Page 114 of Dark Island: Rescue
The story was no doubt an allegory and not an actual account of how people had come to be in Aurorys, especially given the mythical numbers. Seventy-three thousand people had come through the portal, of which precisely seven hundred and thirty-one were chosen by Elu to become the first Elucians. Three hundred and sixty-five young women and three hundred and sixty-five young men were touched by the god and given the gift of telepathy so they could bond with dragons. A wise woman had been touched twice and given the additional gift of prophecy, and she'd become the first shaman.
I would have preferred a scientific explanation that didn't involve divine intervention, but we didn't have any, and we could only speculate about our origins. The oldest human remains discovered to date were estimated to be about fifteen thousand years old, so obviously we weren't the product of natural evolution, which led me to conclude that humans were settlers from somewhere else in the universe. I didn't believe in divine portals or magical manifestations of something out of nothing, so I had to assume that those first humans had arrived on ships.
Our scientists postulated that there were numerous populated worlds in the universe, but because of our problematic atmosphere and geological conditions, wecouldn't launch ships into our own sky, let alone space. The chaotic conditions also limited communications between our towns and cities to what could be transmitted through cables, so communicating with other beings on other planets was not possible either.
Still, our inability to launch spaceships didn't mean that other intelligent beings couldn't travel through space, and it was possible that one such ship had crash-landed on Aurorys, bringing with it the first settlers.
The Elucians were the oldest civilization on our planet, so if there had been a ship, it had most likely crashed in the Elucian Mountains, but to date, no wreckage had been found.
After the Elucians had been exiled from their land, the Sitorians had combed through every nook and cranny for centuries, searching for dragon eggs, and when they couldn't find any, they'd offered bounties for anyone who did. Many Elurians had taken up the challenge, and yet nothing had been found.
No eggs and no spaceship wreckage.
Besides, even if there had been a spaceship, nothing would remain of it after thousands of years of erosion. It would have turned to dust a long time ago.
If the Elucians knew about an ancient alien landing, they weren't telling. Their civilization had kept written records from its inception, but they guarded them zealously.
Their xenophobia might be well justified given their enemies and having been nearly wiped out of existence more than once, but I had a feeling that they would havebeen just as reclusive even in the absence of the fanatical Shedun threat.
Part of my secret mission was to find out as much as I could about what the Elucians were hiding, and there were only two places that might contain that information. One was the Dragon Force Citadel, and the other was the famous Podana Academy, but getting invited to attend the academy was even rarer for an Elurian than becoming a dragon rider.
Anyone with a drop of Elucian blood in their veins had a hypothetical chance of becoming a rider, but only scholars of great renown were invited to the academy, and neither I nor Codric qualified as such. We could have faked our credentials, but we couldn't cover up our lack of achievements or knowledge. The Elucian Secret Service would have discovered our subterfuge with minimal effort. But even as good as they were, they couldn't untangle the complicated web of the upper echelon of Elurian society and figure out that our identities were fake.
"You haven't tried the bed yet." Codric pulled me out of my musings. "I think I will use my sleeping bag to cushion the damn mattress."
I sat on the other bed and stretched my legs in front of me. "Conditions on the trek will be much less comfortable."
Codric sighed dramatically. "I guess it is all worth it for the chance to soar through the sky on the back of a dragon."
"That's right." I leaned my back against the wall.
"Have you given any thought to what would happenif we actually get accepted? The service is for life, and you have other obligations." Codric shifted on his bed to face me. "I'm disposable, but you are not."
I waved a dismissive hand. "First of all, you are not disposable, and secondly, my other obligations, as you call them, are dismal. The family will fume and fuss and pressure me to return, but they can't force me."
Since my father knew where I was and what I was planning to do, the fussing would only be for show. He didn't believe I would succeed and thought that I was foolish to attempt it, but he also agreed that it was worth a try. There was very little downside to my plan and a lot of possible upside.
Codric arched a brow. "They could forward a demand to the Elucian government to return us. We were accepted under false pretenses."
"True." I lowered my voice. "If it is discovered that we lied, both of us will be expelled. Elucians are very strict about their adherence to the precepts of Truth, but I'm counting on our family wanting to avoid a scandal. They wouldn't want to tarnish the family name by publicly admitting that their scions lied and cheated to get into the pilgrimage. They would support us."
"Are you sure about that?"
Of course, I was. Codric didn't know that my father was well aware of where we were and what we were attempting, and it had to stay that way.
"I'm pretty sure," I said. "I also have a contingency plan."
Codric smiled. "Of course, you do. You're such a clever bastard. You always have plans within plans."
I smiled. "Naturally."
That was only partially true. There were many things I hadn't figured out yet, but what was the point of planning every detail when there was no guarantee that either of us would get accepted, and if we were, that we would graduate and live to tell the tale.
CHAPTER 9: KAILIN
I should be focusing on purifying my mind and soul in preparation for the pilgrimage, but instead, I'm going to the lodge to mingle with a couple of Elurians because Shovia insists, and I can never say no to her.
—From the journal of Kailin Strom
