A Dragon's Tale Ch. 08

The Herald broke the silence.

"Elder Goman is just through here," The Herald said indicating an ornate wooden door.

"Let's go." he said without meeting her gaze. The guilt rolling over their bond was so strong it was almost palpable, and it had that dark edge to it that just didn't feel natural.

Come to think of it, she'd felt this darkness from him several times over the last week or two. It clung to his thoughts like ugly to a troll, but it was a subtle thing too; insidious, pernicious. There was no denying the darkness behind it though...

Then the thought slipped from her mind.

* * *

Beth followed Ethan and Alana as they followed the herald to meet this Elder Goman person. Ever since the fight, the dark halo around Ethan's head had grown larger, thicker, and darker. It looked even more evil, if that was even possible.

The creeping roots from the dark halo - which before had originally struggled to find purchase on his head - were now securely fastened and had started winding their way down his neck. It was as if he had lessened his resistance for a few moments, and they had surged into the small crack in his mental defenses. Every so often, a pulse of darkness would travel from the dark halo down through the roots, thickening and lengthening them.

"What is it doing?" Beth asked her companion.

Gabriella frowned. "Feeding him a constant stream of negative thoughts and emotions, while suppressing any positive ones he might feel."

"So how do I get rid of it?"

"You know I can't tell you. I promise you will figure it out before the week is out, but I can't tell you. Now pay attention; you should listen to this conversation."

* * *

Ethan entered Elder Goman's room feeling like he deserved to enter a cell on murder row. The champion's obvious disregard for other people - like Hailey - helped a tiny bit. However the knowledge of what he'd nearly done felt like the emotional equivalent of an eighteen-wheeler on his back.

In the back of his mind, he wasn't sure why he felt so guilty. Something felt off, but every time he tried to think of what it was his thoughts turned to other matters. He wasn't sure why he couldn't keep his mind on track.

*This is incredible* Alana mused upon seeing Elder Goman's room.

The room looked exactly like what he imagined a wizard's's room would look. There were several bookshelves filled with dusty old tomes. A few tables were covered with glass bottles filled with different color liquids, which reminded him of a mad scientist's lab set in medieval Europe. Against one wall there was a massive window overlooking Arcanum.

"Welcome," Elder Goman said after they entered. He still looked like he was on death's door and Ethan almost suggested they come back when he was feeling better.

Elder Goman's eyes dropped a little, but he went on. "Welcome to my... my room. Yes, my room. Could you shut the door behind you dear, I fear for the draft in these old bones."

Alana nodded and closed the door.

As soon as it shut, Elder Goman stood up a little straighter and took a deep breath. Suddenly, Ethan's impression of Elder Goman changed. In an instant, he went from looking like he was on death's door to looking almost healthy.

Physically, he didn't look any different. His hair was still wispy and his robes still clung to his thin frame. But the overall effect had changed drastically. Suddenly his face didn't look so heavily lined and his eyes looked a lot brighter. He looked like a fit man in his sixties instead of pushing one hundred and on death's door.

"Ah, that's much better," Elder Goman said in a voice that was strong and confident. "Thank you very much my dear."

"What just happened?" Ethan asked when he'd picked his jaw up off the floor.

"A simple but powerful illusion spell," Elder Goman replied. "Never underestimate the value of surprise. I used to be one of the greatest mages of this age but never got a moments' peace. So I announced I was going to become an arch mage, but made it look like I botched it and the attempt made me senile."

"An Arch mage," Ethan repeated. "Aren't they the ones who can tap the Ether for mana directly?"

Elder Goman nodded. "We also go by the term 'wizard' but yes. Would you please have a seat?" Elder Goman indicated two ornate chairs and a couch that lay opposite him, so they sat down.

"You're really an arch mage?" Alana asked with an eyebrow raised.

Elder Goman raised his hands and conjured a marble sized fireball out of thin air. He let it hover for a few seconds before making it dissipate. The temperature of the room hadn't changed a single degree.

The Elvin enchantress looked dumbstruck. "I've never seen anyone do that. So you just act all helpless and weak when you wield more power than a hundred mages put together?"

"A hundred is quite an exaggeration, but I certainly do wield more power than any normal mage."

"But if you can draw unlimited mana from the ether... I can't even imagine having that kind of power."

