* * * * * * * * *
Marteen wondered why the yellow dragon was suddenly shielding so tightly against his contact. Had he, inadvertently, said or done something to upset Dani? He withdrew his hand and let it lie in his lap, staring out at the camp fires.
“Are you in trouble for rescuing me?” He had to know.
“No.”
“Could you be?”
“No, not for rescuing you from the hill, but maybe for abducting you afterwards.”
There was a slight tone of humour in the tired voice. Abducting him. Marteen had not considered it an abduction, but he supposed it could be looked at that way.
“Why did you?”
There was a long silence and Marteen wondered if the dragon was asleep, or just ignoring the question. It was apparently the latter, as the next time Dani spoke, it was with a question of his own.
“The man that brought you the clothing and food today. What did he say to you?”
Briefly Marteen outlined the entire meeting, including what he had told the man about his past. Again there was a long silence, then Dani sighed, lifted his head and pulled himself up a bit, drawing his legs and elbows beneath him.
“Marteen…” The dragon hesitated, looked at him, then looked away again. “What do you know about dragon partnerships.”
“Nothing, really. Before this I did not even know that there was such a thing. We were taught at the Academy that all dragons were animals.”
Dani sighed again, a big huff. “I will have to explain to you then, very briefly. Dragons are not only intelligent, but we also have careers, hopes, dreams, anything else our fellow Onla, the humans, have. We only differ biologically. About half of the dragons of Onlashia are partnered with humans. Such a partnership can be for convenience, to perform a specific task, or to get ahead in one’s career. But other partnerships are more lasting. We call those partnerships bonds. There are three different kinds of bonds. The friendship bond, which is when a pair, human and dragon, work together for a long period and become so used to each other, that they formalise that bond. Then there is the life bond. That is an instinctive bonding that goes deeper than just friendship. It is a sharing of minds – a sharing of thoughts and emotions that cannot be broken by either partner. It is for life. Then there is the last one. A soulbond. Those are rare. The two partners are born already bonded.”
Marteen waited for Dani to carry on, but the dragon fell silent again.
“And do you have a partner?”
“No. I am fehrarkon. Unpartnered. But I do not need to remain so.”
“Oh.” Marteen did not know what to say. It was as if the dragon expected something from him, but what? “Why are you telling me this?”
Again there was an uncomfortable silence before Dani spoke again. “Because… tomorrow we will go to Lowrin. I have asked for our Aghtiro, the head of my Cavern… what others call clan, to consider giving you refuge. Now if you go with me, and apply for it, you will find he is a kind man. But it will cause problems. He will have to go before the Elders and Military Leaders of our country to petition for it. He will have to make a pretty good case as to why he wants to take an enemy soldier into his Cavern.”
“Oh.” Marteen felt flabbergasted. He had had no idea that the dragon had been trying to save his skin to that extent. Why? “Why? Why would you do that much for me?”
In the dark the dragon swung his head towards the man, and pinned him with an intense, glowing green gaze. “If I knew, I would have told you. I think…”
Marteen could not look away from that gaze, staring at the dragon’s eyes as if hypnotized. What had the man said earlier in the day, before he had left?
“Daidokt!” The word that slipped over the dragon’s tongue was obviously an expletive. Dani blinked and turned his head away again, leaving Marteen feeling slightly disorientated.
“What is my alternative?” It was hard to think clearly.
“There is that which I have mentioned. There is also the option of me helping you to get beyond the guards, to the closest village on the Essian side, and you can try to make your way home.”
“No.” Marteen hesitated, then sighed. “Yes, I wish with all my heart I could go to the true home of my childhood, but it’s not possible. I would not make it alive. Not even if I had no injuries, and was as strong as a horse. Cistorri is landlocked. The only way in or out is through the lands of the Empire.”
“You could try to make your way into Valtern, and find work there, but if someone recognises you for an Imperial soldier, you would be caught as a spy.”
“And your people would not assume I am one?”
In the moonlight the teeth glinted as the dragon pulled his lip up in a smile. “You have already been tested. You were not even aware of it.”
“How?”
“The young man who visited you today. I will not tell you how. Later, if you are still with me, you will find out for yourself. If not, then it is better you do not know.”
