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The Queen's Lament

"What do you mean the king is dead?"

"Dagger through the heart. An assassin's on the loose. You need to go home, now!"

"But what's going to happen?"

"I don't know Ray, I don't know. Do you have your promotion badge or papers yet?"

"Not yet, I was supposed to get them tomorrow. Why?"

"The palace is being locked down, and if you don't have any papers you're stuck here. Here, follow me."

Ray followed Sir Jovik to the side of the long aisle. Stairs led down under the palace, and the knight gestured at him to go in.

"Go through the catacombs. There's a secret exit that leads to an alley between a shoe store and a jewelry. Go down the aisle and make a left at King Vul, right at Queen Baron, go down all the way and right at King Wrynn, then a left between King Jon and Queen Malhite. There are ledges embedded into the wall there, just climb them like they were a ladder up to the manhole and go home."

Ray nodded and swept down the stairs into the damp graves of past kings. Dim magelights were cast onto torches that had never felt the burning touch of a flame, and Ray moved quickly through the tomb. Thankfully, the names of the old lords of Minos were marked because he had no idea who they were or how they looked compared to their statues.

After having to backtrack twice, Ray managed to reach the ladder up. Just as Jovik had said, he came out to a barely brighter alley between two stores on the main street. He peered out of the darkness and saw that a large group of men donned in the armor of the King's Vigil had already massed in front of the palace and blocked the way in or out. There was a loud commotion in the crowd of people on the street, but from the general gist of it seemed that nobody really knew what was happening.

Ray didn't know what to do either. A king hadn't been assassinated since the drafting of the Treaty of Four Feathers, and he couldn't fathom why Eios would choose to attack now when they're military strength was clearly much weaker than Minos's. The only thing he was sure of was that the streets would become chaos when the public learned of King Lorian's death, and he wasted no time sprinting back home.

As he ran, he thought about how unaffected his life would've been if he were like his birth father. A simple farmer wouldn't care who sat upon the throne of Minos, and news of the royal family probably would've been considered small talk to his friends. But he wasn't a simple farmer. He was a soldier, and war would be inevitable now. Would Queen Rysha vie for peace and attempt to negotiate with Eios? But Eios instigated the assassination, so would they even consider such an offer? Yet it was very obvious that the Minos Aerial Fleet outmatched Eios's forces in practically every area, and he couldn't think of any possible reason that Eios would have done this. Unless Queen Rysha was also targeted. It would've been an unthinkable break in security if the Queen and Prince Rhune were both also killed in the attack, but he would not receive word of it: being family with the Lord Commander of the King's Vigil meant nothing if he couldn't see his foster-brother, and there was definitely no way he was going out of the palace for a while.

Then again, maybe Yolun could bring news. Jovik's black dragon was not as important a figure as to be forced to stay in the palace during such a dire time, but it was still rather unlikely that either of them would leave the royal family's side until Eios answered for its crime. In any case, both Eliza and he were officially part of the service even if they hadn't received their paperwork yet and they would no doubt have orders soon.

As expected, Yolun was not at home. The black dragon had moved into Jovik's father's room after he passed, and Kalios now slept in his old room. The room had no windows and received light only from the doorway, but it had a magelight torch inside to illuminate itself. Kalios was still napping when he came back to check on him, but his footsteps caused the floorboards to creak and stirred the dragon. He winked an eye open and tracked his rider moving through the room before asking, "You're back already? Where's Jovik?"

"Bad news."

"What?"

"The king has been murdered."

"Oh," the dragon said, still a bit groggy from just waking. He blinked again before suddenly rising up from his bed nest. "Oh!"

"I don't think I have to tell you the ramifications, do I?" Ray asked.

"No. This isn't good, not at all."

"Battle will come to us now."

"Without a doubt."

Ray set himself down on a wooden chair and contemplated with the blue dragon in silence. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid. Minos would win in a full out war, he thought, but there was no guarantee that Kalios, Eliza, Marinai, or he would see the victory celebrations.

After a few minutes of just sitting, Ray got up and said, "I'm going to go for a walk. Want to come with?"

Kalios tapped his chin with a claw, but then he said, "No, I'd rather stay here in my delightful little nest. The sun is still high and the streets are too crowded for a dragon, even one of my size, to tread through comfortably."

"Suit yourself," the man said, "I'll go find Eliza and Marinai then."

"It's a big city. Good luck."

Ray nodded and walked out. It was a rather silly quest to find them, he realized, since they could've been anywhere in the capital. He started wandering, away from the main streets, but after a while he decided to take a little trip back to his old orphanage.

It was a breath of fresh air to leave the noble district and walk amongst people that wore plainer clothing, and even the buildings themselves grew homelier as he walked closer to the orphanage. He had always felt strange living in the noble district even as an adult: he was raised in the poorer part of the capital and always felt more comfortable back there. There were still just as many people, however, and he still strayed away from the main streets. But he never wandered too far away since he knew the darker roads were filled with desperate people, and desperate people did desperate things.

Still, sometimes he got himself lost and had to wander through some of these paths. He had no weapon and somewhat regretted not bringing at least a dagger, but he had figured that he was in the capital. Yet, he also knew the city guards never bothered coming down to the poorer areas of the city to purge the street rats so he kept himself wary of his surroundings.

