Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

“I heard there is war coming again,” interjected a fourth warrior. “I wouldn’t mind wielding a sword for something other than practice. I don’t even care who the enemy is.”

“That is just a tale,” scowled the first warrior. “That is supposed to happen after the dragons go away. You will never live to see it.”

Suddenly, a bunch of shouting erupted, and the four warriors turned to see what the excitement was. Thousands of men were pointing to the east. They turned to see what everyone was so excited about and saw a dragon flying towards them.

“They ain’t suppose to bother us here,” worried the first warrior. “Where do we go now?”

“Look,” shouted the second warrior, “there is a man astride it.”

“Someone has defeated the King of the Dragons?” gasped the third warrior. “Can it be?”

Everyone watched as the giant dragon banked and flew around the Vandegar Temple. A man was clearly visible riding on the back of the huge dragon. He held some kind of long staff high in the air and pointed to the front of the temple. The dragon swooped down, and warriors scrambled for whatever cover they could find.

The dragon hovered in front of the temple and rested its claws gently on the railing of a balcony. The man slid off the back of the dragon onto the balcony and the dragon flapped its powerful wings and lifted off the balcony and soared high into the sky. The dragon continued to circle the temple, but the warriors’ attention was now on the man with the staff. Thousands of Jiadin warriors crowded as close as they could to the front of the temple to see who the man was. Suddenly, he held up both of arms for quiet.

“Greetings Jiadin warriors,” shouted the man. “Your time of exile is now over. I am King Rejji of Fakara, ruler of all lands east of the Fortung Mountains. I come to you to welcome you into the fold of Fakara and ask you to prepare for war.”

Rejji gazed at the mass of men below the balcony and wondered how they were receiving his message. It was heartening that no one had tried to attack him yet.

“Our land will soon be invaded from across the sea,” Rejji continued. “The Fakarans are determined to repel the evil invaders. I want my Jiadin brothers to stand by my side. Will you fight?”

The crowd mumbled and glanced at one another.

“Will you fight?” Rejji shouted louder. “Are there men below me who call themselves warriors? Or do I gaze down upon a flock of clova? Will you fight?”

Thousands of men raised their swords and shouted, but Rejji was not satisfied.

“Have I not saved you from the dragons?” shouted Rejji. “I offer every warrior a home, a horse, and a weapon. I offer every warrior a chance to go down in history as part of the greatest army to ever exist. I offer every warrior a chance to fight a foe that threatens to annihilate all life from this land, including each and every one of you. Will you fight by my side?”

Tens of thousands of voices rang out in unison. Swords were raised high, and the warriors started chanting Rejji’s name. Rejji grinned and raised the Staff of the Astor high.

“The large crossbows are powerful enough to penetrate their hulls,” declared Emperor Marak, “but we need to create those holes below the waterline. Only when the Motangan ship tried to turn did the sea flow in.”

“That is difficult,” frowned Captain Mynor. “As soon as the bolts drop below the water, they will lose a great deal of their punch. They may no longer pierce the hulls.”

“Well,” the Torak shook his head, “that is what we need. We need to create holes below the waterline. See what you can come up with.”

Emperor Marak left the room and walked along a corridor. He saw Rejji just entering the palace in Angragar and hurried to meet him.

“I heard that your test went well,” smiled Rejji. “Is the elven king safe?”

“They are on their way to Angragar as we speak,” nodded the Torak. “They should be here soon. As for the test, we still have some refinements to make. How did your meeting with the Jiadin go?”

“Much better than I expected,” frowned the Astor, “but I do not care much for creating false prophecies. I feel as if I tricked them into doing what is right.”

“That is exactly what you did,” smiled Emperor Marak. “Do not let it trouble you so much. You tried every other way to bring the Jiadin to your side. They are primarily men without honor. They care for nothing other than fighting and plunder.”

“Still,” frowned Rejji, “it does not feel right. What will Kaltara think?”

“You had the choice of tricking the Jiadin or slaughtering them,” retorted the Torak. “Not only would you have wasted eighty thousand potential warriors by destroying the Jiadin, but you would have also lost the majority of the free tribes trying to do it. As for how Kaltara would feel about it, he instructed you to gather the faithful and the unfaithful. Besides, where was your deceit?”

“I used a prophecy to trick the Jiadin,” replied Rejji. “I do not think the Dragon Prophecy really meant to foretell what I did with Myka. I don’t think it had anything to do with the Jiadin.”

“Others disagree with you,” smiled Marak. “Yltar says that Myka believes in the prophecy and that is was resolved as it should have been. She says only the errors of the humans who recorded it make it appear unrelated. Put this matter to rest, Rejji. Now that you have the Jiadin, figure how best to use them to defeat Vand. Trust me when I say that before this is over, they will praise you for gathering them. Vand’s forces would have slaughtered them in the opening salvo of the war.”

“I suppose you are right,” nodded the Astor. “I still don’t know whether or not I can integrate them into the Free Tribes. Years under Grulak’s reign have twisted their minds. All they want to do is kill someone for the pleasure of it.”

“Maybe you can siphon off those that can be rehabilitated and keep the others separate,” suggest the Torak. “I am sure that you will find the right solution. Let’s go down to the docks and greet the elven king.”

The Torak and the Astor left the palace and headed for the docks. Lyra was already at the wharf and the trio gathered together.

“Here they come,” pointed the Star of Sakova. “How will you greet him, Rejji?”

“As a friend and ally,” answered the Astor. “Whether or not he joins his people to ours, it was his ancestors who preserved this city by hiding it. We owe the elves a debt of gratitude for that.”

The elven scout ship sailed slowly across the harbor as Alastasia nervously piloted the vessel around the anchored ships. She called for Tamar to take the helm as they approached the dock.

“I am not about to ram this ship into the Star,” Alastasia said anxiously.

“You did well,” smiled Tamar as he took the helm.

Alastasia moved forward and stood beside her father and sister.

“You see, it is not too hard to sail,” smiled Avalar as he put his arm around his daughter.

“It was fun,” smiled Alastasia. “See the two people with Emperor Marak? The man is Rejji. He is the Astor. The woman is Lyra, the Star. You will like them.”

“Do not be offended if they call me Mistake,” interjected Alahara. “It is the only name they have ever known for me.”

“I will not be offended,” promised the elven king. “From what you have told me of your lives in this world, I owe much to those three.”

The elven ship glided alongside the dock. Alahara grabbed the forward line and threw it to a dockhand. HawkShadow did the same with the stern line. King Avalar and the two princesses stepped off the ship and onto the dock. Marak, Rejji, and Lyra bowed slightly to the king. Avalar bowed in return.