“Do you have anything I can borrow to look a bit more menacing?” I ask Laira as soon as I step through the door.

“I’m even afraid to ask why…” She looks me over.

“I’m going to see his assholeness. I need to leave a lasting impression that you don’t screw with me, more than once, and live to tell the tale.” That sounded better in my head… Oh well.

“In that case. Think I have just the thing.” She goes upstairs. “Come on!” She shouts to me. Oh right. I follow her to the room at the back of the hallway. There I find all kinds of trinkets, weapons, armor – anything you might need to withstand a siege. Wow.

“This is something unexpected of you, sis.” To say I’m impressed isn’t describing the true emotions I feel walking around that room.

“I didn’t do it for me.” Laira opens a wardrobe. “I did it for you.” She points at whatever is inside there. I come up to it a bit confused and take a look. Unbelievable.

“How did you ever get this?”

“A dear friend of mine gave it to me years ago and said to keep it safe for you.” I look at her. She stands there grinning at me all proud. Yeah, right.

“Can’t believe it…” I’m amazed. I’m staring at my old armor from fifty years ago. The same one I wore into battle. My best combination of power and protection. And it looks brand new! But I knew it was my gear. As much as well looking it is now, it still had its own scars. There were cuts and holes, where I got hurt, from ages ago. Every piece of the armor is here. From the chest piece and the cloak to my rings and bracelets. I turn to Laira.

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing. Let me know if you need help with it.” She leaves the room. I take my robe off and put the armor on. Savoring the feeling of the heavy leather on my skin. Every piece fit perfectly. I feel the magic surge through me. With each piece I feel stronger. More powerful. Fearless. Back then I left the armor behind because I thought it would be too painful for me to wear it. It reminded me too much of the events I wished to forget. But feeling the leather on my skin right now, feels nothing short of reassuring to say the least. I put the last bracer on and look at the mirror. The only thing different from that day, besides my hair, which was shorter then, was the look I have in my eyes. If the last time when I wore my armor, I was dead inside, now, I’m full of rage and determination. Let’s do this. I go downstairs.

“Well?” I ask Marcus and Laira for their opinion like a little girl before a date.

“Menacing it is.” Marcus nods with approval.

“Good.” I say. “I’ll go then. If anything happens to me – Emerald will tell you.”

“As usual.” Laira nods. “Oh! I almost forgot!” She rushes over to me and puts something in my hand.

“I’ve been meaning to give it to you, so it’s easier to stay in touch, when you mentioned Emerald I remembered.” She gave me a Lector stone. “Both of us have the same one, so if you need anything.”

“That’s helpful. Thanks.” I push the stone into one of the slots on my bracer. I shake my wrist to see if it’s secure enough. The stone doesn’t even budge.

“There, all set.” I look it over. “I’ll see ya.” I tell the two of them and leave. I already want to shift and take flight but then I change my mind and go into the stables.

“Hey there girls, doing well?”

“Just fine.” Emerald answers. Storm makes a low roar.

“Good.” I take Storm’s saddle of the wall but then put it back. It’s gonna look more hardcore if I ride her without it. Strom follows me with her eyes.

“Let’s go.” I tell her petting her just below the eye. “We’re gonna have some fun.” Storm roars louder this time.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Child.” Emerald reminds me of that every chance she gets.

“Can’t promise anything!” I yell to her from the outside while climbing onto Storm’s neck.

“Fly!” I call out and Storm takes off.

It doesn’t take long before we reach the castle. Carefully, I maneuver Storm towards the main tower, where the main hall is. To my advantage, the King is right in the middle of a Congress meeting with the other Officials.

“Come on, Storm, let’s put on a special performance for them!” I tell my dragon. She knows what I mean, the instant I say it. Storm climbs up to the sky and then dives straight down, swooping into the hall, through the huge arch window, right where the Officials are gathered. Once inside, the chatter stops, as everyone now has their eyes locked on us. Storm spreads her wings to their full length and gently lands in the middle of the table. Not a single word or sound leaves almost twenty mouths sitting in their high chairs. That’s right, guess who’s back… I jump of the back of my dragon and land on the table. I scan the faces quickly. Without Tahon, I recognize three more Officials.

“Ah, Deathbreeze, we were just about to discuss your coming back into the Army.” The king finally opens his mouth.

“I’d love to hear more about that.” I walk over to the edge of the table, holding Tahon’s gaze. I know he’s bluffing about that. The faces of the twenty higher ups give that much away.

