Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
Into Amiscan

Eliana woke with a start, still feeling her teeth and clawssinking into the deer's flesh. She shuddered, and cast her thoughts out towardswhere she sensed her dragon, a mile away in the forest.

"Would you please try to keep my dreams out of yourmind while you hunt?" she askedhim irritably. "It's very unsettling to wake up that way."

He laughed deeply in her mind, but made no other response.She sighed and glanced around her. The sun's edge was just appearing over themountains to the east, where they were headed. She sat up, surprised to replaceher own blanket under her, and another covering her. She looked to her left,where Caelum had settled the night before. He was still there, sleepingpeacefully, but the blanket that had been underneath him was now gone.

Eliana smiled to herself. Her Caelum had returned.

"Good morning, Eliana!" a voice called from ashort distance away.

A few sleeping elves made an irritated shushing sound, andshe looked across the circle of soldiers to see Iocus waving at her.Apparently, he had been assigned the last watch. She waved back, theuncomfortable moment from the previous night forgotten, chased away by thehappiness that had followed.

"Good morning, Iocus!" she called back, trying tokeep her voice low, so as not to incur the wrath of the soldiers.

She quietly stood and picked up Caelum's blanket, pausing tolay it over him before walking around the soldiers to sit by the other elf. Helooked oddly cheery for someone who had been up before the sun.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

She smiled softly. "Wonderfully. You?"

He shrugged, but did not stop smiling. "Didn't sleepmuch at all, really. Caelum seemed to have jumbled up the watch schedule. I gotassigned second and third watches. But that's alright."

Eliana cast a glance to where Caelum slept. Had he done thaton purpose? She decided not to dwell on it, and looked back at Iocus with asmirk. "Are you always this happy?" she chuckled.

"Why shouldn’t I be? It's a beautiful morning!"

She looked towards the sun again, which was casting itsyellow light on the thinning clouds. It truly was beautiful, and she felt oddlyjoyful at the simple sight.

"Yes," she answered. "It is."

"Well," Iocus said, hopping to his feet andoffering her a hand to pull her up as well. "The sun has started to rise.Time to wake everybody."

After he had pulled Eliana to his feet, the elf raised hisfingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Immediately, all of the soldiers,including Caelum, sat up. There was no stirring, grumbling, or slow stretching.The elves immediately stood, beginning to bundle up their blankets and prepareto travel once again.

Caelum looked at the empty blanket beside him, then jumpedto his feet, casting his eyes around searchingly.

Eliana smiled and lifted a hand. "Caelum!" shecalled, waving.

He caught sight of her and smiled with relief. She bid Iocusgood morning and walked back to Caelum. The captain watched her, his hands onhis hips, but smirking.

"You're just trying to give me a heart attack, aren'tyou," he tried to scold her.

She laughed. "Only a little one."

With a familiar, bell-toned laugh, he knelt and proceeded toroll up his blanket. She did the same and stuffed it into her pack. Oncefinished, she straightened and called out to Oriens.

"Time to go, little dragon!" she calledteasingly. "And please be sure to get all of that meat out of yourteeth before you come back."

He laughed in her head. "Yes, mother..."

By then, the troops were entirely packed and were disposingof the remnants of their fires by covering them with conjured water and earth.There was no need to do the same to hers. When Oriens had returned from hishunt the night before, his wings had quite sufficiently doused the flames andcovered the wood in enough dirt to make it impossible to reignite.

It had been a comfortable night for her, curled up close toOriens' warm belly, Caelum sleeping close by. She had slipped in between herown dreams and her dragon's, but both were equally comforting. Her sleep hadeven been deep enough that she had not awoken when Oriens snuck off to huntagain that morning.

Over the line of the trees, her dragon suddenly appeared, agolden shape shrouded in the golden light of the sunrise. He swept low over thetrees' orange canopies and landed heavily beside her.

She smiled up at him. "Hello, little dragon."

"Hello, little Rider."

"Ready to put the saddle back on?"

He sighed tragically. "Oh, if I must."

"Oh, you must," she laughed, picking up theblack saddle. "I'm certainly not going to carry it for you."