He found that he had walked a little too far from the noise of the main streets for comfort, and started walking back to the sounds through another series of alleyways. His steps lightened when he heard some echoing laughter, and then he turned away to sprint away from the sinister sound. However, as he started walking away he could hear a man's voice echo out, "Lady, give us your money and we'll leave you alone."

Another voice, lighter than the first said, "But boss, look at her! She's such a catch, don't you think?"

And then he heard the lady's voice, "You all better leave me alone. You don't know who you're dealing with."

Ray recognized that voice. The first man's voice echoed again, "Well, I was going to let you go after you gave us all your money, but after that I think we'll take all of your...booty instead."

He heard more cackling laughter and ran to the source of the voices as fast as he could.

"I mean it, you all better turn around and leave."

"Boss! Look at this little lady playing her hands like some magician trying to scare us off, funny ain't it?"

"There ain't no mage that would ever walk in these streets, get her!"

Ray gave himself a facepalm. Those thugs were doomed, and he really wanted to see their faces when they realized how badly they had judged Eliza. He ran faster, but it was too late. There was a bright flash of light, intense enough to cause him to shut his eyes even so far away, and then he heard the cries of agony and followed around a couple of corners until at last he found Eliza holding a bag and standing right like a princess over a squirming mess of five criminals.

"Eliza!"

"Ray? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you!"

"Well, I'd say I'm sweeping the streets of trash." She kicked one of the thugs that tried to stand up and he fell down again. All of them had their hands still covering their eyes as they burned with the light mage's fury.

"Very funny," Ray said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Well alright, but shall we just leave them here?"

"Do you intend on carrying all of them to the city guard?"

"No, I suppose not. Let's go call them then."

"I'm afraid the city guard has a bigger problem to deal with."

Another one of the thugs tried to stand up, and Eliza smiled as she swept her foot under his leg to force him down onto his back. "Like what?"

"When we're out of here, I'll explain."

"I don't like the idea of just leaving these fools here. They might go prey on someone else."

Ray winked at her as he came up with an idea. He raised his voice and said, "Well, I suppose as members of the Aerial Fleet and servants to His Majesty King Lorian, we have the responsibility to execute them on behalf of the city guard."

Eliza furrowed her eyebrows at him, but she quickly figured out the knight's game. "I see, well then I guess we should carry out their sentence here and now." She leaned down to the apparent leader of the gang and said, "You have the right to choose. Would you like to burn by my light, or beheaded by his sword?"

The leader raised one of his hands, still leaving one over his eyes, and cried, "No! Wait, no! Please, we'll stop, we'll stop thieving! We'll be good! Don't kill us!"

Eliza stomped a foot onto his chest and asked, "What is your name?"

"P-Parulo, ma'am!"

She pressed her foot down a little harder. "Well Parulo, if I hear any more mischief about you, you will not feel my mercy again. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good. Have a nice day."

Eliza lifted her foot and walked away while Ray followed behind and admired how she had dealt with the scum. Once they were closer to the main street, they started talking again.

"Nice sweeping, by the way," he said.

Eliza slowed down so she could look into her bag and check that she had dropped nothing. "Thanks. Now, I know the city guard wouldn't normally bother coming down to this part of Rho, but I'd think an assault on a light mage of the Aerial Service would garner some sort of reaction, no?"

"That's not the problem," Ray said.

"What else does the city guard have to do?"

"King Lorian has been assassinated."

Eliza's eyes shot wide open and she practically screamed, "What? Who? How? Why?"

"I think you forgot when."

She pressed her hands to her hips and glared at him. "I'm serious Ray. What's going on?"

"I don't know much, but I was with Sir Jovik when it happened." Ray went on and told her what he had done during the day and how Jovik came to learn that the king had been murdered. "But beyond the fact that he's dead, I know nothing else."

"It has to be Eios's doing. There's no other explanation."

"I thought so too, but it doesn't make any sense, does it? Eios doesn't have enough strength to attack Minos, especially not after the Flameseeker just finished construction."

"Maybe they've got their own secret strategy," she said.

"Maybe. But right now there's nothing to do until we hear more news and receive orders."

"That's true, I guess."

"Where's Marinai? She should know that we might be off to war soon."

Eliza let a weak smile creep onto her face. "She's at a spa near the docking platform. Apparently the military had a deal with that particular establishment, so she got a paid two hour spa."

"Nice, already using those military benefits, yeah?"

"She was wise to do so. We might not be back for a while if it comes to war."

"We might not come back at all."

"Don't speak like that Ray. We will come back."

"Let's just make the best of what little time we have here now then, yeah?"

Eliza nodded and said, "That I can agree with. So what are you doing wasting it in this part of Rho?"

"I decided to take a little walk down memory lane. To clear my thoughts a bit."

"You're headed to your old orphanage, I take it?"

"Yes. What were you doing here anyway?"

"Stuff is cheaper here in the ghetto. I could find the same bathing soaps in the noble district for ten times the price! I'm not a high and mighty noble that's dumb enough to pay out my nose just to avoid a little _danger. _Why do that when I can come down here and save a ton of coin."

"Hey, I grew up here!"

"Oh, sorry. Stuff is cheaper in this less economically privileged area."

