Dragon's Future--Chapter 8 b

The remaining four sat down with a mug of Meredyth's tea in comfortable chairs in the living area.  Ruskya took his first sip of his tea and sighed.  This was what he wanted:  to relax with family, to see his mother happy, and to have his sister and Glendyn close by.  The peace of the moment was broken by Duskya.

"Now, Ruskya, what is this all about?"  she demanded.

"Patience, Duskya," Glendyn intoned.

"Patience!" she blurted, "I have been patient all day yesterday, and now today.  When I arrived with Carryl, I found him in a teary-eyed mood.  He won't tell me a thing until we are all together.  We're all together, and I want to know what is going on."

Ruskya laughed wryly, "I don't know how much you really want to know, sister," he said out loud.  "I will try to put it into words."

He paused, and Duskya let him think.  When he was ready, he began, "Glendyn, you were correct about what the subject was."

Glendyn looked at him with questions in his eyes.  When Ruskya did not continue, he asked, "Someone died?"

"No," Ruskya was quick to assure everyone.  He sighed again, "It was about the day the hatchlings were attacked."

Meredyth turned white as a sheet, and Glendyn's small movements stopped.  He gazed fixedly at Ruskya.  Duskya was the only one left with anything to say or do.

She rose and started to pace, "Would someone please make sense?" she asked quietly.

"Duskya," her brother called mentally, "sit down.  It was the day father" he paused then decided to use the word anyway, "left us."

Duskya almost fell back into the chair, a helpless sound escaped her lips.

Ruskya let them all gain back some composure before continuing.  He put into words the pictures he had seen.  He explained about the turquoise blue dragon fire.  Then he told about Wyn and how she had bolted back towards danger and how Ardyn had gone after her while Wryn and Wyeth helped the others.  When he came to the part about the turquoise dragon picking up his father in the talons and taking off with him limp, he paused.  How could he tell that?  Glendyn and Duskya could come and see his memory, but his mother couldn't and she deserved to know.  He took a deep breath and continued.  There was silence when he was done.  Finally, Glendyn broke the silence.

"I don't understand why now this is being told to you.  I understand how I wasn't able to comprehend Wyeth's thoughs, but why now?"

Before Ruskya could reply, his sister started to speak slowly.  "The turquoise dragon," she stated.  "You saw a turquoise dragon yesterday, and it was when Wyeth saw the dragon that he screamed.  When he screamed, Wryn went nuts too.  She reacted as if she was hurt.   She wouldn't talk, almost couldn't talk.  The dragon in Wyeth's memory and the one you saw yesterday are the same one, aren't they?"

Ruskya nodded.  Glendyn stared, and Meredyth exclaimed, "But how?  Why did you tell me he was dead?  I couldn't believe it without evidence of his body, but why say he was dead when you didn't know?"

The pain in her eyes almost drove Ruskya to have taken back the words.  He wished he could, but he knew he would not be able to live with himself if he had kept this blocked away from her.

"Ruskya, you did right," Duskya's voice cut through his mind.  

"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier."

"No it doesn't.  I'll be here like always though."

Ruskya nodded to her his thanks.  

"Meredyth," Glendyn began as he took her hand, "I told you what Wyden told me, and what I was able to glean from a baby dragon who had never talked before."

"Glendyn," she replied, "he talked to Ardyn."

Glendyn showed surprise.  "Really?" he asked, "Then why was it so garbled when he talked with me?   I couldn't make head nor tails out of what he said, other than the fact that Ardyn was gone and a dragon was responsible."

"But, Glendyn," Ruskya exclaimed, "that is exactly what happened!"

Glendyn paused thinking, "I guess you are right.  It made no sense to me at the time.  I don't think if you hadn't shared the memory with me, that I would believe it still.  It was easier to assume that he had died in the fire.  Dragon fire burns hot enough to consume everything."

Meredyth nodded.  Ruskya noticed how frail she appeared.  Her graying hair was a stark contrast with Glendyn's brown hair with only several gray strands.  Ruskya wondered for the hundredth time how old Glendyn really was.  With riders, unless you knew when they were chosen, you could not tell their age.  They stopped aging when their dragon reached thirty-six winters, or when the rider reached thirty-six which ever came first.  His mother on the other hand had almost seen sixty winters.

"What I don't understand," Duskya broke into Ruskya's ponderings to voice a question to all, "is why did they attack in the first place?"

"Right," Ruskya agreed, "and what is Calamadyn?"

Meredyth caught her breath, and Ruskya felt Glendyn's shock as if he had received a physical blow to the stomach.

"Where did you hear that, Ruskya?" Glendyn asked in a tight controlled voice, which betrayed none of the underlying turmoil that Ruskya could feel emanating from him.

"The dragon rider said that he would get it the next time he came back."

Meredyth put her hand in her face and let out a soft moan.  Ruskya thought he heard her murmur, "No!"

"What is this thing that has both of you so upset?" Duskya demanded.

