by Karine Green
Blue had made her the dragon's tea every morning to drink. It helped lift the Forgottenness Blessing more each morning. There still things she couldn't quite remember because she was so young. She knew she was an only pup, and enjoyed the spoils of older parents. However, they had also been very strict. She smiled at the memory of her mother – the softie who’d suddenly turned tiger mom like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
“Dunia, you will come out of that bed at once. You will not be late for Howling lessons,” her mother had said at first, smiling, while sounding like she was beginning to lose her patience.
"Owwwwwwwhhhoo,” Dunia had said, “Dragons already know how to howl mother.”
"You, young lady,” her mother had said, reaching into her bed with her tail and front paw to pick her up, “Will not sass me." She had set Dunia down gently but firmly facing her bedroom door. "And, you will perfect the magic of your roar faster if you learn the basics of howling. Learn to control your dragon's breath, or you could hurt someone. It isn't about simply saying –Owwwwwwhhhooo – as you well know. Now, are you going to walk like a respectable ten-month-old dragon pup, or will I have to carry you there on my horns like a three-month-old hatchling?"
Dunia smiled, but immediately furrowed her brow and fought back tears at the memory. She was now glad she had completed howling class. She was also tri-lingual, not that it mattered anymore. The Great Losing had caused a common language to emerge. If anyone wanted to trade with the Seculars, who now controlled almost everything, then one spoke their language. Refusal to do so invited invasion, plundering of village supplies, and at minimum being cut out of the trade route, which was no different than choosing to live in poverty.
"Everything that existed in my world is gone." She started burrowing back toward the cabin. She shifted her thoughts to avoid tearing up; no sense in making her face muddy.
“According to the historical scrolls, there had been vibrant villages so large that I like to think of them more as cities, but they are all now abandoned, or the remnant population is poverty stricken. They need an Earth Dragon, like me to till and heal the ground to maintain the purity of their food supply. My parents' Blue Valley home is a perfect example. Nearly three hundred thousand people used to live there. About two hundred thousand more lived in the smaller surrounding villages, now only a few thousand remained. They are subject to a never-ending cycle of poverty by having to pay a large tax in the form of eighty-five percent. The Northern Secular village of Yellow Hollow takes most of the harvest so starvation is always stalking Blue Valley. I can't wait until the other dragons return, then we can free our home, and we will be free to rebuild." She smiled, allowing the soil to flow through her and heal itself in her jaws as she burrowed through it. I never thought of myself as planning a government takeover.
She climbed out of her tunnel and into her room in Blue's cabin. She shook off the mud and rinsed off with the new solar shower she’d fashioned out of giant leaves she found in the forest. Blue had been right, the burrowing scroll was fun, even though she now remembered that it was a hatchling’s game. Burrowing was to help her gain control over the ground. Once she mastered this, she could move on to some of the more difficult concepts such as liquefaction of the ground or moving trees without uprooting them. Eventually, she would be able to burrow through the rock as easily as the ground. But first, she needed to master the dirt burrowing and simultaneously filling the ground in behind her.
She shook off the water. "It is considered mastered when no one could tell I have burrowed at all." She repeated the scrolls often to cement then into her memory.
She curled up in her dog bed as she called it. She sniffed the edges of it to help her remember her father and mother. When she was a little pup, she had been annoyed with the way they had pushed her to excel at learning. She was now grateful for this, because they laid the groundwork for her to help continue her own education.
A knock on her door jolted her out of her thoughts. "Did you enjoy yourself, Lady?" Blue said from the other side.
She smiled; he had been careful not to call her Great Dragon since she expressed a distaste for it. She wasn’t African-American anymore, but they would always be very close to her heart and mind. "Yes, Blue. I am doing better. That tree I told you about seems to be doing very well."
"Excellent. I am glad you are happy. Tomorrow we will start you on the other scrolls, and I will show you how to use your claws to write with ink instead of the stone slab."
"Awesome."
"Sleep well, Lady Dunia."
"You too, Blue."
