Chapter 2: Day

The dragon corpse in the lake was a bigger story than the King's abduction.

There were very few things in the world that had no use, and the dragons were no exception. They didn't know exactly what the blood would do but that didn't stop them from ripping the scales off and filling buckets with it. The lake was red from the arduous task, removing one scale could take several moments of vigorous sawing and it was unseasonably hot so the work felt even harder.

Morrigan was looking upon the monster she thought only existed in her childhood story books which she still had. She was seventeen and dragon sightings were not commonly reported in her lifetime. She looked at it like she was sure it would spring back to life at any moment. Her home and farm hadn't been damaged in the attack, surely it should have been, surely whatever god it held would reanimate it to finish the job. Leyden put a strong hand on her shoulder, and told her it was okay, that it was really dead but his words were just noise in that moment. The thing in the water was not of her world, her world was the crops, her dog, her father, her books, her sword. In that moment she didn't even want her sword anymore, the violence had reminded her that she was a child, a young woman, she wasn't ready for the world if this was what it held, maybe she would never be ready.

Archymides and the Queen met in the war room, before their scheduled meeting with the commanding officers was to take place. The Queen had slept more than she thought she would have, she was moving around like she was a young woman again, her words resolute, the strategist was struggling to keep up with her. He swore her plan was to march to Siladrin herself and was more worried for the dragon.

"Is a full frontal assault really not the best option?" She asked, pacing around the seated man, doing nothing to quell his concern for her. Sleep had only made her more foolhardy and reckless in her thinking, though in her mind she was operating at the highest levels of logic and reason.

"Possible? Yes. Wise, no. Foolhardy. Many would be slaughtered before getting close to the mountain. Surely whatever is driving them will have eyes in our direction at all times now."

"I await your suggestion then."

Archymides sighed, his mission was to save her as much as it was to save Erimon."Sending a small force would be safer and more practical. Maybe only three our four good men."

"And we must examine if rescuing my husband is the only goal here."

Archymides shook his head.

"If this was truly the work of Covac and Maev, we cannot defeat them directly, not alone."

Galian stopped pacing, bringing relief to the old man, he saw her thinking, but that wasn't always a good sign. She trusted him, more than she trusted Erimon, but her love for her family was dictating her thoughts.

"If we're not going to spare soldiers right now who do we send? Volunteers?"

"Many would jump at the chance to volunteer, for enough coin."

"There's only one man I trust with this task."

Archymides nodded, he knew the man she had in mind. He would do it because being a soldier was in his blood. The Queen's gaze fell to the door, she was worried, annoyed.

"The Prince should've been here by now I would think."

"I trust Larian is seeing to some important matter, my Queen."

Two soldiers, scouts came in and bowed. Galian had sent them out an hour ago to ask around about her son and they'd apparently learned something. They didn't seem particularly happy, not like they would give bad news, but they didn't reassure her right away and that was enough.

"My Queen, nobody has reported seeing the Prince since late yesterday evening, before the moon rise."

Galian's eyes glistened but she didn't cry, he wasn't dead, she would have felt the blow, it would've been like a blade twisted in her heart.

Larian had only been a little drunk when he met Amlin. His first impression of her was distorted, her nose was a little bigger, her eyes were green, not blue. Her brown hair had not been a trick of the mind though, it was light and stained with gold too, when he was in bed with her he savored the feel of it, the smell, he struggled to put it into words, it was just wonderful, comforting. When he was with her he was only with her and they lived in their own world, on their own plane of existence. They were rubbing their noses together, speaking incomprehensible cutesy talk when Larian heard boots marching outside. There was something going on greater than themselves, how they had not realized that before was something only they could understand.

"Wonder what that's about?" Larian asked. She touched the thin beard, he'd just shaved recently but it was already coming back. It was black like the hair on his head.

"Whatever it is, it can wait," she said, stroking his face.

He heard more yelling and marching and shook his head and moved to the side of the bed to rise.

"I'll go see what it is."

He rose and looked for his clothes and dressed when he found them.

"Do you really need to go?" Amlin asked, sounding tired. She was a few years younger than him, still somewhat used to getting whatever she wanted. She rose a little, the blanket still covering her.

Larian smiled at her, buttoning his shirt.

"If it were up to me I would never leave."

Amlin smiled and threw the blanket aside and stretched, bringing Larian's gaze directly to her, every time he saw her unhindered, unclad, he felt joy and energy, and he would usually have to leave right away, especially if there was a task that needed doing, other than... his mind returned to the noise outside as he joined it with some difficulty.

Galian had moved her pacing to the thrones outside the war room. Guards were pacing as much as her, so were soldiers and she stopped each asking if they knew anything she didn't already know but nobody did and she had to restrain herself from taking out her frustrations on them. She rubbed her hands together, anxiety riddled.

"Still no sign of him, your grace."

"Keep looking."

When the guard woman was gone the doors to the castle's main hall opened and Galian started towards it without waiting to see who it was first. It was him, he walked in from across the hall. Galian hugged him first and foremost as she always would when she found him, no matter how much trouble he'd been in. He seemed unharmed, unchanged, but she was still full of questions.

"Where in Gods' name have you been? None of the guards have seen you in nearly a full day."

Larian flashed back to the night before, Amlin's body writhing, his head between her legs, bobbing, her strength great as she pulled him closer to her, and deeper inside. He heard her moans in his ear in that moment. He remembered nothing else, he had focused his awareness there in the bed throughout. Larian wasn't prepared to tell his mother the truth, that he had been with Amlin again, that their lovemaking was a religious experience above all else. He remembered seeing a lot of archers when he stepped out.

