Chapter Text
Kiron woke in his usual fashion: jolted out of a deep sleep by a rambunctious kitten before dawn. The kitten had interrupted an odd dream, but then all dreams are odd to the waking mind, aren’t they? Still, it had been a strange one, and unusually vivid. He often dreamed of flying, either on his own or atop his beloved dragon, Avatre. Last night, though, he dreamt that he swam through the Great Mother River as freely as Avatre soared through the desert sky. Bright silver fish swam with him through the clear water accompanied by the sound of singing. It was beautiful and peaceful, but as a desert dweller, the idea of swimming for pleasure was quite alien.
He stretched and shook off the lingering scraps of his slumber. It was too early for him to be up, but it was also too close to dawn to try to pursue more sleep. He might as well start his day. He dressed and climbed down to Avatre’s pen, expecting to see the great dragon still asleep.
To his surprise, Avatre was awake and already nosing at her saddle, eager to start the patrol. That was odd. At this hour of the morning, she would usually be sluggish from the night’s chill. Nor did she seem to be motivated by hunger. Kiron was sensitive to the moods of his reptilian partner and the dragon seemed almost anxious. Could there be a storm approaching and she wanted to complete her patrol and hunt before it arrived? If so, he should definitely trust her instincts.
The sun was only just starting to paint the eastern sky, but Avatre seemed eager to be in the air. Kiron left word that he would be hunting early and would join the wing later in the morning for the patrol. They flew east towards the desert. It wasn’t Avatre’s usual hunting grounds, but it…felt right, somehow.
The gazelle fell quickly to Kiron’s arrow and Avatre’s claws, but even as she tore into the carcass, she would occasionally pause and glance to the east. Whatever she sensed, it was important enough to distract her, even from her kill. Kiron let her eat her fill, then bound up the remains for later. If it was an approaching storm, she might not have a chance to hunt again.
Aloft again, Avatre seemed anxious, but not fearful. Kiron let her have her head and she headed toward the deep desert. It wasn’t the anvil of the sun, not yet, but still a close to barren wasteland. Not uninhabited, though. Far below, he could see a trio of human figures on the sand. The Bedu? No, as he flew closer, he could see they lacked the distinctive robes and veils. Still, they regarded his approach without evidence of fear. Perhaps they knew of the dragon riders of Sanctuary and their protection.
The three figures proved to be smaller than his first impression. Three youths, two boys and a girl, not more than thirteen or fourteen. Adults by the standards of a desert culture but still far too young to be out on the sand alone. Nor were they dressed for survival in the desert. The girl wore an odd garment that encased each leg separately and a separate short tunic that exposed her arms. The boys wore similar, though shorter, form fitting clothes but their tunics differed in style. The colors were bright. Kiron had never seen a dye that could produce a blue like the one in the girl’s hat.
As Avatre settled in for a landing, the smaller boy approached, speaking an unfamiliar language full of clicks and chirps. He then noticed Kiron on the dragon’s back, “Oh! You have a rider. Good morning, sir. As you can see, we are lost and in desperate need of assistance. Can you help us? We are in no way suited for this climate.”
Kiron had already reached for his spare water pouches. Desert etiquette was very clear on how to treat a stranger in distress. “Good morning! I am Kiron of Aerie, rider of Avatre. I’ll help you however I can, but who are you and how did you come to this inhospitable place so ill equipped?”
“I wish we knew. I am Lu-ka and this is Al Berto and Julia. We were in our boat when a sudden storm came up from a clear sky. When it ended, we found ourselves in the desert and day had become night. If you were to fly back there a few…” (and here the boy pointed and said a word that Kiron had never heard before.) “you would find the section of ocean that came with us. Much of it has surely soaked into the sand or evaporated by now, though the salt may remain.”
“We can investigate that later. For now, let’s get you to shelter.” Indeed, the desert air was becoming dangerously hot and the girl was already sweating profusely. The boys…weren’t. That was a little disturbing. If they were already beyond perspiring, they were in serious danger, though they didn’t seem discomforted. He dropped from the saddle and handed them each a skin of water, which they drank gratefully.
Avatre spread her wing for some impromptu shade, and under its cover Kiron secured the three to his saddle. Four grown men would have been beyond her capacity but these youths were hardly that. Even Kiron himself weighed less than many, though he was no longer the scrawny serf he once was. Even so, he felt Avatre strain as she labored into the sky. She fought for height until she was able to catch a thermal and was able to rest and glide.
:Your mount will tire quickly. You should plan on letting her rest:
Kiron nodded, and directed Avatre to the mountains. It was a less direct route home, but would allow her a short break before moving on. Then Kiron’s eyes widened and he looked back at the boy with surprise. He had heard him clearly despite the wind. “You’re a mindspeaker!”
:...yes…of a sort. I promise, though, that we’re not your enemy. Our plight was, and remains, very real. I told you the truth about our arrival, but it may be worse than that. When we arrived it was night, and the desert sky is very clear. Giulia and I are familiar with the patterns of the stars and we could tell that this sky is not our own. Whatever brought us to this place took us away from a different world entirely:
“Another world? How is that possible? You don’t seem to be ghosts or demons.”
:I swear we’re not, but creatures like your Avatre do not exist in our world:
The girl’s voice answered him. She too must be a mindspeaker. :They’re in our legends, but a creature this size should never be able to fly. I assume they have some sort of magic?:
“No, just the strength of her wings.”
:Not possible. The laws of gravity can’t be that different:
“What do you mean?”
:If you had two blocks of the same stone, one twice the size of the other in every measurement, would it weigh twice as much?:
Kiron was no mathematician, but the former serf was familiar with physical labor, “Um…no…it would be a lot heavier.”
:It would be eight times as heavy. But the lift of a bird’s wings are a function of the area beneath them, not their weight. So a bird twice the size would have four times the lift, but eight times the weight. That’s why a small bird can have small wings, but large ones like those vultures need broad wings that are proportionally larger:
The voice of the other boy joined them, :Giulia, those vultures…what are they circling?:
Kiron looked to where the birds were gathering and directed Avatre to intercept, “Does everyone talk mind-to-mind where you’re from? It’s an uncommon skill here.”
The boy laughed, :Nah, Luca’s the only one with real powers, but one of his tricks is to let us borrow his Voice:
Avatre had flown close enough that they could now see the vultures’ quarry, a human figure prone on the sand. They landed close by and Kiron dropped from the saddle.
“He’s alive, but only barely.”
The youths freed themselves from the straps and joined him. Alberto knelt to examine his injuries, “He’s been shot. There’s a broken arrow lodged in his back. The smell of blood must be what’s drawing the vultures. He needs medical attention immediately.”
Luca turned to Kiron, “There’s no way Avatre can carry all of us and him too. Are there other dragon riders nearby?”
Kiron thought for a moment, “Orest and Wastet should be hunting not far from here. Gan and Khaleph might also be close enough.”
“Call to them. I can carry your words to their ears like I did while we were flying.”
“What must I do?”
“Talk as if they stood here before you. You will not receive a reply, but they will hear you. If it helps, close your eyes and pretend that I am them.”
Kiron nodded, “Gan, Orest, it’s Kiron. I am near the trade road to the east. We need you. There is a Tian border guard, wounded and dying, plus three youths lost in the desert. I can’t carry them all.”
They waited for Orest to arrive. Alberto exercised his first aid skills to their utmost, and finally pronounced the man stable enough to move.