She heard him walk up the little staircase to the upper loft. She blew out her oil lamp, and closed her eyes, but her mind was still busy. She was so curious about the rest of her home world that she could hardly contain herself.
Blue had told her that when she was ready to protect herself, they would set out to find other dragons. He told her that the Green Witch had taken a hoard of dragon hatchlings to safety in the far West. He wasn't sure where in the west, but he knew it was on the coast. If they existed, they would all be about her age give or take five years. She wondered if she might remember any from howling or flight lessons at school.
She would never be forgotten again. Although Blue had warned her that once she learned more about the Mad Dragon King and the Great Losing, her rosy opinion of her home world would change.
She sighed, as she pawed around in her little pea gravel bed. He was right, she only had the once-great-city story, where everyone lived happily and in harmony with parents who loved and paid attention to her. She did not understand, just how deep and dark the history of her home world of Shestafa ran, even though it was clear on the scrolls in front of her.
She curled up and drifted off to sleep, allowing happier memories of her father to enter her mind. He used to allow her to ride on his horns while burrowing. It felt safe, but she couldn’t shake the fact that her experience as an African-American teen seemed to be the most important experience the other realm offered her.
She would die before that history repeated itself here in Shestafa. She was in a position of power, and as such everyone would be on equal ground- or she’d bury them- literally.
A Rider For Mack
Romayo smiled up at Misty, who looked back at him. "You have been invited into a dragon's home while on his back, yet you claim you are not his rider?" There was no answer, just a satisfied smile. He smiled back at her.
He heard Fabian whisper to Romayo as he took off. “She’s his rider. She’s just being patient as the fog of the Forgottenness Blessing lifts.”
Romayo whispered back. “Indeed. The effects would wear off soon enough, and then our young prince will reward her patience.”
Fabian looked over to Romayo as Mack turned his ear to listen to the conversation. "Do you think this dirty little girl is qualified to be the rider of a Great Dragon?"
"Ultimately, it doesn't matter, Great Dragons take the riders they want, and no one can say much about it."
A young man came out of the crowd. "I am village nobility, and I want to challenge for the Air Dragon."
Mack landed on the dragon’s roost. “Check the place out.” Misty climbed down and ran over to the shelves of scrolls, but Mack kept his ear turned toward Romayo, amazed that he could actually here them, and focus in on the conversation.
"Sorry, Don, he has a rider. She can ride him bareback. You don't stand a chance. Even if he consented, you'd be killed in the drafts that an Air Dragon surfs naturally. A problem the girl has already overcome. Perhaps some additional study in the physics of flight would make you a better candidate." Romayo shrugged.
“This kid is going to get himself bitten,” Méi said, squeezing in next to Mack- ears perked straight forward. She scowled at Don, from the edge of the window.
Don frowned, putting his hands on his hips. "Perhaps the Fire Dragon? Although it appears like she would be reluctant to give her trust. I would be careful if I were you, Scholar Don. Intelligent o
r not, dragons are dangerous creatures. If they don't want a rider, you will not live past the first thirty seconds of training, and if you don't know how they fly you won't live past the first five minutes of flight. Now, why don’t you go sign up for the training I just suggested."
Méi looked over the edge of the balcony, scowling at the boy. "I can hear you, see that?" She pointed to a scarecrow in the field and reared up on her hind legs breathing fire on it. A fine spiral tube of fire spewed out of her mouth landing precisely on the scarecrow. It was instantly and individually incinerated. "Try to sneak a saddle on my back and you'll wish that was all I did to you." She bore her teeth and backed into the barn, growling.
"Méi, really?" Mack said, still standing by the corner, hopefully out of sight.
She nodded, snarling as she walked into the dusty guest quarters. “I’ll bite him right where the sun doesn’t shine.”
"Excellent, she has perfected the Narrow Flame Tube," Romayo said, clapping. Then he glanced at the boy, "I wouldn't get my hopes up. While we are waiting for you to perfect your dragon charming skill, can you go fetch Queen Parana's adolescent saddle and bring it here? Perhaps the girl can saddle Makani? Bring the small rider saddle braces too, please."
