by Jordan Baker
"You will," she told him. "Now, we should probably go find out how much trouble we have caused. It would be better if you were a dragon, so get on with it."
"I would rather not be a dragon," Borrican said, but it was too late and he felt himself beginning to shift and change back into his dragon form. Ariana stepped back as he grew in size, taking up a lot more space inside the cavern and towering over her, and Borrican looked down at her with an accusing look in his eyes. "You did that?"
"No, you did."
"No, I did not," he growled.
"Don't argue with me, Borrican," Ariana said. "How do you feel? Do you feel like a beast?"
Borrican realized that he felt as he had before the madness overcame him, and though the fire within him burned even hotter and his emotions were almost overwhelmingly strong, he somehow felt like he had gained some sort of balance.
"No," he said. "I feel mostly like myself."
"Then let's go," Ariana said, walking along the cavern ahead of him.
"What about you?" Borrican asked, as they made their way toward the light at the opening. "The dragonlands are vast and it is better to fly. Does the gift allow you to become a dragon?"
"I do not know," Ariana said. "I had not thought of it, and I don't know if that would even be possible, but it doesn't matter, for I have a vassal."
They exited the cave to a quiet scene of rocky desolation, amid the barren peaks and ridges that surrounded them, except for one dragon, who soared down from the sky and came to a landing.
"Storm," Borrican growled, remembering the dragon's name, and how he had fought with him out by the flows.
"Akandar," Storm said, nodding his head. "I am pleased to see that you live."
"Pleased? I would not have thought you would be," Borrican replied.
"I see, despite the wisdom you have gained that you still have much to learn, Borrican of the Akandra," Storm said, then he lowered his head. "You wish to fly, my queen?"
Ariana climbed up onto the dragon's back and settled in behind his neck. She could feel Borrican's confusion at Storm referring to her as his queen but she chose to ignore it for the time being.
"Take us to the dragons," she said and she felt the echo of a thought from him. "You have seen Vale. How is she?"
"She wishes to see you," Storm told her. "But it might be wise to speak to the elders first. There has been much discussion of the two of you, and it is always best to be present when one is being discussed."
"What about Vale?" Ariana asked. "Will she not meet with the elders as well?"
"Vale does not wish to see any other dragons, except her mother or Akandar. You are welcome, of course."
"Then we will see these elders and then look in on Vale," Ariana said. "I can tell that something troubles her, but she will not share her thoughts."
"You will understand when you see her," Storm told her again. "Vale warns that you should guard your thoughts carefully among the elders."
"Will the elders make trouble?" Ariana asked.
"I do not know. I am not an elder," Storm said.
"The elders decreed that I should be killed," Borrican said, feeling his anger rise, but then he felt a calming thought from Ariana. "Tell me the truth, Storm. How bad did it get? How much of a beast did I become?"
"Akandar, you were the most terrible thing I have ever seen or heard, and I do not admit such things easily," Storm told him. "Every single dragon wanted to kill you, except for Vana and Vale of the Aledra."
"And now?"
"Now it is different," Storm said. "It seems that you are no longer a wildling."
"Then what is the problem with these elders?"
"I do not know such things," Storm said, turning his head and glancing over his shoulder at Ariana.
"Let us find out what these elders have to say," she said.
Storm leapt into the air and Borrican did the same and the two dragons flew over the sharp, jagged ridges toward the growing din of dragon thoughts, like a multitude of whispers echoing upon one another, ever louder as they made their way to the great lair of the elders. As they flew, Borrican flexed his wings, feeling the power of his dragon strength and noticing that it seemed far greater than he remembered. He also noticed that Storm seemed a lot smaller than before, but realized that it was he who had become larger.
They arrived at the hollow mountain to find it surrounded by dragons, more than Borrican had thought even existed, all of them on the ground surrounding the mouth of the giant cavern. Storm let out a challenging roar, but the dragons on the ground barely glanced up at him and did not make any room for him to land.
