Elena shifted in her seat and smiled wickedly at us.
'But what the DeNaga’s did not know was that, unlike our families’ gifts, the elemental powers cannot be inherited by those born to them. They realized too late that they would lose the stolen powers, which was a minor comfort to us. My family turned to studying history in an attempt to find out more about the elementals. The study took them far and wide to many obscure places and could be incredibly frustrating at times. The little information they did manage to dig up told them this:
The Elementals are very rare and possibly even the same spirits being re-born.
Those born as Elementals will be natural leaders and generous by nature, never power hungry.
An Elemental born to royal lineage may be able to pass the powers on to their offspring.
Elementals appear to have much longer life spans than the norm.
So unfortunately while the information was interesting it didn’t really help to understand Elementals any more than they already did.
After a few more millennia four babies were born, again with the gifts of the elements. The Mestarn’s sensed the babies’ arrivals and took them and their families back to the castle to live under its protection. This time the children grew up happy and healthy and learned to utilize their gifts effectively. The realm thrived from their presence. When they came of age they moved out of the castle to start their own families and that is when the DeNaga’s struck.
Sneaking into the realm with newly acquired cloaking gifts, that they stole from some unique creatures they discovered in another realm. The DeNaga’s started killing off the Elemental’s families. The Elementals made their way to the DeNaga’s determined to kill them all, but somehow it went awry. One was killed by one of the DeNaga’s creatures and two offered their lives in exchange for their families. The last Elemental died fighting.
Now that they had the powers again the DeNaga’s set to lay waste to Elion and this war is known in our history as the Norard—or all encompassing—War. It was an enormous battle that, in the end, nearly decimated the entire world and was only finished when all the other realms banded against the DeNaga’s. The first Griffon Guard was created at this time as five warriors had linked with five griffons. It was thanks to the Griffon Guard that two of the DeNaga’s with the Elemental powers were killed.
The only surviving DeNaga’s, a small, single, family unit, fled the battle and lived out a nomadic life in Vo Arum to avoid detection.
The next three millennia slowly restored the world and all the realms to their former glory and again the Elementals were forgotten to history. Until now.' Elena said confidently.
'Or so I hope.'
We stared at Elena our expressions a mixture of shock and horror.
'Are we meant to be excited about this?' Kassie looked understandably dubious. 'We may have super powers, and if we do a family of nutters is going to hunt us down and suck us dry?' Her voice increased an octave.
Sian stared icily at Elena.
'Well put, Kass.'
The other two gave the Sorceress similar, unimpressed looks.
Elena appeared a little stunned by our not so rapturous response and stared at us in shock before exclaiming, 'No, NO! That is not what’s going to happen at all. There are a couple of different reasons, please let me explain. Do you know how the late King died?'
Loi, Sian and Cat shook their heads but Kassie spoke up.
'Yes. Well, I think I do. Rumal told me it was in a fight, and his first griffon Ofelaan died in it too.'
'Yes, but there is more to it than that. The late Queen Ariadwen, Alek’s mother, died not long after she gave birth to him. We thought at the time that it was an unfortunate complication from the birth, but now I suspect she may have been murdered. So that left just Alek and King Nikias, as the surviving members of the Thalian line. Understandably we watched over them very closely. When Alek turned ten he linked with a griffon, Loushka. At around the same time the other four members of the current Griffon Guard linked with their griffons. And so we, the King, myself, and Yakov, began to train them. It was at our first training camp that we were attacked by Jenviet and her brother Diantew. In the ensuing fight King Nikias and Ofelaan were killed.'
Elena gave a sad sigh, her eyes sorrowful.
'The one good thing out of it all was that Diantew was killed in the fight, which brings me to one of the reasons why I am sure this time we will succeed. Jenviet is the only remaining DeNaga. So our odds are much greater and, unlike the past Elementals, you four are already warriors and used to defending yourselves.'
Warriors. I wasn’t sure if I’d use that word to describe myself, and the look of astonishment on the others faces was funny.
'Is Alek is the last of the Thalian line?'
'Yes, all our power goes into protecting him. That’s the reason Jenviet and Diantew attacked us then, in the hope of wiping out the Thalian line and thus effectively throwing the realm into Civil War again. I am not able to remain in the Castle if the Thalian line isn’t ruling. They came dangerously close to succeeding in their cause that night.'
I was silent while I thought about it all. It was such an incredible history. What if we were "gifted" as she hoped? How would you cope with such a gift? And Alek watched his dad die when he was only ten that would have broken my heart. Not that it wasn’t at the moment, knowing I’d never see my parents again. I breathed through the pain as my chest seized, again, at the knowledge.
'What will Jenviet do if she succeeds?' Sian asked.
'I expect she would side with a family as my family did and once she had control of this realm she would take over others. The DeNaga’s desire power and dominion above all else. They appear to thrive on it.'
'So a truce isn’t possible?' Loi asked.
Elena gave her a sharp look and there was a long pause before she answered her.
'No. And she would never consider one.'
Loi held her hands back.
