Julian's Story Chapter II: Dragon's Storm
“4645 Grakow-Zhi Zhigol 11:10. Location: Norisam Castle.”
In the brightly-lit great hall, attendants line the walls to assist in presenting this controversial event. On the other side of the large front doorway, people gathered to watch. Not to watch the brilliantly-decorated group of high-ranked knights in multi-colored armor that stood in front of the newly-appointed child-king, but to watch as their hero, whom the commoners had referred to as 'the people's hero' approached the center of the hall.
In red, the middle knight, covered completely head to toe in beautiful red armor and with gold trim like the rest, stood proudly in the middle of the group with her trusty sword planted in the ground in front of her. Both of her armor-covered hands were resting on the sword, giving a commanding presence to her stance.
On her right, a taller, yet leaner yellow-armored knight stood. He held a shield in his left hand. As his sword was sheathed, his right hand was free to wave and gesture at the crowded doorway, people whom he had selfishly viewed as attending this event for the group of knights, specifically him.
On the red knight's left, a blue-armored knight of similar height stood. This knight's back was stowing a large, one-handed battle axe. She had an impressively-large shield-like device of intricate design; even more so than the already-intricate armor than her group already wore.
On the far right end, on the other side of the yellow knight stood a particularly large knight in green armor. His twin battle axes sheathed in complex compartments on both sides of his armor. His average stance appeared powerful utilizing his wide frame, even though his arms were resting on either side of his massive torso.
On the left, behind the blue knight stood a beautiful purple knight, this one with his back and upper legs lined with uniform-designed spears. The knight appeared fidgety and bored; his arms crossed and his armored foot tapping against the red carpet.
On the far left, beside the blue knight and the second in front of the purple knight stood a shorter knight suited in orange. Despite having a large flail-type weapon mounted on her back, this knight had a musical instrument case in her left hand.
Approaching the middle, in front of the knights was a similarly-armored knight in white armor. A similarly tall, yet thin build as the yellow knight, but with a smaller frame. Carrying with her a large shield on her back with a sword underneath. She stopped a few meters directly in front of the red knight as she turned to face them, bowing out of respect.
“Sir Julian Elie Turner of Norisam!” the knight in red exclaimed. “We appreciate you accepting our offer. After the defeat of Mobukar, you've gained quite the popularity around here, and we would love for you to join us. But as a formality, before we can officially induct you into our ranks, we must send you on a trial mission.”
“A mission?” Julian asked.
“Are you familiar with the town known as Solero?” the purple knight asked.
“That town holds many secrets.” Julian answered. “Yes, I know of it. I also know that it has been plagued with dragons for decades.”
“Yet it still stands to this day.” the orange knight added. “It is a thriving community and a member of Norisam Kingdom. Yet not a tourist nor trader nor diplomat dare to venture there.”
Julian looked around at the group. “Surely you're not asking me to slay all those dragons.” she said. “As the Norisam royal knights, one of your most cherished tenets is to protect and serve creatures, especially dragons as you would an anoid.”
“Correct.” the red knight said. “And if possible, you must preserve the safety of any dragon or anoid you meet.”
“You are a skilled diplomat as well, Sir Julian.” the yellow knight added.
The red knight nodded. “Your target is called the 'Gem of Eternity'. The dragons attack any anoid in possession of it, as they see anoids as unworthy of its power. Mind this on your journey.”
“And you want me to destroy it?” Julian asked.
“Not necessarily.” the blue knight spoke up. “We just want that gem out of the possession of the Solerans.”
Julian began a subtle nod, turning to a more defined one. “Understood.”
“That will be all.” the red knight said.
“Then I shall take my leave.” Julian said before turning around to the front doorway where her crowd awaited her. She started walking away.
“Oh, and Julian...” the large green knight said, prompting the white knight to turn her head to him. “Good luck.”
Julian nodded to him, then turned back, walking out. The rest of the knights then slowly turned their heads toward the green knight, who looked away. After a beat, he up his left hand up to his mouth plate an pretended to clear his throat, then returned to a relaxed position.
“4643 Grakow-Zhi Nufgol 20:02. Location: Solero.”
Julian, dressed in a loose-fitting dark green shirt with brown trousers in an attempt to blend in with the country folk she was sure to meet walked into the gates of the town. She looked around, seeing nothing particularly out-of-the-ordinary. Intact brick houses scattered about with various carts, crates, and other supplies all around. She saw people going about their business. The town looked very 'normal'. Too normal, she thought, considering that it has been a closed economy for decades, not to mention a target for angry dragons.
She walked further in. The people started staring. Understandable, she thought, given their apparent alienation to the rest of the world. She looked to the distant hill. At the base, a fancy building resembling some of the administrative houses she was used to seeing stood in the shadows with several armed guards surrounding it. She sighed. “Well, better talk to someone...” she thought to herself.
