Chapter 2
“Where are you going, Amber?” her mother asked when she laid eyes on her; a bag slung over her shoulder and a heavy coat in her hands.
“I’ve decided to go explore Drakania like Dad,” she replied, fastening a lined woolen cloak over her shoulders. “Maybe find what he was looking for before…” She grew silent, staring at nothing for a moment before shaking her head. “Anyways, I’m going to try and find whatever he was looking for. I have that one map he drew for me when I was ten.” She adjusted the belt of throwing knives that had been given to her a few years ago at her waist and slipped on her shoes.
“Amber, no one has come back from Drakania since Dad,” Evangeline said, her tone taking on a hint of skepticism. The sixteen year old was hovering near the front door, watching her sister prepare to leave.
“And I intend on changing that,” Amber said. “Besides, that’s what I want to do and is what going to Autarcus has been preparing me for.”
“I thought you wanted to be a researcher,” her mother said, sounding confused. “And work in the laboratories in Regia Liavis.”
“Well, I changed my mind.” Because I’ve changed as well, she added silently.
Her hand rested on the doorknob, pausing for a moment as if reconsidering her decision to leave.
:If you stay, what do you think will happen when they find out about your gift?: The voice was back, this time sounding more patronizing than anything else.
Banishing the voice to a dark abyss within her mind, she turned the knob.
“Wait!” Evangeline suddenly wrapped her in a hug. “I’ll miss you,” she mumbled, her voice muffled by Amber’s shirt.
She laughed softly, returning the gesture. “And I’ll miss you too.”
“I’ll try to write,” she said more quietly as she crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her. She lingered by the front entrance, listening to her sister ask, “why would she leave?” and her mother replied, “I don’t know.”
Her eyes flashed green, the color slowly spreading from her pupil in a vein-like pattern, weaving along the blue-purple iris.
The streets were busy with Liavis citizens milling around, rushing to and from their homes, work, the Academy, and even Regia Liavis. Amber took care to avoid the latter, knowing that if they found out the secret she was harboring, death would be the thing she most looked forward to.
As she walked, she smiled and waved at people she knew, stopped and occasionally chatted with some of her friends. On the outside, she was just like any other person, going about her day. On the inside, she was panicking, and wondering why no one had stopped and shouted for the Regia guards to restrain her.
She spotted her closest friends, gathered by the entrance of the circular courtyard that served as the market and as the location of delivering important announcements. She saw Melody, talking with enthusiasm while waving her arms around dramatically while Casmir looked bored as he tried to take part in the conversation. As she drew near, she heard the words “…and then you saw the Unlocked and you said that everything exploded with green color and—oh hey, Amber!”
“I did not say that,” Casmir deadpanned.
“Yeah you did!”
“Casmir saw an Unlocked?” Amber asked, feigning interest. Her hand drifted to where her necklace rested, hidden by her shirt. “Where?” Her eyes flashed green, the sudden pulse of light invisible with the sun shining brightly in the sky.
“In the forests,” he replied. “I think she was training or something.”
“She?” Melody and Amber both said at the same time; the former out of curiosity and the latter out of fear.
“I think.” Casmir said, his cheeks flushing red. “I’m not sure though.” He glanced at his friends, eyes lingering on Amber’s bag and cloak. “But enough about the Unlocked, what about you guys? Amber, you’re going somewhere?”
She noticed that his voice took on a slightly confused and sad tone but chose to not comment on it.
“And so soon as well,” Melody added. “But you’re…you, so I’m not really that surprised.”
“I’m going to explore Drakania,” she said stiffly. The words sounded almost rehearsed to her. “And carry on my father’s legacy.” She glanced at the large sundial that sat at the center of the courtyard. “And I have to go now if I want to make it there before dark.”
“I’ll see you guys later,” she murmured as she walked off, ignoring the painful ache in her heart that grew stronger with every step she took.
She was almost out of the market when she was stopped. Casmir held onto her arm, an unreadable expression on his face. He quickly let go and backed up a few paces.
“What?”
“I…just, can you draw up a new map for me when you come back?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation. “My old one is…”
“Torn and practically unreadable,” she finished. “Yeah, I can try. Mapping is not my strong point, though.”
