by C D Muller
“Blimey, I’m sorry!” Beck cried out, “I just don’t understand why we were ordered to find her before she was killed! People are murdered every single day by that undead necromancer and his bloody cultists, the Obsidian Order.”
“I don’t ever question the Empress,” Gromm barked again, crossing his arms over his broad chest. He then reached into the sack he carried over his chest and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment. “All I know is that she gave me these orders to rescue her. Whoever the child is, she must be important somehow, but what do I know?”
“Apparently more than me,” Beck muttered under his breath. “No one ever tells me anything!”
The two looked from her back to Chaliss.
“What do you think, Chaliss?” Beck asked, “would you be able to take care of her for a bit with your son? She’s still just a child and I know Rahim can be a handful.”
“I already gave the Empress my word,” Chaliss responded, “the poor girl can stay here unless the Empress says otherwise. Luckily my son is with his Uncle Rowan, but I’ll still have to send a letter to explain the situation. She should be safe here in Helshire Village with me and Rahim.”
“Wait a minute, I almost forgot.” Gromm handed her the piece of parchment. “The Empress wanted you to have this and for you to read it alone.”
Chaliss nodded and gingerly grabbed it and opened it up to read what was written. A look of bafflement appeared on her face, followed by utter shock, but she did not read out loud what was written. She then took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and quickly rolled up the note. Both Gromm and Beck looked at her as if there were more to the scroll, but they did not ask.
Chaliss looked over at the young girl once more with a sympathetic look.
“It says here that her name is Selena. Selena Enyalius Liongod.”
She looked up at the two brothers. “You two were the only ones that the Council sent to rescue her?”
Gromm and Beck nodded at the same time. “The Empress tried to request the Council to send in the other dragon riders from the Force, but Vidar Helios denied it. He said it would be reckless to send all of the Imperial Air Force and that it should be more of a stealth mission,” Beck said sadly.
“I’m surprised that we even made it out alive,” Gromm added in.
Chaliss lowered her head a little and sighed when she saw the young dragonet rubbing its head against Selena’s.
“I don’t know what the Council will think of this. The dragon will have to be sent elsewhere soon. Did the Empress ever say when Vidar will be here?”
Gromm and Beck both shook their heads no.
“Very well.” Chaliss said, “she and the dragon shall stay here for the time being.”
“There is one other thing I forgot to mention,” Gromm said, “the dragon hatchling seems to have developed…an attachment to the girl, which I found strange. It might be because it just hatched and thought of Selena as its mother. I don’t know if it will grow out of it when it gets older.”
“That might not be good.” Chaliss leaned in to test this by simply touching Selena on the shoulder. The dragonet bared its fangs and scurried to the top of the bed, sitting on top of Selena’s stomach to keep Chaliss away.
“Oh my!” She quickly got off the bed as the dragon fanned out its wings to make itself seem more intimidating. “Has it already selected her as its partner?”
“Partner? You mean like those in the Imperial Air Force of Dragon Riders?” Gromm asked, “are you sure?”
“I am more than sure. The Council will not allow this. Women are not allowed to become part of the Air Force.”
“I always found it strange. Dragons used to be so highly regarded that the Council used to respect their decision in picking their riders,” Gromm said again.
“But they always picked males! The Council even created laws to support the dragon’s decision, as there was never a female rider, even when the dragons joined us a few hundred years ago! What can we do? We can’t take the dragon away unless we risk it attacking one of us. If it actually does, we have to put the dragon down. We can’t afford to lose any dragons! We need all the help we can get to fight against the Lich,” Beck said as he shuddered.
“Then we shall not do anything,” Chaliss replied at long last.
“Won’t Vidar figure it out? It would be treason if we got caught,” Beck whispered.
“No, he won’t.”
Chaliss glared at the both of them, frightening them into standing up straight.
“Yes, ma’am,” they said simultaneously.
“Good. I fear that the poor girl has been through enough. If Vidar ever figures this out, I alone will suffer the consequences, even if it means costing me my life.”
“The dragon cannot stay in the house forever,” Gromm intervened.
“I have a plan for that,” Chaliss quickly said; “I will cross that bridge when the time comes. Otherwise, for the time being, report what you have to, but the Empress is requesting to keep the girl’s identity a secret, as well as the dragon. She did not explain why, but her name will not be uttered to anyone outside this house. I trust her reasons. Do I have your word?”
“Yes, of course,” Gromm grumbled. Beck trembled.
“I don’t want to think of what will happen if Vidar found out.”
* * * *
“Selena! Come here, quick! Mum is coming!”
Selena was sitting in her room in front of the window, holding a book in her lap when she heard Rahim shouting from the other room.
“I’ll be out in a minute!” she called back. Selena shook her head and sighed as she turned around and saw that her dragon companion sat like an obedient dog by the door as if it were waiting for Rahim’s mother as well instead of sitting beside her chair listening to her read. She was used to Rahim disturbing her during her personal reading time.
“Selena!” She heard Rahim storm up the stairs and he swung her bedroom door open. It startled the small dragon; it made its way towards under her bed.
