Sands of Time - 12. Chapter 12

Early the following morning, Garnet and Thane were sitting around the campfire as the sun was about to crest the horizon. Their shift on watch was wrapping up when Madelyn, Faelwen, and Bruin came walking up.

Spotting the two of them, she hesitated briefly before squaring her shoulders and moving to the campfire ring, sitting opposite Garnet after filling a mug with the warm brew simmering on the fire pit. Faelwen cuddled in close on one side while Bruin settled in on the other side, where he could keep a wary eye on Garnet.

Garnet chuckled at the look he was getting from Bruin and then spoke to Madelyn. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

She took a sip from the warm mug and gently shook her head. “No… Not really… There was so much to think about that sleep had a hard time finding me.” She took another sip and patted Faelwen, and looked at Thane. “The wonders of animal magic. Her gaze turned to Garnet. “Seeing a dragon.” Her gaze slipped past Garnet to rest on Olpha’s cottage. “And that poor boy… There are so many questions… It’s hard to know where to start. How is he?”

“I checked in on him before I started my watch shift,” Thane said with a small smile. “He has had a quiet night so far, which is the best we can hope for at this point.” Thane’s smile faltered as he continued. “I do wish to apologize to you. It was my responsibility to at least warn you before Garnet shifted.”

She turned her focus to Garnet, then back to Thane. “As shocking as it was… How can I blame you for something I would not have believed without seeing it with my own eyes first?”

Both boys sighed in relief and then smiled. “We were worried you would be upset,” Thane said sheepishly.

“Oh, I am. But not at either of you.” She sighed as Bruin moved in close to cuddle, sensing her mood shifting. “I am upset with myself for fainting. Such a reaction; if Garnet had been there to hurt or kill us, I would have endangered all of us.” She waved her hand as both Garnet and Thane tried to protest. “I do have a question though… well, several.” Her gentle laugh relaxed the boys again. “When we first met you, you appeared as a Dragonling, then a little while later, you said an illusion ring allowed you to appear as an Illorc… wait, no, an Orakin…”

Garnet nodded. “I discussed this with Xavier last night, and we all agree that you deserve to know the full truth.” When he paused to take a breath, she smiled slightly, then leaned back into Faelwen, who was sitting behind her now. “Obviously, there was no magic ring… However, what we can do appears to be lost to all but the Greens. All true-born Dragons are born with the ability to shift into two other different forms, or as we refer to it, our skins.”

“All Dragons?” Madelyn inquired softly, with a hint of dread.

“Yes, it is like a learned Autospell. All can do it, but it must be learned. In our time, it was only taught to Great Dragons of Royal descent, as well as, occasionally, other Great and True Dragons that have done some type of distinguished service to the crown.”

“So, you and Xavier are both Great Dragons?” Madelyn asked, her voice trembling softly. She knew that most dragons that other races saw were just warriors, but now she was in the company of two Greats.

“No,” Garnet said, shaking his head. “I am only a True. Xavier is a Royal Great Sand Dragon.”

Madelyn took a moment to process the simple statement, then decided to test how ‘full’ the whole truth would be. “I have never heard of a Sand Dragon before.” While it may have been a statement, there was an obvious question in there.

Garnet’s head dropped, and his shoulders sagged a moment before he looked her in the eyes. “We do not know for sure, but it may be that Xavier and I are the last.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Madelyn said as the true weight of his comment started to sink in. She decided to try and change the subject. “Would it be out of bounds to ask what great service you performed? I am just trying to understand what is considered a ‘distinguished service.’

Garnet did not hesitate as he nodded. “No, it would not be, but you need to know a few things first. I am a True Dragon of royal birth; my father was also the king, but my mother was not the queen. I was taught to shift because I had agreed to Blood Bond myself to my half-brother, Prince Xavier, as is… was… the tradition amongst Sand Dragons.” He showed her his left arm, which bore a long, jagged scar that ran from wrist to elbow.

“This scar matches up to the one that Prince, now King Psyen-Raysyn’Xavier, bears on his right arm. We had our arms bound together, with a special knife placed between our arms.” Garnet paused at the memory of that day. “When our arms were firmly bound, they removed the blade, and it cut into both of us, leaving these wounds. For a full moon, we stayed bound together, having spells and rituals cast upon us, until not only did our blood and our bodies merge through the wounds, but so did our souls.

On the final day, before they separated us, I pledged my sword and my life to Xavier. Not to the Sand Dragons or the kingdom of Seandra, but to Xavier.” The intensity in Garnet’s eyes showed just how tightly he held to that oath.

“You are just children,” Madelyn said before she thought about her words while leaning forward. “I mean absolutely no disrespect, but I do not believe I know any grown man or woman, myself included, that would be willing to go through that.”

“Teacher Madelyn, we were the human equivalent of nine years old… but had both been alive for over 120 years. It was shortly after we both gained full control over our first skins.” She sat back hard, shocked to silence.

“Wow.” Thane breathed out. “I had never heard that part. No Alphar Prince would ever allow someone to swear an oath to anyone other than themselves, and certainly not to a child.”

Garnet nodded forcefully. “Our father, the King, informed me of who I would be pledging myself to and why before allowing me to agree. He made clear that this was not a command by the king. This was something I had to want to do.”

