Though it doesn't say so anywhere in the story (so it's potentially another piece for the
Tales... volume), I'm tempted to think that the boy in the legend grew up to be none other than the shrewd and sometimes enigmatic (at least to the boys) Chief Steward Peren
one or two of Finder's adventures may have to go into
Tales... as well, but he is crucial to the yet-to-be-written sequel.
I'm about half way through typing in the next episode, so it shouldn't be too long a wait ...
Postet at: November 05, 2005, 10:44:38 PM
The chapter is done!
When we last left our hero ...
"He?ll be basking in glory and walking on clouds for a while; probably stay out of trouble until at least tomorrow evening.?***
Finder wandered out into the courtyard, followed closely by the other fleas who managed to slip away before their masters found other duties to occupy their time. Finder didn?t want the others around him. He wanted to be alone, so that he could laugh and shout, and let out the relief and thrill that threatened to burst forth. But he had to stay calm. His rank was safe, but an outburst would make his friends suspicious.
?Let?s go and see the dragon.? One of the boys suggested.
?I don?t know ?? Finder stalled, trying to mask his surprise. ?The dragon is still here? Oh no!?
?Why not?? Stern?s eyes narrowed at Finder.
Finder bit his tongue. He could feel his new glory slipping away. He had to work a bluff that might prove more dangerous than the last. There was no way to second-guess a dragon! He tried to appear bored. ?Well, a dragon?s a dragon. When you?ve already seen a dragon close up, what?s left to see??
?When did you see a dragon close up?? The challenge was tinged with awe and disbelief.
?I wasn?t always a flea.? Finder replied coolly. This was the easy part. The danger would come if the bluff reached the point where he had to prove it, by walking boldly and calmly towards the most frightening creature in the land, as though he did that sort of thing every day.
?Let?s go then, and you can show us.? Stern?s reply did not surprise Finder. It was the death sentence he expected to hear.
Finder shrugged and sighed, as though resigned to his fate, and he led the group of boys across the courtyard to the gate. If he walked a little stiffly, the others failed to notice. They were too busy trying to maintain their own courage by talking amongst themselves about the prospect of seeing a dragon close up for the first time. So they compared the old bard?s tales about dragons who flew down and destroyed whole towns, and dragons who swallowed people and ate them, and dragons who killed people with dragon?s breath. Finder wished they would all shut up, and he tried not to listen.
At the edge of the ceremonial square, dimly lit by the scattered oil lamps usually reserved for feastdays, which often lasted deep into the night, the young group halted. There, in the centre of the square, was Vanemut the Pearl dragon.
Finder paled at the size of her, but his friends couldn?t see his face in the dim light. They were trying just as hard to control their own fears. Each boy wanted to turn around and run back to the hall, and they would have, if only Finder would back down from the challenge. The challenge had been accepted; they had to see it through.
?We?ll wait here.? Stern muttered, still hoping that Finder would concede, and resign his rank as leader of the fleas. He would rather inherit the leadership by showing up Finder, than by losing his best friend to a hungry or angry dragon.
?Why?? Finder asked, grasping at the chance. He knew that they were just as scared; if they backed down, Finder could shrug them off and forget this crazy stunt, without losing his pride.
?Well, if we all approach it at once, we might spook it.? One of them offered.
?Damn!? Finder cursed to himself. He couldn?t argue with that, not without admitting his own fear. He still had to face the dare, or lose everything. ?Well, better to be killed by a dragon, than to back down to this mob.? He took a breath. ?Okay.?
The dragon lay curled up and motionless in the very centre of the square, and between the dragon and the nervous boys, there were no places to hide; no hint of protection. Finder stepped away from the others, feeling their eyes in his back. He couldn?t turn around. He couldn?t slow his pace or stop. He had to walk evenly and calmly towards the huge living legend that filled his vision, and grew to impossible dimensions in his mind. Often, he had to glance down to assure himself that he was still walking. His heart pounded in his ears and throat, and Finder wondered if the boys behind him, and the dragon before him, could hear it.
Finder desperately hoped that the tales and legends were wrong. Or if not, that this dragon had already eaten. Perhaps the dragon might consider him too small to eat, and not bother with him. Perhaps the ground would open up and swallow him first? ?Please be well fed and asleep,? he begged silently.
Vanemut stirred slightly, and Finder jumped. ?Oh gods! I?m going to die!? He clenched his fists and waited for the end. But the dragon made no further move, and Finder had to keep on walking. He could see the light describing the curves and bulges of the dragon?s muscles beneath its pale lustrous hide. He could see the folded wings, the head as large as Finder?s whole body, and the mostly retracted curved talons as long as swords. He stopped.
Finder stood close enough to touch the dragon, and even in his fear, he wondered what dragonhide felt like. The others were still watching; indeed, their eyes were painfully wide, and they kept forgetting to breathe, as they huddled together at the edge of the light. ?Well, I can?t just stand here,? Finder thought, as he gingerly reached out and touched the dragon?s shoulder. ?It?s soft!? He was pleasantly surprised. Hoping it would not disturb the resting giant, he stroked the warm hide. The dragon?s rumble of pleasure made Finder pull back his arm as though suddenly burned. His heart leapt to his throat, blocking his windpipe.
