The Dragon Rider's Chronicles

Sanz's eyes widened as the girl gripped him like she was the last piece of solid ground on the earth. He let out an exasperated sigh and looked down


"Look--"


He put his hands on her shoulders, feeling her quivering beneath his touch.


Let her stay


Sanz's head immediately shot up towards the sky, where a shadow could be seen


"I'm not--"


You are what she needs right now. Do not deny this.


Sanz grit his teeth


I'm ruled by my past. I can't even keep my anger under control.


But you are honest. Do not push her away.


The elf let out a sigh, but did not push against her shoulders. Sanz finally settled for sitting down cross-legged again, Neera collapsing against his side like a pile of sand with her legs unable to support.
 
From beyond where the two were, a pair of silver eyes gleamed at them. Iris looked to the stars and breathed a prayer of thanks to Welunaariv. This was exactly what Sanz needed, as did Neera. Sanz needed to learn to not push everyone away along with controlling his emotions. Neera needed someone to guide her a bit, to give her some strength in the times ahead. The Spirit Dragonborn was going to need all the help that she could get. Her eyes closed and she shook her head. How could she tell Sanz who was going to die if he didn't learn to control his anger? The prophecy was being followed to the letter. Sanz was beginning to take his role as one of the Dragonborns' counterparts. But only he could stop the end of the Spirit Dragonborn. It was Neera who would die at the final battle if he could not learn to control his emotions.


----


Neera felt something in the wind, like a song that called to her soul. There was music coming from all around them, the music of the spirit of nature. It surrounded the two of them, the winds whipping through the area.


"....Sanz....do you hear, er...feel that?" Her tears stopped for a moment as she looked up, trying to discern what was going on.
 
Sanz's ears twitched involuntarily. Had his focus on the girl in front of him been so great he'd actually neglected his surroundings? He was quiet for a few more seconds, trying to find anything out of the ordinary.


"Not unless you're referring to the owls. Why?"
 
Just as suddenly as they appeared, the sound of music disappeared as well. "....guess it was just something on the wind....or maybe I'm going crazy...." She was still oblivious to the fact that she was still collapsed on his shoulder. Her eyes glanced up at him, much calmer than before. "...thanks...." She awkwardly hugged him again. "I....needed that...."


----


Iris nodded as she watched. The girl was beginning to experience the awakening of her power, a power that could bind the three Dragonborns there together. Iris felt that she still needed to speak to Sanz at length, maybe explain a bit more about the prophecy. But, then again, he was probably going to stubbornly insist that this prophecy did not tell the way to his destiny. She fervently hoped so; otherwise, more lives would be lost soon.
 
Sanz let out an annoyed breath.


"Right."


The man stood up, though Neera seemed to retain her death grip on him as he did so.


"So. How long are you going to cling like that?"
 
Kenzo blinked. She wanted him with her...she even said please. He blinked again as he realized how stupid he was for not realizing what she must be going through right now. He took her hand firmly, pulling her towards the dark forest. "Gladly. Let's go," he said as he guided her into the darkness. They travelled for quite some time, Kenzo only barely remembering to look for wild game to hunt. He was having great difficulty finding any, however, and he had an idea why.


"Our arrival must have spooked the wildlife," he muttered to Ardra when he finally stopped dragging her along. They were surrounded by pitch black night, the tree canopy blocking the stars and moon from view. "A bunch of dragons landing and people running rampant in their forest would probably have that affect." He looked around, realizing that, despite his darkvision, he had somehow gotten lost. "...Crap. Where are we...?" He was doing his best to not pay attention to the fact that he was now alone with Ardra in the middle of nowhere. Another day, he would be red as a tomato about that, but this was not the time to be so selfish. They had a lot of work ahead of them, and many hard days.
 
Neera quickly let go, a bit of sadness returning to her eyes. "....sorry...." She looked away quickly. "I....didn't mean to impose....or make you feel uncomfortable...." Her eyes flitted about before finding a route away. "...I'll....I'll just leave you alone now...." Neera didn't wait for words as she crashed through the underbrush back towards the beach. Why had she hoped that maybe he'd be okay with that? It was obvious he didn't want her close to him. He'd done nothing but treat her like she was inferior from the moment they had met.


----


Iris grit her teeth and face-palmed. This was getting pretty annoying. He was the one that she prophecy spoke of that would help the Spirit Dragonborn. He was the one that could understand her pain and help her work through it. Had he been alone for so long that he couldn't remember what it was like to be around others? Her silver eyes narrowed and the sun occasionally created flashes of light that reflected off of them.


