Chronicles of Den'dra: A land on Fire

by Spencer Johnson

  “We came here to find you. Attacked a castle and all that. You will be coming with us.” Encer turned to leave the cell.

  “My friends might have been captured also. Have you seen anyone one else here?” Inadar inquired as she followed.

  “Torroth hasn’t recognized anyone, if that is what you mean.” Encer was intent on escaping from the tunnels. He had seen enough torture rooms and the broken spirits of the people subjected to those rooms. There was an oppressive air that infused a person’s mind with hopelessness the more one saw. Retracing their steps through the levels, they reached the hole in the cliff. Some of the escaping prisoners had found a rope and tied it to one of the cell bars. The other end of the rope dangled down the cliff where a small group of prisoners were gathered. Several more were making their way towards the trees.

  Inadar gasped and pointed towards a blond youth nearing the trees when Onwier burst out of the foliage and pinned the lad to the ground. A moment later a puff of flames curled across Onwier’s snout as he leaned down to sniff the boy. Recoiling he released the lad in surprise.

  “Only dov fire can harm another dov! Show yourself dovling!” Onwier snarled as he lunged to block the lad’s escape. Another burst of flame appeared at Onwier’s tail causing him to spin and snap at empty space. It almost looked like the blond was going to escape when Iradaemi appeared.

  “Cero! It is all right. That is Iradaemi. She won’t hurt you.” Inadar cupped her hands and shouted down. The blond backed up cautiously as Iradaemi stalked up to him.

  “Dov blood. This is the final Dragon Lord.” Iradaemi declared emphatically.

  “You can talk! I mean you can talk out loud.” Cero reached down and picked something off the ground.

  “Why should we not speak out loud? How did you make dov fire behind me?” Onwier glowered down at Cero.

  “Because of Enthbani. He never speaks out loud.”

  “Who is this bane of shadows?” Iradaemi seemed confused.

  “Show yourself Bani.” Encer’s eye brows flicked upwards as he saw the small green dragon appear out of thin air on Cero’s shoulder.

  “Come on Torroth. Let’s get down and meet this kid.” Encer seized the rope and began lowering himself down the face of the cliff. After Encer had reached the ground, he noticed that none of the prisoners were in sight any longer. Since the dragons had appeared, they had made themselves scarce. Torroth and Inadar reached the ground a short time later.

  “Be careful. Cero is sort of strange. Don’t let him ask you any questions.”

  “Why?”

  “I can’t explain. He just has a strange effect on people.” Torroth scowled as he followed Encer.

  “I will keep that in mind. I didn’t realize dragons could be so small.”

  “Dragons hatch much larger than that thing.” Iradaemi examined Bani from a safe distance.

  “He doesn’t like being called that. You can see that he is a dragon.” Cero indignantly defended his friend.

  “Where did you find this bane of shadows?”

  “In the Garoche Mountains. I accidently hatched him.”

  “How can you accidently hatch a dragon?” Encer asked in surprise.

  “If the egg is dormant, the egg of a Garoche dragon, and a Dragon Lord awakens it.” Onwier, suspiciously looked over Iradaemi’s back at the little creature.

  “We must get back to the village. Onwier, stay with these ones. I will go see if Setur can fly.” Iradaemi retreated a distance before taking flight. A few minutes later, she reappeared and settled down.

  “What is wrong?” Encer detected the concerned expression she wore.

  “Setur’s injuries were worse than I had suspected. He has entered the eirden slumber.”

  “What does that mean? I thought that the eirden slumber was when something like mental exhaustion caught up.” Torroth was now concerned.

  “Eirden slumber is also used when a dragon needs to heal from severe injuries.” Onwier explained, but he also sounded concerned.

  “How long will it take before he wakes up? We can’t just leave him here.” Torroth glanced around, but the only humans beyond themselves in sight were standing in the cliff dungeon entrance.

  “This is a valid concern. The eirden slumber can last weeks to years. It depends on how much sliveen he experienced.” Onwier seemed deep in thought.

