by LJ Davies
"Yes," I replied, scuffing a forepaw at the floor and bowing my head. "I know what you're thinking. How's a dragoness supposed to use one of those?"
She looked at me as if she knew the answer but didn’t know what to say, and her delayed response only served to increase my apprehension. Until I couldn’t bear to deny it.
"She isn't a dragon, she's a human."
As the words came out, my anxiety shot through the roof and I half expected to be booted out. All the while, the look on Risha's face grew more confused.
"What?" she whispered.
Is it possible? My fears haven't been realised. She hadn't shouted and she didn't seem to be getting angry. So, having made the first step and with no way of turning back, I continued.
"She's a human," I repeated, keeping as quiet as I could.
She glanced around, seemingly wary of prying ears, before she spoke again.
"Our kinds not bothered with them for centuries, and right now things are a little uneasy. Especially since Sovereign Aries came to power."
I’d no idea what a 'sovereign' was, nor did I know what she meant by 'uneasy'. But her use of the words ‘came to power’ made whoever she was referring to sound very important. My mind filled with ideas about some sort of governing figure like Tarwin’s father, one that didn't approve of humans. Yet before I could dwell on it for too long, she calmly continued.
"So why were you with this human?"
Her calming tone offered my anxious mind some relief, but I didn't understand what she meant. I didn't know any different. I'd been raised by them, been around them all my life.
How can I explain all of that to her? Do I just tell her everything about my whole life since the day Tarwin found me?
I decided honesty was the best course of action. Not to mention, she might even know something about why I was there in the woods all those winters ago.
"Tarwin raised me from an egg she found in the woods," I began.
Risha listened carefully, her confused expression morphing into one of curiosity, before she eventually interrupted my story with a yawn.
"Interesting," she said, clearly thinking deeply about something else before swiftly moving on. "I think I'll be off to nest for tonight," she added with another yawn, turning to the opening.
For a moment I thought she'd dismissed what I'd said, but before she left, she turned and finished.
"Oh, and it's probably best to keep this between us – you already look different as it is."
I froze, terrified I'd made a horrible mistake sharing my story with her.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she assured with a wink, before flying to a ledge further up the shaft.
I didn't quite understand why all this was happening. I didn't know why I was putting my trust in her, but I believed she would keep her word. Lying back on the soft bed I stared at the smooth stone wall. So much had happened so quickly. My mind dwelled on the idea of monsters and a city of dragons like me as the cool embrace of a light breeze drifted in through the window.
Learn what I can, get help, then find Tarwin. That's my mission now.
With those thoughts firmly in mind I found a comfortable position, lay my head down and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 4
City of Dragons
I gradually woke from the first peaceful night’s sleep I'd had in ages, eyes flickering open to find my head had settled beneath the cover of soft quilts and dry straw.
I know what I'll be doing today, I'll be gathering supplies for the winter with Tarwin...
My thoughts quickly cleared when I began to recall my current situation, immediately washing away any ideas of home.
Oh right, I'm not at home, she's gone, and I have to save her!
That spark of motivation was enough to finally force my weary head from beneath the covers. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light beaming in through the opening above my head, offering me my first hazy view of the room in daylight. I slowly stood up, stretched the stiffness out of my tired muscles and shook my head.
All my senses fired into action when I heard voices, it was clearly Risha and her brother. I couldn't quite make out their words, so I walked as quietly as I could to the opening and peered over the edge. I couldn't see either of them; at first, I thought it rude to eavesdrop, especially after all they had done for me. Even so, there was still that small part of me that was reluctant to trust them completely.
I glanced back over my shoulder to the window. The position of the projected sunbeams suggested that it was early in the day.
What am I doing? I'm going to have to go down sooner or later? What is there to worry about?
I was mostly daunted by the fact that I’d no idea where the day would take me. For a moment I even considered taking off and continuing alone. Almost everything in my body and mind was telling me I should, even if I knew deep down that wasn't a good idea.
Recalling what Risha had said last night about the Elders made me feel more inclined to stay, and finally convincing myself, I dismissed my fears, spread my wings and jumped from the ledge. A friendly greeting awaited as both siblings stopped their discussion and looked over simultaneously.
"Did you sleep alright?" she was swift to ask, her demeanour still chirpy and cheerful.
"Yes, thanks," I replied, smiling back.
"Good to hear." She pranced over to the fire and sat down, leaning against the stone bank just as she'd done the night before.
I couldn’t help but notice that the flame in the central pyre was now blue instead of green. While I marvelled like a child with a new toy, Risha turned to her brother as he attempted to leave through the larger of the two nest openings.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, as if she'd expected such an escape attempt.
"Oh, you know, the usual morning glide," he replied, emphasising a stretch of his wings and arching his back.
"Yes, of course," Risha deadpanned as she added. "Usually you're not even awake this early, never mind going out to fly."
He rolled his eyes, stopped and moved back towards her, laughing to himself as he added.
"Fine, I'll stay, but only because it feels like we've not done anything together for days."
