Roland of the High Crags - Books 1-3

Chapter 5-2

And then, almost too late, I realized why things were not what they appeared to be. It was a trap! We were riding into a trap! I looked up high above our heads at the thick mass of dark clouds and realized that at any moment, hundreds of fire-breathers would be plunging straight at us, their bat wings swept back to attain more speed, with their riders leaning far forward and lying almost prone on the necks of their beasts in an effort to lessen the wind resistance of their plunging steeds. We had to leave now, without hesitating, and without worrying about the black Great Wings above us if we were to escape this day unscathed.

Above and behind me, Gawain and Gawaith were riding their steeds and diligently moving their heads around to peer at the potential enemies above and behind them. They would not be aware of my suddenly wheeling Cedric to my left to begin the swift dash for the entrance to The Four Passes.

“Grandfather, hurry! They come!” the child screamed, sitting up in the saddle and turning to look at me with the eyes of a terrified child.

“Child, can you hear the thoughts of our two young wards, Gawain and Gawaith?” I yelled back over the sound of beating wings. “Yes? Then tell them to look down and follow us!”

I gripped the child firmly and pulled her close to me, raising the heavy shield to protect her and barked a command toward my bird’s bright, red-plumed head. Immediately, the giant war bird turned on a thought and pivoted on his left wing, the sudden change of direction so immediate and so violent that, if we had not been strapped into the high-back saddle used for just such riding, both the child and I would have been hurled into an empty sky. But, thankfully, we were firmly strapped in and tightly did I hold onto the child. Cedric straightened out into level flight, he lifted his beaked head and let out a screech—his own war cry—I was so familiar with whenever fire-breathers were near. He began stroking the wind with his powerful wings.

Above us, I caught a terrifying glimpse of fire-breathers, hundreds of them, coming out the clouds in a deluge of reptilian monsters, their riders unleashing a black cloud of crossbow bolts aimed at the massed plumage of Great Wings below them. Gripping the child firmly and leaning far forward, I used my body to protect her. I slid the oddly shaped dragon shield over my body just as twenty crossbow bolts slammed into the shield all at the same time! Twisting somewhat in my leaning position to look back at our pursuers, I was not surprised to see four great monsters pulling out of their plunging dives, their great leathery wings trying to catch enough air to change their direction and continue their pursuit of us.

Looking back toward the city, I counted three cream-colored Great Wings, each with different markings, racing toward us as fast as their wings could take them. Behind them were the two black-plumed war birds I had noted earlier, and still behind them were the smaller mounts of Gawain and Gawaith flying for all their worth in their efforts to catch up. But it was what was above us and behind them all which drew my fullest attention. Two great fire-breathers, one a chocolate brown with tan wings and the other a light blue with almost pale yellow wings, were diving with great speed at a steep angle not toward the child and I, but toward the narrow gap entrance of The Four Passes. They were hurling through the dark clouds at great speed, and it was apparent they could reach the gap before we could.

“Fly, old warrior, fly!” I screamed over the whistling wind and the beating of mighty wings. “Hold nothing back, Cedric!”

Turning again to look back at our pursuers, I looked for the nephews of Olaf and hoped they still lived. To my joyous surprise, my eyes saw a fantastic aerial battle raging in the distance! The black war birds, who I thought might be our assassins, caught up with the cream-colored Great Wings who were in hot pursuit after us and dove recklessly into their midst, their riders’ bows spitting out whistling death! The birds Gawain and Gawaith rode plunged into the battle as well. In just the throb of one heartbeat, a mass of multicolored plumage twisted and darted in a vicious aerial battle.

And, just as suddenly as it began, it ended. Two cream-colored Great Wings began slowly dropping toward the earth below, both birds and riders lifeless, their souls already journeying over the Great Divide. The third cream-colored bird twisted to one side and plunged into a cloud, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The twin black war birds swung around and began racing back toward Odar’s Lair, their riders waving farewell to Gawain and Gawaith just before disappearing into the growing mist. The blond twins waved a return salute before their birds lunged forward and began racing toward us. I threw a gloved fist into the air and gave out a joyous yell! But then my attention turned back to the hurtling monsters above us. Watching them closely, I tried to estimate who would arrive first. But I realized it did not matter. I was not just protecting the female dragon child—I also had been entrusted with the care and protection of King Olaf’s nephews. Cedric might reach the gap before the Winged Beasties arrived to block it, but they would, in their fury, surely take their wrath out on the youngsters behind me.

I yelled for my old friend to slow down. The Great Wing reacted immediately. His short, but powerful wings stretched out and remained motionless as we slowed precipitously. He began riding the afternoon currents, gulping in great amounts of air in the process to regain his strength. In a matter of seconds, Gawain and Gawaith’s birds slid into formation on either side of me, the eyes of the boys wide with surprise as they gaped at me in disbelief. Above us, the two great flying monsters flashed over our heads and turned steeply in different directions, barring our path into the gap leading to the passes.