Ray smiled as they reached a major street. "Well, I guess we'll be going our separate ways now?"

Eliza extended her hand, the bag she was holding hanging somewhat heavily off it. "Here, take my bag."

Ray took the paper bag and gave her a curious look.

"I think I'm going to join Marinai at the spa. There's bathing soaps and fragrances in there, and also some scale shiner. Make Kalios look pretty when we get back, okay?"

The knight laughed at her as he peered into the bag. "Okay," he managed to huff.

They parted ways and melded into the crowd as Ray thought about how Kalios would look after having his scales polished. It was a silly thought that grounded him away from the reality of the future, but just thinking about his dragon comforted him.

When he looked upon the old orphanage, its windows boarded up with wooden planks just like remembered it, he couldn't help but wonder why Jovik and his mother chose to adopt him. He wasn't special or different, he always thought, and when he had asked Jovik before he'd say that he didn't know why himself: there was just something about him that he liked, and Jovik's mother was glad to fill her nest with another child.

The sight of his old home did little to clear his mind, so he strolled back to his new home, Jovik's home. He stayed on the main streets to avoid any further encounters and was back in Kalios's room in no time.

"Back again already?" the dragon asked.

"Yeah. Guess what? I found Eliza."

"Oh? How highly improbable."

"She was wandering around the back alleyways, and some thugs tried to mug her and stuff thinking she was just a regular unarmed lady."

Kalios chuckled and said, "Well, I'm sure that ended well."

"For her, sure. I hope she didn't permanently blind anyone though!"

The dragon snorted. "More than some ruffians deserve."

Ray shrugged his shoulders and said, "Anyway, she's off with Marinai at some spa for another hour or so, and she gave me some scale shiner."

"I'm not shiny enough?"

"Well, no offense Kal, but just washing in a river for more than two weeks has somewhat dulled your scales."

"Oh. It must be bad if Eliza got it for me. A proper wash would do me good, I suppose. An hour you say they'll be back?"

"Probably, depending on if they do anything else first."

The dragon grunted and asked, "Do you think we could have some fun first?"

"Well sure, where do you want to go?"

"No, I meant some fun here, in my nest."

Ray smiled as he understood what the dragon wanted. There was one thought that kept pushing its way to the front of his mind, but he tried to push it away. It might be the last time we can for a long while. He wanted to say it, but he was sure his dragon knew it too. Instead, he started stripping his clothes off and went over to lock the door, just in case anybody came home early.

Kalios purred as he saw his rider's naked body again, slim and slightly muscular. The human had a pair of well proportioned testicles hanging below his still flaccid member that he had grown used to seeing despite himself having none outside his body, and Kalios was mesmerized by how the two orbs swayed in their pouch as he hobbled over to lock the door.

He rose himself up onto all fours as Ray came back. The human slipped himself over the edge of the bed nest and slid onto the very comfortable and roomy mattress. Before his rider could move again, Kalios gently set a paw onto his chest and lowered his head to sniff up the man's musk which he had grown delightfully aware of after his encounter with Marinai. The smell was sharp and deep, and before long his cock started poking out of its slit. He leaned down and started grinding it against the human's soft and warm ball sack, and before long he could feel his rider's cock harden, its shape as familiar to him now as the eyes he stared into.

The dragon slipped his long tongue out of his mouth, and Ray opened his to grant the slippery appendage passage into his maw. It tangled around his thick flesh, and they shared as close a kiss as the dragon could provide while the human wrapped his arms around his scaled neck and pulled him closer and deeper into his mouth.

Their breaths melded together for a while until at last the dragon broke the kiss and pulled away. He craned his neck a bit and dunked his head into the human's armpit and sniffed up the sharp and deep musk, and he felt his dragon cock twitch from the delicious smell. Kalios crawled up then and stuck his length in front of the human, and Ray wasted no time in licking up the long shaft. His hands caressed the three bumps near the base of the shaft, and his tongue dug into the ridges along the rest of the dragon's cock which elicited many grunts and purrs from the beast above him.

Once Kalios was satisfied that his shaft was slick with his rider's saliva, he crawled back down and nuzzled the tip of his snout against the human's soft flesh the entire way until he reached the tip of the human's cock head. He gave it a gentle lick and brushed over his balls before extending his long limber tongue down along the man's taint. At last, his tongue reached its final destination and he flicked it out into the his rider's hole.

Ray squirmed as he felt the intrusion into him. He had done this with Kalios many times out by the river after he grew comfortable with the idea, but the initial sensation of being penetrated was always so invigorating! He could feel the flexible muscle burrow its way into him and tickle him in the right spot, but he wanted more. He wanted the dragon to fully take him and show him how much he loved him and to be as close to him as physically possible.

When the dragon was satisfied he had sufficiently lubricated his rider's ass, he pulled his tongue out and crawled back up. He stuffed his muzzle into the human's crotch and took another whiff of the heavy scent straight from the source of all his maleness, and then he reluctantly lifted his head away, the smell ever lingering in his nose and affecting his mind and driving his need. He couldn't resist going back at least once, however, and he took the human's cock into his mouth and suckled on it for a few delicious seconds while listening to his rider's grunts of approval before managing to pull away and resist. Once his head was at the human's neck level, he took his forepaws and brushed them repeatedly over the human's peculiar nipples while he extended his wings, folded them over again, and bent his body over to prepare for the first thrust.

