Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 03 Pt. 01

Melia came riding around the corner, "They can all do it, but only with their rider unless they are talking with a psion. Amy apparently can hear them all."

He nodded, "Shi'Drakon why don't we head for my old home and we will head to Silent Falls."

Shi'Drakon turned and heads off at double time toward the village.

Melia asked, "When did you know?"

Travious sighed, "Knew it was going to happen from the Gods as I told you. I did not know it would take a significant loss for that to occur. He considered the loss of my Sister significant because of our 105 years together, and her being with child."

Melia nodded, "You lost a lot today, but you killed the other champion without dying yourself."

Travious nodded, "It was more than talking with them that I had been looking forward too."

She looked at him, "Like what?"

They just entered the village and they got through it and he looked at her, "Hang on." He gave the reins to Amy Tryst and flew up and above them. He thought, "Best speed to Silent Falls Shi'Drakon."

He flew out in front. Not for long.

He heard Melia scream out, "Oh my GODS!"

He looked over. It was like they were running in the sky and they soon passed him on either side. Some form of telekinesis he guessed. He thought, "Land at the falls and wait."

He got so far along and the fly wore out and he started it again. He thought, "Shi'Drakon, this armor does not have your speed and the spell does not last that long. When you drop off Amy, come back and get me. Before I slam into the ground."

He heard laughter and as the last one was about to end Shi'Drakon came in under him and carried him to the ladies at the falls. Travious got off and kneeled. He spoke softly, "Corellon Larethian, Lady of Dreams, Aerdrie Faenya, and Vandria Gilmadrith. We pray to you to watch over those who died in this battle, Elf-blooded, elven, and especially our Elven war horses who fought with honor against overwhelming magic knowing death was a strong possibility.

Also for the years of deaths and prayers that may have been overlooked in the fact that we had no knowledge of what the Elven War Horses were doing for us. May they all have found a place at your side. May you aid us through our grief as we know grief will come again."

Shi'Drakon nudged him with his head. Travious hugged his neck and looked at him, "I know we all lost friends, family, the unborn, and lovers."

Travious looked at the ladies, "This is how the elves are going to help with the return of the Dragons. Shi'Drakon will be gone for that but his progeny will be plentiful. Shadow Riders will become an aerial combat unit."

Travious got up on Shi'Drakon, "You have anything to help when a rider falls or should they get adequate protection."

Shi'Drakon chuckled, "Get protection, your armor works for you to a point."

He sighed and thought, "Karti' Ros I want to change the ability to assign to the sword spell turning."

The sword responds, "Noted Spell turning is what is listed. Like your ring a limited number of times per day. An excellent choice though."

He nodded, to the others as he got up on Shi'Drakon, "I have prayed for all of those who have died, including all of the horses we have lost since T'Sarus started this herd."

Melia looked at him, "You needed to grieve before you can help the others grieve."

He nodded. "I know this is tearing Bree up inside but she was there as well. We need to consider a fourth wife. One on the road will not be enough. She was hurting after I gave her 12. She told me to ravage her. I spent a lot of time healing her from our efforts."

Melia nodded, "You want Bree?"

Travious nodded, "Her reason for being on the fence is gone. If she can forgive me for what I could not control. We will talk with her when we get back."

She nodded. They got to the stables and Travious thought, "Let me get this gear off of you and you can go and fika to your heart's content."

He heard a chuckle Shi'Drakon, "I will try and live up to your reputation 'Stallion.'"

Shi'Drakon went to the corral across the way and jumped the fence.

They headed back into the inn. Travious stopped at Staria, "It has the adjustable maps?"

She nodded, "Yes it will reflect the changes to come."

Travious smiled, "Make it permanent."

She smiled and nodded, "I have been waiting for that, it will be permanent in about an hour."

He nodded, "Thank you. You notice I got this design on my cloak."

She smiled, "Also your coat of arms. I am honored." They walked back inside and he was mugged by Bree and she just held him, "I am so sorry for beating on you. Gia reminded me of what happened with Fressa and Melia."

Travious nodded and held her for a couple of minutes. Then looked her in the eyes, "It is a natural response to want to blame someone. Sometimes fate intercedes. I have 3 wives now. We are considering a fourth if you are interested."

