The Dracomancer

CHAPTER THREE: ARRIVAL

Fantasy World
They found themselves in the home of a tree elf. Tree elves make their homes by hollowing out redwoods and other large trees, but not so much as to destroy the tree. They get their food by leaving their trees and gathering fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and hunting the local wildlife, but not to extinction. The elf who was currently inhabiting this particular tree soon found them and nearly jumped out of his skin.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?!” He asked, clearly alarmed by it.
“Don’t worry. It was completely unintentional,” Artemis replied.
“How about we make introductions, and then you explain what in Alexstrasza’s name is going on! My name is Rell Heartwood.”
“I am Artemis, and this is Alex. He’s the Dragon Wizard. I just found him yesterday, and to be honest, I’m relieved for that.”
“The Dragon Wizard? I am honored by your presence. I apologize for my rudeness,” Rell said, changing his tune.
“That’s alright. When two complete strangers suddenly appear in your home, it’s natural to get alarmed,” Alex replied.
“Thank you for understanding,” Rell said sincerely.
“I noticed that you swore by the Queen’s name. You support the dragons?” Artemis inquired. Alex was empathetic, too. He seemed to be full of admirable qualities.
“Of course. I know that the demons will enslave us all unless Alex succeeds in defeating their king,” Rell replied.
“Then you are wiser than most of your kind, Rell. Thank you for your support,” Artemis said truthfully.
“So you are a dragon, Artemis? I am honored by your presence, as well.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
“I will let you stay in my home for the day as honored guests, but I’m sure the two of you have to rally all of the other remaining dragons as soon as possible.”
“That is correct, and we gladly accept your offer of hospitality,” Artemis said politely, hoping Alex would notice. Was she falling in love?
“You might want to know, though, that I have a wife and two children, and I’ll have to tell them before they see you, so they do not become alarmed. They should be back from hunting and foraging soon, so if you could wait in the guest bedroom that would be much appreciated. By the way, we only have one bed in the guest room, but we also have a bedroll that we can pull out.”
“Oh, no. That’s fine. Alex and I can sleep in the bed together.” She was definitely falling in love.
Alex wondered why she said that so casually, but then he realized that it could have been that she trusted him. They went into the guest room and sat next to each other on the bed. Alex was the one to break the awkward silence again.
“So why are you suddenly so willing to sleep next to me?” The question seemed to catch her off guard, and he waited two minutes before receiving a response.
“I had a nightmare last night and I just need someone to hold me so I don’t get another one,” she lied. She was definitely past the point of falling in love. She was already there.
“Alright, but you might want to know that once I hold on, I don’t let go until I wake up.”
“That actually makes me feel so much better.” Damn! He certainly had a way with words, and she hoped that those ones would hold true. “So what was the memory that you used to open the rift?”
“I remembered a time when my mother took me to a museum with the bones of animals that went extinct long before apes, which are the ancestors of humans and still exist, evolved from their earliest stages. Most species of the earliest humans, such as Neanderthals, were extremely primitive. Out of them, Neanderthals had the biggest brains, and the thickest skulls, so they had large bodies to support their large heads.”
“I had no idea humans could have evolved from such creatures. You certainly seem to know quite a bit about your world’s prehistoric era.” He was knowledgeable, too! She was a young adult by dragon standards, but she couldn’t help but become more and more attracted to this seemingly adolescent human. She hoped he had similar feelings towards her.
They heard a sharp crack, similar to a tree splitting open, and then a series of smaller sharp cracks that sounded like the tree resealing itself. Then they heard Rell greet his wife and children, and the return greeting.
“We have some honored guests for the day, but only for today,” Rell said to them.
“Oh? Who are they?” His wife inquired.
“Their names are Alex and Artemis. They’re in the guest room. Should I call them, or would you prefer to go to them?”
“How about you take us to them? I’d like to meet them face to face, and I’m sure the children would, as well, but I’d like you to be there with us.” His wife seemed to be the main decision maker. That was odd, but neither Alex nor Artemis would judge.
There was a knock on the door and then it opened, revealing Rell and his family.
“Humans?!!” Rell’s wife shrieked.
“Alex is a human, yes, but he’s not just any human. As for Artemis, she isn’t human; she’s merely in human form,” Rell said, coming to their defense as well as his own.
“Ahhh… Artemis is a dragon, but that doesn’t explain who Alex is.” She seemed to have calmed down a fair bit, but was still on guard as far as Alex was concerned.
“I’m the Dragon Wizard, apparently,” Alex replied.
“Oh!! My lord! Please!! Forgive my rudeness! I had no idea! While I was out with the children, I had heard that all of the local humans had sided with the demons, and thought that you might be the wrong sort. I am very sorry,” she said, kneeling. The children’s eyes became globes, and their mouths opened in awe. The Dragon Wizard seemed to have an almost god-like status among these three, but Alex was no god; gods often judged people wrongfully.
“Your reaction was understandable, given the circumstance. I will not hold it against you,” he replied.
“Thank you. I hope we can accommodate well enough for you. We don’t have much to offer,” she said sincerely.
“That’s alright,” Alex replied.
Artemis looked at him like she wanted to kiss him. His natural charm was at work again. Somehow, he had a feeling it had been at work ever since he said he would help her. He had that effect on people. Some called it the “Alex effect”.
“Well, I think we’ll leave you two to yourselves until dinner. I hope you’re okay until then,” Rell said, breaking the awkward silence.
