Zelspar and the Magicians

by Cheryl Rush Cowperthwait

  Ms. Lenonne and Yuri relaxed and joined together in a chuckle.

  “Would it be okay if I touched you?” Forrest had already stretched his hand towards Yuri’s side where the glimmering pearlescent white of his scales caught the light overhead.

  “Yes, do, Forrest. Once you get used to me, I will show you where to scratch me. It always seems that I get itches where I cannot reach.”

  Forrest’s face split in two with a grin running from ear to ear. “Wow. You feel so slick, like a snake. Well, sort of.”

  The three of them laughed and Forrest walked from Yuri’s head down to his tail, taking him all in from the two spikes on the top of his head that curved backwards, to a third spike further back between the two. He noticed Yuri had spikes running all the way down his back which grew smaller as they came close to the tail. His long tail was smooth with a paddle tip in the shape of a triangle which was edged in a band of gold color. Only one word escaped his lips. “Wow.”

  “Thank you,” Yuri said, grinning.

  “I mean, really, wow.” Forrest’s mind wanted to explain his feelings but was overwhelmed.

  “It’s understandable, Forrest. I believe that was my same word I used when I was first started caring for the Dragons.” Ms. Lenonne went on to say, “I saw Dragons ever since I was a little girl, but no one believed me when I told them. Soon, I had to learn that it was better not to say anything about the Dragons because it caused such stress to my parents. Do you know that Dragons will only be seen by those that believe in them? It isn’t like on the days of old when anyone could see a Dragon because in those days, Dragons ruled the sky.” She sighed. “So much has changed since then, Forrest. So much has been forgotten or miswritten in the history books. We, as the Tellers of the Tales, not only tell the stories of the Dragons, it is up to us to protect them.”

  “Wow,” he mumbled, still transfixed on Yuri and the secrets.

  “You see, Yuri and I believe that letter to Starleira holds secrets which will be vital to us, and to the Dragons in particular. That is why what you told me today is so important.”

  Yuri’s head snapped up. “What? Did you figure out the code?” He was already starting to stand up.

  “Yuri, Forrest discovered an archaeologist who had rocks with the same symbols on them that were on the letter to Starleira. He thinks part of the symbols designate a place. Somerset to be exact. He also thinks another symbol reflects a map.”

  “Where was the archaeologist when he had the rocks with symbols?” Yuri asked.

  “It appears he was at Cadbury Castle. That isolated hilltop not far from Glastonbury. Such a shame.” Her lips formed a frown. “I told Forrest, since they had been excavating at that location, we may not be able to find what we seek.”

  “Zelspar wasn’t an ordinary Dragon. I am sure if he wanted something hidden until the right time, it is still hidden.” Yuri’s chest was puffed out in pride.

  “I’m beginning to think you and Forrest are correct. He knew what would be important to find in the Future, we only need to find it.” Ms. Lenonne was beginning to feel a small flame of hope catch in her heart. “I told him after his testing, we will make a journey. I’ll need to have another Teller of the Tales to come and stay with you while we are away.”

  Smoke began to puff from his snout in big clouds.

  “Now Yuri, don’t be that way. I know you want to come too, but we simply don’t know of a good place to conceal you while we travel. We will return as quickly as possible and share any news we have. Maybe by that time we will find a place to hide and all of us take a journey there.”

  “The land of King Arthur…” Yuri mused.

  “King Arthur?” Forrest blurted out. “That is only a fable.”

  Yuri winked. “Is it?”

  “What? You mean you know?”

  “There is much I know having lived as long as I have and hearing as much I have heard from my Elders. But I must confess, King Arthur is no more real than--Dragons!”

  The sound of air being swallowed in a large gulp reached Yuri’s ears.

  Forrest’s eyes were threatening to pop. “Then, Merlin?”

  “Ah, now that is a Tale to Tell. It is rumored,” Yuri began, as he swirled his tail across the ground.

  “Rumored what? You can’t start something like that and quit talking!” Forrest was practically wild for more information.

  “Another Tale for another day. For now, you have to get your mind on passing your exams so you can go on a treasure hunt. We will have long cozy evenings to share the stories you should and will know.” Yuri nodded to Ms. Lenonne, knowing what she said was true. Too much telling right now would only bog down his mind at the wrong time.

  “Oh, alright. But after I ace the exams, I want us to go right away.”

  “There is nothing I would want more. It’s a deal Novice Forrest,” she said, her face crinkled up in a smile.

  Forrest returned early the following day, prepared to start his examinations. Ms. Lenonne placed a sheet of paper upside down on his desk and turned her timer on for one hour.

  “When you flip over the paper, you will read through the poem and answer the questions at the bottom of the page. You may begin.”

  His heart was pumping adrenaline-laced blood rapidly through his veins. He turned the page over and found a poem typed neatly on the page. It took him a few minutes to read it and then read through it again, picking up any clues he could find before going on to the questions at the end.

  His name is Mo’bar

  And he’s come for War.

  Spells circle and fly in the Wind.

  His Ravens carry a plague

  That eats slowly from within,

  No matter how much you beg.

