Kaida gasped. My father! My father lives, her mind exploded. Before Zlemtec could shake away the sudden shock of knowledge, Kaida bolted into the chamber, dropping her Magic of Invisibility at the entrance. Zlemtec stumbled quickly behind her, shedding his Magic as well, prepared to shed even his life.
The sudden commotion caused a great shift in the room. Heads spun as all Zentoor Dragons stared at the intruders. Kaida watched their lungs expanding, filling with great gulps of air to fan the flames that were on their way.
“Father!” Kaida yelled and took one step forward, staff trembling in her hand.
Sputtering and coughing echoed loudly, radiating outwards in the chamber.
“What … what did you say?” Braaf coughed out as all those around him could do nothing but stare.
“You….” Kaida started and trembled until the words dried up.
Zlemtec met Braaf’s eyes and said, “This is the daughter of Kiayla who came to our world, Urthe. During the great quaking, she found our cave, our homes, the dwellings of the Mursei Hail. Look at her! Can you deny her resemblance to her mother or the Paradysians? She wears the orb of her mother.” Zlemtec did not know what Ancestor had torn the words from his mouth, but he was grateful.
Trezlor’s tongue stumbled, “How … how can this be?” Her eyes scrutinized every detail of Kaida, eyes widening as she did so.
“Kiayla … did she come?” Braaf asked, hardly above a whisper.
Tears streamed down Kaida’s face as she shook her head from side to side. Her words choked out, “I never knew my mother. She died as I was borne. She … she left me this,” she said as she lifted the orb for all to see.
Trezlor sucked air as Braaf roared out his grief. Suddenly, as if the dust fell from his eyes Braaf reacted. “Daughter? I have a daughter? Dragon-borne of Kiayla, my Bonded….” He wept so hard he shook.
Kaida was fused to the stony floor, not knowing what to do next. Zlemtec nudged her forward. A second nudge got her feet to work again. She stood in front of Braaf and slowly reached out to touched his arm.
Zlemtec was on high alert and moved behind her, his gut rumbling the vast fire pit, made ready to flame.
A golden talon reached out and slowly traveled down Kaida’s arm. Braaf raised his head and looked into the blue rivers of Kaida’s eyes, the same eyes of her mother.
A circle had begun to close in, locking Kaida and Zlemtec in the midst. Zlemtec extended his wings of Blue and Gold, a Mursei banner of protection. The Zentoor Dragons gave space.
Kaida spoke, heaving her pent up emotions into the air. “Greetings, my family of Amas.”
The center room erupted in roars of joy overtaking Zlemtec and Kaida both. The circle tightened as they sought to touch, smell and hear this newest member of their family. A gurgle of laughter, like the tinkling of crystal bells flowed from Kaida’s lips.
Zlemtec’s eyes of purple, blue and white filled to the brim with tears for his Kaida. His chin quivered just before the dam broke and his tears flowed freely.
After the first moments of her family’s acceptance, Kaida pushed back a step. She said, “Please meet Zlemtec. He is from the Mursei Hail. We were raised together as hatchlings and … and we are….” her eyes searched her father’s, “we are the same as you and my mother were.” Zlemtec placed his arm on Kaida’s shoulder, making the connection, feeling the surge of electrical currents binding them together.
The Zentoors now scrutinized the smaller Dragon, eyes narrowing, sizing him up.
Zlemtec thrust out his chest as he boldly said, “Tell me mighty Golden Dragons of the Zentoor Hail, have you heard of a legend?” He met each eye picking away at his bones, “Have you heard of the Legend of the Dragon Child?”
A chaos of words exploded around him, mixed with gasps, questions and garbled thoughts. He continued, “Not only is Kaida your family member but she is the foretold Legend. We are here because of it. I too, have been marked by the Legend. It was deemed I would be with her through this journey. We fly as One.”
Braaf’s eyes shot wide open. He ventured, “The Legend? All Dragons know of the Legend. My daughter … Dragon-borne.” His thoughts suddenly shifted. “When you fly … you mean you carry a rider?” His eyes narrowed to watch the response.
