by Eric Vall
I bit back a laugh as I looked between the smallest Asura and her brother. He was just as amused as I was. I took a deep breath to make sure I wouldn’t laugh when I spoke, and then I reached out to rub Ilyushina’s back soothingly.
“Okay, okay,” I spoke gently as I rubbed circles on her back. “Calm down there little one.”
“Ilyushina is not so little.” Her voice was muffled as she kept her face buried in the bed.
I exchanged another look of amusement with her brother, and he had to cover his mouth with his hands to keep from laughing.
“A perfect grown up,” I replied, and somehow I managed to keep my voice serious as I spoke.
A giggle escaped Ilya, and I sent him a mock glare.
“Yes, she is.” Ilyushina lifted her head off the bed and looked at me with just as much seriousness as when I had spoken. “Ilyushina would like a blanket.”
“Of course.” I stood up and bowed to her. “I am but your loyal servant.”
I walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled two of the blankets off it. The blankets were soft to the touch, and I wondered if they were woven from goat hair as I walked back to the bed. Then I tucked the three of them in with the blankets and sat back down in front of the bed.
“Good.” Ilyushina smiled sweetly at me before she buried her face under the blanket. “Ilyushina will now sleep.”
“Is she always like that?” I laughed softly as I shook my head.
“Always.” Ilya reached over Alyona and tucked the blanket tighter around his sister.
“Well, you’d better get some sleep.” I stood and ruffled Ilya’s hair.
“Master Dragon?” Ilya looked up at me as he tried to flatten his hair.
“Don’t worry,” I assured him as I walked over to the other bed, sat on it, and took off my boots. “I’ll be right here throughout the night.”
Ilya smiled and then burrowed his head into the pillow and promptly fell asleep.
Although I was tired, I barely slept. My mind ran rampant as I thought about rebuilding Hatra with the help of the Blue Tree Guild and their airship. Not only that, but I wondered about the predation skill unique to dragons and how I would be able to master it.
I fell asleep to those thoughts, and I dreamt of Hatra in its full glory. The walls surrounding the city were whole, and they gleamed like polished silver. Even the domed palace at the center of the city was intact, and water flowed through the city’s aqueducts.
The sound of hammering woke me up from my sleep, and I glanced to the entrance of the tent. From the small opening, I could see a sliver of daylight, and I stood up and looked over to the bed beside me.
Ilya and Ilyushina were still asleep beside Alyona.
And Alyona was still the same as before.
I walked to the bed and brushed away a stray lock of hair on her forehead.
“Come back soon,” I whispered to her before I turned and walked out of the tent.
Outside there were a group of villagers hammering away at the poles Polina had created yesterday. They were putting together the frame of a building as I walked toward them.
“Excuse me,” I spoke up so that the villagers would be able to hear me over the sound. “Do any of you know where the Elders are?”
“Yes, Master Dragon,” a young man with golden hair replied as he bowed to me. “Elder Julia is down in the archives, Elder Moskal went off to the aqueducts with some craftsmen, and Elder Ruslan is in the smithy.”
“Thanks.” I walked forward and placed my hand on his shoulder so he’d look at me instead of the ground. “What’s your name? Oh, also, could you get someone to bring some breakfast to the kids?
“Of course, Master Dragon.” The young man straightened and smiled cheerfully at me. “I am Leon, please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything of me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I waved at Leon and the other villagers as I walked off in the direction of the smithy.
Compared to the aqueducts and the archives, the smithy was the closest to where my tent had been set up. It was a quick walk to get there, and I could see the citywide cleanup in preparation for rebuilding was still going in full force. While there was a bit more rubble than before, the streets were completely clean of any smaller pieces of debris and trash.
I smiled to myself because this showed me the people of Hatra were just as eager to rebuild their city as I was. They had just needed an impetus to push them, and I had managed to provide them with just that.
As I approached my destination, the scent of the smithy was cleaner than I thought it would be. The outside was also clean, and I wondered if the inside would be pristine as well.
“Hey Ruslan, I need your help with something,” I said as I peeked in through the door and caught sight of Ruslan and the Asura Natalya at a table.
“Evan!” Ruslan cheerfully motioned me inside as he pulled out a chair for me to sit.
“Master Dragon.” Natalya nodded at me, and her pale blue hair covered her face.
“Good morning, Natalya.” I sat down at the table and glanced at the stoic Asura. “If you’re looking for Ilya and Ilyushina, they’re back in my tent.”
“I know.” Natalya blinked at me and tilted her head in the direction of the forge. “I am here to work in the smithy.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ruslan cover his face with his hand and stifle a laugh for a moment.
“She was the blacksmith back at their village,” Ruslan explained with a cough as he sat back down at the table. “We need all the help we can get, especially if we’re going to start rebuilding the city.”
I nodded in agreement with his words. Rebuilding Hatra would need everything we would be able to give.
“Armor and weapons,” Natalya spoke again, and there was a tinge of sorrow in her voice.
“Sorry?” I blinked and leaned forward.
“I can make them,” Natalya clarified, and she placed her hands on the table. “Armor and weapons. Will we need them?”
