The Fires of Hope

Ithgael

A stream of light broke through the tree canopy, gently warming Ithgael's snout. He stirred, slowly opening his eyes to take in his surroundings. The air was thick with the smell of humans, a scent he had learned to take seriously. He let out a quick puff of hot air and rose to his feet, muscles tensing with the pain in his right foreleg. He looked down scanning the wound, the burnt scales flaking to reveal soft damaged skin beneath. The kings' mage had delivered an agonizing wound to him yesterday, causing him to turn and flee which allowed the king and his company to make it to the castle walls alive, but not before Ithgael had burned away most of his men at arms. Ithgael looked out towards the sound of humans. The trees were well spaced enough to allow for a clear line of sight for around three hundred paces but he saw no one. He did however hear them, shouting and trudging through the undergrowth. Another vain attempt at sneaking up on me, trying to finish this crusade of theirs once and for all. For a creature so small in stature you would think they would find masking their approach easier, Ithgael thought to himself. He extended his wings and took to the sky, being sure to hug the canopy so as not to give away his position and he headed away from the humans toward his home.

He covered close to a league before he picked up a new scent, similar to the humans but at the moment he couldn't quite recall its origin. Curiosity taking hold, he sunk lower and breached the canopy, landing in a clearing next to a river. He stood in silence for a few moments, the sound of the rushing river drowning out any other noise nearby and somewhat masking the scent he had picked up. It still lingered, though he could not determine from which direction it originated. Then a sound caught his ear, crying. His head darted left toward a log along the bank of the river. A youngling? This far from one of their dens, its family must be nearby. Ithgael crept over to the log and dropped to a knee, nuzzling the log away from the youngling to reveal it. It was a tiny thing, wrapped in a dark green cloak with the crest of the royal family emblazoned on the breast. Its hair was a deep black, a stark difference to its bright green eyes which matched his scales. Ithgael noted these features with growing apprehension then looked back towards where the sound of humans had first caught his attention. So it is not me they seek is it small one? I wonder, what is to be done with you. Ithgael couldn't help it, his eyes looking over his wounds and his mind going to his kin slain in battle just a month ago. He could deal a great blow to his enemy in this moment and take revenge for the crimes committed against his kin. He breathed in deep, allowing the air to fill his lungs and heat up, opening his mouth to reveal a glow of bright orange behind a black tongue and massive rows of jagged teeth. Just then though the youngling stopped crying. It reached out with one hand slowly towards Ithgael's mouth, the warmth of his flame giving the youngling comfort. Slowly, he closed his jaw and puffed warm air towards the youngling. For a moment Ithgael felt a tinge of disgust in himself. His eyes averting from the youngling, This cannot be who I have become. I will not allow myself to sink to their level of brutality. He felt himself torn, here lay the kings child, the heir to the throne form which his kin had been systematically hunted and killed in the royal family's genocidal crusade. He should feel the very same hate and desire for vengeance that he felt after he lost his kin; after all, this youngling would one day surely continue the crusade. Yet, seeing this helpless little thing reaching out to seek warmth and comfort from the elements he couldn't bring himself to end its life. The sound of humans nearby reached his ears as their search for the youngling brought itself closer to him again. Ithgael searched the face of the youngling, his thoughts coming to a conclusion that would lead to many headaches in his years to come but one in which he would also find pride. You will not die this day youngling, Ithgael thought as he gently grasped the child in one of his claws and took to the sky once more, the shouts of humans nearby slowly fading.

He followed the canopy out West until it became less and less dense, giving way to open fields of tall grass. From there he curved towards the mountain, making for his den. The mouth of the cave near the peak was massive, as wide as the redwoods which populated the forest were tall. As he landed he placed the child against a rock and was greeted by the sight of three more dragons coming out from the darkness of the cave. They were small, all wyrmlings, each of them no longer than six feet in length from snout to tail and no taller than five feet from the ground to the top of their heads. Two of them were a dull bronze color, the third being a majestic silver. None of them were his own offspring, though he had adopted them into his den believing them to be the last of his kin. The wyrmlings made their way over to the youngling and curiously began investigating it. Ithgael explained the nature of their current situation to the wyrmlings and the silver one, named Faela stepped forward asking Ithgael, 'What is it's name father?'

Ithgael took a second to contemplate this, 'It has none child, nor should we attach ourselves too closely to this youngling, for one day it may be our enemy.'

'A youngling should have a name, just as a wyrmling does father.' Faela stated, then looking down at the youngling she continued, 'It should be called Jacinta.'

