“There are spells that might pray on a mother’s grief.” Amaum stated bravely, his tale flicked back and forth. It was the only sign that he was concerned by the larger male’s presence.
“Yes…” Renamaum agreed. “There are better ones for foolish fledglings.” He formed the stone spell in his mind. It was not one of his sphere, so it took a bit more effort. Renamaum whispered words in draconic and suddenly the very ground melded about Amaum’s feet, anchoring him before his sire.
Amaum looked down at his feet in surprise. He opened his mouth to respond, but the only sound out of his mouth was the hiss of air.
Rena giggled until her mother caught her eye. She sobered immediately and dropped her head.
The larger male moved forward, his voice menacing. “Now that you are silenced and clearly held in place; you will listen.” Renamaum stood over his son, glaring down at the concerned younger male.
“First, bravery is a fine thing, but fear is as well. Both heroes and cowards feel fear; bravery is to act in the face of such fears. Fear is our warning that we are in danger.” Renamaum pushed his son’s muzzle down with his own. “A sense you are clearly still lacking.”
He continued as he circled the entrapped male. “Sometimes we will feel fear and do not see its source. It is then we must be the most aware. Be courageous my son, for it will build your character. But foolish bravado as you just showed, will earn you a quick death.”
Renamaum spoke to Amaum, but he could tell Rena was listening closely as well by the tilt of her head. He nodded his head at her with approval before looking back to the arrogant male. “An elder dragon of many years will have spells and skills you have only touched in your youth.”
He came back around to the front of the fledgling and caught his eye before he spoke further. “An older dragon can recover his breath weapon at a faster rate. He can often breathe it out for a longer time as well. If you must take an older dragon on, fledgling, you must use surprise and not foolish words. You could no sooner have made good your intended threat than catch your tail.”
He glanced at Rena then back to Amaum. “Seek out elder dragons and learn from them. I do not have the time to teach you all I would in life. Your mother has done a fine job, but some things a male must learn from a male. Do not believe yourself to know all you must. The most dangerous thing for a dragon is what he does not know. You cannot seek an answer if you do not even know the question.” He racked his brain for his sire’s teachings. There was such a little amount of time; he could not pass them all along. He needed to give the boy wisdoms that he did not think other males would share with one not of their own line; things which had made him the leader that he had become.
“There are things worth fighting for, my son. But there is much that is not worth your time and skill. Protect your mate and your family. Fight for what is good, and that which nurtures the land and the races that dwell upon it. Do not hold the sins of a few against the whole of any race or being.”
Amaum listened though he looked angry. He could not do much more with his feet secured in rock. Rena was watching her sire with large eyes. Pruatra just stood proudly as she watched her mate and son.
“When a dragon’s mind grasps truth, the real truth of this existence, then it can see beyond its own lifetime. You still see with the eyes of a young fledgling. This is obvious in the way that you tease and harass your smaller sibling.” Renamaum reached out with a talon and tipped the younger male’s chin up to look him in the eye. He was pleased to see a little remorse glimmering in Amaum’s eyes. “She is your blood and deserves your protection and your guidance. It is hatchling that plays tricks. Are you a hatchling, Amaum?”
“No Sire,” Amaum answered, finally softening. His fins lay back against his face as the true depth of his father’s words and chastisements took root.
“Good, then I shall continue.” Renamaum circled the younger male once more. “There are many versions of this so called truth in the world. Do not chase after proving a truth as valid. If it is true and pure, then as stone, nothing will flake away.” He nosed his daughter gently before turning back to Amaum. “The best falsehoods are told mostly in truth. You must remember this,” he counseled.
“The most important thing I will leave you with in words is this. Everything matters. What you say to others matters. How you act matters. How you carry yourself matters.” Renamaum drew himself up with true pride as he looked at the two younger magnificent dragons. “Live your life in such a way that when you are old and have many fledglings in your wake, they will mimic you with pride.”
Renamaum released the spell that held Amaum, causing the younger male to falter somewhat. He turned to look at his daughter as she shrank back from him. “Come here, Rena,” he called softly.
Rena moved towards him slowly. She looked up at the great male with large fearful eyes. “Yes sire?” she murmured.
“Life will throw you many serious situations that you must master.” He drew up and chuckled, easing the tension a bit. “But do not forget to play. I have watched you with your brother, and I can tell that you are the more serious of the two. Do not forget to love life and live it to the fullest.” Renamaum smiled down at her.
“I plan to have a wonderful life.” She drew herself up proudly, encouraged by her father’s softer manner. “I have even found one who I desire as a mate.”
The elder dragon looked over his daughter with swift scrutiny. He nuzzled her tenderly at the tidings that he must give her. “Most importantly, the boy cannot be your mate,” Renamaum stated firmly.
Rena’s face fell. “But he has all the qualities I want in a mate,” she insisted. She drew up with a bit of defiance, but her tone held more panic than disobedience.
“Except the body and lifespan of a dragon.” Renamaum said quietly. He knew his next words were going to be a harsh blow. “He also has a heart mate, Rena.” He spoke with great tenderness.
