Embers at Galdrilene

by Audra Trosper

  Everyone nodded in agreement and Serena said, “At least there are only ten empty chairs instead of a roomful.”

  “This room is more comfortable to be in,” Vaddoc agreed.

  Maleena nodded. “It’s more personal to us. We sat here only a few hours ago as just people who could use magic. Yes we could hear the Dragon Song, but still we were just ourselves. Now we come here and we are Dragon Riders, bonded to dragons and sharing every fiber of ourselves with them. Through our dragons, we are also bound to each other in a way that we weren’t before.

  “Perhaps if we had come to Galdrilene before the War of Fire ended and were introduced to all of this the way people used to be we would be more comfortable in the formal Dining Hall. We weren’t prepared for this the way young people were in that time. When we arrived we had no grand vision of our future. We didn’t grow up seeing dragons and riders and hoping to be called. We had no predisposed idea of what our behavior should be. Unlike those that came before us, we came here unfettered by expectations and so remained more clearly ourselves.”

  She smiled at them. “This room fits who we were before we became Dragon Riders and it continues to fit now. The main Dining Hall is a place to take fancy formal dinners. This room is a place you sit down with family and friends, and take a simple meal.”

  Serena nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  Mckale smiled at her. “Well and wisely put.”

  They were silent for several moments each lost in their own thoughts. Then Vaddoc, his eyes still on the table said, “It was all lies.”

  Maleena looked at him. “What was?”

  “Everything. Everything they taught us back home. Everything they told us to believe. Dragons are not gone and people do not go crazy if they use magic.”

  Serena nodded. “Yes, it was all lies and each of us would have been put to death if not for Emallya and Galdrilene. The minute I saw Miya, all doubts I ever had about magic use and dragons were gone.”

  Kellinar glanced at the door. The servants wouldn’t know where to bring the food. “Perhaps I should see if I can find a servant; they don’t know where we are.”

  Maleena looked across at him. “Don’t worry, Emallya is already headed this way.”

  Serena looked startled. “How did she know we were here?”

  Maleena smiled. “She asked Mernoth who put the question to our draclets.”

  Mckale raised his eyebrows. “How did you know that?”

  “My mind hasn’t left Nydara’s since we bonded. I felt it when Mernoth asked and heard her response.”

  Within minutes the door swung open and Emallya entered the room with Bardeck on her heels. “Why are you here instead of the Dining Hall?” she asked.

  Kirynn smiled. “Bucking the system.”

  Emallya looked around at them. “Riders take their meals in the Dining Hall.”

  Kellinar threw the older woman a grin. “I’ve never been one to follow laws and rules too closely.”

  Vaddoc glanced around the room. “This is more comfortable.”

  Mckale nodded. “We will of course take meals in the Dining Hall when formal occasions call for it. But for normal every day meal times, we prefer the simplicity and comfort of this room.”

  “You will have to forgive us,” Maleena added, “but this room suits us better.”

  “This is traditionally a private room for servants to eat in,” Emallya protested. “This was one of the dining areas they used when there were more riders and more servants housed within the walls of the Dragon Hold. It is not appropriate that riders should take their meals here.”

  Kirynn rocked her chair back so it balanced only on its back legs. “Well, it will have to be appropriate now. If the numbers of servants increase to the point there are not enough dining areas for them, then we will have to find them a different one than this. We aren’t traditional Dragon Riders and I will not take every meal in that big hall.”

  Emallya started to protest again, but Bardeck’s gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Perhaps,” he said, “it is time to start new traditions for a new time. They should be allowed to be themselves. They shouldn’t be expected to follow the exact footsteps of those who are no longer here.”

  Her brow furrowed. “What message will it send that the newly hatched riders are taking their meals not in their place of honor, but in a dining room meant for servants?” she asked.

  Bardeck smiled. “I think it will send an excellent one. It will show they do not possess so much pride as to feel themselves above everyone. It will show they are just people and approachable by those living in the city. Like these Hatchlings, the people of Galdrilene have not been raised around riders. I am different. Mernoth rarely flies or leaves the hold. I have been here since they were born, since their grandparents were born.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “They have been raised with only the tales and now they will have those tales presented to them in living flesh. I think it will do the people good if the news of where they take their meals circulates before their introduction ceremony. It will make them seem more human and less legend.”

  Emallya’s muscles relaxed and her face smoothed into a smile. “You are right, of course. I had not thought of it in that light. I thank you, for your unusual show of wisdom this morning, bondmate.”

  Bardeck’s eyebrows rose. “Unusual show of wisdom?”

  Emallya laughed and moved to sit in one of the empty chairs. “Since you Hatchlings insist on eating here, then we will join you.”

  Bardeck took a chair next to his bondmate, still grumbling good-naturedly about “unusual wisdom.”

  Kellinar’s stomach rumbled as several serving girls carried trays of food into the room. The smell of sausages, boiled eggs, crisp bacon, fruit, buttery pastries, tea and coffee made his mouth water. So much food served for one meal. He almost didn’t know where to start. As he placed a couple of eggs and pastries on his plate, a slight longing for the pitas the women of the Mallay made in the mornings tugged at him. He missed the familiar flavor and smell of them.

