Skwyr Court

TheDragonsCurse

Roshil wiped sweat from her brow, then brought her hammer down again. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a fire poker, but everyone needed them, and they wanted to stockpile them for the next cold season while they weren’t busy. At least, Roshil did, because the alternative was to knit, and she got restless if she sat still for too long.

“Apprentice Roshil!” Master Grund called from across the forge. “Put it down and come here!”

“But—” Roshil began, ready to argue her case again. Until she mastered knitting while walking, she wasn’t convinced she would be able to knit for very long. Even though Oshal and Aonva had both pointed out that she was willing to sit still to read, Roshil wasn’t convinced knitting was the same.

“Now!”

She put her hammer down, then stuck the unfinished poker into a bucket of water. Setting it carefully on the anvil so it didn’t fall (unless someone pushed it again), Roshil walked around the furnaces to find Master Grund. When she did, she found the reason that he had called her over. Also the reason the entire forge had gone quiet, which she would’ve noticed had she not been tuning out everyone and everything else.

King Fohra stood at the entrance to the forge. Apart from the gold trim on his tunic and the medallion around his neck with the Skwyr Court coat of arms, there was little to distinguish him from anyone else. He didn’t look old or wise like Roshil would’ve expected. She didn’t even know who he was when he’d first introduced himself to her after she’d been saved from the dragon. He just looked like a person. Not a person that kept order in the court, but an ordinary person.

“Apprentice Roshil,” he said with a smile. His voice was always calm. He never shouted. Roshil wasn’t sure he ever got angry. “I would like to speak with you and Lord Grund alone, if that’s alright with you.” He glanced over at the furnace at which Roshil had been working. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Despite her first instinct to tell him she had been in the middle of something, she could almost hear Aonva, Master Ekla, and Kurgm shouting at her not to talk back to the king.

“Nothing she can’t come back to later,” Master Grund said. He turned his chair around and started rolling through the forge. “This way.”

“Keep up the good work, everyone,” King Fohra said before following Master Grund and Roshil.

Master Grund led them to one of the rooms away from the furnaces. He motioned for them to go inside before following them and closing the door.

“Is there a reason you decided to stop by and hijack my apprentice?” Master Grund asked.

“That’s what I like about you, Lord Grund,” King Fohra said with a smile. “You treat everyone equally.” He turned to Roshil. “Apprentice Roshil, how are you doing?”

“Okay, I guess.” Roshil shrugged, although her mind immediately jumped to the scales that had been spreading over her back for almost a year.

Being king meant that Fohra had a mastery in all six specializations. Having grown up with a weaver, Roshil always assumed that any fleeting emotion would be sensed, and thus clamped down her mind before the king decided to go digging.

“There’s no need to worry,” he said, confirming her suspicions that he, like every other weaver she’d ever met, decided that her mind was open to the public. “I’m not here to check up on you.”

No, you’ve got Master Grund or Master Ekla for that.

“I’d hope not,” Master Grund said. “Not only am I perfectly capable of that, but you are perfectly capable of not doing that on my time.”

“I don’t want to keep you longer than necessary,” King Fohra said, “so I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve just come from a meeting with a friend of mine, and she’d like to meet you.”

“Why?” Roshil asked, but she already knew the answer. It was the only reason anyone wanted to meet her: her eyes. She was different, and people wanted to study the freak. Except Aonva; she was interested in the dragon’s curse, but only because she was interested in everything relating to dragons. She didn’t want to study Roshil, she wanted to help her.

“It’s her eyes, isn’t it?” Master Grund said, with a slight edge to his voice. Roshil was a little surprised; normally he would’ve started yelling by now if someone had brought up Roshil’s eyes.

“I’m afraid so,” King Fohra said.

“Tell your friend ‘no’,” Master Grund said. “Just ‘no’. Not even a ‘no, thank you’. No! Apprentice Roshil is not a test subject for your friend to poke and prod and study! She’s a human being! Whoever your friend is can get lost!” He paused for a moment, then added, “Your Majesty!”

King Fohra and Master Grund stared at one another for a minute. Roshil looked around, wondering if she was still needed, or if she could leave. She was quite sure she didn’t want to be there anymore.

“Are you finished?” King Fohra asked.

“No promises.”

“If you’d let me explain, this is no ordinary friend. I hope both of you know that I wouldn’t have interrupted you for another researcher. This friend of mine may be able to help Apprentice Roshil.”

“How?” Roshil asked.

