by Luis Robles
“And I’ll have you know that that little trick you played on me will work only once,” the dragon said as the opponent descended upon him, managing to grab Meager by the leg and slamming him on the river bed. Water and rocks splashed everywhere.
Meager got up from the river slowly; he was wounded and missing an arm.
“See if you ask me, I think that she is able to hurt you. After all, it’s because of her that I’m standing right here in front of you,” the dragon announced, readying himself.
“Shut up! This world and everything you know and love will fall, and there is nothing you can do about it. You too will be consumed by darkness, Dragon!”
“We’ve had enough of you,” the dragon said as he clenched his fist, breathing in deeply. The dragon’s mouth was building with a simmering flame. There was white fire in his eyes as he drew himself closer at Meager’s foot.
“Fire? Is that all you got? You can’t burn me. Dragon’s breath does nothing to us.” Meager smirked as he regained his posture.
“Fuego!” shouted the dragon in a roar that echoed through the forest and scared birds off the distant trees. He let out the hottest, most intense fire the world had ever seen, engulfing everything in front of him, turning even some of the nearby rock into liquid. The water boiled around him, his cloak threatening to let loose from his body.
A round hole in the ground covered in molten rock was all that was left from where the beast stood. Water from the river rushed into the hole, beginning to fill it up, letting out a satisfying, quenching sound as it cooled down the rocks. Then, the dragon fell to his knees.
Bliss rushed over to the dragon, unafraid to get wet by the river, “Are you ok, Dragon?”
He took a moment to catch his breath. Everything felt tense, and his skin was ripped and bloodied. His body began to heal before her, and he crawled from the muddy lake bed. The water at either side of him was already shifting from that horrid reddish tint to a clear transparency. The dragon took a deep breath, and a few moments later looked at her and responded, “I think so. I mean, I’m the one that was left alive.”
“Next time, you should start with that from the beginning,” Bliss commented with a smile.
He looked at his hands and said, “I didn’t know I could do that, well at least to that degree. The power that I had before doesn’t compare with this.”
It was then when Bliss noticed another unhealed scar on the dragon’s body, a scar that would not heal. It was then when she began to worry. “Dragon, you have another scar that did not go away!”
“Huh, what do you mean? Where?” the dragon asked as he inspected his hands.
“Your shoulder,” Bliss replied pointing at the scar.
The dragon locked over and tried to dust it off, as if it were dust. “Ah, Bliss, don’t worry. These kinds of things happen all the time. Plus, I don’t feel a thing. Let’s just take it for what it is—a reminder that I’ve already taken down two of the beasts.”
“That’s exactly what worries me, the fact that you don’t feel anything,” Bliss said thoughtfully.
The dragon looked around the area that him and Meager were fighting in, only to see trees and branches broken, and the river spilling water all around. “What a wreck! We really laid waste to the place, didn’t we? I feel bad for all of these. If this continues this way, I don’t think I’ll be doing the world any good,” the dragon said, trying to change the subject.
“I think I can fix some of it...maybe put back together some trees and branches. If there is life in them, I can bring them back,” Bliss said as she walked out of the river.
The dragon followed, standing up slowly and making his way to the dry ground.
“Revive,” Bliss whispered with a break in her voice as she gathered herself.
Almost instantaneously, the plant life seemed to be replenished anew. The bark which had been fading and drying seemed filled once more with vibrancy. Before their eyes, sprouts emerged from the ground and leaves began to form, furling from little nodes on branches. It was as if they were watching a time go backwards.
“That’s amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it,” the dragon said softly as the last of the branches went back to its original state.
“We got lucky that things didn’t get out of control,” Bliss said as she put an end to her magic.
The forest fell silent for a few moments, and then little by little life began to sing its song; animals began to reclaim their forest.
He looked at her at that moment and met her eyes. They shared a look that seemed to cross into one another's souls. He knew what she felt, and she him. It was a rare thing, something in their memory lit up! He tried to remember moments from his childhood, trying to recall if he had seen her before, somehow someway. It was a frustrating thing for the dragon, for he wanted to know her. She, on the other hand, remembered a promise a certain human boy gave her long ago, “Bliss, I’ll see you again.”
Each of them were about to speak but was interrupted by a bird diving to get the dragon’s fish.
“You should really have your fish.” She summoned down the vines that had kept the food off the ground during the entire battle.
He made a small noise of amusement, similar but not quite a laugh. “I had forgotten about those.”
“The fish is good, I promise you.”
He shrugged and started to pull the net apart. He grabbed a few sticks and started to impale the fish for a grill. “If you say so,” he said with a smile.
The dragon used his breath with a soft flame to grill all the fishes at once. The fish began to smell good under the heat, and Bliss began to think that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to eat some actual food.
“I'm frankly surprised I'm still standing. This magic is so forgiving,” he said as he bit one of the fish’s head and started chewing. “I can't help but wonder though, how fast he found us out here... We knew he was coming but, well, I had hoped for maybe a night or two.” He then passed her a stick with some fish on it.
