The Dragon Healer of Tone (World of Tone)

by Adams, A. D.

  “Lowlack, Fienna wants them inside. Let them pass,” Dawra said with a little disgust in her voice.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, she say’s they are friends,” Dawra snorted.

  “If that’s what she wants,” Lowlack said a little confused.

  “Don’t make them feel welcome, old friend,” she said with a wave of her hand beckoning them into the cave.

  “Oh, I won’t.”

  As they approached, Lowlack put on the old snarl and sneer. He saw the old one in front, seemingly unafraid, leading the rest. The others were obviously frightened.

  The sea nymphs saw the great dragons crest the high walls of the crevice and fly to the cave entrance. The old Sinut slowed his advance toward the cave, and all the others in the party followed suit. The dragons didn’t seem to bother them but were more interested in getting into the cave entrance. The old Sinut finally came to the shore. He changed his rear flippers to legs and painfully walked onto the shore. It had been many a season since he had been on land, and his muscles were not what they once were. The rest followed. The old Sinut knew better than approach a dragon unless invited. So he just stood on shore waiting. He saw the large female enter while the old male stared at them. A moment later the female came out and spoke to the male. No one could hear the dragons; they were too far away, so he had no idea what she was saying. Then she waved them into the cave. The old Sinut moved with an assured gait up to the cave entrance. The others followed like scared children. The old dragon glared and snarled at them as they passed. As they went into the cave, the light passing through the crystal projecting from the caves ceiling dazzled them all, even the old Sinut. Then they saw Fienna holding the limp body of Terra. The old Sinut immediately went to the dragon and spoke in her language. This surprised even Fienna for Terra was the only other non-dragon she could remember that spoke dragon. The old nymph told Fienna to set Terra down so that he could help him. She just stared at him with an intensity that would have devastated any other, but this one was too strong and would not back away. Fienna would never put Terra down in this condition. Plus she was feeding him with her own strength, keeping him alive. The two simply stared at each other without moving until Setilan came up to Fienna.

  “Could you lower him so the old one can look? He will help him. I promise nothing bad will happen,” she said with concern on her face.

  Fienna slowly and carefully lowered Terra so that the old Sinut could see and touch him.

  He then said mostly to himself. “No living being could have survived such wounds and the loss of blood I saw in the water. The wounds are still visible. What is keeping the blood in and where is it coming from.”

  With that he touched Terra. He could feel the power of the great dragon coursing through his body. He realized that she was giving her life force to him, and his magic was healing the great wounds in his back. His magic could never match such an exchange.

  He looked up at Fienna and said, “You are tiring; you can’t do this much longer; you need food to drive that great body of yours,” he then turned to the nymphs that had accompanied them to the cave and requested swimmer be brought to Fienna.

  “We need as many swimmers as can be carried,” ne said.

  The king turned and ordered it done and also ordered one of the others to get more nymphs to help with the swimmers.

  The old Sinut looked at Dawra, “Can you get her some meat?”

  “It will be done,” she snarled at the little thing. If it were not for Fienna and Terra, she would have crushed him.

  Dawra went to Lowlack and told him what was needed. He motioned to the dead averons, and Dawra decided to gather them herself and told Lowlack that they needed more. He took off, and as he crested the cliff of the crevice, three more dragons flew toward him. He landed on the top of a large boulder, and the other three seeing him landed near. These were three that Terra had healed, and they had come to see what had happened. Each in turn had unique reasons to want Terra to survive, not the least of which was that they all owed their lives to him.

  “Terra has been wounded,” Lowlack said in a stern and commanding voice.

  “We need meat to help heal him. You two should be enough to hunt,” he pointed to the two females.

  “You!” he pointed at a large male. “Fly and guard this crevice while I guard the cave entrance.”

  The two went off looking for the runners while the big male flew guard above the crevice. Lowlack immediately flew back to the cave entrance. He quietly walked into the entrance and caught Dawra’s attention and told her what was happening. He then asked what was going on. He could see Fienna holding Terra, and her hands and his body glowing in the odd way he had when he healed others.