  You fall upon a bended knee,

  Staring at the Sword,

  Unable to move, yet try to flee~

  You tremble at his Word.

  The mist turns cold against your lips,

  Your eyes have turned to Stone.

  Your silent prayer clings to the wisps,

  Causing the ground to moan.

  All the names of Magic have passed,

  You utter the one you’ve been shown~

  Zelspar’s Magician be freed at last!

  The greatest Legend ever known.

  The trees of the Enchanted Forest shook

  And released the captive, held.

  His name is entered into many a book

  And also, the mysterious well.

  Mo’bar dropped the stolen Sword,

  The Magician sealed it in Stone.

  Upon his lips, a single word,

  And Mo’bar turned to Bone.

  Scattered did the Ravens go,

  Feathers dropping in their flight.

  The Magician beat his mighty foe,

  And returned the Kingdom, right.

  Be cautious when you enter the Vale,

  Many knights have never returned,

  Searching long for the Holy Grail~

  Becoming lost at every turn.

  Legends rise and Legends fall,

  But this Legend shall long remain.

  Zelspar’s spirit answers the Call,

  And washes white the Bloody stain.

  Of Dragon lore and Magicians twined,

  His essence still lives on.

  The Enchanted Forest no more will bind~

  The One of Poem and Song.

  He read the questions which lead him to write down notes across the edges of the paper and next to the quatrains, dissecting them as he went through each.

  He hadn’t studied anything regarding a person by the name of Mo’bar, so he could only guess he was a Magician of a Dark Magic since he brought the Ravens that carried a disease. The ‘you’ in the poem had to be some lesser Magician who was in a battle with Mo’bar, or perhaps it was only an unfortunate who found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Every word the Magician uttered made the man tremble in fear.

  The next part was trick
y. He broke it down piece by piece. He discovered the name spoken was known or somehow related to Zelspar, but it also said the greatest legend ever known. Forrest suddenly gasped as his eyes gobbled up the words like they would suddenly vanish.

  By the time he re-read the next quatrain, the puzzle pieces were falling together. The Enchanted Forest and the mysterious well. He studied about such a place. Broceliande was a fabled enchanted forest which also had a mysterious well, and the Vale of No Return. This poem had to be talking about Merlin, who supposedly had been entombed in the Enchanted Forest!

  He rationalized that since Merlin’s name was called out to be freed, the spell of binding him for eternity in the forest was broken. Merlin came to fight the Magician of the Dark.

  By the time he reached the bottom of the poem, he was certain of his line of thought. Now he needed to understand how it happened that Zelspar’s spirit could answer the Call, and how did the blend of a Dragon and Magician occur? Wait, he thought -- The whole story of Zelspar is that his spirit would always remain by transferring from his Dragon self to another living thing. In this poem, that would mean his spirit, at one time, joined with Merlin! And finally, what has been said all along, Zelspar’s essence still lives on.

  He reviewed all the questions and wrote his thoughts with precision. The time was nearing to turn in his paper. He adjusted a few thoughts and dusted away the eraser crumbs before he handed it to Ms. Lenonne.

  Pulling her glasses from her pocket, she leaned against the wall next to the window to flood the paper with light. She first read all of his notations next to the quatrains, the corner of her mouth slightly curled upward.

  She made a few notations on his paper next to the answers to the questions. She was well pleased at his grasp of details hidden within the words. Yes, he would surely turn out to be a first-rate codebreaker.

  Ms. Lenonne had been given the poem by another Teller of the Tales. One who had found the verses curious. The original poem was found recently in a small cluttered antiquities shop near Brittany. However, the verse was far from being considered old itself. It was simply a curiosity that the shop owner had acquired quite mistakenly, tucked inside an old book of poetry by Alfred Tennyson and nestled next to the poem, ‘The Lady of Shalott’.

  Forrest couldn’t hold his words any longer. “So, did I pass?”

  Ms. Lenonne was startled away from her thoughts. “Oh yes, Forrest. You showed an amazing aptitude for reading between the words to discover -- for lack of a better word, the ‘code’ written in the verses. I commend you. Now, I will give you a test on Geography. Pay special attention to the maps and names given before answering the questions. This part of the test will make up fifty percent of your grade.”

  “Half of my test score on this part of the test?” His voice cracked as he felt fear crawl up his throat.

  “Yes. Half of the score will be on this portion of the test. It is of vital importance that you understand not only the maps, but also understand the time periods and the implications of the…well, all of that will be explained in the questions. You will be given three hours to complete the test.”

  She heard him gulp.

  “Do not be alarmed. There are only twenty questions and three maps to discern. The time given you is to make certain of your answers. They will require deep thought before hastily answering. If you are ready, you may begin.”

  She took three maps and placed them across his desk and then handed him a tablet with one question written on each page. His chair scraped the floor as he moved closer to the desk, his eyes digging into the maps, unearthing their secrets.

