The Call of Dragons

7

Raiya

Denali was true to her word when she said she didn’t care that Raiya would no longer be in her service, but Raiya had still done what she could, finding comfort in continuing those duties on the side. Denali ultimately ignored her presence, not caring as long as the girl didn't bother her, get in her way, or intrude upon her moments with Priyana. Raiya knew that just like her, Denali had never really taken to her upon their first meeting, and both shared a mutual dislike of each other. There didn’t need to be any specific reasons for it at this point. What she couldn’t stand, however, was how the dislike Denali had for her seemed to bleed over to how she treated Marigold because of the friendship between the two girls. Though she felt bad about it, Marigold didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Doesn’t it bother you at all though?” Raiya asked, helping her wash Denali’s clothes. “Even just saying it does a little bit is okay.”

Marigold laughed as she furiously scrubbed at a spot on the leather jerkin that refused to go away. “No,” she replied and smiled at the sulking girl sitting beside her. It was often disconcerting to see a child behave maturely so whenever Raiya acted like her true age, she would feel happy. The innocence of youth should be preserved as much as possible. She had always felt that way as the eldest child of a family with five kids. It had always fallen upon her to take care of her siblings while her parents worked, and she had done her best to give her siblings a good childhood despite their position in life.

“Why not?” Raiya whined, feeling very put out.

“Because I’m just here to do my job. I’m not here to get along with Dragonlady Denali or to even seek her approval. If she is satisfied with my work, I’m happy. I get paid a good wage for this, why should I complain? And stir quicker! You got to soap these things well or these stubborn stains won’t come out.” She gestured to the spot she was working on that still refused to come out.

Just then, a large shadow flew over the pair, causing them to glance up nonchalantly. At this point, the two were accustomed to the arrival of dragons, especially this one. Priyana landed in the water, sending waves that soaked the two sitting on the banks of the pool. She had grown quite big over these last five months, about forty feet now from tail to snout and a hundred feet from wingtip to wingtip. She was only five months and yet already half the size of Shegil. Sibilla, Ralph, and even Godrick had voiced their surprise and excitement at the unusual size of the Queen at so young an age. Even the Council and other flyers whispered amongst themselves, saying this was a very good indicator that she might be over a hundred feet come her final size.

‘This is dirty water you know,’ she said to Priyana, annoyed at being soaked through with it.

‘I’m well aware. Denali is cleaning me today though. I’ll be glistening like the sun soon enough. You should bathe too, though you’ll not be nearly as beautiful as me.’

“Couldn’t you have, I don’t know, not splashed us on your arrival?” Marigold said aloud, squeezing out the water from her hair.

‘Tell her that it amused me greatly.’

Raiya relayed the message obediently. At this point, everyone in the fortress was made aware of Raiya’s ability and her training with Julian. She had already gotten used to the weird stares and occasional questions thrown her way as she wandered down the halls.

“You’re too big to be landing about everywhere without a care in the world! Pay attention, you’re not a small thing anymore!” Marigold continued her scolding. “You’re making more work for us you know.”

Raiya was impressed at her friend’s bravery. If it was her, she would not speak so casually to a large, flying dragon that could eat them both in one gulp.

‘Do you say that to Shegil and Rellerth too I wonder?’ remarked Priyana.

‘You know you’re going to be larger than the two of them. You’re already almost half the size of Shegil.’

Priyana’s pleasure at the compliment was hard to miss, and the dragon bid them both farewell before departing, sending another wave of water their way.

“Insufferable! Like her flyer!”

“So, you do care,” Raiya murmured, smiling.

The two dissolved into laughter as they continued their task, uncaring at this point of being soaked.

*~*

Over the last month, Raiya had spent her afternoons as promised with Julian in the library, learning not just about Speakers but also having extensive lessons in history, politics, government, and dragons.

“Do I really need to know all of this?” she had asked him one afternoon, trying to keep the whine out of her voice but failing miserably.

“It’s important for you to understand all of this, yes Raiya,” he replied patiently.

“Okay, fine. I get I have to learn the other stuff because of Speaker duties. But why dragons? It’s not like I’ll be flying on one.”

“It’s important for you to understand dragons because they are formidable beings whom you will spend a lot of time conversing with. So, take care to be knowledgeable to avoid causing offense. You don’t want to be eaten now, do you?”

Raiya had blanched at this, causing his solemn expression to break as he chuckled at her terror-stricken expression. Though he knew it would never happen, threatening her like this was the only way to quiet her and have her focus.

