Chapter 4

“Hurray!!”, Glyn exclaimed brightly.

Amy moved drowsily, slothfully. Glyn’s beaming voice and bubbly giggle stirred her from the depths of her sleep. How long had she slept? Her muddled thoughts swirled.

“C’mon, get up sleepy head”, Glyn said as she pushed her shoulder once, twice, and a third time.

The feeling of skinship with Glyn, although unrequested and sudden was comforting. It was much different than the restraint showed by her culture. The sharpness of the longing for her sisters’ company began to diminish. She was not privy to the “Amy improvement plan”, that Glyn had concocted and committed to the night before. Amy resisted Glyn’s nudges, but only so much as Amy secretly wanted to concede to anyways.

“I’ve got something to show you”, Glyn said as she grabbed Amy’s hand. They wandered through the spacious smooth white archways of Glyn’s interior out the front door unto the perch.

Amy smirked as she let herself be lead, with a shred of false hesitancy. A door was in the middle of the perch that lead to a balcony. As Amy crossed the threshold onto Glyn’s balcony she gasped. The sight before her was unrivaled in all the world. Vast reaches of the most vibrant green stretched before. The tops of sparse but clumped clouds passed around the tops of the other spires. A blue sky existed in the expanse above, and a myriad of more diminutive dwellings and structures stretched below. They were so high up Amy could discern the shadows the clouds cast upon the ground as they slowly moved around the spires, as if to pester them and challenge their heights.

Amy followed Glyn’s finger as she pointed off in the distance to a tall coliseum like structure. The sides which leapt up as high walls made of brilliant beige stone, with an open bowl appearance in the center. The rising dual suns, one brighter, larger and one lesser, gave the walls of the great city a glimmering golden color

“The tower of Arbellornenddaryn in Arbell, a tower of Magical disciplines and Magical arts. The center of the knowledge of the Ddyllewech people”, Glyn said with pride, “As creatures of language, we dragons call it by many names; however most call it The Ddyllewech academy of magic, spelled d, d, y, ll, e, w, e, ch”.

“Ddyllewechornenddaryn”, Amy said with almost perfect pronunciation.

Glyn’s eyes widened, surprised by Amy’s widening grasp of her ancient language, then she came up behind Amy and grabbed her with her arms for a snuggle, “You got the pronunciation almost right, but the ll is like an l while blowing out with your mouth, and the two d’s make a th sound”

As Amy looked around there were several of these structures though lesser in stature riddling the landscape. The smaller buildings around made the spires seem like mountains besought around with foothills, like a host trying to fell a titan. Off in the distance she could see the monolithic arch, the wide road, dwellings, and places and facilities for business all leading up to the archway. There were steep forested mountains of limestone that stood up like massive thumbs. And off in the distance, a structure, sight, Amy had great difficulty fathoming the width and breadth thereof; a sight so great, its scale, its particulars, the nooks, and crannies they were all but lost to Amy’s comprehension. She was looking forward to her entry into the guild.

Liam was sitting, thinking, pondering. He revisited the events of the last three days. Perplexed he was, as was his eternal brother, his llwenfarnyn: Ian. In front of him was a vast desk, a wooden desk with deep dark brown veneered wood, a color that matched the equally spacious whitish room he was in. The stone ceilings and walls were white with a little tan, like a cup of cream with a drop of coffee. Only Liam’s tablet was on the desk; however, the screen radiated a soft blue light that would not be dimmed, defiantly shining despite the warm early morning suns pouring their light through the six-foot window behind him. Papers that seemed to be there but not at the same time all littered his desk. Like the light emanating from his tablet so too did the papers contain the same hue, and they were not solid, no they were not transparent, they were opaque. Liam grabbed a piece of parchment directly in front of him. Though it was a projected object he could still feel the texture of the paper in his hands, he could feel the magic on his fingertips; and he knew it well for he had created this virtual office app for himself and his state of constant busyness. He did not move a single eye to even glance at this paper, instead he leaned back in his chair hewn from the same stone as the walls, shifted his feet on the smooth wooden floor, and glared at the wall. He shifted his body weight once more, ‘Draeg! I hate this uncomfortable stuffy chair’, he thought.

Liams thoughts boiled over becoming spoken words as he complained to the polished stone walls and wooden tiled floor alone, “This wretched thing! Not even any padding. Why am I the only guild master to suffer?!”.

