Artemis Part 1

10-year-old Mathew was in his grandmother’s garden. The boy was vigorously digging up the beets his grand had sent him out to get for supper. A few nice fat beets were growing next to grand’s Mugwort patch and when he tried to pull them out the roots of the Mugwort would not release the large bulbs. He had been told not to disturb Grand’s patch of Mugwort, but if he just pulled the beets away from the plants that shouldn’t bother the patch. He attacked the tangled roots and pulled as hard as he could and 3 large beets came lose so quickly, he fell over backwards and landed hard on his bottom from the sudden release. Matt stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants and stepped back to the hole he had created and picked up his hard, earned beets. How ever the beets were still tangled in the Mugwort roots along with a bright iridescent oval, egg shaped object. Matt could not take his eyes off the shining object. Even coated in dirt and roots it was beautiful. He knelt down and gently pulled the tangled roots off the beets and the shining object. He put the beets in the basket that grand had made just for him. He was so excited that he scooped up the object and ran into the house to show his grandmother, leaving his basket behind.

As the egg lay in his hands, it began to wobble back and forth. He was so startled he nearly dropped it. Grand quickly cupped her hands under his.

“Careful Matty, don’t drop it!” She sighed, “It’s much sooner than I had planned but you’ve found it now so there’s no going back.”

Matt looked up into her eyes, “What do you mean grand, it’s sooner than you planned?”

She sighed very deeply and her eyes sparkling with tears. “It’s too soon to tell you the whole truth my sweet, sweet boy.”

Matt looked up at her. “Grand, you’re crying.”

The distress in his voice snapped Rebedita out of her sorrow. She forced herself to smile. She had raised Mathew for this day; the day he would inherit his legacy. Everything had to be just right. The egg had to be held and protected and both had to be raised to be kind and gently. There could be no dark influences in these two.

Matt whispered “Grand, what is it?” As he stared at the object.

“It’s a dragon Matty. It’s your dragon.” She smiled at him with that special smile she used when she told him how much she loved him.

Then Matt smiled back and laughed. “Come on grand, you’re telling me another story aren’t you.”

Matt thought his grand was the most interesting person in the world, she was a professor of mythological studies at the university. She told Matt all kinds of magical stories. He had always thought those stories were just make believe. Now he looked at his grand and back at the wobbling egg. It couldn’t really be a dragon’s egg. Matt waited for his grand to say something but she just kept smiling down at him her hands still gently cradling his hands and the egg.

She had kept this egg hidden for all these years; she had not planned for Matt to find the egg for several more years.

Rebedita had hidden the egg under a patch of carefully cultivated Mugwort which would ward off all evil. The last thing she had suspected was that Matty would accidently dig it up.

The shell gave off a sharp crackling sound, then POP! A section fell off and a tiny blue-green scaly hand stuck out. Then the shell cracked and popped again. This time a tail swept out and a set of back legs kicked against the shell. The back legs pushed against the remaining shell and a sleek neck and tiny, beautiful equine head emerged from the last of the shell.

“Quickly Matty, talk to him.” Grand said.

“What do I say?” Matt asked.

“Just start by telling him your name.” Grand pulled her hands away and stepped back.

Matt looked down at the small creature in his hands. “Hi, I’m Mathew.”

The small dragon tilted its head and looked up at Matt and crooned. Matt smiled back. “Is he trying to talk to me?” He asked his grand.

“Yes, keep talking.” 

“Grand, how do you know he’s a boy?” Matt asked.

“It’s his coloring, he’s green and blue. Also, his mother told me the egg would be a boy.”

Matt looked up at his grand in amazement. “His mother told you?”

Rebedita smiled, “Yes, Matty, his mother told me. And she also told me that you would be his human companion” Grand sighed. “There’s so much I need to tell you and now, there may not be enough time. I had planned to tell you before the egg hatched so you’d be prepared. But there’s nothing we can do about that now. We just have to do the best we can.”