  “And yet we need to return you to the village and safety. It will take both of us to bring all of you back.” Iradaemi seemed perplexed by the conundrum presented.

  “I have an idea. Why can’t one of you stay here and the other one of you carry someone back to the village?” Torroth shrugged as the two dragons looked at him blankly.

  “It is an idea with merit. Onwier, stay with these humans and Setur while I find a patrolling dragon. They can bring others to carry Setur to safety in the towers.” Without waiting for Onwier to agree, Iradaemi launched into the air and beat her way over the western horizon.

  “So you are Cero. I hear that you convinced Inadar to stay with you and help fight the war.”

  “I never tried convincing her. She just stayed with us.” Cero was a little confused by events, but trusted Inadar when she told him that he was among friends. It was a little daunting to be meeting Bani’s distant relatives.

  “Torroth tells me you have a strange effect on people. Could you have accidently convinced her to stay?” Encer’s question made Cero uncomfortable. Encer in turn became uncomfortable when Bani chose that moment to release a puff of smoke in his general direction.

  “It doesn’t work like that. I can make people tell me the truth. Not force them to do anything.”

  “I am right here people. I stayed with them because I wanted to. Strictly speaking, Cero, that wasn’t true. You forced all of us to help you save Anissa. By the way, Torroth, from the fact that you are here with dragons, I assume you made it safely to Dragon’s Hamlet.”

  “I don’t know what that was. I don’t even think that was me.” Cero tried to calm Bani who was getting restless.

  “It is what it is. You are safe with us now Inadar. We will all soon be back at the village.” Encer found a nearby moss covered rock to recline against.

  “I have to go find Urake. I can’t go with you.”

  “You will do as we decide. For now, you will stay here.” Onwier made his opinion plain. Cero chose not to argue with the enormous golden dragon. A glance at the horizon didn’t reveal the gray dragon so Cero decided to get comfortable himself. Hanging by his wrists in the dungeon had stretched a few muscles that were still complaining bitterly.

  Chapter Eighteen: Misfortune

  “Excuse me. I don’t mean to intrude.” Everyone rose to face the ragged prisoner that was hesitantly approaching.

  “You are free now. Go wherever you like, but if I were you, I would get away from this place and try to forget everything you may have seen or heard.” Encer furrowed his brow as he reviewed the recent conversation and recalled a few items that might have been better served in a more private setting.

  “I thank you for freeing us, but many of us have nowhere to go. I heard you speaking of a safe village…?” The man was only a few paces away and nervously watching Onwier who seemed content to let the humans deal with the encounter.

  “That is one of the things that you should start forgetting.” Torroth stood with a hand resting on his sheathed sword.

  “And if I don’t?” Cero tilted his head and scrutinized the man’s countenance closely. It seemed familiar. It took a moment before he remembered having seen the face as he had been dragged into the dungeon. Only then, it had belonged to a madman screaming from the other side of the bars that restrained him.

  “I saw you when they brought me in. You were a little crazy, but you seem fine right now.” Cero inquired as he dropped himself down into a cross-legged position. The man dropped into a similar position where he stood before responding.

  “A survival mechanism. I nearly did lose my mind with all the experime
nts they did. They usually left me alone after I began acting mad. There are a few others that want to find someplace safe.”

  “Tell us about yourself.” Inadar sat down and joined Cero in watching the stranger curiously.

  “I don’t know much of my history.”

  “Start with why you were being held in the dungeon.” Cero could see that if cleaned, the stranger’s hair was a color akin to his own hair color. In its current matted and filthy state, it was exactly how one would describe the mane of a mad man.

  “I think they came for my mother, but I don’t know exactly. She died when they attacked so they took the rest of my family.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily explain what you are still doing here. Are you Gifted?” Inadar queried next.

