by N. Saraven
The fury of the Goddess struck everybody as if it were real lightning. The shadow dragons cringed to the ground, unable to move in fear. Only Enargit resisted, although he could hardly stay put. He felt the extreme urge to run, and run, and run, until he collapsed in exhaustion.
But as suddenly as the wrath came, it faded away just as quickly, as if it were only a breeze, flying through the lands.
“Yes, you are right,” Arisha said as she gave a smile of regret. “Although times have changed, my dear Enargit. You could maybe hear me before you refuse my proposal?”
“Maybe …” whispered the dragon through his clenched teeth. The Goddess’ voice was so smooth, light, and kind, he almost gave in. He had to remind himself with every thought that this was one of those effects that the Great Four had on mortals. He ought to resist!
Yet it felt terribly difficult.
“You know well enough why I trusted you with my last task. You are my Chosen One, Enargit. I do not wish to leave you. That is why I have sent my emissary for you.” She motioned to Talek, who bowed again. “As my people, please, overcome the power of Lexénia in the ‘other world’, as you call it. She has a way with Indrek; that is why he betrayed you, Enargit. He became unfaithful to me, and serves Evil now.”
“So you want another Crossing,” murmured Enargit, which made the other dragons glance at each other in astonishment.
Arisha’s eyes fell; she stayed silent. The Leader continued.
“Why do you think I will risk my people again? As far as I know, every one of them was slaughtered! Then, of those dragons, your evil half made undead, mindless subjects for herself!” snapped the shadow dragon with flaring eyes. During his captivity, Lexénia made sure that he got news of the outside worlds in forms of dreams. Although he got only some of the happenings of her choosing.
“Yes … I cannot … I will not deny that. But in those times, you could not have such helpers as I am offering to you now.”
She looked at the dragon with a strange gaze, which made Enargit shudder. It felt that she could destroy them in an instant, and she knew perfectly of what she was capable.
However, her words made the Leader think. He did not know of what she was talking. Then it struck him. He glanced down at Neila, who stood beside him the whole conversation in silence. But now she became pale, as she too realised the situation.
“Yes, you understand now.” Arisha smiled, but it was a mysterious one. Her gaze showed nothing.
“Who is this, whom you recommend?” asked Enargit, who started to become curiouser and curiouser.
“She is none other than the daughter of Setal, his Chosen One. The mortal, who is not a mortal. Her life is connected to the Overlord, the servant of Lexénia.”
As the Mother of All spoke, Neila became even paler, then she blushed to a deep red. Enargit watched her carefully, long after the mage’s eyes fell to the ground. She was obviously deeply insulted by the whole situation. The dragon could understand. Arisha spoke of her as if she were a horse, with whom the Gods trade.
“But that is not all.” Arisha broke his thoughts. “Lexénia’s Chosen One is also on your side.”
Now it was Halgor whose eyes widened; his cheeks reddened. He clenched his fingers to a fist. Then his gaze also fell, as he could not stand Enargit’s searching eyes on him. Neila’s empathetic glance at the elven also could not help much.
Silence fell on the lands, which was broken only by the slight breeze.
“So, will you accept?” asked Arisha. Enargit turned to her and nodded.
“Yes, I will.”
The Mother of All smiled and put her hands on the Leader’s head.
“Be successful then,” she said as a goodbye, then she was gone, as if she had never been there at all. Only something in the air reminded them of her visit.
The shadow dragons slowly got back to their everyday doings. They started to discuss the happenings. Some glanced at their Leader; some dismissed the whole thing.
Enargit, Neila, and Halgor stood by each other, staring into nothing. None of them knew what they should do next.
18. The second crossing
A peculiar army had arrived in a valley, which lay from Nar in a two-day flight, as a shadow flies. Nobody noticed the newcomers, not even the ones who actually had the terrain under their watch. It was not their fault; the mages in the army made sure of their unnoticed appearance.
