The Dragon Knight; The Awakening of the Legend

The Awakening of the Legend (Chapter 27)

Even though we spent the entire next day riding I didn’t get the feeling that Fullmåne was coming closer. Then again, I didn’t really know where we were. Robin let the way with Forest and I just followed him, trusting him to know where he was going. With Zjarr I never needed to know what directions to go, even less which path to take when there was a fork in the road.

But I knew that we got closer nevertheless, no matter what feelings I had. The void Zjarr had left in my thoughts got smaller and smaller with the hours, minutes even. I gave me a strange sense of safety but the bad vide never left. On the contrary it seemed to get only stronger. That was a bit unsettling. I couldn’t explain it, it didn’t seem natural as though something was causing it, but I didn’t know what.

I never mentioned it to Robin even if I wanted too. He got a little too protective sometimes.

By nightfall as Robin stopped Forest near a few trees, the Salji Mountains were coming into view. Their snow covered tops and green flanks looked familiar and only made me want to be home even sooner. While I took care of the horses, Robin got a fire going and managed to prepare some tea. The herbal mixture was exactly what I needed to calm me down.

I had missed home, all the familiar things around me. It had been fun to be out of the castle but right now, it had been enough and I just wanted to be home again. Another thought, memory, crept into my chain of thoughts.

I wouldn’t stay home for long I guessed as I looked to Robin over the fire. He seemed to be getting paler by the day and if I didn’t know better I would have said he was sick. But he wasn’t. Even his black hair started to seem paler. Well so much for my magic lasting. I sighed softly not wanting Robin to worry.

“Any idea when we will go to Álfar? You’re getting paler and even your hair is less black.” I finally said, putting the tea down.

“So you noticed too.” He simply commented.

“What? Your skin or your hair?”

“Both.”

“Well I just noticed about your hair today. I already told you that you were getting paler. But you haven’t answered my question.”

“Personally I want to go as soon as possible. But I think you won’t agree. You want to go home after just a week away. This will be for months.”

“What?! Months? So long for a spell? That can’t be right.”

“Not just for the spell. Remember the prophecy? Even with help of all creatures, Count on themselves they must. As much as I can teach you about a sword, many elves are better than me. I think there might even be an elf to teach you how to fight on Zjarr.”

He fell silent as if thinking about it himself. Training? I had never thought of the prophecy that way; I had never really thought about it much at all. But why train me, didn’t he just say it himself, count on themselves they must. Weren't those two lines contradictory? Helping us, yet we had to face it on our own.

“I agree, it does sound a bit contradictory, but I think, that if you take the first phrase, just as it is, it doesn’t say much. If the elves would train your battle skills, fairies could teach you magic, dragons might share their wisdom, even the mermaids would get to play a part in it all.”

“But why would they? It’s not like they know me, not like I ever did anything for them. And if I died during it all, I never will.”

“It is not about what you did for them, it is about what you might do for them. The last war affected everybody, or it would have if our prophecy hadn’t been created. Although most of the fights took place at the border of human kingdoms with the desert, the fire spread all the way to Fairy Meadow and Elfique Forest, passing close to one of the mermaids’ lakes, all the way south.”