Chapter 20

Christopher's smile fades and he walks away.

"Kara?"

"Yes, Christopher."

"Can you fly me so high into the sky that the fading storm will be no more than just a memory?"

"Huh."

"Can you fly me around so I can get a better picture of the situation both now and to come?

"Of course, sir." says the majestic white dragon, with all sincerity.

"The wind in my hair. A state of mind that when I'm between here and there all is right, and I can't wipe this stupid grin from my face. The ride brought a freedom and connection like nothing I had ever experienced before."

The Shadow Brigade heads south, and although it is hard for Christopher to determine an accurate distance from this new perception, Kara says, "The coastline is only another forty or fifty stretches further."

When they reach the coastline Christopher asks Kara, "Kara, please continue on out above the sea."

"We went so far that I could no longer see the land."

Kara sweeps down so low that a wave actually sprays Christopher with its salty kiss. Christopher realizes that even this far out so much life exists. Huge fish like creatures that Kara describes as whales. Little dolphins who are jumping and twirling in the sky, saying hello to their long lost cousin the dragon.

Christopher is incapable of paying attention to nothing else, but Kara shoots up so fast and hard that Christopher nearly loses his grip and tumbles backward.

Kara speaks, "Christopher, look to the west." All he can see is a dark cloud going against the wind.

Kara turns back towards land and starts going so fast that his eyes water up so bad that he can no longer see.

"Kara?" Christopher yells.

"Yes, Christopher." she cranes her head back a little so he can hear her over the rushing wind.

"Well?"

"That dark cloud is a flight of purple dragons, and they are coming for us."

Luckily, even though nobody explained it to him, Christopher finds out that dragons can communicate with their own kind over great distances. Christopher can see the coastline getting closer and closer, but as he glances over his shoulder he can tell the flight of purple dragons are closing in on them.

Christopher is quickly trying to do the spatial math in his head, and he comes to the conclusion that, "The enemy dragons will reach us about the same time we reach the shore and our reinforcements!"

Christopher's heart starts pumping hard and he prepares himself for the worst. As they reach the coastline Christopher can feel a pressure difference in the air, and looks down and notices they have reached land. Then he looks forward and sees a multi-colored flight of his dragons as they swarm by them and go after the flight of purple dragons. Christopher yells out in joy, and his face is beaming with pride and appreciation. It is a grand moment of healing and growth.

Christopher figured that the dark dragons would turn to fight at a more dominant position, but they don't. The two groups of dragons close on each other at unbelievable speeds.

"Kara, turn and join them."

"Christopher, I have to get you to safety first."

"Kara, now!"

She shivers underneath him, but does as she is told. She banks hard left and goes after their group. The two groups of dragons light the sky up with fire, and collide in mid-air with so much force that it sounds like thunder. Four or five dragons go tumbling down into the ocean fighting all the way. From here it looks as if two hives of bees have crossed each other's territory. They swarm for all they are worth.

As Christopher gets closer, he sees that some of the purple dragons have dark mage's on them, and they are firing bolts of energy from their wands and staffs into the ranks of his dragons.

"I knew my options were limited, and that I was probably endangering Kara, because she would not be willing to take some of the diversionary maneuvers that could save her life without sending me into the sea."

But Christopher draws his sword and orders Kara, "Head for the dragon that seems to have the leader of the sorcerers on his back."

The dark sorcerer, who is wearing a dark purple rob instead of a black one like the others, does not see them coming from his back and right. Kara takes a quick dip, as a black dragon dives at her and Christopher with talons spread wide. Christopher has to duck not to have his head taken off, and he sees two gashes open wide on Kara's left wing.

She flies true and straight. At the last moment the dark mage looks over his shoulder, but by that time Christopher has already heaved his sword end over end to where he figures the dark mage will be by the time his sword gets there. It goes completely through his right thigh and sticks into the dragon.

Christopher laughs, "Holy abyss, I can't believe that worked."

The enemy dragons break contact, and Christopher has to call his dragons back from following them to the very same abyss. There is not a single dragon that does not have some kind of wound. Christopher sees that all the dragons that have fallen into the ocean are airborne again, except one. It is one of their rainbow ones, and it appears to have a broken wing.

Christopher orders, "Kara, have a half dozen of our dragons stay with him, and then get me back to our main force." Christopher watches as the injured dragon wallows his way back to shore.