“See you at dinner,” Artemis replied.
Rell and his family left them and about two minutes later, it happened. Artemis pulled Alex in and kissed him. It felt so wrong and so right at the same time.
“Oh! Um…that was…” Artemis started.
“Brave?” Alex put in.
“Premature,” Artemis replied. “Besides, you’re probably too young for me,” she added.
“I’m almost twenty-one,” he replied.
“Oh! You’re older than you look!” Artemis had thought he was eighteen, at most.
“You’re not the first to say that, and I doubt you’ll be the last,” Alex replied truthfully. There were some who had said that he looked fourteen, others had said that he looked sixteen. All of them had later said the same thing Artemis had just said.
“It was still premature,” Artemis said. She had just met him the day before. It was too soon to be making moves like that. However, he didn’t seem to mind, despite that. Maybe once everything was settled…
Just then, they smelled something heavenly and heard Rell call them for dinner. They casually sauntered to the dining room, each stealing glimpses at the other while they weren’t looking. What had happened only minutes ago was so awkward, but at the same time, it felt so right. Alex knew he had found the right one. Or perhaps she had found him.
Artemis couldn’t describe what she was feeling. Embarrassment? Love? Perhaps a combination? It was all too confusing. Time to focus on the mission. She only knew a handful of other dragons, but she was sure that they knew others. She would get in touch with the ones she knew tomorrow, and tell them to rally the others that they knew, and hopefully, before long, they would have an army capable of training Alex in how to defeat the demons. Because Alex was a human from another world, he shouldn’t have the same weaknesses that the dragons had, hopefully. Of course there was always the possibility of encountering enemies before they met the other dragons, but they would deal with that if it arose. In the meantime, they would stay with Rell and his family. They got to the table and Rell broke their awkward silence.
“Before we start eating, I should inform you of the table rules in our home. Rule number one: there is to be no mention of demons. Rule number two: enjoy the meal. That covers it.”
“That sounds fair,” Artemis replied.
“I concur,” Alex added.
“Then I think the meal will go well,” Rell stated.
They got to eating, and all Alex could think of was demons, so he decided to keep the words he said short and sweet. He didn’t want to break the rule about no mention of demons. He knew that it might be seen as a hostile action.
“Thank you for the meal and your hospitality. The food is delicious.”
“It is splendid,” Artemis chimed in.
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Rell replied.
Rell and his family conversed and joked with each other and Artemis, but Alex kept out of it. Being from another world, he didn’t understand most of the stories and jokes they exchanged. Plus, the thought of demons still plagued his mind.
“You seem awfully quiet, Alex. Might I ask what’s on your mind?” Rell’s wife asked when Alex was half-finished.
“The subject that shouldn’t be brought up,” Alex answered truthfully.
“I see. Thank you for not mentioning it by name,” She replied sincerely.
“I do what I can to abide by household rules, especially as a guest.”
“That’s a good principle to live by. Not everyone does, unfortunately,” Rell truthfully stated.
“I take it you’ve had a few guests who have brought up that subject even after you told them it wasn’t to be mentioned at the table?” Artemis inquired.
“Not very many, but yes, a few,” Rell answered with honesty.
“It seems some people have no respect for household rules. How very sad,” Alex said.
“Either that, or they have no respect for tree elves,” Rell countered.
“That’s worse,” Artemis stated.
“True,” Rell reinforced.
“I’m glad we were able to steer the topic away from what was originally on Alex’s mind,” Rell’s wife stated with sincerity.
“It usually doesn’t take much, fortunately,” Rell declared.
“So what should we discuss now?” Alex questioned.
“How about the quest that lays before us, without the mention of that which shouldn’t be mentioned?” Artemis offered.
“That sounds good. I take it you know some of the other remaining dragons and have a way of getting in touch with them?” Alex started.
“Yes to both. I was planning on doing that tomorrow,” Artemis responded.
“Sounds like a plan, but what do we do afterwards? I don’t know the extent of my powers as the Dragon Wizard.” Alex returned.
“The other dragons and I can teach you the extent and how to use them. You just have to want to learn,” Artemis explained.
“Believe me. I want to learn what I’m capable of. I’ve known I was destined for greatness ever since I was a child, I just didn’t know what form it would take,” Alex stated.
“Then you should also know that there may be pain involved. If you’re afraid of pain, then the cosmos has a cruel sense of humor,” Artemis returned.
“I’m afraid of death, not pain. Pain reminds me that I’m still alive.”
“At least you have some wisdom. I didn’t think of pain that way before, but you have a point,” Artemis concurred. “As for the fear of death, the training will probably break that and you’ll come out as a completely different person. It’s someone I’d be quite interested to meet.”
“I’ll probably be the same person, just without the fear of death. I can live with that. As for becoming completely different, I’m not willing to accept that. I don’t want to change who I am to fit a certain role,” Alex countered.
“Change is usually good. Changing completely to become the Dragon Wizard might be a change you’ll find that you need. You don’t have to let go of your present virtues. You just have to attain more virtues as you progress through your training. To be honest, I’ve seen some qualities in you that you probably don’t see in yourself. You just have to find them within yourself and discover who you are. It will probably surprise you to find so much of yourself that you didn’t know was there. Don’t be afraid of change,” Artemis stated wisely.
Alex realized that she was probably right. Over the years, he had lost some of his memories from childhood and he suddenly wished he could remember more of his childhood. He was at a loss of what to say, so he just nodded in acknowledgement.