He made a coughing sound in his throat, laughing at her, andshe smiled. Once she was certain the saddle was securely in place, she turnedto Caelum, who was waiting patiently with the rest of the soldiers.

"I think I'll walk today," she said.

He smiled and shook his head. "There's no need forthat. You're safer with your dragon."

"He will still be close by," she said with ashrug. "Besides, you might need me to share his reports with you."

They both knew that she could have reported to him in theirthoughts, but Caelum didn't argue further. He did his best to look defeated,but his smile betrayed him.

"As you wish," he said. "You're theRider."

Eliana turned to Oriens. "I'll walk, at least fornow. Try not to be seen. There aren't many clouds today."

He nodded with a fang-filled grin. "Whatever keepsthe two of you on speaking terms is fine by me. You're much less mopey whenyou're actually talking to each other."

She gave a sharp laugh of surprised indignation, but hedidn't wait for her to formulate a response. He quickly lifted off and roseinto the sky, hovering above the soldiers. She looked to Caelum and nodded thatthey were ready. He turned to the soldiers.

"Alright," he said in his curt captain's voice.Now that she knew the tone would only be temporary, it didn't bother her."Let's get moving. We want to reach Amiscan before nightfall."

Caelum and Eliana led the group as they resumed theireastward march. Raena sulked close behind them, listening to their civil,cheerful conversation. Iocus was beside her, providing a stark contrast inmood. He jaunted along cheerily, whistling until Raena snapped at him to"stop that infernal noise-making."

The journey grew more arduous as the group reached the baseof the mountain range. Amiscan, and the very eastern edge of Paerolia, lay onthe opposite side. Though the sun rose higher, the air around them continued togrow colder. Winter would descend on them soon.

The elven soldiers darted quickly and easily up the rockyslopes, their sure feet hopping from one rocky ledge to another. Eliana feltabsurd beside them, stumbling along, slipping on loose stones and breathingheavily. The troop continued to pause and wait for her as she struggled. Raenaseemed to be enjoying the Rider's difficulties.

Caelum and Iocus were constantly beside her, offering heraid whenever she seemed to need it. Caelum would jump up onto a ledge, thenturn back and offer Eliana his hand. As he pulled her up, Iocus leapt to thenext ledge and did the same, pulling the Rider up after him by her hand.

Each time Iocus did this, Caelum's frown grew deeper. Eliananoticed this and began to worry that the cold, distant Caelum was going toreturn. The captain leapt ahead of her, then turned back and offered her hishand again. The slope was steep, and Iocus placed a hand at the small of herback, helping to guide her up over the rocks.

Caelum seized her wrist firmly and jerked her upwards,nearly wrenching her shoulder from its socket. "Ow!" she exclaimed,jerking her hand away from him. "What is the matter with you?"

He immediately looked sheepish. "I'm sorry," hesaid quietly. He glanced up at where Oriens circled above them, staying closeto the mountainside in an effort to disguise his shape. "Perhaps youshould Ride now. It only gets steeper from here."

She nodded, grateful for the suggestion. She feltridiculous, struggling to keep up with the quick and agile pure-blooded elvesin the troop. She looked up at her dragon, then glanced around at the unevenmountainside.

"Where will I mount?" she asked. "There's noplace for him to land."

Caelum pointed behind her, at something above her head. Sheturned and looked at where he pointed. Not too far away, about twenty feetabove where they stood, was a lip of rock that jutted out away from themountain.

“I’ll help you up there,” he said. “That should be largeenough for Oriens to land.”

She nodded in agreement, and he guided her towards the steepslope that led to the cliff.

“Need any help?” Iocus called.

“No,” Caelum snapped. “Stay with the troop.”

“Caelum,” she hissed at him as they began to climb, “he’sjust trying to help.”

The elf muttered something under his breath, which shecouldn’t quite catch, but she didn’t bother to press the subject further.Instead, she reached out with her mind to Oriens and told him the plan. Hereadily agreed, happy to have her fly with him, and soon landed on the ledge abovethem.

