City of Embers

1. A Sylvan Encounter

It is generally known that dragons are both the oldest and the wisest creatures to inhabit the Universe. Theirs is indeed a distinction that enjoys special pride of place amongst all living things. Not only do they attain fantastic old age, but their kind and gentle nature has made them the guardians and repositories of the world’s knowledge and wisdom. On a cool mid-October morning just as the leaves were beginning to turn and woodland creatures stirred sleepily in their burrows, the dragon Easton settled down on a rocky outcropping near a small fountain to contemplate his own existence. His long snout, now covered in a dusting of white scales, which have been protecting him for the last four hundred and sixteen years lay on the very edge of the rock so that the smell of the water entered his nostrils and filled his senses entirely. He had travelled far to come to the Resting Place and his limbs were tired and weary. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, drawing in of the world around him and with it, its secrets. He was tired down to his very core. Tired of the universe of men, who were incapable of governing themselves without fight or prejudice. Tired of the years spent trying to teach them of right and wrong, good and bad, of sacrifice and humility. But tired, mostly, of a life spent in studious solitude. Night after lonely night of pouring over books of spells and magic weary with fatigue. He longed - more than anything else - for companionship, for anyone with whom to share his discoveries and experiences. He would be quite content, he decided just then, to fall asleep and never wake up, to drift off with the smell of the best of the world replete in his senses and the sound of the flowing water filling his ears. The idea struck him as singularly unique and he determined to search for the Flower of Sleep that would grant him respite from his lonely existence. So determined, he roused himself from the rock, leaving behind the fast-flowing water and its magical soporific sounds and set about with renewed energy to locate the little flower. He had just turned onto the path that led to the lushest part of the valley, when a faint sound came to him, halting his progress directly. He turned his ear this way and that, testing the air for the ephemeral note that seemed only a second ago so distinct amongst the other sounds of the forest, but heard nothing. He continued on his way and before long it came to him again, soft and sweet and gentle, carried on a leaf-filled breeze that barely stirred the tops of the great trees. Again, he paused and listened. And this time it seemed somewhat closer. He tested the air, this time with his forked tongue and chuckled as he recognised - beyond a shred of doubt - the sounds of a young human child at play. Careful so as not to disturb it, the great dragon crept up to the place where the child was murmuring to itself in a glade of grass, and stood watching it in silence. Seconds passed, then minutes as the great dragon stood there, mesmerised by the musings of a child lost in the trappings of its own imagination. There is nothing more beautiful, he thought, than the happiness of a child spell-bound in a world of its own creation. He might have stayed like that for a long time, were it not that his thoughts turned to the child’s safety and, glancing furtively around, could discern no guardian or parent close at hand. He stepped into the clearing and as he did so, the child turned its saucer-like sapphire eyes up to him.

2. The Dialogue

Livia was the child’s name and she had been abandoned in the forest on that bright October morning when Easton had determined to take its own life. To him, she was a portent of all the good that still remained in the world and a sign that his work there was not yet done. He whisked her back to his castle - many worlds away - and raised her as though she were his own. By slow degrees she learned first to speak, then to write and as the years went by, the two grew closer in mind and spirit. Hers was an active and thirsty mind - like most children - and she learned with a fervour and concentration that impressed her guardian enormously. Not only was she kind and gentle, but her character lent itself to a creativity and aptitude for magic such as the dragon had never before witnessed. Her cultivated thoughts on matters pertaining to government and administration were finely developed and it was not long before the two could enter into lofty discussions on philosophy and the fate of humankind. Long sunny afternoons were spent in the dusty drawings rooms amidst piles of books, discussing the merits of this form of government and that. Debates were both lively and stimulating and the dragon rejoiced in a disciple that took to heart his pleas for a better world, one where men lived and learned in harmony. She seemed to understand the virtues of self-sacrifice and humility he strove to teach her and found novel ways of making her fellow man grasp its importance in a world fraught with narcissism and self-indulgence. On her sixteenth birthday he arranged for a masquerade ball and invited all the young men of the village to attend. Weeks were spent in preparation and not a corner of the castle was spared the decorations that Livia herself had picked out. The night of the ball finally arrived and young men and women poured into the castle from all parts of the world - many had heard of the beauty of the young woman that resided in the castle with the dragon and all were eager to see her for themselves. The great halls were filled with song and laughter and when the time came for the paired dances, Livia found herself in the arms of a young man of some considerable importance, the only man with the courage to approach her. Unable to watch for fear his heart would break, the dragon retired to his chambers, but was happy to discover that the young man held no special place in Livia’s heart.

