Echoes Of A Gloried Past (Book 2) (35 page)

“The one in front of us is the same dragon that came to my aid in the arena,” Aaron said. “It knows I’m Ferasdiam Marked.”

“Sir,” Tanneth said, and Gavril turned to the front. “We’re reaching the limits of the Flyer's ability for atmospheric flight. We cannot go much faster, but I believe they could.” The blonde Hythariam said gesturing in front of them. “I think they are testing our abilities.”

Gavril nodded. "Stay on course, Tanneth.” The Hythariam colonel looked back to Aaron. “I’ll be honest, we’ve never encountered these Eldarin before. Not even during the time of Daverim or Reymius.”

“They told me their numbers are few and that there are things we need to know. They helped me against the Elitesmen. I think we should see what they want,” Aaron said.

Both of the Eldarin flew ahead of their ship, momentarily disappearing over a mountain peak. The Hythariam flier quickly closed the distance and as they crested the peaks they were all shocked into silence. Nestled amid the mountains was a valley seemingly carved from the mountains themselves. The surface was flat, but as they got closer they could see the smooth stonework and columns circling the great valley. The Eldarin landed near the center, and Tanneth circled over. The ground was adorned with dragon emblems mostly faded with the passage of time. There were several archways large enough for the Eldarin to easily pass throughout the valley. 

Aaron didn’t see any roads or trails leading to the valley. “You can only reach this place by climbing the mountain or flying in. I don’t see how people would be climbing here unless they already knew of the place.”

“Taking us in,” Tanneth said, navigating the Hythariam Flyer to land before the two Eldarin.

Aaron was first to step out of the craft and was awestruck by the sheer size of the Eldarin. With the rune-carved staff in hand, he briskly walked out in front of the Hythariam ship and was quickly joined by the others. The Eldarin sat back upon their haunches, lifting their heads to a height equivalent of a four story building. The vibrant intensity of their gaze made Aaron feel stripped bare, as if there was nothing he could hide from them even if he wanted to. A low rumbling sound echoed throughout the valley. Verona, Sarik, and Braden could be heard muttering a prayer to the Goddess. Aaron took a purposeful step forward, but inclined his head respectfully.

“Thank you for joining us, Ferasdiam Marked. Normally we would only commune with one who is marked by fate, but we will let our voice be heard by those who travel with you.”
The Eldarin said in unison.

Aaron turned to the others, who nodded back to him that they had understood.

“Thank you for helping me before,” Aaron said. “To be honest, I didn’t know I was calling anyone.”

The two dragon lords eyed each other, appearing to communicate without speaking at all. Then they turned their gaze upon him, sweeping him in a torrent of energy.

“We have heard of you through the passing of one of our children. You were there at the moment of his transcendence.”
The Eldarin said.
“You feel the lifebeat and know of the wrongness of the fallen ones.”

Aaron swallowed, absorbing the unspoken words, taking in the Eldarin’s juxtaposed voices inside his head.

“The fallen ones?” Aaron asked.

One of the Eldarin tilted his head to the side and an image of a Ryakul sprang before them. The black skin stretched over bat-like wings with its saber tusked maw opening like an enormous cave. The armored tail ended in a spike. Aaron felt the blood course through his veins and his chest fill as if his heart would burst. His teeth clamped down and he felt himself become rigid. The Ryakuls were the enemy.

“You see. You sense the wrongness of the fallen ones.”

Aaron steeled his emotions while he searched for the meaning of what the Eldarin were trying to convey to him.

“The Ryakuls attack dragons,” Aaron said. “They are the enemy. They serve the Drake.”

“No, Ferasdiam Marked,”
the Eldarin said.
“The fallen ones are also our children. Their songs grow dark as they descend into madness.”

“Your … children,” Aaron gasped. His mind reeled, trying to force the pieces together, and at the same time refused to believe. The Ryakuls were once dragons. “How have your children fallen?”

The Eldarin’s powerful gaze shifted behind him to settle upon the Hythariam. Gavril, Roselyn, and Tanneth’s golden eyes widened in shock.

Gavril stepped forward. "With respect. We have not caused any of your kind to fall.”

The Eldarin shifted their gazes to Aaron.
“One of their kind spreads a sickness that changes what was once beautiful and vibrant to something hideous. They are the fallen.”

