Embers at Galdrilene

by Audra Trosper

  “It’s for your hair,” the attendant replied.

  “My hair?” Kirynn never thought much about her hair other than keeping it out of her way. The idea of using a separate soap for it never occurred to her.

  “It will make it softer and easier to care for,” the attendant offered.

  Kirynn knew some woman went to great lengths to have soft, shiny locks of hair. She wasn’t one of them, but she didn’t want to insult the woman by telling her that and so took the proffered dish and used its contents on her hair. When she felt suitably clean, she waded back into the water to rinse.

  The attendant waited until she was done rinsing before pulling the heavy chain and lifting the pool’s slab of metal. The water rushed down the channel. In no time, Kirynn stood naked in the empty pool. She glowered at the attendant. “Why did you do that for? I wanted to soak for a while.”

  The woman let down the metal sheet and Kirynn could see now that it slid down into snug grooves. “Of course you want to soak. No one wants to soak in dirty water though,” the attendant said.

  “You don’t expect me to stand here while you heat more do you?”

  “Oh no, we don’t have to heat the water here.” She opened what looked like an oversized ale tap set in the wall and within minutes, Kirynn found herself standing in a pool full of steaming water again. The attendant smiled. “This is an old volcano and this water comes from a mountain spring that runs in an underground stream on the other side of this wall. It comes up in the spring heated by the deep fires of the mountain. It makes bathing wonderful. There are other caverns for public bathing so all who reside in Galdrilene can partake in the mountains fiery warmth. This cavern and the one occupied by the young men are for Foundlings and Riders only.”

  A rush of cool air announced the arrival of Emallya. The older woman strode into the room, pausing only long enough to strip off her clothing before wading into the waters of the vacant fourth pool. Kirynn relaxed into the water. The heat soaked into her muscles and she couldn’t help settling on the steps with a deep sigh of satisfaction. It had been a long time since she’d felt this relaxed. She wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

  In turn, the attendants washed the water out of each pool and refilled them with fresh hot water. Soon the only sounds were the soft sighs of pleasure that rose with the steam as they each enjoyed a long soak.

  Eventually their hunger drove them from their baths. Kirynn lost her morning meal shortly after they started riding through Maiadar. Refreshed from the bath, she now felt completely famished.

  They found their bags lined up neatly along the wall by the door. Kirynn dried quickly with a thick towel before pulling on fresh clothing from the very center of her pack, thankful they were dry. The oiled bags were meant to keep rain out and a certain amount of water from a brief river crossing, but not to keep everything dry during a complete dunking. She ran her fingers through her hair to pull out the worst of the tangles, marveling at how easy they came out. Maybe there was something to that special soap. She left it loose to dry.

  They followed the attendants out of the cavern. Another set of stairs and a couple of hallways later, she led them through a heavy wooden door into a large room. Like the hallways and bathing rooms, the room had been carved from the stone of the mountain. In the center stood a long, heavy, wood table surrounded by simply carved chairs. The flames in the large fireplace on the far side of the room gave the room a warm cozy feeling.

  Kirynn sprawled in the chair at the end of the table near the fireplace. The position allowed her a full view of the room. The warmth on her back felt good. When seated, her hair hung nearly to the floor. She lifted it off of her neck and spread it across the back of the chair. The warmth from the fire would help dry it. The other two women settled down the table to her left.

  It wasn’t long before the three men joined them. Vaddoc and Kellinar sat down across from Serena and Maleena. Mckale, however, sat near Maleena. Despite his talk of the Watch, he seemed less concerned with it than Vaddoc. His attitude toward Maleena was clearly protective and solicitous. Not that Maleena needed protection, the tiny woman possessed incredible power. It still amazed Kirynn when she thought about what the other woman had done at the lake.

  Several serving girls overseen by Marda filed into the room, bearing large trays heavy with food. They set the table with soups, stews, sliced meat, cheeses; vegetables drizzled with oil and herbs, large loaves of hot, crusty bread, small mounds of butter and dishes of honey. Several pitchers were set on the table, two held water, another two held mulled wine, and three held tea.