  He put aside the memory and turned his mind to his new home. “So what exactly is this place?”

  Bardeck looked up from his plate. “What do you mean?”

  “I understand it’s a volcano, but is it an active one? Are we going to wake up to lava in our sleeping chambers?”

  Bardeck shook his head and laughed. “Yes, it’s a volcano. The lake plateau is actually the caldera of the volcano. The ridge is the rim. The lairs and sleeping quarters, in fact all of the rooms and halls of the hold, are in the ridge”

  He paused to eat a boiled egg and wash it down with tea. “At one time long before the dragon keep and the city were even thought of the volcano exploded. It blew off the entire top and side of the mountain and the rest collapsed into itself. That is why it’s much lower in elevation than the surrounding mountains and why the rim is in the shape of a horseshoe rather than a circle.

  “At the far end of the plateau the short river that runs from the lake spills over the side. It’s a seventeen hundred foot drop to the meadows below and then only a couple miles to a large bay. You can see the bay from the edge of the plateau. It’s quite beautiful. However, although the mountain’s fire is gone, her heat remains. That is why we have warm water to bathe in always at the ready.”

  Kirynn cocked her head to the side. “But the waters of the lake are cold.”

  Bardeck nodded. “Yes, they are. The lake is fed by a deep underground spring that is not affected by the mountain’s heat as much. The water is cold but it’s never frigid and never freezes, not even in the coldest winter. So while it doesn’t flow directly through the heat of the mountain it does derive some benefit from it.”

  Serena sprinkled salt on an egg. “It’s an amazing place.”

  Emallya smiled at her. “Yes, it truly is. Each of the rooms and halls were carved from the rock by riders and mages. Those that work the earth like Mcka
le.”

  Kellinar saw in his mind the brief view he’d seen of the Dragon Hold from above. “During Shryden’s hatching, I saw images in my head of other places, other times. I think I even saw Galdrilene and the hold from the air. What was that? Why did it seem so real?”

  His companions fell silent, all eyes turning to Bardeck as he answered, “What you saw were memories and history, passed on to draclets by their line of ancestors and color. Although three of the hatchlings are born of Mernoth and Emallya’s lost dragon Rylin, imprint memories will also follow the line of color that runs in them because of the shared magic.”

  “Imprint memories?” Mckale asked.

  “Yes. A female dragon carries the young within her until they are fully developed. Then the protective shell, although soft, is formed around them and the clutch is laid. In a process beyond our true understanding, the young dragons are imprinted before the shell is formed with ancestral memories.”

  Bardeck paused to take a long drink of tea. “After she has laid the clutch the female fires the eggs, which hardens the shells. The hardening takes several days and during that time dragons of the same color as the eggs, imprint what are called color memories. They pass on things young dragons of that color should know. This is one reason why dragons are so wise. They have vast banks of knowledge to draw upon. Their histories, all the way back to the first coming to this world, are already known to the draclets. They pass on some of those memories to their riders as they hatch.”

  Kellinar stared at Bardeck as he tried to understand the implications. “You mean Shryden already knows everything he needs to know?” He ran his hand through his hair. “I must look like a fire-brained fool to him.”

  “It is not that simple,” Emallya answered, her eyes on the slice of bread she spread butter on. “You will be surprised what the dragons did not think was essential to put in the imprint.”

  “The emotions were so overwhelming,” Maleena said. “It seems strange that memories should cause emotions to be felt so intensely.”

  Emallya smiled. “The memories were not the only cause of the emotions. I forget times are so different now. Before the end of the War of Fire, Foundlings came as soon as they heard the call. This allowed them some time after arriving to be taught about the Hatching. You had no time, it took too long to get you here and your proximity to the eggs would have been too difficult to deal with.” She set the slice of bread down and looked at each of them in turn. “What you felt was the bonding between dragon and rider, the sudden sharing of heart, mind and soul. It is the most intense thing you will ever feel unless you are unfortunate enough to feel Separation, which is just as intense except in an opposite way.”

  Vaddoc looked up from his plate, his amber eyes catching the light from the orbs. “What do you mean in the opposite way?”

  Sadness crept into Emallya’s eyes. “The feelings and emotions of Separation are as intense as Hatching, but it is an unbinding, a tearing away of souls, minds and hearts. Where Hatching is the most joyous thing you will experience, Separation is by far the most devastating. Very few humans live through it and a dragon never does.”

  Kellinar thought of his Shryden. Even now as he sat among his companions he felt pulled to see and touch the draclet. He didn’t think he could stand to be too far from the young dragon. Since physically touching the draclet wasn’t possible at the moment, he reached out with his mind and immediately felt Shryden.

  “I am here and I can feel your worry. Do not fear. Nothing will separate us.”

  He sensed the young dragon had been on his way to swim and wash away the blood of his meal, but paused to comfort his rider. Kellinar smiled inwardly. “Go take your swim. I will be with you in a short while. Make sure to get all of the blood off.”

  “Of course I will get all of the blood off. Mernoth will accept nothing less.”

  Kellinar returned his attention to the conversation. Emallya was answering a question about Separation that someone had asked.

