Chapter 18

Aroster

Vella

Colors and shapes swirled around Vella as she began to try and focus. Her ears were ringing, her stomach felt like it was doing flips. With a dull thump, she was dropped onto a cold hard floor, at least that’s what she had to assume it was. She tried to stand but her equilibrium was off, and she fell in a heap on the ground. She tried to curse but the words fell in a garble from her mouth. She heard a chuckle behind her and she tried to focus on where the sound came from as her hearing began to return. “You may just want to lie there for a minute. No matter the distance a teleportation spell always disorients one a great deal, especially the first time. It’s part of why I prefer to use my feet if possible or someone else’s feet I suppose,” the man finished with a laugh.

Vella tried once more to focus and get herself at least sitting up. She focused on the figure speaking in front of her, though he seemed to still be swaying. “Who are you?” she managed to slur before nausea took hold and forced her to dry heave at the floor.

“Well my new friend I do believe you know that, after all, you came here to find me I believe,” he replied. “the more important question I suppose is who are you?”

“Kraevos,” Vella mumbled out.

“No, no my child, you cannot be Kraevos, I am Kraevos,” He stopped and looked himself up and down. “Well at least I am on the inside, the outside, well that’s just part of the fun of life.” He walked forward and hunched over Vella waving his hand across her. A silver shimmer passed over Vella and the nausea began to fade. “That should help a little, though I will charge you a fee miss. So, answer my question, who are you, and why exactly has a Dragonspeaker sought me out?”

Vella sat up successfully this time, “My name is Vella,” she spat back. “Where are we and why did you bring me here?”

“No, no, no,” Kraevos interjected. “That’s not how this works, I helped you, you have to answer me first.” Kraevos reached out a hand and helped Vella up. She paused for a moment to take stock of her surroundings. The room was decently sized, though it was cluttered throughout. There was a large and rather old-looking desk in one corner with all manner of scrolls books and maps strewn about it. There was a small bed in the opposite corner with clothing piled on top. In the center of the room was a large cedar table that had the emblem of the wild order with a verdant glow on each side. The one truly concerning thing to Vella was that she noticed no windows or doors in the room.

Kraevos waved his hand and a small leather book flew from the desk to him. He thumbed through the pages quickly, “Ah, yes, this is the one I need.” He said as he took the book and placed it on top of the table. “So, Miss Vella, I have several questions for you and I know you have far more for me, everyone always has more for me, but the least we can do is get comfortable.” Kraevos clapped his hands and large padded wooden chairs began to grow from the floorboards. He took a seat and motioned for Vella to do the same. “Come now, if I didn’t want to talk to you, I wouldn’t have brought you here. Besides, you were looking for me remember.” Vella sighed and hesitantly took a seat. She locked eyes with the man across from her. He was a young-looking man with pale skin and a clean-shaven head. She knew this couldn’t be his real face if it was actually Kraevos. Her face wrinkled and her brow narrowed as she tried to make a serious face though she was still a bit groggy from her transport.

“What, you look uneasy, does this face make you uncomfortable?” Kraevos asked. “I can put on a different one.” He waved his hand in front of his face and with a shimmer it began to change. The skin shifted pigmentation; the bone structure changed with an odd sound like rocks being ground together. The worst sound though came from the skin stretching, like leather about to snap. Suddenly his form was replaced by that of an older woman with dark skin and long black hair. The voice was far higher than that of the man who had just been talking. "is this more to your liking Vella?” Kraevos asked.

It took a moment for Vella to reply as she was in shock from what she had just seen. “Ummm…,” she scrambled for words, “No, it’s not.”

“Then what exactly would be?” Kraevos replied. “I have many a face in my repertoire, but I am no mere parlor trick, miss, I assure you I am still myself.”

“I don’t care, what you say about that,” Vella replied. “If I am going to have a conversation, I am going to have it with you, the real you in your own skin.”

“You do realize what a demand you place on me do you not?” Kraevos said haughtily. “You are asking me to reveal something that has been a secret, my true form, which has been mine alone for many a year. I fail to see how this could be of need to you miss.”

“You want honesty from me and I want honesty from you,” Vella replied. She knew she was being a bit brazen, but she saw little to lose. “How can I believe I am receiving the truth from someone who is so openly deceiving me? That is no way to form the base of a relationship. I believe we both should lay our cards on the table.” Vella liked that expression; she had read it in one of her books and thought it gave her a roguish edge.

