Dragon Fate

by J. D. Hallowell

  “Calm yourself, Dear Heart,” he said. “Her rider has been injured, and she is upset.” Then he spoke directly to Janna, “Simcha will be all right. I healed his worst injury, and the others will heal on their own. He’ll suffer no permanent damage.”

  “He’d have suffered no injury at all if you had not taken up with the Female Rider,” she replied.

  “That is between me and Rita,” Delno responded, refusing to be intimidated by the dragon, “He has no right to be upset.” Then he added, “If he has some feeling for her, he has a less then admirable way of showing it.”

  “Well, she certainly has no feeling for him other than contempt,” Fahwn spat out. “The way he treated her when she was his student has assured that.”

  Janna retorted, “He treated her no differently than he’s treated any of his other students, and they seem to have gotten through.”

  Geneva sighed, “Tell that to Brock’s son.”

  “Enough,” he exclaimed in exasperation. Then he added, “Janna, if you were injured earlier, I could try and heal you, if you’ll let me.”

  Janna snorted and turned her back on all of them. Delno shrugged and began arranging the straps of the saddle in preparation for putting it on Geneva.

  Fahwn looked at Delno and said, “Thank you for healing Rita; she was hurt badly, and I was quite worried.”

  He smiled at the red dragon. “I’m just glad I was able to do it. My magical training has been somewhat lacking.”

  “Well, you didn’t seem lacking in any way today,” Fahwn responded in a friendly tone. Then almost under her breath she added, “Or last night.”

  Delno wouldn’t have thought it possible but both Geneva and Fahwn actually giggled.

  “That’s it,” he said, throwing the saddle over Geneva’s neck, and pretending to be angry, “there are too many persons who know the intimate details of my life around here. We’re going as soon as I can get these straps fastened.”

  This time even Leera joined in, and the three dragons laughed outright. Delno rounded on her and said in a mock stern voice, “Oh, yes, you’re supposed to be the responsible one, and here you are encouraging them.” Then he said quietly to her, “If Brock wants me, I’ll be at the hill were I first saw you breathe flame.”

  Leera smiled and winked at him in acknowledgement.

  Within a few minutes, he and Geneva were airborne. The wind on his face was cooling, while the sound of it in his ears was calming. He said, “It is good to be flying together without another accompanying us. So much has happened so fast it almost seems as if we haven’t been alone together in years. Promise me something, Dear Heart?”

  “Anything that is within my power, Love.”

  “Then promise that as soon as we have gotten clear of some of our obligations we will go away from everyone else for a few days and just be together. I want to talk, and carve, and hunt, and sleep on the ground with my head pillowed on your foreleg, and not have to worry about anything for a while,” he said.

  “That sounds absolutely wonderful, Dear One,” she replied, “but I have a feeling that now that our presence is common knowledge, we aren’t likely to get the chance as often as we’d like.”

  ”I’m afraid you’re right” he responded unhappily.

  Geneva flew straight to the hill and landed gently. Then, after he had removed the saddle, she laid down. She had chosen the spot carefully; there was a large patch of lichen next to her left foreleg that was so thick it was almost as comfortable as the bed he slept in at Nat’s.

  ”Lie down and rest, Love, you’re exhausted,” she said.

  He didn’t argue. He simply lay down and rested his head on her foreleg and quickly became totally unaware of the world around him.

  Delno looked around and saw mountains and the reddish sky. He realized he was in the Dream State. Geneva, as always, was beside him. As he watched a green dragon soaring, he said, “It’s been so long that I had almost forgotten this place.”

  “Yes,” she responded, “It’s been nearly three weeks since I’ve brought you here.”

  “Are there many bonded dragons here today?” he asked.

  “Not at the moment. Right now we are surrounded by wild females.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Why don’t wild females find a human and bond?”

  “Well, they could, if they chose to. The problem is that most humans are terrified of wild dragons. There are stories of wild dragons killing and eating humans. Those stories are false, of course, but they are believed by some. I suppose that if a wild dragon met a human and they talked and got to know one another, they might eventually bond. It would take much longer, though.”

  “Why would it take so much longer?” he asked.

  “Well, a hatchling is eager to bond because it is scary to suddenly find yourself broken out of your shell and thrust into the wide world. She bonds because of the magical connection that runs between her and her partner, but the desire to do so is driven partly by fear of the unknown. She seeks a stable presence because she is, relatively speaking, small and helpless. Once a wild dragon has started hunting on her own, she has begun to understand that she can survive without help. It isn’t until she has been alone for several years that she begins to long for companionship.”

  She paused while she organized her thoughts. “A very young female, once she has learned to hunt on her own, simply wouldn’t be interested in having anyone or anything around until she is fully grown. Even then it takes some time for the loneliness to become a hardship. It is extremely rare to see a wild dragon under the age of four here in the Dream State. Once a dragon has begun to truly experience the loneliness, she might possibly be willing to bond if she could meet and get to know a human. However, dragon territories are very isolated; the chances of a wild female dragon actually meeting a human are extremely small.”

  “Why don’t they leave their territory and go looking for someone then?”

