The Legend- Revealed

by Cheryl Rush Cowperthwait

  He continued by explaining, “When I deprived him of the title of Master Magician, he disappeared for several years. Not many in the Vale of Valdross were concerned at first because Magicians often make sojourns. But then, time wore on. People had begun to look at me as if I caused his disappearance. Before I was made out to be some sort of vile Magician, he showed up again. Him and that repulsive friend or fiend I should say, showed up. His friend … is a Flaptail.”

  When the mere mention of a Flaptail didn’t bring a response from those around him, so he explained further. “By your lack of astonishment, I gather you have not heard of these loathsome creatures? They are said to be birthed in the deepest pits of Fire. In this place they gather the Shadows of Lost Souls and glean from them all of their darkest thoughts. From that they create a magic. When they find a living Lost Soul, they befriend them and give off the Dark Magic. That is why, even after Flegmorr returned to the Vale of Valdross, he lived on the outskirts. Even his own family knew he had changed. Now, he seeks to take the title from me and return as if all of this is by my doing. If he succeeds, he will change the Future. All Magicians will be taught the Dark Magic instead.”

  Zelspar said, “I don’t know much of what you speak, but what I do know is he will not stand a chance against me. I can assure you of this. I have not only Dragon Magic but the magic from the Great Ancestor from the beginning of our Time. Whatever he seeks to do, whoever he seeks to attack, he will not win. I will stand with you Perthorn. By all that is Dragon, we will make sure his Dark Magic will not gain a foothold here!”

  Perthorn looked around him to discover he was surrounded by friends. He, in that instant knew his decision to go with this group of Uplanders was the right decision. He also knew a great Change was coming and he and Kiel would be at the right place at the right time. He would not allow Flegmorr to change what he saw in the Book of Days. It was imperative that Flegmorr was stopped and he felt more certain than ever before, he could stop him with the aid of his new friends.

  Galdean had returned with Molakei and Flower Bird to let the others know where their new homes were found. Their conversations switched back to discoveries and new friendships being formed. They made their way to the caves which would be the homes of the travelers to help them get settled before the celebration meal ahead.

  Chapter 29

  The Queen of the Mursei made her way back through the gathering of Dragons. “Dragon all, we are prepared for our feast. Let us welcome our new visitors, our new friends!” The words had hardly escaped her throat when a thunderous roar of welcome sounded, shaking the very ground they stood upon.

  So many Dragons roaring at once was a frightening sight to the newcomers, their eyes bulging and scanning from one Dragon to another. Kiel found himself tucked closer to Perthorn, who had plastered himself against the rock-face of his cave’s exterior, inconveniently knocking his cap down over his eyes.

  Zelspar stepped forward to quiet the Dragons to a dull roar. “We are grateful for your welcome, but as you see … our guests are overwhelmed by such a hearty welcome. We will become more familiar with one another, in groups large and small as time allows. Remember my friends, the peoples above ground have at least been familiar with the sights and sounds of us in groups but the peoples of the deep, the Inner Urthe, have not seen Dragons in a very long time. We must give them time to adjust to our ways without causing unnecessary alarm. Let us welcome them by opening up a wide passageway in which they may enter our gathering room without the fear of being trampled.”

  As he spoke, Dragons moved creating a large path through the wall of Dragons. Kaida grabbed Molakei and Flower Bird’s hands to lead them forward. “Come with me,” she called over her shoulder to the other newcomers.

  Zelspar led Perthorn and Kiel through the crowd of Dragons as Galdean motioned for King Togar and the Solteriem folk to follow him. King and Queen of Mursei fell in behind their guests with the other Dragons trailing behind in a dulled thunderous procession. The gathering room was filled to overflowing with all Dragon Hails eager to hear the stories of their returning Dragons, Kaida and the strangers that arrived with them.

