The Prince of Earthen Fire

by B C Penling

  “I’m so sorry, Zen. You didn’t deserve this. You were only trying to help those men.” Tears streamed her cheeks.

  “I’m no sea monster.”

  “You are a monster. Look what you did to him!” Lana sobbed.

  “I’m a riotinan, an ancient water guardian,” it said. “I am Thalassinus.”

  “I don’t care,” Lana snapped.

  Zen looked up at the riotinan. His skin consisted of scales, similar to those of fish, of a sea-green coloration with a shimmery blue iridescence. Behind his cheekbone he had fleshy gills much like those of salamanders. Barbels, whisker-like filaments, extended from his snout below his nostrils and from his lower jaw. His eyes were round and forward facing. He had a lean, thick, muscular body which was now being supported by bulky legs with webbed feet as he lounged half on shore and half in the sea. His tail which was floating in the water, had a vertical fin that ran its full length that propelled him through water at incredible speeds.

  “I’ve never heard of riotinans,” Zen said thickly. “How old is your race?”

  “Old,” Thalassinus replied. “We riotinans existed before the dragons of earth and air.”

  “So, you’re a water dragon,” Zen stated.

  “Yes and no.”

  “Are there others like you?” Zen inquired.

  Thalassinus nodded.

  “Must be nice,” Zen said. “It sorrows me to be the only dragon to soar on the winds of Dagan.”

  “As far as I know, you are not the only one, dear dragon,” Thalassinus said. “Upon the winds of Genetricis you’ll find them. High in the peaks for the lucky and the unlucky carry riders, answering their biddings.”

  “They work for others?” Zen asked incredulously.

  “No, not work,” he replied. “They’re captives forced to do what their masters demand. They wear bands of bondage empowered by spellstones that are made from the eyes of slain dragons that wouldn’t conform to their torturous training techniques. After gouging their eyes from their sockets, they have little choices left; die or work in the pits.”

  “Who are enslaving them?” Zen asked angrily. He hadn’t heard any of that before. More dragons, like him? He wasn’t alone and one thing was certain, he didn’t have to live with the wyverns if he found his own kind. Maybe he and Lana could live with the free dragons of the mountains.

  “An evil of the land,” Thalassinus said gravely. “Evil that doesn’t deserve the nobility of dragons.” Thalassinus curled his lip crossly in disgust and hatred. Zen guessed what he would say next. “The Warisai.”

  Zen growled lowly. The dragons, his kind, were not all killed like the wyverns told him. Instead, they were tools of those ugly, murderous creatures. Even the possibility of meeting another dragon, and even helping free them, gave him a feeling of family. He wasn’t alone, but, then again…

  “How do you know all of this? You live in the sea.” Zen eyed Thalassinus with scrutiny.

  Thalassinus’s eyes wandered to the sea. “Thankfully, yes, I do live in the sea where they cannot reach me, if I’m careful enough,” Thalassinus replied with more sorrow than Zen deemed necessary. He breathed in deeply and turned to address Zen. “I received my information from a friend of mine named Tynas. He was one who avoided capture. I haven’t heard from him in many years and fear the worst for him. It got too perilous for us to meet as the earth of Genetricis was crawling with those vermin.” Thalassinus barred his teeth and a low rumble vibrated the beach.

  “I hope the best for your friend,” Zen replied. “Perhaps he fled to the mountains, forsaking your meetings, to protect you both.”

  “I remain hopeful of that, too. Or perhaps he is in the afterlife and not in the clutches of the filth.” He clenched his webbed foot into a fist and hit the sand. “It’s better to be dead than to live as their slave.”

  “Better to be free,” Zen remarked. “How could anyone allow for evil beings like them to exist? Why not stop them?”

  “To that, I agree. Freedom is supreme,” he said sadly, then continued. “We riotinans have no blood relations to land and air dragons, or wyverns for that matter, but we feel empathy for our winged friends. You see, dragons were brought from the fiery caldera of a volcano by Magnen, we riotinans came from the sea. He painted the skies and created the waters I live in here on Dagan. It is told that he sculpted riotinans from kelp, waves and the seafloor but I remember our history. I remember being brought here.