Ray moaned as he enjoyed his nipples being teased with, but another moment later he gasped as he felt the tapered tip of Kalios's cock part his rear and enter him. Kalios was always slow and gentle with the first thrust in even though the top half of his shaft was tapered and easy to take. Still, he was happy he was so thoughtful since past the halfway point, the dragon's cock became thicker than any human's and the three bumps were always the hardest to get in.

The ridges always got to Ray, however. After a certain point, every ridge on the dragon's fleshy shaft that passed his lips meant another ridge higher up the length rubbed against the most pleasurable spot in his ass, and the sharp twang of pleasure made his cock twitch against his belly every time. Once he felt the last ridge enter his passage, he braced himself for the bumps.

Kalios knew it was hard for him too. The first time he had topped Ray was the night right after he let the human top him, and it was also the night after they had made their promise to each other. He remembered how difficult it was to push all of the bumps on his cock into him that first time, and the look of pain on his face was almost enough for him to give up the idea of hilting him entirely. Still, Ray had begged him to keep going even as he felt the hands wrapped around his horns tighten tremendously from the pain, but in the end he had managed.

It became easier afterward, but even now the last inch or so of his cock hurt the human, and knowing that he was hurting his rider hurt the dragon as well. It would be over soon, thankfully, and the pain quickly turned to pleasure as both of them felt all the heat of each other's bodies.

Ray sighed as he finally felt the last bump push into him, and then there was only bliss as he was fully joined with his dragon's body. His heart beat in time with the throbbing length inside him, and his own cock had already started dribbling some pre onto his lower waist.

Kalios lifted his paws away from the two nubs of darkened flesh on the human's chest and unwound his upper body so that his head was now on top of his rider's, and then he let the rest of his body gently fall onto him. Together and entwined, they reveled in the simple pleasure of feeling each other's entire body: the dragon adored his rider's smooth silky skin, and the human loved the warm and malleable, yet deceptively tough, scales on his dragon.

Ray felt something curl around his right leg, but he didn't need to look down to know that Kalios was wrapping his tail around it. The exotic appendage only added to his feeling of fully knowing his dragon, and he wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck again. "I love you so much, Kal."

The dragon brushed a forepaw over the human's dark chocolate-colored hair. "I love you too, Ray."

The knight was scared. He was uncertain. He was afraid of what the future might bring but lying here with Kalios made him feel so safe, and all the worries of the world seemed to melt away with his embrace. Yet even then it was always in the back of his mind that they might be caught, and such a relationship might've been disastrous if it became known to others. Still, he had to wonder how other dragon riders did not bond as greatly with their dragons as he had. Or gryphon riders, for that matter.

But such thoughts only surfaced for mere seconds. Free from possible discovery in the privacy of his own home, Ray could not worry at all about what others thought at the moment. They would live together forever and do this every night after they retired, he thought, and nobody else had to know. Did he want a wife though? A family? He wasn't sure anymore: Kalios seemed to be all he wanted and all he needed. He might've wanted Eliza in the past and the thought was still enticing to him, but if it meant forsaking Kalios then he didn't want to try. What about Kalios though? He hadn't thought about what the dragon might've wanted. Did he want a family? He would ask, but not now. For now, they were together and content.

Kalios began pulling himself out, and the bumps coming out were a lot more pleasurable than they were going in. The ridges tickled the man's insides, and the tightness of his sphincters dug under them as he pulled out eliciting moans and groans from both of them.

The pleasure never ceased as the dragon pushed back in. The dragon's cock slid in this time without as much resistance, and from then on each thrust only provided pleasure. None of the initial discomfort remained, and soon the dragon was thrusting into his human at a sensual pace.

Even as the dragon increased his speed, Ray could feel every feature of his cock as it entered him. There was no respite from the pleasure and he held onto Kalios's neck tighter as time went on.

The dragon pumped into him faster too, and the heat of the movements and the sex made the human start to sweat. Not as much as Marinai had, of course, but the water dampened his hair and somewhat slicked the dragon's belly scales as it rubbed onto him.

The dragon's lower body rubbed along Ray's member and mashed gently against his balls, and the large scutes there were wet with a mixture of sweat and the human's pre. The throbbing dragon cock sliding in and out of him combined with Kalios's belly rubbing his shaft made him reach his peak first and he came between their different yet attracting bodies.

Ray's entire body tensed up and he screamed his dragon's name as white cum spurted onto both their bellies, and Kalios didn't stop thrusting and moving when the human came. The cum stuck onto his belly scales and spread wherever they rubbed onto the human's skin, and before long both their upper bodies glistened with the spread of Ray's seed.

Kalios managed to hold himself until long after the human's anal walls had stopped spasming, but they hastened his rise to his peak like nothing else. The ripples that tugged his dragon cock, massaged his ridges, and tickled his bumps were ridiculously powerful, but he had managed to hold a little further. He was so close to the edge, however, that when he finally felt Ray's cock stop pulsing with seed, one last thrust was all he needed to shoot his load.

