He continued, “And then Juice joined us, and we destroyed the Septumcolis bridge.”
“Impossible! That bridge was guarded and shielded. Nothing could destroy it,” claimed a dragon in front.
“Nope, it’s gone,” disagreed Versera. “Stavius drained the shield while we fought off the army as Juice completely destroyed the bridge by dive-bombing it like a supersonic ball of fire.”
“Dude, you blew flame at hyper-speed?” gasped a young dragon in amazement.
“Awesome!” cheered another.
“What happened to the people on the bridge?” asked a third.
“Nothing,” laughed Juice as he began to swagger with pride. “I cleared them out with a massive fart before we started!”
“Epic!” roared his audience.
“And now,” Nariana yelled as loud as she could, “we are here preparing to go to war with the Septumcolans in the spring. The Lachian army has joined us, but what we need is a battalion of dragons.”
The room had quieted as they considered this statement, and Versera was able to continue the message in a loud, but not yelling, voice.
“We have leaders. We have an army. We have some of the most powerful magicians in the world. We, the Prophecy Heroes, have the will of the gods. What we need are dragons.”
Versera finished Nariana’s monologue with, “To be precise, we need dragon warriors! Who among you is ready to join us in the most epic battle in a millennium?”
Stavius had drawn some magical energy from the ground. He sprayed an arcing pattern of lightning bolts across the room, above the dragons’ heads. They contained almost no power but generated an impressive light show, which left their audience in awe.
A roaring cheer rose in the room to an almost deafening level. Every dragon was jumping and screaming in excitement.
Nariana raised her hand to no effect, but the cheering stopped when Stavius, the dragon hunter, raised his enchanted sword.
He said, “It’s wonderful that you all want to help, but we need to find which of you have warrior potential.”
Nariana added, “We’ve seen you wrestling, but war is not a game. We need to know who among you can hunt and, when needed, kill. We passed a herd of mastodons when we flew in today. Juice is going to slay one and bring it back for the feast.”
“I am?” asked Juice. Then, in a much firmer voice, he repeated, “I am!”
“Who among you will join him to prove yourselves to be hunters and warriors?” asked Versera.
“Um, mastodons are awfully big,” complained one male dragon.
“And they can gore you with those big tusks,” informed another.
“Well, I guess we know two dragons who aren’t warriors and who won’t be joining us,” said Versera.
The crowd gasped, and Elisa suggested, “Mastodons are very large, but there is a pride of saber-tooth lions hunting them. You could bring back a few of them instead.”
“Saber-tooth lions!?” shrieked another dragon. “Are you crazy?”
Janus responded, “Hey, Stavius and I fought off four werewolves by ourselves, and we’re a tenth your size.”
Versera said, “OK, that’s three who don’t have the guts. Is there anyone in this room with the courage to become a warrior?”
“Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t coming. I was just pointing out that Mastodons are really big,” yelled the first dragon who complained. “I mean, how are we supposed to carry one back?”
Nariana laughed, “Being a warrior requires more than strength and courage. You need to be able to adapt to situations and solve problems in the field. I’m not going to answer this for you. It’s up to you to figure it out.”
“I’m in!” shouted a dragon in the middle.
Another joined in and then a third. Within minutes eight to ten were pressing up to Juice asking where to find the mastodon herd and when they were leaving.
Juice answered, “We’re leaving now.” Then he turned to Stavius and whispered, “Can you come with me, dude? I don’t remember where we saw the herd.”
Stavius laughed and climbed on his friend’s neck. He didn’t want to go back out into the cold, but now he had a reputation to uphold. Over thirty dragons soared out of the cave into the darkening twilight a minute later. Stavius looked behind him at the formation of fire-breathing dragons. He smiled as he imagined the Septumcolans’ reaction to this sight in the spring. “They’re going to poop their pants,” he whispered to himself.
“We’re dragons. We’re not wearing pants,” corrected Juice.
