CHAPTER 5
It had been a week already since the three arrived in this dimension. Their days had been filled with meeting people across the land. They became a novelty. Sunrunners all over the land would travel to Stronghold just to see for themselves the truth behind what Sioned and Morwenna said about them. Andry, the Lord of Goddess Keep, sent Evarin to be his eyes and ears regarding these strangers.
The only consolation the three got was when Myrdal and Isriam would steal them away to a private place where they could relax and be themselves. The place that Myrdal showed them, as the most secret part of the keep, was still not big enough for them to rev up to full throttle. The first time that she led them to this place, she insisted on seeing their full powers. However, she relented when they warned her that if they use their full powers, then the whole place would be totally destroyed. They cannot even turn to Super Saiyan because the energies released will be too much to be contained in such a small area. They were willing to spar and fly around so Isriam and Myrdal can see their speed and maneuvers. Even Marron gave them much awe from the way she moved and defended against the two.
For five days, since then, they had been sparring at the Battle Room (they've come to name the place). The three took turns in teaching Isriam some moves that will allow him to defend himself without a use of any weapon while Myrdal was just a spectator. Even though she had seen them fight and fly at the same time, the novelty never wore off.
"Hold it! I'm bushed.... Give me a few minutes to rest," Isriam panted. He had asked Trunks to teach him the moves. If only to be able to defend himself barehanded. On the second day when they started sparring, Goten illustrated how useless their weapons were against them. Myrdal and Isriam attacked him with both sword and arrows but in just a matter of second; he disarmed them both and disintegrated their weapons into thin air. From this demonstration, both natives were thankful that the three were their friends.
"You're doing fine, Isriam... You just need to refine your moves. You may never achieve our speed nor fly but you will doubtless be able to defend yourself barehanded." Trunks nodded approvingly at his progress and called out for rest.
After a few minutes of rest, Myrdal stood up and approached the four. "You've taught Isriam something to his advantage, but today you three would need to learn how to use the sword. There will be people at the coming Rialla who will challenge you to a sword fight and you simply cannot turn them down. And with a sword, you don't have to depend on your powers and you won't slip up. No one will discover your true capabilities," Myrdal counseled them.
"You don't have to teach Trunks how to use a sword," Marron said cryptically.
"Why not? It will be to his advantage?" Isriam inquired puzzled.
"Because he's already good with a sword. In fact, he knew how to handle a sword since he was just a kid. He can even sheathe and unsheathe his sword without looking at it." Goten told them a matter-of-factly.
Trunks just scowled at them for saying something that he had been hiding. His was the sword that Tabion gave him when he was just a kid. He had been practicing constantly since then. Unfortunately, the day they entered the TDV, it was the day he left it in his room.
"We'll just see about that," Myrdal said. "Isriam give him your sword. I want to see how good he is."
Isriam handed his sword to Trunks hilt first and then backed away from them. Myrdal had a reputation of being one of the greatest swordswoman in the land. She is, even now in her old age, a sight to behold with a sword.
"En guarde!" yelled Myrdal as she started slashing at Trunks. However, no matter how fast she changed her tactics, she couldn't find an opening. Trunks managed to parry her every stroke with a swiftness that was totally inhuman. And when he started attacking her, Myrdal could not keep up with his speed. It seemed he could always find an opening on her attacks. All along she thought she had covered everything and didn't give him any opening at all but she had felt the blunt side of the Trunks' sword every now and then, telling her otherwise. If it had been a real fight, she would have been dead for the hundredth time.
"Enough!" panted Myrdal. "I concede! Marron and Goten weren't kidding when they said you were good with a sword." She yielded to Trunks' adeptness with a sword. Shaking her head, she went back to her seat and slowly lowered her body down. She was sure that she would be black and blue with bruises tomorrow. How will I explain this to Rohan if he sees me in this condition? She asked herself formulating some excuses to tell Rohan on the event that he notices her bruises. "Isriam and Trunks, you'd better teach Goten and Marron the way of the sword." She told them, suddenly feeling her age.
