by Jordan Baker
"I did not imagine they could be so powerful," Keira said as the dragon's great wings pushed itself into the sky, sending gusts of wind down upon the people below. Eric let out another roar as he turned and flew over the city toward the gates.
Ariana looked to the people, who were frozen in terror and wonderment at what they had just seen.
"That is your king, your sworn protector," she told them. "The people of Kandara have powerful lords, and many allies."
Ariana turned and walked away toward where Borrican stood, watching his father fly past the city wall toward Cerric's army. She touched his arm and he turned and looked at her with flickers of flame glowing in his eyes and she could tell that he was only partially aware of her, his mind overcome with primal feelings, things she now understood, thanks to the knowledge Eric had given her.
"Borrican," she said, quietly. "Come, we must defend the city."
Borrican blinked and looked at her with his usual expression of consternation, though the humor was distinctively lacking in his eyes.
"Yes, of course," he said.
*****
Eric flew out past the walls of the city and was appalled at the thousands of enemy soldiers that covered the land. He could not believe that he had allowed himself to fall so complacent that such an army had invaded his kingdom and was now on the doorstep of the great city of Kandara. He cursed his failure and his self indulgent grief that he had not been better able to prepare his sons for their responsibilities and when he saw the headless corpse of his brother hanging, lifeless from the diagonal cross outside the city, he cursed Cerric for daring to dishonor him so. Eric looked down upon the thousands of soldiers and with his dragon's sight he could see that most of them were lifeless corpses, animated only by magic, a dark spell that had long been forgotten by the world. He decided it would be a mercy to kill them and he sucked in a great rush of air then swooped down and spit great blasts of fire upon them.
*****
Standing outside his command pavilion, Cerric watched as the dragon ravaged through the ranks of his soldiers. Calexis had emerged a short while after he had left her and joined him with her usual glass of wine, which she had drained immediately upon seeing the giant creature flying out from the Kandaran city. The generals, Mirdel and Berant were awakened by the resumed explosions of the mage fire and came tripping out of their tents a few short moments after the dragon's scream. Draxis ordered his Darga warriors to stay clear of the creature and made his way to the command pavilion to see what Cerric wanted to do. The mage, Henton, stood nearby and Cerric motioned for him to approach.
"Henton, have the remaining mages infuse energy into the long, metal spears that Draxis made" Cerric told him the he turned to the half-Darga.
"What are your orders, King Cerric?" Draxis asked.
"You did well, fighting Duke Boric," he said. "Do you think you can do the same against that creature?"
"If it bleeds, I will cut it," Draxis said.
"Good. But first, I want you to take a long look at that creature, the Dragon of Kandara. That is the meaning of Akandar, the name of the royal house. Their power, the power of the dragon, is the power that was taken from the Darga. At one time, the Darga were one in the same, they were dragons. The blood of the dragon flows in your veins and in the veins of every Darga, but the secrets of the dragons were stolen from you, ripped from the very essence of the Darga and they were cast out, banished from this land. That is the power you seek, and it is a power I will share with you once we have captured the pride of Kandara. Kill the king and bring me the sons, and you and your Darga will be made powerful again."
"Yes, King Cerric," Draxis said then he turned and, accompanied by Henton and several of the black robed mages, he headed back to the ranks of Darga to prepare the attack.
"Is that creature truly the King of Kandara?" Calexis asked.
"Such creatures have long ruled this land. Dragons once numbered in the thousands, but they left this land long ago. A few chose to remain, making themselves rulers over the weak creatures that now populate Kandara, living as kings while the people remained unaware of their secret."
"But what of the Darga?" Calexis asked.
"Darga is a word in the dragon tongue for infant, though the Darga know it not, for their knowledge of their own language was taken from them when they were stripped of their power."
"Why would the dragons cast out their own?"
"Dragons are violent creatures, and constantly at war with one another," Cerric told her. "The Darga were members of a dragon clan that was defeated by another, and the price for their loss was the humiliation of being reduced to what, in the eyes of the dragons, are like infants. They were banished from their homeland and migrated east, many of them settling in the Xallan swamps."
"So, there is a way their power may be returned to them," Calexis said.
"Yes. That power resides within that creature," Cerric said, pointing at the dragon that was now incinerating hundreds of soldiers at a time. "I do hope that Draxis and the mages attack that monster soon. This really is an awful waste of soldiers."
*****
Borrican and Ariana climbed the steps to the wall atop the city gates and they saw the old king Eric, the dragon of Kandara, laying waste to the enemy soldiers. They found Elric and Nathas watching, speechless at the carnage.
"I know they are already dead," Nathas said, "but I can't help but feel responsible for so many of those soldiers. I had no idea that King Eric had such power. I believed the dragons to be myths."
"They are not myths," Elric told him. "It is the curse of our family, that some of us are born with this terrible and uncontrollable rage, and once the madness takes hold, this is the result."
"King Eric did not seem mad to me," Ariana said, interrupting Borrican's brother. "He is angry at what Cerric has done to Kandara, but he spoke clearly and with purpose."
