With that, and moved by some instinct, he dug through his clothes to find the shakuhachi his master had given him. He carried it to his lips and, as Kezthrem had told him to, he let his emotions be transformed into a sweet melody with a lovely—though not too flamboyant—beat to it, and a tune that was serious without being melancholic. Though he hadn’t used the instrument since his journey with Mehrika had ended, he managed to play without too much difficulty. He hesitated here and there, but it was as though he was being guided by the music, rather than being the creator of it. The sound of the instrument brought memories of his master along with it, but he stopped playing before melancholy could take over.
“It’s time to move on,” he said as he put away the instrument. “Tomorrow will be a big day; it will mark a new beginning. My long solitude will be over. Just as we were four when we came, so we will be again: reunited.” Ayrokkan listened to the chant without a sound, and his silence remained even as the young man settled in at his side. He covered the boy with his wing, and the two slept, peace surrounding them.
They landed amidst the usual torrent of dust and clods of dirt, and Glaide jumped down off the dragon’s back quickly. He checked that he had all of his things, and his bag, katana, and clothes were all still there.
The two had slept in late, and the boy had been startled to find the sun high in the sky when he awoke. Then, the dragon had covered the remaining miles in about an hour—an hour that the adolescent had spent imagining the conversation he’d soon be having. Now, they were about a mile from the village, which Glaide could just make out in the distance. Ayrokkan had suggested he drop his passenger off there, so as to remain unseen.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Glaide began.
“I’m at your service.”
The adolescent detected no sarcasm in the response, which still seemed strange to him, and it once again left him feeling unsettled.
“So, in the weeks to come, I might need you or your people. How would I be able to contact you?”
“We won’t be far. We’ll be watching, as we have been since you arrived. And now that we have an accord, you may call on me whenever you see fit. To do that, you need only think of me, and I will hear your call.”
“And I’m the only one who can do that.”
“Indeed, and that only with me. Should you have need of others of my kind, make me aware of it, and I will make the arrangements. And know that if you meet another dragon, once you’ve determined he is on your side, you can be certain that he will do as you ask, without requiring orders from me.” Glaide nodded, then the creature continued, “When I met you, you were alone. Then, we observed you for many long months, and now you go to rejoin those who first accompanied you in this journey—those who were there when it all began.” Glaide raised one eyebrow quizzically.
“Is that a hint of nostalgia I hear?”
“We dragons are much older than humans, and yet it is you who write the history of this world. Soon, it will see many changes, and I will be proud to be at your side when they come.”
“It is true that few things have changed since we four arrived here. But, beginning now, we will see what the guardian—though he revealed none of it to us—actually brought us here to do: to confront Baras and his army.” The dragon nodded.
“And what do you plan to do in the months to come?”
“I’ll start by finding out how my friends are,” Glaide replied without hesitation. “If they’re seeking something, I'll aid them in their quest. Then, we’ll return to Shinozuka. Rozak will be pleased to learn that I’m not dead.”
“And all of the Known Lands with him,” Ayrokkan added. Glaide smiled at that.
“That's the goal. I want the entire kingdom to know that the Destroyer is among them. If everything happens as I expect it to, Baras will react by launching an attack against the capital. The only question then will be whether or not the elves and dwarves will be ready to lend a hand.”
“And if we win?”
“If we win, I’ll still have to confront Baras himself. If he isn’t destroyed, then all that we’ve done will have been in vain. And so, I have a mission for you, Ayrokkan.” The latter bowed before the boy.
“And that is?”
“Until I call on you to join the battle, it would be a great help if you and the other dragons searched for clues as to where our enemy could be found. And if I can, I will ask the elves and dwarves if they have any information.”
“As you wish,” replied the dragon simply. There was a moment of silence before Glaide spoke again.
“Right. Then it’s time to go. We’ll meet again soon. I have no interest in waiting another six months before talking to you again.”
“The weeks ahead will be busy ones indeed.” Ayrokkan paused a moment before continuing, “This is but a temporary farewell. And I hope that one day, we will be able to greet each other in calmer times.”
“That’s what I’m fighting for,” Glaide replied quietly. Then, the dragon unfolded his wings, the breeze lifting the young man’s cape. He protected his face from the gusts that came with the takeoff.
“See you soon,” Ayrokkan called out.
“See you soon,” came the reply, but the dragon was already gone. Glaide watched him go, the silhouette shrinking into the distance until it disappeared completely. With a sigh, he turned towards Heidro. The village awaited him, and within it were those he had wanted to see again so badly, and who he’d never really wanted to leave.
Chapter 25
“WELL, this place is different...”
