"The Dragon Stones" by Rena V. Swift

The Dragon Stones

       Seventeen-year-old Ellone grinned as the swords clashed and she danced back for the umpteenth time.  The boy she faced now was the champion of previous tourneys with the other children of the village.  He’s quite good, Ellone thought.  But he has yet to defeat me. 

When he thrust at her once more with his blade, she parried, then feinted to the side.  As he twisted in the wrong direction, Ellone turned away and slid down on her back, kicking him out of balance as she did so.  Before she stopped, she was seemingly gone, and a mouse had taken her place.

       As the boy scrambled to his feet and realized what was happening, he crouched and became a cat, chasing after the mouse.  When the rapidly disappearing gap between them was nearly closed, the mouse leapt and transformed into a swallow in midair.  By the time it was soaring, the small form almost lost in the glare of the setting sun, the cat had returned to human form.  The boy stood and prepared to follow the bird.

       Suddenly, the swallow whipped around  and turned into a black panther.  It slammed into him, forcing him down on his back.  Before he could get to his feet, Ellone was triumphantly standing over him with her sword point pressed to his throat.  Her opponent defeated, she removed her blade and reached out a hand.  When he was up, she smoothly slid the sword back into its sheath.

       “I was so close to beating you, for a change,” the boy said with a grin, still in good humor.  Ellone smiled in answer, and she caught sight of an old man studying her from a distance. 

       “Who’s that?” Ellone asked curiously.  Their village of D’nares being surrounded by the Ash Forest, they did not have many visitors.

The old man abruptly turned and quickly disappeared from sight.  Her friend shrugged.  “I dunno.  Maybe he’s from one of the other towns around the forest.”

She agreed.  With this, they bid each other farewell and returned to their homes.  As she walked back to her house, she looked around at this village, D’nares, where she had lived her whole life.  The homes were scattered all around an open field, where Ellone and her friends held their tournaments of steel and magic.  To the east lay the Ash Forest, the trees which separated D’nares from other villages to the north and south.  When she had reached her own, modest house, the autumn sun had already set on D’nares.

Later that night, Ellone dropped into her bed.  Consciousness left her body, weary as it was, in moments.  As she slept, she saw a series of pictures, indistinct, yet growing clearer as she fell further into the realm of sleep. 

There were trees all around, which she recognized as belonging to the Ash Forest.  Next, four stones flashed before her, a beryl, a sapphire, an emerald, and a ruby, each in what appeared to be a crystal case.  Then, the images repeated, over and over.

Ellone abruptly gasped and sat up in her bed.  Sleep had abandoned her, but the dream still shone vividly in her mind..  She checked the window; it was still dark.  Sitting on her bed, she thought back on the strange dream.  Perusing this, she felt an urgent need to go to the Ash Forest to meet…someone…there.  She was hardly aware of buckling on her sword before she was out the door.  The woods seemed to beckon—no, pull—her.

When she reached the trees, all her senses were alert.  She entered cautiously, tensed and ready to spring.  She stepped forward, and then, there was a rustle at her side.

She unthinkingly assumed her most natural form, that of a panther, and leapt toward the noise.  Suddenly, she was suspended in mid-jump, held, as it were, with no feet touching the ground.  Hastily glancing to one side, she saw a young woman carrying a flail, but sensed that there was another person there.  The woman was glaring around herself, as if in frustration.  Ellone felt distinctly disoriented and thoroughly confused about what was happening.

There was a sigh, and an old man stepped into sight.  If she had not been…stuck…in midair, she would have jumped.  It was the man she had seen earlier that day.  He took one rueful glance at the scene.  Then he spoke.

“I should have known that you would not meet on good terms,” he said his tone resigned.  “Relax, now, all of you.  These people are not your enemies, I assure you.”

Ellone bit back a curse as she felt herself hit the ground with a  thump.  She reluctantly returned to her human shape and rose warily, not bothering to hide her hand gripping her sword hilt.  Only then did she look around.

