Generations: Broken Prophesy Story

Chapter 6: Elder

“You find my name funny?!”  Chaser couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  The oldest dragon he had ever seen was laughing at him.

“No child, not funny.  Ironic.  Wouldn’t you agree, Nyota?”  Confused, Chaser looks to his side, and finds the young female bashfully looking away.

“My name…  Nyota means Star.”

    Mwezi continued to laugh at the awkward silence that had fallen between the two youngsters.  “So Nyota, what leads you to bring Starchaser here?”  The half-blind dragon sniffs the breeze, his laughter fading quickly as something in the air brings back old memories.

    “Elder…  I bring this stranger…”  She glances at the young male briefly, “Chaser here, because he has Soulfire.”

    “Has he?”  Turning his milky gaze on the young male, “Show me.”

    “Show you what??  I don’t know what you are talking about.”

    “He wants to see your Soulfire…  Your ‘glow’.”  Nyota explains.

    “I don’t know how…  It’s only happened the one time.  You are making too big a deal out of it.”

    “No you did it once more…  We were watching the birds.”

    The old dragon sidles up to the youngsters, “You summoned your Soulfire against birds?”

    “No…  He… We were talking, and he grew upset…”

    Nodding his head, Mwezi sits in silence for a moment.  “Nyota…  I need some herbs.  The pungent ones.  You know which I mean?”

    Nyota wrinkles her nose, “Yes… But...  Those are on the far island.”

    “Yes!  Those are the ones.  I need as many as you can find.  Starchaser can stay with me for the time being.”

    “If you need them that badly, then the two of us can gather them twice as quickly.”  Chaser chimes in.

    “Oh, no!  Nyota has done this for me many times.  I trust she can do the job quickly.”  The old male stands and moves into his cave.  “Please, if you would join me.  The daylight is hard on my eyes.”  Chaser looks torn, but Nyota nods for him to follow.

    “I won’t be long.”  With a short run, she jumps into the air and takes flight, leaving Chaser to stand and watch as she fades into the distance.  A quiet grumble echoing from the enshrouded cave catches his attention.  

    Chaser steps into the narrow opening, squeezing past bushes and brightly colored flowering plants to join the old male in his den.  The musty scent of age and sharp scent of herbs reminds Chaser of Gothi’s hut, bringing a smile to his face.

    “Tell me cub, why are you here?”  

The old male circles around him, giving him the feeling of being examined and scrutinized for any imperfections or flaws.  “I’m here with my sisters…”

“Nyota mentioned sisters, what do you mean?”  Mwezi interrupts.

“Umm…  I mean we share parents.”

“Who is the oldest?”

“Amber is the oldest.  Mom said she hatched round dawn.  Jade hatched round mid-day, and I hatched into the evening.”

The old male settles down, resting his head on his front paws.  “Three eggs?  Soulfire?”  The old male stands up once more, approaching Chaser, and only stops when their muzzles bump.  Chaser is taken aback as the old male sniffs.  “Who is your dam?”