That was the first thought Glaide had when he stepped through the massive front gate. The place looked nothing like any of the other villages he’d visited. Heidro, along with Shinozuka and Vlatendire, was one of the oldest cities in the Known Lands, according to the small plaque at the base of the stone sculpture representing the place’s founder. In his time, the plains around this place had been filled with rivers of all sizes, springing from the nearby mountains. The man who created the village had been an architect, and his goal had been—unlike that of so many others—not to create a citadel for defense, but rather to create a truly beautiful city. He had found this place perfect because it had given him the opportunity to build all kinds of streets and buildings that spanned the many waterways. As a result, Heidro had many bridges scattered around, each different from the next. The first stood directly beyond the gate and led to the center of the village. Glaide stopped on it for a moment, leaning against the edge.
“This must have been a magnificent place,” he thought to himself. “All those rivers, crisscrossing the city, everything in perfect harmony, without a single stone touching water or vice versa.” The riverbeds had long lain dry, however, and the bridges now stood over nothing more than canals filled with grass. With a smile, the young man wondered to himself if he might not be able to restore this place to its former glory. As if to endorse that thought, the cloud passed tranquilly across the sky before his eyes.
The moment spent gazing at the city helped to calm him. From the time he’d left Ayrokkan, the idea that he was only a little ways away from his friends had been putting him into quite a state. If he wanted to make a good impression, he’d have to manage to control his shakes, or he wouldn’t be able to speak without stuttering. More than once, he wondered exactly how he should greet them. Should he try to appear humble? Or should he act like they were waiting for him? In the end, he decided simplicity was the best policy. He would simply stand before them with a smile on his face, as if he’d left them only the evening before. He knew that those he was seeking would certainly have changed, but he could only act based on the people he remembered them to be.
“So, now what?” he asked himself softly. He looked to the left and to the right, searching for a sign as to where he should go, but aside from the guards at the gate, the lanes and bridges were empty. That made sense of course, since it was just past noon, and he decided that he, too, should find some food and fi
ll up.
He asked one of the rare passers-by where he could find an inn, and at the same time, he took the opportunity to ask the date, and learned that it was now the last week of March.
“Incredible,” he thought to himself. “My master left at the beginning of the month, and, already, the month is nearly gone.” The time he’d spent with Mehrika had really caused him to lose all track of time.
The young man found the inn without difficulty. It was a rather ordinary place, but clean, and not too noisy. He still had supplies, but he wanted a proper dinner, and since money was no object, he ordered a hot meal. When the server brought it to him, he took the opportunity to ask about his friends.
“Excuse me, but I’m looking for some people: two girls and a boy about my age. I was told that they’d arrived in Heidro a number of days ago. Does that ring any bells for you?” The woman thought for a moment before replying.
“I saw a group that could match your description. There was a magg and her protector, but they were accompanied by two other girls. One of them was clearly a warrior; she had two short swords strapped to her back. They looked a bit like yours, actually,” she said, motioning to the katana. For a moment, he found himself wondering how that could even be. After all, hadn’t the monks told him that such weapons had all but disappeared? And who would even know how to use them, especially since there was no master remaining who could teach someone? Those questions soon gave way to another, however. If these people were indeed Jeremy, Gwenn, and Emily, then who was the third girl? The one who carried the blades?
“I can’t say for sure if those are the people I’m looking for,” Glaide concluded, “but do you know if they’re still here?”
“A magg and a protector rarely go unnoticed. Probably everyone here exchanged a word or two with them. I’m sure they said they were planning to leave... Hmm.... When did they say they were going?” She stopped to think for a minute, and while she did, Glaide gulped down some of the meat. Her conclusion, when it came, came quite suddenly.
“Oh, right, I remember! They were planning to leave... Well, it would be today, in the early afternoon.”
“What?” the adolescent choked out. He leapt up, grabbed his bag, and feverishly demanded, “They’ve already left?”
“Oh, I don’t think so. They’d probably be near the north gate around now. If you hurry, you might just catch them.”
“Thanks!” And with that, he tossed a handful of dras on the table and raced for the door. In a moment of lucidity, he remembered that he’d arrived from the east. He spotted the bridge he’d entered the city by, and, using that point to find north, he dashed off in that direction.
“Please don’t let me be too late, please don’t let me be too late...” He chanted the words over and over in his mind as he raced through the streets.
He came to a sudden stop at a crossroads. There was no sign there hinting to which road he should take. He’d realized early on that the streets of this city were so serpentine that someone unfamiliar with the place could easily take a road that appeared to head east, only to find themselves headed in the complete opposite direction. He gazed one way, then the other. The first road seemed to disappear among some houses while the other seemed to head off further into the distance. “There’s no way the northern gate is in the center of town,” he told himself. Instead, he chose the other route, and sprinted away. After a few minutes, he saw that the houses gave way to some kind of meadow up ahead, and the road—which up until then had been a paved one—gave way to dirt. Glaide wondered for a moment if he’d already passed beyond the city walls, but as he stepped into the open, they suddenly loomed up into his field of vision.
