“As many as it takes for you to do it with little to no effort. You’re still struggling to hold back your magic.”
“Fine,” she went to work to do the steps again. She sent her magic into the sky.” Repeating this process about ten more times.
“Do you think you can control your magic?” he looked at her.
“Yes.” She answered him nervously.
“Ok, we are fixing to find out. I want you to freeze only the stick-man.”
Looking at Zamian, she said a silent prayer. Doing as he instructed, she released her magic. To her surprise, she pulled it off, which brought a smile to her face.
“Nice work.” He was shocked she’d done it.
“Zamian, it’s time to call it quits for the day, it’s getting close to evening mealtime. They all walked off the field together.
“You were impressive how you handled your magic.” Vigdis smiled at El.
“Thank you. I think the cook will have a few birds to prepare for a meal. I feel horrible about killing them.”
“Girl, you better get used to killing things. It’s part of life here if you want to survive.”
She knew Vigdis was right. She’d been a sheltered child; it was going to take some getting used to.”
“Keep practicing, when the time comes, you’ll do what is necessary. It was your first kill, which is the hardest. It is for everyone.”
“Thanks.” She released a deep breath.
“You’ll be fine, El. It will be an adjustment, but you’ll learn to cope.”
“I hope so. I know people are counting on me.”
Back in her room, she took the first book of the stack from the table. Upon grabbing the book, she felt a weird sensation come over her; it was magic. She was a little leery though she didn’t believe Ivoka would give her anything to do her harm. She went over sat down on the windowsill. Opening the book to the first page, it spilled out bright white light into the room. She immediately shut the book. She wondered, did Ivoka mean to give her this book? She was going to find out, climbing off the windowsill. She walked out the door with the book in hand, headed for the Great Hall since that was where her mother would be since she overheard her tell Vigdis earlier.
Bored, Zamian walked down the hallway, he was checking out several different rooms. One was a small sitting room. Another looked to be a sunroom; eventually, he found a library. Stepping into the library, he wanted to see if he could find anything impressive within the room. He walked around the room, looking at each of the shelves, until something in the middle of the third bookshelf, about halfway down, caught his attention, it seemed to be an ancient book. Pulling it off the shelf, he decided to take it back to his room to read. Since the chair in the library didn’t look very comfortable. He walked back out into the hallway, headed in the direction of his room.
Coming to stand in front of Ivoka, El asked, “Did you mean to give me this book? If so, what the heck is up with it?” Ivoka was sitting in her chair. El could tell she was waiting for someone and she wasn’t it, ten to one she was waiting for Oberson.
“Child, where in the world did you get that book?”
“It was in the stack that you gave me to read.”
“That book was supposed to have been destroyed a long time ago!” Her mother explained the book had been used for evil; it contained powerful magic. “Did you open this book?”
“Yes, white light poured out of the book, I closed it immediately,” El explained to Ivoka, that was when she decided to come straight here to ask her about the book.
“Ok, you sure nothing else happened?”
“No, nothing else happened!” At least that she knew of, but she wasn’t telling her that.
“Good! Let me have the book so that I can ensure that it’s properly disposed of.”
El knew that Ivoka was planning on giving it to Lazeen for him to dispose of the book so it wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands. She didn’t like the idea that someone had used it for evil, enough bad things were going on already, as far as she was concerned. The sooner they were rid of the book, the better off they’d be. With that taken care of, she headed to the library to find a book to replace the one she had just given her mother. She was coming around the corner when she saw Zamian leaving the Library, with a book in his hand. “Hmmm,” he reads, smiling to herself. She wondered what a man like him would read about?” She was glad he hadn’t heard her; he was going down the hallway. She waited until he was out of sight before entering the library.
It didn’t take Zamian long before he was back in his room. Walking over to his bed, he laid down, propping his head up against the headboard. Not quite as comfortable as he wanted, so he adjusted the pillows behind his head until he had it just right. Opening the book, he began to read its contents. Within minutes, it had grabbed his interest; it was a book about Dragons.
She walked over to the bookshelves, scanning the shelves until El found a book that looked interesting, she pulled it off the shelf, opened it up to ensure nothing else would happen. Satisfied, she headed out the door. Arriving back in her room, she securely relocked the door. She walked over and sat down in the chair at the table, propping her feet up on the other chair. Opening the book, she started reading. It was like a fairytale with lots of action, plus it contained what every girl dreams of, romance. She sat there for several hours, totally engulfed in the book. It was an excellent book. She didn’t want to stop reading it. She was impressed with the writer; they had done an excellent job. She realized it was now totally dark outside; she knew it had to be late. Her body was telling her so by the amount of yawning she had been doing. She laid the book down on her table before she changed her clothes into her nightwear. Pulling back the covers and climbed onto the bed. As she laid there thinking about the book. She was anxious to get through tomorrow so that she could finish the book. She was hooked on the romance part of the book as she drifted off to sleep.
Zamian noticed that it was now dark outside, he had been reading for hours. This book had sucked him in with the different types of dragons that had once roamed the land. It went into detail about how they lived, what powers they held. It said a group of people went on a killing spree. They had killed many dragons since they believed, they could absorb the dragon’s power. Not being true since a dragon is born with their abilities, not something anyone could take from the dragon.
