Chapter 9 - Folklore

The celebration lasted several hours into the night but finally came to an end. I was invited to spend the night at the house of Zayne but declined which disappointed all the Z's (Zac, Zen, Zeek and their mother Zahra). I think my main reason is because Arvin would be left alone. I may not be his chosen rider but I was very much his best friend and the idea of him being alone did not set well with me.

Zeek was torn between staying a night with his family and coming with me. As much as I would have loved him to be with me I could see how much his parents wanted him to stay. I told him to stay because we would be together for a long time. He consented to stay and we kissed each other goodnight.

Arvin's evening seemed to be great -- he spent some of his time with me and the elders discussing the situation I had gotten us into with the orcs but spent the rest of his time with Zen and his friends.

On the way back to the cave he spoke, "Zen's friends are almost as adorable as he. It quite amused to me that they delighted in watching me eat my roasted hogs. Zeek used to make me eat alone because he said it was to gross for him to have to listen to me crunching on the bones of the animal and watching me ripping the creature I was eating apart was too barbaric. Of course there were times when I'd eat in front of him -- he's so squeamish. I worry about him when he has to fight."

"Me too."

"Sometimes, Gladimhere, I wonder why I am the way I am. It's like I have the body of a dragon but not the spirit of a dragon. I am so different from the other dragons of my clan except for maybe my uncle Red. He's supposedly like me but I've not seen him for years. When I was born he and my father have a vicious argument so my mother told me. My father says he has no brother. Now he says he has no son."

I heard him swallow.

"Dragons are not supposed to like elves, but I do. In fact I love them. After I met Zeek I found myself wishing he would show up and when he did any problems or worries I had would vanish. Then you came. Well, humans were just a myth, but you aren't! You're real! And I wondered if maybe it was weird that I loved you the moment I saw you. And then Zac came and I was even happier."

"I thought life couldn't get any better. But it did. Zen came. I'm a dragon. I am supposed to hate elfin people and yet I have totally lost my heart to Zen. What's wrong with me? Why am I like this?" Arvin said.

"I know how you feel. I do. I went through much the same thing myself. I used to think why me! Why am I gay? What did I do to deserve this? I tried to change. I tried to force myself to be like others and I was miserable. Even after being beaten for not being the way they wanted me to be I was still gay," I said.

"Unlike you, I suppose, I retreated from those around me. I decided I didn't need friends. I developed a really bad attitude that kept people away because I didn't want to be hurt again. And then I came here. How? Why? I don't know. But what I do know is I found a friend -- a true friend -- someone who accepted me as me and gave me confidence. And helped me to believe in myself and that was you."

"Have you ever thought that maybe just maybe you are they way dragons should be? I think that you are. You've found happiness in a little elf who probably misses you as much as you miss him. Zeek told me that he has never seen his brother so happy, so confident in himself and that is because of you. Why you are returning to the cave when you could be sleeping outside the doorway to his home I don't know." I chuckled.

"You -- you really think he misses me?" asked Arvin.

"I am positive."

"Would you mind if I went back to the village? Will you be alright at the cave by yourself?" he asked.

"Dude, get out of here! Go!"

He turned and loped off back to the village and I decide to go to the point. I needed some serious thinking time.

I got to my favorite sitting place at the point took out my mp4 player hoping that it was still charged. It was but I'd probably have to recharge it tomorrow. I selected the Enya albums because they seem appropriate for thinking.

I started recalling the story Alsmere told me. There had once been a great human called Omer who had magically arisen from the sea. Omer traveled the whole of Landsphere battling the mono-eyed giants that inhabited Dragon's Tail. It is said that he was the first to tame the dragons of Oannesia. It was said at the time that it was Omer that gave the gift of flying to the dragons. And because this, a great red and black dragon flew Omer anywhere he wanted to go.

He was not the only human to come to Landsphere, other humans like Earlcules, Inbaad, Hayson. Others were mention but it made me think that Omer could have been Homer, after all the Straits of Messina could have looked much like the straits that had existed between Marsconia and Oannesia. Earlcules sounded a lot like Hercules, Inbaad like Sinbad and Hayson could have been Jason. These folklore heroes sound very similar to their possible counter parts of my world. Could their travels and adventures have been here rather than Earth? Perhaps that is how I got here. I did have magic here. Maybe at the same time peoples from here were transported to Earth and is why they are a part of Earth's mythology.

Here I could do things that I was never able to do in my life before here. Like the dirk thing. I wanted the dirk in my hand and it was there. I didn't have to say anything, no incantations. I needed it in my hand and it was there. Sort of like Star Wars and the force but I was not aware of `the force' or `the darkside of the force'. It didn't seem like some outside force that exists. It was more like an inside force or just me. I controlled it because at that moment I needed it. Then there was the thing of healing Zeek's wound. Now I had heard of the laying on of hands but I'd never even thought about doing it before I saw Zeek lying there on the ground and it seemed like the thing I needed to do at that moment.

I'd never practiced knife throwing before yet when I saw the orcs charging Arvin with the intent to do harm I threw the dirk with perfect aim. Physically I was stronger. My fighting actions are more precise and fiercer.

Could it be that my "magic" here was the same as the magic of the dragons, elves, and dwarves? Funnily enough orcs here were just as evil and stupid as they were in Earth folklore and had no magic in either place.

Yet orcs were now in charge so to speak here. There were other colonies of elves throughout all of Landsphere; likewise there were separated colonies of dragons, and dwarves.

Goblins were more like scavengers similar to hyenas on earth but they too were kept in separated packs.

Maybe orcs weren't as dumb as I thought they were after all they successfully controlled this world by keeping their potential enemies separated and subservient from each other. At the time of Omer elfin folk, dwarves and dragons got along and respected each other as equals in intelligence. Now though it seemed as though they hated each other. Is it possible that the orcs managed to create conflicts amongst these species of intelligent creatures? Or was there another cause that I have yet to discover? Was I right to think all orcs were evil? I don't know.

Zeek had been chastised for being a dragon-lover and Arvin had similar problems for being an elfin-lover. By ridding the orcs from Dragon's Tail we had brought about a change in the elfin's view of dragons or at least one dragon. Perhaps, they had realized the common enemy. Was there someone controlling the orcs?

Of course this was getting me no closer to a solution of how I a fifteen year old boy was going to lead the battle against 5000 orcs whose only intention was to kill me and my new friends.

I feel so inadequate. I heard someone behind me and jump up onto the rock dirk in one hand and whip in the other ready to fight.

"It's me!" said Zeek, "I couldn't sleep so I asked Arvin and Zen walked me to the cave. Zen is planning on sleeping outside with Arvin. The parents are asleep so he doesn't have to argue with them. I sort of missed you. I realize you must be here when you weren't at the cave. You must be listening to your musical thing or you would have heard me when I called out."

 

"Yeah, I was. I'm glad you're here. I was thinking about things." I jumped down off the rock and we walked back to the cave.

We kissed and cuddled and I fell asleep.