by K. E. Young
Mero came out after ten or fifteen minutes with Dantalion and Harad. All three were laughing over something Harad was saying. Two of the armory apprentices followed carrying a variety of additional practice weaponry. Mero carried a large coil of heavy rope that, with Dantalion's aid, he laid out in a ring directly in front of me while Harad looked over the candidates. After a couple minutes, he came over and in a low voice said, "That Padjet fellow is the only one I think you need to avoid. The skinny warrior has a dark side to him but he has an honest desire to join your household. He's not local. He looks to be Akkadi. Akkad is on the other side of the sea, past Drakken so he's a long way from home. They're Aria Atlani and matriarchal so he'll probably be more comfortable working for you. They are deeply honorable and fierce fighters so he'd be an asset. The fellow in the dark blue tunic and brown trousers is hiding something though. Not anything dark, just hiding."
I patted his shoulder with the tip of my tail as thanks and pushed him back towards the ring just as the artist complained again that I 'must be still!' His whining annoyed me so I slammed my tail down beside him before resuming the stupid pose. Mero was laughing at me so I stuck my tongue out at him.
Dantalion was addressing the warriors. "Each of you will fight against one of us three while Lady Kendra watches. Afterward, she will decide, either for or against. You need not win or even do well. Just do your best. If you do poorly but she feels you are worth the effort, she will accept you. If you do well, but she feels there is something about you that won't work with her or her household, she will say no. Lady Kendra holds the only vote. That having been said, her saying no does not mean your chances are gone. Several households among the dragonlords will lose house members to Lady Kendra. Interviews for those spots will happen after her she fills her household. Now, who's first?"
A wicked grin every bit as evil as Mero's accompanied that last sentence and more than a few of the waiting candidates seemed daunted. I trilled to get Dantalion's attention and used my tail to point at the Akkadi, then to Mero. Dantalion nodded and motioned the fellow into the ring. "Looks like she's chosen you to be first. Good luck!"
He was short, about my height when I was in human form, and his moves were quick and precise. Selecting two slim rattan swords only a little longer than his forearm, he faced off against Mero holding one in each hand. He did rather well. It impressed his fellow candidates. He didn't just move like a weasel, he fought like one too, vicious and fast. I liked him. I nodded and Mero waved to the servant to give him a ribbon, then chatted with him while Dantalion went up against the next one.
This one was one of Geran's people and was very good. Not as good as Dantalion, but good. I accepted him too. The next one up looked good until he blew up and lost his temper after Harad dumped him on his backside. I didn't need a hothead or a poor sportsman in my crew so I signaled no.
The artist allowed me a break after a couple hours although he refused to let me see how the picture was coming along. I did a few stretches and shifted back to my human form.
Dantalion wandered over. "Have you realized that your dragon is bigger than Mero or Geran's?"
I blew stray hairs away from my mouth. "Not really, but it's not too surprising. Geran said the females were larger. I must learn how he shot sparks so I can return the favor."
"Sparks?" My poor brother looked confused.
"He snuck up behind me while I was trying out my tail and shot sparks at my butt."
"Ah. I can teach you. It's easy." He paused with an odd look on his face. "I wanted to apologize for last night. The Goddess's Tasks are a sore point for me."
"You are my brother. Your dragon isn't the only one to feel a kinship. Tell me about it?" Whatever it was, it bothered him and sometimes an outside party could offer perspective or answers that those most involved couldn't see. I hoped that might be the case. Even if it wasn't, I wanted to know why my new brother was upset.
His shoulders relaxed and he glanced back at the remaining prospects before turning back. "I was thirteen when the Goddess brought me here. That was fifteen years ago. They kept telling me that the Goddess gives you enough time to prepare but the years passed and nothing happened. Nothing. Eventually, I gave up.
