Dragons Shining (5 page)

Now the old dragon matriarch took a pace back. Her name was Zana. In her many thousands of years of life she had never seen such a transformation as this. A young blue and white female dragon stood before her. She had blue wings with razor sharp leading white edges and white tips. Her four legs were blue from the mid joints down to white tufts around her oversized talons. As the little one spread her wings she could see they were differently shaped than most dragons, mostly at the tips with an added section at a more acute angle. Tipped upward slightly and a larger wing to body ratio. Her neck was shorter and her tail as well. The tip of her tail scales were bright blue with long white tipped spikes a little further out. Her snout was long and thin, with upper and lower fangs protruding prominently from her jaws. In other words, a Vampire Dragon just like Zana, except one that could change into an Elf. An ancient memory came bursting forth. “Know the shape shifting Dragon Queen by her blood and by the blood of her mate, the Dragon King, and by the undying fealty of their Lord Shepards. They will rise to battle darkness and slavery where no others might prevail, save there enter Hell upon all the land.” And there was more to this prophesy that came bubbling up from her ancient past.

“
So the prophecy unfolds. Where is your mate, little one?”

“
Who are you to question me so, except such a beautiful old dragon I wish to know better?
”

For her part, Briana saw a much larger, once all blue version of herself, nearly decrepit with age. Her blue scales were split in places and turning gray. There were gaps in the old dragon’s wings, and her muzzle was gray also. It’s dark gray eyes were now crinkled in mirth. There was also pain in those eyes. Briana’s every fiber resonated with empathy. She felt an unremitting compulsion to take that pain away, and make this dragon whole again.

“
I am Zana, little one. When I was young, Kragon was Dragon King, many thousands of years gone by. His was more darkness than light, and his passing was a judgment. He is what your mate will become if you do not guide him. He will be a plague upon the land, instead of savior. Only you can guide him, Briana. I sense you cannot find him, but you must now that you are of age. There is no danger since you are blooded; I can smell this upon you.”

“
Why safer now?
”
All of this very recent information had not come home to her quite yet. It seemed that old minds all around her had suddenly opened the flood gates. “
I have not even met Owen, and am already mated to him, at thirteen
?” she was thinking.

“
Anyway
....”

She moved closer to Zana, feeling much stronger than she ever had before. Her confidence soared beyond reason. "
It is worth trying",
she thought. In her Elf form she would not be able, but now....

The old dragon reached down with her snout to look Briana in the eyes.

“
According to Prophecy
,
before puberty if you were to even touch him, you would join and seal, too weak. You could not so stay in this plane of light joined and weak. You would be ripped into Heaven, Hell and Chaos without law, not strong enough to prevent it. This could damage all realms of law, leaving a permanent portal. Now you both are strong enough to prevent that, and to control a temporary portal. You may touch as you like without joining now. The true joining will come only when you both will it, and it can be undone the same way.”

Briana was appalled at the Dragon’s assumptions. “
I wonder if ‘joining’ is what I think it is
?” she thought.  But right at this moment she was concentrating on her immediate agenda. She reached quickly up and met Zana snout to snout, while evoking an extremely powerful spell in her mind. It was the sorceress’s immortality spell, a very tricky one and so very,very difficult. Salece had no idea that Briana had found this and many other dangerous and difficult incantations in that protected journal, while looking for other books for her lessons. Salece had underestimated Briana drastically. Briana for her part had simply taken her role to heart. Learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Salece had even said so.

Briana "spoke" the trigger.

There was a brilliant flash, and the two dragons were thrown apart.

“
Aaarrrggghh
”,
screamed the big dragon as flames shot skyward in a spiral and as she twisted and fell on her back, squirming with her jaws wide. An expanding ball of lightning quickly enveloped her from her snout to her tail, traveling over every inch of her.

Briana was thrown to the edge of the clearing, stunned. She sensed alarm in the distance. The Elves had heard Zana scream. It would not take them long to arrive here. She rolled to her feet as the ball of lightning dissipated. The field was scorched all around the big dragon.

Zana struggled back to her feet and for a moment opened her jaws wide at Briana, showing wicked long fangs and flames flickering deep inside. But then in flash she realized what the little one had dared, and snapped her jaws shut. She took to the air on bright blue, undamaged wings. No longer would gray death stalk her. She twisted in flight and roared, sending a huge jet of flame arcing over the treetops.

“
I am in your debt forever, Briana. We must meet again soon, little one. Call me when you are ready, and I will take you to Owen, wherever he may be. We will find him together.”

Briana quickly flew to her discarded clothes and popped back into her Elf form, replacing her glamour as she donned her shift. Her hair was a mess, she was dizzy and she wobbled.

A dozen Elves in battle dress with long, barbed pikes and some with bows burst through the brush into the clearing just as Briana fell unconscious, out like a wetted flame.

Onadath ran to her, giving his spear to another Elf, and picked her slight form up in his arms. “She lives”, he said.

“There were two dragons here, Elder Onadath”, said his war chief, Isol.  “Judging by the claw marks, a very large one and a small one. See, the smaller one came very close to Briana.” He was pointing at the claw marks leading up within a few yards of where she fell. “The large one rolled in fire, but it does not look like it was an attack flame. It did not spread. Do you think they were fighting over her?”

