Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
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It was still dark when Eliana and Oriens slipped from theircave. The forest surrounding Amiscan was filled with the heavy silence thatpreceded dawn. Eliana moved to stand in the field just outside of the trees,her dragon lumbering along behind her.

“Where are they?”she wondered.

“There,” Oriensanswered.

She squinted at a spot between the trees. There was aflicker of movement as someone stepped between the trees. Then, as silent as ashadow, a large, white wolf stepped out into the open.

“Astrum!” she cried in surprise. She had only caughtglimpses of the Seer since they had arrived in Amiscan; the humans had nottaken well to a talking wolf, so he chose to remain out of sight most of thetime. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“The same as you, I suppose,” he answered as he sat in frontof her, wrapping his tail around his front paws. “I am here to see our soldiersoff, then to wait patiently for their return.”

“Are they coming?”

He gave a small nod of his graceful head. “Yes. They shouldbe here now.”

As the last word escaped from his pale muzzle, dozens ofshapes appeared between the broad tree trunks. She soon recognized Caelum’sform, followed by Denio, Barus, Kana, Ivi, Iocus, and hundreds of others.

Her eyes darted between the various members of the royalfamily. Kana wore a loose, long dress; it was clear that she would not be goingwith the soldiers. But when Eliana’s eyes settled on Ivi, she was stunned tosee the former queen wearing the army uniform of green and brown, hergray-streaked hair pulled back in a knot, a sword at her hip.

“You’re going?”Eliana asked incredulously.

She raised an eyebrow at Eliana, “And why shouldn’t I?” sheasked in a defensive tone.

Eliana had no answer for Ivi, but she had words for Caelum,and she turned to him now. She scowled at his tense figure beside her.

“You’re letting your mother go, but you keep me here like achild?”

He shook his head shortly. “I tried to convince herotherwise, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Agitation ground her teeth together. “If she’s going, thenthere’s no reason I shouldn’t!”

He narrowed his eyes, glaring at her. “You’re not going,” hehissed, emphasizing each word.

“And how will you stop me?” she snapped.

“Rider!” he shouted, startling her with his tone and thetitle he so rarely used for her. “You will remain here! That is an order! Do you understand?”

She stared up at him, stunned and wounded. Then she sneeredand growled back, “Yes, sir.”

Turning quickly on her heel, Eliana marched angrily back toOriens’ side, where she crossed her arms and leaned against the dragon’sshoulder. Caelum’s eyes followed her for a moment, then turned back to hiswaiting troops. He began relaying instruction to them in his clipped,commanding tone. Eliana stared at the back of his head, considering whether ornot it would be wise to throw a rock at it.

He gave them the signal, and the armed soldiers began theirmarch to the mountains. Denio paused to embrace Kana, as one blonde soldiermade his way to Eliana’s side.

Iocus gave her a crooked smile. “You’re not the only one whowishes you were coming with us,” he said quietly. “If I’d known about all ofthis before this morning, I would have fought to have you come.”

She scoffed. “Yes, well, our captain is an idiot.”

The elf chuckled and reached out a hand to touch her cheek.She flinched, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Wish me luck?” he asked in a softvoice.

She smiled at him weakly. “Good luck.”

He dropped his hand and stepped away, still facing her.“We’ll return soon!” he called, then he turned and trotted after the troops.

Denio stopped to bid her goodbye as well, and she embracedhim before he ran off after the retreating line of soldiers. He trotted up tothe head of the line, where his mother already marched, her head held high.Caelum hung back as the troops moved away, his blue eyes on the Rider wholeaned against her dragon’s golden shoulder.

She purposefully kept her eyes away from him, glaring at themountains. She heard his footsteps approach slowly, then stop. From the cornerof her eye, she saw him gazing up at Oriens, and she forced her way intoOriens’ mind, listening to their conversation.

“Please, promise meyou will not let her enter the battle.”

“I will do my best,”Oriens answered. She could sense his annoyance at her eavesdropping again, buthe made no attempt to block her from the conversation. “She may hold it against you though. She knows it makes sense for herto not enter the battle, but the fact that your mother and brother arepermitted to fight when she is not upsets her.”

“I know,” Caelumanswered wearily, “but it doesn’t matterif she never speaks to me again, as long as she is safe.”

