the SoulReaper, that's what that scythe was. I poured Vyalst onto your hand and it prevented the Energy Reaper from reaching your heart."
"Wait, wait, wait. What is Energy Reaper?"
"It's what causes the scythe to kill so quickly. All of the victims of a SoulReaper don't get cut, but instead get burnt and their energy leak out from small cuts that come with the burns. Then they drop onto the floor, slowly loosing energy, and when the Energy Reaper reaches the heart, the heart stops and the victim dies."
"Then why didn't I die?"
"Vyalst is a type of liquid that blocks the flow the Energy reaper, but allows the blood to flow freely."
"Oh" he said quietly "Then what happened?"
"I was yelling for help and some villagers came running and they helped me carry you to this woman's house. She has been taking care of you for a couple of days now."
"A COUPLE OF DAYS!!!"
Equidor began to feel faint and he almost crumpled onto the floor. Ellie managed to catch him before he fell to the floor. Then she gently laid him down on the sac and put a pillow under his head.
"Lie down and get some rest. The herbs need time to circulate in your bloodstream."
He nodded, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Chapter 8: Powers of the cursed
Equidor woke up in the middle of the night. He got up from the sac and looked around. He then got up and looked around for something to eat. He heard Spellfire look up and went over to him. Spellfire had a look of surprise on his scaly face.
"What is it?"
"It's…uhhh…well… your not…is it possible to be in 2 places at once?"
"No, Why?"
"Then how is it possible to be here…when your still lying in bed."
Equidor looked surprised and turned around. What he saw almost made him fall over in surprise. He could see his own body lying thereon its own and yet he wasn't in the body. He looked down at himself and widened his eyes. All he could see was a ghostly apparatus of himself. He stuck his hand through a half burned wall and saw his hand disappear as his hand went through. He heard Spellfire say "What are you doing?", but ignored him and stuck his leg through the wall. He pulled his leg and arm back into the room and looked at Spellfire, who looked back at him with a puzzled look. Equidor put a finger to his lips and bent his knees. Then he closed his eyes and braced himself. He took a leap through the wall. He felt wind pass his face and he felt impact. Then he hit the ground and landed flat on his stomach. He opened his eyes to find himself inside a house. Dam it! I didn't pass through. Then he remembered that he didn't feel impact and he looked around. He noticed that the house had a roof and saw that everyone wasn't there. He saw that the whole place was ransacked. He decided to walk around and see what he can find. Sifting through the wreckage he came across some equipment. Then he heard whispering in a corner of the house. Curious, he went to the corner to find a small hidden door. Equidor walked right through the door to find himself in a large room full of soldiers and a large wooden board on the other side.
"We have to wait until night, and then we can massively raid the village. The Ra'zan have left and with us only left after the dragon assault we will be killed if we attack now. We attack after in the morning when all of the villagers are just getting up."
"But the village is resting now, if we attack now we can do much more damage and even take hostages. It would make things so much easier and…"
"And what? Hope the dragons come back and slaughter us? Gardraêl gave us orders and we have to follow them."
Equidor felt a chill go down his spine. Gardraêl! The exiled lord of the south not to mention the master of the shadows!
"We'd better be cautious. There could be spies in the village." We attack in 30 minutes. It's almost Dawn."
Equidor rushed out of the room and hurried out of the room forgetting that he was a ghost. He ran into the burnt house and woke up Ellie. She slowly opened her eyes, and she screamed waking everyone up in the process. Pepper reared up and let loose a roar, the young boy almost fainted and Spellfire yawned and woke up like it nothing ever happened.
"No… Equidor are you dead?" Breathed Ellie
"Um…. No why do you think that I'….. Oh right. Well it's a long story."
"Then why are you like this?"
"That's not important. I went into the house beside us and I found a large amount of soldiers that are planning to raid the village in 20 minutes."
Ellie got up and took her weapon and hurriedly put on a coat. The boy also went into action and grabbed a frost spear from one of the racks. He then joined Ellie at the front door.
Ellie turned to him and said "We're going into the house to finish off the soldiers, if you want to come then you are going to have to get into you body again."
