by Eden Redd
The corridor widened as the inky darkness consumed him. Nate’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dark gloom. Shapes began to form. The corridor opened into a large cavern. His eyes continued to adapt to the darkness. The cavern seemed to stretch on. In the distance was what looked like ruins built into the very cavern.
Nate walked toward them, his senses alive and his heart pounding in his chest. His eyes fully adjusted to the dark gloom. He took another step and his foot touched something.
Nate looked down to see something big in the darkness. It shifted and moved. He took a step back and looked around. Two more large lumps began to move. The large man spun around, eyes darting to the shifting darkness.
Three necks rose up and oval eyes opened. They glowed with supernatural power as they gazed down on the man in their cave. Darkness peeled back to reveal sharp, dagger sized teeth. Heat bloomed and eyes stared.
Nate stopped spinning and stood his ground. He looked up into glowing blue eyes.
A maw opened under the glowing blue eyes, white and azure energy arcing and surging. It dripped from the open maw as the glowing blue eyes narrowed and the thing took in a deep inhale.
Two
Nate fell into a stance, ready to dodge any attack. His body tensed, muscles primed and ready to move. He watched with intense eyes as the thing’s maw shifted and tilted up slightly.
Energy surged and blasted out, over Nate’s head. The young man watched as the thick stream of lightning flashed, illuminating the cavern in blue light. It stabbed through the air until it struck a large crystal on the wall. Magical sparks filled the air as the crystal glowed.
The scaled dragon closed their mouth and smiled evilly.
Nate turned his head slightly, glancing away from the dragon and to the cavern walls. Crystals embedded into the rocky cavern walls began to glow. A wave of light cascaded across the cavern walls and ceiling. The crystals grew brighter until a level of light illuminated the entire cavern.
Nate returned his attention to the three large creatures around him. Scales shifted as eyes looked down on the lone man in their midst. Dragon eyes smoldered in the arcane light. Necks craned and looked Nate up and down.
Nate looked to each one in astonishment. The dragon that blasted out lightning was a blending of blue and black scales. Its blue, webbed wings were folded against its sleek body. Horns stabbed out and back from its head. A deep growl filled its long throat and kept its soul piercing gaze on Nate.
To the right was a green dragon with rounded horns along the sides of its head. It looked down on Nate with kind eyes. Its snout was a little pointed. Emerald green scales ruffled a little as its tail was wrapped around its body. Just like the blue dragon, this one’s green wings were folded against its body.
Nate shifted again to a white dragon with small horns. It blinked as it lay on its stomach. A scaled white tail flicked back and forth in the air.
The three dragons were about the size of large horses, except for the green one. It was larger than the other two, but only slightly. The green one continued to eye Nate. The white one flicked its tail in the air. The blue one lowered its head and moved closer, staring directly into Nate’s eyes.
Nate stood his ground, his heart beating like a drum.
“Tonight’s dinner has come to us,” the blue one hissed and giggled darkly.
The white dragon stopped blinking and simply stared.
The green one closed its eyes and shook its head.
Nate stared up at the blue dragon, its snout a mere foot from his face. “That wouldn’t be very nice, since you called me here.”
The blue dragon’s eyes narrowed. “What makes you think we called you here?”
Nate stood his ground. “The dreams.”
The blue dragon’s expression didn’t change, its gaze purely on Nate’s eyes.
“I love dreams,” the white one said with an enthusiastic tone.
The blue one glanced at the white one and growled.
“Oh! Right. I’m not supposed to talk,” the white one blinked.
The blue one rolled her eyes. In that moment, Nate turned his attention to the white dragon and smiled.
“My name is Nathanial, but everyone calls me Nate.”
The white dragon smiled. “My name is Izzi.”
“Izzi, stop talking!” the blue one growled.
Izzi blinked again. “Sorry Shego. I thought since I already broke the rule that I could talk.”
“Don’t say my name!” Shego growled louder and stabbed her clawed hand into the dirt.