Ruskya inwardly thanked her.  She was able to come right to the point when he was more timid.

Meredyth looked up at Glendyn with almost a pleading look, "They need to know," she said.

Glendyn nodded, resigned, "Calamadyn is an herb that your father stumbled upon.  He tried to help the hatchlings grow and become strong.  He found that if he rubbed it on a nestling, then the egg would become twins.  The egg would mold and grow and make room for two hatchlings to come from the one egg.  As he worked with it, he soon found that he could inject the oil from the herb directly into the egg and the egg would grow with two humps.  These humps were two dragons.  These dragons were better in-tuned to each other.  They could communicate better with each other and with their rider.  They seemed to have different abilities even for dragons.

"When you had seen a winter and several seasons, one of these dragons that had been bred with Calamadyn was hurt by a stray arrow.  Its twin just about went crazy.  The twin's rider was able to keep the twin from hurting himself, but not before he hurt another rider who was trying to help calm him.  Your father vowed then and there to stop using the herb.  Unfortunately, it was not that easy.  The riders had gotten used to the idea of extra dragons for processions and the villagers had found more of their children being sent off when they reached ten winters.  To just up and stop that and dry up half of the dragon reproduction, was impossible.  Your father started to wean away from using it, but there was rebellion and dissension in the colony.

"Several riders left the colony.  They went looking for other dragons and to start their own colony.  Looking back now, I think they must have found other dragons and riders, for where else could the turquoise dragon come from?  Unfortunately, the dissension led to your father being beaten up for his views, and threats on the life of your mother, father, and you two.  We thought the worst was behind us, when without warning one day, the attack came.  No one could understand how a dragon could attack other dragons—let alone hatchlings.  At that point, we decided to mourn our loss and move on.  Since your father was the one who knew how to use Calamadyn, the knowledge died with him.  We figured it was better to forget."

Glendyn fell into silence, but Meredyth picked up the conversation.

"When your father saw the way the dragon twins reacted when one was hurt, he became concerned for his own children."

At the look of question from both of the twins, Meredyth continued, "I could not bear children.  Yet both your father and I wanted children badly.  So, badly, that I asked him to see if the herb would work on humans.  I used it in a tea for several months.  Finally, I was pregnant.  Your father believed that because of Calamadyn you would be closer, just as the dragons.  He was wanting to see what would happen if Calamadyn dragon twins chose Calamadyn human twins.  He didn't have that thought in mind, the night we spent in the hatchling cave, but he often wondered if Wyeth and Wryn had chosen their riders that night."

Ruskya felt Glendyn tense up.  This was news to him, Ruskya realized.    

Meredyth continued, "When they didn't choose at the procession he had mixed emotions.  He was afraid he had messed with the order of things, yet at the same time he was excited that maybe his twins had been chosen.  At that time, he was also wanting to change the order of the processions.  He thought any age should be allowed to come to a procession.  The dragon should not be limited by who is around, but should be able to choose freely from the villagers."

"You mean to tell me," Glendyn said with more emotion than Ruskya had ever heard in his voice before, "that these two were at the hatchling cave before the procession of Wyeth and Wryn?"

Meredyth felt the accusation from Glendyn, but didn't back down, "Yes, it was when the threats had come.  Ardyn was afraid to let us stay in the abode over night alone, and he had to be there for the nestlings that were about ready to hatch.  Wyeth and Wryn were two that winter, yet it was before the procession.  I brought the twins with me.  Duskya eventually meandered over to Wryn and Ruskya went toward Wyeth.  They slept together that night," she paused as she controlled her emotions. "Arydn was wrong though.  He thought they were safest sleeping with a dragon.  It was a dragon that took him."

This last statement seemed to diffuse some of Glendyn's anger.  Ruskya decided to help more.

"Glendyn, we also went through the procession correctly.  No one else needs to know about the earlier choosing, if you don't want them to know."

Glendyn thought it over.  Ruskya controlled any thoughts of pleading.  He didn't want Glendyn to be influenced by his thoughts.

"You are right.  Your dragons were wise to wait.  This could cause problems
though, if three dragons now have chosen riders in an unconventional way."

"How would it cause problems?" Duskya asked.  "It may go against tradition, but aren't the dragons the ones to choose anyway?  Why shouldn't they be given the chance to choose whom they will?"

"You are so much like your father, it is going to be the undoing of me," Glendyn groaned.  "We cannot just change tradition like that.  It takes time, and the changing of people's opinions."

"People's opinions are already starting to change," Ruskya quietly pointed out.  "The procession this year was not younglings of ten winters.  Why not next procession just ask for children who want to come—they can be any age that the parent thinks is acceptable.  Riders should not force others to come for a choosing.  I don't think a dragon would want to choose someone who is unwilling."

Glendyn thought about it, "We have another winter to see.  Until then, let's deal with what we have.  We have one set of Calamadyn twin dragons with Calamadyn riders.  Let's work with them and let's prepare for this new rider."