- My pursuits are intellectual only, she reported to him the following day. What use would I have for a partner when there is still so much work to be done?

Easton’s great heart swelled. There could be no greater gift to the dragon than the devotion and care she had demonstrated at that very moment - both to her studies and also to him. Not long thereafter, the dragon and the girl made an appointment with the Council of Elders. The culmination of his life’s work and the reward for her unwavering application to her studies would be the founding of their own city.

3. Council of Elders

The meeting was set at the time when all three moons aligned in the fifth quadrant. The dragon had consulted his books and worked mathematical equations over and over and arrived each time at the same result. It was a most auspicious day and would bode well for a plea for the establishment of Livia’s city. The Elders were seated in the great Hall of Rocks and Flowers, a three days’ journey from the castle, at the appointed time. The Guards ushered Easton and Livia into the Hall then closed the large double-doors behind them. It was quiet beyond imagining, the only sound that of the water trickling over the rocks and gurgling softly as it disappeared into the Pool of Wonders. It was not the first time the dragon had appeared before the Elders, but each time seemed as though the first and Easton felt very keenly the weight of the responsibility that lay before him. He wore for the occasion his battle helmet and weighted armour and he seemed resplendent in its golden sheen, which seemed to bring out the best of his qualities. Livia wore a dress fashioned from the grandest material the dragon could find and seemed the very picture of purity and innocence. The Elders watched them with large benevolent eyes, surrounded as they were by the fragrant flowers that sprouted in the gardens around them. At length the Chief Council Elder spoke, a Being whose whole constitution verged on the ephemeral. She had come from a galaxy unknown to men, whose mean science had not yet permitted travel to those distant reaches of the universe and consequently remained veiled in mystery. She brought with her only knowledge and an eternity of experience in the ministries of people.

-So you want to petition for a city? She said and her soft voice filled the Hall with her beneficence.

Easton plied the Council with his reasons for wanting to establish a city, citing the various principles that would underlie it, the values in man it would shape and the system of government he would wish for it to adopt.

-What about the girl? Another of the Council added.

Easton retreated a step and gently nudged Livia into their hallowed presence.

-She will speak for herself, he said.

The Council listened with grave interest as Livia recounted her idea for a city of men and her role in it. At the end of her soliloquy the Elders seemed significantly pleased.

-So, you will have your city then, the Chief Elder said, bringing the proceedings to a close. Where do you propose to establish it?

The dragon bowed his great head and replied with steady voice:

-We have selected for the establishment of our city, the Desert Region of the Outer Reaches.

The Council murmured among themselves. The Outer Reaches was a stretch of land that belonged to no-one, at the very limit of the known world, beyond the ambit of influence exercised by any of the Galaxy’s Security Forces. It was both a wise choice and an imprudent one. Wise because the Council could not object on the grounds of proprietary rights. Imprudent because there could be no guarantee of the city’s safety at that distance from their sphere of influence. At length, the Chair of the Council of Elders spoke. Her eyes, no less benevolent than before, seemed for the first time filled with scepticism.

-We are inclined to grant you your request, she said. But there is one condition.

-Anything, the great dragon said.

-You are not, under any circumstances, to employ magic, in any of its forms, in the construction of your city or thereafter.

-Consider it done, the dragon replied and they quitted the Hall of Rocks and Flowers filled with renewed optimism for their grand undertaking.

4. The Outer Reaches

They recruited for their city only those men, women and children who were able-bodied enough to carry their simple wares themselves. On the third day of the sixteenth month, their large ships victualled, they set off for the Outer Reaches at the very edge of the Known World. The journey was a long and arduous one, fraught with dangers known and unknown, but they attained their destination just as Saturn’s moons descended along its eastern escarpment, this being the only point of reference in a world heretofore largely uncharted. The Galaxy Security Forces quitted them as their ships were grounded and the dragon, the girl, and the convoy of men, women and children were left to their own devices. At dusk on the first day, Livia stood at the top of the Red Mountain, Easton by her side, and looked out over the desolation that seemed to stretch from one end of the horizon to the other. Her eyes were filled with hope and wonder.

