Dragon Riders:Legacy(Book 2)

Chapter 13:Searching For Answers:Kaya

It had been a day since Kaya and her twin brother, Kumaglak, made it back to Sanctuary to continue their Dragon Rider training; they had another four days to rest and settle back in.
Kaya has been spending that time in the Rider's library, which was humongous, it was even bigger than the library of the emperor of Zhong, which was already a big library, but no where near the size of the Rider's library. But that's what the rumors say. She would, however, like to visit the emperor's library.
At the moment she was in the library reading about the Riders of Arctica, wanting to know more about her predecessors and what happened to them, and why there were no Arctican Riders at Sanctuary when there was an Arctican Rider ninety-one years ago; who should still be alive since she read that Riders could live to be over a hundred years old.
She wanted to know more about the Rider from ninety-one years ago. The only things she found out about him was his name and the name of his dragon: Atiqalaaq and Icestorm. There was nothing else about them, it was like history wanted all Erdas to forget them. She wanted to know what happened to them and why there wasn't any more information about them? Did the Riders not record the life of Riders and their great deeds?
"Maybe the Riders do, but store that information somewhere else to keep the descendants of Riders safe from those who wish to harm a certain Rider who had done them wrong." Whiteout suggested, who was laying nearby sleeping or at least looking asleep.
"Maybe, but where would they hide that much information." She thought to Whiteout, while continuing to search the page she was on, looking for any hints on what happened to Atiqalaaq and Icestorm.
"Where do you think?"
She thought for a moment of the most secure places in the whole castle, and she came up with a half dozen, quickly crossing off which ones were the most unlikely of places.
   "Anaba's office."
   "That's where I would put the most precious information. Out of the reach of children, who could be persuaded to tell someone they think they can trust, the secrets of the Riders. In a place guarded by the wisest, strongest and most powerful of the whole Rider order." Whiteout said, sounding a little angry when she mentioned the part about kids trusting people they think they can trust.
She wondered why Whiteout sounded angry. Did Whiteout have trust issues or did something happen to her that just made her to start not trusting new people? But there was no way any of those possibilities could have happened to Whiteout without her knowing about it.
"You will know more about why I was angry later in the future when you're old enough to understand what is going on." Whiteout said, making her feel younger than a nine year old kid.
"I know you don't like that I'm not telling you things, but it's to keep you safe and to not make you feel like the weight of all Erdas is on your shoulders."
"What do you mean? Why are you and Darkstalker always speaking in cryptic riddles?" She asked, upset that Whiteout would never tell her anything about certain subjects, like why there weren't many Riders, and why there weren't any Riders around their age, and who was Galbatorix.
"You need not get upset for you will learn all the answers to your questions in due time." Whiteout said, leaving her mind, clearly not going to answer anymore questions.
Focusing more intently on the book in front of her, she continued reading it from cover to cover.
   When she finished, she browsed through the library, looking for more anything else related to the Riders.
   She went to the R section, and she found a whole shelf that was empty where books related to the Riders should have been. That only confirmed her and Whiteout's theory that someone took the books out of the library to keep them out of the hands of young Riders that clearly couldn't be trusted with secrets,
   She went to D section and A section both yielding no results on Atiqalaaq and Icestorm but just facts, stories, and legends. None of them giving her any information on who they were and what happened to them.
   She left the library with Whiteout, and was on her way back to the dormitory common room she shared with Kumaglak and Nimue, the tall girl from Oceanus with a tough and fierce personality, when she saw Niran, one of the Elders, ahead of her in the corridor.
   She quickly ran after him, and yelled, "Master!" Hoping to catch his attention.
   She did, and he turned around to face her with his bright green eyes.
   When she caught up with him, he asked, "What is it Kya? Did something happen?" His voice full of concern. He always showed her and Kumaglak more concern than Nimue for some reason, she didn't know why. He acted like he promised to look after them and care for them.
   Catching her breath, she said, "Master, I was reading about the Arctican Riders, and I was wondering why there were none of them here at Sanctuary when the last Arctican Rider and his dragon were alive ninety-one years ago. So I was wondering if you knew what happened to Atiqalaaq and Icestorm?"
   As soon as she said her predecessors names she saw something flicker behind Niran's eyes as if he struggled to contain his emotions that were trying to spread over his face.
   Then once he had his emotions under control, he said, "I don't know what happened to Atiqalaaq and Icestorm. I've never met them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to." Then he walked away in a hurry like he was trying to hide something he didn't want her to see, something like a buried secret.
   She knew he was lying when he said he didn't know what happened to Atiqalaaq, and that he never met him. She knew he was hiding something from the moment he tried to control his emotions.
   She would find out what he knew about Atiqalaaq and Icestorm, even if she had to keep asking him till he gave in. All she wanted was to know more about her predecessors and what happened to them.

   When she hit back to the dormitory common room, she saw Nimue reading a scroll at one of the four tables in one of the corners with Hurricane dozing nearby.
   Kumaglak and Darkstalker were nowhere to be seen.
   She guessed they were in their room doing Suka knows what.
   She opened the door to the Girls' staircase and walked up the spiral stone staircase with Whiteout.
   When she got up to the circular room with the five doors, two of the rooms already occupied by her and Nimue, she opened the door to her room and entered.
   She walked across her room to her desk, and sat down, and opened one of the drawers and took out a rolled up piece of parchment and a charcoal pencil. She unrolled the parchment and stared down at the drawing she started last night when she couldn't sleep because of another vision-nightmare.
   Her vision-nightmare was strangely about her cousin, Siku, who was in Arctica and should be safe up in the north where no one can survive except those with a spirit animal or apparently a dragon made for the cold. She saw Siku in large place made of ice that looked similarly to Suka's Ice Palace from the rumors she heard about its majesty. She saw Siku pick up a round, white object speckled with light blue spots that looked similarly to the size and shape Whiteout's egg was. She didn't get to see anymore because she woke up when she though she saw Suka the Polar Beat crushing Ermine underneath her massive claws and yelling: "Get out!" It actually felt like Suka was about to crush her and she though she could hear Suka's voice thundering in her ears.
   That's when she woke up and started her drawing.
   She spread the parchment out on the desk, using her inkwell and some books to hold down the corners.
   Picking up her charcoal pencil, she continued the drawing, occasionally looking up from her artwork to look at her source of inspiration.
   She worked on it for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was maybe a couple hours or three by the time she was done.
   When she was done, she admired her drawing. It looked so realistic that it could literally jump off the parchment.
   She heard Whiteout come over to admire the drawing of herself in a snowy background with snowflakes slowly falling all around her.
   "It looks so real that it could come to life. Artwork like this belongs in an art gallery." Whiteout praised her.
   But she actually could make it come to life, but she would risk losing her soul just by enchanting the drawing to come to life.
   She didn't know where he got her artistic talent from. She had never drawn anything up in Arctica because of the lack of parchment and charcoal pencils.
   "Maybe you have always had this talent, but have just scratched the surface of your extent artistic abilities." Whiteout said.
   "Maybe." She said, rolling up the drawing and putting it back in her desk along with the inkwell and her charcoal pencil, and she put the books back on their shelf.
   Then she got ready for bed.
   She blew out the candle, and said goodnight to Whiteout and climbed under the covers and went to sleep, hoping another vision-nightmare wasn't waiting for her around the corner.

P.S. I will reveal later in the series why the Elders took the books and scrolls about the Riders' lives and accomplishments.
Hope you're all enjoying the story so far.