The Dragon War - Chapter 13

Chapter 13
A Sudden Occurrence

It was nearly two weeks later that we finally got some more news from Ember.  He was welcomed by all, but immediately was confused, as the beacons (who had grown to be his close friends) weren't there to see him.
"They went into Jolilia Valley," I explained.  "We badly needed resources, and we decided it would be best if a dragon didn't go.  The only other option was to have a group walk, but that would take much longer, as you know."  Ember seemed unsettled by this, but I knew there wouldn't be any problems with the beacons.  They were sly, good at concealing their wings, and best of all, they could bargain.  We had given them plenty of money and instructed them to buy no meat, as the dragons provided us with more than enough.  Their cover story was simple.  They were travelers with a small village up north, where simple foods were scarce but villagers were excellent hunters.  All the leather they would buy and the few tools Sam had wanted would be "for our villages' expertise: making horse saddles and clothing."
They had left three days before Ember came.  Even though he continued to worry, we tried to change the subject to his reason for coming.  I just needed to refresh you on all that's going on in the north.  The fairies that went into the capital have returned with little news.  The White King is now assured that you are the Dragon Keeper seen that day, but he is confused as to why you would be there, and where you are now.  He has also had announcements made around the empire about the newly found existence of dragons, and to beware them. The news was very little comfort to me.  The younger dragons, Prophecy, Crypten, and Aduro, knew hardly at all what was going on, so the words to them were startling.
"What about Steven?" I asked, feeling sick to my stomach.  I braced for the worst news.
He hasn't been seen or heard from since his injury.  I don't think you'll see him any time soon.  
"It could be a trick," Garnet warned.
Let's hope we'll be prepared if it is, Silvia replied.  I hoped with everything I had left that Ember was right and Steven would stay hidden.  I was freaking out just wondering what Steven was doing.  If only we had an inside source…
It was three days later that we were surprised again.  I was teaching a literary class in the library.  My audience was made up of all the students who had chosen such lessons, as it usually was.  Only Alexandria, Valli, Bella, and Zilia had chosen literary classes, which was fine with me, because it made teaching fun.  I had instructed each student to make a presentation on a type of dragon, and Valli was speaking about the Millennium Dragon when Zilia stopped smiling and laughing and making comments like the rest of us.
Around me the air became tense, and Valli continued to talk, but I was no longer paying attention.  My eyes were locked on Zilia, whose head had turned downward until she was staring at the book in her lap, which was closed.  She pulled her hair behind an ear and then looked up, glancing around at the others.  When she looked my way, I noticed her eyes filled with tears.  She wiped an eye and then stood.  Valli looked confused, but didn't stop.  Zilia turned and walked slowly out of the library, and when Valli stopped talking, everyone looked to me.
"Go over your presentations," I said.  "When we come back you can continue again, Valli."  I stood and ran out into the hallway, where Judah and Aduro were passing by.  The dragon was much larger now.  We were going to teach them to fly for the first time later that day, along with Alexandria and Prophecy.  Judah immediately looked confused when he saw my expression, and he stopped me.
"What happened?"
"Did you see Zilia come out of the library?" I asked, as she was nowhere in sight.
"Yeah, she went to the gray steps."  She went down, I knew.  I thanked Judah and ran to pursue Zilia.  What had caused her to start crying?  I ran as fast as I could, which was far quicker than I really ever had in my whole life.  Training every day kept me in such a routine that I was about as fast as Yulan, Alicia's wolf.
Something unknown led me down to the bottom floor.  It was then that I started searching for Zilia's consciousness.  I saw her before I found her mind, walking slowly from one cave to the next.  She noticed me before I could advance toward her.
What's wrong? I asked, as she was still crying.  This time she wiped both her eyes with the backs of her hands and revealed her feelings with caution.  I was overwhelmed, no longer with my worry, but with Zilia's anger and frustration.
