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“Baine, Helina and Haitarus will come with us,” Ramonda said. “I had also hoped that perhaps my husband Dramasdus and my son Erasaeil might be able to join us but they have not yet returned from their explorations of the lands to the west. And my daughter Elleiras, as far as I know, has gone off to join them.”
“So there are more lands out there,” Shaala said.
“Of course,” Ramonda said. “Many. I would hate to break any illusions you may have, but even when taken altogether, the Greater Realms form just a small part of the world.”
“I’d like to see some of these lands one day,” Shaala said.
Ramonda smiled. “Perhaps one day, you shall.”
Shaala returned the smile. “It would be something.” Then she hesitated. “I wonder if perhaps we could persuade a few dragonets to come to the Greater Realms with us.”
Ramonda shrugged. “I imagine we could. I know a few of them already want to come anyway. They are, after all, naturally inquisitive things. However, Baine’s worried they’re not strong enough to make the flight.”
“They’re not that little,” Shaala pointed out. “They’re two yards long.” However, she could certainly understand why people might think they were little. She’d mistaken them for smaller creatures than they were really were when she had first seen them.
“That’s true,” Ramonda said. “But I think Baine’s just worried that if ‘little dragonets’ can fly all the way there, they’ll undermine the impressiveness of the feat he and the others are about to accomplish. You have to understand that he’s a very proud dragon.”
“Was he around before you set off for the Greater Realms the first time?” Shaala asked.
“Baine?” Ramonda asked. “No. He and Helina are only around four or five hundred years old.”
Shaala rolled her eyes in feigned shock. “Why, they’re practically babies.”
Ramonda laughed. “Indeed.”
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The next day on I’estre was their last. Knowing the distance that they had to travel, they all woke well before sunrise. Then after breakfast, Ramonda, Baine, Helina and Haitarus changed into their dragon forms on the slope of the plateau and everyone climbed onto their backs.
Fifteen dragonets accompanied them as they set off in the dark, gliding down from the plateau and over the sea. Two hours after they had set out, they saw the first rays of sunlight on the horizon and it cheered the travelers; they’d been saddened to leave I’estre so shortly after they had reached it and they needed something to lift their spirits.
The dragons flew close to the water, with Baine and Helina occasionally skimming across the surface as they went. As the sun rose higher in the sky, Shaala and the others didn’t notice how much time was passing and before they knew it, the sun was right above them. Every now and then, they came across small islands and when they did, the dragons stopped so their passengers could have some short rests and even shorter meals.
Then after a little while, the travelers realized that altogether, they’d been flying for eight hours. Ramonda then guessed that after just another two, they would be in Saharei. It was tiring but it was faster than sailing.
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Lorial watched Derin and Talon playing with the children out in the sun with a little concern. They were going to be burnt to a crisp if they weren’t careful.
“Should that lot be out of the shade right now?” Gandon asked her, sitting down beside her on the wooden balcony.
“I was just asking myself the same thing,” Lorial said. She smiled at Gandon’s wife as she joined them as well. “Hello, Akinyi.”
“Hello, Lorial.” She had brought over a wooden bowl with some pieces of dried flat bread. “Would you two like some?”
“Sure,” Lorial and Gandon replied more or less at the same time.
Akinyi smiled as they each took some. “So, has there been any news yet?”
Lorial nodded as she finished chewing a little bit of the bread. “Well, according to Morgiana, Karn and Shaala may be back today or tomorrow... with four dragons.”
“It’s a pity they couldn’t have brought back every dragon on the island,” Akinyi murmured. “But still, it’s amazing these dragons would come at all.”
“Yes,” Lorial agreed. She then noticed an attractive woman walking over to Derin and Talon, and she smiled as she recognized her. Natooka Tasutiki, Gandon’s younger sister. She was one of the most beautiful women Lorial had ever met and looked every bit as breathtaking now at the age of forty as she had when she’d been nineteen, back when she and Keld had first met her. Keld had told her that Gandon’s sister would break hearts and Lorial was fairly certain that over the years, she had.
The memory of that meeting was still a sweet one for Lorial, even if the way it reminded her of Keld had made it somewhat bitter as well. Natooka had been quite taken with Keld but he was at that point already making plans with Kaolin. And, besides, she’d been far too young for him anyway.
“What are you smiling about?” Gandon asked her, intruding on her thoughts.
“Your sister,” Lorial replied, nodding to Natooka. “I was just thinking about her and Keld and the romance that never was.”
“I remember,” Gandon said, but he didn’t smile.
Then Lorial saw tears in his eyes. A year ago, if she had reminded him of that, he would have joked that Natooka was far too good for the likes of Keld. But not today.
Lorial squeezed his hand. “We’ll bring him back, Gandon.”
“Well,” Akinyi said, trying to lift their spirits. “Thank goodness that Natooka’s had the sense to tell Derin and Talon to get those children out of the sun. I can’t see what good Kelahil will be to Arahir if the Khalahi sun burns his skin off.”
“What an attractive image,” Gandon told her.
