Chapter 3
Maaran had no idea what he expected when he arrived to the island that Anthia suspected his pupil to be on but seeing Azora being whipped and her blood being spilt made him incensed enough that he blasted apart the arena chain ceiling while his adrenaline made him able to pick her up and fly off with her to a safe distance away from the arena but unfortunately he couldn't fly her off the island and could only make it to the opposite side where an empty beach was. While she was smaller than him as she was just a juvenile, she was still big enough to present him with a challenge and he knew he would need help with carrying her. "Anthia," Maaran spoke to the tiny dragon that landed next to him as he gently laid Azora down upon the sand and sat next to her. "I need help with carrying Azora. Would you happen to know of any dragons that would be able to carry her to a more safe place? Her injuries are too severe for me to even think about trying to have her fly on her own and my own home is too far for me to carry her that long of a distance."
Anthia looked at the injured dragonling before nodding. "I may know of some but I am unsure of where they are." Anthia said in sadness. "I will fly and ask any dragon that is big enough if they would help fly her to a safer place." She flapped her wings and went into the air. "I'll try and be back as fast as I can!" She then flew off.
Maaran sighed before he looked at his young pupil and started to tend to her wounds. He was thankful that it was quickly becoming dark as humans would be unable to travel in darkness well so he would be able to care for Azora the best he could without much trouble. Gently, he licked her whipping injuries making sure that every single one was free of dirt to prevent infection and as he did this over the next hour or so, he thought back to his actions and the actions those humans did to his young pupil. He hadn't lost control of himself like that for a very long time but when he saw Azora being hurt and smelt her blood, his instincts demanded that he get her out of that situation as quick and as efficient as he could. He frowned and sighed as he admitted that if he hadn't had that temporary loss control, he most likely would have been captured and kept as a prisoner alongside Azora.
He finally finished the cleaning of her wounds before suddenly remembering what he called Azora to Anthia when he was searching for her and he realized that calling Azora his daughter just felt right. He became worried as he didn't want to take her biological fathers place in her life as her father had been the only good memory from her human life she had left and decided that he would speak to her on the matter once she awakens. He had discovered what had happened to her actual father when she was three. He went night patrolling when he heard a story being told by pirated that were on a ship and so he stealthily snuck up on them to hear the story.
Apparently they came across him on a traders vessel as he was picking up a birthday gift to give his daughter and the pirates captured him and the traders as they raided the boat for anything truly valuable. The man had chosen a tiny golden locket that had her chosen name on it and when the pirates demanded to give it to them, he refused to give it up which in turn made the pirates torture him for hours at his insolence. The man was a rather stubborn man and a Viking to boot so he was quite large compared to them and refused to give them any cries of pain which made him a favorite to torture. The pirates remembered the man specifically because while he was tortured over and over again, he also held onto the treasure he was to give his daughter in his hand, never once letting the pirates pry it from him all while saying that he just wanted to see his wife and daughter again. After six months of torture and slavery, the pirates had finally put out of his misery by being tossed into the sea all while still holding onto the locket.
Maaran was truly heartbroken at the strength this father had and loyalty he gave to his family only to be put to death by his own kind just over a trinket. The next day he had sat Azora down and gently broke the news to Azora about her father though he left out the more gruesome details. She didn't speak to him for a week and instead of doing her lessons, she just sat by the fire in silent mourning making it evident that while she had changed into a dragon, her humanity would make her grieve and be affected by things deeper than a natural dragon would. Maaran didn't have to go through things like this when he had been turned as most of the people he cared about had passed in the war he was caught up in before the choice was given to him. While he felt his original parents loss for a time, he didn't feel the grief as badly as Azora did because he had learned to move on for a few years before being gravely injured.
Maaran knew that Azora didn't like to dwell on things that impacted her life but she would shut down for a week or so and if it was bad enough, a month at most but this trauma could even make a natural born dragon shut down for years so the fact it happened to Azora made Maaran worried. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by Anthia's voice. "Maaran!" She said making him look over in the direction it was coming from and was surprised to find the sky lightening up when he looked up. Was he so lost in thought that he had failed to notice that dawn was approaching?
