Dragonseers and Airships

by Chris Behrsin

  My mind felt clearer than it ever had before. I could hear and smell the world with such clarity. The bird songs and monkey howls from miles away. A rumbling from the volcano. Velos’ soft snore, wherever in the jungle he was. And the fragrance of the leaves, the soil, the water. The air had a new freshness to it and the humidity no longer affected me.

  Then, it was if everything in the world started to swirl around me. I saw nothing but patterns in the leaves, in the fire, in the clouds that passed over the canopy, and the way that the massive leaves rustled in the breeze. In those patterns, I saw a goddess roving a deserted world. And as I listened, I noticed that the world sang with a certain resonance. No people around me, only desertion. A landscape without water or sky. Without any life upon it other than myself.

  And then I entered the dream, bringing me to this very present moment.

  My attention drawn back to flames of the fire, the pot leaping off it and tumbling to the floor. Then the fire roaring into the sky like from a dragon’s breath and the flames spewing out smoke once again. Behind them all, Empress Finesia watching me. Curling up her index finger and beckoning me forward. And I stand up wilfully and follow her within.

  She points downwards, and I look into the flames. I study them with intensity until I see the spots before my eyes. And in those spots, shapes begin to form, warping and coalescing into substance. I can see myself now, naked with black oily scales lining my skin and wings protruding from my back. My hands are two massive claws and within them I grasp a claymore, staring out towards the horizon. There’s another in the distance, a woman, also naked with raven hair. She tosses her head to the sky and thumps her hand down on the ground, sending out a plume of black dust around her.

  Alsie Fioreletta launches into the sky in dragon form. Her skin as oily as the blackest of seas. She spears towards me, and soon lands on the ground in front of me, again sending up another dust explosion. I grit my teeth and raise the claymore into the air. The dust settles and she launches herself at me with the sword held up high, her lips a rictus of rage. Scales warp and fold in kaleidoscope patterns across her naked skin, never settling, never knowing which way to turn, undecided whether to become human or stay a dragon.

  Her words enter my head. Words I’ve heard before. “Not now, Dragonseer. One day you and I shall do battle and fate shall determine who wins.”

  But she hasn’t a chance. Because I am the most powerful being to have ever graced this planet. Finesia’s favourite, her chosen one. And inside of me, the spirit of secicao lives.

  I enter a crouch and lunge towards Alsie Fioreletta. She raises her claymore into the sky. Steel meets steel and her sword glances off my own, throwing her off balance. I swing the sword around again, this time in a low arc while hers slices through the air vertically like an axe chopping firewood. She jumps over my sword and I roll out of the way of hers just in the nick of time. I change to a defensive stance and watch as she puts the sword in her scabbard and then draws two knives from the sheathes at her belt.

  “You cannot win this, Dragonseer,” she says. “You’ve never had it in you.”

  “Ah, but I’m a dragonseer no longer. And it’s you who’ve never been good enough. Too old for the job. Too little will to become great.”

  “I have much more than you’ve ever had and so much more.”

  “But fate is fate,” I say. “And you know that I’m destined to claim Finesia’s prize.”

  I raise my claymore and charge at her again. She pushes forward with her knives. I take the claymore through a vertical swing this time, aiming to cleave her head in two. But her knives are faster, and she blocks me with unbecoming strength.

  She spins out of the way then and ducks underneath my sword which buries itself in the ground under its weight. A quick one two, she stabs me in the chest, and she buries her blades into me. Yet they cause no pain. I laugh out from the base of my stomach.

  “You think you can hurt me. But I’ve prepared for this.” And I kick Alsie Fioreletta in the knee. The bone cracks and she falls to the floor. I look down at the knives and pull them both out of my chest and toss them behind me. Then, I swing the claymore around in one fell swoop, spinning three-sixty degrees as I do. Alsie isn’t fast enough to get out of the way – she’s too weak now.

  The blade slices through her neck and lops off her head, which is sent tumbling to the floor. I kick Alsie’s body and it collapses to the ground. Then I walk over to the head and pick it up by the hair, examine her bloody lips.