“Welcome to Solero.” a middle-aged man greeted her. The man had a gray shirt on, eerily similar in design to Julian's, and a thick, rugged beard. He stood behind a large anvil with a smelting tool in his hand, suggesting that he was the town's blacksmith. “Name's Benton Krel. What can I do ya fer?”
“Julian Turner.” she said, introducing herself. “I'm a traveler... though I guess that's pretty obvious.”
The man sighed. “Look Julian. You came at a bad time. We got nothin' against you, but we don't usually accept visitors here.”
“Apologies, but I do have business to attend do here.” she said.
Benton shrugged, leaning over his anvil. “We uh... we just don't wanna see any outsiders get hurt. This is a particularly dangerous town to be in.”
“I don't think it's any more dangerous here than anywhere else.” Julian retorted. “Eight hundred people die every day worldwide.” She raised her eyebrows, nodding. “It's pretty dangerous out there.”
The blacksmith sighed, lowering his head.
“Look, I'm aware of your situation with the dragons.” she said. “I can take care of myself. Trust me.”
“Okay, okay...” he said.
“So uh... where's the closest inn around here?” she asked.
He looked up to her, raising an eyebrow.
“Right, you guys wouldn't have inns...”
“Look, I'll be straight with ya.” he explained. “I don't even think you'll be able to get a hookup for a room 'round here.”
Suddenly, the sound of a large wind gust swept the town. As Julian's instinctual reflexes kicked in just after noticing the large object fall from the sky, she saw its target; a boy in the street walking across with a grocery bag in his hands. She rushed over to him in a flash, scooping him up before the dragon's snout violently hit the ground.
As the coal-black dragon stood there, lifting itself up, a couple other townspeople, a young man and a young pregnant woman ran up to it. They noticed Julian, kneeling down with a boy pushing himself from her arms.
“W-we're so sorry!” the young man yelled at the beast.
“Please!” the pregnant woman yelled. “Take me instead!”
The dragon unhesitantly gobbled up the woman before Julian could rush it. It then leapt into the air, flying away from the town.
Julian scowled. She stood up as her white armor materialized on her. She then jumped toward the dragon. Before the dragon went too far, it stopped mid-air, hovering there with its powerful wings. It spit out one of the woman's boots. “Ugh! I hate it when they wear leather!”
Julian stopped in front of the creature. “I am here to make peace with you. Please leave this town alone until my business is resolv-”
“You dare interfere with matters that do not concern you, outsider?” the dragon bellowed.
“I am here as a mere diplomat.” she said.
“The only thing that will result from your interference is the destruction of that worthless town down there!” the dragon threatened. “Now BEGONE!” It blew a jet of flames towards Julian. After the flames cleared, the knight had vanished. The dragon looked around angrily before flying off.
“4643 Grakow-Zhi Nufgol 20:38. Location: Solero.”
Julian landed in front of the administrative house. Surprisingly, the guards stepped back, making space between her and the front door. She looked at the guard on the left, then turned her view to the one on the right. They both nodded toward the entrance, which then opened. She noticed an arm holding the door, with the rest of the person still hidden in shadow.
She stepped toward the entrance. “The elder is expecting you.” the voice of the shadow said.
“This sure sounds familiar...” Julian thought, remembering that line come out of the mouth of Rak Ubom.
She entered the hall, which was dimly lit with candlelight. A wide room with merely a red carpet lining the floor, decorative end tables set up to the far ends, and three doors attached to the far side. The middle door was open.
“She is through the middle door. Down the stairs.” The shadow said.
Julian nodded in acknowledgement, then headed toward the door. She started down the stairs. “Funny, this building didn't look that big, and we were certainly on the ground floor. Could this be a meeting chamber for the town...?” she thought as she cautiously walked down.
As she got to the bottom, the surrounding magilamps flickered to light. She looked over, seeing an elderly woman in a dark-colored robe sitting on the large-fancy chair that sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by couches. “Come in. Have a seat.” the woman said.
“Elder of Solero, I presume.” Julian said, walking over.
“That is correct.” the old woman confirmed. “My name is Akrel Akeroth. Please, have a seat.”
The knight walked to the couch that faced Akrel, sitting down. “My name is Sir Julian Elie Turner of Norisam. Apologies for presenting myself in my royal armor.” she said, removing her helmet. “The situation here... caught me off guard. And I thought I was prepared for anything...”
“Why, you're beautiful...” Akrel said upon seeing Julian's face. Her white hair. Her violet eyes which shined even in this darkened basement. “Your face... it's like gazing upon heaven.”
