Dragons Shining (21 page)

“Then why do I see tears in those beautiful eyes?”

“Tears of joy, Owen, that what I was urged to do became what I wanted to do more than anything I have ever wanted before. Tears that you are who and what you are and yet you could love me even so. Even knowing what you knew before this night.”

“Dawn is coming, and I must go. I will remember you always, my very first love.”

“Goodbye my love. I will stay abed. You may not get hangovers, but I do.”

=================

“At least we got a decent breakfast before we left”, said Tamaris. He was a bit miffed he didn’t get to the party last night.

“So your feeling ok I guess, since you are bitching all ready”, said Purdy.

“Only one day, and I was missing you so, Purdy. Whom were you taking that mean spirit out on in my absence?”

Owen laughed, “Well I think he found out that Ender bites back.”

“Common, lets get these wood pulls hooked up again”, said Rolph.

“That’s a fine horse you have there, Baird.” It was a tall blonde stallion, fine boned and fast like all of the Nomad horses.

“I like yours better, but he prefers his true master. Oh well, cant help him if he has such bad taste. I got this one from Rachel. She said she wouldn’t be needing one for about ten months, and didn’t want him to get fat.”

“Boy they sure know quickly around here”, said Ender.

“To let you all know, Zaron took a keen and active interest in seeing to it in all of our cases”, said Baird. “There was a telling by their Seer on her deathbed. Vera was a powerful witch, so I expect it was a true vision. I don’t mind it, and I truly hope none of the rest of you does either. Although in your case Owen, I would be very careful about not leaving little vampires running around all over the kingdom.”

“Nice, Baird”, said Ender. “Leave the boy alone. He really loved that girl.”

“It’s ok, Ender. Baird is right, and you are too.” With that he rode on ahead, leaving them to finish hooking up the wood.

“I am glad he finally let you guys see his real eyes”, said Baird. “He is hiding nothing from you anymore.”

“If he had popped all this on us back in Fable’s Arch I would have been really spooked”, said Tamaris. “Now it seems so natural. Have we changed so much?”

“It’s called realizing that not everything you have been taught in your cozy world of Kings and their subjects is true or complete. You are learning to make your own judgments from experience, and that is a big step in understanding.”

“So will you be teaching us too, Baird?” asked Purdy.

“Yes, if I must. Come on, let’s catch up to him before he does something foolish.”

“You wanted to ask me something, Owen?”

“Oh yea. In that battle I saw the spirits flying by, and the collectors that took them. I was so tempted, and I believe I could corral those spirits and make of them a fearsome force to do my bidding until I release them. Yet this is the very thing that Kragon sold his soul for and caused his fall. In the heat of battle the temptation is palpable. I need your advice, you who saw Kragon fall.”

“At first Kragon was hesitant, as you are Owen. He decided to take the risk because too many of the people he was supposed to protect were dying in the war. He did not have your innate power, or your vampire blood, yet he was a more powerful mage than me. He could see what you have seen through magic. He could use the ruby jewels through his own adaptive magic. He begged the Elves to construct an almost finished hand and one half sword, topped by a giant Ruby. It was done as well as his twin blades of star metal, yet without the finishing seal. He wanted to incorporate his own magic into the seal. Up until then, he was a good Dragon King. He helped all the races in light beat back what we call the dark races. Even after he finished the sword, the Elves were glad. Fewer died in the battles each time, as he grew more powerful. And then the dark races were finally beaten with the help of his new power. They retreated into the depths and deep into the wastes. It was long after, a generation later that the humans began asking Kragon and his Lords to settle disputes. When wars broke out, he was sometimes convinced to aid the side of right as he saw things. Yet this was not the Maker’s plan, to have such a powerful one stripping souls without the Maker’s judgment and creating dark monsters to prey upon Humans, Elves and Dwarves, or even the dark races who had put war aside. Finally the Maker bid Satan collect the Dragon Lords for punishment, and they were sucked into the pit. Kragon’s failure was to forget that he was not a God.”

“The pit? Was his sword lost?”

“The sword was saved. You will see, Owen. The pit is a veiled maw to Hell’s gate deep below, a darkness sieve that can strip the darkness from a being leaving it cleansed, or pull the being into Hell. You will pass over this pit many times to reach the Lair of the Dragon Lords. You must pass over the pit to get there, and only the Dragon Lords and their dragons can. If you become too stained, you will be pulled in. I have seen it, Owen. I saw Kragon and the others fall, pulled off of their dragons. It is real, but you must become all that a Dragon King can be before you first attempt to cross it. Briana should be with you, and the Dragons should line the rim as witness. They will not fully accept you as King and Master until you are the first to cross. And before I forget, Belaros will not dare to come anywhere near the pit. He would be sucked back into Hell. That’s the easiest way to get him there. Problem with that is that he would eventually escape once again.”

“Can we kill him then?”

“His spirit would find another body, and the circle would continue. It is for you to discover how to end him. I cannot. I know that Briana will be a part of it. Znost will know more because Vaness spoke with him and Zana about her schemes, so he told me once. They share your blood, Owen, those two dragons. They are your kin through Vaness somehow. Znost had the sword then. Kragon threw it as he was sucked down, so that Satan would not get it, and valiant young Znost caught it. Nor was Kragon wearing his armor that day. The Dragon Lord steeds died without their masters and Znost has let no one into his lair in all this time, so who knows what is there and what is not.”