'I didn't mean to be rude. I was just curious.'
We sat there, silent, until Sian spoke.
'What do you want from us
The Sorceress looked pleased to get the conversation back on track.
'As I suggested before, a one month trial. We would begin your training in a couple of days and after the ball for Alek’s birthday you could make your decision.'
'Why a couple of days?' asked Kassie.
'I thought two days would give the men some time to show you around the castle and such.' She smiled, 'Once we begin training you will have little time to see much of it.'
'Elena, couldn’t you fight Jenviet?'
I was curious to know what her powers were.
'Yes I could, but that would leave Alek and Elion unprotected. It's too big a risk, and my siblings are too young to help me yet.'
'You have siblings?' Sian asked.
'Yes a brother and sister. They are both studying in other realms. It takes many centuries to come into our full powers you see, unlike the Elementals.'
Many centuries. How old did that make Elena? Or Jenviet for that matter? Now I began to understand what formidable enemies they must be. We were good fighters after ten years of training. Imagine what someone with centuries of experience must be able to do.
So what to do?
I could see, from looking at them, that the others were thinking the same thing, and we stared at one another, reading expressions. Finally, I gave a tiny shrug. After all if it didn’t work out we could call it off at the month end. The others gave minute nods and I turned to Elena.
'Okay we’ll help. However, we will hold you to your one month agreement if we find it’s not what we want.'
Elena visibly relaxed and a genuine smile lighted her face.
'Thank you all so much. Why don’t you join the men in the Solar. I am sure they’ll be delighted to show off the castle.'
We passed others in the corridors as we followed Elena's directions. Our greetings were always responded to, fol
lowed by curious glances and whispers as we went. It seemed most people at the castle had heard of our arrival. I enjoyed the slower pace, compared to the night before, and paused to look at some of the paintings and tapestries on the walls. The need to distract myself was strong, and I was sure the others felt the same. Kassie stopped with me as we stared at a beautiful tapestry of a unicorn silhouette, standing before the setting sun.
'Do you think they’re real too?' she asked as she studied it.
'Probably,' Loi peered over her shoulder. 'It seems that anything we consider ‘mythical’ exists here.'
Sian leaned against the wall.
'I can’t wait to see a dragon up close.'
'They might not be friendly in real life,' I warned.
We continued down the corridor, pausing at an enormous set of doors with a guard in front.
I wonder if that’s the throne room, thought Loi as she studied the doors. Made of wood they were a real work of art. At first glance she’d thought it was stone, it was so highly polished. The doors were arched and had ornate pillars at either side. Vines were carved into the pillars and trailed the length of them. Tiny gems glittered down the edges of each vine. It created a beautiful image and made the door shimmer.
The guard at the door smiled at them and their obvious admiration.
'Would you like to look in at the throne room?' he asked and pushed one door open.
Just the workmanship of the doorway alone was incredible. I watched the way the immense door silently swung open. We stepped into the room and stared about in awe. The throne room had a dark polished wooden floor. Like the doors, thousands of tiny gemstones glittered up at us, embedded within it. I had to resist the urge to kneel and run my hands over it, it was an enchanting effect.
The room was very large and could easily accommodate a large throng of people. At the end of the room, or the ‘head’ of it, were two thrones. They looked to be made of the same white stone as the castle; heavily inlaid with gold in an intricate pattern that offered flashes of the white underneath. A canopy of deep purple silk was draped high above the thrones and framed them beautifully.
A large ornamental shield was set above the canopy. It was black with silver edging; a deep red rose was in the center with a rising phoenix on the right and a seated griffon on the left. The colors were spectacular; the images glowed like a Raphael painting.
The guard noticed my attention on the shield.
'That shield has been with the Thalian line since their first coronation. It was redesigned after the Norard War when the griffons allied with us. It was then they were added to the shield. The phoenix represents the Thalian ability to constantly renew themselves, no matter the situation. The rose is a symbol of their passion of their realm and the griffon, of course, represents strength and friendship.'
I stepped closer to study it.
Sian looked around the room and stopped at the huge portraits of King Nikias and Queen Ariadwen. The King had been a handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes, though not as blue as Alek’s. The Queen had strawberry blond hair and had been a beauty. Alek didn’t appear to take after either of his parents in particular. Cat wandered over with Loi and Kassie and they all silently studied the portraits.
The guard stared up at them too and shook his head.
'It was a real tragedy losing the King like that. Especially for the Prince.'
Sian glanced at Cat, reflecting on what Elena had told them.
'How did the prince handle it?' Cat tentatively asked.
The guard sighed and shook his head again.
'Not well. Not well at all. The Archduchess immediately declared herself regent, as was expected, and the prince completely withdrew. He spent most of the time with his griffon. It’s been only in recent years that he’s been back in the public eye. And now, of course, he’s head of the Griffon Guard. He’s refused the crown until he rids the world of those damn evil DeNagas. It’ll be a bloody good thing too. Not a family alive hasn’t lost someone during their attempts to take over this realm. The sooner they’re dead the better!'