The dragon's tail tightened around his rider's leg as he slammed his cock back into him one last time. He roared with pleasure as his seed sprayed into his human, and he felt him wriggle under him and moan onto his snout as his warm cum lined his insides. The dragon produced too much, however, and after a couple of pulses Ray could feel some of the warm life fluid dribble out of his ass and slide down his rear onto the mattress.

When Kalios finished cumming, he unfolded his wings and slid them under the human. With a little help from his forepaws, the dragon turned over and flipped their positions so that Ray was lying on top of him now. It was a much better idea to let the human lie on top after sex since he was sure he would crush him if he let himself just drop onto him.

Their bodies were both wet and slick and Ray didn't manage to stay on top of the dragon for long. As soon as the dragon's cock retreated out of his ass and back into his slit, Ray slid onto his right wing, but Kalios didn't mind. He gave the dragon a kiss on the muzzle and rubbed his snout and he wanted to stay there forever, but then he realized that Eliza and Marinai were due to come home any time. He pushed himself up from the dragon despite his whines and told him that they should get cleaned up.

"Oh alright," Kalios said.

"Come on then. Let me use a fragrance in this room so nobody smells what we were up to."

"I'd like my room to smell like peaches."

"Peaches? Well alright, I'll go see if there's peach." He started walking to the door.

"You should wash the mattress too."

Ray sighed. "Yes, I suppose I should." He hated having to hide but it was necessary.

"And Ray?"

"What?"

"Stop moving."

Ray was confused by the dragon's command, but he obeyed. He turned his head around to look at Kalios, but he didn't turn his body around. The dragon got up after flipping himself back over again and leapt out of the bed nest. He hopped again and landed right behind him, and then the dragon bent his head down. He felt him lick his leg up to his butt, and then he had realized what he did.

"I taste good," Kalios said.

Ray took that remark to mean that he had licked up all the seed that had leaked out of his ass as he got up and started walking, so he turned around to smile at the dragon. However, as soon as he turned around Kalios raised his head and licked up all the sticky semen on his body.

"But you taste better," the blue dragon said.

Ray wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck again and pulled his head up to rest below his chin. "Aww, thanks," the human said, "But we really ought to clean up our mess now."

"Okay."

Strangely, Eliza had purchased a peach fragrance, and Ray hastily sprayed it all around Kalios's room. Afterwards, he took a bottle of soap, the bottle of scale shiner, and an empty bottle to store some soapy water to use on the mattress later, and he took his dragon to the bathtub that Kalios shared with Yolun.

They bathed together, narrowly avoiding another intense moment together when Ray scrubbed the dragon's nether regions, and rid themselves of all the day's dirtiness and evidence of their love. But they didn't need any evidence to know it, not as long as they both lived.

Evening came and Kalios's body seemed like it were made of polished sapphires, and his belly scales shone like glimmering pearls. Even Marinai complemented the dragon when she returned, an impressive feat on account of how rare such an event occurred.

Eliza told Ray and Kalios that by the time they started walking home, the entire capital seemed to have learned of the king's demise. More importantly, she had received a message via light magic soon after she departed the spa with Marinai, and Light-Commander Ilia explained the situation to her.

"Basically," Eliza said, "the queen has issued a demand for an explanation from the Eiosian royal family. She's given them three days to respond, and in the meantime the Aerial Fleet will prepare for war. Ilia has given our assignment. We are to report for duty on the Flameseeker tomorrow."

"Oh," Ray said. Perhaps there was hope they would stay away from major battles if they stayed on the long-ranged artillery ship.

"Basically, on the third day the Spartan and the Vigilance will clear a path through the Griffith Pass and the immediate area beyond. Then the Flameseeker and the Wisdom will take front point and destroy any resistance from afar while the Vigilance stays behind to watch the border and the Spartan guards our rear."

"So we'll be at the front?"

"Yes. But there should technically be no front if the Flameseeker does what it's built to do."

"I pray that will be the case."

"Not looking forward to battle?"

"Not so much."

"Scaredy-cat."

Ray shook his head. "I'm not worried about me. I don't want to see Kalios get hurt. If something happened to him, I don't know-"

"And I don't want to see Ray hurt either," Kalios said.

Eliza's hand pressed onto the knight's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "You and Kalios get priority healing, hear me? Just keep Marinai and me safe."

"That's comforting," Ray half-heartedly said. "I suppose my fears would truly be abated if that engineer on the Flameseeker assured me nothing could go wrong with his weapons."

"Hey, he saved our tails once. And if I were a betting woman, I'd be betting that he'd do it again."

He patted a hand over Eliza's which was still on his shoulder and smiled. "Eliza. Thanks. For everything."

"And thank you for letting Marinai and I stay here."

"As long as you'd like," Ray added. "I don't think Sir Jovik will be coming home for a while. Maybe a long while."

"We won't be here long anyway. Ilia expects us to report to the Flameseeker tomorrow morning, by noon at latest. She has our badges ready for us, so don't worry about that."

"Alright."

~

Morning came and the streets were mostly deserted except for the city guard. When the queen had announced her ultimatum, most everyone had gone home to grieve for the king. She had also ordered civilians to stay home and shops to stay closed the next day, but Ray was more inclined to believe it was to create a cooling down period so that the streets weren't filled with enraged citizens.

