Dear Rival (3 page)

Valtiel then noticed Etoille and Avalon several pools away, laughing and making obvious, embarrassing gestures in his direction. He glared at them. He hadn't been aware that they watching him. There wasn't a chance in hell Valtiel would give them the satisfaction of seeing him talking to Kero—or any other dragon knight for that matter.

"Is something wrong?" Kero sounded confused, as he clearly didn't understand the gestures Etoille and Avalon were making.

"It's nothing, really. I should retreat for the night." Without waiting for Kero's response,Valtiel stood and left the hot springs.

Puzzled, Kero waved after Valtiel, shaking his head about his sudden change of mood. Sometimes he wished he could understand the frost elves better. As it was, their actions occasionally gave him a headache when he did attempt to understand. Dismissing Valtiel's odd behavior to think on later, Kero lowered himself into the steaming water. He would relax for a short time before retiring for the night.

*~*~*

Etoille sighed low in disappointment as Valtiel left, and Avalon shrugged lightly. "We could resort to trickery?" Avalon suggested, causing Etoille to shake his head in disbelief.

"That could only go wrong, Avalon. We can't force Valtiel onto Kero. That would only serve to get both of them angry."

While it was undoubtedly true, Avalon couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had been waiting for Valtiel to see beyond the differences that lie between him and Kero, but it seemed he was still not ready for that. It was a shame, but Avalon was sure there would be future opportunities for the two men to get to know each other.

"Remind me, why are we trying to get the two of them to notice each other in the first place? It would be easier to grab Kero for ourselves."

Etoille's face stretched into a sneer. "Let's just say it would be nice to see a change in Valtiel's attitude toward us. Sucumbing to a human might bring him down a notch. Though, if he really
is
attracted to Kero, it might  backfire on us..."

*~*~*

The night air was crisp with the cold of early winter. Every now and then he liked to come outside at night to walk along the inner wall and enjoy the stars glittering above Ythrasia. In this part of the continent, the sight was especially fantastic, as the sky tended to be quite clear, with a blanket of stars shimmering like a chest full of radiant gems. He smiled to himself, leaning against the pinnacles. The whole of the dragon knights fortress seemed to radiate heat, not from sunlight but from a secret the dragon knights kept to that very day.

Kero loved to stand  with his hands on the warm stone, head craned back to watch the jet black sky and its many glistening stars. To him, their fight against the shadows seemed like a drawn-out training session rather than a serious war. It kept him from worrying about day-to-day life overmuch; he knew that eventually the war would consume him, one way or the other.

Looking up at the sound of steps, Kero smiled to himself as Valtiel came into sight. He found Valtiel endlessly fascinating, as his actions and reactions seemed to endlessly change, and Kero couldn't help watching him. He had to admit that he was curious about Valtiel, maybe simply to spite Valtiel's prickly, unfriendly demeanor.

To his surprise, Valtiel soon joined him, leaning against a pinnacle in the same manner as Kero. They didn't make eye contact, but Kero felt with certainty that Valtiel had come to speak with him and not to simply ask questions about the dragon knights' behavior. Kero waited, watching the sky patiently. There was no need to hurry right then, after all.

"I had hoped to find you alone," Valtiel said eventually, for lack of anything better to say.

"May I ask why you would want to talk to me?"

"I don't quite know myself. I should be focused on a matter of importance, but apparently I want to find out more about you. As much as possible.

Kero chuckled, shrugging to indicate he didn't mind Valtiel's interest—or the idea that Valtiel preferred to not think about him. If Valtiel was seeking him out for conversation instead of duels, Kero was sure he would enjoy the change. He found it rather amusing to find one of the frost elves interested in him. That it was Valtiel only made it more intriguing. He supposed it did make a kind of sense, as Valtiel had been the first to challenge Kero. What Valtiel wanted from him, however, was a mystery.

"What shall I tell you about myself, then?"

Valtiel tilted his head to one side, thinking it through. He knew quite a lot about the dragon knights in general; he thought he might like to know how the current dragon knights lived. It was simply another way to understand them. "I want to know about your life. What shaped you and made you into a dragon knight?"

