Chapter 1:
Aura ran.
She was going to be late.
Although she and Master Gravidus lived beneath the same roof, as a de-facto leader of Eiraton, the earth dragon had a great deal of responsibilities put upon him and would often leave hours before Aura even woke at all.
Aura dashed around a corner and her paws crunched on freshly fallen snow, kicking up flaky residue that streaked along her purple scaled sides and smacked against her white segmented underside.
This day in particular Aura had been enjoying the comfort and warmth of her pillows a little too much and by the time she had dragged herself away it was already mid-morning. Her stomach growled. She'd skipped breakfast.
Gravidus had requested she meet him even earlier than usual today, so there must be something important happening and Aura didn't wish for this to be the time that she let him down; he had a kind soul, but he made his expectations very clear.
Diving down rickety stairways and dodging dragons with fleeting apologies as they swept away the first of the year's snowstorms, Aura came close to her objective; she just might make it, but only if…
She skidded to a halt at the edge of one of the town's many wooden walkways.
Originally, Eiraton had been a mining village with primarily mole inhabitants, Miss Snout had told her; built on the mountainside for its rich supplies of minerals and masonry stone that would then be winched down the mountainside and delivered to carts at the bottom.
This meant that when the mining equipment had been removed many years ago, there had been left a sprawling maze of caverns and tunnels stretching deep into the town's roots; one of such tunnels, Aura was now standing over, peering into the darkness beneath.
Aura had spent much of her hatchlinghood exploring and playing in these underground passages to the extent that she knew them and their many junctions off by heart, but it had been so long since she had last been down there; would she still even fit?
Still, she had to try. The only other way to the town centre was to travel around the whole edge of the perimeter, following the cliff-face.
Not for the first time did Aura wonder why Gravidus' house was built so close to the rear gate, where none ever entered or left and not closer to the centre, where people needed him the most.
Tucking her pale white wings tightly to her taut, slender body to fit through the small gap, Aura threw all caution to the wind, jumped into the air with a flip and dived head first into the pothole, her pearly upwards hooking horns just clearing the entrance, hoping above all else that the snow-clearers had been doing their job.
XXX
Master Gravidus stood at the entrance to Eiraton's town centre, a huge cavern carved into the south-facing rockside, opening out to a sizeable ledge that followed the contours of the mountain, upon which most of Eiraton led. Inside the cavern, many buildings were set into the stone; shops and homes (and quite often both at once) all now closed and locked to make way for the coming winter. The cavern was close to the transport cranes used to get up and down the mountain and when the warm weather returned once more, small travelling market stalls would set up shop throughout the expansive black-marbled floor, selling all sorts of exotic foods, strange devices and books that told tales of far away lands.
As it stood, the town square was a cold and desolate looking place, its monolithic supporting column of stalagmitic rock towering lonesomely in its middle.
Gravidus shivered and cursed his aching bones.
"Ancestors help me, I'm old before my time," he muttered to himself and gazed back over the eastern mountain range to see the sun climbing dutifully along its allotted course, still with no sign of Aura.
The copper scaled dragon was just early of middle-aged, and in many ways his appearance was that of a typical earth dragon; his muscle-bound shoulders gave way to hardened grey protrusions that ran down his back, complimenting the heavy onyx plates of his chest and belly. Rather than being cumbersome, though, he carried himself in a way that suggested subtle regality, somewhat exemplified by the craggy grey horns that adorned his head.
He sighed as the time reached that of which he had asked Aura to meet him there.
"THUMP"
From behind him, Gravidus heard the sound of muffled impact and he turned to see Aura hastily picking herself up from a pile of snow.
"Ah, Aura," Gravidus called cheerfully; "Exactly on time as always I see".
XXX
"...and I'm not sure what we're going to do with it all," Gravidus finished.
He had just finished telling Aura about how Gillyan had been so happy about him helping to treat her son's torn wing (which he had acquired playing with his brother on some damaged mining equipment, something which Gillyan had been sure to make clear to them, that they would never do again) that she had insisted Gravidus take a whole crate of one of her newly imported saltwater fish, "tuna", which thanks to the new railway lines could finally be brought all the way from the southern sea without spoiling.