"I fostered with Lady Sam and General Istanetlu. He taught me everything he could. I even learned from Sam how to dispel demons and speak Karthim. When I was older, it seemed natural for me to join the army under him. I earned an officer slot. I had a talent for it, and it felt good to be useful for a change." His eyes fixed on the distance, a small smile tugging his lips as he remembered good times. "We were clearing out a band of pirates when it happened. One of them pushed me off a cliff during the fight. I thought I would die — instead, I grew wings.
"The Sabriyu decided that the Goddess brought me here because I had a dragon and it should be with its own kind, not because I had a task. They discarded my chronicle."
Sabriyu were now officially on my shit-list. They threw someone away because that person didn't meet their strict standards of what is interesting. Geran had called him an anomaly. Shouldn't that tell them that there was more to him than they expected? I wondered what else the Sabriyu had dismissed as unimportant.
"Well, that was stupid of them." Dantalion's eyes snapped to mine. "You don't match the pattern they expect. From what I understand, there's a lot to do with the recent Nakairi that doesn't match what they expect." I ticked the items off on my fingers. "The sheer number of Nakairi, the fact at least one is here for multiple Tasks, now Nakairi with dragons. You would think they would realize there's more to you than they thought. They don't have all the answers."
I faced him with my arms akimbo. "Ignore them. Ignore the potential Task. They don't know. All you can do is live. If there is a Task waiting for you, it will come. For all you know, you need to wait for someone else, like Lady Sara has waited for me, for your Task to come.
"Meanwhile, you have become someone who is worthwhile and valuable in your own right, not just because the Goddess thought you might be useful. You aren't what you would have been in your original world, and maybe that's why it's taking so long. Maybe she needs who you're becoming, not who you were or would have been. Maybe she needs General Dantalion the dragonlord. What would you have been if the Goddess hadn't brought you here?"
His face flickered as a war raged in his head. I knew I had gotten through to him when his shoulders squared and his chin lifted. His eyes blazed as he wrapped his arms around me and hugged hard.
"Thank you sister," he whispered. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps the Goddess did need me to be a General instead of a potter."
I hugged him back. "What is family for?" I laughed as I caught sight of Mero waving in the corner of my vision. "It seems duty calls once more."
He let go, looking back at the group still awaiting testing. "We missed that last fellow. Shall we retest him?"
"No. If Mero likes him, I'll just take him. If he doesn't work out I can pound on him until he straightens up or I'll get rid of him."
He grinned then spun on his heel, calling out over his shoulder. "I'll let him know."
Geran's voice was quiet behind me. "That was well done."
I half turned to look at him. "I don't think I like these Sabriyu people. Who are they anyway? From Dantalion's reaction, they're powerful. What's this deal about discarding his chronicle?"
Geran looked grim. "Many argued with them about that. The Sabriyu are the family that leads the Speakers. One of their duties is to maintain the chronicles of the Nakairi and their Tasks. They also take messages from the Goddess passed to the Speakers and give them to their intended recipients."
I sighed in frustration. It was an answer but didn't answer my questions. "That doesn't explain the bit about the chronicle."
"Lady Sabriyu said it was clear Dantalion wasn't Nakairu. He was merely a lost dragon brought home."
My mind flashed over the court ladies and their lack of ability to see female warriors. The similarities were obvious a
s a case of 'This thing doesn't match my expectations, therefore it is something else'. It seems the Drakkeni weren't immune to the Ostrich Effect.
"Stupid. It's not her decision. It's the Goddess'. Even if his only purpose here is to pass on his bloodline, it's still a Task. Something only he can do. It may not be what they expect, but that doesn't change what it is."
Geran barked a laugh. "If you knew how many times others have presented that same argument to her. Unfortunately, it doesn't work."
My dragon growled. "Maybe we should make our own chronicles. We could hardly do a worse job than they have. Are they all as dry and bare of detail as Sara's is?"
His head tipped as he took a step to face me more directly. "No. The older chronicles included much more information on the context of the situation as well as the thoughts and experiences of the Nakairu and those around them. Lady Sabriyu claims the format she uses contains all the information that is necessary. She feels that facts, not emotion tell the story."