"They do not respect my challenge," Storm said, with more than a hint of frustrated anger in his thoughts. "Perhaps they will listen to you, Akandar."
"If you think so," Borrican replied.
"They will," Storm said, his voice confident.
Borrican took in a deep breath and then let loose his most fearsome challenge, and the sound of it took him by surprise. His roar had changed somehow to something more menacing and violent than Borrican intended, a challenge to any and all. The dragons all turned and looked up to the sky, some of them growling in response and others taking to their wings, but they moved aside, leaving a path as Storm flew down and landed, with Borrican coming down behind him.
The waves of anger from the dragons were thick in the air like heat and though they guarded their thoughts, even Ariana could tell that the dragons were not particularly pleased to see them. She dismounted from Storm's shoulder and walked forward, purposely ignoring the dragons that growled and bared their fangs at her, the instincts instilled in her by the dragon gift guiding her. Though she was tiny in comparison to the enormous creatures, the dragons respected strength of will most of all, and that was what she projected with her energy and her thoughts. As before, flames flickered in the air around her as her power rose, and behind her, Borrican roared again, a dangerous, threatening call that forced the dragons back further, making way for him as he followed Ariana into the cave.
Inside, they found Vana standing at the center of the vast cavern, waiting for them, and Ariana sensed the presence of even more dragons, powerful creatures, many with power that felt ancient to her, looking down from the many dark alcoves above. She walked to the center of the hollow mountain and Borrican stepped beside her, his enormous, dragon form rumbling the flat stone surface with every step.
"Who are you that comes to the dragonmount in such a form?" growled one of the dragons from the alcoves above, his voice rumbling deep with power that seemed to shake the cavern.
"I am Ariana Coromay, Queen of Maramyr, Princess of the House of Solari, Third Seat of Elvanar, and Queen of the Akandra," Ariana responded, her voice every bit as powerful.
"You are no dragon," said another voice.
"The queens of Akandar have not been dragons for many generations," Ariana said. "This is known to you, and all of dragonkind."
"We know this, but we do not approve of it," rasped an older dragon. "We have never approved of this."
"Your approval is neither sought nor required," Ariana responded, the echoes of her voice almost a growl in the vast cavern.
"Insolence!" A dragon from high above shrilled, with sharp and imperious.
"You are a presumptuous child," said another. "It would take but a flick of a claw to wipe you from existence."
Borrican growled ominously behind her, his fearsome dragon voice rumbling in the still air. He felt Ariana's thoughts telling him to hold and he calmed himself, but only grudgingly. The thought he had already sent to each and every one of the elders was clear, that they could all expect to be torn to pieces if they dared put a claw near Ariana.
"I see young Akandra still hovers on the edge of madness," commented another one of the elders.
"I assure you, my thoughts are quite clear," Borrican growled.
"You would challenge us all then?" said another dragon.
"I would rather not," Borrican replied. "That
is not why I came here, nor is it my wish."
"And what is your wish?" asked another elder.
"My wish is to free Kandara and to kill this god-king who has usurped the rightful throne of my queen," Borrican replied. "I will honor the oath of the Akandra, for that is no mere wish, it is my duty as Akandar."
"And you, little queen," another dragon said. "What is your purpose?"
"To free my people from the darkness, to take back the crown that was stolen from me. I will restore peace to the lands," Ariana said. "That is my purpose. That is the purpose of any noble ruler."
"And what would you have of dragonkind?" Vana asked, her voice less confrontational than the elders, her question explanatory more than anything, and Ariana got the impression that there was more to Vana's question than there seemed.
"Will the dragons of this land offer aid to rid the world of this god-king?" she asked. "Do the dragons that live among these wastes have the courage to stand against the power of this dark god who plagues the kingdoms to the south?"
"What do we care of such lands?" asked another dragon. "Why should we concern ourselves with the problems of lesser creatures? Why should we care about your human cities and your elven forests?"