Aura laughed; "A whole crate, huh? I suppose you'll have to invite her around for dinner one of these days."
With this, Aura cracked a sly grin and added with a wink "I can tell she likes you."
Gravidus raised an eyeridge, looking down at Aura out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh, really?" he replied deadpan. "Then I suppose her other half will be devastated."
"True love knows no bounds, young one!" Aura toyed, purposefully imitating the title her master often gave her. "Brush aside this interloper and claim your soul mate!"
At this point, Aura threw herself melodramatically to Gravidus' side, raising a paw daintily to her brow in a feigned swoon.
"Then I'll make sure to invite Agni too, I'm sure you'll have lots to talk about," Gravidus teased back, the edges of his mouth turning up slightly.
Aura scowled, a tinge of red entering her cheeks.
"Come on, I was only kidding," she conceded, "Besides, if you're going to tease me, you could at least stay current. I haven't had a crush on Agni since I was a hatchling." Aura hummed for a moment. "Agni used to be so much nicer before he started hanging around with Solenoi."
They had continued but a few minutes before Gravidus spoke again;
"You are most likely wondering why it is that I brought you out here so early."
Aura nodded in confirmation, listening intently.
"It is because now may be the last chance I get to show you what I am about to for a long time. Last night I received a letter from an old friend in Temple City requesting assistance. I must leave for there at midday and you must stay here."
Aura's eyes widened in sudden shock and confusion.
"Today midday?" she exclaimed.
"Today," replied Gravidus plainly.
Aura's mind filled with questions and she soon struggled with attempting to vocalise all of them at once.
"Why so soon? Couldn't it wait a day at least? How long will you be gone? Who is this "friend" anyway? What-" Gravidus cut her off before she could continue and continued to speak in his usual slow and deliberate voice.
"Aura dear, calm down. I know that you are worried about being on your own, but you're practically a young dragoness now; it's high time you started acting more independently. I'm not going to be around forever you know."
Aura grumbled at this and ruffled her white-membraned wings slightly in irritation. Although it was true that Aura didn't see Gravidus for the majority of most days, it was usually enough just to know that he was there. He had never really left her, or the village in her lifetime and when he did, it was never for very long, and Temple City was so very far away.
"I know, it's just... could I at least know a little more about exactly what it is you'll be doing down there?"
"All I can tell you is that I'll be staying there for quite some time; as long as it takes to resolve this problem. Solumon will still be here and you can continue your other lessons as usual after today. If something disastrous does happen and the village truly needs me, although I am almost certain it will not, you can contact me through a dragon by the name of Dusk in the city."
Solumon would still be here, what a comforting thought. If Aura could roll her eyes in her thoughts, that was most certainly what she would be doing.
"Okay," pondered Aura. "That's still not very descriptive in terms of why you actually need to go there in the first place."
"It wasn't a very descriptive letter," replied Gravidus shortly.
Aura was a little hurt that whatever it was that Gravidus was keeping from her, he wouldn't trust her with it. She hated it when Gravidus withheld things from her, especially considering his openness in almost every other situation, which made occasions where he did all the more aggravating. She wasn't happy with this answer, but she knew that she was unlikely to get anything more from him and, for now at least, let it slide.
A few minutes passed in silence as they traipsed down the icy stone pathway towards the eastern side of the village, the space between the tip-tapping of their talons filled only by the sound of distant wind. Gravidus craned his neck to the right a little so that he could properly see Aura. Her face seemed vacant and her eyes stared forward, her wings draping down over her sides as she walked.
"...Is there something the matter?" Gravidus asked, a hint of concern clear in his tone. "I hope you're not so worried as that about being on your own for a while."
Aura took a moment to gaze down at her paws and their purple scales that shimmered with the pale winter light, before letting her magenta eyes meet Gravidus' for a moment to make sure that he knew she had been listening.
"No, it's not about that... but it did bring something back to mind," she replied somewhat hesitantly.
"Pray tell, young one," Gravidus invited with a warm smile, "what's on your mind? It's not good to keep things bottled up."
"Well," Aura began slowly, "I'm... not sure. I've been feeling it all day, but I guess I was trying not to think about it. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's not really any one thing in particular, something just seems off; like the calm before a snowstorm... like something's about to... happen."
