Light of the Dark

by N. Saraven

  Which was an enormous amount of time …

  Enargit did not want to believe this. How could he survive through the ages? As for the other matter, Indrek was alive too, what was just as mysterious. And these meant that there must have been another force, a bigger force than all, behind the scenes. A force which liked to meddle with mortals’ lives …

  The shadow dragon could not imagine what Lexénia would gain in all this. And he knew the Goddess, maybe more than he wanted to.

  “Say, Elder.” Enargit broke the silence. “If the Creators are behind the happenings, would you believe that it is indeed me, Enargit, who had led the Crossing o’ so long ago?”

  The Emissary looked at the Elder with an expecting curiosity. He also straightened up; he did not even hide his true powers anymore. He looked as grandiose as the stories told he should. The other three dragons sensed his energies, what made them wince and glance at each other uneasily.

  “Yes …” answered the Elder finally, slowly and uncharacteristically short.

  “Then spread the word that the Emissary of the Dark has returned and takes over the Night Guardians again!” he announced in a sonorous voice. The younger dragons bowed deeply, then flew off to obey. Even the Elder seemed humbled; however, disbelief shone in his eyes.

  The three friends watched the happenings in silence, not knowing what was going on. Neila, Halgor, and Talek regarded the younger dragons flying away, and the Elder’s humble bow. But their astonishment at this was nothing compared to what they felt about Enargit. He emitted such raw power, which almost made them fall on their knees, adoring him. It proved to be a difficult urge to restrain …

  Neila just stared at the grass in front of him, which was rippling like golden silk. When the energies settled, she looked up, then around at the lands. For a few moments, she became amazed by the unseen surroundings. The grass covered everything, billowing in the warm breeze. Only a few scattered trees and bushes brought in a little variation, and in the back stretched massive mountains with jagged ridges. Their peaks were covered in snow, even though the Sun radiated extreme heat.

  The Sun!

  Neila felt as if she was struck by lightning when she saw the shining Guardian in the sky. In its fullness.

  “We are too late!” she whispered in a quivery voice. She could not feel anything but the huge void forming in her soul. This gave her strength to step forwards to Enargit. “We are too late!” she snapped desperately.

  Seeing her affront, the Elder seized her, which made Talek and Halgor draw weapons immediately. The kobold raised his bow, while the elven held his sword in his right hand and probably thought of some spells. Neila just glanced around, trembling between the dragon’s jaws. It would take only a little more force to break her in two.

  “Enough!” bellowed Enargit, then he turned to the Elder. “Put her down please. She will not cause any more trouble.”

  The shadow dragon obeyed immediately, although he seemed displeased. After he let his hostage go, he stared at them with plain disgust and uncertainty. He also spat out.

  After Halgor and Talek helped Neila up, they turned to the shadow Leader.

  “Would you tell us what is going on?” asked the elven firmly. He too seemed agitated.

  “This can wait! We must leave, now! Cameron will be exe—” cut in Neila angrily, not even bothered about the Elder’s sticky slime on her clothes. The older dragon started to growl behind her.

  “Calm yourself, human!” rumbled Enargit, interrupting the Master’s complaint. His voice held such strength, it actually made the mage fall silent. The power emitted by the Leader was something neither of them could dismiss.

  Enargit looked around absentmindedly, as if he had already forgotten what Neila had wanted. He continued with a tone that meant he did not care whether the companions were listening or not. Although he did not let the friends just run off on their own either.

  “I do not know who you are, but I knew the name ‘Cameron’ before. If it is indeed a bright dragon, you do not need to fear for his life. With whatever Indrek wanted to intimidate you, he will not keep his word.”

  This being said, Enargit closed the matter. He turned to the Elder, told something to him, then the two dragons took off without any further words. It took some time for the ancient one to leave the ground, but he followed his new Leader regardless.

  The companions stood in the middle of nowhere, utterly stunned. If they expected anything, it was not this. They had lost control of the happenings completely.

