The Dragon Child

CHAPTER ONE

A hundred years of eternal sleep was about to be cut short by loud laughter and the dragon was very unhappy about it. Sprawled in the heart of a cave at the top of a very high mountain, she burrowed deeper in her cot of fur, attempting to catch the vestiges of her rapidly fading slumber. Yet the screams would not give, another sharp squeal filtering up to her refuge above. A warning growl escaped her throat, a last attempt to scare off whatever it was that disturbed her, and all quietened. The ensuing peace lasted long enough to allow her to drift before another scream erupted again.

It was not so loud that she could not have ignored it. After all, the forest that surrounded her mountains was filled with all sorts of creatures who made their own noises as they lived and died. Still, it took a certain level of disrespect to come to a place called the Silent peaks, the resting place of the last dragon, and dishonor it so greatly. That, she could not ignore. So, it was purely on principle that she forced her bleary snake-like eyes open, letting out a massive yawn. Rows of fang-like teeth glistened with the morning light, sharp enough to crush an elephant in two despite not having been used for almost a hundred years.

She would have liked to linger, but those damned shouts would not allow her enjoy her awakening. Irritated, the dragon lifted her serpentine head and turned, glaring at the mouth of the cave.

What on earth was that? The locals that lived on the outskirts knew better than to wander through her forest much less have a screaming jaunt at the base of her mountain. Every other creature that lived on this side of the plains knew the unspoken rule. So, she thought rising to her monstrous height on great, sinewy limbs and engaging in a deep stretch. What was it that dared to wake her from her─ was that babbling? She paused with her head inclined, straining to catch the errant sound and─ there it was again. A delighted scream, followed by laughter and that unintelligible babble. Was that a child? No. It couldn’t be.

Disbelief made her uncertain and instead of swooping down in a rush of bared teeth and flames, she stalked to the mouth of her cave and peered down.

She was thousands of feet up but she could still see the ground, such feats were facile for one such as her. Looking down, however, she could hardly believe her eyes because rolling around in the snow with a small flock of colourful wyrmers was a human child.

A child. Here. In the heart of the Ephidian forest? At the base of the silent peaks? How?

Eyes narrowed, she scanned the immediate surroundings for anything else that was out of place, but there was nothing. Only this child who would be dead momentarily if the horde of coyotes creeping towards this location were anything to go by. Even if the wildlife didn’t tear it to pieces, there was she, a hungry flesh-eating dragon who had just awoken from a century-long hibernation. Something so small would hardly serve as a proper meal, but it could be a fine appetizer. Really, this was all too convenient for her liking.

Was this an accident of foolish parents who were even now, frantically searching for their lost offspring? An offering? A trap perhaps? She couldn’t fathom who would be foolish enough to entrap a dragon. Still, a modicum of care was prudent. If dragons were infallible, she wouldn’t be the last one alive.

She could wait this all out right here in her perch and return to sleep when it was over. She still had at least five years of sleep left to fully replenish her mana. Why should she allow herself be disturbed by such a creature?

She cared not for humans and their progeny, she had killed far too many to count in her lifetime. Still, the unusualness of it all nagged at her mind's eye, until with an annoyed sigh, she rose to her feet and dropped off the incline down below.

She enjoyed the rush of wind against her face, allowing her weight fall freely for a few moments. When she was less than a thousand feet above, she spread her wings, letting them span across the sky.

The wyrmers scattered, the coyotes disappeared, the child paused its mad grabs for the fleeing birds and finally looked up.

It was dark like tree bark, with a small woolen cap over shiny black locs. She couldn’t tell how old the child was, she did not know enough about human children to be certain, but it looked very small. Certainly too young to have wandered this far on its own. A mismatched set of eyes stared unblinkingly at her and the dragon froze at the coloring of the right pair. While the left eye was a normal shade and shape she had come to associate with humans, the right eye was particularly serpentine, its pupils a red, vertical slit that she had seen in many reflective surfaces. Her own eyes were more amber now, having lightened with age, but she knew a dragon eye when she saw it and she was looking at one right now.

She scanned the forest again, using not just her senses but her magic to sweep the snow-laden trees and floors. This was her domain, she could find a specific blade of grass on this land if she so wished. And yet, she found nothing; not footsteps, hoof prints, sleigh tracks, or even a trace of magic to suggest a portal opening. As impossible as it was, this infant had apparently just appeared from nowhere. At least that was what someone wanted her to believe.

She looked back at the child. It gaped at her still, its little neck tilted so far behind that she was surprised it didn’t topple over. She hadn’t a clue if it was male or female. She didn’t really care to find out. All she wanted was answers and her only suspect did not seem capable of providing them.