"And what do you think could happen, Aura?" Gravidus enquired.
"I don't know, and it may seem silly, but it's the not knowing that's bothering me. If I could just tell what it was, maybe I could do something. As it is, I just feel... helpless." At this point, Aura retracted her gaze and went back to staring ahead at the path they continued to navigate, watching passively as white-topped roof after white-topped roof slipped by. Gravidus hummed a long, deliberate note as though he were weighing a decision carefully in his head.
"You have good instincts, child, and one I'm sure that one day they will be most useful to you. For now though, allow me to give you some advice; do not let what you can't know trouble you. None of us can control every aspect of our future. All we can hope to do is to make the best choice we can with what we are given. I am confident that when the time comes, whatever choice you make will be the right one."
Gravidus gently poked the bottom of Aura's chin with the back of his fore-claw, prompting her to look up again, into his grinning face.
"So until you know what to worry about, don't bother worrying at all."
Aura couldn't help but smile back, but in the back of her mind, something still itched.
They continued on the frosted road east, past more and more houses, past the diligently sweeping villagers and their mounds of snow, Gravidus occasionally peeking over at Aura, as if searching for a reaction to the information he had just imparted, trying to tell if it was what Aura had been so apprehensive of. This was a question to which Aura herself did not know the answer.
Finally reaching the top of a winding, narrow, dug out staircase, Aura paused, realising how far they had travelled from the rest of the village. They passed through a heavy log door that almost blended into the rest of the wall and yet they continued on.
"Where are we going, Gravidus?" Aura inquired in a mildly confused tone. "We've already passed the whole village."
Gravidus raised a single brow at her as they began their descent.
"Not quite all of it," he replied, the traces of a grin visible on his face.
Their claws skittered along the frosted stone steps and Aura glanced downwards to find to her surprise that they were still just within the timber walls that surrounded the village. Aura knew Eiraton very well; probably better than anyone, or so she had thought. And yet here was a place she had never been, as Gravidus had pointed out, still within the walls. This day was getting peculiar quickly.
Eventually the path flattened out, coming to a wide opening, into which Gravidus and Aura stepped.
The purple dragoness surveyed the desolate scene that befell her eyes.
Strewn all about the wide inset ledge were pieces of wooden debris; drooping and collapsed shacks, empty carts with disjointed wheels and and antique mining tools with snapped and splintered handles among other things, too broken even to recognise. Colossal stalagmites of ice reached from the snowy ground, entirely encasing many of the derelict sheds. Clearly this place had been abandoned for a long time.
Aura refrained from stepping forward, even as Gravidus began to make his way through the wreckage.
"Why haven't I been here before?" Aura murmured, half to herself.
"You wouldn't have had reason to," Gravidus replied, turning back to her. Noticing her hesitation, he urged her forwards.
"It's just an old mining site," he continued. "There's no reason to worry."
Aura proceeded cautiously, placing each paw with care as if the sorry pieces of wood might suddenly spring to life.
The pair paced through the remnants, Aura's eyes dancing every which way around their surroundings, until they reached an alcove in the back wall that twisted to the left to meet a dark, flat slab of a wall, which stood completely flat in stark contrast to the craggy stone and chipped wood around it. It had an almost mirror-like quality, the frosted reflection of its surroundings betraying a hint of its metallicness.
The lower half of the ebon protrusion was completely covered with the frozen ruins of what appeared to be a small shack, its original purpose unidentifiable.
"Stand back," Gravidus instructed, easing his way slowly into a position with his legs bent and his feet set wide beneath his body, rooting him to the ground in what Aura easily identified as a classic Earth Dragon Stance.
Aura stepped back a fair distance and watched, quietly wondering what her master meant to accomplish.
Gravidus took a deep breath, raising his front right paw as he inhaled, holding it hovering above the ground for several seconds before slamming it down again with a sharp exhalation, dropping the weight of his body through the limb.
The collapsed shack exploded as a large column of rock shot from the ground, impaling it through the middle and sending shrapnel flying in a perfect semicircle around the slab, before receding back into the ground, leaving the path to the wall clear.
