Moon Flower - Chapter 2

Moon Flower


Chapter 2


Since the Age of Reason began, the greatest kept secret has been the Monitor, an extensive network of detection devices and informants to keep watch on all magical events throughout the land of Cordia. A witch could not brew a love potion, a weather-master increase the wind in the sails of a ship, or a simple apprentice levitate a rock for the first time without the arcane occurrence appearing on one of the network boards. Since most long-distance communication and travel utilized magical methods, Monitor had the capability of tracking most emergencies, crises and situations on all scales: natural, social, economic, political and magical.

Secreted in the basement of a non-descript house on the edge of Dilvan, Ashe fidgeted in his chair at the sparse briefing table. Eagerly he awaited his turn to disclose the surprising event within his area of responsibility, the region of Wolfshar on the continent of Kendar. He believed he was assignged the most difficult region of any of the continents, being one of the largest in size and the most diverse in population—everything from tribes of mountain men to elves of the forest. Ashe also felt that he deserved the commission, having worked his way up from a field analyst to regional officer in just a few short years. Highly ambitious and eager for attention from on high, he adjusted his black ponytail for the umpteenth time as he waited to deliver his news.

For the past several years, even decades, the region of Wolfshar had been quite uneventful, despite its complexity. The last major operation for Monitor in all of Cordia had been over twenty years ago when the city of Wolfshar and the lands surrounding it broke away from the Dragon Alliance. At that time, Monitor’s boards lit up as communications were relayed between the negotiators, merchant rings and families and friends of those affected by Wolfshar’s new autonomy. The threat of war hung over the continent like a smith’s hammer ready to strike hot steel.

Not only did Monitor watch the magical communications traffic, but employed a great number of informants and spies to report on the non-magical (and thus, non-monitorable) events of the city. The hammer strike of war never fell, but the network still kept its watchful eye on the area. A small contingent of informants still remained, but have reported nothing major for quite some time.

Ashe had no need of the spies right now. He was primarily concerned with the data in front of him. His report would surely ignite some excitement among (and some recognition from) his superiors.

“And where is [i]The Sea Queen,[/i] now?” Monitor’s Director of Kendar Operations—simply known as Kendar—asked. “She is carrying a load of cases of wine I purchased from the Lord of Essich. Probably the finest in all Cordia, made from the grapes…”

Ashe groaned within himself and rolled his eyes in obvious exasperation. For days, Kendar had been tracking this vessel as her captain fancied himself quite a weather-worker, making The Sea Queen appear on the magical tracking system. Every day Ashe and the rest of the regional officers had to listen to Kendar drone on about the quality of the vintage and the process of the fermentation. Ashe, in his impatience, failed to hide his contempt.

Every member of Monitor was known by his or her rank and position, rather than their given name, thus preserving anonymity outside the network. Ashe, being the regional officer of Wolfshar, was known as Wolfshar while Ashe’s aide, who stood near the wall behind Ashe, was referred to as Wolfshar-two. Most found the arrangement of names comical, but effective as privacy and security was ensured, in spite of revelations into personal lives such as shipments of wine for private stock.

“She is here, sir,” Dilvan’s regional officer replied pointing to the crystalline panel behind him on which a map of Cordia and several major magical events were graphically projected. He chuckled as he circled a small amber dot in the middle of the Roth Channel. Apparently, he found Kendar’s inquiries amusing, even if Ashe did not.

“Relax, Wolfshar,” Kendar said to Ashe as his hands yet again went for his hair. “Your lack of patience is not becoming to your elven nature. We will be with you soon enough.”

Ashe cleared his throat and feigned patient attention as Dilvan reported on a mage-duel in the Northreach Mountains that was reaching its third day of battle. What do you know about elven nature? Ashe thought. But Kendar was correct. Normally, elves, with their long lifespan, can afford to be much more patient than Ashe currently felt. I must be spending too much time among men.

Dilvan’s trivial brief ended and Kendar turned to Ashe for the report on Wolfshar. Quickly, Ashe rose, pressed his black vest against his lean and firm chest in a calming gesture, all the while trying to hide the smirk on his face. [i]Not that anyone can see my face in this darkened room,[/i] he thought. He could barely see the shapes of the people sitting around the briefing table as the room’s only light came from the illuminated display behind him. Ashe assumed this was to maintain anonymity for the participants.

With a nod from Ashe, Wolfshar-two replaced Dilvan-two at the board console and muttered a few words of magical command. The colors on the board rippled and warped until an enlarged map of the Kendar continent appeared.

Ashe cleared his throat and began. “Sir. We have discovered a magical anomaly in the vicinity of Wolfshar.” He pointed to a spot on the western coast of the continent. A few more words from Wolfshar-two and the map zoomed closer to the area. “As you can see, we have the usual concentration of magical activity within the city itself,” Ashe indicated a large mass of various colors to the far left of the board. Each color represented a particular type of magic and variances in brilliance depicted the power of a spell. A death spell would register a bright purple, while a light spell would be a dull white. “The anomaly, sir, is just outside the city near the village of Martin’s Ferry and appeared yesterday afternoon.” He pointed to a tiny black spot just east of the city walls.