They finally reached the cliff, and Eliana paused to catchher breath. Caelum stood beside her, apparently not in the least bit winded bythe climb, while she placed her hands on her knees and breathed heavily.Finally, she straightened.

Oriens bent his leg for her and she climbed up into thesaddle. She was about to give her dragon the signal to fly, when a hand grabbedher foot. She looked down, surprised to replace Caelum climbing up onto Oriens’knee.

She parted her lips to ask what was wrong, but the wordsvanished as he leaned forward and brushed a stray hair behind her ear. His lipsbrushed softly against her cheek and hovered near her ear.

“Be careful,” he whispered. “And don’t shut me out thistime.”

She smiled as he leaned back, placing her hand on his own,where it rested on her knee. “Never again,” she replied.

Caelum smiled and jumped down from Oriens’ knee. With a lastlook back at the elf, Eliana gave Oriens permission to fly. Her heart wasalready soaring. They rose into the sky and circled overhead while Caelumjoined the soldiers, then proceeded slowly up the last, steep incline to thetop of the mountain.

“Higher!” shecried in her mind.

Her dragon laughed, relishing in their mingling joy. “Gladly! Hold on, little one!”

She tightened the straps around her legs and wrists asOriens shot upwards towards the sky, climbing in a straight line away from theground. Then he dove, leveled out, and pulled his wings in tightly, sendingthem spinning wildly. Eliana laughed as the earth and sky blurred together,filled with joy and the feeling of complete and utter freedom. There wasnothing but her, Oriens, and the open sky.

An anxious voice in her mind interrupted her joyful flight. “Would you please stop that?” Caelumscolded. “You’re making me regret sendingyou up there.”

Eliana laughed and rolled her eyes as she silently replied, “Caelum, I promise I’m perfectly safe.”

“All the same, I’dfeel a little less nauseated if you would stay right-side up.”

“Alright, Caelum,”Oriens interjected. “I’ll keep her headabove her feet until we reach Amiscan. You have my word.”

“Thank you, Oriens.”

She sighed and shook her head. “Between the two of you, you’re going to ruin all of my fun, aren’tyou?”

“If we’re lucky,”they replied in unison.

She smiled, feeling their three minds mingling together inher own thoughts. Everything was as it should be. The Rider and her dragon roseabove the tops of the mountain and, suddenly, a small village was in sight atthe base.

“Is that Amiscan?”she asked.

“Yes,” Caelumreplied.

“Why are there hutsinstead of trees like Iterum?” Her nightmare came rushing back to her withfull force—the fog-shrouded huts, the cloaked figures, Caedis, Caelum…

“On the chance that wehave to abandon it, we don’t want there to be evidence that it was inhabited byelves. It would just give someone a place to start if they decided to track usback to Iterum. We want to make it look like an empty human village.”

The soldiers finally crested the mountain’s peak and begantheir descent. From her seat in the sky, Eliana watched them slide and jumpfrom one outcropping to another with amazing ease. It was obvious that they hadall made this journey many times; they jumped from cliffs without pausing tojudge the distance to the next ledge, moving with all the surety of mountaingoats.

Despite how quickly they moved without Eliana to slow them,the sun had begun its descent by the time they reached the mountain’s base.Oriens dipped lower, flying close above Caelum and the troops. When she lookeddown, the captain was looking up at her, and she smiled.

Amiscan crouched in front of them. From her vantage point onOriens’ back, Eliana could see movement within the village. Shadows flitted inbetween the huts, making her feel tense and anxious. They looked as if theywere preparing for an attack.

“Caelum,” shecalled down to him silently, “they doknow we’re coming today, right?”

“Yes,” he answeredcalmly. “Don’t worry, Eliana. Nothingwill happen to anyone. They’re trained to always prepare for the worst. HaveOriens land and walk with us though, so you don’t startle anyone.”

Oriens dropped to the ground beside the troops and ploddedforward beside them, taking large, slow strides. As Amiscan drew nearer, Caelumstopped. The soldiers stopped behind him and waited in silence for a briefmoment.

