The Legend of Dragoon II, pt. 2

The adventure continues, but what will become of Rashe'm?

The Legend of Dragoon II
part two

Disclaimer: This subject is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan (yes, Japan. That's where the story originated). I am merely borrowing this subject as to do a sequel, which I have wanted to do for some time now. If you recognize the names of the made up characters of mine from somewhere, I'm sorry. I'm trying to make up the names for originality.

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Chapter 7) Race for life

    Rashe'm's condition worsened. He remained stretched out on the carrier, being dragged from the forest, where the giant serpent delivered a devastating blow, to the Capital of Mille Seseau. Orrin was taking his turn of taking the ropes of the carrier, even though Aljandro was large and caring, he had his limits. The cold wasn't helping either, making the energies of the two drain faster since neither had their coats anymore. The snowy plain which they crossed benefitted in a way, the snow being slick enough to make dragging their friend easier. Since they had all lost their weapons, all they needed was for an animal to attack, and they were done for.

    Not only was an animal attack a problem, when Orrin stopped to pass the rope to Al, he suddenly heard a very faint set of steps from far off. He turned to identify, but the sun came out of the clouds, creating a near white-out with the reflecting sun on the snow. He couldn't identify what was behind him, but he was sure it was coming their way. About to tell Al, he turned and saw that Al had already noticed. Without a word, they were both off and running, attempting to escape their supposed pursuer. Orrin had turned around again while running to see if he could identify what was coming, but he still couldn't. He did note that it had definitely covered some distance between its self and them. He turned around back to the front, towards the direction of his flee, when he suddenly fell and recieved a face full of snow.

    Orrin picked himself up off of the ground, face covered in snow. Brushing it away, he saw that Al had stopped, yelling, "Hurry up!" but he decided to see what made him fall. Since his foot had caught on it, he found out what had made him fall, a large rock that had been hidden in the snow. He started to run to catch up with Al, noticing that the pursuer had gained even more ground. As soon as he caught up, he told Al, "Watch your step! I just fell over a rock!" Continuing on the path, away from the thing chasing them, Al and Orrin suddenly saw ahead of them a large area of many rocks like the one Orrin tripped over, only slightly bigger, still listening to the ever growing volume of the footsteps of the pursuer. The rocks were evident because they came out so much from the snow. Al, still holding the rope to the carrier Rashe'm was on, weaved left and right, avoiding the rocks. On one end of a weave, the force of the swing brought the carrier straight over a rock. Rashe'm immidiately came back to consciousness from the pain of the impact. He went over the stone exactly where he had hit the tree back in the forest.

    Still half out of awareness, Rashe'm began cursing, loudly. Some of the things he said, Orrin had never heard uttered before. His reaction to Rashe'm's words made it evident that he was from a small town that would never say such things. Rashe'm ceased his utterances, and instead, he began to moan for water. Al kept repeating to him, "We don't have any. The little we had left was destroyed by that damned snake. I don't have time to make more from the snow." But Rashe'm continued to want. "Water. Please...., water. Mouth...., so dry......., please!"

    Al continued to weave between the rocks, but he shouted to Orrin, "Put yer hand to his forehead when I stop, quickly. The thing after us is catching up." Al stopped, fortunately, it was just after the area of rocks ended, meaning Al wouldn't have to weave anymore. Orrin quickly put his hand to Rashe'm's forehead, just about recoiling after the contact. Rashe'm's head was really hot, compared to the cold around his hands, magnifying the heat. The contact had also made Rashe'm shudder from the cold. "Go!" Orrin shouted to let him know that he felt Rashe'm's head. Orrin then put his hand to his own head, but with the other hand. He didn't feel the same heat that he felt from Raseh'm, so he told Al, "I think he has a fever, his forehead was really hot." Al quickened in response to that. The cold was now getting to Rashe'm, for he began rambling, "Not now, mom! Five more minutes and I'll get up, I swear." Al realized what was going on, "He's getting delerious, we need to find help soon!"

    Orrin turned again, trying to see if he could see what was following them, but he still couldn't see. But the thing had been slowed by the rock field, so that gave them some more time. When Orrin resumed looking forward, the sun was hidden behind some clouds, reducing snow-blindness. He decided not to turn around again, putting his efforts largely towards running. Al began to slow down, he had had enough of pulling Rashe'm for now, he was too tired. He passed the rope over to Orrin, he sturdied himself for the run with the extra weight. Although, when he tried to run, he couldn't muster the energy. He looked at Al, shaking his head that he was getting nowhere.

    Orrin dropped to a sit in the snow, as did Al, from fatigue. He began to think that the cold was getting to him, that he was becoming delerious because it seemed that the footsteps behind him were now also in front of him, but with the snow-blindness gone, he saw another figure up ahead. It was a cart being led by horses, a knight atop the seat. Orrin thought for a moment, "But, does that mean that we're being followed by horses?" He turned again to see that horses had indeed been what was following them. He nudged Al, who turned around with some effort, and he said, "Well, I'll be damned! We've been running from help the whole time!"

    As the horse cart from behind neared, Al and Orrin began to hear a voice coming from it, most likely the knight steering the cart. They still couldn't understand what was being said, so they waited for it to come closer. When the cart was somwhere near twenty yards away, Orrin stood up to talk to the knight. He saw that the knight was wearing a purple cloak around white armor, topping off with a cone shaped head piece, presumably a hat. The cart came to a halt about ten feet from the three travelers, the knight quickly getting out. Arriving to the scene, he asked, "What in blue blazes were you lot running for?" Orrin managed to pant out, "Not now..... our friend needs help...... in bad shape...... the snake in the forest." At hearing "snake", the knight said, "Say no more, I'll make room for you in the back of the cart."

