Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
Fire Tongue

Eliana sat with her arms wrapped around her knees atop themountain. Oriens stood perched on a rock outcropping beside her. The first raysof the sun struck her face as it rose up over the distant ocean and cast itslight on the sleepy village below her. There was no movement in Amiscan exceptfor a large, brown dog, snuffling around the huts for food.

Oriens sighed and spread his large wings, stretching hisneck towards the rising sun. “I lovedawn,” he said, closing his eyes contentedly. “There seems to be nothing wrong with the world when the sun firstgreets it.”

Eliana hugged her legs tighter to her chest. “There are just as many troubles at sunriseas there are at sunset,” she replied. “Theyjust haven’t yet begun to stir.”

He folded his wings and looked down at her with narrowedeyes. “You just can’t let me enjoy apeaceful moment, can you.”

A small laugh escaped her. “My apologies,” she answered. “Please,go back to enjoying your sunrise.”

The emerald eyes suddenly turned to the face of the mountainbelow them. “Too late,” he sighed. “One of your troubles you spoke of hasstirred.”

Eliana leaned forward curiously and peered down themountain. A blonde figure was leaping nimbly up the rocky face. She sighed andleaned back against the stone. She was not ready to speak to him yet, but itwould be very difficult to avoid him when she was sitting on the edge of acliff. She sensed a stoic resilience in her dragon, and she knew that he wasnot going to spirit her away from this confrontation. She braced herself forthe inevitable.

When he reached her, to her surprise, Caelum merely sat besideher at a respectful distance. His silence unnerved her. Her gaze continued toflicker over to him with suspicion. She had expected some kind of lecture abouther brashness and stupidity leading her into dangerous situations. But he saidnothing.

At last, she could take the quiet no longer. “What do youwant?” she asked quietly.

He at last turned his eyes to her, and seemed to considerthe question for a long moment. With a deep sigh, he tilted his head skywardand answered, “I don’t know.”

Eliana frowned at him. “What do you mean you don’t know? Whydid you come up here if not to scold me for allowing Iocus to kiss meyesterday?”

He made a face, as if both the question and the memory stunghim. He gazed at her, and she saw hurt in his eyes as he answered, “How can youask me that? Do you really believe that the only reason I would come to you isto scold you? Did you ever think that perhaps I just… wanted to be with you?”

She rested her chin on her knees, looking away from hisgaze, guilt rising in her.

When she didn’t reply, another sigh escaped his lips and heslid closer to her on the rock. “If you think I am here to talk about it, thenlet’s talk about it,” he said.

“I don’t want to,” she answered stubbornly.

“Okay,” he answered calmly. She’d expected him to soundagitated by her answer, but he kept his voice level.

There was another brief silence, which she finally broke.“What exactly do you think there is to talk about?”

He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again,apparently reconsidering his words. When he opened it again, the words cameslowly, as if it took great effort for him to speak them. “Did you… Was it…something that you wanted?”

She let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh, staring at him fora long moment. When she saw the solemn expression on his face, she smirked andshook her head. “Did you really just as me that question?” The look on his facewas answer enough; he was entirely serious. “Caelum, what difference does itreally make?”

“It makes all the difference in the world!” he shouted. Hecalmed himself with a sigh, then added more quietly, “Eliana, I told you oncethat I love you. My feelings for you have not changed. I love you still. But ifyour affections have changed, I begyou to tell me.”

Another snort of laughter escaped her. “Oh, you’re funny,”she sighed, turning her eyes back to the sun, which had almost cleared thedistant horizon now. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Oriens wassmirking; he could sense the humor in this as well. Caelum, however, did not.

He adjusted his position to look her directly in the eye,and asked with a serious frown, “What, exactly, is so ‘funny’?”

She smiled softly at him and shook her head. “Caelum, youwere in my mind when Iocus kissed me. You saw everything. Do you remember whatI did?”

He gave a slight nod. “You pushed him away.”

“And do you remember what I did when you first kissed me?”

His expression seemed to soften a little as he answered, “Ofcourse I do. You kissed me in return.”