I feel lost, she said simply, sitting and leaning up against the rock wall, right beside a dragon cave.  I walked over and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  She began to sob, but looked up at me.  Ever since I was little, I've had nothing. Her whole life then came into my mind.  I saw her memories, stretched far apart, starting from her earliest memory: a beautiful young face.  It was a woman with dark hair and eyes that startled me, because they looked exactly like Zilia's hazel eyes.  My father and mother died when I was three of a sickness.  I lived with my grandmother, who was old and didn't remember much.  She died when I was twelve.  By that time, I had seen Ferox and Bella several times before, because they had been orphaned from a very young age and had escaped from the city's orphanage. Zilia's story was intriguing, and when my father came down and glanced at us, confused, I waved him away, and he went into the forge and talked with Sam.
So you became a part of the Orphaned? I guessed.  She nodded.
They tried to put me in the orphanage, because I wasn't old enough to be on my own, so I resisted, and Ferox and Bella seemed to appear from nowhere.  They pulled daggers on the men and threatened them until they released me.  They told me their story, and I told them mine.
I didn't want to seem abrupt, but I got to the point.  Why are you crying?
I've never really had a family, she replied, her eyes welling with tears again.  I've never had a close friend my whole life.  I always believed that there could be dragons, because my grandmother would tell me everything about them when I was little.  I believed in them, and when I met you, I was so eager to become a Dragon Keeper, because I want a friend.   She smiled weakly, and I hugged her out of impulse.
"I'll always be your friend," I whispered in her ear.  I added in mind, but if you want a dragon, you'll never be told 'no,' not even by Silvertongue. Zilia smiled and laughed.
Then she went into each cave, and I waited patiently, showing no annoyance.  The literary class was ending soon, so I contacted my sister and told her that they could have free time before they had to leave for chores or other classes.
Snow Dragons, Bright Dragons, Carn Dragons, Spike Dragons.  I was beginning to believe that Zilia could be the keeper of a Ka'ash Dragon.  She went into the Scythe Dragon cave next.  I couldn't possibly see one of those as being hers.  I opened my mouth to offer flying with her to the cave to hold Ka'ash Dragon eggs, but I stopped and walked into the cave, watching.  Zilia had taken a lantern inside, since Scythe Dragons need to stay in the darkness throughout the day.  She placed it on one of the cold stone tables and picked up each egg in turn, taking her time, not becoming impatient.  She was wise for one so young, I thought, just like Garnet.
I tried to hold back a sigh when Zilia neared the back of the cave, but it came out anyway.  She ignored me, and picked up a new egg, one that was bright yellow.  I remembered it with a smile as one of the eggs in Silvertongue's memories, when he spied on the siren cove.  It was in a nest with a gray egg.  I chuckled to myself.  How strange it was that such minor details stuck out in my mind.
The egg did nothing after a few moments.  Zilia placed it back on the table, next to a lime green egg with dark lines around it, those "dragon veins," we called them.  They appeared black, but from a distance I couldn't make out what color they were.  She chose that one, and held it for a few moments, looking down on the egg with calm eyes.  How could she hold all the frustration in?  Surely she felt it?  It was easy for me; I had but one egg to hold, even though I had to carry it around for a few months.  I knew that Icemoon would be my dragon, though, and Zilia had no idea which one was her egg.
It dawned on me that her dragon egg could be on the other side of the world, hidden in a jungle or buried in the desert.  What if that had happened to me?
My thoughts were shattered with a sharp noise.  I jumped, alert, my first thought that Zilia had dropped an egg.  She was not to be seen when I looked over, though, so I ran around the stone and found her sitting on the ground, pulling two halves of a lime green egg apart.
I still stood, taking the lantern and holding it high above her head, watching with awe.  No matter how many times I saw it, the hatching of a dragon was mesmerizing.  From inside the shell came a small beast, with tiny scales (almost indefinable in the light) of dark purple, and eyes that glowed bright green in the darkness.  Its tail was longer than most dragons, even Prophecy's (at that age) and the hatchling had fangs curving out of its upper jaw and bat-like, fanned out wings.
