Order of Dragons | Teen Ink

Order of Dragons

December 17, 2014
By Thoringuld BRONZE, Olathe, Kansas
Thoringuld BRONZE, Olathe, Kansas
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Ralf examines the castle as he is led to their ruler. It’s a fairly small castle but is poorly defended. Everywhere he looks there is a painting or carving of a dragon. Even the guards have a faceguard in the shape of a dragon. The outer wall is only six feet thick, the bear minimal.

When Ralf enters the keep, there are even more dragon carvings. While being led to the throne room he is still finding weakness in the design of the castle. Little things, like a missing arrow slot in the wall or having cracked walls. The only major thing he sees is in the portcullis, a small weak thing. Only one inch thick and the metal bars are spaced a foot apart. When he is led to the throne room Ralf understands why the castle defense is in such a poor state. There is nothing of worth to defend. No gold or jewels, and nothing of value to steal.
The king is in his young twenties and says his name is Arthur Kyngeston. He already knows everything about Ralf, putting Ralf at a disadvantage. Arthur wants Ralf to build a castle three times the size of the one he has now. He claims that get anything that Ralf would want and can have all the supplies for the castle in a month. Ralf makes a decision once he realizes that if he was to find out the truth about dragons, he would find it here.
“Arthur would you be able to give me a dragon scale as payment?” says Ralf “That is if dragons are real.”
“My dear Ralf, of course, dragons are real, but they only show themselves to a few people. I am lucky enough to be one of those people.” replies Arthur.
“I will need to see the building site you have chosen before I can start,” says Ralf.
“Before you go Ralf, meet my battle master, Piers Gyfford. Piers wants to oversee your work to make sure it is battle worthy.” replies Arthur.
Piers steps out of the shadows into the light. He is in his mid-thirties and is coated in gleaming armor.
“Ralf, I have heard a lot about you,” says Piers in a deep booming voice while shaking Ralf’s hand.
“I wish I could say the same about you Piers,” replies Ralf.
“Ralf, now that you have met Piers you can head to the building site.” says Arthur.
“I will leave at once, my lord,” replies Ralf, while bowing.
The horse is a white mare with a shining black mane. The saddle is soft leather lined with silver.
Ralf climbs onto the saddle and asks, “Stable master how long of a ride is it to the building site?”
“It is a two day ride at a gallop, with few stops,” answers the stable master “Just head due west and you’ll make it.”
Ralf leaves shortly after for his short journey. He thinks about everything he can build. During the ride to the building site the same thing is always going through his mind. If the castle falls everyone will die because of Ralf Vaughan. That is the worst part of being a castle architect is that one thought.
The ride is easy, only rolling hills with a stone road the whole time. The building site is on top of a hill with a valley around it. There is a large area being cleared of everything and is being flattened. Instead of a castle there are rows upon rows of little cabins for the workers.
Ralf stops a random worker and asks, “How long have you guys been working?”
The man answers, “A little over a year. Everything you see we have done, even the valley and the hill.”
Ralf steps back in surprise and says, “That’s neigh on impossible! No force of human workers could have moved all this land in a year!”
“You’re right, but we had help from some dragons. King Arthur sent them to speed up work,” replies the man.
Bursting with curiosity Ralf asks, “So they are real? I thought King Arthur was just bluffing.”
“They are as real as you or me. But you can only see their shadows unless you’re of the king’s line,” says the man.
As the man walks away, Ralf sees that the rest of the area is identical, the perfect place to build a castle. As he rides back to the king, he is thinking about all the things he can do. No limits on anything. An infinite supply of land, resources, man-power, and even a few dragons. When he returns to the castle, he takes a few days to gather his thoughts then goes to the king.
“So, Ralf you’ve returned. What do you think about the site?” says Arthur while sitting down in his throne.
“It’s the perfect defensive position and I can build a mighty castle for you there,” replies Ralf while bowing.
“Good, Ralf you don’t have to bow for me” says Arthur.
Ralf stands back up and says, “As you wish. Are there any specifications you want for your castle?”
“I want it to be impenetrable but at the same time the most beautiful castle ever created,” answers Arthur.
“It will be at least two months before I am done designing the castle,” says Ralf.
“One last thing, it must be symmetrical,” says Arthur.
“That’s not a problem actually; makes my life a lot simpler.” replies Ralf.
That night Ralf dreams about the castle design. The next morning he has to find all of the drafting supplies he needs. Luckily, he finds all of the supplies in an abandoned storage room. They were old but worked well.
He plans to make the moat one hundred feet deep and one hundred feet wide. It will be filled with water for twenty feet and there will be metal spikes covering the bottom. The outer wall will be two hundred feet high and fifty feet thick. Between each block there will be a strip of hardened iron. The gate is fifty feet wide with heavy iron doors, with the design being done in strips of gold. There are metal bars four inches thick that can be dropped every six inches from the roof to stop the door from opening. There are circular towers going up two hundred feet from the top of each wall, a total of four hundred feet high for the outer wall. Catapults and ballistae will line the walls and towers, with the ability to change the direction it fires. The castle will be self-sufficient, being able to withstand a siege for many years if the gate isn’t broken. Having farms, wells, animal pens all inside the castle.
Underground is a giant reservoir three hundred feet under the castle, with manmade canals leading from rivers into the reservoir. Where the canals meet the reservoir there are doors and bars at the entrance, except that instead of gold designs, there are little holes to let the water flow through. Only a few things are left to decide, how to get into the castle and the keeps design.
