MATER AUREA

“In ten days I will remove the stitches, but before that keep it clean and remove the bandage in five days.” Sebastina said while applying the new bandage.

“Are you not going to stab me again?” I enquired, half in jest. “You seemed more than willing yesterday.”

She inclined her head, a half smile forming. “Not today, but if you become infected again I will have no choice but to take the limb, so be sure to keep it clean. Now, what would you like to talk about? I am sure you didn’t intimate that you needed to speak with me for no reason. I am extremely busy and have many badly injured patients to take care of.”

It was time, and I had thought long and hard about what I wanted to discuss.

“You are here because of her” I stated in accusation right off the bat. “What is so important about that monstrosity that you abandon your life to come live here in slavery?”

Sebastina blinked at that. The scar on her face pulled strangely as the damaged side blinked too, a little out of sync with the healthy eye. Then taking in a deep breath she exhaled. “You are very nosy for someone who has just entered this place, but I can’t expect that you are here for no reason either. Fate, it seems, has a purpose for you. Very well, I can use that.”

Well, she didn’t exactly say “nosy”, rather she said, “You are growing plants in my garden” but I gleaned that she meant nosy and not any other kind of connotation or innuendo, at least I hoped not.

“Forgive me if I’m not up to speed with your thoughts, but can you be more specific?” I replied.

“Claim ignorance if you must.” she intoned and I knew it would be a waste of effort trying to convince her otherwise. Despite the fact that I was probably the most ignorant person in the whole damn underground warren.

Sebastina looked at me again, that one eye full of intelligence, seeded with a speck of doubt. She didn’t fully trust me yet. I admitted to myself that after telling her about her daughter, she had been emotional, that I had caught her off guard then, but this was now, and she was in full command of her facilities. There was no way I could pull a fast one. Not that I had any intention of doing so, I just wanted to know more about what was going on. That alone gave me a better chance at survival. I needed her to trust me.

“Let me be forthright.” I said and she held up her hand, then did something while muttering a word under her breath and I felt a slight pressure on my ears. She nodded and indicated I should continue. It appeared as if she had cocooned us within a soundproof area.

I approved and continued. “I am confused about why that dragon has the aura of a Reaper, and yet half of her is quite beautiful. Where do the Dragons fit in this whole scenario? And more importantly, how precarious is my situation?”

“Petros, why is your aura so bright today? You appear more substantial to my Mage-sight. Has something happened?” I wasn’t sure if she had listened to my questions, but her tone indicated I should answer her before she would even consider going down my avenue of questioning.

I sighed, “I levelled up a few levels after the fighting yesterday, so I guess I have more enhanced abilities that are reflected in my Aura?” It was a deflected response. I couldn’t very well explain the cultivation breakthrough and my jaded mana ability without giving away too much information about myself. I felt on some level that I didn’t want her to know I was a mage yet. It was a fair answer it seemed and she nodded.

“I see, so that means you are very low in level as I suspected. Have you even reached the Chosen threshold?”

Her question caught me off guard and I had to wonder how informed this woman was. Despite being a slave, she had the run of the place and knew far more about Avihs and his Chosen than she had any right to. It appeared that she was much more than a slave.

“Not yet” I replied. Deciding to be as truthful as possible. Lies were so much harder to keep track of and besides, I had no reason to keep it from her.

“You put on quite the performance yesterday for such a low level. Were you trying to get yourself killed?” She mocked, and I had a mind to tell her what I thought of her strategy to use the spear by grounding it. Instead she beat me to the punch.

“I saw you place the spear as I advised you. It was well done and well timed. When I gave you the advice, your training group was set to meet different monsters. They were changed out to make it easier for the new recruits to survive and I had no way to warn you. I believed in Masters training though, and was glad to see you survive so … deftly.” The sharp grimace on her face might have been a smile. It could also have been a look of disapproval, it was hard to tell for sure.

Sebastina continued, “We have had so few survivors in the first round. Until yesterday that is, with the only casualty being the one who attempted to flee.”

I objected at this point. I had seen some others who had been pretty badly wounded. Sebastina insisted that no-one else besides the one who had run away had died. That all the others were going to pull through and survive their various wounds. It was a testament to the healing skills to be found here.

“So, are you here to kill her?” This question put me back. I probably even flinched. To even consider killing that beast was beyond the pale. If I had a battleship, I doubted it would do much good against the likes of that monster.

“No! I mean, no… I never even knew she existed. Besides you said it yourself, I am low in level, there is no way I could even attempt such a thing.”