Ray, Eliza, Kalios, and Marinai arrived at the base of the docking platform much earlier than noon. The guard watching the elevator kept Ray and Kalios from going on because he said that someone was there to see them, but Eliza and Marinai went on ahead.

As it turned out, there were two people that wanted to see them: Sir Jovik and Yolun.

Ray gave the black dragon a hug around his neck, but Yolun was much bigger than Kalios and he couldn't clasp entirely around his neck. Then he gave Jovik a hug before stepping back, and Kalios bumped his paw against both the black dragon's paw and the Lord Commander's hand.

"Kal," the black dragon said, "you're looking spiffy!"

Kalios would've blushed at the compliment if he could. "Thanks, Ray shined my scales just yesterday."

Yolun smiled and chuckled. "You look nice, Kal. Still small though."

"Yes sir, but there's nothing I can do to change that!"

The four of them shared a light laugh, and then Yolun faced Ray. "And look at you now. A true knight and dragon rider, just like you said you were going to do ever since we first met."

Ray bowed and said, "Thank you Yolun. Both you and Jovik were very supportive, and that's why I'm here now."

The black dragon kept his smile and said, "Yet the achievement is still yours, Sir Valyn."

Kalios couldn't blush, but Ray sure did. He tried to change the subject and asked, "Did you find the assassin?"

"No," Jovik said, "there was no trace of any intrusion. Only the dagger remains as any evidence someone infiltrated the palace. The question remains: why target only the king?"

There was silence as nobody knew the answer.

Sir Jovik then said, "Kal, Yolun wants to part some sagely dragony advice to you. Go on then, I need to speak with Ray in private anyway."

Kalios nodded, and then the two dragons walked away to talk about battles and strategy.

Once the dragons were out of earshot, Ray turned to face the other knight and asked, "So brother, what is it you need to speak about that's so important to keep you from going back to the palace immediately at a time like this?"

Jovik coughed. "Ray, I was going to just send Yolun to tell you at first, but this was too personal. I needed to tell this to you myself. Remember how you used to always ask why I wanted to adopt you into my family?"

"Yes? Are you saying-"

"I am. I'm ready to tell you the biggest reason why, Ray."

"Why? Why now?"

"I've put it off for too long, and now you're finally a knight and you're going off to fight a war that you might not come back from. I want to tell you now."

"I see. Well, I'm listening."

Jovik took a deep breath and said, "I knew your mother before she died giving birth to you."

Ray's head slanted when he heard that. "You did?"

"She was a flower girl. Used to walk around the capital selling those flowers." It was rather obvious now that Jovik was trying to hold back his emotions from slipping onto his face. "I was in love with her."

"You...loved my mother?"

"I did. But then one day a farmer, your father, visited the capital and swooned her over. She moved away, but I kept my tabs on her. And then I learned she had died giving birth. News came to me later when your father was killed near the border, and I learned that you were sent to an orphanage here in Rho."

"So you were keeping track of me too?"

"Yes."

"That explains why you were there in that alley so conveniently!"

"Sort of. I liked to swing by the orphanage sometimes to see if you were being treated well. It was still a coincidence that you weren't there that particular day I went, and that I found you later outside."

There was moment of silence, and then Ray said, "I don't know what to say."

Jovik sighed. "I know I should've told you before, but it was an old wound that I really didn't want to touch."

"It's okay Joseph, I understand." Sir Joseph Jovik. Ray only said Joseph in the most sparing of matters. "It explains a lot, actually."

"Alright, now that that's off my chest, I need to head back to the palace. Good luck to you and Kalios." He started walking away, but then he paused and, without turning back, he said, "And don't die. You have your mother's eyes, you know."

Ray wasn't sure what to say to that comment so he just replied to the first. "I won't."

Before he left earshot, Ray heard the knight mutter, "This should've been a happy time."

Once Jovik was gone, Ray walked around the corner to see what the two dragons were up to.

"And gryphons are terrible at reacting if you attack them from directly above unless they're trained well, so if you're sure you're attacking a novice descend from above!"

"I'll be sure to see if Marinai is well-trained," Kalios said.

Ray came up to them and said, "Hey, you two done? Yolun, Jovik's gone back to the palace."

"Oh, already?" The black dragon leaned his head down and stared into Ray's eyes. "Did he tell you?"

Ray nodded.

"Well very good then. My last piece of advice for you, Kal, is to watch your back. Literally. Make sure your rider is protected. Never forget that Ray is on your back."

Kalios scrunched his face with seriousness and said, "I won't forget."

"Good." Yolun smiled and added, "And don't worry about keeping your scales clean and shiny, it's not gonna happen! See you both later!" The black dragon then unfurled his wings and flew up and away while Ray and Kalios waved him farewell.

Once Yolun was out of sight, Ray and Kalios went up the elevator to the Flameseeker and rejoined the two ladies. They were already talking with the engineer that they had met the last day on their training mission though. Ratherion, if they recalled correctly, and he was wearing a rather large backpack.

"And if you need anything fixed: weapons, armor, harness, what have you, just call for me and I'll have it back to you in a jiffy!"

"Well thank you," Eliza said, "Rathannon was it?"