“She doesn’t know, nor does she want to make any promises, but she understands the curse far better than anyone else I’ve met. I promise she isn’t dangerous, and Lord Grund, you, Lady Emgard, and I will be present the entire time.” He turned to Apprentice Roshil. “As well as anyone else you’d like to accompany us.”

Master Grund narrowed his eyes at King Fohra. “Your friend have a name?”

The king nodded. “Umkanokseh.”

“That’s a dragon’s name,” Master Grund said. “Either your friend is so smart she found a way to lie about her name, or…”

Again, the king nodded. “She is a dragon.”

#VolumeFour #TheDragonsCurse

The king gave Roshil time to think over his offer. He walked out of the forge, escorted by Master Grund. Once the king had left, Master Grund walked Roshil back to the office.

Roshil’s heart pounded in her ears. She felt sick. Why did a dragon want to talk to her? What help could anyone be to her? No, she didn’t care. She didn’t want to talk to a dragon. She never wanted to see another dragon again.

“What do you think?” Master Grund asked.

Roshil shook her head. “I don’t want to. I don’t want to. No. No, no, no, no!”

Visions of fire clouded her mind. She heard her mother screaming for her to stay hidden. To protect her brother. People were running everywhere, trying to escape before it came back for a second pass. Its eyes glistened in the light of the fires it had created. Its call broke through the panic, reaching out through the dark.

“Roshil.”

Her mother grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Roshil tried to tear her eyes away from the dragon, but it was coming toward them. It was coming to take her away and make her a monster.

“Apprentice Roshil!”

She drew a breath when she heard Master Grund’s voice coming out of her mother’s mouth. Roshil blinked, and the office in the forge came back into focus. Tears were running down her cheeks. Master Grund sat in front of her, his hands on her shoulders.

“Are you back?” he asked.

She nodded, her mouth too dry to speak.

“Good. Thought I had to get the medics involved for a minute.”

Roshil shook her head again. “No, no, no. No hospitals. I don’t like hospitals.”

He guided her to a chair and had her sit down.

“Breathe. For now, focus on breathing.”

Roshil did as she was told, taking a breath, and letting it out. It was all in the past. The dragon couldn’t get to her. Master Grund wouldn’t let it. And Aonva was always there for her. Roshil didn’t think her friend would be helpful in a fight, but knowing she was there made Roshil feel better.

What about this new dragon? What if it attacked her? Who would be there to protect her? Would Master Grund be there with her? Who could protect her? Not even her mother could stop a dragon. What chance did anyone else have?

“I don’t want to meet the dragon. I don’t want to meet any more dragons.”

“No one’s going to make you,” Master Grund said. “But consider that no human understands what’s happened to you.”

“I don’t want to be alone with it.”

“You won’t be. I will be with you every step of the way. As will His Majesty, Lord Velal, and Lady Emgard. Both of them have experience fighting dragons.”

Roshil nodded. She’d been unconscious at the time, but she’d been told how those three had fended off the dragon the last time.

“Apprentice Roshil, I know you’re scared, but this might be your only chance of understanding what that thing did to you. Most dragons won’t talk about it. If there’s one that’s willing to, then maybe it’s worth it. You’ll never be alone with it. If she so much as looks at you like she’s gonna try something, I’ll kill her on the spot. I promise you that.”

Roshil shook her head. She knew Master Grund meant it, but he didn’t understand. No one could stop a dragon.

“You don’t understand!” she shouted. “You can’t stop it! Not even my mother could stop it!”

“I’m not asking you to meet with the dragon that hurt you,” Master Grund said, keeping his voice down.

She shook her head again. She was starting to feel dizzy.

“It doesn’t matter. They’re all the same. They all want to hurt me!”

“That’s enough, then. Take some time in here to relax. I’ll be outside.”

He wheeled around and started for the door. He paused before he left.

“I know you’ve made up your mind, but anyone else you wanted by your side would be with you.”

He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t want to keep talking about it. The more she thought about it, the worse it got.

“I’ll tell His Majesty that you’re not interested.”

Roshil nodded, but kept her gaze on the floor. She flinched when Master Grund closed the door.

What good would meeting a dragon do? It couldn’t fix her, could it? No, no one could. And dragons didn’t want to fix her. They wanted to hurt her. No one could stop them.

She rubbed some of the scales on her back. More and more kept appearing. What was next? Wings? A tail? She didn’t want to keep changing. She wanted it to stop before it got worse. But it didn’t. It only got worse, and no one could stop it. Not Master Grund, or Master Ekla, or Lady Emgard. No one.