His sister's disappointment faded, quickly replaced by a coy smile as he sat down next to her.
The two of them didn't look angry with each other, not like Tarwin and her father would have been. Not to mention, Risha appeared to have kept her promise about my story, not even her brother seemed aware. Though the thought that she might be waiting to say something only served to increase my unease; there was clearly still a part of me that refused to trust her.
"I guess we haven’t properly introduced ourselves." Risha's voice suddenly broke my train of thought.
Even so, her brother swiftly interrupted before she could continue.
"Well, I'm Boltock, earth dragon, soon to be fully fledged soldier of the Earth Order," the green dragon announced, jumping up and posing heroically on a stone table.
"Of course," Risha muttered with a muted laugh.
My eagerness to gain information was doused by her brother's antics as he continued to ramble on about the city and dragon culture. Most of what he said flew right over my head, the only thing that really stuck was his name: ‘Boltock’.
I'd struggled to remember it last night, and this time I would be sure not to forget. Another word I picked out was 'element'. I'd heard it before when people in the village talked about dragons. Last night, Boltock had questioned what element my white scales represented and introduced himself as an earth dragon.
So, what the villagers meant is that dragons can control the earth?
If that was true, it would certainly explain how they were able to construct such an impossible city.
It all seemed so far-fetched and took a moment for me to figure out that my doubts were mostly due to my previously established beliefs. After seeing the city, my view on the now very believ
able subject had drastically changed. There was no doubt that all those legends and rumours were true. What surprised and concerned me more was the fact that I'd never been able to do any of the things these dragons claimed they could do – and I'd never felt like I could.
"Oh, and that's my unsupportive sister, she's a water elemental," Boltock continued, waving a forepaw in Risha's general direction before jumping down from the table while she shot him a disapproving scowl. "Soon to be, well, not much, really," he continued with a grin, as his sister rolled her eyes in mock despair.
"Well, now that your little show is over, can we get going?" she asked dryly.
They both moved over to the larger opening while I remained in the centre of the cave.
All this talk of elements, elders, orders, spirits and who only knows what else, makes me feel so tiny!
I'd never heard anyone talk like this before. Then again, I'd never even met or heard another dragon talk until yesterday.
"Are you okay?" Risha asked, glancing back as she stopped by the opening.
"Yes." Startled, the rather blunt word left my mouth before I realised and swiftly added.
"Just lost in thought." My desire to maintain a polite attitude demanded I be respectful.
"We'll be off then," she said as she walked through the thin curtain and out onto the balcony. "Please, follow us."
She jumped from the ledge, dropping down in a similar fashion to yesterday before pulling up sharply to reappear in front of me, hovering beside Boltock. I promptly made my way over to the edge, brushing past the curtain and out onto the flat surface stretching out over the depths.
Why am I still unquestioningly following them? I was still trying to dismiss that annoyingly rational part of my mind.
I could only assume, and most certainly hope, it was to these Elders. So, I banished any doubts from my mind, looked at the pair in front of me, spread my wings and stepped forward to find the same perfect air for flying. The two siblings flew ahead, giving me only a few seconds to follow through the dragon-filled air.
A variety, ranging from red to blue, grey to green and countless in between, filled my view. Each had their own distinctive features: different horns, tails, spines and wings. Looking over the spectacle subdued my worries, the sheer beauty served as a strong distraction. The strange air movement assisted with the effort of flying, allowing my curious eyes to concentrate on each passing spectacle. Hundreds of other dragons went about their business, like humans in the village only on an impossibly grand scale. They darted around, landing and taking off from the thousands of stone structures.
My attention switched from scene to scene, while at the same time, the air current changed course, directing us towards a magnificent structure carved into the near-vertical cliff face. A perfect rectangular shape cut into the rock; a part of its left side covered by a curtain of water falling from a chasm in the stone sky above. At its centre was a large, square opening, with four symmetrical stone pillars guarding either side. Each one draped by a tapestry of golden fabric, the sigils of two blazing wings woven into them.
More blue moss crawled along the rocky surfaces, and what looked like dead vines hung beneath a bridge of rock extending out from its entrance like a protruding tongue. At the end of the bridge sat a circular platform, decorated with a pattern of symmetrical symbols, spiralling out from an eight-pointed star in the centre.
"We're here," Risha announced, peering up at the structure as we landed. "The Elder Temple," she added, almost as much in awe as me. "They sent a message while you were sleeping, asking for an audience with you."
That revelation stirred up uncertainty in my otherwise inquisitive mind.
Why would they ask to see me? Maybe getting to see them is harder than those back home?
I was also concerned about why she failed to tell me before we’d arrived. Admittedly she'd mentioned something about the Elders when I was telling them my story, so I assumed she had simply forgotten. Regardless, I was getting the impression I was attracting too much attention. It couldn’t be down to my relationship with humans, Risha had surely kept that a secret. I also assumed none of them knew of my encounter with the wyverns.
Well, there's only one way to find out. My mind declared, although now I was feeling far more anxious about the prospect.
