“The Change?” I echoed.
“That’s what made the Drakes,” Bart rumbled from a nearby tunnel, having returned with the fish. I’m usually not one for fish, but that salmon jerky looked like a five-course steak dinner with how hungry I was. He handed me the jerky, taking a seat on the ground opposite me, his smile happy. I promptly stuffed my face, letting out a groan of satisfaction. Best fish ever.
“Mind if I take over for a bit? You know how much I love those legends,” he said, giving Terra a pitiful face as his paws came up, showcasing his acting skills with how marvelously he begged. Even going so far as to provide a whine I would have expected from a Chihuahua, or a rat.
Terra rolled her eyes and her lips curled up in a half-smile, “Very well. You have studied those stories far more than I have. Inaccurate as they may be at times.”
Bart grinned and turned back to me, growling a chuckle “Well, the Drakes were Human and The Change made them half-Dragon. Mostly to bring Humans and Dragons closer. They were the best of the Human Dragon Knights, loyal, honorable, and answered only to the king, and even fought against the Humans when the war started.”
I coughed and nearly choked on the jerky, “Wait, what? Why? They used to be Human too, right?”
Bart’s smile became sad through his half-lidded eyes, “Because they knew what the Humans were doing was wrong. Not a lot in books about why, ‘cept for that one story about Kechu and the King.
“Kechu was on the Council, the twelve Drakes in charge, and was a good friend of the king. One day, looking ten kinds of scared, the king asked Kechu to meet him in the royal gardens, late that night. Kechu was worried while he waited. Well, the king showed up, and told Kechu he was going to war with everybody, and that the Drakes had a duty to defend Humanity. Something about the other races cooking up a plan to wipe out the Humans. Kechu tried to calm him down, but the king wasn’t having it, and started screaming some nonsense about how the Drakes were traitors to the crown and Humans. Kechu barely got away from the guards that got sicced on him, but he made it back in time to warn the others, Dragons and Drakes alike.”
As the story went on, Bart gradually lost his smile. His broad shoulders hunched forward as his eyes shouted disappointment, and pride, “Kechu died a few hours later from an arrow stuck in his back . If it hadn’t had been for him, the king might’ve kept his secret, and who knows what would’ve happened then? He’s the only Drake still mentioned by name today, though he’s called a Dragon. Kechu the Forerunner.”
I pondered the story for a while, eyes focused on the floor and nothing, injured hands gripping my elbows as I collected my thoughts, Kechu gave his life for the greater good, even at the cost of being labeled a traitor by what used to be his own people, the people he was protecting as a Dragon Knight! At least, before everything came to a head, there was a small part of Humanity that chose to stand for good.
A question formed, and I felt the need to ask it, “Bart? What happened to the rest of the Drakes?”
He heaved a shaky breath, rested his chin on his paws, and scrunched his eyebrows, “About a week after Kechu’s warning, the king’s army came knocking on Fort Ronaga, the Drakes training ground and home, home base of the Dragon Knights. Three months of fighting, and the place was gone. No Drakes left, just a heap of rubble.”
I was sinking into the makings of depression, when an idea struck me. Excitement and fear started bouncing around, using my mind as a trampoline to see who could jump higher. Maybe, just maybe…
I cleared my throat, steeled myself, and looked Terra straight in the eyes, “If I’m going to be here, if I’m to survive and even have a chance at going home, I need to know: what does it take to become a Drake?”
To say Terra was shocked would be an understatement. I don’t think a dozen storms could’ve shocked her as much. Her pupils almost disappeared, her jaw hit the floor with a loud thud, and her fin-like ear twitched like a dog’s leg during a good belly rub.
Bart, for his part, seemed more curious about Terra’s response than my question. Getting up, he walked over to her, waved a paw in front of her eyes, and snapped his fingers a few times. Seeing no response, he turned back to me to say something but got interrupted by Terra’s shouting. I think I’m still half deaf in my left ear because of that.
“ARE! YOU! INSANE?!”
I leaned back, covering my ears, still able to make out her muffled words due to sheer volume. Bart kept trying to get a word in, but she ignored him and ranted.
“Do you have ANY idea what The Change DOES?!” she roared, eye-ridges drawn close together.
“Ter-”
“What it IS?!” she raged, a growl rumbling lowly in her throat, fangs bared.
“Terrane-”
She screamed at this point, “What it even REQUIRES OF YOU?! NO?!”
