Defenders of Kron

by Ritu Ghosh

  “Mordok had acquired enormous powers over the dragons and he knew how to control them. If he took the dragon eggs from Fairyland and if these eggs are gone from here too, that could only mean one thing” Dan sighed and continued “The Evil Force is rising again and a dragon army along with it. It will be used to destroy the world”

  “A dragon army?” asked Aaron and Bo’s mouth fell wide open.

  “Yes! Just like thousands of years ago when Zorath raised the dragon army and destroyed a big part of our world and made it into his Dark Kingdom. He is attempting it again. If this is true, then we will have many more perils to deal with” Dan said and sat on an empty chair next to Aaron.

  Bo was still in a shock and Aaron was deeply brooding over what Dan said.

  “But, Mordok is dead! Who is helping Zorath raise this army?” asked Aaron.

  “Mordok was just a pawn for the Evil Force Aaron, we cannot forget about the five immortal kings of the Dark Kingdom. They are much more powerful than Mordok” said Dan.

  “The five kings have sent the Lurgs then?” asked Aaron.

  “The five kings do not have to unite for such a small task Aaron. I fear that this is the work of only one of them. It seems like the king of Kora himself has taken up this task. The Lurgs who served Mordok must have been taken under his wings now and they are raising this army together” said Dan, looking very tensed.

  “Who is the king of Kora?” asked Aaron.

  “King Gordon” Dan spoke in a low voice.

  They all heard a low screech coming from behind the shelves. Aaron was startled and looked in the direction.

  “What was that?” he asked Bo.

  Bo already was moving in the direction the screech came from. Aaron looked at Dan, who now stood up alerted.

  Aaron and Dan followed Bo to the end of the long chamber and noticed a few broken shells lying in the corner.

  “What is all this? Aaron asked.

  “Looks like a broken dragon egg” Dan said.

  Bo took a closer look; he knelt down and reached for the shell.

  “It’s still warm. Looks like it hatched just now” said Bo looking up at Aaron.

  “You mean there is a dragon baby somewhere here?” asked Aaron. “Should we be afraid? Is it evil? Is it controlled by the Evil Force?”

  Dan’s expressions lightened, he almost chuckled “No, dragon babies could not be controlled by the evil, they are just babies Aaron."

  Aaron smiled too “Then let’s look for it”.

  They heard the low screeching again.

  “I think it’s coming from the top of the shelves” Aaron said and reached one of the wooden shelves. He started to climb it.

  “Be careful, dragon babies are not very friendly. If they do not like you, they might attack you” said Bo biting his lips.

  Aaron carefully climbed the shelves and reached the top one. He couldn’t see anything for a second in the darkness, but then he saw something furry moving in a dark corner.

  “I think I found it” said Aaron exited.

  The furry thing started to move and Aaron saw two tiny round eyes looking back at him. Aaron didn’t move, he didn’t want to scare the small dragon baby.

  In a moment, Aaron felt something warm on his nose and before he could move away, the dragon baby was sitting right in front of him and was licking his nose. It made a cooing sound.

  “It likes you” said Bo “Bring it down, it won’t bite”

  Aaron carefully lifted the baby and placed it in his hand. It was only the size of his palm. Slowly, Aaron climbed down the shelves and came back on the ground. The baby dragon remained still in his hands.

  Bo came towards Aaron to take a closer look. Dan remained where he was standing. The baby stirred as Aaron laid his other hand on it. It slowly stood up in his palm and looked around with its tiny beady eyes. Aaron saw that the dragon baby had no wings.

  It was more like a baby bird with many feathers on it and just a hint of wings. The baby looked at Bo for some time and then it started to lick Aaron’s hand.

  “I think it is hungry” said Bo in a whisper.

  “What should we feed it?” asked Aaron.

  “Worms. Leafs and some grains” said Bo “I will get some”

  Bo went up the stairs to look for some food for the dragon baby. Dan stood next to Aaron after sometime and waited while Aaron played with the baby.

  “Can we keep it?” Aaron asked Dan.

  Dan raised an eyebrow “We?” he said.

  “You can keep it if you want but you have to take very special care of it. They are not like other pets, they are quite fragile when they are infants” said Dan.

  “Brandon would love it so much” said Aaron as he stroked the baby dragon’s head.

  “You see Aaron, first of all, don’t call him ‘it’, he is a dragon and dragons like to be treated as very important creatures. Secondly, he likes you and not you brother. Hence it wants to be taken care by you. It’s your dragon now, nobody else’s. Why do you think the Lurgs are collecting the dragon eggs? Normally, dragons are controlled from birth. They tend to think that the first person they see is their mother or caretaker and listen to only them” said Dan.

  “That’s how the Lurgs are planning to control them? That is so mean and cruel. I can’t believe it. These babies are so small and they have no idea about the world. How could they do such a cruel thing to them?" asked Aaron with disgust

  “Lurgs are evil Aaron, they do not care for love or innocence” said Dan, his voice grew heavy.

