The Dragon of Charred Scales

Rumbles

Jheecu

Four Months Later

"Behold, Jheecu, the reason for Oita's existence," Harogbas merrily said as we flew over the caldera of the Alustagal volcano. Or what is supposed to be a volcano. I've seen volcanoes in my life. It is hard for anyone to convince me this so-called super volcano is little more than a wild guess.

"Alustagal erupts roughly every six hundred thousand years, according to human research. And it has been six hundred thousand years since the last one."

"It still doesn't look like a volcano to me," I say wearily. I feel like these last few months I have aged years, though everyone says it is the cancer slowing me down. Regardless, I would rather be napping right now. I was sleeping until Harogbas woke me and flew with me here.

"Regardless, it is one. If Alustagal were to erupt now, the whole world will know it. Ash from it would float in the atmosphere all across the globe, affecting air quality, human air travel, and even crops. Anyone within a certain radius of this spot would likely die without the proper protections in place, and only Oita, with our caves and spells, has that protection."

"So, we would die without spells right now if it blew?" I asked. "Wouldn't any volcano kill us if we were too close?"

"It would. But the difference is the size of the radius. Get a few miles away from another volcano and you would be okay. Here, you could travel for hours, even on your massive wings, and still not be safe."

I smile at the complement until his words sunk in. Dozens of miles. Many dozens of miles. A large death zone from something that just looks like a stunning landscape.

"And how do you know all of this?" I snorted. "Human research?"

He snorted back. "Yes, but we have determined the findings to be accurate. Now, there are signs that another eruption will happen in the relative future. It could be tomorrow, or a thousand years from now. Geologic timescales lack the ability to pinpoint events down to a specific time."

The early summer sun, touching every bit of my rigid wings, invited me to zone out everything and just enjoy the warmth. It would not be hard. We both slowly glided in circles, invisible but well-practiced in locating each other. I could just slowly glide downwards until landing on this supposed volcano.

I shake my head, though. Harogbas brought me here for a reason. And I would never squander any opportunity to be with him. Why else would I have agreed to interrupt my nap for this flight? "So why exactly is Oita here?"

"Alustagal will kill a lot of lives when it erupts. Untold destruction will lie in its wake."

I shuttered. I have seen such scenes. If this is true, I want to be far away.

"As dragons, we guard life as best as we can. But we cannot fight nature. However, what if such energy, such power, such material could be harnessed for another purpose?"

A big puffy cloud moved in front of the sun, casting its shade over us. Others joined it in slowly drifting and building, the seeds of a rain shower evident. That will not be pleasant if we are still here when the storm starts.

"It would be pretty much impossible to use such a thing to save life, but it can be used to make things more convenient," Harogbas finished.

"That just sounds dubious."

He snorted. "I don't pursue the utterly impossible. You know that."

"Normally yes."

"Says the dragon who doesn't see that this is a volcano."