“Sorry, Hortyun. What did you ask me?”
“Do you remember anything about Morchad?”
Thetra blinked. He looked at Valao and mouthed, He’s evil.
I don’t need your help, thought Valao. “Yes, I do. I remember everything. To prove it, Morchad is Evil, he sent murderers to Thetra’s house to kill his parents” Thetra looked grim when he said that“and he is at Stankl Maobn. It is unknown if he is a Rider or not...” Valao went on for about an hour more about all the details about Evil.
Finally, when he was done, Valao looked up. All the troopers were shocked, their mouths hanging open in astonishment.
“Valao,” said Hortyun after recovering from his shock. “How do you know that?”
“The sorcerer Ingharr told me.”
“Ingharr,” said Hortyun in a distant voice, as if remembering a grim memory about him. “Very well. Since your memory has returned, we shall leave this island and return to Destville.” said Hortyun.
“I’m not sure I can hold all your weight.”
“We will take trips. How many can you hold at a time?”
“A maximum of twelve.”
“Very well,” said Hortyun. “Thetra, Mordon and I stay until the last round, so we can help the others get on Valao. There are about 1,000 of us after that last battle with the aliens. There will be 84 trips then. Alright. These are the people riding on the first trip: Ranko, Barnacks, Lorba, Lubbag, Thitsa, Uka, Ikal, Ayvis, Sorpa, Cabloopus, Cheldium, and Tarama.”
Valao recognized them as the weakest soldiers, so they needed the most training and would start immediately.
He bent down to let the troops get on him, each between a spike on his back.
“Don’t impale yourself on a barb,” said Valao.
Once they were all secured, Valao roared and took off in the direction he knew Kiolerasdarque was. They were heading home.
Home? thought Valao. I don’t have a home. I’m a dragon. Thetra has a home. Well, he used to at least. His closest place to home is Destville. Mine is the battlefield.
It got boring after two trips. Valao kept thinking it was home. He was glad on his first flight, for he was free to fly, but then he got used to it.
Finally, on the last trip, it was the next day. Valao took Mordon, Thetra, Hortyun, and two others of the names Undcund and Yalobregh.
When they reached Destville, it was late afternoon, and once Valao let the passengers off of him, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He fell asleep and had a dream.
Arek stood in a wide open patch of field, swiveling his head around as if searching for something.
Then Valao heard him mutter, “Where is he? He’s an Ognok so he couldn’t have gotten too far.”
An Ognok! thought Valao. Is Heirg still alive? Did he come back like Youtren and Ghuar?
Then Arek called, “GALORAT! I WILL FIND YOU! I PROMISE!”
Then the dream melted, and Valao woke up to an enormous battle.
Ghuar was ripping green-armored soldiers to shreds, then eating them.
I’m a dragon too, thought Valao. I’ll do what he’s doing.
The green-armored soldiers were a little lighter green than Valao’s scales. They obviously weren’t soldiers of Morchad, or else they would be blue. Were they of the Ognok Arek was talking about in Valao’s dream?
Of course they were. They came here looking for Arek and didn’t realize he wasn’t here. Well, let’s kill them anyway!
Valao spotted Thetra in the west wing, killing soldiers with his green-colored sword with Mordon and Hortyun by his side.
Mordon was one of Therr’s old comrades before he died, but he was one of Thetra’s good friends.
There was one thing that was bothering Valao and Thetra had said it. He had said “Goldstone. That’s the key to winning.” Valao was confused, because he didn’t get to tell him any more of it because they had to prepare for the alien attack.
Now he had to ask his Rider what Goldstone was and how they could use it to win whatever he was talking about.
Valao took flight toward Thetra at the west wing of Destville, and when he landed, it frightened Thetra so much that he tumbled over and stabbed three green soldiers.
“Who do they work for?” shouted Thetra.
“I do not know! But I must tell you something! Arek is tracking an Ognok of the name Galorat! I had a...vision.”
Thetra froze mid swing, which was dangerous because it gave enough time for the green soldier to raise his sword behind Thetra.