“Okay, well…” he gave her a quick hug, whispering “Bye,” into her ear before he disappeared into the crowds flocking through the tall stone archway.
She stared after him for a moment, the green veins retracting slowly from her irises. Then she blinked, snapping out of the trance and continuing on her way.
The veins of green grew back almost immediately when she turned around, this time twice as fast as before.
She ran through the forests as soon as she passed the cluster of boulders that marked the boundary between Diavum and Drakania. Wisps of green trailed from her fingertips as she sprinted past ferns, trees, wild flowers.
She felt free. Free from the anxiety that came with being an Unlocked within a human kingdom; free from the burden of keeping this a secret from her family and friends; and hopefully, free from that voice who kept calling her something along the lines of “Drakania’s child”, whatever that meant.
She slowed to a walk when she realized how far she had run; she had passed quite a few clearings already, each one recognizable on the detailed map her father had drawn years ago.
One clearing was called “Lazuli”, marked by random spikes of deep blue crystals that were sometimes found growing out of the ground. Her father had written “crystals were placed there, not naturally occurring” by the name. She felt a bit disappointed that she didn’t just discover some new and unusual natural phenomenon.
Another clearing was simply labeled as “Do not venture”, and it was the one she was at right now. There were no notes as to why she shouldn’t go there. For the most part, it was just a larger-than-normal clearing; a stretch of grass that could easily fit two of Autarcus Academy, complete with the training field and dining hall, and still have enough space left over to build a large mansion. It was ringed with a circle of tall trees that seemed to form a wall, as if protecting something.
Amber stepped past the treeline and the world seemed to go silent.
Maybe that’s why her father wrote “Do not venture” beside this clearing on the map. She wondered if he had explored this clearing himself.
Glancing around, she slowly picked her way through tall, overgrown grass, occasionally stopping to cut some tangle of vines away from her path or to examine random flowers and insects that caught her eye. She saw a fallen tree, with a hollow in its side. A faint chirp told her that it was probably the home of some small lizard or bird and she decided to not investigate further.
A lizard scampered up her leg, her arms, to her shoulder, trilling loudly in her ear. Her eyes widened when she saw the glowing dorsal spikes and bright eyes; it was the same one from two years ago.
“You!” she hissed, carefully moving to sit down so as to not disturb the reptile.
The lizard, unfazed by the sudden anger that now radiated from the girl, remained content, sitting on her shoulder and licking its eyeball. It chirped again, this time, sounding like it was laughing.
“Did you drop this?” she dangled the necklace pendant in front of its face. “Answer me!”
She received a low hiss in response and imagined the lizard probably just said strange humans asking me strange questions, or something along those lines.
“Fine, be that way.” She shook her head at the reptile and muttered “crazy lizard” under her breath.
Gently picking up the lizard, she set it onto the grass, watching it disappear into the field. She scoffed with disbelief and continued picking her way across the clearing.
The sun was on its way down when she reached the middle. She had misjudged just how large it was.
Heaving a sigh of exhaustion, she started preparing to survive through the night.
Despite her leg muscles aching from all the walking and running, she made herself find thick branches that were scattered throughout the clearing and drag them back to “her spot”. With a disoriented and unfocused mind, she started to weave the sticks together, fashioning some sort of shelter to briefly shield her from the natural elements. More than once, she stopped to judge the appearance before remembering that no one was going to see this makeshift building she was creating. But the sides are not symmetrical—oh shut it, Amber.
It was by no means a proper house when she was finished, but it was a sturdy and solid structure of interwoven branches, secured by strips of woven grass and a bit of rope she found in her bag. There were enough branches overlapping and tangled together that it kept water out. She placed another section of woven sticks by the entrance, held to the main structure by some more ropes of woven grass, acting as a door.
It wasn’t much, but at least she wouldn’t be sleeping in the cold for the entire night.
Camping in Drakania was nothing like she had ever expected.
For one, there were no migrating dragons or random bursts of fire and loud roars that kept her awake at night. Her father must’ve greatly exaggerated the stories for her and Evangeline’s amusement when they were young.
If anything, she fell into a deep sleep after catching some fish for dinner in a nearby pond and didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky the following day.