Kendar leaned forward in his chair to view the map. “You are calling that spot an anomaly? What the blazes for? Why are you wasting our time which could have been…”

Ashe couldn’t wait any longer. Smiling broadly, he cut Kendar short and said, “Because it moved, sir.” He nodded to Wolfshar-two who inserted a clear crystal into a slot in the console and brought up a series of images displayed side by side on the board. Throughout the images, the miniscule black dot moved south-easterly until it reached the woods, then seemed to turn around and head back toward Wolfshar. “I saved these readings in a memory crystal. They were taken at one hour intervals and clearly show the anomaly moving quite rapidly across the valley floor. After some time, it circled and returned to the city.”

“And what do you make of this?” Kendar asked. “Judging from the way you are bouncing on the balls of your feet, you are dying to tell me. Why don’t you say it before your head explodes.”

Dilvan laughed at the joke.

[i]Kiss ass,[/i] Ashe thought as he made a conscious effort to stand still and turned his attention back to Kendar. “Sir,” he prepared to deliver his final punch, “I believe this gives all the indications of being a renegade dragon.” He paused and let that news sink in. Blank eyes and empty expressions looked back at him. Some of Ashe’s smugness disappeared. He was prepared for a general uproar of fear and concern from the officers in the room. He did not expect… disbelief.

Kendar cleared his throat but could not hide the contempt in his voice. “And er… what makes you believe this is… a dragon?”

Ashe swallowed hard and turned to Wolfshar-two who offered no help. “Well, sir,” he moved to the board and pointed at each image in turn. “You must remember that I am probably the foremost expert on dragons that Monitor…“

Belencost cut him off. “Oh, please spare us your academic credentials, Wolfshar. You have been wearing your training at Roth’s Dragon Academy like a crown. Drop the superiority and give us the facts.” Silence hung in the darkened room for several beats. Kendar reprimanded Belencost with a glance and Belencost seemed to diminish in his chair.

“Continue,” Kendar prompted.

Ashe cleared his throat again and tried to hide his embarrassment. He glanced at Wolfshar-two at the console. The two of them had discussed this at length over the past couple of days. They had consulted books and studies, hashed out argument after argument and finally, it was Wolfshar-two who stated the only possible conclusion. To them, the evidence was incontrovertible and overwhelming. Why should it be questioned?

“First and foremost,” Ashe began, “look at the speed at which the anomaly travels. Clearly that indicates flight. Second, as you know, there are few spells of greater magic that can mask arcane activity from our sensors. These appear as black dots on our board, or places of no magic, which, as we all know is an impossibility, giving the very nature of magic…”

“Or the magic of nature,” Dilvan interjected. Since most of them had received formal instruction in the ways of the arcane, this textbook description of magical forces was second nature to them.

Undeterred, Ashe plunged on. “Right. So, we are talking about a creature that can wield powerful spells and also can fly. That means a dragon. And look at this reading here, just before he turned around.” He pointed to a small blotch touching the black speck that was bright red on top and brilliant blue on the bottom. “See the colors? Bright red indicates powerful fire and is met by even stronger cyan for protective spells.”

“You do realize that a renegade dragon has not been seen outside of East Calimshar in over a century?” Dilvan interjected, not bothering to hide the skepticism in his voice.

“Get to the point,” Kendar commanded Ashe.

“Yes, sir,” Ashe replied, rather flustered. “So, you see we have a strong fire spell that was met by Levellin’s protections. Again, this indicates a being capable of extremely powerful—”

“But why a dragon?” Kendar interrupted. “Why not a wizard or mage?”

[i]Why are they not seeing this? [/i]

“Because of the flight, sir. A wizard or mage could simply teleport. Only a dragon would fly. And a wizard or mage would probably not have been stopped at the forest by the protections. But a dragon, especially a renegade, would.” He exhaled quickly to add finality to his argument.

Again, the people in the room remained silent. Ashe looked in each face for support. None came.

Kendar stood, giving clear sign that the brief was over. “Keep an eye on it, Wolfshar. Try to find someone in the area who might have seen it. Do your job.” He turned to walk out of the room.

Quickly, Ashe followed. “Sir, I really think we are dealing with a powerful dragon. Shouldn’t we at least let the Lord of Wolfshar…”

Eyes ablaze, Kendar stopped and reeled. “And tell him what? That we are watching him and his lands? That a system which does not officially exist has detected a black spot? That an ultra-secret…” The director sighed. “No, Wolfshar. Do not notify anyone. Do some poking around, if you feel the urge. Good day.” And he turned on his heel and exited the briefing room.

Deflated, Ashe ignored the amused stares from the other regional officers as they sidled out of the room and pretended not to hear their whispered mockery the moment they passed the threshold.

Wolfshar-two merely shrugged as if to say, “Why don’t they get it?”

Ashe removed the memory crystal from the console and handed it to Wolfshar-two. He was grateful to his assistant for supporting his opinions and for his continued and trusted analysis. “I guess we’ll just get back to work.”

Wolfshar-two nodded and left the room to draft a message that would be relayed to his master. But not the dejected master who remained staring at the now blank board of the briefing room.