Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
The End Begins

“Why are you here,two-legger?” The voice in Eliana’s mind shook her entire body with itsgreat force.

Oriens turned his head to block his Rider from the reddragon’s gaze. “She is my Rider,” hesaid defiantly.

The dragon lifted his head, rising to his full intimidatingheight to glare down at the pair before him. “Silence, hatchling!” he bellowed in their minds. They both flinchedat the shout.

“Please,” Eliana said softly, speaking aloud; she didn’twant to appear impertinent by trying to speak directly to his mind. “We comeseeking your help.”

He rumbled somewhere deep in his red throat while the otherthree dragons exchanged curious glances. “Tellme your names,” he commanded.

“I am Eliana. This is my dragon, Oriens.”

He turned his great brown eyes back to the golden dragon. “Oriens, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Eliana couldn’t help but be amused by hearing her dragonrefer to anyone as “sir.”

“You are a GoldenChild. Do you know what that means?”

She sensed her dragon’s confusion as he answered, “No, sir.”

“A golden dragon isnot born often,” the great, red dragon explained. “There have only been two in the history of our race upon this land.The first was Kyrthosi of the Gold Fire. He led our race to Paerolia after theDragons’ War destroyed our homeland. The second was Parn of the Dawn’s Light.She was the first of our kind to mark a Rider, the first to forge the bond withthe two-leggers after our treaty was created. The Golden Children always bringgreat change to our kind. So what change do you bring us, Golden Child?”

“We need your help,”Oriens said, repeating his Rider’s earlier words. “We fight Nocens’ armies, and their numbers greatly exceed our own. Weneed your aid to defeat him.”

The four dragons’ voices all echoed simultaneously in theirminds, giving Eliana a headache.

“Why should we fightwith those who have hunted us?” a feminine voice asked. Eliana sensed thatthis came from the green dragon with brilliant emerald scales.

“They need our help,”another female answered, this one with violet scales.

“This is not our war!”The third was also female, her scales a rich shade of brown.

“SILENCE!” Thestone shook with the dragon’s voice as he snarled at the bickering dragons.

The three females flinched, then fell silent, shrinkingunder the fiery gaze of the massive male. He eyed his mates angrily for amoment. When he appeared certain that he had them under control once more, helooked back at Oriens and Eliana.

Before the red dragon could speak, Oriens asked politely, “Please, may we know your names?”

He seemed to consider this for a moment before speaking. “I am Thacodi of the Flaming Hide. These aremy mates—Thysaer of the Forest’s Branches, Bolaer of the Violet Blossoms, andTylal of the Mountain’s Earth. We are the guardians of Myli Ondo.”

“Why do you guard thisplace?” Oriens asked.

Thacodi shifted his great form to reveal the same large,stone table Eliana had seen in the mural back in Thys. “This is the place where our ancestors forged the agreement with thetwo-legged races. This place is a sacred place, enriched with magic. The stonetable keeps our world in balance. Should the stone be broken, all of Paeroliawould be lost to darkness.”

“It is being lost tothe darkness now.”

Thacodi lifted his gaze from the table to them once more. Heconsidered the Rider, who sat still and silent on her dragon’s back, for a longmoment. “And what is your place in thisEliana of the Fire Hand?”

The girl swallowed and answered as confidently as she could.“A year ago, I led a group of men on a dragon hunt. They killed the dragon, afemale, but she entrusted me with Oriens’ egg. She told me our fates dependedon him. When he hatched, he marked me as his Rider.”

“I am not a fool,”Thacodi said impatiently. “I know how onebecomes a Rider. I mean what is your place in this war, Fire Hand? Do you lead these people in their fight against theemperor?”

“Yes. They look to me and Oriens to lead them.”

“Why?”

“Nocens and his ancestors have shed too much blood onPaerolia’s soil. They have killed elves, dwarves, dragons, and humans. It’stime it ended. It’s time their dynasty was brought to a close.”