“Hahahaha,” Kraevos let out a hearty laugh as his voice began to change. ‘Fine then miss, you want transparency, then it is what you will have. He stood and his body began to shift, the skin grew to an even darker shade of pigment like the brilliant dark of the night sky, and his voice dropped several octaves. His hair disappeared and he grew thin and tall. His clothing shifted from the dull brown robe he had been wearing to a blue one with silver flickering stars streaming and moving across. He sat back down and began to speak, “Here you go miss, my true form.” His voice was striking in its clarity, he had an accent that Vella couldn’t recognize. His diction though was precise and his tone muted but wise. “You have no idea how long it has been since anyone has asked to see my real face. In all honesty, sometimes it is like I forget what I truly look like.” He stood and waved his hand across the wall and a mirror appeared. He took a moment to look at himself. “I do suppose I look quite good for my age.” He said as he turned back with a smirk. “Then again if I looked right for my age there wouldn’t even be a bit of dust left of me.” He smiled at Vella, “Please Miss, relax. I bear you no ill will. If anything, I am excited to hear your story.”

“Alright then, you are being honest with me now, so I suppose I can treat you as an ally,” Vella said trying to gain his favor. “What exactly do you want to know about me then? I will trade you information for information.”

Kraevos grinned, his teeth were an eerie perfect white which was luminescent next to his ebony skin. “Well, it appears this is not your first dance then. You have some understanding of the game. Fine, then your information for mine.” He cracked his knuckles and placed his hands flat on the table. A flicker of silver energy ran across the edge and continued to gently hum. “Place your hands on the table too please.” Vella did so hesitantly. “Do not worry young miss, this is just a simple spell, an act of good faith, if either of us lies the other will know. There shall be no lies weaved in our tapestry.”

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Vella tensed up as he called her young, she was quite quickly growing tired of being called young or a child by those around her. “Please stop with the young miss, I am not some dainty flower that needs flattering,” she grumbled out.

“Yes, yes,” Kraevos said smiling still, “I apologize Vella. We are all equals here. When you get to be as old as I am everyone appears to be a child in comparison, part of the problem with being ageless I suppose.” He pointed to Vella. “You see, the table stayed silver, were I to lie it would have flashed red and I would be most uncomfortable. You now have your first piece of information on me. I am indeed ageless, though you probably understood that already. Now is your turn to share.”

“Fine, I suppose,” Vella tried to think, all she had given was her name so far, a little of her background couldn’t hurt. “My name is Vella Harn. I am a dragon breeder from the northern edge of Draeton and I was sent here to find you.”

“Sent to find me, intriguing, there are very few who would have any reason to believe I am here. At least I have worked hard to make it that way. That leads me to believe that Dracyr the wise sent you here to find me. Quite clever of her to make sure to send someone that I wouldn’t smell out as presidia property.” He took a deep breath and locked his swirling midnight blue eyes with Vella’s. “I do doubt that she understands exactly what you are though, there is little reason she would.”

“What do you mean by that?” Vella replied quickly.

“Well as I have said my friend, you are a Dragonspeaker. Did Dracyr not know this?” He waited for a reply and received none. “Could it be that you yourself did not even know this? My oh my, what a wonderful day this is! I would have figured that after what occurred in the market you might have some inkling of your abilities. Dear Vella, do you understand how special you are?” Kraevos removed a hand from the table and snapped his fingers. A dusty old book flew forth and landed in front of Vella. It flung itself open to blank pages. After a moment words began to flow and swirl across the pages in a blazing crimson. “You my dear are a Dragonspeaker.”

“I thought you were just using an old term for a dragon breeder,” Vella said confused.

“No, no, not at all. A Dragonspeaker is far more special than that. They have a great and old magic within them, older than mine even. I have believed for a number of years that the last of your blood had died out, this is splendid.”

“So, what exactly is a Dragonspeaker?” Vella asked hoping to clear up at least one of the many questions that seemed to be staring her in the face.

