Resurrection Dawn

by Marc Secchia

  At last, the tentacles parted gently ahead of them and she saw what she had expected least, a fantastical door. The coal black door was a dodecahedron some 600 mets in diameter, decorated with embossed artworks of Dragons. Each of the twelve panels that made up the door majored on a different colour and theme. She immediately picked out Dragons that looked similar to these and other Serpents, but here were schools of smaller Dragons diving through waves and up top …

  “Mom!” she squealed and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Mom, look up.”

  “By the Eye, Dragons like us!”

  Samodeé caught her breath, staring hungrily at the top-centre panel. It depicted many four-winged Dragons flying into battle against a dark foe, indistinct, but similar to the Obsidian Shaman Flyers, she sensed. The artwork depicted Dragons of different colour combinations against the black background, but there were several of emerald and titian hue, with violet eyes. Shiver! How could this be any kind of coincidence? Indeed, she had never more appreciated Ssirinssar of Gold’s slack-jawed amazement more – along with numerous other Dragons, alerted by his behaviour.

  “Look at the point, Alodeé,” the Serpent quavered. “Toward the middle.”

  She had seen explanatory pictures of early theories of evolution, which held that Humanoids descended from apes, showing a gradual change from stoop-backed ape to upright-standing Human. Since the First Expansion’s contact with other Humanoid races who had matured along very different developmental paths, that theory had been refuted. This image was along similar lines. A blue-outlined person stood right at the tip. Above, outlines showed a hypothetical evolutionary path between Dragon and Humanoid – or, she reflected, the reverse process.

  As in, Dragons which could change into Humanoid form and back again. No other wedge of the twelve portrayed any similar imagery, although some of the Dragon types were exotic indeed – three-headed Serpents, six-pawed behemoths and arboreal and aquatic types. Judging by the tone of the general muttering, none of these Dragons had ever seen such subtypes before.

  We’re shape-morphic Dragons? Samodeé breathed. That’s the implication, right?

  I think so, Mom – biped to quadruped and back again. Similar to my friend Isska – uh, they’re a Troome. Class 7. Looks kinda painful. Nor am I in the process of sprouting four wings, as best I’m aware. Where do the extra shoulder joints come from, for example?

  They winced in tandem.

  “So many different subtypes,” Ssirinssar fluted meditatively, his great golden eyes resting upon them as he added, “What other wonders might this vast planet of ours hide?”

  “You haven’t shown any signs of returning to a Humanoid form these last twelve years, Mom?” Alodeé asked.

  Translating on the fly, Samodeé replied, “Not the slightest inkling.”

  She said, “I imagine it might be a skill or a tech, or depend on certain conditions.” Like being vaporised? Yep, moving swiftly on! “Ssirinssar, what have the Dragons decided?”

  “Our ancestors used to explore this world you call Resurrection Dawn,” he said. “If we are ever to understand the threat that drove them to build such vast defences and hide behind, all these years, I believe we need to contact and exchange information with the other sentient races that inhabit this world. To hide is not to truly live. That is one aspect of our thinking. We are curious. We are benevolent and sympathetic toward your paternal kind. Since we are forced to leave, we plan to make the best of a challenging situation – or die trying.”

  He accompanied this fatalistic final note with a tinkling, knowing laugh.

  Alodeé said, “You are aware that not all Humanoids are likely to be grateful for the help of Dragons? Some are very fond of the ideas of species and Class dominance.”

  “You do know I am 314 years old?” he purred back.

  “Oh!”

  “Time for a brief story?”

  She nodded soberly. “Always.”

  * * * *

  Standard 991.01.18 Ssrinssarr’s Remembrance

  A spawnling rested at last in a golden pond, exhausted and hurting, yet not alone. All around, the great golden adults spoke to their young, the spawnlings, in this fresh place.

  “We will create a barrier,” they said. “A barrier that the enemy can never penetrate. Here, you will be safe. Wait for us. Know the sinuous, everlasting circle of our love can never be broken.”

  The spawnlings shivered as spears of darkness cleft the sky, as if the night itself had grown claws to pierce the day.

  “Quickly!” the adults urged one another. “It must be done now.”

