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golden sunlight shun through the narrow windows. Those few sunbeams woke Henry up after a very rough and uneasy sleep. His head ached horribly, but as he lifted his arm to rub his forehead with the backside of his hand he realized that his muscles ached even more so than his head. The memories of the past day were nothing more than a blur to him.

He only remembered the dream he had about Cyrvanyx and himself, drinking and laughing about jokes that weren´t even funny. Then he realized that what he presumed was the wall next to his bed was moving up and down in slow breath-like motions. Slowly his eyes opened while he was still rubbing his forehead.

The first thing he realized was that he was not in his room. Empty bottles were scattered all over the ground, about seven mead bottles and four wine bottles, also one empty bottle of ale. Maybe his dream wasn´t a dream after all?

He looked to his side, only to realize that his back was resting against the black dragon´s belly. His eyes widened at the realization that the events of the last night had actually happened. But not soon after he began to smile as he watched how Cyrvanyx was half curled around himself in his sleep, with Henry in the middle.

Just for how long had they been up? And for how long had he been sleeping? A quick glance at the window in the wall told him that it was late in the morning. Even though the window was small and narrow, fresh sunlight filled the room in a cozy light.

Despite how much his muscles hurt, he still forced himself on his feet, shaking slightly as he took one unsteady step forward. He wasn´t quite sure how long ago it was that he had been that drunk. That was probably ages ago. There were holes in his memory, and the bits of pieces he remembered didn´t fit together.

"Henry..." The deep mumbling voice slightly startled him. "Is it... morning already?" He slowly lifted his head from the ground, looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Yes it is." Henry said with a warm greeting smile. He arched his back as he stretched out his arms, feeling all his sore muscles protesting. "Gods..." He rubbed his entire face with a hand, trying to fit the pieces of memories together. "I can´t remember... I... almost nothing."

"I do." Cyr sighed. "Some of those memories I would like to forget. Consider yourself lucky."

"Really? That bad?" Henry asked as he picked up a bottle of wine that didn´t seem totally empty, so he took a sip or two.

"Well..." He tilted his head, staring at him with a stern look. "You made jokes about my... interest in Arylaryl."

Henry almost chocked on the wine as he spit it all out again. Due to the taste though, not what he had said. "Gods that tastes... wait what did you say?"

The dragon´s look was just as stern as before, almost threatening. "You heard me, Henry."

"Well I... I mean... it was kind of funny that-"

"Funny?" Henry could hear the boiling anger in his deep voice. "You think that is funny?" The dragon´s voice grew ever so menacing as he got louder with every word he said. "Say that again and I show you something funny."

"Cyrvanyx, I´m sorry, okay?" Henry turned around again and picked up a broken bottle from the ground. A Good idea for another topic crossed his mind. "How did this happen?"

Cyrvanyx sighed in slight annoyance. "After I got tired listening to your "witty" comments I threw a bottle at you, but I only hit the wall behind you." As Henry examined the bottle further, Cyr blasted out the next sentence. "in response you threw a bottle at my head... a full one."

Henry immediately looked up from the bottle in his hand and looked at the dragon with a frowned brow. "Oh really?" He asked with a chuckle. "Did I hit?"

Cyr rolled his eyes and snorted at him, looking away. "Yes you did."

Henry chuckled as he sat down the broken bottle. "Well sorry about that. I was drunk."

"So was I."

"Not as drunk as me."

"True." Cyr glared at him with his deep golden gaze. "That didn´t make it any less humiliating though. Especially when you laughed at me when I had wine all over my face, and even some in my eyes."

"Well," Henry patted Cyr´s snout and he blinked in surprise. "Good thing that I don´t remember that then huh?" He took one step back, turning around as he looked over the mess. "Was surely fun to look at though." He whispered to himself.

"I can hear you, you know?"

Henry cringed. He always forgot how good his hearing was. He cleared his throat, desperate to change the subject, again. "So, should we get rid of this mess then?"

Just as he opened his maw to answer the doors opened. Both their gazes were on the dragon standing in the doorway. The scales on her snout and paws had a blue hue to them while the rest of her body was covered in an emerald green, the scales on her chest having a darker shade of green. The horns on her head looked similar to Cyrvanyx´, but instead of white they had a light golden hue. The frills on her neck and her cheeks had a light shade of blue to them. Arylaryl had an unusual mix of colors, which made her look special, in a good way.

