by LJ Davies
"Many legends and prophecies refer to the arrival of a unique being among the nine great races of this world," the King began, directing a wingtip towards a tapestry lased with scripture on the far wall.
"I'd hoped my kind would be granted that honour, though it would appear that is not so," he added with a glance at me.
I looked at Risha, searching for any sign she was aware of this legend, only to be disappointed by the look of confusion on her face.
She's not heard of any of this either. If I want answers I'm going to have to step up.
"What do you mean?" I asked, attempting to mimic Risha’s tone.
Halfbeak's lone eye passed over more of the intricate tapestries as he continued.
"There are many old stories, mostly unknown to even the oldest of creatures. Even your Elders, some of the most ancient of all mortal beings, have no idea of how much time has passed."
Risha, grunted, appearing to restrain her frustration to no more than a wing ruffle as Half Beak continued.
"All are different, yet one prophesy remains the same. When the shadows return, one of unnatural blood will be born into one of the nine great races. At least those are the words I know."
Until now, I'd made a conscious attempt to accept and then forget or even neglect this talk of unnatural blood and nine great races. I'd had enough of all these legends and destinies, none of them provided the answers I was seeking. All I wanted was to rescue my friend, and even if I was successful the future wouldn’t be the same.
Rescuing Tarwin won't remove this supposed threat of dark powers or change who I am.
At that moment it felt like the final part of me was lost to this new world, finally driving me to accept that everything about my life was changing.
From what I could make out there were two separate stories, and neither made sense: when darkness returns and one of unnatural blood? The dragons had told me about the Dark Guardian and a sphere.
A sphere! My thoughts suddenly caught up with me. I paused and cast my mind back to what I'd seen only a few moments ago on the wall.
Returning my eyes to the King, my confusion finally contorted into frustration.
"I'm tired of all these cryptic stories and legends, can't anyone simply tell me what's going on?"
I demanded, ruffling my wings, watching Storm Claw shift uneasily by the throne.
Risha blinked, a slightly shocked expression on her face. Yet her surprise soon turned into determination as she reinforced me in an equally assertive manner.
"What is going on? We've flown halfway across North Rim and my brother was almost killed by a wyvern!" She stomped a foreclaw. "Look me in the eyes and tell me why a monster like that is roaming your kingdom for no reason."
Halfbeak's face was as stoic as the mountains, while he seemingly contemplated his response.
"I understand your frustration, but as I said, most knowledge is lost to the ages. Regrettably we do not have the pleasure of a dragon's life span here among the mountains."
He turned to the throne, resting a clenched talon on his chest.
"My clan has ruled this kingdom for generations, and my ancestors knew many times of shadow and darkness. I have seen such wars, but my kind are weary."
He gestured to the guards around him, and Storm Claw gave a disgruntled huff.
"Proud honour is the griffin code, we are the bastion of resistance against the horrors of the north. Orkin, wild men, ghaul-beasts, all break upon Storm Peak like waves upon cliffs." While he spoke, his guards gave firm nods and stamped their claws, applauding his words.
"But the days are growing darker, old enemies move in the shadows. One who was once thought destroyed is mustering his forces once again." The King set his talons down with a clatter, and the guards abruptly ceased.
"Acrodan, the last of those traitors, rears his foul head from beneath the ice of Ilivar, and with him the Black Sun sees its new dawn. The Sphere of Eternity has returned."
It's the same story the Elders told me. I didn't know why, although the way the King put it, made it sound even more terrifying. I still don’t understand what that has to do with me?
"The creators truly abandoned us," he went on, his voice piquing with anger, before fading as he set his eyes back on me.
The rage in his tone rattled my nerves just as much as the ghaul's howl, and it was clear that we shared a mutual source of anger. Acrodan was clearly the cause of all our problems.
"You seek the Dark Guardian within the frozen halls of Ilivar, do you not?" Halfbeak finally rumbled.