Ralf finally decides after a few days of thinking to put a giant, beautiful, wooden bridge across the moat. He decides on wood, so in case of an attack they can burn the bridge down, to slow the attackers down.
The very next day king Arthur calls Ralf down to his chambers to see the progress he has made. As Ralf walks down the halls to the throne room, he hears the clashing of metal and two heavy thuds hit the ground. Ralf started to run, away or to the sound he doesn’t care. When he takes a turn, he runs straight into Piers. Piers is covered in blood and to the side of him are two slumped bodies against the wall both with cut throats.
Piers instantly draws his sword on Ralf and demands, “Give me the drawings or you will die right now!”
“Here you go. Just don’t get blood on them.” stammers Ralf while handing him the papers.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” yells Piers. Ralf could easily see that Piers is still enraged from the recent fight.
“Just as I thought,” murmured Piers just so Ralf couldn’t hear him.
“What?” asks Ralf.
Piers instantly draws his sword again and says, “Did I ask you to talk!?!”
“No” replies Ralf while taking a step back.
“It was a rhetorical question!” screams Piers while taking a lunge at Ralf, which he barely dodges. A few minutes later Ralf realizes that the sword had cut his arm. Ralf doesn’t say anything, so he won’t be attacked again.
“Why did you make the bridge out of wood?” asks Piers.
“So it could be burned down in case of attack,” answers Ralf.
“But stone is stronger so it must be better to defend,” says Piers.
“Stronger isn’t always better,” murmurs Ralf while taking another step back.
“What was that?” asks Piers while poking Ralf with his sword.
“Nothing, just talking to myself,” answers Ralf.
“That’s what I thought!” says Piers while sheathing his sword, “You are going to change the bridge to stone or I will kill you right now and I will tell the king that these two guards killed you and that I had to avenge you.”
“What will happen if I tell the king about this meeting after I’ve changed the bridge?” asks Ralf.
“I will kill you as soon as you are done designing the castle. But, I will make your death much more painful,” yell Piers while pulling out his sword again.
“Okay, Okay I will change the bridge to stone and I won’t say anything about this meeting. Just put away your sword,” says Ralf while pushing the sword away.
Piers throws the papers at Ralf, “You will change it right here, where I can see you”
“Fine just let me find a clean spot to work,” replies Ralf. After fishing out a quill and some ink from his pockets he sits down and changes the bridge to stone, all he has to do is change the key a bit.
“Is that good enough for your liking Piers?” asks Ralf while standing up.
“Yes it is. Now go scurry along to the king, you’re already late.”
Ralf starts walking down the hallway, after a few yards he yells over his shoulder, “I’m late because of you!” and takes off running to the kings’ chamber.
“Sorry I’m late Arthur, I was talking to Piers,” Ralf says after catching his breath.
  Arthur steps down from his throne, “Its fine Ralf. Can I see the drawing?”
“Of course,” Ralf proceeds to spread the drawing out on the kings’ desk.
Arthur walks over to the table and examines each drawing. When he is done he says, “Ralf these are very impressive. It looks like you’ve been working hard.”
“Thank you Arthur, all I have left is designing the keep and all of the individual buildings. Then I just have to build the castle,” replies Ralf while picking up the drawings.
Arthur steps back up to his throne, “How long will it be tell you’re done?”
“Just one more month”
“That’s right on schedule” replies Arthur while looking at his calendar.
“One last thing Arthur, Piers stopped me in the hall on the way here and threatened me with death if I didn’t change the bridge of the castle.”
“I will talk to Piers, did he hurt you during that meeting?”
“He only cut my arm, but don’t tell Piers that I told you or he will kill me.”
Arthur steps down to Ralf, “I will say that a servant saw the incident and decided to eavesdrop.”
“Thank you,” replies Ralf while turning to the door.
“Wait Ralf, do you need a guard escort to your room?”
Ralf turns back, “No thanks, it would only make me look suspicious.”
“Have it your way.”
Ralf then leaves the kings’ chambers and briskly walks back to his room. He checks around every corner for Piers. When Ralf gets back to his room he collapses on his bed from exhaustion.
Meanwhile back in the Throne Room, Arthur is deciding what to do with Piers.
Arthur summons a messenger, “Go bring Battle master Piers to me as fast as you can.”
After watching the messenger leave, Arthur thinks about what he will say to start the accusation. After a few minutes he hears a knock on the door.
Arthur sits down on his throne, “Come in.”
The door creaks open and Piers walks in, “You wanted to see me.”
“Yes I did, I have heard that you killed two guards in the hallway for no reason.”
Piers gasps and asks, “Who told you? The only person who saw was Ralf.”
“He wasn’t the only one who saw.” says Arthur with a smirk on his face.
“Tell me, who saw me?”
“Only a messenger,” says Arthur while standing up, “Now, I also heard that you threatened Ralf with Death. Is this true?”
Piers starts running to the door and yells over his shoulder, “It’s true and now I know who to kill!”
“Guards stop Piers! Put men outside of Ralf’s room! Don’t let Piers in there!” yells Arthur while chasing after Piers.
Piers doesn’t go towards Ralf’s room at all. He makes a beeline straight for the gate. When the guards start to close the gate Arthur yells “Don’t close the gate! Let him go!”
After Piers went out of sight, Arthur goes down to Ralf’s chamber. Arthur sees papers and tools scatter everywhere. After taking all this in he says, “Piers got away.”
Ralf stops working, “Why did you let him go? You could of easily of stopped him.”
“Because I didn’t want to trap him and let him kill more of my men.”
“I suppose that’s the last time we will see him.”
“I have a feeling that we will see him again,” replies Arthur while walking out the door.

