Prologue “Livon?” a voice asked. The older man leaned on the window sill, looking out. His frail white hair stirred in the wind. It was impossible to tell that it had been black just a year ago. Livon turned to look at his apprentice. He was young, only twenty years. Not quite as young of an apprentice as he usually took, but Geon had not been a disappointment to him.
“Yes, my son?” Truthfully, Geon was not Livon’s biological son, but Livon al-ways had close friendships with his apprentices.
“Why are the wizards the Gatekeepers? And what part do sorcerers and dragons play?” Livon chuckled.
“We have not yet gone over this, have we? The wizards are Gate-keepers because Dragon’s Law proclaims it so. The sorcerers are the Sword Bearers. They uphold the Dragon’s Law.”
“Why do we have Dragon’s Law?”
“Because we need it, my son. Humans are not fit to make laws. The dragons are wiser then we will ever be.”
He returned his gaze to the scene below him. “The country’s in disorder now. Magicians battling for supremacy. Old Magic that no one understands how to use is sneaking into our country. Wizards do not let anyone pass the Gates without paying taxes. Sorcerers no longer uphold the Dragon’s Law.
“What’s worse, the dragons refuse to have anything to do with us. They are understanding, patient and forgiving, but only to a point. They let us get into our own problems. They only clean up after us when they really have to. What we need is another Leeanna.” He stopped and coughed. He was older than he could remember; old enough to have stopped counting at four centuries. The turmoil of the lands had aged him five times faster than he should have aged.
“Who is Leeanna, Livon?” Geon asked. He knew he would probably lose one of his best friends soon. He did not want to really think about it, so he spent as much time with him as possible.
“Leeanna,” Livon’s scratchy voice said. “From her we gained Dragon’s Law. She was a prophesied Savior. Sit down, my son. If you want to hear the story of Dragon’s Law, then you had better get comfortable. It is long.
“It starts centuries ago, when this same land was in turmoil. Off from our city, a lone hill stood in the middle of a rainy night. Inside were three human hearts and one dragon heart. . .”
Dragon’s Law The rain poured outside of the cave. The cave was illuminated only when lighting showed its fiery face in the dark storm clouds.
“This has to be the work of Drime Thundermage,” the man told the women. His name was Hectat. His wife’s name was Shiana. They had been hunted down by Drime. He wanted them, and their powers, for his use only. Shiana pulled her baby daughter closer to her. She was frightened of the storms, ever since her father was killed in one. Now this one threatened to do the same to her family.
((Calm, human,)) a kind, elderly voice told him. ((Drime Thundermage will have to come here personally to take you.)) The age old dragon’s mind voice calmed Hectat. He knew Drime would find them. He knew Drime would kill them and the dragon, but he also knew that his daughter would live. Beyond that, he did not know, for he no longer applied to the world. A shard of light appeared outside the cave.
“Here,” Shiana said, thrusting the baby girl at Grivon the dragon. “Hide her well. She must live.” The dragon carefully encircled his claws around the bundle, and moved further back in his cave. Setting her in a niche, he covered the sight of her off with a rock. He returned to the parents.
((It is time,)) he told them. ((We are ready,)) he called out into the stormy sky. ((Come for us. You know you must. It is in the Prophecy!)) he roared. The light outside the cave turned in to a rolling boil of burning white fire. It churned as much as the sky above did. From it, a form of a man appeared. Drime Thundermage was five foot eleven. He had broad shoulders and sharp etched facial features, proving what you knew about him when you met him.
“I am here,” he told them in a snarling voice. One got the idea that he was a restless one, one who moved anywhere and anywhen where the winds blew him. Hectat shot a fire colored bolt of magic at him. Drime blocked it and returned a bolt of silver white magic. Enveloping him, Hectat kept his mouth shut. Drime would like it no better than for him to scream. The silver magic spread and enveloped Shiana. She, too, would not pleasure Drime with a scream. Inside the silver white fire, they shrank until they were lost from view. The silver fire also shrank. With that done, Drime turned on the dragon.
“Now you, my fine scaled creature.” Drime swung out his staff. At the peak in its deadly swing, an iron bar shot out from the end of the staff. The blade slid cleanly through Grivon’s scaled hide. Grivon held his tongue against his roar of pain. He knew he was going to die, but he had not known it would be to iron.