  “He was attacked by those hideous fliers. He should have died, but he lives. He truly has the heart of a dragon,” she said with a depth of sadness in her voice that Lowlack had never heard from her before.

  “Fienna is trying to give her strength to him so he can heal himself.

  All that red in the water is his blood. He should be dead,” she said again.

  “We need more food for Fienna. I gave her the meat from the fliers, but it’s no where near enough to keep up her strength. “

  With that the two turned at the sound of some of the sea nymphs running into the cave with baskets of swimmers. The small young female nymph took one and held it up. Fienna bent down and took it from her, swallowing it whole. She continued to do this until all the baskets were empty. Just then, one of the females that Lowlack had sent off landed outside the cave entrance with a runner in her mouth.

  Lowlack walked out and took it from her.

  “We need more quickly,” he said. She then turned and took off without a word to start hunting for more meat. Lowlack tore the beast in half and carried the two pieces straight to Fienna. The nymphs spread apart to allow him a pathway through their number. He saw Terra’s back and the two large holes with the orange glow covering them. He could see red blood flowing and ebbing against the glowing patches, trying to escape. He held out half the beast, and Fienna took it with her mouth. She crushed the bones between her teeth making a sickening sound that caused several of the nymphs to lose their last meal. The meat and swimmers continued and Fienna was able to keep her strength up enough to keep Terra alive. Slowly as sun-rising passed into sunset, the muscles appeared where the holes once were. Then skin slowly covered the gaping wounds. During this time, the old Sinut and Setilan cut away the blood soaked cloth that covered Terra and washed away as much of the blood as they could.

  Time seemed not to exist for those in the cave. Fienna finally felt the first glimmers of his mind coming back and touching her consciousness. Then she could feel him slip into a deep sleep. As he slept, he stopped drawing on her strength. Slowly, she laid his body onto a mound of dried sea plants that the nymphs had made for him, and the orange glow around his body slowly faded. Fienna slumped back against the rocks. Dawra went to her and took her by the arms as she had done when she was a child.

  “Come Fienna, you need to move. You can’t just stay in this position forever. I will stay with Terra so that no one will harm him, no one!”

  “But!”

  “No, but! You have done all you can.”

  Fienna slowly got up with the help of Dawra. Lowlack came into the cave at that moment and moved to help Fienna. He took over while Dawra took up a position next to Terra. The old Sinut bent down and touched him. He stood and told all the other nymphs that it was up to Terra now. No one else could do anything.

  As Fienna slowly moved through the entrance of the cave, the sun was just rising over the high cliffs of the crevice. She saw dragons perched all around the edge of the crevice and more flying above. The now red lake had nymphs armed with spears swimming through it and other nymphs standing guard throughout the base of the crevice. Their home had turned into an armed camp, and she did not like it. Her aching muscles were beginning to loosen up as she stretched and moved her
great body. Many of the nymphs were amazed at the power she seemed to radiate. Fienna spread her wings and took off. She only flew around the edge of the crevices great walls and then landed back at the cave’s entrance.

  Up till this point Fienna had not had time to be angry, but now her anger grew in proportion to her great size. Her eyes filled with a red of pure hatred for the hideous species of fliers that had done this. Her revenge would be deadly and massive once Terra recovered. Nothing would stop her from killing them all. She stomped from one edge of the large rock to the other feeding her rage with thoughts of tearing the fliers into shreds. Her anger was finally broken by a slight touch of Terra’s mind wanting her. She immediately moved to his side with such speed and force that all in and out of the cave were surprised.

  Many of the nymphs were knocked from their feet by the shear wind she created in her sudden movements.

  “What happened?” Dawra said to Fienna.

  “He wanted me; I’m not going to leave again,” Fienna said with a sadness that caused all that heard to draw back in sympathy.

  Fienna lay down and placed her great head next to Terra’s small body. Even though she tried to stay awake, she could not and fell into a fitful sleep.

  Chapter 59 - The Return of Evil

  (Evil is Never Far Away.)