“Raena. Iocus,” he said. The two elves addressed separatedthemselves from the group and stood at Caelum’s right, as if they knew exactlywhat he wanted of them.

Caelum looked up at Eliana, seated on Oriens’ back still.“I’ll need you to summon a fire sphere. That’s your strongest element, right?It will need to be a large sphere.”

Eliana nodded. “I can handle it.”

He gave a short nod in reply, and the three elves beside thedragon raised their hands above their heads. Eliana followed suit. Four spheresformed in the air above them—fire above the dragon and Rider, water aboveCaelum, earth above Raena, and wind above Iocus. Eliana watched the others,straining to make her sphere match the size of the others, which were severalfeet in diameter.

There was a pause, then four responding spheres appearedabove the small village ahead of them. She realized then what it was—a signalto the troops that their own people approached. Satisfied by the respondingsignal, the elven soldiers dispersed the spheres above them, and Eliana did thesame. Then Caelum led them forward again, into Amiscan.

Elves began to appear from between the huts, eagerlyshouting and waving welcome to their fellow soldiers. They stared unabashedlyat the dark-haired girl in her black jacket, riding astride the shining goldendragon. A cry passed from one elf to the other, spreading the message throughthe village. She recognized the word as more and more voices began to chant it.

“Veholum! Veholum! Veholum!”

Eliana felt Oriens lift his head proudly, the chanting verymuch appealing to his ego. And, she had to admit, it appealed to hers as well.

“They seem verypleased to see us,” he said with a grin, projecting his thoughts to hisRider and the elf beside them.

Caelum smiled up at the pair. “Of course,” he said aloud. “Itold you when I left that I would be telling them all about you. They’ve beenwaiting for you for several months now. And, I might add, you make a strikingpair.”

This hardly helped to humble the dragon. He shook his headand bugled, drawing a cheer from the crowd. Eliana laughed and shook her head,but more serious thoughts were on her mind. These soldiers—trained warriors—hadbeen waiting for her like a returning hero. Was she what they had imagined herto be? Did she measure up to their expectations? Would she measure up, if and when it came time to fight?

Oriens heard her thoughts and answered confidently, “There may be pressure here to be great. ButI believe we can be far greater than they ever imagined us to be.”

“Perhaps,” sheanswered with a smirk, “but you are farcockier than I am.”

“It’s difficult to bemodest when I can eat anything that tries to humble me.”

She laughed as they continued through the streets ofAmiscan. There was just enough space between the huts for Oriens to fit downthem. More soldiers fell in behind them, joining those returning from Iterum.She didn’t know where they were going, but she followed Caelum towards thecenter of the village without question, still riding in Oriens’ saddle.

The dirt road they traveled on ended in a grassy plaza atthe center of the village. The grassy area was dominated by a large, roundedhill situated in the very center of the village. She frowned at it inconfusion. It seemed an inconvenient place to build your village square; thehill made it impossible for there to be any large gathering. Even now, elveswere crowding into the surrounding streets without enough space to stand aroundthe hill.

Then, she noticed the gaping hole in the side of the hilland recognized it for what it was—a cave, formed by elven magic. She knew whatit must be for as well. Caelum had had a home built for her and Oriens, rightin the middle of the greatest warriors in the elven nation. There could be nosafer place in all of Paerolia.

Caelum stopped in front of the hill, and Eliana slid fromher dragon’s back. As soon as she landed on the ground, she was surrounded byhundreds of elven warriors, completely cutting her off from both Caelum andOriens. Men and women alike reached for her right hand, kissing the mark in thecenter of the palm. She tried to smile at them, but only managed to grimaceuncomfortably, searching for a way to rejoin the elf captain and her dragon.

Finally, the pair of them made their way through the crowdto her, parting the elves. Oriens placed himself firmly at her back, and Caelumstood close at her side. The soldiers drew back, giving their leader and theprotective, hovering shape of the dragon a respectful amount of space.

“Fellow fighters!” Caelum called. The crowd grew silentimmediately. “I know you have waited long for the arrival of our Rider. We allhave. For centuries, our forbearers have only maintained hope for the end ofthe Great War because of Astrum’s prophecy of a Rider that would heal our land.But the prophecy has only just begun to be fulfilled.