  “Don’t go.” Ssirinssar was four years old, the oldest of the spawnlings left from the time of fleeing, from the time the spirits reaped many Dragon souls to the dark harvest. “Who will feed and care for us? Who will teach us the songs of our kind?”

  His parents rubbed scales fondly with him. “You will seek the gift of light, Ssirinssar of Gold. All knowledge shall be found in the Eye, the place where you as Guardians of Dawn’s Radiance shall look for inspiration. There, you shall always find us. For truly it is said, a Dragon’s soul is from everlasting to everlasting.”

  “I don’t understand,” he whispered.

  “You shall, our precious golden spawnling. You shall.”

  The adults swam away. After a time, there came a shudder as if the world itself had cried out in horror. Though the fearful claws of darkness rent the day like talons unto prey, they did not trouble the Serpents anymore. The ever-increasing radiance from the Eye held them at bay.

  Although he waited for many, many days, the adults never returned.

  One day, Ssirinssar of Gold gathered the fearful spawnlings to himself and said to them, “Our parents gave their lives to save ours. We must act upon their sacrifice and honour their gift. Come with me now. We will swim to the place where the waters thunder into the light. There, we will seek counsel with the spirits of those who went before us. We will learn and grow and survive. If others of our kind come to seek sanctuary here, we shall welcome them as our brothers and sisters.”

  This counsel received many tinkles and jingles of agreement.

  From that day on, Ssirinssar of Gold grew into the leadership of the Serpent Dragons.

  * * * *

  Alodeé sighed and shook herself lightly as the vivid images he had evoked retreated from the forefront of her mind. After a moment, she leaped across from her mother’s back to land upon his – indeed, as she had seen some of the Lightning Pygmies do.

  Bending to lay her hands upon his scales, she whispered, How is it that such a tale can both sadden and gladden?

  The great Serpent nodded gently and said through Samodeé, “I am reaching the end of the days of first-life, Alodeé. I never found answers to why my parents and so many of the Serpent Dragons gave their essence to keep us safe and now, I must look for others to be the paw of my will.”

  She thought for a startled sec that he meant her, but then she saw the Serpent Dragon’s gaze rest upon her mother. Samodeé!

  Oh fine, no popping with pride. Just a gentle glow would do.

  Raising his voice, the golden Serpent cried, “Listen to me as I sing a new song! This is a song of opening. With this song, the door to our sacred realm shall be opened and then it shall be shut. All creatures must make their choice now. Let those who wish to stay, remain upon this side and those who wish to travel on, pass through into a world not seen by our respective kinds in over 300 years. There is neither shame nor dishonour in making this choice. I myself will travel on as long as the light remains with me. Let all Dragons sing together with one voice, one will, one light and one soul.”

  He led the thousands in rousing refrain.

  The dodecahedron parted like the wedges of a great fruit, with a great groan, each triangular door swinging aside to allow the Dragons passage. Alodeé watched and saw a small number of elderly or injured Dragons or Serpents choose to remain behind. They sang to their kin. Sorrowful partings were made. Ssirinss
ar swam through into the dark tunnel beyond and with him, most of the flying Dragons, the Serpent Dragons and all of the Lightning Pygmies.

  She surveyed the migration pensively, afraid that the Dragons chose to swim and fly from one danger into a far greater danger.

  And you, Alodeé? What do you choose?

  She touched her heart. I choose to fly on with you, mother.

  Yep. Just about the most fantastic statement in the history of the Universe, give or take.

  Chapter 24

  Standard 1301.07.20 Estimated – The Deeps

  THE DARK TUNNEL RAN for many a klom before opening out into a cavern so vast, no creature could see its sides or end. Tiny phosphorescent plants cast light enough to see that the entire roof of the cavern consisted of different formations of stalactites in numbers and colours uncountable, reflected in the still waters below. The Serpent Dragons checked the waters and found them bitter, but good and inhabited by many white blind fish that might make for eating in a pinch. The air smelled surprisingly fresh, not at all the damp, musty scent she had expected for a cavern.

