Far Patrol

By Alex Powell

Will war tear their family and their country apart?

 

Ignius Lockden and their companion Kathely are ready for adventure. Joining Far Patrol was only going to be the beginning—they were right, but in all the wrong ways. Suddenly, there's a war on the horizon and the two of them are stuck in the middle. Ignius wants to do what's right, but it isn't easy to tell what actions will lead to the correct ending. How is one young dragon supposed to change the course of history?

• Language: English
• Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
• Release date: Jul 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781648903380

Book preview

A NineStar Press Publication

www.ninestarpress.com

Far Patrol

ISBN: 978-1-64890-338-0

© 2021 Alex Powell

Cover Art © 2021 Natasha Snow

Published in July, 2021 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact NineStar Press at [e-mail].

Also available in Print, ISBN: 978-1-64890-339-7

WARNING:

This book contains sexual content, which may only be suitable for mature readers. Depictions of graphic violence and ritual sacrifice.

Far Patrol

Alex Powell

Table of Contents

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Acknowledgements

About the Author

To my parents

Prologue

The first thing the dragon remembered seeing was the golden light right beyond the shell in front of them, flickering and lighting up tiny red and silver specks on the surface of their chamber.

It must be time, then.

They scrabbled at the curved inside of the shell, scratching away and scoring the surface. They felt the little nubs of their claws catch on the roughened inner surface. The dragon stopped, waiting to regain their strength. It was tiring work, and presently, the dragon fell asleep again.

They repeated this cycle in longer and longer increments, scratching away at the inside of their chamber. Waiting was over for them, and it was time to emerge. Sleep, wake, sleep.

Again, the light woke them, brighter this time. There were voices outside, and with some excitement, the dragon heard the voice. The one was here. It was definitely time now, and the dragon would stop at nothing to finally greet that voice.

It was a high voice, and it penetrated the shell unlike all the other voices outside. The dragon didn’t care about those ones. They needed to reach the one. Kathely.

The one. Their one.

That voice had started coming a long time since. The moon had cycled countless times, and the dragon knew it well, the voice of the one who spoke to them from outside. That one whispered things to them, told them all about life on the outside. The dragon liked these stories, and even though they couldn’t yet make complete sense of them, the outside called. Kathely was calling, right now.

Ignius.

The dragon rocked against the wall of their chamber, pushing as hard as they could. The shell, weakened by their earlier efforts, gave a little under their struggles. It was tiring, but Kathely was there, calling.

Ignius, you have been Named. It is time to come forth.

Ignius coiled their tail, lashing it against the weak spot of the shell. Then they struck again as they felt the shell fracture above them. The spikes on their tail made short work of breaking through, and once again, Ignius clawed at the shell, finding the opening. They forced it farther open, lifting their snout to the hole in the shell, taking their first deep breath of air.

They couldn’t see yet, but after a few sneezes to clear their lungs of fluid, they could smell those around them. The nearest person was Kathely, and their one smelled divine, like home.

They butted the shell with their head until the shell cracked further. Ignius gave a full-body flail, stretching out their legs, their tail, and their wings. The shell split with a deafening crack, and Ignius finally emerged into the outside world.

They blinked hard, trying to clear the fluid from their eyes. A soft, scented cloth pressed to their face, clearing away the fluid, and the next moment, they could see the face of their one that had told them stories while they were waiting to wake up.

Soft eyes, dark, with a fathomless round pupil and fragments of different shades in the surrounding iris looked down at them. Their face was speckled, like the shell of Ignius’s egg. Long tendrils of hair hung down, shining different colours in the light of the lamps. They were draped in folds of light cloth. Ignius blinked. Their one was beautiful.

I’m Kathely, their one said and moved the corners of their mouth skyward. Line of Aera. I have been given the honour of being Chosen for you, Ignius, line of Lockden.

Kathely drew a dagger from the belt at their waist, with an edge so sharp it sang. They dragged the dagger down their palm, and blood welled up and washed their hand crimson. They held out their bloodied hand in front of them.

Will you Choose me, Ignius Lockden?

Ignius coughed, getting the remaining fluid out of their throat, and said in a voice raw with newness, Yes, I Choose Kathely of Aera.

They leaned forward and swiped first one cheek, then the other through the blood on Kathely’s hand. It was hot against their scales which were still new, soft, and thin. Thus gifted, they waited as Kathely finished cleaning the fluid from their scales. Kathely left the blood on their face, and Ignius raised their head to proudly display the markings made by Kathely’s hand. This done, Kathely finally allowed a waiting attendant to wrap their hand.

Join me for the Birthing Feast, Kathely said, moving to stand from their kneeling position next to Ignius.

Yes, Ignius said, voice getting stronger.

Kathely had taught them how to speak words while they waited in the shell, but the novelty of speaking kept them from saying anything as they got shakily to their feet and followed Kathely. A quick glance around revealed a small stone chamber lined with torches. They followed Kathely to an arched doorway and down a long hallway of similar black stones. The pads of their feet were still new, and the smooth stones were soft against their scales.

