A Tale of Two Brothers

The afternoon was warm and dry when Yidar ran into the forest, his bronze scales glistened in the orange sun as he leapt and glided through the trees. Finally free from his studies for the day and with no one around, Yidar growled at trees that took the form of his enemies, thrashing his tail, hurling sticks and rocks towards them he battled his way through the wood. A low hanging branch that jutted out from a tree trunk that – with the right imagination – was the perfect shape for a spear. Yidar ran towards it and tucked it just under his wing, with a howl and a performance worthy of an ancient tragic play, Yidar pretended to be impaled by the Tree. But like all the great heroes he read in his stories Yidar wasn’t going to give up that easy. He bit down on the branch and snapped it off, he kept up the act as he pulled the spear out of his wing and threw it back at the tree. He hopped on to a fallen log and with a raised of his head and unveiled wings he roared in triumph, victorious in his pretend battle.

When he lowered his head he caught the glimpse of something moving sharply behind a tree.

“Hello?” Yidar called out, his voice was high and light as it had not yet broken; There was no response. He stepped off the log and tentatively made his way over to the tree. “Is anybody there?” when he eventually rounded the tree his cat-like eyes set on what was hiding behind it; a small human boy. “Hello” repeated Yidar.

“Hi,” said the boy with a quiet voice as he stared directly at the dragon stood before him.

Yidar lowered himself to the ground in an attempt to make himself less intimidating, “What’s your name?” he asked.

The boy fiddled with his red jumper, “H-Harrison.”

“Hello, Harrison. My name is Yidar.” He shuffled closer to Harrison, sniffing around the base of his blue trousers, “I’ve not seen you here before”

“I saw you attacking that tree, I thought you were hurt, I’m glad you’re not.” Harrison said as he reached out with his fingers and gingerly felt the leathery webbing of Yidar’s wings as the dragon circled around him.

Yidar flinched a little upon Harrison’s touch but warmed to it. “Would you like to join me?” He asked.

Harrison’s face lit up with his wide green eyes, “Can I?”

“Yes, Come join my army,” Yidar skipped off deeper into the woods with Harrison running up behind him. “We fight for ‘a piece of justice,’ Like in the old stories.” He picked up a stick and handed it to Harrison, “I am Yidar the Great, and you’ll be Harrison the Strong, my human sidekick. Tales will be told of our legendary battles.”

Harrison took the stick and instinctively wielded it like a sword. “What’s justice?”

“I think it’s some sort of food. The hero is always asking for justice so it must be like a cake, and we need to make sure everyone gets a piece!”

The pair of them charged at the trees. No longer were they alone in a forest, together they were in a battlefield fending off armies that wish to take away their justice from them – which in this scenario was portrayed by a cake of mud.

After a while, the sun was cresting on the horizon. Harrison looked up at the sky and placed his stick-sword on the ground

“I have to go home now,” Harrison looked around at his surroundings, “but I don’t know the way back” he said as he wiped his muddy hands on his jumper.

“It’s ok I’ll help you get back home, where do you live?”

“I Live on the house by the lake,” Harrison said.

“Oh, the lake?” Yidar hesitated, “mum said I’m not allowed to go out that far.”

“That’s okay, just walk me to the edge of the forest near the lake and I can make my way from there”

“Okay, I can do that!” Yidar said and together they trekked their way through the forest to the side that met the lake.

“Thank you, Yidar. I hope to see you again sometime.” Harrison said as he broke out from the trees.

“You too, Harrison.” Yidar turned and retreated back into the depths of the forest. Slowly making his way home.

The next day Yidar returned back to the forest, already there and waiting for him was Harrison, who was holding a wooden toy sword in one hand and a shield in another.

“Harrison the Strong reporting for duty!” The Human lifted his hand and it clashed with a wooden bucket he had placed over his head.

“Harrison, you’re here! Are we ready to vanquish our foes?” Yidar looked around for a pile of fresh mud. “We are going to need a new cake.”