“Iron to bind thy fey,” Drime hissed.
((The Royalty it does not sway,)) he returned weakly. Drime laughed.
“You are no Royal. You have four claws. You will die, and it is my time to leave. No doubt you have told another dragon to come. I shall leave before it gets here.” A swirl of white silver fire appeared and blocked the scenery behind him. Laughing triumphantly, Drime stepped into the light and disappeared. Grivon dragged his increasingly heavy mass to the back of his cave. Uncovering the girl, he carefully brought her down. He pulled two rings out from under his bed. Using the last of his magic, he shrunk them. One was a gem enwrapped in silver. The stone was green with gold and brown accents. The other was a sky blue opal. A cobra held the tear shaped opal. He set them in the baby girl’s blanket. He called up the last of his power and ripped a piece of his soul. It was the part that made him dragon. It was not tainted with his personality, it was just the part that made him dragon.
((You shall live,)) he told the girl as he placed his soul on her. It fell into her body, absorbing her own soul. She was now a human with a dragon soul. True to Drime’s words, claws scratching on the cave floor alerted him that his niece had come. Grivon lay his head on the cool floor. It was too heavy to hold up. The younger dragon came up to the dark gray dragon’s side. Grivon pointed to the bundle.
((Leeanna,)) he whispered. He closed his eyes and quietly left the world. His niece cocked her head to the side. Questions ran through her mind. She was young, only nine-teen centuries. Her mind boiled with thoughts and queries. Still, that was all dampened at the sight of her favorite uncle dead of iron. She looked over where he had pointed. Moving to the bundle, she discovered it was alive.
((A human girl? Why did Uncle want me to take care of her?)) she wondered aloud. Shrugging, the she-dragon picked up the bundle and carefully bore off with her into the night.
* * * * * * ((Why do the trees sing?)) Leeanna asked her mentor, Skylark. Skylark was the older dragon’s niece. She really wasn’t related to Grivon. She came from a different family. His family had one-names. Hers had two-names.
((They sing because they want to. It is part of their life. They sing to try to get mortals to remember that there are more to the world than humans. Unfortunately, humans have forgotten how to listen.))
((I’m human, aren’t I, Skylark?)) the girl asked.
((You are in others’ eyes, but never in mine, Leeanna. You will always be a dragon and a sister to me.)) Leeanna blushed. She did not often get compliments from her dragon mentor.
((Tell me again about my parents,)) Leeanna begged. Skylark made a dragon smile.
((I have told you that story twice as many times as your age. How many times is that?)) Leeanna quickly multiplied sixteen by two.
((Thirty-two times,)) she said promptly.
((Hmm,)) Skylark muttered. ((Maybe I have told you that story three or four times your age. Very well. Your father was Hectat. Your mother was Shiana. I met them a couple of times. They were very nice. There were few who would even have thought to hurt them.))
((Who killed them?)) Leeanna asked for the hundredth time. She knew the answer before Skylark’s mental voice told her.
((We do not know. All I know is that it had something to do with the Prophecy. We cannot find out because we do not have a copy of it.))
Leeanna looked down. She had never truly thought she was a dragon. She was too different. She knew she was what the other dragons called humans. The strange thing was, whenever the other dragons spoke of humans, a shiver was in their mental thought. When they spoke to Leeanna, they spoke to her as an equal. In their eyes, she was one of them, no matter what species she was born in.
((Leeanna. . .)) Skylark’s voice had become quiet. Leeanna tore her eyes away from the ground and looked at the sharp blue eyes of the blue-black dragon. Skylark’s wings were neatly folded on her back out of the way of the back spikes. She was small, not quiet fifty feet. When she was twenty centuries, she would be between ninety and one hundred feet. Like snakes and turtles, dragons continued growing for their whole life.
((Yes, Skylark?))
((As all dragons do at about your age, you need to spread your, um. . .)) The rest, ‘spread your wings,’ just didn’t seem tactful. ((It is time you started journeying to learn more about the world.)) Leeanna sighed, but nodded. She knew she was going to have to leave home at one point or another.
((I shall gather my things,)) she told the young dragon. ((See me off, though, please.))
