Dragon Thieves: Echelon - Part Two by child_dragon |  |
I don't understand why bad things happen to people. I wish I did, but I
think no one has the answer to that question. Although I was unable to right
the wrongs of the past, I think those restless spirits did find peace, or a
sorts. I wish I could say the same of those still living.
The storm raged outside, as if the very heavens themselves
had come crashing down. We inspected the tower cautiously, and eventually deemed
it safe. It was fairly large, but mostly fallen apart. We couldn't get past
the second floor, the stairs had crumbled away. But it was structurally sound,
and kept the rain out. That was all we cared about.
"So, a fine trip this has turned out to be," Taffin
grumbled.
"You're the one who wanted to go in the first
place," Skyil reminded.
"Yeah, but I didn't expect it to rain," he whined.
I moved away from the two and over to MiracleStar,
who was laying out her cloak for the night.
"This didn't go like planned," I murmured.
"No, it didn't," she replied calmly, "but what
ever does? It's too bad we're spending the night in this tower instead of in
an inn somewhere. But things happen."
"Why were you so eager to get away from Illusen?"
She shrugged.
"Faeries make me nervous."
She stood and walked over to the small entrance,
gazing out into the rain. I decided against bothering her further.
Night came upon us, and we settled down for
the night. Sure, all we had was our cloaks, but with the rain, we couldn't really
do much else. I curled up in a corner and fell into a fitful sleep.
I woke to some odd noises. For a few moments,
I didn't move, listening. The sounds were coming from upstairs. I then rose
to my feet, drawing my dagger. My family was sound asleep around me. I hesitated,
then walked over to MiracleStar, and tried to shake her awake. But she didn't
stir, and I grew worried. Skyil, Jaix, and Taffin didn't wake either. It was
then I noticed the tower itself had changed. No longer was it the crumbling
building we'd entered. It was well-kept, and obviously lived-in. My curiosity
took hold, and I started up the steps.
The first thing I noticed is that they continued
on past the second floor. I followed them all the way up, noticing that the
storm was now gone. The tower ended in a huge room at the very top. I entered
and looked around in amazement. The room was a bedroom, richly furnished in
traditional medieval style. Luxurious, a room for a princess.
"M'lady, you shouldn't be up this late," a reproachful
voice said from behind me.
I spun, raising my dagger, fur bristling. A
red Shoyru stood before me, wearing a breastplate, helmet, and a sword around
his waist. He looked at me mournfully, sorrow in his eyes.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Dralvane, m'lady. And you really shouldn't
be out tonight, Princess Amidine," he repeated.
"What? Who's this princess?"
"Why, yourself, of course."
He seemed slightly surprised and puzzled.
"I'm no princess, I'm Nianso. Nianso DreamWish."
He stared at me for a long time, then dropped
his gaze.
"Most peculiar. It seems you have been caught
up in this too. Ah, wretched fate."
"What are you talking about?"
He glanced up at me, his eyes pitying.
"Many many years ago, this tower housed the
Princess Amidine. She was destroyed by an assassin, and this is the anniversary
of that event."
"So what does that have to do with me?" I asked,
feeling a chill run down my spine.
"Every year, we spirits play out the events
that happened, for a great wrong was committed here. We are doomed to replay
this, until we find absolution. It seems that you, of the living, have been
caught up in this. I am truly sorry, I truly am."
"Wait. I'm, taking the place of the princess?"
"Yes."
I shook my head, fear suddenly gripping my heart.
"I'm not going to be defeated," I said firmly,
"we're going to beat this assassin off then, ghost or no ghost. This whole place
looks real enough to me, and if I'm real enough to die, then so is the assassin."
Dralvane nodded solemnly.
"I wish you the best of luck with it, then,
Princess Ama, er, Nianso. But I must warn you, in all these aeons, not once
have I succeeded in protecting the princess. Not once," he said, shaking his
head, "but for you, I will try my best. Though I most likely will fail, again.
I suggest you make your peace, Princess Nianso, for I doubt you will see the
sunrise."
I shuddered, and drew my dagger, desperately
hoping that my talent would decide to kick in and save me. But no such luck,
I felt no bubbling of raw power, just a subtle hint of something, probably
related to the place I was in, a twisting of time and magic.