Zilia looked up at me finally, more tears brimming in her eyes.  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  When I could take hold of my thoughts, I contacted Icemoon, Silvia, and Silvertongue.  A hatchling! I shouted in their minds.  They all jumped or were surprised, promising all at once to be down in the cave or to tell the rest of the academy.  I sat down beside my friend and looked closely at the dragon.  It had the short legs of a Scythe Dragon, and reminded me of Crypten, though the first time I had seen that hatchling, he was swimming up from the bottom of a lake.  This dragon was safe in Zilia's lap.
I reached my hand out toward him – as he was definitely a male, because of his darker color and longer fangs – and he sniffed my fingers cautiously, and then sneezed a spark of fire at my hand and turned back to his keeper, curling up in her lap.
"Can I name him?" Zilia whispered, as though she would wake him.  I looked at her and laughed.
"Of course!  I'm not going to do it for you," I replied, and she smiled, staring at the hatchling.
"Twilight," she murmured.  I entered her mind, and she explained without me having to ask.  This is the end of a day of trouble, the twilight.  He's the end of my loneliness.   I smiled and put an arm around Zilia's shoulders, watching newly-named Twilight as he stood on her legs and listened intently.  Moments later, what sounded like hundreds of warriors thundered down the steps into the cave.  Since there was only one lamp and many people, we took Twilight outside into the hall, where he squinted like a child and took care to stay close to his only comfort: Zilia.  She was firm with everyone who neared, being sure they didn't overwhelm the dragon, especially Silvertongue.  Twilight turned to him and sniffed his nose, which was many times larger than the hatchling's.  The little Scythe Dragon whacked him with a tiny, well-aimed set of claws, and the larger dragon reeled back in surprise.
Out of all the commotion, I noticed Silvia to be calm and almost annoyed, glaring hard at the newest addition to the academy, apparently in much thought.  She left before anyone else, and so I chased after her, even though Zilia called my name.
I tried to be as silent as possible, following Silvia the short way to the dragons' sleeping area.  I was starting to call it a hold.  The dragon entered my mind, and, startled, I almost slipped and fell.
I know you're right behind me.  No human can escape my hearing, not even Tash. I stopped and waited, dumbfounded, as she turned.  Silvia sighed.
Why did you look like you didn't like Twilight? I asked sharply, not even hesitating to ask.  I had been around Silvia a lot, so she didn't intimidate me as she did long ago.  We had a strange relationship, though.  We didn't share many thoughts, but we were friends all the same.
He seemed to be familiar to me… I entered his mind and he was recognizable. She paused and looked away.  What color was his egg?
A bright green, I replied, a bit confused.  Silvia suddenly turned and walked away.  Why?
Please call Silvertongue.  Tell him I need to speak to him immediately. I furrowed my brow, but complied.  I entered the large dragon's mind and relayed the message.  He didn't seem strange at all, like Silvia had.  He growled at me, but was there in a few moments.  He glanced at me and entered the hold, lying down beside Silvia.  They conversed for minutes, barely moving, and I waited and watched.  There wasn't much to see, and when I tried to enter Silvertongue's mind, he'd flick his tail at me.
There were several students that passed around me over the nearly 15 minutes I stood there.  I sighed many times, impatiently tapping my foot, and when it finally appeared as though I wouldn't learn anything, Silvia rested her head on her paws, and Silvertongue exited the hold, coming toward me.
Can you keep a secret? he asked.  Happy with at least some knowledge, I nodded rapidly.  I need you to do a favor for me.  He sighed, trying to put his thoughts into words. I want you alone to look at all the other eggs we have in possession, including at the cave.  Silvia thinks that Twilight is, well… our son.