    The knight went into some of the bags residing in the cart, taking out a pillow and three blankets. He shoved the rest of the bags off, and he hailed the cart coming from the direction of the city, also ridden by a knight, to take the bags, and that he would collect them when the other knight returned. Al got up and helped the knight lay Rashe'm in the cart, all the while, Rashe'm muttered something about buttered toast. After placing the injured body in the back of the cart, Al sat in the back with him, to make sure he didn't fall out. The knight took his place back in front of the cart, but he looked at Orrin, patting the seat next to him. Orrin sat where the knight indicated, and after the knight passed out the blankets, he took the reins and started the horses.
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Chapter 8) Conference

    As the cart began to move, there was silence, except for the pounding of hooves in snow. Al and Orrin were still exhausted from their sprint, Rashe'm seemed to have slipped out of conscience again, and the knight didn't want to rush his pasangers for information. During the silence, snow began to fall. There was little or no wind, so it wasn't all that bothersome. What broke the silence was Orrin, asking, "You're taking us to Deningrad, right?" The knight didn't respond quickly, he took his time. "Yes, your friend's pretty banged up there, he won't last much longer out in the cold." Orrin felt a bit more relieved to hear that. Once again, silence pervaded, but it was broken this time by the knight. "I was there in the forest when the snake came up. I hadn't seen the lot of you, per say, but when I left, I had gone to get my horses. I didn't want the thing getting them." Orrin looked at the knight's face more closely, and he immediatly recognized the knight as the one at the guard post back in the forest. The knight continued, "If I had seen you guys, I would have stopped and tried to help. I see my cowardice led to the basilisk getting a chance to hurt your friend." Al shouted at the knight, "Cowardice? Yeah right! Ya practically turned to chicken sh...!" but Orrin cut him off, "Basilisk?"

    The knight explained what a basilisk was to Orrin. "It's like a snake, only more vicious and about a hundred times bigger. It decided to take up residence about four months ago. We tried to get many a warrior from Deningrad to vanquish it, but none of them ever turned up again. When I retrieved my horses and found the basilisk dead, I also saw drag marks. I decided to follow it, and eventually, I found you." Orrin looked back at the knight, after looking forward while listening, and asked, "Are basilisks really that hard to kill?" The knight took his time to answer again, apparently drawling over words in his head to say. "Yeah, and that's why when we get to Deningrad, you're all going to get to enter the castle and meet the Queen, at least, you two will, and then your friend when he gets better. Slaying the beast puts you three at the top of any VIP list, pretty much."

    There was another thing bugging Orrin. "When you unloaded your cart, how come you were so sure you're getting your things back?" This made the knight laugh a little. He said, "I'm sorry, I guess I forgot to mention. I was standing guard at the entrance path to the Mountain of Mortal Dragon. A knight stands guard there in case travelers, such as yourselves, can't read the sign, and take the path anyway." Al stated out loud, "I can read fine, thank ya very much!" The knight laughed again, saying, "I never said you couldn't, but back to being serious, I was a few hours away from my duty ending, and I was supposed to wait for the knight that we passed to come and relieve me of duty. But, with the attack and all, I couldn't just wait around." Orrin looked ahead, and he noticed that they were coming on the city fast.

    When just outside the entrance to the city, the knight spoke up again, "By the way, we haven't really been introduced. I'm Shel, order of the seventh knighthood of Deningrad. I like to be on a first name basis with people I meet." Orrin said to Shel, "I'm Orrin, from the city of Dranc out in the Death Frontier." The fact that Orrin had traveled so far surprised Shel. "I guess there must be something really important you have to do here." When he saw a sudden worried look from Orrin, he added, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask." Then, Orrin continued, pointing to Al, "This is Aljandro. You can call him Al if you want." Al nodded with affirmation, and then Orrin pointed to Rashe'm. "Our friend is Rashe'm. He's running a fever, I believe, and he was talking nonsense earlier."

    Shel pulled up to the hospital, which was located just south of the entrance. He went in the hospital and retrieved two doctors, along the way saying, "He's pretty smashed up. They also said he had a fever and spoke gibberish." The doctors hurried and took Rashe'm off of the cart, onto a stretcher they brought with them, and then into the hospital. As soon as that had been taken care of, Al spoke to Shel, "Could ya take me to the weaponry? We lost all of our weapons during the fight." Orrin had heard the conversation, and he doubted he would get a weapon to replace the stick he lost. "Sure, and I'll even pay for them. It's the least I can do for you guys getting rid of the basilisk." Shel replied, hushing when he got towards the part of the basilisk. Al then turned to face Orrin. He told him, "Stay here with Rashe'm. If he wakes up, it'll be best if he sees someone he knows instead of being surrounded by strangers." Then in a hushed voice, he said, "And guard yer pockets. Cities are sure to have thieves around, especially in dark corners." Orrin kept that in mind. Al turned to Shel again and said, "Okay, let's go." Orrin watched as the cart drove off. When it was out of sight, he realized how cold it had become, since night was approaching. He went into the hospital, waiting for either Al to come back or for Rashe'm to wake up.
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Chapter 9) The Queen of Deningrad

    When Orrin had finally been allowed to see Rashe'm, after the majority of bandaging and the vitals checking, doctors came in asking about the patient's ear. Orrin had calmly explained that Rashe'm's ear had been like that for awhile. He waited in the seat next to the bed in which lay Rashe'm, heavily bandaged. His pants remained on, but the doctors had taken his shirt off to do their checks and to bandage him up. It had seemed hours since Al had left for the weaponry, but that's the way that most hospitals made it feel, time slowing and dragging. Orrin sat filled with anticipation. He wanted to talk to someone, preferably Al or Rashe'm, but with the current condition Rashe'm was in, all he could do was just wait for Al.

    During the waiting, Orrin had fallen asleep in the chair. No one could really tell how long he had slept, since the doctors hadn't been in since asking about Rashe'm's ear. What did wake Orrin was Al, shaking his shoulder abruptly. When he was fully awake, Al, wearing a heavy coat, handed a coat to Orrin and told him, "I've got something outside to show ya. We're gonna leave for the castle too, the hospital said they'd bring Rashe'm when he's suitable for traveling." Then, after giving Rashe'm a worry-filled glance, he led Orrin out of the room, and out to the front of the hospital.