"Looks like you've still got it in you, master Gravidus," said Aura, admiring the precision of the strike with awe.
"Indeed. To be honest, after all this time I'm quite glad I didn't accidentally collapse the whole mountain!" replied Gravidus, smirking a little at the distressed look the comment elicited from Aura.
"Well, let's get going, shall we?" he continued, walking suddenly towards the black wall, leaving Aura to catch up.
They stopped just within paw's reach and stood there for a moment whilst Gravidus seemed to ponder something.
"Ooookay," expressed Aura confusedly. "What's so great about this wall?"
Gravidus didn't respond, but his face lit up with recollection.
"Ah, I remember, it was three swipes left, one circle right and two flicks up and down," he listed, using his right paw to enact each motion upon the wall's surface as he said them.
Finally, he placed the palm of his brownish paw against the wall and with a pale blue light, intricate patterns appeared upon it in the general shape of a circle with three smaller circles intersecting it at equal intervals along its circumference, with another circle directly at its centre, where Gravidus had placed his paw. The patterns then swirled and dissipated, a split appearing down the centre of the black surface, revealing it to actually be a set of doors which slid almost frictionlessly to either side, uncovering a dark passageway behind them.
"Okay, now I know you're messing with me," Aura stated, frowning in apprehension. "What could there possibly be in Eiraton that needs an enchanted seal protecting it?"
Gravidus' mouth cracked an amused little smile, one that annoyed Aura to no end. It was the same one he used when he'd just told a terrible joke (all of Gravidus' jokes were terrible).
"Why Aura," Gravidus exclaimed in mock astonishment, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to ruin my wonderful surprise!"
The purple dragoness stared blankly into her master's twinkling eyes. And Gravidus conceded.
"The enchanted seal is merely a coincidence to what we're actually here for. When moles dig mine shafts, they use enchanted seals to block off shafts containing hazards, such as pockets of natural gas or other explosive materials of their own design."
Aura raised an eyeridge.
"Explosives?"
Gravidus nodded, stepping into the darkness.
"Oh, I'm sure it's fine by now. Any explosives they left lying around will most definitely have spoiled in the damp. Maybe you should pay more attention in Ms Snout's classes."
Aura sighed, following the earth dragon into the tunnel.
"Unlike someone I know, I actually pay attention in my classes, but we're far too busy with learning things like "how the cheetah tribes act as vassals to the dragon council" to be studying anything as interesting or relevant as the moles' explosives."
Aura continued in a mildly exasperated tone.
"I don't see the point in learning things –and I am learning them nonetheless– that I'm never going to use. I'm told all this stuff about the world outside Eiraton, but all I want to do is stay here and help the town like you've been doing."
"You should try to keep an open mind, young one. Just because that's what you want now doesn't mean you'll be content with that forever. You know before I came to this village I used to be a soldier jus-" Gravidus began, but was cut off by Aura.
"Just like your father and his father and his father before him," the dragoness chuckled, "yeah, I get it, Gravidus."
Gravidus smiled down at her.
"Well the point is, don't put all your eggs in one temple."
"Mhmm," Aura agreed, squinting to see ahead "Hey, it's getting pretty dark in here, how are we supposed to see where we're going?"
Right on cue, a metal plate on the otherwise stone floor sunk down beneath Aura's paw, making her start in surprise. A short clicking noise echoed faintly through the passage and all around the two dragons, orange flames burst to life behind the glass of lanterns embedded in the walls.
Just ahead of them stood a wide rectangular platform that shone a dull bronze in the orange light. Long chains plated to each corner ascended to a cylindrical reel above, making it clearly a kind of elevator.
"Wow," commented Aura, "I've never seen a mine in such good condition before! You really wouldn't have thought it looking at the entrance to this place."
Gravidus nodded knowingly as they stepped onto the platform, their paws clanging with each step.
"Indeed, it's likely that is the very reason this mine is in such fine repair, since none have been here to tear it down." Gravidus replied, using his tail, with its hammer-like end to pull a wall mounted bronze lever. A great rattling could be heard above, dust and stone cascading down upon the two dragons, before gears whirred into life and the platform jerked down causing Aura to jump a little in fright, however the ride smoothed out and before long they were descending at a steady rate.