Nodding in understanding, even if she didn’t fully understand the commitment that had been made, she decided to ask about something else. “May I ask about your Holy Symbols?”

Garnet looked confused but reached under his sand suit and pulled out his Holy Symbol of Rovnar.

Madelyn half smiled as she shook her head. “While I have questions about this one, I more meant the ones I saw on the insides of your wings.”

“Oh, Those.” He started to stand as he asked. “Are you wanting to see them again?”

“No!” She almost cried out, then spoke more softly as Garnet sat back down, a confused look on his face. “I… uh, remember them very well from last night.” She paused and took a deep breath; the thought of having to see Garnet shift into a Dragon again was not something she wanted to deal with right then. “I was more referring to why yours is different from the boy’s as well as all the other Rovnar sigils I have ever seen.”

“I was actually discussing that with Thane before you arrived,” Garnet said as he pulled out the Holy Symbol that he wore around his neck and looked at it. “It seems identical, save for the number 13 imprinted in the pummel.” He looked up after a moment and met her gaze. “I know Rovnar had an affinity for that number and had discussed modifying the Symbol to include it, but… well, he had not made a final decision last I knew.”

“You sound as if you knew him personally,” Madelyn commented with a wry chuckle.

“I did,” Garnet said simply.

Thane, on the other hand, groaned loudly. “We had the… uh… pleasure of knowing Rovnar. A little too well.” Garnet’s stern glare just caused a chuckle from Thane, but it did allow Madelyn time to recover from the latest shock to her system.

Garnet turned back to face her, a slight grin on his face. “I was Rovnar’s First Priest.”

Her eyes went wide with more shock. “Are you not too young to be a high priest?”

“Oh no,” Garnet chuckled. “I was not his first High Priest. That ‘honor’ was reserved for Rosla Thornbarrel. She was a fellow Temple Guardian of Dawn Breaker and VERY close to Rovnar.”

Thane busted out with laughter. “Yeah… She literally slept her way to the top.”

Before more could be said, a scream came from the tent Xavier now shared with Lew since Malachi was still working in his forge. The full-throated scream was Xavier’s. As if shot from a cannon, Garnet was on his feet, his huge Warhammer in his left hand, as he sprinted towards his liege’s tent. Before he covered half the distance, the side of the tent facing them blew out as a blast of sand tore through the dragon hide leather, followed by two more screams of sheer terror. One was clearly that of a panther, and the other that of a pantherling.

“Xavier!” Garnet cried as he crashed through the now shredded side of the tent. He barely spared a glance at Lew, who was lying there wide-eyed, covered in sand, while Nimbi stood nearby shaking more sand out of her fur. His eyes focused on Xavier, who was on his hands and knees panting but looked otherwise unhurt. Eyes wild, Garnet looked for any type of threat, thankfully not finding anything.

When Xavier vomited, Garnet replaced his Warhammer back to his belt and went to Xavier’s side, holding his brother’s head while he again vomited.

Outside, everyone, save for an entranced Malachi, had gathered, weapons drawn, and formed a protective ring around the ruined tent. Lew quickly grabbed the quiver and bow he was given and the sword that the green dragon had wielded before he scampered out of the tent, sand falling off him with every movement. Seriously disgruntled by the rude awakening, Nimbi was right on his heels.

“Xavier is fine,” Garnet called out as he grabbed his waterskin and helped Xavier drink. He could hear weapons being sheathed and held breaths being released.

“What… What happened?” Xavier asked after having taken several sips of water and spitting them out.

“My guess is a nightmare. You have not had one that triggered a breath weapon like that in over 75 years.” Garnet couldn’t keep the tiny smile off his face while helping Xavier to stand. “We need to get out of here.” Together, they walked out of the side opening.

“Cragcairn…” Xavier said softly while shuddering. “I think we were in the town of Cragcairn. I only remember the Great Brown with the broken wing covered in blood.”

“Oh, just great!” Olpha said in a huff. “You are forgiven for making me cast a repair spell on your tent.” She paused and shuddered herself. “You know, we try not to think of Cragcairn.”

Around her, Garnet, Syth, Thane, and Lucas nodded in agreement or voiced it softly around her.

Olpha poked her head inside the tent and then looked over at Xavier with a disapproving look. “Nightmare or not… It is your sand; you clean it up, and then I will repair the tent. Until then, I still have a patient to tend to.”

✶✶✶✶✶

Lew sat down next to Nimbi, listening to the sounds coming from Malachi’s cottage forge. The rhythmic hammer blows, the ringing tones of the metal, and the deep guttural chanting were almost hypnotic. The bell-like tones had changed subtly. It almost sounded like the metal being forged was singing as whatever Malachi was making progressed. The smell of bacon frying wafted into the tent, signaling that breakfast was almost ready, which caused his stomach to growl softly in anticipation.

He gently stroked Nimbi as his thoughts focused on what he had learned. After Garnet’s demonstration and what Xavier had told him, he had no doubt that he was in the company of dragons. If there had been any lingering doubts, the unexpected and frightening sandstorm in Xavier’s tent earlier this morning had scoured them entirely away.