She breathed out then, a long contemplative breath. “I find you very disruptive, Petros. You puzzle me. It is not easily done. I cannot fathom your motives so I will answer your questions, but let me be clear. That dragon is the last of her kind here on Scalar. Many would see her dead. Even those Reapers have tried and failed. She holds on by a thread. That sickness you saw in her. The diseased part has made a bargain with her. It coexists. Not exactly in harmony, but near enough. They lend each other strength even while in conflict until their time comes.”

“She took over this midden heap many years ago, and was aided by the Gnomes. She has accepted them as vassals and enslaved the Dwarves, but she has one rule. One rule to rule them all.

“You’re lucky it’s not a ring.” I said, half mocking. Her head snapped up.

“What did you say about a ring?”

Immediately I was on guard, and quickly replied, “No hidden meaning. Back on Earth they have a story about a ring to rule them all. Your comment just reminded me of it, that’s all. Now what is this one rule you mentioned?”

Sebastina continued to stare at me. Her face, devoid of emotion. The one eye weeping, its milky white orb disturbing in how unnatural it seemed, and the other stabbing into me as if the force of her gaze alone would spill my secrets. I kept a blank face. I was just your average harmless human. No danger here. My thumb almost stroked the ring on my index finger. Almost, but I resisted the urge. Finally she looked away and her shoulders relaxed.

“I’m sorry, Petros. Perhaps I judge you too harshly. I am probably the only one left who still believes. Myself and Mater Aurea. She never forgets.”

“Mater Aurea is the dragon’s name?” I asked, hoping to keep her on track.

“Not her name, her title. The Matriarch of the Golden Dragons. She is all that remains of the most majestic being to ever inhabit this world.” Sebastian said this wistfully as if remembering a time when thousands roamed the skies.

I waited, she was getting to the important parts and I wanted to absorb every tidbit of information I could.

“She was part of our defense against the Reapers. By “our” defense, I mean the Scalar and Elves, all the Allies. The dragons enlisted our assistance when the Scalar were first attacked by the Reapers.”

“The dragons originate from this world. Their magic was the most advanced we had ever encountered. Their synergy with the world crystals unequalled. Her and her brethren.”

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“Unfortunately in the first wave of the invasion the Reapers targeted the Dragons first. They mined the smaller of the two moons for huge rocks and rained them down from above onto the area where the Dragons held sway. Against that kind of force, the dragons had no chance. The strongest survived, but most were severely wounded and had used much of their power to preserve the Queen and her clutch. They fell to the scourge when those foul undead beasts swarmed the planet. The Matriarch stood over her nest. Her clutch is the most valuable treasure left on this planet.” Sebastina was emotionally invested in this story as her voice caught while she remembered parts of the tale.

“The Scalar and other inhabitants were simply too far away to mount any form of rescue or send any aid in time. The Dragons had reigned supreme for far too long and they had grown complacent. Whatever the Reapers are, they are not stupid, and they captured several younger dragons to not only feed on their life essence but also to glean what information they could of where to strike first and hardest.”

“And still the Queen survived?” I asked, half-hopeful, half expecting bad news. This did not sound like a tale with a happy ending.

“She survives, yes, but barely. I’m sure you wondered why you were not healed by magic?”

This change of topic made me pause. What was she getting at? I hadn’t thought about it at all, but now in retrospect it was strange. I knew full well the benefits of healing magic. Not only had it been used on me to save my life but I myself had used it to help others.

It was taxing on the body, and left you drained of mana, but I doubted that would be a problem for someone of Sebastina’s skill.

“I suppose you save your spells for those who have been wounded more grievously?” I really needed to get back with my crew. This noble speak so wasn’t me.

Sebastina shook her head wistfully. “If only that was true, we would save so many.”

“Just tell me what you are getting at? I don’t get the connection?” It must be a thing for the Elves to talk all around the topic, it was infuriating.

“Very well, but you take all the fun out of civilised conversation.” Her wry smile looked strange on the scarred face, but softened her features and I glimpsed the beauty she must have been before the maiming. She continued, “All healing energy is given to the Queen. We help her fight the infection.” She paused then. Watching my response.

“Infection? You mean the Queen still has a chance to survive the infection?”

My response seemed to satisfy her, and she nodded while continuing. “She ate the last Reaper sent to subdue her. It was not a happy meal.”

I had to force my smile away. Happy meal? Ha, McDonalds was everywhere. Instead I forced a grim expression.

