Kinvara

"What do we keep with us always?" I asked the small group of children around me.

"Courage, hope and caution!" They recited back. I couldn't help but smile at their youthful enthusiasm and wonder at how children could adapt to any circumstance and unusual situation.

Because that is what this is I suppose, a very unusual situation. But then again perhaps it's becoming normal to us all now. I looked around at my surroundings with a certain amount of pride, it wouldn't look like much to an outsider but to my people this was home. However this home consisted of two underground levels or platforms, as they were more commonly known to the clan. Each level had a number of chiselled out rooms resembling medium sized caves. The entrance to the levels was hidden away by the ruins of an old castle that once stood proud atop a large hill called Thensmere Point. Hence the name of our home, Thensmere.

The room I was sitting in at the moment was the largest room out of both platforms; it was used as a communal area, for gatherings, discussions, education, celebration and mourning. It was known simply as 'The Hall', large and circular with chiselled rock walls and a high ceiling, also made it the most impressive room of all. All in all the platforms had been a lucky find, practical and most importantly safe against our greatest threat; The Dragons.

I was 12 when the dragon awoke. I've never truly understood how it all started, whether awakening the dragon had been chance or by purpose but it didn't matter, it didn't then and it didn't now. This place was my future and that was what was most important, I had a responsibility to the 60 or so people that made up the clan, I would protect and educate them to the best of my ability and give them all a future.

"You're not alone in this Kin,"

I turned to find the children gone, replaced by my best friend and deputy Doone. She stood by the door her face soft, her dark brown eyes conveying the sincerity in her statement.

"I sometimes think you're a mind reader", I replied with a laugh. Doone grinned in return but her eyes remained serious. I noticed as only a life long friend would, the small characteristics in her posture and face that displayed an enforced tranquillity, a willingness to remain calm and under control. I was immediately concerned

"What's wrong? What's happened? Is it the dragons? Has there been another attack? Where are the children? Are they safe? We could evacuate to the 3rd platform, I no it's not finished but…."

"Kinvara!" said Doone finally managing to interrupt, "It's not the dragons. It's something else."

She raked an anxious hand through her hair as she walked over to where I was sitting, perched cross legged on an old oak table. Standing before me she pulled a small tattered envelope out of her cloak and held it out towards me. It was slightly damp, covered in small stains and bits of dirt, but Doone held on to it like it was made of gold.

"It's a…it's a message from Zeke. We received it a few minutes ago….by falcon."

Doone sat down beside me, her hands clenched together on her lap. It didn't take long for her words to sink in and a familiar feeling of dread began to rise from deep down in my gut. To deliver a message by falcon was a last resort, only to be used if the communications system had failed. I let my head drop down in to my hands and gently massaged my temples, willing the sudden tension that had overcome my body to disappear.

The towers as they were known were a fairly recent development. Three small stone towers placed on raised ground at equidistance points around Thensmere, gave a clear view of up to 25miles on a good day. However the towers would have meant nothing if it hadn't been for Zeke and Doone, they had devised the communications system that linked all three towers to Thensmere. They had created the aerial that sent and received all the signals and they had been two of the three who had bravely agreed to man the towers when they were still in their prototype form. They had helped to prove just how worth while the towers were, not only did they give early warnings against Dragon attacks, but they also created safe points and specially monitored areas for planting crops and raising what animals we could.

No brother and sister could have been closer and yet been so different. Doone with her dark eyes and hair and small petite figure was a direct contrast to her brother. Tall and fair with smiling eyes and a permanent grin, was a description that fit Zeke perfectly, his bubbly personality had typecast him as the joker of The Clan. Ironic then, I mused, that none of us are laughing.

If the communications system had failed, it meant that either a Dragon attack or the previous night's storm had damaged the aerial. Kenzie, Thensmere's communications controller, the one to whom the three towers checked in with each morning, had mentioned some static this morning. Nothing we all thought would be anything to worry about, obviously we were wrong. My thoughts trailed off as Doone snatched the envelope out of my hand.

"Kinvara if you don't open it I will, he's my brother I need to know what has happened. He wouldn't have sent it otherwise."

I pushed her gently back down on to the table and prised the letter out of her now shaking hands. The serene calm I had earlier observed had long gone only to be replaced with wild panic.

