The Great Losing: The Mad Dragon King (The World of Shestafa )

by Karine Green

  Not that he fancied biting people, but the muscle-head guard had viciously whipped Rini after he put her in Arlen's cell. Apparently Rini was beaten because she could not get Arlen to mate with her. It wasn't that he wasn't interested, especially with his history, but something about Rini was special to him and he would be damned before he forced her. He smiled at the thought of her.

  If she turns her head, or any other part my way, I will not turn her away. But, it will be on her terms, not those crazy humans.

  The King spoke again, "Put the Stone Dragon back in the cell with him; after he has eaten. If he still doesn't want her, slaughter her and feed her to the others. Keep it up until you find a female he likes. Eggs, Captain, I want viable dragon eggs that produce viable Elemental Dragon pups. We cannot allow the Elementals to go extinct. Someone needs to control this deadly weather."

  "Yes, Majesty."

  Arlen heard a single set of footsteps walking away, and then the guards walked away. He picked his head up and looked toward the cell door. He couldn't wait to free Rini and Sarnia, and run away with them. And now, he didn't even feel bad about wanting to eat the guards.

  About five minutes later the guard came back with several others. It sounded like they were dragging something. He put his head back down and played starving dragon.

  The mold in his cell was disappearing for the lack of dampness. So far, the guards had not noticed that fact. It was so easy for him to get water to do what he wanted, and then he smiled. The human body is more than sixty percent water or something like that. I am sorry I didn't pay more attention in science class. I wonder what would happen if I call the water out of their bodies like I did with the damp cell wall.

  "Dragon," the guard barked at him. "The other two guards are in the Stoney’s cell."

  Arlen lay there, unmoving.

  "No funny business," he grunted, continuing to drag whatever it was he had. "Or the other guards will slit their throats. Don't worry about them, we have more Stoney's."

  Arlen didn't move. This complicates things.

  How was he going to eat the guard, before the two others holding Sarnia and Rini hurt them? He closed his eyes. Freedom is worth the risk. I will just have to hope the girls follow my lead once I start fighting. Because as soon as he walks in here there is no going back, regardless of anything.

  The cell door opened and the guard seemed to struggle with something. Arlen turned his head just enough to see that the guard had his back to him. He quickly got up and bit off the guard's head -- before he screamed, luckily. Arlen gently and silently, allowed the lower half of the guard to slump down to the floor as he let go of the head, and then took a bite of the deer the guard had dragged in. It was all he could do to keep from taking a bite out of the guard, out of spite.

  Focus Wayne, concentrate on Rini and Sarnia.

  He walked over to the door and peeked around the corner. He could see nothing, so he moved into the hall and paused by the girls' cell door. It was open.

  He paused, gathering his courage, and hoping this would work out. He burst into the room and sucked his breath in fast, hoping that the dragon breath's magic worked the same going in as coming out. As he drew his breath in, the two men did not have time to react. They opened their mouths to yell, but that only made it happen faster. Within seconds, the men looked like mummies, and Arlen felt full as he realized the water had nutrients in it. It was almost like a feast, except now he had to pee.

  Hold it, dummy, just hold it.

  "Well that was interesting. I am no longer starving," he said, smiling. "Come on let's get out of here." He ignored the whip marks on poor Rini's back, for now. She even had some scales missing. For some unknown reason, he leaned over and kissed the raw spot where a scale was missing. It healed instantly. Not only that, but it had taken some of the water he just drawn from the guards.

  Sarnia smiled, "That's right, Water Dragons can heal. I forgot all about that."

  Arlen didn't let on that he did not understand that would happen. "Let's just move out of here."

  The girls followed him out. It was nearly dark outside. Much to their surprise, they encountered no humans until they were outside. Arlen dehydrated one, and the girls bit the other one.

  He looked out at the landscape. It was like nothing he had ever seen. The guards had been dressed with a medieval flare, just like the ones inside. The hills in the distance looked jagged with sharp peaks, and the tree line near the rear of the castle had abnormally large pine-looking trees in it.