Henry saw how Cyrvanyx stared at her with widened eyes. "Hello, Ary." There was nervousness in his voice he never heard from him before.

"Morning, Cyr." Her voice was softer and lighter than his, and still booming in a way, but also clearly female. "Are you still unable to stand up on your own?" She joked with a warm smile as she spotted Henry.

"I...err... no I-"

"No, Ary." Henry rushed to his friends aid. Gods, he really was bad at this. "This time he actually managed to stand up without me having to pour water all over his head." She giggled and smiled at both of them.

"You two should hurry to the armory and get ready for training. You know that the grandmaster hates it when someone comes too late. Especially in times like these."

"Alright then." Henry bowed his head. "Take the lead, we´ll follow." After she threw another brief smile at Cyrvanyx she turned around and left while he slowly rose from the ground.

Henry smirked back at him and leaned in to whisper."Thank me later."

---

The training went good as always, or as good as it could go with a hangover and a horrible headache. Henry trained together with Gareth, the only one of his brothers who could hold up to his sword fighting skills. He had already earned himself a reputation for his skills among his brothers. When they took a break from their sparring matches Henry watched the fights in the outer courtyard.

That courtyard was almost double of size than the inner one, therefore, the common soldiers and the dragons were trained there. But since the place was still limited only two dragons could train at the same time. These training seasons were mostly about how to not let human enemies surround them in battle and how to fight against multiple opponents at once.

As always, Cyrvanyx was one of the best of them all. He had almost mastered all the techniques that dragons could use to fight human opponents. They were all trained well enough to know which armor their claws could cut and which they couldn´t. Plate armor was their main problem, as no matter how sharp their claws were they couldn´t get through that kind of armor. But the blunt impact of their strikes could sometime be enough.

Henry smiled as he noticed that Cyrvanyx was staring at Arylaryl as she was training. Once she was done with her training she noticed how he stared at her and swatted him on his head with her tail, telling him to get his lust under control when they train. Cyrvanyx seemed embarrassed, hanging his head in shame, his face taking a slight purple-red color.

Henry couldn´t help but laugh at the scene. He couldn´t believe how someone like Cyrvanyx, a dragon, with a normally strong personality could be so shy around her. It was funny in a way but he also wanted to help his friend somehow. If he were to-

"Refuges at the gate!" A loud voice yelled down from the wall into the courtyard, interrupting the training and Henry´s thoughts alike. "Refugees at the gate!"

Refugees? Henry watched the grandmaster as he walked up the stairs that led onto the wall. Some words he couldn´t understand were exchanged between him and the people on the other side of the wall. Not after long Grandmaster Maldwyn walked down the stairs with an expression on his face that caused Henry´s blood to freeze for a second.

There was fear in his eyes, fear and desperation.

The gates opened and the drawbridge fell. The training suddenly seemed forgotten as everyone scattered and stared at the gatehouse. Men, woman and children entered the castle, to Henry´s confusion at first. But as he realized that some of them seemed familiar the realization hit him like a warhammer.

These people came from the village of Lylne, not far away from Dragonstone castle. In that village most of the families from the people in the order who weren´t nobility lived. Brothers, sisters, wives and children, they all lived in that village. Henry´s wife, Elise, and his son, William, must have been in the village at that time.

And now it appeared that the village had been attacked.

Henry´s eyes scanned through the people who entered the castle. No sign of Elise or William. Oh gods...

He moved forth, slamming his way through the crowd of soldiers that gathered in front of the gate. His heart began to beat so loud that he could hear it beating in his chest.

"Elise!" He called out for her, but no answer came. "Oh gods above, please don´t." He silently prayed to the gods, even if he was not the kind of man who was devoted to the gods. But in a situation like that he prayed to all the gods that may or may not exist to let his family live.

"Elise!" He called out once more, louder than before, tears forming in his eyes.

"Henry!" This time, an answer came.

He turned towards the sound of that all too familiar voice to see a woman in a blue dress, holding hands with a young boy in a green tunic. He let out a sigh of relief and ran towards her, his armor rattling.