((Would not miss it for the worlds,)) Skylark assured her. Twilight saw her far from home with a pack on her back. She needed not fear the dark. She could see well, and all the creatures in the area knew she was raised by a fight-ing dragon. They would not bother her. Above her, clouds rumbled warningly. They seemed impatient. She shrugged and continued on her way. Before her, a cloud of silver white fire appeared. A man’s form emerged from it. He looked around, then saw Leeanna.
“Hello,” he greeted her.
((Who are you?)) she asked. He seemed visibly startled to hear her voice in his head, but he caught himself and answered steadily enough.
“I am Drime Thundermage. Who are you?” It was a simple enough query, but Leeanna was distrustful of anything new, especially mages.
((I am Leeanna,)) she replied hesitantly.
“Leeanna?” he echoed. “An interesting name for a dragon.”
((I am not a dragon. I just happened to be raised by one.))
“Oh. I see. Interesting. My young women, you may be human in body, but you have a dragon soul. All you have to do is tap into that soul’s powers and you can become a dragon.”
((Really? Is that how I can speak like this?))
“Yes. If you would come with me, I will teach you how to tap into your dragon’s power. I will also teach you to speak in a human language so you don’t give yourself away when you need to hide.”
Leeanna still had her doubts, but the curiosity and hunger for knowledge drove her forward. She took his outstretched hand. The silver white fire, which had disappeared, reappeared, and Drime walked into it, pulling Leeanna with him. When they stepped out, she couldn’t begin to describe her feelings. Being brought up by dragons, she had grown used to the thought of humans being pigs. What she saw astounded her. Humans were not the pigs she had thought they were. There were buildings built higher that she could see. On their sides were decorative scenes. “Mosaics,” Drime explained. People walked by, wearing all sorts of bright colors. Growing up in the jungle, Leeanna had been clothed in dark greens and browns. These people wore bright yellow, blood red, fruit green, and sky blue. In an hour her eyes hurt from all the staring she did. Drime led her to a barren road. They walked for a couple hours until a huge castle came into view. It was made of dark gray marble with painted lightning bolts on it. It reminded Leeanna of the storm before Drime had arrived. She shivered. They came to a large drawbridge which was immediately lowered. Starting to walk across, she noticed that there was a serpent in the moat. Drime had his back to her because he was talking to another man. Unnoticed, she walked over to the edge.
((Hello!)) she called. Startled, the serpent came over to her. None had ever talked to him before. The other man that was talking to Drime noticed that she had her hand held out to the serpent.
“Lass!” he shouted. “Watch out! That monster will take you’re hand off!” She didn’t even turn to look at him. Both men watched amazed as the serpent slid up to the girl. She reached down and scratched the top of his head. He exhaled, blowing air onto her that blew her hair and clothes back. Then he slid back into the water and swam away. Chuckling, she turned back to find the men looking at her strangely.
((What?)) she asked. The other man went white under his tan and said quietly, “Oh.”
“Come,” Drime said, taking a hold of her arm. She walked with him to the immense, wooden door. It was opened, and a man appeared out of nowhere.
“Sir. Avon Firemage is here.” Drime scowled.
“Why is he here?”
“I don’t know, Sir. He wouldn’t tell me. He’s in the library.” Drime changed directions and headed down a well light hallway. They came to two large rosewood doors.
“Would you like to come in, or would you rather stay here?”
((I’d like to come.)) He nodded his acceptance and turned to the doors. Waving his hand, they opened magically. He strode in and Leeanna followed him. Inside, there was a man with his back to them, looking out the window. She could see he had spongy fire red hair. He was six foot three with broad shoulders and a well muscled body. He turned to look at Drime and caught sight of Leeanna and frowned.
“I thought you would have chosen a little older lover,” he said, turning away. Leeanna felt herself start to blush.
((I would not be laid by a mage!)) she shouted. He turned to look at her closer. She glared at him as he scrutinized her. Somehow, though, she could stand his scrutinizing more than she could stand Drime’s. His eyebrows knitted together.
“Oh.”
He turned away again. “I saw the show down below. It might explain a few things.”
((As to why that poor serpent is lonely,)) she snapped. He turned back toward her and she felt herself blush again. He shook his head, but as he turned away, she saw him smile.
“Ahem,” Drime said. “I know you like me no more than I like you. Why are you here?” Avon Firemage glanced at Leeanna. “Don’t worry,” Drime snapped. “She probably wouldn’t understand. Yes?”
