The Dragon Savior of Tone: World of Tone: Book 2 (19 page)

Reicka had a hut built with the sea nymphs help on the far side of the crevice. Suti was Reicka's constant companion. The cat seemed to understand that Terra was too busy to play. Sifar had finally started to come out of his sadness. Suti had slowly been able to get the young one to play with her. He was becoming very attached to the cat and it seemed to help Sifar to learn to love something again. Reicka, Suti, and Sifar moved into the hut. Reicka had taken him as her second son; it was the custom of her people to take children with no family in as a son or daughter. Sifar still woke in the darkness crying. Even with Terra's help, it would take him time to forget the pain. Terra had decided to take Suti with him to the fight. Reicka would miss the great cat, but she would not stand the confinement well and getting her to the cave would be difficult.

Each sun-rising, Terra was given information about the dragon's progress. They had worked up to eight dragons flying in a formation and being able to fire all at the same time. He was going to the dragon valley in two sun-risings to see for himself how well they were doing. There were now a little over ten thousand dragons being trained.

When Terra held his daughter, he looked so content. Cardana's green skin seemed to glow in her father's arms. She would quiet down, grasp her father's fingers and not let go. It was as if she knew he was going to have to leave soon. Terra on occasion tickled her fingers with a small green twig. When Cardana grasped the twig, it would immediately begin to grow and leaves would unfurl from its core.

The sun-risings passed too fast and it came time to visit the dragons training in the nearby valley. Terra flew to the valley with Fienna and Cardana. They landed on a shadowed ledge. As Terra watched, thirty-three dragons flew by in a wedge shape. They shifted their formation into a straight line and fired along an edge of rock. The dragons as a group, created a massive wall of fire along the rock.

Dawra landed next to them holding Rammy. She stood up in Dawra's hand and watched the next group of dragons start their practice flight.

“They are doing well,” Terra said with admiration in his voice.

“They are very intelligent, and once they saw what was needed, they did it without much trouble. Dragons fly with uncanny skill. Within seven sun-risings, I think we will be able to have four Wings fly together in one formation,” Rammy explained with excitement in her voice.

“Wings?” Terra said in a questioning tone.

“I came up with the name. A Wing is thirty-three dragons, thirty-two with one leader. I have named four Wings a Form and ten Forms a Flight,” Rammy replied.

“That's good. I like the names. How many Flights do we have?”

“Eight so far, and more dragons are coming in each sun-rising. We will have a total of nine Flights before we leave,” Dawra said.

“Have you made it clear to them that some may be killed during the fights ahead?”

“Yes, we have told each dragon what could happen,” Dawra replied.

“Good, I would like to meet each leader of the Wings, Forms, and Flights. Bring them in groups of fifty to the coast where the sea nymphs are collecting the food. Let's start at the next sunset. I would like to show you something I think some of the dragons will need to learn, but not at the rocks you are using for practice. You see the large rock at the end of the valley?” Terra asked as he pointed.

“Yes, I see it,” said Rammy.

“I'm going to dive at the rock and flame it. I would like you to train one Flight to do the same dive,” Terra said as Fienna climbed down off his back with Cardana wrapped in a cloth tied to her chest.

Terra took off and climbed into the sky until he was barely visible. Then the massive white dragon dove toward the rock. The rock was half the size of a dragon and perched on the edge of a steep cliff. All the dragons watched as the white figure dropped through the sky like a lightning bolt. As he approached the rock, a streak of bright orange and red fire exploded from him. He then arched up and away from the valley as the flame engulfed the large rock.

The heat was so intense that all eleven thousand dragons pitched back away from the blast. It took what seemed an eternity for the fire to start clearing from around the rock. As the rock reappeared from the inferno, it had turned bright orange until it collapsed into a glowing liquid that flowed down the cliff an instant later. No dragon could turn rock to liquid. The best they could do was to melt the edges of some smaller rocks. Terra’s flame surprised even Fienna and Dawra.

Hectise, perched above the valley, took off and flew toward the center of the dragons.

“Look at what our leader can do. Has there ever been such a dragon?” he bellowed so all could hear.

All the dragons in the valley started to bugle their agreement. The fighting force within this valley was unequaled in all of Tone's history. At the moment, Terra flew over the valley. The bugling rose to a level that shook the ground. All now knew that the dragons would follow Terra into the mouth of death itself.

Terra and his family returned to the crevice. He was pleased with what had happened with the dragons. He knew that they now had a chance to win this fight.

Chapter 31 - Fienna the Dragon Returns

(The joy of being your true self.)

- The Time of the Draman -

Fienna had stopped giving milk for seven sun-risings. It was the sunset of the full moon rising. It had been so long since Fienna had changed back into a dragon, she no longer paid much attention to when the full moon rose. They had decided to go to their private coastal niche. Fienna began to feel odd and stood up. She had not felt this way for a long time. Fienna walked naked to the edge of the water. Terra laid against the rocks holding Cardana watching his mate.

As the sun rose above the horizon her human body began to glow yellow-orange, matching the setting moon. She began to grow in size, while Terra watched. Small nubs appeared on her back as her body grew larger. Her wings slowly emerged to their full magnificent expanse. Her neck grew longer, and her legs extended and bent. Her arms moved forward, and her beautiful hair receded. She was once again the beautiful dragon Terra had fallen in love with.