-There is nothing here, she said. But soon it will be a shining city.

-Have you thought of a suitable name for it? The dragon asked. He too, was filled with optimism and hope.

-We will call it The City of Light.

-Good, the dragon replied.

The establishment of a city is no trifling matter. It requires, for its initial phases at least, a strength of character and mental fortitude unparalleled and uncompromising. Many are the challenges that a founding party will face and meagre will be the resources at its disposal for their resolution. In addition to resourcefulness, it requires also foresight, determination and extraordinary patience. And to all of these must be added also a temperament of kindness, clemency and understanding in equal measure. All of these characteristics (and more) Livia possessed in abundance. While Livia spent long days and equally long nights writing laws, reviewing designs for building and ports, factories, schools and bridges, appointing land grants and entertaining petitions for the establishment of agricultural enterprise, Easton busied himself with the fortification of the city’s exterior limits. They saw little of one another in those first years, but their city grew by rapid degrees. Great was their pleasure as they watched it creep across the desert plain towards the horizon, Livia’s City of Light. In her twenty-first year and Easton’s four hundred and thirty fourth, the city had reached its first significant milestone as it welcomed the Chief of the Council of Elders who came to inspect their progress. Her satisfaction upon beholding the grandeur of the magnificent city was plain-writ on her face the moment she stepped off the landing craft.

-You have done well, she said reverently, as they entered the Temple of Light.

The dragon and the woman bowed low at her kind and gracious words.

Along the interior walls of the Temple, near the Eastern Entrance, were etched from conception to conclusion, the story of their enterprise. Here the forest where the girl and the dragon first met, her laughter almost tangible in the life-like etchings - a testament to the artist’s skill with the hammer and chisel, there the Great Hall of Rocks and Flowers where the dragon and the girl petitioned for the establishment of their city - their pained expressions an indication of the gravity of their mission. For a long moment, the Chief of the Council of Elders studied the look of concern on her own face carved in the mural.

-Veritably, she said at length, this is a true likeness of me.

At the end of her visit, the dragon and young woman bid her farewell and saw her off at her transport vessel.

-It is plain for anyone with eyes to see, she said, smiling down at the two founders, that yours is a city worthy of praise. I wish you every success as it moves into its next phase.

5. The Golden Years

In the years that followed the city enjoyed a period of unabashed prosperity. Its flourishing cannot be attributed solely to the many favourable attributes of its Founders, but resides equally in the preeminence of good fortune borne of the hard-work, sacrifice and dedication on the part of its citizenry. Amongst their many founding enterprises was the appointment of peoples whose task it was to oversee the various projects concerning the development of character. The design and construction of each and every public office was carried out with careful consideration to the effect its administration would have on the general public - in a moral and ethical sense. The diligent keeping of public record was second only to transparency in its importance for the health of the new city. Every expense was carefully documented and open to public scrutiny, so that anyone who felt the desire to know where tax-payer money was distributed, could simply browse the city’s records at their leisure. In keeping with her training and education, Livia oversaw the establishment of the law courts where every individual was considered to be equal and treated as such. Schools, universities, hospitals and the various other institutions whose aim it is to cultivate the mind, body and spirit, were administered with the utmost care and attention. And as is the case with any society where people live in harmony, the arts blossomed unhampered by considerations of practicality and fiscal prudence. Not long after its inception, the city grew to nurture the best writers, poets, sculptors and musicians, whose skill and expertise extolled the virtues and valours of the greatest city in the Known World. Business found its way to the doorsteps of those who enjoyed the challenge of enterprise and before long the city’s coffers filled with gold and all manner of precious mineral and material. The architects and builders of its great structures were commissioned to replicate their grand designs and ply their skills elsewhere across the Galaxy - a testament to their fine and grandiose work in the City of Light. And travellers came from all parts of the Galaxy to wonder at the marvels of the city and went home singing of its magnificence.

-Is it not amazing, Livia said to Easton one evening, that we have turned what was once no more than a desert with nothing more than rocks and mountains and sand into the shining city that it is today?

-Indeed, the dragon replied, we have made something where once there was nothing but hope.

