Books and Battles: The Story of Beloved Fate (twotickets and maidenroseheart)
 

Maiden's Charaters

Name: Saber
Occupation: A Gryphon Rider - delivers messages and packets between the camps, frontlines, and fortress.
Gryphon: Name is Falcon. A dark gray, almost black falcon shaped gryphon who is know for her speed. Unlike her larger cousins, she is slender and smaller than most gryphons. Her dark color allows her to fly low in shadow or high in cloud cover without being tracked.
Age: 21
Skills: Riding, Writing, Coding and Decoding, Working with Animals, Camping, and Diplomacy.
Strengths: Keeping her balance and thinking on her feet. Strategy. Fast and Agile. Stamina.
Weaknesses: Riding in rough weather and making decent food while camping. Not very strong or good at fighting.
Pet Peeves: Weak coffee or tea. Sloppy writing. People who mistreat animals. Boasting.
Fears: Falling. Storms. Not having paper and pencils.
Character Traits: Tends to freeze when scared, in pain, or faced with violence. Is attracted to music of any kind whether it is vocal or instrumental... to the point of losing focus on anything else nearby.
History: Grew up in a small village raising and training gryphons for the messenger service. Joined the Royal Service as a messenger when she was 18. Left behind a twin brother to care for the remainder of the flock while she rode her prized gryphon, Falcon.
Appearance: Saber has dark gray hair and gray eyes. She is slim and about 5'5" tall. Very athletic and agile. Usually wears dark clothes so that she matches her gryphon, Falcon. Falcon is dark gray, almost black with an uncanny intelligence. He understands the human language but has no way to vocalize a response in the same language. Therefore a lot of the communication between Falcon and Jolene is through body language.
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Name: Archer
Occupation: DragonRider - Is a scout in the Royal Army. Usually on missions he camps out with the different companies. However he often returns to the fortress for a day break between flights.
Dragon: Silver, a large and lean white dragon built for speed. Useful in the scouting missions. His tough scales help deflect the arrows sent their way.
Age: 28
Skills: Archer, Can use daggers, Good dragon rider, Survival Skils, and Good at caring for animals.
Strengths: Archery and Survival. Strong.
Weaknesses: Not very agile or good with hand to hand combat.
Pet Peeves: Seeing a lady mistreated or in harm's way. Soldiers drinking when outside the fortress.
Fears: His dragon dying. A close friend dying. The enemy getting past the patrols and guards to attack civilian places.
Character Traits: Always offers high courtesy and respect to females automatically, even if it puts him at a disadvantage. Carries his bow with him everywhere.
History: Grew up with three older sisters and two younger brothers, Archer is good at caring for others. Something he had to push aside when he joined the army. Joining with high aspirations at the age of 21, he was shocked to learn the realities of war and found himself in serious stranded situations on several occasions.
Appearance: White hair and reddish brown eyes. Tall and lean muscled at 5'10". Wears black leather armor and occassionally when not on scouting runs, he wears a red cape. His dragon, Silver, is white in appearance and unusually fast. No match against other beasts in aerial combat, he can make skirmish attacks and quick escapes with his slim body.
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Okay, first-off: Magic. In this world, magic is mostly based on spells, or incantations. You cannot use magic without speaking-- and using proper pronunciation. Spells and potions can be bought or sold pretty much anywhere, and almost anyone who's ever been to school has bought a spell or two. However, pretty much no one uses these spells in the same way. Just like with anything else, people's ability to make these spells work for them usually lands somewhere along a spectrum based on their strength of will, patience, and personality traits.

Small Magic: Most people can manage one or two of these things, if they can read.

-- minor cuts and abrasions, mosquito bites, minor sunburns: surface of skin things
-- stuff you can hold with two fingers
-- summoning things within ten feet
-- sustaining magic for 0-10 minutes
Cost: one to two days' pay per spell; reusable

Average Magic: Some people can manage one or two of these things, if they have studied magic for more than a year.

-- headaches, colds, sprains and bruises: muscle-deep things
-- stuff you can hold in your hand
-- summoning things within ten yards
-- sustaining magic for 0-30 minutes
Cost: one two two weeks' pay, reusable

Big Magic: A few people can manage one or two of these things, if they have studied magic pretty much exclusively for five years or more. Perhaps one in a kingdom can do them all.

-- broken bones, ruptured appendices, chronic illnesses: bone-deep things
-- stuff you can hold in two hands
-- summoning things within 100 yards
-- sustaining magic for 0-120 minutes
Cost: anywhere from one month's to one year's pay, depending on complexity and scale, not always reusable

---------- Post added 04-07-2013 at 06:29 PM ----------

Twoticket's Characters

Name: Elemmire (El)
Occupation: Soldier
Age: 21
Skills: Fighting hand-to-hand, specializing in broadsword and fists. Camping. Commanding respect.
Strengths: Physical strength, endurance. Persistence.
Weaknesses: Diplomacy and tact, speed and agility. Long-distance weaponry.
Pet Peeves: Being told to act like a woman or act her age. Mosquitoes, dishonesty, and anything that has to do with fungus.
Fears: Looking weak, not being feminine enough, and spiders.
Character Traits: Elemmire tends to be better at making friends with guys than girls, and her best friend, Anras, happens to be a guy. She's a hard worker and very ambitious, and she believes that with enough practice, she can learn to do anything. Despite this, she tends to be impatient with anything she doesn't understand immediately; she may not give up on anything she tries, but she may loudly and violently work out her misunderstandings on the nearest bystander.
History: Elemmire is the second daughter of two minor government officials. Her older sister Nellas is married with a small daughter and works as a record-keeper for the capital city; her younger brothers Lessien and Elberth are both unmarried and currently serving their time in the armed forces. Her mother and father love their children very much but do not always understand Elemmire's choices, though they are proud of her accomplishments. Elemmire grew interested in fighting because her best friend, Anras, thought she'd be good at it. She started at the bottom of her class and has worked her way up to being a respected fighter in her unit, and, as a Lieutenant, commands a small force of about fifty. Her dream is to become one of her country's greatest generals ever.
Appearance: Elemmire is tall and broad, for a woman, but it looks normal on her. She has never considered herself beautiful, and certainly no one she knows thinks of her in such terms. She is very strong and somewhat heavy-handed. Her one vanity is her black hair, which she refuses to cut shorter than shoulder-length. She spends so much time outside that her hair has lighter highlights, and she is tanned. Her eyes are dark brown, and she never wears makeup but doesn't really need it, anyway.