  Rini nodded toward the trees, then silently crept out using her tail to indicate that Arlen should follow her. Once at the trees, they took off at full speed. After about a half hour they stopped. Arlen was having a hard time keeping up with them and had briefly taken to low flight to compensate when they reached a clearing.

  "Hold on, that last guard was too much. I have to stop and pee, or this will get embarrassing." He caped his wings around him for privacy.

  "Arlen," Sarnia said, with her sides heaving as she tried to catch her breath. "He can't keep up. He's a flying dragon, not a ground dragon. Arlen, you have to fly, there is a village just over those high peaks there. It is about a three-day walk, but only a thirty-minute flight. You..."

  "I am not leaving you. Is there any way I can fly you?" he asked, turning to face both of them. They had such pretty, smooth snouts, with bright green eyes. The best part about them was how they seemed interested enough to not forget who he was.

  "Yes, I think so," Rini said, "I have never heard of elemental dragons flying common dragons." She climbed on his back and tried to make herself balance between his wings. "Let's try it."

  Arlen took off and, much to his shock, flying with a heavy load was easy.

  "Fly high Arlen, so they can't see us; really high. Stop on that peak, I don't want to lose sight of the spot where we left Sarnia, or we won't be able to find her again."

  Arlen nodded and flew toward the peak. He landed, Rini slid down, then bit Arlen’s tail.

  "Hey!"

  She ran around and bit his front paw and then growled.

  "What is wrong with you!"

  She jumped on him and wrestled him, "You aren't very bright for an elemental dragon. I am claiming you as my betrothed. It is the female's right to choose her pups' father."

  He wrestled her back, pinning her down. "I am more than flattered, but what sort of betrothed would I be to you if I were capable of leaving Sarnia to die."

  She smiled, and nipped his tail, harder this time, "Not one worth having. Go get Sarnia."

  He flew off to do so, still confused about what just happened with Rini. He looked for Sarnia, but, it was dark now, so dark. He flew in low over the area of woods he had tried to keep his eye on, and landed, hoping like crazy he was in the right place. Immediately he was attacked, and wrestled to the ground.

  He wrestled free. "Where's Sarn...?" he said, staring at Sarnia. "What are you doing?" What in the hell is wrong with these women?

  "Trying to steal five minutes alone with you," she said, nipping his front paw, and then giving him a head-butt on his shoulder.

  He smiled. This was his lucky night. "You know, all you have to do is ask, you don't have to bite me."

  She growled, then he did as she asked, and it was much more than simply nipping at each other's tails.

  The Rise of the Mad King

  The next morning, after Mack tore himself away from the villagers. He dug out some scrolls that Romayo had recommended, and flew with Misty out to some caves by the upper lake, at the edge of the valley's mountains. The caves were high and placed at odd angles. The only way for a human to get to them would be by a dragon.

  "No one will bother us here," Mack said landing in a cave. “Looks like someone used to live here, long ago.” There was a layer of windswept dirt and dust in the cave.

  "This used to be a Mountain Dragon ghetto, some Air Dragons who were poor lived here too," Misty said. He could hear her unlocking the leg braces.
>
  Mack paused as a memory came crashing in. "Not all Air Dragons were wealthy. They just had a better opportunity to earn wealth than the Mountain Dragons."

  "A lot more. The Dragon's breath is like gold in the bank. And, when they shed their diamond horns and claws. Local jewelers almost rioted at the auction tables to get their hands on them. If Air Dragons lived here, it was more likely because they were criminals or social outcasts." Misty nodded, as she dismounted. "I hope Suki and Méi have fun with the dragon lance training. I am not looking forward to that." She walked around to face him, as she pulled her backpack off.