  17. The unknown race

  The companions had arrived into the heart of the shadow dragons’ homeland. They glanced around, curious.

  Only Neila seemed to be untouched by the unknown wonders around them. Beside her, Halgor looked around with widened eyes as he regarded the seemingly endless plains of grass everywhere. He felt strangely unprotected. It seemed that even if they wanted to hide, they could not. Suddenly, he discovered a herd of animals in the distance. The elven looked at them, amazed. He had never seen anything like them before.

  Regardless, the most intriguing sight for him still had to be the many dragons around them.

  Above the companions, at least a hundred shadow dragons circled, and Halgor could see an uncountable number of them all over the lands. The elven gulped, then exchanged unsure glances with Talek, who stood beside him. They could perfectly feel the dragons’ curious looks on them, which made them very uncomfortable and wary. It seemed that every reptile regarded them as if they had never seen anything like them before. As if suddenly the stories came alive.

  Halgor somehow could understand them. He probably would react the same way if he met the small type of kobolds who attended to the flowers and other plants—according to the kinwa’s stories.

  However, the dark mage also sensed hostility in them. He turned to a little group nearby. Those reptiles had to be Elders, and from their gaze they obviously knew who and what they were. Their scales seemed less shiny; their wings’ edges were tufted. Some of them looked too bony.

  Halgor sighed and swayed his head, then he swept the sweat off his forehead. The Sun radiated intense heat, and it was only halfway before noon. Altogether, these proved to be very interesting lands.

  The elven became fascinated by the wild behaviour of the animals and dragons. Every creature was honest, as all animals. All could be known from their eyes, mimics, and body language. They behaved the same as the pets in the Tower, yet, of course, uniquely different. The elven was never against animals in Varomor, so after a while, some had arrived. Students brought theirs, or in one case, a wild, injured one just stayed.

  The Master was so lost in his thoughts that he completely forgot about Neila behind him. Only when she bumped into him, almost throwing him off his feet, did he turn to see what was wrong with her. Halgor spun around, prepared for everything, although he stayed cool. He did not know what had happened to Neila a moment before, but after he glanced around, it seemed that she overreacted.

  Neila was terribly pale and she held her sword in her shaking hand. This picture was unusual from her, so Halgor also looked at the surrounding dragons with fierce eyes. Albeit when his gaze met curious, confused, and worried looks, he immediately tried to calm Neila down.

  Whatever happened, she let her prejudice in the way, so it clouded her judgement. Those dragons were wild as any other animal in their forests, thus it was not likely for them to provoke an actual fight. But even if they did, there were hundreds, maybe thousands of reptiles around. Neither of the companions could afford to do anything aggressive or reckless.

  Halgor did his best to make Neila serene again, but she became rather furious. She complained loudly, mostly with a sharp voice. She emitted anger and fear, so more and more dragons turned to them curiously. Even Talek joined in to calm Neila down, before they drew Enargit’s attention as well. It seemed obvious that if the men could not get her into a more peaceful state, the Leader would definitely get involved.

  Just
as many reptiles were around them. Although they did nothing to actually interfere, only observed.

  The shadow dragons gathered around the companions, keeping a respectful distance from them. They became fascinated by the visitors, who seemed to slowly get everything under control again. They felt no fear of them, why would they? Despite the strange energy surrounding the two-leggeds, the dragons believed that the visitors would never use that force against them. They certainly had no reason to do so.

  The shadow dragons then discussed each of the companions too.

  They guessed that the light-as-the-grass-in-summer-haired, sky-blue-eyed person must be an elven. Although in the stories these creatures are always smiling, singing, and hugging everybody. Regardless, the shadows just loved his smooth features and confidence. He obviously had a strong heart because, even though the dragons sensed his fear of them, he stayed calm and looked after his companions. It was obvious how he felt about the female two-legged beside him, whom he protected fiercely.

