~Lao Tzu
Friendship
Everyone was silent after Trakon finished his tale. Daxon stared at the table, his finger tracing the grain of the wood as he thought on everything he had heard. He didn’t know if he believed Trakon was really over six hundred years old, but he believed the old man believed it. No matter how he tried to sort through everything he had learned, starting with the journals, and then speaking with Borl and Trakon, it all circled back to the Orb.
It was hard to imagine something so beautiful was so evil, but he remembered an old saying the elves had: ‘When you see the face of evil, it will be beautiful.’ At the time it hadn’t made much sense to him, but he thought he understood now.
The silence was finally broken by ‘Thira. If what you say is true this Orb must be destroyed, she said. She looked at Dax, sizing him up. Why would you keep what you knew from me, little elf?
Dax looked into her eyes, seeing no accusation but genuine curiosity. “I didn’t intentionally keep it from you, ‘Thira, I saw the Orb soon after you had hatched. I didn’t fully understand what it was then, although I guess I had my suspicions, but as time went by and you seemed unaffected by it, I simply forgot about it.”
He glanced at Trakon, who stared back at him expectantly. He sighed and spent the next few hours telling both Trakon and ‘Thira (and maybe Sylas, it was hard to say since he was lying on his back with his eyes open and his tongue hanging out of his mouth, snoring) about his visit to the cavern under his home in Daegonlot. He didn’t leave anything out, nor did he embellish. He even told them of the little dragon he had met there, Riiele, and of his conversation with Borl afterwards.
No one interrupted him, and when he was finished, silence once more fell over the small party.
“She never told me about Riiele,” Trakon said thoughtfully after many minutes had passed. He shook his head regretfully, and then stood up.
“Well,” he said, “it’s settled then. We will leave tomorrow at sunup.”
“Wait, what?” Dax asked, looking at the old man like he had just grown a second head. “Where are we going?”
“Why, into the Myste, young rider. Isn’t that where the dragon told you to go?”
“You can’t be serious,” Dax sputtered, “Why would he know where to go?”
“Well, it’s the only clue we have so far unless there is something else you aren’t telling us,” Trakon said, looking at Dax expectantly.
Dax turned to ‘Thira, hoping to find an ally. “You don’t really think we should follow this old man and his dog into the Myste do you?”
‘Thira looked at Trakon, then Sylas, and, finally, at Daxon. She stared at him for a long time before answering, and when she did, it was not what he was expecting.
You have both told your tales, so now let me tell a small part of mine, she began. I am not very old, but my mother was the oldest dragon in Darkenfel. I know this because she told me, before I was even born, when I was but an egg, warm and safe inside my shell. I barely remember my mother, but I know she tried to give me the best chance she could, and other than words of wisdom, she also passed on to me true sight.
None of you are what you say, or even what you think. Sylas is a beast of the Myste. He has somehow detached himself from it, and managed to keep his form; a truly unique beast he is.
Trakon, you are a dragon rider in its purest form. You do not seek another dragon to ride for power, you seek to release an old friend from a prison, and that’s very commendable, but you are also a mage of sorts, with the power of the earth flowing into you. This I can see. If I had to guess, I would say you had a hand in what Sylas has become.
Trakon looked startled at ‘Thira’s announcement, but he didn’t try to deny it, much to Daxon’s surprise.
And you, little elf, are perhaps the most hidden of us all.
“Me?” Dax said, truly taken aback by the proclamation. “I have told you everything. I have nothing left to hide.”
Your identity is hidden even from yourself. You, too, are a product of the Myste, although I know you don’t remember. There is power within you, but you have yet to find it. More than that, you are also a true dragon rider, giving your friendship selflessly and without asking for anything in return. You took me in as an egg, you cared for me as a hatchling, and you gave me a family and trained with me, even when I didn’t choose you as a rider. During our trip off Daegonlot, you have always put my needs before your own, even when you were in danger. For that, I bestow upon you my friendship, the true friendship and affection that only a free dragon can give.
As she spoke, ‘Thira leaned her long neck out of the window of the stable and gently touched her muzzle to Daxon’s forehead. To Dax it seemed like a window had been opened within his mind, and through it, he could feel ‘Thira, a large, yet comfortable, presence, lingering on the outside of his mind, just within reach. He knew she would never shut him out again, nor he shut her out, and from this day forth they would forever be linked, no matter the distance that separated them.
And now to answer your question. I don’t know why, but we must go into the Myste. I can feel it, but I can’t explain it. My mother had no fear of the Myste, yet I somehow know it can be dangerous, and I feel like I should know why it is, but I can’t… remember…
‘Thira shook her head as if shaking off cobwebs, then turned apologetic eyes to Dax. He sighed and reached out to rub her eye ridges, scratching them until she began to purr like a large cat.
He laughed at her and pushed her head away playfully. “It’s settled then,” he said. He looked off into the darkness in the direction of the mountain pass. He couldn’t see it, nor could he see the fog lying like a blanket over the mountains, but he found he didn’t have to.
For some time now he had felt like something was calling to him, very faintly, like an annoying buzzing that never quite went away. When ‘Thira joined their minds, the buzzing become more insistent, and he could tell it was coming from beyond those mountains. “We leave in the morning, at sunup.”
***~***
I hope you enjoyed the first book in the Dragons of Daegonlot series. I can’t thank you enough for deciding to read my book. I know there are a lot of choices available, and sometimes it’s hard to decide to read a book from a small, indie author that’s relatively unheard of.
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Please keep an eye out for the next book in the series:
Dragons of Daegonlot: Book Two
Into the Myste
Due out January 29, 2016
Dragon Orb (Dragons of Daegonlot, Book One) Page 9