Here we go again.“Fine, Sárkány. Where am I?”
“You are in the land of Galdiart. This land was once populated by a host of Sárkány. When the portals were created, hundreds of us traveled to your land, and few returned.”
“Where did the rest of your—our—people go? The ones that never traveled to Earth?” I was confused how so many could be lost in only two hundred years.
“There was a war. Many of our brethren wanted to attack your Earth and conquer it. Our planet is largely empty. There’s never been much foliage and fewer and fewer wild animals to eat. Many here wanted to descend on your primitive world and take over.”
“Obviously you didn’t.”
“No, we won the war, but the consequences were terrible. Thousands died on both sides. Then, many died of starvation and exposure, as entire cities were razed to the ground in the war. We, who should live for centuries, surrounded by thousands of our own kind, were suddenly numbered in the hundreds. We destroyed the portals, except this one, out of fear of becoming extinct.”
“Why save any?”
“Because of the prophecy. Because we knew that one day you would come. That’s the worst part! When we began our journeys to the Earth realm, we were told in great detail what would happen. But nobody believed our prophet. He was laughed at.”
“You believed him, or you wouldn't be here.”
“The war was one hundred and seventy years ago. I was an infant then. I believe the prophecy because I grew up with the knowledge that a large part of it has already come to pass. And now, here you are, to fulfill the rest of it.”
“So, to summarize. The portals were created. Some of you went to Earth, not many returned. A prophet predicted it, but nobody believed it. Almost two hundred years ago, you had a great war that was also prophesied. Most of you are dead because of the war. You’ve been waiting on me to save you. DidYe Oldeprophet give you any indication ofhowI’d be able to save your people? I mean, I do okay for a human, but for a dragon? I don’t even have long life! I’ll die within another forty to sixty years.”
I looked down at his hand, still clasping mine. “That’s the biggest reason I came, to see if you could help me extend my life. My children, they'll live many hundreds of years as well, but I won't. And I’m in love, and my loves, they'll have to watch me grow old and die. I came here in the hope that you might have some way to extend my life, not to save an entire species.”
“You won’t help us?” he asked, terror in his voice.
“I didn’t say that. I’ll do anything I can for you. I just don’t know how much help I could really be.”
“I believe I can solve your problem of longevity. It is said that the savior will be only half Sárkány. It was foretold that the Sárkány lineage would lie dormant until one was born of a Sárkány female and—here’s where we're confused—the father would be ‘One-Who-Drinks.’ We have never known what that meant.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have a general idea. So, my Sárkány genes were in some sort of a recession until I had a kid with Michael, a Supay. The Supay are descendants of yet another world, come through to Earth using your portals. They mainly drink blood.”
“That explains that part then. Yes, if you’ve had a child with One-Who-Drinks, then your heritage should take over your body. You’ll live a long life, as long as you aren't killed in an accident or murdered.”
My body shook in relief. I was free. Whatever the coming days held, however I helped these people, whatever Elias and Anthony found in their world, I would live with my children and my loves. I wouldn't be left behind, lonely and broken. I jumped to my feet and did a little wiggly dance. “I won’t have to drink blood!!” My euphoria came to a crashing halt. “Wait. What do Sárkány eat?”Please don’t say blood.
“Mostly meat. We don't eat much else, though we do spice our meat with different bits of foliage at times.” Axoular raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need to know our eating habits?”
“Never mind. That’s a long story. I have to get back and let them know I’m safe. I’ll come back, okay?”
Axoular jumped up, agitated. “You can’t leave yet! You must come meet my clan, let them know that you are here andreal. They would never believe me if I went home with a fantastic tale of The Jade.”
I hesitated, eying the portal stones. “My family will be worried. We’ve got to be quick. How far is your village?”
“Right at the base of the hill. Come, we'll hurry.” He grabbed my hand and lunged forward.
The sky opened before me as I stumbled out of the cave. The ground was illuminated by the light of millions of stars. They all seemed closer to the ground than the stars on Earth were. Maybe that’s why the planet was so warm. Being closer to their stars could mean they were closer to their sun as well.
My mind raced with questions. If I was a dragon, would I be cold blooded? How would I survive winters? I needed a thermometer. And a mirror. I wondered what happened to my makeup when my skin changed. Was there a thin layer of alabaster Mary Kay foundation covering my greenish-brown—brownish-green?—face?Holy cow! I wonder what my yahoo looks like?
The ground under my feet was dry and rocky. The starlight revealed a flat plain, though I couldn’t make out how much of it was rocky or if there was grass. Soon we came upon a primitive village of stone and mud huts. “Axoular, I was under the impression that your people were much more technologically advanced.”
He stopped halfway down the hill and turned to me. “We were, Riley Effler.” The cluster of buildings stretched out at the base of the hill.
“Just Riley, please.”
He bowed his head. “As you wish. We were advanced. We had electricity, transports, and large cities. But the wars destroyed the cities. And so much of our population was killed. We didn't have people to run our power stations or build our transports. Now, we're here in a village we built, to wait for you.”
“You built your village by the portal to wait for me? Why didn’t you start to rebuild your lives?” I asked. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t begin anew.
