Liberation and Reclamation: A Novel of Mirdrakonov, #3

Chapter 1: Reclamation

Boyles Island, Newlandia

204 AA (After Arrival)

Belle and her dragon – her partner and bondmate – took flight early on the first morning of Summer. They flew higher than they needed for their short hop across the bay to celebrate the glory of the day and have time to experience the exhilaration of flight, and Aurelius roared out his celebration. She roared in response, but his deep rumble drowned her effort. He still felt her through the bond and chuckled in response.

Her hair blew back in the wind of his passage, and her thin clothes puffed out around her, even with her shield keeping her warm and breathing like she was still at sea level. She could have hardened the shield to block the wind, but she liked feeling it. It was another way she felt liberated. She wasn't going back.

The sun shining off Aurelius's scales created a flickering gold halo as they sailed through patches of cloud.  His wide-spread wings gave a smooth flight with only an occasional flap. It was such a wonderful day to be out flying.

Belle thought through the bond, Hey, big guy. I’m having second thoughts. Am I making a mistake?

She felt his laughter. You know your decision is reasonable. Trust yourself.

From their vantage high over the bay, they could see the mountains to their west, the ocean surrounding the island, the islands far to the east, and below them, the tiny dots of the ships at anchor or docked by the town. One day, the waterfront would be swarming with ships if her father had his way. That was still years in the future.

The shadow of Aurelius’s immense length passed across the waves far below and then over the beach. The pair circled down to land on her usual patch of gravel. She hopped off, pulled the tie from her ponytail, and braided her hair to hang down her back. She patted the dragon’s neck and stepped toward the waves. They could still see the village of Harbor Town across the water but were far enough away that no one would intrude. She would watch the boats go out, wave at the sailors, and then fly home for the last time, just long enough to grab the bag she'd already packed.

The thrill of riding her dragon faded as she thought about her decision while standing on the rocky beach. Melancholy swept over her again like the waves breaking at her feet. She had already left her boyfriend, and poor Hal didn't understand why she had to go, but their relationship wasn't going anywhere anyway. Her time with her father had ended, too, and her father would be so angry and disappointed. She didn't feel too bad about that since he was always angry and disappointed with her.

She needed time alone to sort out her feelings – not that she would be alone, but her dragon would not intrude. From Harbor Town to the mainland, the first leg of their trip would take some hours, even by dragon flight, giving her that alone time. At the end of the day, she hoped to find a place for the night in the new little hamlet of Old Town. Which might be the most ironic name she'd ever heard.

Belle reminded herself how lucky she was that a mature dragon had chosen to bond with her. Dragons of that age rarely went further than a partnership, so it was a rare compliment and a mark of profound respect for him to give – he would have to abandon his cave in the mountains for her sake.

She had to leave this little town and enter the wider world to repay that bond. The gods had called her for this, but now that it was on her, her destiny nearly overwhelmed her. She should be looking at the great adventure ahead instead of moping.

After feeling her partner’s panic and hearing her beautiful golden guardian slump to the ground, Belle only realized she was not alone. She spun around and had only a moment to recognize the person casting a spell.

604 AA

The surrounding mountains and ocean isolated Belleston. Few visitors came there, just the fisherfolk and an occasional cargo vessel, so the town had grown slowly until recently. The difficulty of traveling across the island by land made those the only viable routes into Belleston until now. Since the return of magic, ships had been venturing across the ocean, and the harbor was busy. A large cannery sat at the farthest end of the docks, but the whole waterfront smelled of fish.

The Queen hoped to end Belleston's isolation from the rest of Newlandia by using the Aeronauts until a proper road could be built across the island to the hamlet of Weston on the island's west coast and connect with the rest of the country by way of the village of Old Home, across the Avini Strait. Old Home's change from an isolated, sleepy village to a port connecting with Boyles Island would shock the residents.

The road would be a major feat, with several tunnels and many bridges. Weston's small inlet was to be excavated by earth magic to become a port big enough to accommodate larger vessels. A second connection to Avini and the deep harbor in Grandmothers Bay and a third to Port Anghel would complete the work. The Belleston harbor was expected not to suffer from shipping losses because it would become the primary connection with the countries across the ocean since it was the easternmost port of Newlandia.

The Aeronaut dragons and their riders flew into town on a beautiful spring day. The township, located on the coast of Boyles Island, sat in a little cup in the easternmost mountain range on the shore of a sheltered bay dotted with boats and ships. The flight from Old Home took them across a land covered with hills and low mountains, looking from their altitude like a rug bunched up to half its length, lush and green from the ocean currents wrapped around the island. The last of the winter snowpack was melting off the peaks surrounding Belleston. Belleston, so close to the sea, never got cold, and they landed in a comfortably warm late morning. Their arrival caught the attention of people unfamiliar with the sight of four dragons soaring over the town.

At noon, the townspeople gathered in the municipal park, where the Queen's advance staff had set up a stage for the Aeronauts to introduce their dragons. The return of magic to the world woke the dragons and scared humans, some of whom found they could create fire on their fingertips or pull water from the air. The Aeronauts were there to help them with their magic – their acceptance of the gifts, their control, and their relationship with the rest of Belleston.

