by Efran Myles
sacrifice is worthwhile. There is nothing in this world more honorable or fulfilling than being a dragon lord.”
Edan’s words were persuasive. Aeduuard tried to think back to a time when his mother had mentioned her cousin while he was away. It took a few moments, but he did come up with one. The memory of that reference was all Aeduuard needed to set his heart at ease. He removed the amulet around his neck and handed it to Thored, then reached for the ring in Edan’s grasp.
“One moment,” Faelan’s hand covered the ring before Aeduuard could touch it.
Wizened eyes searched the gaze of his son as he said, “I have something I want to say before you begin your new life. Let me say it while I can remember.”
Aeduuard’s arm relaxed. Waiting for his father to speak, he searched his face and saw hints of age for the first time.
“My son, I am old – much older than you might imagine,” his father began. “I was already an old man when Lord Randall first came to study at the temple. So I do not know how long I will live after I move away from Avalon.”
Aeduuard began to protest, but his father’s hand lifted in a signal for silence. “My life has been long and I am content to go when it is my time, but your life is just beginning. You are about to start your apprenticeship and will not be able to come home until your hatchling has grown and been trained. So if I don’t see you again, I want you to know that one of my greatest joys in this life has been watching you grow into the fine man you are becoming. I could not be more proud. Wherever you go and whatever obstacles you face, I want you to always remember that I believe in and will always love you.”
With that, the man of few words removed the ring of station from Edan’s grasp and placed it on his son’s left forefinger. With the connection to its new wearer now established, the dark, druid stone “egg” changed color. From brown, it became so dark it was almost black, it quickly lightened to the same light blue of Aeduuard’s eyes. It now reflected the strength of his magic. His apprenticeship was now begun. Today, he would receive a dragon egg to nurture.
It did not take long for the family of five to make its way from Avalon to Saint Mary after that, though none of them could remember how they travelled without a boat. The only thing they did recall was the sight of three dragons in the distance, flying north.
“It’s too bad Aeduuard decided to search for Lord Randall Castle,” Brisen remarked to the family as they gazed into the distance at the giant-winged creatures. “He’s always admired dragons. He could have seen three in flight if he’d have come with us, instead.”
**The End.**
The Legend of Lord Randall Castle
Engaging Enchantment
[Excerpt]
Melador gazed out his office window into pitch black. He could just make out the silhouette of his favorite tree, a gnarled old thing with a broad canopy that was perfect for sitting underneath. Just beyond the tree spread the waters in which his boyhood home, the ancestral grounds of his race, slowly sank. Avalon had been sinking for generations and for those generations whole families had evacuated their beloved homeland. Melador’s family had been one of the last to leave. That was over fifteen decades ago, when he was a youth. Now, only a few priests remained on the island to guard the temple and they would stay with it until the very end. The magic it housed was too great to leave unguarded.
On summer days when the air was clear and the sun shone brightly, if Melador stood under the gnarled tree, he could sometimes catch a glimpse of what was left of his former home through the mist that enveloped it. Tonight, he saw only darkness as he looked out his window, waiting.
As for those who had escaped the island, a people once thriving and revered, most used faerie magic to disguise their ice-colored eyes and look more like common folk in the lands where they immigrated. Their disguise made acceptance and, therefore, survival easier for them. They were able to work, interact with and marry locals. Through time, their bloodlines thinned, their eyes muddied to shades of brown and their magic dissipated.
A handful remained whose parents had carefully arranged marriages. Those were gifted with magic that, for lack of formal instruction, they did not fully understand. Nor did most grasp the responsibility they bore to the magical kingdom or to the common peoples their race was responsible to protect. Still, it had been a very long time since Melador had seen any pure in his race and his heart was heavy with loneliness. It was almost enough to make him wish he had chosen to take a wife… almost.
No, Melador knew it was best that he remain unmarried even in his old age. His service was needed. If the eyes and ears of Saint Mary took a wife, his attention would be divided – and that could have devastating repercussions. Why just tonight, he mused, what would have been the consequence if he had not been paying attention? The queen might not have been warned of her daughter’s elopement in time to stop it and war with the girl’s betrothed might have ensued. Fortunately, Melador had been paying attention. He hoped his warning had gotten to the queen in time. He was still waiting to hear. That is why he sat by the open window of his office during dinner on a summer’s night.
As he gazed out that window, the edge of his eye caught movement in the darkness. His focus adjusted to it. It looked to be... Yes, it was. His wait was over. A stem of ragwort floated nearer through the air, faerie magic drew close and his ice-blue eyes darkened to a warm chocolate brown. Atop the ragwort sat Bud Starembers, the sprite he had sent to alert the queen.
“Ah, there you are!” Melador’s face became a sea of white bristled crevices. Thin lips spread into a smile that revealed teeth yellow with age as he greeted the tiny man landing on his window sill. “Did you make it in time?”
