The Princess of the Storm, chapters 1-3 [a rough draft]
CHAPTER ONE
A MYSTERIOUS GIRL
A small girl was sitting on a moss covered log, arms around her knees, long, dark hair in her face. A black smoke was being blown in the wind, drowning the log, twirling around her feet and dancing up her legs. The wind billowed over her face, making her hair twist and fly in the air, not unlike the smoke. As the dark clouds continued engulfing her she remained perfectly still, staring at a spot where the ground used to be. As the smoke continued coming, it was soon too thick to breathe in, at this point two huge wings became visible from underneath the girl’s tattered green cloak, they gave one massive beat and the smoke cleared enough to see a sword, shining with fresh blood, lying upon the ground where the girl’s eyes fell. She blinked as a small shard of sunlight stabbed through the thick smoke in the air and landed on the sword, sending a burst of light into her eyes. As if it awoke her out of a deep sleep, her dark brown wings wrapped themselves around her into a feathery cocoon. The smoke started to creep towards her once again; a gust of wind and the girl was no longer visible. Then, without a sound, a bolt of blood red lightning shot its way from the sky, shattering the smoke and striking the log, where the little girl was. The flaming log was now visible through the smoke, the bloody sword flickered in the light of the dancing flame, and the girl had vanished.
In a different time and a different place, a young man woke in the night. He could still see the mysterious girl from his dream. He had never seen her before, but he somehow felt as though he knew her. The lightning disturbed him, what had happened to her? The dream ended too soon to find out. He grunted as he sat up and glanced at his time candle, it was almost four which meant it was time for him to hunt. He put on his leather boots and reached for his bow and quiver with only one arrow in it, engraved with his name Menkalinan, and, still thinking of the little, winged girl, pushed back a flap of dragon skin which he used for a door, and walked out into the cold, dark air.
He only had one day of dragon meat left and the smaller dragons known as Dimini Dragons were growing scarce in the area, even the great winged lizards, Sudodragons, were not seen in this part of the land anymore. The reason for this reduction of dragons seemed obvious to Menkalinan, they were being hunted to extinction. Dragon meat is desired of anyone who knows their true values, man can actually live on dragon meat alone, no water needed, and it cures any ailments the consumer might be experiencing. However, luckily for the dragon, most people believe that dragon meat is poisonous and will bring bad luck. In a way this is true, if a dragon is killed by another dragon the flesh becomes poisonous to the touch, and since Dimini Dragons are vanishing from the land, this was very much bad luck for Menkalinan, for it meant he would have to kill a large Rabidus Dragon which he would need help killing.
He was going to ask Vega for help. Vega was a few years older than Menkalinan and both he and his wife Mira were of the fish people, Antaquae. The Antaquae are known for their sparkling, white, scaly skin, their beautiful, smooth faces, their pure black eyes, and their unearthly grace and agility both under and above the water, however, they are often also feared because of their long, retractable, sword like weapons emerging from their forearm near their elbow and are just as well known for their deadly precision as for their beauty. Menkalinan planned on taking full advantage of their skills today.
Calling them was easy, getting to them was going to be hard. He took his staff which had been leaning against the side of his small hut near the door and held it like a spear, he then threw it high into the sky. He smiled when it reached as high as it would go and pointed at it, it immediately exploded into a brilliant display of red sparks for five seconds, then died out and an untouched staff fell back to the earth where Menkalinan took a step forward and caught it. A few more seconds past and he then saw a similar explosion far to the east only of a bright teal-green color. He sighed and started towards the light muttering to himself, “It’ll take me all morning to get there, I hope Vega hurry’s up, they’re both always so relaxed…” and then he let his mind wander back to his dream. “Mira is a seer, perhaps she could help…”
Far to the east of Menkalinan’s hut, Vega was staring at the full moon and Mira was swimming lazily in the lake they were at when the red sparks were seen far away in the sky. Vega turned his head and watched for a second as a small smile curved his lips, he then held his hand up to the sky and effortlessly shot a jet of bubbly light into the air. Mira swam over to where Vega was and climbed onto land, tossing her long, seaweed hair back. They stood together, watching the light dance in the night sky until it died out.
“Shall we go?” Mira lazily asked in the unique Antaquae voice which had a strange echoing background sound.
“It is about time he wanted our help, if he did not call soon I was going to see him whether he liked it or not. That boy needs to learn to accept help. I assume he would like to kill a Rabidus Dragon?” His beetle black eyes sparkled as he scorned his young friend. Mira smiled and nodded to answer his question. “Well then, I suppose we should go help our friend.” And they walked into the shadowy forest.
They met as the sun rose.
“It’s about time.” Menkalinan said upon seeing the two Antaquae. Just as he suspected, they seemed to be in no great hurry. “Would you, by chance, know the meaning of the word speed?” There was a glint in Vega’s eye.
“Oh contraire my young friend, in fact, I was expecting to find you half of an hour before now.” Menkalinan raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, perhaps if you were as agile as they say Antaquae are, you would have.” The two friends laughed and gave each other a hug and a pat on the back. “It’s good to see you my old friend.”
“And you, my very young friend. Now tell me, where would you like to start looking for this Rabidus Dragon you are after?”
“As always you know just what I want to do, no doubt thanks to your lovely wife.” He gave a bow to Mira. “So tell me Mistress Mira, where do I start?”
“Even as a seer, your spontaneity will never cease to surprise me Master Menkalinan.” Mira said with a smile. “You were tracking before we even got here, you found some footprints and fresh droppings not far from here, and I would suggest we start there.” Menkalinan laughed.
“And you never cease to amaze me Mira. Well, as she said, it’s this way.” And he led the way back towards were he came from.
It took ten minutes for them to get to the spot Mira had mentioned.
“This is it.” Menkalinan said. Then, bending down near a giant impression “You can tell by the pressure applied to the footprint at an angle that it took to flight here. The trees” he then moved over and starred up at the trees, pointing out spots where the branches were bent strangely, “tell that it flew in that direction, south. It’s mating season, a dangerous time to be tracking this beast, so I’m guessing he’s looking for a mate, hence the south direction, I heard there is a small colony made up of female dragons not ten miles south from here.”
“Ah, but you are forgetting something my young friend.”
Menkalinan gave Vega a skeptical look
“Oh? Well then, what have I forgotten?”