“The gate must be that way,” he thought to himself. He was so exhausted from running, though, that he decided to walk a short stretch, and try to catch his breath. As he continued on his way, he noticed that the path he was following must have been bordered by two long rivers, once upon a time. It appeared as though the architect had deliberately left this place as virgin soil during the village’s construction, probably to conserve the place’s natural beauty. Now, though, despite the bright green color of the grass, and the still-healthy-looking trees scattered here and there, the place had a melancholic beauty, and it was but a shadow of its former self. Glaide continued to make progress as he admired the place, and the beauty of it began to calm him. He couldn’t be sure the people he was trying to catch up to were the ones he was seeking, but risking missing them without finding out was absolutely out of the question. The very thought that he could be just behind his friends made his heart beat so fast it was almost painful.
He caught sight of another bridge then, then behind it, the north gate and, as he drew closer, four silhouettes marching calmly side by side. They were nearly to the bridge. Despite the distance separating them from the young man, he could tell they were the group the server had mentioned: three girls and a boy, all about his age. Though he still hadn’t recovered enough to run, the adolescent accelerated a bit, and was soon able to clearly make out the silhouettes. Then, his heart skipped a beat, and as if to make up for skipping one, it began to beat incredibly fast.
Instinctively, Glaide ducked behind a tree trunk so that he was hidden from view, pausing for a moment, and taking a seat with the tree trunk at his back. He was gasping for breath, and his mind contained a maelstrom of thoughts, disconnected, chaotic. He couldn’t go on, couldn’t get control of himself. In a weak attempt to speak, he whispered a phrase.
“It’s them...” He could feel tears come to his eyes, though he couldn't tell exactly why. He held his head in his hands and let the tears fall. It was the only way he could think to release the emotion flooding through him. It felt as though the world around him was falling apart and at the same time, as if he was rediscovering it all. Memories flooded into his mind, powerful and vivid. Jeremy, Gwenn, Emily... It had been seven months now since he’d last seen them, and that whole time, he’d had no news about them at all. So many things had happened since then, but at the same time, it was as though he’d only left them the day before.
Finally, and at the cost of great effort, he forced himself to move. Only one thought remained in his mind: he had to catch up to them, before they left the city. The exit was just there, and he had to reach them before they reached the gate. Instead of going after them, though, he remained there for a moment, resting his back against the tree trunk, simply watching them.
They were moving slowly, obviously absorbed in their conversation. It was almost comical... The four friends were just about to be reunited, and three had absolutely no idea that the person they wanted to see so badly was watching them, incapable of making the move to rejoin them. Glaide didn’t notice the bizarre quality of the situation, however, because the emotions in his heart had suddenly given way to doubt. He didn’t know anymore if he should head for those people that he had so wished to see again for so long. Was he really ready? Would he need to leave them again soon? Was he capable, as he’d said to Ayrokkan, to take responsibility for their lives?
He watched his friends, who’d just reached the middle of the bridge. From where he was, he couldn’t make out anything on their faces, but he could tell from their clothes that they’d well and truly become voyagers. Without really knowing why, the young man found their clothing suited them perfectly. They’d taken on the clothing of this world well before he had, but at that point, it had been nothing more than a disguise, artifice meant to help them accept their new lives. Now, it was different. They were dressed that way because they lived in this world. They were part of it, no longer mere transplants to this place. Now, it was the clothing that they’d brought with them to this world that would seem like a disguise.
Gwenn was wearing a long brown dress, simple, and undecorated—certainly not an evening gown or anything of that sort. A dark red cape floated up behind her a little. Hers was nothing like the Glaide’s: his was thicker and covered part of his chest as well as his back.
> Emily wore a black linen vest, and still wore the golden band that Glaide had spotted on her arm when he’d found his friends leaving the clothing shop in Shinozuka. She wore grey pants, a color as restrained as the rest of her outfit. Jeremy wore similar pants, though his were black. His top, however, was a shirt in a pale tan that was almost yellow.
“It almost looks like a regular t-shirt,” Glaide thought with a smile. Maybe his friends hadn’t changed all that much... Suddenly, he wanted to be at their side almost desperately, and questions inundated his mind.
“Enough thinking,” he urged himself. “It’s time to act on those impulses...” And with that, he decided to go after them. Driven by his new-found strength, he jumped up, grabbed his bag, and headed for the bridge, suddenly sure of himself.
The young people had already reached the other side, but they’d stopped, and seemed to be having quite a discussion. They didn’t seem to agree on what they should do next. “Well, don’t make too many plans,” the adolescent thought to himself with a smile. “In a few minutes, they’ll probably all change anyway!”
Chapter 26
THOUGH his heart was threatening to beat out of his chest, Glaide marched calmly towards the friends he had left behind so long ago. Jeremy was the first to spot him. He was standing facing Glaide, conversing with the two girls. He looked up suddenly, and his face froze. His incredulity could easily be read on his face the moment he spotted the strange traveler approaching, one who reminded him so much of someone... Could something so unbelievable be true? Could he really be seeing what he thought he was seeing? Could what he’d been sure was a final farewell really have been just a temporary one, as his letter had claimed?
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