EVEN DRAGONS DIE, chapter four

 

CHAPTER FOUR

P’Forge from the Green Meadow Clan of earth dragons was P’Ayzu’s equal in everything but birth – he was also his greatest enemy. They belonged to the same generation of young dragons and were considered the greatest dragon warriors of their respective clans. Just as Ayzu was the pride of every dragon that belonged to the fire dragon clan, Forge was the pride of every dragon that belonged to the earth dragon clan.

Their rivalry and mutual dislike began when the two clans met in order to train their dragon warriors – that’s when they fought with each other for the very first time. As young and ambitious dragons, they were eager to prove themselves and to show that their clan had the best warrior in their midst. Yet they soon discovered that neither could get the upper hand. Ever since then their rivalry and dislike had grown in equal proportions and each new encounter inevitably led to a violent altercation.

Everyone knew how matters stood between them. Aybo couldn’t be ignorant of their rivalry and hatred, which could only mean one thing: he was doing it on purpose. Ayre didn’t understand why Aybo would do such a thing to his own brother – why would he mate Ayzu to someone he clearly couldn’t stand? But then there was a reason why Aybo was often referred to as The Cold One – some even said that he didn’t have a heart and that was why he didn’t have any tender feelings towards his own father or brothers.

Aybo was the first dragon who was not conceived but magically created after a terrible disease had completely wiped out the entire female dragon population and there were persistent whispers that the magic formula used for his creation had been flawed. Looking at his brother’s cruel mouth and vicious eyes, Ayre didn’t doubt that it was so.

He was aware that he was no longer bound to the ground of the cave by Aybo’s horrible spell, but he remained kneeling as Ayzu raved and raged against Aybo’s decision. Ayzu was pacing back and forth, his arms in the air, yelling. Ayre had never seen Ayzu in such a state before.

“I refuse! I will not mate with him nor with anyone else! I will not help you ruin everything our father has built! I will – !”

“You will do as I say.” Aybo spoke slowly and clearly. “Unless, of course, you wish to have your wings clipped and your flesh stripped off every single scale that covers it. Don’t test me, Ayzu. If you dare to disobey me, don’t think that I won’t enjoy seeing you punished and humiliated – just because you are my brother.”

Ayzu came to an abrupt halt and stared at his eldest brother as though he had never seen him before. Ayre had a distinct impression that until that moment Ayzu hadn’t taken Aybo seriously. He obviously hadn’t realised how dangerous and deranged he had become. Or had he always been like that? Ayre had always kept his distance, knowing that Aybo loathed him and wishing to avoid antagonising him with his presence. But it seemed that even Ayzu – clear-sighted and perceptive – had been unaware of Aybo’s true character.

“That’s better,” said Aybo, indicating Ayzu’s frozen attitude. “I have chosen a perfect mate for you and with time you will see that. He is the future head  of his clan which happens to have the biggest garrison of highly-trained dragon warriors in the realm second only to that of our own. So when he comes, you will welcome him into our lands with open arms and you will make sure that he is happy here. Do not try to kill him with your glare or start a fight. This alliance is very important. Do you hear me?” 

Ayzu jerked his head down.

“Good.” Aybo smiled. “Now,” he said and his expression instantly changed when he looked at Ayre.

Ayzu followed his gaze and frowned. “He is too young to mate,” he said in a bleak manner that smelled strongly of resignation and defeat.

Ayre’s skin crawled under Aybo’s glare and his heart made a violent jolt when he realised that Ayzu wouldn’t really oppose his mating if that was what Aybo had in store for him as well. It appeared that the threat of being publicly clipped and scaled had broken his spirit of resistance. But would getting mated be so very bad? Ayre decided that he really wouldn’t mind having someone other than Aybo around now that Ayzu was getting a mate and starting a new life that wouldn’t include him. The thought that he was on the verge of losing his favourite brother who also happened to be his best friend, closest confidant and biggest supporter horrified him.

“It doesn’t matter,” replied Aybo. “I wouldn’t burden any clan with his presence.”

“Aybo,” said Ayzu with a shake of his head, “Ayre is your brother – ”

“ – a brother I didn’t ask for,” interrupted Aybo. “Everyone knows that our father decided to have him as a companion for you because he thought that the age gap between us was too big to overcome.” His voice was bitter and his eyes were filled with resentment he had been carrying around for years. “Get up, Nong Ayre!” he snapped. “You are no longer under my spell, so stop playing the martyr!”

Keeping his head down and his eyes fixed on the ground, Ayre stood up. Though why did he even bother? It was clear that as long as he was in Aybo’s line of sight, he would provoke his ire and showing respect or humility wouldn’t change anything. Aybo had spent years cultivating anger, jealousy, and hatred towards him and now that their father’s invisible wall of protection around Ayre had fallen it was all spilling out and filling the cave as though with poison. He was surprised that Aybo hadn’t lost his temper and incinerated him yet.

