by Adams, A. D.
“No, it would just upset her, and we both know she won’t let us come again.”
“That’s true.”
Terra settled down with Fienna’s tail wrapped around him, and they fell asleep.
The next sun rising the king, his advisors, and Seana were talking about what had happened when a guard interrupted them.
“Sir, pardon my interruption; the old Sinut is here and demands to see you.”
“What does that old magic fool want?” said Sudanic the most senior of the king’s advisors.
“He’s no fool Sudanic. He has the most powerful magic of all the sea nymphs. He has not been away from his cave since I’ve been king,” the king said in a concerned voice.
“Send him in,” ordered the king.
An old sea nymph entered the great room slowly. His skin had grayed from age. His hair was long and white and floated lose in the water. He wore an old black robe that floated lose around his thin and frail-looking body. His tails moved slow and with difficulty. He floated to face the king and said, “Sedoc, you are playing with powerful forces.
The two you almost harmed could destroy you and all your nymphs.”
“We did nothing on purpose. They forgave us.”
“You are fortunate that this one is truly kind; otherwise, you would all be dead.”
“Come now, he is not that powerful.”
“Hear my words you fools. Make the two your friends. Do not lie to them or ever plan against them. Sedoc give up your plan to mate him with your daughter. He was mounted upon his life mate.”
“A human can’t mate with a dragon you old fool,” Sudanic said with a sneer on his face.
The old one moved his hand out, and a single blue bubble flew from it hitting the advisor in the chest. He was dead before his body settled to the floor. The guards moved in, but the king waved them off.
“I will do as you say, but who are they?”
“That will become clear in time. Heed my words; make them your friends not your enemies. Do this for the sake of yourself and your people.”
The old Sinut suddenly vanished in an eruption of bubbles.
Chapter 35 - Old Friends Visit
(Sometimes News is Good, Sometimes Bad and Sometimes a little of both.)
348 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons
The old Sinut, a name given to only the most powerful magic throwers, reappeared in his cave in the hidden underwater valley of Seavic. He floated over to a large bowl filled with a heavy black liquid that mirrored his face back to him. As he passed his hand across the bowl and mumbled a series of ancient words, a picture formed of a bleak landscape. Nothing lived on this land; it was once the beautiful green foothills of the great northern mountain range. In the center of the picture was a great stone wall a thousand paces high and ten paces wide. No gate appeared in it only small holes to throw spears and arrows through. Behind the wall was a box canyon surrounded by the highest mountain on Tone. This area was the only green place left in the interior of the great continent. The last of the land nymphs lived and protected it from the hoards of dwarfs that attack periodically. As the old Sinut moved his hand, the picture narrowed to a small cave just inside the wall where an old nymph was sitting by a fire. The old one was thin with a long white beard and baldhead. He had a torn old cloak wrapped around his frail body. He was sitting on a log with his elbow on his knees and his chin resting on his folded hands. He looked as if he was ready to leave the world in the flickering firelight. The old nymph’s eyes saw a ghostly shape appear just beyond the fire. He raised his head to focus on the figure; it was the old Sinut.
“It has been a long time my friend,” said the old one.
“Yes, how have you been?” said the Sinut with a concerned expression on his ghostly face.
“Not well. The attacks come more frequently, and I fear I only have fifty or so seasons left. I am tired; my magic is slowly drifting away, and I have no one to replace me.”
“Have there been any breaches of the wall.”
“No, no, but one sun-rising there will be, and I won’t be able to stop those hideous little beasts.”
“I may have some news that might give you hope.”
“I doubt it, but continue.”
“I have been watching this human. He still is a boy, but he is quite unique.”
“How?”
“The sea nymph princess was on the shore practicing the old attraction ritual when this human came to her.”
“You’re still doing that? It’s uncivilized.”
“I know your opinion, but in this case, it proved to be informative.
The boy walked up, and the princess convinced him to sit down next to her. She started to entangle him when he started to glow orange. She and three others could not hold him. His body repelled them with shear pain. None were hurt, but the princess fainted and fell against rocks.
She put a deep gash into her head.”
Now with keen interest in the conversation the old one said, “I never heard of that kind of magic.”
“There’s more. A normal human would have run, but he did not.
Instead a great dragon came up behind him ready to kill anything that harmed him.”
“A human and a dragon together, that’s unbelievable.”
“The human then reached down and used the same magic to heal the princess’ wound. Leaving no mark that it had ever existed.”
“A human male with healing magic!”
“Yes, but that’s still only the beginning. The king invited him to the palace in that clear box. He and his dragon came. Somehow. Well, perhaps with a little help, the box broke open. The human mounted the dragon’s back and a protective orange shield formed around the two, and the dragon flew through the water as if it were the sky. I think this boy has adaptive magic.”
“That’s only a myth. Magic that adapts itself to any need is impossible. Where was this boy trained?”
