Aranya (Shapeshifter Dragons)

by Secchia, Marc

  She laughed along with him. “Dad, I think it’s time Zuziana and I sat you down and told you a very long story about our travels. There’s Nak and Oyda, the two Dragon Riders who taught me to fly and patched up my wounds, and the King of Remoy–Ri’arion should meet him–and the fact that Ta’armion had me drugged and kidnapped by a slaver. Don’t you go starting any wars over that! Did you know there are monkey-men living halfway down the cliffs of Sylakia? And Pygmies–”

  “Mercy,” said the King, squeezing her hand. “One thing at a time. This old man needs time to catch up with his daughter.”

  Her friends filed in reverently. Raising their lanterns, they gathered around Izariela’s body. Zuziana gasped and began to cry softly. Queen Silha put her arms around the Remoyan. Yolathion bit his lip. Ri’arion leaned forward with an awed expression on his face.

  “She’s a Silver Dragon? A Star Dragon?” whispered the monk. “Look at the colour of these scales! There’s only one Star Dragon that I know of in fable–Istariela, the soul-mate of Fra’anior.”

  “Istariela and Izariela,” said Zip. “How similar is that?”

  A tingle crept up Aranya’s spine. Suddenly, she seemed to hear an echo of the Black Dragon’s voice in her mind. Istariela, he whispered. The name expanded in her mind, accompanied by memories not her own. Magic stole her away. She saw a Silver Dragon watching her from the corridors of her memory. She was glorious, glowing from within with a light all of her own, a star come to reside in the Island-World. Istariela? Or Izariela? Whichever it was, the Dragon smiled at her, causing an awareness of peace and love to blossom in her heart. The vision vanished.

  Aranya looked uncertainly at her friends.

  “That’d make her thousands of years old,” Ri’arion pointed out. “I’m not sure that could be. I obviously haven’t the faintest idea of what can be, given what I see here. This woman is dead, but does not appear dead. What sustains her flesh–magic? Poison? The crystal casement? Could her body be resting simply in anticipation of her spirit re-filling it and the breath of life wafting into her nostrils?”

  “A tragedy lies frozen in time,” said Aranya. Six sets of eyes, including Sapphire’s, jumped to fix on her. “Er, what did I say?”

  “Not so much what, as who and how,” King Beran replied, his eyes shadowed with wariness and grief. “I need to leave this place. The dead should slumber in peace.”

  “Fra’anior spoke?” asked Aranya.

  The monk nodded. “Perhaps an echo from the past, Aranya. It wasn’t you.”

  Aranya’s mind reeled. What did all this mean? Yet, one thing was clear. She needed to find out what had happened to her mother. And if there was a chance … oh, just a breath of a chance she might yet live … silently, Aranya’s heart expressed a new vow. She would do her utmost to track down Izariela’s killer. She would find out how and why her mother had been poisoned. And she would not rest until she knew whether or not her Mom could be rescued from this death-like sleep.

  * * * *

  Aranya observed the Kingdom of Immadia by the light of a perfect five-moon conjunction, a short hour or two of a night three times a year when all five moons were visible in the sky at once. She stood beneath a milky archway of light clad in a little but her sleeping-shift, such as Izariela might have worn, even though her breath fogged before her face.

  The cold was nothing to her.

  Her eyes ranged over the mountains to the north, their snowy peaks delineated as sharply as the points of Immadian forked daggers, to the roofs of the town spread out beneath her position on Izariela’s Tower, noting that the fires had finally all been extinguished. She gazed over the Cloudlands, a deceptively still and quiescent blanket that stretched unbroken to the horizon. Aranya asked the night the questions of her heart. She spoke for a very long time. But she heard no reply.

  Not a sound broke the perfect silence. Her heart ached at the night’s splendour, but felt bereft. Dragon-Aranya longed to fly out there, seeking answers to the questions of her past.

  Her ears caught a soft tread on the flagstones behind her. “Dad?” she asked.

  “Not he,” rumbled a low voice, so close behind her, it sent shivers up and down her spine.

  “Yolathion. Couldn’t sleep?”

  “I thought I might find you up here,” he said, drawing close. “The night is cold, Aranya.”

