| THE LORELEI SIGNAL |
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| Written by Darla J Bowen / Artwork by Marge Simon |
| The Hatching |
"We're going to the mountain," Jeara explained, holding a hand out to her son. He sat beneath a tree, using
a twig to draw the Focusing Circle he had learned earlier. “There’s something inside I want to show
you."
Xavey added more intricate waves to the circle, then glanced up to the tallest peak on the island. "The
mountain? The dragons." He squealed with excitement. Some of his favorite stories were about the dragons
that dwelled in the mountain.
“Yes, I am taking you to see the dragons.” She waved for him to come to her. “This is a secret, and you must
not tell anyone where we go. Matu would be upset with me if he knew where I was taking you.” Cautiously,
she glanced back at the village through the thick trees and vines.
“Matu scares me.” He dropped the twig and reached up to her with his chubby arms. “Hold me."
The Council, led by Matu, had not approved of her marriage to Yon, nor of the pregnancy. A child had not been
foreseen by the Wisdom, and so was viewed as unpredictable. But Jeara knew the Wisdom could not see all,
for Yon’s death had not been part of the Plan either, or so she had been told. Jeara knew she could not
speak her doubts. The scars on her back were to serve as a deterrent from disobeying the Council. Pain from
the lashes was not the punishment, but rather the manner of gaining those scars. She still sang some of the
secret chants to Xavey as a lullaby, though now in more hushed tones.
Jeara took Xavey’s hand and led him through the thick underbrush to the base of the mountain. They walked
along narrow paths that were little more than deer trails, but Jeara knew them well. Knowing the secret ways
into the mountain sanctuary was among the privileges and responsibilities of a Guardian. Though the Council
would certainly punish her for bringing her four year old son to the mountain, she had a promise to keep to
Yon.
The terrain became steeper. "Not much further." She helped him climb the rocky incline. He whined a little but
pressed on. Jeara showed him where the best footing was. When small rocks slid from under his feet, he
grabbed for her, but she only offered her hand. She showed him which roots were secure enough to grab and
which breaks in the underbrush to maneuver through. They came to a rock shelf.
Glancing back down the mountain she saw the long Council Hall surrounded by the smaller, circular, palm-
thatched huts: some for storage of communal property and others for sleeping accommodations. There were
paddocks for the goats and oxen. The inhabitants worked leisurely; no indication they were missed. Beyond
the village she could make out a few fishing boats beached on the white sand while nets were being mended.
The water beyond was a deep blue. Shrugging off the lingering sense of disobedience, she held vines away
from the rock face to reveal an opening. It was dark inside.
Jeara reached down and picked Xavey up. “That was a good climb. Your father would be proud of you.” She
briefly remembered Yon holding Xavey the morning he had left, pride shining in his eyes. It seemed so long
ago.
Xavey wiped his nose on his sleeve, and smiled at her. “I did it.”
She smoothed black hair, the same deep obsidian as her own, away from his face and kissed him on the
cheek. His legs wrapped tightly around her waist as he rode on her hip. He clung to the leather straps that
held her sword at her back and absently played with her long braid. His foot tapped the leather pouch
hanging from her belt. "There's no reason to be afraid. You are lucky to witness a hatching. When I was your
age, hatchings were celebrated. Sadly, the Council no longer feels that festivities are relevant. You must
remember today. When you were born, your father and I agreed you should see a hatching. Regardless of
what the Council would say." His grip loosened, but his face remained buried against her breast.
The passage was dark. She chanted the words she had learned after her initiation. Recognizing the words to
one of his lullabies, Xavey sang a few of the phrases along with Jeara. Wavy script, glowing a faint blue,
appeared on the walls. Some resembled the complex circles Xavey had been drawing in the dirt. Light became
visible down the corridor.
"What's that?"
"Very old writing," Jeara began.
"No. No. The music. It's pretty."
Jeara listened. She could barely hear the faint hum of the wards. It sounded like a myriad of insects trapped
in a hollow tree. "You can hear that, Xavey?"
He hummed along with the melody. "I like it." He smiled, then pointed to the designs on the walls. "What's
that?"
"The visible ward spell. Since I know the words to say, they appear and we can visit the dragons."
"Dragons." Xavey squirmed in Jeara's arms. He would not get down, but he was positioned so he could see
the light ahead.
