A Dragon's Tale Ch. 01

She trailed off.

"So, what do you want to do?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I know almost every tree in this forest but I've only ever visited one city. I don't even know what's out there."

"Me neither." Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, how about the immediate future? Have any good ideas where to go?"

"Gralden."

"Gesundheit."

"Where's that?" Alana asked. "Is it closer?"

He suppressed a chuckle. "I'm being silly. What's Gralden?"

"It's a city and home to one of the largest banks in the entire land. It's a three-day walk from here, but most of that is over the open road. We're only about a few hours' walk from the edge of the forest."

"I don't fancy our chances out in the open." He said. "Any other options?"

"Not without a map." She replied. "How's your mana?"

Ethan closed his eyes to check. He had used up most of his slushy mana cloud healing the previous night and it had shrunk to a mere fraction of its original size. It hadn't regenerated overnight much, if at all. It was still a mostly gaseous cloud with little substance at all.

"It's about the same as last night." Ethan replied "I thought you said magic users could pick up residual magic from the air."

"All magic users except for dragons." She explained. "Dragons can't pull magic directly from the Ether. Instead, they collect gold and make it resonate. When the gold resonates, it pulls Ether through the barrier."

"What barrier?"

"There's a barrier between the Ether and our world." Alana explained. "Think of it like a very fine mesh that only allows tiny amounts of mana to go through. When the gold resonates, it's like shaking a strainer to let more water through. Dragons collect this magic, and it's almost impossible for them to get it any other way."

"So I need gold to collect magic." He said. "And I only have a tiny bit of gold in my little dragon crop thingy, which is why I can't recharge my mana very fast."

"Exactly, that's why dragons collect and hoard gold." She said, taking another bite.

"Wow." Ethan said. "I didn't realize that dragons had such a raw deal."

"They don't." She shook her head. "Remember when I said that you can't enchant living things, because the flow of mana makes it impossible to get the enchantment to stick?"

"Yeah. You said it was like trying to build a house in the middle of a raging river."

"You were paying attention." Alana smiled. "And yes, but dragons aren't like that. Because dragons don't pull mana directly from the Ether, they don't have that constant flow."

"So, you can enchant a Dragon?"

"I can't, but a dragon can enchant himself. Meaning, you can use magic to directly augment almost any part of your body. You can make yourself stronger, faster, improve your senses and reflexes, make your scales harder, your claws sharper, your body lighter, and so much more. The possibilities are almost limitless."

"Nice!" Ethan exclaimed. "I guess that's not such a raw deal after all."

Alana shook her head. "Not one bit. Most dragons just use this magic to increase their size though, instead of going for the enchantments."

"Why?"

"It's way easier." She explained. "You experienced how hard healing two small wounds was and how much magic it took. Magic is incredibly hard when you start and most young dragons don't want to put in the effort."

"It sounds like it would be worth it though." He said. "Drousin was big, but I imagine he's pretty slow."

"Well, Drousin is absolutely huge for a dragon. I met Drousin's son before -- the body that you currently inhabit -- and he just recently hit maturity. Drousin was complaining about him lately and was ready to kick him out of the cave."

"Oh, so I'm a normal adult dragon size then?"

"Pretty much."

"Seems kind of small for a dragon." He mused. "I mean, I'm no bigger than an average man."

"That's how they start." Alana replied. "They collect gold and use the magic from that gold to get larger. That's part of the reason many dragons don't enchant themselves."

"Come again?"

"Well, as a dragon gets larger, the amount of magic needed to enchant themselves goes up like this." Alana moved her hand to indicate an exponential growth rate. "Pretty soon, it's just not worth enchanting themselves anymore because it just takes too much magic, so they usually just grow larger instead. That's how you end up with massive dragons like Drousin."

"Where did you learn all this?" Ethan asked.

"Drousin himself." She said. "I used to hang out with him occasionally to pick his brains about enchanting. Dragons are the world's master enchanters and I figured I could learn some things that would help me make better enchanting staves. I did, and he didn't mind my presence as long as I brought a gold coin every time. That's why my coin purse is so light. Apparently, he enjoyed our talks until he decided I would make a better dinner than companion."

