"He actually breathed ice," Rib told Gavin yet again. "It was the strangest thing I've witnessed come out of his mouth- and that's saying something."
His friend smiled distractedly, closing the inn's stable doors for the evening before any of his monigons came racing out. "He sounds interesting."
"Yeah?"
I wonder where he's gone now.
Rib looked at the lowering sun, an idea striking him. Grinning, he turned to Gavin.
"Let's find him," he said. "Right now. You'll never meet anyone like him."
Gavin leaned against the stable wall, an amused smile on his lips. "That's a terrible idea."
"No, it's not!" Rib protested, growing excited. "You could get on my back and we'd fly out-"
"Fly?" Gavin laughed as he shook his head. "You're just making it worse."
He always turns me down. What does he have against flying?
"Why won't you trust me?" Rib complained. "You know I'd never let you fall. Come on."
"It's getting dark."
"Then we'll go tomorrow."
"Mortaug has more work for me to do then."
"Oh, come on." Rib was relentless. "Have fun with me."
Gavin rapped his knuckles on the wooden siding to a beat. "You wouldn't fare well as a human, my friend," he commented. "Be glad you can live your life so frivolously as to hunt and play your days away."
"Hey, I do more than that." Rib felt the sudden need to defend himself. "I just told you how I helped cure Lynx."
His friend didn't say anything, but pulled a small flute from his vest and put it to his lips.
Rib watched him, slightly irritated. Usually he loved when Gavin's music formed a new atmosphere around them, except for times like these when his friend used it to drop a conversation.
Fine, Rib thought. So he doesn't want to go anywhere.
What's something else we can do?
Rib tried to think of anything fun Gavin might be willing to try with him, but his friend's melody was distracting him.
How does he just make up songs like this? If I could do that, I'd never be bored?
Shutting his eyes, he focused on the soft melancholy notes. Right as he did so, a vision of his lost sister blossomed in his mind.
Memory?
How breathtakingly clear she was, as if he'd been staring at her for hours. Rib couldn't tell if he was still holding his mouth shut or if it was gaping open as he stared into the darkness of his closed eyelids.
So real?
Memory looked just as she had in his dream. Every scale, every speck of light caught in her eyes, that same curious expression.
Rib swallowed nervously. He'd had vivid pictures like this in his mind before, but never of his sister. He wanted to open his eyes and see her in front of him, actually there. He wanted to speak to her.
But what would I say?
As Gavin changed his melody to something happier, the vision of Memory faded from Rib's imagination.
Wait! he thought, feeling frantic. He tried to bring her face back to mind, but nothing so vivid as before would come. All he could conjure up was the ghostly image of her eyes, and even that only lasted a moment.
I'm sorry, he formed the words in his head, wishing Memory could hear them. If I had just stayed with you that day?They'd have taken me too, and then we'd be together.
At least then I wouldn't have to struggle to picture your face.
Gavin's new music sounded fit for a festival. Rib studied the intricate dance his friend's fingers did to plug the right holes of the flute at the right time.
It was like she was right in front of me when I had my eyes closed.
"Can't you play that other song you were playing?" he asked.
His friend shook his head, pausing between notes to say, "Forgot it already."
Rib sighed in disappointment and studied the woodgrain of the stable doors. He could hear Gavin's monigons scratching and whimpering inside the building as Gavin's song drew to an end.
They want to be out here with us, Rib thought, reminded yet again of his sister.
Poor Memory?She must be so sad?so lonely.
The young man lowered the flute from his mouth, lightly thumping it against his pant leg.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Huh?" Rib looked at him.
"You look thoughtful. What's on your mind?"
"Oh." Rib hesitated. He hadn't told Gavin about his dream yet. It was one of those things that felt real and important, until he considered speaking it out loud. Then it just sounded daft.
Gavin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, still leaning against the building. "If you don't want to tell me, don't worry about it."
"No," Rib said quickly, the desire to tell his secret suddenly flaring up at the fear of his friend losing interest. "I want to."
His eyes focused on an indent in the ground where a dislodged stone lay not far away, as he wondered how to word his thoughts. He often found interest in unremarkable things whenever he endeavored to discuss a sensitive topic like this.
"Have you?" he began, "ever dreamt of something you thought was real?"
"Sure I have. That's what dreams are like."
"Yeah, but. It was- I mean?can people ever share dreams?"
Gavin closed one eye contemplatively.
"I'm not sure. I've heard of stories like that. Why?"
Rib told him of his dream about his sister, and how he heard the name Memory just before he woke up. Not once did Gavin interrupt. Only his monigons made noise, whining like dogs.
"Do you think that could be her real name?" Rib implored his friend when he'd finished telling him everything. "Like she somehow relayed it to me through our dreams?"
