Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Calan looked at the destruction around him, he had seen the pillar of black smoke while they were flying by. He had given the command to land and now they were looking for survivors and who had attacked whoever had lived here. The farmer was burnt and wrecked, there had been a fight here but he could tell that whoever lived here had fought against many opponents and the likelihood of surviving is very small.

"We found a body of a man here, Lord Brales," said one of the men that was with him, Calan followed after the man and looked down at the body of the deceased man.

It was the man that was with that girl and then it dawned on him that she was most likely here as well if she lived with the man, he turned towards his men and barked out an order, "Look for any evidence that someone had escaped if there isn't another body! This man didn't live alone! There was a girl with him so find her!"

So they searched around the area for any signs of someone escaping and one of his men did, yelling for Calan to come over. When he arrived where the man was, he saw why he was so urgent for him to come over here. Behind the burnt cottage was a barn that was missing its roof, it looked at though someone or something that broken through escaping whoever attacked.

Calan notices a broken arrow on the ground, he bends over and picks it up to get a better look at it. "Orcs," he snarled out then he looked at the dragons who sat there calmly and almost lazily.

That alone told him that the Orcs were long gone by now so they didn't have to worry about them fighting against those smelly beast.

Calan walked towards the barn door and pulled up the plank that sealed the door shut, he opened the door and looked inside. His eyes narrows when he sees the deep cuts in the ground inside the barn and what looked like a large nest made out of straw.

"There was a dragon here nothing makes a nest that large or gauges in the ground that deep...and by the looks of it, the Orcs had been sent for the girl who lived with the deceased man," Calan said.

"What should we do, Lord Brales?" one of his men asked.

"Nothing, the girl and her dragon are long gone and we must do what the King as ordered us but when we get to Dragon Keep, I will send a dragonet to the King about this." Though if she really was the missing Princess Calan wasn't sure even though she looked to be around the same age as the Princess if she was still alive. And he didn't know if the LichKing was getting impatient and was now sending Orcs after all young women in order to find the missing Princess.

Calan turns around and climbs back onto his saddle and Rajgrax leapt into the air, his men quickly followed after him and they hurried to Dragon Keep to get word to the King about what they had learned.

Kennera was led into a large throne room, Fraener was walking next to her still with one wing half way curled above her so that it would shield her from any attacks from above. Like all dragons, Fraener didn't like nor did he trust elves there's a lot of bad blood between the two races after all.

The girl looked around the throne room and saw that, like the castle, it too was carved from wood and stone. It was very beautiful but alien as well, Kennera found that for all its beauty she didn't like it here at all and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Their guards stopped them when they reached the bottom of the dais, Kennera saw a male elf sitting on a throne made out wood that was beautifully woven and crafted. He was dressed in silver robes, he had long black hair and blue eyes.

"I give you King Sirion Yávëtil, King of the elves and ruler of the western lands," an elf said that was standing at the front of the dais, she was surprised that he said that in the common tongue since she had heard that elves only liked to speak in their soft, lilting language.

Sirion looked at her and said, "Who are you and why are you here, girl?"

Kennera placed her hand on Fraener's neck to calm him as she fixed the elven King with a firm stare and lifted her head in a regal manner, saying, "I am Kennera Lagwyn and this is Fraener. We were sent here by Kerrich Emabager, a former Dragon Rider when we were attacked by Orcs."

She had seen the Orcs while they were flying away, she had no idea why they had attacked their farm and she wanted to know why. There was a farm not far from them and when she had flown over them, she saw that they hadn't been attacked at all by the Orcs.

"Kerrich Emabager? The Shamed Dragon Rider sent you here?" said a male elven archer with a humorless snort.

Kennera glared at the elf, she hated it when people called Kerrich that and by the hissing sound that Fraener was making she knew that he hated it too. She didn't know why people called him that, she never asked him because she felt that he would tell her when he felt like it...which will never happen because deep down she knows that he wouldn't be able to defeat all those Orcs alone.

"Enough, Valandil Ancalimë," Sirion said shooting the elf archer a stern glare.

Valandil inclined his head towards his King and stepped back. He shared the normal traits of his species with the long, tapered ears and almond shaped eyes, his were an emerald green color. His tall, lithe figure was covered in brown leathers and a green tunic that is worn by an archer of his race. His long blonde hair was pulled back in a partial braid.

She looked back at the Elf King and said, "We won't stay here for long, Your Highness. We only want to know who is after me and when I know who, I will leave and head either North or South."

Sirion stares at her in silence for a few minutes before he stands up and motions for her to follow him, "Then you and your dragon follow me and I will answer your question." The Elven King leads them into a private garden, he motioned to Kennera to sit down across from him when he reached a small table. Kennera sat down as Fraener sat down behind her, his tail curling around the legs of the chair that she was sitting in.

