“Lorial,” Gandon cried out, striding over to her and embracing her as she stood up.
“It’s good to see you again, Gandon,” she told him.
Gandon then turned to Derin and his brother and embraced them too. “Derin, Talon. It is good to see you both,” he said, shaking their hands. He then looked at Ishtvan and Zecelia, both noticeably older and taller than he remembered.
“Look at you two!” he exclaimed, before he realized that Zecelia would have been far too young at their last meeting to remember him.
Then his eyes turned to Kelahil. He didn’t recognize him but there was something familiar about the boy.
“And this is...?” he asked.
“Kelahil,” Lorial said.
Gandon’s smile disappeared.
“Keld and Kaolin’s son,” he murmured.
There weren’t many reasons he could think of to explain why the boy would be all the way down in Saharei without his parents.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Lorial said, glancing at King Nabahar. “After we finish eating, Zecelia and Kelahil can go and play somewhere and then we’ll –”
“No.”
She turned around and saw that it was Talon who had spoken.
“Talon?”
“No,” he said. “We didn’t discuss it before because we were traveling and it wouldn’t have been a good idea to talk about it under the circumstances, but we are not running any more. It’s time.”
“Talon, he’s a little boy.”
“That’s true,” Talon replied. “But he’s also the future lord of Arahir, and so he’ll have to deal with some things that other boys his age won’t. Otherwise, how will he be different from any other man when he grows older? Kaolin and Keld made us responsible for Kelahil for more reasons than his immediate safety.”
“Talon,” Lorial protested.
Talon put his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Lorial, they did it because if anything happened to them, they believed that you, your brother and I, and possibly our friend Gandon here, were the only people they could trust to raise him as they would have.”
With a sigh, Lorial relented.
“Kelahil,” she said, sitting down. “Zecelia. Stay.”
X. The Shores of I’estre
“Good morning,” Shaala said, brushing Karn’s hair and smiling.
“It is when you’re the first thing I see,” Karn told her, sitting up. “You let me sleep late.”
Shaala chuckled. “Ariadne thought you were getting in the way a bit yesterday.”
“I was trying to help.”
“Exactly. Cheer up. I’ve brought you some fresh water. Well, it was fresh a week ago but it won’t harm you. And I’ve brought some breakfast.”
Karn smiled. “You’re too kind. How are the ship’s rations, by the way? That is, if Ariadne doesn’t mind me knowing.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Shaala told him. “If she and her brother are right, we’re going to reach I’estre today. Soon.”
“So I heard yesterday,” Karn said, looking at the simple meal that Shaala had brought him. “But I doubt the dragons on I’estre keep a lot of preserved shipboard stuff.”
Then there was a cry from above. It was Ariadne calling.
“Shaala! We’re here!”
Shaala grinned and patted Karn on the arm. “Eat up.”
They had broken through a wall of sea mist and as they emerged in the dazzling light, I’estre was there. Not a line on the distant horizon, but right there in front of them.
“It’s beautiful,” Shaala told Ariadne.
And it was. Great mountains climbed up from sea cliffs, adorned with blankets of forests. Mist played around their sides, climbing their peaks and leaving tendrils that vanished in the valleys, while up above, the sky was a deep rich blue.
Shaala had never seen mountains like that before. Or so many waterfalls. They just poured out over the sides of the cliffs everywhere, sometimes falling into sparkling streams that cut their way through the beaches and sometimes they just fell straight into the sea. There were also grassy meadows between the mountains and headlands and she couldn’t wait to stretch her legs on one of them.
“It’s huge, that’s what it is,” Ariadne said. “Now we’ve just got to find a safe cove to anchor. There’s a lot of heavy surf around those cliff faces. Then there’s the matter of what we’ll do once we land. But I suppose we’ll go and see what we can find in the way of rations first.”
“I suppose,” Shaala said. She wondered where the dragons were and whether or not they sensed them coming.
Then she heard Karn come up on the deck. She turned around to wave him over when more excited conversation caught her attention. Then she looked up to see something flying towards the ship.
It wasn’t a dragon. It was too small, only about two yards in length. But its resemblance in miniature was perfect.
“Look at that!” someone cried with surprise and joy as the dainty creature alighted on the portside rail.
It was a pretty thing, Shaala thought. Its hide was glistening silver and its little face appeared friendly with an intelligent, inquisitive gaze.
“It’s a dragonet,” she murmured. “I read about them before we left Ensari.”
“I wonder what it’s doing here,” someone behind her remarked.
Then Shaala closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she smiled. “It’s come to see us.”
“How do you know?” the sailor asked.
“She told me.”
“She can speak to you?”
Shaala stepped towards the little thing. “In her own fashion. One of the dragons asked her to see what we were up to. They’re a little cautious.”
“Dragons?” one of the men asked in disbelief.
“Why not?” Shaala countered. “They’ve never had visitors before and it’s been quite a while since any of them have come to visit us.”
She stroked the dragonet under her chin and behind her jaw. The little creature tilted her head to one side, with what had to be a smile on its face, and closed her eyes with pleasure. Then she made a cheerful murmuring noise.
