Sril silently closed the door. „Where are we going then?"
Without a word I led him to the border of the village, a bit away from the last houses. Underneath the first trees there were two small benches made from oak logs, which the elders used for little chat gatherings during warm, summer days. We brushed the snow aside and sat down.
"It's so peaceful here," the stranger looked around. His voice seemed even more tranquil now. He didn't seem so different from me in appearance, but the way he spoke made me think, he was a few years older. "Spring must be breathtakingly beautiful in this region."
I didn't answer. I scooped a bit of snow from the ground and started kneading it. My fingers didn't seem to recognize the feeling of cold...
"It's strange, isn't it?" asked Sril. "I didn't understand at all too..."
"But what does that mean? I don't really care who you are, just tell me what is going on..."
"First, I need to ask you something. Do you already know, what your sath is capable of?"
I glanced at the crystal in my other hand. "It 'warns me'... when someone is lying to me?"
"Exactly. Which is why you should know whether or not you can trust me."
"Yes but... what in the world is that anyway? The name is so strange and I don't get why I keep hearing, that it's mine. I've never even seen it before."
"'Sath' means "a guardians fragment" in the language of dragons."
"This... comes from a dragon?"
"Yes. But maybe I should start from the beginning. I'm sure you're aware of the fact, that dragons inhabited Edron many years ago, even though what survived until our times are only fairytales and legends. They lived in harmony with other races, often cooperated with them, but weren't always friendly either. Which was why fear and doubt started to raise in the minds of some individuals, giving birth to the belief, that dragons are a severe threat to all other beings. With time, the number of dragon enemies grew, and finally they decided to wipe out their race from the face of the earth. The leadership over the group was taken by a descendant of a back then famous line of mages, and the ancestor of Shaeth Cadreesh"
"So this part of his pretty story was true... it's strange... somehow I got used to dragons and mages being the stuff of legend, but recently..."
"Well, I think every legend has a little seed of truth in it." Sril looked at the sky, and seemed to thoughtfully pick his next words. "Unfortunately the plan was a success. Dragons were powerful, but already few at that time. Some of them tried to hide in the mountains, vast forests, swamps, and even the distant deserts, hoping they would never be found. But human persistence turned out to be too great. In the last battle that took place in the plains in the center of Edron, the last three dragons sacrificed their remaining strength in order to ensure they would continue existing, even if only partially. And this is where the story connects to us."
"To us? You're not saying, that we somehow originate from dragons, do you?"
"No... and yes. You see, dragons were extremely intelligent, I dare to say, far more than humans. Their magic abilities supposedly gave them the power to see the future... At that time they must have predicted, that Shaeth's ancestor, intoxicated with self-admiration and pride at his achievement, would start feeling like he can go far beyond that. That if he was able to defeat such deadly beasts, then subordinating other races should be easy... which is why those last three dragons passed the remnants of their strength to humans, so they could use them in time of need. After a few decades, one of his descendants started to show similar ambitions... it's just that the target of his destructive intentions are humans now, and the dragons returned to a favorable position, which I still don't fully understand... But that is the reason why the sleeping magic of the last dragons is awakening again, and together with it, the Apostles of the Last Dragons - individuals, whose family lines have been chosen by the last dragons."
"But... what if this danger appeared earlier, before we were born? There were a few generations in between."
"That's why I said 'family lines, that have been chosen by the last dragons'. If someone before Shaeth would have taken up this despicable initiative, which luckily didn't happen, then this role would have fallen on one of your ancestors."
"Fine... but one more thing..."
"Yes?"
"You said there were three last dragons... and there is two of us."
"Ah, you see, we are not sure yet about who the last Apostle is..."
"'We'?"
"Yes, sorry, I didn't tell you... I live not far from here with a friend of mine. He has vast knowledge of ancient times and knows a few things about magic. He promised to help us to the best of his abilities, even though he doesn't feel directly connected to this matter..."
"But you do have some presumption as to who the third could be?"
"Most probably, it's Yanka..."
"What? Are you telling me that Tavs actually wasn't lying about her? Because if so, then count me out of this."
Sril raised his eyebrows. "What did he tell you?"
I quickly summarized all the weird conversations I had with the swindler before today. Sril seemed embittered. "That's nonsense. As far as I know, Yanka indeed lives in the Sevren Forest, but she's just one of the druids, that inhabit it. Of course she possesses some magic abilities, like all of them, and it's hard to say if the stories about her derive from legend or if there really is a dim shadow of truth in it... but she certainly didn't have anything to do with your kidnapping or attempted murder. Shaeth was behind it all this whole time, and I suspect this spy reversed the facts to gain your favor for him. And it seems like he really is intending to bring the dragons back to life at the expense of humans, but I still don't know how... he seems to be pursuing a dream of a country inhabited by magic beings only, dragons, mages, druids, elves..."
"But what can we do to stop him? How are we supposed to face a powerful mage?"