Alana's expression didn't change much, but she glanced in the direction of Drousin's cave with a scowl.

"I'm sorry he tried to eat you."

"It's not your fault." Alana said with a sigh. "I should've known better than to trust a dragon, you know how they--" She stopped mid-sentence and stiffened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I just meant that dragons are... well, not all dragons apparently." She gestured towards Ethan. "But most dragons have a reputation for being... well, you know."

"Not really, but I'm not offended." Ethan replied. "Judging by Drousin, dragons are an unpleasant lot and I imagine their reputation reflects that. Besides, twenty-four hours ago I didn't believe in dragons, magic, or even wood elves for that matter."

"Thank you." Alana relaxed a little. "That was probably kinder than I deserved."

"No problem. You can make it up to me by telling me how to create a fireball out of thin air, like that mage last night." Ethan added with a smile

She shook her head. "No one can create anything out of thin air. Did you notice the flames suddenly burning low right before he created the fireball?"

Ethan nodded, and she continued. "He actually created the fireball by pulling the heat and flames from the fire. Magic -- like all energy -- cannot be created or destroyed. However, you can pull it from one place and send it to another. Fire attacks are usually done by pulling the heat from the surrounding air, concentrating it, then shooting it at the target. If there's a big fire, it's even easier. Ice attacks are the opposite; they pull all the heat from one place to freeze it."

"Hmm." Ethan mused. "I suppose moving energy around is a lot easier than generating it."

"Exactly. I suppose you could try converting mana directly to fire, but you'd need a massive mana pool to make even a small fireball. Like you said, it's easier to move heat around than generate it."

Ethan and Alana finished their breakfast at around the same time and sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"So, how are we going to get to the G city?" he asked after a little while.

"Gralden." Alana replied. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure it'll work. I was supposed to meet my uncle's traveling caravan in two days and travel with them to Gralden. They often run a few days ahead of schedule though, so I'm hoping we can catch them at the edge of the forest. It's a larger caravan, so I don't think Hermair would attack them. He probably wouldn't have time to get reinforcements before we got to Gralden, so I think that's our safest bet."

"Sounds like a plan to--" He broke off as they heard a horse whinny in the distance.

"And that's our cue to leave." Alana said as she shouldered her pack and picked up her stuff. They both turned away from the direction of the horse and started walking in the opposite direction. Ethan offered to carry something, but Alana wouldn't hear of anyone but her carrying her staves.

* * *

A few hours of walking and occasional talking later, Alana found Ethan more confusing than ever. She had tried to ask about his family, but he had deflected her questions. As much as she wanted to pry, she also wanted to respect his privacy.

She had asked about his work, which resulted in a confusing few minutes while he tried to explain what a 'computer' and 'the internet' was. As best as she could figure, it was like an enchanted scroll with unlimited information that you could also use to communicate with others. She had to admit, the idea had a lot of potential uses.

She asked him about his personal life, but it sounded like he didn't have much of a personal life. Or at least, he didn't want to talk about it.

"So, what do you do for fun?" she asked.

His eyes lit up. "I really enjoy..." He trailed off, and then shook his head. "Never mind."

Alana sighed in frustration. "We've been walking for hours and you've dodged almost every question I've asked. If you don't want to talk that's fine, but at least be upfront about not wanting to talk."

"No, I really enjoy talking with you." He said. "It's just that I'm not used to opening up to people very quickly. In my world, people tend to talk about little unimportant things for a while before diving into the deeper stuff."

"Why would they do that?" she frowned. "I mean, if it's not important why would you bother talking about it?"

He opened his mouth to reply, and then stopped. "You know that's a good point."

"I'm sorry if I seem pushy." She apologized. "It's just my parents are... well they aren't around anymore and I don't get to talk to people very often. That's probably part of the reason I started talking to Drousin; there wasn't anyone else around."

"Makes sense."

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" she repeated. Ethan hesitated, and that's when Alana came up with a truly devious plan.

"How about this? You hide your hand behind your back and stick up a random number of fingers. If I can guess the number of fingers three times in a row, then you have to answer the question."