  They filled their plates and in the initial rush of eating no one spoke. Kirynn savored every bite. She couldn’t remember ever being so hungry or having her hunger assuaged in such a satisfying way. Some seasonings were familiar; others were strange on her tongue, yet still delicious.

  When the eating slowed down, conversation sprung up. They talked of the bizarre trip through the lake and what to do now. Then the conversation turned to Galdrilene and the fact it even existed.

  Through all the talk and occasional banter, Kirynn watched Maleena and Mckale. Often they looked at each other in a way that excluded the rest. Vaddoc had to pose a question to Mckale three times before the Calladaran heard him.

  Once the meal was finished a young woman brought hot tea and a kettle of dark aromatic liquid. An older, heavy set woman placed honey and cream on the table. Kirynn peered at the dark liquid. “What is this?”

  “It’s coffee,” Marda explained. “It’s unique to Galdrilene and our specialty. It can taste bitter to those who aren’t used to it, but the honey and cream will take care of that.”

  Kirynn decided to try it without adding anything to it. She enjoyed the bold, full flavor. It didn’t taste bitter to her and she didn’t see a reason to add cream or honey.

  They each sipped their drinks for a while before Kirynn turned to Maleena. “So, what did you do to that poor man to make him lose himself when he looks at you?” she said, indicating Mckale. Mckale raised his eyebrows as if amused by the question.

  “I didn’t do anything to him,” Maleena said, clearly surprised. “Why do you ask?”

  “Well, since he used to be a Border Guard, I’m pretty sure he used to be as much of a boulder face as ol’ Vaddoc here.” She flashed a smile at the Shaderian when he opened his mouth to protest. “Now, even though Vaddoc remains obsessed with the whole Watch never ending thing, your Mckale seems to have left the Watch behind so he can better follow you.”

  A pink stain spread across the other woman’s cheeks. “I haven’t noticed him following me. We just seem to travel along the same thread in life.”

  Mckale smiled. “I am not following her, she just always happens to be where I am.”

  “It is not that he is following her or that she is following him,” Emallya said.

  Kirynn looked up at Emallya who stood in the doorway. She hadn’t notice the older woman standing there. Kirynn and the bordermen were well trained, yet Emallya could still sneak up on them.

  “What do you mean by that?” Kellinar asked.

  Emallya moved to stand by the large hearth. “I mean one will not follow the other, but rather as time passes they will find themselves side-by-side.”

  Kirynn rolled her eyes. “Well that’s about as clear as mud. Are you going to say it so it makes sense?”

  Emallya seemed to hesitate a moment before speaking. “This is not something I really expected to answer so soon.”

  She paused again and looked at Mckale and Maleena “What you two are experiencing, this mental and physical connection, is called bondmating. Those who are compatible and their dragons are also compatible, form very strong bonds that go above and beyond the normal feelings between a man and a woman, and between dragons.

  “The dragons and riders who form this bond are aware of each other in a way others are not. Feelings and physical condition are known to all four. Some things can be kept to oneself, but the others
that share the bond will know you are keeping something from them. The dragons that are a part of the bond are the only dragons that will lay eggs. Other dragons will mate and so will their riders, some even become attached to each other to some extent, but without the bond, they will not reproduce and neither will their riders. That is something all of you will have to take into consideration before you hatch your eggs. Even you men. You will not be capable of siring offspring if your dragon has no partner. If you and your dragon never find bondmates, you will never have children. Even with a bondmate, riders do not become pregnant often.”

  She walked to the other end of the table and sat in a chair. “Bondmating does not happen often. Perhaps it is nature’s way of keeping the dragon population in check; they are rather large predators after all. There are rarely more than five or six pairs in any given century and one half of the bond is always silver. Also, there are times when the bond is not just between a pair, but between two females and a male. I was part of such a bond.