“You have only observed the trees ahead of this particular footprint. You have forgotten to observe what is behind the footprint.” Vega pointed to the trees to the north, behind where the footprint lay. Menkalinan turned to look where he pointed but couldn’t find anything strange. “Do you not see what you missed?”
“No, I’m afraid I do not.”
“There is a nest up in the highest branches, it is slanted slightly, facing the north, also, the leaves around it are all going in different directions than they should be, so, of this, tell me, what say you?”
Menkalinan looked at him as though he had gone mad.
“You’re not suggesting that he actually went north, are you?”
Vega nodded.
“Not only that my friend, it is a she dragon.”
“A she dragon?”
“Yes, and this can mean only one thing…”
“Trouble”
“We should get some more help, do you think?”
“I think help is boring, but perhaps we should ask, Mira?”
Mira sighed, “How is it that you always manage to drag me into this, Menkalinan?”
“You are the seer, are you not?”
“Yes, and this is why I cannot understand how I did not foresee that telling you would mean trouble.” She said as she narrowed her eyes at him, smiling. “Very well, you will be fine, you will attempt to take on the female and succeed.”
“There, you see Vega?” He stopped and a curious expression appeared on his face, “Did you say, the female? Meaning she has, a mate?”
Mira nodded, “That is precisely what I meant, Menkalinan.” Vega suddenly became serious.
“I do not know Menkalinan; this sounds like more trouble than it is worth…”
“You heard our seer, we’ll be fine.”
“Mira, you are very sure about this?”
“I have never been wrong before Vega.”
He sighed, shook his head, and shrugged, “Very well.”
Menkalinan nearly jumped, “Yes! Alright, let’s go.”
Menkalinan took the lead, Vega looked at Mira, and then followed, but Mira stayed behind. She walked over to the footprint Menkalinan had pointed out. She crouched down and touched the impression with the back of her hand, then immediately withdrew it as if something had burned her. She cocked her head to the side looking at the print. There was something strange about today, she truly hoped that this would not be the first time she was wrong. She stood up and went after Menkalinan and Vega.
Tracking a dragon in flight is nearly impossible, you have to rely on instinct and reasoning alone if it’s a clear day. If the sky is filled with low hanging clouds you can often see where a dragon may have flown through one and track it that way, however, a fog had started coming right about the same time our three companions decided to leave and it was now so thick, not even the Antaquae could see very far above their heads, but this didn’t matter. There was a large, rocky mountain called Dramons to the north, every spring there was at least one pair of dragons who made their nest near the top.
After roughly half an hour Menkalinan stopped.
“What is it?” Vega asked. Hardly anything stopped this boy.
“Do you not smell it?” After a few seconds Vega realized what it was.
“Smoke?”
“Smoke, we’re close.”
No sooner had he said this that the fog suddenly cleared to reveal a tall mountain in front of them and a stormy sky. At first Menkalinan thought it was his imagination, but then he realized that there was actually silent, red lightning striking the top of the mountain, just like the lightning in his dream. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like it was striking the same place several times before it moved to somewhere different.
Menkalinan took one step towards the mountain and a bolt of the red lightning struck the ground barely an inch from his foot and sent him flying backwards eight feet before he hit the ground.
“Menkalinan!” Vega rushed over to help his friend up. “Are you all right?”
“Yes…yes I’m fine.” Menkalinan got up, rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head. “I could be very wrong but, that is not normal.”
“No young friend, it is not. It would seem as if somebody very powerful has beaten us here.”
“Ha! More fun for us then eh? Perhaps I can scare him off with a few of my own tricks.”
Vega laughed at his friend’s enthusiasm.
“That, friend, will be the day I can fly! Very well Master Wizard, lead on, lead on.”
So Menkalinan did just that. He boldly stepped forward towards the mountain and Vega followed. Mira simply shook her head, glanced at the top of the mountain, and then followed the two friends.
Most of the hike up the mountain was fairly calm, every now and then the strange lightning would pass down the mountain, but never coming close enough to knock them off the narrow, storm worn path jutting out of the rock walls of the mountain. When they were about half way up they reached an extremely narrow part of the path, and then a cave. The sun was now high in the sky and beating down upon them, so they decided to take a rest here. Once they had entered the cave they found out exactly how big it was. There was a small, but deep, pond towards the back with a strange bluish glow emitting from it, enough to show a large mass of trees and moss in a pile to the right. Menkalinan walked a few steps towards the mass and said “Vega, would you be so kind as to tell that that is not what I think it is…”
“A Rabidus Dragon nest.”
“I said not what I thought it was.” Menkalinan sighed. “That means it’s time for us to go.” But just as he turned to go, the sunlight emerging from the cave entrance went out and a steady thwumpuh thwumpuh could be heard as a violent, choppy wind flew around the cave. Menkalinan narrowly dodged a jet of flame, he left a trail of smoke as his smoldering cloak flew behind him as he ran to the right side of the great dragon and Mira ran to its left while Vega stayed in the front. Mira made an attempt to slash its side with her deadly sword-fin and sent sparks as she hit the scales and then had to duck to dodge the lethal swing of the tail. As she was distracting the Rabidus, Menkalinan was tapping his staff, trying to find a suitable element to attack with, lightning is deadly but he hasn’t had time to perfect it yet, so in the end he decided to literally fight fire with fire and his staff became a spear of flames. Right as she swung her tail at Mira, Menkalinan attempted to stab his flaming spear into her side but it slid and instead gashed her armor drawing little blood rather than stabbing and thus finishing this battle. The Rabidus shrieked in pain as the flames brushed her side. She spun around to face the culprit who dared ruin her armor and shot a burst of fire in his direction. At this same instant Vega caused a huge beam of bubbly power go strait for her head, if she hadn’t have turned it would’ve ended the skirmish but instead it hit a massive wing, injuring her, but not killing. The dragon now charged at Vega. As she ran past, Mira jumped to her other side and sliced at her tail. The dragon turned her head and at the exact moment she did, a flaming arrow shot through the air, aimed at her eye, and she fell to the ground in her last breath.
Vega and Mira looked over at where Menkalinan now stood, panting and holding a broken bow with his cloak on the ground in flames behind him. As Vega retrieved his friends arrow he asked, “How did you manage to dodge that one Menkalinan?” Menkalinan took his arrow from Vega and stated cleaning it with what was left of his cloak.