“So she got infected from not chewing her food?”

“Perhaps. However it happened, she was infected from that last fight and she has slowly succumbed to the infection. She is now half and half. The evil dark spirit and the good of light. And also the last of her kind. If she succumbs fully, she will be a massive victory for the enemy. THAT is why I stay and help Lord Artoo. I think he knows I could leave, but if I do, she will die fully and change into an undead monster with powers and knowledge unequalled, and this world and many more will be lost.”

My forced grim expression became horrified. My plans to escape with the Ex-Queen of Elves evaporating. I also understood more clearly why these Gnomes were left alone by everyone and not forced to choose a side in the greater war. The Reapers just thought it a matter of time before the Queen succumbed to her infection. Being undead, they had all the time in the world. Gaining that much knowledge and magical might would give them an edge in all their future battles. Perhaps it was why they stopped pushing for victory here on this planet. I had seen how easily they could overtake a city. Admittedly they lost everything when Avihs and his people activated those Void crystals. Perhaps with the Dragon Queens knowledge subsumed, the Reapers would be able to circumvent the void crystal. I was just guessing now, but my thoughts were racing to all kinds of conclusions.

“So let me get this straight. You stay here and let them suck all your healing mana out to keep the Dragon Queen alive, or rather half alive, while she fights that infection that has never been beaten before?”

Sebastina looked at me sharply. “You have a way with words, Petros. Although your words imply there is no hope. I do not feel the same way. I feel that the creature within her, all her power and knowledge can combine to find a way to survive and if not eradicate the disease, at least temper it and control it.”

“This is insane, Sebastina. And why all this slavery and gladiator nonsense?”

“This “nonsense” as you put it, feeds her, or hadn’t you figured that out already?”

“Feeds her?” I was horrified. “You mean all the beasts are fed to her or do you mean the gladiators themselves are eaten?"

“If you are familiar with Reapers, you know they need life essence to survive. To maintain her balanced state, she needs to feed on both the living and the dead. The living victims feed her Dark side and the dead nurture her Light side. As contradictory as that sounds, it is what it is. Unfortunately every time she takes a live meal, she needs to take a dead meal shortly thereafter and vice versa. If one side gains more sustenance the other side loses. She has to maintain a balance for the pact between her and her parasite spirit to co-exist.”

I grimaced in remembrance of the mushy paste she had consumed of all the dead Drillbeasts. She had been preparing to eat one of our cohort shortly thereafter anyway, but with Anil’s cowardly cousin doing the running, it had just made it easier for her to make a choice. Perhaps his cowardice had saved my life.

“She is complicated, but she also holds the key for life on this planet. Life or …death.” Sebastina was getting into her topic now and obviously she didn’t get to talk to many people. At least not someone who could give her that connection to home. That’s what I thought anyway. On the other hand, she could just be setting me up. For what? I didn’t know, but she didn’t get to be top dog here without some dodgy morals and twisted perceptions. Whatever the case, I couldn’t let her know that’s what I was thinking and so I nodded attentively while my thoughts churned on what she was telling me and what I should ask her next.

One thing I knew for sure is that the Queen Dragon was a pathway to power for these people. Either dark or light could win that crap shoot, and if I had any purpose or reason for being here and had been manoeuvred into this situation by Avihs, then it was surely to end that dragon’s life. Was I taking a lot on my shoulders? Sure! But if I didn’t do it, then who would? Admittedly I didn’t have a plan, but if I could build my skills, and find a way to get at her, then I definitely could rise to the challenge. I didn’t have much else to do.

A popup blurred my vision and I had to force myself to keep a straight face.

Quest: Kill the Queen of Dragons

Mentally flicking the message aside, I continued as best I could, making the slight pause seem like I was thinking, “So how do you keep the Queen Dragon sane?”

Sebastina looked at me skeptically for a moment then relented. “We heal her. Every ounce of mana we produce goes towards healing her untainted side. The darkness spirit creeps over her and it’s a constant battle for her. Our life-giving energies give her enough to keep the balance. Enough to keep her light side strong to compete with the darkness.”

“So if you left here she would still get healing, she would still be as she is. What is keeping you here?” I countered hopefully.

“Do you think my abilities are so low, Petros Human?” she snapped at me surprisingly waspish. I was beginning to think she was not unlike the dragon she protected so fervently. Her shoulders had tensed and then she relaxed them again. Deliberately exasperated.

