Dawn's Light

Chapter 43

Celia walked through the curtained entryway, then through the doorway. Xan followed her the entire way, but the two dragons remained outside the human-sized door. Neither Irin or Verbena fit through the carved hole, but they still snaked their heads through the door and peered into the room.

"Good evening to all of you, I hope you slept well. Please, sit," Orthos's voice remained stoic as he looked to Xan. Once both Celia and Xan sat down, he continued, "Xan, Irin, I extend a warm welcome to both of you. I hope you have enjoyed your stay so far." He nodded to Xan.

Despite his outward calm exterior, something about the guild master made him seem to have an aura of authority. Typically Valiant sat behind him and further added to the stress of being in Orthos's office, but the massive white dragon was noticeably absent. Celia believed that Orthos had him doing other things in case the colossal draconic being intimidated Xan.

"Yes, sir," Xan nodded, "both Irin and I have enjoyed our stay so far. Thank you for extending your hospitality." Compared to his normal egotistical tone, his voice sounded tense.

Orthos nodded, then focused on both humans before him. "Now, Celia," he glanced to the young female as he folded his hands together and rested them atop his clean stone desk. "Why don't we start at the beginning, when you disappeared. My first question is, why did you leave the mountain in the first place."

Celia briefly hesitated, as she could either admit the truth or fabricate a lie. She could tell the guild master a stem swept her and Verbena away or they got lost while hunting for food. She inhaled.

"Verbena and I decided to go searching for the ray of light," Celia slowly admitted in a soft voice. "We overheard you and the scout talk the location of one of the rays of light. Verbena wanted to go get it, and I agreed we should. At the time, I only thought about when Persephone accused me of not wanting the return of the sun." Celia sighed a bit before she continued, "So I stole some food and rations, and we left. However, I do not regret my decision." Her voice increased in volume until it was back to its standard level. "With Xan's and Irin's help, we retrieved two rays of light."

Orthos silently nodded and expertly hid his emotions. He turned his head and focused on Xan, "Do you mind if I ask you to tell your story? How did you meet and become Irin's Chosen?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Xan admitted with a small nod, "but I will shorten it the best I can." After a brief breath, Xan began to recite his story, something Celia never had the courage to ask.

"I am from the village of Snouw on the eastern edge of the mountains, and like every other town west of the wasteland, they kill any dragons they find." He paused and frowns. "Many cycles ago, when I was a lot younger, I snuck out of town to play in a snow fortress my friends and I built to play in and pretend to be warriors. However, that one day was special, because I found a young dragon hidden deep in our tunnels. His head barely reached my shoulder and his thin ice armor was splattered with blood, but not his own."

Irin shuttered as he listened from the doorway, but remained in place. He felt a bit better when Verbena nuzzled him, but he remained a bit uncomfortable. The day he and Xan met was both a happy memory and one of terror for the dragon.

"At first, both of us remained frozen," Xan continued his story. "I did not have a weapon on me at the time, though I did have a small bit of dried meat in my pocket. The fearful childish me threw the meat at the dragon. I aimed for his head, but I was only strong enough for the jerky to land at the dragonet's feet. I want to say that I fled, but I did not have enough courage at the time to actually run. I stood there, frozen in fear as the dragon at my food.

"Then, as Irin looked up to me, I felt a strange feeling in my mind. Then, a strange, nervous voice entered my mind. Then I realized he was just as scared of me as I was of him. After a few moments, we relaxed, though neither one of us knew why we were suddenly mentally connected. I blamed magic, even though I had never heard of magic that could connect people.