Free Deke Brolin Rhol by Doug Backus Page A

spectacular sight. They were enormous animals stretching at least seventy feet long. Their glimmering black skin was only outdone by their red bellies, which they showed every time they did a roll in the water. This in turn also exposed their long black wings that looked almost painted to their bodies, perhaps because of the lack of use. When they came back around for another breath of air, their long curved necks would arch out of the water as if trying to taste the sky. So gentle a creature they were that, if I had any fish to offer, they would slowly swim right up to me and gently snatch the treat from my small hands, grumbling a soft long moan to thank me. Personally, I thought they were more curious than hungry. They could have caught ten times the fish I offered them with a simple dive.
                  “Over several years the Balane came to know and trust me so much that they would allow me to ride them across the lake. I would sit in the notch where their necks joined their mammoth bodies. I never fell off because I held onto the bottom two spikes that jutted out either side of their long necks up to their head. If only I had known the fate that was to be bestowed upon them I would have…,” said Kiran. She appeared sad, but caught herself and continued.
                  “Excuse me. I have gone a bit off track. Let me continue,” Kiran said with her hand resting on her cheek.
                  “Oh yes, my home, well I led a pretty comfortable life you see. My parents were both servants for the royal family. This was a great honor in Rhol and my parents were quite proud when they were bestowed it.  They began to plan a family shortly after they had saved up a little nest egg, and I was born a year later. The Queen took a shining to me from the very minute I was born. She told my mother I had a special heart, and with that a special purpose. I, of course always thought my mother made it up to make me feel special. She had a good soul my mother,” Kiran said pausing again. 
    “ Many of our days were spent at the castle on Mount Kartago. The castle was beautiful. Hundreds of people worked there and anyone with a caring soul was welcome. The Queen would throw lovely feasts at night on the top of the castle which was much like an outdoor ballroom. Everyone was welcome to join in the festivities. The Queen herself always attended the dinners sitting with her people, and even serving some of the less fortunate herself. What a remarkable women she was…is.
    “ Anyway, as I said before, the Queen had taken a special interest in me and often took me exploring through the castle, showing me hundreds of secret corridors. Some led to underground lakes deep in the mountains, and others led you to areas of Rhol such as the top of Mount Sibileo. Many others led to secret rooms. The castle was a magical place. Every room looked different from the rest, some strewn with art from centuries before, others with elegant furniture. Of course they all housed books containing histories not only of Rhol, but of other worlds too. There were books about magic, books about war strategy, and books about magical creatures.
    “ By the time I was twenty I am quite sure that I knew the castle better than the Queen herself, and there was barely a book in the whole place I had not found and read. I loved reading. I would devour page after page, all while using my overzealous imagination to bring the characters to life, just as the author had described them. Even the sounds of their voices, or the expressions they used, would seem real to me.”
    The thought of this quite obviously made Kiran very happy and she smiled staring at the fire. At the same time it made Deke feel a little sad for he could see that Kiran’s eyesight had failed her some time ago, taking with it her dream world which only a book could create.
    “It was shortly after my twenty-first birthday that my parents retired and Q ueen Elissa