Dragon Riders of Etrea 2—Chapter 3

Rasud took a few cautious steps closer to Henrik and the dragon. Shel stayed in place, watching from the mouth of the cave. She looked mildly terrified.

“Can I see it? Uh, him?” Rasud asked.

“Ask the dragon,” Anslie said.

Tossyth opened her mouth enough for the baby dragon to stretch its neck out and sniff the air. Henrik caught the dragon’s gaze and tried to send feelings of trust and calmness to him. He wasn’t sure if it worked or not.

Tossyth swung her great head closer to Rasud as he carefully stepped near. He reached his hand out toward the baby dragon.

Henrik felt a flare of excitement from the dragon as its head darted forward, biting Rasud’s finger. Not hard enough to draw blood, but the witchman leaped back, clutching his finger.

“Son of a bitch! Ah, no offense, Tossyth. You’re fine in my book.” He glanced at his finger and noted it wasn’t bleeding, then gave the baby dragon a judgemental look. “Well, looks like someone is developing bad habits at an early age.”

“You’ll have to work hard to keep him calm,” Anslie said. “He’s a baby, so you’ll have to teach him all sorts of things, like not biting people. Although at least he’s not biting hard.”

“Speaking of which, does he have a name?” Henrik asked.

Anslie looked up at Tossyth and the two locked eyes for a moment. She nodded, then turned to Henrik. “Calduin.”

“Come here, Calduin,” Henrik said, holding his hand out to the dragon. He kept his hand flat; he figured there was less of a chance of being bitten that way.” 

Calduin looked at him and sent feelings of curiosity. The dragon also questioned several things, most of all Henrik. He seemed to know he was linked to Henrik and felt some sort of affection towards him, but wanted to know more.

Calduin opened his mouth and Henrik sent him a stern “no.” The dragon recoiled, annoyed at being rebuked. Henrik kept his hand out and tried to send more feelings of peace and acceptance. The dragon eventually leaped from his mother’s mouth and landed on Henrik’s hand, then climbed up to his shoulder.

“There you go,” Henrik said, reaching up to the dragon. Of course it immediately tried to bite him, so he spent a few moments trying to make the dragon understand that biting him was a bad thing.

Calduin finally settled down and Henrik rubbed the top of his head. Once again, the dragon made a faint purring noise.

“You are the strangest man I have ever known,” Shel said from the mouth of the cave. “And now you have a dragon on your shoulder.”

“Don’t worry, he gets much worse,” Rasud said, his eyes on Calduin. “But yes, this is not what I ever expected to see.”

“Life takes us in strange directions sometimes,” Anslie said. “I never thought I would be called by a dragon, but I was, ten years ago.”

“Well, I hope the rest of my life is nice and boring, with the exception of this beautiful woman standing behind me.” He turned and winked at Shel over his shoulder.

Shel gave him a strange look. “I’m not sure how I should take that.”

“I think you’re supposed to swoon,” Rasud replied.

Shel brought a hand up to her forehead and closed her eyes as if suddenly dizzy. “Oh, you wonderful chunk of man flesh. I just can’t handle you.” She opened her eyes. “Was that better?”

Rasud frowned. “I’m not sure if ‘chunk of man flesh’ is the best phrase to use, but top marks for effort.” He smiled at her again and she laughed.

“I have to raise him, I assume,” Henrik said.

“To an extent,” Anslie replied. “His mother will do most of the work. You just need to keep him calm, and keep him from overtaking your mind. As he grows, so will your bond.” She took a deep breath. “We should talk about the sword, though.”

“Henrik always needs more swords,” Rasud said.

Anslie ignored him. “You will have to face Emyss one day, although I cannot tell you how it will go. He is quite irritable.”

“Just like you, Henrik!” Rasud exclaimed.

“If he tries to attack you, there is only one weapon in all the land that can harm him. You must fetch this sword.” Anslie frowned. “And as I told you earlier, it will help you withstand Calduin as he grows older.”

“Where did a weapon like that come from?” Henrik asked.

“According to Tossyth’s memories, the first male dragon rider was quickly overwhelmed by his dragon, and the two caused problems all over the land. They burned cities and villages for years, until he was stopped by our southern dragons. After learning this, the second male dragon rider had all of the dragons come together to create a sword that would help prevent this. It’s a testament to his power that he was able to get his own snow dragon to help.”

