Excerpt - Book Four
March 11th 2010 03:15
Andretta's stomach was twisted in excitement and fear. Never had she felt like this - body wrenching from the inside out, sweat trembling on the surface of her skin, heart pounding and breath rasping.
This, she thought, This is what LIVING feels like!
In all her young years, exploring Goldenstone's plains, living with the Wolfen in their icy mountains, never had she found enough adventure to truly satisfy her. The life of the court and village was more than dull, and how disappionted she had been when she found Goldenstone's outer reaches not much better. Areyemathea had taken her often to the Crystal Peaks, and as thrilling as they were to fly over, one could only fly over them so many times before knowing every sharp wind and dark cavern. The viewing screens had interested her, but what good was viewing action on a screen? She wanted life pumping through her blood, anxiety and fear.
She was barely seven yans old when she had realized, to sate this thirst in her, she must do as her mother had, and take to the sea.
She did not take the tranquil and lovely waters of the Iris sea however. It just seemed so tame to her. Instead, she took the ever enraged Turmac sea. In her mother's tradition, she had taken only few supplies, carried on her person, and a tiny rowboat.
The sea voyage itself had been exhilerating - rain whipping into her face and waves threatening to overturn her at every stroke. She knew that this was the territory of Sharneeshi's son. So vast were the serpents, they had to inhabit opposite sides of the ocean. No one had ever met the shy Sharneesho, but a few times when it seemed she must capsize, she felt what seemed to be a steadying arm. Andretta had always been friend to all dragons, and even if he was too shy to say hello, Andretta appreciated his support.
Now she rowed fiercely into the canal that had appeared in the high land mass. The Circumference Miridian that Areyemathea had warned her about had been passed as if it did not exist. She had told her there would be fierce magnetic fields both negative and positive, as if repelling and attracting at the same time. If dragons wished to cross it, they must watch the air, if humans, they must watch the water. Observe closely the waves, the spray, the small eddies. Row straight, but once within the Miridian one must flow the currents or be rent apart by the magnetic forces. Still, then, only by Om's will could one cross and live.
Andretta had experienced none of it, only stormy rain and great waves. Now, as she drew her boat into the canal, the air and water seemed calmer. There was TwiSun's warm light on the cliff face. She took a moment to look up - the cliffs were impressive, a light brown rock such as she had never seen.
This is Areyemathea's home! She thought.
She rowed on down the canal for some time before the edges of the rock faces on either side began to sheer downward. Little did she know, if denizens living on either side had noticed her, they would have been afraid. As none could cross the Circumference Miridian without pain, thus could none cross the canals. Divisia was carefully balanced.
To her left, the cliffs were sloping into warm grass, high trees and deep forest. To her right was also forest, but dark, twisted, gnarled. As if it were not alive, but completely dead. Though she was strong and capable, she chose to bank on the left. Something about the forest on the right was completely unnerving.
In one small place the ground sloped right into the river. She plowed hard towards it, beaching the nose of her tiny boat. Nimbly, she leapt to the ground over the prow, stumbling a little after being at sea for so long. It had been......About 15 days. She had only survived by the bottle of EverWater given her by Ethan, the Castle wizard. One sip was enough to saturate the body for days. She was very hungry though, her small supply of bread and biscuits and dried fruit long since eaten.
Head spin under control, she pulled her boat up a ways. There was no water mark, so she could safely assume that there was no flooding or tide, and her boat would be safe.
She quickly rearranged her cloak, checked her boot for her dagger, and set off into the forest. The trees were closely spaced, and there was a type of canopy above. Hanging vines of some great plant twined around the branches, not to strangle, but to love. It was obvious that all the vegetation survived on an intertwined eco system.
She headed in roughly a straight line from the canal, walking slowly. To her left the forest seemed to thin, to her right, to thicken so greatly it seemed she would have trouble getting through it. She maintained her current course and speed, looking for something that might be food.
Occasionally she glanced up, looking for dragons. Surely, they would be here. It was Areyamathea's birthplace.
After walking for some time she noticed that the thin shafts of light filtering through the canopy had disappeared. Glancing up, she saw thick clouds, and it soon started a heavy, insistant downpour. The rain was icy and steady, and though her thick black cloak was mostly weather proof, it could not stand up to the steady driving of the water, and soon she was soaked through and cold. She angled right, into the thicker forest, seeking shelter.
Pushing thick vines out of her way and only managing to get more wet and cold, she began to curse softly. Though not too worried about getting sick, she was now incredibly uncomfortable. The roomy, warm halls of castle Goldenstone suddenly seemed very inviting. Her boots were even filling with water. She held close the teachings of the Wolfen - When cold and caught in bad weather, one must keep moving until suitable shelter was found. Keep the body warm, blood pumping, and you had a chance at survival.
