Treb squatted down next to them. “I was just coming to see if you wanted any more of the stew while it was still hot?” He looked into their bowls, “Oh, I see you haven’t taken the time to eat.”
Markus had hung around Treb long enough to recognize his accusatory tone, laced with a hint of that old over-protection he so basked in for years. Markus picked up his bowl and took a bit of the lukewarm stew, then smiled through the pain of the spice. “It’s great. If you want to leave the pot, we'll certainly want seconds.”
Treb set the pot down. “I’ll wait to ladle it up when you’re ready.”
“Humph!” Crystal balked.
Markus opened the book and turned to a page about wands and using the Dragonwand staff. “Well, I guess we can continue studying while we eat.”
Treb cocked his head. “So, uh, why did they call them Dragonwands when it is a staff?” he asked, baffled.
Crystal answered, “Wand is not a term for a short magical stick, but any conveyer of magic for a wizard. The staff is a wand just like this,” she held up the wand she had been given.
Markus pointed to a part of the text. “The staffs weren't originally called wands. In fact, they each had a name. But it was considered inappropriate for a non-dragon to speak its name, so they were dubbed wands by the other wizards. Eventually, they were called Dragonwands since they were very different from standard wands.”
“Did you get all that?” Markus asked, teasing.
Treb did his best to comprehend, but Markus was convinced he was merely pretending. How could he understand something he barely studied? But he let him proceed anyway. “So, what's the name of yours?”
Markus turned the page over and came to the end of the wand section. “I don’t know. It was not written here. I suppose it has been forgotten in the thousand years since it was last used.”
Crystal finished her bowl of stew and held it out for her father to fill it up again, which he did without question. She grinned at Markus. “Perhaps you should give it a name.”
Markus gave his Dragonwand a long, quizzical look. How do you name something like this? he thought. “I don’t know. Dragonwand is pretty cool on its own. Maybe I will figure it out eventually. For now, I will focus on the immediate concerns before I think about a name for it.”
“Besides, it should be an important name with great meaning,” Treb added. “In time, you will probably figure out a name that is proper.”
“I concur,” Markus said.
Treb added some more of the stew to Markus’ bowl, and then stood. “You two finish what you are doing here and get some rest. We need to head out tomorrow morning.”
Markus ate some more of the stew. “Can she and I sleep together like we did while away from you. Nothing intimate, I just like the warmth.”
Treb was enraged. “YOU. CAN. NOT!”
Markus held in the laughter as he pouted. “Darn.”
It suddenly donned on Treb that Markus was taking a jab at him. “Hey, that’s not a request at all, is it?” When Markus and Crystal remained silent, he responded. “Not… funny… at all.” He tossed the ladle into the pot and walked off, muttering to himself. “You can just sleep on the cold, hard ground tonight. What would you think of that? Wouldn’t like that I bet. You tail chasing, hormone crazed boy.”
After Treb left, Markus and Crystal burst out laughing. “Why did you do that?” Crystal asked.
Markus wiped some of the stew from his chin as it dribbled from his laughter. “I just wanted to see that red-eyed, over-protective father again. I kinda missed it.”
“You really should be careful,” Crystal warned. “That father can throw a pretty good punch. One more suggestion from you like that and he might just take a swing at you. He won’t give you the chance to show him that it was just a joke.”
Markus pretended to be indignant. “He wouldn’t dare hit a dragon.” This made her laugh all the more; which was exactly what he wanted.
***
Markus lay on the floor of the cave on his mat and stared at the ceiling. He had played up the image of being nonchalant and cool after the whole Dragon statue incident, but inside he was feeling a little overwhelmed. What did it mean to be a Dragon now? How was he supposed to face off against a twelve hundred year old ancient wizard who uses dark forbidden magics? What was he supposed to learn before that?
