DragonStone- Fatal Winds

by M A Bernier

  “Three people have been reported missing.” Ardant looked out the viewport of his ship, it was still daylight in the city of Dun’ai and the disappearances seemed only to occur at night. As he was about to speak when he realized his colony ship was orbiting the opposite side of the planet, for them, it was night. Ardant thoughts began to feel disturbed. He knew of one individual’s birthmark personally. He phrased his next question slowly hoping not to hear what he feared.

  “Have you contacted my wife about this?” The officer’s eyes dropped downward for a moment.

  “Mr. Ambassador,” his eyes and voice grew serious, “I must inform you that your wife has been reported missing as of 0500. The computer reports that she was in your quarters at the time she disappeared.”

  “I will return shortly.” Ardant closed the connection. He looked at the staff Eryyn and EverGreen had given to him years ago. Today is the first time he decided to use it. He grabbed the staff with his right hand. He did not have to say anything out loud but he did. “Eryyn!” Ardant nearly shocked himself with the loudness of his own voice.

  “Ardant what’s wrong?” Hearing Eryyn’s voice all around him.

  “My wife is missing, she had a birthmark as well. I need to get back to the ship.”

  “I will be there in a few moments, meet me at the Marker.” Ardant reflexively kept the staff in his hand as he walked down the ramp and left his ship. He looked to his left at the Marker standing less than thirty feet away. In moments the air shimmered and Eryyn appeared. He immediately made his way quickly to Ardant who met him halfway. “I will get us to the colony ship quickly, we need to get to your quarters.” Ardant and Eryyn ran into his ship. As the ship rose off the ground Ardant sent word for docking to prepare for an immediate arrival. “Hang on.” Eryyn placed his hand flat on the controls. The view in front of Ardant lurched suddenly as did his stomach. In seconds, he realized he was in front of the docking bay. The doors were already opening. The shuttle had hardly settled on the metal floor as the two ran out the shuttle exit and to the nearest internal shuttle transfer. Eryyn again placed his hand on the controls. The five minute journey through the connecting tunnel took only a few seconds. Ardant and Eryyn reached the personal entrance to he and his wife’s living quarters within a few breaths. The personal shuttle door opened. Ardant and Eryyn stepped quickly onto the narrow platform. Seconds after Ardant placed his hand on the security panel, the door slid upward and he and Eryyn stepped inside.

  Eryyn wasted no time as the door slid closed behind them. “Stand still.” Eryyn moved to the center of the main gathering area. He looked around, stopped and faced the door where Ardant stood then closed his eyes. Ardant watched as a soft white glow began to form around Eryyn. Slowly, it spread outward like a hazy film covering everything in Ardant’s living quarters. Ardant watched for several minutes as his quarters were bathed in the soft white light emanating from Eryyn. The light did not change, but Ardant felt its strength getting stronger. It felt like a heavy blanket had been draped over him. He looked at Eryyn, who now had beads of perspiration on his forehead. Ardant was surprised at the effort it was taking Eryyn to search for a cause of the disappearance. He had seen him fight a dragon, face a demon, defy the dark mistress and hardly flinch at the effort. Yet here Eryyn was and, beginning to sweat.

  “Eryyn, stop.” Ardant could hardly believe what he was saying, but if whatever was strong enough to evade Eryyn’s probes, it would not do him any good to collapse from exhaustion. He opened his eyes, then sat down in the chair beside him. Ardant brought him a glass of water and sat in the chair beside him. “I know you're doing everything you can.” Eryyn continued to stare at his glass of water.

  “This is not good.” Eryyn set the glass down and stood up looking around the room. “Your wife is ready to give birth to your first child. She and the others were the most recent who disappeared. I thought I would be able to find something….” Eryyn turned to his friend. “I can devastate a mountain range, sink islands and battle demons but I cannot find one person?”