  "After Magnen shaped the continents, he brought forth dragons from the very heart of Dagan itself, from the magma within. He cooled the caldera’s lava lake and when it solidified, no more dragons of the first generation came. Peoples and creatures of all kinds flourished. Trees grew tall. Flora produced fruits. It was peaceful.” He inhaled deeply and looked up at the stars.

  “It was a wondrous time. His flight of dragons loved their creator. Everything changed quickly though. There was an upheaval and the magical balance of Dagan was compromised at the northern gateway. It disturbed the solidified caldera, cracked the crust, and from it they crawled. I know this because Tynas was there at the disturbance, at the breaking of the world, and many blamed him directly. From what I understand, the Warisai were bad dragons trapped beneath the surface, in limbo, waiting to be birthed by Magnen. They were filled with sinful intentions from the world beyond the keystone, flooded with hatred before their birth into Dagan. It is said that the sin is what caused them to be malformed dragons. They then bred distrust and doubt among the dragons and challenged Magnen, dividing his flight, and were then cast away.

  “He watched their growth and their seething desire to dominate. He disliked their behavior, their dissonance. He approached their leader about their new habits of attacking and consuming humans and dwarfs. The Warisai chief, Dansrivan, listened to Magnen reason with him and afterwards promised his kind would change for the better. Magnen nodded respectfully to the Warisai chief and turned to leave. That was when Dansrivan saw his chance. He lunged at Magnen with spear in hand and plunged it straight through his heart. Magnen didn’t roar, not even when Dansrivan removed the spear and grinned scornfully.” Thalassinus looked down at the beach.

  “When Magnen fell, his body returned to the earth. The dragons lost their leader and because of that their strength waned with each nightfall when the darkness fostered their despair to consume them. Soon they became no more powerful than a stone and thus sealed their fate. The Warisai had convinced some dragons to join them; perhaps the fear of death played a roll. Many others were captured and enslaved against their will. Only a handful eluded capture and roamed the continent in fear. Now, however, I’m not so sure that this rogue band is even still alive,” Thalassinus finished sadly.

  “Some of that I didn’t know,” Zen said.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know,” Thalassinus replied. “I’m sorry for my actions earlier. I hadn’t realized that what I sought wasn’t held by you, Zen, but by her.” He pointed a webbed finger at Lana.

  She scowled. I don’t have anything of his.

  “You found a flat black rock, didn’t you?” he inquired.

  Lana’s scowl faded.

  “Or perhaps,” he said, lowering his head toward her and eying her, “it found you.”

  She stared at him a moment before making a snide comment. “Are you going to eat me now?”

  Thalassinus barked a laugh. “Goodness, no, you’re much too boney for my liking. Plus, I wouldn’t dream of eating the bearer of Magnen’s heart.”

  “What?” Zen and Lana asked simultaneously.

  “I was asking for the Septum. The Septum is the middle of the heart that separates one side from the other. That rock is no ordinary rock. The silver strands on the surface were vessels once. And in those vessels, flowed the very blood of Magnen himself. That rock was never an ordinary rock. It’s a solidified piece of Magnen’s heart. All dragons become the earth when they die, they return to it. His heart became stone.”

  Zen’s jaw dropped and his e
yes went wide. He looked at Lana. “Is it true? Did you find something like that?”

  “No,” Lana said. “It more or less found me. It was placed in my lap by an enormous wave. I was going to show you when you saw the men in the water.”

  “I was pursuing the Septum after it jerked out of my hand. It brought me to where we are now. I don’t know why, Lana, but Magnen has chosen you to bear his heart.”

  “How can that be? I don’t understand. Magnen is dead. How can he choose me for anything? And why do I need to carry it like this?” Lana felt her chest over her heart, the ridges upon her skin. “It burned itself onto my skin.”

  “Into you, Lana, like fire and like lava,” Thalassinus said. “The way the dragons were born into Dagan. It seared its mark on you when it entered you.”

  “Why though?” Lana asked. “It was in my pocket. I didn’t do anything.”

  “You needed it,” Thalassinus said, lowering his voice and his head to her height. “You thought Zen would die. He would have, if it were not for the Septum’s sudden burst of fire that caught my attention.”