  “No,” she said. “Separation is not caused from merely being away from your dragon for periods of time. It is caused only by the death of one of the pair.”

  “Will we be required to spend long intervals away from our dragons?” asked Serena, an anxious tone in her voice. Kellinar understood her anxiety. A knot formed in his stomach at the thought of being parted from Shryden.

  “I sense no danger, yet you are upset again. Shall I come to you?” the draclet’s voice sounded in his head.

  “No, I’m fine. I’m sorry I interrupted your swim.”

  Bardeck spoke up then, “Perhaps we should leave the rest of this conversation for another time. You Hatchlings are hiding your emotions well, but Mernoth informs me that our conversation has upset all of you enough that your draclets are ready to leave their swim and come to your rescue.”

  Vaddoc cleared his throat his eyes on the table. “I apologize for my lack of control. Since Namir hatched it is harder to control my emotions. I will work to correct that.”

  Emallya smiled. “No, it is I who should apologize. I should have left the subject of Separation for another time. It is hardly something you need to worry about right now. Your emotions are difficult to control because your dragons are young and have not yet learned to control theirs. Your bond means you will share everything with your dragon and their emotions are more powerful than ours.

  “You are also still experiencing the emotions of the Hatching and will tend to have a harder time controlling those as well. Hatching emotions will begin to fade with time and as your dragons mature they will be more in control, which will help you with your own emotions. If I had paid more attention I would have felt your anxiety with the subject sooner and we would have talked of more useful things.”

  Maleena looked across the table at the older woman and said with a touch of wonder in her voice, “Even with the lack of control, the feelings of the others are easier to bear. I should be overwhelmed by their emotions, yet even though I can feel them, it’s as if they are behind a curtain. I can access them if I want to, but they aren’t flooding me.”

  Emallya nodded. “Your dragon shields you from some of the unwanted intrusion of others’ emotions. It is one of the many benefits you gain from your bond. Your bondmate lessens the stress of outside emotions as well although you have to be closer to him in order for that bond to help. Your dragon bond will help shield you even from a distance, but physical contact can still be difficult except with your bondmate. That is why silvers always bondmate, it is easier on the rider.” She looked at her bondmate with a smile. “Bardeck is like a shield for me.

  “The deeper the emotions or the more twisted the emotions, the more difficult physical contact is. However, being in close proximity to your bondmate helps keep the effects from overwhelming you. When the emotions are very deep or evil, only physical contact with your shield will keep them from affecting you. It will also be easier to bear physical contact with those whose minds are peaceful and whose emotions are pleasant.”

  Maleena glanced at Mckale. “Are all silvers female?”

  “No, and if the silver and therefore the rider is male, then the female half of the bond will act as his shield,” Emallya said.

  “How were you able to go so far from here without Bardeck?” Serena asked.

  “I have had over six hundred years to learn to handle it. With Rylin gone, it is more difficult than it once was and you will notice that rarely did I ever touch a person.”

  Bardeck poured a cup of coffee and took a sip of the hot liquid. “There are benefits for any human bonded to a dragon. You will find that you are stronger and faster than other people with reflexes the unbonded cannot match. You will take much longer to tire, your ability to see in the dark will increase, and your life span will increase dramatically.”

  “The benefits to us are great,” Mckale said. “What do the dragons get from it?”

  Servants arrived to remove the plates and dishes, leaving fresh pitchers of coffee and t
ea on the table. Bardeck took a moment to pour another cup of coffee. Kellinar let his mind drift to Shryden. Finished with bathing, the young blue lay on the grass with his hatchmates, letting the sun and breeze to dry his soft scales.

  After a long drink, Bardeck settled back in his chair with a sigh. “We serve as their anchors. Dragons come from another plane. Dragons and our histories tell us they sought other planes because their own was dying. Their arrival on our plane caused this mountain to erupt and created the caldera. This is where the magic that connects all worlds and planes comes through. It’s where they had to come through, too.

  “But they were unable to survive here long. The adults faded and died. Eggs died unhatched. They needed an anchor to hold their spirits to this plane.”

  He paused and rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Kumauni, a Spirit mage, saw a vision. It demanded she make her way to the ruined slopes of a once mighty volcano. She discovered a female dragon and her clutch of eggs in the ash field where the city of Galdrilene now stands. The fading female stood guard over a nest of dead eggs. Kumauni wept with grief for the female when she saw only one egg remained alive. She approached the live egg. The female sensed she meant no harm. Out of curiosity, she laid her hand on the egg.

  “She was pulled into a Hatching. Kumauni found herself bonded with the young dragon. She felt the connection she provided for the draclet. The connection that would anchor its spirit to hers and allow it to live on this plane. She became the first anchor.”

  Kellinar caught glimpses of images that fit with the story. Shryden listened with him and the draclet delved into the deeper recesses of his imprint memories to find the images. Kellinar saw the nest of blackened eggs, the female, her scales pale and washed out, nearly blending with the ash. He saw the one egg broken open and the silver draclet standing among the fragments. The grief in the female dragon’s eyes when she looked at the rest of the eggs brought a lump to Kellinar’s throat.