Chapter 45 (Josephs POV) Hello There

I sat there for a few moments, as I was not sure how to take in what he had just said to me. It could only mean one thing, surely right? The way he had said it, I had to assume at the very least, that they were black dragons. It was not a good start for sure.

I gulped, as there was just dead silence in the air for quite some time. I could tell that Adrian was in fact quite a bit scared. It was not a good first look for sure. I stayed still, as I looked over at John, hoping he would say something that would at least calm me down a slight bit.

He just stood still, as he had his eyes squinted at me. It was clear that he was not sure what to do, so he was just taking his time, trying to think of some thing that would get us out of this mess. I turned my head over to Mariah, as I could tell that she was a bit scared.

It seemed as she might be having a panic attack, as I saw her body shivering, but a lot more than a normal person should. I could tell that she was cold, but she was not cold because of the temperature. I moved up close to her, and gave her a hug to calm her down.

I could feel it coursing through her body all at once. I felt a bit bad for her, as I took some time, trying to think of something to say to her, to get her to calm down. It did not take long for her however, to be the first one to speak after the long period of silence.

"Joseph... Will you promise me, that you will kill him?" She said to me. I looked at her for quite some time, as I was not sure what it was that she had meant by that. I did not know who the exact dragon was that had killed our mother, if that was what she was talking about in fact.

I looked at her for quite some time, as I then squinted my eyes at her. I could not make any sort of promise for her, if I was not sure that I could actually go through with the promise. I stayed still, as luckily, I had more time to think it through, as I heard the voice of John, as I turned my head over to him, to hear what it was that he had to say.

"Mariah, not all dragons are bad..." He said. It was clear that he did not fully understand what it was that she was talking about. It made sense as well, as he had not been with us through those strenuous weeks, up until the day of the court battle.

Mariah looked at him a bit confused for a bit of some time, but she was a smart girl, and it did not take long for her to understand why John was the one that was confused. She shook her head at John, and then she began to respond to what he had just said.

"I know that... Adrian told us about that. I am just talking about the dragon that killed our mother..." She said back to John. John looked at her for a bit longer, as it seemed that he now understood what it was that she had been talking about.

I knew that John was a smart guy, so I knew that it would not take him very long for him to comprehend what it was that she was getting at. He looked at her for a bit of time, and then he nodded to her, as it seemed as though he now understood her.

We sat there for a bit longer, as no one thought of a word to say. I saw that Mariah had her eyed on me, as she was waiting for me to go ahead and make the promise clearly. I could not go through with it though, as I was not sure what black dragon had been the one that had killed my mother.

John seemed to understand me as well, as he saw the kook that was on my face, and he decided for once, that he was going to speak up for me. I turned my head over to him as well, as I then listened to what it was that he had to say back to my sister.

"Well... Joseph might not know who it was that killed your mother, he did not have visions until your mother had died." He said back to her. I looked at him, and then I nodded to him thankfully, as he had certainly worded it a lot better than I would have.

She looked at him, as I could tell that she was a bit disappointed, and she was hurt and in pain. I understood as well, as I knew that she was so close to my mother. I felt bad for her, as I then lowered my head to the ground, for some reason feeling a bit guilty, though I knew none of this had been my fault.

I stared down for quite some time, as I could tell that Adrian was starting to get a bit nervous as well, as I could see him looking around at all of his crops. He was more than likely wondering if he was going to wake up in the morning, and have it be all gone.

Or maybe, he might be thinking, that he would not wake up in the morning at all. I shook my head, as I tried not to think of those types of thoughts. After a few moments, I then heard my sister decide to step up and speak again, as I lifted my head up, to hear what it was that she had to say.

"Well... He can at least try I guess..." She said, as I saw her head drop low to the ground, as I could tell that she was a bit disappointed. I had to be honest with myself at the same time, I was not sure if I could in fact kill a dragon in the first place.

I was not the best with moving targets quite yet, but I suppose that was why we were training in a safe are. Well... I was not sure if it was so longer safe, and I could tell that Adrian was thinking the same thing as well. I shook my head though, as I turned my head over to John, hearing him speak once again.

"He can... But I am not sure if he will ever find the dragon that killed your mother..." He said back to her. I looked at John, and then I squinted my eyes at him. I really hated how at times, he just always had to put everyone's hopes down to earth.

I closed my eyes for quite some time, as I did not want to push it off, and just straight up tell my sister that I could not do it. I also knew that I could not promise myself that I could though as well, as I never liked to betray anyone's promise, much less my own sisters.

