The Gift of Charms (6 page)

Y
oshiko was pondering about his first challenge, how he could become strong enough to lift Guya’s pot, and an idea came to him unexpectedly.

Ketu and Kiara were reminiscing about Yoshiko’s birth and were discussing their former Guard Dragon Romao who had just that week been awarded a promotion.

‘I always knew that dragon, Romao, would go far,’ said Ketu to Kiara. ‘When I saw him over ten years ago in that spear-throwing contest I knew that I must select him to be our cave guard during Yoshiko’s nesting period. In fact there and then I would have bet fifty glass stones that he would have made it to a senior guard like he just has.’

Yoshiko had only met his former Guard Dragon a few times, but he knew that Romao looked upon him like a little brother, having been there to protect him at the family cave during his hatching.

‘Do you think Romao would train me?’ Yoshiko asked Ketu suddenly.

‘You want personal training from one of the best Guard Dragons in Dragor! I expect you’ll be outdoing me at fire and flying soon.’ He looked delighted at his son’s request.

Kiara, as usual, responded with concern. ‘It is because of those Alana dragons picking on you, isn’t it?’ she declared. ‘Yoshiko, I do not want you training so you can start fights. We must deal with it another way.’

Ketu turned the warmth of his smile on her. ‘Kiara, my dear, please do not assume the worst. Romao will train him only so he can improve his skills, and it will be a benefit if he can protect himself should the need arise. I’ll have a message sent to Romao straight away.’ Ketu put a big spoon of Kiara’s homemade sticky mash into his mouth. ‘My son,’ he continued, ‘training with the Guard Dragons. What a proud elder I am.’

The next day Romao was waiting to meet Yoshiko after Fire School and Igorr and his friends saw him.

‘Need a Guard to escort you home?’ mocked Igorr, as Yoshiko headed towards Romao.

Romao, hearing the taunts, began to wander towards Yoshiko and Igorr backed away.

Yoshiko tried to force a smile as Romao approached and patted him with a friendly wing.

‘Ketu tells me you want to train with me?’ said Romao.

Yoshiko nodded. ‘I want to get strong, fly far, and become heat resistant …’ he paused as he looked at his plump body and then continued, ‘I need to be able to lift really heavy things like big pots. I know right now it is hard to believe.’

Romao smiled warmly as he looked at Yoshiko’s overhanging belly.

‘Ambition is great, Yoshiko, and indeed I am the right person to help you, but we must take it one step at a time. Have you yet managed any of the flight paths at the Trail Mountains?’

Yoshiko shook his head. ‘I stay away from the Alana territory.’

‘Well, we’ll start first with training your wings in
preparation,’ said Romao. ‘Lifting clay discs, and fan-beating the flames. That should be enough to give you the strongest wings of any dragon your age in Dragor!’ he added encouragingly.

‘Follow me,’ he said, and took to the skies, heading towards the Guard Dragons’ training grounds. He then picked up some speed and took Yoshiko for a faster flight, circling all of the Alana Mountains.

Romao spotted several Guard Dragons who were prowling around the Trail Mountains, and started to descend. He landed, shortly followed by Yoshiko, who was out of breath and panting.

Romao looked at his little chest moving in and out.

‘The secret to becoming a Guard Dragon is practise, practise, practise,’ he said, as they watched the guards swoop at high speeds over their heads. ‘See that dragon there?’ He pointed to a blue Talana dragon, whose scales rippled with the muscle underneath. ‘He was really clumsy in the air when he started,’ said Romao. ‘Now he is one of Dragor’s best. Every day he trains around the Trail Mountains.’

Several of the passes had been adapted by a team of Guard Dragons and were the pride and joy of their Captain Ayo. He had instructed the trails to be full of
flight obstacles and targets so as to help improve the flying skills of any trainees.

Yoshiko looked in awe at some dragons flying into the entrances at breakneck speeds. A Guard Dragon then came swooping down behind them from one of the exits and shot across the Great Waters. Then with absolute precision the dragon smashed a row of clay pots floating on the surface.

As the fragments sank out of sight another dragon at the edge of the Great Waters began turning a pulley system. It ferried another set of pots out into position, waiting for the next dragon.

‘You won’t be ready for the Trail Mountains until you are very fit,’ said Romao. ‘One wrong turn and that could be the end of it.’

‘Have you ever hit a mountain?’ asked Yoshiko.

