Kayla followed Arataas out the Tomb of Valor and over to a field stone structure set on the west side of the Dragon launching grounds. This building lacked any decorations, or creature comforts. Arataas shifted back into his guise, wrapping a new red silk robe around himself. They pushed open a set of Elf-sized double doors revealing the vast interior. It reminded Kayla of a Horse stable, but far too clean and too bright. A maze of Cherrywood stalls finished with a brilliant lacquer ran up, down, and around the many halls. Each stall had its own plaque with divine scrollwork and silver nameplate with a name etched into it.
Arataas said, "Training equipment and saddles for the Knights and Blades of Kalimas. We just call them Chests, like a treasure chest." He led her into the building.
They walked through the row of fine wooden stalls, noting many names, until they came across Arataas' plaque. Like the rest, it housed wooden and steel training weapons, two saddles, a ballista, and brightly tipped silver spears. Arataas entered the chest and lifted the heavy saddle off its stand.
The saddle did not appear normal to Kayla. Its red leather seat had a high cantle and a silver horn of a Dragon's head. The mechanical device underneath clearly made the chair spin about. Foot pedals for communication. A steel ring surrounded the rider at hands level with a complex anchoring system to mount the ballista. Straps and hooks for attachment. Simple enough and that's what makes it brilliant, she thought.
They walked out to the Dragon launch area where Arataas shifted back to his natural form. He lifted the saddle with his tail and placed it loosely on his back.
Kayla climbed atop of him. She maneuvered the heavy saddle into position and placed the fastening hooks into the four part of the scales. "That doesn't hurt?"
Arataas looked back. "Not at all."
Kayla stood back, but found the seat faced the wrong direction. "I need to spin it."
"You can do that when you're seated."
"I'm in," said the Wizard. She tightened the lap belt tight. "Whoever sat here last is much larger than I."
"Yes. He was." Arataas' words faded with the sun and he laid his head down.
Kayla feared the worst from his tone, so she changed the subject, but reminded herself to ask him about his rider later.
"Put your feet on the steering posts," said the Dragon. His voice sounded more enchanting now. "Pull the lever in front of you to spin."
She pulled up on the silver Dragon's head and spun her body left, timing the stop just right, then let go of the horn. Perfect, she thought. "No crossbow then?" asked Kayla.
"No," said Arataas definitively. "Perhaps another time."
"Alright. Ready when you are."
Without warning, Arataas spread his wings and dove straight off the edge of the mountain side. The sudden drop made Kayla's stomach fall, but the Dragon lifted up immediately. Kayla thought him a master of winds in order to use his wings in such a way. The thrill of Dragonflight returned.
In a wide arc, the golden Dragon turned westward, then adjust a bit more towards the mountains far off in the distance.
Kayla, thankful again for her magical robes to keep her warm, looked below her. She expected to see the training grounds of the Scar, but instead saw nothing but stone. An illusion, she thought, just like Green Haven. She recalled reading several spells in her grimoire about illusions, but skimmed over them. She made a mental note to practice a few once she had the time.
Right now, though, the Wizard's thoughts dwelled on her Darkstalker spell. An incantation of her own making. She went over and over the words of the spell in her mind. Even the slightest of error could be detrimental. If she misspoke a single word, or even placed emphasis on the wrong glyph, it would not only send her into madness, but it would be the downfall of her friends and the Stones.
"Coming up on the fortress," said Arataas.
The Dragon's voice snapped Kayla back to reality. She looked around below, not remembering how she got so far so fast. She studied the landscape more closely. Dark swamps bordered a tan, barren wasteland. And in the very center stood a crude, rocky citadel.
Kayla pointed. "Look there." Realizing Arataas could not see her hand, she applied pressure to her left foot. The Dragon banked left. She let off the pedal, and he straightened out. Ahead of them, a swarm of what looked like black ants, moved south. "They are on their way already! Hundreds of them!"
"Let's take a closer look," said Arataas.
Kayla sneered and held firm to her saddle's horn.
As they swooped down, the long caravan became clearer. Most of the army walked on foot, while a handful of covered wagons provided support. The largest of the wagons traveled in the rear.