Apparently, the person who had been maintaining her position in the air was a man with a quarterstaff, and he stepped out into the open.  The young woman with the flail was scowling angrily at a man, holding daggers, whom Ellone had not noticed before.  The man with daggers spoke first:  “Who are you to tell us who are enemies are?”

The strange man smiled before speaking again.  “Listen, if you will, to my explanation before judging me.  Now, I realize this is a very strange situation to you all.  First, I am called Alenin, of the Dashal Plains, which is many leagues to the east of this forest.  I am a scholar of the ancient, arcane arts.  Let me tell you why you are all here, and then you may decide whether to trust me or not.”

       No one moved, in acceptance or otherwise.  Brack shifted his stance slightly, almost casually, but Ellone noticed that his hands now had a clear path to his daggers.  Ellone loosened her sword in its scabbard while Alenin went on.

       “As you all know, each village specializes in a particular form of magic.  This here,” he pointed to Ellone, “is Ellone, of the village D’nares.  Her people are shape-shifters.  This man,” referring to the man who had been “holding” Ellone, “is Lon, of Etanik, the village of telekinesis.  The other young woman is Rotiarta of Telpsa, one of the users of manipulation and mind-control.  Finally, this man here” he indicated the other man, “is Brack, from Kendel, town of stealth and invisibility.”

       “Did we just come here to make new acquaintances?” Brack interrupted again. “I assume everyone else has had the same…dream…that I had?”  They all nodded slightly as he looked around for support.

       “There is a reason,” Alenin answered gravely.  “I have observed each of you, and you four are the best in each of your own fields of magic.  For this quest, I need the best, and the best only.

       “This is something you may not know; well, how could you, when only a few in this world know of it? Your villages each are—or were—protected by a guardian dragon.  Each dragon is the manifestation of the one thing your village represents.  Rotiarta’s home, Telpsa, represents Truth.  Kendel is the place of Wisdom.  Etanik stands for Discipline, and Ellone’s home, D’nares, represents Strength.  These four qualities allowed the villages to live in harmony.”

       As Alenin listed the four villages and their qualities, the vision Ellone had had that night flashed through her mind, more clearly.  The beryl was Truth, the sapphire Wisdom, the emerald Discipline, and the ruby was Strength.

       “These dragon guardians have held peace in your homes for centuries.  Yet there are some who care nothing for peace, only for power.  Malen is the name of one of those.  Using a dark, forbidden magic, he has captured the essence of these protectors in talismans.  They were scattered across the land, but minions of Malen are looking for them even as we speak. 

“His power increases with each additional talisman, and if he finds them all—well, no one can know what will happen to us then.  He now lacks only the Talisman of Truth. 

“Your part in this is to find it before Malen.”

The almost-casual way he said this last statement jolted Ellone out of her silence.

“That’s all you’re telling us?” she asked incredulously.  “Just find this last talisman before an…an omnipotent sorcerer does?”

There was a pause.  Then, “Yes,” Alenin responded.  “I suppose you could put it that way.  But remember, Malen is not invulnerable.  As I said, you four are the best, and with your combined powers, you are the only ones who can defeat Malen.  I understand that it seems impossible to win, but only think of the consequences of doing nothing.”  Ellone wondered if she should trust the old man, but she felt a tug on her mind, as if someone were compelling her to place confidence in him.

“Once you find the Talisman,” the man went on, “you must bring it to me, for I am the only one, save Malen, who can restore the dragons.  I will giving you an amulet.  It will help you find me, and it will also tell you if a Talisman is near.  I am sorry, but it is the only help I can give.”  He held out a small, clear amulet hanging on a leather thong.  When no one moved, the woman, Rotiarta stepped forward and slipped it on her neck.

“You must leave tomorrow before first light,” Alenin continued.  “Tell no one of this.  You will all meet here.  You need not worry over supplies, for I will have them here for you.  Now, go back to your beds and prepare for your journey tomorrow.”

