Dragon Dreams

Chapter 32: Revelations (2/2)

The willingness to share what he revealed shook me almost as much as the information itself. "I don't understand," I began. "You felt Eyliana's athka even though she's dead? And the ancient spirits as well?"

"Yes," he said. "It is true, what the shamans say."

My head moved back and forth slightly as I tried to internalize this. Somehow, it was hard to believe, even after everything I had seen in the Vrost. Symbol magic, I was used to that by now. Wes becoming a dragon, well, that had happened to me, after all. But this was something else entirely.

The black dragon continued. "I have spoken to Grall about this at great length, and on many occasions. It's hard to be sure about any of it, but our combined understanding is more than most.

"The basic idea is there are multiple planes of existence, not just the physical one we experience right now. Spirits occupy another plane and serve as the connection between the physical self and the spiritual self. Magical energy also occupies the other, spiritual plane, and our athkan can harness this energy as we will it.

"Now death, on the other hand, takes us to yet another plane, one much more remote. It takes extremely large concentrations of energy to access anything across the border in the realm of death. Even most experienced shamans only hear whispers of the athkan within. But it goes both ways. The dead, the spirits of the ancients, can exert little effect on our world most of the time. But in some cases, we have guessed, the athkan from the remote plane can bind together into a magical force strong enough to affect us here. That's what Eyliana did for me, helping me save the boy. It was an incredibly powerful feat of magic, one that could have only come from a large number of spirits watching from the distant plane."

I blinked as I tried to internalize the theory. "This is all so strange..."

"Yes," Ares agreed. "That's how life is: strange, terrible, unfair, beautiful all at the same time. I am deeply sorry about what happened to Ferenor, but I am grateful for what he has been given, considering the alternative. I have not received much good fortune in my life. I need to appreciate what good comes my way. After all these years, I finally felt Eyliana's closeness again; I felt her warmth and pride in something I did. Until the day when we meet again beyond this life, it is enough.

"I am sorry that I kept Ferenor's secret from you. I just want what's best for him, and soon the Vrost will make our biggest strike. Last night showed me we are ready. Then, Ferenor and all the rest of us will finally be free."

"Biggest strike?" I was curious, wondering what else there was to his plan.

"Yes. One great mountain to channel our power. You felt what we can do; you know as much as I do that the ancient magic will grant us the freedom we deserve."

"One great mountain," I thought, not quite following.

"I might as well tell you; I was going to announce this to everyone tonight anyway." There was a gleam in his liquid-gold eyes. "To the south, there is a volcano. At this moment it is dormant, but it is the largest one for miles around. This is the place where we will next wake the stillness of the earth. We will bring up every scrap of magma from beneath, and let it erupt with the force of our magic.

"And we won't stop there. Every volcano from California to Canada presents us with an almost limitless supply of destruction. There will be a cataclysm like modern humans have never seen. We will drive them out of vast stretches of land, and we can take back what once was ours.

He growled long and low, talons grating as they flexed against the stone beneath. "You see what they do to this planet, and what they've done to us. Everything they think is theirs. They don't know their place. But soon they will."