And it was the dragon eggs, glowing back to life in the inner slopes of the Mountain—the next generation of dragons!—bathed on one side by the radiance of the sun shining through the glass slopes of the Mountain, and on the other by the warmth of the Mountain itself, flowing out from the Forge of Dreams. It seemed that there were always glass-winged draconae fluttering over them now, sheltering and nurturing them—and even a few curious draconi, spending an unusual amount of time watching and listening to the unborn dragons.
Nor had they forgotten the egg in the Grotto Garden—which, like much of the lumenis, had been imprisoned by Tar-skel, but not destroyed. Sheltered against the long darkness by Treegrower, that solitary egg had survived. And so had the aging dracona, refusing to admit of any possibility of flight to the Final Dream Mountain until she saw that egg hatched. At first, the talk had been of bringing them both to the Dream Mountain; but the egg was fragile and thin-shelled, and the draconae had decided to weave their spells of growing, and to release the power of the Mountain directly to the Grotto Garden itself.
Who would that young dragonling be? Jael wondered—that lone dragon-to-be, protected against the Enemy for so long, and cherished by a dying dracona to be raised in a new day? She was as eager as any of the draconae to meet the dragon when it hatched.
So much was happening in the realm, and in the Mountain, that time had almost ceased to have meaning for her. To Jael, it was not so much that time was flying by, as that it was standing still. She wasn't sure, really, what time meant, in this existence, so different from anything she had known before. She wondered if this was a taste of what it felt like to live in the soulfires of the Final Dream Mountain. Would she have a chance to speak again with Highwing, when she had passed through that last door? More than once, she had thought that she had heard his voice whispering to her, in the near silence of secluded moments in the Mountain. Was it real? Almost anything seemed possible in the dreamfires, in that strange and marvelous singularity that lay at the heart of the Mountain.
She had already asked Lavafire if the singularity could be focused somehow, to help Ar and Ed and the damaged spaceship Seneca find safe passage out of the realm to a starport in the static realm. It was an idea that fascinated the draconae, and they were working on it.
But it was an idea that saddened her, as well. It was a reminder that Ar and his Ed would soon have to leave. To Jael, it seemed as if they had just arrived, but they had been here on the Mountain now for many shipdays of their time. They could not linger here forever; they still had a mission contract to fulfill, and news to take back to Kan-Kon, and in truth she thought it was hard on Ar to see her here as a . . . living ghost, probably, from his perspective. The friend he had known, as he'd known her, was gone. No longer could they relax in the ship's commons, around the stondai tree, with Ed flitting about. He could talk to her only through the net, and then only to her kuutekka-presence, because that was all she had now. She knew he didn't find it easy.
One way or another, we will return, Ar assured her, for at least the twentieth time, stretching out his hands from the ghostly prow of the ship. It was parked in the outer world, but he and Ed had their heads stuck into the underrealm, as though peering underwater, to speak with her. But who can say how long it will take—or what that will turn out to be in your time? We do have to earn a living. And I'm not sure how many clients will want us to be passing this way.
Awwwwwwk-k-k. Safe now! crowed Ed, Jael's Ed, fluttering out from her kuutekka. Mountain realm safe!
Ar chuckled. Maybe so. But I can't help noticing that every time we come this way, we end up limping back home to the repair docks.
Ed cackled. Good for business—hawwww!
Jael smiled, knowing that there was no real answer to Ar's concerns. Maybe you can persuade Kan-Kon to visit. Starchime tells me that they're almost ready to bring Hodakai here—as soon as they tighten the transport spell just a little more. They're being very careful.
More careful than FullSky was when he brought you here, it sounds like, said Ar.
Jael nodded. Of course, the situation was different now; they could take all the time they needed. And the truth was that even the draconae were astonished at some of the things that FullSky had managed to do, all while a prisoner in Tar-skel's dungeon. Is Windrush going to help you fly out, when the time comes?
Haww, yes! cried the parrot in the ship's net.
He said he'd fly us right up to the singularity and fling us through, if that was what we wanted, Ar said. Not exactly in those words, I guess. But yes—he'll see us off. Here he is now. Ar pointed off into the shimmering, glassy distance of the underrealm.