"I'll open it now."

I hurriedly tore open the handmade envelope and pulled out a small thin sheet of paper, Zeke's harsh scrawl was barely legible from all the ink stains and water spots. A reminder to us both that this letter had not been written at a leisurely pace. I quickly scanned the letter, making sure to appear calm and controlled so as not to invoke panic.

"What does it say Kin?" Doone asked quietly.

I lifted my eyes from the paper and looked directly into hers.

"Zeke has sent us a warning," I replied "I had better read it aloud."

"Kinvara, as leader of The Clan I address this letter to you and you alone, after that this information and responsibility is in your hands to do with it what you will. I am writing this letter to you on the 2nd of May 2020 at 8.54am……"

"That's this morning!" Doone interjected, "Only about an hour after he checked in," I nodded and carried on.

"As you will no doubt have realised by now the communications system has failed. I don't know how or why it's happened; all I know is that it has left me unable to convey the immediate and serious warning I have to tell you.

10 minutes ago, whilst I was checking on the crops, I noticed movement in the distance, a small flickering in the dusk. Upon closer inspection I found to my surprise that the light was in fact a lantern."

"People?" Doone questioned, "Surely not?"

"By now you will have realised what I am talking about. I do indeed speak of a group of people, perhaps 20 or 30 in number, moving slowly towards my watch tower. However I would ask you not to panic, I have camouflage and good defences on my side whereas these people…well these people have nothing. I have been watching them for nearly an hour now and was surprised to notice certain weaknesses in their group. They are not the band of warriors you are no doubt picturing in your mind; they travel with children and the elderly. However I understand only to well that appearances can be deceiving. I only hope that this letter reaches you in time. The group is moving at a slow pace and so I would estimate that they would reach Thensmere perhaps mid afternoon on the 4th of May. I hope to speak to you all soon. Be careful Kinvara, stay safe. Zeke."

As my voice trailed off, a silence descended on The Hall, neither of us knowing what to say, both unsure of what to do next. The only sound to be heard was the gentle chiming of the clock striking 10pm. I the first to collect myself stood up and with a voice that I hoped promoted no questioning began to speak;

"I want you to inform the other Elders of the situation. Take the letter, show them and tell them to evacuate the Clan to the 2nd platform,"

Doone openly hesitated before speaking.

"Where will you be while I inform the others?" she questioned cautiously.

"I will be fixing the aerial," I replied.

Glancing at Doone I could see her struggling to accept my decision. With better knowledge of the aerial I knew she thought herself the better candidate for the task, but as leader this was something I needed to do. I watched as she paced the room furiously, getting a hold of her emotions, then stopped and walked towards me. She leaned in and grabbed my shoulders, her fingernails digging in as she shook me gently.

"Don't do anything brave alright? Because it will undoubtedly be something stupid," and with that she picked up the letter and strode off out of The Hall.

"O Yeah," she called out behind her, "The tools you'll need are in my room and I'll tell Kenzie to switch of the generator so you don't fry."

I looked up grinning, shaking my head at her badly timed joke. Picking my long dark cloak up off of the table I slung it around my shoulders and made my way over to the door. Glancing momentarily at the walls filled with paintings and stories created by the children, I found a new determination to protect my people and with that in mind I gently blew out the lantern plunging The Hall into darkness and quickly made my way to Doone's quarters.

Luka

It was not, I mused, the greatest idea I had ever had to challenge Saphira to a game of cards. The mousy school teacher had made me look like an amateur and had taken uncharacteristic pleasure in my downfall. I probably should have expected it, I mean it's always the quiet ones you have to watch isn't it? Aside from that she had totally ruined my master plan, all I had wanted was some paper, but instead I had to promise her that I would take over the school and teach her little bratty children whilst she took 2 days off to have some r and r. How I wish we still dealt in gold and silver, it made things so much easier but in a world where the nearest shop is a charred mess on the floor dealing in promises seemed the better option.

Still feeling thoroughly cheated I walked dejectedly back to my quarters on the 2nd Platform. I suppose as "Voice of the People" I shouldn't really be gambling anyway, I should be setting an example to those around me. Smirking at the thought I carried on down the corridor not really paying much attention to my surroundings and as I rounded a corner ran smack bang into someone. As we collided our equilibriums failed and both fell to the floor with a thud. A tremendous metallic clang sent vibrations up my spine as spanners and screwdrivers scattered around me, followed by a tinkling sound as tiny screws and bolts hit the cold stone floor.