“Then how can you think for a moment that Iocus kissing mewas something that I wanted?”

Caelum sighed and shook his head. “Because I have no ideawhat you want anymore, Eliana. That morning, after my mother died, you just…left… And then you could hardly look at me, you hardly spoke to me. I thoughtperhaps… you regretted the things that have happened between us.”

Eliana ran a hand over her eyes. “Caelum,” she whispered, “Icould never regret the things that have happened between us—not the goodthings, at least. The truth is…” She paused and met his gaze. “My feelings foryou have changed.”

She saw a flicker of pain in his eyes, and she went on. “Myfeelings for you have become stronger, and it… it frightens me. But it stilldoes not frighten me as much as seeing how much you care for me. I am afraid…I’m afraid of hurting you. And that is why I drew away. Because I couldn’t letyou love me more. I couldn’t let myself love you more than I already do. It will only end up hurting us both.”

He raised on hand to her cheek, smiling softly in her eyes.“My dear Eliana,” he said quietly, a slight laugh in his voice, “do you think Idon’t know the risk that comes with loving you? I will not pretend that Ibelieve all of my attempts to protect you will always succeed. But… afraid as Iam of losing you… the pain would be worth it to me, just to have had the chanceto love you as I do.”

A smile touched her lips as she fought the pricklingsensation of rising tears.

Caelum smiled back at her, running his fingers softly overher cheek. “Do you love me, Eliana? Do you truly?”

“Of course,” she answered shakily. “I love you more than youcould know.”

“Then why do we continue to fight against our own hearts?”he asked, his hand sliding behind her neck, his forehead to hers. “Why can’t wejust allow ourselves to love each other, and trust that the rest will sortitself out?”

She smiled, despite her frustration at the tears that haddefied her control. “I suppose we could give it a try,” she whispered.

“I think we should,” he smiled.

Then he kissed her, burying his fingers into her hair. Shesavored his long-missed taste—sharp and sweet, like the peppermint sticks she’dbought as a child. He grabbed her, pulling her legs across his lap and pressingher mouth firmly to his. Joy and sweet ecstasy made her heart sing.

Finally, he pulled away. “We should get back to camp,” hesaid in a soft voice that was tinged with regret at his own words.

Eliana sighed and slid out of his lap. He was right. Thearmy would be waking soon, and there was work to be done. She pulled herselfinto Oriens’ saddle. Caelum swung up behind her, wrapping his arms around hermore tightly than was necessary for the short flight back to Amiscan. Elianadidn’t complain.

She sensed Oriens’ contentment, seeping through her likeheat from a warm bath. Evidently, his former jealousy of Caelum was gone, andshe sensed only joy for her own happiness. The dragon lifted them into the skyand circled above the mountain before turning towards the village. Eliana feltCaelum suddenly become tense behind her, and she looked over her shoulder athim. His eyes were trained on something on the west face of the mountain.

“Wait!” the elf called to Oriens.

The dragon immediately pulled up into a hover. “What is it?” he asked, turning hisgreat head back towards the west.

Caelum pointed down the face of the mountain to a spot justabove the base. Eliana squinted at what appeared to be a red dot, trying tomake out what it could be. The cluster of red moved upwards, and she realizedwhat she was looking at. They were soldiers—human soldiers.

She felt her breath catch in her throat. “What should we do?”she asked.

Caelum seemed to consider it for a moment, watching thegroup of about two dozen men continue their laborious climb up the mountain.They seemed to be unaware of the golden dragon and the two passengers that werestudying them.

At last, he spoke. “We may be able to turn them back on ourown. Their group is small, and Oriens is an imposing presence. We should be ableto frighten them away for now, then we can prepare the rest of Amiscan.”

Oriens and Eliana both nodded in agreement. With a snarlthat sent smoke curling from between his large, curved fangs, he folded hiswings to his sides and dove parallel to the mountain’s slope, aiming histriangular head at the approaching soldiers. Wind roared past their ears,accompanied by shouts of surprise as the men at last noticed their presence.

