Gatekeepers Book 3: Redemption

Two weeks later. . .

Cheers and roars of joy shook the air around Dragonspire Castle as Río and Theravor shook hands. The two Dragon Kings had just finished forming a new treaty between their forces, allowing dragonkind to act more as a whole than before. Off in the corner of the courtyard, Boreta and some of the prominent members of the Managaurd family began playing music on some enchanted instruments. Laughter and other sounds of pleasure filled the air as food and drinks were handed out.

“I appreciate you putting your neck out like this,” Theravor murmured to Río so nobody else would hear his words. “The Rogue King’s position has always been put in danger during any previous attempts to reconcile with the Dragon King.”

Río smiled at Theravor. “It’s thanks to the actions you and your subordinates took during the battle that let my people forge a bond of trust with yours. I would have surely been removed from my position if I had attempted to do something like this before now. Then again, having been fooled by the actions of a couple of dragons makes you think twice about how you protect yourself and your allies.”

“Indeed,” Theravor laughed. The two kings looked out across the crowd as their followers celebrated with one another. “To think that the day would come when all of dragonkind could celebrate with one another like this... it’s truly amazing.”

“I must thank you for saving me from Olafoc’s magic,” Río commented. “I’m not sure I would have survived if you hadn’t had his son among your ranks. Damrabe is an exceptional healer; none of my subordinates have anywhere close his skill in Restoration spells.”

Theravor snorted. “If you want to thank someone, thank Damrabe himself. He deserves the credit for saving your life.”

“Indeed.” Río’s head turned back and forth as he scanned the partying crowd. “Where is Damrabe, anyways?”

“He’s currently in the castle infirmary, keeping an eye on Draycos.”

“Ah, the hero of the battle, eh? How’s the boy doing?”

“He was in a coma for the last two weeks and wouldn’t awaken, no matter what Damrabe tried. It seems that the price for recklessly using the Orb of the First King was a steep one.”

“Don’t tell me the lad’s still unconscious...?” Río muttered, glancing over at Theravor.

Theravor uttered a soft chuckle. “Nay. The lad woke up just a few hours ago. He wanted to attend this celebration, but Damrabe refused to allow such a thing. The two are probably watching the party from the window as we speak. Vertex is also with them.”

“Hey, Theravor!”

Río and Theravor turned their heads and saw Vinzgar waving at them in the crowd, holding a mug of alcohol in his hand. Zero sat atop a table next to Vinzgar drinking straight from a barrel, much to the shock of the dragons around him.

“Stop being such a stiff and join in on the festivities already!” Vinzgar called out, hiccupping. He was obviously already starting to feel intoxicated. “Galán brought us some of the good stuff from Draiotic City! Hurry up before Zero downs it all!”

Río’s expression paled slightly as he and Theravor watched Zero finish off his current barrel and tossed it aside. He sunk his tail into another barrel from a nearby pile and drew it close before ripping the top off and began drinking again.

“...Your men certainly know how to cut loose, Theravor,” he muttered, eliciting another laugh from Theravor.

“You think my men are cutting loose? Take a look at that one over there!” Río’s eyes darted to where Theravor was pointing and saw Corax chugging from two barrels simultaneously. “Corax...!” Río groaned, putting a hand on his face and shaking his head.

Theravor chuckled and threw an arm over Río’s shoulder, dragging him over to the others. “Vinzgar is right, though. We dragons rarely have a chance to celebrate like this! Let’s forget about being kings for one day and enjoy ourselves!”

“You really should not be standing up right now, Draycos,” Damrabe sighed. Palace servants were running in and out of the room, carrying empty food trays out of the infirmary as they rushed out. Upon awakening, Draycos’ appetite had been voracious, and the amount of food he consumed matched the appetite of a dragon on the verge of starvation. Now finished with eating, Draycos stood in front of a window stretching from the floor up to the ceiling. Wearing the outfit he wore during his visit to Draiotic City, he sipped on a mug of Draiotic Ale as he watched the dragons celebrate in the courtyard below.

“Mmh,” Draycos responded, not really listening to Damrabe. Damrabe uttered a short sigh and exchanged a glance with Vertex, who stood in the corner of the infirmary reading a book. Vertex silently shook his head, telling Damrabe to let it be. I guess Draycos really is fine now. Damrabe looked back over towards Draycos. Then again, with the way Draycos’ body is now, I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised.

