The Inner Council

(Part 5)
Embyr's eyes cracked open as the sun peeked over the horizon. Her eyes darted around her cave, noting that Crystal was awake and standing by the entrance. The blue dragon, seeing she was awake, flapped her wings several times to emphasize she was ready to leave when Embyr was.

The black dragon rose slowly, careful to keep her head from shifting about too much. She could still feel the small mass on her tongue and, when she listened carefully, still heard the soft breathing coming from it.

Opening her mouth the dragon reached in with a thumb and forefinger, extracting the slumbering human. Sterling awoke with a start, staring into Embyr's menacing red eyes as she held him by the back of the shirt at eye-level.
"Ready to go?" She asked, cupping a hand under her friend and allowing him to sit more comfortably. The human nodded and the pair moved out to where Crystal stood at the cave entrance.

"So... we're going to fly to the Council?" Sterling asked, looking down at the sprawling forest far below. He felt a twinge in his gut, realizing for the first time that he might have a fear of heights.

"Mhm," Embyr agreed, looking at the distant mountains to the north. "We won't be flying for more than an hour; air travel is a lot faster than land travel." "Even if it isn't very long... how are you going to get me there?" "What do you mean?" "It's not like I can put a saddle on you and ride you. How are you going to get me to the Council?"
"What, you didn't like our little flight yesterday?" Crystal asked. "I could carry him again if you wanted. It's always good to wake up to a good breakfast." "Crystal..." "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! You can't take the things I say so literal. I won't eat your pet." "He isn't a pet." "Slave, then." "Crystal..." "Unpaid servant?"

"Ignore her," Embyr said, looking back down to the human in her hands. "I'll fly you to the Council the same way I took you to my lair during the blizzard."

The black dragon cupped both hands together, forming a protective cage for her friend. Spreading her wings, Embyr looked back to a rather put-out Crystal and nodded, taking to the air. The blue dragon followed close behind, and soon the pair was on a northerly route towards the far end of the Dragon Spine Mountains.

* * * * *

The dragons, true to Crystal's prediction, landed after a little over an hour. Embyr uncupped her hands, shifting the human into her right palm and holding up at chest level so he could look around.
The trio was in a large clearing that stretched up to the base of a mountain. Snow covered the trees and ground around them, painting the landscape white.

Milling about the clearing were what may have been as many as a dozen dragons, most similar in size to Crystal. Most of the dragons were moving to or from the tree line, bringing deer and other large forest creatures into the glade. Two or three sat about roasting their catch with their fiery breath; and Sterling was horrified to see that one such dragon appeared to have captured a number of humans.

"How was the flight?" The black dragon asked, looking down Sterling. "It was... interesting..." He replied, not knowing how exactly he could describe the feeling of flying. Being carried as he was he had little to no vision of the ground below, but he still felt the buffeting of wind against Embyr and still felt his stomach drop when his friend climbed or dropped in elevation.

"Well you don't look too shaken up, so I'm assuming it wasn't a terrible experience." "Not at all, just very different." "I can imagine."

At that point one of the nearby dragons spotted them and came over. This dragon was far larger than the majority of the surrounding creatures, standing at slightly over sixty feet in height. Long black hair fell down her shoulders and onto the dark purple scales that covered her frame. A pair of silver eyes regarded Embyr and Crystal curiously as she approached.

The most curious thing about the dragon, however, was that she carried a weapon with her. A sword, a massive two-handed weapon even by dragon standards, was secured into a scabbard strapped to her back. The scabbard was tightly bound to her, prohibiting it from bouncing about as she walked so as to keep it comfortably between her wings.

As she approached she called something out to Embyr in a language Sterling didn't understand, presumably draconic. The dragon's voice had only the slightest hint of a feminine side, the powerful tone in the voices of dragons seeming to have overtaken her vocals. The black dragon nodded and responded in English. "Yes, I am Embyr. I answer the summons of the council and am here to complete my Trial."
"Then welcome," the purple dragon said, reverting to English. "The Council will see you now."

Her silver eyes flickered down to the human Embyr held in her hands. Her mouth opened slightly as she ran a tongue across her teeth. "Are you going to eat that?"

Embyr flinched. "This is Sterling. He has come as a spectator to my Trial." "A human?" "Yes, a good friend of mine."

The dragon rocked her head back and laughed, her sixty foot frame shaking like the ground during an earthquake. "You, out of all of us, brought a human to your Trial? You are very interesting indeed, Embyr. Alas, as a spectator he is under your protection; a shame, he smells... delicious. You and your party come with me."
"What did she mean by 'you of all of us'?" Sterling asked as the group moved towards the mountain, taking a wide trail that wound between the trees. "Just ignore it," Embyr said. Her voice was casual but the human detected something behind her voice, as though she was worried about something. But he trusted his friend; if it was important, she would tell him.

The four walked in silence for a long while. When they had traveled half way up the mountain, about a twenty minute walk, the purple dragon broke the silence. "I suppose you would like to speak in the human tongue, with your... unusual company." She said, looking back to Embyr. She nodded.

