by Casey Phelps
So I sat in the cushions placed to the side of the room, and found myself extremely sleepy. Here I am in scary situations and I fall asleep the first comfortable thing that comes along.
I dreamed quickly of the place I last spoke to the prince, he was quite agitated…pacing.
“OH, Chelle…” He froze when he finally saw me. He ran to me and gripped my hands, he quickly dropped them. “I’m sorry I had to see if you were real. I had such visions, and I fear something has befallen our friend Re’em,” He said.
“Yes, he has given his soul to save mine. He has died defending our quest. His last hopes were for peace across our realm and he truly believed it lied in our fulfilling the quest.” I said somberly, quiet tears streaming down my face.
“What? He is dead…”He was silent for a moment.
“So you are truly alive, and well? I had feared that you would be killed. I do not feel your fear or hurt though, so you must have found help.”
“Truly I am alive and well, I am sorry to worry you so, and I have found help from the witch. I have passed her tests and she has deemed us worthy even of her betrayal of the wishes of the Lady who is trying to thwart our mission.” I reassured him.
“You passed the witches trial, that’s impossible…truly you are a wonder…” He mused, “The witch is renowned for her trials and her ability to look like anyone, or anything she wishes…”
“It freaked me out a little, when I saw myself coming through the mists all right!” I muttered.
“This is truly more dangerous than I expected. I am surprised you made it through, though I suppose by now nothing about you should surprise me, which is a good thing…”
“You’ve been hanging around me too often lately, you’re babbling…” I smiled.
He started to laugh, and faded as we lost connection.
I woke to the witch humming, and the dragon rose from the nest he had made in my hair. I started brushing out his nest and the mess of red curls that needed a shower something awful. I noticed the witch changed her appearance.
“I see you saw the error of red curls and a small dragon,” I giggled.
She snorted and laughed along agreeing with me. She turned and said “I am thinking my dear child, that you would like to freshen up a bit; sleep seems to have done you some good.” She showed me to a smaller chamber, that held a small pool of water deep enough to stand in, but not over my head, and a waterfall that flowed fresh water into the pool. The pool was cool and refreshing; I washed the tangles from my hair, the dirt from my body and just enjoyed for once the feeling of being clean and fairly safe for the moment. I stepped from the pool to find a new set of clothes. It was a garnet colored dress, the trim was rose, and it flowed from my shoulders like a Grecian goddess. I spotted a pair of sandals and strapped them on my feet, and a cord I wound into my hair braiding it and pulling it into a knot at the base of my neck.
I walked back to the witch’s potions room. The dragon made a chiming noise at my presence, he was excited to see me but not excited about my hair choice. He sulked to his ledge high up in the sparkling ceiling.
“Much better, I must send you off looking the part! You are much more presentable, though our friend will miss his nest.” She nodded up to the ledge with the sulking dragon.
“Before you ask, yes; the dragon will be accompanying you.” To this the dragon swooped joyfully and came and landed on my shoulder, chirping. “Well I can tell he is very excited about this, you sound as if you are not joining us?” I asked.
“No, my dear, I would not bring success upon your journey, for the wrath of our lady will be born this day. Jyar will assist you though. Many do not know but he has the power to heal and he has said he would like to be part of your journey to change the world.” Aemelia stated resignedly.
“Well, Jyar you are very welcome, and Aemelia thank you.” I said somberly feeling this was a day of death for the kind witch, and her familiar was an enormous gift.
“Do not worry yourself for me; I can see it on your face already. I have helped and done my part, you have a guide, and the healer. Go now leave this cursed island, and may the Lord Sun bless your way.”
