“I don’t know if this is going to hurt, girl, but I’m going to squeeze your oil gland gently to collect a little oil. All right?”
Devarius glanced to Ayla, who nodded. He reached back into the wyvern’s mouth and squeezed the gland. A translucent blue liquid streamed out. He dared not squeeze any harder, but he kept the pressure consistent, and filled the entire jar. After it was full, he stepped away and held the jar up to the sun. It looked completely different than the translucent orange-red liquid from the red wyvern. He reached into the jar to touch the liquid with a bare finger. When the liquid touched him, he immediately recoiled, nearly dropping the jar. A single drop stuck to his index finger, and his entire hand began to turn blue with frostbite. Unsteadily, he rushed to the small campfire and put his hand over it to warm himself. He set the jar next to him and stared at it with wide eyes. The wyverns were indeed different. He began to wonder what they could all do, but he imagined it would take a long time to learn what each wyvern’s talent was.
Ayla sat by his side and rubbed against him.
“You’re a blue wyvern. Whatever this oil is ... you have it inside of you. Whatever this wyvern can do, you will be able to do also.”
His hand began to turn black. The fire wasn’t warm enough for his chilling bones. He tried to rub his hand with his other to warm it, but nothing worked. Devarius became worried that he would lose his hand to frostbite. He moved his hand toward his face and saw the small dot of translucent blue oil still on his fingertip. His eyes clenched tight.
Ayla climbed up him and sniffed his hand. A low whimpering came from inside of her. She nuzzled his hand open. Ayla studied him carefully, then licked the oil from his index finger.
Devarius felt immediate relief. His hand didn’t turn back to its normal brown, but the burning began to fade. He smiled as he exhaled. Reaching down, he brought Ayla to his face. He pressed his head against hers.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Aquila dropped to the ground next to him, grabbing his hand. “Oh my ... what has that wyvern done?”
Devarius showed a faint smile. “It’s not her fault. I was the one foolish enough to touch the oil. The fire oil was warm, but not hot. I didn’t think this oil would be so cold.”
“That’s enough experiments for you,” Aquila said.
Devarius’s eyes lit up with glee. “I’m just getting started.”
He stood, glanced at his hand, which had mostly turned back to its normal hue, and ambled off toward the wyvern, the jar of cold liquid in his other hand. The wyvern turned its head to study Devarius. He grabbed a stone from the ground and dipped it into the oil.
“I want you to exhale your breath on this rock as I throw it. Do you understand?”
After a long pause, the creature nodded. Devarius secured his right hand in a glove, turned the rock so the oil faced the opposite direction, then threw it as hard as he could into the sky.
The wyvern watched the rock as it flew ahead. Right as it began to dip down, the wyvern lunged its neck forward and exhaled.
Devarius could see disoriented air in the path of its mouth, similar to that of heat waves, or the heat from the red wyvern. When its breath reached the stone, it soared further, surrounded by blue ice and snow that rushed forward in a narrow beam. A bird flew in its path, and when the ice and snow reached it, it froze mid-flight, turning blue and becoming encased in ice. The block of ice with the bird inside dropped from the sky. It crashed to the earth and shattered into a million pieces. The bird inside was no more.
“That was bloody sweet.” Devarius turned to Ayla. “You’re going to be able to do that?”
Ayla raised her head high and beamed.
“All right. That was fantastic ... but this time, I want you to do it without the oil. You need to learn how to excrete the oil yourself to make ice breath.”
The wyvern nodded.
Devarius grabbed another rock from the ground. “Are you ready?”
The wyvern dipped its head.
Devarius threw the rock as a light snow began to fall.
Chapter 38
Three ships approached Adeth Peak Isle. At first, Devarius couldn’t tell if they were friend or foe, but after a few minutes, Devarius recognized the ship they’d used to travel to the island.
“They’ve returned,” he whispered.
“It’s about bloody time ... it’s been months,” Paedyn said.
“It looks like they’ve been busy.”
