by Sarah Hite
Ania’s eyes faded for a moment at the mention of the egg, but only for a moment. She looked at her grandfather and asked, “Can someone dream when they’re awake?”
Nealson gave her an odd look. “What?”
“Never mind. They’re going to move it.” She looked out at the barn again and repeated. “They’re going to move the egg.”
Silvrin was used to Ania thinking of things no one else did, especially when it involved dragons, but this possibility even he should have thought of. She went on: “I think they were only waiting for a while in order to lose the parents. They had to come looking for it but would have to return to their clan, with or without it. They must believe the parents have stopped looking.”
This news troubled the men. “It makes sense and, if it’s true, we need to get the egg away from Noben and the soldiers soon,” Martus said.
“No. We need to act now. I checked the egg two days while cleaning the barn; I think it is only a few weeks old. Which means there is only about a month before it hatches, six weeks at the most,” Oden interjected.
About a week after the soldiers arrived, the village was a disaster. Garbage covered the ground, damaged windows were now boarded up, and the smell of ale was heavy on the breeze. The people were fearful and no longer went out alone, especially after sunset. The village elders had set a strict curfew in an attempt to protect the people. They were being terrorized by the men who were supposed to protect the Zimri Province, but their lord, Mobren, had allowed them to do whatever they wanted to the village. Only Noben and Neil, the captain of the men, stayed at the barn. The village of Pycan was once a happy place, but now it was dark and dreary.
Of the six nobles in Altera, two were kind and just, and led the provinces to the south. Two of the other lords, and the duke, however, it was best not to anger. As for the fifth lord, they were not sure if he could be considered a friend. Lord Kayton, the leader of Keu, the northeast province, was one of the wealthiest of the lords, as he controlled the mines in the Crishon Mountains. Only Duke Tollak Vidar was richer or more powerful, but he also had the worst temper. Ania knew this well; both of her parents had died at his hands, although she did not exactly know why. All she knew was that they must have angered the Duke, and neither her grandfather nor Silvrin would tell her why. She was determined to find out someday.
Ania and Nealson wound their way through town to the tanners. It was a three-building complex consisting of a house and two sheds. All three buildings were in bad need of repair. The house’s roof was sagging; the pelt shed leaned to the side and rested on the third building. The tanning shed had holes in the roof, which allowed the stench of the dyes to overwhelm the air. The stench caused the villagers to steer clear of the tanners, making it an easy place to hide. They met the owner and several other Guardsmen between the buildings. Here they decided on how to save the egg.
The Assembly
Deep within the depths of Dragons’ Keep, a dragon stepped from a dark passage into a well-lit chamber. King Kyeon Mangjul walked through the room, not noticing the dripping stalagmites, or the sounds the drips made when they hit the worn stone floor. He did not notice the sand or sea shells in a careful arrangement, but walked by them all until he reached the inner chamber of his quarters. His queen met him at the entrance. She had just returned from a diplomatic mission to the ocean, where she had spoken with the little known Ocean dragons.
She noticed the sad look in his eyes and knew some- thing dreadful had happened. In those eyes, she saw a pain so severe that it crushed the bearer’s soul. “What happened?” she asked gently. “The Keep is in an uproar.”
He did not look at her, but responded with a pain- filled whisper, “The Nesting Cave has been destroyed. Moon is—she’s gone.”
“What?!” How?”
He turned to look at her and, instead of answering her question, said, “Come, the Council is about to address the situation.” He led her to an enormous chamber that could hold the land’s entire population of dragons. Elder and Kei-ata Lorbrein were already there, as well as a slender light grey dragon with rust red markings and a small heavily armored Forest dragon. A row of more heavily armored dragons of all kinds bordered each side of the raised ledge upon which they stood. The dragons who filled the room were mostly of the mountain clans, but there were many from the forested and desert regions as well. There were even a few from the polar and super-heated regions. A large opening at the back of the room acted as the main entrance. The royal couple were the last to arrive, and came through a smaller entrance behind the podium. Elder turned to them, “Your Majesty,” he said. “Ah, Kym, I did not know you would be returning today.”
“Yes, we finished early. I arrived just a few moments ago.” The queen replied. “And just in time in seems.” This seemed to amuse Kei-ata Lorbrein, who eyed her with his ever knowing gaze. She returned it with zeal while Elder turned to address the crowd, which simmered down when he spoke.
Loudly and clearly, Elder addressed the crowd. “For those of you who may not know, the nesting cavern has been destroyed—the eggs along with it—which is the reason why we are here. Many of you want retribution and recompense for what happened, and the guilty party to be punished. However, before judgment is passed, there are other matters that need to be addressed.”
He turned to Kyeon. “Proceed.” Then he turned to the grey-and-rust-colored dragon; he was standing off to the side, and slightly behind Kyeon. “Prince Seoung, what matters have there to be discussed?”
“There are several matters, Elder, although there are some that I believe to be most pressing, and some which may be related to others. It is my opinion that none of these are small matters, and none should be taken lightly,” the king’s brother replied.
Elder nodded, “Begin. We’ll start with the smallest today.”