The dragons scattered to the four winds, going into hiding. No one has seen one except for him. He had been left on Lazeen’s doorstep. As a baby dragon, Lazeen raised him. The book went on to say, Krones, a Dragon God, would one day send an Elite Dragon Fusion who would be the protector over all the dragons. The Elite Dragon Fusion would be potent with magical abilities; being of the pure heart, the Elite Dragon Fusion would be drawn to their soulmate until the day they bond.
Zamian was getting very tired his eyes were getting heavy, he placed the book down on the table next to his bed. Then he adjusted his pillows back down, so he could lay down in bed. He thought about what the book had said. Then of El, could she somehow be involved, could she be the Elite Dragon Fusion? Is that why she is so powerful with her magic? If so, that would explain a lot. He liked the idea of the dragons coming out of hiding to be able to fly free without worry of being killed. To be with his own kind, it would be amazing. Would this even be possible, or is it just a wish full dream. Was what the book even real, though El did have very powerful magic. How could he find out if what he read was the actual truth, or was it just all fiction? Thinking that if it was the truth, how wonderful it would be to have someone save the land, with that thought, he drifted off to sleep.
El woke up to a knock at the door, looking over at the window, the sun shining bright. She’d stayed up way too late last night reading that book, but she couldn’t help herself; it was just too good to put down. She had lost track of time to which she was now paying the price as she crawled out of bed. Walking over to the door, pulling it open. There stood Vigdis, “You may want to come
in; I’m running a tad bit behind schedule this morning.”
Vigdis came into the room looking at El, a tad bit behind schedule, girl you're not even dressed yet. What did you do last night?”
“I read a book; it was fantastic to lose one's self. It was a remarkable fairy tale about dragons, witches, and humans. It had a sweet twist to a romance between two dragon riders. They rode into battle on their dragons to save the day. “Do you think love is real?”
That through Vigdis for a loop, “Hmmm, yes, why? You don’t think love is real?”
“It’s just my grandparents had no choice but to marry to save the Elven race, even though they weren’t in love. Yeah, they ended up becoming friends. I don’t want to marry if love isn’t real. I don’t want any part of being with someone. If all that’s to come about is being friends. I want more than friendship in a relationship. I read my grandmother Kaylessa's diary.
“Oh, well, I know my parents were madly in love with one another.” They used to dote on one another all the time, do anything to make the other one happy, walk hand in hand, ride together, plus whatever they could together. She went on to tell her when her father died. Her mother couldn’t bear being here without him. She died shortly after him of a broken heart. “Now you need to hurry up and get dressed, or there will be no morning meal for either of us. I don’t know about you, but I am hungry!”
El rushed to dress as quickly as possible; she was hungry as well. She didn’t want to have to spar against Vigdis, on an empty stomach, nor the fact she was the reason for Vigdis' stomach being empty. She couldn’t imagine loving someone, so much that she couldn’t live without the other. It just didn’t make sense, maybe because she has never been in love before. With dress donned, shoes on, she grabbed jewelry that matched; with a quick look in the mirror, she was good to go. “Ok, let’s go!” They left her room making their way to the balcony, as they walked out, everyone was already at the table eating.
Noticing Zamian looked like she felt. She wondered if the book he was reading was as good as the one she’d been? Was he up as late as she was? Sitting down, Elva placed a plate of fruit in front of her and Vigdis. They wolfed their food so that they could finish eating before her lesson would begin.
Out in the training area, El had worked on the agility course. She rocked it with no problems, even though she hadn’t gotten much sleep. Vigdis now had her run around the training area to build up her endurance. After she ran about twenty laps, she was now doing archery. She was hitting the bullseye nine times out of ten. She was even getting quicker at re-knotting her arrows; she was almost as fast as Vigdis. Next, they sparred together. El was giving Vigdis a hard time, “Come on, old-timer, is that all you have? She laughed.
“Old-timer aye, you haven’t seen nothing yet, little girl.” Vigdis laughed.
“Yeah, sure, bring it on.”
“You got it, laughing Vigdis swung faster and harder than she ever had before.
El was almost sorry she egged Vigdis on, but she was doing her best to keep up with her. She was getting a workout of her life, though she was having fun.
Lazeen came out; he headed over to the tree, that was when El realized they’d sparred through the mid-day meal. She nodded in Lazeen’s direction, which gave Vigdis the signal to stop fighting. Zamian had just come through the door as she was putting up her axes.
Vigdis, the Queen, wants to see you about something important.”
She turned to El, “You going to be ok?”
“Yes, go see what Ivoka wants. I’ll be fine. Lazeen and Zamian are here to protect me.”
“Ok, be back soon,” as she headed for the door.
“Good afternoon,” Zamian smiled at her, “You ready to try something new?”
“Sure, why not.”
“Ok, today we are going to work on fire.”
As El closed her eyes, she imagined a fire in her mind then imagined it in the palm of her hand. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see bluish-green flames. She thought the fire should be reddish-orange like she used to see in the fireplace at Lesa’s house.
