Talduk's Revenge

“There weren’t Always dragOns in the Valley,” said Nel.

“Then explain why We are the ones in the caves of Miltervene and They are the ones nestled in the homes built by our blood?!” retorted Mercu.

“Fine! You want an explanation…It all started with that fucking warning.”

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3 days ago Nel, a wee farmer from Talduk with brown curls brightened from the days’ travels, a warm face, kind eyes still full of childhood, and a bandage around his left wrist,

met with the village Clair – a scraggly being, gifted with the ability to foretell coming years for those approaching The Waking, a ritual occurring after one's parents transfer into the OtherRealm where the calling upon one’s ancestors bestows to them ancient magick unique to their bloodline. The Clair said little more than grunts and wheezes until… Its warm voice sank deep and warned Nel to leave Talduk before the rising sun as foreseen ravagers intent on overturning the very soil they spoke on arrived in flying flames of white.

Taking The Clair’s warning with the deepest seriousness, Nel headed directly home, planning to tell anyone he passed about the impending flames before packing and heading out before first light. Walking home, there was no one on his path. So, Nel packed a bag with some biscuits, matches, a change of clothes, and his mothers wand in a bit of a hurry as the sun had begun to set.

Looking back now he only wished he would have gotten to the top of Talduk Hill by nightfall…

He heard the wind first. Waking in the middle of the night to a full moon above his head, the entire village was getting blown away. The thatched roofs were knocking people over in their attempts to run everywhere, anywhere.

No one knew what was happening until the roaring began.

Chaos.

No one had seen a dragOn for nearly 500 years. Nel’s father, Randok, had been one of the seven mysticks to create an agreement between the species. It was agreed that the dragOns would remain in the Mountains and the people would remain at sea level. Randok had been the final mystick to transfer. With his passing, the agreement disintegrated easily under the dragOns breath.

The wind, then the roaring, and then the fire started as The Clair had described.

As if they were not even physical beings, the dragOns burst through space in white flames of what could have been trance-like wonder had they not been targeting the homes of living.

The screaming, oh the screaming.

Ms. Castenbok, Nel’s healer, was running from home to home searching for the children, dazed and startled.

Ank, Nel’s only friend, was hiding inside the stone furnace in hopes of evading the flames all around with a singed cloak covering him as he knelt.

The screaming continued. Had Nel not been on his way out of the village fence he would have been crouched with Ank in the furnace now surely boiling.

He had been able to escape into the nearby woods and wait in the stream until the attack was over. The sun had risen and fallen and risen again before the dragOns had settled down into their new home – his home..

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“I could have syphoned this entire attack had I just completed The Waking. Mother had a way to redirect energy that could have protected Talduk. I should have acted sooner after they passed. The dragOns must have sensed her deflective magick faded after her and Papas transfer and headed right towards us. I’m so stupid! I COULD HAVE SAVED SO MANY but now I am the only one.” With his head slumped Nel fell to his knees as tears leaked down his sun-kissed cheeks.

“At least you still have me!” interjected Mercu, a disembodied echo residing in Nel’s mind.. “I go where you go! And you know, I am only here as a guide for you. The redirection magick in your mothers blood runs through you soon enough. A simple matter of uncovering it from the glazed lens you use to see. See?”

“Sometimes your riddles make no sense, yet in this one I sense a direction!” Excited by what started as an unwelcome voice in his mind turned to personal guidance, Nel urged Mercu, “Tell me again. What do I need to do to gain my mothers magick?”

Mercu repeated the riddle…a few times to say the least. Nel wasn’t known for his intellect back in Talduk. He was an outsider in the village youth. They seemed to harness a secret knowledge against him. He always wondered, but when he asked Mother her only response was, “These children hold to a thing of the past. You are my boy and so special. It isn’t for me to tell.” And that was it. A short response but as always the reminder of his mothers words created a magenta haze around his body that remained and filled his heart with warmth and a sense of peace.

“So where do I go?” questioned Nel.

He could feel Mercu looking for a map of the land in a hurry, as if he couldn’t quite remember…

“Do you have ANY idea?

Something?

An inkling?

Perhaps a person or a direction to head towards?”

“Welllllll…it isn’t so simple you see. Much of what is said to me are remnants of what was said. All I know is what is. So to find direction we just need to find what is.”

And with a sense of contentment Nel felt Mercu slip away into the labyrinth of his mind and Nel was once again alone. Unsure of where to go and all out of biscuits.