Pupandaka 2

Chapter 1 - New World

About 30 years later after the restoration of Pupandaka and crowning of Tearlach, many things have changed. Queen Tearlach resides in the Orienda Palace, running business as usual. At the edge of the Hrakvar Fjord in the southernmost ports of Pupandaka, there was a boy with great talent whom we called Drele.

"I got it!" 16 year old Drele Azzaban shouted as he swung his sword at the dummy. It looked lifeless, but still he swung it again. Drele was 16 years of age. Swords were made legal in Pupandaka, but to slay a dragon meant an executable punishment. Drele swung his sword again and missed the dummy. "What is this, it's pointless," Drele sighed as he dropped the sword. He didn't like training, but he had to learn. It was made a law 8 years ago that people at least 14 years of age have to do sword training for defense.

Drele plopped down onto the wooden sofa and looked out the window. He wondered if he would ever get to ride a dragon even though they just moved back into Pupandaka 3 decades ago. There was a knock at the door. Drele got up and opened it. "Hey, man," the person said. He was Somui, Drele's best friend and co-prince of the Pupandayan province of H'raughar, the northernmost province, also formerly known as Dracoterram. The Pupandayan mountain range is what separates the border between H'raughar and the rest of Pupandaka.

"Yer daet banet," Somui said in Pupandayan. It meant "how are you." "I'm doing just fine, I finished practice," Drele said in a low voice. "Yeah, well, I finished beating my cousin at 50 Seconds," Somui jumped. 50 Seconds was a game in which you tell your opponent to do something in 50 seconds or under. If they fail to do so, a life is lost and each person starts off with 3 lives. Drele used to play that a lot with his 2 sisters a few years ago before they moved out.

"That's nice," Drele said. Somui opened the door. "You have a visitor," he said. Drele looked out and there was Queen Tearlach. "My Queen," Drele said humbly to Tearlach. "Please don't address me that way," she chuckled, "just call me Tearlach, and there's no need for submissions." Drele quickly got up. "So... what brings you here?" Drele asked. "I wanted to ask a few questions," Tearlach said. "Mind if I sit down?" "Not at all," Drele approved. "I want to know if you've seen or heard anyone by the name of Vertiva," Tearlach explained. "Vertiva? I mean, don't get me wrong, but that sounds familiar."

Drele recalled the familiarity of the name. He was in Lovpeca, the second eastern province, with someone named Vertiva. He couldn't quite recall what he looked like, but he remembered it as if it were yesterday even though it was years ago. "I think I saw him in Lovpeca, by the national refuge. We were chatting. I believe it was 4 years ago," Drele explained. Tearlach was surprised. "Wow, you sure do have long-lasting memories at near full strength," she whispered. "Do you know his age?" Drele tried to remember. "I think it was around 12 or 13. Probably," Drele shrugged. "Alright. Thank you for those answers, Drele. See me in the Orienda Palace tonight at 8," Tearlach said as she got up and left.

"What? What did he get himself into now?" Drele told himself. He knew that Vertiva was a playful person and sometimes a troublemaker, but now, he seems different. The queen's expression was as if he had done something horribly fatal to the kingdom. He paced at the thought.

During that night, Drele climbed the steps to the palace. He had never been inside the palace before. There were two towering stone structures of what appeared to be dragons on either side of the entrance. The palace structure itself was a beautiful white quartz, it was like it was coated in pearl. At the top of the palace was the tower, where the queen and royal members of the family would watch over the kingdom. As he approached the big wooden doors, he felt himself tremble.

"No, not now," Drele told himself. He calmed down as he started to knock on the door. The wooden doors creaked open as the 3 guards appeared. "Do not make haste with him, he's with me," Queen Tearlach ordered behind them. The guards split up to the sides to allow him to pass. "Welcome," Tearlach said. "Woah, it's just... it's just that I've never been inside this palace," Drele looked around with awe. "Well, now you've got a story to tell," Tearlach chuckled. "Anyway, follow me."

Drele followed the queen to the east wing of the palace. They stopped in front of a large room closed by two big blue doors. "This room," Tearlach said, "is where he resides." Tearlach opened the door and there was Vertiva, standing in front of the table. Drele couldn't believe it.

"Drele?" Vertiva asked. "Vertiva?" "Drele, is this him?" Tearlach asked. "Yes, yes it is," Drele said, trembling under his breath. "Oh, my dude!" Vertiva exclaimed as he ran towards Drele for a hug. "Where have you been?" Drele asked as he folded his arms around him. "I tried to look for you after I wandered into the forbidden land," he said. "Which part?" Vertiva refused to respond. "Which part of the forbidden land?" Drele asked again. "O'rathtare," Vertiva replied with angst.

Drele gasped. "Isn't that next to where Sapta is? What did you do?" Sapta was not a dragon nor a person, but a form often referred to as a silhouette. A form of darkness. Millennia ago, Sapta used to consume everything in its path when the dragons were at war. Eventually, the dragons beat the other and limited Sapta to Mount Biodra. Hence the name of the region O'rathtare, meaning "the land of evil'' in Pupandayan.

"He woke Sapta up," Tearlach explained. Drele looked at Vertiva in disbelief.