His patrol was long and weary, and in five days he had seen nothing of note from the surrounding countryside he had patrolled many times in the past years. Flying over the land was always exhilarating. Seeing the small towns and villages from high above divorced his mind from actually connecting with the beings that traveled to and fro across the grasslands, hills, and forests of his route. He tried to imagine the small frightened people under his charge going along their small quests for survival. Most of the time his thoughts had been of watching for conflict among them, small bands of brigands attacking merchant caravans or lonely travelers or humanoids from dusty caves and warrens pouncing on unwary soldiers that went about the roads and trails that Selvar'ax had been assigned to watch and defend.
Yes, most of the time being the operative word. Observing, helping, sometimes attacking and sending the enemy into the hills screaming as he charged down from the skies to put fear into their hearts. A fully adult silver dragon speeding down from the clouds would always make the enemy flee. Only those who were the most foolhardy would take up arms against him. There were some who did try, but they learned too quickly that such a maneuver would be a crazed venture indeed. One quick blast from his freezing breath would eventually tell them that such an action would mean such an action deadly.
But these days he thought only of her. Rena. his Rena, his Renayar'ax. His love. He mustn't allow the thoughts of her to cloud his judgment where his first duty was concerned. But for some reason it was almost impossible. He found himself making his way toward Trollbane keep more often than not, only to veer away to head farther away from her. The woman was a magnet, and she had made him the hardest steel in the sky.
Why had he allowed her into his heart? Loneliness perhaps? He had never loved a human woman. Had never seen one that he would have even thought to find in a romantic light. He had been around them as a human form, seen their beauty somehow. Had even seen him as a beautiful man, had even performed the flirtatious dance that men and women often perform. But he had always stopped himself. One thing he had always been told as he was training was that only a fool would fall in love with one of those whose life span would come and go with a season.
That was a problem, and he tried to quiet his mind to that possibility as well. She was only twenty human years, but he was much older. Close to two hundred and fifty, barely a child himself in dragon years. Some of his race had lived close to three thousand years, ancient and gargantuan beings that had eventually gone on to the twilight of the graveyards, or to the grand halls of bahamut to serve as protectors in that realm.
But soon his thoughts drifted back to her. The way her soft body felt next to his, the way she smiled at him, the look in her eyes as she looked at him as if she wanted to devour him like a shark devours a fish. She was insatiable, always hungry for more. The only problem was that he was always hungry for her as well. And the force of her, the power of her, made him weak.
There was another reason he was out on patrol. Hewas looking for the lair, the home of his enemy, the home of the one who had killed his parents and had taken their hoard. He would never forgive the blue dragon that had called himself the Azure King. He would get his revenge, and he would foster those that could help him. He would protect them, help them build their power, help them gather the resources necessary to take on such a challenge, and help them win against the great blue scourge.
To date, he hadn't found it. Where was this fantastic beast? Where would he hide? Where were his minions, his followers, the people who had helped him rise to power? "Where are you hiding, you monster? Frustrated, but undaunted, he would eventually find him as he drifted over the mountains the Blue had used as a hiding spot, he came to land in a small clearing outside the castle he had called home. It was a modest affair, still growing, still being built by probably one of the smartest architects of magic he had known in a lifetime. Bookie, they called him. The man had almost no social skills, couldn't talk his way out of a paper satchel, and always with his nose in a book or a ledger. However, this one was more intelligent than his years, and he had seen the wizard plan an attack with a surety and level headedness he had not seen in most humans. The wizard seemed almost detached from emotion when he was slaying his enemies. But he had seen his joy and happiness explode when a plan he had made came together as if he were a child building blocks.
The people of the keep were in full swing. Soldiers trained in the courtyard under the tutelage of the hobgoblin sergeants, their drills in phalanx warfare near perfect. As Selvar'ax walked through the courtyard, most men nodded to him, while a few hobgoblins shied away. He always gave them a wave and a nod, attempting to make himself seem more friendly. But he had to remember in seeing their hesitation that up until a few months ago, they had been enemies of the men who ran the keep, and they didn't seem to trust his good natured attempt at camaraderie. That would have to wait.
"Son," he called to a young page that had collected an armful of bedrolls in his overstuffed arms. "Where is Rena?"
"Rena?" the boy asked. "Oo's that?"
"You must be new here," Said Sel, as the kindly wizard persona. He had assumed his normal disguise before he had come into the keep, and hadn't noticed the bustle of the surroundings. He continued, "Tall girl, red hair, trains the soldiers?"
"Oh," the boy said, "I dunno, sir. I've only just come with me mum a few days ago 'ere."
Surely he must have seen the most beautiful woman in the keep. "How old are you, child?"
"Oh," said the child, bowing. "Ten, sire."
Selvar'ax looked around the courtyard presently, taking in the new visitors, actually a host of them. There were dozens of tents set up then, and more people had come to the keep as a result of the Golems that had been raging down the road that led to the main keep built and run by his lordship Castellan Kendall. So much had happened so fast, since the death of Ular Ghan the Hobgoblin chief. It seemed there was always a new foe to fight, a new enemy to defend against. He felt there may be something more on the horizon that would eventually become a greater threat to this realm than they had known since before many of these people had been born.
He returned from his reverie. "Ten," he smiled. "Of course you wouldn't know. But have you seen a woman here in armor, sometimes in the company of the lord of the keep Junto?"
The boy's eyes glassed over in recognition. "Oh, her." he said dreamily. "Yes, your lordship." he answered. "Now you mentioned it, I did see her. She was in the library last, I think. You know, with the builder."
