Chapter 4 Part 8

Armegon and Ultrecht sat next to a fire. Brandor too was there, but the bulk of the dragon's body was in the darkness. His head hovered above the flickering flames and the shiny scales glittered in the golden light.

"So tell me," Armegon glanced up at the luminous eyes, "how old are the dragons of this world?"

Brandor's head swayed back and forth dreamlike. "Very very old," he whispered. "My kin were among the first creatures to inhabit this land. We are old enough to remember the Creator."

"Really?" Ultrecht asked. "Listen, in our home land, we don't have these gods and the like as there are here. How did this happen?"

Brandor lowered his head on a boulder and his snout, about as large as his two passengers, drew uncomfortably close to Armegon. He could smell the methane based gas, that the dragons belched forth in their flame breath. "In the beginning, after the Creator made all things," he recited, "There existed the free peoples and the blessed inhabitants. We, the dragons, along with the unicorns, the pheoni and some others that are no more, were among the Creator's favorites. We were given the forests and the fields to frolic and roam in peace and harmony."

"The free peoples were five races of manlike beings who were granted intellect and ambition. What the Creator had in mind for them I do not know nor am I worthy to question His purpose. Over the years, though, the free peoples, the Varni, the Dorma, the Grengi, the Rancor, and the Byntish grew jealous of our serene lives and they desired our lands. They began to invade our domain and drive us out. But we were still the Creator's favorites, and so He set down between the men and us and took a star from the heavens. He broke the star into ten bolts of light and set them to the ground between us. These bolts of light became the Overlords."

"These were the ten minions, the policemen of the Creator. It was their task to maintain harmony between the free people and nature. And this they did well. The people turned instead to themselves and began to grow. Their knowledge soon outgrew their wisdom and they were on the verge of destroying themselves when the Overlords again interfered."

"Chastised, the people began to resent their Creator. I am sure it saddened Him that His own children should act so, but He had given them the gift of free choice with the gift of intelligence. In time, one of the people, the Varni, had mastered the power of the stars and the might of magic. They flew to worlds far away and they traveled to dimensions and planes I have not yet even heard of. Their power grew, as did their fear of their brethren, and there came a time when they turned upon their brethren and in a war that slaughtered trillions, they drove the other four races into submission. The races of today are descended from those subdued by the Varni."

Armegon attentively urged the dragon to continue.

"But the Creator was not pleased, and He ordered the Overlords to put a stop to the fighting before all the people were destroyed. The Overlords did as they had been commanded, and the fighting ceased. But again the people were angered that the Creator had meddled in their affairs. Eons passed, and finally the Varni were strong and many. Their numbers were like sand on a desert."

"Then came the great betrayal. The Varni leaders had struck a bargain with one of the Overlords and swore that if he would lend them his aid, they would name him their king. That is when the Varni declared themselves as gods, and the cursed Overlord claimed the title of the Godking."

"Trillions of trillions of Varni warriors and mages attacked the nine loyal Overlords, and trillions of billions were slain. The nine Overlords were invincible until the Godking struck them from within their ranks. Slowly the gods gained the upper hand, and the disembodied spirits of the Overlords were dispatched to the Creator who saw fit to let the spectacle play itself out."

"Then the Creator turned his back upon our world and left us to perish at the hands of the gods. But the Overlords, though vanquished, had reduced the gods' numbers to only a handful. The Godking warned them that should they continue to ravage the world, they would simply be destroying their prize, so they ceased their relentless havoc. But their hatred of us was still great, and they began hunting and destroying us."

"Some species were wiped out completely, while others, like the pheoni were hunted down to a single creature. The last, the Phoenix is a sad and lonely creature that was once so beautiful and magnificent. The unicorns were very few, but like us dragons, they have slowly guarded themselves and grown under the gods' very eyes. We think that the gods no longer fear or hate us and they are content to play their games among themselves and the subjects over which they rule."

"That is a rather sad story you have told us," Ultrecht declared. "I find it hard to believe that the Creator would abandon you in that way."

