Throughout the land, the tale was well-known and
repeated often. Two dragons, one red, one gold, wrought havoc for
centuries until bound in servitude by our ancestors. When all threats
were vanquished, the dragons were sent to slumber deep in a mountain
lair. One in each generation was gifted with the power to awaken them.
No matter how many times I heard the story, my heart filled with awe.
Kieran paled and walked away. Weird to become part of legend the moment
you draw your first breath.
Stranger still to be worshipped for what you might do
and not for who you are.
Our people worshipped Kieran, lavishing him with gifts
and honors and accolades. At first, he accepted it graciously. Father
had warned us both what Kieran could expect. Father had experienced the
same until his wife gave birth. Then, one summer, Father took him on
pilgrimage to the mountain containing the dragons' prison. Or so Kieran
called it. He returned, hardened. He shunned his subjects, disdained
their gifts. Father berated him for his cruelty until the day Kieran
turned to him and said, "Tell me that you felt differently. Tell me
that you did not dance a jig the moment that I was born."
Father jerked as if he'd been struck. "If there had
ever been danger great enough, I would have called the dragons. No
father wishes to leave his child such a legacy."
Father reached for him, but Kieran eluded his grasp and
ran off.
"I don't understand, Father."
"Be thankful that there is no need for you to
understand, Sage." His shoulders sagged and he looked ancient to
me. "Go after him."
I found him in a high tower staring out the window.
"I have a present for you," I said. "I
was going to wait until your birthday, but now seems a good time."
He took it from my hand, a glass sculpture of two dragons entwined.
~
Ever after he kept the dragons close, caressing them as
he and Father sat close, whispering of things a second-born child need
not hear. I envied their intimacy, but I did not envy the pain I saw in
my brother's eyes.
Now, years later, I watched him on Father's throne
chair, the sculpture clutched in his hand. For hours, his war ministers
had tried cajoling and then begging him to do what Father had not done
against our enemies. Impotent, I stood at his side watching his hands
move back and forth along the sinuous curves of the dragons. As the
frustrated ministers left, his hand brushed mine.
"They think me unfeeling. As do you." He gazed
at me with cool gray eyes. When I did not deny his assertion, he smiled
grimly. "Go with them, Sage. Calm them while I think."
I threw my hands up. "What is there to think about?
Call the dragons. It's what you were born to do."
"And were you born to be my shadow?" His eyes
widened. "You have no greater expectation? Pity."
The ministers had no use for me. Petulant and confused
at Kieran's words, I loitered outside the throne room. People scurried
around, their eyes boring holes into my soul. They were preparing for a
war that Kieran had the power to prevent. If he wanted to. They looked
at me, as if expecting me to do something.
"Do what?" I muttered. "He's the
hero."
Still, he was my brother. Taking a deep breath, I
knocked on the throne room door. Nothing but silence, but Kieran could
be as petulant as I. More so. I waited a few moments then pushed my way
inside.
The room was empty. Glass shards littered the floor.
Behind me, someone gasped. By nightfall the whole city would know the
truth. Kieran had run away and with him, the city's salvation.
~
It didn't take long to find him. He waited for me, as he
always had, slowing down just enough for me to catch up. Even if he
hadn't, I knew where he would go. To the mountain. He sat beneath the
swaying branches of a willow tree. As I approached, a shower of bright
green leaves rained down on him.
"Hello." His eyes narrowed as he took in my
disheveled appearance. "Did you run here? Is there a mob behind
you?"
"No mob, brother." I drew my blade.
"People have more important worries that tracking down a
self-centered callous...."
He laughed, a sharp bitter sound. "I've
disappointed you, haven't I?" He patted the ground. "Put that
away. You won't use it."
I sighed. He was right. I laid the sword at his feet and
settled beside him. Together, we faced the city that he had abandoned to
ruin. "Are you mad?"
A leaf drifted from his hair to fall on my leg. He
picked it up and rubbed it along the edge of the blade. "Once I was
mad, but no longer."
I covered his hand with my own. It trembled slightly. He
jerked his hand free. "There is a price for calling the
dragons," he said. "Do you know what it is?"
"I wasn't a part of those conversations,
remember?" His eyes widened at my tone.
"Sage." His voice was soft.
I shrugged. "It was your destiny not mine."
"Destiny is fickle." He squeezed his eyes
shut. "People treat me like a god when I am only man. They give me
everything. Why? Because they expect me to give up everything for
them." He caressed my cheek. "And when I am gone, what happens
to you?" His head dropped. "I cannot bear the thought."
I wrapped my arms around him. The wind intensified,
assaulting us with leaves and twigs. It carried the scent of blood. I
stared at the city. Smoke billowed into the sky. I wondered if my
friends were safe. "What choice do we have?"
"Indeed." He shook me loose and rose to his
feet. He smiled down at me. For a moment he looked like the old Kier.
"I wish I were as strong as you."
I held out my hand. "Borrow some of my strength.
Just remember to give it back," I joked.
"What?" He blinked as if startled. His mouth
fell open then slowly closed. "We are twins, aren't we?"
He pulled me to my feet and picked up my sword. The hilt
fitted his hand as perfectly as it did mine. He pointed it at me, the
tip just grazing my throat. Moonbeam hair swirled across his features
obscuring his gaze. I felt my own shorn locks fluttering about like
birds down.
"Listen well, Sage." His voice deepened. He
was King but more important he was firstborn. It was all I could do not
to fall to my knees. "The dragons are not the only ones bound. I am
bound to you and we are bound to this land. Some bonds are meant to be
broken." He pressed the blade into my flesh. "Other bonds last
for eternity."
"I don't understand."
"No matter. You will." His pale features
glowed. "Do not despair for your city, little brother. It is done.
Look behind you."
I had always imagined them bursting from the mountain.
Instead, they crawled from the earth, pulling themselves out of the
ground through a fissure that had not existed moments before. On bent
wings and haunches they approached. The gold kept its head low to
ground. The red watched Kieran with great golden eyes. It growled so
deep and low that air and earth vibrated.
"Kier?" The red's head swiveled to me. Its
mouth opened. Smoke billowed from deep inside its maw.
"Quiet!" His eyes never leaving the dragons,
Kieran added more gently, "Just watch and learn."
In awe and envy, I watched the soft light of his magic
ripple across his body. I listened to the words slipping easily from his
lips. Beautiful words that made my eyes brim with tears. Words that made
the dragons rear back and scream in anger.
"Go," Kieran demanded.
They
did, launching themselves into the sky. Light from the setting sun lit
their fiery scales. They flew straight toward the city and the
invading army. Dragon fire exploded across the horizon.
"It was that simple?" I asked breathlessly.
"Simple?" He forced the word through clenched
teeth. Sweat glistened on his brow.
"I didn't mean..." I took the sword from his
trembling hand. I hoisted its weight, savoring the hilt's surprising
warmth. "Will they return now?"
"Yes." He swayed slightly. "To sleep
until called again."
"They were so beautiful." I rested my hand on
his shoulder. "Perhaps one day we can free them."
"At what cost, little brother?" He staggered.
"Even freedom has a price." He slumped in my arms, his face
serene against my shoulder. The wind faded as the last breath left his
body.
I looked around us. The evening sky blazed gold and red.
Grief not fear enveloped me as the dragons landed. Understanding dawned
when they crouched before me, their mighty heads bowed. They were
returning to their captivity. I realized I was just beginning mine.
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