"You're leaving now?" asked Shana as she set down some bandages.

"We have to," whispered Dart, hoping not to disturb the resting soldiers. "They're under attack as we speak."

"Let me just get my things together."

"Shana…"

"What?"

"It'll be dangerous."

"Lavitz is going, isn't he?"

"Lavitz is a knight."

"Don't you start this up again," said Shana with a snap. "I already told you that I'm going wherever you go."

"But it's a dragon," he insisted. "I'm not sure anything can defeat it."

"I guess I'm just going to have to go with you and find out."

Crossing her arms, Shana quirked an eyebrow and glared at him, waiting to see what he would say. He closed his eyes, hung his head, and sighed in defeat.

"Fine," he said. "But I don't like this."

"Is Rose going?"

"Yes, she overheard the messenger and volunteered."

"Well, there you have it. You need me."

"Forgive me if I don't quite understand," he snapped.

Shana sighed. "Do you really want to spend two days with just Lavitz and Rose?"

Grimacing, Dart shook his head.

"Exactly. So, I'm going, and that's that. I'll meet you at the east gate."

Before he could answer, she flitted into the hallway and rushed to another room.

"Aw, come on, Dart," he muttered to himself as he followed her out. "This is going to be fun. What could possibly go wrong?"

The next half hour, his mind was filled with possibilities of what could go wrong. While he recognized his desire for Shana to be with him on their journey, the thought of her engaged in battle with a dragon was detestable to him. A sick feeling settled in his stomach as he marched toward the east gate carrying a saddlebag full of supplies, and he hefted it onto his horse while a crowd of knights gathered to see them off. Part of him was grateful to be leaving so that he could avoid his newfound popularity while the other part sourly considered what their future might hold.

For the fanfare, Dart, Lavitz, and Shana had each donned their armor, and they sat with Rose before the Sixth Knighthood and the people of Hoax like heroes leaving on a great quest. Even Kaiser leaned into the idealism as he quieted the crowd and addressed the group with honeyed words.

"We were honored to have you in our company, even for so short a time," he said ceremoniously. "May good fortune go with you, and may you bring Sandora to justice."

"The honor has been ours," replied Lavitz.

Then he turned about and rode through the gate, followed by Dart, Shana, and Rose as the people applauded.

For a time, they galloped east along the road as the urgency of their situation pressed on them. Once the horses began to stall, they slowed to a walk and waited until the horses could pick up speed again. The day continued like this as long as they had a clear path, but once they turned off the road and into a dense forest, they were forced to slow their pace. An hour later, they exited the trees and lurched forward again toward the Serdian Mountains.

"We should take a break," announced Rose during their next lull of pace.

"We can't," answered Lavitz. "We have to reach the Seventh Fort as soon as possible."

"And what will you do if you find the dragon there and Dart hasn't the faintest idea how to fight it?"

Lavitz considered this for a moment and finally agreed. A few minutes later, they stopped by a small stream, and the horses drank their fill while Lavitz and Shana plopped down on the grass as if they had just run a marathon.

"Tired?" asked Dart as he stood next to them.

"We've been riding all day," said Shana with a confused look.

Glancing over at the sun, Dart saw that it was now dipping toward the western horizon, and he cocked his head.

"It really is late," he muttered. "But I don't feel tired at all."

"Really?" asked Lavitz in surprise.

"Really," nodded Dart. "I could ride all night, I think."

"I'm glad you're the one fighting the dragon, then."

"Speaking of which, we should attend to that," inserted Rose, nearing him and drawing her sword.

"What's this?" he asked, gesturing to the weapon.

"Time for training."

"Alright," said Dart slowly, taking a deep breath. "Um... How do we do this?"

"We'll start with the basics: transformation," said Rose. "It is almost impossible for a dragoon to transform outside of battle."

"So, you want me to fight you?"

"That seems like an odd caveat," mumbled Lavitz.

"Some have said that it prevents abuse of the power," replied Rose. "So, yes, I want you to fight me. Draw your sword."

He did so, and when Rose held her sword before her, Dart assumed a defensive stance and readied himself. He'd been hoping for some more direct teaching time, but he supposed that this would have to do.

"How does this work?" he asked.

"As you fight, you'll feel the frenzy of the battle inside. It'll take over you, and at that point, the dragoon spirit will reach out and offer itself to you. You must let it take over. Eventually, you will have more control over it, and it won't take so much concentration."

With a breath to steady himself, Dart waited. Then Rose lunged forward, much more quickly than what he'd been prepared for, and he struggled to lift his sword in time to block. Their battle became a series of blows as Rose practically danced around him, and he heard a soft exclamation from their spectators. Rose spun and swiped across and then came back around, and her blade sliced across his left forearm.

Swearing, Dart turned aside, grateful for a reprieve as Rose retreated.