Oriens gave him a short nod. “Very well. You have my word.”

Eliana turned to face Caelum suddenly, unable to contain heranger any longer. “Well you don’t have mine!” she shouted at him.

He turned his eyes to her in surprise. “You were listening?”

“Of course I was!” she snapped. “I’m free to enter mydragon’s mind whenever I want.”

He nodded slowly. “Of course…” There was a long silence inwhich he glanced at the still-retreating line of elves. He turned his eyes toher again, taking a step closer. “Do you hate me for this, Eliana?” he askedsoftly.

She met his eyes and saw the pain in them, the distress thather anger caused him. She could never hate him—for this, or anything else—butshe couldn’t bring herself to say it; her pride wouldn’t let her. When shedidn’t respond, he took another step so that he was standing only a hand’sbreadth from her. He put his hands on her shoulders, gazing down at hertenderly as she avoided his gaze.

“Please, Eliana,” he whispered, his voice filled withpleading. “Please, promise me you won’t enter this battle. My mother and myyounger brother are already in the front line. Don’t ask me to watch everythingI care about put into danger at once. I need to know that you, at least, willbe safe.”

She hesitated. She wanted so badly to fight, to do what sheknew she was meant to do, to prove to people that she could be the leader theywanted. She finally looked up into his face again, seeing the pain and fear inhis blue eyes. She couldn’t tell him no.

“I promise,” she breathed.

He gave a small sigh and smile of relief, then pulled her tohis chest. “Thank you,” he murmured. He kissed the top of her head, then pulledaway, turning to race after the troops.

“Please be careful!” she called after him.

He glanced back at her with a crooked grin, lifting a handin response. His long stride quickly covered the distance with the grace of a stag,and he settled himself at the front of the line, between his mother andbrother.

Eliana wrapped her arms around herself as she watched themdisappear into the darkness. Kana moved to stand beside her and took one of theRider’s hands in her own. Astrum sat at their feet, gazing at them with glowing,golden eyes.

“They’ll be okay,” Kana said quietly.

Eliana turned towards the younger girl and saw the anxietyon her face, her arm wrapped nervously around her stomach; she was saying itjust as much to convince herself as to convince Eliana.

“Of course they will,” Eliana replied with a smile, doingher best to return the small favor of uncertain reassurance.

Astrum sighed from where he sat and spoke, his voicepiercing the predawn:

“Just one smallbattle, one easily won.

Before the sun peaks, it will be done.

So the war starts to end, but not without pain,

When this battle ends, things will not be the same.”

The two women looked at the wolf, neither of them speaking.They were afraid to ask the meaning of his words, and somehow, they knew thathe would not offer an explanation even if they asked. And so they stood insilence, staring at the ever-retreating line of soldiers.

Kana, Astrum, Oriens, and Eliana sat together in the fieldas the sun continued its climb in the sky. Through their shared sight, Elianaand Oriens both watched the elves climbing the mountain as the first rays ofmorning touched Amiscan. Morning crept across the village, beginning to stirthe humans and elves that had remained behind.

In the distance, there was a deep rumbling, and the groundbeneath them trembled slightly. Those that had awoken in Amiscan looked aroundin surprise. Eliana knew what it was. The tunnel had been collapsed. It wasstarting. From the corner of her eye, Eliana saw Kana wringing the hem of herdress between her two pale hands, the perfect image of an anxious wife.

The Rider looked down to replace that her own hands werewhite-knuckled around the edge of her tunic. She quickly released the cloth andbusied her fingers with smoothing the wrinkles from her trousers. There was noreason for her to be anxious, she told herself. She was not a wife left behind,like Kana. She was a soldier, spared from this particular battle.

“What do I have to beconcerned about?” she thought idly, trying to persuade herself of the truthof her own words.

As she chewed on her lip, Oriens spoke to her. “He’s going to be fine, Eliana. Caelum isone of the greatest warriors we have ever seen. No one is capable of harminghim.”

“I know,” sheanswered, sighing inwardly. “I just wishI could be there.”

Astrum’s white ears suddenly pricked forward, and he liftedhis head from where it had rested atop his large paws. He sat up, his goldeneyes staring at the distant mountains. Then, he tilted back his head towardsthe sky. The Seer released a piercing howl. A shiver ran down Eliana’s spine atthe sound, goosebumps rising over her skin. And then, he jumped to his feet andbolted towards the rocky ridge, a streak of white against the new green sproutsof grass.

