VI

Back in the Far East, where the fringe of the Torin Forest met the Desert of Yere, lay the encampment of Ragon’s clan.

Everyone who knew of the Ragon’s existence, even people as wise and all-knowing like Wayvorce the Wizard and Ejen, didn’t believe that there was an actual encampment of the Ragons.  It was impossible.  None of the Ragons were known to dwell in one place, for they had a reputation for always being on the move.  Did people in exile really have a home? 

No one knew of this Ragon’s camp.  Such a place was drawn in such blunt detail on the most precise of maps, that a place like this was non-existent.  It didn’t even have a name.  Even some of Ragons would care to forget where this single lonely camp lay, out of all the places that they had traveled to.

But it did exist.  It was there.

It was just a cluster of stone huts built in the forest, just a hundred yards away from the sands of the vast Desert of Yere.  The buildings were small, and there were only a dozen of them.  As proof of the Ragon’s discreetness, moss had grown all over the stone houses, with small trees sprouting from the roofs, and poison ivy dangling over the walls to cover up the windows.  If anyone had been walking by these structures, which would be rare since myth kept travelers out of the way, they would just think that the huts were just hills covered with moss and vines.

Every month or so, an Alpha from the Alphan Cliffs, people who resided in the desert, would make voyage the five miles across the heated desert to check on the line of huts.  When they saw that everyone was there, they would record any changes, bid farewell to the inhabitants, and return to the Cliffs.

The people who lived there were children. 

They had no supervision, and were without a leader.  There had never been any sort of chief that governed the twelve stone huts.  The reason was because they never needed authority to guide them – they were equally capable for foraging food, and defending themselves against the wild animals of the forest.  They never caused any trouble. There was no need for any kind of government.  This would be the only place that the restless Ragons would dwell in, the only time in their whole lives.

These were the Children of the Ragons.  Spawn of the Desert Elves and their brood.  Children that any mother would disown the minute they gave birth.  They were offspring of the Ragons with an undeniable fate.

This was where the infamous fate began.  This was where the doomed Ragons began their lives.

Salix was crouching over a pool.  A puddle, really.  She was watching the tadpoles swim around the grasses that sprouting out of the dark water.  Then her gaze shifted to the insects that were skimming the surface of the water like it was glass. 

She looked up.  It was getting dark.  ‘Dark’ didn’t mean very much when you were in the forest.  But Salix could tell the difference.  She had lived in this dark and mysterious forest almost her whole life, and she could sense the subtle difference of the position of the sun filtering through the thick, wet foliage.

She bent her head down to look into the pool again.

Salix was trying to ‘see’.  Even though she was just a young girl, she could feel something massive, something drastic that was going to change, shifting.  It was upsetting the stars.  Salix chuckled to herself.  She didn’t really believe in any of that ‘star-reading’ junk.  Like she said, she could feel it in her bones.

Sometimes she would look into a bowl of water, or a small puddle on the ground.  There, she could see what was happening miles away.  If she concentrated hard enough, she could see where she wanted to, and not where the sight just happened to land.  Salix wanted to see what was causing the disturbance that she had been feeling that last couple of days.  She reasoned that if she found a bigger pool, she could see a bigger picture.

A pair of feet landed on the boulder on the other side of the pond.  “Heya, Salix.”

Dressed in dark colors, mostly black and navy, was the small-version of a Ragon.  The boy wore a black tunic over dark blue trousers.  Like her, he was wearing a forest-green cloak, which covered the rest of his body, down to his feet, which were dressed in brown leather boots.

Salix possessed the cold, unemotional face of a Ragon, but looking up at the visitor she rolled her eyes in annoyance.  “I was trying to see something, Kiter.”

Kiter jumped down from the rock and landed with his feet smack in the middle of the pool.

Salix stood up, irritated.  “Do you know how hard is to find a pool that surface isn’t broken?”

Kiter sighed.  “You’ve been trying all day.  It’s time to go back.”

Salix agreed, but reluctantly.  Together they headed back to the camp.

The light in the forest was turning golden by the time Salix and Kiter returned to the camp.  A pot of vegetable stew had been set up over a campfire, which was at the end of the string of moss-covered stone huts.  The ground had been cleared of ferns and undergrowth, and somebody had swept the place clean with twigs.  There were already other children, no older than fifteen, already seated on logs and tree stumps, drinking their stew.  Salix and Kiter picked up a bowl from the shed, and filled it with the steaming soup.  Together, they took a seat under the dry cover of a pine tree.