Matt looked at the small dragon. “I guess we’ll both have to do the best we can.” Matt pulled his hands closer to his body, cradling the small creature and it increased its crooning. “Everyone calls me Matt. Well, everyone except for Grand, she calls me Matty. Do you have a name?”

The little dragon crooned and rubbed its head against Matt’s chest. Suddenly Matt felt waves of hunger rush through his body.

“Grand,” Matt gasp, “I think he’s hungry.”

“Well,” Grand said. “I better get something for him to eat. He’ll reveal his name in time.”

Matt continued to talk gently to the small dragonette.

Matt fed the dragon listening carefully to Grand’s instructions while she quickly prepared a special meal. She said it would ensure that the small dragon grew up to be gentle. She had hurried out to the garden and brought back some the young tender Mugwort stalks. She quickly cooked up the stalks with some chicken she had ready for their dinner and gave Matt a pair of blunt ended tweezers. She then showed him how to pick up a small amount of the baby dragon food and feed the small dragon like a mother bird would feed her young.

It took a little bit of coaching but once the baby understood the process he began to grab and ravenously gulped down all the food Matt offered him.

The small dragon’s belly bulged, full of food and he began weaving almost drunkenly in Matt’s hand. Matt cradled the baby to him and spoke softly to the baby about how beautiful he was. Feelings of gratitude and love flooded through Matt’s chest.

Matt looked up at Grand, “Is he trying to talk to me?”

Grand smiled. “Yes, when they are young they mostly just communicate feelings. What is he feeling right now?”

“He’s thankful and feels love.” Matt told her. “And he’s very sleepy.” he mumbled.

“That’s good. We want him to feel love in return and to feel safe as well.” She smiled. “Tell him he is safe and that you’ll protect him.”

“Grand! How do you know all of this?” Matt asked around a big yawn, looking up at her in total amazement.

“That’s a story for another day my little Matty.” Whispered Rebedita as she watched her sweet little boy fall asleep with the small dragonet in his arms.

 

Artemis part 2

Recap from Artemis part 1; Ten year old Matt finds the dragon egg in his grand’s garden and it hatches. He is now responsible for raising this small dragon and his Grand, Rebedita, is teaching him how.

 

Matt woke up the next morning to something walking around in circles on his chest. He sat up so quickly that he nearly dumped the little dragon onto the floor. The dragonet cocked his head and purred at Matt. Waves of hunger washed over the boy. Matt smiled as the memory of finding the egg and the small dragon hatching suddenly returned. Here he was with this diminutive dragon clinging to the front of his night shirt and that little dragon was now his responsibility.

“Okay, so you’re hungry?” Matt cooed.

The little dragon kicked up and down with his back feet while he clung to the front of  Matt’s shirt with his forearms. The little dragon let go of the front of the boy’s night shirt and took off flying toward the kitchen. Matt’s eyes nearly burst from his head as he jumped out of bed tripping over the tangle of blankets around his legs. He ran to catch up with the small dragon.

“Grand! Grand! He flew?” Matt yelled as he ran into the kitchen.

Rebedita turned to watch Matt slide to a stop just in time to miss crashing into the kitchen table.

She smiled, “Of course he can fly. What did you think the wings were for. Besides if a baby dragon can’t fly they could become something else’s dinner.”

Matt stared at her in shock. “Something would eat him?” he exclaimed.

Grand smile. “Many things could eat him as he is now. But once he learns to breath fire, he’ll be much safer.” Grand turned and placed a bowl of warm mush on the table as Matt stared up at her with eyes wide! “Breathes fire?” he squeaked.

Rebedita laughed. “You feed him first then you get to eat. As he grows, he’ll learn to feed himself but until then you always make sure, he has his food first.” 

Rebedita watched the two young ones interact. She was very surprise with their growing bond. She could feel that bond growing fast and strong. That meant the dark ones would soon feel them too. She had to get them to the sanctuary much sooner than she had planned.

