by Simon Archer
“It still tingles a little… and is warm. That’s a little odd. I’ve never had a shock heat my hand up like that,” I said, turning my hand over to look at all sides. “It doesn’t hurt, though. I’m sure it will go back to normal soon.” Gale stared into my eyes for several awkward seconds before looking away and reaching to close the book.
“That is enough for now,” she said, but I wanted to see more of the book.
“What’s the book used for? Are most of the pages blank like the first ones?” I suddenly had an urge to read the entire thing from cover to cover.
“It has multiple uses, which we’ll get into soon. For now, we need to check something else out,” she told me, turning towards the back of the room. She walked off, leaving me at the podium. I wasn’t sure if she meant for me to follow until she looked over her shoulder and called back to me. “Are you coming?”
I headed her way, very curious about what was coming next.
6
When we reached the back of the room, we were standing in front of chairs, staring at a tapestry-covered wall. The tapestry had images of Warriors in battle and Witnesses preparing a feast woven into it. Gale leaned over the chair in front of her and lifted the bottom of the heavy material, revealing a small, metal door in the stone underneath. She looked back at me and jerked her head towards the door.
“I’ll hold this, if you can open the door for me, please,” she requested. I moved up beside her and leaned over the chair, being careful not to touch her. There was a black, metal lever handle on the door that twisted easily, allowing me to swing it open.
“There you go,” I said, smiling up at her.
“Will you please take out what is inside?” she asked as though I should’ve known to do that.
“Oh, of course.” I leaned over once again and reached inside the open cubby. It was dark, so I was feeling for whatever was inside. My hand touched something cold and hard. I was certain it was metal as I wrapped my fingers around it. Once I had a secure grip on the item, I lifted it out, a little stunned by how heavy it was. Once it was clear of the cubby door, I saw that it was a chalice, made of silver, or a material that looked like silver. I held it in both hands while Gale dropped the curtain back in place, not caring that it caught and wrinkled on the door.
“What is it?” I asked her, holding it out. The finish was smooth and shiny except for the lip of the cup which was scalloped and lined with multi-colored stones.
“It is the Ponatha Chalice,” Gale answered, looking at it closely but not making a move to take it from me. I was about to go about digging for more details when the cup started getting heavier. I pulled it back to me and looked inside. I nearly dropped the thing when I realized it was filling up with a dark, red liquid.
“What the hell?” I looked at Gale sharply and back at the cup. “The damn thing is filling up!” Gale took a deep breath and stepped over to me, glancing in the cup herself.
“Drink it,” she said, deadly serious and staring at me.
“No,” I replied. She must’ve gone crazy. I didn’t know what was in the cup, but the fact that it was materializing out of nowhere was enough to question whether I should put it in my body.
“You need to drink it,” she said, her voice bordering on irritation. “Quickly!”
“Tell me why, and I’ll consider it,” I said stubbornly.
“It will tell us why you are here. Now drink it! I promise it will not hurt you!” Gale yelled. Something upset her, but it didn’t panic her. Somehow, I knew she was telling me the truth. I raised the cup to my lips, holding eye contact with her the whole time. Slowly tipping the chalice, the red liquid touched my lips. It was cool and thick. When it flowed over my tongue, the dry sweetness of it pleasantly surprised me. It tasted similar to wines I’d had, but completely different at the same time. When I had a mouthful of the strange liquid, I pulled the cup away from my mouth and slowly swallowed it. Once it was down, I glanced at the chalice, and at Gale.
“Okay, I drank it. Now what?” I asked her. Her eyes were riveted on mine.
“How do you feel?” she wanted to know. I took quick stock of myself and shrugged.
“I feel fine. How do you feel?” I asked, trying to lighten her mood. That is when I felt the warming on my right forearm. I tried to hand the chalice to Gale so I could look at my arm, but she backed away, putting her hands up.
“Set it on the floor if you need to,” she said. Then concern struck her face. “Do you need to? Why?” I crouched down, set the chalice on the stone floor, and looked up at her.
“I just want to look at my arm real quick. It feels warm, kind of like my hand did when I shocked it on the book,” I told her.
Standing, I turned my arm over to look at it, and jumped back. Why I thought jumping back would be affected when what I saw was literally part of me, I’ll never know. A series of circles appeared from my wrist, and they curved around the underside of my forearm. There were six in total, and each one was about two inches in diameter. The one closest to my wrist had a second circle lining the inside, filled in with jet black. The second one was black on the outside and filled in, but the inside color looked more grey than black. Black outlined the remaining four, filled with a light brown that resembled overly tanned skin. My entire arm was warm just to the point of discomfort, but not burning-hot.
“What is it?” Gale asked loudly, rushing towards me. “You look like you are going to faint!”
“I’m okay. It’s just… I have tattoos on my arm suddenly!” I held my arm out to her, so she had a clear view of the circles. “What the hell are those?” She grabbed my hand and steadied my arm to examine it. It took one glance, and she dropped my hand, looking up at me in shock.
“Everyone’s are different,” she whispered. I don’t think she was talking to me as much as herself.