“So he made this sword to help him hold onto his own mind?” Henrik asked, seeking clarification.

Anslie nodded. “Not only that, but if he ever had to fight his own snow dragon, he made sure this sword was able to harm it.”

“How did he get his dragon to agree to that?” Henrik asked.

Anslie shrugged. “That’s just how much control he had over his dragon. He also made the dragon understand that in the future it might be needed to save humanity.”

“Fascinating,” Henrik said. “What happens to snow dragons? They don’t seem to be eternal, like the southern dragons.”

“They die after a time,” Anslie said. “Usually after one or two thousand years. Sometimes they are killed when a new snow dragon takes over. Sometimes they tire of life and simply go to sleep and never wake. Tossyth says it’s possible that they can simply leave when another snow dragon is born, but that has never happened.”

“When should I leave?” Henrik asked.

Anslie watched as Calduin nuzzled through Henrik’s hair. “I don’t want to take you away from him, but the sooner you have that sword, the better. He will grow stronger by the day. Tossyth says they grow very quickly.”

“Well, if you’re going away for a while, I suppose that would be a good time for me to head back to the city,” Rasud said. “Although I’ll have to work hard to disguise myself. If any of Duke Ardun’s men see me, that’ll be the end. Shame I can’t use my magic to change my face.”

Anslie looked at Tossyth for a moment. “Tossyth says she might be able to help,” she said.

Rasud looked at the dragon. “She knows ancestral magic?”

Anslie turned to regard the witchman. “She has lived for thousands of years. She knows something of all magic. If you’re willing to listen, she can try to explain.”

“Well of course! Shel, my dear, come closer. It’s time for us to learn magic from a dragon.” Rasud rubbed his hands together and smiled.

Shel kept her eyes on the dragon and walked closer to Rasud. He reached out and took her hand in his and pulled her closer. She looked down at their hands for a moment, then smiled at Rasud and gave his hand a brief squeeze.

“Get ready,” Henrik said.

Rasud looked a question at his friend but Anslie explained things further.

“When she tries to explain things to you, it can be…overwhelming. Just know that she means you no harm.”

“Well, that’s not entirely reassuring, but thank you just the same,” Rasud said. Both he and Shel looked at Tossyth. “So, old girl. How can we change our appearances?”

Tossyth watched them for a moment, then slowly leaned closer.

“Ahh!” Shel said. Her hand tightened painfully on Rasud’s. Rasud bared his teeth and began to shake.

“Take a deep breath and relax,” Henrik said. “Put words to her images and emotions.”

“Easier said than done,” Rasud said through clenched teeth.

Shel held onto Rasud with both hands. She looked like she wanted to weep, and only sheer grit and determination kept her on her feet.

Henrik had a hard enough time withstanding Tossyth’s mind, and he was born to be a dragon rider. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it was for a normal person to try.

Shel fell to her knees, but kept both of her hands on Rasud’s. She never broke her gaze with the dragon.

Tossyth finally looked away and the two shamans breathed heavily, as if they had run a long distance. Rasud looked at Henrik through bleary eyes.

“How do you do that, man? I felt like my head was going to explode!”

“Communicating with a dragon is not easy,” Anslie said. “You both did very well, though. Most people can’t take it and simply pass out.”

“Well, lucky us,” Rasud said as he helped Shel to her feet. “Are you okay, my dear?”

“I think I’m all here,” she replied. “I feel like some part of me was blown away into the Nine Hells after that.” She scoffed. “I think I might enjoy spending a few days in the Nine Hells more than that.”

“Was she able to help?” Henrik asked.

“I think so,” Rasud said. “The small part of my mind that’s still here has an idea on how to change our appearance, although it won’t be easy. Shame the old girl can’t just do it to us herself.”

“She doesn’t like it when you call her that,” Anslie said.

Rasud bowed his head to the massive dragon. “My apologies, dear. I will be more careful in the future.”

“What, no jokes?” Henrik asked.

Rasud gave him a flat look. “She could eat the both of us in a single bite. I know when to curb my incredible sense of humor.” He glanced over at the dragon. “Even if some people can’t appreciate it.”