Of course the elders heard about the gossip spreading around the village. Despite most of the people's limited knowledge on dragon's—mostly superstitions or bad omens—the elders had more of an idea on it.
According to some texts, dragons could be a bringer of fortune or disaster, nobody was sure what. Some clans from islands with dragons argued that their dragons bring them fortune. They had even brought their dragons to other islands without experiencing the so called disaster that these creatures bring.
Not many of the elders had seen a dragon firsthand but the knowledge was available in most central island cities. Now, it was more of a concern how the council should seek explanation to clear the gossips. With the current activity of the volcano, most people opt to give fault to the nearest possible source of the problem so the elders had to move fast.
Fortunately, dragons were not a myth, only a rarity. A travel to the central islands for more knowledge, if not directly getting information from Kal'wa Island, was enough to answer most of the villagers questions. However, the travel would take a long time to return with their desired answer hence, the council would discuss about what would be their actions now.
They were not concerned about the gossips on the dragon attacking the children. Being that the carrier of the news were the children, they might have exaggerated their adventures a bit. That was not the same for some villagers however, like those children doting parents.
Inside the council hall, several white haired men were sitting around the center table. Everyone was talking to each other, some whispering, until the door opened and in came another elder.
Shaman Matnaad noticed the silence and felt the stares of the other elders. He didn't acknowledge everybody until he reached his seat and smiled at the woman seated beside him.
Everybody knew that the boy in question, taking care of the dragon, was training under this shaman. Contrary to what the old man had told Ling before, he was one of the elders who had actually seen a dragon before too. Even fought with a dragon and its rider in his younger days but that was another story.
Previously, he didn't share his knowledge about dragons to the child, Ling, since his experience was during war times. Dragons were used by other clans to fight with neighboring clans, mostly for territory.
This was actually the reason why most stories about dragons were about disasters. The first thing an attacked village saw was the flying creature despite it only following the command of its rider. Regarding these creatures as harbinger of natural calamities, he had no personal experience however.
An old man with long, crisp hair braided with the ends spilling on his right shoulder spoke first, "Matnaad, we can't ignore the issue about your student's dragon. I have already sent the messenger back to Syudad to ask for more information regarding this but we should not wait for the news before acting."
"I understand, Toluk." The limited response from the old man caused continued restlessness on the others present.
"Why not execute the dragon now?" Another elder leaned on the table while staring at Shaman Matnaad and the men and woman beside him.
Hearing this, the woman squinted her eyes at the man. "The dragon has never harmed anybody–"
Before she could continue however, the man interjected with another glare. "Yet!" And his point was further stamped by him slamming his fist on the table.
This made the old lady squint her eyes further but she still continued her speech. "Yet. But the children with it would not have hidden or stayed with the dragon if it had ever harmed them. Are you implying that my grandchild is unwise then?"
Before anybody could speak again, a soft whisper which was heard by everybody proposed a suggestion. "Let's call for the children first. They could explain their experience with the dragon."
He paused to train his eyes to each elders' with unsatisfied expressions on their faces one by one before continuing. "But I don't want anybody pressuring them. The children were still for the future of our clan."
All the elders present did not have anything to say. They waited for the horn to sound to call for the still missing children.
___
On his way, Ling noticed that the usual road filled with gossiping housewives, running children and laughing elderlies were replaced with people shouting, angry stares trained at him and his friends beside him. Of course they were not crazy enough to blame the children of the village's dilemma. Children were cherished by the people and they might not know better based on their actions. But the villagers were still unsatisfied that the dragon was kept hidden until now.
The noises outside made the elders in the council hall aware of the arrival of the children. Before the door opened, a shrill voice was getting louder and louder until they could hear the crying and moaning of 'My baby' outside the room.
The boy then entered together with his crying mother, hugging the child like she would not let him go far from her reach again. Following closely behind them were four children and one man sobbing.
"Ahem!" The cough from Shaman Matnaad stopped the noises from Mahina and Bobo. "Can we talk to the children alone?"
"Elder, please let me stay. I won't interrupt and just wanted to be with my son." Mahina pleaded to the shaman while still kneeling on the floor to keep her hands tight around her son.
"Okay," he sighed, "please have a seat and stay in the corner."
Although reluctant, Mahina still stepped aside together with Bobo. They took a seat on the offered chairs and remained silent except for the sniffs from the man's crying.
After everybody was situated, Ling explained how he met Maga and the dragon helping them these past few years. He also clarified the news of its supposed attacknon the children. The others also interjected on their own volition to explain their side, except for Tang'ga which was told to keep quiet by Yabang and Lino lest he said something unhelpful.
Finishing their stories with only few interruptions from the elders, the children breathed a sigh of relief that they managed to explain their side without angering the elders. However, one boy with a determined look in his eyes stared at the old man in front of him and spoke, "Master, I won't tell where Maga is unless I'm sure he won't be hurt."
Shaman Matnaad ignored the indignant voices of the other elders following the boy's statement. He stared back at the serious eyes staring at his.
"Are you saying that you will also ignore the safety of the clan's people because of this dragon? I'm not saying that I can ensure that nobody will harm your friend but can you also ensure that the dragon will not harm anybody?"
The boy's expression wavered after hearing his master's reasoning but his frown smoothed again after a thought. "Then, if people were afraid of Maga, I will leave the village with him and go to the island of dragons where the people from the troupe told me about. Maga could not travel on his own yet as he's still a baby. He's only seven."
Suddenly, a shout from the side startled everybody. "NO, LING!"
Mahina prostrated herself on the floor and hugged her son while sobbing again. As the meeting turned more serious, everybody forgot about Ling's parents inside the room but they also became concerned about the boy's decision.
He was still young to travel on his own. Some then whispered that they could maybe have him be accompanied by other men to send the dragon away. With the child calming the dragon, the men might be more willing to go. However, the said island of dragons, Kal'wa Island had to be reached by passing through the Limaw Sea.
This caused another discussion among the elders. Meanwhile, Ling heard the speculations but he was still adverse to it and wanted to argue. He felt like he could not trust anybody except his friends regarding Maga.
___
In the cave inside the forest, the sleeping Maga sensed the jumbled feelings inside the heart of the village. It understood that its friends were trying to take care of him. The children it saw the other night were different from its friends but Maga was confused why that was the case.
Weren't Yabang, Lino and Tang'ga also the same as Ling and Rin who liked it? Didn't Ling say that nobody would be scared of it since it looked cute and dignified?
Maga was restless, waiting. Without thinking of the consequences, it flew out of its cave to fly high past the trees and dive to where its friends were.