Zlemtec immediately answered, “No. I mean we fly as One.” His eyes never left Braaf’s, making sure he got the full intent. “We become more together than separate.”
There were more definitions but Zlemtec knew he hit at the heart of it all by the flicker in Braaf’s eyes. There would be no further questioning whether Zlemtec from the Mursei Hail would be enough for the Dragon-borne Kaida. The assessments had been given, marked and catalogued in the eyes of all the Zentoor Dragons present.
Braaf extended an arm and clasped Zlemtec’s forearm. “Zlemtec of the Mursei, you are welcome here.” Zlemtec grabbed onto Braaf’s other arm in a steely grasp, forging a unbroken line of continuity.
Unlike a circle that goes on and on, repeating itself, the square line of continuity is forged of unbroken lines which will not break, but open to receive others in. The bond had been established.
Zlemtec beamed, “Thank you for your welcome and acceptance.” His heart hammered wildly in his chest.
Kaida placed her arm on Zlemtec’s and watched the square open, as her father now placed his arm on hers, forming the circle which grew as each Golden Dragon repeated the gesture forming a circle that goes on and on, repeating itself, marking its symbol in the room to be inscribed in the sky above. All such symbols are recorded and remembered, by whom, only the Future could answer. For the now, all present were marked by the circle which begun within the square lines of continuity.
Chapter 44
The Ancestors had left, and it was time for Zelspar to again lead through his knowledge and wisdom of the ways of the Ancestors, even though it ruled against what boiled in his own cauldron. He turned back to look at those behind him, clustered tight like a nest of Dragon eggs, eyes still wide from the encounter of the Ancestors. They were all staring at him, waiting.
“We all heard the Great One. There is little left to contemplate, we must follow the directive to fully prepare while we have the gift of Time. While I acknowledge Flegmorr’s attack hit me instead of his preferred target, it was a coward’s fight. That alone is enough for me, for the all of us, to want to seek him out to destroy.” He deeply sighed and shook his head. “It is time to return home. Sigrunn, Tyrianua, will you come with us?”
Sigrunn answered, “We will join you soon. First, we will backtrack Flegmorr to assure he has continued his search for Inner Urthe. If he can find no secondary entrance, we will create one.”
Zelspar’s brow knitted together like a pile of yellowed grasses cleaving to each other. “You can do that?”
“It would not be hard, the Urthe has already received a harsh shaking and the many mountains have shifted their insides. We only need to focus on the Shift. We will find where the Inner energies escape and mingle with the Outer. Once we are sure Flegmorr enters his own realm, we will seal the opening and return to you.”
Dragons, the peoples and the Solteriem folk made haste to return home, leaving behind their portal watch for Kaida and Zlemtec and their path to avenge the attack waged against Zelspar. Dragon memories are long and will not slip away as a loosed scale, but are recorded in a ebb and flow of their internal rivers.
An inner drive pushed them forward, roars of thunder cracking the air as they flew. Each of those returning home joined the warrior cries, all heartbeats drumming to the same cause. A battle brewed. They had been warned it would be a grueling battle with much at stake. As all Dragons do, they returned home to the beginning, the place where the questions unravel and the answers are extracted, forged and tempered as new weapons against their adversary. Their flight home did not go unnoticed. Many watched and waited.
The Weavers of the Strings once again wove, their nimble fingers twining the strands of each Tapestry, eyes blind but senses
keen, they dared not snag a strand.
One such Weaver had been moved to the front line during the long pause of caught breaths. His vastly extended Tapestry now lie folded neatly in an ornate basket of finely woven gold, his fingers trembled to keep taut the strand. Beads of perspiration escaped down his neck. The strand had come close to breaking from an outside force, a darkness so deep, even the blind could see. His assistants worked feverishly unwinding the threads upon the many spools that supplied the Weaver. The gurgling of the fountains did little to calm the Weaver, nor the perfumes of the always blooming flowers swaying on the hills.
Hidden deeply within a winding cavern, Wyrtregon’s hand slipped down one of his three heads, red eyes fixed to the opened page of the book. The print so fine and the language ancient, it would take eons to decipher all the knowledge held between his hands. His six red eyes rested upon the secreted doorway to his chamber. Rising, he sent his writing bench crashing to the floor, his massive body moving to the doorway. One hand found the obscured stone, he pressed into it his palm and opened the way through the winding cavern. Unusual circumstances called for unusual actions. He would return to the place of his memory.