Romao shook his head. ‘No, but I was injured badly when I caught a turn wrong,’ he said, unfurling his large wing and showing Yoshiko an ugly raised scar. ‘Every year there are one or two dragons who fly the trails too early and hurt themselves. The hardest trail has lava pits along the way that throw smoke and ash up, plus there are jets of scalding water from the rocks that shoot sky high. Go through either of those
at the wrong point and it could be fatal.’ Romao’s tone was serious.

‘Come,’ he continued. ‘Let’s fly over the simple adventure course. All you have to do is swing in and out changing sides in order to avoid the trees. You cannot hurt yourself even if you hit the branches as the leaves are soft and cushioning. We will train here every day until you absolutely perfect it, then you can move on.’

They turned and flew at a gentle speed that allowed Yoshiko to fly beside Romao, swinging in and out of the small forest. He sailed through the course with ease.

‘Great, let’s go see how the Alanas train – the most talented in the air of all the clans,’ said Romao.

They approached the Great Waters, Romao cried out against the shrill of the wind, ‘Now … Look down! See the Alanas are all practising their skills. Watch how they are doing fancy turns before they dive deeply into the water. They are making their bodies and wings as straight as they can. They are challenging themselves to build up a perfect score. Every year at Red Seventh Moon these dragons gather for the Great Races. All the Guard Dragons will be taking part and competing for
the main award. I am already training hard for the next one. It’s going to be so much fun!’

‘Do you really think I could ever make a Guard?’ Yoshiko asked hopefully.

Romao turned to him and examined his current form in the skies.

‘Most dragons never use all their talent. They don’t ever develop the right attitude. Won’t listen. Won’t learn,’ he said. ‘They fly only to get around Dragor. If you are willing to train hard there is almost no end to what you can achieve. Wing exercises,’ Romao continued, ‘are the first essential for improving flight.’ He stretched out his large wings and hovered as he pushed them up and down quickly.

‘First we train for strength in the wing,’ he said.

‘Then we train for accuracy. Then one day you will be ready for the Trail Mountains.’

They landed next in the far west of Dragor at the Clay Hills and Romao led Yoshiko into the Guard Dragons’ training cave. Loud grunts and the sight of many large dragons greeted them. ‘The Guards need to have very strong wings,’ Romao said. He hefted up a huge thick disc to show it to Yoshiko. ‘See this! One day you will be able to lift one of these with a wing.’

Yoshiko peered at the disc, which looked as if it must be at least half his weight.

‘The back area of this cave is where we will train,’ said Romao, and he led Yoshiko through into a smaller room.

Here many dragons were gathered, lifting clay discs on their wings, with others placing the discs on and off to help them.

‘Good for beginners,’ said Romao, pointing to the thinnest disc. ‘Very lightweight.’

He indicated where Yoshiko should stand. ‘Spread your wings,’ he said, and Yoshiko opened his large wings, feeling discomfort at showing his strange scales publicly.

‘Hold them down,’ said Romao, placing the disc on to the tip of Yoshiko’s wing. ‘Now, UP!’

Yoshiko lifted his wing easily. ‘Good. You have some natural strength,’ said Romao. ‘So we can try you on a slightly larger disc.’ He vanished for a moment, returning with a slightly thicker one.

Romao placed the new disc on to Yoshiko’s wing, which shook this time as he tried to raise it, but he mustered all of his strength and managed to lift it. Romao looked pleased. ‘Good work! This is the level we’ll start you at,’ he said. ‘Now for the other side.’

After an hour at the training cave Romao reckoned it was enough for the first session and decided to take him out to a remote area deeper in the hills where a hoard of dragons were working away on their various creations in clay.

Romao led Yoshiko to a large cave. ‘Now for another part of your training,’ he said.

‘To gain good wing strength and accuracy is one thing. That will help you to take corners faster and swoop down quicker when you need to, but these skills are only one part of what makes a good flyer. The most essential thing is stamina. You can be as fast and strong as you like, but without it you won’t be able to keep any activity up for long. Stamina is what the winning dragons have – the ones who lead any race track right to the end. A lot of dragons only train for strength,’ continued Romao. ‘If you have both it will help you greatly.’

They walked down into the hills and towards the huge clay ovens, which were as tall as three dragons. Each was full of a fierce flame and the heat could be felt from far away. In front of the oven was a small
Effram dragon beating the flames with his wings. Romao pointed.

‘Do you see that youngling over there?’

Yoshiko nodded, looking at the light green dragon.

‘Don’t be fooled by his small size. The little fire beaters are the best in long distances out of all of the dragons,’ continued Romao. ‘We will get your ability to such a level that you can fan flames for hours at a time.’

