by G L Roberts
“Yes,” Thalynder said. “And you are taking me with you.”
❦
“Ua,” Bryn repeated. “I do not recognize your name.”
“No? I am among all the others. My name was first.”
“Perhaps you are known by another name now.”
“I am the first. What other names would I have?”
“Do all dragons speak in riddles! Can you not tell me about yourself?”
“There is much to tell.”
“I do not know how much time I have here with you.”
“You have all the time in the world. Let me start by saying it is good to see you again, Athebryn.”
“You know me?”
“I have known you all your life.”
Bryn touched her tunic and pointed at the dragon. “This is you.”
“It is.”
“And this is me.” Bryn continued to point at the dragon.
“You are catching on.”
“But I do not understand how this can be. I feel it here in my heart, but my head is full of confusion.” Bryn shifted her weight and sat down in front of the dragon. The dragon seemed smaller now that she accepted the fact the dragon did not have substance. Like Queen Athyl, she thought.
“I am unlike Athyl,” Ua said. “Perhaps, we should start at the very beginning. You know Athyl’s story. You know she joined with the first dragon.”
“Yes, I know the story.”
“That is the middle of the story.” The dragon sat down, and the dragon’s tail curled around and lay behind Bryn. Bryn tried to touch the dragon's tail, but again, her hand passed through the dragon. Ua chuckled.
The cave grew darker, and from behind Ua against a wall of blackness, twin stars appeared. They floated as if in a dark pool of water. Bryn watched the stars.
“Open your mind to my words. Let your heart see again.” The cave grew very dark.
“In the darkness, we were formed. Soon, there were millions of us.”
As Bryn continued to watch, the darkness behind the two bright stars began to fill with tiny dots of light. One of the small dots started to grow bigger. It changed from white to blue and shimmered as if wet. Bryn watched in fascination as the star became an orb, appearing to have texture. Spots of brown, red, green, and white appeared on the globe. Then the colors themselves took shape.
“This is the earth you stand upon,” Ua said. “It was formed from other stars and became whole. Rich in texture and life.”
Bryn continued to watch the orb change. She saw cloud cover, rivers, land, and seas. The twin stars, which remained bright against the tiny dots, began to move toward the earth.
“Oh,” Bryn said just above a whisper, “the first dragons.”
“They are.”
Bryn felt a flash of recognition. A memory from the ancients, she thought. “The first dragons did not join with elves or humans,” she said. “These two came to earth before there was life.”
“The creatures of the sea were the first to appear. We waited for them. We met them and shared in their life. We did not join with them.” The orb changed. Life was now evident. Antelope, deer, bear, fox.
“The creatures roamed freely over the entire face of the earth,” Ua said. “We continued to watch and wait.”
“Were you waiting for the elves or the humans?”
“We waited for a bond to develop. We did not know which race would provide what we needed.”
Bryn saw the orb change again. Now she could see a small island set off the coast of a more massive island. She recognized her home as it once appeared. “That is my home.”
“It is where Bryn was a child.”
“It is so vibrant and alive,” Bryn said. “Look, there are the dragons!” Bryn was excited at seeing the dragons at Skerrabrae. “I never realized the earliest Brae home was also home to the first dragons. This is wonderful.” The vision changed again. The dragons were pushing the earth around, and a hill grew with their help. “That is the hill behind the village.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Why do they build a hill?”
“To protect their young.”
Bryn now saw gems strewn on the ground at the foot of the hill. The two dragons pushed the treasures into the dirt and continued to build up the hill around the gems.
“Eggs!” Bryn touched the jewel at her brow. She watched the gems disappear and began to feel a sense of foreboding. “If there are eggs still under the hill, can they still hatch?”
“They have found other ways to live.”
“The one I found in the cairn under the ancient hearth was etched with the name Athebryn.”
“Yes, the name of one of the twin stars,” Ua said. “It is a name reserved for She Who Will Return.”
“The Jewel has waited this long to be found? Why did it take so long?”
The vision changed again, and elves now walked around the hill. They were digging and unearthing many gems.
Bryn gasped. “Oh, no!”
“Our eggs were taken.”
“They could not have known,” Bryn said. “If they had, surely they would have left the eggs alone.” Bryn hugged herself. She felt her eyes stinging with tears. “They could not have known.” She buried her face in her hands.
“They did know. We told the elves. Watch now.”
The elves took the gems and worked them into knives and swords. The smaller pieces were used to adorn cloth, and some were turned into jewelry. Bryn touched the silver thread on her tunic. She continued to watch as the years passed, and the elves began to hide away the swords and knives; the clothing and jewels made of the dragon’s eggs. Humankind now occupied Skerrabrae. The half-elven also dwelt in the North with the humans. Very few of the half-elven displayed the swords and jewelry made by their ancestors.
“They hid them away because they did not wish to share them with humans. When they eventually came together and produced half-elven, they were loath to expose their secrets,” Ua said.
“Such a sad history between them,” Bryn said.
“There is still hope for them both.”
“Both? Do you mean elves and humans? Or dragons and humans?”