He fell into her arms, hugging her tightly. He thanked the gods in his mind as he was held in her warm embrace. A tear rolled down his cheek. For a moment he thought he lost her. "Gods, Elise... I- I thought that... for a moment..." She pulled away a little, looking him directly into his eyes. "Calm yourself Henry. I´m fine." She gave him a warm smile. "Everything is fine."

He caught his breath and swished the tear on his cheek away, still looking at her. Her long blonde hair shun brightly underneath the sunlight, her blue eyes sparkling with beauty. Her smile managed to calm him, as it always did. "Father!" The young William couldn´t wait any longer and leaped into his father´s arms, causing him to step back from Elise.

"Oh, William." He said as he put him back down on the ground. "Your almost a man. You're getting to big to be carried."

"Good! If I´m a man than I can fight too!" He said with fire in his eyes, like he really meant it.

His eyes had the exact same color as Henry´s did and were filled with anger, but Henry couldn´t take that seriously. "I said almost, William." He held a hand on his head, gently stroking his blonde hair. "Do not overestimate you."

"But I have to! You always said that I would fight alongside you when the time comes!"

"Yes I said that." He put him down on the ground, kneeling down before him to get on eye level with him. "But that time has not yet come."

"But father-"

"No, no buts!"

"You always say that we are the dragonhearted. Once you even said that the best warriors of our people have dragon blood in their veins, you said it yourself! So why would I be afraid of our enemies?"

Henry shook his head in silence and sighed. He hated it when he used his own phrases against him. "Not even dragons sent their own children into battle until their old enough. You must have patience."

"But I... they have to pay for they have done!" His voice cracked and he sobbed once, his eyes tearing up. When his son lowered his head he knelt down in front of him, patting him on his shoulder.

"What is it, William? What happened?" He slightly regretted that question after he spoke it out aloud.

"They... they..." He sniffed, tears running down his cheeks. Henry did not let him finish that sentence and hugged him tightly to silence him. There was no need to rekindle whatever horrible memories he had. He looked up at Elise to answer his question instead of William.

"Those bastards killed many innocents." She said with a shaking voice as she remembered what had happened piece by piece. "They arrived this morning, without a warning. The palisade was no match for them. The entire village got razed and many people were either killed or captured. Only some were allowed to leave."

Henry stroked his hair as his head was rested against his father´s shoulder. He had hoped that his son did not have to see things like that at such a young age. The grandmaster was right. They should have stayed in their homestead while the war was raging. At least they were still alive.

"Listen William." Henry grabbed him by his shoulders. "I know that it is horrible. But we have to be strong now more than ever." He threw a quick glance at Elise and forced himself to smile. "You know what your mother used to say at a time where I was hopeless?"

William sniffed again and shook his head, swishing away tears. "She said that no matter how small the spark of hope is, no matter how far away it is. You have to grasp it and never let go." He still smiled at his son, letting go of his shoulders. "With other words: there is always hope, somewhere, no" He reached behind his own neck to open the necklace he wore underneath his clothing and his armor every day. With some tugging he managed to get it out from underneath his gambeson and his plate armor.

"This here William was given to me by my father when I entered the order." He held up a silver necklace that resembled a dragon with spread wings, similar to the one on his breastplate. The eyes were made out of very fin and small yellow gems. "And now it belongs to you, my son."

He held the medallion out towards William, who had stopped crying, looking at the medallion with awe. "May it protect you as it protected me in the battles I´ve fought so far. I appreciate your eagerness and confidence when it comes to fighting." He said as he put the necklace around his son´s neck. "But promise me, no fighting until you´re of age, do you hear me?"

"Thank you, father." The smile on his face warmed Henry´s heart as his son examined the dragon. "I promise, father. I won´t disappoint you ever, I swear!"

Henry chuckled, nudging his son at his shoulder. "I know you won´t." They both smiled at each other in silence. Henry looked up at Elise who was smiling down on them. They just shared a moment of comfort and silence together, until...

"Enemies approaching!" A guard yelled from the top of the wall, accompanied by the sound of the gates closing and the drawbridge being pulled up.

Henry glared up at the wall for a moment before he turned back towards his son. "Alright William, you want to be a warrior?" He almost jumped in approval. "Then go with your mother and protect her with everything you have alright?"

"Will do, father!" He held a hand on chest and then thrust it in the air, imitating the order´s gesture. Once more, Henry smiled.