"What?" a voice demanded.
Hanging my head in shame I glanced to Risha. There was no hiding it; it was too late to prevent any harm or to protect her, so I nodded softly.
"It's true, the Elder's told me that Acrodan was the one who sent the wyverns. It's where I need to go to save Tarwin."
I should have told her days ago. I should have told her what an incredible risk she was taking before it almost cost Boltock's life.
Half expecting her to swat her forepaw across my muzzle, I was surprised when she unexpectedly stepped forward.
"What’s this all about?" she asked Halfbeak sternly.
She's still on my side? If not for me, surely for her brother or Ember?
"The power your friend displayed in battle, even if he fails to admit it, is not normal, even among your kind," Halfbeak responded, gesturing to me with a talon.
"What do you mean? I breathed fire, I've never done that before, sure, but all dragons can do it," I countered, glancing at Risha, who I could have sworn looked a little proud.
"The one spoke of in legend is said to be unique among their kind," Halfbeak answered, seeming to be unsure of the details once again. "If that is true, then maybe your coming marks the return of the creators of old."
"So that's it? You're just going to tell us we've got the legacy of the gods on our shoulders?" Risha pressed, but the King was swift to assure us that was all he knew once again.
I looked on, all hope of finding answers draining away. There's nothing here, just another variation of what I already know.
"If you pursue Acrodan, I'm sure the frozen walls of Ilivar will provide more answers," he added.
He's right, I will get there, I will rescue Tarwin, and I will get to the bottom of this mystery.
"Mountain Echo will show you to your nest chamber for the evening," Halfbeak stated abruptly, dismissively waving a talon towards the white griffiness, putting a name to her.
"The least we can do is honour our guests, your other friend is already there," he added, making his way back to his throne.
Risha looked down for a moment before she started off towards the door. Meanwhile, I turned to the King.
"Thank you." I did my best to seem grateful.
"It's the least we can offer, as I said," He repeated.
Risha and Mountain Echo disappeared through the doorway, and I moved to follow.
"Leatherwing!?" the King called. I paused, glancing over my shoulder.
"Something has lurked inside that sphere for centuries, something far worse than any dark sorcerer." As he spoke, I recalled the image of Acrodan from the temple, a robed man in a mask.
"You carry the hopes of us all, even if you fail to see it," he added.
My head drooped, I was tired of hearing the same speculation and uncertainty. He was making assumptions based on events that took place long ago, events I was sure he hadn't lived through. I was neither offended nor honoured by his comments; all I knew was that they weren’t what I wanted to hear.
Who am I to question his words?
"Just know our blessings go with you," the King finished as he retook his place upon his throne.
I turned and marched out as fast as my newly healed leg would carry me.
Chapter 10
Beauty of the Night
The sudden chill of the mountain air wasn't enough to impede my progress. I marched down the corridor until I came sliding to a halt by the keep'
s central stairway. I could see Mountain Echo talking with Risha about the guest accommodation, but I paid them little mind.
Am I their guest or their hope? They're only helping me to help themselves. I thought begrudgingly. How can they think I'm just going to march up to Ilivar and solve all their problems?
What remained of the sun hung precariously over the horizon, the snowy mountaintops rising like fangs beneath the glowing sphere, as if to gobble it up. Moving to the opposite side of the corridor I went to extreme lengths to shield my eyes from the wall; I didn't need to fill my mind with whatever cryptic murals it portrayed.
I moved quickly, focusing on reaching the arch at the end of the corridor as I observed Risha and Mountain Echo disappear. I soon followed, coming upon a set of stairs leading up to another corridor, until I found myself behind them.
Only my rapid breathing gave away my haste, though neither of them seemed to notice. The chamber we found ourselves in appeared to be a mirror image of Halfbeak’s throne room. It was lit by two braziers; crafted beams supported the high roof and three stone steps led up to the raised floor at the far end. A balcony facing out into the last of the sun's rays sat where Halfbeak’s throne would have been, its entrance covered by a curtain of woven material that fluttered in the wind.