Ua’s tail swept the floor with a flourish. “Unless there is a renewed kinship between the elves and humans, that bond will soon fade to a memory. The bond between dragons and humans, too is fading. Both will continue to diminish until gone.”
“Is there something I can do to help?”
“Yes, Athebryn, you can unite this land with others and draw a union to withstand the test of time. Then, perhaps, the dragons will be remembered as trusted and true companions.”
“Otherwise, all is lost for the Chosen dragons. All they hoped for, all they lived for will be for naught,” Bryn said.
“You understand this, and that is good. You must also understand the dragons will be gone long before your legend dies.”
“So soon?”
Behind Ua, the vision changed again. People now walked on the hill at Skerrabrae, tending sheep and crops. Bryn recognized her father and her mother.
“My parents.”
“Yes, those who raised you are there.”
“Those who raised me?”
“You see your guardians.”
“I do not understand.” Bryn stared at the image. “I see Arlendyl and Brymender together, there on the hill.”
“Your guardian, Brymender, adopted you before you were born,” Ua said.
Bryn stood up. She grabbed Calibairn and held it before her. “No, you do not speak the truth.” She stared at the image. Her mother looked happy. As did Brymender. “You must be mistaken.”
“I know only truth.”
“Then explain this to me.” Bryn paced. She set Calibairn down on the floor and touched the jewel on her brow. It moved. She grabbed at the sides of the crown, and it moved. Slowly, she removed the circlet and held it before her. The jewel was dark and quiet. The silver headpiece cool to the touch. She raised her hand to her forehead. It was cold an
d smooth.
Bryn looked around and suddenly realized the voices in her heart were gone. She sat back down and put the crown in her lap and looked up at Ua.
“How is this possible?”
“It has always been possible. You made a choice. You can unmake the choice.”
“I can relinquish the Jewel?” Bryn’s fingers idly touched the contours of the crown and jewel.
“Yes, you can. Now, look again.”
Bryn watched the image change. Arlendyl and Brymender walked over the hill, but they were much older. They walked alone among the ruins of the village at Skerrabrae. In the background stood two horses with very long manes braided with feathers and shells. Bryn gasped.
“What is this?”
“A possible future,” Ua said.
“Where are the dragons? Where is the army?”
“The dragons were taken by the vík ingr. They were slain for fear they would turn on their new masters. The army never united under one banner. Many lives were lost. But, all is not as bad as it seems. There in the field behind the hill walk a new generation of Albans.”
Behind Arlendyl and Brymender walked a woman and a small child.
“Is that…”
“No, Athebryn, it is not you. It is another. One who married a vík ingr. The two nations are now one.”
Bryn watched the woman with hair that shone in the sun like gold, approach. Bryn cried out. “No!”
The woman was Thalynder, and the child was her son. On his head, the boy wore a small crown. On his chest, he wore a bright red tunic with letters of another tongue. Bryn read the words: Linjal i Fe —Ruler of Beasts.
Thalynder held on to Meydra as they flew further north. She knew Meydra risked Bryn’s wrath at bringing another to her hiding place. She risked the same anger. Nevertheless, her heart told her Bryn was in trouble, and being in the presence of only dragons was not a good thing. “She needs me.”
“Yes,” Meydra said. “She needs the touch of a human. She has isolated her self from all of us, and you are the only one who will be able to reach her. If we do not come too late.”
“Too late? What has happened?”
“Bryn rests in the cavern of ancients. She will hear the stories, and she will have to decide.”
“Decide what, Meydra?”
“Decide to keep the Jewel or hide it again for another.”
Bryn bowed her head. She stared at the crown in her lap. “One possible future? Why do you show me these things?”
“So you may understand the need for the Jewel.”
“I have heard the Stones. I understand the need to unite the clanns.”
“Do you understand it is not just the future of the clanns that will be affected by your rule? Your decision will affect many others, as well.”
The image changed, and Bryn watched as the sea filled the picture. The sun rose and set, rose, and set. A high cliff loomed in the distance. “Götaland,” she said.
“Yes, the land of the vík ingr,” Ua replied.
A large longhouse was at the top of the cliff. On the top of the house was a finial in the shape of a dragon’s head. Bryn looked around the outside of the house and recognized many druid symbols. “Another possible future?”
“Uniting two cultures is, of course, another possible future.”
“Uniting them,” Bryn whispered. “Is this truly a possibility? But, these symbols and the dragon’s head look to be much older than I first thought. Wait, these are the first peoples!”
“Long before the Norsemen were in Götaland, there resided an ancient culture. They revered the dragons as gods,” Ua said.
“If I guess correctly, this severed the bond between the Chosen and the humans.”
“Yes, it was not the intent of The Chosen to be subject to adulation and glorification. The group splintered, and some came to this island, your Alban. The bond was severed, and eventually, the truth became legend. Legend became myth.”
“And the myth obscured the truth,” Bryn said. “What is left for those who first knew the truth? I know the saying.”
Ua smiled. “You have been reading.”
“It is in the Book of Clanns in the House of Brae.”
“Finding the knowledge to lead is the first step.”
