Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 12:20:43 +1300
From: arthur carkeek <artcart65@gmail.com>
Subject: The Adventures of Howudino and Kashin chapter 2

			    HOWUDINO AND KASHIN


				 CHAPTER 2


				 BY ARTHUR



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For Seb, the first flight up into the heavens was quite scary, had it not
been for the comforting closeness of Kashin, he was sure he would have
fainted once again, thanks to the heavy cloak he did not feel as cold as he
would without it, Kashin seemed totally unaffected and his armour glowed
with power as Howudino increased his speed.

Seb found that he had to keep the hood of the cloak low over his face as
the cold wind began to make his eyes water, it did not take long for him to
find that if he bent forward he could use Kashin's body to act as a
temporary wind break, the flight then became almost enjoyable except for
the height, he tried not to look down as the ground was so far below them,
this type of movement was going to take a lot of getting used to if he was
to live up to his new position as Consort to the Rider of the Royal Dragon.

After a long cold flight that included flying high over mountain tops and
zooming down through deep valleys, the Royal Weir came into sight, it was
easily marked by the thin wisp of white smoke coming from the cone of a
very close-by volcano, the boys were to learn later that this smoking
mountain helped to supply the heat for the weir and the deep caves at the
rear of the mountain which were used by the females for the incubation of
their eggs.

As the trio drew closer, the two boys watched as a flight of brown Dragons
took to the air, after circling the weir, the brown Dragons flew towards
them, their small riders perched high in their seats, Kashin noticed that
the riders were all armoured in brown scale armour and seemed quick to
notice his rank as they all saluted both himself and Howudino by raising
their short swords above their heads and cheering.

Howudino swooped down below the arriving Dragons and then accelerated and
flew straight up high above them, with a twist, he turned his large body
and, had the boys not been strapped in they would by now be taking a very
fast dive ground-ward, it was both an exhilarating and terrifying act.

After these first greetings, the troop of ten Browns with Howudino now in
the lead, all headed to the large flat area outside the Royal Weir, waiting
for them were rank upon rank of other riders mounted on their dragons, all
waiting for the new Prince to arrive, for the two boys it was a heady time,
there seemed to be hundreds of Dragons and riders lined up on the flat area
behind which was a huge cave mouth.

With a great flapping of his huge wings, Howudino landed in the centre of
the landing place, once down it was easy to see he was almost half as large
again as the other Dragons and his golden scales reflected the late
afternoon sun like a mirror, Kashin suddenly felt a new sense of pride as
he looked down on what were now his subjects.

Kashin was well aware he had a lot to learn yet about the protocols of the
weir and his position within it, he only hoped he could live up to the
expectations and not bring shame to Howudino and the Royal Family name, the
reassuring grip on his waist by Seb gave him a feeling of comfort and hope.

As Howudino strode towards the cave mouth, the Brown Riders lifted their
short swords in salute as their Dragons lowered their heads in recognition
of his status and that of his Rider and the Consort, they all knew the
importance of having a complete weir, there were still troubles in the land
and there had been a fear that they may not receive their Prince in time to
stave off any attempts to take it over by other larger weirs, Dragon fights
and ambitions were no different than those of the humans.

Kashin heard Howudino's voice in his head once again.

"Well Prince of Riders, how do you like our weir, is this not a magnificent
sight to be able to see far and wide from the top of this Range?"

"What is the name of these mountains, I have never seen them before?"

"You don't know the name of the highest range of mountains on your Island?"

"Island, we live on an Island?"

"My dear Rider, did you not go to school to learn all these things?"

"School, no, I never had time for school, my Mother taught me letters and
numbers but that was all, it was all I needed to know for the life I was
too have."

"Then the first thing we will do is have you schooled so that you know what
you rule over, how about The Consort, does he have schooling?"

"Seb!"

"Yes."

"Howudino wants to know if you have had schooling."

"Of course not, what would a farm boy need of schooling, I have my numbers
and letters that is all, I had to work the farm from the age of nine years
old, we were a poor family and too many mouths too feed."

Kashin sent the information to Howudino.

"Then you will both have to have more school, the Consort must have the
same education as yourself, if it happens that you are called to war, the
Consort will rule while you are away unless it is just a small fight of
little importance, in that case he might like to come along too keep you
company."

"You mean that I will have to fight battles and things?"

"Of course, it is what Riders do and, as the Prince, you will lead all the
others, oh, don't worry, we will begin your training at first light
tomorrow along with your first day of schooling, until then I will give you
a short lesson."

"Hmm, well, alright, but what about Seb, he can't hear you?"

"Just pass on what I am going to tell you."

"Oh, ok, so you say we are on an Island?"