“I am here because the Council personally sent me. We need to discuss getting a new Earthmage.”
((This is something I’m not supposed to understand, hm?)) Drime sighed while Avon covered a smile with his hand. Drime knew she was going to be quite annoying.
“Perhaps the lady would like to be excused,” Drime hinted.
((Of course not,)) she replied, ignoring the hint. ((I want to see this.)) Avon forgot his hand; he was grinning broadly now. Drime rubbed his temple. He could feel a headache coming on.
“So,” he continued, ignoring Leeanna, “you have come to me. I know of no mage who could take the place of our last Earthmage.”
((Female mage,)) Leeanna muttered. Drime ignored her, but Avon seemed interested.
“What did you say, dragoness?”
((I said a female mage.))
“Why in all the Gods would we need a female for the Earthmage?”
((Have you ever had a male Earthmage?))
“Well, now that you mention it. . .um. . .no.”
((That’s because Earth can only be moved by women. She would never let a male represent Her.))
Avon scratched his head. “An interesting thought. I shall bring it before the Council. As for you Drime, I thank you for you time. I shall be going now.” As he passed by Leeanna, he gave her a wistful look. She wondered what he meant by the look. Drime closed the door behind him and turned to her.
“Now, let’s start at the basics.”
* * * * * It took Leeanna only a few weeks to master reading, writing and speaking. Drime was withdrawn about having to teach her, but when he learned that she learned quickly, he looked forward to the lessons. At the same time he taught her how to get in contact with her dragon soul. He taught her dragon magic. Most of it was war magic, but some was useful, day to day magic. It took her less and less time to master each one. Soon, about a month and a half later, he ran out of spells to teach her. The night of her last spell, he taught her how to take on her dragon form. She stayed out all night trying her wings out. To her disappointment, it was too dark to see what colors she was. In the morning, she was woken up by Drime.
“Come!” he yelled. “There is someone trying to steal something from my treasure room!” She was out of bed and already half way in dragon form before she realized what was happening. For her comfort, Drime had enlarged his castle walkways so that she could walk in them in dragon form. She arrived at the treasure room doors. They slammed open to let her in. She rushed in and was brought up short by the mage in his treasure room. It was Avon Firemage.
“Hold, dragon-guardian. I take what is rightfully mine. What your keeper took from me.” She didn’t like the word ‘keeper,’ but she realized that he probably didn’t know it was her. Avon held up a stone to her. Leaning down, she breathed in its scent. Indeed, Avon’s smell on it was older than Drime’s. She turned to the other mage. He smiled sheepishly, then disappeared.
“Are you going to kill me, then, dragon?” She looked down at Avon. Somehow, in dragon form, he looked sort of . . . handsome.
((No, I am not going to kill you.)) Her mind voice, the only way she could speak to him in dragon form, rang a bell in his head.
“It’s you,” he said. He put the stone down. She whirled and crashed out of the castle. Before she got out, she changed to her human form.
‘What a disappointment,’ she thought. ‘I finally take my form in the day, and I don’t get to see what I look like.’ She ran up to her favorite place, a spot underneath an old gnarled oak. She sat there for hours until she heard a voice say, “So here you are. I thought I might find you here.” She looked up at Avon.
“Hello,” she said quietly.
“Oh, so you speak now?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind my asking, how did you get your name?” He chuckled.
“You just found out your teacher is a liar and you want to know how I got my name?”
“Please don’t remind me. I’m trying not to think about it.”
“Very well. I got my name because I was born in Avalon. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about it. We left it just a few weeks after I was born. How did you get your name?” She shook her head.
“I don’t know. My parents and my parent’s friend dragon were killed when I was a baby. They were the only ones who knew about me.” She sighed and put her hands on her knees. Startled, Avon grabbed her left hand. On the third finger was a cobra holding a tear shaped opal.
“You’re our Earthmage? But you aren’t even human!”
((What?)) she asked, reverting to mind speech as the pressure became intense.
“One of our Council members had a psychic dream. Our new Earthmage would have a cobra familiar. That’s what your cobra stands for. It also stands for your connection to the Earth. The problem with the dream was that she couldn’t see what stone it was.”