Trunks was paired with Goten while Isriam was with Marron. At first, Goten and Trunks were moving at a slow pace but when Goten had the hang of it; they started moving at top speed. Both Isriam and Marron stopped at what they were doing and just watched them all agape. When the two started parrying in earnest, Myrdal abruptly stood up, forgetting the condition her body was in. Goten was a fast learner. He knew how to parry because of his adeptness with the use of his father's magic bo and so all he needed was to get the hang of the feel of a sword in his hand. The two were a sight to see. If the High Prince and Princess see this, they would stand gawking at them too, just like what the three onlookers were doing.
Myrdal shook herself out of the hypnotic trance the two Saiyajins created and snapped at Isriam. "Isriam! Marron! Stop gawking and start moving! We haven't got all day. The Rialla will commence in a week's time and two days from now you will be leaving for Dragon's Rest." She informed them then heaved a sigh remembering the last Rialla she'd been to. Being a Commander of the guards, she had to stay behind to secure the keep.
After an hour of sword practice, Marron had become quite proficient at it. She may not be as good as Goten and Trunks; just as well, she can make do on her own. Both Isriam and her were panting when they were done with training. He was glad that she proved herself to be a good student. She gave him a run for his money, so to speak.
"Okay people, let's pack up and go back to the crowd. Rohan and the rest of the world must have been wondering where you have gone to." She chuckled thinking of how the High Prince would regard these young people.
"Yes, please. Jeni might be worried of me already. I promised to help her gather some flowers in the garden." Marron said while taking a peek at Goten to watch his reaction at the mention of Camigwen's name. If she was expecting some blush from him, well, she was disappointed to see that he didn't react at all.
Unknown to her, Jeni's name created a phenomenal reaction in Goten's heart, body and mind. He felt his heart skip a beat, the blood rushing through his veins and an image of her beauty and colors sprang in his mind. Of course, he was able to keep a poker face and so no one was able to discover how he really felt for the girl, not even Trunks. There were times when he was appalled at the way the maids in the Keep throw themselves at Trunks and him. Naturally, he couldn't offend them by running away from any one of them. The only way he can slip away from them is to tell them that he'll take a rain check and see them later which he never did.
As for Trunks, he had a simple way of discouraging the women at Stronghold. If the Saiyajins ever entertain any one of those ladies, they will be in for a hard time with the men. What he did was just to pass by them as if they never existed at all. This tactic had thoroughly disconcerted the ladies. They were so piqued at his treatment that they started a rumor saying that he fancied men rather than women. Of course, being untrue, he simply disregarded the rumor and went on his way. The men at Stronghold had dismissed that scuttlebutt because they had seen him ignore the advances of a young man who fancied men. The maids were hoping that he would show them how false the rumor was by engaging with one or two of them. Somehow, he inherited that trait from his Saiyajin prince of a father.
When Rohan, Sioned, Myrdal and the two squires got wind of the rumor, they had the laugh of the century. Sioned, Myrdal and Morwenna were having fun seeing the maids being ignored by the two men. And Sioned's respect for them had raised a notch because of that. Her son, Pol, had never ignored any of those maids' advances. Unlike their guests, somehow, Pol welcomed those advances. The ways these young men thwart the women's advances were very fascinating to witness.
When Myrdal, Isriam, Trunks, Goten and Marron returned to the hall, they were bewildered by the excitement that Daniv and Camigwen showed when they passed by them running to the terrace. Curiosity got the best of them and so they followed the two. As soon as they arrived at the terrace, they saw Rohan and Sioned already there. Rohan was looking up at the sky expecting something to show up.
Their three guests were surprised when, all of a sudden, Myrdal snorted at the High Prince's expression. Marron could no longer take the suspense, "What is it, Obaasan? Is something the matter?"
"No dear. You just wait and you'll find out about it in a short while," Myrdal told her while looking up at the sky. "Do you know that Rohan is not only the High Prince but also the Dragon Prince?" She asked them as she turned her attention back to them.
Goten shook his head, "No."
"You are about to discover the reason behind the name." Myrdal said cryptically.
Suddenly there were trumpeting that announced the dragons' arrival. Their sounds echoed and shuddered through the room, rattling the chandeliers. The three were totally taken aback when they saw the dragons in their magnificence. The dragon they had seen on Earth was only Shen-Long. But he was a Japanese dragon unlike these; they were truly those dragons described in fairy tales. They were truly majestic. Their colors were of vivid silver, gold, red, blue, yellow, green, violet and black.