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---------- Post added 04-07-2013 at 06:48 PM ----------

Name: Finrod (Finn)
Occupation: Librarian/Mage
Age: 24
Skills: Mathematics, science, logic. Technical skill with a lyre. Somewhat above average magic. Trivia.
Strengths: Patience. Understanding written/spoken words. Memorization. Spells. Strategy.
Weaknesses: Physical strength. Speed, agility. Motion sickness. Pride.
Pet Peeves: Incompetence and idiocy; anything that disregards common sense. Pollen (which he is allergic to). Being accused of a lack of intelligence.
Fears: Anyone smarter or more powerful than he is. Rats (he's done the research; he knows how many diseases they carry).
Character Traits: Finrod is attracted to spectacle and loves almost anything flashy, bright, or loud. He loves making an impression, and he doesn't think it's possible to "go overboard." As a mage, he has trained his body decently well; he may not be particularly fast or strong, but he has endurance (this is mostly due to his strong will). He can use his own energy to keep a small fire lit for almost eight hours if he has to. He likes going for long walks, yoga, and dancing. He is deeply introspective and does not have any close friends.
History: Finrod was an orphan raised by monks who engendered in him a love of learning and found him a good placement at the main library in the capital. Through talent, Finrod has risen to become the assistant to the head librarian (and when she retires or dies, he will take her place). The monks tried to teach him gardening, which he hates (he doesn't like to be dirty or sweaty). Since leaving the monastery, Finrod has become rather worldly, but he still respects his teachers and does his best to appear to be following their belief system whenever he sees them. As they do not believe in using magic, Finrod has never told anyone that he is a mage.
Appearance: Finrod is of average height, with dark red hair, a few freckles (from his carefree boyhood), and green eyes. He keeps his hair fairly short. Also, since he needs spectacles but rarely uses them, they hang on a chain around his neck. His vanity is his eyes, which are deep and piercing, according to the many women (that is, five) who have swooned over them. He has a small scar under his left eye that he never talks about.

Here he is.

The ground shook under the weight of a gryphon landing. Dust rose up in the center of the compound where gryphons lived and were cared for. Standing there was the latest arrival from the messenger squad. A slim gryphon with flossy dark gray feathers, this one was built for speed and wasn't afraid to advertise it every single flight she went on earning her name which was Falcon. Her proud lift of the head as she sauntered off the landing pad and towards the side was a characteristic trait of her species. Gryphons were proud. Waiting for her was a diplomatic gryphon. One of the few that had managed to learn the human language. He spoke in his native language to her, but when he did turn to talk with a human, there was always a lot of S's and Z's added to each word he spoke.

On top of Falcon was her rider. A slim young lady with dark gray hair that was cut short. Slim and lean like her gryphon, she was unpacking the mail packages that had been tied on behind her. As Falcon moved back the Gryphon Embassador, he greeted her, "Greeeetttingsssssss, young rider." She nodded back and smiled, "Greetings to you Ambassador." Falcon walked into a smaller courtyard where some men waited on horses. The horses shied away from the natural predator while the men caught the packaged that the Falcon's rider threw down. Then Falcon knelt so that the girl could climb down. The girl landed lightly and turned to scratch above Falcon's beak, "Go take a rest dear. That was a good flight." Falcon knudged her back and then headed towards her roosting chambers.

The young rider sighed and wished for the millionth time that she could talk with Falcon. That fleeting feeling didn't last though. Within moments another friend came jogging up, "Hey Saber, come on. They have dessert at lunch today." Saber turned and ran to catch up. During wartime, dessert was a rare treat. She didn't want to miss it.



Over towards the battle lines a good flight away, a white dragon circled slowly overhead. Fading in and out of clouds, the man on top reined his beast around for one last pass. He had thought he had seen something and wanted to double-check. However his vision just wasn't worked. A mental nudge brought his focus to the beast beneath him. The dragon turned and cocked an eye at him. He sighed and nodded his consent. The white dragon headed back down for another pass, but this time his rider was seeing through the dragon's eyes. A slight trick of hand the dragon could do. It wasn't much, but it gave the rider a clue to what the dragon was thinking sometimes.

This time as they passed, the rider could clearly see a foot scout moving through the trees. Blindly the rider reached back for an arrow and strung his bow. Taking aim, he waited until right before the dragon turned towards the sky. Letting the string go, the arrow shot past and down with deadly accuracy. The scout crumbled and they shot towards the heavens. Archer let out a whoop and patted his dragon in victory, "We did it Silver! Let's head back to the camp." Breathless with exhilaration, they enjoyed the rest of their flight together.

Elemmire scowled as her best friend Anras threw back his head and laughed.

"What did I do wrong this time?" she demanded, clenching her fist in an effort to stop herself from punching him.

"I dunno, El. Maybe charmspeak isn't really your thing?"

Elemmire slammed her fist into the fencepost her friend was leaning against. "I paid good money for that spell! Elberth said I have to work on my people skills if I want to make captain."

Anras stopped laughing. "I know. Maybe you just need to practice. And, I dunno, smile or something."

Elemmire straightened her shoulders and pushed her dark hair behind them. "Again, then."

"Right. Now, walk over there and convince that guy to go on a date with you. March!"

Anras definitely did not smile as he watched Elemmire stalk toward the young man he knew from the archery range, muttering the spell she'd bought that morning under her breath. He certainly did not have to clutch the fencepost for support when the archer's eyes filled with fear at Elemmire's threatening stance, and there was absolutely no connection between Anras rolling on the ground in laughter a few seconds later and the sight of Elemmire chasing her mark across the compound, shouting about dinner at Serozi's. No connection at all.

*****

"Ni'rch mokh yon-lapan," Finn murmured, kneeling by the fireplace. Halfway through his second repetition, the kindling lit, and within seconds, his room was lit in a healthy glow.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

"Enter," he called, tucking his book of spells under the pillow on his sleeping mat.

"Finrod, you're awake!" Brother Huor said with a smile. "And you've lit the fire! I guess I didn't need to bring you these."

Finn eyed the matchbook, thinking fast. "Oh, yeah, I… uh… I found a match left over from my visit last year. I'll use those tomorrow. Thank you, sir."

Brother Huor frowned slightly but said nothing as he handed them over. "Everyone is so looking forward to seeing you, Finrod. Brother Beren spent all day baking you a special surprise for tomorrow, and Brothers Camus and Corin can't wait to show you how well they've tended your tomatoes. And of course, I myself am looking forward to beating you in at least three games of Go. I do wish you could come to visit us more than once a year."

Finn sighed theatrically. "Yes, and I wish I could, but I'm so busy now, what with Mrs. Nenharma getting closer to retirement. The library needs me more than St. Benedictus ever did."

"And we are more proud of you than you know, Finrod," Brother Huor clapped him on the shoulder. "Now, I'm sure you are tired from your journey, and we're all expecting you at breakfast, so I will leave you to your rest."

"Thank you, sir." Finn smiled into the kind old eyes and did not move until Brother Huor had closed the door behind him. Resisting the urge to grab his spell book and clutch it to his chest, Finn stared into the fire he had spoken into existence and wondered how long he could keep his secret from the only family he had ever known.

Saber left the crowded dining hall full and satisfied. Today there had been apple pie, one of her favorite treats. Saber loved apples in general and wished again for the countryside where her home was. Remembering the clear air with farms surrounding their gryphon training grounds brought on a melancholy feeling. Decided to go somewhere quiet before her next messenger flight, Saber's gray eyes sought the quickest path to the library.

A few minutes later she was stepping inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned and headed towards one of the back corners. Grabbing a random newspaper on the way, she reached a small couch and curled up in the corner. Pretending to read, she let herself relax and slowly drift into a silent sleep.


Archer looked down at the camp below. There wasn't much space for a large dragon there. They headed for the outskirts and landed as gracefully as they could in the small space. Silver looked around annoyed when he saw his cow was not waiting him upon arrival. Looking over at Archer, Archer quickly raised his hands in defense, "Don't eat me. It's not my fault the cooks forgot." Silver shook his head impatiently and without waiting for his tack to be taken off, took flight again.

Watching his dragon leave to hunt, Archer sighed and rubbed his white spiky hair. This was a complicated day. Heading into camp, he was surprised to see off to one side where there was a clearing one of the soldiers chasing another. Only she was female. He shook his head. It went against everything he was raised to believe to let her so near danger. However it was her choice and he had no reason to interfere.