Seoung nodded in return. “The smallest is that a section of the nesting cavern’s ceiling collapsed yesterday; it seems the slate gave way. Upon further study of the stones, it appears the rocks have been coming loose for a while. Another section was found above the cave mouth, where the stones had fallen weeks ago.” He paused to allow the exclamations of startled dragons to die down before continuing, “Several smaller dragons were set to the task of clearing the rock.” Even though the prince spoke clearly, he did not look at the crowd. Instead he stared at the floor beneath his feet.
Elder knew the prince did not want the populous to see the tears in his eyes. He shook his head. It would not have mattered if the men had come, he thought, they would have been buried alive. “The next item?”
“The next two may be related,” Seoung continued. “There have been reports of shortages of prey in the forests below.” Angry protests interrupted Seoung, and Elder suppressed them. Seoung looked at Elder, knowing what was to come, and said, “There have also been reports of men in our mountains.” The noise that followed lasted several minutes, and took the combined efforts of Elder and the King to silence.
“The next, and probably most pressing matter—”
The Prince faltered and looked at Kyeon, who turned to face his brother. He could not hide the pain in his voice as he asked, “Elder will you lead?”
Elder nodded in understanding. The King and his brother had lost their younger sister because of someone else’s negligence, and she was the one being blamed. He knew they would continue to blame her unless those truly responsible openly admitted their part. Unfortunately, he knew that there were many dragons who would blame her anyway; he also knew that their animosity would continue. “I assume there is no need to explain this matter. As I have said it earlier, I assure you that the guilty party will be punished.”
“Looks like they already were. What did you make Saydene do, clean the waste pits? Ancestors know she hasn’t shown herself in weeks.” Dea-hyun chuckled.
The dragons around her were shocked. They had all wondered where the princess had been, but they were not about to bring it up in front of her family, or interru
pt Elder, who turned to face her. He stepped down off of the ledge and approached her, while the dragons around her stepped back. He towered above her. She had shown outright disregard for the royal family, and for her elders. This could not be allowed to continue. He lowered his enormous head to look her in the eye. “You are right,” he said low, “cleaning the waste pits does sound like a fitting punishment. However, Saydene will not be the one to do it.”
“What!” As she interrupted him again, the other dragons took this as a cue to back as far away from her as they could. She went on scornfully, “If that hatchling hadn’t been so negligent, the nesting ca—”
Elder growled in warning before she could go any further. “It was not Saydene’s negligence that destroyed the nesting caves.”
Dea-hyun paid no heed. “Right, and I am to assume it was whose… ours?” Her anger rose, her voice along with it. “If that little creature hadn’t been put in that position, this never would have happened. Now we have men in our mountains and no hatchlings to add to our ranks!”
Kyeon had had enough. “Silence!” he roared and stepped down to join Elder. “I have heard enough of your insolence. First, you constantly torment my sister, and then you harass her now that she’s gone. What’s worse, you insult Elder to his face. You’re right, Dea-hyun: cleaning the waste pits does sound like a good idea.” Kyeon was enraged, and he was not known to make idle threats; Dea-hyun was likely to end up doing just that. He turned to Elder. “Finish here.” He left through the opening behind the podium.
“Elder?” The soft voice had come from the queen. Elder turned to face her. “The young one has a question.”
Dea-hyun had retreated to the back of the crowd, now a young female about Moon’s age, but half her size, stood in her place and slightly in front of the crowd.
“Yes, child?” Elder asked kindly.
The youth first acknowledged Kym, and then addressed Elder, “There are rumors, around the Keep,” she began, “rumors that an egg was saved. Are they true?”
Silence filled the chamber. It became so quiet that a pebble could be heard falling from the rocks above, as they waited for his response.
“Yes, it is true.” Elder had to raise a talon against the noise that followed, “Let us not forget why we are here. Yes, an egg was discovered and, yes, Saydene was not guarding the cavern when it was attacked. However, if she had been there, she would have been killed.” He continued over the whispers. “The men will no longer be a problem either; they have what they came for.”
“How can you be sure?” asked a dragon.
Speaking for the first time, Kei-ata Lorbrein told them sadly, “Because it was the men who destroyed the nesting caves.” His soft, factual statement silenced the room.
“Sir?” It was the same young female. “Why would they have killed Moon, too? She was one of the best fighters in Teachings—maybe not one of the strongest, but certainly one of the smartest.” Elder looked at her with renewed interest. Saydene had never said anything about having friends but, then again, she kept her secrets well. “We were just getting to that child. Saydene was your friend?” Elder inquired.
“She would help me when no one else would,” she replied sadly, “Moon looked after me… after I was caught in that storm. She made sure that I got what I needed to recover.” The council knew that Moon found joy in caring for the sick, injured, and less fortunate.
“That was a bad year,” Elder agreed. “Storms came out of nowhere, for two seasons.” Kei-ata answered her question. “Saydene would not have been able to fight them off; she would have been too weak.”
“Why?” someone at the back asked.
“Because a dragon cannot do their job if they haven’t eaten for several weeks,” Elder said matter-of-factly. “The issue here,” he continued slowly, “is not that Saydene neglected her duty, but that someone else has neglected theirs. She was not receiving food on a weekly basis as she should have been. In fact, she hadn’t received a delivery in over a month. She was starving; hunting was the only thing she could do.”
