by Robert Day
“They are the wanderers, who seek to break back through the heavens and return. They are those who died early or through unnatural ways, seeking to right the wrong of their demise. They are the ones who strive the hardest; though they know it is impossible.”
Valdieron wondered if the falling star he had seen was Dhalan, already seeking vengeance for his murder, and the thought brought a wry smile to his face. Maybe in a matter of days he would be able to join Dhalan on his search for the impossible passage back to mortality. He had not noticed Jalek had risen, but saw the old warrior returning to his bedroll, though he did catch some muffled words.
“May your star always shine bright, Valdieron of Tyr.”
Valdieron took the words as a compliment, but knew the old warrior could have been saying it was best not to struggle against the inevitable, where he would be visible always, not an occasional glimmer as he made his heavenly wandering.
The curious blight in the land that was the Spider Ravines opened up before the four weary travelers on the tenth day of their trip. Their progress had been slowed by the unnaturally warm weather beating down on them every step of the way, forcing them to rest more and travel some of the way in the slightly cooler protection of darkness.
If Valdieron had to explain this strange feature, he would have said it was like a huge slab of ice struck a blow hard enough not to shatter it, but to riddle it with fractures and stresses. This is how the Ravines looked to him, though he acceded that in a certain way they did appear like a ragged spider's web.
If Javin or the others were glad to have reached the ravines, they did not show it. The idea of shade within the dark passages spurred them forward, though there would be no protection for a time with the midday sun directly overhead.
They reached one tendril of the 'Web', a narrow incline leading down into the deeper recesses. The way appeared worn, though the walls showed areas of both jagged and smooth rock. Small roots and shrubs grew amid cracks in the stony walls, where some hard packed dirt remained, but none seemed to be in any way nourishing or enticing to eat, while many were thorned and a sickly grey in color.
The ground was a mixture of rock and dirt, hard and worn, as if pressed by many countless passings. Javin knelt briefly in one spot, checking something on the burning ground, but he straightened and led them onwards without mentioning what it was he had been studying.
Having to be cautious in the twisting ravine, which met and interlaced with countless other passages, the four continued heading in a westerly direction, though often the winding passage would have them turned south or north, and sometimes even back to the east, which made Valdieron wonder if Javin knew where he was leading them, but the Darishi finally brought them into a vast clearing inside the ravine.
Here, the sheer walls rose fifty feet around, though from above the hole would have appeared ovular. Many passages ran from it, some narrow and overgrown, and others like those they exited being large and easily negotiable.
Towards the far side of the huge clearing, some two hundred paces away, the ground sloped down sharply into a large opening in the ground. The entrance was ten times the size of a man, and fully fifty paces wide, giving it the appearance of a mouth as it was rounded at both ends.
On the slope leading into the cave, debris was scattered about, ranging from small stones and tumbleweed to the broken and charred bones of both animals and humans. One skull he saw had a huge hole in its forehead, as if penetrated by a round weapon. Also, thirty paces from the dark opening, there were two charred metal posts, from which reclined blackened chains and fetters, one of which still held a fleshless arm, swaying slightly with the warm breeze that seemed to emerge from the vast opening.
On another post, further from the opening, hung a large silver bell.
The afternoon shadows gave the cave an eerie appearance, accentuating its internal darkness, which could have held anything. Valdieron had not as yet been told what the 'Serpent' was.
“None of those who have returned have lingered to view the creature,” told Javin when Val had asked him previously. “It is assumed those who stay to view the creature are those who do not return. Some stories from the survivors tell of the sound of slithering scales across the stony ground, thus the conclusion it is a great snake or lizard.” Valdieron had his own differing opinion now that he saw the blackened posts and surrounding area, but he said nothing.
“Do you want to wait until nightfall?” asked Javin, the slight quiver in his voice belying his outward calmness as he eyed the cave opening at all times.
Valdieron shook his head. He knew the others were less than comfortable in this place, so he would make it as easy on them as possible. Moving forward, he went several paces before Javin and the others fell in behind him.
Kicking away the bones beneath the wooden posts, Javin and Akor secured Valdieron facing the cavern, while Jalek watched the opening for any signs of motion.
“We will strike the bell and leave, lest the Serpent consume us all.”
Taking a look around at the scattered bones, Valdieron wondered how many of them were from sacrifices, and how many were from guides.
There was an awkward silence as the four regarded each other. Tears flowed unashamedly down Akor's face as he placed a hand on Valdieron's shoulder and nodded farewell. Jalek did the same, but Javin drew his sword and held it up before him in what could only be construed as a Warrior's salute, to which Valdieron smiled in return.
Then Javin was past Valdieron, following the others. Striking the bell sent an almost pure note reverberating through the afternoon silence. The sound made Valdieron think suddenly of Llewellyn, and the many notes he had heard from the Bard's harp. The memory brought a tear to his eye for some reason, but he was smiling as he heard Javin follow Akor and Jalek, who were fleeing rapidly back up the slope towards the safety of the passages.
A sudden roar shook the ground, rattling bone against stone on the ground and raising a thin pall of dust. Val heard movement from inside the cave as a swooshing of hot wind emanated from the opening, followed by what sounded like scuttling of metal on stone.
