“Sapphire, is it that hill there?” Jarix called out, head pointing to yet another hill on the horizon.

“No. More pointy than that, there is still grass on the leeward side. I will say when you get there!” the huntress called out as she kept her head down and tucked into the winter travel coat she was wearing. 

The hot water bottles would keep her warm for a while longer, but she couldn’t help but feel the end to today would be cold and miserable. Part of her wished Jarix could just have taken Zarko, or maybe someone else who knew the island like Fengi. Zarko was busy helping Rachuck with the training regime, and Tom was involved as well, so she had been dumb enough to volunteer to be Jarix’s guide on today’s scouting flight.

“Well we’re clear rear, nothing to see as far as the eye can see!” Radexi shouted out. The young man was huddled up against the side of the machine gun, which was securely locked in position until it might be needed.

There was of course another reason Sapphire had been chosen for the flight. Should they find what they were looking for, her skill with a bow and magical talents were likely to make her the best long range shot around. Their shotguns may be fearsome weapons, but it was hard to compete with an arrow that liked to follow you home. 

Jarix scouted the front and Radexi had the rear. She was to keep tabs on their flanks as they flew. A wisp of smoke, or black dots in the air, that was all that would be needed to confirm their fears. So far, nothing at all. They were rather close to Hylsdahl Keep, and they had agreed to fly by the abandoned ruin. If the enemy was seeking shelter from the weather, it would be a good place to go, even if it ran a high risk of being discovered. 

Sapphire also had not seen the progress of the repairs and had to admit she was curious. She had never actually seen a keep being built before, despite having lived in one for much of her life.

As they carried on the weather held. It was cloudy, but no rain came. Though they did spot a few squalls on the horizon, which they steered clear of. Landmark by landmark, they carried on.

“Should be straight ahead now, less than ten minutes,” Sapphire called out, confident she knew where they were. It wasn’t a part of the island she often flew, but they had visited a fair few times over the years.

“Okay got it, straight ahead nice and steady… You feeling cold yet?”

“I stopped feeling my snout an hour ago. Next time I’m bringing some sort of face wrap like Radexi.”

“Get one that isn’t wool, that stuff is itchy,” the young man called back in good humor.

“Why aren’t anyone making things like that for us? It seems very unfair,” Jarix complained as he beat his wings a single time before settling back into the steady glide.

“Because a face wrap for you is called a tarp, and you can’t put it on yourself.”

“It is damn finicky, okay? And they are so fragile, I would just break it. What about those church dragons? Or just the rich ones? They get fancy shawls and drapes. I think I would look good in that.”

“Bro, your mum is less gay than that. Armor Jarix, padded warm armor. Like what Grevi has.”

“That stuff is like, super expensive though. And heavy. Besides, I quite like my armor. Even if it’s not, like, super much.”

Jarix’s armor was built for light weight and max speed. The head and neck got the most attention, with the vulnerable wing shoulders receiving some protection as well. It all consisted of hammered plate over soft padding, lashed down with leather straps and brass buckles. 

“Well pester Tom and who knows? He made this thing. The king ain’t even got one.” Radexi patted the side of the machine gun. “Maybe he knows how to make armor lighter, too. Doesn’t sound too crazy to me.”

“Oh yeah… Maybe in summer when they have their big building for making stuff… Sapphire?”

“Yes yes, I’ll ask him if he has any good ideas. I know the drill,” she chuckled as she scanned the horizons. “Gonna be the biggest payday a dragon ever got for some plowing.”

“I’ve done a lot more than plow. Doesn’t this count as work?” the dragon replied with a huff.

“The guard pays you to do this stuff. We just have to house you and feed you.”

“I’m actually on leave, remember? How many guard dragons have you heard of spending their leave to protect a frontier keep, ey?”

“Didn’t think of that,” Sapphire admitted. “I’ll put in a good word. Who knows? Maybe we can pester the Inquisition or something. Worked for Tom’s armor.”

“Iiii don’t think we would wanna be in their debt for the rest of our lives, do we Jarix?”

“I mean, it’s not so bad for you.”

“That’s just rude man.”

The dragon chuckled to himself as the conversation died out once again. It was important to ration your talking points on long trips like this.

“Uhm… Saaaph,” the dragon called out in an unsure voice, prompting the huntress to look out ahead.

“What is it?”

“Over there uhm… 10 clock. Coming up, out of the trees.” 

Sapphire just looked in the direction the dragon was, trying to spot anything at all. All she saw was Green and brown. They were flying over quite dense forest, though not heaven oak. Mostly smaller leaf trees, beech and red oak, Leaves just starting to come in. A buck was much easier to see against greenery than brown leaves and wilted bushes.

