THE DRAGONS OF JINTESSA were swift and strong, but the distance was so immense, that the journey still took a solid two weeks of flying. Thus, the first daughter of Bastion arrived on the fourteenth on the back of an emerald-eyed dragon named Beryl. The dragon-induced sleep had slowed Shikara’s bodily processes for the long trip. Soft snores issued from the sleeping girl as they circled the cliff that was their destiny.
The deep sleep was required for those travelling across the expanse. Time moved differently between the two lands. One year in Jintessa was the equivalent of twenty years in Gaia, and the crossing had aged Shikara considerably. While she was still young, instead of the child he had rescued, the Dragonmerger now carried a young woman. She would never be tall, though.
Beryl was grey scaled with iridescent green eyes and wing tips. Although she was long limbed, she was considered small for a dragon. Her wings were a point of pride for her, slim and slender with the tapered shape of a kingfisher and as swift at diving. When in flight, the green of her naming was most evident. The underside of her wings cast a shimmering emerald reflection on the waters when gliding above the surface. Beryl’s Djinn was a young man named Chryso, known amongst the Djinn for his daring and cunning.
Chryso, perched on Beryl’s back, hugged the young woman to his chest, fiercely protective of his precious cargo. His duty as a Dragonmerger was to protect Shikara with his life if he must, as he had Marion. He could feel the bond with Marion still, but soon he would be rebonded to Shikara as his triad merger. Marion would break the bond as planned when it was time.
As Beryl set down on the level opening to the Cave of the Prefects, Chryso slid from her back with a lightness that did not disturb his sleeping passenger. He collected her in his arms, protective of his charge.
“Where do you want me to put her?” he asked his voice gruff.
“This way. A room has been prepared.” The Djinn servant bowed low and then led the way into the cave, which was large enough for the dragons to enter. Beryl followed Chryso through the cavernous opening into an even larger space, the main antechamber. To the left were the roosts for the dragons, stacked twenty stories tall, where they could relax while their Djinn went about their tasks. The ceiling disappeared into the gloom above and it was just possible to see it, if one squinted.
I will be back shortly, said Chryso to Beryl through their telepathic link, a gift of the bond. Beryl lumbered off in search of food and a cozy cave to relax and sleep in after the long flight.
Chryso followed the servant into the right, toward the barracks that had not been used in a thousand years. Once, the barracks had overflowed with students, trainees, each hoping to be found worthy and capable of being bonded to a dragon. For centuries, the chambers had sat empty except for a very small corner that was maintained for the current miniscule crop of Djinn bonded every year. The caretakers were born to the caves and lived their entire lives there, caring for the catacombs and maintaining the ancient structures for the time when they might be called back into service. It appeared the time had arrived.
The servant was a crouched Djinn, white-haired and knobby-kneed. He carried a lantern that shed a weak light on the path ahead, and Chryso hurried to keep close.
“Why have you not lit the floor lighting? Surely a dragon is nearby?” he asked as he stumbled.
“No, Dragonmerger, you are the first to appear. Perhaps you can lend the aid of your dragon to light the passages? It would do us good to have the floor lighting active once more.”
“Consider it done as soon as we have this youngling safe and sound in her chambers.” He shifted Kara onto his shoulder, and she stirred, her thumb coming up into her mouth. “She is such a small sprite. She will be shocked to see how much she has grown up during the trip here.”
“Aye, we must take care of them. This is the door, ’Merger.” The servant pushed open the heavy door and lit a wall lamp as he entered. The lantern light pushed back the shadows revealing a comfortable room with a single bed, a desk and chair, a wardrobe carved with scenes of dragons, and a wooden screen that opened onto a balcony overlooking the main dragon compound. A braided rug warmed the floor, and a pair of crossed swords was mounted in a bracket on the wall. Across the way, the dragon’s roosts were clearly visible although only one was currently occupied by a green-eyed dragon named Beryl.
Gently, Chryso lowered Kara onto the cot and tucked her under the blanket, setting a copper bell with a long wooden handle beside her on the night stand should she wake. Quietly, they left the chamber and the girl to her slumbers.
Chryso followed the retreating back of the servant back to the main dragon chamber, retrieving his own lantern and lighting it before parting company. He took the spiraling staircase that twisted up from the stone floor and rose to the ceiling past the various levels of the dragon rookery. The ground level was reserved for injured dragons, a hospital of sorts for those who needed to mend and heal before flying to other chambers. Thus, most healthy dragons took caves on the fifth level and above. Chryso climbed until he accessed the eighth level where Beryl had claimed her spot. An orange glow announced her presence, but even without that indicator, he would have known where she was as they were sharing a consciousness.
He entered the compound, and his image shimmered, his body changing into the shape of a dragon, petite in size.
Beryl lifted her head from where she had been cleaning a claw and snorted an amused laugh. Why do you persist on taking the form of a dragon hatchling? Do you think it will please me, little Djinn?
“Not at all,” said Chryso. “I enjoy seeing the world from your eyes, even if it is as a tiny dragon.”
I think you like to show off, as all Djinn do. How is the girl?
“Resting, she should sleep for a few more hours yet.”
I can feel her presence. Already we are bonding. She dreams of me, thought Beryl, her head swiveling in the direction of Kara’s chambers. She is strong and will only grow stronger.
“Then we will make an amazing team, maybe the best pairing of all.”
Beryl chuckled again. Already you vie for supremacy. I must admit, I am glad to see the training facility reopened after so long. Too long we sat idle. Were it not for the current crisis, we would still be ignoring our greatest strength. She stretched out her foot and her green claws extended, scales shifting and flashing in the low light. What is it you need? You did not climb all this way to bring me blankets. One emerald eye blinked at the tiny dragon.
Chryso shifted back to a human form and grinned. “I need you to prime the floor lighting. The lava levels are low and need an infusion of flame.”
More work. Always more work. I will do it for the girl. She blinked at him, owlishly. Then I am going to rest, if you don’t mind. Beryl pushed to her legs and walked to the edge of the opening then tipped off the side and glided down to the floor. She ambled over to a hole in the far end of the wall, just large enough to fit her nose into. She took a deep breath, let the heat build then shoved her snout into the opening and belched a long gout of flame that heated the rock around her nose.
At the far end of the vent, a thin vein of lava brightened, absorbing the heat and melting the crust that had formed. Lava flowed from the rupture, tumbling and falling, to fill the cavity and then a constant stream began to flow. Bits of char crumbled and fell into the liquid flame and vanished. It raced away down channels of obsidian, the lava spreading out under the cavern floor and down the passages, casting light up into the passages and warming the floor. The crystal tiled floor brightened and glowed from within, lighting the floor. Crystal sconces flared to life as the lava touched the veins that fed to their location.
Beryl gave another blast, just to be sure, and then flapped her wings to fly back up to her rook. Now, little Djinn, I am going to rest, she said as she re-entered the cave. She circled on the spot several times, like a dog finding the best place to sleep, and settled into place.
“Excellent idea,” said Chryso, and he curled up against her belly and slept.