They could only imagine words like beautiful and home right now. Even Kathely’s voice through their shell couldn’t bring something to life in a way to make them truly understand. Vague concepts floated around in their mind, things like wide open sky, the colour blue, wind against someone’s face, the smell of air after it rained.

They wanted that, yearned to know these details, to bring blessed context to the facts they knew only from listening to Kathely. But that could wait. Being born was such a tedious process.

The two, followed by their attendants, emerged into a huge hallway beyond the birthing hall which dwarfed the pair of them. Kathely, still a youngling themself, was taller than Ignius, but only by a couple of heads. They both had much growing to do. Kathely reached out and put a hand on Ignius’s neck as they walked. It was warm, and Ignius leaned into the pressure of Kathely’s hand. The attendants followed silently behind, but Ignius ignored them.

The world got bigger the farther down the hall they walked. They craned their neck to look at the walls. If one looked carefully, there were designs carved into the stone walls that curved and looped around. The vast stones beneath their feet were warm, and ahead, through an arched doorway, light spilled out. They passed huge columns on either side, the hall lit with braziers interspaced with the columns.

Kathely, Ignius said finally, delighting in saying the name of their Chosen one aloud. You told me while I was waiting that humans are sometimes ‘he’ and sometimes ‘she’ in a way that dragons aren’t. Which are you?

I am ‘they,’ Kathely said with a smile. Something like dragons.

Ignius accepted this happily, but their thoughts were interrupted by the sudden overwhelming scent of still-warm flesh. Ignius’s appetite rumbled to life, and it was all they could do to keep in stride with Kathely without rushing forward.

They entered the Feasting Hall from the corridor and realized there were others there waiting to feast as well. Five new pairings in total, and at the front of the room, a huge dragon, full grown and almost terrifying in their immensity. At their side was a human dressed in robes of red and silver matching the colours of the dragon’s shining scales. He dwarfed Ignius’s Chosen as much as the dragon dwarfed Ignius.

Kathely led them to a space closest to the large dragon and the human. There was a trough filled with fresh meat next to a little ornate table laid out with cooked food.

Let the feast commence, the man said, voice resounding throughout the hall as if he had a dragon’s voice. And remember that you share the same meat with your Chosen.

Ignius tore in, unable to wait a moment longer. Kathely ate slowly, but Ignius could not stop eating, even to keep pace with their Chosen. They needed to fill the empty, hollow space they suddenly realized they possessed. They didn’t slacken pace for a while, letting the rich flavour of meat fill their mouth. It was tender and soft, and Ignius ate as much as possible.

Once their stomach was filled, Ignius finally took the chance to look around.

There were four other dragons, all newly hatched. All were primarily one colour with bright splashes of another across their back and wings. Most, except one, whose wings were actually very small, were overlarge, spindly, and stuck out ridiculously. Their eyes were too big for their heads. They all looked proud to have their Chosen’s blood on their cheeks, but rather than fierce, they looked juvenile, especially next to the huge, older dragon. Altogether, they seemed to Ignius to be a rather odd-looking assortment.

Ignius didn’t look like that as well, did they?

Next to the hatchlings, the largest dragon was massive, stern, and commanded respect.

Ignius asked, Who are they?

The Head of the Council of Dragons and their Chosen, Kathely said. You are of their line, Ignius. They are the Head of Lockden as well as the Head of the Council.

That made Ignius feel slightly better. They would grow up to look like that, eventually.

And their Chosen?

My father, Kathely said, sounding proud.

Kathely’s father: Asarius of Aera. Ignius remembered this from Kathely’s stories and all the times that Kathely tried to teach them the Aera family line while they were still waiting in the shell. That made the large dragon Pygnia Lockden, Ignius’s oldest aunt.

The line of Lockden was powerful then. Kathely had never mentioned their own place in the hierarchy of dragons when explaining the dragon lines.

Kathely wiped the leftover gore from Ignius’s face carefully, making sure not to wipe off their blood marks. The Head of the Council raised their head and emitted a deep roar before speaking.

Go now to your respective Houses, Pygnia Lockden said. You are now bonded formally, here and forever.

Bond was also a word that Ignius didn’t have a concept for before now but was beginning to understand. They couldn’t imagine anything being more important than Kathely. To be separated from them would be unbearable. Ignius realized—as they looked at Kathely next to them—if Kathely did not exist, neither would they.

Let’s go, Ignius, Kathely said. I have waited seven years for you to grow enough to be hatched. I want to introduce you to my mother.

It was all out there, waiting for them. All Ignius had to do was take that step.

Ignius followed Kathely into an ever-expanding world.

Chapter One

Ignius pumped their wings hard, a deep ache beginning to settle into their shoulders and run down the length of their back. This final test was important, however, and they couldn’t let themself or their Chosen down. If they wanted to join Far Patrol, they had to finish in good time. It was just one more lap, and then they would collapse and have a nice soak in the hot springs under Lockden tower.