  “Right,” Zen dragged out. “Instead of landing his teeth on me, he dived under the water and fished you out. You were sinking and he saved you. I’m thankful for that.”

  “I recognized the error of my actions, how mistaken I was, and the extremity of my overreaction’s consequences,” Thalassinus added. “What I did was wrong. I will add, though, that if I hadn’t behaved in such a volatile manner, you would not be the Septum’s vessel.”

  “I can’t see how that’s beneficial,” Lana said. “I would rather Zen have his wings than me have this. I don’t even know its importance.”

  “Everything happens for a reason, Lana. Magnen guides us even after death. This is the first step in many. At that moment, you became more important than you realize. That piece is the key to peace on Dagan. Peace began to whither when Magnen fell but there is always hope. The Septum is that hope. Now, that hope resides in you.” Thalassinus’s warm tone faded and he grew serious. “This is most important to heed. Do not entrust this knowledge to everyone. Nobody should know you have the Septum. It will be revealed at the right time when it urges you to do so. Until then, mum is the only word spoken of it.”

  “If this is hope, then why shouldn’t it be revealed?” Lana asked.

  “The Septum is only one piece of the heart, Lana,” Thalassinus replied. “There are four other pieces that were the chambers of the heart. These pieces can be reassembled.”

  “Don’t tell me, Magnen will come back to life afterwards,” Zen said sarcastically. “That’ll be difficult to believe.”

  “No. But, terrible things could happen,” Thalassinus said gravely. “Once the heart is reassembled, it becomes a powerful entity that will determine the fate of Dagan. In the wrong hands, in Warisai hands, it would mean destruction. And we cannot forsake Malworn hands. Keep mindful as they are still on Ancienta and with something as powerful as the heart, they could raise havoc once more.”

  “And in the right hands?” Zen asked.

  “The beginning of peace reborn on Dagan if everything goes right,” Thalassinus replied. “I presume the Septum chose her for this task long before tonight.”

  “How did it choose me?” Lana asked. “And why did it choose me? I’m…”

  “You,” Thalassinus interrupted. “It chose you for being you. You’re not corrupt. You’re innocent. You’re strong. You’re genuine. You can love. You were chosen long before you could recollect.”

  “Well, we all know that it wouldn’t have chosen any Warisai,” Zen remarked. “She’s perfect.”

  Lana ran her fingers through his mane. “You would’ve been a perfect choice, too,” she said.

  “Me? No way,” Zen batted the air with his talons. “I was raised by wyverns. I’m bound to have a certain level of secondhand scorn.”

  “You are so far removed from wyverns, Zen,” Thalassinus said. “If you only knew.”

  “I know,” Zen replied. “Magnen knows how much I love her.” He looked at Lana sincerely. “And that I’d protect her until my dying breath and beyond if I could. Try finding a wyvern that would do that.”

  Thalassinus raised an eyebrow. “That, my friend, is a monumental difference.”

  “What do I need to do now?” Lana asked, touching the Septum’s brand on her chest. “I have this but how can it bring peace?”

  “You must find the chambers, Lana,” Thalassinus replied. “Only after the pieces are reunited will it unite and strengthen the species of Dagan against the threat that occupies it. The other pieces will be distinguishable. Where they are, though, I don’t know. Tynas told me they have their own unique shapes but what they are, I cannot tell you.”

  “Why can’t you?” Lana asked.

  “Because, he never told me what they were,” Thalassinus replied. “He only gave me the Septum to keep safe. I’m not sure if even he knew what they looked like.”

  “Secrecy, always so helpful,” Zen aired. "How do we find them?"

  "She'll know when they're close. The Septum will guide her," Thalassinus replied.

  “What do we do now?” Lana asked with a shrug.

  “Now, we rest. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Eyzin.”

  “How? He can’t fly.” Lana choked on the last word. “What do you expect him to do, walk and drag his wing?”

  “Little one,” Thalassinus said delicately. “It is my fault he is injured. It is only right that I rectify my actions the best I can. Therefore, I will be taking you there, by sea, as I am large enough to carry you all.” He pointed to the men who were huddled together at the far end of the beach. “Even them.”