Gavin frowned slightly, scratching his head with the end of his flute.
"I highly doubt it," he answered. "But then again, can't say that I know what dragonkind is capable of. Either way, it's good you have a name for her now, right?"
Memory.
Rib anxiously ran his tongue over the sharp points of his teeth. "I don't know," he said. "What if I really did just imagine it? I can't name her anything."
His friend gave him a funny look. "Rib, from what you've told me, it sounds like no one was closer to her than you. You need a name to know her by. It's not scandalous if you're the one who thought of it."
Blowing a bit of dirt off his instrument, Gavin brought the flute back to his mouth and started up a gentle tune. Rib considered his words, reluctant though he saw the reasoning behind them.
It's just not the way it's done?
Right then, Jasper came running up to them, doubling over with hands on knees.
"Rib!" the boy panted. "I just saw a man and- a dragon- looking for Wizard Damon."
"What?!" Rib stared at Jasper. "Was it my sister? Where'd they go?"
Finally catching his breath, the boy straightened, a cunning look in his eye. "Let me ride on your back," he proposed, "and then I'll tell you."
"There's no time for that!" Rib cried. "Tell me where they went! Was it my sister or not?"
Jasper crossed his arms and clamped his mouth shut.
"Gavin!" Rib swiveled his eyes to his friend for help. The young man had already started for the inn.
"Did you talk to them?" Rib begged the stubborn child.
Squinting his eyes, Jasper nodded his head.
"I was the only one brave enough to talk to them!" he boasted, then sealed his lips again.
Where's Mortaug? Rib thought desperately. Memory could be leaving right this moment!
Back from the inn, Gavin arrived with the boy's father, who knelt down in front of Jasper and made a series of forceful hand motions.
The boy objected at first, but eventually lowered his head and scuffed at the dirt, pointing in a direction with his ordinary hand.
Mortaug turned around and waved Rib in the same direction.
"They're headed for the Wizard," Gavin told Rib. "Go!"
"Thank you!" Rib exclaimed as he too
k off for home, eyes sweeping the ground below as he went.
Could it be Memory? With Zheal?
What should I do if it is?
He beat his wings frantically. Realizing they could just as easily be in the air, he swung his head around in all directions, searching for movement.
Why would Zheal want to come to Damon with my sister?
Could he be good now? Like Mortaug?
Rib was flying just as hard as he had when Mortaug chased him years ago. Except now with his wings large and his energy abundant, he was able to go much faster.
Still, he spotted no one.
Where are they?!
He was just now approaching the Swaine, fearing he might have passed them in his rush.
Should I turn back? Could they have gone the long way?
Then he spotted something ahead. Flying low and towards the distant forest, a dark shape pumped its wings. Focusing his eyes, Rib was able to see a smaller figure riding on its back.
That must be them!
Not caring whether he should be stealthy or not, Rib pressed forward and positioned himself to swoop towards them. But as he came up behind them, he studied the black, white, and yellow pattern of the dragon's hide and knew it wasn't his sister.
Hefty disappointment weighed down on him, but curiosity still made him fly up beside them and ask, "Who are you?"
With a yelp, the dragon jerked away from him, nearly throwing her rider off. Quickly, the newcomer peeled away from Rib and landed on the ground, spinning to face him.
"Sorry!" Rib called out, collapsing his wings against his side to alight before her.
As the dragon peered at him, her wide eyes softened and she relaxed her body.
"I'm sorry," Rib repeated, now taking a look at her rider, an adult man. His hair was red and wavy, stopping at his shoulders. He had a mustache that ended on each side with an upward curve, and his chin bore a meager beard.
"I say!" the rider exclaimed, jumping down from his seat. Rib was intrigued by his kilt designed with a multitude of greens and dark yellows. A matching sash crossed over his large belly and chest. Pinned to it was a golden broach with the engraving of a unicorn.
"What a fantastic color you are!" the strange man said. "I've never seen anything like it!"
"You?" Rib blinked, taken aback. "You can see firebloom?"
"Is that what it's called?" The man was clearly delighted. "Fascinating."
"Excuse me, but," Rib shook his head in confusion, "who are you?"
"Ah," the man placed a hand flat against his chest in pride, "I am Prince Griffith of Crageria, and this is my good companion, Oriole."
The dragon grinned broadly, dipping her head. "Hello."
Hello? Isn't she shocked to see me, another dragon? Doesn't she know how rare we are?!
"Hello," Rib answered hesitantly. "Um, I thought Crageria was in ruins near Cliffport. Have you been?living there all this time?"
Prince Griffith looked shocked. "Why, no!" he said, offended. "That castle was little more than a speck of my kingdom. The true magnificence of Crageria remains across seas from here."
"Oh." Rib widened his eyes in surprise. "You flew all the way here?"
