by Bianca D'Arc
The dragons could not mate until the knights found their match. And women who could live in the Lair, among dragonkind, were rare. Even rarer were those who could speak with dragons. The gift was found more often in males, though even then, it appeared only in a very small percentage of the population. Only a man who could speak with dragons was eligible to become a knight—and only then, if a dragon chose him.
Dragons could see into the soul. They could judge the goodness in a man’s heart. They would only pick the best of the candidates to partner with for, once chosen, the dragon bonded to his knight for life. And that life was spent in service to their homeland of Draconia.
“Do you know who this fisherwoman is? Did you get her name?” Seth asked, knowing such information would have to be shared. Women who could hear dragons were just too rare to ignore.
“Did I say she was a fisherwoman?” Hrardorr asked in an insulted tone. “She is a lady through and through, though she is not afraid of hard work, or of me, as it turns out. She is unlike any human female I have ever encountered.”
“You know the knights are going to want to seek her out,” Seth said, laying his cards on the table. “Such women are rare.”
“I know that as well as you do, youngster,” Hrardorr snapped. “But something tells me this lady will not be content to accept just any knight. She is special. So must the men be who claim her.”
“You’re going to keep her identity secret?” Seth almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Then again, this mysterious woman seemed to have brought a spark of life back to Hrardorr. He was much more animated than Seth had ever seen him. He looked as if he was taking an interest in life again, which Seth counted as a great sign.
“Perhaps,” Hrardorr agreed. “For a while, at least. I need to find the right knights and dragons to court her. And since I am new to this Lair, you must help me. You were born here, no?”
Seth sighed. “Yes, I was born here. I know everybody. And I suppose you’ll want me to give you the run-down on who’s who?” Secretly, Seth was thrilled with Hrardorr’s new interest in his surroundings and in learning about the people of the Lair. Maybe this would be the first step in getting the blind dragon to become truly part of his new home.
“That would be very helpful. Yes. I think we should start there,” Hrardorr mused as Seth finished treating his eyes.
After that conversation, every night when Seth treated Hrardorr’s wounds and cared for his wings, Seth told him about the people of the Southern Lair. He talked about his family and their close friends. He talked about the prominent knights and dragons. He told stories about daily life in the Lair and who was better at what sorts of tasks among the dragons and knights.
Seth told Hrardorr about his friends—both those who had already been chosen by dragons and even the few younger males who were still living with their parents and hoping to be partnered with a dragon as soon as the right one came to choose them. Seth’s motive for that was to hopefully get Hrardorr interested in taking another knight who could help him recover. Seth thought that, if Hrardorr had the care of a true partner, he would heal faster and better, but choosing another knight was totally up to Hrardorr.
For his part, Hrardorr continued to improve. He’d go off each day for a swim and a fishing expedition. Some days, he’d come back to the Lair and mention that he’d met up with his human female friend again, though he never told Seth her name. Some days, he’d talk about the way the fishermen on their little boats had cheered when he came to the surface with a massive shark in his teeth. Each day, Hrardorr seemed to grow stronger and more engaged in the world again. And each night, Seth became happier with the dragon’s progress.
At the end of each week, Bronwyn would make the trek to Hrardorr’s chamber to check on his progress. After the first few visits, she had taken to sitting with the dragon for a while and bringing him up to date on the news in the Lair. Bronwyn was old enough to get away with such tactics, for a dragon would not be disrespectful to an elder—human or otherwise.
Seth sat by her side, having made tea for them both in the small kitchen area that was mostly bare, except for the jar of tea and a tin box of crackers he’d placed there especially for Bronwyn’s visits. He’d taken a comfortable chair out of storage for her to use and sat himself on the wooden stool, near her side.
“You are looking better each day, Sir Hrardorr,” Bronwyn pronounced after she’d settled with her tea. She’d already done a thorough examination of Hrardorr’s wounds. “I’m glad to see Seth is taking such good care of you.”