“Oh, but please, don’t let me interrupt you, do continue, your Highness. “ I bow overly obvious and wait humbly for the king to speak.

“Well,” his heart beat gives him away as he speaks; “if you insist.” Oh yes, I do. I go over to Storm and sit next to her. She puts her head in my lap and we sit like that for a couple of hours. I gaze upon the shadows as they move along with the sun… In that time, I learn that in fifty years one thing, surely, hasn’t changed. These assemblies are boring to death still… I sigh. It makes me think to the times, when the three of us would be the main attraction in these things, fighting for new ideas and reforming old rules, to bring in some kind of improvements to the land. Unfortunately, the old geezers that were the Officials, back in the day, never took us seriously, since we were the three youngest soldiers’, to be declared Officials, and me – being a War Chieftain, didn’t sit well with most men. Except Crile. He never seemed to care about titles… That was one of the reasons why I… A loud noise wakes me up from my thoughts. Strom raises her head and looks to the left. One of the Officials is raging about something. I need a couple of moments to focus my attention and tune in on what he is screaming about.

“This is preposterous! You expect the Army to follow her! She has been presumed dead for over half the century!” Oh, so now we are talking about me.

“She is one of the few survivors of the last Great Battle. We need her knowledge.” Tahon speaks in my favor.

“We have Sir Crile for that! Why bring this thing back!” The geezer is furious. I knew I wasn’t going to be welcomed back with opened arms and drinks but calling me a “thing” is a bit much. I get up. So does Storm.

“If you are displeased with me, you could at least have the decency to speak to me directly, My Lord.” I walk over to the raging Official and look down at him. He shuts his mouth and stands there with both of his fists on the table, staring right back at me. I see the anger. The pain. The torment in his eyes. I screen through my memories. Even taking back fifty years of his face I still could not remember him. If I have wronged him in the past somehow, I had no idea how to make it right now. I’m gonna have to find out what’s the deal here later. The king’s voice echoes through the room.

“Well then, I would suggest the end of this Congress meeting. You will be informed about our next meeting within a week. I appreciate you being here today.” Tahon raises from his seat and stands there until all of the Officials leave. Well. Except the three, which I recognized. They stand by the doors for a minute, looking at me. I look at them and nod. They leave. Tahon speaks to me.

“You sure have a way of pissing people off.” He’s calmer but more irritated now.

“Did you expect me to just sit and do nothing?” I try to play it out my way.

“I expected you to act as of your position!” His tone rings through the giant, empty room.

“What would that be?” I ask. He hesitates. “As much as I hate to admit it. The old fart had truth to his words.” I pause. Tahon’s expression shifts. He speaks.

“Unfortunately, yes. I was hoping I could bring it up later in the meeting but when you crashed it, there wasn’t much I could do.” He lets his guard down for a moment but then quickly gets into the commanding tone once again. “What do you want?”

“It’s not about what I want. It’s about what needs to be done.” I look at him. He knows.

“I will make the announcement of your return at the end of the month. It will take a lot of effort for me to convince the Congress.” The King sits in his throne.

“Do as you will. But if you expect me to train the soldiers and strategize once more, you better make it so, that I would have to deal with as less bullshit as possible. Otherwise.” I get onto Storm and we fly out the window. I realize that was an obvious bluff but I didn’t come down here for nothing. There has to be something I can get out of this and I gave it my best shot. Considering the bastard is holding my land and its people hostage – he got off pretty easy there… Ugh.

“Storm. Up.” I pat her head and neck as she climbs up toward the roof of the tower. There’s little chance they would be there but even so. We land on the roof and I jump down into the balcony. I walk through the halls of the east wing. The closest one to the training grounds. I step into the side hall. There they are.

“Chieftain.” The woman speaks. The two men turn around. Images pop up in my head. These three were fighting with me in the Great Battle. Even if it has been half a century since then. I see young soldiers ready to fight. Not old people. I smile.

“Milady.” The Noxian male kneels. The other two follow.

“Commander.” They speak to me with such respect. I feel it.

“Please. Don’t.” I ask them but they don’t move. I kneel next to them and touch the men by the shoulders.

“Raise your heads, soldiers.” They look at me. “Now rise.” They wait a moment yet stand up anyways. “Thank you.” I bow my head.

“Commander.” The Cornutese male speaks. “We are thrilled to see you are alive and well.” His voice trembles.

“Yes.” The Primerian woman speaks again. “Although…” I cut her off.

“No need. I understand your confusion. Trust me when I tell you – I didn’t choose this.”