  “A dragon’s instincts drive her to stay within her own territory unless she is looking for a receptive male to mate. Her instincts tell her that if she leaves her territory, not only does she risk angering another dragon who’s territory she might invade, but she leaves her land, and thus her food supply, unprotected. So, they stay in their own territories and come here for what companionship they can get.”

  Delno started to ask more questions but Geneva stopped him and said, “Brock and Leera approach.”

  The Dream State faded to black and he woke up, but he kept his eyes closed, reluctant to move. He just wanted to spend some more time laying there. He could hear Leera land and Brock dismount.

  Brock spoke to him from a few feet away, “Time to wake up, Delno.”

  “No,” he said, “I’m sleeping, and you’re just a bad dream. If I ignore you, you’ll disappear, and I can stay asleep.”

  Brock laughed and said, “But if you ignore me, I’ll go away and not explain what happened this morning at the garrison.”

  That did it; Delno sat up and looked at his mentor. Brock handed him a leather canteen and he took a drink of water. He handed the canteen back to Brock, who took it and sat down next to him.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes before Brock finally said, “To understand what happened this morning, first you have to understand the culture that Rita was raised in. She comes from a chain of islands off shore from the southernmost part of Horne.”

  Delno started to open his mouth to speak, but Brock held up his hand, “Before you get excited, her people are safe from the Roracks, at least for now. The mountains that run along the western edge of this land branch in two at the northern borders of Horne. Each branch only runs about halfway down the country, one on the eastern side and one on the western side. Farther south, the land is almost flat and simply butts up against the sea on the west and part of the south. The Roracks live the in the mountains. Besides, those monsters can’t swim, they sink like a stone, so the sea in impassable to them.”

  He took a
drink of water and then continued. “She comes from a large island off the coast. Their main source of trade is exotic fruit and pearls. In the culture of that island, it is quite acceptable for men and women to be a bit promiscuous. In fact, the two biggest taboos in their culture are child abuse and jealousy, in that order. Three or four times a year they have festivals and all work stops and they gather and have carnivals. During the day, the families do many different things together. Once the sun goes down though, the children are left with their eldest family members and the younger adults, whether single or married, go to houses that are only used during the festivals. There are no lights in the houses and it is almost pitch black inside. The adults who are in the houses freely participate in sex with as many partners as they wish during the night. It is so dark, and there are so many people from all over the island there, that they usually have no idea who they are with. That is why siblings take great pains to make sure that they go to different houses to avoid direct inbreeding.”

  Delno was thoughtful for a moment and then said, “My first reaction is to say that that is indeed a strange custom: it seems that it would create parents who have little concern for their children, since fathers can’t be sure if a child is theirs.”

  “Ah, one might think that,” the older Rider responded, “but it actually fosters quite the opposite reaction. Since you have no idea who has fathered which child, the men just take it that all children are theirs, and the children are treated extremely well. After all, would you allow your neighbor to mistreat the children in his house if those children might be yours?”

  “When you look at it that way, it makes sense,” Delno replied.

  “It has worked for them for thousands of years,” Brock said. “In fact, children are cared for and loved by nearly every member of society. Of course, there are drawbacks as well as advantages. Women who can’t have children are objects of pity to the other islanders. Those women think less of themselves and feel unworthy of being loved.”

  “So, what does this have to do with Rita, over one hundred years removed from that society?” Delno asked.

  “Well, she was selected by lottery to be presented at a hatching as part of a trade agreement. Like most of the children, she expected to be rejected and returned to her home. She was fourteen at the time. Obviously, she was accepted by Fahwn. Simcha was the Rider in residence in the area at the time, and he took her to train. It was hard on her from the start. To be taken from a society that treats children so well and turned over to a taciturn instructor who was incapable of showing her even the smallest amount of affection was a nasty shock, but the story gets much worse.”

  Brock paused while he took another drink from the canteen. Then he shifted his position and said, “I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you this part of the story, but I’m pretty sure Rita won’t, and you have the right to know since you are in the middle of it now.”

  He paused again, and Delno waited patiently for him to continue; it was a few moments before he drew a deep breath and went on with the tale. “Despite the culture shock, she did her best. The pair of them were growing together, but, as can sometimes happen, Fahwn matured at a phenomenal rate while it took more than five months for Rita to begin showing any real effects of the magic. Hell, usually a dragon isn’t mature enough to fly with her partner before she is six months old, but Fahwn’s growth and Rita’s petite size convinced Simcha that the pair was ready for full training more than two months ahead of schedule. She worked hard at every task that Simcha set for her. She even snuck in extra practice when she could. She wanted so hard to please the man, to just get even a smile out of him. One day he put the pair through a series of maneuvers that taxed her skill, and the skill of her dragon, to the limit, perhaps a little beyond that limit. During a loop, her leg straps came undone, and she fell from about a thousand feet up. Fahwn raced after her to catch her. It was a near thing, but Fahwn caught her less than two hundred feet off the ground. Unfortunately, Fahwn was in a panic, and put a claw into the girl’s lower belly when she caught her. When Fahwn set her on the ground, she was bleeding badly and in a lot of pain.”

