A Knight's Valor (Luneiya & captain_bond)

[Luneiya]

Isadora slept fitfully, but she resolved herself that in the morning, they would talk and all would be well. Except... when she woke, Nolan was nowhere to be found. She saw the small folded note and her heart dropped.

Whenever they would truly fight, though it wasn't that often, Nolan had a tendency to retreat. That's how she knew she had hurt him deeply. She had fond memories of the morning she had found him hiding out in the stable after one of the more severe fights of their younger years. She was resolved to go out looking for him but was absolutely helpless trying to tack the horse. He gave away his position with his snickering. It was a fond, hazy morning of earnest words and truths previously unspoken. It was also the morning Izzy resolved to be more independent.

After quickly readying herself, Isadora made her way about the castle checking all his usual haunts. She became increasingly worried with each one she found vacant. It was time to attend to her morning duties, now, and she could spare no longer. She had asked the guard who currently followed her "if he was ill," but the guard did not know.

With a feeling of deep unease, she proceeds through her morning's work. Mercifully, her father caught her eye on the way to the next meeting and she fell in step beside him. "Good morning, Father." She sounded sad, even to her own ears.

"Good Morning," He observed her keenly and lowered his voice so that only she might hear, "I understand you and Nolan had a bit of a disagreement."

"Did he talk to you?"

"No, only wrote to let me know he would be away a few days."

Ah, of course. Isadora had heard in the meetings that the dragon would be delayed, but she didn't think Nolan would take the opportunity to...

At her downcast expression, her father continues, "He advised me he would be at a small cottage two days' ride from here. Do you know it?"

Isadora looked up at him sidelong, "I believe I do, in fact." She knew exactly where he would be going. "Are you going to tell the others that the Speaker is unwell? So close to the announcement, it wouldn't do for him to be truant. His position is still delicate."

A hint of a smile crossed her father's features. "I understand, my dear." He looks at her in much the similar sidelong fashion, "And what of you? Are you coming down with something as well?"

Isadora furrows her brow, looking ahead. She was anxious to leave, this very minute, even, but two days' ride... that'd be two days back as well. There was much to be done, and she didn't want to leave it all to her father. This was all she had been working towards. Training towards. But... could she really leave Nolan to wander in his worst nightmares? "I'd rather overtake him than travel so long..." She thinks. "I don't think there's much chance of that happening unless I ride through the night, and that'd be risky." She thinks a bit more, then says, "I believe I shall send a messenger to him."

Her father looks down at her, a bit sadly, perhaps, and lays a large hand on her shoulder. Isadora smiles fondly up at him.

"Don't hesitate to let us know," He responds with a somewhat wry smile. Then, it is time for the meeting.

.... brave words about the messenger, but what on earth was she to write? Sitting down at her desk during lunch, the reality of his confessions overtakes Isadora again, and she is confused and startled by what she feels. She felt so tightly wrapped in worries that she might not escape them. With a steadying breath, though, she recalls Nolan's soothing presence and puts pen to parchment.

I'm sorry. Please come home so we can talk.

It feels so inadequate, but it's all she can force herself to write. Instead of signing her name, though, she draws a blue corella lily. It was her "secret" moniker from when they were younger. They thought it much more fashionable and exciting to have code signs than use their actual names.

As she enjoyed perfumes, most things she touched smelled of corella lilies and vanilla, and this letter was no exception. She sealed it with a fine wax and went about finding a messenger to deliver it.

Do I really want to do this? Is this not more of a betrayal? But my duties...

She sighed. In a way, this was much of her worry come to life. No, she would be strong. She hands the messenger the letter and gives them instructions on how to find Nolan. Hopefully, he would understand. Something claw-like grips her heart as she watches the messenger depart.

I'm sorry. I can't come find you this time. Not anymore.

 

[captain_bond]

Nolan's ride was not particularly hurried, in fact he might actually take three days to reach the cottage, not two. He'd of course put his spurs into his horse if he suspected the King became wroth and decided to accuse him of desertion, and thus send soldiers after him, which was why he was saving the animal's energy for just such an occasion.

