The caravan travelled nearly two weeks to reach the border, but it took only a few days for Callum to become absolutely insufferable to his travel companions. The small caravan had caught up with the much slower army and they were now travelling back towards the human kingdoms.
Callum was in a sour mood most of the time. Ezran guessed it was about Rayla, but Callum fervently denied that. "I don't miss her. I'm not going to miss her. You know why? Because I'll be back with her any day now!" he had exclaimed. Several people of the delegation shook their heads at that. He even got into a fight with Soren who was trying to keep his cool as he had, as he put it, just joined the 'good guys'. However, his patience was severely tested and eventually, Amaya had to come between them to prevent an all-out bout.
Then, Callum tried bargaining with his aunt to get the caravan to move faster, but Amaya had shut that down pretty quickly by explaining that the lives of many wounded soldiers depended on their travel pace and no, they could not speed up because he missed getting kisses from his new elf girlfriend! She had walked away before Callum could sign any response.
After that, Callum became depressed and awfully quiet. He wouldn't speak to others and he didn't eat well. All he did was draw sketches on random pieces of paper he found in the camp. Opeli was furious with him. "This is the fourth time he has ruined my provision checklist with his sketches! Not to mention what he has done with my draft for the proposal for trade caravans! It was a very decent proposal, now it's an elf with a daisy crown!" Ezran tried to placate everyone and asked Callum to at least keep his impulses in check until they got home.
But when the border came into view, Callum cheered up again. He rode his horse up to the front to join his comrades. "Well, looks like we're almost there!" he said rather cheerfully to no one in particular. "Our worries are finally over. You know what? These last few days were hard on all of us, but I think we can be proud of how we all got through them." He was too busy talking to notice everyone around him was giving him death glares.
It was Queen Aanya who rode up next to him. "Are you alright, Prince Callum?" She eyed him with curiosity. She had met him before but hadn't spoken to him often, certainly not in the past.
"Oh, I'm fine. I've just accepted that I still have to wait a few days before I see Rayla again."
"Rayla… the elf girl, right?"
Callum nodded.
The young queen smiled. "So, you two are together, then?"
"Y-yeah, I guess so? I mean, we kissed and stuff, so, yeah, I mean, of course we are together now!" Callum was rambling. They never really talked about the nature of their relationship. Suddenly, that thought began to nag him. It's okay, he thought. I'll see her again in a couple of days.
"Well, I'm glad for you. It will show people how wrong they all are about elves, especially since you are the prince of Katolis."
He smiled at that. "Thank you, Queen Aanya."
She returned the smile. "And it's good that you stay positive too. It will still take weeks before we're back home, and we need good leadership to keep our spirits up!"
Callum paled. "W-wait wait wait. Why would it take weeks to get back home? I thought we didn't have to sneak past anything anymore? We can just, like, march back across?"
It was Gren who gave the answer to that question. "The border passage has been destroyed. The sunfire elves have promised their help in building a bridge across the lava stream. However, that might take a long time." Gren rode up to them and pointed south. "If we can't make a proper bridge quickly, we'll have to take the wounded south and transport them by sea. I reckon it'll be at least another month before we're all back."
"What!?"
In the end, Callum spent only two days at the border, repeating the cycle of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance on a daily basis, and not necessarily in that order. But one evening, he approached his little brother in a moment of clarity.
Ezran stood before his tent, looking in his bag for leftover jelly-tarts. Bait, his brothers' eternal companion, eyed him hungrily as he did.
"Please, Callum, not again." He groaned as he saw his brother approach as fed Bait another stale jelly-tart. Callum sighed. He had earned his brother's ire these last few days, and rightly so.
"Ezran, I came to apologise."
"Oh… just… apologise? You're not going to try to get the sunfire elves to carry us across the lava again?"
Callum scratched his head. "Hey, I was desperate, okay? Anyway, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." He took a deep breath. "I'm going crazy here."
Ezran looked unimpressed. "Yeah, we noticed."
Callum held up his hands in surrender. "I know I know. Look, I can't help it. I miss her. A-and I know I'm acting like a child-"
"Hey!" Ezran looked offended at his brother.
