It had been three days since I've spoken to Diana, who had shut herself in her own tent, and I couldn't get it off my mind. A mace clipped me on my right shoulder as I thought back to her, bringing me back to reality. I had stirred up this goblin's home, hoping that fighting them would make me stronger, but my thoughts kept wandering elsewhere. I gripped my right sword tighter as pain shot down my arm and swung my other blade across the shoulders of my target, removing its head easily. Blood dripped down my blade as the goblin fell to the dirt in its own dark blood, leaving a grisly sight.
"You're not gonna get any stronger fighting weaklings," someone commented from behind, instantly drawing my attention.
"Jin? You're alright enough to be walking around now?" I asked as I looked him in the whilst holding my shoulder, the pain finally making its full impact as the adrenalin left my bloodstream.
"Yeah," he said as he leaned against a large rock on the outskirts of the goblin's cave home, "Did you forget about the principles your parents taught you? Also I recall Ronan telling you that those blades were the keys for you."
"Of course I remember what they taught me...just–"
"Just not everything," he smirked.
"Yeah," I shrugged as I looked back at him, "But I didn't get what he meant by keys."
"Do you remember the stories of your father, Eric?" Jin asked he looked down onto his hand, flexing his fingers as he said every word.
"Yeah," I replied, "'The Knight who Controlled a Dragon' or so how the stories go."
"That's right," Jin answered, "If you recall, he wasn't that good in fighting, but there was something that gave him the edge. What was is?"
"His dragon?" I chuckled.
"No," he sighed, "If you don't figure that out, you'll never be stronger."
"Can't you just tell me?" I started to get annoyed as I clenched my fist.
"It's not something that others give to you," he said quietly as he turned around and walked back to the camp, "It's something you have to take yourself."
"How could I figure–" I started to say when a thought crossed my mind, "Maybe...maybe there are clues if I go there." I quickly sheathed my blades and, with the tip of my finger, started to draw a rune in mid-air. Blue light traced the path of the rune as I wrote in the language of the ancient dragons. A portal opened a few feet in front of me as I finished the rune "Door", which led to the ancient training grounds of the old Dragon Knights. I walked through the shimmering gateway and into the hollowed ground where the dragons themselves taught mortal men.
"Look around you," echoed a voice from deep within the temple, "You come into our ancient place of fellowship, obviously seeking power. Before we grant you our boon, show us your worth and take the trial. Fail and die, or succeed and take that which we have to offer. It is a choice you alone can make."
"Who are you? Who could stay here after such a long time?" no reply, "Answer me!"
"Will you accept our test?" It echoed again.
"Very well, I accept!" I shouted as I readied my blades.
"Then let the trial begin! Make your way to us and our gift is yours!" The ground shook violently, nearly throwing me off balance but I held my ground. The stone wall to my right opened slowly with a low sound of rock grinding against rock. I rushed into the pathway headfirst. I followed the path as quickly as I could before stopping when I stepped on something that cracked beneath my foot.
"An egg?" I asked myself as I looked down, but before I could think, a large lizard-like creature lunged at me from the shadows, causing me to curse out loud, "Shit!" I moved my blade to block its path, but my right arm did little to defend. I was pinned to the wall as the creature kept trying to bit at me, only my blade in its mouth stopped it from doing so. I spun my left blade into a back-hand position and stabbed into the creature's neck sending a fresh gush of blood onto the floor and ending its life. I reeled back for a moment remembering that this was a test and began to rush forward again, my footsteps echoing loud and clear. More of the creatures rushed towards me, aiming to tear me to shreds. I let my blades dance in front of me, tracing lines of blood in each of the creatures' vital points, dropping them like dead flies. I was making good progress but my stamina was running low and I was yet to find the end. "Damn it! If only I knew–" I was about to curse when I finally realized as I met face to face with the creature. It was blind. I quickly placed together that what drew them to me was sound as I slammed my sword to the wall next to, causing one to ram into where the loud crash sounded from. I stabbed the creature and threw it far behind me before hugging the wall, causing the lizard-like monsters to follow the sound. I sighed as I took a step forward, but as my foot touched the ground, the stones fell loose and I fell down a long drop, screaming frantically, into a pool of crystal-clear water. I waded out of the water only to face a bigger surprise. What lay in front of me was a much, much larger creature. One twice my height and over five times that in length.