“I am not entirely sure about that fact.” He paused for a second, contemplating what had happened. He was fairly certain that he somehow managed to use his cloak as a shield, but it was so fast, he wasn’t sure how. He laughed. “But does it really matter? That went brilliantly! True, I wasn’t expecting the flames that soon, she was a fast one!”
Vega smiled and shook his head as Menkalinan relived the battle. It was just like him, almost killed and simply laughs about it. He looked over at the dragon, she was actually rather small, this could very well have been the first nest she made.
“Menkalinan! Would you like to help me send this away?”
“Very well.”
They stood side-by-side next to the dragon, and gathered their power.
“Remember Menkalinan, you need to concentrate, we do not want another incident like last time.”
“You don’t need to be my teacher Vega.”
“Perhaps I would not have to be if you had not left the one you had.”
Menkalinan ignored this comment, he knew that leaving his teacher was probably not the wisest thing to do, but he couldn’t help remembering the last incident, he found it quite amusing if not slightly annoying. He allowed his mind to wander while sending his share of the meat to his home and found it fused with a tree a hundred yards away and fifty feet high. This time though, he was not planning on letting that happen. He was, however, rather hungry. He closed his eyes and motioned towards the Rabidus at the same moment as Vega. In a flash of pale yellow light it had vanished only to be replaced by what Vega recognized as Menkalinan's iron pot filled with dragon soup and sitting on a fire. Vega looked at him with a skeptical expression on his face. Menkalinan shrugged and smiled.
“A better incident than last time, eh?” And he started dragging a branch from the empty nest across the hard, rocky ground towards the soup and placed it so that he could rest and stir the soup which was slowly coming to a boil. Vega and Mira each came over with their own logs to sit on, Vega taking care of Mira’s for her. As they took their seats, Menkalinan looked up and asked “Mira, can you translate dreams?”
Mira looked up in surprise.
“Well…seers have some ability to do so yes, but why do you ask? I do not sense any recent dreams you might have had that might need interpreting.”
“You don’t? Well, I’m afraid that I have, just last night. There was a young girl…” At this point he was forced to stop, for a searing pain went through his skull as if it were being attacked from the inside out. He dropped the spoon he was holding and immediately put his hand to his head. His friends were at his side in an instant as he lost his balance and fell to the floor, not even able to see properly through the pain. He felt the ground start to tremble and heard rocks clattering about and a split second later, as the he felt himself slip out of consciousness, the pain stopped. Another second for him to recover and he was on his feet making his way through falling rocks toward the cave entrance. He wasn’t sure if it was a rockslide or an earthquake, but he knew what he had to do. He waited by the opening of the cave, watching the rocks fall and when he felt the time was right, he thrust out his armand clasped onto something that grabbed his wrist in return and he pulled, hard. He fell backwards and he saw what appeared to be a large tangle of fur and feathers fly over his head and tumble along the ground to a stop. Vega helped him up as Mira rolled the tangle onto its back. Menkalinan ran over and could barely believe what he saw. It was the girl from his dream, with her brown wings, and a black fur cape.
CHAPTER TWO
LIGHT, DARK, AND A
BOND MADE IN DREAMS
“It’s her.” Menkalinan stared. It was the same girl, he had no doubt about that, but she was older now, perhaps a little bit younger than Menkalinan himself, but not by much. Again he felt as though he had met her before.
She had a cut above her left eye, the blood shone in the light as the mountain continued its threats to collapse. The only exit out had already been blocked; the only light was coming from the top of the entrance and the small pond. Vega and Mira stood silently and still, the rocks falling appeared to go at an abnormally slow rate as blood slowly trickled down the girl’s face, which is when he remembered. All Menkalinan could do was watch as the events from the dream he’d had over a decade before unfurled. The mountain gave a violent jerk as the walls and ceiling caved in around them. A flash of red light rendered them all nearly blind for a split second and when they recovered saw the girl standing before them, her back to Menkalinan.
There was a strange golden-red glow about her, ribbons of scarlet sparkles danced their way about her. She held her right hand up to the ceiling; her left hand was hanging by her side. Menkalinan could see blood dripping steadily on to the ground. She’s injured.
It took Menkalinan a moment to realize what she was doing. They were now in a large, rippling, golden bubble that the rocks could not penetrate. The ground was trembling as they all stared at the bubble they were in. The girl’s arm trembled and lowered slightly as if she was holding something too heavy for her. They watched as the bubble flashed and contracted, slowly getting smaller. Vega and Mira could see her squeeze shut her glowing red eyes in concentration. She stood there for a second and then thrust her wings out wide and threw both her hands to the side, palms pushing outward. The bubble grew wider as wind whipped about them and then there was another flash of red light.
After they had recovered once more, everything was still. They were in a rocky sphere lighted by the small, blue pond. The girl swayed with a hand to her head, wings drooping. Menkalinan caught her as she lost her balance and laid her down with some difficulty due to her large wings. He reached into a pouch he kept tied at his waist and took out a strange, green flower which he handed to Vega who was already crouched next to them. Vega glanced at Menkalinan who nodded and then handed Mira a small rag. She went and dipped it in the pond and gave it back to Menkalinan as Vega held the small plant clasped between his hands with his eyes closed. Menkalinan gently washed her wounds with the damp cloth and then gave this to Vega as well. He placed his webbed hand onto the rag and deposited a thick, glowing, green liquid that used to be the flower. Menkalinan then heated it and applied it to her wounds, starting with her arm which had a large cut starting at her elbow and twisting its way to the back of her hand. It looked like it could be from a dragon’s claw. The two Antaquae watched him. Communication was not needed, they knew Menkalinan and they knew what he was doing and that he knew what he was doing as well. As the remedy made contact with her broken skin it turned red and repaired whatever it touched almost instantly. It was about fifteen minutes later when she woke up.
When she awoke she saw somebody smiling down at her. His scruffy, sand colored hair was hanging in his kind, hazel eyes. She recognized him immediately from her dreams. He had been in her dream the previous night but he was just a little boy. She’d had another dream however, it must’ve been at least a decade ago, he had been fighting a dragon.
“I’m glad you’re awake.” He said. She sat up and looked about her. It was dark. “It would appear that you hit your head rather hard.” He started putting things away in a small pouch. “I was able to heal your scratches along with any muscle damage you might have had in your arm, but you’ll still need rest.”