I puffed out a breath. "Well, that's good. Sara's chronicle read like a police report and raised more questions than it answered. I would have expected a lot more detail. To be honest, I didn't think much of its quality. Facts play their part, but they don't tell you why someone does a particular thing. That's why you need to include the emotions and the context."
"We agree on that. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps we should begin our own chronicles. I have notebooks in my files back in Drakken on the information I gathered from both Sara and Sam on their Tasks. It would be a place to start. Dantalion's memories of what Sam told him would help."
He shot me a look of glee. "We can rebuild Dantalion's chronicle properly. Heh. You are Edut-Naysiru to your bones."
"The thing about Dantalion's chronicle really bothered you, didn't it?"
His glee faded and a wry grin took its place. "Yes. The Edut-Naysiri used to be more than just scholars and advisors to the King or Emperor. All three Orders were equal. Now only the Speakers still retain their old power."
Three Orders? The Edut-Naysiri and the Speakers obviously were two of them, but who was the third? "What happened?"
He rubbed his neck and looked tired. "The Mad King happened. King Adro was an unbalanced despot who ruled Drakken two thousand years ago. He was the only child of the last of the Imperial dragons. Before Esrab destroyed him, he gutted the Taybik-Daymi and the Edut-Naysiri. He slaughtered entire clans and families dedicated to those Orders. We lost their bloodlines forever.
"Then he burned and smashed the archives and every library he could find. He and his minions smashed thousands of memory crystals, some brought from Atlan itself, turning them into dust and shattered fragments. Drakken lost almost everything. Now, when someone suffers a monumental loss they cannot recover from, we call it ashes and dust because that was all that the Mad King left.
"Much of our earlier history is still a mystery. What remained of the Edut-Naysiri turned to rebuilding as best they could but they didn't have much to work with. Drakken was always insular. When we needed the help of outside parties to rebuild, there was no one willing to do so. Our order never regained its former power."
Last of the Imperial dragons… I understood now why having four colors was such a big deal. A bloodline that disappeared two millennia ago suddenly shows up from another world. No wonder people were losing their minds. Geran's warning that not all of Drakken would welcome me came to mind. Those with power didn't like giving it up, even if it was the right thing to do. "And the Taybik-Daymi? What were they and how did they lose their power?"
His gaze was measuring. "The Taybik-Daymi are — assassins and spies. The Edut-Naysiri were the mind, the Speakers were the heart, and the Taybik-Daymi were the hands. Together, the Orders were the three pillars that supported the King, Drakken, the Aria Atlani, and the world. In that order."
As I thought about it, I had to laugh. I thought I knew who at least one of them was. "Mero? And his teacher Kaio?"
Geran proffered a satisfied smile. "Of course."
"So what do assassins do in a nation of people who do not lie?"
He laughed. "We may not tell untruths, but that isn't quite the same thing as not lying. We may be half dragon, but we are also half-human, with all the failings that come with it." He sobered. "Sometimes, a person allows the darker aspects of their human side to get out of control. The dragon side… resists. If this person persists, the dragon soul will commit suicide rather than be joined with one they consider anathema.
"The death of the dragon soul inevitably leads to insanity and, among the males, an inability to manifest a dragon form. After that, they are a danger to all around them. A Taybik-Daymu deals with them rather than force a clan or family to kill one of their kin."
He waved towards Mero. "They also act as spies and assassins outside Drakken as you can see. As for why they lost their power…" He sighed heavily. "Kalbiya Esrab was the Daym-Ikaynu at the time, head of the Taybik-Daymi. He led the uprising that overthrew Adro. A council convened and elected a new king and thus, Kalbiya Esrab became King Shalatu Esrab. During the effort to clean up the mess, accusations arose that with the Daym-Ikaynu becoming King, the Taybik-Daymi, the group who failed to curb Adro in time, had too much power. They made a rule that no member of any of the Orders could become King."