"And if you can't guess correctly?" Ethan asked.

"Your choice."

"Alright, if you can't guess correctly, then you have to let me carry something for you." He said. "Seriously, I'm feeling pretty lazy over here."

"Deal."

Ethan put one hand behind his back, then spread his wings a little to make sure it was hidden. "Okay, guess."

She smiled and put her plan into motion. She reached out with her senses until she felt the presence of a curious squirrel nearby. She gathered some mana and politely requested the squirrel's help. The squirrel -- being an animal -- didn't exactly understand the request, but it seemed to be fairly comfortable with her. Alana offered food in exchange for its assistance and it instantly she felt the walls around its mind drop. Alana very carefully took a look through its eyes.

"One finger."

Ethan frowned. "Okay, you were right once. How about now?"

She again took a quick peek through the squirrel's eyes. "One again. Trying to fake me out?"

He narrowed his eyes. "You're up to something."

"Maybe." She gave him her most winning smile. "Once more."

Ethan spread his wings so there was no possible chance that she could see behind him. "Okay. Guess."

Again, she simply checked through the squirrel's eyes. "No fingers. Tricky."

Ethan's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?"

She smiled and beckoned the squirrel closer. It ran toward her, but gave Ethan's draconic form a wide berth. Alana pulled a couple of nuts and a few berries out of her satchel and gave them to the squirrel.

"Say hello to my little friend." She said. "He let me peek through his eyes."

"You can do that?" His eyes were almost comically big. She suddenly realized that his cat-like eyes were a very bright shade of green.

"I've been in this forest a long time and we understand each other quite well."

He started laughing. "Well, you learn something new every day, like your traveling companion is a cheater."

The squirrel ran off with its booty and Alana turned to Ethan with a wide smile. "We didn't stipulate that enlisting help wasn't allowed, so technically I didn't cheat at all... and you owe me an answer."

"Fair enough." He sighed. "There's a foster home not far from where I live-- used to live.

"Wait, what's a foster home?"

"It's..." He frowned. "It's... it a place that kids without parents can live while waiting to be adopted, sort of."

"So, like an orphanage?"

"Not really, but close enough. Anyway, I go there and try to teach the kids basic life skills they'll need, but probably wouldn't get otherwise. Things like how money works, balancing a checkbook, or how to make a profit ethically. I like playing with the younger ones too. The smiles on their faces are just... well, you probably know."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Alana felt her heart melt. "There's no reason to hide that, it's wonderful!"

"I didn't want to sound like I was bragging or trying to look good." He replied with a shrug. "You're actually one of the few people I've ever told about that."

"Oh." Was all she could think to say.

"We should go before Hermair's men catch up." She turned and started walking again. Ethan fell into step just behind her.

"I don't know what they're like." She said after a few minutes of walking in silence. "Kids I mean. Elves don't have children very often because we live so long. And all of my parents' children moved out long before they adopted me."

"You're adopted?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, but my parents... aren't around anymore."

"Did something happen to them?" he asked, although he hesitated a moment before doing so.

"Yes, a few years ago." Alana nodded, feeling her eyes moisten. "I've been on my own ever since. In some ways, I'm glad Hermair burned the farm down. I stayed there because it felt like a connection to my parents, but it was stopping me from living my own life. You were talking about the kid's smiles and I don't really know what they're like. I see them playing when I go into town, and someday I'd like to have some."

"Kids?" he asked.

"Yes." She frowned. "I have no idea why I'm telling you all this."

"It lightens our load when we share it with others." He replied, then took a deep breath. "I know exactly what you mean about wanting kids. I was engaged back home, but my fiancée wasn't the person I thought she was. She had been sleeping with my best friend behind my back, and just before I came here, they literally stole the business I'd spent my entire adult life building."

Alana stopped and turned toward Ethan. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped him in a hug and could feel her eyes getting moist.

After a few moments, she broke the hug and looked at him. His eyes were definitely wet and there was a single track where a tear had trickled down his scaly cheek. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before they both started wiping their faces.