“That he is, milady,” Hrardorr agreed, allowing both humans to hear his words. Dragons could direct their speech to one mind or several. They were highly skilled in such things.
“I would take the credit,” Seth said, modestly, “but it belongs mostly to Sir Hrardorr’s daily excursions. Since he’s been flying out to swim and fish, he’s been gaining strength steadily.”
“Word of your shark fishing exploits has reached the Lair, Sir Hrardorr,” Bronwyn said with a smile. “The townsfolk are grateful to you and have sent word to the leaders of our Lair in formal thanks. You’re fast becoming a local hero.”
The words of praise didn’t have the desired effect, Seth could see, as Hrardorr snorted and black puffs of smoke rose from his nostrils toward the vented ceiling. Hrardorr shifted in the sand pit, ruffling his wings slightly.
“Being known for fishing is not something I ever would have predicted.” Hrardorr let off a mighty sigh that sent more smoke rising upward. “How the mighty have fallen.”
Seth decided a change of topic was in order. “How is it that you swim so well, Sir Hrardorr?”
Hrardorr wiggled deeper into the sand in his wallow, getting comfortable.
“One of my ancestors was a sea dragon,” he told them. “I’m told my coloration comes from her.”
“I’ve lived on the shore all my life, and I’ve never seen a sea dragon,” Seth said, surprised by Hrardorr’s words.
“I’m not surprised. They do not come up from the depths often. Their domain is the water, and they do not mix with humans or even other dragons, very often. My great-grandmother, Dureen, was injured in a mighty battle with a creature of the deep and washed up on shore, nearly dead. My great-grandsire, Jaranth, and his knight, Edjel, found her and nursed her back to health, but she was never able to swim the deeps again. She and Jaranth fell in love, and she stayed with him, building this very Lair with him after choosing Kael as her knight.”
“I had no idea you were descended from them. I’ve heard the story of Dureen and Jaranth my entire life,” Seth told him, duly impressed. “They were legendary leaders of dragons and men.”
“I thought coming here, to be in the place that they built, might help me heal,” Hrardorr said softly. “And, if nothing else, I could explore my sea dragon side a bit. Water is one of the few places I do not notice my shortcomings so greatly.”
The conversation was rolling around to unhappy thoughts again, and Seth was at a loss as to how to fix it this time. Luckily, Bronwyn saved the day.
“There’s a new pair coming in tomorrow from the Castle Lair,” Bronwyn said, changing the subject again. “They’re going to be filling in for old Tercel and Ailish while Tercel heals from his broken leg. Ailish was most insistent that her knight be given time off from his duties to spend with his family while he rests. He is the oldest of the serving knights and should probably have been allowed to retire to a less active duty post a few years back, but he is a stubborn man. I think this injury has finally proven to him that he is not as young as he used to be.” Bronwyn laughed. “In fact, none of us are. Which is why I have you to help me, dear boy.” She reached out to stroke Seth’s hand in a motherly way.
“Tercel and Ailish are wing leaders, are they not?” Hrardorr asked, his sightless eyes narrowed in thought. It seemed to Seth that Bronwyn’s change of topic had engaged the dragon’s interest.
“They command the first flig
ht,” Seth answered readily.
He knew all the positions in the battle groups, having grown up with two of the best knights in the Lair as his fathers. They’d always made certain he knew how everything worked among the fighting cadres, thinking he would be a knight one day himself. But Seth had gone down a different path.
He couldn’t fault Bronwyn or fate or whatever for his current position. He was doing what his conscience demanded, following a difficult path to help another person whom he loved as family. While he might regret giving up his boyhood dreams of being a knight, he couldn’t be bitter about it. He’d chosen this path. He’d made his bed, and he had to lie in it.
Still, he kept up with the fighting units and knew them all. Not only did he help them when there were injuries, but he’d grown up with many of the younger knights and still counted them as friends.