Flashing colors of all the minerals of stardust and Urthe, glinted off of the back of Pravietis, the mighty Sea Dragon, as he swirled in the great waters. His crashing against the waves had subsided but he was still tense with the swirling of recent events. It had even muddied the waters of his sight. As the Future Walker, this wrought great turmoil which he could not ease.
Broken images swept past him in the ripples of the water. His sight took him to distant shores where castles rose and fell, their banners changed with the rulers of those kingdoms. Triple Crowns and a Golden Dragon waved on flags and banners on the new castle, where the power of great Magic pooled. He gripped the Vision with all of his mind, following the thread backwards to find its beginning but at each attempt, the Vision dispersed into vapor, cascading down all around him. He searched for the meaning of the Future so distant, his Vision could not hold. The fires in his belly churned into multiple Dragons, clamoring to be loosed. His head sunk to water level as smoke wafted from his snout. He felt trapped in a Volcano vent, ripe to explode. He must find the way back to the beginning.
Chapter 45
The sound of thundering wings broke the circle. Trezlor and her first-hatched son, Braaf, stood in front of Kaida and Zlemtec, sheltering them from view.
A Golden Dragon rushed through the entrance with several Dragons left standing outside the entrance. “Trezlor, Counselor to the Zentoor Dragons, a wave of our Dragons came through the portal pursued by the Paradysian King and his army! Tell us now and we will dispense of them all on our own soil!”
Trezlor’s eyes burned holes through the Golden Dragon. “We will not. Our Dragons have broken the bond of no interplanetary travel except on Trade Cycles. Our own Dragons brought the Paradysians to our doorstep and if they shed blood on Paradys, their blood is forfeit by their own doings!”
Unable to swallow his anger, Braaf’s ear-splitting roar shook even the pillars to their domain. He stepped forward one step as the other Dragon receded to the entrance with his friends behind him.
“You heard Trezlor! If a single Dragon has caused harm against the Paradysians, that Dragon or Dragons will be judged by their laws, we will not oppose.”
Swiftly, heads wrenched to the skies. “Our Dragons come!”
Braaf stepped out and looked as a cluster of nine Zentoor Dragons began their descent. His head whirled back to his mother. Kaida and Zlemtec had been partially exposed. “Family! Take to your chambers, I’ll address these renegades.” The fear in his eyes registered in Trezlor’s, he wants his daughter and companion hidden. His brothers and sister shifted to obscure Kaida and Zlemtec, then hustled them into Braaf’s chamber but Trezlor, the grand dame, refused to leave the center room.
Once ushered into Braaf’s chamber, Kaida became incensed. Blue lightning flashed in her eyes as her uncles and aunt tried to bar her from leaving. “Let us go, we will help my Father!”
“Quiet, daughter of Braaf, we are trying to save your thin hide. If they see you….” Her aunt dropped her eyes to match her voice.
The breath caught tight in Kaida’s throat. They think I’m … what? An embarrassment, an abomination? My own family thinks this way? “You wish to hide my existence? Am I such an embarrassment to the Golden Dragons that I should be hidden into the back chambers when my Father, your brother, could be in danger and highly outnumbered?” Kaida spat out her words as if fire from a Dragon’s belly as her eyes smoldered. “Zlemtec! Invisibility now!”
At her words, both she and Zlemtec used their Magic of Invisibility to the shocked gasps of her family. They moved about frantically searching, but could not see nor find Kaida or Zlemtec. As soon as the passageway opened in front of them, they darted out, leaving her aunt and uncles behind.
Zlemtec grabbed Kaida’s arm and whispered, “Kaida, they were only trying to protect you. I would have done the same.” Kaida softened her posture and squeezed Zlemtec’s arm. He continued saying, “Now, climb up if you want to stand a chance of seeing what is going on.” A soft chuckle came out as he said, “Your Father is huge!”
