The Tale of Cara, the Tenth Divine

Chapter 34

 Chapter 34

A short time later after she had learned the shouts and felt the gift of the learning spirit of the words as the Greybeards had granted her, Helena stood before a narrow land bridge that led up the mountain, winds whipping over it that she knew would blow her and her friend off the mountain into the valley so far below. She took a breath and then inhaled deeply before repeating the words she had just learned minutes before.

"Lok Vah Koor!!" she shouted, her voice traveling forward and stifling the wind ahead.

"Nice!!" Rand said with a grin upon seeing the winds calm themselves.

"Let's go!" Helena announced, rushing ahead with her group behind her as Norgir watched and shook his head at her youthful exuberance.

"Hopefully, she will survive and come back for proper training," he said to Master Rolph, who stood nearby and nodded silently.

Up the mountain, the group found traversing the rest of the way rather peaceful, other than having to wait for Helena to clear the wind and driving snow on occasion. There were no more wolves to contend with, nor trolls, as nothing lived in the harsh environment above this elevation. They soon found themselves in front of a boulder with a banner attached to it, signifying that they had arrived at the Throat of the World, and were relieved to find it.

"Okay, now what?" Rand asked as he looked around, shivering.

"We keep going and we look for this keep!" Piotr replied.

Helena led the group along the huge mountaintop, which was easily trekked across. They made their way around and spotted a large curved wall ahead with a carving of a dragon's head in front of it.

"What's that? Is that the keep?" Lasseter asked.

"It's just a wall. It's got some kind of writing on it," Helena replied.

The group approached the wall and were looking at the writing, some that none of them had ever seen before but Helena found familiar. They were looking when a large shadow passed over them and Norza gazed upward to see a massive dragon closing in on them.

"DRAGON!!" she shouted in shock at the sight.

"TAKE COVER!!" Piotr bellowed, drawing his axes and motioning for the others to hide behind the nearby rocks and pillars.

"WAIT!!" Helena shouted, remembering what Norgir said about the dragons not being hostile since her great great-grandmother took over their kind. She stood and waited, her hand on the handle of her sword in caution as the huge dragon lowered toward them and landed on the top of the curved wall. It then stared down at them inquisitively after doing so.

"Um... h-hi," Helena said meekly as she looked up at the huge creature.

"You are the first to darken the path to my strunmah for a long time, mortals. Why is it you come here, and how is it you made it past the winds?" he asked.

"I am Helena Mede! I am the descendant of Cara Septim, and I was told that she lived on top of this mountain! I am here to see her and speak with her!" Helena said as boldly as she could.

"Ah, I see. You are of the line of the Empress. Why is it you wish to see our leader, our kinbok?" the dragon asked.

"I..." Helena began when Lasseter stepped forward.

"We need her help!" he stated.

"Do you let the mortals speak for you, dovakiin? I can sense your blood, and I know what you are," the dragon said, ignoring the Imperial.