“Oh, she’s so cute,” Ariadne exclaimed.
Then Shaala lowered her hand and the dragonet turned and leapt up into the air, racing towards the shore.
“What happened?” someone asked.
“She’s going to talk to the some of the dragons,” Shaala said as she turned back to the others. “And I’d say all our problems are about to be solved at once. You were worried about finding a safe place to anchor and I was worried about how we’d find the dragons on this island. But when the dragonet returns, she and some of her little companions will guide us to a safe harbor. And if I’m not mistaken, several dragons will be waiting for us.”
The others seemed doubtful but after a while, the dragonet returned with several companions and begun flying around the prow.
“Follow them,” Shaala told the helmsman.
He shrugged. “All right. What have we got to lose?”
As he turned the ship after the dragonets, they started flying off ahead, regularly circling back to allow the ship to catch up. Sometimes they changed direction a little and after they’d done this a couple of times, one of the sailors laughed.
“What do you know?” he exclaimed, wiping tears of joy from his eyes. “They’re showing us where to tack.”
“They are?” someone asked.
“Yes, watch them,” the helmsman said, joining in.
Around the deck, the others talked excitedly as they saw it for themselves.
“Clever little things,” Ariadne remarked. “I thought the one that landed on the boat looked pretty bright.”
“She was,” Shaala said. “I imagine they all are.”
“They’re leading us around that headland,” someone said. “But I can’t see more than that.”
The helmsman nodded. They were getting quite close to the shore and the headland loomed above
them, a massive monolith that rose from forbidding sea cliffs to a forest covered peak shrouded in mist. Everyone watched the crashing surf against the cliffs with wary eyes and justly so; if the ship strayed too close, it would be smashed to pieces.
Then when it seemed as though the world consisted of nothing but those sheer sea cliffs alone, they passed the giant headland and sunlight flooded over them once more. Then they were greeted with a sight that lifted their spirits even more than the return of the light. They had come into a shallow bay. It didn’t cut far into the land but it was wide and the water was calm there. To the south, the coastline was gentle and rolling hills replaced mountains for a while.
More were in the distance still but now their prospects of a safe landing were much better; a wide river flowed into the bay and this was where the dragonets were leading them.
However, the helmsman looked at the lighter blue water with a little concern. “Depth?”
One of the crew members nodded and threw a knotted line over the side. He let it drag for a moment and then inspected it. “Three fathoms, and I guess another two feet.”
“Keep an eye on it.”
The man left the line in the water, feeling the weight against the bottom of the bay and adjusting his grip to keep it there as the ship moved closer to the river. Watching the knots above the water and keeping the rope taut, he saw that there wasn’t a lot of change. It got down to about two and a half fathoms and then it seemed to stay there. The keel was close to the bottom but it wasn’t going to scrape it.
“Do you think the dragonets know about our keel?” Ariadne murmured to Shaala.
“I could tell them,” Shaala replied.
“Don’t worry about it,” someone told her, overhearing the exchange. “We’re in the river channel now.”
The helmsman took in a deep breath and smiled as they passed the line of the coast into the mouth of the river. “Well, there you go. We’ve made it.”
“Look! There are some people waiting for us...” Ariadne said. “Um... naked people.”
“They’re dragons,” Shaala said, almost wanting to leap over the side of the ship and swim ashore right there and then.
“Drop a short anchor line,” the helmsman called out. “We’ll go ashore in the boat.”
The boat was lowered into the water, the ropes were removed and soon the first group was on its way.
As they neared it, a dragon woman and a dragon man waded into the water and pulled the laden boat ashore with an ease that suggested considerable strength.
“Thank you,” Adeiris said to them as he and his companions climbed out.
“It was nothing,” replied the dragon woman who had helped pull the boat ashore, a statuesque woman with luxuriant tawny hair and bronzed skin. She looked the group up and down. “You’re from the Greater Realms, are you not?”
“We are,” Karn said, stepping up beside Adeiris.
“Welcome to I’estre, my friends,” the dragon replied. “I am Ramonda.”
Karn was amazed. Given how long he knew dragons lived, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the same dragon Shaala had told him about, the one who had visited the Greater Realms and rescued a young woman from a red dragon and had stayed with her for many years after.
As he gazed with wonder, Ramonda nodded to the dragons behind her, two men and a woman. “And this here is Baine,” she said, introducing the man who had helped her pull the boat ashore. Then she nodded to the other man and the woman. “This is Haitarus and this is Helina.”
Then she turned back to the landing party. “And what are your names?”
The group introduced themselves in turn. First, Karn then Shaala. Then Ariadne and Adeiris, followed by the other two members of the landing party.
Shaala then addressed Ramonda. “Are you the leader of your group here, Ramonda?”
Ramonda laughed. “Their leader? What a strange concept. So... what brings you here to my ‘domain’?”
“I know we have no right to ask for it,” Shaala said, “but we’re looking for help.”
“From us?”
“Dragons from Drach’nsvoiya have taken over the Greater Realms.”
