by Eric Vall
“You gotta teach me how to use spatial magic,” I said with a grin as I walked over to Julia and looked at the open scroll in her lap. “Are those from the library?”
“There is quite a bit I need to teach you.” The Elder nodded, and her eyes gleamed with delight. “And yes, these are the schematics I found. It seems when the aqueducts were first built, there were enchantments tied into the stone itself.”
“Wait, so even buildings can be enchanted?” My eyes went wide as I looked from the scroll to the scattered stones around us. “Not just jewelry and little things?”
I thought back to the beautiful jewelry I’d seen Alyona imbue with power when we were inside the archives and she’d first found the reference to dragonsblood. It almost seemed like a thousand years ago in my mind. So much had happened since then that it was hard to believe a full month hadn’t yet passed.
“They can.” Julia traced the carvings on the stone she sat on and smiled. “Lady Alyona … well, I should say Princess Alyona now, shouldn’t I?”
“I don’t think she’ll mind,” I chuckled as I looked over to where Alyona was playing happily with the two children. “But, you were saying?”
“Oh!” Julia clapped her hands together and glanced back down at the schematics in her lap.“Yes, we don’t know if this knowledge is outdated. What if there’s been advancements in the past thousand years since the city fell? Or maybe this is as good as it’s gotten? Still, for us, this is like rediscovering how to make fire. Lady Alyona would be able to teach us how to enchant buildings, or lead us in the right direction.”
“Hey, all of this is new for me.” I shrugged. “So, I’ll be learning with you guys.”
“Speaking of learning,” Julia laughed softly as she rolled up the schematics, stood, and motioned for me to follow her, “we’re having a meeting once we’re all back at the city.”
“A meeting?” I tilted my head in curiosity and followed Julia to where the others sat. “What about?”
“Now that, dear dragon,” Julia laughed and slipped her arm around mine, “would be ruining the surprise.”
Chapter 2
Ilya and Ilyushina were left in the care of the fox Demi-Human Afra, and they’d headed off to the communal kitchens the moment we got back to Hatra. The dryad sisters and Anton dashed off in the direction of the airship, which left Julia to lead Laika, Alyona, and myself to the temporary town square. There were still tents set up inside of the square, and we walked straight for the largest one.
Inside of the tent was a large, long table made out of wood with a dozen or so seats. At the table sat the other two Elders, Ruslan and Moskal, with food before them. There were plates of bread, cheese, dried meats, and fresh vegetables from the farms.
My stomach growled at the sight of the large spread. Other than this morning’s aborted picnic, I couldn’t really remember the last time I ate.
Well, that was if I didn’t count feasting on Alyona’s beautiful body the night before.
“Welcome to the first official meeting of the newly reborn council of Hatra.” Ruslan grinned widely and motioned for us to sit down at the table.
The fox Demi-Human sat at the head of the table, and Moskal had a seat at his left. Enchanted crystals brought light into the tent, and they cast shadows all around us.
“A council?” I grinned as I sat down at the long table. “That isn’t such a bad idea.”
Julia sat to Ruslan’s right and smiled lightly at the two women who sat next to me.
Alyona sat primly and properly. Her back didn’t even touch the backrest of the chair, and her hands were folded daintily in her lap. Laika, in comparison, rested her elbows on the armrests of the chair and held her face in her hands.
“It is only fitting if we are to rebuild this city and survive any future attacks,” Moskal said as he glanced at the tent’s entrance.
“A lone drop of water achieves nothing,” Alyona murmured and stared down at her folded hands, “but many may tear down a cliff.”
“I hope we aren’t late,” a voice said suddenly, and then the wolf Demi-Human Pyotr stepped through the tent flap with a sharp smile. “I gathered two members of the Blue Tree Guild’s Council to join us. The others are attending to guild matters, but they shall be filled in later.”
Two people followed Pyotr through the open tent flap, and I looked at them with curiosity.