  “We better tell the others what has happened.” Ardant stood. He picked up Eryyn’s staff leaning against the chair he had been sitting in and handed it to him. After Eryyn took the staff Ardant placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. “When we find who or what is behind this, they better surrender to you instead of facing what I would have planned for them if the decision were mine.” As Ardant removed his hand from Eryyn’s shoulder, a familiar glow and sense of warmth emanated from behind him. Ardant turned to see the DragonStone now hovering only inches from his chest. The DragonStone moved closer, its outer edge moving into Ardant’s chest. He felt it touched his heart, but he felt no pain. The stone moved away and faded from sight. He turned to Eryyn.

  “Well.” Eryyn replied staring at the space where the stone had appeared. “It’s seems the final choice will be yours.”

  EverGreen moved underground from city to village to town. He emerged on the traveled path, clothed himself in simple brown pants and green tunic before entering each populated area. The mages in each area all knew who he was, so gathering information would not be difficult. His appearance did however cause frequent questioning or confused looks from several of the townsfolk. Most heard of the myth of the protector, and many were still skeptical. Seeing an apparently young man with no shoes, a short sleeve green tunic and brown pants enter the city by himself was a bit out of place.

  Each place Evergreen visited had the same story. People were disappearing at night without a trace. The town he searched today resided on the steep mountainside. The side of the mountain contained numerous caves. Wooden structures, like balconies, had been built and, extended for almost a mile along the continuous mountain ranges. The narrow valleys in this area were frequently washed with flood storms making it impossible to maintain a structure in which to live. Over a long period of time hundreds of home sized ledges containing gardens covered the mountainside. EverGreen had watched the mountainside city of Lel’Karn evolve from a few cave dwelling groups to a full sized town. On a few occasions he had secretly assisted, in a small, way by holding a particular storm during a crucial building time or growing extra trees closer to the mountain. Lel’Karn was his favorite city because it reminded him of his own; existing in memories so old that he could not recall them completely. Instead of merging with the ground outside this city to search for the same signs of the sick vegetation he found at the other places, EverGreen new of a garden here kept by someone very special to him that he could relax in and search the land from. EverGreen walked along the some of the outer ledge walkways and caves until he came to the northern end of the range. He walked the caves to the west side of the smallest mountain and exited the west side to one of the more remote living areas. He knocked lightly on the wooden door set in the cave wall before entering. He crossed the rock floor and passed through the leather blanket covering the entrance to the garden ledge outside. A very old man who looked as old as the mountain itself sat in a chair made from thin limbs. EverGreen walked over and knelt down before the old man. The old man stopped his raking of the soil nearest to him after seeing Evergreen.

  “Hello, grandfather.” EverGreen placed one hand on the old man's knee. The old man’s eyes cleared slightly.

  “Hello, my grandson.” The old man patted EverGreen’s shoulder as he leaned closer.

  “This burden should not be yours. You should rest.” EverGreen said as he took the old man's frail hand in his own hands and held it tightly.

  “When you were chosen to be the protector, your predecessor came to me and told me of your destiny. I saw nearly an endless time of loneliness for you, I could not bear dying with that thought.” Evergreen’s grandfather smiled and planed his free hand on top of Evergreen’s.

  “But you seem so tired to me.” Evergreen said as he looked at his grandfather. His grandfather laughed lightly and patted EverGreen’s hand with his own that had been resting on his.

  “Yes, I do tire easily, b
ut I feel no pain and I have been pleased to plant many gardens and be there for you. EverGreen, I am content to remain as I am for as long as you need me. I begged and asked to remain as I am so long as I could be there for you.”

  “I know, you have told me again and again.” EverGreen leaned up and kissed his grandfather on his forehead and sat on the dirt again then crossed his legs. “Grandfather, do you know who might be taking these people.” His grandfather looked in the direction of the setting sun. He leaned down and grasped a handful of soil and held it in his hands for almost an hour. The sun was just beginning to set when he released the soil and looked at EverGreen.

  “Ancient enemies who hate what you do. A new enemy is present and an old one has been awakened. It is you, they seek to destroy but it will be another who decides the fate of this world and enemies long since forgotten.” His grandfather grew quiet as he watched the sun set. “Stay for a while, although there is nothing more I can tell you, I miss your company.” EverGreen moved so that he sat upon the ground beside his grandfather's chair He sat still while his grandfather rested a hand on his shoulder and they watched the sun set together.