  “I grew up down there. First it was because of the man who took an interest in me that I stayed alive, but then they discovered that I could heal from almost any wound. They wanted to give the ability to other people so they experimented with my blood. My father and older brother died when they injected my blood into their veins, but my younger brother was able to heal for a time after getting my blood. That was until they stabbed him in the heart to see what he could heal from. After that, everyone they gave my blood to would die so they sort of forgot about me.”

  “For having grown up in the dark, you seem to have no problem with the light.” Encer observed flatly.

  “It is not surprising.” Onwier at last joined the conversation. “He is elven. Half elf at least. That level of healing is not common among elves although it isn’t unspoken of. Of light elves at least.”

  “Is this true?” Inadar’s eyebrows were lifted slightly. Their recent discovery of Tamara had opened her eyes to the possibility.

  “I know not of what you mean.”

  “Is it true?” Cero demanded as he caught stranger’s eyes with his own icy blue gaze.

  “My… mother… was Iliara. She loved a human.” The stranger scowled but was unable to look away from Cero. Inadar noticed that Cero was squinting and working harder than usual at keeping control.

  “What is your name?” Cero kept the stranger caught under his influence.

  “She… called… me… Spirion.” Cero glanced at Inadar for a moment. Spirion was blinking and shaking his head as Cero returned his attention to him.

  “From my understanding, half elves become either fully human of full elf as they age. You seem to have taken after your mother. Your kind are a little more common than I had thought.” Cero rested his chin on his forefingers as he thought.

  “I have never told anyone of my mother. How were you able to force me to tell you?” Spirion was still rubbing his forehead.

  “He has a gift at dragging secrets out of people. If you really are elf, then it is dangerous for you to be in the Braebach.” Inadar spared a glance between Cero and Spirion. Instead of replying, the man pulled back his hair and revealed the ears that they instantly recognized.

  “Encer, can he come with us?” Inadar entreated with a glance up at Encer.

  “It isn’t really up to me. There is still much we don’t know of this elf. How is it that you were raised in a dungeon and still are able to speak intelligently?”

  “I wasn’t born in the dungeon. I was a few years old when we were taken. Still, I had the kindness of the man I mentioned to thank. He was something of a scholar in the order he belonged to before having been captured.”

  “The order… What was it called?” Cero frowned for a moment, but since he was focusing on a pebble in his hand, Spirion was free to answer of his own volition.

  “He never said. All I remember was that he wore black robes.”

  “Black robes? You mean the Shadow Order. They are working for Reigns now.” Cero pondered the dilemma presented. This mysterious group had once chased him and nearly caused his death. Now this elf spoke of having been a friend of one member. It seemed strange that there would be members of the Order in the dungeon if one considered their working agreement with Reigns.

  “That may explain why they have already left once you secured their freedom. That group of people wasted no time in leaving the area. There are just a few, beyond myself, that have nowhere to go.”

  “I see one solution for your problem. Elves of light are our allies to the south. I will inform the patrols to permit you access to the village if you guard Setur until Iradaemi’s return.” Onwier bared his fangs as Torroth broke in.

  “You can’t be serious! We hardly know anything of this one. We don’t know anything about the rest of his friends. It seems rather premature to make a decision of that magnitude.” Torroth nearly exploded at Onwier’s proposal.

  “Come forth all who wish to accompany this Spirion!” Several apprehensive men in tatters appeared out of the stands of trees at the base of the cliff. “One Cero, ask them if they speak yarin as to their purposes.” Cero wasn’t entirely sure what to think of the golden dragon’s demand, but he decided to comply anyway. There were only three other men and one woman in the group that assembled before the dragon. All were pale and emaciated. Hope had died down to a dim glimmer in their eyes.

  “Do you speak truth when you say that you only desire refuge? That you have no evil intent?” Cero felt a strange pressure in the back of his head as all the individuals stared at him, completely under his influence. When they all nodded in unison, he nearly fell to his knees from the sudden effort it took to remain standing. His head ached slightly as he looked away from the people. Something felt different. Like it was not quite missing, but less than it was.