“No need, I have some for us. It’s my birthday and mother asked me what cake I wanted. I don’t think adults know what justice is, because she gave me the weirdest look when I asked.” Harrison produced two slices of cake from a wrapped piece of cloth, “it’s jam flavoured.” He held out a piece for Yidar.

Yidar came over and sniffed, eyes fixed on the cake inspecting it. The frosty white covering with a slight slither of red sandwiched in between oozed out what looked like two fluffy clouds. He licked cautiously and instantly tasted the sugar. Yidar’s eyes went wide, and he began lapping at the cake in Harrison’s hand who started giggling.

“S-s-stop it,” Harrison said as he kept his hand out-stretched, “it tickles!” He watched the Dragon lick his hand clean.

“That was incredible, I didn’t know justice tasted so sweet,” Yidar said.

“Isn’t it good.” Harrison said with a mouthful of Justice Cake.

“Happy birthday, what age are you?” asked Yidar.

“This is my fourth year”

“Four years! Wow. My dad says that Humans age too quickly and learn too slowly.”

“My father says Dragons are just mean and horrible.” Harrison paused, “But you’re not mean and horrible.”

“We can’t tell them about us, they’ll never understand,” Yidar said.

“Agreed, this is our little secret.” Harrison picked up his wooden sword. “So, who are we fighting today?”

The pair of them played throughout the afternoon. This went on for weeks in secret. Any chance they could get they would slip away and run to the forest. On one particular day they were both caught out in the rain. Refusing to leave but also not wanting to get wet the pair of them hunkered down in a large tree trunk that had been naturally hollowed out at the base. Once the rain had cleared they both emerged from the trunk and looked back at it.

“This should be our base of operations,” Harrison said.

“It will need some work,”

“It’s fine, We’ll get some blankets, and a banner, so people know it’s ours.”

“I can start on the entrance and making it look more base-like,” Yidar said and began shovelling leaves and soil with his large taloned paws.

After a few days, the empty dying tree was now a den fit for the pair of them. It wasn’t anything special, but it did have room inside that Yidar – who by now was a foot taller than Harrison – could comfortably lay down in. some small blankets that Harrison was able to hide under his jumper littered the floor, and their banner was an old kitchen towel that Yidar had smudged a mudded paw on.

When they weren’t fighting the imaginative evil forces or, on the odd occasion, battling each other to save a princess who was locked away in a tall tower, they would rest in their den. Hidden from their families and safe from danger, in their own bubble free from judgement and the ongoing war.

“Mum said the fighting is only going to get worse,” Yidar sighed. “Why can’t everyone just get along like we have?”

Harrison was laying on his back looking up into the trunk of the tree. “My father said it is an honour for people to join the war. He said those people get stories told about them.”

“Dad said humans forget who they are and their place on this world.” Yidar lifted his head and looked at Harrison, “you won’t forget who you are, right?”

“No, of course not! I promise.” Harrison said.

Over time it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide what they were up to all afternoon. Each evening they would go home covered in mud, plus with the increased random bruises and grazes that appeared on their bodies that they had no explanation for. Whether that was because they had thrown themselves against a tree too hard, or Harrison falling off Yidar when he got on his back and pretended to charge into battle. Their parents started to question what they were up to and where they went. And it was one fateful autumn afternoon, just as the leaves started to yellow and fall that their secret was discovered.

Harrison met up with Yidar as normal, but he was unaware that his mother had followed him into the forest, he had led her all the way to the den, and the moment Harrison called out to Yidar who appeared from inside the den he heard his mother shriek behind him.

“HARRISON! You get away from that beast this instant!” she yelled.

“M-Mother, he isn’t a beast, this is my friend!” Harrison cried.

“Get home, Now! You’ll have your father to answer to!” his mother grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him away from Yidar. “Associating oneself with such an animal! Do you have any idea what that could have done to our family if you were seen?”

