The Clutch of Sharys: Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter 31-Dragon Flock and a Broken Rock
The Seal granted the dragons the right to bear children of their own, though because of the tied blood in the seal. The children would only draw breath once a human bonded with their egg.
To Cara's eyes, their group made quite the study of some of the spheres' different riding fashions and styles. Cheska led the group, riding bareback and gripping Lilibet's bronze spines for balance. The monk’s clothing was loosely fitted, concealed underneath the fur-lined outer layer she wore to trap the warmth against her dusky skin. Petra and Cara rose astride, flying closest to Ahnn in her black wool overcoat, the hood flapping in the wind behind the kneeling girl's head. Bree stood confidently atop Stuk's teal back, wearing her tight Ataran leathers that were all lined with expensive materials. Cara's toasty toes could vouch that those materials worked wonderfully, but Bree appeared less bundled than the rest.
The cold, biting winds of the mountains were lost beneath the dragon's wings, replaced by the thin, frigid air high above them. After gradually losing the novelty of looking over the pointy rocks below her, Cara felt slightly restless as she looked around at the other riders near her.
Lilibet’s dark navy scales winked in the sunlight ahead as Cheska leaned forward, taking her dragon beneath the clouds, pursued by an adventurous Bree. When they resurfaced later, it appeared they had just been scouting ahead, the Countess shaking her dark head to clear the moisture from her area. Time stretched on as the surrounding sky grew flush with light, and Cara reached back into Lysander’s saddlebags, retrieving her knapsack. Carefully, Cara opened the top flap, withdrawing a book and stuffing it into her flight jumper before stowing the leather bag back into the container strapped to the dragon’s side. Taking a quick look at where her dragon still happily glided through the air, often taking rests on the bigger dragons who didn’t mind the little creature’s presence. Ducking her head beneath her loose collar and opening the book within the baggy confines of her sweater, Cara found more pictures and labeled uses for different plants.
While they flew north towards Cetna, Cara studied the book in her hands, one hand turning the pages and the other keeping her secured to Petra, who seemed lost in her thoughts and prone to rare silence. Dipping her head down, Cara read about the fever-reducing properties of willow and the antibacterial properties of honey, the soothing salve of aloe's leaves, and the calming properties of peppermint and chamomile. Each was rendered in loving, artistic detail upon its page, their likenesses sketched out in coal and painted in by a skillful hand. As she continued her perusal, Cara noticed that for such a thick book, the alphabetical list of useful herbs was fast running out. She was barely forty pages in, and she had reached the section on "W" with more than half of the book’s bulk remaining.
Curious, she flipped past the properties of wormwood and past the last few pages, seeking what lay beyond the almanac of natural cures and their uses. Upon reaching the end of the alphabet, Cara turned the page and found detailed drawings of the human body and pictures of different elements being applied to it. One showed water flowing from someone's hand into the veins to help purge what looked like poison, another showing rays of light pouring into a wound and closing it up. Her interest piqued, Cara flipped the pages, past pictures of earth encasing broken limbs, and air returning life to lungs filled with water, past fire raising a temperature of an ill patient and a glowing magmatic rock being pressed against a wound to cauterize it.
This looked like a guide to healing magic, but Cara quickly realized that all the inscriptions past the first portion were all in another language, its unfamiliar words taunting her with their hidden knowledge of old, lifesaving arts. Letting out a sharp exhale, her brow furrowed, Cara looked through the rest of the pictures, wondering how a book of Netian magic secrets came to be in an old library mostly filled with fake books. She remained lost in the book for the rest of their journey, trying to puzzle out what clues and snippets she could through context and images, achieving little in the goal of progress and much in the way of endless frustration.
Petra's elbow greeted her forehead with a violent hello, eliciting a yelp from Cara and a jump of surprise from the Princess. "Ow!" Cara said, rubbing her sore head.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were sniffing my elbow." Petra said, shooting an apologetic smile over her shoulder. "We're close but stopping for the night soon. We'll approach come morning." She gestured up ahead where Cara could see an endless sea of crimson leaves, cast fiery red in the fading light, setting the horizon ablaze in scarlet glory. The flaming sea rippled and undulated beneath the wind of the dragon’s leathery wings, sending waves of movement across the treetops and making it appear as though the forest itself was breathing in the sweet, clean air of the evening.
The so-called "Vermillion Sea'' that bordered the lines between Cetna and Netis was famous. The tens of thousands of fire red ember oaks that were planted way back during the creation of Cetna, a gift from their forebears in Farca, whose people had mastered the art of twining magic with the land.
They landed in a clearing and made camp. Petra and Ahnn planned off to the side while the other three did most of the work. Cheska got fire crackling and water set to boil atop it while Cara tended to the bed areas, and Bree prepared food.
Grateful for the chance to stretch her aching legs, Cara dedicated herself to her task, spreading out bedrolls and taking care to remove all the rocks and sticks that she could from beneath them. She filled in divots in the ground with nearby soil and tried to make it even to lie on. Since her task was quickly done, despite a certain silver dragon sitting atop whatever blanket or pillow Cara tried to pick up, she went to bother Cheska and see if she could help.