They watched as the three ships anchored and began to unload. Hundreds of men departed the vessels, along with herds of livestock and bundles of lumber.
Captain Tynaer strode forward, his hand out. Devarius grabbed it tightly, and the two shook. Both men wore a grin on their face.
“I’m sorry it took longer than I suspected, but once I explained everything to Ellisar, he was eager to set up a fortress over here.”
Devarius glanced at the men and women unloading the ships. “How many did you bring?”
Tynaer frowned. “Twelve hundred men and women, and six hundred livestock. We also brought as many trees as we could to help build.”
“Twelve hundred? You already left four hundred men here. I don’t know if there are even that many wyverns,” Devarius said.
“They’re not all to become riders. We brought blacksmiths, woodworkers, seamstresses, farmers, cattleworkers, and all sorts of other craftsmen. We’re not just here to become wyvernriders, we’re here to build the Resistance.”
Devarius’s brows furrowed. “With sixteen hundred men here, what does that leave the Resistance in the mountains with?”
Tynaer pressed his lips together tightly. “Less than three thousand, with less than half actual warriors.”
Devarius’s eyes bulged. “Isn’t it dangerous to split us so thin? What if the empire finds Saefron?”
“I’ve already tried to argue that point with Ellisar, but he refused to listen. He insisted that it is important for us to build here, train with the wyverns, and create a strong fortress. He believes Saefron will stay hidden, as it has for the last seventy years.”
Devarius’s eyebrows rose. “Seventy years?”
Tynaer nodded. “The Resistance have been building for a long time. However, until now, we haven’t been strong enough to even think about facing the empire. That’s why Ellisar is so adamant on training these wyverns. This is our chance.”
“Still,” Devarius whispered. “I don’t like it. We’re not split by a few miles. We’re on the opposite side of the continent.”
“I know,” Tynaer said.
“If what we’re doing here is so important ... why don’t we move everyone here?”
“I agree ... and Ellisar is considering it, but there are a few issues with that.”
“What issues?”
“This island is small. It is full of mountains ... and who knows if any of these are volcanoes. Also, there lies the question ... is there room for all of us here?”
Devarius glanced around and realized how tight their camp was going to get with the twelve hundred additional people and the extra livestock. “It will be tight ...”
“Exactly, and the most important reason for Ellisar is accommodations. Saefron has buildings. It has homes. Here, there is nothing ... only open sky.”
“So, we build,” Devarius said.
Tynaer nodded. “Yes ... we build.” He gestured to the lumber being offloaded from the ship.
Devarius nodded, understanding why Tynaer brought so much lumber and so many woodworkers. He hoped to build a city, a city good enough to welcome the rest of Saefron.
“So, while I’ve been away gathering men, livestock, and building materials ... what have you been up to over here? Keeping everyone in shape, I trust?”
Devarius grinned. “Your men are well trained. I don’t need to get onto them too often to keep up with their training.”
Tynaer tilted his head. “With that earsplitting grin of yours ... it makes me believe you’ve been
up to more than just training my men.”
“Yes ... and I insist you get those leatherworkers hard at work making saddles. We’re going to need them.”
Tynaer raised his eyebrows.
“It’s a little difficult to explain. Come ... follow me. This is something I’m going to have to show you.”
Tynaer tilted his head.
Devarius pressed his lips together with a smile as he walked away. Tynaer quickly fell in by his side. They walked from the camp toward the mountain, well away from all the people. Ayla flew in the sky ahead of them. When she saw Devarius approaching, she changed directions and landed in front of them.
“Wow ... she’s grown.”
Devarius smiled. Ayla, who only a few months ago had been the size of a medium dog when Tynaer had left, was now the size of a medium horse.
Ayla bowed to Tynaer. He reached out and stroked the top of her nose. “Incredible,” he whispered.
“Ayla, can you ask one of each wyvern to come to me to demonstrate their abilities for Captain Tynaer?”
Ayla’s head sprung up and she nodded eagerly. She leapt into the air and flew away.
“Abilities?” Tynaer asked.
