The Severaine

Chapter Sixteen Kalia-1

Chapter Sixteen

KaliaThe opening into the mountain towered above them. The scope and enormity of the cave ensuring each of them felt minuscule as they stared deep into the black nothingness. Despite their pace they showed little sign of progress through something which seemed endless as they navigated into the darkness. All the distance they travelled somehow seemed both meaningless and immeasurable.

“The sentries are just ahead,” Feodor announced finally, looking towards Daniel. He walked almost in a daze, perhaps even unaware he had been addressed. Then without warning he stopped. They stood just before a sharp turn in the cave, and from where he stood, he could see them. They blended almost seamlessly into the shadows. Judging by their silhouettes, not even Eiji, who was the tallest amongst them, would stand any higher than their knees. The dragons, alien to what he expected, seemed to stand upright on their hind legs. Their sharp eyes already monitored their every movement. Their keen sense of smell had informed them of their presence long ago; all they had to do was await their arrival.

They approached the dragons slowly, a justified fear bringing their pace to a slow crawl. The closer they got, the more visible they became from the shadows, and once again, the slower their pace. It took a few moments for Daniel to gather the confidence to speak. The giants before him, although small in comparison to the cave, were larger than any real creature he had seen. To offend them, even inadvertently, could easily result in his death. He swallowed with difficulty as he attempted to steady his nerves.

“We have come to see the Grand Master.” His voice was almost lost as it became lodged in his throat. As he spoke, he felt the heat rise to his cheeks, realising he may have already disrespected this ancient race by assuming the dragons spoke their tongue. There was a long pause, one giving ample time for all his doubts to surface. He wondered if maybe they had not heard him. It had taken all of his effort to force power behind his words, yet they were still barely as loud as a whisper, or maybe they had not understood. If the dragons could not understand his dialect, then he would have no choice but to rely on Feodor, who claimed to have spoken with them once before. The dragons gave a throaty growl, looking to the small beings who stood before them.

“You test our patience, once already you have been warned. If you do not know the name of the Grand Master you cannot pass,” the voice roared as it echoed from the cave walls. Daniel faltered, feeling himself retreat a few steps at the sheer volume of their words.

“Forgive our intrusion.” His voice held a little more power than before, but only a little. “We were sent here to seek an audience with…” Daniel swallowed. Could he be sure the name he knew was right? After all, with all things considered, it was just as likely the name he knew would mean nothing to them.

“Silence,” one of them demanded. The ground beneath their feet trembled as it dropped to stand on all fours. When he spoke again the tones were softer, quieter. “You must never speak his name so that others may hear. If you truly know it, then come closer and tell it to my ear. There are few who are permitted knowledge of his name, and less from your world.” Daniel approached. He could feel his entire body trembling as the creature's size robbed him of all confidence. The dragon lowered his head to rest upon the cave floor, even then, Daniel was forced onto his tiptoes. He glanced at the creature, seeing how close he stood to its enormous jaws, its teeth visible through its muzzle as it waited for his response.

“Nemean,” his voice wavered as he spoke the name. Unseen to him, the dragon's eyes widened slightly. He raised his head, and without a word drew itself to its full height before taking flight, the second following its companion to leave them alone in the tunnel.

“How did you know his name?” Acha placed a tender hand on Daniel's shoulder. When he had claimed to possess such knowledge, she, like Eiji, had thought his words merely a ruse in order to assess the danger posed by their new companion. It appeared she had been wrong to doubt him, but the source of this strange knowledge was concerning.

“Honestly?” Daniel's question came out as a relieved sigh as he released the breath he had been holding. “Zo told me last night, before we were attacked.”

“Zo told you?” she questioned in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“But that's… lucky.” There was no point telling him it was impossible. Ultimately, he had known the name and whether or not it had been passed to him from the lips of the dead was irrelevant. All that mattered, for the moment, was that they were one step closer to where they needed to be. The egg, now in Eiji's possession, already presented a small hairline crack. She had no doubt that there was a need to understand this situation further, but for the moment they had more pressing matters.

“The Grand Master will be at the mountain's centre,” Feodor advised. As they emerged through the opening, for the first time they realised they were actually inside the mountain.

Soft light filtered through from the numerous openings in the rock. But the mountain itself seemed more like a shelter, hollow, almost as if the meeting of tectonic plates had forced this giant structure to emerge but left the land beneath it untouched. A huge waterfall fell from the gigantic opening at its peak, plunging through miles of open air to form the central lake beneath. This enormous feature was as large as the opening itself. This lake finally became a number of small rivers which ran through the area, emerging at the base of the mountains to flow across the island before meeting with the sea. Eiji rubbed his eyes in disbelief, thinking to question how that waterfall could even exist, when all that was above it would be open sky and clouds. The area possessed no trees but was filled with long green grasses and vegetation. Being able to see such a large area so completely meant it was easy to estimate its size. The inside of this mountain was easily the size of the island of Crowley, perhaps twice over.