I kept my eyes closed, as I could just about feel everyone staring at me, as they were all dead silent. But then, all at once then began to click for me. I then opened my eyes, and I looked right over at my sister. I could promise it to her, and if I failed, then I suppose that I would take it to the death. I then began to speak back to her, all at once.

"No... I will do it, I promise Mariah." I said over to my sister. I could tell that every one was just about as surprised as my sister was. I saw John squint his eyes at me, and shake his head, but he did not know what it was that I was going to say next, as I then continued to speak. "Because... There is one person that knows the dragon that we are looking for."

They all looked at me, a bit surprised, and a bit confused at the same time. I looked at John, as far as I could tell, he was even more lost than the other 2 were, which was all the more of a surprise to me. I was surprised that no one knew what it was that I was getting at.

John eventually lifted his head up, from off of the ground, as it was clear that he was done thinking to himself, and he was done guessing as to who that it was, that I had been talking about. As he just went ahead and began to speak to me, going straight forward, and asking me the question.

"Who could it be, that might know who killed your mother?" He said, as I could tell he was very lost. I smiled this time, as I knew that for once, I had one this time against him. I then shook my head though, as I knew it was the last thing that should be on my mind.

It all seemed to be coming into pieces in my sisters had though, as I could tell that she was having some deep thoughts on it. She either did not look as confused before, because she had in fact been thinking so deeply on it, or it was because she was beginning to understand what it was that I had been getting at.

I knew that my sister was smart though, so I knew that it would not take her long to find out who it was that I had been talking about. John on the other hand was just so lost, as he just had his eyes squinted at me still. I smiled at him, as I then began to speak.

"Well... Who do you think it was that was on trial? 'For doing it.' " I said to all of them. My sister was the one that now understood what it was that I was getting at now, as I could tell that she was now starting to get a fair bit excited, though she did her best to keep her calm.

John looked as though he was a bit confused still, and as far as I could tell, Adrian seemed to have no clue what it was that we were getting at, nor did he seem to care any either. It all then began to stick in Johns head all at the same time, as he looked at the house behind us, as he then nodded, and then turned his head back over to me, and then began to speak.

"Oh... Him... Well... We've got to keep him alive I suppose then, maybe we should set you 2 up to train together." He said back to me. I looked at him for a bit longer. I was not all that against it, but there was still a part of me that was thinking of my drunken father.

I shook my head, as I knew that he was different now. But I was not so sure how much better he really was though. I then lost focus on that thought, as I turned my head over to Adrian, as he looked a bit upset, as he then decided to speak up for once.

"Are we just going to forget that we saw dragons?" He said back to all of us. I looked at him for a few moments, as it then hit me, as to the reason that we were all together in the first place. I had nearly completely forgotten about them being on our land.

John had a bit of a blank look on his face, so it was not really helping me all that much at all. I then turned my head over to Adrian, as I felt like he might be over exaggerating a little bit too much. I squinted my eyes at him, as I then began to speak to him.

"When you say you saw dragons... Do you mean they were on the land?" I asked him. I looked at him for quite some time, as I then saw him lower his head to the ground. That gave me all of the answer that I needed to hear. I had thought of that to be the case, as I knew that my uncle had put a spell on his land.

I heard John begin to speak up however, as I then turned my head over to him, to hear what it was that he had to say to me. I nodded to him, to let him know that I was listening to him.

"Not on our land... That is beside the point, but they were near the land, and your uncle put a strong spell on the land. We are worried that it might be fading out." He said over to me. I looked at Adrian, as I then began to understand why he had been freaking out so much now.

I then gulped... If the land was going to be no longer safe, than what was going to happen to the legion? I closed my eyes for some time, to just give myself a bit of time to think to itself. I was not sure what to think, and I was actually starting to get a bit scared.

I know that the government that we had, they had been making normal army legions to fight off the dragons, but they were nowhere near our power, and, not going to be humble this time, they did not have me either.

I shook my head, as I then opened my eyes as I heard my sister then begin to step up, and speak once again. She seemed to be a lot more brave than I had remembered her being. Not that she was ever weak, but she was always scared to talk to strangers. I shook my head though, as I listened to what it was that she had to say.

"I was told that there were evil, and there were good dragons. Based off of what you said, I have to guess that these are bad dragons, right?" She said over to John. John looked at her for quite some time, and I could tell that he was putting even more thought than he ever had into a response to that.

I looked at him for some time as well, as I was not quite so sure why he was trying to think of a response to what my sister had just asked him. If you asked me, the response to what it was should be quite simple. Maybe I should make it that way for him. I then decided to speak up to him.

"John... Are they red dragons, or were they black dragons?" I asked him. I was quite sure that they were black dragons though. Just based off of the look that they had on their face. Was there a good breed of black dragons? Also we had seen black dragons in the sky about a week ago.