Overall the temperature in the mine was far more pleasant than the wintry chill outside, but as the elevator lowered further and further, Aura could feel the air getting colder and colder. The elevator dropped for what seemed like minutes, the sound of rattling chains around their pulley growing faint and the light growing so dim, she could scarcely see the breath condensing in front of her face. Eventually the platform clunked to a halt and Gravidus stepped from the platform, crouching down to fiddle with something Aura couldn't make out. A gradual yellowish light began emanating from before the bronzen dragon and he stood once more, holding a small lantern from the thumb of his left wing. In the new light, Aura could see what looked to be an arched doorway constructed from huge blocks of a pink granite-like stone. Above it, more blocks climbed the wall of the expansive cavern they now occupied. The rock to either of the sides of the door didn't connect smoothly to the structure, but rather consisted of jagged protrusions pointing inwards as if the wall had been broken through. Besides this, nothing in the cavern was particularly notable save for its sheer size; Aura could only guess at how large it actually was, as every other direction she looked swallowed up the lame lamplight, the rays splashing upon the craggy floor before petering out into darkness.
"Come this way," Gravidus said, breaking the silence and gesturing towards the door. "It's through here."
Aura nodded and the two entered the building, Aura sticking close to her master's side to take as much advantage of the light as possible.
The inside was in ruin. Fallen blocks and tiles littered the floor, the walls and ceiling bulging as though they were the very pillars that held the world aloft. Damp, musty smelling air filled Aura's nostrils, the newly arisen dust that plumed from her every pawstep causing her to stifle a sneeze. It was more clear than ever that none had set foot in this place for quite some time. The two continued walking, into and out of several more rooms of a similar calibre until they passed through a crooked doorway, its arch almost completely crumbled and finally into a grand room, large enough that the artificial light failed to stretch far enough to illuminate even a fraction of its cold slabbed flooring.
Here Gravidus instructed the purple dragoness to wait as he went about lighting several sconces around the perimeter, opening up the small hatch on the side of the lantern to allow the flame to catch.
Of all the rooms Aura had seen of the ruin yet, this one seemed by far the most in-tact, the swirling patterns that adorned the tiles and walls, though covered in thick dust, were still clearly visible and the tiles themselves went non-displaced throughout, the grout between them holding fast, the solid looking arches that ran from the chamber's base to its heights remaining firmly rooted.
This was of course, until she realised that half of it was missing.
Gravidus had only set light to the sconces down the wall to the right and as Aura peered into the darkness to the left, she discovered that it was not just the darkness of light failing to reach the far side of the chamber, but that of an abyssal pit which the floor gave way to abruptly, cutting several sets of tiles cleanly in two, though the sides that had been cut off were nowhere to be found. The gaping hole made her uneasy and despite her wings, she wished whatever moles had been down here had taken the time to fit a guard rail.
The whole look of the place was decidedly alien to the young dragoness. The colossal bricks that made up the walls and the carefully measured angles between each stone in the arches had clearly taken great skill to build and belonged not in the ramshackle timber town of Eiraton. Nor did its robust and practical squareness belong with the flamboyant and artistic architecture Aura had seen in paintings of the seven great cities, yet what the ruins lacked in structural beauty, it seemed to make up for in the unique swirling patterns that covered every surface.
She could not place any of it.
Gravidus lit the final torch and beckoned Aura over to something that twinkled in the flickering light. By the time she'd made her way over to it, Gravidus had placed the lantern at his feet, illuminating the back wall. She gasped at what she saw.
Mounted there in carved and chiselled borders of black stone, reaching perhaps fifteen feet upwards, was a mosaic of brightly reflecting gemstones; blue sapphire, orange topaz, white quartz, but more importantly to Aura, purple amethyst. Although half of the illustration was missing, cut off by the chasm that dominated a large section of the whole room, these embedded stones made up what was clearly half the visage of a purple dragon. The orangey topaz made up his underbelly and irises, whilst three large curving quartz horns adorned his head like a crown, with smaller ones poking out here and there. The wings and lower part of the body were obscured.
Beneath the colourful mosaic were several lines of an unknown runic text, once again with half of the passage lost to blackness.
