The Dragon Knight and the Steam World Read online

  Chapter Two

  We flew off with a dozen guild riders and eight Wregor soldiers. Being most comfortable on the eknuil, I charged him with conveying me. With our destination far and feeling no great pressure on my part, we flew at an easy pace. That first day was an especially crisp, clear one to fly in. We roughly followed the military supply line leading back to the Iunt, but given my preference for seclusion, we always rested a few miles away from any soldier.

  Without the bustle of an army, Jegeru’s countryside added another magnitude of desolate than before. I wondered how much misery Alex personally wrought on this land or others. Did he regret any of it? Even now I did not get any sort of exacting guilt from the people I killed while in the fighting pit and criminal syndicate. Of course, given my mind rune, I looked back on that person as somebody else. If my brother was influenced by someone else’s magic, then he must have been feeling an odd detachment to his Advent persona since he awoke. Conversely, Alex might have been fully aware of his actions, whatever those had been.

  It was far from time to delve into the specifics of his recent past, but I did have to prod a little. Thus, at the end of the first day of flying, I decided to strike up a conversation with him.

  Going up to the tree he sat under, I asked, “Ever fly before?”

  He dug his hand into his food pouch. “No.”

  “Like it?”

  “I prefer teleporting.” He bit into a chunk of bread. “What do you really want?”

  “Basic information. Your fighting abilities, mainly. I don’t expect for you to stay out of any scuffle we may find ourselves in. It’ll help knowing what you can do. For instance, the shadow spell you paralyzed me with in Dulcet, how much can you do with that?”

  “Mostly what you experienced with it.”

  “I need more than that. The longer you hold out on me, the longer I’m here bothering you.”

  The customary sigh. “If my shadow contacts somebody else’s, I can use that as a pathway to send my prana to stun their own for a while. The darker the better. It’s really effective when someone is using their prana at the same time, but I can paralyze anyone if I use enough power. Ordinary prana usually can’t manipulate shadows, but mine is perfect for it. Since your corruption is not whole, I doubt you can learn the technique. Should also make me stronger, faster, and better at healing myself.”

  “If I can’t compare myself to you, I’d refrain from doing the same.” He only huffed. “Any other spells?”

  “I’ve only had time to focus on shadows. Someday soon I’ll actually be able to extend my shadow at will. Shadow masters are said to be able to control people with it, or turn their shadows into solid weapons.”

  “I see. I wonder if being wholly corrupted will give you enough time to learn such impressive techniques.”

  “I can control it fine.”

  “I’m sure your blood, mind, and soul are completely immune from its corroding effects. How special of you. At any rate, someday you might feel that training in isolation isn’t getting you anywhere fast, so whenever you’re up for it, I’d like to see what you can do up close.”

  He did not take me up on the offer that night. The subsequent ones were much the same. I instructed the others to give Alex his space, only getting as close to keep an eye on him. I was tempted to let Alex find his own path out in the world, but the risk he encountered or instigated trouble was too high for my conscience to allow it yet. If he truly possessed a stable mind, I hoped he proved he could be trusted with life and death judgments sooner rather than later.

  Our wings returned us to intact civilization. From Wregor’s side of the Iunt, our escort let us use the network of floating griffin stables to cross the sea. Luckily, there was no need for me to personally stop in Kikokumo and meet with the emperor. He must have felt the same way, for the ruler merely wanted me to leave Ghevont and go straight to the most disputed segment of his border. Seeing no reason to bring the scholar with me to a border clash, I dropped him off near the palace, handed him a letter Odet wrote for Princess Ashina, slept in a fortress, and moved on with the others.

  On the morning we touched down on a thin beach on the other side of the Wregor Sea, Ujin, blithely plucking at his lute, came up to me and said, “I’ve never met a bigger stick-in-the-mud than your brother.”

  “I’m not so different.”