“There is no blood here, Chief Isol. When she wakes, I will ask her”. 

With that, Onadath simply turned and headed back toward the village with Briana in his arms, at the same time closing his mind. “
I know she changed
”, he thought. “
Those are her dragon form tracks that had confronted another much larger dragon
.” He also had smelled arcane and extremely powerful magic of the very highest form all over Briana, so he had concealed the signs with a spell of his own. He had recognized the apparently successful signs of her extremely dangerous and foolish spell. It was one he had found most impossible except by the most superbly adept, and then only after decades or centuries of failed attempts and probable death. He had also smelled Zana, the dying old female vampire dragon who sometimes hunted Deer and Elk in the area. He began to believe that Zana had been given a permanent reprieve against all odds. Yes, they had much to discuss with young Briana, the newest high sorceress. “
But it might be days before she wakes
”, he thought. “
No one so young has done this before, especially for another. No Magi ever has done it for another in fact, without killing both
”. He just didn’t know how this might affect her in the end. “
High Magic always has a price
” he worried.

Chapter Three – Princes Justin and Bruce

“Well Albrite, I must admit you were right after all”, said King Kirklan.

He and the wizard were standing on the balcony overlooking the Royal Practice Yard, where Princes Justin and Bruce were going at each other in full armor and shield with swords that had been de-edged by their own spells. Justin favored twin blades rather than a shield. His swords appeared to have a life of their own.

“To think”, he continued. “My son is a Magi because Justin loves him so, and created a spell to enhance Bruce’s ability permanently. You did not think it could be done. It’s not the fact that Bruce loves him just as deeply, or that Justin swiped all your spells and created some on his own that surprise me. After all we have been harping on him to spend every moment drilling, or studying spells or learning just about
everything
. No, it’s the fact that he would risk so much for another, in spite of our warnings that his life means so much. And look at him now. He has the skill at fourteen to beat his brother into the ground, but does he do it? No, he is patiently teaching him all that he can. I asked him about it, so you know what he said?”

“I can guess, my Lord. He probably said something like Bruce will be King some day and will need every skill.”

“Close enough. I was such a fool to fear the child would grow to fight Bruce for the Crown.”

“Ahem”, said the wizard, not wanting to address that fool comment. “Jason will become a Dragon Lord in a few short years, my Lord.” He said this quietly. “After that happens he will be only remotely human, preferring the company of dragons. The Lords and their Master will be our greatest allies, yet our biggest concern will be their final nature, and ours. They will become immersed in darkness and death, loss and sorrow, violence and destruction just as we will I fear. The girl Briana is the key, the dearest of them all. She will push them toward either light or darkness. And so, she will influence every Human, Elf, or Dwarf, even the dark ones themselves, through the Dragon Lords. I am so relieved that Justin takes to the path of light so strongly. That will make it easier for both Owen and Briana.”

“And this I have always counseled you, my Lord. Do not fear Justin. Love him as your true son. It will be love that saves us in the end, not our skill in battle.”

“Just so”, said Kirklan. “What of Owen? The Queen tells me they will accept no aid from us.”

“You have given the boy what he needs already” my Lord; “Your most able Wizard, and the best swordsman and fighter in your kingdom. The farmers give him love.  Baird sent a pigeon, not trusting a seeking because he fears an eavesdropper. Would you like to read the message?”

“Yes, of course. But tell me. I thought the seeking contact was a private thing.”

“We fear the one we were warned about has entered our plane from Hell in spite of Lucifer’s safeguards, my Lord. Vampires have attacked the dwarves in the deep tunnels. That tainted blood could only have come from him. He might be powerful enough to eavesdrop, so we are being as careful as we can. We do not yet know his limits.”

“That is foul news. Let me see the message.”

“Sire, it had a kill spell attached as a safety against theft. I am almost certain I removed it, yet would you rather me simply read it?

Kirklan responded by reaching over and taking the note.

The message read: “High Wizard, I hope you and your charges are well. The seeking has become too dangerous, so I send this trusty bird; I pray you remember how to defuse and decode this. Otherwise, well.....  Assuming it’s you I will go on. An elf slipped into town in the dead of night and left me this sealed note from our friends at the Horn. It was a long journey for him. We are doing well here. Our charge has surpassed all expectations in his studies and skills, and is brilliant as well. Since the Horn’s charge is past puberty, we will be making plans to re-unite them within a year. Also, ours must visit the Mount and Zn. I have so informed the Horn. I estimate the gathering in about two years at the most. They will be young; yet powerful enough for the early stages I am confident. Please give my regards upward.

Here is their note: "Greetings Elder Wizard. We trust thee fares well, and your charge. We have an alarming development. Our charge has identified vampire ghoul signs on a deceased dwarf, one of four found in the deep tunnels. There is another development. She has cast spell code 33ASKb upon Xn, you know the old, decrepit one, and she was unconscious for three days after. She seems even stronger now, however. The girl and the boy need to meet, the sooner the better. Let me know. It has started, so we must hasten our plans. We may not have more than a few years now before the armies march.”

“Albrite, what spell is that and who are Xn and Zn?” Kirklan had deciphered the rest on his own.