The Dragon Healer of Tone (World of Tone) (41 page)

The arrow exploded into splinters. The remaining men began to back up all with the fear of death in their eyes. Then from overhead, the leaves of the trees began to rustle, and a shadow fell across them. She saw the men turn to run in fear, but before they could take a step, a wall of flame appeared in front of them boiling in its intensity. The heat was beyond Faray’s ability to feel. The fire rolled down the road dissipating some distance away. The sight that befell her next was beyond description. Eleven sets of charred bones lay before her. The ones furthest away, Wistack was obviously trying to escape the fate he brought upon himself and the others. The road itself was melted, and the foliage facing it burnt black.

Terra looked down, and Faray felt a wave of udder despair pass through her body. It was so strong that her knees collapsed, and she dropped to the ground under the overwhelming power of the emotion.

Her hand dropped away from Terra’s body, and the feeling passed. She could hardly believe the pain he felt at the death of the men who had just tried to kill them. This man was beyond her understanding. The power she felt flowing through him seemed unlimited, but his soul had a kindness that not even a newborn could approach. Terra knelt down and helped Faray to her feet asking if she was all right.

“Yes, yes, please let us leave,” she said in a weak voice.

“The man he healed in front of your cave and a number of others are attacking Terra,” Fienna said to Reicka in an unusually calm voice.

“What?” she said in almost a yell.

Fienna looked at her confused, “He can deal with them. They are no match for him. Even dragons fear his power,” she said with pride in her voice.

“Power, what do you mean power?” Reicka said in a concerned tone of voice.

“He can destroy anything he wishes. I just wish he didn’t feel so bad afterwards. Sometimes I think he’s too gentle for his own good,”

Fienna said in a wistful tone.

“Anything!” Reicka said in a truly surprised voice.

“Yes, anything. Wait!” Fienna said as she held up her hand to quite anymore questions.

“It’s over. Terra and Faray our on their way back,” she said finally.

Lowlack slowly drifted to the ground with his passengers on his back. It was no bother flying them. In fact he enjoyed the adventure. It was something different to do. He was a little resistant to the idea that the two humans were related to Terra, but he seemed to have determined they were telling the truth. If Terra accepted it, he would also. The two got off Lowlack’s back with their great bundle and went to the older human female. All the guard dragons had heard that Fienna was with child and soon it would spread to all the dragons on Tone.

Lowlack assumed that the nymphs also knew. Things were changing; he could not decide if it was for the better. He looked above and saw Hectise coming in to land. He had obviously heard what was happening with his daughter and was coming to see if it were true. Lowlack took off and flew back to the rim and landed in his favorite spot were he could see the entire crevice and got the warmth of the sun. The heat made his old bones feel better.

Terra walked with the net full of things they had gotten from the small village to his mother. Faray followed behind. Fienna was in the cave and was just coming out as he dropped the load in front of Reicka.

Faray immediately went to her mother and started to tell her of what had happened, and Terra went to Fienna. They said nothing as Fienna folded into Terra’s arms.

Chapter 75 - The World Changes

(Nothing Stays the Same Forever.)

357 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

The old woman sat in her cave in the Mur Valley. The fog surrounded her and in the flames of her fireplace as she watched the powerful young man defend himself and his sister from the pitiful attacks of a few insignificant men. In her fire, she saw lightning from the sky destroying an arrow.

“He controls the sky to. All the stones are lit on his chest except the ninth. How much power does he have?” the voice of the many came screeching from the fog.

“Quiet, I need to watch this,” the old woman said in a loud and irritated voice. The fog settled down. She knew her sisters were worried about a man being the one, but the old ones didn’t say who it would be, just that one would come. She was concerned about the lightning. Nowhere did it say that the one would control the sky. He was more powerful than she had imagined. He was uncontrollable by any one on Tone except for the dark one that destroyed all he touched.

“It is time to begin watching him. He is growing into his destiny,”

the old woman said to the fog.

“Perhaps it’s time to contact him. He needs to know what he must do,” the voice of the many said.

“NO! We cannot influence him; he must make up his own mind.

The ancients wrote that no one must interfere. He is the only one who can make the future of Tone. Not us,” the old woman said in an angry voice to the fog.

“Sisters, we must wait and see. We will contact him after the first battle is done,” she said in a kinder more sympathetic voice to calm the souls of the fog. She sat back and began to do the sewing she had put down to watch the young man. His image still flickered in the fire of her cave. He was riding the great dragon to his home holding his sister as they moved through the air effortlessly.

The old Sinut had just finished telling his old friend the land nymph of the things that had happened. Both now knew that this human was the one foretold. They had little knowledge of what he might do or how.

“Those witches know, but they’ll never tell,” he thought to himself in anger.

As he floated in his underwater cave, he reviewed the things that had happened over the last twenty or so full moon risings. He could hardly believe the events. He never thought he’d live to see the sun-rising that the dark one would be defeated, but perhaps now he would.

In the center of the great continent where death and darkness was the way, an evil distorted ancient wizard sat and watched his fire alone. In it, he saw a young man commanding all the powers of magic he had and more. He controlled even the clouds of the sky, and he had not had a sun-rising of training. His hatred and fear of this man was growing sunrise to sunrise, and there seemed to be nothing he could do to stop this young fool. If only he had known of him as a boy. If the boy had only stayed in the human world he would have. He waved his hideous hand in anger, and the picture vanished from the fire fueled by the body of one of his dwarf servants that had displeased him. From the darkness, the voice that had forever tormented him came.

“Your time is short,” he heard with a laugh behind it that wrenched his soul.