----


Ardra glanced around her, noticing the solitude around them. Her eyes flashed towards Kenzo before sidling up to him. "It's a beautiful night." She noticed that suddenly her covering garb was no longer necessary and took off her cloak and mask. Her black skin sparkled in the moonlight.
 
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Neera probably would have heard a crunch behind her as she ran through the undergrowth. A small crater had appeared in one of the rock faces near the area she had spoken with Sanz moments before. His fist was in the center of it.


"Auntyrmarun. Where's a large area near here? Lot's of rock. I won't be sleeping tonight."


The psychic dragon shook his head, but flew over Sanz as he walked towards a rocky clearing. If anyone listened closely, the sound of metal shearing through rock could be heard.
 
As the sun finally set Matthais and Sikstaxen landed on the beach near what shelter had been built since everyone else landed. He quickly headed to the edge of the forest and started taking down branches to build a fire. He found old dead trees first and used them before moving onto the living plants. He brought them back near the camp and began to construct the beginnings of a fire.


For each piece of wood he placed upon the fire he began singing a song in one of the ancient tongues of the fae. A slow song that built with the fire. It began small with little plays in the melody like the wispy starts of a fire deciding whether or not to burn. It would occasionally stop for a moment, maybe to burn out, but then Matthais would continue singing. Eventually the blaze rose, as did the singer, and he held out a long final note before slowly sitting back down in front of the fire.
 
Kenzo glanced up, trying to see through the dense canopy at the 'beautiful night' Ardra was referring to. Some moonlight was filtering through but he couldn't see any discernible open sky. "Not sure what you m-"


His mental processes stuttered when he looked over to the woman who had suddenly moved up close next to him, staring up with brilliant purple eyes. He coughed nervously into his hand. "I, ah, suppose it is a pleasant evening...the temperature is...perfectly comfortable and the uh...sky is...hidden..." he was grasping for words and fumbling over his speech and it was all because of the fact that he couldn't tear his stare away from her eyes that were returning his gaze tenfold.


Cool your emotions, Kenzo. This is no time to act...rashly, he thought to himself. Focus on what you need to do.


He was failing that endeavor completely at this rate, but he felt if he acted on the emotional flare-up he was feeling, he would be scolded. They had work to do, right? These were dark and imperative times for everyone. No time for fun...right?
 
"Kenzo....." Ardra looked up at him imploringly because she knew what she needed right now. She needed him to take care of her and make her feel better. Without another word, she pushed herself into his arms and buried her face into his neck. This day had been filled with problems and all-too-believable happenstances. Right now, she just wanted to forget that the rest of the world existed.


----


Iris sat down at the edge of the clearing, barely within view, watching Sanz. Her silver eyes flickered in the growing darkness and she again shook her head. It was easy to see why the prophecy could easily be fulfilled.


"You ever thought of meditating instead of destroying everything in sight?" Her voice rang out over the clearing.


----


Neera kept crashing through the brush, Eldran flying above watching her. For a second, she had actually believed that Sanz had possibly cared about her emotional state for her own well-being. No, that wasn't the case. He just needed her to function, it seemed, so that she could fight what was coming. She just kept running, running from what had happened.
 
Kenzo was so surprised by Ardra's ambush of a hug that his balance failed utterly and they collapsed backwards onto the ground. "Gah!" Suddenly he was flat on his back in the middle of a dark forest, with Ardra on top of him. "Ah...sorry, Ardra..." he could barely speak as his...predicament...flooded his mind. He was mysteriously unable to right himself, or help Ardra up again. What was going on? Why did she cling to him so? Why did she smell so wonderful?


"Ardra?" he spoke softly and tentatively, "Are you alright?"
 
Auntyrmarun stood across the clearing, and telekinetically hurled another boulder about as large as Sanz directly at his rider.


"One-hundred and fifty-EIGHT!"


At the last syllable, Sanz clove through the boulder, leaving the halves to crash behind him. A pile of rubble had grown while he had been swinging, and it was clear to see the sweat over his body. He heard the voice of Iris through his panting.


Little one, you must re--


I'll rest when I collapse


Auntyrmarun had a hurt look on his face as Sanz turned to the source of the voice. Iris, the same woman who had entered his head. His blade pointed towards her location


"You have your entire home and family burned to the ground in a single night, become full of anger and hatred without a target to release it upon, devote your life to the sword. Then you have the knowledge and right to ask me that question--One hundred and fifty-NINE!"


