The Beginning

by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

  Yonder does the time now go,

  Care not whether it stays,

  Wander long, to and fro,

  Where it ends it stays.

  Mountains tall across the land,

  Valleys low and cutting,

  Fountains trickling in the sand,

  Galleys proud and strutting.

  Home to where the heart lays beating,

  Far, far over the western hills,

  Roam where the land and sea are meeting,

  Star and moon thy burden fills.

  Here you will find her, child of lore,

  Eyes of sea, hair of gold,

  Near the Oak that Nature bore,

  Lies she, with fortune yet untold.

  Jaax stopped reading and took a step back. Jahrra stared at the wall, her eyes streaming. She wondered why he didn’t continue; the words seemed to go on forever. She also didn’t know what to think of what he’d just read. For so long she had wanted to know what those words had said, for so long, but now it seemed so unimportant. So much had happened today and her mind wasn’t ready to decipher such obscure riddles.

  Jahrra stood silent for a long time. Finally, Jaax spoke aloud, making her jump a little.

  “That is the Great Prophecy of the Oracles, the very words that an unknown scribe took down long ago when the Crimson King’s reign was young. It is the prophecy that foretells of a savior of Ethoes, someone to overthrow the Tyrant’s terrible evil. You have heard of this prophecy before?”

  It was half a statement, half a question. Jahrra nodded her head numbly.

  “Denaeh once told us about it. Every year, around Sobledthe, she would tell us tales of old, and one year she told us this tale. She never told us those exact words, but she spoke of a human child. A girl.” Jahrra gazed up at Jaax, a hint of desperation in her eyes. “Why do you tell me this now, what does this have to do with what has happened? What does it have to do with me?”

  Jaax looked down at her and took a deep, uneasy breath. Perhaps if circumstances were different, if she didn’t have this recent pain to distract her, Jahrra would have puzzled it out by now. But it was no wonder she couldn’t think straight. He could hardly think straight.

  Jaax swallowed. “I’ll tell you this then: the prophecy tells of a human child that will be found, a child whose destiny it will be to defeat the Tyrant King and his immortal accomplice, the god Ciarrohn. Many believe that when the Crimson King and Ciarrohn are defeated, the curses they dealt out will be lifted, including the curse on the Tanaan and this castle we now stand within.”

  Jaax shifted his weight uncomfortably before continuing on.

  “You see, human beings became extinct when the Tanaan dragons were created; it was their punishment for resisting the Crimson King and Ciarrohn. Hroombra, I am sure, has told you this before. The Tanaan dragons descend from the original humans who suffered this curse.

  “The Tanaan were among many races who hoped for their world to return to peace, but they had no idea they would be waiting for so long. Some of the Tanaan moved on and accepted their place among the dragons, just as the other races of Ethoes accepted that the Crimson King was now their ruler. But some of them still wait to this day for the prophecy to be fulfilled.”

  Jaax took another deep breath, and continued as calmly as his voice allowed him, “Hroombra and I searched many years for this child, waiting and listening for any word of such a girl. We knew that the human race no longer existed, but we also knew that if a human girl was found, then she would be the one we’d been looking for, the one to change the world.”

  Jaax paused and let Jahrra absorb all that she was hearing. Jahrra blinked up at him as a chill wind swept past them both. She had no idea that Hroombra and Jaax had been looking for the child of the prophecy.

  “Is that where you’ve been all these years?” Jahrra asked wearily, shivering in the cold. “Away looking for this girl?”

  The young dragon smiled gently despite his recent sorrow, and this time his smile contained none of its usual smugness.

  “No, Jahrra,” he said quietly, patiently, carefully. “You see, I found that girl long ago, a little over seventeen years ago, in fact.”

  He paused and watched her reaction, allowing her to place the pieces of the puzzle together on her own. He watched as the realization slowly filled her the way a newly lit candle wick spreads light throughout a room. Suddenly, Jahrra’s storm-blue eyes flashed with the knowledge of the truth.

  “The peoples of Ethoes are waiting for a new hope,” Jaax said gently. “You, Jahrra, are their new hope.”