  “What about the waves? What if they hit his wing? It’ll hurt him.”

  Thalassinus laughed. “I am the waves.” The ocean surged up suddenly and crashed ashore. The waves impacted the boulders all around them except where they and the men were. Sea spray swirled in the moonlight and settled in tiny sparkling prisms. Around Thalassinus there was no hint of ocean upset and the waters lapped his scales calmly. “Why do you suppose the beach has been so calm?” The ocean became subdued once again. “I’ve made it this way. Riotinans are the tide keepers.”

  “That was impressive,” Zen commented.

  “Now, place this inside his wounds, and then rest,” Thalassinus said, holding out the depthkelp for Lana to take. “We’ll leave at sunwake.”

  Lana took the strands. Their bioluminescence was beautiful and brightened at her touch. She admired the beauty as she tore the blades from the stipe and placed them inside Zen’s wounds. He tolerated the discomfort with the hope it would help. Thankfully, Thalassinus’s teeth weren’t proportionate to his body and didn’t penetrate deep due to their small size. Their length varied but all were narrow. Due to that, some teeth were able to slide beneath his protective scales. She dressed wounds on both sides of his body as gently as possible, not wanting to hurt him any more than he already did.

  She lay against Zen’s shoulder beside his badly broken right wing and puncture wounds now packed with glowing kelp. She contemplated his flying fate, something that weighed on both their hearts. She loved soaring on the winds and among the clouds with him. She loved having the peace of mind that comes with an undeniable trust in him.

  She had slept beneath that wing. It had not only rescued her from the Warisai but it lifted her spirit when they flew and had shielded her from the cold and blocked her sorrow. His wings represented her salvation, her peace, her freedom.

  The feelings she had for Zen was equal to her feelings for her family. She would love him no matter what; if he could fly again, or not. She reciprocated his love, strongly, unconditionally, perpetually. She would fight to protect him again and, if necessary, sacrifice her own life for him.

  CHAPTER 17

  WELCOMED TO PORT EYZIN

  The moon was setting as the first hint of dawn breached the horizon. Zen woke up more painful than before he fell asleep. He doubted the helpfulness
of the depthkelp that Thalassinus had brought him. Lana stirred beside him, somewhere between awake and asleep, and the three men were still huddled next to the boulders at the end of the beach; fatigued but awake.

  Thalassinus wasn’t on land so Zen cast his eyes to the ocean. For a while he could see nothing but the gentle swells rise and fall as they came lazily to shore. Then, rising from the water, he came; swimming thunderously toward them. From his tail issued a wake of such sizes that were normally viewed when the tide came in but none of the waves reached the beach. They settled eerily fast and Zen assumed it was because Thalassinus made them.

  He slowed and beached himself gracefully; his massive bulk rearranging the sand around him. He lumbered over to Zen and Lana. “I’ve notified Port Eyzin of your arrival,” he said. “They’re expecting you all and will also treat your wounds, Zen, and allow you to stay as long as necessary to heal.”

  “I wasn’t expecting that,” Zen said.

  “You saved these men from drowning.” Thalassinus replied. “They’re grateful for your actions and wish to repay your kindness.” He turned to address the humans. “I will be taking you to Port Eyzin. Don’t be frightened of me.”

  “Why’d you sink our ship?” one of the men asked apprehensively. “Your kind has never done anything of the sort before.”

  “It was a mistake we riotinans regret,” Thalassinus looked somberly at the men. “You see, earlier in the day, a ship sailed away from southern Ancienta. A riotinan named Oshani swam in front of its bow as we riotinans often do. She was blessing the ship for a swift journey. From below it appeared to be a human ship from bow to stern. Had she known what was aboard she wouldn’t have dared get close. As she breached the surface, finishing her blessing, she was harpooned through the throat by those foul creatures on board. She had no chance of surviving. Her daughter watched the entire thing.”

  Lana’s gut flinched wretchedly. She remembered the way she felt watching her mother die. She remembered the absolute despair she experienced. The pain Oshani’s daughter felt was all too familiar to her. The thought of anyone having to experience that saddened her.