After about fifteen minutes the explosion ended.
“Oh...” he said, feeling pain in every part of his body.
“Thetra!” he heard Valao scream.
“Valao,” he responded, letting him know where he was.
He heard Valao stepping on twigs as he approached him. “Are you alright?”
“I’ll live,” he grumbled.
“I can”
“No, Valao. You’re wounded already. How did you even get up and walk to find me?”
“Open your eyes, you miserable thing.”
He realized his eyes were closed. With a twinge of pain, he opened them.
He was healed. The dragon Valao was healed. He looked stronger and healthier than ever.
“How…?”
“A miracle, I guess. I just passed out and woke up feeling brand new.”
“But me…” He was still confused. What could have happened to heal his dragon, but not the Rider. They were supposed to be one.
“You. I can fix you up.” Valao started licking him, tickling him, and rolling him around.
“Stop, Valao,” he said, laughing. But he did feel better. Maybe he still had wounds, but his spirits were high.
Then he wondered something. “Can you fly?” he asked.
For a moment it looked like Valao would say no. But instead, he said, “Sure. Why?”
“Well, let’s fly out of here. Make it from island to island until we get to Kiolerasdarque.”
“Alright. I never thought of that. But yes, sure.”
“Alright.” He hopped on him, and said, “Let us start this journey!”
SOARING
They took flight. It was epic as Valao flapped his wings, making wind.
“The next island is Yatchu. There are a few Elves there, I think, but none that’ll bother us.”
“That’s fine.”
And they went on.
After a few days, Thetra’s stomach grumbled.
“Valao, I’m starving.”
“We’re almost there. Just a few more hours.” He sped up a bit.
It was hard for him not to complain again. But Valao was right, and they arrived shortly after he asked.
The island was deserted. No Elves. No race of any kind.
“Um, Valao,” said Thetra when they landed. “Where is everybody?”
Just then, his eye caught movement.
With his great instincts, Valao soared ahead grabbed the human with his claws. He set him down once he was dead.
“It is a human.” Thetra looked up at Valao. “This island must have more than one. Let’s keep searching.”
They found no more. Either there weren’t any left or they were hiding.
Then Thetra heard a voice whisper, “We must continue our journey to Herode.”
“That is on Earth. We can’t leave our island unguarded,” said another voice.
“Ailog! We must! No one knows about this bump in the sea. In fact, no one goes near a thousand leagues of here.”
Ailog sighed. “Andwi. You are the island’s president, but I fear you won’t be for long.”
“What do you mean, Brother?”
“I mean I will overtake you...one way or another. “
“Ailog! Such beliefs don’t exist. Even if I die and you live longer, you will only be president for a few years before you pass away. Then your son will take the throne.”
“I won’t have children,” said Ailog through gritted teeth. “I won’t marry.”
“Then who’ll become president?”
“I guess you’ll have to live longer so that your son can.”
“Or daughter.”
“There’s never been a girl president!”
“Yet.”
Thetra didn’t know what any of this meant, but he forced himself to memorize the conversation in case he could figure out later.
He glanced over and saw Valao mouth to him, They’re aliens.
He nodded his head in agreement. It had to be true. The voices were too alien like.
Just then Thetra would’ve been dead if it weren’t for his dragon. Valao body-slammed him into the plants they were hiding behind when he heard the two shots.
“Get ‘em!” yelled Andwi’s voice. “It’s a dragon and a Rider!”
Valao was in no condition to fly away. His wing got torn on thorns in a bush and he had grass in his eyes. He shook his head, but he still looked bad.
“Valao!” yelled Thetra. He had to come up with a brilliant plan that would let both of them live. “Go run underwater and stay there! I’ll be right there!”
He had discovered that he didn’t need a nose to breathe, and his mouth worked for breathing underwater, and Valao had gills.
He drew Slayer and climbed into the water.
AN UNDERWATER DUEL
He couldn’t hear the aliens underwater, but he had a feeling they knew where they were.
The sun was setting, although it was hard to tell underwater, for water bent light. But he knew they had small time till sunset.
He looked over and saw Valao, his dragon fearless as ever, prepared for a fight.
Valao should’ve been able to kill the aliens easily, but both of them had a gun. He knew if it was a magical gun, it could blast them to pieces fast.
The water was clean. He should’ve expected it to be dirty, being the seawater, but it was clear. He could see thirty yards in front of him.
Then he looked down at his sword. It glowed a faint purple, as if it were generating magic.
The water gives it power, said a voice in his head. The water and the sword have a bond.
He wondered if it was true. If the voice was telling the truth. Who was the voice? Why was it telling him this? He didn’t recognize the voice. He didn’t understand.
You will never understand.
The voice tempted him into believing its words, as if its voice was magical, making him believe it.
The blade...It was designed to be made of water, but still be able to kill. Myna the King tried to make it that way, but it was crudely made by his son, Ijistken. Now it will never be made of water.
However, there is a blade of fire. It is lost within the depths of the Crater Pit on the Earth’s moon. Now it is up to you to find it and return to its master.
