Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
Caelum

“Jhol thosi!” Eliana cried in irritation. “Jhol thosi!”

Beneath her hands, a flame flickered, then was blown out bythe cold, howling wind. Frustrated, she knocked the pile of sticks aside andsat back on her hands, the golden egg resting in her lap. She had been walkingfor two days, and she had no idea how much farther she had to go. No human knewthe true location of the elven city, but it was rumored to be somewhere on theeastern cliffs of Paerolia—inconveniently, almost as far from her startingpoint as was geographically possible.

She had only her father’s overly large sword, which wasrather ineffective for hunting, and a canteen, which she’d emptied a few hoursbefore. She’d eaten only berries and a few other plants she’d been able to digup in the forest, and she was hungry, exhausted, and thirsty.

With a sigh, Eliana stood and put the egg’s sling over hershoulder again. There would be no resting in this cold wind without a fire, andher stomach was growling too loudly to sleep, so she might as well keepwalking.

She continued in a generally eastward direction, using thestars as a guide. After another hour of walking, her keen ears picked up thesound of rushing water. With a thrill of excitement, she began to jog, lickingher dry lips. The sounds of the river grew closer until Eliana finally spotted itwinding between the trees. With a cry of relief, she dropped to her knees onthe riverbank, setting the egg on the ground beside her.

She plunged her face directly into the stream and drankdeeply. The water hit her empty stomach like an icy punch to the gut, but shecontinued to drink until she needed to come up for air. Then she cupped herhands in the water and drank some more.

Finally, she straightened slightly and reached for the emptycanteen at her waist. She felt the unmistakable point of a sword press betweenher shoulder blades. She stiffened and froze.

“Stand,” a calm male voice commanded.

Eliana obeyed, rising slowly to her feet.

“Turn around.”

She turned and found herself looking down the length of asilvery sword. At the other end of the sword stood a tall, young man of slightbuild. His blonde hair looked nearly white in the moonlight, and he studied herwith curious blue eyes. His ears were sharply pointed—an elf.

“Who are you?” he asked. It sounded more like a genuinequestion than a demand.

Eliana’s eyes darted towards the egg, which was on theground to her left and slightly behind her, then back at the elf. “I… My nameis Eliana. I’m looking for Iterum.”

The elf smirked in amusement, but he didn’t lower his sword.“Many humans have looked for Iterum. Many of them have died trying to getthere… or died when they found it.”

He made the threat so casually that Eliana barely recognizedit for what it was. She tried to measure the elf with her gaze, judging hissize, his weapons, and the distance between them. In addition to the sword inhis hand, he had a bow across his back. She’d heard stories about the elves’deadly speed with a sword and their accuracy with the bow. Even if she didsomehow manage to get away from him, he could take her down with a singlearrow.

The elf spotted the fabric-wrapped, shining object on theground beside her. He frowned and nodded at it. “What’s that?”

Her heart hammered. She had to do something now, before hecould take the egg from her. She held up her hands in a motion of surrender andspoke, “I mean no harm to Iterum or anyone in it. I simply—.” Midsentence, sheducked under the elf’s sword and drove her shoulder into his sternum.

Surprised by her sudden movement, the elf stumbled backwardswith a grunt, giving her just enough space to draw her sword. She gripped theheavy blade with both hands and swung it at the elf. He dodged it quickly andshe swung again. This time, he blocked her blade with his own and began tocounter, forcing her backwards as she struggled to block his quick strikes.

Despite the fact that she’d expected it, the elf’s speed andstrength startled her, and she lost the slight ground she had gained veryquickly. He looked mildly amused as he hammered away at her. She barely managedto block blow after blow, and never had another opportunity to counterattack.

She stumbled back one step at a time, towards the riverbank.She felt her heel strike something hard. From the corner of her eye, she caughtthe movement of the golden egg as it tumbled into the rushing water. Panicgripped her insides. Frantically, she blocked another of the elf’s attacks,then dropped her sword, turned, and dove into the river.

