[Fireheart]: 318.Short Stories.Tal-Inri.Tal-Inri Part II.Tal-Inri Part III.Tal-Inri Part V.Tal-Inri Part VI

I woke to several echoing, resounding thought-voices that were certainly not those of unicorns. I felt the nearness of several other dragons, the warm aura that they cast surrounding my own. I was curled up in a ball, wings folded tightly against my body. I probably presented the image of a dragon hatchling.
I stirred slowly, and opened my eyes, which were filled with grit and dust- I could barely see. My body ached terribly, and my mouth was impossibly dry. I remembered the impact and the chase before that. I began to panic. What if the Black Ones had captured me? What if they were planning to eat me?
I thrashed, and a mild-toned male thought voice chastised me, Hush! Don’t squirm so much! You need your rest. You just had a rather traumatic experience.
Another voice chimed in, this one feminine. Maybe you should talk to her. Keep her from fainting again.
Give her some water. She ate half of the valley’s ash with that spectacular crash. came another more commanding, deeper female voice.
Good idea. Go get a bowl for her. Came the male voice again. It was a comforting sort of voice, and I decided that I trusted it completely. Can you hear me, little one?
I- yes. I said. Am I safe here? I can’t see… there’s so much dirt in my eyes… the Black Ones won’t get me, will they?
The male voice chuckled. No, you’re safe here. You reached the Elemental haven just in time. The Black One dared not persue you in here. You had a close call, but you got lucky. Blazewing tells us that you’re a human here for a Lesson from the Ageless Tree. I guess we should listen to him, since he is of your element… your dragon name is Fireheart, he says. Interesting. Not that you’re in the position for introductions, but I’m Stormbringer, a Weather elemental.
I felt a stirring, and through my blurred vision I realized that I was under the protective covering of Stormbringer’s wing, leaning up against his side.
The feminine voice chimed in. Stormbringer rescued you from the Black One! It said officiously. The female dragon continued in a very matter-of-fact voice. He crashed into it in midair, even though it’s easily one and a half times his size, and drove it back into the chasm. You did get lucky. By the way, I’m Jadeclaw, of the Earth elementals.
Jadeclaw sounded bossy to me. I could barely make out her slight, emerald green form from under Stormbringer’s wing.
Don’t worry… Stormbringer said. It was nothing. An edge crept into his voice as he added, one of these days we’ll all be fighting them to the death, anyways.
I winced at this reference to the building tensions between the two races of dragons.
Alright, Fireheart, your water’s here. Stormbringer gingerly lifted his wing from me and nudged me toward the bowl of water that the metallic silver dragon placed near me.
She gave me her name before I could ask. Steelscale. Of the Metal Elementals.
I murmured a brief thanks to her, before completely submerging my face in the cold, refreshing water, drinking deeply. The dirt left my eyes, and I lifted my head, wincing in pain as every muscle of my body protested to the slight movement.
My powerful senses told me that we were in a well-lit cavern deep inside the Volcano. It was massive, and the floor I lay upon was a layer of soft, black, shimmering sand. I heard the sound of bodies moving around, and I saw that there were hundreds of other dragons, colors as varied as those of the unicorns, pacing along the paths carved through the walls of the cavern. Many regarded me curiously with glowing eyes.
The dragons ranged in size from half my size to some I saw even five times my size- huge, intimidating creatures. I recognized the difference between male and female dragons. Males were always slightly larger than females, and more muscular. Their wings and horns were also larger.
Hundreds of thought voices muttered just beyond my mental range. Jadeclaw, her green scales dusted with gold, and somber Steelscale stood by Stormbringer and I. I looked at Stormbringer, my rescuer, for the first time.
He was noticeably larger than I, but not huge. He had shiny midnight black scales shimmering with deep blue powdering, and his eyes were bright ice blue flecked with silver. The armored plates along his underside were also silver. Silver tribal markings shone all over his scales, including a lightning bolt flashing down his cheek from his right eye. A great silver tattoo of a cloud with a lightning bolt extending from it was emblazoned on the skin of his wing.
I glanced at Jadeclaw and Steelscale, who were conversing farther away from us and wandering away, apparently having lost interest. I saw that they bore similar tribal markings on their bodies. They also each had an elemental tattoo on their right wing in an appropriate color to complement their scales. In fact, every dragon in the cavern except for me was marked in this manner. I began to realize just how out of place I was.
Stormbringer smiled understandingly at me. You’ll earn your markings soon enough. In fact, the unicorn tribe already gave you a badge representing their respect for you. He gently nudged my cheek. I guess that since we don’t know what your Lesson is to be, we’ll just familiarize you with our customs and way of life here. You’ll learn something, at least. I asked Blazewing if I can be your mentor, and he said yes. We’re close to the same age, and you’ll get more from a teacher closer to your age. But for now, you will need to get some rest. Dragons heal fast. By tomorrow you’ll be as good as new.
I felt the need to prove to him that I was okay, that I could move, so I boldly tried to stand, saying, No look, Stormbringer, I’m fine… and then I experienced waves of excruciating pain and just collapsed again.
Easy there, just relax. He spoke comfortingly, shifting closer to me and arranging me gently until I was leaning against his side. He unfurled his wing and settled it over me, like a blanket. By the way, Fireheart… you can call me Storm. Now sleep. And I did. I slept like the dead.