Varheiman Myths: The Dragon And Her Fire

The Secrecy.

The sweetness of rose lingered in his mouth, his head swooning slightly. He looked for his friend who was nowhere to be seen but faint mumbles of the voices could be heard. A feminine voice soft and tender, giggled and laughed in his head. His eyelids felt heavy but somehow his head was light. He peered through the vague image like a spilled reflection in the water, trying to get a clear glance. He'd never had such a troubling sight before, not even when he'd spread his arms and circles around the hut running blisteringly ,pretending to fly like a Dragon.

‘You alright, boy. Eh?’ Alistair laughed.

‘I think so.’ Rhineas glumly.

Sagittarius rose upon her hooves and trotted slowly towards Rhineas. She had come so close that Rhineas could feel her soft breaths against his face when she spoke.

‘You need to take rest, my lord.’ She'd said.

Rhineas quietly tried to get on his feet but somehow he noticed he was already standing, Sagittarius's hands clutched around his elbows to steady him.

Sagittarius lifted him and placed him on her back. Rhineas rested his face against her soft fluffy dangling hair when she trotted slowly. That was all Rhineas could remember from the last night.

Rhineas opened his eyes to a golden and violet roof placed atop the thick walls of little bushes woven into each other climbing over the trunk of the trees ,towered like the four pillars of a palace around a king. He noticed his mattress was soft and a soft fur over him. He wondered who had got him out of the armour, he was in his breeches and lose tunic fell down his shoulders. He pulled the lace out and tightened it around him. He grunted with an odd sensation in his head when he sat up on the mattress. The mattress was made of some extreme smooth grass that looked like cotton balls.

He stretched in the bed, his neck cracked and he relaxed with a yawn. He looked around, the Centaurs guarded his chamber made by greenery. He saw Alistair sleeping on the ground, with a mazer laying across him, spilling the ale.

Rhineas sighed deeply gazing at Alistair, drinking to unconsciousness is not a better idea dear friend, he'd wondered to himself.

‘Sir Alistair of Bustia.’ Rhineas said prodding his foot against Alistair’s back. ‘Rise and shine in the glory of your achievements, sir Alistair.’

‘Go away boy, don’t make me slay you.’ Alistair mumbled.

‘Of course.’ Rhineas scoffed and left.

He saw a lake, steam levitating over it. He strode towards it and saw a white fluffy head with a little horn extending from it. He was embarrassed to face Sagittarius.

She rotated her neck slightly and said, ‘Hop in my lord, freshen up, you have a long way to go.’

Rhineas dropped his clothes and buried himself into the warmth of the stream, considering the offer. He expected to feel good and juvenile after the warm bath.

‘The wine might’ve made me oblivious about the last night’s incident.’ He said.

‘Oh, has it?’ Sagittarius leaned back ,Rhineas was beside her at a distance.

Rhineas savoured the hot steams in his nose, he felt them warming his body and releasing stress from every muscle he had held from the long travel.

‘Your companion is keeping a secret from you.’ She said.

Rhineas was not surprised ,he knew that Alistair was a man of mystery.

‘He is mysterious, like you beings are.’ Rhineas laughed.

‘Indeed. He is like us.’ She said in a obvious tone.

Rhineas wondered for a moment on her words what is she trying to say? But the waters didn’t allow him to think much about anything than sinking deep in them for now.

Juicy fruits and delicious berries were served to them as breakfast, it was plentiful for them. Alistair didn’t remember the last time he had a good meal, neither did Rhineas. They both were deeply grateful to Sagittarius.

Sagittarius walked them to the place where they kept Unicorn’s blood. It was a tall wooden pillar with little rooms carved in them ,there were clay pots stored in those carved shelves on the lofty wooden pillar. She took one of the pots from the pillar and chanted a spell, the white sparkling dust whirling around her hand. When she removed her hand from the clay pot, the open mouth of the pot was sealed.

‘I sealed so that it’s scent wouldn’t attract any troubles on your way home.’ She said and handed them the little pot.

‘Thank you, Sagittarius. I sincerely apologize for the troubles I'd put you and the ill will against you.’ Alistair said in remorse.

She smiled heartedly and said, ‘It was the lord’s will, you didn’t come, you were brought here.’

‘Thank you Sagittarius.’ Rhineas mused in.

‘I will see you again my lord.’ She was certain she would.

She closed her eyes and balled her fists when she opened them there was a silver bracelet with a red opal embedded in it. Just as bright as Rhineas’s eyes.

‘Accept this as our gift my lord.’ She sealed the bracelet around Rhineas’s wrist.

Alistair remembered the stone as the one that Edgard wore in a torque around his neck.

Rhineas extended his hand to Sagittarius, she put the bracelet on his wrist. Rhineas developed an immediate admiration for the red stone. He'd been told that his eyes were red or scarlet, he never got an opportunity to get a proper look of his eyes, but now he knows how his eyes looked.

Rhineas had just donned the gambeson above his tunic and the baldric over it. The armour was let dangling ,tied across the horse.

Sagittarius walked them to the gates of the untainted gardens to give them a proper farewell, Alistair had got two flasks of ale ,he was as pleased as a child would be when his father had bought him a toy.

