“Ah!” he screeched, scooting away from Tambo. The beast grunted.
“Did Tambo scare you, Kenzo—sama?” Uchida—sensei stood in the entrance way of his quarters, watching him.
A sound of incredulity escaped his lips. “You tell me how you would feel waking up with King Kong breathing in your face.”
Tambo came to her and she rubbed his neck. “I’d feel safe.”
She’s not an angel, but a monkey girl.
“Are you well?”
The Elder’s voice came from behind him. As the old man neared, Ken got up and dusted the debris from the cave off him. A few dull pains shot through him, but they were tolerable. He’d manage.
“I’m fine except for a few bruises, aches, and pains.”
“Good. Would you like some refreshment?”
“Hai.” His stomach leapt with joy at the thought of food.
Several women came in, bearing the food on the table that suddenly appeared. Ken no longer found it odd. There was something magical about the old man and he’d rather not know.
He and the Elder sat down with Uchida—sensei across from them. They ate the food quickly and with little conversation. The silence allowed Ken to go over what had happened during the fight with Alderic.
He remembered feeling defeated, knowing that one more punch from the guy would send him into oblivion. Despair grabbed him with cruel arms. Alderic had that glee of victory on his face. The agony of knowing this was it had been prevalent.
Then, in a clear voice, he heard his mother say, Keep moving.
That’s when it got weirder. The air charged around him and without being conscious as to why, he knew the cause of that changed atmosphere came from him. Without going deeper into the ‘why’ of it, he’d concentrated more. The charge intensified. The static feeling crawled over his body in snake-like fashion and then— His appetite now gone, he asked, “What happened out there?”
Ken looked up at the Elder to find his eyes already on him.
“Are you ready to know?”
It would be useless to remind the old man he’d been ready to know the full details the moment he woke up here weeks ago. “Hai.”
The man didn’t speak for a while as he held his gaze. “I think you are. Come; let’s warm ourselves by the fire.”
Suppressing an impatient sigh, he got up and waited as Uchida—sensei helped the old man. With a single nod, they all walked toward the large fire at the back of the cave. The flames danced about in abandoned glory, but then Ken saw something emerge from them.
Once more, there stood the ash version of himself. Indented with the hollow shape of his facial features and build, the shadow of himself came to stand in front of him. Its tread caused the grains of ash to lift into the air. They whirled around, turning into smoke.
When he saw the smoke the last time, he’d been taken to some kind of church. This time, something formed in the thick mist-like blanket. A giant rocky edifice. The picture became clearer in degrees until a chain of mountains came into view as the smoke dissipated. Ken pivoted around him.
“Are we really here?”
The Elder voice’s said, “Perhaps.”
Gazing up, a crystal blue sky greeted him. So brilliant, it was almost blinding. As he stared, something flew by. He jerked in shock as the reality of what he saw made his muscles tighten into hardened bands. Although he’d never seen one, he knew what one should look like. Everyone on the planet knew what one looked like.
“A long time ago, there were men…and there were dragons.”
The words, spoken in reverence by the old man at his side, rendered Ken speechless. A lot had happened since his mother’s death. He’d taken the changes, the magical happenings pretty much in stride, but this…this…it almost seemed too much.
However, it didn’t stop the dragon from circling back around, flying toward them. Bulky, with a wingspan that stretched more than thirty feet, it nevertheless moved, graceful as a swan, in the air. It came closer, growing bigger as it reached them. He could see the way the sunlight glistened on the scales, turning them into flaming gems. Muscles rippled underneath the scales as the dragon flew. Its skin was a thing of exotic and fearful beauty. Predominantly the color of fire, it was spotted with random shaped bands, dark as coal. Burnt orange wings expanded to their widest and glided on the wind. The beast landed on a precipice not too far from them, the contrasts of the snowy top and the dragon one many a person would have given their arms to see.
“Would you like to get closer to it?”
