The swords woke us as the sky lightened but before the actual sunrise. We were dressed and ready when a polite knock sounded upon the door. Sarah opened the door to find a small frog-like male in fancy attire standing there.
"The Council of the Five Seas requests the audience of the Seven Sisters of the Swords and their companions," he said formally in a small voice.
"We accept the Council's request and ask their valet to lead us to them," Alice replied with the same formality.
The frog man clicked his heels, bowed, and asked us to follow him.
Out of the outpost, we walked the streets of Arvocan, which were very quiet and empty. It seemed that this city did not rise with the sun, at least not on the outside. Being so far from land, the season was lacking its usual signs. No trees to show the approach of spring. No snow to remind all that winter still reigned. No hanging ice to show the coldness of the day. The people we saw did not seem to mind the lack of seasons. Some radiated happiness about it. Like I have been told, a place for everyone and for everyone a place.
We entered a squat building, only a couple of levels high. This one swam with so much emotion, my breath caught in my chest. The others, also, were swamped with impressions. Still, we followed the frog man. At a pair of doors, he asked us to wait. He went inside. We went through Sloth's mental exercise to clear all this clutter and focus on the task at hand. When he returned, we were prepared.
"The Council of the Five Seas will meet you now," he said as he opened both doors.
We entered a large chamber, filled with many types of aquatic people. In the center, five people in very ornate clothing sat at a large desk on a raised platform. In front and below them, seven plain chairs were lined up, facing them. We proceeded to the chairs but did not sit, standing behind the chairs.
"Seven Sisters of the Swords," the center, a male, boomed and echoed, "This Council has heard many wild stories of your activities during this passing year. We wish to verify or refute these tales. Is this acceptable to you?"
We walked around the chairs and sat, "Yes, sir, it is acceptable," we all answered as one.
Nothing was said, but hundreds of quills wrote furiously. The five before us did nothing. Once it was quiet again, the center spoke again.
"We accept your bloodlines, all but one. We find it very difficult to believe that Faeries breed with mortal kind. Who is this Faerie-blood?"
"I am, sir," I replied and stood.
The five spoke low as the rest of the chamber wrote again. The center waved for silence.
"And who has verified your kinship?"
"The Faerie Queen, Brimagor, Fate, Nature, the World Builder, and other gods."
Total silence. The people in the chamber were as still as a painting. Their emotions, however, were spinning rapidly. Finally, the female at the far right end of the table spoke.
"Declaring divine verification is a dangerous claim. What proof do you have of such?"
I stepped forward to show them my riding set when a soft voice in my mind said, "Stop, child. I will handle them."
I stopped and sat back down. Everyone looked at me oddly, even my sisters. Through one of the high windows, water rushed in as a concentrated flow. It swirled between me and the five. It formed a large female form similar to Scotvla. The Council gasped. Her voice, while soft, filled the chamber as she spoke.
"I see you recognize me. I am pleased. Sisters and friends, I am Ocean, the Mother Water. Scotvla and Danaska are my daughter and granddaughter. From me, all water comes and, eventually, returns. I verify that Kayla, rider of Emperor Sarroset, is of Faerie blood and heir to the Faerie Queen. The god Brimagor forged her riding set. Fate has her as a cleric and seer. She and Callie had fortuitous births. Your parents probably did not note the stars, but you two were born under the Twin Stars as they crossed the Great Dragon. Tell this to Aloriana, she will understand the significance."
Ocean turned back into a flow of water and went back out the window. The Council was silent but writing as fast as they could. The five at the table stared at us. I sat down. The assembly finished writing and looked at the five. The female on the end slowly found her voice.
"Now that is settled. We, obviously, do not have to ask about the truth of reports that you talk with gods. Like most cities, the dwarfs sent us Sarroset's report. Surely even an emperor, at such a young age, is not capable of such they have reported. We would like to retest him, to prove he can do such wondrous things."
