The Loyal

Dragon Mountains

Dain awoke from a peaceful sleep. He could barely remember last night but managed to recall telling himself the story of Elena's banishment. He yawned and stretched out his cramped legs, enjoying the warmth of his blankets and the sun for a minute. Dain sighed when he realised there would be no food today either.

He felt slightly sick and dizzy when he stood up, leaning against the wall to brace himself. Dain had a small drink from his water-skin, restuffed the blankets into his bag and gave himself a small pep talk. He'd get up the mountain and reach Starhaven hopefully by tomorrow and rescue his people by the end of the week. Done.

The dragon mountains rose above him, sharp ledges sticking out and prickly weeds awaiting a victim. Dain was fortunate that the wall of stone leaned to a sloop which meant he wouldn't be vertically climbing. His mother had always told him to look for the best in everything.

Not wanting to waste anytime, Dain carefully placed his hands on two rock and dragged himself up. The only climbing Dain had ever done before was up to his bed above his mother's, this was very different. Dain kept repeating over in his head; "right hand, left hand, pull, leg, leg, pull," strangely, it was this that kept him going higher.

At one point Dain glanced down and cursed. He was only about five metres from the ground. This Starhaven better have warm food and a bath ready for him when he finally reached them. Dain bit his lip on numerous occasions when his misplaced his hand on a spiky plant or scrapped his leg on a rock that stuck out.

This was proving to be much more difficult then he first imagined. Dain held himself in one place for a break and made the mistake of looking down again. Now, the grass was much, much, further away. If he slipped now, it would be goodbye Dain.

Dain wished he could just rest for an hour and have a drink and lots of food. Black spots constantly danced above his eyes and he felt weak with hunger. Dain found himself thankful that it didn't rain last night, which would make climbing impossible but knew that that would change nothing if he fell now.

Dain studied a tiny red flower while his climbing slowed. Surely it would be edible? Was it worth trying out? Dain grabbed it between his teeth and chewed slowly, tasting the flavour without swallowing. Upon finding it quite nice, Dain gulped it down without a second thought. Because he was so tired and weak, Dain didn't think of the problems which could come from eating the strange flower. He continued seeking more, slightly relieved form his hunger.

Dain could neither see the details in the ground nor the end, which lead him to believe he was halfway. The sun had gotten itself into the worse possible position. It was directly above him, shining right into his eyes. The flowers he'd eaten made his stomach feel heavy and sick, but Dain was thankful that they gave him more energy.

Pain throbbed from his hands, Dain didn't want to even know what they looked like underneath. The back s of them were raw red with scarlet blood streaking down. He also suspected his feet were just as bad, but fortunately they were covered by fabric shoes. Dain had never before had the need for shoes but it was often wise to wear them at the prison camp in case there was glass on the ground. Because they had no padding, the shoes were acting more as bandages than anything else.

His arms burned constantly, screaming with pain. Dain had never felt worse, he was so faints and dizzy. His stomach threatened to throw up the flowers. But instead, Dain pushed on.

"Right hand, left hand, pull, leg, leg, pull," he puffed, startled to hear his voice no more than a rasp. How badly he needed water now, and food! Dain held himself pressed against the cliff-face and rested for a minute. He took in the cool air, slightly smelling smoke in the wind. A woven nest was sitting wedged in a crag, four tainted, red eggs lay together.

The sun had vanished behind the solid stone wall, casting everything on Dain's side in shadow. He could hardly believe that eight nights ago, he was curled up on his mother's lap, listening to her soft voice. He could hardly believe the HavBoys were the least of his troubles that day.

Finally, as if the gods had answered Dain's prayer, the horrific climb came to a sudden end. Dain dragged himself over the ragged edge and fell broken to the ground. Afterwards, Dain was ashamed to admit he cried, from lack of water, food, rest and comfort. He curled up and slept, uncaring for what animals found him that night.

Dain awoke slowly with the sun gently calling to him. His throat was burning and his hands and feet hurting by Kazimir's curse. He fumbled for the water skin, flinching in pain as it fell cold against his open wounds.

The cool water rushed down his throat, scarcely relieving the heat. Dain dragged himself to his feet, every step painful until he reached a rushing stream. Dain washed his hands and feet in the crystal water. Dain then torn long strips from his blanket and tightly wrapped around his wounds.

Now with the most immediate problem solved, Dain began exploring the plateau. The trees were beautiful and lush. The water was incredible as Dain could see to the small grey pebbles which lay beneath. The clouds were sparse and white, as if they'd forgotten rain, and despite this, the whole land, as far as Dain could see, was fresh and green.

Occasionally, Dain spotted curious animals, even stranger than the ones in the grassland. Dain pulled his pack over his shoulders, which clasped down his cloak and pulled out his compass. It directed Dain along the river and he followed, hoping to reach Starhaven that evening.

Dain discovered a bush of small blue berries. He found himself daring to eat strange food again. He swallowed several at a time, surprised to not find himself knelling over and dying. Dain shoved all the berries left into the folds of his blanket.

Splendid sounds filled the forest, birds calling, frogs speaking and small insects singing the loudest of all. At one point Dain discovered a large black bird with a bright red chest and a fanning out tail.

His feet ached from so much use, and Dain longed to curl up and sleep again. He imagined an enormous feast waiting for him at Starhaven. There would be steaming tomato soups and towering cakes. Fresh bread laden with piles of butter and spices. Warm milk steaming from porcelain jugs with servants waiting to take Dain to his quarters. He'd heard of such scenes in his mother's stories and often imagined them late at night.

The forest soon faded away and Dain found himself stumbling through large boulders and burning hot stone. Small, olive coloured weeds reached out for the sun, their roots barely hidden underneath the hardy soil.

Dain spotted giant beast in the sky. They had long necks, sharp claws and wings beating from their body. Dain could only guess one thing; dragons. Dragons lived on the plateau. Suddenly everything fell into place. He'd chosen the wrong forest. There was no Starhaven at the end of the long ragged stretch. There would be no army prepared to march to the prison camp.

Dain pressed himself against a large boulder. His breathing with uneven and he feared the monsters had seen him. How by Jurain would he escape the dragon mountains alive? The beating of wings faded away and Dain sighed tightly. He awkwardly stood from his crouching position and turned around.

A large, blue scaled face greeted him, dark, ultramarine eyes stared into him. Dain screamed as golden claws closed around him, blocking out the sunlight.