"Unlimited is also a stretch," he chuckled. "I may be able to access unlimited mana, but doing so would kill me outright. Even making that small fireball was rather taxing. Too much mana too fast is deadly. But Arch mages certainly have a much larger mana pool than any regular mage."

"How much larger?" Alana asked.

"Enough," Elder Goman said with a sly smile. "But enough about me; let's talk about your Arena victory."

Ethan let his shoulder slump. "What about it?"

"It was you," Alana said. "You're the one who pushed the tip of Ethan's spear."

Elder Goman nodded. "I thought he deserved a second chance after that sham trial. A blind mage should've been able to see that Ethan was bonded to the murdered woman. A dragon will no more kill someone they're bonded to than they would give away their gold."

Ethan stared at him blankly.

"Goodness boy, I thought you were intelligent," Elder Goman said. "When a dragon bonds to another human - or any sentient - the person changes in a fundamental way. They become more receptive to the dragon's unique magical aura and gain the ability to resonant in the dragon's presence."

"Resonate?" Ethan repeated. "You mean like how I make gold resonate to collect mana?"

"Of course," Elder goman said then pointed at Alana. "Haven't you noticed your mana fills when this young woman is around?"

"Yeah, I just didn't know exactly why," Ethan said.

Elder Goman frowned. "Dragons crave power and control above all else. Their attraction to gold is only because gold grants them power. Most dragons are too selfish to realize the advantages of bonding to another. In fact, I only know of one other dragon that discovered this secret."

"Who?" Alana asked.

"Ithlan."

Alana looked dumbstruck. "Ithlan? Are you serious?"

"Wasn't he an emperor or something?" Ethan asked.

Elder Goman nodded. "Our first emperor, yes."

"Everyone always wondered how he..." Alana covered her mouth. "By Illuminar's name... Does that mean Ethan will...? I mean, considering what happened to Ithlan."

"What happened to him?" Ethan asked.

"Ithlan bonded to many women," Elder Goman nodded. "Certainly dozens, possibly more. With all of those women acting like gold and feeding his magic, he became the second most powerful being this world has ever seen, behind Illuminar Himself of course."

A fire was stoked deep in the core of Ethan's being. Something about Elder Goman's words rung true and made Ethan excited beyond all belief. His dragon's heart was kindled at the thought of easy access to so much magic. A warmth spread through his chest as he thought about what it would be like to have a group - a harem - of women all feeding his power while they served him completely as their lord and master. As the man said, it was power and control just short of God Himself.

The idea was intoxicating.

*Calm down Ethan.* Alana thought to him.

"Yes, that's a splendid idea," Elder Goman said. "Please keep a level head about this information."

They stared at him.

"You heard her?" Ethan asked.

"Of course dear boy," Elder Goman said. "You've been broadcasting your thoughts all over the city since you arrived. They're the only reason I'm telling you all this."

"How did you hear us?" Alana asked. "I thought we could only talk this way because of our bond."

*Yes and no,* Elder Goman said telepathically, and somehow Ethan could tell Alana had heard the wizard too. *Your bond just makes psychic communication far easier between the two of you. Normally, telepathic communication is impossible for all but the most gifted mages.*

"Is there any way to prevent someone from overhearing us?" Ethan asked out loud.

"Of course," Elder Goman replied. "That's part of the reason I asked you here."

"It is?" Alana asked. "What's the other part?"

Elder Goman's face grew dark. "Lord Delmar. Most people don't realize this, but he is the most dangerous man in the ten kingdoms. His strength with magic is almost unprecedented and he has the backing of a dragon."

"By Ithlan's blade..." Alana covered her mouth. "He's an Arch Mage. Rachel told me about her fight with him. No normal mage could've used that much magic for that long."

"Dear God in heaven, I have an Arch Mage after me?" Clapped his hand to his forehead. "And the hits just keep on coming."

"Yes," Elder Goman nodded. "But the bigger problem is his the dragon ally."

"A dragon is a bigger threat than an Arch Mage?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I have trouble believing that."

"That's because - ironically - you know nothing about dragons," Elder Goman replied. "They can make their scales harder than diamonds, have the strength of twenty men, and move faster than the eye can see. Plus, there is no substance in the world that can long resist their breath. But beside all of that, never underestimate the primal cunning of a dragon."

