Chapter Five: Training and Travels
When Excursio and Incursio returned to the mesa with a group of new arrivals in tow, Pulchrior felt his spirits rise. He'd had every confidence that the young leaders would be able to recruit dragons to their cause, but it was pleasant to see that his faith in their abilities hadn't been misplaced.
Kyril, Hanyi, and Baikal settled into everyday life around the mesa, quickly adapting the existing spaces to suit their own needs. They weren't an ideal work crew in some respects; Hanyi wanted to start constructing his lab, Baikal was fussy and disliked digging, and Kyril was too small to help with the most strenuous tasks. But they found a way to make it work, and within a few days Pulchrior stopped noticing his new clanmates' foibles and started noticing their contributions. Hanyi was a determined and industrious worker, in spite of his occasional grumbling. Baikal's relentless good humor kept the construction crew in good cheer. And Kyril had plenty of advice to offer to the young leaders, drawing on his past experiences as a member of a clan whenever they found themselves struggling.
Excursio and Incursio had their first nest as well - a large clutch of four hatchlings. Two of them were sent to internships with the Stormcatcher in short order, where they would be trained as employees. One hatchling, a young dragon named Astrum, was sent for fostering in a distant Nature clan thanks to Hanyi's tenuous connections to home. And the oldest of the hatchlings, a gold-and-blue female named Auster, seemed content to stay with her birth clan for the time being.
The young clan was growing, and Pulchrior watched its progress with a sense of pride. It was pleasant, to see the efforts of their labor bearing fruit. But a larger clan brought with it new challenges - first and foremost among them an increased need for resources.
While the three of them alone had not been a strain on the resources of the Oasis and the surrounding desert, a larger clan was simply beyond the capacity of the ecosystem. Baikal and Hanyi were omnivorous and could subsist on anything, just as the resident Guardians did, but Kyril's particular diet of seafood posed a challenge in a desert lair. Something would have to be done eventually.
Fortunately, Excursio seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "We have enough hands here that the three of us can be spared," she said one afternoon when she, Incursio, and Pulchrior were taking a break from construction. "Do you think it's time that we started seeing about opening some trade networks? We have some infrastructure in place, and the clan needs more resources."
"That's true, but we don't have anything to trade," Incursio pointed out. "We could venture out into the desert to get more resources, but that'll mean running into beastclans. Harpies are tougher than they look," he said with a shudder.
Pulchrior nodded. "Baikal told me about some fields he found east of here, closer to the coast. There are creatures there, but no beastclans are in residence. Gathering some resources from that area shouldn't be too difficult for us to handle."
Of course, Pulchrior had spoken too soon. The denizens of the Training Fields were small, but what they lacked in size they made up for in speed and tenacity. "This is excessive," Pulchrior sighed as he watched Excursio attempt to swat her way free of a swarm of Emerald Webwings. The dark green birds had proven strangely resistant to Lightning magic, and as such were quite difficult to subdue. "I suppose we shall simply have to practice."
And practice they did. When they weren't helping with the construction of the lair's central tower and outbuildings, Excursio, Incursio, and Pulchrior trained themselves in combat until they were a honed and experienced team. They moved on to more difficult venues against which they could test their mettle, bringing home resources for the burgeoning clan.
But eventually, they ran up against the limits of their talents. The denizens of the Scorched Forest, a desolate landscape on the border between the Lightning and Fire territories, proved a match for them. Menaced by centaurs and stalked by gigantic centipedes, the fighters beat a hasty retreat, returning to the safety of the lair before anything dire could befall them.
"I'd feel better," Excursio replied, eventually breaking the slightly awkward silence that had descended on their flight, "if there was a healer in our party. Scratches and bruises are one thing, but I don't want anyone taking potentially fatal risks against venom-tipped arrows."
Pulchrior considered the problem thoughtfully. His leader was certainly correct about the benefits of healing spells, but there was just one problem. "We lack healers," Pulchrior pointed out, "and we also lack teachers. One of us could learn the art, but we would have to leave the clan in order to do so."
A silence fell again. "I don't like the thought of being away for so long," Excursio said, her voice barely audible. "I know you could run the clan admirably in my absence, but I would worry."
"I'm enough of a klutz that I'd have to heal myself as often as I'd have to heal any of you," Incursio said wryly. "Let's face it. Pulchrior, if you're willing to go, you'd be the best dragon to send."
And so Pulchrior found himself on the road again. Carrying a small knapsack filled with essential provisions, the black Guardian set out on a short trip southwest, to the nearby Lightning clan that Baikal had discovered on one of his wanderings. The Imperial's propensity to explore when he wasn't working on the lair or resting at the oasis was certainly handy for helping the clan get the lay of the land.
The clan was a small one, located on the near side of the Carrion Canyon. Most of its residences seemed to be aboveground, although Pulchrior did catch sight of several burrows sunk into the earth. He landed and made sure to approach the clan in full view of any sentries who might be watching him. He was here for training, not to raid and ambush, and hopefully a clear demonstration of his friendliness would appease any doubtful residents who might object to a strange Guardian suddenly appearing in their midst.
