“Long ago, the dragons were alone. We had no interaction with other creatures except to feed. As you know, we do not feed on sentient creatures, but this was no concern because there had not been another sentient species since time so far past even our ancestors considered it legend. From time to time throughout the ages, many species have started to evolve and gained some degree of intelligence. They all died out, through no action of ours. We would watch and observe but they never moved past sharpened sticks.”
“Then, we noticed a new species evolve. It was slow at first. They started as all species do with a simple language, basic tools, and fire. We thought little of them but continued to watch. Then they did something that no species except my own had ever done. A dragon was silently observing one of their hunts and they went to construct a fire to cook their food. Your species has always had that abhorrent habit,” Asala said with a loud laugh.
“Instead of banging stones or rubbing sticks, the leader of the tribe spoke a word and fire sprang forth from his hand, lighting the gathered sticks and logs. They had touched the Weave. This was the subject of much debate. Calls for their extinction began almost immediately but equally as many were hopeful. We had been alone for so long that the idea of another powerful species frightened and excited us.”
“We watched them for thousands of cycles and their command of the Weave grew stronger with every generation. They also grew rapidly in number. Their magic was primitive and weak, at first. Their lives were short compared to our own and they bred fast. What we found most peculiar though was what the Weave did to them. It changed them. The changes were slow. We believe it was guided by the individual, probably not consciously.”
“For example, the ones who lived and died at the mercy of the ocean grew gills. Their hands and feet might be webbed. Some developed transparent eyelids. With others, their limbs got longer and narrower and their skin became rubbery. These changes were slow and didn't happen all at once. The traits passed to each new generation and eventually, those fey became dahaugin. Others became different as well. Sometimes it was based on their chosen habitat and sometimes it was their pagan beliefs manifesting physically. Take your own race. Your ancestors were denizens of arboreal swamps. Your traits reflect that and it's why you have so many simian features. The single fey species became hundreds of species. Eventually, the changes slowed, and the lines stabilized.”
“Not all of the fey touched the Weave. Those who did not went the path of all the other species and eventually ceased. The progenitor was gone. The changed ones though, they thrived.”
“Then they fought. At first, there were only skirmishes over game animals, territory or beliefs. Then it grew more violent and wars broke out between the different types. Hatred and fear of something different was no stranger to us so we stopped it. Our own past was equally violent, and we could not allow it to happen to another.”
“That was when we guided you to build Atlantis. It is not just a story of hope though. Many of the fey refused to relent and wanted only to fight and many of them died. The ones who were left were peaceful and able to live and work together. Atlantis was built for those fey to stop the wars like we ourselves had fought. The divergence the fey had was so long ago not even stories of it remained in the memories of their various lines but we remembered and to honor that progenitor, we gave you the collective name of the fey.”
“That, my small friends, is your history. You see humans, drebs, lycanthropes, faerie, and all the other myriad fey. We see the children of the progenitor. You may look and act differently but deep down, underneath that, you are all children not of the dragons but of the fey,” Asala told them.
“That's incredible. I had no idea,” Malka said.
“You said that hatred and fear of something different was no stranger to the dragons. What did you mean? If no other powerful species evolved before the fey, who did you have to hate or fear?” Baldric asked.
“You are observant. There has only ever been one species on this planet that could make us hate or fear and that is ourselves,” Asala told them.
“You have noticed that we have many different colors, some of us like me have more than one. Once, in times so ancient that nothing but fragments of stories remain. All dragons in a chroma, our term for what you would call a tribe, were the same. Our species, possibly through the same divergence that created the various races of fey, evolved into different colors with slightly different traits like what we breathed be it fire or lightning. Why or how we can't say. We simply don't know. Each of the different chroma kept to themselves and never interacted.”
“We don't know how or why the wars started but at some point, the chromas warred. Our magic was already powerful, and those wars shook the heavens and earth and caused destruction of epic magnitude. It is said the war lasted for over ten thousand cycles of the sun until none remembered why they fought and tired of the bloodshed.”
“Our numbers dwindled and eventually we realized we were making ourselves extinct. Our lives are long, but birthrates are low, and the death toll was greater than the birth rate. The remaining chroma called for a truce and sent a representative of each to meet. They met on a mountaintop on an ancient sacred site in a faraway land.”
“They talked and argued for many cycles of the moon before they agreed to create the council. Each chroma chose a single representative and agreed to be bound by the decisions of that council. From within the council, a leader was elected who would rule until that leader was no longer fit to lead, a decision only the council could make.”
“Our legends tell that on the day that first leader was chosen the Dragon's Eye passed across the heavens. As hatchlings, we are told that we were first born from the Weave itself and did not evolve from a creature of this world but were born directly from the Weave. They tell the little ones that when the warring finally stopped, the Weave shed a single tear in happiness and that tear formed the Dragon's Eye. We know it's just a story but it's a good story for hatchlings.”