For a long time silence hung between them, as both studied the camp below, each busy with his own thoughts. Marteen’s thoughts tended to go in a circle, bringing him right back to where he was.
“And those are my choices.” He made it a statement, not a question.
“There is one more option, and another, which is only a remote possibility.”
“What are they?”
“That you go into a willing, formal fehrarhalsh partnership with me. An agreement for the two of us to work together, for a fixed period of time. That would mean that you will have to be accepted in the Onlashian military. It would take some intense. negotiation from my Aghtiro’s side, but if you agree to be interrogated, and then to swear an oath of fealty to the Onla, it could be done.”
“And the possibility?”
Dani took his time before he replied, and his voice sounded uncertain for the first time since Marteen had become aware of his presence. “If we life bonded, which is something that may, or may not work, you automatically become part of The Onla, no matter what your origin or history.”
It was Marteen’s turn to be silent for a while. Eventually he had to ask, “This life bond. What does it entail?” He had visions of the blood bond ceremonies some of the barbarians from the far South practiced. But these dragons, and their people, were no barbarians.
“If we attempt to bond, and it succeeds, then we will be able share our thoughts and emotions at will; there will be a permanent link between us, for the rest of our lives. You will be able to see through my eyes, and I through yours, and we will hear what the other hears. But if I get killed, you will most likely die as well, and also the other way round. Our lives will be linked until the day we die.”
That brought up another question. “Just how long does a dragon normally live?”
Dani snorted. “Very long. Our kron, what you would call king, and his partner are now almost three hundred years old.”
“But my people only live at most to ninety or hundred, occasionally a tiny bit longer. Will that mean that if we do manage to bond, you will die young, when I die as an old man?”
“No.” Dani swung his head around again, pinning Marteen with that same hypnotic gaze. “It will mean that you will grow old slower, and if not killed in war or by disease, will grow old with me. Does that make the bonding more tempting? That you might have an extended life?”
“No.” Marteen shuddered. “I don’t know if I want to live that long. If one can be assured of having good health, and happiness, then it would be wonderful, but nobody can predict that. What if your life is one of misery and strife? What if after a few years, we start irritating each other? We know nothing really of each other.”
“That is true.” {: And a good answer. :}
For the first time that evening Dani dropped the shields that had prevented them from communicating mind to mind. {: There is another thing. You should not have been able to see through my eyes, right from the start .That is why Kirosh’s partner thinks that
we would bond easily. He thinks we are already partially there. :}
“He told me not to be afraid of looking into your eyes. What did he mean?” For some reason, Marteen felt uncomfortable with the mind to mind communication. As if he was committing himself to something he was not sure of.
“He probably meant you should not fear bonding. I suppose he is a good one to comment on something like that.” Dani had not turned his gaze away this time, and that glowing green gaze was becoming more and more difficult to avoid.
“Why?”
“Because he had no choice in the matter. He has been bonded with Kirosh since before they were born… and no, I have no idea what that feels like, or entails. The soul bonded don’t discuss it.” How did Dani know that was going to be his next question? Oh.
{: Yes. Your shields are down as well, and your thoughts are jumping out at me. :}
What could he lose? What could he gain? Already it was difficult to think of going on without the dragon as companion. Slowly Marteen lifted his eyes, met the dragon’s hypnotic gaze and thought, {: Well, what do we do now? Is there a ritual or some… :}
Marteen forgot what he wanted to say as he was drawn into those eyes, deeper and deeper. Flashes of his own memories competed with those of the dragon, totally alien concepts and experiences. The feeling of wind slipping over extended wings, and the experience of diving through the waves of the sea between the islands. Looking down as he flew, the Onlashian islands shimmering below in the sapphire sea like so many emeralds scattered by an indiscriminate hand.
The one emotion that grabbed his heart and twisted it was the security of belonging, of knowing no matter where you are, or where you go, you are part of the Cavern. That sure knowledge that no matter what happened to you, the Cavern would move heaven and earth to find you again. No wonder they had gone after the grey dragon. She belonged to a Cavern too.
At first Marteen retained enough self awareness to know which were his own thoughts, and which were Kirosh’s thoughts or memories. But eventually he lost himself completely in the bond, and his eyes slowly closed.