"To enter the heart of the temple," echoed the voice again, "You must defeat that which guards its gate."
"Bullshit!" I cursed as the monster let out a large roar before letting out a cloud of poisonous gas, forcing me to roll to the side. I jumped to the side of the chained creature and struck with both blades as I landed, but the metal simply shattered like glass. The force of the blow went up my arms and shuddered my entire body as my strike seemed like it was reversed. I fell to the side, still gripping the hilts and the remainder of the blades as I thought of how to defeat the monster. The creature moved frantically at the idea of its next meal, causing the the pillars of stone where the chains held it to creak. It came to me then on how to pass this test. I rolled behind a pillar and enchanted myself with strength, drawing power from the magic my father had taught me. With the help of the creature, I knocked down the stone pillar on top of its head, causing it to wail in pain and make it thrash around more violently. I moved to the next pillar, knocking it over on top of its torso, destroying its protective scales. Without missing a beat, I saw my chance and ran up the broken stone, leaping and thrusting the remainder of the gifts my father had given me into the creature's neck, severing a vital vein. Blood erupted like a geyser. It thrashed wildly before hitting the ground with a dull thud, signing the end of its life. The stone that had once held parts of the ceiling were now gaping holes, letting light into the dark room. Only then did I notice that the blades were translucent, and when looked through each other, forms the rune for "Wisdom" in the light.
"There are three things you need to learn in a fight," my father's voice coming into mind as I recalled what he taught me, "Courage, dedication and wisdom. Courage to face that which creates fears. Dedication to follow what is right, no matter how hard the road. And wisdom to surpass that which lays ahead of you. These three principles are what make a Dragon Knight and they are etched into your blades. Courage and dedication go hand-in-hand, but put them together to find wisdom. That is the path of the knights."
"I understand now," I said quietly, "That's what Jin and Lass were trying to tell me before." I walked to the wall and saw a blank slate, on top, it gave instructions to write the three principles in the tongue of the dragon. I closed my eyes as I used my finger to write the three runes. Courage. Dedication. Wisdom. To the side, two slots opened and I slid in my blades, which I now know that he meant them to be literal keys, and turned them together. The stone started to fade like magic, revealing a large, open field where two dragons of red and blue lay, staring me in the face.
"You are truly his son," announced the red drake, "I am Ixion, the Red Drake of Flames."
"And I am Shadroth," continued the blue dragon, "the Blue Dragon of Frosts."
"I'm Eric," I replied humbly, "I came here seeking power to protect my friends and help those I care about, will you grant me this gift?"
"You have passed the tests," replied Ixion.
"We shall grant you our boon," answered Shadroth.
"The flames of courage shall shield you from that which causes fear. The frozen winds of dedication shall follow your ways," they announced in unison as they let out their elemental breath, cloaking me in the vortex of energy, "And the wisdom of ages that we have gathered shall guide your hands."
The ice and flames hardened into metal on my body, armoring me in the essence of frost and fire. With a roar from the two, my mind went clear as the knowledge of how to use their gift entered into my head, allowing me instant mastery of their power. The two began to circle me as I stretched out my arms and touched them, causing them to glow and shrink turning into twin blades in my hands, giving me new found power. The power I needed to help those around. The power to save the one I love.
"Show us your path, Harrower," Ixion's voice whispered into my mind.
"We shall be your new weapons in your journey," Shadroth continued.
"Very well," I whispered, "There is still much to do, I hope you will continue to lend me your power."
Oohh, Eric got a job change into a new class called a "Harrower" :D
thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed! Wondering what happened to Claire? Well, it won't tell next chapter yet, that's for sure xD
Anyway I hope you guys were satisfied with this chapter, again, thanks for reading ^-^