  “Ah, the vampire thought you’d say that. She disagrees. You wanted to escape your captors, didn’t you? You helped a pitiful vampire girl out. You certainly helped with my teeny problem. I don’t think your brother is the helping type.”

  “Well, I never claimed to be exactly the same as him. Anyway, do you have a point?”

  “No, not really. I merely wanted to let you know that Shifa has committed Alex’s scent to memory.” Said creature stood on her hind legs and waggled a paw. “Unless he gets a three day head start in a thunderstorm, he won’t evade her nose.”

  “Good to know. That won’t give you an excuse to slack off when it’s our turn to watch him.”

  “Er, no, wouldn’t think of it!”

  We walked inside the fortress to get the newest news on Chiszir activity and switch out our mounts. The fortress commander urged us to fly southwest for about two days until we came across Shimator, a town being used as a base for the local forces. Typically, the Chiszir’s ire manifested by way of raids on villages and trade roads, but without a lot of Wregor reinforcements available, they seemed to have revised their strategy.

  If traditional warfare and maps were any indication, they seemed to want to hold the land they attacked as they advanced to the sea. They had not historically possessed this belt of prairie, which implied they only desired to take advantage of the softened defenses. Unless the majority of the tribes were miraculously united in the goal, there was little chance they would succeed in splitting western Wregor in half. Regardless, perhaps their only true goal was to allot death and revenge, not keep territory for the long run.

  A larger assortment of Wregor fliers joined me in my southwestern journey. We flew over the many villages and farmlands speckled throughout the flat landscape. The farther west we flew, the more we spotted entire families immigrating to the east. One line of people led out from the largest town we saw, a place called Shimator. Rippling out from the thick, stout wall surrounding the settlement were broad waves of earthen and wooden battlements. Hundreds of horses and some three thousand soldiers guarded these ramparts.

  Our mounts descended, landing within the early evening shadow of the tallest wall tower. After some soldiers explained who was where, we decided to speak with the general in the dining room as we ate dinner.

  Nestled inside a jutting room of the tallest wall tower’s base was the dining hall. Here I was introduced to General Kwon, a mature, hardy woman tinted by much sun and protected by steel armor overlapped with red glass.

  As we sat, the general said, “It’s an honor, dragon knight. Forgive my slower speech. The shared tongue is not my first.”

  “Is there a reason to rush?”

  “Perhaps. I know an army of four thousand savages are not so far, and we expect… Suspect? Forgive me. We suspect they are hiding their full force somewhere behind them.”

  “Only suspect?” asked Odet. “Aren’t your scouts scouring the region?”

  “They try, of course. The Chiszir are not fliers. They own few griffins and hawks. Yet when I send my scouts to search, they are repelled by unusually large numbers of flying savages. This tells me they have done much to seek allies with the few tribes that do own many fliers, and they use them to repel our eyes. Until we get more soldiers, I must stay on the defensive.”

  “Ah, I am sorry for needing to take so many of your men,” I said.

  “No, I do not mean to insult, my lord. If you and the emperor believed it to be necessary, that is enough to satisfy me.”

  “Nevertheless, it’s caused suffering that should not be ignored. How likely is it that we can we meet with any leaders fr
om the Chiszir army?”

  “We sent an envoy twelve ago. They were quickly dismissed.”

  “I’ll be a little more insistent. How much do you think the Chiszir culture respects a dragon knight’s word?”

  “It’s difficult to surmise such a thing, my lord. They’ve surely heard tales of dragons and their warrior supporters, but as far as I believe, they hardly ever dealt directly with your ancient, um… society. And without mountain peaks in their territory, even a wild dragon is a distant notion for them.”

  “Hmm, then let’s hope the mere sight of Aranath will be enough to shock them to any agreement we wish.”

  We continued discussing the situation as our food and drinks arrived. Odet’s experience allowed her to ask the most pertinent questions, even if some sounded irrelevant to my ears. I would have never thought to inquire about how the Chiszir handled waste disposal, for instance. She did not say it outright, but the more she learned, the greater the confidence the princess gained concerning the situation. Nothing made me easier than seeing Odet’s feathers become unruffled.