The man almost snarled the words, his face ruddy with anger, then he seemed to remember his audience and apologized, the color fading from his face.
'But there’s no need for me to get excited. His Royal Highness always keeps his word, so all will be well.'
It was interesting to see another's perspective on it.
I wonder if everyone has such a hate of the DeNaga's, thought Sian.
'We should be on our way,' Loi flashed him a dazzling smile. 'Can you point us in the direction of the Solar?'
The guard blinked, appearing stunned by Loi’s charms, and the rest of us exchanged knowing looks.
'The Solar?'
The guard suddenly looked more interested and a cunning smile spread over his weathered face.
'So you’re the women close to the Prince and the rest of the Guard,' he shook his head in amusement. 'You’d better watch your backs, all the women in the castle are furious at the reports that the Prince has found himself someone special. They’ve all tried to entice him and his friends.'
Sian nearly laughed aloud at the look on Cat’s face and was amused at the idea of rivals for Daron’s affections.
Too late girls, she thought smugly, he’s all mine now. The guard pointed them in the right direction and they headed off.
'All tried to entice him?' hissed Cat. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean? How hard did they try?'
Kassie started to laugh.
'C’mon, Cat, you’re not jealous are you? That’s really not necessary. We’ve all seen how Alek looks at you.'
'Well aren’t you guys bothered?' I demanded, feeling like a silly fourteen year old all of a sudden, who just happened to be crushing on the hottest guy at school.
'Nope.' sang Sian. 'I love it. Cause Daron’s all mine.'
Loi and Kassie gave approving whoops and whistles.
Grow up Catherine, my rational voice snapped, you’ll see soon enough if he has eyes for another.
The other voice wailed at the thought of some blond temptress oozing herself all over him.
I pulled myself together as we rounded the corner to the Solar. Loi halted abruptly in front of us, and I had to stop so fast that Audi ran into the back of my calf with a startled yelp.
'Loi, what the heck?' I demanded.
'LOOK.' She hissed so we all peered around her and gasped.
There, not six meters from us, was a dragon. We hastily backed up so we were behind the corner and just our heads peeked around. Even Audi peeked, crouched beneath me.
'Oh my Goddess,' breathed Sian as she watched the creature who fussed about the fireplace.
The dragon was just a bit bigger than Audi and apparently could switch from all fours to its hind legs with no discomfort. Its front arms had dexterous claws that it seemed to use like fingers.
The dragon paused in its grumbling to glance their way, and the women froze. Muttering to itself, it turned back to the fireplace using its long tail to prod at it, like a poker.
In the solar Rumal heard something and walked to the doorway. He was greeted with a bizarre sight. The four girls and Audi peeked around the corner at Nnelg, the fire dragon, their eyes as wide as saucers and Kassie’s mouth was open in amazement.
He leaned back and called quietly to the others.
'Come look at this.'
Alek, Sabyn, and Daron walked over. Rumal held a finger to his lips then pointed out the doorway. Peering past him, they caught sight of them.
'They’ll be sorry,' Daron said in a quiet sing song and the others chuckled, knowing what came next.
I could hear Sian whispering to herself as we studied the little dragon. It was the most beautiful blue with scales that were dark blue at the roots and lightened toward the ends, creating a stunning shimmer. And it was so fluid and graceful in its movements, I leaned forward to see it a little better.
A strange voice grumbled in my ears.
'Nosey creatures, I’ll teach you.'
I turned to Kassie in confusion.
'Did you say something?'
She looked surprised and shook her head. I had just turned my attention back to the little dragon, when it turned to look at us and then—vanished!
'What?' We cried in surprise.
'Where did it go?'
Sian looked up at the ceiling and Kassie and Loi crept forward to look around. Audrey cried frantically and spun round and round, hunting for it. I stood with my hand against the wall, staring in disbelief at where it’d just disappeared from when…
WOOOOOSSSSSHHH!
We screamed in shock and dove out of the way as a blast of fire roared over our heads. Kassie and I, jammed up against the wall, stared at each other in shock when that strange voice spoke up again.
'That’ll show them, bet they won’t forget that anytime soon,'
And the little blue dragon sashayed past.
Loud laughter caught Kassie’s attention and detangling herself from Cat she sat up. The four men must have watched the whole episode from the Solar doorway because they were laughing so hard they almost fell over.
'Very funny,' Cat grumbled as she straightened up.
'So are you going to introduce us?' Kassie demanded to Rumal as Cat coaxed Audi out from under a chair. Sian and Laura dusted themselves down and watched the dragon cautiously.
Rumal stepped forward.
'Ladies, may I introduce you to Nnelg, our castle’s esteemed Fire dragon, and, Nnelg,' he said with a firm look. 'May I introduce you to Kassandra, Catherine, Sian, and Laura, Elena’s special guests.'
'Humph,' huffed Nnelg. 'Where did they get their manners from?'
'They’re new to our world,' Alek said. 'They mean you no harm.'
Audrey crept toward Nnelg on her belly and he spun to face her.
The Arrival (Birthright Trilogy #1) Page 19