She had hoped for more time to just enjoy being Mattie’s Grandmother before she had to send him away to safety. But she could see that everything was progressing so much faster than any of them had planned.

The question was why? She had hoped to wait until Matt was about 15 before she had to tell him everything. Now she hoped that she had enough time to fill in the basics. She felt a profound sadness wash over her and shook her head. He was still so young for all of this.

Once the baby dragon had filled his little belly he curled up on Matt’s lap and fell asleep. Rebedita told Matt to eat his breakfast. As he ate, he watched Grand pull out a strange device from a cupboard.

“What’s that?” he asked around a mouthful of his own mush.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full dear.” Grand said. “It’s a scale. I want to measure your little guy’s weight. Then we need to monitor how fast he’s growing.” She smiled at Mattie, “Just so you know, he’s going to grow very fast. So, get ready.” She smiled, “It won’t be long before he won’t fit in your lap.”

Rebedita lifted the small dragon from Matt’s lap and gently places him on the scale. She then adds several stones to the other side.

“See Mattie, each stone is marked according to it’s weight. You place stones here until it’s balanced then we calculate your little guy’s weight. Or if you really want to be accurate” She smiled, “his mass; 168 drakeums, not bad.” She nodded.

“What do I need to get ready for?” Matt asked.

Rebedita thought for a moment. “Well, as he grows so will his appetite and that means more frequent feedings and more food. He’ll need more room to sleep; he’ll outgrow your lap and bed in a matter of days if we feed him correctly.  Which will mean he’ll need his own bed very soon. Then he’ll need exercise. You can take him out with you while I teach you to forage for the foods he’ll need, that way he’ll also learn what plants to eat. I’ll come with you to help and keep an eye on both of you.”

Matt looked at her, “Won’t he eat meat? I mean, don’t dragons eat meat?”

Grand smiled at the boy. “Oh yes, as he gets older, he will learn to hunt and eat more and more meat. But right now, he needs baby food and I’ve been adding some ground chicken and egg in with his herb mush.” Rebedita let that sink in. “As he gets older we will need to add more and more meat to his diet. As a growing dragon he’ll eat a great deal. When he’s full grown, he’ll slow down on the number of meals he’ll eat. He’ll eat just as much each meal but less and less often.”

She placed the small dragon back on Mattie’s lap and put the scale back into the cupboard.
“We’ll check his mass every day. To make sure he’s growing properly.”

She got a cup of tea and sat down across the table from Matt. “Mattie, I’ve never told you about your parents, not really.” She stared down into her tea cup. “I will assume, and I’ve told you how dangerous that can be.” Then she chuckled, “that you are probably wondering if they had the special link to dragons that you do. And I can tell you that they both were excellent dragon riders. But when you mother became pregnant with you, they had to come to this part of the planet for her pregnancy and for you to grow properly.” 

Matt stared at her with a quizzical look. “How did they die?” he asked softly.

Grand looked at him sadly, “First, you live here with me because I can shield this place from those we call the dark ones. I can shield my magical aura and that allows me to work out side this property and when you were younger, I could shield you too. But around your 9^thbirthday your aura became too strong for me to shield outside of the homestead. You are only safe right here on this property.” Rebedita waited for Matt to think about what she had just told him.

“Did my mom and dad stay here with you too?” He asked.

“Not a first. They tried to live on their own on their own homestead. But after you were born your mother’s ability to shield you was greatly diminished. Pregnancy can do that until the mother recuperates after birth. Your father took steps to move all of you here, where I could shield all of us. They brought you here right away and had gone back for the rest of their things when the dark ones caught them.”

Matt looked up and could see tears in Grand’s eyes. She took a deep breath. “I never saw them ever again.” She whispered. She sipped some of her tea. “Mattie, you need to know so much and I’m so sorry, I thought I had more time to let you grow up and become ready for all of this but I can’t wait any longer. You need to know how special you are.”

They sat silently for a while then Matt asked, “Grand? Who are the dark ones?”

