Deragan Sword Prophecy: Book 02 - Meladrom

by Rosemary Lynch

  ***

  Kainan clenched his eyes shut at the force of the take-off. Slowly and with a nervous breath, he opened his eyes. Soon they were wide with wonder as he looked down on the castle and the city below at the crowds that had gathered in the courtyard. They were like tiny ants scurrying about. He relaxed and the dragon felt his tension ease from his body.

  “Now my King do you remember how much you enjoyed riding upon my back and soaring through the open skies?” Regretfully Kainan shook his head.

  “No Meladrom I do not,” he shouted, but grinning he added, “I can see why I would have. This is fantastic!” he cried, removing his hands briefly from the dragon’s back and waving them in the air, feeling the force of the wind against them.

  “My King, ready your sword!” Meladrom cried, as they approached the magical field of the boundary. Quickly pulling the Deragan sword from its sheath, he raised it.

  “Open eslora melcant!” As Kainan chanted, the sword emanated a massive beam of light that shot towards the shimmering ceiling of the boundary drawing the beam in a diagonal slice he opened a gap large enough for them to pass through. Spinning around the young Prince watched the rift repair itself, how had he known how to do that? Staring open mouth and in utter disbelief he frowned, as he could no longer see the castle or the city. Instead, an illusion of barren swamplands was in its place. He turned back to the front; ahead of them was a mountain, which stretched high into the clouds.

  Shaking his head, he muttered to himself how incredible it all was no wonder Gemini had not found them, as there was nothing to find! He began to relax as they soared through the sky, the wind crisp and fresh against his face and he smiled, gazing down at the landscape below. As they flew around the mountain, Kainan sat up sharply. There it was the old Kingdom, the castle. The city looked massive even from up here, he could see it was definitely deserted and parts lay in ruin. He sighed sadly, it must have been such a fantastic place at one time and his heart shook for a moment as he thought back to what Meladrom had told him, that he and Arweyn had once ruled this incredible place. If only he could remember. A river flowed out of the mountain and meandered alongside the outskirts of the city, a branch of which ran through the city centre, before continuing through a valley towards the mountain ranges in the distance.

  “We will have to fly lower now my King to avoid being detected by Gemini and his creatures. It is still a great risk for us to do this but there is no other way to reach the dragons.” Meladrom flew low, the great dragon’s wings gliding effortlessly as he began to descend. Below them was a valley cut in between two mountain ranges.

  “The Parneer Mountains.” Meladrom had informed him. Maintaining a firm grip on the dragon’s scales Kainan leaned over look below him. It was not a comfortable ride as the dragons’ scales were sharp, but the thrill of the ride far outweighed the discomfort. He found it incredible that all this was happening to him, he was sat upon a real live dragon flying through the skies, it was crazy! He smiled to himself he could not wait to get back and tell Arweyn, she would be absolutely enthralled by all of this. He chuckled, probably completely terrified as well.

  “We will descend now my King, the entrance to the dragon’s lair is just ahead of us.” Tipping forward, and rotating his wings, he descended sharply. Kainan increased his grip. Soon they were down in the valley and a river meandered its way along the bottom. The river Paar Meladrom had informed him. Drawing in his wings, he hurtled through the air, flying almost level with the water. A grin crossed the dragon’s face, and he dropped his talons into the water.

  “Meladrom,” Kainan cried, as the river water sprayed into his face. A puff of smoke snorted out of the dragon’s nose as he laughed, amused by his own antics. Kainan shook his head.

  “Very funny,” he chuckled, as he dared to let go with one hand to wipe the water from his face, a dragon with a sense of humour.

  Without warning, Meladrom banked hard right and began careering towards the cliff face with his wings tucked in close to his body. Kainan gripped tighter as a wave of panic swept through him. What was he doing?

  “Meladrom do not you think you should slow down?” he cried in alarm, moments from impact. The dragon merely laughed as it headed straight into the rock face. Kainan’s arms flew to his face protectively; this dragon was crazy! Then the cliff was no more. Pulling his hands back down, he swung a glance behind him. They had gone through an entrance, a deception of cover and now they were flying down a huge dark tunnel within the mountain itself.