Christopher takes the rest of the dragons back to the main force. Even before Kara completely stops he is yelling out orders.

Christopher had noticed at the first coastline village there were several big ships.

"I need some volunteers that have sailing experience to help one of our injured dragons."

Christopher takes a total of a hundred and fifty cavalry troopers, both human and centaur, to the coastline at a very fast and recklessly dangerous pace.

But before they pull out Christopher orders, "Have saddles made for some of the dragons, and get volunteers among the wizards and witches to fly on them into battle."

Learn and adapt or die.

By the time they reach the coastline the injured dragon has already made it to shore. Christopher orders his soldiers, "Surround the dragon and protect him until the main force catches up."

The rainbow colors that make up the hide of the dragon swirl and crisscross like a paisley fashion style, and is most spectacular to look upon.

The people of the village are all excited, as if they are seeing a fairytale come true. This fishing village, that come to find out is called Presley, numbers close to two hundred people, and Christopher saw several more down the coastline just as big or even bigger.

It is well into nightfall after the last wagon and the rear guard come rolling in. From the several villages that the Shadow Brigade cleared out and brought the people with them, they now have a gaggle of children. Most, Christopher can tell, have seen the ocean before, but a couple of them have not, including Sara.

Caitlin seems to take over stewardship of little adorable Sara, since as far as anyone could find out her family and clan had been killed. Christopher knows it is dangerous to have families along, especially since what they are building towards, but when you take into account the pissed off large force coming up behind them, he thought it best.

Every time Christopher turns around Sara is nearby. He tries not to be rude, but he has a lot to do, and after what happened to the last Sarah that felt it necessary to stay on his hip, he does his best to stay busy elsewhere.

Christopher's soldiers are having trouble coming up with a viable saddle for the dragons, and since this village is a fishing village and he learns that they have made their own ships for generations, Christopher puts them on it.

Including the three other coastline villages that are nearby they have a total of seven ships.

On inquiring, one old timer sailor tells Christopher in his sea brogue accent, "On top of the crew what it takes to sail them, they can hold forty additional passengers."

They will put twenty in the holds below and the other twenty on deck. More could be crammed onto them, but it would make it dangerous and severely limit their sailing capabilities, and if they are to be turned into warships they are going to need the ability to maneuver and act quickly. Plus, the closer they can get to the shoreline the better. Too many people and supplies will cause the draft to run deep.

Christopher didn't have an exact purpose for them yet, but it gave him more options, and the more options the better. Plus, once they pull out, the enemy force would come along and maybe put them to use.

So either the Shadow Brigade will use them or they will burn them, as they have been doing with all things they can't bring along and the enemy might use against them. It often times left some of the villagers in tears, but there was nothing to be done about it for now.

Christopher stands before the growing throng of refugees and promises them, "If it is in my ability, after the conclusion of this war I will fight just as hard to win the peace as I am in ending this nightmare. We will work together to rebuild our homes and bonds of peace through loving strength."

Christopher knows they can't stay there too long, or the enemy will be upon them. Plus, the fairies that he sent on long reconnaissance missions several days ago were now returning with valuable, if not disturbing, news.

"The good news is there are another four small villages along our planned path and they still seem to be unoccupied by the enemy, plus not just thirty stretches west of here there is a good size town with at least five hundred people and another six ships of the same style."

"Thirteen ships at forty troopers each with light supplies will give us the ability to dump a commando force of five hundred and twenty strong behind enemy lines. By the time we reach my country's border, I was hoping to have a force of at least three thousand strong."

Christopher then orders "Take a patrol of thirty centaurs and ten pegasuses with wizards or witches on them, and go east up the coastline and warn them about what is coming and to enlist all capable." At this point volunteering isn't the only way to get into the army. "If they so wish, they can bring the whole village."

The bad news that the fairies had returned with was the two nearest villages to the border of Christopher's nation were burned out and deserted. Even the first village in his land is destroyed.

The true concern is that the Trend River that separates Christopher's nation and Venloring at times becomes treacherous. If the main bridge that crosses the river near where it dumps into the ocean is an enemy stronghold or destroyed, the only way across might be their new ships. At certain points the Trend River is a very wide and deep river. If Christopher remembers his geography correctly, he believes their ships can actually go up it for a good distance.