Devarius laughed softly. “Just watch.”
After a few minutes, six wyverns descended from the sky to land in front of them.
“Are you telling me each of these six wyverns have different abilities?”
“Watch,” Devarius repeated.
Devarius reached down and grabbed six medium stones from the ground. First, he stepped next to the red wyvern, stroked its nose, then threw the rock high into the air. He stepped back. When the rock began to drop, the wyvern opened its mouth and a reddish-orange flame blazed from its throat to disintegrate the rock.
Tynaer nodded. “I’ve heard the dragons have fire.”
Devarius beamed at Tynaer as he approached the blue wyvern. Again, like the last, he stroked the wyvern’s nose in greeting. He threw the rock. The wyvern watched as it ascended into the sky. It opened its jaws, and blue ice flashed from its mouth. When it struck the rock, it became encased in several layers of ice and fell to the ground. When it hit, the rock shattered into hundreds of pieces.
Tynaer’s eyes bulged.
The smile left Devarius’s face as he approached the third wyvern. He stroked the purple wyvern’s nose and threw another rock. The creature waited until the rock began to fall, then it opened its mouth and blew. Air from its mouth swirled like hurricane winds. When the wyvern’s breath struck the rock, it thrust it forward. The rock soared even further into the sky until it couldn’t be seen anymore.
Tynaer’s jaw dropped.
“I’m calling it a wind wyvern.”
Devarius moved to the fourth wyvern, a beautiful gold creature. He threw the rock. A bolt of lightning flashed from the wyvern’s mouth. When it struck the rock, it obliterated the object into a thousand pieces. Thunder erupted in the air.
Devarius opened his mouth, about to say something to explain, but he shrugged and moved to the next wyvern. A magnificent green wyvern looked down at him. He stroked the creature’s nose and threw a rock. Green acid projected from the creature’s mouth. As it covered the rock, it began to corrode away as it tumbled to the earth.
Devarius shrugged his shoulders. “Acid wyvern. Think of the deadliest acid from a snake, and times it by a thousand.”
He walked to the last wyvern, a glistening silver beast a little smaller than the others. Devarius grinned at the wyvern and scratched its nose a little longer than he had the others.
“This one is different.” He turned to look at Tynaer. “It doesn’t have any special elements to spew from its mouth, but it has a very special ability.”
Devarius launched the rock into the air. It crept upward, and as it began its arch downward, the wyvern sprang into the air, flapping its wings. They watched as it neared the stone. Before it drove itself into the rock, its body transformed from silver scales to hard silver metal. When the metallic wyvern hit the rock, it shattered.
Tynaer’s jaw dropped as far as it could. “And what do you call that?”
“I’m not sure. Steel wyvern?”
“How exactly does it work?” Tynaer asked.
“The rest of them have this oil gland that looks a lot like our uvula, which has a small hole in the bottom. They can excrete a type of liquid, or oil in some cases, and then when it mixes with their breath, it either becomes ice, fire, acid, or lightning. The purple wyvern is a little different, too. I don’t know how it creates such a strong wind.”
“And this wyvern?”
“The steel wyvern? I have no idea. This one I haven’t been able to figure out yet ... but I like it.”
“Me too.”
Devarius motioned to the wyverns, inviting them to leave. Each one flew off into the sky. A crowd had formed nearby, watching as the wyverns left, many had come to see the wyvern’s gifts. When the wyverns flew away, the men and women left as well, leaving Devarius and Tynaer alone. Devarius reached into his pack and brought out four jars, each one six inches tall and as wide as the palm of his hand.
“What are those?” Tynaer asked.
“These are the oil—or acid—that the wyverns produce from their uvula. I’ve tested a few of them, but like cattle, we can ‘milk’ them in a sense, to gather the oils they produce. They replenish them rather quickly.”
“What do you propose we do with their ... milk?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ve only studied them briefly ... and I’m no alchemist. However, the orange translucent liquid is from the red wyvern, and it is extremely flammable. A few drops can create a large camp-sized fire. A small puddle ... well, my eyebrows are still growing back.”