One of them was a woman with dark skin and ears on the top of her head, not unlike Ruslan’s, and a sleek tail that wrapped itself around her waist. Her dark purple hair was tied back into a long braid that hung over her shoulder, and she wore dark leathers embroidered with blue trees and a gorget around her throat, just like Laika’s. Her eyes were a brilliant crimson and bright like rubies.
I focused on the woman as I wondered just what type of Demi-Human she was.
Classification: Fox Demi-Human.
Condition: Healthy.
Priority: None.
Danger: None.
Status: Healthy.
The other guild member was a man with piercing blue eyes and almost blue-black hair that fell loosely down his back. There wasn’t really anything I could pinpoint from his appearance to see if he was a Demi-Human or not, but I did notice the sharp claws on his hands.
Unlike the fox Demi-Human and other members of the Blue Tree Guild I’d seen, he didn’t wear any leathers. He wore simple black robes that flowed to the ground and swished as he moved.
I guessed he was some type of reptile or bird as I focused on him.
Classification: Crow Demi-Human.
Condition: Healthy.
Priority: None.
Danger: None.
Status: Healthy.
I smirked. So, he was a bird. I was right.
“Honorable Grandfather, respected advisors, well met.” Laika stood immediately from her seat and clasped her hands in front of her.
The three members of the Blue Tree Guild returned her greeting and clasped their own hands in front of their chests before they sat down at the table.
“Ah, Laika, were you by the river?” Pyotr glanced at his granddaughter with evident curiosity in his face. “Is that why there’s a bit of algae in your hair?”
The older wolf reached out to flick away the bit of greenery from behind Laika’s ear.
“We were.” Laika’s ears flattened on her head as her jaw clenched. “Water demons surprised us.”
“Water demons?” Pyotr’s ears perked as he hummed in thought. “There shouldn’t be any here, considering how close the desert is.”
“That was my concern as well,” Julia said as she fluttered her fan and frowned.
Suddenly, the flaps of the tent moved again, and the two adult Asuras, Natalya and Maksim, entered. Both bore the pale blue hair I’d come to learn was typical of Asuras, and there were slight horns on their foreheads.
“How strange to hear of water demons,” Natalya said from the entrance of the tent and tilted her head. “Has the meeting begun?”
“Ah, you’re just in time.” Moskal shook his head as he settled his hands inside his sleeves. “We have barely begun to make introductions. Ruslan, would you lead us off?”
The air inside of the tent shifted as power condensed and stirred, and all the airiness and gentleness from before disappeared. Now, there was only steel inside of the tent, and I felt my own power rise with the Elder’s.
It was time for badass people to talk about badass things.
“I am Ruslan of the House of Hatra.” The fox Demi-Human stood from his seat and bowed with his hands clasped in front of his chest. “I have defended this city for over half a millennia and more. I will continue to do so until my dying breath, but in the meantime, I work as a blacksmith.”
“Julia of the House of Hatra.” Julia stood gracefully as she curtsied and moved her fan with a flourish. “I am an Elder, alongside Ruslan and my brother Moskal. I am Hatra’s Keeper of Knowledge.”
“And I am Moskal, of the House of Hatra.” Mo
skal stood and bowed with his hands clasped in front of his chest. “I am the third Elder of this city, and I am an herbalist.”
“Laika of the Blue Tree Guild,” Laika declared as she copied the Elder’s movements and bows. “I am the guild’s current leader.”
“Pyotr of the Blue Tree Guild,” the older wolf intoned and repeated the same actions his granddaughter had done. “Former guild leader and advisor to the current leader.”
“Daya of the Blue Tree Guild,” the fox Demi-Human murmured as she executed the same greeting. “Mistress of War and the advisor to the current leader.”
“Tion of the Blue Tree Guild,” the crow Demi-Human said, and his claws glinted in the light of the tent as he clasped his hands in front of him. “Master of Commerce and advisor to the current leader.”