"Anthia," he greeted with a relieved tone. "Were you able to find a dragon?"
"I was and he is large enough to make it that your daughter can rest the whole way to a safe place." She said as she hovered in front of him looking a tad bit nervous.
Maaran narrowed his eyes at her nervousness. "There is something you aren't telling me." His voice took on a low tone.
Anthia's eyes darted to the clouds behind her before returning her gaze onto Maaran. "There is and I did bring him along but he has an unexpected partner…" she gulped at the glare Maaran gave her that told her to get to the point. "He somehow has a human who rides him."
Maaran's glare and low, deadly growl towards that statement made Anthia cringe but he took in a breathe and let it out slowly before saying, "Bring them to me slowly. I will deal with the human." Anthia nodded before going up into the clouds and disappearing. Maaran scowled as the mere thought of a human riding a dragon seemed ludicrous to him but as Anthia reappeared, a large magnificent dragon appeared behind her. It was an Aethelweah Taylyr, a Stormcutter to the humans, and on top of the dragon was a small figure dressed in gear made of dragon scales and a mask that made their appearance more dragon like. The staff the figure held let out a soothing sound with the intricacy at how it was made but Maaran ignored that as he immediately put up his guard and stood over Azora with the intent to protect her if this human was hostile.
They all landed softly on the beach in front of Maaran and he stood his ground as the human hopped off onto the ground in a slightly crouched position. "You have a human." Maaran growled to the Aethelweah Taylyr.
The dragon nodded to Maaran in confirmation. "She is my rider and has my trust." The dragon said in a deep baritone indicating that it was male.
Maaran looked at the human sharply as they approached. "Take your mask off." He demanded in human tongue making the three in front of him become shocked. "I refuse to allow one who hides their appearance to come closer."
"You can talk?" The human asked, her voice melodic yet a bit raspy at the same time.
"Obviously I can, human." Maaran snorted with narrowed eyes. "Now take off your mask."
The human put down her staff carefully in the sand before reaching up and taking off the helmet and dropping it next to the staff revealing her face. Her face was slim, fair skinned with deep auburn colored hair, eyes that were a mix of green and blue, and she was older than most humans but her youth still shone through. "How can you talk?" She asked softly.
"Now is not the time to be asking questions." Maaran growled lowly making the human lower her head in submission. "My daughter is hurt. Will you help her or not is the true question here."
"I will need to see her at a closer range." The human said. Maaran nodded and allowed her to get closer as the human approached and so he moved over just enough for Azora's body to be inspected. The human gasped in horror as she saw the wounds that were around her jaw and the start of the whipping wounds. "We need to get her to my home," she started to say only for Maaran to growl in disagreement making her scowl and she rose to look into his eyes. "She needs special medicine for these otherwise she won't be able to fly properly. These wound could start a sickness that could keep her grounded and the only medicine to help prevent that is back where I live."
"I have medicine that can help her!" Maaran argued. "I just need to get her back to my cave!"
"There is no medicine greater than the one the White King can provide!" She argued back at him making Maaran irritated.
"Listen to my rider," the Aethelweah Taylyr spoke gently making Maaran turn his glare over to him. "The medicine she makes that the King provides is one that has healed and soothed many a dragon who had been hurt by the humans."
Maaran growled even more before saying, "Very well, we will go to this King of yours."
The human smiled in relief before turning to the Aethelweah Taylyr. "Cloudjumper," she said. "I'll need you to lay down while we get her on your back." The Aethelweah Taylyr, now known as Cloudjumper, did as he was asked as Anthia moved out of the way. Maaran took off into the air before hovering over Azora and gently picking her up and moving her onto the bigger dragon's back. The human then took out a length of cloth and gently used it to strap Azora into place. "I will make sure that she will not fall off." The human said as she put on her helmet and picked her staff up. "We will fly above the cloud line to avoid anyone's notice."
Maaran nodded before turning to Anthia. "Fly beside them at all times and I will stay above them." He said to her then turned his attention back to the rider. "Lead the way human."