"Like, a spoiled child. Like a brat." He sighed. "It's just that… with her… everything made sense, you know? And I want to go back to her."
Ezran didn't know what to say. He understood love, but he didn't really understand the kind of love Rayla and Callum had. He didn't know how to comfort him either, not with words, so he just went to him and gave him a hug. Callum accepted it.
"Well, anyway, I came to say goodbye."
Ezran's eyes widened in alarm. "Goodbye? Where are you going!?"
Callum straightened his back and looked over towards the lava. He couldn't see the lava river, but he saw its red glow. "I'm no use to anyone right now, and I keep annoying people. But there is something I can do." Now he looked at Ezran, and Ezran saw a look in Callum's eyes that he hadn't seen before.
Callum knelt to one knee before Ezran and spoke. "King Ezran of Katolis, I hereby request permission to go on ahead of the caravan and to fly back to the capital by myself," he said as officially as he could muster. Ezran saw that his brother was dead serious, but couldn't quite believe it.
"Please Callum, what are you doing? This is weird."
Callum's eyes softened. "You're my little brother, Ezran, but you are also my king now, and I have to ask you stuff. I thought that this was a good start. If I fly ahead, I wouldn't be bothering people. And I can prepare our home for your arrival."
Ezran looked at his brother. It made sense, but… "Then I'll be alone here!"
Callum smiled, trying to cheer him up. "Really, Ezran? You still have Bait. And Queen Aanya isn't much older than you. She seems pretty nice."
Ezran shrugged. "I guess, but she's all grown-up-like."
"I know. Hey, maybe you can get her addicted to jelly-tarts!" he said with a wink.
"No way! Then we wouldn't have enough jelly-tarts for all of us!" his brother objected. They laughed. Eventually, Ezran settled down. Callum still looked at him questioningly. "Alright. I know how much you want this." he cleared his throat and stood up straight. With as much posh as he could muster, Ezran said: "As king of Katolis, I give you permission!"
Callum made a regal, if somewhat mocking, bow. They both shared a laugh and Callum rustled his hair.
"Take care, little brother," Callum said.
"You too," Ezran replied.
Callum backed away, cast his spell, and disappeared into the night sky.
-/-/-/-
With a deep sigh, Rayla put down her quill and rolled up the scroll. Ibis had helped her write a scroll to every major city and town, calling for them to present their best warriors to the base of the Storm Spire in three weeks' time. There, the warriors would have to prove themselves. Only seven could be chosen, after all. Rayla had doubted whether it was wise to limit the guard to eight, but Ibis had explained the wisdom behind the tradition to her.
"To be an effective and elite fighting force, the warriors must know each other through and through. So the force can't be too big. We are also asking them to live here, permanently."
Rayla had swallowed hard at that moment but hid it with a cough.
"Only a select few warriors will fit our requirements. Be prepared that not all spots will be filled right away."
Rayla thought about that. "True, and we must make sure that we have a balanced skillset. I know that the only reason both my father and my mother were chosen together was that they wielded different weapons."
Ibis nodded. "Yes, that's true."
Rayla gestured at the pile of scrolls next to her. "So how will we get these where we want 'em?"
Ibis just smiled as he supplied his one-word answer. "Dragons."
After their discussion, they both decided that it would be best to delay the introduction of new recruits in the Dragonguard until after the dragonmoot. Xadia was a large country. It could take a while for the messages to reach the right people, and even longer for them to respond. But Ibis was confident that three weeks was enough time, especially with the help of dragons as their messengers. Queen Zubeia agreed to this in the end. They were all confident that the queen and Zym would be relatively safe at the dragonmoot. Most of the dragons of Xadia would be there, after all.
"Are you goin' to come to the dragonmoot as well, Ibis?"
Ibis laughed. "Me? No, I have no business there. I am not a dragon after all, though I try to keep good relations with Queen Zubeia."
"Right, but I do get to go because I'm on babysittin' duty," she responded, looking offended but not really meaning it.
"Basically. Do be careful with little Azymondias. His presence will mean a lot to the other dragons."
Right, got to keep him safe, then. She found herself fondling the handles of her weapons on her back. "Do you expect any dangers?"
