Vasallo of the Sun

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley." Said the tall, sturdy figure wearing shining gold armour as it stood in the middle of the cell.

"Well, not as you came to know them anyway. The ones you call 'Dragons' are a mere product of the Elders, their most foolish decision." He said, stepping closer to the man in chains. "They are persistent, hard to kill vermin with inherited Eldir magic, well, you would know seeing as you became one of them, Orion."

The man in front of him, Orion, whose body was suspended with chains in the middle of the cell, grunted, struggling to hold his head up to look at Ekain, the Golden knight. His body was bigger than the man holding him prisoner, more muscular, taller, with scales for skin from his neck down to his shoulders and collarbone, typical of every Dragon. On his chest a line of tattoos with each phase of the Moon. Ash grey hair that matched the colour of his overgrown beard and moustache. His skin told the stories of battles through old scars, accompanied by new ones, gifts from his captor.

Orion laughed between coughs of blood. "these 'vermin' showed me your lies… you can't manipulate me anymore, Ekain."

"Do you forget who you're talking to?" Screamed Ekain, The Golden Knight, Lord General of the Army of the Sun, right hand to Santor Anatole, Priest of the Sun. He pressed on Orion's face with his right hand, releasing a white light from it.

Orion screamed as smoke came out from his cheek.

He let go, leaving another mark on his face. "They kidnap you, turn you by mistake, and you don't even hesitate to follow their command."

"You just want them murdered for no reason." The chains rattle as Orion pulls, trying to break free, only to realise the uselessness of his plan. He lifted his head to look at Ekain. He could see from up close his clean golden armour, shining more than the inside the cell would allow, with the symbol of the Kingdom in the middle: A Sun with a smiling face. His blonde, thin and long hair was like silk.

Ekain unsheathed his famous sword, "Amencer," a very thin and long titanium sword with no crossguard, even his handle was made of titanium, only a gold piece connected the hilt to the blade. Sigils along the blade lit up in white light. Orion could feel its heat from the distance, a warmth he just felt on his face.

In just a blink, Orion noticed Ekain move inches from his face. This was the first time Orion saw Ekain's eyes from close. Orange, with a hint of blue on the ends, protected by long blonde eyelashes. He felt a sharp and burning pain growing from his gut. The tortured Orion screamed, shaking the dungeon's walls before he passed out as Ekain pulled the sword.

Blood splashed on the floor, and smoke came out from Amencer. The light dissipated, revealing the blade. Ekain sheathed it and called one of his soldiers to the cell.

As Orion woke up, he saw a blur of Ekain talking to what seemed to be one of his special guards before dismissing them. Orion's recent wound had already turned into a scar.

"Welcome back." Ekain moved closer. "My sword would have killed anything, human or Dragon, that's the reason they want you, you're a 'Vasallo' you carry the power of the Elders, without you, they don't stand a chance."

"It's… just… magic… more powerful than yours." Orion said, coughing blood.

"' Just magic' You're as ignorant as they come. Everything you know was made by the Elders, the first Dragons. They had large and long bodies like snakes, some with wings, others with many heads." He started moving around Orion.

"They lived in The Valley with the other primordial beings. With time, Elders formed the elements, nature, light, dark, the Moon…" He paused for a second to look at Orion's chest tattoo. "And the one you're more familiar with, The Sun." Orion thought he saw the orange eyes brighten in yellow light for a fraction of a second.

"The Sun?"

Ekain ignored his question. "As centuries passed, they mixed with the other primordial beings creating the other races, but their magic diluted, corrupted and weakened with each next generation. Eventually, 'humans' came to be, the least magical race." He said with an expression of disgust. "The Elders were marvelled by Humans, they decided to let them take care of themselves and gifted the new world to them. But the flawed humans brought war and destruction."

"What a beautiful story." Orion interrupted with a smile.