Jeara proceeded. In a few moments, they came to a vast cavern. The village at the base of the mountain
could have easily fit inside. Stalagmites and stalactites, some nearly twenty feet in length, jutted from the
floor and ceiling. At the center of the cave’s domed ceiling was a hole which allowed sunlight inside. Dragons,
some as small as ponies and others large enough to grasp Jeara in a taloned paw, frolicked and lounged in
the cavern. The larger, older dragons reclined against, or wrapped around, the rock formations in slumber,
their scales less vibrant than the brilliant amber, garnet, and jade of the younger dragons who chased each
other.
Xavey gasped, and twisted around in Jeara’s arms. His blue eyes grew wide. "Dragons?" His young voice was
full of awe. He was seeing the great creatures he had only known about through stories.
Jeara set him on his own feet and crouched beside him. She recalled the excitement that had coursed through
her veins when still a girl, not yet a women, Yon had secretly brought her to the cavern for the first time. A
smile brightened the tired features of her thin face. "Yes, these are dragons. Remember how I am a
Guardian? I guard the dragons."
"Why?" Xavey asked. He did not take his eyes off of the winged beasts. He followed one as it swooped down
from the highest point of the dome, then examined another that lay sleeping near the entrance, it’s tongue
flicking in and out as it breathed. He laughed and jumped around to watch another leap into the air. "They're
big."
"Just because something is big, does not mean it is safe." She took his hand and led him into the cavern.
Several of the young dragons noted their appearance with slit, feline eyes, ranging in colors from ruby and
emerald to amethyst and obsidian. They eyed her, then looked at Xavey, before resuming their play.
"Long ago there were many dragons,” Jeara began. She watched as Xavey stared at the dragons as they
slept and played. “They roamed the high mountains and the deep forests of the world and seldom
encountered man. But men grew curious of the places they had not been and began to explore the lands the
dragons called home. They settled villages and towns and more people moved there. At first there was
peace, but a time came when there was little food, and the dragons hunted the men’s livestock. People grew
angry and began to hunt the dragons. They hunted so many there were only twelve left in the whole world."
"But the food came back."
"Yes, but the people were still afraid of the dragons. They did not want to give them a chance to multiply, and
threaten their settlements." Jeara held out a hand as one of the young dragons approached. She rubbed her
hand along his scaled neck. "That is when the Council was formed. They sought out those who were gifted
with dragons, those not afraid of the beasts, and who could communicate with them, or sense their thoughts.
The Council called them Guardians and with them, brought the dragons here to Leaondow, and set wards to
the mountain. Some dragons have left, but they know the island remains a safe place for them to come when
they are most vulnerable, when they are young or old, especially when it is time to hatch their young.”
The young dragon looked at Xavey. Lowering his head, he gazed into the child's eyes. His forked tongue
poked out, licking Xavey on the forehead.
"That tickled." Xavey giggled and wiped at the wet spot on his head.
The dragon did it again. Then looked at Jeara and went back to chase one of the other young dragons.
"Someday you may be chosen to be a Guardian as well. Like your father, you may go out into the world to
rescue those in need and bring them here, or remain on Leaondow and guard those in the mountain, like I
do. I wanted you to see them. And to see a hatching." She took his hand and led him to the center of the
cavern, to a massive stone-rimmed pit, much like a nest. Inside laid a single egg as long as Xavey was tall,
and stood as high as his chest. It was bright blue with orange and yellow specks. A few cracks lined the top
of it.
As they approached the nest, a large jade-scaled dragon lying near woke, staring at them with ruby eyes.
"It's all right, Falone. We are here to watch."
That seemed to be sufficient, as the dragon laid her head on the ground to watch the hatching.
There was a tapping from within the egg. Xavey leaned closer. "Is that the baby inside?"
"Yes, it's trying to get out." Part of the shell fell away. "Watch, Xavey."
A hooked muzzle emerged, followed by the rest of a reptilian head. Two sapphire eyes looked from Jeara to
Xavey. The baby dragon made a sound similar to a bird chirp, and wiggled around in the shell. More fragments
fell away to reveal a blue scaled dragon with wings still wet against its back.
"It's a baby dragon," Xavey squealed. "Look." He leaned forward and looked the baby dragon in the eye. "Hi,
baby."
"Yes, Xavey. What should we call him? You can name him."
Xavey stared at the baby dragon, his small face serious with concentration. He suddenly jerked his head to
look at Falone and nodded enthusiastically. "Tooani," he said. "She said his name is Tooani."
