The Dragon of Charred Scales

The Burning Depths

Oculeera

So many eyes. Hidden in so many forms, yet still watching our every move. No wonder Novayar has been nervously pacing. Finally, I understand his apprehension.

How did I not notice until now that so many dragons and Laku were here with us in this invisibility dome?

"I see them," I whisper to him. Birds. Horses. Humans. All are Laku of some sort. Barely visible, hiding up in trees, making no sounds. The only individual that could easily be seen was the swift dragon who insisted he carry us on his back to here.

And their magic is almost imperceptible. How?

"I don't want to have an audience watching us train," Novayar whispered back. I nodded. Neither did I.

A few minutes later, Harogbas landed nearby. Our Master said that he would conduct our training exercise. Makes sense as his abilities are quite close to a conjurer's.

"Could he be the reason for the audience?" Novayar asked.

"Maybe."

"Ah, you are already here," Harogbas said, approaching. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait. Today will be a grand day if all goes well. If not, no worries. I don't expect success right away."

"Why is everyone else here?" Novayar asked.

Harogbas sat down in front of us, casting his huge shadow on us and cooling the air. His head panned around. "So many follow me. They see me as their savior. Do not worry about them."

"Being watched adds pressure," I tell him.

"It does. But to fight the shadows of the prophecy, you must be able to endure such conditions. They will not wait for you two to be comfortable."

I glanced over at Novayar to see if he still looked nervous. His body looked as tense as mine felt.

"You two are capable. Believe in yourself, and in the guidance we are giving you. We only want what's best for you and for dragon kind. We have a lot of prep to do before the training exercise. However, if you are so nervous, we can just stand around a bit. Maybe you can adjust to being surrounded by others."

"Can we sit?" Novayar asked.

"Sure." With little difficulty, the shadow dragon ripped a good-sized tree from the ground and set it down behind us. A whole tree pulled from the ground by a single dragon. Not even a female strength dragon could perform such a feat. Novayar's mother would be jealous.

"Are you that strong, or what..." I nervously spoke.

"Transformation," said Harogbas. His tongue pushed splinters of bark out from between his teeth. "And a little magic."

The dragons in the cave painting would have loved to do whatever Harogbas did to enhance his abilities.

"I'm sorry for thrusting you into the spotlight, but I had to be the one conducting this exercise. Everyone likes to follow me," Harogbas said. No one around moved or reacted. They must be hearing his words. "They see me as their savior from hiding in the shadows of the humans, something all Laku have had to endure for countless millennia."

"Shadow? I haven't heard that term for mankind. Is it the same shadow as the prophecy?" Novayar asked.

Harogbas nodded. "I'm fairly sure. You've heard how I want to reveal Laku to the humans as safely as possible. It has to be in a controlled way, or mass killings will result. Humans are so close to finding out we live in their shadows."