The sun’s first rays on his face woke Marteen, and he stretched luxuriously, only to stop when he found himself pinned down by a tree stump.
Not a tree stump, but a thick dragon arm that had him clutched against Dani’s chest as the dragon slept. Very much like a child would hold onto a soft toy. Uncertain whether to wake the dragon, or try to extract himself, Marteen took stock of his surroundings. Everything seemed to be brighter, more colourful. The dull brown tents of the camp glittered with dew, reflecting golden sparks of sunlight. The sky was a fresh, bright blue, and he seemed to have finally regained his sense of smell… intensely.
He needed a bath!
{: Indeed you do, Tshoulan, you stink! :} Marteen was suddenly released, and he rolled out of the way as the dragon stretched.
Tshoulan. The meaning of the word was there, in his mind. My life. He was bonded for life, to a dragon.
Something else was different. More than just his sight, his smell, and yes, his hearing. The sounds of the camp below were much louder than they had been the day before.
Tentatively he sat up, stretched again, and came to his feet. Where he had been barely able to take a few paces away from the little shelter the previous day, to relieve himself, he now felt strong, and strangely energised. He brought his hands up to his face, to look at them and had to promptly sit down on a rock as his legs nearly gave away in surprise.
Whereas the previous day, the back of his hands and forearms had been covered with the slowly healing cuts, slices and bruises of the battle, the skin was now smooth, only scars remaining. Slowly he checked his other wounds. Even the deep one in his side was no more than a white scar.
A yellow nose appeared in his line of vision and he lifted a hand to touch it, feeling the smooth skin, and the life beneath it, with his fingertips.
{: Are you done admiring yourself? :}
{: It’s a miracle! :}
{: No, no miracle. In the bonding process, my healing energy mixed with yours, amplifying it, and your body was able to heal itself like it would have done if you had been trained how to do it. :}
Marteen leaned forward and pressed his face against Dani’s cheek.
“It seems as if I am getting all of the benefits from this arrangement, and you none.”
Dani puffed a chuckle and his hot breath stirred Marteen’s hair, flowing warmly over his back. “Uhm. I think I might have forgotten to mention a few things last night; such as a seasons worth of partnership training, where you are taught exactly how to take care of my needs. Also the fact that from now on, where I go, you go. And by the way, now that you are healed, there is a spot between my shoulders, under the armour, that itches horribly.”
Marteen was still laughing as he gingerly crawled up Dani’s neck towards that spot.
Just his luck.
Bonded, for life… with an itchy dragon.
--------------oOo-------------
More Tales From Kitra
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KIRDAI: Spark & Dagger
An epic adventure from Kitra
For an introverted scholar like Dai, there could be only thing worse than having a rare soul-bond with an equally rare black dragon. That would be to find yourself playing a part in an ancient prophesy that speaks of adventure and great deeds. When he discovers this bond, he will find that there is no difference between the two situations at all.
Growing up in the background at Amery castle, and known as 'The Bastard' or 'The Ghost of Amery', Dai has no memory of the time before his arrival ten years ago in the company of a dying man - a man they say was his father. But in his dreams his father wears another face - not the one of the man in the portrait hanging in the Great Hall. Dai wants to know what he is, but how can he if he does not even know who he is? All he knows is that he is not the grandson of the Duke of Amery - no matter what anyone else believes. Then there are the nightmares that haunt him, and the niggling feeling that there is more missing in his life than just his memory.
As happened ten years before, the nations of The Alliance have to mobilise against the threat of an Essian invasion. Travelling as the Duke's secretary cum personal guard, Dai's life in the shadows seems at an end. He finds himself privy to War Council meetings, and makes friends with princes and mages... and one young journeywoman mage in particular. Events keep pushing him to the foreground, putting him in situations that challenge his intelligence and his reserve.
Black Kirosh knows who he is, but until his missing soul bonded partner is found, he will not be able to find out what he is. Is he a warrior, a mage, a healer, a scholar, or perhaps all of the above? Prankster Kirosh is not satisfied with waiting for Destiny and Fate to bring his partner back. The extroverted young dragon manages to win himself a place in the elite Reconnaissance and Rescue wing of the Onlashian military, and a promise from his Commander to help him in his search for his missing soul partner.
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