“Who did they get to replace such a strong pair?” Hrardorr asked, breaking into Seth’s thoughts.
Bronwyn answered, “A dragon named Genlitha who is partnered with a knight by the name of Gowan.”
Hrardorr’s head lifted. “I knew Genlitha when we were children. She is an excellent flyer.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Stop fussing, Gen,” Gowan said soundlessly to the dragon who was so uncharacteristically nervous that she’d almost unseated him three separate times during their flight from Castleton to the Southern Lair. Gowan was still learning about dragons, but Genlitha had always been steady and calm with him. Until now.
“Apologies. I’m just…”
“Yes, I know, milady. You’re nervous about our new post and about meeting the new dragons and people of the new Lair. You’re not alone in that. I may have been a warrior all my life, but fighting with you as my partner is still new to me. Nobody was more surprised than I when the new orders came down, sending us here.”
He was, frankly, still confused by the orders. There were many more experienced knights who could easily have taken this post. So why had they chosen him and Gen? They were still bonding. Still learning their way together.
Gen was the true veteran of their pairing. She’d had a knight partner before. More than one, in fact. Dragons lived very, very long lives. Even when they shared some of their magic with their chosen knights, extending their human partner’s lifetime by centuries, they still outlived their chosen human friends many times over. Genlitha was considered in her prime years among dragons at about five hundred years old.
That was his best guess at her age. Gowan hadn’t asked her exact number of years. He suspected that females of any sentient species would balk at such a query.
“What is that in the distance?” Gowan asked, hoping to distract his dragon partner as they flew toward their destination. He had never been this far south and didn’t know the terrain. Besides, Genlitha had much better eyesight than he did, and way more experience in the air.
“That is the ocean, my friend,” she said, finally a bit calmer than she’d been for the past few days. “And that small arrangement of mountains and rock spires is our new home. The Southern Lair. We’ll be there within the hour.”
As they flew on, the shapes of the mountain and the dark openings of large caverns within resolved. Not as large as the Castle Lair, this new place was quite different from what he had gotten used to since partnering with Genlitha. Still, there were familiar patterns. Landing ledges and indications of where dragons could come and go freely among the cliffs and many caves.
Some of the openings flickered with light as the sun began its descent. Gowan knew there would be lanterns and watch fires, cook fires and those around which old knights and dragons would share stories and flagons of ale. This was a home. It might be smaller and less distinguished than the fancy Lair up in the capital, but it was still the place many dragons and knights called home and fought to protect.
As they neared the Lair, Gowan also got his first real vision of the water. So much water! He’d never seen anything like it before in his entire life. He’d seen rivers and lakes before, of course. He had traveled many miles as a warrior and soldier for the kingdom of Draconia. He had seen many things that most townsfolk or city dwellers could never even imagine. But he’d never seen anything like the vast expanse of water licking at the sandy shore. It was immense. And beyond his ability to describe in words.
“What do you think of the ocean?” Genlitha asked him when he’d been silent a long time.
“It is…”
“Yes, I know.” A smile seemed to come through in her words. “I was trained here as a young dragon with my first knight before moving on to other postings. The winds off the water are challenging, so they send the promising flyers here when they’re young to learn the air currents. It is considered a plum assignment.”
And now, she was verbally preening. Gowan had learned her moods in the months they’d been together. At least he knew that much.
So much about being a fighting knight partnered with a dragon was still a mystery to him. He supposed he would learn as he went, but with the war on in the north, there was no time for years of training in a safe environment. It was on-the-job training or nothing at all.
It made sense, when he thought of it like that, as to why he and Genlitha had been sent here. They were a new pairing, even though both of them were proven fighters on their own. Genlitha was a veteran, as was Gowan—they just had never had the experience of fighting together as a team. Certainly, there were other pairs more suited to this assignment, with much more experience, but all of those were probably better sent north, to where the real action was.
