chapter15

I walked next to Taka as we made a trek through the forest to the large clearing that I first sensed when Will and I arrived at Nivta. We made small talk before lying down in the middle of the green/blue grass on our backs.

"Tasha, I fear that Sleeping Panther is right," Taka said softly and I flicked and ear. "How so?"

"I don't know you as well as I should."

I smiled and closed my eyes. "I hardly know you either. But that doesn't mean that we can't get to know each other. Besides, we haven't know each other a day," I said, stretching.

"You are right," the black dragon said, tucking her paws in. "What am I allowed to ask?"

Shrugging, I open one eye. "Anything. We are partners, right?" Taka nodded and set her head down on the grass. "Tell me about Earth and what you do there, your family, anything."

A large flock of colorful animals flew out of the tree not to far from us. I couldn't tell what they were but they looked like oversized butterflies mixed with flying squirrels. 'Weird.' "Well, I was a musician, in a High School band. I was a student in public school and lived with my mom on my own. I didn't have any brothers or sisters but my extended family was large. I guess Earth is kind of...sad is the word. I mean, it's all about the individual rather than people as a whole. Glass and steel buildings sweep the sky, cars spew fumes into the atmosphere, and jets fly higher than we can, sending off sonic booms if you're close enough. The land is divided into over two hundred countries, the largest ones being the United States, Russia, China, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. But there's silver linings everywhere, I mean, we're discovering new ways to help people everyday who suffer from something; hunger, sickness, and stuff like that."

"What about wars?"

I rolled my eyes. "Humans fight constantly. They try to wipe other cultures out just because they don't believe the same thing, over land, over ideals, anything. Small wars happen a lot but the last somewhat big war was about ten years ago, the last huge war almost sixty years ago that ended with two cities vaporized, a continent with deep scars, and half the world under another form of oppressive government. It started a long period of hatred an distrust that spawned two more long, drawn out wars that weren't as massive as the last one but still, brutal." The dragon looked at me with sad eyes and sighed. "How do you live in a place like that? You must be in fear all the time," she said softly but I shook my head. "I live in a country that's one of the super powers so I'm lucky. But there's thousands upon millions of children that live in poverty each day."

"I've always wanted to see Earth," Taka replied, looking at me. "Now I'm not so sure."

Nodding, I give her a sad smile. "You're better off here. What about you and Nivta?"

"Well, like Ketria no doubt told you, this is the place is where all the myths merge after humans along with a few other creatures forget them. Nivta is enchanted, created by magical energy that Galic used to balance out Earth."

I smiled. "Ying and Yang."

The dragon looked at me oddly. "Huh?"

"Ying and Yang is the story of two brothers. They fought one another and one was said to be good and one was said to be evil but each had the seed of the other in them. So when it's drawn, half of the circle is white with a black dot and the other half is black with a white dot," I explained and Taka smiled. "It seems a very true story for it is perfect for the situation of Nivta and Earth. You and Will seems to be that seed of good in the evil side and Sayt the seed of bad in good side. But Nivta is peaceful, despite the many creatures that live here. We get along, if not keep to ourselves all together. I was born almost two thousand years ago Earth time and my mother left me in the charge of your grandfather, not wanting me to be brought up by other dragons who were then, more aggressive and fool hardy."

Rolling over, I looked at her. "My grandfather is old but he can't be over two thousand years old!" I exclaimed.
Taka looked at me. "Sleeping Panther meet Galic in the final battle between him and the original WolfAngels. Your grandfather is almost seventy million years old because he was born in Nivta and therefore, will live for an incredibly long time," she explained.

I blinked, mind reeling. "But he's...mortal, right?" I asked hesitantly and the dragon laughed. "Of course! Extended age means nothing. You, him, and I could all die in the next battle for our powers don't protect us from the mark of death. But I grew up with your grandfather, which is why I seem less aggressive than Der, who was raised by dragons."

"I just thought he was like that because he was older and male," I mused out loud. Taka gave me an amused look. "That too. Der is about three and a half thousand years old, human time. Roughly, our age difference, if you measure it in Nivta standards, is the same as you and Will's, just on a larger scale. I learned everything I know from Sleeping Panther and I faired better than Der did." Her eyes seemed clouded and I tilted my head.

"What happened?"

"Sayt destroyed Der�s clan on a whim because Cor, his partner, killed Der's mother and the rest of the dragons rose against him. Der still believes that it was Sayt who killed his mother but the marks on her body speak of griffin, not demon," Taka said softly.

The sun sank slowly behind the trees, casting long shadows and giving off a red glow. "Cor? Is he kinda like...Hitler to Rommel?" I said out loud and Taka shrugged. "Perhaps. Cor is a griffin and was sentenced to the Underworld for the rape and murder of Der's mother. Sayt was sent because he killed my mother..." she sighed before continuing. "I hope you get rid of those two and get rid of the crystal, for Nivta's sake. If you don't...I don't want anyone else to suffer like Der and I have..."

I narrowed my eyes and felt my resolve deepen. "Don't worry," I said in a low voice, barring my teeth. "I will kill those two and destroy the crystal. You have my word."