Damrabe did not remain idle when his attempts to wake Draycos from the coma failed. He took some more blood samples from Draycos as he slept and carried out a number of experiments on the blood. The results had been quite shocking. Draycos’ body had undergone a mutation of some sorts, restructuring everything down to his own DNA. Almost all traces of human DNA characteristics had been removed and replaced by dragon DNA characteristics. While Draycos was still asleep, Damrabe even attempted to poke the young man with Poseidon’s lance during one of the prison warden’s visits, much to the shock of his grandfather. The tip of the trident lance had broken off instead of piercing Draycos’ body.

I guess Theravor was right to keep the information about the mutation from Draycos. The lad’s already had enough of a rough life being tormented by humans for his appearance. To tell him that he’s something of a monster now is too cruel.

“...I heard you got quite upset with the Gusano fellow the night of the battle, Draycos,” Vertex suddenly commented, interrupting Damrabe’s thoughts. Damrabe and Draycos turned their heads towards Vertex as the grey dragon snapped his book shut. “I’m surprised you acted in the way you did; I thought you had better control over your emotions than that.”

Draycos remained silent as he watched Vertex walk up to him and join him at the window. Draycos had already been made aware about the situation with Vertex’s memories and was not sure how to interact with the dragon anymore.

“Did you really... hate what we put you through that much?” Vertex questioned as he looked out the window.

“Huh?” Draycos was surprised by this; he had not expected to be asked such a question. He scratched the back of his head for a few moments before answering. “Well, if I have to be honest... maybe? I’m not entirely sure. I mean, yeah, I was pissed that I had to stay in prison for three months because of what he did. No one enjoys spending time in prison.”

“I see,” Vertex muttered.

“But still, when I think about it, I guess I’m also happy about it?”

“What?” Both Damrabe and Vertex glanced at Draycos.

“What do you mean?” Damrabe questioned.

“Well, I got so much stronger as a result,” Draycos said sheepishly. His face turned a light shade of red as he blushed. “And I got to meet Theravor and all of you, so. . . .”

Vertex and Damrabe exchanged glances, smiling. “That’s not too bad to hear, honestly,” Damrabe admitted.

“Don’t get used to hearing it,” Draycos muttered as his face got redder. “You won’t catch me saying that often.”

Vertex laughed. “I don’t think anyone’s seen you get embarrassed like that, Draycos. It’s nice to see you show emotions other than anger or happiness.”

“Like you would know!” Draycos snapped. “You don’t even remember anything! You should start keeping a journal or something to help you before you go completely senile!”

“Hey, that gives me an idea!” Damrabe interjected, clapping his hands together. “Draycos, you should write a book about your adventure over the last few months! Imagine how many gold Craeos a story like yours would bring in!”

Draycos and Vertex stared at Damrabe as the red dragon greedily rubbed his hands together. “Wow, Damrabe... I had no idea you were like this when it comes to money,” Draycos commented. “I think I just lost some respect for you.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?!” Damrabe hissed, instantly irritated.

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Draycos responded, taking a sip from his mug. Vertex laughed at the scene, and soon, Damrabe cracked a smile and began laughing, too. Draycos smiled and kept sipping from his mug as he listened to the two dragons laugh.

Later that day, after the sun had set over the horizon, there was a knock on the infirmary doors, which immediately opened on their own. Draycos looked up from the book he was reading that Vertex had lent him. Damrabe, who had been sitting at Draycos’ bedside and dozing, perked up and looked over at the doors. Both of them were similarly surprised to see Theravor walk through the doors.

“I apologize for the long wait, you two,” Theravor yawned as he walked over to them. He stretched his arms over his head. “It took Vertex quite some time to tell me you wanted to speak to me; he indulged himself a little too much on the barrel of ale Zero forced onto him.”

“I called it, Damrabe,” Draycos remarked, looking up at the dragon beside him with a smile. “You owe me ten silver Craeos.”

Damrabe made a displeased sound over losing the bet. “I can’t believe Vertex went and got drunk like that,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I’ve never known him to drink himself silly like this.”

A smile crossed Theravor’s face as he chuckled. “Yes, well, normally, that is the case. But Zero would not take no for an answer; he demanded the Vertex should join him as his ‘drinking buddy’.

“Of course, it was the homo’s fault,” Draycos groaned.

