Chapter 20
The next morning I had breakfast with Mirwanna. She was playing the 'Responsibility Card', to the hilt.
"Paul. Do you know what it means to be Duke De Landkur?" she asked, buttering some bread.
"Not really. I know a Duke is a pretty high rank. The Land I am from did not really have nobility. While there is nobility in that world, I never really understood it," I said.
My sister finished chewing, swallowed and said, "Duke De Landkur means you are the senior Duke in the Land. It means, you are the Duke of this very city we are in, Landkur. You are the hereditary ruler of this city. The 'Lord of all you survey'. When you say something, people had better listen. Your word is law, here.
"Don't you think that means you should find out about this place you're ruler of? What are its laws? What are the rights of the citizen? What are your responsibilities? Do you see where I am going with this?" Mirwanna asked me.
I had been getting uncomfortable, and that switched to anger.
"Let me see if I have it, sister mine. I am your slave. I cannot do anything, unless you tell me to do it. I have to go to meetings I know nothing about, and I have not had time to get up to speed. And you're doing your level best to make sure I don't keep my sanity, right?" I asked angrily.
"Paul, it's not like that. You have responsibilities," Mirwanna was saying as I got up and left the table.
"I find it very strange that this Land has been able to survive my absence without falling apart for over 200 years; but now that I am here, it can't go one more day without my being at the knee of your favorite retainer learning the Duke business!" I finished, shouting.
I slammed open a door, and found myself in an unfamiliar corridor. I started marching down it, and just turned in what I thought was the correct direction. I was hopelessly lost. Where was a servant when you actually wanted one?
I felt an agonizing pain in my back. I stumbled and as I did, a blade went whizzing by overhead. I turned, and saw a dark clothed figure. I cast my heart attack spell at him. It bounced off a protection of some sort.
I fell to my knees, and concentrated on trying to breathe. I fought through a haze that descended over my vision, and I lifted my left hand, and found myself looking at a claw.
The pain was incredible. I heard the ripping of clothes. I roared my pain. This could not be happening! I was no longer human. There was a moment of concentration, and I breathed fire at my attacker. He screamed, and died. I lost consciousness.
When I came back to myself, I was lying on my bed, on my stomach. I hurt like hell. There were several people in my field of vision.
"What happened," I asked, gasping.
"Paul. Don't talk. You were attacked by an assassin. We pulled a Drebasty knife from your back. We're trying to heal you now. It is very difficult. It hit just right of your spinal column. It pierced your right lung," Mirwanna told me.
I could feel liquids being poured on my back. I heard chanting. It felt like a fire was kindled inside my back. It was like a hot coal was inside me. I screamed in pain. I panted from a feeling of not being able to breathe. I felt light headed and lost consciousness, again.
When I opened my eyes, I felt much better. I could breathe, and while my back hurt, it was more manageable this time. I was also lying on my back, this time. I turned my head, and saw my sister looking out my window.
"Anything out there I should know about?" I croaked.
"Paul!" Mirwanna said, rushing to my bedside.
"How do you feel?" she asked, feeling my forehead.
"Like shit," I said. She laughed.
"Good, you should. It means your healing. It was touch and go there for a minute. A Drebasty knife is a very deadly weapon. They are made to cut through anything, including spells. Most spells, anyway," she added the last hastily.
"What the hell is a Drebasty knife?" I asked her.
"The Drebasty are an elder race. They are stepped in magical lore of all sorts. They are a magical race, literally. For the most part, they have withdrawn from contact with all but a few.
"They are excellent weapons makers. The knife that hit you was made for the express purpose of killing powerful magic users. The blade is inscribed with runes of power that are old and not much could withstand it," she hesitated, then went on.
"The only beings able to withstand this type of magic, are the divine, and dragons. We don't know of any other being to have ever survived an attack from this type of blade. Our divinity, yours and mine, is not of sufficient strength to really counter the effects of this blade.
"Paul? How did you kill that assassin?" she asked me.
"Well, I remember pain, and breathing fire at him," I said, incredulously.
"That's got to be it! That's what the goddess did to you, to us! Paul, we are the first Dragon Lords in over a thousand years with the ability to transform INTO DRAGONS!" she almost shrieked.
"That explains your shredded clothes! It also explains why the knife had almost worked its way out of your back, by the time we found you. The knife's blade showed that it had gone into you up to the hilt.
"Paul? I am sorry about the argument we had this morning. Take all the time you need to get your bearings. You were right. I was being controlling and manipulative," she said.
I almost felt like saying no she was right, but, no. I was not going to throw this away. I nodded at her.
"Far be it from me to argue with my Princess," I said grinning at her.
"I wonder how we are supposed to transform? Do you remember anything at all about it?" she asked me.
"Not really. I remember getting off a spell that just bounced off him. Or off something he was wearing," I said frowning. It was mostly a blur now.
"Yes, we found a his amulet. It was a powerful general-purpose counter charm. It was very powerful, indeed. However, its makers could not envision protecting the wearer from dragon fire," she said with a grim smile.
