It's All In The Name

                      
         The Kingdom was massive.  Still miles away from the outer
     gates, it appeared as if it were right before them. Moonrose and
     her people were taken away by it’s splendor.  They could see
     waves of people traveling towards this great realm.  There were
     races of all kinds.  As Blue Green Gem flew back and forth trying
     to get a closer look at these strange creatures, many of them
     stopped and pointed, amazed by the sight of a dragon.  Like
     Moonrose, they too believed that the dragons had all died off in
     ancient days.  Some of these people were just coming to the
     kingdom for the sole purpose of seeing for themselves if the
     rumors they’d heard of The Crimson Dragon were true.  Blue
     Green Gem delighted in seeing the reaction his presence created.

           As he flew over one particular race which was not quite elf
     and not quite goblin, their leader shouted for them to halt.  They
     formed a circle large enough for the dragon flying overhead to
     land.  With his viziers by his side their leader called out to the
     young dragon.  "Oh Great One! Find us worthy enough to grant
     us an audience!" he pleaded.

          Blue Green Gem turned to look behind himself to see who they
     were talking to.  When he realized they were speaking to him, he
     cleared his throat and said, "What do you want with me?"

         "We only seek counsel from a great and wise one like yourself."
     The leader explained.

         An unpleasant  feeling swept over Blue Green Gem.  He was
     not accustomed  to dealing with people, let alone giving counsel.
     He flew a bit closer to them but did not land.  He said,  "I have no
     time for you!" With that he flew off.

        The leader turned to his men "Our master was right!  There is
     a new breed of dragons."

        Blue Green Gem flew back to Moonrose and her people and
     began to walk with them.  His heart  was still pounding hard in
     his chest.  She could sense his uneasiness but she knew if she
     asked him what was troubling him it would only upset him
     further.  They entered the kingdom in silence.

        As they passed through the outer gates to the Kingdom, a
     young knight approached.  He informed them that TheNightWind
      has been expecting them and had assigned them accommodations
     within the main castle.  He suggested that they get some rest
     from their journey and told them that he would call upon them
     the next day. He turned to Blue Green Gem and told him that the
     king had made arrangements for him as well.  He was to stay in
     an area away from his friends, but  they all were all permitted to
     roam about the kingdom as they pleased.  He summoned another
     knight to show the dragon the way to his quarters.

        Though exhausted from her travels,  Moonrose could not sleep.
     The anticipation of the upcoming meeting with TheNightWind
     consumed her thoughts and kept her up most of the night.  She
    thought to herself,  "Why do I feel this way?  I am a queen after
     all."  After countless hours, she finally fell asleep

        She awoke the next day, late in the morning.  As she began to
     stir there was a knock upon the door to her chamber.  Before she
     could speak, a young girl let herself in.  She couldn’t have been
     older then 12.

        "I see my lady has awoken. I pray that you have slept well?"
     she inquired as she moved toward the closet doors.

        "Why, yes I did, but I seem to have overslept."  Moonrose
     replied as she rose from the bed.

        The girl came to the bed with her hands filled with a beautiful
     silk dress.  The color of it reminded Moonrose of the sky on a
     clear spring day. "Not at all my lady.  Your people insisted that
     you be allowed get your rest. They care for you so", she
     explained.

        "Where are they now?" Moonrose inquired.

        "Most of your party is still in the east dining room, however
     some of them have begun to wander both in and outside of the
     castle."  She could see the concern in the expression on
     Moonrose’s face. "Do not fret my lady.  TheNightWind will see
     you sometime this afternoon," she added. "He wants you to feel
     free to explore his realm and will summon you when the time
     comes."
 
        Moonrose turned to the girl and smiled. "What is your name
     little one?" she asked.

        "My name is Gabriella, but my friends call me Gabby" she
     answered and  then added, "They say I talk too much, but I don’t
     think I do."

        With a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Moonrose
     resisted the urge to giggle at this sweet, young child and said,
     "Well you may call me Moonrose and I don’t think you do either.
      Besides, I would welcome some good conversation while you
     show me around the Kingdom today."

        Together, they walked down the long corridor to the east
     dinning room.  All the while, Gabby told Moonrose about each
     piece of art hanging on the walls and talked in great detail about
     each room they  passed.

        As they entered the dining room, Blue Green Gem  jumped up,
     almost knocking the table over, and shouted, "Good morning
     Moonrose, I’ve been waiting for you!"

        "I am here now.  I thought you  would have begun exploring the
     kingdom by now," she said as she sat beside him.

        The young dragon puffed out his chest and said "I wanted to,
     but I thought you would need me as your guide."

        Moonrose then introduced Gabby to Blue Green Gem saying.
     "I want you to meet Gabriella.  She shall be my guide this
     morning." Sensing his disappointment, she added "Besides,  I
     would only slow you down, if you had to walk with me.  This
     way, you can fly and take in all of the Kingdom."  She then leaned
     in toward him and whispered, "I want you to make a full report
     to me.  If it’s not too much trouble, maybe even draw me a map
     of your findings."

        Blue Green Gem was very pleased by this and stated, "Then I
     shall be off now."  With that he jumped up again and started to
     leave.  Again, almost knocking over the table but this time with
     his tail.  As he passed Gabriella he told her to take care of
     Moonrose and he left.