The four riders, all wearing the Queen’s patch on their uniforms, stepped forward to the front of the stage. Their dragons lined up behind them. Since the dragons towered over the humans, the scene was impressive. In a presentation they'd done dozens of times across Newlandia, Athena Elektra stepped in front of the other Aeronauts and introduced her dragon, Cutter. Then she pointed out Harry Gilmore and Pink, Josephine Jo Sapphirus and Roamer, and Allen Yarbrough with Winger. Harry replaced Athena to confirm that magic was again in the world, using telekinesis and clairvoyance to demonstrate and encourage those in the crowd with magic to talk to them afterward and to show the crowd that magic was a gift and a tool, not something to be feared.

Cutter came forward, raised her lavender and dove gray head to its full height, a good thirty feet above the onlookers, and explained to the crowd that dragons were equal partners with their riders, not pets, servants, or livestock.

The rest of the team took turns explaining that they were also there to represent the Queen and to offer justice outside the usual local government channels, to speak with and for the people who didn't have an advocate.

After that, they opened the presentation for questions about the Aeronauts, dragons, and magic, then closed with a chance for people to talk to them individually and, with the dragons' agreement, to get close to forty feet of flying magic. A few even gathered the courage to ask permission from the dragons to stroke the scales along their jaws.

At the presentation's conclusion, most of the townspeople had to go to work. A few stayed to talk, and others would come to visit in the evening. Most of the folks who had magic but were afraid to show it to their friends and family would wait and come under cover of the night.

The Aeronauts were finally done in time to have a late lunch. They needed to relax before the Belleston folks came to visit after nightfall. The team flew across the bay to escape town for a while to get some peace before they had to go back. Otherwise, they'd be on duty the whole time.

Along the bay's north side, a tall granite wall formed a peninsula poking into the sea. At high tide, the base of the cliff submerged into the ocean, but when the tide went out, as it was when they left the park, a cobbled beach invited exploration, and from the air, they saw a likely spot to picnic. Others before them had arranged a circle of stones as seating, and they soon had a driftwood fire burning in the circle's center. Then, the humans laid out a meal for the dragons and themselves.

After the meal, they went exploring along the beach, looking for seashells, and at the very end of the peninsula, they came to the monumental cleft in the rock face the locals called the Butt Crack. Millions of years before, some seismic event had split the cliff face into two halves, with a vertical crack in the center and untold years of weathering rounded out either side of the gap. Standing back at the edge of the surf, it was clear that the waves at high tide had shaped the bottom of the cliff to undercut the rest. It wasn't hard to see a human butt carved in stone.

Athena and Cutter were the first to wander close to the split in the rock.

Cutter said, Walk ahead of me a little. I want to see if they named that formation properly.

Athena snorted before she said, Sure, but somehow, I think the uniform pants will spoil the similarity. She walked on.

No, no, I can see it. Someone did a good job naming it.

I'm glad I could be of service! She paused. Wait, do you feel that? Athena reached out with her magic.

I do. That's unexpected. Cutter felt the pull directly and through Athena’s bond.

Athena walked closer to the crack in the cliff, picking up on a definite feeling of ancient magic, like a tingling under her skin.

As the others came closer, they, too, felt it.

Athena said, I'm not surprised we're the ones to feel this, given how faint it is.

Magic, faint though it was, filled the back of the cleft. Whoever wove that magic had been highly gifted, and the pattern leaked only a bit, barely enough for a powerful mage to find. It took their combined sensitivity to pick up the subtle weaving of a pattern designed to hide whatever lay beyond that shield.

Athena said, Guys, do we want to investigate this? This feels older than the loss of magic.

After a pause, she said, Okay, never mind the question. I intend to investigate it.

Pink said, I agree it's older than the Great Sleep. I also feel something familiar about it. I know this magic, or at least my ancestral memories do. We need to pull it down.

The others agreed, and with Athena leading, the eight focused their combined psychic talents on carefully picking the pattern apart. Even after all this time, the design held power. If they hurried the process, it could detonate or harm whatever the magic hid.

Jo's gift to see sequences, developed with her lockpicking skill and polished over a decade, became helpful in seeing the steps to take. Harry and Allen pushed their power to the others, as did the dragons, and after a couple of hours of concentrated work by Jo and Athena, the shield fell. So did a young woman who had been pinned against the back wall. Harry caught her with his magic, lifting her from the cleft and floating her back to their fire ring.

By the time they had her out, the sun was setting behind the mountains to the west, and the tide was nearly up to their seating. The fire lit her face, and they saw that she was perhaps twenty years old, with skin a little lighter than the average Newlandian and her long, braided hair a rich chestnut. Her clothes were odd, antique in their style. Athena felt for a pulse, checked her breathing, and with the barest hint of her gift touching the woman's mind, softly thought, Hey, are you there?

The woman's eyes popped open, and she tried to sit up. Who are you? What happened? Why are you dressed funny? Where's my dragon? Where's Aurelius?