Somewhat to his surprise, after the shock had worn off, he discovered that he was completely comfortable with this knowledge. Xavier was still Xavier, and the same could be said for Garnet too. It helped explain their ferocity in battle… and their lack of fear of other dragons. Most of them are wearing armor made out of dragon scales, which only feels natural to them.

Dragons are dangerous creatures... Everyone knows that. What they did not know, and he did, from personal experience, was that at least two of these dragons could also be gentle, loving creatures as well. He had spent a lot of time since yesterday trying to wrap his head around all of this. One thing was completely clear in his mind. He had to report everything he knew to the Silver dragons his kind were sworn to serve. However, he could not, and would not, do this without Xavier’s permission.

The thought of Xavier caused a flash of memory of this morning's sandstorm inside the king’s tent to fill his mind. This posed another small problem. He looked at Malachi’s cottage and wondered how much longer he would be. The dwarf might snore a little bit from time to time, but thus far, there hadn’t been any sand storms in his tent. Lew was in a quandary over whether he ought to impose on the King’s hospitality again or if he and Nimbi should look for quieter and safer lodgings elsewhere. Just then, his reverie was interrupted by Madelyn calling everyone to breakfast.

Three-quarters of a turn of the sandglass later, everyone sat back in satisfaction. Now, the discussions could begin. “We have much to discuss.” Garnet started before anyone else could. “But before we get to that, Aegir has something he would like to show everyone.”

All eyes shifted to Aegir, who was suddenly very nervous but determined to show off what he could do. He stood up, closed his eyes, and concentrated. His right hand rose to chest level while his fingers danced in ways that were starting to become normal to him. Once he was ready, he opened his eyes and thrust his hand forward while he spoke a single archaic word. From the open palm of his hand, a small flare erupted out of it and shot out about twenty feet before it burned out.

Many of those seated jumped to their feet to congratulate Aegir with everything from slaps on the backs to hugs, with Madelyn being one of the first. She turned away quickly as the others moved forward to offer their congratulations and wiped a few tears from her eyes. Had it really been just over a week since her shy, withdrawn, MUNDANE child was first told he wasn’t as mundane as they thought? In that very short amount of time, Garnet was able to take him from that shy boy and teach him enough to cast a learned auto-spell, something that Garnet had told her would mark him as passing into the Primary Echelon.

“I know what you are thinking,” Garnet said from behind her.

She was careful to clear her eyes before turning around. “OH?” She asked simply.

“You are wondering what type of miracle worker I am to take someone with no formal preparation and bring them to the official start of their training.” She was confused for a brief moment before she remembered the explanation she had received from them of the different echelons. Someone who is Primary now was just entering the training echelon back in their time.

“Truly, he was very close to the end of his preparation time before we met you. You and your husband should be commended for how well you prepared him for life as a trained being.” She looked up to meet his eyes and hesitantly nodded, not willing to trust her voice.

She swallowed a few times before she could make her voice work. “But… how?” She started. “We never trained him in anything since we thought he was mundane. We especially did not teach him about casting spells.”

Garnet gave her a smile and nodded. “Of course not. But I feel you are missing the importance of the words used. I never said you were training him. How could you have? He was not trainable as far as you knew. What you did do, though, was to PREPARE him for his training. I believe the best thing you did for him was cultivate his inner drive. If I had to do that as well, he would be nowhere near ready to start his real training. Either way, as I said, his success so far is a credit to you and Teacher Gradon. Now, though, the rest is on him and, to a lesser degree, myself.” She could only nod as Garnet turned and went back to the campfire ring as everyone was settling down and getting ready for more delicate conversations.

✶✶✶✶✶

“So our plan is for Lew and Killian to go into Silverton.” Xavier began while they were still relaxing after eating breakfast, then paused to see if anyone wanted to add anything. “I know Olpha gave Killian a list to pick up some of her supplies while in the city. Is there anything else we need to get?”

Silence reigned for a few seconds before Syth let out a deep breath, then he turned to look at Madelyn, then Thane. “Everyone knows I have taken the two Rhinoling cubs as wards. While they may be as subtle as Thane’s Bear Scorpions and as educated as… Well, frankly, I do not think they have EVER had any education beyond what little their parents could give them. Be that as it may, Thane, I know you well enough to know better than to ask if you will mentor him, so let me ask this. Will you allow me to mentor Sigvat, with you and Madelyn teaching the Animal Adept parts that I can not?”

Thane silently considered for a moment before looking at Madelyn, who simply nodded. He still took a few moments to consider before he let out a deep sigh. “Yes,” He simply said, then continued. “However, I will not train someone who does not know how to speak correctly. You also need to work on his meekness. I understand being a slave is different now than it was, but the amount of timidity that both he and his sister exhibit would make it impossible for him to bond to anything but a domesticated dog.”

“Very well,” Syth said with a rare small smile before he turned to Killian while pulling a small sapphire out of his pouch and handing it to him. “As his Mentor, with no other guardians around, it is up to me to see to their care. With that in mind, would you please purchase Sigvat and his sister some proper clothing? They always say they are fine, and I know they have thick hides, but I see them huddling near the fire when they think no one is looking or huddled together to share warmth. They will also need a travel pack and a large tent if you can. They can stay with each other; I think they would like that better for now.”