"Yes, the Island is called Hyegothe as is the mountain range although you
know them as The Spiked Mountains, it is about five flying days wide and
about ten flying days long, like a big fat sausage with the mountain range
running down the centre, the sea around us is called the Mir of Arne, we
also have about one hundred small Islands in our realm, we are one of the
smaller kingdoms, there are many larger than ours, that is why they try to
take over and rule us but, we have always had the largest army of Dragons,
for some reason our Browns grow bigger and faster than anywhere else so we
are a hard place to conquer."

"You call them the Spiked Mountains, but I have never seen them this far
from my home, I thought they were just a short range, how far is five
flying days for us and, I didn't know we were only on an Island, it does
not seem small when I'm trying to walk anywhere."

"Hmm, lets me see, five days flying would take you about twenty days
walking so for you to walk the full length of our Island would take
somewhere about forty days or more as you would have to scale the mountains
through a pass and that takes longer."

"And you call us a small Island?"

"Oh yes, there are Islands that would take you more than a year to walk
across, they have a lot more people and Dragons, but their Dragons are very
small and they seem to breed so much slower than here, we think it is to do
with the Volcano, on the larger Islands the Volcanoes are either very old
with little power or are totally dormant, our Island is the only one with
an active Volcano that still supplies us with enough heat and occasionally
there will be a lava flow through a small opening in the side for us feed
on."

"Do you really feed on live molten rocks?"

"Oh yes, it is our favourite candy, it doesn't happen a lot, only when the
Volcano gets too much pressure and a small hole opens up, then we can go
and feed, it makes our fire last for months without having to search for
old flows like on other Islands, we think that is why we win so many
battles."

"So other Dragons can not eat Lava?"

"Oh yes they can eat it but they can't get it, they have to eat cold lava
flows or the copper coal from deep underground, it means they can only
fight for a short time before they have to go and eat, we can stay fighting
for more than a month without having to feed, it gives us a distinct
advantage on the battle field."

"Yes I can see it would, so does our world have a name, I see many stars at
night and wonder if they all have people living on them, if so how would
they know which star was theirs with a name?"

"Yes, we call our Planet, Murchurius; the stars are the suns that give us
light and heat, we go around them in a circle, some of the suns are so far
away that even if you lived for a thousand years, you would never get
there, even on the fastest Dragon."

Kashin let the new information sink into his brain, it was much more than
he thought and he wondered if he would ever be able to learn it all, just
the thought of being only one small blob in the sky was overwhelming, too
suddenly find out that his homeland was nothing more than an Island, and a
small one at that, well that would take some more getting used to.

Kashin decided to leave his first lesson there and turned to Seb to relate
what he had so far learned as, by now they were striding into the mouth of
the largest cave, still on the back of Howudino, all the Browns were
following along behind, standing along the sides of the long high tunnel
were more Dragons, they were a little smaller and more of a bronze colour
and had no Riders but still bowed their heads as the Royals passed.

"Who are the Bronzes Howudino?"

"They are the females, they tend the nesting area and when not ready to lay
their eggs, they look after the weir, the Browns are the Males, the females
can only conceive once in every five years as it takes the eggs four years
to develop and then the females will stay with the new hatchlings for
another year before they can become ready again."

"Okay, so how come you don't have your Mother here to greet you, or your
Father for that matter, I thought a Prince was the son of a King and
Queen?"

"Not so with Royal Dragons, I am made of Magic, all the rulers of the many,
many Islands are called Princes, to be a Royal you must come from the Magic
of the land and sea, our Father we call Creator, he made us all and
everything on this world so we therefore come from the Magic of Creator."

"Oh, I see, there is just so much to learn, I'll be an old man before I
understand it all."

"While I live you will never be an old man, and I live for a long time as
you will see, now here is the Throne room, it is time to greet all your
subjects and feast the night away."

The `Hall' was a huge cavern, at the far end was a large table made from
solid grey stone shot through with white quartz crystal, it shimmered in
the fire light from a deep pool of hot raw lava that sat at the centre of
the huge cavern, moving around the room were the very small figures of the
Messadine who seemed to easily adapt to the extra heat of the lava pool, to
Kashin it was getting very warm this close to raw lava, he quickly grasped
Seb by the arm and made the long jump to the floor, holding Seb tightly as
he landed with little effort, he then moved quickly towards the far table
to be a little cooler.

Howudino settled on the floor in front of the table while the Brown Riders
began to sit around the table with Kashin and Seb at the centre in two high
backed and prominent throne like chairs, the Brown Dragons found places
close to the pool of lava and the small figures of the Messadine slipped in
and out between the larger bodies like small sprites.

