The Roar of a Dragon (5 page)

It had been just over a year since I’d started training. Sir Garridan arrived at my home one day, as usual. When he slammed open the door of my house, I was about to make some smart remark but it suddenly became clear that something was amiss — his face was red and sweating, and he was breathing very heavily.

‘Delmar is under attack.’

My eyes went wide, and my breath escaped my body. ‘I — what?’

‘Barbarians from the north,’ Garridan said quickly. ‘The Natuma tribe, from the plains of Pelora, has invaded our country. They crossed our borders and began burning every village they encountered. They are headed toward the castle, they are ruthless and tireless — and they will be there before the moon rises.’

I looked at Garridan and frowned slightly, thinking,
Barbarians? Delmar is a mighty country — why are barbarians such a bother to us?

Garridan must have sensed what I was thinking, and he answered my unspoken question. ‘Most of the White Army is not present at the castle. Much of our force is to the south, where they were sent to hold off a horde of ogres that were rampaging through the country, and the rest are to the east, where the elves have chased the minotaur too close to our borders. The force we do have at the castle won’t be sufficient to hold off the attack. Riders have been sent to our forces, but it could be weeks before they return.’

I tried to absorb everything Garridan was telling me, but the cold grip of anxiety that had taken hold of my mind and body made it impossible for me to grasp anything other than ‘Delmar is under attack’. I tried desperately to regain control of myself, but it was in vain.

‘What are we going to do?’

‘The King has summoned every able-bodied man to the armory at the castle,’ Garridan answered. ‘Let’s go.’

At those words, the air completely left my body.
Oh Gods, this is it
.

We rode with haste to the castle, which was located in the country’s capital city of Delmar. The city was encompassed by an enormous stone wall embedded with a large wooden gate; a smaller wall on a steep hill stood inside this, close to where the castle stood. Even from the distance, I could see the giant dragonslaying machines on top of the wall: ballistae, catapults, and the like. As we approached, I began to notice that the top of the wall was lined with archers, prepared to fire on us. Garridan signaled our arrival by blowing on a horn that hung from his shoulder, the archers lowered their bows and the gates opened for us.

On the brink of battle, the city of Delmar wasn’t the cheerful, lively sight I always dreamed it would be. The light gray stone streets were filled with soldiers, hurriedly making preparations for the possible invasion. The shops were still open, but there were no customers; either they were seeking refuge in their homes or they were at the armory. As we rode through the hectic city streets, my thoughts turned to the women and children, scared for their husbands and fathers, terrified that they were never going to see them again. The men were innkeepers, butchers, street sweepers — men with no experience with weapons, or battle, and they were fighting to defend their country. These men faced either death or slavery if we failed.

The thought was repulsing, and suddenly, the enormity of the battle ahead was put into stunning perspective — even more so when I realised that I could be one of them.

With no townspeople to slow us down, the ride through the city went quickly, and we came to another stone wall, which we entered from the south, up a steep stone incline — the gate was wide open. The castle lay on the other side, and at first glance, I thought it was the oddest, most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

When we passed through the gate, my first thought was,
By the Gods, we passed right through the city!
The stone street of the city itself was replaced by lush, green grass. A dirt path became a winding road up a large hill, leading to the front gates of the castle. As I looked upon the shining, white fortress for the first time, tears welled up in my eyes, both from the wind on my face and from the magnificent sight in front of me. The castle was enormous, as white as winter’s first snowfall. The flag of Delmar, pure white with a red falcon emblazoned on it, flew from each of the four towers at the four corners of the castle and from above the front gate. The towers also held more dragon slaying weaponry. The sunlight — now low on the horizon — reflected off of the castle, making it shine brightly, a vision straight from the heavens. The image was firmly embedded in my mind until we reached the armory.

The castle armory was in chaos, with men strewn everywhere — some dressed in the white armor of the knights, the rest in the poor cloth of the common people. We dismounted from Garridan’s horse and entered, and Garridan led me toward the back. When we got there, he whistled to another soldier, who promptly made his way over to us. He saluted Garridan, his hand over his heart and a slight bow — the military salute.

