In the Heart of the Hearth

The gale is both the death of the flame and the life of the inferno.

* * * * * * * *

It was the same every time Szak returned. Fiera would make her call to announce her presence, and all the dragons present in Foyirsinn or along the Spine of the Twinkling Hearth roared back.

Always, it sounded like utter chaos.

Even though Szak knew what all the dragons were roaring into the sky, it did not help that none of it was in unison and became a clutter of whatever he could understand from the thoughts he and Fiera shared. That was how a welcome home was, for him and his family. Excited, loyal, chaos.

Known throughout Aideyll as a city wondrous in both its size and its strength, Foyirsinn was the lively place Szak called home. Grand architectural triumphs fit for humans, dragons, and everything in between had stood for over six thousand nine hundred and twelve years. Every corner of every street was seeped in Aideyllian history, and lined up along two sides of every road were ingeniously designed lampposts that could contain and maintain a dragon’s flame, brighter than any natural fire. At night, dragons would light up these lamps, and all of the city glowed for miles, stretching well past the outskirts of the main roads and outlining the hilly farmlands further inland, like bright, pulsing veins of orange, yellow, and red under the white stars.

And that was how the sole city of this province got its name, Foyirsinn: hearth heart, in the ancient dialect of the Drakonskar clans.

Dragons continued to roar their welcome throughout the entire duration Szak and Fiera flew over the city. There were few here who did not have a dragon; the ones that didn’t either lost them in battle across the border or were those not of the twelve families in the greater Drakonskar clan.

But untrained civilians had little business being here. Every place not Foyirsinn or farmland in the Province of the Twinkling Hearth was a military post.

To the east of Foyirsinn was a mountain range. Twelve mountains, to be exact, lined up like spikes along a dragon’s spine—one for each of the original dragon families created by the Ashenborn millennia ago, shortly after the dawn of time.

At Szak and Fiera’s height, they could see even further east, to all that laid beyond the Spine. A vast valley continued on as far as the human eye could see, and although it was still part of the Province of the Twinkling Hearth and of Aideyllian lands, all to the east of the Spine was land too violent to settle on. No homes existed along this border the Aideyllian military referred to as the Edge.

Beyond the Edge, laid Oblivion: all that was not Aideyll. A slim collection of territories that prevented Aideyll from achieving world peace, Oblivion was the only reason Aideyll even needed a military. Sure, it was promised that no one could be killed on Aideyllian lands, but that didn’t stop the Oblivious from dragging Aideyllians across the Edge so that they could be killed, there.

Hence, no homes to the east of the Spine.

Fiera and Szak lowered toward their mountain, the fifth from the right. Because Fiera’s dragon sight saw further and clearer than he ever could, and because the two of them shared thoughts their whole lives, Szak focused through her eyes whenever they were in flight or fight. This meant that while Szak was trying his best to enjoy the last of the summer clouds this morning, Fiera saw Szak’s youngest brother training with his mother, like specks of red and navy sands in the vast green meadows. Again and again, they swung their swords before them, trying to catch the wind.

Dimitriv’s starting young.

Later than when I started.

Szak thought back to the first morning he trained with his mother. He had been a six-year-old, already sharpened and balanced by the sword for two years. Triv was far behind.

Too much of a prankster. Szak mentally grumbled as they descended.

Fiera mentally agreed as Szak’s mind drifted around in his memories, sifting through a long list of pranks Triv’s pulled on everyone in the family—their father, included.

This was another thing about their shared minds: Szak was the one that thought of, remembered, and weaved through life with images. Snapshots of things he’d seen before, replays of things that happened in the past—Fiera watched all of them in her head, reliving the past with him upon his whim. Her thoughts, while held images few and far in between, mainly consisted of feelings—the core, raw emotions that pounded out from the heart and dictated the speed of blood—instincts Szak could never surpass.

She let out another roar. It sounded across the valley and made the scattered trees across the meadow shudder at the call.

“My favorite brother’s back!” little Triv shouted. He dropped his Drakonforged sword upon the grass and hopped over to their mother, keeping a finger pointed up at the two of them in the sky. Beneath where the blade laid, steam danced up and disappeared from the leaves of grass.

This how long I’ve been gone?

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

It had only been three months since the last break he had from the Academy, but Triv seemed to have grown considerably, since. What is he? Eight? Did I miss a birthday?

Probably.

Szak jumped off Fiera’s back, landing to her left the moment she set foot upon the grass, claws digging into the soft dirt. He took five quick paces forward to meet his family, and then knelt on one knee, bowing his head.

“Mother,” he greeted.

“Welcome home.” His mother reached over to lift his head, gentle fingers pressing along his cheek. “Look at how you have grown, yet.”

Szak returned his mother’s gaze, saw their mountain standing gloriously behind her, and took in all of their home reflecting in her blue-green eyes as he lifted back to standing. His own eyes were a brilliant tone of ruby red, just like his father, and his hair, too, grew in piercing shades of red and black that matched his brothers and his father—much different than his mother’s before him, shining beautifully in full and luscious shades of black and navy in the sunlight.

There was something about returning home that woke Szak’s heart and made him long to stay, to be true to and protect everything he held dear, here, so close to the Edge.

Something about these mountains. This air I breathe…

Triv tackled him from the right, hugging him and digging his head into his arm. “We were worried you wouldn’t be back in time for Mother’s Morning!”