As they took off, they never noticed that a dark male human figure had seen it all on the cliffside above them. "The king and Ragnok needs to know about this." His voice said in a tone that held darkness.
/
Azora groaned as she slowly woke up feeling as if she had crashed a thousand times into trees and rocks before stopping. Her limbs felt weak and heavy and as she opened her eyes, she immediately noticed that she did not recognize her surroundings but as she tried to move, she felt the sharp pain of the wounds in her back scream at her. 'Where am I?' She thought looking at the walls around her. They were made of a type of ice and she shivered a bit from the cold she was now feeling but suddenly, she remembered what had happened and screeched out, "Maaran!" In a desperate attempt to know if she was truly free from those humans. She started to hyperventilate and adrenaline overpowered her pain as she stood up, getting more and more frightened at the unfamiliar smells and coldness around her.
Running feet reached her hearing and she went into a defensive position, her eyes swiveling around as panic set in. "Azora!" A voice called before a figure entered her line of sight and she immediately recognized it as Maaran.
"Maaran…" she whimpered trying to take a step forward but her body couldn't hold her weight and as she fell forward, she felt Maaran catch her body with his.
"It's okay my little one." His voice soothed her nerves slightly as he gently set her down. "Come on now, calm down. Deep breaths and focus on me." Azora tried her best to focus on his words and slowly, but surely, she felt calmer but also felt her pain start to grow stronger and whimpered. "You're safe Azora."
"Maaran…" her voice cracked. "I hurt so much…"
"I know little one." Maaran nudged her face gently in a supportive motion. "I was able to find you with a bit of help."
"From who?" She asked.
"A Bhimasara Egill named Anthia had seen you being captured. When she saw me flying over the ocean, she thought that it was I that got captured and not you. She led me to the place she most likely believed that you had been taken to and I was able to get you out of that despicable place but only as far as the other side of the island."
"Then where are we now? This isn't a beach as far as I know."
Maaran sighed gently at her question. "That's because we aren't at the beach anymore. Anthia got some help from two others who then carried you to this place in order for you to get healed properly. Unfortunately the help that was given wasn't entirely a dragons help as the dragon had something that I've never seen before."
"And what would that be?"
"It was a human." Maaran immediately saw her cringe in fear as she gazed at him with disbelieving eyes so he continued. "She is what she calls a 'Dragon Rider' who helps dragons that have been injured by humans. She rode the back of a Aethelweah Taylyr and carried you back here to get medicine for your injuries."
Azora huffed. "How long have I been here in this humans care?"
"You were unconscious for about a week and I made sure to watch the humans every move to make sure she was true to her word."
"And where are we? It's cold here." Azora shivered.
"We had to put you somewhere cold due to an infection from the wounds that caused you to overheat. Dragons naturally are hot but too much heat from the inside and our flames will die out." Maaran explained before he fired a plasma stream near her body making her sigh in relief at the warm feeling. "As to where we are, well, it's the home of the Aadghais Wolfe. The king of dragons, also called a Bewilderbeast by the humans, a species of which I have not seen since I was a dragonling myself."
"The king huh? Nice of him to let us stay along with a human." She grumbles irritably.
Maaran chuckled. "Yes little one. He wants you to get better and so has granted us safe passage in his kingdom. Now you need to rest more. That plasma stream should stay warm for a couple hours at least alright?"
Azora nodded before a yawn escaped her. "Alright."
/
Maaran watched as Azora slowly fell asleep before leaving the healing area and sitting in front of where the entrance was, sighing heavily as he looked around and admiring the beauty that the king had built around him. Even though this place was just basically a hollow glacier, dragons were flying freely all around inside of it and patches of grass and flowers bloomed in certain areas. He noticed that all sorts of species were here, even recognized dragons that he thought were gone from the world and smiled at the mingling all of them were doing. "Hey, Maaran!" A voice called making him turn and see Anthia running up to him.
"Hello Anthia," he said. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm doing fine. How is Azora?" She asked.