Beginning to despair of ever finding shelter she suddenly spied what seemed to be a large rock under a tree with broad leaves. It might give her enough shelter for a small fire. She angled towards it.
Her heart fluttered and thumped angrily against her breast bone as the rock seemed to move. She stopped, watching, and it moved again. Not just moved, but shuffled. She moved closer.
No rock, but a dragon. He was small, so not a royal dragon. Areyemathea was a giant, capable of holding any human in her enormous claw. Andretta herself had slept in Areyeamathea's outstreched claw as if it were a large, soft bed. The dragon Queen had explained that only first, therefore royal dragons were this size, all their offspring were smaller, more human sized. This dragon out bulked her to be sure, but was only a little bigger than her. If she rode on his back, her feet would trail as if she rode a small pony. He was the soft brown rock of the cliffs, but with and orange red glow. His scales were impossibly shiny, like all the dragons she knew. The shuffling she had seen was his wings - though sheltered under the flat leaf tree, he had one wing up over his head to ward of intermittant drips.
She paced forward a little, making deliberate noise. She surprised him mid yawn, and he jumped, large green reptile eyes widening as he saw her. She smiled, and gave the human to dragon greeting of fingertip to forehead, and a low bow.
"I greet thee well, friend dragon. I am Andretta of Goldenstone Castle, daughter of Allistair the King, and Alexondra the Saviour. I come from a land far over the sea, where I am well known to your matriarch, the Queen Areyemathea"
The dragon simply stared, mouth slightly open, for so long, she wondered if he were simple in some way. His forked tongue explored the side of his lip, as his eyes looked her over. She frowned at his rudeness. He coughed, took a breath and recovered himself. His voice was deep as all dragon voices, but somehow lighter, as if he were very young.
" I greet thee well, friend...Human. Andretta. I am known as Chilon, Defender of the Light. What brings you to our divided land?"
Her frown deepened. Not only had he screwed up the official greeting, he hadnt bowed or used her title. Was he simply inexplicably rude, or completely mentally deficient? She reminded herself she was in a foriegn land, which may well have different customs. He had tried to emulate the greeting, at least. She smiled, which had thus far been universal in garnering good will.
" I come for adventure, friend Chilon. But at this time, my thirst for adventure seems to have grown bigger than I can handle. Do you know of an inn perhaps, where I might get dry and warm?"
He seemed truly uncomfortable now. "Not on this continent, no, there is no inn or human dwelling like what you seek. I would offer to fly you to my own quaters in Dragon Hill, But...."
"But?"
He sighed, "My dear" and his vioce held a friendly warmth now, " I can tell immediately you are stranger to these lands. Humans are forbidden on dragon continent as they are on that of serpents, unicorns and harpies. The very purpose of Divisia is that it is divided and with good reason. If you had met any dragon save myself, they may not have been so welcoming. You are obviously......Civilized, and well spoken, which our own humans are not. They are primitive animals here, and known as such"
Her frown had grown into a hostile glare. Humans? Animals?
"I do not seek to anger you, fine lady. Quite the contrary, I have spent my whole life time searching for a human such as you! I remember Queen Areyemathea, and am happy that she lives well in the foriegn land of the Golden Stone. I envy her obvious relation with humans, as here it is forbidden on pain of unbalancing all our delicate lives. I myself am actually here, so close to the border, in hope of catching sight of a human. Sometimes they cross over to hunt here, only a few at a time, and very irregularly. I am what I suppose you would call.....A loner?" He smiled that wide dragon smile, eyes lighting up.
She smiled back. It was hard not to. "I too, am a loner Chilon. To my knowledge none but myself has ever come here from my land"
"Oh, they did once," He said, almost breathlessly, "Only enas after we were created here the tribal humans would paddle boats down the canal, brave the Circumference Miridian and go to Goldenstone for trade. With your civilization there, you can make things they cannot. Likewise, with their savage nature and raw materials, they had things of value to your people"
"I remember such stories" she said simply, suddenly very aware of icy water sliding down her back bone, soaking her underclothes, "But Chilon, my new friend, I am cold, and wet, and needing warmth and shelter. Is there no where near I could be a guest tonight?"
He shook his head "In Dragon Hill you would find no comfort, neither in Scenta, if you could even get there. This rain will not last over long, and tonight we can make a warm camp here. I should relish the opportunity to speak with a human who can not only converse intelligently, but is educated! For now dear lady, would you share my wings?"
She grinned and rushed forward, huddling next to his warm body. Dragons always seemed to give off so much heat! She crouched by his shoulder, hand resting on warm smooth scales, as he flung a wing protectively over her. Instantly she was warmer, drier, and infinitely more comfortable. She had forgotten how it felt to shelter under a dragon's wing.