"He has his moments of clarity," Elric said, "but our father has been mad for many years, ever since the death of the queen."
"Father has not been mad," Borrican said. "He has been overwhelmed with grief, that is all."
"For six years, Borrican?" Elric shook his head. "You have spent much time away, brother. You did not see his fits, nor were you subject to his crazed behavior. He was often very cruel."
"Perhaps," Borrican said, "but he defends Kandara just the same, keeping to the oath."
"You believed that old story?" Elric scoffed. "I have heard so many crazed stories from that old man, I no longer know what to believe. And look at him now, taken by rage, turned into a monster."
"What about your uncle?" Nathas asked.
"Uncle Boric was afflicted the same way," Elric said, "but he could control it. That is why he never fully changed. He gained some of the power, but he kept his mind clear. I just hope father does not forget who he is or he may attack the very city he wishes to defend."
Ariana could not believe what she was hearing.
"King Eric would do no such thing," she said. "He is loyal to the land and the people of Kandara. He is the king."
"I am the king," Elric said, his voice sharpening in irritation. "I was crowned by my own brother when our father could no longer be bothered to take an interest in the affairs of the country. It falls to me to decide what is best and, while I am pleased that father is damaging Cerric's armies, I am concerned what else he might do."
Ariana looked to Borrican and she could tell he was angered by his brother's words, but he said nothing. She no longer knew what to think. King Eric had shared something with her, a secret that neither of his sons yet knew, though now that they saw him in his true form, they perhaps had a better idea. And yet, it seemed as though Elric, who was the new king of Kandara, did not want to have anything to do with the power of the dragon that was part of the Akandra line. She was not so sure about Borrican, for he had been unusually tight lipped compared to what he had been like when she knew him at Maramyr, but she assumed his distance and quiet seriousness was d
ue to the situation at hand. Ariana wondered if the fact of the matter might be that both boys were afraid of the power they had inherited and the things that their father had shared with her made her think that it was a real possibility.
Borrican turned and walked away, burning with rage at the things his brother had said, but at the same time he knew much of it was true. Their father had become mad over these past years, his behavior erratic and often angry, though Elric had taken the brunt of the old king's rage. Borrican knew that the blood of the dragon flowed in his veins, like his uncle and like his father, and it was always there, just beneath the surface, like a wild animal, laying in wait, looking for weakness. Ever since he could remember, Borrican had been afraid of the fire that burned in him, waking from nightmares as a child, dreaming of monsters, all the while knowing that the monster lived within him.
Things had been easier before their mother had died. She always had a way of soothing him and his brother, calming their fears, while their father often did the opposite, his very presence setting them on edge. Borrican made his way down from the wall and back up into the city, toward the palace, looking for somewhere he could go where he would not have to see his father or think about the wild stories he had told him and his brother about the land being full of dragons. One such creature was more than enough for all of Kandara, and as much as Borrican hoped that Eric would destroy Cerric's army and drive the corrupt king from the land, he just wanted to put as much distance between him and the dragon as possible.
Ariana left Elric and Nathas atop the walls, where they were now discussing the next plan of attack and how the troops outside the walls might be used to rout the remainder of Cerric's soldiers once Eric did his worst. She followed Borrican through the empty streets, past the darkened windows of shops and homes, around the thickets of weeds and trees that clotted the streets, absent the bodies of the dead Maramyrians that the soldiers of Kandara had likely cleared, though the stains of blood from countless beheadings remained. Ariana followed him past the outer edge of the city gardens, and along another route to the palace, avoiding the place where so many of the people were gathered, under the protection of the Kandaran soldiers and her own Queen's Guard, who kept watch should Cerric's mages find a way to drop more mage fire near the canopy of trees they had created.
Borrican made his way along the wall of the outer courtyards and past the guards through the palace gate. Ariana wanted to catch up to him, to say something, but she could not think of any words that might help him, so she followed him, at a distance. The guards already knew her and they let her through and she trailed behind Borrican as he entered the palace and walked through the foyer and into the throne room. Ariana caught the heavy, wooden door just before it closed and she pulled it open and entered the room but Borrican was nowhere to be seen. She stopped and listened, hearing the distant sound of Eric's thunderous roars out side the city and, somewhere nearby, the low sound of heavy fabric flapping in the breeze. Ariana used her power and used her sight to search the room for anything that might give her a clue where Borrican had gone. She saw something behind a large tapestry on the far wall behind the king's throne. A portal had been left open and a breeze billowed behind the heavy fabric, which she pulled away from the wall and entered the passageway behind it.
The stone of the palace was a dark, charcoal grey, and the sconces on the walls were not lit, so it should have been too dark to see, but it seemed as though the dark stone gave off a kind of dull light and Ariana was able to navigate her way down a long staircase that led to a giant underground cavern. The wind was stronger here, howling in low tones through the expansive cave but Ariana heard footsteps further ahead in the darkness and she could see Borrican walking from the foot of the stairs across a wide floor below.