He had been to this office many times before he took on leadership of the guild; but not once did he know that indeed all former occupiers of his post had suffered as he did, and they were all fiercely jealous of their cushions they would bring to put on the chair and cover with all manners of discreet and hiding enchantments. Jealous enough to consider open war if they ever came into the seductive hands of a thief beckoning the pads to come hither; or they would panic if said cushions were misplaced and lingered in a forgotten location. A sign of the times he guessed. Old things lack their luster and become bothersome, yet dignity must be maintained for a dragon.

A wand, yes, he thought of the wand Amy possessed. There were functional wands of course, although to most they were considered inconvenient and outdated. It was a magical tool, but the current ones were used only by a faction of the more conservative of draeguns. Mostly human mages on earth, or earthers, those who used wands were those who clung desperately to their traditions, their culture; at least, that was their claim when in reality a wand was favored by those with less morals. It was incredibly powerful and focused, yet concealable and discreet. Though the one Amy had attained in a bizarrely arbitrary insignificant location, emanated a pure powerful energy he had never felt before. ‘Could this be the churnings of the waters of fate as she gets swept up by the current or is this a chance coincidence’. Of course, in a land of different manners of magics and spells, it was not uncommon for more than a few curious things to happen. He needed to ascertain the gravity of the situation, as the future marched towards its own secret rendezvous. He judged that with the little information he had, he could only let these events unfold under his vigil. He finally looked at the parchment he was holding: his schedule for today. ‘Busy yesterday, busy today, busy tomorrow’, he thought. He sighed and sunk into his chair even more. The operation born of happenstance, a chance occurrence at a gathering with his Llwenfair, his wing, his eternal companions, an operation to retrieve Amy whole and unharmed, bringing her safely to a place with an absolute surety of refuge.

A knock at the door caused Liam to straighten his posture, A dragon must retain his dignity after all. Then he relaxed as he heard the fine aged voice of one of his oldest mentors.

“Master Liam”, the yet unidentified cheerful voice rang out, it was warm and considerate.

The door opened and a man looking to be in his early seventies occupied the space in between the door frame as he passed over the threshold. Liam looked at him. He was no longer the guild master of this establishment this guild. As such his robed figure of old was in tan khakis and a button up plaid shirt, like a human computer repair technician he looked. However, he had a warm charm and aura that made people heed his words and stop talking when he began to part his lips.

“My dear Llwentair, master Radim how are you? Good morning!”, Liam said cheerfully, as he shifted in his chair, as his otherwise warm eyes was clouded with just a small hint of irritation. He looked right into his former teacher’s eyes as the man before him looked at the chair in which he was sitting, and thought he could see a speck of trauma in his eyes. His grumblings surfaced beneath the depths of his restraint, and Liam inquired, “How did you manage all those years in this awful chair? Did you covertly smuggle in a cushion with utmost secrecy?”.

A look of suspicion passed through Radim’s eyes as he replied, “A cushion…hmm”, he stroked his flowing white beard, with his fair hands, and peered down his once handsome but now bulbous nose at Liam, “Dignity must be maintained, I never had a cushion, nope, never, not even once did I give in to the temptations of comfort while maintaining that seat where you now sit. You just need to endure my dear pupil, it is good to feel the gravity of your position in everything you do, consider it training of the heart and mind”.

‘This clever old fox’, Liam thought to himself, ‘He used a cushion, I knew it, he must have used some spell of concealment to hide it, but he surely used a cushion. Look at him, he used to wear this same stuffy heavy robe, now he wears the more comfortable human clothing. He cares about his comfort. Why didn’t I think about making cushions invisible?!’

Liam nodded to himself in confirmation, then coughed to diffuse the tension, and change the topic, Radim took the cue and began relaying the words piled upon his lips like water on a dam, “Would you Accompany me to the dining hall for the term feast, and the welcoming of this bright young student you told me about”.

A little while later Liam was standing in front of a golden podium in the shape of dragon wings, candles were lit on either side. He stood dignified and unwavering. His keen insightful eyes moved sharply swiftly from student to student, he deeply yearned to know more about each and every one, like a true teacher, but as the master of one of the most prominent guilds he was inundated with obligations and workings outside of his tower walls. It made him cherish and earnestly use the time he had with those students whose own personal sagas intersected his own. He felt guilty and lacking when he thought of Radim who sat beside him, Radim who seemed to always be in the midst of the affairs and struggles of his students when he was the master. He felt guilty when the students looked up at him with respect and fondness. Being knew to his position he attained at a record age for a youngish dragon at a hundred and sixty-three years, he did not quite understand the effect these simple small acts of earnest efforts he showed towards them. He also did not feel the proud pleased eyes of Radim, as he looked at the back of his protégé Liam.