As they all left, Ellone thought, despite all the reassurances, Oh, of course.  Get a good sleep tonight, and defeat an evil, all-powerful mage when you awaken!

v  v v v

Ellone rose long before the sun.  When she entered the woods again, it looked as if she were the first one there.  However, she soon heard a sound behind her.  When she turned, Brack, master of invisibility, was flickering into sight.

“You’re here too?  I thought it must have been a dream.  Dragons, talismans, sorcerers using forbidden magic…”  He shuddered.  “A little much to take in, eh?”

“Yes, I suppose it is.”  An awkward silence fell.

Their other companions arrived before long.  Everyone seemed tense.  After going a little further into the woods, they found horses and saddlebags waiting.  When Ellone mounted one, she looked back one last time at D’nares.

“Which way do we go?”  Lon questioned, looking to Rotiarta.  With a start, she fumbled with the leather cord around her neck and lifted it.  It hovered over Rotiarta’s outstretched hands.  An arrow appeared, pointing to the east.  Then, abruptly, it dropped, just a cold jewel once more.

Ellone shivered involuntarily.  “If going is our only option, then let’s go,” she said.  She trotted off in the direction of the rising sun, her companions only a step behind.

They rode for several days, stopping only to eat and sleep at night.  The companions spoke only when it was necessary, feeling uncomfortable speaking with people they knew almost nothing about.  One night, their silence was finally broken by Rotiarta. 

“Look, I don’t know much about you, and our villages don’t associate with each other.  However, if we are to beat this mage, Malen, we have to trust each other.  We will live together or we will die together, but I prefer the first choice.”  The rest of that night was silent.

When Ellone awoke the next morning, she found Lon awake.  She walked up and stood near him.  After a moment’s careful thought, she spoke.

“Rotiarta’s right.  I guess we ought to get to know each other.”  Lon stared at her for a while, a long, appraising gaze, before nodding.

From that time on, the days were no longer silent, and they were more open with their companions.  They spoke of their homes and family, and Ellone discovered much about each person.

Lon was a solitary person, a deep thinker.  In Etanik, he was often thought of as slow, because his words were carefully thought through before they left his mouth.  Brack had a rash personality.  He was quick, sharp-witted, agile, stealthy, and impatient.  Rotiarta was outgoing in a tentative sort of way, and she had turned out to be a very pleasant young woman.

Before all this had begun, Ellone had been worried about the danger, but nothing had happened to them in the couple of weeks so far.  She had not realized the tedium of searching for the Truth Talisman.  After so many days, it seemed that they would never find it, much less stop Malen from doing so. 

One morning, they woke up as usual.  It would have seemed like a normal day—if one could call these days normal—had it not been for Rotiarta.  She was toying with the amulet around her neck.  When her friends approached, they saw that it had lit up with an eerie light.

“The Talisman of Truth,” Lon said, confirming Ellone’s unspoken guess.  “Alenin said that the amulet would help us find the Talisman as well as him.  It must be near somewhere.”  Ellone felt a wave of hope at these words.

They spread out and began to search the area, probing with their subconscious as well as physical senses.  In the end, it was Rotiarta who found it.  She called them over, and they found themselves staring up at a huge tree.  Though it was apparently too high to see, the amulet was glowing like a second sun.  Lon stepped forward and tried to retrieve it using his telekinesis.  They saw him straining, his face tight with concentration.  Then, he stopped.

“It must be wedged in too tightly,” he announced at last, “and it feels as if it’s tangled in something.  Someone will have to remove it by hand.”  Even as he said this, he looked dubiously at the towering height of the great tree.

Without hesitation, Ellone became a sparrow.  She flew into the heights of the tree.  Before long, she saw the small beryl, the gem of Truth, on a branch.  She quickly lit on the limb.  Balancing carefully, she transformed back to human form.  It didn’t look too hard to get out, or even tangled the slightest bit. 

