PART I Chapter 4

Luncheon finished, Lingqui looked over at Ashanta, "Well Highness, do you wish for me to begin?"

Ashanta nodded, and made herself comfortable on a cushion on the floor. With a sweep of her hand, she indicated that  Sharra and Lingqui should do likewise. "Now," she said, "I am ready to hear the earliest stories of the Shauvrin. Please begin."

"Many, many years ago," began Lingqui, "long before even the great great grandfathers of your great great grandfather had been born. Before the oldest trees had sprouted from seeds. Even before the sea which beats against the shores of our great kingdom had come, there was a kingdom here. The kingdom was ruled by a great and wise king, and during his reign the plants grew and the rains fell and there was food and plenty and everyone was warm and well fed.

"Now, this king, and his name is lost to the ravages of time, he had a son, and the son was named Shembo. The king raised Shembo to care for the people he was ruling and to teach them well, so that the kingdom might prosper, for this wise king knew that when his subjects were happy then the kingdom could have peace. For many long years the kingdom throve, and Prince Shembo grew to adulthood during this time, and the people loved him as much as they loved his father.

"Now, in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of the king, there came a mass of enemies from the South of the land, attracted by the fertile soil and pleasant weather of our land. They did not, aye, could not know that the reason for the prosperity of the Shauvrin was rooted in the wise rule of the king. They were determined to claim the land for themselves. And so they invaded the land of the Shauvrin, armed with bow and arrow, with sword and dagger, carrying spears and pikes, they swarmed into the land. Now, the Shauvrin were a peaceful people; for years they had had all that they needed, and in that time they had never picked up arms against an enemy, nor even needed to defend themselves, such was the power of their wise king. As a result, they were unprepared to resist the onslaught, and many were killed by the enemy outright, and others were taken to be slaves, or burned alive in their farmhouse, or beaten and left for dead.

"Many were the tears that were shed in that time, and great the wails and gnashing of teeth that went up from those places then. Those that were left had lost fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters every one of them, for the enemy had left perhaps one in twenty alive and free. And those who remained determined that help must be summoned, and their king, their wise and good and just king, must aid them in their time of trial. And so they sent messengers to the castle and pleaded for help lest the kingdom be overrun by the enemies from the South.

"And the king received the messenger, and when he had heard the message he sent him away, and the king went into the darkest dungeons, far under the depths of the castle, and he was seen no more.

"But out from the depths of the castle there erupted that evening a dragon, bronzed and lithe, with wings as big as the sails of a ship, and as long as twenty men are tall. Away it flew, to the south of the land, and it brought comfort to the Shauvrin who still lived, but the hearts of the enemy were filled with fear, and they ran screaming away back to the south. The Shauvrin who had been taken as slaves were left behind to be freed and comforted by their kinsmen, and the dragon chased the enemy to the south for three months and three days, until they had nigh fallen off the end of the earth.

"And afterward, the people went and searched for the king in the darkest dungeons and tallest towers and the fields and the forest and anywhere else they could think of, but they never could find him. And the dragon was never seen either, but a story grew that the dragon was none other than the king himself, taken on the form of the giant wyrm to protect his people from the attack. And that the dragon would return, someday, when the need was greatest."

"So, you mean that there could have been a dragon flying around the castle this morning?" demanded Ashanta.

"I don't know," admitted Lingqui. "It is often difficult when we are talking about legend to determine what it true, and what is merely imagined or wished for. A dragon that would drive back the enemy would be a powerful ally indeed, and that may be suffice to burnish someone's imagination. Also, a four year old boy is hardly the most reliable of witnesses. Perhaps his nursemaid had been telling him stories of dragons, and he wanted so badly to see one that he believed that he had."

"However," added Sharra, "if the child was right, and there was, in fact, a dragon, then we must think about what this might mean."

"What about my dream," asked Ashanta, "what does it mean?"

"A dream," Lingqui interjected, "is there a dream? Some have said that when the people begin to dream of the dragon, that is a certain sign that the king is coming back."

Ashanta hesitated, telling Sharra about the dream had seemed strange enough, but to tell this, well, he clearly wasn't a fool, but still, this man about the dream, seemed a bit forward. After all, it had been such a strange dream. And the more she thought about it, the stranger it had been. In the dream, the dragon had breathed on her breasts, licked them with a tongue that had seemed much softer and gentler than she would have expected from such a fearsome beast. And that wasn't all. She prevented herself from squirming at the memory. Was she blushing? She hoped not. "I'd, I'd rather not tell about it," she stammered. Now she was sure that she was blushing.