Kana looked at Eliana, fear standing out clearly in heramethyst eyes. The Rider returned the look. Astrum’s actions had beenunsettling to say the least. Both of them felt that something must have goneterribly wrong for the stoic Seer to act that way. Eliana forced herself tosmile reassuringly at Kana, but she felt none of the reassurance herself.

“What do you thinkhappened?” she asked Oriens.

His face was turned in the direction in which Astrum haddisappeared, his green eyes narrowed in confusion. “I don’t know,” he answered.

“Should we fly out tosee if everything’s okay?”

“No. We gave Caelumour word you would not enter the battle.”

She gave a small nod of agreement, but she was itching totake action—any kind of action. She hated waiting, feeling like a fragilefemale left behind while the men went off to fight.

Every passing minute felt like an eternity until, at last,Oriens said, “There. They are coming.”He paused for a moment, and Eliana felt a sickening sense of shock buildinginside of him. “Oh no…”

“What’s wrong?”the Rider asked, looking up at her dragon, trying to see what had given him sucha nauseating jolt in his gut. She met with resistance. Oriens was blocking thatpart of his thoughts from her, which only made panic rise in Eliana’s gut.

Kana saw the fear on her face. She jumped to her feet, hereyes on the mountains. “Are the coming back?” she asked, her voice high withpanic. “Is Denio okay?”

“Your husband isuninjured,” Oriens told her.

“Then what’s wrong?” Eliana asked again, this time speakingaloud.

He shook his head. “Idon’t wish to say at the moment. Because I hope I am wrong.”

Her heart beat a restless rhythm against her throat. Shepushed against the wall in Oriens’ mind, trying to pull information from him,but his resistance remained firmly in place. This only succeeded in increasingher fears. He must have suspected something terrible, or he would have toldher.

The three of them remained in the field, waiting for thereturning soldiers to come into view. Oriens’ tail twitched irritably from sideto side, gouging a short arc into the grass. Eliana sat on her hands, trying tokeep herself from wringing them in anticipation as Kana was doing, pacinganxiously in front of her.

At last, the line of soldiers came into view in thedistance. Kana took off in their direction, her dress billowing around her likewings fluttering in panic. Eliana was unable to keep herself from followingsuit. She jumped to her feet and dashed after the young queen. Oriens took tothe sky, following directly overhead.

As they drew closer, Eliana was able to distinguish Astrumnear the head of the line between two bent figures—Denio and Caelum. Herstomach twisted with horror as she saw the limp form lying in Denio’s arms. Theyoung king’s tears splashed down on his mother’s tunic. Queen Ivi was dead.

Her feet seemed to stop moving of their own will, and Elianaslid to a halt, still several yards from the elves. Oriens landed beside her asshe stard, disbelieving, at the sight before her. Every elf had their head bentin sorrow. Many of them wept openly. Even Astrum—that great, majestic wolf—hunghis white head in grief.

A horrified cry rose from Kana’s lips as she reached herhusband. She touched her mother’s pale face, as if trying to waken her. Elianastared as Kana threw her arms around Denio’s neck, sobbing into his shoulder.

“It is as I hadfeared,” Oriens said softly.

“No…” Eliana whispered, shaking her head slowly. “It’s notpossible. Ivi is...” She trailed off, thinking of how indestructible the queenhad always seemed to her. How could such an indomitable force be gone?

Her hands trembled as Eliana moved towards the line ofsoldiers, who had now stopped, watching the queen and king weep over theirfallen mother. The reality of the situation struck her like a terrible blow,and tears began to trail down her cheeks. At last, Eliana stood before them.She looked from Ivi’s still face to Caelum. He met her gaze with dry eyes, hisexpression stony and unemotional.

She opened her mouth to say something to him, but he shookhis head slightly. She recognized what it meant—“Not now.” Caelum turned to hisweeping brother and put his arm around the king’s trembling shoulders, sayingsomething softly in his ear. Denio bent and pressed his lips to his mother’sforehead, then handed her limp form to Caelum. He pulled Kana into his arms,and they wept together.