“The old hatreds were put aside and the chroma mixed. There were simply not enough males and females of each chroma left to ensure our survival, so the first order of our new leader was for the remainder to interbreed. It was forbidden for a chroma to not do so and all lines were required to mix. I myself carry the ancestry of many different chromas. Two are present in my scales. The flame is an aspect of another and my eyes yet another. We found peace that way,” Asala told them.
“Peace cannot be forced. Your own people only found it through suffering and compromise. We have been lucky so far but what we have at Atlantis isn't peace. It's placation of the dragons. Without the fear of the dragons, I think many species would leave or turn violent. Ogres and trolls, for example, are only kept in check by fear. There are others as well. They hate ordered society and would see it end if they thought for a moment they could remove the threat of the dragons,” Baldric told her.
“Absillion knows this and he knows you know it. That is one of the reasons you were chosen. You recognize the needs of the individual fey in a way we will never be able to emulate. We know Atlantis is always on the edge of a crisis and have since shortly after its creation. The Vanguard are as much to keep the peace as they are to defend the city from outside threats,” Asala told them.
“We, I mean they, don't keep the peace. That is the job of the guards,” Malka replied.
“Not directly but the Vanguard is seen as a powerful force that reports to the dragons. That alone is enough to keep things in check,” Asala said. “My father has never said this directly, but I came to understand that some time ago.”
“That's a different history than we have been led to believe,” Malka said. “I believe you though. You have never lied to us.”
“Absillion may someday share some or all of this with you and you must feign ignorance when he does. There should be no secrets among friends but Absillion is not your friend. He is many things to you, but he would never call a fey a friend,” the great drag
on told them.
“Thank you. I agree. There should never be secrets between friends and I think I want to make that a foundation of my rule. Any that I consider a friend I shall never keep secrets from except the ones you have told us. I promised you I would never betray your trust and I will not,” Baldric told her.
“That is an impossible promise to make. There may someday be a necessity to tell others and I trust your judgment to do so only out of need. I know you will do so only if required and that is one of the reasons I consider you a friend,” Asala told them.
#
Sark and Onis took a humanoid form and entered the room. Their dragon bodies were ill-suited to the task at hand. They needed the finer dexterity of humanoid fingers.
Sebastian and Chelsea had stopped screaming and were huddled in a corner. They sat side by side. They were sweating profusely, and both were mumbling incoherently. The pair were covered in cuts and bruises. They had clawed at their skin and occasionally thrashed on the floor, banging into walls and each other. It had been nearly a day and they had neither ate nor drank and they showed signs of exhaustion and dehydration.
They stared blankly ahead and if they noticed the two enter, they gave no indication of it. Onis waved his hands and spoke in a language that sounded like a combination of growls and hisses and the two humans fell unconscious. The dragons slowly poured a liquid down their throats reminiscent of the sustenance drinks they used in hospitals, careful not to drown them. The task was over quickly.
“Do you think they will regain their minds?” Onis asked.
“Only time will tell. They have undergone psychological trauma unlike any ever experienced. Its effects are unpredictable,” Sark replied.
“We will care for them. We caused this and it is our duty to help them as best we can. My sorrow runs deep. We have made mistakes before but our actions with the fey, these two were ghastly,” Onis told his fellow Elder.
“I know. We talked of this much before, but I was not prepared for the feelings of guilt,” Sark replied.
“We feel guilty because we are guilty. We blame our collective rage but that is just an excuse. We acted as we always have, as superior beings with the fey as nothing but animals below us. That was wrong, and I see that now. They are not lesser beings. We saw their small size and short lives but that is what makes them strong. They accomplish more in their short lives than we do in our long ones. They are what we should aspire to be,” Onis said, his voice wrought with sadness.
“Their resistance is amazing. With the wards I placed on this room they should have no ability to fight that spell, yet they are already shedding it and show signs of waking. We should not be here when they do. We accomplished our task and must take our leave,” Sark said and the two walked out, sealing the door behind them.
Sark and Onis left the room and resumed their natural forms. The continued to walk together, wing to wing down the hall and returned to the grand chamber with the other Elders.
Absillion watched the pair enter and take their places.
“I observed your actions and conversation in the chamber. Do you fear them?” Absillion asked Onis.
“I do not. Once, maybe. Look at their world. Look at what they have done. For hundreds of thousands of years, we ruled this world unchallenged. We built nothing. We can't even be certain our forefathers built this mountain city. We have no written language of our own. We have no technology we invented. We have no architecture we constructed. We are like this mountain. We change little throughout the course of time. Winds blow. Rains fall. The mountain remains a mountain. We were content with our magic.”
“When the fey evolved and the divergence occurred, we could have embraced them as friends and allies. What did we do? We gave the pretense of teaching but all we did was hold them back and try to fit them into our mold.”