She could hardly stand the sight of her own reflection. Her eyes were wrong. They were supposed to be her mother’s eyes. Now it was as though that thing stared back at her, laughing at her, full of glee that it’d ruined her. People hated her because of what that thing had done to her, and she was being asked to talk to another one. What was stopping it from doing something worse to her? They couldn’t stop a dragon. No one could!

I’m the only one who will ever love you.

Roshil closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was finished thinking about it. She left the office and went back to her furnace. Sure enough, someone had moved the poker to the other side of the forge. She walked over and grabbed it, noting that people were staring at her again. Fine. She could ignore them.

When she returned to her furnace, she stuck the poker back in, then reached for her hammer. With that, she got back to work, putting the dragon out of her mind.

#VolumeFour #TheDragonsCurse

The dragon was on Roshil’s mind all day. She couldn’t get the idea of meeting with one out of her head. She didn’t want to, she was sure of that. Then why was she still thinking about it? Something in her said she wanted to, but she hated the idea.

It was the curse. The curse that had changed her eyes and her hair. The curse that was spreading scales all over her. Changing her into something else. Something she didn’t want to be. She’d never been normal, but at least she’d been human before.

She met Aonva at the library, and tried to put it out of her mind. She was happy to be with her best friend. No matter how much studying they did, no matter how much she learned about past inventors, she couldn’t keep the dragon out of her mind.

“Aonva, can… can we go to one of the study rooms?”

“Um… I suppose so.”

The girls walked into one of the study rooms in the library. Roshil knew Aonva didn’t like the study rooms, on account of the fact that they made her a little claustrophobic, but Roshil didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation.

After closing the door, Roshil gave an account of the day’s events.

“A dragon’s coming to the court?” Aonva asked when Roshil was finished. “That’s amazing! Dragons are seen so rarely, especially ones that are willing to talk to humans. Think of everything we could learn. We could…”

Roshil shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Aonva was more excited than Roshil had expected her to be. Dragons were a constant fascination of Aonva’s, and it didn’t surprise her that Aonva was so excited at the possibility of one coming to the court.

“But you don’t want to see it,” Aonva said.

Roshil shook her head, trying to keep herself together for Aonva. The last thing she wanted was to break down around her friend, but if it was safe to open up to anyone, it was Aonva.

“But… how many people get to meet a dragon? There’d be so much we could learn if we met with it. Do you know if it’s a male or female? You said His Majesty knew its name. Dragons are the only creatures that can change their own names, or lie about their names. It’s probably not its real name, because dragons wouldn’t reveal it. Names have so much power in them when it comes to magic. Of course, you know that, you’ve taken the same classes I have. If we met with this dragon—”

“I don’t want to meet a dragon! I didn’t want to meet the last one, and I don’t care about this one! I want to be left alone!”

Aonva recoiled at Roshil’s outburst. Roshil immediately felt guilty for yelling at Aonva.

“I didn’t mean to yell,” Roshil said. “Master Grund wants me to meet with it. With… with her. He said this might be the only chance I’ll ever have to figure out what that… thing did to me.”

Roshil waited for Aonva to say something. They both knew she wanted to. Master Grund was right. They’d exhausted all resources available to humans, and there was nothing. Most people didn’t even know what dragon-touched meant. If anyone could tell them anything about it, it was a dragon. Most of them didn’t talk about it, but this one would.

That didn’t matter to Roshil. She never wanted to see another dragon again.

“Um…”

Aonva’s voice was more like a squeak than an actual word.

“I… I know you don’t want to. But… Lady Emgard told me that when I get scared, ask myself what’s more important: My fear, or what I can gain from the thing of which I’m afraid?”

“I—”

“Please, let me finish,” Aonva said.

Roshil was almost startled by Aonva. She never cut people off.

“I know you’re scared of seeing a dragon again, but I also know you’re scared of what that curse is doing to you. I don’t think His Majesty would’ve asked if there was any problem with this dragon. I think it would be better to talk to it. At least then we might be able to find out something about the curse.”

Aonva trembled, but kept her eyes fixed on Roshil’s. Roshil looked away first. Her hands shook, and her breathing grew shallow. She didn’t want to face another dragon, but Aonva was right. This was the only chance to find out about the curse, and it did scare her. What if the scales grew on her face next? What if she couldn’t hide that she was changing anymore?

When the dragon had attacked the first time, her mother had ran in to protect them. She hadn’t thought twice. Her mother must’ve been afraid too, but she never showed it. She’d always protected them, no matter what. Right up until the end.