Emboldened by her lack of response, or perhaps he was just too young to know any better, he struggled to his small, bowed legs. The dragon had an incredulous moment to wonder what in the seven realms he was up to before he wobbled towards her direction, little legs propelling him with a speed she hadn’t thought possible for a creature so small and clumsy. His hands were outstretched, his three-toothed mouth giggling uproariously a moment before she realized his intent.

Eyes widening, the dragon swooped up into the air missing him by only a few seconds. Her wings beat with enough force that he was knocked back on his ass several feet away by the impact.

He blinked for a moment, as if unable to understand how he had gotten to that position, and then the most terrible thing happened. Its face scrunched up, its lips trembled and then the child began to cry.

In all her years of living(and there had been many, many years), she had never had the misfortune to witness something so jarringly chaotic.

It was an awful, ugly thing, a child’s displeasure. The infant screamed with the full strength of its lungs. If the laughter from earlier hadn’t woken her up, the tears certainly would have. Especially once the coyotes had set in. It appeared she was destined to be disturbed by this event no matter what.

The screams continued in a steady stream, interrupted only by occasional hiccups. Echoes reverberated throughout the entire forest and the dragon, the most powerful being on this plane, could only wince.

Her ears were too sensitive for this continuous assault. Did she eat it after all? Out of the question. She might have no qualms consuming humans, but she did not eat dragonborn and from the look of this child’s right eye, he had some blood from a creature such as her. That brought more questions than answers.

She paused in midair, so at a loss for what to do that she did not catch the sound of footsteps until they were directly behind her. Her immediate alarm turned into relief when a familiar scent filtered through her nostrils.

Alohra was here. Good.

The dragon turned around mid-air, careful to not let her wings beat so furiously again, and there she was; her lover of nearly three hundred years.

Most creatures would bow when faced with a dragon. At the very least they would run screaming in the opposite direction. This woman did neither. Amber-green eyes trailed along the length of the dragon's form, from her great head to her colossal body to the large bat-like wings that spanned almost the length of the beast itself. When she was done looking, the woman smiled, slow and sweet.

“I’ve missed you,” Alohra said and the dragon inclined her head in response.

She could not speak in this form, but that hardly mattered. Anything she might’ve wanted to say would have been drowned out by the bellows of that wretched child.

“I see you have a rather petulant visitor.”

Alohra’s eyes twinkled with amusement and the dragon huffed, a gust of heated air rushing from her chest in the process. Unlike other humans, her lover would not burn in fire. It was one of the many gifts she’d inherited from their soul-bond. Just like she could finally attain a humanoid form now that her human was here.

She swooped towards Alohra who didn’t so much as flinch and dropped her weight in the snow before her. Cool, slim fingers reached up to stroke the scales on her chest.

“I didn’t expect you to wake for another four years at least. I’ve missed you.”

The dragon neigh purred, her length rumbling with the vibration.

“Turn for me,” Alohra murmured and she immediately began to shift. Her bones shortened, her skin lost its hardness in many places and her bony scales shrunk to a sort of body-melding armor of the same consistency. Her tail, horns, snout, claws, wings all disappeared and in its place, a tall handsome woman in a most brilliant black armor stood. The lover smiled.

“Eryden.”

The dragon gave an answering grin, its wicked row of sharp teeth frighteningly out of place in its now-human mouth.

“Alohra.” She rasped back.

And then they embraced, her lover's tongue pushing brazenly into her mouth without any regard for her fang-like teeth. Eryden grasped the smaller woman around the waist pulling them tighter together with another satisfied purr.

Any other more intimate celebration they might’ve had was prevented by the presence of the toddler who, Eryden realized, was no longer screaming. She half hoped it had returned back to wherever it came from so she wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with it. Of course, she would have no such luck. She pulled her head far enough to turn and sure enough there it was, sucking three of its fingers and staring at them with those unsettling, mismatched eyes. At least it had stopped bawling, Eryden thought wryly.

“And I see your slumber yielded fruit this time. Who’s this little sweetheart?”

Eryden snorted. “Sweetheart? Did you not hear it trying to bellow the snow off the mountain tops?”

Alohra pulled away and strolled towards the cretin.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic lover. He’s only a baby. And he’s a he. Not an it.”

Eryden rolled her eyes which were still the same shape and color as her dragon form. “Well I wouldn’t know, would I? I have zero experience with any children of any sort. Not to mention a human one.”

