Laugavegur, A Hinterland Journey

Chapter 27 - Dragon Queen

Tokki's flight had taken him back across the Riverlands, the cool air whipping at his travel cloak as he flew. On their first journey, Tokki and the dragonling's desires had been in conflict and Tokki had to force his will upon the beast. However, this time, his connection with the dragonling was instinctual and comfortable. The two creatures' motives were aligned. The dragonling seemed pleased to be flying away from Miredale Mountain and happier still at the notion of returning the egg to the Aerie. On the dragonling's leathery wings they covered the distance with ease and Tokki enjoyed a few recreational banking turns as they traced the river back to the north and west.

The sight of the Aerie rising, crowned with circling full-grown dragons sobered Tokki. If he was to survive this return trip, stealth would again be the key. He tried to direct the dragonling to fly lower and approach the Aerie from the west, but the creature did not respond and continued to fly on a direct path toward the peak of the Aerie. Tokki tried tugging on the harness to pull the dragonling to the left and then right, but the beast shook its head in irritation glancing back at Tokki with a cold eye while continuing on its path.

Tokki cleared his mind and focused on his connection to the dragonling. Instead of giving direction and fighting, Tokki listened. He could hear the beating of the dragonling's heart, and his own pulse slowed to match. His breathing grew slower and deeper. The world around him came alive as his senses heightened. He could see the ground in exquisite detail. Tokki could smell the bloated carcass of a reindeer that had washed downriver and strangely, it smelled appetizing. He could feel power and control of the air around him as the dragonling flapped its wings in flight. The only sensation that was unpleasant was a decrease in the fidelity of sound. The wind sounded hollow and distant. The caw from a nearby raven sounded thin and tinny. The river was just a muffled hum. Though nothing was said, a great calm came over Tokki and he knew the dragonling was taking him where he needed to be. His trust of the dragonling was absolute though he could not provide a single reason as to why it should be so.

Upward they flew, the Aerie growing larger and larger, the circling dragons gaining color and detail. As he looked at the different dragons, Tokki had varying feelings of familiarity. His feelings toward one large Silvertail were particularly intense and he knew her to be family, perhaps even this dragonling's mother. The Silvertail flew in close, inspecting the Human that sat atop her child with a large, vitreous eye. The dragonling unleashed a squeaky, youthful roar and the Silvertail snorted deeply and banked away, her lips peeling back in a toothed reptilian grin.

With a few determined flaps, the dragonling lifted he and Tokki up to the rim of the large nest that sat atop the Aerie - the same nest from which they took the egg that was now sitting in Tokki's pack. The dragonling settled in the bottom of the nest and lowered its pyramidal head so that Tokki could easily dismount. As he stepped away from the dragonling, the connection was severed, and his senses returned to normal. Anxiety returned as well. Tokki was standing alone atop a mountain patrolled by a score of dragons and in his bag, he held the largest one's egg. The dragonling, perhaps sensing his disquiet ambled over and bumped its snout against Tokki's pack in a reassuring fashion. Tokki nodded and slipped the pack off.

As the straps were sliding from his shoulder, there was a tremendous roar and the nest fell into shadow. Tokki clamped his hands over his ears, understanding why dragonian hearing was less sensitive. Tokki looked up. Perched on the side of the nest, between himself and the sun was an enormous dragon of blue and white. One of the Jokull Dragons, he thought. The dragonling squawked in agitation and flew from the nest, leaving Tokki completely alone.

The Jokull Dragon's head was immense; a small mountain swiveling atop a short, thick neck. The nest crunched as the dragon flexed its clawed feet and folded its giant wings. Tokki could see that the wings had been battered through time. The blue leathery skin that connected the support bones was torn and punctured. In one place, it had been completely shredded. The closer Tokki looked, the more he saw the age of the beast. The pale white teeth that jutted from its mouth were about the same size as Tokki, but many were broken and missing. The ones that remained were worn down to rounded nubs, a mere suggestion of the ferocious dentra that had once been. Two horns rose from the dragon's skull, laying back like those of a mountain ram. The most striking feature, however, were the dragon's eyes. Giant pools of blue, surrounding abyssal slit pupils. For as savage as the dragon appeared, its eyes, her eyes, were poised and intelligent.