With a cold certainty Valdieron knew the serpent was coming out, and it would likely go after the others, seeing him already helpless. In frustration and anger he yanked at the metal bindings, causing the chain to creak and rattle but little else.
With his keen vision, Valdieron saw movement from within the darkness an instant before something broke through the veil.
A huge head appeared, seemingly disembodied before a scaled neck followed. The head was what Valdieron instantly recognized as a Dragon's, scaled and somewhat akin to a canine's, with ridged forehead and long maw, though it was longer in comparison, with sweptback webbed ears and sweeping horns arched inwards. Huge teeth, like curved swords, gleamed from its maw, which was parted in a silent growl. There was little reflection off its pale scales, which appeared almost grey in the gloom.
Huge cat-like eyes shifted instantly to the fleeing figure of Javin, and the creature seemed to lurch forward, sensing an easy kill. It had barely registered Valdieron, probably seeing him as only an easy kill.
Valdieron’s senses were reeling with the appearance of a creature that he had come to think as more legend than myth. Its presence came as a blow, reinforcing the past words of the ghostly Astan-Valar. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised, considering all of the wonders he had witnessed over the last half-year, but the enormity and impressiveness of this creature in the flesh made him stare with unsuppressed awe and fear.
As if he could tell the creature was going after Javin, he raised his voice and cried out as loudly as he could over the scraping of clawed feet and hissing of angry breath. “Not them! It’s me you want! Come and get me!”
By then the creature's body had appeared. Its sinuous neck, topped with sharp ridges, sprang from a huge chest, wide and rippling with muscle beneath supple scale as it moved. Two sleek forelegs, with single talons at the middle joint of each, ende
d in claws, similar to an eagle's only more massive. Where each foreleg sprang from muscled shoulder, so did thick wings, like huge sails. Each bat like wing was also taloned at each boney juncture, with blood-shot roots showing through the thin leathery skin.
Its long body was thick, reminding Valdieron of Kaz’ large but supple body, though the dragons' was topped by a row of small ridges, thick with protruding spikes. These were smallest along its head and tail, and largest at its shoulders and back. Its hind legs were powerful and long, useful for launching it into flight, similarly clawed and taloned like the smaller forelegs. A tail did not appear fully, remaining within the dark veil as the creature came to an abrupt halt.
It turned its head sharply and regarded Valdieron, much like a snake preparing to strike, and Valdieron got a closer look at it. It was not scaled in the same manner of a fish, rather its skin was segmented, like a field of mud now dried, cracked between flat pieces that molded with its joints. This hide showed both the smooth toughness of a flat gemstone, along with the malleability of leather.
It was an old dragon, too, which was strange that he should notice considering it hung over him like waiting doom. He noted the worn appearance of its many talons and spikes, while some were chipped and broken where obvious decay was evident. Its teeth also bore an orange tinge, and one of its sword like teeth was missing its point, and would have difficulty piercing meat, let along tough hide and armor.
Its ridged eyes, regarding him under furrowed brow, were an amazing green in color, like a dew topped pasture under an early morning sun. There he saw many things, but the foremost was intelligence and anger, and then there was curiosity.
And fear!
The Dragon held no more concerns for the fleeing Darishi as its maw opened wide, tongue flattening as if it prepared to bite down at him. Wings spread almost reflexively, towering beyond the cavern to catch the arcing sunlight in sheets of emerald brilliance. Even in the moment of his death, Valdieron appreciated the authoritative beauty of this creature, which was far greater in terms of power and destructive force than he could comprehend. He felt much like a mouse would when confronted by not just a domestic cat, but instead a hunting cat.
Its nostrils flared and it roared, a deafening cry much akin to Kaz’, only throatier and more like thunder in terms of volume and reverberation through the shallow basin. There came with it, however, a sense of finality, not in anger, but in circumstance and Valdieron knew it was with this note that he would cease his existence as the beast inhaled. After a brief pause where time ceased, caught in timeless exquisiteness, it breathed a wall of blazing fire at him, and he was screaming as the orange heat enveloped him.
Valdieron opened his eyes, only to find that the wall of fire billowed around him, like a blast from a furnace magnified hundredfold. His senses reeled, as he knew the flames should be eating at his flesh like starved carrion. His skin tingled at the breathy feel of it, but there was no harm done to him other than a vague burning, but that seemed to be internal rather than external, as if he had just run a race.
All noise had vanished, save the rushing of air and the crackling of the intense flames, and although his vision was remarkably clear, there was nothing for him to see. Even the ground beneath him seemed to have disappeared, and he drifted in a cloud of fire. If time had meaning here, it did not show, until something seemed to grasp him bodily, tighter than steel bonds except he could see nothing. These bonds of flame or air dragged him, and for the first time he noticed a black hole amidst the flames.