It said more about her determination than her ability to charmspeak that Elemmire dined at Serozi's that evening. Her dashing dinner companion (Anras's description, not hers) was just barely more than five feet tall and trembled in his chair like a new-weaned puppy.

"So," Elemmire said after nearly half an hour of complete silence. "Uh, how was your day?"

"F-fine," the lad stammered. What was he, a twelve-year-old who'd lied his way onto the force? What on earth was he so afraid of? At her piercing glare, the lad jumped, swallowed hard, and continued. "And yours?"

"Frustrating," Elemmire said. The lad shrank a little more.

Elemmire sighed, took a sip of her draught, and whispered the charmspeak spell once more, trying to remember the sort of thing her older sister would say. "I had to chase a dozen grown men around the compound before I could find someone manly enough to accept my gracious offer of dinner."

She was rewarded by a quickly stifled half-smile from the youth, who straightened up in his chair and managed to bring his half-sandwich to his mouth for a bite. Encouraged, Elemmire opened her mouth to continue the conversation when her eyes caught on a flash of white hair.

*****

Finn awoke with the dawn for the first time in almost a year. He stretched and smiled a little at nothing as the last vestiges of sleep worked their way out of his system. As much as he loved his city, he never slept so deeply anywhere but in his old room at St. Benedictus's.

He'd already made his bed and changed into the robes Brother Huor got for him by the time he remembered to hide his spell book, and the thought of his deception dimmed his smile more than he wanted to admit.

It wasn't that the use of magic was illegal or anything, and certainly, the monks were well-acquainted with many of his worse choices, but-- they did not approve of magic, as it was an invitation to laziness, and Finn did not relish the thought of disappointing them.

"Finny, you there?" Brother Beren called through the door. "I made sweet rolls! A whole tray, just for you. I even left off the raisins, much as it pained me." The thump on the door told Finn that Brother Beren had collapsed theatrically to emphasize his point, probably clutching his "wounded" heart.

"Don't hurt yourself, Pop!" Finn called, grinning. "I'll be down in a minute."

"All right, Finny. I'll try to keep the wolves away!"

Even the ice Finn had to break in his wash-basin did nothing to dampen his spirits this time.

Spending the day randomly seeing the female soldier running after half-uncertain men had been intriguing. Archer could figure out for the life of him exactly what to make out of either her or the situations he kept seeing her in. Hungry after his scouting flight, he had ended up at Serozi's. Settled in to spend a quiet time with his meal, he was halfway through it when a couple made their entrance.

Startled was an understatement. It was the same soldier from earlier. With her catch caught and strung along with her too it seemed. A smaller man who was not apparently acting like much of one seemed shaken to the core. Not that he could blame the fellow. He recognized the female soldier now that he was closer. Not knowing her personally but from jests by some of the other scouts that he hung with. She was said to be very passionate, to put it lightly, about whatever her mind was set on. The last rumor he had heard indicated that she had smashed a guy to a pulp for simply sparring wrong in the ring. He didn't give those rumors credit. However the anxiety was on the man's face as he sat across from her regardless.

Biting back a chuckle and finding it amusing, Archer stood and indicated he was done with his meal. After he was done with the attendant, he turned and slowly started walking on a route that would take him past the table of interest. Seeing the man look up as he paused by the female soldier's side, he commented, "Just wanted to express my pleasure to meeting you both here. I trust you have had an enjoyable day?" Basic comradeship among the fighting force was what he tried to project. Yet the real reason behind the stop and innocent question was curiosity at most.


Saber woke with a start, her gray hair falling over her eyes. The library was still quiet and still as it always way. Brushing the hair back, she looked around with furrowed eyebrows. What had disturbed her? Rustling sounds of paper and a book closing behind her caught her attention, and she stilled. Someone muttered something and left. Waiting till the person's footsteps disappeared, she slowly turned and sat up. Looking over the couch at the table behind it, she saw that some books had been pulled out and used. They were all closed, but their titles caught her attention. "Decoding Methods" was the one on top as well as books on dragons and magic. Specific titles that could be found anywhere and were well known. Still, a feeling on unease filled her.

Turning so she could stand up, Saber hurried around and looked at the table for signs of their use. Nothing. Except a piece of paper sticking out of one. Lifting the corner carefully, she saw a plain letter filled with romantic rubbish and dates. Some of the letters and numbers had been circled creating the titles of these books. The numbers must be page numbers. Hearing the footsteps return, Saber let the cover back down and gingerly hurried back to the couch. She slipped back to the couch and crawled down on it to appear to be sleeping, in case the owner of the footsteps should check to see if someone was on it. Whoever it was cursed softly when he arrived and left.

This time she waited a lot longer to sit up. The piece of paper was gone. Sighing, she made her way around the back wall to the other side of the library. From there, she went to the front desk, returned the newspaper, and headed outside. Pulling out a pencil and paper from her shoulder bag, she wrote down the page numbers and titles. In the privacy of her room, she would look into researching this. It was a mystery and those could liven up her life in a way few other things beyond flying could.

Elemmire raised her eyebrows as she sized up the white-haired stranger. Black leather armor and a red cape were a striking combination, but they wouldn't be useful protection in any fight she'd ever had. A scout, then, or a messenger. Some cushy, relatively safe job to keep him away from the action.

When a pointed look at her companion failed to convince him to speak, as he should have, given that the man's remark seemed directed at him (and Elemmire had certainly never seen or spoken with him before), Elemmire exhaled in what could almost be called a sigh and replied.

"Yes, thank you, comrade. I trust your daily flight was as safe and comfortable as you wished?"

Elemmire realized too late that what she had said could easily be taken as an insult and frowned. Trying to improve her people skills seemed to be having the opposite effect.

*****

As wonderful as his vacation with the monks at St. Benedictus's had been, Finn was glad when the steam-coach chugged to a stop at Carlin's grand central station. The bustle and noise of the capital city made Finn feel alive.

Of course, he could do without so many security checks. He knew they were at war, and everything, but did they really have to stop every sentient being for questioning every other block? Walking the 1,000 meters between the station and his room above the library took him three hours, and he'd lived in the city for six years. Surely the guards knew him well enough by now.

"Stop, you! You must return for questioning at the checkpoint." A deep voice barked from behind him as he reached the library steps. Finn turned to see a tall, heavy-set soldier waylay a man rather similar in appearance to himself.

"I mean no disrespect, officer," the man was saying. "But . . . but . . . my wife is in labor across town, and I must go to be with her. Please, can this wait?"

The soldier's expression softened a little. "I'm sorry," he said. "The new regs say we have to check everyone. If you cooperate, it should only take a few minutes."

"But you don't understand! I promised her--"

"Look, son, I understand plenty. I have three kids of my own, and I was on hand to welcome every one of them into the world. But rules are rules." The soldier planted his hand in the middle of the man's back and slowly propelled him back to the checkpoint. "Besides, most kids take a lot longer to get here than new parents think they will. I'm sure you'll get there with plenty of time to spare."

Finn watched them walk away, the word "odd" wandering through his mind in search of something to connect with. A moment's reflection revealed nothing, so he shrugged and continued past the library to his tiny apartment. He fully intended to sleep for days.

