The dragons spurt smoke and flame and ice and acid in a wave of assent, flapping their wings and bellowing in agreement. Talis marveled at how the dark lord won the dragons’ hearts with his words and charisma. But Valeron remained unmoved.
“Words, words, human words. The rabble and babble of the politician, the convincing eyes of the priest. But I am not so easily fooled… We know all this, the stupidity of these humans of Vellia, their insane devotion to the light—”
“And you call me twisted?” interrupted Aurellia, “I argued for balance! In my journey into the bowels of Ghaelstrom, I discovered the truth. These very mountains! Blindness prevented them from seeing a different way. But I was young and untainted. Luckily I convinced my father to delay my initiation into the Way of Light until I had a chance to explore the world, to wander in shadow and darkness, until I found the tunnel down into the deepest cave, the darkness absolute, in the heat and festering lair of the Underworld.”
“Where you met the Lord of Darkness, the Master of Death.” Valeron bared his teeth as if preparing to rip Aurellia into shreds.
“Not until I first discovered darkness. Alone I sat, for hours and days and months, fasting, drinking only Khema to sustain my life. The darkness bled through those gold and rare metal walls. I could feel a powerful energy radiating from the cave, as if the energy of the stars were lodged in those metals. When I’d put my hands to the chunks of ore, I felt a strange heat flowing into my body. I saw a faint eerie green glow around the metal. I lost all sense of taste. A kind of vibration shook my body, as if that energy had seeped into my bones. But in the end, I found darkness, the power of night, the power of shadows, the power of all the dark matter in the universe.”
A scowl crossed Valeron’s face at Aurellia’s words. “You dare preach to a dragon of darkness? We live in those mountains, we breathe in those metals, we worship gold! Do I look like a light blind fool to you?”
“Let us be reasonable, then. Why do we tarry out here in the twilight skies?” The dark lord shielded his eyes and looked back at the crimson western horizon. “Soon it will be night and the night winds will blow. Let us rest together, in the comfort of Ghaelstrom. Let us feel the warmth of her soothing embrace. And with my promise of peace, with my promise to provide a full telling of the story of why I have returned, I hope we shall find common ground, King Valeron.”
For many heartbeats the dragon king studied Aurellia, snorting and sniffing the air as if trying to discover a reason to yield to Aurellia’s request.
“Then it is settled. You kept your promise the last time you entered Ghaelstrom and I’ll grant you entry a second time. But mark my words, human, if you break your vow, you’ll never see a third.”
Aurellia bowed his head. “I accept your terms.” He flourished a hand at Talis. “Forgive my lack of manners. Let me introduce you to the young human Talis, dragon mage of the planet Yorek, the beginning of my story.”
The crowd of dragons rippled, like a stone thrown into a still lake, and murmured and roared and beat their wings in a mad disruption. Even King Valeron appeared disturbed by the pronouncement and swept down towards Talis until he could smell the dragon’s metallic and smoky breath.
“This young dragon is human? Impossible!”
A burst of wind from the quickly darkening skies buffeted the dragons east, and Valeron flapped his massive wings and turned towards the mountains. “To Ghaelstrom, fly, dragons, fly! The night winds fall too soon. What have those mad wizards done? Night has come too soon!”
The dragons obeyed, following Valeron, but an avalanche of wind and ice and thick clouds smashed into them. Instant, oppressive darkness enveloped the crowd, and many dragons shrieked out in the cacophony of the storm. The wind was so strong Talis could barely keep himself from losing control. He knocked into a plump, scaly dragon that flapped its wings and sent Talis spiraling sideways into another vicious gale.
A burst of brilliant light flared up from Aurellia’s hands and exterminated the darkness of the storm. The dragons, blinded momentarily from the light, followed Aurellia as he sped off towards Ghaelstrom. The dark lord flew so fast that every time he was almost out of view, Talis blinked himself forward to keep from being stranded out in the storm. With the belly of the mountain coming quickly into view, the dragons formed up into a single line and dove into the jagged mouth of a cave.