This, she thought, This is what LIVING feels like!
In all her young years, exploring Goldenstone's plains, living with the Wolfen in their icy mountains, never had she found enough adventure to truly satisfy her. The life of the court and village was more than dull, and how disappionted she had been when she found Goldenstone's outer reaches not much better. Areyemathea had taken her often to the Crystal Peaks, and as thrilling as they were to fly over, one could only fly over them so many times before knowing every sharp wind and dark cavern. The viewing screens had interested her, but what good was viewing action on a screen? She wanted life pumping through her blood, anxiety and fear.
She was barely seven yans old when she had realized, to sate this thirst in her, she must do as her mother had, and take to the sea.
She did not take the tranquil and lovely waters of the Iris sea however. It just seemed so tame to her. Instead, she took the ever enraged Turmac sea. In her mother's tradition, she had taken only few supplies, carried on her person, and a tiny rowboat.
The sea voyage itself had been exhilerating - rain whipping into her face and waves threatening to overturn her at every stroke. She knew that this was the territory of Sharneeshi's son. So vast were the serpents, they had to inhabit opposite sides of the ocean. No one had ever met the shy Sharneesho, but a few times when it seemed she must capsize, she felt what seemed to be a steadying arm. Andretta had always been friend to all dragons, and even if he was too shy to say hello, Andretta appreciated his support.
Now she rowed fiercely into the canal that had appeared in the high land mass. The Circumference Miridian that Areyemathea had warned her about had been passed as if it did not exist. She had told her there would be fierce magnetic fields both negative and positive, as if repelling and attracting at the same time. If dragons wished to cross it, they must watch the air, if humans, they must watch the water. Observe closely the waves, the spray, the small eddies. Row straight, but once within the Miridian one must flow the currents or be rent apart by the magnetic forces. Still, then, only by Om's will could one cross and live.
Andretta had experienced none of it, only stormy rain and great waves. Now, as she drew her boat into the canal, the air and water seemed calmer. There was TwiSun's warm light on the cliff face. She took a moment to look up - the cliffs were impressive, a light brown rock such as she had never seen.
This is Areyemathea's home! She thought.
She rowed on down the canal for some time before the edges of the rock faces on either side began to sheer downward. Little did she know, if denizens living on either side had noticed her, they would have been afraid. As none could cross the Circumference Miridian without pain, thus could none cross the canals. Divisia was carefully balanced.
To her left, the cliffs were sloping into warm grass, high trees and deep forest. To her right was also forest, but dark, twisted, gnarled. As if it were not alive, but completely dead. Though she was strong and capable, she chose to bank on the left. Something about the forest on the right was completely unnerving.
In one small place the ground sloped right into the river. She plowed hard towards it, beaching the nose of her tiny boat. Nimbly, she leapt to the ground over the prow, stumbling a little after being at sea for so long. It had been......About 15 days. She had only survived by the bottle of EverWater given her by Ethan, the Castle wizard. One sip was enough to saturate the body for days. She was very hungry though, her small supply of bread and biscuits and dried fruit long since eaten.
Head spin under control, she pulled her boat up a ways. There was no water mark, so she could safely assume that there was no flooding or tide, and her boat would be safe.
She quickly rearranged her cloak, checked her boot for her dagger, and set off into the forest. The trees were closely spaced, and there was a type of canopy above. Hanging vines of some great plant twined around the branches, not to strangle, but to love. It was obvious that all the vegetation survived on an intertwined eco system.
She headed in roughly a straight line from the canal, walking slowly. To her left the forest seemed to thin, to her right, to thicken so greatly it seemed she would have trouble getting through it. She maintained her current course and speed, looking for something that might be food.
Occasionally she glanced up, looking for dragons. Surely, they would be here. It was Areyamathea's birthplace.
After walking for some time she noticed that the thin shafts of light filtering through the canopy had disappeared. Glancing up, she saw thick clouds, and it soon started a heavy, insistant downpour. The rain was icy and steady, and though her thick black cloak was mostly weather proof, it could not stand up to the steady driving of the water, and soon she was soaked through and cold. She angled right, into the thicker forest, seeking shelter.
Pushing thick vines out of her way and only managing to get more wet and cold, she began to curse softly. Though not too worried about getting sick, she was now incredibly uncomfortable. The roomy, warm halls of castle Goldenstone suddenly seemed very inviting. Her boots were even filling with water. She held close the teachings of the Wolfen - When cold and caught in bad weather, one must keep moving until suitable shelter was found. Keep the body warm, blood pumping, and you had a chance at survival.