Sure enough, some unseen guard must have noticed his arrival, because within minutes a small group of dragons had come out to meet him. He was introduced to the clan leaders, Avarika and Dezrelle, as well as a healer by the name of Goldstone. "I'm more of a biologist than a healer, really," said the red-toned Coatl, dipping his feathered head modestly. "Dragons think that healing is a kind of magic, but it's as much a science as it is anything else. I can teach you healing spells, but you'll be more effective if you learn how the parts of the body fit together."
He led Pulchrior into a small tent. "This is where I treat my patients," he explained. "Once you've finished helping the gatherers with their morning chores, report here every morning and I'll teach you what I know. I hope you'll convey our best wishes to your leader when you return. It's been a while since we had neighbors."
"I will," said Pulchrior, nodding to Goldstone before allowing his gaze to wander around the tent. There were several cots of differing sizes; most of them were empty, but the largest held a sleeping black dragon as large as himself, although not as solidly built. He saw the long, sharp spines on her back and realized with a jolt that he was looking at a Ridgeback. "Is she a patient?" he said, tearing his gaze away from the dragon on the cot and returning his focus to Goldstone. "She doesn't look injured."
"Not all injuries are of the body," the Coatl replied cryptically before turning away. "Let her rest - she needs it. Now, let me show you where I keep my supplies."
The days at Clan Sparrowhawk, as Pulchrior came to know it, soon fell into a comfortable pattern. At sunrise, Pulchrior would meet the clan's gatherers and travel out to fetch resources for the rest of the lair's residents. Once his duties were finished, he returned to the tent for his healing lessons with Goldstone. He quickly grew in experience and skill, and before long he was helping his teacher with some of his patients, as well as biological experiments that had little to do with the medicine he needed to learn, but would undoubtedly be of interest to Hanyi when he was able to tell the scientist about them.
All the while, the Ridgeback on the cot slept. Pulchrior's curiosity about her grew greater every day. Why did she sleep for so long? How had such a mighty dragon been injured in the first place? And when would she wake?
One evening, Pulchrior was tending the supplies of healing herbs when a glimpse of movement caught his eye. He turned, and his breath caught in his chest when he saw that the Ridgeback's tail was moving. Goldstone was gone for the night - Pulchrior could go fetch him, but he was afraid to leave the Ridgeback alone. What if she needed medical attention and woke up in a tent all alone?
Pulchrior approached her bedside cautiously. "Hello?" he said. "Are you awake?"
The Ridgeback's eyes opened - they were the cyan of Lightning, like his own. "What happened?" she said in a voice that was rusty from disuse. "The village - did I fail?"
"I don't know about a village," Pulchrior said, his eyes widening. "I'm a visiting student from another clan. Do you want me to get the healer? He might be able to tell you what happened to the village you're talking about."
"Not yet," the Ridgeback sighed, letting her head fall back to the cot. "I was fighting a marauding beast before I ended up here. Since I have no memory of finishing the battle, I can only assume that I was rendered unconscious before I had managed to subdue it. The village must have been destroyed."
"I'm sorry," said Pulchrior, slightly surprised by the empathy that he felt towards this mysterious stranger. "It sounds like it was quite the battle."
"Oh, it was," said the Ridgeback, a glimmer of light coming back into her eyes. She struggled to roll over, and managed to push herself upright. "The village was on the outskirts of an old arena that the beastclans use for their war games. One of their creatures escaped, and was determined to ravage the countryside..."
Pulchrior listened, enthralled, as the Ridgeback told him about how she'd been sent to kill the massive creature before it could threaten any of the beastclan or dragon villages in the area. It had been the latest in a string of successful mercenary jobs, which made her failure all the more galling. "But that's behind me now," she said, grimacing. "The dreams I had while I was sleeping - I can't do this for the glory anymore."
"Fighting sounds like something you love," Pulchrior said. "You shouldn't have to give it up. Maybe if you find a different reason for fighting, you'll be able to move forward. Maybe you'd be happy with my home clan - our leader doesn't pry into the affairs of others. She won't care that you were a mercenary, and she won't ask you about your past unless she thinks you pose a danger to the clan."
"That sounds like the best offer I can hope for," the Ridgeback said with a smile. "How long will you be staying here?"
"Long enough to get trained in the healing arts - and until you recover enough to travel," Pulchrior replied. The thought of leaving such a fascinating dragon behind after she'd agreed to live with him wasn't one that he was willing to consider.
The Ridgeback nodded. "I should probably sleep some more now, but it was nice talking to you. What's your name?"
"I'm Pulchrior," he replied.
"I'm Kidara. When I wake up again, I'll have someone send for you."
Kidara lay back down and drifted off to sleep. Pulchrior hesitated, briefly torn between staying and leaving - what if the Ridgeback ended up back in the comatose state she'd been in when he arrived? But then he saw her tail twitch once, and he forced himself to relax. If she was moving, she was just sleeping. She'd be fine.
It was several weeks before Kidara was strong enough to travel, but by the time they left Clan Sparrowhawk, Pulchrior was completely smitten. He'd never met a dragon like her before - a decorated combat veteran even though she was relatively young, and still determined to protect others after everything she'd been through. Her sharp tongue and quick wit were enough to keep Pulchrior on his toes, and she seemed to feel the same way about him.
He had left his home clan to study medicine, not to find love. How fortunate for him that he'd been able to both.
"Lead on," said Kidara on the day of their departure, looking sideways at Pulchrior with a smile.
And so he did.