Closing his eyes, Markus forced himself to rest and be ready for the next day, though he doubted it was possible to calm down his thoughts. His thoughts turned to something that helped calm his nerves. The image of Crystal’s smile calmed him. With her by his side, the worry and doubt faded. The butterflies in his stomach churned at one hundred anytime the cute figure with the beautiful face filled his thoughts.
He fought hard against the sixteen year old urges he had towards her. The only weapon he had to fend off the uncouth impulses was his feeling of love. He could not explain it, and he did not fully understand it, but she meant everything to him. When she laughed, he wanted to listen for hours. When she cried, he wanted to hold her against him until she stopped. What was happening to him?
“She is very pretty,” an old voice said, startling Markus from of his relaxed state.
He opened his eyes to see a ghostly figure of an old man standing next to him. “Tolen!” Markus exclaimed, sitting up. He noticed his fingers were translucent and his eyes climbed his wrist and arms until landing on his torso, alarmed to find that he too was ghostly. “What is going on? Am I dead?”
“No, child, no,” Tolen replied, with a light smile.
“I’m glad you’re amused,” Markus said. “I’m not.”
“Son, you are dreaming. I am merely a part of your mind for the moment. Look.” He pointed to the ground behind Markus.
Markus turned around to see himself sleeping exactly where he dozed off before, eyes beating back and forth under his eyelids. “If I'm dreaming, how am I able to see the waking world?”
Tolen let out with a hearty laugh. “Oh, you should not ask such things when you know of magic's qualities. You are dreaming, but it is a designed dream. Young man, I am here to help you understand yourself and your new found powers.”
Markus turned his attention on Tolen. “So, you're going to teach me about magic?”
“Yes. I am going help you discover how to use the staff and what you need to do to stop Hallond from destroying all that we hold dear. Ask any question you wish.”
Markus asked something he had thought about ever since he discovered his lineage. “Why didn’t you tell me you were my grandfather?”
Tolen asked the obvious question. “Would you have believed me?”
“I doubt it. But, you should have at least tried.”
Tolen walked with Markus into the Citadel. “Child, I knew that what had to happen, had to do so in a certain way. If I had given you all the answers from the beginning, things would have not happened in order. Besides, as a wizard student seeking answers, you were willing to learn and grow. If you had known of your true lineage, you might have allowed ego to take over and not grown.”
Markus let out a slow sigh to gather himself, his sleeping self-did the same thing. “Okay, I'm ready. How long will this take?”
Tolen raised a brow. “What do you expect to learn?”
“Uh, about magic and all.”
“We would need weeks of nights to do that. I was designed only to answer a few questions.”
“Designed?”
Tolen nodded. “Yes. I am a spell, a piece of the real Tolen placed within the pages of the Codex waiting to be released when you finally unlocked it with the Dragonwand. My objective is to give you information about how to access the magic locked away in the staff.”
“So, the staff does hold memories and spells.”
Tolen nodded again. “Yes, the staff is enchanted with the power and memory of each holder before it. Once you release that within you, you will discover strength in yourself you did
not believe was there.”
Markus looked back to the sleeping Crystal. “She was right. The staff is imbued with memory.”
Tolen observed her as well. “Yes, she is a clever one. She has real strength in her heart though she denies it is possible. But, you, child, bring it out in her. Together you are almost as unique and powerful as I was with my wife.”
Markus looked at Tolen like he had two heads. “If you are just a spell locked away in the Codex, how do you know anything about her and me?”
Tolen laughed again. “I am inside your head, boy! I know everything you have done and thought. I can see through your eyes and know what you feel.”
Markus felt the guilt rising in his gut. “Uh, you know what I was thinking about before I went to bed… about Crystal?”
Tolen shot him a fatherly grin; similar to one a parent gives a child when he catches him with his hand in the cookie jar. “Yes, but, do not worry. I also know what kind of control you have used to show her respect and honor. I am proud of you, both as your mentor and grandfather. Now, come, walk with me and I will tell you what I was designed to tell you so you will grow into the Dragon you were meant to be.”