"Whether you want to believe it or not, you're now a creation of the Elders, brought to this world to keep humans from destroying themselves, a Vasallo. Each Elder created one, choosing a human that would have a part of their power, transforming them physically to serve as tools to fix their mistakes. Vasallo's did as they were told but eventually had offspring with other humans, creating what you call now 'Dragons.' Bigger, faster, and more magically adept than humans who started to fear them."

"You understand they just want to live, like humans, they never intended harm." Orion said, looking into Ekain's eyes.

"Given enough time, everything corrupts. They realised their power and tried to force humans to obey them. The Dragons forgot something, that humans' strength relies on numbers. After the war of 365 days, Dragons were exiled to The Valley."

"Then why didn't these 'elders' do anything?"

"They decided to not intervene." He moved in front of Orion. "Now, Dragons want to take back what they lost after the war."

"That's not true. I know them." Orion grunted.

"They showed you what they wanted you to see."

Orion spit blood on Ekain's face, which disappeared into white smoke just inches away, leaving his face clean.

"Nobody forced you to join the military, nobody forced you to be the sergeant of your team. Have you forgotten your oath, Orion? The same oath you swore next to your brothers and sisters, do you remember them? the ones who died under your command by the hands of Dragons?"

Those words whipped at him. Orion looked down to the floor, panting from anger and exhaustion. He was confused. Not knowing what to believe. Memories flowed in his head, memories from the last time he was with his soldiers, his brothers and sisters.

________________________________________

It was the morning of a warm day, the Sun had barely risen. A sea of soldiers stood on the beach in front of ships made of gold, shining in the light of the Sun. Chanting and drums accompanied the speech of the Santor, the priest of the Sun.

He stood on top of the tallest tower of the coast fort wearing a gold robe with white and bronze details, gold rings and a heavy necklace with the symbol of the Kingdom of the Sun.

"Liberate your families, save them from the Dragons. Fight alongside your brothers and sisters, show them the might of The Sun. Do not fear, for it will guide you in this life and the next. Burn The Valley down to ashes if necessary, we will not let them be, for after this battle, they shall never hurt us again." He yelled before pausing to look at the endless brigades of soldiers.

"Accept this blessing from The Sun, for it will protect you during your first visit to The Valley. Honour the deceased, who burn high with the Sun to provide you strength!" Drums played louder as the Santor stepped back while five of his Bruxos stepped forward, chanting in unison the same words in 'Eldir' the language of power.

The Bruxo in the middle led the other 4 with hard, precise movements that followed the rhythm of the drums as they continued chanting. Bright yellow fractals formed in front of them, changing with the end of every movement. The fractals descended to the soldiers, turning the sand into a mix of black and yellow shapes.

Orion noticed the black spot grow into a circle under him and each soldier of his platoon. These circles moved up each soldier's armour, covering them in gold Eldir sigils, banishing as soon as the circles went over the soldiers' heads.

"Now fight with all your might, do not fear, for fear weakens your light. Be brave, for bravery strengthens it. Be blessed and return in Victory!" The Santor finished, lifting his arms pointing at the sky. All the soldiers screamed in celebration while marching toward their ships.

"They give this blessing to the special forces not many know about it. We're either very fortunate or going on a suicide mission." Orion's friend, Ignacio, whispered in his ear as soldiers screamed in celebration.

"Hmmm… that sounds like classified information, I could report you for treason, you know?" Orion looked at his friend of hazel eyes, covered slightly by his red hair.

"Hey!" Ignacio stepped back with a grin and sweat down his face. "Just something I've heard… oh look! we got to go now, we have a long trip ahead."

"Long and boring."

"Don't underestimate boring. That's the most peaceful you'll be for a while… You have to enjoy peace whenever you can. You never know when you'll miss it." Ignacio finished in a serious, depressing tone.

"All right, all right, don't get too gloomy."

"Sorry." He smiled.

