Draconic Grace Excerpts

New Mission

This excerpt is from the first two pages of the chapter.

Kristoffer put on her hat, pushing some of her hair into it. There was a meeting with the General for the leaders of the regiment in terms of a new mission. She opened the door, stepping out of her room while closing the door behind her. Why did the General request I, a lowly Private, to take part in the meeting? She asked herself, walking in the direction of the headquarters. The city's energy of the people was vibrant as always, children frolicking around while their mothers talked amongst themselves. The sound of churning gears calmed Kris, in no time getting to her destination.

Kris knocked on the hard metal door, though her gloved hands muffled the sound. She opened the door to see Colonel Cross and General Cathal conversing, Command Sergeant Major Cross slightly to the side.

His steel-grey eyes locked with her midnight-blue eyes, straightening up his posture. "Private Laurens is here, General. Let's go to the meeting room." he reminded, the two older men nodding and the three walked away with Kris in tow.

The room the four entered was quite large, with a long table in the center lined with chairs. Cathal took a seat at the front chair, Colonel and Command Sergeant Major Cross sat down across each other while Kris sat next to the Command Sergeant.

"Allow me to explain this mission," Cathal stated, looking at the three people before him. "Lately, word has been going around about a possible surprise attack from a group of Dracokin, and I need some information about them before I can issue any orders." He looked in the direction of the Colonel, who stood up.

"The Dracokin aren't the type to show themselves as Dracokin," Colonel Cross continued, "and the only one here who has the highest chance of encountering them is Private Laurens." Kris looked at the General, then back at the Colonel.

Conlàed stood up, "Given how he's traveled often before joining us, Kristoffer might know a thing or two about them." "Thank you, Conlàed, for your statement. Feel free to speak, Laurens." Conlàed sat down in his chair while Kris stood up.

"The Dracokin, as you three might know, is the result of a dragon procreating with a humanoid creature. Usually, the dragon parent is male, and the Dracokin of female dragons tend to have stronger magic, though the reason why is unknown." Kris began, gesturing with her hands. "They have an affinity towards the magic that their parents are the dragon of, such as fire or wind. However, they also have a weakness to the opposite element. A fire Dracokin has a weakness for anything related to water. Dracokin always have scales of the color of their eyes or their parent's scales, though they only appear in certain places like their back, abdomen or legs. They can also have horns, wings, and tails. That's all I have to say." Kris bowed deeply, sitting back down.

"Thank you for your input, Laurens." Cathal applauded, "You and Conlàed will scout the area of the enemy territory, and see if any Dracokin are there with carefully selected soldiers." Conlàed and Kris stared at each other in disbelief, then back at the General. "Isn't that dangerous?" he asked, his body and voice calm yet steel-gray eyes sparking with anger.

"Don't worry, they're going to be mostly Sergeants and Specialists, usually I'd never let a private be deployed on this sort of mission because of their lack of experience." Kris cocked an eyebrow, "Then why are you telling me to go when I am myself a Private?" Aidan sighed, standing up.

"I supervised your training back when you were a cadet, Kristoffer. I've seen you overpower others twice your size and higher in rank many times. If anything, you'd be a perfect Sergeant Major." he answered, Conlàed's face showing concern.

"Father, he's only seventeen! I can see why you said that, but Kris is one of the youngest in the entire military!" he looked at Kris, who averted her eyes from the others. "Even still, bringing him along is not a good-"

"Nordsbergi are well known for their endurance, Conlàed. If Kris can handle fighting ten people simultaneously by himself, this mission is a walk in the park." Cathal interrupted, looking at the group, "You two can go prepare, I'll call up the others to tell them the mission."

Conlàed and Kristoffer saluted before exiting the room. They walked towards the entrance, looking at each other. "Why did he rope you into this mission when you're one of the youngest in the whole army?" Conlàed muttered to himself, knitting his brow. Kris looked at him blankly, before turning away and replying with a monotone voice, "We've known each other for four years, you taught me to use a revolver after all."

"Also, that's a bold statement from someone who isn't even in their twenties... yet." she added, trekking ahead of Conlàed. "You still have the silver tongue that I'm so familiar with." he remarked, quickening his pace to catch up. "Prepare some first-aid supplies, Laurens. I'd rather have the supplies and no injuries instead of fatal wounds without them." he ordered, stopping when the two reached Kris's house. She tapped the tip of his nose with her right index finger, "The concern's mutual, Conlàed." walked into her house and shut the door.

Conlàed touched the spot that Kris tapped, sighing. "Is that the only mutual feeling?" He walked away to make preparations and meet the others that will scout the area with Kris and himself.