She yawned, stretching her sore limbs and got to her feet, reaching to pull the makeshift door open. That’s when she realized the shelter she had spent hours building the previous day now lay in piles of broken and charred branches and grass all around her. It was a miracle that she didn’t wake up during the night at all. The racket this must’ve caused would’ve been pretty loud. It was either the dismantling was quieter or she slept more heavily than she initially thought.
As far as she could see, there was nothing in sight that could be responsible for this, though as she listened to the sounds of nature more intently, she could hear a low growling. It came from somewhere to her left, maybe past the pond where she had caught fish from the previous night.
“Hello?” she shouted, momentarily putting aside the fact that she was in Drakania, where the dragons lived. “If you’re the one who destroyed my house, then I’ve got something to say to you!”
The growling grew louder in response. She let out a humorless laugh.
“If you’re angry, then think about how I feel!”
The tips of curved, pearlescent horns were the first things she saw through the tall grass, followed by a dark red snout with a long, curved horn above the nostrils.
Her mouth dropped open as the dragon slowly prowled in her direction.
Its eyes were a deep, rich purple, almost like hers. Its scales were a dark red, with bronze highlights flashing wherever the sun rays shone upon its body. There were overlapping plates of dark gold lining its underbelly, with a few gemstones stuck between scales. When the dragon spread its wings, it casted a shadow over both of them. The temperature also seemed to drop, with a gust of wind blowing past and dark clouds seeming to gather overhead.
Something clicked in her head but she didn’t stop to register what it was and scrambled back. Her hand felt around until she closed her fingers around the leather-wrapped handle of her knife. A wave of resignation washed over her as she held the small weapon out in front of her. It wouldn’t do her any good against a dragon like that.
Goodbye world, I’ll miss you.
:A human: a soft feminine voice whispered, eerily familiar in the way the sound seemed to gently caress her, lulling her slowly to sleep.
She pinched herself in order to not fall into the trance. “It’s YOU!” she exclaimed. “Did you destroy my house?”
The dragon cocked its head, as if prompting her to elaborate and its eyes glinted with amusement. The reptile’s lithe form curled around her like a snake and she fought back the urge to touch the scales. They looked really smooth.
“You-you’re the one who made me think I was crazy!” she said, her voice never wavering despite fear making adrenaline pump throughout her body. “You kept calling me—”
:Child of Drakania: the voice finished smoothly.
“I am NOT a child of Drakania, I don’t even know what that means!”
:You claim you’re not a child of Drakania, yet you have a Dragonstone?: The dragon growled quietly, a pale green glow emitting from its maw as if it was charging up for a fire blast.
Something clicked in her head. “Wait, you mean an Unlocked?” she asked. “I’m an Unlocked, I have powers.” The reality of the situation sunk in when the words left her mouth. She had never directly acknowledged the fact that she was an Unlocked, due to all the laws in place. But something, and not the dragon, or whatever the voice was, told her that she won’t regret picking up the stone and that being an Unlocked was a great thing. So far, she wasn’t believing it.
The dragon closed its mouth and stared at her, confusion written clearly across its face.
“Wait, how am I talking to you?” Amber pinched herself again to make sure she wasn’t having a lucid dream. “Dragons don’t talk.” She laughed in an attempt to convince herself of this fact, though she knew deep down it was possible for these majestic reptiles to communicate in ways that humans haven’t learned yet.
:Silly human, of course we can talk: the red dragon said, a low rumbling sound escaping its throat. Laughter. :How else am I talking to you?:
“I mean, how do you talk to us?” she asked. “Because I can hear the words in my head but dragons don’t speak like humans, they just growl and—”
:My father, the king of Drakania told me that humans and dragons can form Bonds: The dragon seemed smug that it knew something she didn’t. :He said that dragons know when they’ve formed a Bond, and they’ll seek out their human counterpart:
“And your father knows this because—”
:He told me he once Bonded with a human who also had a Dragonstone: The red dragon looked sad as it spoke. :The human was killed and he never saw the dragonborn again:
She blinked slowly, trying to process the amount of information that was just thrown at her. She gave up after a few minutes and ended up extending a hand, saying, “I’m Amber” in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.
