He remained silent for a time, and the next word out of his mouth was the very thing she had hoped wouldn’t happen.
“Guards, seize them!”
15
Jakobe
Everyone has a soul. Whether you’re a massive dragon, or a tiny grasshopper. And your soul is important. Without it, you would be nothing. You would have no conscious. You would have no purpose. From the moment you’re born, you have a purpose. You are in this world for a reason. And when that reason is complete, once you’ve served your purpose, your soul can return to from whence it came. For most, except dragons, it is not understood. But we understand the significance of a soul. And we understand the significance of the ancestral plane. All life ends where it began.
Eonnueth, The Clever, Sixth Dragon Elder, Seventh Age of Verdil
Jakobe’s eyes drooped. Exhaustion taunted him with sleep. He wanted to close his eyes so bad and lay on the ground. The journey had been long, longer than anything he’d ever traveled. Jakobe was just a lowly blacksmith. He wasn’t used to traveling. Svana was much more adept to it.
His jaw set. This wasn’t about him. Everything he was doing was for Svana. He had to overcome his exhaustion.
“We’re here,” Eloise said.
Jakobe glanced up. The volcano was massive, stretching upward hundreds of feet, covered by all variations of plant life. Trees of all forms, and all sizes jutting out from the side. He stood in awe as he looked at it. Jakobe had never seen anything so beautiful and terrifying. Shivers traveled down his spine as he took in its beauty.
“How exactly are we going to get inside of it?” he asked.
A swirl of red appeared from the sword as Lingaria appeared.
“We climb,” the dragon said.
“All the way to the top?” Jakobe asked, his eyes wide.
A rumbling came from Lingaria’s body, which Jakobe matched to a laugh. “No, but it will be a ways up, and the entrance is on the other side.”
“This is incredible. I’ve always wanted to visit the volcano, but I always imagined the inside was dangerous.”
“It is,” Lingaria answered. “And you’re not to tell anyone about this. No one needs to know how to get inside of the volcano. It is a sacred place for dragons.”
Jakobe tilted his head. “Why?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“You’ve already told me this much… what more could it hurt?”
“A lot.”
“You don’t trust me?” Jakobe asked.
“I trust no one… except Svana.”
“Svana trusts me…” Jakobe muttered.
“It isn’t going to work. I will not tell you the significance of the volcano. Only that it is dangerous, and no one else must know of it, especially how to enter.”
“Understood,” Jakobe said.
They walked the perimeter of the volcano on the way to the other side. Wherever this entrance was, it was hidden to the world of man, and on the far side toward the massive endless ocean. The terrain wasn’t flat, and Jakobe was glad he was wearing good boots.
Before they could get too much farther, rocks crunched on the ground ahead of them. Jakobe’s hand went to his hilt as Lingaria disappeared into a cloud of smoke to enter the weapon once more. At first, Jakobe thought it was only a wild animal like a goat, which he’d seen a few of in the last hour, but when they rounded the bend, a man appeared wearing brown leather armor.
Jakobe’s grip on the hilt of the dragon sword tightened. “Good evening.”
“Good evening, indeed,” the man said, grinning, showing his several missing teeth.
Six more men wearing various types of armor appeared from behind the first. They didn’t look to match each other as they wore mismatched armor from leather to chain to plate. Scavengers.
“What are you doing this far away from Telluris?” Jakobe asked.
It was clear these men were Tellurian. But Jakobe had never recognized them and couldn’t place them to a single region. They were outcasts—that much was clear.
“We’re here to enter the mountain… same as you,” the man with missing teeth said.
“Enter the mountain?” Jakobe asked, feigning surprise.
“Don’t take us for fools. We heard you talking to the dragon. Oh, and we saw the dragon. You’re not as coy as you would have us believe.”
“I don’t know what you speak of,” Jakobe lied.
“You will show us where the entrance is… if you want to live.”
“I do not know where any entrance is,” Jakobe said.
“You will show us… or die.”