“Of course,” Killian said with a grin while Lew gave Syth a nod of respect. “Anything else?” Killian asked while looking around.

“A wagon,” Garnet spoke up. “Something that we could not only put Malachi’s ingots into and hide them but also relieve some of the load on the pack skimmers.”

Xavier thought for a few moments, then nodded. “Excellent idea.” He stated simply.

Before more could be said, all eyes jumped to Malachi’s Cottage as the door banged open, followed by his raucous voice. “By the gods! I have finished!”

They watched with smiles as he stumbled out of the cottage, almost dropping the two silk-wrapped bundles that he held in his arms. “That was intentional!” He cried as he righted himself, adding with a growl, “I meant to do that.” He then wobbly came over to the campfire. He stopped for a moment, looking down at the bundles, then separated them, one in each hand. He first moved to Aegir and handed him the longer one. The boy had a look of utter confusion on his face as he took it, then looked up at Garnet, who only smiled and nodded.

Malachi then continued his trip around the outside of the campfire ring before he stopped next to Lew. “This one is for you.” He practically shoved the wrapped bundle into the Pantherling’s hands, then moved to the first empty spot he found and, with a thud, sat down.

He looked around for a moment, then noticed Syth, who was right next to him, had a bowl of breakfast stew in his hands. “Oh good… I am ravening!” He then reached over, took the bowl from Syth’s hands, and started eating.

Laughter erupted at the dwarf’s antics, but most people quickly looked back to the two people holding bundles. This meant they missed what happened next when Syth picked up his mug to take a sip, and Malachi noticed that. “Oh, thanks!” he said as he reached over again and snatched the mug right out of the Drow’s hand.

This time though, Syth was not having it. Having their attention again grabbed by Malachi’s words, they were not ready to see Syth’s Render and Malachi’s throat. “Drink that old friend, and I will make sure it helps to stain the front of your tunic.”

Malachi’s eyes went wide as he slowly moved the mug back over to Syth. “Wise choice.” Syth took the mug, then slowly pulled his curved knife back from his ‘friend’s’ throat.

“Gee Syth,” Olpha tittered as she filled a spare mug and handed it to Malachi, who responded with a nod of thanks. “No need to be such a grouch.”

“Grouch?” Syth cried indignantly. “Mugs are very personal… What if that had been your mug?”

“Would not have happened.” She said with a sickly sweet smile that turned very dark, very quick. “He knows better.”

“Guys!” Xavier said with a half shout, half giggle. “I think Aegir is about to wet himself. Can he open his gift?”

Malachi looked at the boy who was standing there bouncing up and down looking between the bundle and Malachi. “Well, yes… What are you waiting for?”

The boy needed to hear nothing else as he quickly began to unwrap the bundle. Only Garnet’s reflexes stopped the silk wrap from hitting the snowy, muddy ground as Aegir finally got to see what had been made for him. It was tough to tell whose gasp of shock was louder, Aegir’s or his mother's. The lad was now holding a pitch-black staff that came up to just above his shoulder. His hands found the fighting grips, and he slowly twirled the staff around in front of his body.

His eyes were a mask of concentration as he stepped back a few paces and quickly moved the staff around in his hands. As his hands got more comfortable with it, the faster the staff moved. A few breaths later, he squeaked in surprise and almost dropped the staff. “What?” Garnet asked gently, having a decent idea of what was happening, although he was unsure how Malachi pulled it off.

“It… I think the Staff wants some of my force.” He stuttered out, looking between the staff and Garnet.

“Well… Of course it does!” Malachi called out gruffly while Madelyn gasped and had to steady herself on the log she was seated on.

“Aegir,” Garnet said softly, moving his bulk so he was between the boy and everyone else. He then knelt and put both of his six-fingered hands on the boy’s bony shoulders while making sure not to touch the staff. “The staff is magical.” Just those words caused the boy’s eyes to grow large in shock and his knees weak. “No one can tell you what to do right now. However, if you do give it some of your force, it will bond with you; it will be yours and yours alone. It will also allow you to do things with it that you normally could not do.”

“Like what?” The boy whispered.

“I do not know,” Garnet responded just as softly. “The only way you will be able to find out is to attune to it, to give it some of your force, and allow it to become yours.” Garnet paused for a few seconds as Aegir’s eyes dropped down, and looked at the staff in his hands. When the boy met Garnet’s eyes again, the large Orakin spoke one last time. “Do you understand?”

Aegir looked back down at the staff and then back into Garnet’s eyes before nodding. Garnet grinned, released the boy's shoulders, then stepped back. The boy took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated for a moment. Slowly, a smile formed, then turned into a grin. Without opening his eyes, he stepped back two more steps and then started to twirl the staff. Those with trained eyes watched as the fighting grips rearranged slightly, becoming perfect for Aegir’s hands. The staff also shrunk ever so slightly, so it was the perfect height for the boy.

A moment later, the boy muttered a single word, “Break.” The staff came apart in the middle, becoming two perfectly balanced fighting sticks. Seamlessly, the boy went from a staff-fighting stance to a stance reflective of the new weapons he wielded. Several breaths later, he spoke again, “Out.” A long, thin blade erupted from the ends of each fighting stick. Moments later, he cried out, “Together!” while slamming the non-bladed ends together, and it became a staff again, only this time there were blades coming out of each end. Finally, he breathlessly said “In,” and the blades retracted.