“And who do you serve?Are you under allegiance to another who would rule?”

“We serve only those who will fight with us.”

Thacodi grunted. “Andthose who won’t fight with you?”

“We have no allegiance to anyone who will not fight todefend their land and their people. We serve only those who will serve others.”

“And what do youexpect of us, Fire Hand and Golden Child?”

“We expect nothing. We only hope that you will lend your aidto our army. Nocens’ forces are much greater than our own, and he has a dragonRider as well. We’re not experienced with fighting other dragons. Your aid inthat battle, and in the war against Nocens’ army, would make the differencebetween victory and defeat.”

“We are wild dragons,”Thacodi said, shaking his head from side to side. “This is not our war.”

“It is as much yourwar as it is mine,” Oriens interjected boldly. “Tell me, Flaming Hide, how many of our kind are left in Paerolia?”

Thacodi sighed, his warm breath nearly blowing Eliana off ofOriens’ back. “Few, Golden Child. Veryfew.”

“Nocens would have ourkind driven to extinction. He would have our life flames extinguished. My Riderand I would have our kind rise back to the glory we once knew. If you are tooafraid to defend your own kind—.”

Thacodi roared furiously. “Do not impugn my courage, hatchling!”

Oriens fell silent as the roar echoed throughout themountainside. Once it had faded away, there was a long silence.

“Thacodi,”a softvoice said, “they are fighting the menwho kill our kin—the men who stole our egg.”

The red dragon sighed again, turning his eyes on hisviolet-scaled mate. “Entering a war thatis not ours to fight will not bring our egg back, Bolaer.”

The dragon hung her head. “I know. But sometimes revenge is enough…”

“When was this?” Eliana asked quietly, cautious not to angerThacodi again.

It was Bolaer who answered, her voice sad. “Several months ago. I kept my nest towardsthe west, where the setting sun could warm my eggs before the chill of nightset in. I returned there one night to replace a man in black in my nest. I triedto fight him but… his magic was too powerful.”

Bolaer fell silent, and Thacodi continued her story. “The pale-haired man took an egg from thenest, but not before destroying many of the others. Only three eggs from theclutch survived.”

The pale-haired man… Peior…

“It was a beautifulegg he took,” Bolaer continued sadly. “Onethe color of sapphires in the moonlight. I could sense the egg would be afemale—the only female in the clutch.”

“Your daughter lives,”Oriens told her. “Nocens has raised aRider against us. He Rides your child. Only now, her hide is black from theDark magic of the man that took her from you.”

Bolaer’s violet head turned sharply to Thacodi, her largeeyes filled with desperation. “We mustsave her from him!” she cried.

“No,” her mateanswered in a firm but quiet voice, “mydecision is made. This is not our battle to fight.”

“But our daughter—!”

“We have no daughter.”

Eliana could see the hopelessness in the violet dragon’seyes as she bowed her head to the stone. It was the same hopelessness that wasnow welling inside of her. How could he have made his decision so suddenly?Their army needed the dragons desperately. It couldn’t be over so quickly.

“Please,” she begged, “Thacodi of the Flaming Hide, I askyou, in this place where our races first made peace, to make another treaty tobring our land back together. That is what the stone table is here for—to bringus together. Will you break the treaty and break the stone table you sofaithfully guard?”

Thacodi gazed down his long snout at her. “These are bold words from a two-legger,Eliana of the Fire Hand.”

“These times call for much boldness,” she answered, “evenfrom two-leggers.”

This seemed to amuse the great dragon. He gave a snort as adragonish smirk curled his lips. He drew a deep breath, then a confused frownreplaced the grin. He studied her closely with his brown eyes. “Your blood smells strange to me. Whatspecies of two-legger are you?”

“I am human… and I am elven.”