“Look,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Besides communicating with other fortresses, a Speaker is known for understanding dragons and conveying that understanding to the people within the fortress. Not the flyers, but the everyday people who don’t know much about dragons. The Council, the lords and ladies of the various keeps, and the common folk. If you don’t have that understanding of dragons, you aren’t maximizing your usefulness. You want to be useful right?”

Raiya nodded her head, wide-eyed.

“Then learn well. You’re a smart girl Raiya, if you apply yourself and truly try, you’ll go far. I promise you this.”

She had taken those words to heart and after that one lesson and her other ones went far smoother with less interruptions. No longer did she express dissatisfaction throughout the lesson but listened to him eagerly. Julian was pleased to have found this sponge that soaked up his teachings quickly. When he tested her, she recited everything he had told her back word-for-word. He was impressed that a child of her age was so gifted and pleased that it fell on him to mold her.

When she wasn’t attending her afternoon lessons or Denali, she spent her time helping Ashari.

Like earlier this morning.

Raiya had slipped into the kitchens before the sun had even risen, searching for the woman she knew would already be up and working. The stench of dremp* entered her nostrils, causing her to wrinkle her nose in distaste.

“Sibilla says that’s not healthy for you,” Raiya coughed, waving away the smoke emanating from Ashari’s pipe as she drew near the woman. “She says dremp can cause damage to the lungs.”

“Sibilla kin bite my behind or mind she own business. A few pipes uh dis ting a day ain't gwine kill me,” Ashari replied from where she was seated in front of one of the stove fires. “And you doan gotta do dis no mo' gal, I got plenty uh people who can waash de dishes or do other tings. Dey gwine start comin' into dis kitchen any moment now.” She took another puff from her pipe and cheekily blew smoke rings in the direction of where the girl was standing. “And besides dey do a betta job dan you,” she added with a smirk.

“I like spending the time with you. If I don’t do things, then we won’t see each other often right? That’s why I’m here helping you,” Raiya spoke decidedly, ignoring the jab and focusing all her attention on furiously scrubbing a blackened metal tray. “This was always black right? Are you sure it was once silver?” she asked doubtfully, peering at it under the flickering torchlights.

Ashari chuckled and affirmed that it was and had always been silver. She heaved a heavy sigh as she rose from her chair, placing the smoking pipe down on the side table next to it before ambling over to the sink the girl was standing at. She tutted as she watched the girl work before moving her aside.

“Liek dis, gal.”

She exchanged the scrubber for a softer cloth, dipping the metal tray under the soapy hot water and rubbing with the cloth in smooth, circular motions. Slowly, the blackness began to fade to a dull silver but even with Ashari’s skillful ministrations, that tray would never reach its true silver luster again. “Dunt scrooch op my tings. It ain't cheap fa get silvuh now since de deliveries ain comin' now,”

Raiya tilted her head, drying her hands with a cloth before waking over to the now vacated seat and sitting down.

“Isn’t one of the natural resources of Valeria metal? Why isn’t it easy without the tithes? We live in a mountain, wouldn’t that have a lot of silver, balite, gold, and such?”

She gave the girl a look. “Ain't you luhn'ning nutt'n fum dat bookpusher? Fortresses ain't ga get access ta de resources not in dey immediate area. Only dem lords an' ladies in dey fancy castles wid dey craftspeople got 'plenty access ta de resources scatter'd 'cross de lan' here.”

Raiya frowned. “But why? Seems a little unfair. Did we use up this entire mountain range?”

Ashari shrugged as she continued her ministrations. “Dis de way e bin write. Back den, dem fortresses bin gitting dem dragons an de mountains. Ain't fair I 'spose fa also have control ova goods an trade. Too much power in one area. Dis why dey had de tithing system made instead. You waan protection? You freely offer goods fa make shuah what's protecting you remains strong. Wukkin togedda in harmony, at least till recently. Now de mountains bin stripped clean long ago, ain't nottin' left fa we now”

“Cause of Ralph?” Raiya asked curiously.

