The Keeper of Dragons: The Prince Returns

by J. A. Culican

  “Blue dragons, or Galians, are our guardians and nurturers.” Rylan pointed at a woman with brilliant blue eyes and black hair, “You met Jules when we first arrived.”

  “I will guide you in any way you need, Prince,” Jules then bowed to me too.

  “Seins, or silver dragons are our workers, they keep Ochana running in all day to day operations.” Gesturing towards a man with gray eyes and a strong exterior, “Luka is a Sein.”

  “My Prince,” Luka bowed deeply to me.

  “And lastly, red dragons, or Wolands, are warriors who protect everything you see. Jericho is one of the strongest of these warriors.”

  The last unknown occupant at the table glared at me, he said nothing. He made me nervous, his eyes almost glowed red, and his dark hair concealed most of his face. His eyes tracked each of my movements. Silently, he filed away his observations.

  Rylan ignored Jericho’s reaction towards me, I hoped this was his usual disposition with others, not just me. I broke eye contact with him and glanced around the table at the rest of the council. Rylan stated these were the elders, which was odd, the oldest of the elders appeared to only be in their late thirties. The four councilmen regarded Rylan, as they waited for his next directive.

  “As you all have noticed, the Prince has a matchless color of our four founding dragons. The Prince is strong, stronger than any newly hatched dragon I’ve met. Do any of you have an explanation for this?” Rylan searched the faces of each councilman as he spoke.

  I observed the reaction each member of the council had with Rylan’s question. Each reacted differently. Jericho continued to glare at me unbothered by the question as the other three looked towards each other with a look of bewilderment. Jules seemed the most on edge by the question, I was surprised she was the first to answer.

  “Your Highness.” Jules looked towards Rylan with a fearful expression on her face. “We have seen rare dragon appearances before, many times.” She paused and looked around the table, as if she was hoping someone else would finish her thought, or at least support its significance. “The dramons, my King, they never fit just one Ochana.” Her eyes dropped to the table when she finished.

  “Jules, don’t be absurd! You are talking about the Prince of Ochana, no way could he be a dramon. That thought can never leave this table. The backlash would destroy Ochana.” Luka looked furious at Jules as he refuted her idea.

  The room went silent for a minute as everyone reflected on what was just discussed. What was a dramon? Was I some kind of mutant? I looked over at Sila and caught her as she assessed me. She nodded her head at me with encouragement, a small smile on her lips. She wanted me to ask my question out loud.

  I coughed into my hand to clear my throat. Every eye in the room focused on me. “Umm, what’s a dramon?” My voiced cracked as I spoke, I had hoped to sound certain of myself. That wasn’t happening.

  “Son, a dramon is a half-human, half-dragon. They are rarer than Leslos. You need not worry son, you would not be at this table if you were one. Only true blooded dragons are able to enter Ochana.” Rylan shifted his body and glared at Jules, his body shook as his voice reverberated. “You accuse our Queen of treason with the accusation of Prince Colton’s parentage?” His question carried the promise of a threat.

  The statement lingered in the air before Jules responded, her voice shook in distress. “King Rylan, Queen Sila, my intention was never to question the Prince’s parentage. I was only-”

  Rylan cut her off with a wave of his hands and a look that froze her to her seat, “I am the King of Ochana. Prince Colton is my son. Do not ever question my claim again.” Rylan released Jules from his hold and turned towards Sila. “My Queen, accept my apology, I am confident my council never questioned your faithfulness.”

  Sila seemed unbothered by the accusation, she placed her calming hand on Rylan’s, “My King, Jules has a responsibility to all of Ochana, and it is her due diligence to explore all possible reasons for the Prince’s color. Jules is right. A dramon’s color does not fit into one of our four.”

  “My King,” Allas bowed her head as she waited for permission to continue. “When the Prince arrived, I closely observed his unique color. The remarkable hues do in fact fit into our four founders. If my recollections are correct, each of the Prince’s scales show of one distinct color, but each scale was different from the next.

