Chapter Eight

  The early morning mist was still thick deep in the valleys the mountain ranges created. Even the grass was already littered with dew drops, but it was eerily quiet. Though the wind was rustling through the leaves, there were no animal sounds to welcome the morning. No birds chirping, no crunching of the foliage on the ground from prey animals that usually would be eating at the flora growing all around.

  Out of the dense fog, Aaron came in for a landing, flaring his wings to slow himself to a point of being able to land gracefully on his feet. Behind him, the fog began to fill back in from the disturbance. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Aaron set his sword in the wet grass beside him, leaving the satchel on that held Blythe’s orb.

  “Next time I am definitely transforming. Would have been a much faster flight. Just have to figure out what to do with you when I’m in that form.” Aaron glanced down at the sword, which pulsed mildly beside him. He may not have understood how it worked fully, but somehow the sword understood him and Aaron could also understand the sword. This was his first time actually holding the sword so even though it was unexpected, it was understandable he would be learning new things about his weapon as time went on.

  Aaron looked around trying to see anything through the fog, but the sun hadn’t quite risen enough over the mountain ranges to start warming the area. His wings shivered a bit, the cold air still a bit harsh against the thin membranes. He tucked them behind himself a bit more, trying to conserve what body heat he had, but Aaron hoped the fog would lift soon. He had no idea how the fight against Blythe was going to go, but Aaron refused to be at a disadvantage due to being a little cold.

  It was unnerving hearing only the wind, but it made sense the animals had vacated the area. Titans brought about destruction on such a massive scale that it was the equivalent of a storm blowing through. Many would have become nervous by how calm everything seemed, and a wiser man would have left the area immediately.

  Aaron was not necessarily a fool, but he knew he had to face Blythe even if he was anxious about it. He took a moment to breathe deeply, working on getting his pounding heart under control.

  A sudden change in the wind currents caught his attention, and Aaron glanced northward, the direction he had been flying in. Along the ground he could see the grass being blown over as the wind that changed direction seemed to be getting drawn into a central point. Blythe had to be close.

  Kneeling down to grab his sword once more, Aaron decided to keep moving forward on foot. Blythe was the Wind Titan after all, and Aaron didn’t want to get caught off guard if he could avoid it. He hoped he could sneak up on Blythe for a surprise attack using the density of the forest lining the valley.

  As he traveled, the sun began to rise above the mountain range, slowly warming the land. The fog was beginning to lift after only an hour, but the wind current that was pulling to the north was getting stronger as Aaron continued on. The wind was causing his hair to pull forward, but Aaron disregarded it.

  Part of him wished he had brought something along as a snack, he was sure he had the room in the side bag carrying the orb, but Aaron had been so focused on the escape he hadn’t quite thought of that at the time. Even a piece of fruit would have sufficed and he was ravenous already from the flight taking out what energy he did have. As the sun rose, the energy would warm him up and give him a bit more energy again, but food would have to wait until Ophicys.

  Aaron was brought out of his hunger thoughts when the wind suddenly picked up out of nowhere. It had slowly been a steady increase in intensity, but this felt like a wall of wind creating a barrier. Aaron ducked out of the central area he’d been walking along, making his way up higher in the valley to get a better view. Having to make his way through dense forestry was a bit of a struggle, but Aaron kept making his way up the hill that led towards one of the mountain faces.

  Aaron met the wall of a cliff that he didn’t trust to climb, but did he want to risk flying up to the cliff to get a better view? Down in the valley he had just been in, he could hear the roar of the wind picking up, and that was enough to make Aaron decide he needed a better vantage point.

  Flying up the cliff face as quickly as he could, it didn’t take too long for him to find a small ledge he could rest on, well over the treetops. Once he was stable enough that he wasn’t going to fall off the rocky ledge, Aaron glanced out over the valley and his eyes widened with a sense of shock.

  There was Blythe, wind currents sucking in from all around him to create a swirling mass of debris and dust that made up his body. He had two vortices that spiraled off of his main mass, arms in a sense, along with two spectral blue eyes towards the top of Blythe’s form. Aaron caught a glimpse of something that reflected a bit of light just barely breaking through the debris field, and he focused his vision to make out what it was.