“No but it’s not like that!” Harrison wriggled as he struggled to break free, “Yidar tell her, tell her we are friends!” Harrison looked back at his friend who just stood there, not saying a word, and eventually no longer visible through the trees.

They finally made it to the lake with the house in sight. Harrison couldn’t work out why Yidar didn’t save him. Why didn’t he say something? His chest felt tight with a pain building behind his ribs; one not caused by any physical affliction. When his mother dragged him in front of his father everything became a blur, and the sound of people’s voices were a distant dull noise as he struggled to come to terms with what had happened.

It wasn’t too long after that Harrison’s parents decided to sell the lake house and move to the city. Harrison watched from the small coach window as the forest he had known so well shrunk into the distance, and then disappeared from view and his life all together.

Harrison left his formative years and entered into his adolescence surrounded by new people and an old city, that over time he had come to associate with and call home. His days of running off to play ‘silly games’ were over. The company he kept throughout his teenage years were an echo chamber of human patriotism.

“These dragons are doing me nut in! First they take our land and say that it was ‘theirs to begin with,’ now I hear they’re stealing our sheep and cows.” said one of Harrison’s friends one evening as they all lazed around in someone’s living room.

“The sooner we get rid of them the better off we will be. my mum said the economy has taken a dive these past few years as a result of the loss of crops.” said another.

“Harrison, what do you think we should do?”

“I- I don’t know, tell them to go away and farm somewhere else?” Harrison said.

“Nae that’ll never work, they’ll just keep coming back and robbing us because that’s all they’re good at, filthy creatures. Come on, you can do better than that?” his friend poked.

“Okay then, maybe… maybe just kill them?” Unsure of himself, Harrison spoke while all his friends looked at him expectingly, “kill them all and be done with the whole thing, I suppose.”

“Tha’s more like it, Harry! Good lad, you’ll go far with them kind of smarts.”

Whenever a ceremony was held in the city, Harrison and his father would always join the crowd to watch the soldiers march by. Harrison’s eyes were fixed on those with the most badges and medals pinned to their uniform. He saw himself in their uniform, marching through the streets, with a sword strapped to his hip and an army of men under his control.

The moment he was legally old enough to sign up for the war, Harrison did. With his parents being so proud of him in doing so. He entered into the training grounds with all his friends, his head held high above the rest of them. Finally, time to make something of myself. Throughout his training Harrison proved himself to be an expert swordsman, with his own unique fighting style; a mixture of light fencing attacks combined with big heavy hitting power plays, he was successful in besting his peers during sparring matches. Harrison also rose above his fellow soldiers with his theoretical battle studies, demonstrating a level of knowledge and tactics above his current rank.

This continued on for several months before Harrison was eventually called into his commanders office.

"At ease, soldier," his commander said without looking up from his desk, "you have shown some impressive skill throughout your training within these past few months." He thumbed a sheet of paper, "I haven't seen scores like these for a very long time."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I need someone to lead this squad, I have spoken to the higher ups, and they have approved my decision on this matter."

"And who would that be, sir?" Harrison asked with an expressionless face.

"You, Sergeant." the commander hovered on the word letting it sink in as he looked up at Harrison. "I'm sure you'll do a fine job, but don't make me regret my choice."

"Thank you, Sir. I won't let you down." Harrison threw up his hand in a salute towards his commander.

"Good, you and the rest of the platoon will be deployed on a recovery mission. this has come down the chain from the top, we are to secure a village in an attempt to push back the dragons further. the King is very eager to gain this advantage, so all eyes are on us right now. we cannot afford to lose this position."

"Yes-sir, we will be ready and waiting our deployment." Harrison saluted again and left the office.

As the platoon marched through the city they could see people lining the streets to watch as they paraded down the winding roads, there were the cheers that Harrison had come to associate with these proceedings. He could see small children looking up at him, just as he did all those years ago. But there was another noise, a low rumble of boos, hissing, and the occasional voice crying out over the top of everyone.

