A Bright Road (Part 52)

A Bright Road
(Part 52 of the Final Stand)
(Part 3 of the Battle for Fantasia Trilogy)

“It never came up again.” Embyr noted.

Arching an eyebrow, Sterling turned from polishing his sword to meet the dragon’s eyes.

“What never came up again?” he asked.

“What I said, three days ago,” she prompted “after Death died.”

“Refresh my memory.” The human encouraged – though he knew where the conversation was heading. It was a subject that wrought his mind with anxiety, and yet simultaneously filled him with the warmth of anticipation.

“I said I loved you.” Embyr confessed, leaning back against one of the forest’s towering evergreens. She gestured openhandedly to the knight, waiting for him to make the next move.

Sterling was quiet, taking a long moment to think. Blushing, the dragon misinterpreted the silence as a sign of no mutual feeling.

“We can always blame it on the fight?” she offered. “Perhaps I was too overwhelmed by the battle? Or maybe, in my transformed state, I was… confused? I thought you were someone else?”

“You weren’t.” Sterling returned bluntly – though the words flowed from a smile, not a scowl.

“We’ve been friends for two or three years.” He recalled, casually sheathing his weapon and leaning back against a large boulder. His mind was plagued with worry, with indecision – but when he spoke the words seemed to flow easily, like they were the only natural thing to say.

“Over those months I have seen things no human has ever seen – experienced wonders most can’t even imagine. You saved my life a hundred times – and, together, we saved the entire world.

“I don’t know what I thought of you when we first met – maybe that we were just friends and that it would always be that way? But at some point – I don’t know or care when – that changed, and now I understand that that isn’t possible.”

“Why?” Embyr asked, almost demanded. The single word carried the strength of a thousand, charging the lone syllable with confusion, pain, and loss.

“Because we’re more than that.” Sterling said simply, banishing the dragon’s negative emotion in an instant. “We’re been through too much to just be friends. I knew almost six months ago that I had feelings for you – but, needless to say, I didn’t find it appropriate to say so.

“It was only after you made the first move that I realized it didn’t matter that I was human, and you were a dragon. You are you – and it doesn’t matter if that you is human, dragon, kobold, or dark elf. What matters is that you are Embyr.

“Though,” he noted, somewhat embarrassed “you being a dragon certainly makes things more… challenging. It would be difficult to just get married and live out the rest of my life – among other things, of course.”

“Marriage is virtually non-existent in dragon society.” Embyr observed. “Perhaps it would be better if, for the sake of convenience, we go by my adopted kind’s customs? We’ll just be… mates. It isn’t as powerful or binding as marriage, and carries no moral ramifications – though I won’t let you hang out with the girls in the Stonebridge bar, either.”

“Mates, then?” Sterling said, smiling at the ironic term, given their physical differences.

Silence held for a long moment – but it was not an awkward or disappointed silence, but a time where they could reflect on and enjoy the road their lives were walking. The quiet in the glade held until, at length, the sound of wing beats overhead drew their attention skyward.

Almost angelic against the morning sun, Blaze settled softly to the earth. Brushing invisible dirt from her arms she approached the pair, her grin almost as wide as their own.

“Where have you been?” Sterling demanded mockingly. It was only when he took a moment to assess the question that he realized he hadn’t seen the Dragon Queen in several days – since she had called them to the Council, in fact.

“I’ve been busy.” She assured him. “I wasn’t once the spokesman of the Dragon Council for nothing. I still have diplomatic ties to several different bands across the region – and, with the state they were in before our battle with the Nether, I thought it fitting that I check up on them now that our own fight is finished.”

“And what did you find?” Embyr asked.

“Before the horsemen fell, the whole world was plagued with famine, war, conquest, and death. But, after the battle, everything just seemed to… well… end. Diseases on people and crops vanished, wars that had raged for decades seemed to just fall apart peacefully, and old enemies suddenly became friends. The dwarves that forged my first sword, for example, had been fighting over tribal rights for centuries – now, they’ve signed peace treaties and are working together for the first time since my weapon was made.