  Naptime for dragonets. Alodeé sat upon her mother’s back, warmed from all sides by snoozing bodies. Samodeé translated as Ssirinssar warned his kin of a maelstrom that lay ahead. Beyond, they should find a tunnel leading up to a new land. That was the limit of his knowledge regarding this passageway, apart from that a second door lay at the far end.

  Alodeé realised from the increasing air pressure and normalisation of gravity, that they must be very much deeper in atmospheric levels than she had travelled before. The great flight of Dragons winged steadily above their serpentine brethren as they coursed across the dark, still lake, creating perhaps the first ripples in centuries. Gleaming wings and bodies winked back from the brooding waters, as if something within yearned for a spark of light. At random intervals, mighty columns supported the ceiling, stalactites and stalagmites long since fused together in their middles.

  After an estimated twelve hours of flying, she began to discern a low thundering ahead. Although it remained strangely glassy in texture, the lake surface began to shift and ripple, streaming eagerly toward a new destination. The smaller, less powerful Serpents searched for their partners; the winged Dragonkind lifted them free of the dark water according to a plan Alodeé realised must have been prepared well in advance. Samodeé called the dragonets to her. Shrilling in alarm, Platinum made a dive for Alodeé’s arms. Red looked on with a curl of his lip; the two Golds smirked, while Emerald joined her with a lofty, ‘Well, I’m going to take care of my sister, so there,’ snort and a sassy flip of her wingtips.

  Arch eyebrow. Not only a colouration similarity, but the personality quirks as well?

  Life could become very interesting!

  So, onward to the maelstrom. Yep, while Mom taught her language, Red tried to explain his new fixation with wingtip gestures to punctuate conversation, Emerald chirruped about everything that she saw in very cute Pyromelodic and Platinum kneaded her lap and needed reassurance. Family could be a touch overwhelming.

  Ahead, the black waters slid smoothly over what appeared to be an underwater lip of some sort, entering a great crater perhaps 2.5 kloms in diameter in a foaming, thunderous cacophony that drowned out all conversation. The flow arrived from over 300 degrees of the compass, she saw, twisting away counter clockwise into the darkness before one of the gravitationally anomalous, upward-travelling waterfalls burst out of its centre, rising in a huge, steepling spiral to gush with enormous fury into a bright hole in the cavern roof overhead. Rainbows of spray burst away from the point of impact, filling the air with restless threads of moisture.

  Returning this way might be challenging in the extreme.

  Time for diving lessons? she quipped.

  Mama Dragon chuckled, No stinky daughters allowed here!

  With a great kerfuffle, the flight rearranged itself. Dragons took Pygmies, dragonets and the elderly or infirm in paw. The Serpents gathered in a tight wedge, their bodies churning as they increased speed toward the edge. Violent bugles! Thrashing scales! They launched off the waterfall’s edge, dipping in a graceful arc as they angled toward the great, upward-foaming spiral. Most made the leap with ease. Ssirinssar even had energy to spare for a number of his fellows. Scores dropped more precipitously, however and it was here that their winged brethren charged in to their aid.

  Samodeé thundered in rage as sickly, mottled white tentacles burst out of the outer waterfall to thrash at and capture numbers of the flying Dragons. A brutal but brief battle developed. Alodeé’s heart stood in her throat as Dragons fell. Tens of Serpents flung themselves at the creatures, only to be rolled up in the sticky tentacles and snaffled away.

  So many losses.

  Oh! A squad of Serpent Dragons, rather than flying off the waterfall, took the plunge in order to charge to their compatriots’ aid. Bits of white tentacles 50 to 100 mets long tore away and hurtled into the depths, along with dozens of Dragons.

  Along with many others, she gazed after, hoping against hope.

  Here they came! Alodeé cheered as she saw a golden glint rising. The booming waters ripped the sound away from her lips, but her Mom heard. With a mental command, she bade her hold on tight as they dived into the flow and surged upward under the enormous pressure. For a long, long min or more, everything was a confusion of white bubbles in dark, bitter water. Then, pressure squeezed them through and they burst out amidst a vast fountain that sprayed down ever so gently into a lake full of pink and azure underwater flowers. Brilliant light shone from aquamarine and mauve crystal inclusions in the cavern roof overhead.

  Panting, Alodeé began to recover her breath before realising that Red was making choking sounds. Leaping onto his back, she pounded his ribs from either side. He coughed up water. Paugh!

