Dragon Orb (Dragons of Daegonlot, Book One)

by Shanlynn Walker

  ~Michael Leunig

  Trakon

  It turned out they didn’t have very far to go to get to Trakon’s house. By Dax’s estimation they had traveled only a few hours on foot through the forest when the old man abruptly left the small animal trail they had been following and turned onto a barely visible path hidden in a clump of bushy undergrowth. They continued on this new trail until they came to a little cabin nestled at the base of two mountains.

  He looked up above the cabin where the mountains joined together and saw a small waterfall that emptied into a pond, and continued on in the form of a trickling stream until it disappeared into the forest. Fog lay thick and heavy over the pond and up into the mountain pass, but it seemed to stop abruptly before it reached the little cabin, almost like an invisible barrier kept it out.

  Trakon led them up to the cabin, but instead of going inside, he went around to the back. There, hidden from first sight by the cabin itself, was a small stable that had obviously been built for an animal much larger than a horse. The cabin boasted a small, covered deck, the roof of which stretched out to encompass the stable. The small stream had been diverted to flow into a depression beside the building so that the animal within was never short on water. The side of the stable facing the deck was open so that if you were sitting on the deck you could easily see into the structure, and even reach out and touch the animal within if you so desired, but was closed off on all other sides other than the entryway located beside the water hole.

  The stable was big enough for a dragon larger than Drakthira, so she had no trouble entering after taking a long drink from the water hole, almost completely draining it. It didn’t stay empty for long, however, the small stream filled it quickly and once it was full it continued on its way away from the cabin and into the forest. ‘Thira walked to the end attached to the small deck and found a bed of fresh straw, which she gratefully sank into.

  Dax was sure she was probably hungry, so he turned to tell Trakon he would go hunt for her, but before he could get the words out, Sylas came bounding up with a large doe in his mouth which he promptly took to the dragon, then sat and watched her while she ate it, his small, stubby tail wagging excitedly.

  “I’m sure you are hungry, too,” Trakon said. He motioned towards the pond at the bottom of the falls. “Go clean up and I will prepare dinner,” he said. “Afterwards, I would love to hear your and Drakthira’s tale, if you are so inclined to share it.”

  Dax still wasn’t sure he trusted the old man, but a meal did sound good. He glanced down at his clothes and realized he must look a mess. When they had crashed, he and ‘Thira had both been jounced around and his clothes were full of dirt and caked on mud, as well as some grass stains and even a few small twigs. He nodded to Trakon and headed off to the pond to clean up after checking on ‘Thira, who he found curled up nose to tail sleeping, with Sylas beside her stretched out on his back, his head resting on her forearm.

  When he returned to the cabin the smell of roasting meat wafted outside and made his mouth water. He had managed to clean not only himself, but also his clothes reasonably well in the fast flowing water of the falls. Not wanting to go back to the cabin naked, he had no choice but to put the wet clothes on, and he was very uncomfortable and was hoping Trakon would have something he could wear so he could hang them up to dry instead.

  As if reading his mind, Trakon emerged from the cabin carrying a white robe similar to the one he was wearing. “Ah, I was hoping to catch you before you left the pond. Here, take this, it may be a little large on you, but it should keep you warm until your clothes are dry.” Dax took the robe and thanked him, then went inside to change.

  When he came back outside he found Trakon spooning stew into two bowls which he sat upon a little table Dax hadn’t noticed before. There was also soft, warm bread, butter, and two cups filled with water from the stream. His stomach rumbled at the sight of it.

  Trakon didn’t talk much over dinner, which suited Dax just fine. He still hadn’t decided how much he wanted to tell Trakon about Daegonlot. His mind kept going back to the journals he had read some months ago and the strange dragon he had met in the caverns beneath his home. He had never mentioned them to anyone, not even ‘Thira, hadn’t, in fact, even thought of them recently until tonight. Borl had never brought them back up and when nothing seemed to be happening to Drakthira, Dax had stopped thinking about them entirely. Now that they were off Daegonlot, he remembered his words to Borl all those months ago: “I need to get Drakthira off Daeogonlot, and quickly.”

