The Titan and the dragonriders

135. Pestilence and Shadows

Sebastian listened to his conversation with Camille when Berdon entered the room anew, but accompanied by a guest the Titan had already reckoned with. The old and frail-looking magician Sjena followed the captain on his feet. He wore a heavy red and black coat with his hood slapped on the back, so that his well-groomed, if grey, hair shone in the glow of the lights and candles. The arm-length, neatly combed and oiled beard, whose grey seemed almost brighter, hung in over the chest, while Sjena leaned on a masterfully carved rod, in which some runes and symbols incomprehensible to Bastian were engraved. His posture was slightly bent forward, as was customary in old age, when the body subsided and attentively Sontal patterned the gemstone-studded rings, which he could recognize by the magician's hands. One of them had already caught his eye in the harbour, which Sjena carried on the middle finger of his right hand. The ring had the shape of a dragon that held claws and tails around the finger. In and of itself nothing special, there would not be the level of detail and the material from which it was created.

Sebastian could recognize every single individual scale on the body of the dragon, the eyes, even the individual teeth of the slightly ripped mouth and the spines at the tail end were easily recognizable. He could even discover something that looked like healed scars or deceived his eyes? But even more strange than the richness of detail was the fact that the dragon ring really looked like a lifelike dragon. The scales were as white as bones bleached in the sun, while the eyes shone in a bloody red as if they were alive. And it wasn't a paint or paintwork that flashed against him, but some material that the artist had used to form the dragon. Maybe quartz for the scales and rubies for the eyes into which the pupils were masterfully painted? Sontal could not answer these questions and although he had nothing left for the arts, this ring fascinated him in some way. He just seemed almost too perfect, flawless.

Bastian, however, quickly shook off this fascination and focused his attention on the people in front of him, not on any unimportant artifacts.

"Oh! Master Sjena! Berdon did not even announce your visit. It's nice to see you again!" Camille greeted the old magician with joy as she and her daughter jumped up. Apparently they were quite familiar with him, Sebastian remarked inside, while the two women shook Sjena's hand respectfully and kindly one after the other. The magician let an apologetic smile slip over his lips before replying in a raucous and slightly croaking voice: "I'm sorry to have to harass you at such a late hour, Camille, but there are still some important things to discuss after your husband's return. And of course your guest." His voice sounded as old as he looked, and the deep green, wrinkled eyes lay down for a brief moment on Sontal, who in turn gave Sjena a playfully friendly smile. At first, the magician did not warp his face, but rather modelled it just as the Titan had previously patterned it, before politely tilting his head.

"Ah, I understand, of course. Someone could have told me something certain," Camille replies, looking reproachfully over to Berdon, who apologetically raised his arms. "But if you're here now, please, I'll get you to drink quickly," she added after her reprehensible look at her husband, gently commanding Sjena to sit next to Bastian before disappearing toward the kitchen. Amilia, on the other hand, bowed respectfully to the old man and then politely said, "It was nice to see you again, Master Sjena, but I'd rather go to my room now so as not to disturb your meetings." Sjena turned her head so that Sontal could no longer see him, but based on the delighted voice and the fact that the magician put his hand on the young woman's shoulder amicably, the Titan suspected that he was quite close to the family as a whole. "It was also nice to see you again, my child. If you want, you can come to me in two weeks, so that we can further deepen your studies," the man replied kindly, to which a delighted glitter scurried over Amilia's eyes. She nodded eagerly. "Of course, very gladly, Master! Thank you, thank you very much!" The old magician was amused. "If only all my students had shown such enthusiasm over the years. A good night, my child and greet your brother quite nicely from me!" he said, after which Berdon's daughter said goodbye to him and Bastian, pressed a good-night kiss on her father's cheek and then hurriedly disappeared upwards.