by Linn Tesli
Gaija placed a hand on his head and sighed. ”I honestly don’t know. I do think that you should pop back to Êvina and let Ayva know what we have discovered. However unlikely it is, Fyrax claimed to be bonded with Zarcos, and I believe we should take him seriously. Something does not seem right about this. There has to be an explanation that I’m missing. Either way, it’s best that Êvina is prepared for whatever may come.”
Rhastoc bobbed his head in agreement. ”I’ll be on my way then. Hopefully, see you soon.” The squirrel bounced off and disappeared between the spikes of stone.
If there was one being alive that Gaija didn’t worry much about, it was that squirrel. He had lived for thousands of years and would live for thousands more.
The first beams of sunlight had just climbed over the horizon to meet the watery shadow-play from the shell still sitting gaping at the sky in her lap. She looked down and carefully closed the mouth of the shell. Fyrax was so far gone that he had not even taken the time to wonder why he had come because she had summoned him, and not once had he seemed to notice what was in Gaija’s lap. It was alarming. She had planned to offer him the shell as some token of trust, and perhaps remind him of those he had once loved. Nothing had turned out the way she had imagined. She would have to place her faith in the young fire born prince and hope that he would compensate for his shortcomings in the battles yet to come. If he didn’t, Lycobris would indeed perish in fire once and for all. If Lycobris were set ablaze, then it would not be long before the rest of Aradria burned.
She inhaled sharply and allowed her mind to search for the young prince and the possible outcomes of his future.
19
DRAGON´S DEN
- Ayva -
Ayva was wandering through the Royal Garden when Rhastoc came bouncing toward her.
“Your Highness,” he squeaked.
“Rhastoc. Back so soon?” What could it be this time?
“I have news.”
Ayva resisted wanting to roll her eyes at him. When did he not? She sat on the nearest bench, and the squirrel scurried up to settle in her lap. She stared at him, awaiting his words.
“Very well. So, Gaija and I met Fyrax.”
Ayva gaped. “And?”
“He’s as mad as ever, it would seem. However, we discovered something rather peculiar. He’s forged a bond with Zarcos. He somehow believes that Zarcos is the new King of Fire.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Told you he was mad.”
Ayva didn’t know what to make of this news. They had hoped Kenith could reforge a bond with Fyrax, but if the dragon was already bound to someone else that might no longer be an option. Moreover, if Zarcos was in Lycobris with a dragon by his side, all hope might be lost. How could Kenith defeat them?
Rhastoc bobbed his head, and Ayva stuck a hand into a pocket on her dress. Past experiences had taught her to be prepared, so she retrieved an acorn and gave it to the squirrel. He promptly flicked it into his mouth, chewing away on it until there was nothing left.
“I assume there’s more.” Ayva leaned back.
“Since you mention it.” Rhastoc gave her a lopsided smile; his elongated front teeth closed around his bottom lip. “On my way here, I stopped by the cliffs and came upon a water elf. She tells me that the other elemental dragons have found a nest on Nayanairi.”
Ayva stood abruptly, and the squirrel tumbled off her lap to land on his hind feet on the ground.
“Ouch.”
“My apologies,” Ayva said. “But you’re telling me that the dragons are awake, and you know where they are?”
“I do.”
“Then take me there.”
“I can’t, though there are still a few griffins in Êvina, yes?”
He was right. A handful of griffins had stayed behind to help Ayva rebuild her land. She could ask one of them to fly her to the home of the water elves.
“Thank you, Rhastoc. You have been unusually helpful.”
“I’m always helpful.” Rhastoc bowed. “Until next time, Your Highness.”
“Wait. You haven’t told me where the nest is exactly.”
“Ask for an elf named Chianza. East village. She knows.” The squirrel bounded off into a bed of roses and disappeared.
Ayva wished he would stay longer. She had more questions, though what he had shared was a lot. She looked over at Archenon standing guard by the entrance to the castle, shaking her head. She had no time for him.
