I reached The Great Mother Tree without a problem. Citizens waved and greeted me but none slowed me down on my important task. The stairs did slow me down though. I grunted and groaned as I reached the final few steps of the spiral staircase. I had changed into a red silk corseted gown with a long flowing train, it swept over the stairs behind me so elegantly it looked like I was floating. I don't know who thought stairs would be a good idea, but they should be fired. The council members rose and bowed as I entered the chambers. As per tradition, two guards stood by the door inside and out maintaining the sanctity of our chamber.
"Gentlemen, as per my messages, we have the support of the Orcs and the Shapeshifters. At best we have a combined force of roughly seventy thousand soldiers not including the sheer force of dragons and wolves."
"M'lady, this is not enough to take down an army of one hundred and fifty thousand uck driven dwarves and men." A brash council member stated the obvious. I almost launched myself over the table to punch him in his stupid face.
"I am well aware of that council member." The rage was evident on my face. He slunk back into his chair and didn't say a word for the rest of the meeting. "What we have now is much better odds than what we had."
"My Queen, there have been developments. The Humans have been spotted lurking near our border, intimidating citizens that live and work near our edges. We unanimously voted to send dragon tamers out there to scare them away and it seems to have worked. The Humans also returned once during your time away, they gave us a chance to surrender, but again we unanimously voted that we would not, as per your orders. Their threat is ever looming though, we fear for the next attack, how will we defend ourselves against more stealthy attacks?" A frail councils members croaky voice struggled over each word.
I nodded in acknowledgement. I was pleasantly surprised by the backbone the council suddenly grew, but hot damn they always had to end good news with something negative. Thank you utterly useless council member, I am well aware of how cunning the Humans can be and I'm also well aware of their trickery and mastery in stealth. I mentally rolled my eyes at him.
There was a map etched into the table we sat around, it had our current borders and no mans lands. I waved my hand over the table and muttered a small incantation. Two tiny armies materialised on the table. One Purple, the other red. The red army,the human army, was a lot larger and the comparison became more obvious as the two lined up opposite each other.
"Lets factor in the dragons, we'll have a more accurate number tonight." I waved my hand again but only over the purple army this time. Dragons materialised, soaring above the tiny battlefield with tiny dragonriders upon them. "It doesn't look overly bleak." The optimist in me tried her best to crack a smile.
"Let us not forget the Uck." The nasally voice of another council member shattered any scrap of confidence I had left. He was right, they all were right, we can't do this, we're just delaying the inevitable. Oh Goddess, what will happen to my people?
A fire ignited somewhere deep in my soul, refusing to accept damnation. The fire spread rapidly through my whole body, it warmed my chest and tingled my fingers, it tickling my neck as it spread to my head making me dizzy with rage. My body shook uncontrollably as I fought back the urge to scream at these fools. I can't give up on my people, our way of life, and most importantly our home. They're relying on me, they're all looking at me, they're not looking at these decrepit men who have no idea of how to stand up for what they believe in, if they believe in anything at all. They always take the easiest path of least resistance, and they've resigned themselves to defeat
I slammed my hands on the table and stared down every council member sitting around it. Utterly shocked, no one said a word, they even flinched away from my sudden outburst.
"You act as if we have already lost the war." I spat each word through gritted teeth. How dare these old men seal the fate of our nation so quickly. "We have no lost, we have a chance. I don't give a damn how slim that chance is, we can not give up, you imbeciles. I am sick to death with your relentless cynical outlook on our chances to win this war."
I inhaled sharply, catching my breath. I knew what I had to do.
"I am dismantling this council until further notice. We are at war and need war advisors, seasoned warriors who actually know what they're talking about. You fools have done nothing but cry and whine like babes. We are done here." I whipped my dress around me as I turned towards the door, a flurry of red silk followed me as I paced towards the door. Impatient I waved the guards away and opened the door myself, slamming is hard on my way out.
I ran down the stairs, holding the front of my dress up, 3 steps at a time. Exhausted but on a mission, I ran towards the barracks, a whirlwind of red silks trailed behind me. Soldiers mulled around their hub, some sat and talked to each other, some sparred and other were eating. The place became deathly quiet as I rushed past the wooden gates and into the training square.