Rebedita sighed. “That’s hard to explain Mattie. Long ago all dragons and dragon riders worked together. We protected the world from bad people who would do harm to others. We were the keepers of the peace. But something happened and a group of dragons lost their way. Instead of protecting and helping they started to take control. They started by making people their slaves even their riders.” Rebedita thought for a moment. “There are three main continents on our planet. We live on this one and the dark ones have taken over the other.”

What’s on the third continent?” Matt asked.

“That continent is nearly all ice and few people live there, mostly animals that have evolved to survive in the cold climate.” She looked out the window for several minutes while Matt waited patiently. “There are a few dark ones in hiding here on this continent watching to catch any of us off guard. We shield ourselves against them. We have a place that’s shielded where they cannot enter. It’s a very special place. I plan to take you there so you will be safe. It won’t be long before the dark ones learn about you;” She stopped and smiled down at the little sleeping dragon. “And the little one. If they can capture you two, they will turn you.” She didn’t add that if they could not turn the two youngsters, they would destroy them.

Matt looked up quizzically. “Turn us to what?” he asked.

“To a minion of the dark one. You see there is one very powerful dragon that rules them all. He is angry and damaged deep in his heart. Many have tried to reach him to bring him back from the dark but all have failed.”  

Matt stared down at the little dragon; he felt waves of safety and love radiating from the tiny body. The little dragon looked up at Matt, blinking with sleepy sparkling eyes. “Mattie?” he heard a small voice in his mind. Matt smiled and spoke, “Yes, my name is Mattie. Do you a have a name?” he asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.

“Artemis. Me Artemis.” The small dragon’s eyes sparkled. “Artemis hungry, Mattie.”

Matt started to laugh. “Grand, he says his name is Artemis. And he’s hungry again.”

Rebedita smiled sadly, she had even less time than she had feared. She reached out with her mind. “Domhnal, Katriona, its time, wake up and hurry.” I’m going to miss this little boy.  She thought as tears welled up in her eyes.

Rebedita shook the tears off, “Well then, we better get Artemis another meal.” Grand said as she stood up and walked to the far side of the kitchen.

She brought over another bowl of mush and sat down with her chin in her hand. Smiling as she watched the boy feed his dragon. It wasn’t long until the dragonet curled up and fell asleep again.

“Well now, If Artemis is done eating, again. We need to get out and harvest the herbs he’ll need.” She walked over to her sewing table. “Here, this is a carry bag so you can carry Artemis with you.” She slid the strap over Matt’s head and then she carefully positioned the bag so it hung in front of Matt’s chest then gently laid the sleeping dragon in the small hammock that had been lined with a piece of sheep’s wool.

Matt smiled down at the little baby as he stood there waiting for Grand.

“Alright come along, we have work to do.” Grand said.

Rebedita’s homesteaded over five acres and the whole property was shielded. However, the elderly woman knew that the enemy was always probing and that danger was always just beyond her shield.

She was also very worried that she was not completely ready for this. She had small patches of the necessary herbs started around the property in preparation to feed a growing dragonet but she had not yet increased the size of those patches in preparation for this hatching. She might have to forage further and further out to make sure she had all of the necessary ingredients for the little one to develop.

Small dragons’ magical properties developed from the selection of herbs they ate when young. In this little guy’s case, the Mug Wort was the predominant herb. She knew it grew in many places around the property besides her main bed where the egg has been concealed for ten years. But there were a few more herbs that needed to be added to spur the growth of his magical abilities. The use of Artemisia Vulgaris/Mugwort had the main purpose of shaping the small dragon’s personality; sweet, caring, healing, and protective.  Mugwort as it was most commonly known was revered as a healing plant to almost everyone, so the large patch on Rebedita’s property did not raise any suspicions. That plus her area of research and teaching gave her the perfect alibi for raising so many magical herbs. There were some who were suspicious of the old woman’s, witches’ garden, as they called it. But Rebedita laughed at them and said that it was all just old wives’ tales. Besides whenever they were ill, she was the first one they came to. But she knew exactly what the herbs were for and some of the old gossips were not far from the mark.

