Tail of the Dragon Read online

  Chapter 7

  'Maybe we should talk to them about this later,' Gadreel offered, as the pair stood watching Helel and Gabriel with a group of fourth-year members of the rapinere team. One fairly short arella was demonstrating some sort of attack using a slender, wooden rod. As they chatted and sparred playfully, a tightness gripped Ariel's chest. He focused on Helel and the discomfort grew. Was he being unfair in his feelings toward his housemate? A small yellow bird landed on a branch above Helel’s head. He looked up, studying the feathery creature. Ariel felt a sudden pang of fear. He tensed for a moment, then relaxed as the tiny winged creature took flight and rode the wind out of sight.

  'I want to hear what possible excuse that they could have for leaving us. You didn't notice the look Helel gave me. He was mocking us. I don't know how I know, but I do,' Ariel countered.

  Ariel suspected that Helel was aware of his presence. He appeared to be observing his companion joust, but the position of his head and the shadows of the trees hid his eyes. The diminutive telmid with the practice sword had changed from attack to defense mode and was nimbly retreating from his invisible adversary. His extreme concentration on this foe caused him to overlook the rucksack on the ground behind him. As he parried a desperate lunge, his feet caught on the impediment and he fell over in an undignified heap.

  Helel and his companions began laughing hysterically at this comic turn of events. At that moment his head swiveled deliberately and he made eye contact with Ariel. His laughter never faltered, and like a shot, Ariel was off.

  'This is a bad idea, Ariel,' Gadreel advised as he followed closely at his friend’s heels, who pressed on unperturbed.

  'You left us,' Ariel said walking directly up to Helel.

  The arella, who stood almost a head taller, looked down with an annoyed expression on his chiseled face.

  'Actually you left us,' Helel answered coolly. 'You left us in the pool, while you went climbing for hours. If we had waited for you to get done playing around, we all would have been late to class.'

  'Why didn't you warn us of the time?' Ariel retorted.

  'Oh, we tried. We yelled till our throats were sore,' he answered, looking over at Gabriel for confirmation, who nodded his assent apologetically. 'Perhaps you might want to consider gathering the facts before you storm up to me, interrupt a private discussion and make a fool of yourself.' Helel turned calmly away and began talking to another member of his group.

  Ariel stood staring, unsure what to do next. Gadreel grabbed his friend's elbow and steered him away. Ariel allowed himself to be led for several cubits, but seemed to change his mind, swinging around. He met Helel's eyes, who once again winked at him, and began to walk back toward the group, but Gadreel again pulled him, this time more forcibly.

  'That's enough, Ariel! He's right. It was our fault.'

  'He winked at me again. I'm telling you, he set that up.'

  'Well if he did, it was only possible because we were too oblivious to notice how much time had passed. And why are you so mad at Helel? He wasn't the only one who left us.'

  Ariel started to object, but stopped, seeming to realize that arguing made him seem irrational. He was convinced, in his heart, that Helel had somehow tricked them, but didn't know how.

  At that moment Gabriel came running up.

  ‘Ariel, don’t blame Helel. It was my fault. I should stayed behind to make certain you found your way back. I am sorry. Will you forgive me?’

  Instantly, the tension loosened, replaced by regret for how he had reacted. After all, he chose to take Helel's challenge. And the noise of the water and wind, combined with the intensity of the climb, must have made them oblivious to the group yelling below. And Helel hadn't told them to go that high. The more he considered it, the guiltier he felt.

  ‘No Gabriel, it was our fault. I am sorry for speaking out of place.’

  ‘Forget about it,’ Gabriel responded. ‘But that place is awesome isn’t it?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  'Hey, I'm heading over to the library to do some background research on the lecture today. If you want to come with me, I can share my notes so that you don't get behind.'

  They accepted and the group headed toward the building together.

  The academy library was a vast sprawling structure composed of an open, pentagonal, columned atrium with narrow windows that spanned the entire 100-cubit height, from floor to buttressed ceiling. Off of each side of the central chamber, an arcade led to a cluster of small apses, like the legs of a giant sea star, complete with tubular feet. It was into one of these apartments, designed for study groups, that they went.

