Slay the Dragon

CHAPTER 7 - MAVE

Heavy rainfalls had only been bad luck for Mave. She had the same trouble before, the biggest trouble she had in her entire life, where she had lost control of her curse and accidentally killed those people in the past. Mave tried not to remember, as it would only worsen her condition now.

“Move,” Grand Arien Homeli said, pushing Mave from behind towards the wide stairs.

Mave glared back at the middle-aged Grand Hunter before heading on. She held her broken necklace close to her chest as her hair, clothes, and boots were all soaked up from the rain.

In front of them stood the main fort of Ravareth—the Fortresi. It only sheltered the upper ranks of dragon hunters who administered the whole fortress, as what Mave had learned.

The top of the three-story building hung two different banners already soaked from the rain—one was the banner of Ravareth and the other one of the Dravalon Empire. The country’s flag depicted a symbol of a golden sunburst, in honor of their Sun God and Summer Deity, Phlareus—an enormous bird having skin and feathers of blazing fire.

Mave had learned from some books in Librad that Phlareus had a heart which they called Orb of Phlareus. It had been kept inside the Emperor’s Palace in Sunvar City, the capital of Drava. However, despite her interest, she never believed in Dravalonian god. Back in her country in Glacia, they also have a different deity, but she couldn’t remember.

“I said move,” Arien spoke with a louder voice this time.

Mave had never been inside the Fortresi. Two guards stood on both sides of the entrance and opened the huge double doors for them. A warm gust of air sighed on her face. The doors revealed a dark hallway with dim lamps that hung on both walls.

Mave made her way inside, leaving wet tracks on the floor of black quartz. The hallway led the path towards the Gallerion. It was where the dragonites were displayed—those tiny, amber spheres collected by dragon hunters after slaying a dragon. The dragonites were framed in glass, displayed under the name of the hunter who collected them, and attached to the wall. Mave slowed down as she gazed at the ranks of hunters based on the number of dragonites they had collected.

Hunters who have slain a single dragon were ranked as ‘Slayers’—then they could reach the rank of ‘Crusade Hunters’ if they collected ten dragonites. ‘Grand Hunters’ like Arien Homeli had slain over twenty-five dragons. Above them were the ‘Archon Hunters,’ dragon experts who had defeated more than fifty dragons. And last, the ‘Master Hunters,’ the highest rank in Ravareth who had collected over a hundred dragonites.

Currently, there’s no Master Hunter in Ravareth. The last one, Gariffon the Dominator, had died of age a couple of years ago.

Mave gave a sad smile when she found his name. “Rakim the Swordmaster …” she whispered. The name was displayed before Gariffon the Dominator under the Master Hunter rank, but Rakim’s dragonites had been taken away.

Mave knew her mentor had been from Ravareth long before he found her and raised her. But she didn’t know why he had been banished from the country of Drava. Rakim never mentioned it before. But he was a good and honorable man. Mave did not believe he would do something bad enough for him to get banished.

At the center of the Gallerion stood the statue of Murgal, the first dragon slayer who founded Ravareth and thus named as the First Hero of Drava. His black sword, called the Unburnt, drove its point through the dragon’s head. And so the hunters used it as their banner in Ravareth—the black sword with a pair of white dragon wings on both sides.

As they climbed to the second floor, Mave’s thought went back to the incident she had caused earlier. It wasn’t her fault—but in everyone’s eyes; it was. The new hunters would probably talk about her and despise her by now after what they had witnessed. But she did not care anymore. All she needed was to get out of this forsaken place. But first, she had to get the truth or the clue or whatever it was waiting for her in the Ardrad.

Right … the Ardrad, Mave thought. If only she could go inside there now, she wouldn’t leave until she finds something connected to her village. But first, she had to deal with this nonsense once again.

They stopped at the black door at the end of the hall. Arien knocked on and said, “Pardon, Archon Stein … I have her.”

“Send her in.” A voice responded.

“Go … and show respect, for heaven’s sake.” Arien warned her before turning around and walking away.

Mave wiped her wet face before opening the door. The Head Chamber was wider than what she had expected. She found stacks of bookshelves, couches, a long desk, and a red bottle of wine.

A tall man in his thirties with curly hair and sharp eyes leaned back in his chair as he took notice of her presence. “Sit.” His dead serious tone pushed Mave forward to the chair in front of the desk. “You know why you’re here?”

“It’s not my fault—“

“Don’t start making excuses on me, Snowford,” he interrupted with a sharp glare.

