Ayaris translated their words to the Captain. The two were-drakes boarded their flying machine again. When they launched into the air, he turned to Sonnai.
“Why did you get so angry?”
She shook her head.
“Eden… it’s our land. It belongs to the dragons, not these… mongrels.”
“You don’t think they had something to do with what we’ve seen?”
“They didn’t seem to have enough power. But I don’t trust them.”
“Neither do I, but they seem to be our only guides. Just in case, try not to let them know what you really are.”
“Dragons, sire?”
The two were-dragons looked at him with their unblinking eyes. He could not tell the expressions their alien faces made.
“Two days sailing west of here,” Ayaris explained. “Hundreds of dead dragons.”
One of the pilots shook his head. “Our flying machines can’t reach that far. We know nothing of what goes on in the Great Cliffs.”
“I can believe that,” the Duke said, eyeing the rickety vehicle. This one was larger than the scouting contraption they had seen earlier, capable of taking passengers. “We will take the flying machine alone, me and Sonnai,” he ordered the Captain, “make ready to sail off at any sign of danger, with me or without me.”
The machine rose shakily. The Duke found travelling in the air a disconcerting experience. He kept looking down to the sea, fighting the primal fear. He glanced at Sonnai; the dragon was calm, observing the workings of the vehicle with curiosity. Only her hands, clutching the dragonbone chest, were paler than usual.
The vehicle passed the first of the hills, then higher, over a steep wall of grey rock. The rocks parted and the Duke saw an enormous, almost perfectly round valley, surrounded on all sides by sharp-edged mountains. He saw flowering heaths, orchards heaving with fruit, green meadows and dark forests. But his eyes were quickly drawn to a city rising in the middle of the valley.
It was as great as Hollo, but more sparsely populated. There were fewer buildings, separated by wide alleyways and vast squares. The buildings were all made of a shining white crystal, rising high towards the skies on slender columns. The walls were cut through with panes of colourful glass. The entire city was filled with bright white light.
Dozens of vehicles hurried along and above the broad highways, powered by the power of human muscles; he could see no horses or oxen anywhere. There were very few trees in the city, instead the streets were lined with sculptures and monuments of stone, metal and glass. The lanterns were cast into the shapes of butterflies and singing birds.
“Eden,” he whispered, and the wind carried his words. He looked at Sonnai. The girl pointed at something in the city centre.
In the middle of the largest of the plazas, where all the main thoroughfares met, rose a monument of the same shining crystal which was used to construct the buildings everywhere in the city. On top of a squat pedestal stood a giant statue of a golden snake eating its own tail.
Their vehicle landed at the foot of this monument in front of a marble staircase leading to a sprawling building of many pillars and spires. Its gates were open. A group of were-drakes clad in silver robes climbed down the staircase to meet them. The Duke and Sonnai wore thick furs, but the clothes of these people were thin and light.
“Welcome, Ancestors,” said the tallest of the were-drakes, bowing. The others repeated the greeting and gesture. “The blessing of the Great Dragons is upon us all.”
“You’ve been expecting us,” the Duke said. None of the were-drakes, not even the two pilots who had guided them here, seemed surprised to see them.
“We prayed that you would arrive in time. Come inside. You must be tired and hungry after the flight.”
The dining hall was vast, like the inside of a great temple. The vault was designed ingeniously so that everyone sitting by the long stone table could converse with each other without raising their voice. The table was intended for a much larger number of diners than there were sitting by it at that moment.
“This city is long past its prime,” observed the Duke, studying the hall, noticing traces of disrepair. The already familiar mark of a snake eating its tail adorned the crystal walls.
He and Sonnai sat in the seats of honour at the top of the table. Everyone around them fell silent when the man who had welcomed them at the marble steps entered the hall.
“They call me the First Speaker,” the man introduced himself, “and I am the closest to what thou might call a ruler of this city. No doubt you are surprised to be welcomed here with so much expectation, even though you are the first to come in a long time from the lands of the South, shrouded in legends of our people.”
“Your lands are equally legendary where I come from, Speaker,” Ayaris replied. Sonnai kept silent, careful not to betray her identity; for the benefit of their hosts, she chose to play the part of the Duke’s consort.
“For many days our priests have been praying to the Great Dragons for help, guidance, a sign. At last, the Head Priestess saw in her oracle sleep a ship from the South, bearing an Ancestor male and a dragon female.” Sonnai twitched, but the Speaker failed to notice it and continued. “We have sent the flying patrols along the cost and awaited your arrival impatiently.”
“You said we have arrived in time,” the Duke said. “In time for what? What have you been praying for?”
“We are in a dire situation. The city is in perhaps the gravest danger in its history. But with thy help, we hope to overcome…”
“How do you know it’s us?” Sonnai spoke, unable to hold her tongue anymore, “the oracle speaks of a dragon female. I don’t see anyone here fitting this description.”
The First Speaker coughed nervously. “No, my lady. Perhaps this is merely a symbol — or perhaps the dragon will come in its own time to join you. Our patrols are still on the look-out…”
“So no dragon has come here yet?”