Jakobe’s grip tightened even more on the sword’s hilt. “Why do you want inside the volcano so badly? Surely there are better places to be. It could surely blow again at any moment.”
The man grinned once more, causing Jakobe to cringe at the bad shape of his half-rotten teeth. “Unlike you, we are not ignorant to the treasures awaiting us inside. We know there’s a dragon inside, guarding hordes of treasure.”
“Hordes of treasure?” Jakobe asked. “Whoever told you such a thing? And a dragon? Surely you can’t be serious.”
The man looked taken aback at first, but soon found his resolve. “Don’t play tricks on me. We will have that treasure.”
“If what you say is true,” Jakobe said delicately, “what makes you think the few of you can defeat a dragon?”
That gave the man pause. He shook his head. “You misunderstand. We don’t need to defeat it. All dragons go to sleep. And we will slay it when it lies.”
“The seven of you?” Jakobe asked.
“Seven?” the man chuckled. “Try fifty.”
Jakobe glanced around and noticed dozens more men appear all around them, all wielding either bows, swords, or axes. Eloise grabbed the crossbow off her back. The dog barked and began growling. Jakobe unsheathed his sword.
“You will show us the way inside, and you will show us how to access the ancestral plane.”
“The… what?” Jakobe asked.
“You really are ignorant, aren’t you?” the man asked.
You must fight, Jakobe. You mustn’t let them get inside to Melifera and Palladin. And you must not let them reach the portal to the ancestral plane.
The what? Jakobe asked.
The pathway to the Unseen Ones, and all the dragons who have passed on from this world. I have no idea how these men would even know about this, Lingaria said.
Look, dragon, Jakobe said inside of his head, Eloise and I cannot defeat fifty men. They will kill us.
They cannot be allowed to get inside… and they cannot be allowed to take the dragon sword… with it… with it…
What? Jakobe asked.
With it… they could control me.
We can’t defeat fifty men, Jakobe said.
We must… trust me.
Jakobe clenched his eyes tight, then opened them and spun the dragon sword in front of him to his left and right.
“I’m sorry. I cannot let you into the volcano.”
“Kill them,” the man said, “and bring the sword to me.”
Jakobe tilted his head to the right as an arrow nearly penetrated his skull. He let the magic of the sword flow through him, telling him every move he needed to make. It took an unbelievable amount of trust for him to let go and let Lingaria guide him through the sword. But he knew if he tried to do any of it himself, he would surely die.
An energy, like a tingle, flowed through Jakobe’s entire body. Men charged at him. He knew he could no longer hold back. Jakobe would not be able to prevent death this day. He would have to kill. A pain of sorrow filled him as he realized it, but with so many opponents, he had little chance to injure and move on. He would need to strike hard and fast. There would be no room for error.
His blade met with an opponent’s. Metal clanged, ringing in his ear. He moved fast, slamming the blade repeatedly into his opponent’s weapon. Jakobe didn’t know much about sword forms, but through Lingaria’s direction a
nd impression upon his mind, he knew he was learning one now. The Raging Bison. His attacks came strong and hard, breaking through the defenses of his opponents like they were fresh-turned butter. Before he realized it, he’d sliced through his first four opponents. He dared not stop to contemplate that fact. Had he just killed four people? No, he could not linger. Three more fought him, and he, somehow, was able to defend and attack against all three. A bolt flew over his shoulder to penetrate the neck of one of the men attacking him. He paid the man little heed as he fell to the ground, gurgling blood.
Jakobe turned around fast to look at Eloise. He’d momentarily forgotten about her as the fight began, and he was worried she’d be overtaken as she only had the crossbow and a short sword, she wasn’t efficient with, but as he looked, he noticed the dog in front of Eloise attacking the men. Jakobe’s eyebrows raised. When he’d first seen the dog, he knew little about it, other than it seemed to follow Svana, and wouldn’t leave her bedside, and when he’d seen it, he looked to be a sweet, loving dog. Jakobe didn’t realize the dog would be such a powerhouse in a battle, though, Jakobe didn’t think dogs fought period—at least, not against humans.