Both joined the march to enter the ships. Each one was made mostly from wood, reinforced with Iron and details added in gold. The bow was decorated with a gold ornamental with the symbol of the army. Inside, the ship seemed bigger than the outside, fitting a battalion of soldiers each. One Curto-Bruxo, also called Cruxo by the soldiers, would always stand in front of the helm to cast a spell that moved the ship.

Once the last soldier entered, the ships raised their ramps and loosened the sails. The Cruxo's of each ship chanted in Eldir, moving softly as they spoke. They seemed to dance softly and elegantly. Their feet would not make a sound on the floor. Legs slid through the floor with arms and hands following slowly when fractals formed on the sails like a large painting where a gust of warm wind came from, pushing the ship.

As the day passed, soldiers established themselves inside their quarters, getting ready for the next 4-day long trip to The Valley. The Captain called Orion to the mission quarters.

"Look at you being called to the top... Hey, don't forget about us down here when you're next to the Lord General! please send him my regards*."* Ignacio mocked Orion before he left for the call.

"Who are you again?" Orion winked and laughed at his friend.

"Lieutenant! you're being summoned. Now make a move." The Captain interrupted, leaving to the mission quarter. Orion waved to Ignacio and went for the meeting.

He arrived at the mission quarters inside the ship and got startled by the sight of Lord General Ekain, the most admirable knight the army has, he thought. Orion and the Captain grabbed the hilt of their sword with their right hand and formed a fist with their left, raised on top and in front of their head.

This was the salute of the soldiers of the Sun, always ready to fight with their right hand holding their weapon and signalling they serve under the Sun with their left hand.

"Rest soldiers." Ekain replied. "We will go over the mission now that everyone is here." Around the table were Lieutenant Colonel Bermolen, Captain Cabeceira, Lieutenant Gaveiras, Orion and Ekain. The knight extended his hand over the hexagonal table in front of him, inviting the other 4 to get closer while his personal guards left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Place your hand on the circle in front of you and do not lift it until the briefing is complete. This is for your eyes only, each one of you has been selected for this highly sensitive mission."

The group followed suit. Orion placed his hand inside the circle, which lit up in yellow light. Ekain was the last to place it, chanting "mostrate nos ollos de fora." Sigils in front of each's hand revealed and broke in the same light. The atmosphere inside the room felt warmer as Fractals formed on the table, continuously morphing until they became a map.

They could see the coast they had just left and all the 5 seas surrounding The Valley. Their ship looked gold moving in the water. Suddenly the map morphed, moving closer and closer to the coast of The Valley. So close they could see a road with green rusted bronze and a dark shadowy cloud where the road ended.

"As you know, this is our first time going into The Valley. We captured enough intelligence to know what the terrain looks like. Captain Cabeceira and Lieutenant Colonel Bermolen will land here. Mist will cover every ship, they shouldn't expect us" Ekain pointed to the forest near the coast on the map. "Lieutenant Gaveriras and Lieutenant Orion, our objective is to control what's inside here." He pointed at the cloudy black area. "Intelligence tells us that the Dragons will complete an Eldir weapon that presents a great risk to the success of this battle."

"Fuck those Dragons!" Screamed Lieutenant Gaveiras. "Surely nothing they do can win against the great Golden Knight, Lord Gen-"

"Our informants died to bring you this information. Agent Touro Segredo gave his life to give us just this much." All the men in the room fell silent, surprised. Lieutenant Gaveiras grunted. "That's not possible. He's our best-"

"Our best agent." Orion interrupted in disbelief.

"Do not underestimate your enemy. We're walking into their territory tread carefully." Ekain continued.

"Yes sir!" They all replied.

"To secure the weapon, we will leave the ship an hour before arriving. Orion and Gaveiras select your top 5 soldiers, the rest will join Bermolen. We will prepare to move quickly through the forest near the coast when the commotion starts." Ekain continued to explain the plan while Orion's mind went into a trance, trying to take in the importance of the situation. This was real. He had been in battles before but never commanding his own squads. It would mean either the best opportunity of his military career or his and his soldiers' demise as the newest Lieutenant.