“Natalya is my name,” the Asura woman announced as she stood and bent at the waist. “Former blacksmith of the Asuras, I was. A blacksmith of Hatra, now I am.”
“Maksim of the Asuras I was once.” Maksim’s voice was soft and barely audible as he stood and bowed. “An herbalist I am, and now I lay claim to Hatra as my home.”
“I am the Divine Maiden Alyona,” the priestess beside me declared as she stood gracefully and dropped to one knee with her hands clasped before her chest. “Daughter of the White Jade Sect and successor to the White Jade Seat.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone in the tent stared at Alyona and the deep respect that she, the princess of the country, had offered to everyone gathered here.
I didn’t have to be a native of the world of Inati to know just how rare it was for a royal to do something like that.
“And I’m Evan, the dragon of Hatra.” I stood and clasped my hands in front of my chest as I mirrored Alyona’s movements.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw small, approving smiles from not only Alyona, but also the Elders of Hatra.
“Now, let’s get down to business.” Ruslan motioned for everyone to sit back in their seats. “For the newly arrived Blue Tree Guild members, what do you know of Hatra so far?”
Tion and Daya exchanged glances as they took their seats on either side of Pyotr.
“An abandoned city inhabited by stubborn descendants and plagued by miasma,” Pyotr answered as he leaned back in his chair. “Her Highness tracked down our airship and pleaded for help in saving the city. Five of our finest immediately volunteered, including our current leader, my granddaughter Laika.”
“Why only five?” I frowned as I looked at the older wolf and the other members of the Blue Tree Guild. “Why not the whole guild?”
“It was a vanguard of sorts.” Laika shrugged her shoulders and leaned forward in her seat so she could face me. “We would go ahead, and the rest of the guild would follow, if need be. Many of our members were returning from missions or still out fulfilling requests. Those needed to be completed before the guild could follow us.”
My brows furrowed as I took in her words. That did seem to make sense. I guess I was just overthinking things.
“And then our esteemed leader commanded for all of us to make our home in an abandoned city.” Tion tapped his claws absentmindedly on the armrest of his chair. “It was quite surprising to receive that message.”
“I can imagine.” A smile twitched on my face as I thought back on the conversation I had with Laika the night she’d sent said message.
Laika told me the Blue Tree Guild had no home but wherever their airship was at any given moment in time. I’d asked her if the Blue Tree Guild would make Hatra their home if I promised to give the Blue Tree Guild the same protection I offered Hatra. She’d agreed, and now here we were.
“What of you, Master Dragon?” Daya tilted her head as she spoke, and there was a dark timbre to her voice. “We were told Laika and the others found you in one of the caves in the nearby forest, an otherworlder summoned to our own world.”
I was a bit startled by her question, though it wasn’t like I’d forgotten I was from Earth and that this world definitely wasn’t Earth. I was just surprised to realize just how little time had passed since I’d come to this world. It hadn’t even been a month since I’d put on the dragon mask and ended up as a dragon in the world of Inati.
“That’s correct,” I replied as memories flooded my mind of stone giants and crystal caves. “I found them battling stone giants, and I had to help them. I wasn’t going to stand by when I could help save someone.”
“And that is why you’ve ended up in Hatra, no?” Daya’s ears twitched forward as she leaned toward me. “Because of this need to save others?”
“It is,” I answered with a nod. “I promised I would do anything and everything in my power to help Hatra and its people.”
Alyona slipped her hand into mine and squeezed.
I smiled at the beautiful princess sitting next to me and squeezed her hand in return.
“That does not explain the Asuras.” Tion frowned as he looked between me and the two Asuras at the table. “I thought your people kept to themselves outside of your trading season? Why are you here in Hatra?”
“Our village was destroyed,” Natalya replied as she lifted four fingers in front of her face and looked at Tion. “Out of us all, only four survived. We two, who you see here, and the two children of our lord.”
“What?” Pyotr gasped in disbelief and leaned forward. “The village was destroyed? This cannot be.”
