|
Karranatey
She had been walking for several days, only stopping to get water where she could or to pluck some berries from a bush to keep herself from collapsing of hunger. Her talisman guided her deep into the forest, each time she headed off its intended path she would get an almost painful twinge of the muscles in her hand. This was her signal to get back on the path she’d been about to leave and she would do so unerringly. Karranatey hardly paid any attention to where she was going, just careful never to stray from the path. It did not occur to her that she was not in control of herself, or that the talisman was holding her in sway. She only knew she wanted to be where it led her. Finally, one evening she reached a clearing. She stopped in the center and turned around to survey the place. The clearing was an impossibly perfect circle and she smiled as she realized it. This would be her clearing, had she not another destiny. If her destiny had been like Karmenal’s this would be where she built her cottage and lived the lonely life of a ‘disgraced.’ But her destiny called her elsewhere and she lifted a foot to head out of the clearing. Pain shot up her left arm and she gasped, falling to one knee in the center of the clearing. Right hand clutched about her left wrist she lifted her hand, palm upward. The talisman was not even visible beneath the skin and as the pain faded from her arm she stood again. She lifted her foot again; ready to take a step, her hand still held palm up within her line of vision. As her foot moved forward she saw the talisman appear beneath the skin in an angry red glow. She put her foot back down; realizing this was where the talisman wanted her to be. It truly was her clearing. She knelt on the ground in the center of the clearing. Her left wrist still clutched in her right hand; her left palm up she focussed on her breathing. In and out, slowly, calmly. The magic came to her again and she shivered in excitement as the talisman began to glow with a bright blue light. She did not weave the magic that flowed through her body, simply channeling it through the talisman and her eyes widened as she saw the talisman weaving the magic into itself. The flaming dragon on the talisman blurred and vanished for a moment, the talisman still weaving the magic into itself. The flaming dragon flared back onto the surface of the talisman with a flash of blue light that almost blinded her. Once the light had faded Karranatey looked up. The magic still coursed through her but the talisman let it flow past as if it had no more use for it. Through the magic haze Karranatey could see the vague outlines of the trees all around her, but then, appearing between her and the trees was a large dragon, it’s long horns standing proudly from the top of its head. Amazingly, even with the magic still pulsing through her she could see the beast in perfect detail. The dragon stood on all fours, its horns glinting in the sunlight, its wings spread slightly as if it was startled and preparing for flight. Its hide blue in color, the wing sails lighter in color than the body and the finger-like bones that controlled the wings. Awe spread over Karranatey’s face and her mouth fell open. In her moment of astonishment the magic left her and she fell, barely able to catch herself. She supported herself on her hands, still gazing up at the blue dragon in awe, but her mouth snapped shut as a man climbed off the dragon’s back. “How on Alskyr did we end up here, Murneth?” said the man, apparently not noticing Karranatey on the ground before his dragon. The dragon swung its large head around to regard its rider then settled its gaze on Karranatey as she pushed to her feet, standing tall and firm, despite the trembling in her knees. “I brought you here,” she said, tilting her chin up in an attempt to give a lie to her shaky tone. The man looked at her in surprise and she squared her shoulders as he looked her up and down. “Oh you did?” “Yes, I did, and now you are going to take me back where you come from,” she said, pleased that her voice sounded a little less shaky. “And why should we do that?” he asked, crossing his arms in front of him and arching an eyebrow at her. Karranatey blanched, shocked to hear him refer to himself and the dragon as ‘we.’ Surely the dragon was just a beast of burden, like a horse or a mule? Granted with the inestimable value of being able to fly, but it could not possibly be intelligent. The dragon snorted then as if it had sensed her thoughts and Karranatey’s eyes widened even further. “It- can understand?” she stammered, losing all composure as she gazed in amazement at the beast once again. “Yes, he can understand. Dragons are actually very intelligent creatures,” said the man a bit condescendingly. “Who are you anyway?” “I am Karranatey,” she said, pulling herself up tall again and cursing her knees as they wavered beneath her. “And you are?” “K’ran, rider of Blue Murneth,” he said as he laid an affectionate hand on the dragon’s side. Karranatey frowned, looking from one to the other in puzzlement. Somehow these two were involved in her destiny, though they seemed very unwilling to help her. She regarded them in puzzlement, knowing she was meant to go with them but not sure how to convince them to take her. She felt her knees shaking again and this time it was accompanied by dizziness and she went down, barely catching herself on her hands and knees as consciousness tried hard to leave her. She breathed raggedly, in and out, forcing her eyes to stay open and her brain to continue functioning. She looked up when a hand touched her shoulder and saw K’ran looking at her with concern. She shook her head when he tried to help her to her feet and remained on her hands and knees on the ground, attempting to control her ragged breathing. “Are you injured?” K’ran asked, watching her with concern in his eyes. Murneth, the big blue dragon crooned comfortingly and Karranatey’s head snapped up in surprise. “No,” she said, frowning at the dragon in confusion. “I just need rest, and food, in that order.” “Where do you live? Can we transport you there?” “I have no home, save that of the dragon I have yet to find,” Karranatey replied, still frowning at Murneth. She gritted her teeth as another bout of dizziness gripped her, but this time she could not support herself and she felt herself being lifted as the dizziness swept over her. Her eyes fluttered open once more and she saw K’ran frowning as he attempted to put her on the dragon’s back. “You are taking me with you?” she asked weakly and he nodded his head. “Murneth wants you to stand for the next clutch.” “Clutch?” she asked, not sure what he meant. “I’ll explain it later,” replied K’ran, holding her firmly onto Murneth’s back as he instructed the dragon to take flight. Karranatey allowed her eyes to close then, too long without food and the powerful spell she’d worked to bring the dragon and his rider to her had taken it’s toll on her. They were taking her with them though, and she drifted out of consciousness as that surprisingly pleasant thought drifted through her mind. Continue...
|