The youngest of Ragon children were seven years old, and the oldest were fourteen, whereas Salix was twelve, and Kiter was thirteen.  The older ones had almost no power over the younger ones; all except to make sure that they were safe in their huts every night, and watch out for them whenever a wild animal was loose in their part of the woods.  Otherwise, nobody cared what the others did.  The youngest of Ragons practiced their cautiousness by staying near the camp. 

Older Ragons covered more distance in a day, and sometimes didn’t return in the same night, or for a few days.  They were just practicing their right; their instinct to travel.  Nobody worried if the Ragons that were older than fourteen suddenly left, and didn’t come back.  Once in a while, he or she would never return.  Again.  This marked their becoming of being a Ragon.

Salix was not born a Ragon.  She was a sorcerer by blood.  Her parents were witch and wizard, but had left her in the Ragon’s care.  They agreed to raise her in their own ways, curious to see what would become of a Ragon with witch’s powers.  Salix did not mind the fact that she didn’t have the blood running through her veins – the clan welcomed her (in their cool, secretive ways) warmly, as if she were one of their own.  She knew that this was unusual, for no other race would accept a Ragon so readily into their home, and neither would the latter for the former.  But, Salix was pleased that the Ragons were indifferent to her witch’s blood and magic.

The most obvious difference between Salix and the Ragons was that she was always shorter.  Ragons were tall, and Salix being herself, was short enough already.  Clothes didn’t seem to fit her small frame as easily as it did for the others. 

Her ears were round, unlike the pointed elfin ears that Ragons possessed.  Her legs weren’t has long and not as strong as the Ragons, for theirs were evolved for striding and long hours of walking and running.  Her hands were small and delicate and didn’t callous easily.  Her physique was frail, compared to the Ragon’s gangly, lithe built.

And most of all, Salix had the magic.  Not only could she see into the future like the Alphans, but she had a vast store of magic.  She had magic from the Notrolli clan, the Hierra clan, the Alphans, and mostly the Larylaih.  It was the numerous types of magic that made her a sorcerer, not a witch; a being who practice many forms of magic.  The Notrolli practiced wild potion making, the Hierra with healing magic, and the psychic power of the Alphans, all which should’ve come from her father’s side.  She knew for a fact that her mother came directly from the vast Larylaih, a group that practiced powerful magic with Sray symbols, able to conjure anything with the power of their inner spirit.

Salix was nibbling on her piece of bread, browsing over the mental map in her mind.  Perhaps there was a pond, or perhaps even a hidden lake, somewhere in the surrounding forest that she had overlooked?  She thought hard.  If she were to find the most decent still body of water, it would be half a day’s journey away, and in the deepest part of the forest.  If she were really desperate, that would be where she would go.  She would need to start out early in the morning in order to get there with enough time to do her stuff.  She would have to bring somebody with her to watch her back when she was busy ‘seeing’ in the pond in the heart of the forest.  Kiter would come.

Distant footsteps caused the young Ragons’ sensitive ears to perk up.  Salix couldn’t hear it, but she could read their body language.  She too turned east towards the desert, straining her ears for a sound.

Finally, Raniel picked up a pot to put out the campfire.

One of the smaller ones, only eight ears old and called Glar, stood up.  “It’s okay.  I think it’s only an Alpha.”

They paused for a few seconds, and some of the others nodded their heads in agreement.  It was an Alpha.  Salix, however, could only start to make out a faint disturbance in the forest, but she thought that she was just imagining it.

Raniel continued to douse the embers.  “Let us be safe.  Everybody stand in the shadows of the trees.  I’ll go ahead to see who it is.”  She set the pot down behind some rocks, and sprinted off into the darkness.  

The rest of the children hid their bowls and utensils under a spare tree stump, and they melted into the shadows of the trees that surrounded the campfire clearing.  In utter silence, the children of the Ragons waited.

“T’would be unthinkable.”

“T’is the only choice.”

“And thee suppose that the children will be any safer living amongst the others?  Constantly, they shalt be living in fear of persecution!”

“And if they stay, they will be in danger of marching tumok-makhai.  Can thee imagine the… the unspeakable fear and danger that the children wilt suffer in the hands of the tumok-makhai?”

“The children art clever.  They will be able to avoid them.”