“If I do not offend you, my Leader, how do you know that those two-leggeds, who are led by Indrek, will not discover us?” asked one of the Elders who came with the army. His voice showed full respect, and he did not pay any attention to Neila, who stepped to them.
“You do not have to worry about discovery, Elder,” answered Enargit in a surprisingly short manner, as he looked around in the valley once more.
It seemed a good choice from the magi; it could be held for a long time if necessary. The surrounding hills were just high and steep enough to scare off any wanderers. Two-leggeds did not like to climb such ridges if they could avoid it. Moreover, there was only one way to get into the valley. On the other hand, it was a little narrow for the hundreds of shadow dragons.
The Leader’s thoughts turned to his people, which made him sigh. He knew how much trouble he must face before he could become calm about the dragons in this ‘new world’. He too had to go through the same, and it was not easy at all. But for him, it happened a long time ago, and his memories faded. Still, he remembered some of the horrors his subjects had to face now.
The weather always seemed cooler than they would have liked. In the Homeland, the Golden Disc always slid high in the sky, bringing its warm rays with it. The air was perfectly hot and dry, not to mention full of nice scents.
The forests here were damp, gloomy, and cold. Very cold. It rained too many times and made the ground a slippery mud-pile. The tall trees seemed to imprison them to the ground, as if they wanted to take the freedom away from the shadows, who liked airy spaces around them. The woods also prevented them from finding a clear landing spot, or a good sight to the distance.
The Elder followed his gaze, but seemed very unconvinced. The Leader saw that, so he tried to ease those doubts.
“You do not have to worry, Elder, and please say this to the others as well. The magi who are with us will prevent any discovery from above or on land.”
“Do you truly trust them, Emissary of the Dark? Those two-legged ones, who, according to our stories, had led you astray during the first Crossing?” complained the older reptile humbly.
“As I have said before, you do not have to worry yourself with them, Elder. These two-legged magi are in the service of The Four, they do as they please and have their own mind of things. They will not lead me astray, as those sly ones so many ages ago. Their loyalty will prevent them from doing such a thing.” Enargit felt peace in his heart as he spoke their language. It felt really good in his soul.
Abruptly, Neila coughed to draw attention. When Enargit turned to her, she started to speak, which made the Elder growl. The Master glanced at the older one in curious wariness. Enargit sighed inside, as he listened to the magus. There would be problems between the older ones and the magi, he knew that. Neila actually behaved rudely towards him, as the Leader, but she could not have known about their customs. Still, not knowing was not an excuse in the eyes of a shadow dragon.
“We looked around and found nothing. So we are safe so far,” said Neila to Enargit, although her eyes darted back to the Elder sometimes, who stared at her as if she had done something terribly wrong. “But I’d like you to advise your dragons to be careful. This is a dangerous land if you don’t know your way. Look, that is what I am talking about!”
Not far from them, some younger dragons found it enjoyable to slide down the muddy hills. Then they flew back to the top of the hillside and slid again. In the process, they behaved terribly noisily.
“If they won’t stop that racket, no mage can hide that,” complained Neila with a frown. Enar
git seemed to agree, although his gaze was far off.
“You must understand that they have never left the Homeland before. Everything here is new to them; they know nothing about the ‘rules’ here. They are wild, like a prey animal in your eyes.” Enargit sighed. And from these wildlings we have to forge an army … he thought grimly. Neila spoke further, but he was not paying any attention.
The future was not looking very bright at the moment. The dragon started to question his faith in Arisha and the task. Suddenly he felt cold. Maybe he had fallen under the Goddess’ charm once again. Perhaps he wanted to bite off more than he could chew. And the price he ought to pay became …
His thoughts were interrupted by the arriving Halgor.
“We must get back to the Tower. We have unfinished business there, or have you forgotten our … guest?” He turned to Neila, who did not really seem very happy about the reminder. She looked at the elven with that typical did-you-really-have-to-do-that glance.