"She woke up for a tiny bit and I had to explain to her that she was rescued and where we were before she fell back to sleep."
"That's good that she woke up finally. I was starting to get worried about how long she would be unconscious for. All she needs now is to try and recover as best she can."
"The physical recovery will be easy but the recovery for her mind will be harder to heal and that is my biggest concern." Maaran said. "She will need me more than ever before she can go out on her own again I fear."
"She may but she will grow strong from this experience. She seems like a strong female already. All she needs is the right guidance to get through this and she will come out on top."
"I hope you are right Anthia." Maaran sighed as he went back to watching the world around him.
/
As the days passed, Maaran tended to Azora consistently, taking the medicine Valka made and putting it on her wounds himself and made sure she was comfortable as she recovered but unfortunately her was disturbed every time she tried to rest and the screeching with her pleadings were starting to take their toll on him. He truly didn't know what to do or how to help her and it terrified him that she was so scared of even the smallest of things. The human rider, who he had since learned was named Valka, was also worried as Azora's screeches and pleadings for help echoed all around the Kings domain making every dragon steer away from the healing area she rested in. Valka had wanted to see Azora personally but Maaran refused believing that if Azora saw Valka, she would get worse and more traumatized.
"You need to let me try to help her Maaran!" Valka exclaimed at him as they stood outside the healing area. "I know of how to help dragons like her! She needs it!"
"I said no Valka!" Maaran yelled back, his posture rigid and straight with frustration towards her. "She is traumatized enough by your kind and she doesn't need to see you only for it all to come back and make her worse."
"She is already getting worse even without seeing me!" Valka was nearly steaming with how angry she was towards Maaran's stubbornness on how Azora is to be treated. "This irrational way of trying to protect her is going to hurt your daughter more than she already is!"
Maaran seethed at Valka's statements but deep down he knew that Azora was getting worse and he looked away from Valka as a sign for the conversation to end only too feel a hard slap against his muzzle, surprising him enough to look at her in the eye.
Valka looked surprised herself but quickly schooled her expression as she stood straight. "You are going to destroy your daughter with how you are acting and by the time you realize it on your own, she will be completely and utterly destroyed." She said with conviction. "I hope you will realize it soon because otherwise, your daughter will be nothing more than a scared being that will never know peace."
Anthia had seen this confrontation from afar and waited until Valka had started to walk away before carefully going up to Maaran and sitting next to him as he just stared after Valka's retreating form. "Maybe you should try talking to the King…" she said gently to him. "Valka seems to care a lot about dragons especially the ones that are harmed by humans. Hearing such anguish coming from a dragon who needs help but is refused that help must hurt her worse than the scrapes she probably gained from slapping you."
Maaran looked at Anthia and whispered, "Maybe I should." He got up shaking his body to relieve some tiredness in his limbs. "Watch over Azora for me while I am gone." He then walked away making Anthia sigh as she watched him go in the direction of the King's resting spot.
"Well, at least he didn't bite Valka for hitting him…" she grumbled as she sat at the healing area's entrance. "But at least she knocked something into his big stubborn head."
/
"You are sure of this?" A male voice said that was laced with an underlying evil in his tone as he stared at the Viking before him as he bowed.
"Yes Ragnok." The Viking said. "A bigger Nightfury, a Terrible Terror, a Stormcutter carrying that smaller Nightfury we had captured, and a human all took off from the far island's beach. It seems like there are more than one of those Nightfuries than we thought."
A chuckle erupted from the darkness. "Perfect." He said. "Then the plan will to recapture and bring that one nightfury to the King has changed. We will not only bring him the nightfury we had captured before, but we also will bring him the eggs she will carry within."
"Understood." The Viking said. "I will make more of the mixture you need right away."
"Tell the ones making the mixture to take their time. We need the dragons to feel a sense of peace before we strike them again." The man laughed darkly as the Viking left.
/
Maaran awful as he headed towards the King, his thoughts on how irrational he has been with the handling of Azora and didn't quite understand why. Years he had lived, his patience was extensive, his understanding of others was great but in the last few days his personality seemed to make him act like a youngster with a tantrum.