I began to get even more worried, as I could tell that John did not seem to have any sort of response to it. After a bit more time however, I turned my head over to Adrian, as he decided that he was the one that was going to step up and speak once again.

"They were red dragons... But the wars throughout time have not just been one side good, and the other side bad... They have all fought each other more than once." He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, as I seemed to understand what it was that they had been getting at.

At the same time, I did not however, as I was also a bit confused, as it seemed as though no one really understood what this war was about. I thought that I had told John more than once, maybe he just needed a reminder. I then turned my head over to John, as I began to speak to him.

"This war is different though... The black dragons are trying to wipe out our entire species, and the same to the red dragons... They are on our side." I said to them. Adrian looked at me a bit surprised, as it had been clear that he had not been let known that it might be the case.

John still had his head to the ground, as I wondered if he had heard a word that I had just said. I shook my head though, as I turned my focus over to my sister. I could tell that she was lost, but also a bit scared as well. I felt a bit bad for her, but I also knew that I could not explain all of this to her on the fly.

Thankfully, after quite a bit more time seemed to pass, I saw John lift his head up to me. He then nodded to me, as I saw a bit of a strange grin on his face. I tilted my head at him, a bit confused as to what it was that he found so funny. I then listened to him though, as I waited to hear what it was that he had to say back to me.

"He is right... Alright Adrian... My mind is made... You take everyone down to the cellar just in case, and if we aren't back in 3 days... Well I suppose you just tell the legion who the new leader is." He said, winking at my sister at the same time as well.

I knew that my sister understood what it was that he had been getting at, but I could tell that she was not amused by any of it. I could tell that she was still shivering a little bit, but she had gotten back to a somewhat normal state now, as she then turned her head over to me.

I understood what it was that was going on now, as I looked over at John, quite a bit surprised, and a bit confused at the same time as well. I still had a few questions though, that I felt like I must ask as well, as I then looked over at John, and then I began to speak back to him.

"Wait... Don't we need to get ready for this? How long are we going to be gone?" I asked him. He looked at me for quite some time, as he then winked at me for some odd reason or another. I was so confused as to what it was that was going on, and what he was trying to get at as well.

John turned his head back over to the house, as it seemed now that he had understood what it was that I had been getting at. He stared at it for quite some time, and then he finally turned his head back over to me, as he then began to speak to me all at once.

"We have some bags set up already, we are always ready for stuff like this here. Just grab one of those bags, its got some dry food, and plenty of water, and we can go... We should not be gone any longer than 2 days at max, but you guys hide just in case." He said over to me, but then he turned his head over to the others, to make sure they had heard what had just been said.

Adrian looked at John for a bit of some time, and then he nodded, as he then turned his head over to my sister, pointing it over to the cellar that was beside the house, as she understood what he was getting at, Adrian then looked back over to John, and then began to speak to him.

"Alright John... You 2 stay safe, I am going to go warn the others, and then were going to head over to the cellar... See you in a few days I suppose." He said back over to John. Turning head over to me, and nodding to me as well, as I did the same back to him.

I hoped that the cellar would in fact be safe, if somehow there was in fact something that was bad to happen. I watched as my sister, and Adrian began to go over to the house, to warn the others about all of this. I shook my head, as I turned my focus over to John now.

This was the most important part of all of my training. Though I knew it was not dangerous, I also knew that it was going to be good, to let the red dragons know that we were here, and that we were on their side. If it was true what Adrian had said about previous wars, that was for sure good for them to hear.

John looked at the house for quite some time, as he waited to make sure that they were in fact inside, and then he turned his head over to me. I looked at him for a fair amount of time, as I then waited for him to speak to me. After a bit longer, he did so as well.

"Alright... There's some camo clothes in the bag. You go ahead and get that put on, than meet me over there, and we will head over to where we found the red dragons." He said to me. I looked at him for a bit of some time, as I was not sure what to say back to him.

I just nodded, as he then began to walk over to the front porch, where there were a bunch of bags. I began to follow him over there as well, as once we were there, we each picked up our own bag. John had his camo suit already put on, so he did not need to worry about all of that.

He nodded to me, as he let me know that he was going to head over to the area that he just been pointing his head over to. I looked at him for quite some time, as I then nodded back to him. He then began to walk past the other side of the house, giving me some time to get undressed.

Once he was gone, I opened the bag, to pull out the camo suit that had been set up for me, making sure that it was in fact the right size. Once I knew that it was, I then began to take off all of my clothes, up to the point to where I was bare naked.

I then lowered my back, to grab the suit from off of the top of the bag. That was when I heard footsteps, and they were human footsteps as well. I stopped myself, as I turned my head over to where it was that I had heard the foot steps come from.

Someone was there, though I was not sure who it was... Everyone else had been inside, as far as I knew as right. I also knew that the legion still had a few weeks to actually be here, so it could not be them either right? I then saw a familiar head pop out from the far side of a bush.

I noticed who it was right away, as I then did my best to hide my crouch right away. It was a bit too late, as I knew that she had seen it. I suppose that I should not be too worried either, as it was not the first time... I still felt a bit of embarrassment anyways.

She smiled when she had seen my as well, as it made sense that she would be the one person that would be outside, as I had not even thought about her. She had a bit of a grin on her face, as she lowered her head looking down at my hidden crouch for a bit of time.

I kept it hidden, as I was still a bit embarrassed about it, because I had a girl friend, and yes, she was in fact still alive, unlike what Zoe had first said about her. I shook my head, as she laughed a bit, as she then began to speak to me.

"Looks like its gotten a bit bigger..." She said to me. I squinted my eyes, as it seemed a bit obvious to me, what it was that she was trying to do. I had a girl friend for one, that I waa going to stay loyal to, and I also did not have time for this either.

I shook my head at her, as she tilted her own, a bit confused as to what it was that I had been getting at. She still had a bit of a smile on her face, as she then began to come a little bit closer to me. I stopped her before she had the chance to try anything on me however, as I then began to speak to her.

"Zoe... I don't have the time for this right now... I have a girl friend too..." I said back to her. She looked at me for a bit of some time, and then she squinted her eyes at me. As it seemed as though it hit her a bit more at what I said at the 2nd part, rather than the first.

She looked at me a bit confused at me for quite some time, as she had stopped herself now. She then began to get a bit more serious, as she now was not playing around thankfully. She then nodded to me, knowing that I was not messing with her right now, as she then spoke back to me.

"Well... I suppose you are right... Why are you naked on this side of the house?" She said to me. That was a lot better of a question to hear her ask me. I nodded to her, as I then remembered what it was that I had been doing in the first place.

I began to put on the outfit, as it seemed as though she was beginning to understand the reason that I was changing my clothes out here. She now knew that it was in fact something that had to be fairly important. Once I had gotten at least a little bit on to hide my parts, I then began to speak to her.

"They spotted red dragons out there, we are going to go look for where they might be staying at, and maybe try to talk to them." I said to her. She looked at me with quite a bit of a surprised look on her face. That look disappeared quick however, as she then began to look quite a bit excited.

I looked at her for quite some time, as I was just about sure I knew what it was that she was going to say. I always knew that she got excited for a challenge. It was the reason that he had joined the legion in the first place, when she was just 18.

I then began to put on the rest of my clothes, as I waited for her to go ahead and speak, as I knew that I in fact had all of the time in the world to get ready for all of this. After I had gotten all of my clothes on, I looked up at her, as she then began to speak to me.

"Hell! Let me come with you... If they attack you, you might need more protection, I am one of the best shooters in the legion!" She said to me. I looked at her for quite a bit of time, as I thought on what it was that she had just said to me.

It might be good to have some more protection. I had to stop thinking about what she had done with me quite a long time ago. Maybe it was in the best interest to have her help me. I then thought about what John would think on it, and then I shook my head, as I spoke back to her.

"No... We are going into the camp... The less of us there are, the less likely they are to see us... If they have a bad intent, there's not much you can do to protect us anyways." I said back to her. She looked at me for a bit of some time, and then she lowered her head to the ground. I kept on speaking, to warm her up. "You hide in the cellar with the rest of them... If I die, my sister needs you."

I could tell that she understood what it was that I had been getting at, but she was just disappointed that she was not going to be a part of it. She did look a slight bit excited at the last part however, as she lifted her head with a bit of a sad smile, she then began to speak back to me.

"You are right... I am sure you will be safe, but just in case... I will be here, and maybe I can talk to your girl friend, we have a lot in common in fact." She said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, and then I nodded to her.

I then looked at her a bit confused, as I had heard what she had said at the last part, but I was not sure if she was exaggerating about any of it or not. I had not heard Julia say anything about that to me, and I slept with her... Maybe she was a bit too embarrassed.

It made sense, I could clearly see for the first day or so, both of them were a bit jealous, as it seemed that Julia had seen me giving Zoe looks from time to time, and Zoe doing the same to me. I could not help it though, I loved Julia to my deepest heart, but Zoe was just so amazing looking.

I shook my head, as I knew that Julia was good looking as well. I should not be thinking these types of thoughts, as I then turned my head back over to Zoe. She was looking at me, as she was waiting for a response. I nodded to her and then began to speak.