"I've never seen anyone move that fast," said Lavitz, and Shana nodded.

"Did you feel it?" asked Rose.

"What, your blade on my arm?" spat Dart. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."

"Don't be smart with me."

"We're about to go fight a dragon, and you're worried about my sarcasm?"

"No, I'm worried about your ability to fight. The future of Basil rests in your hands, and the more you goof off, the more lives will be lost."

Dart sighed, nodded, and reassumed his stance. "I didn't feel anything different," he said.

"Remember what you felt in Hoax, just before you transformed," added Rose. "You were fighting for something. What was it? What drove you to stand up to a giganto when you had no chance of winning?"

Dart fought to keep himself from glancing toward the answer. While he had wanted to defend Lavitz and the other knights, he knew that the thing that had nearly driven him to his death was his desire to protect Shana.

"Hold onto that," directed Rose. "Let it drive you into doing what needs to be done."

He nodded, and she raised her blade. Then she attacked again, this time from the right, and Dart clumsily blocked. As they continued, he wondered how their sparring match looked to Lavitz and Shana. They'd mentioned their speed, but Dart could only see Rose as being unnaturally quick, and it soon became apparent that she was more skilled than he was. While he was able to stand his ground, Rose was holding back, and he knew that even with a lightweight rapier, she would have been able to kill him if it had struck her fancy.

And yet, no offer of stupendous power came to him. Considering her words, he shifted over until he stood with his back to his friends. This way, he could pretend that Rose was a foe, and that he was the only barrier between her and Shana.

A moment later, he felt a flicker inside him, like the spark of a knife on stone. He tried to snatch it, but it disappeared as if wind had snuffed it. Then it returned, and he grabbed it, pulling it toward him until it attached to his hand. The flame reared up inside him, and then as he brought down his sword on Rose, a flash of sparks scattered to the ground.

The fighting ceased, Shana and Lavitz jumped, and Rose stepped back with a mildly pleased expression.

"Almost there," she said.

"What was that?" Dart asked in shock.

"Magic, almost. Let's keep going. Hold onto that feeling."

Encouraged, Dart nodded as they locked swords again. This time, Dart waited for that spark to flash, and once it did, he held it fast, and to his surprise, it began to grow. All at once, a fire was building inside him, and he was reminded of that desperate feeling he'd felt in Hoax. Something flashed red, and the flames burst out from him again, forcing Rose to stumble backward to escape the intense heat. He allowed the power to consume him, and then he stood panting as a warmth spread over him. As it did, the pain of his cut from Rose all but vanished, and a fierce determination overtook his mind.

Looking himself over, he saw that the transformation was complete. That strange, etched armor decorated him, and he marveled at how light it felt. Wings sprouted from his back, and more marvelous to him was that his sword seemed to have transformed with him, now with those same runes carved into the blade and a red, decorated hilt.

"Excellent," said Rose. "This is a dragoon. Feel its power as it is offered. We'll start small. Sheathe your sword, close your eyes, and hold out your hands. Now, I want you to imagine that you're holding a small fire. Remember the magic's source, and ask it to come to you."

With several deep breaths, Dart imagined it. Somehow, he knew that it was possible. He felt the strength of the dragoon spirit as if it were part of him, and there inside was hidden an endless source of flame. As he stepped up to the brink, he whispered, asking the flame to come to him, and he drew it out until it settled in his hands. Then he heard a tiny whoosh and opened his eyes to see his handiwork – a small ball of flame suspended between his outstretched palms.

In triumphal laughter, Dart glanced among the others, inviting them into his joy at success. Though Rose was unfazed, Lavitz and Shana were both beaming in their intrigue.

Rose nodded. "If we had more time, I'd say that we could practice more with this. Magic will be one of your strongest sources of power, although dragons are resistant to it. As you fight, your instincts should kick in and help you."

"Should?" repeated Dart.

"Your sword is going to be your best weapon in this battle, and you already know how to use that," she continued. "A dragon's scales are almost impenetrable, but yours has now been imbued with the might of a dragon. That will be what is needed to overcome it. But right now, what you need is to learn to fly."

"What?"

A sinking feeling settled inside Dart, an odd disturbance in the steady stream of heat that circulated through his body. And yet, the heat seemed to combat it somehow. While he fully understood his own aversion to heights, it seemed that the dragoon inside him was not so hesitant as it tried to erase his fears.

"Flight is like magic, although it comes much more easily. Most of the time. Do you feel your wings?"

With a start, Dart realized that he did. They were not attachments to his armor, but appendages that contained muscle and waited for direction to move. Bewildered, he flexed a muscle that he had never had before, and his right wing flapped once.

"Very good. Now both."

He complied.

"And again, faster."

This time, he pushed down with his wings, and he felt his feet push off the ground. Panicked, he wobbled, relaxed his wings, and fell to his knees.

