The Emerald Dracone
A Novel by Frank George

Chapter I
The Grove

"Kayla!  Fetch the water for supper!"
    "Alright Mama, I am getting it."    
Kayla ran out of the house, across the dirt path, and over to the large stone well surrounded by tall grass and tumble weeds. Kayla hoisted the large fraying rope up out of the well and collected the large pale filled with pink-tinted water, altered by the sun's setting rays.
    "Hello," shouted a voice from some unseen area. "How is my sweet baby daughter?"
    "Papa! I'm not a baby, I'm fourteen!"
"Not to me!"
    Over the hill came a man dressed in black robes tied down with lether straps across his chest and waist, and a dark hood covered his brow.
    "Jale! You're finally back! How did it go?"
"Well, that depends, are you in the mood for Gazelle, deer, or jackrabbit?"
    "Oh Jale! this is wonderful, we will be full until spring!"
    "Father, this is wonderful!"
    "I want the best for my family. This will have us eating all winter without strife."
"Kayla, get that water into the house and put it over the fire."
    "Yes Mama."
Kayla ran back to the well and hoisted the bucket back to the surface and ran it into the house. A roaring fire sat in the corner of the room and a table with three chairs around it in the center. A two person bed sat on the far side of the room and a hammock hung over an open loft in the ceiling.
    Kayla hobbled over to the fire and poured the water into the black cauldron hanging over the hot coals. Steam rose up out of the pot and turned the air dense and humid.
    Kayla ran out to the well and hooked the pale back onto the rope and dropped it back into the well. She ran back into the cabin were hot fog filled the entire house and clouded her vision. She ran over to the pot and began to wave her hands over the pot slowly. The steam gathered in a large cloud that hovered over the table. Kayla then pushed with her hands and the cloud went out the door and went up into the white puffy clouds hanging overhead.
        "Kayla, how many times have I told you not to do that inside the house. Go stir the water and don't let it burn."
    "Mama, its perfectly safe, I wont break anything when I am doing it with steam."
    "Don't you give me lip, go on, scoot!"
    "Your too hard on her. She needs to practice more. A great gift has been given to her, and you won't let her use it."
    "It is for her own good. I won't have those blasted Delviner coming and taking her away from us, that's all."
    "But if she practices more she can beat any Delviner that come for her."
    "I suppose your right, but it still worries me. I have no idea how she is able to do it anyway, we aren't mages, yet she is."
    Jale looked down at his boots then back to the house were smoke rose from the chimney.
    "I have no idea, maybe one of the ancestors was a mage?"
    "I can't be sure, but it is possible. Now go get those beasts skinned before they rot."
    "As you wish your majesty."
    She looked back at him and gasped.
    "How dare you Jale, are you making fun out of me?"
    "Of coarse not Mai, just saying is all."
    "Well do us both a favor and don't just say anything."
    "Go in and make the stew woman, we still have some meat left and I am hungry."
    Mai walked back to the house and folded back the fur skin door. Inside sat Kayla forming currents in the hot water, commanding it with her small pale hands. The spoon for stirring laid on the floor.
    "Kayla! Get my spoon off the floor! What are you doing mastering water?"
    "Mama, I am sick of not being able to master. I want to learn how to fight and help people!"
    "No! There will be no talk of that! There will be no more mastering for you young lady! Now go outside and get more water for the stew!"
    "It's not fair! Why can't I use my power to help people? Why can't I use my power to help you and Papa?"
    Kayla ran outside, across the dirt pathway, and into the grassland.
    "Kayla, were are you going? Kayla! Kayla come back!"
    Mai ran out of the house and looked out towards the small girl running over the large hills surrounding the small house.
    "What's gotten into that girl Mai?"
"I told her she was not to master anymore."
    "Mai! How could you? You crushed her heart Mai."
"I did it for her own good Jale!"
    Kayla ran through wizard-tall grass and wept. Tears ran down her cheeks and sweat stung her eyes. She ran with a ferocious speed and rage. Suddenly she tripped on a rotting log and tumbled down a hill covered in grass and flowers. Rolling for many moments she emerged from a wall of grass and landed in knee high water. A swamp-like environment was all around her. Water filled much of the space with tall oak and Baobab trees came up from small islands in the water.     Pillars of black obsidian came up from the water as well.
    In the center was an island of rock and crystals. In the center was a star of obsidian chairs and a pedestal of emerald in the shape of a lotus flower. She stood and waked through the water and crawled onto the dry land weeping. Her auburn hair was wet and her net dress dragged hesitantly on the moss covered floor. Suddenly a large stream off water shot out of the ground and sent rain all across the grove.
    She stood and walked to the center of the island and touched the emerald sculpture. It felt alive somehow, almost like it was mournful and sad. It felt alone. On the sides were lines of script. Kayla couldn't make it out, it was an odd language she wasn't familiar with. There were also glyphs of Velgen, Naralian, and the common language. All she could make out was "They took it from us, The long fangs took it, they enslaved us but we escaped, the black one stole it from us".
    In the center of the pedestal was an indentation of a circle with another deeper circle inside of it and seven small holes around it. Kayla saw a glimmer deep inside as some overhead branches altered their position and sent sunlight through the dense canopy. She reached down inside and felt around for something. A small handle was on the bottom of the indentation. It felt like it was in the shape of a diamond. She pulled it towards her and then it retracted quickly into some unseen dwelling place. The small island of crystals rumbled and depressions became visible in another smaller star around her. Spikes of obsidian and sapphire formed a cone-like tent around Kayla and the pedestal. A loud shattering noise engulfed the room of crystals. Kayla returned her gaze to the small podium to find it dividing into different levels. A small emerald in the shape of a baby dragon claw rose out of the pedestal's pinnacle.
    "I am the speaker for the fore fathers of this world. I am here to tell the truth and give wisdom to those who seek it."
    "Who is they? Who are you?"
    The claw sent a series of flickering lights slowly projecting the image of a tall women with golden hair and robes of pink and sapphire. A crown in the shape of a swan sat upon her brow.
    "I understand that your kind can better understand things if they are visible. My appearance is based on my heart and my nature. I am Shavri, mistress of the Emerald Dracone. I oversee and protect this sanctuary. Once in the time of happiness the masters of water migrated throughout other sanctuaries like this one, staying for a season and then moving on. We offered sanctuary to those who needed it and those who cared for our burial sites."
    "I do not understand? What is this place?"
    "You will soon child. You will soon know our pain."