  I’ve prepared for this moment long in advance. And the voice of Finesia is in my head instructing me what to do. “Here is the seed where I shall plant my roots,” I say. “I am immortality incarnate, and the world is my own.” And I drop Alsie’s head on the floor.

  I push my feet into the dusty ground. The soil parts between my toes, which soon grow into roots, shredding the earth. I splay my arms apart and branches grow out of the fingers. And my shoulders tear apart as I scream out in ecstasy.

  Yes, I am her, the banshee of legends, the seed of the tree immortal. My hair turns russet and takes on the texture of leaves as my roots dig further into the soil, sucking out the life of the earth. And I grow upwards and outwards, as my whole body elongates, and the scales on my skin warp into bark and knolls as old as time itself.

  As my roots seep through the earth, strands of secicao plunge out of the ground, extending out as far as the eye can see. My leaves stretch further towards the sky and take on a dark green hue, before becoming black, with swirling colourful patterns inside like oil. And I grow, and I grow, until I have massive holes in my bark, out of which I birth the dragons. Hundreds and thousands of dragonmen and dragonwomen tearing up the sky, spreading to all corners of the world, bathing any life they find in liquid fire. In every continent and every sea, volcanoes spew liquid magma across the world.

  Time passes, the seas dry, and the molten rock cools to acidic soil. Through this, the secicao blight spreads, and Finesia and myself as Finesia’s right hand rule the earth. An army of dragonmen at our disposal, and all the secicao we’ll ever need to feed on. I know now the spirit of Finesia, and it is her will to conquer the world.

  “Pontopa,” Sukina’s voice says in my head. “This isn’t you, break it!”

  “No,” I scream out loud. “I’m having so much fun.”

  “Pontopa. Your duty. You’re a dragonseer. You still have strength.”

  “I will not,” I scream out. “This is my world now.”

  And then I hear something. The rushing of the waterfall. So strong, spraying water into a pool full of fish and ecology and life.

  “No!” I scream again. But this time, I’m not refusing Sukina. I’m refusing the drug and the grasp it has on me. Not letting it touch me. I need to be strong.

  It isn’t beautiful. It’s ugly.

  The most destructive force on this world I’d ever encountered.

  And that realisation brought me back to reality.

  Because I knew I had to back away.

  I stood up all of a sudden and turned away from the fire roaring in front of me. My eyes were blurry, and I could see nothing but hate and destruction and the need to wipe out every single creature on this planet. Yet, I could still hear the roaring of water in the distance. Purity, coming from somewhere. And it pulled me towards it.

  I stumbled. Some of the secicao branches moved in to stop me, but I pushed them out of the way. There was a sharpness against my chest. A spear perhaps. Or the thorns of the secicao trying to pierce my spirit. Pierce my will.

  “Pontopa, you are stronger than this. Remember who you are Dragonseer.” This now wasn’t Sukina’s voice but Gerhaun’s.

  “No, Dragonseer. Turn around and claim what you want. Become immortal. This is Finesia’s will.”

  I glanced back at the fire, and I saw the most beautiful shapes evolving there. My own beautiful body evolving into this magical wispy tree its leaves with a kind of dark opalescence that had all the colours of the ra
inbow swirling within it. The leaves dancing around the smoke in intricate patterns above the fire.

  “Pontopa,” Sukina’s voice came once again.

  “Auntie Pontopa,” this time I heard Taka. How had he come into it? Of course, I’d sworn to protect him. That’s why I was here in the first place.

  I swallowed. “I know,” I said. And I batted the sharp object blocking my path, whatever it was, out of my way. Something tried to restrain me, but I had strength within. I bared my teeth, and then wrestled free of the thorns entangling me. And I crawled forward, almost beaten, and took a drink from the waterfall.

  The pure liquid ran down my throat. I felt coldness against my hands. The chill of reality. I washed my face in the water, let my fears and desires wash away with it. Then, I braced myself, swallowed down whatever was stopping me, and I reached out and dived into the unknown.

