A Dragon's Bond

Eyes Open

     We stood there for a moment in silence. Trying to understand what had just happen, the whole situation over almost as fast as it started. The adrenaline was just beginning to wear off as my body shook violently, burning off the last drops and leaving me in a cold sweat. We had just taken out a scout of the Queen in a few small moves and we have only been training hard for a short while. Maybe this was something we could actually do. They didn't seem all that difficult to beat.

     My heart began increasing its rate as a ray of hope shone into me.

"Careful not to get overconfident."

     Draioct pressed into my mind and brought me slightly back to reality.

"It is good that we finished them, we may have gotten lucky. It will buy us more time before they realize these two snakes are gone, but more will come. These two were easy, but they were only two. The Queen will have hundreds of thousands at her back. Save the hope, use it to push on forward."

     I looked over the two now lying still in the road, the man that they had been interrogating earlier gone. I don't know how much he saw, if anything. I pushed the thought into the back of my mind. The act of killing these two, no matter how bad they were, still made me sick. A wave of nausea swept over me as I rushed to the nearest bush and unleashed the food I had eaten earlier.

     I hope this is not a usual thing. I finished up and composed myself before walking back over to Draioct and assessing the situation further.

"Should we get rid of the bodies? Won't this give us away?"

     I glanced over at Draioct whose eyes had also not left the scene. He sat there for a moment

"No. It won't make a difference. It would be a lot of work and only buy us a short amount of time. If we are lucky they will think it was a local who got lucky."

     I nodded my head and remained silent. I am ok with any plan as long as I am not the one who has to come up with it right now. My mind and body are exhausted.

     We began walking back to the hut in the open, no longer worried about hiding. We got lost in our thoughts. It didn't feel good, to kill those two. I had thought I would feel accomplished or happy to have them gone. I was just angry. Angry that the Queen made us do this. We could have had a peaceful life and never had to kill. This was her fault.

     I could see it now, happy days filled with the joy of helping others. Maybe someone needed help plowing the earth, or building a cellar.

     Not a chance of that now. Unfortunately, our sole mission in life, was to take life, and it was not a great feeling.

     Draioct was walking silently beside me as we daydreamed of a time where we could live peacefully, and in the open. Both our minds drifting through random thoughts, searching for anything happy that we could focus in on. Suddenly Draioct spoke up, I was so lost in thought that I hadn't paid any attention to what he was thinking about.

"That is why you were chosen Adam. You feel no joy in what you did, but you did it because it needed to be done. Keep this mentality in the times to come. Remember your reasons, and never once enjoy it. The world needs people like you to balance out the evil. Someone who is willing to bare the weight of the world without becoming jaded."

     He stopped walking beside me as I turned to face him. He bowed slowly and majestically before speaking to me aloud, his gravelly voice rumbling in the silent forest.

"It is truly and honor to be melded with you, and to call you my rider."

     I blushed slightly at his sudden formality before returning the gesture. I truly as lucky to have him with me. HE was wise beyond his year.

****

     I thought about his wisdom as we made the rest of our way back, the forest silent in response to the battle as if feeding off our sadness. I don't think I will ever get used to this.

     As we rounded the last corner of the road Jack's blacksmith hut came into view. I could feel myself relaxing at the thought of being back in our safe place, surrounded by allies and family.

     We stepped into the Armory and the mood of the entire place changed. Everyone could sense our somber tone, the reality of the situation finally taking hold of everyone's mind. I walked into the center of the room as everyone crowded around me. I stood tall and took turns exchanging eye contact as I prepared to make my speech. I knew that I had to let everyone know what exactly had happen, yet at the same time provide them with leadership. They needed to not stress, but to put everything into moving forward.

"We have met one of the Queens scouts in battle. As you can tell by us standing here, we were the victors."

     Slight murmurs made their way through the crowd as people responded to my words.

"We assume that this means they will soon know of our existence, and location and they will send reinforcements. Let this not sway your heart and place fear within it. That is what she wants. That is how she gains power. Let this give you determination. Let it drive you all to dig deep and find the force that has pushed you to pursue this path. Hold onto that strength, and use it."

     I looked around the group as the worried faces turned to determination. Their feelings radiating through the room.

"Now we are going to make our presence known to the town, and the Kingdom. People WILL rally to our cause, and those that don't will know to stay out of the way. We will be the new beacon of light in our Kingdom of darkness. We will rid the Queen of her seat of power, and give the power back to its citizens. Now who is with me?"

     The Dragons roared mightily in unison, shaking the walls. I could feel the resonance of their roars in my boots. The few men we had gathered from old Retribution shouted and cheered as they raised their swords. This is the start of our battle. Now there is no turning back.

****

     We began making preparations immediately. The Armory underground would remain as our headquarters and store house. We would begin building a formal base on top of the Armory, where we could train new soldiers and make a new foothold in the Kingdom, a place that wasn't afraid of the Queen and her forces.

     We gathered round our table and everyone gave input into the design of our new base. Having more people now meant that we could look at problems from a variety of angles. People such as Matthew, a former Retribution member that had the great foresight to tell us we would need trenches to fend off foot soldiers. Things I, and Draioct alone would have completely overlooked. I began to immediately realize how important it was to listen to others input, even if I was the "leader".

     When finished, we had a great rough plan, with plenty of room for expansion. The Armory would double as a place to hide out if necessary, it was well stocked and prepared to house a large number of people and dragons. It was a place underground with a secret way out and an easily defendable entrance. From now on new members would not know about the underground base, in case there were any spies. I hated to think that, but Jack and Matthew agreed that it was a possibility.

     We all went to bed late that night, lying in our beds sleeplessly, our own minds testing the conviction of our cause, was this something we could do? I had no doubt that some people would be seriously considering a change of heart, and I couldn't blame them, things got real very fast. The Queen and her forces had quite the reputation and were certainly searching for us.