Natalya and Maksim exchanged a mournful look as the herbalist slumped in his chair.
“Before the army at our doorstep a few nights ago, there was another one,” Julia said as she snapped her fan shut and clenched it tightly between her hands. “It was comprised entirely of Corrupted Corpses and those tainted by the miasma. As if they were puppets on a string.”
“An army?” Daya frowned as she questioned Julia. “How many of the corpses?”
“There were thousands of them,” Moskal grumbled as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
“Why would Hatra be at the center of so many attacks?” Pyotr hummed thoughtfully as he picked up a slice of cucumber and tossed it into his mouth. “It’s as if it was being targeted for a reason.”
“It’s the archive,” I replied with a shake of my head.
“Archive?” Pyotr raised one of his dark gray eyebrows as he looked at me.
“Library, archive, whatever you want to call it,” I said and waved one hand dismissively. “There’s a massive complex beneath the city. We’ve only explored a small part of it, but there’s thousands of books and records, some of them dating back to the founding of Hatra. And those are only just the ones we’ve found. There’s more rooms and passageways we haven’t been able to explore yet.”
The library was truly a place we needed more time than we had on hand to explore. None of us could even begin to imagine the secrets such a place held, and it was an adventure I itched to undertake.
But first things first, I needed to make sure my people were safe. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of what happened with the Corrupted Corpses and Alyona, for someone to be attacked and for me to be deep underneath the city and out of reach.
“Did no one truly know about this place?” Pyotr murmured, half to himself, as he looked up at the ceiling of the tent. “Such a place must have been the pride and joy of the rulers of Hatra. I can’t begin to imagine anyone forgetting about such a treasure.”
“It was sealed, Grandfather.” Laika shook her head, and her ears perked up. “No one had been in there for a thousand years. The secret died with the city. Evan and I found it, or rather, there was something, some kind of power, that called us to it.”
“I think that’s one, if not the main reason why Hatra is being targeted.” I nodded as I shuffled the puzzle pieces in place for them. “The first day we went searching in the archives, Alyona found a book that held a clue for keeping the miasma at bay. Dragonsblood.”
“When did you find the Asuras?” Daya asked as she ran her hand through her hair. �
��Was it right after you found the archive? Or a few days later?”
“We set out on the same day to the village,” I explained and reached for one of the clay pitchers of water on the table. “Laika and Alyona said it was a few hours away if we ran the whole way. And when we got there, well … ”
Alyona’s grip on my hand grew stronger, and I knew she was remembering the destruction of the Asuran village. It hadn’t been a pretty sight, although by the time we’d arrived, the two older Asuras had already buried the dead. Even so, death lingered in the air, and ash covered everything in sight. There was no escape from the destruction that had touched the Asuras’ home.
“The village was scorched,” Alyona said, and her voice was tight with restrained emotion. “Then we found a summoning circle within the protective ring of dragonsblood trees. Whoever created that circle was an expert. No one would have known until it was too late.”
Ruslan and I had done our best to destroy the summoning circle, and I’d been given an impromptu lesson on those magical arrays. It had left a deep sort of distaste in my mouth, probably because of the way I’d seen the array being used, for destruction and death.
“After we came back with the survivors and whatever saplings survived,” I continued from where Alyona left off, “a man came to Hatra.”
“Against Evan and Laika’s better judgement, we welcomed him into Hatra,” Ruslan added, and there was bitterness in his eyes, but he managed to keep that emotion out of his voice. “Though, you weren’t fond of him either, were you, Milady?”
I gritted my teeth as I remembered the man who called himself Olivier. He’d been the cause of much agony for me.
“Scholar he called himself,” Alyona said, and her eyes grew cold. “He knew too much, his eyes knew too much, and it felt like I was being consumed alive by him.”
“Then a summoning circle appeared inside of Hatra,” Julia intoned, and her voice was emotionless. “From whence came the army of Corrupted Corpses and those tainted by the miasma. And the scholar, conveniently, disappeared.”
