Fire in the Sky- Chapter 1: Departure

Rumors spread fast. More often than not, they spread a lot faster than one might expect. It was a pretty common happening anywhere humans dwelled.

When the mysterious man from the kingdom of Neyr had first arrived in the kingdom, though his intent had been to remain discreet and only speak to those he needed to, it wasn’t long before everyone knew about it. For the past few weeks, it was all everyone talked about. Who wouldn’t be curious about a man who reeked of death, where he came from? It had gotten so bad that the king had to step in and silence his people so that the man wouldn’t become overwhelmed.

It was also when he addressed his people, that he made the announcement that he was going to send his best warriors, the Dragon Riders, to investigate the fallen kingdom.

Amongst those being sent was a young woman named Olga Galehart. She was a new recruit, having only just completed the Bonding Ritual a few months ago. The news had been the best moment of her life thus far. She spent all week preparing to head out on this journey. Since she had joined the Dragon Riders she had wanted nothing more than to go out and explore the world beyond the kingdom. The letter had mentioned it would be dangerous, but she cared not. She had thrown her sense of danger away when she signed up to become a rider. The moment she and her dragon, Vehrgeist, met she knew there was no turning back.

Her reply to the king had been sent immediately.

Now that the day has come, she was hardly able to get any sleep. She tossed and turned in bed the previous night, and morning was no different. Her excitement unbearable and she was full of restless energy. But it would be a lie to say that she was not nervous as well. This was the first time she has done something on this scale, having only been a rider officially for a few months.

It was natural to be so pumped full of energy.

“Deep breaths,” she said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She had the appearance of a strong woman, especially for her age. Her dark hair was pulled back in a braid. Her eyes were hazel, and had a glint of determination shone in them. Despite her energy, her expression was calm, completely contradicting her shaking hands.

“Olga?” A voice called from downstairs. “Breakfast is ready. I want my warrior to have a decent meal in her belly before she heads out.

“I’ll be there in a moment,” Olga replied. She looked at her reflection one last time and taking in a deep breath to gain her composure. She didn’t want her family to see her in this state, it was better that they didn’t worry. Their worrying would only make this that much more difficult.

When she composed herself, meaning as composed as she would be, she turned away from the mirror and prepared to head out.

Before heading down, however, she collected her items. Before going to bed the previous night, she had placed her sword, a knife, her bow and quiver, some tools to make a fire, among a few other things on her desk. All of them were neatly placed and organized. Keeping things neat and tidy made it easier to find something, and she could not stand living in filth. Her brother, Erren, was the opposite. His side of the room was messy and hardly ever kept organized. There were days where their differences clashed and it drove her crazy.

Admittedly, there was a part of her that was going to miss this messy room. Hell, she was going to miss her home in general. It hit her harder than she thought it would. Who knows how long she was going to be gone. It could be weeks, maybe even months before she saw Erren or any of her family again.

But she would not allow such thoughts to cause her determination to wane. She took everything in one last time, and went down to meet the rest of her family.

“About time you got your ass down here.” Erren grinned at her. “Food’s getting cold. You’d better hurry up before I decide to eat your portion for you.” He was sitting in one of the wooden chairs around the table with his arms folded. His resemblance bore almost no likeness, aside from his eyes; he had their father’s eyes.

“Sorry.” Olga replied.

“Nervous?” Erren tool the word right out of her mouth. “I would be, if I were in your position I mean.”

“We had this discussion the other night.”

“I know. I just want to hear you admit it.”

“That’s enough,” Their mother, Seresta, cut in. “Olga, I just want you to know that your father and I will be praying for your success. We’ll be fine. I know you’ll be fine, too.”

“Speaking of father, where is he?”

“He’s out at the moment running an errand for Malik. He told me to tell you that he is very proud of you for going on this mission. You may one day make a finer Dragon Rider than he ever was.”

Though a bit stung that she could not see the only person she wanted to speak to before heading off, Olga smiled warmly and took a seat next to her brother. No sooner had she done so, her mother gently placed a plate of food in front of her. She didn’t say anything, fearing that she would start to tear up a little. Pride was also a factor. Since he had brought it up, she didn’t want Erren to have the satisfaction of her being open about her nervousness.

Her father had been a great Dragon Rider, but retired when he lost his partner, Skalla. Everything she learned, he had taught her. Why did he have to be missing during the most important moment of her life? What was Malik up to that was more important than seeing his daughter off? It was almost infuriating and she had half a mind to go searching for him now.