“I think not, sister.  The children are clever, but they are not Ragons just yet.  I say that it would be better to send them to the stronghold in the West.”

“That is a tortuous idea.  They would escape the moment they can.”

“At least they shall be safe within watching eyes.  We can not watch the children five miles across the desert.”

“We could invite them into our own homes!”

“Well…”

“That would be best.  Thy know that be the truth.”

“No.  No matter, but they can’t stay cooped up in our stronghold.  And think about this: what if we are attacked?  There will be no more future Ragons to patrol the land.  No matter what others think, the people really do need them.  When the world is in danger from the breaking of the Crest of Harmony… we need all the help we can get, and they need as much of an experience.”

“They are much too young.  At least send the little ones to us!”

“Oh… well – oh!”

“What is it, sister?  I sense that you have glimpsed something…”

“I saw… the tumok-makhai are only a hour away from here!”

“Take care, sister!  I shalt go to send them the message.”

“Fare thee well.  Be very careful”

“They’re coming,” Salix whispered.

“What?” said Kiter.  He could feel in the ground that the Alpha was coming.

“They… thousands.  Thousands of them,” said Salix.  She would tremble in fear only if she knew what exactly was coming.  But she didn’t.

“What are you talking about?” Kiter hissed.

“The Alpha will tell us.”  Salix’s wide eyes blinked once.  “But they’re coming.  Only an hour away.”

“What did you see?”

“An army.  An army, but I don’t know anything else, except that they are an hour away and coming fast.”

  And the Alpha did come.  She burst into the clearing, a panicked expression on her face.  Dressed in a white robes and fair hair covered with a red cloak, she was muddied with dirt and water.

Most of the children had stepped out already, for they knew that she was a friend.  “What is it, sister of the desert?” said the oldest boy of nearly fifteen, Tering.

“Hundreds by thousands of tumok-makhai are coming this way,” she said, panting.  Salix knew that she had a horse to travel the five miles across the desert, but abandoned its fleet of foot to venture through darkened forest.  Traveling in this part of the woods, especially in the night, was dangerous for a rider.  Even Ragons dare not travel in the forest at night.

“Thee children must…” she faltered. 

Tering read her expression, and interrupted.  “We must flee.”

The Alpha’s expression was one of anguish, but she couldn’t make up her mind.  “Oh… but….  The young ones shall come with me.  Back to the cliffs.”

“No,” Tering said.  “Thank you, but we will travel together.”

Something in Tering’s eyes made it final.  Even the Alpha’s icy-blue-eyed stare didn’t find room to argue.  “Very… well.”  She didn’t have anything more to say – honestly.  No ‘fare-thee-well’ for she knew that the Ragons would be more than careful.  There were no words of advice that the Alpha could give to these born-warriors of the land.

There were twenty-two children in the camp at the moment.  Six of them were under ten years old.  Five of them were fourteen and above.  Tering was the oldest, and instinctively took charge.  He knew that it was probably not the wisest and most convenient decision to bring the younger ones along with him on this perilous escapade.  But wasn’t that why the smallest Ragons were raised in the Alphan’s Cliffs?  Starting to think like leader, you could see in his eyes that he was thinking about taking the decision back.  He said nothing, but, “Get your other stuff if you need to.”

Nobody moved.  Nobody needed to get any of their supplies, for everything they needed already being carried on their backs and belts.

The Alpha left back the way she came, saying nothing.  Tering led the way, and the rest of the crew followed in a single-file line with Raniel bringing up the rear.  A thought passed through Tering’s head: it was not a wise thing to lead an expedition with children through the forest at night.  Tering knew this parts as well as the back of his hand.  What would happen if they lost one?  It would be easy to lose a little Ragon when they were going so fast.  Ragons had infinite skills of concealment – but what would it be like to try to find one of your own?  Especially under these conditions?

Swiftly, like wolves on the move, the crew of Ragons headed West.  Within the hour, it was completely dark.  Little moonlight shown through the thick foliage of trees, since there was little moonlight to being with – the sky was beginning to brew rainclouds for a storm.

The crew didn’t stop for until halfway through the night.  They ran through the pitch-black forest for three hours straight.  The running was swift, and infinitely dangerous.  But at three hours till dawn, Tering finally called for his crew to start.  Salix was wiped out.  She didn’t have as much stamina as the Ragons, but Salix knew that she had more endurance than most people her age, being that she was raised in the ways of the Ragons. 