Rebedita and Matt spent the rest of the day foraging for the herbs that Artemis would need. Matt listened to every word Grand told him. Not only what herbs his little dragon needed but why. Grand and Matt gathered enough herbs for several days of meals. She explained that the little dragon needed to eat every 3 to 4 hours. As he grew his feedings would spread out but he’d eat more and more.

Artemis would wake up and fly around the herb garden and around Matt’s head. Once he landed on Grand’s shoulder, but he looked her in the eye, gave her a chirp and flew back to Matt. As soon as he was tired, he always flew back to Matt and crawled into his nest in the bag.

Artemis had spent a lot of time flying around his and Grand’s heads then landing on the ground. He listened and watching them picking herbs. Suddenly the little dragon started grabbing and eating the herbs raw. Grand laughed.” Well, it will help if he can start eating on his own. But he has a long way to go.” She pulled a container out of her gather bag and handed it to Matt. “Here, give him a snack until we can get all of this back to the house and cleaned.”

Matt found that trying to gather herbs with the baby dragon swinging from a bag around his neck was somewhat clumsy. But it wasn’t much longer until Grand said they had enough for a while.

Back at the house, it felt like it would take forever to get all the herbs sorted and cleaned but finally everything was put away and ready to cook up into baby food.

Matt sat down and fed Artemis nearly a full bowl of mush then the little dragon crawled in his nest and fell asleep again.

As Matt sat at the kitchen table, he realized he was tired and hungry. Grand put a big bowl of stew in front of him. “Your dragon is not the only one that needs to grow.” She smiled.

Matt thought about the many feedings and foraging trips and decided raising a dragon was not easy.

Matt ate his stew and watched the little dragon sleeping on his lap.

Matt felt himself starting to nod off. When suddenly there was a loud whooshing sound outside. The whoomph! Whoomph! Whoomph! was not just loud, Matt could feel it deep inside. He looked up at Grand with wide eyes! “Grand! What is that?”

Rebedita smiled. “That’s my dragon and her mate.”

Grand stood up and walked to the door. She looked back at Matt frozen at the table. “Well, don’t you want to see how big your dragon will get some day?” and she walked out the door.

Matt was breathing in quick short breaths. Grand had a dragon? And her dragon was here?

Very slowly Matt stood up cradling Artemis in his arms. He slowly approached the door leading out to the front of their little house and looked around. He didn’t see anything at first then he looked over to Grand, standing by a tree? No! Not a tree, a leg. Then Matt looked up, and up. The deep lavender dragon lowered her head to look Matt in the eye.

“Hello Mattie.” She heard in his head. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. I’m Katriona. Domhnall and I have been waiting to meet your and Artemis for a very long time.”

Matt stood frozen in place taking in the massive dragon standing in their front yard.

Rebedita looked over at Matt as she hugged the dragon’s leg. “Well, are you going to faint?” she laughed. “You better shut your mouth before a bug flies in.”

Matt shut his mouth and before he could speak another dragon whooshed down to land beside Katriona. As he back winged the buffet of air pushed Matt back a few steps. This dragon was a deep dark blue with lighter blue markings. He held his head high and looked down at Matt. “If you want to see how big your dragonet will get, then you need to look at me.” His voice in Matts head was like thunder then Matt heard him chuckle. “Can I see the little one?” he asked.

Stiff legged Matt walked out toward the two huge dragons and nervously held Artemis out so they could see him. The two adult dragons lowered their heads and purred and warbled deeply, gently touching their huge snouts to the baby’s tiny one. Their vibrations ran through Matt’s body. Suddenly he was over whelmed by a flood of emotion. The adults adored Artemis and him too and a warm smooth snout touched Matt’s check.