“Definitely.” I nodded and turned to face Ruslan. “But do we have enough resources to make them?”
Ruslan shook his head immediately at my words. “Not a chance.”
“In the forest,” Natalya leaned forward, and her gold eyes glittered, “there is an old mine. Asuras have mined from it for eons. A metal stronger than steel that when merged with dragonsblood, it can purify darkness. It was our secret and honor as blacksmiths and Asuras to protect. Not for war.”
“You aren’t going to regret telling us?” My mind immediately raced as I thought about merging the metal and dragonsblood into the defenses of Hatra. “We might have to end up using them to wage war.”
“I will not regret.” Natalya shook her head, and the sorrow that had been in her voice earlier left. “Asuras and Hatra now share the same fate. We were not prepared for war before. We did not believe in it. But still it came to us. Hatra is all that remains for us. We will protect it.”
Natalya was betting everything on Hatra and my plans for the city. This was another person I couldn’t let down.
“How far away is the mine?” I tapped my fingers on the table and thought about what we would need to mine the metal.
“Not far from the old village.” Natalya tilted her head as she spoke. “An hour from my smithy there.”
“It would probably take half the morning to get there.” I looked up at the ceiling as I estimated the time to get there and back. “Maybe three hours.”
Ruslan stood from the table and walked over to the desk underneath a window. Then he pulled out a notebook, scribbled something on one of the pages, and ripped it out.
“Take this to Moskal and his people.” Ruslan walked back and handed the page to Natalya. “They’ll go with you to the mine to see how much can be brought back to the city.”
“I thank you.” Natalya stood up quickly with the page clutched tightly in her hands.
“No.” I shook my head at her words and ran my hand through my hair
. “You’re the one who deserves our thanks. You just gave us a massive trump card against the miasma.”
“I will take my leave, my lords.” Natalya wavered at my words, but she nodded and bowed before she left.
“What a morning,” Ruslan sighed as he sat back down. “So, what did you need my help with, kid?”
“There’s a skill unique to dragons.” I didn’t know how much Ruslan knew about dragons, but I had the feeling that someone as old as he was would know what to do. “I need your help to master it.”
“Not your healing powers?” Ruslan raised one eyebrow in amusement at my words.
“No,” I snorted as I shook my head. “Predation. Keeping the powers of what I kill.”
“Predation, huh?” The fox leaned back in his chair and hummed. “On the topic of trump cards, that’s a powerful one right there.”
“I’ve already used the power of the stone giants once.” Frustration seeped into my voice, and I stood up to pace around the table. “When I was escaping the crimson dragon in the canyons. The stone kind of melted around me, and I fell through into a river.”
I remembered the sensation of how the stone had felt right and how I knew what would happen. It had been similar to the rush of power I felt while healing but not the same all at the same time.
“And you killed two of them, right? The stone giants, I mean?” Ruslan tapped his fingers on the table as his eyes narrowed in thought.
“Yeah.” I sat down with a sigh and folded my arms across my chest. “Polina said young dragons can only use an acquired skill once or twice before they lose it and must kill again. So, that’s possibly one chance down the drain for my stone ability. I only have one or two more uses before I lose it. If I can hone it so I can use it repeatedly, however, I could use it to rebuild Hatra.”
I gritted my teeth as I thought about the wasted chance. If I had known about this skill back then, I wouldn’t have used the stone giant’s power. I would have found another way out, even if it had meant fighting that crimson dragon.
“Do you have any idea how to use it?” Ruslan’s question shook me out of my thoughts.
“That’s why I came to you.” I shrugged and then slumped on the table. “Should I have gone to Julia instead?”
“Definitely not.” Ruslan grew serious and shook his head. “Anyone who disturbs her right now will probably die a painful death.”
Somehow, I got what he meant about Julia while she was doing research down in the archives.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” A shiver went down my spine as I imagined a hellish training program. “So, predation? Meditation? Any tips?”
“I might have an idea.” Ruslan tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “It may or may not work, and you’ll have to go find some stone giants to kill if it doesn’t.”
Seriously? What was with that may or may not spiel he was spouting? I needed a yes or a no.
“Aren’t you a cultivator?” I frowned at him and leaned back in the chair.
“Hey!” Ruslan smacked his hand on the table in mock anger, and as he stood, he knocked his chair on the floor. “I’ll have you know that the three of us were mostly self-taught, and it was through sheer stubbornness and our own inherent greatness that we got this far.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed and stood from the table. “As long as this idea of yours actually works.”
“I can still throw you to Julia,” Ruslan muttered as he picked up the chair.
“You wouldn’t dare.” I glared at him as I walked toward the door.
“You’re right.” Ruslan stared at me for a moment before he shook his head. “That’s a fate I wouldn’t wish on even my worst enemy.”
“So, you’ll help me?” I lifted an eyebrow at the fox and wondered if he would get to the point already.
“I thought that was obvious,” Ruslan snorted as he walked toward me and dragged me out of the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Why?” My voice was muffled by Ruslan’s arm as he pulled me along.