  Syl had spoken to her father the Dragon Lord briefly upon his return. The moment she mentioned the appearance of the DragonStone her father realized the responsibility of whatever task or enemy at hand had been charged to her and her friends. It was not until then that Syl felt the full significance of the stone and its impact on her life. She was just over 10,000 years old, but never before had she faced such a responsibility. Her father saw the look in her eyes. It was not fear but doubt that she might fail him or her friends. “You will do well my daughter." Syl remembered him telling her before she left his council.

  Syl began searching along the edge of the Black Forest, but found the disappearances were no more present than the other areas of the continent. She found no scent of the tree hounds roaming outside the Black Forest, so they were not responsible for the disappearances. Five years ago the creatures had been driven back into the forest by dragon kind and humans. She was almost hoping they had emerged. At least it would have been a possible explanation of recent events.

  The small village Syl flew into was known as Tel’Byn’Ai. After two weeks of searching, she was not expecting to find anything new or different. The only sign she found was a strange smell, it was so diffuse she could not identify it, but it was present at every location. Syl had found nothing different in this village. Several of the children were mesmerized with Syl. The older children had seen the dragons return with the lost colonists five years ago but, had never seen one up close. She decided to stay this night and tell the children the story of the dragons’ departure and life on the planet far from Earth.

  After telling her stories she planned to sleep in nearby caves where warm from lava flowing deep within, it would be a perfect place for her to rest. The sun had set, the children gone home, and Syl was leaving for the caves when she felt Eryyn’s urgent call and where he wanted to meet. She beat her wings lifting herself into the air and headed for Rose Valley.

  EverGreen went to Rose Valley after sending his thoughts to Eryyn about recent events. He sat in a chair made of roots from the ground near the marker others would be using to arrive. The war five years ago had devastated most of the lands, however, Rose Valley was now in full bloom with roses of every type and color once again covering the entire valley. EverGreen spent several years merged with the lands to bring them back to full health.

  The first two arrivals were Alys and Jaymee; the air around the marker shimmered and their forms coalesced into view. As he stood to greet them, all three felt a familiar presence approaching as the sound of large wings thumped in the distance. A second humming noise chimed in from the opposite direction.

  As Syl descended to her three friends waiting below at the Marker in the center of the village, she heard a familiar hum and saw the thin, black oblong shuttle carrying Ardant and Eryyn. As the shuttle landed with its metal struts extending and touching the ground, so did Syl’s giant, clawed feet. The shuttle door opened, Eryyn and Ardant emerged and everyone noticed one particular difference in Ardant.

  Alys saw Ardant exiting the shuttle with the staff Eryyn had given to him. She was somewhat surprised when she noticed he seem to be holding it very tightly, as if his life depended on it. Ardant had never used the staff in the five years since Eryyn gave it to him. She remembered how difficult it was for him and the other lost colonists to accept magic when Eryyn had brought them back to Earth from space. It was not that he disliked magic, he and the lost colonist had lived a life based on machines and technology and magic was something completely foreign to them. Eryyn also carried a great deal of emotion on his face, far more the usual.

  “Geva is now one of the missing.” Eryyn wasted no time as the group gathered together. “I have updated the yearling council mages, they will contact their counterparts on the colony ships.”

  “What about MageGuard?” Asked Alys. MageGuard was the place the apprentices had gathered under the old mage council, until five years ago. When the council betrayed everyone the council enforcers, known as MageGuards, sided with the people. They returned to the old council mountain after the war to continued training MageGuards who would work closely with the Yearling Council as well as have a presence in as many cities as they could. At the same time the old council was banished, a yearly council was agreed upon instead of the traditional nine-year term. The term “Yearling Council” had been used in jest when everyone saw how young the council members were. It soon became a common reference for the council mixed of mage apprentices and colonist techs.

  “They too, are aware of current events and are sending out scouts of their own. They will let us know if they find anything,” Eryyn replied, then turned to EverGreen. “What have you found?”