  “I don’t feel cold.” His dark eyes considered this. “I–uh, never realised your skin was so tan, Yolathion.”

  Aranya bit her tongue at her graceless words.

  “Jeradia Island is fairly westerly, as the map is drawn,” he replied, but his eyes and body were communicating so much more to her that Aranya felt faint. “You should fly there, one day. It is an Island of stark majesty, a place which breeds men such as I. We are not as pale as you Northerners, nor as dark as the men of the Western Isles.”

  Now that he stood so close, her shift did feel thin. Aranya turned slightly away from him, seeking to regain her composure. “I was admiring the night, Yolathion. Isn’t it beautiful?”

  “It pales in comparison, Immadia.”

  His words stirred her inner fires–the molten fires he had stirred in her from the first.

  At length, he placed his hands on her waist. When she did not protest, Yolathion drew her gently to him and bent to press his cheek to her temple. Aranya leaned against the stalwart length of him, her head tucked beneath his chin. She marked his body’s warmth with surprise. Was it as her father said? Why did she tremble, wanting to flee? His arms crossed at her belly. He held a Dragon, who wanted to know what it was to be held. She sighed.

  “Aranya, were you always a Dragon?” he asked softly. “I don’t understand … when you burned Garthion …”

  “I did not know at that time, Yolathion,” she replied. “I only took wing–transformed, I mean–after you threw me off the Last Walk. That’s what I meant–”

  “At Nak and Oyda’s hut,” he finished for her, in perfect accord with her thoughts. “I threw you into your future. Oh, Aranya, I’m sorry. I’ve so much to learn about you.”

  She whispered, “This night is ours.”

  Indeed, she remembered a dawn which had been full of portent as Ignathion’s Dragonships beat toward Immadia Island. So was this night. Even a Dragon could not know whether the future held good or ill, or both. But she was prepared to face it now.

  “Thy hair is as unbound as the Cloudlands,” he whispered back. “Thy heart is as unfettered as the winds, o jewel of Immadia, but mine has never been more bound. For it is bound to thee, o mysterious beauty, o love and treasure of my heart.” He drew a deep breath, as ragged with passion as her heart was to hear these words. “If thou art willing, Aranya, then I am ready to fly with thee.”

  No night in the Island-World’s history had been this beautiful, Aranya thought.

  She breathed, “You want … this?”

  “If you mean all that you are, Aranya, then that is what I mean, even to what is yet unknown. Everything, without reservation.”

  “Flying over the Cloudlands, or even beneath them?”

  Yolathion’s big hands spun her about irresistibly, so that they faced each other. Aranya felt the stars must surely burst into song at the passion that raged between them. She slipped her hands up his back. Yolathion’s fingers curled in her hair; she tilted her head back to gaze unreservedly into his eyes.

  He said, with a quirky grin, “There’s an old Jeradian saying, Aranya of Immadia. ‘Those who would know the night, must be silent to appreciate it.’”

  A smile curved her lips. “And what does that mean, Yolathion?”

  “This.”

  Aranya discovered that to kiss Yolathion was a kind of flying she had never known existed.

  Appendix

  Distances and Navigation

  For converting between leagues, miles and kilometres:

  1 league = 5.556 kilometres = 3.45 miles

  1 mile = 5280 feet

  Given the five moons in
the skies, dominated by Iridith (the huge yellow moon), navigation by the stars is unreliable. Therefore the Islanders north of the Rift have developed the method of navigating by the suns and moons, which have reliable if complex orbits and periods in the sky. Distance is generally expressed in terms of days of travel between Islands. Leagues in the air are measured by a process of general agreement (called a Dragonship Captain’s measure) rather than an accurate scientific measurement, due to the difficulty of calculating distances across the ever-shifting Cloudlands. This changed with the rediscovery of the league-logger at Immadia Island.

  Flying and falling speeds

  Human terminal velocity is around 124 mph or 200 km/h. When Aranya was thrown off the Last Walk she would have reached even greater speeds, given as she was chained to a block of stone and so was falling in the vertical position with minimal body resistance to the air. Experienced skydivers can reach velocities of over 180 mph or 290 km/h in the ‘bullet’ position.