"…we have to secure the weapon before night. Understood?" Ekain finished. Orion could feel his look even through the helmet that hid his eyes.

"San Solaris!" Replied all from the table.

"Dismissed." Fractals dissipated along with the map in a bright flash, returning the light and temperature in the room to normal. They only realised how quiet it was as sounds from the ship entered the room. Ekain's guards opened the doors, and everyone stepped outside.

While walking back, Orion saw Captain Cabeceira and Lieutenant Gaveiras and eavesdropped on their conversation in the hall.

"He could not have died. He was the most capable this army has or well, had… next to the Lord General obviously." Gaveiras whispered to the Captain.

"The man was worth 10 soldiers." The Captain replied.

Orion felt a hand pull his shoulder softly as he heard the sound of small chains just past him.

"Do you, gentlemen, understand the definition of confidential?" Lieutenant Colonel Bermolen said. Even with the gold armour that covered every part of her body, Orion couldn't hear or feel her coming. She is what the legends spoken between Dragons talk about: fear from the "silent death."

"ermm- uhh- apologies, ma'am." The Lieutenant and Captain saluted.

"I hope you understand the sensitivity of this mission. My soldiers will not die because of your not lack of silence." She moved forward between the two men before turning to look back. Neither of them knew who she was looking at from inside the gold helmet that covered her entire face, but they all felt the same fear and respect.

"Do not disappoint us." The tall figure finished, turning towards her private quarters. The other two left, and Orion went to join his soldiers in the quarters to take in all the information he just got.

"How was it?!" Ignacio grabbed Orion by the shoulder, holding two glasses of Bescura, the favourite drink of soldiers.

"Ignacio, drunk already? come on, take this more seriously." He complained.

"Oh, that bad?" Replied Ignacio drinking from his glass. "Come on, what happened in there?" He whispered, taking Orion to sit by the window.

Orion looked at the drink for a moment, debating with himself whether to have a sip, but after looking at Ignacio's cheery attitude, he decided to chug the first drink, if only to catch up with Ignacio and relax. "I have to choose 5 of our best in the platoon. The others will join Bermolen."

Ignacio looked worried before covering his face and drinking from his glass. "What do you mean, is Bermolen in the ship? what is she doing here?"

"Look, that doesn't matter, focus. We need to choose 4 more soldiers in the next 2 days. I'm taking you as my right hand."

"Orion.." Ignacio looked at him with a concerned expression, thinking for a moment. He drank the rest of his Bescura and placed the glass on the table to firmly grab Orion's hand. "It will be my honour, but you have to tell me more."

"Okay okay listen, just giving you a few details."

They both smiled and spent the rest of the night discussing some of the details of the mission, deciding who would be the best qualified to join the mission.

"Sounds like we will die." Ignacio said, standing up from the table.

Orion smiled. "As always, very optimistic." Orion hugged and patted Ignacio on the back.

"Hey hey this is me really being optimistic, there's just something I don't like." Ignacio protested. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow, gotta catch the loo before sleeping."

"Hmmm, one would think you can hold your drink with that size of yours," Orion replied, standing up to hug his friend, who was taller than him by a head.

"Yeah yeah see you tomorrow." They both went off in different directions, concerned about the battle ahead of them, even if they did not want to admit it.

________________________________________

The Sun was close to rising. Orion, Gaveiras and Ekain stood in front of their soldiers in the stern, waiting to board the boat that would take them to the shore.

Their minds were concerned with the weight of the silence that surrounded them. Each soldier knew the importance of the mission yet still had only one instruction: to follow the orders of their Lieutenant. The lack of details was requested by Ekain to avoid intelligence leaking to the enemy before the mission.

A different Cruxa was standing in front of them, looking towards the water. He was the only one that interrupted the silence, whispering a chant in Eldir.

"Nace sol quente nace"

Warm mist formed on the water like vapour until it covered our boat. Everyone boarded, and Ekain gave the order to go. One of his guards dropped the ropes holding the boat to the ship, and we moved to hide in the mist.