She hadn’t thought the mountain-sized dragon capable ofbeing surprised by anything, but this news seemed to startle him. His eyeswidened and he drew back slightly. “Humanand elven? Then I fear I have addressed you improperly. You are not merely FireHand and Golden Child. You are the Guardians of Fate.”

“What do you mean?”Oriens asked.

“The elves have aprophecy about creatures such as you, do they not?” Thacodi replied. Whenthey nodded, he went on, “We haveprophecies of our own about a two-blooded two-legger and a Golden Child. Theysay you will be sent to end wars and bring peace to this land.”

“Surely they can’t bethe Chosen Ones?” Thysaer said incredulously. “They’re mere hatchlings! The Rider is hardly grown by her ownshort-lived species’ standards, and from the smell of him, the dragon is hardlya yearling!”

“The Fates choosestrange vessels,” Bolaer interjected.

“Strange indeed…”mused Tylal.

“Please, help us,” Eliana begged of Thacodi once again. “Ifyou believe us to be these Guardians you speak of, then you must believe ourcause is just. Join us, and help us bring the peace your kind have prophesiedof.”

His mass heaved with another sigh, and he blew a plume ofsmoke skyward. “You ask much in littletime, Guardian Eliana. My kind does not make such decisions hastily. We livelong lives, so things move slowly for us. Our kind has not changed formillennia, while yours is constantly shifting, and we don’t much enjoy changein our unchanging lives. I cannot deny that this decision would bring aboutmuch change. It is not a choice to be made lightly.”

“There is not time fordeep consideration,” Oriens said. “Nocens’army is already upon us. By tomorrow, it may be too late.”

Thacodi stared condescendingly down at Oriens. “Though a Guardian of Fate you may be,Golden Child, you are still very young. You should not make demands of thosemore than a century older than yourself. Though you may not think time allowsfor deep consideration, time and consideration is what I require.”

“But—!”

“That is my word fornow,” Thacodi interrupted. “I need toconsider this and discuss it with my mates. May the wind carry you safely home,Guardians of Fate.”

They had been dismissed. Eliana could feel Oriens’ dismay aswell as her own. They had accomplished virtually nothing. With a nod and a fewwords of quiet gratitude, Oriens lifted them into the sky and carried them backtowards Thys.

Eliana sighed as she stared out at the sky. It had takenless time than she’d expected; there were still several hours of darkness leftbefore they would have to face the battle once again. Nocens would still be waitingfor their answer to his demand that she be given to him. She was beginning towonder if that wasn’t the best option after all. Without the dragons, there waslittle hope of victory.

Oriens landed outside of the city, and they slipped insidethe gate. No sooner had she shut the wide doors behind her than she was grabbedroughly by the shoulders and spun around to face a very angry face.

“Where have you been?” Caelum snapped. “We’re in the middleof a war and you just disappear? Do you know how worried I’ve been, whatpossibilities I imagined? Don’t you ever disappear like that again!”

Eliana sighed and pushed his hands off her shoulders. Shewrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his solid chest. “I’msorry,” she said quietly. The last thing she wanted in that moment was to arguewith him.

She felt his chest rise and fall with a deep breath, then hewrapped his arms around her in return. “Are you alright?” he asked in a softervoice. “You seem upset.”

She pulled back and looked up at him, bracing herself forthe outburst that was about to come. “I went to the Cliffs of Myli Ondo, wherethe wild dragons nest.”

His reaction was exactly as she’d expected. “What? You could have been killed! Thoseare wild animals, Eliana! Not all dragons are like Oriens! Why would you go toa place like that without telling me?”

She pressed her fingertips to her temples and closed hereyes, trying to fight back her frustrated tears. “Please don’t yell at me,” shemurmured.

Caelum immediately fell silent, hearing the distress in hervoice.

