“Did you feel that?” he asked, raising one brow as he gave Cayden an unwelcome look up and down.
“Of course, we felt it, we would have had to have been completely oblivious to not have felt it.”
Quimby grumbled slightly, and Astrid grabbed his arm. “That wasn’t natural, there shouldn’t be earthquakes up here.”
He nodded, as she pulled him along, “I agree, but where are you taking me?” His belly shook as he slipped and slid on the smooth surface behind her.
“I need your help; we have to find out where that came from.”
“Unhand me, woman, I can walk perfectly fine on my own.” He yelled at her.
“Fine,” she let him go. She led him in the direction of the steps that descended to the mountain top of the Great mountain. “That wasn’t natural. Has anyone ever followed underneath the steps to see what holds up the great city of Caelestis?”
“There’s never been a need.” He answered, not willing to give her any more information.
“Quimby, please don’t be like this. Tell me what you know. Has this ever happened before?”
Quimby didn’t say a word, just looked on agitated.
“I’m begging you to tell me the truth, has this ever happened before?” she pleaded.
“Fine, yes. It happens on a regular basis, but it’s never been so strong or lasted for such a long while before. It’s always been barely noticeable, and no one ever thought there was need to worry.” His hands rested across his stomach, and he drummed his fingers carelessly as she stared at him. He didn’t seem to be as concerned as she was, but she didn’t allow that to worry her.
“Cayden, I don’t think this is normal, I think… just like with everything else that has occurred out of the ordinary, there is a reason.” She crossed her arms, indignant, not willing to believe this was normal and daring him to argue with her.
“So, what do you want to do? Do we just go look for some hidden cause out of the blue? What do you think it could possibly be?” he looked confused, and slightly annoyed, but she had to trust her gut on this.
“Quimby, what holds up the kingdom of Caelestis?”
“Magic, the Unseen ones, our ancestors. What else?” He said matter of fact, as if she should have known the answer to that question.
“I know you’ve told me before, what I wonder is if the Unseen Ones could have had anything to do with its shaking.”
He shook his head. “That’s preposterous.”
“Fine, then I choose to believe there is a different reason, especially if you say this has been going on for some time. Why you chose not to tell me this sooner, I don’t know. But if you won’t help me, I’ll figure it out on my own.”
She began to march away, descending the steps, not really knowing where she was going or what she was looking for, and not really caring in the moment. She just had to find out what had caused the rumbling, because if there was something behind it, Caelestis could fall, and then they would have more things to worry about than the Tellurian king, or the riches and wealth that the Caelestan king was demanding.
Astrid could hear huffing behind her and knew that Quimby was staying close behind. She smiled to herself, grateful that no matter what happened, he was someone who could be trusted, even through everything. Cayden breathed softly, but his steps were decisive and obvious as he trailed behind the two of them.
I have to be right about this. She thought, as they reached the bottom, only instead of heading away from the steps and down the mountainside, as she often did, she went around the base of the steps, daring to set foot under the shadows that made up the underneath of the Caelestan land. It bothered her that no one had thought to journey here before. With the soldiers gone, they were safe to explore and discover all that the mountain held for them, aside from the fruits and berries that grew in the lusher vegetation of it.
Almost as if sensing their presence in the darkness, they heard a soft rumbling come from over the top of them.
“Again?” Astrid’s eyes went wide. “How is this possible, it’s like whatever is causing it knows we’re here.” She marched on farther into the darkness, not caring to hear anyone’s response.
“Astrid, don’t just march off under Caelestis without a plan, you don’t know what lies in the darkness!” Cayden called after her.
“Well, I’ll either run into a beast or I’ll run into more of the top of the mountain. Either way, I need to find out what’s going on.”
“This is crazy, these tremors have been occurring for a long time,” Quimby said into the dark, but she couldn’t even see in front of her to turn around.
Aronus, if you could help with some light, I would appreciate it.
Say no more, he answered, and in her hand, appeared a well-lit torch.
Thank you, she offered him, brandishing the torch around her so the other two could see.
“Where did you get that?” Quimby asked, seemingly annoyed that they had light.
“Have you ever been here before?” She deflected.
“No, I’ve no idea what we’re getting into. We could be getting ready to face some wild Toveraks. I don’t know.”
Astrid had been right about running into more mountain, but not the way she had thought. As they got closer and closer to the other side of the great mountain, the ground started to slope downward slightly. Without a torch, they would have assumed they had reached the other side, but the soft glow of firelight revealed the downward slope was not the other side of the mountain at all, but open caverns that led further and further into the core of the sky kingdom.
“Where are you going?” Cayden’s voice took on a surreal quality, as they walked deeper and deeper into the moss-covered caves. The truth was, she had no idea where she was going, she just had to follow her feet. Having no idea where that would lead.
“I’ve never been here,” Quimby’s voice came out slightly shaky, and Astrid had to wonder if he was worried about what they might find.
“Don’t worry about it, Quimby, I’m scarier than anything we’re going to find down here,” she teased. He didn’t respond, but his footsteps remained strong and heavy behind her. As they got further in, and the air lightened, all manner of light seemed to disappear.
