Awlryn Sterling

My name is Awlryn Sterling. I have sworn myself to a path that no one can steer me from — to one day take the Platinum Creed and live it till the last of my days. How couldn’t I? To have witnessed what I did that day. To experience the sights, smells, and tastes on that wretched day. There is disorder in this world, and it must be brought to an end. How else will we prevent such mindless slaughter?

I refer, of course, to the Dragon’s Ravage of Bedevret. Nearly five years ago now, but it feels like a lifetime has passed since then.

I grew up there, you know. Nestled to the South of the Silver-Striped Mountains, we were well protected from many common threats. It was there my family made a name for themselves — Ghetz and Vera Sterling, young merchants-to-be. First came my older brother, Ulfric. Two years my senior, Ulfric inherited my father’s sense of coin. Then I came to be, eternally grateful to be the second born. Nearly eight years passed before my sister Yssail was born, followed shortly by my youngest brother Mikhail.

We were raised to live modest and frugal lives — a fact that would ultimately save us from ultimate ruin. My father tried to teach me maths and bartering, but I was always watching the ranks of soldiers coming and going from the city, off to challenge the threats that faced the kingdom. I loved everything about it: their gleaming helms, their thundering march, and their jingling armor. To hear their captains bark orders, and witness a crisp snap of them being executed made my mind burst with imagination of them fighting untold dangers, effortlessly dispatching them to keep our trade routes safe.

How wrong could I have possibly been?

The day had started out like any other. I was 18 then, strong and eager. I volunteered in every watch program I could up until that point, and enlistment season was soon to start. I remember waking up and sparring with my friend, Christoph. We were both training night and day for a chance to become real soldiers, and maybe if we were lucky we could be knights of kingdom if someone took notice of us. Sure we had heard of the Platinum Creed then, but they were more than a myth on the wind. We were taking a break after I had pressed a little too hard and sent Christoph down to the ground with a crash. He didn’t seem to be injured, but we had needed the reprieve. That’s when the first of the bells began to toll: danger approaches, volunteers and soldiers take position.

We had looked at one-another, a mix of fear and excitement. It should have just been fear. We took our spots in one of the inner towers, ready to assist however needed with whatever did or did not happen. In the distance, we saw faint flecks of torchlight coming from the dense forests at the foot of the mountains. It couldn’t have been later than noon.

What unfolded over the next several hours was nothing less than a siege. More kobolds than I ever thought possible poured from the forests. Arrows rained down, some tipped with flame and setting rooftops ablaze. We had been to work since nearly the start, dousing those flames and bringing fresh quivers to the soldiers. It was utter chaos, but everything seemed fairly calm despite that. Everyone was confident that no matter how many kobolds slammed against our walls, our valiant defenders would hold the line. The battle supported that theory. The occasional wounded soldier would limp though our gate, but we hadn’t heard of any significant loss of life.

As the sun began to set, and their assault no-less firm, our whole world changed. A chilling roar swept over the city. It was a sound neither me nor Christoph had heard before, nor apparently had anyone else. One of the soldiers near us mumbled something to his comrade, and everything was silent save for the whistling of arrows and distant din of battle near the entrance to the city.

Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder as a bolt lightning streaked across the sky. The flash in the dusky sky illuminated something. Something big. I failed to comprehend what I was witnessing until the mumbling soldier shouted with new clarity: Dragon!

It felt as if time stood still at that moment. Christoph and I exchanged glances of fear, and the next thing we knew we had been knocked to our feet. All I could hear is ringing in my ears, my eyes becoming narrow slits once I opened them again. Dust was everywhere, and I could barely see my own hands in front of me. “Christoph!” I had coughed out repeatedly. I never found him in those moments. I stumbled over a leg, dressed in mail. I could only assume it belonged to one of the soldiers that had been next to us, but his body was concealed beneath a large slab of masonry. What had happened?

When my hearing returned, I heard nothing but chaos and panic. Something catastrophic had happened. I found myself limping into a nearby alley to get my bearings. I saw soldiers storm past my hiding place, but I couldn’t find my voice to call out like I had earlier. Not long after, I could hear the cackling and hissing of the kobolds. They had managed to breach the gates, I can only assume due to that dragon. I had to get to my family.

I stumbled through the city, trying to find my way home. I could here screams as people fled their homes, the panicked shouting of soldiers for people to seek shelter. Occasionally, I heard other massive booms of thunder as presumably another stronghold of the city was torn asunder by the might of the dragon. I wasn’t about to let that shake my resolve though. I needed to survive. I needed my family to survive.

I came at last to the street I had known my whole childhood, to find the streets littered in rubble. It was impossible to see more than a few houses down. A sinking feeling began to consume my whole body, until I was snapped back to reality by a weak cry for help. I quickly found the source, a young boy no older than my sister trapped in a collapsed doorway. With all my strength, I struggled to free him. I may have not known where my family was, but I could save this boy and maybe find his family. Together, we made our way to the most fortified area of town, for all the good it would do.