He got up from the ground, turning towards Elise. "You still remember where my room is?"

Elise grasped their son´s hand while smirking at Henry. "How could I ever forget that?"

Henry smirked right back at her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I´ll meet you there." With that said, he turned around and walked towards the stairs that led up the wall. Some Soldiers did the same while other were already on top of the wall and most stayed in the courtyard, all silent.

Some of the dragons leaped on top of the wall, including Cyrvanyx and Arylaryl. Henry reached the top, walking towards the grandmaster who looked at the enemy force in the distance with the most grim look he had ever seen on his face. Henry leaned forward onto the battlement, looking over the enemy himself.

Those men were could not be Ulric´s own men, he was in the capital, as far as they knew. Whoever led this army must´ve let some people escape on purpose, otherwise they would´ve caught them if they really were this close already. Although it was obvious that the raiding army was not far away, as the Lylne was not far away from the orders castle.

Henry gazed in the distance. The banners those men held up seemed somehow familiar to him. The orange color, the golden lion in the middle, it just seemed so awfully familiar. As the silence lingered no longer and the sounds of many footsteps got louder and louder he recognized the face of the army leader who was riding at the head of the army.

It was Lord Edwyn of Brightstone, marshal of the army and also the kings hand. well, former hand, since king Aerdur was dead. That man was known for his skill in warfare and was renowned for being a great battlefield commander.

He was the last man Henry would´ve expected to turn against his own people.

The enemy only stopped once Edwyn reached the very edge of the cliff on the back of his horse. He held up a hand a sign for his men to stop. There were many men, far too many to count them. Spearmen, archers, cavalry and also siege engine.

Lord Edwyn took of his helmet, exposing his black hair, bound behind his head. Henry had seen him before. His striking gaze with his bright blue eyes was hard to forget.

"Sir Maldwyn, grandmaster of the dragon order!" Edwyn called out loud enough for everyone on the castle walls to hear. "My... king has offered you peace!" He held up a letter in his hand, no doubt the one that they had sent back the day before. "And yet you refused it without even hesitating. I even let go some of the peasantry as an act of chivalry!"

"Pah!" Maldwyn spat down the wall. "A dog with rabies has more honor than you! You have abandoned your king and your people to save yourself!"

"You are wrong!" Edwyn yelled right back at him, ignoring the insult. "What I am doing is for the better of the people! I am planning to end this war so that there will be peace again!" He spread his arms out wide to both sides. "The world is changing! We either become part of the new or die with the old!"

Henry saw the anger building up in the grandmaster as he balled his hands to fists and shouted at Edwyn. "And you think that this is the right way? To kill anyone who is not willing to break the alliance with dragons and fight them instead of Ulric? You might be easy to turn but we are not as dishonorable as you! The order will not yield, never!"

Edwyn sighed and hung his head. "Well..." He straightened his up and glared up, directly at the Grandmaster. "I always knew how stubborn you were, just like king Aerdur! And that´s why I came here prepared." After he finished he raised his arm high in the air and slammed his arm down. "Fire!"

Not long after he said that the catapults shot at them. "Down! Down!" Maldwyn commanded and everyone followed his orders immediately. Men threw themselves to the ground and others lifted their shields above their heads. The dragons though, they didn´t even flinch.

The projectiles soon hit the castle, some hit the wall and most hit the courtyard. Henry was still on the ground as one of these projectiles landed right next to him with a disturbing sound of flesh hitting stone. As he turned his head to look what happened his eyes widened. They didn´t fire with stones at them.

Instead, they used severed heads.

A man right besides Henry jumped up and screamed in terror, another´s eyes widened in shock. Henry got back up and looked in the courtyard even though he was afraid of what he would see. He saw men with blank terror in their faces, others cried and screamed as they recognized a face. One man they had to pin to the ground with four men as he outraged, still yelling and crying all the same while lying on the ground.

Henry slowly turned his head to glare at lord Edwyn´s stern face. Henry simply glared at him while he turned around and left with his army. "Until soon then, Maldwyn."

While others cried or screamed in either terror or anger, or even both, Henry just stared.

While Grandmaster Maldwyn yelled insults at Edwyn, Henry just stared.

That day, that moment, he swore to himself that he would one day kill that man.