The dragon was approaching, his kuutekka glowing silver. Windrush! Jael called. How is the new garden coming?
The dragon emitted a happy tongue of fire that shone like a dancing ghost in the underweb of the Mountain. I've found a spot, and Starchime is almost ready to sing it into being with me. It will be a good place to raise . . . younglings, I think. I may have to ask the ifflings to ask the sweepers if they would come create some sculptures for me.
Highwing's spot? Jael asked softly.
The dragon's eyes glowed brightly. Just downstream from it. I wanted to leave his old garden alone for now—the spot where it was, I mean. I don't want to intrude. After all, it wouldn't surprise me if his spirit still visited there from time to time. Windrush paused thoughtfully. Even now, I often feel as though he is still with me, somehow.
Perhaps it was Jael's imagination, or perhaps it was just the fluttering of Ed in her thoughts, but she could have sworn she felt a silent whispering presence pass by her, like a breeze stirring a curtain in a window. And a moment later, she was absolutely certain she heard a voice say, very softly, (Of course I am with you—all of you. I have never left, and never will.) And she felt the presence moving again, and realized that Ed—her Ed—had cocked his head at her, as though listening for something.
Well, she said to Windrush, and saw a similar expression on his face. His eyes, even in their kuutekka form, glowed bright and emerald and deep as a clear-crystal sea, and she knew that he had heard the same voice.
Somehow I don't think you have to worry about intruding, she said to Windrush. With a wink at Ar, she added, Why don't you go sing that garden into being, and take Ar with you to see it happen?
Windrush nodded and puffed another bright flame. I would be pleased if you would come join us, he said. And—Ed! squawked Ar's parrot. Don't forget Ed!
Not in an age! the dragon chuckled. And we'll see that the draconae don't forget you, either. Would you like to be remembered in a song, my rigger-friend?
The parrot cocked his head, but before he could speak, the question seemed to be answered for him by a soft, distant choir of draconae voices, chiming in the heart of the Dream Mountain.
Dedication for Dragon Rigger
For all my friends at Pilgrim,
wherever the winds may take you . . .
*
. . . and for Sam,
dragon among dogs.
See you in the Final Dream Mountain.
Books by Jeffrey A. Carver
The Star Rigger Universe
(in chronological order in the future history)
Panglor
Dragons in the Stars
Dragon Rigger
Star Rigger’s Way
Eternity’s End
Seas of Ernathe
The Chaos Chronicles
Neptune Crossing: Volume One
Strange Attractors: Volume Two
The Infinite Sea: Volume Three
Sunborn: Volume Four
The Reefs of Time*
Novels of the Starstream
From a Changeling Star
Down the Stream of Stars
Standalone Novels
The Infinity Link
The Rapture Effect
Roger Zelazny’s Alien Speedway: Clypsis
Battlestar Galactica (miniseries novelization)
<
br /> Omnibus Editions
Dragon Space (Dragons in the Stars & Dragon Rigger)
The Chaos Chronicles: Books 1-3
Short Stories
Reality and Other Fictions
Going Alien*
*Forthcoming
About the Author
Jeffrey A. Carver was a Nebula Award finalist for his novel Eternity's End. He also authored Battlestar Galactica, a novelization of the critically acclaimed television miniseries. His novels combine thought-provoking characters with engaging storytelling, and range from the adventures of the Star Rigger universe (Dragon Space, Eternity's End, and others) to the ongoing, character-driven hard SF of The Chaos Chronicles—which begins with Neptune Crossing and continues with Strange Attractors, The Infinite Sea, and Sunborn. He is currently at work on the next Chaos book, The Reefs of Time.
A native of Huron, Ohio, Carver lives with his family in the Boston area. He has taught writing in a variety of settings, from educational television to conferences for young writers to MIT, as well as his ongoing Ultimate Science Fiction Workshop with Craig Shaw Gardner. He has created a free web site for aspiring authors of all ages at http://www.writesf.com. Learn more about the author and his work at http://www.starrigger.net.
*
For a complete guide to Jeffrey A. Carver's ebooks, visit:
http://www.starrigger.net/ebooks.htm
~~~~~
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Dragon Space Page 76