Comforting darkness surrounded Talis as he reached the depths of the tunnel. His eyes adjusted almost instantly, naturally, as he guessed dragon’s eyes would. This is the first time returning to a cave, since journeying into the Netherworld. The cool, moist air of the cave felt soothing to him, luring him to seek a place of rest deep within the bowels of the earth.
Soon the tunnel opened up into a cathedral room lit by luminescent crystals lodged in metallic crevices. A river bubbled along beneath him, infusing the air with scents of gold and silver and copper. How could he tell the air smelled like gold? But the smell was so undeniable, so authentic, as if part of his dragon senses.
A small, wiry dragon with lightning zapping over its scales darted past Talis, dipped her leathery wings into the water, and zapped several fish dead. The dragon shrieked in satisfaction and circled back around and scooped up the fat fish, gulping them down in a single swallow. Talis found himself hungry again, even after his fabulous feast earlier that day. He swooped down over the river and scanned the water, craving a taste of roasted fish.
Within the black, gurgling river, Talis spied an enormous, menacing shape gliding up towards the surface. He instinctively flapped his wings and shot up just as bright blue jaws burst from the water, snapping empty air in a fury of disappointment. The wiry dragon seemed to smile in giddy mockery at Talis as she spun and danced in the air. Was any place safe on this world? Perhaps deep inside the Kingdom of Ghaelstrom, for dragons at least, was the safest place on Vellia. But even still, many dangers lurked here.
The last remaining dragons in the cavern twirled up and around and dove down into a dark shaft. Talis tried to imitate their deft movements, but instead missed the shaft opening and crashed onto a pile of rocks. He scrambled over the ground and peered inside. Absolute darkness awaited him. The air wafting up from within smelled strongly of gold.
The smell urged him down, compelled him to plunge, insisted that he remain here no longer. The next step was easy, one step into darkness, a step closer to the abyss. He plummeted down the shaft and his stomach dropped; the taste of sheep spilled up into his mouth. Warm air rushed over his snout as he dove, endlessly, into the bowels of Ghaelstrom. The warmth turned into a hazy, humid heat, after fifty heartbeats, and yet still the dive continued. When Talis thought he’d reached the other side of Vellia, a faint, yellow light shone below, rising into brilliance, until he burst from the shaft and out into a fabulous, golden world.
The city below was formed in proportions suitable for dragons, and layered in gold. Situated in a cavern the size of the sky, Ghaelstrom shone in the pink and white light of a million phosphorescent crystals lodged in the ceiling, giving off the appearance of starlight dimmed under a moonlit night. The air was often effervescent: living, shimmering, dancing; schools of some kind of sprites and faeries flittered about, leaving a trail of fading blue light.
Hundreds of citadels scattered across the city housed dragon nests of gold mounds—coins, ore, chalices, salvers, swords, shields, helms—and the nests of gold contained interspersed precious jewels of all kinds: rubies, sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, topaz, garnets, amethyst, bloodstones and giant moonstones beaming the light of the stars. A wide, lazy river surrounded the city, and on its shores grew mounds of massive mushrooms. Creatures that looked like reindeer or elk loped lazily along the water, chewing thoughtfully on the blood-red fungi.
Upon sighting Aurellia at the city’s highest citadel, Talis swooped down and dove towards the dark lord and the Dragon King of Ghaelstrom. Aurellia looks like a midget next to these massive dragons. Valeron stretched his long, black wings and settle
d back onto his vast horde of gold and jewels. Smoke spouted from a snout that seemed content at returning to a place of comfort and power.
The city was buzzing and vibrant, as if uneasy by the day’s revelations. When Talis arrived at Valeron’s citadel, he heard the voice of Aurellia in his mind: change your form to human. Talis obeyed, craving to return back, and focused his mind on his human shape. His sudden transformation startled the king and caused a cacophony of distress amongst the citizens of Ghaelstrom.
“Indeed he is human!” Valeron bellowed. “And a boy, not yet a man at that! Is this some strange magic you’ve perfected, Aurellia? To teach humans to assume the shape of a dragon?”
