Chapter 18 The Eeyrie #2
“As a rule, no. We don’t have the problem in Vosgaarde, but it’s not uncommon for herds to lack a Primarch, and those herds tend to scatter.
With Kgosi here, we have no issues with dominance.
Our problem is that we don’t find enough young.
Our numbers are declining. We’re strong now because our herd is mature—mostly adult, not yet ancient.
But in fifty, or one hundred years, things look very dire for the Vosgaarde herd unless something changes.
Which is why we’re sending for the Fyrehold dragons. ”
As we made it into another chamber, this one more steamy, with what appeared to be mud-pools at the back, I looked around, trying to pick out the dragon eggs among the rocks.
Barak walked towards the back, then stopped in front of a pair of what I thought were eggs because their shape was a little too uniform.
When Donavyn reached them he frowned and ushered me forward.
This cavern was much darker than the one near the cave entrance. The back walls rose high over our heads, glittering because water trickled from cracks somewhere overhead. It smelled here, too.
When I reached the men, Barak turned and gestured at the two eggs behind him. “These are the two we think aren’t viable.” He looked very concerned.
“How do we find out?”
“Normally, if the egg were unfertilized, the female would remove it herself and take it away. I’m not sure what the females do with the unfertilized eggs.
So, when these were left, we assumed they were fertile.
But they’ve both been here over a year and were from females that don’t have mates.
Still, they haven’t removed them either. So, we’re unsure.”
“Wait, they’ll take them away?”
Barak nodded. “Any female who enters heat without taking a mate can make an egg. But those that have no young will take them away.”
“Take them where?”
“We don’t know.”
“What do the females who laid these two say?” Donavyn asked. His voice was deep, and it echoed in this space so I felt it in my ribs. Or maybe that was the bond.
It was hard not to touch him. We weren’t often in each other’s company casually, unless we were with my brothers, who knew about our bond. I had to keep catching myself before I touched his back, or reached for his hand.
“One left the herd. That’s odd. Usually if a female demonstrates that she’s fertile, she’ll be fought over by the younger, unmated males.
But this one wasn’t home bred. She joined us as a young dragon, from the wild.
I’m not sure she ever settled. Well, she must not have, because she left alone, then disappeared.
The other mother doesn’t want to talk to me about it.
” When I looked at him, confused, Barak shrugged.
“When a dragon isn’t bonded, they’re pricklier about what they’ll share,” he said.
“I don’t press if they don’t want to talk. ”
That seemed fair, but still.
I’d thought we were on this mission purely because of the impending war, but I hadn’t realized this issue with the dragons was real.
Barak continued talking as we explored the caves, but the picture he described was worrying.
Dragons not taking mates. Not breeding even when they did.
Young dragons leaving the herd, despite a strong Primarch.
All of it happening so slowly that no one noticed at first. But now the consequences were evident.
“…So you can see, the problems we’re bringing to Fyrehold are very real.
Their herd isn’t as well managed as ours, from what I gather.
I’m not sure their Furymaster can actually speak to the unbonded.
I’m hoping you’ll find out. But regardless, if you have a chance to bring some new bloodlines here and Kgosi approves them, please do.
Their dragons are from the north, so finer boned than ours.
They have great stamina, but are still large and strong.
I’m hoping they’re strong enough to compete for mates here.
It couldn’t hurt to shake the herd up a little with new blood.
Maybe spur some of the less motivated males to wake up and work for a mate. ”
“But, why would they give up their dragons if their herd is smaller than ours?”
“Because if they come to our herd and make more mating pairs and we have more babies, we’ll send some of them back when they’re old enough.
Fyrehold would be willing to wait, because we have stronger dragons.
For every dragon who comes home with us, we’ll eventually send others in return.
Or if any of the males don’t want to stay, and they’ve mated, we’ll let a pair return.
We’re hoping, mixing the bloodlines will be an injection of health and fertility in both herds,” Donavyn said quietly.
“Plus, with Kgosi taking a mate, our entire herd should increase in fertility for a year or more.”
“Your problem will be if Fyrehold doesn't have a Speaker,” Barak said solemnly. “It’s difficult at the best of times to communicate with a group. Kgosi and Akhane will help, obviously. But it wouldn’t hurt to take someone who could remain with the dragons while you’re both working.
Someone they might be willing to speak to. ”
Donavyn frowned. “You have an assistant who can Speak? I wasn’t aware—”
“I don’t, but I’ve found a candidate.”
“Who is it?” Donavyn asked, surprised.
“He’s young yet. I would have waited a year or two. But he’s a great success in the stables because he communicates with the dragons. Apparently, until recently, he didn’t realize everyone can’t do it,” Barak said, clearly amused. “I don’t know if you know the stablehand, Benji.”
Both our mouths dropped open. “Benji?!” I gasped.