  "I am just glad to be away from the Inscrollium. It's too much attention. Even when they are not talking to me, they are staring those strange happy stares. And the children always want to touch a scale. One of them has become shiny with all the finger rubbing. It's really starting to creep me out," he said, crossing his eyes, but it just struck him that the dragons were a real society. They had royalty, nobility, workers, upper and lower classes, social outcasts, and criminals. He closed his eyes tight. What sort of horrible criminal act would a dragon be capable of; or worse a gang of criminal dragons? They control the elements, looting a human village would be pups' play. He pushed the thought out of his mind as a flash of Pompeii entered it.

  Misty opened her sack, and held up a few scrolls, "Which one first? I have The Mad Dragon King's Rise to Power, A Synopsis of the Great Losing..."

  "It was a war, right? Why do they call it the Great Losing?" Mack asked. He was sure he remembered the answer but wanted to hear it out loud to confirm he understood it. He looked around the cave. The walls and floor showed signs of a dragon family having lived here before. He stared at a broken little whirly gig that was once someone's toy.

  "It's called the Great Losing because that is what the mothers called it. Even the Secular mothers cried out at the loss of life, both human and dragon. We lost millions and millions of lives, but the dragons and magical humans were left on the brink of extinction. No one has seen a live Mountain Dragon since about three years after the war began. My father fears the worst for them. Now I do too. There isn't even one here because this was once their homeland." She watched him looking around. "Mountain Dragons used to live in here. They were considered Common Dragons because they did not have full command over one of the elements. They were a sub-sect of Air and Earth combined and one of only two breeds of common dragons that can fly."

  "This might be a Mountain Dragon village, but it is an Air Dragon home. This toy is for building dragon's breath. Based on what you just said, Mountain Dragons do not have magical dragon’s breath."

  He blew gently on the little whirly gig. It wobbled as it tried to spin on its broken axle. It made him sad to be here. He could tell, it was once a vibrant home to someone. Someone who’d left so quickly they’d left their pup’s toys behind. He wondered what happened to the family that once lived here.

  "If even the Seculars call it the Great Losing, why was I being hunted by them? I have to doubt they learned anything from the loss. If it weren't for Méi I would almost certainly be dead, or worse, hanging taxidermied on someone's wall with my lifeless glass eyes staring out at some smelly smoking room, forever." He sat down like a dog, it was good to not need a chair.

  Misty frowned. "I think the Seculars are plain evil. They raise their kids to hate and embrace the most degrading things. They imprisoned my mother for outrageous reasons, then took my brother away when he was just an infant. He is being raised away from his family and his religion. I am an outsider, so I may not attend school or marry anyone above the rank of a field worker. I am glad my father was well educated in the temple before the war, or I wouldn't be able to help you read this.”

  “Terrible.”

  “Yes, my only hope for escaping hard labor was to start having kids -- a lot of them.” She held up a scroll. “Shall we start with the Rise of the Mad Dragon King, with the understanding that if this scroll was in a Secular village it would probably be titled The Great Dragon Conqueror, and show him in a much different light?" Misty said, putting the other scroll down. "You seem like the type who needs an answer to why. Not that this scroll would provide it, but it will bring you up to speed with what those in the Spiritual block believe to be true."

  Mack nodded, perking his ears forward.

  Misty unrolled the scroll, and read. "The Mad Dragon King, Lahay, rose to power in the Spiritual block as a very talented Earth Wizard. He was also a talented debater so his madness was hidden until it was too late. His experience in Education and Civil Management gained him a seat on the Council for Magical Persons. He was officially the Male half of the two Earth Seats on the council. Hence the title, The Brown Wizard. The Brown Witch is the other half. She stands by him in this madness." Misty paused. "The White Witch who hid you, also sat on the council. It's also the highest magical council in the government," she noted before continuing. "At first, he governed cooperatively and initiated many programs to help people who did not, or could not study magic. Some think he drew many of these programs from the Blood King's Book of Spells, but there is debate whether or not he has the book." She frowned and looked up at Mack. "The Blood King was an Earth-Fire hybrid dragon. He was also the last dragon to have a magical person for a rider. She was an Earth witch, Ja Hua. It means chrysanthemum flower because she betrayed her village when the Blood King – then a prince – came to invade. All the males, humans and dragons, were killed. The mothers put chrysanthemums on the mass grave. It looked like a field of them sprung up.”

