FanStory.com - Valdigby Roxanna Andrews

All summer and into fall, Joshua trained on the dragon. Dyster was an intelligent beast and obeyed commands easily. Riddare sat in his cage until the command was given for him to jump to another dragon. He was agile and did so most days with out hesitation.

Joshua learned to use his sword, protect himself with a shield and fire arrows on the back of the hulking beast. It took much coordination and weeks of training. He would go from adulation to frustration to adulation again, fluctuating between being pleased with himself to knowing he would never get better.

The Nubian generals were skilled in all the maneuvers and were a great help to him. They rode with him often and during mock battles would advise him how to use his shield or sword. They being most proficient with the bow, helped with his accuracy. He was grateful for their guidance and advice.

The discouraging days often caused him to doubt his calling. After one such day, Joshua found himself hiding in his room where he could find solitude and think. He threw his shield against the wall in frustration. He sat heavily on his bed and doubted his calling.

A knock came to the door and he heard Lyse's voice. "Joshua?"

He sighed loudly and opened it. Lyse took his hand. "Come with me."

She took him down the hallway and into a large room where a fire blazed. Augdon stood on one side of a chair and man who look much like him, on the other. The man sitting in the chair seemed very old, but as Joshua got closer he seemed not so old as tired. His eyes were closed as if he slept.

"This is my brother, Cedric," said Augdon gesturing to the man standing on the other side of the chair.

Joshua was caught off guard, he had never heard Augdon refer to a bother. He gave a nod acknowledging him.

Augdon placed a hand on the man's shoulder sitting in the chair."This is Valdig," he introduced his grandfather.

Joshua eyes went wide and his mouth opened, but no words came out.

"He was away many months. He, and also Cedric, went to spy on the horde and then to recruit men. Though he is almost one hundred years, he is still a strong warrior and needs to be a part of all that we do in this place. He went, though I protested, having to see the horde for himself."

Joshua felt confused and angry at not having been told Valdig was still living. He looked at Lyse. "Why did you not tell me?"

She shook her head and looked to her father.

"I told her not to tell you. Valdig did not know you were here. When he return from his travels he fell sick," Augdon explained. "We did not tell him until a few days ago. If he had known sooner he would have wanted to see you. We could not risk your coming near him and spreading the sickness," Augdon said.

Valdig waved a hand at his grandson. "My grandson is a keeper of secrets. I would not have wanted you to get the sickness, but when I was recovered I had to see you with my own eyes. I did not think I would live to see the day," he said, tears welling in his still vivid blue eyes.

He took Joshua's hand who knelt down beside the famous warrior. He still wore his hair long and in the traditional ponytail. It was so white as to be almost transparent. His face was lined and pale from his illness, but he still had a strong jaw and seemed younger than his years. His hand was thin, but still had a firm grip and his eyes were alert. He placed a hand on Joshua's head. "I thank God for you. I know the time for battle is drawing near."

He began to cough and Augdon led Joshua and Lyse out of the room.

"How could you not tell me he still lives?"

"I wanted to know how it would go with you. You were so young and so unsure of yourself. I questioned if we had chosen rightly."

Joshua's jaw clinched at his words. He felt an anger rising inside. Hadn't he been working and training hard to be this champion? It was they who had said he was the one, he had never claimed it.

"Grandfather was so ill I worried he would not live. So I told him you were here. I think it gave him the strength to recover. He was desperate to see you."

Joshua took a step towards Augdon. "Will he say I am the one? What say you? Do you believe me to be the champion? I would not have known you felt otherwise. "

"Do you think you are the one?" Augdon asked.

"At times I do not feel worthy of this calling, but I believed you when you said it."

"This is why I did not tell Valdig of you. You are too unsure. An army needs a leader, one who can be followed and respected. If you are unsure, the men will know. You could lead them to their deaths! You must decide now what you will be. No army can be victorious without a leader."

"This is why you hesitated to give your consent for Lyse? Because you are unsure of me?" Joshua stood with hands clenched. "Why did you not tell me this before today, you should have told me months ago when you felt it most." He felt himself shaking on the inside. Could he lose Lyse because of Augdon's mistrust?

"I waited to give you time. You are young, I did not want to judge you too soon," said Augdon looking him in the eye.

Joshua shook his head. "Why must it be me? You are Valdig grandson. Why are you not the chosen one? You are already their leader, they follow all you say, why do you need another? Why do you not lead them?"

