Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow (10 page)

“As far as the actual targets,” Mkel continued, “the catapults will engage first as the line moves forward, followed by the land dragon ballistae and then elven and garrison archers. The dwarves will put out a final volley of their hand axes and hammers as the garrison approaches the target line. Weir Senior Sergeant Toderan or I will signal the cavalry platoon as to which direction they will charge and attack. Once we reach the wooden targets, we will hold our positions and let the Draden regiment pass us for a follow-on assault. Gallanth and I will finish with a diving attack in coordination with the rangers, prior to the regiment getting to you. The support corps company will then move in to care for the simulated wounded and conduct resupply. Are there any questions from the platoons regarding the exercise tomorrow?” Mkel paused to see if anyone had a comment. “We will be forming on the practice field right after the morning meal.”

“Captain,” Colonel Dunn spoke up, “the support company will be focusing on quick resupply to the catapult section and the crossbowmen as well as projectiles for the land dragons’ ballistae, if desired. We would also like to address casualties with the healer section.”

“Yes sir,” Mkel replied. “The platoon leaders will provide one casualty per squad for you. Lieutenants, you will have your squad leaders pick those soldiers for the healers to work on and assign wounds to them to be treated. Jodem will supply the illusion to make your selectees’ wounds appear real. Senior Sergeant Toderan, anything from your side?”

“Yes sir. According to Jodem and Silvanth, there will be clear skies tomorrow and comfortable temperatures, a good day for a battle exercise. If there are any personnel issues, bring them to me and the captain after the meeting. I will be flying overhead watching the drill and will be the backup signal for the deployment of the cavalry. Make sure you and all your junior sergeants do your pre-battle checks tonight and tomorrow morning. Treat this exercise like we would be actually fighting the giants tomorrow. The more you get things right here, the fewer casualties we will take when we have to do this for real,” Toderan explained.

“Gallanth, my friend,” Mkel said to his dragon. The gold dragon slightly raised his head and spoke, “I will be teleporting the garrison behind the mountain, enchant their weapons, and then teleport them back to the field. Be prepared to assume the close formation around me and then to quickly disperse after we arrive back to the field.”

“I will also add to the enchantment and walk in front of the line,” explained Jodem.

Gallanth could teleport anything within the area of his seventy-five-yard wingspan and the forty-five-yard length from his nose to his tail. In other words, he was able to teleport the whole garrison as long as they all gathered around his body and under his wings. This gave the reinforced company a tremendous advantage over an enemy force, in that all its combat power and forces could appear anywhere on the battlefield and also withdraw just as quickly if necessary.

“As usual, the dwarves and infantry will form in front of Gallanth’s chest and wings,” Mkel said. “The four land dragons will nestle under his massive wings interspersed with the elves, the sappers, and the cavalry. The catapults will pull beside his tail with their supply wagons. The support corps trains will be teleported by Silvanth, who will then transport wounded to the Weir or the wounded collection point, and bring the Draden regiment forward piece by piece.”

Gallanth and Jodem could enchant or empower the whole garrison before a battle, which made their armor a little tougher to pierce and their weapons strike with unnatural damage and accuracy. This ability, along with the high level of training and their superior equipment and weaponry, allowed the garrison to take on much larger forces and win. The incredible power of Gallanth, along with the dragonstone weapons of Mkel, Toderan, Ordin, Lupek, Deless, and Dekeen, coupled with Jodem’s and Beckann’s spells, gave them an amazing combined ability.

“Mkel, will you be going to Battle Point soon?” Lupek asked.

“Yes Lupek, likely within the week,” replied Mkel.

“I would like to give you a message for a friend out there,” Lupek requested.

“No problem, see me about it tomorrow,” directed Mkel. “I will give you all an update of the situation happening around Battle Point when we get back next week. Lawrent and his Freiland raiders will be arriving soon with their ships moving up the Severic River toward the Weir as well, so watch out for them.”

“Anything else, Master Dragonrider?” Ordin asked in his gruff voice, for Mkel knew he wanted to go to the tavern.