  Bo came back with some food in a small pouch and gave it to Aaron. The dragon baby eagerly ate the food from Aaron’s hands and drank some water. Then it fell asleep on Aaron’s palm and purred like a small kitten.

  Chapter 7

  Arkion

  Aaron was so lost taking care of the baby dragon that he didn’t notice Dan leave the chamber. Bo slowly asked Aaron to go back to the house. Aaron carefully got up and walked up the stairs trying not to wake up the tiny dragon baby in his hands.

  He wanted to show it to Flynn and Jane and of course to Ony but in the moment of joy he forgot all about Flynn.

  Aaron came out of the Nome’s chamber and walked through the empty corridor. He suddenly remembered about Flynn. He rushed in the direction of Flynn’s room.

  The door was closed. He tapped gently and pushed the door with his spare hand. He stepped inside.

  Inside, it was dimly lit and Aaron could see Jane kneeling beside Flynn, her head was down and she was murmuring something.

  Aaron couldn’t see if Flynn was still unconscious, there were only two candles on the floor next to the bed Flynn was on and it was dark for Aaron to see anything clearly. Jane did not notice him coming inside until he closed the door behind him and it made a slight noise.

  Jane lifted her head, Aaron came closer to her. Her eyes were red and swollen as if she was crying but she smiled as soon as she saw Aaron.

  “Any news of Flynn?” Aaron asked looking at Flynn, although he wanted to ask Jane why she was crying.

  “No, he is not getting better. The wound is not showing any signs of healing” said Jane and sighed deeply.

  Aaron understood that Jane would have tried everything she knew and nothing has worked on Flynn.

  He sat next to Flynn; he wished that he would wake up so that he could show the baby dragon to him. That would have surely cheered Flynn up.

  The baby dragon stirred in Aaron’s palm as if it was waking up from his nap. Jane noticed the moving thing.

  “What is that?” she said, almost in a whisper.

  “It’s a baby dragon” said Aaron and Jane stared at him.

  Aaron told her about everything that he and Dan had discovered about the Lurgs mission and the dragon army.

  “I can’t believe they try to control these tiny creatures” said Aaron looking at the baby who was now standing up in his palm and licking its own feet.

  “It’s so adorable” said Jane and reached for its
head.

  It looked scared for a second but as soon Jane began to stroke its head it made a purring sound again.

  “Do you have a name for him?” Jane asked still stroking the baby’s head.

  “Hmm…” Aaron tried to think hard of a good name for his new pet.

  “You know Aaron, having a dragon as a pet is very prestigious thing. Even kings crave for such a thing. Once a dragon is your pet, he or she will always protect you and will be like your best friend” said Jane.

  Aaron smiled. Yesterday, he was sitting in a cozy house eating all kinds of delicious food and sleeping in a luxurious bed, he didn’t even knew that dragons exist and today he gets a dragon for his pet.

  Dragons grow many feet tall, Aaron knew that after the encounter with the Black Dragon. There was a permanent fear in his heart about dragons. But this small creature seemed to take that fear away.

  Aaron felt very happy to have the little thing. He knew that him finding this dragon was not a mere coincidence. He felt as if it was meant to happen.

  “I think I am going to call him Arkion” Aaron announced.

  Jane nodded happily even though her eyes were still red.

  Arkion was looking at Flynn with full attention. He was carefully observing Flynn.

  “I think he understands that Flynn is not well” said Aaron.

  “Dragons have a very good sense of understanding human emotions. They will figure out if you are happy or sad about something. They are very intelligent creatures Aaron” said Jane.

  “How do you know so much about dragons? asked Aaron.

  Jane blushed “I have read about them a lot. I like to go though Alfadon’s library whenever I could. I can also tell you what kind of dragon this is and what his powers are, but not yet. He hasn’t developed his form fully. We have to wait for a few days to know what kind of dragon he is”

  Suddenly Arkion jumped out of Aaron’s hands and landed on Flynn’s bed. It looked back at Aaron’s hands for a second, Aaron and Jane sat still.

  Arkion walked towards Flynn’s shoulders and looked at his dressing for a few moments.

  “What is he doing?” whispered Aaron.

  “I do not know, but it looks like he wants to say something” said Jane and looked at the tiny dragon again.

  Arkion was still looking at Flynn’s wound, he came closer to Flynn and tried to climb on him. Then he made a bird like sound and looked at Jane.

  “What is he trying to say?” asked Aaron.

  Jane had her concentration on the baby dragon.

  Arkion made the same screeching sound again and again. Jane sat still as if she was really trying to understand what the dragon was saying. Then she moved away from Flynn and started to look for something in the room.

  “Jane should I keep Arkion away from Flynn?” asked Aaron.

  “No, I think I know what he meant” said Jane and found a knife and then sat next to Flynn.