“It hurts…”
“The pain should pass in time.”
“This is a strange place for a healer to be.” She looked curiously at him. He smiled and she heard a laugh that she instantly recognized belonged to an Antaquae. She looked and, as her eyes slowly adjusted to the strange lighting, saw two of them sitting a few feet away.
“I’m afraid I am not a healer, just an experienced traveler. My name is Menkalinan, the Antaquae over there are Vega and Mira.”
“I’m Amber.” She tried to stand up but got pushed back down by Menkalinan.
“Well Amber, I’m going to have to ask you to rest, at least for a little longer, you still look a bit dazed.” She felt dazed, so she didn’t argue. She then looked at Vega and Mira.
“Ooroen ban shloobga Antaquae. Ousbagt eebya?” She didn’t even realize that she wasn’t speaking the common tongue. Translated, she roughly said ‘I can’t remember the last time I’d seen an Antaquae. Where are you from?’ The pair looked at each other, surprised. Their native language was near impossible for humans to learn, not even Menkalinan knew how to speak it. Vega answered, “Ousbagt bontore Schlibtgar. Ousbi garrian Antaquan?”, ‘We are from the Remembrance Waves. Where did you learn to speak Antaquan?’. Amber opened her mouth as if she were about to say something and then paused. Her eyebrows furrowed and then she looked up and said “I can’t remember.”
“You can’t remember….?” Menkalinan seemed suddenly concerned.
“Anything. But, I can remember you,” she motioned toward Menkalinan. “I’ve had dreams about you before.”
“Dreams? When?”
“Well…how long was I unconscious for?”
“Only about an hour.”
“Well than, just last night I had a dream about you when you were a boy, and a while back I had a dream where you were as you are now, but I can’t remember anything before or after that.”
Menkalinan considered telling her his dream he’d had the previous night, perhaps it could help, but something stopped him. He had an awkward feeling about the stained sword and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to question it or not. He looked at Amber who was staring at the ground raking her brain for any memories at all. One of her wings twitched. He sighed and let a small smile rest on his face, deciding that other things were more important.
“Well,” He said “Perhaps we should start searching for a way to get out of here.” Amber looked up in surprise.
“You mean…?” She laughed. “Follow me.” She then stood up, too quick for Menkalinan to stop her, and walked towards the pond. “Now, I’m not sure how we all got here, but I know a way out.” She crouched and peered down the pond. “Didn’t you think it at all strange that an extremely deep pond is glowing blue? Stay here.” She stood up and jumped into the pond, and everybody else waited. There was no sign of her. Menkalinan was about to jump in himself when she broke the water and gasped for air. After a second, “It’s how I thought. I can’t explain, just come.” And she was under the water again. The trio looked at each other and then quickly jumped in and started to swim downwards.
Four meters down and it started to curve up and to the right, then down and to the left followed by an extremely sharp angle downwards. By this point Menkalinan, who had never been good at swimming, was having difficulties holding his breath. He could hardly see anything through the now blinding blue light, he could just barely see Amber vanish into a strange and sudden darkness, and then Mira and Vega followed. He thought he was passing out but, just then, he felt himself fall and land on hard ground. Everything was dark, he wouldn’t be able to see anything if he had tried. He lay on the cold ground, large gasps for breath. A red light lit where they were. Above him he saw something that he had never seen before, it was as a pond, but on the ceiling. A thin rainbow barrier appeared to keep the water from spilling out on top of him. He got up and looked about him with the help of the red light. Vega and Mira stood looking around in wonderment, Amber stood slightly to the side smiling, wings and long hair dripping, with a small, glowing, red ball of light floating above one of her hands. Every now and then it would give off a spark and brighten the room as if there was a lightning storm. He saw that they were on a high ledge in a very large cave. He walked to the edge and saw a small, rickety ladder descending a sickening distance into darkness. Vega walked over and laughed at Menkalinan’s white face.
“Is there something wrong Menkalinan? You’re not afraid of an old ladder and a long fall are you?” He laughed again and helped Mira start climbing down.
“No…I am not. I find it,” he gulped “a nice challenge waiting to be conquered. Like that dragon.” If he looked half as terrified as he sounded he knew saying this would do no good. Amber laughed now and he noticed that she was flying a short ways in front of him, wings hardly making any sound but causing his hair to fly in awkward directions.
“Don’t worry,” she said with a smile “I won’t let you fall.” A second for Menkalinan to get on the creaky, old, crooked and surely unreliable ladder, and she added “At least not too far.” And she started making her descent, circling to the ground, too soon to see Menkalinan turn green and squeeze his eyes shut.
He got to the bottom and sat on a small boulder on the ground beside him, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“Hey, Amber? Are there many people with wings?”
She looked curiously at him for a moment, instinctively folding her wings under her cape. Only Mira seemed to notice this.
“I’m not really sure.” She chuckled slightly, “I wish I could remember.” There was a slight pause of silence, then Vega spoke.
“Are you ready to continue Menkalinan? There are torches on the walls; perhaps you could light some…?”
“No problem. I wish I had your eyes Vega!” He stood up and then added “Amber? How’s your head? Most are usually left rather dizzy after mending an injury to the head.”
“Now that you mention it…” She smiled weakly “I feel like I, well, slammed my head against a rock I guess.” She touched the spot where her cut was, wincing slightly.
“Just don’t over exert yourself and you should be fine.” He smiled and walked off alone to try and light a couple of torches along the right side wall. Amber glanced at Mira and Vega.
“I’m not sure if I like the word should anymore.” They laughed and Mira said “Do not fear Amber, Menkalinan knows how to do much more than you may first guess.”
“Well I suppose that’s reassuring. How did you two meet him?”
“It is a very long story,” Vega answered, “starting before I knew Mira. A story for another time I think.” He added in an undertone as Menkalinan was returning after having lit the torches on the wall, most of which without moving, simply pointing at them and watching them ignite.
“That is much better!” he said as he reached them. “Shall we move on then?” and he took the lead, Vega and Mira close behind him and Amber a couple paces behind them. She was mostly watching the ground, thinking. There were images in her mind, but they didn’t make any sense. A phoenix high in the sky, a crown sparkling in the sun, a dark dungeon with a whip on the ground, and a blood covered sword…After a short while her head starting giving painful throbs and she began counting rocks on the ground; she had reached boulder 128 and rock number 352 as well as the 17th stalagmite when Menkalinan came back to join her.