"I was with the archers. Rear flank."

"Odd that none of them reported you there."

"Well it was chaos, Mother, the dragon fell, that's all that matters, a great victory."

"One dragon fell, boy."

She could tell he had been in his own mind again, oblivious to all around him. Probably with that girl again, in the house away from the main square which took the most damage.

"Where is father?" Larian asked looking around, figuring he'd already cleaned his sword and would be where they were telling tall tales. Galian's silence was her way of inspiring a profound feeling of guilt.

"Where did it come from?" He asked, coming back to reality.

"Siladrin. They took him. Believe it was Covac, or Maev."

Larian's hand went to his face, he was in disbelief. He was angry at Amlin for a moment, the temptress.

"What can I do? Send me to the mountain!" He didn't understand why his mother seemed so calm and meditative, he didn't know that she had been anything but for most of the time he'd been distracted, she was in shock now.

"Go find Archymides, he'll tell you what we have planned," she said, trying to find her calmest tone as she rubbed his shoulders, trying to calm him down, not wanting him to do anything rash, bringing him back to life as Archymides had done for her.

Larian tried to leave immediately but Galian hugged him once more, he was afraid, but for her, his father had never been the most important life in his life, it was her.

"I'm fine," he assured her, though his mind was racing and he already had a headache.

Archymides had been showing Larian maps since he was a small boy, "this is Grimsever, you have to take a ship to get there," which he later learned when he went there himself when he was nearly twenty but he didn't recall anything Archymides had been talking about when he got there. Even now, in the war room with the man who had always seemed to be the same age, he couldn't remember a time he didn't have white hair, Larian's mind was on anything but the map. He was feeling something strong, vague feelings that he traced back to childhood with his father but the memories were like half-forgotten dreams.

"Are you listening?" The old man asked, he really should have been a school teacher.

"Of course I am," Larian moved closer to the map, trying very hard to focus. Archymides began again.

"The unit will follow the Farad River all the way around the mountain, that will, after a few days lead them to the Srayill Sea."

"Re-supply at the docks?" The young prince asked, Archymides had never regarded the young man as dense, in fact when he really applied himself he welcomed his intellect and advice.

"Exactly, from there the road takes them into the Siladrin Mines, the mine takes you to the pass, from the pass, the lair is only hours away."

Larian wanted to comment on how boring it seemed but realized that really wasn't the point, it wasn't a scenic walk in the garden. He pointed at the woods, the Dorcha Woods drawn harshly near Srayill Beach.

"This forest here is home to Troll Giants, but if we bypass them, maintain a path along the beach until we hit Talamn Gan Rath."

"It might be safer but we don't have time for such a long detour."

Galian had been looming near the door, which hadn't closed completely, she invited herself in, she was the Queen after all.

"What about the Dormid Cave Pass? That's the quickest way."

Larian thought such a suggestion would have stopped the old man's heart. Indeed it had gone through the Prince's mind too but they were desperate times, they watched the old man, half ready to rush to his side, but he actually seemed amused.

"It's good to see your sense of humor restored, your grace," Archymides laughed, the tone raspy and he coughed to clear his throat.

Larian was intrigued.

"Isn't that pass blocked off for a reason? Nobody who ventured in ever came out."

"Nobody that we know of," she reminded him.

"I'd rather meet a giant's club than face whatever is in that place," Archymides said and turned his attention to the map, wanting to stop wasting time on such pointless suggestions.

"I'm going to be leading them, I'll make the call when I'm out there," Larian said, forming an early idea of a grand plan as he stood there with his arms crossed. He noticed her eyes meet the strategist's and wondered what they were hiding from him.

"Actually, my dear boy, you won't be leading anyone," his mother said, the better one to break the news he didn't want to hear. She was relieved he didn't get angry but still saw the searching in his eyes.

"I'm ready for this," he said sternly, thinking his stance would sway her.

She hugged him and held him, she smiled at first but thought she might make him feel childish so straightened her face. "I know you are but, think of this, you are our only heir, who knows what the monsters will do with your father?" She could sense him slowly coming around, it annoyed him but that didn't matter. "If we lose him, Dim-Eden will need a king, who will it be if you die trying to save the current one?" Larian fell quiet, knowing she had a point.

"I won't sit by and do nothing," the guilt was still probing him. He felt useless, stupid.

"No of course you won't. I assure you that won't be the case."

"What do you have in mind then?"

She rubbed his arms once and let go of him, the smile returned to her face.

"Archymides and I are setting off to get the largest holds in the reach to honor the sacred treaties."

"You're gathering an army?" Larian asked, her task sounded much harder and more dangerous than fighting the dragons.

"Covac's dragons did not retreat across the sea as we thought, they're close, they're a threat and we must defeat them once and for all."

"But what does this have to do with me?"

Galian's smile grew bigger, "you will take your Father's seat in our stead."

That sounded like the worst idea of all possible ideas to him, he didn't want anything to do with it. There was no conceivable way to get him excited about it.

"You're sure?" Was his initial answer, hoping she might sense the trepidation in his voice and offer an alternative choice.

She did sense his trepidation but only straightened his shirt, grooming him further for the role. "What better training?" She wondered aloud.

Larian reluctantly nodded at least, because he couldn't find a way out. "I'll do what you think is best."

"I know you will, you've never disappointed," that was a lie, but a lie with a purpose, "but first, before any of this is put into motion, we must gather volunteers for the Siladrin journey."

"The men going to Siladrin aren't coming back are they?" The blunt question gave them all a bit of a jolt.

"The mission is to free the king, at any cost," Galian said, solemnly. The way she said it made the plan sound different to her, wrong somehow.