Chapter 39: Dragonbane

Sylph accompanied Nahana to the foyer in silence, but she could not shake the feeling that something changed. Nahana willingly revealed a side of her that few got to see, and it felt like a veiled threat. Or was torture what her mother deemed justice? On one claw, Sylph could understand. Desperate to get a clue about Sylph’s whereabouts, Mariny was the only person who could know.

“I know what you are thinking,” Nahana’s voice was neither harsh nor commanding, but extremely delicate. “Sometimes we have to make decisions. It’s a burden to carry as the mistress.” She was not too wrong with that assumption about her thoughts. But missed the fact that her torture methods made Sylph’s scales curl upwards.

The smell of roasted meat wafted through the air from the stairwell above, strong enough for even Sylph to pick up and throw her worries into disarray. Her stomach grumbled, and she realized she had eaten nothing real besides the few fruits yesterday and those did not stay long in her belly either.

Back on the balcony, a mountain of food greeted them from a low-table between the two lounges. The bowl of smoke was tempting, but Sylph didn’t want to inhale it today. Her senses had mostly focused on something else. The meat skewers, dripping with honey, the baked fruits that garnished platter after platter of various meats and vegetables. She did not even try to name all the fatty, stringy, slim, wide, red, and white meats, but it looked amazing. Barely able to stop herself from reaching into it, voices and movement on the tribunes below beckoned for attention. Dragons slowly filed into the seats. Most had their gazes on each other and on the sand below, but a few intently surveyed the balcony.

Nahana settled down with a wave. Up here, she could observe every single seat on the tribunes, and more importantly, everyone could see her. Her wings cascaded down her sides like fine silk as she filled out the lounge in a flawless, smooth movement. Every move, every crease in her wings was perfectly calculated as soon as others saw her. She finished sitting down and looked like posh posing royalty, which was probably what she aimed for, and, in her case, looked rather imposing.

Sylph tried to sit equally impressive but ended up squatting somewhere between morning hangover and raunchy portrait. Unable to imitate, she lied on her stomach with her head drooping down the side to watch. Nahana shot her a firm gaze and Sylph straightened up to be presentable.

It took a few minutes before every dragon was seated. Sol dominated the crowd, most of them in sandy desert colors. A few splotches of red, blue, and metallic tones completed the audience. No Tira was visible at all. In a city filled with dragons, Sylph would also have expected more hybrids, but she saw none.

The murmurs below grew in intensity. Judging by the pointed tails and claws, not everyone knew of Sylph’s arrival. This was not about fighting. This was about her.

Nahana rose from her lounge, flaring her wings outward to their full size, missing the food and Sylph by inches. “My beloved dragons. Today is a very special day.” She gestured for Sylph to step up to the front. Thousands of eyes turned to stare at her, and a rock formed in her belly. It was worse to stand here than it was to stand in the sand. She had the sole attention and done nothing to deserve it.

“This is Sylph. My daughter.” The crowd grew silent as the desert night. Their stares intensified, and the rock in her stomach turned from stone to steel. A book once mentioned to imagine everyone in their undergarments. Sylph found the idea silly. Why would it help to imagine them with clothes? While her mind wondered for a few seconds about the tailoring work required, it did not ease the awkward feeling of being showcased.

“Stolen by despicable humans, she has braved a lengthy and perilous journey. Now, after eighteen long years, she returned.”

Her ears flicked up. “I am already eighteen years old?” she whispered in disbelief. They assumed she was younger back in Void’s castle. This meant she was small for her age, and late with becoming a dragoness, too.

Nahana continued with her speech. “She fought her way out of slavery, striking down her masters with her very own claws and tiny teeth. Not only that, she braved the undead wars and took refuge in Sawaila.”