Tynaer raised a brow while squinching his lips.
“This jar”—he pointed to the jar with a light blue liquid inside—“is from the blue wyvern. It burns to the touch ... instantly giving you frostbite. I’ve also tested it on other things as well. It instantly freezes anything it touches, provided you use enough of it. A drop will freeze an insect inside of ice for hours ... all harmless to the little bug, because when the ice breaks away, it is still alive and well. It takes a few drops to completely freeze a squirrel, but it’s the same concept.”
“Squirrel?” Tynaer asked.
Devarius shrugged. “There is some wildlife in the mountains, though very little. Mostly small critters, but Ayla caught this squirrel for me.”
“What do the wyverns eat?”
“Fish.”
“I hope they don’t eat our livestock ... we’ll need them to survive.”
“I’ll ask Ayla to explain that to the other wyverns.”
Tynaer nodded.
Devarius pointed to the third jar. It was full of a bubbling green liquid. “This is from the green wyvern. It’s the same acid it spits from its mouth, though it seems to be stronger since it isn’t mixed with the air from its exhalations, which makes it spread out in more of a mist.”
“Let me guess ... it can eat through things.”
“Everything I’ve tried it on except glass.”
“Interesting,” Tynaer said. “And the last ... the yellow ooze?”
“That’s from the gold wyvern. It’s ... I don’t know. Liquid lightning? If such a thing exists. A drop will make a bug look like it’s been zapped with lightning. I don’t know exactly how it works, but I wouldn’t touch it with your bare hands. In fact ... I wouldn’t touch any of this with your bare hands.”
“I see. What are you planning to do with all of it?”
“I don’t know. As I said, I’m not an alchemist. However, I believe it is a good idea to collect it. We may come up with some ideas on how to use these oils and acids against the Dragonia Empire.”
“I agree.” Tynaer sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“As if we don’t have enough things to do, now we need to collect sand and gather some glassworkers to create more jars.”
Devarius laughed.
Chapter 39
Over the next several weeks, everyone worked together to build a city. They erected several buildings, focusing on the craftsman shops first. They started with two blacksmith shops, two lumber mills, two glass shops, and several seamstress shops. Homes were their last concern. They needed places for the people to work.
Devarius walked the streets, listening to the pounding of blacksmith hammers and sawing from lumber mills. At the center of the growing city, men had already begun working on the keep. Stones were being secured in place, gathered from the mountains.
If Devarius hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed a city could be built so fast. Nearly all of the lumber Tynaer had brought to the island had been used. Hundreds of saddles had been made for the wyverns, and warriors had begun training aerial combat once more, except this time they could train every day without too much pain. The wyverns’ backs were wider than a horse’s, not by too much, but enough to make it feel like riding a horse for the first time again. Devarius had begged for a saddle for his wyvern, and after days of relentless pleading, Tynaer allowed the leatherworker to make one. At first Tynaer hadn’t wanted Ayla to have a saddle yet because she hadn’t finished growing, and would only grow out of the saddle, but Devarius insisted it could be used on other young wyverns to practice with a rider.
After weeks of training with the wyverns, the two species formed a bond with each other. While the wyverns didn’t have a language the humans could understand, they could understand the humans. Devarius tried to understand how the wyverns communicated, but he couldn’t quite figure it out. Sometimes they made animal noises to each other, but other times, all they did was look at each other and seem to understand. He wondered if they had a vocal language at all, or if they were more like ants, speaking without words. Granted, wyverns didn’t have feelers. Once the wyverns fully trusted the humans, they began to bring their eggs into camp. After they quelled a few humans who looked at the eggs greedily with hunger, Devarius and Tynaer began organizing them by color. Of all the wyverns and wyvern eggs, the silver was the rarest. Tynaer had claimed one of the silver wyverns as his companion, which Devarius thought suited the “hardened steel” captain well.
Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns (Dragonia Empire Book 1) Page 16