Chapter 27

Jeremy was in awe as he stood in the council hall. Hewn from rock and stone were seven perches upon which seven white dragons sat on their haunches their silent focus all directed at one man. Like mountains the dragons abided considering everything. Jeremy felt like all his being was laid bare before them, a secret book privy to only their eyes as they contemplated him. Before he was unsure of the ‘dragons’, to him everybody except the elves and dwarves and pixies he had seen resembled humans.

“So, on Earth humans wake up every morning, go do things for other humans, get paid, and buy food”, the leader of the dragons said, a feminine voice, but full of power and ancient wisdom.

A dragon’s curiosity was a peculiar thing, instead of introducing themselves, the spokesperson, or rather spokesdragon was enquiring about life on earth.

“Sounds peaceful”, the great white dragon lifted its snout towards the ceiling, in deep thought as mixed emotions were written on her face.

“What do you do in your world little human?”, the dragon asked after considering something.

He definitely shouldn’t say he killed people for a living. The whole concept of governments and factions, political parties, would undoubtedly be foreign; and even though they somehow could speak English even though never hearing the tongue before, Jeremy thought it would be too troublesome to explain. He decided to explain in simple terms, using the familiar concepts to this fantastic foreign race.

Thus, Jeremy responded, “I am a warrior for my clan”

“Oh, so you have monsters too?”, the dragon asked with an interested tone.

Jeremy was cautious in his next statement, he wasn’t a liar, but he wasn’t a fool either. How would a different intelligent species relate to killing their own fellow beings. In a way she was right, he fought against the monsters people would allow themselves to grow into. Or at least that was how he rationalized his actions afterwards. But none of that mattered when someone else was intent on taking his life. At those moments, all his thoughts were bent on surviving.

“We have limited resources, and sometimes disagreements arise, and I deal with those disagreements”, Jeremy stated.

“Child, no need to be coy with me. So, you fight each other over a plot of land. Seems foolish. Why not help each other? That way everyone can enjoy a peaceful life”, the dragon asked with a serene expression, as she craned her neck to look directly at him.

“There are some who want to hold the power, and want to keep the advantage over others”, Jeremy responded, feeling like he was treading a dangerous path.

“Foolish and short sighted!”, Jeremy started to sweat as the dragon flapped her wings in protest, then she calmed down and regained her composure, “Must be because of your short life spans, and the lack of a common enemy that causes you to fight amongst each other. So, tell me human what kind of person are you?”.

Jeremy didn’t want to hesitate and delay his answer nor he could he respond haphazardly, “I want to protect what is mine, I want to protect my home, I want to protect those close to me”.

Something had been bothering Jeremy, how did the dragons know about humans, how did they speak English.

“That is a good answer. You must have a lot of questions. My name is Xirin, I am the leader of the Il counsel here in this region. There may be more of us in other regions, or they might have died we don’t know. Because we cannot move on the surface we are bound to this area. Most that live here have only known rock walls and torchlit passages. Our oral traditions speak of humans. Before the time that brought such calamity, we had interacted with the humans, giving them the gift of speech. As such all tongues are intelligible to us”, she responded as if she read his mind.

“How do you know I’m not one of the monsters on the surface that look like…us”, Jeremy was suspicious, it all seemed too easy, they seemed too ready to accept his existence, and his story.

“You don’t have the smell of one of our twisted brethren. They have a rot that will not dissipate”, Xirin gazed at Jeremy pondering his existence, “I also have heard you helped our people, and retrieved our lost daughter Wan. We know the cost of helping another, especially in defending them against the hordes of the black creatures. A life is not a cheap trinket. You should thank Wan properly, were it not for her defense of your character, you would have been incarcerated immediately. It would have been ill of us to treat you with such disrespect after your actions. However, we cannot change what the prophecy says. You might be a friend today, but tomorrow may not be the same. Human what is your purpose here?”.

Jeremy pulled out his sword. It gave a menacing air as the greenish silver blade reflected the white light of the flowers, and the orange glow of the torches.

“I wish to know about this sword”, Jeremy said concisely, “and maybe find a way to return home”.

“Indeed, returning home, your world sounds more peaceful than these forsaken lands”, Xirin stared at the sword, then her next action startled Jeremy.

She alighted from her perch, as a mighty gust of wind shook Jeremy, almost bringing him to his knees. He gasped as a glow of soft white surrounded her obscuring her form, and she emerged with a human-like appearance. Long flowing white hair, a sign of age, but her face was smooth, pale, and without blemish. She had an ethereal beauty that Jeremy had never witnessed before, enhanced by a flowing white dress. Her face had oriental features.