Ken whirled around to see the Elder walking from the mist. He couldn’t decide what was real or not.
Yet, he inhaled the crisp air, and felt the wind blowing against his body. It occurred to him, as an afterthought, he should be freezing this high up, not to mention having difficulty breathing. However, he felt fine.
Fine. What a word to describe this moment.
The sun’s warmth sent a cascade of heat along his back. The snow crunched under his feet. Small pebbles and rocks moved. He shifted his stance.
If this was reality, then in the distance stood a creature of mythology, lulling in the sun.
He would be insane not to get closer to it.
“Please take me there, Elder.”
“Very well, Kenzo—sama.”
They meandered down the trail from their position. The Elder, a couple of feet behind him, spoke.
“Dragons and men once ruled the earth in an unspoken partnership. The dragons were kings over all creatures, guardians of a delicate system of balance.”
“What do you mean?” Ken turned to ask when he tripped and fell over a small rock near his feet. He landed on his hands, the rock shards cutting into his flesh.
“Ow,” he complained as he got up and wiped the dust off his clothes. He glanced up and then screamed.
Giant burnt orange eyes stared at him fringed by scaled eyelids. He fell back again, scrambling along the floor, his heart in his throat.
“Why are you afraid?” the elder queried, an eyebrow perched over the dark, otherworldly eyes.
“Do you—do you—see that? It’s looking at me.”
“It isn’t.”
Obviously the old man was blind. “How did we get here so fast? It was miles away.”
The Elder shrugged and walked up to the dragon’s head. “How long does it take to remember yesterday? An instant.”
The beast continued to stare. A glow appeared to emanate from the magnificent orbs. The jade green irises surrounded gaping pupils of inky darkness. He scrambled back some more, legs weak from fright. The Elder stood before the dragon and he reached out with a staff to strike it on the nose. The monster didn’t move.
Breathing heavily, Ken fought to keep the hysteria from making its way out through a girlish scream. “I don’t understand. It can’t see us?”
The Elder tossed over his shoulder, “We can never see the future. Therefore, he cannot see us. In fact, we are locked in time, a mere shadow easily forgotten.”
In slow waves, the fright and fear that had impacted him smoothed way. The more Ken studied the dragon, he came to the understanding it was frozen. Like capturing a picture an instant before a person blinked. A moment locked in time. Although his legs were still shaky, he rose and once again brushed himself off.
“What were you saying about the balance of power?”
The Elder walked along the side the massive form. A few seconds later, Ken fell in step behind him. “From antiquity, man has always sought to rule over the earth. The dragons were the last line of defense. They could not be ruled and therefore, they could not be controlled.”
Could one control a Leviathan? Ken wondered as he took in the body of the dragon. Together, the scales were translucent, with a soft dark orange hue, but in the sunlight, they shone like metal. They were so compacted together he was unable to see a seam.
“Men and dragons therefore ruled with each other. Dragons, for the most part, kept out of human affairs, but at
times, various kings could create a contract with a dragon for a stated period of time. The dragon then aligned itself with the king. It’s said once a king contracted with a dragon, the war was over. These contracts were highly sought after from among the royal houses of men. Dragons, although they also had a certain hierarchy, did not have the same lust for power as men did…and do. They ruled because it was the way of things.
“Of men, there existed those who you would call the Druids. A sect of people to whom science, philosophy, and magic are synonyms. They alone did not seek a contract with dragon kind, but a friendship. The dragons respected these men and soon, the Druids began to unlock all sorts of secrets about them.”
That brought him up short. A vague memory of remembering that his ancestor – who looked suspiciously like his father – had been among a number of those who sought to unlock the secrets of the Druids came to mind. He’d been more interested in the picture than the information. He should have read more closely, but he’d hardly thought he’d actually need to know any of that.
Ken glanced behind him, expecting to see the beast looking away, but he came saw it had turned its head, watching them. He gulped.
“Senpai, I thought you said he couldn’t see us.”