"Ratherion, ma'am, though most everyone calls me Rath." The engineer then noticed Ray and Kalios approaching and yelled out, "Oh, you two! You're the ones charged with protecting these two fine ladies, correct?"

"That would be an affirmative," Ray said.

"Excellent, I have something for you sir." He put down his backpack and rummaged through it before pulling out a folded quiver. He unfolded it and handed it to Ray. The quiver had five emblems sewn onto it and he pointed at them. "See these symbols? The quiver will imbue your arrows with enchantments based on your selection. The flame symbol will make your arrows explode on impact, the water drop symbol will freeze whatever your arrow it, the sun symbol will launch a flashbang arrow that flashes when it hits something, the white symbol will dull your arrows and only incapacitate organic targets you hit, and finally the black symbol will put no enchantments on your arrows."

"Wow," Ray said, "this seems like some pretty advanced magic."

"Mostly magic, a little technology. Use it well, especially to defend our two only light mages!"

"Two?" Ray asked.

"Yes," Eliza said, "Light-Commander Ilia is staying with me. There's a handful on the Wisdom, but most are still occupied with the plague at the Salvation."

"Aye," Rath said. "Well, I ought to be heading under deck now, final engineering checks and whatnot. The main cannon is blocking our view, but the Wisdom is docked across from us on the other platform if you want to take a look."

Kalios and Marinai flew over the cannon and landed on the other side of the deck while Ray and Eliza went around from the stairs to the bridge, which they noticed had a large dish rotating on top of it now, and leaned over the ledge to take a look at the other airship.

The Wisdom definitely looked different from the Flameseeker. For one, it had no massive main cannon, but it did have several smaller cannons sticking out of its side. The Flameseeker had only six short ranged cannons, three on each side of the hull since it was not meant to fight in head-on engagements. The Wisdom had more; twelve, but still a pittance compared to the Spartan's fifty. The Wisdom's strength didn't lie in its physical weapons, however. The ship was plated in the brighter magesteel while the Flameseeker was armored with regular steel, again because of its intended role. The Spartan was clad in the toughest carbon-matrix magesteel, but the carbon-matrix made it difficult to funnel further magical energy through. Thus carbon-matrix magesteel was good for blocking all sorts of attacks, but it was not suitable for a magic-oriented ship like the Wisdom. Runes painted in a deep purple covered the Wisdom like tattoos, and the deck had circles where mages could stand to fuel the runes.

Whereas the Flameseeker was defined by its main cannon, the Wisdom was characterized by the flame contained in an astrolabe on its deck. Two golden rings rotated around the fire constantly, and occasionally the fire would turn blue for a few seconds before turning back into a flaming red. On top of the Wisdom's bridge was also a large rotating dish.

Eliza and Marinai left the view first to go meet with the Light-Commander, but Ray and Kalios wanted to stay and admire the ship a little more.

When they descended down into the familiar hall that led to the nests and the Light-Commander's room, Marinai said, "That Rath fellow, what do you think of him?"

Eliza shrugged. "He's a nice guy, I think."

"I think he's trying to flirt with you."

"You think so? I thought he was rather cute, the way he was trying to talk with me."

"What about Ray?"

"Ray? What about him? Wait, you think I'd...with him?"

"Well, you two are together an awful lot, so I don't know it only seemed natural."

"No, I don't think I'd ever, not with him. He feels too much like a brother to me. Why are you bringing this up anyway?"

"Oh, no reason. Just saying that engineer seems interested in you is all."

Eliza smiled and said, "Well, I guess I'll see."

They greeted the Light-Commander and she asked where Ray and Kalios were.

"They're still admiring the Wisdom," Eliza said.

"Ah, it is a fine ship," Ilia said. "Anyway, they don't need to come down. Here are your badges, make sure to give them theirs when you meet up again. Sorry for the lack of fanfare, but congratulations, you're all officially soldiers and not trainees anymore!"

"Thank you," Eliza and Marinai said.

"Again, congratulations. Now onto business: you're all on standby duty. What that means is that you just stay on board until you're called to fight. With the Flameseeker, however, I'm pretty sure you're all just going to sit on your butts all day so make yourselves at home."

"Understood," Eliza said.

"Go ahead and tell your wingmate, and make sure not to get off the ship unless your mounts know where you're heading. We're departing at noon. That is all."

Eliza saluted and led her gryphon back out to the deck. They found the other two still staring at the Wisdom and Eliza explained their orders and handed them their badges. Of course, neither Kalios nor Marinai had coats or pockets so their riders held onto theirs.

"So," Ray said, "we pretty much just chill on the ship until something may or may not happen?"

"Pretty much," Eliza said.

"That actually sounds rather pleasant."

~

The third day of Queen Rysha's ultimatum came and passed, and there was nothing but silence from Eios. The Spartan and Vigilance cleared the Griffith Pass, but there was no resistance even past the border into the country.

As planned, the Flameseeker and Wisdom took the front on the fourth morning and proceeded northwards to the capital of Eios. However, just before noon, Captain Tonik of the Wisdom alerted the Flameseeker that their radar had picked up three targets inbound.

The chief of engineering, Robert Pulli, was in the bridge when he heard the message. "Sorry captain," he said, "our radar is not entirely operational. We didn't have enough time at Rho to install all the parts. At most, ours has about a mile range."