“It’s not that.” The Noxian says. “Why did you disappear? Everyone thought you were dead.”

“I apologize.” I have nothing else to say.

“Doesn’t matter.” The Cornutese says. I look at him a little confused.

“The real question is, if all what The King said is true?” He pauses. “Are you here to lead us again, Commander?”

I look to the ground. I don’t know if I can trust them or not. So, I’m not sure how much I should tell them. I hesitate. I feel the seconds pass and it feels like torture. I wait a moment longer. Screw it.

“That’s the idea.” I tell them. This will have to do for now. I need to wait for their response, if I’m gonna tell them anything else.

“Why now?” The Primerian is just as much confused as me. “After all this time?”

“Well, one reason is – it took them a while to find me. Next – it’s almost time for the Rebirth.”

The three of them go quiet very quickly. Oh yeah… That's the topic no one ever wants to touch with a ten-foot pole…

“Commander.” The woman speaks first. “We are loyal to you still.”

“She is right.” The Noxian agrees.

“We will always stay loyal to you, Chieftain.” The Cornutese seals it. I look them over but don’t say a thing. The Primerian speaks again.

“We are indebted to you.” Her voice has a nostalgic note to it.

“You saved the three of us back then.” The Cornutese has the same tone as the woman.

“I remember.” I hear the words escape my mouth before I realize it. More images flash in my mind. The woman is a Cleanser. I saved her from the falling stone spikes at the very beginning. The Cornutese man is a Hunter. A Provider. He almost got dragged into a mouth of a Magma Eater. Only then I notice he is missing an arm. I did that… I guess they couldn’t heal him. The Noxian is a Warrior. I remember ripping into the neck of a Necromancer to set the Warrior free from the Bone-Chains. It wasn’t like me to oversee someone in need. That’s why, if anything like that happened in my line of sight, I just had to jump in and help. Yet somehow, now, I don’t feel like a hero. I look at the Cornutese.

“Please. Accept my deepest regrets.” I bow my head and kneel.

“Chieftain, please.” I hear him speak softly. “An arm is a small price to pay for the years I spent happily with my family.” His words a tiny studder. I get back to my feet.

“I’m glad to know that.” I smile and look them over once more. The woman raises her robes, exposing her left leg.

“All I have is a deformed limb but I never regretted entering the fighting forces all those years ago, and I don’t now either.” She sounds more like a fighter.

“All of us are still here only because you took the time to help us.” The Noxian bows his head a little and then looks straight at me. “We will always stay true to our Commander.”

“Yes.” The Cornutese speaks again. “If there is anything you need us to do.”

I raise my hand. “That’s fine. For now, we will leave it at that. I’m glad to see familiar faces. I do wonder if you know anything about any other of the survivors.” It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.

“Yes. There are some still alive.” The Noxian hurries to answer. “All of them in fact have the Lector stones. That’s how we stay in touch.” He shows his stone that he has as one of his trinkets, hidden in his hair. I smile. That’s good to know. I want to leave already but then an idea comes to mind.

“Tell me. The one Official that was so displeased with me back there. Who is he?”

They steal glances at each other. Something’s up.

“It’s ok if you can’t tell me.”

“That’s not it, Milady.” The Noxian’s the first to open his mouth. “He is a descendent of one of the Fallen Ones…” He pauses. He doesn’t have to finish. I know what he means by that. He holds a grudge against me. That explains it.

“I see.” I turn around. I was foolish to think people would forget about the war.

“Commander.” The woman reaches for me. “I know what you are thinking. But in reality, there are very little people like that.”

“Even so. Today was just the beginning. The word will spread about my come back. There will be more enraged and displeased like him.”

“There won’t be.” The Cornutese walks up in front of me. “You have your army. All we need is an order.” He kneels. I turn around. So do the other two. Something tugs at my heart.

“Rise.” I speak to them as their Commander once more. “As your commanding officer I give my orders.” They stand up surrounding me.

“Gather up anyone left from the Battle and have them ready on standby, just in case I need you. If anyone can come to the Royal City – have them travel here.”

“Yes, Chieftain.” They answer in unison. I smile at them.

“For the time being, call me Deathbreeze, please.” I extend my hand towards them. The Noxian’s the first one to catch on.

“Adamantis.” He shakes my hand. The Cornutese is second.

“Freeter.” I nod as he takes my hand.

“Hannah.” The woman snaps out of it the last and also shakes my hand.

“You three are now my eyes and ears at the Palace. If you need to contact me, use Laira Evergreen. I’m sure you know of her?”