The crowd cheered. Sylph wanted to open her mouth, correct Nahana about the lies, but making her look bad in front of a crowd this large was a surefire way to punishment alley. Her mother continued, building Sylph up to be some unlikely warrior that fought impossible odds to return to her. She never mentioned how Void saved her or how she grew up with Veria. “Just smile and wave,” she commanded. Sylph lifted her crippled wing and the dragons watching erupted into a hissing cheer.

“Now let the fights begin!” Nahana yelled. She settled back down, grabbed a peeled piece of pear, and threw it into her mouth.

Sylph fell back onto the lounge as well and set her eyes on a plate of thin meat stripes. “You lied about almost everything that happened.”

“People do not care about details,” Nahana said and swallowed the fruit whole. “And you needed a fitting image. Bold, brave, strong. Isn’t that what you want them to think?”

Sylph picked up a piece of sliced meat, dripping the pepper sauce over her pfod. “It would be nice, but not like this. I did nothing for it. Lies lead me here.” She stuffed the meat into her mouth. It took a second before her tongue erupted into a pleasant burn. Food this spicy, it hurt, in a good way. It was probably something no other dragon or human could even eat. She chewed on three more at once. If others always experienced this when they ate, then it was no wonder they appreciated food as more than not starving.

“The truth, little one, is what they believe. You can’t constantly lie, but if you spread them between enough truths, you can craft any image you want. They would not trust me if I told them you were a scholar, would they?”

“I see.” Sylph grabbed a long fragment of gray-white and delicate meat. Its sour and salty taste and tender texture reminded her more of a mushy fruit than any meat she knew. She stared at a similar piece that had some sort of soft and slimy skin still attached when she noticed a broad Sol with fire red scales awkwardly stumbling through the sands below. He walked on two legs and carried a massive axe with both his pfods, keeping balance with his tail.

Another Sol dragged something through the sand. Sylph swallowed a great piece of meat as she realized it was not an object, it was someone. She leaned closer to the edge, then turned to Nahana, who smiled down at her. “I told you I wanted her to go free and complete my task!” Sylph hissed.

“This is the only freedom she’ll ever get. We will have to work on your decision-making skills.” Nahana ignored her complaint and rose once again, turning her attention to the crowd. “And this! This is the human that stole Sylph from her cradle!”

Sylph could only watch in stunned silence as they strung her up to a wooden construct by her arms with her head resting on top of a blood darkened chopping block. The red Sol heaved up the enormous axe and Sylph looked away. There was a meaty thud, and then a cheer. When Sylph opened her eyes, three other dragons had immediately cleaned up and dragged the two parts of Mariny aside in a manner that looked all too casual, as if this were a common occurrence.

“It is always satisfying to see that axe in action. The executioner says that it blinks with the glee and joy of a hundred dragons every time it tastes human blood.” Nahana smiled contently, almost pleasured, at the scene below them. “It still has its name engraved in delicate gold letters on the wooden shaft. Oh, Dragonbane, how the tides have turned.” She shot Sylph a strange glance. “I will tell you that story later.”

A sick warmth spread through her stomach. They had cheered for a rolling head. Did anybody even question why? How Nahana got hold of her? She had not wanted Mariny to die. She needed her to get to the captain.

After the crowd had settled back down, a small and slim, azure-blue Aer took the stage. He cleared his throat and spoke with a voice as strong as a thunderclap, carrying the excitement and energy of a full-blown storm. “Our desert is filled with only the most vicious of critters. Wyvern that fear neither claw no fire. In the first entrance we have the waterfiend! And in the other entrance, we have the scorpion!” The crowd cheered, but Sylph did not feel like watching the two creatures, no matter the tingle the announcer’s tone evoked.

She continued to eat to stave off the hunger and washed it down with pale and bitter juice.

“Well, that was highly disappointing,” Nahana said, and the crowd seemed to share her sentiment. Sylph peeked downwards to see the waterfiend gorging itself on the body of a human sized scorpion with a stinger the size of her head. It had barely been two minutes.

“Mistress?” a servant appeared from beyond the curtains to the corridor. “Dust returned with the promised eggs.”