Shades of Grey

SHADOWS TRIBAL CAMP— MAY 1844

We ascended the hallway and turned right down another corridor. The witch doctor opened another door and revealed what appeared to be a brightly lit and poorly maintained library. Bookshelves stretched higher than my eyes could see, covered with thousands of books in varying degrees of decay. I could smell the knowledge in the musty air.

“This is my workshop,” said the witch doctor. “Please take a seat and I shall explain everything to you.”

He pulled several books off of two wooden stools near a small table and pulled up a pile of books to sit upon. After we were all seated, he took a deep breath and began.

“Your father was the greatest warrior the Shadows tribe has ever seen. A prodigy from birth, he entered Graylight training early and was the top of his class during his years with Gefahr. When he became a hunter, he was the best there was. His sister Cassandra was no different: both were skilled warriors and loyal tribe members. Your father was even in line to be the next chief…until the day your mother arrived.”

I exhaled suddenly, realising that I had not taken a breath since entering the room. Forma placed a steadying hand on my shoulder and my breathing patterns returned to normal.

“How did my mother arrive?” I asked in a soft voice.

“Your father and his sister were on a hunting expedition with the rest of the hunters when they came across your mother, very badly wounded. They brought her to me for medical treatment which she continually refused.”

“Did she mean to kill you?” I asked frankly. “Was she planning to hunt the tribe?”

The witch doctor shook his head. I frowned in confusion. Hadn’t that been what the chief had said?

“No. King Roman of Kestasla sent her here on a reconnaissance mission. She was supposed to infiltrate, gather information and then return with her findings.”

“Why did he want information about you?” I queried breathlessly.

“King Roman wanted our hides.”

I gaped.

“Your hides?! Why?!”

The witch doctor shrugged.

“No one knows, your mother didn’t even know.”

I sat back on my stool and exchanged looks with Forma who shared my exhilaration.

“Why did she agree to do it?” I asked finally.

“The king had taken your mother’s Maisling, Melia, hostage and blackmailed her into doing his bidding.”

I recalled my similar situations with Natara and Verrilius.

“What happened after you treated her? How did you find out all of this?” I inquired after a moment.

“Your mother was in bed for two weeks as she recovered. Speaker was at her bedside nearly every day where he would stay for hours on end until I had to force him out of the room at night so she could sleep.”

I smiled lightly.

“Never have I seen such a connection. They were hardly apart for more than a moment during the day, despite the disapproval of the rest of the tribe.”

“Are human/Graylight pairings frowned upon?” I asked. He nodded.

“Entirely. It goes against everything we believe in regarding tribe loyalty. Only once has such a pair been found out and the Graylight in question was executed.”

I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat.

“How did they overcome this?” I asked.

“They hid it very well for the first few weeks, until various tribe members began to disappear. At first, your mother was blamed. She was attacked verbally and many times even physically, but your father defended her every time, telling us that our views of outsiders were grossly outdated and foolish. It wasn’t until he saw her Hunter’s mark that the fears of the tribe were realised.”

The lump grew.

“But was she guilty? Had she really kidnapped Dragons and given them to the Kestaslian King?”

The witch doctor shook his head.

“No. She had not taken any of the Dragons: her mission was to only provide him with information. It had been a sly agent of King Roman’s that had peformed the kidnappings. Speaker, however, would hear none of Willania’s pleadings. In his fury, he denounced her in front of the entire tribe. I had never seen Speaker so angry… he treated her with such cruel rage…”

The witch doctor’s cloudy eyes grew even mistier as he recalled the terrible memory.

“She spent three days in our prison cells before she was scheduled for a public execution.”

The lump grew even more.

“She was brought forth from the cell to the platform in the city centre and thrown at the feet of the chief. Speaker stood a few feet away from her, watching intently. Now that I reflect back on it, it is clear that something was happening in his face. He was wrestling with his love for her and his anger at what she had done, despite her protests that she was innocent. Just before the chief prepared to do the deed, however, Speaker leapt in between the chief and your mother. There was a blast of red light and both Speaker and your mother were gone. We never saw them again.”

“He protected her…” I exhaled.

“Did Speaker have magical gifts?” Forma asked.

“Yes. Every worthy chief is endowed with the ability to control the magical energies of the world. Speaker was next in line to become chief.”

“Do you know where they went? What happened after they left?” I inquired in a rush.

“All we know are the stories that spread across these many lands: the stories of the Hunter and Graylight, working together to destroy the Creatures.”