"The humans call me Blaze. I am one of the Inner Council." "I am honored to meet you, Blaze." "No more than I am honored to meet you, Embyr. We have long awaited your trial."

Sterling thought to ask why, realizing there was something Embyr wasn't telling him; he decided now, however, was not a good time to break into the conversation.

"You will meet the other members of the Inner Council shortly. The Council itself consists of twenty dragons, but only six of us sit on the Inner Council. They will be the ones who question you, and your friends are more than welcome to sit in on the questioning. They may, in fact, be interrogated as well. We like to know all we can about you before we decide your quest."

"Does Pyre still rule the Council?" Embyr asked. "Yes, she does. Of course 'ruling' doesn't mean nearly as much as it used to; she simply calls forth the meetings. The others on the Council will be just as important in your questioning."

Blaze went on to the other members of the council, as much for Sterling's benefit as for Embyr's.
Venom sat next to Blaze on the Council. This dragon was said to be the greatest huntress of all dragon kind, called the "gray eyes of the forest" in some legends because her sense of smell was so advanced it was as though she saw everything for miles around. She stood at just over sixty-five feet in height, her scales green like the forest in which she loved to hunt. Her black hair, once the longest in the Council, was cut short so as to not cause it to interfere with her hunting.

The next dragon on the Inner Council was called Razor. This blue dragon was the smallest and only male on the council, though he was far from the weakest. There was no question to the fact that this dragon, despite his small stature of a mere fifty feet in height, was the fastest dragon in the world. The same flight the trio made in about an hour, Blaze said, Razor could have made in less than fifteen minutes; a mere ten minutes in perfect weather. Some humans referred to this dragon as "Sky Fire" for his fiery red eyes were the last sight for most of his victims.
Onyx sat next to Razor. This dragon was said to blend in perfectly with the night sky, both her long hair and scales a terrifying shade of black. Her eyes were her most notable aspect, being a light shade of green; but it was said that even these faded to black when she did not want to be seen. Reclusive, this dragon was rarely seen outside of the Inner Council's circle and only hunted at night. There was no argument that she was the most intimidating member of the council save for Pyre herself.

The sixth member of the Council (including Blaze and Pyre) sounded almost friendly to Sterling. She went by the name of Crag and was the largest dragon in the Council and possibly the world, standing at an incredible height of eighty feet. She loved the mountains and spent a large amount of time away from the Council, flying about the mountain ranges of the world. It was said she enjoyed the company of any who shared her views, even humans, and stopped to talk with human travelers and miners on a regular basis. It was also said that this dragon was immortal, having been raised in a volcano by her parents seeming to have imbued her with incredible size and power. Legends said that she was stabbed in the heart on two different occasions and went on not only to win the fight but also to recover from the should-be mortal wounds.

Pyre was never described, though she was referenced many times. From what Sterling gathered, the dragon was the second largest on the Inner Council, succeeded only by Crag. She was crimson red, both in eye color and scale color. Her hair was the only exception, being long and black like most other dragons. From the references the human learned little of her personality, but he pictured her as a powerful and wise leader, truly a dragon for humans to fear.

By the time Blaze finished they had come to the top of the mountain. The four companions came out onto the bare mountaintop, gaining a great view of the surrounding sea of smaller mountains below them. The truly breathtaking view came from the Inner Council themselves, however.

The five present dragons sat on large slabs of rock with a central slab having been placed between them, the entire set-up looking very similar to a human stone circle. Blaze's descriptions, despite their praise of the gathered dragons, did not live up to the sheer power of their presence. It was as though a council of gods sat before them.

Blaze moved to the gathered dragons, taking her place on the far left side of the semicircle. Embyr, carrying Sterling, stepped forward tentatively with Crystal at her side. The dragons kept their gazes locked on Embyr though they occasionally glanced at both of her companions, their gazes lingering on the human in her hand with some confusion.

"Embyr requests that we use English, for the sake of her companion." Blaze explained to the rest of the Inner Council, nodding to Sterling. The human's blood froze as the twelve eyes belonging to the mightiest dragons in existence locked on him. "The request is granted." The all-powerful voice of Pyre boomed, a spark of interest appearing in her eyes.

"Young dragon, as is customary we will hold an audience with you before giving you your quest. We want to learn all we can of you so we can select an appropriate Trial." Pyre explained, Embyr nodding. Sterling, still in her hand, could sense a subtle trimmer in her body, the result of her nervousness.

The Inner Council went in turns, learning of her life over the last decade. She had done little, though it was obvious she had traveled a great distance to reach where she currently lived. She gave full accounts of her hunting game with Sterling (which particularly interested Venom) and the day which he was saved from the blizzard. After a short while the conversation abruptly shifted, going back to the centuries before she came to live near Sterling's village.
Before too many questions were asked Embyr unexpectedly asked for the conversation to revert back to Draconic and, with a bit of chuckling, the gathered dragons complied. Unable to follow the conversation Sterling's mind drifted off into thought.

Embyr was hiding something from him. The words "you of all of us" came back to Sterling. His friend had never spoken to him about her past, always changing the subject when he asked for specific topics. "I have flown half way around the world," Embyr had said at one point. Did she travel such a great distance to avoid something? And why did the Council have such a great respect for her?

