Darin had expected some discord amongst the elders. He’d already seen how Blood Claw and Greed took the news. However the reactions of the elders were not as Honorable and Wise, as he had expected. Some saw him as a gift from the Mother, as if his tiny body was shrouded in golden light. Other’s grieved, as if they were a child who had broken their favorite toy. But it was the rest of them, that sent shivers down Darin’s spine. It was those elders who viewed him as a mutant, a freak, a mockery of their Glory.
“Destroy the abomination!” Someone roared, their call was soon echoed by others. That’s not good.
“That creature, is a mockery of the Mother!” Dark Flame shouted over the crowd. As others repeated his words, he paused and tossed Darin a smug wink. You sadistic bastard…
“For the Purity of our blood.”
“For the future of our race.”
“Destroy that stain on our Honor.”
“Remove it from our Mother’s sight.”
“Stay in the circle, until all is complete.” Blood Claw reminded him. He blinked at her and nodded. To his surprise she then dove off the ramp, into the waters below. He didn’t understand why, until he looked up. Several of the elders had taken flight. All of them looked enraged as they streaked across the chambers from all sides. Behind them, a great many more elders seemed ready to join the attack. I’m going to die, I’m so going to- Screw it. The realization that escape was impossible, was followed with the fact that panic was pointless. As fiery death barreled towards him on wings, he did what any true gamer would do. He moved his head, side to side, taking as many screenshots as he could. From all sides, they launched merciless death at him. Fire, ice, acid, lightning, magma and other things he could not even name rushed towards him. Screenshot. A moment later, an eerie silence filled the room.
“I’m not dead?” Darin asked, surprised by the lack of horrific pain. The elders that attacked him, seemed to be just as surprised by the outcome. All eyes glanced down, only to see that the circle was still recording.
“Ahem. Technicality. I guess we need to conclude the Trial first. Would someone please dispel that?” A massive red elder asked, gesturing to the circle. He looked around, waiting for someone to clear his path.
“Oh, so now you’re suddenly polite and reasonable?” Darin asked, his amplified voice filling the chamber. In his annoyance, he’d dropped all pretense of respect. The elder looked at him, with his jaw hanging wide in shock. In response they huffed and looked away, deeming him unworthy of a response.
Another of his attackers, a brown dragoness, look to Blood Claw. “Den Mother, as an elder of our people, I demand you end this farce. Drop the protections and end the ritual at once.” She commanded, glaring at her with open scorn. Much to her surprise, Blood Claw simply shook her head.
“The only farce here, is that those called elders would attack during a rite. You,” she paused to gesture to all the attackers, “have brought shame on the council.” Blood Claw stated, her voice carried but her tone was calm.
“Land wyrm. You perpetuate this mockery, so you too shall be punished.” The dragoness snarled at her, moving into position to attack. A few others turned towards Blood Claw, showing teeth and claws. This looks bad. I need to distract them, fast.
“The only mockery here, is your behavior. You are elders, supposedly the wisest amongst our race-” Darin declared, drawing all eyes to him for a moment.
“Twisted little thing, you are Not a part our proud and noble race.” The brown dragoness screamed at him, cutting off his speech. She lashed out in rage, only to have their claws bounce away. Their attention shifted back to the Den Mother, so he had little choice but to provoke them. Behind him, unnoticed to all, the pond had started to churn.
“Is it that your eyes are too feeble for you to even use ‘Identify’?” Darin asked, causing them to glare at him. “Is it that your blood has thinned so much, that you are too stupid to understand the circle? Or have you simply gone so senile that you would disrupt a rite? That you would throw a tantrum and attack your own kin, merely because you learned a truth you do not like?” He demanded, with each insulting question asked louder than the last. The rest of the dragons had fallen silent as his accusations boomed through the chamber. Even worse, was that the runes of the circle agreed with him.
“Silence!” The red elder roared as his temper took control. “You will die in a moment Wyrm.” He promised Darin, before turning his attention to Blood Claw. “This is your last warning. Dispel it now or I will rip you apart, limb by limb.”
“Now elders, a ceremony is not to-” Blood Claw began, only to be cut off by their snarls. She gave Darin an a brief regretful look, to which he simply shrugged. It was clear, he wouldn’t hold it against her, but still she hesitated. As the elders closed in on her, a new voice filled the air.
“Fire Clan. You are called to fulfill the oath you have sworn.” That sounded like Firebrand’s voice. “Protect the Den Mother from those without Honor!”
“What?” Asked the puzzled brown dragoness, who moments ago was so intent on murder. She did not have long to ponder as dozens of dragons took flight at once. In seconds, members of the Fire Clan had reached the wayward elders. Fire, fang and claw rained down on them without pity. The battle was brief, but incredibly savage. Darin’s fights had been but a joke, when compared to this brutality. He still didn’t know what the Fire Clan was. But they had definitely added to his collection of amazing images.