Whilst his travelling companions stood in awe of this hidden kingdom, Feodor was once again fixated on Acha. She reminded him of someone, someone he barely recalled seeing a very long time ago, but he could not recall who. He noticed now their attention had strayed from the majestic nature of their surroundings to the dragons within. There were but a few of them, but unlike those who had guarded the entrance, these remained on all fours.

“These dragons aren't standing up,” Eiji observed aloud. He looked to Daniel in hope of an answer, but Feodor had already started to explain. He felt like an outsider, so conversation was the easiest way to ease the tension his presence seemed to cause.

“Wyrms are not typically bipeds, if they were Kadmos Rosu would never have slain as many as he did. The truth is, this alleged hero was really nothing more than a bully who targeted either the females or the young. When a wyrm is first born, or hatched, just as a human would, it first learns to walk on all fours. During this time, it learns control over its body and flight. As it enters, what in your lifespan would be its adolescence, they develop bipedal balance, which means in battle they can put more force behind their blows, essential given their smaller size.

“As they age and grow, there is little need for this amplified power, and so, an adult wyrm returns to being a quadruped. It was always the young, those just short of adolescence who found themselves in Kadmos Rosu's traps, those and the females who would try to protect them. Most wyrms would simply find a place void of humans and protect their domain and the creatures within it. Wyrms are creatures of comfort, wanting as little interaction with man as possible.”

“Then why do they speak our language?” Eiji questioned as they made their way towards the largest dragon, as directed by Feodor. They had prepared themselves well on their approach. The dragon was by far larger than those they encountered in the passage.

The dragon lay dappled in the sunlight which broke through the mountain's natural fissures in large streams. Its colossal wings were spread wide, capturing the warmth and energy from the sun. Seeing their approach, it contracted its wings. The movement seemed to draw the air from around them, their breath stolen as the epic span of its wings became truly visible before they folded down. The grasses near the dragon flattened in protest, the air once removed now rushing back at full force almost knocking them from their feet.

They imagined their approach being one of speed, but instead they barely walked. The dragon's bulk shifted, its head slowly rising. The movement of its thick tendons and powerful muscles causing its scales to ripple and shimmer as the serpentine neck rose high above them. Their paces staggered backwards trying to comprehend the sheer size of the rising form until its head lowered to behold them, being under the scrutiny of its stare stole their remaining courage.

“The Human race is still so arrogant.” A loud snort caused the grass before the creature to split and sway. Even in rest this creature was the largest living being they had ever set eyes upon. The pulsing of its breath caused the air around them to move unnaturally.

On inspection the area with the tiny scale missing could be seen, a pale area in contrast to the deep green armour. The scales were finely knit, the meridians almost as visible as human veins, but their dark colours showed their inactivity. It was difficult to believe such complete and consuming damage could be caused by something that, given the size of the dragon, was so small. When the group before him failed to speak he gave another snort. “We have existed since the dawn of time. It was from us you first found your voice.”

“Apologies, we meant no disrespect,” Daniel interjected before Feodor had a chance to speak.

“Had I thought you did you would not still be standing before me,” Nemean stated, giving a yawn. His massive jaw opened slowly to show his enormous teeth to those who looked on. Each of them stepped back a few paces as their stomachs sank. “Now you have passed the guards, tell me, what brings you here.” Daniel was the first to speak, this was Feodor's courtesy for allowing him to accompany them.

“Elder Robert asked that we return this, and ask, perhaps, if we could take the Star of Arshad.” Daniel held the egg towards the Grand Master, his entire body trembled as the dragon lowered his head to his level, and sniffed curiously at it, nearly pulling Daniel over with the force of his breath as he felt himself slide uncontrollably towards the dragon's muzzle.

“This does indeed belong to us, our young are resilient, they do not hatch until we are ready for them.” The dragon paused. “As for the Star, do you understand exactly what it is you ask?”

“Sir, I know it is both a curse and a blessing to your kind, it holds great powers, enough to see you remain when the Severaine is sealed, but it also binds you to this land and prevents but a few crossing into your plane.”

“You broke through our boundary using Collateral if I am not mistaken. Since you claim to know the cost of us giving you the Star, why should I aid you?”

“Because we wish to return it to the Mountain of the Spirits to be protected by the gnomes. We understand it would free you from your binding to this island and see that if we succeed in sealing the Severaine none of the creatures awakening since its appearance will vanish.” The dragon seemed to laugh.

“You have the makings of an Eorthád, Mr. Eliot. But we do not fear the loss of magic; we are of our own origin.”