Chapter 10
It was two hours before dawn when Jokim, Jonas and Elena mounted their dragons, Aria checked that the shield magic was in place around the prince and princes, then activated her shields and led the two young dragons to the chambers exit into the lake.
The surface of the lake erupted in a giant water spout carrying the three dragons into the air; they spiralled high into the sky then turned and headed for Eagles Rock.
As the dawn broke over the volcano the Elite Guard took to the sky, the wind felt good, they circled slowly, waiting, then Norton soared upwards high into the sky and the others followed his lead.
Aria appeared with the prince on one side and the princess on the other, Norton took up his position in front of his queen, the rest of the Elite guard fanned out either side and behind, as the royal flight descended towards the volcano every dragon took flight in welcome, a sight visible from the castle watch tower where the alarms had been sounding since Aria surfaced from the lake, her magic tore a large hole in the dark which could not be mistaken.
Four platoons of guards were despatched towards the southern mountains each with eight wizards while King Gustav demanded that Daaro found out how the dragons had remained hidden.
As the royal flight approached the caldera ten eagles joined the flight, they welcomed Aria home then took up positions circling high above the volcano as an early warning system.
As Aria landed at the royal caverns she thought how good it felt to be home again after so long, the three royal riders spent the rest of the day greeting riders and families in their caverns, Aria spent several hours talking to the wolves and the army that used to be a small band of robbers.
She could see the army and the wolves at the base of the mountain range; they were joining forces and spreading out in an attack line ready to advance.
Aria now turned her thoughts to the castle, she knew that the high wizards would be hidden in the sanctum; this was impenetrable to dragon magic and the source of the strongest dark magic.
As her mind probed the castle she called upon the earth magic, she felt its power well up within her, she released the energy towards the sanctum, she saw the dark magic shield melt away then she was inside the sanctum itself.
She looked into the eyes of the frightened king then looked round the table, “we meet again mage, but this time I give you compassion, you have two days to leave my kingdom unharmed, you will leave by the northern border to the dark kingdom and never return”, the old mage hurled a bolt of dark magic at the image but it passed right through, bounced off the walls and disintegrated the chair of the wizard at the far end of the table.
The mage stood up, “I destroyed you before I will do it again, I do not fear you”, Aria gave a low growl, “If you had that power now I would not have been able to penetrate the dark magic so easily, you have been warned, I mobilise my armies at dawn, two days mage, two days”, then the image faded.
As the golden mist finally vanished the sanctum erupted in chaos until King Gustav slammed his fist onto the table, “what the hell just happened, explain it to me” he shouted, Daaro went to speak but was silenced by the old mage, “sire”, the mage said in a quiet voice, “you have all now met Aria queen of the dragons, one thousand years ago I fired the bolt of magic that we all thought had killed her”, as a murmur went round the room the mage stood up slowly, “Silence” he shouted, “Aria was correct on one point, how did the dragon magic breach our defences, are they now more powerful, this we must answer, we already have forces on route to the southern mountains, they will arrive mid-morning tomorrow then we will have some answers, until then prepare for war, unless you wish to run” he finished looking at the king.
King Gustav, rather red in the face, stood up and faced the mage, “call all the wizards from the outlying provinces, they are to return to the castle, make ready for war, we will defeat them again”.
The king stormed out of the room as soon as the mage released the doors, followed quickly by most of the other wizards, Daaro and the mage remained, Daaro waved his wand and the images of all the provincial wizards appeared round the table, the mage looked at the startled images then said, “return to the city immediately, bring your guards with you and prepare for war”, a middle aged, bearded wizard sitting in a bath raised his hand “can I have a meal first and leave in the morning” he said sheepishly, the mage flushed with anger, he was not in the mood for this,” I said immediately that means put on some robes and leave, it means immediately is that clear”, the wizards all nodded and the images faded.
Dawn arrived, it was overcast with heavy cloud, the red dragons led by Princess Garnet and Jonas were the first to leave eagles nest followed by the blues led by Prince Sapphire and Elena, Aria led the rest of the dragons they all landed in areas agreed beforehand in forest clearings behind the army and wolves.
Prince Brandor was the first on the frontline to notice the shimmer in the air in front of their position, as he approached it a voice in his head said “it is not dark magic it is my shield” he recognised Aria’s voice and relaxed.
As the heat of the sun warmed the ground, the order to advance was given, the wolves ranged out in front of the army, the red dragons hovered behind the army moving the shield forward as they advanced.
It took three hours to reach the plains at the edge of the foothills, two clouds of dust in the distance marked the approach of the first two platoons of guards, Aria called a halt and they rested, waiting.
As the guards fanned out across the plain, sixteen wizards galloped to the front, staffs raised ready to strike.
Aria gave the order to advance, Sapphire and Garnet flew ahead and landed half way between the two forces, Garnet broadcast to the wizards leading the attack, “call off your attack and return to the castle then leave our kingdom or suffer the consequences”.
The wizards responded with blasts of dark magic from their staffs, when the dust cleared Elena and Jonas stood in front of their dragons, Elena broadcast a final warning, “stop your attack now, you will not be warned again”.
The wizards responded again with a volley of dark magic, Elena and Jonas raised their hands, the dark magic seemed to stop in mid-air then return to the wizards staffs, the resulting explosion killed all but one young wizard, as he picked himself up off the ground he could see that the two platoons of guards and fifteen wizards were all dead, Jonas appeared in front of him, “You have been saved so that you may report back what has happened here, it is up to your King what happens next, be aware that the northern passage is now the only way to leave our kingdom our shields are closing, any that are left when the passage closes will be destroyed now go”.