“You may as well go. We need to get used to the terrain anyway,” murmured Enargit, then started for the nearest group of dragons.
After the Masters picked up Talek, they teleported back to their study. The scent of books and dried herbs soothed them.
“What did we get ourselves into …?” Halgor swayed his head. It was very uncharacteristic of him to say such a thing.
“We are puppets of the Gods, nothing more. Why can’t they leave us alone?!” growled Neila angrily. The men exchanged questioning glances behind her back. They did not know what this sudden change of mood was, but whenever Neila became so spiky, it was best to leave her alone.
A knock broke the momentary silence, then Eryn came in with two servant-creatures at his heels. They brought two more chairs, a plate with drinks, and something to eat. They were obviously called by one of the Masters; otherwise, they would never enter just like that. After nobody wanted anything else from them, the two servants left.
Halgor poured drinks for everybody, then handed them out. Neila sipped absentmindedly.
“Where is Rita now?” Neila broke the momentary silence, glancing at Eryn, while wondering how they would tell the news to her—to a girl, who was not even born in this world, who sought sanctuary, yet war greeted.
“In her room, as far as I can tell,” answered the wraith silently, which made the Masters look at him searchingly. The eyes of the mages made him blush, which was unusual for him.
“I am sorry, Master, this girl is very hard to track …” he murmured under his breath. He could not look into the mages’ eyes. He seemingly became uncomfortable with the fact that he let the happenings out of his hands. He was then excused.
“Who is this … Rida?” asked Talek, as he accepted his second cup of light fruit wine and a little plate of pastry. He sat down in one of the armchairs around the table. Another was occupied by Halgor.
“Rita, and it is a long story.” Neila sighed as she took a seat too.
She became lost in her thoughts as she munched on the little cakes, looking out the window to the sky. The paragon opened his mouth to ask for more information, but he caught the elven’s glance so he turned to his cup and cakes. Maybe some things should stay hidden, until it is time for them to reveal themselves.
The friends ate in silence as they walked on the path of their thoughts. After a little while, somebody knocked on the door. Halgor stood up to open it, which immediately rose Talek’s interest. It was very unlikely for the Master of Varomor to invite anybody in himself.
He stared at the door, waiting for some never-seen creature, albeit he saw only a shy girl. The kobold measured her from top to bottom, as if he wanted to peek into her soul. As he munched on some cake, he waited in silence.
“Come on in, make yourself comfortable.” Halgor invited the girl in with such a smooth voice, Talek’s mouth dropped open.
He had never heard the elven talking in this way before, and he could not work out what seemed to be different with the girl. She looked like an apprentice; however, something was off. Very off. Every time he looked at her, a chill ran down his spine. She’s quite cute in a way, the soldier thought to himself. He sipped a little wine.
“I want you to meet one of our kobold friends, Talek.” Neila motioned at him, which made the soldier blink as if he suddenly forgot where he was. He stopped his cup in mid-air. He became even more confused when he saw Rita’s reaction to his name.
“But, but, but … he died!” gasped the girl, which made Neila sigh in dismay.
The mage tried to calm the girl, who became more and more upset; she seemed unsure whether to flee or faint, maybe both in that order.
The whole scene made Talek utterly lost. He tried to make any sense of the happenings, but he could not. Furthermore, he hardly understood the girl, who spoke some sort of heavy, unknown accent.
“Ahem.” Halgor cleared his throat, which almost brought an end to Rita’s panic. Meanwhile, the kobold finished his cup, then turned to the mages.
“So, she would be the ‘unfinished business’, I assume.”
The soldier changed to the kobold language so the girl would not understand them. At least, he doubted it. As he waited for an answer, he glanced at Rita again. His curious eyes made her blush. She is cute, he thought, as he watched her.
Even though he deeply despised humans, he never missed a nice woman. And the girl in front of him proved to be truly unique—he had never seen such curly and fiery locks like hers. It was non-existent amidst the kobold races. He had always adored green eyes; her snow-white, freckly skin somehow made everything else even more perfect. Her body showed that she knew how to handle a bow, which was always attractive to him.