The short trip felt like an eternity, the silence deafening. The thickness of the mist hid their surroundings from their sight. They could only wait until they felt sand. The nerves grew within them. Some were feeling restless. Ekain noticed and turned to look at his soldiers, communicating with hand gestures.

"Trust - The Sun - Don't - Fear."

After what felt like hours, they finally felt sand and got in position. Each Lieutenant led their 5 soldiers, taking a defensive position, separated enough to hide in the forest and remain vigilant while they waited for the commotion to start.

Orion noticed a light through the mist. It seemed like fire.

"They must be close, the mist is dissipating." He whispered to Ignacio, who he thought was next to him. Orion looked around for Ignacio and saw him near Gaveiras, but before he moved to follow him, they heard a scream.

"INCOMING!"

The yellow light grew in size and launched itself to the shore, exploding on impact. Screams and shots of magic filled the air from both sides. The Dragons had intercepted their ships from below the water as if waiting for them.

The ones that arrived at the shore opened their ramps and let out the company of soldiers each was carrying with Bruxos clearing the way for a wall of fire that burned to ashes anything in front of the ships, giving them an opportunity to land. The soldiers fought the Dragons from the shore while the others were still fighting the ambush in the water.

Ekain gave the sign to move forwards, taking advantage of the commotion from the beach.

"Sir, we need to help them!" Orion ordered his soldiers who got in position to go.

"What are you doing? follow the plan!" Protested Gaveiras blocking his path.

"Our men need help!"

"They know what they signed up for. What they need is for us to complete our mission now, move on before they find us, or you and your soldiers will be remembered as deserters!" The Lieutenant and his squad unsheathed their swords, living up to their ruthless reputation.

Orion paused for a moment looking at his soldiers and Ekain, who moved forward without looking back. He looked at the beach for a moment and, between his teeth, replied, "Yes. sir."

"Move it then!" Ordered Gaviria.

They marched until the screams from the beach were barely heard, and the smoke seemed like a small fire. Everything they saw was new to them, new plants, insects and small animals they had never seen in the country.

Ekain gave the sign to stop. "We're here. Stay sharp. It seems they still don't expect us, if we hit them now, we win. Be brave, you will make history, earning glory and beyond anything you could want."

"San Solaris!" The soldiers replied quietly. Only Orion noticed Ignacio did not say anything, looking at Gaveira.

"Make your country proud. Let the heat of the Sun fill you with strength." He said, moving his hand across his sword, revealing white sigils that made the Iron blade white. "Are you ready?"

"San Solaris!"

Orion noticed a tear coming from Ignacio's eye, his face red with anger, a sight Orion had never seen before. He moved next to his friend to comfort him.

"Hey, this is it Ignacio." Orion said, trying to grab him by the shoulder, but he stopped his hand.

"I know how you feel. We won't die. We're next to the Lord General, the most powerful person in the world." Orion finished.

"You cannot even begin to understand." He replied, standing up, putting on his helmet and readying his daggers, weapons he had never seen him use. Orion, puzzled, stepped back, waiting for Ekain's order to move. They all saw the soldiers stationed at the front of the rocky entrance to what seemed like a temple.

"Kill every. Single. Dragon. Do not let even one of them leave this place and secure the weapon." Ekain said before starting a chant.

“Sol quente atravesa nosu inimigo.”

A ball of white fire formed in Ekain's hand, growing beyond his fingers, shining on the surrounding area. He extended his hand, holding the ball inches from it, when they heard Gaveira scream.

"DAMN YOU, TRAITOR!"

Ignacio stabbed Gaveira, whose armour lit up in a gold light breaking the protection sigils as the dagger penetrated through his neck.

"IGNACIO DON'T!" Orion screamed as Ignacio continued to fight Gaveiras' soldiers. Swiftly he moved behind one of the soldiers, slicing his hand and neck, throwing him to the side and parrying the other soldier's attack, only to slice him through the underarm opening, taking the opportunity to scream.