Straining her eyes, eventually she saw it. Far in the distance, little black specks emerged from the treetops as a scattered group. She couldn’t yet tell which way they were going, but it was definitely something, and it was at least half a dozen small somethings. Most likely not enough to be a threat to Jarix, but something was definitely here.

“2 o’clock as well!” Radexi then called out, switching everyone’s attention to the other side. This group was closer, and already up in the air. Some were coming straight for them, but it seemed a lone dark spot was heading away. “It’s pickets. We hit pickets!” the young man called out as he clambered onto his firing position and started to prepare the gun for action.

“What’s a picket?” Sapphire questioned as Jarix rapidly started to put on speed and pulled into a steady climb.

“They are here to warn the others. There is a camp here somewhere,” the dragon replied calmly but seriously as he raced ahead. “That means it’s definitely darklings, not just vargulfs or some shit.”

“We can take them. Not even a dozen total!” Radexi called out as he knocked out the locking pin releasing the gun to swing about.

“We need to find their camp,” Jarix countered, starting to turn in towards the closer group as he climbed harder and harder. “That one is trying to warn home. We follow him.”

“Try to save the ammo, we don’t have much,” Sapphire reminded as she got her bow ready, sitting up at the base of Jarix’s neck and opening the quiver stashed in the harness.

“Yeah. It’s just pickets, not worth much. I can outrun them,” Jarix stated confidently. He was, of course, right. Even with the gun, his armor, and two passengers he would outfly any dragonette and most other dragons with ease. Sapphire sure was thankful she wouldn’t have to try and outrun darklings for the several hour flight home like he was about to.

“Well if we find the camp, then what?” Radexi asked again as he twisted and turned to try and see what was going on.

“We give them the good news of course,” Jarix replied with more confidence. “They fucked up sending up their pickets. I bet you they didn’t know I was here. Stupid darklings, just following orders. They are here for huntresses.” The dragon sounded smug as hell to Sapphire’s ears. Of course not undeservedly so.

“They are closing mighty fast, Jarix,” Radexi said more nervously. The dragon had laid an intercept course for the one running away, which had them flying near enough right at the darklings trying to intercept them. They had responded by climbing hard as well and seemed set on trying to cut them off. “You might need to turn away to get some distance. We could just go around them.”

“Nonsense, it’s just darklings,” the dragon called back as he went past a 30 degree climb, wings hammering away, pushing him further and further up. “Ahr shit!”

“What is it?!” Sapphire called out in alarm, looking around for any more challengers coming up to meet them.

“The clouds, we’re gonna hit clouds,” the dragon complained as he started to slowly level out again, trading the rapid climb for more speed as he started a gentle left turn. “We’ll run the gauntlet then, hang on.”

Looking over the left side of the dragon, Sapphire saw what he meant to do. Both groups of darklings were racing towards each other, not Jarix directly. They were trying to cut them off. And even a dragonette would have the time to reach the low hanging clouds before they were clear, though if it would leave them winded. 

As Jarix leveled out completely the lowest wisps of cloud came hurtling by, the wind roaring over the dragon as Sapphire took cover, pressing herself tight against Jarix. For both their sakes. 

“It’s gonna be quite close!” Radexi called out as the dragon labored. “What’s the range?”

“I… That’s not darklings. Vargulf riders,” Jarix called out as he pressed the charge.

Now that was something Sapphire knew about. Larger than a dragonette, a little faster on a good day, but far more clumsy, especially with a rider. Red blooded like Tom, they could fly further and harder than any dragonette.

“We could lose them in the clouds. Don’t need to be up there long,” Sapphire offered as well. She knew it would be unpleasant as hell. Cold and wet. But it would make it nearly impossible to intercept them. Then drop down on the other side and follow the runner.

“I don’t wanna get wet, it’s a long way home. I got this, trust me. They ain’t that fast,” the dragon replied, not sounding as out of breath as Sapphire might have expected. He really was built for fast flying it would seem.

Still, Sapphire couldn’t help but side with Radexi. It looked like they might need to pass through both groups of darklings. Not impossible, but they might get a few arrows for their trouble. Something that definitely wouldn’t help Jarix with running away afterwards.

Just as Sapphire started to prepare to fire on the darkling riders racing to cut them off, Jarix called out, “Going under!” She managed to grasp the harness just as he pitched down hard, heading for the deck.

Sapphire gave up on any protest she might have had as the wind screamed past, the dragon partially folding his wings, passing two hundred kilometers per hour easily. Maybe even two fifty. She flattened her ears as she dared to look up just a touch, afraid to catch the wind and get blown off. Above them the vargulfs were scrambling to match the dive. Their greater bulk gave them a faster dive than any dragonette, but Jarix’s speed was greater still.