Ariana could sense the elders' antagonism at the mention of the elves. She had felt the same thoughts emanating from them when she had mentioned her title among the people of the forest. She could tell that Borrican wanted to answer and she was glad of it, for he had fought Cerric, and knew how powerful he and his priesthood of black robed mages had become.
"War is coming," Borrican said. "Cerric will not stop until he has conquered all the lands. I have told you this, and yet you sit here, discussing it, asking why you should care. I have now gained some measure of the wisdom of my line, knowledge of things past, things many of you, ancient though you may be, with old wisdom, and I now know of the oath and the truth of fire. I did not know of this when I fought Cerric, but now I do, and there is no doubt, the shadow has returned."
"The shadow disappeared a thousand years ago," one of the elders said. "The elder gods banished it from this world, never to return."
"I know not how, but the shadow has returned," Borrican said. "And Cerric commands this power."
"Nonsense. No matter how powerful he might be, he is but one man," another dragon said. "We have given this story of yours much thought. One may claim to be a god, but the gods have left this world, never to return. It is doubtful that this Cerric is as powerful as you say."
"Cerric could kill any one of you as easily as one would crush a fly," Borrican growled. "If you do not believe me, then go and find out for yourselves. Or are you too cowardly?"
"You would dare to insult us in such a way?" snarled another elder, who moved to the edge of the alcove where he perched, glinting eyes staring down at the two dragons and the young woman in between them. "You are barely more than a wildling, bonded to an abomination that has no right to carry the gift of our race, and you would dare to question the wisdom of the elders and accuse us of cowardice?"
"I am Akandar," Borrican growled. "You are welcome to challenge me. And, make no mistake, if you threaten my queen again, I will kill you."
"There is no need, Borrican," Ariana said, her voice cool and dry. "They are not cowards, they are weak, and thus they may as well be dead."
Ariana stepped forward and reached for her power, bidding the smooth stone beneath her feet to crack, freeing the lava that lay deep beneath. She stepped atop a broken slab and, with her power, she pushed it upward, rising up into the vast cavern until she stood high enough to see inside every darkened alcove. The lava beneath her swirled and glowed darkly, flashing in sets of dragon eyes within the shadows, but it was not bright enough to light the darkness.
"Behold," she said as she let the flames within her blaze to life, lighting the inside of the vast cavern and driving away the darkness, illuminating the alcoves where the dragons lay.
In the lower alcoves were great and powerful dragons, younger members among the dragon elders. Above them, the dragons appeared older, wizened and thin, their strength having faded with age, and further above, the oldest dragons were little more than skin and bones. Only the lowest of the dragons in the hollow mountain appeared to have any strength, and though the ancient ones at the top retained the power of their thoughts, it was nothing more than an illusion.
"What have you hoped to accomplish by this?" one of the older dragons asked.
"You call me an abomination," Ariana said. "You are the abominations, weak cowards who deign to command dragons while pretending to be otherwise."
"We are elders!" snapped another dragon, angrily. "We are aged and we are wise."
"Age does not confer wisdom," Ariana replied. "You sit here, with the knowledge of your forebears, powerful dragons of the world long past. But what do you know of this world? Have you witnessed the destruction of an entire nation? Have you seen the armies that crush the land underfoot? Do you know of the mages who have become priests, followers of a mysterious god? And what of the so-called king, a usurper who has conquered Kandara, the self-proclaimed god-king who killed Eric Akandar, a proud and powerful dragon? A man killed a dragon with naught but his bare hands. Thousands witnessed this and yet you would ignore it, even deny it? Do you fear the truth? If this power of the shadow has returned, do you fear it? Will you face it? Or will you abandon your oath? What would that make you? Weak? Cowards? Oathbreakers?"
"Enough!" said one of the dragons, a large and powerful male, as he leapt from one of the lower alcoves, clawing his way toward Ariana.