"Im glad you get along... I've got to go now, you take care of my sister." I said to her. She looked at me for some time, and then she nodded, and she smiled at me. I smiled back to her as well, as I was happy that she now understood me.

She then turned her head, and she began to walk over to the house, where I heard the door open just on time. I did the same, as I did not want to talk to Julia right now, because I knew that it would only waste more of my time, and John as waiting for me at the moment.

I quickly got the the other side of the house, far away from the front porch, so that no one could spot me. I then saw John staring into oblivion, as I saw him on the edge of the field of crops. I then began to jog over to him.

There we were, deep into the woods now. It was even further than Adrian and John had gone. They had said that they had gone that way, and they had food in their hands as well. It seemed that surely we would have come across some at this point now, surely right?

Maybe they were not a part of a tribe, and they were separated, and they had just happened to come by this area. I was begin to lose hope on it at this point now, as I just followed John, crouching, as it was beginning to hurt my legs.

It was getting dark all at the same time as well, as we had been out here for almost 6 hours at this point. We had gone through kilometers of terrain through some thickly covered woods. I was about to give up, and call it quits, but I knew that John was not having it.

We kept on walking, as it felt like my legs were about to give up on me, having to walk up and down hills, but also try to be quiet all at the same time as well. John seemed to notice it as well, as I nearly slipped over and fell. He then began to speak to me.

"I'll give it 2 more hours... After that we can sit down and rest, keep on looking til the sun comes out, and if we still have no luck, we can go ahead and head back to the place." He said to me. I had my head down to the ground, but I nodded to him, as I had heard every word I had said.

I was not all that tired, but my legs just felt like they were about to collapse on me. Hearing him say that to me however, it seemed at give me a little bit of strength, to keep on moving forward. We kept on going, until we then suddenly heard something in the distance.

At first, it seemed as though they were just little squeaks from an animal, but then as we got closer and closer, we could hear them, as the seemed to be a bit of some strange voices. I then realized what it was that was talking in the distance.

"That's them... Those are the dragons, it almost seems as though I recognize the voice though." I said to him. He looked at me for quite some time, and then he squinted his eyes at me. I could tell that he was a bit nervous as well, and he was trying to think of what it was that we should do.

I did not feel scared at all, as I was fairly sure that I had heard the dragons voice that seemed to be speaking up a bit loudly on purpose as well, as it seemed as though they might be having one of those meetings that they tended to have from time to time.

We sat there for some time, as I could tell that John was not sure what it was that we should do. I saw him begin to stroke his chin, though it was fairly hard to see with how dark it was. He then turned his head back over to me, and then he nodded as he began to speak to me, quietly as well, just in case we were to be heard.

Lets to up on it, to hear what it is that they are saying... If we think that it might be safe, I dare say... Maybe we go in." He said to me. I looked at him quite a bit surprised that he had just said that to me, as I knew that it was very hard to gain his trust.

I sat there for a few moments, as I then nodded to him. I was not sure what else to say back to him, as it was clear that he had already made up his mind, and there was no changing it now. I then began to follow him through the path in the woods, that looked as it had never been used.

As we got a bit closer, I then realized that we were near the edge of the woods. John noticed it as well, as he put his arm out to stop me. I saw that there was a large clearing in front of us. I looked at it for some time, and then my eyes began to focus in on what was in front of us.

I saw them... Hundreds of them, as it almost did not seem real. To see them up close in person like that. They were a lot smaller than I had first thought, as they might be 4 meters tall for the biggest ones that I could see, the normal ones looked to be about 3 meters tall.

It seemed to relax me at the same time, as I realized that maybe the dragons were not as scary as I had first thought. I shook my head though, as I remembered that they were hard to kill, and they were faster and stronger than we were. I then focused my ears on what it was that was going on in front of us. I realized that my assumption was right, and the dragon in front of us at the top of a cliff... I now knew who it was.

"I have put each of you into sectors... We must train to fight back against those evil dragons! I know you all want revenge on them, they killed so many of us... Family, lovers... Fight for your tribe!" The dragon, Himla, said loudly for all of the dragons to hear what it was that he had just said.

I heard lots of cheering from the crowd, as this did not seem right... Was this a trap? I had heard that Himla was not normal. I shook my head, as I heard another dragon up front, begin to step up and speak, but she was to quiet for me to hear.

I shook my head, as John all of the sudden stopped himself randomly for some reason. I saw his back left arm reaching for his bow, and then I wondered what was going on... That is when I heard it, I heard the voice of a dragon from right behind us.

"Oh... Uh... Well... Hello there..."