She looked at Travious, "I need some time to think things over."

He smiled, "Part of our vows for marriage include getting a new mate to replace the old one immediately. Yola was your mate to a degree."

She nodded, "Which is why I am asking for time. I am not a paladin and I never made that agreement with her."

Travious looked over at the Countess, "I want to leave tomorrow with the Countess to start the next mission. I should not need any team for this. Just the two of us while you help her come to terms."

The Countess looked at him, "Which mission?"

He smiled, "Introducing me to the griffon riders. Shi'Drakon is coming along."

The Countess looked at him, "The griffons would likely want to eat Shi'Drakon."

Travious smiled, "They would have to catch him first."

She looked perplexed and Amy filled her in.

Amy thought, "They are psionic! They have suppressed it for years. T'sarus was the first but not the only one. Shi'Drakon is a King among his kind. He ordered it to no longer be suppressed. They can fly through psionic telekinesis, not as fast as dragons but faster than Pegasus and griffons. This has been in the planning stages of their Gods for centuries.

Even I did not pick them up until he released the suppression. They can communicate in their own language, common, and elven. Their language is equestrian in nature, I cannot understand it but I heard some using it. He is from a para-elemental plain of cold and air. The ones born here are native to this plain and are a crossbreed to become what they are now...Elven war horses."

The Countess looked down, "Very well."

Travious smiled, "Good, it was the will of the Gods I take him. I am glad you understand why now."

Bree looked at him, "I want to go with you. If this is not dangerous there should be no reason for me not to go."

He nodded. "If that is what you want but you have to know the spell for this home."

She nodded, "I know it."

He looked at her, "The fly spell and the feather fall spell."

She nodded, "I have those, I can prepare them." He looked at Melia who nodded. He nodded to Bree. Bree hugged him, "Thank you for taking me with you."

He kissed her on the forehead, "Shower, then bed, please choose a room here. You can stay here tonight."

She nodded, "Thank you."

Travious smiled, "Then preparation of spells. You will be flying on your horse today most likely."

Bree looked at him, "They can fly?"

Travious nodded, "They can also communicate via psionics. Yours is waiting for you to stable her. They can read your surface thoughts. The gods told me I would only get their trust after the other champion was dead. That was not entirely true. I had their trust. I had not experienced a deep loss. For him, it was my sister and her unborn children."

Bree nodded, "You did know her your whole life."

He sobbed a bit, "Two nieces, I will never know."

He walked into the room. Bree went and took care of her horse.

His wives followed Travious. He sighed as he got out of his armor. He looked at the ladies, "I am going to get some rest. If you want to play you have the other bed. Else you can ride me in my sleep like Gia did this morning."

Melia nodded, "Still not straight in your head."

Travious shook his head, "I am wondering what if I ordered her to wait there."

Gia sighed, "Get some rest."

He nodded and got into bed under the blanket and went to sleep.

He was in the forest again and he walked over to the pool and sat by the Lady. She looked at him, "Your mother set a chain of events in motion. She made the choice of who the champion would be. Your sister would have disobeyed and returned.

One of them would have died in that field. It was destined for one of the three of you to die during that battle. It was the only way to bind the elven war horses to our people going forward. You would have been far away and under Tyr at that point and your destiny set by him."

He looked at her, "My brother is dead, isn't he?"

She looked at him and nodded, "Only the champion was meant to survive for a long life this time. His unit got wiped out about the same time as your battle. They took them out 20 to 1. They encounter a force of a thousand. One caster teleported back and let them know of an impending attack."

He sighed, "I need to work this training thing and then I need to help with the drow."

The Lady of Dreams looked at him, "The drow?"

He nodded, "Enemies of your husband and if we are going into a war with them, I am required to volunteer."

She nodded, "Unless you are on a mission for the gods."

He looked at her, "Which mission? I plan on contacting the griffon riders."

She nodded, "There are others."

He smiled, "But you have not sent me to the others."

She sighed, "I worried about that clause in the 40. My husband insisted and you are right once you have done what you need to do with the griffon riders the Drow would be your next focus. If we have not tasked you."

