by A. J. Medina
Draycko inhaled and then exhaled a stream of fire which illuminated the ground which was closing in fast. He spread his wings wide and caught the air, causing us to curve quickly and soar back up towards the sky.
I wanted to scream at him. How dare he do that to me? What if he didn’t make it to me in time? I would’ve died.
I wanted to wipe the tears forming in my eyes, but didn’t dare let go of his horns. Go for a ride, he said. It’ll be fun, he said. That was not fun.
After the tears stopped flowing and I recomposed myself, I yelled out to Draycko. “Take me back!”
“Not until you see this.”
Draycko continued to climb higher and higher, the wind chilling me down to my bones. I wished I had my cloak to keep me warm and when I did, I was suddenly wearing it. I had forgotten about that power.
The night was still dark, but as we climbed even higher, I could see the white light up ahead.
“Ready?” Draycko asked.
Even if I wasn’t, did I really have a choice? “Ahuh,” I said, not sure what I should be ready for.
With one hard flap of his wings, we pierced through the clouds and the moon and stars appeared right above us. I couldn’t believe how high we must’ve been at that moment. I took it all in and then looked down and the moonlight was illuminating the tops of the clouds.
It looked like a sea of cotton passing beneath us. Draycko stayed just above the clouds as we flew forward. I leaned over the side of his neck and released one hand. Reaching down to the sea of clouds, I held out my open palm and dragged it across them.
They felt cool, almost like the mist that formed in the woods in the morning, and I now knew that the clouds in the sky, the clouds that released the rains and the snows soon to come, were very much the same thing as that morning mist.
“Hold on, we’re going back down!” Draycko shouted.
Already aware that when the dragon wizard said to do something I better act quickly, I reached up and took hold of his horn again.
Draycko tucked his body the way humans did when diving into the lake and dove down into the sea of clouds.
The feeling of the cool, wet clouds on my face made me happy that Draycko had pushed me off the edge. Well, maybe not happy. He could’ve done it differently after all, but I was glad that he took me on the ride.
How many knights, let alone people, get to ride a dragon to the edge of the world?
Draycko, in what seemed to be his rebellious style, tucked his wings tight against his body and aimed for the small light way down below. The wind and the force of us falling through the sky caused me to lean in close and tuck my body into him, and then I shut my eyes. There was a feeling of great terror, then thrills and fun, and then terror again.
When Draycko spread his wings wide, the jolt almost caused me to lose my grip on his horns. My legs flew off his neck and then came crashing back down to straddle it.
With a thunderous boom, Draycko landed right next to the camp fire Neala, Thomas, Aednat and Davina were relaxing around.
Draycko lay down on his stomach and I climbed off his neck. No sooner had I planted my feet on stable ground when he said, “I’ll give you two days.”
I turned to face him. “Two days? But we’ve come all this way. What can I possibly learn in two days?”
“I’ll work with you for two days,” Draycko repeated.
I tried to make him understand by repeating myself. “Two days? I need more time.”
“Two days is all I am willing to give you. At least for now. But I am also willing to give you this.” Draycko snapped his fingers and a small book appeared in his hand. He tossed the book at my feet. “Agbavitor and I created this book of magic together. It is all I know and all he knew. With this book you can learn all you wish. Guard it well.”
I picked up the book, wiped off the dirt that had dusted the front, and admired the cover. Raised in the leather was an image of a dragon hovering in the air. Below him was a wizard. Not like Agbavitor, but more like in fairy tales—he had a pointy hat and a long beard. It had to be an inside joke between the two of them.
I opened it and the handwriting was tiny. That was how they were able to fit so much information in such a small book.
As if Draycko could read my mind, he said, “Agbavitor liked having a huge wizard’s book. That’s for show and is completely unnecessary. I believe in usefulness. My book, you can carry around. Try carrying that monster sized book of his in your satchel.”
He was right. I said thank you and took my place around the fire. I wanted to study the knowledge inside, but since Draycko had joined our circle around the fire, it seemed like he wanted company, so I engaged him in conversation.
“Do you live all alone up here?” I asked.
“Aye, I don’t get many visitors. Agbavitor was my only one.”
“It must be lonely,” Davina said.
“Aye, it can be,” Draycko responded.
“So why don’t you go make some friends?” Aednat asked.
Draycko pointed at himself. “Would you want to be friends with this if you saw me coming?”
“I guess not. I would run away.”
“Me too,” Neala said.
“Aye, and me,” Thomas added.
I had an idea and dug into my satchel looking for my journal. I studied Draycko and then began sketching an image of him.
He noticed the drawing I had copied off the tree and asked about it. “Where did you see that?”
“On a tree,” I said, “in the woods. Do you know what it is?”
“Of course I do.”
We all waited for him to say what it was, but he kept quiet and sort of stared out into nothingness.
“Well? What is it?” Aednat asked, breaking his concentration.
“Oh, sorry. It’s called a ship.”
“A ship? It looks like some sort of row boat, but bigger,” Thomas said.
