The birthplace of the knight Barigan is now home to the renowned Knights of
Ilia…

"Where is that boy? I sent him out hours ago! Could he have been attacked by dragons…"

"Captain Elise! Two riders are approaching the base!" a soldier cried, jerking the woman out of her reverie. Elise immediately ran towards the soldier, her silver chain mail barely weighing her down. Her long lavender hair freely blew in the wind as her sapphire eyes gazed up towards the approaching pegasi. With a clatter of hooves and a flutter of wings, the white winged-horses landed on the cobble stone field. Swiftly dismounting, Berengier callously handed the reins to a nearby stable boy and quickly headed towards the waiting duo.

"General Berengier, I am glad to see you have arrived safely," Elise said, falling in step beside him. "The commanders of the Second, Third, and Fifth Legion are awaiting you in the Strategy Room. In light of the recent attack on Aix, the men have been put on high alert, ready to carry out whatever is ordered."

"What's the butcher's bill on the battle?" Berengier asked as they neared the entrance to the keep.

"As you know, First Legion had half of its numbers garrisoned there, along with Commander Gefried. They were completely eradicated, and the few survivors are in critical condition in the infirmary. Most of the citizenry was killed, though there are some refugees camped outside the fort as you likely saw when you flew in."

"And what of the Duke?"

"He escaped, but he and his escort were attacked en route to the fort. He…it's not looking pretty, sir."

"Hmm, I had hoped Duke Charles would have escaped unscathed." Berengier murmured as the two reached the door to the keep. "Excellent report Captain, you are quite the asset to this army. Good soldiers should be rewarded for their service and loyalty, don't you think Captain, or should I say, Commander Elise?"

"Yes sir," Elise began, then the full weight of what the man had said hit her. "T-thank you sir! I swear on my honor as a Pegasus Knight I will not disappoint you!"

"See to it that you don't Commander. I would not want to regret my decision. You will take over command of the remainder of First Legion." He walked up the stone steps of the keep. "Oh, and see to it that the boy cleans himself up," Berengier said, casually gesturing back to the field. "We had a bit of trouble on the way here." Nodding to the two door guards, the general strode into the keep.

Rushing back to the airfield, Elise arrived just in time to see her brother collapse off of his pegasi and fall to the ground. "Barigan," she whispered, rolling the boy onto his back. Brushing his blue hair out of his face, Elise checked to see if anything was broken. Seeing that it wasn't, she carefully lifted her brother and carried him across the field to the infirmary.

"We cannot let this blatant attack stand! We must retaliate!" Ogier, commander of the Third Legion shouted, banging his huge fist on the table. A giant of a man known for a disposition as fiery as his beard, he often used his overbearing presence to get things the way he wanted.

"But what can we possibly do! These are dragons we're talking about! We're horrendously outmatched! We're better off retreating, building up our defenses, and protecting what we can!" said Anseis, staring defiantly at the warrior across the table from him.

"You have the right idea, Anseis, but your plan still lacks substance. We cannot hope to stand against this threat alone. We should send emissaries to the neighboring regions and to the King to petition for help," advised Turpin, the most senior of the commanders.

General Berengier sat in is seat at the head of the table as the commanders bickered, calmly listening to all sides. Finally, he raised his hand, causing the room to immediately fall silent.

"Have you naught to say, Commander Elise?" All eyes turned towards the young woman sitting on the end. With slight jump, she slowly rose out of her seat.

"Sir, I do. All of you have good ideas, but each is lacking certain aspects of, excuse my bluntness, common sense. Ogier," she said, gesturing towards the warrior, "even if we brought the might of all seven legions to bear, there is no way we'd be able to win out in an all out conflict. Our armies would be burned to a crisp! Anseis, I had thought better of you! Yes, defense is important, but defense alone will not win this war. Turpin, your plan is a sound one, but I do not believe we should send out for help but should instead send a small scouting party to see if similar attacks have occurred elsewhere. In this dark time, we must show the rest of Elibe that even after such a devastating attack, the Knights of the Mountain Stronghold still hold strong!"

