Dragon Tide Chronicles 2: Dialadect Resurgence

Chapter 8: Halls of Stone

Chapter 8: Halls of Stone

As me and Grimmhorn travel through the long marble hall, I look at the countless murals that decorate the walls. I spy a curious one which catches my interest and stop.

“What’s this mural about?” In the mural, a winged being depicted in gold showers light on the mountains, while below four mighty dwarves shake hands.

Grimmhorn pauses for a moment, and then keeps walking.

“That, Danica Crown, is a depiction of the elder days. Ye fairies would not remember those days, except in what ya’d refer to as, ‘fairy tales’, amusing as that phrase is. In the good old days, the four great Dwarf Nations and the Great Dragonling Kingdom were strong allies. Together, we prospered; there was peace among the four clans. Under the watch of Alexandi, there was much joy in the world. Even the humans, quarrelsome as they may be amongst themselves, they too enjoyed great peace. Even Yashin’s great kingdom cannot compare with that day and age of peace.” His tone sounds oddly nostalgic.

“If only those days could have lasted. What days they were. Now look at what we have. Our four clans lash out at each other’s throats, and the humans quarrel bitterly, attempted rebellions a way of life in Yashin’s kingdom.” He looks at me with eyes of regret.

“You know very well by know what ended those days. When the war between your nations started, everything collapsed. The good days ended.”

I always knew that the war devastated many lives, but… it affected more than just our warring nations… they affected everyone?

“Grimmhorn… I had no idea that war even had an effect outside our borders. I’m…”

Grimmhorn raises a hand to stop me.

“Enough, Danica. It’s alright. What is important is to know our past, but not to dwell on it. There are many who have yet to learn this lesson, and live by a life dedicated to hatred. It becomes the only thing worth living for, and their way of life.”

He looks to me with stern eyes.

“Aladoria has had great suffering; this world has seen much hatred and violence. That is no excuse to lose our selves.” He stops and puts a hand on my shoulder, with great difficulty.

“Danica, I believe that ye’r generation, who has faced the world in a way different from everyone else, has a true chance to understand one another. From both sides of the war, ye both share pain, so is it not true that by that alone ye have a bond ye can use to bridge these years of hatred? …Danica, I believe the one who will lead this world to a new age, a new era of peace, will be ye. The road will be long, the road will be tough. But in the end, I think it is possible.”

I stare at him with a sense of awe and respect. The dwarf lord has really been there, seen it all for himself. He’s seen so much more than me, and really understands this world more than I do.

I swallow hard. “Th-thank you…”

He smiles, his beard twitching from the movement.

“Danica, now’s not the time to be losing ye head. I’d get ye head together, because we’re almost at the mountain city.”

I turn back to the path ahead of us, where two heavily armored dwarf guards stand watch over an iron gate. Without a word, they eye each other and swing the gates open for us, the hinges creaking slowly.

A dim light pours out of the opening, over a crystalline city, countless spires twisting up high into the cavern in the mountain. A small hole in the roof lets in natural light from the sun, which is currently setting right into view.