  The clarity, the hate, the lack of will left my mind and I found myself swimming through a different type of ecstasy. The feeling of being free, not so much in not having a destiny, but in choosing which destiny I undertook. In knowing that the path I was on was the right one. I saw blueness, and colourful fishes, and the water roared against my ears. And as I surfaced underneath the waterfall, I knew I was back in the real world.

  I looked back towards the shore where a tribal mob awaited me, their spears pointed at me. Whatever they wanted, I had to face it.

  I swam back to shore and lifted my hands, waiting for myself to be taken prisoner. The robe that I wore was now dripping wet. I looked at each of the tribespeople, trying to make out the expressions they held behind their tribal masks. But all I saw were the terrifying beasts, the panthers, dragons and lifeless glazed eyes behind them.

  I put my hands on my hips and stood up straight to them. “I don’t know what Colas is doing to you, and why he’s doing it, but this has to stop. You need to be your own people. Don’t let Colas or Finesia or any mythical beasts control your life. You’re stronger than this. And if you take that drug,” I pointed to where I could hear the fire roaring away, “It’ll take everything away from you.”

  I hoped in all honesty that if they didn’t understand the words, they’d at least understand the sentiment behind it. And I accompanied my speech with plenty of gestures, hoping that at least some of them would latch on to my meaning and translate it for the other tribesmen.

  “Hooooooiiiieee,” the cry came from behind the crowd, which parted to let through the tribal chief. He had something in his hand, a gnarled root that had been lifted from the soil that looked disturbingly like Alsie’s head. “You choose life.” His eloquence that he’d been imbued with while we were on the trip had now left him.

  He looked at the root in his hand, then gestured with his other for the crowd to part around him. They shuffled backwards, and the leader stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder. Then he gave me the root. “Here,” he said.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked.

  The tribal chief nodded and then pointed to the water. His hand extended out towards the waterfall. “Do.”

  I looked at him strangely, and then recognition dawned on me. I pulled back my hand and launched the root he’d given me over the water. I don’t know what it was meant to signify in this ritual – perhaps Alsie’s head, or my own greed for power. But I felt a sense of release wash over me as I watched it sail in a parabola and then disappear behind the waterfall.

  “Feel better,” the tribal chief said.

  I nodded. Somehow, I did. And I also had the sense that I’d found a new ally, although I had no idea why. The chief no longer had the glazed look in his eyes that he’d worn previously. In fact, he looked a different man. Enlightened.

  There came a growl from the distance. At first, I thought it to be distant thunder. But it wasn’t long after that I recognised Velos’ roar emanating from the jungle.

  The tribal chief’s eyes widened behind his mask and he turned to the source of the sound in alarm. “Hoooooiieeee. Hoooiieee.” He pointed a finger into the trees. The tribespeople picked up their spears and they rushed towards Velos’ location.

  “No,” I shouted, and I ran after them. They couldn’t hurt Velos now. Not after we’d come so far.

  14

  The tribespeople were much faster on their feet than I. Although, to be honest, the majority of them hadn’t just taken a powerful dose of a tribal narcotic. Someone had supplied them with the blood of a dragon queen and some high grade secicao oil and paid a lot of money to do it. And whatever the purpose of my own blood in the ritual was, I had no idea. Whatever Colas was doing on this island, I had a feeling it was a lot worse than I first suspected. Somehow, it seemed, he was also involved in Finesia’s grand scheme.

  Although the tribe had rushed ahead of me, still I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I stumbled past Faso and Wiggea lying on the ground, not even bothering to check if they were okay. I could return to them later and I very much doubted right now that the tribe intended them any harm.

  Velos, however, was another matter. The tribespeople were making all kind of shrill pitched war cry noises, batting their hands over their mouths, all the while whirling their spears above their heads as they ran. Every so often, I lost sight of them, but I could follow their sound and catch up again. Another of Velos’ roars bellowed out through the forest, causing them to stop in their tracks for a moment. Then they looked at each other, pumped their spears up into the sky with a frightening ferocity, and continued to rush towards the source of the noise.