    The first thing Orrin saw outside in the bitter cold was Shel's cart. He walked around to see inside the flat, empty part, and his eyes immediately filled with amazement. On the cart were the weapons that Al had gone for. Among the weapons, what had caught Orrin's attention, was a brand new lance with a carrying holster. The rest of the pile consisted of a new sword for Rashe'm and a full sized axe for Al. He was about to grab it, but then he thought it was better not to wield a weapon in a mass of people. Instead, he looked to Al, ready to thank him. Al said first, "I got that for ya since ya fought well against that beast. Plus, yer stick broke when ya delivered the final blow to its head, I just really thought ya proved yerself." Orrin barely managed to reply, "Thanks!" Shel finally came around from the front of the cart, tending to the horses, and said, "Ready to go to the castle?" Al questioningly looked to Orrin for confirmation. Orrin looked back at the hospital once more, thinking of Rashe'm. Slowly, he nodded. He walked back to the cart, and got into the back, just so that he could hold his new lance for the first time.

    Within minutes, the cart finally pulled up to the castle. It had undergone some reconstruction since the adventures of the heroes of the Second Dragon Campaign. The ground floor had been expanded to include the kitchen, guest rooms, the lavatory (with indoor plumbing, which was new at the time of remodeling), and a ceremonial chamber. The stairs that went up the crystal structure only went up one flight, the rest of the way had been deemed unsafe because of the Divine Dragon's attack, and had been removed. The second floor contained the royal bedroom and a living quarter, which had many sets of displays out. The remodel had been very extensive and ended up forcing some buildings destroyed, but all worked out in the end. The cart came to a stop outside the front doors, which had been opened revealing the entrance foyer. Al and Orrin stepped out of the cart, soon followed by Shel. As Al and Orrin walked to the entrance, Shel picked up the weapons one by one, handing them to knights who had come out to take things to the guest bedrooms.

    Shel caught back up with Al and Orrin and the three of them walked into the foyer together. Another knight had gone out to take Shel's steer to the stables. After the knight left, the doors were shut, and the three walked further. The main lobby of the entrance foyer had five statues in a circular formation. The middle statue had an opening under it, in the pedestal, that led to the upstairs. Orrin looked up, down, everywhere he could, but Al remained looking forward. When in the center of the circular formation of the statues, they  stopped walking, and Shel stooped to his knee. Moments later. a woman in very heavy-set robes and coats came out from underneath the middle statue, the coats varying in different shades of blue and gray. The first thing she said was, "Rise, Sir Arian." When Shel stood back up, she continued, "I recieved your message that a group of three travelers had accomplished a great feat, destroying the basilisk. These here are two of them, and I suppose the other is still in the hospital." Shel replied, "Yes, Ma'am. The wounded one, Rashe'm, shall be here as soon as he is able." Orrin realized that the woman must have been the Queen. The Queen continued, "Welcome, friends. Thank you so much for vanquishing the beast that plagued the forest. Our country is indebted to you, and your friend as well. My name is Isani, Queen of Deningrad. If you please, would you tell us your names so that we may know how to address our heroes?" Al spoke first, "I am Aljandro Merdou, but you may call me Al, everyone does. I reside from Heidra, as does Rashe'm." Following suit, Orrin spoke, "I am Orrin Harstent. I come from Dranc."

    The Queen's reaction to hearing that the travelers were from the Death Frontier was slight. She replied, "Thank you, Al Merdou and Orrin Harstent. You are welcome to stay in the castle for as long as you please. But, I do believe there is some other purpose to your visit." The Queen looked to Al, supposing that he was the one who led the group, but she was surprised when it was Orrin. "Yes. There is something I have to show to you in direst secrecy. It is something of great value, and I was advised that it would be best to come to you." The Queen took some time to consider, and said, "If you were brave enough to cross the desert and come all the way to Mille Seseau, it must be urgent." Gesturing to the middle statue, she said, "Follow me. Sir Arian, you may resume your duties. And thank you for escorting these travelers." With a courteous, "Yes, Ma'am." Shel walked off to the right.

    At the top of the steps behind the statue, there was a door, which led to the living quarters outside of the Queen's bedroom. The Queen opened the door for Al and Orrin, ushering them in. After they came in, the Queen locked the door behind her. She walked across the room, setting herself into a chair, taking off her hood and revealing her dark blonde hair, and then took off a few of her coats. When she had made herself fully comfortable, she said, "Please show me what is of so much impotance that you risk your lives to bring it here." Orrin walked towards her, fumbling in his pockets for the stones. He pulled out both of them, and held them out to her in cupped hands. As soon as she saw them, the Queen gasped sharply. Holding a hand to her chest, she stood up and walked towards Orrin. She picked up the red stone from Orrin's hands, saying, "I never thought I'd live to see this day. The legendary Dragoon spirit lay here in my hand! It's amazing, living history right in front of me!" As soon as she finished, a knock came on the door. The Queen gestured to Al to undo the lock. A knight stood at the door, erect and tall. Without delay, he delivered a message. "Ma'am, the other traveler has just arrived. He's barely conscious, but we went ahead and took him to the guest rooms." When the Queen dismissed him, quickly, he turned and took his leave, taking no notice of the stones.

    Al relocked the door after the knight left. Orrin asked the Queen, "How did you know that it wasn't someone who was going to attack you?" The Queen rolled the red stone in her hands, and replied, "The knights are given a secret knock, so that they may talk to me if I am in here." She then set the red stone back in Orrin's hand and took the purple one. After examining the purple stone, she said, "So, the spirits of Fire and Darkness have revealed themselves to you. You are possibly the luckiest people in the whole of Endiness right now. I'm only hoping that their appearence isn't an ill omen." She paused after that statement. She continued, "I should ask that the stones remain here, for now. They would be safest here. And I'm sure you're famished, after your long journey. I'll order the kitchen to make you some dinner, extra large helpings, and deliver it to your rooms. Go see to your friend now. He might be awake." She led the two to the door, unlocked it, and ushered them out after recieving the stones from Orrin, who unwillfully gave them to her. The last thing the Queen said to them before she shut the door was, "Oh, yes, enjoy the new year! Tomorrow, It'll be the tenth celebration of the defeat of the Moon Child." Orrin hadn't even realized it, that the new year had come so fast, that tomorrow would be the year 1080.
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Chapter 10) Plots and schemes

    Out in Mille Seseau, towards the forest, a secret convention was being held. Some ten thousand people, wearing similar white robes and sashes around their necks, on each end a figure resembling an "S". The people at the convention were eager with a filling anticipation, restless to hear a speaker who was ready to address the masses. In front of the large crowd was a makeshift platform, as if a stage of a sort. A tall, somewhat humbled looking man approached the platform, being greeted by restless cheers of the group. As soon as he reached the center of the platform, he raised both arms out to the audience, but still over his head, and slowly lowered them, to quell the exhuberant spectators.