“If I choose not to lead, could there not be another among the clanns who would serve your purpose?” Bryn asked.
“There never was a choice for us. If you had not accepted the Jewel, there would not have been another. Time would have passed, and in the end, we would have left the earth. The truth would have left with us.”
“But why me? First, I am told the elves want nothing to do with the dragons. Then I am told the Jewel would only go to the half-elven. Why so many different stories? Among the Bridei there is a daughter born to an Elf-Sister. There is a male heir worthy of leading in the Epidii clann. Why choose me? I am but the daughter of a druid and a half-elven.”
“You are the descendant of the first Athebryn. You are Athebryn reborn.”
“A descendant of a twin star? My father, not my father? And you expect me to believe this?”
“You believe in dragons.”
Bryn said nothing.
“You believe in the fact that you hear all of them, and the other humans and elves do not.”
Bryn looked down again at the crown in her lap.
“You believe you saw Athyl come out of the sea.”
Bryn traced the jewel in the crown. Finally, she looked up at Ua.
“You believe you see me now.”
“Yes,” Bryn nodded. “I believe all those things.”
“Then do not doubt you are the Jewel.”
“Tell me then of—my mother and my father.”
Ua stood up. “Follow me.”
Bryn stood and followed Ua out of the small cave to the large cavern. As the two passed from one cavern to another, Ua grew in size. Soon, Ua was a large as the cavern. Bryn watched as the dragon continued to change color and size. She began to feel uncomfortable with Ua’s size.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To a place where you will see, and hopefully, understand.”
“See what?”
“Follow me.”
As Bryn followed Ua, the colors of the cavern lightened, and the sun began to shine above her. Bryn glanced up and saw the sky. She and Ua had come out of the long dark cavern and now stood on a precipice overlooking a deep chasm.
“What is this place?” Bryn asked.
“Here is where we first stepped onto the earth,” Ua said. “Here is where I put all my hopes in the future of my species.”
“Here is where you sought the bond to keep you alive.”
“Yes, a bond that would give us life. We watched and waited from a distance. This world was so beautiful. The peace that spoke to us was filled with green hills and blue skies, dark earth, and vast seas. Here is where we thought we would find our match, our bond, and our life.”
Bryn reached out to touch Ua. This time her hand felt substance. She ran her hands over the brilliant blue scales. Pinks and purples flashed against the blue as her hand traveled over the scales. She looked up at the dragon and saw the sparkle of a jewel on Ua’s brow. A deep sense of recognition took hold of her. Bryn swayed and felt Ua’s tail touch her back. She looked again into the chasm, then back up to Ua.
“You brought me here,” she said.
“Yes.”
“I was your twin.”
“Yes.”
“I have much to remember.”
“And much to learn,” Ua said. “The choice is yours. You are elf kind. You are humankind. You are dragonkind, and you are none of these. You are the Jewel.”
“I need time to think. Where is Meydra?”
“She is returning now. And she brings your heart with her. They will be here when the sun rises again.”
“Thalynder here? Why has she come?”
“You need the touch of a human hand,” Ua replied.
“I would like to walk alone until they arrive. Will you be here if I have questions?”
“I am always with you, Athebryn. We are twins.”
Bryn turned from the chasm and walked back into the cavern. She made her way back to the little cave with the fur-covered bench. Picking up the crown from where she had dropped it on the ground, Bryn held it for a moment before placing it back on the seat next to Calibairn. Bryn took a deep breath and walked out of the cave toward the entrance to await Meydra and Thalynder.
❦
The remaining boats made it to the shores of Götaland just as night began to fall. Hansa had been hauled into one of the longboats along with King Heardred. She clung to the small piece of spar where the gem had landed, and she insisted on it being brought on board as well. King Heardred said nothing of Hansa’s request, so the beam was secured to the side of the boat, and Hansa kept watch over it. Kegen had perished in the overturning of the other longboats and Hansa was sorry for his death. Dying without battle would make his journey to Valhalla all the more uncertain.
“He fought well when in battle,” she said to no one in particular.
“That will help his cause before the ancestors,” a man said from behind Hansa.
Hansa turned to see the man, who wore the tunic of a navigator. She glanced once at the gem in the beam and addressed the navigator.
“Did you see the shooting stars?” Hansa asked.
“Twin stars, like the legend,” the man replied.
“Legend? Which one? There are so many.”
“This one tells of a great event after the appearance of twin stars. Surely, you have heard the story.”
“Troubled seas, great floods, trembling earth, fire raining down from the sky, a host of beasts. That bedtime story?” Hansa asked. “One who follows the stars has seen such occurrences before. Surely this is only one more bedtime story, made for children’s ears.” Hansa started to turn away from the navigator when he grabbed her arm.
“This is no bedtime story. Those twin stars rose up to the sky, not the other way around. Trust me. There will be a price to pay.” He leaned closer to Hansa. “Our ancestors also have books, little maid. These books speak to beasts like the one you had in your possession and lost. These books tell the story of an ancient people who had been allowed to worship these beasts, and because they were not diligent, the beasts left and never returned.”