The attackers became larger and larger but they were sliding by above them even quicker. Arrows were loosed, aimed squarely at the ground. A couple were almost close, but most hurtled past behind them. Like flying before a rain front without getting wet.

She couldn’t hear the deranged squawks of the darklings and their mounts as they turned to pursue them, She wasn’t scared of them either way. They would never catch Jarix in level flight. 

Jarix clearly knew that, quickly checking on their pursuers before letting off on the mad sprint and settling into a more comfortable fast flight, wings beating in a steady rhythm matched to his breathing.

“Well done, Jarix. You make it look so easy.”

“It is easy. Just a couple darklings playing dragon rider, nothing to worry about,” the dragon replied with confidence Sapphire knew to be at least partially false. And now he was breathing quite heavily, likely trying to regain his strength should he need to set off on another sprint.

“I could pop a few rounds off,” Radexi offered as the darklings settled into their pursuit.

“You won’t hit anything, save them,” Sapphire called out.

“Yes, don’t shoot. They don’t know we have it. Keep it that way,” Jarix added as well.

“True, they might not know we have guns at all. Let ’em learn the hard way.”

“Okay then,” Radexi relented, clearly not happy about it. “Go low, don’t let ’em see us coming!”

Jarix responded by lowering his altitude to just a dozen meters above the treetops. Sapphire feared they might risk an ambush, but there was no way to warn those laying in wait. She hoped they would be alright.

She risked leaning out to the side to see how they were doing with running down the fleeing picket, finding that they were gaining steadily. Jarix reduced speed still further as they started to get close to the Vargulf rider. Wouldn’t want to dissuade him from making his report. But it might let the chasers catch up.

“Jarix! Smoke!” Radexi suddenly called out, pointing off to the left of the dragon. They all quickly turned to look as well.

True to his word, a column of grey smoke was rising in the distance. It was no more than a few kilometers away.

“He’s a diversion, sneaky bastards!” Jarix snarled as he turned towards the sighting.

Sapphire checked rearwards, their tailing force not far out of extreme range for a good bow. Now they were going to be left for dead as Jarix once more accelerated.

“Will fly over, count how many. I shoot biggest target,” Jarix called out between breaths.

“I have two grenades!” Sapphire shouted out as loud as she could over the wind. 

“Don’t. Too shallow. Shoot instead.” Looking down at the ground rushing by, she saw that the dragon might be right. The trees would obscure her target. And there was the whole point about ruining the surprise. Rachuck had been quite insistent that if they didn’t have to, it was best to not show their full hand yet.

She nocked an arrow as the ground raced past and she got into a comfortable position to fire. Behind her Radexi grabbed one of the old crossbows as well. Might as well fire something at them.

She held her breath as they got closer and closer, the column of smoke dividing into many smaller ones. Then she felt the dragon lock his wings and draw a breath, the iconic whine starting to ring in her ears as Jarix pulled up just a few degrees and time seemed to slow.

Before them the whole enemy camp revealed itself. Fire pits stacked tall, stumps left where trees were cut for fuel and space. Dozens of tents, vargulfs tied at stakes, hundreds of darklings in the open, many lying in circles around the large fires. 

Much worse were the dozens of night terrors, some being unloaded by the fires. Darklings were being taken off like cargo. Dotted around the camp, the titular onyx black of the dark knights stood out amongst the sea of ashen grey darklings. And worst of all, by any measure, a massive head rose, looking squarely at them on their approach. Black as pitch, clad in darkened armor from snout to tail, inscribed in bright blue dripping runes. Magic drawn in blood. A shadow dragon in the flesh. 

Sapphire promised she would never feel a drop in her stomach when she saw Tiguan, ever again. This was the real thing. She even swore she saw nothing but black voids where eyes were supposed to be. 

Then Jarix fired.

The blue beam of lightning leaped towards the ground, arcs springing off it like wild hairs. Sapphire watched the runes on the drake’s armor glow bright and then all she saw was the brilliant flash of impact followed by the crack of thunder. 

She averted her gaze and let loose her arrow on instinct alone. She came back to her senses in time to guide the quickly vanishing arrow into an unsuspecting night terror. An annoying wound, she hoped.

“Oh shit, oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!” Jarix stammered as he banked away, wings beating in a frenzy. “It’s him, it’s him it’s fucking him!” 