"I cannot!" Augdon said through clenched teeth. "You must decide." He walked back into the room where Valdig waited and shut the door.

Lyse walked with Joshua out into the courtyard.

"I did not know your father had so little trust in me."

She put her hand on Joshua's chest. "My father knows in his heart you are the one. Do not judge him to harshly. He has much on his mind. You must know that he loves you already like a son. Fathers are often this way. I know it hurt him to tell you the things he did. He is for you, always, as am I. If you are a leader or not, I know you are a good man. I would go to the furthest star with you, if you but asked."

Joshua gather her into his arms and held her close. She love him still. "I think I would like to go to the furthest star." He pulled back from her and smiled. She always had a way of speaking that soothed him.

"Why did Augdon not talk of his brother? I knew nothing of him."

"Cedric is ten years younger than my father. They were not close. He is from a second wife. Cedric and my father disagree on many things. He thought my father the favorite and was jealous. He is not the warrior my father is, he was spoiled by his mother, not made to work so hard at training. My father would despair of him."

"Cedric thought he was the one, the champion. His eyes are so pale as to look violet at times. He tried to convince great grandfather of this. Valdig said it was not so and would not hear an argument for it. He said if he were the one, he would have worked harder to become a great warrior. But I believe spending so much time with Valdig has changed him. He is different now, he listens to my father without complaint."

Joshua was quiet for a moment. It was so much to take in.

"Your father is a great warrior, I am but a youth and know nothing compared to him. The men all do as he says already. It is strange to me that he not be chosen, someone of the house of Valdig should led."

"You are of the house of Valdig."

Joshua turned to see Augdon standing in the shadows. "Your great grandfather was Hibel, Valdig's brother."

Joshua stared in stunned silence at Augdon, as if he could not comprehend his words. It was a moment before he found his voice.

"I would have known this. My uncles said nothing to me about my great grandfather. Why would they not tell me?"

"I know not why they kept this from you. Perhaps they do not know themselves. Hibel died some years after the clan split so your Uncles were not born while he lived."

"I could see you knew nothing of Valdig when you came here. You showed no recognition of his name or of our linage. Your education has been woefully neglected. I am of the mind that Kidrick wanted no mention of Valdig and his sons felt the same. They are all cunning, wanting to keep the people ignorant so they could have them under their thumb. You know what kind of man Hamish is."

Joshua nodded, his mind spinning from all he had learned In a few short hours. He felt a need to sit, but didn't want to appear weak before Augdon.

"This is why I have felt frustration with your uncertainty. You are of the House of Valdig, you come from a line of great warriors, you should have no doubt of who you are. But if you knew nothing of your heritage, I should not have expected so much." This was as close to an apology Joshua would get from the warrior.

"There is another thing you need to know," Augdon studied the ground for a moment then raised his eyes to Joshua's. "My father was taken prisoner by the horde. He still lives, but is made to fight for them. This is why I am desperate to win the battle. To free my father. That is why Valdig insisted on going to spy on the horde. He wanted to see his son."

Joshua sat on the half wall that surround the courtyard, he did not care if it made him look weak. Why was it that they kept so much from him. Did Augdon have so little trust in his abilities as a warrior, as a leader, that he felt he must keep so many secrets?

"It seems my uncles are not the only ones to keep things from me. I know nothing of what is true. If I had known these things before, I would have been a leader by this time. I would have known more of who I am and why I am here."

Joshua felt exhausted from his anger and frustration. He needed time to himself. He asked his supper be sent to his room so he could be alone with his thoughts, but he touched none of it.

Valdig was alive. The great warrior he had heard so much about. The man who had seen a vision of him leading an army. And himself, his great nephew. Perhaps if he had but known Valdig sooner, known all these thing sooner, it would have made a difference in him. He did not know Augdon doubted him so much. He sat on the edge of his bed a long while lost in thought.

He came awake suddenly, sensing a presence in his room. He had fallen asleep fully clothed, laying on his back across his bed. He jumped to his feet, looking for his sword which was not there, he had left it in Dyster's saddlebag.

A man stood before him, his body blue, his hair standing on end in spikes held by bands and blue paint. He was naked but for a loincloth and boots. Joshua heart hammered. The blue horde was here and he was caught sleeping and without a weapon.