Alohra stopped in front of the boy and leaned down with a smile, her long, red curls tumbling forward.

“Well hello, there cutie.” He gaped at her, his drool laden hand popping from his mouth and Eryden made a sound of disgust.

“You find that. Cute?”

“Why yes. Yes, I do.” The boy stretched both his hands out and to Eryden’s horror, her lover picked him and placed him deftly on her hip.

“What on earth are you doing?” She hissed sharply but the woman merely shrugged.

“He wanted me to carry him.”

“So? We know nothing about who he is or how he came here. For all you know he could be a curse.”

“You’re the most magical being I know. Can you sense any curse on him?”

“Well, not particularly but─”

“So it’s safe to say I won't physically combust if I hold him a little. Yes?”

She was already playing with the boy, wiggling her fingers in a way that made his toothless grin reappear. He giggled.

“Are you ready to go? The others are waiting at Böjhr. I told them I sensed you wake.”

“Go? With him?”

Alohra glanced up long enough to give her a look. “Did you have an alternative acceptable plan?”

“Well, I’m not taking him back to my castle. That’s for sure!”

“Eryden. Please tell me you’re not suggesting we abandon a baby in the cold forest for wild animals to tear apart.”

“I’m not suggesting that at all. I’m suggesting we let whoever it was that brought him here come and take him back. He’s not our problem!”

Alohra glared at her and the dragon glared back. Her lover couldn’t possibly be serious. What if the child was used to locate them? She couldn’t sense a locator spell now, but such a thing could easily be done at any time as long as the caster had an artifact from the person they were trying to locate. She couldn’t possibly expose herself and the few creatures she cared about to such an unknown risk.

“We’ll go to Böjhr.” Alohra said with audacious finality. “After he’s fed and dried, we can discuss what next to do with him. I’m not leaving him here to freeze to death or be eaten. The poor thing is tired already.” She cooed at him and as if on cue, the boy yawned, resting his head on her shoulder. Eryden growled.

“Alohra…”

The woman didn’t budge. She merely returned her lover's glare with a cool stare of her own. How was it that she was the immortal magical creature here and yet she wasn’t the one having her way? This was preposterous. There was no way she was carrying that child on her back. There was just no way.

CHAPTER TWO

Ten minutes later, she was soaring away, once more in dragon form with her lover and the child in tow. She was far from happy about it but she was getting too hungry and too tired to argue. Alohra was certainly more stubborn than she was and she did not have the patience to test it today─ but damn that woman for making them take this damn child. She should have eaten him when she had the chance, dragon blood be damned!

Böjhr was at the other end of the continent at the southern pole. While she tended to hibernate in the inaccessible snowy mountains, when she re-awakened, she usually preferred to stay in the southern hemisphere. It was nearer to sustenance and information about the constantly changing world. Had humans developed anything new? What empires had fallen and risen in the time she’d been asleep? All of these questions were the things she usually preferred to concern herself with. Not trying to figure out strange children that appeared out of nowhere.

It was nightfall when they arrived at Böjhr. Other than a brief stop by the open plains so Eryden could hunt and Alohra could feed the runt, they’d flown constantly, covering vast areas of land within hours instead of days. Böjhr was as dark and gloomy as the silent peaks, albeit not as tall; a large holding she’d inherited from a long-forgotten marriage. Her husband was long dead as were all his heirs and she’d terrorized the area long enough that most people stayed well away from it.

She landed in the courtyard and gave Alohra enough time to climb down before changing forms. Her majordomo, Maurice already waited for them there along with the handful of others that called the castle home.

He was a wizened elf that was nearly as old as she had. Elves were long-lived but unlike dragons, they were not immortal. She’d half-feared she would return to find him dead. She was pleased to see him still alive and functional if a bit weathered. He bowed as low as his aged bones allowed, the other servants joining him. Impatiently, she waved for them to rise and they did.

No one reacted outwardly to the new presence. Maurice’s white brows lifted at the sight of the boy in Alohra’s arms, but he said nothing, waiting until her lover and most of the servants were well inside. When only himself, his grandson Faulkner, and another young female elf called Mirandel remained, he voiced his questions.

“Where did he─”

“I don’t know.” Eryden snapped a bit more harshly than she intended, but she was too irritated to care. “He was at the foot of my mountain when I woke up.”

“I see. He has─”

“A dragon eye. I know.” He fell quiet after that but not for lack of words to say. She could sense everyone’s caution about the topic as well as she could sense magic. Maurice however said nothing more. It was Faulkner who spoke next.

“Pardon me mistress but… I thought… I thought all the other dragons were dead?”

