Thenya slowly approached the towering dragon and pulled back a violet-blue cloth revealing a tiny face, two bright blue eyes and quite a lot of golden-blond hair. Jaax’s heart caught in his throat: blue eyes.
“When was this child found exactly?” he asked, perhaps a little too harshly.
“A few days after the Solsticetide, about a week ago.” Aydehn’s response from beside him was both startled and automatic.
“And you’re positive she was newborn the day you found her?” Jaax was finding it hard to wait for his friend’s answers. His mind was beginning to hum, mingling with the buzzing of the curious voices of the onlookers.
“Oh yes, absolutely sure, only a few hours or so.”
Jaax’s head was no longer humming but spinning. Blue eyes!
“Your children Aydehn, they’re born with eyes white except the pupils, is this not true?” he continued in that rough voice.
“Why of course, any race containing elf blood or dwarf blood is born with white eyes and then the color comes in later. In fact, the only known race to be born with blue eyes is . . .”
“Human,” Jaax cut him off. “And not just part human, full-blooded human. A pure-blooded human, unbelievable! Impossible!”
His voice was now a hiss, almost inaudible over the growing clamor of the shifting and murmuring throng. Jaax was astounded. He knew he’d hoped for this, for centuries he had, but he’d never expected this day to come after so many long years of disappointment. How could a human, a race that’s been extinct for five hundred years, end up inside an oak tree in a tiny village in northern Oescienne? Could the Oracles, then, be telling the truth? Had Ethoes not forsaken them after all? Jaax took in a deep breath and released it on a long, heated sigh.
“Well, Aydehn, I’ll definitely be taking this child off your hands.” His words carried over the crowd, suddenly hushed by the return of the dragon’s strong voice. “Don’t worry, she’ll be well protected,” he added after seeing Thenya’s tearful eyes. “I’ll take her to the Korli dragon Hroombramantu in Oescienne. She’ll be well secluded and protected there, so Ethoes willing, the Crimson King will never find her.”
Reluctantly, Thenya handed over the infant with shaking hands. She had known this day would come, but her composure proved that she hadn’t expected it so soon.
“What do you call her?” Jaax’s voice was suddenly soft, full of understanding for what Thenya was giving up.
“We haven’t thought of any proper human names since we know none,” Thenya answered in a trembling voice, her eyes fixed upon the infant’s small, round face. “But we call her Drisihn, Little Oak.”
“Then that shall be her elfin name.” Jaax nodded courteously.
“What shall we call her as a human, if she ever comes back this way?” Thenya asked, looking up at the great dragon with clear and hopeful eyes.
Jaax paused, turning back to face the inquiring village, all of whom had now gathered around the strange scene. The bonfire behind them still breathed out its tainted smoke, now more of an orange hue than the red he had seen earlier that morning. The hungry bleats of goats and clucks of chickens sounded in the near distance, but every last townsperson was silent, their eyes trained upon the dragon gazing so intently upon the tiny infant.
Jaax’s mind was still reeling from what he’d learned this day, but he forced the shock and excitement away as he tried to answer Thenya’s plea. He had once known a human name, a girl’s name, and he allowed his memory to wander back to the time when human names were still known.
“Jahrraneh,” he replied quietly after a long pause, then out loud for all to hear, “‘All’s Hope’. But I think she’ll be called ‘Jahrra’.”
“Then Jahrra Drisihn we shall call her,” Aydehn replied quietly, smiling as he placed a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder.
Jaax watched as the tiny child was strapped to him by some of the less timid villagers. He purposely kept his gaze away from Thenya, for she had drawn away when little Jahrra had been taken from her. The dragon sought the eyes of the baby, surprised to find her watching him as well. She gazed back up with what looked like wide, blue amazement and began to laugh.
“Now, would you look at that, she likes you Raejaax!” Thenya exclaimed, showing a bright smile in an attempt to hide her tears.
Well, thought the dragon, recalling the songbird that had sung for him that morning, what do you know? Two for two.
Thenya shooed the young villagers away and finished wrapping the baby securely to Jaax’s neck. When she was finished, he turned to leave, but stopped short.
“What is it?” asked Aydehn.
“I need something to give her when she asks from where she came,” he replied, brow furrowed.
“Here,” Thenya reached into a large pocket in her skirt and pulled out a closed fist, “take this.” She opened her hand to reveal a single acorn. “It’s from the Sacred Oak. In fact, we found it right next to little Drisihn, next to Jahrra.” The woman dropped her eyes and swallowed before going on, “It is winter; there should be no fruit on the trees, yet Ethoes must have wanted her to have it. Perhaps she can plant it one day.”
“Yes,” replied Jaax calmly, “that’ll do just fine.”
Thenya tucked the fat acorn into the bundle that was Jahrra and patted it affectionately.
“Take care of her Raejaaxorix. Don’t let any harm come to her,” Thenya whispered solemnly. “My sister Thedhia awaits your arrival this very evening in the hills above Arlei. You do remember how to get there?”
Jaax looked at the woman with his piercing eyes and nodded. “Of course, I remember it well.”
Thenya closed her own eyes and bowed her head as if finally letting go of her own heart.
With a last glance around and with a small grin that he hoped would bring peace of mind to the elves and their kin, Jaax lifted off the ground with one beat of his mighty wings and climbed into the living mist, the tiny, helpless Jahrra strapped securely to him.
-Chapter Two-
Hroombramantu
From his relatively low altitude Jaax could see the entire landscape spreading out before him like a patchwork quilt. His two day journey had been pleasant, especially since Jahrra had given him little trouble. They had soared easily over the Great Thronn Wilderness, camping on the hillside beside Thedhia’s tiny stone cabin the night before. The elfin woman had fussed and clucked over Jahrra, feeding her and cleaning her once she had peeled her away from Jaax’s scaly hide. But when she tried to take the baby in for the night, the young dragon interjected.
“She stays with me,” he said in a voice stern enough to make a giant redwood tremble.
Thedhia objected weakly but backed down when the dragon gave her one of his deadly glares. She had stalked back to her cabin dejectedly only to return in the morning, her mood much improved, to bid them farewell. Now they were far south of Arlei, closing in on the secret part of Oescienne that was protected by two giant mountain chains. Jaax breathed in the
wild air and grinned, the pleasure of being in this place coursing through his blood like the wind flowing over his scales.
The Elornn Range and the Thorbet Mountains together looked like a huge, purple-spiked serpent wrapped in a wide arc, beginning and ending on the shore. To the west was an unobstructed coastline with a delicate ribbon of golden-cream sand stretching for several miles beside the deep expanse of sapphire -water.