Tom Liberman - The Staff of Sakatha

“Far more than a thousand,” said a new voice, deep, sensuous, and strangely feminine.

All eyes turned to the dragon who gazed back at them with green eyes like impossibly large emeralds.

“Chusarausea?” said the First Rider and stepped as far forward as he dared towards the green fumes that still surrounding the beast.

The green dragon nodded its head languidly and closed its eyes for a long moment, “I am,” it said and opened its eyes once again. “And you are apparitions of a sort. I am now lying in a cave, shackled by little creatures, although my mind is now free from their magical influence. All this happened long ago… from my perspective.”

“This really happened in the past?” said the First Rider as he looked carefully at the languid green eyes of the creature. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I don’t understand,” said Jon squinting and frowing, “but don’t let that stop you.”

The green dragon looked at them, placed its head on its long paws, and exhaled deeply which cleared the thick green smoke away from it for the moment. “Come closer,” it said with that somehow feminine voice that sounded both sultry and horrible at the same time. “I have something of great importance to tell you before you return from whence you came.”

The four men walked forward into the narrow lane of clear air provided by the steady stream of breath from the creature. They arrived in front of it, the four of them together not much bigger than the massive creature’s head. “What do you have to say to us?” said Vipsanius, who moved to the front while Sorus and the other two stood a pace behind and eyed the gas that circulated all around them.

“The Staff of Sakatha,” said the dragon as its mouth opened slightly to reveal row up on row of sharp teeth.

“What about it?” said Vipsanius as he moved to within a few inches of the huge maw that could easily swallow him whole.

“My master, Sakatha, needs it to rise again from the dead and renew his plans of empire,” said the dragon and breathed deeply as a strange smile appeared on his face.

“I would think you would want that.” said Vipsanius.

“Before I go on, I must ask you apparitions a question. If I help you obtain the staff, what do you plan to do with it?”

Jon stepped forward, “I will not lie to you great Chusarausea. I want the staff to keep it away from the reptile men to prevent the resurrection of your master.

“And you others,” said the dragon as its eyes turned to gaze upon them with such intensity that they all looked away for a moment.

The First Rider, his eyes turned down, managed to answer first, “I will turn it over to Jon Gray, so he can take it back to his father, and hold it in Tanelorn so that no one might use it.”

Jon looked at the First Rider with wide gray eyes and said, “Really?”

Vipsanius turned and looked at Jon with an even gaze, “Yes, I don’t completely agree with your father and someday, someone will take the thing from him and use it, but I agree with his plan in principal.”

“Besides,” said Odellius from behind, “what could we do with the stupid thing anyway?”

Sorus thought about a humorous reply but a look at the massive dragon stopped the words before they emerged from his mouth.

“Is this exactly the time for humor?” said the First Rider as he looked at Odellius with a shake of his head.

“I tend to joke when the situation gets tense,” said Odellius with a shrug and a look at the dragon. “I’d call this pretty tense.”

“So,” said the dragon interrupting with its powerful voice. “You would keep the staff away from the children of the dragons and thus prevent Sakatha from rising again.”

The four looked at each other for a long moment, and then up at the terrible green eyes that seemed to bore completely through their bodies and into their innermost thoughts. The concept of lying to this ancient creature seemed completely hopeless and they all came to the same conclusion almost instantly.

“Yes,” said Jon Gray. “My father does not want the ancient relics of the Old Empire influencing the people of today… of my time.”

The dragon smiled again, “Go on,” it said and blew gently once again to clear the toxic smoke away from them. “Tell me more of your father.”

Jon looked at the First Rider who nodded his head, “You might as well.”

“My father thinks that creatures like you are posing as gods in my time, and that they, and their symbols of power, have unduly influenced the world. He wants to forego them, to let people decide for themselves what is best for their own lives,” said Jon and stood up to his almost full seven feet in height and glared for a brief moment directly into the powerful eyes of the great dragon. “Creatures like you, whose time is done, should not be allowed to rise again, not now, not ever. He means to destroy them, destroy you.”

The dragon blinked once, its huge eyelids came down with an almost audible thud and it moved one massive paw enough to expose an equally huge claw that was as long as Jon was tall.

“So,” it said, quietly and almost with a pleasant tone, “Your father means to kill me and any of my associates left alive.”

Jon nodded his head, “Yes, that’s right, and if you aren’t going to tell us how to get the Staff of Sakatha then we’ll figure it out on our own.”

“I will help you,” said the creature, “and I will even explain my reasoning so that, should you survive, you might tell your father.”

“You’ll help us,” exclaimed Sorus, “but why?”

“In the beginning the elementals created the world, shaped it, fashioned it, for a period of time beyond your comprehension. After that they created plants and the great tree shepherds to tend to them. Then, finally, they fashioned the living animals, both thinking and bestial, to live upon the world although I do not know why they did this.”

“Go on,” said the First Rider his hand on his chin.

“The elementals and the shepherds intermingled with the living animals and the children born of these unions became the great powers of the Old Empire. We overthrew their rule. Yes, I myself am child of the elementals. I now believe the elementals let themselves be defeated as part of some greater scheme, and, just as the elementals passed, so too must we, their children, in order to let the world go on without us. My kind ruled for many tens of thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of thousands before the Emperor rose and ended all of that. Now, I simply wish to die, and if Sakatha regains his staff he will use it to coerce me into doing his bidding once again. I shall fly the skies and terrorize his enemies, slay those that oppose his rule. I see now why the elementals chose to let themselves slip into oblivion. Our time is over and that is something Sakatha the Great will never grasp. Your father,” Chusarausea nodded to Jon, “has the proper idea, but those that oppose him are mighty and do not conceive that they can be defeated. I suspect they are correct and once again shall rule the world, that the Emperor shall be reborn and that even the elementals will rise from their long hidden places. There will be terrible war, the loss of countless lives, perhaps even the destruction of the world. I refuse to be a part of such a scenario and therefore I give you the secret to the Staff of Sakatha!” it said as its voice rose to a crescendo.

The four men looked at one another but said nothing, their eyes wide as they gazed at the terrible creature, and it rose up on its forepaws. “The staff is embedded in the central stone of the white marble Temple below. To unlock it from its hidden location you must strike it forcefully with one of my talons.”

“But, we are apparitions, we are not really here,” said Sorus his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “How can we take one of your talons?”