They darted straight past the soldiers, one of Oriens’golden wings passing just inches over their heads, then turned around, trappingthe men between a rock and a dragon. Oriens’ golden maw opened wide and emitteda deafening roar. The earth-shaking sound was accompanied by a jet of blueflame, startling Eliana. She stared in surprise as the fire struck a largeboulder just feet from the soldiers.

The men scrambled away from the inferno as quickly aspossible, the fire quickly heating the boulder to a glowing red. They shoutedand waved their arms frantically. Oriens snapped his jaws shut, ending thestream of flame. Eliana frowned at the soldiers in surprise. She’d expectedsome sort of retaliation—arrows, spears, or spells—but instead, they just stoodin front of the dragon, waving their arms like madmen.

One of the men fastened a piece of torn white fabric to thetop of a spear. He lifted it over his head and waved it like a banner boycharging into battle. The other men gestured at the makeshift flag, stillshouting incoherently.

“They’re surrendering,” Eliana said in surprise.

“Yes,” Caelum responded quietly from behind her, a note ofsuspicion in his voice. “But what do they want?”

“Well,” Oriensanswered, “there is only one way to replaceout.”

He banked to the left and landed on a rock outcropping, hisclaws scraping loudly against the stone. It was barely large enough for him toremain balanced on. Caelum and Eliana both slid from the saddle and made theirway towards the red-clad soldiers. The men were moving slowly, cautiously, intheir direction as well.

Both parties ceased their approach while still several yardsapart. Caelum loosened his sword in its sheath. Eliana did the same, keepingher hand close to the hilt of her golden blade. The human soldiers still heldtheir white banner in the sky.

“Who are you and what do you want?” she called to them.

“Please, Rider,” the man holding the flag called back, “wehave not come to oppose you! We are not spies for Nocens or his sorcerer. Wehave abandoned Vereor’s armies; we cannot bear to continue serving EmperorNocens. Please, allow us to join your ranks, and we will vow to serve you toour last breath!”

The others nodded, some giving shouts of agreement. Elianaglanced at Caelum, who was still watching the group in suspicion.

“And what could have brought about this change?” he askedloudly. “Why do you suddenly wish to betray the one you once vowed to serve?”

The man’s voice dropped slightly, and Eliana and Caelum tooka few steps forward to listen. “Emperor Corpanis, though he may have been aharsh man, never wronged his soldiers the way Emperor Nocens has wronged us.”Eliana could see tears of anger and hatred brimming in the man’s eyes. “He hastaken our wives and children from us! Our sons have been forced to be hisslaves. Our wives and daughters, if not made slaves themselves, are forced tojoin his harems of dancers and concubines.”

The man took a step forward, dropping his flag of surrenderand falling to his knees before the Rider. “Please, Rider,” he said as he bowedhis head, “allow me to avenge my family.” He looked up at her again, tearsflowing freely on his dirt-marked cheeks. “I watched him whip my son when herefused to serve him. My wife became a slave, and when she tried to run, shewas hanged for treason. My youngest—my little girl—has been… she’s been forcedto become a concubine. She is only ten years old, Rider! Please, help me tofree them. Allow me to fight for you so that I may free my family.”

The man bowed his head of black hair, touching his foreheadto the dirt before her. The others with him knelt behind him, all takingsimilar positions, bowing to her on the mountainside. Eliana’s eyes darted overthem, then turned to Caelum. The elf looked disturbed by the man’s story.

“The rest of you,” he shouted, causing the men to lift theirheads at the commanding ring of his voice, “are your stories similar?” Therewere nods of affirmation, then Caelum looked at her. His face was serious as hesaid, “It would appear we need to replace more housing for these men.”

Eliana gave a short nod of agreement. “Gentlemen, pleasestand,” she commanded gently. They all slowly rose to their feet, theirforeheads now bearing a mark of brown dirt where their skin had been pressed tothe earth. “You will follow Captain Caelum to Amiscan. I will fly ahead andinform the rest of the army of your approach.”