"The big one in the rear could be Lord Vöhl," said Kayla. "We must warn Green Haven! But is there anything we can do?"
Arataas glanced back and gave her a sly smirk. "Hang on."
The Dragon's wings flared a little more. Kayla, sensed a sudden change in Arataas. An aggressiveness she nearly forgot until she recalled his fight with the undead Demon during her battle with Valon Sadesh. Not only was the Dragon a creature of beauty, but one that could wield destruction at his will.
But as the Dragon dove in, the wagon's covers slid to the forest floor revealing large ballistas, crude versions of the ones she saw at the Scar on the backs of the other Dragons. Steel spears loaded in them glinted in the sun. As they glided closer, the ballistas fired, sending the spears directly in their path. Arataas twisted left, sending Kayla jolting sideways hard. She let out a scream of surprise. The spears flew sailing past them, but one punched right through the Dragon's left wing.
Arataas let out a groan, but held on. He inhaled, and has he passed the line of Lord Vöhl's army, a burst of Dragonfire erupted from his angry jaws. He breathed a line of fire nearly the length of the convoy, hitting all of the wagons and many of Vöhl's legion.
The Dragon flapped hard and kept low to the trees to disappear from their sight, only then did he pull up above the clouds to safety.
"Are you alright, Kayla?" asked Arataas.
"I'm a bit shaken, but fine. You're hurt! We should land."
Arataas banked a little to the left and right. "I'm alright. Should we go for another pass?"
Kayla feared for Arataas and her friends now. "Let us get to Green Haven as quickly as we can then. We need to warn them of the attack."
"I think that is best as well."
What would he do if I wasn't on his back, she thought. She pushed the thought from her mind. "Let's go!"
[][][]
Kayla looked down as they passed low over the lake, wondering if she could see her backpack. The night made it difficult, but she still found the idea silly. The interesting thing being that she no longer cared. What does that mean? she wondered.
They landed, and Arataas changed back into the guise of Alden Sal-Moon.
"I do not see the way," said Kayla. She lit her blackthorn staff and peered north, but again saw nothing but trees, her eyes betraying her that Green Haven lay just before them. "Can you see it?"
Arataas nodded. "I do. It is difficult to explain, but we Dragons see things differently, just as we can see the invisible, we can see through the illusions of the oldest of magic."
"Oldest?"
"Yes, the Dragons gave magic to the Mindful, but the Druids mastered its way first. We think its the link between their soul and nature, where the rest of Mindful want magic for..." He stopped himself before he finished.
"For what?" asked Kayla, she pursed her lips into a crooked smile. "Power everlasting?"
Arataas shouldered his pack as they walked north through the trees. "Well, why did you take up magic?" Arataas asked.
The question caught her off guard. She thought and boiled down her reasoning for going to the towers of Ulmaka so many years ago after the death of her Aonghus in the Whispering Woods. She went to the towers for power, yes, but not power alone.
"I would rather not say," said Kayla. She pulled her hood over her head and tramped through the woods, working her way ahead of him.
"I don't mean to pry. You're reasons are your own."
Kayla thought of Arataas and how he spilled his secrets. He went out of his way to show her his true self. Telling her of his ancient society and of Demons and of the secret war to keep the world safe from them. How petty her secret seemed to his.
She stopped. She considered all of the things she did even now. Reading the grey grimoire to gain more power, but why? All the things she did now for her friends. She risked slipping into madness, or even death learning these new, more powerful spells. But not for herself. No. She did not desire the power for herself alone.
Kayla turned her head back to him. "Love."
"Love?"
Kayla halted and stomped her foot. She turned to him, eyes flaring. "Yes, I learned magic because a Man I loved was killed by a force no one could control, or contain. I learned magic to defeat that force, so that they could never harm another soul as I lived, and as you know, we Kowluun live a very, very long time. I learned magic to protect my friends, so that our quests, and sometimes foolery mind you, does not get them killed. Why? Because I love them. And I would do for you the very same."
Arataas' eyes weakened and his mouth turned down. He lifted up a calming hand. "Kayla?"
"What!" screamed the She-elf. She blinked as bright lights blinded her vision.
"Your eyes are on fire."
A/N - Guys thanks for reading this weeks update! If you enjoyed then hit that star!