Roshil wanted to be like that. She wanted to face this new dragon, whatever the king had called her. Could she do it on her own? No, she wouldn’t be on her own. At least His Majesty, Lord Grund, Lady Emgard, and Lord Velal would be with her. She didn’t have to face a dragon alone.

What if Aonva were there with her? Maybe with Aonva, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“If… if I met with the dragon,” Roshil said. “Would you be there with me?”

“Could I? I’m sure His Majesty has a plan, but if he said it’s okay, I’d be thrilled. I mean, I don’t know that I’ll be of any use, but—”

“Master Grund said I could bring someone with me. I… I think I could face it if you were there.”

Roshil’s face grew hot. She felt like such an idiot. What if Master Grund hadn’t meant a friend? What if he’d meant Master Ekla or her father?

“I don’t know how much good I can be.”

“Just you being there is good enough.”

Roshil smiled, although in her head she was berating herself. It had sounded nice in her head, but ridiculous out loud.

Then Aonva smiled back at her, and everything was alright.

“Okay.”

#VolumeFour #TheDragonsCurse

They gathered together the next morning after breakfast. Roshil came with Master Grund. They met His Majesty and Lord Velal at the castle gates. Shortly thereafter, Aonva and Lady Emgard arrived.

Roshil smiled at Aonva, although more for herself than her friend. Fear still threatened to overwhelm her, but she had to go through with it now. Maybe she could with Aonva there.

“Is everyone ready?” King Fohra asked.

Everyone gave acknowledgment.

King Fohra tapped his staff and whispered something. Four beads at the top of his staff glowed and circled around him. The lights gathered in front of him and formed a rectangle. A light shone between the four points, and King Fohra and Lord Velal stepped through it.

Similar lights came from Master Grund’s chair and Lady Emgard’s staff. Roshil followed Master Grund through his gateway. Like the doors to the castle, which used a version of the spell, her body tingled as she stepped through it.

On the other side of the gateway, she arrived in a field. She saw a line of trees not far off. Behind them, hills stretched as far as she could see. In the distance, she could faintly make out some mountains.

Roshil realized that she recognized where they were. She’d been there with her family many times.

“We’re in the Western Plains,” she said.

“Well done,” King Fohra said. “Umkanokseh said she’d meet us out here. She should arrive any minute now.”

They stood and waited for a few minutes. Nothing happened.

“Hm,” King Fohra said. “That usually works. Let me try again. She should arrive—”

A shadow passed overhead. Every muscle in Roshil’s body tensed. She tried to stay calm, but she could feel herself slipping away. She fought the urge to run and hide, although her eyes still judged the distance to the line of trees, the closest safe place. She could hide there, and it would never find her.

“Roshil.”

Aonva’s voice came from far away, but Roshil held onto it. She ran back to it, back to reality.

Aonva stood beside her. The adults stood in front of her, keeping all eyes on the dragon as she landed. She was gray, like slate. Her scales glistened in the morning sun. She folded her wings as her eyes roamed over them, stopping on Roshil.

Those eyes. They were just like his eyes. They were just like Roshil’s eyes.

Roshil clenched her fists to stop them from shaking.

“Umkanokseh,” King Fohra said, spreading his arms wide. “How good to see you again.”

Umkanokseh’s eyes broke from Roshil and went back to King Fohra.

“King Fohra.” Her voice boomed over the field. Her long neck swiveled from His Majesty to Lady Emgard. “Lady Emgard, always a pleasure.”

“Always.” Lady Emgard gave a slight bow, then motioned to Lord Velal. “This is Lord Velal, The Lord True Knight of Skwyr Court.”

Lord Velal bowed low, keeping one hand on his sword.

“And Lord Grund, The Lord High Artisan of Skwyr Court.”

Master Grund glared at Umkanokseh, who stared back at him. The two of them silently sized up the other until Lady Emgard broke the silence.

“And Apprentices Aonva and Roshil.”

Once again, that gaze landed on Roshil, sweeping over Aonva without stopping. Roshil stepped back, but Aonva took a shaky step forward. Master Grund kept himself between the girls and the dragon.

“I promise you, I’m not going to harm her.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it,” Master Grund growled.

“Do you really think you could stop me?” Even in a dragon’s voice, Roshil recognized condescension when she heard it.

“I will stop you.”

Umkanokseh’s gaze returned to Roshil. It almost looked like she was smiling, but her mouth hadn’t moved.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, little sister.”

Lady Emgard frowned at Roshil for a moment.

“I’m… I’m not your sister.”

“You and I were sired by Valignatiejir. I can sense him in you.”

