Rise of the Darkness

Words for the Future

Jheecu

Clouds alternate between covering the half moon and allowing its meager light to shine down on us. The air, on its way to uncomfortably cold, cools our tired muscles from our long flight.

On our way, Harogbas talked about the findings and what they mean to me. I kept telling him that I am fine and I'm not going to think about some unproven fate. During our discussion I lost track of exactly where we were, and thus this mountain we stand on I cannot name. But that does not matter, and he has given up on that line of discussion.

Autumn. A season of decline, of preparation for the cold months ahead. Already temperatures high in the mountains reach near freezing in the coldest parts of the night, though the caves stay cozy. It means the restriction of the food we eat as dragons is near, despite what we all want, but we understand the concept of supply and demand transcends not only human kind but dragon kind as well.

"Soon snow will begin to fall on the highest mountains. You remember snow?" Harogbas asks.

"Yes. It has been a long time, but yes. Thick drifts are great for cooling down after an exhausting flight."

"Many places I have been to lack snow even in winter, just as Kucho does. Winter is a good season for us dragons, even without the usual numbers of prey."

Even in the dark, even far away from any major human settlements, we sit invisible. Close enough to feel the warmth radiating off each other, yet still distant.

"You know I have spent much of my early years here, in these majestic mountains surrounded by wilds that humans have not yet tamed. Yet I have spent much of my life elsewhere. It's nice to be back for a change. It mellows me, I think."

"Outside of here, who have you become? Here you seem the same dragon I knew."

I hear him sigh. "Guarded, I think. Having to maintain a separate identity to keep things out of the wrong ears, it just makes me feel unlike myself. The Greatest Elder wants to investigate this clan and another I work with out in the Middle East. If she does, all of our efforts will be for naught."

"Dunen."

"Yes, that was me. I have watched you a little in Kucho, but I never revealed myself in fear of blowing my cover. Dunen lived a bit of his life in Kucho so many dragons knew how he acted. Dropping my focus for a brief time could have exposed me, and I would have faced questions that I could not answer."

"Did you trust me?"

"Yes. That was no issue. I did not trust myself. I should have, though. Ask you to fly elsewhere for a night like now and met with you. Speak about your stolen hatchlings even before I knew of Novayar. Maybe even help you find them before they were old enough to morph. But I did not, and I offer you my apologies."

I can hear a touch of sadness in his voice, and the shuffle of his wings. If he feels like hugging me with a wing, I will accept it. "There is little you could have done if what you said is true."

"I know. But we can all wish for different outcomes."

A slight breeze begins to blow past us, but as quickly as it started, the air calmed again. "So many things would be different if wishes could come true like that. I wish we did not have to hide in the shadows of the humans, but we do."

"Hopefully not for much longer. With one conjurer, we cannot do much, but with more, we can shield dragon kind from their weapons and things until negotiations can start. Save for mass killings and war, that is the only route I see, which is why the segment of Oita studying the conjurers is so large. But if it comes to fighting, the other clan has preparations."