“No, m’lady. We would have welcomed it as eagerly as we welcomed you.”
There was a pause. The Duke and Sonnai looked at each other. She was the first to speak again.
“We… we saw dragons all along the southern shore. Hundreds. Dead.”
“Oh, yes. The pilots told me of your report. Our patrols…”
“Your patrols don’t reach so far south, I know,” said the Duke in a lighter tone.
“We shall send a research mission, of course, once we have dealt with the current problem. It sounds most intriguing.”
“Either way,” the Duke said, “I don’t think we are the ones you have been expecting. We know nothing about this land or its inhabitants. We are on a research mission… truth be told, we didn’t even expect to meet anyone here except dumb beasts — and, perhaps, dragons. You speak of trouble, but I don’t see how I or any of my crew could in any way assist people capable of creating such wonders.” He gestured around.
The First Speaker considered his words briefly.
“Dost thou know how to wage a war?”
Ayaris hesitated before deciding in this case he could allow himself to tell the truth.
“I have been doing little else for the best part of my life.”
Everyone at the table started talking at once, cheering, clapping, crying, thanking the Gods for their good luck. Even the First Speaker could not hide his emotions.
“Thou art truly the one we have waited for! We are saved!”
SALLY
The Duke could not remember the last time he had felt so elated. He had not been in a battle since his conquest of Secrey and felt as if he had found something he had lost a long time ago.
He did not feel the need to know why he was fighting, or for what. His mind was tired of questions and mysteries. War was straightforward enough, energizing his weary body. There would be time for answers — but not before the battle was over.
“We are not warriors,” said the First Speaker, taking Ayaris around a makeshift armoury set in one of the base
ments of the city hall. “We have lived in peace for generations, defended by what we thought were impenetrable fortresses in the mountain passes…we have few weapons and are running low on ammunition.”
“How do your weapons work?” the Duke asked, studying a long piece of hollowed iron. It reminded him of the blowdarts of the Evarites. “I don’t need the technical details, just tell me what it does, in simple words.”
“The Great Tube,” the Speaker pointed to machines standing by the opposite wall, “throws exploding missiles a great distance. The Small Tube, like the one thou art holding, shoots little balls of lead or bolts of iron, faster than a whole squadron of trained archers. We also have fire spheres which we throw from our flying machines…”
“I see. So this one is like a Fire Ball, and the small one is like the Arrow Rain?”
The Speaker stared at him.
“I do not know those words, are these machines from thy land?”
“No, not machines — spells.”
“Spells, Duke?”
Ayaris wondered if he used the wrong word in the dragon tongue.
“Spells, magic — witchcraft…”
“I’m afraid I do not understand, Duke. I know those words, but we only use them in fairy-tales. Sometimes our priests refer to their miracles as magic...”
“Unbelievable,” the Duke said, shaking his head. He reached out his hand and summoned a small flame. The Speaker reeled in fright. “What do you call this, then?”
“It seems… it seems you, Ancestors, did not forget the old Art… our legends say humans also knew magic once… thousands of years ago…”
The Duke noticed the Speaker used the word “human’ only to describe his own race, reserving the word “Ancestors” for himself and Sonnai. He extinguished the flame in his hand.
“I see I can be of use to you in more than one way. Now, show me the enemy.”
The silvery machine belonging to the First Speaker flew up the side of the steep mountain range enclosing the Eden valley from the north. Ayaris heard shots and explosions long before he saw the battlefield itself.
The line of attack was clear; the warriors swarmed like a sea tide, their waves breaking ever closer to the mountain fortresses. The Duke had only seen so many people fighting each other during the first and second battles of Madavant. Even for a seasoned warrior like himself this was an alarming view. He could see the First Speaker shaking. What was it like for this man who had never known war in his entire life?
“We are being attacked by the forest tribes. For centuries they fought each other for dominance of the Taiga. We have no idea why they have decided to attack us now. These are barbarians, savages, using stone axes and bows and arrows, but there are just so many… we will not last long without your help.”
“I have seen enough. Take us back.”
“Why are they fighting? Why are you helping them?” asked Sonnai, looking through the coloured window. Clouds were gathering over the mountains. The were-drakes offered them a room at the top of a spire of white crystal. The rest of the Pride of Astvar’s crew was settling in another part of the city. The sailors refused to leave their dwelling, fearful of the reptilian inhabitants of the Eden.
“I don’t understand.”
“Even if you win this particular battle… they will come again, in greater number. If not this generation, then the next. The moment they decided to unite and attack, the Eden lost. It’s weaker — it deserves to fall.”
“This is exactly the kind of thinking that brought doom upon your brothers and sisters,” he said. Sonnai’s face turned grey. They had not discussed the dragon cemetery since arriving into the city. “The shadow of doom you saw following me… you brought this doom upon yourselves, with these fatal theories of yours.”
“That’s not true! We’d have reached the Eden and be safe, if only, if only…”
“If only what? You should have gathered an army and killed me, and then killed everyone else who came after me. Then you would all be alive! You know what it’s called? Not destiny, not evolution — it’s cowardice!”