This in itself stayed her hand, for why then, was Lon not able to move it?  Her outstretched hand lingered above it a moment more.  Bracing herself, she reached out and tried to grab it, when her foot slipped.

Instinctively, she turned into the panther.  Before she completely lost her footing, she lunged for the stone and snatched it.  She held it tightly in her teeth and landed, catlike, on her feet.  Yet when she transformed back and looked up, she nearly dropped the precious gem in shock. 

When she touched the Talisman of Truth, a huge, fiery bird had appeared in front of them.

Rotiarta stepped forward and began to lash at the creature—but her flail passed through it as if through air.  Ellone and Lon came to her aid, but Ellone found that her sword had no more effect than Rotiarta’s weapon.  As Lon began to swing his staff at the bird, Brack’s daggers flashed dangerously close to him.  He stumbled and staggered to the side as the beast continued to advance, but the wooden staff’s momentum kept it moving before it stopped on the ground, touching the flaming bird.

Lon returned hastily to his feet to join his companions.  The creature paused a moment before continuing forward, leaving the staff behind it.  Then, something clicked.

“Lon!” Ellone called.  “Your staff is wood!  If it didn’t burn in the fire, then the bird cannot be real!”

When this registered in the others’ minds, the creature left, leaving no sign of its ever having been there.

“Of course,” Rotiarta breathed in understanding.  “The Talisman of Truth had a ward on it:  it showed us an illusion.”

Ellone looked at the stone she was still clutching protectively.  They had come all this way and finally found it.  Suddenly and decisively, she held it out to Rotiarta.

“This belongs more to you than to me.  It’s from your village.”  The other woman took the Talisman slowly, yet eagerly.

“Thank you, Ellone,” she said as she accepted it.  “But you should have kept it.”

Bewildered, Ellone gaped at her companion.  Rotiarta quietly knelt, as if in worship.  Before her baffled companions, a misty form appeared in front of her.  The figure slowly became clearer, until they could see it was a tall man in a dark swirling cloak.

Looking up, Rotiarta murmured, “I have brought this to you, Lord Malen.”

The man who was Malen smiled, a cruel twist of his lips.  “You have been faithful, my servant.”  He looked with amusement at the shocked expressions on the others’ faces.  “Do you not recognize me?  Perhaps like this?” 

His image shimmered, and when it had calmed, he had become the old scholar they had met in the woods, Alenin.  Rotiarta stood and moved to stand by her master.  “I needed your help in retrieving the last Talisman.  All it took to sway you from any suspicions was a little mental push from this young woman from Telpsa.

“Rotiarta was my agent long before you met each other a few days ago.  She became your trusted companion, also through her manipulation skills.  I am glad to find that I chose you well.  And…I am forever in your debt for your help in finding the last Dragon Stone,” he added mockingly, like an afterthought. 

Brack lunged at him before the last words had left his mouth.  Just before he reached him,  Alenin—or rather Malen—disappeared as he had come, and this time, Rotiarta, a small smile on her face, vanished with him.  The amulet she had worn dropped to the ground, a dead, cold rock.

v  v v v

“I can’t believe it,” Brack muttered.  “To think we trusted a traitor.  Two, actually.”  Lon still stared at the spot where they disappeared, as unbelieving as Brack.

Ellone felt hot anger at the woman she had called friend, rather than despair, but she quickly quelled her emotions, knowing they would only hinder her.  Having picked up the fallen amulet and slipped it over her neck, she was now saddling her mount.  “Our mission was to keep the Talismans away from Malen,” she said calmly, firmly.  “Though we took on this mission because of him, he now has them all, and we cannot stop now.  It is our duty to see that he does not use them.”

“What chance have we against him, even if we ever find him?” Brack demanded.

“What chance will we have if we don’t?” Ellone retorted.  Lon inclined his head in acquiescence.

Without further argument, Brack and Lon followed her example and mounted their horses.  The three friends then continued on their way.

