Page 10 of A Kingdom Restored

“Your objections are noted,” the elder told Rekavidur gravely. “We called you here to discuss your claims. You have told us, through your father, that you have reason to believe that a colony of dragons once dwelt in close proximity to the home of these sea-dwellers, and that you believe these other dragons may have been connected somehow with the creatures’ origins.”

“That’s right,” Rekavidur said eagerly.

“What difference does it make whether the abominations were created by our colony or another?” a third dragon interjected.

“It makes all the difference,” argued Rekavidur. “It would be unfounded speculation to assume another colony created abominations. I do not believe Merletta’s kind are abominations.”

“They are,” grunted the same dragon. “I saw the beast myself. She had a strange kind of magic lingering around her. One that was utterly unlike that of the power-wielding humans.”

“But you also saw her human intelligence,” Rekavidur insisted. “That is surely beyond the extent that magic could warp a fish, even forfeited magic from a powerful dragon. We do not create sentience in other creatures, any more than we can create life beyond our own dragonlings.”

“I have given testimony on this matter.”

The dragon who spoke was enormous, and his scales were so dark their original color wasn’t discernible. His voice sounded weary rather than angry.

“I remember the abominations. Their development certainly astonished us, which only reinforced our conviction that they must be destroyed before they could advance into something more powerful, and potentially more sinister. They began merely as enhanced fish, able to survive above water for long periods—although they could not actually come onto land—and to move through the water with impossible speed. We thought we’d gotten them all, but we were wrong. They retreated into the depths of the ocean, and when they resurfaced, they had developed beyond all expectation. Even then they did not ascend onto the land and gain legs, I will acknowledge. But they did bear the partial appearance of humans, and they had the capacity for speech. I assume the ability to gain legs is a new stage of development which has occurred in the many generations since that time.”

Rekavidur was silent for a moment. This information was new to him, and most unwelcome. It helped him understand the attitude of the elders, however. They were not stubbornly refusing to listen to the information he considered compelling. They had another source which, in their minds, overrode his own observations.

“With respect, Elder,” he said, dipping his head, “I am still not convinced of that explanation. The leap from an enhanced fish to a half-fish half-human with the capacity to assume fully human form seems like something beyond our magic.”

“You underestimate the strength of our magic,” said another elder coldly. “Your excess of time with human power-wielders has made you think that all magic is as weak as theirs.”

“The decision has been made,” a further dragon said, sounding weary. “They must be destroyed. Why do we continue to discuss it?”

“There is no great harm in delaying long enough to learn all the information,” said the dragon who had initially invited Rekavidur to speak. He returned his attention to Rekavidur again. “Do you have evidence to support your perception?”

“I do not,” Rekavidur admitted.

“Where is this former dragon colony?” the other dragon pressed. “That we may consider it ourselves.”

“I cannot tell you that,” Rekavidur told him. “Not while the attitude of the elders is for total annihilation of the merpeople.”

“That is a name created by humans, a bedtime story,” one of the dragons huffed. “These creatures are abominations, not merpeople.”

“I maintain that you are wrong,” Rekavidur said calmly. “And while you are unwilling to consider that possibility, I will not knowingly lead you to those you would make the victims of your violence.”

“You dare to deceive us?” demanded one of the elders, a very dark green female. “To brazenly conceal information from us?”

“I take no joy from it,” Rekavidur told her. “But I feel I must.”

“That is not our way.” The main elder spoke in a deep, reverberating voice that sent a chill down Rekavidur’s tail. “You will tell us what you know.”

“With respect, Elder, I will not,” Rekavidur said.

“Then you are not welcome on the lands of our colony,” the dragon said simply.

“Wait!” Rekavidur’s father shifted forward. “He is young. You would banish him for concealing information to save life?”

“It need not be permanent,” the elder said. “When he is ready to speak freely to his elders, he may return.”

Rekavidur made no attempt to argue. He didn’t even feel any great sense of grief at his sudden exile. That it would distress his parents, he knew, and for that alone it was a sadness. But for himself, he felt mainly relief. No longer would he be pulled constantly in two directions, flying through the colony with the burden of his secrets weighing him down and separating him from others of his kind.

It wasn’t as though he had nowhere to go. As incomprehensible as it might be to these elders, he had a true friend among the humans. Heath would give him sanctuary.

Pausing only to take respectful leave of his father, Rekavidur took to the sky, winging away from his colony without a backward glance.

Chapter Four

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