So when he heard galloping hoofbeats on the road behind him, he contemplated sending his own animal into a gallop when he determined it was only one person...one mounted person, anyway. Wheeling his horse around, and out of an overabundance of caution, loosening his sword in its scabbard, he was somewhat relieved to see the bright orange surcoat of the Royal Messenger Corps. When the rider drew level with Nolan, he seemed to recognize him and stopped. Surprised, Nolan could only blink uncomprehendingly as the other rider handed him a sealed piece of parchment.

Breaking the seal, he read the brief letter and sighed. He'd hoped that, if Isadora had come to her senses, she'd be able to come after him herself, but of course she had many more duties to attend to, now that she was embracing her role as the future Queen in earnest. He was just contemplating that he didn't blame her for his when a loud roar broke the silence, and birds took flight, land animals scurried to and fro, and the messenger's mount panicked and bolted with the messenger still clinging to the saddle.

Looking around for the source of the noise, Nolan looked skyward and the bottom plummeted out of his stomach. A dragon, jet-black and staring straight at him, was dive-bombing straight towards him. Suddenly, a voice sounded in his head. Run, Whisperer! I am coming as fast as I can. It was not Vilthenax, nor was it his dark, winged attacker, but he felt that it was prudent to follow the advice regardless. So he drew steel, but turned his destrier to the right and made it to the concealment of the trees only a second before bright green flame spewed from the dragon's maw right where Nolan had been standing astride his mount.

Nolan could feel the Black Dragon's fury as it pulled out of the dive and came around to perhaps start a forest fire with Nolan at the center of it. The knight himself was using his sword to hack branches out of his way as he rode as fast as he could through the trees. Just when he thought the fiend was about to breathe on the treetops, a colossal crash erupted in the air behind him. Now he could hear a second roar, and as Nolan burst into a clearing, he turned to see a Gold Dragon engaging the Black one in a midair battle. It looked like the Black Dragon was at a disadvantage, both in terms of size and how it was taken by surprise, but he seemed to recover from this quickly, using raw anger to wound the Gold Dragon almost as much as it had been damaged.

The Gold Dragon swiped with its claw, and opened the Black Dragon's chest to reveal its large, beating heart. Thinking quickly, Nolan pulled the collapsible spear from his bag, faced the Black Dragon head-on, and threw it like a javelin at the exposed weak point. The Gold Dragon was aware of this almost instantly, and it came up behind the Black Dragon and used its claws to hold it in place until the weapon pierced the heart, and the Black Dragon screeched a terrible death knell as it plummeted to crash through the treetops below.

What happened next only happens when a Dragon is truly dead, not just weakened to the point it must hibernate for thousands of years (as most of the evil-aligned dragons had been; the good ones merely chose to slumber). The corpse began to turn to dust, and an intangible wind carried the dust away until only the skeleton remained. Nolan was so fascinated by this that he didn't notice his savior flapping its wings to keep aloft. May I please land, Whisperer? I do not wish to alarm your mount. Nolan started, and responded, Of course. What are you called, so that I might thank you properly? The Dragon chuckled, the sound reverberating in Nolan's skull as much as his whole body physically reverberated as the Dragon landed in the clearing. I am Paarthurnax, son of Vilthenax. When we learned of this attempt to silence the Humans' most prominent Whisperer, I was dispatched to thwart it. I am pleased that this was not in vain. Your assailant was the Black Dragons' most feared...I believe the word 'assassin' implies a subtlety that Dragons cannot accomplish by nature, yet that is the closest to his role. During the last Dragon War, he was sent to eliminate Humans, Elves and Dwarves who were instrumental in their eventual victory. Our eventual victory. They failed more often than not, thankfully. Regardless, your thanks is welcome, if something I an unaccustomed to.