The dragon sniffed her outstretched hand with little hesitation and gently nudged her palm. :Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Amber: it said, more calmly and less hostile than before. There was a hint of smugness in its voice. :I’m Crimson, the…Princess of Drakania and heir to the draconic throne:
Crimson, it turned out, was not very helpful when it came to answering Amber’s questions about Drakania, nor did she stick around much. Almost immediately after their first meeting, the dark red dragon suddenly turned her head to the sun and took off into the sky.
“Strange dragon princess,” Amber had muttered under her breath and started working on repairing her shelter.
She managed to rebuild the door, this time adding a second one so her shelter would have a double door, and had just started fixing the walls when clouds gathered overhead and a spiral of dark red and gold shot down. The winds accompanied Crimson as the dragon skidded to a stop beside her. To the reptile’s credit, she didn’t knock over the house this time.
“Hello, dragon,” she said as a way of greeting. She didn’t look up from her work, even as Crimson started sniffing around the piles of sticks and tried to bite the door.
:You’re not happy: Crimson said.
“Wow, how long did it take you to figure that out?”
:You’re not glad that you’ve Bonded with me? I’ve been trying to communicate since the beginning of the year:
“I don’t need a dragon,” she replied, using her abilities to char a particularly sharp branch and start to carve it into a point. Then she stabbed it into the dirt, starting to build a fence. She ignored the rest of what Crimson said.
:Think about how much you could accomplish with a dragon, me, by your side: Crimson offered.
Amber lifted her head, giving the dragon a look of disbelief. “What I want to do is to just stay here and explore.”
:Oh, so it has nothing to do with the humans who were screaming about an Unlocked in the forest?: The dragon seemed smug as she spoke. :Or should I say Dragonborn, even though both apparently mean the same thing. I passed them on my flight here:
“What do you want?” the girl finally snapped, dropping a bundle of sticks to the grass and strode up to Crimson. She glared into purple eyes that mirrored her own and slowly, her gaze softened while Crimson’s remained as steely as ever.
Tearing her eyes away, Amber huffed and resumed building. This time, she wove grass into a large mat to tie over the woven branch roof, hopefully it’ll keep water from leaking in.
“I’m not falling for that,” she muttered.
The dragon seemed even more smug than before and crooned, nudging her hand. :Think about how much you could accomplish with a dragon by your side: she said again.
“No.”
Crimson let out a low growl and spread her wings. :Fine, be that way: She took off, purposely swiping her tail at the building. Thankfully, there was no significant damage dealt to the structure.
A week later, Crimson returned.
She landed a distance away from Amber and chose to watch her move around before approaching.
“I’m not in the mood,” she said before the dragon could say anything.
:I was going to offer to show you the Drakanian Caves, but fine:
Amber’s head shot up, her interest piqued. “Wait, what about the caves?” she asked, silently crossing her fingers behind her back. Maybe this was the dragon city her father tried to find every time an expedition crossed through Drakania. She decided to give Crimson a chance and listen to her.
:You’re not going to be a condescending and disrespectful human?:
She sighed and shook her head. “No,” she said. “This time, I’ll listen.” She offered Crimson a friendly smile and sat down, crossing her legs. “What about the caves?”
:It’s my home: Crimson said slowly. When Amber didn’t give a sarcastic remark like during their previous interactions, she started talking faster, and with more enthusiasm. :It’s so beautiful there. The royal catacombs have so many crystals and lacerti!:
“What’s a lacerti?”
:Oh, those tiny glowing lizards, like the one on your shoulder:
She shrieked when she saw that green lizard with glowing dorsal spikes, who had moved to her arm and was chirping happily. “AGAIN?”
:He says his name is Onyx, and he was sent by my father to scatter Dragonstones around the kingdom but he got lost in the forests for several years: Crimson added, thinking she was being helpful. She wasn’t. :Anyways, I have to be in the Caves by sundown, so if you want to come…:
“Is the lizard coming?” she asked, only hearing the part about the Caves.
:The lacerti live in the Caves as well, so yes:
The lizard — Onyx — laughed, or made a trilling sound that was similar to a laugh at Amber’s expression of annoyance.
“Fine.” she said after running through many options in her head. “Let’s go.”