Once the large stone table was filled with the other Riders, the Messadine
began to serve large platters of food accompanied with cut off horns filled
with sweet tasting mead, its heady flavour and slightly intoxicating
content soon had the Riders all laughing and merry.

Seb sat beside Kashin, his young face beginning to flush from the drink and
the heat; occasionally Howudino would turn his head and smile his Dragon
smile at the two boys while the Brown Dragons around him took a large bite
into the lava pool, as they swallowed the hot liquid stone, they would
sometimes belch out a puff of smoke and then run their long forked tongue
over their lips in delight.

The platters of food filled the two new boys with awe, there were so many
new foods they did not know where to start, some of the hot meats that
still steamed from their cooking fires, were also new to the boys, finally
hunger took over from surprise and they began to eat like they had been
starved all their lives.

As the night wore on the boys consumed more and more of the sweet mead, it
soon became obvious to those around them that the boys heads were not going
to be well in the morning, as they watched Prince Kashin and his Consort
drink horn after horn, soon the two boys were sliding off their pillow
covered stone chairs towards the floor, their young faces flushed and their
eyes now growing glazed over, Howudino decided it was time to get the two
boys in their bed, with luck they would consummate their joining either
tonight or the following night, the sooner the better for all of the folk
and Dragons of the weir.

The two boys were too far gone to know or understand what was happening to
them as they were picked up by six Messadine each and carried to their new
bed chamber, in the great hall the party continued, the boys would not know
until the next day that they had missed all the speeches and games of the
night, however the way their heads were to feel, it would have made little
difference.

Morning found the two boys naked and hung over, they were entwined in each
others arms, their hard boyhoods pressed tightly against each other, Kashin
opened his eyes and then immediately closed them against the bright light
streaming in through the opening in the cave wall, the warm arms of Seb
held him close and his soft breath caressed Kashin's cheek, only the need
to pee made him start to struggle from the clasping arms.

A soft mumbling voice came from Seb as Kashin tried desperately to ease
himself out the warm bed, it was then he realised through the fog that he
was naked, his face immediately took on a bright red hue as he looked down
at Seb who was in the same condition and, even through the fog in his head,
Kashin liked what he saw in his new Consort.

Kashin was finally able to stumble to the opening in the cave wall, with
little thought he aimed his hardness through the opening and let the water
flow, the relief was overwhelming as his hot stream flowed out into the
morning light, even a pair of warm arms surrounding his naked waist could
not slow the stream.

As the last dribble was shaken off, Kashin heard in his ear.

"My turn."

Kashin stepped back as Seb took his place, his young white buns almost
glowed in the morning light as Kashin looked on, his own loins were now
starting to stir even though his head felt like lead and his eyes would not
see clearly, still his body told him to react to the sight before him.

As Seb shook and began to turn, Kashin took the bull by the horns and reach
for him, drawing Seb in close he leaned forward and kissed the other boy on
the lips, from then on nature took over and the two boys were soon back in
their bed but, this time there was no sleep, an hour later, as their
joining was finally fully consummated, a shiver of energy shot through the
weir, every rider and Dragon, from the oldest to the youngest, felt the
jolt and revelled in its power and meaning, the two boys were too consumed
with each other too notice anything unusual.

It was nearer to midday before the boys showed themselves in the main cave
hall, for first timers they had not been reticent in their amorous
adventures, Seb was moving with a little awkwardness and Kashin looked as
though he had run for miles and was low on energy.

When they both rose to dress, the boys were surprised to see a new set of
Dragon armour set out on the table in the centre of the room beside the
gold of Kashin, it was of bright bronze scales and, once he had it on, Seb
found it fit him like a glove, it was now apparent who and why they were
naked when they awoke, the Messadine had obviously worked hard all night
long to complete it for Seb.

Beside the armour on the table was also a thin rapier like sword in a
silver scabbard, drawing it out Seb saw that the blade was almost blue in
colour and there seemed to be little waves running along the length, he was
too learn at a later date that it was the one thousand folds of the steel
when the blade was made.

Once outfitted in their armour and weapons, the boys returned to where the
party had been held the night before, much to their surprise the hall was
still full of Dragons and Riders, all sitting or standing silently, even
though the two boys were new to the weir, even they could see that there
was a new glow too everything, it was as though the whole weir had been
cleaned and polished.

The new feeling of power seemed to fill the very air around the large
cavern. The boys walked forward and were finally directed by one of the
many Messadine towards two large thrones at the opposite end of the cavern
to the lava pool, lying on the floor in front of the thrones was Howudino,
his eyes following the pair as they made the long walk through the
multitude of Dragons and Riders.