Sonnai was nearly crying, but at his last words she stood up proudly.
“You can’t say that. Dragons know no fear.”
“Prove it.”
“What?”
“Help us in tomorrow’s battle. Help us defeat the inevitable.”
“Defeat?” She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. What will a single victory help against the fate of a race? I understand why you’d want to do it — you’ve come here to die anyway, might as well die in a glorious battle… But I — I have hundreds of years left to live. Why would I help you or anyone in this city?”
He did not answer, letting her figure it out by herself. Yes, she could live a long life. But it would be a lonely one; all her brethren were dead or had flown too far away for her to follow.
“All right,” she said at last. “I will help you, but only to prove to you that your efforts are futile. Otherwise, you’ll blame me for your failure. What do you want me to do?”
He looked doubtfully at the couple of hundred were-drakes gathered at the central plaza. As the First Speaker had explained, these were all the able-bodied men left in the city. Everyone else was already on the frontline — or dead. Only less than half were armed with Small Tubes; the rest had to make do with crossbows and spears, the weaponry of the “savages’:
“At least they seem eager,” he said quietly. The scene reminded him of the fall of Madavant. The people of his home town had been as keen to die in its defence as the men of Eden. But this time, the dragon is on our side, he thought.
The main avenue of the city had been transformed into a make-shift runway, where a couple of dozen flying machines waited to take as many soldiers as they could over the frontline. The largest ones were also packed with fire spheres and armed with Small Tubes.
A stack of Great Tube missiles as tall as Ayaris himself was piled in front of the city hall. The Duke knelt down and wove the spell of Binding and Strengthening. By the time he had finished, the power of the explosive materials within the iron shells was increased tenfold.
He then came up to Sonnai, who was standing on top of the marble stairs.
“Are you sure we can trust them?” she asked in a whisper. “We still don’t even know if they are the ones in the right here. What if they were the ones who killed all those dragons?”
The Duke shrugged. “I’m a soldier and there’s a battle to be won. That’s good enough for me. But if you need reassurances, I can only give you my intuition. I’m certain these men are not the enemies of the dragons.”
“Takes one to know one,” she scoffed.
“You have nothing to lose by revealing yourself. Their weapons can’t harm you — there’s no magic in them, I’ve checked.”
She sighed and nodded. Ayaris stepped back and advised the First Speaker to do the same.
In a flash of flame and thunder, the girl changed. A great golden dragon appeared on top of the marble staircase and roared defiantly. All were-drakes dropped down to their knees, and lay prostrate. Silence fell on the city.
“The Great Dragons have listened to our prayers!” the First Speaker cried out in a shaky voice.
The flying machines carried the enchanted charges to one of the mountain passes, chosen by the Duke as the best place to strike. The fortress was filled with soldiers waiting for the signal to attack. The enemy was the strongest here, coming closest to the walls; the garrison’s supplies had almost been depleted by the time the Duke’s forces had arrived.
He climbed the wall and studied the battlement for a while, then gave a signal to light the fuse. Half a minute later the mountainside erupted in a mighty, rock-shattering blast, vaporising a great part of the frontline troops and casting the rest aside into the crags and ravines.
The Duke ran down the battlement to join the were-drake army. The gates of the fortress were thrown open and the grey-skinned soldiers charged downhill. A winged shadow appear
ed over their heads. Sonnai flew past them, spreading fear and destruction before her. The flying machines followed, although they could not keep up with the dragon.
The enemy was routed and fled towards the woods. Ayaris led his warriors in pursuit, to make sure the forest people lost the will to return any time soon.
Eden was saved.
The Duke emerged from the forest clutching his side. Blood trickled through his fingers. He limped up to the makeshift infirmary the were-drakes had established within the walls of the mountain fortress. Less than half of the men he had led into the woods returned and most of them were heavily injured. Ayaris found the First Speaker among the healers.
“You told me they were savages!” he said, half-accusingly. He couldn’t hide his satisfaction with how the fight had gone, however. “I have never met anyone fighting so well. In the forest, on their own ground, they are damn fine warriors.”
The Speaker nodded. “Thousands of years of selection will do that, yes. It’s only a matter of time before they defeat us for good.”
The Duke straightened, wincing. “You knew? And still you fought?”
“Of course. It is our duty to survive for as long as possible. This time thou wert on our side. Next time we might not be so lucky.”
The Duke wanted to learn more about the Speaker’s philosophy, so different from that of Sonnai and the dragons and yet somehow familiar — but something else drew his attention. There were shouts coming from the edge of the camp. The soldiers had caught one of the forest people and had forced him to kneel.
“He was trying to hide himself among our wounded. He thought we would not recognise his filthy savage skin!”
To Ayaris, the kneeling man looked the same as any other were-drake, except for his more barbaric clothes. Upon closer inspection he noticed his skin was, in places, covered with spots of tiny scales of brighter hue.
Sonnai appeared among them, in her human form.
“Stop!” she cried. “Leave him be!”
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