“I went to try to gain the dragons’ support,” she explainedquietly. “There are four of them that nest there. I thought they might help us.But they won’t. They say it’s not their war. I failed…”

Her voice cracked on the last word as the full truth of itstruck her. She had failed. She knew, in her heart, that the dragons were theirlast hope. Now that hope was gone. She had failed all those who had relied onher, counted on her, trusted her enough to put their lives at risk because ofthe promises she’d made them—promises of a better world, which she knew nowwould never come. She had been desperately posing as someone who could leadthis army, and now her careful façade was crumbling.

Caelum pulled her into his arms again, trying to comfort heras her tears of self-loathing began to fall.

“They only said theywould consider it, Eliana,” Oriens reminded her.

“It was clear Thacodihad made up his mind, Oriens,” she answered. “Why harbor false hope?”

Her dragon didn’t try to argue with her. Caelum held her inhis arms until she managed to force back the tears and steady her breathing.Then he stepped back and held her at arm’s length. He wiped the last of thetears from her cheeks with his thumb.

“I was looking for you because I have something for you,” hesaid with a small smile.

She knew he was trying to distract her from her failure, andshe accepted his attempt with gratitude. “What is it?” she asked.

“Come with me,” he answered, lacing his fingers with hers.“I left it in the cathedral when I realized you were missing.”

Caelum led her by the hand, Oriens following along behindthem. They entered the wide doors of the cathedral, and Caelum released hishold on her to rifle through his bag. At last, he pulled out a small wooden boxwith intricate detailing. He turned to her, looking both nervous and excited.

“Tonight, you said you would marry me.”

She nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

“And you’re certain?” he asked.

Eliana smirked and stepped towards him. She placed her handson his chest and gazed up at his lovely face.

“Caelum,” she said, kissing his lips softly, “I love you.And if it were not for this gods-forsaken war, I would have married you longago. So yes, I am more than certain.”

He smiled, returning her kiss before saying, “Very wellthen. I want you to have this.” He stepped back and held the box out beforehim, opening the lid. “My father gave it to my mother on the day they werebetrothed. Mother gave it to me after Father died. I brought it with me fromIterum, hoping that… perhaps… you would soon wear it.”

From the box, he pulled a beautiful silver necklace inlaidwith small jewels. The pendant was a shining, interlocked sun and moon. He setthe box aside and made her turn around, slipping the pendant around her neckand fastening it in the back. He kissed the back of her neck before putting hisarms around her waist.

“A sun and a moon,” he whispered in her ear, “lockedtogether for eternity. For as the day is not complete without the night, so amI not complete without you—forever.”

~*~

Thys was as alive through that night as it had been duringthe day. Nocens’ message had been spread to all of the soldiers and, as thewaning moon made its way across the sky, they prepared for war. Anxiety andadrenaline kept Eliana from any sleep. She busied herself with polishing herand Oriens’ armor and re-bandaging her injured leg.

When these tasks were done, she wandered through the city,searching for some task where her help might be needed. There was none. Everyperson in Thys seemed determined to keep her from aiding in any preparations.They all insisted she should rest and gather her strength. Eliana suspectedCaelum of scripting that response for them.

Even Oriens was too busy to distract her, providing hisflames to heat more metal for weapons and armor. Her mother and Laurus werehelping distribute rations for the evening. Caelum and the other captains, aswell as Kana and Denio, were meeting to discuss strategy. They had insistedthat she wasn’t needed.

And so, Eliana wandered through the city alone, idly toyingwith the pendant around her neck.

“Hello, young Rider,” a smooth voice said from the shadowsnearby.

Eliana’s gaze landed on the white wolf that sat against thebuilding to her right. “Astrum,” she said with a smile, relieved to have atlast found someone to speak to. “Where have you been?”

“Searching for the remaining dwarves that have sworn to joinus,” he answered.

“Did you replace them?” she asked eagerly. “Will they be hereto fight tomorrow?”

“I did replace them,” Astrum answered. Then he shook his head.“But they will not be here by dawn. The tunnels they travel have not been usedin this part of the land for a century. They are having trouble overcomingareas where the tunnels have collapsed.”