Szak looked down and pulled Triv off, saying nothing.

“How was Essensia in the summer?” Triv continued, excitedly. “Is it beautiful? What’s it like? Did you pummel everyone in combat, again?” he laughed. “And how’s Old Man Haze? Did you visit him?”

“Yes, as always,” Szak answered.

“Yes? To what?”

“Where’s Kazimir?” Szak asked instead, keeping eyes on his mother.

“Szakarilis,” his mother responded, smiling, but with a disappointed melody. “Have you grown so distant from your own blood that you refer to him by name?”

Szak felt his face stiffen. “Where’s our old man?”

His mother closed her eyes in patience, smile still calm upon her. When she reopened her eyes, they held tranquility to their shine. “Szakarilis…”

“… Where’s father?” he grumbled.

His mother placed a hand on his shoulder. “He left for the Mist yesterday, and will return by sunset.”

Szak nodded once to show he heard.

“Come, let’s go inside,” his mother said. Her hand slid from his shoulder to his back to press him toward the mountain. Szak followed his mother’s press and started forward.

Sliverby’s here.

Szak took note and saw it all through her eyes: a serpentine leviathan gliding toward them through the air, like a silver, oversized eel in water. It looped around the air before Fiera with soft hisses in greeting.

Fiera pressed out a huff in response, blowing a hot gust of wind in Sliverby and Triv’s direction. Annoying little brat.

Obviously. Szak thought, giving Triv a quick glance. Like dragon, like man.

“Dimitriv,” their mother called. Both Triv and Sliverby turned to her, quick and simultaneous. The sight made her smile grow. “Return home and tend to the rest of your studies for today.”

“But… but…” Triv looked back and forth between Fiera and Szak. “Szak’s home!”

Szak crossed his arms before him and stared at his brother. Triv looked away to avoid his stare, but their mother also looked at him, patiently waiting for her son to come to the correct answer on his own. A summer breeze blew by before Triv gave up, put his sword back into its sheath, and climbed onto Sliverby.

“My responsibilities are my own,” Triv grumbled half-heartedly, ending with a sniffle.

“Good. Now hurry and go.”

Sliverby hovered over, closer to Szak, and Triv leaned in to whisper. “Can you give me some hints? Mother just tells me to keep swinging until I see flame.”

“That’s the only way to do it.”

Both Triv and Sliverby hung their head low.

“… I’ll tell you of Essensia after dinner,” Szak conceded.

Triv immediately smiled. Sliverby did another loop through the air, Triv being tossed around with him. “Okay!” he answered with a laugh.

And off they went. Szak and Fiera watched the two of them fly off. As if in a rush somewhere.

Look out for whatever he’s planning for you.

Yeah, it does look like he’s trying to set up some stupid trap for me. If Mik’s in on it this time…

I could intimidate Sliverby for information.

Both of them pictured a young Sliverby cowering in fear under Fiera’s shadow, though Fiera’s imagination had the shadow being much bigger, much darker and ominous. Szak had thought to agree at first, but immediately retracted that answer and told Fiera to forget about it.

I’m not dumb enough to fall for his pranks anyway.

You’ve been, before.

Szak glared at Fiera, who just continued to laugh in both of their heads.

“Let’s,” his mother urged again.

Szak let his glare linger on his dragon for just a bit longer before turning away. “Yes, of course, mother.”

Heading out to Nova.

Greet Mythil for me.

Of course. I’m not the idiot.

Fiera spread her wings, and a gust of wind pushed all of Szak’s hair in one direction. She lifted into the air and glided her way back to Foyirsinn.

A little whiles after Fiera could not be seen at a human eye’s distance anymore, her thoughts and her vision faded away from Szak’s mind. Eventually, in the middle of his conversation with his mother, his mind fell further towards silence. Hollowness. Emptiness, like a piece of all that blackness in his mind had managed to have been carved away.

“I advise you to rest, this Mother’s Morning.”

Szak raised a brow and looked to his mother. “What else am I to do for three days in complete darkness?”

“Perhaps when you reopen your eyes, you’ll gain new perspective.”

Szak respected his mother more than any woman in the entire world—but she absolutely annoyed him whenever she was being this coy with her advice.

“Where’s Malestros?” Szak asked, instead.

His mother only smiled. “She has been making her rounds, lately, making sure all the newborn dragons to come in the new cycle will be accounted for so that the placement is according to plan.”

Szak nodded once.

It truly was a miracle whenever Szak thought about it—how every year, there was always the same number of newborn dragons and newborn Drakonskar babies. Szak didn’t recall how, or why, he had chosen Fiera’s egg to hold onto back when it had been his turn. It was just the way of things in Aideyll. Everything was always watched ever so meticulously and lovingly by the Ashenborn.

Before Szak could steer the conversation once more and ask about his other brother, Mik, another dragon’s call sounded nearby. Both him and his mother looked toward the direction of the call and saw a dragon just before it dropped down through the peak of their mountain and into the center of their home.

“The timbre of that vibrato,” his mother whispered. “What urgent news is brought to us now?”

Szak looked to his mother. “From an Edge post?”

“Usually,” she nodded. “She was just here three nights ago.” His mother let out a soft exhale. “Come, I suppose we should pick up our stroll and see what has happened, now. She’s likely frantically looking for me in our home as we speak.”