  “I have never heard of bondmating happening before the eggs hatched. Most often the bond would form as soon as the dragons hatched. Occasionally, bondmates did not recognize each other until their dragons matured.”

  Mckale frowned. “But I don’t hear Maleena’s thoughts. I can only tell if she is tired or hurt.”

  Emallya smiled and poured herself a cup of coffee. “It does not come on all at once. It comes on in the same way the sun rises. First you see only a faint light in the east and slowly it gets brighter and brighter until you have the full light of day. It will take a few weeks for your bond to fully develop and even then you will not hear her exact thoughts. You will know her feelings and the status of her physical being.” She turned her eyes on Maleena. “You possess Spirit magic. You can of course read his thoughts if you purposely reach for them, but since he is your shield as well as your bondmate, his thoughts will not overflow into your mind unasked for. You will be very aware of his feelings, but not in a way that is uncomfortable.”

  Kirynn took a long drink of the dark liquid and cleared her throat. “So these people who become bondmates, they have no control over it?” She wasn’t sure she liked this new development. She had no desire to take a husband or bondmate or whatever they were called. A husband, children and the whole hearth and home thing had never appealed to her at all.

  Emallya seemed to read her mind and given the woman’s powers maybe she did read it because she looked at Kirynn and smiled when she said, “There are some types of dragons who almost never have bondmates. Fire dragons tend, more often than not, to be surface dwellers in the world of mating and almost never go swimming in deeper waters. I do not think you have anything to worry about, Kirynn. But, to answer your question, no. Those who connect with a bondmate have no control over it and if you asked them, they are happy. As I said, it doesn’t happen too often. I was shocked when I saw that Maleena and Mckale had already formed the bond with their dragons still unhatched.”

  Kirynn looked at Mckale and laughed. “Well, it seems as if you were doomed from the beginning my friend.”

  Mckale smiled, his eyes on Maleena. “I don’t mind.”

  Kirynn just shook her head as Serena asked, “Is there more to this bondmate thing? Does it do anything special besides allow dragons to lay eggs?”

  Emallya nodded. “Bondmates have many advantages. Their close mental connection allows one side to work their powers through the other. That is how I healed you after the Benduiren attacked you. I told you the power that healed you was not my own.” She paused and took a sip of her coffee. “My bondmate’s dual powers are unusual. He is quite strong in healing and healed you by using our bond to see what I saw and channeled his powers through me. There is also the advantage of communication. A bondmate can always share thoughts and feelings with their partner no matter how much distance lies between them. Only death or unconsciousness can prevent them from communicating with one another”

  Serena frowned slightly, her tea forgotten in her hand. “It sounds like it’s a good thing all around, but there are always disadvantages to everything.”

  Emallya sighed. “If a rider’s dragon dies, the rider goes through Separation. I am one of only a handful throughout history that survived Separation. Dragons fare even worse when they lose their riders. We are what anchor them to this world. Losing a bondmate is almost as painful as losing a dragon.”

  Maleena asked quietly, “Is it worth it?”

  Emallya smiled. “Yes, it is worth it. Both the dragon and the bondmate.”

  The man that helped Emallya from the lake walked into the room. His shoulder length hair was dark as were his eyes. A long, jagged scar left a twisted path down one side of his face from temple to jaw. More scars crisscrossed his arms. He sat next to Emallya and she turned to him with a smile. He took her hand and brushed a kiss across it. Emallya turned her attention back to Kirynn and her companions. “This is my bondmate, Bardeck Darshan.”

  As everyone offered greetings and introductions, Marda came through the door again, this time with plates and food for Emallya and Bardeck.

  Kellinar poured another cup of coffee, adding generous amounts of cream and honey. “So how is it this place is here? All the stories say it was destroyed, along with everyone living here, five hundred years ago.”