A neat collection of rocks lined an old firepit that the monk had utilized to create fire in; several logs now crackled merrily as she balanced a pot of water over the flames. "Need anything?" Cara asked, walking over with little girl on her heels. "Not really. Since most of the food is preserved, I'm mostly just boiling water." Cheska grinned up at her. "I got the easy job."
Shaking her head with a smile, Cara glanced over towards the Princess and her Speaker, who were running through a piece of paper that Ahnn had been scribbling on for most of the trip. Seeing as they were still busy, she went to find Bree, who was a little ways off from the group, carving a small circle into the ground in front of a large rock.
Laying out on a neat blanket closer to the fire was a collection of dried fruits and meats, along with some Ashbread and a jar of jam, their travel rations for that evening. Behind the blanket, in the circle, Bree began swinging her hammer, seemingly warming up. Spotting Cara, she waved her over, pointing her weapon at the rock.
"I want to smash this." The Countess said, calmly "And you're going to help me."
Cara looked between Bree and the unoffending piece of nature, wondering what this was about, until Bree turned to her, hand resting on her hip as her dark head tilted to the side.
"You always say you can't utilize your magic without others. Well, I want to smash this rock. Utilize."
Cara looked back towards the group, slightly unsure of herself but finding no reason to refuse.
"Come on." Bree urged, slipping her dark locks behind her ear, "If you're going to be useful in the lawless streets of Cetna, then you'll need to be at least willing to put a little power in."
Cheska looked up from the fire and gave Cara an encouraging smile before looking up to greet Lilibet, who had returned from hunting with the scent of fresh blood still clinging to the air around her as the dragon lowered a goat’s carcass to the ground. Scampering over, Cara's silver dragon scuttled up for a chance at some scraps, which the older dragon affectionately tossed her way while it ate.
"Cara." Bree said, drawing her name out as though in warning. "You won't get better and see your power grow if you do not exercise it properly."
Pushing air through her lips, Cara tossed her head back before looking down and shooting her friend a displeased glare. She turned her eyes to the fire by Cheska, remembering the gentle, hugging warmth of that light which belonged to a much fiercer source, though that had long sunk behind the trees. Cara slowly raised her hand to scoop the light, palm downwards, but before she could turn her wrist to dip her fingers in, the light grew a few glowing tendrils and reached them towards her. The luminescence shined, leaking away from the fireplace and curling towards her hand in a way that created a continuous, undulating flow of light from the pit to her fingers.
Cara offered the light to Bree, wisps curling and pouring off her fingertips in a cascade of sparks as she moved. Her best friend stood there, silently regarding Cara with a tilted head, a thick halo of inky dark surrounding her body, approaching from the woods and flowing around her. After pausing for too long a moment, Bree reached out, the light streaming from Cara's hand to hers.
Instead of flowing up her arm and into her, Cara's light seemed to be consumed by the opaque shroud around Bree, which seemed to grow thicker and fuller as it sucked in the luminous energy. Quickly, the heavy, spreading sensation of fatigue spread through her as her power waned, and Cara fought her best to keep going. Turning, Bree severed the connection and took one step forward, lighting her hammer and lightly tapping it on the stone.
A small poof of darkness rushed out where the hammer made an impact, the shadow quickly wicked away by firelight. At the same time, a tremendous crack rang across the hearing, gathering everyone's attention and spooking both Stuk and Cara's dragonling. Panicked and confused, Stuk bit Alexander's tail when it waved by in surprise, resulting in an exchange of growls and snaps between the golden horned king and his smaller compatriot, whose bronze horns were not impressive enough to allow such a misdeed to go unpunished.
Little girl dashed her way back to Cara, spooling around her legs in alarm as she let out a nervous, chattering cry. Cara reached down to soothe her, eyeing the large rock that now stood in six pieces. Darkness still clung to Bree's figure as she walked over to the shattered stone, nudging it with her boot. "Well, it's sure as dawn smashed into bits." Bree remarked, looking up at Cara. "I don't know what you're complaining about. That’s a hell of a useful power to have."
"You wouldn't." Cara said, looking away and crushing down the bitterness in her heart. "It's easy to say how good it is until you're the one stuck being useless while everyone else shapes the world around you with their power." Bree pursed her lips, purposefully examining the intricate metalwork on her hammer before responding. "What if you could help someone shape the course of history?" The countess asked, her blue eyes sparkling in the firelight.
Cara began to protest before Cheska spoke, throaty tones cutting across the scene like a knife. "We're all heroes in our own stories until we realize we aren't. There's few of us that history will remember, our actions forgotten and lost as one generation turns to the next."
Bree jumped in, using the last of the monk’s words to further her point. "So if you had the power to help choose that course," The countess gestured over to where Petra and Ahnn had looked up from their papers, watching them. "Why wouldn't you see the benefits in that? You may not shape mountains yourself, but you could help someone build one that puts all others to shame."
