Chapter 27 – Glynda states her case.
“My name is Glynda Guilliams-Erwood, I am a new wizard and have come to learn of dragons.”
“And the sword? Why do you carry a sword? I’ve never seen a wizard carry a sword before.”
“It was my ancestors, I carry it always,” she replied.
“Well, the family Jones have three dragons between them, couldn’t you have asked one of them?”
“My sentiment exactly, but it seems that one must seek out a dragon of great wisdom, and I found them lacking,” she lied, but to good effect.
“Oh boy, have you come to the right place. I have wisdom by the bucket full.”
“Then perhaps you may teach me of dragons?”
“Well, I’ve never done it before, in fact, a Blue Dragon has never, ever, taught a human wizard about dragons, so this will be a first. Take your staff and hold the gemstone to your forehead, and we will commune.”
Glynda called out her staff and held it to her head. As with the boys, there was what seemed like a high-speed video, so fast that she could catch none of it as it flashed through her head, a few seconds later, it was over.
“Wow,” she said, “that was fast, I’m not sure I caught any of it.”
“Oh, you did, and it’s all in there for when you need to know, every bit of knowledge will come to the surface when needed. But enough of that, tell me of the sword, Dragon Slayer, and of your ancestor Giamillus-Weorod.”
“Who told you what it was called?” Glynda asked nervously.
“Simples, when we communed, it was two way, so you learnt everything I wanted you to know, and I leant everything I wanted to know.”
“That’s not very fair!”
“Sorry dear, I didn’t make up the rules, it’s just the way it is.” King Evon replied.
Glynda related the story of the sword and of how she came to have it, she gave as much detail as she could as she knew that King Evon would have seen all he needed when they were connected.
“Well, isn’t that nice, you bring a young lady into my throne room armed with a sword that could easily hack me to pieces, not very polite young Jon.”
“Oh, your majesty, you have nothing to fear from Glynda, she is a healer and restorer, she does not wish harm on anyone. She carries the sword to defend herself and others, not for attack or to do harm.”
“Well, I now know that she alone defeated the Master and sucked all the magic out of him, that’s pretty aggressive if you ask me.”
“Not really, if she wanted to kill him, then one stroke of her sword could have cut him in half, but instead, she struck him with the flat of the sword and drained his powers.”
“Good point, well made,” the king answered, “Is there anything else? Or is it bye-bye time again?”
“Oh, most Worshipful King, Evon the First, Supreme, Inerrant, and Merciful Ruler of all Blue Dragons, would you grant me a companion dragon?” she blurted out, knowing he loved the flattery of a good title.
“What a strange request, no wizard has ever aligned with a Blue Dragon before, never. You know, I think I will, just for the novelty of it, and just to ruffle a few more feathers of the stupid elders who still think they hold some sway in these parts. I will summon Ffanci, an immature female dragon of seventy-five of your years and she will be your companion dragon. She is my cousin, she hates it here, and always said she wanted out, so now’s her chance.”
And so, it was to be, Ffanci was summoned, introduced, and sacred words were exchanged.
“Ffanci, daughter of Heulwen, a prince among the Blue Dragons, may I present to you a young wizard, Glynda Guilliams-Erwood, ancestor of Giamillus-Weorod, legendary slayer of the treacherous two-headed serpent dragons who came from beyond the mountains. For her courage in defeating the Master, you are to be companion wizard and companion Blue Dragon,” he nodded to each as was appropriate, “this binding is made by solemn oath and cannot be unbound except by death. You will both learn from each other; your powers will increase with your years and with your learning. Go now into the world, show compassion, wisdom, and judgement all your long lives,” King Evon paused for a moment to draw breath.
“Right, that’s the ceremonial over with, so while you're all here, can you all take one of those big chests of gold and stuff each, there’s far too many of them stacked one on top of the other, health and safety dictates they should only be a maximum of three high. I was hoping that one of them would topple over and crush the Elders,” King Evon said with a smile and a wink.
It seemed to be the custom with these pairings, they left not only with Ffanci but also, they each left with a massive chest of gold coins and gems as a parting gift.
Ffanci was the most beautiful dragon Glynda had ever seen. She had emerald-green eyes, dark blue-grey scales and, for a dragon, a cute face. She was only forty feet long as she was not yet fully grown, in about twenty five years she would be the full fifty foot of a female Blue Dragon.