“Are there any other questions regarding tomorrow?” Mkel asked again. All present did not answer. “Good, gentlemen and lady, see you at the dining hall and tomorrow for the exercise. I wish you all the Creator’s blessing, and remember to always keep the faith.”

Everyone stood and saluted Gallanth and Mkel, and then they picked up their weapons and began to move to the dining hall. “You better contact Annan to see if she is ready to go to dinner, my rider,” Gallanth told Mkel. “Yes, I was just going to,” Mkel replied.

“Captain, I will see you in a couple of minutes. I’m going to get my family,” Toderan said to his friend as he put his large hand on Mkel’s shoulder.

“No problem, see you there,” he replied.

“Jodem, what are your plans?” Mkel asked.

“I will be joining you, for we need to talk over dinner about the Battle Point visit,” the wizard replied.

“Good, let’s walk up to my quarters and get Annan,” Mkel motioned.

“Why don’t you see if she has her seeing crystal with her?” Jodem suggested.

“Good thought,” Mkel commented.

He pulled out the flat-faced quartz crystal from his belt and spoke into it, asking for Annan. These devices were special crystal mirrors made by wizards or elves with the use of a small amount of dragon’s blood and a drop or two of the owner’s blood. They enabled the holder to see and hear another person who had a connected crystal. The image of Annan appeared on the flat smooth stone face.

“We’re ready to eat, my love. Janta and I will bring Michen down to the dining hall,” Annan said.

“Tell her that I will come and get them,” Gallanth said to Mkel. “Are you sure Gallanth?” Mkel asked. “It would be my pleasure to give Michen a ride,” Gallanth added. Mkel spoke back into the crystal, “Annan, Gallanth will come and get you.”

“All right, Janta and I will be ready,” Annan replied.

“I will be right back with the little one,” Gallanth said as he stood up and began to turn around. He quickly scanned the area to make sure there wasn’t a griffon ready to take off or land, spread his immense golden wings, and with a leap, a heft of his tail, and a downward thrust of his wings, he was airborne with a strong rush of air heading back to his ledge.

“He really loves that boy,” Jodem said to Mkel.

“Yes, I know. I would fear to be the one that would threaten him harm,” Mkel replied.

“He feels the same about you, especially since after your father died,” Jodem added.

“I know, almost to a fault. I don’t know what I would have done without him, my mother and you,” Mkel said as he felt the familiar lump in his throat and slight tearing of his eyes as he thought about his father and those he cared about. “You both have been great to me in your teaching, guidance, and caring.”

“Never compare me to your dragon,” Jodem said. “Your bond goes beyond mere friendship or even family. Yours is the bond of blood, heart, mind, and soul.”

Mkel understood his words, for he would never forget the day he and Gallanth blood bonded and thus merged souls. He never felt alone since that day, for no matter where he was, he and Gallanth shared thoughts and emotions. That day, when he was nineteen years old, was perhaps the best day of his life (save the day of his son’s birth). Having this kind of bond with a dragon, especially a gold dragon, was beyond what words can describe. Having a friend and partner that was never more than a thought away had always been the most comforting aspect of being a dragonrider (although having one of the most powerful creatures in the world as your protector and friend also helped).

Dragons were not only incredibly powerful, their wisdom and intelligence even exceeded their strength. The respect for the metallic dragons was almost universal, with the exception of a few minor factions within the Alliance population in the major cities and, of course, the Party of the Enlightened. All elves and dwarves revered the good dragons, as did most men and women.

Gallanth was now gliding down toward the dining hall, with Annan in the rear seat holding Michen in her arms and Janta holding on for dear life in Mkel’s saddle. Michen’s little face was aglow with a wide grin, and his bright blue eyes were beaming. Gallanth back winged gently before the dining hall so as to not stir up too much dust for those that were already eating. He then crouched down and laid his massive neck on the ground.

“Come on, my friend, let’s go help your wife down,” Jodem urged Mkel.