She turned on her heel to leave, reaching out to Caelum’smind with her own. He made no attempt to barricade his thoughts, accustomed toher mental touch. “Please be careful,”she pleaded with him. “We don’t yet knowif we can entirely trust them.”

“Don’t worry,” heanswered. “I’ll be fine, so long as Iknow you are safe.”

She sighed at his lack of concern for his own well-being,then raised an invisible shield around him. It wouldn’t hold off an attackindefinitely, but it would give him time to react if the need arose. The momentshe was secured in the saddle, Oriens pushed off from the rock ledge, sendingit crumbling down the mountainside.

As they flew over the top of the men below them, Eliana’seyes settled on the large boulder, which was still glowing red. “Oriens!” shecried with a laugh. “You did it! You breathed fire!”

She felt his body shake slightly with his laughter. “I know,” he responded. She could feelthe pride pulsating through every sinew of his body.

Leaning forward on his neck, she gave his brilliant scales akiss, patting him roughly. She beamed like a proud mother whose child has justtaken his first steps. Her dragon—once a hatchling small enough to perch on hershoulder—had finally breathed fire.

They drifted down to the village below them, landing lightlyon the grass between the trees and the huts, where several young soldiers—bothhumans and elves—were sparring. They stopped and gave her a respectful bow asshe jumped to the grass in front of them.

“Do you need something, Veholum?” one elf asked.

“Yes,” she answered quickly, “I need you to fetch KingDenio.” As the soldier set off to fulfill her instructions, she turned to oneof the young humans. “You, I need you to replace Captains Teleas and Caedis. Doyou know where they are?” He nodded, then sprinted off towards the huts. “Therest of you, I need you to spread the word that Captain Caelum is approachingwith a group of deserters from Nocens’ armies.” They gave her surprised looks,but she continued. “They have chosen to join us, and you must ensure thatnobody mistakes them for enemies. Understand?”

“Yes, Rider,” they answered, then set off in differentdirections to carry the message to the rest of Amiscan.

“We should wait forCaelum and the others in front of Amiscan,” Oriens suggested. “We can ensure that nobody attacks them.”

She nodded her agreement and followed beside him to the openfield between Amiscan and the mountains. She stood with her hand on Oriens’leg, immersed in True Sight, watching the distant mountain peak. It wasn’t longbefore she saw the cluster of red uniforms top the crag and begin the descent.

Caedis, Teleas, and Denio were soon brought to her by themessengers she had sent. She quickly explained what the soldiers had told them.Denio and Teleas remained beside her while Caedis set off to replace places forthe newcomers to stay; Amiscan had become quite crowded with their growingtroops.

By the time Caelum and the human soldiers had reached theeastern base of the mountain, word had spread in Amiscan of their arrival.Scores of people—men and women, humans and elves—gathered on the outskirts ofthe village, awaiting the arrival of these turncoats with mounting curiosity.

The whispering, chattering, and speculating came to anabrupt halt as the group of red tunics approached, led by Caelum, clad in theelven green and brown. Eliana could feel the tension mounting in the groupcollected behind her. A few stray thoughts from the humans’ unprotected mindsbrushed against her own, like wind-blown leaves against a windowpane.

Can we trust them? Howdo we know they’re not spies? They’ve already betrayed one army, so what’s tostop them from doing the same to us?

She swatted away the unwanted mental intrusions and reachedout to Caelum. “Is everything alright?”she asked.

“Of course,” heanswered in a relaxed tone. “Why wouldn’tit be?”

She had a brief image of the soldiers turning on him,attacking him mercilessly, flash through her mind. She carefully shoved itaway, keeping it from Caelum’s mental reach. “No reason.”

~*~

“I don’t think we have to worry about those men turning onus,” Caelum confided.

Eliana looked up at him from where she sat on her bed,reading a thick novel her mother had given her. “How do you know?”

He leaned forward in the chair he occupied beside her. “Isearched their leader’s mind—Ja’ol. His thoughts are completely unprotected, aswere the rest of his men, so they could not have been trained by Peior.”