Ibis shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been to Garlath's Justice before."
Rayla had heard of the place. Supposedly, in ancient times, Garlath the Annihilator had seen fit to dispense swift justice to some enemy abusing magic, and threw a stone with such force that it devastated the lands around them. The crater was a monument to that event.
"Well, it'll be interestin' to see what the fuss is about," she said as she had sealed the last scroll with a magic ribbon not unlike the ribbon she was once bound by. These could only be opened by the town elder. Rayla yawned. She had worked hard these last few days. Ibis had shown her around the Storm Spire and explained her various duties to her. He would stay at the Storm Spire with a dragon once the queen, the prince and herself would leave for the dragonmoot, but after that, she'd be on her own.
She locked the room which she used as her office and made her way back to her bedroom. Ibis would keep watch tonight, and she was keen on getting some sleep. She undressed and put her swords next to the bed. I should give them some attention tomorrow. They'll go dull if I don't, she thought. Before she blew out the luneflame that illuminated her room, she did one more thing that she had added to her nightly ritual. She grabbed the sketchbook from beneath the pillow and leafed through it.
The book was halfway full with sketches of all kinds. She recognized many people she'd met on her travels. Others, she didn't quite recognize or understand. She blushed slightly at a sketch Callum had made of her wearing his scarf from when they tried to sneak past Sol Regem. But her favourite was one of his last sketches. It was a portrait of them together, just after he had saved her. In the sketch, his wings folded over her as she nudged his head with hers. They were smiling and looked immensly happy together.
She felt a warmth spreading from her chest. Looking at his sketches made her feel close to him. It made his absence bearable, even though she knew it could still take a long time before she saw him again. It's going to be alright, she thought. "Sweet dreams, my sweet prince." She placed a kiss on the page and went to bed.
-/-/-/-
The giant crater loomed before them, just as the sun had set. Rayla whistled. It was bigger than expected, and it was filled with dragons already. She saw dragons of every shape and size imaginable. She marvelled at the sight. Even within the species, dragons could have many differences that would make them unique, like the colour patterns of their scales, patches of fur around their head or the shape of their horns. Kind of like elves, now that I think about it. She touched her own horns with one hand, following the shape and curve of them. With her other hand, she held Zym, as they both sat on the back of Queen Zubeia. Suddenly, the dragon swooped downwards and Rayla quickly grabbed a patch of fur on the back to hold on.
The last few days before leaving for the dragonmoot had been a rush. She already received a few replies from the various cities. She would be busy soon with holding trails and deciding who would be good enough to be part of the Dragonguard. Apart from planning all that, she was also busy cleaning up the place. Four months without the Dragonguard attending to the Storm Spire had left the place dusty.
On one of her cleaning ventures, she had found a case full of medallions with dragon iconography on them. They were small, maybe double the size of a coin, but they were beautifully crafted. When she asked Ibis about them, he told her they were made especially for the Dragonguard.
"It enables them to understand Draconic," he had told her. "You should wear one! It is one of the perks of becoming a Dragonguard!"
She had put one on the clasp of her belt. She wasn't one for jewellery, but she couldn't argue that it would be a handy item to have for the upcoming dragonmoot, especially if she was allowed to wear it.
They landed in the middle of the crater, close to the rock in the centre. Several dragons bowed their heads to the ground. Rayla released Zym, him being able to fly on his own now, but not very fast or far, and quickly slid down to the ground. She saw that King Aureum Umbra was watching them intently, and bowed before him.
"Welcome, Queen Zubeia, Prince Azymondias and Captain Rayla of the Dragonguard," he announced. "We have awaited your arrival with much anticipation. Many here are eager to pay the prince their respects." Various dragons now craned their necks to get a good look at the young prince. Once Zym noticed, he quickly flew down to hide between the legs of his mother. The other dragons snorted. Rayla imagined they were laughing.
"Very well, then. Queen Zubeia, please join me at your rightful place on this seat of power." Queen Zubeia swooped up and landed on the stone, which had ample room to support the both of them. Zym quickly flew after her.
