Second part of this series.
He was old. He did not look it, he knew, like all his kind he kept his age extremely well. How old he actually was he kept to himself. It was not necessary for others to know. After a time, Nasir no longer even kept track of such things. Such was the life of a dragon.
Regardless, he did have some events that he cherished as memories. The day he took a wife, the experiences they had in raising children, then there were other memories that seemed to stay no matter how much time passed, the day his family was destroyed, all save his granddaughter, Ena, which led him to leave his native Goldoa and wander the continent of Tellius.
It was not often that one of the Dragon Tribe to be seen outside Goldoa. Indeed, it was rare to see any Laguz anywhere in the human kingdoms. Until recently, Laguz had been regarded as slaves, and while that was no longer the case, there was still considerable bad blood between the two sides, which would probably last for a while, considering the long lives and memories of the Laguz.
Fortunately, the Beorc had such limited experience with the Dragon Tribe that they probably would not recognize him as one. He did not have wings or cat ears and a tail. The only external indicators of his race were his slightly pointed ears, but Beorc probably wouldn't notice them or pay attention if they did, and the marking on his forehead, but that could easily be mistaken for a tattoo. No, he did not fear being discovered.
And so, he wandered, traveling from one end of the continent to the other. In this time he saw many things, the establishment of the kingdoms of Crimea and Daein from the greater Begnion Empire, the assassination of the Begnion Apostle, and the tragic massacre of the Serenes Heron clan. The years that followed were marked by a number of strange occurrences; the Royal Family of Daein suffered a devastating illness that eventually killed all heirs to the throne, save one, Ashnard.
Once crowned king Ashnard quickly employed his resources in a number of projects, the likes of which, not even Nasir could begin to guess the nature of, not that he cared to. Daein was now extremely hostile to Laguz, and while he still had no fears of being discovered, he had no desire to stay in such a place, as such he rarely went there.
He did notice, however, that their agents seemed to be working far beyond their kingdom's soil. Some of them seemed to be searching for something, while others moved in the shadows, seemingly waiting for something.
But there was less troubling news as well. Ena contacted him and told him that she intended to marry. The object of her affection was another young dragon by the name of Rajaion. He chuckled as he considered that they could be considered "young" when they were both older that many of the Beorc grandparents he saw in his travels. Not only that, Rajaion was the elder son of King Dheginsea. It seems you have become rather ambitious, Granddaughter. But he was happy for her, and pleased that she still cared enough to tell him. He would have expected her to be upset with him for leaving just after she lost her parents.
After that message, he did not hear from her for some time. Noting that much of his time was being spent between Begnion and Crimea, he began traveling by ship more often, eventually acquiring his own vessel and operating as a sea captain.
It was after one such voyage a number of years later that he received another message from Ena. Her silence had puzzled him as he had expected to receive tidings of her marriage by this time. Instead, she sent a short, terse note asking him to meet her in a small town near the Daein border.
Something was wrong, that was certain. What was she doing outside of Goldoa in the first place?
Giving his crew some extended leave, he went to the appointed rendezvous. When he reached the town, Ena greeted him with a hard embrace. Nasir was taken aback; while Goldoans were not above physical forms of affection they were not overly given to it either. Thinking about it, Nasir felt her grip on him was like that of one who feared being washed overboard on a stormy sea. She's in some kind of trouble. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked in her eyes; Ena was afraid, but why? Not for her own life, he was certain.
Taking him into a nearby inn, they sat in the tavern, as dozens of Beorc raised a commotion about them. Looking at them, one might mistake them for a young couple out for an evening, never suspecting they were actually centuries apart in age.
After taking in drink, they sat for a time, Nasir observing those around him with an unerring eye. Two individuals caught his attention, one sitting at the bar drinking a light ale, the other near the fireplace, with a young woman. Both of them had been observing him discreetly, he realized. Most would not have noticed, thinking them to be solely occupied by their grog or company, but Nasir had lived too long to be fooled thus. He had seen such things before, and he recognized the characteristics of these ones. Daein spies!
He watched them in turn, while looking at Ena as he waited for her to speak.
Eventually, she looked at him and said, "I'm glad you came, Grandfather."
He smiled pleasantly, "I am as well." Then he leaned forward, speaking softly, "Ena, what is going on? I can tell you're in some kind of trouble. What is it?"