“What? Who is everyone?” I was less concerned about my arm than I was about the look on her face at the moment. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly let it out. When she opened her eyes again, she looked just as she had when we entered the room… happy and stable.
“You’ll want to sit down for this. It’s quite the story,” she said. “Come, we can sit here.” She led me to a chair just to the side of the tapestry and had me sit. She took the chair next to me and smiled at me. I glanced at the chalice, still sitting on the floor.
“Will we want to be putting that back? Or washing it out, or something?” As intent as Gale had been on the cup, she didn’t seem to care about it at all anymore. She looked at it, shrugged her shoulders, and shook her head.
“No, it’s fine right there,” she said quickly. “Now, I made sure Deyla, nor Aron, told me a single thing about you today. The only thing I knew was that a man had fallen from the portal. As you can imagine, that does not happen too often around here. In fact, there is only one tale of it happening once before, and unfortunately, he fell to his death.”
“Why do you have a portal at all?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem like it is for people if nobody comes through it.”
“Indeed, the portals are a mystery. We would have never known about it if a Witness hadn’t happened to be picking berries in that area on the day the man fell through,” Gale chuckled. “Now, back to you.”
“Hold on just a second. Deyla and Aron didn’t seem as shocked as I would imagine if they’d never seen anybody fall through,” I said.
“It only takes one fantastic story to build enough momentum to travel through generations, Mr. Masters.” Gale lowered her head like a librarian to look at me, letting me know in a glance that it was time for me to be quiet. “With all the talk about men that we’ve had, there is one thing about them that you do not know.”
“What is that?” I asked, just to be antagonistic. Gale shot me a dirty look and continued.
“In Blenwise, once every fifty years, a special male child is born. Before you go asking me why he is special, let me tell you. This special man has powers that neither other men, nor
Warriors or Witnesses possess. How versed in science are you?” Gale sat back in her seat, getting a little more comfortable.
“I’ve taken science classes nearly all my life. At one point, I’d considered being a research scientist for aquatic chemical engineering,” I answered her. I figured I’d leave out the part where my life had been derailed from my chosen path.
“Good, then this just may make a little bit of sense to you,” Gale responded. “This special male child, whom we call The Dragonmancer, possesses something called cellular magic. You are familiar with how each individual cell in our bodies is constantly vibrating, correct?”
“Yes, I am,” I answered.
“The Dragonmancer has the ability to control his cellular vibration,” she told me, looking satisfied with her announcement.
“What good does that do?” I wanted a bit more information, of course.
“It makes it possible to communicate with the dragons on a cellular level, as well as commanding magic at a skill level higher than anyone in the realm,” she tossed out as though I should have known. “Did you happen to feel any different when you were riding the dragons today?”
“Actually, yes. I could feel their emotions somehow. Plus, both times, a weird energy I’d never felt before ended up flowing through my entire body. How did you know?” I understood that this special male she was talking about was only born every fifty years, but she wasn’t talking like she had ever known one, making me curious as to how she could know details about how he would feel while riding dragons.
“The Dragonmancers kept journals which they hand down through generations. The strange energy and communication you feel while riding dragons is cellular communication,” she explained.
“Who is controlling the communication?” I hadn’t felt as though I had any control over the experiences when I was riding Prenna or Allie.
“You are,” Gale answered quickly. “Or, at least you will learn how to be.” She took a breath, waved her hand, and a small cup of steaming liquid appeared on her lap. She picked it up and glanced my way. “Would you like some tea?”
“No, thank you,” I answered. “So, this Dragonmancer… he can communicate with dragons differently, and has a little extra magic. I see how that makes him different, but not how it makes him special as you were acting like he is.”
“The Dragonmancer is the protector of the realm. He is also the only person who can visit the Academy Dragon, who can glimpse into the future. Without someone to communicate with the Academy Dragon, our home can be attacked without warning. About ninety years ago, that is exactly what happened because the last three Dragonmancers were never born.” Gale sounded sad when she talked about the missing Dragonmancers.
“You haven’t had a Dragonmancer for over one-hundred years?” It sounded like a pretty important line of defense to be missing.
“One-hundred-twenty years, to be exact. Our last Dragonmancer died when he was only thirty years old,” she answered. “Normally, they live to be at least seventy and to have fully trained the next one.”
“So, what happened ninety years ago?” I leaned forward, fully invested in what she had to say at that point.
“A rival group of men attacked our town in the dead of night, killing hundreds of us. They knew the only way to get into the Academy was to use hostages as a bargaining tool, so they kidnapped forty-seven Warriors and Witnesses from their beds,” Gale reminisced. Her eyes glazed over as she spoke.
“Why did they want into the Academy? Were they trying to kill the dragon?” I asked quietly.
“They wanted to secure the dragon, chain her down, and take over the Academy so they could use her at will,” Gale answered.
“How would they do that if there was no Dragonmancer to communicate with her?” I was trying to put the pieces together without Gale feeling like I was bombarding her with questions about what was very clearly an emotional topic for her.