  Molakei and Flower Bird had reached their place at the banquet platform with a feast laid before them but their eyes were busy taking in their surroundings. It was similar yet different than their cave home. It was a huge cavernous place with light that shone down from large openings high above that were fitted with what looked to be translucent slabs of crystal ornately inlaid with workings in swirls of gold and silver. Huge gems were embedded all around the rim, catching the sunlight and streaming colors across the room.

  Kaida noticed their wide-eyed stares and smiled. “Do you like my home? It’s much bigger than you’ve seen. Many Mursei Dragons live in this complex of caves which wind all through this mountain. The other Hails have similar homes all across these mountains.”

  Molakei rubbed his rugged chin in thought. “Do you have a … a cave home here?”

  Chuckling she answered, “I don’t know anymore. I used to live with the other hatchlings before you found me. That time seems so long ago.” Her eyes grew misty as she looked out across the gathering room. “I’ve changed so much in that time, I don’t think I would fit back into the nursery with the hatchlings.” She turned her gaze towards Zlemtec and said, “I don’t think you will either!”

  “I hadn’t thought of it until now, but you’re right. We will have to find new homes.”

  Molakei had been talking to Flower Bird and turned back to speak to them both. “We know you have only just returned home. We have a large cave and we are in a new land. We would be honored to share our dwelling with the both of you, if you would consider it.” While the two thought over the idea he added, “We have already made friends with a few of your Hail but I sense we make most uncomfortable. To be honest, I too, am a bit uncomfortable being in a new place with so many I do not know.”

  Kaida placed her hand over his. “I think you have a great idea. I will talk to Sipta Queen after the celebration. I think she will agree, at least for now, it makes perfect sense.” She saw Molakei fully relax with a smile that lit up their space.

  “It is good. There is still so much to learn and share. Remember, we will not always have the advantage of your new staff to understand talking to Dragons. We must continue to learn.”

  The gathering room was filled with excitement which rumbled so loud, the walls shook. The Queen and King of Mursei stood up in front of all those assembled in their great room. The King’s heart swelled in pride as he thought, Whatever the call is, I will go. Whatever the danger is, I will fight. It is the return, the looking out over the sea of faces, that makes me know any sacrifice is worth it. It is good to be home.

  He raised his arms to quiet the crowd. “Guests and Dragons, all. I have but a few words before we all start the celebration proper. You have been introduced to our guests and I charge you with making them all feel welcome. They have proved themselves to be allies, no … they have proved themselves to be friends of the highest order. As you know, we set out to find our Kaida who had vanished after the Urthe tore itself open. We had all but lost hope. We found the place of the peoples, the ones here today, Molakei and Flower Bird, who had become the guardians of our Kaida. It was knowing where she had lived that helped us find the way … the way through and into the world within our world. We call it Inner Urthe.”

  Tears ran freely down Kaida’s face as she watched and listened.

  The King of Mursei continued, “The Inner Urthe is fascinating and very similar to our own except things and even people grow larger, faster and in an abundance. It will be worthy of future exploration, but only after we learn more from one another. Our Hails of Dragons are the largest beings of land and sky and with that comes the largest responsibility. Right now our greatest responsibility is to learn from one another. The Dragon’s way is not to rule over, exploit or diminish resources but to share all things, including our knowledge. Our guests will live a
nd move freely in our domain and be made as welcome as one of our own. Each one has proven their right to be here in thoughts and deeds. They are honorable peoples. So to you all, new and old friends alike, let the celebration begin!”

  The roars became deafening but the guests, having been made welcome, lifted up their voices to join in the booming sounds. Voices united from different places and backgrounds but joined together through the bonds of friendship. Even Perthorn and Kiel seemed altogether comfortable in the new surroundings, celebrating with the thousands of Dragons sharing meals, drinks, jokes and conversation. New friendships were being forged. A foundation, a bridge between all was being laid, one stone at a time.

  The celebration continued until the fading of the day with its long shadows brushed against the mountain homes. Dragons separated, making their way to their homes chiseled out of the mountainside.

  Kaida, hair blonde flying behind her, surged through the thinning crowd to search for the Queen and King of Mursei. Spotting them by Zelspar, she hurried towards them, leaping over Dragon tails with Zlemtec close behind.