We crossed the inner gates of the castle keep, dirtied soldiers motioned us deeper inside. I thought this may end up our grave with the power that dragon possessed, but I could die knowing we had done all we could.

It was quieter where we were. The people that had made it were huddled tightly together, impossible to discern. No one really spoke. They either sobbed or prayed silently. A small squad of soldiers stood at the ready to defend us, as dense volleys of defensive weapons fired from our the walls I no longer knew to be safe. They were doing all that they could.

Through the distant din, a single melodic burst issued forth. We all looked up from our feet or hands, recognizing a war-horn of the kingdom. Who had come to help us in this darkest hour? One of the soldiers slacked his jaw, mumbling something in an almost reverence. I could barely hear their exhausted and hoarse words, but I heard one thing: The Platinum Creed. Was I simply delusional? No — a streak of strange light pierced the dark sky, overcoming the warm light of unchecked fires that illuminated the city. Was that magic?

I heard someone running outside, and a cloaked figured approached our guards. Although his form was mostly obscured, I saw the elegant quiver slung at his hip, and noticed his well constructed bow. Even in the dim light his light armor gleamed with a brilliance of the most vibrant and polished steel. Was this a member of the Platinum Creed? The soldiers responded to whatever he had said, and they joined him out in the plaza. I told the child I had saved to wait inside, and dared to venture closer.

I saw the mysterious figure, now armed with his bow, directing at least a dozen soldiers also armed with various projectile weapons. Together, they loosed a volley somewhere into the smokey sky. There was a roar. Again they loosed at his order.

After several volleys, an elderly man in ornate robes came upon them. His staff radiated a strange aura, and soon he was adding bolt of magic to the assault. Somewhere up there, the dragon had been found and they sought to bring him down. It felt like an eternity that they had fired into the darkness, and it was then I noticed with my gaze fixed skyward, that six more cloaked figures had joined up. Two stood near the front, halberd and great ax at the ready. They shouted something to each other in a language I didn’t comprehend, which summoned a reply from the bowman. They laughed.

Laughed! At a time like this. Surely these were indeed warriors of peerless reputation, I thought. To be able to levity with one another at such a dark hour.

After his chuckle, the bowman let loose one last arrow, accompanied by a streaking bolt from the wizard. A horrifying shriek mixed with a roar pieced the din of battle, I could see a vortex of smoke forming.

Out from sky came the dragon, plummeting towards the plaza. It spiraled out of control, bits of what I could assume were arrows raining from the velocity of its descent. The warriors let out a brief cheer, and began to position themselves.

The dragon landed almost perfectly on its feet fairly close to the plaza. It was wounded, but clearly not ready to surrender. They wasted no time and were upon the beast. They danced about the plaza with grace and speed, performing feats of strength and wonder that were nearly incomprehensible. The dragon’s claws would scrape across their armor, sending the warriors reeling but ultimately unscathed. Perhaps their luck wouldn’t always hold up, but the dragon began to fight with more and more desperation.

They were winning.

One particularly powerful blow from the one wielding a great ax sent the dragon to the ground. It struggled to regain its footing, but when it did I swear it locked eyes with me. I’m sure it saw behind me too, all the innocents huddled and clinging to survival. As it righted itself, it maintained its gaze on our refuge, and its throat began to glow. One of the warriors, wielding a massive shield of some polished metal, followed the gaze and realized something in that instant. I remember him shouting something, just as a bright light caused me to shield my eyes and another boom deafened me.

I thought we were all dead in that moment, but when I regained my senses, I saw the shielded warrior before us. Our refuge was cracked and damaged, but still held. His shield glowed with a strange energy, and the air around us carried a strange odor. Had he managed to save us from the worst of it? The warrior was breathing heavy, and motionless, but he stood his ground.

As he did, the rest of them sprang into action. Almost seemingly as quickly as it had all begun, the dragon collapsed with more roar, defeated.

I remember collapsing with exhaustion, and that was the last I saw of those warriors until the statue in their honor was erected in the rebuilt city plaza.

But that’s what we all did. All that we could do: rebuild. The next day I found my family, all alive and well. We rebuilt our home, and my parents took the young boy I saved. He knew his name as simply “Hux” and we never found anyone to claim him as their child. He took on a lot of the work helping my father and brother loading the trade caravans once we were back on our feet. Dad’s frugality ended up keeping us from losing everything in the attack.

Slowly, life became normal again.

Almost too normal. My younger sister, now 15, has taken to piling up debts for my poor father to pay-off. We’re still doing well enough, but the poor man is constantly hounded by collectors. So much for the lessons on frugality. One day, I’m sure she’ll create a problem far larger than it turns out the dragon posed for us.

Every day, I begin my morning now by visiting the Statue of the 8. It’s there I met Ren. I don’t know where she came from, but she’s a half-elf adventurer. I’ve heard her give numerous performances at the plaza — it’s how we met. Soon, she talked to me about the start of her career as an adventurer. That’s how I ended up where I am now. One day I’ll be ready to take my Oath, but I’ll forge my own path to it. There’s too much disorder to this world, and I intend to root out the source of it.