As he reached the King, he said, "I would like to request council with you King Aadghais Wolfe."
A huge mountainous white dragon head with piercing blue eyes, two huge tusks and spines that made him look like he had a massive crown growing out of his head. "Maaran," the great rumble of the King said. "What is on your mind."
"My daughter," he answered looking into the Kings eyes. "She is suffering and I am apparently only making it worse. I am fearful of what could happen if Azora sees Valka in person especially after what she went through. She has constant nightmares and pleads for me to not leave her like she's a dragonling again. I'm just so lost on what to do and how to help her."
"You find yourself in quite a conundrum Maaran." The King agreed. "I know how to help but you must trust me and my judgement. Do you understand Maaran?" He waited until Maaran nodded. "You might be older than most of the dragons here but you still have much to learn and the first thing I need you to do is try and get Azora out of the healers area. She cannot stay cooped up and the fact she is getting worse is proof of that. Do this for a week and then come back so I can tell you the next step. Valka will know to stay out of sight but you will need to tell her so she won't run into Azora accidentally.
Maaran sighed but nodded in his acceptance of what the king had said. "Very well King." He said.
The King just laid his head back down and went back to his rest.
Maaran turned and decided to take a little bit of a walk to clear his mind from the discussion a little so he could focus a little better on his task ahead. As he walked, he looked at all the different dragons and noticed that every able dragon treated the ones that were handicapped equally and he immediately knew that Valka had somehow made all the dragons work together no matter the weakness the other shown. Valka seemed to know each and every dragon and the dragons all had something nice to say about her but Maaran was still wary. Valka was human, the species who had hurt his daughter and while he personally had no grudge against her, he was knew his daughter probably would. She hadn't had the best experiences with them other than her biological father and while he hoped that humans and dragons would find peace with each other, he wasn't too skeptical about it happening soon.
"Maaran," Anthia's voice said and he looked up to see that he had made it back to the healing area. "Azora is awake."
Maaran nodded. "Tell her I will be inside to see her in a few minutes. I need to take care of something first."
"Alright." Anthia said before disappearing inside the healer's area.
He watched until he could no longer see her before turning and going over to where Valka lived. "Valka," he called out and after a moment, she appeared.
"Maaran," she said tensely.
"I wish to apologize for my recent behavior. It was unbecoming of a dragon of my stature and letting my personal feelings get in the way of what is best for my daughter was petty of me to do." He looked her in the eyes trying to convey his sincerity. "I will try and do better. The king wants me to take Azora on walks for the week and I just ask you to stay hidden until the King says that Azora should try to start human contact and I want to prepare just in case her instincts go wild again."
Valka looked at Maaran carefully. "As long as Cloudjumper helps out alongside you with her now and again, I do not mind being hidden from Azora's sight. How are her wounds doing?"
"The wound on her back are healing slowly and will definitely leave scars until she sheds her scales for the next couple years or so making it as if the wounds never happened but her mental wounds are what have me worried. Her instincts could take over again and any or all of her self consciousness could be gone if something triggers her bad memories."
Valka's look turned into one of sympathy. "The path to be healed isn't always the easiest. We just need to try to take the current path slow and steady in order to feel the rewards later." She said. "Maaran, this is a test that the gods have presented you with for a reason and now it's up to you to figure out how to conquer this test of theirs. I believe that you truly care for Azora but you need to let her fight battles like this on her own no matter how frightening it could be to you."
"I will try but I cannot promise that entirely. I might not be as young as I once was but while I can reign in my desires to protect her at times, other times I will go into overdrive."
"To try is all you need to do Maaran. Try and succeed to be the best father you can be for Azora. Support her, love her, be there for her but you need to let her fight her battles on her own. This is one of those times that you need to back off and let her learn."
"I will try. Thank you for this talk Valka." Maaran then walked off.
"And I appreciate your dedication to your daughter." She whispered as an image of a tiny baby with green eyes came to the forefront of her mind. She shook her head to clear the memory before going back to whatever it was she was doing.