"That's why he was called the Dragon Prince. Because he can always feel and tell when they are coming and where they will land," Myrdal informed them. "Most offspring of Prince Zehava have this ability. His son, Pol, is also an azhrei and so is Tobin, his sister. It is a sight to see having all of Zehava's descendants in the same room, dropping everything at the same time and turning their heads in one direction. There's no doubt that that's where the dragons will come from," she chuckled at their astonishment."
Unlike the Sunrunners, they don't need to weave their aura with sunlight. The Saiyajins can see the aural colors of the dragons. And the one thing they would like nothing better to do was to fly with them. The dragons may only be as large as Shen-Long's head but still they were all splendid.
"Sioned, look!" Exclaimed Rohan as he pointed at a huge sire with blue-gray hide marked by the fewest battle scars of any sire there-sign of his supremacy-and rippled with the strength of massive muscles. "That is Pol's dragon, Azhdeen!" The dragon was gorgeous and he knew it so that when he landed, he did it on his hind legs and spread his wings to show their silver undersides.
"Marron, Goten, Trunks!" Sioned called out to them to come closer. She motioned for them to stand right beside them; "I'd like you children to see the most dazzling sight you'll ever see in the land. Whence you came from, have you seen dragons at all?" She asked them while looking at the dragons playing by the lake.
"Not really," admitted Trunks. "We do have something similar; just a lot bigger than they. In fact, the size of these dragons was just as large as Shen-Long's head." Goten uttered while remembering the day they had last seen him.
"Shen-Long?" Rohan asked when he heard what Trunks just said. He could not believe there's another dragon that was bigger than Azhdeen.
"Oh yes! Shen-Long was our cosmic dragon. There was only one of him. He is the oldest, wisest, most magical, and last of the dragons of our land." Marron told them truthfully. "He was not as grand as your dragons, though. He didn't even have wings but he sure can fly. And he was so enormous that he literally filled up the whole sky. But he's gone now. He became the cosmic dragon, forever roaming the universe and he took Goten's father with him. Son Gokou became the cosmic guardian and left the world riding on Shen-Long's back." She said wistfully.
While the rest of the people were unaware of it, Camigwen saw Goten wince at the mention of his father. His eyes looked so sad that she wished she could do something to comfort him. But that expression in his eyes lasted only for a minute before he looked at Marron and started glaring at her. If looks could kill, then Marron would have been dead by now. She wondered how great his father was, as a warrior, that he was made into a cosmic guardian. She didn't exactly know what that title entailed but somehow she had the feeling that it was the highest honor that could be bestowed on a warrior.
"Here, give me a piece of paper and a pen and I will draw Shen-Long's likeness," continued Marron totally oblivious at Goten and Trunks' dagger looks. Daniv hurriedly went back to his room to get a paper and pen. When he got back, he was almost out of breath as he handed the writing materials to Marron.
Marron leaned on the terrace and started drawing in earnest. She was so fervid that her tongue stuck out at the left side of her mouth and her brows were drawn together. When she was done with the sketch, she handed it to Rohan with a flourish. "There! That was what Shen-Long looked like."
Rohan took a look at the drawing and saw that indeed the dragon was not as majestic looking as their dragons but still from the looks of him, he would have been a marvelous sight to behold. "What were his colors? Surely you've noticed his colors..." he asked emphatically.
"Oh he was a dragon of all green, red and gold." Goten said a matter-of-factly, just shrugging his shoulders.
"Do you, kids, like to see the dragons up close?" Sioned asked them. "We'll be going out in a few minutes to see them. Do you, by any chance, know how to ride on a horse?" she inquired, recalling that she hasn't seen them horseback-riding yet.
"Uh-Yes! We'd surely like to see them. I bet they're more majestic up close than from a distance, huh?" Marron replied eagerly, barely containing her excitement at that thought.
"Uhmm...No. In our city, we didn't use horses for transportation except for sport and leisure," Trunks admitted. "But of course, we had experienced riding on a horse on the way here from the desert."
"Oh, I forgot about that. Well, it does not matter. You'll get the hang of it when you do it frequently. And now that you're here, you'll have ample opportunity to do so." Rohan smiled at them reassuringly.