“In order to put my plan into action,” continued Aybo into the tense silence hanging over them, “I need to know as much as possible about the humans who live on the other side of the Mountain of One Hundred Corpses. We haven’t had any contact with them for centuries and it would be foolish to enter their kingdom without knowing precisely what they are about and what they are capable of. I’m sending Ayre down there to collect information about them and their military capabilities. What form of government do they have? What is the state of their warriors and weaponry? What system of fortifications do they use? Are there any hidden entrapments, tunnels or obstacles we should be aware of? Have they truly forgotten about our existence? Are they still using our caves to enrich themselves? I hope that Ayre will prove himself useful.”

Ayre looked wide-eyed at Aybo. It wasn’t happening… He was dreaming, right? Aybo wasn’t really sending him away… beyond the mountain… to spy on humans…

Ayzu cast him a worried look before turning his gaze back to Aybo. “Let me go in his stead,” he pleaded. “Ayre is too young to be sent on such a mission.”

“Not in human years, he is not,” replied Aybo dismissively. “He will do just fine. Maybe he will even enjoy being a human, seeing as how he is barely a dragon.”

“Aybo, that’s enough!”

Aybo laughed. “Yes, I agree. I have had quite enough of you two for one day. Go and make necessary preparations. P’Ayzu brush up on your knowledge of our courting customs and rituals. Nong Ayre, get ready for the journey. I expect you to leave within the next week.”

Ayre and Ayzu left the Silent Cave with their heads bowed and their hands behind their backs, both knowing that there was no arguing or reasoning with Aybo, especially once Khun Pring had draped himself around Aybo’s broad shoulders and started crooning softly in his ear.

Ayre was walking as though in a dream. He was only vaguely aware of his surroundings and didn’t hear Ayzu calling his name until Ayzu slapped the back of his head with his hand.

“Ow!”

“Get a grip, Ayre!” snapped Ayzu. “You are a dragon warrior – not a spineless worm, for fire’s sake!”

Ayre let out an unhappy snort but didn’t say anything. Today he had already been humiliated in all possible ways by Aybo and being compared to a spineless worm was almost a kindness.

“I don’t know anything about humans,” he said dejectedly. “How am I supposed to go and live among them? Spy on them!”

“I read about them when I was younger. I will bring you some of the scrolls I might still have lying around.”

The thought amused Ayre despite his dejection. He wasn’t really surprised to hear that. Ayzu was called The Curious One because he always wanted to know everything and when he wasn’t in the training arena, he usually spent his time in the Cavern of Many Scrolls, where their clan kept all their written records.

Ayre nodded. “Thank you, Phi.”

Ayzu ruffled his carefully arranged hair.

“Hey, you’re ruining it!” yelped Ayre, batting his hand away. He didn’t want to confess how much time he had spent on it or that he had used a mix of natural ingredients as well as a few spells to make it look the way it did and survive during flying and fighting in the training arena. He didn’t want to know what Ayzu would say.

Ayzu laughed. “Come on.”

As they walked along the many cavernous tunnels of their underground compound, Ayre furtively studied Ayzu’s face in the uneven shimmering light coming from lanthorn flies fluttering about, but he could find no signs of distress or even anger. Ayre wondered whether Ayzu had really accepted his fate or whether he was simply shielding him from the truth of how he actually felt.

He was about to ask him about it when they reached the common area with tunnels branching out in all directions like tentacles of a giant squid. Ayzu clapped Ayre cheerfully on the shoulder and dove into one of the tunnels, telling him that he would visit him later with the scrolls.

Ayre watched him disappear with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

EVEN DRAGONS DIE, chapter three

 

CHAPTER THREE

Ayre quickly glanced at Ayzu. His brother nodded and they both knelt on the strip of rice. Ayre was determined not to show how uncomfortable his knees felt. Aybo, naturally, took offence upon catching the sight of his stoic face, interpreting it in his own twisted way.

“Nong Ayre,” he snapped, “I would strongly advise you to control that arrogant facial expression of yours or I will change my mind about the leniency of your punishment. You should know that I was contemplating flogging you for your disgraceful conduct in the training arena. However, I’ve changed my mind – mainly because I need you intact.”

“What do you need him for?” asked Ayzu.

“Patience, Ayzu, patience,” chided Aybo.

Ayre couldn’t believe his ears. He was horrified that his brother had actually considered flogging as an appropriate punishment for him. Flogging was a humiliating punishment that was usually conducted in public and usually bestowed upon those dragons who had been caught doing something truly despicable. Ayre was sure that shedding a few tears over one’s dying father didn’t fall into that category.