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy. You're safe, okay? We just found you hidden under a magic shield back in that crack in the wall.

The woman looked around at them and the four dragons outside the fire ring. You're dragon riders? Well, that was a stupid question. Forgive me. Then she gasped as she saw the town across the bay, lit by early evening lamplight. Is that Harbor Town?

No, that's Belleston.

Belleston? No. That's Harbor Town. I know this bay and the mountains around it, and I recognize this beach and the Butt Crack. Only, the town's too big.

Athena's eyes scrunched shut for a moment, and then she looked at Belle with sorrow. I know what happened, or I believe I do. The magic that held you was old, and your clothes are quite out of style. I think you've been in hibernation for a very long time. Our friends recently met someone else who had hibernated, so we know it can happen. Let's back up and start again. What's your name?

I'm Belle Boyle, Daniel Boyle's only daughter. She shook her head. "This has to be a trick. It can't be true. But the town...

I must be crazy. My father founded the town with some friends. He was one of the first sailors after the portals brought us here. Father was lucky to find this place! We came because it's protected, provides plenty of food –fish and game animals – and keeps us from the cold up north. Now, I sound like one of Dad's advertisements. No! I don't care about that. Where's Aurelius? Where's my dragon? I can't feel him!

The Aeronauts looked at one another, stricken. Athena looked at her teammates and asked them, mind to mind, Do you think she's talking about the Elder Dragon?

They chorused in her head, Yeah.

Well, shit.

She said, Aw, honey. Was he a golden color?

Of course. That's why he was named that, but you changed your tone. What's wrong?

By the strangest of coincidences, I think we met your dragon. If he was your partner, he died about nine months ago. He lived a long life and became the Elder Dragon.

Belle yelled, NO! He can't be. I just saw him this morning. She wiped away angry tears.

Athena shook her head. I'm sorry, but it has been a very long time since you last saw him. I would guess from your clothes, at least three hundred years and probably closer to four. This is the year 603 After Arrival. Springtime.

Are you crazy? When I left the house this morning, it was 204 AA, on the Summer Solstice. I haven't changed, so you're wrong. You're all nuts if you think that. Please tell me you're lying. In a desperate voice, she said, Please?

Harry said, Let us ask a few questions, and maybe we can help clear this up.

Belle nodded. Her rapid breathing and clenched hands showed her panic, but she held herself together and clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering.

What do you remember about your day?

We went to the beach to escape town in the morning. We planned to eat, go home, grab a bag I'd packed, and then leave to see the rest of the country. My father was going to be unhappy, so we planned to leave before he could start yelling. He's always yelling.

She paused again, took a deep breath, and said, I should say he was always yelling. We wanted to leave before he started shouting at us, so we packed lunch and flew to the beach. We were going to leave and visit the rest of Newlandia. A guy we knew, Gil, was there too. I saw him, and then .... And then I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until just now when you woke me. Wait. I didn't fall asleep. He hit me with a spell, didn't he ...

Athena's voice dropped, and she was almost tremulous, asking, Was the guy's full name Gilgamesh?

How did you know?

Athena said, We met him recently, and he was with a gold dragon called Aurelius, though we've called him the Elder Dragon for at least a hundred years. We thought he was a myth until the magic returned. Gilgamesh was a powerful wizard. He must have laid a spell on Aurelius first, or Aurelius would have stomped him flat before he could have put you under that spell we broke. Both Aurelius and Gilgamesh died recently. Aurelius died with honor in battle with another dragon. Gilgamesh, not so much. I lopped his head off.

Belle gasped. Really? Why? I mean, he wasn't a nice person, but ....

"When we met, he was downright evil and trying to kill me at the time.

I think you are the reason the town's named Belleston now. You and Aurelius disappeared from this beach three hundred and ninety-nine years ago.

Belle had gone very pale and said, I... I feel dizzy. She swayed, then passed out. Harry caught her again and lifted her onto Pink as he levitated to sit behind her. Through the bonds, they agreed it was time to get to the Aerie. Athena put the fire out with a wave of her hand, then the humans mounted their dragons and left the beach. Harry created a shield and warmed his sleeping passenger.

THE QUEEN'S BUILDERS made their way to Belleston soon after the Aeronauts agreed to serve Queen Deborah. They created a raised Aerie for dragons and riders to have a place to rest, as they had for cities and towns across Newlandia, and a stage big enough for five dragons in the park. The Aeronauts brought Belle to the Belleston Aerie to recover, and Athena stayed with her while the others went to their meeting area in the town square.

Night had fallen before Belle stirred. Uh, where am I now?

"Welcome back. You're back in town. This is our Aerie, where the dragons and riders can stay comfortably. The place is always stocked, and, as you can see, there are beds for us as well. I hope it will be a place where you can begin to come to terms with your situation.

"My situation? That seems inadequate, as if I'm unexpectedly pregnant rather than being displaced four centuries.

"Of course. I'm at a loss for any better terms to use. I am here to help you however you want. I'll warm up some food for you if you're ready to eat something. There’s no rush, but if you want to talk about