    It was about two hours until midnight. Since it was so dark, and the forest casted so many shadows, many lamps had been lit in a circle around the waiting people. The light was dim, but sight in the dim light wasn't much of a problem. The people who waited for the man in front of them to speak began to tremble with excitement. A jubilous tension was building, most likely to be set off during the man's speech. The man on the platform, Erving Raerse, with white hair, a deep set face, and dressed in the same cloak as the crowd, but had a different color sash, cleared his throat, just as he was about to speak. Finally ready, he began. "WELCOME!, fellow Soanites." booming "welcome". He continued to address the Soanites, "I am gladdened to see such a healthy number of those faithful to our great Lord here to fulfill his will." After this statement, the tension amassing in the crowd exploded. Shouts and cheers were echoed across the great forest, leaving a din when the man on the podium settled the crowd down.

    When it was quiet again, Erving continued once more, "You all know why we are here tonight. Tonight, we will finally set forth our efforts to complete the great will of Soa. With our persistance, loyalty, and divine gifts he has conferred on bestowing us, the world will be blessed once again with the 'Moon Child'. The Dragoons, who stopped the great will in the past, will not be a bother, nor any other force that attempts to stop us. NOTHING, I repeat, nothing will stand in our way! Tonight of all nights, the people of Deningrad will be too much in stupor from anticipating the rejoicing the defeat of our precious Moon Child. Tonight, as the year becomes the 1080th after the defeat of the great will, we will make our strike, and we will be known and feared!" Another outburst rang from the crowd, but was quickly settled down again by the man, Erving. But, this time, as Erving was ready to speak, a man from the crowd confronted him with a question. "Are you sure nothing can stop us? I've heard rumors that something or things have slewn the basilisk that Soa brought to us. If the basilisk could be defeated, how can you say that we can't be stopped?" Erving chuckled. He thought, "So, the beast has been killed. I'm not surprised, it didn't help the cause. But, I'd better say something to not dishearten the men." Out loud, he spoke to the man with the question. "Didn't your mother tell you not to believe rumors?" The whole crowd laughed, and the man with the question seemed to slink into the darkness while standing in his place.

    Erving continued as if he hadn't been confronted with the news of the basilisk. "Tonight, Soa is sending us another of his most powerful creations, to help us in our attack. Suit up, men, we're moving out NOW!" This was greeted with a near deafening cheer as Erving went to exit off the platform. When he stopped and noticed that the men hadn't budged, he gave a sharp, almost sinister look at the crowd, who immediatly stopped cheering and dispersed to retrieve their destructive supplies. Erving smiled when the crowd dispersed, almost chuckling to himself. He walked among some of the men, who, while packing their things, whispered among each other things about him, such as, "The Master is such an inspiration. I know that we can't lose!" and "I heard that the Master can do magic, like destroy cities with large balls of flame." That was right, he was known as "the Master" among the men, but many of the men quieted as Erving passed.

    Outside the forest, many of the men stood out with large sacks, animals for carrying larger sacks, and even catapults. More men were still coming out of the forest, but the flow started to ebb, meaning most of them were out. Erving once again stood in front of the crowd. When the flow of Soanites fully ebbed from the forest, Erving shouted to the men, "ONWARD, to VICTORY!" The men began their march to the capital, Deningrad. It was a many miled march, but they arrived just outside the boundries of the city without arising suspicion. When they came to the place that they were to wait for the signal to attack, they met the creature that was to help in their cause. It was tall, very tall. The only thing that could be seen of it in such darkness were its legs, which were white-gray long and ended in clubbed feet. Erving turned to the men, who seemed ready to run, and said, "Do not fear, this is the creation of Soa. I shall only send it into the city after the plundering, and when all of you are out an hour later, it will finish off whatever is left. Make sure you are out before an hour is up, because if not, you shall serve the same fate as the non-believers, sinners, and ne'er-do-wells." When he saw that the group had settled some, but remained mostly tense, he said, "Alright. I guess it's time to introduce the creation of Soa. Meet...." he paused, but then continued, "the Virage!"
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Chapter 11) The burning of Deningrad

    Orrin sat in his bed, the one he was assigned in the guest bedroom, looking at the heavily bandaged Rashe'm in the dark room. Rashe'm still hadn't woken up, and Orrin began wondering if he ever was going to wake up. He didn't know, but the constant thoughts of worry kept him awake, even as midnight and the new year approached. The dinner he had eaten a few hours ago had definitely filled him up, more so than the food he had eaten on his trip to Deningrad. That was the only comfort that Orrin could feel at the moment. He looked at the bed next to him, on the opposite side from Rashe'm, and he saw Al sleeping. Still unable to sleep, Orrin got out of his bed and began to take a self tour of the castle.

    Hallways led to passages, passages to rooms, and rooms to more hallways. Even though the castle was mainly one floor, it seemed confusing enough to someone who hadn't been there before. Orrin lost his bearings in the nearly dark corridors of the castle, but quickly regained them. The hallway he was in eventually led him to the main foyer, where all of the magnificent statues resided. He looked at each one, back and forth, and realized how much more astounding they looked at night. He came close enough to see that there was something engraved on the statues' fronts. He went to the first one on the left and it read, "First Sacred Sister, Miranda. Director of the military, and the White-silver Dragoon during the Second Dragon Campaign." Orrin immediatly looked towards the hand of the statue. He hadn't noticed it before, but the statue seemed to be holding something in its hand. A closed hand held something in its fist, from where Orrin was, it couldn't be seen. He stood there, staring at the statue in wonder of what might be in the hand. He hadn't much time to consider it because he soon heard footsteps coming. He couldn't determine where because of echo, but he soon learned that the Queen was standing right behind him, outfitted in her many coats.