“You are very quiet.” He said.
“Well there isn’t much to talk about when you can’t remember anything.” She picked up rock number 353 and threw it, watching it bounce off of boulder 129. He waited for the echoes to die, mostly watching the dark ceiling above, before talking again.
“You saved our lives you know.”
“What?” she looked at Menkalinan who was still staring at the out of sight ceiling.
“Didn’t you wonder how we got trapped?” he paused “there was a rockslide or an earthquake, I’m not sure which, but you were the one who stopped the mountain from caving in on us.”
“But…how did I get there?”
“Well,” he looked at her, “you were falling down the mountain in the rockslide, do you think I would’ve sat by and watched?”
Amber’s cheeks reddened slightly.
“So you saved me. Shall we call it even than?”
Menkalinan laughed, “It’s a deal.”
“You made me lose count by the way.”
“What?”
“I was counting the rocks.”
“The…rocks?”
“There isn’t much else to do!” Amber laughed.
“No I suppose not.” He also laughed and for a few minutes they walked together in silence, listening to Vega and Mira talking quietly in Antaquan, when they approached another small pond glowing blue.
“Is this one like the last?” Mira asked Amber who nodded.
“It should be; that’s why it glows. There’s a spell put on the water so it doesn’t fall out of the exit, the magic is what makes it glow blue.”
“Why did they not simply make tunnels I wonder?” Vega wondered out loud.
“To prevent thieves from entering. That way, only those who knew that it was a passageway would be able to enter the mine. Unfortunately, if a worker told a thief about it there would be no stopping him, so they would have to build fake ones as well, perhaps ending in a deadly fall, so you can never know for certain. That’s why I checked the last one first.”
“I will go this time.” Said Vega as Amber messaged the spot where she hit her head. He dove into the water and vanished with amazing speed. Within a minute he was flying out of the pond sending drops of water splashing down upon them all. He landed with a flip on the other side of the pond. “It is fine, but a long ways. I am not sure if a human would be able to make it.” He said he wasn’t sure if a human could, but he was fairly certain Amber would be fine, it was Menkalinan he was worried about. Amber was watching Menkalinan walk around the pond, staring into it’s depths in thought, when she had an idea.
“I…I think I can help.” They looked at her curiously. “Vega, Mira, you two may go ahead, we will be down shortly.” They glanced at each other and dove into the pond.
“What is your plan?”
“This may feel a bit…strange. Just don’t move and you should be fine.” She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She slowly closed her eyes with her mouth slightly open. She was taking deep breaths as she prepared herself. Menkalinan wanted to ask what she was doing, but just then he felt the most uncomfortable sensation in his life. It was as if he was yanked upside-down by his ankles and thrust headfirst into ice-cold water as his limbs slowly filled with lead. He felt all this within a split-second as they vanished with a flash of blue light and appeared below the exit of the pond standing next to Vega and Mira. Menkalinan caught Amber as her legs gave out from under her and she started to fall. Menkalinan himself felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him and he hadn’t fallen down a mountain two hours before.
“Are you all right?” he asked as she regained her balance.
“Yes I’m fine.” Her voice shaking slightly as she spoke. They looked around and found that they were on another ledge with another ladder descending into darkness.
Once they got to the bottom Amber relit her sphere of light though it did little to help them see. Menkalinan struck the bottom of his staff on the ground and a torch flame appeared on the top but that didn’t improve things either. Amber led the way forward and before long she heard somebody behind her trip and fall. She turned to see Menkalinan sitting and rubbing his foot, his staff was on the ground beside him.
“Argh! Can we do nothing to make it brighter in this blasted cave?” Vega helped him back to his feet, Mira giggling slightly. Amber was shifting her weight for one foot to the other. Her head was still throbbing making her feel fairly dizzy.
“Amber? Is something wrong?” Vega asked as Menkalinan picked up his staff.
“Wha-? Oh, no I’m fine. I think I can make it lighter though, it’s been…sometime, since I’ve used this trick. It takes quite a bit of energy, but I think I can still do it.”
“Really?” said Menkalinan as he brushed himself off “Are you feeling well enough to try?”
“Yes, of course…” she paused “Just stay still for a moment…I’m going to have to get rid of this light.” She walked forward a couple of paces out of Menkalinan’s circle of torchlight and extinguished her own light. Vega and Mira were able to see her through the black; she crouched down and placed her hands on the ground and then stood up as she thrust he arms up and to the side sending at least fifty golden balls of light scattering about the mine. Added to the balls of light were several golden sparkles glowing and dancing around them where they stood.
“It’s beautiful…” Mira gasped, the gold reflecting in her black eyes. For a moment they stood, Amber still in front with her back to them. Menkalinan broke the silence.
“Amber?” She didn’t answer. Her shoulders rose and fell in irregular rhythm. Menkalinan took a hesitant step forward. “Are you all right?” He moved toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and turned to face him. “Are you all right?” he repeated.
“Yes, I…that…just took a lot more energy than I had anticipated.”
Menkalinan gave her an almost suspicious look before speaking again.
“Are you able to continue?”
She nodded in answer. Menkalinan glanced at Vega and Mira and they walked passed him, leaving him with Amber.
“Are you sure you’re all right? I shouldn’t have let you attempt that so soon…” he looked to the ground as if he couldn’t believe his stupidity. She smiled at him.
“Yes Menkalinan, I’m perfectly fine.” And she took a step forward. By her second step her legs gave out from under her again and she fell onto her hands and knees. Menkalinan rushed to her side to help her up. “Don’t!” He stopped. “Wait…please…” He stood in amazement and stared at her, Vega and Mira watching from twenty feet ahead. “I…can take care of myself…please, you have to go…” her voice shook as she spoke.
“A-Amber…”
“I remember…you can’t be near me…you have to go…”
Menkalinan stayed where he was. ‘You can’t be near me’. Why not? What could she mean? She stood up, her head down.
“Do you trust me?”
“…yes…yes but…”
“Than go.”
“Amber…?” He still didn’t move and she stood in silence ahead of him. “In my dream…there was a blood covered sword…” She glanced at him with a slight lash in her eyes.