  354 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

  The next sun-rising was dark and cloudy, and Fienna woke to some noise outside the cave. She could not immediately remember what was happening, and then the event of the previous sun rising came flooding into her mind. She looked to see a sleeping Terra looking as peaceful as ever. The noise outside seemed to be building. Everyone was at either the cave’s entrance or outside. She slowly got up trying not to disturb Terra. Then she walked to the entrance.

  “What is happening?” she asked.

  “The dragons flying guard said that there are hundreds of large fliers led by one with a small human on it’s back coming this way.”

  Lowlack told her.

  Fienna’s anger flared back into her mind. She watched as twenty dragons began to throw their fire at the far edge of the crevice. The dragons were flaming as the hideous black fliers began to fill the sky.

  Within moments, the sky was so full that the sun seemed blotted out.

  Dragons had moved to the crevice rim and were flaming the fliers as they tried to fly down to the cave’s entrance. The dragons’ flames were killing ten to fifteen at a time, and the smoldering bodies were falling from the sky like rain. The nymphs killed the ones that lived through the fall as they lay on the ground. Fienna’s anger grew to a level no being had ever felt.

  Inside the cave, Terra was jolted out of his deep sleep by the sheer hatred coming from Fienna. He had never felt such emotion and could not see through her eyes; the anger was so great. He was sore everywhere; he could hardly move, but he knew he had to get to her. He crawled out of the seaweed he was laying in and to a ledge where he boosted himself up so he was sitting.

  Fienna could not feel his mental touch; she was beyond that now.

  She watched as the largest of the fliers crested the far edge of the crevice’s rim. A small figure was riding on its back. She took off with the power of a demon and flew straight toward the flier and it’s rider.

  Terra started to get to his feet, and a stone fell from the ledge. Setilan looked back over her shoulder to see where the noise came from and saw Terra. She ran to him and caught his great body as he fell forward.

  She was barely able to get him seated back on the rock ledge.

  “Take me to the entrance,” he said in a low horse voice.

  “You must lie down,” she said with concern.

  “Take me,” he said with a power and a force she could not argue with. She called to the two nearest guards that were with the rest watching the battle unfold. They came immediately and helped Terra to his feet. Terra was so heavy and large that it took all three of them to move him toward the entrance. The Old Sinut then noticed what was happening with Terra. He went down and said.

  “Put him back.”

  Terra looked up, seemed to reach into his soul with his eyes, and with a single gesture moved him aside. The Old Sinut had never felt such power, and he joined the other three in moving Terra to the entrance.

  As the group of five reached the opening, Terra felt Fienna taking off and heading toward her prey.

  “Put me down there and move aside.” Terra said as he pointed to a small rock shelf just outside the entrance. Just as he looked up, the small figure dressed all in black raised a black stick with a black jewel on its end. A single bolt of black lightning came screaming from the jewel and headed toward Fienna. Terra raised his arm, and it instantly started to glow so bright that none could look at it. From his glowing hand, a small orange bolt of lightning came. It was silent and moved at twice the speed of the black one. Terra then yelled, “Fienna come back.” The power of his voice pulled Fienna out of her rage induced insanity, and she turned to see Terra lying on the ground outside the cave. The orange bolt blasted by her, and she knew from his mind she had to come to him. She flew straight toward him. The two bolts met in mid air, and for a moment, it appeared the black bolt absorbed the orange, but then it exploded. The force was beyond even a volcano. The fliers just above the blast were simply gone. The large flier and its rider were blown back to the rim of the crevice, and the two fell from the sky hitting a large flat rock. The strange stick the rider held was still in its hand but had broken into two pieces. The rider and the flier appeared dead.

  Fienna was caught by the force of the explosion and was blown toward the cave entrance. Terra raised his hand, still glowing with his power. From his hand, an orange beam of light illuminated Fienna and slowed her body’s forward momentum. Finally, she stopped in mid air cradled by the light. Terra slowly and gently sat her down just in front of him. Although in pain from torn muscles and wing membrane, she was all right. Terra collapsed into unconsciousness as Fienna settled to the ground.

