What…is this? Where am I?
My blurry vision swam like a torrential storm every ti I moved my head. Everything made little to no sense, I could see what looked to be countless figures watching , but they were completely distorted just like the world around . And to make matters all the more confusing, I didn’t seem even to have a grasp of ti or even my own body.
Is this a dream?
As if rely having the thought, the world around changed ever so slightly. I let my head lull down as it felt like I was holding sothing in my hands. In my arms was a vague figure; the only discernible thing about it was the abnormally bright crimson liquid that seed to pool out of it.
And without reason, my hands moved to stem the infinite tide, only to fare miserably as my hands were stained red. At first, I felt nothing but disoriented. Then a deep-seated feeling gripped my heart—an imnse loss.
But what did I lose? And how did I lose it?
I blinked, and the world around rushed my senses. I felt my heart thumping in my chest as I looked around, dazed and confused. I looked right at my hands, free of the blood that stained them, the odd sense of loss gone like a ghost. The world seed to fix itself.
It was just , in my living room, along with a pair of sleepy blue eyes looking at expectantly. “Daddy, did you have a nightmare?” Mila asked through a yawn.
I ruffled her orange hair and smiled. “I believe I did,” I said.
Mila scooted up and wrapped her arms around my neck while she muttered, “No more nightmares, okay?”
The warmth of that hug was worth a thousand nightmares. I’d have one every night if it were the prize.
With a full heart, I chuckled and ran fingers through her hair. “Yes, no more nightmares,” I said softly.
Seemingly pleased with my response, it only took a few breaths of ti before Mila was back asleep for her mid-day nap. I let her drift off fully before laying her back down on the couch. My eyes narrowed as I reached into my mind.
Did you sense any foul play?
After a few deep breaths of ti, a voice answered in my head, “None. It was just a normal dream as far as I could tell.”
Are you certain? That dream…it felt odd.
“As most dreams are. Ruling out the ddling of these things can’t be completely guaranteed, but at the very least, it wasn’t overt,” he said calmly.
Alright, that’s better than the alternative. We are expecting an unwanted guest soon. Have you devised your ans to handle it?
“Oh, I have. We’ll be ready.”
—
“Prince Xander,” I said with a short bow.
“Lord Shadowheart,” he responded with a curt nod.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to guide ,” I said honestly.
Xander didn’t let anything show on his face as he answered in an even tone, “Mother tasked with arranging this…eting. The man is not exactly the best of guests, nor a fine host.”
“Then please, lead the way,” I said.
Xander began taking through the palace to et with the man who held the entire Gryphon rearing and breeding operation in his hands, as his family was the only one who knew of the thods. Apparently, he was a difficult man to et as he spent most of his ti in the mountains with the flock.
He would only co down in tis of great need when Gryphons needed treatnt or riders needed to be trained, which was only a handful of tis a year. And after the recent events, it just so happened that he was in town, sparing the arduous journey to the west to find him and his secret base.
“What kind of man is this Mr. Graz?” I asked curiously.
Xander frowned at the ntion of the man’s na and muttered, “Difficult as he is eccentric.”
I raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I would believe that you didn’t think very highly of the man,” I said.
“The man himself? It’s as you say. But his and his bloodlines' abilities speak for themselves. His arrogance is not without the skills to back it. And his loyalty to his mission is unquestionable. I can only wish he was more amiable,” he complained.
All I could do was nod, and I couldn’t help but notice the prince lacked his dilgent today. “Duly noted. Where is Sir Vasquez? Is he well?” I asked.
“Attending to his duties. He is too valuable to be strapped to my side at all tis,” Prince Xander said evenly. “We’ve arrived. Take care not to strike out. It’s only protecting its master.”
“Whose protecting who?” I asked cautosley as Xander opened the door.
“You’ll see shortly,” he muttered.
We made it to the side of palace, a wide open grassy space spanned quite a distance until a towering stone structure made of stone could be seen. Holes were cut into it, and Grpyhons constantly flew in and out of them, so resting in their nooks lazily.