“Are there any others who would disrupt the Trial of Lore?” Firebrand asked, as she stood atop a corpse. While he watched, the body melted into the floor and left only a chalk outline. Cool, so that’s what I look like when I go, he mused. Several wings rustled, but no one dared speak against them. As the seconds passed by, Firebrand nodded and turned to Blood Claw. “Then I would request that you continue.” She stated, before she and the others flew off to reclaim their seats. Much to Darin’s surprise a system message appeared.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Achievement Award: Balls of Brass.
“You not only talked down to several elder dragons, but you did it to protect a friend. Living to tell about it is beside the point.”
Neutral renown increase, XP bonus, you are still an annoying midget.
Awarded by Dark Flame.
Darin blinked a few times and swiped the box away. What the hell is wrong with that dragon? He shot Dark Flame a dirty look, only to find him laughing. With a sigh, Darin shook his head and addressed the elders. “Your next question?”
“If I might ask another?” Tome, the dear old wyvern asked.
“Hopefully, it will cause less of a disruption than your last question.” Darin stated in a playful tone. He was trying to come across more pleasant than he felt, but it sounded somewhat hollow.
“My apologies.” Tome stated, causing him to feel guilty. “Perhaps you could tell us of the most amazing thing from the distant past?” He asked. It caused Darin to think for several seconds, before he could reply.
“Dear elder, it is difficult to choose between the Songs of our people and the Trees of our forest.” He stated, causing the crowd to murmur again. The last thing he wanted, was to cause another battle to take place.
“Then would you tell me first about the forest, and then about the songs?” Tome asked, happy to move the conversation forward.
“As you wish, elder Tome.” Darin stated, glad that no one was calling for his death just now. “In the memories from my father, the forest was more than just a part of our territory. It was our garden, our hunting grounds and an extension of our home.” The murmuring in the room increased, and Darin felt his heart sink at the implications. “The trees were treated with respect, while limited, they were beings of magic and intellect.”
“The trees?” Someone interrupted him.
“They had emotions, and they communicated them at times. The trees also seemed to sense one another and what the dragons perched on them felt.” Darin explained.
“Did you say perched? Since when would a dragon sit on a tiny little branch?” An elder interrupted to ask. Darin sighed, but tried to explain anyway.
“Our forest was kept with only a single type of tree. With shape and limbs like an oak, and bark of an ashen tone. Their wood was hardy, and their large red berries helped us stay fed in the winter.” He wasn’t surprised at the additional noise his last comment generated. What he was surprised by, was the lack of interrupting questions. “It is also worth noting, that each adult tree stood several hundred feet tall. I never saw a single tree that had grown wild, but I did see one being planted.”
“Dragons, planting trees?” Tome asked, disrupting the tale this time. Despite the runes at his feet, Darin could hear the murmurs of disbelief.
“It was only with great effort, that they prepared the ground and planted the seed. The entire time they worked, they kept a song going. A simple song, that was also a prayer to the Mother.” He stated. He took a breath and waited, expecting shouts of disagreement or pointless complaints. The room had fallen silent, except for the murmuring from the waters behind him. As the silence lingered, even he turned back to look at the pool.
“Sing it.” An unseen elder requested.
“Yes. Sing one of these songs that you speak so highly of.” Dark Flame demanded, a playful expression on his face. Now that means trouble. Several others made similar requests, leaving him little choice. Darin took a deep breath, tipped his head back and began. To his credit, he did a fair job of repeating the slow and melodic tune.
“We children of the Mother, the forest we do keep.
Clearing all that threatens, our offerings piled deep.
Flames to purify them, and burn away the ill.
When only ash remains, the deep earth will we till.
And deepest in the center, we plant the sacred seed.
So that our descendants, the forest too may feed.”
As no interrupted him, he continued to sing with his eyes closed. He repeated the song, verse after verse, and on the third repetition another voice joined in. The new voice did not sing the words, but accompanied with the melody itself, in deep in pleasant tones. Enjoying the harmony, he sang the song for one round before bringing it to a gentle close.
Whose voice was that? Darin wondered, as he finally opened his eyes.
- - - - -
Author’s note: I hope you enjoyed tonight’s chapter folks. No spoilers from me on who, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Thank you for all the support and positive feedback. A few of you took the time to leave detailed and honest reviews, thank you! I actually quoted one of them, to a good friend who knows I write. Also I crossed 1400 average reads today, though I know that will probably back slide once I post. Okay, enough mental happy dances. Let me know if I need to fix something. Night folks.