“We cannot let our guard down. We cannot drop our shieldsfor even a mere moment. Because this war cannot end without a much greaterbattle—one in which we must align ourselves with the humans. But we cannot dothis without them.”

He gestured back at the dragon and Rider. She blinked at himin startled confusion. Why was he touting this prophecy so heavily? He knewthat she had not bought into the idea herself, and yet he was setting them uplike the new, great gods of the land. What was he getting at? Oriens heard herquestion and gave a mental shrug.

Caelum went on. “No humans will join us unless we have aRider to lead us. We need them to stand with us at the last battle. And so, Iam entrusting their safety to each of you. In your capable hands, I am placingthe lives of our Veholum. I know you will protect them with your lives.”

Eliana scowled at the back of his blonde head. So that’swhat it was about. He was setting her up as an idol so that he could assign hera thousand bodyguards who were willing to die to defend her on her pedestal. Hecontinued to treat her like a helpless child!

“Then show him you arenot helpless!” Oriens urged in her mind. She could feel his own irritationclawing at her thoughts; he did not like the idea that Caelum felt they neededto be protected either.

Eliana drew a breath, steeling herself as the elves whoopedand cheered at the end of Caelum’s speech. Then she stepped forward, placingherself firmly in front of Caelum.

“Elves of Iterum!” she called, quieting them again.“Soldiers of Amiscan. It is not yourduty to protect me. It is my duty toprotect you! Whether you believe meto be the answer to the prophecy or not, I will not be the one to bring aboutthe end of this war. You will be.Yes, we will stand and fight together, but I do not ask any one of you to laydown your life for my sake. Instead, I pledge my own life to your safety. Iwill stand and defend you until I draw my last breath. This is my oath to youas a Rider.”

The elves cheered again, even louder this time, and resumedtheir chanting. “Veholum! Veholum! Veholum!”

She smiled a little to herself, but her satisfaction was cutoff as Caelum grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. He lookedas furious as he ever had. “Why do you insist on promising to die for peopleyou do not know?” he hissed angrily.

Eliana scowled back at him, crossing her arms in front ofher chest. “Why do you insist ontreating me like a helpless child? These are my people now, Caelum, just asthey are yours. I will do whatever it takes to protect them. Prophecy or not, Ibelieve that is why I am here. They trust me to do my duty. So why don’t you?”

He closed his eyes and sighed, seeming to relax a little. Hereached up and touched her cheek. “I dotrust you,” he said. “And that’s exactly the problem. I trust you to keep yourpromises. But you continue to make promises that I don’t want to seefulfilled.”

She realized then that the crowd had grown silent, and shefelt the press of a thousand eyes on her back. She glanced around, and noticedthat the soldiers were watching the pair of them in interest and confusion. Shepulled quickly away from Caelum’s touch and stepped aside, flushing slightly asshe returned to her spot beside him.

Caelum stepped forward and addressed them again, appearingcompletely composed. “Routines in Amiscan will not change,” he said. “RiderEliana will join us for training just like any other elf. You are not to interruptor interfere with her training in any way. She is a soldier now, as are you.Now, return to your quarters. I want the first watch at their stations in fiveminutes.”

The elves dispersed, the women heading to one side of thecamp, the men to the other. Caelum, Oriens, and Eliana remained in the square,standing in front of the hollow hill.

The Rider’s eyes followed curiously after the women beforeshe remarked, “It looks like you have nearly as many women here as men.”

Caelum nodded. “Women train with the army as well, but onlyif they don’t have children. Elven women have proven to be as strong, quick,and capable as our men. We don’t shelter them as the humans do with theirwomen. They’re more than able to fend for themselves.”

She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Then why do youshelter me?”

He dropped his head briefly, then looked back up at her witha smirk. “Because half of you is ahuman woman. And since it is much too difficult to only shelter half of you, Ihave to settle for sheltering all of you.”

She rolled her eyes, trying to look irritated, but shecouldn’t fully repress her smile

Caelum chuckled and gestured towards the opening in thehill. “Would you like to see your quarters?”