  “What do you mean Allas?” Rylan gave her a look of impatience.

  “My King, each one of Prince Colton’s scales were one of four colors. Red, green, blue and silver.” Allas seemed unsure as she looked to each councilmen for assurance. “Woland, Leslo, Galian and Sein.” She explained.

  The long silence broke with Rylan’s enthusiasm, “Amazing, you truly are remarkable son, as I knew you would be!” Rylan answered with a proud look, he pounded his fist on the table as he persisted. “Jericho, I expect you to personally train the Prince in combat.” He looked to Jericho for his confirmation.

  Rylan left no room for an objection. I looked towards Jericho after Rylan’s declaration. He continued to show no emotion as he nodded once in his agreement. I still hadn’t heard a peep from the man’s mouth. Rylan continued to give orders to his council. Each member would be responsible to train me in one way or another. His last order was to meet again in the morning, each member would be held responsible to conduct historical research on dragons who resembled me. He wanted to have an in depth conversation about it.

  The council showed respect to their King and Queen once more before they left for the night. Rylan and Sila faced me. Rylan still seemed elated with the news of my color. I didn’t understand his delight, we had no real answers as to what my color meant.

  “You must have many questions, son. Let’s go for a walk. We can talk as we show you your new home. The people of Ochana are excited with your return.” Sila walked towards the cave we had entered from earlier.

  Rylan waved his hands in gesture for Sila and me to follow ahead of him. As I passed by, he grabbed my arm, “Prepare yourself son.” With that, he let go of my arm and waited for me to walk behind Sila.

  Once back in the cave, Rylan began to explain some of the images that passed by us on the walls. Most of the pictures depicted historical milestones for Ochana. Rylan stopped in front of one, he waited for me to turn and give him my full attention.

  “I have waited for you to ask.” He paused, “Do you not wonder why you were not raised here on Ochana?”

  I absorbed the painting’s contents he stopped in front of. A green dragon, or Leslo, had a large speckled egg held tight within its claws. A human woman stood in front of the dragon with her hands held out towards the egg.

  “Dragons are protectors. We protect all that is true. However, there was a time in our history when we forgot our purpose. We hid away on Ochana from all that surrounded us.” He looked towards another painting on the opposite wall.

  For the first time he looked anxious, even apprehensive. The painting was much different than the others. In all the other images the dragons were strong, clear winners in whatever was going on at that time. However, in this particular drawing, a large black-hooded figure hovered over humans, who cowered in its presence. The humans looked scared, many of them crying. A large fire was in the background. I realized there weren’t any dragons in this picture.

  “A powerful Woland named Jago came to our council one night. He was fatigued and panicked. He had just finished his checks around Ochana.” Rylan paused, taking a deep breath. “He was halfway back to his command center when his mahier started to wane. He went straight to our council, where Jago explained what had happened. He had just finished his explanation when he fainted. Our healers rushed to his side, but they were unable to stabilize him; his mahier had completely diminished. Without mahier, a dragon is unable to survive on Ochana.”

  Rylan looked at the ground, his shoulders shook, almost like he had just relived the whole experience firsthand. I had never seen Rylan like this. The Rylan I
knew was strong and powerful, the man who stood in front of me now was not.

  Rylan looked up and placed both of his hands on my shoulders. “Jago was my eldest brother. He was one of the strongest, most powerful Wolands ever. We were reminded that day of our purpose. We had neglected our responsibilities as protectors, and as punishment our strongest warrior perished.” Rylan dropped his hands from my shoulders and turned towards the image on the wall. “Our council decided soon after that, we needed a constant reminder of what we protect and why. It was proclaimed, all dragon infants would be handed over to humans until their eighteenth birthday.”

  Sila grabbed my hand to catch my attention, “The relationships you formed with the family who raised you and the friends who stood by you, will stay with you for always. Keep those memories close, because your future as a protector will not be an easy one.”