He awoke and saw the ladies fooling around. He prayed for his spells and he searched to see if there were any new spells in my list. He found none. He checked innate abilities and found one new one. Fitting for this next stage. His own version of feather fall, self only and he had to call upon it. He kissed all three of them before leaving.

He got dressed and switched out rings to get his armor on. He placed his shield on his back as he walked out into the main room and Bree was waiting. He looked at the Countess, "Bree will be going with us Countess we are getting the horses ready."

She nodded, "I will be out shortly."

He got into the inn and picked up something light to eat. A few water skins with a couple of apples to go. He stepped outside and Shi'Drakon was waiting. He thought, "Hello big fellow, have a nice night with all of the ladies?"

He heard in his head from Shi'Drakon, "Every single one of them."

Travious laughed and said, "Alright, stud let me get you protected and saddled up."

He saw Bree riding over. "Shi'Drakon fucked every mare in the pasture last night."

She laughed, "He told you this?"

Travious nodded, "He did."

He got up on him as she rode over. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you for taking me with you for this."

He smiled at her. The Countess showed up.

She smiled and he looked at her, "When we are done with this group you can talk to me about the other groups. The Gods told me there are others we should seek out as well."

She sighed and nodded, "We will talk about them."

She teleported them onto a path at a high altitude because breathing was more difficult. Bree notices as well as they work to catch their breath. The Countess looked at them, "We should wait here for them to come to us."

He nodded. "Hard and fast rule?"

She shook her head, "No they are just a bit aggressive and territorial."

He smiled, "Then we will ride slow."

She sighed and started walking as they rode up slowly along this steep but wide path. After about 15 minutes they heard screeching from far above and Travious call out, "Hold here. We have their attention now."

About 10 minutes went by and a Griffon landed with a thud behind them.

One in front of them while another four circled overhead. The man looked at Travious, "What are you doing here elf?!"

Travious looked at the man, "I am Travious Silvertree Knight Paladin, Champion of Corellon Larethian I am here to speak with your leadership or leader depending on the form of government you have."

The guard looked at Travious, "What is this in regards too?"

Travious looked at him, "Aerial combat with lances."

He looked at him, "What about it?"

Travious looked at him, "Are you the leader of your people?"

The guard looked at Travious, "No."

Travious looked at him, "When I see the leader of your people, I will discuss the matter with him or her."

He looked at Travious, "You will deal with me."

Travious looked at him, "You do not speak for your people. You do not have the authority to negotiate or handle sensitive information. Do you have nobility and if so, are you a part of it?"

He looked at Travious, "We have a King and Queen, Knights and all of that. I am not taking you to see them."

Travious looked at him, "Then send word that we want to see them. It is a matter of your own survival."

He laughed at Travious, "Our city is out of your reach."

Travious shrugged, "You telling me I should search for it on my own?"

He laughed, "You will never reach it on a horse. Horses are food for our griffons."

Travious looked at the Countess and asked, "Was this the greeting you expected?"

She nodded. "Do you know the location?" She nodded. "Pass the location to Shi'Drakon and Bree's mount."

She nodded. She looked at Travious, "Done."

Travious looked at the Countess, "Bree will get us home."

He looked at the man, "Do you wish to lead the way or shall we?"

In elven, "Bree hold tight."

She nodded. The man laughed again, "You think you know the way to go?"

Travious nodded, "Shi'Drakon best possible speed to the city."

Shi'Drakon and Bree's horse jump off the edge. They went flying into the air. The patrol guard tried to catch up with them but failed in his task. They saw the city and what looked to be a Palace and a garden, "I think the Garden would be a good place for a meeting."

They landed in the garden and they rode about looking at the plant life here.

Several minutes went by and several Griffon riders showed up and landed in the garden surrounding them. A few with lances and others with swords and a couple with bows. He looked at the man, "We came to speak with your leaders. The patrol we encountered said if we thought we knew the way we should go. We did. Now would you mind finding someone with authority in your court to address security concerns?

I am Travious Silvertree Knight Paladin, Champion of Corellon Larethian. The lady beside me is Bree who handles my arcane transportation."

