Chapter 61 Alar #3
Saphir snorted. "The resource we need is more dragon eggs, but regrettably, we lost most of them during the last Extinction War, and we cannot find them.
If we could, there would be more than enough dragons to fundamentally alter the balance of power on Aurorys.
Well, provided we could also find riders for them, but even without riders, the dragons themselves are a huge military asset. "
So, the rumors about the existence of more hidden eggs were true, and they hadn't been destroyed by the Shedun in the Second Extinction War as I had believed.
During that war, all the dragons had perished defending their nests and the Elucians, but the shamans had managed to hide dragon eggs in places they'd hoped the Shedun would never find.
Centuries after the war, long after the Shedun had retreated, thinking that they had wiped out all dragonkind and delivered a fatal blow to Elucia, one such cache had been found by Saphir Fatewever.
All the dragons of today had either hatched from those eggs or were their offspring.
If there were more caches and the problem was finding them, it was a potentially solvable situation.
I straightened in my chair. "That's where Eluria's resources can be helpful. We have sophisticated equipment that we could provide for the search teams, we can finance the search expeditions, and we can even provide personnel that are experts in tracking and retrieval."
The shaman smiled throughout my impassioned speech, waiting until I was done. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid that nothing Eluria can provide would help us find the eggs."
I frowned. "They didn't just evaporate into thin air." Then another suspicion occurred to me. "Were the other eggs destroyed by the Shedun, and Elucia is keeping it a secret?"
The smile slid off the shaman's face. "I'm a devout follower of Elu, and I do not speak falsehoods. The eggs were not destroyed, at least not as far as I know, but they are hidden in places that no one can access."
Had they hidden the eggs at the bottom of the ocean?
That was somewhere no one could reach, but what sense would that have made if there was no way to retrieve them? Could dragons just hatch spontaneously and surge up from the depths?
Not likely.
From what I'd learned, hatchlings were tiny and needed to be nurtured for several years until they were big enough to hunt independently.
I was starting to wonder whether Saphir Fatewever, the legendary spiritual leader of Elucia, was not entirely sane. Living for over a thousand years must have taken a toll on his mind.
A laugh burst from his lips, startling me. "I am a little crazy, young prince, and you are not the only one who suspects that. But then, sanity is highly overrated. It's just no fun to be normal. In my opinion, it's boring."
I was mortified. Had I voiced my suspicion aloud?
I was sure I hadn't.
Had my expression revealed my thoughts?
That wasn't likely either. I had been trained to keep my thoughts and emotions hidden.
Cold realization washed over me. "You read my mind," I stated.
"Yes," he admitted without apology. "It is one of my shamanic gifts. I can access your thoughts, especially when you are practically shouting them. On the inside, I mean."
Mind readers were the stuff of myths and fictional stories. They were not supposed to exist.
But then, how had he known what I'd been thinking? Was that how he had found out who I really was?
"I wasn't shouting, just ruminating, but it's good to know that I should be careful with what I think around you." I leveled my gaze at him. "Is that how you knew who I was?"
He nodded. "You were shouting it at me when I encased us in a bubble of silence."
I suppressed a shiver. "Is the bubble another one of your shamanic gifts?"
"Yes." He was smiling like a kid admitting to mischief.
"What else can you do?"
"I can compel you to do anything I wish, but I don't like using such power. It's not right to take away a person's will."
It wasn't right to read a person's mind either, but I wasn't about to point that out. Not yet, anyway.
He smiled. "Yes, you are correct, Alar. It's not right to enter someone's mind without permission, but then it is not right to enroll in Elucia's most sacred rite under false pretenses either.
You are a potential threat, and the only way I can ascertain that you aren't a spy or a saboteur is by entering your mind and seeing what you are up to. "
It was a fair point. "I hope you are satisfied with what you've seen."
Technically, I was a spy, just not a malicious one. I was here to learn what I could to save my people.
"For now," Saphir said. "Would you like me to demonstrate compulsion? I promise not to make you do anything overly outrageous."
I was curious, so I nodded.
Saphir fixed me with a penetrating stare. "Stand up and recite the Elurian national anthem while flapping your arms like dragon wings."
The command carried a strange resonance, and before I could fully process the request, I was on my feet, flapping my arms and reciting, "Eluria stands proud, seventeen banners—"
"You can stop now," Saphir said with the same resonance.
I stopped immediately, shocked at how completely he had controlled my actions. "How did you do that?" I resumed my seat.
"It's in the sound waves my voice produces, but I can't explain how I make them and how it works."
"Can riders do that, too?"
"No. These talents are rare among my kind, and since I'm the only one left, I guess they are becoming even rarer." A shadow crossed his eyes. "Which is why finding those eggs has become increasingly urgent."
Moments ago, he'd said the eggs weren't accessible, and now they were supposed to solve not only the problem of the dearth of dragons but also of shamans?
My suspicion about his sanity had just been reinforced.
"What do your records say? Did past shamans possess such gifts?"
He sighed. "All shamans had interesting talents, but I happen to have more than others because I am a direct descendant of Elu."
Now I was sure he was hyperbolizing.
All Elurian priests claimed either divine heritage or divine inspiration, but I'd never believed in that.
The priests had their place, providing cohesion for their communities and a moral compass, and they might have even believed that they were divinely inspired, but I'd never accepted their claims of a divine mandate.
"Aren't all Elucians the children of Elu?" I asked. "Metaphorically speaking?"
Saphir looked amused. "There is nothing metaphorical about it. All riders and shamans are the descendants of Elu. That's why we can bond with dragons." He smiled. "You heard Nyxath's call, which means that you are a descendant of Elu as well."
I couldn't decide whether Elucia's esteemed shaman was slightly unhinged, as I strongly suspected and as the rumors implied, or he was letting me in on some grand secret for reasons I couldn't fathom.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked finally.
Saphir stroked Moki absentmindedly as he regarded me with those unnervingly perceptive eyes. "Because I believe you might be able to help me find the eggs, just not in the way you think. Elurian resources are always welcome, but they won't be able to aid us in this mission."
"Then how am I supposed to help?"
"I don't know yet. I need to learn more about you and what you can do."
This was frustrating and going nowhere. "I'm right here. Ask me anything and I'll answer truthfully. You can read my mind if you want to make sure that I do."
"Oh, there is no need for that." He waved a dismissive hand, startling Moki, who had fallen asleep. "You don't have that information yet either, Prince Alar, so you can't share it with me. But you will, and then we will go looking for those eggs."
Saphir Fatewever was mad.
"When will I have that information?" I asked, hoping the shaman hadn't heard my thoughts.
"I hope soon." Saphir resumed stroking Moki's head. "Perhaps it will manifest when you bond with your dragon or maybe sooner. In the meantime, please don't mention my special abilities to anyone." His voice carried that special resonance again. "Not even to the lovely Kailin Strom."