  Sila took Rylan’s hand and began to walk towards the waterfall that would lead us to the rest of Ochana. I stood and stared at the black hooded figure in the painting, I wondered just what my life would entail here on Ochana. I wanted nothing more than to be faced with my black-holed life. I wished my mother was here- I didn’t know these people, they weren’t my family. I knew I was about to cry. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

  Chapter Seven

  I jolted awake from my slumber. A feeling of uncertainty overwhelmed me. I had one of the most vivid dreams of my life. As I lifted myself up and absorbed my surroundings, I realized it wasn't a dream at all. The more awoke I became, the clearer the night before came back to me. Rylan, Sila and I had decided to just head to bed after story time. I didn't take in much of my new home as we headed to Ochana Castle. The three of us had stayed silent as my mind raced with everything I had learned the previous twelve hours or so. Rylan’s parting words to me were to be ready first thing in the morning, Jericho was to train with me before the council met. Jericho, the Woland scared me to the core.

  I threw my legs over the side of my bed, stood up straight and stretched. I looked out the huge bay windows that spanned from floor to ceiling in my room. The view was breathtaking. The brilliant stone castle was built at the apex of three mountains, it was one of the few things I remembered from my walk here last night. The sun was barely over the mountains yet as the sky portrayed a pattern of purple shades. My room opened up to the side that overlooked the main town, which seemed to be bustling already with activity. Even from my height and distance, I could see others start to prepare for their day. Some kind of market appeared to line the main street. Assorted carts and stands were filled with a variety of items for sale. The dragons below continued on with their daily life, a feeling of home sickness washed through me. How I wished I was home with my mom and dad, sitting in my familiar seat at the table as my mom cooked and dad watched the news.

  Suddenly, a knock on the door got my attention, as I turned to answer, the door slammed open. I jumped back in surprise. In walked a young woman with Jericho on her heels.

  “My Prince,” the young woman bowed to me. “My name is Mira, I have been assigned to you, anything you need or want please let me know.” She tilted her head to acknowledge the looming man behind her, “Councilman Jericho, has arrived, he insisted in joining me to wake you.” She pursed her lips, “And Queen Sila has ordered clothes for you. They shall arrive later this afternoon.”

  Assigned to me? Like an assistant? At least she seemed to feel the same way towards Jericho as I did. I would have to pick her brain later about the ins and outs of Ochana. I watched as Mira set up a bedside breakfast for me, with more food than I could ever eat by myself. I glanced at the large variety of nourishments, every bit looked amazing. The smell that surrounded me made my stomach growl. She was a quick little thing, she darted around the table getting things situated for me. I noticed Jericho out of my peripheral vision, he watched me as I observed the scene before me. He made me uncomfortable. I needed a distraction, so I looked around the room for my backpack; I needed to get ready for whatever Jericho had in store for me.

  I spotted my bag in a nearby chair, the chair looked to be ancient, probably worth more than a car. I went over to grab my bag and searched for a place to change. Mira must have noticed my confused expression when I found no other doors within my spacious bedroom. She walked over to a bookcase and pressed her hand to the side of it. The bookcase open into what looked like a bathroom.

  “My Prince, you will find most doors in the castle are hidden. It was designed that way to keep the royal family safe.”

  Safe? This seems like a pretty extreme security measure. Was I in danger? Mira must have noticed the look on my face, or could read minds like Sila.

  “We no longer have a need for such security measures, do not worry. However, the Woland guard has insisted we leave the measure in place.” Mira glanced over at Jericho as she spoke. She turned back to me, giving me her full attention. “Your breakfast is ready, is there anything else I could help you with?” She bounced on her toes as she waited for my response.

  I shook my head, I hadn't had a chance to fully wake, and the man in the room made me nervous. I wanted to get this morning over with. Mira bowed towards me before she let herself out. I looked at Jericho over my shoulder, the man's eyes bored into me.

  “Oh um, I am just going to change real quick, umm feel free to have some breakfast.” I mumbled. Not my finest moment, but it was all I could muster around the man.

