Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
The Last March

They waited until nightfall to skirt around Bolandri’svillage. Somehow, Eliana doubted he would believe them to be a small family oftravelers if he were to see thousands of soldiers marching past. Oriens andEliana flew wide and high over the Kaers, enjoying the cool mountain air.Caelum kept his mind close to hers, consistently interrupting her ecstasy withhis own worried thoughts about Rocs and the Dark dragon. She did her best toignore him.

By the time the sun had risen, their band was out of sightof the little village, and the Rider and dragon were once again restrained towalking beside Caelum at the head of the line; they couldn’t risk being seenfrom the air. The landscape seemed to remain unchanging as they continued ontheir long march. The plains stretched on continuously, and the mountains werean impenetrable wall beside them.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the jaggedteeth of the western ridge, Caelum signaled the company to halt. A generalfeeling of relief swelled through the ranks as the soldiers immediately beganpitching their tents and starting small cooking fires. They had marched allthrough that day and the previous night without halting, and every soldier wasgrateful to finally have the chance to stop, eat, and sleep.

Eliana followed the smell of vegetable stew, which wascoming from the tent she shared with her mother—when she wasn’t at Oriens’side. The dragon tried to follow her.

“Oriens, go hunt,”she ordered him. “You haven’t eaten sincewe entered the Kaers.”

“I’m not hungry,” hesaid, with a shrug of his huge, scaly shoulders.

She put her hands on her hips and scowled at him like ascolding mother. “You can’t lie to me,Oriens. You should know that by now. I can feel your hunger.”

He gazed down at her with those big, emerald eyes for amoment. She could both sense and see the worry in his expression. “Very well,” he answered at last. “But I will return quickly. I don’t likeleaving you alone when we’re close to the human army.”

“I’m not exactly alone, Oriens. I’m surrounded by thousandsof soldiers.”

“Still,” heresponded, shuffling his wings as he prepared for flight, “as long as I am away from you, you must be careful.”

“I am always careful.”

The corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile, thenhe spread his wings and lifted himself into the air, turning towards the baseof the mountains. Eliana headed towards her tent to replace her mother sitting infront of a small fire, stirring a pot of stew. Dozens of soldiers waitedoutside the tent, bowls in hand.

Ispera served her first, then the other soldiers, thenherself. Eliana ate eagerly, emptying the bowl in a few short minutes andholding it out for me. Thanks to the supplies they’d gotten from Bolandri,rations had been loosened for this one night. When she’d eaten her fill, shekissed her mother on the cheek and set off to replace Caelum. She found his tentempty, and so searched the perimeters of the camp instead.

She found Caelum where she suspected she would—taking thefirst watch on the western edge of camp. His back was to her, his sword restingacross his knees as he gazed in the direction they were marching.

“You should be resting,” he said without looking up. Theywere more than familiar with each other’s subconscious presences.

“So should you,” she answered quietly, sitting beside him.“And yet you give yourself first watch.”

He smiled softly. “Actually, I’ve given myself this end ofthe camp for the entire night.”

She made an exasperated noise. “Why?”

Caelum turned to look at her, his face serious. “Because Iwould not be able to sleep if the edge closest to our enemies was protected bysomeone else. I can’t entrust your safety to anyone else.”

Eliana sighed and rested her chin on her knees. “I am notmade of porcelain, Caelum.”

He set his sword aside and slid to sit close behind her. Hisarms wrapped around her stomach and she leaned back against his chest. Hisvoice was soft in her ear as he whispered, “No, you’re not. Porcelain can bereplaced if it is destroyed. Porcelain is a mere thing. You are much more than that. You could never be replaced,not at any price, so I won’t risk losing you.”

“And what about you?” she asked quietly. “Do you think youcould be replaced if I lost you?”

He buried his face against her neck, breathing deeply. “Youknow you smell like pine needles?” he asked. “It’s lovely.”

“Caelum,” she prompted quietly.

He kissed her neck softly once, then twice, beforeanswering, “No matter what happens to me, I will always be with you. Always. Icould never truly leave you, Eliana. So long as some part of me exists, I willbe with you.”

She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of hisbreathing. His chin rested on her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him, hisheart beating against her back.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked suddenly.

“Mm?” he replied, encouraging her to go on.

“Why tell Bolandri we were married? Why not say I wasanother sister, like Shyli?”

“I suppose,” he said slowly, “it was merely the first thingto enter my mind. Or rather, it was the first thing that came to my tongue. Itis very often on my mind as it is.”

A bubble of happiness welled inside her, though she knew hiswords should have unsettled her. She turned her face towards his so that theirnoses brushed. She couldn’t repress the smile that rose to her lips. “Do youwant to marry me, Prince Caelum?” she asked softly.

His answering smile told her all she wished to know, but stillhe spoke as he leaned closer to her. “Yes, Rider Eliana. Yes, I do.”

A sudden movement in the nearby woods caught Eliana’s eye.She immediately stiffened, gaining an inquiring look from Caelum. She gesturedto the cluster of forest at the base of the mountains. There it was again—aflash of white between the dark trees. Caelum slid away from her and stood,grabbing his sword from the earth and moving slowly towards the trees.

“Caelum, wait,” she whispered.

He motioned for her silence as he continued creepingforward. Suddenly a white wolf stepped out from between the trees, his goldeneyes glowing in the moonlight.