Set moved closer to me and whined. I understood his fear. Neither of us wanted a repeat of that incident. We explained the problem we had with the dwarfs' testing. Gasps preceded another round of mass writing. The five promised nothing like that would happen here. They whispered to each other, deciding on their next question or request. They were unsure how to phrase it, to avoid upsetting us. We looked at each other, wondering what they wanted to ask. After a few moments, the center male spoke.
"The reports of your vision sharing are ... difficult to believe. We do not expect you to perform such a feat. However, our seer wanted to meet you to verify such. Rheana, please come forward."
A woman similar to Aoushlunia, when she had legs, walked out of the assembly. Her hair was brown, but had hints of green. It fell around her face and over her shoulders like damp seaweed. Her skin was pale with a light green cast. Deep blue eyes looked critically at us, me specifically. I rose to face her. When she looked into my purple eyes, she froze. Between us, a mass of impressions passed lightning fast. We both blinked furiously once the exchange ended.
"Well, Rheana, what say you?" another male of the five asked.
"Council of the Five Seas, I declare Kayla of Denar to be a true seer, blessed by Fate's hand, an unbiased observer of the flow of Time."
Writing was the only sound following her announcement. The five huddled again. Rheana stood near us.
"Beg pardon," Sarah mentally addressed her, "are you merfolk? You look like Aoushlunia, my great-grandmother."
"I know the Matriarch of River Mouth. I am not merfolk. I am what is called a Nereid. It is like a dryad, but of the water instead of the trees."
We thanked her for explaining. The five separated. The center male spoke.
"That is all for now. We will let you know when the examination of Sarroset is ready."
The frog man returned and escorted us back to the outpost. Sarkin met us at the door and dismissed the valet. He smiled at us.
"Council didn't treat you too roughly, I hope. They are not known for being gentle. You can tell me over breakfast. My commander wants to meet you. He wants 'outside opinions' for a problem we are having at the reef."
We went to the eating area. The food laid out was different than lunch or dinner. Also, the crowd was much smaller than other times of the day. We had our choice of tables. As we ate, the chef came over to us.
"Beg pardon, m'ladies, but I have a problem. Tonight's main dish is being ... difficult. Does this young one have lightning skills?"
"Yes, sir, it is just beginning, but he has such," I told him.
The chef sighed in relief, "Oh, good. This one is highly vulnerable to electric attacks. May I borrow him?"
Set looked confused, "What does he want from me? Am I going to be hurt?"
Aloud, so the others understood, I told him, "This one cooks. The animal they caught for dinner won't die. He cannot make lightning, which kills it. He is asking if you would zap it so he can cook it."
Set's thick tail slapped the stone floor. To the cook, he said out loud, "I zap. Get bite?"
We all laughed. The chef assured Set he would get a piece. Echo also volunteered to help. They disappeared into the kitchen. We heard a strange noise followed by a loud thud. Set and Echo returned with hunks of meat hanging from their mouths. They were very pleased with themselves. We sat and ate sociably, talking about small things.
The woman who had brought Aoushlunia entered with a male in a formal uniform. Sarkin stood at attention. They saluted each other and the pair joined us. The commander was grim, like he carried the world on his shoulders.
"Ladies, I know a lot has been asked of you. If we could take care of this ourselves, I wouldn't bother you. Our enemies were dwindling. Only one city in a thousand leagues. Maybe ten thousand inhabitants. A reef that nearly rises out of the water lies between us and them. Yet, somehow, in spite of guards, barriers, and wards, they are terrorizing the fishing fleets and villages. Every morning, we receive more reports of death and destruction. For many years, they were of no concern. An enemy of theirs from the deeper waters kept them busy and diminished their numbers. We do not know what has changed. Also, they are much stronger than previously reported. All of our resources are at your service."
We quickly spoke mentally to decide what we needed. Coming to a decision, we told the Commander. Lisa ticked them off.
"Any item or person in recent contact with them would be helpful. Viewing your defenses would also help. This could lead us in the right direction."
Sarkin, Corina, the woman, and Commander Eelly (EE-lee) lit up, hope shining from all three. We began planning. Alice, Anna, and I would go with Sarkin to talk with attack survivors and look over items left behind. The rest would go with Corina and Eelly to the coral barrier to check for weaknesses. The aquatics were pleased that we were not only willing to help but had a working plan. We all finished eating, and split up.