  “What was that?” he asked the dragon.

  “It is not only Malgar that is hidden under a cloak of deception. So too is the dragon’s lair,” the great dragon replied, landing with a thud in a dark cavern. Kainan sat in darkness, swallowing somewhat nervously. He was in a dragon’s lair, and somewhere within this darkness slept fourteen dragons.

  “Meladrom?” he questioned, with a slight tinge of shakiness in his voice.

  “Yes my King,” he replied.

  “If I awaken these dragons, they are going to be hungry, right?”

  “Indeed Sire, as am I.” Kainan nodded, screwing up his nose.

  “They will not think that I am their dinner?” he whispered. Meladrom laughed.

  “My King if we dragons would think that, I would have eaten you already.”

  “Thanks that is encouraging, I am sure.” Kainan huffed.

  “Do not worry, you thought of that many years ago. To a chamber to our left, there are fourteen cows, sheep, and pigs also sleeping. May I suggest that you awaken them first to allow time for their blood to warm?” He cringed, what a pleasant thought.

  “Illumanartry,” he whispered, raising his hand forward. In an instant, the end of his index finger became alight with a flame. The cavern lit with just enough light for him to see a number of metal sconces rammed into the cavern wall. Throwing his leg over the dragon, he slid off and walked over to them, lighting the candles that sat proudly in each sconce. Soon the whole cavern was illuminated. He swallowed nervously, his eyes taking it all in. The chamber itself was vast, and great stalactites hung from the roof of the cavern. Water slowly dripped down the walls running into wells on the cavern floor, it was damp and the air smelt musty. He walked further into the cavern, and there in front of him, as if set in stone, were fourteen dragons. They were huge, monstrous creatures that towered above him, their wings tightly curled about them.

  “Wow,” he murmured.

  “Indeed,” Meladrom replied, with a gentle nod of his head. The great dragon began to walk around each one. Kainan, held his hand firmly on the dragon’s shoulder, as he walked with him.

  “Eon,” Meladrom said, turning to him. “Son of Keesra, here.” he nodded to the second dragon. “Sirap her mate.” He moved forward. “Dorac, Erandril and Volon.” Kainan nodded. Even though cast into stone, each dragon was distinct and completely different from one another, both in size and in facial characteristics. Meladrom continued. “Storm, Asangard, Kala and Kala’s sons Rohan and Temock. Xen Ayver and the largest is Galtec.”

  “If I awake them now, they will have to remain hidden, otherwise you said yourself Gemini will sense them.”

  “Young King that is correct, they are aware of this and will only hunt at night within the depth of this valley. They will need to build their strength ready for battle.” Kainan looked at him.

  “Battle?” The dragon nodded.

  “Indeed. The time will come when we shall rise against Gemini and strike him and his bastard black dragons down. Gemini‘s fortress is impenetrable you will need our distraction to enable you to get in and take the Gameron Sword.” Kainan nodded slowly. It was hard to believe that only five months ago, he was nothing more than a carpenter and here he was now talking and preparing for a battle with a dragon and searching for a lost empire! He took a sharp breath, his empire that sure was one hell of a destiny. He just wished so much that he could remember his past. There were snippets of familiarities, Arweyn. He smiled. He had known fr
om the very beginning that he knew her and he would always be with her. He had also felt he could trust the dragon, enough to let him bring him here, into the dragon’s lair. He too, had been familiar to him, from that first time when he entered the courtyard at Malgar and saw the great dragon statue in the fountain. Although he still could not remember the time they had known each other in his previous life, his senses told him that they had once been very close, good friends who had trusted each other. Meladrom nudged him with the tip of his snout.

  “What are you thinking my King?” the dragon asked, seeing the faraway look in his eyes. He smiled, his hand pushing firmly on the dragon’s chest.

  “I was just wishing that I could remember you and the other dragons.” Meladrom nodded.

  “Do not worry, soon you will call upon the great Ophidian, and he, I am sure, will unlock your memory.”