  I sprinted into the bathroom and turned to close the door when I remembered I had no idea how too. I heard a sigh, then what sounded like a tap on the wall. The bookcase closed with a thud. I changed and cleaned up as fast as I could, I needed to take a shower but the last thing I wanted was to make Jericho wait. I stood in front of the wall where the door should be, and contemplated a moment what my next move should be, I sighed, knocked on the wall and waited. Almost instantly, it opened, and Jericho stood in the doorway with his red eyes that seemed to have the ability to glare into my soul.

  I scooted around him and bee lined for the table. I scanned the assorted foods, it was more than one person could possibly eat, many of the foods I had never seen before. I grabbed a mug of coffee, even though I detested the stuff-that’s how badly I needed a jolt to wake up. I piled a plate high with pancakes and bacon and smothered them with syrup, the other foods on the table were unfamiliar. As wonderful as it all smelled, I wasn’t in the mood to try something new. I shoveled the food in my mouth as fast as I could, aware of the silent man with a permanent scowl behind me. I finished in record time, I turned to look at Jericho. He raised his eyebrows at me, his first sign of emotion. I had no idea if he was amused or frustrated with me.

  “So, what’s the plan this morning?” I asked with caution.

  Jericho shook his head at me and walked to the door. “You failed your first lesson.” The sound of his voice surprised me, I had started to think he was mute.

  He pinned me with his eyes as I registered what he had just said to me. Failed? What was the lesson? “I don’t understand? How could I fail? We haven't done anything yet.” My voice was laced with confusion.

  “I have been charged with the responsibility to prepare you to be a protector. Do you understand the importance of that role?” His brows drew together, almost like he was disgusted with me. “You let a strange woman into your bedchamber, you asked no questions, and ate the food she left behind, food you left unattended with a man you do not trust. Your list of transgressions is endless.” He cocked his head, “You are the Prince of Ochana, first lesson; everyone is your enemy.” Jericho took one last look at me and stormed from my room.

  Second impression of the man went no better than the first. I sat back down on my bed and contemplated Jericho’s words. I hung my head and rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. Well, two things stood out the most to me, my new role as Prince of Ochana, and the importance of being a protector. As an alleged Prince, I knew nothing about royalty or duties, but enemies? I didn’t even know where to start. Was I in danger
? In fear, I dropped my hands and fisted them in the sheets beneath. Then there was the whole protector thing, I had no idea how to be a protector, and wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to protect. Rylan told me a protector protected all that was true, but it made no sense to me. It seemed I had much to learn, and many questions to ask.

  But first I needed to find Rylan or Sila and meet with the council. I’m sure they assumed Jericho was escorting me there since I was supposed to be with him. I let out a harsh breath, then again Jericho probably ran right to Rylan and told him all about my failure. More proof of my weakness.

  I shook my head, I needed to get out of this funk and start being the dragon Rylan was so sure I was. I picked myself up off the bed and walked to the door, which thankfully had been left open after Jericho’s hasty departure. I peeked out the door and looked both ways down the hall. This castle was so huge, I couldn't see and end on either side. I went with my gut and turned right. I had only walked for a few minutes when I ran right into Mira as she emerged from one of those hidden doorways.

  “My Prince, you scared me,” she grabbed at her chest and let out a gasp. “Do you need anything?” She straightened her back as her wide platinum eyes studied me.

  “I am looking for my parents.” I asked cautiously as I remembered what Jericho had said about everyone being my enemy.

  “The King and Queen are in the throne room meeting with Ochanans as they do each morning. I can show you there?” She smiled at me as she twisted her hands, it seemed the girl couldn’t stand still.

  “That would be great,” I held my hand out for her to go first. “Lead the way.” As I followed behind her I thought about what Jericho had told me. I didn't know this girl at all, and even though she seemed harmless, I didn’t know anything about dragons, or Siens, as I deduced based on Mira’s eyes. With that thought, her silver eyes turned towards me, making me wonder again if she could read my mind like Sila.