Another boulder was cloven in two, becoming rubble behind the man
 
"....I just want to be close to you...." Ardra looked up at him, pleading in her eyes. "Is there a problem with that?" Her grip on him tightened automatically and she gazed down at him from above. The darkening sky started to be filled with stars that gleamed down on them, creating a beautiful background for Ardra.


----


Iris half-smiled. "I can't do that. I never knew my parents; the temple took me when I was born with the crescent on my forehead. No idea who I am or where I came from." She shook her head. "I guess there's no way to avert the prophecy; I guess she'll die since you apparently don't have reason enough to control yourself." She gazed up at the sky and at the moon.


----


Neera suddenly found herself back at the base camp. She could hear Matthais' last note of song and she saw the fire. Her tears were quickly wiped away and she mentally prepared herself to walk out there to the fire. She was the Crown Princess of Dracsofar, second in line to the throne. There was no way that she could stop being strong now because things got hard. Her feet stepped out, putting one foot in front of the other. Then, she sat down next to the fire and stared into it, trying to concentrated on not feeling anything.
 
Kenzo couldn't respond immediately. Of course HE didn't have a problem with it. Yet a lingering pang of guilt threatened him from the back of his mind. To think, he had recently told her he would always protect her and never leave her. He'd been utterly useless against that rider with the whips...divine intervention was the main reason for his return to the others. His failure to defend Ardra and near-failure to even survive weighed heavily on his conscience.


"Ardra..." he said slowly, lifting himself and her sitting positions, holding her by the shoulders at arm's length, "Do you know what it was like, to be batted aside by that psychotic rider and her dragon? Do you want to know what I thought and felt?" he asked, barely meeting her gaze in shame. "I felt pathetic. Weak. I failed to protect you. I was defeated laughably easy. Literally so, judging by that woman's constant cackling," he said, frustratedly. His head dropped, staring at the ground. His hands on her shoulders were ever-so-slightly shaking. "As I fell to the cold ocean, many emotions flooded my mind. The most prominent was not anger at my irritating opponent, nor was it sadness at my potential demise. I...was afraid..."


Kenzo finally stopped holding himself back: he pulled Ardra to him, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. "I was terrified of losing you, Ardra," he whispered shakily into her ear, and took a deep and very shaky breath. "If you had died, I..." He stopped, his breath catching in his throat as he processed that scenario. He pulled away just enough to press his forehead to hers, crimson eyes staring into her purple ones, a pair of tear trails revealed by the starlight. "Ardra...I love you...I'll get stronger, we all will...I will make up for my failures ten, no, a hundredfold...I swear it..." he spoke with desperation as he realized that the fact that she had survived was miraculous given their opponent.
 
Sanz let out a slow hiss through his teeth before turning to one of the boulders nearby


Wait! Just because you're angry at yourself right now doesn't--


Aunyrmarun's mental connection was interrupted when Iris had a boulder about as large as she was land right next to her.


"Prophecy this, prophecy that, I can't do a damn thing around you without it being tied into some kind of doom!"


Sanz was marching towards the silver-haired woman, his knuckles white around the hilt of his sword


"Is that all you do? Go around spouting what the 'winds of fortune' have in store for everyone? Because you seemed to be pretty damn silent about what just happened!"


Sanz--


"Where were your prophecies then?! Was the death of nearly everyone on that island, including the QUEEN HERSELF not important enough to warrant some foresight?!"


Sanz!


By this point Sanz was directly in front of the woman, practically shouting at her


"Where the hell were your prophecies just now, when an entire island was razed by three riders?! Where the hell were your prophecies when the council split and two of them betrayed everyone?! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOUR PROPHECIES SIXTEEN YEARS AGO WHEN WILD DRAGONS WIPED A VILLAGE OFF THE MAP!?!"


SANZ!!!


Sanz finally seemed to register Auntyrmarun shouting at him through the link, as his head turned to the right in an extremely harsh fashion to look at his partner


"WHAT?!"
 