  The titan’s core. It had to be, they were usually in the titans chest cavity, wherever that might be. Each titan was unique, so the body variation meant new challenges for gaining access to each core. Aaron gripped his sword tightly, his nerves had flared up once he laid eyes on the monstrosity. He had known they were horrifically destructive, but nothing had prepared him for how terrifying their power was. Even their size was unlike anything he had seen before, Blythe was not anywhere near as tall as the mountains themselves but was certainly far bigger than Aaron’s dragon form.

  Blythe had not seen him yet, Aaron was sure of it. The Titan seemed to be regaining his strength, his form must have suffered from the fight with Corai and Kalo. If he was allowed to keep tearing through the valley like this, his form would be quite terrifying once he got to Ophicys. Even now the dusty clouds that filled his form were getting darker as more and more material was drawn in.

  This was the time to strike. Aaron forced the anxiousness away, taking a deep breath once more before pushing off from the cliff into flight again. His wings flared as he followed a wind current towards Blythe’s body, aiming for the core. If he could separate the core, the wind mass would dissipate and Blythe would have to reform, giving him time to imprison the Titan in the orb. With one powerful flap of his wings, Aaron shot himself directly into the swirling mass.

  Immediately, Aaron lost control of his flight and was slingshot around the body, flinging him out into the other side of the valley. The force was so powerful it slammed him into the mountain side, causing Aaron to not only drop his sword but also making him fall with it into the trees below. Any human would have died at that height, or even from the impact that knocked the wind out of Aaron’s lungs, but he was far more durable than that.

  It took a moment for him to fall completely through the trees, gasping for air once he landed on the ground. Aaron grabbed a nearby tree trunk to pull himself back up, working his way through the pain in his chest as he struggled to get a full breath of air. Quickly checking the satchel, he was relieved to see the orb was still intact. At least it was made of a durable material, whatever it was.

  “Who dares attack a Titan?”

  The ethereal voice boomed and echoed through the valley, and Aaron panicked, looking around for the sword. It had fallen a ways off, but with the glow he was able to locate it quickly, snatching it out of the bush it had landed in. It pulsated once back in his hands, sending a sense of urgency and caution through Aaron’s mind. Focusing on his physical form, Aaron spread his wings out to make sure there was no real damage; with nothing but a bit of a sting from the rocky surface scratching at his membranes, he flew back up into the air.

  Hovering in place with gentle flaps of his wings to stabilize against the currents being sucked in, Aaron glared at Blythe, trying to save face from what had just happened.

  “I don’t think names are all that important, but if you really need to know; I am Aaron, Champion of Io. I am the end of the Titan terror that plagues these lands.”

  A rolling laugh came from the Titan, and Aaron saw movement in his peripheral vision, making him fly down to dodge as the Titan’s arm came swinging past where he had just been.

  “Io? The goddess herself is unable to face me, so she sends some half-breed whelp in her stead?”

  Half-breed? Aaron disregarded the comment, using his downward moment to fling himself around the Titan towards his back, but Blythe simply followed his movement.

  “You reek, half-breed. I can smell your demonic nature. You may have the blood of a goddess within you, but you are still beneath one such as I.” The wind began to pick up as Blythe summoned it, but there was a sense of desperation behind it. Aaron knew the Titan was still weaker than if he had been at full power, but now Blythe was beginning to pick up debris at an alarming rate.

  Aaron had to act fast, but obviously in his smaller form he was not likely to handle the wind currents well. He had to transform, only his dragon self would be heavy enough to not get knocked around by the severity of Blythe’s wind, and he glanced down at his sword for a moment.

  He was knocked out of his thoughts as Blythe swung around again, having uprooted a few smaller trees with his power, using his arm vortices to swing them around to where Aaron had been trying to fly around. The tree was quite light, barely as tall as he was so the thickness of the trunk did nothing more than knock him off balance, but it was enough for Aaron to drop his sword.

  Instead of diving after it again, Aaron took the opportunity, the glow exploding from him and blinding Blythe briefly as he took his dragon form. He had become much faster at it over the last year and a half of training. It only took a few seconds for the light to contort into his new form, leaving a large red dragon roaring at the Titan.

  The wind currents around Blythe had so much debris in them now that a head on attack was not something Aaron could win. There was no way he could feasibly get to the core without risking damage to himself. The debris did however add fuel to the Titan’s form, and almost as quickly as he had transformed, an idea came to Aaron to gain access to the core.

  Flapping his wings to bring himself in a circular flying pattern around the Titan’s debris field, Aaron sucked in a deep breath, a fiery glow building up from deep in his chest and making its way up his throat again. As he flew, Aaron unleashed his fire, and Blythe let out a deafening screech as the currents that made up his body filled with uncontrollable flames.