The largest throne was for Kashin, beside it and too the left was a
slightly smaller one for Seb, both were covered in a purple cloth
underneath which was a thick soft cushion, to the side of each throne was a
long wooden table set at about knee height, this was for their swords and
daggers while they were seated, all this was explained to Kashin by the
recumbent Howudino as they approached the thrones.

Once both boys were ensconced on their individual thrones, the cavern
resounded in the cheers of the Riders, at first the boys did not understand
what all the noise was for until Howudino explained what the early morning
joining of the two as they consummated their need for each other meant for
the weir.

It had been the touch of Creator that had spread throughout the weir as the
boys were joined, it was the power the weir needed to become whole and
strong, everything was now ready for the future of Weir Tallas.

Once seated, Howudino began to introduce the various Captains of the
Browns; this took nearly an hour as each captain had to give an oath of
fealty to Kashin and the Consort and then to the defence of Weir Tallas,
once all was done, Howudino told Kashin that he and Seb would begin their
schooling after the midday meal, it would last for three hours and then
they would take a short rest before starting their practice in weapons and
battle tactics, from this day one they were going to be very busy.

Throughout the land of Murchurius at this time, was peace and, apart from
the human Barons and Lords fighting amongst themselves, there was little
for the Dragons of Weir Tallas to do.

Howudino had told them that for some time there had been rumblings of
discontent from one or two of the larger factions but, as yet they had not
taken to raiding any of the Tallas lands.

After a fine meal, the two boys were shown to a large comfortable room with
a big slate at one end, at the centre there were two padded chairs set
against a table, behind the table stood one of the Messadine, he bowed and
smiled as the two boys entered and indicated the two chairs.

The boys sat and waited for the Messadine to begin their first lessons, for
the next three hours the boys were inundated with facts and figures about
the Weir and their home Island, as the time passed the boys found it harder
and harder to concentrate until, finally, the Messadine teacher saw their
heads begin to nod, with aloud clap of his hands, he forced the two
overwhelmed boys to lift their heads and open their eyes.

Kashin mumbled something about being sorry for drifting off and promised to
try to do better, the small teacher smiled and nodded, he was well aware
the boys were not used to schooling in this manner and had made allowances
for them, it would take time but, time was one thing they had plenty of.

Later in the day, when the temperature was cooler, the two boys were taken
to the training ground, Kashin had little need of practice with his sword
as both he and it were governed by magic but Seb would have to have
extensive training, he did not have the benefit of Dragon Magic to teach
him.

Kashin was put to learning tactics of fighting from Dragon back, when to
use his `Far Sight' and when to lean or bend forward as Howudino spun or
dived seemingly without a pattern, it was not until he had time to think
things over after training that Kashin saw the reason for most of the
sudden manoeuvres, he was able to look back and then see where and how the
Browns reacted to the tactics that he was able to piece it all together.

There had been twenty Browns in the air with them, he was told that
tomorrow he would be alone with Howudino and they would have the twenty
Browns attack them in unison, Kashin, he was told, would have to get used
to being the main focus of mass attacks by enemy Dragons.

While he would always have a number of Browns as an escort, in the midst of
battle it was always possible to get separated from the escort and he would
have to fight alone until help came, the fact that Howudino was a huge
Dragon, even by Golden Royals standards, would go a long way to keeping him
safe in battle.

When the first day of training came to an end just before dusk, the two
boys were taken to the big hall for supper, Kashin was told that after
supper he would be taken by one of the Messadine to a special cave deep
under the Weir, there he would be taught how to use his Dragon Magic,
Kashin was disappointed when he was told that Seb would be unable to join
them, Seb's Magic would be limited to the Weir whereas Kashin had to be
able to use his in Battle.

Late in the evening, a very tired Kashin made his way to the Royal
bedchamber, Seb was sitting at a table reading from the lessons earlier in
the day, at the entrance of Kashin, Seb sat up, turned and gave his lover a
broad smile, the accompanying twitch of the eyebrows and quick glance at
their bed told Kashin what Seb had in mind and, as tired as he was from his
first day as Prince of Tallas Weir, he was not too tired to take up the
offer being suggested by Seb.

Twice during that night, the aura power went through the Weir before all
was quiet once again and everyone could settle back to sleep the night away
before another busy day started tomorrow.

For the next month both boys worked hard at the schooling and the other
tasks they had to contend with, by the end of the month they were both much
more used to learning and training, their physical powers increased with
each day, Seb had become very proficient with his rapier and Kashin now had
a store of Magical knowledge that would keep him safe in any furious
battle.

Tallas Weir had become used to the sudden charge of Magical Aura at night,
all smiled and looked towards where the bedroom of the Prince of Riders and
his Consort slept, the boys were certainly busy and it all went to prove
that Tallas Weir was finally on the right footing, it was much stronger and
every body went about their business with a new lift in their steps.