Sagittarius watched their hero disappearing from the view, but his light still gleamed ,his red hair danced behind him. She looked at the golden light fainting from Emone’s abode, ‘Oh lord, your purpose has been fulfilled by your child. Your grace shall never fade.’ She said.

‘What are you doing?’ Rhineas shrieked when he saw Alistair striking a blow with his sword against him.

They had stopped on their way to spend the night and Alistair had seized Rhineas’s sword when he was asleep. The first thing Rhineas saw after opening his eyes was Alistair lunging at him with furious eyes. Rhineas crawled back and jumped to his feet. Alistair swung again, Rhineas swooped down and glided out of the way of sword swiftly.

‘What is the matter with you, old man.’ Rhineas yelled.

‘You are being attacked, defend yourself. You are unarmed if you won’t you will die.’ Alistair grunted as he shot the sword at Rhineas’s chest. Rhineas tilted windily.

Alistair kept hitting and swinging the sword, Rhineas dodged and shunned every blow ,meeting his flesh and bones.

‘Step forward boy, study the movements of opponent.’ Alistair instructed.

Rhineas spun away from his sword while Alistair slid forth, Rhineas hit a hard blow on Alistair's neck with his elbow. Rhineas slid his arm furtively under Alistair's shoulder and twisted it backwards holding his wrist with another hand. As he got a tight grip around Alistair's wrist, in an instant flash motion he withdrew his other arm from under Alistair's shoulder and snatched the sword before Alistair could shift it in another hand.

‘Not going to die so soon, old man.’ Rhineas scoffed.

‘You got yourself saved but the technique was not certain boy.’ He pointed.

Alistair had started a new lesson Rhineas ,in hand to hand combat and how to unarm the opponent. They trained on their way back home wherever they stopped ,just like they did on their way into the forest.

‘Your legs, keep them steady, boy.’ Alistair said.

He'd told him how to lock the opponent’s arm and his wrists. ‘Be certain that you don’t let your opponent predict your moves.’ He'd said.

‘Grab the hilt tight with your left hand and stroke a might blow on the wrist of you opponent, it will set free the sword from his hand and that's when you pull from the hilt, and the sword is your boy.’ Alistair concluded. Rhineas practiced and after a few failed attempts succeeded in snatching the sword.

They had been traveling for months into the forest. The forest no more scared Rhineas now, it felt friendly to him they were out of the dense shadows of gnarled limbs of the tree blocking the sun. They were in the liveliness of the forest, now. The birds singing and the leaves rustling, somewhere far the stream rippled making sharp splashing sound against the rocks.

‘Alistair, why have you come so far?’ Rhineas asked cautiously.

‘For the blood, you know. And the gold.’ He replied casually.

‘No, you wouldn’t risk your life for just a few gold coins. You could earn that from anywhere. We got on the ship stacked with diamonds, you could’ve got some, but this is far beyond that.’ Rhineas stated. ‘I know you are keeping a secret, and I will respect your privacy, but if there is anything that i really need to know, tell me.’

Rhineas’s words stung Alistair like a scorpion's sting. How did he know this? Alistair wondered, but he was not going to spit the truth out to anyone, not even to the king's first born.

‘It’s nothing that you ought to know boy.’ He said bitterly.

Rhineas sensed the dishonesty in Alistair’s bitterness. He knew that had something to do with the king or himself.

Till the dusk they had reached the lower hill of Hetra. Rhineas had never imagined he would ever journey to the other side of Hetra. The village was serene under the nightfall sky, the sunlight slowly flickering and stars are scarcely blinking. Rhineas was very eager to meet his mother he's been away quite a long, he probed through the forest to get something for his mother. He was looking for leuge following its sweet mild fragrance, he gathered some and tied them in a bunch.

‘Let’s spend the night here boy.’ Alistair said.

‘No, my mother is waiting. It will just take a little while if we set at gallop.’

Alistair couldn’t disapprove, he didn’t want to keep a son away from a mother. Alistair had seen his face glow, the traces of wariness has faded behind the anticipation of reuniting with his mother.

Velina waited every night miserably for her son to return, she was not worried she had known that the fire will always guide him out of the danger, and after what it seemed a lifetime of waiting her son was approaching her little hut, looking handsome on a brown horse with red leather gambeson over his same tunic he'd left wearing. The tunic's long and loose sleeve came out of the gambeson falling over his hands. Velina hasted towards the door to see her son dismounting the horse, along with him was a man in armour she considered Alistair for a Knight. Rhineas jumped down his horse impatiently to embrace his mother.

‘Mother.’ He cried as he let himself sink in the arms of his mother. He felt Velina sobbing. The tears poured out of his eyes. Velina held his big face in her arms. She'd noticed his face has become rough and hard, her son had grown taller than the last time she'd seen him, a year had passed. She kissed his forehead like always, Rhineas gave her the leuge and she loved it.

‘Do we have a supper for our guest, mother?’ Rhineas asked pointing at Alistair.

‘Wouldn’t expecting a starving man with your son, eh?’ Alistair humoured.

‘Of course sir.’ She said.

Rhineas had told Velina about Alistair and their travels, she was dumbstruck by her son’s adventures and bravery. Rhineas showed her the stone that Sagittarius gave him, his mother understood that the time will soon arrive when Rhineas would take his father’s place.