Seeing a look of confusion on El’s face, “What’s wrong?”
“I have never seen a bluish-green fire before; it has always been reddish-orange.”
Zamian smiled as he tried hard not to laugh, he didn’t want to offend her, “The blue flame is in every fire the green part is only when the fire is scorching. You can usually see it at the base of the fire. You can also change it to reddish-orange, as he demonstrated to her with the fire he now held in his hand.
“Ok, cool,” El looked up to ensure no birds were around before she released a trickle of her flame into the sky. She repeated this process, the rest of the afternoon.
Lazeen had told him he was a rare dragon since he could do several magical elements. A typical dragon usually possessed a few magical elements. He wasn’t sure how it came to pass that he ended up with so many magical gifts, but he had them.
Now it seems El possesses a few herself, he thought of the book. He read last night about Dragons, Zamian was beginning to think she might be the Elite Dragon Fusion, he needs to finish that book tonight.
Her business finished with the Queen, Vigdis returned, now sitting on the rock under the tree in the shade. She watched as El, send fire flames into the air, at least she hadn’t fried any birds, today laughing at that thought. El seemed to be doing well at controlling her magic, well as far as Vigdis could tell. Leaning over, she questioned Lazeen, “Is El doing well with her magic?”
“Yes, she is doing amazingly well, considering she been doing it such a short time.”
Sitting there, Vigdis watched El practice her magic. Right up till time for the evening meal.
GURK COULDN’T BELIEVE it had rained for three days straight. He was so glad to see the sun come out. He walked the road with his cloak off, absorbed the heat from the sun. He prayed there would be no more rain well as least till he made it back to the spot he picked out in Valorin by the mountain. It was the perfect place with a lot of brush around it; the fact it was so close to the mountainside made it impossible for the guards above to see him. He had built a shelter so he would have a makeshift place to lay his head as well as to make the potions he would need. He wasn’t far; he figured it would take him another day before he arrived.
It would take a day or two to finalize the potions as well as infused them together. Then he could set to the task at hand. He needed to make sure it worked well enough so he could get through the wizard’s magical spell without being detected. He didn’t want to fail at this mission. As he walked, a wagon came up behind him. He turned to see an old man driving, “Good day, sonny, would you like a ride?”
Not believing his luck, “Yes, sir.” He climbed up sat next to the old man. Well, I am going to the Barking Dog Inn. That’s fine can you drop me off at the former Wood Elven encampment I can make my way from there.
“Sure, thing, no trouble at all. Matter of fact I am glad to have the company, my name is Daryl.”
“Hi, I’m Gurk nice to meet you.”
“You been on the road long?”
“No, I just came out of Kalinera, I’m headed to Elmston Forest. How about you?”
“I am out getting some herbs before I visit a friend in the Elven lands.”
“That explains why you want to go to the Wood Elven encampment. Do they live near there?”
“Yes sir, not far just North of there.”
“Yeah, I trade between the two human kingdoms. I have been doing this for thirty years now. I’ve never settled down to have a wife or kids; I spend too much time on the road. You?”
“No, I travel a lot, no time for family at least not now. Maybe someday, if I find that special someone.”
“I understand, just don’t be like me and wait too long.”
“Yes sir, I’ll try not to.”
LAZEEN CAME OUT OF the door. Zamian followed right behind him.
El realized they had sparred again through the m
id-day meal; it was getting to be a habit with them. She nodded in Lazeen’s direction, as he was headed over to the tree. Vigdis seeing Lazeen stopped, took the weapons from El. Smiled, “Have fun.”
“Thanks,” El replied as she walked over to Zamian.
“Good afternoon, you ready for today’s lesson?”
Lilting her head to the side as she looked at Zamian, “Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”
Smiled, he said, “Just making sure.”
That was when she saw a metal man brought into the training area, “You want me to use that for target practice?”
“Yes, you need to be able to hit the target without setting everything behind it on fire.”
“Yeah, ok.” Not feeling very confident about being able to do it.
“This is why you’re practicing, so if you're ever in a battle, you don’t kill your people, just the enemy.”
Looked about, she saw Lazeen with Vigdis under the tree sitting on the rock. Hmmm, well at least they are in a safe place, they looked good together she wondered if they had ever thought about being a couple? El raised her hand as she focused on the target in front of her. She let loose her magic; it hit the target and took out the grass behind it as well.
“Ok, now use your ice to put the fires out.
Rolled her eyes, she did just that. Released her ice magic covered the fires snuffed them out. “Ok, now what?”
“Again, with the fire, try aim for the middle of the metal man. Remember, only a very tiny amount of magic.”
“Yeah, I remember, doesn’t mean it’s working,” frustration in her voice. Again, she repeated the process. Again, she set the grass on fire as well as the man.
“Put it out! What are you waiting for?” he said impatiently.
Raising her hands, she put out the fire, “There, are you happy?”
“Yes, now use your fire and focus.” Frustration laced in his voice.
“What do you think I have been doing.” Anger filled with venom in her words. She raised her hands again; she lit the man and the grass on fire.
Dragon Fusion Page 11