“Archenon,” she called but there was no reply. “Archenon!”
Still nothing. He stood motionless by the doorway, staring blankly ahead. It was as if he was no longer present at all. He had been responsive before, though, so what had changed? Did Zarcos do something to him? To the Nhêoryn? If he had, Ayva would have to find out. Right now, however, she had to find the dragons.
“Hey,” she called as she caught the eye of another spirit guard. The Êblazon stopped and bowed his head at her.
“My Queen,” he said.
“Will you please send word for one of the griffins to come to see me? I have someplace I need to go. Also, once you have done that, can you tell my mother I had to leave, but that I’ll be back in a few days?”
The Êblazon bowed and left to fulfill his command.
Ayva sighed and walked over to Archenon. He was breathing, at least. What had she done to him? Perhaps if she had not lost the Nhêoryn things would be different, but Zarcos had her necklace, and now apparently Zarcos was in Lycobris, in league with the ruby dragon. Archenon was nothing like he had been, one way or the other. He was but an empty shell, alive in a sense thanks to the binding Ayva had created with her necklace. Perhaps what she had done to him was wrong? She had given him back his heart only to once again take it from him. And then she had proceeded to take his death away from him, too.
Ayva massaged her temples as tears trickled down her cheeks. The weight of Aradria was on her shoulders, and she felt like she was failing both Kenith, Archenon, her people, and her brother at the same time. The other dragons might be the light in the dark she had been searching for, however.
A griffin squawked overhead, catching her attention. He landed with a thump in front of her, crushing a flower bed in the process. The giant griffin’s body had bright orange fur, and his feathers were a fiery red.
“Your Highness.” His deep voice had a friendly tone.
“Uzuri!”
The griffin jutted his chest out. “I’m glad to find you know my name. The Êblazon told me you required my assistance?”
“Of course I know your name. I grew up in the same Chasm you call home, remember?” She wiped her tears and smiled at the griffin. Though there had been hundreds of them in Bermunnos, she had taken the time to learn as many names as she could.
“I do remember. You were such a strange pup. Always smiling and playing tricks.” Uzuri chuckled.
“I realize it’s a lot to ask, though I am asking. I need to get to Nayanairi as quickly as possible, and I was hoping you could take me there.”
The griffin’s chest rose and fell heavily. “If that is what my queen wants, though I must admit I’m wary about flying that way. There are unsettling currents in the air both to the south and to the west.”
“I understand. I do believe the west is safer than the south, however.” Or so she hoped. There were no guarantees that the dragons would be friendly toward her. The last time they had anything to do with an Elemental was when they betrayed them.
“We leave now?”
“No time like the present.” Ayva stood, the silk dress billowing around her. She frowned. “Though perhaps allow me to change attire first. I’ll meet you back here in no time.”
“I’ll be here.”
Ayva ran back to the castle to change into a shirt and trousers. She grabbed her sword in its sheath and did her best to pin her unruly hair to her head before she sprinted back to the griffin.
Uzuri stood in the exact spot she’d left him. He stretched one
paw forward as she approached, lowering his neck and the front part of his body, inviting Ayva to sit on him. She climbed on his back, and he leaped to the sky an instant later.
The flight had been strangely liberating. Soaring through the air had allowed Ayva time to relax and think. Uzuri didn’t speak much, which had suited Ayva fine. She could only hope she had not wasted days on going to the home of the water elves.
At last, the cliffs of Nayanairi rose below. The waves lapped around every edge of the island. Large obsidian stone spikes covered the area like black trees of stone. However, in between the peaks was a healthy landscape of green and yellow growth. The blackness of the outer edges of the island concealed the vibrant beauty within.
They landed in a village on the east side of the island as Rhastoc had said. A large crowd of curious elves gathered around them only a breath later. They were different from the elves Ayva was used to. These elves had skin the color of milk, and their bodies were much more slender than those of the wild elves. These were not hunters like their kin.
A tall elf stepped out of the crowd. She wore a lavender-colored linen dress with matching flowers tucked into her flowy lilac hair.