They walked past the gold dragon’s resting head. “Thank you, Gallanth,” Mkel said. “Never a problem to give our Michen a ride,” the gold dragon replied. Gallanth thought of the little boy as his own son. Dragon offspring were separated from their parents relatively quickly and sent to the central hatchling training grounds in Draconia. While there was a bond between a mated dragon pair and their offspring, it was understood that dragons had a higher purpose to serve and guide mankind. Therefore they tended to be very affectionate with their rider’s children.

Mkel jumped up on Gallanth’s thick arm and reached his hands up to Annan. She sat Michen on Gallanth’s neck and he slid down the dragon’s hide over the smooth tiny teardrop scales into Mkel’s arms. He was laughing his irresistible two-year-old giggle, which could mend a torn soul. Mkel helped Annan slide down off of the long saddle, and Jodem caught Janta as she climbed down the notched steps of the thick harness on the immense gold neck. The group walked back past Gallanth’s head, and Mkel asked Michen if he wanted to give his dragon a kiss. “Kiss, draaggon,” the infant said. Mkel held his son next to Gallanth, and the little boy then leaned his head toward the dragon’s upper cheek and touched it with his forehead. The dragon’s eighteen-inch-wide eye glowed brightly at the infant’s gesture. It always amazed Mkel that such a massive, super intelligent, and extremely powerful creature could derive such pleasure from the most simple of things, but that was what life was about, Gallanth would tell him, and that was what was worth fighting for.

They all walked into the full dining hall and sat down at the head table beside Toderan, Lupek, and the other officers and their families. Mkel always ate last, being the commander and Weirleader, unless necessity forced him to do differently. Dekeen had already left the Weir through the hidden back entrance that led out into Draden Forest to be with his family and clan. The only elves that resided in the Weir itself were the ones in the ranger platoon. Elves did not eat much, for their metabolisms were more efficient than those of humans and dwarves. In contrast, the dwarves that ate at the dining hall could consume vast amounts of food not equal to their short but stout builds.

The Weir cooks were a mix of humans and halflings; the latter were excellent in the diversity of their recipes as a result of their traveling nature. Halflings were restless wanderers, but once they established roots in a particular area, they became a fixture of the community, especially farming communities. They always shared knowledge with each other without a fault, and they were known as excellent small niche farmers and cooks. The kitchen folk had prepared a noodle dish with a spiced tomato sauce, a chicken vegetable stew, and other vegetables and breads.

Alliance farmers of all races were the most productive in the world, taking the best farming techniques of humans, halflings, and elves. No one in the republic went hungry because of a lack of available food as long as they worked for it. Grains and other foodstuffs were a major export for the Alliance as well as finished goods, crafts, and a host of other materials.

As the garrison was finishing the meal, Mkel stood up. “Gentlemen and ladies, may I have your attention?” he announced, raising his wine glass. “To the conduct of a successful exercise tomorrow, to the Weir, and to Gallanth,” he toasted.

“To Gallanth,” everyone repeated as they turned toward the resting dragon, who raised his immense head and then slightly bowed as everyone toasted. All the soldiers, dwarves, and elves of the garrison knew that the power of the gold dragon had saved all their lives on many an occasion, and everyone had great respect for him.

“To you, gentlemen and ladies, thank you for your service,” the dragon replied.

Everyone then sat down as Mkel said a few words of encouragement. “I know your platoon leaders and senior sergeants gave you the briefing regarding the exercise, so I will not go into great details about it. I want you to do is to focus on the coordination with all the members of your squad and platoon and the other specialty platoons. This training ensures that all of our combat power is brought to bear synergistically, which will save lives if the need arises. Even though this is just an exercise, with the giants stirring in the mountains, there may be a real fight soon. I know you will do well, as you always have. Thank you,” Mkel finished.

Ordin spoke up, as he usually did. “To our success,” he growled.

“To our success,” everyone echoed.

“All right, gentlemen, there are some final preparations and last equipment checks to perform before the exercise. I suggest that you see to them and then spend a little time with your families,” Toderan finished.