  “Obviously, she survived,” Delno observed.

  “Barely,” Brock responded. “Simcha isn’t any better at healing than I am, but the man can be so damned stubborn about admitting his shortcomings. He managed to heal the external part of the wound just fine, didn’t even leave a scar, but he didn’t have the skill to look inside and see all of the damage like you do. The damnable part of it is he didn’t bother to make sure she was seen by a healer, either. He just trusted that his skill was good enough because he is an experienced Rider.”

  Brock picked up a small stone and threw it angrily. “Damn it all, this all could have been avoided if he’d just taken the girl to a healer right away. Instead, he sent her to her bed that evening, and then started her right back into training the next day. The morning after that she collapsed, burning up with fever.”

  Delno got to his feet and began pacing. “How can he still be training Riders if he is so incompetent?” he asked. He was furious, not just at Simcha.

  “Well,” the older Rider replied, “he isn’t trusted to train females any more, but you haven’t heard the rest of the story, it gets worse.”

  Delno kicked at the lichen angrily before sitting back down.

  Brock continued, “Fortunately for Rita, there was an elf healer in the area. Most elves don’t travel outside their own lands, but this one had a habit of wandering. I brought him in to see her despite Simcha’s objections. He examined the girl and said she had an infection. You see, until the bond between dragon and rider is strong enough, the rider doesn’t share the dragon’s immunity to disease. The Elf said that the wound had slightly punctured the girl’s womb. He was amazed that she had lived long enough to develop the infection and not just bled to death. I remember he was quite upset. He admitted that the healing that was done at the time of the injury had saved her life, but he also said that the person should have realized his own limitations and had the girl seen by a real physician afterward.”

  Delno was shocked, “And after an incident like that he still has the audacity to act the way he does? The arrogance of the man continues to amaze me.”

  “Yes,” Brock sighed, “Any way, the Elf was well schooled in the herb lore of his race and was able to save her life. I took over her training, and she learned to become a fine Rider. However, she was rendered sterile by the infection: she can never have children. Because of her society’s customs, she feels inadequate and she has never forgiven Simcha for his part in that.”

  “Well,” Delno replied, “I’d say she has a right to blame Simcha, since it is his fault.”

  Brock drew a deep breath and then said, “Yes, it is Simcha’s fault, but three thousand years is a long time to let yourself be eaten up by hatred. I don’t want her to forgive and forget for Simcha’s sake; I want her to move on for her own. That is why the other riders put the two of them together whenever possible. We hope that she will let this go and get on with her life, for her own good.”

  Chapter 37

  When Delno and Brock returned to Orlean, Fahwn was still near the city gates, but Janna was nowhere to be seen. Once they had divested the dragons of the saddles and stowed the gear at the garrison, Brock went to find the quartermaster while Delno returned to the house. Rita was not immediately to be found, but he wasn’t worried because he had asked Geneva to keep track of Fahwn in case they tried to leave without saying goodbye.

  He found Nat in the sitting room. Pearce was busy with patients. He sat down in a chair across from the half-elf.

  “Bit of a nasty time this morning,” Nat said by way of greeting. “I had a hard time getting Simcha to hold still while I put his shoulder back into joint. I was going to stitch up his lip, but he simply stalked out without a word.”

  Delno said nothing, so the healer asked, “Rita really did that damage to him?”

  “Yes,” Delno replie
d, “she did. She did lot more than that, but I healed the worst of it with magic.”

  “I’d heard as much from one of the soldiers,” Nat responded. “Care to tell me what happened?”

  “They were sparring and let their emotions get the better of them. I think he instigated it, but she was more than happy to participate. It’s an old disagreement.” Delno didn’t like keeping things from Nat, but this was really Rita’s private business, and he had no right to tell the man more.

  Nat sensed that Delno was uncomfortable with the subject, so he said, “We heard back from the College of Healers. They’ve sent Pearce his letter of confirmation. I just have a few final details to handle here concerning the house and my other business interests. We should be set to travel within the week.”

  “Nat,” Delno slid forward in his seat and looked the man directly in the eye, “are you sure you’re making the right choice? Coming with me, I mean.”

  “You’re not going to change your mind about taking me along, are you?”

  “I won’t go back on my word to you,” he responded, and the physician relaxed visibly. “I’ve come to realize, however, that I can not guarantee your safety, and I’ve grown quite fond of you, my friend. I don’t want to lead you into danger.”

  Nat chuckled, “Is that what’s bothering you? Well, you can relax; I can take care of myself.”

  “I’ve noticed lately that trouble and violence tend to be a part of my life regardless of how carefully I try to avoid it.” Delno said.

  “As you found out,” Nat replied, “I could be run down by a horse stepping out of my own front yard. Delno, my father’s people believe that you are born and you will die, but it’s what you do with the time you have that makes you unique among your fellows. I will accompany you, my friend.”

  At that point, Rita came in the door. She greeted Nat warmly, then turned to Delno and said, “Hello, Handsome, I was hoping you’d be home.”