Kraevos stood up and the silver edging of magic dimmed on the table, he walked over to her and pointed to the book. The crimson ink began to swirl and form images. “A Dragonspeaker is exactly what the name implies dear Vella. Long ago when the wild magic of the world was free and man and beast were in a constant cycle of battle there were those who chose instead to try and find a path of unison. Those were the Dragonspeakers. They formed a bond with dragons and over the ages became attuned to the beasts. Now dragons being such inherently magical creatures, this allowed magic to be passed to the Dragonspeakers. This was one of the earliest ways in which we began to gain an understanding of magic before the great binding occurred…” There was a sadness as Kraevos’ voice trailed off when he mentioned the great binding.

“So, what did they do?” Vella asked trying to get him back on track.

“They did a great many things,” Kraevos said snapping out of his thoughts. “They helped to teach others. They helped dragons and people to form the closest to a functioning relationship we have ever had, a true balance. At least that occurred where they were listened to. There was a magic that was passed down through their blood. As the ages passed, they became the first dragon breeders across our continent. That explains your trade quite well actually.”

Vella shrugged, “Sure, I guess. I just ended up a dragon breeder 'cause it’s what my parents did.”

“Look at this,” Kraevos said as he snapped his fingers. The sword Vella had just purchased flew to him. “This sword here was the first clue that you were something special. You see this is one of a few items that I have placed across Aroster to help me identify those who have a strong bond to magic. It is how I have helped to collect the castouts and the lost to form the Wild Order. After seeing this blade with you I saw what happened in the market and that just told me I had to meet you, but this is far more than I hoped for.”

“That’s an awful lot to take in Kraevos, but there are a few problems in what you’re telling me.” Vella gathered her thoughts and tried to calm her emotions before she began to talk about her parents. Though their death was years ago she still hurt each time she spoke of them. “my parents were never able to do anything like what you’re talking about. They didn’t have an ounce of magic in them.”

“Not all with the blood can awaken it,” Kraevos replied. “They may have just been unlucky, though there have been many who have not found their gifts because of a lack of old knowledge. Tell them, Vella, was there ever anything that happened to you while you were younger that you could not explain? Anything that your parents had to try and get you through?”

“Not that I can remember honestly. Life was pretty normal on the form until my parents passed away. Even then it has been pretty quiet until this week.”

Kraevos’ eyes narrowed. “They passed together, yes? How did they pass if you do not mind me prying?”

“The blood plague…” Vella said trailing off as she tried to fight back tears.

“A horrible thing indeed, but Vella I must ask, how did you survive?”

“I don’t know,” Vella replied. “As far as I could tell I didn’t get sick.”

“That is because the magic in your blood was strong enough to protect you. This very ancient Dragonspeaker blood is why you are still here. It is why you are here and your parents are not.” Kraevos looked at Vella and realized how blunt and uncomfortable his statement was. “I am sorry that happened to you Vella, I truly am. I only wish the curse of magic had never stained us so.”

Vella looked down at the book, skimming the pages and looking at the moving images as she tried to regain her composure. There were certainly situations in her life that she was reexamining based on this information, like the one in the market earlier in the day.

“I had my suspicions about you just from the aura around when I met you at the stables, but by the time I saw you again at the market, I knew you were special. Both a wyvern and a moss dragon willing to happily follow you show a strong connection more than any simple human can muster without many more years of training than you’ve had.”

“Hold up,” Vella interjected, “What do you mean when you met me at the stables? The only one there was the stablemaster and he’s an old…” Kraevos waved a hand in front of his face and his features shifted to that of the stablemaster. He waved his hand back across his face and it returned to his visage. “Oh, yeah that,” was all Vella could muster in reply. ‘Do any other people actually live in Aroster or is this whole city just you?”

Kraevos laughed, “I can assure you I am only a few figures in the city, very far from even being enough to fill a tavern.”

“Yeah, I suppose it would be a bit much even for you to run around and be everyone in the city,” Vella replied with a smile trying to imagine Kraevos doing that.

“Yes, though I suppose I would be in even better physical shape for my age,” Kraevos said with a smirk. “Now my dear friend, we have so very much to discuss of the Wild Order and your new magic. I am just so excited to find one of the original magic lines intact.” He didn’t try to hide his excitement. Despite being such an old man, he was as giddy as a small child. “Before I get started though I suppose we should refocus a little. Why after all, did you come to find me?”