Akinyi shrugged. “That’s what it does.”
“By the way,” Lorial asked, “has Natooka found someone closer to her own age yet?”
“Not yet,” Gandon told her. “She’s a bit of a free spirit these days... and she’s one of Khalahi’s best scouts and trackers. If you want to go south for any reason, there’s no one better to have around to help you steer clear of the lion prides.”
Lorial shuddered. “Scary.”
Gandon smiled. “Well, not if you have a big strong man of Khalahi at your side.”
“Yes,” Akinyi nodded, taking a small mouthful of the dried bread. “You can take this idiot with you and get him out of my hair.”
Gandon laughed. “I love you,” he told her.
“I love you too,” Akinyi replied without changing the tone of her voice or looking back at him.
Lorial smiled at their exchange. She had always thought they were an adorable couple.
Then, there was a loud cry from one of the children. Zecelia, Lorial realized much to her total lack of surprise.
“Dragons! Dragons!”
Lorial looked to the western sky and there, sure enough, were dragons – four of them to be precise – coming towards them.
“Well,” she said to Gandon and Akinyi. “I guess the others will be rushing out to greet our guests. We’d better get down there.”
“And Natooka had just got your husband and your brother out of the sun,” Akinyi sighed, shaking her head.
They hurried to watch as the dragons came down to the ground. Virtually everyone in the city was waiting out in the open. They saw King Nabahar, Tal, and Morgiana, while Natooka was a short distance away with Derin and Talon. Ishtvan was also there with them as well, while predictably, Zecelia and Kelahil were pushing to get to the front of the gathered crowd.
The dragons were truly magnificent – two gold and two bronze beings with their great wings spread out majestically. And all around them, there appeared to be a number of much smaller silver dragons. Lorial wondered what they were. They were very cute.
Then the dragons alighted on the dry grass. The little silver dainties that had come with them kept to the air however, whirring around and making happy noises. The dragons’ passengers climbed off and people rushed forward to help them steady themselves. Others brought out flasks of water because they knew they would be thirsty.
Then while all this was happening, the dragons seemed to disappear. It all happened too quickly for the crowd to really understand what they had seen but the dragons were gone and in their place were four naked people, two women and two men. All of them with beautiful bronze skin and a healthy glow that one couldn’t help but find attractive.
The people of Saharei offered the dragons water and other things, which they gratefully accepted. Then Shaala introduced the dragons to King Nabahar, Tal and Morgiana.
Lorial nudged Gandon and Akinyi and they moved their way through the crowd so they could hear what was going on as well.
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“We cannot thank you enough for coming to our aid,” Tal told their guests as he and his companions dined with them in Nabahar’s hall.
“It’s as I say,” Ramonda told him. “On I’estre, we help others when they are in need. And right now, your people need our help.” She paused. “And this red queen of the north, this Savenya... She and her companions cannot be allowed to take away the things that your people have fought so long for.”
“I’m glad we feel the same way,” Tal said. “However, there’ll be difficulties.”
“Most certainly,” Ramonda agreed. “We shall have to consider how to deal with Savenya and her companions without endangering the people she holds to ransom. Karn and Shaala told me something of what’s going on in the Greater Realms but we will consider every detail before we prepare a plan for dealing with the situation. However, these are not all the difficulties you had in mind, are they? You refer of course to our ability to fight these dragons at all.”
At her side, Baine stirred. “We can fight these dragons.”
Ramonda smiled at him. “Tal does not doubt your strength, Baine, nor your skill. Nor does he doubt any of us. However, these dragons from Drach’nsvoiya are accustomed to fighting and we are not. When you snatch a goat from the side of the mountain, does it attempt to tear you limb from limb?”
Baine shrugged. “Some of them make a spirited attempt at it, but I take your point.”
“We will all need training,” Ramonda said. “Myself included.” She looked at Karn and Shaala. “You two brought down the lord of Drach’nsvoiya. You, Shaala, forged the weapons that were enhanced through the gift to enable them to pierce a dragon’s hide. And you, Karn, shot the arrow that pierced Dominicon’s eye. You two may well have a part to play in the final plan once we have decided what it’ll be.”
“I wonder if there’ll be anything for us to do,” Tal said, referring to himself and Morgiana.
Ramonda smiled at him but with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “From what I’ve heard, it may be that you have both played your part in the affairs of the Greater Realms. There comes a time when one must step aside and let others continue their work.”
Tal nodded. “I think I’ve known this for a while now. It just isn’t an easy thing to do.”
“No,” Ramonda agreed. “But that’s what has to happen.”
Morgiana squeezed Tal’s hand. This moment had been a long time coming, she knew, and Ramonda was right. It was time to step aside... for Ramonda and her companions, for Karn and Shaala, and for the people of the Greater Realms.
“In the meantime,” Ramonda said, glancing at the other dragons by his side, “it’s been a very long day for us so my friends and I need rest.”
“Of course,” King Nabahar said, rising to his feet to arrange accommodation for his guests.
“And tomorrow,” Ramonda said. “We will begin training.”