((Why are stones so important?))
“Because stones tell what level of magic a person is.” He was getting excited. “Wizards have emeralds. We mages have stones to fit our power. See? Mine is a red fire opal. Magicians have rubies.
“The thing is, opal is a dragon stone. Only. Only dragons wear opals. It’s our law. Even the dragons abide by it.”
((What about you’re stone? You said it was red fire opal. Then you said opal was a dragon stone only.)) He stopped, then put out tentatively, “May be because I have dragon blood in my family. It showed highly in my blood. Not quite dragon, not quite human.”
((Why would you want a dragon as a mage?))
“Why not? Dragons are mages, too. They are just mages of the air. I mentioned getting a dragon’s opinion in the Council. It was laughed off. Oh, the Fates have been kind to me.”
He turned to her and grabbed her hands in a sudden urgency. His yellow-green eyes grew wide. “I am traveling right now. Seeing the world. Would you like to come? Would you come?” He didn’t understand the urgency. He thought that it would be better if she returned to the dragons, but he wanted desperately for her to come with him. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she said no.
((How do I know that’s what you really want?)) He fidgeted, and then said, “What if you did a mind lock with me?”
((A what?))
“A mind lock. Oh, he didn’t teach you anything, did he? It’s a type of mind reading where both are the participants. You know who and what I am, and I know who and what you are.”
((Is it hard?))
“No. It can only be done when a dragon is involved. Only they can create the circuit.” She thought about it for a while. Avon had to bite his tongue against urging her. She might refuse if she felt pushed.
“All right,” she said at last. “What do I do?” Avon put his hands on the side of her face.
“Do what I do. Now open your mind to me.” She did so, and it seemed more like she was in his mind then hers. She saw herself as he did, first as an annoying twirp, then an interest, then a marvel. She felt his urgency. He felt her confusion between humans and dragons. He knew that she liked him a lot better than Drime. He saw himself through her eyes. First a simple curiosity, then a kind of liking that began friendships. He saw that she was as curious about him as he was of her. At last, almost reluctantly, he released her from the mind lock. She seemed almost as reluctant as he. She leaned back against the tree trunk. Avon fell back along the grass.
“That was. . .” she began, but couldn’t find the words.
“Amazing,” Avon supplied. “Oh, and by the way, you are gold with a dark green under belly.” She looked at him. He grinned. “Trust me. I got a good, up close look.”
“Trust you?” Leeanna laughed. “I would leave my life in your hands right now if I had to or even if I didn’t have to.”
“Livon, I don’t ever recall being told about a mind lock.”
“I never told you about it?”
“No.”
“They didn’t teach you about it in school?”
“No,” Geon said again. Livon sighed and said, “What are they teaching you in school about dragons? Obviously nothing. A mind lock is a connection of two minds. Now a days, it is reserved only for couples or friends who have known each other for years. Now a days, we don’t need dragon’s help. In those days, we did. For them, though, it was practiced between people who have just met each other and are going to be with each other for a while.”
“Oh.”
“May I continue?” Livon asked patiently.
“Yes. I shall be quiet now.”
“Thank you. Now, as I was saying, Leeanna went back to Drime’s castle to pack. She rejoined Avon in the fading light of evening. . .”
“So,” Leeanna said as she came out of the castle to meet Avon. “Where are we going first?”
“Well, I’m not only journeying, I’m also solving problems. Our next stop is. . .” He trailed off as he looked at a map. “Our next stop is actually the Capital.” Leeanna nodded and said, “I wanted to visit the Capital, to see what it is like.”
“Well, now it seems you will have the chance.” Then he chuckled, realizing that he, too, had wanted to visit the capital. She looked at him curiously, then shook her head.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. You’re just not what I thought you might be like.”
“What did you except?”
“Someone who liked torturing people.” He opened his mouth, but she hastily said, “Remember, I was raised by dragons.” He closed his mouth.
“So, when do we leave?”
“Now.” Avon smiled as Leeanna made a face. She didn’t like traveling in the evening and he knew it. They walked down to the village, but because it was winter, the sun set faster than they anticipated. They ended up taking shelter from the coming rains in the village inn. There, they found some trouble.
“We have only one room open, Sir,” the man at the front told Avon. He looked at Leeanna. She made a face, but nodded.
