Dragon's World Past Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Tracking a Killer


Night fell upon the dragon realm when the three dragons returned. Before returning home, Eig’nia and Tourajé went with Saulstrance to report to their master on their time spent in the human realm. Once at their master’s lair, they entered his chambers where he eagerly welcomed them back.

“So how was the human realm?” Asked Léruc, interested to hear what his students had to say.

They proceeded to tell their master everything they had experienced while in the human realm. Although they did mention that they had stayed with a family, they remembered their word to Cyrus’ mom and left out the parts of her being a dragon and Cyrus a half-dragon. When they got to the part about Tourajé entering a contest, he excitedly held up his tail which was holding his sword. He brought it up to Léruc and set it at his feet. The older dragon grabbed the sword in his talons and studied it. As he examined the craftsmanship of the blade, he noticed that Tourajé’s name had been carved into the sword. Léruc smiled as soon as he noticed this.

“Here you go, Tourajé. You should be proud. Take good care of that sword.” Said Léruc, handing the sword back to his student.

“I will sir. Thank you.” Tourajé bowed respectfully.

“Now then, you three must be pretty tired. Go on home and get some sleep. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Léruc said.

Eig’nia and Tourajé bid farewell to their friend and master and set off for home. Once they reached their respective families’ caves, they found their families waiting for them. They were eager to hear what Eig’nia and Tourajé did during their time in the human realm.

The two of them shared what had happened with their parents and siblings and Tourajé presented his new sword to his family. While his parents found their son’s sword interesting, his younger brother, Utzie was the most excited about it. He begged his older brother to let him hold it. Tourajé, who was never one to turn down his little brother, handed the sword to the little dragon, instructing him to be very careful with it. Utzie held the sword with his tail and tried to swing it around a few times but found it difficult to do so being not much bigger than the sword. With a startled yell, he fell face forward, dropping the sword in the process. Tourajé helped his younger brother back onto his feet and took his sword. He placed it by the side of his nest.

Eig’nia and Tourajé wished their families goodnight and dropped down in their nests. Shortly after they fell asleep. At that same time, Saulstrance was also preparing for bed. He walked to his room, passing one of his master’s guards.

“Hi there Saulstrance. How was the human realm?” The guard asked.

“It was interesting. I hope I’ll get to see more of it.” Saulstrance answered.

The guard smiled. “You know Saulstrance, you remind me so much of your father. You look just like him…and you both talk so much alike.”

Saulstrance was shocked by the mention of his father. How did this guard know him?

“You…you knew my father?” Saulstrance said surprised.

“Indeed I did. In fact, your father used to be the captain of Lord Léruc’s guards.”

Saulstrance’s surprise continued to grow. He couldn’t believe that his own dad used to be the captain of his master’s guards. He wondered if his father was the captain then why didn’t Lord Léruc ever tell him?

Saulstrance noticed a sudden look of sadness on the guard’s face. “He was a great leader. We all looked up to him, your mother especially.”

“My mother?” Saulstrance asked, surprised by the mention of her.

The guard nodded. “Your mother was Lord Léruc’s aide. She was a kind and beautiful dragoness. She was very devoted to her job and your father. What happened to them was…tragic.” The guard said with a sorrowful look on his face.

Saulstrance’s heart sunk. What did he mean “what happened to them” and why was it tragic? Immediately, Saulstrance deduced that the guard meant his parents were…

“Wait. When you say ‘what happened to them was tragic’, you don’t mean…” Saulstrance asked nervously, even though he was already certain he knew the answer.

“Now Saulstrance, this is based off only what we’ve been told but according to Lord Léruc, your parents were victims of Agcro the Carver. Apparently, they were attacked right after you were laid.” The guard explained.

Normally, Saulstrance would have been upset upon hearing of his parents’ deaths but he was actually more surprised than anything. He never knew anything about his parents and would always wonder just who they really were. However, even though he was told that they were supposedly killed by this “Agcro”, that wasn’t good enough for Saulstrance. He needed to hear the truth straight from Agcro’s mouth and to do that, he needed to find him.