With the same voice, only less strong she chuckled as she observed his reaction, she held out her hands as she drew night unto him, “May I see?”.

Jeremy reluctantly relinquished his sword, this tool of violence was not light to hold, even for Jeremy. Yet this dragon’s slender arms grasped it firmly as if it were no more than a hefty stick.

“Hmmm, this is of dragon make, tempered and sharpened by dwarves, and formed by dexterous elven hands. It is a fine weapon”, Xirin said as she held the sword, the blade resting on her left hand as she studied it. Jeremy saw her alluring grey eyes travel down the length of his blade to the hilt, then her eyes widened, “Aahh I see, the handle is enchanted. Although by what type of magic I do not know. Its nature is concealed to my eyes. I sense neither malice nor benevolence in it. I’m sorry this sword is lost even to my knowledge. It was definitely made in the second age of my people when we were invaded by the black hordes. It is surely a master work. Hmmm it seems the power in it is dormant; although, I can feel it stirring as if it wishes to awake. A most peculiar item”.

She handed the sword back to Jeremy who sheathed it. Her deep eyes never leaving the blade as she had a thoughtful expression, concealing a multitude of thoughts and reasonings.

“Hopefully it will serve you well, but be careful. As it awakens its nature will be revealed.”, She smiled at Jeremy, then her face turned serious, but still serene, “I also heard you found the black wand”.

Jeremy felt her gaze as she studied his reaction, she had an indescribable presence that could be alluring, motherly, yet sharp and observant, “Yes. I discarded it. It had a feeling that I didn’t like so I abandoned it”.

“Wise decision. Yes, the black wand, the pearl of death. Rumored in our histories to be fashioned from the claw of Dragon God of Death, Dreist, brother of Draeg, the Dragon God of Life. Well, if you’re like Wan and believe in that sort of thing. For most of us, religion is a luxury that we cannot afford as we focus on surviving the next day. Its origin, very well may be true; however, it may also be mired in legends and myths. In such a day it is hard to tell rumor from truth. But your presence lends credence to such ancient tales. I have a lot to think about”.

Jeremy was deep in contemplation, brought on by her words affecting his thoughts. The energy emitted from the wand felt real. There was a desperate malice in it. A need to kill. It was surely better left abandoned in a desolate chamber, on a baren land.

His vision cleared as his thoughts were swept away by the warm touch of her delicate skin, as she placed her palm gently on his face, her eyes clouded by pity, Jeremy had no choice but to allow her touch as it felt like a mysterious balm to his soul, “As for returning to your world we only know where you came from, not how to return. Our history is fragmented, some parts erased, while others persist. There is an old keep, north west of here near the lake of Calybria. It is a long journey on the surface. It was once a stronghold in many of the uprisings of the third era, back when we dwelled on the surface still before taking shelter in the ground. It was turned into a dark fortress though. There were rumors of the powerful Great White Duke consolidating his vampire ilk there. My great grandmother told me there was recorded history there, unaffected by the touch of time that twists the veracity of oral histories. You may be able to learn more there. But I would not advise it. They are all vampires, twisted, rotten creatures, untouched by time, except in the mind. They have a hunger that can never be appeased, and a boredom that is only relieved by the pain and agony of others. They have created oceans of blood in the past. It is your own decision if you wish to go”.

“Do I have any other options?”, Jeremy asked as she turned away.

“Maybe, but it would take more time than a human has to find it”, she responded without looking back.

She once again assumed her dragon form as she occupied her perch, “Think and consider. You may stay here and live out your days if you wish”.

Even as a dragon she had eyes clouded by pity, she looked at the six dragons who had remained silent. They all nodded.

“We empathize with your plight human”, her voice again strengthened, filled the massive cavern, “Far from your home, in a hostile word of violence and death. As long as you are with us you will have our favor and care indefinitely. But be warned, if you set out from here to find a way home, you may begin a series of events that will affect us all. Or you may end up dead, as one of the many legions of corpses, your own blood adding to the red hue of this blood-soaked world”.

Jeremy’s face was dark as he left the chamber. It only brightened slightly when he encountered Wan waiting outside, her face filled with anxious worry.

He sighed, a long burdensome sigh as he patted her head, “You spoke for me. Thank you! You’re not so useless after all”.

Her face began to puff as she pouted at his teasing, “You saved my uncle and I; we are in your debt. Favor is not forgotten in Draegoch”.