Aurellia frowned and waved the air dismissively. “Such a thing is beyond knowing, I suspect. Our young Talis was born with the form of the dragon embedded in his very bones. Others are born with the lion or the eagle or the elk, but none that I have ever seen or heard of has possessed the form of the dragon. Have you not heard of the legend? Of the young mage that commands the dragon form?”
The dragon king peered in close to Talis, his eyes disbelieving of Aurellia’s words, and he blinked, sniffing the air around Talis’s head. Valeron snorted and wagged his tail from side-to-side and thumped it down onto his golden horde.
“He smells of magic,” the dragon king declared. “But I still sense trickery from you, Lord of Ash. And why have you come back, after all these years, to Vellia, and first to Ghaelstrom, before returning to the land of your birth?”
A wide, winsome smile spread across Aurellia’s face. “Never one to wait for formalities, King Valeron. You are correct, I come here first to seek your alliance with my cause. And I believe you will, as I know the citizens of Ghaelstrom believe in the legend of the dragon mage. You see, I believe Talis here is the fulfillment of that legend.”
8. THE NIGHT WINDS
When Mara felt the first gust of night wind, sails snapping and masthead groaning, she wondered whether their ship would survive. Elder Raelles commanded everyone to seek shelter below deck and the assembled throng stepped quickly down the massive stairwell. Goleth must have known the Elders would create an army of hideous half-man, half-beasts. He designed the ship suitable for creatures forty feet tall, the size of the largest soldiers. And she had to spend nights down there with those monsters? The image of the mutated soldier’s blood-red eyes haunted her. The hunger and the pain and the rage.
Nikulo caught her concerned gaze and pulled her aside. They waited until the last of the soldiers marched down the stairs. Elder Relech appeared behind Mara, causing her to jump, his voice a cold hiss.
“Do not let the beasts frighten you, my young apprentice.” His gaunt, wraith-like face was especially sharp in the long shadows of twilight. “They merely watch you, as we’ve commanded them to—for your safety, and to ensure you don’t disappear into the darkness.”
The ancient sorcerer stretched back leathery lips in a kind rictus smile, revealing sharpened teeth that seemed eager to bite. “You will keep yourself safe, won’t you my dear? We have an important mission to go on tomorrow morning…so be sure to get some sleep.”
As Elder Relech stalked off, Mara imagined plunging her dagger into his back. A long trail of tainted blood dripping down. She stared at her dagger, Princess Minoweth’s dagger, stolen from the Underworld, glowing green in the fading light. The emerald seemed to pulse at her desire to kill. How it had raged with blazing, eerie light after stabbing and slicing all those people. Was there a reason for all the killing? Or was it only for practice, to prepare her some nefarious mission?
She looked at the ancient dagger and felt a kind of dark foreboding seep into her mind. I never should have touched the dagger; I never should have stolen Princess Minoweth’s dagger from the Underworld. She hated herself for what she was feeling: she actually looked forward to the killing; she craved the feeling of power. To conquer the weak, to dominate the unsuspecting, to drown in the drink the dying. How she had howled in the moonlight—like some animal. She brought death and she loved it.
“What are you thinking?” Nikulo’s concerned whisper shook her out of her dark reverie. “Gods! You’re cold as death…and shaking. What’s possessed you?”
Mara hid her eyes from him, and tried to dispel the feeling from her mind. This wasn’t her thoughts, this wasn’t her desires. She had to stop feeling this way—or she’d be lost. Her voice was low and dry as she spoke.
“I’m afraid this planet is getting to me…in a very bad way. And Master—” She stopped herself from saying his name, wouldn’t say it, wouldn’t draw his attention.
Nikulo released a long, exhausted sigh, and held her hand. “You don’t have to say anything, I feel the same way. I mean, look what I’ve caused—those men, those soldiers, turned into monsters because the potions I had a part in creating. And you know what the worst part of it is? I enjoyed the challenge of brewing those potions. I should have felt ashamed for what I did! But I only felt astounded and morbidly curious watching their transformation.”