A handful of people moved to and from the bottom resting holes, tossing in the occasional slab of at. The giant monsters greedily devoured entire chunks in a single nash of their beaks. While Gryphon nights stood by their mounts, so readying them for flight, or just returning from sowhere else.
Although Xander was leading the way as he began reaching the central stone tower, his steps began to slow. And it wasn’t long until the reason why beca clear as an ear-piercing screech rang through the air.
Xander put out a hand to stop as a white streak flew from the sky and skidded over the group, tearing up the grass and tossing it in every direction. An enormous Grpyhon had appeared, twice the size of even the largest one I had personally seen.
The Gryphon reared back, spreading its wings to their full length as if it stopped us. Unlike most of its kin, its feathers and fur were entirely black. The creature lood over us and glared down at us with its golden eyes. But it didn’t radiate any bloodlust, nor did it seem ready to actually attack.
“This must be that bodyguard,” I asked
Xander slowly nodded his head. “Yes, a matriarch of one of the flocks and a personal beast to Mr.Graz. It won’t let people get too close to its master unless Graz gives permission first,” Xander said.
“Smart beast,” I said in admiration.
“Still a beast, sadly. Can’t distinguish who should rightfully be where,” Xander griped.
Little big for a guard dog, but who's to complain?
Xander didn’t say anything else as he impatiently waited for Graz’s arrival, even if he tried not to show it. Thankfully, one of the stable hands had made an effort to go fetch the man. And after a few minutes of waiting, he finally ca.
Xander’s comnt about the man being eccentric wasn’t just about his personality, it seed. The Human man was rather short, wore a thick coat of fur and feathers that was undoubtedly that of a Grypons. It was worn down from ti and use to an extre degree and clearly was not designed for him, let alone tailored.
But it wasn’t that he was too young to fit in the coat, no, he seed rather old, far older than I expected. His long black hair was thin and wispy, and with a bright patch of freckled skin directly at the top. It was…not the best of haircuts. Or maybe they were just difficult to find in the mountains.
Graz walked up the large Gryphon as he gently patted its wings, his eyes never leaving us. The large monster let out a squawk of happiness as it glared at specifically before flying off.
The man licked his dry lips and said, “Wat you want, Sir Prince?”
Prince Xander narrowed his eyes but eventually just sighed in defeat. “My mother sent the request, which you approved. Your guest is here. Please see to him and hear him out,” Xander said.
Graz’s dark green eyes drifted to , looking up and down before asking, “Whose this guy?”
Well…it’s been a while since I heard that.
“Viscount Kaladin Shadowheart. You may be more familiar with his title of Dragonslayer, though,” Xander answered.
So light of recognition flashed in Graz’s gaze as he nodded, impressed all of a sudden. “You the Dragonslayer, huh? Guess I was thinkin you’d be older. You did right by , heard you saved a lot of my flock in these fights. I’ll hear ya out,” he said.
“Much appreciated, sir,” I said. As I walked toward the man, I noticed Xander was coming and asked, “Coming along, Your Highness?”
“No…I believe that I’m not required. Do enjoy yourselves, I have work to attend to,” he said with a curt wave.
“Co along, Dragonslayer. Tell this one of your tales and all that,” Graz yelled.
I followed the man into the central tower, where a group of stable hands were working on a sleeping, or more likely, sedated Gryphon. The pungent stench of animals and so kind of dicinal herb wafted over to , making my eyes water. Graz went right back to his rickety wooden chair and began pointing out where a stable hand had applied too much of the salve.
I cleared my throat to grab the man's attention, and he turned toward slowly. “I’d like to have this conversation in private. At least with out other people,” I requested.
Graz clapped his hands and showed the others away. “You heard the man, move yourselves out here. I’ll co get you all later,” he bellowed.
Once it was just us, and since I didn't have a seat, I decided it was best to get things over with. “Judging by your character, I’ll get straight to the point, Mr. Graz. I need Gryphons, ones that are different from the usual type I imagine,” I said.