  At the end of our meal, it had been agreed that my group would get some rest before heading out before dawn to seek out the known army and gain an audience with the Chiszir chiefs. With plenty of soldiers around, I relaxed my vigilance when it came to my brother. I settled in a room I shared with Clarissa and Ujin. I went straight to sleep when my eyes shut longer than two seconds.

  “Mercer,” said Gerard, his hand on my shoulder stirring me more than the firm voice.

  Not rising my eyelids, I asked, “What?”

  “Wregor scouts have spotted two Chiszir armies on the move. Get your armor on.”

  I left my room in a couple of minutes to meet the glass knight again. He stood with the girls as well.

  Putting on my cloak, I asked, “Where are they?”

  “The scouts think the smaller one is heading here,” answered Gerard. “The larger force is farther southwest.”

  “What do you want to do?” asked Odet, her tone that of a tutor.

  After taking a second, I replied, “The smaller force is acting as the distraction. The other will be led by the higher ranking chiefs. Let’s cut them off. Get the general to order every winged rider on me. Clarissa, get my brother to join us, please.”

  Clarissa skipped down the hall and opened the door. Finding him there, she said, “Move your ass! Time to learn what good people do!”

  Once Alex’s unenthusiastic legs dragged him to the rest of us, we gathered outside. With every soldier in town on high alert, our entire escort rapidly readied themselves. A squadron of eighty winged beasts took off at the order of the general.

  It was probably no coincidence the Chiszir chose to make their move in a night when dense clouds concealed the light of the moon. The scouts who sighted the horsemen earlier zipped ahead of us. They led for about half an hour until the thinner streaks of sneaking moonlight glimmered off a much bigger band of fliers farther ahead. Below them was the rumbling army of tribesmen atop hooves. We flew a little closer before I instructed the rider to descend about a mile in front of the trotting mass.

  Dismounting, I told the soldier to keep her comrades back. As the rest of the escort flew into a new formation, my group and I walked on ahead, perceiving the ground’s grumble. The charging silhouettes of man and horse drew so close that I clearly heard their battle cries and invigorated neighing. Informed by their eyes in the sky, they knew some of their enemy had gotten in front of them, people who must have desired to be trodden upon.

  I cast my summoning spell to my right. After a concussion of air forced an extra-long blink, I saw Aranath surveying the landscape in front of him.

  With a throaty grouse, my draconic companion asked, “Do you expect me to fight them all?”

  “Merely convince them to stop. We’re going to try using our words first.”

  “Very well.”

  Like a rearing horse, the ancient beast stood on its hind legs, a flap of his monumental wings aiding in the forbidding act. Outstretching his forelimbs, Aranath sharply inhaled to fill his lungs. An ear-ringing roar burst forth, the air visibly shaking from the audible explosion. It was followed by every animal within ten miles squawking and whinnying in flabbergasted fright. A glance at my brother showed his previously listless face contorting to express wonder. The dragon’s performance would not help him feel any less jealous of me.

  To make certain everyone knew where their primordial fear came from, Aranath spewed a hundred foot long stream of dragon fire at the end of his exclamation. To the army in front of us, it must have been as though a bright orange dawn peeked through the horizon six hours too early. The false sun set when the dragon settled back on the ground.

  “What are they doing?” I asked the dragon, the ruckus he caused making it impossible to determine the state of the army myself.

  “The herd has stopped charging. Some have lost command of their steeds and are scattering.”

  “Perfect. Gerard, please fetch the general and her white banners. Odet, get on Aranath and make sure to protect him from any overhead attacks that might come.”

  My requests were fulfilled in a few moments. Five fidgety griffins walked up to me, two of them bearing white banners fluttering in the cool breeze. Two other riders held torches to illume the diplomatic intent the banners declared. The general herself rode and steered the middle whiptail. This cluster got a little closer to the stalled army and waited for their response. Aranath’s occasional low growls became louder and higher-pitched whenever the Chiszir in the sky threatened to fly over or around us.