"Ah, but you are indeed wise," the dragon hissed. "For though He did leave, He left us with a promise. The Overlords would return someday. And their return would herald His own return. Now we, the faithful beings of the world wait and watch for the return of the Overlords. We were told that it would be gentle and quiet. That the Overlords would be spirited seeds within common men, and when the time was right, those seeds would blossom forth and the Godking would be cast out by his own brethren."

"This is the history of the races and the coming of the gods as I learned it from my father," Brandor said. "It would be foolish to assume that this tale, passed down from mouth to mouth is entirely accurate, but there it is."

"Have you ever heard of a prophesy concerning the end of the Godking's reign? Something about death in the right hand of war?" Armegon asked.

The dragon indicated that he had not, "But that does remind me of an old tale that says the Overlords would return when the star of judgment rises above the horizon and meets death."

"So, you're getting into prophesies now?" Ultrecht chided sleepily.

"Just something I heard in the street," Armegon said. He too leaned back and contemplated the stars and moons in the sky. The others also made for sleep and bedded down.

Later at the end of the trip, when Brandor set down lightly on the forest floor, Avery was there to meet them. Armegon slid from the dragon's back with a smirk on his face and tear stained cheeks. Ultrecht, on the other hand looked extremely agitated, and Brandor was giggling--a rather unnatural sound in a dragon.

"Did I miss something?" Avery asked.

"Oh, my," Brandor roared, "it was glorious."

"We were cruising along making excellent time, when I noticed Ultrecht here was grumbling about something," Armegon told him. "I asked if he was still sore about the fee he had paid to Brandor. And he said, 'we will see who has the last laugh, to coin a phrase.'"

"Coin a phrase?" Brandor repeated and started laughing anew. Armegon burst out in a fit as well. Avery snickered and Ultrecht simply got irritated and considered turning the whole lot of them into toads.

"Could we please dispense with the comedy routine?" Ultrecht pleaded. He hefted his pack and bade farewell to Brandor.

Armegon too paid his respects, but he lingered a little longer. "It shouldn't take very long," he was saying. "A year at the most I would guess. I will be here."

Brandor's teeth gleamed in the morning light. "Excellent. I will see you then. I look forward to our upcoming enterprise." He then crouched and when everyone was clear, launched himself into the morning sky.

"What was that all about?" Avery asked.

"Armegon and Brandor are conspiring to travel south and do some business," Ultrecht told him as Armegon approached.

Apparently hearing the remark he elaborated. "Brandor has agreed to show me more of the world with the understanding that we will split any booty we turn up along the way."

Ultrecht laughed. "I never thought I would ever see Armegon get along with a dragon so well. They spent most of the trip talking about everything from geography to biology."

"Brandor is highly educated and intelligent," Armegon said. "I think that our friendship can be both profitable and enlightening."

Avery led the two mages and the mule with their packs back through the woods to the cabin. When they arrived, the place looked somewhat different. Nikki had kept Calista busy by putting her to work in the flowers and garden. The place was neatly trimmed and ordered. Avery admitted that he was glad at their return for he was afraid Nikki and Calista was going to work him into an early grave.

"Nikki thinks that Calista has the basic skills to become a druid," Avery commented, "but I am not so sure. She seems to get along with animals and plants well, but she doesn't have the philosophical outlook of balance that the druids have."

"Are you thinking of teaching her another profession?" Ultrecht accused.

"I think she might make an excellent swordswoman and a fine huntress as well," Avery corrected. "That’s not quite the same as a ranger, but she has potential."

Armagon unfastened the luggage from the mule. "What does she think about it?"

"Well, she’s all for it, but Nikki thinks I'm nuts. She thinks the best thing Calista can do to help Sam is to stay out of the way."

"That sounds reasonable," Ultrecht remarked.

"It’ll drive the girl crazy and you know it," Avery countered. "She’s going to have a hand in this or else. The way I see it, we might as well keep her where we can control her."

"He has a point," Armegon admitted.

"But the girl has no experience," Ultrecht countered.

"No one does until the first outing," Avery pointed out.

"But is a mission as important as this the right time for her first outing?" Ultrecht asked.

"Do we ever embark on unimportant outings?" Avery replied.

Ultrecht looked at Armegon who shrugged. "Okay," he conceded. "She goes with us."

"Right?" Avery said. Then with a puzzled look, he asked, "where’re we going?"