“Watch out!” screamed Valao, and he jumped over Thetra’s head and landed on the soldier, stomping on him until he was no more.
“Wait,” said Thetra. “We need to help Arek!” Thetra started climbing onto Valao’s back, and for once, Valao understood they needed to leave this battle and save his brother. Valao knew how much Arek meant to him.
“Wait,” said Thetra. “Where is he? Do you know?”
Valao hadn’t thought about that. He was dumb. “He’s probably near the Capitol Castle if he’s chasing an Ognok, but we don’t know how long he’s been tracking him.”
“Let’s go to Capitol Castle and follow the footsteps that we see. I know his footsteps.”
Then Valao took off for Bewaldt, leaving the battle behind.
They arrived shortly after sunset the next day. The silhouette of the castle was easy to find, and Valao landed at the back gate.
They searched for footsteps but it was too dark to see any kind of tracks on the dirt.
“We could find a stick and make a torch,” suggested Valao. “You could use your magic to start a fire.”
“I’d rather not call attention to us,” he replied. “There must be guards here.”
“But he may be even farther away if we start tomorrow,” argued Valao.
Thetra stood there, thinking for at least a minute. Valao couldn’t tell what he was thinking because it was impossible to see his expression in the dark.
“Very well,” he finally said. Then he yelled, “Flyr!” A giant ball of fire appeared in his hand. “Hot! Valao, get some wood now! This is burning my hand!”
Valao gathered sticks and twigs and put them in a pile. Finally Thetra touched the pile of sticks and he put out the fire on his hand by pressing it against the ground and rubbing it.
He sighed. “That feels better.” Then he picked up a stick and held it up. Then he yelled at the top of his lungs, “AREK, WE ARE COMING FOR YOU!”
Thetra
They put out the big fire after they roasted a chicken Valao had caught. Thetra’s stomach was growling loudly, for the last thing he had eaten were some berries at the island where they battled the aliens.
“I really wish I was back in Toage in my nice bed,” muttered Thetra after they had started their search.
“I don’t know where I want to be,” said Valao. “Maybe in Destville.”
They searched long into the night, but the tracks of Arek’s shoes never ended. They decided to sleep under a large tree they found, and Thetra dozed off right into a dream.
“I am in Toromok, Thetra,” said Arek, who was standing in the middle of Thetra’s view. “Come find me and we shall win this war!”
Thetra responded, saying, “I’m searching for you, Brother. I shall find you.”
“Galorat the Ognok has escaped to Gorge Valley, and I had a vision of him making an alliance with the evil aliens. He will come here and attack the Elves that are around. It is Elves against aliens, Thetra. And you fight for the Elves.”
“Brother…” Thetra trailed off. He hardly knew any of the Elves’ styles and yet he was supposed to support them against a fight with the aliens? Well, at least I’m not fighting for the aliens, he thought.
“Thetra, please. You can’t fight for the aliens, I forbid it!”
“I do not want to. I just fought them and destroyed their army, but I feel…I can’t believe I killed all of them. I feel so ashamed of myself. I just don’t think I c
an bring myself to kill anyone else ever again.”
“Thetra, our parents were murdered!” protested Arek.
“I am not one of the killers who killed my mother and father! I will never be like them!”
“THETRA! We must kill the aliens! I had a vision that they killed Therr. Is this true?”
A lot of people have been having visions, thought Thetra. “Yes. He died and now I must lead the army. I feel I should give it up to Hortyun.”
“Brother, congratulations! If I were you, I’d keep it!” His brother grinned.
No, that’s not what I’ll do. I am not worthy of being the leader, he thought. “Arek, I thought we were more…alike. Instead we’re like we hardly know each other.” Then Thetra started to get angry. “Why should I help you when you’re the one who let the Ognok loose? I’m supposed to be back at Destville, and it’s your fault Therr’s dead! Had you been at the battle, we would’ve been able to save him and defeat the aliens easily! Instead you left the army and just wanted to become famous and earn a wand, not caring about any other member of the Good Army…not even me.”