“Oh.” She lowered her great head, and her eyes showed her distress.
He nuzzled her to console the obvious distress this caused. He looked at his mate hopefully, but Pruatra was pointedly looking elsewhere. “You will find a mate worthy of your soul and heart. Do not settle, dear one. Find one that fills your soul with fire as your mother has always filled mine.”
Renamaum nuzzled Rena. “Do not blame Alador. It must have been quite alarming to have a large dragon share affection for him.” He put a wing about her. “I am sure he did not wish to hurt you, I know he truly cares for you all.”
Seeing that this was not easing her pain, he tried another tactic. Renamaum puffed up his chest with pride as he looked down at his daughter. “I am proud of your skill in magic and in teaching such things. Your fledglings will have a fine mother.”
Renamaum had one last thing he had to give to his son while he knew he had the time. He could not let the boy, Alador, have his power, and withhold it from the younger dragon. He returned to Amaum. “Hold still, Amaum. I will gift you with my knowledge and power as a flight leader."
He took the young dragon's head in his mouth; it was still small enough to fit. His daughter squeaked with fear; Renamaum could hear Pruatra’s reassuring tones behind him. He closed his eyes and gifted his son with the powers of the flight. All Renamaum’s ancestors knowledge in magic, some of the power he held, and as many of his memories from his own sire as he could put into the magic.
A circle of blue radiated out from the two males. When Renamaum finally removed his mouth gently from around his son’s head, Amaum fell to his knees. Amaum’s eyes filled with tears when he looked up at his sire. “I am so sorry Sire. I did not know,” he whispered.
Renamaum nuzzled the boy. “I know. There is no way to make such a shifting of power less overwhelming. The memories will settle in time.”
Renamaum looked at them all. His love for his family threatened to overwhelm him. “Let us settle for a time and speak of more pleasant things. I would know all I can before I must return. I want to hear s
tories of your time as hatchlings. I want to hear of your travels to the pool of the gods. I wish there was time that I might know everything.”
The four dragons settled down onto the ground. Renamaum passed on every tale and history that he could think of that might be of use. He asked many questions, and as he had requested, the two younger dragons shared their own experiences growing up. It was a true time of family and bonding. They all had a chance to laugh at the tales of the others.
Pruatra remained quiet for the most part, letting the three interact. She would smile at tales of childhood antics and occasionally added her own quip. Renamaum could feel her grief despite her attempts at levity. He could feel her desperate eyes on him even when he gazed upon the younger dragons.
Renamaum finally rose, shaking his great form and stretching his wings. “I am out of time. I can feel the edges of the spell pulling and faltering. I still have to return to where I started.”
Pruatra moved to him and laid her forehead against his own, they stood that way for some time. “Please… cast the spell and stay,” she begged in a whisper so that only he could hear her words. "I know you have the words and power to hold this form." A tear landed on the ground between them turning the ground where it landed into a strange light blue crystal.
Renamaum nuzzled her gently. “You know I cannot,” he answered. He growled as his own grief flooded him.
“You mean that you will not.” She raised her head, and her tail flicked back and forth with her agitation.
“Pruatra…” His tone rich with the torn ragged emotion of having to choose between the right thing and what his heart desired.
“Go mate! Go save the world! It is what you have always sought. I cannot stand in your way.” She stepped back angrily. “How can my love compete with the prophecy of gods?” She turned her back on him so that he could say farewell to his fledglings.
Renamaum dropped his head in misery. He hated hurting her in such a way. He felt a slight nuzzle and opened his eyes to see Rena looking up at him.
“She does not mean it. She always says angry things when she is hurting.” Rena’s words held the simple honesty that only youth can bring.
The great dragon nuzzled his daughter back gently. “I know little one. She always has.”
He moved to Amaum and moved him with a firm nudge. “You are the male of this family until your dame chooses another mate. Protect your dame and your clutch mate as you know that I would.” He knew that Amaum now had his memories and would know the great lengths that Renamaum was willing to go.
He stepped back from them both. “I am proud to call you mine. Go into the world and know there is more to it than just ourselves. Everything is connected. The land… The people… dragons, and nature are all intertwined. If one falls, all will be effected. Never forget this. Pass it on to your own fledglings. Promise me,” he demanded.
Both Rena and Amaum made their pledges softly then moved in to touch their sire one last time. Renamaum put his wings around both and whispered a prayer to the gods to protect them. Then he stepped back as he surveyed them both before giving one last longing glance to Pruatra.
“I must go,” he suddenly growled out. “As long as the boy lives, I will be with you.” He leapt into the sky before he changed his mind. The temptation to betray the boy and cast the spell that would secure this form was too great. He had to leave now, or he never would.
Chapter Nine
Renamaum could feel the power of the spell withering away, edges of it were fading and he was clinging to it. He faltered in the air as he fed it his own power, the only thing that he had left in that well was his own life-force. He did not want to leave Alador stranded anywhere between the two points of flight.