“By the gods, Malachi.” A stunned Garnet turned to look at the dwarf who just finished eating his second bowl of stew, and was going for more. “How did you…”

“Talk later,” he muttered as he sat back and scooped another spoonful of stew into his mouth. “Now, eat.”

Instead of arguing, all eyes shifted over to Lew, who was already unwrapping his bundle, though much more sedately than Aegir had previously done. When the covering was drawn away, Xavier let out a whistle as they all saw a sleek black, sheathed Katana. After handing the Silk wrapping to Olpha, Lew carefully gripped the hilt and gently started to draw the blade. He gasped as he saw the color of the blade was the same as Malachi’s armor, which he had been told was made out of Eldwar.

When the blade was about a third exposed, Lew did not need to question or hesitate as he allowed the blade to drink in a portion of his force, which caused the large Tiger’s Eye Gem in the pommel to throb gently for a few moments. Lew’s eyes went wide as they darted to Malachi and then back to the blade. He spoke a word that must have been in the Pantherling language, causing the blade to erupt in flame. A moment later, and another word, and the fire went away as if it were never there.

Lew was almost reverent in how he resheathed the blade; then, his eyes found Malachi. He wasn’t sure what to say, but thankfully, Olpha’s voice stopped him from having to say anything. “Malachi?” She asked softly while still looking at the blade in Lew’s hand. “When did you learn how to enchant weapons? That is certainly no Gem Magic.”

“Gem Magic?” Malachi gasped in disdain. “That is so beneath me. Besides, I would never use Gem Magic in weapons, even if I could!”

“How then?” Xavier asked.

Malachi grinned and turned to face Lew fully. “Someone really likes you.” He sat his bowl down with a glance at Syth, then moved over to where Lew stood and extended his hand. “May I?” He asked, indicating the new sword. Lew nodded and handed it over.

He took a step back and slowly pulled the blade free; he then turned it so the blade extended over his shoulder while showing Lew a tiny mark right above the circular guard, one that matched his signet ring. A hammer sitting in front of an anvil; behind it was a lamassu with a battle ax in its teeth. “This is my mark, however, on the other side…” He spun the blade in his hand so that Lew could see the mark on the other side.

Lew’s eyes grew wide, and his knees buckled. Thankfully, Malachi was prepared for the reaction. His free hand was already in a position to hold the Pantherling up for a moment.

“What?” Olpha said as she looked over Malachi’s shoulder. “Oh… Well, that certainly explains it. Congratulations, Malachi. You as well, Lew.”

“What is it?” Madelyn inquired.

“The holy symbol of Golan, Primary God to most Weaponsmiths,” Olpha answered as she patted Malachi on the back.

Once Malachi was sure Lew had his feet back under him, he sheathed the blade and returned it to Lew, who just stared at it.

“Well, are you going to put it on?” Xavier asked with a grin.

Lew numbly nodded and slipped the sheathed blade into his weapon belt, ensuring the bladed edge was facing up. “Tha…Thank you.” Lew squeaked out.

“You are most welcome,” Malachi responded gently. “May it serve you well.”

Malachi turned around but couldn’t take a step before Aegir bounded into him with a massive hug. “Thanks!” The boy said something else but was lost in Malachi’s tunic.

“Okay! Enough of the sappyness.” Malachi boomed as he playfully pushed Aegir away from him. “Now… I am exhausted. If anyone or anything wakes me before I wake myself… They will find an ax embedded in a very sensitive place.

✶✶✶✶✶

When Xavier approached him, Lew was just getting over the shock at his new sword as he and Killian were busy getting their mounts ready for the ride into Silverton. “Lew,” the king said with a smile. “First off, I wanted to congratulate you on the sword. It is not often that a god sends a powerful spirit to aid a smith in crafting a weapon.”

“I…I had never heard of such a thing before.” Lew said with a shake of his head.

“It is rare,” Xavier said with a smile. “However, before I forget,” He handed Lew a pouch. “I was hoping you could exchange these for some modern coins. Also, please use those coins to purchase anything that is needed in the city.”

Lew nodded as he opened the pouch to reveal several large gemstones. His eyes widened, but he nodded quickly. “I am sure that will be more than enough.”

“Good. I was not sure how many to send.” Xavier stepped back and started to turn but stopped when they heard Garnet’s voice.

“Lew. A moment, please, before you leave.” The large teen strode toward them with a serious expression on his face.

When the Pantherling turned, he felt his heart drop when he noticed the rest of the Seandran children arrayed behind. ‘What now?’ he thought to himself. ‘I do not know if I can handle anything more.’

Lew straightened himself and spoke clearly, hoping that he was reading the situation correctly and judging by the ‘attention’ stance the children were standing in. “Earl Stormrider, What may I do for you?”