Ashari laughed heartily, finding the girl’s innocence cute. “Oh, chile. It ain't right fuh blame one person fuh trouble. He ain't de best, I kin admit dat readily nuff, but he ain't de wuss eider. Geria knows shit bin messed up long b'fo Ralph become de Chief. Ovuh two hunnuh years uh it finally blowin' up.” She rinsed off the metal tray and inspected it, nodding in satisfaction at her handiwork before placing it neatly beside the rest of the drying dishes on the stand. She dried her hands and reached out for her pipe. Raiya stood and dutifully walked over, handing it to her while wrinkling her nose in dissatisfaction. Ashari took a deep inhale of the smoke before blowing it out lazily. “You kno wa we need, gal? We need somebody willin' fo enforce de old ways. Good old Rick was decent enough, but he was moa talk dan action at de end of de day. Believed ebrybody would follow all dese truces and treaties and all dat ting. It ain't help dat he kept yappin' on bout dem old stuff, like dat alien race dat used to be ya and de horrible weapon dey mek. We ain't need none of dat word ting, no no. We need action. People only listen to action, gal, mark my words I know dese ting as somebody who command ova others. Need somebody fo grab dis world by its roots and pluck it out, planting a new one in its stead.”

“That’s probably a lot harder to do,” Raiya said, trying to defend her fatherly figure. “I think Godrick did everything he could, but if everyone tries to stop him, then what?”

Ashari gave her a look, shaking her head before continuing, “Hoo gwine stop de Chief, chile, huh? He got all de powah in de fortress, ef he wanted to he could do whatevah he wanted. Rich l'owed dem weasels in dey fancy chairs fa influence him. He cayuh bout what dey t'ought. You can tek dey counsel into conside'ation, but do' hesitate fa act on your own beliefs. I'm sho he did he bes' now. I t'ink he true downfall was dat he wanted fa convince dem of de devil dem still might roam de planet, which ain't a good ting fa do nowadays. Aftuhwuds, dey juss laughed an' shut down anything he tried fa do.”

“That’s awful,” Raiya whispered, staring at the older woman with wide eyes. “It’s like betrayal.” She frowned and thought about the events leading up to Godrick being sent away during the mating flights of Shegil. “Is that why they tried to get rid of him?”

Ashari stilled immediately, her eyes sharp and her smile harsh. “'Sho nuff. Ya cain't control somebody? Tek um away. An dey did. Agin, an agin, an agin. Preyin' on he need fa hep people. On he suspicions ob de east.”

“Speaker Julian says I can help create change if I become a Speaker. If I do, I promise I’ll do something. I won’t just be words!” the girl promised, her eyes shining with determination.

Ashari laughed again, crossing her arms, and leaning against the basin of soapy water. “You kno sometin' gal? I b'lieve ya. Ya got smarts, ya got dis—” she tapped her head “—an most 'portantly ya got courage. Sibilla, Geria know, try her bes' fa make changes happen fa we lowborn folk. She git me dis position ya know, an she help plenty mo' git high places. But ya? Ya gwine be de bigges' success story ef ya succeed. Think 'bout it, a simple servin' girl tun inta de mos' influenshul person in de fortress? It's a fairy tale come true. Ya ain't got somewhere fa be headin' to by de way?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Raiya gasped for she had completely lost track of time over the course of the morning. While they had been speaking, servants had already entered the kitchens and began working, not sparing the two of them a second cursory glance. She was going to be late to her afternoon lesson with Julian if she didn’t hurry. She quickly turned and rushed to the door, but before dashing through it, she stopped and turned back, examining the older woman who had remained rooted to her spot. Ashari was staring off into the distance with misty eyes, her pipe dangling lazily between her lips.

“Sibilla tried her best to create change for us servants,” she said softly, affirming what Ashari had said earlier. “She tried her best to make good changes for people that didn’t have opportunities, or hope. You also inspired and took care of the servants under your care. If I do succeed, it’ll be because of her and you.”

Ashari turned her head slightly, looking at her with a certain searching gaze that Raiya didn’t quite understand. She finally removed the pipe from her mouth, saying, “She done duh hur bes', no doubt bout dat. An' I do wa' I can. But change ain' neiduh good no' bad. It jes is. Change migh' be good fa we servants, bu' bad fa dem uppah-class grubbies who need we fa do dey wuk fa dem. Cyan' change people who ain' see issues wid de system an' dey actions. Hard fa 'courage oddas fa seek change when dey fine comfort in dey routine. Now hug 'head fo' ya late an' dey come houndin' me fa keepin' ya hostige an' wukkin' ya to de bone.”

Raiya obeyed then, running through the door and past the growing throng of servants coming into the kitchen to start their shifts. As she made her way to the library, she reflected on the conversation she had with the older woman, wondering if she could bring it up with Julian. She wondered what insight he could provide to it. With a newfound sense of eagerness, she hurried along to the library, her endless need to learn more burning bright.