Nate kept his attention on the white dragon. “Izzi is a very nice name. Pleased to meet you,” Nate said and bowed.
Pink touched white scales under Izzi’s eyes. “Pleased to meet you,” Izzi said and bowed her scaled head.
The blue dragon’s scales rippled along her back before she sunk down to the ground and let out an electrical huff. Energy sparked and arced into the air before fading away.
“I knew she would ruin the fun,” Shego huffed.
“You take your games much too seriously,” the green dragon said with a warm tone.
Nate turned to the large green one and bowed. “I’m actually very pleased to see all three of you. I’ve travelled a great distance, following the dreams. I wasn’t sure it was real until now.”
The green one looked down with kind eyes. “We’re pleased you heard our call. My name is Norrah, The Life Giver. You’ve met Izzi, The Adorable. The grumpy blue one is Shego, The Azure Chaos.”
“I was ready to torture him for hours and Izzi screwed it up,” Shego growled.
“It would have been rude to not answer him,” Izzi whined.
Shego shook her scaly head. “Izzi, I’ve known slimes smarter than you.”
Izzi’s jaw dropped open. “There will be other games. And stop being so mean!”
Norrah lowered her head and looked into Nate’s eyes. Nate stood, caught in her majestic beauty. Heat and power rolled off of her in waves, each one splashing against Nate’s senses and skin. It was like standing in a dream.
Norrah’s serpent lips formed into a small smile. “Nate, tell us why you’re here.”
Nate nodded. He took hold of his pack, unslung it from his shoulders and placed it down by his feet. He stood back up and looked at Norrah. Shego and Izzi crawled a little closer, craning their heads and necks to see Nate. The three of them looked down with interested eyes.
Nate took a deep inhale and began, “Years ago, I woke up from a dream. It was filled with lightning, frost, and life. I saw leathery wings. I saw the hints of tails and claws. I didn’t normally remember my dreams, but I remembered that one.
“After a time, the dreams grew more frequent. I had them many times and they were often the same, at first. It reached a point where I didn’t dream about anything else. They consumed me so much, I knew I had to find their meaning.
“I left the town I grew up in. I set out from the North to search and understand what it all meant.”
Izzi nodded with wide eyes. Shego kept her annoyed expression. Norrah’s expression was blank.
Nate continued, “My journey took me to many places. I found mages and scholars who were able to tell me more, but one mage helped open my eyes to what was happening. She told me that I was being called, summoned. She said that I was chosen to be a Seer.
“It is known that some people of Arith may be summoned by dragons, monsters, and deities. I was told, those that are summoned often have a special connection to others. I knew the dreams wouldn’t stop. I had to follow them. I wanted to follow them. Each one gave me a clue, a place to find and a direction to go.”
Nate smiled at Norrah. “It all brought me here, to the three of you.”
Shego closed her eyes and shook her head. “We sent out the call and only he arrived. I thought there would be more options.”
Norrah shook her head. “Shego, you’re being rude.”
Shego dipped her head. “I apologize, but I thought there would be more
choices. He seems strong, but there could be others on their way.”
Nate turned his attention to the blue dragon with knowing eyes. “There are no others and you know it. The dreams spoke to me of the bond. My research and what I’ve learned from mages told me that these kinds of bonds are unique between the dreamers. Have you dreamed of others?”
Shego stared hard at Nate, but didn’t say anything more.
“Nate, please forgive our dear Shego. She is grumpy before she eats,” Norrah said with an understanding tone.
“We’ve been in this cavern for weeks. Yes, I need a pig or sheep,” Shego growled.
“I ate a sheep yesterday! The fur gets caught in my throat sometimes,” Izzi said.
Shego looked to the white dragon in disbelief. “How did you get out of here without us knowing? I would have hunted with you!”
Izzi shrugged. “You were sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you.”
Shego opened her maw to verbally attack her fellow dragon when Norrah raised a clawed hand, stopping her.