Ithgael turned, striding to the mouth of the cave and looking out over the landscape. He paused to contemplate his next words before saying, 'In naming this youngling you will help take responsibility for raising it Faela. Do you accept that responsibility?'

Faela looked from Ithgael back to the youngling with excitement in her eyes, 'Yes father, I will assist with its upbringing'

Contented Ithgael watched as a flock of birds passed over the valley below and then faced Faela, 'Then she shall be named Jacinta.'

Jacinta-15 years later

The leaves went by in a blur, the air lashing at her face as they pulled up just in time to miss the tree tops. Jacinta heard the snap of wings and a roar as Ithgael pursued her and Faela. Jacinta glimpsed behind and to her surprise Ithgael was nowhere to be seen. A frantic tension took hold as she scanned her surroundings for any sign of him. Faela sniffed the air, 'He's close' she said into Jacinta's mind. Their telepathic communication skills had grown tremendously over the last few years, though sometimes the words they intended still did not translate as clearly as either of them would have liked so they tried to keep it short when possible. Jacinta looked right just in time to catch sight of the wing. Ithgael was flying sideways allowing himself to glide above the stream following its path and keeping near Jacinta and Faela. They still didn't have enough time to react though, as Ithgael burst from the gap between the trees and cut them off causing Faela to twist and soar higher. Jacinta felt her grip loosen from the quick change in direction but dug in her heels and regained her balance. They came to a stop, hovering face to face with Ithgael.

"Girls, at what point did you notice the stream?", Ithgael asked

'I didn't', thought Jacinta, 'I know, but I did and that's all that he needs to know', responded Faela

"I saw it immediately father", Faela said with a noticeable amount of guilt. Ithgael looked at Jacinta eyes narrowing and then back to Faela, "Your communication between each other will be the thing that determines your success, or your failure. You must remember this. Faela, when you notice a potential point of ambush you have to alert Jacinta. Just as you must tell Faela if you lose sight of an enemy, Jacinta", Ithgael was stern but concerned, an overwhelming feeling of protection coming through his thoughts.

"It won't happen again Ithgael", said Jacinta

"Good, now let's get back before the sun sets. Go find your brothers Akfor and Rofka, then meet me back at the den. I'll find dinner". With that Ithgael was gone, flying towards the plains of tall grass that surrounded the base of their Mountain home.

They returned to find Akfor and Rofka already in the den... asleep. "Useless these two are", said Faela, "I doubt they even left the den today, Ithgael will be upset", responded Jacinta. Jacinta carried over a bundle of wood she had chopped and Feala set it ablaze lighting up the cave and waking Akfor. "Is father back yet?", Akfor was clearly concerned as he looked past Faela to see the sun sinking lower. "No brother, it would seem you have again gotten away with skirting your duties.", stated Faela, clearly frustrated. "Ohh but I didn't forget everything, in fact father has a letter from the king. Delivered just today at ehe base of the mountain.", Akfor looked like a child waiting to be rwarded with some great proze for having achieved this. Jacinta immediately stopped gathering more wood and turned her full attention to Akfor. "What did it say?", She asked, with a little more curiosity than she had intended. Akfor hesitated, taking not of the curiosity with a slight smirk before continuing. "I have not read it's contents, it is sealed. Father will want you to open it and read it once he returns.". At that Jacinta turned to face the sky once more, straining to see out as far as she could and hoping to see Ithgael. It didn't take long and he arrived with two antelope in his claws, along with a bison in his jaws, landing gracefully as the wind from his wings blew ups some dirt from the ground and almost blew out Jacintas fire. Faela received an antelope and another was laid at Jacinta's feet. Jacinta immediately began preparing the animal for dinner. Rofka had risen and the two brothers strode over to greet Ithgael, Akfor dropping a steel box at Ithgael's feet and explaining that there was a message from the kings court left at the base of the mountain. The latch on the box was very simple, yet it was indeed "sealed" to the dragon kin, unless of course they wanted to destroy the box and perhaps any message left in side. The royal court had learned of the presence of a human living with the dragons on the mountain, though Jacinta and her adopted family had not yet determined if they knew the true identity of herself yet. Jacinta had been spotted riding Faela one day while training by a farmer and word had gotten back to court. Since that incident 3 years ago, the court has succeeded in establishing a form of communication through dropping letters in this steel box and leaving it at the base of the mountain for Jacinta to open and share with the dragons, usually resulting in Ithgael coming up with a response for Jacinta to write back. This hasn’t been an easy process and had only fully started one year ago as it took Jacinta two full years just to learn the basics of the English language which she now knows from manuscripts and mage messages sent in the box. The mage messaged took the form of tiny crystals that when placed in direct sunlight formed an image on the ground of a man in black robes who talked in English to Jacinta. The messages started off very short and grew longer over time as she developed further in the language. Ithgael always kept a keen eye on Jacinta as she studied English, seeming apprehensive towards the process. He had accepted it though out of the realization that it may eventually be a path towards peace.