  “He won’t harm you,” I tried shouting after them. But I couldn’t raise my voice over the racket they were making. Although if Velos was threatened and Faso had accidently left the tap to his armour open when he crash-landed, then maybe the Gatling guns would annihilate them as soon as they got near.

  I stopped just as the crowd had started to fan around Velos. I tried hard to push through their sweaty bodies, but they wouldn’t let me. So, I clutched onto one sturdy looking man’s arm and climbed up his shoulder, almost flattening him to the ground. I managed to pivot over him and landed just to see Velos gnash out at one of the tribesmen. The dragon ripped the spear out of his hand and tossed it high in the air behind him, causing the tribesman to raise a fist to the dragon in aggression as others came in with their spears.

  “Velos, calm down,” I shouted. Then I remembered my dragonsongs. I started singing one with soft harmonious notes to placate him.

  At first, he let out a resistant growl. Dragonsongs were great, but Velos’ self-preservation instinct would still prevail when in danger. “You’ll be okay,” I said. “These men are on our side.”

  Or at least I thought they were. I wasn’t entirely sure. And as soon as Velos eased off a bit, they charged forwards with their spears. Velos roared again, and then he smothered the ground in front of him in orange flames. The tribespeople flanked out as they retreated, while another row waited for the flames to subside.

  I had no choice. I’d kicked off my shoes automatically before I’d gone for a swim. And now the ground would be like burning coals. But still, I had to go in and stop anyone getting hurt. I rushed forward and grimaced when I stood on the smouldering patch of earth that Velos had just charred. Then I splayed out my arms in defiance. “No,” I shouted at the tribesmen, gritting my teeth against the pain lancing through the soles of my feet.

  But the front row continued to push forwards with their spears.

  “No,” I screamed out even louder. And something rose up within me. My face began tear apart for a moment, and I felt the sensation of thousands of scales trying to pierce through my skin.

  “That’s it, Dragonseer,” Finesia’s voice once again came in my head. “Claim your gift.”

  “Dragonheats,” I exclaimed. It seemed the effects of the Exalmpora still resided within me from when I’d taken it all those years ago in the palace. It was in my system and that one single dose had been enough to bring everything back once again.


  And the worse thing was that it felt so good. It had also helped me gain control of the tribespeople.

  “No,” I screamed again, and the command came out of my lungs as if they were bellows. “You shall not hurt my dragon.”

  “See how good it feels,” Finesia said in my head. “You could have a lot more of this.”

  The crowd looked at each other again, their spears wavering in the air as if none of them knew what to do.

  “Hoooiiiiieeee,” the call came from behind the crowd, the tribal chief again. “Hooooiiiieeee.”

  The tribespeople stopped stock still and then turned around and bowed to their leader with renewed reverence. They parted for him, and the chief pushed his way through. He looked up at Velos, then bowed. Then he pointed upwards towards a top of a rock. “Beast here. Our god.”

  I looked up to see what he might be pointing at. A catlike creature stood at the top of a large boulder, looking up at the sun emerging from the clouds. Once the sun revealed itself, the light glinted off the creature, and then I recognised it for what it was – an automaton. It bounded down the rock face and vanished into the clearing. A moment later, it was upon us. Its metal skin was mainly the colour of obsidian. But it had a blue tint to it, and green glowing veins of light flowed down it. Clearly this thing was also powered by secicao. It had a long spire coming out of its mouth, and it took me a while to realise what it was.

  Soon enough, the panther automaton turned on a crowd and something started to glow from between its sharp teeth. That same ball of brilliant energy emerged that we’d seen when we’d flown Velos over the jungle towards the volcano.

  I saw then what the masks and the tapestries and wood carvings had all depicted. The age-old beast of the jungle. This terrifying panther automaton, with the dragon coming from its mouth, or in other words the glowing spire.