The Dragon Healer of Tone (World of Tone) (16 page)

“Of course, please follow me I will lead you out.”

“Fienna spread your wings and just fly like you would normally. I think it will work.”

“Yes, all right.”

Fienna did as Terra requested, and she was able to fly just like in the air. Her great wingspan and powerful motions created strong currents in the water and tossed the sea nymphs around. They had to stay well away from her as she flew through the water. The sight of the two flying through the water was beyond belief to the sea nymphs. They followed them through the library’s entrance and then the hole in the top of the building. More and more of them followed as they saw the wondrous sight. Fienna followed the king until they reached the surface. There she simply flew straight out of the water and into the air. A huge gathering of sea nymphs came to the water’s surface and watched as the great dragon flew to the shore. She landed in the cove, and Terra dismounted.

“Are you all right Fienna?”

“Yes, are you?”

“I’m just a little tired.”

Fienna lay down in the sand, and Terra leaned up against her. As she thought about what happened, her anger grew, and Terra made no attempt to stem it. Smoke began to rise from her nostrils as her anger built. In a few moments, the water in the cove was full of sea nymphs, and King Sedoc with Setilan walked up on shore.

“I’m sorry for what happened,” said the king.

Fienna raised her great head with the smoke floating above her and angrily said in perfect sea nymph language, “You could have hurt us both. If you do that again, I will.” Terra broke her off by saying.

“My Fienna is angry, but she will calm down. I do suggest you not anger her again; she is very dangerous when she’s like this.”

Thin streams of smoke were filling the air as Terra finished.

“Fienna, it is all right. You know Setilan would never hurt us.”

Fienna slowly settled her head back to the sand, and the smoke diminished. The king seemed relieved.

“I suggest that you leave us now; we are both tired.”

“Yes, of course. Do you wish Seana to come tomorrow for your lesson?” Setilan asked.

Terra thought for a moment and decided it might be better to let Fienna calm down before they started the lessons again.

“Next moon rising I think would be better.”

“Very well. Seana and I will be here.”

The king and Setilan went back into the water, and slowly the sea nymphs left the cove. They were finally alone.

“Fienna, will you tell your mother about this?”

“No, it would just upset her, and we both know she won’t let us come again.”

“That’s true.”

Terra settled down with Fienna’s tail wrapped around him, and they fell asleep.

The next sun rising the king, his advisors, and Seana were talking about what had happened when a guard interrupted them.

“Sir, pardon my interruption; the old Sinut is here and demands to see you.”

“What does that old magic fool want?” said Sudanic the most senior of the king’s advisors.

“He’s no fool Sudanic. He has the most powerful magic of all the sea nymphs. He has not been away from his cave since I’ve been king,” the king said in a concerned voice.

“Send him in,” ordered the king.

An old sea nymph entered the great room slowly. His skin had grayed from age. His hair was long and white and floated lose in the water. He wore an old black robe that floated lose around his thin and frail-looking body. His tails moved slow and with difficulty. He floated to face the king and said, “Sedoc, you are playing with powerful forces.

The two you almost harmed could destroy you and all your nymphs.”

“We did nothing on purpose. They forgave us.”

“You are fortunate that this one is truly kind; otherwise, you would all be dead.”

“Come now, he is not that powerful.”

“Hear my words you fools. Make the two your friends. Do not lie to them or ever plan against them. Sedoc give up your plan to mate him with your daughter. He was mounted upon his life mate.”

“A human can’t mate with a dragon you old fool,” Sudanic said with a sneer on his face.

The old one moved his hand out, and a single blue bubble flew from it hitting the advisor in the chest. He was dead before his body settled to the floor. The guards moved in, but the king waved them off.

“I will do as you say, but who are they?”

“That will become clear in time. Heed my words; make them your friends not your enemies. Do this for the sake of yourself and your people.”

The old Sinut suddenly vanished in an eruption of bubbles.

Chapter 35 - Old Friends Visit

(Sometimes News is Good, Sometimes Bad and Sometimes a little of both.)

348 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

The old Sinut, a name given to only the most powerful magic throwers, reappeared in his cave in the hidden underwater valley of Seavic. He floated over to a large bowl filled with a heavy black liquid that mirrored his face back to him. As he passed his hand across the bowl and mumbled a series of ancient words, a picture formed of a bleak landscape. Nothing lived on this land; it was once the beautiful green foothills of the great northern mountain range. In the center of the picture was a great stone wall a thousand paces high and ten paces wide. No gate appeared in it only small holes to throw spears and arrows through. Behind the wall was a box canyon surrounded by the highest mountain on Tone. This area was the only green place left in the interior of the great continent. The last of the land nymphs lived and protected it from the hoards of dwarfs that attack periodically. As the old Sinut moved his hand, the picture narrowed to a small cave just inside the wall where an old nymph was sitting by a fire. The old one was thin with a long white beard and baldhead. He had a torn old cloak wrapped around his frail body. He was sitting on a log with his elbow on his knees and his chin resting on his folded hands. He looked as if he was ready to leave the world in the flickering firelight. The old nymph’s eyes saw a ghostly shape appear just beyond the fire. He raised his head to focus on the figure; it was the old Sinut.

“It has been a long time my friend,” said the old one.

“Yes, how have you been?” said the Sinut with a concerned expression on his ghostly face.

