The Morningstar Brigade

Chapter 30

XXX

URIEL

Day Five. Eight Days Remain.

Chamber of the Tree, Morningstar Keep

The girl's final words echoed in Uriel's mind as his eyes shot open. He sat still for a moment and let his body readjust to his surroundings. Feeling a small weight in his hands, Uriel looked down to find an ornately carved, double-edged silverwood blade lying in his lap. He frowned for a moment, confused and trying to process exactly what had just happened. Then he laughed happily as he realized that the weapon was his. "I did it!" he shouted with boyish glee, throwing the sword into the air and catching it like one might embrace a teddy bear.

"Well, well, well! Look who finally decided to wake up," Isaac said with a smile, walking over and helping Uriel out of the orangish muck. "Congratulations, you're one of the cool kids now," he said with a grin as he brandished three silverwood daggers.

Uriel smiled even wider and punched Isaac's shoulder. "Well, I never had any doubts you'd make it."

"What're you trying to say about me, then?" Kat growled, hugging Uriel from behind. "Ah, whatever. I'm just glad you're finally awake," she said, tightening the hug and nearly squeezing the breakfast out of Uriel.

"Oh, come on, you know I knew you'd make it too. And if not, Isaac and I would've split your things between the two of us very respectfully, so it was really a win-win," Uriel said, stroking his chin with a wheeze as he slid out from the crushing hug that he, admittedly, had somewhat enjoyed.

"You better watch it with jokes like that now that I've got these," she replied, raising two pairs of silverwood combat knuckles. The right was given a severe bladed edge, while the left had a more rounded form to deliver blunt strikes.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Shepherd Uriel," Vigilant beamed, her voice reverberating with a barely concealed pride. Her hands came down hard on Uriel's shoulders, flames skittering off of her palms and eating away the last bits of gelatinous sludge from Uriel's uniform as she tightened her grip. "And welcome to the Brigade."

"You were the last one, pal," Isaac said, putting a hand on Uriel's shoulder. "We were starting to get a little worried. Kat bet me her dinner you wouldn't make it." Isaac yelped as Kat smacked him upside the head. "Fine, fine! No betting, there wasn't any betting!" he whined.

"Well, I'm sorry it took so long for me to fight a dragon all by myself. I feel really bad if my almost getting reduced to ash inconvenienced you in any way," he said, rolling his eyes.

Isaac and Kat stared blankly at Uriel. Even Lady Vigilant emitted a sort of uncomfortable hum from beneath her fiery exterior.

"Oh, what, you guys didn't kill a dragon today? Just me? Hm, how about that?" Uriel said, puffing out his chest.

Isaac raised his eyebrows. "Dragons? Really?" he asked incredulously. He pointed cautiously at Uriel's head. "You've got some serious issues going on up there, pal."

Uriel slumped over and sighed. "I know."

"There is no standard curriculum when it comes to tests offered by a tree as old as creation itself," Vigilant began slowly, considering each word. "That said, battling a drake within one's own mind is admittedly a first." Not wasting a moment further, the commander ushered her recruits to follow after her as she began to move towards the cavern's exit. "But come. We'll sit and dwell on the meaning of these things some other time. After all, we've your induction to attend to."