“Be careful, Astrid, keep your ears open.”
She nodded her head, even though it was possible he wouldn’t be able to see her head in the dark. Astrid’s foot kicked a rock, and the sound of it skittering along in front of her echoed throughout the caves until it stopped suddenly. All three of them had lost track of time, or even how far down they had gone. Then, a foreign sound permeated the air around them.
Astrid felt a hand grip her shoulder and pull her back, “Shhhh, what was that?” Cayden said, his voice full of worry. None of them dared to speak, much less breath as the sound continued.
“It sounds like, breathing?” Astrid whispered through the dark, her torch barely making a dent to light the path in front of them.
“Maybe we should go back?” Quimby’s voice shook with fear.
“Yes,” Astrid said in agreement, and slowly but surely, they began to tiptoe backward, trying not to disrupt whoever or whatever lived in the large cave, far below the surface of the mountain.
“Why bother, you’re already here,” a voice rumbled out through the dark, startling them all.
“Um, who’s there?” Astrid said, sounding braver than she felt.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the voice responded.
“I think we need to get out of here,” Cayden said pushing her.
“That’s the first time he’s said something I agree with,” Quimby chimed in, quietly.
Astrid started to lead the way out, until the voice called after them.
“Did I say you could leave?” the voice yelled loudly, rumbling the rock walls around them.
They froze, all three afraid to move.
“Why don’t you just tell me who you are?” Astrid spoke again.
“Well, I can give
you a clue, but then I’d have to kill you.” His voice had softened, and his tone came out half-joking.
“That’s not funny,” Cayden spoke up, stepping closer to Astrid and putting his arm in front of her protectively.
“Come on, I was just kidding,” the voice continued.
“We’re not amused. Why don’t you just tell us who you are?”
“Step closer,” the voice urged them, and then all around the cave torches lit brightly on the walls, and they could see everything. The cavern was large enough to house a whole village, how such a thing existed under the mountain without the whole thing caving in was unfathomable. In the middle of the room, a large, aged beast, with scales from head to toe sat, his neck outstretched in a regal pose. Iridescent oranges and reds that changed in the light of the torches on the wall, and large flaring nostrils the size of caves themselves.
“What in the…” Quimby muttered, stumbling backward.
Astrid would have ran had she not been at the hands of a dragon day and night. “A dragon, huh?” she said matter-of-factly.
The large beast smiled, showing its teeth. They were dark, blackened near the gums, as if they were rotting and ready to fall out. The dragon’s scales were a deep red and covered in dirt and soot. And the scariest thing of all, was his size. This dragon was much larger than Palladin. Astrid believed that Palladin was the only dragon in all of Verdil, well, besides the three small dragons who’d accompanied the sisters. But here this dragon was, a second in Verdil, and trapped underneath Caelestis. Was he the reason the floating city was trembling?
“You seem unfazed, as you should. You reek of dragon,” the beast chuckled.
“Yes, well, we aren’t here for me, are we? What’s a beast like you, doing in cave like this?” she teased him, wondering why he didn’t just leave. Then she saw the chains wrapped around him, but they were old, and rusted in many places. Several of the links had broken off, whether from the rust, or from him fighting against them, trying to free himself.
“To answer your question, I’m stuck here. I’m too old and sick to leave. It’s my magic holding up Caelestis, and I’ll be stuck here until the end of time. Only, I’m growing older. I don’t have much magic left, and when I die, then Caelestis falls, and then what?”
Neither Quimby, nor Astrid, nor Cayden knew what to say, as the dragon breathed in and out, his aging face and eyes emanating more sadness than anyone cared to admit.
21
Svana
No life is worth taking the place of another, but sometimes atrocities are done for that very sake. It is up to us to recognize such things and carry forth. Live on in strength for those who have gone before us in battle and died for the causes we fight for. Do not let death of one be the final say of all. Let life--rich, abundant, and worthwhile be our driving force against the destruction and cruelty of men.
King Ansel the Humble, First King of Aequori, 256 A.V.
As they walked the familiar stone stairwell down the side of the mountain, fighting away shrubs and overgrowth, Svana was reminded of a time not long ago. Images of her sisters traveling with her found their way into her mind. That was before they knew the true darkness of man, and how much evil one being could accomplish. On her back, the weight of Lingaria pressed on her. With Palladin’s help, they had fashioned a satchel of sorts in order to carry him, as Svana had insisted on not leaving him behind.
Svana couldn’t help but remember their send off from before, and Melifera’s motherly face. The hopeful expectation in her eyes that the girls would remember everything she had taught them. The years of combat fighting, speed and agility testing, and book learning. Now Svana knew what it had all been for. Nothing could have prepared her for it, nor could anything have prepared for the anger in her heart at the senseless deaths. The lives taken, and poor Eloise, who soon must return home alone.
This was not how Svana hoped peace would be attained.
“Are you all right?” Jakobe asked over the swishing of a blade from ahead of her. Jakobe’s lumbering form cut away the branches that stuck out along their path. “You’re awfully quiet.”