“I hear,” she went on, winking at the human “that Surris has even started drawing its war in the east to a close. You’ll be getting a new surge of veterans in Stonebridge, before long.”

“Which means I need to go home.” He said, rising and brushing dirt and snow from his tunic. “It has been a long time since I left.”

“Well, feel free to come back and visit us.” Blaze offered. “You will be missed.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something else to eat.” Sterling chuckled.

“Unfortunately,” the Dragon Queen sighed, truly appearing sorrowful “we’ve started to… reassess the current diplomatic relations with the humans. You’ve proven… resourceful, and certainly helpful, in the war with the Nether. We can only assume the rest of your kind has something to offer. As a result, we’ve decided to place more weighted restrictions on human hunting.

“So, in response to your statement, no: I don’t think I’ll be fining something else to eat. Humans are far more protected now – and we certainly won’t turn on the kobolds or the drow, after their part in the fight.”

Sterling couldn’t suppress the overwhelming relief – and Blaze noticed. Her muzzle wrinkled in a scowl and she shook a finger warningly.

“Your kind isn’t off the menu yet – so don’t get overconfident.” She chided.

“Well… I’m confident Tyus could work certain non-fatal arrangements with some of you, if you’re interested?” the knight offered. “Embyr and Crystal can vogue for me when I said he is far less… defensive than I am.”

“Again,” Blaze sighed “I’m to be disappointed. You aren’t the only one leaving: Tyus is heading out, too. I don’t know when or if he will be back.”

“Why the sudden departure?” the human asked, surprised.

“Tyus has been through more suffering than any of us.” Blaze explained, her voice wise and sympathetic. “He lost his brother and three of his sisters in the battle. That was virtually all the family he had – and now they’re gone. But, as rumor goes, he has one sister that is still alive – alive, but separated from the rest of his family. It is just speculation, but his trip may be less about distancing himself from the battlefield and more about finding his last remaining sibling.”

“And he’s leaving now? He certainly hasn’t healed yet…”

“The kobolds brought their elixirs with them.” The dragon recalled. “And he has used them far from sparingly. He isn’t back to one-hundred-percent, but he is strong enough to travel – and this is the best time, too, while the memories are still fresh and the wounds still sting a bit. They remind him why he is going.”

“I take it Silver is going with him?” the human asked.

“Actually,” the Dragon Queen said with a chuckle “Silver has found certain… distractions here. I don’t think he’ll be leaving for some time.”

“So Tyus is going alone?” he asked. The prospect was a painful one; had he not been separated from his own family for nearly a year, Sterling would have gladly volunteered to go with him.

“Drow aren’t like humans.” Blaze observed. “They are, by their very nature, solitary creatures.

“But,” she added “Tyus isn’t a real drow, is he? He has quite a bit of dragon blood in him – and dragons, from time to time, need someone other than themselves. It is only fitting that two dragons are going with him.”

“I’m assuming the first is Kerugarn?” the Knight guessed, receiving a nod.

“And the second? Certainly not you – not so soon after the war?”

“Not me,” the violet dragon agreed. “I have far too much to do. But I have given Onyx leave from the Council – temporarily, at any rate. With luck, she will have enough time to see the elf’s journey to its end.”

“Onyx?” Sterling asked, dumbfounded.

In looking back at his magical mentor, the human realized just how unlikely she was to help… anyone. She had taken a liking to Sterling, it was true, but he always saw the gesture as more a reflection of pride than genuine compassion.

But, then again, it certainly wasn’t the first time in his life Sterling’s conclusions had been far from the truth.

“It seems,” the Dragon Queen explained “that they have become… close, since the fall of the Beast – no offense, of course, Embyr.”

The black dragon took the comment in stride and nodded acceptingly.

“She watched over him after he was moved from his sister’s camp, and was with him when Yer’a and Trel’a passed. She has taken quite an interest in the drow – and, being half dragon, it may prove more than just friendly, in their time on the road.”