Sarkin led us to a training room, filled with weapons of all kinds. He told us to wait as he assembled the survivors. Set was a bit nervous being surrounded by so many sharp items. To settle him, we examined several of them. None we looked at had drawn even a drop of blood. Over half had not been touched since the weapon smith made and placed them. Spider webs also spoke of their lack of use. This eased his young mind.
While we continued to look around, Sarkin led several other aquatics into the room. The three of us felt the results of their encounter with their enemy. We were glad Sarah and Lisa were not here. Sarah would have cried and Lisa would have started swearing. Sarkin lined them up in front of us. He told them our plan. The others looked at us questioningly, but stood still as we looked them over.
"Just before you were attacked, something darkened the area, quickly, not allowing your eyes to adjust to the change before they attacked," Anna stated.
They were all shocked and numbly nodded in agreement.
"You are not to blame," Alice took up speaking, "That kind of attack was well planned and repeated often. They had it worked out to clockwork precision. They are experts in it."
Some of their shame fell away, that knowledge freeing them from self-torture. Before I spoke, Sarkin stepped up.
"Can you find what has changed? Why the saurguin are more aggressive than any reports have ever stated?"
"Yes," I began, "we can. Did any of you claim a piece of your enemy?"
"I did," a male sea-elf stated, "I nabbed a bit of chain from its neck."
He rummaged in his belt pouch and produced a crude chain. I held out my hands. The looks told me my eyes changed as soon as it touched my skin.
"The one who wore this chain was a seasoned soldier. He fought their enemies, deep dwelling creatures, many times. During a very grueling fight, their priest called for 'any being of power'. The leaders were debating retreat when their enemies became encased in ice. A roar shattered both ice and creatures. From this mess, a massive sea dragon emerged upwards.
" 'I saved you. Now, you owe me. I will not interfere with day-to-day life, but your leaders will answer to me. Also, for me to defend your lonely city, you will rename it after me.'
"Being nearly devastated, the saurguin agreed. The sea dragon took up residence in the dark depths beneath the renamed city. His mere presence kept the other creatures far away. However, the saurguin are just receptive enough that his dreams are affecting them, making them more draconian, evil draconian. Territorial enough to attack any ship within sight. Greedy enough to raid the shores for anything of value. Mean enough to kill anyone or anything in their way. The sea dragon has heard of 'the Hoard' kept by the leprechauns and is 'encouraging' the saurguin to find it. So far, they have only raided along the ocean shore. Their wizards are searching for a way to tolerate the fresh water of the river and the dryness of land to search even farther. Also, there are some aquatic clans of whom the sea dragon has a personal hatred and is 'infecting' the saurguin with it. Success or death, no other option exists."
The chain disintegrated and my eyes went back to purple. The aquatics displayed many emotions. The shame left once they knew it was not their weakness that caused their defeat. Anger began to color their auras. They were upset that one being was the cause of so much death, destruction, and fear. Free of their shame, they freely spoke of their encounters. Each one told of horrible treatment at saurguin hands. Now they understood the savage behavior and knew it was not a figment of their imagination or exaggeration on their part. We spoke until someone mentioned food.
We returned to the dining area. The survivors joined us. As we filled our plates, I sensed feelings projected our way. Looking around, I saw a group looking at the survivors. This group hated the survivors. They believed the survivors were cowards, weak, stupid, and should be stripped of all rank and privileges. Mentally, I alerted my sisters. We all sat. In whispers, we told Sarkin and the rest about the other group. The survivors sighed, letting us know they got this treatment often. Our other sisters returned and sat with us. We shared our information. They had, also, learned of the sea dragon from the damage he had done to the coral wall. He was freezing holes to allow the saurguin to sneak under the guards undetected. Also, through some magic or talent, he allowed the saurguin to darken the waters and be hidden in shadow or unnatural darkness. The guards thought a disease or parasite was causing the holes.