“Are you trying to read more about Ragnarok again? Come on, mum bought some food! I’m starving!”
“I said that I will be out there in a minute,” Selena said with a faint smile on her face as she bent the top of one of her pages as a bookmark and closed it, “and once again, I won’t be able to finish my book.”
“Yeah, you always say that,” Rahim said with a huff, “which book is it this time?”
“It’s one that I asked Loki to bring over, written by Genesis Altessa,” Selena replied as she glanced over the cover.
“How does that fox come to listen to you?”
“He offered to bring me books that I ask for,” Selena said with a smile.
“You and your books. I still don’t know why you keep reading about Ragnarok. It’s just a myth.”
“Whether it’s a myth or not,” Selena began, “it’s still quite interesting nonetheless.”
“You shouldn’t worry so much about reading, it’s not important. I thought that all young women about your age worry about getting married or something?”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” Selena said, feeling slightly agitated by what he said, “I just turned sixteen last week, but that doesn’t mean that I’m supposed to get married right away and that I have to worry about finding a husband. Besides, I wouldn’t be good enough to be a wife anyway. I’m not pretty enough.”
Rahim rolled his eyes.
“Here we go again,” he mumbled under his breath, “I don’t want to hear this.”
“Rahim, Selena, I’m home!” Both Selena and Rahim stopped when they heard Chaliss from the main room.
“That’s mum! Come on, let’s get something to eat!” Rahim darted out of her room to bother his mother.
Selena sighed as she looked back at the book she was reading earlier. Rahim was right; women who developed the interest to read were ignored, or even sometimes shunned and ridiculed in public. However, this did not stop her from enjoying texts
written by some of the most world-famous scholars. Both Varathka Gundisalvus and Genesis Altessa were her favorites.
She got up and looked at herself in the large vanity mirror on the other side of her room. She ran her fingers through her long and wavy brown hair that complemented her tan complexion. She was thin—too thin, compared to most girls and women she had seen. The only physical feature she liked about herself was her emerald green eyes.
“No one would want to marry someone like me,” she whispered as she looked down at her left hand, which had a mark that looked like a circle with a crescent shape on the inside, “I’m not like the rest of them. I’m too different.”
She reached over and grabbed a cloth she had on her dresser and wrapped it around her hand to hide it, the same way she did every morning before venturing outside her room.
It had been about a fortnight since she and her new dragon companion were rescued. Other than the small details she knew of herself, she did not have any memories prior to meeting Chaliss and Rahim, including how she got the mark in the first place; she asked Chaliss on several occasions about its origin, but always received the same answer that she did not know. Selena tried doing research on the matter before but every book she found that she thought would hold the answer always led her to a dead end.
Scattered on the top of her desk were books that were part of her personal collection, sitting on top of a large world map of the different continents. Armageddon was labeled as one of them, which was also the name of their Empire; Runefell was the name of a connecting landmass right next to Armageddon whereas Mirrorhold, the size of the two combined, was their western neighbor. Blackstar was a large land mass floating by itself in the ocean.
Armageddon comprised four major kingdoms, each with its own main capital: Alfheim was the city of the elves in the Fire Kingdom, Rhumbek for the dwarves in the Earth Kingdom, Nuvak, consisting of mostly humans, was in the Air Kingdom, and the Water Kingdom was a large group of isles called Snowhaven. They were to the south that were home to a mix of races that were a bit more primitive. They could only be reached after sailing through the harsh, icy waters of the unforgiving Turquoise Ocean. Helshire Village was on the outskirts of the Fire Kingdom along with many other settlements and major cities that were in the North-Western part of the Empire. The Dragon’s Heartland, a massive forest that caressed their home, stretched across the most southwestern part of the continent, with the Ridgeland mountains securing the border. South of them was the Black Bog woods that not very many ventured through. Legends of bizarre creatures were enough to keep even the bravest men at bay.
The small dragon popped its head from under her bed and scurried over towards her feet. It rubbed its head against her leg.
Selena smiled a little and picked it up.
“What’s the matter?” She then realized that since it was early morning, it was about the time she would feed it.
“All right then, let’s go bother Matu for food. Shall we?”
‘Matu’ meant ‘caretaker’ in the Elven Language as a term of endearment, which was not commonly used.
The dragon puffed out some black smoke from its nostrils in agreement.
She smiled and then looked outside her window to see three large black dragons, carrying vessels the size of ships in their talons, in the air over their nestled village.
“Matu,” Selena called out, “what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Chaliss walked in and saw the dragons carrying the vessels outside, “Oh, I see. I heard that Alfheim is preparing for war.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, sadly,” Chaliss replied, “information was apparently leaked from the Council that the Lich may plan a surprise attack on Alfheim and so they’re preparing the Imperial Air Force just in case. But don’t worry. Come downstairs and I’ll make us a delicious breakfast.”
Selena sat down at the small wooden table in the main room while Chaliss dished up some bacon and eggs that she cooked for breakfast while Rahim bounced in his spot. The dragonet started begging like a dog for food near her feet.