  Two of the fliers flew down, picked up the rider and the two pieces of the stick, and immediately flew off protected by dozens of the other fliers. Hundreds of the fliers’ bodies lay over the crevice’s base and its rim, many of which were burning and smoldering. No one knew how many had died that sun-rising, but no dragons or nymphs had been killed although some of the dragons and twenty or so nymphs were wounded.

  Some quite seriously.

  Fienna lay with her nose against the body of her love, and now the man that had saved her life perhaps for the third time lay quietly in her mental embrace.

  Chapter 60 - A Time to Heal

  (Love Helps the Healing Process.)

  354 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

  As Fienna awoke in the morning, she could still feel Terra was in a profound sleep. She could feel his mind, but he was just beyond consciousness. She could only wait and see what would happen.

  Fienna slowly got up trying not to disturb Terra and went to the cave entrance, keeping an eye on Terra all the time. A thick fog was just clearing as she looked out the cave entrance. This was the third time she had seen this fog in as many sun-risings. It seemed odd that she had never seen it so thick before, but it was not simply fog. She looked around and saw the changes in her home. Dragons were removing the bodies of the dead fliers, and the nymphs were trying to return the once pristine shore to its original beauty. The lake was now red as blood, and even though the stream from the cave fed the lake with fresh water, its color still stayed the dark red of Terra’s blood. She was so sore that her muscles rebelled at every movement she made. Fienna seemed to be drawn to the lake. She looked back and asked Dawra to watch Terra.

  She said she would. Slowly, Fienna moved down the sandy path she had created for Terra. When she reached the lake, she stopped, thinking she should not enter the water where her lover’s blood still swirled in its depths, but she could not seem to help herself. As she entered the water, it seemed to dr
aw the pain from her body. The cuts and torn muscles seemed to be glowing a pale orange and began to heal. The water could now heal just as Terra could except much slower and without the gentle love that filled you with his touch. As she relaxed in the water, a thought came to her. If the water could heal her, maybe it would help Terra. She immediately got out of the water and dried off by fanning her great wings. Then she hurried to the cave. The old Sinut was standing bent over Terra. Fienna moved quickly to them.

  “What are you doing?” she said angrily.

  “I was just seeing if he was comfortable.”

  “No, you were looking at something. What?”

  “The mark on his chest. What is it?” he said in a quite gentle manner.

  Fienna calmed a bit. “It was an amulet that he wore, and one sun-rising it was gone and that mark appeared.” She didn’t want to go into the whole story.

  The old one backed away and seemed to know that it was not time to ask more questions.

  Fienna gently picked Terra’s small body up and started toward the cave entrance. Setilan came up and wanted to know were she was taking him.

  “The water healed some of my wounds I thought it could help him,”

  she said with love in her voice.

  “That’s a good idea. Can I help?” Setilan said with true concern.

  “Yes, come.”

  The two of them proceeded to the lake under the watchful eye of the nymphs and dragons swarming around the now busy crevice. They were removing the debris caused by the encounter between Terra and the hideous fliers.

  The two entered the water, and an odd thing happened, the entire lake began to glow a light orange with the brightest spot surrounding Terra’s body as Fienna lowered him into the water. It seemed to give all of it’s healing power back to Terra and slowly the glow and the redness of the lake faded. Fienna lifted her love from the water as it’s glow subsided. She could feel Terra’s mind a little closer to hers, but it was still just outside her mental grasp. The rest of the sun-rising and that sunset Fienna stayed within sight of Terra, not wanting to leave him in case any change occurred. She laid him in the sun during the sun-rising on a pile of seaweed brought by the nymphs. Twenty nymphs surrounded him as he lay there unconscious. As the sun slipped past the edge of the crevice walls, she carefully took Terra into the cave and with a single blast she heated a rock near where Terra lay to keep him warm. The lake slowly returned to the red color it had been given by Terra’s blood, and once again healed the wounds of those who entered its waters.