  “Who is Ophidian?” Kainan questioned. He remembered that name from the book he and his brother had read. The great dragon sank onto his knees.

  “Ophidian is the great water-dragon who guards the entrance to the hiding place of your people.”

  “Where do I find this Ophidian?” Kainan asked.

  “He lies within the great lake at the bottom of the Shankar Mountains.”

  “And he will guide us to our people?”

  “He will guide you my King and your Queen. For you two alone must complete this quest, it is your destiny. I shall remain here until it is time for me to lead the dragons into battle. We cannot risk Gemini discovering you our advantage is what he does not know.”

  “How will I find him?

  “First you must find the Elwins,” Meladrom instructed. Kainan shook his head.

  “The Elwins, what are Elwins?”

  “Elwins were once great allies of Malgar and are found through a portal to their world of Darco. You entrusted them with the knowledge of the whereabouts of Ophidian. As they were not of this world, you believed it was the safest place. The portal was then closed so Gemini would not find them.”

  “If the portal is closed how will I find them?” The dragon shuffled on his knees, holding his right forearm forward he offered it to Kainan.

  “Remove the middle claw.” Kainan’s eyebrows raised and he shook his head.

  “I’m not pulling your claw off!”

  “It is okay, it is not real. It will not harm me.”

  He bit on his lip, and then nodded apprehensively. Reaching forward he began pulling at Meladrom’s claw. After a few tugs the claw came off in his hands. The dragon roared and smoke puffed out of his nose. Kainan jumped back from him in fright.

  “I thought you said it would not hurt!” he cried. The dragon snorted.

  “It did not!” Then he grinned at him “Now look inside,” the dragon instructed. Kainan looked at him raising an eyebrow. He shook his head taking a steadying breath this dragon was a worse practical joker than he was. Looking inside the claw, he could see something wedged at the bottom. He fished around inside with his finger and pulled out a piece of parchment. He opened it.

  “It is a map,” he confirmed. Meladrom blinked slowly as he nodded his head.

  “Turn it over,” the dragon whispered. Kainan flipped the piece of parchment, promptly staring in disbelief. His eyes shot up to the dragons, wide and excited.

  “I do not believe it. It is a message for me from me and it is in my own hand!” he exclaimed, and then promptly he began to chuckle, soon he was laughing and within seconds the dragon was laughing along with him.

  “It is insane!” Kainan cried, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. Meladrom nudged him affectionately with his snout.

  “I remember when you wrote this. It made you laugh then, despite the chaos and the despair. You just laughed and laughed at the thought of yourself reading your own message.” Kainan grinned at him as he began to read the message.

  “Kainan….” It started. “I know you are probably laughing as you read this message at how totally ridiculous and impossible all this is to have happened to you. Please believe me when I tell you (or rather tell myself!) that everything you have been told is true. As you have the power to awaken Meladrom, I can only assume, with a happy heart, that you have found Arweyn, or she found you. (Me!) I thank the spirits that the prophecy was true and that they have brought us both back together.” He looked up at the dragon, and then continued.

  “Here in your hands you hold the map to the world of Darco, the world of the Elwins. I will presume that Gemini is still alive otherwise; Meladrom would have taken you straight there. Do not worry if, when you reach your destination, you find nothing. The Elwins will know you are coming and they will find you. You must take Arweyn with you. I know it dangerous, and I know you would want to protect her from harm as I would, but you must both be there in order to fulfil the prophecy. I hope by now that you have made her your wife and your powers as predicted have joined. For you will need great strength and ultimate power to defeat Gemini and take back the Twin Sword. Ophidian holds the secrets of your past it will be given back to you when the time is right.” He took a breath. “You will have enough power using the Deragan Sword to bring back the dragons yourself. With Arweyn’s power, when the time comes, you will be able to bring back a few of the people to aid with your attack. Those that know Gemini and are dragon riders would be advisable. It is going to be hard and dangerous but you can do this. It is our destiny to destroy Gemini and save our world. I hope that our brother Gareion was reborn with you. He is the best brother a man could wish for and without him you would not be here now reading this message. Good luck. Kainan, King of Malgar.”