“Never mind, dude. It’s all good,” laughed Stavius.
✽✽✽
The girls again asked Euryale how they could help. She replied that this would be an excellent time to clean. The cavern had not been this empty in weeks, and the messiest occupants were the ones flying off. The girls tersely replied that housecleaning was not one of their strengths. Euryale laughed and suggested that perhaps they might help by watching the baby and toddler dragons. She warned them that it would definitely be much more challenging than cleaning, though.
The three girls disagreed and happily grabbed their dragon counterparts. Euryale smiled as she watched them skip off toward the nursery. She had never heard of a dragon bonding with a human, but she could not imagine better pairings for her grandchildren than with these girls. She noticed that the two older humans and the one they called Janus were missing, but she was pleased they weren’t in her way.
The holiday feast was phenomenal, although the sight and smell of the mastodon carcass were disconcerting to the humans. There were games and silliness, piles of food, laughing and arguing, and hours of storytelling. Juice retold his high-speed bridge destruction tale dozens of times with his speed and explosive-force increasing each time. Saiph told of her imprisonment and escape. Stavius and the girls shared the battle to free the Lachian prisoners. And a young male dragon named Minos proudly told the tale of the mastodon kill.
Mastodons on Mearth are different than the ones who had lived on Earth. First, they are much larger and typically grow to twenty to twenty-five feet tall. Second, they are not smart. Their intelligence ranks closer to that of an ant than of a chicken. They live and move in herds eating, pooping, and occasionally mating. Their herds generally travel in straight lines, consuming or knocking over everything in their path. And their long, swooping tusks are magical.
Mastodons can use their tusks to generate a powerful, magical shield by holding their breath and concentrating. That shield, however, drops as soon as they’re distracted or take a breath. Minos painfully discovered that these shields can be used offensively as well as defensively.
Mastodons cannot be captured or killed while in their herd. They will take turns generating shields which link together to protect the entire group. The dragons managed to split one member from the pack and to bombard it with attacks until it finally took a breath. Minos used the brief moment its shield dissipated to kill it with a well-timed talon swipe. The herd, which the other dragons had been keeping at a distance, broke through as Minos killed the beast.
Four of the mastodons circled around their fallen mate while Minos stood coiled and snarling atop its carcass. They slowly came closer and closer until they were almost touching the dead animal as if to say farewell. That was when Stavius realized what they were doing and yelled for Minos to fly to safety. Minos leaped without hesitation, which was the only reason he survived.
The four mastodons scrunched their faces and held their breath just as Minos jumped into the air. Their shields simultaneously formed and pulverized everything between the four massive pachyderms. Their dead friend’s body was little more than a fur-covered blob of jellied meat, and the last two feet of Minos’ tail was crushed. The young dragon was undoubtedly in pain but was happily displaying his battle injury as a badge of courage. He felt it was a small price to pay for becoming a battle-proven warrior.
The herd moved on, leaving the dead mastodon’s crushed body behind. The dragons qu
ick tore apart the pulverized bones and tenderized muscles. Juice made sure that each team member carried a large piece back to the cave to prove their participation in the hunt. He knew there would never be an issue getting the men to hunt for food again, and Stavius knew his dragon army had been born.
Terra and Urtish arrived late for the feast, and Elisa asked where they had been. They looked exhausted but replied by asking about the cavern’s stench. The heroes sniffed the air and discovered that it wasn’t as awful as when they arrived.
Elisa said, “Either the smell of roasted mastodon meat is masking the stench, or we’ve become used to it.”
Terra smiled and replied, “Neither one, Elisa. Urtish and I have been visiting and purifying every stinking corner in this entire cavern.”
Urtish groaned, “And some horribly disgusting rooms in the back.”
Euryale overheard this conversation and raised a toast to the newcomers. “Let us welcome my son, his family, and their human friends to our clan. Whether or not they fulfill their prophecy, in one evening, they are already heroes to me!”