"How am supposed to do that?"
"Maybe if you lie down and concentrate on controlling your body again."
Equidor shrugged and laid back into his body and closed his eyes and reached for a consciousness in the body. He grabbed something and opened his eyes and saw Ellie and the boy look at him.
"Am I back in my body?"
The boy looked relived and replied "Yeah you are. Now grab you weapon, we're going to do battle."
Chapter 9: The Frost mage
Ellie, Equidor and the boy ran out the door and broke through the door of the ransacked house. Then Equidor led the way to the door and broke it open. All of the soldiers froze as the 3 warriors hacked their way through the door and then at the soldiers. As the first 3 soldiers fell the others grabbed their weapons and tried to squeeze past one another to attack the 3 young ones. Equidor slashed left and right with his two sword while Ellie slashed left and right with her mother's blade and the young boy froze many people right to the spot with the frost spear and throwing spells all over the place. After many minutes of battle the 3 kids studied the wreckage of the room. Corpses were strewn all over the place, many frozen statues and all of the soldiers slained. Breathless all three treated each other's cuts and scrapes.
"When did you become such a good medic?" Ellie asked
"Ever since I could remember, I guess."
"Well you are very skilled at it. About as good as my…" Ellie tried to hold back tears, but one of them managed to slip out. She brushed it away and tried to change the subject. "How far back do you remember?"
"Well I think until I was about around 9 years old, everything before then is kind of fuzzy."
Ellie just stood there deep in thought.
They sat down to catch their breath once the wounds were tended to. Equidor looked at the boy in curiosity; the boy looked back to him and opened his mouth to speak.
"Nice job. We beat them at their own game."
"Yeah. You to um…." Replied Equidor.
"The name's Irf, and where did you learn to fight like that. You almost clipped me twice."
Equidor apologized and turned his attention on the bodies. Looking at the frozen soldiers he wondered how Irf was able to grab hold of the spear without freezing himself. Irf saw the expression on Equidor's face and laughed. Equidor felt puzzled, He didn't see what was so funny. Equidor looked around for Ellie and saw that she was looting all of the bodied for anything useful. Equidor got up and saw that the Myrmidons sword was gone. He saw that Irf had taken it and was holding it. He grinned and Equidor raised an eyebrow and saw that the sword was covered with a layer of ice. The blade of the sword was coated with sharp ice crystals that could easily slice a mans flesh and the handle of the sword was completely covered in a comfortable layer of ice. Turning it upside down Irf handed it to Equidor. Equidor grabbed the handle gasped and almost dropped it on the floor. He is a frost mage. That explains so much! He expected the sword to be freezing cold and his hand to get frostbite, but instead the handle was surprisingly warm and inviting. He looked up at Irf and saw him suppressing a laugh.
"Thanks Irf. Where am I gonna keep it until the ice melts? The scabbard is too small."
"The ice isn't going to melt, not until my death. As for the sheath I made one out of Ice. It's not going to melt either until I die. And only you will not be frozen by its touch. Anyone else except another frost mage or a friend will feel the cold sting of the ice when come in contact."
"Thank you very much Irf." Equidor says as Irf hands him the scabbard.
Ellie came back with an armload of equipment, mostly valuables that the soldiers have stolen from other raids. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah. We can sell these valuables during the adventure. Any clue where you mother is?"
"Probably a prisoner to lord Gardraêl. He would take almost anyone prisoner to gain information, he would love to have an elf as a prisoner to torture. My mother told me to be careful and stay strong."
"Well let's go to Lord Gardraêls castle and pay him a visit."
Irf stared at him as if he was crazy. "ARE YOU MAD!!!! Do you know how heavily fortified his castle is? It's heavily defended and there are dark traps all over the place, not to mention his evil forces at work. With the Ra'zan on the loose and the plague hidden all over the place."
"Wait what are the plague?" Inquired Equidor.
Ellie filled him in about the undead and Equidor turned as white as a sheet. Equidor stood there for a few moments and then regained his senses.
"If Ellie will find her mother, we have to help her as much as possible. She can't do this alone."