“There will be plenty of time to eat, but first, I want to know more about our little Nate here.”
Shego closed her maw with a disgruntled look.
“I want to know more about all three of you too,” Nate smiled.
Norrah brought her slitted nose close to Nate and sniffed at him. Nate stood his ground, allowing the dragon to take in his scent. She pulled back and smiled.
“What do you know about Mana Spheres?” Norrah asked.
Nate nodded. “There are twelve spheres of mana, each one for a different element. From what I have learned, there are spheres for Air, Fire, Water, Stone, Life, Decay, Light, Dark, Mind, Body, Space, and Time.
“On my journey here, several mages told me the basics of magic and mana. I don’t know how to cast any spells, but I do know about how they are manipulated.”
Shego let out a snide hiss. “He isn’t a Seer. Doesn’t know how to perform magic. How underwhelming.”
Nate turned his gaze to the blue dragon. “I don’t know how to cast spells, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand how spheres work and how I have a connection to them.”
Shego raised an eye ridge.
Nate turned to Norrah. “I’m fully aware I have a connection to the Body Sphere.”
The green dragon nodded. “Please, continue.”
Nate smiled. “Different spheres can be learned, trained, or mastered in different ways. The Body Sphere can increase in degrees by cultivation or spellcraft. It was always a talent I had to become stronger the more I work out and test my body. I don’t need spells. I just need to train and push my body to become stronger.”
Norrah nodded. “Do you know about degrees in each sphere?”
Nate smiled. “There are twelve degrees for each of the twelve spheres.”
“I’m willing to wager he doesn’t know what degree he is,” Shego scoffed.
Nate looked at Shego and gave her a confident smirk. “A gifted being may have one degree from one or several mana spheres. My Body sphere is 3rd degree.”
Shego blinked.
“He’s more than gifted,” Izzi grinned with sharp teeth.
Norrah’s expression remained warm. “Impressive, since you have had no formal training. It takes mages, priests, bards, paladins, lancers, and many others, years to gain degrees in each sphere. You gained it through hard work and personal talent.”
“I don’t like to back down from a challenge,” Nate said with confidence.
Shego stood up on all fours and stretched her body. “This is all well and good, but we still don’t know if he is meant to be with us. He followed the dreams. He has natural gifts of magic. But we don’t know if he has the keen mind and fortitude to be a true Seer.”
Nate bowed to Norrah. “I hate to interrupt our discussion, but I feel I should speak with Shego.”
Norrah gave a small nod and smiled.
“Speak to me? Who do you think you are?” Shego said with an annoyed tone.
Nate turned to the blue dragon, bent down at the knees and grabbed his pack. Shego watched him with bored eyes as he opened his pack and rummaged through it. Nate’s fingers grabbed a sack and he pulled it out. He stood up and stepped a little closer to the blue dragon.
Shego looked down on him. She watched as Nate opened the sack and reached in. He pulled out one gold coin and placed it on a nearby stone between them.
The dragon huffed, blue sparks appearing from her nostrils. She glanced down to the coin and shook her head.
“One gold coin? What kind of dragon do you think I am?”
Nate reached into the sack and pulled out another gold coin. He placed it on top of the first one.
“This is idiotic,” Shego hissed.
“Is it?” Nate said as he pulled out another coin and placed it on the other two.
Nate continued to pull out one coin after the other as he spoke, “You see, I knew the dreams spoke both ways. It took some time to discover it, but when I did, I enjoyed and looked forward to them. I remembered you, Shego. You never mentioned your name, but how could I forget such beautiful scales and wings.”
Shego was silent and her gaze unimpressed.
Nate continued, the stack of coins getting taller. “I remember chasing you through great halls filled with coins and gems. I remembered how you laughed. I also remembered how I would enter the dream and see you, snuggling your snout into piles of gems.”
Shego’s eyelids half closed and she forced them open.