That made sense, even if it did take the shine off his plum assignment. If the others could have been spared from the ongoing threat in the north, they would have been.
It was a backhanded compliment, at best, that he and Genlitha had been sent here. Everyone knew the Southern Lair never saw any real action. It was known as the knight’s retirement home for a reason. Old knights came here at the end of their careers, to enjoy this seaside air, the gentle climate, and routine patrols without any real excitement or conflict.
Gowan wasn’t sure what to think. In one way, he was thankful that nothing ever happened here, because it meant he and Genlitha would have more time to learn how to fight together as a team. Leading the fighting wing was an unexpected bonus. Gowan was used to command. He had led regiments and battalions into battle. He was blooded and celebrated in single combat. It was fighting with a fire-breathing dragon at his side, and beneath him in the air, that was new and untested.
He hoped they would work out the kinks in that arrangement during this assignment. If he had a chance to cast his lines in the water occasionally and do a little recreational fishing, he wasn’t against that either. Every warrior knew to enjoy life while they could—during the lulls between battles. This seemed to be that time for him and Genlitha, and he would take advantage of it as best he could.
Genlitha needed no guidance from him on the arrival procedure to a new Lair. A patrol came out to greet them, consisting of two spring green dragons that looked almost like twins, both with magnificent wingspans. Even Gowan—as untutored in dragon lore as he was—could tell they would be exceptional flyers. Perhaps that’s why they’d been stationed here, much as Genlitha had been in her youth.
The dragons trumpeted a greeting to each other while the knights merely nodded to one another. Gowan suspected Genlitha was communicating with the other dragons, but he was not privy to their discussion. Dragon stuff, probably. Mysterious and arcane. And not for the likes of him.
Before long, they came in for a landing on the wide ledge at the top of the Lair. Genlitha navigated the markedly more powerful air currents with skill, landing with a graceful flare the two younger dragons still lacked. Gowan could feel the appreciative looks from those on the ledge—dragon and human alike.
Genlitha certainly knew how to make an entrance. And by dragon standards, she was lovely. Pale blue with darker blue and gray highlights along her flanks, she was
almost perfectly camouflaged in the sky, under all sorts of conditions. A few of the folk in Castleton had nicknamed her the air dragon, both for the flawless way she flew and her resemblance to the sky itself.
Gowan greeted the knights who were waiting, relying on the procedures he had learned in the military.
“Gowan and Genlitha, reporting for duty from the Castle Lair, as ordered,” he said to the oldest of the knights who had come up to greet them.
The older man smiled broadly, and there was a certain twinkle in his eye as he looked at Genlitha. It looked like recognition.
“Oh, we know who you are, laddie. It’s been many years since I’ve seen the lovely Genlitha. Do you remember me, milady?” The old knight walked slowly toward Genlitha, who had lowered her head to get a better look at the man.
“Senneth! How have you been keeping, my old friend?”
“Old is right, milady,” the knight joked. “Yet you look as young and fit as ever. It is good to see you again.” He turned back to Gowan as if it was an afterthought. “Get ye to the leaders. They’ll want to speak with you. Lady Gen and I have some catching up to do.”
That was as clear a dismissal as Gowan had ever heard, but he took a moment to check in privately with his dragon partner. “Will you be all right if I go check in with the leaders of the Lair?”
“Perfectly fine. Senneth was the teacher of my last knight, and we spent many years fighting at his side. He is a good man and was a cunning warrior in his time. I would like to spend time with him, if I may.”
“Milady, your time is your own when we are not on duty. I’m glad you have found a friend already here in our new posting.” Gowan bowed to her and left, seeking directions to where the leaders of the Lair might be found at that time of day.
As it turned out, they were in a cavernous chamber, called simply, the great hall, that was used for communal meals, meetings and celebrations. It was large enough to accommodate all the knights of the Lair at once, and a few dragons besides. Dinner was just starting and the place was full, the leaders sitting at the head table with their lady.