Garridan returned the salute, and then said, ‘Keep watch over this lad until I return.’

The soldier nodded, and then we followed Garridan to a door on the east wall. Garridan disappeared inside while we waited.

Now standing still for the first time since I left my home, I was unable to remain calm. My body shaking with anticipation, I looked around, trying to find something to concentrate on. But all there were around me were soldiers, getting their armor and weapons, and the armory was sparsely decorated with plain stone walls lined with weapons and armor. I took a deep breath, but it didn’t help my nerves any.

With nothing else to see, my gaze finally fell on the soldier who was watching over me, who seemed to be doing his job a little too well; his line of vision seemed to be permanently attached to me, scrutinizing me. I analyzed him in turn.

His most notable feature was his body itself — he was at least a foot taller than me and probably twice as broad! He had long, brown hair that barely touched his broad shoulders. He had dark brown eyes that seemed to dance with humor and life, but despite this, his gigantic frame made him an intimidating sight indeed. The fact that he wore full-body steel armor and wielded a huge spear only served to reinforce this impression.

I suddenly realised that he looked familiar.

The soldier looked down at me, his face expressionless. I met his gaze evenly, determined to show that I wasn’t scared, except that I could barely stop shaking. The soldier noticed this, and he smiled a friendly grin. ‘You must be the boy the General’s been talking about,’ he commented.

My eyebrows rose in surprise — I couldn’t believe that Sir Garridan had mentioned me to anybody.

‘He says you have formidable skills for a young man,’ the soldier continued. He leaned toward me and whispered into my ear, ‘Let me offer you some advice — when the fighting begins, try not to soil your breeches.’ He looked around, making sure no one was listening. ‘It might work against dignified soldiers, but barbarians won’t even notice.’

He stood back up and nodded down at me, then resumed his duty as if nothing had happened. I stared at him, dumbfounded, his humorous remark catching me completely off-guard. I searched for something to say in response, but nothing came to my befuddled mind — what exactly could I say to that anyway?

I couldn’t help myself. I burst into laughter, trying to stifle it with my hands over my mouth, but with little success. Some soldiers walking past me stopped and glanced at me fearfully, then walked away. I looked back up at the soldier, who was chuckling at my inability to keep myself from looking completely insane. During my hysterical response to his comment, my fear eased considerably, however temporarily.

The soldier switched his spear from his right hand to his left, and extended his hand. ‘My name is Derrick.’

‘Derrick!’ I burst out, suddenly remembering where I had last seen him. ‘You were at my house two years ago, after Agatha’s death.’

Derrick’s face lit up with recognition. ‘I thought I knew you from somewhere!’ He said with a grin. ‘You’re Aidan, right?’ I nodded enthusiastically in response.

‘Are you fighting too?’ I asked, continuing my tradition of asking stupid questions upon first meeting, or becoming reacquainted with, people.

‘Yup,’ Derrick answered, standing tall. ‘I’m ready to beat the face paint off of those barbarians.’

I wished inwardly that I had his confidence. ‘I — I’m fighting too.’

‘I know. The General speaks very highly of you. And let me say this — when the General speaks highly of somebody, there is usually a reason for it.’

I frowned at him curiously. ‘Why is that?’

Derrick regarded me thoughtfully, and answered, ‘Let’s just say that the General isn’t one to waste his breath on the soft ripples of the water… he’d rather save it for the full tidal wave. He must see something in you that he sees in no one else. If he speaks highly of your skills, then you must believe in them.’

I nodded, pondering Derrick’s words. Hearing of Sir Garridan’s respect for me filled me with pride, and I smiled inwardly. Then Derrick’s ‘soiled breeches’ joke reared its ugly head again in my mind, and I chuckled in spite of myself.

Just then, Garridan appeared in the doorway, holding some clothing and armor in his arms. Seeing me chuckling, he looked at Derrick, then back at me, then back at Derrick again.

‘Dare I ask what you spoke of to him?’

Derrick switched the spear back to his right hand and stood upright. ‘Just easing the pre-battle tension, sir.’