Nate made a stack of gold coins, about ten coins high. He reached into the sack and didn’t take his hand out. He smiled at the dragon as she looked at him and glanced down to the stack of gold coins.
“I remember you had your favorites. Rubies and diamonds were nice, but it wasn’t the worth of the gem. You liked the ones that spoke to you.”
Nate looked down on the stack of coins. “These coins are the altar.”
Nate pulled out a large sapphire and placed it on the stack of coins. He remembered how he bartered for it with gems he took with him from his earlier adventures in the north. Blue sapphires spoke to him, connecting with his dreams and the playful romps with a certain blue dragon.
“Shego, this is my gift to you,” Nate said as he took a step back and smiled.
Shego looked down at the large sapphire. Scales rippled down her neck. Her clawed hand clenched as she tried to look away. She turned her serpent head, but one eye looked down on the blue gem. Her tail rose up and slammed down in obvious temptation and frustration.
“Is this some sort of trick?” Shego said softly.
“No trick. Just a gift. You can take it or leave it. I’m just happy to finally meet you in the flesh and give you this gift I’ve held onto for a long time.”
The last word struck the blue dragon like a whip. The air around her grew warmer and sparks crackled in the air. Her spindly, clawed hands opened and closed. Her serpent eyes nearly trembled as the gem seemed to call out to her like a lost child.
In a blink, her hand blurred out and snatched the coins and gem. Nate barely saw it as she lifted it up to her eyes and snout. She stared at the gem for a moment before rubbing it against her scales. A deep hum filled her throat as she closed her eyes and snuggled to it.
Nate turned back to Norrah. He parted his lips to speak when white dragon hands reached over from the side, grabbed him and pulled. Nate’s entire body went limp like a ragdoll into Izzi’s grasp as she sat on her haunches and slammed him against her scaled chest.
“You are just so fun!” Izzi grinned as she rubbed her face against Nate’s short, black hair.
Nate tried to fight his grin and lost. Izzi was strong, holding him like he weighed nothing. He planted his feet and stood up, giving her more to hold.
Norrah watched Izzi and Nate with amused eyes. “Izzi, let him have a chance to breathe.”
Izzi opened her eyes and looked down. She pulled her arms back, but stayed sitting.
“I sometimes g
et really excited,” Izzi said as her tail waved back and forth behind her.
“I think we all do,” Nate kept his smile. “Hug me any time.”
Izzi’s eyes glowed and she lifted her arms to hug him again when Norrah cleared her throat. The frost dragon lowered her arms and her head.
“Nate,” Norrah said with regal flair.
Nate turned to the green dragon.
“We are pleased you made the long journey to us. Our dreams hinted at your adventures and the effort to cross great distances to find us. But I must be honest, meeting us is the first step.”
Nate looked up to the majestic green dragon. “I know there is more. I felt it when we dreamed. I wouldn’t have come if I thought this was all there is.”
Norrah nodded. “We sent out the call to find a Seer. We knew our voices would be heard and someone would touch our dreams. When it was you, we waited until we dreamed of you coming closer to us. We flew here and waited for your arrival.”
“Why did you send out the call? In all my dreams, I didn’t know the reason. I only knew that I had to come.”
Norrah smiled. “We set out the call because the three of us wanted a Seer. Arith has changed over the last hundred years. The process has been slow. Most would not have noticed it, but our kind did.
“For a long time, many from the isles have sent out their siren call to others to join them. There has always been Seers, those drawn to the flame. All Seers have an ability to blend their magic, their spheres, with those who summon them. It is a bond where all involved gain greater power. It is a form of bonding magic that can fight the very tides of darkness and light, depending on which side you are on.”
“And what are we fighting?” Nate asked plainly.
Norrah shook her head. “I admire your eagerness, but it is something we cannot discuss at this time. No, at this time, we must ensure we are meant to be. Shego does have a point. We don’t know if the four of us are right for each other.”
Norrah turned her serpent gaze to the blue dragon as she continued to rub the gem against the side of her head and hum.