I had no doubt that he would. Elucians adhered strictly to the original principles of Truth laid down by Elu, and those left no room for cheating or even skimming a little from the top. Elurians followed the same Truths, but we were much less strictin the way we interpreted the original writings, which I was thankful for.
Without any wiggle room, Codric and I wouldn't be on our way to join the pilgrimage.
Torvan straightened, his weathered face breaking into a crooked grin. "So, you boys are here for the pilgrimage, eh? Hop in. I'll get you to Skywatcher's Point safe and sound and give you a tour of our beautiful countryside as a bonus, free of charge."
"Thank you." I pulled out my wallet, intending to pay him, but he stayed my hand.
"You pay when we get there. Not before." He opened the back door for us.
The interior of the hover car was a little worn, but it was clean and smelled good, and two sealed water bottles rested in holders next to each seat.
"These are for you lads, and if you want to stop for a bite to eat, I can take you to a good eatery and wait until you are done."
"We are fine," I said despite Codric's hopeful expression. "We'll eat when we get to Skywatcher's Point."
"Very well." Torvan pulled out from the line of hover-cars. "The Pilgrims' Lodge has an eatery that is open at all times, but the selection is limited. You won't find any Elurian delicacies there."
"Are there any other eateries you can recommend?" Codric asked.
"Plenty." As the vehicle glided smoothly out of the depot, Torvan launched into a long sales pitch about every eatery in Skywatcher's Point. All five of them.
"So, what made you travel all the way to our remote country in the sky?" Torvan asked as we wound our way through the outskirts of Podana.
"Alar and I were always fascinated by dragons, and then we discovered that our great-great-grandmother was Elucian."Codric smiled at the driver who was watching us through the rear-view mirror. "After that, there was no stopping us. We had to join the pilgrimage."
Torvan nodded approvingly. "Good for you. Not many Elurians make the pilgrimage these days. Too scared of the Shedun attacking, I reckon."
Frankly, the Shedun hadn't even crossed our minds when we'd decided to go on this adventure. Not that knowing about the clear and present dangers these people faced would have changed our minds. We were determined to do whatever it took to become dragon riders.
"What's it like?" Codric asked. "Living here seems tough."
"You can say that again." Torvan laughed, a deep, rumbling sound. "It's not easy, but it makes us a family. We all care for one another because there is no one else who does."
I felt offended on behalf of every Elurian who had ever aided Elucians.
"That's not true," I said. "Elurians care. Your people found refuge among us, and when you decided to reclaim your ancestral lands, the Elurian Federation helped."
Without us, the Shedun would have probably wiped them out of existence the moment they returned to these mountains. Eluria armed the returning Elucians and provided backup.
"Truth," Torvan said. "Elucia owes Eluria a debt of gratitude, but now we are on our own and take care of each other. We deal with our enemies." He turned to look at us. "We keep the Shedun busy so they don't turn their attention to you."
I nodded because he was right, and I would not offend an Elucian by parroting the half-truths printed in Elurian newspapers. There were advantages and disadvantages to our loosened adherence to the truth and our more moderate interpretation of Elurion's dictates. That being said, according to Elucian scholars, abandoning the path of absolute truth wouldeventually lead to Eluria's downfall, but it hadn't happened yet, and our society was successful and prosperous, so I didn't expect it to fall apart anytime soon.
Then again, abandoning the path of truth was part of turning a blind eye to what was happening with the Sitorian Union and their global domination ambitions.
As we left the city behind, the landscape became more rugged with jagged peaks stretching as far as the eye could see, their snow-capped summits disappearing into banks of clouds. Forests of hardy pines clung to the lower slopes, giving way to bare rock and ice higher up.
"Do you see that one over there?" Torvan pointed to a distant peak. "That's Mount Fury. That's where the first riders made their pact with the dragons."
The thought of those first riders forging a bond that would shape the destiny of an entire nation filled me with awe and a bit of longing.
Those riders were legendary, their names forever etched into the fabric of Aurorys's history.
7
KAILIN
“Across the vast Addolian Ocean, away from mortals and dragons alike, Elu created a refuge for his forgotten brethren, the fallen gods, to dwell in sacred Dolis, among its golden mist-shrouded valleys and diamond-encrusted peaks.”