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I couldn't tell Icemoon, so he bugged me the entire afternoon.  When we arrived at the cave, I tried to be as quick as possible.  In the Forbidden Cave, there were two green eggs, but they weren't bright.  The few remaining extra eggs were all different colors.  My heart thumping like rabbits' feet, I again slid into the saddle and urged Icemoon toward the academy.
I refuse to leave until I get an answer, he growled.
Then we'll starve to death, and Judah won't fly with Aduro today, I replied coldly.  Your father told me not to tell anyone, and you lie in that category.   I wasn't nervous that Icemoon wouldn't fly, because he did.  I was nervous that Silvia's suspicions were true.  There wasn't another egg that fit the description.
I had wanted to know what was inside their minds, but nothing could have prepared me for the realization that this hatchling Scythe Dragon could be the son of Silvia and Silvertongue.  In truth, they hadn't really confirmed which two eggs had been taken by the sirens years before.  The irony that Twilight's egg had the colors of purple and green (Silvia and Silvertongue's colors), was even more notable in my search.  Zilia wanted to keep the two halves of the egg, so I had to ask her to look them over.  It was hard, because I couldn't even tell her what was going on.  She begged me just as much as Icemoon did.
"Sorry, Zilia," I had to say, as much as it pained me.  "Nothing I've learned today can put you or Twilight in any kind of harm, but you mustn't know, or a particular dragon will certainly eat me."  She wouldn't even smile at the joke.
I ran to tell the two dragons about the news.  I think suspicions have been confirmed, I first said, standing before them in the dragon hold.  I haven't found another egg that fits the description.  Your son Twilight has hatched. I then smiled broadly, for the news was exciting, and Silvia smiled even wider and turned to Silvertongue.  They shared several words, and the green dragon nodded his head solemnly.
We can't tell anyone yet, not even the hatchling, Silvertongue told me.  Please, don't tell anyone.  I know this is a heavy burden to bear, but you have to trust us.  We'll reveal all when the time is right. I left then to fly with Judah and Aduro for their first lesson, as they were surely waiting for me.  However, before I left the room, I hesitated and turned back to the duo.  
Thank you for trusting me. They nodded simultaneously, and I left, feeling like a good friend.

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Icemoon had already shown Judah how to saddle his unusual mount, so by the time I got there, he was checking to make sure that he was secured properly.
This is the fourth time he's done that, Icemoon told me in mind.  I smiled.  A small group of students came along a few minutes later, after I was sure Judah was ready and knew at least the basics.  Icemoon gave Aduro a few more pointers.  When we were ready to go, all the students that were there to watch were Prophecy, Alexandria, Garnet, and Silvia, who would all fly with us.  Sam's group of forge students were there as well, which included Noah, Ferox, and Alexander.  Alicia was there with Lybia, who showed little interest in everything but the dragons preparing for flight, along with Valli, Luke, Zilia and Twilight.  It was quite a crowd, and they were all excited for Judah and Aduro.
I think I'm ready, the young dragon told me.  His voice sounded quite like Icemoon's when he was the same age.  He had grown so much, and was almost the size of Icemoon already.  His stature was strong and bold, but he was built thin, with muscular, long back legs and a whip-like tail.  His black eyes were narrowed and determined, his rustic orange scales shone.  Judah made it a ritual to clean them every now and then.
Garnet and Silvia demonstrated lifting off several times.  We lined up by the sizes of the dragons, first Silvia, then Icemoon, Prophecy, and Aduro.  I leaned over in Icemoon's saddle to catch a glimpse of Judah, who was nervously looking down at his visibly shaking hands.  He looked up and smiled at me, and I gave him a nod.  He held to the saddle horn and sucked in a breath as Aduro spread his wings, ever firm.