The Elder looked back as well, and then shrugged. “He is your grandfather. Maybe he is aware of your presence.”
Ken stopped with the abruptness of running into brick wall.
“What are you talking about?”
“You are not human. You are Druman. A second generation half breed.”
He gazed into the eyes of the Elder, honing on the sparkle in them, and knew the man was telling the truth.
“How can that dragon be my grandfather? It’s a reptile.”
“Come, follow me and let me show you.”
The Elder continued to walk and Ken, after brief hesitation followed him. Images of a thousand yesterdays flashed in his mind. From the earliest one in which he could recall a dim vision of his father, tall and dark. His mother, young and happy. School days and studying with John. Classes and part-time jobs. Interviews and a few jobs. The funeral of Okasan. John’s death. The thing that attacked him…
No dragon relatives anywhere. Not even a half-breed lost brother with wings.
“Old man, explain yourself.”
The Elder pointed in front of him. “What do you see?”
Ken followed the finger and saw a cave with an enormous opening. Where it had come from he didn’t know. When he glanced behind him, the dragon was gone. A forest, looming and dark, took its place. The tree swayed ominously in the rays of fast setting sun. Pinpricks of light highlighted the gray, ill-looking trees, skeletal and lacking life.
“What’s this all about?”
“Kitte.”
They walked to the mouth of the cave. The closer they came, the larger its maw loomed, dwarfing them to the size of ants. Gentle sounds of flowing water reached his ears. They continued along, farther and deeper into the cave, until they came to an opening. There he saw five dragons, all of in colorful arrays, before an old man not too dissimilar from the Elder. The man was taller with a head of black wooly hair and beard that dragged to the ground. The dragons loitered around the man in a manner Ken could only guess as respectful. He saw the dragon the Elder said was…his grandfather.
Something was different about seeing his grandfather this time. It had a large golden shackle around its neck with a hook protruding out of it.
“Were the dragons enslaved?”
The Elder glanced at him. “Why do you say that?”
He nodded toward the dragons. “The cuff around its neck resembles a shackle.” He looked at the others. “They all have them.”
“Iie, they were not enslaved, Kenzo—sama. If it were only that, then they could be freed.” The dragon, whose head had been turned away from them swirled its head in their direction.
Ken gulped again.
“Strange, isn’t it Kenzo—sama? He knows you are here and yet he doesn’t know. After all, the future is always present, even though we never see it.”
“Stop talking in riddles. Tell me plain.”
“One dragon herd contained fifty members,” the Elder said, as if Ken hadn’t spoken, “Mates and young dragons. In the days of old, their numbers were numerous, dozens flying across the sky like jewels on wings. These here,” the elder gestured to them, “are the last of all the dragons on earth.”
“The last? What happened to the others?”
A tear glistened from the corner of the Elder’s eyes. It startled Ken so much he just stood in there, stunned. In Ken’s eyes, he was always otherworldly, aged but vibrant in a mystical way. The moisture on his face made him mortal. For some inexplicable reason, that hint of humanity bothered him.
It took a moment for the man to speak and when he did, he snarled. “Man. Man cannot live in harmony with another ruler. They must control all or destroy any opposition.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know,” the Elder sighed gazing at the dragons. He walked over to his dragon grandfather and brushed his head over the snout. The dragon snorted, and small globs of snot landed on the ground.
Ken shuddered in disgust.
“Imagine a valley of carcasses, far as the eye can see. Smell the air as it reeks with the stench of fresh and dried blood. See the flocks of vultures circling mounds of dead bodies. They are not there to eat the flesh of the dead. They are there because their lords, their guardians are no more. Nothing stands in the way to protect from the greedy, licentious hand of man.”
The old man made his way to the man standing in the midst of the five dragons. “This man understood that if he didn’t do something, all of the dragons would be destroyed. So he created a sacred ritual to protect the remaining dragons.”
“Why were the dragons destroyed?”