"NOW!"

"COME BACK!! WHY DI-" Orion screamed on top of Ignacio but got thrown to the side as he saw a gold light from his armour, only this time the sigils remained unbroken. He saw a Dragon soldier running towards him. He immediately stood up, defending himself, seeing their whole team was fighting.

Other Dragon's revealed themselves from their hiding spots in the forest, others jumped from the trees above them. Orion clashed swords with the Dragon feeling the massive weight with each hit, feeling as though the sword would break. The Dragon pushed Orion onto a tree when suddenly a white light blinded them before revealing a hole in the Dragon's heart. He ran to join the others and noticed Ekain was commanding the ball of fire that saved him.

A Dragon soldier threw himself at one of Ekain's guards, who was wielding double blades. Ignacio ran towards Ekain, and Orion threw his knife, injuring him in the leg before he could reach the Lord General. He fell down and rolled to the side before getting up and hiding in the other trees moving towards the temple.

One of Ekain's guards finished off the remaining Dragon that attacked them. Orion realised there were only 7 of their team remaining. They could see the Dragons guarding the entrance of the temple move inside and close the doors.

"How did he know about our plan?" Ekain asked his guard. "We need to move inside the temple, NOW!"

"Sir!" Orion grunted. "There's only 7 of us. Most of our men were killed."

"Don't waste their lives by standing here, now move on soldier, it's night already." He ordered.

Orion gasping for air, took a close look at the carnage the battle left. His soldiers cut and killed with no warning, nothing he had ever seen before. He looked for excuses to justify what Ignacio did, thinking it must have been part of the plan.

"Come on sir, let's avenge our brothers and sisters." One of Orion's squadmates said.

"Yes, I'm coming." He stood up and got ready.

They ran together to the entrance and found a grey barrier protecting it. Ekain recalled the fireball to his hand. He stretched it to the barrier creating a sharp, screeching noise that hurt the inside of the soldiers' ears until suddenly it stopped. The fire sphere was gone, along with the door leaving burnt marks of people plastered on the walls and floor in the hall in front of them.

The temple was dark, now only lit by the light of the Moon, torches and Ekain's sword. Dragons ran towards them, but they fought more viciously than before. Ekain guards sliced through Dragon armour like nothing with double swords that looked larger than normal with the blade shining in yellow light. With each hit he received, the sigils in his armour would light up, repelling it and protecting him.

They fought their way until they reached a chamber with a hole in the ceiling with half of the moon showing. Directly below it was a group of 7 Dragons dancing and chanting while the one in the middle kneeled. Then they heard what seemed like a chant.

"Lúa ábrese"

A pouch with bright grey sigils flew from the side to their position, exploding in front of them. Turning Orion's soldiers into stone. Orion and Ekain hid behind rocks shadowing them from the explosion.

Orion saw Ignacio drop on the floor, injured below them. A Dragon attacked Ekain from the back, who was saved by one of his guards who only had half of his body turned in stone. Ekain took the chance and cut through the Dragon's armour, separating its body in half and leaving burn marks where the sword passed.

"Go! I'll hold them!" Ekain ordered Orion.

He obeyed and moved upstairs right below the hole in the ceiling. Orion swung his sword and fought alongside. The Dragons in the hexagon continued chanting as Orion fought his way toward them.

As he moved up the stairs, the Moon reached the middle of the hole in the ceiling and the grey barrier around the hexagon raised from the floor to the ceiling. Ekain moved his hand and chanted something Orion couldn't hear. A white ray shot from Ekain's sword into the barrier as another ray from the Moon fell down, causing an explosion that sent everyone flying across the temple.

Orion saw glimpses of himself being dragged by two men he didn't recognise, hearing the voice of Ignacio and others. He tried to stay awake but felt a horrible pain across his whole body, continuously fainting before feeling he was put down by the two men in a room that smelt of old books before fainting once again.