Page 113 of Dark Island: Rescue
As long as those foreigners were female, he had no problem with that.
"I didn't see any at the caffshop,” Shovia said. “But maybe some are staying at the lodge, and some might still arrive during the next day or two."
I doubted that. In the five years I'd been living in Skywatcher's Point, I hadn’t seen any Elurian pilgrims, male or female. In fact, I was surprised that two had made it this year, and I had to admit that I was curious about them.
Morek puffed out his chest. "On the slim chance of meeting a wealthy, Elurian beauty, I'm coming as well." He looked at me expectantly.
I sighed. "Fine, but I'm not staying late. I want to be in bed by nine."
Shovia squealed with delight. “I promise that you won't regret it! Now, let me tell you about these guys. One had these piercing green eyes that seemed to glow like a drakking aurora, and the other one..."
As Shovia launched into a detailed description of the men, I tuned her out.
Elurian pilgrims had to desperately want to become dragon riders to go to all the trouble of getting here. The extensive security checks, the tests, the genealogy proofs, and then proving themselves worthy to their fellow pilgrims. Elucians thought of Elurians as soft and spoiled. Most resented the competition for the coveted spots on the Dragon Force, which was absurd since one either had the gift or not, and the number of participants didn't matter. It wasn't as if there were quotas.
We needed as many riders as we could get.
"Earth to Kailin," Shovia's voice cut through my thoughts. "Are you even listening?"
I blinked. "Sorry, I was just thinking about all thetrouble Elurians have to go through to join the pilgrimage."
Shovia grinned. "That alone is reason enough to pursue them. I like tenacious men." She flipped her long, glossy hair over her shoulder. "So, are we done with this boring refresher? Can we start planning what we're going to wear tonight?"
"We are not done," I quashed her enthusiasm. "I didn't explain electromagnetic field fluctuations yet." Shovia's disgruntled expression made me laugh. "Think of it this way. If the conversation turns to dragon navigation, do you remember enough to impress the Elurians with your knowledge?"
I knew she didn't. Science had never been Shovia's strong suit.
She groaned dramatically. "That's not how I plan to impress them, but I'll stay if you promise to make it quick."
CHAPTER 8: ALAR
"A masterful strategy is three-dimensional—the visible action, the concealed purpose, and the ultimate goal."
—Commander Brusdick Gorlin, Elite Forces' Vedona Academy
As we entered our room at the Pilgrims' Lodge, Codric dropped his bags on the floor and sat down on the narrow bed. "The mattress is as thin as a pancake, and there is no bedding." He let out a long-suffering sigh. "The things I have to endure for you. This is by far the poorest excuse of a room we have ever stayed in."
At least it was clean, and my initial scan didn't discover any bugs or spiderwebs.
"First of all, you are not doing this for me because you want to be here as much as I do. Secondly, we knewthat there would be no bedding, and that's why we have sleeping bags. And thirdly, we are lucky to have a private room for just the two of us. Most of the other pilgrims are sleeping in communal halls and use communal showers. This room is as fancy as it gets around here."
Thousands of Elucians came thrice yearly to Skywatcher's Point for the pilgrimage, and they all stayed in this sprawling lodge. In fact, the entire economy of the small town was probably based on accommodating the pilgrims.
I dropped my luggage next to Codric's and walked to the window. "The view more than compensates for the lack of amenities."
"It's pretty out there," Codric agreed. "But it won't make sleeping on this mattress any more comfortable."
"It's just for four nights. You'll live." I shifted my gaze back to the stunning scenery outside the lodge.
I'd seen pictures and vids that tried to capture the natural beauty of this land, but they hadn't done the grandeur of these rugged mountains justice. The constant light show playing in the skies was just the icing on a spectacular cake.
Still, the beauty of these inhospitable mountains couldn't have been what had drawn the first Elucians to them. They were easier to defend than the flats and gentle hills of Eluria or the swamps of Sitoria, but they certainly made survival more difficult in almost every other way.
Had it been proximity to the dragons?
I had studied what I could find about Elucian lore, but there wasn't much that was known tooutsiders.
According to the Elucian creation myth, Aurorys had no human beings until the Two-Faced God Elu had opened a divine portal and called people forth from another world, giving a chosen group of them the ability to communicate with dragons. Those had been the first Elucians.