She heard his words, as if coming from some faraway place. A laugh escaped from her lips. At least you didn’t kill those men and enjoy it. At least you can sleep at night in peace without waking from nightmares of dying faces begging you to stop. She shook her head and forced herself to snap out of it. Something to ground her, something to keep her mind focused on why they were here. Talis, he was out there all alone with Aurellia, out there suffering? Forced to do things against his will, like she had been forced to kill? If she could only talk to him, if she could only be reassured by his soothing voice, if she could only feel his embrace. Talis where are you? She cursed out loud at Zagros, the God of the Underworld, the God of Death, and didn’t care. She was in hell already.
“I just want to sleep,” she whispered. I just want to close my eyes and dream of Talis, to go to him, out there, wherever he is. I want to feel the warm sunlight on my back, like that day on the beach—to feel the heat when he held me close. And expel the cold forever.
Nikulo’s eyes narrowed in alarm and concern, but he just nodded and led her down the stairs, the wind howling around them, and he closed the door to the night. Instead of torchlight, hundreds of red eyes illuminated the vast chamber. Red eyes, red bones, red stares. A blaze of green light flared as Mara raised her dagger to guide her steps. Over the last few months she’d come to know the spirit of the dagger as a friend, and it obeyed her command—as much as the dagger seemed to infect her mind.
She found the familiar face of Goleth the Builder, who motioned her to follow him. The tall, angular man held a sphere of white light in his palm as he crept along in the dark. He hunched down into a small corridor, perhaps purposefully-built to keep the creatures from entering, and led them to the end where a round, wooden door greeted them.
“I created this room for you, to keep the innocent safe.” Goleth bowed and gestured for them to enter. “I bid you good night, and take my leave.”
As Mara and Nikulo entered, Goleth closed the door behind them, and she could hear his footsteps as he walked back down the corridor. The small room was illuminated by the moon outside shining in through a thick crystal porthole. A wooden bunk bed sat to one side, and a meager desk on the other. A lonely chair sat tucked under the desk.
Mara chose the bottom bunk and curled over, wanting nothing more than to sleep. She was safe, for the moment, at least safe until her dark dreams found her. A twinkle of light shimmered through her mind’s eye, and she was off, summoned into the land of sleep.
With the wicked whine of a tortured canine, Mara’s eyes lurched open in the dark. Where was she? And what was howling and scratching outside? Then she remembered she was safe, in the room that Goleth had built for her, protected against the army of man-beast soldiers. She went over to the crystal porthole and stared outside at the low, angry clouds kissing the waves stirred by the demonic winds. A shiver of fright lanced through her as she felt the door swing open.
The ghostly eyes of a wrai
th summoned her. She bowed her head, felt for her daggers, and followed her master. Shadows seemed to bubble and form around Elder Relech as he stalked along the corridor, parting darkness with his still darker shadows. The red eyes of the creatures snapped open as they entered the vast chamber. The sorcerer flicked his wrist and a bubbling shadow cloud appeared. He seized Mara’s wrist and yanked her inside.
Mara found herself falling into an ocean on the edge of a vast black sand beach. Fog obscured the land as she plummeted into the water. She felt the thrill of cold rush through her and she kicked and swam towards the shore, the cold embrace of the water dispelling her sleepy mind. Elder Relech seemed amused as he flew over and landed on the beach. He tilted his head and opened his mouth.
“Now, that’s better, you seem alert now. We have a long journey ahead of us and I need you to know one very important thing.”
The only thing Mara wanted to know was how her master would scream as she killed him. As if sensing her murderous thoughts, the sorcerer raised a webbed palm.
“Killing me won’t help save your friend Talis from certain torture and death.” Elder Relech frowned and studied Mara’s reaction as she hobbled over, shaking the water from her hair.
“What are you talking about? Isn’t Talis with your master?” The image of Talis’s terrified eyes flashed in her mind’s eye.
“I’m afraid things have not gone as planned. There was an ambush—we suspect a spy in our midst—Talis was kidnapped while our master was battling their attackers.” The sorcerer sighed and for once looked vulnerable and even afraid. “Lord Aurellia has sent us on this mission to help recover your friend while he creates a decoy in the north. Talis is vital to our cause and we must rescue him…and preserve his life. Will you help me?”
Dragon Mage (Blacklight Chronicles) Page 6