  “There you go, darling,” she said, kissing him upon the cheek.

  Clearly, he did not know whether to be disgusted or grateful. Oops. She kissed him again and told him he could jolly well get used to the idea of having a big sister. Red cooed and blinked extra slowly at her, his eye fires doing a strange, hypnotic whirl. Chuckle. Practising his flirting, right? She had observed many of the dragonets, both male and female, doing this with their parents or older siblings.

  “Ooh, you are so handsome,” she sighed, directing a rather fake coy glance in his direction.

  Red nearly expired in ecstasy.

  Gathering again after the rough ride, the Dragons and Serpents checked for any who might still be coming. Several Serpents washed out on the flow; one already dead, several with severe gashes torn across their scales. Two white Dragonesses burst free of the fountain, bringing an unconscious friend with them. A trio of Serpents made it out, panting in great gulps. Slowly, they all drifted westward on a slight current.

  Ssirinssar of Gold declared a time of rest and treating the wounded. The Lightning Pygmies broke out supplies and ate a light meal. Rainflash and her family shared with Alodeé.

  No appetite for once? Strange. She forced herself to share what they offered. Mom would murder her if she ended up getting any skinnier. It was not as if she ate badly. Just the insane metabolism to contend with – if her heart rate peaked at over 800 beats per min, that had to eat up some serious calories.

  That was when she realised she was eating pickled lumoslug.

  “It’s good, right?” Rainflash asked her in Pyromelodic.

  “Good,” she agreed. Thankfully, she was a fine green colour already and could not get any greener. Not physically possible. Sweating and nearly hurling her dinner into the lake, she managed to keep it down and even faked an appreciative look.

  Non-lethal nutrition only fattens, right?

  Samodeé’s laughter gurgled in her throat and smoked through her nostrils. Oops, did I forget to warn you?

  Mom!

  Echo soundings taken by the Serpent Dragons suggested that the outer door was as yet several days’ travel away. Accordingly, Ssirinssar of Gold made preparations
to split into two forces. One, comprised of warriors, academics and scientists, would fly ahead with all speed to seek out the Humanoid colonies. The second would proceed more slowly, searching out safe havens along the way. Alodeé asked how they could possibly keep communicating with one another.

  The Serpent Dragon informed her – not without a fang-filled draconic smirk of epic proportions – that between the atmospheric levels A-11 down to A-5, as measured by her Humanoid scientists, there were very, very many waterways. These provided reliable communication pathways between Serpents and reliable travel pathways, too. The water-rich atmospheric levels were one of the primary forces driving planetary weather systems and their natural buoyancy gave rise to many gigantic species of flora, fauna and crystallo-organic species.

  He said, “Besides, we need to be quick to beat the carnoraptor super-migration. Imagine your miniscule skull is the planet, Alodeé.” Scowl. “Would you travel around the top in a curve or straight through the middle?”

  “Oh, definitely right through the empty space in the middle,” Samodeé quipped.

  Double scowl!

  Ssirinssar’s booming laughter practically unleashed a tidal wave. After recovering his dignity, he added, “Especially since at this level, we should be able to find supaphoons – ah, which are …”

  “Horizontal-travelling high pressure storm phenomena, similar in structure to typhoon upwellings,” her Mom explained.

  “Super fun,” Rainflash put in.

  Ha. She even understood some PUC nowadays, but Alodeé despaired of ever getting the hang of Pygmy trills, whistles, warbles, chirrups and their range of high-speed clicks.

  She asked, “Supine typhoons?”

  “Exactly.”

  * * * *

  As the blaze of crystal above this slow-moving, very wide underground river faded with the gathering evening, the bioluminescent plants and animals beneath the surface came to life in their own right. Fans, veils and tendrils of plants gleamed with rainbow colours, casting a variegated, rippling light across the draconic congregation. Dragons floated. Alodeé eyed this phenomenon with disbelief. Mama Dragon was not exactly a lightweight. In her reasonably scientific opinion, a creature of her size and weight ought to sink like a stone. Instead, she bobbed along, admittedly about nine tenths submerged, but did not even need to paddle.