“I can defeat him,” he yelled to the darkness that surrounded him.

“I almost did, and I have another plan to try,” he screeched.

Another hideous laugh and the words came to his ears, “You cannot.

You are already dead, and you don’t even know it.” The words cut him to the bone as the laugh faded from his hearing and back into the darkness. He sat back and bellowed for a drink of casoff. He would drown his hatred and fear in drunkenness.

Chapter 76 - A Quiet Time

(A Time of Rest is Always Welcome.)

357 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

As the sun-risings passed, life in the crevice became quiet once more.

Fienna’s belly was growing with the new life of his daughter within her. She was happy about the birth of her child. His mother had said the baby and mother were doing well. Better than any she had ever seen except for her pregnancy with Terra. Even in her womb, she remembered Terra did nothing to harm her.

As time passed, things settled into a routine. Either Reicka or Faray would be in the crevice with them, the other being home to help those who needed it. The destruction of the men and path were blamed on a passing dragon. No one minded the deaths, for they were all men that many wanted gone, especially Wistack. Terra had not wanted his mother and sister to see him in his dragon state, so he and Fienna made some excuse and had Lowlack take them to the cave they used to hide Terra’s change. Those sun-risings were special to both. After Terra changed, he would fly Fienna to all the places they loved. She was on those occasions again free.

It was a nice sun-rising; the sun was out, and Fienna was in the cave with his mother making clothes for him. Terra decided to go lie in the sun and relax. He lay down near the shore of the lake where the stream of water from the cave babbled into the lake. He was half-asleep when he thought he heard something and sat up.

“Healerrr!”

Terra at first thought it was the water making noise, and it happened to sound like a word. He settled down again and tried to fall back asleep.

“Hhhealerrr.”

This time he knew it was not just water noises. It was a voice made from the waters’ splashing.

“Who’s there?” Terra asked as he sat up.

“I ARE TONE,” a voice from the water said in a gurgling manner.

“Tone is this world,” Terra said.

“I ARE WORLD,” the voice said.

“You’re this world; you’re what I stand on,” he said confused.

“YES, I ARE WORLD. I ARE TONE.”

“Why do you call me?” Terra questioned.

“YOU HEAL I,”it said.

“Heal? Heal what? You are fine. I see nothing to heal.”

“NOT HERE PLACE. BEYOND I HIGH BACK.”

“High back, high back. You mean mountains?” he said in a thoughtful slow questioning voice.

“YES, MOOUNTAAAINS,” the voice said slowly trying to pronounce the word.

“How were you hurt?”

“DARK HURT I. I HURT BAD. I NEED HEAL,” the voice said in painful tones.

“I, ah, how can I heal you.”

“YOU KNOW HOW WHEN TIME. TIME NOT YET.”

“You can wait.”

“I WAIT LONG. I WAIT LITTLE MORE.”

“How long have you existed?” Terra asked in a curious tone.

“I BE FROM BEGINNING. I BE TO END.”

“Who else do you talk to?”

“I TALK NO ONE. YOU ARE I FIRST. YOU ARE HEALER.

YOU HEAL I. I IN PAIN. I PROTECT YOU, YOU HEAL I.”

“You will protect me?” Terra asked.

“I STOP FLYING THINGS WITH CLOUD. I PROTECT HEALER.”

“I will try to heal you. If I can. I want nothing to be in pain.”

“YOU GOOD. DARK BAD. YOU LIGHT DARK,” the voice said in an assured tone.”

“What do you mean, LIGHT DARK?” Terra asked in a confused tone.

“YOU KNOW WHEN TIME.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I KNOW. YOU WILL. YOU GOOD. YOU LIGHT DARK NO

OTHER CAN. YOU HAVE NINTH. YOU HAVE ALL MAGIC.

YOU ONLY ONE.”

“What do you mean?” Terra asked, but the water talked no more.

He sat back trying to understand what just happened. His mind reached for Fienna, and she answered.

“Did you hear the water talk?” he thought to her.

“What are you talking about?” she thought back.

“Oh, I just thought I heard something forget it. Go back to what you were doing.”

“You sure, I can come to you,” she thought with concern.

“No, I’m fine go back to what you were doing.”

Terra felt Fienna’s mind fade into her work, and he fell asleep thinking about the words he heard. When he woke, it all seemed like a dream, and he put it from his mind. He got up and went back to the cave.

There, new clothes awaited him. They fit perfectly and gave him an air of power that no one could deny. Even though they fit, he felt uncomfortable in them, so whenever they were alone, he wore nothing, just as Fienna.

Chapter 77 - A Fool’s Attack

(Only a Fool Anger’s a Gentle Man.)

357 set of seasons since the coming of the Averons

It was morning. Terra and Fienna were swimming in the red water of the lake when Dawra came flying in and landed at the lake’s edge.

The two swam toward her. Fienna was now quite large and felt more comfortable in the water than on land, so the two spent much of their time in the lake. Terra found Fienna even more beautiful in this condition, if that was possible. As they approached the shore, Dawra seemed to be agitated about something.

“Terra, a dragon has been badly injured. She has a small one and needs your healing,” Dawra yelled across the water as they swam closer.

“You go love. I’ll be all right. Your mother and sister are both here, and if anything happens, I’ll call you.” Fienna thought to Terra as they swam. When they arrived at the shore, Faray was standing near Dawra wanting to know what was happening. Fienna lay in the water with her belly just coming out as Terra walked out. Faray still had problems with the fact that Terra and Fienna wore no clothes much of the time. Terra walked to his sister.