"You, soldier." A young, lanky Elf saluted nervously as I pointed to him, "Where are the commanders?"
He stuttered for a moment, I relaxed my intense stare. "Top floor door at the end of the hall" Praise the Goddess he's not mute. Less agitated, I calmly walked around the sparring soldiers to the stairs. My legs burned with every step screaming at me to give them a rest. I released a heavy sigh as I rapped on the heavy wooden door to the commanders chambers. An armour laden soldier with a spear in his other hand, opened the door for me. Fenwir and the other commanders were gathered around a table strewn with parchment as they squabbled over their task at hand.
"Our Queen, Feluna." The soldier that opened the door smacked the butt of his spear twice against the wooden floor, snapping the commanders attention to me. My cheeks burned as Fenwir threw me a small smile, unnoticed by the others.
"Commander Fenwir, I need a status report." I pushed my shoulders back pacing towards the men.
"Yes M'Lady, twenty one thousand, three hundred and five battle ready soldiers. In our absence nine hundred and ten civillians have come forward expressing their interest to be trained in combat. Five hundred and two battle ready dragons, three hundred and forty nine support dragons, some have expressed interest in being on the front lines carrying catapults and supplies." He read figures off multiple pages of parchment strewn over the table they huddled around.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Wild visions of our soldiers and Dragons lined up ready of war filled me with bloodlust, my lips stung as I bit down hard on them, the rush fuelled the warrior in me.
"I need weekly updates on numbers, as well as reports from every captain on the training progress." My heart raced, I envisioned slicing Thirus' head clean from his shoulders. Tingles ran up my spine and through my scalp. My focus snapped back to the present, the thought of killing Thirus was pushed to the back of my mind.
The commanders saluted in unison "Yes, M'am."
"You're all apart of our War Advisory council now. Meetings are weekly at dawn." With that I took my leave, calmer, more confident of our position now. As I walked out onto the training grounds, the sharp twang of steel swords parrying each other rang in my ears. It reminded me how rusty I was with a sword, I didn't have any need to practice intensely till now.
The day had matured into early evening, The Veil became darker now with fading light and the plants began to glow a faint green. My quarters were quiet and cool, the staff had retired for the evening and I was alone.
A tranquil emptiness filled my home as I paced up and down the length of the building, enjoying the familiarity. The cupboard by the stairs had scratches and tool marks all over its doors and handles. My mother would hide her chocolates and sweets in there and I would try everything I could think of to get in. I even popped my shoulder out of place trying to ram the doors down. Young and stupid, I didn't realise bashing down doors that swung outwards doesn't work. I touched my right shoulder, remembering just how brazen I used to be.
I ran down the hallway, dress flying after me, until I stood outside my bedroom door. I had always occupied this room, it bore the scars of growing children. I never covered the claw marks, the cracked wall or the chewed furniture, they told stories of a child and her dragon growing up together.
Beogin used to live indoors with me until he grew too big and needed to fly and be with his own kind. We were inseparable from the moment we laid eyes on each other, I was so young when we met. Mother and Father took me to the hatchery, I don't remember how old I was, although I know I had just begun schooling, my parents sat at the back of the hatchery and let me run around and play. I ran past row after row of troughs stuffed with hay, multi colored eggs sat neatly next to each other with hot lamps beaming down onto them. As I passed one of the rows I heard a cracking. Curious and intrigued I followed the sound till I found a grey egg with red stripes, the baby had fractured the top of the egg and cried for freedom.
"Help him." My Father smiled and knelt, coaching me. I flaked away the top of the egg where the tiny dragon had begun freeing itself. It fractured the egg more as I instinctively peeled away the pieces. Little by little the egg fell away until an exhausted, tiny, grey dragon lay in the hay. Gently I scooped the baby up in a towel handed to me and wiped his body clean. As I pulled his frail frame close to my chest I knew this dragon was now connected to me forever.
"This is your dragon now, Feluna. Love him and he will love you. There is no stronger bond than this." My mother chimed in. They had taken me to the hatchery so a dragon could pick me, my presence triggered Beogin's hatching and our eternal promise.
I was only little but you don't forget moments like that.