Before the dragon had even spread his wings, Borrican was on him, claws and talons gripping and twisting him, and slamming the dragon hard upon the stone floor of the cavern. Borrican pinned him to the ground and with a growl he opened his jaws moving to bite at the dragon's neck, but he stopped at a thought from Ariana.
"Enough," she said, calmly. "As the rightful ruler of Maramyr, I call upon the nation of dragons to recognize the ancient oath of fire. As a ruling seat of Elvanar, I call upon dragonkind to honor the oath, to aid and protect, and as queen of the Akandra, I call upon you to honor the wisdom of dragons and keep to the oath, or submit to the ruling line."
"That claim was abandoned long ago," one of the oldest dragons said.
"That claim was set aside," Ariana said. "The elders are stewards. If you wish to remain as such, you will honor the oath."
"You stand upon dangerous ground," rumbled another dragon, one who was old but still very powerful.
"I stand upon a pillar of earth and fire," Ariana replied. "And from where I stand, you stand in the shadows."
"What is it you want?" asked the older dragon.
"The truth," Ariana said. "I have already made my request."
"And we shall consider what you have asked," the dragon replied.
"Then consider wisely," Ariana said. "Time grows short."
She slowly released the lava flow, lowering herself back down to the ground and let her flames die down to a faint flicker. Borrican let go of the dragon he held in place and stepped over toward Ariana as she stepped off of the stone, which slid back into place in the floor.
"Vana," said one of the elders. "Since you have aligned yourself with the Akandra, you can be responsible for them. We will summon you once we have discussed these matters."
Vana nodded and said nothing.
"Ariana of the Akandra," the elder continued. "You are not of dragonkind, but you know our ways. You have taken a vassal and bonded a champion, so you will be considered dragonkind, and protected as would any queen, but the dragons you command will not be spared the right of challenge by others, especially given the challenge you have issued to every single dragon. Borrican Akandar, we no longer sense the madness in you and have stayed our decree, but we have not yet rescinded it, thus should you issue a formal challenge, you will not be afforded the customary honors of single battle. Do you understand this?"
"I care not," Borr
ican growled. "If a dragon wishes to challenge me, then he will be given due honor. If a group of dragons challenge me then they will have proved themselves cowards and will deserve the full extent of my wrath. Cowards without honor will not be spared. Do you understand this?"
Borrican glared at the elders, letting his thoughts free and making it clear that he was deadly serious in his words. The things Ariana had said to them had awakened many things within his thoughts, and he now understood why she had challenged the elders. The oath of Akandra and the oath of fire, both resonated in his mind, along with the memories of his line, and the truth, that the Akandra were not simply the rulers of Kandara, they were the oldest ruling house of dragonkind. That was the claim with which Ariana had threatened the elders, and through the connection of their thoughts, he knew that she did not actually intend to start a war of succession, but was simply pressuring the elders to act. Borrican was impressed that she would be so bold and clever, not because he did not think her capable, but because she had truly become a queen, and a powerful one at that.
The elders offered no thoughts, their minds closed in silence, so Borrican turned and walked out of the hollow mountain, followed by Ariana, with Vana close behind. Borrican knew the custom of challenge was expected when leaving the presence of the elders, but instead, he walked out into the daylight and faced the multitude of dragons, and he let out a screaming roar, a challenge to all, but instead of the wildness of the beast that had driven them to frenzy, now his call was powerful and assured, the command of a king.
"You do not make things easy, Akandar," Vana said. "I suggest we fly to my valley."
"That would be best," Borrican agreed.
Storm lowered his head for Ariana, then the four of them took to the sky as the other dragons milled about the dragonmount, their thoughts a growing din behind them. Ariana felt something from the strange connection she seemed to have with Vale and she discussed it privately with Storm, who shared it as well.
"I must go and see Vale," she said to Vana and Borrican. "She wishes to speak with me alone."
"Is everything all right?" Vana asked, her motherly concern coming through in her thoughts.