Lingqui peered at her, interested. "I take it there was a dream then? And that the dream was not of a dragon flying over a castle or a forest but of something a little more, shall we say, intimate? This is very interesting indeed."

At that Ashanta blushed deep red. Shouldn't one's dreams be sacred? Private? What right had Lingqui to hint about the content of her dreams? And, come to think of it, what right had Sharra to tell him about the dream? "I," Ashanta opened her mouth, and then shut it again. They were only trying to help, and she herself was the one who had told Sharra about the dream, and had asked for her advice in understanding it.

Taking a deep breath, she began, "I will tell you about the dream. Not, mind you, in full detail, but enough so that I hope you can help me to understand it. If you need to ask me more questions, then I will answer as best I can.

"I had a dream last night about a dragon. It was a very strange dream, and when I woke up I was conscious only of an unsettled feeling. And that I had slept much too late. I sought about in the recesses of my mind for any hint of what was causing the feeling, and I began to remember the dream. First it came to me in little bursts, images, that flashed and were gone. But it has become clearer as I have thought on it, and I believe that I can now tell you more fully about my dream.

"The dragon appeared before me in my dream. He was long, as long as twenty men are high, and the loveliest bronze color, so that you would almost believe that he was made of the finest burnished metal. His wings were as thin as gossamer, and wide as the castle itself, and seemed to be made of gold that had been hammered so thin that it was translucent.

"He bowed down before me, and spoke, bidding me climb on his back that he might take me over the kingdom to see what was happening there. I did as he bade, and he flew out through the window, I know not how he fit, and with me on his back, and we flew over the whole land. The sun was just beginning to rise, and I could see the fields spread out below me and the forests were the animals live, and the sea coast and the mountains as well. And he spoke, saying 'Look closely at the fields below, and the villages, for here you see the beginnings of the hard times. Most of the villagers are faithful to King Rafe, and they trust him and obey, but here are some who will side with the Kreign and upset the rule of the kingdom.'

"And I spoke to him, saying 'Should I not then rout out these men and women and have them imprisoned? Surely they are a cancer in the land of the Shauvrin, for they will lead to the destruction of the kingdom.' But he replied, 'Nay, for they have a role to play in the coming years. For the coming years will be hard ones, with famine and fighting and everyone will experience hardship. Yea, even you, Queen Ashanta.' And I was amazed, for he knew my name.

"Then he spoke again, saying, 'After eight years of hardship, a child will appear, who will bring peace and prosperity back to the kingdom.' And I said to him, 'But how shall I know this is true? And how will we recognize the child when we see him?'

"Then the dragon flew with me to the highest mountain peak in the kingdom, and he said to me, 'You shall bear the child. She shall be the fruit of your womb, and she shall lead her people to victory over the Kreign.' And he laid me gently down on the ground, which was warm and soft though it was made of rock and covered with snow and ice. And he bade me remove my robe, and I did. And then he breathed on my breasts and stroked them, and I felt a desire rise up inside me. A desire like I have never felt before. And…," Ashanta broke off.

"I see," said Lingqui, "That was quite a powerful dream. I do not like to guess at its meaning, but I tell you this. The line of the kings has been unbroken from the first king to the last; King Rafe is the descendent of the first, the dragon king."


"You mean to say that my husband is a descendant of the first king?" asked Ashanta, surprised. "But how can you possibly know? Did you not say that even the name of the dragon king was lost to the mists of time?"

Sharra nodded, "Yes Lingqui, how can you possibly know that? It seems, well, improbable at the very least."

Lingqui beckoned to them, "If you, Highness, and you, Priestess, would come with me, I will show you your answer." He looked at Ashanta, "But Highness, perhaps you would choose to change your clothing first. The place to which we are going is dark and dirty, and though your dress is very beautiful, you might be happier in something simpler. Indeed, were it not an insult to your royal beauty, I would suggest that you borrow a dress from Misha or one of the other servants."

"Borrow a dress from Misha?" demanded Ashanta, "but then I shall smell like roasting meat or baking bread or some such thing. I do not wish to smell like the kitchen! Perhaps my riding habit would work instead?"

Lingqui nodded assent. "If you are going to change, I will wait outside in the corridor for you. But be quick, for the day is growing short and I do not wish to be in the place that I am taking you after the sun sets."

Ashanta reached for the cord that summoned Thara to her chamber, but before she could pull it, Sharra said, "I can help with your dress, Highness, so you need not wait for Thara to come."