“Nowhere, by no one. He has as far as I can tell lived with the dragons his whole life. There are other things; he can learn new languages by simply touching the one he’s talking to and perhaps the strangest of all. He has one of the amulets of the Solans of Tycarr around his neck.”
“Where would he get an amulet, and how could any human survive with dragons? I just can’t believe it.”
“Nevertheless, everything I’ve told you is true,” said the old Sinut in an authoritative voice with his arms crossed on his ghostly chest.
“I don’t doubt you my friend but adaptive magic, a human protected by a dragon. It may be the beginning then. Yes, perhaps, perhaps,” the old one thought for a moment and then added.
“Any other powers? You know that dark bastard only has five, and his bitch Solans have one each. This human would have to have more,”
said the old one.
“I’ve only seen the two, but it is too early to know yet, and it will be many seasons before anything happens,” the old Sinut said in a warning tone of voice.
“Yes, I know. Have you done anything to help him or move him in a direction?”
“I can’t interfere; he must follow his own way.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
“What do these two call themselves?”
“The human is called Terra, the word for land in their language, and the dragon is known as Fienna.”
“You know I studied Tone’s original single language in my youth, just before it completely died. Fienna means sky in it. It is very interesting that you have these two in essence named land and sky.”
“I didn’t know that Fienna meant sky. It seems a considerable number of odd coincidences are occurring,” said the old Sinut.
“Yes, very odd,” the old one seemed to be in deep thought trying to decide something.
Then he finally said, “Wait here I have something to show you. I’ll be right back.” The old one went into the cave and returned with a thin stone tablet wrapped in rare silken cloth. He carefully removed the clo
th and showed the tablet to the old Sinut. It showed a human mounted on a flying dragon. The next picture showed the dragon and human standing next to each other. The next showed humans standing next to each other, and the dragon was gone. The last two pictures showed two dragons next to each other, and the humans were gone and finally back to a dragon and a human.
“This has been passed from father to son in my family for as long as our memories extend. No one ever knew what it meant. The first two pictures are now fact according to you. The question is what do the rest imply?”
The old Sinut studied the pictures carefully, “I don’t have any idea what they mean. I assume they mean dragons and humans will be friends one sun-rising.”
“That’s what I thought. Two humans, two dragons then one of each.
It says they will be partners of some kind.”
“Yes, partners in what is about to happen. I must go now. Holding this image is tiring me.”
“Yes, of course. I wish to thank you for the news. At least now I have hope.”
As the ghostly figure faded, the old one rewrapped his stone and carefully returned it to its place in his cave.
Chapter 36 - New Flame
(When a Child Grows up it is Both a Pleasure and a Sorrow.)
349 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons
Dawra knew that Fienna would soon show signs of her first flames.
Dawra looked forward to this but also felt the pain of losing her daughter. She knew after her first flaming it would be time for her to be presented at the dragon counsel. She had been practicing in the winds for five full moon risings now, and she was actually better at using the winds than Dawra. It would only be a short time until she would have to find her own home. She also would miss Terra. He would without doubt go with Fienna. Dawra had grown close to him, perhaps she even loved him, but she would never admit that to anyone. Fienna was now away from the cave all sun-rising and provided food for both herself and Terra. It was hard for Dawra to let go, but it must be done.
That sunset when Fienna had come home her mother thought she smelled fire on her daughter.
“Fienna did smoke come out of you this sun-rising.”
“Yes, a little, is that bad?”
“No, it’s time for you to start flaming. Tomorrow we will go to a high cliff, and you will start your practicing.”
“Practicing?”
“Yes, you must learn to control the flame, or it won’t be of much use to you. You can’t just go around burning everything up.”
The next morning the three of them and Lowlack went to a cliff that sat in front of a small island with a pinnacle of rock jetting from it.
Lowlack flew by and put a small bush on top of the pinnacle.
“Now Fienna you are going to try to hit the little bush. Now breathe in as deeply as you can. Then try to feel heat in your chest,” her mother said.
Fienna breathed in as deep as she could, then she concentrated as hard as possible to make her chest feel hot. At first, nothing happen.
Then slowly she felt a warming sensation in her chest. It slowly grew until her whole body felt warm, even a little hot.
“Now Fienna force the air out as hard as you can,” her mother said.
As she did this, flames came from her mouth and nose. They went in all directions. Fienna had a hard time controlling her head. The force of the fire felt as if it was pushing her whole body back. She saw Terra run behind a great rock because the flames were everywhere. The flames seemed to last forever, but they finally stopped as the remainder of the air she had breathed in left her. She mentally yelled for Terra.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry. I think I will stay behind the rock until you’re done practicing this sun-rising,” Terra thought with a laugh.
“I can’t help it; I’m new at this,” she thought back a little annoyed.
“I know. I know,” Terra thought laughing even more. She could even hear his laughing from behind the rock.
“Ignore him. That was fine for your first try daughter. Now you should remember that dragons are not harmed by flame, but all other things are. Try again, but this time take in only a little air.”
