Griselda sent them back to the cave and told them to stay there until she could send messages to the other council members to decide what they would do next. "What are you laughing at?" asked Griselda to her son as the rat and Dragon started back to the caves. "Dree told me a new joke. It goes something like this... Knock... Knock... and you are supposed to say 'Who's there?'" The Dowager just shook her head and smiled thinking about how much of a kid her son still was.
"One would think that a coach or something would travel these roads a little more often," he again grumbled. After walking a little more, Aralt decided to sit down on a log near the trail by where he had first overheard the Wysps. "I wonder if those Wysps are still here?" he asked himself. "It would make it easier if I knew which cave they were talking about that had the portal in it." As if by magic, a Wysp did appear! "Ah, stranger. Are you lost?" it asked Aralt. Before thinking, Aralt growled, "That's twice in one day someone has implied that I am lost and don't know where I am going. I will have you know that I have walked these hills long before your kind even turned blue."
"Only if you know where the portal is," Aralt told him while digging another rock out of his shoe that was rubbing his little toe raw. "Ah, that's too easy. How about a nicer cave that has a waterfall in the back of it?" answered the Wysp. It took a minute before Aralt realized what the Wysp had just told him. It knew where the cave was! This time thinking before he answered, the Herald decided that he would trick the Wysp into taking him to the portal. "I don't think you even know what a portal is," he replied. "So, I best be going on my way alone."
Smiling, Aralt soon had the Wysp mad enough that it would show Aralt where the portal and cave were 'just to prove I know what I am talking about'. Shortly, they were entering the cave with Aralt following the glowing blue Wysp. "It's right here. See," as the Wysp hit the portal wall with a stick it had picked up off of the floor which bounced back from the invisible wall. "Nothing can get through it and we tried." Ignoring the Wysp, Aralt started walking towards the invisible barrier. Now it was the Wysp's turn to smile as he expected the stranger to bounce off of the wall just like the Wysps did. The surprise on the Wysp's face would have made Aralt laugh if he had been watching it as the Herald walked right through the barrier and disappeared.
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“Just like the old days,” Griselda thought as she listened to the others for the moment. But shortly she got everyone’s attention just by not saying anything. Soon the entire council stood silently and waited for Griselda to tell them her thoughts. When she did not immediately say anything, her son decided to start the conversation. “Mother,” asked the Baron. “What do you think about the Herald?” All of the others saw her quickly snort as if she was about to laugh, but instead she just shook her head from side to side and looked down. After another moment she finally looked up at everyone and spoke. “I have told you all about what I saw from the magical scroll. Seeing how the Herald spoke long ago when the Dragons first received their magical powers and the trouble it was causing that this is definitely the same Fae. But maybe now even more dangerous. At that meeting long ago, he asked the others for their help to control the Dragons. Today he tried to tell us what we will do under his orders. When he saw that maybe he overstepped, he then tried to persuade us through deception. I had my doubts when I saw him at the magical meeting then, but now I have no doubts. He is a bigger threat than the Dragons returning.”
As Ffion stopped, it was Awena who continued the thought. “We must keep Dree and Aralt apart until we know what that Power is. I will return to my library to see if we have anything about this. At the moment, I know of no prophecy that fits this situation other than a general one that when the Dragons return there will be many changes. We are not even sure that this return of the Dragons is that prophecy.” It was then that Meen returned to the chamber... alone and bewildered. “Where is the Herald?” asked the Dowager when she realized that he was not following behind the pyksee. Without answering Griselda, Meen ran to Queen Ffion and kneeled in front of her wailing. “My Queen, please forgive me. I lost the Herald. He sent me for tea and when I returned he was gone. I tried to check his home but the doors were barred to me and I could find no trace of him other than one of the townspeople thought they saw him heading to the caves."
"I should have made that connection to the Dragon’s lair,” she mumbled to herself as she pulled out her portal stone and disappeared.