“All right, we’ll take it.”
“Very good, Sir.” The man raised his hand, and a scrawny, thin boy appeared at his elbow. The man quickly indicated to the boy what he was to do. The young boy beckoned to them both, then led them up the stairs. Pausing at the third door, he pushed it open and made a gesture for them to enter. As he passed by them on the way down, he gave Leeanna a weird look. She opened her mouth to ask him, but the boy disappeared at that moment. Shaking her head, she followed Avon in.
“So,” he said, turning to her. “Where would you like to sleep? The bed or the floor?” She considered.
“I’d rather sleep on the floor. I find it much more comfortable than the bed.” So they created their own beds. Avon gave her a couple of blankets from his bed, and with them, she made a sort of nest-bed. He looked at it, an amused, half secretive smile on his face.
“What?” she asked.
“I have heard that dragons sleep in caves, but that they sleep in one certain spot shaped like a nest. Is this true?” Laughing, she said yes. He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. He seemed to shrug it off. Curling up in his bed, he said good night.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Leeanna woke suddenly. She listened, her heart pounding, for there were very few reasons she would wake up so suddenly in the middle of the night. Self preservation was one of those. Things of great interests was another. All she heard was Avon muttering to himself in his sleep. She got up to go check on him. She found him, sweat on his face, tightly gripping the bed sheets. Feeling his pulse, she found it rapidly beating. She wanted to wake him, but thought better of it. The person could sometimes be damaged by being woken up by someone else. After much debate with herself, she put her cool fingers on his temples and entered his mind. His mind was in chaotic shambles. Pieces of information loomed every where. Avon was too young to know so much. The knowledge continuously haunted him. He could slow it in the day, but at night when his defenses were down, his mind was free game. Leeanna entered carefully, netting up knowledge and putting it away. Everywhere she went, she looked for the star that would be Avon. He had disappeared, hiding himself from the knowledge monsters. He desperately needed help, and Leeanna was the only one who could help him. She saw him before he saw her. To her, he was just a star in the darkness, one that was red and black. The red stood for his relation with fire. The black stood for what he felt. He needed someone else.
He saw her then, and to him, she looked like a swirl with strips, ones that never ceased to be, ones that showed she came up with new things every day. Avon bravely reached out, his light weak, into the unknown darkness. Touched, Leeanna could do nothing but reach out for him as well. Their lights touched, and Leeanna felt something she had never felt before. Raised by dragons, who have a love for pleasure, she had a wide range, going from males, to food, to sleep. What she felt now went beyond words, beyond her range of experiences. She retreated from his mind. Physically, she found herself in his arms. He was asleep; a peaceful sleep, thankfully. Tired as she always was from doing something new, she feel asleep in his arms.
* * * * * “Good morning,” a gentle voice said in her ear. She opened her eyes to see two yellow-green eyes. Automatically, her arms tightened around his waist. He smiled softly down at her.
“Take a look around you,” he whispered in her ear. She looked around, and found that they were both curled up in a ball in a sort of nest shaped area. She laughed.
“Your infecting me.” His voice was serious, but his eyes danced in laughter.
“You didn’t expect me to?” she replied laughingly.
“You know, we are going to need to get up.” She groaned as Avon smiled. “If you think its bad now, think about how it will be in a week.” Leeanna groaned even louder.
“Come,” he said pulling her along with him. She suddenly came very awake and let go of him. She then preceded to shove him off the bed.
“Wha-” he started, but was cut off as he hit the floor. “Ouch,” he moaned, rubbing his back where he had hit it. “Why you-” he said as he grabbed Leeanna’s arms. He pulled her down, and she kept rolling with the momentum. When they figured out where legs and arms were, Leeanna looked up to find Avon’s face inches above hers. They both looked into each other’s eyes, knowing what was to become of them, neither sure if they welcomed the outcome. Leeanna tentatively put a hand on the side of his face. Avon watched her, a certain light in his eyes. She slowly pulled his head down. He met her lips, as passion flared in both. Leeanna wasn’t sure how long the lip lock lasted, but it did eventually fade. She watched the light in Avon’s eyes. It hadn’t dimmed; it had just spread from his eyes to his touch. Leeanna wasn’t sure how long it was, but Avon eventually-slowly-rolled off next to her. She rolled with him so that she was curled up against his side. One of his arms was around her.
