Elements

The Long, Long Talk

They sate in a cave lit only by a small fire. The cave was level with the top of the tallest tree in the forest in the center of an unknown mountain in Scila'. Lien had flown every one to the cave. The other dragon was sleeping, curled up in Sorsa’s lap. Morn was stocking the fire with Lien behind him in the shape of a wolf. It was midnight, but Sorsa had an anxious felling in her stomach. 

“We need to talk,” Morn stated, “and I don’t expect you to trust me. We’ve only known each other for a few days. I’ll start, but only if you swear to tall me the truth. I’ll also allow you to ask any questions. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” said Sorsa shyly.

“Alright,” said Morn, “I’ll start from the beginning. I am an elf, as you can see, and was born is a small village just beyond the Valer Pass. I grew up learning magic, and had the same standard child hood. When I was 25 I was summoned to the capital city to be part of the century festival. It was there that I touched Lien’s egg, and she hatched for me. 7 years after that I trained, and Lien and I had full control over our abilities. Then I was commissioned to be the element’s egg keeper. I then traveled through the nations to find their forever companions. When I first came in contact with Claqu, I was by Blue River taking a shortcut to Zeen from Glades. I was forced to retreat back to Glades, and it was there I found the twin elemists. Then I trained and got them to the Beasts Arena. I continued my search for the last elemist, and here I am. That about brings us up to speed.” 

“So, your not taking me to Kennil?” asked Sorsa.

“No! What type of question is that!? I’m public enemy number 1!”

“How old are you? I mean, I’ve heard that elves live longer life spans than humans.” 

“I’m very young to elf standards. I am 92 years old.”

“What!? You look like your 17!”

“Well, elves, dwarfs, and dragon riders age much, much slower than humans.”

“Really. Does that mean I’m going to age slower now?”

“Yes. No mor of these questions. We’ll cover them later. It’s your turn to tell how you got here.”

“Okay, but it’s not a happy story. I was born in Keenil to the emperor’s two best strategists. I was well taken care of, and had the best parents. The emperor seemed to enjoy my company, and when I was 4, the emperor assigned Claqu to teach me to defend myself. By the time I was 7, I had mastered his skills in pressure points and swordsmanship. He was also my best friend. When I was 9, a fire broke out from a lightning strike on my home. I got out, but my parents weren’t so lucky. They died in the fir. The emperor took me in, but one night I thought about the night of the fire. There hadn’t been so much as one cloud in the sky when the lightning hit. I knew the emperor could use magic, and my parents were becoming less valuable to the emperor. I realized that my parents had been murdered by the emperor. I stayed at the castle a few days after I found out, making preparations to leave. I left just after midnight, when it was darkest, 5 nights later. By noon that day I knew I was been followed. I scrambled as fast as I could, but Claqu caught up a week later because he was on horse back. He tried to change my mind; he couldn’t. From that point on he tried to capture me by force. I eventually found how to avoid him and his tracking methods. I was on the run until I was11. By that time I could tell he wasn’t searching for me any more. I got to Jeo' and the blacksmith took me in. I  became his apprentice, and I’ve been there ever since. Until a few days ago, anyway. About 3 days ago my master was summoned to Keenil by the emperor. He had been commissioned to make something for the emperor, and if it went well he would get the highest rankings. A few days after he left, you came into the store and the egg fell out of your pack. The Claqu came looking for it, found me, and her I am in a cave in the middle of some mountain in the forest talking to an elf with a dragon in my lap.”

They both sat in an awkward silence. The only sounds were that of breathing, the fire, and birds. The small dragon stirred in Sorsa’s lap. The fire new provided little warmth, and Sorsa was anxious. What could he be thinking, she thought. 

“I’m sorry,” Morn said breaking the silence, “no wonder you didn’t want to tell me. But the past is the past. We can’t change it, but we can use our experience to make our future better.”

“Naturally a poet?” asked Sorsa.

“Just trained by a wise master. It’s late, you should rest. I’ll take first watch.”

“Sure,” Sorsa said knowing all too well why he was keeping watch.

“You might want to come up with a name for your dragon soon as well. They get angry if you simply call them Dragon constantly.”