Dragon Dreams

Chapter 15: Taking Sides (2/2)

I resurfaced in the dream with soft birdsong echoing through the forest around me. A quick glance at my surroundings confirmed that I was just a few paces from the rocky shore of the mountain lake. To my relief, Rofar waited for me there, already seated and looking eager to speak with me. I walked over to him and sat close by without a word.

"Greetings, Ayreth," he said, giving a small nod in my direction. "I could sense that there was something troubling you. Something about which you wish to speak with me. Please, tell me what is on your mind."

I looked back at the blue dragon, whose kind eyes were a welcome sight after Ares' condescending glare. "First of all," I said, "it's Ares. He somehow found out where I was hiding and came to speak with me just tonight. Like you said, he was trying to recruit me to be one of his followers. He didn't hurt me or anything, and I told him I wasn't interested, but I don't know how he could have been following me. Like, is he using some kind of magic to find me?"

"This is certainly a concerning development. To answer your question, however, I will have to give you a brief lesson on dragon magic. It is likely that an explanation is quite overdue. I hope you can forgive my reluctance to overwhelm you so soon after you attained your form. Indeed, the information I will give you now can help you understand yourself in new ways. It may also explain things that you have already observed. But, that is enough preface. It is time for you to learn the most important concept of a dragon's magic, and, indeed, his very identity.

"All dragons have a spirit inside of them. In dragon-tongue, it is called athka. My athka is separate from my physical body, but it is intricately tied to who I am. To our knowledge, only dragons possess this special spirit, and it is this that allows us to use magic. Our athkan permit us to access and control the universal energies that perform feats of magic. It can almost be described as an extension of our conscious will. But there is another facet to the dragon-spirit that you must learn.

"Using the spirits, it is possible for dragons to communicate with one another. Your athka is like another sense, and you can use it to find other dragons that are not too far away, as it becomes harder with distance. One dragon may reach out to connect with the spirit of another to pass on knowledge or any other message. It is how I am speaking with you right now. You might not be aware of it, but our contact is possible because of the intimate connection between our spirits. This bond is something that is sacred to all dragons. But Ares seems to have used it to manipulate your dreams and find your location to speak with you."

This was a lot for me to take in. "I have a dragon spirit inside me?" I thought. "And it allows me to perform my magic?" There was another question on my mind. "Why don't you track Ares using his spirit? Is there a way to prevent others from finding you?"

"Ah, that is a most appropriate question," Rofar replied. "You have already reasoned something close to the answer. We cannot track Ares because his spirit is not open to us. A dragon may choose to leave his spirit open to only a few trusted others. This is a common practice since it is not always wise to let any stranger or enemy reach out to your athka with nefarious intent.

"But your case is a different one entirely. Concealing one's athka is a skill that must be learned, and meanwhile, yours is open to all. Ares simply did what any nearby dragon could do and found a way to connect with you. You may recall that I could appear in your dreams while you were still human. That is because the athka is the first thing to emerge in a new dragon. Yours became clear to me as a new presence, so I investigated, as is my duty. In a short time, you had accepted your fate, and the transformation that started with your spirit was completed."

"This spirit," I began, "is something I can control? Can I feel it all the time?"

"Yes, young one, you can control it. All the magic you have done thus far came from your athka. You may not have realized how it came about, but it was your spirit at work. Dragons are complex creatures, and I have only scratched the surface of our abilities. The time has come, I think, for you to learn more about yourself. Before you receive any more visits from Ares or the rest of his gang."