  “Nothing different than what any of you have found. In the absence of new information I consulted an old friend.”

  “Considering you’re nearly immortal what do you mean by ‘old friend’?” Asked Ardant.

  EverGreen smiled and continued deliberately not answering Ardant’s question which EverGreen knew would annoy him pleasantly. “It seems these disappearances are occurring partly due to me, or more accurately what I am.”

  “I am not sure I understand.” Asked Jaymee.

  “Even though I have been protecting this world for the longest period of any protector, I was not the first one. There have been others before me, whom I am sure had confrontations with others I know not of. It would explain some of the information I was given.”

  “Can you trust the source?” Asked Ardant.

  “With my life,” EverGreen paused and began to sit. As he did, vines emerged from the ground to form chairs for himself and the others. Each of the took a seat. “I was told three things.” EverGreen said. “Old enemies seek revenge, a new enemy is present and one even older has been resurrected.” He could see Jaymee about to ask for more. “There is more. I was told the fate of this world would and my enemies would lie in the hands of another.”

  “Uh-oh." Every turned to Ardant, who tried to look innocent between a look of annoyance.

  “That would explain our recent visitor.” Eryyn said as he looked at Ardant. He looked at the others and continued. “Geva was the most recent of the disappearances. Ardant and I were at his lodgings within minutes after hearing about it, yet I could find nothing. Before we left Ardant made an offhand comment about the enemy being better to surrender to me than to face him if he could choose their punishment.”

  “That’s when your stone appeared.” Replied Ardant as he cast a look at Syl. “I am beginning to think it enjoys making me uncomfortable.”

  “What did it do?” Asked Syl.

  “It touched my heart, literally. It did not speak in words, but I knew I would be making the final choice.”

  “I thought that when we defeated Lysithia everything would be safe?” Jaymee asked.

  “Jaymee.” EverGreen
replied. “I think all of us can say that we all hoped that would be the case. I, Syl and others who have lived such long lives know evil is never truly defeated. Evil is only banished or conquered for a time.

  “Could the DragonStone in some way be bringing that evil forth as a test?” Jaymee asked. EverGreen was about to answer when Ardant spoke up in a voice not quite his own.

  “Fear not, young child, I do not test but call forth those who are worthy and willing to keep the destiny of lives and worlds on the path they were meant to follow.” Everyone stood in surprise and looked at Ardant. His face had changed almost imperceptibly while he spoke to Jaymee. His face suddenly returned to normal then changed to an expression of annoyance. “I told you.” He looked at Syl. “It loves to torture me.”

  “Ardant.” Syl Replied. “I don’t think you understood what has just happened.”

  “Oh, come one, sometime in the past it must have spoken through others?” Ardant looked in particular at Syl and EverGreen. Both of them shook their heads from side to side.

  “I have no memory of the DragonStone ever speaking to anyone at anytime.” Replied EverGreen.

  “Neither has my kind.” Replied Syl.

  “What’s wrong Jaymee?” The others heard Alys ask her adoptive son, they turned and saw him crying silently. Neither Eryyn nor Alys had ever seen him cry since he had lost his natural parents and they adopted him.

  “If I were truly worthy, then why couldn’t I save my mom and dad five years ago.” Alys took Jaymee’s staff and set it on the ground while she put her arms around his shoulders as he shook from crying. He buried his head into his hands and knees.

  “Syl.” EverGreen said softly to her, than he walked to Jaymee and knelt down in front of him. Syl stretched herself forward following EverGreen. “Jaymee, look at both Syl and myself.” EverGreen said softly but a strong sense of urgency could be heard in his words. Jaymee did not respond so EverGreen gently pulled Jaymee’s hands from his face. Syl nuzzled Jaymee softly on his neck. While still crying, he looked at them both, the others also had come closer to offer support. “Syl and I have lived a very long life. There are more times than I can recall having seen others fall, through no fault of their own or the others around them. Many of those times even I could not prevent pain or death no matter how much power I had. I know Syl will tell you the same thing that she knows from her father’s time and before his.”