  Jahrra felt a strange, cool sensation prickle throughout her entire body. Her head was spinning and her heart was pounding. Too much had happened this day and her brain couldn’t grasp this unbelievable revelation. He makes it sound like I . . . Jahrra shook her head, refusing to even consider the possibility, refusing to acknowledge what Jaax was indeed telling her. Finally she found the strength to talk.

  “What?” her voice was harsh with disbelief.

  “Jahrra, you’re the human girl I’ve spent so much of my life looking for. You are the child of whom the prophecy foretold.”

  He curled his lip grimly, looking weary and just as overwhelmed as Jahrra felt.

  “No, no, I couldn’t be! I’m not human!” Jahrra said, her voice growing shrill. “I’m Nesnan, a simple Nesnan orphan from Oescienne!”

  Jahrra was backing away from Jaax now, her eyes darting around as if she were looking for a place to run.

  “Yes, Jahrra, ‘Far, far over the western hills, Roam where the land and sea are meeting’, I found you in Crie, in the Saem Hills, the western hills in the northern-most part of Oescienne.”

  “I still don’t believe you!” Jahrra shouted, growing angry as the panic rose up inside of her.

  “‘Eyes of sea, hair of gold, Near the Oak that Nature bore’. Jahrra, you were found by a tribe of elves under the Sacred Oak of Ethoes. You were barely a newborn when I came for you, and the elves told me you had blue eyes when they found you. You were only a week old, and only humans, pure-blooded humans, have blue eyes when they are born. Hroombra and I only kept the truth from you for your own safety. You had to believe that you were Nesnan, it was the only way to keep you safe from the Tyrant’s knowledge!”

  Jaax had stepped forward, following Jahrra as she kept falling back.

  “No, no! It can’t be true! I’m not the girl from the stories, I can’t save Ethoes!”

  Jahrra suddenly became nauseous. She stumbled to the closest bush and fell clumsily to her hands and knees, becoming sick behind it.

  Jaax stayed back and let her get over her fit of panic. He felt guilty for telling her like this, so soon after Hroombra’s death. Jaax would have rather waited, but if he had, it would only have been harder for her to understand what would be coming in the next few months. They had a harsh future ahead of them, and the sooner she realized why the better. Finally, after several minutes, Jahrra stood up, still wobbly from her fit of shock.

  “Jahrra, believe me, you are the child of the prophecy. I knew it the moment I saw you, and Hroombra knew it as well. Even the Mystic Denaeh knows the truth, and now the Crimson King will know you are on this earth and he’ll hunt you until you are destroyed.”

  The dragon’s eyes shone fierce, and all that Jahrra could do was look up and stare back, her own eyes becoming glazed over. Her head was spinning, and she felt that she just might faint. Jaax sighed and shook his head. I can’t expect her to understand all of this right away. I just hope she can learn to trust me.

  “Come,” he said gruffly, “let us go back and send Hroombra off to his afterlife, as the dragons of old once did.” He paused, trying hard not to choke on the sudden remorse that rose in his throat. “You’ll need time to let this all soak in. I know it’s hard, and I know it’s unexpected, but you had to know Jahrra, even if it seems cruel to tell you so suddenly after what has happened.”

  The distraught girl nodded feebly and they walked
slowly back to Phrym, who looked somewhat distressed at Jahrra’s appearance.

  Jahrra felt displaced from her body, like her spirit had left and found a safe place to hide. She couldn’t be human, she just couldn’t be. This was just another one of Jaax’s lies. And Master Hroombra couldn’t be dead.

  When they finally arrived back in front of the Castle Guard Ruin, it was very near sunset, and the new storm clouds were beginning to spread over the land. Jahrra and Jaax numbly gathered up wood to pile around the lifeless form of the great dragon that had once cared for them both. Jahrra shed silent tears the entire time, feeling like her heart would give up its struggle and stop beating at any moment. When they finally finished, Jahrra stood back as Jaax let out a great burst of jade and sapphire flame that lit the entire funeral pyre.

  “Master, go now to the stars. Go and join Traagien in that honorable place where you belong,” Jaax whispered deeply as the flames licked up at the blackening sky.