“I believe one of them might have opened a portal for him to get here so fast,” Bliss said as she moved to sit down back at her seat made up of roots and vines.
“A portal? Can they do that?”
“There are currently mages that can do that, much more one of them. We believe that the most powerful one of them is capable of many things and picks up on the magic that mages or Nulians use,” Bliss said as she took the first bite out of her fish.
“Wait, what about you? Can you do that? Open a portal?” the dragon asked as he chewed his food.
Bliss didn’t answer until she swallowed, “Yes, I can. If I know the place, I can open a portal with precision, but if I am not familiar with the place, I can open it somewhat close to the intended location.”
“So why don’t we do that instead? Let’s just appear in front of the beast, and let them have it,” the dragon said with half a mouth full.
“Dragon, that will be incredibly unwise to do. We would have no chance to analyze where and what we are getting ourselves into. Plus, we need to buy you a little time so that you can get used to your body,” Bliss said, frowning.
“Yeah, you are right. I just don’t want to be caught off-guard again,” the dragon explained, this time managing to swallow before he spoke.
“I highly doubt that they would. I think it was just a test. They wanted to see for themselves that it was true,” Bliss said, taking another bite to her fish. “You're right, it is worrying. I wish I had answers for you. If they have some kind of hive mind, it could mean that they now know you're a dragon. That could cause us a lot of complications. We wanted to use that as a surprise.”
Finishing up the last of his fish, the dragon then looked at the compass on his hand. “Only three dots remain. The nearest one is northeast from here. That's where we are to go.”
“We’ll rest here for the night. I’ll put up a force field around us and three sentries in a large area to alert us if something is near,” Blis
s said as she got up and closed her eyes.
The dragon was amazed at Bliss’ magic and how effortlessly she commanded things. Nearby trees unrooted and began to move outside the area; a clear force field blanketed around them, dimming the visible light. She even fashioned a bed for her on one side of the area and another for the dragon on his side. However, Bliss’ bed was filled with flowers of a variety of colors and shapes, while the dragon’s was made from just roots and vines, somehow making the whole area feel cozy.
“You sure it’s ok to rest?” the dragon asked once Bliss was done with her magic.
“We’ll rest only for a few hours. We’ll leave before dawn. Your body has been through a lot. This force field will make it look as if nothing is here, and the sentries will alert us if anything is coming,” Bliss explained as she headed towards her bed, showing signs of obvious exhaustion. But when Bliss got onto her makeshift bed, she did not lay down on it; she simply floated effortlessly as it was the most natural thing to do for her. “Good night, Dragon,” she whispered.
The dragon crashed on his makeshift bed and to his surprise, it was comfortable; the roots and vines adjusted to his body. He hadn’t realized just how tired he was until the thought of sleep sounded better and better with each breath he took. “Sleep well,” he said softly before falling asleep.
5
Village of Solsadoce
The journey out of the forest took a large portion of the next morning before they broke through the tree line. There in front of them, they saw the rise of hills and the slope of valleys. It was a downhill climb. On the horizon, they saw what appeared to be a large village. The day was spent following the direction from dragon’s compass on his arm, which appeared to lead them straight towards the village. From their height, they saw the maze-like winding streets with its high walls as they got closer. There was an orchard at the center of this town, or perhaps some kind of park within its labyrinth.
“That's Solsadoce,” Bliss told him. Her voice was low and soft. She looked out over it with some remorse as she floated on the dragon’s back, as if remembering better days.
“I’ve heard of this place before; it’s supposed to be really large. People are thinking about calling it something else. But it looks so ruined now, not like the stories I’ve heard about it,” the dragon said as he slowed his pace.
Now and then, a few caravans or carts went past them as they marched on the road to the city. The contrast from better times was stark, as it showed on the faces of the travelers; they were tired, beaten, and some looked sick.
As they arrived at the entrance, they could see the damage for themselves. He felt different compared to how he felt when they went to Thall. He almost expected the pressure of Despair from the first town, but going through the entrance he felt nothing. Bliss on his shoulder looked around at the high walls which loomed over them. There were no songbirds here, only crows cawing. The walls turned and twisted on uneven paths, which had been walked and worn for years.
Along the walls, there were some small entries and openings, lending tiny windows to Solsadoce homes. Above each of the entries on the stone was a mark scribbled in black paint, a circle with a square attached at the top. It looked like a simplified drawing of a bottle. The dragon and Bliss warily stepped up a series of short stairs through the city and took another turn. There were no maps or guidelines here. The most he could do is look down at the compass on his hand and move forward.
“What's going on here?” he wondered to Bliss.
“I'm not sure. I have yet to come across something like this. This is new to me,” she uttered.
“Where is everybody?”
As they started to reach the wider paths winding through the city, they started to see the first of the locals. The streets had mostly been cleared. Beggars coughed and vomited down at some of the dead-end paths of the labyrinth-like village. Bliss covered her nose, and the dragon found himself holding his breath mostly. Those who were walking all covered their faces with cloth and seemed to show great concern, keeping their distance from the dragon and Bliss who had no face-coverings. Even with the flimsy protection, however, they seemed to carry themselves carefully, clutching at their stomach or shivering as if they had a fever; many could only walk a few steps before leaning against the stone walls.
