The Dragon's Lair (33 page)

So Ganrax's life was a happy one. He passed his days deep within the southern mountains of Northland, the vast continent to the north of this island. He did not know that he was away from his own kind, as most dragons live solitary lives anyway. He was well cared for, protected and encouraged to learn, everything that made his life blissful.

What the wyrmling did not know was the reason he had been given to the Nain from the time before birth, and why the Nain were raising him.

The continent of Northland is a place of great riches, immense cities, huge seaports. At the time of his birth, though Ganrax did not know it, a terrible evil was brewing in the cities and flatlands north of the Nain mountains. Slowly, over time, that evil spread south, choking out cities and villages, destroying everything good in its path and taking over what remained. But it moved slowly, to make sure that once it had taken over, it could never be uprooted, never be stopped.

And it has not been stopped to this day, Nain. It still grows, it still spreads. And one day it will come to this place. Remember my words, for it may happen in your lifetime.

The Nain had decided, long before Ganrax was hatched, that they needed to leave their mountain home, to flee to a place of safety on another continent and rebuild their kingdom. When this decision was made there was great suffering, because the Nain loved their home deeply, as all dwellers of the earth do, and did not want to leave. Even more terrible was the knowledge that they would have to cross the ocean to find safety, for as you know better than anyone, Nain fear the water and are afraid to travel on the sea. But there was no alternative, so the rulers of the kingdom came up with a plan.

They called the plan, and the leaving of their homeland, the Exodus.

First, they found three brave Nain who were willing to set forth as explorers and find a new, uninhabited land where they could rebuild their home. Because the evil was moving slowly, they had time to make careful preparations, and they did.

The tasks of the Exodus were also divided up. Some of the people of the mountains were responsible for taking apart and dismantling the things that would not be left behind. Others were responsible for buying ships to sail to the new world. Others were in charge of organizing how the population would be moved from deep inside the earth to those ships. It was a plan that took many years to achieve.

The Nain decided the most important thing they owned was their history. More than anything else, they feared losing all their legends, all the books about the past and the maps that brave Nain explorers had made, because Nain do not relish exploration and would hate to have to repeat it. Perhaps all creatures that live within the earth crave knowledge and value it. And the Nain knew that the best way to insure that their knowledge survived was to teach it to a being whose lifespan was vastly longer than any of their own, who had a great ability to learn it quickly and more completely even than they did, and who would guard that knowledge like a treasure.

So they decided they needed a dragon.

Not an adult dragon, however, because adult dragons have minds of their own, and their own knowledge. The Nain knew if they were to convince a dragon to adopt all their knowledge as its own, they would have to start with one who did not have any yet.

An infant. A hatchling.

I do not know how the Nain convinced the mother of the wyrmling to part with one of her eggs. The writings say that the dragon gave the Nain the egg willingly after they told her of the coming evil, and of their plans for the Exodus. I don't know if that is true or not. Dragons guard their children jealously, so it is possible that they killed her and took the egg, since it is hard to imagine that she would have given it up willingly.

The wyrmling was told that he was given to the Nain by his mother for both his own safety, to keep him away from the coming evil, and to aid in preserving the knowledge as his treasure. That part of the story is polluted, because once the trust was broken, the truth of the history is lost. This is the reason your Lirin Storysinger and everyone like him swears never to lie—because once falsehood enters the story, it is impossible to ever know what is true again. It destroys history, and all the world is weaker for the loss of it.

Whoever knew the truth is long dead. So I will never know the answer. And it haunts me. With every waking thought it angers me more. That anger seeps into my scales and turns them acid. Endless anger brings on endless pain—it is a cycle all but impossible to break.

I have strayed from the tale.

When the three Nain explorers set out to find a new land, they brought Ganrax with them. They also brought all of their most valuable books, maps, globes and charts—which you see here in this library—because the Nain rulers wanted to get those valuable things out first, in case the mountains were overrun before the Exodus.

The three Nain and the young dragon boarded a ship and set sail for the south, where they knew a great land mass lay. That land mass was this island, and in the north it had mountains even taller and more jagged than their own. They knew upon seeing them that those mountains would be the perfect new home, with untouched riches to plunder and great stone walls to protect them.

Neither the Nain nor the dragon enjoyed the voyage. All the Nain were seasick, but none so ill as Ganrax, who they feared might die. It's a miracle that they all didn't.

Finally, upon reaching land, the Nain were overjoyed. The northern mountains had many low foothills leading up to the High Reaches, which would provide a sturdier defense than they had back home. The riches they had anticipated—gold and silver, gemstones and coal, salt and potash, were plentiful and untouched. It was like discovering a treasure beyond price, and the Nain could not wait to get back to Northland to tell their fellow Nain about their new home.

Before they set sail, however, they built the dragon a library. You stand within the structure now, a deep, winding tunnel leading down to a warm lair. In the lair they carefully stored all their books and maps and globes, all the documents of their history. They filled it with food and supplies, and made it as strong as a fortress could be, so that the dragon would be safe. They sculpted mazes and playgrounds for him to play in below the ground. They built everything they could think of to make him happy. They packed up their tools, told Ganrax to enjoy his new home, and that they would return as soon as they could with the rest of the population.

Then they bade him goodbye and walked away.