  A Dragon’s long distance flying speed is 6–8 leagues per hour (21–28 mph / 33–44 km/h) but over short distances they are capable of sprints of over 40 leagues per hour (138 mph / 222 km/h), especially if this is combined with a swoop from a height. They are highly streamlined, especially with their wings in the furled position. When travelling longer distances Dragons are similar to migrating birds in that they are able to convert body mass into energy to fuel their flight. Larger Dragons are able to spend up to two days or more in the air if they rest at appropriate intervals, covering hundreds of leagues in this time.

  A Dragonship usually travels at 4 leagues per hour (14 mph / 22.2 km/h) as the large dirigible balloon, despite its oblong shape, generates significant wind resistance. The meriatite-powered engines provide sufficient thrust for higher speeds, but generally Dragonships excel at distance rather than speed. Before the development of the meriatite furnace engine Dragonships were powered by wind and Human effort, employing a system of heating an air balloon similar to hot-air ballooning.

  How high can a person or a Dragon fly?

  The higher Islands of the Island-World lie approximately one league (3.45 miles / 18200 feet) above the Cloudlands, which is a gaseous cloud layer much denser than the Earth’s atmosphere. Air pressure around 1 mile above the Cloudlands is equivalent to Earth’s sea level, but oxygen levels are higher (23% of atmospheric gases). Humans have adapted to living at altitude. Comparatively, they have higher red blood corpuscle counts and better lung capacity and cardiac output levels than average Humans living on Earth. Aranya of Immadia grew up at the equivalent of 13000 feet above sea level in Earth terms.

  Dragon Riders have to be especially wary of hypoxia and hypothermia at altitudes over 1.75 leagues (6.04 miles / 32000 feet) above the Cloudlands. Many Dragon Riders in the past undertook high-altitude training, and the dangers of hypoxia were well documented. Accepted wisdom is not to fly over heights of 1.5 leagues above Cloudlands level due to impairment of the senses, especially night vision, reasoning and judgement, and general nausea and vertigo which develop.

  Dragon lungs and their triple-heart cardiovascular systems are highly adapted to flying at altitude. The ability of golden Dragon blood to become saturated with oxygen is orders of magnitude better than that of Humans, allowing the lungs to absorb sufficient oxygen even at low atmospheric pressures up to 4 leagues (13.8 miles / 72865 feet) above Cloudlands level. Dragon musculature is remarkably efficient in terms of resource consumption measured against physical output, allowing Dragons to fly at great heights and for very long distances, while replenishment of resources is also rapid. Energy and oxygen are stored in the body in special, additional organs and tissues. However Dragons do suffer from hypoxia symptoms similar to those experienced by Humans–euphoria, dimming of vision and impaired judgement. They need to be careful of decompression when swooping from a great height, similar to Humans experiencing the ‘bends’ or the formation of gas bubbles in joints and capillaries.

  A Dragon can hold its breath for around 15 minutes, depending on the level of physical activity. A record of one hour underwater was achieved by a small Red Dragon. Further, Dragons with the ability to shield (semi-permeably) are able to learn how to provide additional oxygen to their Riders, protecting them from the effects of hypoxia, and even, legend has it, to heat a ‘bubble’ of air around a Rider to protect them from the deadly low temperatures of high altitude flying.

  Why is a Dragonship so big?

  Dragonships are large because of the huge volume of hydrogen gas required to produce lift. Airship engineers calculated on 68 pounds (30.9kg) of lift per 1,000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas. Garthion’s flagship, at 400 feet in length, is less than half the size of the ill-fated Hindenberg. This size yields an approximate gas volume of 4.5 million cubic feet with a lifting power of 139 tons–assuming the airship is a regular cylinder with a large radius of 60 feet. Dragonships are torpedo-shaped for streamlining, but still generate considerable drag in the air.

  Hydrogen for Dragonships is produced by melting mineral meriatite before dumping it in an acid bath. The resulting reaction produces hydrogen. However, hydrogen is highly flammable and dangerous, as Zuziana and Aranya teach the Sylakians. Hydrogen is relatively easy to produce, but helium would be inert at the expense of some lifting power–making helium the safer choice.

