Among Dragons (Editing)

Chapter 9

A low groan of pain escaped from my mouth before I could even bear to open my eyes. For a blissful moment, I was only aware of two things. The wind grazing over my skin with a cool caress, and the steady heartbeat that reverberated throughout my chest at a different pace as my own. Then the pain kicked in, a dull ache that crept around my skull and pressed against the edges as if trying to pry its way out. With as much will as I could muster, I opened my eyes to take in my surroundings.

If I had been awed by the sight of flying above the clouds earlier, it was nothing compared to now. The moon was out, its crescent shape sending a surreal glow onto the thick covering of clouds surrounding us. The sky was a navy so dark that it didn’t surprise me that it was always mistaken for black. Stars littered the sky so abundantly and clearly, paired with bright wisps of a galaxy. It seemed like something only seen in dreams.

“How are you feeling?”

I turned to look back at Niram. The blueish light of the moon and the stars reflected into his eyes to bring them to life in a swirl of blues and greens. It also highlighted the long scar on his jawline. 

“Like I just got hit in the head with a brick and also haven’t eaten for days. I think I’ll survive, though.”

A smirk appeared on his face. “Quite expected after a run in with the mind of the first born dragon. What she lacks in physical strength, she makes up for in wit.” He reached for his backpack behind him and began rummaging through it.

“It didn’t feel any different,” I muttered with a slight wince as the pounding in my head increased for a moment before receding back to its normal strength. “Judging from our surroundings it took a lot longer for me to wake up again.”

He shrugged before handing me a steel bottle and a small box. “The sunset was only about two hours ago, and that’s when we left from Phoenix’s kingdom. Not too long of a time.”

“Why did we leave so quickly?”

“Her kingdom isn’t on such good grounds with mine. I could tell we weren’t very welcome there,” He said. His features were more relaxed and laid back, rather than the serious blank look from earlier. “I thought it would be best just to get out and on our way to the next dragon, Nereus.”

“What’s its power?” I asked distractedly. The box contained some sort of chicken dish, and the smell was making my stomach lurch in hunger even more. As soon as Niram handed me a fork as well, I began tearing into the food.

“He’s the dragon of water. Our kingdoms are in a much better state, unlike with Phoenix, so he has already agreed to help. I’m sure he would just like to meet you now, and show us a little hospitality for a day.” A small sigh slipped from his mouth to be carried away by the wind. “We don’t exactly have time for it, but it’ll at least give us all a bit of rest before we continue on to the other dragons.”

I knew that when he referred to ‘us’ he meant me. It wasn’t exactly my fault that I didn’t have a better grip on my powers. Two days ago, I didn’t even know they existed.

Niram looked off somewhere in the distance, his mind more in his thoughts than the clouds passing around us. I continued to eat my food without much notice to the heavy silence around us. After only a moment though, it seemed to bother him. He shifted his gaze around to different points uncomfortably until giving up and finally letting it rest on me.

“Phoenix’s reader told me that she only plans on helping if the fighting commences. Though it’ll hurt not to have her strategy to avoid this mess ahead of us, it’s actually better. You already know how difficult it would be.”

I set down the now empty box onto Raiden’s smooth scales. “Niram, why didn’t you tell me that there were other people with powers?”

His gaze turned confused. “Do you mean people like Readers?”

I nodded. “It would have been nice to know before hand, that this whole communicating with dragons thing doesn’t rest solely on my shoulders.”

“I never mentioned it because it’s such a casual thing around here,” He smiled lightly “Readers are very common. Each dragon has at least one, plus a number of others with different powers. There are Tellers, Prophets, Judgers. I’m sure you already know what the prophets do. Tellers can see events in either the past or future of any person who asks them, and Judgers can determine whether or not the truth is being told. I’m sure there was a judger in the room with Phoenix as well, to ensure we weren’t doing anything tricky.”

“There were a lot of Seers as well, right?”

“Yes, but after they began to develop their powers more and get stronger, fear began to spread. The strongest of them could open minds like books and get any information out of it they wanted.”

“People feared that?”

He nodded grimly. “Very much. Nobody likes it when their secrets aren’t even safe inside their own mind. Rumors spread that the Seers were beginning to influence thought and action as well. It wasn’t true but it was enough to set people in motion.”

I swallowed hard. “That’s horrible. So they just wiped out an entire race?” What if people still felt the same? Would they try to kill me as well, out of the same fear?

“Yeah,” His voice was softer now, matching the dreamlike state around us. “It was many years ago though, people have changed. After the Seers were gone, there was a lot of regret. Fear had overridden sense, and no one stopped to question what would happen after the best way to communicate with dragons was eradicated.”

It made me sick to think of how many  innocent people had to have lost their lives, all because people were scared of what they could do. Power was a sensitive subject to anyone, and no one wanted to hear that there was another powerful enough to render them helpless. Even the dragons here couldn’t bear to face each other because they disliked something else just as powerful as them in sight.

“Eris,” Niram called me from my thoughts. “When we visit these other kingdoms, you need to be cautious of the Tellers.”

“Why?” My eyes widened slightly. “Were they the ones who killed off all of the Seers?”

“No, no. Their power is very conflicting with yours. You cannot look them in the eyes, their minds are too dangerous. They see too much for you to comprehend, and it would be excruciating for you to bear.”

"Okay,” I nodded. My heartbeat had picked up slightly at the slight stress in his voice. I still couldn’t imagine exactly what would happen if I did look into a Teller’s eyes, but if it was anything like the current pounding in my head, I would be sure to keep my eyes on the ground.