“I set out to get a wand because I knew it would help the army! I’m just a regular trooper in the army! But if I get a wand, I’ll be able to cast spells against our opponents and we would have a better chance of defeating Morchad. I’m doing this for the army’s own good.” He sneered, then turned away and the dream vanished.
Thetra stood looking over the valley ahead of him, which was filled with lions, cheetahs, and tigers.
And of course he had to kill them all to get to Arek.
Once again, he felt rage at his brother and thought, Why should I sacrifice this for you? But he ended up crossing it anyway.
The first creature that spotted him was a cheetah. Thetra knew cheetahs were fast so he tried to get as far away as possible from them. The cheetah started walking towards them, then suddenly stopped, then bolted at them.
Valao yelled, “Hop on me!” He dipped low so Thetra could get on him and he took off in flight, flying high over the valley.
“Why didn’t we think of this before?”
“This place is enchanted so no dragon can fly over the valley from above the valley, but can in the middle of it. But we can’t escape by flying, we must walk to get out of here.”
“How’d you know it was enchanted?” wondered Thetra.
“The lions and tigers are acting tired. The ones in Kiolerasdarque are never tired.”
“Could we just land at the edge of the valley and walk from there?”
“The cheetahs are too fast. We’ll have to fight them.”
Thetra groaned. “Could we please let them live?” he asked.
“If you don’t want to live, then let them be.”
“And why couldn’t we go around the valley?”
“The animals would come out and attack us by sensing us.”
“Fine. I’ll kill one or two.”
“Why don’t you want to murder these bloodthirsty animals?”
“That’s how my parents died. I can’t do that to them, their children feeling the same way I did for thirteen days.” He shook his head. “I must let them live. Maybe not all of them, but at least the majority of them.”
“Well, the majority of them are going to try to attack us.”
“Will we be safe once we’re out of the valley?” Thetra asked as they drew near to the end of the gorge.
“I don’t know every answer,” complained Valao.
Finally they landed. The one cheetah that had spotted them had gone back to being natural, but once they landed, all the animals turned to look at them.
Then they all ran for them.
“Go, go, go!” screamed Thetra. “I’ll fend them off!”
He saw Valao climb up out of the vale and then he ran after his dragon, cheetahs, lions, and tigers on his heels.
He dove for Valao’s tail and hung on as Valao scrambled up towards the top.
“Hurry,” croaked Thetra, his leg getting scratched by a tiger’s claw.
Finally, they reached the top and all the animals fell back into the valley.
“That took a bit of luck,” said Valao. “I thought there was a tiger hanging onto my tail, but then I felt your skin and I realized it was you.” He paused, smiling. “Good thing I didn’t shake you off.”
Thetra smiled. “Aye. And this place really is...enchanted. The animals are back to normal now.”
Valao looked and saw that it was true. “Well, there’s one problem checked off the list. Now where do we go?”
“Keep on marching south. It might be faster and safer if we fly.”
Valao considered it, and then said, “Aye. But let’s stop and walk for breaks when my wings tire.”
“Aye,” he responded, and then climbed onto Valao’s back.
They arrived a few hours later, which surprised Thetra, for he expected it to be at least a day’s trip.
Arek stood waiting for them.
“Brother, I” started Thetra.
“Ghanghar!” shouted Arek, and immediately snowflakes fell from the sky, sticking to the ground. After five minutes, there was already an inch of snow covering the grass where they stood.
“Why did you do that?” wondered Valao.
“I feel jolly and ready for winter,” said Arek grumpily. “Or maybe because your Rider betrayed me!”
“I did?” asked Thetra.
“Yes! I thought you were a killer! Instead you’re a regular human being who can’t murder! I don’t think you’re a Dragon Rider.”
Then I’ll prove it to you. Thetra drew his wand and yelled, “Valao, yarrhokmorlo I dii a Dragon Rider?” His exact words were “Valao, do you believe I am a Dragon Rider?”
“Aye. You are a true Rider,” responded Valao.