  “What are you doing?” asked Aaron startled.

  “Don’t worry Aaron, I am just opening the dressing up” said Jane and cut off the cloth that covered Flynn’s wound. Aaron sat there with his mouth wide open. He didn’t know what was going on.

  After Jane was done she looked at Arkion and nodded. Arkion was patiently waiting for Jane to be done. He came forward and made a soft cooing sound and looked at Flynn as if he could feel the pain Flynn was in. Tears began to form in his eyes and he bowed his head low.

  “What’s going on?” Aaron curiously asked Jane but Jane put a finger on her lips and asked Aaron to be quiet.

  Arkion started to lick Flynn’s wound with tiny strokes. He didn’t move for a long time. Then he stepped back and climbed on Aaron’s legs.

  Aaron held his palm stretched in front of Arkion and he climbed on it. He looked tired as if he had been awake for many days. He curled up and within moments he was asleep again in Aaron’s hand.

  Jane was looking at Flynn’s wound, her expressions were changing rapidly. Aaron looked towards Flynn’s shoulders too.

  The wound was slowly closing itself. Within moments, it was gone, leaving only a hole in Flynn’s shirt. It was like there was no wound at all.

  Aaron’s heart leapt with joy. “What is happening?”

  He grabbed Jane’s hand and Jane gave out a sharp cry of joy.

  “Aaron, Flynn is healed. He is going to be alright” said Jane overjoyed.

  “But how, did Arkion do it?” asked Aaron releasing Jane’s hand.

  “Yes Aaron, he is no ordinary dragon, your pet is a healing dragon. He can also heal wounds that are caused by magic. He is either a Teradox or Orchix. I will know once he starts to develop further. Your friend is very lucky Aaron. It was impossible to heal him with medicines” said Jane.

  Aaron was so grateful and happy at the same time. He brought Arkion closer to him and kissed him.

  Flynn stirred a little and then slept sideways.

  Jane smiled “He will be up by tomorrow, the poison from his body is gone”

  Aaron was very happy, he was grinning end to end.

  “I think we should let Flynn rest now, let’s go and tell the others about it” said Jane and stood up. Aaron followed her.

  “Wait I need a place for Arkion, somewhere he can sleep peacefully” he said.

  “I know where we can keep him, follow me”.

  Jane walked inside the long corridors and halted in front of a door. Aaron followed her inside. Jane clapped her hands three times and the whole room was lit with white lamps.

  “Hey, this was the room I was in before” said Aaron and walked to the bed.

  It was the same room Aaron had stayed in for many days when he was attacked by the Weatherwolves. He remembered how it was when he saw Jane here for the first time.

  “Yes it is the same room. Alfadon had specially kept this room for you. This room belonged to your mother when she stayed with Alfadon. After your mother was gone Alfadon had kept it locked up for many years till the day you arrived” said Jane with a smile.

  “Really?! This was my mother’s room?” Aaron wondered and looked around, the many weird apparatus he saw on the table and all the lamps belonged to his mother.

  “Yes come I will show you where you can keep Arkion” said Jane and walked to one corner of the room. She bent and picked up a small wicker basket with some blankets inside it.

  “Here, Arkion can sleep in this, next to your bed” said Jane.

  Aaron took the basket and kept it on his bed. Arkion was still sleeping soundlessly in his hands. Carefully, he placed the little dragon inside the basket and lowered the basket to the ground at the foot of the bed. Arkion made a little sound ‘kurrr’ and made himself comfortable in the basket.

  “Your mom used to have a pet too” said Jane. “She used to keep it in this basket when it was small”

  “What kind of pet was it?” asked Aaron curious.

  “It was a phoenix, a magical bird with many magical powers” said Jane.

  “A phoenix? I have never heard about it, what happened to it? Where is it now?” asked Aaron.

  “Nobody knows what happened to the phoenix, it was a very rare bird. Some say that it flew far away and some say that it went away because of grief. But a phoenix never dies, in fact, it is reborn from its own ashes” said Jane.

  “Reborn from its own ashes? Amazing! I have never heard anything like this before” Aaron’s eyes were wide open.

  “Yes, but every phoenix has only one master, just like every dragon has only one master. They never listen to anybody else, ever. Perhaps, that’s why the phoenix left and never came back” Jane sighed and looked at the small dragon purring in the basket.

  “She used to call it Zephyx, Alfadon told me” Jane added.

  Aaron looked outside the window, a cozy wind came in and made Aaron think how his mother would have spoken to the phoenix in this very room and how they grew up together there. ‘She would have had so much fun.’

  “I think we should go now, we better tell th
e others about Flynn’s recovery, they are all very worried” said Jane.

  But Jane looked very weary, she could hardly stand up. Aaron realized that she had no rest since she came back from the forest.

  “Jane, you should rest, I will go and tell them, you look very tired” said Aaron and took the bag she was carrying on her shoulders.