  He seemed to do everything with a certain preciseness. Although the dragons could not tell why he wanted to look scary and cold. His shining eyes showed interest rather than cruelness, mixed with excitement about the new knowledge. He had a huge expertise in many things, albeit he obviously was ready for more.

  Yet he showed someone completely different to the world around him.

  The shadow dragons did not understand this. Why would somebody do that—be something they are not? It seemed to be the expected behaviour amidst two-leggeds; however, whom they believed to be a kobold did the exact same thing.

  That person was just as lean as the elven. His deep-blue eyes almost mesmerised them, and they liked his short, dark hairstyle. He just behaved extremely arrogantly. The reptiles wondered why he would want to seem as if he did not care about anything or anybody, when he did. He was ready to move in any moment, even fight if necessary. He stayed close to his companions, as when one wanted to protect their family.

  And there was something else in him … something more … out of this realm, which reminded them of Arisha. The Mother of All must have had something to do with him.

  But when the dragons started to discuss the female, they became unsure. Many of them wondered why they felt such grief from her. It surrounded her like an aura, meaning that its roots went so deep, it would be impossible to get rid of completely. She now just stared into the distance with such a mournful gaze, as if the world had been destroyed.

  The shadow dragons turned sad just by looking at her. They felt something similar when someone close to them died. One of the youngsters was so moved by this that he decided to do something about it. He stepped to the female, fawning to her legs. But instead of making her better, she became incredibly startled. An enormous amount of fear flooded her, as she backed away. She even pulled out a metallic stick-thing from a sheath that appeared from nowhere.

  The youngster did not understand.

  “I sense fear of me, but I do not understand this emotion,” murmured the little dragon. An adult stepped beside him, which made the female and her companions even more startled. They all took a step back and seemed very unsure about them. The dragons did not understand at all why.

  But before the shadows could do anything further, Enargit stepped in.

  “Do not mind yourselves with these strangers. I will deal with them,” rumbled the Leader. The others flew away immediately, although they still eyed the companions curiously from the distance.

  “By the Gods, what is going on here?!” cried out Neila, who only now sheathed her sword. Even though her friends tried to calm her down, she did not seem any less startled than when this whole thing started. Her hand was still trembling as her eyes darted around while talking.

  It seemed that they were perfectly safe, yet it felt wrong for them.

  “And you …”—Enargit turned to the companions as if he did not hear Neila’s complaint—“do not get into any more trouble.”

  Then he looked after whatever he was doing before, but his dismissal proved to be too much for Neila. She grabbed the Leader’s arm, although Halgor tried to stop her. The dragons around them stared in amazement, but they obviously did not want to interrupt in any way.

  Enargit became shocked also, yet he hid it.

  “Don’t dismiss us like that, as if we were nothing!” snapped Neila furiously. Her golden eyes flared like the real melted metal. “We were the ones who rescued you from that cave. If it weren’t for us, you would be dead already! As a result, my friend was killed, and it is YOUR fault! You owe us an explanation!”

  The Leader felt truly astonished; the others around seemed more stunned than anything.

  The shadow dragons tried to be invisible while they watched their Leader deal with the mage. It was unheard of amidst them to challenge the Leader like that. This had to be dealt with. Now.

  And without any complications, hopefully.

  Although seeing the companions standing up to him like that started to fade away Enargit’s prejudice. This could not be easy for them. He was much more powerful than any of them, yet there they stood in front of him, ready for anything. He even saw himself as equal in those golden eyes, which made him furious and baffled at the same time.

  At the end, Enargit felt glad that he had spent so many ages in the two-leggeds’ lands before. There, he had learned how to hide his emotions, unlike the stayed-behind shadow dragons. Otherwise Neila would have seen his feelings in his eyes, which could make her believe that she had won him over.

  Nothing could be further from the truth, however. This battle has just begun, he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes.

