by M Arienach
It took almost a week to master turning, but he was starting to feel the way the air caught under his wings and how to bend them and kite them to slow down the glides. Eventually he found he could also pull himself forward in the air, almost like a swimmers butterfly stroke. Strangely, his passenger almost seemed proud the first time that he actually flew up to the caldera, rather than walk.
The next shock was magic. It worked. Boy did it work. Arienach, the name of his host, had spent much time going over the various spells and enchantments. For a time he stood with his claws and horns glowing a bright blue, while he spat fireballs that would disintegrate large boulders. His glowing claws could cut through rock like it was paper.
He also learned that magic could work like radar and if he was flying, it wasn’t confined to just one plane. He could literally track a bug through the air at over a mile away. It didn’t soak up much mana, either… or he had one shyte ton of it. He also discovered that his “sphere of detection” could work while he was asleep as well. It made him wonder just how the elf had gotten so close, so he asked.
Arienach sighed. “You remember I spoke of not having much discourse with other entities? That was the weakness she exploited. I had long had the thought of ending the eternal strife on this planet and she approached me with an offer to consolidate the elves. Ambition overrode caution and she took full advantage of it.”
“Were the other elves of the lands involved?”
“I know not. But I doubt if that sort of maliciousness was born un-nurtured. The elves are long lived, yes, but they would know if one of their own was doing the extent of research required for that type of spell.”
“Then they may know of the spell themselves.”
“Point. Mayhaps we should remove the threat.”
“Maybe once you finish with your teaching.”
“I do not know if you have realized this, but I am not fading away so much as I am merging with you. The lessons need not end.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
“I was worried at first for you. I felt myself losing my sense of self and thought I would just cease to exist, but now I find that I am not fading so much as being absorbed. I sometimes catch myself reviewing your memories of your time on your world.”
“Will this be a two way street?”
“I believe so. We will need to do something about your barriers though. You keep your mind in a cage for some reason.”
“A cage? What do you mean?”
Arienach sighed again. “You have a concept that I have yet to grasp that is called religion, along with a notion of honor and the “correct way” that limit you. Honor is a guideline, the correct way is the way that works and religion is a way to fleece the believers, from what I see of your memories. Why you would let something like that dictate your thoughts is quite beyond my understanding. The gods exist and they do what they will. Why shouldn’t you?”
“Wait… gods?”
“Yes, after we take care of you and your issues, I will introduce you to a few of them, if you wish.”
I pondered that tidbit for a moment. “Visit the gods…”
Arienach laughed. “Don’t expect too much. They are a bunch of self centered twits. If one offers you something, you can bet that they will get far more from it than you will.”
The thought crossed my mind, making Arienach laugh, that the gods here were a lot like politicians back home. Followed by the thought that this was now my home. There was a part of me that wondered if I would ever go back, then I wondered if I really wanted to. I was rather starting to like the idea of being a dragon. Then, after consideration, I wondered just how much he had picked up from me, after his amusement over the politician joke.
The elder dragon spirit worked for over a week, tweaking and tuning Michael’s mind. Over time he noticed that while his views really hadn’t changed all that much, his way of looking at them did. The concept of right and wrong were still there, but instead of just accepting that something was just so, there was more looking at the reasons why. He had come to reflect that this form of thinking was more of an “outside” view, rather than a driving force.
Reflecting on what he was taught, he came to the conclusion that the dragon’s view was more one of time and deliberation. Humans were short lived. Dragons were not. Things that would be a driving motivator for a human were nothing more than a passing fancy for a dragon. Wars were fought, kingdoms fell. Over ideas that in another century would be viewed as ridiculous. Dragons watched, remembered and learned.
Sometime in the process of his education of the mind, he started to remember. Remember things that he had never saw. The dragon and him had grown that much closer. Once it was realized, it seemed the process accelerated. It wasn’t much longer before few to no words were required to share an idea or a concept.
Shortly after, Arienach took him to the other planes. Worlds, moons, stars and space itself. There was nowhere they couldn’t travel. Then he was shown the other planes. The plane of fire, of earth, of air, of water. A plane of nothing but emptiness and a plane of pure energy. The plane of chaos and of the gods and demons. These were not just worlds, but entire universes. Then he showed the outside. The concept is not easy. Try to imagine ninety degrees from everything.
Arienach announced that I had the very basic concepts of what I was capable of at that point. Strangely enough, it didn’t bother me. Everything happened around me now and little could touch me unless I allowed it.
Then he told me about the game.
A Hunting We Will Go
Graniel was not a happy elf. As the leader of what was left of the guards, he had inherited the duties of the hunters. This situation was caused by a visit by the greenskin fleet in the middle of the night. The had taken the harbor, then proceeded to lay siege the city. The city guards had held the walls for a while. Until the greenskins unloaded and set up their war engines. Most of the guard fell that day. He was tasked, with a small contingent of the surviving guards, to get the civilians and the lady Haladoria out of the city to “somewhere safe”. They had fled up river in the boats they had on the river side of the city. There were not that many. Most of the males had taken off across land with an agreement to meet up several miles up the river.
