SECOND CHAPTER OF THORDE

Have just finished my second chapter of Thorde: The keeper of the trysk (only three more to go before the deadline of 16 April) and thought I would share it with my followers:

CHAPTER TWO

The call of the wyvern

I quickly adopted the stance of my new friend because so far he knew better what to do than I, and peered out from under my shield and sword.  The wyvern was swooping down with fire streaming upon the shield of my companion.  I could not tell if he was okay, so I yelled to him,

“You alright under there?” and I hoped that an answer would be forthcoming.  I was under no illusions; I would need him if I wanted to get out of this.

“Yeah, but now I know what a pig must feel like on a spit; it’s so hot under here.”

I was amazed that he was still alive and not burned to a crisp, but at least it proved that cowering under these things was the way to go.

“Try and distract it or something and then I can attack it whilst it chases you.”

“Oh yeah like that was a good idea?” I mumbled under my breath, I mean, I was sorry that it was aiming at him, but then again, I was glad it wasn’t raining fire down on me.  Not to mention the teeth glistening behind the waterfall of fire.  However, Saran had helped me, so to show willing I came out from under the cover of my shield and held up my sword in my best knight stance.

“You leave my friend alone,” I yelled and tried to ignore the fact that my sword was shaking.  To my surprise and obviously Saran’s, the wyvern suddenly closed its mouth and I distinctly heard him drop his weapons. Before I had any time to register this fully, the thing landed next to me and to my shame, I took one look at it and began to run like I have never run before. 

I didn’t make it very far of course, it was a lot faster than me and it had wings, but as I cowered before it waiting to die (and yes, I had my eyes closed), I hoped that Saran would be able to do something, anything, to help me.  I could feel its hot breath on my face and I knew that any minute now I would be burned to a crisp - or it could just rip me to shreds with those nasty-looking claws, or eat me, its choice I guess.  As the buzzing in my ears (fear I suppose) accelerated, I heard another noise,

“Do that again,” I heard distinctly.

“Do what?” I answered, sure that this was not what I wanted to be the last thing I heard before I died.

“Tell it to stop.”

Had he lost his mind?  I opened my eyes to tell him just that, when I stupidly looked up.  The wyvern was looking down at me with its huge jaws open at me with its head off to one side.  But it didn’t look like it wanted to eat me; it looked like it was waiting for me to say something.  Well, obviously I had lost my mind too, because before I could stop myself I found myself saying.

“Yes stop that, we haven’t done anything to you.”

The magnificent creature bowed its head and leaned forward, looking for all the world like it was acknowledging my request, before raising its eye level to mine once more.  Now I was certain that I had gone mad.  What was the last thing I could remember as being true?  When the knights had forced the helmet, shield and sword upon me, I think.  Well, that explained it.  I had got so scared that I had lost my sanity, or I had fallen asleep and was having some crazy fear-induced dream that I would wake up from soon.  I closed my eyes and opened them again, but the wyvern and Saran were still there.

“You didn’t say you were Dragon Master,” Saran exclaimed and his face told me that this time (and probably the only time, so I ought to make the most of it) he was the one in awe of me.

“I didn’t know I was,” I admitted reluctantly (well, I knew it wouldn’t last).

“We definitely stand a better chance with a wyvern and a Dragon Master, even an inexperienced Dragon Master, on our side,” he crowed as he ran to my side, “surely the great army of Arberia cannot deal with that so easily.”

“If the truth-seekers are to be believed, we are going to need more than one wyvern to stop them,” I sighed, “what we need is a plan.”

Suddenly the wyvern let out a mighty screech that hurt our ears and rattled the very teeth in our heads.  Saran and I tried to cover them to block the noise in order to lessen the damage, but in our distraction we did not notice it move.  In a flash, we had been grabbed by each of the vast talons and we were being lifted away from the castle. 

“What did you do that for?” Saran yelled at me over the sound of the wind and the wings beating.

“I didn’t do anything, it did,” I shouted back.  I was holding on tightly to my shield and sword but I wasn’t sure whether the helmet would stay on my head.  Saran looked quite relaxed considering the circumstances and he glanced down,

“It looks so small from up here,” he announced as he looked at the shape of the castle disappear into the night, “I never thought I would see it from this angle.”  He was grinning, he was actually grinning.

“Yeah, who thought we’d ever fly,” I mumbled sarcastically, not really caring whether he heard me or not.

“We are flying!” he bellowed and I suppose if I wasn’t quite so frightened of the beast actually dropping me, I might have found it fairly exciting too. 

I mean I wasn’t dead, I wouldn’t have to fight now and it appeared that I was not just a stable-hand after all.  I was a Dragon Master.