Come on, Ignius, Kathely said, their voice nearly getting whipped away by the wind. Don’t stop now. We can beat Hexara.

Up ahead of them, Hexara, line of Normont, flashed their massive green-on-white wings, using the fan-like webbing on either side of their tail to make a sharp turn. It wasn’t exactly fair, as far as Ignius was concerned. Dragons of Normont had a ten-foot advantage in wingspan, and the tail webbing made them more agile than Lockden dragons.

He couldn’t spare the breath to tell Kathely this at the moment, so they renewed their steady wingbeats.

Below them, the great dragoncity of Azenath was sprawled out across the plains. From this height, Ignius could pick out all the dragontowers of the noble lines of Azenath, reaching up into the heavens with their spires of solid rock and iron. Clustered around them were the smaller, but no less magnificent towers of the midclass. On the west side was the train yard, with gleaming steam-powered engines, and in the south the merchant yards with goods ready to ship out to the southern quadrant.

The clocktower in the centre of the dragontowers tolled the hour, sending up a billow of steam at the same time.

We’re almost done, Kathely called from their back. Not long now. And look, Hexara is slowing!

Ignius tore their eyes from the city below and looked ahead. Hexara, who had only a moment before been beating their wings at a good, steady clip was lagging suddenly. All at once, Ignius breezed past them at a considerable speed. As satisfying as it was to beat a Normont dragon, Ignius couldn’t help but feel a prickle of worry. They shouldn’t be able to beat a Normont dragon at a test of endurance.

Up ahead, the gate indicating the finish line came into sight. Just beyond it was a dragontower that Ignius could land on and finally rest. Somewhere above on a higher tower, the judges watched silently.

Ignius was first through the gate, reaching out with all four clawed feet to make a landing. There were clawholds all over the vertical length of the tower for that purpose. This one was large enough and sturdy enough to land multiple heavy-class dragons.

Their shoulders protested, and they forced themself to climb to the next ledge to rest. They heaved in one deep breath after another, curls of smoke emerging as the depth of their breathing reached that place where fire came from.

A second later, another dragon landed. They were breathing hard enough that licks of flame were starting to spill up over their jaws, and they trembled as they stayed on the landing area for longer than was advisable with even more dragons coming in to land.

You made it, Ignius said as Gwena Myrmont stuck their violet-and-gold-streaked head over the edge of the landing platform.

Only just, Gwena said, dragging themself up and over the edge. And I think that poor Mahalir dropped out in the last third of the distance. Managed the landing, though, so there is that.

Did you pass Hexara? asked Ignius. Looked like they were failing.

Mmm, Gwena nodded. Didn’t look too well to me.

I’m going to go take a look, Ignius said. Kathely, don’t take the riding straps off yet.

Right, Kathely called from where they were stretching their legs after the long flight. They clambored on Ignius’s back and scrambled up to the riding seat at the base of Ignius’s neck.

Ignius climbed up and over the edge and made their way up the dragontower, ascending until they were high enough up that they could see the rest of the dragons coming in. Their cousin Cassius was just landing, and behind them, a cluster of mids.

Where was Hexara?

They launched themself backwards off the dragontower and into the air, flying up higher.

Can you see them? asked Ignius anxiously. You’ve got a glass, don’t you?

Hold on, yes I do, Kathely said.

Ignius knew their Chosen had a glass, of course. It had been given to Kathely by their father for their nineteenth birthday in preparation for their chosen path.

They’re lagging! Kathely shouted suddenly. At this rate, they’re going to hit the ground if no one assists!

Well, we must assist, Ignius said.

Of course we must, Kathely said. Get Gwena. They’re probably most recovered of the lot.

They dropped swiftly and called out to the tower, Hexara requires assistance!

As predicted, Gwena launched from the tower a moment later, although their Chosen, Varaly, had already unstrapped. The two of them made all possible speed back out toward Hexara, who was indeed failing in staying aloft.

Come on, we’ve practiced this, Kathely called. Get under their shoulder!

Hexara snapped at them as they came close, and Ignius yelled, Chimena, you must not allow Hex to hurt us if they want assistance!

I don’t need assistance! Hexara snarled angrily, smoke billowing up out of their nostrils.

Please, Hex, just let them, Chimena pleaded from their back. You’ve pulled your wing joint!

Hexara roared angrily, but drifted on a thermal long enough that both Ignius and Gwena could get underneath them. Hexara’s weight made it much harder to fly, and Ignius’s shoulders were on fire with flying so soon after completing the endurance test. It wasn’t far, though, and up ahead the dragontower and the finish came into view.

Can you land on the tower? Kathely called down to Chimena.

Yes, Hexara huffed back.

Are you sure? asked Gwena. We could land you in the Fields.

The Fields weren’t really fields, not like the ones on the Merhen