"Oh hello Neera." Matthais said with almost no hint of emotion. Although tears had cut lines through the salt stains on his face. "It's getting late... and we'll have an early day tomorrow. But... I don't know if I'll be able to sleep." He stared into the fire; poking it with a black-tipped stick. "I-" He turns his head to her, and sees her expression. He knows her expression, how she feels. The words stick in his throat for a moment before he looks back into the fire. "My mother was the most beautiful woman I've ever known. But not a shallow beauty, her personality, her fire, brought passion to everything she did. Singing, dancing, acting," he laughs, "raising a son... I remember this one time when I was sick, now I was determined to be in a foul mood, and she would just tell me stories, and silly jokes for hours and I couldn't be mad or anything but jolly..." Shadow darkend his eyes. "She... was killed, along with my father, by Ardra's father. Public beheading," he paused with his face becoming serious. "I saw... and it profoundly changed me and I became bitter. A dark and serious brigand was I. I would steal ... kill... without remorse. Who could possibly be more worthy of life than the flame of joy that was my mother? I let my hatred fester and became hell-bent on revenge. But one day, I heard a little funny story being told in a nearby tent. It reminded me of that night, so many years ago, when my mother had told me the same story. I had all but forgotten it... I had forgotten her." He paused and looked up at Neera again.


"I'm not telling you to forgive them. Hate them if you wish. Hate is powerful and wrath can be the only thing that pulls you through, sometimes. But don't remember your mother on the events of yesterday. Remember her how she really was. Remember the good days."


He smiled weakly before he returned to poking the fire.
 
"Sixteen years ago I was not much older than you and my abilities had not yet awakened." Iris' eyes closed. "As for what happened this night, it was foretold that the day would come when he who worships evil and she who revels in death would strike down the head of the country. It was never told by name who would orchestrate it, but the three Fallen Dragonborn would ring the death bells for the ruler. I knew that it had to be soon since all of you have appeared together now." Iris opened her eyes again, turning her silver stare onto him. "It has all come to pass as the old prophecy foretold. The head was struck down by the Dragonborn, but the Chosen have escaped together. And things will continue the way that they are if you continue in your old ways." Iris was now right up in his face, unafraid and angry. "You can be angry and continue to let things fall apart around you, warrior. You can let your anger take over you and let the rest of the prophecy come true. You can fight in blind rage...." Her eyes narrowed angrily. "And let Neera die when you can't control it. Or you can learn that the past is the past and you can't change it! The more that you let your anger from the past control your actions, the more stuck in the past you become! AND THE MORE THAT YOU LET YOUR ANGER CONTROL YOU, THE MORE PEOPLE THAT WILL DIE AROUND YOU! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DIE BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CONTROL YOUR RAGE AND BECAUSE YOU CAN'T ACCEPT THE PAST?!"


----


Ardra hugged him tightly. "You think that you're the only one who needs to become stronger?" Her face fell as she spoke. "My father created this mess, created this plan to throw this world into chaos. My own blood betrayed his country. And one day the others will realize this fact and wonder if I was in on it. They'll wonder if that wasn't the plan all along. And when that day comes...." Her eyes hardened like ice. "I will need to be strong enough for whatever is thrown my way. I will need to be strong enough to prove that my loyalty is not to him."


----


Neera heard Matthais' words and stared into the fire. There had been a time like this once when her mother had taken Kirion and her camping in the mountains. They had sat under the stars, telling stories both funny and scary. They had listened to the wolves howling in the distance. They had for one moment felt like a family and she had never seen her mother more happy. A few tears fell from her eyes as she remembered that night, staring into the fire beneath the stars. Who knew what tomorrow would bring? But for now, she could live with a few beautiful memories to get her through this night.
 
Kenzo hesitated for only a moment before pulling out of the embrace, locking eyes with Ardra again. "You will be more than strong enough. You're already so strong now, I can barely fathom how impressive you'll be in the future. Certainly, there will be a storm, and there will be many that will persecute you. Just know that will not face it alone. I will be at your side when the storm comes, princess. I will be there to stand strong through it with you. I always will." Kenzo, for the first time in ages, now wore a genuine, warm smile of assurance on his face. Well, it really wasn't much of a smile; his lips were barely curled upward. But it showed in his eyes, and for someone so locked up as Kenzo, he may as well have been beaming. "If anyone does not believe you, they will answer to the last Soromine. I truly cannot vouch for the others; I do not know any of them all that well, so their goals and ambitions are not known to me. But you know my loyalies lie with you, Ardra. My only desire is your happiness."
 
Sanz, this is not the time--


Sanz broke away from Auntyrmarun's council when Iris started yelling at him. The barrage of words contained nothing but more doom and death. He didn't know when his hand had found its way to Iris' throat, but here he stood, with the young woman a few inches off the ground.