Euryale’s toast signified the end of the meal and was greeted by a round of cheering. The remaining food was quickly cleared, and the vast, subterranean chamber was transformed into a dragon dance hall. Everyone was dancing, joking, and laughing except for one, unusually quiet person. Janus was sullenly walking toward the small cubby the humans were using as a room.
“Janus, where have you been, buddy? And, why are you so glum?” asked Stavius.
Janus half-heartedly smiled at his friend and said, “I’ve been reading. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow. Go have fun tonight.”
Janus turned and walked away as Stavius felt a lump grow in his belly. He returned to the dancing, determined to have a good time, but he knew that something was wrong.
Chapter 7
L. Janus
The dragon clan settled into a contented post-celebration malaise over the next two days. However, tensions began to rise by day three. A blizzard had struck, stranding dozens of dragons who had expected to be heading home by now. Everyone was tired of leftovers, tired of each other, and in an increasingly grumpy mood.
Euryale was in the kitchen area complaining to Saiph that she was never going to host a clan gathering ever again. She heard her granddaughter, Mintaka, ask, “Bubbe Euryale, how can we help?”
Euryale spun around to give her granddaughter a hug. But she was startled to see humans standing behind her instead of dragons. Her granddaughters and the three human girls to whom they had bonded sounded almost identical to her. She guessed that it was due to bonding with individuals rather than the blended personalities and memories of dozens of prior generations.
Euryale sighed and answered, “I don’t think you can help unless you can end this blizzard or stop the boy dragons from fighting. Dealing with the blizzard might be easier, though.”
Elisa replied, “We’ll see what we can do. I hope you feel better soon. I’m sure your family appreciates you opening your home to them for the holidays, and, despite how it might seem now, they will leave, and your home will be quiet again.”
Euryale watched them leave and smiled. Saiph had told her why they were bonded to her babies, and Euryale was grateful that they were there and willing to help. She was also thankful for the personalities they imbued into the newborns. Nari and Sera were competitive troublemakers while Mintaka was a quiet sweetheart. All were bright and loving, though, and she felt blessed to have them in her family.
“Who knows, those kids might be able to stop the blizzard,” she chuckled under her breath as she returned to straightening her kitchen.
✽✽✽
The girls told the others about Euryale’s request, and Janus came up with a solution. This was the first time he had been animated since they arrived, yet he refused to discuss why he was depressed.
The next day Janus invited Juice and his male cousins to a large room in the back of the cavern.
Juice asked, “What’s up? Hey, wasn’t this the room the southerners were using as a latrine?
“Yeah, but Urtish and Terra transformed all that poo into nice, clean dirt. And check this out,” answered Janus as he cast a spell, and the three, large dragon stones suspended from the ceiling began to emit a bright, yellow glow.
Juice was not impressed. The dragon was still showing off to his cousins and yawned, “So, you’ve built a dirty room with bright lighting. Big deal. I thought you had something fun to show us.”
“Juice! Those stones are emitting the same light spectrum as the sun! I’ve even set it to turn off at night. What would you get if you combined all that with a little water?” asked Janus in an annoyed voice.
“I dunno. A mud wrestling pit?” snorted Juice.
“No, you’d have a place to garden inside – during the winter!” screamed Minos.
Juice shook his head, embarrassed that he hadn’t figured it out. He was mortified that this little kid understood what Janus had built before him.
“It’s called an indoor light garden,” beamed Janus. “My mom has one back on Earth. There is no rain, so you have to water it every day, but Minos is right. You can garden all year long. You can start planting right now.”
“Indoor light garden? Can’t we call it something else?” asked a small dragon.
“It’s called a man cave,” said Versera, with authority.
“Dude! We have a man cave!” cried Juice, and the dragons immediately began arguing over how to plant their garden.
Stavius slapped Janus on the back and noted, “It looks like you solved the fighting problem.”