“GO!” She spread out her wings and took flight, curving around behind Menkalinan whose hair blew in the wind left by her massive wing beats. She flew back to the ladder and as she turned to go up she sent a bolt of silent, red lightning at it and it fell to the ground in flames. She curved gracefully into the glowing blue water in the ceiling which immediately turned a vivid red as she entered, bubbling as if daring them to follow, and leaving Menkalinan, Vega, and Mira staring after her.
Menkalinan looked at his feet. “What just happened?” he said more to himself than to Vega or Mira, who had both walked over towards him and were currently standing by his side. Vega placed a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it away and started walking in silence the way they had started. He only knew her for a few hours, part of which she was unconscious, but, strangely, he felt like there was a connection between them, a bond formed in dreams that he couldn’t ignore. But no, perhaps he was simply being naïve. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice anything of his surroundings. If he wasn’t distracted he would have noticed both that, even though Amber had left, their light followed them wherever they went—the small sparkles continued to dance about them and the orbs of gold floated at various heights twenty to fifty feet away, lighting the entire mine—and that they had reached another small, glowing pond. He stopped when he got to it, staring into its glowing depth. Vega and Mira walked over as well. Vega nodded to Mira and she dove in, vanishing in the light.
“Menkalinan?”
He didn’t answer and dove into the pond as well, followed by Vega.
This passage was shorter than the others, only going down a short distance before curving up and coming to an end. Menkalinan clambered awkwardly onto slippery stone and stood up to find that they had emerged at the bottom of a large canyon; the walls of rock rose jaggedly into the pink, sunset sky casting dark shadows over all in sight. There was a river rushing quietly south and out of sight and in the distance they could see a horse and rider galloping towards them as fast as they could. Menkalinan looked at Vega who was staring intently at the spot and without looking away answered Menkalinan’s unspoken question.
“She appears to be a wizard clad in red robes. She has bandages over her eyes and carries a staff with a large red stone on the top. The horse…its eyes glow a red to match the stone…” Vega finished with a glance at Mira. Menkalinan could now see her robes billowing behind her.
“Do you think she intends harm?” he asked, not entirely sure to which of the two Antaquae he was asking. Mira took a step towards the rider who was drawing ever nearer and answered.
“I do not believe so…something tells me that she is looking for something.”
The rider approached them and as they moved out of the way for her to pass she slowed her chestnut to a stop before them and jumped off. As she left the horse’s back its glowing red eyes dimmed down to normal and the polished stone atop her staff slowly lit with the same light. She held her staff out in front of her towards each of them in turn as though in a dark cave and had to light up their faces to see, though how she could see with the bandages over her eyes was a mystery to Menkalinan, then held it in the direction on the pool from which they emerged.
“Tell me,” she spoke, “have any of you seen a winged girl? She is about your age,” she held her staff in front of Menkalinan, “but closer to my height.” They all glanced at each other as if asking without words whether or not they should admit to her that they had. She smiled. “So you have seen her than?” They didn’t answer but stared at her in wonderment. Her face turned serious. “It is of the upmost importance that I find her. She is my sister and is in mortal danger. I…I have to find her…” She allowed her head to drop slightly and fell silent. Menkalinan looked at her in her long red robes matching her slightly messy red hair almost perfectly. Her staff was of a dark brown wood and the large stone on top appeared to be throbbing with the light.
“Amber was with us for a short time.” She tilted her head towards Menkalinan as he spoke. “She was injured and couldn’t remember much. When her memory came back she seemed frightened, she said we couldn’t be near her, and she left.”
“So than she knows…my name is Rajdian. Please, I am in need of your assistance.”
CHAPTER THREE
ASSISTANCE
“Assistance?” Menkalinan asked.
“It could very well save her life, please…” Her voice shook as she spoke and again she allowed her head to fall.
“What is it that I need to do?” His voice had finality in it, his decision was made.
“Thank you! I can explain everything but not now. You must go to the Good Sages; I will meet you there, hopefully with Amber.” And she turned and leapt onto her horse without another word, the glow left her staff and entered the horse’s eyes and she galloped off into the direction that she was headed.
“Menkalinan?” He turned around to face Vega. “Are you sure about this? We do not know her, she could be lying!”
“Mira, did you sense that she wasn’t telling the truth?”
“I cannot be sure; I could not acquire an accurate reading, it was as if there was a wall blocking my access.”
“And why, Menkalinan, would she block her mind if she did not have something to hide.”
“I…I don’t know Vega, I just…don’t know. Something tells me though that I have to do this! These Good Sages, I have heard about them, although not much. It is said that they can answer any question! Even if Rajdian’s intentions are questionable I still feel that I should go and find them. You do not have to come with me, I can look after myself well enough, I will not think any less of either of you if you choose not to come with me.” There was a moment of silence but for the rushing water of the river.
“Menkalinan…I suppose I have no choice but to come with you, after all, I would certainly hate to hear that you got stuck in a tree without me there to see.”
“Hey now, that only happened once, mind you and I wasn’t stuck I was caught!”
“So you say, but we all here know of your great fear of heights.” Vega’s eyes sparkled. “What do you think these Good Sages can do for you anyway?”
“Nothing if we never find them; any idea where to start looking?” Mira, who had been looking at the stars slowly appearing in the sky, simply answered “Shenglade.” Menkalinan and Vega looked at her in astonishment. “I am not sure if they will be there, but the stars say to go to Shenglade. It is a two day journey from here without haste.”
“Well then! Shall we be on our way?” It seemed Menkalinan got his energetic spark back.
“My young friend, in case you did not notice, the sun is set!” And Vega could still not understand where he got his liveliness.
“All the more reason than!” Vega laughed at his enthusiasm once more and couldn’t help but create a large amount of water to leap from the river onto Menkalinan’s head.
“Let us eat first Menkalinan! You are in such a rush all the time it is truly miraculous you have not yet starved yourself to death!” Menkalinan shook his wet hair out of his face and smiled.
“You drive a hard bargain Vega but I suppose I will have to agree if not just to keep myself dry!”