"That's fine," Captain Riko said. "That's why the Wisdom is flying alongside us anyway. Can you find the radar targets on the main viewer?"

"Yes ma'am, if they're close enough I'll spot them." Robert waived his hand over the window on the bridge to uncover the hidden runes embedded in them, and then he willed power into the runes so that they began scanning for anything out of the ordinary. The runes spotted something, and then the screen zoomed in to show three gryphon riders flying their way. The leader wielded a white flag of truce, and the other two wielded flags of messengers.

Captain Riko clicked a button on the helmsman's panel and said, "Captain Tonik, I have them on my view screen. Three gryphons: ambassadors it seems. Would you like to receive them?"

Captain Tonik's male voice called back from the intercom and said, "I have them on mine too. I'd rather you receive them, Captain Riko. You have the proof anyway."

She clicked the button again and said, "Roger that, I'll receive."

The Eiosian ambassador was a tough man that looked like the Captain Ralson of the Spartan. He was balding, but what remained of his hair was still pitch black and his face was not yet wrinkled enough for gray hairs. He bore a scar on his cheek but seemed to ignore the captain's stare.

"I say this again. King Inoit has no knowledge of any plot against Minos, and any assassination attempt was not from the order of the royal family."

Captain Riko shook her head. "The dagger used to kill King Lorian was of Eiosian origin. Of that, there is no doubt. We demand answers, sir."

"Let me see this alleged weapon," the ambassador said.

"Fine." The captain opened a lockbox and took the dagger out and set it out onto the map table in the bridge. Light-Commander Ilia stood watch over them and kept a spell charged just in case.

The ambassador held up the dagger and examined it. "It is of Eiosian origin, that much is true. And probably from the capital, no less. The blacksmiths there like to copy each other's techniques, but there is no particular signature on it." He looked over the hilt again and stopped when he saw the pommel. "What's this now? It looks like two letters etched into the pommel."

Captain Riko furrowed her brows in disbelief and took the dagger back to look at it again. Just as the ambassador said, there were two letters etched thinly into the pommel; so thin that it would've been missed unless looked at with a keen eye. "A 'C' and a 'T.' Is that a blacksmith's signature?"

"Not that I know of. But it is something interesting."

"It's not enough to stop us from flying to the capital."

"And what do you intend to do when you're there? Will you wish to examine the royal blacksmiths yourselves? Give me five more days, captain, and I will find who murdered your king."

"I'll have to ask the queen if that will be acceptable."

"Not so fast," Ilia said, "what if you don't find out who killed King Lorian?"

"Then we shall invite you to Oron so that you may question the capital's blacksmiths yourselves. It would be preferable to war, would it not?"

"Very well," Captain Riko said. "Wait outside and I'll contact the queen."

The ambassador stepped outside, and then the captain activated the pre-charged rune embedded onto the map table. A blue light opened over the table, but nothing appeared until a minute after when the Lord Commander of the King's Vigil stepped into view.

"Captain, what is it you require?" Sir Jovik asked.

"I've received an ambassador from Eios. He's offered to figure out who assassinated the king since he insists King Inoit had no hand in it." The captain went on to detail the ambassador's offer, but Sir Jovik shook his head when she requested to pass on the offer to the queen.

"I will forward it to Prince Rhune, but I'm afraid Queen Ryshal has succumbed to grief. She was found dead this morning, an empty packet of poison in her hands and an empty glass on the floor."

The news was unexpected, and both the captain and the commander were stunned.

"I understand," Captain Riko stammered. "What should I say to the ambassador?"

"Besides that the queen is also dead now? Well, it would probably be best for him to return later after we get this mess sorted out. In the meantime, tell him that Minos's airships will stay where they are and move not an inch further."

The captain nodded and deactivated the communication rune. When she told the ambassador, he offered his condolences and agreed to give them time before flying off with his gryphon and the other riders to report back to their king.

Surprisingly, the map table glowed blue to show an inbound call not long after noon. The admiral of the Aerial Fleet appeared and gave a fleet-wide message.

"Prince Rhune has commanded the Flameseeker and the Wisdom to continue northward with the Spartan at your back. You are ordered to destroy every castle, fort, village, settlement, town, and city on your path to Oron. Eradicate all resistance. Once you reach Oron, the Wisdom will dispatch operatives to find and kill every member of the Eiosian royal family."

Captain Riko was first to protest. "What? Everything? Even obviously civilian villages and towns? What if they put up signs of surrender?"

The admiral showed no emotion on her holographic face. "Everything, captain. We cannot risk any treachery."

Captain Riko was bewildered. "But those are completely innocent lives!"

"Those are your orders, captain."

"I agree with you Riko," Captain Tonik said through the communication link. "It is unsavory, but orders are orders."

"The Spartan will not falter in its duty," Captain Ralson said. "If you'd rather not do the dirty work, Captain Riko, my crew and I will be happy to pick up the slack."

Captain Riko sighed. "That will not be necessary, Ralson. I'll do as my liege commands."

"Good," the admiral said. "You have your orders, now carry them out."

The image of the admiral faded, and the table's blue glow faded away with it. The captain moved over to the speakerphone and prepared to give a ship-wide message detailing their orders.