Chapter 12, Child of a Liar
"Welcome!" A voice called, and a young boy looked up with a start.
"Papa?" The child muttered quietly, looking around the crowd. He knew that voice, though he hadn't heard it in three months. he could clearly remember that day.
Flashback:
"Papa!" The boy cried out desperately. "No!" He struggled, but the soldiers were too strong.
His father began to call to him in the elven language.
"Eitha, my son! Hlaupa! Ono vanta eom stydja unin du sundavari! Sja wiol du varden! Thorna wilae skölir ono! Waise ramr! Stydja hljödhr, orono ono sé deyja! Lífa, iet hjarta! Gánga!"
He was telling Jed to go. To hide. To find friends. "No! Papa!" Jed cried out, struggling against the soldier.
"Gánga!" Papa yelled, as the other soldier pulled him away.
Jed fought off the tears and broke free of the soldiers grip by collapsing. The soldier let go of him in surprise, and the child slipped free, filing into a nearby valley. The Varden. He had met the organization a few times. A group of men and women independent of any government, they had sprung up not long after the great dragon plague, in order to preserve the histories and writings of the riders, along with all their belongings and homes. They had a collection of many pieces of gear, along with a few other secrets. The group, named after the ancient Varden who hid in the bowels of the Beor mountains, were hidden deep within the Hadarac desert, a place no-one (human, dwarf, elf, Urgal or otherwise) would enter without good reason. Or without a good grasp of navigation by the stars. Otherwise, they would become dreadfully lost, and would probably die. But Jeod, for all his six years, did know how to navigate by the sun and stars. So he went to The Varden.
End Flashback:
His deep blue eyes scanned the crowds, but he could not see his father. He looked back as the light green egg on the table, then grabbed it. Immediately, there was an audible crack, and the six year old's mouth opened in shock. "The egg!" He muttered quietly, and wandered around, egg in arms. One Urgal tried to take it away, but he said, "Mine! It cracked!" The Urgal then grabbed the egg, putting it under one arm, then picked up the young boy and carried him to one side of the arena. There, young Jeod got the surprise of his life. "Papa...?"
"Jeod?" his father stared at him, incredulous. "Why are you here? How did you get here?"
"I got a Dwagon, Papa" Jeod said, lifting the egg.
Jeod's father looked at the light green egg. "You do." His voice conveyed that he could barely believe his eyes.
Jeod looked at his father. "Can I go in da tent, Papa? Wike de oder widers?"
"You want to go in the tent like the other riders?" Herg asked, "You don't want to stay out here with me?"
"I wanna meet dem, Papa," The little boy said excitedly. "Pwease, can I, Papa?"
"Of course. You go right in there, son"
Herg watched the boy go, then turned as, already, the next rider appeared.
Jeod stepped into the tent and looked around. Unfortunately, all the riders-to-be were busy, watching the eggs they were holding in their laps. "Hewwo?" He asked in Common, and got no answer. The humans were all distracted. He tried Dwarvish and the Urgal tongue next, but still no reaction. The Ancient language got him a few looks, but nothing else. He sighed, and sat down. No one ever paid attention to him. That was why he was such a good spy and thief. He remembered many times when his father had gotten him to steal things for him.
Flashback:
"See that chicken, son?"
The little boy nodded.
"I am going to distract the owner, and you are going to take it. You can hold a chicken and run, right?"
Jeod nodded again. He walked through the market crowd, a mere three years old, and grabbed the live bird. It was so stupid, it didn't even notice. He began to walk away with it, and he heard a scuffle behind him. That would be his father. He began to run, weaving around the many legs of the people, and ducking finally into the alley his father and him always met at. He sat and held the chicken, patting it kindly. He wished he could set it free, but he and his father needed to eat. Maybe the next chicken.
End Flashback:
Hopefully, those days are over, Jeod thought with a sigh.
A human girl with a Sapphire-Blue egg stepped into the tent, followed by Jeod's father, who talked for a while, then sent them all into separate sections of the tent to wait for their dragons to hatch.
Jeod sat on the dirt floor of the tent with the egg in his lap. he wriggles with excitement, barely able to contain himself. Over time, his excitement faded, and he was left with boredom. He began to doze off. Suddenly, he heard another crack, and the baby dragon began to hatch. He smiled, and touched the head of the hatchling, crying out in pain as he did so. It hurt, and Jeod lost consciousness.
Again, thanks for the patience.