"Yes, go, boy," Fabian said, nodding in agreement, shooing him to hurry up. "The sooner Makani has a rider, the better. The people will fight over him. He is the highest-ranking dragon amongst the Great Dragons."
Mack leaned back to hide more inside his living room. I can’t be the only one left.
"We don't know that for certain, we only think so. I pray with all my soul these aren’t the last two dragons, and that the Green Witch had made it to Sea An'Tia.”
Fabian nodded. ‘We never received word they made it safely.”
"But if the Crown Prince is dead, then indeed Makani is the heir apparent,” Romayo said.
The boy ran off wide-eyed.
Mack sucked in a sigh, not wanting to cause a breeze. Please don’t let me be the only one. He went in his room and lay down to peek out a crack in the window.
Romayo smiled, and leaned back over to Fabian. "Perhaps he didn't want to be a dragon rider after all."
Fabian smiled and nodded. "Maybe the dirty little girl is better suited to a Royal dragon since her mother was a noble rider?"
One of the refugee girls came forward. She looked to be about the same age as Misty, only taller. "Trainer, I am from the Valley of Dragons, a Fire Dragon village. I would like to challenge for the Fire Dragon." Her black hair was tied up in a high bun and secured with two twigs that looked like she had hand carved into little spears.
Romayo nodded approval. "You must do as I say. You must also prepare yourself because it is clear this dragon was wild raised, and may never take a rider."
She nodded. "I have no one left. The Seculars took everything. If these dragons are still that young without adult dragons around, I am guessing she and I will have a great deal more in common than she thinks."
He nodded, "Perhaps so, but please remember the demonstration. Dragons are not dogs to be trained. They are more like lions to be avoided." He pointed to the still smoldering scarecrow.
She nodded. "My grandmother was a rider, and she taught me how to deal with Fire Dragons. It boils down to smell. They have to like the way you smell."
Romayo nodded. "What is your name, or shall I call you Student?"
Mack liked her. She had a determined look on her face. If Misty wasn’t his front runner for a rider, this girl would be second.
She smiled. "Suki, I am a war orphan. My grandmother had only just begun my training when she was killed in the battle that caused the downfall of the Valley of Dragons."
Another boy stepped forward. "Hold on, this is our village. Our people should be considered first. I want to train for the Red Dragon of Blue Valley." He had a hard, mean look about him, despite his fine soft clothing.
"First of all, she is the Red Dragon of Dragons Lance, and the niece of the deceased Fire Minister of Blue Valley. She isn’t from here. You don’t even know that much about your intended dragon. Being a dragon rider is not a fashion statement," Fabian said, holding his hand up in a stop motion.
His mother stepped forward, grabbing the boy’s shoulder. "Stev, no. I will not have you training a Fire Dragon. We are of Blue Valley; we are an Air Dragon village. Let the street urchin have the wild beast. You hold out for the Great Dragon once that dirty little boy washes out of the training program."
Méi landed behind them. She looked the boy in the eye, and he stared back at her gold flecked eyes, blinking as she bore her teeth and let out a low growl. "I will not have you as a rider. You are too fat. Perhaps you'll do for dinner once some of the fat is boiled off?" She reared up opening her mouth as she gurgled her saliva to breathe fire.
Mack jumped as he felt Misty’s hand on his neck. “We should probably save him from his own stupidity.”
Romayo looked like he was about to cringe, then Mack saw Suki seize the opportunity to put Méi into a submissive frame of mind. She turned and performed a martial art, chi blocking pattern. She moved so swiftly that Méi didn't even see her, but she felt her. She had positioned her hand into a knife pose and struck Méi just under the jaw. This would cut off her ability to breathe fire, momentarily.
Mack smiled at Misty. “I think Méi’s new rider has it covered.”
“You think she will take one?”
Suki spun around. "Run, Stev, dear if you know what is good for you. The effect will only last a few minutes, and she looks hungry."
Mack giggled. “Yes. Oh, yes.” He stood up. “Let’s go down and check it out.”
