It had been three days since my breakdown. I was still in kind of a funk, but at least Ember was feeling better.
It was strange. I had thought she would have been only well enough to travel for a couple hours a day, at most, by this time, but her wounds on her chest and belly were almost completely healed.
Ember was already on her feet, stretching. “Man, I feel great! I can’t wait to get moving again.” She looked to me and asked, “So, where to?”
I sighed, dousing the fire. “Where ever you want to go, I guess.”
“Oh, come on, Luke,” she growled. “So things didn’t go your way. It happens. Moping won’t do anything.”
I just continued making sure our fire wouldn’t cause problems when we left.
“Alright, how about this,” she stepped in front of me, hands on her hips. “Since you saved my life, I’ll do you a favor. We’ll go to my place, and I’ll ask my dad to take you to that village, the one you missed.”
I looked up at her. “How far is your place?”
“About a week or two,” Ember answered. “I don’t really walk long distances, so I’m not completely sure, but it shouldn’t be much longer than that if I’m wrong.”
I thought about it for a bit. “Why not. I honestly don’t have any idea where to go, now, anyway.”
I finished stowing everything and strapped my pack on, ready to get moving. It felt nice having an actual destination in mind.
“So, which way?” I asked.
“East,” she replied.
At my deadpan stare, she chuckled and said, “Your plan wasn’t completely useless. You would have reached the dragon lands eventually. Of course, you might have gotten eaten as soon as you got there.”
I rolled my eyes and started leading my dragon friend through the woods.
“How do you even know which was is East?” Ember asked after a few hours. “For that matter, how do you know what’s edible and what makes good medicine?”
Without looking back, I answered, “I’ve just always been interested in wilderness survival. I never thought I would need it, but I liked it and thought it couldn’t hurt to learn.”
“Good thing you did, huh,” Ember stated with a chuckle. “Think you can teach me?”
“Sure,” I replied.
As we walked, I began pointing out various plants, herbs, mushrooms, fruits, and even a couple minerals and their uses.
Not long after a light lunch, Ember saw something and let out a cheer. “Oh, heck yeah!”
I watched in confusion as she sprinted toward a tree.
“Dude! It’s a magnolia tree!” she said, happily.
I looked at it, then back to her. “Yes, it is. Congratulations.”
“Help me pick some flowers,” she said, furthering my confusion.
She had seemed like a bit of a tomboy the whole time I knew her, so it felt a bit out of character for her to suddenly want to pick flowers.
“Why? I asked. “You never struck me as the flower picking type.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “I’m not. I’ve never been a fan of most of them, but magnolia flowers are freaking delicious.”
“What?
“What?” she returned. “They’re tough and spicy.”
“You eat flowers?” I asked, quite surprised.
“I told you, dragons can eat pretty much anything,” she answered. “Now we just need some meat. Hey, how do you hunt, anyway?”
“With powers beyond your mortal comprehension,” I said in a mockingly ominous tone.
Ember laughed. “So, the same magic you use to talk? Sidekick magic, or whatever.”
I chuckled. “It’s ‘psychic’, not not sidekick. And it’s not magic.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, ‘sidekick’,” Ember repeated. “And since you’re my sidekick, you clearly get your power from me. Now, show your master your power.”
“Your leaps in logic are mind boggling,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m great like that.”
I could just chuckle and shake my head as I set off to find some small animal to eat.
Like I said, this forest is pretty much set to easy mode, so we found a pair of nice fat pheasants. I closed my eyes, focusing on my sixth sense. Both hands raised up, a glowing orb of psychic energy in each. They flew true, striking both birds down.
“Okay, I’ll admit, that was pretty awesome,” Ember said, a touch of admiration in her voice. “Don’t know what was with the whole closed eyes and wiggling head tentacle thing, but the lightshow was cool.”
“I close my eyes to better sense my target’s qi. The ‘head tentacles’, as you called them, I’m pretty sure help me sense it,” I explained. “What about you? I take you breathe fire? Or at least some other type of breath attack.”
“What other kind of breath would there be?” Ember asked.
I grabbed my kills and looked up at her. “How good is your breath at cooking meat?”
“Unless you like eating ash, not very,” she said. “Besides, my chest still hurts. I’d rather not use my fire if I don’t have to.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “So, where exactly are we going?”
“My cave is right on the border of the Dragon Lands,” Ember began. “I bet if you climb a tree, you can probably see the smoke from the mountain.”
I leapt up, easily clearing the canopy and gazed in the direction we were walking. Sure enough, there seemed to be a thick cloud of smoke and ash just visible on the horizon.
When I landed, Ember was looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Or, you can just jump. Seriously, what are you?”
I just laughed and said, “Lucario.”
And so, for the next several days, we traveled. As we went, I showed her some of the tricks I had learned. I showed her what kind of plants can be used for first aid. I showed her how to spot edible mushrooms. I even showed her how to make a couple simple traps. It was kind of cute seeing her reaction when she caught her first squirrel.
It was even cuter when she realized she was hopping around, cheering and tried to reassert her tough girl image.
It was only slightly less cute when she punched me in the face for saying as much.
At night, we usually sat in silence, sometimes talking about one thing or another we saw or did that day.