"Thank you, King Aureum Umbra. And thank you all for being here!" The dragon queen's voice rang over the crater as she recounted the events of two weeks past. Rayla stood at the bottom of the large stone, listening to the queen's speech. She noted a certain rumbling in the dragon's voice, something that hadn't been present before. She figured the queen must be addressing the crowd in Draconic. Just to test it, she took off the clasp of her belt. Immediately, the queen's graceful voice was replaced by a roaring of tones and sounds. She quickly put the clasp back on. Much better to listen to, she thought.
Rayla kept up her guard and scanned the surroundings. The terrain was bare and mostly flat. There were a few large boulders in the crater, and no vegetation. But she openly admired the dragons. They were all sorts of colours and she had to admire the new king as well. His white scales in combination with his dark-blue wings were a beautiful sight to behold.
One dragon caught her attention, if only because she didn't notice it before. At the edge of the crater sat a large dark shadow. At first, Rayla thought it to be another boulder hidden in the shadows. But the moon couldn't create such a shadow from above, and then the black patch moved. It turned out to be a dragon, completely black, and quite different from the rest. She had never seen such a dragon before. Maybe a star dragon? she thought. Rayla squinted to get a good look at it, but was then distracted as King Aureum Umbra spoke.
"Let the following be decreed: Xadia is at peace with the human kingdoms of Duren and Katolis. The terms are as follows: A checkpoint will be established at the border. Here, small delegations of humans, bearing the royal seal of Duren or Katolis, can enter Xadia unmolested to seek trade or ask for audience." He paused, gauging the reaction of the other dragons. The reaction was mixed, with some grunting approval while others roared their displeasure. After a moment, the king continued. "With Neolandia, Del Bar and Evenere, we are still at war. Our original plan was to exterminate all humans. I want to know if we will still do this, now that we have peace with two human kingdoms." He raised his claw and brought it down on the rock with a resounding slam. "I would hear thy opinion on the matter."
The discussion that followed took them well into the night. Rayla watched and listened with mixed emotions as some dragons proclaimed that they should use the opportunity to exterminate as many as they could, now that their forces were divided. Others argued caution, in particular the dragons who had witnessed first-hand that dark magic could protect the humans from their breath, and that human machines could bring the dragons down. Very few dragons argued that humans were worth saving now that peace was established.
Rayla was worried about that. Even though the queen also voiced her opinion on the matter, not many dragons were willing to follow her blindly. Rayla thought that it was also a matter of many dragons still remembering how not half a year ago, the previous dragon king was slain by humans. She couldn't help but think that, had she not met Callum and Ezran, she herself would still hate the humans just because.
In the end, a motion was put forth that, as long as the other human kingdoms did not threaten Xadia, there would be no invasion or extermination. The decisive factor in this decision was that though there was now peace, most dragons agreed that this peace would be shattered when thousands upon thousands of human lives would be extinguished. And in light of their inability to effectively fight an army infused with dark magic, as proven during the last encounter, the dragons agreed that it was better to watch, wait and learn.
"Very well, it is decided, then. Messengers, spread this decree through all of Xadia. Though the elves are to be on guard, they are to not harm any human visitors carrying the royal seals of Katolis and Duren." The dragons roared, some shooting their breath into the air like fireworks as the climax of an intense evening's discussion. "I hereby end the dragonmoot. Fly well, my friends." And with that, the dragons started to leave.
Rayla got up. She was glad it was over. The discussion had terrified some part of her. Every time they spoke ill of humans, and how they ought to be killed to the last, she thought of Callum, the human she loved. I just hope this peace will last… As she looked around, she noticed the black dragon she had spotted earlier. Although the other dragons had mostly participated in the discussion, this one had remained silent. It hadn't even moved. She wasn't the only one who had noticed. King Aureum Umbra snorted as he leapt into the air and glided in the black dragon's direction. Zym, being curious, decided to fly after him. Rayla started to follow but she was stopped by Queen Zubeia.
"Please wait here. This doesn't concern you."
The tone in the queen's voice didn't put Rayla at ease, but she had no choice but to wait.