The shock of the icy water took her breath away, and she droveherself back up to the surface to refill her stunned lungs. Then she quickly doveback under. The current caught her immediately, sweeping her along. Strainingher eyes in the dark, frigid water, she finally caught a glimpse of the egg,tumbling along the riverbed, its golden shell reflecting back what little moonlightreached the bottom of the deep river. Eliana kicked furiously, swimming towardsthe egg.

Her lungs began to burn, and she was forced to rise again foranother breath. She heard the elf’s voice from the riverbank. “What areyou—?” She dove back under, and theroaring of the water in her ears swept his voice away. She caught sight of theegg again. It was just ahead of her, the egg’s sling tangled in a growth ofplants on the bottom of the river, holding it in place.

Eliana kicked towards the bottom and snagged the fabric justas the river’s current pulled her past the egg. She pushed off the riverbed andreturned to the water’s churning surface, the fabric clutched tightly in herfist. She spotted the blonde elf, running along the riverbank and looking ather in confusion.

“Are you insane?” he shouted at her.

She ignored him, kicking wearily towards the shore. Therapid current forced her head under multiple times as she struggled against it,and she swallowed several mouthfuls of icy water. Finally, the river swept heragainst a large boulder several yards from the bank, and she gripped it, tryingto catch her breath. She rested her forehead against the stone, panting heavily.

In the back of her mind, she knew she should be worriedabout what would happen when she reached the bank where the elf stood watchingher, but her exhausted body couldn’t think beyond the need to get to land—andthe other bank was more than thirty feet away.

After a few moments, Eliana looked towards the bank again. Theend of a long bow hung in the air, less than a foot from her nose. She followedits length with her gaze. At the other end, the elf stood waist-deep in thewater, holding the bow towards her with a slightly exasperated look on hisface.

“Grab hold,” he called to her.

She hesitated for only a moment before gripping the end ofthe bow with one hand, holding the egg against her side with the other arm. Theelf started walking backwards towards the bank, dragging her with him as shekicked tiredly against the water. He reached the shore and pulled her in, handover hand, until her feet found the shallows of the riverbed.

Eliana crawled up onto the bank and lay on her back, hereyes closed, breathing heavily as she hugged the golden egg against her chest. Herarms and legs tingled with near-numbness. When her panting had subsided to deepbreathing, she opened her eyes.

The point of a sword—her own sword—was inches from her face.She looked up at the elf. His expression was thoughtful, as if he wasconsidering the simplest way to slit her throat. But then, to her surprise, heflipped the sword around and held the hilt out to her.

Eliana hesitated, then raised one aching, trembling arm andgripped the handle. She straightened to a sitting position and lowered thesword to her side, watching the elf warily. He returned her gaze, then seemedto sigh in resignation.

“Stay here,” he said flatly. Then he turned and walked away.

She didn’t want to obey him, but she had little choice. Herlegs shook from cold and exhaustion. Even if she had been able to support herweight on her own two feet, she wouldn’t have gotten far. As the feeling slowlycrept back into her body, she felt the full force of the cold water’s bitethrough every inch of her skin.

She wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to still theshaking that was now coursing through her entire body, clenching her teeth toprevent their chattering. Her body ached clear down to the bone.

The elf reappeared from the woods, silent and pale as aghost, carrying an armful of wood. He set the wood at her feet and looked ather wet, shivering form, the golden egg cradled between her legs and her body.His blue eyes filled with concern, catching Eliana off guard. Hadn’t he justtried to kill her? He took a bag off of his back and pulled out a blanket.

She pulled away from him uncertainly as he reached towardsher, but he didn’t seem to notice. He wrapped the blanket tightly around hershoulders without a word, then turned back to the pile of wood, rearranging itinto a more organized stack.

She wanted to say something—to thank him, ask him questions,something—but her teeth were chattering too violently for her to formulate aresponse. Once he’d arranged the sticks into a shape of his satisfaction, theelf placed his hands at the base of the pile. His eyes narrowed for a fractionof a second, then he pulled his hands away. Flames leapt into existence aroundthe wood.