“Terranexine!”
“You STUPID-”
“TERRANEXINE!” he howled.
Turning to Bart, she snarled out a loud, “WHAT?!”
All he did was point at me, and Terra looked back. I sat there, hands over my ears, teeth clenched in pain, still holding my stare. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I think I wet myself a little in fear there, but I needed her to understand how serious I was. I stood up and, still maintaining eye contact, began to unwrap the bandages on my hands. I eventually got them off, though I had to use my teeth. My legs had hot needles stabbing them all over each time I took a step forward, but I managed to keep a slow, steady, even pace, ‘til I stood a few inches from her snout.
I had Terra’s attention, and her infuriated glare, the whole walk there. A deep breath, released slowly, and I got down on one knee, then the other, hands resting on my thighs. I dropped my chin to my chest, forehead barely touching her, and closed my eyes.
“You’re right, Ms. Terranexine. I don’t know what The Change does, or is, or even requires of me, heck, I doubt I’m even worthy. But, other than taking my chances outside and hoping no one recognizes me as a Human, or staying here and relying on your and Bart’s kindness, what choice do I have? Even if it’s painful, even if it’s difficult, I feel I have to take the chance. I’d gladly, and wholeheartedly, accept any aid you’d be willing grant me, but if I must do this alone, I will. All I ask is to know where to go and what to do.”
For a while, I just knelt there, wondering if Terra would help me, send me off, or even eat me. Granted, I didn’t believe she would, but after seeing her so angry, the possibility began to nibble at the back of my mind. I’ll admit, I was hoping Terra would decide soon. My knees were hurting.
She let out a long sigh and shuddered, “I… I am sorry, Ian. I cannot, and should not, expect you to know and understand what I do. Please, if I might, may I explain?”
I nodded against her smooth scales.
Terra began after clearing her throat, “Many promising candidates for The Change attended the training at Fort Ronaga, only to discover their incompatibility, and be released from service, or to die during it, unable to endure the pain. There is no guarantee you can even attempt The Change, let alone survive it. My master and I watched a group of candidates undergo it, and only three of the ten there were left alive afterwards. All of them knew what it involved, what they were asking, and what it meant. They were willing to die for a chance to serve the king and the people even more.
“Your question… struck a sensitive nerve in me. You saw it as a way for survival, whereas I see it as a path of honor, of servitude to a greater good. To take on the mantle of Drake is to commit yourself, in body as well as mind. If you do so, and survive The Change, you will not be able to change back. You might not even be able to return home, for you will bind yourself more tightly to this world. I will help you all I can, but I must know, are you prepared for the possibility that, should you survive this, you may not be able to return to your home? Never to see your family, friends, and loved ones? Would you be willing to commit yourself to protecting the people of this world?”
My self-control was shriveling up like a grape in the sun. Tears streamed down my face, teeth, eyes and hands clenched with a grimace of pain, shoulders trembling from my suppressed sobbing, and I almost gave up right then and there. I took a few breaths to calm down, remembering the love my mom, dad, and sister had instilled in me. The sense of duty, and the obligation to do what is right, that they hammered through the years into my thick skull.
I raised my head and wiped my eyes on my arm, looking Terra in the eyes again, my voice shaky, “I’m in a d-different world, and while r-right now I don’t know if I can get back to mine, until I-I do, I will try my darnedest to be an agent of good, h-here.”
Bart, after having been quiet for a while, came to kneel at my side, and put rested his massive paw against my back, his face sincere, “The man’s willing to try, Terranexine. Let him go through the training.”
Terra looked at Bart, then back to me, and finally raised her head and looked down at us both, her face serene, her voice clear, “Very well, then. Ian, you are hereby accepted as a Candidate for The Change, and, along with those who have gone before you, must undergo the necessary training. For the next month, you will experience a rigorous regimen designed to strengthen your body, mind, and will. Bart shall oversee your progress, and determine whether or not you are sufficiently prepared.”
Bart smiled widely, “My pleasure.”
I smiled at Terra, then Bart, tearing up as I gave him a big hug. He was stunned for a moment before he returned it, his arms encompassing my body, squeezing me just a bit.
We leaned back, letting go, and he gave me a mischievous grin, “Hope you’re ready, pup. I’m gonna push you so hard it’ll be like a mountain rolling over you!”
That was the hardest I’d laughed in a long, long time.