PART 3;

Two years earlier when Matt turned eight, his aura began to grow and expand rapidly. Rebedita found that her aura was no longer strong enough to shield the boy. Domhnall and Katriona decide to go into hibernation to protect Rebedita’s homestead which would protect not only their egg, their prodigy, but the little boy who would bond with their baby and Rebedita. Their love for their dragonet, the boy and woman was equal in their powerful hearts. It was because of the combined auras of the sleeping dragons that Rebedita’s shield had been strengthened to be powerful enough to protect her homestead, the egg and Mattie. As they lay hidden burrowed just below the turf, forming a crescent shaped raised barrier around the elderly woman’s garden and home, they radiated their magical aura, combining, extending and strengthening her shield. There they peacefully slept waiting for their egg to hatch.

Present day;

The next morning Domhnall and Katriona waited outside while Matt and Artemis finished breakfast. The two young ones raced out of the house to greet the great dragons. Matt ran toward the garden with Artemis clinging to his shoulder. Matt slid to a stop and looked up. Domhnall and Katriona were immense. Matt looked up at them still not believing that these two great dragons were Artemis’ parents. He then gazed down at Artemis. His mass this morning was up to 354 drakums.  He couldn’t believe this little guy would get that big. But in only a few days he was already hanging off Matt’s lap. Gran had to sew a new carry sack for him last night.

The two adult dragons arched their sinuous necks to gently touch snouts with Artemis. Matt felt their warm breath on his cheek and neck as they gently nuzzled him as well.

Artemis cowered in Matt’s arms, he seemed a bit frightened at first, then shy. But the adults purred and warbled softly, transmitting a message of love and protection to the dragonet. Matt feels the warmth of those emotions flow over him as well and both young dragon and the young boy are instantly drawn to the two giant adults.

The feeling of warmth and safety flood over Matt and he closed his eyes and basked in the wonderful feeling. The only other times he had felt this safe was when Gran would rock him in her arms. He remembered waking from bad dreams and Gran would come and scoop him up in his warm blankets and she’d sit down in her rocking chair in front of the fireplace, humming a soft tune to him until he fell back to sleep.

The dragons poured this warm emotion into him now.

Artemis suddenly realized that these two immense dragons were his parents and he leap from Matt’s arms to fly up to his mother’s head. The three dragons stood crooning to each other, as Matt watched in amazement. For a brief moment, a sadness washed over him as he wondered what it would feel like to be with his own parents.

As the three walked away, Rebedita stepped over to Matt and put her arm around his shoulders. “You’ve done well my dear Mattie.” She smiled down at him. She sighed deeply, “Now we have our own work to do.”

Matt looked up at her. “What do I need to do Gran?”

“OH you have a lot to learn. I have to get you ready.” She smiled.

“Ready for what?” Matt asked.

Rebedita smiled even wider. “Everything.”

                                           <-- break -->

The weeks flew by while Domhnall and Katriona spent most of their time teaching the young dragonet to speak and fly. As for Matt he was being taught how to take care of a dragon. Gran began to prepare Matt to ride Domhnall. It was the most wonderful time of his life. It was as if he had entered into one of Gran’s best tales. Little by little Matt started to realize Gran’s tales were lessons to prepare him for this day. As Katriona spent much of her time teaching Artemis, Domhnall spent most of his time teaching Matt.

Gran came out one day with a huge harness and she and Matt climbed up on Domhnall’s back to drape the harness over him. Gran then had Domhnall stand up so she could walk underneath and connect all the buckles. She instructed Matt how to adjust the harness to the great dragon so that the harness did not rub or irritate the drake’s soft underside. While Grand and Domhnall were instructing Matt, Artemis flitted from one adult to the other, climbing on their backs, up their necks and on their heads. The adult dragons warbled and purred adoringly to their young son.

Then, Matt experienced the most exciting day of his life. Domhnall and Gran taught him to ride the great drake in flight. Although very little time was actually spent in the air the experience was enough to excite Matt to distraction. Gran shook her head as the boy chattered nonstop about his exciting ride through the sky. Gran smiled, Domhnall had only circled the house a few times to test Matt’s seat and suggest adjustments for the harness to fit the boy correctly.