"That certainly doesn't describe me."

"It could," Elder Goman said. "You have no idea what you could be capable of. I called you here because someone needs to stand up to Lord Delmar. I've lost the vigor of youth and wouldn't last long against a dragon. But you Ethan; you have a chance. A slim, outside chance perhaps; but you have a chance."

"I'm just one man though," Ethan replied.

"No, you're one dragon," Elder Goman leaned forward in his seat. "A thousand years ago, Ithlan proved that a single dragon could bring the ten kingdoms to their knees. That's Lord Delmar's plan and he's succeeding. But the real threat is the black dragon that supports him. We need a dragon to fight a dragon."

"I'm not strong enough." Ethan admitted after taking a deep breath. "I can barely fight one arena champion let alone an Arch Mage. And if this black dragon is as powerful as you say, I wouldn't last five seconds."

"Not as you are," Elder Goman replied. "But you are a dragon. Enchant yourself, find more gold or bond to more women, and I guarantee you—"

Ethan jumped up from his seat. The darkness surged over his thoughts, making his temper rise along with the volume of his voice. "I don't want to fight Lord Delmar or the black dragon. I'm not... I'm just not strong enough."

"Ethan—" Alana started to say.

"No," he said rather more loudly than he intended as darkness settled over his thoughts again. "Look, everyone seems to think I'm this great guy, but I'm not. I filet people alive when I lose my temper and there's a part of me that actually likes it. I am NOT your savior. I couldn't save Beth, I couldn't stop myself from trying to kill the Arena champion, and I certainly can't save a whole kingdom."

"Ten," Elder Gomans said.

"What?"

"There are ten kingdoms you need to save," Elder Goman said.

"I can't do this okay!" Ethan nearly shouted. "I'm not your Jesus okay? I'm not your fucking messiah! I'm a broken wreck of a man who's barely holding it together."

His anger abated only to be replaced with a black sense of despair. "I'm not fit to save anything, let alone save everyone. And how anyone could care about me I'll never know."

"Ethan," Alana said gently.

"What!?" He snapped. "What could you possibly want from me? I'm a miserable failure and you're better off without me."

"I care about you Ethan." She smiled at him in spite of his rage. "I love you,"

It was a simple declaration of truth; one she'd never made before. How could she possibly love him?

How?

It was at once innocent and powerful; uplifting and heartbreaking. Something inside of Ethan just broke. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. It broke through the black cloud that hung over his head...

But only for a moment.

Then darkness returned with a vengeance. There was no way; there was no possible way that she could... not after everything he'd done.

"You can't mean that,"

"I do."

Ethan turned away. From the back of his mind, a little voice whispered that he was so wretched, so horrible, that she would be better off without him. That he was so awful, he would ruin her life - even more than he already had.

"I'm not that guy Alana. I want to be - God I want to be - but I'm not."

"You're a better man than you know,"

"But I'm not a man," Ethan said. "You don't deserve... I mean I can't..."

It was too much.

All of this was too much.

Through the large open window, Ethan could see the city stretched out before him. They were many floors up and a flock of birds was flying past the window.

Things always seemed so simple when he was flying.

*Ethan.* Alana's mental voice came like a soothing balm over his thoughts.

But the last thing he wanted was to be soothed right now. For the first time since hearing her in his head, he truly wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He truly wanted Alana to be out of his head. She didn't deserve this.

The dark cloud whispered that she didn't deserve to be stuck with someone like him either.

From somewhere deep inside him, an instinctive knowledge of what to do came forth. Ethan imagined his mind, then imagined a massive stone castle defending it. He poured a little mana into the mental image to solidify it.

*Ethan, you-* Alana's mental voice was abruptly cut off as Ethan's mana did its work, hardening the stone castle around his mind.

"I'm sorry Alana," Ethan said as he stared at the window. "I wish I could be the man you think I am."

Ethan took a step toward the window and opened it. He crouched at the windowsill and opened his wings. The darkness cheered, praising him for doing the right thing to keep her safe.

"Ethan, did you block me out?" Alana asked. "What are you doing?"

He glanced back at her. "I'm sorry, but you're better off without me."

Ethan readied his wings, and then jumped out the open window.