The newly named baby dragon blinked. It looked at Xavey and chirped.
Jeara reached into the pouch she wore and pulled out a few thin strips of venison. She handed them to her
son. "Give these to him. Tooani is hungry."
"Here you go." Xavey held out the strips. Tooani sniffed at them, then tugged them from his hand. Xavey
wiped drops of blood on his breeches.
The dragon chirped at Xavey.
"He said he wants more, ma. Can I give him more?" He held his hand out to her.
"He said?"
Xavey smiled. "Tooani is still hungry. He said he wants more." Jeara gave him a few more strips of meat. The
Council would certainly hear about this. Most Guardians, including Jeara, had the ability to feel what the
dragons wanted. However, it was said none with the ability to actually hear what they said had been found in
nearly two centuries. If Xavey showed the potential to understand dragons, then confessing her
transgression would be worth any reprimand the Council would inflict on her. Surely the worst punishment
they would give her would be another lashing, or bearing some other visible mark of shame, a brand perhaps.
The baby dragon finished the strips, licking Xavey's fingers.
Xavey stepped over the stones and sat down inside the nest. "It was good." He wrapped his arms around
the beast, which laid its head on the child's head, its forked tongue flicking in and out.
Jeara knelt and watched her son and the baby dragon. Falone watched her son and the human child. Both
mothers sat quietly as their children played in the stone nest.
Closing her eyes, Jeara listened to the laughter of her son and the chirps of the baby dragon. She felt the
breeze stirred by the dragons swooping around them. There were whispers on the wind she could almost
make out.
"We should be going, Xavey."
"No, ma. I want to play with Tooani." He cackled as the baby dragon rammed his chest with his head,
knocking him down.
"Very well." Jeara smiled. "A few minutes longer, then its back home. I need to speak with Matu and the
Council.”
Xavey glanced at Jeara. “Won’t Matu be mad at you?” Concern was evident in his young, cherubic face.
“Perhaps. But there is something important I need to tell him.” She gave him a reassuring smile, even as she
thought of the inevitable meeting that would occur in the Council Hall surrounded by the elders and listening
to the decrees of the Wisdom. “You don’t need to be afraid. You can come and play with Tooani later. I
promise."
Xavey smiled, then lunged for Tooani. They fell in a heap on the ground, then rose to chase each other some
more.
From the corridor, the humming of the ward spells increased in intensity, then dropped back to a low murmur.
Jerara turned in time to see the blue script flare, then vanish. The dragons turned their attention to the
corridor as well, except for Tooani who continued to play with Xavey. Jeara listened to the faint echo of
approaching footsteps. Falone positioned herself between the entrance and the stone nest, hiding the child
and baby dragon from sight.
A tall man with a shaved head emerged from the corridor. He was bare-chested save for the leather strap
that supported his sword at his back. His dark gaze came to rest on Jeara. His frown deepened. “My guess
was you would be here.”
“Matu.” Jeara sensed Falone at her side and absently reached out and ran her hand along her scaled neck. “I
came to observe the hatching. The hatchling is male, and healthy. His name is Tooani.”
“That is good,” he replied absently. He scanned the cavern, watching the dragons as they moved about, each
watched him in turn. “I was hoping to speak with you about your son. The Council has discussed him a great
deal as of late.”
“Xavey. Why?” She had planned to indicate his lack of appreciation of the hatching, but was taken off guard
at the mention of her son.
Matu smiled, though it was not a welcoming one. “His well-being, of course. And his future. The raising of a
child is not easy, even for a Guardian. Maybe especially for a Guardian, who has other responsibilities and
duties to attend to.” He approached her. “He is curious and learns quickly. He can duplicate any design and
build on it. Though he has yet to exhibit any profound talents, I feel Xavey has the potential to be a
Guardian.”
“Yet you criticized every attempt Yon and I made to prepare him…”
Matu clicked his tongue in a disapproving manner, much as one scolding a child. “The Council did not criticize
what you did, but rather that you did it without the sanction of the Council. Much like your marriage, the
Council never gave permission for you to teach your son the secret chants. Your son is much too dependent
on you. He lacks proper discipline to attain his potential.”
Jeara felt her face warm, and could feel her pulse quicken. She saw Yon, strong and caring, before he left for
his last mission, the one given him by Matu. Then she saw his body, bruised and bloodied, upon its return.
She heard the decree of the Council for singing the chants to her son, and felt each time the lash made
contact against her back. A single tear fell.
