Age of Valor: Dragon Song

by D. E. Morris

  “Hideo said more and more Gaels are becoming feral, and in doing so they are more susceptible to outside influences or those of their own animal instincts. I know this is hard to grasp as some of us are Gaels, but we cannot ignore the facts when they are staring us right in the face.”

  “You can't just run around looking for dragons like that,” he argued. “Some of them migrate, some of them change their color when they shed scales...”

  “Not so great as they would be unrecognizable,” countered Elas. “Water dragons shed like snakes at least a dozen times in their lives, sometimes more, depending on their age. Though color patterns may change, distinctive features like spinal ridges and eyes all stay the same. If someone was able to be specific enough about each dragon, it would certainly be easy enough to keep track of them.”

  Nuala splayed her hands out at her sides. “Have you all gone mad? Are you hearing yourselves?” She turned an unhappy glare to Ashlynn. “If I am understanding you correctly, you would even have every Gael cataloged.”

  “Registered,” Ashlynn corrected evenly, watching Cavalon take her hand to open telepathic communication between them. “Yes. That way we would know their breed, their mates, as well as any offspring they may have. Ibays has already agreed to begin the process and Siness will do the same in the coming weeks.” Focusing on Nuala, Ashlynn gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know it feels wrong, but in the end, this will help us as well. It will enable us to better protect ourselves and those of whom we keep record. Nuala, we have been friends for over two years now. You know I would never ask something of you unless there was a legitimate reason for it.”

  The older woman frowned, now aware of what was happening, but keeping up the facade of reasonable opposition. “I do know that...”

  “Can we rely on your support of this census in Braemar?” Ashlynn asked.

  Nuala took her time before she replied, pressing her lips together in displeasure. With a sigh, she finally answered, “Of course.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  The winged woman hesitated only a moment before replying, “With my life.”

  “Then trust me now.”

  She said nothing, hardly moved at all, and a tense silence filled the room, broken only by the chirping bird who'd finally found a spot on the windowsill. Cavalon broke the quiet by clearing his throat. “Ashlynn, Nuala and I talked and we think it's time for Nuala to bring Lucien home. I'm staying, though, at least until you get this whole registration system figured out.”

  “Tasarin and I will be returning to Caedia to bring Zarra's body to her family,” added Luella.

  Ashlynn nodded, thankful. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that.” She swept the room with her gaze. “Thank you all for staying as long as you have, and for carrying a little extra weight these past few days. I bid you all safe travels.” Having dismissed everyone, Ashlynn walked right through the group without saying anything to anyone. She poked her head out into the hall to catch a passing servant to have Mairead brought down. When she turned back around, she watched as the robin on the windowsill flew away, the brightly colored bird close behind.

  Nuala came to stand beside her and glanced at the window. “Is it safe?”

  “Is it ever?” Countered Cavalon as he joined them, “So this census stuff...?”

  “All for show,” Ashlynn promised quietly. “I want Hideo to think he's planted a seed of fear in Siness that will spread to the other nations as well. It will inflate his ego, and prideful men tend to slip up easier than those who operate in humility.” She glanced around the room as the others spoke. “I think the only one who wasn't let in on anything was my father. Thankfully he trusts me enough to stay silent.” Watching the group on the other side of the room, she furrowed her brow and looked up at Cavalon. “I've been wondering something...I suppose I should say we've been wondering...why is it that Kenayde has to be touching Elas in order to hear him speaking telepathically? It's the same with any Gael for her, but she is a Gael herself.”

  Cavalon shrugged and glanced at the younger sister. “I don't know. You said she was against the whole Gaelic thing when she was a child, right?”

  “She made fyre in her anger a time or two, and after that, she was staunchly against learning about the abilities we possessed, as well as our heritage for awhile.”

  Nuala's brow wrinkled. “I thought only Elementals could create fyre.”

  “Well, she's a daughter of an Elemental,” replied Cavalon with a shrug. “Though she wasn't the eldest daughter, she still got some of her mother's magic. It's rare, but it does happen that the second and even third born can summon a little fyre now and then.” He ran a hand over his bald head, pensive. “As far as the telepathy goes, she's probably just shut that part of her brain off. She built barriers in her subconscious that she's going to have to actively work to tear down. If she was as against the idea of anything Gaelic in her family as you say, I'm honestly not surprised she needs physical touch in order to use telepathy. It's easily fixed if she puts in the work.”

  “I admit,” Nuala lamented with a soft sigh, “I wish I could stay and support you in whatever may come, but I need to get back to my kingdom.”

  Ashlynn smiled and wrapped her arms around the older woman, savoring the unusual warmth of Nuala's arms around her. “Thank you for all you've done for me this week, and for trusting me. Soon Jaryn and I will have to come visit you with Lochlainn since it is always you visiting us.”

  “I would like that.”

  The women parted, smiling. “Safe journey, Nuala.” Tasarin and Luella were close behind, and bidding them farewell was harder than saying goodbye to Nuala. She hugged Luella as close as she could, feeling like she was sending her own sister away. “You have been here for days, yet it feels like we have had so little time together.”