As pain shot through his knees and struck his bones, Ayre tried to shift slightly to change his position, so that he could relieve the pressure on his burning kneecaps – only to realise that he couldn’t move an inch. His head shot upwards and he stared in horror at his eldest brother, a short aborted sound of distress escaping his lips before he could stop himself.

“Aybo, what have you done?” asked Ayzu wearily. Ayre didn’t know whether he had discovered that he couldn’t move either or whether he simply knew from his reaction that Aybo was to blame.

Aybo chuckled. “My dear brother,” he said as nastily as before, “a punishment wouldn’t be so memorable or wouldn’t be considered a proper punishment if you could make yourself comfortable during it. I simply put a spell on your knees to keep them glued to the floor of the cave until I’m done talking.”

Ayre was seething. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. Yet he knew better than to talk back: with Aybo’s cruel streak running unchecked it would only get him and Ayzu in more trouble and he didn’t want Ayzu to suffer even more because of him.

He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath, reaching deep within himself for a cool touch of calm. But just as he was about to breathe out, having envisioned himself submerged underwater, two short jets of fire burst from his nostrils, telling everyone exactly how furious he was. Ayre’s eyes snapped open, all colour draining from his face. He had never lost control like that before!

If the cave they were in had an echo it would be now ringing with Khun Pring’s mocking laughter. He was laughing so hard he rolled off the pillow he’d been reclining on and ended up sprawled on the floor. Ayre’s only consolation was that such a humiliating occurrence as losing control over one’s flame and its humiliating consequences numbed him to other painful sensations.

“Aybo, I was under the impression that you brought us here on a matter of some urgency,” said Ayzu in a dignified manner. He had spared a single disapproving glance at Ayre before sighing and shaking his head.

Ayre hung his head. 

“Yes, I did,” replied Aybo. “Yet our little brother’s display has been quite entertaining. I got distracted. You know,” he added as though he had just thought of something, “I sometimes wonder what would have happened if our father hadn’t put a stop to Ayre’s desire to become a dancer – ”

His words were interrupted by Khun Pring’s high-pitched giggle.

Ayre’s whole body began to shake. It was a gruesome and painful memory that had forever marred his relationship with his father. He never stopped loving or respecting him after what he had done, but something corrosive had settled in his heart that had never healed. It had been the only time that his father punished him but his punishment had been so severe that he couldn’t move without Ayzu’s help for weeks.

Ayre had always loved dancing, but in their society dancing – a sensual but lowly form of entertainment – wasn’t considered a proper pastime for a dragon prince. He was only ever allowed to dance during his own mating dance that looked more like a battle than a dance. When his father caught him in the act, his wrath was quick and terrible…

“Aybo!” hissed Ayzu.

Aybo dismissed his middle brother’s warning tone with a raised hand – then pointed a finger in the centre of Ayre’s bowed head.

“You see – even back then – I knew that he wasn’t good enough to be a dragon warrior.”

Ayzu tried to attract Aybo’s attention again but Aybo wasn’t done grinding Ayre into dust yet.

“Look at his hair,” he went on with a sneer. “Doesn’t your lot have to wear the same hairstyle?” he asked, pointing at Ayzu’s short dark hair closely cropped around his head so that it resembled a mushroom top. Ayre’s short dark hair, on the other hand, was streaked with reddish stripes and deliberately swept back as though he was flying through the wind with two rather fancy curls falling across his forehead.

“There is no rule that says so nor is there any particular hairstyle that we have to wear,” replied Ayzu calmly. “It is true that most dragon warriors wear the same hairstyle but that is nothing more than a habit. Ayre has broken no rules.”

Aybo snorted. “You are too soft with him. He has deliberately chosen to wear a different hairstyle just so that he could stand out among his fellow warriors.”

“Aybo,” said Ayzu, “did you really bring us here to talk about Ayre’s hairstyle?”

 “No,” replied Aybo; his brutish face had twisted into a grimace of distaste. “But his hairstyle is as offensive as the rest of him.”

Khun Pring got to his feet and placed his arms around Aybo’s shoulders before whispering something in his ear. The other two dragons couldn’t hear his words but they made Aybo burst out laughing. Pleased with himself, Khun Pring returned to reclining on his many pillows, enjoying his favourite fruits, while watching Ayre’s and Ayzu’s growing discomfort.

“There are two matters that I wish to discuss with you,” he finally said once he had stopped laughing. “First of all, Ayzu, I believe the time has come for you to get mated.”

“Mated?” spluttered Ayzu while Ayre mouthed the word as though he had never heard it before.

“I don’t know why you look so surprised, Ayzu. A lot of dragons choose to mate at your age. I don’t know why you keep dawdling.”

“I just don’t have anyone in mind.”

“Good,” replied Aybo. “I wouldn’t want to interfere with your plans.”