“You’re on the right track, young one. It is used for transporting large amounts of people and supplies across vast distances.”
“Why haven’t we ever seen one?” Aednat inquired.
Draycko paused again before answering. “What if I told you they were used to conquer and explore the realm?”
“I’d say hogwash,” Aednat answered.
“Well, rude one, it’s true.”
“What are you saying?” I asked.
“I’m tired of this topic. Let’s discuss something else.”
We all moaned. How could Draycko tell us this news and then not wish to tell us any more? We pleaded for him to continue and after hearing us moan and beg, he did.
“The realm isn’t as small as you think,” he said.
“Small? The realm is huge. It took us almost four days just to get here, and this is only Ry’uet. There’s still Ky’lima,” Aednat whined.
“It’s so much bigger.”
“How can that be?” Thomas asked biting into an apple that I swear he didn’t have a minute ago. “I’m from Ky’lima, the furthest kingdom in the realm.”
“The furthest that you are aware of.”
I was getting tired of his cryptic answers. I wanted to know what he meant. “Are you saying there are more lands out there? More lands beyond the seas?” I asked, and then held out my mug so that Neala could pour me some water.
“Aye.”
“That can’t be,” Aednat protested while holding out her mug next. “I would have seen them.”
“They are much farther.” Draycko pointed beyond the sea. “There is land that way. It is very far, a great distance. Ships are needed to make the journey.”
I stood and gazed out into the darkness. Was it true? Was it possible? Was there land out there? Land with people that no one knew about?
I sat back down. “How is it that no one knows about this?”
“Some do.”
“Like who?” Thomas asked with bits of apple spitting out of his mouth.
“Agbavitor knew. As does King Remi and the other
kings of the realm. It’s a secret. And now all of you know.”
“Why are you telling us?” Davina asked.
“Why not?”
“Tell us more of this land. Are there kings and queens? And servants?” Neala asked.
“Aye. There is much to our history that you aren’t aware of. That your parents and grandparents never knew. I know it because I am over two hundred years old.”
“How old are you, exactly?” I asked.
“I stopped counting at two hundred. It made no sense to keep a tally after that. I have seen hundreds and thousands of sunrises and sunsets and yet I still live.”
“How’s that possible,” Neala asked.
“Dragons can live for centuries.”
“It must be lonely,” Davina stated again.
“Aye, it is.”
“So tell us of this land then,” Aednat huffed.
“Are you sure you want to know?”
We all nodded and looked around at each other checking to see if we all agreed.
“Well then, on the other side of the realm, there is a land greater and larger than the three kingdoms. Hundreds of years ago, I lived there. There were wizards and dragons and kings and queens who constantly fought for control.”
“Doesn’t sound much different than here,” Thomas added.
“Correct,” Draycko agreed. “In this land there were other creatures. Creatures that don’t exist here.”
“Why not?” Davina asked.
“Because they weren’t exiled.”
“Exiled?” I asked.
“Aye. Certain... people were sent away instead of killed. When a war broke out, the losing side, those that still survived were collected and shipped off.”
“Shipped off? On ships?” I asked.
“Aye, it was a long journey. Many moons, many sunrises, many days and weeks.”
“I think he’s just making this up,” Aednat interrupted.
A puff of smoke escaped Draycko’s nostrils. “I know this... because I was on one of those ships.”
Every one fell silent, waiting for Draycko to continue.
“I was still human then, angry about the exile, but still bent on ruling. I banded together an army out of the people on my ship.”
“How many ships were there?” Thomas asked.
Wait. Did he say he was human?
“Ten ships,” Draycko answered.
“What happened to the ships?”
“They were burned so that we couldn’t return. Only one ship remained. That one returned back with the sailors and captains of the other ships. Once we landed on our knew home, I declared to my army that we would take over the land. Of course I wasn’t the only one with this plan. There were three others who had come up with the same idea. Instead of waging war on each other we decided to split the land into four kingdoms.
“Four? But there’s only three,” Aednat said.
“There’s only three now, because once I was cursed to remain a dragon, my kingdom fell. I didn’t care about it, instead choosing to spend my days hidden from everyone’s view, and the people left, and the king of Ry’uet absorbed my kingdom into his.”
“So that legend is true,” Aednat said under her breath.
She was using a stick and pushing the dirt around that rested between the cracks of the floor stones.
Draycko looked up at the sky. “I love having the ability to fly, but as the centuries passed, I grew ... I grow tired. You are correct... Davina was it?”
She nodded.
“I have grown lonely. I should have never let my kingdom fall.”
“A wizard as king?” I whispered.
“All four kings were wizards in the beginning. No one could challenge us except other wizards, and we were the most powerful.”
Aednat couldn’t resist. “Powerful? Then how’d you end up being cursed?”
“I drank a potion that did this. It’s the easiest way to curse someone. I didn’t know and when I drank it I fell ill. Later that evening, I felt pain all over my body, and then I grew and changed into...” He moved his arms in front of his body. “This.”