It had been about a month and of the males that left on their cross country trek, only about a third had trickled in to the new… town. If that was what you wished to call it. All in all, about a tenth of their population had survived. They had little in the way of resources and the hunters had provided a rear guard action. That left them with too few hunters. Add that to the fact that the greenskins didn’t stay put, game had fled or was killed by the monsters. Reports had come in from several other towns and races that they had spread out and were taking over the region. So far, none had found where they had fled, but they were actively seeking a new location that was more sheltered and farther from the river.
So far they had found several game trails, but little in the way of game. They had followed several as best they could, but they were guards, not hunters. So few had survived. They kept traveling away from the city into the heart of the territory. This land was avoided for reasons. There was suppose to be a dragon that lived somewhere in the middle of the lands. A big dragon. No one had heard or seen it in his lifetime, however, so it was his hope that the damn thing had just gone away. He knew better than to think it was dead, those things didn’t die. He shuddered at the thought.
They left the forest about a half hour later and came upon the sight of a chain of mountains. To Graniel they just didn’t look right for some reason. There were no hills leading to the chain, just mountains rising up from a plain. He could see across the wide expanse and nothing moved. He felt that he had a choice at this point, turn around and try another direction, or see if there was something in the mountains. Maybe the game had fled and hidden itself in the valleys and rills. He didn’t like it, but they hadn’t seen anything on the way here. He relayed his thoughts to the o
thers and none had a better idea.
So they made their way to the chain. It was quiet and it seemed as if nothing moved. Too damn quiet. None of them had the desire to enter any of the valleys and there was a sense of foreboding that seemed to hang over them. The chain curved evenly away, broken only by the ridges that jutted out onto the plain. As they traveled around it, in his minds eye, Graniel could image it as a giant ring. It was getting into the afternoon and none of them wanted to stay close to the mountains. The quiet was unsettling. It was that quiet that allowed them to hear the low sounds of what sounded like cattle down one of the side valleys.
They followed the sounds back into the valley which doglegged to their right. Rounding the corner, they found a large herd of cattle. They stopped cold. A heated discussion followed. There was no way that this herd did not belong to someone. The valley was a too convenient corral. So they sent two scouts out on either side of the valley. Two hours later, they returned. No habitations, and no signs of life. So, they had a herd of cattle in a valley with no one around. Another debate follow. They needed those cattle, but if they belonged to someone? Graniel finally decided that they would be better as live bandits than dead and honorable. Besides, the tribe needed the meat.
They organized to herd the cattle quickly. They felt rushed and somewhat guilty. They couldn’t seem to get out of the valley quickly enough. Several riders took the flank to turn them as they left the pocket and Graniel felt a sense of relief as they saw the plain ahead of them. He relaxed slightly only to freeze as suddenly the sun was blotted out. The world seemed to stop for him as he saw the reason. Whoever had said it was a large dragon was not saying half of the story. Graniel had never seen anything that big. It was silver which tickled at the back of his mind. Unfortunately, his mind was not working quite well at the moment. Both the cattle and the horses slowed to a stop as they watched the dragon do a loop in the air then land in the mouth of the valley.
Meeting the Neighbors
The horizon seemed to tilt to one side as I lazily banked. I had discovered the thrill of soaring. Arienach laughed at me inside my head. I think he was enjoying the newness I felt in discovering what I could do. Of course, something as old as he was, it was probably refreshing.
I was learning about the world that I was currently calling home. Arienach had no name for it, dragons only worried about names, it seemed, if it was something they considered important. For a planar, it was just another rock to roost on till it grew boring. We could live anywhere.
Arienach was droning on about the game and part of me was actually trying to listen. Seems that it was started before his time and he knew not where it came from. Players had stats and skills and such. Locals sometimes could join and advance themselves. The locals called them heroes. There seemed to be no way of actually winning this game and there was no clear goal beyond power. The thought of politics reared it’s ugly head to Arienach’s dry chuckle.
Apparently, it had been going on for as long as anyone knew. Levels were gained and sometimes lost. I also found out that there was no resurrection. Even those who did not play for power had stats and skills that could be upgraded. While not a gamer, it sounded… orderly? Wars were fought over this and that, one race rose while another fell. Objects could hold power and items could be crafted. So far, I found no reason to be too worried about any of it since, from what Arienach told me, the closest competing dragon was several thousand levels below me and the locals were still below a hundred.
That didn’t really ring true, as Arienach was brought low by a local. Voicing my doubts, Arienach gave a mental shrug and replied that everything had weaknesses.