Their party traveled for four days, using the amulet as their guide.  One afternoon, Ellone stopped her horse in its tracks, and the others pulled their mounts to a halt as well.  She quickly dismounted, frowning.  After briefly studying the amulet she wore, she called her friends.

“Remember when we found the Truth Talisman?  Rotiarta had said the amulet glowed.  Well, it seems to be lighting again, but Malen already has all the Talismans.”

After a glance, Brack and Lon confirmed that it was indeed shining.  “Is it possible that a Talisman is here?” Lon asked, as if guessing her thoughts.

“We have to look,” Ellone responded.  “It is our only hope against Malen.”

They again spread out and began to wearily search for another, unknown stone.  They were all drawn to one place where the amulet throbbed wildly.  Here, there was another talisman, like the others, but filled with light instead of a jewel.  All remembered the bird.  That was just an illusion, but suppose that the enchantment guarding this stone was real?  Hesitantly, unsure what would happen, Ellone laid her hand on it.

They were prepared for walls of fire, swooping creatures of ice, anything that might have been guarding it.  They were surprised when nothing happened.  Nothing, that is, but a feeling of warmth that spread through their bodies.  All looked at it in wonder, at the small yet bright light that lay, pulsing, in Ellone’s hand. 

“Perhaps it is another Talisman,” Lon suggested.  “It may be that it is one Malen knew nothing about.  Possibly it is the key to defeating him.  In any case, it can hurt nothing to keep it.”  Giving herself a shake, Ellone concealed it in her belt.  At this motion, everyone was jolted out of their reverie, and they plodded on. 

After a few more days, Ellone woke and felt for the Talisman under her belt, out of habit.  To her alarm, it was not there, but it was soon found on the ground next to her.  With a shrug, she picked it up and was about to tuck it into her belt once more when she stopped, frowning.  She opened her hand and looked more closely at it.

The light was throbbing as usual, but the pulse looked and felt stronger today.  Fearing that it had been damaged, she called her companions to her.  After each of their examinations, they decided that it looked different to them as well. 

“If nothing is wrong with it, then why…?” Ellone said, puzzled.

Lon answered.  “If, as we must hope, the Talisman is leading us to Malen’s destruction, then the difference in its pulse must signify that we are nearing him.”  Ellone became even more cheerless in the face of this logic.

“Then we must find him now,” she said resolutely.  “From here, we will go on carefully.  When we reach the place, I will find Malen.”  Before her friends could argue, she dug her heels into the horse’s flank and rode ahead.

v  v v v

It wasn’t long before they found an open field.  There was a small, round pedestal at the edge of the area.  In the center of the field, a fair distance away from the pedestal, stood a lone figure, a tall man in a swirling, black cloak.  It could be no one but Malen.  With his hands raised, he was staring as if mesmerized at the four, lost Talismans.

Ellone dismounted.  She motioned for Lon and Brack to do the same and to keep quiet.  Loosening her sword in its sheath, she silently assumed panther form.  She padded up to the man.  When she was directly behind him, she crouched.  She would have pounced, until Malen’s voice called out.  Ellone was startled into assuming human shape. 

“What do you expect to do, girl?” he sneered.  With a flicking motion, the Amulets floated gently to the pedestal and rested there.  Glancing to the side, Ellone saw Rotiarta step into view.  “I have all four of your ‘dragons,’ and with them, I have gained their powers.  There is nothing you can do against me!”  With the last word, he spun, a sword raised in his hands and ready to strike.

There was a ring of steel as Ellone brought her own blade up to meet his.  Standing quickly, she lunged; he blocked.  He rushed her, and she brought up her sword to ward off his blow.  Lon and Brack came into the open, intending to aid their friend.  With a smirk, Rotiarta turned her attention to them.  Lon heard a voice in his head, telling him to stop, and he could not resist it.  Brack, realizing what was happening, disappeared from sight. 