-/-/-/-
"Greetings, Zeron." The king landed before the black dragon, who was lying on the ground casually, as if sleeping, his eyes closed. The king snorted as he got no response. He grumbled and spoke with a warning tone. "You'd do well to show me the proper respect, lest there be… consequences."
Now the black dragon opened his eyes, which were blue and glowing with power. Slowly he raised his head from the ground to regard King Aureum Umbra. The black dragon was smaller, maybe half the size of the other arch dragon. His head was adorned with spiky horns, with similar spikes running along his back, all the way to the tip of his tail. One of the more remarkable things was that he had no fur patches and was all scales, making him look very different from most of the other dragons.
"Threats do little to me, King Aureum." Zeron looked around the crater, now mostly empty. Its vision rested on a large grey boulder nearby. "Tell me what you would have of me," he said in a deep voice without looking back.
The king narrowed his eyes at the smaller dragon who seemed so disrespectful. He spoke with strained patience in his voice. "You have certain gifts that I would see you use. There are certain individuals who played a key part in saving young Azymondias." He nodded to the young dragon, who was creeping up on Zeron, more curious than afraid. "One of them has earned my gratitude and is appointed the captain of the Dragonguard."
The black dragon shifted its eyes to the elf in the distance. "The girl, I take?"
"Yes, indeed. The other is a young human mage." King Aureum Umbra moved closer to Zeron, his voice turning into a whisper. "I would have you use your powers to determine their trustworthiness and allegiance."
Finally, the dragon named Zeron looked up towards King Aureum Umbra. "Why is this of importance to you?"
"Does a king need a reason to command!?" the king bristled.
"Yes," Zeron replied, unfazed. "And might I remind you that I'm not your subject."
The black dragon stood up and stretched its wings for a bit, before taking a few steps. Its gaze flicked back to the grey boulder.
King Aureum Umbra watched the black dragon retreat from him. He snarled, but tried to remain on topic. "The human mage is connected to the sky arcanum, a feat unprecedented," the king admitted hesitantly. "But I smell dark magic on him nonetheless. He is of Katolis. I want to know if he will be a threat. As for Rayla of Xadia," he said, looking back to the elf girl, "I suspect she is attached to this human. I want to know where her heart truly lies, for she guards the future of Xadia." His tail encircled Prince Azymondias protectively.
Zeron snorted. "You doubt her loyalty, yet you let her protect the little one?"
"I do not doubt that she will protect the prince with her life. But I want to know what would happen if she had to choose between the prince or her own kind."
The black dragon grumbled. "Very well. I will see what I can find out." He spread his wings to take off, but the king stopped him.
"One more thing. We still haven't recovered the body of the dark mage. We think he might still be alive." The black dragon listened while regarding him stoically, then turned his gaze back to the grey boulder.
"Find out what you can about him. All life in Xadia might depend upon it."
The black dragon grinned, for the first time showing emotion. "That won't be a problem." Zeron brought down his wings and took off.
King Aureum Umbra watched the black dragon leave. More than once had he wished for simpler times. He nudged Zym forward and made his way back to the queen.
-/-/-/-
The trio watched the king and queen of Xadia leave but remained silent in the crater long after they were gone. They had no choice either. The spell that disguised them as a grey boulder also muted any sound they made. After an hour had passed, Aaravos dropped the spell.
"Finally," Claudia muttered. "I thought we would be stuck here forever!"
Viren stretched his limbs, having stayed seated for far too long. He watched the skies with trepidation, before turning back to the creature that spoke with Aaravos' voice. "He saw us, didn't he." It was more of a statement than a question.
Aaravos hesitated before answering. "Yes, though I do not know how that was possible."
Viren made a groan of frustration. "Then they know we were here! They will attack us any moment now! We need to get out of here!"
Claudia laughed. "We'll be fine, dad! Remember, we got an anti-dragon staff right here! We can keep them off of your back!"
"The girl's courage is admirable, though I doubt the staff will do much against their claws. However," Aaravos spoke, as he watched the night sky, "I do not think we need to worry. This black dragon does not seem to be on the side of Xadia. It did not reveal our presence to the dragon king."
Viren considered this. "A strange thing for a dragon… a neutral party, then?"