Believe not a fire-breather is slow, nor cannot turn in midair with almost the same adroitness as a Great Wing. In carrying out a sprint of four furlongs or fewer, a Winged Beastie will even beat a Great Wing. An experienced fire-breather will compensate for a war bird’s turning prowess by using its experience to anticipate the Great Wing’s next move. But more importantly, never forget what man fears most from Winged Beasties. The searing heat and long flaming tongues of fire a fire-breather hurls at his foes are images straight out of nightmares. The heat is that of an erupting volcano, and the tongues of flame can reach out for more than ten strides to its target. And should a Beastie’s flame fully hit its target, there is nothing made by man nor dragon’s hand which can withstand it.

Nothing. Except magic.

Powerful wizards have been known to build invisible shields around their persons and withstand the mightiest attacks of a Beastie’s fiery wrath. But there were limitations. All magic has limitations. To withstand the great heat and flame taxes a wizard’s mind greatly. Magic as practiced by the great mountain wizards within the Kanris is mentally and physically exhausting. The greater the magic, the greater the resulting exhaustion. No wizard I was familiar with had ever faced two Winged Beasties at once. Nevertheless, I was confident, even though I had never attempted it before, in creating the Invisible Shield incantation. But how strong would my magic be, and for how long could I keep projecting it? If I shaped the shield in a certain configuration, the flames of the two fire-breathers would hit and deflect almost directly back to the sources from whence they came. To be consumed by their own wrath would be too much for even monsters to accept. They would hurl themselves to either side, momentarily opening the way into the gap and the Four Passes.

The route of our escape was arduous and dangerous. We would immediately fly as high as many birds could ever attempt into the rarefied air of the high country. No Winged Beastie would follow.

I bent forward and touched my cheek to the child’s cheek, speaking softly.

“You know what we must do?”

“Yes, grandfather.” she replied quickly, her voice trembling with fear.

“You are afraid?”

“Yes, grandfather. Very much so!”

“Ha! So am I, child! So am I” I laughed, squeezing her gently with the arm I had wrapped around her waist. “But hang on, little princess. Cling to me as tightly as you can!”

To ride war birds into battle requires riders to immediately recognize a certain number of hand commands a flight leader, or uhlan commander, will give his fellow riders. I gave the twins the command to “attack in line formation.” Without hesitation they wheeled their birds around and took up the desired positions directly behind Cedric. Once that happened, I sat up and faced the waiting fire-breathers and their riders and closed my eyes and took a deep breath. In a loud voice I gave forth the incantation.

uhlan.By the powers of the olden gods, I call for the use of Wueden’s Great Shield

By the powers of the olden gods, I call for the use of Wueden’s Great Shieldso that, in his holy name, I may wield

so that, in his holy name, I may wieldA mighty blow against the foes of darkness and light!

A mighty blow against the foes of darkness and light!Ah, if the incantation works and the power is given, there is this indescribable electric surge of electricity through a wizard’s body. And I felt it!. Power surged through me with a hot fury, concentrating in the fingertips of my right hand. Lifting the hand, I aimed it toward the waiting Beasties. Without waiting for a command, Cedric folded his wings back and lowered his head. Like a stone, we dropped in altitude, gaining a massive amount of speed. With a quick adjustment of his wings and tail feathers, the wily old war bird lifted his head and we were hurtling toward our foes with a ferocious velocity.

The two fire-breathers reacted immediately. They lunged forward, each winged dragon extending its long snakelike necks and sliding the strange transparent second eyelids over their eyes to protect them from their own flames. At the same time, we all saw them swell their girths as they sucked in a deep amount of air. With a thunderous blast, they exhaled blue and white jets of flame straight toward us!The physical blow of the combined flames hitting the Invisible Shield almost ripped me out of the saddle. It was a stunning blow. I felt the unbelievable white heat in front of us begin to wear away the magic. I clenched teeth together and concentrated on maintaining the shield’s shape. The roar of the dragons’ breath and the heat of their flames filled the air around us. I began to physically shake from the effort of maintaining the incantation. I knew not for how long I could hold it. The breath of the dragons was incredibly hot. Their breath blew onto the unseen shield with the strength of a mountain gale.

And then, suddenly, there was nothing! Silence filled the sky around us, and I could not feel the close presence of the dragons.

Surprised, I opened my eyes and looked in front of us. The giant boulders that marked the narrow gap and the entrance to the passes swept past us. Confused, I turned and looked toward our rear. Behind Gawaith’s bird, I saw one of the Winged Beasties, seared a charcoal black from his own flames, slam into one of the many boulders below us, and then lifelessly ricochet off several others as it fell to the earth below.

The other Beastie and its rider were not to be seen. Relieved, I turned in my saddle and relaxed, and was immediately hit by a wall of pure and complete exhaustion. Slumping forward, unable to catch myself, I felt the hands of the tiny dragon child grip me.

“Grandfather!” she screamed as she held onto me, pushing me back into a sitting position. “You’re hurt!”

I tried to grin, but even that was too much energy to expend. With eyelids which felt like lead weights, I tried to stay awake long enough to explain. But the overwhelming desire to sleep was claiming my very mind. I tried to speak but could not find the strength to do so. Yet just before I pitched forward into blackness, I heard her tiny voice far in the back of my dulled brain.

“Sleep, grandfather, sleep. All is well.”