“Whoever was supposed to hunt for her was not doing their job.” The Prince did not often get angry, but now well-restrained anger overcame his despair and filled his voice.
Elder continued. “This council believes she has been punished enough and is not the one at fault. Ryou, who was the hunter assigned to that route?”
Lyong Ryou, otherwise known as Ryou Elder or simply Ryou, was a dark green and brown Forest dragon, and the chief general of the king’s military dragons. He was also in charge of assigning the hunting and delivery routes, recording the meat brought in, and training the fighters. When the situation had been brought to him, he had been astounded. He knew nothing of the neglect; all the records were normal. After giving it some thought and reviewing who had been working that route when food was not delivered, he had come to a conclusion. “Ryou?”
“Sorry, Elder,” he said by way of apology; he had been thinking. “There were two dragons responsible for that route. The first had been injured in a hunt and the route was then assigned to the other. On the days Lady Saydene was without delivery he was working her route.” This dragon had been assigned to deliver to the nesting caves multiple times; in each case he had failed.
He had been waiting in the outer corridor and was now brought in. Once he was in place for judgment, Elder went on. “These disasters, the destruction of the nesting cave and Saydene’s disappearance, were caused by the negligence of those, who on failure to carry out their assignments, forced a clutch guard to leave the nesting caverns in search of food… food that should have been provided on a weekly basis.” Or in her case, every three days, he thought to himself. He continued: “You will receive punishment fitting your part in the act. The delivery of this punishment will be dealt with in private, and soon enough, but first, do you admit to your part in this act?”
The hunter glared at Elder with hateful malice. After a moment he smiled. That smile chilled Elder to the core. “Sure. I did it. It’s not often one gets such an opportunity.” He began to laugh at some hidden joke, while the dragons looked on astounded and unsettled. Several warriors led him from the room.
“There is another matter that we must attend to before anything else is done, as it takes precedence over the rest of these proceedings,” Kei-ata Lorbrein said, and turned to the prince. “Seoung.”
Seoung stepped forward, but stopped after a few feet, unsure of sure how to proceed. Instead, he looked back at the head shaman, “This is more your field, Shaman.”
Kei-ata Lorbrein nodded. He addressed the females in the crowd before they could get too excited. “The egg that was found did not belong to any of you. It was too young—no more than a week old when we found it, two at the most. We believe there is only one dragon who it could possibly belong to.”
“It’s Saydene’s, isn’t it?” her friend asked quietly.
Overriding the surprised outcries, Elder spoke clearly. “Her first clutch. She has suffered more than you know, and will continue to; because of the actions of dragons here in the Keep she has disappeared, and may never know it survived.” He ended almost in a whisper, colored by sorrow and regret.
“Elder? Forgive me, but how is that possible, and who was the sire?” Seoung asked, startled.
Elder replied first by saying, “We must remember that Saydene is older than she appears. She and her friend here hatched in the same season.” Kei-ata Lorbrein answered the second question, “All we know of the sire was that he was of the forest clans.”
At that moment, Kyeon, who had re-entered the room a few moments earlier, but had stayed back, spoke before Elder could continue. “If anyone has information as to her location, or finds something that could help us find her, I want to know immediately.”
Kym spoke for second time during the assembly. Very quietly, almost as if she were afraid to, she asked, “Where is Saydene?”
Neither Kyeon nor Seoung answered; they just turned to look at her. She saw
the pain in her mate’s eyes, the same pain that she had seen earlier.
Finally, the prince simply said, “Gone.” He turned and left, leaving her more confused than before. She looked to the shaman for an explanation. He answered with a thought. She left the cavern before we found the egg, and has not been seen since. No one can seem to find her.
“I see,” she said gloomily. “What about the egg?”
Instead of answering her, he turned to Elder. Elder looked at Kym sadly and said, “Someone needs to care for it, and the dragonet when it hatches. I would prefer to keep it with family or a close friend.”
“We will care for it,” Elder turned to Kyeon, who now sat at the back edge of the stone shelf, looking rather forlorn. “Yes, of course,” the queen agreed.
Elder studied the king. He could see that Kyeon was in pain, and knew that the young king blamed himself for his sister’s disappearance. Elder hoped that caring for Moon’s hatchling would ease his pain.
The Raid
Three days after they had decided on a plan, Ania woke early. The morning air was cool; the sun just beginning to peek over the mountains. She was excited because they were going to save the egg. First, they would get it away from soldiers; then they would take it back to the Keep. She was not sure who would be going, but she secretly wished she could be among them. She dressed quickly, ate a few biscuits with jam and a chunk of cheese for breakfast, and went to meet the others at Silvrin’s house with her grandfather.
When everyone was there, Silvrin laid out the plan so everyone would know what to do, since not all were present three days ago. “Why knock him out? Why not just kill him?” one of the younger men asked. “The repercussions of killing him would be greater. Knocking him unconscious would get him in more trouble than it would us,” was Silvrin’s reply. “I also don’t like the idea of killing someone, even if it’s necessary.”