One night, the fourth of our journey, I asked, “So, what are dragons really like? Like, what can I expect when we get to the Dragon Lands?”
“Aww, you wanna know about me?” She said in a mocking tone. “You getting a crush on me, or something, dog-boy?”
I grinned, “Oh, absolutely. I dream of the day we have a litter of dragon-dog mutant babies.”
She let out a guffaw at that. “Keep dreaming, mutt.
“Anyway, I don’t know what to tell you, really,” she said. “I mean, dragons are dragons. We’re big, tough, and rude.”
I quirked an eyebrow at her. “Well, you're tough, sure, but you aren’t so big, and you aren’t really all that rude.”
She blushed and folded her arms in a huff. “I can be rude. I just don’t feel like it.”
I studied her for a moment before coming to the conclusion, “You aren’t like most dragons, are you?”
“What?!” she said, glaring at me. “I’m just as much a dragon as any other!”
“That goes without saying,” I said. “Maybe even better than most. That said, I still can’t help but think you’re different. I may not know much about dragons, but I think I can figure a few things out about them based on the things you’ve said.”
Ember sat there, quietly for several moments. “Most dragons are dumb as a brick. I mean, I get that being tough is a big deal, but... dragons used to be the most powerful, most dominant race on the planet, but now...” Ember sighed. “Now, we’re seen as vermin. The other races don’t fear us anymore, and why should they? I don’t care how tough you are, an enchanted ballista bolt will punch straight through scales.
“We’ve become a shadow of what we once were, and do you want to know why?”
“Because the other races use their brains,” I supplied.
“Because other races use their brains,” Ember confirmed. “Every other race in the world is inventing stuff and making new discoveries that make them stronger, while we just sit on our tails and get left behind.”
“Sounds like you want to change that, though,” I observed.
Ember Looked at me for a few moments, clearly in thought, before finally speaking again. “What I’m about to tell you stays a secret, you got that?”
“You have my word.”
“I’m planning on becoming the next Dragon Lord,” she said with conviction. “If I do, I can start encouraging dragons to start working out their brains, as well as their brawn. Then, maybe we’ll start to take back that glory we once held.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Well, that’s a damn fine goal.”
“Yeah, but it isn’t an easy one,” Ember said. “Most dragons just laugh when I tell them. Even my father. He just tells me that I need to find a mate and wait until I’m bigger and stronger, because then I’d ‘understand why being smart is not the dragon way’.”
“So, your father wants you to be the good little daughter and marry someone so you don’t upset the status quo,” I summed up.
Ember scoffed. “Yeah, pretty much. He thinks I wouldn’t stand a chance in the Gauntlet of Fire, but I’m going to show him.”
“What’s the Gauntlet of Fire?” I asked.
“It’s how we choose the new Dragon Lord. It’s a contest of strength, usually a race to retrieve the Bloodstone Scepter.”
“And you want to do it so that you can lead the dragons down a path of intellectual growth.” I summed up. “Alright, count me in.”
“Huh?” Ember gave me a confused look. “‘In’ what?”
“In on your plan,” I stated. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you become Fire Lord.”
“That’s ‘Dragon Lord’,” Ember corrected. “But, why? You’re leaving aren’t you? You’re going to go find a way home. None of this will even affect you.”
“Well, what else are friends for?” I said with a smile.
“Yeah, dragons don’t really do ‘friends’,” Ember said, crossing her arms.
“They also don’t do ‘smart’,” I countered.
Ember gave me an appraising look. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe dragons could use friendship.” She gave me a cocky smile. “Alright then. I’ll do it. I’ll bring friendship to the Dragon Lands when I’m Dragon Lord.
“Now, I just need to find a way to convince my father to let me compete,” she said, her mood dropping a bit.
“Just ask him,” I said. “If he says no, just do it anyway.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Luke,” Ember said. “If my father forbids me from going, I won’t physically be able to go.”
My eyes widened in shock at that. “Your father has that kind of power over you?”
“He has that kind of power over every dragon,” Ember said. “He’s the Dragon Lord.”
“Oh... well, shit.”
That certainly complicated things.
“Well, hey, we have at least until after the Gathering, so several months at the least,” Ember assured.
“And what’s the Gathering?” I asked.
“It’s an ancient dragon tradition, every... hundred years...” Ember stopped talking, looking around. “Do you hear that?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Hear what?”
“It... It sounds like singing,” Ember said.
“Singing?" I asked. “What kind of singing?"
"I don't know, but..." Ember looked around, trying to pinpoint the source. “It’s coming from this way. Come on, let’s go see who it is.”
“Uh... are you sure that’s a good idea, Ember?” I asked, cautiously.
Ember rushed off, away from our destination. “Why wouldn't it be? Besides, it sounds so... familiar.”
I followed as she led us through the forest to a large hill, covered in stones. As we approached, though, I saw the stones weren’t just random rocks. They were covered in some kind of writing. I couldn’t even come close to reading it, but something told me that this was a place one makes sure they don’t desecrate.
“Up here,” Ember said, leading us to the top of the hill. “Here... I hear it coming from... beneath us?”
We looked around, trying to find anything of significance.
“Ember, I don’t think there’s anything-” before I could even finish, the ground fell away, and we were swallowed up by darkness.