The hardest part for Kashin were the never ending meetings with the various
department heads, if Kashin found it a little boring, Seb was right in his
element as it turned out, he was almost a born beaurocrat and would often
see something everyone else had missed, it also reinforced Kashin's
standing in that his decisions were nearly always proved correct, only if
he occasionally ignored Seb's advice did little things not turn out right,
fortunately that was very rare as Seb's advice usually proved to be right
in most things and Kashin did not want to go against him, he was too much
in love with the boy of his dreams.

It was another month before things took a turn for the worst, a report came
in that a large force of Dragons from the land of Stark were making ready
for war, there was little doubt who their target would be, it had been the
same one for the last hundred years, the attraction of a live Volcano was
always too much to ignore by any Dragon clan, the fact that many had tried
and failed to take Tallas Weir only made them more determined to do so.

Kashin asked Howudino how they knew there was going to be an attack against
them, Howudino replied.

"It is very simple, the Messadine, they have friends and family in all the
other Islands, it is because of our never ending supply of the yellow
powder from the Volcano, which is one of their most valuable sweet foods,
that we are able to hold the loyalty of the Messadine far and wide, it is
another reason why we are easily able to defend our Weir, we have prior
warning of any attacks and can make the plans needed for our defence well
before the enemy get here."

"When do you think they will attack?"

"The reports say it will take them ten days to get ready, it will then be
only a matter of their flying time for them to get here, from Stark it will
be half a day, I think they will leave Stark during the night so they
arrive here early at dawn."

"What should we do now?"

"Between now and then you should plan your battle order, you have enough
training now in tactics to know how we fight, you set the plan and let the
others know you are truly a Prince of Riders and of the Tallas Weir."

"Me! What do I know; I have never fought a battle like this or any other
battle come to think of it, what if I make a mistake and Dragons and Riders
die because of me?"

"Some may die no matter what you plan but, remember this, you have all the
training to make up tactics for us but, no tactics work well after the
first contact with the enemy, t he secret is to be able to change plans in
the middle of a battle to get an advantage, things happen very fast and you
will need to adapt to what is going on."

"I'm really not sure I can do this, I don't want to be responsible for any
of the Dragons or Riders being killed."

"Unfortunately Prince of Riders, it is one of the hard parts of being the
ruler of a Weir, it is not easy but for the sake of the Weir you must set
out your plans to defend the Weir and its inhabitants, that is why you are
the Prince of Tallas Weir."

"But you are the Royal Dragon, you know everything, you should be doing all
this, remember I am just a third son of a cobbler."

"No, Kashin the Rider, you are not a cobblers son, you are the Prince and
Rider of the Royal Dragon, you have all the training you will ever need to
make this happen, you have your Consort, talk with him tonight and see what
he says, he will stand by you no matter what."

Kashin sat and thought it all over, he knew Howudino was right but he had
never been in this sort of position before, he still felt out of his depth,
even though he had had hours of tactical training by the many Messadine
teachers that the weir made available for him.

Kashin finally decided to talk with Seb, he knew that his lover would be by
his side in any decision he made but he did need another perspective, to go
into battle for the first time was scary enough, for it to be based on his
plan was terrifying, the added pressure of being in charge of the mass of
fighting Dragons was another pressure that caused only more doubts in his
own mind.

Seb saw instantly that his boyfriend was in a quandary when he entered
their sleeping quarters, Seb rushed to Kashin's side and wrapped him in his
arms to reassure him that all would be well, Kashin set about explaining
what his worry was, to make things a little less tense, Seb produced a
board game they both liked to play in the rare times they had to take it
easy.

The game was played on a round board carved from wood, it was divided up
into twenty sections in the shape of thin triangles spreading out from the
centre, the object was to get your ten stone counters from the outside edge
to the centre where you would stack them into one pile, at the same time
you had to stop your opponent from getting his there, if he did then all of
yours would have to go back to the start position, it was well known that
good players could keep a single game going for days, if not weeks.

The play order was directed by the throw of a single numbered dice, that is
too say there were only ones and twos on the special dice, you could also
use some of the counters to block the movements of the opponent, or make
moves to build up to three counters on one section, there were many tactics
involved in the game and it was not always the fastest player that won.

As the two boys played on and time passed, Kashin began to relax more and
more as he got fully involved in their game, after a couple of hours play,
something in Kashin's head struck a chord, stopping his play immediately,
he sent a question to Howudino.

"Howudino, what are the usual tactics of the enemy, do they have set
patterns of attack and defence or is it just a free for all?"

"There are some set patterns but usually there is just a free for all once
the enemy is sighted, it would be better to talk with the tactical leader
of the Messadine, he would know more than I about past battles."