"Murderer!"

"Scum!"

"You're all puppets!"

Confused but unwavered, Harrison marched on. Leading his squad along with the rest of the troop out of the city.

"Sarge, Sarge!" One of his men ran up beside him, "How far is this village?"

"Not too far, we should be looking at a day's travel." Harrison said as he kept in step, "however if we keep up this pace we should be there by nightfall."

The day rolled on and the soldiers marched through counties filled with farms and small villages, where the sheep outnumbered the humans. Only stopping to rest for lunch they carried on as the light begun to drop. The sky was a wash of red, depicting the clouds themselves were flush with blood. They came to a stop at the base of the hill that lead on to the village.

Tents were erected as everyone made camp. when the fires were lit, food was cooked and passed around. Harrison didn't eat much, there was something about his surroundings; he felt uneasy.

"Once you have eaten, ready yourselves. Orders have come in, we're attacking tonight." Harrison said to his men while he grabbed his armour.

His armour wasn't anything special; a shiny new breast plate over the top of chain mail, a pair of vambraces on each arm, and padded chausses on his legs. But it was enough to make him feel protected as well as giving him the ability to move. Harrison then took pride in picking up his sword still in its scabbard and strapped it to his hip. Savouring the moment as he felt the leather straps tighten around him, after all these years - a real sword, his sword. Finally, he picked up a shield in his off hand and strapped it in place.

As the darkness of the night crept over the land, so did the humans. When they reached the top of the hill they could see the dragon village, it looked quaint and peaceful with a few small torches burning and a backdrop of dense forest behind it. the buildings were more like giant nests, but the construction was of a higher quality and each nest was fitted with a roof to shelter from the elements.

The humans were about one hundred meters away when a dragon saw them.

“HUMANS!” it roared, alerting surrounding residence who came storming out of their nests.

“CHARGE!” The commander yelled, followed by Harrison and the rest of the sergeants in the platoon.

The ground shook as both forces came together. A few dragons took to the sky, but from the back of the platoon, archers set arrows loose into the air, striking those trying to leave or use flight to their advantage.

Dragons always gave a tell-tale sign when they were about to breathe fire, you could always see it build up within them before they would spit it out. As two dragons filled out their chest’s the entire front line of soldiers lifted their shields together and braced. The fire hit with incredible force, but the humans held strong, the flames hit the shield and rolled off the top losing all its heat and energy into the cold night air. When the fire from the dragons stopped, the human line broke and charged in. One dragon met the end of a spear to its underside, while another thrashed it’s tail slamming five humans against each other in quick succession.

Harrison ran into the village, quickly scanning his surroundings. Everything had descended into chaos within a matter of minutes, the darkness of the night became a ominous void while orange flames raged from burning nests bathing the onslaught in a warm glow. The screams of dragons and humans alike cried out as they fell at the hand of the others attack. Sword and shield at the ready, Harrison ran to meet up with his squad. An explosion of fire blew out from a nest near his men sending a few of them flying back against the force. Harrison dropped to a knee, shield covering him, when he peered over the top he saw a huge bronze dragon stomp out into the street. It was a beast, with its muscles rippling under the scaled skin as it moved. the tail whipping around catching anyone unfortunate enough to be standing behind it. the beast swung with giant talons, tearing up those in its way.

“Harrison! Get up and kill that thing!” The commander yelled.

The Dragon’s head lifted and moved slowly round the battlefield, looking for something. It locked eyes on Harrison as he lifted himself up onto his feet.

“HARRISON?” boomed the dragon, the voice like distant thunder.

“Do not speak my name, beast!” Harrison yelled. As the dragon moved closer, its face softened.

“Is it really you? it- it’s me, Yidar.” the light from the burning buildings illuminated Yidar’s face, although now an adult, the structure was reminiscent of his younger self.