Archer raised an eyebrow and directed his reddish-brown eyes at her. Smirking, he sized up her sudden frown and the suddenly froze companion, he responded, "Yep. It was very comfortable. Silver and I cooled off with the breezes that only exist high up. Then we enjoyed the exhilaration that comes from diving towards the earth. I recently had my saddle refurbished so it was snug and kept me from strapped onto Silver, so we had no hesitation in rushing towards the enemy with arrows flying."

Adjusting slightly so that he was leaning on one of the side chairs, he returned the question to her, curious at her interesting facial expressions and reactions. "How about you? I trust your daily runs about the camp were as enjoyable as they appeared?" Remember her chasing guys about for reasons unknown had been amusing. However with his eternal smirk on his face, it was hard to tell when the teasing began or ended. Only Silver could tell what he was up to. Something Archer had learned through their endless flights together.


The room was framed in shelves. Lining every spare space of wall leaving just the doors, window, and furniture spared. Barely. Saber had a bed in a corner and a desk in the middle. Laying on the desk were some of the books she needed, but not all. She was missing the book on magic. After looking over the code and realizing it was one of the more complex ones she had not learned, Saber realized that in order to figure out what was on those pages worth so much interest, she would have to break the code.

Sighing, she dropped onto her knees, staring at the bookcase before her in frustration. She didn't have that decoding book either. It appeared she would have to return to the library. The setting sun warned her that she might do well to get some supper. Groaning, she got up and went to the door. Locking it behind her, she headed across from the barracks towards the main cafeteria. The fortress that employed people for helping with the war were good at making sure you had room and board. It didn't mean though there was extra comfort or diversity, especially with meals. It was probably soup and bread again.

Taking the back entrance inside, she paused at the food prep area. Seeing the vegetable trays, she had a sudden inspiration. One that maybe she would only get. Still, it would be fun. Quickly she rearranged the different vegetables into a very pretty arrangement. Each tray was different when she was done. Walking away, she grinned. They now formed a code. If you could read it, then you would get the joke. Each one had a synonym for plain, boring, or untasty. It amused her and that was enough.

Elemmire assumed the “Silver” the man spoke of was a gryphon or dragon of some sort. She wondered which one. Since he appeared to know more of her, however, she was reluctant to ask.

“Running through the camp, as I did earlier today” — she could not prevent her eyes from drifting to her dinner companion, who betrayed no reaction— “was exactly as enjoyable as it looked.” Which was to say, not at all. Elemmire was well-equipped to carry her weight, and her armor was like a second skin to her, but still, running in it was hot and uncomfortable.

Unsure what else to say and anxious to be finished with this off-putting and uncomfortable conversation, she turned to the archer across from her. “Elrond, have you anything to add?”

“Uh, no. No, I’m good,” he said, with the most grace he’d used in conversation all evening.

Elemmire carefully moved her hand under the table and clenched it into a fist so tight it hurt. This was exactly why she hated social situations. She had nothing to say, but the man was clearly not finished with the conversation, and Elrond refused to help.

She had to do the same thing with her other hand when she remembered that a captain wouldn't be afraid of a casual chat with a stranger at a restaurant.

*****

Finn woke with the dawn the next morning, a clear side effect of spending a week with the monks. What was not so easily explained, however, was the fact that his thoughts immediately turned to the exchange he’d seen the day before between the checkpoint soldier and the expectant father. Something was off about it—Finn was sure of that—but he could not explain why.

The incident was still turning circles in his mind when he unlocked the library doors and stepped inside to begin his work two hours early. It disappeared from his thoughts, however, when he opened his office door.

A mountain of new books adorned his desk, his floor, and even his windowsill. He found no explanation for it until his boss arrived.

“These books need to be catalogued and added to our shelves,” Mrs. Nenharma said, brushing past him into her own, much larger, office. “This war has made so many people uneasy about their belongings.”

With that, the old woman sat down and immersed herself into her own work, which at the moment was research for a wealthy client. Knowing he’d been dismissed, Finn steeled himself for at least a day’s worth of very boring work.

Archer was still grinning the next morning at breakfast. The look on Elemmire's face when he continued the conversation instead of leaving was fresh on his mind. Biting into a piece of bread, he chewed thoughtfully at what appeared to be angry eyes. Still, it was worth every moment of it. Surely was wan't that despicable to be around. However, if looks could kill, as it appeared to him from his experience with women, then she would have drilled him into the ground.

Chucking inside at the obvious displeasure that she was displaying, he decided to take the lead. "I'm Archer by the way," he said as he extended his hand to shake her. "I'm a scout for the army and my partner is Silver, the large white dragon that you've probably seen circling up above."


Saber arrived at the library very content with herself. Over the course of the last 24 hours, she had managed to set up codes all over town. There was the bird seed bags by the park's fountains. They said please eat me or something like that. Then there was the laundry she had left at the cleaning service. The instructions was been written across the page most disorganizedly, but to someone who knew codes it talked about needing a bath. Now she approached the library determined to unravel the code before her from that note. The note was gone, but the pattern she semi remembered.

Walking inside, she headed up to the head librarian's office. In and out in moments, she left a request for some more codebreaking books as she was sure that code wasn't here. It was a pleasure to have the library's help with such matters. She would probably ask for more information on magic once she inspected those pages. For now, that was her goal. Inspecting. Feeling very much like a detective, she went to a empty table and pulled out one of those books. It was on dragons.

The next morning, Elemmire woke up late, which meant that in order to get to the arena in time to teach her beginner class, she had to skip breakfast. This, in conjunction with her failure at Serozi's the previous evening, put her in a rather foul mood.

Still, she was a soldier, and she knew her duty, and she wasn't about to let the way she felt (rotten) get in the way of doing her job. When she got to the arena, however, she found her students laughing and talking in a loose circle and not completing their daily drills.

Gathering her voice, she yelled, "Attention!"

Every mouth snapped closed, and her students rushed to their assigned places. Elemmire almost smiled.

"A soldier has less responsibility than his commanding officer," Elemmire said, her voice quiet but steely. "However, he is responsible for protecting his own life and the lives of his comrades. We are at war. You cannot afford to be remiss in the performance of your duty. When I am not here to make you practice, you must practice on your own. A second's hesitation in battle could cost your your life. Do you understand?"

Backs straightened, and eyes dropped. "Yes, ma'am," they chorused.

"Good," Elemmire nodded, not-smiling again. "Now begin."

*****

By 10:00, Finn was exhausted. Cataloguing books wasn't difficult at all, but it was time-consuming and very, very boring. With a sigh, he set the book he'd just finished on the cart and stretched. After a moment's thought, he left his office and poked his head into Mrs. Nenharma's office.

"I'm going to take an early lunch," he announced.

Mrs. Nenharma pushed her white hair behind her ears and frowned up at him. "You have been gone for a week. You are behind in your work, and you wish to take more time off?"

"I will only take an hour." Finn did not point out that Mrs. Nenharma often spent her working hours asleep at her desk.

"Fine."

He had not expected her to capitulate so easily.

"But first, take a moment and find this book, would you?"

Ah, of course. There was a catch. Someone had requested help with research, and whoever it was did not have the money or influence to warrant the head librarian's personal attention. If Finn knew his boss at all, the book was obscure enough that he'd probably have to spend an hour or two searching through the archived works in the basement.

Still, it beat cataloguing.

"All right, what's the book?"

