Okay, so here is the next chapter after a long wait due to my laziness with summer. Enjoy!
Wandering around the camp, Silas searched for his small family, taking in the sights and sounds of his brethren as the familiar scent of heated metal and manure hit his nose. Yep. It even smelled like home.
Looking around, however, the young man could not find his father or cousin. The knight's steps faltered as he looked around, double checking before turning around and retracing his steps through the camp. In his exhausted state, Silas was unsure if he had passed them and had not noticed them. Silas certainly did look lost and confused in his current state and he began to walk passed makeshift stables, ears perking up upon hearing a voice.
"No, boy, you are doing it wrong. You do not ram the pick right into the horse's hoof, you scrape the dirt out of it so it does not cause them any discomfort." Silas suddenly became awake as he heard the familiar voice, his body swiftly turning to look for the owner of the voice. He could hear the high pitched voice of a boy, though he could not understand what was being said.
While taking the young man longer than normal to spy the familiar pair, Silas realized they were a few feet in front of him, a man and a boy. It may have been them, or may not, but the knight suddenly felt too excited to drop from exhaustion.
Walking towards the pair, Silas felt a lightness in his chest, his heavy boots clanging in the dirt as he stopped behind them. He may not have been able to see the face of the man, but he could see the boy's. It was Berend. And the boy had seen his older cousin, Berend's eyes wide in shock, hands completely frozen in mid work.
"What is wrong, boy? You look like you have seen a ghost." The man kneeling in front of him asked, horse hoof in hand as he worked on scraping out the dirt.
"S...Silas." The man froze as he heard the name escape from his nephew's mouth, the old man slowly turning around to be greeted by a familiar face-if a bit gruff.
"Silas?" Carl asked in disbelief, the boy next to him suddenly getting to his feet and running towards his cousin.
"Silas!" Berend cried happily, Silas falling to his knees as the boy jumped on him in a desperate hug, Silas trying his best to return the affection with only one arm, managing to lift the boy off the ground.
"I...my son...my boy-by, God you came back! You are alive!" Carl cheered, ecstatic as Silas smiled and nodded, struggling to get to his feet only to have the older man help him up.
"By God I...I thought you were dead. I thought...with the war...why did you come back? You should have left when you had the chance."
"This is my home, Father. I could not stand by-or worse-ignore my country's perils as she bleeds to death. I have played my part to start this madness, and by God, I will see to it that this nightmare is over in the end. Be it my death or the King's, I have no intention of fleeing like a coward." Silas spoke, Berend still holding onto him like a leech. Carl laughed sullenly, shaking his head.
"I always knew my teachings would be the death of you." The man sighed, Silas shaking his head.
"Be that may, I am fighting for what is right."
"And what do you believe is right?" Carl asked, his son piercing his lips together, as if in thought.
"Fighting for those whom I have failed in the past, for their memory, their honor, and their injustices. I believe that is right." Silas answered, Carl nodding before looking at the boy still wrapped around Silas' neck.
"Are you going to stay like that the whole time your cousin is here?" Carl asked, Berend nodding.
"Yes."
"Joy." Silas muttered.
"I missed you, Silas." Berend spoke, Silas chuckling softly.
"I missed you too, Berend. Can you get off me now?" Silas asked, Berend letting go as he landed on the floor with a thud.
"Did you hurt your shoulder again?" Carl asked, noticing the lack of use in his shield arm and the stiff posture.
"I fear I did." Silas responded simply, Carl motioning him to move towards him.
"How?" Berend asked, his curiosity growing as Carl pushed on the younger man's arm before roughly pushing it up and in, a loud pop being heard that caused the boy to flinch.
"Ow. Thank you, Father." Silas spoke, moving his arm as the pain and pressure quickly faded.
"You are welcome. All those jousting tournaments with you getting knocked off your horse taught me something." Carl grinned, Silas frowning at his hurt pride.
"You are a cruel man to your son, reopening embarrassing wounds..."