"Also, the Drebasty have much to answer for. While I am sure they did not conspire with the assassin, I feel we will be able to wring concessions from them," she said with satisfaction.
I stared at her and said, "Glad my pain and almost death, has won you a political victory," I said tonelessly.
"Paul! I didn't mean it like that! Please! Forgive me!" she said with such hurt that I knew I had been wrong to say that.
"It's ok. I didn't mean it either. Just the situation talking," I said to her, squeezing her hand which had found mine.
About this time, a healer came in, and announced it was time to change the dressing. Mirwanna left the room, and I received another adventure in pain as the bandage had to be unstuck from the wound.
Soon enough I had a new dressing, and was once again resting, mostly comfortably. I was told that I could have mild foods for the next few days. I must have milk, beef broth, fish. No wine or spirits of any sorts. I was agreeable with most of it. I didn't feel that hungry, anyway.
I feel asleep and was dreaming. I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't stop or affect the dream in any way. I was watching myself walk down a corridor. I saw the assassin step from behind a tapestry, dressed all in black.
I watched as he threw his knife at me. I saw it sink to the hilt in my back. I saw him reach for another knife and throw it as I stumbled. The second knife went through the space where my throat or neck would have been.
I saw myself turn, and cast a spell, which was repulsed by the amulet on his chest. I watched in horror and fascination, as I turned into a dark green dragon with silvery outlines. I watched myself breathing fire at the attacker.
I saw myself fall, and turn back into my regular human self. I also knew without a doubt that the knife had triggered the change in me. While I had briefly been the dragon, a silvery light flared around the knife, and it had started to slowly pull itself out of my back.
I felt a presence and knew the Goddess was controlling this dream. I felt calm, now, and detached. I watched as people ran in from different directions. I saw them talking and gesturing. I saw my sister arrive in a blaze of power, look at me, and cry out. No sound though. Lousy replay if you ask me. I felt amusement at this.
"Paul?" I heard a voice.
I opened my eyes. Darla was sitting there, holding my hand. I smiled at her.
"Darla! Nice to see you. I had not expected to see you for some time yet," I said with a yawn.
"Don't be silly. You're hurt. Of course I would come back right away. You're my friend, silly," she said.
"Well, I like you, too," I said, knowing I had a goofy grin on my face.
"So, how is training going with your new family?" I asked her to change the subject.
"It's so much fun, Paul! These are very nice people, and they all seem to like me a lot. I have learned so much in such a short time. They are treating me like royalty, almost!" she finished excitedly.
"We talked for about another 30 minutes. Then a healer came in, and decided I'd had enough visitors for the time being. I was also made to swallow a very foul tasting concoction.
"This stuff is horrible!" I gasped after I recovered from the coughing fit it had given me after I swallowed it.
"Yes, but it will do you a very positive service. It helps your body make blood, which you have lost. It will also cause your wound to heal even faster. Tomorrow you will need to get up from your bed, and start walking, to regain your strength," my healer said in a no nonsense voice.
The next morning, after breakfast, they had me 'up and walking'. At first it was hard. But soon I became much steadier on my feet. My back hurt like hell at first, but it was quickly down to just twinges. Before long, I was walking up and down the corridor outside my rooms, in a mostly normal gate.
When they went to change my dressing just before lunch, they exclaimed over how far along my wound had healed. While still tender, I was feeling much better. I felt like I was starving!
I demanded a larger meal at lunchtime. I ate everything on my plate, and wanted more. My stomach growled and the healer sent a servant back to the kitchens for a sturdier meal.
Finally, I felt full. I looked at the remains of my meal, and realized I had eaten about three times my normal intake of food.
I started to think what this meant. Ok. I had changed into a dragon.
I knew that magic took energy. Unless you pulled it from somewhere else, you were using your own energy to make spells, and impose your will on the local environment. I could only think that changing into a dragon, and back, had depleted some sort of energy reserves in me, thus my hunger.
I was rather pleased with myself for having figured this out. Well, it was a possibility, anyway. I would run it by Mirwanna, and see what she thought. We also had several top-notch wizards in the palace. Perhaps they could shed light on this, too.
The next day was a repeat of yesterday, except they let me eat smaller meals, but I was served them more often. I was feeling well enough to get up, and stay up. I did not want nor feel like lazing around in bed. My healers were amazed at my recovery speed. Hell, I was amazed at it, too!
Darla was a daily ray of sunshine, in my otherwise boring imposed seclusion. She was very busy, but always took time to visit me. We talked about her rooms in the Lestri House.
That was another thing that intrigued me. Powerful families, merchants, guilds... they all had a 'House'. It did not really refer to a place to live, but was more like an organization you belonged to.
With Darla joining the Lestri House, they were thrilled to get a person of her capabilities. In return, they gave her just about anything she wanted. She could stay with her uncle and relatives, at their home, or they would purchase a regular house for her.
They paid for anything she wanted. In return, they wanted her to learn as much magic as she could, and she would repay the House in the future, with her magical abilities. Already she was more than earning her keep, according to her. I was happy for her, but realized I was missing her a lot, when she was busy with her training.
Edited by TeNderLoin