She’d been prepared for it, yet a pang of wistfulness still hit her at the memories of an earlier time, and then pain for how it all ended.

“I did too. I saw Dragheil fall with my own eyes. I barely escaped with my life. It took almost three centuries to recover from the damages I sustained.”

“But if you escaped the destruction of the dragon world, doesn’t it stand to reason that others might’ve as well?” This was from Mirandel and turning to her, Eryden shook her head. “I scoured the length and breadth of this world after I was strong enough. If another dragon had managed to escape, I would have found them already. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, he definitely came from somewhere.”

“Yes.” Eryden said tiredly. “He definitely did.”

And that somewhere was a dragon. At least one of this boy's parents was a fully-fledged dragon. There was no way he would possess a dragon eye if not. Who was it then? And where were they? How had they hidden from her for this long and why?

She sighed. “I need to find Alohra.”

She said by way of an excuse and walked into the castle after her lover.

***

They were in the common room. Alohra had already found a new outfit for the boy, likely in one of the many rooms that had formerly belonged to a child here. It was severely outdated but it was warmer and cleaner than what he had and would do for the meantime. Was this to be her new life? Catering for a child whose origins she knew nothing of? She sighed.

“Alohra we need to talk.” The woman ignored her and kept playing with the child, waving a wooden horse in his face to get him excited. Her lover was a bit upset with what she felt was Eryden’s ‘callous’ argument to abandon the infant. She just wanted to be cautious. She didn’t know what was going on but she didn’t like it one bit and she didn’t think it was bad to have some degree of suspicion. Someone somewhere had put this child directly in their path. They needed to find out who before the person found them.

“Alohra. Please.”

The tinge of desperation in her voice was finally enough to reach her lover. Alohra looked up at her, smile dropping, and Eryden hated to be the cause of it. With a sigh, she rose and handed the child to the homely maid who waited nearby. Mari gently pulled him out of the room. “Come now little one. We’d best let the mistresses figure out what ter do with ya.”

The boy stared back at her even as he waddled where Mari led. He looked ready to cry again but the woman picked him up, forcing his attention to her when she begun to coo at him. Was that the language of human babies? Did she have to make those sounds if she wanted to speak to him as well? She looked back at her lover.

“I know you’re upset with me, but there are several questions we need to be asking right now. Who he is. Where his parents are. How he came to the Silent peaks. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a dragon-born was dropped outside a dragon’s cave.”

“I know. I just wanted to make sure he was okay and I hated the way you talked about abandoning him to the wolves.” Alohra sighed. “Forgive me my love. I didn’t plan on being angry with you after a century of aching for your return.” Finally, some consideration, Eryden thought with a small smile. She held out a hand and Alohra took it, burrowing into her embrace. It was warmer here than it had been in the forest, still Eryden couldn’t resist blowing flames at the heart so it flickered to life. They stayed like that, leaning on each other and staring at the fire while individually trying to collect their thoughts. It was Alohra who spoke first.

“Do you think the other dragon is in this realm? Could some ancients like yourself have transported to another world?”

”It’s not impossible.” Eryden spoke “I considered it after my search of this earth proved futile. Still, there are not a lot of worlds that have enough magic to accommodate a dragon. This is one of the most magical planes save from my home world and I find it tedious to exist here. I wouldn’t have to sleep for a hundred years if there was enough magic to sustain my form.”

“But, how would they have gotten past the veil? You said yourself that only a spirit can transverse that plane. Not a corporeal form. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes. At least that’s what I was taught. You’ve seen how large dragons are. We have magical energy but it's trapped within our corporeal forms. Even an ancient would be hard-pressed to transport his body through the veil. I sure as hell know that I can’t.”

Her eyes unfocused as she fell deeper into thought.

“Whoever this is may not be a dragon at all. A Sorcerer with dragon remains could pull something like this off, although I don’t see the clear mechanics of how.”

“I suppose we’ll need some time to ─”

A piercing scream made Eryden’s blood run cold. It was unlike the child’s earlier laughter or tantrums. This one was tinged with pain and fear. The kind that was borne of violence. Before she could stop her, Alohra was out of her arms, charging out the door, sword already drawn in hand. With a vicious curse, Eryden followed.

Mari was lying in a pool of her blood. Eryden arrived in time to see the other elves trying to help her out. Only Alohra and Faulkner stood inside, swords drawn and pointed at the new stranger who stood in front of the hearth, casually holding the dragon boy in one arm. He was rather dark; from his hair to his breeches, to the leather coat that hung over his impressive form. The blade in his right hand gleamed with blood and Eryden snarled at the sight.