She ushered me from the cavern, and I blinked at the brightness of the sunlight outside. Jyar flew ahead his scales flashing in the sunlight and cutting through the heavy mists, they hung low as if indicating their mistress mood. He jutted through the foliage to chirp at me and I knew he wanted me to follow him, and he lead me quickly through the dense forest, and we were at the shore in no time. The mists did not bother us, the vines did not reach, and the flowers just sat innocently. We reached the shore and the boat came into view. I reached for the wooden craft and boarded the dragon flitted through the murky waters. He was not bothered by the deathly oasis. We landed on the other side and I scrambled off the boat to the place where I left Artileon and Re’em. I saw Jyar land on the unicorn’s forehead, and he made a keening sound mournful and sad. Then shook his head and went to the comatose Artileon. He landed on the bandaged torso, and curled up as if to sleep. I was amazed as he started to glow and the light quickly immersed the Prince’s whole body. Like waves of heat rolling off the dragon’s scales, the healing rays spread through the prince. It took a long time; I just sat and watched as the sun went down. Then the light flowed away and the dragon and Artileon just slept. Afraid to wake them I made myself comfortable and fell asleep too.
In the morning’s light I awoke. The dragon and Prince were still sleeping. The dragon was glistening, and the prince looked much better. His face had its color back, and the burns that had covered him were healed his lips were no longer parched and broken.
The dragon was asleep on the bandages so I could not see any more of the miraculous changes the dragon had done overnight. So I set about seeing to our supplies and what we would need to continue traveling. I was purposefully not looking at the place where Re’em lay, though I could not help my mind from wandering to deep sorrow at the loss of his friendship. I came away from the horses and sat beside our fallen friend.
I brushed some sand from his face, and smoothed his hair he was in human form. I pulled him from his pose of rigid agony and pulled a flower and placed it upon his chest, when I did I noticed a paper in his pocket. I pulled it out to look at what he had written.
****
Dearest Raechelle,
I know that if you are reading this then I am no longer a part of your journey. I had hopes that I would have the time to woo you to our court, my people adore you and you will be a great queen. The prophecy did not say which throne you had to sit upon.
Since I am no longer living you must also know that I chose to follow you wherever this path lead us, and I did make the choice and you have no need to feel responsible for my death. I am truly grateful that I was allowed to accompany you this far and that my death helped you in some way to further our goals of peace, and to end this curse. You will be honored as a friend of the Forbidden lands as I was honored to be a friend to you.
Furthermore, I ask that you would return me to my father; I know that you’ll likely have more important things to do, but you went back for the prince, please come back for me. There are two more letters I have each addressed if you would give them to the intended reader I would be eternally grateful.
I bless you from my resting place and hope you find what you are looking for.
Goodbye, my princess.
Re’em
****
Here come the tears, I couldn’t hold them back. I leaned over his body and cried.
Artileon woke to hear Raechelle crying. He sat up, groaning at his unused muscles, when a red winged thing rose from his belly, and chimed. He was astonished to see the young dragon in front of him. The dragon went to Chelle and landed on her protectively. He walked to where Re’em lay and Chelle was crying over him. He set his hand on her back with the dragon eying him warily.
“OH, Artileon!” She exclaimed.
She turned and cried some more, cr
umpling a paper in her hand. His heart broke to see her distressed, and help her until she quieted.
“I’m sorry, I just...” she blubbered.
“It’s ok,” he stumbled on the words unsure of how to comfort her.
“Oh, I am so glad you are ok, I was so worried.” She started looking him over. So he let her check and remove the bandages while he just stared at her. In the week he had been ill he had dreamed of her, and now standing in front of him, his dreams had not done her justice.
She had pulled off all the bandages and there was nothing but a pink scar pulling the muscles and skin taught and as she was examining his stomach, he noticed the dragon tattoo on her neck, he reached out and traced the red dragon.
She froze when he touched her, his touch sent shivers down her back.
He stepped back from her tracing the wound on his stomach and she pulled up and her cheeks were bright red. He looked at her again, the dress she had on was a deep red and flowed like water across her body, you would think it would clash with her hair but it complemented her completely. Dragon marked, she was dragon marked, and the dragon had healed him.
“Dragon marked…” He said.