The very faint, almost invisible nod from Garnet told him he had guessed right. “Pantherling Lew,” Garnet started in a clear voice. “I fear I have been remiss in my capacity as the Commander of Prince Xavier’s Personal Guard. We have known you for less than a fortnight, yet in that short time, you have sworn an Oath to my blood brother, my liege. You have come to his defense, even while injured, and have, several times, stood guard over him, even when you thought no one was watching. You have freely shared your knowledge of things in this time that we lack and accept many things about us that are utterly foreign to you. For these deeds, I have decided, with the consent of My Prince, you shall forever more be known as Lew, First Knight of the House of Seandra.”

With a smile, Garnet held up a small pin so that Lew could see the design. It was of a Dragon with scales the same color as those he saw when Garnet had shifted to his true form. A single horn came from the top of the Dragon’s forehead, again matching what Garnet looked like. The Dragon’s wings were barely crossed, and a kite shield with crossed swords backed it. “This marks you as a Knight in service of the House of Seandra. I do not know how it is done in this time, but in our time, we had Knights of the Realm of Seandra and also Knights of the House of Seandra. The First Knights were those who had sworn their life and their sword to the Royal Line above all else.” With deft fingers, Garnet placed the pin on Lew’s Tunic. He then took a step back and gave a slight bow. When he was erect again, he grinned and stuck out his hand for Lew to shake.

At the same time, Xavier clasped him on the shoulder. “Well done, my friend. For better or worse, this makes you one of us now.”

✶✶✶✶✶

“Oh by the gods!” Lucas quietly exclaimed as he looked down into the spreading squalor or the slums below, causing Madelyn to look over at him with a sympathetic look. Right after breakfast, the day after Lew and Killian rode into Silverton, Madelyn announced that she needed to go into the slums to acquire a few things. Most notably, clothing for the Seandran kids which would let them blend in a little better than the armor and desert robes they wore now.

Lucas volunteered to accompany her when Garnet said she should not go alone, even if she brought her two animals. As they started down off the ridge, Lucas was muttering to himself. Unfortunately for him, he still had the translation crystal activated, meaning Madelyn heard and understood every word that he was saying. “How many times have you gotten in trouble just for volunteering?” he asked himself, starting a solo conversation that would have Madelyn laughing in hysterics.

“Well, it had to be you, of course… Who else could it be? I mean, come on, would this area still exist if Olpha came?” He even snickered to himself as he kept up the monologue. “Just imagine Thane seeing this and realizing he had to go in there. He would be activating the cleansing spell on his armor every few seconds till he ran out of force! Malachi would be better… Maybe, but he would not be able to keep his mouth shut. Garnet… well, he would probably just implode, while Xavier would be nothing more than a quivering mass on the ground. The only one who could tolerate seeing this would be Syth. Of course, they would not tolerate him, which would lead to death and destruction everywhere. So… yeah, I guess it had to be me… And naturally, I volunteered… Like I always do. Remember saying that you would never volunteer again after you ended up playing bait for a Great Brown.”

Lucas fell silent as his rant ran its entire course, but it was then he heard Madelyn trying hard to keep her laughter down and failing. This caused Lucas’s ordinarily pale skin to redden significantly as he realized that what he just said, was said out loud. “Oh… Sorry…” He muttered, which just caused her to laugh harder. Eventually, Lucas joined in, which helped his mood. Slightly.

As they got closer, Lucas debated with himself on whether he should deactivate the crystal or not. Especially as he started to be able to hear how the people close by were speaking; never had he heard such illiterate and nearly unintelligible language being spoken. It was almost physically painful to hear it. He was about to deactivate the crystal, but Madelyn shook her head emphatically. “You need to get used to it.” Frowning, Lucas dropped his hand and sighed.

“Faelwen. Front.” Madelyn ordered, and the just shy of two meters tall, at the shoulder, bear scorpion ambled up in front of Madelyn and Thane. This turned out to be a good idea, as just by her presence, people quickly moved out of the way. Bruin, without having to be told, moved to walk behind Madelyn’s horse, Blaze, and Lucas’s Sand Skimmer, Midnight Flame.

Madelyn seemed to know where she was going, so Lucas simply followed alongside her and tried not to react to what he was hearing and seeing all around him. He was told these were slums, but they were so much worse than the slums that he had known that he had no word to put to it. He did smile slightly as he thought that everything they bought here, as well as what they were wearing would have to be cleansed as soon as possible. He might even insist that Olpha do a ritual cleansing on everything, just to make sure.

“We have arrived,” Madelyn announced, bringing Lucas out of his thoughts. When he looked around, he noticed they were outside of a ramshackle hut, and that was him being polite. He dismounted right after Madelyn did and landed in mud that seemed to be everywhere.

When he moved around the side of his Skimmer, Lucas came face to face with two kids, both of them so dirty he couldn’t tell what their normal skin tone was. To make it worse, both kids had obvious Orc traits. He did not think they were half-orc but at least quarter-orc. This was confirmed as two adults came out of the door, a human male and a halforc female. Lucas was at a loss. However, he just could not handle their talking, so he turned off his translation crystal before he said something offensive.

The sun was just dropping below the horizon when Madelyn and Lucas returned to camp. He had just dismounted Midnight Flame when he saw Olpha approaching him, her arms wide open for a hug and her face beaming with pleasure. “NO!” Lucas cried out as he backed up several steps, slamming into the rickety wagon that Madelyn had purchased. “Do not touch me till I have had a bath and a dozen cleansing spells cast.”