Sapphire didn’t question it, instead sending a single speculative arrow back over Radexi’s head and towards the camp. A pitiful effort. She felt sick to her stomach. There were so many of them, And now they knew they had been found. She sure hoped Jarix’s strike had done something to that dragon. It looked like a good hit, but it was a mighty big dragon. Almost as large as Baron. And armored just as heavily.

Keeping her eyes glued rearward as Jarix ran with the wind, she saw a hornet’s nest rise into the sky. Darklings, vargulfs, night terrors. All took to the sky behind them, perhaps fearing another attack run.

“By Itova,” Sapphire let out against her will as she watched the cloud of black grow. Rising above the rest, the mighty dragon took to the sky, seemingly unbothered by the hit. “Oh that’s not good.”

“Jarix, you better fucking run away now!” Radexi shouted out, genuine fear in his voice for the first time. 

Jarix looked over his shoulder and quickly decided he agreed. Putting on a mad sprint, he pushed to open the distance. Who knew what tricks a dragon like that might have. They did not want to be anywhere close.

Sapphire and Radexi observed, hearts stuck in their throats, but the cloud did not attempt to follow them. A few dots, likely vargulf riders, were all that set off after them along with what looked like a night terror. “Dragon ain’t following!” Sapphire called out. “One night terror and vargulfs.”

“They are just for chasing us off!” Radexi added. “Jarix, you can slow it down.”

The dragon relented after a few more wingbeats, allowing himself another look over his shoulder. “You saw that right?! I hit him, but he’s flying. What the fuck?!”

“I think the armor caught it. He’s got magic shit.”

“Oh fuck me fuck me fuck me. Magic fucking armor on a dragon?!”

“Yup…” Radexi replied as he stared back at the pursuers. “Maybe we’ll need that anti-airship bomb Twitch was working on anyway.”

“Just make it home, and quick. We have to warn the others,” Sapphire called out. Not that she feared Jarix would dilly dally. 

“Yeah, and maybe, let Yldril fight that thing. I ain’t touching him.”

“If it comes to that… I don’t know man, we have plans and ideas. But I think plans four through eight might just have eaten shit.”

“They better. We ain’t meeting that in the open. No fucking way. How many did you count?” the dragon questioned, frantically.

“Save your breath, Jarix. I don’t know. Maybe three hundred? The dragon, at least a dozen night terrors, lots of vargulfs. Probably all kinds of other bullshit.”

“I saw at least ten dark knights or witches. That’s bad. Really bad,” Radexi added, shaking his head as he looked at his precious gun. 

“Yes… yes it is,” Sapphire relented. “We’re in big trouble.”

---

“My liege! Are you alright?!”

“Yes, Gehenna. Your work has proved itself once again,” The mighty Rashan, lord of the eastern reaches, snarled with annoyance in his tone. He had been discovered. Not only had his incompetent minions failed to deceive their target, they had failed to prevent them from getting a pass on his own person. Only the witch’s machinations had saved him from what may well have been a grievous wound. 

As he set down in his war camp once more, the blue dragon fleeing for the horizon, his lieutenants started to congregate around him. Someone was to blame, beyond the measly little whelp. He would flay him personally once the drake was served up on a silver platter for him. Along with the rest of that pathetic pile of rocks and kindling. As long as the contents of the vaults were secured along with the oracle, then the rest may burn.

“My liege, the threat has been driven off. The scouts report they saw nothing but the lone blue dragon.”

“I can see there was only a lone dragon. I have eyes, Lucera. How could this happen?” the shadowdrake growled as he lowered his head towards the armor bound knight. “Why did he find us?”

“The dragon was swift, my liege. He could not be caught in the sky. He took the bait, but then he turned for our camp. Perhaps the smoke was-”

“Quiet! I did not ask for your analysis. We require the fires. Do not blame our needs for your failure. You best impress me very soon…”

“Of course, sire. We shall reign victorious over the sky, it is fated.”

“Should we prepare to break camp?” Helvaran questioned. “The island is large, sire. We may move to the southern side to finish our preparations. We depart at your command.” The knight took a knee before his master.

The dragon paused, considering their course of action. Not anticipating such far reaching scouting by the young blue had been a mistake, Lucera’s mistake. They were more paranoid than first believed. And so early in the year. They should have been busy replenishing their stores like good little peasants. 

“I will not risk another failure. And we risk losing our surprise. The drake will not beat us to the keep by long… commence breaking camp. We depart immediately.”

“But sire if we fly to battle we wi-”

“If you open your mouth again, I shall have your tongue like Raver,” the dragon snapped as he moved his attention back to Lucera. “We do not fly to battle. We make camp before their keep. Rest, suckle warmth from the gift of fire. We attack in the dead of night. We must ensure that blue feels as useless as he is.”