"Silas! How did you hurt your arm again? Where were you all the time you were gone? What were you doing that whole time? How did-"
"Berend, shush! Your cousin looks like he just came out of a battle with a bear and you give the poor boy no time to rest." Silas paled slightly, looking at his shield in nervousness before trying to shelter the talon and bite marks. At least they all thought it was a bear...
"Sorry, Uncle." Berend responded, crestfallen as Carl suddenly clapped his hands together.
"Well, Son, you look starved. How about we get some food in your belly?" Carl asked, Silas looking at the man as if he just said the most exciting thing in the world.
"Mmmmm...food..." Silas replied almost mindlessly. He couldn't remember the last time he properly ate, and quite frankly he didn't care if all he ate was a potato. His stomach seemed to rumble at the thought of food, making its needs known as a massive amount of pain hit his stomach. He wanted food!
"Lead on, Father." Silas spoke, more than happy to finally have something to eat, Berend eagerly following in their footsteps.
Ember sighed, bored with herself as she watched the sun move in its cycles. it had been several hours since her friend had left, and without him she was bored terribly. The dragoness had even slept peacefully for the first time in months, and even though she could not remember her dream, she knew it brought her peace.
Ember's hearing began to pick up as she heard the wind whisper, call her name, beckon her into the skies. It was the instinct to fly that was calling to her.
Hesitantly, Ember looked back in the direction of the human camp, looking for any sign of her knight, yet found none. She would feel guilty if he came back only to find her gone and send Silas in a panic. Still, what could one short trip hurt?
"Well...I will make it quick!" Ember assured herself, turning around to find a good spot to take flight among the trees. Upon finding one, the dragoness spread out her wings, the membrane shining proudly in the light the trees allowed through and in one swift motion, jumped into the air and gave one mighty flap of her wings. The leaves and pines rumbled under the force of her might as Ember broke through the treetops, her wings outstretched in the sun before the pink dragon gave another powerful stroke of her wings, climbing higher into the sky. The wind seemed to dance with her body, licking the very edges of her membranes as the wind roared.
Ember laughed, her body moving playfully as she danced among the low lying clouds, her talons scraping them, as if to touch them. The pain of her wounds didn't matter. The loss and death of her world didn't matter. All that mattered was the sky, the wind, the clouds, and the sun. She was free, and nothing could harm her in her fantasy world.
Twirling through the clouds and rays of sun, admiring how her own scales gleamed in the sunlight despite her wounds, admiring how the green scarf with golden embroidery that was meant for another woman shone and sparkled on her wrist...everything was beautiful when one was in the clouds, dancing with the wind.
However, upon seeing the color of a familiar dragon, her fantasy world shattered, and the dancing stopped as the dragoness lost her rhythm and almost plummeted out of the sky. Catching herself, Ember shook her head, her blue eyes catching the faintest glimpse of that color once more in the distance.
"No...it...it can't be..." Ember spoke, fear, concern and worry clenching her heart as she dove down in altitude, the color leaving her sight before popping up again. It was no mistake. It was him.
"Flame..." Ember whispered, a sudden desire to not let this dragon escape overwhelming her as her wings increased in speed with each beat.
"Flame! Flame, over here!" Ember cried, her heart hammering in her chest as she raced to meet her partner, yet no matter how hard or how fast she flew, it wasn't enough. Her wings were too wounded to carry her, and the dragoness was forced to land on a rocky slope, tears threatening to fall down her snout.
"Flame...Flame, come back! Ancestors, come back!" Ember pleaded between gasps from exhaustion, her wings going limp as her head hung low to the ground, the red dragon already out of her line of sight.
"Why...why didn't you come back? Why didn't you come back for me?" Ember asked, heartbroken as tears poured down her snout. Flame may have defended her from the hunters, but he never came back for her. All this time she had thought that her would be mate was dead, but now she knew the truth. He was alive, and had never even bothered to return to her.