We had flown outside the ring while we were talking and I was suddenly distracted by a moving dust cloud that appeared between two peaks in the valley below us. Focusing on it I saw a group of horsemen herding cattle. I was wondering why they were in such a hurry, when Arienach informed me that was his, our, claimed herd. It was a pocket valley with only one entrance, so I brought my wings in close and went into a dive towards the mouth. I was coming in from behind the riders, but quite high still when I passed over them, then over the entrance to the valley. A slight tilt of a wing and I did a lazy turn back, guesstimating the distance almost perfectly.
I felt Arienach smile. Kiting my wings I touched down just as the riders approached. That was when I had my first major shock of the last few days. They were tiny. Arienach laughed at me.
“Let’s see… by your old measurement standards they stand an average of just under six feet tall.”
“I… see…”
The cattle didn’t seem to want to approach, for some reason and the riders didn’t look too comfortable with the idea either. I took a closer look at them, discovering they were elves. I also watched as several pulled bows from their backs and fired them in one smooth motion. I was starting to wonder if I should be concerned when the first struck. I didn’t even feel it. Curious, I watched a few strike my shoulder and neck. They bounced without leaving a scratch. Needless to say, the arrows stopped after a few more shots. I could hear them talking amongst themselves and after a moment, I understood them. Seems I had a talent for languages now. Arienach was in observation mode… in other words, I didn’t hear him. My guess was he was curious what I would do. Come to think of it, so was I. On a whim, I hailed the group.
“Greetings this day. I am called Michael.”
Apparently, I was a bit loud for them as the horses spooked, almost dismounting a few of them. They made no effort to run away, probably knowing there was nowhere to run too.
I heard one say; “It Talks!”
I chuckled and replied. “Very good. Might I know your names?”
To be honest, I was rather enjoying their confusion. I detected a faint echo of mirth from Arienach as well. There was a brief hushed discussion, which I listened to. It seemed my hearing was rather better than it used to be. Since I was about two hundred yards from them and they were trying to whisper. I let them talk themselves into complying with my wishes. Seems none of them was too thrilled with the idea of pissing off a dragon whose fore-talons were twice the length of their height. While they were figuring out what to do, I decided to relax. I lay down across the mouth of the valley and stretched. Finally three of them approached on foot, and I lowered my head slightly.
The lead one spoke… well, shouted. “I am Graniel of the Horiel tribe.”
I chuckled, the sound coming out as a low growl. “Tis good to meet you Graniel of the Horiel tribe and the rest of you as well,” naming off the other members of his band.
The elf recovered quite well, showing himself to quite brave… or resigned to his fate, not sure which. He was quick on the uptake as well as next time he spoke it was at a normal tone.
“I was rather curious where you were taking my cattle this day, Graniel.”
His shoulders slumped slightly. “They… are your’s then.” He sighed. “We did not know Lord Dragon. I give my life to you in payment for our error.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him, that I already had it if I cared to take it. Still, I wondered what would bring them looking for livestock.
“Tell me, I know of no tribe close to my lair, what drove you to travel this far?”
A look of puzzlement crossed the young elf’s face. “Since the green ones invaded our land several cycles ago, our farmlands were destroyed and our livestock has been killed. We come out of desperation.”
I thought on this for a moment. Arienach was being quiet, even though I knew he was listening to what I was thinking, so I decided to see where this would take me.
“First, Graniel, I do not wish your life.” I paused for a moment. “Second, I will not see your people suffer if they come out of survival to harvest my herd. I will offer to you half of them, if you allow me to come to your land upon your return.”
There was a stunned silence which stretched out for several minutes.
“I have no way to pay you lord dragon.” It came
out as almost a whisper.
“Michael. I am not your lord. I do not require payment from you.”
The next period of silence, I crafted minute gem, probably only an inch across and enchanted it to call to me.
“What should we do?” The poor elf sounded lost.
“Take this and call me when you return. I will allow you to take half of my cattle. Go to your people and let them know that I will be coming and that I mean them no harm.”
I watched his back straighten slightly. “I will do this lord… Michael.”
I tossed the stone… carefully to his feet. I watched the flash of blue from it as he picked it up and stared at it. I guess my measurements were off, it was a little larger than his hand.
“Fair winds to you Graniel.”
With that, I took to the air.
Of Elves and Dragons
Graniel was deep in thought on the way back to the village. His mind was screaming to him that he had just talked with Arienach. The destroyer. The king of the dragons. Why did it call itself Michael? He figured it didn’t matter. He could call himself anything he wanted, he was still Arienach. His mind was going in circles as he remembered the stories of the five elven armies that had marched out to fight the winged menace. The dragon killed them all, supposedly with one breath. Judging from the size of it, it didn’t sound so far fetched as when he heard it as a young elf. The story went on to tell of the dragon finding each of the lands that had sponsored the mission and destroying them as well. He hadn’t felt warm since he saw the great dragon. His body was sweating, but his soul felt cold. He felt again the stone that rode in his pack. It was probably worth a kings ransom. For the good it did.