  Chapter 23

  The wind had picked up. Zelspar dropped his head and his wings strained to push forward. Perthorn felt the tenseness of Dragon muscles under him as Zelspar’s body cut through the wind. Then, without warning, he cut through the layers of wind and climbed even higher. Perthorn held onto the strappings for dear life and Kiel grabbed tighter onto Perthorn’s waist. Every muscle in Zelspar’s body tightened under the pressure to climb. With a final surge, he roared and ripped through the wind to find the calm sky again.

  “Thunder and lightning, Zelspar! Why didn’t we land instead of pushing through this turbulent wind?” Perthorn’s knuckles turned white from holding so tightly to the woven vine strappings securing himself to the Dragon.

  “Look down below. This is what I saw in my Vision. See? It is like a river in the sky which moves over the Urthe. Watch how swiftly the clouds and storms move. I needed to see it from above to find our path.” Zelspar fanned his wings towards the stream of wind to show his riders.

  Kiel pointed out what Zelspar wanted them to see, his eyes wide in amazement. He said to Perthorn, “It is like a river in the sky, turning and churning across the miles. I have never seen such a thing!”

  Shifting across the Dragon’s back, Perthorn muttered. “Hmpfft!” It was plain to see Perthorn was not the best rider of a Dragon He preferred the stability of the ground.

  Kiel suppressed a chuckle. He knew Perthorn preferred the ground. As for him, he would take to the skies any given day. He loved being able to see things from a different angle -- not to mention the power he felt riding on the back of Zelspar. He sighed softly. I feel his heat through the leather of scales, the pulling of his muscles as he flies, each flap of wing pushing us forward. This is the life I want - if I can’t ‘be’ a Dragon, this is certainly the next best choice.

  Zelspar turned to look at Perthorn. “Hang on, we are going back down through the wind. Once we cut through the stream of air, I will find us a place to land and rest.”

  Kiel didn’t catch the words Zelspar said, but he felt the sudden stiffening of Perthorn and knew something was up. They plunged straight through the wind. Zelspar’s wings folded tight against his body and their legs. Perthorn leaned over, his head tucked towards Zelspar’s neck. Kiel leaned into Perthorn as they continued the dive. The air assaulted them as they cut through the layers of the fast-moving wind and finally Zelspar pulled up and leveled off as the force of the wind against them subdued. He landed gently in the meadow by a thick stand of trees.

  Perthorn took no time to climb down from Zelspar. He wobbled towards the trees as he tried to gain his balance on the ground. Kiel slid off and was busy untying all the gear. He gushed his praises to Zelspar about what a wonderful trip it had been so far.

  Once unencumbered, Zelspar and Kiel lumbered over to Perthorn who had found the shade by the trees. He was slowly gaining color back to his face. He rubbed the palms of his hands to get the blood to flow again to where the strapping had cut deep grooves. Zelspar heard him muttering when they approached.

  “What is that you are saying, friend?”

  “I said, why did you have to take us up through that devilish wind only to bring us through it again? What was the purpose? Unless it was to lighten your load by dropping us from mid-air!”

  Zelspar could understand Perthorn and his lack of interest in flying. He could see not everyone was adaptable to be a rider. Kiel on the other hand took to it almost as easily as Kaida. His eyes glimmered. He had never thought of either liking or disliking one’s ability to enjoy Dragon flight, but he thought…when you see someone appreciates what a Dragon can do, it is pleasing. I don’t hold it against Perthorn for not feeling the same as Kiel. They are two different types. Perthorn only flies out of necessity and Kiel? Kiel would fly himself if he could only sprout wings.

  Zelspar cleared his throat. “It had to be done, Perthorn. As I mentioned earlier, I had to watch the stream in the sky. My Vision showed me what to look for to find our path. We are to follow this river in the sky until we found this area. We will take our time to rest up. We need to find the portal that will lead us to another part of Urthe. I am sure you would rather find the portal than to fly over the vast waters.”

  “Yes, indeed. If we can get there by walking, then I’m all the happier for it.” Perthorn huffed.

  “Precisely how I thought you would feel, my fri
end, thus the need for me to get my bearings. I believe we could all use a nice rest before the next adventure. I’m going to rest against this tree and close my eyes for a while as my strength rebuilds. You should both do the same but, in any regard, do not venture away from this area. We do not know if anything lurks beyond our vision.”

  Without meaning to strike fear into them, Perthorn and Kiel suddenly decided to find a spot as close to the him as possible. Kiel had little worry and crawled up next to Zelspar’s side. Perthorn selected a tree on the other side of Kiel which was close enough for protection but far enough away from the whip of the Dragon’s tail or a flap of wing. Zelspar allowed his eyelids to close, knowing Perthorn would be watchful, at least for an hour or so.

  While sleeping, Zelspar’s eyes darted swiftly under closed lids. A hushed moan blew through Kiel’s lips.

  Perthorn sat ridged as he watched the two, nervously scratching at a scab on his arm. He shifted his attention to their surroundings, looking for any sign of threat but found none. Leaning over Kiel, he turned an ear to Kiel’s lips and strained to hear what he was mumbling.

  “Nomliacs!” Both Kiel and Zelspar suddenly shouted.