The Revelation
The days went by; it was clear to Norgarth that she had
regained some of her strength, she seemed healed yet still she just laid there
staring with her black eyes at the roof of the cabin. He explained to her
slowly, said how it seemed that objects she was carrying, an eye, an ear and
others had been pulled into the portal along with Zhangs body. The lie, he believed,
was the only thing that could prevent the young sorceress descending into
madness, and he hoped, evil.
As he spoke he watched Haennah’s blank expression change to
one of pain, despair, longing, and anger.
Suddenly she grasped out at Norgarth and gripped tightly to his
shoulders. Instinctively he braced himself and grabbed her wrists, preparing to
kill her with his bare hands lest she conjure some magic against him. Yet there
was no malice in her touch. She slowly wrapped her arms around the gruff dwarf’s
wide shoulders and hugged him her head buried under his chin.
‘You saved my life Norgarth, and for what it is worth I will
never forget what you have done for me’ For a moment he sat rigid, unused to
such affection and vulnerability from a woman who had often argued and balked
against his opinions. As she gently
sobbed , he uncomfortably pushed her down onto her bed. ‘Rest now’ He left the
room as she fell again into exhausted slumber.
* * * * *
Her head pounded, the ribs around her new heart ached, and
she felt flushed. Even tight shut it was as if the morning light was scorching
the back of her eyes. She opened them and stared up in the soft light. Her head still pounded,
and the ceiling made her queasy. ‘Eyes
shut !’ she thought.
Her fingers ached on her left her hand, and then she
remembered one was missing ‘It’s all in my mind, if indeed it still IS my
mind.’ She lay there listening to two of
the Templars outside the cabin. Their voices were low, a private conversation,
but in the silence of the room they
filled Haennah’s ears.
‘Tis not natural’
‘Wat is these days
brother’
‘I tell thee, I know
the cap’n has his reasons but I for one would like to know what happened to her
and why allofasudden ‘tis of such importance that we have to be flying ‘round
keeping away from civilized places just for her sake.
‘You think too much.
Remember before he was a Templar he was a trusted friend and protégé of our
great fallen leader, may he rest in peace. It’s only right that another dwarf
hero take up the mantle. ‘
‘Yeah but I’m not
saying that’s not right, I’m..’
‘..And so before you
interrupt again brother, if he has reason that the sorceress.. and remember
they have knowed each other longer than we have knowed him… what was I sayin’
yeah his reasons must be good reasons. If she needs rest away from folks, and flying
into the wildernesses as we are is what he says we must do then so be it.’
‘’spose… but tis still
not natural. And her waking nearly ev’ry night screamin’ as she does, it’s
creepy’’
‘Always one for lookin
a gift horse in the mouth. How many of our brothers did we lose against those
dragon creatures, and in the fire at the temple? I for sure am liking the
chance of not getting killed at for a change.’
‘Again my Templar
brother you misunderstand me meanings. I mean ‘she’ and all is not natural. You
saw plain as day when he hauled her carcass on’t deck. Bloodied, flayed , and
as dead as a doornail to all she looked. Yet now not a scar upon her….. except
the ones she already had of course.’
‘Of course brother,
and what precisely are you getting at?’
‘Well I mean, when we
took that accursed dragon rod, remember. She went crazy mad and demanded it,
cursing the Templars and threatening the wrath of her so called Goddess upon us
if we didn’t give it back. And then when it looks like we gonna have to
fight her, us surrounding her wit swords
drawn and shield raised we was, she just commands our knight to hand it , and
he does so without question.’
‘Well it was either
that brother, or end up frazzled to a crisp, you seen what magic she wields,
never mind that sword of hers. Rather she be on our side than against if I
rightly say so.’
‘That’s against the
code and you know it.
‘I’m not saying she
should join us jelly brain, merely she makes a better ally than an enemy, and I
think Norgarth is thinking that too.
Anyway you is just scared of her, I saw you when you tried to move her
clothes’
‘I had been asked to
tend to her best I could, and clearly she was in pain, I merely offered to see
what was ailing her.’
‘And then when she snapped
at you nearly peed yer pants, yes we know. I don’t blame her, I wouldn’t want
your grimy mitts pawing at me neither.’
‘I’m not used to
Infernal speak, it startled me. Bloomin Teiflings , they is not natural.’
Haennah listened, part of her wanted to giggle at such silly
boy talk, but she also felt unnaturally angry at what she had heard. Then her
mind raced, her body became taught with rage ‘Foolish, feeble, floundering
fools. What do they know of me, they think me unnatural? Pitiful mortals fear
what they cannot comprehend and so they should. Their lives are but wheat
sheaves in the wind compared to me. I have lived an age beyond men and endured.