"Thank you, I'll do that."

Kashin stopped the game as his mind began to race with new possibilities,
perhaps, if he could use the tactics to play Jessup in the upcoming battle,
they may win it after all, Kashin set about asking for the Tactical
Teacher, it took only minutes and the small older figure of the Teacher was
knocking on their door, at Kashin's invitation the small Messadine entered
and bowed to the two boys.

"What is your command My Prince?"

"Pleaser sit with us, Ghoram, I have some questions about the upcoming
battle and the tactics I should use."

"Thank you My Prince, but during a battle there are very few tactics,
usually both sides line up opposite each other and then all attack en-mass,
it then becomes a free for all and the fastest and strongest usually
prevail."

"I see, but why can't we change the tactics, if I may ask you this, who
would have the superior numbers, how have they formed up over the last
hundred years, I understand we have size and strength on our side, but what
if we could cut down on the number of losses by using new tactics that
would surprise the enemy and give us the win without big losses?"

"I see My Prince you have been giving this great thought, for centuries
there has been no real tactics set out, each of the armies would line up
opposite each other, there would be some small groups out in front as first
attack forces which would try to break up the formations of the enemy, many
of these would turn into skirmishes while the main forces would clash head
on, it was then up too the fastest and strongest to prevail, it would
usually end in great losses for both sides, our main advantage is in the
fact we can fight longer than the enemy can before they have to replenish
their fire."

Ghoram paused to gather his breath before continuing.

"The formations are normally set for all battles, at the fore front will be
a number of small groups numbering about ten Dragons, they try to get in
small attacks to break up the larger formations, then the main formation
will attack as one single unit once the enemy has been disrupted, there is
little planned offence or defence in either side."

"I see; where are the battles usually fought?"

"We usually meet them out over open plains of the open sea where there is
plenty of space to manoeuvre, why do you ask My Prince?"

"I think we should let them come closer to the mountains, we could make
more use of the high peaks and deep valleys and, if there were good cloud
cover on the day we would also have an advantage, I must think on this a
little more, my sincere thanks for your help Teacher Ghoram, you have set
my mind at rest, in the morning I will reveal our plan of defence to the
Weir."

Ghoram bowed again, gave the two boys a bright smile and left their rooms,
it was just in time for dinner and now both boys were starting to feel
their stomachs complain, Kashin took Seb by the hand and they both walked
towards the large hall where dinner was being laid out, the Dragon riders
were all there waiting for their appearance.

Once the two boys were seated, all the other Riders sat and began to eat
and drink, as usual the mead flowed freely and the uproar only grew the
longer dinner went on, before it got to rowdy, Kashin stood up and the hall
became silent as he raised his hands.

"Dragons and Riders of Tallas Weir, as you all know we have an attack
approaching our shores, I have been talking with the tactical Teacher of
the Messadine and have decided it is time for new tactics, to that end,
first thing tomorrow morning all will assemble in the great yard for
practice in the new tactics, I would also like the Lady Bronzes to be
present but only those not rearing younglings or watching over eggs, thank
you."

Kashin sat back down as a hum of near excitement ran through the Weir, it
was unusual for new tactics but, too ask for females as well was something
really new, every Dragon and Rider knew you never put Females in the way of
harm, it was also a rule of war that Females were not to be harmed in any
way, they were after all part of the reason for attacking a Weir, with the
new blood of captured Females a Weir could become stronger and the capture
of Tallas Females would be an over whelming victory for any Weir.

With the order for an early start to the morning, dinner soon broke up and
the planned late night carousing was cancelled, the new Prince had already
shown he was going to take his position in the Weir very seriously, their
safety now lay in the hands of an untried prince.

Early next morning Kashin and Seb walked out onto the top of the stone
steps leading down to the great yard, they were both dressed in their full
armour, the Riders were all lined up in ranks at the centre of the great
yard with every Dragon ranged around the outside, the forty or so Females
were lined up in a single row at the bottom of the steps, Kashin paused to
bow to the line of Females and then, hand in hand with Seb he walked down
to ground level.

Kashin stopped on all but the last step, the great yard was silent as he
looked around at the assembled troops.

"Dragons and Riders of Tallas Weir, I have just received more information
on the approaching enemy, they will be here in four days, they number close
to seven hundred, it appears that Prince Kordon, Prince Grevlar and Prince
Mastik have joined forces and we are facing a major battle, it is very
important that we get the new tactics working before they arrive."

Kashin paused while the new information was circulated among the three
hundred or so Dragons and Riders, they had never been so outnumbered and
the thought of Weirs joining together to take their Weir was a new twist.