"Hhhmm, the Sleeping Sisters are also involved," Aralt realized when he recognized the bird as a magpie sitting in a tree behind the other minion. "I do wonder what this council has been up to in my absence." As Meen caught sight of the Herald coming out of his home, she quickly jumped the last log as she tried to get back to the council chamber to alert the others of his approach. "This spying stuff is fun," Meen thought to herself. "I can actually play my favorite game of Leap without even getting into trouble." But she apparently did not need to worry too much of Aralt beating her to the council chamber. "He seems to be stopping at several of the local shops and apparently taking his own sweet time to arrive at the chamber. I wonder if he is part Pkysee like me since he seems to be playing instead of worrying about getting to the meeting," Meen pondered for a moment. Aralt even stopped by the local brewer to place an order of Dragon's Brew to be delivered to his home later today. It wasn't until he finished his tea and biscuit at the teashop that he finally started towards the chambers. "That should have given those silly council members plenty of time to arrive," he smiled, knowing that he was subtlety letting them know who will be in charge of this meeting.
"But I would have to surmise with this mix of citizens here, the Troll and the young Nyte Shade must be important as well as the older couple in the corner." As if they heard his unspoken thoughts, the older couple both turned their attention to him.
"This is Queen Ffion of the Shadows' Realm, King Dulbbe of the Trolls, Awena of the Sleeping Sisters, and Efem the Tree Mother. The others are citizens of the Realms who are here to witness this historic occasion. We also have Augustus, The Earl of Grey, who is also the editor of the local newspaper, The Bellwether, to record this news worthy event." Aralt let the silence last a little longer when the introductions were completed. "I must show them I am in charge here," he thought as he silently walked to a corner of the room so all had to turn to see him. "I am Aralt the Herald. I speak to and for the Dragons and the Clans and will prepare the way for the return of the Dragons. Soon they will return and we must be prepared to make sure they cause no chaos nor reek havoc among the fae folk or the Outies. I will meet with their leader, the most powerful of their kind - a Wish Dragon. Upon her return I will re-establish the rules of order laid down by me in the past for their conduct. If I need your assistance, I will ask for it then. I expect you will all be available and require each of you to have a runner or setup a message system so that I may contact you when I need your assistance. If there are no questions, then we are adjourned," he finished as he started towards the chamber doors. "But what about Hungry?" Meen uttered to Queen Ffion. "I mean Dre..." she started to add before she saw the look she was getting from all of the others. "Opps..." she muttered as she tried to find someplace to to look other than at everyone who was glaring at her.
Deciding on a new tact, he stopped just short of the doorway and turned back towards the council. "I am sorry. Being alone for so many years has made me a little brusque in my ways. I am concerned for the safety of everyone in the Realms and sometimes I do not present myself as cordial as I should. I have been gone for so long and so many things have changed, I would like to meet with all of you to see what I should know that will help me prepare for the Dragon's return," he finished as he sat down in one of the nearby chairs and awaited their response. It was slow in coming. Actually it was none as no one wanted to be the first to speak back. "I came on too strong," Aralt realized as he waited. "I will have to start this." "Dowager Griselda, I am honored to be met by a member of the Dragon Clan. I will rely on your assistance upon the Dragons return as you are one of the few who really understand the importance of what I need to do. We must keep the Dragons under our control if we are to maintain the peace and harmony of our way of life." As the Dowager remembered the incident with the scroll showing her past and why the Dragon clan was formed, she knew that their decision not to tell the Herald about Dree, the Moon Dragon, had been for the best.
Not everyone else was smiling though. Especially not the town council members who had glanced at each other when Aralt had disappeared behind his doors and now started back to the council chambers. They definitely needed to talk. Shortly all of them were sitting around the conference table thinking about what to say at the meeting. Each of the councilors had their chief minion there in case an errand or message needed to be delivered awaiting in the chairs spaced against the wall of the chamber. Even if they were longingly gazing at the buffet table that Granny Flare and Cornelia had setup for everyone to snack on, they understood the importance of the events of day. Finally it was the Dowager who started the conversation. "Well, that went well." Those four words were all it took to get everyone talking at the same time. "Who would have thought he would be so short and I don't just mean in stature," snapped one member. "How can he think I will let him stay on the grounds of my castle," growled Queen Ffion. "What are we going to do now?" both Awena and Dulbbe silently thought to themselves as they listened to the others talk.