Amber never thought that she’d ever get close to a dragon without dying, much less sit on the back of one as it flew to the mythical Dragon City that so many explorers had tried and failed to find throughout Diavian history.
Thinking about it made her giddy. She’d be the first human explorer to set foot within the Dragon City. She imagined the headlines of the city announcement papers: Explorer discovers Dragon City, followed by a sketch of her done by a professional artist beside Crimson. She imagined how proud her father would be, and at the thought of him, she was only motivated further to achieve this goal.
At the same time though, she decided that dragon riding was her new favorite activity.
When she glanced down, her eyebrows lifted with delight; the view was stunning. When she spotted wide rivers snaking their way through forests and clearings; part of a glittering ocean somewhere in the distance; towering mountains whose peaks were obstructed by clouds… she understood why, in a sense, her father wanted to explore. She also understood why dragons loved to fly, why Crimson insisted on doing so rather than walking on foot.
“So how far is this cave?” she asked, shouting so her voice could be heard over the roaring wind. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Crimson’s neck for balance.
:Not far at all: was the reply.
She assumed “not far at all” meant another few more minutes of flying, maybe a half hour at most.
They ended up flying for another three hours.
The sun was making its journey down from the heavens when Crimson announced that they would be reaching the Caves shortly. She was met with no response from Amber, who had fallen asleep during the long flight.
:Wake up, human, it’s sundown: Crimson said, more quietly so she didn’t startle the girl.
“Ungfh,” Amber managed to say as she blinked, forcing her eyes open. She laid eyes on the yawning cavern entrance before her and gaped, all the sleepiness suddenly gone. “Wow, that’s quite a cave.”
:That’s just the front gate, not the actual entrance:
“So where is the actual entrance?” she asked as she climbed down from Crimson’s back.
:Go inside and you’ll find out: the dragon said, her purple eyes glinting in the dying light of day.
It was like she had stepped into a whole other world once she entered the cave. Crystals of every color and size lined the walls, glowing softly as lizards, similar in appearance to the one on her shoulder, crawled amongst the structures. Speaking of Onyx, he jumped off and disappeared within the forest of pink and blue stone.
Thin spires of clear quartz, chunky clusters of purple amethyst and small nuggets of gold filled every space available on the stone. Some of the gold piled up in high stacks, reaching her waist in height. She took a few and hoped that the dragons wouldn’t mind. Some crystals grew sideways from the cavern walls and were so large she had to duck under them. When her head gently brushed against one of these large crystals, she felt a spark of energy throughout her body. The arkey that rested under her shirt seemed to grow warmer the more she ventured into the cave.
She ran her hand along the walls, laughing as sparks of green flew from her fingers, striking crystals around the cave and ricocheting off into others, until the section was glimmering with a bright emerald light. She created a floating ball of corrosive energy, throwing it up in the air and letting it take the form of a wispy dragon. She watched it fly around a bit before dispelling it.
Crimson watched from the side, seeming captivated by the light show.
:Do it again!: she exclaimed once the glimmering display faded away.
Amber flashed the dragon an exhausted smile. “Maybe later,” she said. “Aren’t we supposed to be meeting with your family?”
:Oh right: There was a hint of anger in the dragon’s voice that Amber missed.
A particularly large spire of rock caught her eye for a moment. It towered above everything even in the cavernous space, like it was watching over the lizards and crystals. It was beautiful, sculpted of dark blue stone, and glowing softly with an unnatural light just like everything else in the cave.
She initially strode past without so much of a glance, but when Crimson snarled softly at the statue, she paused and backtracked.
“What is it?” she asked, automatically reaching out and gently patting the dragon’s head to calm her down.
:Caeruleum: Crimson growled, glaring at the statue, which — to Amber, at least — had begun to resemble a creature who bore a striking similarity to the dark red dragon herself.
“Actually, it looks kinda like you,” Amber said. “See, there’s the horns, the side spikes.” She didn’t fail to notice that this statue was formed of the same crystal that was in the Lazuli clearing on her father’s map.