"They…they have Rajaion," she said quietly. "He had left to find his sister, Almedha, but never returned. I…I went to look for him, but by the time I got there, they had done…something to him." She looked on the verge of tears, but held them back. She doesn't want the spies to see them.
"Done what?"
"I don't know! They have…twisted him, whether by spell or some other means, I don't know, but they have turned him into a monster!"
"A monster?" Nasir asked in bafflement.
"He cannot change out of his Dragon form. And he no longer looks as he once did. He now looks like a demonic creature! And the King of Daein rides upon him, as though he were a simple wyvern!" The tears would not be held back now. One of the spies seemed to smirk.
"Are you certain it was him?" he asked.
"Yes!" she whispered vehemently. "I'm certain of it! When I saw him I though it not possible, but when he looked at me I knew it was him. Though he did not recognize me, I felt him. I knew with every fiber of my being.
"But there was nothing I could do! I am more powerful than any human, but I am not more powerful than ten thousand. I was in their land and at their mercy." She lowered her head in shame. "I was captured as well."
Nasir gripped the armrests tightly as she continued on.
"At first I thought they would do the same to me, but I was wrong. They brought me before King Ashnard. He made me an offer, a chance to serve him."
"I would think you would have turned him down."
"I would have, except he already knew who Rajaion was to me. He threatened to kill him if I refused." She turned away. "I am in the service of Daein now."
"So what do you want from me?" Nasir asked.
"You are a merchant, correct? You have many contacts throughout Tellius."
"Business contacts, of little or no worth to a man like Ashnard."
"Nevertheless, he wants to know. Please, Grandfather. I have no one else to turn to."
Nasir sighed. Checking on the two spies again, he thought, I could deal with them myself, but not without causing an incident that would be difficult to explain.
With that thought he made his decision, "What do you need?"
It as it turned out, Daein was planning an invasion of neighboring Crimea. Nasir had little use for petty politics, but kept it to himself. Nasir was to have nothing to do with the invasion itself but was to keep an eye out for Lehran's Medallion. This puzzled him, as there was no reason anyone should want anything to do with the thing. But, he realized, things were rapidly departing sane as the invasion began in earnest.
As things progressed he received new instructions: the Daein army was pursuing the sole survivor of the Crimean Royal Family, Princess Elincia. If they were unable to apprehend her, he was to find a way to join their party and follow them.
The opportunity came when Ranulf, a warrior of Gallia and a contact Nasir had met some years before, sent a message saying that a company of mercenaries escorting the Princess would require sea passage to Begnion. They were currently making their way back through Crimea to Port Toha. The Daein agents, who had taken to shadowing him, were delighted.
When the mercenaries arrived, there was a short time of peace and quiet before the Daein army arrived. They were surprised, but Nasir knew they had been coming, of course. What he had not expected was the large black-armored knight that had accompanied them. He would prove a challenge if the mercenaries confronted him. He might even be a threat to Nasir himself.
Nasir suddenly found the entire thing distasteful, and a desire to see Goldoa again filled him. He resolved that if he and Ena should succeed in freeing Rajaion, he would go home again.
But first he had to figure out how to do that. As he watched the mercenaries fight their way through the Daein soldiers, he noticed one in particular. A young man, the leader judging by the way the others seemed to defer to him, even ones that were clearly older than he. Nasir wondered what had happened to place such a burden on just a lad.
He continued watching. The young man carried himself with a determination and self-assuredness the likes of which he had never seen in a beorc. There is something to this one. He resolved to watch this blue-haired fighter to see what became of him.
He glanced away for a moment, just as the sun glinted off something being worn by a young girl. Nasir did a double-take as she hastily stuffed the object back into her clothes, but there was no mistaking it. Lehran's Medallion!
Now the situation had changed. The Medallion was within his grasp, but he was unsure what he should do. He did not believe any of the Daeins had noticed it, so for now, this strengthened his hand considerably.
The most obvious choice would be to simply take it when they came aboard, but felt that would raise too much suspicion. It would be better to wait until they were more accustomed to his presence.
Or he could do nothing at all. Whatever Ashnard had planned for it, nothing good could result.
His thoughts were interrupted as the mercenaries clambered aboard. He would need to get a message to Ena somehow. He looked again at the blue-haired leader and wondered; Do you have any idea what you're caught up in?
That part's done. I hope to eventually get the whole cast done. Tell me what you think.