The Dragonriders

Chapter 18

Siege Of The Emerald City

Sha'nok

I look at the Elf in front of me. She is clad in shiny, almost silver armor. On her chest she has a plate showing an Elven tree with a dragon head above it. The cloth hanging from the front plates that are carved to look like scales shows another symbol, this a golden tree with a golden sun. Her armor looks kinda weird, a design I've not seen anywhere else. On her back she carries a quiver with a bow, which even from below the cape shows an intricate carving. Besides her cape on her left she carries two more weapons, one an Elven spear looking like a dragon spitting an iron flame, the other the staff of Kai'chira. She has the carving in her lithe right arm, but otherwise I don't recognize her. 'You cannot be her...'

Then another Elf walks up to us. The Elf who calls herself Tara'li turns to the other one. 'I knew you would follow me sister.'

The Elf nods to her and then turns to me. 'You must be Sha'nok. My sister told me a lot about you. I do not agree with her choice to teach you, however I hope I'm wrong.'

I notice how much the two look like each other. The Elf that just joined shares many features, from her build to some of her facial features, with her... sister. Tara'li looks a lot like Shirley but I cannot believe it is the same person. Then the new Elf speaks. 'You can believe your eyes. It is her yes. Much has happened since you were with her, but that hasn't changed.'

Tara'li gestures to the outside. 'You taught me the balance of nature. The good in the world. Because of that I learned to see the best in life. Remember what I said. Once I was trained I was the one to train you.'

Those were her words. It... is her. Shirley. Well, what used to be Shirley. I slither forward and touch the Lamia scar on her arm. 'Why did you... change so much?'

Tara'li's sister responds. 'That is a story for another time. Please don't ask my sister that. Some things happened that caused wounds that are to deep.'

The former Shirley, now Tara'li, puts the arm guard back on and then gestures to follow her. As we move through the halls she speaks softly. 'I'm to train you to become a dragon guard. I also secured a spot for you in my Wing. During your training you will find I'm not the only one training you, as the entire Wing has been declared by the leader as your trainers. As they celebrate tonight I believe this is the best time for you to get to know my Wing, the Outliers. Tomorrow your training will start fully.'

As she opens the doors a bowl flies towards it and bounces off the wall next to her. As another flies straight to me Tara'li moves in a blur. When she looks solid again she is holding the spear outstretched and pierced the bowl in mid air. She taps the bowl off and puts her spear away, walking in. 'Can I have your attention?'

The six people at the table all look towards us. The other Elf sits at the table to and turns to Tara'li. Tara'li gestures me forward and as I am next to her she puts a hand on my left shoulder. 'This is Sha'nok. Before we became a Wing I made a promise to her, to attempt training her as a Dragon Guard as well. The leader gave me instructions that we will be training her as a squad, so not just me. Until her trials she will be flying with me, however I'd like you all to get used to her being around as well. She will be sleeping and eating with us all. If she passes the trials she will also be one of our Wing. Treat her as one of our own, though she is a late arrival and still a student. Also Treknal, throw one more bowl at her and you'll be finding out if a bowl is harder than your head.'

The squad laughs and then return to their feast. Tara'li turns to me and points to some of the people. 'So the Elf you probably noticed is my sister is Sha'iva. We are both heirs to the throne. Over there the two Dwarves are Oruk and Noruk, master smiths and deadly combatants. The male Ork is called Treknal, he is a rough one but in battle I would like none other to protect my back. I do not know who the human is nor do I know the name of the female Ork or the other Dwarf. The female Ork is my left hand, Noruk my right.'