An elbow to Zlemtec’s side did little but push a scale but he could tell Kaida’s fire was safely contained. They needed to use their wits to ensure the best possible result. Kaida climbed up and took her place upon Zlemtec’s back, at once, finding her peace and energy with the connection made against the softened leather beneath her. A small smile creased her face as the thoughts danced in her mind, I’ll never be able to explain to others how or what this is with Zlemtec and myself. The connection, the fusing of two into One. The sheer beauty and peace of it. She softly exhaled and fixed her sights outside the home of her family.
Trezlor now stood next to her son, the other Dragons had moved out to the common ground, awaiting the landing of those flying overhead.
Zlemtec moved towards the edge of the building where they could get a better view. Kaida tensed on her seat as the enormous Dragons stirred up rocks and dirt with their wings as they landed.
Their leader, a massive Golden Dragon with torn neck flares, approached. “Braaf! The trouble all started with you. With you and that Paradysian girl! We were at peace before you decided to go against tradition, against the normal….”
“Hold your vile tongue, Akkren. Your words are as untrue as your nature. What did you do on Paradys? Did you harm a person?” Braaf said, gulping down his own contempt in order to see what chaos had been wrought against the Paradysians.
“I can see that is your primary concern, not in the asking of our welfare. Why even bother to come to the Counselor’s domain?” His liquid amber eyes glowed in anger.
The great dame, the Counselor herself, stepped forward. “Why indeed, Akkren?” She hissed with seething rage. “You have broken the agreement we had with the Paradysians, you have led a rebellion against them, against co-existing with other lifeforms. You want Separatism!”
“And why shouldn’t I, why shouldn’t we?” he spat his words, glaring. “They are no match to us, we can rule over them!”
A hush penetrated the group. Finally, Akkren’s true nature was shown, even to his own followers who mainly followed to enjoy the thrill of breaking the rules.
During the dispute, no one had noticed what was occurring behind them. The King of Paradys, King Ynir, led a mass of over one hundred soldiers seated upon great woolly beasts. As they came closer, the noise of the mammoth hooves hitting the ground caused the Dragons to turn.
The one beast which could bring fear to the Zentoor Dragons was the Triglors. A ripple effect moved through the Dragons. Not only were the beast menacing but they held a Magic that could render its opponent to stone.
King Ynir advanced, his unplaited white hair fell loose around his silver and blue cloak which clasped in front with a detailed brooch of their star cluster, the Seven Sisters. His eyes, an icy blue sought ou
t the Counselor.
“Trezlor, step forward. You must answer to the invasion of your Dragons against our agreement. Not only have they tormented our people but they have ruined many of our harvesting grounds and now my people want retribution. Our peace between planets has been a precarious hold in recent years, and now this?”
She boldly stepped forward and lightly tipped her head to King Ynir. “I have just recently learned of the broken agreement. I was speaking to one of the offenders when you arrived.”
“I have carried all the weight of my people, who even before this, wished to break off relations with the Zentoor Dragons. As you know, their fear has been in, well, diluting our heritage….”
Akkren sprung forward, causing several Triglors to snort and paw defensively at the rocky ground. “Dilute! If it wasn’t for your own daughter parading around with one of our own, their would be no ‘diluting’!”
“How dare you!” King Ynir screamed through clenched teeth. “Kiayla has always been a friend to the Zentoor Dragons, even when the rebellions began.”
“If you have an argument, Akkren, you face ME with it,” roared Braaf. “You will not speak that way about Kiayla. I will rip your face from your bones!”
Zlemtec had maneuvered around the Zentoor Dragons to watch the exchange and to see Kaida’s grandfather. Kaida’s head turned from side to side, her jaws tense hearing the exchanges between the two groups. Zlemtec had only a wingbeat of warning before he felt Kaida rise and stand on his back, throwing down her shield of Invisibility. He too, discarded his.
“Stop! Stop this fighting against one another!” Kaida glared through river-blue eyes, face streaked with tears from the implied insults. Shocked faces all turned to look at the speaker.
Dragons, beasts and Paradysians all moved and talked at once.
“Kaida, no!” shouted Braaf, alarmed.
“Who is this person and foreign Dragon?” demanded Akkren.
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