The morning had passed in a lazy routine of bathing, cleaning leathers, and working on cleaning Silver's scales. He was a large dragon and it was time consuming, even with the extra help that had been assigned to dragon detail. It was natural for the scales to eventually turn from their deep hue to a shiny, dry version that would fall off. Still, every time that such a scale was found, Archer paused to rub in a moisturizer. The longer the scales were on the dragon, the stronger they became. The older the dragon, the longer the scales would stay. He had started collecting his partners scales long ago. Each scale made a nice small shield that when braced on the arm could protect a human's entire torso. If he could find a way to craft them, then maybe someday they could be used in larger shields or even as defense on walls.

A messenger ran into the clearing where he and several other dragon riders were resting. Breathless from the sprint, he handed an envelop up to Archer. Archer took it and frowned as he opened it. Orders. There was a light skirmish rumored to be heading towards them. Gritting his teeth, he quickly yelled out commands to those below on the ground to get his tack. They ran off while he quickly began gathering the cleaning rags from Silver's back and hauling it all down. Scouting ahead was a good idea. So far the enemy didn't have a way to bring down this nation's famous dragons. A dragon was naturally too well protected. So he would be able to get intel and return in time to make use of it. It was time to fly.


Saber frowned at the book she was looking at. It was on dragons. She was starting to see a similarity between the different pages that had been referenced. It was parts of the dragon and times of their lives. This, in addition to the magic references on how to combine spells, had her nervous. Someone had found a formula to attack dragons. Did a mage strong enough have access to this information? She needed that codebook. Not just the codebook, but a book explaining what the properties of these spells were. That was classified information though. She wrote out the request and went to the head librarian's office. Knocking on the door, she opened it.

"You again, the library is still getting that book for you. It will be another few minutes," said Mrs. Nenharma.

"It isn't that, I need information on the properties of some spells," explained Saber.

Mrs. Nenharma frowned, "You know that those books are restricted and kept securely away."

"I know, I would just want information on specific ones. You wouldn't have to pull the books out, just copy down the information on those specific ones," pleaded Saber.

With a sigh, Mrs. Nenharma looked down thinking, then looked back up at her. "Alright. That will take more time as it has to be copied. I trust you though. You have done a lot of work in the past to help this nation. Though your work went unacknowledged, you haven't seeked recompense. So for those slights that should have brought you honor, I will do as you ask." She took the folded paper from Saber and added, "I'm burning this request when we are done. You should burn those notes once we get them written up for you. Don't keep them for future reference."

Saber bowed her thanks, "Of course." Turning, she left and went to gather her stuff together. She could pick all this back up after lunch. Placing the books she had been studying on the shelves instead of leaving them out where another could be alerted to her possible purpose, Saber placed her notes into a folder and headed for the door. The barracks might serve the same food everyday, but it was reliable. Still, a change would be nice. Heading for the bakery, she breathed in a sigh of relief for the change in pace.

After her class, Elemmire spent the morning at the archery range with Anras, who was sickeningly good with distance weapons.

"Okay, give me something to shoot at," Anras was saying, notching another arrow.

Elemmire eyed the targets. "Outside edge of the left target, 11:00."

Anras let his arrow fly, and they walked over to check its placement.

"Perfect!" Anras crowed, pulling the arrow out and inspecting its tip to make sure it was reusable.

"It's not bad," Elemmire said, raising an eyebrow. "But I'd call that 11:30, not a true 11."

"El, you jerk! It's 11:00 exactly." Anras used a finger to count around the imaginary clock face. "You're just jealous because you can barely even hit the target at this distance."

Elemmire forgot what she was about to say (a truly devastating put-down, she was sure) when a shadow passed overhead, and she looked up.

Anras noticed her distraction and moved to stand next to her. "What are we looking at?"

Elemmire shook her head slightly and kept staring. "Just dragons."

Anras frowned and looked at her. "Why are we looking at dragons?"

Elemmire shrugged and turned back to the target. "No reason. I met a rider yesterday at Serozi's, and I was just wondering whether he's flying today."

Anras grinned. "Oh, really? So I guess the charmspeak worked, after all."

Elemmire scowled. "It did not! And anyway, that's not the point. The point is that you got lazy with that last shot, and now you're trying to cover it up! You can't do that in a battle, you know."

"I did not! And anyway, in a battle, a shot that's a couple inches off would still do serious damage."

"Maybe, but your target won't be standing nicely in a field waiting for you to hit it."

The other archers on the field lowered their weapons to watch and laughed as the lighthearted banter turned into shoving and evolved into playful wrestling. Elemmire won.

*****

In the end, Finn couldn't find the book. He'd catalogued most of their archives himself (because apparently he was the first person in a hundred years to see why they needed a system), and he knew the book existed. He knew what it looked like, and who wrote it; he even knew where it had been published. He also knew that should have been in the middle of the third shelf in the second magic aisle-- he'd finished reading it and returned it less than a month before.

But where the book should have been, there was only a scrap of blank paper with a few random symbols on it. Finn snatched it up and crumpled it, then smoothed it out again, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Paper wasn't quite a rare commodity yet, but since the raid on the paper mills near the border, it had gone significantly up in price.

Back upstairs, Finn knocked on Mrs. Nenharma's door.

"Why did you send me down there?" He asked, trying very hard to keep his frustration from his voice. "The book isn't there, and you must know that because people have to get special permission to check out archived books, and I know it was there a month ago."

"You couldn't find it?"

"Well, of course I couldn't find it! It wasn't there!"

"Finn, no one has even been to look at the archives since you went there last. Didn't you check the access records by the door? If the book isn't there, then you must have put it somewhere else."

Finn closed his eyes, breathed in, and slowly exhaled. "I am sorry I wasted your time, then, Mrs. Nenharma. I will go and find it."

Mrs. Nenharma nodded her satisfaction. "Before you go, that same client who wanted the book stopped in half an hour ago. She needs more information beyond what that book would provide."

"Of course." Finn smiled and took the note. When the door to his own office was safely closed and locked, he whispered the fire spell and thrust all of his anger and frustration into the blaze that sprang up between his hands. Slowly, the desire to burn things dissipated, and he released the flames with a wave of his fingers.

He knew he had not misplaced anything, and before this day was over, he would find out who had. In the meantime, though, he was going to take his now-late lunch break.

His heart in his chest, Archer climbed into the saddle that was designed specifically for Silver and himself. Strapping his legs in to ensure that he didn't fall to earth once up in the air, Archer looked around. There were four other scout dragons and their riders also preparing. They were all armed archer. The five of them would scout ahead. As soon as the last of them were ready, Silver took the lead jump into the air. Pulling them both up higher and higher, Archer saw in a glance that ten stockier dragons were flying towards them to follow them in. Forming a V-formation, Archer turned Silver towards enemy lines.

Once they were past the last of the encampment, each dragon split off from Silver and headed away towards a different part of the set border. Archer kept an eye out for any signs of skirmishers below. Two of the ten Battle Dragons stayed with him. The dragons carried each a large boulder in their hind feet. Their riders armed with slingshots and rocks. It was not going to be fun for whoever they met. A dragon by itself was a fierce animal to take down. A dragon protecting his rider was exponentially worse.


The bakery smelled of fresh loaves and pastries. There was the definite sense of peace that this place could bring in the early afternoon. The sun shining with no sense of rush. Happy to have spent her time here, Saber slowly pushed herself up and paused on her way out the door. She had rearranged the pastries on their trays earlier, and it brought a sense of pleasure to see them now. They formed yet another coded message. This one said, "Warning, I'm filled with sugar. Eat at your own risk." It amused her and it was with a smile that she left the bakery.