“One of the few exceptional healers.” Hannah ensures me.

“Perfect.” I step outside the ring they made around me. “I will find you if I need you. And please, if possible, stay low.” I bow, so do they.

“Take care.” I turn and walk away. I get back on the roof where Storm’s enjoying the rays of sunshine. She looks at me and makes a low growl. Not the kind where she is be happy to see me. I sigh.

“Wanna stay here a bit longer?” I pet her just below the jaw. She almost purrs. I laugh quietly.

“Fine.” I take of the chest piece and the lower half of the leg armor off, and laid there on the roof of the tower, sunbathing next to my dragon. For some strange reason I haven’t felt this peaceful in a long while.

“Emerald?” I reach for her.

“I’m here.” Her deep tone always sends shivers through my body.

“We will be back a bit later today, Storm wants to sunbathe.”

“No surprise. She has been hiding out in those snowy tops for half the century.”

That makes me sick. All because of me. “Tell me.” I ask Emerald. I feel her hesitate.

“Child.” Her voice gives it away. Instantly, I get pissed off.

“Damn it, Emerald, just tell me!” I spit the words out. “I did this to her. I need to know how much she suffered because of it.” I try to control myself. “Please…” I finally ask her.

“I will show you, Child.” I close my eyes. Blurred images flash in the darkness. I see the mountains. I feel the freezing cold. I see what Storm saw. I feel and hear what she did. That was one of Emerald’s gifts. She possessed the ability to put images in your mind from her memories or take them from you. Since Storm and Emerald spent some time in the stables, it came to me as no shocker that Emerald would know what happened to Storm. I can feel her heartache. I see creatures attacking her. Hunters shooting arrows. I see her bleed. Yet she never left that cave. I feel her weaken, because of the lack of food. I see her stretch her wings in the sky. I feel her longing for me. She fought for survival. She fought to stay alive with one thought in mind. To see me again. I open my eyes and feel the tears roll down my face.

“Forgive me…” My voice breaks as I try to speak. My body shakes. I can’t take it. The pain and suffering I brought upon her. Yet.

“If you can ever forgive…” I roll on my side and gaze upon my poor dragon. Storm looks back at me and lays her head near me. We stay like that for some time. As soon as the clouds cover the sun, we move. Storm takes us back to the house. Just Emerald is there. I take Storm inside and feed her. I sit with them. We don’t speak. Time goes by and all I can think of is Sky. Starlight’s dragon. My dragon had the ability to shoot out her scales out of her wings, making it rain tiny daggers. The wings were the only part of her body where the scales would regenerate. Meteor had the ability to set his wings on fire and was able to control the strenght of the flames. So, if Storm and Meteor were more of a fighting type, then Sky was a protector. He’s special ability was to harden his wings making it almost impossible to penetrate or cut. His only job was to provide us cover when we fought in the sky. And he and Starlight did that perfectly. I have to find him. Bad news is. I have no idea where to start. I might have a clue. But. I’m not loving the idea... I hear a noise outside. Marcus and Laira have come back. I step outside to greet them.

“Breeze!” Laira jumps off her horse. “We heard what happened at the Congress today. You alright?” She leads her mount inside.

“Just fine. Why? Did you think I would incinerate the Royal Palace because one geezer didn’t like me?” I grin with my best deranged smile.

Laira giggles yet Marcus isn’t amused.

“Now - I do think that…” He says. I laugh.

“Relax. I’m not delusional.” I turn to Laira. “When you have a moment, I need to speak with you.” She looks all surprised but nods nonetheless. Once both Marcus and Laira have their mounts settled inside the stables, Laira comes up to me and we go for a walk. We don’t speak until we are further away from the cabin. Finally, she asks me.

“What is it?”

“I need you to tell me the exact spot where Crile is staying at in the Palace.”

“Why? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with him?” She’s a tad confused.

“There’s one thing I need to take care of before I know if I can trust him.” I keep staring at the ground.

“He’s staying in your old room at the Palace.” That gets my attention. I stare at her. She feels my surprise.

“Don’t worry. Only few people remember that small detail.” She looks away.

“I see.” I want to shift but Laira stops me.

“Breeze, you know he cares about you.”

“Sadly, yes. I am aware.” I look to the ground again. I so don’t want to deal with this now.

“It’s not my place to tell you this. But. Can I at least ask why?” She lets go of my arm.