"Gravidus, is this what I think it is?" Aura asked excitedly.
"That depends," replied Gravidus reservedly. "What do you think it is?"
Aura kept her eyes on the portrait, scanning it thoroughly for any more clues.
"Well to me it looks like proof of the existence of other purple dragons like me," Aura stated.
Gravidus laughed, "Don't you think that's a bit of an assumption, Aura?"
"Definitely, but it's exactly what you wanted me to say, isn't it?" said Aura, smiling knowingly.
"Haha, well I can't say you're wrong, but perhaps I expected a little more tact from you in particular. It could well be that the colour is merely a coincidence. The civilization that made it might have used whatever sort of gemstone which was available, or it could just be artistic license; based on the construction of this place, they certainly don't seem very aesthetically inclined. Nevertheless, it is somewhat exciting, isn't it?"
Aura nodded in a more subdued way.
"Anyway, I'm sure you've noticed the writing, remarked Gravidus, gesturing toward the runic text chiselled beneath the mosaic. "If you're so inclined, you may come down here any time and attempt to decipher it."
Aura mused at the nonsensical symbols before her.
"What language is it?" she asked, looking puzzled.
"I haven't the foggiest idea," Gravidus replied, looking irritatingly smug about it. It never ends, does it? Aura thought to herself
"So you expect me to decipher an excerpt of a language I not only don't know, but also has at least half of its characters missing?" she asked, dismayed that she even had to ask such a pointless question.
"Of course not," the grey-brown dragon replied. "I'm sure Ms. Snout has some books on old languages, ask her to borrow some and see if any match up."
Suddenly, Gravidus' beaming smile faltered and slowly fell to a frown, his brow creasing as though in pain.
"I'm sorry, Aura," he coughed, "I'm sorry for not showing you this many years ago."
Tears began to stream down Gravidus' face and he turned away, refusing to look at Aura whilst quiet sobs filled the chamber.
Aura's smile also fell, but into an expression of confusion rather than sorrow. She remembered the iced over, abandoned entrance and realised it was true that Gravidus must have known of the mine's contents many years ago, probably before she was even hatched. Still, it wasn't exactly a big deal to her and she wasn't sure why it was to Gravidus.
"I thought- I thought it was just my responsibility... that I was keeping you safe," he continued. "That if you saw this you might go looking for answers, run away and put yourself in harm's way. Now I see that it was my own selfishness, that I was afraid of losing you... that I felt... guilty for being unable to save your mother."
Aura ran up to the big dragon and threw her front legs around him (or as much of him as she could) in a powerful hug, her scrawny wings embracing him tightly.
"Don't be so silly, Gravidus," she cooed. "None of that matters to me. You've only ever been kind to me, when in reality you didn't need to do any of this; its all been from the generosity of your own heart!"
Aura paused for a moment, feeling that Gravidus' sobs had subsided into shaky breath.
"So don't give me any of that!" Aura said slightly more assertively. "I know that whatever your reason, it was only because you cared, and you're not a bad person for caring... you're not a bad person at all... you're the most amazing person I know."
With this, Gravidus finally accepted her embrace, pulling her close with his right paw.
"Oh Aura, he laughed, batting the tears from his eyes. "You're going to make me cry again! You've grown to be such a fine dragoness, whatever did I do to deserve you?"
"It's so like you to worry about how much you worry about me, you big softie," Aura replied, chuckling herself. "I'd never leave you; you know that, right?"
"I realise that now and I realise how foolish it was for me to think otherwise."
The pair separated and after a moment regained their composure.
"Now I think it's time we got out of these ruins," Gravidus decided and Aura nodded her head.
XXX
The two dragons made their way back towards town, the open air refreshing despite its chill compared to the dark, stagnant air of the mine.
"Now we just need to find Solumon so I can tell him I'm leaving too," Gravidus explained as they climbed the final step into Eiraton proper.
"He's probably still training" Aura said disapprovingly.
Gravidus sighed.
"Yes, you're probably right."
They passed back through the town centre, the occasional passer-by offering morning's greetings to Gravidus, to which he universally responded with cheerful demeanour. A little past the centre, a wooden bridge crossed the stream that ran through the town and powered the cargo lift outside the entrance to the market place.