Ramonda’ smile disappeared. “Well, that is a serious matter. But I don’t think we really want to be discussing it standing here in the hot sun, dying of thirst. Perhaps we can take you up into the mountains where we like to spend most of our time.”
“Take us up?” Adeiris asked. “You mean carry us?”
The dragon called Baine gave him an odd look. “Why? Do you think we’ll drop you?”
“Well... no...” Adeiris stammered. “It’s just well, I’m only speaking for myself... but I feel a bit light headed just thinking about being so far off the ground...”
Baine shrugged. “Ah, well. If that’s all it is, we’ll just fly close to the ground for as long as possible. There’ll be a little bit of a climb to get into the mountains but we’re not flying up to any glacier covered peaks.”
“Do you have those kinds of mountains?” Ariadne asked him, her voice laced with excitement.
Again, Baine seemed perplexed by the question. “Why wouldn’t we? This island’s over eight hundred miles long.”
Ramonda then put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “All right, Baine.”
She then pointed out a rise in the land for the landing party. “Do you see that hill? If you all climb to the top of it, my companions can land on it. Then you can climb on us in small groups and we will take you to our humble abode.”
Then Ramonda turned to her companion once more. “Baine, if you’d be so kind?”
Baine nodded. “Very well.” He then moved away from the group and ran across the grass. Then he leapt, changing just a handful of feet above the ground. For a terrifying moment, it looked as though the beautiful bronze being that he had become would crash right on his belly and roll onto one of his wings. However, with several short but powerful thrusts of those same wings, he pushed himself up into the air and circled around.
Ramonda shook her head as she watched the younger dragon’s performance. “He always does this to show off. However, today, it has its uses.” She then waved to Baine. “Come on, Baine! I’m waiting!”
On cue, Baine circled back down, extending a leg that Ramonda reached out and took hold of.
The group watched the antics in fascination.
“What are they doing?” Shaala asked the other female dragon, an attractive woman with shoulder–length blonde hair.
“Ramonda is far too big to launch herself off from flat ground like this,” Helina explained. “So Baine’s helping her.”
“Helping her?”
Shaala gasped as understanding dawned on her. As Baine climbed higher into the air, Ramonda leapt off his leg, seemingly leaping to her death. However, a moment later, she was propelling herself through the air in the form of a great gold dragon.
“See,” Helina said.
Then all the dragonets around them launched off into the air as well, chirping and chattering in excitement as they whirled around Ramonda, intent on playing with her. However, Ramonda must have said something to them because they all backed away and gave her some space.
“We’ll see you on top on the hill,” Helina told them. And then she and Haitarus were picked up by Baine and Ramonda in turn and carried high off the ground. They too leapt into the air as Ramonda did, although they changed into slightly smaller dragons: Helina, a bronze dragon, and Haitarus, a gold dragon.
Adeiris then turned to one of the men in their group. “Kalias. Better make sure the ship’s safe and then bring the rest of the crew over.”
Kalias nodded, then he pushed the boat back into the river and climbed in.
He made several more trips back and forth, and everyone was very happy to be able to step out and stretch their legs. Several of the dragonets stayed behind to play around them too, perhaps treating them as objects of curiosity. And a few of the dainty little creatures seemed intent on inspec
ting the ship as well.
Then, once everyone was ashore, the group set off for the hill where the dragons were waiting, taking a small amount of provisions with them just to be safe.
It took a little while to climb to the top of the hill but it wasn’t too strenuous. Then the dragons landed and the first members of the group settled themselves onto their backs. Some settled themselves more hesitantly than others, but they all managed it.
Then true to Baine’s word, the dragons swooped low over the plains, flying slowly and only a handful of yards off the ground. For some of the reluctant riders, it was still a few more yards away from the ground than what they were comfortable with, but the thrill of flying on the backs of these magnificent beings somewhat countered their fear. Then, at last, they came to a hinterland and started to climb, following the rising slopes of another group of mountains until they came over a plateau.
There were a number of little buildings about the place, stretching along the shore of a rich blue lake. Light blue around its edges and very dark in the middle, suggesting considerable depth. A stream ran off from the lake, branching away in several directions. Some of these branches ran into the low leafy trees that covered much of the plateau and some of them cascaded down the mountainsides in successive falls.
The dragons landed on the plateau close to the lake and after their passengers had climbed down, they changed back into their human forms.
“Welcome again,” Ramonda beamed, stretching one arm out in a gesture to match her words. “Welcome to our little corner of I’estre.”
“Well,” Adeiris said, scratching his head and feeling as though he ought to say something on behalf of the others. “That was quite an experience. I don’t think I’ll be likely to forget it any time soon.”
“I don’t think you will either,” Ramonda told him, with what appeared to be sly smile, “since that won’t be your last flight on a dragon.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly –”
“My companions and I are concerned about your rations. If you’ve come here all the way from the Greater Realms, it’s likely you may not have enough provisions to return.”
“You mean you’d take us all the way home? But we couldn’t possible impose on –”
Remnants of the Order Page 20