“Good. Maybe you can help me make sense of all this. I need to think”, He said as he was preparing to bid her farewell for the evening or at least until the cycle of light from the tree grew faint.

“We have a house here, or at least a place to sleep. It is safe here. So, you can rest without a care”, Chan chimed in.

Jeremy’s sword clanked on his side as he turned to face Chan, “That will be good. Thank you!”.

Chan waved his hands in the air in protest, “No! No! No! that is the least we can do for our benefactor”.

Later in the dwelling of Chan and Wan. Jeremy sat in a couch by the fire. It was cozy. The cold air turned hospitable by the heat emanating. The flames, and the shadows lit the wooden walls and arched corridors hiding the cold stone behind it, giving a feeling of comfort to the abode.

They had just eaten. Bread, the grain grown in the valleys surrounding the Familiar Tree, as the locals called it. Meat taken from the squirrel like creatures that inhabited the trees in this underworld. Though they were larger and more tender than the ones he ate on Earth. And cheese. Jeremy loved cheese with all his heart. And they had a whole large wheel of it.

Wand was lounging on the couch also in front of the fire as they digested food. His stomach hurt, as he ate too much, an after effect of having to be stringent with his calorie intake to conserve supplies when they had no surety of having a next meal.

“If it is so safe here why doesn’t everyone stay?”, Jeremy asked as he thought about his next steps, “Why do people live outside this area?”.

Wan’s face looked drowsy, her eyelids heavy, “There isn’t enough space. Despite being constantly hunted our population grows everyday as we strive to survive according to the words of our ancestors. Leaving a next generation is very important to us. Our people rotate. They go to work for years at a time. Constantly expanding our domain under the world. Sometimes due to the bedrock, and other geological features our tunnels meander dangerously close to the surface. We take five years of duty and five years of reprieve here in our haven”.

Jeremy was hesitant to ask this next question, as he did want to raise any flags, “Has this place ever been attacked?”.

“Never. The tree is like a ward that protects us. As it recycles the air we exhale, it is a poisonous fume to the black creatures above. Xirin said we never have to go back to the surface tunnels to work”, Wan responded thinking deeply about things she had taken for granted and barely considered before.

Jeremy went further down the winding trail of conflicting thoughts and reasoning. He wanted to return home, but his path was obstructed by an uncrossable stumbling block. But infiltrating a heavily fortified fortress full of enemies wishing his death was not such a foreign concept to him as a former special operations member. He specialized in operating far behind enemy lines, and crippling infrastructure and command posts. But he needed more. Vampires there were vampires there! He could only rely on popular knowledge but they would surely discover him well before he even got close. He needed something more if he were to be successful.

“How much do you know about magic?”, Jeremy asked as his gaze was lost in the dancing flames of the orange fire.

“More than most, I believe all the old tales, and have studied the ancient text or what is left of it in our stories anyways. It is the original language of all draegun, as such it has power to make our will manifested by the power in our blood”, Wan said with a blank expression as if she were reciting a writing of some source.

“So why can’t humans use magic?”, Jeremy asked.

“Our stories say that Draeg, shed his blood for draegun to have this power, and to have the ability to transform into our human form”, Wan responded.

“Do you know magic that will make me invisible, or undetectable, or teleportation”, Jeremy asked as he was thankful his girlfriend Amy was such a fantasy nut.

Her eyes widened, “You plan to go to Calybria?! It’s the direction we came from”.

“No not planning just considering my options”, Jeremy sighed again as he changed topics; he wasn’t going anywhere, and he had time to think about his next step.

Wan was hesitant, but still had an inkling of enthusiasm to help, dissatisfied with the obligation towards the status quo, “There are many spells and incantations that can be used to conceal oneself. Although a complete invisibility is hard to maintain, it takes a lot of concentration and only lasts for a short while. There are some more passive alteration spells that will reduce your chances of being sensed, they are not illusions like invisibility, and more passive, but they are longer in duration”.

“I’d think with magic your people would be able to fight”, Jeremy commented although there was no sign of judgement in his voice.

“We have, and lost many times. It is because of magic that we are able to survive now”, Wan responded as she too reflected.

“I want to learn more about magic starting tomorrow. And maybe I can be taught to perform it”, Jeremy said his eyes were heavy after a full meal.

“Unlike what we were taught that humans have no magic. You have magic. So maybe you will be able to learn”, Wan said but Jeremy did not respond nor hear as he fell asleep.

Wan gently laid him down on the couch and brought a blanket to drape over him. Her gaze resting on his peaceful expression; a smirk on her face.

“Sure your training will start tomorrow”, She said softly.