  Bardeck nodded. “Yes, that is what the stories say. Obviously, the stories and the truth have never gotten together to compare notes. In truth, by the time anyone thought to come looking, they became lost and unable to find it.”

  Curious, Kirynn leaned forward. “Why would they be unable to find it?”

  Emallya dished up vegetables, bread, cheese and slices of meat before she answered, “Almost a hundred years passed before anyone tried to come looking. For the most part, the knowledge of how to get here was lost during that time. For those who did still know, there are protections set around these mountains that interfered with the ability to find us. Of those who lived in the city, very few survived. Those that did were within the walls of the Dragon Hold during the last battle.

  “Of the Guardians, only Bardeck, a man named Clem, and myself remained. Clem’s dragon was killed in the last battle. He did not survive Separation. What was left of Galdrilene was so fragile and vulnerable; I could not take the chance of any kind of attack. So I and the few Spirit mages left kept everyone away. When no one could find us, the world assumed Galdrilene and all who lived here had perished.”

  “It must have been difficult for those of you that survived,” Maleena said, compassion in her eyes and voice.

  Emallya nodded. “It was, everyone lost so much. The town’s folk lost families, homes, and livestock. Most of the city was razed to the ground. Bardeck and I, we had our home, but like the others, our city was lost, our friends were lost. It weighed heavily on us.”

  Bardeck pushed his chair back from the table. “Enough about the sadness of the past, it cannot be changed. Instead let us focus on the joy of this night. We have so many gathered to Hatch. This should be a cause for celebration. I would offer all of you a good night’s sleep, but even I can feel the impatient pull of the unhatched draclets. I’m afraid once you are this close to the eggs after the song has been sung for so long, there is no waiting.”

  Emallya nodded and stood. “Right now you do not feel too much discomfort, but try to ignore them for much longer and they will make their close proximity known. Come, it is time for the Hatching.”

  They filed out of the room and followed her through several long halls cut from the rock of the mountain. Kirynn prided herself on her sense of direction, but they made so many turns in the relatively unvaried landscape of rock halls within the earth, she wasn’t sure she could find her way out if her life depended on it.

  They came to a stop in front of two large, heavy doors. Emallya turned to them. “Beyond this door a future you cannot yet comprehend awaits you. Within is a very large chamber with a circle of eggs in the center. Though the chamber is large only those Hatching
and a couple of witnesses are allowed. Hatching is a personal thing.

  “Once we open the door, Bardeck and I will step aside. You must step through the doorway and into the chamber of your own free will. Once you are in the chamber the compulsion to bond with your dragon will overcome you. You must be absolutely sure this is the path you wish to take and accept the offered gift of the bond without reservation. If you feel any doubt at all, turn and walk away from this door. At the end of the hall you will find someone ready to guide you from the Dragon Hold. No shame will be on you for your refusal. Shame can only be found in a false acceptance.”

  Together, Bardeck and Emallya pulled the doors open. Inside, glowing orbs of light hanging high in the air lit the chamber. Gathered in a circle in the chamber’s center sat six large eggs, their shells colored red, green, blue, yellow, silver and gold. They gleamed in the light so much they almost appeared to be lit from within. The chamber reverberated with the humming of the eggs. In here, the Dragon Song could be heard by all. The sound was so beautiful it brought tears to Kirynn’s eyes.

  Without hesitation she stepped through the doorway followed by her companions. Transfixed by the red egg, Kirynn found herself drawn to it beyond anything she could resist. She walked across the chamber as if in a trance. As she neared the egg the desire to reach out and touch it overwhelmed her. She didn’t try to fight it. She wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything. Her hand trembling, she reached out. Time seemed to slow and stretch. Then her fingers touched the satiny shell.

  The room rocked and fell away.

  Images swirled around her. A wide stairway led to a massive, intricately carved archway. A red dragon roared and leaped into the sky. The city of Galdrilene, full and undamaged, shrank away as the dragon soared higher. Kirynn felt the sheer joy of life and flight.