The hostile group finally gathered their courage and approached us. In rapid aquatic language, this group began yelling at the survivors, Sarkin, and us. Sarah mentally translated, letting us know all the mean things they were saying. We let them prattle. While Sarah knew the language, she did not feel confident enough to confront them. Lisa had the confidence, but her temper was holding by a thread. We decided I would speak to them. I stood and placed myself between the two groups. From Sarah, I gained the aquatics' words and told them, plus everyone else in earshot, what these survivors had truly encountered. The hostile group began almost shrinking, losing their boldness and anger. Those listening looked at our "attackers" with increasing anger and disappointment. Truly chastised, they apologized to the survivors for their behavior and accusations and left. We continued eating. Others came over and also apologized for thinking less of the survivors. This improved their moods. A man dressed like Eelly walked over to our table and, without saying a word, rattled a handful of military-looking pins on the table. He just walked away, no explanations. The survivors and Sarkin, however, gathered up the pins like treasure. After a bit of sorting and passing, each survivor had an identical set.
"When they returned," Sarkin began, "their commander, like that bunch, assumed they lived because they fled. Following the rules, they were reduced in rank to what you would call 'private', the lowest rank. That is the punishment for cowards. By telling everyone that they survived an attack by superior foes, you restored their ranks and gave them the marks of not so much a hero, but let the rest know they were wounded doing their duty, not running away."
We were glad they had regained their ranks. We noticed Sarkin still had some pins in his hand. He was smiling like someone with a secret.
"Sisters," he started, "I have never known of any air breathers receiving this. Our commanders have bestowed upon you the rank of 'yeoman'. It is, to us, a civilian who can be counted upon in times of need. Your people call them reserve or militia. Wear them proudly."
He handed them to us. Simple design of two swords crossed on a blank shield, but the emotions carried with them were complex. Pride, happiness, some anxiety, and a small measure of fear clung to the silver coin-sized pins. Following Lisa's example, we placed them over our left breasts, which made our table mates smile. All but Sarkin left to return to their duties. Sarkin told us the Council needed to know about the evil sea dragon. We followed him.
We met the five head councilors in a much smaller chamber. They were surrounded by books and scrolls. They stopped their searching when we entered.
"Sisters? Something the matter?" the male who had sat in the center asked.
"My lords and ladies," Sarkin answered, "the Sisters have learned why the saurguin have become more hostile. I brought them to tell you."
Relief made all five of them slump.
"Thank the gods," the female who had been on the end exhaled, "We've been pouring over all of this," waving her hands over the piles and stacks, "for any information. Please, sit and tell us."
We found places to sit. After a few deep breaths, Sarah began.
"An evil sea dragon by the name of Konfotuta has become their 'master', for want of a better term. He saved them and, now, they serve him. His influence is making them take on dragon-like behaviors. While most dragons hoard treasure, evil dragons don't care who or what gets in the way. Also, wild dragons, evil males more so, are highly territorial. Anything in 'our' territory is either food or enemy, which means death for those beings. The saurguin are attacking fishing boats that violate 'our' territory and going as far on land as they can to get anything remotely valuable. They are actively searching for the leprechauns' Hoard for Konfatuta."
The Council looked at her in shock. One male who had not spoken before regained his voice.
"Are you certain of that name? Konfotuta?"
Sarah looked at me and I nodded.
"Yes, we are certain. They have even renamed their city Alkonfonu to honor and obey him," Sarah replied.
The five exchanged looks of horror. Emotions swirled like a typhoon. Sarkin seemed as lost as we. The High Lord, the male who had sat in the middle, came around to sit directly in front of us.