"Well what about my Nana? I can't leave her hear alone."
"I can get the villagers to help her when needed. I haven't been here for a while, but the villagers seem to like me."
"That's settled. We'll leave first thing in the tomorrow."
"Ok."
"Ok."
Equidor smiles and the 3 friends headed back to the old demolished house.
Epilogue: Ellie's story
When they got back into the house the 3 kids split up their tasks and headed off to do them. Ellie want into the room in which she slept in and took off her cap. She then tried to concentrate on the task at hand, which was preparing medicines and herbs for the long journey ahead of them. She tried to pack them all so that they don't mix and they wouldn't crash against each other, but she was just to worried. Equidor came into what was left of a room where Ellie was working. He was about to tap her on the shoulder when he noticed that her cap was off, and what a surprise he got. His eyes landed onto her ears and saw how pointed they were. Not like a human, but somewhat like an elf. He stifled a yelp of surprise and tried to stay as quiet as possible. Equidor thought about leaving her room when he saw how distracted she was. He went up to her and tapped her onto her shoulder. Ellie gasped and turned around covering her ears.
"Don't sneak up on me like that." She said hurriedly putting her cap onto her head.
"It's ok. I saw your ears when I came in."
"Oh how long have you been in the room for?"
"About a minute or so."
"So you know?"
"Know that you are an elf? Yeah I do"
"No I am a half breed. A half elf and half human. My mother was an elf and father was a human. They both tried to hide me away, because I was considered dangerous."
"What?"
"You'll see I'll tell you all about it."
"Alright, but still what's wrong Ellie we are going to find your mother."
"Nothing. It's just that, I haven't seen my mother in years and…well I'm starting to worry that she wouldn't recognize me"
"I'm sure that she will remember you. So don't worry."
Equidor removed his hand and was about to leave the room when he saw something shiny on the floor. It was a necklace. He then remembered that Ellie was wearing it the day he bumped into her. He picked it up and saw that the writing wasn't her name as he suspected. Instead he saw the name Alicia encrypted in the gold. He walked to Ellie and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw the necklace in his open hand. She gasped and she quickly grabbed the necklace and shoved it into her bag. This action puzzled Equidor. "How did you get this?"
"I found this on the floor amongst the ashes and the mud"
Ellie looked back at Equidor with a sad expression, and then hung her head. Tears began to well in her eyes and she started to sniffle. This puzzled Equidor even more. "What's wrong, first you are distracted form the task at hand and now you are crying over a necklace."
"You now know."
"Know what?"
"My name isn't Ellie."
"What are you talking about Ellie?"
"The necklace was given to me by my mother before she disappeared."
"Still what dose that have to do with… Oh. So your name really isn't Ellie right?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry I lied to you."
Equidor took a step back and looked for a place to sit down and absorb this. "Alicia, that's your name right?"
Alicia began to weep now as she nodded her head. "And I think I know why you moved here to our remote valley."
"Yes. I was being perused by Gardraêl, and his men. They are destroying the whole of Fyrla, just to find the DragonSlyfer."
"Well why don't you tell me your story, after you've calmed down."
Alicia sniffed and nodded. Just at that moment Irf came into the room to look for Equidor. When he saw Alicia crying he gave Equidor a What the hell? expression. Equidor looked at him and sighed. "You'd better come in. There is something that Ali… I mean Ellie needs to tell us."
After Alicia calmed down Equidor quickly told Irf about Alicia's true identity. Irf didn't seem surprised and in turn surprised Equidor.
"She was always a strange one. I could tell she was hiding something."
"She'll tell us about what happened after she gets her work done."
Irf nodded and left the room. Equidor also was about to leave when he looked back and saw that Ellie was packing up the herbs, less distracted than before.
"You gonna be ok?"
"Yeah" She replied.
Equidor nodded and left the room to let Ellie do her book.
Once everything was done Equidor lit a fire, with Spellfire's help, and called to Irf. He came along with Pepper and Alicia and sat down on the cold ground. There Alicia began her tale.
The End of book 1
To be continued in: Shadows of Death