  Jahrra stood silently beside him, eyes shining from the light of the dancing fire. Jaax looked down at her and let out a small, scorching breath through his nostrils. As the flames grew higher, he watched the young woman before him struggling against her emotions as he told Hroombra’s departing spirit, I will take care of her, I promise you that.

  They stood silent watch over the funeral pyre well into the night, and when the coals were nothing more than glowing embers on the bare earth, they both retired inside the Castle Guard Ruin to prepare for the long evening.

  Jahrra gasped in surprise once she’d lit a few candles. She hadn’t been inside since that morning, since before the tragic events of the day, so she hadn’t seen the damage done by the Tyrant’s men. The main room where Hroombra had looked over his manuscripts for so many years had been ransacked and destroyed. The men had somehow overturned his massive desk and many of his papers and maps were missing or ruined. Jahrra released a fresh supply of tears as her eyes swept the study, and then she turned and quickly ran to her own room. Remarkably, the Tyrant’s thugs hadn’t touched anything in there.

  She came back out into the main room to find that Jaax had started a fire in the great hearth.

  “Sit down, Jahrra,” he said wearily, “there is more you need to know.”

  Jahrra feared what Jaax would say. Learning that the entire fate of Ethoes depended on her was terrifying enough.

  “As you well know, the plan was for you to go on to school in Lidien. Obviously, those plans have changed.”

  Jahrra hung her head. She had been so angry when the two dragons had told her this earlier, now she was ashamed at how she had reacted.

  Jaax took a deep breath and got right to the point, “We must flee Oescienne. Tomorrow. Before sunrise.”

  Jahrra shot her head up in surprise. She opened her mouth to protest, but Jaax cut her off.

  “Jahrra, I’m asking you to make a decision, a very hard decision, I know. You can either stay here and await your doom, or you can run with me and escape the clutches of the Tyrant until you are ready to face him.”

  Jahrra didn’t speak. She simply stared into the fire that flickered up the carved hearthstone, hoping its dancing flames would give her some sign of encouragement.

  “Jahrra,” Jaax murmured, “I’m asking you to trust me, and I’m putting my trust in you as well. You must make the right decision for yourself. You are old enough now,” Jaax paused to see if Jahrra was listening, “to make the right decision. If you remain here, you will be found. Those that search for you now are a real enemy, not simple school children who humiliate you out of sheer boredom. Outside of Oescienne you face real dangers as well, but at least you’ll have a chance. I can’t guarantee that we will evade those who seek us, but I promise that I’ll protect you to the best of my abilities.”

  Jaax stopped speaking and looked into the flames with Jahrra. He knew that this had to be incredibly hard for her, so he squeezed his eyes shut and continued on very carefully, “I know you don’t consider me a friend, and I do admit that I’ve been hard on you, but right now we need to have faith in one another in order to survive. So, do you accept my challenge to face your fate, or do you wish to decline and take your chances here?”

  Jahrra swallowed back her pain and forced herself to truly consider what Jaax had just said. Leave Oescienne? Tomorrow morning? she thought. That’s what Jaax had wanted all along, for her to leave and go to school, but now everything had changed. Hroombra was dead and she wasn’t a common Nesnan after all. Her life had completely flipped upside down in the course of a single day. She was a human being, the only one of her kind.

  Jahrra took a few deep breaths, trying hard to think clearly. She had to admit that Jaax was right; as much as she wished to defy him even now, it was no longer safe to stay in Oescienne if what she had learned today was true. Without Hroombra, she had no idea how to fight off the Crimson King. As much as Jahrra hated pleasing Jaax, and as much as she hated the thought of leaving the only home she’d ever known, she also wished to live, and the only way to do that was to leave. Jahrra closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose, a trick Yaraa had taught her. She repeated calming words, over and over again in her head, and after several minutes she had finally cleared her mind enough to allow rational thought.

  Jaax watched her intently, practicing his patience as he waited for her answer. His nerves were on edge, and he hoped beyond all hope that this method of the Mystic’s, this idea of offering a choice and not forcing her, would work. After several silent minutes, Jahrra opened her eyes slowly, and Jaax’s heart leapt as she gazed solemnly up at him.

  “Very well,” she said in a whisper. “I’ll go with you.”