"Bugger me," I cursed as I pulled myself up from the floor, the process being made more difficult by several tiny ball bearings that had escaped in the pile-up. Brushing myself off I quickly turned around suddenly remembering the other casualty, then froze as I saw who it was.

"Kinvara….I…..I'm so sorry," I cringed at my stuttering and hoped she didn't notice. "Are you OK?"

I paused, waiting for her to answer but she appeared not to have heard me. As I looked down at our leader I felt my emotions surge. It was wrong; it felt wrong to be looking at her like this. Though not tall by any means, she normally had a presence about her that denoted trust and respect, sometimes even fear. But now I realised I was witnessing a rare moment of weakness. As she sat crumpled on the floor, tools strewn around her, she looked lost and afraid, her pale blue eyes which were usually sharp and glittering with ice were now large and china doll like, giving her a vulnerable fragile appearance.

I knelt down beside her and gently touched her shoulder, as I did she seemed to snap back in to herself and quickly began gathering the tools and shoving them into a large leather holdall. Surprised at the sudden change in her I almost believed myself to have imagined it all, but then I noticed her hands, they were shaking.

"Kinvara, are you OK?" I repeated.

""Of course I am," She snapped, "Just give me a hand will you, I'm in a hurry."

"Hey" I replied, "This is me you're talking to remember, Luka; the guy you've known for years."

She sighed as she picked up the last tool and closed the holdall. Throwing the bag over her shoulder she stood up, her eyes level with mine.

"I'm sorry Luka; I shouldn't have snapped at you, it's not your fault. It's just, something's happened, I don't have time to explain, but as an Elder you should be informed. Go to The Hall and wait for Doone and the others, she'll make sure you know what's going on."

"Ok, I'll go there right now," I replied, puzzled and more than a little concerned. It must be something serious to call an unscheduled meeting of the Elders. Kinvara gave me a small smile and took off at a run down the corridor. I watched her until she rounded another corner and faded out of sight. I again felt that familiar jolt in my stomach and berated myself for behaving like an adolescent young boy with his first crush and made my way towards The Hall.

Truth be told it wasn't really a crush, not to me anyway. From the first moment I saw Kinvara almost 6 years ago I was gone. Whilst not conventionally beautiful she was striking in appearance, with a lean, lithe figure muscled from years of fighting and wild auburn curls that cascaded down to the small of her back. High cheek bones dusted with freckles and full soft lips, along with those eyes completed the picture. But it wasn't just that, she was so strong mentally, physically, emotionally.

When I first met her she had just suffered a great loss, her father had just died and her old home had been destroyed. We met whilst travelling; Kinvara now promoted to leader had been given the task of finding what was left of the Clan a new home, along with this she was still trying to deal with the grief of losing her last remaining family member. I was accepted into the Clan; we became friends and then found Thensmere. I think I had loved her from that first moment.

"HEY LUKA!" I whipped round to see Doone running towards me; she was red in the face and breathing hard, she slowed to a jog as she saw me stopping.

"Luka," she stated still a little breathless, "I've been looking for you all over. There is a meeting of the Elders in The Hall…."

"I know," I interrupted, "I've just bumped into Kinvara, she told me."

"O" she replied, taken slightly aback. "Well you can still be of help to me. I'm looking for Saphira and Tyler, have you seen them?"

"Well…er...i have actually," I said, I felt myself go red at the mention of Saphira and my pathetic gambling attempt. "I was just…erm…talking to Saphira a few minutes ago in the trading hall, I think I saw Tyler there too."

Doone's eyes narrowed at my stuttering, but I relaxed as I noticed the faint trace of a smile.

"I'm not even going to bother telling you that gambling is wrong, aside from that you should know better than to challenge Saphira to a game of cards, it's a fatal mistake. But anyway I'll go and have a look. Thanks Luka, you'd better get to The Hall."

I nodded and we both went in our opposite directions, as I reached the door to The Hall a strange sense of foreboding crept into my mind, I pushed it aside took a deep breath and opened the door.