Through a past darkly
Writen by Andrew McCulloch
Dusk was falling as the two men made their way through the still busy streets. The sense of fear instilled by the tyranny of the Dragonlords, hung like an almost visible miasma in the narrow streets. Brakk hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself seem less conspicuous Myst strode ahead of him, preoccupied with his own thoughts of the past he couldn't remember.
They reached the gate and the first part of Myst's plan ,to leave undetected, failed.
"Lord Myst! We were not informed that you would be leaving town today", stated a couple guards.
Myst gaped at them until Brakk came to his assistence, "The Dragonlord has heard rumours that bandits are headed out to the wyrm grottoes to steal a clutch of eggs. He intends to activate the traps and warn the wyrms. As such, he only needs me to see to his needs."
Brakk almost sneered his contempt at the guards, but the guards merely nodded and the two passed.
Myst heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Brakk saying, "How is it that you know so much about the wyrm grottoes?"
For a moment Myst thought that Brakk wouldn't answer him, then finally he replied. "I was raised in Wyrmford, but a short way from the Grottoes. My father was the local blacksmith. When I was at the age of choosing, my father apprenticed me to the Forrestials. For the next six years I learnt all the woodcraft anyone knew and that included how to vouchsafe the dragonetts of the Grottoes."
Myst was astounded. Brakk came from the second most highly sought after position in Murkwood after the Dragonlords."But if that is so," he stammered, "How is it that you come to reside in the Dragonlord's jail? I mean, to fall so far from favour, your crime must have been grim?"
The muscles in Brakks shoulders rippled and then he smiled grimly relaxing. "I had a sister once Dragonlord. She was sweet and untouched by the cares of the world. She was the only reason I ever went home. Then one day, our local Dragonlord called up the Forrestials for the dryad hunt and I was made hunt leader. The 'dryad' victim was always a peasant girl, usually malformed or not right in the head. She would be smuggled into the woods the previous night and left. Our job was to raise the awareness of the forest and direct the flora and fauna in the hunt."
Brakk had stopped walking and his eyes were dark with remembered pain." We entered the central glade just as the Lord offered the victim to his dragon mount. It was my sister! In my head she is still screaming." He covered his eyes.
"What did you do?" Myst whispered, reluctant to dig too deeply, yet fascinated.
Brakk dropped his hands, his voice hollow. "I did the only thing I could think of to do, I plunged into the communal awareness of the forest and crushed the life out of the dragon and its master."
Myst was horrified.
Brakk turned and started walking again. "There was nothing wrong with my sister, the Dragonlord had no right to do what he did but the forest heard me and took my revenge." Myst stood, rooted in horror at the undramatic way that Brakk told his tale. He had heard this dark tale told before. What Brakk had not told him was that the forest had skinned not only the Dragonlord and his dragon, but every other human in the forest with the exception of the man who had triggered it off. As a Forrestial, Brakk would be a guide without equal, as a slayer of Dragonlords, perhaps he might not make the best of travelling companions.
Myst looked beyond the trudging man in question. The road they were following led towards a vast tract of primal forest. He began to follow his companion, noting that this journey could either be very good or very bad as far as the oddessy that was his life was concerned.
On to the next chapter?