EPISODE 5: ONE GUILD; THE PRINCESS’ CHANCE

Team Kira, Team Ayenhayze and Team Senshiiro stood before the Dragonlord. They had received a summons early that morning and now had come to find out why they had been called. The Dragonlord looked very solemn.

"I worry for the new rangers trapped within Saggeese's borders. They are still at Drake level and each Dragon Knight has enough fortitude to protect a city from harm however I fear that this isolation from the rest of us endangers them greatly. The Dragon Knights still have to seek out the most vulnerable and return them to the growing guilds but whenever they leave, the entire guild is left vulnerable hence the only protection the guilds currently have are their concealment from the eyes of Erikkus Di Devilli" the Dragonlord said.

"I understand your concern" Master Jin said.

"Here at the central guild, we have enough hands to train the Rangers and soon many of them will be experienced enough as Dragon Students to teach Drakes. With more experience, we might soon have a formidable number of Dragon Masters on our side. In time, we will be able to send these to aid in teaching the other guilds essentials about being and living as a Dragon Ranger. When that is achieved, the other guilds will finally be able to fend for themselves but that time is still quite far from this moment" the Dragonlord said.

"So how do you intend to handle this?" Mistress Kira asked.

"We still cannot afford to make unnecessary moves that will alert our enemies to our motives so for now I intend to send a small team to Saggeese under the guise of a Trade Guild. Their mission would be to aid the Dragon Knights guarding the various guilds in training the new Drakes and to guard the guilds when the Dragon Knights leave to seek out new rangers. Once in Saggeese, I would advise you to avoid displaying your abilities as Dragon Rangers unless truly necessary. Whenever you do display your abilities however, confine it to the reaches of the various guilds. It also means you can't fly to Saggeese on your dragons" the Dragonlord said.

"Then how do we enter Saggeese?" Mistress Suzuna asked.

The Dragonlord smiled.

"Aboard the Trade Guild's ship of course. Regardless of tension between Saggeese and Novatio, the two kingdoms maintain economic relations so Trade is allowed between both kingdoms. We will take advantage of that and infiltrate Saggeese in order to protect our own. The recent attack on the guild reminded me that we cannot remain passive where there is a threat to the Dragons or Dragon Rangers, however unnecessary conflict is forbidden" the Dragonlord said.

"Don't take this the wrong way Dragonlord but why choose us?" Reis asked.

"I have two reasons. First and foremost is the fact that whenever Armageddon manifests, somehow members of Team Kira, Team Ayenhayze and Team Senshiiro are there to stop him. I figured that your presence there might be a blessing to us and secondly, Armageddon over the years has managed to sever Aurora's ties to her people. If she is ever to win the trust of her people and wield the Twin Saggeesian Sabres in earnest, she's got to start from somewhere. This might be a good chance for her to start reclaiming what she has lost. She is after all one key that is instrumental to Armageddon's eventual downfall in the near future. Listen to me young Aurora, far different from what many have lived you have endured a trying past but your ordeal is not yet over. There is still a trying future ahead of you. Your fate and that of the Dragonhaӓrt's are tied. It could in fact be said that to triumph over Armageddon, one cannot do without the other. Defeating Armageddon has no meaning if Saggeese is still ruled by 'Darkness' and the Dragonhaӓrt cannot triumph without the fragments of Arӓlpheisl. Everyone is counting on you two, Reis, Aurora, Shin, even if most of them don't know it yet" the Dragonlord said.

Meanwhile, in the fortified prison holding Galigaos, the evil warlord gloated because he knew a secret that only few knew.

"Perhaps it is fortune that I am imprisoned here without my powers however everyone has failed to ask themselves one question. Their failure to consider that one possibility may very well spell victory for Armageddon in the end and the question is this… 'why did I hunt Jinrai and the Princess for so long and why did I stop hunting them after my final clash with Jinrai?' The logical answer would be that 'The Princess was now under the protection of the Dragon Rangers' and 'Jinrai was killed in action' however, that is not so. I know it Jinrai, that secret you have fought so hard as a Dragon Knight to protect. Three things are needed in order to defeat Armageddon…" Galigaos thought as he removed a parchment from his clothes and stared at it. There was a painting of a Princess leading an army, a boy with a heart whose image overlapped with a dragon and a tremendous ship weathering a dangerous storm.