“No need for that, Caelum,” Astrum said softly.

She saw the muscles in the elf’s body relax, and he loweredhis sword. “Astrum,” he breathed. “Where have you been?”

“Where I was needed—gathering the elves from the othervillages.”

Eliana stood and moved to Caelum’s side. “You mean they’rehere?” she asked.

The majestic head dipped once in confirmation. “Yes. Theyare waiting just a few miles ahead, in the forests at the mountain’s base. Theywill join us there tomorrow, and we can continue to meet Nocens’ army.”

“Do you know where they are, Astrum?” Caelum asked quietly.“Nocens’ men, I mean. Are they far ahead?”

“Yes, I know where they are,” the wolf responded, “and no,they are not far. You will see them before nightfall tomorrow.”

Fear crashed over Eliana like water bursting from adam. Caelum’s hand reached out andclosed around hers, clutching it tightly. Tomorrow…she thought, her heart racing. Will thearmy be ready? Will I be ready…?

~*~

Four spheres rose into the air from the thicket of treesthat lay ahead of them—earth, wind, water, and fire, hovering side by side. Thearmy raised answering spheres. No sooner had the elements disappeared thanhundreds of figures began to appear between the trees. Slowly, as if stillunsure, the elves from the distant reaches of Paerolia moved towards them.

Oriens and Eliana stood at the head of the army, besideDenio, Kana, and Caelum. Astrum sat in front of them, watching the growingprocession from the woods with his golden eyes. A fair male elf dropped to aknee in front of them, his fist over his heart.

“Rider,” he said as he stood, looking at Caelum, “we havewaited long for your rise.”

Caelum raised a pale eyebrow. “I am not your Rider. I amyour king’s brother and your captain.” He gestured to the dark-haired girl athis side. “She is your Rider.”

The man looked surprised as his gaze drifted up and down herbody, as if it took him several attempts to confirm that this Rider was, infact, a woman. “You?” he asked incredulously.

Eliana crossed her arms over her chest and glareddangerously at him. “I. Is that disagreeable to you, Captain…?” She let thesentence trail off, waiting for him to fill in the blank.

“Medys,” he said, bowing his head again. “My apologies. No,of course I do not object. I was simply surprised. Astrum did not mention ourRider was a woman.”

“I did not think it to be of consequence,” Astrum answeredsmoothly.

Medys looked uneasy for a moment as they all watched him. Atlast, he seemed to collect himself and, in an attempt at redemption, he stoodtall and saluted her. “My men are ready to serve you, Rider. Please, lead us asyou wish.”

Eliana turned to the elf beside her. “Are we ready to moveout, Captain Caelum?”

He nodded. “Aye, Rider.”

She smirked at the way he addressed her; he was overstatingher place in the army, and she knew he was doing it intentionally. She followedsuit. “Very well then. Let’s go. Captain Medys, your men may fall into theranks.”

Caelum was chuckling slightly as they once again began theirmarch. “You certainly made that man uncomfortable,” he muttered to her.

She smiled. “Well, I couldn’t let him assume I wouldn’t leadsimply because I’m female, now could I?”

He shrugged. “No, I suppose you couldn’t. Though I must sayI would not wish to be on the receiving end of that look you gave him.”

Eliana laughed and shook her head. “As long as I can fooleveryone else into believing I am capable of leading them, we may have a chanceat winning this war.”

Caelum brushed her arm gently. “Don’t say that.”

She sighed. “We have over fifty-five thousand men followingbehind us, Caelum. I can barely lead them now. What will happen when the restof the dwarves join us? What about when it comes time to fight?”

He reached out and quickly squeezed her hand, dropping itbefore anyone nearby could see. “You’ll be fine. They will follow you.”

“But will they follow me because they trust me to lead them?Or because I sit astride a golden dragon?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters,” she snapped quietly. “It is the samereason you gave for forsaking the throne. You wanted people to follow you foryour merits, not your blood. And I don’t want them to follow me because of a markon my hand.”

“You forget one thing,Eliana,” Oriens interrupted. “Adragon does not choose one who is unable to fulfill a Rider’s duties. I knewwhen I was an egg what you were capable of. Now you simply need to discover itfor yourself.”

“Perhaps,” sheresponded with a sigh. “I just hope Idon’t discover it too late.”

As they continued their march, Eliana began to feel her lackof sleep catch up to her; she had not slept more than a few hours at any timein the last fortnight. Her vision began to become bleary, and her head noddedas they walked. Several times, her steps stumbled, her legs too weary to liftclear of the ground.

At last, Caelum stopped her. “Get on Oriens,” he told her.It was clearly not a suggestion.

Eliana didn’t bother to object. She tiredly climbed into thesaddle and leaned forward on his neck. Still, she could not sleep. Herexhaustion kept her from functioning, but her anxiety kept her from resting.Caelum continued to look up at her, his face growing more concerned every timehe saw that her eyes were open. The concept of time escaped her as she relaxedinto the swaying of the saddle.

Suddenly, Oriens stopped. Eliana sat up, squinting blearilyat the landscape. To the south was a large city surrounded by high walls—Thys,the great city of the Shyrn Plains. To the west, directly ahead of their army,stretched countless men in red tunics, all marching towards Thys. Nocens waspreparing to take the city.