2

The Council

When I awoke again, the girl, Korine, sat by the fire reading. Her mouth moved as she silently read the words off the page of the old, worn leather book she held. Blonde hair fell over her shoulders and hid her eyes from me. Somehow, she sensed I was awake, and looked up at me, her dark blue eyes staring at me. She flipped her book closed and set it on the stand next to her chair. Standing up, she walked over to me. Each step was amazingly graceful and every move she made was as if she were on clouds.

"How are you Captain?"

"Better," I answered, my voice hoarse and cracked. "Where am I?"

"In our infirmary. You were badly injured in the battle."

I could remember it all very clearly, up to the point where I fell unconscious. "That man, who came in, who was he?"

"Brom? He's a friend. A Rider actually. He healed you."

"Healed me?" I pushed myself up and examined myself, realizing that except for a dry throat and a ravenous stomach, I felt great.

"Yes."

I looked up at her, her small pixie-like face only a foot from mine. Then I noticed her ears. They were almost pointed, but not as pointed as an Elf's, which I'd only seen once or twice. "Are you a Rider?"

"Yes. Well," she looked down, "training to be."

"Meaning, you have a dragon, but are not fit to battle yet?"

She blushed, her soft cheeks turning light pink. "Correct."

"Why am I here? Why at the infirmary for Riders?"

"Because, Captain, a young Rider found you on the battle field, and sensed the power within your blood, and so brought you back here, to our city of Dorú Areaba."

"And…what now?"

She looked into my eyes and smiled. "Now you will go before the council and they will decide what to do with you."

"Oh. That sounds…great."

She laughed, her laughter like wind chimes in a breeze. "Come." She grabbed my forearm and pulled me up, then realized her mistake and quickly let go of my arm, turning her face away in regret, her cheeks turning pink again.

My arm tingled where her touch had left my arm. When was the last time a woman had touched me? Not since I lived in Therensford with my family. When I was fourteen, I had had a crush on the girl living down the street, Manda. Her touch always left me almost shocked; something about a girls' touch to my skin.

"You should bathe, shave, and eat before going before the council," Korine said softly, walking across the room. Opening a drawer, she reached in and brought out a small dagger.

I jumped to my feet, slackening my stance in case she decided to attack.

She heard my feet hit the floor, and turned her head. Noticing my pose, she smiled. "I'm not going to hurt you Captain. This is to shave." She tossed the blade towards me.

My hand flashed out and snatched the knife out of the air. My speed and agility surprised me. Shocked me really.

Korine was grinning. "I see now what Brom was saying. The magic has a strange effect on you."

"I'll say." I flipped the knife in the air and caught it again by the hilt. "Cool."

Korine laughed. "So, I was saying..."

"Oh yeah. Where can I bathe?"

"Follow me." She turned and led me through a door into a small room with a large tub occupying nearly half the room. There was a mirror hung on the wall by a nail, and a table with a wash basin and towel. A bar of soap rested on the edge of the big marble tub. "So bathe, shave, and then when you finish I will have had supper ready. I'll bring you a fresh outfit as soon as I can and leave it just outside the door."

She turned to leave.

"Korine," I said quickly before she could leave, and she turned back to face me again. "Um, thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome." Then she walked out the door and shut it behind her.

I bathed quickly, eager to escape the frigid water in the tub. You'd think with fire-breathing dragons always around their city they'd have hot water in the tubs. Afterwards I shaved my chin, though there wasn't much to shave, and ended up cutting myself twice. Never before had I shaved, and in my opinion I had no need of it. The smoothness of my chin after a shaving surprised me, and I liked it. It made me look younger in the mirror. I went to the door, holding the towel wrapped around my waist, and peeked out. Korine was not in the room, she must've been preparing supper in another room. Snatching the pile of clothes on the floor, I slipped back into the room and shut the door.

When I snuck back out into the main room, Korine sat near the fire again, reading the same old leather bound book as she had earlier.

"What are you reading?" I asked, walking up to her.

She glanced up and I noticed her quickly look me over, then her eyes met mine and she remembered the question. As if she didn't know the answer, she looked down at the book, then back up again. "It's a book of magic actually."

"Really? Can I see?"

She pursed her lips and considered it.

"If you think I'm not allowed then its fine, don't worry about it."

Blushing, her lips pulled into a slight smile. "Thank you."

I smiled back and we stared into each others' eyes for a long moment before she broke away. "Hungry?" she asked, standing up and setting her book on the chair.