Matt heard Domhnall tell Gran “The boy is a natural, Rebedita.” Gran smiled warmly at Matt and ruffled his hair, “Just like his father.”

Matt’s mind was spinning for the rest of the day. He lay wide awake all night long replaying the experience over and over in his mind. Reliving the joyous feeling of his first flight on the dragon.

But like in so many tales the happy times seem to come to an end.

Several days later, Gran wakes Matt in the middle of the night.
“Quickly Mattie,” She whispered, her voice anxious. “You must wake up! Hurry! She almost cries out.”

She wraps his warmest coat around him and pushed his socks and shoes into his hands. Still trying to wake up Matt struggles to get his shoes on as he listens and watches his Gran.

“Quickly! We don’t have much time. They have found us and will break through my shield soon.”         

He felt her place the new bigger carry sack around his shoulders and place a drowsy Artemis in the bag and tied the draw strings close. Artemis was now over 700 drakums, this would be his last carry bag, he was almost too heavy and big for Matt to carry now. The dragonet continued to sleep as if nothing were happening.

“What will we do?” Matt finally asked.

“You, Artemis and Domhnall will leave for the sanctuary immediately. I will distract the dark ones while you escape. Matt suddenly noticed that Gran was wearing armor.

“Gran!” Matt looked at her with wide eyes. “You look like a warrior.”

She smiled and ruffled his hair, “No time for that now! Later.”

She rushed Matt out the door and over to Domhnall who had squatted down low so the boy could easily climb onto his back. Matt suddenly realized that the play time with the big dragon had actually been practice for this moment. Matt climbed up the straps and sat between one of Dom’s back ridges. Each huge vertebrae formed a natural saddle space for a rider.

He felt Gran buckling him in very tightly, checking every strap. “Now! You must hold on tightly to Artemis!” She instructed. “Don’t let him slip.”    

“Hurry!” Domhnall tells Matt. “The sooner you get ready the faster I can get out of  Rebedita and Katriona’s way. We will be nothing but a hinderance if we stay here.”

Matt watches Gran mount her dragon, Katriona and suddenly his gentle sweet old grandmother seams to transform. Her silver hair and body appeared to shine. She sits straight and seems taller. Matt watched in admiration as she quickly strapped herself in to her riding harness.

“Where had that come from?” Matt wondered.

“Hold on tightly as we’ve shown you.” She called across the yard. Then suddenly she and Katriona sprang into the air. The gust of wind from the drakaina’s wings almost knocked Matt flat against the drake’s back.

Domhnall then spreads his powerful wings and with one mighty down stroke he burst into the air, climbing, up and up with Matt and Artemis clinging to his back. The drake whisked them away from the homestead while Katriona and Rebedita’s charged the black dragons.

Domhnall commanded, “Matt hang on as tight as you can. We have to fly much higher than we’ve practiced. Are you ready?” he roared.  “Here we go! Just like we have practiced but this will be much faster!”

Matt was pushed backward as Domhnall suddenly dove, gaining speed. Matt lunged forward as he felt the carry bag with Artemis in it start to slip sideways. He glanced back once, Gran was magnificent, he watched her lean forward on Katriona as they charged three coal black dragons with dark riders. Matt tried to scream to his gran to come back as she and Katriona dove into fight with two of the black dragons and their riders. It looked like Gran was throwing lightening at the other two dragons.

Matt looked back and saw the two black dragons cornering Gran and Katriona. “Domhnall! Their closing in on her!” he screamed into the air rushing by his face.

“She’s keeping their attention on her while we escape Mattie, Hang on I’m going to accelerate.”

 Suddenly Matt was buffeted by swirling winds. He leaned over Domhnall’s spines the way Gran had told him to, clutching Artemis’s carry sack tightly to him.

Suddenly they came out of a spinning tunnel of wind and burst into clear, bright, blue skies. Domhnall spread his wings and gently glided down. Below them was a beautiful green valley nestled between two massive mountain ranges dotted with small farms beside a small river that flowed the length of the valley.