    "Even after your long journey, you can't sleep?" the Queen asked Orrin. When he nodded, she replied, "I guess I can't blame you, you're worried for your friend." When Orrin's gaze returned to the statue's hand, the Queen said, "If you want, I can try to ease some of your tensions with some of the vast history contained by these statues." She walked towards the center of the ring, in front of the statue in the middle. She began to speak, "This is the statue of the Queen Theresa, as she was during the Second Campaign. She was a great leader, loved her country, who loved her back. Because she had no children, she took in four girls, who were named the "Sacred Sisters" of Mille Seseau. They had no homes, no family, nowhere to go." She then walked to the statue farthest to the right. "This is the Fourth Sacred Sister, Setie. Not much could really be accounted of her, but it's true that she cared deeply for her older "sisters", as she was the youngest. No matter where she went, she would show nothing but kindness." She walked to the statue next to Setie. "This is the Third Sacred Sister, Wink. She had a very loving nature, never wanted to see anyone be hurt. Once, she even risked her life to save the silver-haired Lloyd, one of the winglies assosciated with the Second Campaign." Then, crossing the circle to the statue next to the Queen Theresa, she began, "The Second Sacred Sister, Luanna. She was the most amazing of the group. She had the ability to see into people's hearts, read their minds, and sense future occurrances. Ironically, she was blind. It was a tragic accident. She lived in the village of Neet, a historic relic of a town, some miles away from here, and she happened to be blinded during the attack of the Black Savior. At that time, the Savior was considered a Monster, for killing the Moon Child ever 108 years, but the world has learned that it was right in doing that. But, back to Luanna, she lost her mother in the fire, being blinded by the soot. She was the one that Setie cared for the most, almost like an assisstant."

    The Queen then moved back to where they had started, in front of the statue of Miranda. "This is the First Sacred Sister, Miranda. She was always a bit hasty and testy, which was kind of a good thing, since she led the country's army. Her fate became twined with the heroes of the Second Campaign when the Silver-white Dragoon Spirit chose her. It was around the same time as the Divine Dragon's attack on Deningrad. Her two major accomplishments with the heroes were defeating the Divine Dragon and the God of Destruction. There was much celebration on those days." When the Queen stopped talking and started to gaze at the statue, Orrin asked, "Do you think that the Dragoon Spirit is in the hand of the statue?" The question startled her, but she was in no way offended. She paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not quite sure. We don't have anything to use to get up that high to see if it is there. And it would be a shame to destroy a part of the statue to get it out. Besides, the Dragoon Spirit was probably buried with her. All of the Sisters were buried with their most prized possesion." Orrin reflected on the thought of the object in Miranda's hand, but he suddenly wanted to ask another question, "Did it have any special powers of its own, aside from transforming the Dragoons?" The Queen stood there thinking, apparently searching her memory banks, "I do recall hearing that the Silver-white Dragoon Spirit had a healing property." This got Orrin excited, for he would be able to heal Rashe'm using it. He was quickly shot down when the Queen continued, "But the only way for that to activate is to be in the presence of another Dragoon, so it's pretty much useless to us."

    Saddened by the fact that he couldn't help Rashe'm after all, Orrin yawned heartily. "I guess you are tired after all." the Queen said. Finishing his yawn, Orrin nodded. The Queen turned to go up the stairs to her own room as Orrin walked towards his, but he came to a stop, turned to the Queen and said, "Thank you." The Queen stopped as well, and she politely asked, "Excuse me? For what?" It took a few seconds for Orrin to come up with why he said what he did. "I guess, for being so nice. For telling me all of the history of the country that you did. I don't really know what I'm trying to say, but 'Thank you' is the best thing that fits." The Queen grew a great big smile across her face, and said, "You're welco......" She was cut off.
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    In the city, a hail of fireballs came from the sky, hitting many places and residential homes, making them catch fire. Many ran out of houses escaping the fire, only to be met by the malicious intents of the Soanites. It was midnight, the attack had begun. As more people ran out of the city, the Soanites ran in, looting and stealing valuables in their cause. What was occurring to the city of Deningrad wasn't the worst half of what was to happen. It would only be an hour before a creature of great destruction would be entering the city.
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Chapter 12) The battle commencing

    A series of loud explosions drowned out the words that had been coming from the Queen. The explosions had wakened Orrin's senses, making him no longer tired. Both he and the Queen rushed back to the center of the ring of statues, then towards the front door. The sight that the two saw both shocked and appalled them. Deningrad was on fire, with fire seemingly raining from the sky. The streets were filled with townspeople running about and white-robed men carrying valuables and scorching buildings with their trademark. Orrin shut the door as a robed man saw them, and he put the bar across so that nobody could get in. Immediatly after, the door shook, being banged on, but the robed man apparently gave up. Orrin turned to the Queen. "It might be best if you lock yourself upstairs. I'll go to my room, try to wake Al and have us go out and join the soldiers." The Queen nodded with affirmation, and then ran to the stairway under the middle statue. Orrin took flight in running down the hall to the guest rooms.

    Orrin entered the guest room. First, he ran to Al's side, surprised that he was still asleep. Orrin tried shaking him, but got nowhere in doing so. "He'll just have to come when he wakes up, then." Orrin muttered, going to his bed and grabbing the spear and holster. After equipping the holster to himself, he ran out of the room with his weapon, noticing how different it was compared to his old stick. In the hall, he noticed two knights running, trying to report for battle. They all rounded a few corners when one knight turned around and asked, "Who's following us?" Orrin quickly realized whose voice it was. "Shel?" he spoke out loud to the knight. Shel then replied, "Orrin?" Orrin began to explain, "I'm following you to get to the rest of the soldiers. I'm going to help." Shel took a considerative pause and said, "Ok, I'll lead you there."

    Shel and Orrin ran the halls, following each corridor to their destination. Shel took a sharp right, and Orrin followed, skidding a little. That hall led them to another door that went outside, but instead of a pillaged city, it was the meeting ground of the knights getting ready to quell the upsurge. Orrin slowed some so that he wouldn't bump into anyone, and he walked towards the front of the group. As soon as he got out of the mass, a man dressed in the same manner as the knights, only more decoratively, came forward with an air of command. "Who are you and what are you doing here? Someone of your age shouldn't even be allowed to be here." Unable to answer, Orrin stood there speechless. Shel suddenly came out of the crowd and addressed the man in a salute. "I'm sorry, Commander. He's one of the travelers who defeated the basilisk. He wants to help." The Commander stood thinking for a second with a finger to his chin. "I suppose you're fighting fit, but you must obey every command, just like everyone else here. Disobeying will be punishable by martial law. I hope you understand that even though you're volunteering, you don't get any special treatment."

