Chapter seven: When Pigs Fly

A mighty, bronze-colored dragon soared lazily above the swirling clouds. Like the rest of the clan of which he was head, he had very sharp features: the staggered row of spikes that went down the ridge of his back; his sharp, spade-like tail tip; his clawed, bat-like wings; his pointed, almost beak-like snout; and the frill on the back of his head, with three backwards-pointing spikes, one for each of his three centuries of age.

As clan leaders went, he was unusual. His bronze clan and the greens were the only of the Elosian clans to live outside of the Sanctuary Caves, and as a result, they were larger, stronger, and longer-lived than the dragons whose growth was stunted by the caves in which they lived. Not to mention the fact that, unlike the cave-dwelling dragons, their wings were large enough for flight. Excepting the gold dragons, of course, that got at least some of their power from the planet itself rather than the sunken remnants of an ancient kingdom. And the skeletal black dragons, that guarded and transported the self-appointed royal Purples. Also, besides being unusually strong and smart even for a clan leader, Suhilin was quite young for a race that often measured their lifespans in millennia. And he tended to be impatient.

'Where is she? It should not have taken this long.' As if on cue, the clouds parted and the green dragon chief, nearly as large as he, rocketed up out of the clouds towards him.

Like her greens, the chief had a crocodilian snout, two rows of bony ridges going down her back, and a huge, bony club of a tail-tip. The fact that the leading edges of her wings were covered in feathers identified her as a female, and the two fully and one partly grown spike on her frill set her age at a mere 250. Tucking her wings for a moment, she rolled twice before extending them again. She was soon flying alongside her bronze friend and looking quite smug. Before she could brag about whatever she'd just done that she felt justified two victory rolls, he addressed her.

'I take it from your aerobatics and that ridiculous expression on your face that something went right. Am I correct, Sumetra?'

'Oh, Suhilin, you have no idea!' She rolled again, obviously quite happy with herself. 'It worked perfectly!'

The older dragon began to share her excitement. 'Really?'

'Yes. I found her; and not only is she still alive, there are others!'

'Can they survive for long enough for us to show the Council?'

'Yes, they can!' Sumetra performed another happy roll and continued exuberantly, 'They're perfect for this! Though not completely compatible, they had minds suited for bonding as well as circumstances necessitating it! Finding two people that meet all qualifications should have taken an entire clan centuries or more. Who could possibly have expected us to find them before the 50-year deadline set by the council? I think that the only reason they even gave me any time was so I would shut up when I failed. If we can, through these two, prove to the other dragons that our kind is not the only species that has souls. . . our dreams could be realized. They'd rather christen all mortals soulless, the better to sleep at night when they give in to that monkey-tailed madman's demands and kill them all. War-mongering idiots. I can scarcely wait to see their expressions when I tell them I've actually succeeded.'

'When's the next meeting?'

'In only a few days. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to miss it.' Suhilin raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

'May I ask why?'

'A meeting about something as important as this should take at least a few days. You and I are both well aware of the Gold clan's hatred of you and, by extension, me. I wouldn't put it entirely past them to arrange an 'accident' for our specimens to spite us both.'

'And you want for me to stand guard,' the bronze finished. Sumetra paused before answering.

'Yes.'

'Why can't one of the bigger Greens do it?'

'I am afraid they've become a little busy lately. Those freakish Gates that link people to points in their past have begun appearing in the forest again, so they've got to keep people away from the deeper parts of the forest where those usually occur. And in any case, neither they nor one of your warriors will do. Though the Golds hate you, they know that if they attack you or yours the consequences could destroy them. You're a bit less deniable an 'accident' than a lowly Bronze Warrior or Green Guardian, and the combined wrath of the clans would come down on them if they harmed you.'

Suhilin snorted flame in resignation. 'Very well. Will you permit me to bring warriors along with me?' The last part was sarcastic but without rancor. Sumetra didn't mind; she'd expected a more severe reaction.

'I'm sorry, but no. You need to stay hidden from them for a few days, to allow them time to recover from all that's happened to them. When you do make contact with them, you'll want to be as unintimidating as possible, a requirement prohibiting additional warriors. You alone are intimidating enough.'

'Are they powerful enough to threaten me?'

'In their present state, no. Later, potentially; I don't know. I've never seen them fight. But the point is that their first impression of us be a good one. I'm less worried about their ability to pierce your hide than about your potential ability to sour them against us.'

'Your concern for me is touching, ' Suhilin grumped.

'You know that's not what I meant.'

'I'm sorry. It's just. . . I dislike guard duty, however important it may be. Never fear. I will keep them safe.' He was rewarded by a glowing smile from Sumetra (or what passed for a smile among dragons).

'Thank you. I'll be back as quickly as I can.' With that, she tucked her wings to her body and dived southeast, skimming the cloud tops at high speed.

'You're welcome.' The bronze chief shook his head ruefully at her fleeing form. 'The things I do for you. . . ' Pulling one of his wings to his side, he spiraled down through the dissipating storm to the cliffs below. He soon spotted the wreckage of a small boat. It was not difficult to find the cleft they must have climbed; it was the only decent path to the cliff top around. And in some such places, places where humans could easily breach the barrier the sheer cliffs posed, were caves. These caves were built into the top of the cliff, to be accessible and seen only from the forest and not from the sea. They had been built by the dragons as guard posts, or for use as ambush points in the event of a Mystic invasion. Though the invasion had never occurred, the caves had since been used as temporary shelter by sailors left stranded by shipwrecks, bandits, and other misfortunes. Presumably, Sumetra had ensured this one's vacancy. As soon as the figure carrying his wounded comrade into the cave was safely in, Suhilin searched for a place to land.