The Paladin's Quest - A Short Story

The Paladin's Quest

"We can still turn back." Rose whispered.

Tiren sighed. Her squire, the only person allowed to accompany her on the Paladin's Quest, had been trying to convince her to turn back since they left the glittering castle of Elir three weeks earlier. At twenty-two, Tiren was the youngest knight to ever receive the ten Charms needed to attempt the Paladin's Quest. Each one was welded to her breastplate with magic, and each symbolized a great achievement.

"We're here." Tiren kept her voice low as well. They were crouched in a group of bushes on the fringe of a wide clearing at the base of a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff was a dark cave. And in that cave, according to the numerous people Tiren had questioned on her quest, was a dragon.

Tiren checked herself to make sure that she was ready. Her long sword was sheathed at her side; her Charms shone on her breastplate; and the special whip that had been made for her was tied around her waist. It was a chain whip with a study wooden handle. After two feet, the chain split into five separate lengths, each ended with a wicked barb. It was a unique weapon forged for Tiren after she had been granted her fifth Charm. A weapon that she could wield with her combat magic.

Rose shook her head. "Please, Tiren." There was fear hidden in the young girl's blue eyes, framed with black hair. "Most knights wait until they have received their fifteenth, or even twentieth Charm before they try to become a Paladin."

Tiren placed a gauntleted hand on Rose's shoulder, hoping some of her confidence would leak into the girl, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Most knights don't receive their tenth Charm until they're thirty. Stay back, and stay safe." Tiren summoned mana to her fingers and traced a rune across Rose's forehead in white light. It broke apart across her, a simple ward that would protect her from the worst of the dragon's fiery breath.

Tiren rose from her hiding spot and walked into the clearing. She had complete faith in her ability to slay the dragon. She hadn't been born into the life of a knight –- a girl born in poverty, her home village had been destroyed in the Dragon Wars years earlier, and she'd become an orphan. Until a group of knights, lead by the Paladin Aiden had come into the battle.

About five feet from the mouth of the cave, Tiren stopped and drew her sword. It gleamed in the sunlight as she began an incantation. She felt the mana flowing through the world around her, especially in the sunlight, and channeled it into her blade. Tiren took her time with the spell. She didn't know where exactly the beast in the cave, so she wanted her first spell to have the most impact possible.

Golden light began to glow from within her sword. She held it level, pointed at the mouth of the cave in front of her. The light began to peel away from the sword. A ghostly copy of the blade, made of pure light, rose above Tiren's head. She focused on channeling the mana into the sword as it grew, both in brightness and length. When it was longer than she was tall, and blazed with the light of an angel's sword, Tiren released the spell. The sword of light flew away into the cave like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The cave went so far back that the light of the sword almost faded entirely before there was an explosion that shook the ground and blew an explosion of dust and wind from the cave.

Tiren shifted into a defensive stance, ready to move in any direction to evade the dragon that would be coming out of the cave. But as the seconds crawled by, nothing happened. Nothing stirred in the cave, nothing roared or breathed fire.

"TIREN!" Rose's terrified scream came seconds before a roar that put the explosion to shame exploded from the sky. From the sky! Tiren looked up in time to see something large and blue hurtling straight down at an alarming rate. She ran for the forest to her right as a stream of white mist exploded across the clearing. The temperature of the air dropped as Tiren ran. She reached the edge of the woods just as the blur struck the ground.