‘Okey-smokey!’ Yoshiko clapped his wings together.

‘Ready to fan the flames?’

Yoshiko nodded, admiring the little green dragon who stepped aside at a nod from Romao.

Moving into position Yoshiko opened his wings with uncertainty.

‘That’s the way,’ said Romao. ‘Now beat them into the fire.’ Yoshiko started to pound his wings together, sending gusts of wind towards the flames.

Inside the oven he could see the effect the air was having. It tunnelled down under the logs that had been placed in the oven and charged them with a bright red glow.

‘The Efframs want the hot airstream to gush as fast as possible, it fires their clay, making it super hard,’
Romao explained as Yoshiko fanned. ‘The clay would not set like rock were it not for the fire beaters.’

Yoshiko was concentrating on his task. He had started quickly, but after only a few minutes found a steady pace.

He continued until he was completely exhausted and his wingbeats began to slow. Romao gestured that the fire beater could return to his job again. The green dragon moved back into place and began beating.

‘That was real good,’ said Romao. He looked up at the sun. ‘By my estimation you kept that up for a full half an hour. Best I have seen from a new starter.’ Romao smiled broadly. ‘It seems your large wings help your natural stamina.’ His eyes dropped to Yoshiko’s rounded belly. ‘However, one thing at a time. Success depends far more on the will of the dragon. Many dragons start the process but quickly give up.’

‘I won’t give up,’ said Yoshiko quickly. ‘I’ll train every day.’

‘Then, early tomorrow morning we will train again,’ said Romao.

Yoshiko agreed.

Y
oshiko landed at Fire School. After his first two sessions with Romao his wings ached a lot. But he had a strange feeling of satisfaction at what he had achieved. Yoshiko noticed from the empty courtyard that he was one of the first arrivals. He wandered over to the Fire Pit.

‘Where’s your minder?’

Igorr’s voice echoed through the crescent suddenly and Yoshiko’s heart sank as he came face to face with his enemy.

‘You’re just so useless. You can’t even do things on your own. You need a minder with you!’

‘Leave him alone, Igorr,’ said Amlie. Her small body
landed straight between them as if from nowhere. Her intense, tiny blue eyes looked up at Igorr.

Yoshiko went to speak, but instead he turned round to greet Amlie as if Igorr didn’t exist.

‘Are you deaf?’ spat Igorr. Again Yoshiko said nothing, and instead began talking to Amlie about the day’s lesson ahead.

‘We all know you’ll never even make the edges of the Fire Pit,’ shouted Igorr as loud as he could, his face filled with rage.

Amlie’s face suddenly turned to lightning. With one forceful puff she let out an almighty flame. It caught the back of Igorr’s tail and began running up his spine.

‘Maybe that will teach you to stop picking on others and calling them names!’ she shouted as Igorr screeched, wagging his tail frantically and bashing it on to the dusty ground to put out the fire.

Yoshiko threw his wing around his friend. He realised in that moment that he had been allowing Igorr to take away all of his happiness. ‘Come on, Amlie, he is just not worth it!’ he said. ‘Let’s get to class.’

The history of Dragor was taught by a plump female dragon whose red Nephan scales had turned a dusty pink.

‘I bet she never does any fire-walking,’ whispered Amlie as they trooped into the cave classroom.

Igorr was now attached to an even meaner-looking group of Alana dragons, who groaned loudly as they came into the class. The room was laid out with small stone desks to allow the dragons to write more easily.

‘Who wants to learn about stupid history anyway?’ Igorr stated loudly. ‘We all already know how to make fire. But then again some people here need lessons,’ he continued. ‘That Nephan over there definitely needs teaching a lesson or two.’ Igorr looked delighted at his words and turned to check that Yoshiko had overheard. His eyes burned with hate.

‘Take your places,’ called the teacher, the folds of her soft skin rippling as she spoke. She wrinkled up her eyes to peer at the board, and using a stick of charcoal started to write on the board.

‘She can’t use fire,’ whispered Igorr, and the two Alanas sniggered. The teacher whirled around, her tail catching the stone desk making a loud bang that silenced the room.

‘I can hear very acutely, however,’ she said, glaring at Igorr. ‘What is your name, youngling?’

Igorr spelled out his name letter by letter, with a sarcastic grin.

‘Igorr with two r’s!’ repeated the teacher. ‘Well, young Igorr, in my class you will learn to stop commenting on other dragons, and become more interested in learning how we dragons came to be in this land.’

