Crown of Horns

by Alex Sapegin

  The sida stood on the platform:

  “I am with you,” said the elf.

  The four words broke into a string of silent glances and nods.

  “Please accept my service.” Turgar turned gracefully to Jagirra’s son, spread his wings and inclined his neck to the ground. “I remained true to your mother.”

  The other dragons gathered under the protective dome repeated Turgar’s bow of fidelity. Andy smiled internally—the cunning, slippery lizards. The old people, through him, had pronounced a vow of service to the empress. Not to him; what was he to them? He had no regalia; no one confirmed his dignity, but there was a universal catch-all no matter how things turned out. Serving the legitimate ruler, the empress, was an honorable and noble occupation. And not bad either that the vow was pronounced in the presence and testimony of the young offspring of the royal family. The son would bring the right words to his mother. In the dragons’ eyes, he now acted as a vehicle for the interests of the legitimate ruler, who, because of the intrigues of her uncle, was holed up on another planet. Andy did not know how to read thoughts, but his sixth or seventh sense guessed at the hidden fears and hopes of the tribesmen gathered at the platform.

  “It will be difficult,” he said. “But with your help, WE will overcome all difficulties.”

  He emphasized the word “we,” which did not go unnoticed. Everyone understood the underlying statement. The keeper of the key was not going to storm the imperial fortifications alone. He would require everyone to make every possible effort to successfully complete the evacuation from the planet. The boy was no fool. Well, they were willing to take a chance; life left them no other choice.

  “I suggest we gather in another place.” Turgar looked at Andy with an expressive look, “it is not safe in the capital. With your appearance, Hazgar’s agents may become active, probably already have.”

  “I support that,” Andy answered. Brevity, as is well known, is the sister of talent, and the grandfather should be supported. In addition, intuition was advising Andy to keep him closer, and what better moment than now, right away, to nominate the manager for one of the main roles. Not only would it be nice for Turgar, Andy could take some of the heat off himself by doing so. The ancient dragon had been brewed for thousands of years in a cauldron of intrigues and could teach him a lot. A small gesture of trust can be more useful than a chest of gold. “Do you have any suggestions?”

  “I ask you to honor my ancestral nest with your presence. There, no one can stop us.” Just as Andy suspected—Turgar was positioning himself in the role of his right wing, blessed is he who believes.

  “Alright.” Andy quickly glanced at the others. The dragons silently agreed with Turgar; no one objected, so the position was chosen. Apparently, the old man enjoyed great authority.

  “I think no one will be offended if I voluntarily withdraw from myself the duties of administrator. We need to fly to the eastern portal site and from there teleport to my nest.”

  “I agree,” Andy answered, “but I have one obstacle.”

  “What obstacle?” Turgar raised his wing. He spoke for all Jagirra’s supporters.

  “Irran!” The feline warriors walked up onto the platform. “The miur cannot fly.”

  Behind the warriors, one of Evael’s mages coughed:

  “Elves too are more or less earthbound.”

  Turgar twitched his wings.

  “Uh….”

  “The ‘ghosts’ do not serve my sister. These warriors swore an oath to me,” Andy interrupted, not revealing the details of the oath. He laid one more trump card on the table. He had to see how the philosophers would take his calling the Great Mother “sister.” In fact, he had almost admitted kinship with the miur. Much depended on the reaction of the Lords of the Sky surrounding him. This was a test of their attitude towards extensive cooperation between dragons and miur. There were no other options for him. Andy was not accustomed to throwing words around, promising Asha he would relocate some of the cats to Ilanta and assist in the removal of the ancient vow, and then not doing it. He was not going to give up obligations, not even for the sake of the dragons.

  “Sister?” one of the shocked tribesmen asked. The news knocked the ground out from under them. The ruler of the threatening miur had allowed him to call her “sister.” It was incredible. If anyone was tormented by lingering doubts about Kerrovitarr’s belonging to the ruling family, they were disbanded definitively. The miur would never support a pretender.

  “There is enough room on our backs,” Turgar smirked. “Whoever wants to join me, you know where to find me. Let us fly….”

  The dragons withstood the test.

  * * *

  And then things got real. The political and military whirlpools merged into one terrible funnel and dragged their unlucky victim down. The fiver swept by in an instant, marked in his memory by a torn line of events. Over the incomplete week, he further distanced himself from his human side, moving to the next stage of perception of the world. It’s hard to be yourself when you’re watching the familiar world of thousands of humans, elves, Miur, and dragons collapse due to your decisions. If it weren’t for Ania and Lilly, who arrived in the camp the next day with an army of elves and humans from the border, Andy would certainly have failed. The people close to him served as an anchor, restraining him from reckless actions. Ania was always there, and Lilly… Evael laughed that he now had two sons and did not care who was the restless girl’s real father. Andy did not know that Turgar had sort of cornered the old elf and seriously questioned him about trust. The elf looked into the dragon’s eyes, asked him to lie down and answered that children and cats do not mistake these sorts of things. Pure souls, like moths, are drawn to the light. Back at home he already noticed Kerrovitarr’s unambiguous attitude towards children and his desire to take the girl under his wing, to protect her from dangers. Dragons have many negative features, but their remarkable paternal instinct outweighed everything. And yes, he completely trusted Kerr-Andy. To the question “why,” Evael cleared his throat and demanded an oath of silence from Turgar. The dragon hesitated for a few minutes, but curiosity got the better of him. The elf maintained a theatrical pause and then told the ally a rumor about the merger of minds of Kerr and the Great Mother. The dragon was impressed to the tip of his tail. While he was digesting this information, Evael imperceptibly faded away.