Roshil’s body shook. She fell to her knees. Fire burned around her, but she flew into the air. Away from her home, her family. Trapped in his clutches. Carried off to be made into a monster. To be hurt over and over. Cut upon, bones broken. Her own blood everywhere. No way to escape.

I am the only one who will ever love you. You are mine, Roshil.

“No!” Roshil shook her head. “Leave me alone!”

“Roshil!”

“Aonva?”

“It’s… it’s okay.”

“She’s right,” another voice said. “No one’s going to hurt you.”

Roshil slowly opened her eyes. Aonva’s hands were over hers, which were clutching her head. Lord Velal crouched beside them, his gaze on Roshil. Lady Emgard and the dragon were talking in Arcane. Roshil could only pick out a few words.

“I’m sorry, little sister,” Umkanokseh said. “I did not mean to scare you.”

“Why does she keep calling you that?” Aonva asked as she and Lord Velal helped Roshil to her feet.

“Good question,” Master Grund said. “Why do you keep calling her that?”

“I have the misfortune to have been sired by…” Umkanokseh glanced at Lady Emgard. “By the dragon that did this.”

“So what?” Master Grund said.

“Lord Grund, remember your manners,” King Fohra said. He addressed Umkanokseh. “And you believe this gives you a kinship with Apprentice Roshil?”

“No dragon has had a chance to see what happens when… he does this. We’ve had theories, and it looks to me like we were right.”

“What do you think?” Lady Emgard asked.

“Dragons didn’t discover magic; we were born into it. It is a part of us. But Val… the other dragon took a part of himself and put it into this girl. I can sense it in her. It’s a part of her too.”

Roshil couldn’t stop herself from shaking. Part of that thing was inside her? Was that why she was changing?

“Can it be removed?” Lord Velal asked.

“I do not know. A dragon and her magic are one and the same. I do not know how he managed this.”

“What happens if we kill him?” Master Grund asked. “What happens to her?”

“She is distinct from him. Separate. The magic in her came from him, but it is no longer a part of him. I can sense it changing her, growing stronger.”

Roshil fought the urge to rub her back.

Aonva raised her hand.

“Apprentice Aonva,” Lady Emgard said, “you don’t need to raise your hand.”

“I… I didn’t want to… I mean… everything I’ve read doesn’t say anything about one dragon doing this. It talks like all of them can do it, but… you’re saying that only that one dragon can do this. And… has no other dragon met someone who’s been dragon-touched? I know there aren’t many of them, but it seems like it must’ve happened. What I first read about it said it was a way to speed up the process that causes living things to mutate when exposed to magic.”

Umkanokseh leaned closer to them. All four adults huddled closer, keeping themselves between the dragon and the girls.

Roshil glared at Umkanokseh. She didn’t like how close the dragon was getting to her friend.

“I cannot account for humans, Apprentice Aonva. But yes, only the one dragon does this. We believe it is a way to mark what he believes he owns. He is quite possessive after that, so no, none of my kind have ever been able to study one such as my sister here. And yes, living things do change when exposed to too much of our magic, so it makes sense that with a human’s limited view, you would come to that conclusion. It is far more than that.”

Umkanokseh drew her head back. “I have spent enough of my time here. However, this has been enlightening. Perhaps I shall visit soon.”

“We look forward to it, of course,” King Fohra said, bowing.

Umkanokseh spread her wings, sending gusts of wind all over the field.

“Wait!” Roshil shouted. “What’s going to happen to me?”

“You will keep changing. Into what, even I cannot be sure. I am sorry, little sister. Perhaps you will turn into a dragon. If you do, I’d be happy to teach you to fly.”

She beat her wings and took off, nearly knocking everyone else over. Roshil watched her fly further and further, shrinking against the horizon. Such freedom up in the sky. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

She shuddered at the thought of being a dragon. Umkanokseh had been nice enough, though. At least they weren’t all bad. It sounded like most of them weren’t that bad.

“Alright,” Master Grund said. “Now that that’s done.” He turned to Roshil. “Apprentice Roshil!”

“Yes, Master Grund?”

“You and Apprentice Aonva are ordered to return to the castle and have pie.”

Roshil smiled and stood to attention. “Yes, Master Grund!”

“It’s still early to be having sweets,” Lady Emgard said.

“That’s why we’re having pie,” Master Grund said. “It has fruit in it! That’s healthy!”

“Can’t argue with that,” King Fohra said. “Flawless logic.”

Master Grund opened a gateway back to the castle, and Roshil stepped through it with him. After meeting Umkanokseh, she wanted nothing more than to sit with Aonva and eat pie.

#VolumeFour #TheDragonsCurse