By this point, all eyes in the camp were on him as he nearly ran toward Olpha’s hut. “What… happened?” Olpha asked, dumbfounded as she turned to look at Madelyn.

“He is being a bit… melodramatic.” was her giggled response. “The slums were not quite as neat and tidy as he expected.”

“Lucas is not the dramatic one,” Olpha said, putting her hands on her hips. “That would be Thane and Garnet.”

“Hey!” Garnet cried out indignantly. Thane had started to protest, but one look from Olpha made him shrug and close his mouth.

“WAIT!” Lucas cried out from the door to the cottage. “I changed my mind. The clothing needs ritual cleansing by ALL the priests! Just to be sure.”

“Oh no, no way! Not happening!” Garnet said as he threw his hands up and started to back away from the wagon. “If we are meant to wear that, I do NOT want Rovnar ANYWHERE NEAR IT.”

“Okay,” Lucas said with his first smile since seeing the slums. “You are excused from the duty.”

The wind picked up, and everyone sort of heard a disappointed “Awwww!” whistle through the trees.

“Give it up, Rovnar!” Garnet called into the wind. “I know you too well.” he then shook his head and focused back on the wagon.

“What’s in the wagon?” Aegir asked as he ran up to it, trying to look inside.

Madelyn smiled and walked to the back, starting to undo the tarp that was over the top. “Melodramatic or not,” she smiled as she pulled the top open, revealing a mound of clothing. “It would not be bad to have this cleaned before wearing it. Magical cleaning is advisable.”

“AWWWWW!!!!” Aegir cried out as he spotted two cages further in on the wagon. “What kind of animals did you get?”

“Aegir, hush!” Madelyn forcefully scolded, then looked over at Syth. “We happened to find two dogs that, well, they needed rescuing. I also thought that they would be perfect for your charges. One for Sigvat to learn with, and one for Grima to learn how to take care of.”

“I see,” Syth said as he moved over to inspect the two dogs. “Thane?”

Syth and Aegir pulled the tarp the rest of the way off the wagon while Thane leaned over to look into the two cages. “Well… what do we have here, huh?” Thane spoke in a very gentle voice. “Someone did not take good care of either of you two, did they?” While keeping his voice quiet and gentle, he looked at Madelyn and then back to the dogs. “I really hope whoever had you before did not like what happened.”

“They did not,” Madelyn said darkly. “Nor will they be abusing any other animals. We can discuss this later, though.”

“As you wish,” Thane said softly, then looked at Garnet and Olpha. “Could you lift the cages out, please? I wish to look them over.” he then turned to Syth, “Could you get my healthman’s pouch? I finally have my kind of patient.”

Thane backed out of the way as the two Orakin lifted the first wooden cage out of the wagon and placed it on the ground. He was on his knees with the cage open before they got the other one out. It took him almost a full minute to coax the young juvenile dog out of the cage. “This poor thing is scared out of its mind,” Thane said softly so as not to scare it anymore.

When it emerged fully from the cage, they all saw a dog that stood about 50 centimeters off the ground at the withers, a fine, smooth, but dirty fawn-colored coat. Its skull was broad, and the head more squarish, with extra skin and a black ‘mask.’

Thane looked over the dog for a couple of minutes, petting it while also feeling for any abnormalities. If Madelyn had been impressed before at Thane’s handling of animals, she was blown away by what she was seeing now.

“Okay, little guy,” Thane said soothingly. “This is going to hurt some, but you’ll feel better pretty soon. I just can not see any reason to keep you in this much pain longer than needed.” He reached under his armor and tunic and pulled out a gold necklace. On the end was a richly adorned holy symbol of Vindayin. He clutched it in his hand while speaking in his native Alphar tongue. “Wonderous lady of the wood, I implore your aid for this poor creature. If it pleases you, please ease his pain and illness so that he may know a better life.” As he spoke, his hand started to glow; when he finished, he pushed his hand into the dog's furry neck and allowed the light to seep into the dog. It gasped and whimpered softly before it lost consciousness.

As Thane moved to the second cage, he looked briefly at Madelyn. “They better be dead.” He did not wait for confirmation, as he honestly did not want to know. Before he turned to the other dog, he saw both Sigvat and Grima watching from a distance.

The second dog was in much better health. As soon as he opened the cage, the puppy came bounding out and rushed into Thane’s hands, which got a grin and a chuckle out of the boy. The puppy was pure black with floppy ears, a short, dense coat, and pronounced eyebrows. After a few minutes of gentle poking and prodding, Thane stood up, the puppy still in his arms. He nodded thanks to Syth as he took his healthman’s pouch and set it on the wagon. One-handed, he rooted around in it before coming out with a small gray square of something. He held it up to the puppy, who sniffed it and then eagerly ate it. “You’ll feel better after your nap.” Moments later, Thane put the now-sleeping puppy on the ground next to the larger one.

“I did not know you were a channeler?” Madelyn said with a smile as she looked at the dogs.

“My focus is on animals,” Thane said absently. “I am not as good with patients who can talk.”

“That is the truth,” Olpha interjected with a grin, causing Thane to give her a flip of his hand.