"Well." Ethan muttered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yes." Alana replied, but couldn't quite meet his gaze. "Uh... thanks for sharing that, and for listening."

"Ditto." He replied.

They walked on in companionable silence for the next hour or so. Alana couldn't help but smile when she thought about Ethan helping those kids. She also found herself idly wondering if maybe she could do it too. As she thought about helping kids, she also thought it would be nice if he was there to help her. That led to an idle wish that he was an elf instead of a dragon.

She instantly dismissed that notion.

About noon, they stopped for lunch. While they were eating, Alana found herself asking more about the kids he helped. She could feel her heart and spirits lift as he talked about them. He kept himself mostly out of the stories, but he would go on and on about the kids there. It seemed like he knew every one of them by name.

"That sounds amazing." She said with a sigh when he stopped to make some headway on his lunch.

"It is." He mumbled with his mouth full, although he wasn't used to having a dragon's mouth and half his food spilled back out. Alana let out a ridiculously loud peal of laughter. She laughed until her sides hurt as Ethan tried first to save face and then simply to clean up the mess.

They had just finished cleaning up and were about to leave when they heard the sound of horses. Alana clapped her hand over her mouth as she realized they might have been found because of her laughter.

She grabbed her satchel and bow; Ethan grabbed the bundle of staves and they both took off running. Ordinarily, they would've had no trouble getting away from mounted riders. However, they had almost reached the edge of the forest and the trees were much thinner here.

After a hundred yards or so, Alana chanced a glance over her shoulder. Three men on horses were trampling the ground where they had just eaten lunch.

They were all wearing chainmail.

"Shit." She breathed.

"What?" Ethan asked as they ran.

"They have chainmail." She replied. "There's no chance my arrows will punch through."

They ducked behind a tree, Alana peeking around with one eye. The men were talking, though she couldn't hear what they were saying. One of them jumped off his horse and started examining the ground. Moments later, he looked up in Alana's direction.

"There!" she heard the man shout, and the other two horsemen started galloping toward them.

"Run!" she yelled, and they both took off like a shot.

She glanced behind her and saw that the riders had spread out to prevent them from escaping back into the forest. Fortunately, the trees were slowing the horses down; the pursuers weren't gaining any ground, but they weren't falling behind either.

Alana did some quick calculations and didn't like the odds. They were about two minutes from the edge of the forest and the wide open plains beyond. They couldn't go back or change directions because the soldiers were spread out to prevent just that. She briefly considered climbing the trees, but another glance back showed that at least one of the soldiers had a bow and they would be sitting ducks.

Of course, they would be sitting ducks on the plains anyway.

"Any bright ideas?" Ethan asked.

"No, I think we're in big..." Alana trailed off when she saw the wings on Ethan's back. "Can you fly?"

He grimaced. "I'm not sure now is the best time to find out."

She looked ahead. She could see the plains coming into view. Behind them, the soldiers were starting to gain as the trees thinned out. Two were definitely in the lead because the tracker had needed to re-mount his horse before he gave chase. She might not make it out of this, but she wasn't going to let Ethan be trapped with her.

"I think now is theonly time to find out. If you fly due east and a bit north, you should see Gralden before too long."

"I am not leaving you behind to die."

"I can't outrun them and you couldn't support my weight while flying. We can't both make it out of this alive."

"I'm not leaving you behind." He repeated.

"You have to." Alana insisted. They were mere seconds from hitting the open plains where the horses could run them down.

Ethan looked determined and grim, and then his face suddenly lit up with a smile. "I'm not leaving you, but that doesn't mean I can't fly."

She was about to ask what he meant when they passed the last of the trees. The second he was clear, Ethan dropped to all fours then gave an almighty push with all his legs. He catapulted himself almost ten feet into the air. As he leapt, she saw his wings open until they were facing straight up. At the height of his leap, he flapped his wings with a powerful down-stroke.

She had never before appreciated just how big Ethan's wings were. While folded, they almost became part of his back in the same way a bat's wings disappear into its side. But fully extended, they were at least twenty feet across; Ethan himself was less than six feet tall, although with the tail he was much longer.