Elemmire re-checked the straps holding her armor, gloves, and boots in place. She knew everything was perfect (she'd just been sparring, for goodness' sake, and she'd double-checked everything then), but she knew from experience that the green troops under her command grew nervous and tended to make mistakes when she simply watched and waited for them to finish their own preparations.

Plus, watching her go through her routine tended to help them remember to double-check everything, as she did.

Tugging her left glove further up her wrist, Elemmire scanned her soldiers. All three women had finished and were standing in a corner awaiting orders. Like her, they were used to fighting harder for their place than their male comrades, and they had learned to prepare quickly and quietly during basic to avoid catcalls. No one would mock them here, but the habit remained. She scanned them head to foot, mentally reviewing her checklist, and nodded at them. They had done well.

Most of her men were also ready to go; they sat on benches in the middle of the room, murmuring occasionally to each other. In truth, only four were still preparing. One, Xavier, seemed to be having trouble fastening his scabbard. Remembering that this was his first gamma alert, Elemmire strode over to him and touched his shoulder.

"There's an easier way," she said, reaching for the fastening on her own scabbard. There was little value in telling him that gamma alerts almost never turned into anything serious; at some point, they would. "Just loop it over this, see, and pull that through, and-- yes, perfect. Again."

Xavier's hands were steadier as he undid and re-tightened the fastenings. Elemmire had him do it once more, then squeezed his shoulder lightly and moved on to the next rookie.

*****

Serozi's was closed by the time Finn got to the door. Normally, the restaurant was open all afternoon, and the chalkboard by the door said nothing about closing early.

Too curious to stop himself, Finn grabbed the door handle. "Tal-muv tu'ash shati-svep." Hearing the bolts slide out of place, he opened the door and stepped inside. All was dark.

He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust and looked around, listening for any signs of movement. Nothing happened, so he called a greeting. "Hello? Anyone here? Stefan? Arwyn? Piotr?"

No response. Finn searched for signs of disturbance. There were none. Everything was swept clean and in its place. Still, Serozi's was never closed in the middle of the afternoon, not even on holidays. Everyone who worked at the compound liked to come here when the food at the mess was bad, and-- oh.

They must have gotten word of a skirmish or something, and so everyone was on duty. Stefan had probably figured it was cheaper to send everyone home than to wait around in an empty restaurant hoping for business.

With a mental shrug, Finn went back outside. "Tal-muv klacha shati-svep," he murmured to the closed door, listening in mild satisfaction as the bolts slid back into place. He'd try the bakery instead.

The air was crisp. Much more improved than the encampment the army had set up outside of Carlin. The place always had dust stirred up from training and the landing/taking off of dragons. The fortress inside of Carlin was no better with the gryphons and their feathers floating around. He rather take the encampment over the fortress, the feared Stone Circle, anyday. However, just thinking about those who lived outside of the encampment brought a twinge of jealousy out of him. Those on the outer farms or in the small villages were less protected, but he envied them. Those in town were more protected, but caught between the army, fortress, and all the protocols that came with being in such an environment. Just getting to Serozi's was a pain with the security checkpoints.

A mental nudge forced his attention back to Silver, his white dragon. They had put a lot of distance between them and the base of operations. A good 15 miles at least, getting them almost halfway to the lines. Looking ahead, he still couldn't see the main army or the border where most of the fighting was. But that wasn't his goal. It was below. No sign of any enemy units yet, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Flanked but further back were the two fighting dragons that had accompanied them. Pure muscle, they were slowly falling behind. Archer didn't mind as long as they were in sight and could understand if he found the reported enemy. They had to be here somewhere. Perhaps one of the other scouts had had more luck?


Stepping back into the library, Saber decided to try her luck with more of the research materials. It would be some time before she got the notes or the codebook it seemed, so she was on her own until then. Perhaps a little history on dragons would produce some insights. Finding a general history book to give her context and a frame to search in, she sat down and started looking at the index. Pulling out paper, she wrote down some questions she already was gaining from that alone.

There would be more questions than answers but Saber was willing to bend herself to the task. To double safe guard her notes, she wrote everything in code. She had put the alphabet in a code she had created to begin with. Then she wrote it out in a pattern that she had also created. With it this far different from normal conventions, she then used a code that novices wouldn't know to write it out. The first two steps were done in her head, then final step was written on paper. Smiling at her success at hiding her notes, she moved on to the first chapter.

Waiting was always Elemmire's least favorite part. She didn't like putting her people in danger, but she much preferred known dangers to nebulous possibilities. If there had to be a fight, she reasoned, they may as well get it over with.

Today was not Elemmire's day. Each unit had been sent out on patrol along the major roads to and from Carlin, and while Elemmire was grateful to be doing something, her unit had not found anything in two hours, and she could not help but feel they were wasting their time.

"Company, halt." She called. Everyone stopped. She moved out of her place in the middle of the right flank and commanded them to turn and face her.

"An enemy that is lost or confused, as Command thinks these men are, would not take the main road." She glanced at their surroundings. "An enemy that is spying would also require more cover. Divide into companies of five."

Once they had done so, she sent eight groups to check the forested areas within calling distance of the road, leaving ten men and herself to continue the assigned patrol as ordered.

*****

As Finn waited in line to place his order at the bakery, he noticed that his eyes were continually going back to the pastry trays on display. Something was odd about the placement of the rolls. Another glance told him the same thing about the doughnuts and turnovers.

Leaving his place in line, Finn walked over to the displays. "What is this, code?" he muttered to himself. "Who would leave a code at a bakery?"

Finn searched his pockets for a pencil and paper-- anything that he could write with or on. Unable to find either, he did the next best thing. Staring intently at the arrangements before him, he murmured, "Mok vokaya."

He repeated this process three times. When he could recall the exact placement of every last doughnut hole with his back turned and his eyes closed, he stepped back into line and placed his order.

Archer and Silver were flying pretty, having switched to Silver's vision. Looking through Silver's eyes was disorienting for Archer, but he gladly let the straps keep him in the saddle while he looked about below them. This high up allowed them to see more ground and so far, nothing.

Suddenly the view of the ground swung away. Archer momentarily was confused as Silver looked away from the search area and off to the side. Through Silver's eyes, Archer could see another of the scout dragon's flying towards them. Silver must have heard what he could not, the dragon's call. The dragon and it's rider were much too far for humans to hear, but evidently close enough to get Silver's attention.

The creature Silver was looking at placed it's wings to their fullest spam and flipped sideways so that he was as fully visible as can be seen when you are parallel with someone. Then it veered off in the same form away and back towards Carlin. Silver watched until the dragon started flapping again, then released his vision from Archer's mind.

Archer gasped and leaned forward over the saddle horn. Letting the dizzy spell pass, he felt Silver beneath him questioning with his body if they should head back. Archer agreed, "Yes, let's head back. It appears someone else found the enemy that had gotten behind enemy lines." Silently he hoped that this would allow him to take a day off at Carlin itself. Scouts had rights that protected them and their dragons from overuse. They had flown their maximum amount of flights for the week before getting a day off. So hopefully tonight he would be staying in a inn or at the barracks at the Stone Circle instead of in the dusty encampment's tents.


Saber looked up to running footsteps. Someone came running up to her. A foot messenger. The young lad, out of breath, said, "Mount up." Not pausing to gather her deciphering notes or put away the books on dragon history, she simply grabbed her main folder with the research inside and ran. Sprinting through the library, down the steps, and out down the street towards the gryphon courtyard, Saber put all her strength into getting to Falcon.