    After saluting to the Commander again, Shel led Orrin to the rest of the crowd, now assembling into orderly columns and rows. He made sure Orrin stood next to him, so that he could help him in marching. When all bustle quieted from the men, the Commander shouted, "Companies....... Forward!" The knights all began a very fast march. Orrin struggled to keep up at first, but he soon got the rythym of the footsteps. They all had to march around the castle first, to get to the mayhem. When they rounded the last corner, the columns and rows split into many factions of three by three, going in different directions. The faction that Orrin ended up in, with Shel, led them to the front of the castle, where the robed man had tried to enter earlier. What Orrin noticed that the knights were doing was they were trying to stop the looters, driving them back and out of the city, slaying them if neccessary. Random violence acts around them broke the faction up smaller, so that Orrin and Shel were somewhat isolated, and a robed man, the same one that tried to force entry into the castle, noticed and recognized Orrin's face and charged at him. Orrin held his spear forward, hoping that it would scare the man off. When it didn't, Orrin hesitated and he lowered his spear some. Shel, realizing this, drew his sword, with its purple hilt and shining blade which glinted in some firelight somewhere, and stabbed the man in the chest, killing him. As the body fell to the ground, Shel shouted over the roar of the nearby fire, "You can't hesitate on the battle field, that's how you die!"

    The faction had reformed, walking down more streets. The mass of robed men seemed to be thinnig as time went on. Shel noted to Orrin, "This just may mean we're winning, but it's never safe to assume anything." Orrin nodded in agreement when the faction turned a corner and saw a group of robed men assaulting a fairly large group of women. The knights ran forward, to help the citizens, stabbing at the attacking robed men. When all of the robed men had fallen, the women rushed by, screaming in terror. The group of knights continued to walk, scouting for any trouble, when they got near the edge of town. They all stopped when the air seemed to fill with a sense of dark omeniscity. What made the situation even more ominous was a large group of robed men running by without so much as a passing glance. One of the knights commented, "It's as if they're all fleeing the city." The men were all in too much disbelief to cheer.

    The faction began to turn around to head back to the castle when they stopped again. The ground beneath their feet trembled fiercely, only for a second. Moments later, a second tremor ran through the ground, except stronger. The knights began moving again, but slowly, and another wave of shaking was sent through the ground. Orrin heard Shel whisper, "Those sound like footsteps." The tremors stopped, and Orrin saw at the very edge of town something extremely tall. Comparing it to the forest, he could have sworn it was at least forty feet tall. The fires around it made it easier to see. It was tall, gray, had huge hands and feet, with fingers and toes looking more like less significant horns and spears rather than digits, and a disgustingly huge head which seemed to serve as the thorax as well. The things hands had seemed to center around its eyes, which were large, beady, and plentiful. The center eye began to glow a soft pinkish color. As the glowing became brighter, the thing turned its head a bit.

    In an explosion of energy, the building next to them, and many buildings following that line, were decimated in seconds. Without realizing, Orrin, as well as the rest of the knights, had turned, began to run, and were screaming the entire time. Noticing the group of nine people, the thing began to chase them. With quickening footsteps and more ground tremors, the thing followed them, covering ground at an alarming rate. After one step, the thing seemed to take an exceptionally long stride. Shel noticed this, and he dived, taking Orrin with him, into a tight alley between two buildings. A sickening squish/crunch told Shel that the rest of the faction was dead. Daring to look, Shel saw that where the rest of the knights had been, there was now a sickly red splotch of blood and internal organs, the thing had stomped on them. When Orrin realized what had happened, he asked Shel, "What the HELL was that THING??!" Shel quickly shushed him, hoping that the thing hadn't heard Orrin's outburst. Continued footsteps told him that it didn't. Swiping his arm across his face, he said, "That, I believe, was a Virage. But those are supposed to be all gone. They all died long ago, during the Second Campaign. I don't know how, but it's here and is destroying Deningrad."
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    Inside the castle, in the living room adjacent to the Queen's bedroom, the room continued to echo with the tremors outside. The Queen had locked herself up in the room, to protect herself, when she let out a startled scream as the display that held the Dragoon Spirits smashed, a red streak coming from it heading towards the door. She let out another scream as it continued through the door without slowing, smashing the door open as well. The red streak continued on its path, going down the stairs. When the floor leveled and it entered the main foyer, the red flash took a sharp left, towards the guest bedrooms. Immediatly following, the statue of Miranda shook. The hand crumbled to tiny fragments as another streak, this one white, followed the red streak.

    Inside the guest bedroom, Al sat up after being woken by the trembling. He became startled as a red streak entered the room and hovered just over Rashe'm's head. Squinting, being able to see the thing since it was eminating red light, he recognized it as the red stone that Orrin had found. Seconds later, a similar, but white, streak entered the room, putting itself just above the majority of Rashe'm's wounds. Suddenly, the red stone began to flash, resulting in the white stone flashing as well. The light flashes grew in intensity until the room filled with light, and Al was unable to see anything, even having to shield his eyes from the light. In an instant, the light was gone, and Al heard a sound as if something was moving very fast. Once his night vision returned, he saw that Rashe'm's bed was now empty, except for discarded bandages surrounding the white stone.
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Chapter 13) A surprise for the ages

    Orrin and Shel began to head back to the castle. Most of the knights had the same idea, but the rest tried to face off against the Virage, regretfully, they weren't much use in stopping it. Shel led Orrin, weaving through streets, crossing alleys, and dodging the sight of the monster that continued to destroy Deningrad with its lethal beam which it shot out of its eye. They had gotten quite close to the castle when they heard the front doors being broken off of their hinges. As they hurried to see what it was, a red blur flashed past them, making them slow to an eventual stop. Orrin turned around to look at the blur that had raced past. He recognized what he saw, since the blur had actually stopped in mid-air not far from where he and Shel had stopped.

