The Pirate's Legacy: New Identities

Chapter 25: Burden to Bear

A short, wooden bridge signaled the end of Serpentine Pass. The waterfall it hung before fell into a deep chasm. Normal color had returned. The rays of the red sun did not affect this area. The grass covering the ground on which they stood was green, and the cascading water was a sparkling blue. Though the bridge's wood had been made from the red forest behind them, the tunnel beyond the bridge was made of grey stone. At the very top of the entrance's archway was a fearsome-looking statuette of a winged serpent. Its wide-open, fanged mouth and glaring eyes watched every traveler that came through its domain. The entrance led into a towering wall of snowcapped mountains.

"Watersnake Tunnel," intoned the Hawks's lieutenant. Belying his impassive tone was a small blue vein pulsed visibly in his right temple, a giveaway from the memories of his last encounter with the structure.

Diamante slid off his horse with a loud groan. "I don't recall ever riding as hard as I have these last few hours in my entire life," he said as he rubbed his sore backside. His fellow travelers looked at him before dismounting as well. The waterfall sprayed lightly over them as they traversed the bridge in a single file line.

Braziers lining the walls blazed to life the deeper they walked inside the tunnel, reminding Em of the tunnels that she and Roger had journeyed through in search of the Mermaid's Tear. The fires illuminated the colorful mosaics on the walls. The scenes depicted the entire history of Dracon, from Dragus's betrayal and subsequent banishment from Tarym to the creation of the dragons to the present day.

"Dear Iustea!" Diamante's voice reverberated throughout the tunnel. In his hands were his notebook and graphite pencil, drawing every scene down with notes around the pictures. "These mosaics are extraordinary!"

"Quiet!" Roger ordered. "Do you want to be heard from outside?"

"Oh, no. My apologies, Dread Robin," said Diamante, who glanced fleetingly at the angry Pirate King before hurrying further into the tunnel.

Em's gut twisted familiarly as she stopped in front of a scene depicting a Draconian man with half a green face of a lizard and an orange serpentine eye. He stood at the center of a tribal circle with a red glow radiating around him. His followers kneeled and lifted their hands up to him in supplication. The fierce expression on his face sent chills down Em's spine. Though she had never encountered Salamus before in her life, she knew that the Draconian uniting his people was him. Em shuddered.

"Look here, everyone!" The mixture of trepidation and awe in the delegate's voice echoed throughout the tunnel. He stood near the exit facing the left side of the wall with his horse next to him.

When the other three joined the delegate, everyone beheld the final scene that seemed to be what the Draconians thought was their future.

Earth and the heavens were depicted, each with a terrible war fought on its grounds. Humans fought the Draconians on the mortal plane. Bodies, many humans, were strewn everywhere in pools of blood. To the left of this carnage, where a castle stood on a cliff, a woman with grey arms and black talons sat on the throne. She watched as another dark-haired woman burned inside a pillar of fire in front of her.

Em pinched her thighs when she felt her knees weaken. None of this is real, she repeated in her mind. They are a fantasy of an overconfident, usurping god and his equally conceited followers. However, the battle in the mortal world struck down to the place where her inner fears and insecurities were hidden. Yet, this was only one of two battles shown.

Atop the narrow strip of clouds that separated earth from the heavens, there were four gods. Dragus, who was depicted as the biggest among the four, appeared to be crushing Onus in his phoenix form underneath the former's clawed foot. To the far right, Helena, with anguish written all over her beautiful face, watched helplessly. Three sharp prongs of a trident were pointed straight at her heart, forcing her to stay back as her consort was destroyed. Em's eyes moved from Helena's face to the left until they settled on the wild-haired, short god who possessed the trident.