“Who are you?” Alohra spoke first.

The man gave a mocking salute with his bloody blade, a half smile twisting his lips. “A… family friend.”

“I see. I don’t think either I or Eryden has any family left. And I’m very certain all our friends are right here. One of them who you seemed to have harmed. So I’ll ask you again. Who are you?”

The man shrugged. “I’d love to expand, but your lover looks like she’ll eat me if I so much as cough the wrong way. I didn’t do any lasting damage to the elf. She’ll heal in a few days. I mean no real harm.”

Alohra’s laugh was even colder than the peaks had been.

“I’d be more inclined to believe that if you hadn’t made such an… eventful entrance.”

“Let's see. If I was such a threat do you think he’d be this fond of me?”

He inclined his head at the boy who seemed rather excited all things considered and was babbling incessantly while slapping the man’s cheeks with his little hands. The man barely seemed to notice.

Alohra hesitated but didn’t put down her sword.

“He’s a child. He wouldn’t know any better. Why are you here?”

“Because I’ve come to make a request of your lover that she is inclined to decline.”

It was Eryden who spoke this time.

“And if I do decline?”

A grim smile formed on his lips. “My orders are to make sure you agree by any means necessary.”

Alarm bells clanged in Eryden’s head and she moved closer to Alohra. Every instinct screamed at her to transform and gobble this man up before he caused any lasting harm to her family.

“Orders from who?”

He was some type of magician, she was sure of it. He wouldn’t have appeared out of thin air if he wasn’t. Like before, she didn’t see any portal nor did she sense anything that indicated a recent use. Which meant he likely apparated using the veil.

He was human but he didn’t ooze magic the way spell-casting humans did. His magic felt contained, not exactly like a dragon’s, but similar enough that he could tap into it at will. It was almost like the sort of energy she felt from Alohra─ her eyes widened.

He was a drakin! A human soul-bounded to a dragon. If that was true then that meant─

“Alohra. Get away from him.” There was a tinge of panic to her voice and perhaps her lover would have listened if not for the next couple of events.

He was human but he was fast. Deathly fast. Too fast for Alohra, who was barely in her three hundredth year as a drakin. Too fast for the elves who couldn’t do more than blink. Too fast for her who could only watch in horror. In a split second, he threw the boy, headfirst into the fireplace, and Alohra, perhaps forgetting that a dragon-born could never be tarnished by even the hottest of furnaces, instinctively jumped after him.

It happened too fast for Eryden to follow. One moment, Alohra was running past him after the child, the next she was caught, held tightly in the man’s arms.

“Your sister sends her regards and requests your return.”

With another twist of that wry smile, he was gone, taking her entire world with him.

Eryden fell to her knees. “No.” She whispered as if to rebuke it from happening, but it had already happened. It had happened and she had done nothing to stop it.

What was this feeling in her chest? This vast chasm that threatened to swallow her whole?

Usually, she could sense Alohra on some level. A soul bond meant that no matter the distance, she could always feel her lover right inside her, the comfort of that keeping her for centuries. Now, it was gone, a gaping wound left in its stead. She heard noises but they sounded far away. Crying. More screaming. Was someone calling her name? She couldn’t really tell. Her vision blurred and then she was falling, falling into that dark hole in her head, and then there was nothing.

She jumped up hours later in a cold sweat, hoping to hell she’d had a bad dream that would soon be kissed away by her lover’s warm lips. One look at Maurice’s solemn face dispelled that thought.

“She’s gone isn’t she?”

Maurice sighed.

“I suppose we should count ourselves lucky. If you had been in dragon form before she was taken, you would have been stuck like that. As it is, I don’t think you can transform into a dragon again until Alohra comes back. It’s one of the many intricacies that surrounds a soul-bond.”

Eryden tried to rise from the bed. Her armor had disappeared, leaving only fragile pale skin. She needed to go. She needed to find Alohra. If the broken bond was having such a disastrous effect on her, she could only imagine what her lover was going through.

“You must rest Mistress. The break has taken a lot from you.”

“How long has it been?”

“Only twenty-four hours.”

A day? Alohra had been gone for almost a day while she slept?

“Get out of my way.” She growled when Maurice tried to pin her back to the bed.

“You need your rest Mistress. You’ll be no good to any of us, much less Lady Alohra when you can barely stand.”

“I need to find her! Do you understand? I need to─”

Her voice broke at the last word and she caved into herself, her strength leaving her with just this little effort. A thousand years she’d roamed these lands and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried. Now, she wept.