Both the Prince and Oriole laughed heartily at this and Rib took it as a 'no'.
"And what is your name?" Prince Griffith asked, beaming behind his ruddy facial hair.
"Rib."
"Oh, what a lovely name," Oriole sighed dreamily. "That's my favorite part of a deer?"
"Well, Rib, I'll tell you this," Prince Griffith said, casually leaning against his dragon companion's side. "I find it positively dreadful that you thought my kingdom to be a mere pile of rocks on the coast. You simply must visit Crageria some time."
"Could I?" Rib asked, surprised. "How kind of you to offer."
"Indeed." The man nodded, a satisfied expression on his face. "Perhaps you'll even decide to stay, as Oriole did!"
What?
Rib cocked his head, looking to the female. "Where were you before?"
Oriole opened her mouth, but Prince Griffith placed a hand on her snout and interrupted, "That, she would be glad to tell you. But first, can you tell us where the Great Wizard Damon lives?"
"Yes," Rib agreed, happy that the Wizard had visitors. "Right this way."
"Splendid!" Prince Griffith mounted the colorful saddle strapped to Oriole's back and Rib took off, checking to make sure they were following.
What strangers! he marveled, heading over the spring green forest.
A tinge of sadness haunted him, though, as he thought again of his sister.
Someday, he promised himself. Someday.
. . .
Rib lay around the fire with Tyrone's family and the two visitors. Night had long ago fallen and they were waiting for Damon to come home, meanwhile listening to Oriole's story of what had happened to the colony of dragons after they left Wystil over fifteen years ago.
"So the Colony landed on the ship before it reached the Island?" Theora asked with much interest, hugging her sleeping youngest child close. Rib hadn't expected her to be so familiar with Oriole, but apparently they'd known each other in the past, when the Colony still lived in the area.
The white features of Oriole's face glowed orange by the brazier's fire and she nodded. "We were all so tired flying over those waters, we just had to land. But the Huskhns on the ship were terrified of us! Some even jumped overboard before they climbed into their boats and rowed away. A good thing, too, because then all their captives were free."
"How many captives were there?" Tyrone inquired, eyebrows raised.
"Oh, two dozen, maybe? Poor them, they're children had all been taken away before we arrived. The youngest person there must have been little more than a striker."
Rib saw Tyrone lean over to whisper something to his son, who giggled and continued digging a stick into the soft ground.
The Huskhns take everyone! Rib thought. My sister, those poor people?
Why doesn't anyone stop them?
"Must have been a bad storm that hit," Theora prompted Oriole.
"Oh, it was dreadful!" the dragon cried loud enough to wake the child on Theora's lap. "And since the captain and the crew had all been killed, no one could do anything about it. We were thrown around for days until the ship crashed."
"What about the Huskhns that came to the Island?" Rib changed the subject from where he lay, both foreclaws in front of him. "Why did they show up?"
"That was a long time after we landed," Oriole clarified. "Not much happened. Just, men came and demanded something of the Islanders. A potion, I think."
What about Memory? Rib pulled his tail around his body in nervous energy.
"Was a dragon with them?" he urged.
Oriole looked thoughtful, gazing at the treetops. "No, I don't recall one."
Rib settled back in disappointment.
"What potion did the Huskhns want?" Tyrone asked, leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh, I don't know." Oriole simpered. "I'm not even sure that's what they wanted."
Tyrone whispered something to Theora that Rib didn't catch.
Griffith, who had been rather quiet throughout this conversation, now said, "Do tell them how we came to meet, Oriole," and clapped her on the shoulder wing.
Oriole's face split into a grin. "Well, I had been flying through the vapor fields when I found some lost Cragerians. They had come to the Island for the Royal Well as their Queen requested and got lost on their way back to their ships.
"So I helped them and they invited me to come meet the royal family, such an honor! They insisted the Queen would be glad to meet me."
"Mother always favored me over my elder brother," Prince Griffith interrupted. "So she gave me the Royal Well instead.
"They say the Royal Well enables kings to look into the hearts of their subjects and know whether they are faithful or not. And my, is it fascinating! Ever since I acquired the Eyes of Kings, I've been seeing
things entirely differently."
Prince Griffith leaned forward and smugly looked each one of them in the eye, as though proving a point. A beetle flew into his face and he smacked it down.
"That's when Oriole told me of the Great Wizard Damon, and so here I am. Here to- Damon!" the man exclaimed suddenly, jumping up in his kilt. "You must be him!"
Rib looked to where the Prince was now headed to see the Wizard come from the woods. With a book held to his chest, Damon stopped in his tracks and watched the stranger running up to meet him.