"That's a start," said Rose. "Remember, flight is as much about magic as it is about your wings. We aren't birds; our bodies are too heavy to be sustained by wings alone. To stay airborne, you'll have to use magic. Your wings will be used more for maneuvering. Now, attack me."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's my turn to transform, and I want you to see how different you are now."

"Alright, then," he muttered, drawing his sword. Then when Rose was ready, he leapt forward, wings propelling him at their own will, and brought his sword down. To his amazement, Rose was barely able to block his attack, and he had to force himself to lose pressure so that he did not snap her rapier in two. Then he spun and attacked again, and she tried to dodge, but Dart's sword cut across her upper arm. Hissing, she bounded away from him, and her dragoon spirit flashed that odd light. Then a swirl of darkness surrounded her and swept over Dart, and for a moment, he felt a profound terror within him. But then Rose was a dragoon, and the fear dissipated as he stood facing her.

"What a difference," he mused, grinning at her.

"As I said. Now, come with me."

She pushed off the ground and flew high into the air, but Dart watched her cautiously from the ground.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Lavitz.

"I, uh… I don't like heights," muttered Dart, a little irritated that the heat had not yet won out.

A bark of laughter escaped Lavitz, and Dart cast him an irritated glance.

"Do you see yourself right now?" snickered Lavitz. "Heights should be the least of your worries. You shouldn't be afraid of anything ever again. Now get up there!"

With a huff, Dart shook his head and prepared to take off, although he wasn't quite sure how. Just before he attempted, he glanced at Shana, who was watching him closely. She smiled at him, and he blushed before returning his attention to flying. Once again digging into the well of magic, he drew from it as he flapped his wings and willed himself into the air.

He shot up at a frightening speed and had to stop and steady himself several times. But a few seconds later, he floated fifty feet off the ground, level with Rose. Heart pounding, he surveyed the landscape and marveled at how far he could see, but it did not remove from his mind the alarming thought that nothing kept him from falling to a painful end besides legendary magic that he did not fully understand.

"Flying will become second nature," assured Rose. "But with it, you are forced to consider a third dimension that can affect a battle. See if you can dodge my attacks."

And so began a harrowing bout of training that quickly became Dart's least favorite aspect of being a dragoon. For several minutes, Rose formed tiny balls of darkness that she hurled at him, and he was forced to dodge them or else fall prey to the heart-bursting fear that seemed to be attached to Rose's magic. Several times, he was struck, especially when Rose would attack from above or below, and he began to think that his heart would stop altogether if their training continued.

Eventually, Rose seemed satisfied enough with his performance, and the two descended. Dart's landing was a bit unsteady, but he managed to keep his feet this time.

"How do I get out of this?" he asked.

"I could knock you unconscious, if you like," replied Rose, and he flinched. "But there is an easier way. Once the chaos of battle has abated, the dragoon is no longer needed. As it asks for retreat, you simply agree."

To demonstrate, she held her arms out as darkness began to swirl around her. A moment later, she was once again fully human, waiting for Dart to follow suit.

Taking a deep breath, he searched for the calm that Rose had mentioned. It was elusive at first, thanks to the effects of Rose's magic, but then he was able to grasp it. Clinging to it, he breathed slowly and deeply, and as promised, the dragoon retreated. When it paused for permission, he granted it, and the intense power vanished back into the dragoon spirit. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he, too, had returned to his normal state as the stinging pain of the cut on his forearm returned.

"I wouldn't say that you're ready," said Rose as she sheathed her rapier. "But you're closer now than you were before. The horses have rested. We should be on our way."

"I have just one question first," interrupted Lavitz. "Dart is fire and whatnot, but what does your magic do? What exactly do you control?"

"Darkness," replied Rose flatly. "And fear, which you will find is often attached to darkness."

"So, it was you who made it dark in Hoax!" exclaimed Shana as if she had won a challenge of some kind.

Rose nodded.

"And outside before that last wave?" added Lavitz.

Rose nodded.

"And what about in the forest that day, when the dragon came?" asked Dart.

Rose nodded.

"I can extend darkness wherever I will, although magic is much stronger in dragoon form," Rose said, and to demonstrate, she flicked her hand, and the sunny landscape became as dim as the night. Then just as quickly, the sunlight returned its bright spring rays.

"Impressive," acknowledged Dart.

"You should patch up your arm, and we should get going," she said, turning abruptly and going to sit next to the small creek.

Grinning, Dart waited as Shana sprung from her seat to attend to his cut. It was small, and he supposed that it might heal within the next day, but he didn't mind feeling Shana's cool touch on his arm as she worked. Besides, something in him felt different. After so much doubt, he'd felt the power of a dragoon, and he'd managed to harness it. Although the fear of the dragon had not left him, he no longer felt as if he would drown in the despair of their task. For the first time, it felt like they had a chance.