“What did you just ask your dragon?” asked Arek.
“You just called him my dragon. And where is yours?”
As if on cue, Ejarshöh flew out from behind a tree and caught a rabbit in his talons. Then the red dragon lifted it to his snout, smelled it, and popped it in his mouth.
“The Elves are here,” said Arek. He gestured all around him, and for the first time, Thetra noticed all the Elvish forts scattered around the land.
There were two-story forts, even some three-story forts, but the part of them that most interested Thetra was their architecture. They were dome shaped, with windows going all around the perimeter. The artwork surprised Thetra as well, with beautiful pictures on the outside, and it made Thetra wonder what the insides were like.
“Galorat is on his way back here to attack, the army of aliens now on his side. But this Ognok in particular is powerful. Very powerful. More powerful than Heirg.”
“Oh,” said Thetra, shocked. “That’s powerful.”
“Yes. He is about three leagues away from here and”
Then all of a sudden Valao and Ejarshöh lifted off the ground and flew upward, just as Valao and Ghuar had when they stopped the announcement of the new name of Kiolerasdarque.
Then the voice boomed from the sky, “The magical word of flyr now has a new meaning. It is used to kill an Ognok, but has the power to paralyze any other type of race. The word for fire is flyr as well” Thetra noticed that Valao and Ejarshöh were climbing high, almost high enough to reach the voice“ but the difference between the two is that to use the fire term, you have to think of fire in your head. To use the killing Ognok term, you have to think of an Ognok in your head. Now, on to the new naming of Kiolerasdarque...let’s hurry so no dragons bump into us capitol and stop us. The new name is”
BAM! The voice stopped, and Valao and Ejarshöh started falling from the sky. About five hundred meters from the ground, the two dragons started flying again and they landed peacefully.
“Well,” said Arek. “Now we know how to kill Galorat, but he still has the aliens with him.”
“Yes, Brother,” said Thetra. “But still, even with a spell that can kill Ognoks, you might not
be able to kill him.”
“What do you mean?” wondered Arek.
“You don’t have a wand. How will you cast the spell?”
“I was thinking that I could maybe borrow yours...?” said Arek.
“Oh. Well, yes of course.” Thetra drew his wand from his wand-sheath that was next to his sword-sheath.
He then handed it to Arek, and Arek said, “Can I use it?”
“Of course! I just gave it to you!”
“No, I mean some wands are enchanted to only respond to their master. Is”
“No, you can use that one. I hardly know any spells anyway since my training with Savar didn’t last too long.”
“When we go back to Destville, will you start your training with him again?” wondered Valao.
“I don’t know,” Thetra responded. “It is his choice, and it depends if he likes me or not.”
“Who else could teach you if he doesn’t?” asked Arek.
“I don’t know.”
All of a sudden Ejarshöh’s head popped up from sniffing the ground, and he said, “I think we’ve found our enemy.”
And as Thetra looked up, he saw in fact, that he was right.
Because Galorat was standing at the top of the hill, and there were countless numbers of aliens on the other side of the hill.
Arek
THE FIGHT WITH GALORAT
Arek didn’t approve of Galorat’s name, for he was the brother of the rat. He stood above Arek, towering down on him with his army of aliens behind him.
Arek did not know how to defeat all of them.
He started in a dumb way, shouting, “FLYR!” and pointing the stick in Galorat’s direction. In his mind, he pictured Galorat standing upon the hill, his fangs bared, and ready to take a bite of Arek, who was defenseless lying before him...
Arek shook the thought away. He looked up, and saw no dead Ognok. Well, thanks, Bewaldt! Of course you don’t carry out your rules.
Need some advice? asked Ingharr in Arek’s mind.
Yes, but not from you!
Good, good. So just yell the magical word at the top of your lungs, point Thetra’s wand at Galorat, and think of Galorat.
I tried that, Ingharr!
What did you think of in your mind?
Him about to kill me.
There’s your mistake. You have to think of him being defenseless against you! You have power over him! You are the one doing the killing! You win!