Eliana stared at them in surprise, then looked at the elf.She forced her chattering teeth apart and stammered, “How d-did you d-do thatwith a s-s-spell?”

The elf smirked at her. “Elves don’t need spells like humansdo. We use elemental magic.”

She had no idea what that meant, but she couldn’t makeherself force out another question. Instead, she drew closer to the fire,pulling the egg out of her lap as her shivering began to subside. Beneath thewet fabric, the golden shell felt cold. Anxiety gripped her gut. What would thecold do to the dragon inside?

She set the egg and its sling close to the flames, prayingthat the unborn dragon would be able to feel the warmth, that he would not beharmed by their plunge in the icy river. The elf eyed the half-hidden sphere ofgold with his sharp blue eyes. Eliana watched him from the corner of her eyecarefully, one hand on her sword. She felt a strange, almost maternal need todefend the egg; if the elf made a move to take it, she would fight again,futile as she knew it would be.

“You never did tell me what that was,” he said with a nod atthe egg.

“It’s n-nothing,” she replied, one hand gripping the egg’sfabric sling.

He raised one pale eyebrow at her. “It would take a greatfool to dive into a freezing river for nothing.”

“Gu-guess I’m a f-fool then,” she answered as sharply as shecould around her stammering.

He eyed her disbelievingly, then returned his gaze to theegg. Eliana wanted to shield it from his eyes, but she didn’t want to move itaway from the warmth of the fire. She prayed that he wouldn’t recognize it forwhat it was.

After a few minutes of silence, Eliana’s shivering had dieddown, and she shrugged off the blanket, beginning to wring out her hair andclothes. As she pulled her hair over one shoulder to squeeze out the water, shesaw the elf’s eyes widen slightly.

“What?” she asked, wary of his expression.

He leaned in suddenly, coming very close to her face, makingher pull back and reach for the sword again. He stared into her eyes briefly,then laughed, leaning back. Eliana sat still as he looked at her, slowly movingone hand towards the egg, prepared to grab it and run.

The elf just watched her with a small smile on his lips anda look of amazement in his eyes. “You’re not human are you,” he said. It wasn’tnot a question.

Eliana hesitated. “Not exactly.”

“You’re half human, half elf.”

She frowned. “How did you know?”

The elf shook his head slightly. “I could sense that youwere not an elf. But I could tell you weren’t human either. I thought perhapsyou were a sorceress or something—I haven't encountered many of those, so itwould have explained your strange presence. But now that I see your ears… andyour eyes…” He gave a slight nod. “I know for certain what you are. And…” Hiseyes shifted back to the egg. “I know what that is too.”

Her hand closed around the egg’s sling.

“That,” he said, “is a golden dragon egg.”

She jumped quickly to her feet, but the elf was quicker. Hestood as well, catching her arm before she could bolt. She jerked against him,trying to wrench free. He laughed at her. But it was not a malicious ormenacing laugh. It was light, lilting, and relaxed.

“Calm down, calm down,” he chuckled. “I’m not going to takeyour egg.”

“Then what do you want from me?” she snapped. “Just let mego!”

“Will you relax?” he said, a little sharper now. “I want thesame thing you want. I want to take you to Iterum.”

Eliana stopped struggling and frowned at the elf warily.“Why?” she asked.

He just smiled. “You’ll understand when we get there. But Ipromise you, no harm will come to you or your dragon.”

She hesitated, and the elf released her arm. Her eyes dartedfrom him to the shelter of the trees and back again. She didn’t trust him, buthe was an elf, and so he was the onlyreal chance she had of replaceing Iterum.

“And if I don’t come with you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I can’t force you to come to Iterum. Butunfortunately, I will have to follow you like a loyal dog until you do come.”

She scowled at him in confusion, and he laughed.

“You don’t realize what a remarkable thing you are, do you?”

“Remarkable” was not something she had been called before.“Mutt,” “mongrel,” and “half-breed,” were words she was well acquainted with,but not “remarkable.”