He stopped in the center of the cavern and sat down, crosslegged on the ground, then he covered his ears. Ariana stood on the stone staircase for a moment, not sure if she should approach the prince. Maybe he wanted to be alone, she realized. That might be why he had come down here to this place, which she recognized from the visions the old king had given her. Ariana decided since she was already here, she might as well continue and she made her way toward Borrican, who took little notice of her approach. She was only a few steps away from him when he took his hands away from his ears.
"It does no good," he said. "I block my ears and I can still hear him. I can hear his thoughts. I thought this place might be far enough away that I wouldn't hear him anymore, but it isn't."
"What are his thoughts, Borrican?" Ariana asked.
"He is angry, hurt, prideful, enraged, vengeful, ashamed," he told her. "All of these things, all at once, with so much power behind every thought. It's like he's standing right next to me, screaming at me."
"Why do you hide from it?" Ariana asked, taking a few steps closer to him.
"How would you feel if someone was screaming in your ear?
"Why would someone need to scream if they were so close?" Ariana sat down on the dirt floor in front of him.
"I don't know," he said, bowing his head and holding his ears again. Now that Ariana was closer, she could see that he was sweating and shaking. "He has always been like that. Not out loud, but something about him has always felt like he is screaming. Now that he has turned into that monster, it's worse. I didn't think it could be worse."
"Borrican," Ariana said. "Have you ever tried listening to him?"
"What?" Borrican looked up at her and she saw flames flickering in his eyes.
Ariana reached out and touched one of his arms, gently pulling his hand away from his ear.
"Listen to him," she said. "He is yelling because you won't hear him."
"I don't want to hear him," Borrican said, shrugging her hand away and putting his hand back over his ears. "My brother is right, he's terrible."
"No," Ariana said, touching his arm again. "He is trying to make you hear him. Just listen. What harm can it do?"
Borrican looked at her with the expression one might see on the face of a child who had wandered away from its parent and had just discovered them missing.
"Just listen," Ariana said.
Borrican stared at her in the darkness and slowly took his hands away from his ears and let them fall to his lap. She could see him gritting his teeth and she gently took his hand and held it. Borrican seemed to calm from her touch, and Ariana knew it had something to do with the knowledge his father had given her.
"He is so angry," Borrican said, "and lonely. He is very alone. I don't want to be alone like him. Who would want to be with a monster like that?"
"Your mother did," Ariana told him.
"She is dead," Borrican said.
"And before that, she was alive and she loved your father. She gave him two sons and she raised both of you for many years. Was she ever afraid of him?"
Borrican thought about it for a moment. "No, she wasn't."
"And she knew, didn't she?"
"Yes, she must have. She knew."
"And yet she loved him."
"She did," Borrican said and he remembered his parents together, that they always seemed happy.
"And he loved her," Ariana said, "and he still does, even though she is gone."
"He is very alone," Borrican said.
"He has no one to talk to," she told him. "Listen to him."
Borrican sat silently and she felt him relax and his breathing calm. Ariana felt his skin grow warm under her hand but she continued holding his hand even though his eyes had begun to flicker with deep flames and his entire body radiated heat. Eric told her the fire would not touch her, she reminded herself, so long as harm was not intended. She trusted the visions Eric had given her and she trusted Borrican, he would never mean to do her harm.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Eric soared over the droves of dead soldiers, satisfied that he had incinerated enough of them that their numbers could not overrun the city walls so easily and he was about to go looking for Cerric when he f
elt something sharp pierce his leg and a jolt of energy coursed through the muscle where it had hit. He adjusted his wings and turned, then felt himself being pulled by whatever had hit him. Eric looked down and saw a metal spike sticking out of a thin part of his skin, on the inner part of his leg and it was attached to a long chain that was anchored to the ground. Whatever energy it had was now spent and it had barely affected him, but it was irritating to be anchored to the ground. He reached down with a clawed hand and tried to pull the spike out of him but it would not budge and the pull from the chain was making it difficult to stay in the air. He beat his wings and felt the chain begin to groan and finally he pulled free and lifted higher into the air again, but his leg still felt heavy.
Eric looked down and saw a large chunk of rock the size of a house swinging from the end of the chain that was attached to his leg. He reached down and picked up the rock then, with his other hand he crushed the chain between his sharp claws, breaking it close to the spike. He threw the boulder toward the area that looked like the sort of place where Cerric and his commanders might be and he started to fly in that direction when another spike pierced him on the inside of his forearm. Like the other one, the spike would not pull out, so he snipped the chain and pulled free of it, then circled around looking for who was shooting at him. In the smoke from the fires, amid the burning bodies of dead soldiers, Eric saw them. The lizard men were scattered among the regular soldiers and several of them were holding what looked like oversized crossbows.
Eric breathed a blast of acid fire at them and the Darga scattered, quickly dodging out of the way. Foolish creatures, he thought, believing they could fight an Akandar. His sharp eyes picked them out easily and he dropped from the sky, landing heavily on top of several of them, crushing them underfoot and swinging his armored and spiked tail, knocking them into the air. Two more spikes flew at him. One glanced harmlessly off his armored scales and Eric caught one mid-air and sent it flying back at the Darga who had fired it. The spike smashed through the giant bow and impaled the Darga who stood behind it.