As if a switch was flipped, the aloof man’s gaze darkened. “My flock you want, huh? Seeing as it's you and it was Queen’s request, I’ll at least hear your request. But be known, if it’s just war birds, you ain’t gettin a single one. I don’t sell to people, even soone as great as you, son,” the man warned.
“That’s perfect. I want Gryphons that wouldn’t make the cut for war birds. I want ones that have a high amount of stamina, moderate strength to bear loads, and aren’t afraid of going high and can be stable in the air with said weight,” I said politely.
Graz licked his dry lips as his eyes narrowed. “Sounds like you want rchant birds? I don’t do that kind of stuff for people. So old ones get used by the kingdom, but that’s their business. Give’em a good life after battle, far as I’m concerned. Sorry, son,” he said, turning around.
“Who said anything about rchants? They’ll be carrying cargo, but not designed for the market. No, they’ll be against enemies. Specifically dropping them atop their heads,” I said.
Graz hesitated for a mont before turning around, parting his thin hair from his face. “Mmm, you ain’t the first, son. Many have tried, so just know it’s a waste of ti, I tell you, mages on war birds are far better,” he said.
“I promise you, Mr. Graz. You’ve never seen, nor could you even guess, what I plan to do. Tell , you said mages are ideal, right? Out of the four basic elents, what’s the best choice of mage for targeting large groups or key points of interest?” I asked.
Graz stuck his tongue out slightly as he brought up a finger. “Well, the best of the best is a good fire mage. Those little alchemy fires or whatever people call’em can’t hold a candle. Group of fire mages can level an army if they ain’t paying attention, not to say much of so poor town.”
He brought up a second finger and said, “Earth gotta be next best thing. Dropping big rocks on a man? Don’t need a genius to know what that’s gonna do. The other two? Better at defense and close fights.”
“And consider for a mont that both of those have to be relatively close to their target. They have to see their enemy and be in range of spells. Not to ntion finding a mage, training them, and even having a pool of mana sufficient for a lot of usage. Even then, most are going to be Interdiate, maybe so Experts. But once they are out of mana, they need at least a day to rest most of the ti. I imagine the Gryphons could go longer if they could,” I pointed out.
Graz nodded to himself a few tis before shrugging. “Yeah, that’s about how it works,” he muttered.
“Then what I’m doing is going to need no mages. The stamina required would be purely on the Gryphons themselves. And the power? Every single Gryphon and rider would be able to produce an Interdiate mage’s firepower, if not greater, while staying so high in the air that the enemy won’t even have a chance to fight back,” I said confidently.
Graz narrowed his eyes again as he wagged a finger. “Tall tales, Dragonslayer. If that be possible, it be done,” he said.
“Aren’t you curious if I’m right? Your family did the impossible once. Why not change history a second ti?” I offered.
Graz seed to mull it over for a mont before coming to a decision. “You ain’t a normal guy. Hard to say you lying when Queen is behind you. And if you can kill a Dragon, why not this? Mmm…alright, I’ll play along, but you ain’t getting more than one for now til you prove yourself. If you can’t manage a show with that, you won’t be getting anything else outa . My flock is not your test table,” he said.
“Perfect, how long to train the bird and the rider? Rider only needs a moderate amount of mana enhancent and has a decent enough talent for learning,” I asked.
Graz put up a hand and stopped . “Never said it was free, Dragonslayer—seven large gold. This is comin out my pocket, and Queen ain’t gonna fund for a one-ti deal, nor am I gonna ask. So—oh…” he trailed off.
Seven large gold marks fell into the man’s outstretched hand. “So about that titable?” I asked.
Graz looked concerned but shrugged to himself. “Gimmie til winter. I’ll have a bird that makes those specifications of yours. Gonna have to send an estimated weight though,” he said.
“Consider it done. It’ll be a pleasure changing the world with you, Mr. Graz.”
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