Kero didn't  think about that questions for long. Valtiel observed him while he talked about the beginning of his training, how difficult it had been to get used to the shard of the dragon's spirit now merged with his soul. Kero retold several stories about training, guard duty, and moving up in the ranks. In every story, there seemed to be some scar involved in the telling. Valtiel still found it strange that Kero would choose to keep any of his scars rather than allowing them to fully heal.

"I don't understand that. How can you choose to keep such a scar? Any scar?"

"They are connected to strong memories. Keepsakes, in a sense; warnings and reminders and rewards for a battle well fought. In every case, they are each a symbol for an important event in my life."

Valtiel considered this for a moment. "How old are you? It's obvious you are quite experienced, even in comparison to the other dragon knights."

"That's a good question," Kero said with some amusement. "We don't track our ages, so I'm not truly sure of the number. I suppose I am at least 200 years old, but that is only a rough guess; I could be older, but certainly not younger."

"Impressive. Is your lifespan so extended because of the dragon?"

Kero nodded, looking a little dreamy as he turned around to lean his back against the warm stone of the pinnacles. "Dragons are potentially immortal, as they are incarnated magic. The magic responds to our souls, giving them more force."

Valtiel nodded faintly, letting his gaze drift along Kero's body without consciously thinking about it. "Is there a limit to a dragon knight's age?"

With a smile, Kero nodded. "Of course. Like every life, ours end with death. Some die after only a few decades and others manage a whole millennium. Depending on our luck and fate, it's sooner or later."

Valtiel couldn't quite imagine it. The dragon knights appeared much too human to him, yet there was something decidedly otherworldly about them. Oddly, realizing how fragile Kero's life was made Valtiel's gut twist with inexplicable anxiety.

"It's strange," Valtiel said, pushing the strange feeling away. "You don't seem vulnerable to death."

"That's what it looks like on the outside, Valtiel. Even with the dragon magic infusing us, our bodies are destined to falter at some point, to wither and fade into nothingness."

"You make it sound almost harmless."

"It is harmless, Valtiel. Death is nature's way to make room for something new."

"I would hate to think of myself as some sort of obstacle."

"We aren't obstacles by any means. Just part of something bigger that our minds can't grasp fully."

Valtiel shook his head, but he felt quite pleased. Knowing the dragon knights indeed had time to gain experience, more than any normal human lifetime would allow, was almost reassuring. Perhaps time would cure the stupidity of humankind. Perhaps their alliance was not so ill-chosen after all.

Admitting, to the possibility of Kero—and the other dragon knights—being worthy allies turned Valtiel's thoughts strangely. Valtiel couldn't understand the strange fluttering sensation in his stomach, but he quickly realized it was focused on Kero, strengthening as Valtiel gazed at him. No, Valtiel assured himself, it was merely the moment confusing him, and he was tired. Nothing more.

But he couldn't stop himself from watching Kero; in the pale moonlight, his hair was glowing in a strange silver tone, and even his skin seemed radiant. Determined to sort himself out, Valtiel blocked out everything else, focusing his attention on Kero. What was it that drew his attention to Kero so effortlessly, over and over again? He no longer felt guilty about it, or strange, merely—oddly satisfied. As if he needed to watch Kero.

A tiny voice in the back of his mind scolded him for showing such interest in Kero, but he had decided to disregard it. Be it conscience, guilt, or envy, he appeared to like Kero, not necessarily as a friend, but certainly as a worthy rival. Kero was strong, direct, and constantly seemed to have a sense of ease about him, as if nothing could truly bother him or make him sad.

"If you know that you might die any day, why do you still seem as if nothing can affect you?"

"That's one of the many things our masters teach us. Though we may face horrible death at any moment, we should be sure to enjoy ourselves every day of our life."

"Isn't that dangerous, living as if you are ignorant to your mortality?"

"We aren't ignorant, Valtiel. We are aware of our mortality, but we don't let it control our lives. No dragon knight worries about 'what if'."