--to be continued.
It had been a week already since the three arrived in this dimension. Their days had been filled with meeting people across the land. They became a novelty. Sunrunners all over the land would travel to Stronghold just to see for themselves the truth behind what Sioned and Morwenna said about them. Andry, the Lord of Goddess Keep, sent Evarin to be his eyes and ears regarding these strangers.
The only consolation the three got was when Myrdal and Isriam would steal them away to a private place where they could relax and be themselves. The place that Myrdal showed them, as the most secret part of the keep, was still not big enough for them to rev up to full throttle. The first time that she led them to this place, she insisted on seeing their full powers. However, she relented when they warned her that if they use their full powers, then the whole place would be totally destroyed. They cannot even turn to Super Saiyan because the energies released will be too much to be contained in such a small area. They were willing to spar and fly around so Isriam and Myrdal can see their speed and maneuvers. Even Marron gave them much awe from the way she moved and defended against the two.
For five days, since then, they had been sparring at the Battle Room (they've come to name the place). The three took turns in teaching Isriam some moves that will allow him to defend himself without a use of any weapon while Myrdal was just a spectator. Even though she had seen them fight and fly at the same time, the novelty never wore off.
"Hold it! I'm bushed.... Give me a few minutes to rest," Isriam panted. He had asked Trunks to teach him the moves. If only to be able to defend himself barehanded. On the second day when they started sparring, Goten illustrated how useless their weapons were against them. Myrdal and Isriam attacked him with both sword and arrows but in just a matter of second; he disarmed them both and disintegrated their weapons into thin air. From this demonstration, both natives were thankful that the three were their friends.
"You're doing fine, Isriam... You just need to refine your moves. You may never achieve our speed nor fly but you will doubtless be able to defend yourself barehanded." Trunks nodded approvingly at his progress and called out for rest.
After a few minutes of rest, Myrdal stood up and approached the four. "You've taught Isriam something to his advantage, but today you three would need to learn how to use the sword. There will be people at the coming Rialla who will challenge you to a sword fight and you simply cannot turn them down. And with a sword, you don't have to depend on your powers and you won't slip up. No one will discover your true capabilities," Myrdal counseled them.
"You don't have to teach Trunks how to use a sword," Marron said cryptically.
"Why not? It will be to his advantage?" Isriam inquired puzzled.
"Because he's already good with a sword. In fact, he knew how to handle a sword since he was just a kid. He can even sheathe and unsheathe his sword without looking at it." Goten told them a matter-of-factly.
Trunks just scowled at them for saying something that he had been hiding. His was the sword that Tabion gave him when he was just a kid. He had been practicing constantly since then. Unfortunately, the day they entered the TDV, it was the day he left it in his room.
"We'll just see about that," Myrdal said. "Isriam give him your sword. I want to see how good he is."
Isriam handed his sword to Trunks hilt first and then backed away from them. Myrdal had a reputation of being one of the greatest swordswoman in the land. She is, even now in her old age, a sight to behold with a sword.
"En guarde!" yelled Myrdal as she started slashing at Trunks. However, no matter how fast she changed her tactics, she couldn't find an opening. Trunks managed to parry her every stroke with a swiftness that was totally inhuman. And when he started attacking her, Myrdal could not keep up with his speed. It seemed he could always find an opening on her attacks. All along she thought she had covered everything and didn't give him any opening at all but she had felt the blunt side of the Trunks' sword every now and then, telling her otherwise. If it had been a real fight, she would have been dead for the hundredth time.
"Enough!" panted Myrdal. "I concede! Marron and Goten weren't kidding when they said you were good with a sword." She yielded to Trunks' adeptness with a sword. Shaking her head, she went back to her seat and slowly lowered her body down. She was sure that she would be black and blue with bruises tomorrow. How will I explain this to Rohan if he sees me in this condition? She asked herself formulating some excuses to tell Rohan on the event that he notices her bruises. "Isriam and Trunks, you'd better teach Goten and Marron the way of the sword." She told them, suddenly feeling her age.