        After a light breakfast, Moonrose and Gabby began exploring
     the kingdom.  All the while, Gabby living up to her name, telling
     story after story about this and that.  Moonrose was pleased to
     have such an informative guide with her.  She appeared to know
     everything , maybe a little too much.  This led Moonrose to
     wonder what was truth and what was rumor.  What intrigued her
     the most were the stories of TheNightWind.  Gabby was bubbling
     over with these tales.  She felt slightly guilty for trying to elicit
     information about their graceful host, but Gabby didn’t seem to
     mind the questions.

        In the middle of one story, Gabby stated matter of factly,
     "They say he has the blood of The Crimson Dragon flowing
     through his veins and that the blood can be traced back to the
     time of the Ancients."

        Moonrose’s curiosity  perked up. "Wow, That is fascinating!
     Can you tell me more about it?"

        Gabby shrugged her shoulders, "Well I don’t know that much
     about it," She sighed.  "but I will tell you what I know."

        "Oh yes, please do!" Moonrose answered.

        As Gabby gathered her thoughts to tell the tale, Moonrose
     leaned in and listened attentively.  Gabby took a deep breath and
     began,  "Well back in the ancient days when dragons ruled the
     world and man was just starting as a race, there was a great
     battle between the dragons over man.  Seems like this one dragon,
     The Ruby Dragon, wanted to either kill man or make him a slave.
     I think that he wanted to enslave them, because he used this one
     man named ... uhmm... The Reverend,  no, it was The Preacher
     as his right hand man. Well, both of them were really evil and the
     other dragons wanted to protect man.  There were lots of good
     dragons then and they kicked butt!"

        Moonrose was amazed that this girl had said all this in one
     breath.  ‘Boy, she really lives up to her name’ she thought,
     holding back the urge to giggle.

        Gabby continued,  "Now, besides The Crimson Dragon, there
     were others like The Crystal Dragon and this mighty, mighty
     dragon Blackmoon something or other.  I’m not quite sure about
     their stories, but what I do know is that they were very helpful
     in saving man."

        "Oh, by the way, that over there is the marketplace. A funny
     thing happened there a few days ago with some newcomers. I’ll
     tell you that story later," She said as they passed by.

        Gabby took another breath and went on. "Now where was I?"
     But before Moonrose had the chance to answer, she was off again.
     "Oh Yeah. Well, back then there was a leader of men named
     TheNightWind.  He was the great, great, great, great, well so
     many greats I’d never even finish!  He was the first.  The
     Crimson Dragon protected them, but TheNightWind also fought
     along side of the good dragons.  Now, I’m not exactly sure, but
     either the evil dragons surprise attacked the good ones , or the
     other way around .  I forget how it goes, but there was this huge
     battle where the evil dragons lost.  The Crimson Dragon was said
     to have killed The Ruby Dragon and The Preacher thought he
     had killed TheNightWind, but really he didn’t kill him.
     TheNightWind, that is.  Because when The Crimson Dragon
      found him, there was still a flicker of life left in his eyes."

        Gabby stopped the story and pointed across the street. "That’s
     The Nectar Pit. They have the best refreshments there.  Are you
     thirsty?  I am.  Can we stop for a drink?" She asked.

        "Well, only if you promise to finish the story," Moonrose told
     Gabby as they walked into the tavern.

        After they ordered their drinks, Gabby told Moonrose a little
     bit about everyone in the place.  Moonrose asked to hear more of
     the story about TheNightWind and The Crimson Dragon.

        "Oh yeah, TheNightWind wasn’t dead, but close to it.  The
     Crimson Dragon summoned TheNightWind’s mages along with
     the magical dragons.  Did I mention that some dragons had
     magical powers?"  Again, before Moonrose could answer, Gabby
     was off and running. "Well it seems that they used the blood of
     The Crimson Dragon to bring TheNightWind back from the dead...
     I think... or maybe it was from near death. Whatever... they used
     The Crimson Dragon’s blood and it worked.  TheNightWind
     either lived again or didn’t die.  Sometimes I wonder, but I am
     always wondering about this or that.   Now they say that that
     same blood runs through our king.  Only the king’s mages know
     the real story and it’s so hard to get them to talk about it.
     Especially now that The Crimson Dragon is awake,  and
     TheNightWind never speaks of it at all.  He makes me wonder
     every time I look into his eyes.  It’s like I am looking into the
     past.  Sometimes it creeps me out, but don’t get the wrong idea.
     He is a great king, so kind and gentle.  It just makes me wonder
     what the real story is.  I even wonder if he is the same one as in
     the story.  My father says I have a very lively imagination and
     sometimes I thinks he is right." Gabby let out a sigh.

        "Well that’s all I know," she told Moonrose. "Shall we go on
     with the tour?"

        Moonrose wanted time to sit and ponder this amazing tale a
     while longer, so she suggested to Gabby "Let’s have 1 more drink
     while you tell me what happened at the marketplace.  I could use
     a good laugh."

        They ordered up another drink while Gabby told about the
     marketplace.  Moonrose found it difficult to listen, adding a few
     scattered comments  and  a couple of giggles to keep Gabby
     talking.  All the while, her mind drifted back to the ancient days
     and this mysterious king called TheNightWind

                  © 5/98 by TheNightWind®