“Agcro the Carver…do you know where he is now?” Asked Saulstrance.

“I…I’m sorry Saulstrance. I’ve already said too much. Go to sleep and try to forget everything I told you about Agcro.” The guard said in a panic, quickly walking away soon after.

Saulstrance did as the guard said and went to bed. However, he wasn’t about to forget what he was just told. He finally had a lead on his parents and he knew he needed to follow that lead. It didn’t matter to Saulstrance if Agcro was dangerous or not. Even though he now knew his parents were gone, if he could find out from Agcro just what he did to them, then Saulstrance felt as though he’d be able to move on.

The next day, Saulstrance met with Eig’nia and Tourajé outside their master’s fortress. He explained to them everything he learned last night and what his plans were. Neither Tourajé or Eig’nia had heard of Agcro so they eagerly agreed to help their friend find out the truth behind his parents’ deaths. Saulstrance told them that before they put the plan into motion, he had to let Lord Léruc know what he was planning to do. He declared that their search for Agcro would start tomorrow at the same time.

That night, as Tourajé and Eig’nia were eating with their families, they shared with them that they were going to help Saulstrance go after Agcro. At the mention of Agcro’s name, their parents stopped eating and looked at them with shocked looks on their faces. While Eig’nia’s older siblings had heard of Agcro, Tourajé ‘s little brother Utzie hadn’t. He watched awkwardly as everything went deafly silent.

Their parents couldn’t believe what their children had just said to them. They had hoped they would never learn of that dragon and believed it would be better if their children never found out about him. Unfortunately for them, that had changed. Since they now knew Agcro’s name, their parents decided that they might as well explain to them who Agcro was.

At the same time, Saulstrance and Léruc ate together in what Léruc called “The Feeding Chamber”. Just like his friends, Saulstrance explained to his master that he learned of Agcro and that he killed his parents. He told Léruc that tomorrow, he was going to go after Agcro so that he could hear the truth from Agcro’s own mouth. After Saulstrance finished sharing his plans, Léruc turned to Saulstrance in shock.

“You will do no such thing!!” Thundered Léruc, his voice echoing throughout the room.

Some of Léruc’s guards rushed in as soon as they heard their master shouting to find out what was wrong. They stood by the entrance and watched as Léruc and Saulstrance stared directly into each others’ eyes. Suddenly, Léruc entered into a coughing fit. His guards rushed over to him to make sure he was okay.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” Léruc said as he stood back up.

As soon as Léruc regained his composure, he returned to his feet and looked directly at Saulstrance. The younger dragon noted the severely serious look in his master’s eyes.

“Saulstrance, listen to me and listen good: you are NOT to go after Agcro, do I make myself clear?” Asked Léruc sternly.

“Master, did you know this whole time?” Saulstrance asked suspiciously.

“Saulstrance, do I make myself clear? You may not go after Agcro.”

“PLEASE! TELL ME!!” Saulstrance pleaded.

Things went quiet for a time in which neither Saulstrance, Léruc, or Léruc’s guards said anything. Léruc finally broke the silence with a defeated sigh. He sat down across from Saulstrance but before Léruc spoke to him, he turned to his guards.

“You may leave now. Tell the other guards that I will be speaking with each of you until I find out who told Saulstrance about his parents.” Léruc commanded.

The guards departed from the room, leaving the two dragons. Léruc turned his attention back to Saulstrance. The older dragon’s fixated gaze made Saulstrance feel uneasy.

“Sir, why did you never tell me the truth?” Saulstrance asked.

“It was…in order to protect you. I feared that, should you find out, you would most likely try to get revenge.” Explained Léruc.

“Even still…now that I know the truth, you can’t really expect me to just do nothing!” Saulstrance exclaimed. This marked the first time in his life that Saulstrance had ever raised his voice to his master.

“THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I EXPECT YOU TO DO!!!”   Léruc exclaimed even louder than Saulstrance.

Saulstrance flinched. Intimidated, he looked away, shivering a little from his master’s shouting.

“You don’t have ANY idea who Agcro is, do you?” Léruc asked, his eyes bulging from their sockets, looking as though they might pop out at any second.

Saulstrance didn’t answer. He looked down, too scared to look at his master. Léruc noticed his pupil’s meekness but continued on anyway.

“Agcro is…more of a monster than a dragon. It is said that he has killed more than twenty-five dragons. It didn’t matter if they were hatchlings or elder dragons. If he found a suitable victim, he’d kill them.” Léruc explained.

Saulstrance cringed. He had never heard of a dragon killing old or young dragons for fun. In fact, he never heard of a dragon killing another dragon ever. How could anyone do something so terrible he thought to himself.

Léruc continued to tell Saulstrance about Agcro. He hoped that telling Saulstrance more of what Agcro had done might be enough to change Saulstrance’s mind about going after him.

“Saulstrance, if you know about Agcro, then I assume that you know of his nickname ‘The Carver’. Do you know why he gained that name?” Asked Léruc.

Saulstrance looked up at his mentor and shook his head. The guard he talked with last night made mention of Agcro’s nickname but Saulstrance didn’t think to ask what it meant.

“Just before Agcro kills someone, he asks them their name. And after they’ve died, he carves the victims’ names into their stomachs. This trademark has earned him the nickname, ‘The Carver’ amongst our kind.”  Léruc continued to explain.

His master’s explanation of Agcro made Saulstrance feel a little ill. Ever since he was little, he always believed that his world was a peaceful one. He never would have imagined that such a cruel creature resided within it. Even then, he still needed to hear what happened from Agcro himself. Saulstrance felt that he would never truly be able to move on until he confronted Agcro for himself.

“Long ago, my guards managed to capture Agcro. However, despite this, five of them lost their lives trying to catch him. For me, that was…one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made. I didn’t want to allow something like him to exist in this world so I sentenced him to execution. Any regular dragon would have been scared out of their minds knowing they were about to die. Not Agcro however. After I told him, he just smiled as if welcoming it. That twisted smile on that scarred muzzle of his is something I’ll never forget. To further add insult to injury, just moments before execution, Agcro killed the guard who was assigned to watch him and made his escape. Let me tell you Saulstrance: Agcro’s escape, along with the deaths of those six has haunted me since that day. That’s why I’ve never sent any guards after him since then. I can’t bear the thought of losing anyone else I care about.” Léruc concluded his story.

“But if you haven’t sent your guards after him since, couldn’t Agcro still be out there somewhere killing more dragons? Or…do you think one of the Leaders’ guards caught him?” Saulstrance asked.

“I would assume the second option is the most likely one. Ever since your parents were killed by him, all reports of his activity had ceased. That would suggest one of three things: 1.He’s been captured by one of the other Leaders and possibly executed. 2. He’s hiding out somewhere in the human realm. Or 3. He’s dead.” Answered Léruc.

Although Saulstrance knew that Agcro’s death would be a good thing for dragons and possibly even humans, deep down he hoped that Agcro was alive so he could make him pay for killing his parents. Saulstrance then realized that even if Agcro was still alive, he wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for him and all he knew about Agcro, other than his nickname and real name, was that he had a scar on his muzzle. That wasn’t enough information. He needed to find out more about him.

After his master had gone to sleep, Saulstrance snuck into the library. There, he searched through Léruc’s archives, hoping to find something about Agcro. He read through several scrolls, hoping that one of them would tell him something. After searching through seven scrolls, he found one that contained information on Agcro. Saulstrance read it to himself:

“Name: Agcro. Age: Unknown. Village: Unknown. Scales: gray. Eyes: red. Agcro has been sentenced to death for the deaths of twenty-five dragons, dragonesses, and hatchlings. Notable features include a scar on the left side of muzzle and crimson claws on front paws while back claws are white. Claims they were stained by the blood of his victims.”

This was just what Saulstrance needed. While he still didn’t know precisely where to look, he at least had an idea of what Agcro looked like. He folded the scroll up once more and inserted it into his throat as it traveled down into his body. If Saulstrance was going to find Agcro, he’d need that scroll to help him.

He snuck out of his master’s fortress and took to flight in the cold morning air. Saulstrance was ready to search all of his world and the human world if he needed to. As he flew, Saulstrance didn’t notice that a familiar face had caught sight of him. This familiar dragon took to the air and followed behind Saulstrance, curious as to where he was going.

Hours later, Léruc awoke to unsettling news from one of his guards: both Saulstrance and the scroll containing Agcro’s information had disappeared. Léruc realized right away what had happened: Saulstrance had taken the scroll with him and set out to find Agcro on his own. While this angered Léruc, he was more disappointed in his pupil than anything else. Disappointed that Saulstrance was so desperate to hear the truth from Agcro that he’d go so far as to steal from him. As he bolted out of bed and rushed out of his room, he called for his guards and ordered them to summon Eig’nia and Tourajé.

A short time later, Eig’nia and Tourajé appeared before their master. Still sleepy, they yawned and rubbed their eyes. Léruc briefed them on what happened.

“Think of this as your first true mission.” Said Léruc. “Find Saulstrance and bring him back here before he finds Agcro. The chances of him finding Agcro are very slim but in the off shot that he does, he won’t stand a chance.”

“We understand sir. But, Agcro is as dangerous as you say, it might be best to get some extra help.” Said Tourajé.

“That is true…It sounds as though you already have someone in mind, Tourajé?” Asked Léruc curiously.

“I do. Well, actually I have three dragons in mind.”

As that was going on, Saulstrance was walking through a dragon village. He kept an eye out for any dragon that matched Agcro’s description. Some of the dragons he came across did have gray scales and red eyes and some even had red claws however none of them had a scar going across their muzzles.

Saulstrance sighed and flew up to the top of a mountain where he laid down, his wings stretched out over him. He sighed. Agcro must not be here he thought to himself. That just left him the rest of the dragon realm to search…and possibly the human realm too. Saulstrance whined to himself, not liking the idea of having to search all throughout his world and the other world.

Just then, he heard someone calling his name. Looking up into the sky, he watched as the dragon descended, landing right before him. As he looked up, he realized right away who this dragon was.

“Shashala!” Saulstrance exclaimed, surprised and, for once, glad to see him.

“What are you doing?” Shashala asked.

Saulstrance sat up and explained to the other dragon everything that he had learnt about his parents. He mentioned that he had set out to try and find Agcro so he could hear the truth from Agcro’s own mouth. Then all of a sudden, Saulstrance thought of something: what exactly was Shashala doing here? When he presented the question to Shashala, the other dragon explained that he had been following Saulstrance for the past couple of hours, curious as to where he was going. Shashala’s first thought was that maybe Saulstrance was secretly seeing another teacher to help train Saulstrance to beat him. He explained that that was why he followed Saulstrance: so that he could find out what kind of things Saulstrance was learning so he could apply Saulstrance’s lessons to himself.

Saulstrance looked at Shashala with a puzzled expression on his face. He was surprised that Shashala would go that far just so that he could potentially discover a way to defeat him. Then Saulstrance remembered that ever since he first beat Shashala during the exams all those years ago, he had always been obsessed with trying to beat him. Ever since that day, Shashala would occasionally approach Saulstrance and challenge him to fights. Most of the outcomes resulted in Saulstrance winning with an occasional win or two by Shashala. However, these occasional wins weren’t good enough for Shashala. He needed his wins to pass Saulstrance’s.

Shashala leapt up and, like always, demanded that since Saulstrance seemed to be taking a rest that they fight. Saulstrance sighed in annoyance. He guessed it never occurred to Shashala what it meant to rest. Just as he was about to decline the dragon’s offer for battle, Saulstrance spotted a figure coming towards them. The sight of this figure made Saulstrance uneasy. As he neared the two dragons, a shocking jolt went through Saulstrance’s heart. He observed the dragon carefully. He had grey scales, red eyes, and his front claws were a crimson red while his back ones were white, and his most notable feature: a scar on the left side of his muzzle. This was it. The dragon he was looking for was right before him. This had to be him…Agcro.

“What are you two hatchlings doing up here?”