  The Titan was not being physically hurt, but his core was well within the fiery prison. The wind currents fueled the fire even more, soon creating a raging inferno. Aaron continued flying around Blythe, dodging debris and adding to the fire when he was able.

  It did not take long, but soon the Titan’s power began to dwindle, as he was no longer actually gaining the power of the wind itself. Since the wind was fueling the fire, his own body began to deteriorate, and Blythe let out a deafening roar as the vortices that made up his form dissipated. The various debris that was ablaze was flung in different directions as things began to fall to the ground. A much larger tree being tossed at Aaron that he was not able to dodge struck him in his side, knocking him off balance and causing him to tumble downwards into the valley again.

  He landed incredibly roughly; his claws digging into the now ashy torn up dirt as the inferno raged around him. Aaron picked his head up, realizing that Blythe’s form was completely gone, but a forest fire was now beginning to get out of hand. Tairhn had taught him how to extinguish his fire; dragons had the ability to exhale tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide to kill the fires they created since dragon fire could easily get out of hand. Taking a few moments since Blythe seemed to be missing in action at the moment, Aaron spent it exhaling across the masses of fire that were trying to spread.

  Soon he was surrounded by a much dimmer, dead looking land compared to the flourishing wilderness Aaron had been traveling in before. Ash covered the ground, trees now bare of leaves; grass also devoid of life and crushed beneath the weight of the ash and what few remaining embers still glowing. With how big Blythe’s body had been, the fire had had quite a reach, but nothing seemed to be out of control anymore at least. Aaron took the time to transform back into his humanoid form, taking in the scene around him.

  Something glowing caught Aaron’s eye in the ash, and he darted over recognizing the iridescent light. Sliding onto his knees, he dusted the ash off the object, revealing his sword that he had dropped earlier. Aaron breathed a sigh of relief, glad nothing had happened to it. It was indestructible by mortal means after all, but he wasn’t quite sure that had included anything to do with his fire or the Titan himself.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Aaron grabbed it once more; a relieved feeling washed over him. This came from his sword not as relief for itself but for the fact Aaron was relatively unharmed. Standing, Aaron adjusted the bag carrying the orb as well. Now that he was out of his dragon form, the satchel had reappeared. It seemed that anything on his body disappeared with his clothes when he transformed, and Aaron had to wonder if that meant a sheath for the sword would allow it to do the same.

  Pushing forward and ignoring the thought, he focused on trying to find the core. It was around there somewhere, and Aaron had to find it before Blythe began to reform. It took a few minutes of exploring, but soon Aaron came across the core, a bit covered in ash, but still recognizable.

  Aaron dusted it off, looking at the core; it seemed devoid of life at the moment. Had Blythe lost whatever form of consciousness he had? A sudden weight felt like it was lifted off of Aaron’s shoulders and he let out a laugh; both parts relieved and adrenaline fueled. He fell to his knees in the ash, the sword falling to his side with a dusty impact. Aaron was exhausted; this fight had not lasted long, but it had taken every ounce of his strength. Aaron’s shoulders shook as his laugh trailed off, letting out a sigh at how much better he felt now that it was all over.

  The core began to glow again, pulling Aaron’s attention back pretty quick, “Oh shit-” Grabbing his sword once more, Aaron scrambled closer, pulling himself back up onto his feet.

  Aaron stood over Blythe’s core, pulling the orb intended to hold him out of the satchel at his waist. He gently placed it down beside the core as it was slowly swirling back to life. Aaron held the sword out in front of him, taking a deep breath. Hands gripping the hilt tightly, he plunged it down into Blythe.

  The Titan’s energy exploded forth the moment the core was pierced; Aaron stumbled back slightly from the force, and the orb laying next to it began drawing the energy in. The once lifeless foggy white orb was now starting to swirl and glow brightly as the essence of Blythe began to collect within.

  Aaron watched on, supervising the process in case he needed to intervene at any point. A gentle crunch of ground behind him caught him off guard; with a jump, he whipped around defensively tightening his grip. The sword reacted to the touch, sending reassuring thoughts in an attempt to calm Aaron. Recognition flowed through his mind and he allowed himself to relax a little, watching as a form began to appear.