  Ever since they had crashed all he had thought of was how they were going to get back home, but he wasn’t sure that was the right course of action. In all the months since he had read the journals no chance had presented itself on how he could get ‘Thira away from that orb hidden in the caverns beneath his house in Daegonlot. Now he was finally away and all he had been thinking was how to get back.

  He mulled these thoughts over in his mind as he polished off his stew, sopping up every last bit of juice with a large chunk of warm, buttery bread. When he had taken the last bite, he sighed and sat back in his chair, sipping the cool water from his cup and looking out into the oncoming dusk.

  Lightning bugs were starting to emerge and twinkled in the twilight like miniature moons quickly extinguished. He could barely make out the fog still setting heavy over the mountain pass and the pond. He thought back to earlier when he went to bathe in the pond, it hadn’t seemed like the fog was there then, or at least he didn’t remember seeing it. He turned to Trakon, intending to ask him about it, but found the man studying him intently.

  Dax raised an eyebrow questioningly. “I’m sorry,” Trakon began, “I’m just not used to having company.”

  Dax waited for him to continue, but Trakon didn’t say anything more, merely sat and watched him. Fidgeting uncomfortably, he blurted out the first thing that came into his mind. “So, you said you used to live on Daegonlot. How did you end up down here?”

  Trakon sighed and leaned back into his chair. He glanced at the stable where Dax could see Drakthira curled up next to Sylas. “Dragons,” he barely heard Trakon say, “such beautiful creatures.” He turned back towards Dax. “Have you ever really studied a dragon? Given any thought to their existence?”

  Dax shook his head, puzzled. “A dragon is nearly indestructible,” Trakon continued. “They can fly, but their bones are not hollow or light, they only have to eat once every few weeks, yet never seem to tire. Somehow they can breathe fire. Their scales are the hardest material I’ve ever seen, yet light. They are obviously not humanoid, yet they can communicate with us easily. A wondrous beast, indeed.”

  Although he had never given it much thought, Dax had to agree with the old man’s statements. Dragons were not light like birds, on the contrary, they were very dense and muscular, and although their wings were quite large, they would have to be much larger than they were for flying to really make sense. And, unlike birds, dragons did not have to eat constantly to keep their strength and energy up.

  “I used to be a dragonrider, you know,” Trakon said.

  “You? Used to be a rider?” Dax repeated, surprised. “What happened to your dragon?”

  “Ah, yes. My dragon,” Trakon trailed off, looking into the distance like he was looking back into time. “Her name was Rakisa. Believe it or not, I was the very first dragon rider.” Dax burst out laughing at this statement, which earned him a stern look from Trakon.

  “I’m sorry, but you expect me to believe you were the very first dragonrider? Everyone knows Jessa Dragonheart was the first dragonrider, and that was almost six hundred years ago. Forgive me, I mean, yes, I can tell you are old, but you aren’t that old.”

  Trakon leaped to his feet, overturning his chair in the process. “You do NOT know half as much as you think you do, young rider!” he shouted at Dax, staring down at him and jabbing a finger into his chest for emphasis. “I WAS the first dragonrider, not Jessa Dragonheart, which wasn’t even h
er name! What she did was vile, and the fact that dragonriders today hail her as a legend, someone to be looked up to, is also vile!”

  Dax held his hands up, palms out, in a gesture of surrender. “Fine, fine, ok. You were the first dragonrider, not Jessa. So, if that’s true, and I’m not saying it isn’t,” he quickly added when Trakon’s face began to darken again, “then what happened to your dragon, and why have I never heard of you before?”

  Trakon seemed to deflate, a defeated look crossing his face, despair in his eyes. “Because I failed,” he said, glancing once again towards ‘Thira, who was now awake and listening to their conversation. “I not only failed Rakisa, but all dragons…”

  He buried his face in his hands and Dax could hear him quietly sobbing. Sylas materialized beside him and rested his head on his arm, whining quietly. After a few minutes, Trakon got himself under control and patted the huge dog on his head reassuringly. “I’m alright, Sylas, thank you.”

  “I knew Jessa,” Trakon began. “She was the first human I met on Darkenfel, as a matter of fact. Believe it or not, there didn’t used to be many humans on Darkenfel, if any. I came here on accident, but that is another story entirely, and it was the same for Jessa. At first, we were just happy that we had found someone of our own race to spend time with.”