"Sisters, most here do not know nor speak those names. We aquatics' life spans vary greatly, but Konfotuta is older than almost all who live today. When we began having dragon riders, he was one of the first. Most of our current sea dragons are his descendants. However, he hid his true nature and pretended to be honorable and trustworthy. He chose a rider who also hid his evil nature. The two of them began, secretly, extorting the communities they were suppose to protect. They demanded special treatment, free lodging, free food, the best of everything. If they did not get it, they 'punished' those people, up to the point of destroying whole villages. Nearly a dozen riders died and dragons injured in capturing the pair. The rider, Alkon, was executed. Konfotuta was too strong for them to terminate. Mighty chains were found and he was chained to the bottom of the deepest chasm, left to survive on corpses falling near him. Their names were erased from public records. Only those who attain our titles know of them and can read of their deeds. Our predecessors had hoped he would die of starvation or be crushed. His reappearance troubles us greatly. We have nothing that can defeat him. We are doomed."
The other four echoed his conclusion. Sarkin, however, did not.
"Council, we cannot give up! Much has happened since he was chained. Our magics are stronger than our ancestors. Do not declare us defeated before we even try!"
The five were not swayed. They retrieved the records of Alkon and Konfotuta for us to read. A place was cleared off for us. While Sarkin read it normally, we seven, through Alice and Anna, experienced the history.
Alkon was originally named Alonso, but changed it to include part of Konfotuta's name. Known for being "gruff", it was hoped pairing would make Alkon more "civilized". Konfotua sensed his real nature and found a true partner, all the while convincing the rest of his virtue. For many years, the pair played "guardians", conning everyone. By bits and pieces, they persuaded their wards to give them "gifts" to ensure their protection. The gifts soon became "taxes" to support all of the riders and dragons. Under that title, the pair could "lawfully" punish those who did not pay. Punishment evolved into torture, both before and after to keep the flow of valuables steady. The first large act of destruction was the mayor's stables in which only a few people and aquatic animals were killed. This was reported as an accident. They got away with it. Emboldened, more "accidents" occurred. Their wards, now victims, were too frightened to admit the truth. Even after a couple of village grottoes were destroyed, the people still claimed they were only accidents. The truth was discovered when other riders witnessed the pair destroying homes and telling the victims how they "deserved" it for failing to pay them their "due share". When they were brought before the Council to answer for their crimes, no one beside the riders would testify against Alkon and Konfotuta. The pair tried to place the blame on the other riders, calling the charges false because the others were jealous of them. They twisted the tale to make it seem they were saving the homes from another "accident". The pair almost got away with it. A group of merfolk, previous "accident" victims, could not hide the truth any longer. They told every act Alkon and Konfotuta, together or separate, had committed against them. This gave the other victims courage and a tide of evidence piled up against them. The Council found them guilty and sentenced them to death. Alkon was easily beheaded. Konfotuta fought and killed nearly every aquatic and injured every sea dragon set against him. From an unknown source "titan chains" were given to them to bind him. Fearing he would escape from anywhere else, they took him to the deepest, darkest place anyone knew. Hundreds of large ship anchors were attached to the chains and deeply embedded in the floor and sides of the chasm. Konfotuta, it seemed, was unable to get free and cursed at his captors. Out of guilt, they dumped corpses to give him at least one meal before leaving him to die a slow death by starvation. For many years, fishermen were "encouraged" to dump the left overs from their catches into that deep place. To prevent a repeat, all records of the pair, save for what we were reading, were erased. The genealogy of the riding sea dragons only mentioned Konfotuta as "a wild male sea dragon of great strength". Seers were employed to check for evil tendencies and other undesirable traits. The riders were forbidden to speak of the pair and all of their victims were told to only refer to them as "the Rogues" or the "Bad Seeds". To this day, riders with those traits are marked with overlapping "A" and "K" on both their bodies and their records. The true meanings of those marks are never revealed to those receiving them.
"As you see," the High Lord interrupted, "we believe we had solved the problem. Konfotuta was imprisoned several hundred years ago. How could he still live? How did he get free?"
"May we please have a mirror? This can be discovered," I told them.
They sent a pair of the frog men servants to retrieve a mirror for us. While we waited, we told them what we had done with previous mirrors. The group was eager when the mirror, a very large one, was brought in to us. We propped it against a wall so all could see.
"Mirror, we need to see how Konfotuta the sea dragon survived and escaped his prison," we seven requested as one.