“But I fooled Peior easily enough in Nocens’ room. Hewouldn’t have believed me to have had any training either.”

Caelum’s lips pursed slightly at the mention of that event,but he continued, “Yes, I know they could drop their barriers easily enough, ifthey had any, but I searched his mind deeply. His story is true, as are hisintentions. Nocens has wronged him greatly. He wants to end the emperor morethan we do. He will not turn against us.”

Eliana gave a small nod of satisfaction. “That’s good then.”

Oriens lifted his head from the floor below them and asked, “Do you think they could be of use to us?”

Caelum smirked. “That’s the ultimate question, isn’t it,Oriens? But yes, I think they could be of great use. Many of them had thesymbol of the emperor’s personal guard on their uniforms. They’re all certainto be highly trained soldiers, so they’ll prove useful in battle. But they mayhave some valuable information as well. We’ll have to question Ja’ol once heand his men have settled into their barracks.”

“Where did we end up replaceing a place for them?” she asked.The last she had heard, there was not a bed to be spared in all of Amiscan.

“The dwarves and some of the elves have constructed abarracks from the stone. The humans sewed together some mattresses and blanketsfor them. It’s not the finest living quarters, but they’ll be fine.”

A rough shout suddenly echoed from down the long corridor thatled into Amiscan. “Fehr Zähmer!” The voice called, reverberating along thestone. “May we enter?”

“Of course, Captain Felsen!” she called back.

Several pairs of small but heavy footsteps rang along thehall until, at last, Captain Felsen and two of his men appeared. One of themcarried a large glass sphere in his rough hands. They gave a short bow, then straightened.

“What can I do for you, Captain?” she asked.

Felsen shook his head, his braided beard sweeping across hischest like a pendulum. “It is not something you can do for us, Lady Eliana, butsomething we would like to do for you. We heard that your dragon breathed firefor the first time today. Is this true?”

Oriens lifted his head proudly and answered for himself. “Yes, it is true.”

The skin around the captain’s eyes crinkled with a smile. Hemotioned to the dwarf holding the glass sphere. “This is wonderful news. Tohonor this occasion, King Stährklav and the rest of Zwûrdgit Stöhl, as well asdwarves throughout the land, would like to present you with your Ers Fehnar—yourFirst Flame.”

The large golden head tilted to one side as Oriens surveyedthe glass sphere that the dwarf held out to him. “Pardon?”

“Breathe your fire on it,” Felsen told him. “But please, becareful not to singe my lieutenant.”

Very carefully, Oriens blew a small jet of flame onto theglass ball. It immediately lit up in a brilliant array of lights. Oriens cutoff the stream of fire and watched as a tiny inferno sparkled in the glassdepths of the orb. The flame danced and shimmered in shades of red, orange, andblue.

“Your Ers Fehnar will never die out so long as the glass isnot broken,” Felsen said. “Even centuries after you and your Rider have passedon, it will burn, bearing witness of Oriens Fehr Zuhnden—Oriens Fire Tongue.”

Oriens’ green eyes did not leave the glass-enclosed flame asthe dwarf handed the sphere to Eliana. “Thankyou,” he said politely, though it was apparent he was paying littleattention to the dwarves. He was riveted on the little dancing flame. “And thank your king for me as well.”

“And please extend my gratitude also,” Eliana added with asmile.

Felsen and his men acknowledged their requests with a shortbow, then turned and made their way back down the long corridor. Eliana turnedand carefully set the ball in a niche in the stone wall. The bottom of the ErsFehnar was smooth and flat, so the ball would not roll.

She studied it carefully, Oriens peering over her shoulder.The glass was carved in high detail with images of dragons—flying, roaring,breathing fire. Inscribed along the bottom of the sphere were the words “OriensFehr Zuhnden.”

“Incredible,” Eliana whispered, her voice tinged with awe.“I had no idea the dwarves could make such a beautiful thing.”

“Dwarves are quite skilled in many crafts,” Caelum commentedfrom across the room, where he sat thumbing disinterestedly through her novel.“Obviously their greatest skills lie in stone- and metal-working, but generallyspeaking, they can do almost anything with their hands.”