  He paused, remembering, then hung his head and sighed. “We spent every day together, exploring, trying to figure out how we had come to be here. Once we even tried to get back to Jessa’s land the way she had come, but when we entered the cavern she said she had emerged from we couldn’t find the tunnel anymore. It had simply vanished.

  Anyway, after a while we stopped trying to find our way back. I’m not even sure we came from the same place if you want to know the truth, but it didn’t matter. We were happy. I would even say we fell in love.”

  Trakon’s eyes once more grew misty. “Then I found Rakisa. Quite by accident, I assure you. I knew there were dragons on Darkenfel, this was back when Daegonlot was still a part of the mainland, and I had seen them flying through the air and marveled at their beauty.” He chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. “Keep in mind, I was afraid of them, usually I hid when I saw one flying above me, but still I thought they were beautiful.

  Anyway, I had gotten up early one morning to go get some kalacas fruit for breakfast. Jessa was still asleep, so I went on my own. As I was picking some of the fruit I heard a sound and, curious, I crept through the kalacas bushes and peered out. The sound I had heard was a baby dragon hatching. There were only a few eggs in the nest, and this was the only one hatching and the parents didn’t seem to be around, so I stayed and watched, mesmerized.

  The little dragon was still mostly in its shell, but while I was watching a goriak stalked up to the nest, intent on stealing an egg for breakfast. As silly as it seems now, I was worried for the baby dragon and before I even knew what I was doing I leapt out of the bushes waving a branch at the goriak.”

  Trakon laughed out loud at the memory. Dax had never seen a goriak in person, but he had seen drawings of them. They were large, with dense fur covering their bodies and huge claws and fangs. The drawing he had seen was of an adult, its head was almost as large as a dragon’s, with huge jaw muscles and a wide, blunt snout. Although they were no match for even a young dragon, dragon eggs were their favorite food.

  “Honestly, to this day I don’t know what I was thinking. I stood there waving my little stick at the beast and shouting at the top of my lungs. It turned its beady little eyes on me and I was sure I was about to become its next meal. Instead, and to my utter relief, the mother dragon returned, dropping out of the sky with a roar of fury she grabbed the goriak up in her claws and made quick work of it.”

  Dax realized he was on the edge of his seat listening to Trakon’s tale and that he had been holding his breath. He slowly let it out and sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “Wow,” he said, “that’s some tale.” He thought for a moment, then asked, “Was Rakisa the hatchling you saved?”

  “I can see why you would think that,” Trakon said, “but no. Rakisa was the mother dragon. She was grateful I had saved her eggs and her hatchling. After she had dispatched the goriak she came back to the nest, where the hatchling had finally managed to emerge from its shell. She checked on it and warmed her other eggs, then walked over to me. She was beautiful, a brilliant blue in color with teal spikes and claws. Somehow I knew by the way she approached me that she meant me no harm, but I never expected her to be able to talk to me…”

  He shook his head at the memory. “She touched her muzzle to my forehead and I heard her say ‘thank you’ in my mind. I was amazed and overwhelmed that such a noble creature would deign to speak to me and tears streamed down my face.

  After that, I came back every day to check on her and the hatchling, always by myself. She was special to me, too special to share, at least at that time, and within a few days all the hatchlings had hatched. There were three in total. For about six months I kept them a secret, and Rakisa and I developed a special friendship. She would allow me to play with her hatchlings and sometimes even to watch them while she went out to hunt for food. After just a few months the hatchlings were too big for me to wrestle with, and at the end of six months they had all set out on their own.

  I still visited Rakisa after that, but since she wasn’t tied to a nest anymore, I couldn’t always find her. One day out of the blue she dropped out of the sky right in front of me and once more touched her muzzle to my forehead. Instantly I felt an invisible tether to her, like an open link I could always use to speak to her, even if she were not with me. I was overjoyed.”

  “You mean Rakisa was a wild dragon that actually chose to keep an open bond with you? A human?” Dax asked, unsure if he had heard him correctly.

