Anders took a bite of dried meat. Talking with his mouth fairly full, he said, “I think I fall somewhere in the middle of your opinions. I think the greens and fruits complement the meat quite nicely.”
“Yeah, I like them both, too. Meat is just too good to give up altogether, in my opinion,” Max added.
“Suit yourself,” the elf said and finished his meal.
After a short silence, Max blurted out something that’d been bothering him all day. He had been afraid to ask earlier, but now he could not control his eagerness to know. “Can you do magic?” he asked Nadir. “Ivan told us that many elves can perform magic.”
“Max,” Ivan said in a tone that would be used in talking down to a child. “It is not polite to ask an elf such a personal question. Especially a member of the elven royalty.”
“No, it’s all right,” said Nadir. “To answer your question frankly, no, I am not able to use magic yet. I have been paired with several dragons, none of which shared a connection with me strong enough for me to receive the gift of magic.”
“Is it common for dragons to decide not to bestow magic on someone?” Anders asked.
“It happens more often than you would think,” Nadir said shortly. “A dragon’s likelihood to find a match so strong only happens once in its lifetime, if they are lucky. Most dragons live their whole lives never finding their match.”
“How did it happen for you, Ivan?” Anders asked.
Ivan took a sip of some water he had in the bladder slung around his neck, “When I was paired with my dragon the elves had spent many months observing the personalities and behaviors of the dragons and those who went through the army’s training camps. The candidates were paired up with the dragon that had a personality most similar to their own. The system had some success, because several of us in the program did find matches.
“My situation was not a normal one. Because of the peculiarity and haste of the match, I feared our connection would not be as strong as most dragon-rider matches that were put together more organically.”
Anders saw a tear roll down Ivan’s cheek. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve.
“No matter,” Nadir said. “I am sure if Zahara was your match, she would have let you know, what with you being the Prophecy and all.”
Flustered by the comment, Anders asked, “What Prophecy?” He looked at Ivan, who held his forehead in his hands.
Quick to read the situation, Nadir said to Ivan, “You hadn’t told him yet?”
Anders struggled to understand why he suddenly felt so confused and angry; perhaps he was just upset after losing another close friend. Perhaps Nadir had misspoken. He looked to Ivan and Nadir angrily, “What the hell do you mean, I am the Prophecy?”
“Let me explain,” Ivan said, taking a deep breath. “There is a prophecy that foretells of a human and dragon bond so strong that the two will become the most powerful dragon and sorcerer pair in history. Powerful enough to overthrow Merglan.”
“That’s what you were talking to Theodor about in the woods the night before the attack began?!” Anders asked.
Ivan nodded, “That is what Merglan is searching for. It isn’t a trinket or an item; it’s you.”
“What? How? Why?” Anders asked in rapid succession.
“Merglan sensed it in you when you were just a baby. He tried to capture you once before, when you were younger.”
“Is that how my parents died?” Anders asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” Ivan said with a sigh.
“He was wrong; Merglan got it wrong!” Anders shouted in desperation. He didn’t want to accept what Ivan was telling him. “I’m not anything special! I am just a person who wants to get my family back.” He jumped to his feet and stormed off away from camp.
“Anders, wait,” Ivan said getting up to follow him.
“Let him go,” Nadir said, motioning Ivan to sit back down. “He needs time to process this revelation.”
Later that night, Max pulled Anders aside and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”
Anders shrugged and glanced to make sure that Ivan and Nadir weren’t within earshot. “How can what they said be true? Zahara and I shared the feeling of being separated from our families, but that was it. We didn’t form a special bond. The only thing that has changed is now I know why terrible things have happened to my family. It’s all because some crazy sorcerer believes I am going to defeat him. I can hardly fight off more than one orc by myself. I am not who they think I am.”
“At least you know why bad things have happened to your family,” Max said.
“What do you mean?” Anders asked.
“You know how I told you Bo and I were adopted by that family in Brookside?” Anders nodded. “Well, they had to adopt us because my parents were murdered in their sleep.”
“That’s awful,” Anders said, shocked that Max was telling him this.
“Tony always thought I did it to them and hates me. One day when I was out riding with Tony’s oldest daughter, nomads from the Bareback Plains attacked us. I hid in a coyote’s den after they knocked me off my horse. She didn’t make it in time and the nomads killed her. Once they were gone, I brought her body back and Tony nearly beat me to death. No matter how many times I tried to tell him what happened, he remained convinced that I’d killed his daughter. I don’t know if that makes you feel any better or worse, but at least you know why Merglan is attacking your family. I don’t know why people attacked mine,” Max returned to the camp, leaving Anders standing alone.
Anders came back to his spot around the fire, lay down on the ground, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
Over the next several days, Anders and Max followed Ivan and Nadir through the forest. Ivan and Nadir didn’t mention anything more about Anders being the Prophecy. He was actually beginning to think it might have just been a bad dream. It had been a week since they left the Rollo Island warriors to visit the elves. They walked along a lightly used path that wound through the dense forest and across the occasional meadow. Anders wished he could explore the area further, but knew they had to catch up with the warriors.
As they marched through the forest, Anders tried to keep his mind away from the sadness he felt about leaving Zahara behind. He found himself recalling a story his uncle used to read to him and his cousins before bed. Anders remembered it as one of his favorite stories and spoke of an elven hero with bronze skin and dark curly hair. For the first time, it dawned on him that he hadn’t seen anyone like the hero described in the story. So he asked the Elf Prince, “Nadir, can I ask you something?”
“Yes you may,” the Elf Prince said in a soothing voice.
“One of my favorite stories I remember from my childhood was about an elven hero with bronze skin and dark curly hair. When we were in Cedarbridge I didn’t see anyone who matched that description. Are there only fair-skinned elves in the capital?”
Nadir nodded slowly, “I know of which tale you are referring to. Yes the elves you saw at the High Council in Cedarbridge are all of fair skin tone and silver hair, but this is not how all elves appear. Just as you humans have your differing ethnicities, so do we elves. Your time in the capital city was cut short so you did not explore much. If you had, you’d have seen that the city is filled with diversity and many differing elven cultures.”
“I guess that gives me another reason to return,” Anders said finding his mind returning to Zahara once more. After several minutes of silence, Anders asked the Elf Prince, “What’s it like in Eastland? Have you ever been there?”