"That's what we still need to learn. From what I know, the spectrum of our magic won't be very broad. I suspect we will be able to use minor amounts of magic in a general sense, but with major emphasis on one element: fire. Above that, as you already noticed, we are resistant to cold. Dragons never had problems with that. And their powers will extend our lives."
"And all that because some dragon randomly picked my family..."
"A black dragon, to be precise. You're the Apostle of Sarin, the Black Dragon."
"And you?"
"Rahiel, the Blue Dragon. Our third companion inherited the powers of Ynyss, the Red Dragoness."
"It just makes my mind boggle..."
"I know," Sril smiled understandingly. "But there is one more thing. With a bit of luck, we will soon grow wings."
"Come again?" I almost dropped the crystal I was rolling between my fingers.
"You heard me right. You will soon have black wings."
"Is that... really necessary?"
"We can't influence it. Don't worry, you will be able to make them disappear at will."
"I see... do you have yours already?"
"Not yet."
"Then how can you know... how do you know about all of this?"
"The person, who gave me our saths told me about me being a Apostle. I will introduce him to you someday if you wish. Furthermore... you see, the dragons couldn't just give us their powers and leave us with no knowledge of how to handle them. Which is why they created something in addition to the saths - a book, that contains everything a Apostle should know."
"And you have it?"
"I do. The druids of Sevren Forest gave it to me. They were safekeeping it for decades, waiting for the time it will be needed."
"So you've been there already? Did you meet Yanka?"
"It's strange, but no. I only had a conversation with the archdruid, he explained a few things to me... Dracsion is written in the language of dragons, and druids know it pretty well. He also told me where I could find you, but don't ask me how he knew that. When I asked about Yanka, he just told me to return after finding you, then he would tell us more."
I clenched my fingers gently around the smooth surface of my sath. Not once, during the whole conversation, did it emit even the slightest amount of warmth. "I think I understand roughly everything now..."
Sril smiled, and, seeming a bit unsure, asked timidly: "May I consider you a companion then?"
"I don't have much choice, do I?"
"You do. You could just ignore everything I told you and forget I've ever been here."
I shook my head. "There would be consequences if I did that."
The amount of relief in Sril's silent sigh was almost heartwarming. He gently put one of his hands on mine, the one holding the crystal. "Then keep it with you at all times and guard it as best you can. It could happen, that it will save your life one day."
I nodded. "Does yours do the same as mine?"
"No, it works a bit differently. It gets warm, when someone intends to hurt me, attack me, name it as you will."
"Pretty useful... There's just one more thing I'm curious about..."
"Ask whatever you want, that's why I'm here."
"Why did you go after me with the stone? Wouldn't it have been easier to just wait and come talk to me here, like you're doing now?"
"I just wanted to make sure it's really you, who I'm searching for. Besides, I knew you would follow that girl. I didn't want to distract you, her safety was far more important."
"You knew? How?"
He turned his gaze away a little. "Friends are like that... there is a connection between them, that cannot be severed, they feel eachother's emotions and are sometimes able to sense, when the other is in danger..."
"It's amazing, isn't it?" I grinned. "You have someone like that too?"
Sril's voice became an anguished whisper. "I had..."
I felt a sudden sting in my chest, both of guilt and compassion. It must have been an unimaginable pain... "I'm sorry..." I soothed quietly.
Sril looked at me again, and upon seeing my expression he changed the subject, as if he felt remorse for the discomfort this subject caused me. "How long will you need to get ready?"
"Ready?" I tried to get back into the moment.
"We need to go to Sevren Forest again, find Yanka, learn more about what we can do and what we should do... you will help me right?"
How could I have said "no" to this apologetic and innocent look? "Oh right... well... how long can you allow me?"
He gave the question a brief thought. "Parting with your family isn't easy, all the more because you've been separated for so long until recently..." again, I didn't even ask. "You will need time to explain it to them, and they will need time to think it over and accept your decision. So maybe we should wait until spring?"
"Are you sure we can afford to waste this much time?"
"If something alarming should happen earlier, we can always just shorten that time."
"Right..."
"Then I will return when the snow starts to melt."
"So you are returning to your... companion?"
Sril nodded. "He lives not very far from here, I'll rest there for a while." He stood up and glanced towards the east. A faint orange glow was already spreading above the trees. "Your parents must be very worried... and you must be very tired." He gave me a warm smile. "Stay well and see you soon."
He bowed slightly, put his hood back on and soon disappeared among the trees.
I sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the border of the forest. I was wondering if what I just saw and heard happened for real. I traced an edge of the crystal with my thumb... yeah, well... maybe I really wasn't hallucinating...
My mother was so relieved, that she must have forgotten to scold me for this escapade. Temporarily wanting to avoid too many questions, I said I was totally exhausted and hid underneath my blanket right after getting rid of my haversack and unnecessary clothing.
For a while I listened to Sha's purring, thinking about what happened. I didn't know what awaited me with the arrival of spring, but I had a feeling it will be something big and unique...
And I wasn't wrong.