For a moment the whole room was silent, the commanders awed by the powerful speech Elise had given. Then Berengier began to laugh, a deep rumble coming from his chest. Crestfallen, Elise sat back down in her seat.

"I see I was not wrong in promoting you, Commander Elise." Berengier said, wiping his eyes. "What she said is true!" he roared immediately returning to his normal, gruff state. "If we are to survive this threat, we must come together as one! Ogier," he said, gesturing to the man on his right, "you and Commander Elise will see to the defense of Fort Aetherius. With the destruction of Aix, this will become our new seat of power. Anseis, take your battalion and travel to Glaston. See to it that it is properly defended. I believe that Sixth Legion is currently stationed at Fort Zephyr near there. Commander Elise, see to it that scouts are constantly in the air, we're going to need as much of a warning as we can get in case of another attack. Seeing as the Duke is unfit to rule, I, as General, will take temporary power. I swear as long as I still draw breath, the dragons will never destroy us!"

"Barigan, Barigan!" a woman's voice calls out. In the trees above her, a young boy stifles a giggle and peers through the branches. The two have played this game before, and he knows he'll have to come down eventually.

"Barigan, I'm leaving!" the woman calls again, walking out of the clearing, a light smile on her face. Suddenly, three bandits burst from the brush, clad in leather armor and each wielding a battle-axe. From his vantage point, Barigan can see and hear everything and looks on in horror as a bandit roughly grabs the woman and drags her off deeper into the forest, the two other bandits close behind.

Alone, confused, and scared, Barigan sits in his tree, and cries…

"Barigan, Barigan! Wake up!" a voice fiercely whispered. Barigan's eyes slowly opened to find Elise's worried face staring down on him. Taking a few bleary eyed looks around, he found that he was in the infirmary surrounded by small cots most of which were occupied by the survivors of Aix. The wounds ranged from minor cuts and scrapes to full body burns, skin blackened from the flames. Mages with mend and heal staffs wandered from cot to cot, bringing blissful relief to all those they touched.

"Elise, what are you doing here?" Barigan asked, wincing slightly as he sat up. Seeing his clothes in a chair next to him, he began to dress.

"I came to make sure you were alright. I'm surprised you made it to the Fort with the stress your body had been through." She fell silent, looking at the scars that covered his body. "What was this one about?" she asked.

Barigan froze, then slipped the shirt over his head. "I didn't have my armor on…I thought, I though that if I got there as fast as I could, if I delivered my report word for word…he would finally be proud of me…"

"Barigan…" Elise whispered, embracing her brother in a hug. They stood like that for a moment, then Barigan shrugged her off. He then turned to face her and snapped to attention

"Captain Elise sir, Private Barigan reporting! What are my orders?"

Elise recoiled, stunned by the sudden formality. Then with equal stiffness, she replied, "Glad to see you made it back safely, Private, and that's Commander to you. Your orders as per the General's wishes are to begin a scouting rotation in the surrounding areas. Return to your barracks, I'm sure your troops are awake at this hour. And do not delay; the General wants you in the air as soon as possible. You are dismissed."

"Yes sir!" Barigan replied. Grabbing his cloak, the young officer turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Barigan, wait!" Elise shouted, stopping the boy just as he opened the door to leave. "Because of your bravery in the face of peril, I am promoting you to Corporal," she said, closing the gap between them and handing him a small badge. "Wear it with honor, brother, for the recommendation came from General Berengier himself."

Barigan's eyes immediately grew wide, and he moved as if to embrace his sister, but he quickly stopped himself, snapping a salute in its stead. "Thank you, Commander!" he replied, then he stepped out into the chill, pre-dawn air.

"All he wants is Father's respect." Elise thought to herself as she watched her brother leave. "I just hope he doesn't destroy himself to earn it…"

A/N: Ok, so 36 hits should mean 36 reviews, right? Well, apparently not. But my whining aside so ends the first of the chapters where I shall introduce the dramatis personae of this soon to be epic story! Look out for Roland and the rest of the gang, along with a few, unexpected characters…Read and Review, or Flame and Review, whatever suits your fancy (but not too many flames, I have a low tolerance to burns)