  “Very well then,” answered Enargit with a firm, yet not condescending voice. “My people have accepted me as a Leader again. You are still alive, as you can see, so this is a good thing for you. Most of them have never seen a two-legged creature like you before, so you became some sort of … entertainment source.” He smiled, but somehow it seemed that he was enjoying this part too much. “You may have noticed that we live far from your lands, so your wars elude us. The other two-leggeds do not even know of our existence. Thank the Gods for that …”

  Enargit made a small pause because another dragon came in with some news. Neila took the interruption impatiently. After their little discussion, the Leader continued.

  “Regarding your friend, I have told you before that you should not worry. Indrek will not execute a Cameron …” He might have wanted to continue, then rather considered the matter over. He wanted to move, but Neila held him back again. Her hand still lay on his arm.

  “How do you know? He can still do many unpleasant things to him,” complained the Master further. “We have to get him!” Her voice became steady, as if she announced a well-known fact. Every eye was on her now, widened at her daring. Even Enargit became struck by that voice; however, he replied with fiery fury.

  “Who do you think you are, female, to just order ME around like that?!” His red eyes glared in anger, a tangle of smoke spiralled out of his mouth. Talek and Halgor drew weapons at this, albeit Neila just stood there calmly, still holding the dragon’s arm. Her eyes looked cold as ice.

  A few dragons tried to sneak closer, just to get a little bit more involved, but the Leader stopped them with a glance. This was between him and the magus; nobody should interfere. Maybe they saw this as a power play. Enargit did not really care. In some ways it truly was, he realised, which made him even more determined.

  Before anything else could happen, a new visitor interrupted them. Everybody looked at the newcomer, who strolled in the tall grass as if it would not be any trouble.

  The woman was tall, maybe a little bit too much so for a mere human. She sauntered gracefully, as if she owned everything around her. Her long dress was colourful and simple at the same time. It also changed its patterns as the owner moved—in one moment it seemed to be covered with feathers, in the next fur, then as if it were made of dragon scales. It fitted her body perfectly, whic
h looked slender and plump at the same time. Her long brown hair was braided, although some locks tended to prefer to be loose. She wiped one of them out of her green eyes; her perfectly shaped mouth curved into a soothing smile.

  She had everything in her—the dragons’ grace, the birds’ lightness, the diversity of the humans. She was beautiful in such a majestic way as nothing else could be, paired with an immense amount of power. Everybody became mesmerised by her; every species thought she was perfect.

  “Arisha,” whispered the Leader. Halgor, Talek, and Neila stepped beside him, also stunned by the happenings. They could not do anything but watch.

  The Goddess had a kind word for every dragon she passed by. She finally stopped in front of Enargit, who looked down at her, mesmerised. It seemed that she could erase every one of them, if she wished it so …

  “My beloved Enargit.” The Goddess broke the silence with such a warm voice, it almost made everybody melt inside. She spoke in a language which everybody understood—dragon, elven, or kobold. And for some reason, no matter in what language the others replied, it still was understandable for all.

  The Leader started to lower his head for a bow, but he stopped himself and straightened up.

  “Arisha, Mother of All. We are honoured by your presence.” The dragon’s voice trembled. He could not really decide what he felt. Fury? Fear? Or maybe he only wanted to mock. As a result, his voice showed a little of all. He reminded himself to be angry in every passing moment, which he truly was. But it proved to be very difficult to keep those feelings when She spoke.

  Arisha gave a gorgeous smile. Mirth shone in her eyes, mixed with regret.

  “I am delighted seeing you free again,” she started, glancing at Talek, who humbly bowed his head. “I deeply regret my delay in the matter. Lexénia made a fool out of me, shame on her. Nonetheless, you are here now. I assume you know why I gave your freedom back. I need you to do a little task for me.”

  “Mighty Mother, you have my every respect. But …” Enargit interrupted her before she could continue. “I would rather not have any more … ‘tasks’. Because of your last … ‘task’, I ended up in the prison cave!” rumbled the Leader.