The dragon was greatly worried over what he saw, but before much thought could be put towards it, he spotted a dying tree as they approached the middle of the city.
They could see a small group of creatures dressed in clean white robes, with elaborate masks over their faces. Around them sat and stood the sick and weak. Prayers were being sent towards the tree it seemed, or perhaps the spirit within it or within the whole grove. Its branches looked dry and old. The leaves were spotted, and many were dying at the node. Priests huddled with practitioners, and they all aided one another in standing up and sitting down again to the whispered words of faith. Some were so poor in health that this nearly made them collapse.
“To who are they praying to? To that tree?” the dragon asked in a low voice as they got nearer.
“They are desperate. They built the village around the tree; it was a sign of strength and wellbeing. That’s what I know of this village,” Bliss said, saddened.
The ones in masks dragged around cauldrons of potions and tonics. Each cauldron was labelled with paint across their sides. It crossed the dragon’s mind that perhaps these were the same people who would mark the doors.
“The people with the mask must be the apothecaries of the town,” Bliss added after a moment.
The apothecaries in masks generally walked around the hoard of the sick and handed out freshly washed blankets and cups of the glowing broth they had prepared. The efforts to keep these people alive warmed the newcomers’ hearts.
The dragon took a look at the group of apothecaries in particular. Most notable was a leading figure who inspected the cauldrons and helped to organize the effort. He was a creature that seemed to be part lion, with a large mane greying and frayed around his neck like an impressive scarf; it was tired and heavy, draping. It was swept back but tufts of it fell off him like mange. His fur seemed to be in poor condition, but he carried himself well despite how he would appear. He was attending to the dying tree.
“He must be the one in charge. Let’s go talk to him and see if there is anything we can do to help,” the dragon said as he moved closer to the great dying tree.
When the dragon got closer, they noticed something peculiar about the tree—the tree was breathing! But it was not breathing normally; it looked as if it was struggling to stay alive.
A young human girl who only came up to his chest, with black hair in twin braids down her back, got near the tree and said to the lion creature apothecary, “This is more serious than I had first thought.”
“Quickly. I need that tonic, you know, fae-spring and immortal fungi,” the leader rushed her. The assistant ran to get these pieces together, producing a potion that looked like soured cream in vinegar, as unpleasant as it initially appeared. The lion creature nodded and prayed upon it. He closed his eyes and made motions into the air with his paws. The assistant held her own hand out in prayer without being asked. Together, they intrinsically knew what motions to make and mirrored one another. Bliss and the dragon observed this curiously from the sidelines, wondering what they were doing.
After a few seconds, they held the vial out towards the tree and emptied its contents. When they poured, they turned golden, and they hit the mangled sharp-angled roots below. The liquid was absorbed almost instantly and made the area glow for a moment.
“Their efforts are futile; that kind of magic will only work for a few seconds, for the illness the tree carries is not of this world,” Bliss said concerned.
“Do you think your magic could help these poor people?” the dragon asked her quietly, “like it did to the forest?”
Bliss nodded her head, concern drawing a line between her eyebrows as she swept some violet hair
off her face behind her ear. “This is active beast magic from the Gates. It will be hard,” she told him as she hopped off his shoulder.
The leader looked lost as the tree became worse in its condition, with branches falling off. The assistant looked up to him. “Is there... nothing else we can do? There must be something.”
“Mm... it can't end like this. You're right, Mihra. Perhaps, if we were at the potion shop we could—”
“Excuse me,” Bliss said calmly.
The leader and his assistant turned to Bliss and the dragon. Both the leader of the apothecaries and the assistant stood there speechless, trying to comprehend just exactly what they were seeing. In front of them was a perfectly healthy looking human accompanied by a dragon in a cloak.
“I haven't seen them around here,” noticed the girl named Mihra, tilting her head curiously.
“We haven’t seen anything like them around here in a very long time,” the leader of the apothecaries said.
“Perhaps, I can be of some help. What you are dealing with here is not of this world. It’s beyond any potion you can muster. But I can help.”
The leader of the apothecaries stood quiet, only gesturing towards the great dying tree.
When she was close enough to the tree, Bliss extended her hand as if she was reaching for a rope and began to pull. A dark cloud appeared from within the tree. The cloud got bigger with each pull until it was the same size as the tree. “Be gone! This is not your body,” Bliss commanded as she tugged one final time and tossed the cloud away from the tree.
With a loud cawing sound, the cloud broke up into crow-like creatures that flew away, scared. When the black birds were no longer visible, the tree began to take back its original form; twisted branches began to straighten, leaves turned back to green, and the air around them began to feel fresh once again. At the same time, the people and the Nulians that the apothecaries were attending to, began to get better, some of them even standing up.
“Are you okay?” the dragon asked Bliss when he noticed that she was trying to catch her breath.