  “Perhaps you should come back to Montania,” Tasarin teased. “Nothing this dramatic happened while you were there.” Ashlynn only chuckled and moved on to embrace him. “Thank you, my friend. I am ever grateful that the two of us can communicate without words.”

  The elf smiled as they parted. Touching her cheek as her own father would, he kissed her forehead. “Be well, Ashlynn.”

  As those who were leaving began filing from the room, Cavalon followed behind to see his wife off, leaving Wessely, Kenayde, Elas, and Killian behind with Ashlynn. Mairead was there almost before the others had gone, the veil she'd worn earlier left behind and urgency in her eyes.

  “I heard your meeting with Hideo ended poorly. Are you all right?”

  “All is well,” Ashlynn promised. “We were being watched,” she told her, speaking almost at a whisper just in case Hideo somehow slipped back into the room in another form. “There was a bird in the window, a robin. Don't ask me how I know, I just have a feeling in my gut that it was Hideo. He can shift as Misuzu does. I believe Lilia was out there with him, keeping an eye on him.”

  Mairead kept her eyes on Ashlynn, her voice even as she chose her words carefully. “I will do whatever my queen asks of me.”

  “I have staged a little performance for our eavesdropping friend in hopes of making him complacent, if not a little smug in his thinking that he may have brought me around to seeing things his way. In this, I can only imagine he will let his guard down some and give us a bit more of what he is surely hiding of himself.” With an eager gaze, she asked Mairead, “Can you follow Hideo if you are able to shift soon enough, trade off with Lilia?”

  “Of course, Your Majesty.” She bent her head low and curtsied again before departing.

  Turning back around, Ashlynn almost expected to see the bird sitting on the sill. Whether she was right or wrong, Mairead would find out soon enough. She could only pray that Hideo would be foolish enough to linger and give the girl time to find him in her draconic form.

  “Come,” she finally said, forcing a bit of joy into her expression. “There has been a rousing game of live chess promised to me outside and I would like very much
to participate.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sweat beaded on Jaryn's forehead and rolled in a tickling path down his spine. Though it had been eleven days since his ribs took a beating, he still had to be careful about how much he put his body through. Despite the scented and salted baths Cailin heated for him every night, he was not as quick on the road to recovery as he would have been if he had the accelerated healing of a Gael. Pausing in his work, he drove the end of his shovel into the pile of hay and dung before him and leaned on the handle, dragging a dingy cloth across his face. “It's so bleeding hot in here,” he muttered, looking at the other two men helping him clean out the large cave. “How can you stand it?”

  “You get used to it,” laughed the younger of the two men. His long hair was tied back, but still there were thick strands of it plastered to his face. “Be thankful it isn't summer yet.” Jaryn gave a weary laugh, then got back to work shoveling dragon dung into one of the three waiting wheelbarrows. “We're close to the rookery,” the young man continued as he worked, “that's why it's so hot.”

  “Aye, “ Jaryn panted, no longer used to doing manual labor. “That makes sense then, I suppose.”

  “How does your family, Jaryn?” asked the other man, the top of his balding head also glistening with sweat. “I see your brother running all around the island as though he were born here and not newly arrived.”

  “Connor is in heaven,” Jaryn replied easily. No statement could have been closer to the truth, either. He was absorbing every little thing he could about the island, the people, and mostly the dragons. He'd been given the menial chore of bringing fresh hay into the caves for the dragons to use to relieve themselves, but for all his excitement he could have been given the task of training all the dragons himself. No matter where he went, he ended up talking to everyone who crossed his path, asking as many questions as they would answer. Each night he'd come back to their new temporary home, writing notes on everything he learned, determined not to forget anything. “I've never known a child more inquisitive,” Jaryn continued when they all stopped for a break and some water. “My head would explode with all the knowledge he tries to pack in there, and I like to think my brain is just a bit bigger than his.”

  They all chuckled, the older man removing his glasses to wipe his face. “He seems to be a good kid, though.”

  “He really is,” said Jaryn, trying to keep the surprise from his voice.

  “And your beloved?” asked the younger man. “She looked to be the roguish type when you all arrived. How is she settling into more of a domesticated life?”

  About as well as my real beloved would, Jaryn wanted to say, but instead he rose one shoulder in a sloppy shrug. “It will take her some time. She's never been one for patching shirts or cooking, but I think it will be good for her to learn the softer side of being a woman.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Why is it that only the men are allowed to work with the dragons, but the women do all the cooking, cleaning, and day to day tasks of the home?”

  “There are women in the guard and women riders,” the younger man pointed out. “Mostly, it has to do with physical strength. Men are physically more capable of the work that needs to be done here than women, though there are always exceptions to that rule.”

  “Like Gia,” Jaryn hedged. “She's a woman and somehow managed to become the leader of you all...that is, until someone else arrives who demands she bow to his whim, from what I hear.”

  “It was a hard won victory, too,” the older man recalled, looking uncomfortable and hurrying to control the subject. “There are few of us left who remember that day, fewer still who know the truth of it anymore, but she fought for control of this island.”