All life must end, yet I will live on, all will be judged unworthy and I will
have my rightful prize for good or for evil. But in the name of my Goddess I
will rebuke that evil and destroy its tyranny, yet they dare look upon me and
say that I am tyranny and I am evil?
What do they know of evil, I have seen
true evil , I have been touched by evil the likes they cannot imagine. It has
penetrated me, defiled me, yet I have survived. The dark power is defeated, and
in its place a sorceress. Yesss, Yet I
shall not be dark, but beautiful beyond enduring, worshipful and terrible as the Fire in
the Night, Dreadful as the lightning.
All shall love me and despair.’
Strange sounds, like dripping water, broke into her rage,
and she gasped shocked as she realized her own thoughts, and what she was about
to do. The sparks of electricity that had danced along her arms, skittering
across the floor, subsided. The two men outside continued to talk oblivious to
what could have been.
She slumped back down on the bed and looked at the ceiling.
‘My mind is not my own it seems.’ She wiggled her fingers, muttered words and a
spectral hand apparated and picked up the nearby looking glass. She studied her
face, the small blue dragon scales highlighted her temples, belied her distant
draconic heritage, seemed more prominent. She looked at her arms, calves, tail,
and elsewhere. ‘Indeed my dear’ she thought to herself, ‘the legacy of my
bloodline becomes stronger every day. I am pleased.’
She stared at the
reflection of her eyes. She thought she saw something different in those solid
black orbs, a distant wispy blue glow, like looking up from a deep well at a
misty sky. ‘The dark well of my soul?’ She mused. ‘Or another’s? I have you in
my eye and I shall keep you in my eye till you learn to behave. Yet am I in
good spirits? Good or bad I must be in control of them!........I must make more of an effort to be well, yet I am undone, or at least my clothes…. A
spell of mending shall be of aid, and good practice.. little steps my little
dove, little steps.’
The next day was bright yet the sound of rainfall from
outside her cabin was a distraction . Her legs were unsteady as she padded to
the door and opened it. ‘Where is the rain?’
‘Wha - What rain?’ answered the startled guard. He stepped
back looking surprised as she gripped tightly against the door swaying slightly.
‘I thought I heard rain?’
‘Lady Haennah, you
are not yet strong enough.’
‘Food.’
‘Food?’
‘Yes food , do you have any, we are hungry. Food and
sunshine.’
She watched the man hurriedly walk towards the galley.
Haennah stepped away from the door, felt her head swim and her legs buckle slightly.
‘So we will , I will, crawl if need be.’..
Norgarth sat in the sun studying his book; he was at first
puzzled at the sounds of a girl’s voice signing a sea shanty. He recalled how
what seemed an age ago now, Haennah used
to sing it, and how her silliness annoyed him. He looked up and saw her
crawling towards him a stupid grin on her face. ‘Feeling better it seems?’ He
grumbled.
‘Whatya doooing?’
‘It’s no concern of yours girl’
‘The fact that its upside down from here does not hide the
fact that you are reading somatic
draconic. And it is also a fact that I speak dragon quite fluently, plus you
will never learn to read or write it properly from studying that.’
‘And what would you suggest I do instead then,’ he replied
gruffly.
‘Why would you be wanting to learn to speak Dhovah anyway?
You’ve never shown any interest bef….’ Her eyes widened in surprise as she
spied the thin scaly tail of a dragonling wrapped around the dwarfs neck, it
curled around into his shirt and as she
twisted her head to look she spied the balled up shape of a sleeping hatchling copper dragon.
‘Oo Pahdul! Tol mii druv hi laan wah tinvaak Dovah. Fos brit
Pahdul.’
‘Wait that’s too fast.’ The dwarf scowled ‘Did you call her
Paddle? That’s not her name’
‘PAH – DUL! Dear Norgarth, it means baby. So what have you
called her?’
When the dwarf pronounced the hatchling name Haennah could
not help herself and laughed out loud. ‘You can’t call her that!’ she exclaimed
‘ while it may be a fine dwarven sounding name it means nonsense in Dhova.. in
fact it’s even worse .. you basically named her toy-fox-brush. Dragon names all
mean something. If she was hatched from the flames of the temple then
Kiinnolyol would be suitable. It is an important part of their legacy.
‘And I suppose your name has some stupid dragon meaning
behind it.’ He snapped angrily.
She looked solemnly at him before speaking, ‘Rei means Line,
as in lineage. My family stopped using the first half... Monahrel .. it
means……. Matriarch.’ She cast her eyes downwards ‘ I must find out..’ her voice
trailed off.
‘The ghost dragon you said you saw’ his tone became serious.
‘Haennah?’
She looked up and gave a wry smile. ‘Scooch up and I will
help you and Pahdul. Now first thing you need to know about the script of
Dhovah is how it is formed, claws, wings, and tail marks…so …’