The elf went on. “You’re a halfling with a dragon’s egg—agolden dragon’s egg. The blood in your veins unites two races who have battledagainst one another for nearly 500 years. And with that,” he nodded at the eggshe held, “you unite three.”

She frowned. “I don’t unite anyone. I’m only seeking shelterin Iterum. I’ll care for the dragon until it’s old enough to fend for itself,and then I’ll release it and be on my way.”

“And you’re certain that’s what your future holds?” He waslooking at her with a cocky smile on his face, like an adult who was laughingat a child’s naïve ideas about life. She just frowned at him. He gesturedcalmly at the fire. “Will you please just sit? You and that egg both need toget warm and rest. I can take you where you wish to go, and I can help youprotect that egg. Is that not what you want?”

Eliana paused, then asked, “May I at least know your namefirst?”

He smiled, and she noticed for the first time just howbeautiful his smooth, angular face was. He held out a hand towards her andsaid, “My name is Caelum, and I mean it whole-heartedly when I say that it isan honor to meet you, Eliana.”

She raised an eyebrow incredulously, then gripped hislong-fingered hand. They clasped hands for a moment, then he released her andnodded at the fire again. “Sit,” he said. “I have some cheese and bread in mybag if you’re hungry.”

Though it wounded her pride to do so, Eliana nodded. As shesat back down by the fire and pushed the egg near the flames again, the elf duginto his backpack. He pulled out a bundle wrapped in burlap and handed it toher. She unwrapped it to replace a chunk of soft cheese and a slice of hard bread,and her stomach growled. She bit into it eagerly, savoring the flavors.

The elf watched her eat without a word. When she hadswallowed the last bite—which only took her a few moments—she took a drink fromher canteen and wiped her mouth. He was still watching her, like she was afascinating, exotic animal. It unsettled her.

Seeing that she was finished eating, the elf asked, “Wheredid you replace that egg anyways?”

She could see no danger from answering the question, so shedid so honestly. “The egg’s mother flew over my village, and I helped a groupof hunters track her down. They killed her, but before she died, she made mepromise to protect this egg. I couldn’t go back to my village with a dragon’segg. They already hate me for being a half-blood. If I’d brought the egg intothe village, they would have killed me and destroyed it.”

Caelum cocked his head to the side and scratched a pointedear, looking confused. “They hate you for being a half-blood?”

She nodded and shrugged. “Of course. The humans and elveshate each other. So they hate me for having elven blood.”

He shook his head slowly. “They hate you because you bridgethe divide between our people—a divide they want so badly to remain.”

Eliana smirked a little. “Guess I never thought of it thatway.”

“Which of your parents was an elf?”

“My mother,” she answered. “I never knew her though. Thevillagers drove her out when I was a baby.”

“And your father?”

“He died when I was five.” She didn’t elaborate, a feelingof loneliness creeping over her. The memory was still too painful, even allthese years later.

I look of sympathy filled the elf’s blue eyes. “You’ve liveda lonely life.”

His perception made her uncomfortable, and she shiftedslightly, looking away from his gaze. The elf saw this and laughed.

“You don’t realize how poorly you guard your emotions, doyou?” Eliana frowned in confusion and he shook his head. “Never mind. You’lllearn more in Iterum. For now, you should sleep. We’ll head for the city in themorning.”

Though she felt fairly certain that the elf would not killher in her sleep, she was still wary of letting her guard down so completely.Instead, she decided it was her turn to do the interrogating.

“What do the elves know about dragons?” she asked.

“Not much,” he said with a shrug. “We’re familiar with thelore about them, and we don’t hunt them as humans do, but elves and dragonshave not had any interactions since the Great War began 500 years ago.”

“How much farther is it to Iterum?”

“Not as far as you think,” he answered with a secretivesmirk. “Now, you should rest. I’ll keep watch.”

Begrudgingly, Eliana laid down beside the fire, pulling theblanket up over her. Her face rested close to the egg, and she watched thereflections of the flames on the golden shell. The lights were hypnotizing, andher body ached from exhaustion. Against her will, her eyes slowly closed, andshe slept. The elf Caelum sat close by, watching over her.