Both Stev and his mother screamed in high-pitched tones as they ran away.
Suki laughed at him, yelling. "Chalk one up for the Fire refugee from Valley of the Dragons. You will forever be known as Screamer because not even a little girl can scream that high."
Misty laughed, as did Mack. “You should probably ride down on my back.”
She smiled then gripped his left horn to climb on.
Méi was still choking, little sparks flying from her nostrils as Mack stepped up to the edge of the dragon’s roost. She raised her sharp obsidian claws, but before she could swipe, Suki struck a nerve in the ankle of her front leg and her paw went limp.
Suki shook a no-no finger at Méi. "I am of the Fire Dragon Village of Valley of the Dragons. Your tactics will not work on me as they do with other people. We were raised for generations with Fire Dragons living as our neighbors."
Misty and Mack glided down from the barn as the first boy ran up with the saddle. He handed it to the trainer.
"What's going on?" Mack asked. "Méi, are you alright?"
She nodded, still choking out little sparks and flames. "I will not be saddled by Screamer!" She pointed with her tail in the direction that Stev ran off.
Mack had to laugh. "Perhaps this little human is not to be trifled with?" he said, pointing at Suki with his front paw and not his tail as most dragons do. They are quadrupeds and mostly kept their front paws on the ground.
Romayo smiled at him. “Mack was definitely hidden in the other realm as a human. My sister is more powerful than I thought. Changeling was a difficult spell to master.”
Romayo put his hands up to calm the dragons. "The saddle is for Misty. It belonged to Makani's mother when she was his age. The braces are for your legs." He handed the gear to Misty, who beamed with pride as she slid off Mack’s back and took the gear, and put the braces on her legs.
Mack's eyes widened. "What are you going to do with that? Perhaps we should wait until this so-called forgotten blessing thing wears off, and we can think straight?" He wasn’t sure about taking a rider.
"Forgottenness Blessing." Misty smiled, and put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, "Or perhaps you need a trusted rider to help you get through this. You are my dragon, and I am your rider," she said, reciting her part of the Rider oath.
He smiled at her, and then glanced
at Méi, before jumping as he felt something brush his wings, and he looked on his back. Misty had carefully placed the saddle on him. Both Romayo and Fabian breathed a sigh of relief.
Romayo motioned to the under strapping of the saddle. "Now it is up to you, if you snap the under strapping then Misty is accepted as your rider. Or, you can recite the oath."
It was so thick, that only a dragon could snap it. Mack looked at Misty. Her eyes were shiny, she was trying to hold her composure. Romayo held his breath for a moment as Mack sniffed the air. The air smelled good.
Mack finally smiled. "You have a good soul. I could do worse for a friend. You are my rider, and I am your dragon." He picked up the under straps and secured them.
"Yes!" Misty ran forward and hugged his neck tightly.
"You had better make sure the braces are on tight," Romayo said, pointing to the braces, "I know I probably don't have to tell you, but watch the down drafts. You don't want to split your head open on his horns when he dives or rises. Once the saddle is secured it is best to fly immediately." He motioned for her to get on Makani's back. A rustle of anticipation ran through the villagers behind them.
Mack glanced at Méi; she was calming down from her incident with Suki.
Romayo smiled. "She will be fine. She has had bad experiences with humans. No one here blames her. Some people here feel the same way about the Seculars as she does. But, we can worry about Suki later. Now, go fly together before someone in the crowd has a stroke."
Misty secured the bridle and slid the braces into the saddle locks. Now, she would not fall off even if she was knocked unconscious. She held the bridle tightly, and said, "Let's go!"
~~~
Mack took off, using his hind legs to spring up into the air. He could feel Misty shift in the saddle, but she felt otherwise secure. After a minute of circling, he stopped worrying about her falling.
They flew all over the entire village, including the large lake at the northwest side of the village. It was beautiful. At the far end of the lower lake was a waterfall, with a smaller upper lake that had a taller, but narrower waterfall cutting its way out of the mountains. On Earth, this would be the ultimate vacation town. It was not only beautiful here, it was clean.