Caelum moved silently away from the group towards a smallhill in the open field. He reached the top and laid his mother on the earth infront of him. The elves all watched as, without any movement from the captain,Ivi’s corpse began to descend into the earth, disappearing beneath the younggrass.

Denio, Kana, and Astrum moved to stand beside Caelum,watching Ivi’s burial in silence. Eliana wanted to follow, to be at Caelum’sside, to take his hand and communicate her empathy through touch, but her legsseemed to fail her. She remained where she was, unmoving, watching the formerqueen vanish into the earth.

Gently, Oriens nudged her shoulder with his snout, shakingher from her stupor. She looked up at him, and he met her gaze with sad eyes.

“We should dosomething,” he said.

“What do you mean?”she asked.

He sighed. “Queen Ivigave us a home. She was a powerful leader. She deserves more than to disappearinto the ground with nothing to mark her passing.”

Eliana turned her eyes back to the hill, where all the elvensoldiers now gathered, staring at the grass where Ivi had disappeared. Therewas no trace of her left. It bothered her as well.

“You’re right,”Eliana thought, determination entering her mind, wistfulness filling her heart.“She deserves more than this.”

She placed her hand on Oriens’ shoulder, and electricityseemed to pass between them, crackling in the air and making Eliana’s skintingle. She knew something was happening—something they were causing—but shedid not know what or how.

A murmur rose from the crowd of elves. Flowers began tospring to life on the hill, spreading over the grass in a rainbow ofcolors—tulips, daisies, pansies, and a variety of wildflowers—growing aroundthe elves’ feet. At the top of the hill, directly over where Ivi had returnedto the earth, a tree sprouted. It grew before their eyes, branches reachingtowards the sky, sprouting green leaves. Blossoms appeared on the tree in whiteand violet, the colors of the royal family.

Weakness seized at Eliana’s limbs, and she dropped her handfrom Oriens’ side. The hill had become a colorful, wild garden. The Riderlooked up at her dragon and saw the fatigue in his eyes; the accidental magichad drained them both. The elves glanced around at each other, then two pairsof eyes spotted her, standing away from the rest of the group.

Denio strode quickly to her and caught her in his arms,holding her to his chest as his tears fell on her shoulder. “Thank you,Eliana,” he whispered. “Mother would be honored to be remembered by you andOriens in such a way. Thank you.”

She smiled waveringly as she pulled back and looked into theking’s eyes. His expression held so much pain and grief; tears returned to herown cheeks. “I only wish I could give her more,” she whispered in reply, nottrusting her voice to speak in a louder tone.

Denio gave her a watery smile and put his hand to her cheek.“You should return to your quarters. I can see the magic drained you.”

She nodded gratefully and stepped to Oriens’ side. Shepaused before mounting, looking towards the grieving elves. Caelum’s eyes werestill on her, still devoid of the pain that was so evident in his brother. Hegave her a brief nod, which she recognized as a gesture of thanks. She noddedin reply, wishing he would come to her, speak to her, but she knew better thanto press him.

So, with great effort, Eliana pulled herself onto Oriens’back, adjusting herself into a comfortable seat on his bare scales. She gavethe dragon the signal that she was ready, glancing at Caelum’s stony face oncemore. Then, with great effort from her weary companion, they rose into the air.She leaned forward and stroked the golden scales, mesmerized by the way theafternoon sun reflected off of them.

How many will we lose?she thought distantly. She thought of her own mother, who she had only justfound, and realized how very possible it would be to have her taken away again.Denio, Kana, Iocus… Caelum… Every person she cared about could be stolen from herat a moment.

She sat back with a sigh and gazed over the tops of themountains. Dark clouds gathered in the west. She felt the moisture in the air.The storm would be upon Amiscan before nightfall. Then Oriens descended intotheir cave.

He landed and she slid from his back. The dragon curled uponto the floor and closed his eyes with a sigh. She could feel his own sadnessand disbelief as acutely as her own.

“Why, Oriens?” sheasked as she sat cross-legged on her bed. “Whymust these things happen?”

“It is war, Eliana,”he answered without opening his eyes. “Wehave experienced a great loss in Queen Ivi’s death. But what is done is done.We will have our time to mourn, but then we must press forward. That is how shewould want it to be.”

“It just doesn’t seemfair.”