Trunks was paired with Goten while Isriam was with Marron. At first, Goten and Trunks were moving at a slow pace but when Goten had the hang of it; they started moving at top speed. Both Isriam and Marron stopped at what they were doing and just watched them all agape. When the two started parrying in earnest, Myrdal abruptly stood up, forgetting the condition her body was in. Goten was a fast learner. He knew how to parry because of his adeptness with the use of his father's magic bo and so all he needed was to get the hang of the feel of a sword in his hand. The two were a sight to see. If the High Prince and Princess see this, they would stand gawking at them too, just like what the three onlookers were doing.
Myrdal shook herself out of the hypnotic trance the two Saiyajins created and snapped at Isriam. "Isriam! Marron! Stop gawking and start moving! We haven't got all day. The Rialla will commence in a week's time and two days from now you will be leaving for Dragon's Rest." She informed them then heaved a sigh remembering the last Rialla she'd been to. Being a Commander of the guards, she had to stay behind to secure the keep.
After an hour of sword practice, Marron had become quite proficient at it. She may not be as good as Goten and Trunks; just as well, she can make do on her own. Both Isriam and her were panting when they were done with training. He was glad that she proved herself to be a good student. She gave him a run for his money, so to speak.
"Okay people, let's pack up and go back to the crowd. Rohan and the rest of the world must have been wondering where you have gone to." She chuckled thinking of how the High Prince would regard these young people.
"Yes, please. Jeni might be worried of me already. I promised to help her gather some flowers in the garden." Marron said while taking a peek at Goten to watch his reaction at the mention of Camigwen's name. If she was expecting some blush from him, well, she was disappointed to see that he didn't react at all.
Unknown to her, Jeni's name created a phenomenal reaction in Goten's heart, body and mind. He felt his heart skip a beat, the blood rushing through his veins and an image of her beauty and colors sprang in his mind. Of course, he was able to keep a poker face and so no one was able to discover how he really felt for the girl, not even Trunks. There were times when he was appalled at the way the maids in the Keep throw themselves at Trunks and him. Naturally, he couldn't offend them by running away from any one of them. The only way he can slip away from them is to tell them that he'll take a rain check and see them later which he never did.
As for Trunks, he had a simple way of discouraging the women at Stronghold. If the Saiyajins ever entertain any one of those ladies, they will be in for a hard time with the men. What he did was just to pass by them as if they never existed at all. This tactic had thoroughly disconcerted the ladies. They were so piqued at his treatment that they started a rumor saying that he fancied men rather than women. Of course, being untrue, he simply disregarded the rumor and went on his way. The men at Stronghold had dismissed that scuttlebutt because they had seen him ignore the advances of a young man who fancied men. The maids were hoping that he would show them how false the rumor was by engaging with one or two of them. Somehow, he inherited that trait from his Saiyajin prince of a father.
When Rohan, Sioned, Myrdal and the two squires got wind of the rumor, they had the laugh of the century. Sioned, Myrdal and Morwenna were having fun seeing the maids being ignored by the two men. And Sioned's respect for them had raised a notch because of that. Her son, Pol, had never ignored any of those maids' advances. Unlike their guests, somehow, Pol welcomed those advances. The ways these young men thwart the women's advances were very fascinating to witness.
When Myrdal, Isriam, Trunks, Goten and Marron returned to the hall, they were bewildered by the excitement that Daniv and Camigwen showed when they passed by them running to the terrace. Curiosity got the best of them and so they followed the two. As soon as they arrived at the terrace, they saw Rohan and Sioned already there. Rohan was looking up at the sky expecting something to show up.
Their three guests were surprised when, all of a sudden, Myrdal snorted at the High Prince's expression. Marron could no longer take the suspense, "What is it, Obaasan? Is something the matter?"
"No dear. You just wait and you'll find out about it in a short while," Myrdal told her while looking up at the sky. "Do you know that Rohan is not only the High Prince but also the Dragon Prince?" She asked them as she turned her attention back to them.
Goten shook his head, "No."
"You are about to discover the reason behind the name." Myrdal said cryptically.
Suddenly there were trumpeting that announced the dragons' arrival. Their sounds echoed and shuddered through the room, rattling the chandeliers. The three were totally taken aback when they saw the dragons in their magnificence. The dragon they had seen on Earth was only Shen-Long. But he was a Japanese dragon unlike these; they were truly those dragons described in fairy tales. They were truly majestic. Their colors were of vivid silver, gold, red, blue, yellow, green, violet and black.