She stretched her great wings and moved them up and down to limber the unused muscles. She stooped down and launched herself into the air with her powerful back legs. Her wings pushed down and drove her up into the sky like a great cloud. Terra smiled as he felt her joy in the pure pleasure of flying. A dragon was a creature of the air, not the land, and Fienna had been trapped on the ground far too long.

“
Fienna, go feed. Take your joy. I will be here with Cardana,
” he thought to her.

“
I don't want to be apart from you,
” she thought back.

“
You will never be parted from me. No matter what?
”

Cardana reached her tiny hands out as her mother flew off.

“Don't worry, my little leaf. She will come back soon,” Terra said to his daughter, which seemed to calm her.

Fienna enjoyed her flight. She had so missed it. She came across a small group of prey beast. Fienna flew into the sun and turned. She dove from the direction of the sun into the beasts. They did not see her until she was just above them. She sunk her talons into a mid-sized beast and lifted it off the ground as if it weighed nothing. She reached down and broke the struggling animal's neck. She grasped the beast with her hands and pulled it to her chest. Landing on a rocky cliff, she took her time, enjoying her first fresh kill for what seemed to be an eternity.

She returned to Terra and Cardana by high sun and landed on the warm sand. She lay down and Terra walked over to her with Cardana in his arms. She settled into the sand, and Terra lay against her side as they had done so many times before. She extended her wing to shade the ones she loved. All three fell asleep in the warmth of their world.

As the sunset, Fienna felt the change coming on again. She stood away from her family as she slowly returned to her human form. From then on, she changed each sunrise and sunset.

Chapter 32 - Preparations End

(When preparations end, fighting starts.)

- The Time of the Draman -

The preparations were nearly complete. The dragons' training had exceeded even Terra’s expectation. They operated literately as a single unit. It was an amazing sight to see a flight fire a ridge of rock. It would be terrifying to any opponent.

The sea nymphs had finished drying the dragons' food. They had prepared the harnesses, and the dragons had started to practice flying fully loaded. The food deliveries to the humans had also begun. They had already started to move the food to the mountain tunnels.

Terra planned to start the fighting the sunrise of the no moon sunset. He would take approximately five thousand, or four Flights of dragons, three sun-risings before the no moon. They would fly over the mountains to the land nymph's valley. The dragons would drop their harnesses and fly into the local mountains and perch. The next sunset, Fienna would bring the second five thousand. On the third sunset, about thirteen hundred dragons would travel with Hectise and stay in the valley. The sunrise of the fight, the dragons would fly in waves of single Flights. They would fire the dwarf villages in nine waves, and then the land nymphs would attack.

The Guards had control over Solana and Southlake. The word was slowly spreading through the valleys of the fight to come. It seemed every human Guard that heard of the fight was coming to the collection points Naron had set up. They understood the need to return to their traditional homeland beyond the mountains. Everyone in the valleys saw their plantings lessen each set of seasons and the herd beasts slowly disappear.

Terra had discovered that humans were a unique group. They seemed to have every flaw and every good quality that existed. They were the bravest and most cowardly at the same time. They loved the deepest and hated the most of any creature he had ever met. All these things seemed to exist in every human to a different extent. It made them the most dangerous of all those on Tone, for no one knew what they might do. Naron knew the humans. After healing him, Terra had a sense of his mind. This allowed him to trust in Naron's decisions and leadership.

Rammy was an amazing human. She had helped Dawra and Hectise train the dragons faster than he had thought possible. Dawra trusted her completely, and Hectise had a grudging respect of her talents. She was now helping him plan the dragon attack on the dwarfs. Terra planned to take Rammy to the land nymph's valley three sun-risings before the fighting started.

Terra had asked the Old Sinut to contact the land nymph wizard and tell him Terra's plans. He would start this nightmare in ten sun-risings.

Fienna was flying as much as possible. If anything, she felt even stronger than before her daughter's birth. She had regained all her flying skills and had trained with the dragons practicing in the valley. She even had mastered the dive Terra had demonstrated. She was an incredible creature no matter what form she happened to be in.

Chapter 33 - Plans Finalized

(All must understand their place and their importance to all others.)

- The Time of the Draman -

The Old Sinut floated above the black pool within his cave. He passed his hand over the pool and the image of the old land nymph appeared. He was warming his hands over a fire in his small hut.

“My friend, can you hear me?” the Old Sinut questioned, as the nymph looked up.

“Yes, I hear you. You're going to tell me he's coming soon,” the land nymph said as the Old Sinut's image appeared above the fire. He smiled at his old friend.

“Terra plans to start in ten sun-risings. He's first going to have the dragons drop off food in three groups over three sun-risings and then start the fight. He plans to bring a human three sun-risings before the dragons start showing up in your valley.”

“A human?” the land nymph asked in a confused voice.

“This human called Rammy has been assisting in the dragon's training. She's the daughter of the leader of the human Guard. She's also second in command. Treat her with respect, Terra values her.”

“What will she be doing here?”

“Terra wants her help in organizing how the dragons and the land nymphs will fight together. She will bring all the information you need to know.”

“Well, he's in control. He and his magic will be the driving force of the entire fight. We all must follow his leadership.”

“You don't sound pleased he's our leader,” the Old Sinut remarked.

“He has no desire for this fight. He's resistant to killing those bastard dwarfs,” the old wizard said with concern in his voice.

“You expected a warrior. A strong, driven fighter, not a man of love and peace.”

“Yes, I did.”