  Jaryn watched him, noting the look of consternation on his face. “What happened?”

  “We were being governed by a very hard man who wanted to control the dragons for ill purposes. Back then it was mostly feral Gaels and only a few families on the island. When Gia was brought here, she decided to challenge the current leader for his position. She petitioned the founding families, telling them that the Gaels could be trained, but they could be trained for good and not evil. Being half elf, Gia was quicker and stronger, and the duel ended swiftly.”

  “What happened to the previous leader?”

  The older man shrugged. “He had to be killed, of course. That was the only way she would solidify her new position. Gia had to show she was not only in control of this island, but of the dragons as well, and she...well...”

  Jaryn's eyes widened, his brows rising as he came to the only natural conclusion. “She had them eat him?”

  “We were cleaning up blood and bits of him that were scattered all over the island for days.”

  Making a face, Jaryn looked down. “Well I was hungry, but not anymore. Thanks for that.”

  “Come on,” laughed the younger man as he rose. “The sooner we finish, the sooner we can all go home for the day.” He grabbed his shovel and got back to work, as did the other two, but it wasn't long before he asked Jaryn another question. “Will you and your family be joining us for supper tonight, or will you be keeping to your apartment again?”

  “I hear that teasing tone in your voice,” Jaryn noted. “You have to understand that we're all just figuring out our roles with each other now. Connor may be my brother, but he's young enough to be more like a son to me and now to Cailin, and we're all getting used each other as a family for the first time. We'd like to do that before we get to know everyone else on top of that.”

  On their first full day on Ironedge out of the cells, all three of them sat down together to come up with a complete, cohesive tale. They went over it so many times, working out even the smallest details, that Jaryn knew Cailin and Connor were getting frustrated with him, but he knew that sometimes the details were the very things that sold a story. Together, they'd come up with a tragic love story that almost made Jaryn long for his days of traveling and weaving such tales for anyone willing to listen.

  When all the work in the caves was done, Jaryn made the long trek up the mountain to his small home and stumbled inside to the smell of salted meat and baking bread. He only had to peer around the corner to see Cailin in the kitchen, cutting up carrots. “Your bath is waiting for you,” she reported without so much as a look up.

  Jaryn nearly collapsed in relief. “Bless you.”

  “It isn't for you,” Cailin admitted, finally glancing at him in amusement. “If I'm being forced to live with you, you're certainly not going to sit around this house smelling like dragon dung.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Once all the sweat and grime of the day had been thrown out with the wash water and Jaryn was in clean, comfortable clothes again, he made his way back out into the main part of the house. Connor's voice carried down the short hallway, full of excitement as usual, making Jaryn pause to simply listen.

  “It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen! I thought only whales and dolphins had ways of talking to each other under water, but we watched all the water dragons work together to get the net off the other water dragon. They would stop swimming for a minute and just look at each other, then get to work.”

  “Amazing,” Cailin replied dryly, having endured far too many moments of his incessant chatter to be impressed by his knowledge anymore. “Set the table, please.”

  Plates and goblets clattered as they were retrieved, but whatever task was given was hardly enough to keep Connor silent. “Did you know that a full blooded water dragon can stay under water for almost three days without having to come up for air? Three days! A Gael has to come up every few hours, and their blood doesn't acclimate to the surrounding weather as well as the natural born ones.”

  “Here, take this bread.”

  “Also, when they lay eggs, they do it like turtles do on a beach, except under water. Their eggs take only two years to hatch while all the other dragons take anywhere from fifty to one hundred years, and in those two years, the male
and female take turns guarding their buried clutch so no other creature digs it up and eats the babies. The ocean isn't overrun with them because a female can only lay a clutch once in her life. It sounds sad, but when you think about it, any other dragon has to wait dozens of years just for even one of the eggs in its clutch to hatch, so it kind of evens things out.”

  Jaryn finally revealed himself and walked into the kitchen. As Cailin filled their mugs with warm beer, he brought the plate of meat and boiled vegetables to the table. “Where do you learn all this information, lad?”

  He shrugged and sat down, helping himself to the bread that was still warm from the oven. “I don't know. People. Books. There are a lot of books on this island.” He shoved a piece of the bread in his mouth. “Have you seen the library yet?”

  “Connor,” Cailin chided with impatience. “It's not even been two weeks that we've been here and already you've forgotten your manners?”

  He swallowed what was sure to be too much and winced as the lump of bread traveled down his throat. Somehow, he still managed a sheepish smile for Cailin. “Sorry, Cai.”

  “And we don't eat before praying,” Jaryn reminded, his tone more forgiving than Cailin's. “Would you like to do it tonight?”

  “Sure.” Once seated, they took each other's hands and bowed their heads, closing their eyes. “Dear Giver, thank You for this amazing day and all the days we've had here. And thanks for the food. Amen.”

  “We pray also,” Jaryn added, one eye opening to glance at Connor with amusement before closing once more, “for our families back home. We have all been separated from those whom we care about and who care about us for much too long. Let us go home soon, Father. In the meantime, help us to relax into this temporary life we must lead so as not to draw suspicion.”