When nothing further happened, Finder tried again. This time, the gentle rumbling did not shock him, and Finder was gaining more confidence. Once his heart had found its way back to its usual place, the boy faced the ultimate step. In a voice strong enough to fill the square so that the others could hear, Finder still had to address the dragon. He opened his mouth and forced out the words. ?Hello dragon.?
The dragon opened her eyes and lifted her head. Deaf to the gasps and stifled cries coming from shadows at the edge of the square, Finder clenched every muscle in his body as the massive head swung around until he was staring into a jewel-like eye that was only inches from own. He felt something flow over the screaming in his mind; something huge, and calm, and female; something which he understood as, ?Hello ? youngling?. Finder fainted.
Finder continued to stare at the eye, but now he and the eye were immersed in a moving sea of red blackness, and hissing surf. Here also, was the stranger with visions he could hear and sounds he could touch. ?Are? (you) ?unwell?? The words, sounds and visions, and the concern in them, echoed back and forth between the waves.
?Who are you?? Finder shouted into a sudden high pitched, almost whistling gale.
?Van(I)emut (-the-Pearl) ? with ? (you)?,? the stranger replied from all directions at once.
Finder opened his eyes. He found that he was more or less upright, leaning heavily against the dragon?s shoulder, and that her huge head had effectively blocked his friends? view of the fainting spell. ?How long have I been like this??
The dragon?s reply, a wash of image and unfathomable motion, became in Finder?s mind, ?a mere heartbeat?. Finder stared at the dragon. This whole evening, from the moment he was disturbed awake by the noise of rushing people, had been like a dream. He wondered if, at any moment, he would wake to find none of it had happened at all. Straightening up, he hugged himself against the dragon?s head. His hand reached up and scratched between the ridges just behind the dreamy crystalline eye, where he somehow knew she itched, and he pressed his cheek against the soft warm hide of hers. Vanemut responded with a gentle push of her head and another rumble of pleasure.
?Thank you, Vanemut,? Finder thought, knowing now that the dragon could sense and understand. After what seemed like a timeless eternity of playing in a warm pool, he gave her a final squeeze, then started to walk back to the others. ?One day, I hope I can ride a dragon just like you.?
The majestic pearl dragon lowered her head and closed her eyes. ?One day ? Finder(dra-gul) ? you shall ? ?
Finder spun around, his eyes wide. He wanted to ask more, but the dragon had apparently gone back to sleep. Finder turned away again, smiling. The smile became a broad grin as he walked out of the ceremonial square. The other boys crowded around him, pressing him with questions that he didn?t hear. He stopped and looked at their eager faces. This would be a night that Finder would never forget.
He didn?t know what to say to his friends. He couldn?t speak anyway. He laughed. Breaking away from the others, and running as fast as he could to the Lord Protector?s Great Hall, he laughed. Bursting with more energy than he ever thought he would have, and wearing a grin so broad it was painful, he ran along the passage to his room; not even the risk of getting a black mark for running inside the building could dampen his spirit now. He opened the door and almost danced around the room before closing the door again.
Finder looked up at the ceiling, threw his arms wide with fists clenched as tight as he could. The muscles in his back and legs locked tight, and he released the joy and excitement, the relief and the glory of this day in one shouted word. ?HEY!!!?
***
?Take care when you cross the snowline, Anomin. It was treacherous when we tried it in summer; it will be doubly so, now.? Nylor advised, as the two clasped forearms.
?We will get through.? Anomin?s confidence was not affected; the Lord Protector had made a career of being right.
The white haired Noric Lord climbed onto Vanemut?s shoulders, and settled himself whilst pulling on the protective helmet and tightening the padded strap. Then the dragon lifted into the late night sky. Uriga was well above the horizon, and casting its baleful red gaze over the land. As they circled above the square and the hall, Nylor touched the dragon?s mind and wondered. ?You seem very pleased about something,? he observed.
?Van(I)emut ? share (pleasure) ? in younglings ?? The dragon replied.
?Pleasure?? Nylor frowned. ?Apart from young Finder, who seemed fit to burst, most of those boys looked miserable, and little scared.?
Vanemut shared the memory of Finder, and Nylor understood that part. ?But what about the others??
?That (Stern) one ? and another ?? there was a face Nylor did not recognise, ?thought to ? (approach) ? Van(I)emut ? coughed ? all (panic) ran ??
?You teased them!? Nylor laughed, as the dragon turned and flew towards Graverren.
*** *** ***
Well, that's all of the best bits about dragons in the story -
but maybe, as the redraft progresses, I can find places to put in more about them ... there are a lot of events and places in the previous draft that were just skipped over so that I didn't get bogged down, and made sure the central thread of the story was all there ... sigh.
Home
Help
Search
Login
Register
JUST STORIES
»