Each of the council members sat quietly, thinking about the Baron's question. Indeed, what do we do now? It was a quandary. "There is one thing we probably should do," grumbled Nemmer as he watched the others staring at each other around the table. "Maybe we need to hide Dree until we know more about this Herald business." It took a minute, as the others were heavy in thought about the situation, before they realized what Nemmer had just muttered. "Nemmer is right," smiled the Dowager. "Dree should be hidden until we know enough about Aralt before they meet. We don't want the two of them to get off on the wrong foot. But I also don't think they should meet until we find out what the Herald's plans are first." After a short discussion, the rest of the council agreed with the Dowager, but who to send? For they needed to distract Dree and to keep him away until the council had their chance to find out Aralt's plan and that wouldn't be easy. "I could send Meen," volunteered Queen Ffion as Meen jumped from her chair when she heard her name. "No disrespect to you or your minion, Queen Ffion," answered Awena, " But we need someone who might be able to distract Dree as to the arrival of the Herald but not spill the beans about him. Meen would get so caught up playing and probably tell Dree everything since she is a twiddletop when it comes to keeping secrets." The conversation continued for some time, going back and forth on who would be best to inform the Dragon, but it wasn't until Dulbbe, the Troll King, made his offer before they selected the messenger.
Realizing that his boss was both correct and actually giving him a compliment, Drat blushed slightly and bowed his head. "As you command Sire," he replied as he departed on his errand. "Well, it got me out of what looked like a long and boring meeting," thought Drat as he darted down the street to the caves under the Baron's mansion all the time working up a plan to keep the Dragon busy without letting him know he was being hidden away again for now. "I wonder if I can get him into a game of Tic Tac Toe? That could take a while if he doesn't know that secret. But I will definitely need to let him know that it doesn't require body parts or eating."
"We have also heard from King Dulbbe and Queen Ffion about the potential dangers of a ruling Wish Dragon according to the past stories of the She-Dragon," finished Griselda. Everyone looked at each other, waiting to see if someone would start the conversation they all knew had to happen. It was Awena who began. "We need to create a plan to minimize the chaos of the arrival of the Herald and the Dragon's return. I have searched the records of the Sleeping Sisters and have found nothing that will aid us in this problem. The only ancient text or prophesy that was discovered is extremely vague. The most we can confirm is that all realms are in danger if the Dragon's are no more and the game is lost. We have not found out what is meant by 'this game of power' nor what would make all of the Dragons disappear," she said and sat down on one of the many chairs in the audience chamber. "You have all heard what we have found out about the returning Dragons. Do you have any further questions of the Dragon orb?" Griselda asked the others. "If not - then now is the time we must decide what we can do. The one major question we cannot answer is does Aralt know we now have a Moon Dragon here in the Realms?" What do you think of this Dree?" finished Griselda as all turned to look at the young Moon Dragon. Dree was totally caught off guard. He had been listening to everyone's discoveries and was picturing in his mind what the other Dragons would look like and how they would act, but he had not been following the Dowager's final comments. So with a startled look he realized everyone was staring at him and waiting for his comments. After a few gulps, he finally started to speak. "Excuse me for not paying attention at everything that has been said here, but I have been listening and thinking. I understand both from your discoveries of the Orb and from the reading I have been doing from some books that Granny Flare gave to me what it meant to be a Wish Dragon. I am just now getting my wings under me in trying to find out what a Moon Dragon may be. I am hoping this Herald can help me discover what it is that I am supposed to do," he said. Taking a slow breath Dree continued, "But, I also know that he is a stranger to me while all of you are my family. I may be a Dragon, and formerly of the Wish Dragon Clan, but you have all raised me and have helped me become what I am now so you are my clan too. I do not know if there is anything I can do to prepare for the coming of my kin, but I do feel that I should learn all that I can to be prepared for their arrival," Dree told the others.
Everyone in the room stood and bowed to the young Moon Dragon to show him their support. It was almost too much for the Dragon, but he finally did look back at them all and said a simple "Thank you." It was then that the Goodie Sisters and Parsley entered the chamber and announced that the meal they had been preparing was ready... was anyone hungry? Dree started laughing and said "No, I'm Dree now - but I am still Hungry!"