“Can I assume you meant the war dog for Sigvat and the black one for Grima?” Syth asked Madelyn, causing her to nod. He then turned to Thane while motioning for Sigvat and Grima to move closer. “What will they need?”

Thane thought for a moment. “The puppy just needs good food and normal training. Her breed are retrievers that love to swim. They are very intelligent and can be trained to be anything from war dogs to hunters to companions. Grima will need to be guided in how to do all this, but it will not be difficult.” hearing her name and the implications that went with it, Grima gasped and beamed while her head bobbed quickly up and down.

Thane paused as he ran a hand through his long hair. “The larger one, well, he had several illnesses as well as several healed or healing injuries. I would guess that he will be hard to bond with, but if Sigvat puts in the work, I feel the dog will be extremely loyal. He will need a carefully controlled diet for a while and closely monitored exercise.” Thane said the last part, looking directly at Sigvat.

The boy nodded, then squared his shoulders and spoke slowly. “Me… er… I will. I promise.” He paused and concentrated on what he wanted to say. “Thank… you.” Thane nodded hard once, then picked up his bag and returned to his tent. A motion from Syth was all it took for both children to lie down and start petting their new dogs.

✶✶✶✶✶

Malachi emerged from his forge just before dinner. He stopped right outside the door and sniffed loudly. “Well, it smells edible… Which means neither Thane nor Xavier cooked.”

“Count yourself lucky!” Garnet called out from by the fire. “Thane managed to find us a couple of large frost elk.”

“You really need to thank Suiadan; he decided not to eat two of the five they brought down. He even brought them back to camp for us.” Thane said from where he sat, ‘petting’ the huge bear Scorpion.

“Wow…” Malachi exclaimed as he sat down at the fire pit. A Moment later, Garnet handed him a bowl. Malachi’s eyes went a bit wide, but he mumbled a thanks as he started to eat. A moment later, his mug and a hunk of bread were presented to him. This caused him to stop and look up at who was offering. Seeing it was Garnet again, he hesitantly nodded in thanks. He put the bowl down, took a sip of the drink, and then fixed Garnet with something close to a suspicious glare. “What do you want?”

“He knows you way too well.” Xavier laughed, then went back to his meal.

“I uhh… Well… I wanted to ask you to make something for me.” Garnet said, suddenly feeling a little shy.

“Something else?” Malachi grumbled, although secretly he was happy; now he wouldn’t have to invent a reason to get back into his forge. Of course, he couldn’t show that… After all, he had a reputation to maintain.

“I need… I mean, I would like for you to make me a holy symbol, but not for me, for a boy…” Garnet then informed Malachi about not only the boy but also the organization he seemed to be a part of.

“We have decided that it would be better for us if this Barony Watch were friendly with us,” Xavier added when Garnet was finished. He was causing many of the others to nod in agreement.

Garnet picked up on the narrative. “One way we thought to do that was to make a new holy symbol for him,”

“Was his destroyed?” Malachi asked, having forgotten about his dinner for now.

“Not exactly,” Garnet responded while he pulled the holy symbol under discussion from a pouch, shuddered as he looked at it, and then tossed it to Malachi.

The Garm easily caught it, then turned it over to see what was on the front. His brow creased as he looked from the pendant to Garnet, then back. “Is this a joke?”

“I wish it were my friend,” Garnet said sadly, shaking his head. “According to Teacher Madelyn, the boy is likely an orphan or from a very poor family, as something like this would be given freely by the church. Normally, I would just let him have one of my earlier Symbols, but I think making a new, expensive one may make this Watch more friendly to us.”

Malachi looked back down at it, then shuddered as he rose to his feet. He stuffed his mouth with the bread and grabbed the stew bowl and his mug. Wordlessly, he stomped back to his hut. He had just stepped inside when he turned and glared at Garnet. “Bring me your hoard,” he growled. “If I am going to do this, I will do it right.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned and slammed the forge’s door shut.

A while later, after Malachi had laid out his gem-working equipment and his small metal-working tools, a very disgruntled Garnet barged into the forge. While he may have been able to deflate or intimidate others with the look he gave Malachi, the smaller boy was in his world now. He was the master of the forge, and by all the gods, people would know it, so when Garnet glared at him, he glared right back.

After a few seconds of glares, Garnet tossed him a large, heavy pouch. “Here.” He said with a grumble. “I picked some of the best from my hoard.” Now Malachi understood Garnet’s bad mood. No dragon liked to pull things out of their hoard, and Garnet, while a good and loyal friend, was still 100% dragon.

Malachi nodded as he caught the pouch, then upended it on his work table, giving it a few shakes to make sure everything fell out, then feeling around inside, just to be sure nothing was missed. Even this got a small growl out of Garnet, but Malachi just ignored it as he started looking over the offered supplies.

Malachi probably should have just kept his mouth shut, but that wasn’t in his nature. He looked up at Garnet and grumbled. “I can make this work… barely. Now shoo, get out; I’ll give you back the scraps when I’m done.”

Had it been anyone else besides a person in his group, Garnet would have gutted them and used their shin bone for a toothpick for such a flippant remark about a part of his hoard. However, because he knew how much it would upset Xavier to have Malachi gutted and then eaten, Garnet simply turned on his heel and left the forge.