The Elder stared intently at Ken, his eye penetrating with the scrutiny of a laser. He squirmed feeling exposed clear to his soul.
“All in good time.” He removed his gaze and Ken exhaled, unaware he’d been holding his breath. “What is important is that they were hunted and destroyed. Except for these.”
The old man nodded to the Druid. “In order to protect them, The Druid had to make them less desirable than their current state. But he did not want to rip away the essence of who they are. So how to compromise? You turn the dragon into a something less than a dragon but more than a human. In turn, you call them Drumans.”
“Drumans?”
“Hai. The melding of dragon and human.”
“I don’t understand.”
Smoke appeared and thickened around them. Of its own accord or not, Ken couldn’t be sure. Then it thinned out and he was standing next to a dragon. He jumped back in shock and then paused when he noticed it wasn’t moving. Curious, Ken walked closer to the beast, studying it.
It lay on its side, the vibrant color of orange and green dimmed. The eyes were sightless and its tongue lolled out of the mouth as if gasping. A pool of blood surrounded the neck of the animal and Ken came closer.
The head had been separated from the body.
“What happened?’
The Elder moved around him. “Come behind and see.”
Ken walked around the massive body, hurt in an unfathomable way at the corpse of a creature so magnificent. As he came around behind the dragon, he noticed the back of the head of it had been torn or clawed away. The brain matter seeped from the open wound. Ken turned away.
“The dragon has first been decapitated to ensure death. Then afterward, the back part of the skull is torn away and the cerebellum is ripped out.”
Ken swiveled to the Elder in confusion. “Pardon the expression, but that seems like overkill.”
The Elder’s dark eyes were sad. “It is very mild compared to what was done with dragons.”
“But why is the cerebellum so important? Is it eaten or something?”
The Elder barked out a dry, humorless laugh. “If the
cerebellum was only for eating, then we can at least understand. Even the dragons feast on other creatures. No, it was not taken for survival.”
Ken waited for the man to go on but when he stopped talking for a long moment, he grew impatient. “Why?” he prompted.
“For the blood gem.”
“What?”
The Elder looked at him. “The blood gem. The center, the interior.”
Ken’s face showed his confusion and the Elder sighed. “The blood gem is found in the center of the cerebellum. It is with the dragon since birth. The geode, as you referred to it, is the blood gem of the dragon.”
It took a while for him to soak up the magnitude of what the old man was saying. “So the geode thing isn’t a geode. It’s the center of the cerebellum of the dragons.”
“Hai.”
Dragon brains. Hardened dragon brains. Bile rose but he swallowed it back down.
The smoke thickened around them one more, closing in the body of the dragon like a curtain. It cleared again, and Ken found himself in the hall of what appeared to be a king’s court. The king was holding something in his hand. By the look on the man’s face, he was satisfied with whatever it was. The gluttonous expression marred the face into something hideous.
“Take it the jeweler,” the King was commanding someone. “I want it ready by sundown.”
Blood dripped from the hand of the king as he handed over what Ken corrected surmised as the cerebellum of a dead dragon. He watched as the king gave something of a maniacal laugh and the sucked the blood off each finger, closing his eyes in pleasure.
“Barbaric,” Ken said, almost vomiting at the image now permanently etched onto his brain cells.
“Let’s follow him.”
The man carrying the cerebellum went down a dark corridor. Red drops splatted on the floor like a trail of bloody breadcrumbs. They reached a pair of large wooden doors. A stone stairway went further down. Torches lined the walls and as the path darkened, the man took a torch from the wall and continued further. When they reached the bottom, the man turned to the right and was led into another door.
The first thing Ken noticed was the glittering jewels studded on the wall. They glistened with an inward light from within themselves, miniature stars in crystal form. The man gave the cerebellum to another man covered with a leather apron with dried and fresh blood streaks on it.
The Druid's Spear (Ascent of the Gem Bearers Book 1) Page 12