"Hello, Great Wizard," Griffith wheezed, though he hadn't run very far at all. "I am Prince Griffith of Crageria, here to learn the ways of magic under your wise guidance. Legends have been told of the Cragerian man who came to you, offering the Royal Well so there would be peace between our kingdoms when you became king. They say you disappeared, but now I've found you. As you can see, I have both a firebreather and the Eyes of Kings. So please, Great Wizard! Accept me as your apprentice."
The man stood straight up, red mustache ruffled by the breeze as he held out his hand to Damon. Another beetle flew into Griffith's eye and he cursed, smashing it in his fist.
Damon stared silently at the man for a few seconds. Rib drew a little closer.
What will he say?
Twice, the Wizard's mouth opened and closed.
Then, with a single shake of his hairy head, he began striding towards his hut.
"Sir, please reconsider!" Griffith cried, trailing after him. "I am a man of great potential!"
There was a small laugh behind Rib and he turned to see Theora struggling to hide her amusement. Both her sons, wide awake now after all the man's yelling, burst out giggling but Tyrone hushed them.
Rib saw Oriole staring after the two men, wings and tail drooping.
He approached her cautiously.
"I thought Damon would accept," Oriole uttered as Rib pulled up beside her. "I told Griffith he would!"
"Maybe he'll change his mind," Rib whispered, stalking closer to Damon's shelter. "Let's see."
The two dragons came close to the shabby construction and peered through the doorway at the scene inside. Damon had set his book down on the table and was now moving around the cramped area, rearranging a number of dead things, both plants and animals. Prince Griffith had both hands flat on the table as he leaned over and pleaded with the Wizard.
"I know you don't have a firebreather anymore, so think! Think what I have to offer. With Oriole and I, you have no need to worry!"
"A firebreather on these grounds is no consolation to me," Damon said, finally facing the prince. "I ask you both to leave immediately."
"If it's the madness you are thinking of," Griffith protested, "surely you have some way of preventing it. No Sir, we will not leave!"
Damon turned his back on the man.
Rib could hear Prince Griffith grind his teeth in frustration. The sound stopped, however, when the large man's eyes fell on Damon's book. With meaty hands, he slid it towards himself and flipped through a few pages, all the while bringing it closer and closer to his face in clear amazement. He shut it silently, apparently unnoticed by Damon.
"Fine," the prince declared, shoving the book under his arm as he stepped further into the hut. "But I cannot be repressed! If you will not have me as your apprentice-" he kicked the cauldron above the dragon fire, causing the liquid inside it to slosh out and drown the flame, "then I will be the only wizard!"
Rib gaped as Griffith pushed past him to jump on Oriole's back and Damon yelled.
What did he just do?!
"Fly, Oriole!" Prince Griffith demanded, brutally clacking his heels against her sides. "Now!"
"Oh!" the dragon exclaimed and leapt away just as Damon burst from his hut. She cast everyone a panicked look before taking off and flying head long into newly appeared fog, Griffith still commanding her to hurry.
"Wait!" the Wizard shouted after them, spittle flying from his mouth and into his fraying beard. "They stole my potion book!"
He stared wildly at Rib. "Go after them!"
"What?!" Rib cried. "What if they fight me?"
Damon exclaimed something under his breath and he darted back into his hut, kneeling at the brazier to burrow his bare hands into the sodden firewood. "Gone?not an ember!"
"Damon?" Tyrone entered the hut.
The Wizard turned to him, a crazed look in his eye.
"Can't you see?" he rasped. "Now anything can happen and I'll have no defense against it!"
Tyrone looked at Rib. "Please just go after them. Try and convince them to come back. Tell them Damon accepts their request after all."
"Alright," Rib consented, backing up. "But I don't know if-"
"Go!" Damon yelled at him, and so he took off without another word.
I've never seen the Wizard like this!
Rib went in the direction he'd seen Oriole go, rising into the fog that smothered the forest.
Oh! He spotted the dragon through the low clouds with her rider hunched over. But as he pursued, his attention was swiveled to another dragon, running along the ground with its own rider.
What?!
Rib halted, beating his wings to hover in place as his eyes flicked from one dragon to the other. He could tell by the large size of the flying one's rider that it was Oriole and Griffith.
So who was that? Rib peered through the fog where he'd glimpsed the second dragon. Could it be?
Memory?
Hope and longing taking over, Rib dove after the place he'd seen the stranger and its mysterious rider, landing on the ground. Desperately, he stared into the dark woods but saw nothing. He ran in the direction he thought they'd gone but soon realized it was too late. The fog was too thick and he hadn't the sense of smell to track them with.
I missed them!
Rib trembled where he stood, breath shuddering from his lungs. The dark shapes of trees all around him were barely even visible. He strived to think of whomever else it could have been that'd just escaped him, but no one came to mind. There was only one possibility he could imagine.
Was it her?
Chapter 4