“Who are you?” the elf asked, eyeing the griffin.
“This is Uzuri.” Ayva patted the griffin lightly. “And I’m Ayva, High Queen of Aradria.”
“My Queen.” The elf knelt, and all the other elves fell to their knees after her. A group of children giggled, running in between the kneeling crowd. “To what do we owe this grand visit?”
“Please, do stand.” Ayva gestured for the elves to rise. “What is your name?”
“Chianza, My Queen.”
“Just the elf I was looking for.” Ayva lowered her voice. “I was told you know where I can find some dragons.”
Chianza’s soft, teal-colored eyes twinkled with delight. “I do know. I will take you there right now if you wish.”
“That would be most kind.”
“The quickest way would be by air.” The elf glanced at Uzuri again.
The griffin stomped his paws in the grass. “Get me a bowl of water and perhaps a fish or two first, then I’ll fly you both.”
“It will be our pleasure,” Chianza said. Her smile was inviting, and she gestured for them to follow. They walked among a vast number of large obsidian stones that looked to have erupted from the earth at random spots throughout the hillside. Windows and doors had been carved out in fractured shapes on the stone dwellings.
The wind caught Ayva’s hair as she ascended a carved-out stairwell in one of the most massive spikes, following Chianza to the top of the hill. The ocean crashed against the island far below, the home of the water elves graciously protected by the obsidian walls of stone. Somewhere due north was Ûnda. Ayva though she could almost glimpse the light shimmer of Njordhall, though it had to be too far away for her eyes to see.
“Thank you,” Ayva said.
“Did I do something?”
“You led me here and welcomed us to your home.” Ayva smiled, glancing back at the village.
Uzuri was laying at the bottom of the stairwell. He slurped on a serving of fish while three young elves climbed on top of him, pretending to fly. Ayva giggled and returned her attention to the elf beside her.
“Have the dragons caused you any concern?”
Chianza sat cross-legged outside the only dwelling on the hilltop. A slight smile adorned her face.
“They stay away from the village. We have visited the dragons only to provide them with offerings, and we rarely see them. I did see the Pearl dragon hunt a whale earlier today, though. Such a sight it was.”
“I couldn’t possibly imagine.” Ayva twined her hair with her fingers. “Have they said anything? Anything at all about the Elementals.”
“They do not tell, and we do not ask.”
“This is your home?” Ayva gestured at the dwelling.
“For the past five hundred years, give or take a decade. Now, come inside and allow me to get some food in you, Your Majesty. It’s a rare occasion to be visited by royalty and wild elven kin.”
Ayva fidgeted with her shirt. Her heritage wasn’t something she had been particularly vocal about, and frankly not something she had thought was common knowledge.
“How?”
“You smell a little bit of everything, but there’s undoubtedly wild elven blood in your veins.”
“Your way of life seem very different.”
“It is. We rarely make contact with the wild ones anymore, though I have hopes that there will be a winter solstice celebration yet again now that the Queen of Earth is finally back where she belongs. It’s been so long since we last gathered.” Chianza stood and stepped closer to her dwelling, then gazed out over the ocean. “And perhaps, soon, the true Queen of Ûnda will free the Sirens and restore our land to what it once was.”
“I believe it will come to pass.”
Chianza waved at Ayva to follow her inside. She lingered for a moment longer before she could no longer ignore the growing hunger in her belly.
Once Uzuri and Ayva had eaten, Uzuri flew them both to where Chianza said the dragons nested.
They alighted on a broad plateau on an onyx mountain to the west of the island.
“I think it’s safe to leave her here,” Chianza said to Uzuri as Ayva slid off his back.
“But wait. How do I get back down?” Ayva asked, swaying as she eyed the drop from the plateau. It was a long way to the ground.
“If the dragons don’t fly you, there’s a stairwell on the other side. Just walk straight through the cave to the other side, and you will find it.”