There was now the task of Glynda pairing with her dragon and getting to know her. She had heard about Jon’s adventure with Bevon and of Tom’s moving experience with Ren. She hoped that her pairing would be more like Tom’s experience, but it was to be neither. It seems that each breed of dragon had its own way, and Blue Dragons were again different from others. Ffanci spoke first. She had a soft, purring sound in her voice, which, with her amazing looks, also endeared her to Glynda. She thought that Llewellyn was joking when he said she might fall in love with a cute one, well she had.
“Well, my dear Glynda, there is lots to tell. Firstly, as I am sure you have been told, our alternate shape is that of a black cat, and never to trust a black cat. Well, the information is incorrect, which has always been to our advantage. We can happily appear as a blue cat, a Russian Blue to be exact. Their tone and hue are remarkably like ours and we have the same striking emerald eyes. We are as happy as a cat as we are as a dragon, so I can remain as a spoilt pet for years without arousing any suspicion. So perhaps it would be better to say, never trust a Russian Blue cat, as you never will know if they are in reality, a Blue Dragon.” Both Glynda and Ffanci smiled at that suggestion.
The boys apparated back to their home with the three boxes of gold and jewels leaving Glynda and Ffanci to catch up after they had bonded.
She morphed into her alternate form of a cat, as a cat she was incredibly beautiful. In keeping with the breed, she had what looked like a permanent smile on her face. Glynda stooped and picked her up, stroking her soft fur. As she did all that the dragon knew flooded into her mind and all her knowledge flooded back into Ffanci’s head. It was not as moving as Tom’s experience and remarkably quicker, but Ffanci had not known any grief, so Glynda did not feel any sorrow. Ffanci, however, saw the full disaster which had overtaken Glynda and her parents and was greatly shocked by her hurt and anguish. Glynda had never seen a cat cry, until now.
Glynda was stunned by what she had learned from King Evon and Ffanci, it was totally alien to what she thought she and others knew of Blue Dragons. Yes, they were secretive, but not the dragons they had been made out to be. They were very magical, more magic than a Red Dragon, but still far short of a Golden Dragon. They could apparate for a start. Something they had kept well-hidden for millennia past. They were not battle dragons, so Bevon had the edge there, and Blue Dragons, whereas they could communicate telepathically, they could not mind bend like a Golden Dragon or a Purple one. But Glynda could, so Ffanci would have this power for the future.
The whole ‘bonding’ was over in seconds, the two of them walked through the gates of the city, Ffanci at her side like a pet and through the marketplace in search of her friends. She soon found them and they all apparated into the place they call home.
“Well, how’d you get on,” Gwen asked, the cat went over and rubbed around Gwen’s legs, Ffanci knew how to play at being a pet, “Oh, you’ve got a cat, my isn’t he a beauty.”
“She,” said Glynda.
“Sorry, she, what’s her name?”
“Ffanci.”
“Oh, that’s pretty, but I thought you went to get a dragon, not a pretty blue cat.”
Ffanci then spoke in her deep purring voice. “She has a dragon, I am Ffanci, cousin to Evon the First, Supreme, Inerrant, and Merciful Ruler of all Blue Dragons, to give him his latest title.”
Gwen burst out laughing. “Well, I never knew they were blue.”
“I am a Russian Blue, the aristocrat of the feline world, and pleased to be at your service also.”
“This will definitely put Howel’s nose out of joint,” Gwen said, “he so hates being a Jack Russel, a half breed as he calls them. We’ll have his ‘Oh, why could I not have been a proud Weimaraner, a noble Doberman or even a loving Labrador?’ speech again.”
They all laughed, and it’s quite weird hearing a cat laugh out loud.
Llewellyn and Flintock arrived home soon after.
“What more treasure? I thought you went to find a dragon, not gold and precious gems.”
“Well, you told me to get a cute pet, so I now have a Russian Blue called Ffanci.”
Ffanci purred and leapt up into Llewellyn’s arms for a cuddle.
“Wow, that is one beautiful cat, but cats don’t normally come with crates of gold.”
“I am a dragon,” she purred, “I am Ffanci, cousin to Evon the First, Supreme, Inerrant, and Merciful Ruler of all Blue Dragons.”
“A Blue Dragon, now that’s a first.”
“They are very magical, they can apparate and everything,” Glynda said by way of an inadequate explanation.
“Well, Ffanci, welcome to the family,” Llewellyn said.