The young wizard found his horse and left, after about one hour he met the other two platoons, the wizards listened to his report then continued into battle, the young wizard returned to the castle.
The third Platoon galloped straight into the shield, the horses were the only ones to survive as the riders all vaporised on contact, the fourth platoon pulled up short taking defensive positions and firing crossbows and dark magic at the advancing forces, it became obvious very quickly that these had no effect whatsoever.
Aria landed at the edge of the foothills and was joined by the prince and princess and flanked by the royal guard of blue dragons, the wizards and guards had never seen such a magnificent site and it is believed that a wizard actually muttered the word “awesome”.
Aria located each of the attackers in her mind then spoke slowly and quietly “The shield in front of you cannot be breached by dark magic or your missiles, however our flame and missiles can reach you”, a sheet of flame left her mouth sailing high above the platoon, they all felt the intense heat, “that was a demonstration, the next time will not be, I gave your King two days to leave my kingdom, the northern passage will remain open for one and a half days then I will close it, be aware that when this happens all trace of dark magic will be destroyed as will anyone who has used or possessed dark magic,
you have a choice, return to the castle then leave my kingdom or remain and be destroyed, this is your decision we are advancing again when we have rested, you do not have long to decide”, Aria and the royal guard took to the sky disappearing in the distance, the prince and princess remained.
After a brief discussion one wizard and three guards took up positions behind rocky outcrops the remainder mounted their horses and headed back towards the castle.
It was not long after this that the advance restarted, when the shield reached the first rocky outcrop hiding a wizard and a guard, the other two guards saw them vaporised and ran for their horses, one made it and rode off seeing the other guard vanish as he reached his horse.
The young wizard spared by Aria finally approached the Castle; at full gallop he entered the castle square, reigning in his exhausted mount, he slid off the saddle landing heavily on the main steps in front of two startled guards, “help me to the sanctum” he wheezed scrambling up from the ground,
One guard helped him up and took him into castle, whilst the other called the groom to take the exhausted horse to the stables.
The guard burst through the sanctum doors almost carrying his charge, the young wizard fell at the feet of the mage.
“What is the meaning of this” roared King Gustav, the mage held up his hand for silence as the young wizard pushed himself up to the sitting position, “Mage” he said weakly, “we have nothing to penetrate the Dragon’s shield, it vaporizes any of us it touches and returns the spells to their origin and kills anyone in the area, Aria saved me to deliver a message, leave by the northern route now, it will not be open for long and any that remain will be destroyed”.
King Gustav and Daaro found that they were unable to speak; the mage forced himself to his feet using his staff for support, his old joints creaking loudly.
The mage looked over to the castle guard, “get him to the apothecary now”, he turned to the King, “get yourself ready to leave we go within the hour, Daaro, alert everyone we leave now and regroup over the border.”
As the room emptied the mage released the now red-faced king from the spell “what do you mean, we are not leaving, I am the king, I give the orders” the mage waved his hand and again silenced the king, “ Gustav, your family has ruled this kingdom since we defeated the dragons, this was by my grace, you rule as king only because I allow it, dark magic is your ultimate ruler, before I allow you to speak again, I have tested Aria’s magic to the ultimate, I cannot penetrate it therefore we leave and return to the old kingdom until such time that we can defeat this new magic” with a wave of the hand, the mage allowed the king to splutter and protest for a few minutes then transported them both to a waiting carriage.
On the outskirts of the city a group of soldiers were raiding an inn of casks of beer, the half loaded wagon outside, the innkeeper and his wife felt a tingle as the Dragon shield passed through and the soldiers vanished.
The procession of wagons and carriages filled with wizards and staff left the city at the gallop heading for the northern border, the last garrison of soldiers on horseback following close behind.
Seeing the exodus, Aria landed in the city square outside the castle, Jokim dismounted, his golden riding suite shining in the evening sun, Every citizen heard Aria in their minds “Today we start to rebuild your kingdom, you no longer have to fear the dark magic, now you will toil for yourselves as we return to the old ways, welcome the Wolves they will not harm you, tonight all will eat well, I will provide until your crops are harvested, this square will again serve as a market to trade your wares”.
Slowly some of the citizens arrived in the square to see the great golden dragon, a sight they would never forget, every person was supplied with food and drink throughout the whole kingdom.
The dragon shield now extended to the sides of the road to the northern border, the procession of carriages, wagons and soldiers poured over the border at the gallop, as the exhausted horses were reigned in to rest in a clearing, the mage looked back and saw the border closed by the shield, it would take a further four days to reach the dark citadel in the forbidden mountains.
When the city awoke the next morning they found that the walls of the city were covered with dragons of all colours, on each of the twelve watch towers sat one of the blue elite guard, Aria had moved to the top of the castle with the prince and princes, the dragon riders were busy repairing the castle turning it back into their city quarters.
Slowly over the next few months the health of the population was restored, crops planted and buildings repaired, tradesmen had restarted businesses, peace ruled the kingdom again and Aria was happy.
The End
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About the Author: enjoys living in a fantasy world, I have decided to share my world with you the reader, writing is a joy, my hope is that I can pass my visions and passion on to all.
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