“Do you remember what I told you?” Gideon asked. “About the Dragon Riders? They were called to the eggs. Their bond first began with the Rider protecting the youngling. It made them instinctively defensive. Of course, they knew what was happening to them having been brought here for that very reason. Asher,” he said delicately, “you know what you have. But you don’t know why you have it. I can’t imagine what’s going through your mind right now.”
Asher let his vision slowly drop to the satchel. With one hand, he reached in and removed the largest item. A bronze dragon egg, layered in scales. “I need to protect it,” he announced absently.
Inara moved to close the gap but Gideon held out a hand, cautioning her. “Give him space,” he instructed quietly. “Of course you need to protect it,” he continued, his focus returned to the ranger. “You are bound together now. You are beholden to each other… forever.”
Whether Asher registered what Gideon was truly saying or not, he refused to take his eyes off the bronze egg.
“Is this really happening?” Inara asked aloud.
“It makes sense,” Gideon mused. “Those eggs would only respond to one with a dragon’s heart,” he explained gesturing to Asher. “He’s the first warrior to enter that chamber in countless millennia.”
Inara did her best to fight against the surprise of it all, hoping to make some kind of sense of the revelation. “Asher’s a Dragon Rider?” she posed in her need to say it out loud.
“No,” the ranger replied definitively. “I’m done fighting on behalf of some order, whatever their motivations. I’m not a Dragon Rider and I’m not a Dragorn.” He looked back down at the egg. “I don’t know what I am.”
Gideon held both of his hands out to calm the situation. “None of that matters right now. This is… It’s wonderful. That egg has waited for you, Asher. For thousands of years it’s just remained here, dormant, until you found each other.”
Inara agreed with every word, but her sharp eyes had spent the moment inspecting what she could of the egg. “It’s already started to crack,” she observed with a hint of excitement.
It was hard to say what was going through Asher’s mind, but he was clearly uncomfortable with the attention the egg was receiving. He quickly placed it back inside his satchel before taking a breath and facing them all. “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” the ranger said gruffly.
“Your apology is unnecessary in light of Master Thorn’s explanation,” Adan offered, the curl of a smile pulling at his cheeks.
Appearing a little awkward, Asher adjusted his stance. “What do I do now?” he asked, revealing something of a vulnerable side to himself.
Indeed, Inara was unaccustomed to the ranger’s uncertainty. “You do what you’ve always done,” she replied. “Trust your instincts. Whatever the future holds, good or bad, your bond with that dragon will bring a new kind of hope to the world.”
“But trust us, if you can,” Gideon added more practically, ever the master. “The dragon inside that egg is connected to you now. When you feel threatened, so too will it. But it doesn’t have your experience or training, Asher. It doesn’t know how to control its emotions, which will manifest in the form of instincts while it’s so young. You’re going to feel all that and want to act on it.”
Athis moved to the side of them, bringing his bulk into the ranger’s eye line. Where most would tense in the presence of such a predator, Asher visibly relaxed.
“Being around other dragons will help,” Inara relayed straight from Athis. “The hatchling will find their presence soothing.”
Asher considered her words. “I think I can feel that.”
Still maintaining his distance, Gideon jumped back in. “Though the Jainus considered the Dragon Riders to be rivals at best, they documented all they learned about them. I have read much on what to expect next. I will guide as you permit.”
Asher nodded once in acceptance. “Thank you.”
As momentous as the event was, Inara could feel the pressure building inside her, the need to return home before it was too late. “I’m sorry,” she began. “There is so much to discuss and I know you must have a lot of questions. I know I did and I had Athis to help me through it all. But I have spoken with Vighon,” she added, her tone conveying the dire situation.
Asher looked to understand. “There’s always a storm,” he remarked. “Are the rest of the eggs safe?”
“Yes,” Gideon answered. “We’re the only ones who know where the door is. And only those who wield magic can open it; something we don’t need to fear in Erador.”
Again, Asher simply nodded his acceptance of the situation. “Then let’s get in the middle of it,” he said, referring to the brewing storm back east.
“You don’t need to come,” Inara pointed out, sharing some of the concern for the egg’s safety. “It’s going to be hard to protect it in Illian. There’s only war there. You could stay here. Erador is a big place.”
Appearing more himself again, Asher didn’t falter in his response. “The egg didn’t call to me because I walk away from the fight. Besides, if Alijah succeeds in destroying that tree…” The ranger looked down at the egg-shaped bulge in the satchel, unable to say the words.
“That’s what we’re all fighting for now,” Gideon agreed. “Let’s go home.”
4
Heavy is the Head…
Two days had passed since the tower fell. Two days since Grarfath and Yamnomora had welcomed so many more children of the mountain into their halls. Among them was King Gaerhard, ruler of the Brightbeards. He would not be the only king to dine at the Father’s table.
Dakmund…
The name brought Doran Heavybelly to his knees. Surrounded by the trees of Ilythyra, at the foot of a snaking stream, he
