Free A Dark Tide (Book of One) by Jordan Baker Page A

openly. Vana noticed the narrowing of his thoughts and his words, but she chose not to comment on it and proceeded to explain.
    "It was caused by the foolish actions of a few, and the dishonor brought upon us by one of the dragon lines. Among the longer lived races, those dark times may not be forgotten."
    "What was the dishonor?" Borrican asked.
    "An entire line of dragons fell to madness, with the death of their queen," she said.
    "That is the story of how the Darga came to be," Borrican said, remembering something of the tale, which he had learned when the lizard army came to attack Kandara.
    "Pathetic creatures that they are, it was a mercy to let them live, though, considering what you have told us about how they are now aligned with the dark army that has overrun the human lands, perhaps sparing them was a mistake."
    "Then they would have been killed, otherwise," Borrican said.
    "That is the usual way when the madness claims dragons," Vana replied. "The elders of that time sought a different solution since not every dragon of the line was entirely responsible."
    "But why did the female dragons of other houses not bond with them?" Borrican asked. "Surely that would have stopped the madness."
    "Some did," Vana told him. "This was a long time ago, Borrican, when the houses of dragons were spread across the world, and the bonding was somewhat different back then, similar to the way that noble houses are among other peoples. The way we are now, with our lines intermingled and our lines mostly a matter of wisdom, is part of the price we dragons paid to save so many from death."
    "It is strange that dragons would agree to such things," Borrican said.
    "We dragons may be difficult in our temperament, but are not without our mercies, young Akandra," Vana said.
    "Do you think the elders will reconsider? Will they offer any kind of aid with the troubles of the world?"
    "I do not know, but I will continue to debate with them," she said. "The elders do love to debate."
    "It is all they are good for, it seems," Borrican commented, with more than a hint of bitterness in his voice.
    "They are elders," Vana said with a tired smile. "They have lived a long time and they will take their time in deciding what will be done."
    "And if they take too long, it will be too late," Borrican said, the fire of his anger flashing in his eyes. "Two kingdoms have fallen to darkness, and the land of the elves is next. How long before this dark god turns his gaze upon this land?"
    "If such a thing were to happen, we will deal with it," Vana told him. "We dragons do not fear the gods, even a dark god."
    "And that foolishness may mean the death of us all," Borrican growled, his temper getting the better of him, and he leapt into the air and flew away.
    He glanced back at Vana, regretting his words, but she had already turned and was heading back into the cavern, likely to continue her arguments with the elders. Borrican felt badly for subjecting her to his anger and frustration, but he could not help feeling put out by the elders. Hopefully they would not wait forever to take an interest in the affairs of the world.
    *****
     
    Borrican managed to overcome the dragons who tried to fight him, without being delayed overly long, but he sensed something strange from Ariana, a kind of tension that put him on edge. He pushed himself as fast as he could through the rocky cliffs and made his way to the hidden canyon to find Ariana standing outside Vale's cavern, surrounded by the four drakes, with Storm perched on the rocks above her, apparently not fulfilling his duty to guard her safety. Borrican let out a loud bellow and the drakes turned their heads, backing away from Ariana as he landed between them.
    "What is the meaning of this?" Borrican growled.
    "We wish to challenge the queen," said the one named Kaz, then he turned to Ariana. "You must fight if you want us to be vassals."
    "That's right," Raz chimed in. "We help because Storm asked, but we are bored