“Dragon marked?” She repeated.
“Yes, I do not think I have ever met anyone who has been dragon marked, not even the witch was marked though he was her familiar. He has lived alongside her for most of the last one hundred years. The dragon will choose only one to place his mark, and will devote its life to the one he marks. It is the highest honor and rarely given.”
“May I see the mark again?” he approached her hesitantly, and she cocked her head to the side to afford him a better view, he traced his fingers along the sinuous lines of the dragon.
“The mark also awakens the ability in you to shift. You are no longer an ordinary human; then again I am not sure you were ever ordinary.” He said softly.
“I am going to change into a dragon!!!” I exclaimed.
“I did not say that I said that you can sift now, I have no clue what you can sift into, or when the gift will manifest,” He explained.
I sat down in the sand my head spinning with this new change of events. The dragon was flitting around and came to land on my shoulder, making little chiming sounds. I knew he wanted me not to be sad, and wanted me to be happy for the gift. I sighed, and said thank you and gave him a small smile. At this the dragon jumped and did flips in the air. This earned him an even broader smile. He landed and then sifted, startling me. He was very short and had a red beard. Beady eyes, and wore the most unusual outfit made of metal links shaped like dragon scales. “I am Jyar, my princess I am a dwarf, but mostly a dragon.” He smiled; it was slightly askew and mischievous. I should have been used to this however; it still surprised me that every being here was two natured. His voice was gruff and gravelly; it somehow matched his rather curious appearance. He reached down to take something from the sand, and quickly went to the water.
“Stop!!!” The prince and I shouted at the same time.
Jyar just grinned, knelt down and washed the item he picked up in the murky water. He stood and walked to where I am sure we were standing with our mouths agape and eyes wide, as nothing happened to the dwarf. I belatedly remembered him swimming in the waters the day before. He explained, “After years of traveling with the witch I was given certain gifts, her magics have no effect on my person, or objects I handle. You can say I am immune, before I had to cross just as you did taking the boat across and stomping through her mists, now I can fly and even take a nice refreshing dip in the waters if I want!”
Then he sobered, “or I could…”
He was rubbing a shiny stone in his fingers; it must be what he had picked up and washed off. He presented it to us both to see. It had the dragon’s symbol of friendship, and the stone hummed with the witch’s power. As we watched the stones magical glow dimmed from a fiery red, to purple, to blue, to a transparent icy blue. The etched symbols only visible as the dwarven dragon rubbed its facet.
“She gave her life in sacrifice to this quest, let us honor her by fulfilling it and thwarting the plans of those who would have us fail.”
Amelia the witch was dead.
****
Chapter 20
The MARK of the Dragons - the most sacred of oaths, binding a life to a life. Not only that a magical change the shifting from one form to another. The Second nature can only be given to a human. The bearer of the mark will be given a life span to match the dragons, and is impervious to ailments and diseases.”
Well, this marks a major turning point in my life here the more I learn and the more in encounter of these strange creatures of which I suppose I am myself, I am astonished. I am more than a little afraid, what would I be, would I like it, would I want to change, would it change who I am. Until now I never questioned going home to Caspara or staying here in Dalthimus, what time had passed, how this would affect my life in either place, or what future I had to look forward to. Is it bad I never even spared a thought about going home, not that I called a place here home, but here I had purpose. I had my family back on my world, and my friends. Here on this world, I had made sort of a new family out of my companions. Certainly my family missed me, if any time had passed since my trip down the dirty tunnel, as I had missed them. Of course not knowing how much time had passed since coming here, I couldn’t believe I had already been here six months.