The elegance and efficiency of the lift's design was probably Aura's favourite part of Eiraton, at least it was probably the most unique part of it. The track ran all the way up the mountain and when one platform was at the bottom, water from the stream would fill a metal reservoir beneath the platform at the top, then when the weight was right, a lever would be pulled, releasing the lock and allowing the reservoir to drop, pulling the lower platform up via a pulley. Then when the reservoir reached the bottom, it would release the water back into the stream which continued its natural route. It was the main way for people and goods to get in and out of Eiraton, though there were also stairs for the flight incapable inhabitants in case of a breakdown.
Gravidus and Aura turned right, following the path adjacent to the bridge. There as expected, in the courtyard outside the cargo lift's squat stone maintenance building, stood the burly form of Gravidus' son Solumon. Like his father he was an earth dragon and they shared some minor physical similarities, such as their jagged triangular horns and wide forehead, but as far as Aura was concerned, that was where the similarities stopped. His dull green scales seemed stretched over his bulging muscles, muddy red plates almost bolted to his chest and belly and protrusions of the same colour emerging from various locations on his back. Extra counterweights for the cargo lift were strapped against his sides and he was performing an exercise in relative silence involving continuously standing up to his full impressive height (considering his age) and then setting himself down.
"Good morning Solumon," Gravidus offered. Solumon didn't stop for even a moment and remained staring straight down.
"What do you want?" he grunted.
"How're your duties at the maintenance building going?" the elder asked hopefully.
"The same as every day. I lifted some things and moved them somewhere else. I finished hours ago."
Gravidus sighed and got to the point.
"Well I shan't beat about the bush; I'm leaving today for a good while. I don't know when I'll be back."
"Good," Solumon stated. This infuriated Aura, but she said nothing.
"That means you won't be able to pester me about not joining the royal army next week," he concluded.
"Please Solumon," Gravidus pleaded. "I'm just asking you to hold out for a while. I know you've wanted this for a long time, but you haven't even entertained any other path. I'm just worried you haven't thought it through. When the recruitment party comes, please don't join just yet."
"I'm not you, father. Unlike you I know what I want, so why don't you just leave me alone."
A few moments of silence passed, throughout which Gravidus seemed to be considering something.
"Very well then, Aura. I'm leaving you in charge."
"What?" exclaimed Aura.
"What!?" exclaimed Solumon, shrugging off the weights and striding up to Gravidus.
"But I'm older!" he said angrily.
"Not by much, besides, what would be the point of putting you in charge when you're not going to be here in a week, right?" Gravidus turned to Aura, leaving Solumon seething.
"Well, I can't delay my leave any further, let's go."
Solumon now turned to Aura with a scowl.
"As if there's anything you could do to stop me," he said before turning back to his weights.
During the short walk back to the cargo lift, Aura felt anxious, but set that aside as they reached the platform. Aura noticed that Gravidus, ever prepared had already stacked his luggage there; several large cases, which as far as Aura could tell had to contain pretty much all of his personal belongings. He must be travelling by train she thought.
"Don't worry about Solumon, Aura, you know how he can be. Just try to keep an eye on him."
Aura nodded and smiled.
"Goodbye Gravidus, I hope you come back soon!"
"I hope so too Aura, goodbye!" Gravidus pulled the lever and the platform slowly dropped down the mountainside. Aura stayed there for several minutes and watched until the platform was a mere spot in the distance and the second platform clunked into place at her left.
Abruptly her idleness was interrupted by a dragoness near tackling her from the side.
"So Gravidus is gone, you must be pretty worried," the cyan and grey-white dragoness whispered into her ear.
"I wish you wouldn't do that, 'Tina," Aura replied, squirming out of her grasp. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not really sure what I'll do now I won't be doing rounds with Gravidus. Plus I'm supposed to run the household now I think?"
"With Solumon? Pff, sounds rough," said Arctina. The ice dragoness stood a few inches taller than Aura and was slightly more muscular, her dark blue eyes punctuating the frill of smooth whitish horns around her head "Anyway, are you busy right now? It's pretty dull around here at the moment," Arctina continued.
"Oh, actually there is one more thing I had to do today," Aura remembered.