“Yidar?” Harrison searches his mind until it all comes flooding back to him, old memories of unending tall trees, playing games and fighting pretend battles, Harrison the Strong and… “Yidar!”

“it’s been so long! What are you doing here?” Yidar said confused as he looked around as the battle raged around the pair of them

“Sergeant, I’ll go rally the others to help.” One of Harrisons men called out as he ran off.

“Sergeant? You’re in charge of these humans?” Yidar’s face changed, “you’ve lead them here! This is your doing!” Yidar sprang forward dropping his full weight down on to the ground.

Harrison rolled out of the way just in time, “No Yidar, it’s not like that!”

“Oh sure! I’ve heard that phrase before. When you dragged your mother to our den.” Yidar swung a paw out.

“I did no such thing!” Harrison blocked the attack with his shield, “she followed me there, I had no idea!” Harrison backed away “I don’t want to fight you, Yidar!”

“It’s too late for that, you lead these men here to slaughter us all!” Yidar’s chest swelled as he craned his neck.

Harrison slammed his shield across his body and rooted himself into the ground. Yidar’s Fire Slammed into his shield. He fought against it to keep up right. The heat was intense as the flames bounced and wrapped around the edges of the shield. The torrent of yielding flame begun to wear the shield down, slowly melting the edges of the steel. Harrison cried out in pain as molten metal rained on him, but refusing to give in he still stood their holding back the fire.

And then it stopped. Harrison threw his molten shield down onto the charred ground and gripped his sword with two hands. In front of him he saw rope being thrown over Yidar, with his men either side holding the beast down

“Now, Sarge.” one said, gripping the rope hard to control Yidar.

“You should know better than any other that I’m not going to go down without a fight!” Yidar growled.

“Sarge, you know this dragon?”

“I- I…” uttered Harrison.

“You promised you wouldn’t forget who you were! Look at what you have become, Harrison!”

“BUT WHERE WERE YOU! When I needed you, when I called out for your help, you didn’t say anything! You just stood there watching as I got dragged away!” Harrison gripped at his Sword, “We were Brothers! And when it came to defend that, you did nothing!” He spat with venom in his voice

“Harrison, kill it! or I will!” His commander ordered.

“No…” snapped Harrison, “…I’ll do it!” He glared at Yidar. Slowly, he made his way over to him “it has to be done.” He whispered

“Then what are you waiting for, Do it-”

Harrison drove his sword deep into Yidar’s chest. The dragon cried out, and then fell limp to the ground. Harrison pulled his sword out, turned, and walked alone into the forest.

Away from the noise and fire, the forest was calm and lit with the white glow from the moon high above. In front of Harrison was the old hollow tree. Nature had claimed back the inside, but Harrison looked past the overgrown weeds and saw the old den, with the blankets and banners; remembered the good times they had.

“I’m so sorry my old friend” He said with tears in his eyes “It was never meant to be like this. We were meant to be there for each other. We were supposed to stand together against the rest of them as beacons of hope.” Harrison lifted his head and looked towards the stars, “You truly were great. And I took that away from you. Look at me…” he started pulling off his armour, “…a pawn in their stupid war! a war for what exactly? Where is the justice in all of this, Huh?” Harrison turned in the direction of where the village was. “ANSWER ME!” Harrison dropped to his knees “I’m so sorry Yidar, I ended your story too soon… I hope you could forgive me.” He said in a whisper as if almost a prayer. “I love you old friend. I cannot do this anymore.” Harrison looked down at his sword in his hand, still wet with Yidar’s blood. He closed his eyes and continued to pray.

It wasn’t until morning when there was no sign of the sergeant at the base camp that they sent a search party out to look for him. When they entered into the forest Harrison’s squad found the old tree. Amongst the remnants that showcased the peace and harmony between these two boys: was a military issue sword staked into the ground.