They had only gone about a hundred paces when the little dragon was beside them again. The Nain blinked in surprise, then led him back to the lair, explained that this is where he was to live, and they would return as soon as they could. Again they turned to leave.

And once again the dragon was beside them.

Now the Nain were worried. They had expected the dragon to understand the plan, being so vastly more intelligent than any of them were. They explained to Ganrax that he was being left in the fortress for his safety, and for the protection of their history. They reminded him how important his part in the survival of the Nain was. They lectured him about responsibility, and told him again they would return as soon as they could. Then they turned to leave one final time.

Only to find the baby dragon at their heels once again.

The wyrmling understood the plan for the Exodus. He understood his need for safety, and for the safety of the information in the library. He understood the threat in the mountains of Northland.

He just didn't care.

Because the Nain were his family. He was a child, an infant by dragon measure, and he did not wish to be separated from them for any reason. Dragons feel everything more intensely than men—jealousy, greed, loyalty, anger and love. Ganrax loved the Nain as much as his own life, and believed they loved him that much as well. It was his Great Truth. That was more important to him than his safety, than his mission, than his treasure.

So try as they might, the Nain could not get him to stay in the cave.

Finally, when it became clear that Ganrax's persistence would outlast their own, the Nain consulted with each other, and made a decision that started a war.

They returned to the mouth of the cave, playing chase and tag and other games with the wyrmling. Ganrax was excited, and happily took part in those games. Then, as a "reward" for winning the last of his games, the Nain took a handful of kiran berries and tossed them down the tunnel past the mouth of the cave. The baby dragon scampered after them, and while he was retrieving his prize, the Nain rolled an immense boulder over the opening.

Trapping him inside.

Then they went home.

I do not know if they could hear the bleating of the little dragon, the scratching at the rock walls that had been built to be a fortress, the cries and the wailing, as they walked away. It's hard to imagine that they could not, for the earth itself shook with them. Trapped alone, in the darkness of the tunnel, the dragon screamed and called and begged until the ground wept tears of moisture all around him.

Finally, when he was exhausted, the dragon fell silent, and waited, knowing in his heart that the Nain would change their minds and come back for him. He waited and waited and waited, as you would wait for the sun to come up if dawn did not break when you expected it to. But the only thing that came was silence.

And it has never left.

I do not know what happened to those three Nain explorers—whether they died on the way back to Northland or not. The Exodus took much longer than any of the Nain leaders had planned, and as a result, many years, centuries even, had passed before the population finally arrived in their new home. And when they did, none of the three who had built the lair were with them.

So at last when the Nain came looking for the dragon they had left behind, the guardian of their history, the keeper of their knowledge, instead of a joyful reunion they were greeted not with the wisdom they had remembered, but with the acid and fiery breath of
scarnag
, a scourge who now hated them. With each passing day the hatred has grown, Nain, until it fills the entire cave. It overflows.

That's what betrayal does.

Especially betrayal of a Great Truth.

Especially when the thing used to accomplish that betrayal is a token of love.

Like kiran berries.

So the Nain lost their history. And their honor. And their friend. They may not even know why.

The dragon lost more.

28
The Report

T
HAT'S A VERY SAD TALE," SAID THE KING WHEN THE LAST WORDS
of it had died away. "And a very important piece of magic for the book we will write someday. Thank you, Ven."

"My pleasure, Your Majesty," said Ven. His nervousness was making his hands and feet twitch. "I'm sorry I can't take more time to tell the whole tale in detail of what happened, but I have something urgent I must attend to. If I could just hit the high points, however—"

"Hit away," said the king, smiling.

"Right." Ven took out the two dragon books. "I think you should keep these in that secret place in Castle Elysian where you have other pieces of the magic puzzle stored, sire. This one, with the writing, was a gift, so I would like to keep it for now, but this other—the one that's sealed in the gold-lined box—I think that's something you should definitely have under great protection."

"I agree. I will take it back with me."

"It's only on loan," Ven added. "One day it will need to go back."

"I understand."

Next Ven gave him the wooden box Alvarran had given him and told him the story of how it had been presented to him.

"I guess it's the sign that the puzzle you gave me is complete," he said when he had finished the story. "The dragon got what he wanted. The Nain got what they wanted. The Lirin got what they wanted. Hopefully this is what you really wanted. Alvarran may be 'the Intolerant' and 'the Unfair,' but I don't think he can add 'the Untrustworthy' to his long list of names."

The smile left the king's face, replaced by a look of wonder and nervousness. He broke the seal on the box with great care and opened it.

Resting in the middle of the blue velvet lining was a plain silver ring.

A smile warmer than the sun returned to the king's face, and his blue eyes glowed even brighter.

"Thank you, Ven," he said after a moment. "Thank you."

Ven felt relief wash over him. "So is that what you wanted?" "No, but it's a good down payment on it."

Ven's curiosity shot through him like he had been hit by lightning. "If that's not what you wanted, after all that, what
is
? Please tell me—I won't tell anyone."

"You saw her," said King Vandemere. "She's the one that gave you this." He held up the box.

"That beautiful Lirin girl? Who is she?"

"Elspeth," the king said. His face went red. "Alvarran's daughter. The Lirinved princess. She and I met when we were very young. I was about your age, and I was wandering the world, learning as much as I could about the people I now rule."