She wished against everything that Lingaria was all right, no doubt he would be reminding her to not forget the good—the positive. Yes, she had left home, and lost many of those who were important to her. However, she was stronger, in character and heart, than she had ever been. She had gained friends, and so much more, there was value in that. There is value in Jakobe as well. She admitted, though even as her heart warmed at the thought of his name, and the sound of his voice, she could not bring herself to say all that was on her mind.
“All right,” Jakobe finally said after a time, “keep your secrets.” There was a hint of playfulness in his tone, and it caused her to smile.
“It’s not that. I just don’t know how to deal with everything that courses through me. There has been so much loss, and Melifera? I don’t even know how to process that. I cannot tell you how much she meant to me. She was the only mother that I ever knew, the only parent figure that I strongly remember as my father passed when we were young. I barely can recall his face, but Melifera was there. Like the wind, constantly blowing, she cared for us, and taught us everything we know. To lose her, is like losing the foundation on which I stand.”
“I can understand that,” he replied, the quiet brush of boot clad feet, hitting the dirt as they made their way down the side of the mountain. “Those we lose, are never really gone, Svana. You know as well as I, that is true,” he said in an effort to comfort her, but she brushed his words away with a shake of her head.
“I know, but I want so much more than her here in spirit. It’s not enough, Jakobe.”
He caught up to her, placing a rough hand on her arm, the warmth of his palm soothing on her skin. “I’m so sorry, I wish that I could bring her back. Please be comforted in knowing that it was what she wanted, Svana. She wanted to sacrifice herself, for you, Lingaria too. Never have I met a woman, so dearly loved by those around her. That speaks highly of your character.”
She turned carefully to face him, a tree branch swiping her face. “It’s not enough, Jakobe. What good is character if those I care about are gone?” Her head hung down, and she turned back to the task at hand, as night fell they reached the base where the heavy foliage thinned out, allowing them a clearing to get through as before.
A dark fog swirled around them, as before in the cave. “My dear Svana, I have not left you, as I promised. I will never leave, not until it is time, and all is as it should be. My spirit will remain with you as long as possible.”
“See? Those we love never really leave us,” Jakobe teased.
“This is not how it should be!” Svana yelled out to the air, as Melifera’s laughter circled her.
“There are a great many things, my child, that are not as they should be. I am happy, at peace. When you are well, then I will depart to the realm of the Unseen Ones where I belong, and you will never have to worry about me again. I promise, like I said before, that I will be here until that time comes. So, go, and above all--trust. On this side, there are a great many who are watching out for you and your sisters.”
“Does no one have empathy? Am I not allowed to feel the loss in my being? People are gone… because of me. My dragon, my best friend and confidant throughout most of my journey lies dying on my back, and I don’t know if I will be able to save him in time. Can any of you possibly understand what that feels like? Melifera was a far better person to save, and I wish you’d all have just let me die for the cause. I would have died fighting!” The frustration she felt surging through her was too much, the weight of her sword too light without Lingaria’s presence.
Svana could feel the emptiness of her life at every turn, the thrill of adventure, of newness, gone. She had nothing back at the Volcano, and it was too much to bear.
“I understand, Svana,” Eloise said quietly, emerging from behind Jakobe as they settled at the base of the mountain. “More than you know. Per
cival died trying to protect our home, and now, there has been so much damage and destruction, I don’t even know if I’ll have a place to return home too. You know what I mean?”
Svana looked back at how far they had come, the towering volcano looming behind them. She did know. Without her sisters, and Melifera, she didn’t have a home to go back to either. The dangerous mountain no longer called to her. Instead, it was the world of men, bitter, vile and vengeful men that called to her and she had to answer.
“Well, my home is Telluris now, Eloise, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are not alone. Percival was my friend, and if I must fight to make sure that Melifera’s death was not in vain, then I will fight to make sure that his death was not in vain either. I swear it on my life,” she said, face tilted to the sky, eyes closed as she remembered all the faces of those she cared about deeply.
“Then you are worthy of the life that Melifera died to save. Any others may have taken it for granted, but all who know you, know that you would never take such a gift for granted. So be sad, cry, hurt… whatever it is you feel you must do, but do not stay there. Do not bathe in grief all your days, just live every day proving to those who have gone on… how grateful you are for this gift you have been given.” In Eloise’s brokenness there was wisdom like Melifera, and it panged Svana’s heart.
One should not have to know grief to know wisdom, but there it was. Sheathing her sword, Svana rushed to Eloise, and hugged the slightly rotund woman tightly. Even still, a hint of the smell of mead hung in her hair, and the spices of the Barinella soup she was famous for.
“You are such a good friend, Eloise. I am sorry for your loss as well.”
“I know, you’ve said that. I do not wish to linger in grief either. It is war, it is battle. There are always losses in both. The important thing is to use this time to bring together the kingdoms. To find the sliver of hope that ties us all and use that to begin to build the long road of peace that we’ve yet to begin to travel. I trust that in the end, all we have suffered and all we have lost, will work for the benefit of all.”
Dragon Scepter Page 15