Ithgael looked at the box and then to Jacinta, nodding for her to open it. She walked over and unlatched the box revealing a plain white letter with the wax Royal Seal closing it. She broke the seal revealing a single page of parchment and began to read.

“Our friends above,

The Royal Court hopes this letter finds you and all of your kin in good health. We write to you today with a proposal in mind. Over the course of the last three years we have provided the education necessary to allow for us to communicate in a small way and we hope that this extension of good will shows our commitment to strive for peace between our races. Our mage says that the human staying with you has excelled beyond his expectations in both language and the various magic he has decided to share with them. He is most excited to meet another human who has the ability to tap into such power. We see this intermingling of man and dragon as a step towards achieving an end to our bloody conflict. That being said, the Court would like to invite all members of your den to fly to us and be received peacefully at the gates of Castle Fairmont. Once you arrive the Court would like to provide all members with a dinner followed by negotiations regarding our conflict in hopes that a peace can be reached between us. If you find this invitation to be worth your time, make it known to us by breathing a flame at the base of the mountain on the night of the full moon in 3 days time and arrive at Castle Fairmont 2 days later. If no flame is seen, the Court will take it to mean that conflict is meant to be resumed and our communications here will cease for the time being. We look forward to seeing your response.

Jacinta finished the letter, “Signed his majesty the King”. Ithgael snorted curtly before saying, “This is surely a trap of some sort, another scheme by his majesty’s ‘Royal Court’ to try and finish us off for good. We won’t be baited into such a blunder.” Jacinta moved forward to say something but Faela sensing an outburst from Jacinta spoke first, “Farher, perhaps this proposition is made in earnest. Would it truly hurt for us to at least fly to the outskirts of Castle Fairmont and scope out the place to see if there is any truth to this? It may be the opportunity we have sought for so long. We may finally find our peace”. Jacinta and Faela shared a look of acknowledgment, one not unnoticed by Ithgael. “I would caution letting your heart guide decisions of this magnitude Jacinta, you know your fathers past as I have not withheld that information from you when you have asked”, Ithgael declared. “And what would you have me do Ithgael? It is as Faela says, there is no harm in at least scoping the Castle out. Am I not allowed to be curious about this opportunity?”. Ithgael sighed, “You are allowed to be curious of course Jacinta, but you have not lived the war as I have, seen the death that I have. We must tread carefully here, it is a matter of survival”. He looked at the faces around the room, “However, I do not find issue in responding with the flame and taking a look. It must be understood though that if I make a decision everyone must follow. There may be little room for error here”. Jacinta’s eyes lit up, but she stood where she was. “Thank you Ithgael, this choice will not be a mistake.”, Jacinta said. With that, the den ate, slept, and 3 days later they declared their intentions with the signal of fire during the night of the full moon. The next day Jacinta gathered what she needed and put it in her leather bag, strapping it to the leather bands wrapped around Faela’s mid section. ‘This feels like an adventure Faela, I hope we really do get to achieve the peace Ithgael has fought so hard for’. Jacinta told Faela. ‘The court is dangerous Jacinta, don’t put too much hope in this. Father is right to be cautious, they can be malevolent. Though I can’t help but say I also very much desire that peace’. With that Jacinta situated herself at the top of Faela’s back and crook of the neck. Jacinta looked out once more over the beautiful landscape before her, excited and anxious for what was to come. Ithgael strode up in front of Faela and took off Faela falling in behind and the brothers taking up the back. Jacinta’s mind began to wander as they continued their half days flight to Crooks Mountain which overlooks Castle Fairmont. ‘He won’t even know who I am. Should I tell him? The King I mean’, Jacinta thought to Faela. ‘That’s up to you Jace, wait until you meet him to make that judgement.’ ‘I know what Ithgael has told me, believe me I won’t be making the mistake of trusting him’. Faela seemed slightly amused at this but responded with a simple,’Good’. And so Jacinta along with her unlikely new family made their way for Crooks Mountain and eventually Castle Fairmont to meet her father and determine the fate of the kingdom along with that of all Dragon Kind.