Chronicles of Carnezia (Book 2): Wilderness

Chapter 7: Northern Borders

Chapter 7: Northern Borders

            It was a further two days that I spent in Itra. Frain had taken in what I had said and (the day after Ky’s gift) he had flown west to the unnamed woods. This I found out as I went to find him but he was nowhere to be seen; he was not in the skies above Itra nor anywhere around our small horizon. He had returned in the early evening.

            I saw him flying back just under the few clouds left; he was so hard to spot as his colour blended in so well with the darkening sky. But I did see him as I rode on Aspen around the outskirts of the town. Dragons could see far better than humans at night time. He must have seen me long before I did him for he landed not too far away. Before his feet touched the grass, there were a couple of dull thuds as he released something from his jaws and his foreclaws.

            ‘Where have you been all day?’ I asked him whilst calming my horse down with some pats on the neck.

            He furled his wings back in. ‘I went hunting,’ he answered. There was a tone to his voice that I hadn’t heard in a long time. ‘Fish is becoming a bit too familiar to my taste. Venison, however, is much richer and more satisfying,’ he commented, proud with his catch.

            ‘Ah, deer. So you did fly far and without worrying about me as you were gone nearly all day,’ I pointed out.

            ‘From sunrise ‘til sunset. And nothing happened to you, that is a good sign.’

            ‘You had better eat that before the day after tomorrow,’ I told him. ‘We will be leaving then.’

            The sound of ripping flesh seeped through the air as he sunk his teeth deep into the side of one of his prey. Following that, the smell of blood began to pervade through the air towards me; Aspen whinnied and backed up a few steps but other than that, he didn’t move anymore.

            Looking up at the horizon to the west, I saw the last shreds of daylight cling to the violet blanket. ‘I will be seeing you tomorrow. There is somewhere I should be,’ I told him and I was soon heading back into the depths of Itra.

            Ky wanted to show me something, on the north side of the town. As I approached his house, he was waiting astride Murtal. He smiled but I didn’t stop as he began to trot off down the road. There wasn’t much I knew of the north of Carnezia but I’m sure Ky would enlighten me.

            We rode through the quiet of the night. There was little movement except for us and a few cats that we scared as we passed. The houses came to an end and there were more tamed fields like with most of the settlements. Ky didn’t stop at the outskirts, he continued on with me close behind. There was no warning from him either when he kicked Murtal into a canter. Aspen swiftly strode ahead; I didn’t need to even shake the reins for him to kick off.

            ‘Ky! Where are we heading?’ I called out to him but he gave me no answer.

            It was another twenty long, hard riding minutes until we came to a halt. ‘Here,’ Ky spoke for the first time in awhile. It was cold out here in the open and I pulled my woollen cloak around me (I was given it long ago) which I had decided to wear this day of any.

            ‘Here? Ky, there is nothing here,’ I clearly pointed out. All there was around us was openness, which most of this land was made of.

            He started laughing to which I began to worry if he was feeling alright. ‘You always look for something to see. There is nothing here in the way of trees or mountains. Everything that way,’ he gestured, throwing his hands out in front of him. ‘That’s the North Territory.’ Something which I had never heard of and it sounded ridiculous. ‘There’s hardly anyone alive now that knows what is beyond what we can see from here. And I doubt there are any maps. No one dares to explore without a map for fear of getting lost but I suppose there are Tamers who fly over it as they can’t get lost from being in the sky.’ Ky sounded both proud and anxious (but in an eager sense) about what he was telling me.

            ‘What are you getting at, Ky? There is nothing there to even bother going to explore.’

            ‘How do you know? You can’t see past the horizon, can you? There might be places out there. Places that were once known to us but we have all forgotten about. I know it was north that the wild dragons went and many people believe that that means Dracona but the land just doesn’t end like on a map.’ Now I thought I was beginning to understand what Ky was trying to say. ‘Think about it. There might be more than just humans and dragons in this world. No one has ever gone out of Itra’s sight.’

            Closing my eyes, I drew my memory of my map back to the front of my mind. I remembered that Itra and Dracona were on the top most edge of the parchment but they were not the only settlements built on the north rim. ‘There is also Dest. What about them? Do they know the north of where they reside?’ I asked him, as I remembered the pale yellow smudge that must have resembled some sort of desert.

            He chuckled out loud and threw his head back. ‘All they know that lies north of them is desert. A long, hot, dry desert. People do walk over it but they are travellers and there are no landmarks, just all the sand.’

            Urging Aspen to turn around, I started to head back. ‘Whatever you are getting at, Ky, I do not intend on exploring it with you. If you wish to go gallivanting off into the wild then you are on your own.’

            He came trotting up next to me but I didn’t give him any attention. ‘Why not? I thought of all people, a Tamer would want to go out into the wild and find what else is out there.’

            I turned to face him and furrowed my eyebrows and curled my lips up, intrigued at the idea. ‘It does sound fun and I suppose we would get into trouble while we were out there.’ I nodded over my shoulder. ‘But unlike you, I can’t just go wandering off into the wild.’ And with that, I galloped off and left him to his thoughts.

*****

            Flinging my bag onto my back, I was ready to leave Itra. Ky hadn’t let me pack without sparing me his complaining. Most of the time I ignored him and would not be able to recall what he said but there were little fragments that my mind tuned in to and I gave as good as I got. We did argue for some ten minutes and it was only when I walked out of my room and down the stairs that he shut up.

            Aspen waited eagerly outside and when he saw me, he pulled on his reins that were tied to the post. He settled down as I brushed his mane with my fingers. Untying his reins, I pulled myself up onto the saddle and gave Ky one last goodbye.

            ‘Can’t I ride with you?’ he asked.

            I shook my head stubbornly. ‘No, you’ll only either stop me or ride all the way to Dracona and I am not using the roads.’

            ‘And where are you heading really?’ he asked, leaning casually on the post.

            ‘Home, and as the dragon flies. It is much quicker and I don’t meet anyone on the way either. You know I can’t stay here talking to you for the next hour. Frain will wonder what has happened to me and a pissed off dragon will not do any good right now,’ I warned him.

            ‘I have come across a few angry dragons in my time over there. Trust me, I don’t need you to tell me that I’d be in danger coming near to one.’ As he said this, there was an old hint of his arrogance from when I first met him.

            ‘I’ll be going then. I doubt it will be long until I see you again,’ I commented with a smirked smile. ‘Bye, Ky.’ And Aspen cantered off to the south of the town where Frain had said he would wait.