Fienna did, and this time only a small amount of flame came out of her mouth, and she could control it. Gradually, she was able to take increasingly larger amount of air and control her flame. Just before they were going to leave, Fienna was able to hit the small bush on the pinnacle of rock.
Over the next several sun-risings, Fienna slowly built up the amount of fire she could release and control. Her mother taught her how to breathe fire through her inner nostrils in a controlled dual stream.
She was getting very good with her flame, but she had not yet used her full power as she did the first sun-rising.
“Fienna, I want you to breathe in as deeply as you did on your very first attempt. This time stiffen your neck and brace yourself. Then aim and hit that island.”
“Terra, go behind the rock,” Fienna thought to him.
“You have control now; you won’t do what you did the first sun-rising.” Terra said with a rather proud tone to his thought.
“Please, Terra.”
“All right.” With that he moved behind the rock.
Fienna breathed in as deep as she could and waited for the warmth to build in her. When she was ready, she braced herself and aimed at the island. Then she opened her mouth and let the flames go. A flame reached across the water in an instant exploding against the rock. The rock pinnacle started to melt away from the intensity of the heat that flowed from Fienna. When her flame finally faded, the island was no more than a melted lump of rock. Dawra was surprised at Fienna’s heat.
She had never melted rock, and as far as she knew, no dragon had ever been able to. Terra stood on top of the rock clapping his hands together and cheering for Fienna. She was now a full dragon with all her powers of flight and flame.
Chapter 37 - Terra Rides the Winds
(The Pleasure of One Shared by Both.)
349 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons
Fienna felt odd not having Terra with her when she flew the high winds, but it was very cold. Her mother had allowed her to fly them alone for the first time that morning. She felt as free as a dragon could.
Fienna did want Terra to fly with her, and she really believed he could do it. Her mother would never allow it though, so it would have to be done in secret. Terra felt the same as Fienna, and they decided to try the next sun-rising during the warmest part of the mid-sun-rising. Fienna and Terra had gone looking for more coverings for him, a few full moon risings before. They had gotten some very thick cloth in a large sheet. Terra took this with him. When they reached the large cave that Fienna always used as a starting point, Terra tore two large pieces and tied them around his feet. The rest of the cloth he tied around his body, and he even tied cloth around his head to protect himself.
Once Terra was mounted on Fienna they took off. Terra stayed low on her back hugging her neck tight. Fienna liked his touch. As they flew higher and higher, the clouds seemed to cause the ground to fade into a misty blur. Then Fienna warned Terra they were entering the wind.
Fienna’s body bounced, but Terra was held fast to her. Her body heat seemed to flow into him, and he was not cold as they thought he would be. As they flew, the sensation of speed was exhilarating. Terra could feel the wind rush by his body at tremendous speed.
“Is this how it always is Fienna,” Terra asked closely hugging her neck.
“Yes, is it not wonderful?” Fienna said with true joy in her thought.
As they flew, Terra never did become cold. He could see the coast move by at an incredible rate. As they moved up the coast, he started to notice clouds forming. At first they were light and fluffy, and he could still see the coastline, but slowly they became more dense and darker.
“Fienna, I think we better turn back; I think we’re heading into a big storm,” Terra thought with concern.
“We�
�ll be at the gathering place in a short time. I’ll land and rest for a while, and then we will return.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go back now?”
“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
Fienna and Terra came to the place were they had to leave the winds and fly into the great bowl-shaped gathering area. As they left the wind, they could not see anything below the dark and foreboding clouds.
Fienna was tired and needed to rest, so she flew down through the turbulent mass. It was raining heavily under the clouds; the winds were powerful, and the bolts of light that often came with such storms were flashing in all directions. Some of the bolts came so close Fienna could feel her scales tingle. For a moment she felt a sharp pain, but it was gone in an instant. It took all of her skill and strength to climb above the storm.
“Terra, I’m so tired I don’t think I can reenter the winds.”
Terra hugged her great neck and started to slowly glow orange.
Fienna could feel her strength returning. She started to feel rested and ready to continue when she realized that Terra had given the strength back to her tired muscles.
“Stop Terra! You will tire yourself too much and won’t be able to hold on.”
“I would rather have you safe than me alive.”
“STOP giving me strength!! I am fine now,” Fienna ordered Terra with the most powerful thought she could generate. Terra did finally stop transferring his strength to her.
“Can you hold on while I reenter the winds?”
“Yes, don’t worry about me I’m fine,” Terra thought in such a weak tone Fienna could hardly hear him.
She climbed into the first layer and then the second to take them home. She was as careful as possible not to bump or jar Terra loose. He stayed attached to her neck through the flight but thought nothing to her. They finally came to their home coastline, and Fienna flew down through the two layers of winds. She had grown tired again. Then suddenly she felt Terra slip slightly. She pushed her head up to brace his body from the winds and headed directly to the great cave. She landed as gently as possible and lowered her neck to the ground.