  The tribesmen spent a good while trying to evaluate their unforeseen predicament from a distance. Knowing they had no choice but to get a better look at what they were dealing with, a contingent of ten horsemen galloped toward us. They slowed considerably when Aranath slapped the ground with his tail. I went up to meet them. The general, a torchbearer, and a stander-bearer joined me. Four horsemen separated from their group to meet us halfway.

  Endeavoring to take Odet’s approach to political matters, I bowed and said, “I hope no one minds if I talk in the shared tongue.”

  The leftmost horsemen said, “I can interpret it.”

  The relatively young speaker looked out of place from the others. His smoother, mildly lighter skin and green robe had him resembling the general’s people more than the Chiszir. The other three warrior elders were garbed in layers of brown leather, patches of iron, and fur. Crowns of black feathers encircled their heads.

  The most wrinkled Chiszir spoke in a grizzled sounding language, to which the translator said, “Is the chief correct in assuming you are the dragon master?”

  “I’m the dragon knight, yes.”

  “You appear far from home. Why are you helping the empire?”

  “They helped me, so I’m helping them with the dilemma here. However, I am not their attack dog, if that’s what you’re thinking. I wish to prevent more blood from spilling, and I doubt I can do so if I bring my blade and dragon into the fight. Both of us should be avoiding needless death. With that in mind, may I lay out your new options?”

  After some foreign sentences circulated among the chiefs, their interpreter said, “You may.”

  “Thank you. Now, your first option is the most sensible. Pull back your army and I promise to help you negotiate terms that will appease both sides.”

  “Or prolong negotiations to use as a stalling tactic. We won’t be fooled by such deceptions again.”

  “And you’re wise to be suspicious of the emperor. However, unlike a man tied to the interests of a single nation, a dragon knight needs to be able to call upon the support of other kingdoms at a moment’s notice, something I cannot do if most of Orda believes me to use underhanded measures to accomplish my goals. I’m trying to honor my word to Wregor while also balancing your grievances, some of which sound justified from where I stand. Yet I cannot act as a mediator if deaf retaliation is driving you. Is there even a need for
me to explain your less pleasant paths?”

  “It’s best you do.”

  “Well then, if you insist on continuing war, I will be forced to fly back to Shimator. I imagine your plan is to ensnare the Wregor soldiers there for as long as you can, giving this army a week or so to raid the region without serious resistance. Except, with my dragon capable of breaking that siege in a day, you no longer have that time. While our force will be smaller, I will have a fortified base to rest in after sending out my dragon to burn a thousand of your men at a time. The Wregor soldiers will then be free to invade the territory you’ve left undefended. So you see, whatever your original goal, it will be ruined as soon as your siege is broken.

  “And let’s not forget this whole endeavor is bound to lead to a steep cost in the near future. Reports suggest only three or four major tribes are supporting this invasion. Makes sense. This is not land you ever owned. You’re here purely to harm. Reinforcements will eventually arrive by the shipload to evict you, and the enterprising emperor will have every reason to retaliate on lands you do claim as your own. Give me a chance to stop these inane reprisals. If you don’t like what I bring to the table, we can always flip it and use fire and steel instead.

  “This is all I have to say for now. I’m sure you need to talk this over among ourselves, so, please, return to your army. If you march forward, I’ll take that to mean you want to test for yourself how hot legendary dragon fire can get. Elect to fall back and we can arrange a formal meeting in a location of your choosing.”

  I bowed when the translator finished his task. The oldest chief put a hand to his chest and dipped his torso. Next, the horses turned around to regroup with their brethren.

  When I went back to my allies, Ujin clapped his hands together and said, “Problem solved, right?”

  “Not quite,” I replied. “They’re going to discuss the situation for a bit before doing whatever they want to do.”