Aaron turned to Gavril. "The Drake is of Hytharia. Who is to say that this is not something it could have done?”

Gavril’s eyes grew distant as he considered and then shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

“The Ryakuls attack us on sight,” Aaron said, turning back to the Eldarin. “The only way for us to stop them is to kill them, but if you know of a way that we could help them instead, then perhaps there is something that we can do to help you.”

The Eldarin regarded each other for a few long moments before turning back to them.

“We know of no way to help the fallen ones. We seek to protect the what is left of our children. They would answer the call of the Ferasdiam Marked and engage the fallen ones to their doom.”

Aaron looked around him as he finally understood. The Eldarin were concerned with the preservation of the dragons. Their children. That he would call them into battle with the Ryakul and … He turned back to the others.

“We’ve always wondered where the Ryakuls came from and why their numbers had grown,” Aaron said. “The Ryakuls are fallen dragons. Roselyn, do you know of any sickness that could cause something like this? I don’t think this is the work of the Nanites.”

“Why not?” Verona asked. “I’m not disagreeing, but I’m not sure why it couldn’t be Nanites.”

Some of the others nodded, save for Roselyn, who returned his gaze evenly.

“It doesn’t fit with the timeline,” Aaron pressed. “The presence of the Ryakuls predate the Drake by over fifty years. Do you remember Vaughn talking about the Ryakul Incursion and how they were driven back in Shandara. My bet is that there were no recorded instances of the Ryakuls prior to the portal being opened between Safanar and Hytharia. Something is changing the dragons, turning them into the Ryakuls. The two are ferocious enemies, but perhaps we’ve got it wrong.” Aaron glanced at the Eldarin and then back at his companions. "The dragons have been fighting and losing a war for their very survival right under our noses.”

“It could be anything,” Gavril whispered, looking visibly shaken, his eyes darting back and forth. “Near the end we weren’t able to follow decontamination protocols. Something could have gotten through. Some type of sickness … ”

Aaron shook his head. "I’m not blaming you. But we need to find a way to help the dragons if we can.”

“I don’t know of anything off the top of my head that could cause this,” Roselyn said. “I would need to return to Hathenwood and search through our repositories of knowledge. Maybe … ” her voice cut off as she stifled a cry and looked up, addressing the Eldarin. "I will try to find a way to help your species. I swear it.”

Aaron turned back to the Eldarin, feeling his throat tighten. "I’m so sorry.”

Each of the dragon lords lowered their heads in acknowledgement.

“We of the Eldarin will always heed the call of the Ferasdiam Marked. You are the champion of the Safanarion Realm. Do not forget your purpose.”

The dragon lords launched into the air with grace and majesty, seeming to float up beyond the push of their wings. The wind rushed passed Aaron’s face, blowing his dark hair back and the Eldarin disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

“We caused this,” Roselyn gasped, looking at Gavril, whose eyes were downcast in shame. “Perhaps it should have been our fate to die on Hytharia.”

“No,” Verona said firmly, before Aaron could say the same. “This is not your fault,” Verona said gently coming before Roselyn. “You saw a way to survive, my Lady, to live and your people took it. Would any of us have done differently?" he said, lifting her chin slightly so she would look him in the eyes.

“You couldn’t have known this would happen,” Aaron said.

Gavril looked up and the old soldier’s golden eyes drew down in shame. "I fear this is as bad as it seems,” he said softly, drawing all their attention. “On Hytharia there was such a beast that could spread a sickness through its bite. Most victims would die of the poison, but some did not. They changed … Mutated into a hybrid of the original host and the victim. These beasts were hunted to extinction on Hytharia, however the venom was preserved. This was long before I was born, before we knew our planet was in danger. I first came across the venom during my time in the military. There was a secret special corps established for the enhancement of our soldiers. The program had been long shut down, as with the invention of the Nanites the venom was no longer required. We could enhance our soldiers without turning them into beasts.”

 “Who would have known about the venom? Iranus or any of the other scientists?” Aaron asked.

“Not a chance. They were just scientists and not associated with weapons research,” Gavril replied. “This was strictly military and only the most senior of the military would have access to this knowledge.”