“I'm flattered.” Julian replied. “But if you wouldn't mind, we need to get down to business... please.”
Akrel smiled. “Sorry. You must be wanting to know about our situation with the dragons. Did Queen Nerg send you?”
“Queen Nerg died weeks ago.” Julian explained. “I was sent by the royal army.”
Akrel nodded with a blank look in her eyes. “I see...” she said softly.
“So.” Julian said. “The Gem of Eternity.”
Akrel sighed. “We made an agreement with the dragons.” she stated. “To prevent them from destroying the city.”
“An agreement...?” Julian asked, confused. “An agreement that lets your citizens get eaten?” She leaned in. “Or... did the agreement get broken?”
“No, you were right the first time.” Akrel said. “The Gem of Eternity is an irremovable power source, and it's embedded right in the middle of town. Underground, at least. It took a while for the dragons to notice we moved our town right on top of it. Its effects give us physical immortality. If we injure ourselves, the gem heals us. If we are to die, the gem reforms us within a week. They... the dragons... they think this power is too great for us anoids to benefit from.”
Julian nodded. “So they threatened to destroy Solero.”
“Yes.” Akrel confirmed. “But we weren't about to move from the home we built. We told them that if they tore our town down, we will just rebuild. If they slaughtered us, the gem would merely bring us back.”
“I see...” Julian said.
“So... we made an agreement with them. They allow us to stay in exchange for providing the dragons with food. The dragons wouldn't agree unless we offered ourselves as their food source, and... well...”
Julian's eyes wandered as the nature of the agreement sunk in.
“As long as we let the dragons eat us, we'll be fine, because our bodies will come back. The gem forms new bodies, exactly like the old ones, but returning our minds to them so the dragons still retain their nourishment. And we get to keep our homes. It's... not as peaceful as we'd like, but we had grown accustomed to this arrangement.”
“So... everyone here gets eaten by the dragons?” Julian asked.
“Not everyone.” Akrel said. “I haven't. Though I spend all my time in this cave.”
Julian looked around. “So it's not an actual basement after all...”
“The townspeople tell me stories though. It's apparently a very horrific experience getting eaten.” Akrel explained. “You either get bitten in half and die on the way down its throat or suffocate in the dragon's belly while you melt alive. The lucky times is when the dragon crushes your head with its teeth...”
“They want me to destroy the gem...” Julian spoke up, her soft, kind voice had a hint of sadness in it in reflection of what she had just heard. “...is there a reason I shouldn't?”
“Please don't.” Akrel pleaded. “There's about twenty-four townspeople eaten per week. But they only get revived by the gem weekly. If you destroy it now, the two-dozen townspeople who are currently not with us will be permanently gone.”
“S-so... you wish to keep this agreement the way it is?” Julian asked.
“I'd rather not go against the wishes of the kingdom, even if Queen Nerg has died. But... yes.” Akrel said.
Julian nodded subtly. “Then you will have my word. I shall leave Solero as I have found it.”
“Thank you, dear.”
“4643 Grakow-Zhi Skegol 15:20. Location: Norisam City.”
“Don't waste your time on that one.” the black-haired man said. The man had parts of the yellow knight armor on, but wearing few, sitting at a table casually as he leaned in to give advice to his petite companion, a woman with orange, curly hair and freckles, wearing her entire orange suit of armor, save for the helmet. “Kraga is a far better blacksmith. She can even blood-fuse!”
“Do I need blood-fused equipment though?” the orange knight asked.
The yellow knight thumb-pointed behind him, toward the blue and purple knights, whom were in the process of removing their armor. “Chyeah. If you wanna avoid their cheesy pranks again.”
The orange knight sighed, looking over at her comrades as the blue knight, pulling her unhelmeted, yet short dark purple hair out of her eyes grinning back at her.
The door flew open. In full armor, julian walked in. She sighed, walking over to the table where the yellow and orange knights were.
“Heya Jul!” the yellow knight greeted her. “How'd it go?”
“I just got back from reporting to Regent Jernov.” Julian said. “I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn down the offer to join you.”
“Say whaaaat?” the blue knight responded.
“That is unfortunate.” the red knight's voice spoke. A yellow-haired woman wearing black and red casual wear emerged from the corner, standing up. “We work so well together.”
“I'm sorry.” Julian said. “Destroying the gem would have meant killing innocents.”
“They're killed all the time!” the purple knight yelled. “The dragon attacks...!”
“So that's it?” the green knight spoke up, walking in as he removed his helmet. His dirty blond hair contrasted by his bright blue eyes. “You're...”
“I'll tell you about the situation in Solero later.” Julian said, removing her helmet. “See you all in the cafe.” She then turned, walking up to the green knight. She looked up at him, then away as she walked past him, out the door.