  “Yes,” Trakon answered truthfully, “we were friends. We enjoyed each other’s company, we spoke with each other like old friends, sharing stories of our lives, and we looked out for each other. Never have I had a truer friendship. Not even with Jessa. We had come together because we were both humans and alone, out of a need to be with our own kind, but Rakisa and I had something deeper, more true, a friendship not born out of need, but out of mutual respect and trust.

  Eventually Rakisa invited me to ride on her back and we traveled all over Darkenfel. We became inseparable and it was then I knew I would have to tell Jessa about her. I was actually excited at the prospect, I loved Jessa and was sure that Rakisa would like her as well and we would all be friends and live happily ever after. What a fool I was.” He shook his head and sighed at the memory.

  Trakon fell silent for so long Dax thought he may have fallen asleep. Just as he was about to prod the old man he heard him say, barely above a whisper, “At first everything was fine. Rakisa agreed to meet Jessa and I was finally able to tell Jessa why I disappeared for hours at a time. They seemed to hit it off immediately. Within a few months, however, Jessa began asking Rakisa if there were another dragon that she could bond with like she had with me. Rakisa wasn’t really opposed to the idea, but she told us that as far as she knew no dragon had ever bonded with a humanoid before and it wasn’t something that could be forced. Jessa wouldn’t let go of the issue, even asking Rakisa to bring one of her hatchlings to meet her, which Rakisa refused.

  I guess it was at that point that Jessa began to distance herself from Rakisa and myself. She would disappear for hours at a time and refused to tell me where she was going. I didn’t think much of it at first, but hours turned into days, and finally, weeks and months until she finally just didn’t come back at all. With a heavy heart, I left our little home and Rakisa and I traveled all over Darkenfel, having many adventures. I thought I would find Jessa eventually through our travels, but I didn’t see her again for many, many years and by then, the damage was done.”

  “What do you mean?” Dax asked, puzzled. “We have all heard the story of how Jessa tamed the first dragon and formed the dragon riders from its first clutch of eggs. If dragons wer
e not typically inclined to bond with humans and elves and dwarves, how did it happen?”

  Trakon sighed and tugged at his beard. “That I don’t know, Dax. When next I saw Jessa she was riding a large yellow and green female dragon and carrying some sort of colorful orb embedded in a staff. I remember it because it had such beautiful colors in it, so brilliant it seemed to make other colors…”

  “…seem dull and lifeless,” Dax finished for him. “Yeah, I’ve seen it, but not in a staff. I saw it in a cavern on Daegonlot.”

  Trakon jumped to his feet. “You know where the Dragon Orb is?” he asked excitedly.

  “Yes,” he answered, “as I said it was in a cavern under my home in Daegonlot. There were also some old journals written in a foreign language.”

  “That must be where Jessa emerged when she first traveled to this world,” Trakon said. “She mentioned to me once that she had kept journals when she first started her journey, but she said they were lost.”

  He paced back and forth, stroking his beard in thought and mumbling to himself. Dax watched him for a few minutes before realizing he had never told him what had happened to Rakisa. Before he had a chance to ask, however, Trakon stopped pacing and looked at him intently.

  “The Orb, when you saw it, what color was it?” he asked.

  Dax thought back to the Orb he had seen in the cavern. “It wasn’t just one color,” he said. “There were many colors, almost all of them really, although I do remember thinking there wasn’t purple or black, not that I saw anyway. I only thought that because I remember wondering at Drakthira’s colors compared to the Orb’s, but it never changed to those colors. But it had most every other, in all different shades, blue, green, red, yellow, orange. Hmm, not white either, now that I think about it. But it also had gold, silver, bronze, brown, and most shades of each. Why?”

  “Rakisa is in that Orb, or at least her essence is, and I’m convinced that is how Jessa is controlling the dragons.”

  “What? What do you mean Rakisa is in the Orb?” Dax asked.

  “I mean the last time I heard Rakisa she screamed out for my help and sent me a mental image of Jessa standing before her with her staff, the Orb whirling frantically. When I finally reached her, Jessa was laughing hysterically and Rakisa was gone, but I remember that Orb, which only glowed yellow with a touch of green around the edge when I first saw it, only that time it had yellow and blue swirling equally round and round, and just a hint of green and teal. For an instant I swear I heard Rakisa cry out from within that Orb, before falling silent forever.”

  Chapter 9

  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”