"The first is the Princess Of Saggeese who leads her armies to liberate Saggeese, expel the 'Darkness' and rule it with 'Light'. The second is the Dragonhaӓrt who directly confronts Armageddon in elemental combat…and the third secret Jinrai was something you were willing to protect even if it meant your death…" Galigaos said as he reached into his garments and pulled out a crystal key. "…Benedict's Ark! However in your arrogance Jinrai you underestimated my persistence. If three things are needed to triumph over Armageddon…in hindsight it means three things must be destroyed for Armageddon to triumph" Galigaos said with a smirk. "You'd best be ready Jinrai because I am infiltrating Benedict's Ark…after you!" Galigaos declared.

In Saggeese, Erikkus Di Devilli opened his eyes and chuckled.

"Well done Galigaos…well done! Foolish Rangers, when did you delude yourselves into believing I was unaware of the recent shift in power? Yes, continue to play…and play right into my hand. I await the Princess Of Saggeese patiently, and the Dragonhaӓrt. Once they arrive on Saggeesian soil, they will be utterly vulnerable to my next attack" Erikkus Di Devilli gloated.

"On the Trade Ship 'Benedict's Ark', Team Kira, Team Senshiiro and Team Ayenhayze along with a number of a hundred and fifty other rangers were caught in the middle of a storm and Erikkus Di Devillli was stirring the sea with malice.

"I hope you enjoy my greeting" he thought to himself.

"Leave this to me! EHUM! I SUMMON YOU!" Kyla called as Ehum the Wind Dragon appeared in a storm of elements.

"This storm is not natural. I fear it was brought upon you by an adversary" Ehum informed them.

"Can you calm it?" Kyla asked.

"I can!" Ehum declared and flew into the skies.

She stretched her wings and gathered the storm clouds, then she directed the storm away from the ship and led it towards Novatio. The sky cleared up and the wind moved gently along the waves.

"As always, these Rangers are an incredible thorn in my flesh" Erikkus Di Devilli said. "Impressive, very impressive however that was merely a greeting. My intention is certainly not to drown you though that would have put a convenient end to my troubles" he said.

"There has been no sign of trouble since the day of Arӓlpheisl's appearing and then on the day we suddenly decide to head to Saggeese, we're hit with a storm? I'm afraid the enemy might have pre-empted our plans. However this attack was not meant to destroy us or the enemy would have been persistent until we were crushed. It's almost as though he's sending us a greeting but if he chose to act now, then he perceives the growing threat to his plans. It is a reassuring thought but it also means the enemy will be far more dangerous now than ever before" Mistress Kira warned the other Rangers.

"And we'll be vulnerable within his territory since we can't afford to give ourselves away by utilizing our abilities whenever we want" Master Jin said.

"Do you think he can see us? Does he know our every move? If he does, everything we are doing might be pointless" one of the rangers pointed out.

"In a sense he can see us but not with his eyes. I'm willing to bet that he senses the shifts in the power balance between good and evil and reacts accordingly. Saggeese as it is now is his domain so any change in the power balance there will be detected by him. He might be able to approximate our location, sometimes even approximate it very accurately but he never really knows for sure where we are or what we are doing and he certainly has no way of knowing what we are thinking" Reis explained.

Mistress Kira was surprised.

"Do you know that for certain?" she asked.

"Saggeese is my homeland and I have lived and survived even under the watchful eye of Erikkus Di Devilli since I was born. During all that time there was one rule Erikkus Di Devilli enforced that my grandfather ensured I obeyed and that was…no use of magic or swordsmanship would be tolerated under his rule. I never really thought about it but I guess it was to prevent our discovery" Reis confessed.

"I can see why the Dragonlord forbids us from utilizing our abilities unnecessarily" Master Jin admitted.

After about a week, the rangers arrived on the Saggeesian continent. Posing as a Trade Guild, they hired some carts to help them transport some of the goods they had brought from the central guild. These goods consisted of food, clothing and books concerning the history of the guild and the Tragic Legend, as well as some famous tales of legendary Dragon Knights, Masters and Students.

Mistress Kira, Master Jin, Mistress Suzuna and the other Rangers wasted no time in sending news of their arrival to the Dragon Knights who currently guarded the newly formed guilds in Saggeese.