"Really? You didn't seem very busy when you were staring down the cliff for like five minutes," she teased. "Well, come see me when you have time then. I'm sooo boooored." said the ice dragoness before slinking back the way she came.
XXX
Ms. Snout was watering her miniature Jupiter Dragon Traps when she heard a knock on the door. Laying down the little watering can, she set the coal burner to keep the exotic plants warm and walked to the front of the house on her little mole legs. When she opened it, she was greeted by the familiar sight of a purple dragoness.
"Ah, hello Aura dearie, there're no lessons today, didn't Gravidus tell you?"
Aura nodded.
"Hello Ms. Snout, yes I know. Gravidus just said you might have some books on old languages I could borrow."
"Oh, well I might have a few in the study. Come along."
The small mole beckoned for Aura to follow and they made their way to the familiar room that smelt strongly of binding glue. The room was practically overflowing with books, making it seem smaller than it already was. Nevertheless they seemed to be ordered and each book had its place, even if there weren't quite enough shelves for all of them. Ms. Snout went about, picking a few out and handing them to Aura, who took them in one wing and put them over her back, using the other wing to hold them in place.
"Ah, here's an especially good one," the mole said, grabbing a thick old book bound in exquisite green leather and adorned with a beautiful winding gold font. "Oh, I remember reading it for the first time like it was yesterday."
Aura took the book and flipped the cover to look at the first few pages. What caught her attention was the hand-written note on the inside cover.
"For Juniper my love?" Aura read out loud, raising one eyebrow at her teacher.
"Yes, well you don't think everyone called me by my surname when I was a young 'un, do you?" Ms. Juniper Snout giggled.
"He was a nice young man. Not too bad on the eyes neither, but..." she tapped her snout mischievously with one claw. "In my experience there was always another handsome admirer in the not so distant future."
Well I could have comfortably gone my entire life without that piece of information, thought Aura. The mole took the book and gazed at the note with a reminiscent smile.
"Course it didn't help that I was hopping around all over the world. A settled down life didn't suit me much, and now here I am without any of them. Not that it bothers me too much."
Ms. Snout handed the book back to the purple dragoness.
"Anyway I'm sure you've got more important things to do than listen to an old lady natter. It was nice to see you dearie."
"No, I enjoyed speaking to you outside of classes," Aura reassured her, then paused.
"Then again, I did tell Arctina I'd come see her as soon as I had time."
"Go on then, don't let me keep you."
Aura thanked her for the books and walked briskly out of the door, hooking it closed by the handle with the circular hole in the broader end of her S-cut half circle tailblade. Almost as soon as she'd left, she was stopped by an adult ice dragon.
"Ah Aura, do you know where Gravidus is? I need his help."
"Oh, uh... hi Permin" Aura began, suddenly feeling her tongue tie. Usually she didn't have much actual contact with the town's inhabitants since Gravidus did all the talking; she was mainly just an assistant.
"He's uh, he's going to Temple City. I mean, he left just a while ago. He won't be back... I mean he's not coming back for a while. I don't know how long," she mumbled, tripping over her own words. Suddenly a thought struck her mind.
"But if there's a problem maybe I can help!" she stated with renewed vigour.
"Ah, no, that's alright," the blueish dragon said awkwardly, completely failing to conceal his aversion to the idea. "I'm sure I'll manage on my own."
The adult dragon turned and went his way and so too did Aura, but as she headed towards Arctina's home, a determined spark flickered in her mind.
That's right! If Gravidus can't be here to help the village, I'll have to do it myself. This is my chance. My chance to show them that I can be just as good a leader as him!
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A/N: Wow, this chapter sure has been a long time coming. In retrospect I probably started this fic at a pretty bad time, but hopefully from now on you can expect more regular updates than none at all.
Thanks again for reading my chapter, and as always I'd love to hear your thoughts, so a review is very much appreciated.
I'd particularly like to know what you think of my characters; what impression do you get of their personalities? Where do you think the story is going?
Again, thanks to Telekinetic Moose for beta reading this chapter. TM does his own fanfiction occasionally, which you might like to check out (it's good, I swear).
The next chapter will be titled "Betrayal". See you next time!