"Perhaps…" Aaravos did not supply any more information.
Viren thought that the elf-turned-bug would know more about this, but he was not forthcoming, and Viren did not know how to pry that information out of him.
"Alright, let's consider our next move. The dragons declared they will not move against the other human kingdoms unless they will directly threaten Xadia. That will give us some room to work with." Claudia watched her dad speak with interest, glad to hear his confidence returning to him. "If we can convince the people of Neolandia, Del Bar and Evenere that Xadia is still a threat, perhaps we can unite them against both Xadia and the other kingdoms."
"A bold plan, Viren. How do you want to achieve this?" Aaravos said with a flattering tone.
Viren thought for a moment. "We must train more dark magic users to bolster our strength. We have been too cautious in its use. We must go further than we have ever gone before." His eyes rested on Claudia. "You, my precious daughter, will play an important part in this. Your charm and your power will be instrumental in convincing the people of those kingdoms of the importance of studying dark magic."
Claudia's eyes lit up. Finally, dark magic would be accepted throughout all the kingdoms. Finally, everyone would understand the necessity of it!
"But at the same time, we must be cautious, and very subtle. If Xadia finds out about this, they will attack without mercy."
The big creature seemed to smile, though it looked odd. It seemed positively gleeful with the prospect. "Very well, Viren, that sounds just wonderful. Where will we go first?"
Viren thought of a warm land ruled by the sun and currently by a dying ruler without an heir. "We will go to Neolandia."
-/-/-/-
Ezran opened his eyes, disturbed by what he had witnessed. He had felt Zym's excitement and when he focused, he saw the mass of dragons, all assembled in the crater. Zym hadn't known the importance of the meeting, but Ezran had, and through Zym's ears he had followed and understood most of it thanks to his connection with the dragon prince.
He was glad about the outcome, but then came this black dragon, this Zeron. He had seen and heard everything up until the point that the dragons finally left the crater. Ezran looked up into the dark sky, the same one where his brother had disappeared into a few hours ago. "Oh no," he whispered, as he realised that he had no way to warn either of them.
Author's note:
Next one's up! Last week has been hectic, but I should have plenty of time to finish a couple of chapters this weekend. If I finish early, you'll see an update next sunday, or I might surprise you all with a christmas present. We'll see where it goes. As always, let me know what your thoughts are on the story!
Review responses:
Radu24maior: Well, we can always hope, can't we? I'm not going to spoil the end, but I assure you they'll have their moments.
Gustrubio: Heh, I looked up what the actual caterpillar would turn into in real life, and gave that my own twist. As for the 9 chapter thing; I only intend to finish this arc within the span of 9 chapters, the same way the season wraps op some parts of the story but leaves others open. Motivation is still high, so with luck I'll be writing a lot this christmas holiday and maybe I can get a head start on season 5! :D
Purple-Eyes Dragon: That's... a lot. First of all, thank you for reading. I do like to put some romantic tension in there. Even though they both know they love each other, they will still have to face quite a lot of obstacles before their happy-ever-after. As for your story, I do think it could work as a separate story if you were to write it, however none of it really fits my story. I very rarely add story elements suggested by others, but never original characters.
Archangel12575: As a teacher, I can confirm some parents never know the evil shit children think or pull off when they're not around :P
Rainbowhawk1993: Thank you for your detailed feedback! Zubeia and Rayla have the opportunity to bond. You know, in the show I was really impressed with how gentle the queen dragon was, given that Avizandum and Sol Regem were arrogant and condescending. As for the other points:
1. Hehehe, that was what I was going for. I'm curious what you think of Aureum Umbra after reading this next chapter.
2. Aanya is awesome! We don't see enough of her in the show unfortunately.
3. I dunno... remember the peanut-butter dream in the show? Or the comment Harrow made about his dream of Lady Justice? In any case I hope to stay with a T rating, certainly considering how young they are.
4. Thanks! As a former-awkward teenager; Callum was surprisingly easy to write in this chapter!
5. Yup.
6. Well, it was either that or have them be stuck in a cave for a loooong time, which raises the question on how they survive and keep themselves sane in the first place.