Nolan smiled understandingly. You were just doing the right thing. Protecting those who you felt needed protecting. Paarthurnax nodded his head. Indeed. Tell me, Thuri, have any of my brethren chosen you as Rider yet? Nolan's heart skipped a beat: Thuri was the title given by Dragons to those Humans, Elves and Dwarves whom they deemed worthy of becoming a Dragon Rider. No, Paarthurnax, that honor has yet to be bestowed upon me. The Gold Dragon seemed to ponder for a moment, his wounds already almost fully healed, before seeming to decide. Then I, Paarthurnax, accept you, Nolan of the Human Kingdom, as my Rider. While our lot in life is not to fly into battle, rest assured that I shall defend the Triumvirate Capital as fiercely as those who walk on two legs. So shall it be, until this new War is won. With that, Paarthurnax lowered his neck, just as the royal messenger wound his way around the Black Dragon's skeleton and witnessed Nolan dismount his horse, walk over to the dragon, and turn towards the astonished man.

"Take him back to the Capital for me," he said, gesturing to Drogon. "See you there." With that, he put his foot in a convenient notch in Paarthurnax's scales, climbed atop him and swung his foot over his neck. Holding on tight, he couldn't help but let out a whoop of exhilaration as Paarthurnax ascended into the air, and, as if reading Nolan's thoughts (mind you, Nolan mused, he probably was), he turned towards the Capital and began flying in that direction.

Conveniently enough, Isadora was walking in one of the castle's larger courtyards when Nolan approached the city on dragonback. Perhaps the gold sheen of Paarthurnax's scales was the only thing that kept the guards from attacking either of them as they approached the Human palace, and spotting Isadora, they made their way towards that courtyard and landed before her.

"Greetings, Izzy," Nolan said from atop Paarthurnax. "You wanted to talk?" He couldn't help but be proud of himself, and the grin on his face betrayed that. "But first, I believe your father will want to see this."

 

[Luneiya]

The day proceeded for Isadora much as the morning had, though now with the additional knowledge of Nolan's poor spirits and worry over her actions. She was taking a brief walk in the courtyard between duties when something above caught her attention. She looks up, startled by the rapidly growing shape in the sky, and instinctively makes for the best kind of cover she can- ducking behind the wall and underneath the canopy of a nearby pavilion. The shape was too quick to make out clearly, though her brain catches up to her body when she registers the golden scales and hears Nolan's voice ringing out.

She cautiously pops her head out from behind the wall, her eyes growing wide as she sees the full picture before her. It was one thing to know that dragons were returning, but to see a full dragon before her, dwarfing the courtyard... and to see Nolan atop, so glowing and exuberant? She could vaguely hear other people approaching and about, and the calls of alarm and wonder, so she knew she must be seeing the same sights as her people.

With as much dignity as she can muster after diving for cover (which is still a fair bit, admittedly,) she walks out from behind the wall, hands clasped primly, looking between Nolan and his dragon friend. "Sir Nolan," She replies with a tone of wonder in her voice, though she was clearly aware of the growing audience. She turns her attention to the dragon and gives it the formal greeting that royalty reserved for the most honored guests- a bow of the head and a slight dip of a curtsey in the body. "Honored friend," She greets the dragon.

She could feel her current guard poised nearby, but her eyes were only for her own knight as she returned her gaze to him, "Indeed! I am sure someone is fetching him presently."

 

[captain_bond]

"Paarthurnax extends his greetings," Nolan said formally, in response to Isadora's bow and curtsy, "and wishes to tell you that his sister, Vilthenax's daughter, is still in labor but is doing well." Raising his voice and eyes to the gathering crowd, Nolan held up his hand for calm. "People of the Gladefall Triumvirate! There is no need for alarm. Paarthurnax is here, as I am, to protect you, the Capital, and the Royal family. And I, Ser Nolan of Corleone, return not only bearing the title of Dragon Rider..." He pulled out the collapsible spear, and deployed it, the first third of its length still covered in the Black Dragon's blood and viscera, "...but also the title of Dragonslayer! For Paarthurnax and I, together, have vanquished the first evil Dragon to violate the sanctity of our borders since the first Dragon War. And together, we shall not rest until the rest of them have been driven back to whence they came!" Nolan raised the spear above his head triumphantly, but as he did so, he looked down at his love, his Princess. Even if the crowd would erupt in cheers, he would only have eyes for her. Hopefully, the King would arrive soon. Nolan's butt was starting to hurt!