CH 10

Witches, Warlocks, Druids, Sorcerers…

Arthur was flipping through the sections of The Complete Index of Magical Creatures to find the "race" mentioned in the Dragon section.

Dragon-lords

The Dragon-lord section was shorter than the dragon section – only three pages long – but that was probably only because a Dragon-lord was a type of human, so there was no reason to waste pages detailing their diet or anything else you would already know.

The picture that donned this page was of an ominous-looking man standing in front of a dragon. Actually, the only thing that would set him apart from any other man was that his eyes glowed the same golden hue of the dragon behind him, but that was enough to give him the air of power. Actually, many of the pictures shared the golden eyes.

'Must be a magic thing' Arthur thought. His eyes scanned the writing on the page curiously.

Dragons and Dragon-lords have roamed together since before history can tell. Dragon-lords are said to be kin of the dragons. This race is able to speak the tongue of the dragon, even command the dragon to do the will of the Dragon-lord, although this power is rarely used. A Dragon-lord is also required to hatch a dragon egg; this is done by giving the newborn a name. A hatched dragon is forever attached to the Dragon-lord who hatched it, and because of the longevity of dragons, the Dragon-lord's future heirs.

The power of the Dragon-lord is inherited from father to the first born living son in death. The power of the Dragon-lord lies dormant in the sons of Dragon-lords until it is needed, at the death of the original Dragon-lord. If a Dragon-lord dies without an heir to his power, the power will die with him.

As a consequence of this, the number of Dragon-lords will continue to deplete over the years and eventually die out, taking the dragons with them. A Dragon-lord is needed to hatch a dragon egg and so in the absence of a Dragon-lord, no dragon can come to life. There is, however, a sort of loophole in the inheritance of the Dragon-lord: a Dragon-lord can, instead of having his power passed into his sons, promise his power to another through a blood oath. This other will serve as the heir and so will his descendants.

Many legends offer another fail-safe for the Dragon-lords. A Dragon-lord shares the same lifespan and vulnerabilities as a human, yet it is said that the last Dragon-lord will be immortal. This figure will share his everlasting life with his heir who will be able to keep the power of the Dragon-lord, even as his father lives.

A knock on the door startled the prince out of his reading, sending a twinge though his injured ankle. It was George, probably, with lunch, hopefully.

"Come in"


Time Jump to the next morning

Merlin leaned back against the soft, scaly creature behind him on the cold cave floor, trying to take in some heat from the dragon as she slept. The warlock's eyes fluttered open slowly, unwilling to admit it was indeed morning and his stomach did need filling. Merlin groaned, trying to stretch as best as he could from his position sitting on the floor with his back against his sleeping dragon's belly. His muscles popped, momentarily soothing him, but the discomfort of the ground and his hunger stopped the comforting feeling abruptly. Merlin sent a small glare to the gently snoozing dragon.

"Why do I have to get up when you can sleep in?" Merlin grumbled at the dragon. The dragon let out a soft, almost purring sound that sounded undeniably smug to the still-waking sorcerer.

Merlin leaned forward and climbed to his feet, shaking out the soreness formed in his muscles overnight. He glanced back at Aithusa and then to the mouth of the cave.

Merlin and Aithusa had only been living in that cave for a few months. Merlin had lived with his mother, Hunith, in their village called Ealdor up until little more than a year ago. Merlin's mother had decided it was time to tell him about his Dragon-lord parentage and how his father had escaped the king's death sentence during The Great Purge. After learning of his father, Balinor, Merlin set out to find him. Balinor had explained about what it meant to be a Dragon-lord, the only Dragon-lord left, and he had told Merlin about the dragon locked away in the inner depths of Camelot's castle. Merlin had convinced his father to return to Ealdor, but on their way home they were attacked by a group of bandits.

Balinor died.

Merlin became the last Dragon-lord.

When Merlin arrived home, he was determined to set the dragon in the castle free. His mother had tried to dissuade him, explaining that it was far too dangerous for someone like him, someone with magic, to be so close to the center of Camelot. They had eventually agreed that Merlin would stay outside the castle walls in a nearby village, or even in the woods. Hunith had also told him of Gaius and how he could be trusted with the knowledge of Merlin's magic. Merlin had then set off for Camelot.

Merlin had managed to find the dragon, Kilgarrah, without much trouble and after making him swear not to hurt the people of Camelot, Merlin released him. The new Dragon-lord hadn't planned on returning home after freeing Kilgarrah, his mother had understood that. He had spent a few months living among the druids, but the allure of Camelot had pulled him back before long.

He would return to the castle every day, keeping himself entertained by swiping coins and other valuables from people who had money to spare. Merlin would keep enough of his plunder to buy food but what he didn't need, he would give away to whomever he happened across who needed it. Merlin had actually acquired quite the reputation among the lower class of Camelot – people would smile at him as he passed, some vendors would give him extra food, if they had enough to spare. Merlin knew that although many knew him, he would rarely be spoken of and even then, in whispers and never to the upper classes.

Merlin had kept his promise and stayed in the woods just outside Camelot. Every so often, Kilgarrah would return to spend a few days with Merlin and then leave on his own again. Kilgarrah's Dragon-lord had been killed in The Great Purge along with every other dragon. One day, Kilgarrah returned with news of something with value beyond bounds. There was thought to be a dragon egg hidden in The Tomb of Ashkanar. Merlin had searched the tomb and found the soft white egg, returning with it to Kilgarrah. The Great Dragon had explained what he had to do, and Merlin hatched the dragon with the name Aithusa.

Kilgarrah had stayed with Merlin and the new dragon for Aithusa's first few days, but when the old dragon voiced his need to leave, Merlin understood that it would be the last time he would see his old friend.

Merlin strode out of the cave and toward the castle, making sure to take extra care in avoiding where he knew the hydra lurked, little good it would do. The hydra wouldn't bother you if you don't bother it, and Merlin really would rather not be "bothered" by the massive creature with sharp teeth in spades. Merlin bit into an apple he had snuck from the castle kitchens the day before and had carried back to his makeshift home. Breakfast.

It was just barely daybreak, but that wasn't uncommon. Merlin rose before the sun very often, even if he didn't want to. Most days, he would arrive at the castle about the same time its people would start milling about the streets. He had been walking around Camelot, including inside the castle, for months now and still no one ever seems to remember him, not the castle inhabitants anyway. Merlin let out a chuckle, excluding his majesty, the prince, of course. Merlin wondered if he would run into Arthur again at the castle today.