Thetra wondered if he could ask a question to this voice.
He tried, asking, Who is its master?
To his surprise, the voice answered. You must find that out for yourself, warrior.
Then the voice faded away, as Thetra could feel its presence absent.
“Valao,” he said. “It’s Goldstone. That’s the key to winning.”
The aliens attacked about an hour later. According to Valao, they snuck up on Thetra when he was looking the wrong direction (towards the island) and nearly killed him. If it weren’t for Valao, he would’ve been dead.
Thetra didn’t believe the words coming from his dragon’s mouth.
“Thetra!” he heard Valao yell. He turned and saw the twin aliens each with a wing in their hands, about to tear them off.
He had to stop them. His sword wouldn’t go at a fast speed underwater if he threw it. He wouldn’t be able to swim over in time.
He was wasting valuable time thinking of a plan when there was an obvious answer.
He had to call upon the warriors scattered around the planet.
He had to call upon the people of his army.
“RISE!”
LOGICAL ANSWERS
He was probably out for a few weeks. Maybe a month. How would he know? No one told him. The fight? That was probably a few days long. He had missed a great battle. But there wouldn’t have been a battle if he hadn’t passed out.
He summoned the soldiers of the Good Army. All of them.
Except for Satym and Arek.
Apparently Satym was in a bad mood, because he had a dream about it.
She was punching a wall in what looked like a prison cell. “Somebody let me out! Now!”
/>
A guard that looked vaguely familiar came by and slipped a loaf of bread under the door and a glass of water through one of the slots in the door.
Satym reached forward when the guard turned to walk away and grabbed the collar of his shirt.
“Let me out.”
“But my master said”
“I don’t want to know what your master said! You listen to me! I am your master.”
The man nodded, looking so worried his eyes were literally bulging.
“Let me out.”
“I don’t have the key, ma’am.”
“Then get it! You’re on the team that’s trying to rot me in here!”
“I am forbidden to steal,” squeaked the guard.
Satym growled deep in her throat. The guard tried to escape, but Satym’s grip was as hard as metal. She was not letting go.
Just then alarm bells sounded. There must have been someone watching them. The sound must have surprised Satym, and for a second she loosened her grip and the guard escaped as quickly as he could.
Then the dream turned black and Thetra awoke, not opening his eyelids because of the pain in his shoulder.
And then he fell asleep once more.
He saw Arek in a castle. He was in a room lit by torches, kneeling before a throne. Sitting in the throne was a golden sword. After about a minute, it seemed as if Arek had finished a prayer or something and he looked up to the throne. “O Mighty Vengeance the Powerful. I take thee.” Then he picked it up and put it in an extra sheath he had. “Now I can go see Honoglata,” Thetra heard him mutter.
He exited the room and started down a hallway that lead into a stairwell. He went up it and then reached a room with a king sitting upon a throne.
“Arek,” said King Honoglata. “I've been expecting you.”
Logical answers. That's what they were. Thetra knew that his brother was about to be killed. That was the logical answer. The king had almost no sense of humor and he was not about to be told what to do by Arek.
“My king,” said Arek, looking nervous. “I—”
“You. You pathetic thing.”Honoglata pointed at Vengeance’s sheath. “I feel its presence. Morchad feels it even more. He will be here. It works like a magnet.”
“Why is it here?” asked Arek.
“I stole it.” It was a terse answer.
“How come Evil was not summoned to it before?”
“It was not in one’s possession. Well, it was in mine, but I wasn’t holding it.” He looked at the sword, then back at Arek. “You might want to put it back.”
Arek turned to do so but stopped when he realized he was blocked. The tunnel and the staircase had collapsed, leaving him stuck.
“I didn’t hear anything,” he muttered. “But…how?”
“Oh, the joy I feel when I see my victim’s faces once they realize they are captured.”
“HONOGLATA!” yelled Arek at the top of his lungs.
Honoglata tipped over and his chair fell backward as Arek heard his neck snap.
Arek drew Stabber and pointed it at the helpless king who was lying like a Humackan* Eagle.
________________________________________________
*Humackan is a special type of eagle born to hunt fish better than any other bird. When they fall on their backs, they can’t get up.
“I threaten you,” said Arek, meaning it.
“And I grant you a wish. Choose wisely.”
Thetra could tell from Arek’s expression he was thinking desperately. It took about five minutes, but he finally had an answer.
“I choose to kill an Ognok. I need MAGIC!”
“I could just grant you a wand and it’d be just like killing an Ognok and earning a wand except for the killing the Ognok part.”
“No. I need fame.”
WISHING FOR MORE DREAMS
“Noooooooooo!” yelled Thetra, outraged that the dream had to end there. He shut his eyes, trying frantically to fall back asleep. But there was pain, and he had to take notice of it.
He looked down at his shoulder, seeing the bloody wound, and his heart nearly leapt out of his throat.
“Dear me!” he exclaimed. “This laceration…never been anything like it! I…I’ll die!”
He looked around him. Nothing. No dragons, aliens, troops. Nothing.