There was a commotion from below us, cries of
"assassin!" ringing up, then silence. Dralvane nodded to me and drew his sword,
standing in the doorway. A shadowy shape appeared, cloaked in black, and carrying
two daggers. Dralvane stood his ground, but the stairway was too narrow for
him to use his sword properly.
"Get back! You don't need to protect me now,
you need space to fight!" I hissed at him.
But the Shoyru refused to allow the assassin
past, sticking to his ancient duty of protect the princess.
But I can fight too, I thought in despair.
The shadow Kougra, for that was what the assassin
was, took the stairs on all fours, in a headlong rush at the Shoyru Dralvane
swung down with his sword, but the Kougra paused just out of reach and threw.
Dralvane staggered back, a soft squeak of surprise, and collapsed to the ground,
dropping his sword with a ringing cry. I could see a poisoned hemlock dart beside
him. 'The re-enactment's playing out true to life,' I thought to myself, 'Or
death. Whatever.'
The assassin easily leaped over the Shoyru,
facing me, eyes utterly lifeless. He moved with such ease, and I knew that I,
a mere thief, could not stand against one who'd trained in these arts for all
his life. We circled each other, the assassin watching me, a cold and calculating
look in his eyes. Then he moved. So fast! I brought my dagger up to parry his
first swipe, leaping back flaring my wings. He ducked to the side, again attack,
again I just barely parried in times. I had by back close to the wall now, way
too close. I slashed low with my dagger, trying to drive him back, to buy me
time and room. He back flipped away, and threw something. I saw the flash of
silver, and twisted away, but that was what he'd expected all along. The dagger
tore into my wing, embedding to a wooden beam behind me. I tried to pull away,
but the dagger had pinned the skin in-between the bones of my wing to the wood.
There was hardly any pain, the wing membrane was little more than skin, but
I was pinned, and could not tear away. I tried to reach the dagger, but the
wing hampered my movements. I could not twist far enough to reach it without
tearing my wing further. I could see the assassin readying his other dagger
out of the corner of my eye, and I realised that Dralvane was right. I would
not see sunrise.
"ECHELON!" I heard someone scream, and I turned
to look.
A white Draik riding on the back of a shadow
Ixi burst into the room, the Draik snatching up Dralvane's fallen sword. The
assassin rolled to one side, but the Draik launched himself off the Ixi's back,
bringing the sword down in an overhead swing. The assassin parried, but the
Draik was too fast, too strong. The dagger was knocked out of the Kougra's grip,
the assassin was defeated, and I was saved.
"You all right?" the Ixi asked, tugging the
dagger out of the wall.
"Quite fine…. wait, MHAREN?!" I exclaimed, getting
a good look at my rescuers for the first time.
"The one and only," she replied softly, gazing
at Tharen.
He was sitting by the fallen assassin, turning
its dagger over in his hands over and over.
"It's over, Tharen," she said softly, walking
to stand over his shoulder.
"He was too late," Tharen murmured. "All these years,
too late every time."
"Yes, but not this time. You cam, Tharen. You
took Echelon's place. We could never intervene, until now. And you did not fail…!"
He nodded and stood, handing me the dagger.
"For you, Nianso, a gift," he said with a cheeky
grin.
"I'm confused," I admitted, "Echelon? Who the
heck is Echelon?"
The pair looked at each other, and Tharen shrugged.
"She deserves to know."
"Indeed, I believe she does."
"Will I tell it, or you?"
"No, by all means, it is your story."
Tharen took a deep breath and began.
"Not so long ago, in the world of Meridell,
lived a princess. This in itself was not unusual, for there are many princesses
in Meridell. But this one was unique, for she was of rare and stunning beauty.
An Aisha of the purest blue, said to be born of the clear skies themselves.