"I guess that shows how much you really cared." Ember spoke bitterly, her heart aching in pain as she glanced down at the scarf. Looking at it made her feel better. It always did, for some odd reason. It felt as if the cloth gave her support, comfort, as if everything would be okay.
"You obviously don't need me Flame, but I have friends who do. Silas needs me." Ember spoke softly, and with that used all her strength to get herself into the air, grunting as she did so.
By the time the pink dragoness had returned, the sun was setting, fire alighting the sky and horizon. Yet despite the peace, something seemed wrong. She could smell it in the air, and it was smoke, thick smoke.
"Oh, Ancestors, please don't let it be..." Ember's eyes widened as she heard a roar in the distance, a large flock of birds flying away from the direction of the human military camp. Some of it was on fire, the smoke floating up into the setting sky, blocking out the sun.
"Spyro! Oh, Ancestors, Silas needs me!" Ember cried, her terror mounting as she pushed herself to fly faster towards the Duke's camp.
"Berend! Berend, where are you!" Silas cried, looking desperately around for the boy, Silas having lost Berend in the initial attack. He just woke up from a long, dead sleep too...
"Silas!" Berend called, making his way towards his older kin, coughing as the ash and soot stained their clothes and made them cough.
"There you are! Good boy!" Silas praised, taking his arm and dragging him through the chaos.
"Archers, I want that dragon dead! Aim for the heart!" William cried, rallying his men as they launched a volley of arrows into the sky, Spyro hissing in pain as his demonic white eyes glowed in the darkness of the ash and failing sun. The arrows embedded themselves in the body of the dragon, his wings tattered and torn as the dark mist around his body seemed to grow stronger.
"It is not dead yet! Nothing is killing it, Sir!" A soldier replied, some of the archers now lighting their arrows with dragon fire in an attempt to make an improvement in slaying the beast.
"Silas, look! There it is!" Berend cried, pointing at the dragon as it circled around the camp, picking up a soldier only to throw him against a wooden wall.
"Yes, yes, I-whoa!" Silas backed up, the knight narrowly avoiding on being trampled as the war horses broke from their stalls and ran around in panic, several of the horses were still trapped in their stalls, unable to escape the fire.
"Berend, are you-"
"Silas, it's coming!" Berend cried in terror, Silas' eyes widening in horror as he saw the massive black dragon approaching through the fire and smoke, roaring.
"Ah, Christ! Berend get down!" Silas screamed shrilly, roughly pushing the boy a few feet before his body hit the ground, Silas falling backwards as the wind from Spyro's wings knocked him down, his talons stretched out to skewer the knight.
Silas then heard a deafening roar as another dragon flew from behind him and slammed into Spyro as their talons interlocked, the pair spinning around as their wings flapped wildly, ash and smoke whooshing with violence.
The dragons roared and hissed at each other, tearing at their wings and hardened scales before Spyro managed to slam the smaller dragon into the ground, the dragon crying in pain.
"Ember!" Silas cried, realizing who it was as he got up, unsheathing his sword as he heard the very ground shake as Spyro land.
"Berend, stay here!" Silas ordered, rushing towards the draconic pair and whistling shrilly.
"Hey! It is me that you want, remember!? Remember!?" Silas challenged, Spyro turning his head towards the human as he released a deep hiss, turning his attention towards the lone knight.
"Aim for the black one's talons. Let us see if we can hinder it's movement." William ordered his archers, unsheathing his own sword as several of his knights followed.
Spyro roared as he lunged at the young knight, Silas moving out of the way only to have Spyro hiss in pain, several arrows embedded in his hind legs as his tail sent several of the Duke's knights flying.
"My liege, are you alright?!" Silas asked in concern, seeing his father rush toward the Duke as the man waved him off.
"The dragon is too strong." William stated, looking around to see a fairly large burning tree several feet from the black dragon, "We need to knock that tree down onto the dragon."
"I will help my son." Carl stated, William nodding as he took three of his men with to help break the tree.