The mirror went hazy, then cleared to show a huge sea dragon being chained to the dark bottom of the undersea chasm. Time moved quickly. We watched years pass as he ate what fell close enough to reach. Then, he laid down and became as stone, matching the sea floor exactly. Time went really fast. The anchors rusted. The chains lay limply over the stone dragon. Then, the image shook, a violent undersea earthquake. The stone encasing Konfotuta cracked, exposing a now very pale green sea dragon. The stone over his eyes fell away. A chunk of rock hit his uncovered eye. It opened. With a mighty shake, he threw off the rest of the stone. Finding the chains no longer bound him, he swam to the surface. The earthquake capsized many ships by causing huge waves. Konfotuta feasted on everything that had fallen into the water. His strength renewed, but still pale, he set about relearning the area that was once his home. A few months later, he encountered the saurguin being defeated by their enemies and struck their deal. The last images shown the huge sea dragon curling around the base of the saurguin city, a living barrier to any attempts to touch it.
The mirror became normal again as we digested this information.
After some silent moments, the female, who was called the High Judge, asked, "This encasing in stone? What manner of magic is that?"
We all looked at each other. None of us had ever heard, read, or seen such. Even Echo and Set were at a loss. I made to say something, but I found my vision grew dim and my mouth would not work. I had just enough control left to squeeze Callie's hand before everything went dark.
Callie again. Kayla squeezing my hand was the only warning we got before things changed. Eyes white, Kayla stiffly rose and went to the center of the room. Unlike before, she became engulfed in a bright glow. This changed into Brimagor's head. However, all of us saw him face-on, regardless of where we were. The council almost fled, but we convinced them to stay.
"Greetings, Council of the Five Seas. I am Brimagor, god of dragons. I don't, normally, do this to share information, but this situation is not normal. Several things you need to know. One, Konfotuta is no ordinary wild sea dragon. He is a King, rare among land dragons and even rarer in the sea breeds. This accounts for his extremely large size and age. Second, the rock encasement was a form of hibernation. Looking like the natural stone makes it less likely he would be disturbed. Dragons hibernation can last for up to half a millennium, letting a dragon lay undisturbed and, eventually, forgotten. Third, as a King dragon, he can bond with many non-dragons at once. Asper See, a land King the Sisters know, can bond with seven easily or up to two dozen tenuously. Konfotuta has bonded with eight wizards and a few military leaders among the saurguin. He feels they are the 'real' power in Alkonfu and the best to do his bidding. Fourth, and lastly, defeating him by force is impossible, even with the Sisters. Sea dragons, like many water begins, are vulnerable to lightning and similar energy. You must gather enough power to produce the equivalent of one hundred lightning strikes to weaken him. Double that to hurt him. Triple or more to kill. While I do not condone his actions, he is still a dragon doing what a dragon does. I will not act against him. You have the knowledge. It is up to you."
Brimagor left and Kayla sank to lay on the floor. We went to her and found her only sleeping. By their leave, Set popped Kayla to our room and we went the normal way, stopping to bring food and drink with us. We watched her for any signs of either waking or distress until late. We went to bed, but our companions kept up the vigil.
We met the five head councilors in a much smaller chamber. They were surrounded by books and scrolls. They stopped their searching when we entered.
"Sisters? Something the matter?" the male who had sat in the center asked.
"My lords and ladies," Sarkin answered, "the Sisters have learned why the saurguin have become more hostile. I brought them to tell you."
Relief made all five of them slump.
"Thank the gods," the female who had been on the end exhaled, "We've been pouring over all of this," waving her hands over the piles and stacks, "for any information. Please, sit and tell us."
We found places to sit. After a few deep breaths, Sarah began.
"An evil sea dragon by the name of Konfotuta has become their 'master', for want of a better term. He saved them and, now, they serve him. His influence is making them take on dragon-like behaviors. While most dragons hoard treasure, evil dragons don't care who or what gets in the way. Also, wild dragons, evil males more so, are highly territorial. Anything in 'our' territory is either food or enemy, which means death for those beings. The saurguin are attacking fishing boats that violate 'our' territory and going as far on land as they can to get anything remotely valuable. They are actively searching for the leprechauns' Hoard for Konfatuta."
