Page 36 of Drakhana's Secret
I suddenly remember that fire cannot harm me. The earth contains the flames within it. The earth is also the one that release the flames when the pressure has become too great. The flames come from the earth.
At the same time, I also recall that water can only make me stronger. It is by the power of water that the earth is galvanized. Water releases what is contained within the earth and unleashes it into the world.
Memory after memory flashes through me. It’s an awakening that I have never had before now. My eyes pretty much roll into the back of my head. It’s so intense.
Is this the reason why the whispers begged me to return to Purple Mountain? So that I can know what I need? So that I am guided when the fight finally starts?
I wonder if this is the same process that the other clans had gone through in order to regain their ancestral abilities? It’s like I’m plugged back in where I belong and I’m being recharged. Supercharged even.
All this time, what’s been holding us back is fear. The unknown certainly has its challenges, but if we let go of the fear then we can embrace what is rightfully ours. We have avoided our destiny for so long, it actually cost us our home and many of our brethren their lives.
In order for us to rebuild our lives, we cannot turn our backs on our powers. Certainly, we are more capable of controlling them now. We know better than to abuse what we are freely given.
The other clans have become complacent with their use of their powers. They have taken for granted the gifts that have been given to them. They have become drunk with their strength and have grown arrogant because of it.
We must not allow ourselves to fall into the same trap. We must hold what is given to us with gentle hands. Like a bird, if we hold it too tightly, we crush its song.
The last wisdom that the whispers share with me has to do with the purpose of all this. Remembrance. We can still win this if the dragons return to themselves and remember who they really are.
We have to recall what makes us the creatures we have been born to become. That is the only way that will allow us to embrace our future with open arms. These powers are meant for those who know where they have come from and what they are made of.
Once all the knowledge has been downloaded into me, I throw my head back and let out a mighty roar. Then I flap my wings and take to the sky. If I fly high enough, I will not be seen. At the same time, I will be able to make it to the city quicker than before.
Twenty-Four
Gallant
The fire and ice clans have positioned themselves on either side of the city. They are patiently waiting for us to take one or the other. It’s as if both sides have spoken to each other because they seem to have the same strategy.
I know for a fact that they still hate each other’s guts, so they wouldn’t have spoken to each other at all. But it seems that their generals have the same idea. It seems that they have conceded the fact that we know the city better than they do and have given up trying to defeat us within our territory.
Instead they have taken to intimidating us by amassing forces outside of the city in the hopes that we will attack one over the other so that while our backs are turned one will jump us in the hopes of defeating the other side as well. Two enemies one attack. The only reason we figured out this strategy because of the change in the clashes within the city.
Whenever we encountered a group of fire or ice clan dragons, they’d run away. We’d give chase. There will be a fight. Then they would run away again.
Soon we realized that the reason why they were running away was because they were leading us outside the city toward where the rest of the army waited. That’s when Brandon noticed the clever fire and ice clan plan of waiting us out. You’d think ignoring them would do the trick, but they just escalate the clashes within the city. It’s annoying at this point.
During one of these skirmishes, my brethren and I happen to get pinned inside a warehouse. We dispatched the ice dragons that led us there, but there lies the trap. We’re close enough to the edge of the city that if we moved the ice clan army waiting less than a mile away will descend upon us.
Then the fire dragons will seize the opportunity and take the victory for themselves in one fell swoop. Opportunistic bastards. I honestly shouldn’t have gone for the chase in the first place. We could have taken them down one dragon at a time if need be.
All our best fighters are in the city. I can’t call them to us because if one side senses a mobilization within our ranks bigger than the group I have with me at the moment, they will take it as an invitation to attack. But if I start moving back into the city, who knows what the ice dragon army will do behind us.
We certainly cannot out run them and the city will be overrun. And that I cannot allow. Too many innocents will lose their lives if that happens. Because if one side attacks the other will soon attack too.
Rock, meet hard place.
I’m standing at a table with Branson and a couple of his commanders. Before us is a hastily sketched map of where we are. The warehouse is at the center. The ice dragon army is to the right. The city is to our left.
We’re looking at possible escape routes, but we’re being heavily watched. We are fucked. Sort of sacrificing our lives, it’s starting to look like we have no other way out of this.
A commotion at the back exit of the warehouse catches our attention. Thinking it’s the ice dragons attacking, we immediately call our dragons to the surface, but we do not fully transform. We need a bigger space in order to do that. We just need to be at the ready.
Branson heads for the door first while his commanders and I wait. Then he returns with someone in tow. My chest immediately fills with air.
“Sapphire,” I say as I let the breath out. I hurry to her and take her into my arms, not caring that we are under the watchful eye of my brethren. “Why are you here? Did something happen with our clan? How did you find us?”
“Woah, okay.” She pulls back and looks me in the eyes. “Too many questions at once.”