“You are still young,Eliana. Life is going to seem unfair at times, but there is little that can bedone. You must learn to accept what you cannot change.”

“But Denio and Caelum…I’ve never seen Denio in such pain before. And Caelum… He was so distant, likehe was numb to it all. I’m worried about him.”

“Give him time,Eliana,” he said, tucking his head under his wing. “When he is ready to talk, he will come to you.”

They fell silent, then slowly drifted to sleep.

~*~

Eliana awoke to the sound of thunder overhead. The stormbroke over the mountains, casting a premature dusk on the village as the angryclouds swallowed the setting sun. The thunder clapped with such force that therocks around her trembled. Through the hole in the mountain above her, Elianacould see lightning tearing across the dark sky, ripping it like a piece ofparchment.

Rain was falling through the opening, wetting Oriens, whonow blinked up at the sky wearily. Without a word, Eliana raised a hand andconstructed a shield over the opening. In silence, she stared up at the rain asit mercilessly pelted her shelter.

She lay on her bed, waiting for something to happen, willingCaelum to appear and speak to her. She drifted restlessly between sleeping andwaking. Every time she woke, she turned her eyes to the tunnel, but the elfstill did not appear.

Hours after night had swallowed the little village, shesensed the familiar presence approaching down the long corridor he hadconstructed himself. She sat up, her eyes trained intently on the place wherehe would appear. She reached out to him with her mind, but his thoughts wereguarded, and she withdrew.

A few moments later, he appeared. He was soaked from therain. His tunic clung to his chest. His blonde hair was plastered across hisforehead. The unwavering light from the orbs around the cave cast his featuresin sharp relief, making his eyes seem dark and blank. Oriens opened one eye asCaelum passed him, dripping onto the stone floor, but the dragon made no othermovement.

Eliana watched him in silent anxiety as he came towards her,his face as emotionless as it had been during those days of painful silencebetween them in Iterum. He stopped in front of her for a moment, gazing down ather with a strange look, as if he had never seen a creature quite like her.

Then, with a sigh, he sat on the edge of her bed and restedhis elbows on his knees. Cautiously, she moved to sit beside him. His wetclothes soaked through her blankets, but she didn’t notice. She sat as near tohim as she dared, their bodies just inches apart. To her, those few inches feltlike an insurmountable chasm.

“Caelum?” she asked quietly.

She did not expect a response, but a whisper escaped hislips. “Yes, Eliana?”

There was a pause. She had a hundred questions she wanted toask him, but she knew that most of them would only pain him further. At last,she forced herself to ask, “What happened?”

For a long moment, it seemed as if he wasn’t going toanswer. He just stared down at the tips of his soggy boots, his hands claspedtightly before him. “It was him,” he said quietly and flatly. “It was Peior.”

Eliana’s heart stuttered.

Caelum went on in a low monotone, as if he were recitinglines rather than telling her about the battle that had taken his mother’slife. “Everything was going as you planned it. We collapsed the tunnel. Thesoldiers fought us briefly, then started to flee. But one of them never moved.My mother…”

His voice wavered, and she placed a hand on his damp arm.“My mother saw him before I did, and she stepped forward to challenge him. Helaughed at her. That was when I recognized him. I tried to warn her, but it allhappened so quickly. Just a word from his lips—a word I couldn’t hear. Shefell. I tried… I tried to warn her. I tried to stop him, but he just… smiled…He smiled at me, and then he was gone.”

At last, he looked up at her, and she saw anger burning inhis eyes. “I will replace him, Eliana.” He growled the words through clenchedteeth, his hands trembling. “I will replace him, and I will kill him.”

She nodded in understanding, anger beginning to burn insideof her as well. “I promise you, Caelum, we will not let him live.” He turnedaway from her again. She reached out and touched his face, trying to draw hisattention back to her. “Caelum,” she whispered, “please, tell me what I cando.”

His blue eyes turned back to her and, in that moment, heseemed to crumble. His face fell, tears began to stream down his cheeks, and hecrumpled into her arms. She felt his arms go around her waist, and he clung toher as if she could keep him from drowning in his own sorrow. She immediatelywrapped her arms around him as he trembled, his body heaving with sobs longsuppressed.

“Hold onto me, Eliana,” he sobbed, his voice muffled againsther lap. “Please, just hold me.”