As the others walked around to recover their breath, Salix sat down, leaning against her back against a tree.  Perhaps she could catch a little snooze now, she thought.  Her legs were trembling, and her whole stomach was desperately sore.  Moistness enveloped the back of her neck and shoulders.  Yes, sleep would do good for her.

No.  She was a Ragon, and she would not take a break now, especially when there were younger ones to watch out for, and an army of Youques to elude.  What would be better though… she thought, taking a sip of water from her canteen… would be to see the position of the Youque army.

Salix stood up, steadying her cramping legs against the tree.  “Kiter,” she said.  Kiter approached her.  He wasn’t so tired.  As a matter of fact, he was breathing quite lightly, Salix noted with jealousy.  “I need some of your water.  I need mines more than you do yours.  I’m going to try and see something.”

“Alright,” Kiter said, handing over his canteen full of water.  “How are you going to see when there’s no light?”

“Make some light,” Salix replied.

“No matches?” Kiter reminded her.

“Well…” Salix hadn’t thought of that.  Nevertheless, she scraped out a shallow circular trough in the dirt.  Then she unscrewed the canteen head, and poured the water into the makeshift bowl in the ground.  The water filled up to the very rim.  Salix handed the canteen back to Kiter.

Maybe if she just stared at it long enough, she would be able to see something without the light.  Maybe it wouldn’t need that much light after all.

“Salix?  The um… what do you call it?  Your witches powers?” Kiter reminded her.

“Oh!”  How could she have been so stupid?  After all she was a pure witch, how could she forget?  A simple light spell was all she needed. 

Calling forth basic marks for light and radiance from her mind, a wisp of fiery liquid-gold light streamed from her breath.  Sometimes they would appear at her fingertips, but for a simple light spell a few words were less trouble than complicating gestures were her fingers.

She closed her eyes in order to relax.  She took deep, slow breaths to cleanse her mind.  The only way that she could see something was if she was relaxed.  Completely, and utterly relaxed.  If she was tense, then there was no way she could hear the winds of time.  Only if she were still could she see the images that were presented to her in the water.

Yes, now she could see.

The next day’s afternoon of hard traveling came under the mercy of hot dry sun. 

Lanta and her group had been running since last night, only to take a rest at dawn.  After the few hours of nap and meal were over, they started on their feet to continue running west.  The Ragons usually didn’t run for such long periods of time, for their days were usually composed of swift walking.  However, no matter how hard the path was, whether it was through dense and jungle-like forests, which was what they were in mostly, or mountainous terrain, they knew they had to keep running.  With the present danger in the world, being partly exhausted upon arrival was no less the sacrifice.  Carrying jars of the mysterious precious liquid on their backs weighed them down, and yet they had to be careful.  Jars were made of glass; the liquid was precious, even though they had no idea what it did.  They each had suffered worse hardships, and running for the whole day was no different than tracking a dangerous beast with heavy swords and weapons.

Towards the evening, even the Ragons were completely wiped-out.  The elves were almost dead with exhaustion.  But they had covered three and a half days of walking in one day.

Back in the eastern part of Torin Forest, the crew of Ragon children were also hurrying.  They were sweating under the steamy mists of the forest, heated by the heat of the sun above the canopy.

After Salix informed Tering of the fact that she saw a cavalry of Youques not six miles away, he immediately shifted the crew up and on their feet.  She saw them burning buildings, with flaming torches in their hands and astride their monstrous steed.  She couldn’t tell whether the buildings were their own stone huts, since that would be impossible, or if it was some other settlement farther away.  All she knew was that some trees of the forests were on fire, which meant that the Youques were near entering, or already within the Torin Forest.  What she saw in the puddle was only a glimpse of a scene, but she could conclude many clues from it, as she had learned from experience.

Tering then immediately called the whole crew together.  The youngest ones weren’t afraid of the premonition – they knew no fear.  Most of them saw it as an adventure.  Tering saw it as a threat to his responsibility, but he too, knew no fear.

So again, in a single-file line, the crew of young Ragons speeded through the forest, headed west.  Even though she couldn’t see them or hear them, Salix imagined the pounding hooves of the Youque cavalry beating in her mind, gaining on them.

She shuddered.  She knew the ways of the Ragons and lived by them.  However, she could not see how they weren’t afraid.  Unlike them, Salix knew fear.