She was gentle and kind, adored by all. Especially by a knight in the service
of the king, her father. His name was Echelon, and he was a white Draik. He
was not the highest ranking knight, nor the best fighter, nor a doer of many
noble and heroic deeds. He was merely a knight, loyal to his king, and utterly
smitten by the beauty of the princess. Amidine was her name, and to him, it
was a name of the angels. Echelon tried to discard this love, knowing that she
would never love him, a lowly knight. But chance came that the two were walking
in the garden on the same night, and they met there by the fountain. Echelon
was very nervous to be finally meeting the object of his love, but it never
showed. Indeed, the Draik was in bliss for those few hours, talking pleasantly
with Amidine. The princess, in return, was charmed by this gentle knight's demeanour,
and how he respected her for herself, not for her royalty. That evening, under
the stars, and as the fireflies danced, she fell in love for the first time,
with this lowly knight of the name Echelon.
The Draik vowed to her to ask for her hand in
marriage the very next day. That morning, he approached the king, and as she
watched in delight, respectfully asked to wed Amidine. The king merely laughed
at Echelon, and for his nerve to dare ask for someone so high above him, renounced
his position as knight. Echelon was forced to leave the castle in disgrace,
his glorious sword ritually broken to symbolise that he was a knight no longer.
With tears in her eyes, Amidine gathered up the pieces of the broken sword,
and retreated in sorrow to mourn.
Years passed. Echelon vanished into the forest,
eventually becoming the silent companion of Illusen. One day, he met a shadow
Ixi. Her name was Tirene. The two became good friends, though Tirene could never
discover what endless grief afflicted her friend. One day, word came that Amidine
was to be wed. Echelon fled the forest, his heart torn in two, and nothing Illusen
said could prevent his leaving. He found himself atop a cliff, overlooking the
sea. And in his infinite sorrow, he prepared to end it all and leap from the
cliff. But Tirene, refusing to give up hope, followed him there, and stopped
him at the last moment. Seeing her love for him, he eventually gave his consent
to marry her, though not his full love. That still was reserved for Amidine.
The years passed. Echelon lived with Tirene in
the forest, having two children of his own. Amidine eventually became queen,
and her husband king. When Echelon was alone, he still grieved for his lost
love. One day, Echelon came across a tower, Amidine's summer retreat. Unbeknownst
to him, she was currently there with only a couple servants and guards. He stayed
there until dark, then, timidly, amazed at his own daring, entered the grounds.
He wandered across it's gardens, and then something happened. It seemed to him
that Amidine stood there, but was not there. Faint, she was, and her eyes were
scared and pleading. And Echelon knew that something terrible was happening.
Catching up his staff, which he now used instead of a sword, he rushed into
the tower, heading for the top. He ran as if his heart would burst, and ahead
of him, he heard sounds of battle. He passed the slain guards, and into her
room, but he was too late. Amidine lay on the ground, killed by an assassin's
blade. The attacker had fled. The Draik knelt by his love, stricken. She saw
him, and smiled, then died in his arms. Her last words was his name.
The king and his guards arrived the next morning
to find the kneeling Draik still holding the fallen Amidine. Echelon didn't
even stir as the king drew his own sword and slew the valiant Draik, assuming
him to be the murderer. The king, his anger unmatched, immediately exiled all
of Echelons family for all eternity, including Tirene and her two children.
This exile still holds."
He sighed deeply, finished with his story.
"And you're related to Echelon."
"Tharen is," Mharen said, "I got exiled for,
erm, other reasons."
"But that's not fair!" I burst out.
"Well, I imagine the exile would have been recalled
if it wasn't for the fact not all my ancestors were as honourable as Echelon,"
Tharen muttered, blushing slightly.
"Grandfather Kydio led a rebellion, then there's
your great-grandfather, burned down a whole city."
"That was an accident!" Tharen protested.
"Need I bring up great-great-grandpa Lharen?"
The Draik hastily shook his head.
"Sun's rising," he said, glancing out the window.
As the first rays of sunlight touched the tower,
it started to change, reverting back to it's crumbling and ruined state.
"C'mon, let's go," I muttered.
We walked down a couple flights, and then we
reached the impassible area we'd found yesterday.
"Oh Kiko snot," I muttered, staring at the gaping
hole where the stairs used to be, "forgot about this."
Mharen stared at it nervously.
"I can't jump that Tharen. What do we do?"
He looked at me helplessly, and I just shrugged.
"We do what all Dragon Thieves do when they
get into a mess," I said calmly, taking a deep breath.
"MIRACLESTAR!!!!!!"
The End |