It was nothing solid, only a veil beyond the flames, and the invisible force propelled him through the flames, and through the veil. There was a distant hissing like the extinguishing of a fire, and then that which was the veil enveloped him and he suddenly could not breath. His throat constricted and he gagged, though his chest could not expand and his throat was dry and unresponsive. He clawed vainly at the bonds that grasped him, feeling as if he were having a little success tearing them away, but like many snaky tendrils they grasped him again and again until he felt himself grow weaker and weaker. With his last reserve of power, he tore at the invisible bonds as if he had claws, but his mind was foggy, and he felt that sleep was preferable to this torment.
Tear! Tear! The actions were mechanical now, feeling disembodied, and his mind made one final effort to break free to freedom. Tear! Tear! The bonds flew, appearing more substantial now. His mind was free then, and as he fell into unconsciousness, he knew complete freedom, from both pain and bondage.
Chapter 12
A pale yellow light greeted Valdieron as he snapped from slumber like someone waking from a nightmare, only he was not sweating or breathing hard, and his waking mind was at ease.
Until the vast cavern around him brought distant memories to the fore and he rose to a crouch and checked himself, remembering the conflagration that had consumed him and swept him into unconsciousness, from which he had expected not to wake. He appeared unharmed, dressed as he had been when the Dragon had appeared, still wearing his weapons and the Dragon's Tear.
“You are unharmed, Kay’taari.”
Jerking around frantically, Valdieron was once again faced with the monolith that was the Dragon, its scales glowing a dark green in the light, which seemed to have no source. In the confines of the cavern, it looked even larger than it had at first appearance, resting upon its haunches and regarding him down the length of its forelegs, where clawed feet stopped within touching distance of Valdieron. Its wings were folded and its languorous tail was curled back before it, beneath its body, and its head was lowered only slightly on its sinuous neck.
The fear and dread that had paralyzed him earlier was not as great this time, though he felt himself tremble slightly. He gathered himself and turned to face the Dragon, though he did not rise, not knowing how the creature might respond.
Staring up at the awesome creature, he knew he should have been dead, consumed by the Dragon's fiery breath, though he vaguely recalled the moment before he lost consciousness, where amid the flames that did not touch him, he battled against something grasping him. It was an enigma to him, but it seemed his life since the destruction of Shadowvale was a series of such events.
“I am alive. Why?” His words came out haltingly, the mere presence and legend of the Dragon being enough for him to be cautious and reluctant to speak, lest it take offence, though he knew there had to be a reason why it hadn't killed him.
The Dragon lowered its ridged head to a level with Valdieron, showing no signs of discomfort. Its huge eyes were unblinking as they regarded him, their emerald depths flecked with pinpoints of light, reminiscent of stars.
“Why do you let yourself be sacrificed?”
It was an accusation more than an answer, as if the very act of letting oneself be sacrificed was unheard of by the Dragon, though Valdieron knew the creature was testing him somehow.
“By what power could I resist? I was bound.”
The Dragon drew back slightly at this, its nostrils flaring with possible surprise or doubt. “Powerless you are not, Kay'taari, but you were indeed bound, it seems, by more than physical restraint. Still, to concede one's life with such composure and resignation, especially when you know you are without fault, takes some courage. And foolishness.”
“How do you know of that?” asked Valdieron sharply, taking no insult from the Dragon's words, but surprised at its knowledge. The dragon drew back further, perhaps caught by Valdieron's tone, and for a moment Valdieron felt he had gone too far, but a slow chuckle began to reverberate through the chamber, a sound not coming easily to the big creature.
“Knowledge is easily acquired, young Kay'taari.”
Valdieron regarded the Dragon bemusedly. He had thought the creature to be harsh and edgy, but this sudden humor made him refine his judgment. “I am not a Kay'taari,” he stated irritably, though in the back of his mind he wondered what he was, for even he did not know yet. That he was Dak'marian was obvious, for even the Darishi Equinary
had called him such, and Nortus the Blademaster had called him cousin, though he had also been told by Llewellyn that his blood ran with Elvin heritage, something both incredulous and mysterious. He knew by the gift of the Dragon's eye and the mysterious letter, his mother had been somehow different, but he did not think a horse breeder in southern Tyr would have an opportunity to marry a woman of Dak'marian and Elvin blood.
The Dragon regarded him silently, eyes still unblinking in the mystical light, though finally he seemed to sigh and lower himself to lay down, causing Valdieron to scramble out of the way or be squashed. Its head remained before Valdieron, however.
“Your mind is filled with indecision and confusion, Valdieron, but what you have seen and heard during recent times is merely a prelude to what will come. You have questions, your eyes show that, and although I have many answers, there is only one place these answers are given without taint or cause for disbelief.”
“The Glade of Truths!” The Dragon's eyes flicked slightly as Valdieron spoke, as if he had waited for Valdieron to show that he knew. “But I am not ready for the test yet.”
“How can you be sure, Valdieron? It is not a test solely of might, but of every aspect of Kay'taari life. Despite any doubts you might have, these powers and actions are inherent in you, and will only need the right circumstances to bring them out. The Test will do that.”
“What if I fail?” asked Valdieron desperately, clutching vainly at the remaining link binding him to Garrik Ketherson. To admit he was Kay'taari would severe any thread that held him to the man who had indeed been his father, if not in blood. “The Master has said many do not return from the test, and of those who do, some are never the same.”