Regretting the loss of their dragon soup, Vega and Mira jumped into the star filled river to catch some fish as Menkalinan went in search of some wood for which to light a fire. His hunt led him across a rock-strewn path, dust flying with each step, and into a large clearing with a small tree struggling to grow through the rocky ground. It looked slightly out of place this far from the river where most of the plant life grew. He approached it and racked his brain for what kind of tree it was. The small branches hung lazily upon the thin trunk. He didn’t recognize the leaves however; they were a blue to challenge the sky and as soft as a cloud to the touch. As he fingered one of the leaves he felt oddly sleepy. His eyelids began to droop, his mind clear of thought, and as blackness began to engulf him he heard a familiar voice.
“Menkalinan?” Where had he heard that voice? “Go to the Sages.” It was Amber; he could see her standing in front of him, long hair delicately falling past her shoulders, wings out stretched a little and tense as though preparing for immediate flight. “You can trust Rajdian; she is a wizard and is trained so that you cannot sense her intentions. I think it wise for you to seek the Sages, but when you meet Rajdian and I am not with her I would ask of you to give her a message for me.” Menkalinan opened his mouth to say that he would and perhaps ask why she wouldn’t be there but he found that his voice was oddly constricted, Amber however seemed to understand. “If she finds me she will be killed. I am being hunted Menkalinan, hunted by the one person I cannot defeat. Tell her to stop searching. Tell her to go into hiding. This is a fight I must face alone, even if I cannot win.” He tried to tell her that he could help her, he could fight too, but she shook her head. “Your battle is elsewhere. The Sages can tell you more. Our destinies seem entwined somehow, our dreams are proof of that, but for now our paths are separate… they have to be…” As she said this she slowly faded from sight into black, she spread her wings and as she took to the sky she had vanished completely.
He opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back and staring at the sky. He sat up and saw the blue tree in front of him. Was it Amber or the tree that made him surrender to sleep? He stood with the intention of getting away from the tree as fast as possible but something caught his eye. As he turned to go a glint of red shone from the base of the trunk. He hesitated as a small stone appeared to sparkle without help of light, and then took a step forward and quickly snatched it from under the small tree. It felt warm, lying comfortably in his palm; as though somebody had it clenched in their hand and just recently dropped it. He turned it over in his hands as he walked back towards where they were setting camp. It reminded him of Rajdian’s stone atop her staff, but this stone was much smaller, scarcely bigger than a large acorn. It gave another small sparkle and he saw something he hadn’t noticed before, there was something scratched into the stone surface, a symbol of some kind. It was heard to make out in the dark but whenever it glittered he could see it start to glow briefly. It appeared to be an eagle, the feathers dexterously carved in the wings, and on its back it carried a small star.
“Menkalinan!” He jumped and looked to his right where the river was. Mira was climbing out of the water with two small fish in her hands. “There are close to no fish here, it was difficult to find these two, they do not like it here. I had to swim several miles before I found the slightest hint of a fish. What is it that you are holding? I thought that you were getting wood for the fire?” Menkalinan cringed slightly; he had forgotten the small amount of wood he had collected at the blue tree.
“What do you think of this stone?” He asked, changing the subject quickly, and he handed her the small stone.
“This is unlike any stone I have seen before…It shines even though it is night, yet it does not glow…This symbol! Menkalinan, this is the symbol of the Phoenix! Where did you find this?”
“I found it at the base of a small blue tree, right after I was visited in a vision by Amber.”
“Amber? What is it that she told you?”
“I’ll tell you when we meet up with Vega.” She nodded and they continued to walk down the river.
“So you are to go to the Sages after all?” Vega asked him as they sat around a small fire Menkalinan somehow managed to create with the debris he found on the way back, their fish cooking.
“That is what she said.”
“Menkalinan, are you sure that it was in fact her?”
“What do you mean?” Menkalinan tried to remain calm as he felt his temper rising.
“I have no doubt that Rajdian is a wizard, there is no other explanation, however she is the first female wizard that I have heard of. Wizards are different from witches.” He somehow knew Menkalinan’s thought before he could turn them to words. “Witches specialize in potions and use small wands and long trails of magical poems, wizards are closer to sorcerers; they use staves and rarely need spells. They are trained in the ways of the human mind, a gifted few can even learn how to read your very thoughts and control your actions by doing so. Their kind of magic is a dark and dangerous one if not used correctly, or for the right reasons.”
“And sorcerers? What of them?” Menkalinan was now struggling to keep his temper under control. Vega stammered which in itself was a rare occasion. Menkalinan and himself were both sorcerers, along with Mira and, he suspected, Amber.
“Sorcerers Menkalinan, are born with their magic. They use their emotions to control it and their staves or other weapons to contain it. You know all of this my friend; sorcerers do not need to be taught.”
“Then why did I need a teacher? Why do I struggle to control this…this power?”
“Menkalinan…when I first met you I told you that you were unlike any other human I had met. I hold to that. The three of us have powers most sorcerers do not. I have never seen any person control fire like you do my friend.”
“But why? Why am I so different?” As he spoke these words the flames of the fire gave a violent spark and made everyone jump. There was a moment before Menkalinan continued. “This is why I would like to find the Sages Vega.” There was a long silence. “I never told you why I was assigned a teacher…or why I left …have I?”
“No, you have not.” Vega’s voice betrayed his curiosity. Menkalinan stared into the fire for a time before speaking, and when he began he spoke in a low, monotonous voice as though he were in a trance, finally remembering something he vowed to forget.
“My powers were out of my control, if I got mad at my brother I would light the house on fire. My parents were concerned that I might hurt somebody, if not myself. They found me the best wizard teacher in the land. I thought of him as a second father. He was always kind to me, perhaps more so than his other students, I being so young. After a year in his training I felt as though I was finally gaining some control, and then…” He looked down at his feet, his voice began to shake as he continued. “Something happened. There was…an accident. His entire house was in flames. His only daughter died in the fire…” He paused for a very long time, his head now in his hands and his shoulders shaking. When he spoke again his voice was steady, but hoarse. “I couldn’t remember it in the morning; I had no idea that I caused the fire. He called me a demon when I next saw him, said I was possessed…he convinced everyone in the village that I was a devil and should be killed immediately, he even convinced my own parents…everybody but my brother thought I was out to kill more. He stood up to the adults, he was the only one who believed me when I said that I didn’t mean to do whatever it was I had done to upset my teacher so much…The teacher that I so admired then turned the entire village against my older brother, he was killed, and it was my fault. I did the only thing I could think of, I ran. I lived in the wild for five years before I met you Vega.”