“Yes, she is,” answered the dark elven, also in the kobold tongue.
“So who is she?”
“Can I sit?” interrupted Rita, who still just stood in one place, as only a few moments had passed since her arrival. Her paleness showed that she really should sit.
“Yes, yes, make yourself comfortable. We need to talk to you.” Halgor motioned at a chair, so she put one of the newer ones next to the table. After she sat down, she also helped herself to a cup of fruit wine, of which everybody knew was very light in spirit, and some cakes. Then she munched silently, listening intently.
Talek thought she had made the right choice. At the moment, she probably would not receive any answers even if she asked.
The kobold swayed his head to get rid of his useless thoughts, turning his attention to Neila.
“She is from another world,” said the mage with a shrug, which made the soldier choke on his drink. He coughed heavily, while motioning Rita to stay when she rose to help.
“What did you say?” the paragon asked huskily, changing back to common. Then he glanced at his cup and put it down before he had another accident. He did not understand why this news shocked him as it did, but there lay something in the background. Maybe it was Neila’s uncertain gaze, or Halgor’s unusually good behaviour. Anyhow, it let the fear slowly crawl up his spine.
“You heard right,” agreed the elven, as he poured a refreshment for himself.
“Can I ask what this is about?” interrupted Rita, glancing from one to another. Every eye was on her now, which made her redden again. She wiggled a lot in her seat; she obviously felt uncomfortable. She evaded Talek’s look as much as she could. Whenever their eyes did meet, she shuddered.
The companions spoke further, but the girl’s gaze became hazy, as if she had lost interest in the discussion. She obviously turned to her own thoughts rather than listen.
Rita had never thought before how difficult it could be to get used to the other races. It seemed to take an eternity for her to do so, and whenever she failed, it made her feel terrible. After living on Earth, it proved to be an impossible thought that other humanoid species actually existed. Rita wanted the most for this problem to go away, but she could not hurry it.
Every time she glanced at Talek, she felt her throat closing up. He seemed s
o similar to Halgor, yet utterly different. She would never mix them up. His perfect, almond-shaped eyes just mesmerised her. She could rest her eyes on his smooth features for an eternity.
Overall, he became the most sympathetic people from whom she met so far. On the other hand, something was wrong.
Of course, he’s totally symmetric. That’s why he is so … alien, she realised. As she looked at Halgor next, she discovered ‘huge’ flaws regarding his features, compared to the kobold, as if the sculptor’s hand had slipped a few times while forming them. Regardless, he still seemed perfect as well to a human’s eye.
Then she heard her name again, so she tried to get rid of her useless thoughts.
“Rita,” called Neila again. She seemed a bit annoyed when the girl finally looked at her.
“Y … yes?”
“Please, try to pay attention,” said the Master firmly, which made Rita blush again, and she lowered her head. Talek smiled faintly.
“War is coming,” announced Halgor without any further delay as he looked for something on one of the bookshelves. He could not see Neila’s angry glance at him.
“What?!” Rita jumped in her seat. Her eyes widened, her voice quivered.
“Well … yes, but it is not as bad as it sounds.” Neila tried to calm her.
“No, I don’t believe this!” Rita cried out in fear. “I’ve read about all three Dragonwars, and no, I do NOT want to live through something like that!”
Talek opened his mouth at this point, but Neila was faster.
“You don’t have to worry. You will be safe in the Tower, and you certainly don’t have to fight.”
“No, of course not. You just need to survive the attack of Indrek and his mob against Varomor,” murmured Halgor, loud enough for everybody to hear. He seemingly did not pay any attention, just to his book. The pages twirled fast. On the other hand, he did seem distressed. Every time the fact came up that Rita knew their stories from mere books, he became skittish. Suddenly he changed to kobold tongue again.