“It’s better to be somewhere quiet so you can feel the flow of energy inside of you.” The fox had gotten serious as we walked. “If there’s too many distractions, it’ll be harder to do so. And time is not on our side.”
“So, where are we going?” I let myself be dragged by the fox and stared up at the blue sky above us.
“It isn’t the Cave of One Thousand Sages, but it’ll do,” Ruslan laughed, and the same sorrow that I had heard in Natalya’s voice was echoed in his. “It’s one of the few places we do know about from the old days. It’s called the River Moonstone House.”
“River Moonstone House?” I frowned in thought as I remembered the cave where Alyona was supposed to be. “What’s up with all of these names?”
“You’ll see.” Ruslan only shook his head and smiled.
Ruslan led me through the city to what looked like a former walled garden near the ruined palace. Inside of the garden was a bluestone pavilion with an ivy covered statue of a woman. He touched the base of the statue, and the stone floor of the pavilion shifted to reveal a staircase.
I followed him down the staircase and was awestruck by what I saw.
The River Moonstone House was beyond beautiful. The walls and ceilings of the room were made up entirely of a polished marble stone, and I could even hear the faint sound of a running river.
“It’s amazing.” I couldn’t hold back my awe as I stared at the white stone that surrounded us.
“I know.” Ruslan smiled fondly as he pushed me toward the center of the room. “Now come on, sit cross-legged over here.”
I followed Ruslan’s lead and sat in front of him on the floor.
“Okay.” I blinked at my faint reflection on the floor before I looked at Ruslan. “What now?”
“What you need to do is reach a state of absolute quiescence.” Ruslan closed his eyes and rested his hands on his knees.
“Qui what now?” I furrowed my brow at his words.
“Absolute calmness of the mind.” Ruslan opened one emerald eye and stared at me. “That way the pathways of your power can begin to unblock themselves, and your internal energy will flow smoothly throughout your body.”
“I can do that.” I rolled my shoulders and stretched my arms before I fully mimicked his position. “I learned how to meditate when I was younger. All I have to do is find my center, right?”
“That’s the first step.” Ruslan nodded and closed his eyes again. “Once you’re in that stillness, you need to return to the source.”
“The source of my power?” I closed my eyes and thought of the power that I grabbed onto whenever I healed or changed my form.
Was that what Ruslan meant by the source?
“Well, yes.” Ruslan’s voice had reached a calm timbre that made me think of lazy summer days. “But also the center of yourself. The purest form of Evan, untouched by any bump in the road that can distract you. Think of it like a mirror. The moonstones will help purify and direct your energy back to you so you aren’t lost in yourself.”
“What happens if I get lost in myself?” A spike of worry rose up in me at those words, and I felt myself frown.
“You might stay asleep for centuries.” Ruslan’s voice had grown firm, and it sounded like that was something he would do his utmost to prevent. “I might have to force my way into your mind, but that could damage your psyche if there’s not enough trust between the two of us.”
“Right.” I felt the waver of worry fade away as Ruslan’s presence reassured me. “I’ll try not to fuck up.”
“Good luck.” I heard a smile in Ruslan’s voice as he spoke. “I know you’ll be able to do it.”
I let my mind drift off inside of myself and search for the source that was the core of who I was. As I did that, I felt a deep abyss of potential power inside of me. Like a deep and dark lake that was bottomless and never ending.
It was into that fathomless lake inside of myself that I dove in search of the p
urest form of me.
In that darkness, stars glittered and faded around me, and I continued down the invisible path where galaxies swirled before my eyes in search of what was the center of my existence.
I could feel as my power ran through my body in different streams of energy and light that felt like they were reshaping my body. Not into a dragon form or into a different shape, but a body that was more me. It was almost like I was embracing myself in this glittering darkness.
There was a stillness in that beautiful darkness, and I realized the lake had shifted into a flat mirror that stretched as far as I could see. I placed my hand on the mirror, and it felt gentle and cool. Through that mirror, I could see the path I had traveled on reflected through it, and the galaxies I had passed came into view.
I realized that those stars and galaxies hadn’t been outside forces. They had been me. They were the small voices and different facets of who I was, and they were returning to their place inside of this vast and limitless world inside of me.
My heartbeat slowed down, and it matched the gentle flow of the lake’s mirror. I could feel myself expanding outward in reach of every piece of me. The water of the lake flowed over me, but the mirror didn’t collapse. It became smaller and smaller until it fit in my hand and was no bigger than a pocket mirror.
Suddenly, I sat on the warm bottom of the lake and felt the smooth current of the water that was all around me as I looked at the now tiny mirror. Inside of the mirror was what I had been looking for. I didn’t know how I knew, but I was drawn to the mirror and just knew that this was it. This was my source, the very essence of me, and it was what would allow me to take full control of the stone abilities I had gained.
Now, I needed to leave the lake.
Slowly, I floated upward through the dark water of the lake I had visualized and made my way to the surface.
“I did it!” My voice cracked as I shouted, and I felt tears of relief flow down my cheeks as I opened my eyes in the River Moonstone House once again.
“I never doubted you for a moment.” Ruslan patted me on the back as we both stood up.
