Chapter 9

Elsa and Henry spent the rest of the day talking about the Eresi kingdom. It appeared that the reason why there was no mention at all of Eresi in the books was due to the fact that it was lost in the clouds. The Eresi civilization had been built on top of a very high mountain, lost somewhere in the western seas. Their only way of communication with the people of the surface was by mounting dragons. They were specialized in the breeding and training of these creatures, that lived exclusively above the clouds. On very rare occasions, young adventurous dragons would come to the surface in order to hunt and explore. This is where Henry came in. His hometown had been completely destroyed by a dragon when he was only four years old. His parents and his older brother died in the fire, that day. The dragon had disappeared as fast as he had arrived, leaving Henry orphan, alone, unable to know what to do.

He had wandered for two days, before a woman named Fiora found him and decided to take care of him. She was a foreign warrior who had been travelling for years across all kingdoms, heavily armed, and Henry never knew what she could possibly have been searching for. Since Henry and her did not speak the same language, they mostly communicated with hand gestures. Fiora taught Henry how to fight, how to live by himself, how to cope with any kind of adversaries. He had spent ten years with her and had more or less become like a son to her.

But one day, while they were sailing across the westerns seas, they came across an entire division of trained dragons, mounted by the Eresi. Pyment, as well as the king of the Eresi kingdom, were leading this squadron to war, to extend the Eresi domination over the surface lands. Fiora could not let that happen. A fierce battle engaged between the crew of the ship and the squadron. But it was clearly unbalanced. Fiora, as well as the entire crew, got killed during the battle, leaving Henry alone, once again.

But the squadron had suffered heavy losses too, and the invasion could no longer be done. Pyment, who was only a teenager, like Henry at that time, wished to kill him, but the king decided to let him go. He cursed him with the power of the wood, left him adrift, and went back to his kingdom with what was left of his division.

Since that day, Henry could no longer meet anybody without accidentally hurting him with his wood powers. Filled with pain and hatred, he became a lone dragon hunter, travelling across the kingdoms just like Fiora, and discreetly protecting people from the attacks of the monsters who would descend the Eresi mountain.

Now, six years later, he was here, in Arendelle, because he had heard of the dragon attacking the town. When he saw Pyment leaving on his ship, bringing his frozen dragon with him, looking mad and humiliated, he decided to meet the person responsible for this. This is how Elsa and him went to meet each other, that night.

Elsa could not think of a sadder story. Henry did not flinch once when he told it. He was hurt deep in his heart, and the scar on his forehead was nothing compared to the one in his soul. She could also identfy with him. She knew really well what it was like to hurt someone without intent, and fear your own powers.

According to Henry's words, the dragon that had attacked Arendelle four days earlier was young, but had been bred and trained on a military purpose. He had certainly escaped, and had begun to attack like he had been taught to, without even thinking about what he was doing. The fact that it had been trained was a proof that the Eresi kingdom was, effectively, gearing for war.

And Arendelle seemed to be their main target.

Elsa decreed a state of emergency and convened on a summit meeting with emissaries from the six nearby kingdoms, a week later. They all agreed on one thing : the threat of the Eresi kingdom was real. But since nobody knew where this kingdom was exactly, they couldn't do much but prepare and endure whatever would descend from the sky.

However, Elsa did not think that waiting was the only, or even a good option. She proposed to assemble a crew and set sail, in order to reach the Eresi mountain and meet the king. The crew would be composed of several emissaries from each kingdom. The main objective of this journey would be to sign a peace treaty, and to officially recognize the Eresi kingdom as an independent legislation around the world. This proposition suffered no opposition. The day after, six warriors, one for each kingdom that had answered to Elsa's call, arrived in Arendelle and sojourned in the castle until D-Day.

Everything had been really automatic and happened almost instantly. The day the warriors arrived, Elsa would still wonder about her choice. Was it a good idea to make such an expedition ? What if the ship was destroyed before even having the slightest chance to find the kingom of Eresi ? She didn't know what to think. She was sitting on her throne, head hidden in her hands, when Sir Piotr Edenzas came to have a talk with her.

- Your majesty, he said with his straight tone, I know that this is a new and very delicate situation for you. I think you have been an exemplary sovereign so far, and these six kingoms would not have answered to your call if they had no respect for you and your politics.

Elsa let her hands slip down her face and put on Piotr a tired gaze.

- What are trying to tell me, Sir Edenzas ? she asked. Do you think that I did an error ?

- Not at all, he replied. I just think that Henry, whatever his motivations are, should not come aboard with you and the warriors.

Elsa frowned a little. She knew that Piotr did not like Henry very well. She had seen how the chief of the army was looking at him. Call it suspicion, or paranoia or whatever, but Piotr was convinced that Elsa was wrong to trust the dragon hunter so blindly. Actually, Zyga agreed with Piotr, but it was no surprise for the queen.

- We have no data about him, whatsoever, continued Piotr. He is no different from that Pavement...

- Pyment.

- Yeah, yeah, Pyment, Chorizo, who cares. These people are strangers. You must remain vigilant, because the danger can come from anywhere. Remember the attack of the dragon ? It's the same.

- Thank you for your advice, Sir Edenzas, replied Elsa. But if I ever had the least doubt about Henry, I would have frozen his face off a long time ago.

- What if he is lying about his powers ? What if he's born with them ? What if...

- Enough with your assumptions, Sir Edenzas. Henry will come with us, and there is nothing you can do about it.

The old chief of the army seemed perplexed. Elsa had suddenly stood up and risen her tone without even realizing it. She looked at her hands, disconcerted.

- I will obey to any order you give me, your highness, said Edenzas in a much softer tone. But it is my duty to inform you and to warn you when I feel that there is a threat to your, or your people's, life.

- I understand very well, replied Elsa, who sat dow on her throne and began to rub her hand on her temple. But Henry is the only person alive, on the surface of the Earth, who knows precisely where the Eresi mountain is. If we can't bring him aboard, then this expedition can never be done. Do you understand ?

Sir Piotr Edenzas remained silent for a brief moment, looking grave, then replied :

- Yes, your majesty, I understand. I will check the preparations for the departure, tomorrow. You should go get some sleep.

And he left the room, letting Elsa sitting on her throne, alone, in prey to fear and anxiety.