Pushing everything aside for a moment, Olga focused on satisfying her growling stomach.

Breakfast was rather silent after that. She really didn’t feel all that compelled to speak, knowing they’d have questions. She could see it on their faces that they were curious. When the letter first arrived, she had shared it with them briefly. But it was just that, brief. She really didn’t go into details about her feelings, even though they were well aware that this was something that she wanted to do, because she knew they might find a way to change her mind.

After she ate, she said her final good-byes, and was off.

Once she was outside, Olga smiled a little and took in a deep breath, trying to keep composed, walking with her head high over to the cliffs where she was supposed to meet up with everyone else. It was the middle of the afternoon, on a typical sunny spring day in the kingdom of Ma’aekhiol. In this quiet lakeside kingdom everything was relatively peaceful.

The skies were clear, and the warmth of the sun felt wonderful. Such a day was not uncommon, for it was always pretty quiet here in the kingdom. Not a lot of people passed through unless they were traders or looking for a place to rest, at least not during this time of year. Most of the time people were terrified of the dragons that roamed about the area. Even though this was a place of harmony, to this day some people disliked the idea of living with dragons.

Olga was the first to arrive.

King Darius Arvellion IV stood waiting for everyone, as she had expected, and smiled when he saw her. Evidently he was not surprised to see her. She returned the smile meekly and straightened her posture, drawing herself up to full height as she walked toward him. Even though he seemed at peace there was a mildly intimidating presence about him.

Above them, the dragons loomed, their eyes fixed upon them. She was feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn’t sure if she was excited her nervous. Her entire body was shaking. The man next to the king, his servant, seemed so small and insignificant compared to him. Then again, the man was known for his discomfort around dragons. Which was something that was understandable, as the presence of dragons was intimidating even to her some days. But she remained calm, cool, with a resolve that said she was not afraid.

She even heard the familiar roar of Vehrgeist, her dragon companion and couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to see that she was just as ready as Olga was to head out. Her gaze moved toward the familiar brown, slender form, and their eyes met for a moment. Olga nodded swiftly, and Vehrgeist did likewise, then her attention was turned back to the King.

“I have arrived, your Majesty.” Olga bowed gracefully, balling her hand into a fist and placing it over her heart. “I’m sorry if I was late.”

King Darius waved his hand, “No need to apologize. You’re just in time.”

There was silence for awhile, until the others were accounted for. When everyone arrived, she looked around at everyone, remembering working with them at one point or another. This was definitely going to be an interesting trip. She could hardly wait to get going.

Others began to arrive soon. There was an older knight and someone she recognized as a cleric. Then, two others arrived; a young woman carrying a bow more formidable than Olga’s, a huntress, and another man. She couldn’t tell why he had been brought on, he didn’t look like much at all, but she did not doubt the King. He had handpicked everyone for a reason after all.

The King cleared his throat to gather everyone’s attention. As soon as all eyes were on him, he spoke, “Now that everyone is here, I want to wish each and every one of you good luck. I have chosen the lot of you for one reason and one reason only: I know you will not fail. Some of you may be new recruits, and I want you to think of this as a chance to prove yourselves. However, I am not expecting all of you to come back in one piece either.” There was a long pause as he glanced over each and every one of his Riders. “Do you have any questions?”

The older knight cleared his throat, “About how long do you think this will take? Do we know how far the poison has spread?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that. There is no telling how long this may take.”

“I see. Thank you.”

King Darius nodded. “I expect full reports every other day. If there are no other questions, you are all dismissed.”

As soon as the word was spoken, Olga made her way to the edge of the cliff, looking down. When she first stood here she had been terrified. Now, she was not afraid. She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to fall off the edge, plummeting toward her death. The ground below was littered with skeletons of those who had either been rejected by their dragons, or had decided to end their own life. However, Olga did not fear rejection, falling, dying, for she knew full well that Vehrgeist would not let her down. Just as Olga would never let Vehrgeist down; the two were inseparable. As long as she had Vehrgeist by her side there was nothing for her to fear. That went for this mission as well.

She heard a sound from above her. Something was coming toward her at high speed. The next thing she knew, Vehrgeist caught her on her back. Wrapping her arms around her companion, she let out a soft breath, smiled, and relaxed herself, more than ready to face whatever was out there waiting for her and the rest of the group.