:No, it’s the Caeruleum!: Crimson hissed. :They’re responsible, they did everything and it’s all their fault!: A jet of bright green fire shot from her maw, striking the base of the statue. It glowed, lighting up the surroundings for a moment before fading away. A low rumbling sound echoed through the caves at the dragon’s fury. The light of the crystals flickered and some extinguished completely, never relighting after the tremors passed. A cacophony of trills, squawks and shrieks sounded as hundreds of tiny lizards disappeared into hidden crevices in the walls, leaving an eerie silence behind.
Amber waited for Crimson to calm down before asking, “What’s the—”
Crimson seemed to read her mind and answered before she could finish her sentence. :The Caeruleum are the ruling family of Drakania:
“So that’s your family—”
:Silly human, Caeruleum means blue: Crimson snorted. :Do I look blue to you?:
“No.”
:Exactly: the dragon rolled her eyes, something Amber didn’t know reptiles could do. :My family is the Erythrean family. Any guess for what that might stand for?:
“Green,” Amber said in the most serious tone she could muster while keeping her face in a deadpan expression.
:Are all humans this stupid?:
“It’s called sarcasm,” she said with exasperation. “I’ll have to teach you that.” She nodded with understanding and continued, “Erythrean means red, cause you know, it’s your family name and you’re red?”
Crimson snorted and prowled ahead, making a point to ignore Amber as they passed several more dragon statues. Most of them were carved of glassy, dark obsidian and definitely bore a resemblance to Crimson.
“Wait, how come you said you’re the Princess of Drakania, but the ruling family isn’t your family?” she called, lengthening her strides to catch up. She eyed the statues, noting that each one had an expression of proudness, even arrogance, if she looked closely enough. They were all red, at least, the obsidian was red.
:Are all humans nosy and like to intrude on others’ lives?:
“Yeah, actually.” Amber thought about her friends, and the interest that they’d try to conceal whenever something new happened to someone in the city. The presentation in Autarcus Hall stood out the most; especially the increase of chatter and clamoring when Captain Aaron Lamont announced that there’s an Unlocked in the kingdom. She pushed the thoughts aside. “Humans are nosy,” she repeated.
:Rude: Crimson glanced back, shooting a withering glare at her. :Ask my father why the Caeruleum are ruling over Drakania, I don’t want to talk about it:
The tunnel, if Amber could call the cave they’d been traveling through for the past hour a tunnel, opened up into an even more spacious cave. This one was filled with dragons. Hundreds, maybe thousands of dragons crawled along the ceiling and walls, flew through hidden passageways, or just stared at her and Crimson. It might’ve been her imagination but she swore the other dragons gave Crimson looks of fear and disdain.
She gazed around with awe, even as Crimson used her tail and pushed her along a worn path that spiraled down the sides to the bottom of the cave.
:Sightsee later: the dragon said impatiently. Her posture immediately changed when they approached a raised slab of stone where a beautiful blue dragon sat. Her voice took on a condescending tone as she lowered her head. Amber didn’t know if the bowing was out of respect or if it was out of shame. :My Queen:
The queen raised her head, gazing at the two with intelligent-looking blue eyes, the color of sky on a cloudless day. She had three sets of spikes, placed about her head in a crown fashion, with an actual crown of black stone framing the spikes, a perfectly clear and faceted gemstone sitting at the center of the crown. She was regal, poised, and confident, though there was still an aura of playfulness around her. So different from Crimson, who claimed that “blasting fire first and talking later” was the way to live life.
Speaking of the red dragon, her tail whacked Amber’s back, and she quickly sank to her knee. “Uh, hello,” she murmured, mentally slapping herself for how stupid it sounded. “I-I mean, um, greetings?” She waved a hand around the cave. “It’s…your kingdom is beautiful.”
The blue dragon growled and Crimson was quick to translate, even if she seemed reluctant to do so.
:She says thank you:
“You understand me?” Amber asked with surprise.
This time she received a small squawk as a response.
:The queen says, “of course, we’re knowledgeable on the human language as well”:
“Then humans need to be more knowledgeable on the dragon language,” she muttered under her breath. “Humans need to be more knowledgeable on everything.”
:Goodbye: Crimson said with mild annoyance. :Human, let’s go, we’ve finished the customary greetings:
“But I want to see the—”
:We’re leaving:
Amber bowed to Drakania’s Queen once more, and when Crimson growled lowly, she hurried after her Bonded dragon.