I glanced around to see the others had already started walking along the bridge towards the entrance. I swiftly took off after the pair, lost in bewilderment as I got closer to the magnificence structure. Like all the architecture in this city, it was enormous, and the closer I got the more the finer details revealed themselves, ranging from graceful murals to strange symbols. Two large dragon statues resembling stone sentinels sat on either side of the immense doorway, and beyond those several large pillars supported the outer wall and ceiling.
We passed between the statues, and my eyes began to explore the engraved walls. Three of the carvings dwarfed the others, depicting various dragons along with a whole manner of other creatures. All bar one of them portrayed battles so great that even the motionless images looked as fearsome as the violence they depicted. The final carving presented the image of a towering city against a starry sky, and a pyre of flames with two burning wings at its flanks shining brightly down upon the world below.
Initially I didn't recognise the plethora of creatures, the limited colour palette made it difficult to see them clearly, until my wondering eyes fell upon one in particular and I instantly froze. I was gazing up at an armoured dragon, although it wasn’t the dragon that caught my attention, it was what lay at its paws. There was no mistaking the mangled corpse of a wyvern. I stopped and focused on the carving; every other detail blocked from my mind. I had no idea what any of this meant, and when I thought to ask, I saw my guides had already walked on.
Stowing away my questions and catching up, my thoughts turned to our destination and the Elders. It may be somewhat stereotypical to think of them like the elders from the village, but I assumed that was the case. I desperately hoped they would have answers, although one aspect of that hope, probably the one wary of the convenience, brought back my cautious attitude.
What do they know about me? I believe they're not against me. But still, this is all so much. The wyvern’s picture only served to make me feel even more uneasy.
Lost in thought, I failed to notice the next chamber in which we found ourselves, until I almost bumped into Boltock. Unlike the other chambers this one was made up from heavily built-up rocks with rough, sharp surfaces. In my short time here, I'd come to believe that the whole city was magically constructed; however, this chasm looked like it was far older and more natural than the others.
Unlike the small tunnels within the other structures, a long, spacious hall ran down its centre. Six stone pillars decorated with carvings and large patches of glowing moss loomed on either side, rock walls lay behind them, holding a domed ceiling high above us.
Four large braziers hung by chains from the rounded ceiling, each one lit with a different colour flame. The first was the normal orange and red with which I was familiar, the next two were blue and green, while the fourth was a strange grey colour. Despite its great size the hall was far from empty, dragons of all colours, shapes and sizes went about their business, walking in and out via a network of tunnels bordering the chamber.
Several stood out, positioned at the base of each pillar like motionless statues. They all looked identical, and at first, I mistook them for statues. Until I was close to one and realised they were all wearing some kind of armour, shimmering sheets of smooth metallic silver, crafted to fit a dragon.
Each glinting sheet was lined with a pale-blue trim inset with symbols. Besides the sharp metal claws on their gauntlet-shod feet and blades on their wings, there was no sign of any weapons, leading me to assume they used their elemental powers to fulfil their obvious duties as guards. Even so, I tried to avoid looking at other dragons, not wishing to attract any more attention to myself. Nonetheless, despite my at
tempts, I still felt their eyes watching me.
Peering towards the end of the corridor I could see another similar sized chamber. In contrast to the first, there were no corridors, no smaller openings or large pillars holding it up. Plus, it wasn't completely open, an enormous golden door covered the opposite end, while two long tapestries hung on either side. To its left hung a red one, orange flames embroidered into its centre, and a blue one, carrying a picture of a blue and white wave breaking. Those to the right were grey and green, the former with a raging whirlwind at its centre, while the latter wore an image of a vibrant green tree.
The three of us came to a stop at the base of the grand door, its golden surface covered with moulded pictures and symbols like those carved into the vast walls. Each image was a perfect expansion of the vast surface, with armour-clad dragons battling ragged beasts of flayed flesh and bone. As my eyes passed over them, another caught my attention. The sensations I had upon looking at it weren’t like anything I'd ever felt, not even when compared to the majesty the city sights had conjured. It was like I'd seen it all before, and my mind fought to recall it, as if I should know. It was a golden image of four dragons, each wearing armour, sitting in a circle around an orb.
"This is it," Risha declared, stopping next to me, Boltock just behind.
Her sudden interruption snapped me from my stupor as she calmly added. "We can't go in with you, so just tell them everything you told us, they'll understand."
"Yeah, better them than the Sovereign," Boltock added with a slight laugh, receiving a scowl from his sister.
Almost as if it had been expecting me, there was a loud clank and the door began to grind open. The sudden explosion of metallic groans filled the chamber with an almost deafening rumble. The entire golden face started to move and shift like a huge mechanical jigsaw slowly unlocking with each loud clang. Finally, a large bar built into the centre shunted outward and split in two, with each half sliding back into the walls. Released from its huge shackles, the giant door parted slowly, groaning in rebellion. I turned to my guides to see both had taken a few steps back, while Risha gave a comforting smile and gestured for me to proceed.