Reaching the take off and landing area, she saw Falcon saddled and ready to go. Another messenger waited for her beside Falcon. Not slowly down, she hurried to Falcon's side and started to scramble up. As she went, the messenger relayed the message, "Enemy found and eliminated. All parties to return to their assigned positions at the encampment. Here is the main road you are to find groups along." She showed Saber a map with a highlighted section. Saber looked at it momentarily then slid into her saddle and strapped herself on. As the last pull of the straps was made, Falcon was jumping.

This is what made the gryphon messenger service so great. Speed. They were fast at getting messages anywhere quickly. More quickly than man, horse, boat, or magical signal. They were that good and proud of it. Now as she began to put on her helmet that was tied to the front of her saddle, Falcon streaked over the Stone Circle's walls and above Carlin. Leaving both fortress and city behind, they headed out to located the soldiers on the ground that needed to be recalled. No doubt that they would want to return as soon as they could. Being out for several hours, they would be eager for an early supper for the appetites most soldiers were known for.

Elemmire reached up and snagged the message before it hit the ground, smartly saluting the gryphon and its rider circling overhead. The note was simple: "Enemy found and neutralized; return at once."

Maybe dispersing her men hadn't been a brilliant idea, after all. Mentally slapping herself, she turned to her company. "Enemy's been found; we've been recalled. You two, call on the left side of the road; Xavier and I'll call on the right. The rest of you, stay put and keep alert. There's always a chance someone missed something."

Relieved, everyone sighed almost as one, saluted, and did her bidding.

"Let's do this quickly," Elemmire called as she ran to her edge of the forest. "I'd like to be home before the mess closes."

As tired as they were, Elemmire's company was still efficient. Within minutes, nearly everyone was back in formation-- all but Gwen, one of her female soldiers, and Ewan, a rookie. No one had seen them in nearly half an hour.

"They're supposed to check in in about two minutes," Elemmire said, checking her timepiece. "Let us continue in the direction they were heading and see if we can catch them before they reach the rendezvous point."

This time, Elemmire heard audible groans. She was about to chastise them when Xavier stepped out of line.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said, keeping his eyes down respectfully. "But could we ask the gryphon for help?"

Looking back up, Elemmire saw the messengers still circling overhead. Probably they were waiting to confirm that the orders were being obeyed.

"Yes, Xavier," she said. "Thank you." Clearly, the gryphon and its rider had nowhere else to be, and she certainly didn't want to go on report for being to slow to follow instructions. She waved frantically at the beast with both hands and yelled.

When there was no response, Elemmire bid her company do the same.

*****

By the time Finn got back to the library, he'd made exactly zero progress in decoding the message he'd seen at the bakery. He was quite sure it was a code-- what else would it be?-- but he hadn't studied codes much since Brother Huor had started to teach him basic encryption his last year at the monastery.

He was so preoccupied with all the possibilities (his favorite was "spy." of course) that he almost didn't notice the huge mess on one of the library tables near his office. He considered calling someone from the front desk to take care of it, but a closer look revealed that almost all the books were on shelves facing the table, and walking back downstairs would take much more work than doing the job himself. Plus, the papers looked like someone's belongings, and the front desk would just give them to him to hold for a week, anyway.

"I wish people would just take care of their stuff," he muttered as he sorted the books. "How much time would it have taken to just stick those papers in a pocket or something?"

He finished replacing the books and went back for the papers, glanced at them, and set them on the "lost and found" table in his office.

Pulling out his slate and some chalk, he set to work writing down the code he'd seen at the bakery.

Seeing a great deal of movement down among the trees, Saber reined Falcon into a spiral down. Falcon spread out her lovely gray wings and tilted into a smooth glide that took them into a wide circle. As they come in closer to the earth, she could easily see the road and paths from various angles. It was the army group who had still not headed back. They were waving and shouting up at her. Realizing that they must have a message to send back, and knowing that the gryphon messenger system was reliable for speed, she stroked Falcon's neck and they dropped straight down the last few hundred feet. Spreading out her wings last minute to slow the impact, they landed with a thumb raising up dust, leaves, and twigs all around them creating almost a smoke screen that the breeze cleared just as immediately.

*****

Archer and Silver has long since relayed the message to the other two warrior dragons and headed back ahead of them. Taking the scenic route, they were enjoying practicing flying low right above the tree tops. Zipping as much between the trees as they dared before listing up when the trees were just too close together, Archer worked to keep himself balanced right while Silver tilted and bent so that neither wings nor scaley hide touched so much as a left.

Finally the trees started thinning out, reminding him that with their speed, it wasn't a long way out of the forest and to the open plains that graced the hills before Carlin. Sighing, he pulled Silver up and they headed skyward. With a little attitude, they peacefully made their way to the army encampment. Landing with a thud and the usualy dustcloud, Archer frowned to see that once again there was no cows waiting to be fed to Silver. Turning and raising an eyebrow at his dragon, he saw Silver also had the look of surprise but also underlying fury.

The tack crew came over to quickly start unbuckling the gear. One of them muttered to Archer as he worked, "It has been the same for the others too. Not just you. Started yesterday when a few of you came back without meat waiting. Now today it has been that way for everyone. The cooks are sending anything from their herds."

Archer sighed, "Silver can just go hunting. He is smart enough to go far from where humans live so as to not mess with the hunting in their areas. All the dragons are." Silver dipped his head in acknowledgment and as the last of workers climbed off of him, rose in a flurry of wing flapping and was gone. Hunger driving him to replenish his energy reserves.

The messenger was young and pretty, with gray hair that somehow only made her look younger and more appealing, a fact which made Xavier blush. Suppressing a smile, Elemmire cut to the chase.

"I've lost two of my people," Elemmire said. "Can you please help us find them?A woman and a man; she is experienced, but he is not. They left us along the road fifty clicks back and were to meet us at the waypoint about ten clicks ahead five minutes ago."

She paused, unsure whether that would be enough; she'd never interacted much with a messenger before. Messengers were just the dots in the sky who sometimes delivered messages. Sometimes maybe she'd see them running out of camp like they would pay to work anywhere else.

"Their orders were to remain within calling distance, but our calls have received no answer. I'd be grateful for anything you can do. They're good people."

*****

"'Warning: I'm filled with sugar. Eat at your own risk,'" Finn read aloud. "What on earth does that mean?"

Finn knew little of military intelligence protocols; perhaps the sugar-filled pastries were stand-ins for something? He was quite sure he'd gotten the message right; nothing he'd tried made any remote sort of sense, given the letters used and the setting chosen. But several hours of thought and research had given him no satisfying answers to what it all meant.

His best guess was that someone was warning someone else about flattery-- words that seemed sweet at first but had a darker purpose lurking beneath. But who was flattering whom? Who sent the message, and where was it going?

He was going to have to watch the bakery. Finn checked the time on the clock outside the Carlin United Bank next door. 18:32. The bakery would already be closed by now.

Frustrated that he was so quickly rendered useless, Finn lit a flare between his hands and tossed it several feet. But he was too tired to control it properly, and instead of returning to the safe space between his fingers, the flames fell onto the lost-and-found table, catching on the papers Finn had collected earlier that day.

Cursing, Finn mentally flipped through his catalog of spells. "Masu mashau yai," he yelled, and the air around him grew dry as its moisture collected and soaked the papers he'd burned.