“I don’t deserve to be happy.” I whisper and fly off. I shake my head as I climb higher. Not now. I don’t want to deal with it right now. One is obvious. I will have to face the music sooner or later. And I pray for later. Now I just have to find out what happened to Sky. And so, here I am. I fly to the Palace again. I can get to my old room with my eyes closed. I used to sneak in and out of it all the time. That was before we built the cabin. It was easy when I had wings. Even Starlight would join me. Ever since I was a child I couldn’t stand being looked up between the walls of the Palace. So, leaving the castle without anyone knowing became my habit. Even when I was free to do as I wished here, I still had to act to my title. But that was boring as hell. We had to party sometimes… That made me feel all nice and warm for a second. Moments pass and I see The Royal City’s lights in the distance. The view is amazing. It takes my breath away each time I see it. Even more so after fifty years. I make my way diving between the towers and the buildings. Stealing glances down into the streets. Everyone seems to be having fun. I wish to join them. Maybe someday. Finally, I get to the west wing of the Royal Palace and climb straight up to the tallest tower. I fly in through the opening and land on the edge of it. It’s dark. No one’s here. I shift back and look around the room. To my surprise it’s exactly the same as I left it that day. Except there’s another bed in the middle of the room. Weird. But ok. Whereas mine stands right next to the huge window. The ledge I’m sitting on right now – is the one. I wait. It is late enough. If I knew him, he should be back from his evening training right after the lights would be lit in the main square. I gaze down. I loved this room, even if it wasn’t designed for living back then. I loved it because of the view. I see the square perfectly from up here. Not a single light yet. I watch the ruckus down there. Somehow it makes me feel at ease. I lay on my back and watch the stars. It takes a long while but I hear the door open. A knife flies straight at me as soon as the light hit the window. I catch it and spin it in between my fingers.

“You’re losing your aim.” I stand up on the ledge.

I‘m walking back to my room. Well, Her room, but I took it and left it exactly the same. One thing was changed - I put a new bed in the middle of it. I could never bring myself to sleep in Her bed. As soon as I open the door, I sense that someone is in here. I slide a knife out from the back and throw it across the room, right where the assailant is - on the ledge of the window. I expected to hear a groan or something but instead I hear a voice speak to me from the darkness.

“You’re losing your aim.” Breeze. No surprise. She’s the only person ever to be able to catch my knives. I get the torch from the hallway and step inside the room, turn and light the two torches on both sides of the door. There she is. Stunning as always. Standing in the middle of the window, spinning my knife with her fingers. I must have hit my head. This isn’t real. I put the torch back on the outside, walk in and shut the door behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask looking right at her. Hell. I have to be delusional.

“Don’t worry. This won’t take up much of your time. I just need an answer.” She’s even colder than the last time.

“What is it?”

“Sky.” One word. That isn’t even a question yet I know all that she wants to ask.

“He’s fine.” I walk over to the trunk. “Is that all?”

“I want to see him.” Hearing Breeze get all demanding like that turns me on every time.

“You can’t.” I take my shirt off and look at her. “You lost that privilege when you left him.” Just as you left me. I want to tell her but now it’s me who lost the privilege to do such a thing.

“Don’t you think I know that?” She throws the knife and it sticks into the wood on the door.

“Then what do you want with me?” I take the blade out and slide it back in its sheath on my belt.

“Tell me where he is.” As cold as she is, I’m enjoying every moment she’s here.

“No.” I tell her plain and simple.

“Crile!” She growls.

“I won’t tell you. I can only show you.” I stand there half naked, looking straight at her. She has her fingers curled up into fists. I miss her so much.

“Just tell me.” She snarls the words out.

“He won’t trust you.” I hold her gaze. “It took me months to calm him down after all that happened. He hasn’t moved from the place I hid him at since then. I won’t tell you where he is. The only way you’ll ever see him, is if I will be with there too. Now either deal with it and leave or give me an hour and I’ll take you there.” I raise my voice as I speak. As much as I care for her I‘m not about to give up on Sky that easily just because she’s finally back. She doesn’t say a word. I stand there waiting. Come on. Another minute passes by. Come on.

“I’ll be back in an hour.” She says and jumps down. An eye blink later a hawk flies away into the distance. Good enough for me. I take the rest of the clothes off and go bathe.

I fly off into the night toward the nearby forest. Damn it! I didn’t count on him being so protective. Well at least I got to find out that Sky’s still alive and well. Storm forgave me because she is my dragon. Sky lost his master. My insides turn again. Poor thing… I want to drop dead. I sit down on one of the tree tops and just stared into the abyss...