  “Sipta Queen,” she called.

  The Queen hearing the voice of her heart, turned to see Kaida coming to her. She opened her arms for her heart to be filled again with her long separated hatchling. Starleira bent in order to scoop her hatchling to her, closed her eyes as her heart absorbed its missing piece. They embraced for a moment before Kaida let go and took a step back.

  “Sipta Queen, Zlemtec and I have grown much too large to return to the hatchling nursery and will need to find homes of our own.”

  The Queen’s eyes grew quite enlarged before they returned to normal, for the first time taking a long look at the two in front of her. “It is hard for me to believe how the two of you have grown in such a short time. We will find a temporary place for you both until the proper place for your homes are discovered.”

  “That is why we are here Queen Mursei,” Zlemtec gushed, “Molakei and Flower Bird have asked us to join them in their cave!”

  “What is this?” The King of Mursei having finished his conversation with Zelspar, had only heard a portion of Zlemtec’s words.

  Starleira took the King’s hand and repeated what Zlemtec had said. Zelspar standing close by, curled his palm across his chin and waited for the Queen and King’s answer.

  The King thoughtfully replied, “I see Molakei’s offer as a suitable one.” He was stalled from continuing by the Queen’s sharp intake of air.

  “My Queen, my Bonded, do not look upon Molakei and Flower Bird as trying to keep Kaida from us. They live with us now. Besides, with Kaida and Zlemtec sharing their lair, err … home, they will both continue to learn from one another. Another fact is, our Hails will see the interaction and soon come to accept the interactions of peoples and Dragons as commonplace, normal even.”

  Kaida shifted from foot to foot, waiting as her blue eyes met the Queen’s green eyes, narrowed in thought. “I suppose it would do no harm, temporarily….” she said drawing out the last word for a few heartbeats.

  Zelspar’s eyebrows lifted as he spoke. “Do not think either of you can escape our continued lessons!”

  “We won’t Zelspar,” said Kaida, “plus, maybe Molakei and Flower Bird could join us?”

  A loud cough of surprise hit Zelspar. He blinked a few times and caught Rynik smiling at him. “Well now, we will take that into consideration. Highly irregular. Hmpfft!” The King could hold back his laughter no longer and released an explosive laugh from the vast fire pit of his belly.

  The Queen chuckled with a low rumbling sound. “Go gather some of your things to take with you and do not be a nuisance to your guardians. Be helpful and do hunting for them and….”

  Zlemtec and Kaida had already ran through the network of caves collecting their possessions before the Queen had a chance to continue her motherly list of to-dos.

  Chapter 30

  Rynik looked from Starleira to Zelspar. His heart both full and heavy, he said, “I would like to speak privately to you both. Let us go to our lair.”

  The Queen and Zelspar exchanged looks. Zelspar hunched his shoulders, answering the Queen’s unspoken question. They turned to follow Rynik.

  Once in the lair, Rynik paused. The words he had to say did not come easily to his tongue. He paced a moment before saying, “My Bonded, please bring out Kaida’s heritage box.”

  Starleira was shocked. This was farthest thing on her mind as she followed Rynik to their lair. The coloring of her face drained as she replied, “You can’t mean to hand her heritage box over to her now, it’s much too soon! She only looks old enough, my Bonded. She still has many lessons to master….”

  Rynik dropped his massive head and continued to pace. “I’m not suggesting that. Yet. There is something I wish Zelspar to see before I go any farther into explanations. Please bring it out.”

  The Queen’s eyes found nowhere to rest as they darted between her Bonded and her dearest friend. She absent-mindedly picked at her talons and turned to go into the alcove where all the Mursei hatchling boxes were stored. Kaida’s heritage box was easy to find, even in the dim light. It was different than all the others. She picked it up and clutched it tightly to her chest. This had been her secret, her discovery. True, Rynik had given it to her but he didn’t know what it was, what it held….

  Starleira slowly walked back to face Rynik and Zelspar, the box hidden between her palms.