They were almost entirely useless now-- half-burned, half- runny ink. The only words he could make out were "dragon," written several times (and in more than one language, if he wasn't mistaken), and "spell."

The few spells Finn had collected for combating water and fire damage proved utterly useless, and in disgust, Finn balled up the papers and threw them away. He hoped they weren't important.

Elemmire was quite sure she'd never been so angry in her entire life. The messenger had found her two missing soldiers left to die in congealing pools of their own blood. The medic had done what he could, but Ewan had been hit in an artery and bled out; he'd died within minutes of their arrival. According to the medic, Gwen, who'd punctured a lung, would survive if they could get her to a healer in camp in less than an hour.

She'd lost a new recruit she had been given to safeguard and quite possibly a seasoned veteran to an unknown enemy because her orders had been terminally stupid. She should never have let them separate. They couldn't watch each other's backs if they weren't together, and these two had clearly been caught by surprise. Both had been shot in the back.

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, Elemmire took in the situation at hand. "Excuse me, miss," she said as politely as she could to the messenger. "Our medic says Gwen needs to get to a healer as soon as possible; can you please take her back to the campground with her and with this message: 'Hostile enemy found in Farragin Forest, 36 degrees west, two hours out.'" She phrased it like a question but barked it like an order.

Without waiting for acknowledgement, she turned to her troops: "Xavier and Ryan, use the blankets in your field kits to make a stretcher this gryphon can carry for Gwen. Meg and Stephan, make a sled we can use to drag Ewan back to his mother. The rest of you-- eyes sharp; there are enemy archers in these woods."

She looked back at where her soldiers had fallen, making note of the arrows' trajectories. "It looks like they were shooting from above-- they'd climbed trees then, and were probably waiting-- I sent them into an ambush." She swore under her breath. "Defensive positions-- all sides."

Everyone hastened to obey as their battle training kicked in, making a tight circle around the people working over their friends, the messenger, and the gryphon. Searching the trees above, Elemmire wondered how many there had been and where they had gone; she could see no movement, no signs of their presence except those four broken arrows. The fletching was the same on all of them-- military standard, or an individual's mark?

*****

After accidentally burning someone's forgotten papers in his office, Finn locked up his office and walked outside to let off a little steam. He'd utterly failed at too many things today-- first, the missing book, which hadn't been in the secured archives where he'd left it, or in his office, or in any of the book bins. Second, he'd missed lunch at Serozi's and been forced to eat nothing but bagels. Third, he'd decoded the bakery message but was not much closer to understanding it than he'd been to start with. Fourth-- and worst-- he'd lost his temper and destroyed valuable paper that wasn't even his.

He was so deep in thought that he plowed right into a man on the street.

"Oh, excuse me," he said, and stepped aside. Looking up, he realized it was the guy from the checkpoint whose wife had been about to have a baby.

"Wait, how's your wife? Was it a boy or a girl?"

The man looked confused and annoyed. "What?"

"Your wife," Finn repeated. He hoped he hadn't inadvertently hurt him with a reminder of his wife's death in childbirth. "Is she okay?"

The man still looked lost. "You must have the wrong man," he said, making eye contact at the last second. "I must go."

"No, he doesn't," a voice said from behind Finn. He knew that voice-- the checkpoint soldier. They saw each other nearly every day. "I remember you from yesterday. You didn't want to stop because you had to get home to your pregnant wife."

The man was getting twitchy now, shifting his feet and clenching and unclenching his fists as if he couldn't decide whether to punch someone or run away. "I don't know what you're talking about," he ground out. "I wasn't here yesterday, and I don't even have a wife."

The soldier grabbed his upper arm. "You lie!"

Finn backed away slowly, waiting for the pieces to fall into place in his mind. The soldier and the man were quickly devolving into a round of shouted imprecations and fisticuffs. Before Finn could think to do anything else, the man pulled a knife out of his belt and jabbed it at the soldier, drawing blood.

Finn turned and ran to the nearest checkpoint, shouting for help.

Saber gritted her teeth. How dare this woman give her orders like that. Sure she had been around some pretty gruff people and delivered messages more crudely phrased than this, but it wasn't just a message. It was package delivery too. Warily eyeing Falcon as she unstrapped herself from the saddle, Saber saw the gryphon's eyes narrowing at her. Falcon didn't approve. Wanted to stop and argue, but knowing that time was of the essence, Saber carefully rearranged the straps that held her in the saddle to hold the wounded person instead. She would have to be extra careful to not fall off now.

Two of the soldiers carried the injured medic to Falcon and Saber. Falcon grudgingly lowered herself so that the men could lift the medic up to Saber. Saber grabbed hold as best as she could and pulled the woman up. Tying the straps on, Saber made sure the woman was in place. Then she paused and looked at Falcon. Falcon glared at her and lightly nipped at her foot. Realization kicked in and Saber jumped off before her gryphon took a chunk of meat out of her. Landing lightly on the ground, she watched Falcon jump into the air and beat her wings to gain more altitude. Quickly taking off, the gryphon was up and gone.

Saber turned hesitantly to face the remaining officer and men. How was she to explain that two people was one too many for her gryphon to carry? Though possible, it would have been slow and untimely. Hiding her cringe, she moved towards one of those who had taken a defensive position and settled down beneath a tree. A new thought alarmed her. She would have to walk back! If an enemy archer didn't spill her blood first, she would actually have to walk all the way back. Saber suppressed the groan.


Falcon headed swiftly back towards the capital. Seeing other gryphons returning, she screamed out the news to them. They wouldn't be able to tell their riders, but they would be prepared to fly again and not go leave the landing pad for another courtyard nor allow their riders to leave either. Seeing Calin and the Stone Circle ahead, she beat her wings desperately faster. Putting all the energy she could into the remaining sprint. Landing in as smoothly as she could, a rare thing for a messenger gryphon to do at work, Falcon turned searching for the Gryphon Ambassador.

He was already loping towards her, seeing that her rider was gone. Workers ran to unbuckle the injured medic, pulling up platforms so that they could work without crumbling her feathers beneath their boots. Falcon explained to the ambassador, who turned to communicate with the humans in a language the humans would understand, "'Hostile enemy found in Farragin Forest, 36 degrees west, two hours out,' is a message from Elemmire's scouting party. They have another man down." Quickly men dispersed to relay the first half of the message to the landing gryphons. Others ran to summon those who had come in long before.


The gryphon area was mostly empty when he had arrived. Now though, messengers ran in summoning the last of the gryphons resting inside. The place was emptying faster than a hornets nest. When at last peace settled down, Archer found an attendant to assign Silver a place to stay for the next two nights. They went over the records, finding an empty space that was larger than normal. Dragons were, after all, larger than gryphons. An outdoor enclave that was on the ground floor of the gryphon's courtyard. The base had new straw forming a thick mat. Silver looked it over and settled down. Before he had time to fully rest, meat and attendents were already arriving to ensure that he was fed and bathed.

Archer left his friend happy in the hands the workers, and headed out of the gryphons area. The Stone Circle was an immense fortress. Literally composed of circles to form one large circular stone structure, this wing was dedicated to the care of the gryphons. They had the room and resources to host a dragon for a little while. He made his way towards the barracks, crossing the commons with a watchful eye. There was a lot of activity. Something must have happened while he was coming in. Letting it go, he found someone to assign him a room and to show him where the cafe was located. Leaving supper for later, Archer figured a bath would go a long way towards making him feel like a decent human again.