“Someone poisoned your drink?” I asked.
“Aye.”
Everyone looked down at their mugs wondering if theirs was poisoned. I drank and when I didn’t turn into a dragon or anything, the others drank. The dragon wizard burst out laughing.
He laughed so hard and long I didn’t think he would ever stop. “I’m joking, of course. No one cursed me. I drank the potion of deceit and stayed as a dragon too long and couldn’t change back to my human self.”
The same thing that happened to Silas happened to Draycko. Why didn’t anyone write down that warning next to the potion of deceit? It would be a nice to know and such. Note to self, write that down in my wizard book next to that potion.
“Tell us of these realms,” Davina urged.
“There’s no point. For all I know they stopped existing. Perhaps the citizens all died from another war or disease. I don’t know and I no longer care. It’s time for bed,” was the last thing Draycko said before walking away on all fours. I watched as he made his way towards the wall that led to what I guessed was his room. He flapped his wings and flew over the wall.
The next morning, I woke up and started practicing my slow movements to limber up. One by one the others awoke and emerged from their tents and joined me, until they were all copying me move for move.
As I shifted from position to position and my hands slowly cut through the air, I could feel the pressure of the air building around them. It was an odd feeling, but interesting all at the same time.
While we limbered up, Neala prepared our morning meal as usual. Even though I didn’t want her to be our servant, it sure was nice having her make our food. Who would have done it otherwise?
Ugh... I could see it now. Our morning meals would have consisted of dirt covered bread and water if any of us had to do it.
What was to become of Neala when we returned to the castle city? I already told her I didn’t want a slave. I wanted a friend. She’s the king’s slave so it didn’t matter what I wanted. If I send her away she’s worried she’ll have to do things. Things that she doesn’t want to do. Things that I wouldn’t want her to have to do. How could the queen allow the king to call Neala to his chambers? How could she allow that to happen in her palace?
When I had watched her washing in the hot springs, Neala didn’t look helpless. Her body was strong. It must’ve formed that way from all her years of servitude. She could fight if she was taught how, I was sure of it. Dragon chess would take on a new meaning for her. It was just for fun and a way to pass the time, but from now on I would play with her and all of my knights, the way the wizard played with me—in preparation for battle.
I mean if Tessa could be a knight — with her small stature, the smallest of us all — then Neala, who was close to my size, could be trained as well.
The question was, would she want to? I thought back to that day when I alone performed my slow movements. Neala was preparing our meal and watching me intently. The next time I do them, I will invite her to follow along and copy what I’m doing. If she likes it, then I will have my answer.
Chapter 19
I finished eating and impatiently waited for Draycko to emerge over his wall. I paced back and forth, eager to get started. What would be my first lesson, I wondered. Where would we begin? I was about to go back into my tent and retrieve the magic book he had given me last night when I heard the whoosh from above followed by the boom that signaled Draycko’s arrival.
“Are you ready?” Draycko asked.
“I am.”
“First things first. We must discover your special power.”
“My special power?”
“Aye. Every wizard has one special power that sets them apart.”
“What is your special power?” I asked.
“I can control the weak minded.”
“Control them how?” Aednat asked.
“Why? Are you afraid I will control you?”
Aednat didn’t answer which caused him to laugh at her.
“How do you control them?” I asked.
He waved his claw. “Not now. We can discuss that later. First we must discover your power.”
“Tell him about the things that have been happening to you,” Neala added.
She had sparked Draycko’s curiosity. “Things... what things?”
I explained to Draycko the weird things that had been happening to me on the journey to find him. How I had become so angry... so mad at Aednat, that my body locked in one position and a shrill scream that I had no control of came out of my mouth. I explained to him about the wind. How it had picked up all around me and how the dirt was being flung at her. I finished by mentioning how the rocks had started to pelt her.
Draycko rubbed his chin, raised the main gate, and led me out past the main entrance of his ruins. “Well you have great control of fire. Most wizards can control fire, although not all. Some more than others, but you can do it so easily and with your mind. Did Agbavitor know you could do that?”
“Aye. He showed me how to control it.”
“Great control of fire, dirt, and air. That only leaves water. Have you noticed anything happening around water?” he asked.
“Nay, not yet.”
“If I’m not mistaken my dear girl, I believe your special power is control of the elements. An elemental.”
“An elemental?”
“Aye. You can control the four elements. It’s very rare indeed. I’ve only known one other in my entire life. Do you have any water in your traveling supplies?”
I nodded.
“Then fetch it. Let’s perform an experiment.”
I left the dragon wizard and ran back to the group. It was amazing to think that I could have the power... a rare power to control the four elements. What would I be able to do with those powers? How could I help my friends? How could I help Silas? And how could I use it to benefit the king and his kingdom?
When I arrived back where we set up camp on the ruins, Neala asked me what the rush was.
I rummaged through my supplies searching for my flask of water. “I might be an elemental. Draycko wants to perform an experiment with water.”