Lucera did not reply. He simply bowed his head, in silence.

“Helvaran. Make yourself useful, I want to leave within the hour. Bring the frozen ones, we still need them. Leave anything else.”

“We shall be ready in half my liege,” the knight was quick to respond, springing to his feet to start issuing irrelevant orders to the minions. It made him feel important, the easiest way to keep knights in line. The darklings obeyed as was decreed. Raver shrieked and snarled, Destra taking it upon himself to interpret for the sake of the less mentally gifted. A few violent whacks of the hammer conveyed the message well enough, though the dragon had to intervene before his possession was further damaged.

A whisper of a thought was all it took to send Destra writhing to the ground screaming and thrashing.

“Work. The fighting comes later.”

Once the pain stopped Destra remained still for a moment longer before he picked himself up, head held low. “Yes Lord Rashan. I… Yes… is- I…”

“Work!” the dragon snapped as the knight remained frozen, stuck like he so often was. A quick push from a claw made the problem go away as he fell to the ground and started moving again. He was getting old. Perhaps it was time for someone else to wear the armor. Hopefully someone with a stronger mind than Raver’s had been. 

As long as it was not another Nilisa. He could not stand that witch, but he needed her talents badly. His brilliant plans would not be possible if not for his witches. But his favorite never left his side.

“My liege, should we plan? We did not intend on seizing the moment so swiftly,” Gehenna questioned. Adoring as ever. 

“We must revise, yes. We have fewer than I hoped. But we shall brush them aside like last year’s leaves. In the gloom the blue drake shall be easy prey, and he is their sole chance against us. Once he is dealt with, we may do as we please,” he replied, warmth creeping into his voice. “And I know you have waited all winter. I am sure they have many that are young enough.”

“Oh thank you, my lord. I am sure they will yield excellent results. And who knows what we may find within their house. They know not what is kept from them. But this oracle, he comprehends the secrets of the dead world.”

“Yes, we must keep them breathing. And sane… enough. For meaningful conversation. He will hold the key to the old secrets. And we must know if we are to complete the prophecy. And it shall be I who turns the key. I shall lead us to a new, better future. Devoid of their self righteous oppression… Gehenna. I foresee an eventuality.”

“What is it, Lord Rashan? A vision of the future? Or our victory today?”

“This oracle. He may be a mortal of flesh and blood, but ancient blood if he is helping these people. We may need to convince him of our righteous path. Our normal ways may not work. We must look for any way to break his mind… It may aid in unlocking its secrets.”

“Wise my lord. The mind may be stronger than the body. We must be sure we can break both of them.”

“We shall take prisoners. Do not let Raver or Kalesi near such a person. Let Nalkech deal with such. He is soft enough they may survive the encounter.”

“What of Helvaran? He has served you well, sire.”

“Indeed. He shall lead the charge, spring what pathetic trap they may have assembled for us. Find me Nilisa. Her obedience will be needed as well. The oracle may hold surprises. Her mind shall see to it that we learn them all.

“As you command, sire.” Gehenna giggled as she scampered from her seat upon his back. The danger was passed, but he felt vulnerable without his prized possession. For most witches, the crown gave them control of magic like only a skilled mage could hope. But Gehenna was born with that power. For her it had granted unrivaled mastery. He would never spend her like he would the others. They were to ascend together, and her part would be most critical.

‘I am coming for you, Lucius. Mark my words… I am coming.’

---

“Niliiisaaa… Nilisa wake up,” the sweet bubbly voice of suffering called. A distant memory, agony, fear. 

She felt her heart quicken for a moment, then she felt nothing at all. As she stared at the fire, alone with her thoughts. If only she could take another step… If only she could will her legs to move. She didn’t need to run. A step would do. Just a single step, she could fall the rest of the way. Sweet, sweet salvation of the flames…

“I know you can hear, my silly. Rashan wants a word, he has something very important for you to do. He says it has to be you.”

Nilisa remained standing, staring. Nothing he asked for was ever good. Nothing anyone did was ever good. Only pain, only suffering. Fires sent you to heaven, but was she already in hell?

“I promise it doesn’t involve any white powder this time. Or nasty old men. Come. Don’t make me force you,” the sickeningly happy voice of the witch Gehenna called. “Even if I want to.”

Nilisa did not say anything. She simply turned to follow, her face devoid of any emotion. She would do as she was told; she always did as she was told. She knew what came next if she did not. Oh how she hoped one day she could say no again… She still remembered the feeling. She clung to it like a scared child to her father’s leg… Maybe it was just a fantasy. Besides, why would he want her anyway? She would never know if he had loved her. Or if it was all a dream.