  “What is that supposed to prove?” Torroth was unconvinced.

  “There is power in the eyes of one Cero. No one who looks on that power can tell a lie.” Onwier seemed completely satisfied by the result and settled down comfortably.

  “I still don’t agree with bringing these strangers to Dragon’s Hamlet.” Torroth suspiciously scrutinized the worried group.

  “Please, you misunderstand us. We have nothing left in this world. All our families are dead. Our old friends think us dead also. We only desire a place of safety to go. We mean no harm to anyone, but if we stay here or even try to find our own way in the Braebach, we will all be recaptured shortly. If you do not allow us to accompany you, then we are doomed. It would be better if you were to kill us now.” The woman stepped to the front of the group. Torroth felt ashamed of himself as he realized that he would deprive these people of their freedom and possibly their lives on the slim chance that they might pose a threat to his new family. He couldn’t look into the woman’s brown eyes and see the desperation framed by premature wrinkles brought on by pain and hardship. The pale skin of these people spoke of years deprived of any light in a hell he had only a half hour past been walking through.

  “If Iradaemi agrees, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to come to Dragon’s Hamlet.” Encer detected the predicament that Torroth’s hasty words had placed him in and rescued him by again placing the decision in the full responsibility of the dragons.

  “We will guard this Setur and await the gray one’s return.” Spirion climbed to his feet and waited with the others.

  “Setur is in the eirden slumber within the ruins of the castle.” Onwier understood the reason for the uncertain pause.

  “You have no weapons. How will you defend him?” Inadar inquired of the departing group.

  “Don’t worry about us. We are Gifted if you don’t recall.” The woman cast a smile over her shoulder at Onwier.

  “Now that this matter is settled, we will return the village.” Torroth and Encer suddenly began acting worried in a fashion that perplexed Inadar and Cero.

  “I understand that you have four sets of feet, but would it not be dangerous to try carrying all four of us at one time?” Encer nervously tugged on a strap that secured his breastplate.

  “Neither Inadar or Cero are wearing armor. Your claws could injure them.” Torroth joined in with Encer in arguing Onwier’s suggestion. It was at this
point that Cero and Inadar realized how Torroth and Encer had arrived.

  “You doubt my ersvin? The dov kin will be permitted to ride. I am well able to carry four humans.”

  “No one is doubting your intelligence. I am sure you will be extremely careful and no one will get hurt.” Inadar appraised the spiny ridge that traced Onwier’s backbone and wondered how riding would be any safer than being carried.

  “Indeed. The hatchling speaks well.” Onwier flexed and the spines along the section between his wings retracted beneath a set of large scales. Inadar was the first to climb up as Onwier lowered himself. Cero received a scowl, directed towards Bani as he followed. Taking a place in front of Inadar, he hooked his legs around Onwier’s wings and held onto the large spinal scale in front of him. A moment later, with a powerful thrust of the dragon’s wings, they were airborne. After that, the full extent of Torroth and Encer’s reasons for resisting became apparent. With one swoop, Onwier seized the both of them and surged upward. The flight back to the village went by much faster than would be expected. For the two being carried, it wasn’t fast enough, but the experience of flying was still new to the ones on the top. Dragon’s Hamlet appeared below as they soared over the ridge that hid the village from the rest of the empire. Circling downward, Inadar informed Cero that she was going to properly introduce him to her adopted parents.

  Onwier selected a spot just outside the village in a field of hay to glide down. At the last moment, he pulled back and beat the air until he was close enough to the ground to safely drop Torroth and Encer. Instead of continuing on to land a little further on, he surged back up into the air. The two on the ground realized what was happening first. Their shouts of alarm aroused the remaining passengers to the fact that Onwier had no intention of landing. He turned a deaf ear to their entreaties to be returned to the village as he powered back up over the ridge. It was when he began flying over the Vaulwar that Inadar fell silent.

  “What is it Inadar? Do you know what he is doing with us?” Cero twisted around and saw the dark expression on her face.