“Not well. The attacks come more frequently, and I fear I only have fifty or so seasons left. I am tired; my magic is slowly drifting away, and I have no one to replace me.”

“Have there been any breaches of the wall.”

“No, no, but one sun-rising there will be, and I won’t be able to stop those hideous little beasts.”

“I may have some news that might give you hope.”

“I doubt it, but continue.”

“I have been watching this human. He still is a boy, but he is quite unique.”

“How?”

“The sea nymph princess was on the shore practicing the old attraction ritual when this human came to her.”

“You’re still doing that? It’s uncivilized.”

“I know your opinion, but in this case, it proved to be informative.

The boy walked up, and the princess convinced him to sit down next to her. She started to entangle him when he started to glow orange. She and three others could not hold him. His body repelled them with shear pain. None were hurt, but the princess fainted and fell against rocks.

She put a deep gash into her head.”

Now with keen interest in the conversation the old one said, “I never heard of that kind of magic.”

“There’s more. A normal human would have run, but he did not.

Instead a great dragon came up behind him ready to kill anything that harmed him.”

“A human and a dragon together, that’s unbelievable.”

“The human then reached down and used the same magic to heal the princess’ wound. Leaving no mark that it had ever existed.”

“A human male with healing magic!”

“Yes, but that’s still only the beginning. The king invited him to the palace in that clear box. He and his dragon came. Somehow. Well, perhaps with a little help, the box broke open. The human mounted the dragon’s back and a protective orange shield formed around the two, and the dragon flew through the water as if it were the sky. I think this boy has adaptive magic.”

“That’s only a myth. Magic that adapts itself to any need is impossible. Where was this boy trained?”

“Nowhere, by no one. He has as far as I can tell lived with the dragons his whole life. There are other things; he can learn new languages by simply touching the one he’s talking to and perhaps the strangest of all. He has one of the amulets of the Solans of Tycarr around his neck.”

“Where would he get an amulet, and how could any human survive with dragons? I just can’t believe it.”

“Nevertheless, everything I’ve told you is true,” said the old Sinut in an authoritative voice with his arms crossed on his ghostly chest.

“I don’t doubt you my friend but adaptive magic, a human protected by a dragon. It may be the beginning then. Yes, perhaps, perhaps,” the old one thought for a moment and then added.

“Any other powers? You know that dark bastard only has five, and his bitch Solans have one each. This human would have to have more,”

said the old one.

“I’ve only seen the two, but it is too early to know yet, and it will be many seasons before anything happens,” the old Sinut said in a warning tone of voice.

“Yes, I know. Have you done anything to help him or move him in a direction?”

“I can’t interfere; he must follow his own way.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“What do these two call themselves?”

“The human is called Terra, the word for land in their language, and the dragon is known as Fienna.”

“You know I studied Tone’s original single language in my youth, just before it completely died. Fienna means sky in it. It is very interesting that you have these two in essence named land and sky.”

“I didn’t know that Fienna meant sky. It seems a considerable number of odd coincidences are occurring,” said the old Sinut.

“Yes, very odd,” the old one seemed to be in deep thought trying to decide something.

Then he finally said, “Wait here I have something to show you. I’ll be right back.” The old one went into the cave and returned with a thin stone tablet wrapped in rare silken cloth. He carefully removed the cloth and showed the tablet to the old Sinut. It showed a human mounted on a flying dragon. The next picture showed the dragon and human standing next to each other. The next showed humans standing next to each other, and the dragon was gone. The last two pictures showed two dragons next to each other, and the humans were gone and finally back to a dragon and a human.

“This has been passed from father to son in my family for as long as our memories extend. No one ever knew what it meant. The first two pictures are now fact according to you. The question is what do the rest imply?”

The old Sinut studied the pictures carefully, “I don’t have any idea what they mean. I assume they mean dragons and humans will be friends one sun-rising.”

“That’s what I thought. Two humans, two dragons then one of each.

It says they will be partners of some kind.”

“Yes, partners in what is about to happen. I must go now. Holding this image is tiring me.”

“Yes, of course. I wish to thank you for the news. At least now I have hope.”

As the ghostly figure faded, the old one rewrapped his stone and carefully returned it to its place in his cave.

Chapter 36 - New Flame

(When a Child Grows up it is Both a Pleasure and a Sorrow.)

349 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

Dawra knew that Fienna would soon show signs of her first flames.

Dawra looked forward to this but also felt the pain of losing her daughter. She knew after her first flaming it would be time for her to be presented at the dragon counsel. She had been practicing in the winds for five full moon risings now, and she was actually better at using the winds than Dawra. It would only be a short time until she would have to find her own home. She also would miss Terra. He would without doubt go with Fienna. Dawra had grown close to him, perhaps she even loved him, but she would never admit that to anyone. Fienna was now away from the cave all sun-rising and provided food for both herself and Terra. It was hard for Dawra to let go, but it must be done.

That sunset when Fienna had come home her mother thought she smelled fire on her daughter.

“Fienna did smoke come out of you this sun-rising.”

“Yes, a little, is that bad?”

“No, it’s time for you to start flaming. Tomorrow we will go to a high cliff, and you will start your practicing.”

“Practicing?”

“Yes, you must learn to control the flame, or it won’t be of much use to you. You can’t just go around burning everything up.”