"The person who is after you is the Lich King," Sirion said. "And I would advise against going anywhere near his Kingdom."

She lifted her hand and shook her head, "I won't, Your Highness."

Sirion smiled at that and said, "Good but I would advise against going North or South as well."

"Why?" Kennera said him as Fraener cocked his head.

"Because the Lich King would send his minions after you no matter where you go...you'll be endangering innocent lives."

Kennera sat there in silence before she stands up causing both Sirion and Fraener to stand up as well and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. And now we will leave as I promised we would."

She then turns around and walks off, leaving Sirion watching her as she and Fraener walked away.

"Valandil, I want you to go with her and watch her," he said. "Protect that girl no matter what."

"Yes, Your Highness," the elf archer stepped out from behind a statue and followed after the girl.

Kennera looks over her shoulder when she hears footsteps behind her and curses when she sees who it was, it was that elf archer. What was his name again? Ah, now she remembers his name was Valandil Ancalimë.

"That was awfully rude, girl," Valandil said with a smile.

She glared at him and said, "What are you doing?"

"Coming wit you, of course."

Kennera frowns at that and looks at Fraener who was watching the male elf, "You do know that I will be riding dragon back, don't you?"

"Yes, I'll be riding on my giant eagle so I'll be able to keep up," he said.

"No." was all she said before she turns and continues walking not wanting to talk to him anymore or any longer.

Once they arrived at a clearing, Kennera climbed onto Fraener's back and fixed a stern look at Valandil who had followed her, "You don't need to come with us, it'll be easier and faster with just us two...and I don't want to draw any attention to myself." Because it'll be weird to see a human girl traveling with an elf when it was known that elves and humans have a shaky relationship.

Fraener added to her statement with a threatening growl, which caused him to take a step back and held his hands up. 

"Alright, alright...I get it," he said with a small smile.

The dragon snorted and opened his wings, pushing off with his tail and legs. The elf's hair and clothes were stirred by the gust of air that was caused by the flapping of Fraener's wings as the dragon gained height.

"Where to, Kennera?"

"You take us, Fraener," was all Kennera said trusting Fraener to take them to safety and far away from here. If what he said was true then she didn't want to endanger the lives of these elves, even if one of them insulted her adopted father.

The Lich King was seething in anger, he wanted to kill all the Orcs because they allowed two stupid pack animals to give them away but sadly he still needed them so he only killed the ones that had gotten careless. Murog wasn't one of those fools, thankfully and luckily so the leader of the Orcs was tasked to find new Orcs to replace the ones that the Lich King had killed.

"Where is she now?" he asked. 

"Heading to the Iron Mountains, she had just left the elven kingdom when you summoned me back here," Lelarin said.

The Lich King frowned at that, why would she be headed to dwarven lands?

"Is she alone?"

"Yes, it's still just her and her dragon," Lelarin said crossing his arms over his chest.

The Lich King smirks and said, "Good, though I am surprised that the elf king didn't send anyone with her...after all she is the girl from the prophecy."

Lelarin smirks as well and said, "Oh, I think he did try to send someone with her but for whatever reason she refused it and went off on her own. But what should we do, Your Highness?"

The Lich King stands up and walks to a pit that was in the center of his throne room, clasping his hands behind his back as he stared down at the pit at his feet.

"Set the griffons loose, they will find her and bring her to me."

Screeching and shrieking could now be heard coming from the pit at his words, a cruel smile tugged at his lips when he heard dozen wings flapping after the creaking sound of a metal gate being open. 

The Lich King turns towards his second in command and said, smiling cruelly, "Now while my pets look for the girl, let us prepare for war against those fools."

He leads Lelarin to his war room where the leaders of his dark army were waiting for him to plan for the death and destruction of all the races.

Calan was walking down the wooden walkway, holding a rolled up piece of parchment in his large hand. He was headed to the Dragonet nursery to send a Dragonet to the King.

The scared man stepped into the nursery and selected a black dragonet, he slipped the parchment into a loop in the leather band on the dragonet's front right leg and tightened it. The dragonet then leaped onto his arm, its wings flapping to balance itself its claws gripping his leather covered forearm and its tail draping over his arm as it fixed its yellow eyes on him and waited for his command.

"Take this straight to the King as quickly as possible and only allow him to take it, no one else," Calan said.

The dragonet chirped before it spread its wings and leapt into the air, heading North with an important letter to the King.

Calan watched it fly away until he could no longer see it before he turns and walks back to the barracks where he is to met the new recruits. He had hoped to see that girl again so that he could bring another new recruit but fate had been against him and had sent that girl far away from him.

For now though Calan would focus on training the recruits that they had for now and he had a feeling that he would see that girl again so all he could do until then was wait and train.

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