“Really?” Embyr asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, then, I suppose I’ll have to have a long chat with Onyx when she gets back? I’m sure she can give me some tips…”

Sterling blushed, and both dragons burst into laughter.

* * * * *

“This may be goodbye.” Sterling said sadly.

Tyus looked up long enough to nod forlornly before turning back to his bags. His horse – which creature that hardly looked like a horse at all, with a sinister obsidian-black coat, a pair of flaming red eyes, and a set of very not-horse-like fangs – stood passively as he tightened the last of the ropes securing his pack to its back – though, perhaps through the youth’s imagination, it seemed as though the monstrous mount was carefully judging him during his approach.

But whatever the animal thought of him, it seemed satisfactory enough to allow the human to approach its master. Alongside the elf, the swordsman helped survey and check that all of the assassin’s belongings were in order.

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” he asked when Tyus stepped back, satisfied.

“There is no way of knowing.” The dark elf admitted. “I don’t think Trel’a expected me to have to find our sister. The note she gave me was hastily written – it just wishes me luck, and directs me to a contact in the port of Sheldis.

“I hope it is in your lifetime.” He added, far from optimistically. “For all I know, I could be wandering the world for another two centuries before I find Twi’zari.”

“Well, then,” Sterling said, extended his hand to the elf “let’s hope it doesn’t take so long. Good luck.”

The dark elf took the human’s hand and shook it, matching Sterling’s grin.

“I hope I won’t need it – but thanks.” He said gratefully.

Pulling back, Tyus swung a leg over the nightmare’s back, using the momentum to pull himself onto his steed. He winced visibly as the movement strained his healing wounds; but, quickly, his facial features calmed, and he was his old self again. And it was with a hopeful smirk that he turned to the first of his companions.

“Are you both ready to go?” he asked.

From an equally sinister mount at the elf’s left, Kerugarn gave a toothy grin and dipped his head.

“It is nice to feel the surface world again.” He observed, flexing his fingers around his reins. “You should thank you mother for letting me join you.”

“I will – with the return of her daughter.” Tyus promised.

“Thanks for the horse, by the way.” He added, turning to the tallest member of his party.

Abandoning her smaller form, Onyx stood eagerly beside the pair. She winked down at the elf, a twinkle in her eye – one that would have intimidated most mortal creatures, but that only seemed to offer encouragement to the assassin.

“Minor summoning magic,” she muttered, waving humbly. “They’ll get you where you need to go – even if they can’t outrun a dragon.”

“I think that is a challenge?” Tyus boasted, snapping his reins and sending his steed into a full gallop into the tree line. Kerugarn was close behind him, his own nightmare puffing angry bursts of smoke in its wake.

“Elves are so proud.” Onyx said with a sigh, turning back to Sterling. “He doesn’t realize that, even if I did summon something a bit more competitive, I could just un-summon it just as quickly.”

“Now the question is what you’ll do when you catch him?” the swordsman chuckled.

The dragon reached down and scratched the top of the boy’s head with one knuckle, almost like a sibling would. In that gesture, the knight came to question whether or not she truly was the dark, merciless magi she claimed to be; but it was a question that, for the time being, would go unanswered.

“Try not to get yourself killed while I’m gone.” She advised.

“Same to you.” Sterling returned evenly.

With a wave Onyx spread her wings and, after two or three experimental beats, took to the air. In moments she was gone, disappearing in a rush of wind above the forest canopy.

As the forest stilled, Sterling came to a sudden realization. In a most ironic epiphany, he recognized dragon’s departure seemed to make his life a little darker.

But, in turning to regard the assembly of drow, dragons, and kobolds that stood in silent farewell to Tyus, the human realized that his life’s road was already a bright, sunny place. Perhaps the assassin needed a bit more light in his own existence – and if anyone could provide that glow, it was Onyx.

Turning back one last time to the mysterious depths of the forest, Sterling raised a hand to the elf’s back.

“See you around, Tyus.” He whispered. “Perhaps, before my life is finished, we’ll meet again?”

And as the swordsman returned to the welcoming arms of the Dragon Council, he hardly knew just how much time he had left.