Slowly crossing over to Cara, Bree gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Your magic reflects who you are. The dragon provides the element, but the interpretation is up to the soul of the rider." Leaving it at that, she crossed over to the blanket of food and pulled out a dagger, sawing into the Ashbread and skewering a piece to toast. "I'm hungry, and I'm eating." Bree announced to no one in particular, ending the conversation as one by one, the girls slowly reassembled, eating dinner in ponderous silence.
Their meal was slightly ruined by the first, confusing drops of rain, the ones that caused Cara to look up at the sky and wonder if it was moisture off the trees or just the weather. Cheska stood after a few more began calling, summoning the dark Lilibet over to the area by the campfire. "If you wouldn't mind, lovely girl, we need some shelter for the night." The monk spoke to her mount, gently stroking the long, dark blue snout that affectionately bumped her head, snapping at the tiny ponytail at the back.
There was a gentle respect with which the Farcan treated the dragons that Cara greatly respected and loved to watch. Not that the other riders didn't love their mounts, but something about the way Cheska bonded to and spoke with the creatures reminded Cara of herself. If everyone who ever took a creature into their lives and home showed even a fraction of the affection that this monk did, all animals would live a better existence.
Complying with the request, Lilibet raised and extended a wing, creating a small lean-to with the dragon's body as the back wall. Ducking under the appendage, Cara put her bag down near the back, closer to the constant warmth of the dragon's side. Flicking aside the quilted cover of the bedroom, she crawled into the old sheets and pulled them over her head.
Supposedly the bedrolls had been made for whenever the Aspas family wanted to rough it and sleep under the stars, though it was still of a luxurious make. Although the material was aged, smelling of cedar and dust, the bedroll was decently cushioned and well insulated. Curling up in a ball, Cara pulled out the book and stuck a hand out from under the blanket to try to call the firelight again.
Immediately, a small pulse of pain shot up her arm and into her head, tinging the edges of her vision slightly red as she dropped her hand. Cara let out a small gasp of pain, summoning a worried dragonling from obtaining scraps by the fire. An insistent little head burrowed its way under the edge of the blanket, lifting it. Lavender eyes looked down at Cara in curious concern, and upon seeing her rider clutching her arm, the dragonling scuttled forward, the blanket dropping behind her.
Nosing her way under the sore arm, the dragon curled up by Cara's stomach, resting a smooth, scaly chin near her rider's elbow. "Seems like I pushed it by calling the light earlier." Cara thought, flexing her fingers back and forth. She felt even worse than she had before lying down and extremely cross with herself for trying and annoyed at Bree and Cheska's public lecture earlier. Their words were striking far too close to her heart, and now she felt the fool, whining about having a power that others saw as valuable even though she didn’t feel that way herself.
Sticking her head back outside the blanket, Cara caught a glimpse of Bree coming in and claiming the bed next to hers, gradually followed by the others, with Petra coming in last. Turning over onto her side, Cara's eyes focused on the bronze underbelly in front of her, settling on the line where it joined the dark blue scales of Lilibet's ribs. Gradually her eyelids wilted with sleep, closing shut as she silently weighed alternative possibilities of a different future, with the rhythm of raindrops splattering against the shelter of a leathery wing.
When they departed the next morning, Cara couldn't help but stare at the pieces of shattered rock that lay on the ground, a silent testament to their presence there. "Everything alright?" Petra asked, sliding her gaze back towards Cara's. "Hm? I'm fine." Cara replied distantly, turning away and facing the sea of crimson leaves in front of them.
"You seem lost in thought after that discussion last night." Petra lightly observed, also turning to look ahead.
"I have a lot to think about." Cara slowly responded. "She's right, of course. I’m simply processing that still."
Petra's short blonde hair bobbed as she nodded. "Good. I was going to have to tell you that Bree had some wonderful points, but I see you listened."
"Of course I did. It’s just… not what I would have planned." Cara replied, glancing off towards the right where Bree stood tall atop Stuk's back, her dark hair flying behind her. "This was supposed to be different. I was supposed to be independent after I hatched my dragon."
"Of course, things didn't go to plan," Petra remarked, voice wry. "Life's just one continuous improvisation for survival. You can plan and plot and spend all of your time in the prelude, thinking you're getting ready. Then one day, life will happen, changing everything and disrupting every preparation you have, so you make do with what you can and move on. This may not have turned out how you liked, but it's just the beginning. Wait and see who you are come ten years, then make your decisions on whether the hand you were dealt was that short."
Cara exhaled, taking Petra's words in. "I guess we'll see if we're both still alive then." She said wryly, watching as the trees below them thinned out, showing patches of flat, tan earth below them.
"We will be," Petra replied in an authoritative tone. "I'll be on the throne, and you'll be serving the kingdom somewhere, and you will have to come up to me and say, 'Petra, you were right all along, and I should've listened to you sooner."
"I was going to commend you on your mature outlook, but I'm taking that back now." Cara shot back, a slight grin on her face. It was getting harder and harder not to feel friendly affection and attachment to Ahnn and Petra, rough though their beginning had been.
"I think I'll survive." Petra replied, a smile of her own peeking through the corners of her lips as she kept them flying onwards.