  Ruigar blossomed unexpectedly. The former governor turned out to be a real organizer. Three days later, he occupied the third place in the secret table of ranks. He took on the responsibility of building and maintaining order in the temporary camp. It was hellish work. Hundreds of dragons and thousands of people, who were fleeing their lands in whole villages and driving their flocks of cattle and other domestic animals with them, joined daily. When leaving, people burned their houses and crops; detachments of liquidators destroyed teleportation arches. The emperor’s army was left only scorched earth and poisoned wells.

  The old dragons really pulled out all the stops. In less than twelve hours, real headquarters and security forces were formed; a group of fifty dragons was assigned to Irran, which was responsible for the safety of the leader of the resistance. The winged race accepted being subordinate to the miur normally and did not grumble. On the first day together, they prevented two assassination attempts. Prince Ora, who had bounced back, tried to control the insurgents. But when his agents took a beating on the nose from the self-defense units consisting of dragons, elves and the hundred-fold assault forces sent by the Great Mother, all on a parity basis, he stopped attempting the use of force.

  A lot of events happened during the five-day period, but it’s better to go in order….

  * * *

  Upon arrival in this high-mountain fortress called a nest, Andy asked Nariel to contact the former village chief.

  “Evael,” he said to the illusion after all the ritual greetings and blah blah blah, “I will not beat around the bush. To the point: I hav
e two requests for you. First: could you send a couple of mages to the Great Mother for communication? And second, it would be phenomenal if everyone wishing to join our cause… would come to Turgar’s lands.”

  The old elf moved his brows and for a few seconds and disappeared from the conjured circle.

  “We need a portal,” he said, emerging from the hazy fog. Andy turned to Turgar. The dragon nodded and moved his head towards the two high steles located a hundred meters from the take-off platform:

  “You can try to open the portal from the other side.”

  “Fine,” Evael said. “Nariel knows our coordinates. Our mages will need yours. I have a couple of options in terms of the connection….”

  Andy shook his wings, changed to his human form and, wearing only his birthday suit, walked right up to the illusory elf:

  “Perhaps you want to say that you have... a channel that allows communication with Asha?”

  “Yes,” Evael wasn’t perturbed by the suggestion. “Do you remember our old town mage, Viriel? He is still in the miur city…. You could cover yourself, Andy, although you will not frighten Lilly with the sight of a naked man.” The old elf slowly smiled. “In an hour,” he said, the smile instantly disappearing. The illusion went out.

  “What do you need to speak to the Great Mother for now?” Turgar leaned over Andy.

  “We need to agree on and coordinate our actions. The ruler can allocate weapons and help with the construction of portals, or do you think that without help from outside we can capture the portal?”

  The dragon pondered.

  “Maybe we were wrong and reckless to follow you without thinking, but there is no turning back. Do you want to add anything?”

  “She is on board,” Andy answered. “Ancient vows,” he said into the fog.

  The winged old dragons nodded unanimously. Whether they believed or pretended to believe, in any case, everyone would check and recheck the information through their own channels. Many vows were given in ancient times; Andy did not doubt that the persistent dragons would unearth an abyss of interesting facts which Asha failed to mention. Let them. The more clues he had, the easier it would be to keep the ally in check. He needed an equal or slightly dependent partner, rather than a puppeteer dictating the conditions to him. While the miur and the dragons who decided to leave were directly dependent on him, they could do nothing but follow in his wake: they had bets on him in a gamble, where the stakes were life itself. In fact, before moving, they would obey him, not unquestioningly, but not openly contradicting him. No one was safe from the intrigues and scandals that could be uncovered, especially in such a motley company as was supposed to gather in Turgar’s ancestral lands. After the “move,” all would be peace, love, and friendship at first, but then they would start to tear the blanket apart. He had to stock up on as many pressure levers as possible and use them accordingly in time if necessary.

  He chuckled to himself. Jagirra would throw a fit and have more than one thing to say about it.

  Andy scratched his buttocks furiously, blushed, and changed hypostasis.

  “We have time before the magical communication session with the Great Mother. I propose distributing responsibilities. Any suggestions?”

  Those present began to think about it. That’s right, let them think in the right direction. Turgar’s, Ruigar’s, Ania’s, and a couple of old dragons’ eyes glistened. They saw Kerrovitarr’s game through and through. Yes, they would definitely think in the right direction. Andy shivered. What had he gotten himself into this time?

