Secrets of a War God

10.

Authors Note

So sorry for the long wait, my laptop hasn't exactly been playing nice. Hope you like this one!

Arelya

The troops on the border to the unclaimed land had been there for mere days, and they were already becoming spooked by the forest during the night. There was a rumour about a creature as black as night, crawling through the trees, watching them. With this being such a recurring problem within the camp, Tyrone had been called in to boost morale and see if he could deal with the 'creature'. 

It was Tyrones first night at the camp, and he was way to eager to find and kill this creature. The fact that it was distracting his soldiers was worrying him, but he was also agitated. Nothing in the palace had been going well for him in the past couple of days, so now that he had the opportunity to leave and let off steam, he jumped at it.

They were all surrounding the fire in the middle of camp, finishing up their dinner. So far it had been quiet within the trees, which agitated everyone more than it being noisy. The Prince had been staring into the trees since dinner had started, waiting for a fight to start. Tyrone was curious as to what the shadow creature was, as no one here could properly describe what they had been seeing. Some said it looked like a large snake, and others called a winged beast. Either way, Tyrone was determined to make the shadows scared of him.

The troops had started to turn in for the night, leaving him by the fire. Not that he cared. Tyrone preferred to be alone most of the time anyway, said it was more peaceful. By the time the moon was at its highest Tyrone was the only one left, sat watching the shadows with his sword in his lap. He was determined to make it through the whole night, not wanting to miss the possibility of seeing the shadow monster. He had drink, and he had heat from the fire. Tyrone could last all night.

Calissa and Naya had been waiting in the shadows for hours, watching the comings and goings of the troops. They had all returned to their tents a little over two hours ago, apart from one. He was sat staring into the trees, looking directly at them. With no persuasion needed, Naya had remained completely still, not daring to disturb the shadows.

Her human kept staring at him though, confusion going through her mind at why he would still be outside. The man was a puzzle, as all the soldiers had sighted Naya at this point and were terrified to go out long after dark. So the fact that this one was still outside, probably meant he was new.

Calissa moved slightly on the dragons back, urging her to move throughout the trees. At the dragons first step, the mans head perked up. Whether that was from hearing the paws movement or seeing the slight change in shadows.

Are you sure about this Cali? If something goes wrong our plan is screwed.

Nayas questioning made Calissa scoff, she knew what she was doing. Staying low on the animal, Calissa remained staring at the man. The dragon had started to weave in between the trees surrounding the camp, not letting herself be seen in the light of the moon. After making it to the other side of the camp, she paused, and moved her head to face the lone warrior. Her purple eyes boring into his.

He had watched the shadow move amongst the tree-line, and when he saw the eyes he did not finch. Calissa did admit to being slightly impressed, most people would have backed away slightly. Sliding of the dragon she stayed in the shadows, letting Naya continue to play with him.

The brilliant purple of the eyes didn't scare Tyrone. He was more curious than scared, wanting to know the magnificent creature behind them. No animal that he could recall had those eyes. He had noticed a slight change in its shape, but didn't think anything of it. 

Standing up slowly, Tyrone moved towards the trees. After he had taken no more than three steps a low growl could be heard. It shook the ground and the leaves started to fall off the trees. An obvious warning for the man to take a step back. He held his ground and simply stopped walking, not letting the beast get the better of him. 

The only sword Tyrone had on him was a shortsword on his hip, and it only seemed smaller compared to the growing shadow in the trees. He decided against drawing the sword at this moment, knowing that it would only make the situation worse. The shadow had started to grow, almost like the creature was deciding to stand up. Tyrone could see more of the outline, identifying its long neck, and what appears to be wings. It took a few more steps forward, almost in the firelight, before a sound came from across camp. It immediately retreated and blended in with shadows of the surroundings.

Tyrone turned towards where the noise originated, having no idea what to expect. He could only see a rough outline due to the limited light, but he thought he could see a human form.

Why Calissa had made her presence known, that was a question. She regretted calling Naya back now, wishing the man would turn and run to his tent. After all, not everyone could get a dragon to listen to them. He was continuing to study the shadows, but Calissa was not moving. 

"I've already heard you. Are you going to come out or am I going to have to come find you?"

It was extremely amusing to Calissa to hear him be so brave, but she didn't doubt the fact that he would come find her. With careful steps she moved to the edge of the treeline, it let him see her but kept the majority of her features in the shadows. 

"You're a woman?" Being the first thing to come out of his mouth. Calissa sighed slightly and crossed her arms, she wasn't expecting anything less really.

"Correct." Calissa didn't think this person was important enough to receive more than one word answers from her. Not until he confirms his rank of course. 

Tyrone was slightly taken aback, he didn't think that a woman would be in these woods, let alone be accompanied by a beast. She had remained partially in the shadows, probably thinking it be safer. He had noticed how she was dressed, which brought more questions to his mind. She wore fighting leathers, a simple blouse underneath, with the outline of two swords above her shoulders.

"Why are you here?" Tyrone tried to keep his voice level and strong, but he desperately wanted to know.

"Sightseeing."

The one word answer annoyed him, but he tried to repress a slight chuckle at that. She was clever to keep her answers short, for if she spoke more it would give away her accent, and therefore her kingdom. 

"The shadow, with the purple eyes, what is it?"

"Why would you want to know?" The woman moved forward slightly, her face remaining in the shadows but her outline becoming clearer.

"The shadow has been terrorising my men since they got here, I came to put an end to it."

"And how would that be achieved?" She moved forward again, completely out the shadows, but she kept her head down. With her hair covering her face he wasn't able to get a good luck at who she might be. "When you say you came to put an end to it, I assume you mean by killing the beast. But that won't be necessary. I will take my leave and promise not to bother you or your men for the time being." She turned to leave, but her accent sounded familiar. Her skin was pale compared to Tyrones, meaning she could only come from the Northern Kingdoms.

"I assure you, my dragon will not be lurking in the shadows anymore. Prince Tyrone." Once those words left her mouth she turned and faced him, letting Tyrone see who she truly was. Calissa remained unmoving as Naya landed behind her, letting the Prince see what the shadows had hid.

Tyrone was frozen, it was her. She climbed onto the dragons back, and with one last glance flew into the darkness. He remained in the same spot long after she was gone, staring at where they disappeared. He had dreamed of seeing her again, wanting to touch her and hold her. Yet he had never in a million years thought that she could be so special, that she could be a challenge for him.