‘That’s exactly what I was afraid of,’ Garridan said, glaring at Derrick through narrow eyes, then he handed me the clothing and armor. ‘Put these on, and when you come back, I’ll have a weapon for you.’

I nodded, then entered the room where Garridan had got the armor. The room itself was plain and stone-walled, like the armory. Garridan had given me new clothing: plain cloth breeches and a shirt. The only pieces of armor he gave me were a stiff leather shirt and helmet, and tall leather boots. After seeing the steel armor that all of the other commoners were getting, I was quite alarmed.

When I was finished, I returned to Derrick and the General. They smiled as I emerged, but their expressions faded as I held up my arms in dismay.

‘This is it? You expect me to go out into my first battle in
this?
You’ve given me no armor for my arms and legs — I’m going to get hacked to pieces!’

I wasn’t really angry, just scared.

Garridan, thankfully, understood my emotion; he moved to stand in front of me, putting his hand on my shoulder.

‘Young Aidan, your speed and your instinct are your greatest assets. Heavy armor will only slow you down. Always be alert, never stop moving, and never hesitate. If you can do these things, you will stand in the presence of the king before this night ends.’

What Garridan said made a great deal of sense… and yet, the thought of one of my legs being severed, or one of my arms…

Garridan’s hand tightened on my shoulder, adding, ‘And never doubt yourself.’ With two fingers, he lifted my chin up, looking me straight in the eyes. ‘Doubt and hesitation are two more enemies you must face on the battlefield, and they are ever-persistent. There is only one way to defeat them — always believe in yourself.’

‘That’s right!’ Derrick said brightly. ‘You, and all of us, will have enough problems out there without having to fight invisible ones. Concentrate on what’s right in front of you, and everything will be a-okay.’ He gave me a confident nod and flashed a brilliant smile. I decided right then and there that I liked Derrick.

I closed my eyes, breathed a deep breath. I tried to inhale confidence and strength, and exhale the anxiety and uncertainty. It didn’t really work. Though I tried to suppress it, I still shook slightly.

‘When the fighting begins, stay close,’ Derrick said. ‘If you get into trouble, call for us.’

I looked down at the floor and closed my eyes again, trying once more to drive the fear from my shaking body. When I opened my eyes again, Garridan was holding out a shield, one that seemed to be about half the size of the shields I had seen on the walls.

I couldn’t tell if this was one big, cruel joke or not.

I didn’t even bother to protest; I accepted the shield gratefully. Then Garridan was thrusting the hilt of a sword in my direction. I took it, my eyes popping slightly as I looked upon the most beautiful weapon I had ever seen.

Actually, there was nothing particularly special about this sword, except for the fact that it was new, polished,
and I was holding it
. Holding it with the intention of using it in battle. No doubt that I was scared to be heading into battle for the first time, but somewhere deep inside my soul, I was secretly glowing with excitement.

My glazed eyes sought out Derrick, who was nodding approvingly. Then he started for the door, motioning for me to follow.

‘Come on, you’re riding with me.’

With that, we marched from the city. For me the journey flew by as fast as my racing heart, but in actuality, what with preparing the army, gathering them together, and giving them orders, it probably took much longer. We were an army of seven hundred against an army of five hundred; on paper, the odds looked to be in our favor — until you consider that most of our army consisted of peasants, whereas theirs was made up of vicious barbarians. By saying ‘We were an army of seven hundred
peasants
against an army of five hundred
barbarians’
then things begin to look a little more even, if not tip a little in the barbarians’ favor. Add the word ‘bloodthirsty’ in front of ‘barbarians,’ and… well, you understand.

I may have had a slight advantage over the other commoners in that I had been trained, but Garridan had warned me:

‘Right before the first battle begins, you will forget everything you have learned. Your body will freeze, not from cold, but from fear. For you to become a true warrior, a true soldier, that fear must be overcome…, and when you do, instinct will take over.’

The words repeated over and over again in my mind, and I was determined to overcome that fear before the fighting began. But as we rode farther and farther away from the city, the fear grew and the tension mounted, and I was quickly losing my will to fight. And yet, I had no choice. I knew that I had to fight, for my country.