  * * *

  “Attention! Countdown! Ten... nine….” Several young dragons had congregated behind Nariel and activated spatial beacons. Ten minutes ago, Evael got on the “phone” and told Andy about his conversation a half an hour earlier with the Great Mother. (He was fast. Andy got the impression Viriel didn’t leave the miur’s side for one second, and she was actually just waiting for the signal to speak and act.) The ruler expressed her wish to personally negotiate with Andy and the heads of the clans who supported him. In order to configure the communication channel, they needed to set the beacons in action, which is what the “signalers” were now working on, under Evael’s supervision. “...One! Go!”

  “Manyfaces, what is happening?” Ruigar voiced the question on everyone’s mind, stepping back from the large glowing ball that arose in the middle of the communication circle.

  The ball, emitting a blinding raspberry glow, quickly grew in size. The delegation of negotiators headed by Andy, who was in human form this time, slowly backed off and built protective shields. Irran’s Miur and the arms bearers of the fortress gunners immediately brought the weapon into combat position and aimed it at the communication platform. The magicians activated their defensive amulets. In a second, the fortress bristled with all sorts of weapons; the soldiers prepared combat spells. The crimson ball momentarily faded, after which it sharply increased in size and turned into a luminous arc.

  “A portal!” Turgar gasped.

  For a few seconds, nothing happened. Dozens of pairs of eyes stared silently at the silvery haze. Right when the expectation reached its climax, the haze broke and revealed two tall miur in ritual blue saris, which signaled the purity of the visitors’ thoughts. The cats held white shields with the inside facing the others, another indication that the guests came in peace.

  The first to snap out of it was Turgar.

  “Lower your weapons,” he cried, realizing what was about to happen. “Clear the platform!”

  The miur in the saris majestically moved away from the arch and fell to their knees; the “ghosts” of the Great Mother’s personal guard, encased in mimicry armor, descended onto the pavement. Following the guard came standard bearers, holding the state standards and the ruler’s personal standards. Andy made a sign to Ania and Turgar to remain in place and shot a glance in Irran’s direction. The warrior shouted something guttural, took her gunner, and in three seconds, arranged her detachment behind Andy. A dozen dragons in combat armor with the emblems of the Turgar clan joined the miur. The guard of honor was ready.

  Andy mentally thanked Asha from the bottom of his heart for being delayed with the exit and not letting those meeting her fall in the dirt. True, in along with gratitude, he was furious at her for the trick with the portal. A drama queen, Targ take her!

  “Let the way be pure!” Andy and the Great Mother bowed low to one another at the same time. He had somehow picked up on the strange ritual greeting while he was in the miur city and could not understand its meaning until he asked Illusht to explain the sacred significance. Without boasting, his “sister” explained that in this way the contracting parties greet each other and demonstrate the purity of their thoughts and intentions, and that they will make every effort for mutual understanding, as well as for the speedy development of a solution that is to the negotiators’ liking. The phrase also means that in the negotiations there are no insurmountable obstacles for the parties.

  Before he could straighten his back, he heard hard hurried steps behind him. Acting strictly according to protocol, Turgar and the heads of the families came up to them. As a result, the ritual of mutual greetings lasted fifteen minutes. It was a state visit, Targ take it. The old dragons had not foregone one iota of prescribed rituals and diplomatic protocols for centuries, hiding their initial confusion behind the formalism. Andy got angry, and the miur ruler cast a sidelong glance at him and enjoyed the situation, Targ it all!

  * * *

  The negotiations dragged on until morning. Andy just could not imagine that in a few hours so many questions would be raised. The whole time he modestly kept aloof, occasionally nodding in the right places and giving the reins of government to Turgar’s capable paws. The old dragon and the ruler deserved each other. It was obvious that both derived real pleasure from conducting joint negotiations, the stupid formalists. The third party was the elusive Evael, elected at the elves’ emergency meeting as the temporary
head of all the clans. For two hours, Andy suffered stoically, grit his teeth, and tugged at his hands, and then apologized, and left the huge meeting room, which could freely accommodate three dozen dragons.

  “What happened? asked the Great Mother.

  “Molting time,” Turgar answered for him. “Shall we continue?”

  And they continued, while Andy changed hypostasis and for a good hour, scattering the old scales away, rubbed himself against the fortress walls.

  The ways of the negotiators turned out to be pure. The question was whether the topics under discussion obstructed the agreements reached between Prince Ora and the Great Mother. Asha showed him the final communique, in which it was stated that the Great Mother undertook to protect the northeastern borders, to provide a certain amount of weapons (the list was attached) and, upon agreement with the prince, to strike at the provisions bases of the emperor’s southern army. That was it. The cautious ruler of the principality was afraid to bind himself with obligations, and she did not insist. The reigning miur demonstrated clearly how in reality one could have one’s fish and eat it too. On the one hand, she would abide by the letter of her contract with Ora, remaining, as it were, uninvolved. On the other hand, in sending Andy to do her dirty work, she was widening the divide in the principality among the dragons. Asha believed that Kerrovitarr would find support among the dragons. Closer to noon, agreements were reached on all points of interest to the parties, and Asha departed, but the arc of the induced portal did not close.