“My dear students”, Liam began, “First welcome to Ddwenyngal! Our guild’s feast of spring”, Liam smiled, “I am looking forward to this season, and sharing the same halls as each and every one of you. Should any student need help or my counsel, seek of me freely. Help will always be given to those here who need it”.

Liam’s eyes wandered over the thousands present, to where Amy was sitting at one of the long wooden tables filled with students. In each one he could look past their faults and see their maturing potential hidden behind clouds of worries and care, like the sun waiting to peak through the gentle foggy dewy morn, and he said, “This semester we have a new addition to the academy”.

Liam smirked, as he looked at Amy move in her seat embarrassed. Murmuring and whispered words soon filled the hall. Gossip flowed like water from a river.

“Did you hear, it is a pure human that can use magic, and uses a wand”, one student said her face was that of a pure elf, her fair visage was brightened by the suns beaming through the windows as if they were lights on a stage, the stage of life. It highlighted her transcendent beauty.

“I heard she bares a wand”, A burly student said.

Liam smirked as his eyes passed from Gwyneveve the fair female elf, to Osgur, the orc. He found the characteristics of these two races amusing. The most beautiful, the most pleasurable of people to behold: the proud elves, who above all emphasized cleanliness and tidiness. Then there were the orcs, straightforward and sincere, they were a particularly hardy people. Like the elves they were tall, but their strong frames were wide fortified with muscle. The orcs were the antithesis of the long slender pale elves, they were brown in skin, brown in hair, and instead of in the trees like the elves, they dwelled amongst the earth of the forest floor. They were stout and of great stature, the men were surprisingly handsome for the image associated with them in the human world; but like the imaginings of humans, tusks did indeed mar their otherwise perfectly human like appearance. Though the orcish women were still beautiful with their widened feminine curves, though they didn't have tusks the same two lower teeth were longer and sharper than humans. It was a turn off to some people. The two races existed together in the same locales in a love hate relationship, they were neither fond of the other, nor did they necessarily resent their presence. The elves with their pride often looked down on the orcs both literall and metaphorically, while the straightforward stoic and blunt orcs disapproved of the legendary elven subtlety, and cheerful guile. Were it not for the dark elves: the few offspring of the occasional marriage of orc and elf that often intervened, conflicts would exist in abundance. Liam smirked as he thought of the stereotype of the elven women, constant damsels in distress, but it contained some truth. For the younger elven women some would find themselves in some troubling or dangerous predicament due to their naïve foolish pride. ‘A usual occurrence’ Liam thought. And instead of having a fair, unblemished, slender, smooth, and blond haired elven man save them, it was a burly orc with dark skin, testosterone, and a square jaw. In fact, Liam knew Glyn would sometimes devour these romantic web-novels, and it was often a fantasy of some elf females, and likewise some orc males. Liam found the dark elves ancestors from this union more reasonable then either orc or elf.

Liam looked at Rothelin, a dark elf, as the elf said, “See aren’t wands the greater tool than the waga technology, allowing a magicless human to perform magic”.

Liam sighed as several last night were bystanders to the spectacle of Amy riding astride Glyn. A puny human holding firm against the howling onslaught of the wind atop a mighty dragon. It was shared all over the social media apps on the people’s magical tablets.

“Did you see she was with Master Liam, his llwenfarnyn Master Ian, and William”, Shaitra said, a young very human looking woman, with the same excitement as one who devours the titillating tabloids, and gossips, and secrets of celebrities.

“The waga tablets could do the same”, A young elven man said smartly, as he pushed up his glasses.

After the whispers, and lowered voices had ceased, Liam began anew after clearing his throat, “Amy would you please stand up”, Amy stood in her seat her face reddening with embarrassment; however, Liam like any other dragon believed it was better to nudge them off the nest to teach them to fly, “She has a kind stout heart, and she has more potential than all of you can dare to guess, including herself. So join me in welcoming her to our guild!”.

Liam clapped with enthusiasm, as most did. As master of the guild, he did not fail to notice that some of the more human students, the earthers, clapped with a hint of obligation. ‘She’s gotta learn to fly’, Ian thought as he sighed inwardly.

“Let spring march on, let this term bring more than few good curious things like this lass here to further stimulate our growth!”. Liam ended his speech, some of the elven girls faces filled with longing as the echo of his warm baritone faded beyond a shadow.