Malen thrust at Ellone and she parried, but the impact left her staggering.  One subtle flick from Malen sent her blade soaring away.  She immediately took flight as a swallow, small but maneuverable.  Still smiling contemptuously, her opponent sent clods of dirt, branches, and twigs flying after her.  Ellone dodged, staying barely one step ahead.

Brack, suddenly appearing, threw a dagger at Rotiarta.  She twisted away, but her attention was wrenched from Lon for the one second he needed to trap her against the wall with his telekinesis.  Brack threw another, well-aimed knife at Malen.  He turned and stopped it in its flight, drawing on the power of the Discipline Talisman.  The dagger forced Malen to pause in his assault, giving Ellone time to land and retrieve her sword.  She slashed at the man, but he brought his own blade up in time to block her attack. 

Suddenly, he flickered out of sight, using the magic of the Wisdom Talisman, and Ellone stopped in frustration, peering around in a fruitless attempt to locate him.  When he finally reappeared, he gestured at Lon, aiming to knock him away with a solid wall of air.  The intended victim dove away, but Malen’s attack sent his quarterstaff spinning toward Rotiarta.  Trapped against the wall, she was unable to move, and she slumped to the ground, dead. 

Lon now focused his power on Malen, holding him in place, and Ellone heard her name called.  Brack, who had made his way to the Talismans, held them triumphantly in his fist.  When she saw him, he threw them to her.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Malen starting to move.

She caught the stones and held them together with the other Talisman they had found and gathered all the potential magic she held within her.  Brack, watching, did the same.  Instead of focusing on a transformation, however, she threw all her energy on the five stones. 

Malen, his face contorted by fear and fury, began to focus his power at Ellone.  Seeing this, Lon used the full force of his telekinesis to shift the aim of Malen’s magic from Ellone to the Talismans she held in her hands.  The complete power of four, potent magic-wielders was now directed toward the stones.

A slight vibration in the gems intensified until Ellone could no longer grasp them.  She dropped them with an oath.

As soon as she let go, they flew from her hands.  They formed a circle, rotating around and around.  Abruptly, their rotation stopped and there was a bright light.  When Ellone could see once more, in place of the Talismans stood five magnificent dragons.

They roared as one, then turned to Malen.  As they focused their magic together, Ellone shuddered as she and her companions felt the very air quiver.  Then, one ray of light rushed to encompass Malen, and there was silent thunder as the evil mage disappeared.

The dragons looked around to face Ellone and her friends, and each unconsciously fell back in the face of the majestic creatures.  The greatest dragon, covered with scales that shifted in color and shape, stepped forward.

“I am the Dragon of Harmony, and I speak for us all,” it said, the being speaking telepathically rather than verbally.  “That was a great thing you children have done; there are few fully-trained sorcerers who have the strength or prowess to do such a thing. 

“If you are the dragons who guard our villages,” Brack began, “then, we want to know why Malen was using us.  Why did he need us?”

“Malen was once the greatest of sorcerers,” came the reply.  A subtle change in the mental tone told them it was the sapphire entity representing Wisdom who answered.. “His power corrupted him, turning him toward the dark arts.  After committing several, heinous crimes, we five dragons were forced to take away his magic.  Because of this, he needed you three and Rotiarta to find the Talismans for him.”

The dragon of Harmony continued.  “Now that we know removing Malen’s powers will not stop him, we have imprisoned the him in Time, a prison not even a mage of his power can escape.  We thank you humbly, little ones.  We are in your debt.”

Ellone stepped forward audaciously and said, “We have been traveling for weeks.  We would like to see our homes once more.”  Lon and Brack nodded their agreement.

“So be it,” the beings answered with one voice.  All it took was one sweeping gesture, and they were once more in the Ash Forest where they had met that one momentous night.  Ellone heard a faint echo in her mind: “We will be watching.  Always.”  She smiled.

The three friends smiled at each other once more in mutual understanding and hurried toward their villages.  When D’nares came into Ellone’s view, she began to run.

Home, she thought joyously as she raced the wind.  Home!