* * *

Beth turned to Gabriella as Elder Goman and Alana started out the open window.

"You have to tell me how to get that thing off of him!"

Sadness was etched on Gabriella's heart-shaped face as she replied. "I wish I could, but I can't. You will figure it out yourself - and before the week is out - but you must figure it out yourself. "

Beth scowled at her.

Just before Ethan had jumped out of the window, the shadowy halo had surged in strength. The clinging tendrils had spread to envelope nearly his entire torso and the pulses of darkness aimed at his head had greatly intensified. She didn't need to be an arch-mage to know it was getting worse.

"Well, how am I supposed to help him if he's run away?"

"I know exactly where he's going," Gabriella replied. "But it will be a very long walk."

"Walk!?" Beth threw her hands in the air. "My husband is being attacked by Saidow's minions. We don't have time to walk!"

"An enchantment created by Saidow's minions." Gabriella corrected. "If he were being attacked by Saidow's armies there is nothing you could do little one."

"There must be a faster way than walking."

"Not really, and what would you do if you were near him now? Do you have a plan to help?"

"Well, no," she admitted.

"So a nice long walk will give you time to think won't it?"

Beth didn't answer because she was trying not to explode in anger. How could Gabriella be so calm?! Ethan's very life was in danger she wanted to go for a walk! Of course, she didn't actually know how to help yet, and that was another thing.

"Why won't you just tell me how to destroy the enchantment?"

Gabirella smiled. It was one of the infuriatingly disarming smiles that made it almost impossible to be mad at her. "When you first discovered you loved learning, what did you do?"

"I asked everyone to read to me."

"But that wasn't enough was it?"

Beth shook her head. "Everyone was busy and they couldn't spend the time, or didn't want to read the books I was interested in."

"So what did you do?"

"I convinced daddy to hire a tutor to teach me to read so I could learn whenever I wanted to."

"And were you better off for it?"

"Of course, once I learned how to read I was- oh!" Beth said as it hit her. "We're not talking about reading are we?"

Gabriella put a comforting hand on Beth's shoulder. "If I give you the answer now, I will rob you of the struggle. Working on the problem will make you better at all manner of things; problem solving, patience, and persistence to name a few."

"Rob me of the struggle?"

She nodded. "Just like muscles on get stronger when you work them, people only get more capable when you stretch them. If I rob you of these challenges, I will have solved a problem in the short term, but ultimately weakened you in the long term."

Gabriella gestured to the window through which Ethan had just flown. "Consider your husband. He has faced trial after trial since arriving on this world. But it was through these trials and obstacles that he grew stronger. Without them, he would've been slain in the ambush as you left Gralden, during the alley attack, or in The Arena."

"So, you're saying that you won't help me because you want to make me stronger?"

"Beth, you have great things ahead of you, but you aren't yet the person you must be to accomplish them. This trial, though small, is the first step toward those goals. Instead of fighting the challenge, embrace it. Learn from it. "

"I hate it when you make sense," she acquiesced

"My Lord is even worse; He knows everything. But listen yet to the rest of this conversation. Then we have a long walk ahead of us."

* * *

"Ethan!" Alana yelled after him for umpteenth time. But by now, his powerful wings had already carried him too far away to hear... Or he was ignoring her.

*ETHAN!* she shouted as loud as she possibly could over their bond.

Nothing.

He kept flying.

Drousin was right: dragons could learn magic mostly by instinct if they wanted to badly enough. That meant Ethan really didn't want her in his thoughts.

"That was unexpected," Elder Goman mused.

"He blames himself for Beth's death, and for the Arena," she finally turned away from the window when even her Elvin eyes couldn't see Ethan anymore.

"No, not that. I was referring to..."

"To what?"

Elder Goman looked pensive as he started after Ethan. He moved his hand through the air where Ethan had been sitting, as if feeling for something that she couldn't see. She thought she heard him say something about a 'clever enchantment'. Then his eyes went wide and he rushed to his desk and pulled out paper and quill. He was poised to write something down when he hesitated.

"What was I...?" He looked around the room, seeming confused for several moments. Then he turned his attention back to her. "What happened with the young woman who died? Beth I believe?"

"We were doing okay until he lost control to his dragon impulses." She said and then explained what happened.