“You think this was a weapon,” Aaron said. “But how?”

Gavril sighed and took a long haunted glance at the sky. "Before the barrier went up there was fighting here on Safanar. General Halcylon did get some troops across before the barrier closed completely. Perhaps one of them brought it across, or was enhanced with the venom.”

Aaron frowned, trying to remember what he saw when he looked through the barrier in Shandara that linked Safanar to Hytharia. The land was desolate, but there was something massive on the other side. A heavily muscled creature with wild yellow eyes beating its claws against the barrier. He blinked away the memory and looked at Gavril in horror who nodded back grimly.

“You were there when the barrier first went up,” Aaron said. “Were there dragons at this battle?”

Gavril looked to be swallowing something vile back down his throat and nodded slowly.

“We didn’t realize … ” Gavril said.

“That's right you didn’t,” Aaron said. “But now you know, so now we can do something about it. We must find a way to help the dragons.”

“You don’t understand Aaron,” Gavril said. “There is no cure for this. The change, once infected, is permanent. The only way is to exterminate all of the Ryakul on Safanar.”

Roselyn pulled away from Verona. "It is not enough that we doomed our home world, but look at what we’ve done to yours,” she said and ran off away from the others.

Aaron looked at Tanneth who quietly shrugged his shoulders. "I was born here. Safanar is the only home I’ve ever known.”

Aaron nodded and watched as Verona slowly closed the distance between himself and Roselyn. When he caught up to her he simply stood to the side not saying anything for a few moments, and then slowly reached for her. Roselyn turned and buried her head in Verona’s shoulder. 

“She was a little girl when she came through the portal to this world,” Gavril said. “I’m not sure what she remembers of Hytharia, but she is a healer at heart. Knowing that something we made could cause this … ”

A searing pain burned across Aaron’s chest, dropping him to his knees. He could hear Gavril call out to the others, but it all sounded muffled. The skin on his chest felt like it was being torn open, causing him to cry out. Aaron gasped for breath and pulled down his shirt, but his skin was untouched. The pain lanced across the dragon tattoo as if something was pulling his heart out of his chest.

Oh, Sarah … 

He focused himself calling the bladesong in his mind, and his perceptions sharpened. The lifebeat of the others pulsed around him with glistening clarity, but coming from his chest leading away was the translucent line of energy, that had been there since he had healed Sarah’s mortal wounds at the hands of her brother Primus.

The pain came again and the line blared red for a moment before turning back to normal. He had to find her now before it was too late.

Aaron drew away from his physical body and heard Verona’s voice as if from a great distance telling the others to wait. He hadn’t followed his connection to Sarah this far for fear of causing her more pain, but he had to risk it. He needed to find her. Time was running out.

The land and the sky streaked by as he followed the connection, heading east from where they were. He crested over a mountain peak to a valley crawling with Ryakul, as if the ground below were in constant motion, stopping him in his tracks. Below him was a dark sea of black-winged spawn of what were once majestic dragons. The Ryakuls were much smaller than the Eldarin, but what they couldn’t account for in size, they more than made up for in numbers. All was strangely quiet as in this form he couldn’t hear anything, but he could imagine the snarling Ryakuls as they shifted their positions. The Ryakuls appeared extremely agitated and frequently snapped at anything close by including others of their kind.

A large figure stood upon a plateau amid the Ryakuls. The Drake stood poised, surveying the area with one of its arms abruptly ending in a stump from where his swords had severed the hand that held Sarah at its mercy. Even from this distance the smoldering yellow eyes appeared as liquid steel and the black armor held a purplish hue in the sunlight. The Drake’s pale alien face gazed up to the sky and despite what Iranus had told him, Aaron was having difficulty believing that the creature had once been his grandmother.

Several of the Ryakuls began to claw and bite at each other snatching the Drake’s attention. The Drake brought up its arm and a small display appeared. The effect on the Ryakuls was immediate as they fell writhing in pain and bowed their heads submissively. On a lower plateau, a dark figure curled into a ball with a lone Ryakul standing watch. Aaron closed the distance to Sarah and hovered over her. Her pale skin held black splotches where it was exposed to the cold mountain air. Her arms were clutched around her middle and her eyes were shut tight. He dared not go any closer lest he lose all control and reach out.