“They were operating off the assumption that another Dragonmancer would be born, and they would be able to control him for their own gain. If they had succeeded, they would’ve been sitting here talking to you, instead of me doing so.” Gale blinked a few times and straightened up in her seat. “Luckily, we’d had a Warrior’s ceremony in the Academy that day that our attackers didn’t know about. Many of our best were here when normally they would not have been. Between them, and the additional magic practiced here, we were able to fight them off and retrieve our people. The losses were still devastating, however. Our land mourned for years.”
“If that happened ninety years ago, why haven’t they attacked again since then?” I looked around the room, suddenly feeling as though we could be under siege at any moment.
“I don’t have a definite answer to that. The group was men, and they lost a lot of them. It may simply be taking them this long to regroup. We are more vulnerable than ever right now, however. Our Healing Dragon has been missing for the last three years.” Gale stood up and looked down at me.
“What is a Healing Dragon?” I never wished I had a pen and paper more, with as much information as I was trying to keep straight.
“I will explain that tomorrow. It is getting late, and I need to show you to your room,” she answered. “I know you’ll have a whole host of new questions by then as well.”
I bit my tongue to keep from pressing further, nodded, and stood up. She turned and walked quickly towards the door. I followed in silence.
Just before she opened it once again with the wave of her hand, she turned to me.
“Don’t reveal who you are to anyone you meet just yet. That is very important.” She turned back around and didn’t see me roll my eyes. She’d just managed to conjure up a whole new line of questioning in my mind.
We left the room and went back down the staircase, but only one level. There was a landing I hadn’t remembered seeing on the way up. We stepped off the stairs, and she grabbed my hand, pulling me along at a rapid pace. The place seemed constructed like a damn labyrinth with all the twists and turns and hallways we went down before she finally stopped in front of a closed door. Again, she waved her hand, and the door opened. She rushed us inside and closed the door behind us. I got the distinct feeling she didn’t want me to seen, even though I hadn’t seen another living being since I’d arrived with Aron.
The room was much smaller than the previous one I’d been in. It was about the size of a large master suite you’d find in a fancy apartment building. The ceiling was high, and torches perched on the walls, as with the rest of the place, but it had a cozy feel to it. There were several places to sit and a couple of tables, including end, coffee, and dining tables. At the back of the room, a four-poster bed with elaborate carvings stood, draped with see-through curtains all around it. There was a door on the right side, standing open. I could glimpse a shower stall from where I stood and assumed it was a bathroom. I was suddenly aware of how much I needed to use it. That thought led to the next one, letting me know I was extremely hungry, and thirsty as well. I turned to Gale, who still had my hand.
“I’m going to take advantage of the restroom real quick,” I told her, dislodging my hand from hers.
“Sure, I’ll wait here.” She folded her hands neatly in front of her and stood, statue-like, in place. I made my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. The room wasn’t anything extraordinary but was large enough to be comfortable. I noticed the sink, shower head, and toilet looked relatively normal, which answered my question whether Blenwise had running water. All the houses being made of dirt, plus any light I’d seen coming from either the sun, torches, or candles, had made me wonder about the level of conveniences available. I’d never been more thankful for running water than I was at that moment.
After I’d relieved myself, washed my hands, and splashed water on my still-dirty face, I returned to see Gale in the exact spot I’d left her. Her mood seemed a bit lighter, however.
“This will be your permanent room,” she said, sounding proud. “
You should have everything you need for the evening. Anything else you’ll require, we can get for you tomorrow.”
She walked to the bed and turned it down, fluffed the pillows, and headed to a door across from the room from the bathroom that I hadn’t seen. Opening it, this time manually, she stepped aside to show me its contents. There were shelves of linens, folded shirts, pants, socks, and underwear. It was so neatly organized I couldn’t imagine taking anything out of it for fear of ruining the aesthetic. She smiled when she noticed me admiring the tidiness.
“The clothing should fit you, and there are plenty of towels. You’ll feel better once you’ve had a shower.” She closed the closet and clapped her hands together in front of her. “What would you like to eat?” It was like she’d said magic words because my stomach growled loudly that very instant.
“Running water and food, all in the same five minutes!” I joked, wanting to lighten the mood further.
“You’ll find a lot about this place surprising, Mr. Masters,” she said, smiling. “You look like a cheeseburger man, if you don’t mind my saying so.” That genuinely surprised me again. I wouldn’t have thought she’d ever heard the word ‘cheeseburger.’
“The only thing I mind is being called Mr. Masters. Please call me Blake. Otherwise, a cheeseburger would be majestic right now. If you had mustard to go on it, I’d fall over from shock.”
“We have mustard,” she laughed. “I will have it sent up. Someone will knock on your door. Wait ten seconds before answering. They will leave it on a tray for you.”
“Wow, you really are trying to hide me, aren’t you?” It was a little thrilling to be a huge secret.
“For tonight, yes.” Gale headed for the door. As she opened it, without magic this time, she turned back over her shoulder. “You’ll have enough time to shower before your food arrives. Then I recommend you eat and get straight to bed. Blenwise, and Tri-Academy, start the day early.”