"You will not harm my son, dragon!" Carl roared, Silas struggling to keep the dragon at bay as he was knocked on the ground, Carl running and slashing the dragon's wing.
Spyro roared in rage, his wing slamming into the man as Carl was thrown back several feet, Silas' eyes widening in terror the man now back on his feet.
"Father!" Silas cried in worry.
"Silas, look out!" Silas fell to the ground, feeling a smaller body suddenly crash into his form before hearing a cry and a sudden crunch and pop. The short silence was soon followed by the splintering of wood.
When Silas regained his bearings, he looked upon the confusion of the camp. Looking at the tapped dragon, Spyro's scale color had returned to normal, yet the dragon seemed completely void of life, the tree having snapped his wing as the dragon lie trapped underneath, horn broken.
Silas slowly got up, trying to remember what happened before his eyes went wide in realization and terror. He had heard a voice that he had recognized. The voice belonged to Berend's.
"Oh, God, no! Berend!" Silas cried in worry and panic, noticing that the dirt floor was slick with blood and that a small crowd was around a body.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! BEREND!" Silas cried shrilly, Carl breaking himself off from the group, placing his hands on the man's shoulders.
"Silas-"
"Let me see."
"You do not w-"
"I said let me SEE!" Silas roared in rage, pushing the man out of his way and into the small circle, her face paling upon seeing Berend completely pale, a film of sweat drenching his body, eyes wide and glazed over, breathing slow and shallow. And to Silas' horror, the boy was missing his right arm, the shoulder just a bloody stump and the clothes tattered and torn, a belt tied in on an attempt to stop the rapid flow of blood.
"Ohhh, God, Berend, no! This should be me...!" Silas cried, his face flushing in rage as his hands shook, the young man suddenly standing up and unsheathing his sword. Walking towards Spyro, Silas raising his sword to the dragon's neck only to have Carl stay his hand.
"Silas, no! Stay your hand! Stay your hand!"
"No! This beast must die! He is an animal! You have seen the destruction and death that he has brung to us!" Silas roared in rage, still trying to bring his blade down.
"No! Too much blood has been shed today! The Duke wants this dragon captured and restrained."
"To Hell with what the Duke wants! If this dragon does not die today he will only kill others! He-" Silas was silenced as the man smacked him, Silas falling limp from the sudden action.
"Do not let your rage cloud your judgement. Go with your cousin. Berend needs you."
"I...yes, Father." Silas replied, ashamed as he sheathed his sword and watched the Duke and several soldiers carry Berend away, Silas passing Ember, the dragoness looking at him with worry as the knight stopped, as if considering going to the dragoness.
"No. Don't worry about me. Go help him." Ember replied, Silas following his cousin, avoiding the chaos of the survivors trying to calm the horses and put out the fires.
Spyro groaned as he awoke, pain shooting throughout his body as the purple male tried to move, but found himself chained to metal stakes in the ground. Fear began to grip Spyro as he realized his wing was broken and chained, chains painfully wrapped around his legs and tail and his snout chained shut.
Looking around, the purple dragon noticed the scorched land and smoldering human camp. He couldn't remember what happened, or how he got here. He couldn't even remember what happened to his chicks, or is they were safe. The sudden thought that Spyro had no idea if his children were safe seized his heart with panic.
Spyro's eyes locked and narrowed on the very human that had robbed his children of his mate. Rage grew inside the purple male as Silas approached, unsheathing his sword. The pair said nothing, and Spyro's eyes followed the sword as Silas dragged the tip into the charred earth. The knight stopped in front of the dragon, face emotionless as his sword arm shook violently.
"Do you know how many reasons I have to want you dead?"
Poor Silas? Poor Berend? Poor Spyro? Poor Ember? Is Silas' wanting Spyro dead truly justified? Will Spyro die? Find out of the next chapter!
Thank you all for reviewing and supporting this story! And on another note, I have a deviantArt page link on my profile largely consisting of the characters.