((You know,)) he said quietly in her mind, ((we are going to need to get up.)) Leeanna nodded sleepily, then the thought hit her full in the face. She rose up to look at him. On his face was an “how-the-hell-did-I-do-that?” look. Leeanna suspected she wore something close to the same.
((You are infecting me,)) he said after a while.
((So it seems,)) she replied. She wanted to say something to make him speak in mind thoughts again. She liked the sound of his mind. It was just as pleasant to listen to as his physical voice.
((Why?)) Avon asked. Leeanna thought a little while before answering.
((As I recall, you had told me you had some dragon blood, correct?))
((Yes.))
((I thought so. There have been occasions where a person has had dragon blood. When they come in contact with a pure dragon, their, um, dragon “genetics” wake up. You may be fully dragon by the end of this day, month, or year.))
((“Or”?))
he questioned. Leeanna blushed and replied, ((It is not well known. There has been one case of it, and, um, well . . . that was me. So it is not quite the same.))
((Oh,)) Avon replied. ((I see. Now, I wonder what the Council will say to this.))
((Who says we have to tell them?)) Leeanna asked.
((We need to,) Avon replied. ((That way they know they have a dragon’s opinion on the Council. Two, actually; yours and mine. They cannot kick me off, and they have agreed whoever has the cobra ring is our Earthmage.))
((Hm,)) Leeanna murmured. ((Now you are making me wonder. Thank you very much. When I wonder, I want to know immediately.))
((Calm down, Lee,)) Avon told her. ((You will know soon enough. The Council is at the Capital. We will find out then.)) They finally packed up and left to head toward the Capital. It was mid-afternoon when they reached the Capital. Avon told Leeanna that it surprised him they got there so quickly. The Council was out of doors, waiting for them. A man with black hair came forward and introduced himself.
“I am Livon,” he told them. “I know you, Avon. Are you the she-dragon that is now known throughout the world?”
“Obviously I am,” she replied laughingly. He took them inside the castle.
“We need to talk to you about a justice system,” Livon said.
“Livon,” Geon said. “You never told me that you knew Leeanna.”
“Oh, yes, my son. I knew Leeanna very well. She was the sweetest person you could ever meet. At the same time, she was the hardest and strongest person you could ever meet. For lack of a better word, she was perfect. She was the most perfect Savior you ever ask for.”
“Does that mean she left us because we weren’t perfect?” Geon asked, puzzled.
“I cannot answer that, my boy. I do not know. No one knows, although I am sure many people want to know.”
“Oh.”
“Now, as I was saying. . .”
In the next few days, Avon, Leeanna, and Livon worked on a better justice system. Leeanna decided that wizards should be the Gatekeepers, guarding the Gates that allow people to leave and go to other realms. She said that the mages should uphold the Laws she made, and because most of the mages were there, they agreed. The sorcerers would protect and enforce Dragon’s Law. Avon and Leeanna lived together in the Capital for years. Many were confused on how Avon and Leeanna knew what the other was thinking without speaking. They were also confused on how both Avon and Leeanna stayed the same age. Only Livon knew their secret, and they shared a little bit of it. He would live longer now, longer than the youngest sorcerer or sorceress. Both lived there for many years. They watched angrily as more and more young ones ignored their teachings. Soon, the land was almost at its worse. That day, Avon and Leeanna suddenly disappeared. They left the Capital, never to be seen again. No one knows where they went. On that same day, the dragons left their places in humanity. They went into the deep forests, never to be seen as well. People were startled by this occurrence, but they kept fighting each other. They did not know what it meant. It meant something bad. Something very bad.
Epilogue “What do you mean, Livon?”
“People thought they were in control of their own destiny,” he said. “As it turns out, they were. The thing is, they were not prepared for such a tremendous responsibility. They needed the dragons.”
“Too bad Leeanna is not alive,” Geon said sadly.
“I never said Leeanna was dead,” Livon replied. “We don’t know, but I don’t think she’s dead. I think she is waiting. Waiting for someone to come to her and say that we were wrong. We do need their help.” Geon thought about that for a few minutes, then said, “You know what I am resolved to do? I am going to find Leeanna, even if it takes my whole life.”
Livon smiled in reply.