Tolen and Markus continued through the Citadel. They could not walk anywhere that Markus had not seen yet, for the spell did not work that way. All the while, Markus asked many questions, while Tolen dutifully answered each one as best he could, providing all the wisdom he could in the short time he had.
Hours passed and Markus listened intently, absorbing everything he could. It was a lot to learn and yet he knew it was only a tip of the mountain.
“I believe my time is almost up,” Tolen said. “I have told you all that I can, you will wake soon and your journey begins.” Tolen touched Markus’ shoulder. “Remember one thing above all else. Love matters. Hallond and the Dark wizards believed it to be the weakness in us, but they were wrong.”
Markus looked back at Crystal once more, drawing strength from her. His heart was heavy. “I just want to make sure she survives. She has lost so much over the past four years.”
Tolen’s image began to dissipate. “One last thing, my son. I am going with you.”
Markus raised a brow. “Huh?”
“Tolen, is now a part of you, and you are his legacy. When you accepted the staff as your own, this small piece of his soul was destined to bond with you to help you. When the moment comes, call upon it and draw the strength within.”
Markus was confounded. “What does that mean? How do I do that? When?”
The image faded, and only a voice remained. “I cannot tell you that. You will figure it out on your own. Now wake, my child, wake.”
With that, Markus awakened from the magical dream. He looked at the last place he recalled the ghostly image standing, expecting to see him still there. But Tolen was gone and the dream was truly over.
Chapter 14: Old Enemies
Crystal opened her eyes and gave a long stretch. Near her, she heard Treb rustling about to gather their stuff and Kiin packing the bag. It took a few moments to recall where she was, as each night she seemed to sleep in a different place.
“Honey, are you awake?” Kiin asked as she rolled up her sleeping mat.
Crystal turned to her side and smiled at Kiin. “Yeah. Are we heading out already?”
Treb crammed more stuff into his bag than it should hold, he growled at it and then unpacked half of it in a single scoop. “In a little bit. You should have something to eat before we get out of here.”
Crystal stretched some more, even spreading her toes. It always felt like she was reconstructing her bones after a night of sleeping on a hard ground. With all the pops, cracks, and creaks, it certainly sounded like she was resetting them in some strange, mystical way. “Ooooh! I can’t wait to sleep on a bed again.” After another yawn, she sat all the way up and knelt forward to finish her final stretch. Her tail curled around her leg and stiffened. “Wow, this is a particularly hard floor.” Kiin was rolled her shoulders as she eyed Crystal stretching in the distance. “What?” Crystal said.
Kiin smiled. “Yeah, I could use a soft bed right about now.”
Items spilled from Treb’s bag, as he attempted to overfill it once more. “Well, we are on the home stretch now. Just get that wand… staff… thing to the Capital and we should be close to being done. Dang it!” He watched more than half of his stuff pile out again.
Kiin laughed at him. “Treb, dear, if you would not try and pack half of Crystals stuff in your bag as well as all of yours, it might fit.”
“Daddy, I can carry my own stuff,” Crystal demanded.
Treb snarled and started over, with all the same stuff. “You weren’t carrying anything. Markus is supposed to be carrying some of this, not you.”
Crystal stood and began to roll her mat up. “I told Markus I would help carry stuff from here on out. I haven’t been pulling my weight, and, well, you know he has that new staff and so much to learn and practice. It will be easier if he doesn’t have to think about all this stuff.”
Treb muttered, “He is a dragon, he can carry all of our stuff. You don’t need to be carrying so much weight. He is the man, he should act like it.”
Crystal joined her muttering father. “Daddy, you don’t have to be like that. Markus didn’t ask me to do it, I volunteered. Besides, he is the most important person in this group.”
“He might be important, but so are you,” Treb said. “Just because you think he is cute and… you know, you like him, doesn’t mean he is any more important than the rest of us.”