  Walking up to him out of the smoky destruction, a centaurian figure that towered over Aaron began to take form. The bottom half of the centaur had an ancient dragon’s body, powerful claws kicking up ash with every step. Their scales almost matched the ground currently, a bit of a speckled gray, with a long draconian tail flowing behind as they walked. Folded back were a pair of torn up wings, looking similar to a plant that had caught fire around the edges of what membrane there was.

  The top half was more humanoid, but the face matched that of a deer centaur, including the shortened nose and long ears. A flowing mane of black hair currently cascading down the centaur’s back was turning dusty from what ash was floating on the air. Instead of human hands, they had a set of dragon hands with sharp claws. The final touch to this centaur was the massive rack of antlers upon their head, currently looking dead and cracked, mimicking the trees in the area damaged by the blaze.

  Now that the centaur was closer to Aaron, he recognized the shape as the details became clearer. He had seen the statue many times in the temple; his brother, Herneas. The statue in the temple looked quite different, showing his antlers littered with flowers and leaves. Aaron knew that his brother's appearance changed depending on his surroundings; he was the Protector of the Forest after all. Herneas traveled their world healing forests in these situations, often destroyed by some natural disaster or a storm.

  His brother came to a stop in front of Aaron, gazing down at him gently. Aaron came up to about his chest currently in height, so he had to look up a bit to meet Herneas’s gaze.

  “I’m… sorry about all this, it was kind of me winging it a bit.”Aaron cleared his throat, feeling guilty about the conditions of the forest.

  Herneas chuckled deeply, his green eyes glancing down to the core emptying into the orb beside it. “I can understand these things need to happen on occasion. The destruction of a forest is natural in some cases, and it will heal. Look,” he nodded his antlers indicating behind him.

  Aaron peered past his brother, surprised to see a trail of green and flowers already sprouting up behind Herneas. This must be how Herneas healed the lands; giving them a head start and allowing the natural flora to expand on its own.

  Pulling back, Aaron looked back up to Herneas. “So, no harm done?”

  “Technically, harm was still done, but sometimes things must die in order to flourish. Life is surprisingly resourceful when it comes to survival.” Herneas stepped past Aaron, looking down at the orb, draining the last bit of Blythe’s essence. “A successful hunt. Well done.”

  Aaron felt his heart swell from joy at his brother’s recognition. Tairhn had complimented him before, but Astrius had always left him feeling a bit less successful about things. “So, are you going to ask who I am?”

  “Why would I? Do you think I have not spoken with our mother?” Herneas looked down to Aaron beside him, a teasing smile appearing.

  Aaron started to say something, only to look back down to the titan core that was just dimming down for the last time. The new orb housing Blythe was a swirling pitch black mass of cloud, creating a storm inside as Blythe was trying to break out.

  “This may be a strange question, but how does that thing hold him back? Are we confident he can’t break out?” Aaron asked, watching the furious fight happening within the orb.

  “A long time ago, a meteor came from the heavens, landing within the mountains of the dragon empire. The emperor sent out miners to bring the meteorite back, but none of their tools could break through it.” Herneas watched Blythe with mild amusement, knowing it was futile for the Titan to try. “They reached out to our muse brethren whom are scholars of all things, scientific or magical alike. They confirmed this material couldn’t be broken with standard tools, so they began research right away to help the dragons find tools that were not physical in origin.”

  “Are you saying they carved the meteor core up with magic?” Aaron glanced back up to Herneas, not sure he believed that.

  Herneas nodded, “Yes, that’s quite right. They realized that the way master architects could work to carve stone was able to carve through the meteor quite easily. They broke it up into smaller chunks and sent them out to various magical races to study. More eyes and hands working on it, the faster a use could be found for such a gift.”

  “Then the corruption of the Titans began. Fa’Rhyst, the Titan of Light, felt the ancient magic starting to influence themself. Instead of giving in to the whispers, they warned our Felian sister, Ilya. They worked so closely with the priestesshood that they refused to allow the Titan devastation to happen. They guided those studying the meteor on how to shape the orbs in such a way that their magic would seal the Titan inside. A barrier that prevented it from most forms of destruction; including Titan’s breaking free.”

  “A Titan helped set up a prison for the others? I thought I had heard whispers, but they always tried to avoid me finding anything out that I just never knew for sure.” Aaron sighed, picking up the newly housed Blythe. He could feel the magic vibrations coming from inside as the Titan clashed against its confines.

  “Mother did mention your presence was being kept secret. It sounds like they were also keeping secrets from you.”