Here I was needed, people depended on me, trusted me. That was a powerful feeling, but what after this was all over…
I was brought out of my revelations to hear the dragon keening a mournful song. I looked to our fallen friend, and the tears welled up in my eyes yet again. The dragon sat once again on the unicorn’s forehead, the Prince hummed along a haunting duet to the dragons lament. As they hummed, I walked forward and brushed a few grains of sand, wondering what we were to do now. As my fingers touched Re’em a glowing was showered over his body, and the sands rose around him encasing him in a tomb of swirling sands. Glass formed a clear enclosure laced with the designs I recognized from Re’em’s horn, and depicting his heroic death and his undying friendship and loyalty. I am not sure what made me reach out, I felt compelled to touch the glass. As I did, it pricked my fingers, taking the blood that welled from the cut, and it swirled in the designs showing the thread that had bonded the unicorn to my soul.
I took a deep breath as I stepped away. It was beautiful and fitting burial of the Princely Unicorn. The dragon came to rest on my shoulders, and ended his song. Artileon traced away the tears that were staining my cheeks, and said.
“This is the temporary resting place of a great friend, a loyal unicorn, and hero worthy of the name. His sacrifice was for the whole of the world we live in to chase away the darkness and bring back the light. We will return and take you home as we complete our journey, you will not be forgotten. Goodbye.”
He walked away, leaving me and the dragon. I stood empty, I had nothing left to give, was it wrong of me to have nothing left to grieve my friend. I checked my pocket for the letters he had given me; I looked again at who they were written to, one for his father, and one for Artileon. I glanced to where the Prince was slowly putting things together for a meal. I handed him the letter, taking off where he had stopped preparing. He sat to read what I had given him. After reading what was written, he sat for a while, then not speaking to anyone he got up and we broke bread and ate in silence. The dragon said that Artileon should allow time to mend internally. The poison was gone and the external injuries were mended, but he was not completely healed. On the rising of the Harvest Moon we broke camp leaving the oasis behind. The dragon was curled up in the nest he made in my horses mane. We agreed this was the best place for him to ride, even though my hair was his favorite. I was afraid of his falling out and or me swatting him as we rode. My hairs were known to be unruly, and I wasn’t used to him on my shoulder or in my hairs, his little claws tickled. He told us we should continue our journey towards the setting of the sun, th
ere we will find our answers. I have no idea how he knows this, but when in dwarf form he constantly rubs his icy stone. It disappears when he sifts and that is his preferred form, and with no other means of transportation for him it is the easiest for him to travel with us.
So our travelers set off in the sunset… but this was not the end… but another beginning.
The days were long, the nights were longer still, yet they never seemed to get enough rest, and stayed edgy. The days on the sandy dunes were blistering, and the nights grew colder as we traveled. At last we came upon the edge of the sands and like walking from one page of a book to the next they were looking at grassy plain, long tall grasses that waved and said farewell to the Harvest Moon and welcomed the Hunter’s Moon. We were happy to leave the sand in our bags, and shoes, and clothing behind, but found no shade. So the cold sun shone down on us as we rode along. Before too long the sun set upon the grassy plains and we made camp. The nights were giving way to winter’s chill.
Now that I was no longer simply a “human” and I had been given the “gift” of sifting. I was inundated with the hierarchy of the beast.
****
Chapter 21
Hierarchy- in nature this is simply an order of increasing wholeness. The whole of one level becomes a part of the whole of the next. In human nature however we mess this up and the sum of the parts doesn’t always make up a whole. Yet we cling to the hierarchy as if it is a religion, I suppose to some it is.
Each bestial variety has chosen it’s royal line, through which the kings and queens would be descended, some of the varieties, have chosen to rather join with a stronger group, and in the days of the Lord Sun, these members would have a non-royal but noble beast on the ruling council. This has deferred in the present times to “The Council” run by the order of the Ladisians and they are the true ruling power in these troubled times.
The rulers were set forth originally by the ruling families chosen by their kind at the time of the Lord Sun, during his time on the plane he would bless the ruling families once chosen and they would then set the rules and ordinances for the society. Any numbers of beasts now are abdicating their royal status to be joined with the conquering kingship or freely surrendering to the fiercer and stronger royal parties.