"The Lady Bronzes will be our ears and eyes, they are not to get involved
with any form of battle, we do not want any of them injured, if there is
any sign of danger to one of the Lady Dragons then she must flee and leave
the fighting up to those of us who are trained for it. Now as you know we
are vastly outnumbered therefore we must make full use of our ground and
mountains, the Prince of Dragons has told me that with a little work, he
and I can change the weather pattern for the local area, to this end, the
day they arrive to attack there will be heavy clouds and some rain
showers."

Kashin paused again while his troops looked at each other as though trying
to guess what he had in mind.

"The Lady Bronzes will be spread out over our Island but mainly in the
direction the enemy are trying to advance, they will give us the positions
and makeup of the forces although I suspect it will be as it has been for
the last twenty battles, to this end we will be training small groups of
three to act as scout units, you will attack their front lines as they come
in, I have seen that they usually make them up of about ten Dragons, you
will go in quick take as many as you can then disappear into the clouds
again, do not try to make along fight of it, you must go in and out as
quickly as you can, if you only take out one Dragon it will be enough, you
keep up this hit and run tactic as long as you can, do not go anywhere near
the main battle group, if they come after you then go back into the clouds
and change direction."

Again Kashin pause while the murmuring was going on among those below.

"Our main force will stay hidden both below in the deepest valleys and high
above the clouds, we will let them pass below us, our first attack must be
made swiftly and pass right through the middle of their ranks and into the
valleys below, our main force will be broken up into three sections, the
first will drive through the centre, the second will drive through the
leading lines and the third will drive through the rear lines, again, do
not stop to fight a long battle, use the hit and run techniques, once down
in the valleys, fly out away from the battle area and regain height, once
you are all there then repeat the strategy, if we keep up the hit and run
technique then they will soon break ranks to look for us, it is then that
the smaller groups of three will again go in and snipe at the smaller
forces, if we all stay as a cohesive unit we can defeat them with fewer
losses than a frontal assault."

Kashin stopped again as the voices of those in the great Yard began to
discuss the new tactics, it was not the way that they were used to fighting
but, Kashin was their Prince and they had to follow his commands, when they
had quietened down a little, Kashin continued.

"All Riders will wear a red surplus over their armour, the Messadine are
making them as we speak, this way we will easily know friend from foe, my
Consort, Prince Sebastiano along with ten Browns will guard and defend the
doorway to the Weir, I have been told the enemy will use at least seven
advance units, we will have ten units of three to meet them, each is to be
headed by an officer Rider, the three main attack groups will be lead by
myself and two of the Generals, we will take the first section through the
centre, General Albussi will take the second section through the front and
General Dargoss will take the rear attack, each main attack will not start
until the one before it has disappeared into the mists in the valley, the
enemy should still be in disarray after the sudden attach and will be
looking to the centre for the next drive.

Once in the mist make to the North or South as quickly as you can and then
return to the heights above the clouds, we will the repeat the attacks, if
all goes well we should cause a lot of turmoil in their ranks, if the small
units find they have routed their advance units then they can join with the
main armies, the aim is to distract and harry the enemy until they are
either confused or we have shortened their numbers enough to make a last
mass drive into them and finish the battle in one final stroke, Dragons and
Riders, are there any questions?"

A Rider at the front of the ranks spoke up.

"My Prince, how do we divide up our forces?"

"We are going to do that now, those with the most battle experience will be
in the ten smaller groups, we want the best fighters for the hit and run
units, the Lady Dragons will take station out over the sea and across the
plains to watch the direction of the enemy, we will let them come over the
plains without fighting, when they get to the mountains and valleys they
will find them covered in cloud and mist, it is from their we will strike,
remember, hit and run, do not stand and fight in one place, for the rest of
today and tomorrow we will practice those techniques until you are all
comfortable with the new system."

There were no more questions and Howudino and Kashin along with the two
generals got down to making up the special units as well as forming the
main attack groups, it was close to lunch time before they had it all
settled, it was then on to practicing the new manoeuvres, all that long
afternoon and well into the dusk of the second day the Dragons and Riders
practiced relentlessly, by the end of the second day they were becoming a
well oiled army, the small units would appear, practice a short fight and
disappear, the larger units would take turns being the enemy ranks while
the others took turns driving through them at speed and then disappearing
below the `enemy' before reappearing high above once again, Kashin's army
was becoming a fast and effective guerrilla army.

On the morning of the third day alarming news arrived, somehow the enemy
had made better time than at first thought, they would arrive over the
coast in the early hours of the next day, Kashin gave the order for the
forty or so Females to take wing to the coast and too watch all approaches
to the Weir, for the rest of the Brown Dragons and Riders, there was just
time to make a last practice then check all their weapons and saddles, by
now all the Riders were dressed in their new red surplus that the Messadine
had made for them, only Kashin in his bright golden armour was not wearing
one.