After Piers makes it through the gate, he keeps running till he couldn’t see the castle anymore. Then he continues to walk and luckily finds a stray horse. He manages to tame the horse and he rides it all the way to the kingdom Altea. It was a good five day ride over rugged terrain to get there. As soon as Piers gets there, he requests a meeting with King Marth.
Piers walks in and bows to King Marth “Thank you for seeing me. I have some valuable information about the kingdom from the south called The Order of Dragons.”
King Marth sighs and says, “Well let’s hear it, your burning daylight.”
“I used to be the battle masters of Order of Dragons, but I was recently chased away. Currently, they are building a new castle. When they are done, they will move all of their gold and jewels into the new castle.”
King Marth instantly perks up, “Then why don’t we attack now!”
“Because currently the gold is hidden in a cave that King Arthur only knows where it is. We have to wait tell they move the Gold. I made a flaw in the castle design so we can get in easier.”
“So when will we attack?” asks Marth.
“In five years. We need a strong army to win the battle” says Piers “Also, don’t kill King Arthur; he is the last one alive who can control dragons. Imagine the power you would have it you could control him and dragons.”
King Marth instantly goes back to being board and says, “Five years is a long time, but I can wait that long. Piers Gyfford you are now the Battle Master of Altea.”
“Thank you, I won’t disappoint you.” says Piers while bowing.
“You better not.”

