Hadrian scratched his head and he released a pleased sigh, pulling one book from a pile that almost toppled over. “That is a shame. I enjoy it very much, as you can tell. This book is one of my favorites though and is an essential read. It depicts our history all in a thousand or so pages…”
Hadrian pulled a thick book from the shelves and moved back to the table. With one hand, he pushed my plate to the side and dropped it before me, dust billowing from its cover. “As you can tell it’s been a while since I’ve read it.”
I ran my hand over its worn leather surface. It was bigger than any book I’d seen before. Its face was bare, not a single word or mark to be seen. Whereas on its spine, silver thread covered it and three pressed letters stood out against the worn surface.
S. T. H.
“It’s… huge.” I said, running a finger over the three letters.
“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that. Oh, you’re talking about the book, my bad.” He winked. I shot him a look, trying to keep my face straight, but failing.
“Is it impossible for you to not make jokes at the most inappropriate times?” I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.
“You know the answer to that,” he replied, sitting once again and taking a swig of his wine. “Open it.”
The first few pages were blank, yellowed and faded at the edges. I flipped through until I reached the first page with the neatest handwriting I’d ever seen.
I read the words aloud. “Dalibael, A history. Has someone written an entire book about the Goddess?” I asked, “I didn’t think there was this much to know about.”
“Yes, S. T. Hallis was believed to be a druid historian. Well, that is the only information I have worked out from the book. Not much is known about her as this is the only book of its kind and I am not willing to give it over to historians to study. It was passed down from my mother to me. It is special.”
“But the druids died out hundreds of years ago. There hasn’t been mention of them since the great war. I thought the peace treaty eradicated all documents and artefacts about them?” I said, imagining her rune covered face.
“Correct, that is another reason why I have not passed it on. It would be destroyed straight away,” Hadrian said.
“So, why is a druid writing about our Goddess? I would think they would focus on their own God, since that is who created them.”
“Not all the druids followed their creator just like some elves do not accept Dalibael as their Goddess. Don’t be so quick to assume.”
“But how does this explain what you are? Are you a druid?”
“Not quite, although what I am is a product of their existence.” He reached over the small space between us. “Let me help you find the right page.”
Giving up on looking over the table he stood once again and came to stand behind me.
Hadrian bent over my shoulder, his face close to the side of mine. He flipped the pages over until he found what he was looking for and pointed to the first line and read aloud.
“When Dalibael, Goddess of Light, created life in the form of elves, death was also created to keep the natural balance. They called him Vorlcas, the God of Shadow, or night depending on the translation. Vorlcas was jealous of Dalibael’s creations, each a reflection of her image so he created the druids, masters of dark power and shadow in his image.”
“I know this story…” I said, looking over the drawing on the page before me. A towering shadow of darkness etched into the yellowed page.
“For years, since the eradication of the druids, the three elven continents have worked hard to erase all mentions of Vorlcas from our history. Although the druids have all been killed, how can you destroy death itself? For those who believe, Vorlcas still reigns in the dark, just like Dalibael still rules in the light.”
“But what has this got to do with you? I don’t understand.”
I was even more aware of how close Hadrian was when he ran his finger over the lines of the book and turned to the next page.
“During the great war, the druids worked with dark magick to create creatures to aid them in victory. Although the creatures and their magick ultimately backfired on them. Druids, like their creator, are masters of death, not life. So, in creating these beasts they used magick aligned with Dalibael thus meaning she owned these beasts and had control.” I followed his finger to the word that stood out more than any other on the page. The ink darker than the rest around it.
My voice didn’t sound like my own, the word twisted and awkward in my mouth when I read it aloud:
“Dragori.”
THERE WAS SOMETHING familiar about the word. As I repeated it under my breath I filtered through the haze of days that’d passed, searching for where I’d heard it.
My finger went white under the pressure whilst I pressed it onto the page, my mind lost to the word.
“You have heard of Dragori before. I can tell by your face,” Hadrian said, the name sounding even more beautiful coming from his lips. His slight accent extenuated the vowels, giving the word more meaning than it did on the page before me.
I knew I had, but I couldn’t tell if it was exhaustion or confusion that prevented me from reaching the stored memory. “I believe so, but again, I am not sure. Everything is a little overwhelming.” I gestured to the book. “This Dragori, it that what you are?”
He nodded, whispering, “Yes.”
“And what exactly is a Dragori? You said it had something to do with the druids and a curse, but they died long before you were born so how could you be cursed?” A headache was brewing in the back of my mind, I could feel its presence growing as I spoke.
“So many questions.”
“Just tell me, Hadrian, less of the cryptic bullshit and more answers!” I slammed my palm on the table.
I cringed at how harsh I sounded, but my want for answers was too great to care about how I got them.
“Dragori are very similar to shifters. The druids created them but could not control them.” He took a breath, “The book suggests that the Goddess took them under her power and blessed them each with a gift. The four Dragori were linked to the druid’s powers because they were created from it, and thus were the only beings able to destroy the druids. A magick matched in power to that it was born from. These four protectors each represent an element of the Goddess, magick to aid them in her fight to destroy their ever-spreading darkness.”
I looked over the page again, passing my eyes over a new drawing.
“I still don’t understand. If you are a Dragori, how old are you? The end of the war was hundreds of years ago.”
I looked at Hadrian, searching for any hidden signs of old age.
“I am no different from your age, Petal. Those four guardians have long passed. Elves may have a longer life span than druids, but we still die, that cannot be prevented. Truthfully, I am not sure how I came to be cursed, the book doesn’t explain the passing of the gifts. But I do know I am one of four.”