"Thank you, Embyr. There will be no further questions for you." Pyre said, switching back to English and abruptly ending the conversation. "We would now like to speak with your companion, Crystal, alone. Wait nearby; we will call you when we are finished."

Sterling's friend nodded and turned to leave, going back to the trailhead to wait for her friend's questioning to finish.

The human in her hand bit his lip, not wanting to offend his friend in any way but also not wanting to suppress his growing curiosity. What was the dragon hiding from him?

"Um... Embyr..." "Yes?" "Why did you want to speak in draconic?" "I... um... well... some things are just easier said in one's native tongue." "Can you try to translate for me?" "Um... I don't know if there's a human translation for some of the topics..." "Embyr, you're avoiding something." "No, really, it's nothing you should be worried-" "Embyr I flew over one hundred miles from home for you. I am surrounded by the most powerful dragons in the world for you. The least you can do is tell me what made the Council respect you so much." "Sterling..."

Embyr was interrupted by the sound of approaching footfalls. She turned to see both Blaze and Crystal approaching her. Though Blaze's face was unreadable Crystal looked rather nervous.

"They... um..." she began before Blaze cut her off."We will now speak with Sterling. Alone."

Embyr clutched Sterling to her chest, panic in her eyes. "What-" "We aren't going to hurt him. He is under your protection. We would not want to offend you."

Blaze held her hand out for the human and Embyr reluctantly handed her friend over, worry still etched across her face. The purple dragon nodded and turned back to the stone circle.

Sterling's heart raced faster than it ever had in his life. He had feared for his life only two other times: once when he first found Embyr and once when he was hunted by Crystal. Then he had faced one dragon that, by dragon standards, wasn't very large. Now he was surrounded by six of the largest, most powerful dragons in existence.
Twelve eyes looked down on him, regarding him curiously, studying him. Despite her desire to eat him earlier that day, Blaze stood out as a friendly face among the Inner Council, being the only dragon among them he had had long term contact with. Venom also stood out among the gathered dragons, regarding him with a curiosity that exceeded even that of the other Council members. Her eyes sparkled in a way that almost made Sterling mistake the look for one of admiration. But what had he done to impress a dragon like Venom?

"Sterling..." Pyre said after a long while. Sterling, who had been staring at Venom with a growing feeling of dread, snapped his gaze back to the dragon leader.

"You are the first human ever to see the dragon Inner Council." "I am honored." He said truthfully, giving an audible gulp as the mighty dragon's fiery eyes continued to burn into him. Pyre nodded, accepting the complement.
"It is clear to us that Embyr is a loyal friend to you, just as you are a loyal friend to her. Do you disagree with our observation?" "Of course not." "And, tell me, when Embyr first approached you, what came to your mind? What did you expect?" "I expected to be eaten." "Are you surprised now that you are not?"

"I-" Sterling began but stopped. He would have said no that, despite draconic reputation, Embyr was a kind and gentle friend and would never have purposefully harmed him or, he believed, any other human. But then his mind turned back to the secret that had come up when they arrived among Embyr's kind, the dark tale of her past that she was keeping from him. Was Embyr really how she portrayed herself to be?

"I don't know..." Sterling said, ashamed that he couldn't have given a better answer for the sake of his friend and ashamed that he didn't trust Embyr more, even after she had saved his life on at least one occasion.
"I see." Pyre said.

"When she saved you from the blizzard, did you expect to die then?" Crag asked. Sterling turned toward the massive dragon. She stood out among the Council not only as the largest dragon but as the only dragon that had red hair instead of black.

"Yes, but only because I was panicking. Had I thought about it, I would have trusted Embyr. Fear is quality humanity would be better without." "Fear is what makes humanity strive, little one, and what makes them survive; some dragons would be better off with fear." Pyre said.

Sterling sat back, thinking over her words. Truly, these dragons were as wise as they were powerful.

But his curiosity nagged at him when the silence came. Did Embyr fear something? Was she running, even half way around the world, from something? Or should she have more fear? Was the referenced dragon really her?
"I can smell your curiosity, human." Pyre said, startling Sterling's thoughts. "Put your mind at ease. Your questions will be answered in time."

"You are a very fortunate human, Sterling." Onyx said. As he turned to regard the dragon it seemed as though he could literally feel the terror she was capable of flowing off of her body. Her green eyes sparkled as they bored into him but, unlike the eyes of the other dragons, the glint they possessed seemed hostile and evil. "I will not say you are lucky. No human could be as lucky as you seem to be. It is fate that gave you a friend like Embyr. Remember that, always."

"We have no further questions for you, Sterling." Pyre said. "But do not be surprised if members of the Inner Council do not wish to speak with you in the near future." Venom said her interest evident. "Indeed," Razor said.
Blaze took Sterling into her hand and walked back to where Embyr anxiously waited. She nearly grabbed the human from the larger dragon and protectively clutched him closer to her.

"We will discuss our findings and speak with you again at the feast tonight. You have the day to spend about Council territory. We will see you tonight." With that Blaze departed, leaving the three to walk down the mountain in silence, each wondering what the Inner Council's quest would be.