“Where are they?” he muttered to himself.
Then he heard a distant scream and his eye caught movement. The movement of battle.
Go, he told himself. Run as fast as you can in these waters. Go.
It was a good thing the water was clear because it allowed him to keep an eye on the battle.
And then pain hit him.
Next came dread. He needed something that he couldn’t have: more dreams.
Then anger.
“Anger is the strongest feeling out of all of them,” he agreed with his mind.
And with that, he charged into battle with absolutely no protection except the blade of his sword.
YOUTREN AND GHUAR: THE HEROIC COMEBACK
Thetra let out a savage war cry.
He saw everyone he summoned, Valao, and the aliens, still alive, but yet struggling against the massive army.
I will kill Ailog and Andwi in the blink of an eye.
“Valao!” he yelled, getting his dragon’s attention. “Arek is in danger!”
Valao nodded as if he understood, but he obviously didn’t. The roar of battle cries was too loud to hear anything else underwater.
Thetra pointed up and mouthed, “Surface.”
Luckily, he did. Then Thetra gave him the message.
“And Satym is a prisoner.”
“How did she get caught? Better question, why did she get caught? What did she do?”
“I do not know, Valao. But we have to save my brother and if we can, her.”
“Why Satym, though?”
“I feel that we need her in the army. I think she’s a powerful tool.”
“She nearly killed Therr!” exclaimed his dragon in response. Valao was looking for a reason not to rescue the girl.
“Well, let’s start with Arek and see how it goes. Are you in a good condition to fly?”
To his surprise, Valao shoved him onto the ground, pinning him with his talons.
“There is a battle going on!” said Valao through gritted teeth. “We can’t just abandon them! Our fighters need us!”
“But, Valao—”
“I am a dragon. I do not give up! We will defeat these aliens and take over this island. You can be the president!” Valao puffed his chest out.
“We will have triumph,” Valao continued. “We will defeat them.”
“I do not want to be president,” said Thetra solemnly.
“Thetra,” said Valao in a soothing voice. “Let’s win this together.”
“I JUST WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER!” Thetra complained, storming off onto the grass in the island, and then sat down.
“Thetra, think about what your parents would want you to do.”
“Don’t talk about my parents!” he yelled. “And they would want me to go after Arek instead.”
“Very well. Go after him. But you don’t have a way to get there.”
“Valao, please,” he whined.
“I can’t abandon the people of the Good Army that you are a part of.”
“Valao…” Thetra was speechless. He was a part of this army, and he did have to serve them. He just knew it was the right thing to do if he rescued Arek.
“I will swim to Bewaldt,” said Thetra. “The capitol is not far enough for me not to go to it without putting in effort.”
“Thetra Eouhjasson! I forbid you to go to the Capitol of Kiolerasdarque!”
“Valao!” he screamed, punching his dragon in the chest.
Surprisingly, Valao stumbled backward and fell into the sea. Then he turned around and swam back down to the underwater battle.
Thetra still lay there, thinking about his hard decision. If he wasted all of his time t
hinking, there wouldn’t be enough time to do either one of his choices.
He couldn’t wait for the battle to be over to go to Bewaldt. That was too long.
He had to figure out a way to go to the shining castle without being stopped or forbidden to go.
Then he heard a rustling in the trees behind him. He turned around.
And there, standing looking royal, were Youtren and Ghuar.
A BATLLE ON LAND,
A BATTLE IN WATER
The Wandearner was scared. Youtren and Ghuar were supposed to be dead. Instead, they were alive.
“Hello, Youtren. Hello, Ghuar. What brings you here on this fine day?”
“Good day for a killing,” murmured Youtren. Ghuar nudged him.
“We do come to kill you,” said Ghuar. “But we come to do it very slowly.”
“A more painful death. It interests us,” said Youtren.
“Youtren, you have no self-control,” started Thetra. “You are not worthy of killing a Wandearner.”
“I may not be, but I am worthy of killing my cousin!” He lunged his sword, pointed at Thetra.
In a half a second, Thetra drew Slayer, put it out in front of him, and deflected the blow.
“I am a better swordsman,” boasted Youtren. “I was always better than you.”
“Never were you even near my abilities,” responded Thetra.
“I shall go kill my cousin,” said Ghuar. “I believe he is down in the water fighting a very bloody battle indeed.”
“Very well, dragon,” said Youtren. “I will deal with the Rider.”
“And so we battle to the end?” said Thetra.
“Aye. We shall battle to the end.”
And with those final words, their swords clanked.
Valao
Valao was distressed. Thirty of the Good Army had passed, and not many were left to fight.
“War,” he mumbled. “The aliens…How could they do so much alone?”
Valao wasn’t asking anybody, just talking to himself, but Therr replied, “They are magical aliens.”
“What’s the difference,” asked the dragon.
“Magical aliens can last a lot longer than any ordinary alien. And since Ailog is a president, he can call upon other aliens to appear, which he hasn’t yet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he lasted longer than Andwi, since the magical alien presidents are stronger and can put up a better fight.
“Well, we can still defeat them.”