A little relieved that for the moment Eloise was well taken care of, he turned back to focus on his own problems. Several more men filled the spot of the last few men he’d defeated. Setting his jaw, Jakobe prepared himself to attack. Before he could face the remaining opponents, a loud roar came from above.
It was louder and scarier than anything Jakobe had ever heard. He quivered as he looked up to see a massive dragon flying above them in the sky. Flames blew out of the creature’s mouth. The bandits looked up, and seeing the dragon, fled screaming.
Jakobe held onto the dragon sword tightly as he watched them flee. The dragon followed them, and before Jakobe could blink, flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth, burning all the bandits alive. They screamed and shouted, but their screams didn’t last long as they fell to the ground and became ash.
Seeing the horrific scene play out before him, Jakobe fell to his knees, cowering. He sat on his rear and clenched his knees to his chest as he watched. Eloise and the dog sat next to him, equally terrified at the sight.
Jakobe was sure they wouldn’t have won the fight, and they would have either had to kill all the men, or be killed, but this—it was unreal. They were fleeing.
The dragon landed, facing them. Its giant jaw was set as it stared at them. The creature looked to the weapon in Jakobe’s hand.
A swirl of red circled around Jakobe from the sword until Lingaria appeared at his feet. The small dragon bowed before the massive dragon. Jakobe followed suit and bowed as well, followed by Eloise and even the dog.
“What is the meaning of this?” the large dragon asked.
“Palladin. This is Jakobe, and Eloise. They are with me.”
“And where is Svana?” Palladin asked.
“She’s injured. We need your help if we are to save her,” Lingaria said.
“Who are these Tellurians?”
“They are Svana’s friends.”
“Why bring them here? No Tellurian is allowed inside the Volcano of Shadows.”
“I could not come alone. With my spirit bonded to the sword and Svana, I had to have a carrier to bring me this far. Svana is not in a position to move.”
“What happened?” Palladin asked.
“They stopped the dark wizard in Telluris who was controlling the king.”
Palladin tilted his head. “It seems we have much to discuss. Come.”
With that, Palladin jumped into the air and began flapping his wings. The wind that came from his flight pushed Jakobe and Eloise onto the ground with its force.
Once the dragon was far enough away, Jakobe stood. He watched in awe as the dragon flew to the very top of the volcano and entered at the tip.
“Come on,” Lingaria said.
“Are we permitted?” Jakobe asked.
“Of course.”
“He did say Tellurians aren’t permitted,” Eloise interrupted.
Jakobe nodded. “I don’t want to end up like—” He gestured to the piles of ash in front of them.
“You are here under my protection. Come,” Lingaria said.
Jakobe was still nervous, but he followed Lingaria up the volcano. All he really wanted to do was lay on the ground, suck his thumb, and take a nap. He rubbed his eyes and continued.
Even though they were at the volcano, it still took them several hours before reaching the entrance at the back of the volcano. At least it wasn’t all the way at the top like where the dragon had gone in. But it was still over halfway up the side. When they reached the hidden entrance, which Lingaria used some type of magic to open, Jakobe’s legs were tired. He could barely keep his eyes open, and the lower half of his body throbbed.
Inside the volcano was unlike anything Jakobe had ever seen. He’d thought it would be an empty cavern, dark and damp and full of dust. Instead, it wasn’t bright, but it was lit. When he looked closer, he realized it wasn’t torches, but jars of what appeared to be lava. He shuddered at the sight. From what he’d heard of the molten rock from volcanos, it was dangerous to the touch and would cauterize anything it encountered. And yet, here it was in glass jars all over the large room. Surely if it was hot enough to cauterize your flesh, a glass wouldn’t be able to keep it contained. He wondered if like the dragons themselves, the containers of lava were magical as well.