She dismissed him with another wave of her tail and Igorr sat down next to his fellow Alanas with his usual frown.

‘My name is Ma’am Sancy,’ said the teacher, raising her voice to be heard over the class. ‘In this class we will learn, not only about the history of Dragor, but further back still, to before we came here. We will learn some very interesting facts,’ she added, ‘and maybe you little younglings will find out you are not all so different across the clans after all.’

Igorr snorted as if he thought this unlikely and then dropped his head as Ma’am Sancy turned to stare sharply at him.

‘I will start with the Battle of Surion. Remember to make notes,’ she added. Most of the younglings dug around in their nets to bring out their charcoal sticks
and boards and some began to make words on paper with tiny sparks from their dextrous snouts.

‘Many great creatures first roamed the earth with us,’ Ma’am Sancy announced to her class, her wings held wide. ‘There were all different types. Some had trunks and tusks as long as their bodies. Others had claws that enabled them to leap through the highest trees in the forests.’ The younglings all gazed at their history teacher, as her words captured their full attention.

‘At first they were happy to share the lands with us. But as the years went by, the earth moved and the seas divided,’ she continued. ‘Some of the dinosaurs sought survival by breeding with our dragon ancestors, creating a super-evil species known as dragsaurs – monsters who were willing do anything to take over the world and destroy us!’ One of the orange Mida dragons gasped in horror at the thought of such beasts.

‘But despite their efforts, and indeed after many great wars, both dragsaurs and dinosaurs became extinct. It was only us dragons who managed to survive the new climates, though we became slaves to man. That is, until one great rebellion, after receiving a special gift we managed to escape and flee to the Land of Dragor,
where we now remain hidden below the smoky mists. But there was a terrible tragedy!’

All the dragons now gasped.

‘Surion was killed during a battle. At the foot of our great mountain we fought the humans who had followed us, a spear went through Surion’s heart. His elder, Goadah, was heartbroken as his son died. He looked up to the sky and gave out a roaring cry. It was so loud that it caused massive vibrations and the rocks began to break and tumble down the mountain on to the earth. The centre of the mountain then exploded into a hot fiery liquid that poured down like fiery rivers. The rocks and lava from above fell, killing the humans that had pursued, but the dragons entered our valley through a secret entrance and the rocks sealed the entrance securely. The clans then built the Fire Which Must Never Go Out so its smoke will keep us from sight and we are safe if we keep the Goadah rulings. Some say that Surion’s heart beats on inside the mountain and protects a precious stone that holds the key to our destiny.’

‘That’s ridiculous!’ said Igorr. ‘How can a dragon’s heart still live in a mountain? And there is no doubt that Surion of the unusual red egg cursed the clans,’
continued Igorr loudly. ‘He tricked the dragons into betraying their human masters who used to bring us fish without us even having to work for it. And I rather like the sound of the dragsaurs; they sound powerful and I bet wouldn’t have taken any nonsense from stupid red dragons!’

‘Better to be free than be a slave, the only stupid thing is wanting to be a slave!’ announced Amlie. ‘Being a slave means being told what to do. I hate being told what to do. It’s far better that we work now for ourselves.’

Ma’am Sancy looked out on to the class as the debate raged.

‘My elder says that only foolish dragons believe Surion brought a blessing,’ Igorr added. ‘The fact is it is all the Nephan clan’s fault. If it wasn’t for them we would live in our homeland by the seas, and I wouldn’t have to put up with living with them when they think they are so special.’

‘All clans have equal value,’ said Ma’am Sancy. ‘I think it is time to move from this Surion topic. Does anyone have a question about the clans?’

It was Amlie who put her arm in the air.

‘Ma’am Sancy. Do you know why the yellow Bushki
dragons are the only ones who can make the toffee-nuts grow?’

‘Good question, Amlie. Indeed I will tell you this very special story,’ she said settling herself. The eyes of the whole class widened.

‘A very long time ago, before dragons lived together in this big valley, the clans were scattered all over the world.

The dragon clans all had a love for precious stones, which they would mine from the rocks in their individual lands, and they would use them to decorate their caves, believing they had powers. But the minerals from which these gemstones develop are not found amongst our rocks and only a few stones came into our land; most were left behind.

There are areas outside Dragor that have lots of forests and others that are full of large expanses of open fields. And there are islands too, both small and large lands that sit in the centre of the seas. All the clans developed different talents over time. The purple dragons became fishing types because they come from
places with great waters, and the blue Talana dragons who dig under the earth with their powerful horns come from the areas with the rockiest of mountains. As for the red dragons …’

‘I know this one!’ interrupted Amlie. ‘We Nephans managed the trades between other clans. And Surion, he was a Nephan!’