The Council looked at her in shock. One male who had not spoken before regained his voice.
"Are you certain of that name? Konfotuta?"
Sarah looked at me and I nodded.
"Yes, we are certain. They have even renamed their city Alkonfonu to honor and obey him," Sarah replied.
The five exchanged looks of horror. Emotions swirled like a typhoon. Sarkin seemed as lost as we. The High Lord, the male who had sat in the middle, came around to sit directly in front of us.
"Sisters, most here do not know nor speak those names. We aquatics' life spans vary greatly, but Konfotuta is older than almost all who live today. When we began having dragon riders, he was one of the first. Most of our current sea dragons are his descendants. However, he hid his true nature and pretended to be honorable and trustworthy. He chose a rider who also hid his evil nature. The two of them began, secretly, extorting the communities they were suppose to protect. They demanded special treatment, free lodging, free food, the best of everything. If they did not get it, they 'punished' those people, up to the point of destroying whole villages. Nearly a dozen riders died and dragons injured in capturing the pair. The rider, Alkon, was executed. Konfotuta was too strong for them to terminate. Mighty chains were found and he was chained to the bottom of the deepest chasm, left to survive on corpses falling near him. Their names were erased from public records. Only those who attain our titles know of them and can read of their deeds. Our predecessors had hoped he would die of starvation or be crushed. His reappearance troubles us greatly. We have nothing that can defeat him. We are doomed."
The other four echoed his conclusion. Sarkin, however, did not.
"Council, we cannot give up! Much has happened since he was chained. Our magics are stronger than our ancestors. Do not declare us defeated before we even try!"
The five were not swayed. They retrieved the records of Alkon and Konfotuta for us to read. A place was cleared off for us. While Sarkin read it normally, we seven, through Alice and Anna, experienced the history.
Alkon was originally named Alonso, but changed it to include part of Konfotuta's name. Known for being "gruff", it was hoped pairing would make Alkon more "civilized". Konfotua sensed his real nature and found a true partner, all the while convincing the rest of his virtue. For many years, the pair played "guardians", conning everyone. By bits and pieces, they persuaded their wards to give them "gifts" to ensure their protection. The gifts soon became "taxes" to support all of the riders and dragons. Under that title, the pair could "lawfully" punish those who did not pay. Punishment evolved into torture, both before and after to keep the flow of valuables steady. The first large act of destruction was the mayor's stables in which only a few people and aquatic animals were killed. This was reported as an accident. They got away with it. Emboldened, more "accidents" occurred. Their wards, now victims, were too frightened to admit the truth. Even after a couple of village grottoes were destroyed, the people still claimed they were only accidents. The truth was discovered when other riders witnessed the pair destroying homes and telling the victims how they "deserved" it for failing to pay them their "due share". When they were brought before the Council to answer for their crimes, no one beside the riders would testify against Alkon and Konfotuta. The pair tried to place the blame on the other riders, calling the charges false because the others were jealous of them. They twisted the tale to make it seem they were saving the homes from another "accident". The pair almost got away with it. A group of merfolk, previous "accident" victims, could not hide the truth any longer. They told every act Alkon and Konfotuta, together or separate, had committed against them. This gave the other victims courage and a tide of evidence piled up against them. The Council found them guilty and sentenced them to death. Alkon was easily beheaded. Konfotuta fought and killed nearly every aquatic and injured every sea dragon set against him. From an unknown source "titan chains" were given to them to bind him. Fearing he would escape from anywhere else, they took him to the deepest, darkest place anyone knew. Hundreds of large ship anchors were attached to the chains and deeply embedded in the floor and sides of the chasm. Konfotuta, it seemed, was unable to get free and cursed at his captors. Out of guilt, they dumped corpses to give him at least one meal before leaving him to die a slow death by starvation. For many years, fishermen were "encouraged" to dump the left overs from their catches into that deep place. To prevent a repeat, all records of the pair, save for what we were reading, were erased. The genealogy of the riding sea dragons only mentioned Konfotuta as "a wild male sea dragon of great strength". Seers were employed to check for evil tendencies and other undesirable traits. The riders were forbidden to speak of the pair and all of their victims were told to only refer to them as "the Rogues" or the "Bad Seeds". To this day, riders with those traits are marked with overlapping "A" and "K" on both their bodies and their records. The true meanings of those marks are never revealed to those receiving them.