She shrugged in acquiescence and followed him into the cave,Oriens lumbering along behind them. They didn’t enter a large room, as she’dexpected. Instead, they walked down a long tunnel lit by orbs of light. Thefloor sloped downwards and curved back on itself so that they were once againwalking west, towards the mountains they had just crossed.

They continued in silence for several minutes, then thetunnel opened into a wide, circular room of solid stone. She estimated thatthey must have been directly under the mountain at that point, and she lookedup at the ceiling. It rose high above her. There, nearly a hundred feet aboveher head, it opened up onto the dark night sky.

The area they stood in was empty, and would make an idealplace for Oriens to curl up and sleep. Across the circular area, there was ashort set of stairs up to a platform. The raised room was furnished with asmall, simple bed, a chest, and a wooden washbasin.

Caelum gestured towards the room, which was set back intothe stone wall. “Those are your quarters. Oriens can sleep here.” He thenpointed up to the sky, visible in the center of the ceiling. “You should beable to easily enter and exit through there, as well as through the hill in thecenter of Amiscan. You can draw water from the mountain. A hot spring runsbeneath this mountain and village, so it should already be warm for you. Thereare several uniforms in your trunk. You’ll be expected to wear them during yourtraining.”

Eliana looked at him with an incredulous expression. “So,you’ve placed me in a stone vault under a million tons of rock, and guarded theentrance with nearly a thousand elven warriors. Does that about sum it up?”

He shrugged and smirked. “Half human,” he said simply.

She tried to scowl, but his relaxed smirk and gentle teasingprevented her. She realized there would be no purpose in fighting him aboutthis matter. And, this mountain was the only place where she could easily sleepclose to her dragon anyways. So she would deal with it for now.

“Alright,” she sighed, raising her hands in defeat. “If youwant to continue being ridiculous, I’ll just have to let you.”

“Hey,” he said with a smile, putting a hand behind her neckand pulling her gently towards him until they stood close together. “I justwant you to be safe. Is that so wrong?”

She smirked and rolled her eyes. “I said ‘okay’ didn’t I? Iwon’t fight you. Not about thisanyways.”

“Good,” he laughed. “Because I’m tired of trying to protectyou from yourself.”

“My apologies,” she answered sarcastically. “I didn’trealize I was such a handful.”

He leaned forward, touching his lips to her foreheadbriefly, making her breath catch. She felt his lips move against her skin as hewhispered, “You have no idea.”

Then, suddenly, he pulled away, taking a long step back fromher. She looked up at him in surprise, and found his flat, blank mask in place,guarding his expression. “Good night, Eliana,” he said curtly. “I’ll see you inthe morning for your first day of training.”

He turned on his heel and briskly trotted off, up thecorridor, without looking back at her.

“Good night,” she whispered at his retreating back.

He vanished around a curve. Eliana pressed the heel of herhand to one eye, giving a frustrated growl as she turned her back on thehallway. Oriens lay curled in the center of the room, watching her pityingly.

“Why does he do that, Oriens?” she screamed in herhead.

The golden head swayed from side to side and he shrugged hisshoulders slightly. “I haven’t a clue,Eliana. It is your mind I’m connectedto, not his.”

“He’s just so…confusing! One moment he cares, and the next he’s cold and dismissive.” Shesighed and sat between her dragon’s front legs, resting her back against hischest. “I never know where I stand withhim anymore.”

“I don’t think he everstops caring about you, Eliana,” Oriens pointed out. “Perhaps he acts the way he does to try to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?From feeling like I have a single friend among these people?”

“To protect you fromhimself.”

She blew out a sharp breath of air. “Well, the only one hurting me now is him,” she grumbled.

Oriens sighed in an empathetic way and lay his head on thestony floor, encircling her between his paws and his scaly neck. “Perhaps he does not know he hurts you,”he said thoughtfully. “He cannot knowwhat he has not been told.”

“I can’t…” shethought quietly.

“What’s the worst thatcould happen?”

She gave a snort of derision. “Famous last words.”