Rise of the Darkness

Growing Tempest

Oculeera

    The thunderstorms this afternoon gave us stronger than normal winds, but even these will pale compared to what Kucho, and the rest of the region, face. And soon.

    I walk, in dragon form, among the nesting mothers, all in uproar of the coming evacuation. Master had a good reason to give us the day off yesterday. The Elders need his time more than we do. Several fortune dragons received weather predictions, and they all indicated a hurricane to hit in a week. A bad one, destructive enough to warrant an evacuation into human shelters.

    Eventually I find the large purple form of my mother. Currently caring for a brood of yearlings, she will need help evacuating them all to dragon owned properties. I would not hesitate to help, but Master and the Elders have other plans for me and Novayar.

    "Oculeera? What are you doing?" she asks as I climb her nest of branches. Dim memories float in my mind of hiding within these branches. Well, not these exact ones; wood eventually rots and needs replacing. Nests of large dragons like my mother contain gaps for hatchlings to hide in, though most do not bother. It was me who taught her to fill in these gaps with small brush so that none of her hatchlings could get lost in their own nest.

    "Master said me and Novayar are going to leave Kucho and not come back for years maybe. I think we are headed to Hasinji. We leave soon, so I wanted to say goodbye."

    Her left wing shielded all the hatchlings from the sun and my view. Mother lowered her snout to my level. "You have already flown from my nest. A goodbye is not necessary but appreciated. Maybe there is some good in you after all."

    That makes me smile. "I think Novayar's obsession with pleasing Jheecu has rubbed off on me."

    "Maybe more than that will in time. You have a knack of causing trouble, though you wouldn't be you if you changed."

    I climbed closer to her, and she lifted her wing a little. All fourteen hatchlings slept peacefully, curled in little balls against each other and against Mother. "Things have worked out so far," I said.

    Mother snorted, careful enough to not expel even a trace of smoke. "Barely. Sometimes you find too much trouble. I worry about you, especially because of what you might mean for our future."

    "I'm not as important as Novayar. He's the conjurer."

    "You know that's not true. He is but a lost hatchling. I have seen him exercising and how he conducts himself. He possesses little more grace and knowledge than these little ones. You must guide him, and not into trouble. And make sure Jheecu's words do not weigh too heavily on his mind. What she did to him, I can't imagine ever doing to one of my own." She shifted, waking a couple of hatchlings. They yawned, displaying budding teeth. One chirped at me.

    "Oculeera, I hate that you two are already being taken to our most important clan. That means you two are being forced into your roles a lot sooner than you should. You are not ready, and if you are not, then little Novayar certainly needs a lot more time."

    Luckily Novayar has not heard this nickname yet. He is just so small. He will still grow, I think, but until other conjurers hatch he shall be our smallest dragon, and even then, he will be among the smallest adult dragons. He also does not need to hear Mother's assessment of his ability. He needs hope, he needs reassuring that he can become dragon like and powerful enough to take care of whatever the prophecy refers to.

    "Do you think things will work out? The prophecy, I mean."

    "I do not know. It is too open ended for anyone to determine success or failure. All I worry about right now is getting these little ones out of harm's way. It seems, though, that we are resting too much weight on youngling shoulders. Oculeera, I am glad you came to me today. I wish you luck. We will be fine."