They ate the rest of their fish in silence, each deep in their own thoughts, and too tired to continue on their journey they slowly fell into a restless nights slumber.
Menkalinan awoke when it was still dark out; he doubted he had been asleep for more than an hour’s time. He half opened his eyes and saw the small red stone lying in his partially open hand, the eagle facing the sky. It held it in front of his eyes and touched the strange symbol, the one Mira had told him was the sign of the Phoenix. It was strange, his life was a semi normal one until that morning when they had set out to find a Rabidus Dragon, it seemed so long ago. Now he is on a quest to find the Sages, mysteries of a Phoenix haunt his sleep, and Amber weaves in and out of his mind along with what she had said: Your battle is elsewhere. The Sages can tell you more. Our destinies seem entwined somehow, our dreams are proof of that, but for now our paths are separate… they have to be…As he fell back to sleep, watching the glinting stone, he thought he could hear a whispering voice. “Truth is in your dreams…”
Menkalinan is one who seeks truth through adventure. He is never seen sitting still simply because he cannot stand the knowledge that he could be doing something, anything, where there is risk and escapade involved. He seeks to master his skills by searching for danger and gaining experience in every scenario so that if caught in a predicament he can say “I know what to do because I’ve done it before” or “I’ve gotten out of tighter spots than this” but the problem is that there is always a ‘tighter spot’. If he finds himself in a quandary that he doesn’t know the solution yet he knows that there is a ‘tighter spot’ to be in and he attempts to find it. He seems carefree and reckless to most that see him but once they start to converse he reveals another side of himself, the serious, secretive and melancholy side.
Both his spontaneity and unpredictability seem to have become his trademarks over the years of adventuring. In his experience that is the best way to survive. This is perhaps one of the reasons Vega took such an interest in his life. Menkalinan rarely talks of his past when it comes to his personal life, but the way he thinks when he is trapped in a corner with only two outcomes, certain death and probable death, fascinated the Antaquae. Even if his name took years for an Antaquae to correctly pronounce, he wanted to know how his mind worked. He himself was a perfect sorcerer in all ways. He was perhaps the very definition of the word. He and Mira were the only Antaquae sorcerers in the history of their people. Even though his skills are flawless however, he cannot seem to solve things unless he has time to think about it first. He has tried, and even though he is an excellent strategist, he cannot match Menkalinan’s swift solutions.
Mira didn’t meet Menkalinan until after she and Vega were married. She was amused at his and Vega’s friendship to say the least. They never seemed to agree and yet would die for the other. If Menkalinan was surprised to hear that she was a seer he was shocked to hear that she was a sorcerer as well. Menkalinan being Menkalinan couldn’t help but to challenge her to a duel strait away, he had always liked to fight sorcerers; it told him a lot about them to watch their magic in battle. Mira understood this and immediately agreed to face him in a match even if she didn’t like to fight. She focused her power in her sword-fins as Vega did, but Vega’s power was mostly water based, Menkalinan was surprised to learn hers wasn’t. Being of the fish people after all, it would have made sense for them both to have power over water. Mira’s power he didn’t know what to call. It was light. Pure and simple light. It was a long battle, inferno against luminosity, but in the end neither had won. They had battled until they exhausted each other of their magic and decided to call it a draw. Menkalinan admitted that they were equaled but Mira knew better. She never told him, and probably never will, that he, Menkalinan, a young sorcerer who could barely control the fire that burns within him, was perhaps the most powerful sorcerer to walk the planet. If he wasn’t yet, he will be. He had to be. She’s seen it in the stars.
The next day was rather boring to Menkalinan. All he wanted to do was get out of the canyon and get to Shenglade! Vega could sense his friend’s impatience as they walked down the river, but if Menkalinan went the pace he longed to go he would wear himself out within the hour. To try and keep his friend at a steady pace Vega and Mira tried to keep his mind busy. Why couldn’t Menkalinan be more like an Antaquae? He didn’t notice the beauty of nature around him.
The river sparkled as it played, giggling, in the sun. The small rocks decorating the ground sat like stars of the day upon the orange dirt for sky. There was an occasional flower reaching for the heavens near the lighthearted river being tickled by their insect friends. The short but sturdy shrubbery were scattered closer and closer together as they continued on their journey, standing in his place like a soldier and refusing to give up their effort for survival. Everything seemed to be attempting to reach the sky, staring up in envy at the brilliant blue and the clouds of white dancing with the wind under the light of the sun.
Several hours later they came to a path which slowly climbed up the side of the canyon. They followed it, Menkalinan staying close to the wall, and before too long found themselves at the top in an unknown forest. The trees were strange here; their branches hung down like a canopy of leaves. There was a small path winding through the trees away from the steep cliff. They followed. As they entered the woods the sun was gradually being replaced by low hanging branches and a mist seemed to have settled at their feet.
“Where are we?” Menkalinan asked, looking up at the cobwebs hanging from the trees.
“I am not sure.” Vega turned to Mira. “Did the stars say anything about this forest?”
“I am afraid not…”
“Wait! Look did you see…?” Menkalinan was pointing into the trees, away from the path. “There was a light…” Wandering away from the path was unthinkable to the two Antaquae but before they could stop him Menkalinan started walking away towards where he saw the light, after all, if there was light there was people, right? If not he could just turn and go back to the path, he’d remember where it was.
Rajdian was galloping down the canyon as fast as her horse would take her. If Amber had truly been with Menkalinan…her fate had been sealed. She urged her hoofed companion to go faster, there wasn’t any time! There was only one place Amber would go…Rajdian glanced up the wall of the canyon; it couldn’t be more than a hundred feet up.
“Iov-Napao!” She called to the sky. Immediately large fiery wings sprouted from her back, one swift motion and both she and her horse were soaring through the air and landed on the terrain above the canyon. Her horse had grown used to this by now and continued his quick pace as she turned him away from the cliffs and galloped through a valley of grass and weeds. Rajdian could sense her horse begin to tire. She leaned over and whisper in his ear “Opaot, ni Paot.” These were his favorite words; spoken in the language the wizards speak. He suddenly felt like a colt again. His thirst was gone, he felt like he hadn’t run in days and now, that was all he wanted to do. He gave a sudden burst in speed as they headed west, getting closer and closer to their destination, The Black Tower.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.