“Well, they at least moved the fights to the back of the cave,” Nariana clarified. An argument had erupted regarding where to plant the zinnias. “Nice work, Janus. Now can you tell us why you’ve been so depressed?”
The others surrounded him and led him into their shared chamber. They formed a mini intervention and refused to let him leave until he explained what was making him sad. When Janus finally realized they meant their threat, he relented to share what had happened.
He told them about the Order of The Key, about L. Janus, and about the writings and paperweights. He explained that he had read L. Janus’ notes after they arrived and now had a better understanding of how the talismans were supposed to be used.
“That all sounds like good news, Janus,” Terra gently said. “Why are you sad?”
Janus looked at her with watery eyes and said, “I’m not sad. I’m anxious and scared. I feel like my stomach is going to burn through my skin. You see, even though I know what we are supposed to do, I’m not sure we should do it.”
The others had been focusing on acquiring the talismans to fulfill The Prophecy. They hadn’t thought much about what to do with them once they possessed the entire set. That was supposed to be Janus’ job anyway. But none of them had questioned whether they should complete The Prophecy. That was a command of the gods. This was supposed to restore magic to the world. At least, that is what they assumed.
“Janus, I know that this is your part of The Prophecy, but we’re all in this together. Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell us what you know? Perhaps we can help,” soothed Terra.
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to,” sniffled Janus.
“And when did you begin following the rules,” grumbled Urtish. He had meant it as a statement of fact, but everyone chuckled.
“Yeah, guilty as charged. OK, I’ll tell anyone who wants to hear what I know, and you can give me your opinion,” said Janus. He was slightly surprised when they all sat down to listen as he quickly described what he had learned.
“L. Janus’ Earth name was Louis. He was born September 18, 1899, in the Price Hill area of Cincinnati. He arrived on Mearth on his birthday in 1912 and spent the next six months here alone, waiting for his heroes to show up.
“He traveled to Septumcolis during that time to study the talismans and the castles in which they were housed. He offered this in
formation to the others when they arrived, but they ignored him, claiming he was not a true hero.
“They left without him and returned a month later, proudly carrying the Jewels of Luna. They spent the next two days celebrating and were planning their next raid when the Septumcolans arrived in the valley.
“L. Janus had not been invited to the celebration and was hidden in his secret chamber. He was trying to decipher what to do with the necklace when the soldiers arrived. The heroes and trainers had been slaughtered by the time he emerged. Furthermore, the Septumcolans had taken the talisman back to the city. The hopes of that generation of heroes fulfilling The Prophecy were gone.
“No more heroes arrived for many years, although L. Janus kept returning to Mearth in Louis’ dreams. L. Janus decided he would help future generations of heroes by studying and interpreting the ancient texts and the current talismans.
“He concluded that a thousand or more years ago, someone named M. Mars had succeeded in acquiring and assembling all seven talismans. M. Mars removed their ornamentation and used the remaining, carved, dragon-stone pieces to build something which looked like a DC motor.”
“Are you serious!?” screamed Versera. “Did it work? What happened?”
Janus answered, “Yes, it apparently did work, and M. Mars created some sort of doorway to another world.”
“Then why wasn’t The Prophecy fulfilled? Why are we here?” asked Nariana. Everyone else’s heads were nodding in agreement.
Janus said, “Well, L. Janus believed that M. Mars didn’t build the doorway quite right. It somehow became unstable and eventually disappeared. He guessed that is why The Prophecy wasn’t fulfilled.”
“So, you’re worried that we’ll fail too? Is that why you’re scared?” asked Elisa.
“No, I’m worried that we might succeed,” admitted Janus. He looked up and saw that everyone expected an explanation.
“You see, L. Janus lived in both Earth and Mearth for his entire life, and he was not a happy man. Louis fell in love on Earth, got married, and had children, but felt guilty every time L. Janus had a romantic encounter on Mearth. He felt as though he was cheating on his wife even though he was in a different world.
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