Hopelessness returned to its nest in her chest, and shegroaned quietly. “We need help…”

Astrum nodded calmly. “I believe that, if we can holdthrough the day tomorrow, aid will reach us when we need it most.” He paused,then asked, “You went to the Cliffs of Myli Ondo tonight, did you not?”

She nodded. “I did. I’d hoped the dragons would help us, butthey say it is a war for two-leggers.”

“Do not fret, young Rider. It is merely another trial wemust face. No matter how long the night, the day will break.”

There was a brief silence, then Eliana sighed and sat besidethe wolf, leaning against the wall of the building. “Astrum,”she said, “can you see what will happentomorrow?”

He nodded again. “Yes, Eliana. I can see what will happen.”

She looked at him, knowing the answer to her question beforeshe asked it. “Can you tell me?”

“I could,” he answered, “but then the things I see willchange.”

“Why?”

“As I told you when we discussed the prophecy about you andOriens, people always have an influence over their own futures. I see only whatwill happen if things continue on their current path. If I tell you what I seenow, your actions can change. And even the smallest change can completely alterthe future. For example…” He turned his head to look down a nearby side street.“There is a man down that street that has just decided to do something thatwill turn the war against us. You should go speak to him, so that things do notcontinue as they appear to now.”

With that, Astrum stood and silently disappeared around thenext corner. Eliana gazed at the alley the wolf had indicated, squinting in thedarkness, trying to make out the form of the single man who could do somethingto end their already waning chances of victory. After a few moments, she stoodand made her way to the narrow street. There, sitting in the darkness, wasJa’ol.

“Ja’ol?” she whispered. “Is everything alright?” Shecouldn’t see his face in the darkness, but she could hear his breathstrembling, as if he had been crying.

“My little girl,” he answered quietly. “I want her back…”

Eliana’s heart quickened for a moment, remembering thethings Nocens had promised Ja’ol—and what he demanded in return. She satagainst the wall opposite the soldier and waited for him to speak again.

“I will not lie to you, Rider,” he said at last, brisklywiping the heel of his hand against his cheek. “I have been considered thethings Emperor Nocens said. I had made up my mind to take you to him inexchange for my family. But then you appeared at the end of that alley, askingafter my well-being and I…” He drew a shuddering breath. “I just can’t do it.”

Eliana sighed, leaning her head back against the coldstones. “I would not blame you if you did, Captain Ja’ol,” she answeredquietly. “They are your family. I am nearly a stranger to you.”

He looked up at her in apparent surprise. “But, Lady Eliana,our army depends on you. Your value to our cause… even I know that it outweighsthe value of my family.”

She lifted her head again and looked at him, able to see himmore clearly now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark alley. “But this is nota war between individuals, is it, Ja’ol. This is a war of ideals. It is only naturalthat you should care more about your children than some ideal embodied by asilly half-breed girl and her dragon.”

A small laugh escaped him, and he crossed his arms over hisknees. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

Eliana leaned forward on her elbows and responded, “You donot have to choose between my ideals and your family, Ja’ol. There is alwaysanother path. Stay with us, fight with us, and your family will be free. Evenif I fall tomorrow, there will be others to carry on with what we are fighting for.They will not stop until Nocens falls. Then your family will be free. Then wewill all be free.”

The man’s face hardened slightly, and he returned her steadygaze. He nodded. “Yes, Rider. I will fight with you. I will fight for you.”

She held out her hand and he clasped it firmly. “Thank you,Captain.” An idea occurred to her and she added, “After the battle today, if wehave not gained significant ground over the enemy, come see me in my quarters.”

As dawn crept over the valley, a war horn sounded from thedistant human camp. The time for making their decisions had passed. Elianamoved to the western wall and climbed atop it, looking out over the valley,watching Nocens’ soldiers assemble.

She took a breath and sighed. “And so it begins…”