Crystal laughed at his attitude. “Can’t you even say it? I love him, he loves me. Love, daddy, love.”
“Love?” Treb barked, nearly gagging on the word.
She lightly patted him on the head. “Good. Next we will start working on getting you used to the idea of him being my boyfriend.”
Treb grunted, “Not likely.”
Crystal rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You thank him for saving me, and then you act like this. Can you ever learn to act civil around him?”
“Sure, when he stops staring at your butt, wanting to lip wrestle you, and suggesting naughty things,” Treb replied.
Crystal took offense. “He hasn’t suggested one naughty thing!”
“Well, he's thinking them,” Treb muttered as he tried once again to over pack his bag.
She walked away, knowing the situation wasn’t going anywhere positive right now. “Whatever. Hey, where is he anyway?”
Kiin nodded toward another part of the cave. “He was the first one up. His bed and stuff was already cleaned up and ready by the time we got up. He has been sitting in the Dragon room with that staff of his, meditating or something.”
Crystal followed Kiin’s eyes. “Oh, I guess I will go see if he’s ready to go.”
***
Markus sat in the main Throne Room of the Citadel where all the Dragon statues were. He was on the floor in a cross legged position with his staff lying across his lap. He stared at the empty throne where Tolen had once sat eons ago. It was an enormous stone throne meant for a dragon, and by all rights it was his now. Yet it was cold, lost in history, a relic of an age long since dead. It would decay into ruins as a last testament to the failed leadership of the Dragon fellowship.
He had thought all morning about Tolen and wished the old man was still alive to take care of all of this. It was amazingly wonderful to have all this power and be the first real dragon in a thousand years, but it was also a terrible responsibility. It wasn’t just the responsibility, it was the desire to get to know the man who was his grandfather. A man who has witnessed the entire history of the nation of Gallenor, fought several wars, and was a remarkable person.
“Markus?” Crystal whispered, quietly interrupting his thoughts.
A smile grew along his face, crowding his eyes. But he did not turn around. “Hey, I was wondering when you would get up.”
She closed
in on him and stood next to him, observing the dragon statues. “What are you doing?”
Markus looked down at his staff. “I am considering what I have been asked to do. What I have become. I was so impressed with the magic and the legend that I am only now truly realizing what I am. I'm a Dragon, one of the Nine…well one of one at this moment. I waited my whole life to be a wizard, to go to the college and train to do simple things. Help farmers, grow crops, irrigate, and maybe even heal. But, I never expected this. It never crossed my mind I would be all that important.” He heard her snicker. “What, what did I say?”
She sat down next to him. “Just something I was talking about with my father a moment ago. I said you were the most important person in our group and deserved special treatment.”
“That’s flattering,” Markus admitted, “and I suppose Treb had words to contradict that notion. And, I would agree with the contradictions.”
“But, you are the Dragon. You have a huge responsibility. You… ”
“I am just a person,” Markus interrupted, “Dragon or not. That is something I learned last night.”
Crystal frowned. “Learned last night?”
He ran his fingers along the staff. “Yeah. You were right, this staff is enchanted with memories and knowledge. I was met in a dream by a spell image of Tolen. It was designed to help me learn about myself and my role. The last thing he told me was the greatest rift that formed between the wizards, during the war, was a massive difference of opinion. The wizards who chose to use dark magics had the notion that being magical made them superior to non-magical beings. That all other races were inferior and could be treated like pets, animals, or less. The other Dragons had a different idea. Equality among the races, which was represented by the love shared between the wizards and non-wizards. It is why the idea of the inter-racial unions enraged the opposition so greatly, because it was a defining statement about the belief in equality. If I am to be as good as my ancestors, I must continue their wisdom of equality. I cannot allow myself to get the idea that I'm better in any way just because of who I am.”
Legacy of Dragonwand: Book 2 (Legacy of Dragonwand Trilogy) Page 13