Beginning to despair of ever finding shelter she suddenly spied what seemed to be a large rock under a tree with broad leaves. It might give her enough shelter for a small fire. She angled towards it.
Her heart fluttered and thumped angrily against her breast bone as the rock seemed to move. She stopped, watching, and it moved again. Not just moved, but shuffled. She moved closer.
No rock, but a dragon. He was small, so not a royal dragon. Areyemathea was a giant, capable of holding any human in her enormous claw. Andretta herself had slept in Areyeamathea's outstreched claw as if it were a large, soft bed. The dragon Queen had explained that only first, therefore royal dragons were this size, all their offspring were smaller, more human sized. This dragon out bulked her to be sure, but was only a little bigger than her. If she rode on his back, her feet would trail as if she rode a small pony. He was the soft brown rock of the cliffs, but with and orange red glow. His scales were impossibly shiny, like all the dragons she knew. The shuffling she had seen was his wings - though sheltered under the flat leaf tree, he had one wing up over his head to ward of intermittant drips.
She paced forward a little, making deliberate noise. She surprised him mid yawn, and he jumped, large green reptile eyes widening as he saw her. She smiled, and gave the human to dragon greeting of fingertip to forehead, and a low bow.
"I greet thee well, friend dragon. I am Andretta of Goldenstone Castle, daughter of Allistair the King, and Alexondra the Saviour. I come from a land far over the sea, where I am well known to your matriarch, the Queen Areyemathea"
The dragon simply stared, mouth slightly open, for so long, she wondered if he were simple in some way. His forked tongue explored the side of his lip, as his eyes looked her over. She frowned at his rudeness. He coughed, took a breath and recovered himself. His voice was deep as all dragon voices, but somehow lighter, as if he were very young.
" I greet thee well, friend...Human. Andretta. I am known as Chilon, Defender of the Light. What brings you to our divided land?"
Her frown deepened. Not only had he screwed up the official greeting, he hadnt bowed or used her title. Was he simply inexplicably rude, or completely mentally deficient? She reminded herself she was in a foriegn land, which may well have different customs. He had tried to emulate the greeting, at least. She smiled, which had thus far been universal in garnering good will.
" I come for adventure, friend Chilon. But at this time, my thirst for adventure seems to have grown bigger than I can handle. Do you know of an inn perhaps, where I might get dry and warm?"
He seemed truly uncomfortable now. "Not on this continent, no, there is no inn or human dwelling like what you seek. I would offer to fly you to my own quaters in Dragon Hill, But...."
"But?"
He sighed, "My dear" and his vioce held a friendly warmth now, " I can tell immediately you are stranger to these lands. Humans are forbidden on dragon continent as they are on that of serpents, unicorns and harpies. The very purpose of Divisia is that it is divided and with good reason. If you had met any dragon save myself, they may not have been so welcoming. You are obviously......Civilized, and well spoken, which our own humans are not. They are primitive animals here, and known as such"
Her frown had grown into a hostile glare. Humans? Animals?
"I do not seek to anger you, fine lady. Quite the contrary, I have spent my whole life time searching for a human such as you! I remember Queen Areyemathea, and am happy that she lives well in the foriegn land of the Golden Stone. I envy her obvious relation with humans, as here it is forbidden on pain of unbalancing all our delicate lives. I myself am actually here, so close to the border, in hope of catching sight of a human. Sometimes they cross over to hunt here, only a few at a time, and very irregularly. I am what I suppose you would call.....A loner?" He smiled that wide dragon smile, eyes lighting up.
She smiled back. It was hard not to. "I too, am a loner Chilon. To my knowledge none but myself has ever come here from my land"
"Oh, they did once," He said, almost breathlessly, "Only enas after we were created here the tribal humans would paddle boats down the canal, brave the Circumference Miridian and go to Goldenstone for trade. With your civilization there, you can make things they cannot. Likewise, with their savage nature and raw materials, they had things of value to your people"
"I remember such stories" she said simply, suddenly very aware of icy water sliding down her back bone, soaking her underclothes, "But Chilon, my new friend, I am cold, and wet, and needing warmth and shelter. Is there no where near I could be a guest tonight?"
He shook his head "In Dragon Hill you would find no comfort, neither in Scenta, if you could even get there. This rain will not last over long, and tonight we can make a warm camp here. I should relish the opportunity to speak with a human who can not only converse intelligently, but is educated! For now dear lady, would you share my wings?"
She grinned and rushed forward, huddling next to his warm body. Dragons always seemed to give off so much heat! She crouched by his shoulder, hand resting on warm smooth scales, as he flung a wing protectively over her. Instantly she was warmer, drier, and infinitely more comfortable. She had forgotten how it felt to shelter under a dragon's wing.
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