"That's why he was called the Dragon Prince. Because he can always feel and tell when they are coming and where they will land," Myrdal informed them. "Most offspring of Prince Zehava have this ability. His son, Pol, is also an azhrei and so is Tobin, his sister. It is a sight to see having all of Zehava's descendants in the same room, dropping everything at the same time and turning their heads in one direction. There's no doubt that that's where the dragons will come from," she chuckled at their astonishment."
Unlike the Sunrunners, they don't need to weave their aura with sunlight. The Saiyajins can see the aural colors of the dragons. And the one thing they would like nothing better to do was to fly with them. The dragons may only be as large as Shen-Long's head but still they were all splendid.
"Sioned, look!" Exclaimed Rohan as he pointed at a huge sire with blue-gray hide marked by the fewest battle scars of any sire there-sign of his supremacy-and rippled with the strength of massive muscles. "That is Pol's dragon, Azhdeen!" The dragon was gorgeous and he knew it so that when he landed, he did it on his hind legs and spread his wings to show their silver undersides.
"Marron, Goten, Trunks!" Sioned called out to them to come closer. She motioned for them to stand right beside them; "I'd like you children to see the most dazzling sight you'll ever see in the land. Whence you came from, have you seen dragons at all?" She asked them while looking at the dragons playing by the lake.
"Not really," admitted Trunks. "We do have something similar; just a lot bigger than they. In fact, the size of these dragons was just as large as Shen-Long's head." Goten uttered while remembering the day they had last seen him.
"Shen-Long?" Rohan asked when he heard what Trunks just said. He could not believe there's another dragon that was bigger than Azhdeen.
"Oh yes! Shen-Long was our cosmic dragon. There was only one of him. He is the oldest, wisest, most magical, and last of the dragons of our land." Marron told them truthfully. "He was not as grand as your dragons, though. He didn't even have wings but he sure can fly. And he was so enormous that he literally filled up the whole sky. But he's gone now. He became the cosmic dragon, forever roaming the universe and he took Goten's father with him. Son Gokou became the cosmic guardian and left the world riding on Shen-Long's back." She said wistfully.
While the rest of the people were unaware of it, Camigwen saw Goten wince at the mention of his father. His eyes looked so sad that she wished she could do something to comfort him. But that expression in his eyes lasted only for a minute before he looked at Marron and started glaring at her. If looks could kill, then Marron would have been dead by now. She wondered how great his father was, as a warrior, that he was made into a cosmic guardian. She didn't exactly know what that title entailed but somehow she had the feeling that it was the highest honor that could be bestowed on a warrior.
"Here, give me a piece of paper and a pen and I will draw Shen-Long's likeness," continued Marron totally oblivious at Goten and Trunks' dagger looks. Daniv hurriedly went back to his room to get a paper and pen. When he got back, he was almost out of breath as he handed the writing materials to Marron.
Marron leaned on the terrace and started drawing in earnest. She was so fervid that her tongue stuck out at the left side of her mouth and her brows were drawn together. When she was done with the sketch, she handed it to Rohan with a flourish. "There! That was what Shen-Long looked like."
Rohan took a look at the drawing and saw that indeed the dragon was not as majestic looking as their dragons but still from the looks of him, he would have been a marvelous sight to behold. "What were his colors? Surely you've noticed his colors..." he asked emphatically.
"Oh he was a dragon of all green, red and gold." Goten said a matter-of-factly, just shrugging his shoulders.
"Do you, kids, like to see the dragons up close?" Sioned asked them. "We'll be going out in a few minutes to see them. Do you, by any chance, know how to ride on a horse?" she inquired, recalling that she hasn't seen them horseback-riding yet.
"Uh-Yes! We'd surely like to see them. I bet they're more majestic up close than from a distance, huh?" Marron replied eagerly, barely containing her excitement at that thought.
"Uhmm...No. In our city, we didn't use horses for transportation except for sport and leisure," Trunks admitted. "But of course, we had experienced riding on a horse on the way here from the desert."
"Oh, I forgot about that. Well, it does not matter. You'll get the hang of it when you do it frequently. And now that you're here, you'll have ample opportunity to do so." Rohan smiled at them reassuringly.
--to be continued.