“Typical, Baird. I ask a simple question, and I might get an answer, but I get more information than I bargained for and more questions every time. Thank you for clearing up my original question, I think. Kragon was not the insane monster he has been made out to be. He foolishly let himself become the tool of men. I hope he has been absolved at long last.”

“Your question was not simple. I would say follow your heart. If you need this to save your friends and their armies, then use it if you can. But always ask yourself if you are doing the Maker’s will rather than your own, or someone else’s. That is the key, and in the end you will need Briana’s help with that. Kragon had no such guide. On another subject, Owen, Every day before each meal, store as much of your own energy into the ruby Blood Stones as you can. You will be surprised how much that can help when you need it most. You will maintain a healthy appetite at the same time.”

"That sounds like good advice, as always Baird. Thanks."

After two days more in the moors, they saw a line of moss covered Cyprus trees in the distance.

They decided to camp outside of the swamp since it was already dusk. “There is a dry path somewhere within a few miles one way or the other. Two large statues mark it. One statue is of King Osgard, the first King, and the other of Grog, the Ogre King. They were allies, you know, at least before Osgard betrayed Grog and the Ogres by backing out of a nasty battle with 10,000 Orcs that had swept through the swamp and surprised the humans and ogres in the very hills we will pass through soon enough. The Ogres defeated the Orcs, yet lost many of their own number. They took revenge on the local human settlements for Osgard's betrayal. King Osgard was forced to return and run them out of the area.”

“But the Ogres are creatures of darkness are they not?” asked Ender. "Don't they eat humans?"

“Trolls relish humans. Ogres eat enemies as punishment. They have warred against both for and against men and elves at times, and at other times ignored the conflicts entirely. They are huge, slow-witted, and easily fooled by manipulators like King Osgard. They are not stupid, just slow, and lately they trust no one. Not humans, elves, dwarves or any of the dark races. If you see them in the dark armies, you will see slaves, not willing participants”, said Baird. “Owen, why don’t you fly out and scout this path for us while we make camp”.

“I would like that”, replied Owen. So he changed outfits, gave Gander into Ender’s care and
changed.

“Let Gander hunt
”, he sent to Ender before taking off.

Owen rose and headed toward the trees. White fluffy clouds hung in the darkening blue sky, as dusk approached. Before long the sounds of birds filled the air. Bullfrogs croaking and the occasional grunt of a swamp alligator accentuated the variety of swamp noises even from a distance. A sparkling glint caught his eye for a second, off to the north, so he flew in that direction. He passed high over a herd of Antelope, and his stomach grumbled. He was too high for them to take notice. Before long the statues came into view. Baird was not far off target. His stomach grumbled again.
“I need to hunt as well”,
he thought.
“Baird, the gate is about two miles north. Don’t save dinner for me.”

“Good hunting, Owen.”

He circled back and dove at the Antelope from behind. He was almost upon them when they saw his shadow and scattered, covering the ground in great leaps. He banked right and knocked a buck down, then left to grab a struggling doe, lifting her into the air. He circled back and landed near the dead buck, with the struggling doe in his front talons. He reached down and bit into the doe’s jugular, sucking and drinking the delicious hot blood with his hollow fangs. Before long, the doe quit her struggles and died. Owen took his time devouring the two animals, then flew to the top of a hill near the camp and landed again. He curled up and slept peacefully until nearly dawn. When he woke, Gander was curled up next to him.  They made it back to camp before breakfast, and amazingly after he
changed
, Owen was hungry again and ate a big breakfast.

“Growing dragon, growing boy”, laughed Ender.

“He is growing rapidly. Step up back to back with Tamaris, Owen”, said Baird. “Look, he is just as tall. Didn’t expect that.”

“We better skin one of those Gators in the swamp for breakfast tomorrow”, said Purdy.

“He didn’t leave enough Purdy? You still ate twice as much, you big food well”, said Tamaris.

Purdy slapped is rock hard stomach and laughed. “This is a goal for you Owen. You have a long way to go yet.”

Rolph said “Then maybe you need a big snack like him next time you change, Owen.”

Purdy was the only one that didn’t laugh.

After packing up, they headed directly for the path into the swamp and reached it without incident. Dark clouds were making up behind them, signaling another storm on the way toward the Nomad Havens.

The two huge statues towered over them as they passed between.  The statues were still protected by some ancient magic that kept the pervasive vines and creepers of the swamp off of them. The rarely trodden path was on a natural, winding ridge, wide enough for two abreast. They had dumped the little bit of remaining wood and re-packed the wheels.

“Can you do anything about these bugs?” asked Tamaris.

“No problem.” Owen rode up and down the line placing an easy bug ward on everyone.

Up ahead two huge alligators sunned themselves on the trail.

“Well go ahead Purdy”, said Tamaris.

“Ok, Tamaris. Dismount and head over there. I’ll use you as bait and shoot them in the head with Owen’s bow.”

“I think the fish are easier to deal with”, said Baird. He caste a flash ball at the gators, causing them to hiss and growl, and then slide off into the swamp to vanish.

“How far is the waterway?” asked Owen.