Standing up and walking around the library she slowly made her way over to the wall that held ancient scrolls. The very old ones were stacked on the shelves, written down before Snoop brought in his magical machines that made printing possible into the now familiar book format. "Maybe I can find one about who this herald is that calls himself Aralt," mused Griselda. She started scanning and looking through several of the old scrolls until she found one that was still rolled up and sealed with an unbroken golden seal. She could feel the magic within the scroll as she touched it and especially behind the seal when she ran her fingers over it. "I have heard about these types of seals," whispered Griselda in awe for actually seeing one herself as she was unaware her son had one in the library. "It's to keep the scroll in mint condition for future generations so as to not lose the knowledge within." Deciding that it was time the scroll be read, the Dowager broke the seal. As she did, she felt the powerful magic released seeping into the room. Time started to fade away and she was transported back to where the scroll began.
"But Dowager," answered Fiddlefaddle, "How will we summon so many? I don't speak Bee-G and nobody but Parsley knows how the Mushroom Line communicates..." Before he could continue Griselda cut him off. "That is not your problem. I will take care of that. You will just need to give them the messages when they arrive. Make sure that the right messenger gets the right message. If I tell you that it has to go to a cave, make sure that the Root Connection make the delivery. If the message is going to a mountain peak, then make sure the Twitter Birds get it. I am sure that between the two of you, you will be able to figure out the best way to send the message. Now I have to get busy writing messages. The Baron has his own tasks to do." Knowing when they had been dismissed to get on with their work, both bowed and left the parlor. "If the Dowager was writing the messages, what could be my task? thought the Baron. Since just returning from the Council meeting, it struck the Baron that maybe someone should check on Dree. As he brought the subject up to his mother, she realized that he was right. No one had thought of how the one Dragon that was already in the Realm would feel if everyone else thought the Dragons' return was to be a dangerous situation. Given the fact that Dree was a new Moon Dragon and unaware of the powers that he possessed, now would be a good time to make sure he was not upset or scared. Upset or scared powerful Dragons could cause a few problems - especially when they are only partially trained.
For that the Baron was grateful. "I have walked enough today without having to go searching for Hungry, oops, Dree, somewhere in the Shadows' Realm," he thought as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Opening the door to the secret caverns below his mansion, he could tell that they had another visitor. "Even the dirt on the floor is clean," he chuckled to himself about the house brownie. "Granny Flare must have been here." Soon the Baron was in the chamber where Dree was sitting on a stack of pillows and reading a book. At first the site of it surprised him, but after a moment, he started to chuckle. "Why not?" he decided to himself. "His teachers would be proud of how well the new Moon Dragon was applying himself to learning." It was the chuckle that alerted Dree to the Baron's presence as he looked up from the book. "Good day Baron. Have you read this book yet? It's fascinating! It's all about Dragons. Granny Flare left it for me to read." Deciding that it would be a good way to start the conversation he knew he would have to have with Dree, the Baron answered. "No, I have never seen that one before. What can you tell me about your kin?" Soon Dree was telling the Baron about the different types of Dragons and the things they could do... "Now, this one is a water Dragon and he can swim and use water to build things with. Won't that be neat? If I could do that I could make blocks of water with fish in them and then stack them up along that wall," as he pointed to a wall in the cave, "and watch them swim around without getting hurt." "It's funny that you said that," replied the Baron. "Dree, you were at the Council meeting today and heard what the Dowager said. Do you understand why we are all so concerned about the Dragons returning?" The question made the young Dragon stare at the Baron for a minute. Then he put the book down on one of the pillows and stared at the wall he had pointed to only minutes before, not saying a word. After a short silence, Dree finally turned to look at the Baron and answered. "Yes, I think I do. You are afraid that with the return of the Dragons that whatever made them go away might happen again. But maybe this time it will happen after something bad occurs. You are here because you don't know what I will do now that I am a Moon Dragon." As surprised to hear that the Dragon did understand his concerns, the Baron knew now was the time to ask his other question. "What will you do?"
Seeing the look of concern in everyone's eyes, even Dree's, the Dowager realized that she was the one who was going to have to inspire confidence to them all. "I bring this up so we can prepare and be ready for their arrival. It appears from what Goodie4U has seen that the Dragons are widely dispersed. That means we will probably start seeing them either return alone or in small groups. That will give us time."