“How do you know all this?” she asked, turning away from theErs Fehnar. “The elves have been just as estranged from the dwarves as thehumans have.”

He closed the book and looked up at her with a smile.“Because I, my dear, have been doing my research—speaking with the dwarves,reading some of their histories.” He held up the novel. “Unlike you, who seemto be more interested in silly fancies about fair maidens held captive bybeastly ogres and are eventually rescued by a gallant knight in the end.”

She released an exclamation of exasperation as she steppedforward and snatched the book from his hand. “I haven’t read that part yet!”

Caelum smiled mischievously and dodged her light-heartedpunch, grabbing her gently by the wrist. He carefully removed the leather-boundvolume from her grasp and tossed it onto her bed. Without a word, he pulled herinto his arms and kissed her firmly on the mouth, making her head spin withecstasy.

“Don’t mind me,” a voice said calmly.

She leapt away from Caelum and turned towards the sound,replaceing a figure standing at the end of the tunnel. A hot blush blossomed onher cheeks as she recognized her mother, watching them with raised eyebrows anda basket of Healing objects on her hip.

“Lady Ispera,” Caelum greeted her, not quite concealing thesurprise in his voice. “How have you been?”

Ispera dropped a slight curtsy as civility required, but hermanner clearly showed familiarity. “Don’t try to hide it from me, PrinceCaelum,” she responded smugly. “It won’t work.”

“What do you mean, Mother?” Eliana asked, trying to soundinnocent.

Ispera shook her head, setting the basket on the tablebeside Eliana’s bed. Turning her eyes back to them, she said sternly, “You twomay be able to fool most of the people in this encampment, but I am not one ofthem.”

“Ah, I see,” Caelum muttered, rubbing his hand across theback his neck. He seemed to collect his thoughts for a moment, then stoodstraight and met her mother’s gaze. “In that case, Lady Ispera, I wish you toknow that I—.”

“Never mind, never mind,” she interrupted with a chuckle anda wave of her hand. “You may tell me how much you love my daughter after we’vesettled this nasty war business. For now, you must go and Eliana must listenpatiently while I continue teaching her how to Heal.”

Caelum smiled at her. “As you wish.” He turned towards thetunnel, then paused and turned back to the Rider. He kissed her warmly andunashamedly in front of Ispera, then trotted off down the tunnel.

Eliana watched his retreating figure with a distant smile onher face. Ispera snapped her fingers in front of her daughter’s eyes. The Riderjerked her attention to the Healer, replaceing her watching with an amusedexpression on her face.

“What is it?” Eliana asked warily.

Ispera smiled and shook her head. “I hope this war ends soonso that you two can be married before that boy goes mad.”

“Mother!” The blush returned to her cheeks.

“Oh, Eliana, don’t act as if you don’t wish for it as well.Though I agree that it is a wise choice to wait, anyone can see that it’stormenting the poor lad to keep this all a secret.”

“Could we please just get to the lesson?” Eliana pleaded,wanting nothing more than to change the subject.

“Very well,” Ispera answered with a shrug.

The two women sat cross-legged on the floor, the wickerbasket by Ispera’s side. Oriens curled up behind his Rider, his green eyeswatching the lesson with great attention. She leaned back against his shoulder,taking comfort in his solid form, as she always did.

“Now that you’ve learned the basics of Healing,” Isperabegan, “it’s time you learned its limitations. Just as with other magic,Healing magic takes energy to use. However, because you are altering the stateof another living being’s body, the toll it takes on your own body can begreat. That is why we often choose to use potions instead of magic to Heal; itconserves our strength. You must know your limitations when trying to Healsomeone, or you could end up killing yourself in the process.”

“You mean there are cases when not even magic can savesomeone?” Eliana asked.

Her mother nodded. “Yes, if you wish to live. It is possibleto save someone with a mortal wound, but it would likely be at the cost of yourown life. Now, in order to assess whether or not someone is within your abilityto save…”