Yet, despite their enormous success, something began to gnaw perceptibly at the fabric of their constitution. Livia felt the tug of loneliness and longed for a companion she might call her own. She felt it all the more keenly when she observed the young men and women of the city with their small children going about their business. Easton pined for the use of his magic - particularly when the need for it grew to an intensity he could no longer ignore. But they set their personal desires aside in the interests of the City of Light. The construction of the Temple of Light was their crowning achievement. It was a place where man, woman and child could escape the bustle of their daily routine and find solace in the knowledge that they belonged to something larger than themselves. Upon its completion, the dragon wandered down its long corridors and yet empty chambers, wishing with all his heart that he could fill it with magic such as had once filled the great halls of men in bygone years. But that time, he knew, was over, and besides, the Council of Elders had forbidden it. His longing to imbue the city’s heart with the only thing it lacked, grew until it became his own heart’s greatest desire - second only to his love for and devotion to, Livia.

6. The Suitors

In the long lonely years that followed, Livia plunged herself headlong into the maintenance and administration of the City of Light. Days were spent calculating the costs of stores and erection of buildings, the presiding over affairs of state and the settlement of minor disputes. Her evenings were taken up in discussions with the Ministers of the City of Light for the expansion of the city’s frontiers and the research that it exacted. Her consolation was the admiration and adoration of the city’s wonderful people, who looked to her not only as the bringer of peace and prosperity, but the paragon of strength, fortitude and persistence. No problem seemed beyond her capacity to resolve. No situation too small to merit her attention. She ruled with absolute confidence in her abilities and her unwavering sense of justice prevailed in the face of every adversity. But as the months turned to years and seasons passed and she watched the city’s children grow, she longed for a child of her own and - as is only natural - began to desire that thing without which her heart would not let her rest. Nor was there any shortage of suitors. Men often waited in queues on the doorstep of her residence at the mere prospect of an audience with the city’s gracious founder and benefactor. Many such young men brought gifts of the finest quality (silks from far flung lands, stones from the deepest mines) and readied themselves to regale her with tales of fantastic exploits in service of their city. But for Livia, they held little interest. When, one evening, a young man was brought to her in shackles - a rare occurrence in the City of Light where violence is virtually unknown - she could feel herself sympathetic of the lengths to which he had gone to win her estimation. Yes, he said, it is true that he fought and killed another man. And no, he does not regret his actions. All were committed in the defence of her name and honour. It was with a heavy heart indeed that she condemned the poor man to a life of exile and misery beyond the city’s walls. Easton watched as Livia’s character rapidly deteriorated. She confided in him when her longing became too heavy a burden to bear, and he listened as impartially as it is possible for one who loves another unconditionally, but he was helpless to come to her aid. For his part, the construction of the city’s fortifications took up most of his time and energy. He’d trained a corps of brave men to be the first line of its defence and personally saw to their instruction and training. He procured the weaponry required to fortify the ramparts and conducted regular inspections to ensure their continued maintenance. Yet he always found time to meet with Livia and discuss their next project. As the wisest of all creatures, he counselled when her own faculties seemed devoid of solutions and offered his vast experience whenever she found herself at a loss owing to the paucity of her own. And when he espied the line of suitors outside her residence waiting for an audience with her, he hurried them away or recruited them into his service on the city’s ramparts. To him, there could be no being other than himself that deserved her unfettered attention and adoration.