Hanging in stacks from the curved walls were several wooden beds, each one held above the other by ropes tethered to the ceiling. A sheet of straw covered each, more akin to a bird’s nest than those back in Dardien. It wasn't confined to the beds, fine dry grass covered parts of the floor.
"Ember!" Risha called, running forward to meet the orange dragoness who was sitting on one of the beds.
"Make yourself at home," the griffiness at my side told me, nodding towards the chamber.
"Thank you, Mountain Echo, is it?" I asked.
"Only officials use our full names, you may call me Echo," she added with a slight giggle, before moving back towards the exit with a sweep of her wings.
At least she seems to view us as actual beings and not crusaders out to save the day.
The soft hay shifted beneath my toes as I moved over to the beds, trying not to disturb them as I climbed onto the bottom-most one. The frame shifted under my weight and the resulting knock forced me to flinch slightly.
By the spirits, I'm so jumpy. I thought, resting a forepaw on my muzzle. It still feels like my scales are crawling.
After struggling to get quietly onto the swaying furniture, I lay on my back and got myself comfortable. Staring up at the bed suspended above, I listened to the sound of the others talking. Ember expressing her thoughts about Boltock, happy that he was okay, while Risha conveyed what Halfbeak had said.
"Oh, I know, the King told me," Ember informed, before puffing up with pride. "I didn’t think I'd be acting as an ambassador of the Fire Order until my fiftieth season, but who else was gonna do it?"
The two shared a laugh while I was left to consider exactly what had been said.
If the griffins were right about me, what would happen? More importantly, why was it happening now? The only reason I was here was because the wyverns took Tarwin. If I had something to do with defeating this darkness, then why didn't it have them kill me back in the forest? Why go to the effort of capturing a prisoner I'd be sure to come after? Moreover, if it had just left me in the village, completely oblivious to what was happening, then there would be no threat to its plan.
Acrodan was the last of the Dark Guardians, but there was no mention of a dragon such as me, Halfbeak's speech had clarified that. In fact, the Elders claimed there was no record of anything like me either. Not to mention, the griffins were apparently the custodians of North Rim, so why did they need me, why was I so special?
"Wow, your leg!"
I jumped up, almost slamming into the bed above.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Ember apologised as she marvelled at my newly healed limb.
"No... no, it’s fine," I answered, recovering from my sudden shock.
"I've never seen anything like that, I mean, this morning, no offence, but you were crippled."
I lay back down with a heavy thud, rocking the bed.
"Sorry, I'll let you get some sleep," she went on. "It's not every day you have a fight like that... and, well, you handled yourself pretty well," she admitted, finishing with a slight laugh before scurrying off to her own bed.
I did? I wondered, and my heart filled with a small sense of pride. Wow, coming from her that means a lot.
*
‘Real’.
The word flashed through my mind with new meaning, bringing me out of my disturbed sleep.
Is any of this real? Am I real? Just how real is this? I could imagine myself waking from this as if it was a dream.
What now set me apart from everyone else was all too real. I was sure my power was like that of the dragonfire Risha had said all dragons possessed, but it was unlike any fire I'd ever seen.
I jumped back, the memory was distorted, but the fragments I recalled were of bright lights, extreme power, boiling blood, steam – and the beast's head exploding!
Calming myself, I glanced around. The chamber was almost silent, darkness prevailed, save for the brazier's glow and the crackle of its glowing embers filling the air.
My thoughts had abducted me again, drawing me away from this world into another. I rolled off the bed, stopping it from swinging with my tail. Ember and Risha lay sleeping, and as for Boltock, I assumed he was still down in the healing cave. In fact, I was surprised Risha wasn't with him.
I crept out, pushing the curtain aside with a sweep of my wing. The moonlit balcony was a round wooden platform, thankfully looking out to a clear sky, where I could find my one true comfort.