Silvia leapt into the air, and I gave Icemoon an instinctive heel to the side as I would with a horse.  He grunted at me, but leapt from the roof, staying level, and then climbing through the air to Silvia's side.  When Prophecy joined us, us three Dragon Keepers turned and watched as Aduro, a shining young dragon, jumped into the air and roared.  A jet of flame erupted from his maw, and Judah was seen holding tight to the saddle horn, not ready to let go.  His eyes were open, though, and he was looking to us for support.  I entered his mind and laughed.
You're doing great! Aduro wasn't doing badly, either.  He carried the weight of his rider easily, and was able to join us within a minute or so.  Each dragon peeled away from the group, Silvia going up, Icemoon going down, and the two younger fliers veering to the right or left.  Aduro did some experimental dips and sharp turns, while Judah grew paler and paler and then began to loosen his grip and hold to Aduro's neck.  After about ten minutes, he let go completely, urging his dragon to go slower, then faster at times, clinging to his scales and then holding his hands high in the air.  I heard claps and shouts coming from the roof of the academy, and Icemoon climbed higher at my bidding so we could see all the progress.
This is what I've wanted for so long, I told him, smiling broadly to myself.  This is the feeling of accomplishment. Aduro was shakily gaining speed, while Prophecy performed her first somersault and dive with Alexandria.  Silvia and Garnet were helping both students, and just seeing three dragons in the air with riders made me feel like I had done everything right.
But two days later, that feeling wasn't on my mind.  I was sitting in the empty room we had decided to use for Dragoni Concilium, on the top floor in the hallway that was directly below the rooftop.  Sam was in the process of making chairs and a large, long table for the council, but for the moment, it was just an empty room.  So I sat on the cold marble floor alone, waiting for the rest of the council and those we had invited to the meeting.  It would be a small gathering, consisting of myself, Icemoon, Garnet, Silvia, Silvertongue, Zilia, and Twilight.
The whole council gathered first.  I had led Garnet to believe that it was about news I had received from Ember about the beacons.  She didn't know the others would be there.  Only Silvia and Silvertongue knew what was about to happen.  Judah and I had gone for a flight the previous day to collect some more fruit, which occurred about every week or so.  We hadn't really seen Ember, but it was the most logical ruse I could think of.
Why do we have to meet for this? Garnet asked me when she entered alone.  Silvia and Silvertongue followed several minutes later.
It is important news, I half-lied, and you should know.
I don't see why you couldn't just tell me, she shot back, sitting down and glumly planting her chin in the palm of her hand, as though she had something better to do.  When Zilia and Twilight arrived, they, along with Garnet and Icemoon, were all surprised.
"Why have Zilia and Twilight come?" Garnet whispered at me, loud enough for the guests to hear.  "They're not a part of this council."
"Will you be quiet?" I scolded, glaring at her.  "Don't get all big-headed."  I welcomed the pair with a smile, and offered them a seat on the floor.  Icemoon, who had previously been resting, narrowed his eyes to slits and entered my mind.  I pushed him away.
There's important news that you all need to hear, Silvertongue said solemnly.  It doesn't have to do with Ember or the beacons, but rather with Twilight.  We all turned to the young dragon, who now understood enough to realize what was going on.
"What's wrong?" Zilia asked, concern clear on her face.  I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
"Nothing.  In fact, we have good news."
"What's going on, Natasha?" Garnet nearly shouted.  The outburst was dealt with calmly.  "What do you know?"
"Don't act like you haven't kept secrets from me," I told her.  "Silvia had a strange thought several days ago, and the two dragons asked me to do some searching around.  We learned something that should be exclaimed with great joy."  I avoided actually telling them what had happened so that Silvia could.  She entered our minds with a large dragon smile.
Twilight is our son. The reaction was priceless, and I almost wished I could have been surprised as well.  Garnet's jaw dropped a mile past its usual position (open wide enough to talk), and Zilia almost fainted with shock.  Icemoon sat as still as a statue, not moving, his eyes riveted to his young brother.  Twilight, in turn, was looking around at everyone, his face smeared with incredibility.