Then Matt looked upwards and saw other dragons flying around them. Two rows flanked them, coming up on either side of Domhnall. The riders saluted Domhnall acknowledging that they recognized him.

Domhnall glided up into the far end of the valley and the tall wall of mountains forming a boxed canyon. Artemis poked his head out of his carry sack and looked around. He looked down, squeaked and pulled his head back in. “too high, Mattie, too high!”

Matt laughed as he looked around it occurred to him that he should be terrified of this height too. But he wasn’t. “It’s alright Artemis, Domhnall has us.” Then he thought of Gran, what had happened? Was she dead or injured? He had to find someone to go help her.

Domhnall glided toward a clearing at the bottom of the boxed canyon. “Hang on Mattie, I’m going to back wing for a landing. You know how to lean back and brace yourself, just remember to hang onto Artemis this time. Be ready for the impact when I place my feet on the ground. Okay now, just the way we practiced back at Rebedita’s.”

Matt pushed hard on the loops he had his feet in and braced one hand firmly on the ridge spine in front of him and tightened his grip on Artemis’s carry sack. Domhnall beat his huge wings and Matt could feel the forward momentum still pulling him forward while he pushed back. Then with a jarring thump, Domhnall landed. Matt breathed a sigh of relief.

Several people came running at once. Four gathered around Dom’s head and Matt could see that he was communicating with them. Suddenly there were hands unstrapping the harness and he heard a woman’s soft voice. “It’s alright now Mattie you’re safe now. Come with me.” And a woman took him in her arms and lowered him down.

“We have to go back!” he yelled, “Those black dragons had her cornered! Someone has to help her!” he looked around in panic, “Their going to hurt Gran!”

There were several chuckles, “Someone has to help Rebedita? That’s a good one. Good luck to anyone who gets in that old woman’s way or threatens a female dragon’s young ones. Don’t worry boy, Rebedita and Katriona don’t need anyone’s help. Those three black dragons have just taken on more than they can handle.”

Just then Katriona burst into the sky above them with a roaring rush of air and glided to a graceful landing not far from Domhnall. Matt looked frantically to see that Gran was with her dragon.

There on Katriona was a woman that sort of looked like Gran but she was different somehow. Her hair was lose and flying in the wind from the dragon’s wings and she wore that armor he had seen on her at home. She slid down Katriona’s side and landed gracefully on the ground. Matt started to run to her but slid to a stop and stared. Gran was very different somehow. She seemed taller, almost younger and there was a power radiating from her. Matt stepped back, confused.

Rebedita walked forward the smiled. “Don’t be afraid Mattie, I told you I had a lot to tell you.”

 

Rebedita gave Katriona a hug then turned to the people standing around. “I hope my quarters are in livable condition.” She said with a smile. It looks like I’ll be staying for a while. Then she smiled down at Mattie.

“Yes, Grand Sorceress Rebedita, your quarters are ready as always.”  The woman who had helped Matt down off of Domhnall said.

Rebedita smiled. “Very well, thank you Merideth.” She turned to Mattie. “This is Mathew Ronalland. See to it that he’s shown how to get to my quarters and set him up in the guest room until he’s ready to join the younger boys in the lower levels. His dragon Artemis will need his first year’s diet. I have him started on a basic diet of Mugwort.” She turned and looked at Matt. “I promise to try to explain all of this to you later but right now I have to speak with the council and it may take a while. Merideth will see to it that you and Artemis are taken care of. If I’m late do not wait up for me. You’ll need your rest to get through the next few days.” And she walked away, straight and tall with a group of warrior like people.

Matt’s head was spinning. Gran, was Grand Sorceress Rebedita? And he was Mathew Ronalland, who ever that was.  He had never heard his full name before today. He had never given it any thought. Now he wondered about his heritage. Who was Gran? Who was he?

Stay tuned for Artemis part 4. Molly and I are working on it now   Taurie