I covered my mouth with my hands, reflecting on what I had just learned.

“That’s amazing…” I exhaled.

“That is the story of how your parents met. I am sorry I do not know more, but my knowledge only extends so far.”

I shook my head.

“Thank you. That’s more than anyone else has been willing to tell me,” I said, shaking the witch doctor’s hand as I stood.

“You are welcome, daughter of Echo.”

He grinned at me as he had done before and Forma and I swiftly left the room, descending through the many hallways we had traversed before until we arrived at the dojo. I stopped at the top step and turned to Forma.

“My father gave up everything to save my mother,” I stated. “Even though he thought she had done something terrible.”

“Yes, he sounds like he was a great man,” Forma admired.

I cocked a smile.

“He was more than a strong warrior and a strong man…he was a Dragon.”

Forma heard the inflection in my voice and turned to me with an excited smile.

“Does that mean what I think it means?”

I nodded.

“Yes. I think I’m ready to try transforming one more time. I need to uphold the family legacy.”

I stood in the middle of the dojo once more, facing Gefahr while Forma sat alone in the stands.

“You think you are ready, Newling?” taunted Gefahr.

I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to fight the term ‘Newling.’ Instead I nodded.

“Good,” replied Gefahr. “Then do it.”

Gefahr changed smoothly, once more filling the dojo with his Graylight form. After a moment, he changed back into his frail, weasely self and stared at me expectantly.

“Well, go on then,” he spat after a minute. “Change.”

I looked to Forma with a frustrated expression and she simply gave me a shrug.

“Just close your eyes and forget about him,” she urged.

I sighed and planted my feet firmly on the ground, focusing only on my breathing. I recognised the shifting in my chest from before, the familiar energy as it coursed through me. However, instead of fighting it, I welcomed it…embraced it. I halted my instinct to resist the ache and I let it take over.

This sent me to my knees yet again, groaning and grunting, as my voice was the first organ to change.

“Excellent! Let it come, Grey!” called Forma from the stands.

I cried out, my voice sounding more like a dragon roar than a human voice. I turned my gut reaction of horror into excitement and felt the energy course even faster through my limbs.

“Spectacular!” Gefahr exclaimed with sudden plaudit. “Continue!”

I hungered for more, eagerly allowing the jolts of pain to take over, as my human extremities became large dragon limbs. For several minutes I heard nothing but my own roar and I felt nothing but the jolting rips in my muscles as they grew, faster and faster as the sensations became more and more potent...

Then, it all stopped.

“Open your eyes, Grey,” Forma said in a soft, proud voice that sounded oddly close.

I opened my eyes and saw her hovering in front of me, a satisfied smile on her face. I looked behind her and saw only circular wood panelling of the ceiling, not the familiar décor of the dojo.

Looking down, I saw that I had completely changed. I now stood as a Graylight Dragon: tall, powerful and striking. I extended my large wings, engulfing the entire dojo.

“I did it!” I cried to Forma, roaring with excitement.

“You did it!” she replied with equal vigour. “Now change back.”

I looked at her with sudden apprehension.

“Back?” I replied.

“Yes Grey, intoxicating as it is, you’ve got to change back eventually,” she remarked with a laugh.

I gave a short exhale, ecstatic to see black smoke float from my nostrils, and closed my eyes concentrating on reversing the process.

I had not yet been exposed to shifting back. The previous two times I had changed, my body had seen fit to shift back on its own. Now I had to initiate the change, and for some reason, this made me nervous.

I focused on my human form…focused on bringing my giant limbs down back to what they had been…on changing back into myself…

Instead of jolting pain, I felt a sort of gentle heat rising in my arms and legs. This heat began to pulsate and with each passing wave, I felt the change occuring. I felt my neck shorten and my limbs slowly shrink back to their normal size.

“You did it,” I heard Forma say.

I opened my eyes and stared at Forma and Gefahr, both grinning with acclamation.

“I did it!” I cried in ecstasy. “That was amazing!”

Forma embraced me with equal excitement.

“It certainly was!”

I smiled and then turned to Gefahr, who smiled proudly.

“Miss Echo,” he said softly. “That was one of the most phenomenal transformations I have seen in all my years of educating Newlings.”

I laughed.

“Does that mean I am still a Newling?”

“Oh yes,” Gefahr said, his demeanour suddenly serious. “You’ve got many more things to learn before you may shed that title.”