“It is these emotions you have bottled up that are not healthy.” He moved to console her, then stopped. “Yon
was my nephew, and so Xavey is my kin. I no longer travel abroad. And so the Council has decided Xavey
should be given to me for training.”
“Take him from me?” Jeara heard the crack in her voice. “You can’t. With Yon gone…”
“The Council has decided.” He inclined his head to her, as though waiting for a response to an unasked
question. “As a Guardian, you are bound to our decisions. I am sure you do not want to be punished for
disobedience, again.”
“For my son,” Jeara began, then noted the look of dismay on Matu’s face. He looked behind, eyes growing
wide and face paling. She followed his gaze.
Xavey sat on Falone’s shoulders, Tooani coiled beside him. Tears streamed down the child’s face. The baby
dragon was poised to lunge, his wings, now dry, extended behind him.
Falone shifted uneasily with the two on her back. She looked at Jeara, then focused her attention on Matu,
showing her fangs and flexing her talons.
“Why did you bring him here?” Matu asked with a hiss.
“Keeping a promise to Yon.” Jeara glanced around the cavern to find all the dragons, young and old alike,
surrounding Matu, bearing teeth and claws. Turning her attention on her son, she saw fear and anger in his
eyes as he stared down at Matu.
“Xavey can hear them,” she stated to Matu. “He can speak to them. And they listen.” She approached Falone,
holding her hands up to the child. “Xavey, come here. It’s okay.”
Xavey shook his head. “I don’t want to go with him.”
“You don’t have to. No one is going to make you go with him.”
“Promise?” Xavey looked at Jeara desperately, tears streaming from his blue eyes.
Jeara glared at Matu. “No one will take you from me.”
Matu glared at her, reaching for his sword. Tooani hissed at him, and the muscles in his hind legs bunched as
he prepared to leap. Matu returned his arm to his side. “You should not have brought him here. He does not
know how to control his Gift.”
“Then I will help him.” Jeara eyed Matu. “Perhaps the Council should incorporate compassion into their
decisions in regards to both dragons and humans.” Jeara motioned for Xavey to come to her.
“I stay with you. Promise.” His lower lip quivered as he looked at his mother.
Jeara peered over at Matu. He stared in astonishment at the dragons encircling him, then regarded the boy
on Falone’s back. He sighed. His shoulders sagged.
“I promise. No one is taking you from me.” She held her hands up to Xavey.
Wiping his eyes and nose on his sleeve, Xavey took Jeara’s hand. He slid off Falone’s back and into Jeara’s
arms. He wrapped himself around her and buried his face in her neck.
Holding Xavey tight, Jeara turned to Matu. “Xavey stays with me. Any training deemed necessary can be
directed through me.”
Tooani, now calm and in a playful mood, slid off Falone’s back to wind himself around Jeara’s legs. He reared
up and nudged Xavey’s leg with his nose. He chirped.
With another hug, Jeara sat him down with the baby dragon. “I love you, Xavey.”
“Love you, too.” Xavey smiled. He laughed as Tooani licked the tears his face. He tackled the baby dragon
and they rolled on the ground, past Falone who now lay peacefully watching them out of the corner of her
eye. The other dragons, while no longer being aggressive toward Matu, watched him wearily as they moved
back out into the cave.
“Tell the Council Xavey has talent, and you will provide instruction to him, but he remains in my care.” Jeara
turned to Matu. “You took my husband. You will not take my son.”
Matu nodded. He stole a quick glance at Xavey, amazement and fear in his eyes. He left.
Jeara sighed, then turned her attention back to her son and the baby dragon. She sat back on her haunches,
watching them play. For the first time in months, she felt at peace. The cavern grew still. All eyes were on the
human child and baby dragon as they played in the stone nest.
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In 1999, she graduated from the School for Creative and Performing Arts, with a
focus in Creative Writing. She has a BA in History, with a minor in Written
Communications, and a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies.
Her stories have appeared in Lorelei Signal, Flash Scribe, MindFlights, Silver
Blade, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Emerald Tales, Beyond Centauri, and Demons:
A Clash of Steel Anthology.
focus in Creative Writing. She has a BA in History, with a minor in Written
Communications, and a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies.
Her stories have appeared in Lorelei Signal, Flash Scribe, MindFlights, Silver
Blade, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Emerald Tales, Beyond Centauri, and Demons:
A Clash of Steel Anthology.