This message was sent via falcon using an approximation of where they believed the guilds were. It was risky but still much safer than resorting to Psychic abilities which could easily be sensed by someone with enough power. They waited about two days before receiving a reply. The knights expressed sorrow in their inability to come and meet the rangers personally since they still had to seek out the most vulnerable and guard the growing guilds. However, they sent invisible maps that could only be read after exposing them to the magical warmth of a Dragon's breath. This ensured that the enemy who despised dragons would never locate the guilds by their maps.

Once the Rangers received their maps, they journeyed in smaller parties of about twenty five and headed out in different general directions. Further onward, they would split up into parties of nine to be even less suspicious. Team Ayenhayze, Team Senshiiro and Team Kira remained in the same party. Kyla sighed nervously. Reis noticed an uneasiness in Shin and the other rangers, and Aurora looked very troubled. There was a general air of gloom about. Reis understood that Shin and Kyla were uneasy because the last time they had trespassed in Saggeese, they returned the only apparent survivors and were nearly considered traitors by the rest of the guild.

Reis also knew that Aurora had a deep hatred for Saggeese believing that it took away her family and finally claimed her last surviving relative Jared. Reis wanted to reassure them that everything would be alright however he was himself at a loss for words.

"Our goal is to reach a place called Dragonheart Forest" Master Jin informed everyone.

Reis smiled. The name sounded nostalgic to him though he didn't know why.

Their journey was without incident and they arrived safely at their destination. They were met by a knight clothed in armour that bore the imprint of an eagle on it.

"Watchfulness huh?" Reis muttered to himself.

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" the knight asked him.

"Your crest. It bears the marking of an eagle. What came to mind was watchfulness" Reis said.

"And you are very right about that. Being watchful can prevent danger and if the danger is unavoidable, it can lessen the casualties and troubles it brings. The eagle could also symbolize vision and this crest holds my hope for a vision that is true and unblurred by illusion" the knight said.

Then he introduced himself as Sir Raphael Cruz but wished for everyone to call him just Raphael.

He led them into what appeared to be a growing village mostly under construction. There were many people aiding in the construction of the village. So far there were quite a number of houses and a few places for recreation. It looked in some ways similar to the architecture, design and layout of the central guild about a year ago.

"The Dragonlord sent us copies of the blueprints to the old guild. We have some skilled architects among our ranks and many skilled in building so construction is proceeding smoothly. For now you can look around, I'll introduce you to everyone in the evening. Things tend to get quite interesting in the evenings" Sir Raphael said.

The teams spent their time walking around the guild. In the guild, there was no presence of Erikkus Di Devilli's tyranny so it was quite a lovely place. It had a number of schools that appeared to focus more on training Drakes because technically the rangers in this guild were only Drakes in terms of their understanding and relation to the Dragons. They were already bonded to the Dragons so there would be no need for a bonding ceremony. Once they became Dragon Students, they would begin to learn more about practical aspects of partnering with a Dragon.

"It's just like our guild" Aurora said with a smile.

"It's like a Saggeese without Erikkus Di Devilli's rule. It's kinda amazing that all of this is happening right under his nose" Reis said.

"And he has no idea" Shin laughed.

"Either that or he has chosen to ignore this" Effuien said.

"Whatever the case, it's best for now not to vex ourselves thinking of what's going on in Erikkus Di Devilli's mind. I'm sure he is the only one that knows the answer to that and I for one am not going to trouble myself trying to guess it" Darak said.

"However…" Reis said as he pointed to some flags of Dragons and Eagles flying at important places in the guild and the many watchtowers that distinguished the guild from theirs. "The creed this guild lives by aside from the Dragon Ranger pledge is watchfulness. We should indeed trouble ourselves trying to guess what Erikkus Di Devilli is thinking or we might end up waltzing right into one of his traps" Reis said.

The Rangers have finally arrived at their destination in Saggeese posing as a Trade Guild under the name of "Benedict's Ark". Does this name have implications for their future and is Erikkus Di Devilli actually aware of the growing guilds? Finally what does the Dragonlord mean by the words "Armageddon over the years has managed to sever Aurora's ties to her people; If she is ever to win the trust of her people and wield the Twin Saggeesian Sabres in earnest she's got to start from somewhere?" Find out some of these answers in the next episode; Dragon Ranger Omega Episode 6: We Are Watching.