  ‘I hate that you missed so much of class. It was a fascinating lecture. And I’m even more sorry about the trouble that you got into,’ Gabriel said apologetically.

  ‘Gabriel, you have to stop apologizing. We are responsible for what happened, not you. Right, Ariel?’ Gadreel asked teasingly.

  ‘He’s right Gabe. It was our own fault. So what did we miss?’

  Gabriel pulled out his notes and spread them on the table.

  ‘As you both know, the celestial city was, and is still being, built by arella. The Kings establish the basic tenets of design harmony and allow us to build the city by applying those principals. Many of the structures spread throughout the city were first conceptualized in this very building, by students working on an assignment for one of the upper-level classes. A fourth-year student, of extraordinary skill, named Frankel, designed the residence arbor that we live in. If you look at the cornerstones of the various buildings around campus, many bear the names of the arella who designed them.’

  ‘I didn’t realize that arella were responsible for creating this campus,’ Gadreel said.

  ‘Much of it, but not only at the academy. The same can be said of structures throughout the city. And it’s not just the buildings. Botanists and environmental engineers studying right here have been directly responsible for many of the thousands of parks we have here.’

  ‘That explains the diversity evident as you walk through the streets,’ noted Ariel.

  ‘And those designs are not limited to this city. Arella also aid inhabitants of other worlds in the design and construction of some of their temples, colleges and capitols, either through direct assistance or through inspiration,’ Gabriel said, pausing to take a drink of water.

  ‘How does that work?’ asked Ariel.

  ‘Inspiration comes from the Kings. We are inspired by the created world and by Ruach's leading. We, in turn, are able to pass along this inspiration to lesser beings on other worlds. There are a number of ways we are allowed to inspire. We can allow circumstances to suggest actions to those we are attempting to assist. For instance, if there was a being trying to come up with a blueprint for a library on their planet and I had a design, say like this building we sit in, I could cause a sea star to happen upon the beach that the would-be designer was walking down, or maybe arrange that they come across a book detailing some of the right ideas. If this proved ineffective, perhaps I would place some images into a dream,’ Gabriel continued.

  ‘What is a dream?’ Ariel interjected.

  ‘A dream is sort of like the visual presentations that we watch through the array or like we saw at our orientation. It is a scene that plays in the mind while a being is either semiconscious or unconscious. Do you ever see visions while you are resting?’ Gabriel asked.

  ‘Yes!’ Ariel exclaimed excitedly.

  'That is a dream. We are able to have them as well. In fact, sometimes the Kings use our dreams to speak to us.’

  ‘So they were trying to tell me something,’ Ariel asked.

  ‘If you saw something in a dream, it’s possible that the Kings are telling you something. Although according to an article I just read, dreams are also one of the ways our minds sort out our thoughts and impressions to help us make sense of things. And sometimes they act like a kind of cleansing, by sweeping away some of the excess that gets caught up in our mem
ory.’

  ‘How do we know the difference?'

  ‘I’m not sure, Ariel. I believe that if the Kings are trying to tell you something, it will become obvious with time. I'm not certain that all dreams have special significance. Perhaps we will learn how to know the difference eventually.’

  Gabriel started to explain some of the limitations and rules about using inspiration, but Ariel wasn't focusing on what he said. He was thinking about his dream. Were the Kings trying to warn him about something?

   

  On the walk back home, Gadreel asked, 'Are you going to talk to Helel?’

  ‘Yes, but I don't want to. For some reason, he makes me uneasy. I can’t explain it. However, I didn't have the right to react as I did. If I see him, I’ll ask for his forgiveness,’ Ariel answered, although he secretly hoped that Helel would be out when they arrived.

  This proved not to be the case, however. As they approached the door to the house, it swung open and Helel exited directly in their path. He stopped and stared unblinking into Ariel’s face for a tense second.

  ‘Can I speak with you, Helel?’ asked Ariel.

  He nodded and Gadreel continued into the house. After the door closed, Ariel said, 'I owe you an apology. I acted poorly today. I had no right to blame you for my negligence.'

  ‘No you didn’t,’ Helel answered. ‘Nor do you have the right to humiliate me in front of my friends. I will forgive you Ariel, but don’t ever do something like that again. You'll regret it if you do!’ and strode off, without glancing back.