    The first thing that Orrin saw was the light, which eminated off of the figure at a great rate. The next things were its wings, not with regular feathers, but some sort of translucent material, almost like light. Then Orrin noticed the red armor. A sword seemed to be strapped to the armor, around the hip at an angle to make it easy to draw. He couldn't fully understand what was happening, he was in a trance of extreme fanticism. He found himself walking towards the thing, still hovering in the air, when it turned around, revealing Rashe'm's face.

    As soon as Orrin saw Rashe'm, amazement and disbelief washed over him, as well as relief, as the flashback of the moment in the woods, when he saw the same mystical armor on Rashe'm, raced through his mind. In a way, he seemed to come back to his senses, enough to be able to form words, since his mouth had previously been hanging on his jaw, open. He continued on his way to Rashe'm and said, "Is that really you, Rashe'm?" Rashe'm nodded and told Orrin, "I don't know what's happening. The last thing I knew, we were fighting that snake, then I got my butt handed to me. Now here I am, FLYING, in a place that I don't know where I am." Orrin had put together in his head that this was the work of the Red-eye Dragoon Spirit, the one that Rashe'm had handed back to him in the forest. Orrin replied back, "Well, we made it to Deningrad. But right now, I think you need to use the power of the Dragoon to prevent this city's demise..." Orrin pointed at the Virage, "...from that."

    Rashe'm asked Orrin quizzically, "Dragoon? That fairy tale?" Then as the Virage launched another light beam from its eye, Rashe'm said, "We'll finish this later." With a blink, Rashe'm was off, attacking the Virage. In the mean time, Al had come out of the castle, weilding his new axe, straight for where Orrin was, obviously wanting answers. He first came across the dazed Shel, whose eyes still remained where Rashe'm had just left. He snapped his fingers in front of Shel's face, with instant results. Shel shakenly pulled out of his trance. Al continued to Orrin, saying, "What the hell is going on, Orrin? One minute I was asleep, the next I'm wide awake and Rashe'm's gone! And there seems to be this THING..." pointing at the Virage, while Rashe'm continued his attack, "...shaking up the whole country! And where is Rashe'm, because he's gone, his sword's gone, and I found another one of those stones, except this one's white, in his place." Al had taken out the white polished stone from his pocket, showing it to Orrin. Orrin replied to Al, pointing at the red streak around the Virage, "Rashe'm's right there, fighting the Virage. The Red-eye Dragoon chose him, I guess. And put that stone in your pocket, right now, we have to focus on getting rid of this thing."

    Al had nodded, confirming that he understood, when Rashe'm came back to the group of three; Al, Orrin, and Shel; speaking rapidly. "I don't know what to do. I'm definitely damaging it, but not much. I've tried doing something about its eye, but it keeps swatting at me. If you have any ideas, then now's a good time to say them." Al immediately rose a finger in the air, as if he had an idea, but he quickly put it down, having found the idea to be not very helpful. Orrin looked down at his spear, and it gave him an idea. He told Rashe'm, "My spear! First, you should try luring the Virage back to the edge of the city. Shel could get any remaining knights to create a distraction, like shooting arrows at it maybe, and then you pick me up, gather speed while charging at it, and throw me at its eye. All together, the force should let me pierce it pretty far." Al looked at Orrin, saying, "Are ya sure? That seems extremely dangerous." Rashe'm replied instead, "Come on, don't you know it's the crazy ideas that work. Besides, what's more dangerous, a one time shot at stopping this thing, or just letting it keep demolish this city? Unless you have a better idea?"

    Orrin looked to Shel, "This means we'll need the knights help, all of them if we can. Do you think you can get them to come?" Shel replied, "I'll try my best." After his statement, he was off. Orrin then looked to Al, "Is there anything you can think of that'll help?" Al shame-facedly said, "I can't come up with anything better than yer plan to kill that thing..." then brightening up, "..but I think I'll try to help any survivors that are trapped in their homes." Orrin nodded, and Al stormed off towards the nearest house that was on fire. Orrin then looked to Rashe'm, "Ready to do this?" Wittily, Rashe'm replied, "I'm flying, wearing weird armor, and did I mention I was FLYING? Of course I'm ready!"

    Rashe'm took Orrin up in his arms, having Orrin put his arms around his neck, and then using his left arm as a sort of seat, sat Orrin on it. He wrapped the rest of his arm around the rest of Orrin's legs, for better grip. Before he took off, he told Orrin, "I'd hang on extremely tight, if I were you. But then again, if I were you, I wouldn't look wickedly awesome right now." Orrin tightened his grip with his right arm, which was around Rashe'm's neck, and he tightened the grip on his lance. As Rashe'm took off, he flew fast, very fast. He had almost lost grip and fallen off, but he tightened his grip even more, so much that his arm began to hurt. He was going so fast, he couldn't really tell where he was going, but he could feel the experience of flight. It was amazing. Flying was a feeling that made Orrin feel as if he hadn't a care in the world, as if he were free and joyous. But when Rashe'm landed on the snow covered ground outside the city, the feelings vanished, replaced by worry and fear.

    Rashe'm spoke to Orrin, saying, "I'm going to try and get it out of the city now. When it's out and the knights arrive, I'll come back and we'll get ready for the kill, ok?" Orrin nodded, watching as Rashe'm flew off again. At that moment, Orrin would have given anything to fly again. It was so peaceful, relaxing, wonderful, there was no one word to describe it. Now that Orrin was in place, he just had to wait the agonizing wait for Shel to come with the knights.
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Chapter 14) An enemy, or a friend?

    Rashe'm flew in for his attacks, trying to get the Virage out of the city, setting up for its demise. Orrin grew worried when he heard the Virage making another blast in the city. It was really hard waiting, the cold sunk in deeper, since he didn't have anything to really focus on, and he began to feel the weariness of sleep start to come. He was fighting off sleep, but then something caught Orrin's attention. He couldn't see all that well in the night sky, but he thought he saw a group of the robed men running away from the city, whether ordered to or not, Orrin couldn't tell. He didn't have much time to think about it, because he saw that Rashe'm had driven the Virage near to the edge of town. He could see it just above the rooftops, being pushed back. "Well, that's one part done. Now we just need the knights." he thought.