"As you see," the High Lord interrupted, "we believe we had solved the problem. Konfotuta was imprisoned several hundred years ago. How could he still live? How did he get free?"
"May we please have a mirror? This can be discovered," I told them.
They sent a pair of the frog men servants to retrieve a mirror for us. While we waited, we told them what we had done with previous mirrors. The group was eager when the mirror, a very large one, was brought in to us. We propped it against a wall so all could see.
"Mirror, we need to see how Konfotuta the sea dragon survived and escaped his prison," we seven requested as one.
The mirror went hazy, then cleared to show a huge sea dragon being chained to the dark bottom of the undersea chasm. Time moved quickly. We watched years pass as he ate what fell close enough to reach. Then, he laid down and became as stone, matching the sea floor exactly. Time went really fast. The anchors rusted. The chains lay limply over the stone dragon. Then, the image shook, a violent undersea earthquake. The stone encasing Konfotuta cracked, exposing a now very pale green sea dragon. The stone over his eyes fell away. A chunk of rock hit his uncovered eye. It opened. With a mighty shake, he threw off the rest of the stone. Finding the chains no longer bound him, he swam to the surface. The earthquake capsized many ships by causing huge waves. Konfotuta feasted on everything that had fallen into the water. His strength renewed, but still pale, he set about relearning the area that was once his home. A few months later, he encountered the saurguin being defeated by their enemies and struck their deal. The last images shown the huge sea dragon curling around the base of the saurguin city, a living barrier to any attempts to touch it.
The mirror became normal again as we digested this information.
After some silent moments, the female, who was called the High Judge, asked, "This encasing in stone? What manner of magic is that?"
We all looked at each other. None of us had ever heard, read, or seen such. Even Echo and Set were at a loss. I made to say something, but I found my vision grew dim and my mouth would not work. I had just enough control left to squeeze Callie's hand before everything went dark.
Callie again. Kayla squeezing my hand was the only warning we got before things changed. Eyes white, Kayla stiffly rose and went to the center of the room. Unlike before, she became engulfed in a bright glow. This changed into Brimagor's head. However, all of us saw him face-on, regardless of where we were. The council almost fled, but we convinced them to stay.
"Greetings, Council of the Five Seas. I am Brimagor, god of dragons. I don't, normally, do this to share information, but this situation is not normal. Several things you need to know. One, Konfotuta is no ordinary wild sea dragon. He is a King, rare among land dragons and even rarer in the sea breeds. This accounts for his extremely large size and age. Second, the rock encasement was a form of hibernation. Looking like the natural stone makes it less likely he would be disturbed. Dragons hibernation can last for up to half a millennium, letting a dragon lay undisturbed and, eventually, forgotten. Third, as a King dragon, he can bond with many non-dragons at once. Asper See, a land King the Sisters know, can bond with seven easily or up to two dozen tenuously. Konfotuta has bonded with eight wizards and a few military leaders among the saurguin. He feels they are the 'real' power in Alkonfu and the best to do his bidding. Fourth, and lastly, defeating him by force is impossible, even with the Sisters. Sea dragons, like many water begins, are vulnerable to lightning and similar energy. You must gather enough power to produce the equivalent of one hundred lightning strikes to weaken him. Double that to hurt him. Triple or more to kill. While I do not condone his actions, he is still a dragon doing what a dragon does. I will not act against him. You have the knowledge. It is up to you."
Brimagor left and Kayla sank to lay on the floor. We went to her and found her only sleeping. By their leave, Set popped Kayla to our room and we went the normal way, stopping to bring food and drink with us. We watched her for any signs of either waking or distress until late. We went to bed, but our companions kept up the vigil.
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