Theravor laughed again and pulled up a seat next to Draycos’ bed. “Now, then, what is it that the two of you wanted to see me about?”

“It’s Draycos’ pendant,” Damrabe told him, pointing at the thing hanging around Draycos’ neck. “We sent Vertex down to get you because Draycos said he could hear Sir Reiverd speaking to him from it.”

Theravor narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. “I’m not surprised to hear that,” he said, leaning over to look at the pendant more closely. “We examined the remains of the Orb of the First King and couldn’t find any traces of power in the jewel. It would make sense that Sir Reiverd’s consciousness jumped to another crystal if the old one was in jeopardy.”

“Don’t remind me about that,” Draycos moaned, hiding his face behind his hands. “I don’t want to think about the Orb being broken.”

“It was probably for the best,” Theravor commented. “We all knew that Sir Reiverd’s artefact was powerful, that’s for certain, but not once has anyone been able to wield that power before now. We weren't even aware that we could still speak to his consciousness. I supposed Reiverd thought his powers were never needed before, and we ended up just tucking the Orb away in a vault.” Theravor paused for a moment as he continued to examine the pendant. “I imagine you can hear me, Sir Reiverd?” he suddenly asked.

The pendant emitted a soft flash of blue light. “I hear you, Dragon King Theravor,” a voice suddenly answered. Damrabe almost fell off his chair from surprise, and Draycos just stared at the pendant resting on his chest with an unreadable expression.

“You. . . can speak like that?” Draycos questioned. “I thought you could only speak directly into peoples’ minds!”

“Now, why would you go and assume something like that?” Reiverd replied, sounding a little too innocent.

“Do you realize how big of a headache I had during that fight with Vinkex while I was talking with you?!” Draycos asked in annoyance. “I thought my head would explode!”

Damrabe grunted. “You really aren’t in a position to get upset with Sir Reiverd for something like that, Draycos,” he growled. Theravor nodded his head at Damrabe’s comment. The residents of Dragonspire castle had suffered cases of severe headaches several times over the last two weeks; Draycos’ telepathic abilities activated several times as he slept through his coma.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Draycos asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. He had not been told about his telepathic ability yet and was not aware of it.

“Nevermind that,” Theravor said quickly, shaking his head. “Back to Sir Reiverd; why have you moved into Draycos’ pendant?”

“Do you understand how boring it was being stuck in a vault for almost a thousand years?” Reiverd asked. “Sure, I was able to cast my mind about and observe the ongoings of the world outside, but I was still in the same place for ages on end. I find this boy interesting, though, and I took the opportunity to move in.” Reiverd sounded quite pleased with himself. “I plan on keeping Draycos company for the time being, if that doesn’t pose a problem.”

“I don’t see a problem with this, Sir Reiverd,” Theravor answered. Damrabe nodded in agreement. “It’s not like anything will change with you out of the vault. You deserve to go out and enjoy yourself.”

“Umm, there is a huge problem with this!” Draycos spoke up. He lifted the pendant off his chest and glared at it. “What about me? I didn’t say you could move in like that; this is too weird!”

“Sorry, lad, but my mind’s made up,” Reiverd responded in an amused tone. “Don’t worry, you’ll have all the privacy you usually have. I will keep to myself; I’m just happy for the chance to move around outside that dusty old vault.”

“That’s not the problem! Reiverd!” But the pendant had fallen silent as Reiverd spoke no more. Draycos let out a long, aggravated sigh. “Why does stuff like this always happen to me?”

“Just let it be, Draycos; there is nothing to be gained by worrying about it,” Theravor advised him. “Sir Reiverd did play a vital role in the battle, so just think about this as a reward for him.”

“Fine,” Draycos sighed, leaning back in his bed. He expected Theravor to get up and leave at this point, but the Dragon King remained where he was. “What’s up? Is there something else you want to discuss?”

Theravor’s tail flicked back and forth. “Well, yes, there is something that I’ve been wanting to speak with you about, but I decided to wait until after this situation with the theft had been solved. If I recall correctly, you’ve never had a family, have you, Draycos?”

“Huh?” Draycos was taken by surprise by Theravor’s question. He stared at the Dragon King, unsure of where the conversation was going. “Um, yes, that’s true. But why are you asking me that, Theravor?”

There was a twinkle in Theravor’s golden eyes as he smiled at Draycos. “Well, Draycos, how do you feel about adoption?”

To Be Continued...