"Shut up."


His eyes bore into hers, the sheer ferocity barely held at bay


"You claim to know what should be done with my life. That you know myself better than I do. You know NOTHING."


Sanz's grip on his blade, already tight enough that it had turned his knuckles white, tightened even further


"I'M the one who has this raging madness inside of him, NOT YOU. I'M the one whose devoted his life to the sword, NOT YOU. AND--"


Iris was lifted a few more inches up off the ground


"No prophecy, turn of fate, or even a god is going to change that fact. I will conquer this--without you, without anyone. I was not strong enough today. And so I will correct that."


Sanz's grip released, letting Iris fall back down the few inches to earth as he turned around


"I'm done talking. It wastes time."
 
Matthais stood from the fire. "I'm turning in soon," he said as he walked back to the forest. "I'm just going to make sure other people have similar plans." He strode through the forest and eventually heard Sanz yelling and began running towards the sound his sword coming from it's sheath. Hell of a time to forget my shield. He burst into the clearing as Sanz exited. As his form disappeared between the trees Matthais stood next to Iris and sheathed his sword. "Are you ok, Iris?" he asked as he stared into the forest. "Blasted madman..."
 
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"....he'll be the death of us all, particularly one of us, if he doesn't learn to control himself." Iris rubbed her neck slightly. "But Sanz will never listen to me. He'd rather go off by himself then let someone in to help him. And when his comrades in arms lie dead around him, maybe then he'll understand what his blind rage takes away from him. He'll never achieve a great level of swordsmanship and he'll never grow as a person until he learns to control himself."


----


Neera watched Matthais leave and looked up into the night sky. Eldran poked his head next to her, nudging her with is giant snout. You should get some sleep, rider. Tomorrow will be a long day.


I know. She answered. But where can we go from here?


I don't know. Eldran sighed. For tonight, just get some rest. Neera complied, curling up against his head and laying her head down on the top of his nose for a pillow. Tomorrow was a new day but tonight she just needed sleep.


Good night, Eldran.


Good night, Neera.


----


Ardra looked up at him and sighed. "....and what if you being happy is what makes me happy? It's not all about me, you know." She rested her hand against the side of his face, looking deep into his eyes. "If I am to be happy, I wish for those around me to be happy as well. So that means, you have to be happy in order for me to be happy."
 
Kenzo's brow furrowed in confusion. "For you to be happy...I have to be happy?" he asked. "I...I can't say I know how."


It was true. As he thought about it more, he couldn't recall any time in his life when he'd been truly happy. Even before he became a wandering hermit and locked his emotions away, he had never been a cheerful boy. He had been so enraptured in his training. He almost never took breaks, and even when he did it was for sustenance or sleep. He had experienced satisfaction from succeeding in mastering a technique, but that's the most pleasure he'd experienced to his recollection. Honestly, he had always been a workaholic, and his family would poke fun at him for it. When was the last time he really smiled? Or laughed, for that matter? He had always been so focused and serious...maybe Ardra would change that about him, make him loosen up a bit.
 
"He might do just that. Doesn't matter how angry you are if you're going up against someone better than you. We just need have him train against someone he can't beat while angry... Someone truly skilled as opposed to just violently angry..." Matthais shook his head as he turned back to Iris. "We should go to bed.. More excitement tomorrow I'm sure. Have you seen the others at all?"
 
Auntyrmarun gazed back at the new arrival before turning to follow after his rider. He appeared almost crestfallen at the turn of events.


Sanz--


"Not now Auntyrmarun."


Sanz's words were leveled, and no anger was directed at his dragon partner. It was instead directed at a tree that was just unfortunate enough to be standing beside him at the time. A groaning was heard through the forest right before the trunk crashed into the earth behind Sanz. He marched in stoic silence for a while, stopping only when he arrived in an area next to a cliff. Rock was everywhere. Perfect.


You don't understand her--


"And she doesn't understand me. The difference is that I don't pretend to know what's best for other people. I only act as my will dictates, and nothing else."


He swung his sword around a couple of times, letting out a long breath before his gaze finally turned back to the young dragon


Another time, maybe another place. But not now.


Auntyrmrun let out a sigh, but was glad that Sanz had returned to speaking through the bond rather than blatantly ignoring it. The sound of sword shearing through rock continued deep into the night . . .
 
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