Back at King Arthurs’ castle, Ralf is walking to the throne room. Ralf no longer checks around corners for Piers or any other assassin because Arthur made it clear that anybody who harms a guest will be sentenced to death.
  Ralf walks into the throne room, “You wanted to see me.”
“Yes I did, take a seat Ralf I fear this will be a long conversation.” says Arthur. When Ralf is seated comfortably Arthur says, “Ralf, you are now the Kings Councilor if you choose to accept my offer. All you have to say is ‘I accept the duties and responsibilities of a Kings Councilor.’”
Ralf raises his right hand, “I accept the duties and responsibilities of a Kings Councilor.”
Arthur leans back in his throne, “Now that’s settled you need to know a little bit about me and this kingdoms history.”
“Go on, I always wondered why only you can see dragons.” says Ralf.
“We will get to that part later.” says Arthur, “But for now I will tell you about the history of this kingdom. We started out as a little city with my family as the ruler, since we were the only ones who could see dragons. The city grew and we built this fortress and it has been my families possession ever since. As soon as the castle was built we decided to attack Altea, which is to our north and is a five day ride from here. We destroyed their castle and stole all the treasure. Altea had a dragon scale medallion which we took from them because we thought it was ours, since only my family can see dragons. Later we found out that there are more of us dragon seers and Altea had one but is long dead. A few years later, Altea attacked us and we defeated them again. We continue to be on the defensive side because we don’t want to destroy them again. Currently, we are at peace but they could attack at any time to try and reclaim their dragon scale.”
“Wait. So you want me to build a new castle so you don’t have to try to defend yourself?” says Ralf.
“Pretty much” says Arthur. “Now, I am the last of my line because both of my parents died in a battle against Altea. They thought we should stop being defensive and destroy Altea once and for all. When they attacked, they found that their castle had been vastly improved. When they lead the charge, they were hit by a rock shot from a catapult. This is why I want a stronger castle, since Altea has been improving we must also or we will be destroyed.”
“Now it makes more sense to me.” says Ralf while stretching, “Please, tell me why only your family can see dragons?”
Arthur takes a minute to gather his thoughts and finally says, “Nobody really knows why, but this is what my parents told me when I was a little boy. A long, long time ago in a different age, everyone on earth could see dragons. But as we evolved we found that dragons tasted good and were fun to hunt. Everyone started hunting dragons and eating them for sport. Dragons gave up their ability to hunt living animals when they saw the dinosaurs go extinct since the animals left alive couldn’t defend themselves. My family was the only people on earth who tried to heal injured dragons and they didn’t consume one bite of dragon meat. The dragons decided that the only way to keep their race alive was to vanish from the site of humans. All except my family who continued to help them.”
“So you’re saying that my ancestors ate and hunted dragons?” asks Ralf.
“Yes, I am Ralf and I would believe that story.”
“I’m not questioning the story; I’m just surprised that my family has tasted dragon meat.”
“Don’t crave for the taste of dragon meat or you will not be my conciliar anymore.”
Ralf stands up, “I don’t want to taste dragon meat. I’m just surprised.”
“That is good, Ralf, you still have potential.” answers Arthur, “When will we be able to start building the castle?”
“We can start building as soon as we get the supplies.” answers Ralf.
“The supplies will be at the building site in one month.” says Arthur.
“I will be there” says Ralf while walking out the door.
In the next month, Piers is improving Altea army by putting the men through rigorous drills. Piers hires more blacksmiths for swords and armor and hires woodworkers for bows. By the end of the year the army is ten thousand strong.
At the building site, they finished the outer wall at the end of the first year. They just put in all of the iron strips and catapults on top of the towers. They plan to put the bridge in last so people can’t desert or unwanted visitors enter.
During the next four years, Altea keeps on hiring men for their army and creating more weapons and constantly improving their attack strategies. They know how to attack because of the information Piers gave them. At the end of the four years, the Altea army is one hundred thousand strong. Piers believes that would be enough to take down the Order of Dragons.
At the building site after four more years they are completely done building. They dig the underground reservoir and build all of the inner walls and the keep. The last thing they do is build the bridge. They build it in stone because Ralf forgets that Piers had made him change it from wood to stone.

Arthur walks around the new castle and inspects every nook and cranny for flaws. When he is done inspecting, he finds Ralf and says “This is the best castle I have ever seen. There are no visible flaws that I can find.”
Ralf stands from the chair he was sitting in, “You are too kind Arthur, There are plenty of flaws but they are minor and only a trained eye could find them”
“You humble yourself.”
“Do you think we will be attacked from Altea soon?” asks Ralf.
“They could attack at any time, now that we are done with the Castle.”
As soon as Arthur is done talking, they hear the alarms go off signaling the sight of an enemy. Arthur and Ralf run to the outer wall and look out on the battle field.
As soon as Arthur could see the banister he says, “Its Altea that’s attacking, I knew they would attack soon.”
“What will we do, should we destroy them completely?” asks Ralf.
“Shoot the catapults until they are close enough to talk to them!” yells Arthur to his guards.
During the next few hours, Altea is constantly bombarded by the battlements of Arthurs’ Castle. When King Marth from Altea crosses the bridge, they stop firing.
King Marth yells up to King Arthur, “Stop this madness! Just give us the dragon scale medallion and our feud will be over!”
“If that is all you wanted, why didn’t you walk over here without an army?” asks Arthur.
“Because I wasn’t expecting you to just hand it over, I thought I would have to take it back by force.” says Marth.
“Wait a minute and I will throw it down.” says Arthur. Arthur walks down to the treasury and finds the medallion. It wasn’t much, only a single dragon scale on a piece of pine wood. When he walks back up to the castle wall, he sees the Altea army stretched out as far as the eye could see.
“Do you have it?” asks Marth still standing on the bridge.
“Yes, I have the medallion. How should I drop it down to you?” says Arthur.
“Just drop the medallion to me.” answers Marth impatiently.
After Marth catches the medallion and starts walking back to his army, Piers runs out to the bridge and shoots arrows up at Ralf. While the arrows were flying Piers yells, “See, I told you I will kill you!” All of the arrows fall short and the guards on the wall send arrows flying back at Piers. Piers falls down full of arrows, like a porcupine.
After that event, King Marth turns his army around and marches home. While they are walking away Arthur tell Ralf, “If I knew that’s all they wanted all these years, I would have handed it to them a long time ago.”
In the following years King Marth and King Arthurs’ kingdoms prosper greatly. The two kingdoms become allies and rid the land of evil. Arthur gets married and haves kids that could see dragons. Ralf is still building castles across the land both for King Arthur and King Marth.



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