Uzuri stepped forward. “I will stay if you wish, though I have no desire to be around these beasts more than I have to.”
“All right.” Ayva straightened. “I will be just fine. Thank you, Chianza. You have my gratitude. I will be sure to mention you to my friend, the rightful Queen of Ûnda.”
Chianza smiled broadly. “Thank you. Do tell her to come to visit when she can. The elves support her, now and always.” She waved as Uzuri dropped off the cliff to soar back to the village.
Ayva looked ahead at the dark mouth of a cave. She took a deep breath and entered the shadows.
“Hello?” she called. “Anyone here?” As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the shapes of the immense dragons curled up at the far end of the cave appeared before her.
A couple of lanterns were lit on opposite sides of the dragons, courtesy of the water elves, no doubt.
There were four of them, all resting in a semicircle. The dragon with pearl-colored scales was licking a large bone, the remnants of a whale scattered on the ground before her. An emerald-colored dragon lay next to her. On the opposite end was the Azurite dragon, and in the middle was the largest of them all, a dragon with sapphire scales. The sapphire dragon angled her enormous head at Ayva as she stepped closer.
“Rhonja! It has been too long. I was wondering when you would come.”
“I’m not her,” Ayva said gently.
“Sure you are. In a different lifetime, is all. I assume you do not remember who I am, however. But I remember all. I’m Sesha, Your Highness.”
“I had to see you, once I knew where you were.”
“You abandoned us. All of you. What the Elementals did to Fyrax affected our entire kin.” Sesha blew out her nostrils.
“But that wasn’t us,” Ayva stuttered.
“You would have done the same. I know what you want from us, but we will not help you in this matter.”
The pearl dragon slinked her way around Sesha, lifting her gaze at the proud sapphire dragon. “Sesha, perhaps if we talked to Fyrax?” she said before turning her bright eyes on Ayva. “I’m Jormundra, Your Highness.”
Sesha eased further back. “Talking didn’t work out so well the last time you tried. What makes you think he will listen this time?”
“What can we do? I mean, as Elementals,” Ayva asked.
“If Fyrax decides to
reforge his bond with the new King of Fire, we might be inclined to listen. Until then, we will not interfere. It will be up to Fyrax to decide.”
Sesha was angry. Ayva understood, though she somehow had to try to make her listen. “It seems Fyrax has forged a bond with a Silverling.”
“Still mad, then,” the emerald dragon snorted.
Jormundra slinked closer to Ayva. Her hot breath stuck to Ayva’s face, the scent of ocean spray and wet sand rolling off her. “Where is my queen?” Jormundra angled her neck, making her look even more extensive than before.
Ayva steadied her breathing. These creatures could gobble her up in an instant. In truth, she didn’t know the extent of what they could do, but she needed to stay calm. “She’s in Elfen Lyconis… with Kenith.”
“The fire born?” Jormundra looked like she was smiling.
“Yes.”
“Now, that is interesting. I’ll be off then.”
Sesha bounced to her feet, swinging her tail in front of Jormundra as the pearl dragon was about to leap out of the cave. “Where do you think you are going?”
“Feel free to do what you want, Sesha, but my queen needs me, and I’m going to go to her. So, you can step aside, or you can challenge me. Either way, I have made my choice.” Jormundra lifted her upper lip over her fangs and pushed past Sesha out of the cave, disappearing into the clouds.
The sapphire dragon dropped her wings to her sides and swung her tail back behind her.
“Anyone else feel the need to go, too?” She turned to the remaining two dragons. “Have you forgotten their betrayal already?”
The emerald dragon folded her wings in front of her body. “I will not interfere with Fyrax and what is going on in Lycobris. It will be as you have said, Sesha. Unless the fire born can convince Fyrax to reforge their bond, there is nothing for us to do. However, I too long to see my queen, and I will go to her.”
“Very well. I can accept your decision, Lyndora.” Sesha set her narrowed gaze on the azurite dragon who had yet to speak. “I guess you’ll want to see your king as well, Ormhug?”
