Dragon & Dreamer | ONC 2023 honourable mention

17 - A dragon's epilogue

A cold draft touched Noak's nose, and the hrankae stirred in her sleep, her scales rattling, before she opened an eye. The day after the battle had faded to dusk. She rolled her neck and stretched her tail. Time to leave their cosy resting place. Salik snored beside her, using his tail shield as a pillow. She nudged him, and he blinked. "Let us get up and find out what the kaedin report."

The two dragons squeezed out of the limestone cave in the cliff beneath the grave mounds. On the narrow ledge in front of the entrance, Noak savoured the calm evening air. The nasty smell of the humans, their fires and horses had dissipated. But the gentle breeze carried the sweet odour of decay from the river to their forested perch. Noak sniffed it before she spread her wings and flew to the meeting place on the summit. The younger dragon followed and landed beside her.

Next to the standing stone, three kaedin waited and overwhelmed the hrankaedí with projections of warm gratitude. Noak placed her massive head on her paws to be closer to the tiny creatures. "Are you sure the intruders have gone?"

She received pictures of men fleeing across the grasslands, travelling in small groups, hiding in secluded valleys, and heading to the barren lands of the north. Still surprised by her discovery of the little creatures' communication skills, Noak blinked. "The kaedin believe the northerners dispersed."

"Just what we hoped." Salik bared two rows of sharp teeth in a broad dragon grin.

"Yes. It seems the kaedin and xylin are free to roam the plains again. Without a doubt, the Keleni will retreat to their cities soon enough. They don't crave the northern lands." She licked her lips and burped a cloud of satisfied smoke. "Soon, we can return to where the mountain winds drive the snow over the highlands of Eshekir."

The kaedin seemed frightened by the picture of icy heights forming in her mind, some shivering as if the fierce gusts were the reality. They hustled away, projecting a tattered wave of gratitude mixed with the longing for warm summer nights.

A hoarse laugh tickled Noak's throat. "I'm sorry, little friends."

The kaedin responded with pictures of a meadow in the moonlight.

"Let's check with our eyes if the war is over." Noak couldn't wait to leave the lowlands and the humans' messy affairs behind to travel south, but for her report to Ranoz, she needed to be sure the fights were over.

The dragons launched from the summit plateau to search for the Keleni detachments. They proved easy to spot, the rows of fires in their ordered camps regular patterns in the landscape below. The Tannarí camped on the western flank, but the northerners were harder to find. As the kaedin had reported, they had split, moving fast in different directions.

Noak snorted and banked to the left, back towards the river. "Soon, the lowlands will find peace again."

They returned to the Geai in a wide arc, circling over the battlefield. It would carry the scars of the fight for moons to come, but already scavengers were busy cleaning away what the humans had left to rot.

Salik sniffed the air and blinked his golden eyes. "It's strange how quiet it is." The battle had lasted a single day, but the warriors had inflicted more damage on each other than the dragons could believe. Two nights later, only the decaying carcasses told the bloody story of the encounter.

Noak exhaled a dark cloud. "Humans are strange creatures. I don't understand them."

"I'm glad they avoid our mountains. They are like ants. Once they reach a place, they claim it as their own."

"A valid comparison, my friend. But come, a long journey lies ahead." Mighty wing beats brought them away from the Geai and the human destruction to an altitude where favourable winds carried them southeast, towards the mountains of Eshte and Eshekir.

Noak enjoyed the flight, satisfied her plan had succeeded with the help of the xylin, the kaedin, and the two humans. In the end, only the success counted. The only unpleasant thing remaining was the visit to Ranoz. The grumpy eldest didn't care about much since the death of the Ahranan, the queen of the night. But he was the head of the hrankaedí and needed to hear what had happened. This last duty fulfilled, Noak could retreat to the snow-capped heights of Eshekir, far from human traffic routes.

The thought of the winter storms howling around the peaks and across the glaciers infused her with fierce longing and determination. Once home, it might take several moons or seasons until she felt the urge to travel again. Sometimes, she understood why Ranoz preferred to live a hermit's life in his sulphurous cave on Hrantosh instead of dealing with other creatures. Most were annoying, hard to understand, or outright weird—like humans.

While they travelled over the silent forests and fields of northern Kelen, Noak couldn't help wondering how she got herself entangled with humans—and came to lead an army across the hills of Linar to clash with another in battle. To her, it remained a mystery why the young warrior riding the black horse had taken her cue and followed her lead. But she was glad he did. Otherwise, her reckless plan would have failed, and failure didn't sit well with an old hrankae.

Noak had a lot to learn about humans and dealing with them. She coughed a fiery trail of desperation across the sky and propelled herself forward with energetic wing beats.

"What's wrong, Noak?"

"Nothing. Just wondering why the threads of our destiny interlace with those of humans, or at least with some of them. It is—disturbing."

Salik panted, struggling to keep up, and Noak slowed to save his strength, reminding herself they needn't rush anymore. Her companion was still young, his wings half the size of hers. But he had been a great help and trusty friend. One day, he would become a wise dragon, wiser than her, perhaps, who had found it necessary to meddle with humans.

She clicked her tongue and blew an amused ring of black smoke into the starlit sky. "Nothing to worry about, my young friend. The future lies beyond the dawn, and only time will unveil its secrets. For now, let us be glad this adventure went well and enjoy this beautiful night."