Dragon & Dreamer | ONC 2023 honourable mention

7 - Noak

When Noak spotted the jagged outline of Hrantosh, the dragon peak, the eastern sky showed the first touch of a tentative pink. The sight of her destination renewed her energy, but she knew better than to rush. After a night in the air, exhaustion made each beat of her tired wings an effort. If her estimation proved correct, a steady flight would bring her within reach of the caves near the summit before the sister sun climbed the sky path and burned her sensible skin. A glance at the almost full moon confirmed she still had time. No use exhausting herself with a sprint.

A dark cloud rolled over the mountaintop and shrouded the memorable outline, like most of the time. Noak had seen the glowing embers deep down in the abysm on the Hrantosh peak, although she couldn't remember when the mountain had breathed fire last. But she knew someone who witnessed that remarkable event, and tonight she would pay him a visit.

The ground rose beneath her now, and mighty pine trees reached towards the sky. Noak didn't bother to fly higher or change into her shadow shape. Not yet. It would cost her too much of her precious energy and time. Only creatures of the night were active at this hour. Even if a random human spotted her, she travelled too fast for their clumsy weapons to do her serious harm. Nestlings might be vulnerable, but a grown hrankae, a dragon of darkness, was beyond their reach.

Distant thunder rumbled through the chilly air. Noak shivered—a thunderstorm was the last thing she needed. There was no lightning, though, and she wondered if the rumbling came from the mountain instead of the sky. Perhaps the kereshí were on the move. She had limited knowledge about the ancient mountain spirits, as they seldom left their underground realm. Ancient legends claimed they lived in the tunnels deep beneath Hrantosh, where the Earth fires burned and molten stone kept them warm during the coldest winter.

She pushed these thoughts away when she entered the sulphuric cloud hanging low over the peak. The fumes the Eshte dragons found pleasant were too sharp for her. Over the icy heights of Eshekir, where she had grown up in a frozen cavern, the wind blew cold and clear. She longed for home, but today she would brave the mountain's stinky breath without complaint.

The eldest's cave was high on the western slope, in a deep ravine the sun never reached. It was a challenge finding the spot in the fumes, but right before the rim of the sun appeared in the east, she spotted the bizarre rock tower that marked the entrance. Noak angled her wings, took the dive, landed on the crumbly tower face, and held on with her claws. She had made it.

She spotted the cave's entrance at the spot she remembered, right in the middle of a steep rock face. It was just a narrow crack, and she would have to change into her shadow shape to pass it.

Noak blinked, concentrated, and slipped from her solid form into the state where an onlooker would only see her as a thickening of shadows, a spot of pure darkness. She didn't feel different, except she was more sensitive for magic in this shape. Thus, she felt the eldest's presence even out here and was sure he did the same.

Like a cloud of black mist, she moved up the rock face and stopped outside the cave entrance.

"Eldest, may a visitor enter your home?"

"The day is about to break. Where else would you go?" The deep, rumbling voice sent a vibration through the rock.

Noak suppressed an angry reply. Ranoz wasn't known for his politeness, and when the queen of the night had perished, he had become a hermit. She crunched her teeth and kept her voice level. "Thank you."

With an ease that betrayed her usual body mass, she slipped into the cave where the hugest dragon she knew had curled up on a stone shelf, covering his eyes with his mighty tail shield.

"Eldest, my greetings." She changed into her solid form once she was deep enough in the cave to find enough room for her bulk.

The giant hrankae moved the shield aside and opened one eye, his oblique pupil a narrow slit. "Noak. What drives the warden of Eshekir to travel so far?"

Noak suppressed a grumble. Ranoz was annoying as ever, but he was the one who could make a difference. "Human affairs. There will be a war."

Black smoke curled over the eldest's nostrils, a sign of his disdain. "I don't care for human business."

"Neither do I. But you know as well as I that human bloodshed will affect the creatures of the night, too." Noak hadn't travelled across half the Haon Valley to be told off.

Ranoz blinked. "This is the duty of the Ahranan, the queen of the night, and she died five summers ago."

"She left an heir." Noak knew the tragic story of Queen Haonàn's demise.

"The heir never took up her duty. She disappeared and left the creatures of the night to fend for their own." The dragon had lifted his head now.

As exhausted as she was, Noak was glad she had succeeded and raised his interest. "Right. And that's what we should do, fend for ourselves. Which means we should protect the kaedin and the xylin living in the Haon Valley, where the armies will meet."

Ranoz shook his triangular head, a slow and deliberate gesture, "They should avoid the lands of the humans the same way we do."

"They can't. You know kaedin can't survive far from a major watercourse. The icy heights of Eshekir or your fire mountains are their death. The same goes for the gentle xylin. As flexible as they are, they thrive best on the meadows and in the lush forests of the lowlands."

"What do you want from me?" Ranoz dropped his head onto his front paws and rolled his glowing eyes.

"A place to sleep for the day." She curled up at the other end of the cave. Ranoz's eyes followed her every move. She could almost feel his misgivings. As soon as she was comfortable, she blinked at him. "And your help with my plan."

(1057 words)