The guy nodded to an Archer who fires an arrow at Travious and it deflects away. Travious pulled his bow and drew an arrow and put a shot into a wooden bench right into the front bench leg. They watch it burn away and tilt forward. He looked at the man, "I have shot the hearts out of my enemies with this bow. Do you really want to make an enemy of me or get someone in authority?!"

The man looked at one of the men with a lance who took off into the air. He looked at Bree and in elven, "If I call out now, I want you to put a wall of force above us. My sword should warn us if we are in any true danger. The only thing I can think of would be an aerial attack."

She simply nodded. He looked into the sky and saw a dozen riders circling overhead.

He looked at the man, "A dozen circling over us. At about 1,500 feet." He looked at Travious, "You can see them?"

Travious nodded, "The glasses cut out the glare so I could probably tell you their hair color and sex from here."

He laughed at that. He looked up again and back at him, "3 with black hair, 4 with brown, and 5 blondes. There only appear to be two males in the group but they could be flat-chested women. The beards, on the other hand, confirm they are male."

He looked at one of his riders who went up into the sky a few minutes later he lands with a thud. He simply nodded. The leader looked at Travious, "With your magical skills and devices why would you want to see us?"

Travious looked at him, "Your knowledge of aerial combat. Specifically, with lances."

He looked at Travious. "Why?"

Travious smiled, "That is a discussion to have with your leaders."

He smiled at that comment. "You are a knight?"

Travious nodded, "A Knight Paladin. Yes. Knighted in the Elven Court. I have papers to that effect but not knowing your thoughts on recognizing Knights from other courts I figured it was a moot point."

He nodded, "We do not have much contact with the outside world. Especially non-humans."

Travious smiled, "I live in a town called Quatarsia just outside of the Elven Capital. Quatarsia means tolerance. Built by my grandfather it is home to humans, half-elves, elves, Centaurs, and dwarves.

I think we even had a halfling couple move to the area recently. They run a cross-border mercenary company made up of the three allies to protect against the orc, ogre, and giant attacks that happen every 120-160 years. They also provide caravan protection support against bandits and such ilk."

A man came walking across the courtyard and looked at Travious, "You are a Knight?"

Travious nodded and pulled out his papers.

He took a look at them and handed them back to him, "Follow me, leave your horses."

Travious smiled, "One of your patrols told us you feed horses to you Griffons we will not leave them behind."

He sighed, "There is truth to that, follow me then. Travious slung his bow and the man put his sword away and he looked at the bench, "What happened to this bench?"

Travious looked at the man, "One of your men fired an arrow at me. I demonstrated what one of my arrows could do to him."

He looked at the bench and then at the riders, "Be thankful he showed some restraint."

He continued to walk, "The elven Queen did not send word you would be arriving."

Travious smiled, "The elven Queen is now the Queen Mother having turned the throne over to her son."

The man nodded, "How did you get here?"

Travious smiled, "We teleported to a mountain path and then rode our horses through the air to get here. The patrol we encountered was less than helpful. He told us if we knew how to get here to go ahead. He did not realize who he was dealing with. We easily outran your Griffons."

He looked at Travious, "On horses?"

Travious smiled, "They are more than horses. They are Elven war horses and can travel the skies as well as the ground."

They rode into a large chamber several Griffon riders were milling about. They rode down toward a pair of thrones. They saw a human King, Queen, several other noble types.

Also, one red dragon wearing one of those damned rings. He turned to the guy and spoke with him, "Who is the lady to the left of the Queen?"

He looked at Travious, "Her handmaiden."

Travious sighed, "Any way you can think of to get her to come to me? That would give us a chance to capture her without a loss of life?"

He looked at Travious, "What are you talking about?"

Travious took off his glasses, "Look at the crowd and the colors but say nothing."

He looked around and handed him back his glasses.

"Yes, she has been sweet on me for years. What do you need me to do?"

He smiled, "Hold her hands so she cannot remove her rings. That will be enough."

He nodded and they went forward "Biana."

They bowed and the horses did as well. They raise their heads shortly thereafter to the screams of the girl as the guard pulls her to the middle of the room. He looked at the Queen, "Please pardon the disruption, do you have a Captain of the guard or equivalent?"