“My magic…” She said this with particular emphasis on the “my” part, “is the main reason she can hold on. If I left here she would quickly be reduced to nothing more than one of those foul undead creatures. Then this world is lost. How many ways do you want it told?”

Her portent of doom was no less chilling than the thought of an undead dragon that size roaming around. I doubted even Hugo could stand up to a creature of that might for long. In fact besides an Abrams tank, or even better an Apache Attack Helicopter, I doubted anything would have a chance to even wound her. What I could do would be of little consequence. Unless….

“But why do you bother?” Again she tensed, and again she forcefully calmed herself. It was like watching a tug of war. She had to keep reminding herself that I wasn’t a threat, I was simply curious. I kept all expressions from my face. She had to believe it. I didn’t want to deceive her, but until I had all the facts, or at least as many as I could get from her, I wasn’t sure what I should do.

“You ask the same question in different ways. If I didn’t know any better I would think you are the interrogator and I’m the prisoner?”

On impulse I reached forward to grasp one of her hands. It was simply me reaching out to a beautiful soul. A comforting grasp, familiar, perhaps too familiar. Her one brow lifted and left me in no doubt about what she thought of that idea. I smiled, withdrew my hand and opened my hands to either side placatingly.

“I have no idea what you are talking about?” I said as innocently as I could.

She made a “humph” noise, then to change the focus, to distract her I asked, “How can I escape here?”

“What? leave here? You can’t unless you have an Orb, or know the route through the wastes, which is also impossible. No, Petros, find peace with your new life here. I have no way for you to leave. Perhaps if the Scalar want you badly enough they will buy you back, but now that you have become popular, Artoo will not let you go. He will squeeze every ounce of usefulness out of you. You should not have made such a spectacle. People still chant your war cry in the tavern as your deeds get retold. That is the way it is. I have no hope to offer you.” Her meaning was loud and clear, and certainly it put my comforting thoughts on the back-burner. Killer charm, yep, I was oozing killer charm, like a swamp oozes fetid odours.

Her eyes didn’t look at me, and her gaze had turned inward. It was easy to see she spoke the truth as she knew it. Her voice deadpan and lacked any emotion as if hope itself had fled. She too lived in a deadlocked situation, as trapped as the dragon.

I took these words as a bitter pill to swallow, but also they did something to me. They gripped me with a fervour I seldom experienced. Never tell a Spec Ops soldier that he can’t do something. It’s the surest way to ensure that they do it and the determination filled me. It grew like a swelling tidal wave and it would crash upon this place with all its fury… All my fury. This I knew with all my heart.

Before she looked at me again, before she could see that spark of defiance, the flame of focus and determination within me, I banished it from my mind. Took a deep breath and continued to be that harmless curious human she expected to see.

“The only easy day was yesterday.” I mumbled the SEAL mantra offhandedly.

She looked at me then, her expression suddenly hardened “Is that all you wanted to know? I have little time to make idle, fanciful chatter. Are you not here to convince me to leave with you? Quickly boy, I have things to be about.”

Her tone had become impatient too, and while it was good that she was dismissing me as an annoyance, as someone of no importance in her life, I did need one more bit of information, I was just worried about how she would take it.

“How do you heal her if she’s on that island?” My tone was as curious as if asking for a list of ice cream flavors. Despite my feigned innocence, she was guarded immediately.

“I think we have spoken enough for today. Curb your curiosity lest you become a victim of it. Too much water can kill a plant.”

Her use of a nature based idiom almost made me smile. My mind tracked back to Prince Horatio and Adeptus Bob of the Elves. I really missed those guys.

Keeping my face blank with a hint of disappointment, I nodded, and after she dispelled the containment spell I left with my Dwarven Guards. I needed time to process and plan.

She had no idea how much she had helped me.

On the way back to my cell. I tried to use sign language to build a connection with the Dwarves. BURT had been cataloging the signs they used and he was able to help me. It surprised them at first, and then delighted them as they almost overloaded BURT’s ability to figure it all out. We got a halfway decent conversation going. The four of them had interesting names. It turned out that Ramrin, Klerin, Brantrın and Fetrin had been assigned to me exclusively and they immediately treated me differently, since I had taken the time to learn some of their sign language. It was both gratifying and humbling. They promised to help me understand more when time allowed.

I couldn’t imagine how it must feel to be mute and unable to voice your thoughts with your mouth. I did learn that they had never been able to talk their whole lives and that their tongues were taken at birth. We didn’t get too much into it because they used too many unfamiliar signs, but at least we could communicate on some level.

It was a start.