Lingaria continued forward, entering a small passageway. Eloise tapped Jakobe on the shoulder, bringing him back from his stupor. She motioned to where the small dragon had gone, and Jakobe nodded. He walked with Eloise along the endless tunnels. Lingaria didn’t move slowly. His small form allowed him to speedily run through the tunnels and Jakobe and Eloise had a hard time keeping up. And instead of running down a straight path, the dragon would crawl the walls and ceiling along the path, reminding Jakobe of a cockroach. He shivered at the parallel. Jakobe hated cockroaches.
He didn’t know how long they traveled when Lingaria finally slowed. The dragon turned around to look at the two of them, then smiled. A large archway stood in front of them. Lingaria stepped through. Hesitantly, Jakobe and Eloise followed.
They entered a large room. The massive dragon, Palladin, laid in the corner of the room, curled up like a kitten. An older woman, with gray and white hair stood next to the dragon, filling up a large bowl full of water.
Jakobe suddenly felt nervous again as he looked at the massive dragon. He tried his best not to shiver, but he didn’t find himself successful. What was stranger still was the person. She looked Tellurian by appearance, but it was by body only. Like Svana and her sisters, she also looked different. It was clear she was a land humanoid and not from the water or sky kingdom.
The woman turned around, and a smile came across her lightly wrinkled face. She didn’t have too many wrinkles, like a grandmother, but at the same time, she looked older. Her eyes blazed with all the colors of the rainbow, and a sense of wisdom spread from her to Jakobe.
“Welcome,” the woman said, gesturing to the giant room they were inside of, “to the Volcano of Shadows.”
“Who are you?” Jakobe asked.
“My name is Melifera.”
“Melifera?” Jakobe asked, his mouth falling open.
She nodded.
“The Melifera? The one from the stories?” Jakobe asked.
Her eyes twinkled as he looked at him. “I see you’ve heard of me.”
“Heard of you?” Jakobe asked, his grin nearly splitting his face in two. “You’re the most famous woman in all of Verdil.”
“Am I now? I don’t know what I could have possibly done to warrant that.”
“It is because of you that the alliance between Caelestis, Aequoris, and Telluris started. You brought the three kingdoms together.” Jakobe’s eyes widened. “But that was hundreds of years ago. How can you still be alive?”
“Volican is a magical place. Especially here inside the Volcano of
Shadows.”
“There was one story I heard, that was passed down in my family,” Jakobe said, “Not many families have heard it, but my mother told it to me before she passed away. It said that you were a descendant of dragons.”
Melifera flinched.
Jakobe noticed her flinch. “Is it true?”
“It is.”
“You’re a dragon?” Eloise gasped.
Melifera shook her head. “I’m only half-dragon.”
“Half-dragon?” Jakobe asked. “How is that possible?”
She smiled. “Many things are possible with dragons. Dragons are magic.”
“They say Svana is hurt,” Palladin said.
Melifera turned back to look at Jakobe. “Hurt, how?”
“She tried to stop the dark wizard who controlled King Armand. He was defeated with her sisters’ help, but she was injured.”
“Hekla?” Melifera asked.
“Was not able to heal her,” Jakobe finished.
“Is that why you’re here?” she asked.
Jakobe nodded. “Lingaria said you may be able to help.”
Melifera gulped. “How? I cannot leave here. I already grow weak. If I leave this volcano… I will not survive.”
Lingaria sat in front of Jakobe and Eloise. He stretched out his neck and looked at Melifera. “The Unseen Ones told me she could be saved with a Soul Sacrifice.”
Melifera gasped. “A soul-sacrifice?”
Lingaria nodded. “They said it’s the only way.”
Melifera’s eyes widened. “It is that bad?”
“The dark wizard’s taint touched her before he died. It is that taint that keeps her from returning to this plane. She is neither here, nor in the ancestral plane. She is, instead, somewhere much, much darker.”
“Do you understand what a soul-sacrifice is?” Melifera asked.
“I do,” Lingaria said.
“And the consequences… on both sides?” Melifera asked.
“I do,” Lingaria said.
“And you warrant that she is worth the consequences?” Palladin asked.
“I do,” Lingaria said.
Eloise stepped forward. “What is a soul sacrifice?”
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