Millions of stars and the gleaming aurora greeted my eyes, it was brighter than I'd ever seen. It must have been late, though a few griffins continued about their business, their feathered bodies silhouetted by the light of torches within their wooden nests. Below the balcony, I could see the bridge spanning between the keep and the mountainside, supported by the ropes hanging from the walls around me. It was clear and so peaceful.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice drifted from the chamber.
I jolted, thankfully, my nervousness was swift to subside as I glanced back. Risha stood in the doorway with the curtain draped over her back. My sombre mood didn't stop her slipping over to sit beside me, it wasn't a situation I was used to, feeling awkwardly cold while somewhat warm and fuzzy all at once. I let my eyes wander, trying to focus on anything other than her, until inevitably my gaze came to rest on her moonlit scales and gold bracelets, sparkling like mirrors. Even her eyes shimmered like the most magnificent of cerulean sapphires.
"Yes, it is," I replied with a subtle bow of my head.
"My mother always told me stories about them, saying that the creators themselves poured the beauty of a thousand suns into the sky," she told me as she let her eyes pan across the night.
"When I was younger, I always imagined flying up to them." I laughed at my own childishness. "You don't have to tell me how silly that sounds."
"Nothing’s impossible, not after what I've seen you do," she added, sharing in my humour as she nudged my wing.
I sighed at her recognition that I was different, although she made it sound like a good thing. This time it wasn't the beauty of the sky that eased my troubles, but her presence. She was like a rock in a sea of chaos, keeping me from drifting away, even though things still played on my thoughts. I'd already withheld the truth from her once, I wouldn't do it again.
"I don't know what or who I really am, but I know..." My sentence trailed off, words struggling to find my voice.
She turned her gaze away from the sky, her glistening eyes peering directly into mine.
"You're you. No matter what anybody says or whatever happens, nothing will change that," she assured me.
She was so much better at this than me, her words seemed to soothe the bleak, hopeless feelings
. All I could focus on was how beautiful she looked in the moonlight, a thought completely alien to me, something more powerful than anything I'd ever experienced.
She cocked her head, and I broke my stare with a stammer, ruffling my wings as I reminded myself that I'd no right to view her in such a way after the pain I'd caused. I turned away from the city lights and Risha, casting my gaze out into the dark wilderness beyond the mountains.
"I don't know what's out there," I confessed quietly, each honest word catching like glass in my throat. "I don't want anybody else to get hurt, so if you don't want to..."
She placed her front paw beneath my chin, twisting my head round to face hers.
"I've known where you were going this whole time; you're not that hard to figure out. What I should have said back then was that whatever is out there..." She paused, gazing out into the dark wilderness. "We'll face it together."
She'd stopped me from potentially throwing away the only other friendship I'd ever known. I felt like I could tell her anything, but from the look in her eye it was like she already knew just by looking.
"I hope I didn't miss anything," another voice announced from behind the curtain.
We both turned to see Boltock standing in the archway. A bandage covered his wing, acting like a sling holding the limb against his body. More minor wounds, cracks and scars marred his green scales, and his legs shook like twigs in a storm.
Risha rushed over, almost breaking his quivering stance as she hugged him tightly with her wings, nuzzling his cheek.
"Whoa, glad to see you too, Sis," he muttered, his muzzle wrinkling awkwardly. "Nice to see all this tight-tail featherwing stuff's not gotten to you."
Risha pulled back, shaking joyful tears from her eyes.
"Glad you're okay," she admitted softly, before her eyes unexpectedly returned to me.
She looked just as pretty standing at the opening as she had when she'd sat in the moonlight beside me. The image was broken when she nuzzled her brother and made her way back through the curtain.
Confusion and relief were the predominant feelings running through my mind. I was glad to see Boltock back on his paws, even if I now felt I might have someone else who may blame me for their misfortunes.