  “Hold it out, my Queen. I would like Zelspar to look at it,” Rynik cautiously said.

  The Queen opened her hands and allowed the box, the white orb, to dangle from its chain. Zelspar’s eyes flew wide open as he gasped, looking at what the Queen had exposed. The Queen took a step back. She had no idea why he would act in this manner.

  Rynik knew the answer before he asked the question, but asked it anyway. “Zelspar, does this orb, this heritage box, seem familiar?”

  Zelspar could only nod an affirmative. His jaw had come loose of its hinge. Could my old eyes be deceiving me? It … It looks the same as the yellow-haired peoples we met. He recovered his voice. “We have seen … such boxes.”

  The Queen, confused, replied. “You couldn’t have seen anything like this. It is the only one. Her birth mother wore it. We took it from her after her spirit left, to hold for Kaida. No other peoples have been seen with such an orb as a heritage box, it is unique and only Kaida has one.”

  It was as Rynik thought. “Come and sit, Starleira. I must tell you of our travels back to you.”

  Feeling uneasy, Starleira sat on the granite bench, her hand clutching softly, the white orb. She could make no sense out of her Bonded’s words or those which Zelspar uttered. Surely, they are confused, she thought.

  Rynik began the re-telling of their trip across the land as they made their way towards home. He sat next to his queen and told her of the peoples Kaida discovered. The very same peoples with blue eyes and yellow hair like hers. The Queen’s face cracked with a newly registered alarm, as did Zelspar’s.

  “No!” The Queen’s heart pounded with fear.

  “There is more to tell, my Queen. The peoples are not from here. Just as we used portals from Verlaunde to come here, they used what they called gateways to come here. They have been in search of one of their own. They followed a sound from a beacon to this planet in hopes of finding this woman. Her name is Kiayla. She is or was the princess of their world.”

  Starleira’s shoulders heaved as a volume of tears flowed forth.

  Rynik continued as he leaned Starleira’s head against his shoulder. “I recognized the orbs they wore as being the same as I removed from Kaida’s mother and gave to you. We had only just found Kaida again. I could not tell them that the woman they sought died in childbirth. I could not tell them Kaida is the woman’s daughter. They did call Kaida by her mother’s name when they first saw her but I told them Kaida is a Mursei and has been with us from her very first breath. I was able to get them to return to their home, to see if the missing
woman they were searching for had returned to their world. I am not happy with my deception. But I … I do not know these peoples, and they had fled with Kiayla because of battles on their planet.”

  Starleira didn’t speak, only her cascading tears carried the unspoken words of the fear in losing Kaida again, the fear of losing the Dragon Child and what that would mean. Her heart was breaking.

  Rynik understood her tears, her grief, as his heart mirrored his Bonded’s. “We will all have to think on this. Kaida must be told. Sooner or later, she must be told. It is my opinion that we can not hold back much longer. Those peoples will return. They already think Kaida is familiar. After some thought, they will come looking for her. She needs to be told so she can be prepared.”

  The sound of Starleira’s sobbing grew quiet. She had been continually rubbing the white crystal orb. She heaved a heavy sigh as her shoulders shuddered in distress.

  She looked to her Bonded and then to Zelspar. She took a deep breath and said, “There is something more you should know.” Her talon found the hidden spring to the ornate orb and unlatched it. “Let me show you.”

  “Come over to the table,” Starleira said looking at her king and closest friend. “It is time you see what is hidden in the orb.” Bending over the table on which she placed a hide of deer, she tipped the orb. The contents spilled onto the soft covering. Heads drew closer to the objects to discern what had been placed within. Queen Mursei delicately used one of her talons to separate the pile.

  Zelspar caught something out of the corner of his eye and exclaimed, “This cannot be!”

  Rynik tilted his head and saw the same item. “Starleira, what is the meaning of this? Did you add items to the orb?”

  “No, I did not. But, there is more.” She stirred the contents until it revealed two more items. “Do you see now,” she said in a whispers breath.