Late that night, Kashin mounted Howudino and they took to the air one more
time before the battle, flying high to the top edge of the volcano, both
settled down on the sharp ridge, it was time for Howudino to teach Kashin
how to summon up the weather gods, with the power of their combined magic,
the valleys soon became covered in a thick pea soup mist that hung barely
ten metres above the ground, high above them the heavy thunder clouds were
roiling all over the mountain tops, small squalls of rain dotted the
mountains as they were blown through with the wind, their battle ground was
now set, the morning would tell the tale of win or lose.

When Kashin returned to his bedroom, it was late and Seb was now in their
bed waiting nakedly for his lover to return to him, quickly Kashin stripped
his armour and clothes and slid into bed next to the warm body of his
loving Consort, once settled on his back, Kashin reached for Seb and pulled
the warm body on top of his own, their smooth skins sliding against each
other as their boyhoods took over what was natural for young teens.

Kashin wrapped his arms around Seb's back while Seb slid his own arms under
Kashin's shoulders and hugged him close, as their lips gently touched and
their eyes glowed with the love for each other, the final preparations for
the battle hit Kashin and he sighed as his eyes grew heavy as the relaxing
warm hands of Seb went to work on his tired muscles.

Kashin was feeling so relaxed until he felt a sharp pain on his chest, his
eyes snapped open only to see Seb sitting on him and looking down, Kashin
then saw that, while it looked like his Seb, it was not Seb, this figure
above him had the same features and the same hair colour but it stopped
there, the plains of the face were harder, the eyes were more piercing and
the hands were more calloused, what really bought fear into Kashin were the
four sharp pointed teeth in Seb's upper and lower jaw, they were showing
stark signs of fresh blood.

Kashin tried to call Howudino but there was no answer, he then tried to
call on his magic but it was as though he had never had any, in the mean
time the leering face of this new Seb was lowering once again to take
another bight of his flesh, try as he might, Kashin could not move to
defend himself as those sharp pointed teeth grew closer to his bare flesh.

With only inches to spare, Kashin saw a shimmering beside the bed, from out
of the very air itself emerged a tall figure, he looked to be about sixteen
and was tall and a little thin, long shiny black hair hung down his back
over which was strapped a long black bow, in his hands the figure held a
long staff of reddish wood topped at each end with some fine silver
filigree work, he was dressed in tight fitting clothes that seemed to carry
all the colours of the forrest.

With little time left, Kashin looked up at the new figure with a
helplessness he should not have felt as his onetime lovers teeth grew
closer to tearing his young flesh from his body, Kashin then saw the new
figure move with astonishing speed, with a stroke of the staff that would
have killed many others, the newcomer smashed it down onto the back of the
would be Seb, there was a high pitched scream and then the smell of burning
flesh as the monster Seb reared back in pain, Kashin felt another sharp
pain but this time on his face, he opened his eyes once more.

Above Kashin and with a terrified look on his young face, sat his Seb,
there were tears running freely down the boys cheeks as he grasped tightly
to Kashin's shoulders, from his quivering lips Seb spoke to Kashin.

"Oh thank the gods, you're back, I've been so worried, you seemed to leave
us and your body turned to something like marble stone, your eyes went all
milky white and you stopped breathing, I've sent a message for Howudino and
he sent it on to some Elders of the Messadine, they should be here soon,
what happened to you?"

With a quavering voice, Kashin tried to make sense of everything that had
happened to him, if he had had a dream then it was a lot more realistic
than he would ever want another to be, he tried to explain it to Seb as
they waited for the Messadine Elders.

Kashin had just finished telling Seb about his dream when he saw the four
Elders already standing at the foot of his bed, for the first time he also
felt Howudino's calming voice in his head; Kashin was still shivering from
the dream when one of the Elders began to talk to him.

"My Prince, you have just had your first experience of the Mastery of
Visions, you saw a foretelling of an event that may be coming, we would
suggest that after your battle of the morrow is over, you begin your search
for the Four, you already have the first part, there are three more yet to
come together, I think you will find that your vision is a part of that
search, you will know when you have found what you must seek."

"Thank you Elders, but I seriously don't think I will want to have any more
of those types of vision ever again."

With little ceremony, the Elders bowed one last time and walked back
through the stone walls of his bedroom, with a deep sigh and still a little
feeling of fear in his mind, Kashin pulled the fearful Seb down beside him
and wrapped the boy in his arms, his eyes grew heavy and his breathing
settled as Seb snuggled in closer, they had a battle to fight in the
morning and they need as much rest as they could get in the limited time
left to them.


TBC.


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