Valtiel nodded quietly, once more impressed. Elves never truly focused on their mortality, choosing to simply live in the present and take things as they happened. Occasionally, Valtiel found himself fretting about his eventual death, but he always moved on and forgot about it again.

Kero lowered himself to the ground, leaning against the low wall the pinnacles formed and Valtiel eventually followed. With the mild warmth in his back slowly radiating through the entirety of his body, it was quite comfortable to sit on the outside.

"You talked about the dragon knights in general, but not about yourself, Kero. Do you fear death?"

"Not particularly. I know that I have a much longer life than humans, but I'm not immortal. And honestly, true immortality would be horrible. Just imagine how the world around you would constantly change, how you could never truly enjoy another person's company for knowing you would certainly lose them. They would be gone in a blink from your point of view."

"Do you really think so? Why do you?"

"I know it because of the dragon within."

"I don't understand," Valtiel admitted.

Kero chuckled, closing his eyes and seemingly listening to something only he could hear. "The dragon is aware inside of us, as we are aware of it. The millenia the dragons lived, and live on through us, are quite close to immortality already. They all confirm it is horrible."

Valtiel attempted to understand the dragon's opinion. Immortality sounded like such a tempting thing, so wonderful. But he had seen what the elven elders had become. Bent by the burden of life, eyes full of unvoiced sorrow, they spent most of their time anticipating death, the end to relieve them from the weight of so many years.

Admittedly, Valtiel hoped that he would become old, but not as old as the elders. Dying in a last heroic battle was what most elven warriors desired, no matter if they were from his or any other tribe. What good was it to survive for so many years?

"So immortality is blessing and curse alike."

"You could put it like that, yes."

Kero stared into space, chewing on his lower lip while he seemed to decide something. Valtiel had seen him, and other dragon knights, like this before. If he wasn't mistaken, Kero was arguing with the dragon inside. Judging by the change of Kero's expression, the discussion had turned out to not be exactly satisfying.

"I must retire, it seems. Good night, Valtiel."

Valtiel waved after Kero, but lingered outside. He had thought that by getting to know Kero and the dragon knights better, perhaps it would make it that much simpler to understand and ignore them. Instead, it seemed that the more he learned, the hungrier he was for more, particularly where Kero was concerned. It was a strange and unsettling feeling. Was he really interested in Kero? As much as he tried to ignore the thought, Kero surfaced in his mind throughout the next day—his deep, pleasant voice; his shimmering gray eyes; his open, friendly smile.

With an annoyed groan, Valtiel rubbed his hand across his face, inwardly scolding himself. Even if Kero hadn't noticed anything, Valtiel was far from satisfied with his own behavior. He should have been indifferent towards Kero and the other dragon knights. Distant and, if the situation required it, respectful, but nothing more. No matter how valuable the dragon knights were as allies, he had to keep in mind that Kero was also a rival.

However much he tried to convince himself of this fact, however, Valtiel still found his thoughts constantly straying back to Kero. That meant that he needed to get some distance between them again.

*~*~*

Over the next days and weeks, Valtiel made sure to avoid Kero. The shadows kept them busy enough that it was relatively easy to do. Their assaults were unfaltering despite the hope that they were weakening. Dragon knights and elves were busy night and day, holding the creatures back, but how long they could hold the border was unsure, and winter came closer with every day. In the high north of Ythrasia it would become especially cold for six months, at least, possibly longer. Summer was practically non-existent, while spring and autumn were a pleasant break.

As the nights grew colder, the shadows' attacks dwindled and eventually seemed to cease. The guards noticed that at nighttime, when the temperatures dropped and a biting cold wind rushed over the hills, nothing moved on the battlefield stretching between the fortress and the wall. But despite the strange lull, they were constantly ready to sound the alarm should the more hearty creatures be lured by inattention.

Inside the fortress, the warriors kept themselves fit in several training halls and an amphitheater, which had been carved into the rock that made the floor the fortress. While the frost elves preferred to train in the halls, the dragon knights never missed an opportunity to measure their strength against each other, entertaining both fellow knights and elves with their shows of strength and valor inside the amphitheater.