“My plans?” Ayzu frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’ve already chosen a perfect mate for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. All you have to do now is start preparing for the courtship process.”

“You have chosen a mate for me?” repeated Ayzu in disbelief. “Why would you do that?”

Aybo raised one thick eyebrow.

“It is my right to do so as the head of the clan.”

“You have chosen your own mate,” pointed out Ayzu. “Why should you choose one for me?”

“I have made an excellent choice once,” replied Aybo, making Khun Pring preen beside him like a peacock. “You can trust me to choose the right one for you as well.”

“I want to choose for myself,” said Ayzu firmly. “We mate for life and we live long. I don’t want to find myself mated to someone I might never like – or love.”

Aybo looked amused, which somehow made his face look even more brutish.

“Love?” he echoed mockingly. “That’s why I should be the one to choose a mate for you, Ayzu. You’re thinking like a human – I’m thinking like the future dragon lord. We need to form an alliance with the right clan – a powerful clan whose position and resources will help to reinforce our own standing.”

Ayre’s knees felt as though someone was poking them with a burning bamboo stick but he knew better than to interrupt his eldest brother’s speech. He couldn’t understand what he was getting at. Was something threatening their standing?

“What are you talking about?” asked Ayzu, sounding as bewildered as Ayre felt.

“I’m talking about the future of our realm,” replied Aybo. “Our father is dying. Even now the heads of other dragon clans are gathered around his rotting flesh, mourning his impending departure, recollecting his many victories and his greatest achievements.” Aybo snorted. “Naturally, none will admit that his greatest achievement is also his greatest failure.”

Ayre jerked his head upwards. Ayzu had gone rigid beside him.

“Yes, I’m talking about the so-called “era of peace” that our esteemed father established after the Great Cave Massacre.” His cold voice was filled with disdain. “Personally, I deeply despise his solution to go into hiding and to erase the memory of our existence from people’s minds and history.”

“How can you say that?” croaked Ayzu in disbelief. “Father preserved our race and ensured its continuing survival in a land of peace and harmony! He removed us from humans who only ever wanted our magic and treasure and made sure that they posed no threat to our existence!”

“He turned the greatest race on earth into cowards!” bellowed Aybo, jumping to his feet. “We live in obscurity and stagnation, cowering behind a magically constructed mountain that is, in fact, a mass graveyard of every single dragon who was slaughtered during the massacre, while humans continue to live and prosper on the other side, pilfering our caves and stealing our treasure!”

“You don’t know that,” said Ayzu quietly, shaking his head. 

“I know enough about humans to know what they are capable of!”

“Aybo, what is it exactly that you are planning?” asked Ayzu cautiously.

Ayre could feel a strong wave of fear coming from him, which both stunned him and told him that Ayzu already knew the answer to his question but needed Aybo to confirm his worst suspicions.

“I intend to put a stop to our pitiful existence,” declared Aybo, taking his seat once again and letting Khun Pring’s touch on his hand restore his composure. “I am going to remind humans whose bounty they have been living upon all these centuries. I will make them pay for every drop of dragon blood they have ever spilled and every gemstone they have ever stolen.”

Ayre was horrified.

“In other words, you mean to ruin everything that our father has created,” concluded Ayzu with a heavy sigh. “Do you care for anything other than your coffers?”

“Watch your mouth!” snapped Aybo. “I am not the only one among our people who believes that our father should have destroyed every single human responsible for the massacre! Now we finally have the chance to set things right.”

Ayzu pointed his chin in the direction of Khun Pring’s golden-attired form. “I see that even your mate’s great wealth hasn’t been enough to satisfy you.”

Aybo clucked his tongue. “You are mistaken if you think that this is about my desire to live like a dragon lord is supposed to live. It is about our heritage and justice. We will take back what is ours – we will rip it out of humans’ dead hands like they once ripped out our hearts from our frozen chests – and your future mate’s superior military prowess and highly-trained dragon warriors will help us to do that.”

Aybo paused. In the silence that didn’t promise anything good, Ayre’s heart began to beat fast in his chest. He tried to guess which clan his brother was talking about, but more than half of their clans trained dragon warriors, so it was impossible to tell.

He glanced sideways at Ayzu and noticed a muscle jumping in his jaw. Ayre wondered if he had figured it out. From what he could tell, Ayzu looked livid. Then something clicked in Ayre’s brain and his eyes widened. There was only one dragon warrior who could make Ayzu lose his cool.

Ayre looked back at his eldest brother.

Aybo’s thick lips spread into a malicious grin.

“Your mate will be arriving shortly,” he said. “Ah, yes, you probably want to know his name. Ayzu, I believe you remember P’Forge?”

Ayre gasped – but no one heard him.

Ayzu’s roar had filled the cave while the force of his fury destroyed Aybo’s spell.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO