The Secret of the Dragon - The Revelations of the Sacred Papyruses Read online

  The nomads quickly jumped to their feet and unsheathed their scimitars. They were pointed in the direction of their aggressor hiding in the shadows of the night. Then Califax jumped between the men and the caged Hayex. Standing on his hind legs, he opened his huge wings to intimidate and scare away the kidnappers. Far from being scared, their greed grew upon seeing the young dragon.

  “We have to capture him alive! This will surely make us rich!”

  Califax became very angry and changed his color to an intense red while drawing his brilliant sword and spewing fire on the evildoers, who covered themselves like magic with Roman shields, items that were surely stolen in some robbery.

  Together, the thieves attacked their fabulous enemy brandishing their sabers and shouting dreadful war cries. With just one strike of his sword, Califax split the scimitars of his attackers in half. When they realized that they had been disarmed, they ran toward their horses, which had long since fled the scene.

  After Hayex had been freed from his prison, the daring adventurers flew to the hills of Arabia, under the darkness of the night.

  After finding a safe refuge, they lit a bonfire and they ate some fruit and dried meat.

  “How did they capture you?” asked Califax, intrigued.

  “I do not know. They surprised me with a net while I was coming out of a cave. I do not understand how I did not see them before.”

  “Forget it, my friend. You are safe now.” Califax reassured his friend.

  After a long silence, Califax spoke:

  “I never asked you about your family, Hayex. Tell me about them.” he asked.

  “A long time ago, I lost them at the hands of men, my friend,” he remembered with great sorrow. “My parents and grandparents, together with eight of my brothers and sisters, lived very happily in the southern forest of the Island of Briton, in a community of gargoyles. One day, two of our kind went exploring in a human village where they were captured. The humans killed them in a very cruel manner, covered them with clay, and baked their bodies. They later placed them in the mouth of several water drainages at the top of a bell tower as a warning to the ‘Dark Demons of Hell’, as they called us, to stay away from their houses.”

  “And you and your people did not keep to a safe distance from them?” asked the horrified dragon.

  “After that tragedy, nobody dared approach that place again. However, the humans thought that there must be more of us and they came looking. They started a huge forest fire that surprised us while we were sleeping and then they attacked with rocks and arrows. After the attack, we went north, but the humans spread the word, warning the rest of the humans of our existence. Although there was a great slaughter in the last siege, I managed to escape, but I never saw my family again. The hunt lasted for years, until we were practically extinct. I wandered the island for a long time in hopes of finding more of my kind, but alas, I only found them mounted, as water drainages, on top of many different houses. Then I met you, my friend. I think I am the last of my kind.” Hayex whispered.

  After he heard Hayex’s sad story, Califax fell silent. He contemplated his blessings and he felt a little guilty for having a home, a nice family, and very good friends in Dragonia. In spite of feeling overwhelmed, at times, by his problems, he should always remember that there are many beings who carry real burdens and suffering in their heart each day. Being one of the privileged few, he had many things to be thankful for to Helion.

  “You are no longer alone, my dear friend. When this adventure is over, we will look for your kin. Surely, your kin are equally as intelligent as you are. Surely many of your kind managed to escape the wrath of men.” the dragon encouraged in order cheering his comrade.

  The shadows stretched out as the moon fell below the horizon, and the audacious adventurers buried their sadness in the reassuring arms of Morpheus.

  ***

  9

  The Prophet of the Cave

  The desert steppe woke up in its golden splendor, and the dragon and the gargoyle prepared themselves to continue their mission after a large breakfast of fruit and dried meat. Their diet had not changed for quite some time. Surprisingly enough they began to miss the taste of fish. After hiding their food and clothes behind some scrubs, they took flight. Even having found an excellent hiding place, Califax kept the bag containing the valuable cup with him at all times.

  They flew all around Macoraba looking for anything that might lead them to the mysterious man who would activate the Chalice. The only thing they found was the discomfort from the cruel relentless heat of the desert.

  When the burning sun reached its zenith, a powerful storm took them by surprise. They had been searching so intensely that they failed to notice the darkening sky. It was impossible for them to escape the storm by flight. Struggling to keep each other in sight, they headed for refuge behind some large rocks. When the storm passed, the landscape had changed drastically. The large amount of windblown sand covered the original geography, causing the expeditionary to become lost. Their anguish and frustration increased when they discovered that the storm had yanked their water supply from the gargoyle. Only one wineskin remained, with just a few sips of the vital liquid.

  They flew for several hours searching for their hiding place, or an oasis from which to replenish their water supply. Their search was fruitless. The dunes filled the landscape as far as the eye could see, spreading in a perpetual sea of sand and loneliness.

  A few hours after midday, the desert light began to change in tone a strange way, as though a large cloud was covering the sun. As they looked to the sky an unusual phenomenon appeared before their eyes: The sun seemed to be devoured by the moon. Califax then remembered the words of the prophecies and the calculations of the astronomers: “The Earth will be surrounded by darkness in a period of nine months. This is all the time we have...” It had been almost nine months since he had departed from Dragonia, and the mission was not complete. The god Helion was preparing to annihilate the Region of Fire and, perhaps, the entire world with a scathing wrath.

  The lack of water was taking its toll on the travelers’ bodies. Hopelessness surrounded their afflicted minds. Much too weakened to fly, they walked in search of some place that would provide them the refreshing alleviation of shade and a little water to quench their thirst.

  “Only a sip of water is left. You drink it. You have to carry on in order concluding the mission.” said Hayex, on the verge of collapse.

  “Thank you, Hayex, but it would be better if you drank it. You need it more than I do, my friend.” countered the dragon, almost fainted.

  After an exhausting walk through the sand, they reached the foothills of the mountain. As the moon continued its passage across the face of the sun, the sinister darkness seized the entire region.

  Having fallen prey to fear and uncertainty in light of the strange phenomenon, they looked for a refuge to protect themselves from the imminent attack of Helion’s wrath. Weakened, they climbed to the top of a mountain and found a cave whose mouth was so large that even a regiment of armored dragons could enter it without difficulty. The enormous ceiling of the cave provided comfortable a shade that immediately refreshed the overheated comrades.

  After they recovered their breath, they searched the interior of the cave for some water, but only found the echo of their own steps.

  Califax, weak and dehydrated, could not maintain the fire from his nose for long, and the deep cave quickly surrounded them with its dismal darkness. Totally exhausted and thirsty, they fell into a deep sleep: a prelude to a slumber from which they might never awake.

  Outside, the moon continued on its path across the sun. The darkness became increasingly intense, as did the fear and panic it instilled in the minds of men. They called the cosmic demonstration of godly power a bad omen. The people in the villages and cities ran franticly to their houses looking for protection for their children and themselves, but found no consolation for their affliction.

  Some contemplat
ive and others submissive, the entire population prayed, and in their prayers, they looked for the last minute forgiveness for their terrible sins.

  Meanwhile, in the cave, Califax woke up after hearing some moaning in the intense darkness. At first, he thought it was Hayex making those rumbling noises that sounded like death rattles. Embracing him affectionately, he felt great pain and sadness for his friend’s condition. He languished with the blue face of impeding doom.

  “I should not have let you come with me.” he reproached himself. “I have only brought you here to see you die.” he sobbed.

  While he held his dear friend in his claws, Califax heard the moaning again and noticed that they did not come from the gargoyle, but rather from somewhere deeper in the cave. Then, Hayex awoke.

  “What is going on, my friend? Why are you crying?” He asked, coming out of his lethargy.

  “Shhh! There is someone else here.” Califax said, pointing deeper into the cave.

  Rising silently, they approached the source of the moaning, only to find a man who seemed to be dying. With his clothes torn and his face badly burnt by the sun, the man lay on his back, speaking incoherent words seemingly torn from some horrible nightmare; he appeared to have been beaten by the implacable power of the ArabicDesert. Taking pity on the unfortunate man, Califax took the last of the water and poured into the Chalice, while Hayex watched in ceremonious silence as he observed the unselfish act.

  As the dragon gave the man two or three sips, the man’s eyes slowly opened. Califax immediately put out the fire from his nose so as not to be seen by the man. Meanwhile, outside, an enormous and beautiful solar crown was revealed behind the dark disc of the moon, submerging the entire region in the unusual darkness, that afternoon before the arrival of summer.

  Inside the cave, the eternal darkness surrounded that strange meeting of beings, all from a very different nature and culture. Suddenly, an intense white light illuminated the whole place. Quickly, the dragon and the gargoyle left the man’s side and pressed their backs against the cold wall of the cave. The intense light seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere and appeared to direct itself at the man, who miraculously recovered all his strength.

  Despite the prodigious manifestation, the dragon and the gargoyle felt no fear. They felt that by some miracle, some way, the light had replenished their strength as well.

  Slowly, the light faded as it took a strange form, which looked like a man or a dragon, or perhaps both. Without moving from the wall of the cave, the witnesses did not miss a single detail of what was going on in the cavern. Then, that luminous form unfolded two enormous white wings that scattered sparkles all over the cave when it flapped them.

  Still in disbelief, the dragon and the gargoyle felt strangely comforted before the presence of that being, whose powerful yet soft voice spoke to the man, and his voice sounded like the ocean’s song.

  “Read, in the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clot! Read! Your Lord is most Honorable, who taught to write with the pen; taught man what he knew not.”[95]

  The man was moved by this and knelt down.

  “Hear me, I have been sent here by the Divine Power to name you the messenger of His Word.” he added in a soft and reverent voice.

  “Who am I to receive such a high honor, angelical creature? I am but a humble servant of the Highest one on high.” said the kneeling man.

  “I am the Archangel who holds the Sword of Fire.[96] I am the one who advises men of the coming of He who Is, Has Been and Will Be. The time is near, and He will divulge the Sacred Word through your mouth, among the ancestry of Hagar[97].” he announced.

  “Oh, you, who have chained the dark Enemy in his eternal dwelling! You that protect the rock given to us by our father Abraham! If it is the will of the benefactor and the merciful Allah, that I be His messenger, instill His eternal knowledge in the mouth of this unfaithful one, and on his feet His never ending strength, so that he may carry out such a high command.” said the man.

  “Worthy to carry out His message is he who has drunk from His Chalice. He will be a fisher of men who throws his nets in the desert, as earlier they were thrown.” concluded that celestial being.

  After that Divine Revelation, the angel disappeared and the cave returned to darkness. Califax and Hayex noticed that thirst and hunger had abandoned them, and before putting the Chalice back inside the sack, the dragon observed a golden light that came from its depth. The power of that cup, it seemed, had been activated. When leaving the cave, the adventurers noticed with great relief that the world was not destroyed by the wrath of Helion, and that the sun shone with all its usual intensity. Everything looked the same; nevertheless, they had been witness to an event that would change the course of History: The anointment of Mohammad, the Prophet of the Cave.

  After regaining their strength, the next day, the travelers prepared to return to Briton after locating their refuge where they had hidden their food and disguises. They needed no more camouflages. They left the costumes in that inhospitable place, taking with them only the royal cape. Good spirits had returned to their hearts. They were certain that they had found in that cave the man that they had searched for so long. All that remained was to return to Dragonia to save it from Helion’s terrible fire.

  They flew in an easterly direction bordering the coast of the Red Sea until reaching the River Nile. From there, they went to the Island of Crete, and later they reached the tip of the Italian boot after hours of tiring flight over the Ionian Sea.

  Given past experience, they managed to cross the Italian Pennine Alps and the treacherous French Alps without any difficulty. After two days, the gargoyle felt at home again when reaching Calais.

  “Finally, Briton!” exclaimed Hayex with a sigh. “Now that the power of the Chalice has been activated, what are you going to do with it?” he asked the dragon.

  “I must give it to Filox. Surely, he will know what to do.” he said with conviction.

  They ate a large amount of fish and took a short rest before starting out again on their trip home. They felt a great sense of satisfaction in having succeeded in accomplishing their mission.

  It was midday before the successful adventurers reached Canterbury. From there, they flew to the city of Londinium to later line up directly towards Stour-in-Usmere.

  The golden pastures of Briton were turning green again, and when the night covered them with its dark mantle, the dragon and the gargoyle got ready to sleep. Califax could not fall asleep. His over going home kept him awake. He embraced his prized trophy. It represented a just reward for his dedication and effort. He curled up among the shrubs and let his heavy eyelids drop down over his tired eyes, as he was sung to sleep by the smooth murmur of the dense forest.

  The dawn’s faint light filtered tenuous rays of sunlight through the darkness of the wooded area, and the optimistic friends continued their trip in high sprits.

  Bordering the SnowdonMountains, they reached the well-known village of Bangor, where the Celts still conserved their traditions and prepared for the traditional ‘Beltane’ celebration.[98]

  They crossed the Irish Sea until reaching the Isle of Man, where Hayex tried and failed again to capture a cat. A little before nightfall, they reached Glasgow, and in the surrounding area they found a safe refuge. All the adventures that they had lived through together in order to obtain the Chalice seemed so far away from the dragon’s mind as his thoughts returned to his home.

  “We are very close now, my friend. Soon we will be home.” encouraged Califax.

  The lengthening shadows announced the arrival of night. The experienced adventurers got ready to sleep and rest from their exciting journey. Califax, as usual, curled up in the shelter; carefully cradling his treasure between his claws while Hayex reclined next to his companion.

  They were in a deep sleep when the sensitive ears of the dragon alerted them to strange sounds around them. He opened his eyes. Before him, the shape of two Pantesux dragons came in
to focus: sinister shadows from the deep forest, with their faces covered with the cowardly facade of a black hood.

  “Who are you two?” he demanded, as he sat up from the forest bed.

  “Keep calm, son. Give us the Chalice, or your friend will pay the price.” said one of the evil intruders with a malicious snarl as he dangled Hayex from his feet and pointed his sword at his throat. Tied and gagged, Hayex had been defenseless for a while.

  Califax drew his sword to defend his position, but the other dragon pointed his sword at the gargoyle’s throat, threatening to cut his head off in one fell swoop.

  The young dragon had no other choice but to give in. He slowly slid the Chalice out of the bag. Powerless, with trembling claw, he extended the Chalice to the thieves. The other dragon, who had not said a word, extended his claw to grasp it. Califax, in a vain attempt to distract them, deliberately let the Holy Grail fall to the ground, the evil intruders only laughed at the maneuver.

  “That is an old trick, son. Has not Filox taught you better tricks than that one?” he said with a nasty laugh which resonated in the deep of the forest.

  He reached down to the cup that lay on the ground, but as he was rising up, an enormous lance pierced his back, causing him to fall, mortally wounded, to the forest floor.

  One after the other, the arrows zipped dangerously over the dragons’ heads, which flew behind the trees and bushes to hide. The humans had discovered them!

  Bravely, Califax returned to pick up the Chalice and fly to the highest part of the trees amidst a rain of arrows and rocks that he skillfully turned aside with his powerful sword.

  Califax waited for the humans to stop their attack and move away, and then he went searching for his loyal friend. The dark of the night was almost impenetrable. To light a flame would be suicide with the hostile humans patrolling the area. He waited then, for a signal from the gargoyle.