“Selena dear, feed that dragon of yours,” Chaliss said jokingly.
Selena walked over to the basket that her caretaker picked up earlier and grabbed a slab of beef that was wrapped in a white cloth, unwrapped it, and gave it to the hungry dragon. It nipped at her fingers at first, and then jumped straight up to snatch it from her and started feasting on it with delight.
“I should start teaching you how to cook,” Chaliss said again as she brought the plates with their food on it over to the table.
“Why should she know how to cook if she’s not going to get married?” Rahim said in a joking manner.
“Enough,” Chaliss snapped at him.
“I don’t want that to be all that I’m ever good for. I want to be able to do as I please, even if all I’m ever good at is just reading,” Selena defended.
“I’m sure you’ll live a happy life,” Chaliss said before Rahim could intervene.
“I have a good life here, even if I don’t remember anything that happened beforehand,” Selena said with a slight smile.
“You were a mess when you first came here,” Rahim said after taking a bite of his food, “both Gromm and Beck were worried that you might not have survived when they rescued you.”
“It’s a shame that you don’t remember anything before. I’m at least glad to know that you’re happy now," Chaliss said.
“Of course. You have been kind to both me and my dragon," Selena said again before taking a bite from her eggs.
Chaliss smiled at this.
“You’re always welcome here.”
Selena took another bite as Rahim decided to intervene in the conversation once more.
“Yeah, both she and all of her research on Ragnarok are always welcome here!”
He laughed at this.
“Ragnarok? Are you still reading about that?” Chaliss asked.
“It’s quite interesting on how well it fits in with our religion.”
“A sword created by the three Divine Beasts! The most powerful weapon in the world!” Rahim exclaimed, “find it so we can use it to fight against Venexus!”
“I’m not going to fight against him,” Selena said as she shuddered at the thought, “everything that I’ve ever heard about him terrifies me!”
“Who wouldn’t be afraid of him? He used to be a powerful sorcerer from Oblivion and now he’s come to our world as an undead necromancer to take over!” Rahim asked as he shoved the last of his eggs in his mouth.
“Rahim, that’s enough. Stop referring to the Lich’s actual name. I don’t want you two to keep talking about this. Any mention of demons or liches is enough to bring bad luck and we don’t need any more of that here in this household," Chaliss sternly said.
“I’m sorry, mum,” Rahim said glumly.
“After breakfast, I need you two to start your chores,” Chaliss announced.
Rahim groaned at this, but he got up and started to help clear the table with Selena when they finished eating. They brought the dishes over to the sink that was filled with warm water and some soap from the counter top.
When Chaliss went outside and was out of earshot, Rahim whispered to her, “What are you going to do with that sword? Are you going to use it to kill the Lich?”
Selena looked at him strangely. “Why would I do that?”
“Because he’s evil! He kills people and forces their souls to join his legion of the undead!” Rahim blurted out. He held his hands up above his head and curled his fingers like they were claws.
Selena swallowed hard at this but shook her head.
“That’s not true,” she said quickly, trying to assure herself that Rahim was wrong, “demons and liches don’t exist.
“Yes they do,” Rahim replied darkly, “he left Oblivion to take over the world!”
Selena shook her head again.
“I don’t believe you,” she said.
“Fine
, don’t believe me, but that’s what mum told me.” Selena closed her eyes and shuddered at the thought.
“So what are you going to do with Ragnarok?” Rahim asked again, washing another one of the dishes.
“Nothing. I just wanted to know more about it," she declared as she dried off her plate.
Rahim laughed.
“That sword is powerful. I heard that Gundisalvus knew where it was, but that he would not tell anyone because he was too insane.”
“He may have been, but he had research and proof that it exists,” Selena said, “all of his findings matches up with the myths and legends so far.”
“But he was still insane! I also heard that his house was haunted. I heard that his ghost is still there!” Rahim exclaimed.
“Now you’re just making up stories.”
“I swear! I’ve walked by it a few times and I swear I hear moans and groans coming from there!” He began to imitate the noises. Selena grabbed one of the wash cloths and threw it at his face to make him stop. The whelpling jumped out of its spot and growled at him.
“Hey!” Rahim stumbled backwards. “You don’t have to throw things at me!”
He looked down at the small, growling dragon.
“Aren’t you going to name that thing yet? It’s been with you since you first came here.”
“Hmmm… you’re right. I want to give it a good name.”
After finishing her chores, Selena immediately ran back to her room with her dragon. She sat down with it lying on her lap and a book open beside her. It was a quiet and warm afternoon with the sun glistening through the window.
She read about the famous dragons from history and mythology, hoping to find a name that would suit her dragon companion. However, she found some of them distasteful and that they did not seem appropriate or fitting.
“I don't know about Athena,” Selena whispered to herself as she glanced down at the dragon gnawing on a meat bone. “No, not Cerridwen either. But I don’t know if you’re a girl or a boy dragon!”
Selena’s face flushed as she frantically picked up another book to find out how to sex one. The whelpling ignored her embarrassment as it picked up the bone and trotted around her room with deep rumbles mixed with chirping noises escaping from its throat.