Mave’s gaze went down to the desk where she found his name.

Stein Ortel—Archon Hunter.

The other one wasn’t around, she noticed.

“You’ve caused enough trouble already,” Stein said. “You think you could get away from skipping dawn training and what you did in Librad this morning? And now you’re hurting one of your fellow hunters? What’s next?”

“I didn’t mean to hurt that stupid—“ Mave paused and groaned in frustration. “You don’t know what happened. You don’t know what they did to me.”

“Yes, I know. But that’s not the point. The problem is not them. It’s you, young lady.”

Mave turned to him, her eyebrows storming in disbelief. “Me?” So it’s her fault now? She’s the bad person? It was they who started it!

“Your manners, stubbornness, and overreacting were never welcome here in Ravareth.”

“Overreacting? That was overreacting? Do you even know how it feels—“ Mave stopped, gazed down, and shook her head. It’s pointless. They would never understand her and her feelings. “Just … forget it.”

“Forget is not the word, Snowford,” Stein said. “Such actions you committed have consequences. I’m hoping you’re aware of that.”

“So, what’re you going to do? Expel me?”

“You’ll be suspended from your sessions until you learn your lesson. You’ll help the workers clean, cook, serve … all the chores needed.”

“What?” Mave raised her voice. “That’s unfair. How come it’s only me? What about Barded and his friends? How could you just let them get away from what they did to me?”

“They’d done nothing from what Arien reported. It was only you who lost control of your—“

“Arien didn’t see the entire thing! Everything Barded had told him was a lie.”

“For god’s sake, Snowford!” Stein massaged his temples. “Just accept the consequences. I’ve got more important things to attend to.”

Mave tightened her grip on her necklace as she looked away, gazing at the rain outside through the windows. She couldn’t believe the entire world turned against her just because she’s different. As much as she hated everyone, she hated herself—and this damn curse within her.

“And one last thing …” Stein eyed her with suspicion. “You’re now banned from entering Librad.”

Mave almost jumped from her seat. “Are you mad? Why in the world would you do that?” This would be the end of her. All her plans were destroyed.

“Harlin had enough of your attitude … and what’s this you’re asking from the old keeper? The Ardrad is out of your concern, young lady.”

“That old hag …” Mave muttered, squeezing her fists in irritation.

“I will no longer allow you to enter Librad,” Stein warned her. “And keep in mind that once you cause another trouble again, I’ll have your things packed up and send you to the Monases in Sunvar City for good.”

The Monases … Mave wanted to explode out of her face. She would never go to that forsaken place where they kept all women to weave fabrics for the rest of their lives. It would be eternal hell for her.

The door of the chamber opened all of a sudden. Mave turned, only to see another tall man who seemed younger than Stein. He had sharp facial features with his wet, black hair fixed backward, leaving some strands on his forehead.

“Estes,” Stein greeted. “I’ve been waiting for hours.”

Estes? Mave had heard the familiar name before from what the people had been talking. Was he the other Archon Hunter? He looked too young to have slain half a hundred dragons. But the way he walked and carried himself, Mave could sense his powerful presence and experience in battles.

“Met with a northern scout,” Estes answered as he unbelted his long Katana and hung it on the wall, together with the broadsword which seemed to be owned by Stein. “Dragons have destroyed the ships from Ormir.”

“As expected,” Stein said, totally ignoring Mave’s presence in front of him. “And the Dravalon Army?”

Estes sat on the couch, wiping his hair with the towel. “They’re on the march to Harana Desert. The Emperor called our banners in Ravareth to prepare at the front lines. Two days we’ve got.”

Mave had no idea what the two were talking about, as if she was in another world. There’s another war about to happen? She was left wondering until Stein called her.

“Snowford.” He gestured at the door.

Mave stood up, giving a last glare at Stein before turning around to walk out. She wanted to curse him and everyone here in Ravareth. Not only that those stupid guys played the victim to get out, but Mave was also banned from entering Librad. She had to get inside to pursue her plan. But if she would get caught, it would be the end of her. They would send her to an isolated place of eternal suffering from weaving fabrics. She couldn’t even imagine herself spending the rest of her life with those old women.

However, she’s here now. This would be her only chance to get the thing she wanted the most. Then she decided. No one could stop her, not even Stein. She pulled out the bronze key from her pocket and studied it. She knew something’s in there—inside the Ardrad. And she would find it no matter what.