"Let everyone in the Realms know that Dree is a peaceful Dragon and that the council welcomes their return when it should happen." Seeing Snoop nod his head and start writing on the paper he held, Griselda knew that he would do as she asked since he now understood the danger they were all in. "For the rest of you, I will be returning to the Mansion with my son. We have a lot of messages to start sending out to see who will respond. I will also call an All Clans meeting to see who will attend." For a second, the Dowager stopped talking. A very concerning thought came to her but she did not want to have the others notice so she quickly continued. "Each of you must return to your homes and start preparing both yourselves and your people as to the Dragons' return. What we did worked last time after the Great Age of Befuddlement, so it will work again. Before you go, I will talk to each of you as to what I suggest you do. But I also suggest you start thinking of what you might also be able to do in addition to that." While the Dowager was meeting with everyone before they left, Awena and Dree were standing in a corner of the council chambers talking in a low whisper. "Dree, I think it is time for you to return to the caves under the Mansion," Awena told the Moon Dragon. "That way you will be closer to Griselda when she needs you as I am sure she will in the coming times." "I hadn't thought about that," answered Dree. "I would like that. I will let the others know also so if they need me they will all know where to find me."
"Dowager, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't know why a dragonfly is so important," he said when it was quiet again. The Baron realized that he should say something as his mother seemed to sometimes think that everyone else should just 'understand' what was going on.
"Maybe later, what's important is that they understand the importance of receiving a Dragonflyye," answered Griselda. "What all of you must understand is that when the Dragons were here and plentiful, there were several of the Great Fae who helped the clans keep the peace between Dragons, Fae, and the Outies after the Great Age of Befuddlement. Most of these Fae are now gone (who knows where... but we hope they are having a good time), but a few are still here in the Realms in case the peace is disturbed again." As Griselda paused, it was Awena who now spoke. "According to the ancient scrolls, the Great Fae used Dragonflyyies to send important messages to the Dragon clans. These special Dragonflyyies were one of the few creatures that could speak both to Fae and Dragons. Only the 'Outies' could not understand the messages they would deliver." Nodding her head, the Dowager continued when Awena paused. "That is correct. As a member of the Wish Dragon clan I would routinely see the Dragonflyyies delivering messages to the clan elders. I was so shocked to have one appear at the Mansion before leaving to this meeting that I almost forgot about the meeting."
Snoop pointedly asked, "What did the Dragonflyye say and who sent it!" When he realized what he had just done, blushing from embarrassment, he quickly apologized to the council and sat down but not without having his pencil out and paper ready to write it all down. "Before the interruption," Griselda glared at Snoop, who continued to shrink further into his chair, "I was about to say that the message was very short. All it said was 'They are returning' and it was signed Aralt the Herald." "Dowager, who is returning and who is Aralt?" Queen Ffion asked as she was just as confused as the others in the council chamber. "That my dear, is a long tale that I need to tell all of you so everyone understands the dangers that are coming to the Realms. It all began when Goodie4U appeared before me while I was enjoying my favorite tea..."
The Baron sat on the left of his mother, the Dowager Griselda, while Awena was on her right side at the front of the room. Everyone else gave respect due to the new royalty of the Realm - the new Queen Ffion and Troll King Dulbbe, who sat facing towards the head table wondering what this meeting could be about. The Gooblin King was not into protocol. He preferred to sit off in the grey hidden shadows of the back of the room observing what was going on. He told others that he preferred to be off to himself, but most believed it was because he couldn't stand all the bright lights.
In the section reserved for the minions (so they could be called upon to deliver edicts from the council) Arnie had taken one of the seats because she had never sat at council before. It's not like a 'Borrower' is invited to many functions since they have a tendency to 'find' things that they take with them when they leave. Leaning over to Meen she asked in a low voice "What's so important about a dragonfly? I chase them all of the time when I am not out borrowing." Meen whispered "I am not sure if it's the same thing. It could be I suppose, but I remember once that the old King of Shadows' referred to having a relic of one posted in an ancient scroll. It was an ancient way of sending important messages when the Dragons where around."
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GreetingsWelcome to my blog. This is where I will reveal the magic of my Fae and their stories and share with you some of the success and pitfalls through the journey of doll making, sculpting, and other crafts that all come back to my dolls in many ways. Archives
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