Dana ran to the camp the next day. Daine was waiting outside her tent.
"There you are. Now, today I want to see how far you can communicate with an animal that knows you well." she told Dana.
"How far?"
"Yeah. Now, I think your hawk here would do the trick. I'll walk away with her on my hand. What sort of signal should we use for her to tell me that she can't hear you anymore?"
"Why doesn't she just tell you? I mean, you CAN talk to animals, right? Or did you lose that ability recently?"
"I never thought of that."
Daine walked away after Dana told Quickwings what she wanted her to do.
For the first ten minutes or so, Quickwings was strong in her mind. Then it started to get harder to maintain contact. Finally Quickwings dropped out all together.
Dana waited for Daine to come back. When she did, she was smiling.
"Well, I've determined that your current "range" with Quickwings is about one and a half miles. It may be more with animals you know well than ones you don't. What's that?" she suddenly looked up at the sky. There was a great hole in it, and suddenly several flying lizards came out of it. Or that was what they looked like.
"Dragons." Daine muttered.
"Greetings, mortal." the largest one said to Dana.
"What can I do for you dragons?" Daine asked.
"There are problems in the realms of the gods. Several more mages have begun trapping spirits and using them as an energy source. Not just human spirits, but animals and immortals as well. There are even a few of the minor animal gods that have been taken." he told her seriously.
"And why do you seek my help?" Daine asked.
"Because you helped a dragon before, mortal. The gods need a vessel, and the great gods must not leave the Divine Realms for fear that something will happen."
"I thought they agreed not to bother me anymore, that I would live my life as a human in peace." Daine told them.
"That may be so, but they only ask you that you help find the Daughter of the Goddess. The Goddess requires that she help stop these problems."
"Alanna? I don't know if she wants to do this kind of thing anymore." Daine said.
"No! Not Alanna. This girl is younger, and truly godborn, as you are. Half goddess, half human. All we know is that she is in Tortall and that only she can stop the mages. For there is a power greater than them at work. She cannot leave where she is right now, but she is using these mages as a vessel for her power."
"You don't mean. GULP. Her again, do you?" Daine asked.
"Yep." said the smallest dragon.
"What do you want us to do?" Dana asked.
"Not you. Her. You're just her student. You wouldn't understand. Or would you...." the large green one told her.
"Sorry."
"We want your king to send an expedition to the land across the Emerald Ocean, where these mages are. There is a very strange civilisation there."
"Who should be a part of this expedition?" Daine asked.
"You, the Daughter, powerful mages and knights. Maybe some sailors, tradesmen, priests and priestesses." they told her.
"How will I find this 'daughter'?"
"You will find her. You must, by midwinter of this year, or the expedition will fail. The Daughter has strong, strange magic, and she is not an adult yet. Those are your clues. You also have this to work with." he said, tossing her a necklace, made of some strange metal with different gemstones that went dark when she held them.
"What do these do?" she asked, very interested.
"In the hands of one with the Gift, they will glow. If their magic is other than the Gift, or they have no magic, it will darken. All you have to do is ask any child you know has magic like the Gift to touch them. If they don't light up, you've got a match. If they light up, try someone else."
"I'll have to do this to every young girl with the Gift in the kingdom?" she asked.
"Not every one. Don't go searching her out. She'll find you on her own. One other way to identify her is that even when her Gift "should" have been drained, she can still use it. Good luck."
"What if I fail?" Daine asked them.
"That is not even an option."
With that they took off. The hole in the sky filled in like it had never existed.
"Come on, Dana. Let's tell Numair."
that's my third chapter. sorry if it's been a little slow so far. i had to do it that way. after this, it'll get better. i guarantee it.
"There you are. Now, today I want to see how far you can communicate with an animal that knows you well." she told Dana.
"How far?"
"Yeah. Now, I think your hawk here would do the trick. I'll walk away with her on my hand. What sort of signal should we use for her to tell me that she can't hear you anymore?"
"Why doesn't she just tell you? I mean, you CAN talk to animals, right? Or did you lose that ability recently?"
"I never thought of that."
Daine walked away after Dana told Quickwings what she wanted her to do.
For the first ten minutes or so, Quickwings was strong in her mind. Then it started to get harder to maintain contact. Finally Quickwings dropped out all together.
Dana waited for Daine to come back. When she did, she was smiling.
"Well, I've determined that your current "range" with Quickwings is about one and a half miles. It may be more with animals you know well than ones you don't. What's that?" she suddenly looked up at the sky. There was a great hole in it, and suddenly several flying lizards came out of it. Or that was what they looked like.
"Dragons." Daine muttered.
"Greetings, mortal." the largest one said to Dana.
"What can I do for you dragons?" Daine asked.
"There are problems in the realms of the gods. Several more mages have begun trapping spirits and using them as an energy source. Not just human spirits, but animals and immortals as well. There are even a few of the minor animal gods that have been taken." he told her seriously.
"And why do you seek my help?" Daine asked.
"Because you helped a dragon before, mortal. The gods need a vessel, and the great gods must not leave the Divine Realms for fear that something will happen."
"I thought they agreed not to bother me anymore, that I would live my life as a human in peace." Daine told them.
"That may be so, but they only ask you that you help find the Daughter of the Goddess. The Goddess requires that she help stop these problems."
"Alanna? I don't know if she wants to do this kind of thing anymore." Daine said.
"No! Not Alanna. This girl is younger, and truly godborn, as you are. Half goddess, half human. All we know is that she is in Tortall and that only she can stop the mages. For there is a power greater than them at work. She cannot leave where she is right now, but she is using these mages as a vessel for her power."
"You don't mean. GULP. Her again, do you?" Daine asked.
"Yep." said the smallest dragon.
"What do you want us to do?" Dana asked.
"Not you. Her. You're just her student. You wouldn't understand. Or would you...." the large green one told her.
"Sorry."
"We want your king to send an expedition to the land across the Emerald Ocean, where these mages are. There is a very strange civilisation there."
"Who should be a part of this expedition?" Daine asked.
"You, the Daughter, powerful mages and knights. Maybe some sailors, tradesmen, priests and priestesses." they told her.
"How will I find this 'daughter'?"
"You will find her. You must, by midwinter of this year, or the expedition will fail. The Daughter has strong, strange magic, and she is not an adult yet. Those are your clues. You also have this to work with." he said, tossing her a necklace, made of some strange metal with different gemstones that went dark when she held them.
"What do these do?" she asked, very interested.
"In the hands of one with the Gift, they will glow. If their magic is other than the Gift, or they have no magic, it will darken. All you have to do is ask any child you know has magic like the Gift to touch them. If they don't light up, you've got a match. If they light up, try someone else."
"I'll have to do this to every young girl with the Gift in the kingdom?" she asked.
"Not every one. Don't go searching her out. She'll find you on her own. One other way to identify her is that even when her Gift "should" have been drained, she can still use it. Good luck."
"What if I fail?" Daine asked them.
"That is not even an option."
With that they took off. The hole in the sky filled in like it had never existed.
"Come on, Dana. Let's tell Numair."
that's my third chapter. sorry if it's been a little slow so far. i had to do it that way. after this, it'll get better. i guarantee it.