    Within ten minutes, the Virage had been fully driven back, out of the city. At the same time, Shel arrived with the rest of the knights, greeting the beast with a volley of flaming arrows. They were shooting at its arms mostly, but some attempted at its legs, to prevent it from forcing its way back into the city. Rashe'm came hurrying back, a little exhausted. He reached Orrin saying, "Okay, now we just need to get you to the Virage. It'll be down for the count." Orrin began to shake off weariness, replacing it with anticipation, he was going to be able to fly again. Rashe'm held onto Orrin a little differently this time. He put his right hand underneath Orrin's feet, to be able to launch him quickly, and his left arm across Orrin's chest, to keep him from falling.

    Rashe'm launched off from the ground, kicking hard to get airborne with the extra weight. He flew over the city, directly opposite from the Virage at a distance, so that it wouldn't figure out their plan right away. Rashe'm asked Orrin, "Are you ready for this?!" Orrin quickly replied, "Ready as I'll ever be!" A quick smirk grew across Rashe'm's face, though Orrin couldn't see it. Rashe'm shouted, "Hold on to your lunch, we're going in!!" just before launching himself and Orrin towards the Virage. The knights on the ground were still busy shooting at the Virage, trying to keep it distracted and dodging any attacks that it tried. Rashe'm and Orrin began speeding up at the monster, with some distance still between, going faster and faster. A hundred yards, ninety, seventy-five, fifty, still accelerating. Rashe'm finally put his left hand under Orrin's feet, and with a great thrust, heaved and launched the projectile Orrin at about forty yards away, spear out in front of him. Orrin remained coming ever closer, meanwhile, he thought, "This is it, its...." Impact, the spear slid right through the center eye like a hot knife through butter.

    Upon impact, Orrin finished the thought, ".....done for!" At the same moment as Orrin finished his thought, the Virage let out a terrible shriek, almost ear piercing. Orrin fought not to be subdued by the shriek, since he required both of his hands to hold onto the spear, or else he'd fall forty feet. He began to wonder if the plan had actually worked, but then he felt the monster falling. In moments, he was able to put his feet on the Virage, to stand up and relax his arms. He had been totally unaware that the Virage's arms were flailing, trying to get at its face, but Rashe'm had made sure that Orrin didn't get hit off, parrying the thing's hands. Down, down farther the Virage fell, when it was almost parallel to the ground, but then Orrin noticed the the eye which he had pierced began to glow again. It was going to launch one more attack before it went down. Reacting quickly, Orrin pulled at his spear, fearing that it wouldn't come out because it wouldn't budge. Rashe'm noticed the Virage's attack as well, coming down to Orrin. He landed near Orrin, then pulling out the spear like it was nothing. Grabbing Orrin around the middle, he took off again, landing on the ground near the knights.

    BOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!! The Virage's fall shook the earth beneath everyone's feet. Even after the fall, the Virage finished charging its beam and fired into the air, somehow seeming to make the air denser as well. The spectators on the ground watched the beam as it traveled skyward until it faded into the night sky. Silence grew around the group of knights, then some of them started cheering. They had won, beaten a Virage, saved the remainder of Deningrad. But celebration had come too soon. The Virage began to shift, trying to raise itself back up onto its feet, and the men grew quiet as they saw this. All would have seemed a lost cause, but out of nowhere, a giant fireball came down on the Virage, igniting its entire body. An acrid smell began to be apparent as black smoke drifted up from the body, and the Virage screamed in pain the entire time. Since the men were a distance away, the screams didn't affect them as much. The whole group seemed to turn all at the same time to see where the fireball had originated. A man in a robe stood with his palm smoking, then slowly lowered it. He turned around mumbling, heading off to where the rest of the robed Soanites had exited, but unknown by the knights, the man was saying, "Blasted thing, can't even stand up to ONE Dragoon."

    In a flash of light, Rashe'm returned to his normal self, only he was holding the Red-eye Dragoon spirit, which began to hover an inch above his hand. Rashe'm looked at it curiously, then said, "You know what, I think I could get used to this thing." The Dragoon spirit immediatly fell back into his hand, and then he pocketed it. The knights began to talk amongst themselves on a job well done when Orrin turned to Rashe'm, embracing him in a giant hug, wrapping his arms around Rashe'm's torso. A little shocked by the embrace, Rashe'm patted Orrin's head, then said, "Okay, squirt, now you're embarassing me." Orrin let go, saying, "I'm just glad you're okay." Rashe'm's face grew red, then he said jokingly as he brought his right hand up to rub the back of his head, "Me, be okay? Why wouldn't I be okay? Me, Rashe'm, of all....." He trailed off as his right hand felt something almost alien to his body. He had brushed against his right ear, beginning to be confused as to wondering why it was there, since it had been cut off a long time before.

    He looked to Orrin for an answer, but the first thing Orrin could think of, he told Rashe'm, "Al told me that there was a white stone in your place when you came out of the castle. I think it was the White Dragoon spirit, which has healing properties." Rashe'm took the answer gratefully, embracing the fast that he was whole again. He would have checked his childhood scars as well, but he thought that would be better for another time. Now, he wanted to go back to the castle and sleep, the Dragoon spirit had worn him out. As both he and Orrin left to leave, the knights followed as well. Orrin looked over at the Virage when it let out a dying screech. He saw that the creature's body began disappearing, like it was dissintegrating. His gaze returned forward as they walked back towards the city. It would be awhile before they made it back to the castle, and Rashe'm said to Orrin, "We should see how Al's holding up. I'm sure he's had a lot of fun and excitement." exaggerating the last three words. Orrin decided to bring up the robed man. "Hey, Rashe'm, those guys in the robes that attacked and fled the city, were they the Soanites I had heard about?" When Rashe'm nodded, Orrin continued, "Well, the guy that finished off the Virage, if he was a Soanite too, wouldn't that mean he helped us by getting rid of it?" Rashe'm took a moment, then replied, "I guess it would." Finally, Orrin brought up the burning question, "Then, who's side is he on?"
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Continued in part three...................