“The stableboy who looks even younger than he is?” Donavyn asked.
Barak nodded to both of us. “He has the gift. I’d already earmarked him to come under my tutelage next year.
But with what you’re trying to achieve, it might be worth taking him with you.
He doesn’t know enough to betray your purpose in any way.
But it would be a great testing ground for him.
And if he does step wrong, he won’t do it with our herd,” Barak said, with an apologetic huff of laughter.
Donavyn looked towards the cave mouth, concentration on his face. Moments later he shook his head in disbelief. “Kgosi approves,” he said gruffly. “He’s always spoken well of the boy.”
“They gave him a name the moment he appeared,” Barak said with a bemused shrug.
“Don’t they do that with everyone?” I asked.
“No,” both the men huffed. “Usually, a rider doesn’t receive a name until they’ve been Chosen and the herd acknowledges them.”
The two men continued to speak about Benji, but I frowned, thinking back to that first night in the launch hollow, when I’d seen the dragon in the mists, and he’d called me Little Flame. I had assumed it was just a nickname for a young person.
‘No, Bren. It’s your dragon name,’ Akhane intruded on my thoughts, her tone shorter than usual.
‘But how did the dragon know that if I wasn’t bonded to you yet?’
‘Some of your kind—humans—are intended for us. And for those of you, we see your name as soon as we meet you. Even if I hadn’t Chosen you, the others would have spoken to you. You’re intended for us.’
My heart grew warm. I yearned to ask her more questions, but she was tense and the men turned the conversation to our mission.
“…he’s young yet. I would have waited for him to mature. But this seems like too good an opportunity for experience to stretch him.”
“He’s already told me he’d grow,” Donavyn said dryly. “Perhaps, he’ll grow more quickly than he realizes.”
“It would be handy to have another Speaker in case we decide to explore the wild herds for expanding ours.”
I frowned. “Wild dragon herds?”
“We call them ferals,” the Furymaster said without a smile. “The dragons call them Wild Ones. Those who are willing to join an established herd are rare, but we adopted a few in this previous generation, and we’re seeing more of them around now than we have since I was a youth.”
“What do they do? Do they choose riders?”
“No,” Barak said, shaking his head. “Occasionally a feral will choose to submit to a Primarch, and they may Choose a bond later. But, as a rule, the ferals herd together, and rule themselves. They stay well away from humans, and want no dealings with us.”
I looked at Donavyn. “Would I have seen a feral dragon without knowing it? Do they look the same?”
“They look exactly the same—but we can tell them because they’re a lot more aggressive to humans,” Donavyn said.
“Feroz told me there were issues with ferals trying to tempt away females about thirty or forty years ago, but Kgosi scared them off. We lost a handful to them—young ones that Keg said would likely have left the herd anyway. But other than that, there’s been no problems. They avoid him, as well as us. ”
I frowned and looked around. “So, they aren’t stealing eggs?”
Barak shook his head. “The only eggs that leave the Eeyrie are hatched, or unviable. There’s been no significant sign of ferals for years.
Our dragons react when there’s non-herd dragons nearby.
But other than a few flying over once in a while, we haven’t seen them nest in Vosgaarde for a decade.
We’d hear from the herd if any stayed close long enough to cause a disturbance.
I’d half-wish they’d stop here and lay eggs among ours—we could use the numbers. ”
“Is there any chance this is why Akhane Chose Bren when she was so young? Fifty is very early for a dragon. Maybe she was feeling the pressure to breed and wanted to establish her bond with Kgosi?” Donavyn asked.
Barak looked at me. “You could ask her, but I doubt it. I’ve only ever heard dragons speak of finding their person. Not of feeling the pressure to do so. I think she chose Bren when she did, because that’s when they were close. Akhane recognized her. But you should ask her, Bren.”
‘The Furymaster is correct,’ Akhane interjected before I could even ask her. ‘I Chose you because you’re mine, Bren. Not for any of these details.’ She sounded affronted.
“She says no,” I said simply.
Barak nodded, but he and Donavyn returned to discussion about Benji and the coming mission.
“…I’ll talk to the boy today. But can I send him to you for the next few days? We have so many things to sort out before we fly.”
“Of course. Even if you don’t take him with you, he’ll come to us. This is just earlier than we would have stepped in.”
“He’s perfect for us, actually,” Donavyn said.
“Young, and looks younger than he is. He seems harmless. No one will suspect him of anything than what he is. It’s exactly what we need.
People that are far more talented and capable than others expect them to be.
” Then he looked at me and I felt a rush of protectiveness and pride in him.
I had to turn away and pretend I was interested in the shell of the egg nearby, because I felt my cheeks heating.
Thank God it was so hot in here and I had sweat at my temples. Hopefully the Furymaster wouldn’t notice me blushing under Donavyn’s gaze.