  ***

  The night was dark, even darker than usual. There was no moon or stars to lend any light, and Jaax was glad for it. The new storm was finally upon them, not a very strong one, but hopefully the intense dark and the wet land shivering with rain would discourage the Tyrant’s men from returning tonight. There was work to be done, and it had to be done before the mercenaries returned. There were some critical items that Jaax had to destroy, move or secure. That is, if these items hadn’t already been taken.

  As Jahrra slept, the young dragon began looking for any of Hroombra’s old documents that might not have been destroyed. She had fallen asleep on her old bed very quickly, and Jaax was grateful for it. Jahrra must sleep, he thought wearily. She has been through agony today, and the long journey north will be a harrowing one. A light rain began tapping on the roof, steadily growing stronger. Jaax headed towards the northern end of the building and squeezed into the small storage room where Hroombra had kept all of his most important documents.

  As the dragon searched the supply of maps and books that still remained, Jahrra slumbered in her own bed for the last time. The rain made a rhythmic sound that kept the strange noises of the outside world at bay, but after some time, Jahrra awoke with a start. She sat up in bed for awhile and tried to remember why she felt so bad. She choked back a fresh wave of tears as she recalled the earlier events of the day. “Oh Master Hroombra!” she cried silently.

  Suddenly, Jahrra was overcome with a chilling sensation of dread. Whether it was caused by a sound, or a movement or a slight breeze just outside her window, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that something was wrong, something was coming. She shot up out of bed and headed to her window. She couldn’t see anything moving outside, but she could hear Phrym’s low, uneasy nickering above the light din of the rain from his stable. Jahrra darted her eyes around the dark room and wondered, with a rush of fear, if Jaax had been awakened too.

  A sloshing splash and a curse in some unrecognizable language cut through the still night. The pond! Jahrra thought, her heart in her throat. Someone or something had just tripped into the small pool in her garden. At least now she knew where this person was: on the western side of the building. Without thinking, Jahrra grabbed up her long coat (secretly thanking Ethoes it was dark blue) and darted into the main room. The gre
at fire Jaax had built up was now only a pile of glowing embers, but the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

  Jahrra cursed and tried not to panic. How many people were outside? Did they have the building surrounded? Were they in Hroombra’s study, looking for more documents? She knew she had a decent chance of making it to Phrym in his stable; it just depended on how much noise she would make dashing out of the front of the building. For a split second Jahrra thought of calling out for Jaax, but she knew that that would be unwise. The dragon could be anywhere, and if there was a chance the enemy hadn’t heard her, she would certainly draw their attention by calling out. No, Jahrra thought, I must get to Phrym before they find me.

  The soft rain cooled her skin and dampened her hair as she bounded across the uneven field. Although the drizzle and darkness hindered her sight, she was able to run the expanse of the field with relative ease. She had gone this way a hundred times and didn’t need any light to see exactly where she was going.

  Somewhere in the distance, Jahrra could hear a few shouts over the pounding of her heart; someone had discovered that she wasn’t inside the Ruin. She began running faster, her cloak becoming heavier with the precipitation and water coating the grass. Her thick boots and pants were becoming sodden and she could feel the dampness reaching to her toes. She frantically brushed the dripping hair out of her eyes that had become plastered across her face.

  Finally, after what seemed like hours, Jahrra was within yards of the stable, Phrym’s anxious cries urging her on. She knew she would make it, she had to. Jahrra smiled in spite of herself, but the moment she thought she’d escaped, she heard the strange voices only a few yards behind her. Her smile faded immediately and she broke into a full sprint.

  Just as the stable came into view through the thick darkness, Jahrra’s foot suddenly and violently broke through a gopher tunnel, wrenching her to the ground. The fall was fast, and as she crashed to the ground her knee bashed hard against a stone set deep in the soil. The pain was unbearable, and as the shock of the fall left her, Jahrra realized that she was lying helpless in the path of her enemies. She breathed in and out sharply, trying, with eyes stinging, not to cry out or groan. The wind had been knocked out of her and from the waves of agony rushing up her leg she knew that she had severely sprained or even broken her ankle. She bit down hard on her lip and dragged herself with her arms out of the path she had made in the grass. She hoped dearly that the men pursuing her couldn’t see well in the dark.