  Dragon types

  There are four major Dragon families–the Ancient Dragons, the Lesser Dragons, Shapeshifters and dragonets. Many varieties exist within each major family; varieties of colour, shape, size and magical ability. Certain colours and abilities are more common than others. All Dragons speak Dragonish to a greater or lesser degree.

  Lesser Dragons–descendants of the Ancients, they are commonly Reds, Greens, Oranges and Yellows. Their primary attack is Dragon fire but this is usually combined with one or more special attacks or abilities. Greens are renowned for their healing abilities and poison or acid attacks. Their favourite habitat is woodlands, forests and especially jungles. They are often long and lean in body shape, and reclusive by nature. Reds, Oranges and Yellows excel in various categories of fire breathing, fire shaping, fireballs and special attacks such as molten lava. Reds are usually the most massive of the Lesser Dragons, achieving wingspans of over 120 feet. They are gregarious and love to live in large colonies. The Blue and Grey-Blue spectrums tend to dominate in the lightning and water-based abilities, and higher-level magical abilities such as shielding. They are fond of roosting in high places or near water. Zuziana, as an Azure Dragon, is a rare colour and is among the smallest of Dragons in physical size. Grey-Black to Black Dragons, such as Fra’anior (an Ancient Dragon), usually have lightning and earth powers such as earthquake, or the much rarer powers of storm and shivers. They often prefer living in caves.

  Dragonets–first found on the Islands of Fra’anior, the dragonets are generally thought to have lesser intelligence, but the largest dragonets (up to four feet in length) do communicate well in Dragonish. They love to live in large colonies and are highly sociable. They become easily attached. Sapphire, a blue dragonet, becomes attached to Aranya and travels with her. Dragonets have as wide a variety of colours as Dragons. It is agreed that dragonets only breathe fire and have none of the other abilities of the Lesser or Ancient Dragons.

  Ancient Dragons–those who first colonised the Island-World and are said to have created the Islands and Humans. Little is known about the Ancient Dragons. One in particular, Fra’anior, a huge, multi-headed Black Dragon with Storm powers, plays a part in our story. There are also Magma Dragons which live in volcanoes and Land Dragons who roam the Cloudlands, although it is unsure as to whether they are flying, walking or swimming. The Land Dragons are said to chew on the roots of the Islands.

  Shapeshifters–most scholars agree that Shapeshifters are a race of their own, being neither Dragon nor Human. Shapeshifters may have been the result of scientific experimentation by the Ancient Red Dragon, Dramagon, but this is uncertain. Shapeshifters are able to transform between
their Human and Dragon forms. Most Shapeshifters are bound to a single Dragon colour.

  Dragons which defy classification–magic being what it is, there are those Dragons and Shapeshifters who defy classification, as is the case with Aranya and her mother Izariela, and Fra’anior’s soul-mate Istariela. Izariela and Istariela are Star or Silver Dragons, Dragons tending from silver to the purest white. No-one knows if they are Ancient or Lesser Dragons, nor exactly what their powers might be. Aranya, an Amethyst Dragon, is also of indeterminate classification, although she evidences a number of abilities across the spectrum such as Dragon fire, healing power, lightning and storm.

  About the Author

  www.marcsecchia.com

  Marc is a South African-born author who lives and works in Ethiopia with his wife and 4 children, 2 dogs, a rabbit, and a variable number of marabou storks that roost on the acacia trees out back. On a good night you can also hear hyenas prowling along the back fence.

  When he’s not writing about Africa Marc can be found travelling to remote locations. He thinks there’s nothing better than standing on a mountaintop wondering what lies over the next horizon.

  Look out for Western Isles: Shapeshifter Dragons #2, coming soon, and The Pygmy Dragon, which tells the story of Pip–and features a much younger Nak and Oyda.

  If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com, or reading one of my other works. The IsleSong series is set in the same world as Shapeshifter Dragons, just in a very different part. Salty adventure with the great Whales of the deep awaits …

  Amazon Author Page

  Other Books by Marc Secchia

  The IsleSong series: (Young Adult and older readers) A story for anyone who loves the ocean and its whales, salt water in their hair, and the gentle rasp of beach sand between their bare toes. This story will transport you to a beautiful, unspoiled ocean world where people have to rely on Whales to travel between the islands. A world where danger can, and does, lurk beneath any wave.