"Starving."

I followed her into another adjacent room, a small kitchen, and stood by as she dished up some pork and vegetables onto a wooden plate. Handing me the plate, she crossed her arms and leaned on the table. I ate up the food hungrily, but then paused as I realized she was watching me. "You aren't going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry, and I don't eat meat."

"Oh. Why not?"

"As Riders, we feel and listen to animals, and to take a life unnecessarily is a waste of life. Death is not something to take pleasure in, it's something to take seriously and use as only a last resort."

I bit off another piece of the meat, and as I chewed I thought over her small lecture. It made sense, but I'd never give up meat, it was what gave you the strength to do physical work. Besides, they were just animals.

"So," I began, setting my scraped-clean plate on the table, "what should I expect when I go before the council? And, don't I get any say in how my future turns out?"

"To answer you're second question, of course you get a say; you can choose to leave Dorú Areaba right now if you like, or you can go before the council, and possibly become one of the chosen few Riders of Alagaësia. It's you're choice. But keep in mind that if you choose the former, you could leave a dragon inside his or her egg for an eternity, waiting for its Rider to come along."

I thought about that for a second. "So in other words, I don't have a choice."

"No, you do. It just depends on how you look at it."

"And I have to decide now whether to change my future? I can't have a couple days to mull over the idea?"

"Sorry, no. The council expects you tonight. Brom will meet you there. However if you choose to go your own way, I'll send a message and let them know."

"Hm." Running a hand through my tousled wet hair, I let my brain whiz through all the thoughts. It felt like it was going to overflow with information and questions, like the river back home that, during winter, would be so full it would overflow and flood the area around it. I wondered if it was possible for a brain to be completely full of information that you could never learn anything more.

Finally, I answered, "I'll go with you to see the council, under one condition."

Her eyes narrowed. "What is you're condition?"

"That you take me to see your dragon. And—" I added as I thought of something else—"you agree to see me again."

"That's two conditions," she stated, her blue eyes hardening.

"I know, I changed my mind," I grinned.

She bit her lip and thought about it, tucking her hair behind her ear. For a moment I thought she would refuse, but then she stood up straight and answered. "Fine, if you agree to keep whatever happens between you and me private, nobody must know."

I lifted half my mouth in a smile, realizing that she thought something could happen between us.

"Okay," she said, "enough said, ready to go?"

"Ready. After you ma'am."

She smiled and I followed her out the door and into the huge hallway. Let me make this clear, when I say huge, I mean ginormous. The hallway was big enough for a dragon to walk easily in without having to lower its head, which was probably precisely why it was the size it was. Lengthening my walk to catch up to her swift gait, I asked, "What should I expect of the council? And how should I act?"

"The council is wise and old, respect them and do not question their judgment. Do not say anything unless they ask you a question specifically. And stand up straight, like a gentleman, if you know what that is," she joked.

"Of course not, I'm a soldier," I smiled. "I've never once in my life been told what a gentleman is."

"Well then, just act as if you were standing before a king." She turned and pushed open two large oak doors. They swung heavily inward and revealed a magnificently large room. The walls and floor were made of swirling gray marble. At the far end of the room was a half circle of large marble chairs adorned with gold here and there. In each chair sat a man or woman, each possessing an air of supremacy and royalty. The ladies wore fine silk dresses, the men in clean pressed, fine looking clothes. All turned their heads as the sound of our approach reached their pointed ears. Korine walked to the center of the half circle and stopped, I halted behind her, feeling small and unimportant in such mighty a company.

"My lords and ladies, I have brought the Captain to your council for you to speak with."

I glanced around at the fine group of people. Most were gray-haired, yet looked ready for action and able to fight for their life. Three of them were only slightly older than me. Then I recognized one of them. It was the man who had healed me, Brom. He dressed like the others, in a freshly pressed white shirt and clean trousers. His dark eyes were stern and hard, but when he noticed me looking at him, he smiled slightly and his eyes softened some.

"Well, Captain," said the man at the center of the half circle, "have you a name other than your rank?"

"Yes, sire, Nerik of Therensford, son of Garret."

"And, Captain Nerik, I hope you find your stay here in our city of Dorú Areaba to be a pleasant one."

"Yes, sire, most pleasant, and my thanks to Brom for his aid."

Korine looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet. The council was quiet for a long moment, all eyes looking at me with disapproval.

The old man at the center of the semi-circle finally spoke, "You will address your superiors as Ebrithil."

