out there before the war is over? Would we not lose our only chance of activating Talonsphere?” asked Andrielle.
“Vartan is fulfilling the path he has set out before him, and Nymira accompanies him. There is an important detail in the prophecy that has been closely guarded by the dragons and ancients. What you do not know, and need to know the most, will bring pain to your daughter's heart. To activate the weapon, the boy born of dragon blood must sacrifice his human life and be born again immediately within Talonsphere. There is no turning back once the choice has been made.”
“Helenia will be devastated. First her father and now the man she loves? There must be another way?” pleaded Andrielle.
“I’m afraid there is no other way, and the decision does not rest with me,” replied Karven. “Nothing in this life is certain, but to the best of my knowledge, this is the only way. This is how the weapon was created, and this is the only way we can be sure to win this war. Without Talonsphere and the power of the ancients, I’m afraid that Kassina and her army will eventually overpower us. Humans and elves will be enslaved, and become food for the vampires and demons that would rule the world. They call this the prophecy of the Blood Moon, or the Blood Red Moon. With enough souls turned and available to sacrifice, Kassina’s Forces of Darkness would be powerful enough to summon back Shindar, the Demon of Darkness. The skies would be covered in clouds that rained blood, and the moon would be coloured blood red.”
“How do you know all of this? How can you be so sure?” asked Andrielle.
“We know all of this because we almost lost the world to Shindar and his armies long ago, although we succeeded through thousands of years of brutal fighting. The ancients, along with every other living creature, were enslaved by the Forces of Darkness. Our kind was the final enemy of Shindar and his armies, and Marithia’s last hope. The war between us raged for centuries, and losses were substantial. Luckily, Shindar made the fatal mistake of allowing his ego to get the better of him. I challenged him to a fight to the death — just the two of us, to decide the fate of Marithia. It was a fierce battle, and I fought Shindar with every shred of power that I had. The battle almost killed me, but just when I thought I had lost, he removed his enchanted armour in an attempt to mock me. It was in that moment that I summoned my strength and tore his disgusting head from his shoulders with one swift sweep of my tail,” answered Karven.
“What happened next?” asked Andrielle.
“The ancients rallied as we worked to free them from their bonds, and together, we fought off the remaining Forces of Darkness over hundreds of years of fighting. This began an age of alliance between ancients and dragons. We built Talonsphere, in accordance with a design created by Mother Dragon and the ancients, as the ultimate weapon in case we would ever need to face him again. I was lucky to defeat Shindar when the world was all but lost,” answered Karven.
“If you have defeated Shindar before, can’t you defeat him again?” asked Andrielle.
“Shindar has found his chosen one-Kassina. She has been trained in dark magic over many hundreds of years, and they would never again foolishly accept a direct challenge. If there is one thing that Shindar is good at, it is learning from his mistakes. Talonsphere is our only hope of vanquishing the threat before she is able to summon Shindar once again. If the two were to walk this earth side by side, I do not know if even Talonsphere would be able to stop them,” said Karven, noticing Faowind desperately trying to get their attention outside the layer of light.
“Does Vartan know any of this?” asked Andrielle.
“Vartan is aware of how to activate Talonsphere, and naturally he returns Helenia’s love. Sadly, I fear he will not have the heart to tell her of the sacrifice he must make. This is a decision that I leave up to you.”
“I understand, Karven,” she replied, taking notice of Faowind anxiously waving his arms around.
“ Solvo nos ex silentio, ” said Karven, casting off the Spell of Silence.
“My queen and great Dragon King, please forgive the intrusion, but I must speak with you immediately,” said Faowind, bowing down on one knee.
“Whatever is the matter, Faowind? Forget the formalities and spell it out,” said Andrielle.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but we have a big problem. We have received an urgent message from the fairies surrounding our city. Kassina’s scouts have found us. They tracked their way easily through the darkness of the Elven Woods” said Faowind.
Andrielle's face hardened as she stared into the surrounding forest. “I see. Did our guards not dispatch them?”
Faowind stared at the ground, his voice shaky. “All but one of the scouts, my Queen, whom we could not chase down after nightfall. It disappeared into the shadows.'
'How certain are we that the source of this information is true?'
A guardian elf approached with the messenger fairy sitting on his shoulder, the fairy wept through bloodied hands. He held out his open palms to show a dead fairy in each hand. Their blood dripped from their grey lifeless bodies and through his hands.
Andrielle's face strained as she recognised the royal gems on one of the fairies. She bent down and studied her face before taking a deep breath. 'Send word of my condolences to Queen Nicolai. She may not be aware of her daughter's death, and it pains me to be the one to be giving her the news. They both deserve an Elven Warrior's burial and we will see that it is done.'
Faowind nodded and led the elf away slowly.
“It is only a matter of time before her scout reaches Greenhaven. We have to prepare to defend the city against a direct assault,” said Karven.
Andrielle nodded as she pulled out a small artefact attached to her necklace that appeared to be a seashell. The shell was an elven artefact which amplifies the bearer’s voice substantially. She raised it to her lips and drew her sword as her voice filled the city.
“Inhabitants of our great city, all of you who are brave enough to be here with us today-the time has come sooner than expected for us to face our enemies. Our location has been compromised, and it is only a matter of time before Kassina launches an offensive in an attempt to destroy us all,” said Andrielle.
The city was suddenly overcome with a roar of talking and panic.
“Fear not, as we will stand together. Humans, elves and dragons will unite as one to defeat this plague of darkness that clouds us. We fight for our lives, for our children’s future, but most of all, we fight for all of Marithia. This is our time, and we will not cower away and hide in fear. We have the advantage of Kassina foolishly believing that we will just sit here and wait for our deaths. I say, let her come! Let tonight be the turning point of this war. Let this night be a turning point for Marithia!” yelled Andrielle, raising her sword high in the air as the city erupted in cheers.
“For Marithia!” they all chanted.
Karven turned to Andrielle and nodded knowingly before he flew to the centre of the city, shaking off the dust cloud from his scales. The great dragon raised his head high and flapped his giant wings gently to get the city’s attention.
“Your words inspire all of us, great Queen. All of you are here, ready to fight and give your lives so that others may live. This is the most noble of all sacrifices. Some of you have travelled across the surrounding lands at great cost to join us. If it is a fight Kassina wants, then let’s make sure she gets more than she bargained for. Let us avenge the lives of the fallen and make our enemies pay with their blood. Let us prepare for war!” cried Karven.
“For war!” chanted the crowd.
All of the dragons in the city flew to Karven's side in a protective circle, raised their heads as one and roared, breathing jets of fire into the air and lighting up the city as if daylight shone through the protective canopy.
Chapter 13: Rise and Fall
“The wheels of change are turning, and not even the pathetic gathering that they call an army can hinder our path to victory. Through Kassina’s power, I will walk the lands of Marithia once again. I want to feel the pleasures that only flesh can provide, pleasures that were torn from me so long ago.
