Vaeludar walked a bit closer to the rocks built in the form of a tower wall and bent over. He sunk his hands deep into the sand. He made fists once his felt his hands went deep enough and lifted to see a large, torn net covered in sand.
The net seemed to have been buried for some time; it had rotted away in the wet sand. Vaeludar dropped the net and saw it was some twenty feet long and wide. It would have been good as a fishing net, but not to capture small fish. The net Vaeludar knew was built to catch something bigger than fish.
“This is the spot where you rescued the Siren, isn’t it?” asked Geraldus.
A small flare of anger sparked in the hybrid’s eyes. “Yes,” he replied. “This was where I found the Siren almost butchered to death, surrounded by cruel men and growling dogs. The Minotaur wasn’t my first kill. I was twelve years old when I made my first group of kills, when I rescued a creature of the sea.” Then the anger faded away from Vaeludar’s eyes.
“It had been five years,” said Geraldus.
“From the humans’ perspective, Sirens are monsters. From the Sirens’ perspective, they are not monsters. Since they aren’t considered to be humans nor Mermaids, it is hard to consider what Sirens are meant to be,” Vaeludar turned his back to the rocks and proceeded to walk away from the sight. “And it had been five years today since I rescued the Siren from death.”
“What was her name? Marina?”
Vaeludar nodded.
Geraldus then shook his head and dropped the subject. “That’s right. After you rescued the Siren, the island’s king, Uragiru, decided to take her back to the capital city. I’m sure the news of your fight with the Minotaur had reached the king by now.”
“Of all people to come, King Uragiru is the last person I want to see,” said Vaeludar.
“Why is that?” asked Geraldus. “He has Marina as a daughter. I’m sure you would want to see her if he does come to this village.”
“Of all people, King Uragiru is the only human I’ve come across to laugh in my face and spread unkindly rumors about me. He would make me angry enough that I’d want to kill him. I’d rather people stare at me all day instead of a single person spread insults about me.”
Geraldus sighed, “He is the king, you know. He has the power to say or not say what needs to be done. His ancestors have been kings and queens for thousands of years.”
“But he doesn’t have godly power like the Demigod does in the old legends. He can’t conquer Spirits of the Dead or transform tall mountains into small valleys. He may be a king of the island of Shimabellia, but he was a mortal human who doesn’t have the power to wield magic.”
“King Uragiru is a powerful man on this island. He had the loyalty of hundreds of men and commands vast legions of soldiers. Not to mention that he commands all Regions of the island. When war comes, all his bannermen must come to his aid, and I am one of his bannermen.”
“I’m not sure I could be called one of his bannermen; I would not call myself a loyal person to come to the aid of a supposed higher-up.” Vaeludar found a small stone sitting a few inches away from him. He walked and picked it up with one hand and tossed it at the ocean, watching the stone spinning and pouncing on the ocean’s surface. The stone peddled across the ocean’s surface before disappearing into the horizon.
“The future holds many potential paths and you could be called a leader one day,” said Geraldus, joining Vaeludar into watching the pouncing stone disappear. “Then you would end up answering the king’s call.”
“Then for future reference, I’ll be clear on this: I’m not going to serve King Uragiru or answer his call. I won’t come running to his aid.”
“If that’s what you want, go ahead, but you do know what happens to someone if they don’t answer the king’s call?” asked Geraldus.
“I could care less what consequences my choices could bring,” said Vaeludar.
Geraldus stroked his chin. “Best we get back. My eldest sons will be wondering where I am.”
“What about the girls?” asked Vaeludar.
“Don’t bother yourself. They’re my daughters. I’ll take them back myself.”
Vaeludar nodded and rose into the air again, without a single flap of his wings giving him the power to fly. He looked once more at the staggering rocks and the net he saw. “I do wonder how the Siren is doing living with the king. I do not know much about a Siren’s personality, but I do know and they do have a good judgment of character. After I saved her, she quickly judged me by my character, and fell in love with me at first sight. I wonder how that will work out: a human dragon hybrid and a Siren falling in love.”
He faced toward the east and flew off in that direction.
LOOMING THREATS
V
aeludar had spent a few more days staying in the village and has yet to come up with a plan of where he wanted to travel. He all, of a sudden, felt he should stay in the village. A week ago he felt the need to leave the village to search for answers, but when the Minotaur attacked, he no longer felt the need to depart. He felt like the gods were calling him to stay in the village for a bit longer, and he stayed a week after the attack.
The hybrid felt an attachment of this village, some kind of feeling he never felt before. He had the plan to move out, yet he couldn’t now. The killing alone brought some delight and discomfort to his mind.
From the time he made his kill, it was a disrupting thought Vaeludar couldn’t stop focusing on. He fought and won against a large, seven-foot