7. Founders’ Games

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of the city’s founding, Easton arranged for a series of Games in Livia’s honour. To this end, he decked the city’s many magnificent buildings with garlands of flowers from its many and beautiful gardens. He arranged for all manner of animals to be brought to the Temple Gardens for viewing and he instructed the schools, universities and hospitals to prepare songs and dances to be performed for public viewing. He selected, for the day of the celebration, a most auspicious calendar date and spent an untold sum of money in procuring the food that would be required to feed the festival masses. The culmination of the day’s celebrations would be a series of games performed in Livia’s honour - the winners of which were to be lauded in statues sculpted in their image for display in the Temple Gardens. Easton saw to it that Livia was kept busy in the days preceding the celebration to conceal from her the plans that he had taken such great pains to execute. When the day finally dawned, the entire city congregated at the Temple of Light for the Opening Ceremony. There were recitals of poetry, musical ensembles, and speeches delivered with such grace and eloquence that barely an eye in the crowd was not moist afterwards. Livia’s astonishment was almost complete as the young men of the City Guard arrived at the Temple Gates on their magnificent horses. Easton watched with relish as Livia’s myriad expression gave way to tremendous pride at the sight of such a fine display of discipline and manhood. When the Temple Bell sounded for the start of the races, Livia could barely remain in her seat. So great was her enthusiasm, that Easton was obliged to escort her to the finishing line to welcome the victorious rider and his fine horse. They watched with bated breath as the horses, champing at their bits and stomping impatiently at the dirt, set off from their starting blocks. Livia’s heart soared as they rounded the corner and came flying towards the finishing line. So excited were the horses, that it was only by a stroke of good fortune that the riders remained pinned to the saddles of their raving steeds. Then, in a flash, the horses were upon them and no sooner had the first one, sweat coursing down its muscled flanks, rushed across the finish line, than some unfortunate rider toppled from his horse and came crashing to the ground. Livia’s heart could barely stand it. In a bid to save him, she pitched herself headlong into the path of the remaining horses and in doing so, found herself at the mercy of their crushing hooves. Easton lunged forward to stop her, but she slipped through his grasp as a fish through water. The nearest rider, to his credit, reigned his steed as hard as his tired arms would permit, but it was no use and Livia was crushed in the fray. A deathly silence descended on those gathered at the races. Not a single breath or murmur could be heard. And as the dust settled, Easton was seen to be gathering up the limp figure of his beloved in his arms, tears coursing down his scaly cheeks. He carried her as a child who carries a damaged flower to the object of its adoration, past the silent crowd and into the Inner Chambers of the Temple of Light where he laid her trembling body down on a bed of soft linen. She opened her eyes weakly and her mouth formed a few disparate words, but they were swallowed up in her immense pain. Easton placed a cool clawed paw on her forehead and wiped away the sweat from her pale brow. In all his life - and a very long life at that - he’d never known a more crushing sadness.

8. The Annihilation

The whole city went into mourning upon an instant. The fine festive drapery that not so long ago had expounded the city’s magnificence in honour of its founder, was replaced with the dark colours of mourning. The food that had been so meticulously prepared in the city’s most talented kitchens never found their way to a hungry stomach. Even the animals, dumb creatures that they are, stood by in dogged silence as though they shared in the collective suffering of their founder’s people. Easton remained with Livia night and day, never quitting her side for so much as a second. Doctors, priests and shamans from all over the city were called upon to attend to her, but none could bring her back from the precipice of death. In a state of utter desperation, Easton considered for the second time since their meeting the use of magic to restore Livia to the world. He wrung his hands miserably and paced the Inner Chambers anxiously, weighing up the consequences of his resolution against the prospect of a future without Livia. As her life ebbed away before his very eyes, the great dragon felt his own heart tear in two. His desperation gave way to helplessness then anger and finally, deep frustration. There were moments when, during her fitful sleep she issued some barely audible murmur, that hope came flooding back, only to be snatched away again as she relapsed into her former state. When, in her final hours, her breath became thin and raspy and a sheen of sweat stood out on her pale forehead, the great dragon could stand it no more. He dismissed all who still waited to attend her and shut himself up in the Inner Chamber, cradling her head in his large paws. Tears streamed down his face and his limbs were weak with illness and exhaustion. He looked at her through his watery eyes and cursed the deal he’d struck with the Chief of the Council of Elders. What he would not give to go back in time and undo it all! Livia died quietly, expelling her last sweet breath as the dragon was telling her of all they had accomplished together. He carried her into a tomb deep in the heart of the City of Light and sealed her in there never to be unearthed by human hands, then emerged filled with anger and resentment. He looked down upon the city from its highest point, the Red Mountain, where once long ago they had stood so full of hope and promise. And instead of success, he saw only mockery and suffering. Its happy inhabitants went about their daily business as usual. The trees, the animals, the magnificent structures they had constructed seemed unmoved by their Founder’s death and the dragon’s resentment only deepened. In a great rush of wings, he leapt off the Red Mountain and poured forth the annihilation that now seemed so fitting. He clawed and scratched, bit and tore, tearing down structures and crushing all within his reach. People scattered, screaming, but he was impervious to their cries. He rained down on the city a most complete and total destruction, leaving in his wake nothing but rubble and ash. And when it was done, he stood panting, his great muscles heaving, purveying for a moment the extent of his wrath before he took off again in a mad rush of wings. He would find peace, he decided, at the Resting Place, where everything had begun. For what use is there in building anything from the ground up, if it can be taken away in the blink of an eye?

END