  Kainan stood for a moment in stunned silence; it was the strangest feeling that he had ever felt in his life, it was a message to himself from himself. A message he did not remember writing but clearly had. Taking a deep breath, he rolled up the parchment and placed it inside his shirt.

  “Okay I am ready,” he announced strongly. The dragon nodded and together they turned around and headed into the cavern containing the animals. Withdrawing the Deragan Sword, he raised it in front of him and drew upon its power, his mind searching until he found what he wanted.

  “Shar Nordar Kilraken

  Grenar Lelan Rudesan

  Eprewil Aylamguar.”

  Kainan chanted as the energy shook through him. His eyes glowing as the power consumed him. He held the sword tight as a shockwave of light shot from the blade, rippling all over the enchanted animals. They began glowing with light and magical energy. Kainan lowered his sword, as he did his eyes returned to normal. Soon there was mooing and baaing sounds echoing all around them, the animals appearing to be unaffected by their five hundred years of sleep. Meladrom felt his mouth water at the sight, five hundred years was a long time to go without the taste of meat. Kainan drew a breath as he regained his strength. The great dragon looked at him and then back at the feast that awaited him.

  “My King would you mind if I ate before you awaken the others?” The dragon asked. “Only I will need my strength in order to return you to Malgar and collect the Queen. By then I am sure the other dragons will have eaten the lot.” Kainan nodded.

  “Of course I will go and wait up there somewhere.” He knew Meladrom had to eat but he did not wish to watch. The great dragon bowed.

  “Thank you,” before turning about and walking in amongst the panicking animals.

  As brutal as it was he was glad that his previous self, had thought of it. Awakening fourteen hungry dragons with nothing on hand for them to eat would not have been a good idea. Wandering further down into the cave system, he came across a grotto. A large pool of fresh water sat at the bottom of a cascading waterfall. Above him, it opened to the sky and daylight streamed through. He thought how beautiful it was and drank from the cascading water.

  With Meladrom well fed the time had come to awaken the dragons. The young prince was understandably nervous.

  “You are quite positive Meladrom that they will not eat me.” Meladrom’
s lip drew back over his teeth in a kind of grin.

  “As I have said before if you were to be eaten, I would have had you myself.” Kainan shot a look at him.

  “Thanks!” he replied sarcastically. The two approached the stone dragons. Kainan huffed to himself nervously.

  “Okay, let us do this,” he said, pulling the Deragan sword from its sheath and holding it in front of him. “One at a time or shall I do all of them together?” Meladrom bowed his head.

  “As you wish, whatever is easier for you?” Kainan raised his eyebrows and nodded.

  “Right I will see if I have enough power to do it in one go.” He coughed clearing his throat. Holding the Deragan sword with two hands, he pointed it towards the sleeping dragons.

  “Shar Nordar Kilraken

  Grenar Lelan Rudesan

  Eprewil Aylamguar.”

  A fantastic beam of light shot out from the sword illuminating the entire cavern, the sword shook within his hands as the power released.

  “Shar Nordar Kilraken

  Grenar Lelan Rudesan

  Eprewil Aylamguar,”

  He repeated his voice loud and forceful. An incredible noise began to fill the cavern. The stone dragons began to glow as a strange blue light encircled them all.

  “Again my King,” Meladrom urged. Kainan stepped forward.

  “Shar Nordar Kilraken

  Grenar Lelan Rudesan

  Eprewil Aylamguar.”

  A reverberation of roars suddenly echoed all around the cavern as the dragons began to come back to life. Kainan heart shook within him and as he lowered his sword, he stepped back tight against Meladrom’s side. As the strange glowing light began to fade the young Prince, came face to face with fourteen live dragons, each pair of their green eyes glaring at him. It was a terrifyingly awesome sight and each dragon was so very different. Some were green, some blue with red tinges to their hard scaly bodies, and there were silver ones, like Meladrom. Their talons were sharp and menacing their huge scary teeth sat inside massive powerful jaws. The only thing they all had in common, were their green wings.