So, the Taybik-Daymi were responsible for dealing with those who were insane and a danger to the rest, yet they allowed this Adro fellow to take the throne and do immeasurable damage. No wonder they had lost power. Still, wasn't two thousand years long enough to atone for one mistake, no matter how large?
Then there was the problem of what happens when the guardians watching for disaster are so disenfranchised that they cannot do their jobs. Geran's words implied that was the case whether or not he realized it. The instability they had introduced wasn't good for Drakken or anyone else save for those who would take advantage of the weakness.
I crossed my arms across my chest. My stubborn streak lifting its head. "I think Drakken has punished them enough. A tripod with mismatched legs is unstable. The Emperor needs all three to be equal. Does my father-to-be know all this?"
Geran's expression told me he did not and I blew my breath out in angry frustration. "Tell him! This is something he needs to know. He needs to know the foundation he relies on is unstable. It's a danger to all of Drakken. It's astonishing that it hasn't bitten you in the backside already. Do the Orders at least talk to each other?"
His tone was stiff. "The Edut-Naysiri and the Taybik-Daymu are still quite close but the Speakers have drifted away in recent generations. They sided with the isolationists. Lady Sabriyu no longer consults with us, nor did her mother."
Geran was upset. I'm sure he didn't much like me challenging him. Too bad. I would not sugarcoat things for him. I prepared to continue my argument.
Geran flung a hand up to forestall my words. "Enough. I understand. I may not like it, but I do understand what you're saying. You're right. We've let things slide for too long. Even worse, we've allowed the distractions of the past fifty years to blind us to the fact that a problem exists. I think back on all the frustrations my father had to deal with when I was growing up and everything he has to deal with now…" He wiped his face, in intense thought.
After a minute, he raised his eyes to mine. "You're right. The Drakkeni have been sliding into the abyss for a long time, Kendra. We've been fading for centuries but we didn't want to admit it. It was only with our stewardship of Therys thirty years ago that we began to return to — ourselves. It was our first foray in the world other than fighting the occasional valbore since the destruction of the Goddess's temple eight hundred years ago."
My voice was firm and unyielding. "The Edut-Naysiri must return to what they were before the Mad King. The Taybik-Daymi must stop punishing themselves for a failure two thousand years ago. We must bring the Sabriyu to heel. They do not hold power alone. The Emperor is not a puppet to for use by those who would take the power for themselves. The Sab
riyu have gotten too used to power without the checks of the other two orders."
Geran was silent, holding my eyes unflinchingly. I wasn't about to budge on this. This was my home now. I had never been good at knuckling under when challenged. Their problems had existed for a long time, longer than most nations or empires ever exist, but that was no excuse for not fixing it.
He drew himself to attention and bowed deeply. "Yes, Riest-Naysiru." A small mischievous smile played on his lips as he relaxed into a more casual pose.
I pressed at the bridge of my nose at the sudden spike of pain in my head. "Do I want to know what that means?"
He laughed. "It is the title of the one who leads our order. It means First Keeper, or close enough."
My eyes narrowed. "You're making fun of me." My temper was getting the better of me. My dragon was indignant.
His head tipped again thoughtfully. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. We do not currently have a Riest-Naysiru. You could do no worse than any of the other candidates would and likely do far better. Our former leader, Riest Boras, neglected to name a successor before he died a month ago."
The local months were seven weeks long. That's a long time to be leaderless. "The order has gone for a month without a successor being named? I take it politics are particularly ugly right now?"
His mischievous smile was back. "It is. Although I suspect it won't be for much longer. The Council of the Eight is looking for a proper candidate."
"And who is this Council of the Eight?"
He laughed at my dry tone. "They serve as senior advisors to the First Keeper. Normally, they deal with the work of managing the order so the First Keeper may focus on more important things. Since Boras' death, they have been managing the order as best they may while trying to decide on a new First Keeper. Unfortunately, they were not happy with any of those submitted as candidates."