  Aaron scoffed, trying to laugh it off as he rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.” He placed the orb into the satchel again, closing the clasp before turning back to Herneas. “I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. But I’m glad we did.” Aaron smiled, a strange sense of sad loneliness at the idea that they had to part.

  “Yes, I concur. I will let Mother know of your success. She will already know most likely; but hearing confirmation from me that you are doing well can set her mind at ease. She has been very sad about the life you’ve had to live up until now. Hopefully once this Titan unpleasantness is behind us, you can move on to your true place in the world.” Herneas bowed gently and began to walk off, more flora sprouting with every foot step.

  Aaron watched his brother walk off into the distance, only for creeping vines to grow out of the soil, and envelope Herneas. When the vines had him fully surrounded, they shrunk back into the ground, leaving Aaron standing alone as Herneas now wandered some other forest.

  Adjusting the bag holding the orb again, Aaron began walking back to Ophicys, sword in hand. He was too tired to fly, and even though this might take a full day, perhaps even a day and a half, Aaron was not willing to push himself to exhaustion and risk losing the precious cargo. With the newfound confidence from defeating Blythe, Aaron would make it back to Ophicys to face Astrius and whatever scolding he might have waiting.

  The temple in Ophicys was abuzz with life after the festival of Solence. Summer was the time when dragon’s felt closest to Io, so the temples often were full of visitors once the cold of winter withered away. The temple priests were trying to show an air of normalcy, but to those paying close enough attention, there was a panicked look deep in their eyes.

  High Priest Astrius was no exception. After waking up the day before to no Aaron-not even a note-and Tairhn being rather calm about the whole thing, Astrius was both equal parts furious and terrified. Astrius had not slept the following night, wondering if he had failed in his duties. Aaron had obviously ran off to fight Blythe, but for the boy to run off alone like that made him wonder. Tairhn had kept bashing heads with him about Aaron making his own choices, and Astrius’s resistance certainly had come back to bite him in the tail.

  Father Astrius was currently standing at the front of the temple beneath the primary statue of Io; normally he would be preaching at that pedestal during special holidays, but today he was just scanning the crowd. He didn’t know why; perhaps he was hoping the run away would come home today. They had received word of a massive scorched area near a human settlement in the valley, but no one had spotted Blythe as he exited the desert; nor any information on a strange man with wings and a sword nearby.

  The High Priests’s eyes focused towards the entrance to the temple as the crowd seemed to shift, splitting almost evenly in half. The atmosphere grew quiet as any hushed conversations ceased; all turning to look at the ash covered young man walking through the center of the temple, sword in hand. None were allowed to bring weapons into the temple, but the guards at the enrance had recognized Aaron and knew he wouldn’t harm anyone with it.

  Aaron kept his head held high, not looking to meet anyone’s gaze. It felt uncomfortable with all eyes on him; this was the first time he was being witnessed by the common public. Instead, Aaron focused on Astrius standing ahead of him as the crowd split.

  Astrius sucked in a deep breath wanting to scold Aaron, but his expression softened almost immediately; he was simply relieved to see him alive. He stepped down the small steps leading to the raised platform where he had been standing, going to meet Aaron part way.

  Aaron came to a stop in front of him, his ears twitching slightly as he heard the whispers building up behind him. Astrius reached out gently pulling Aaron in by his arm to hug him, wrapping his wings around Aaron tightly.

  “You had everyone worried sick. Please, don’t ever do that again.” Astrius spoke quietly, keeping their conversation between them as he pulled back to look down into Aaron’s eyes.

  Aaron said nothing, looking up at him nervously. Carefully, he knelt down to place his sword on the ground by his feet. As Aaron stood back up, he unclasped the side satchel, pulling the orb now containing Blythe out.

  Astrius couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped him as he stepped back, eyes wide with fear. A Titan was within the city-within the temple-even if it was contained. He could feel the energy emanating off the orb as Blythe was still clashing with his prison, having not given up the entire trip back.

  Aaron looked at Astrius, holding the orb in his hands. “We won’t have to worry about Blythe anymore.”

  Astrius looked between Aaron and the orb for a moment, still trying to accept this was a real Titan in his temple. Letting out a deep sigh as his shoulders and wings dropped, Astrius realized he had truly been the fool Tairhn believed him to be. He had put forth so much effort to protect Aaron, only for Aaron to prove himself in the first fight thanks to Tairhn’s guidance and training. Astrius looked back into Aaron’s eyes, struggling to find the words to explain how horrible he suddenly felt; only to pause and look out over Aaron to the crowd.