“The humans though, they are different. They built the world. For thousands of years, even though they commanded magic, they built cities and machines. Even when magic was taken from them, they mastered the atom. They fly without magic or wings. Their medicine often exceeds the magic of our strongest healers. We have had thousands of times the years they had, and we have nothing to show for it but dwindling numbers and a city of caves in a frozen mountain,” Onis replied.
“That is blasphemy!” Doga said.
“It is not. You speak without thinking. Your skill in combat may be great but your judgment and forethought are lacking,” Onis replied.
Doga approached him menacingly. The much smaller Onis did not back down.
“You may not fear the humans, but you should fear me,” Doga told Onis.
“ENOUGH!” Absillion said and roared, the sound filling the great hall.
“We do NOT fight among ourselves. That is sacred law and has been since the beginning of this council. Stand down, Doga!”
Doga turned and faced Absillion. His posture was aggressive and threatening.
Absillion flashed and his body glowed. “Do not test my magic. I rule this council, not you.”
Doga stopped and his posture changed. “I am no longer a member of this council,” Doga said and left the chamber. He exited the mountain quickly and flew off.
“He will return,” Qaa said. “He needs time to think and realize the folly of his actions.”
“Perhaps,” said Absillion as his skin lost its glow. “For now, we have a commitment to the draconic. How do they fare?”
“Their power is not fully contained by the wards. I don't know why. No fey should be able to resist,” Sark said.
“That is because they are not fey, not fully. Did you not feel it? Asala changed them. She gave her life to make sure theirs would continue. In doing so, they gained more of her than just magic. She permeates their being at a cellular level and they are, at least to a small degree, one of us. They carry the blood of the dragons within them,” Absillion told the council.
“Impossible,” said Trall. “Our species are incompatible. We know enough of their science to understand the genetics of it.”
“Magic can overcome many things, including DNA. It will be interesting to see how much of our species they have in them,” Absillion said.
“Human-dragon hybrids. I would like to study them,” Qaa said.
“I am certain you would. You were always fascinated by their science. They've cut themselves more than a few times, some blood shouldn't be hard to obtain,” Sark told Qaa.
“I wonder if the process could be replicated?” Qaa asked Sark.
“Why would you want to?” Sark asked.
“To study the results. Mixed species has never happened before. They are the first,” Qaa replied. “Such a phenomenon may hold the answer to staving off our extinction.”
“Extinction?” asked Sark.
“Yes, extinction. Our numbers dwindle and have for ages. Each hatch is smaller than the last. With our lifespans, it will be a great while before we are gone but gone we will one day be,” Qaa said, the sadness in his voice evident.
“Nonsense, we can simply breed more,” replied Sark.
“With less young in each generation, the number of breeding pairs also diminishes. I wish it were not true, but it is. If dragons cannot continue, perhaps the two hybrids are the answer,” Qaa said.
“They are the only hybrids that have ever existed,” Sark said.
“They are the first, but I am certain they will not be the last,” Absillion interjected. “Time tells all.”
“There is something you are not telling us,” Qaa said to Absillion. “I have known you longer than any other member of the council and can tell when you withhold things. If it is about the survival of our species, then please, tell us.”
“If dragons are to die out, then possibly some remnant of us can remain, as Qaa said. I was meditating on my daughter's impact on the humans and had a vision. I have divined that our species may live but the vision was unclear. The humans are the key. I saw dragons take human form and mate with them and offspring resu
lt. Bahta has been dispatched to test that theory,” Absillion said.
“You sent her to breed with a human?” Sark asked.
“I did not. The future was revealed in a vision and I did nothing but sent her to that future and it has already happened. She has mated with a human thinking such a thing not possible. His magic is powerful, and he may someday ascend. His blood is as strong as is hers and though she does not know it, she carries a child that has the blood of both our species and theirs. The child will have the shared physical and magical heritage of a powerful member of both our races. How it was possible I cannot say but only speculate. I would surmise he is descended from Baldric and Malka. He has at least a trace of their genetic heritage,” Absillion told them.
“How is this possible?” asked Qaa.
“You are the expert in sciences, Qaa. My expertise is in magic and divination. I know not how but I saw the result. I only see what will become and when the world changes again, she will have a child that is neither dragon nor human but a sum of both,” Absillion said.
“I don't know. I can theorize...no that's not the right word...I can guess. I would suspect that some of the dormant genes found in humans, those they think are throwbacks to evolution are sometimes the trace of Asala. Baldric and Malka had children in numerous lives. It is possible this mate of hers may contain those dormant genes and it may be enough to allow procreation. That would still be unlikely, but both are powerful mages and magic can alter the flow of life. We must wait and see,” Qaa said though he sounded uncertain.
“This will force us into their world. The child will live with the humans, but the parents will need our help and guidance as much as we are capable of providing,” Absillion told the council.
“She's going to tell him?” Sark asked.
“We have wronged the fey too many times throughout history and if we are to move forward to integrate into their world, we must do so openly,” Absillion replied.
The Vanguard Page 45
