Dragon Wars: Land Of Myth Chapter Fourteen Part Eight
April 1st, 2011 | Published in Dragon Wars | 2 Comments
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Chapter Fourteen
Part Eight
“Are you sure they’ll be okay?” Darya asked anxiously. He and Kyle had left Yemi and the others at the Waldhafen border before heading into the purple dragon’s territory.
“Of course,” Kyle said. “Ystelyan sent a message to Rilletta to let her know they were going to be there. She’ll make sure the council knows. I’m sure they’ll send someone to find them.”
“You’re right, of course.” Darya rubbed the back of his neck. “Someone is watching us. A speaker.”
Kyle cast around with his mind. Somewhere behind them, just inside his range, he could feel someone lurking. Their presence had a familiar tang, but but they weren’t close enough to for him to identify them yet. “I sense them.”
“Should we-” Darya began.
Kyle shook his head. “Not unless they start something. Our mission is more important.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t think they will. I don’t sense any hostility anyway, just curiosity.” He turned back resolutely to the trail. He knew that Estara’s mere presence could not be affecting things physically this close to the Heartlands, but the shadows ahead seemed deeper and darker than back where they’d left the speakers they’d freed from Huldre’s control. He darted a quick glance up at the canopy, which just confirmed what he’d thought – it was no thicker here than back there. If anything, it was thinner. He didn’t think the thickening darkness ahead was his imagination either, which meant… “I think that Estara-miria knows that we’re here.”
“Hmm?” Darya stopped frowning behind them and turned his attention to the path ahead. After a moment his eyes widened. “Oh! Is she telling us to go away?”
“I don’t think so,” Kyle said thoughtfully. “I doubt that she’d be so subtle about that, but let’s ask.” He took a couple of steps forward and bowed towards the shadows. “Estara-miria, we come bearing a message for you from Ystelyan-mirian. Will you permit us to approach your palace?”
A long silence punctuated only by the sound of bird song and the wind in the trees followed the question. Even the answer – when it finally came – did not disturb the peace of the forest. Instead the shadows ahead pooled and slid across the ground towards them, curling around both of their ankles and pulling at them gently.
“I would guess that’s a yes,” Darya said quietly.
Kyle just nodded and set off along the path the shadows were marking.
It soon became apparent that the forest around the path was not wild, but had been carefully tended and tamed. The trees were more evenly spaced and shaped than was natural and the path was bordered by black lilies which were not native to the area. Even the path of a stream they crossed via a pretty stone bridge seemed to have been redirected to fit some ideal. It was beautiful, but Kyle couldn’t help feeling that there was some purpose behind the landscaping.
“Kyle!” Darya’s voice snapped him out of his reverie and he realised that whoever had been watching them was still following them. They were closer now and seemed to trying to catch up to them. Kyle loosened his urumi in its sheath and he saw Darya reach for his knives but neither of them drew their weapons yet.
“Who is that?” Kyle muttered in irritation. He was certain that he knew the Speaker following them, but something seemed to be missing from their aura and it was messing with his placing them. He stopped and closed his eyes to focus in more and the sense increased. He did know this person, but hadn’t seen them recently, and something which had always been there when he had sensed them before was not there now. He puzzled over it for a moment and then his eyes flew open in realisation. “Oh!”
Darya gave him a curious look. “What’s wrong?”
“I know who’s following us.” Kyle turned towards approaching speaker just as they emerged from the trees. “Hello, Ema,” he said blandly. “Are you following us?”
The daoine girl stopped and grinned at him. “Hey, it really is a pair of dead people!” She brushed her white hair out of her eyes with one grey skinned hand. “I couldn’t believe it when I sensed the two of you ahead of me.” Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she took in his and Darya’s clothing. She had to know what it meant.
Kyle held his breath and waited for her reaction.
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*searches brain* Clothing? Where were they… were they staying at one of the Dragons’ Courts, so they have a Draconic wardrobe? I’ll be waiting for an explication.
Also, and this is something that’s really bothered me as I’ve read: Is everyone here friendly and credulous? I only remember one person freaking out over a pair of walking dead people. Why is everyone so willing to just take it in stride? [mild sarcasm]Do people come back from the dead regularly?[/sarcasm]
Their clothes are made of goblin silk and given that the Core tried to kill them that would lead obviously to a dragon.
As to people freaking, well it helps that Kyle and Darya aren’t actually walking dead people. Ema was just being silly. Ema is a little strange that way.
Of the people we’ve seen to react to the news on screen:
Mela was extremely shocked.
Valaria and Dariad were far more focused on the other piece of news they got at the same time. That the dragon Lord was Matthias.
Daniel was shocked but he was in the middle of a fight and he didn’t really know Kyle from Adam, so outside of “he’s here fighting me now” the fact that reports of Kyle’s death had been exaggerated. It’s not credulity when your heart friend would call him on lying.
Karen was upset but at the time she was also still recovering from Gerian’s attack.
Lorelei was also recovering and being Darya’s mother somewhat conflicted.
People coming back from the dead doesn’t happen much. People being thought dead and then turning out to be alive happens more often. Dragons are notorious for it (which is why Halia notes that she can make a new body a couple of parts back and why Matthias at one point says “killed or at least dissapated” of the dragons Karen’s group dealt with two years ago). It’s not common with warriors and their heart friends but it has happened enough (a handful of times in the last few centuries that are known) for the possibility to be considered in most cases. It’s how Matt was able to hide Sonia, and how… oh wait, that would be spoilers. It was disregarded in Kyle’s case because Darya looked dead as well.