  The temple goers had all rejoined in one mass behind him, watching intently. They could sense Aaron was someone important, but they were waiting to see what Astrius would do next. The common folk did not know about the Titan’s being housed within these orbs, so they did not realize just the seriousness of what Aaron had done for them. Astrius wet his lips, realizing what he had to do.

  Gently pulling Aaron back up the stairs with him to his raised podium, he turned Aaron around to face the crowd. “My people, I stand before you today only a fraction of the dragon I once was. I have been shown I still have much to learn about my own faith, my weaknesses, and I hope that allows me to make better decisions in the future.”

  “That is not why I speak to you today. As many of you know, the Titan’s are running rampant and destroying various areas of our world-our home-and many lives have been lost because of it. I am here to tell you that as of a few days ago, Blythe-the Titan of Wind-had been crossing the desert on his way towards our city.”

  The crowd let out gasps and murmurs, and Astrius held his hands out to stop them before they panicked. “Blythe is no longer a threat to us. This young man you see before you here has taken care of that.” Astrius motioned to the orb Aaron was holding.

  Aaron kept quiet, feeling very vulnerable suddenly being the center of attention. He gripped the orb tightly, tensing up as Astrius continued.

  “This orb you see him holding now houses what is left of the Titan, Blythe. No more will he terrorize the lands. One by one, these Titans will fall. Aaron here has already begun taking matters into his own hands.”

  “You all will be asking yourself who he is. I am ashamed to say I have hidden him away from you out of fear. I tried to protect him even though I knew he had a duty to handle the Titans. Aaron is one more wonderful gift our Lady Io has given us. A final child; a champion. With this evidence of his prowess, I have full faith going forward in his ability to protect us. Aaron has just kept this city safe; amongst other lives Blythe could have taken if his rampage continued. We owe him our very lives today, and will continue to do so as time goes on.”

  “Give thanks to Io for our gift. But do not forget to also give thanks to the boy-no man-the man that has given us our gift of life. It is a treasure we should all hold dearly until our final breaths in this world.”

  There was a deep reverent murmur that flowed through the crowd. One female dragon stepped forward from the crowd, going to kneel and bowing her head respectfully. The entire crowd followed suit, and Aaron watched in a confused horror as the crowd suddenly had all kneeled before him. He looked up to Astrius, not sure exactly what to do, but the priest only smiled, placing a hand on Aaron’s back reassuringly.

  “I am sorry, my child. I forgot my place, and you have humbled me in reminding me of your purpose. I vow until my dying breath to not hold you back any further. It is time to deal with these Titan’s once and for all.”

  Aaron felt his heart soar at the fact Astrius finally saw him for who he was, and a small tear escaped him as he handed Blythe over to Astrius. “I think you’ll know what to do with this more than I would, Father.”

  Astrius took the orb gently, nodding in agreement. “We shall take proper care of this until we are able to secure a location for a more permanent home. We will need to put up protections to keep those with ill intentions away from them, but this is a wonderful first step. Well done. Your mother is proud of you, I’m sure of it.”

  “I think that applies to all of us.”

  Aaron whipped around, recognizing Tairhn’s voice but having not seen him earlier it caught him off guard. He smiled when he saw his Master walking up to him, having been watching the events unfold from the side lines.

  Tairhn stopped in front of him, smiling down at his pupil. “We are all so proud of you. It was a difficult choice to make, but you showed it was yours and came back successful. For now, you look like you could use a bath and a hot meal, probably a day’s worth of sleep as well.” He reached out to clean a smudge off of Aaron’s cheek, wiping away a few stray tears that had also escaped.

  Aaron smiled, exhaustion in his eyes. “I might be a bit hungrier than normal.”

  “Slowly, you will eat slowly, I won’t have you getting sick gorging yourself.” With that, Tairhn took Aaron by the shoulders and guided him back towards the temple’s depths; scolding him gently about pushing himself too hard. Astrius called for a nearby priest to grab Aaron’s sword, which immediately went dim upon being touched by another that wasn’t its master. Gazing into the orb that housed Blythe, Astrius felt true hope for the first time since Aaron’s hatching.

  The war wasn’t over, but Aaron’s first battle had been won. Astrius could only pray that Aaron was as successful with each subsequent fight.