Ma’am Sancy continued. ‘Yes, and the yellow Bushkis. These dragons now run the book-caves. They keep records of the clans, and continue to record every detail of Dragor history, and whilst our land is cool and surrounded by tall mountains, this country is dry and yellow – the same colour as a Bushki dragon. The forests there are full of many sweet things. Thick treacle drips from the bark of trees and heavenly tasting sticky-fruits burst from the bushes. There are the biggest coconuts too, full of honey-flavoured liquid.’ Ma’am Sancy could hear that many of the younglings’ stomachs had begun to rumble.

‘Legend has it there is one great snake who rules all of these forests. A snake who is as wide as a river and who has teeth as long as a dragon’s tail.’ Some of the younglings blinked in wonder.

‘And they say that when this great snake thumps his
tail three times like this: Thump! Thump! Thump!’ – Ma’am Sancy banged her fist three times on the ground ‘– that the shaking of the earth then makes the toffee-nut trees spring up out of the ground immediately. This special snake can make the nuts appear at any time he chooses in his magical forest.’

‘Wow,’ said Yoshiko as he checked around the classroom to see that no trees had appeared after Ma’am Sancy’s loud thuds. ‘Those Bushki dragons were so lucky – imagine being surrounded by nothing but sugary treats. All we have in Nephan forests are sorrel bushes!’

‘It’s a good job you don’t have toffee-nuts in your forests because you would be even fatter than you are now!’ Igorr shouted out, making all the Alana younglings giggle.

‘Enough of that. No insults in my class,’ Ma’am Sancy warned. ‘Or you will be held back after school! Though I am guessing you will choose to be more attentive now, Igorr, when you hear about your own clan.’

Ma’am Sancy began again. ‘Long long ago, way before Dragor existed the clans were scattered in the different corners of the world. And it was the Alanas who came from the wettest place, in the north of the
world. A place filled with the widest raging rivers that led to oceans far and wide. A place whose lands were veiled with the thinnest grass in the sun season and whose mountains were always topped with ice.’

She looked around the room to see the purple dragons all paying perfect attention.

‘Before Dragor came to be, the Alanas lived here in the mountains surrounded by waters in every direction,’ said the teacher. ‘It is unlike the land of the Efframs which is all of green and plenty, or the milk-and-honey place where the Talanas come from. Here there was little food and the purple dragons were often very hungry. They didn’t know then how to fish the oceans and struggled in the harsh climate to scavenge enough to eat. That is until they received a blessing.

‘A solitary whale in the ocean became very lonely and grew bored with the tiny fish that surrounded her. She became so sad that she began jumping out of the water. She jumped high into the sky so she could look over the land in search of other large creatures to befriend her. Stronger and stronger she grew as she leapt higher and higher, and her powerful spout shot water out across the sea. As she leapt and snorted she began stirring the ocean like peat porridge in a pot.’ Ma’am Sancy’s hands
began to turn as if she was stirring, and now all the younglings watched her totally transfixed.

‘Round and round the whale went, churning and turning, until eventually she made a storm. The waves crashed up into the land, up they went, as high as the mountains and silver fish were thrown up from its depths. The fish landed in the dragon caves and the dragons got a taste for them and decided to learn to hunt for fish. So this is how the Alanas became fishing dragons, and why they now understand the lakes and the seas.

‘The whale was finally happy because when the dragons came to hunt for the fish they flew in the skies above her, and then started to dive in the waters with her too. She was entertained by them and it cast away her loneliness.’

The purple dragons all had a look of pride on their faces.

‘Over time the Alana have developed noses squeezed in the middle.’ Ma’am Sancy made a pinching motion with her claws, and the dragons from the other clans all looked towards the Alanas to see their snouts were indeed thinner in the centre.

‘Their noses are perfectly formed to root out the fish
and pull them from the Great Waters, their sharp claws can catch hold of the fish, and if you have a competition to hold your breath with an Alana you’d better watch out! They have big lungs inside those chests and can go without air for longer than any other dragon.’

Igorr looked smug and Amlie rolled her eyes at his expression.

The rest of the day passed by quickly as Yoshiko enjoyed all that Ma’am Sancy taught them. They listened to details about the clay terrain where the artistic Effram clan had come from, and how the dragons had come to shape the clay from the earth. All the younglings were finally set homework – to learn the Dragor Commandments off by heart.