One of these curious townsfolk spotted the dragon just on the edge of town and shouted jovially, “Raejaaxorix! You’ve come at last!”
The Resai man came rushing out of his squat home with a wide smile on his face. He was tanned and wrinkled with fading brown hair that stuck out at a hundred odd angles. He wore a simple white, long-sleeved tunic, worn russet pants and a pair of scuffed clogs. “For such a large creature you sure make a quiet entrance!” he continued in his cheerful, melodic voice, olive eyes twinkling brightly.
This time the dragon Raejaaxorix gave a full smile, revealing a line of white daggers. He loosened his stiff gait and answered, “I hear you’ve found an infant, Aydehn, probably Nesnan, maybe even Resai or full-blooded elf, but it can’t possibly be what you claim it to be.”
“Ah,” replied Aydehn with a grin and a shake of his finger, “you never change Jaax, always straight to business and never time for too much small talk.”
“I just can’t justify wasted time.” Jaax gave the old elfin man a tired smirk.
“Ha-ha! Right you are! Come, you must tell us news from the outside world, we’re dying to hear anything, and you must have something to eat, yes?”
Jaax allowed himself to be led away by the small crowd of interested people that had gathered. He didn’t mind their stares and whispers. In fact, he was glad for the company and couldn’t blame these people for enjoying a chance to be hospitable. The discovery of this child could mean good news for them too, and perhaps the years of living their lives in secret might finally come to an end.
Following a meal of roasted deer and a detailed discussion of the state of Oescienne and its surrounding lands, the elves took Jaax to where they’d found the infant. The group climbed deep into the boulder-strewn hills, skirting around a jagged hillock and up a granite-laced canyon. The narrow gullies, crowded trees, and giant slabs of stone made movement through this forest cumbersome. If Jaax had been an old dragon, moving across this terrain would have proven difficult, but his lean frame and powerful build aided him much as he followed the people of Crie deeper into the hills. Instinctively, he peered around every corner, smelling the air carefully, a habit he’d developed as a result of his elusive lifestyle.
When the entire party finally crested the steep rise, Jaax paused and gazed in wonder at the great tree spreading its thick canopy from one side of the expansive hilltop to the other. It was an ancient oak, magnificent and gnarled, its several knobby limbs twisting and grasping for the sky. The giant tree was hollow as a shell but strongly attached to the ground due to several knotty roots plunging deep into the heart of the earth. The heartwood of the oak had been burned out in a firestorm ages ago and now all that was left was an empty area large enough to accommodate him and the drove of elves.
“Do you know this tree, Raejaax?” asked Aydehn quietly. His tone was more serious now, his face turning grave as he clasped his hands together in anticipation.
“Yes, yes I do,” Jaax answered in similar tones as he focused his silver-green eyes on the full beauty of the tree. “It’s Ethoes’ first oak, the Sacred Oak. I knew it was located in this part of Oescienne, but I wasn’t aware it was so near Crie.”
“Aye,” answered the Resai man in an anxious whisper, his eyes wide with feeling, “this is why our ancestors came to rest here when they fled the east. They knew this was Ethoes’ Oak, and the oak of all trees! The most sacred! They found themselves quite blessed when they happened upon it, and they knew then that the Goddess would keep them safe here. It has become a sacred place to us, and it is here that we give thanks to the Goddess.”
Jaax looked around inside of the hollow tree, ignoring the silent and inquisitive stares pouring over him. There was a charred pit in the center for a fire, perhaps to be lit on the Solstice and the Equinox. He sniffed at the air again, this time trying hard to detect any aroma that might reveal the secret to this place. It smelled of old smoke, dust and ancient forest, but nothing unusual or even unique drifted on the air, not even the smallest trace of magic.
“There was no mother?” Jaax asked suddenly, turning his keen eyes on the group that had accompanied him.
Aydehn nodded somberly, his voice sounding dry, “We found her here, completely naked and only a few hours old, according to our midwives.” When Jaax adopted a pensive look, the Resai man added, “That must be significant, inside the Sacred Oak?”
“We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, no markings, nothing on the ground around her,” continued one of the village elders, a wizened old woman leaning on a crooked cane with a voice like an irritated frog. “She was just here. In fact, it’s a miracle that someone happened by. Luckily the Solsticetide had just passed, or else we would generally not come out this way, for weeks sometimes.”
Jaax puzzled this over. A female child seemingly born from the earth itself; yes, this did sound similar to what the Oracles had promised. And there was the Sacred Oak, a connection to Ethoes herself. There was only one more thing to prove, and the Tanaan dragon didn’t see that as likely, despite what the message he received had claimed. It was all probably coincidence anyhow, coincidences happened all the time and he’d definitely been alive long enough to know that. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but wonder: could this girl really be human?
Jaax sighed as he thought about the strange circumstances. Over the years he’d gone on mission after mission, receiving word of a human child having been found. He’d been to what seemed like every province of Ethoes, as far north as the Baer Mountains in Rhohwynd and as far south as the Soahna Flatlands and all the other places in between. He’d seen hundreds of infants, all being proclaimed as the one the Oracles had promised, but none of them had been human. Some of these children had even been boys, in which case Jaax became angry. It was clearly foretold that the human child would be a girl. Half the time he thought these people only wanted to see a dragon, a rare sight in Ethoes these days.
“Where’s the child now?” queried Jaax, leaving his thoughts for later.
“She’s with my wife, Thenya,” Aydehn answered. “Shall we go and get her?”
“Yes.” Jaax dropped his distracted gaze and looked at the elderly Resai man standing below him. “I’ll see her now and decide if she’s better off with Hroombra or better off left here with you.”
Jaax followed the elves back to the village, reflecting in silence the entire journey back. He was thinking about what had been prophesied, although his better judgment told him not to. He’d waited so many years, long years, longer than his patience should have had to endure. Could the Oracles have spoken truth and could the search finally be over? Now’s not the time to ask yourself these questions, he thought in self-chastisement, they’re all counting on your final say. Let’s hope that this time the child really is the one.
The young dragon sighed, scorching the icy air as he exhaled. The Oracles’ claim had been faulty and vague, that was undeniable. When has an Oracle ever been absolutely clear about the future anyway? But right now he needed to focus on what was best for this child if she wasn’t the one he sought.
Thenya stepped out of her small hut as the party approached Crie. Jaax looked up at her as she drew near and saw a tangled look of reluctance, joy and sorrow on her wrinkled face. Like her husband, Thenya was short and sturdy. She wore her salted chestnut hair in a tight bun, but several wisps had come loose and now framed her head like a halo. Her eyes were a light hazel color, and her slightly pointed ears appeared to be tucked back into her hair. She wore a dark blue dress dusted with flour and a stained white apron. In her arms she carried a bundle of multi-colored cloth that could’ve been a load of dirty laundry headed for the washboards. Jaax froze when he saw the bundle squirm.