Chapter I: Welcome at the Eastern Pass

Reave pulled on the reins of his mountain horse, Mabel. A white mare of great size and strength with cream colored horn like that of a ram. She slowed her pace, allowing him a moment to gaze at the view.

Below the mountain pass they were currently traveling through was a sea of auburn-leaf trees leading up a white stonework wall that surrounded the Goldheart capital. The upper half of the royal palace could be seen, with its impressive golden rooftops and peaking towers.

Reave had been here once before, when he was young and participating in orc purges. The King of Goldheart had joined in the effort, which was why his faction had stayed in the capital for about a week before heading towards the border. That was 12 years ago, when Reave was still a new addition to the battlefield. 

Much has changed since then. He reflected briefly.

He smiled, remembering why it was he was coming on this trip in the first place.

"That little princess has certainly made a name for herself." He muttered.

The princess that he spoke of was just a little child in his memories. A chaotic child who kept showing up to the training ground only to get hauled away kicking and screaming by her retainers. He had never gotten a close look at her, but he could remember that fiery ball of red hair that could not be contained by ribbons. One could probably see such a shade even a mile away.

That was why he knew it was the same girl referenced in the news articles of late.

"Do you think they really have the dragon? What if this is some trick to try to make connections with the Ninth?"

It was Duwan who spoke, having trotted up behind him.

"Maybe…but there are many proven witnesses. In any case, Goldheart has always been overtly respectful towards us, as we are neighbors and all. The current king Stann has been in power 39 years now, and has always been careful about stepping on any toes. I doubt he would want to thicken his ties, given that his kingdom has maintained a peaceful status quo for so long. He's very non-committal."

"I'll say, what with having 4 concubines in his company."

Reave choked, suppressing his laugh.

"I can believe everything else, but not that she was alone when she supposedly 'tamed' this dragon. I mean, she's 17…and human! There's just no way."

Duwan, a 6"7 warrior at 31 years, was a human himself, but he had certain assets at his disposal. There were plenty of female elves taking up sword mastery, but almost no human women ever reached that level. Unlike the elven kingdoms, humans were more patriarchal and tended to keep their women away from the battlefield, even if it worked against them in the end.

"You're right to be skeptical." Replied Reave before loosening the reins, allowing Mabel to press forward.

"Human, huh…" 

The five year old child in his memories had screamed like a banshee, and managed to elude even trained professionals who attempted to capture her. It had caused quite a disturbance at the time, but had thankfully been sorted quickly when the commander of the Goldheart knights was able to, quite literally, bag her and pass the still-thrashing potato sack to her mortified attendants.

It was extremely undignified, given this was a member of the royal family and Reave remembered the disgust in the faces of his elven peers who were not used to seeing such behaviour. Reave also wasn't sure what to think of it, but had been impressed that a five year old could as quick as a monkey, making him want to train harder himself.

Somehow, it seemed to Reave quite possible that such a child might dominate a dragon one day. Still, it was such a fantastic allegation that it invited suspicion.

As the traveling party casually made their way down the mountain path, a piercing sound suddenly shook the air. The elves faltered, trying to calm their rearing and startled horses. Normal horses might have leaped right off the edge of the path, but mountain horses raised by elves were of a different caliber. It spoke to how powerful the noise was that they were startled at all, despite it coming from far away.

Mabel, who merely flattened her ears against her head, tilted her head towards the horizon and Reave followed her gaze to see a giant, black winged creature appear over the city far in the distance. From where they stood, it was merely the size of a bird but its jagged shaped awakened a feeling of primal dread in the gut.

"I suppose…that answers one question." Said Duwan.

Squinting his eyes at the sight as the dragon flew towards the mountains, Reave suddenly fumbled for his spyglass at his belt and quickly brought it to his eye.

He focused in, moving gently to get a good look.

There you are.

Indeed, he would recognize that shade of red anywhere.

On the back of the coal-black dragon was a figure with a head of bright crimson. She was clad in tight, form-fitting leather armor and looked to be in her element as she masterfully rode atop a dragon's back without even a saddle.

Something fluttered inside of Reave. It was like he had taken a glimpse at one of the mythical legends he used to read as a child.

As the dragon flew closer at an astonishing speed, his men shifted nervously but he signalled for them to stand down.

They stared as the dragon flew over the forest. Since they were about halfway down the mountain, the height at which the dragon flew was about at their eye level.

It started to fly in circles above the forest, not coming any closer. Reave once again focused his spyglass to get a closer look, and he knew all of his men were doing the same.

The woman riding the back of a terrifying black dragon was signalling at them with a small hand mirror. She was still far away, but through the spyglass you could see her small figure standing up on the dragon and waving her arms around to catch the light.

Again, the dragon roared.

"The stories were true!" Cried one of the knights.

"D-do they just let it…go around like that?" Said another, sounding flabbergasted.

Even Reave had to admit he felt a little bad for the poor townsfolk who had to deal with a menacing-looking dragon being ridden around as though it were a daytime pony ride. The creature had caused massive havoc across the Ninth, and Reave would have been on a very different sort of mission if the dragon still remained at large.

"Should we signal back, sir?"

"Sound the peace horn. We'll acknowledge her greeting." Commanded Reave. 

As the horn crooned, the dragon did a couple more turns before pumping its vast wings and changing direction back towards the city.

"Onwards men! Let's pick up the pace!"

They all snapped to attention at his words and proceeded to follow the path downwards.

Reave had to suppress his smile, but his heart thrummed with excitement.