  Mack made a face. “How could she do that? Did she know what he was going to do?”

  She nodded. “She helped him take them out. Her magic combined with his caused severe confusion. They just laid down in the fields for the Blood King to slaughter. She, like most magical humans, kept a book of spells. Her book detailed the tactics that she and the Blood King used to conquer and oppress the world. They reigned terror over the seculars by making them believe they were less than human. Ambition was taken forcibly away from the people, and a few dragons. Legend has it, that he kept a herd of Secular humans for his personal meals.”

  “What eventually stopped him?” Mack asked.

  “He went insane, even more so than he already was, and started attacking spiritual villages that were part of his own nation. He killed his own heirs, all but one; The Lilac Princess. Those two were the reason that magical people are not legally allowed to be a dragon rider. All riders and rider candidates must be non-magical, but of the Spiritual block. It's been the law for over a hundred years."

  "What difference would it make as long as they were non-magical. Who cares what block they are?" Mack made a note to do more research on the Blood King and his rider. He was sure he also heard Méi mention the Lilac Princess. Had his family started all this?

  "Mack, people in the Spiritual block who don't study at least one of the different magical arts are very rare; no, extremely rare. Even if their magic isn't developed, they still have a well-rounded use of the basic elemental needs, like the way Romayo was able to mix your tea even though he isn't magical. Anyone can use the basic magic regardless of magical ability. Even a Secular could do it...if they were so inclined to. It's the big, complicated magic that only a few can do, and dragons are at the top of that food chain. Some believe, the original four dragons blessed the humans so they could survive on their own if they had to. The Common Dragons were created to help them master their magic.”

  Mack smiled and nodded. “Yes, even I remember The Tale of The Four Dragons, who became the four great rivers of the land. They fought against an aloof king.”

  “Yes, The Primrose King – because he was always planting his flowers.” She nodded, “The Blood King’s fall from power allowed the council of magical people to become so powerful that their individual application of it could rival the Elemental dragons. They were to bring balance between the humans and dragons so no one could conquer the other again.

  He frowned, “Ex
cept, they become all powerful, and are too easily corrupted.

  “Yes, but not all magical humans are that powerful. Ninety percent of magical humans are nowhere near as powerful as even a teenage dragon, let alone a fully trained adult. To be on the council is to be naturally powerful with the magical arts. History tells us that the Lilac Queen instituted this branch of government to maintain a healthy balance within the government powers. She wanted to make sure all citizens had access to the dragon government.”

  “I am familiar with Executive and Legislative branches of government.” Mack nodded, thinking that perhaps the Supreme Court was missing. “So, you are saying he won over the people by instituting insidious programs to help them? But this seemed to benefit the Spirituals, so it actually bred mistrust among the humans.”

  She nodded.

  “And further made the Seculars in the program dependent on the Magical council and not Spiritual block or main government? This way they had no choice but to accept him as the king, or lose everything. Money is a powerful motivator, but that is nothing compared to the fear of losing it. Those who have it, have all the power. If the people living in the Secular villages were engaging in these so-called programs, did the dragons who lived there work to balance anything out? Or did the Seculars only have Lahay's advice? Was the Spiritual government completely cut out?"

  "They only had Lahay and his cronies. No dragon would ever bless a Secular village with his or her protection; physically, magically, or spiritually.”

  “So why would they deliberately exclude the Seculars?”

  “Dragons are inherently spiritual because their abilities are too connected to the Spirituals' belief system. They have a common thread that weaves them together. They believe in things beyond themselves, beyond that which can be seen. For spirituals, dragons are evidence that our beliefs are real. You are an animal, but are far beyond human intelligence. Dragons and humans are placed together to remind each other that the world is for everyone. It isn't just for man, and it isn't just for animals. Not all of the Seculars are misguided, but enough of them are so bent on converting Spirituals to Atheism they literally make their Atheism a religion because of the forceful way they evangelize."