How? he asked, the single word bringing the whole room to a silence.  Zilia looked hard at me, then down at the floor, where she hoped to find answers to the confusion.
There were three dragon eggs the day the sirens attacked, Silvertongue began, his memories once more coming into our minds.  I had already felt his feelings before, but it was like a new experience all over again.  By the time they were gone, there was only one.  Your brother, Icemoon, was kept safe in the Forbidden Cave, where we refused to bring him back out into the open.
It was the stupidest mistake I ever made, keeping the nest outside, Silvia interrupted, closing her eyes with a pained expression, which now appeared so normal to me that it seemed human.
Silvertongue appeared as not hearing her.  I tried to stop them, but by the time they had left, they had taken you, Twilight, and your other sibling.  We were led to believe by other creatures, including Uphorus, that you had both been eaten, your eggs broken by the sirens.  It was believed that they had found a method to open the shells protected by dragon fire.
They didn't, and it was a mistake we would regret not chasing after them, just like many others, Silvia added.  She sighed.  We have to search for the third egg, Silvertongue.
For some reason, the image came into my mind of the dead hatchling I had seen at the bottom of that lake, long ago after the siren battle.  The sirens had found a way to kill the dragons, though it would take many centuries for the work to come to a completion.  That dragon that had hatched at the right time, actually had done so at the wrong time.  A Dragon Keeper somewhere wouldn't ever get their dragon, because it had died without them even knowing it existed.
At lunch that afternoon, Zilia had a part in announcing her dragon's family.  The meal was nearly a celebration.  Wine, which had been found in the makeshift storeroom that was now mainly the weaponry, was passed out to the adults as a rarity.  
And wine was poured a second time that evening, when the beacons came back from their mission.  It had begun to rain, so Aduro and Judah landed from their flight, right near me on the roof where I was doing my share of watching the Bell Dragon eggs.  Mexif and Sam had come up with a brilliant idea to keep them in the cave, which was to dig several wide tunnels in tall hills around the area.  The tunnels would lead down into the cave with the Bell Dragon eggs.  To keep intruders from entering as they pleased, the opening into the cave of the tunnels would be protected with a wooden grate, which would – hopefully – provide enough wind for the eggs and keep trespassers at bay.
I was on the egg watch, though, and the rain wasn't as miserable as usual, but calming and refreshing.  Judah and Aduro came to sit by me for a while, and as they stood to leave, I jumped up and pointed.  "What's that?"
Several dark figures were coming toward us through the rain, flying steadily, carrying a large object between them.  It had to be the beacons.  There were only four of the six, though, and my heart pounded when I realized that both Flix and Miplin were missing.
The beacons approached us with hugs and excitement, but I could only wonder what had gone wrong.  "Where are the twins?" I asked Kash nervously.  She smiled and pointed down below.
"They should be here in less than fifteen minutes.  They're bringing a cart with more supplies."  I became calm and then was interested in what they had brought.  They had been instructed not to buy wood or meat, as those materials were plentiful, and the large makeshift wooden trunk they had carried with them was full of bread, jars of spices, vegetables, and other commodities that we enjoyed more than craved.
"Flix and Miplin have plenty of leather down there, and some tools for Sam," Deck told me.
"Perfect," I replied.  "How much did you spend?"
"Let's rest up, first," Juniper said with a wide smile.  "We'll tell you all about it at dinner."  That's what we did.  All the beacons took turns describing their adventure, going into Jolilia Valley, hiding their wings, and bargaining with the merchants and salesmen until they were red in the face.  It was easy for them to strike deals and keep a cover story.  They avoided Armen and Remen, the two warring cities, and turned to Salithia for most support, a city that relished in peace and turned away all outsiders who supported Armen or Remen.  Though they didn't live around humans, the beacons were impeccably amazing at negotiating and didn't spend any more than I wanted them to.
So, that night I was peaceful for once while falling asleep, counting my blessings, and dreaming in a place where the good guys always win.