Oops. "My apologies, Ebrithil Brom, I did not know."

Brom smiled comfortingly. "You are forgiven."

The old man, apparently their elderly leader, continued, "Both the Rider that found you on the battle field and Brom have sensed great power within your blood, and believe you could be a great Rider someday. Is this also your wish?"

"If the dragon chooses me, then I will do whatever necessary to become one of you, Ebrithil."

He smiled. "Korine, you may leave us."

She bowed her head and turned. As she past by me, she flashed me a look of warning to do as they say.

As the door shut behind her, the elder stood and walked toward me. He was about my height, and just as sturdy. "You may call me Narsgoa."

I bowed my head. "As you wish, Ebrithil Narsgoa."

He grinned. "I like you, young one. I did not know the human soldiers were such gentlemen."

I smiled. "Most aren't, sire."

"But somehow you have learnt the ways of our highest nobles and lords." For a moment he was quiet, then: "Now, with your permission I would look into your mind and discover who you are."

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion, but I answered without a clue of what he was talking about, "As you wish."

As the other council members watched on silently, Narsgoa laid his hands on my shoulders and closed his eyes.

It is hard to describe the feeling of another mind touching yours, and even harder to describe what it was like as Narsgoa's mind entered mine and picked it apart. I could feel his mind enter mind, and feel it flipping through my memories, digging for information about me. It was an uncomfortable feeling, as I'm sure it would be for anyone whose entire life was laid out for another to see. I was forced to shut my own eyes to keep myself from shrinking away from the contact and to focus on standing still and not squirming.

Time passed without me knowing how long it had been. I could watch as Narsgoa looked at my memories, some of them with more interest than others. It was as if the events of my life were replayed for me to see again.

Finally—at last!—it was over and Narsgoa's mind left mine. I opened my eyes and then realized I was sweating profusely. I had been completely inside myself just as Narsgoa's mind was inside mine. I was shocked to see that the entire council still sat unmoving in their thrones, all eyes still on me and Narsgoa.

Brom spoke. "Well, Narsgoa? What have you found?"

He turned and walked back to his throne, sitting down slowly, then answered, "He is worthy of a dragon. This young man has had much misfortune in his past, and has the learned the hard way that his life cannot be decided by himself, but by what happens. Boris," he said to another of the council, "send for the egg would you please?"

Boris stood up and crossed the room to the large oak doors, then spoke quietly to someone standing outside. Returning to his throne, he sat and said, "Korine is fetching the egg for us."

"Thank you. Captain Nerik, I apologize for intruding on your past life, but it was necessary to understand you and know you are worthy of such a privilege of being allowed the presence of a dragon egg."

"It was not pleasant, but it was something that had to be done I am sure."

The door opened and Korine walked in with a bundle in her grasp. She walked quickly up to Narsgoa and handed him the bundle, then stepped back to stand beside me. Narsgoa removed the bundle and let the cloth fall to the floor, revealing a black egg. The egg was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was like the marble of this room, and shined beautifully. White streaks webbed across it, creating a beautiful pattern so intricate it stunned me. Never before had I seen something so beautiful.

Narsgoa smiled. "Come forward, Captain Nerik."

Slowly, I walked up to him and stopped right in front of him.

He held the egg tenderly in his lap. "Take it, son."

Reaching out, I took the egg and lifted it. It wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be, as it looked to be. The surface of the egg was smooth as marble. As I marveled at it's beauty, I asked, "How will I know whether it chooses me?"

Narsgoa didn't answer, so I tore my gaze away from the black egg and looked up at him. His eyes were shut and his forehead wrinkled in thought. I waited.

After a moment, he sighed, opened his eyes, and said softly, "The dragon has a strong mind and tried to block me from its thoughts, but I believe it has chosen you, young one."

I looked back down at the dragon egg, my dragon egg. "And…what now?"

"Brom," he said, "this boy knows nothing about being a Rider, I would like you to instruct him of the basics, and then bring him back to me when his dragon is a week old."

Brom stood and walked up to me, put a hand on my shoulder. "Come, I will show you to where you will stay." He turned and walked towards the door.

Hoping to not offend the council, I bowed my head and said, "Thank you all." Then I turned and followed Brom.

With a smile on her face, Korine took up stride beside me. "I knew you'd be chosen," she said softly so that the council would not hear.

I leaned toward her and whispered, "Now what do I do with the egg? Just hold it?"

She laughed quietly.