It had been so hard to make that leap into the sky. Turning away from one’s family for a greater good sounded heroic in his mind, but in his heart there was only a sense of ripping pain. The look of anguish on Pruatra’s face would be his last memory of her. Renamaum looked back the way he had come. He could still turn back. He brought his vision back around to check his path. He roared in anguish. He could not go back; too much was at stake for the world of magic and he had fledglings to protect.
The storm was a short distance off as he circled the cliff. The wind still making flying difficult, but the thunder now rolled in the distance. He could see where Henrick had formed a small magical shelter from the elements where he stood staring off at the sea. His hands were clasped behind his back with a fire blazing behind him. As long as he had known him, Henrick had always disliked being cold. He chuckled somewhat as he made his way to the ground; attempting to use the humor of the moment to push the grief from his mind. As he promised, he expelled the fire rock from his second stomach, not wanting Alador to suffer any side effects if such things did not also transform when the spell ended.
He could feel Alador pounding against the mental boundaries he had surrounded the mage with in his mind. The great dragon slowly began to let down the barriers that he had erected so that Alador would not interfere with his farewell.
Alador’s voice erupted in his mind. “I can’t do this Renamaum. You deserve that life. I have no small ones. I have no one to give more than a passing mourning of my death.”
“It is no longer your choice to make, boy,” the dragon inwardly snarled. He had not put Pruatra through that just to have the boy make some heroic sacrifice.
“I won’t let you do it,” Alador shouted. “I refuse your gift. I refuse to return to my form.” The mage, despite being without a body, attempted to wrest the spell from Renamaum’s control.
The hollow echo in the dragon’s head was painful. Renamaum almost botched the landing due to Alador’s sudden attempt to force down the rest of the magical shield. The boy was not going to take his power. He growled and reinforced the barrier to prevent losing control of the situation. He had always been accused of caring for mortals too much, now one was willing to sacrifice himself for the dragon. He realized that what little Alador had discerned in their switching of forms, the boy intended to let him finish the task in dragon form.
“I seem to remember your skill in flying was better than that, old friend.” Henrick called up in amusement. When Renamaum let out a fierce growl, Henrick look up startled. “Something amiss?” he questioned carefully.
Steam, remaining from the heat of the expelled fire rock, boiled from Renamaum’s nostrils. “The boy plans to sacrifice himself and leave me to the task.” Renamaum snarled. The large dragon lowered his head to stare into Henrick’s gaze. “Did you have to teach him the concept of self-sacrifice?” The sarcasm dripped as thickly as the spittle now spraying over the mage.
“Don’t look at me.” Henrick stated seriously; hands still clasped behind him. “He came that way.”
“I thought I had shielded my emotions better, but I am out of practice. The mortal doesn’t want this to have been my final goodbye.” Renamaum’s great tail hung slightly off the cliff face, the sound of it rubbing rock in agitation grated over the wind. “We will have to cast the absorption spell.” Renamaum’s determination faltered slightly. He was not sure he could do it. First, he knew he did not wish to leave the land of the living. Secondly, he did not think he could keep Alador in check and also cast the spell. He had been with the boy long enough to know that on his own, Alador had the means to interrupt the spell.
“Let me correct that, you will have to cast the spell as I transform. I will have to try to keep the boy from interfering,” hissed the great dragon.
“I must point out, I do not know this spell.” Henrick walked to the left, Renamaum watched him closely, his head following the mage. “It is not a common matter for dragons to go about inhabiting mortal forms.”
“Yes, it is not common, but we both know that you lie.” Renamaum challenged. “Not only did you know where this spell was for our mortal pawn, but you have been playing in deception too long. Do not think to lie to me…. Henrick.” The dragon snarled out the name.
Renamaum’s great head lowered till his nostril was within inches of Henrick’s face. “Yes, well if you studied more than you chased females, you might be more knowledgeable,” the dragon snapped. Renamaum took in a deep breath and rumbled it out, trying to center his fragile hold on the magic holding Alador at bay. He could feel the boy testing the shield for weaknesses.
“I do not deny that fact.” Henrick smirked. “Can you give me the words?” Henrick patted the dragon’s jowl affectionately.
“Quit the banter. I am barely containing your adopted spawn.” Right now, if he did not need the mage before him, he would have bitten him. ‘I will refresh your knowledge of the spell,” he conceded.
Renamaum lowered his head so that the space between his eyes was level with Henrick. The dragon waited till Henrick’s hand connected with his brow, then attempted to feed him the spell. He inwardly cursed at Henrick’s gasp as his lack of practice and Henrick’s willing open mind met. He had practically shoved the spell into the mage’s mind. The massive blue dragon opened his eyes to see Henrick stagger back.
“By the gods, you could have taken more time,” Henrick gasped out.
“I apologize, subtlety takes practice and time. As you know, I am out of both.” Renamaum pointed out. He was not sorry. Served his old friend right, playing when so much was at stake.
“Are you sure this is the only way?” Henrick asked. “It seems a great sacrifice for the chance of little to no gain.”
Pseudo-Dragon (The Blue Dragon's Geas Book 4) Page 8
