Page 57 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

"We are honored to be here, sir." I strived for a tone of polite enthusiasm. "The pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit beautiful Elucia and come face to face with its great shaman. Saphir Fatewever's name is whispered with awe all over Aurorys."

The guard lifted a brow. "I doubt the Sitorians whisper our shaman's name with awe. Hissing and spitting venom is more likely. "

I chuckled. "They might hate him, but they fear him. After all, he chooses the riders."

The guard snorted. "Elu chooses the riders. The shaman is only a conduit for Elu's divine will."

"Of course," I said. "I pray that my cousin and I are chosen."

The guard grunted and shook his head. "Don't pray too hard, Elurian. Every pilgrimage we let a few of your kind join because we need riders, but do you know how many of you were chosen over the last forty years?"

"How many?" Codric asked even though we knew the answer to that.

"Zero." The guard made a circle with his thumb and finger.

"The last time an Elurian became a rider was forty-two years ago.

" He leaned closer, his blue eyes full of cruel amusement.

"He lasted less than a year before a Sitorian projectile knocked him off his dragon, splattering him on the rocks below. "

I stifled an involuntary shiver. "You mean a Shedun's projectile."

The Sitorians considered Elucians and Elurians blasphemers for refusing to accept their corrupted version of Elusitor, but only the Shedun, the most extreme sect of Sitorian fanatics, instigated the never-ending slaughter attacks, mostly against Elucians, but sometimes also against Elurians.

Our federation had suffered its share of death and destruction at the hands of these lunatics .

Still, my father and brothers dismissed the threat, regarding it as an occasional nuisance that they were willing to tolerate to avoid a large-scale conflict with the Sitorian Union.

The guard gave me a haughty look. "Learn your history, Elurian. Forty-one years ago, the two western territories of Sitoria, the Quarak and the Danak, attacked Elucia, hoping to conquer it once more and eradicate us and our dragons. We've barely managed to push them back into their swamps."

"I know history." I straightened my shoulders. "It was a coalition of two different sections of Shedun who attacked Elucia."

"Read a different history book, Elurian. Blessed are the seekers of truth, for they shall find Elu's radiant light within."

"Truth." I put three fingers to my lips in the Elucian form of affirmation.

The guard grunted his approval and motioned at our bags. "Take everything out and put it on the table."

We complied, and as I watched him rifle through our belongings, I wondered whether the history I had been taught and the news articles I had been consuming had been skewed because Eluria wanted to stay neutral and avoid conflict with Sitoria.

Contemporary Elurians were focused on material wealth and hedonistic pursuits.

Most had forgotten their own savage past, the bloody wars that dotted it, and the empires that had risen and fallen before the rise of the current major powers, the Elurian Federation and the Sitorian Union.

Two superpowers with the tiny enclave of Elucia wedged between them like a bothersome thorn.

It was an uncomplimentary analogy, but it was apt.

Since Elurians wanted to stay out of the conflict between Elucians and Sitorians, it was very likely that the Elurian powers-that-be had knowingly and methodically painted Sitoria in a more positive light, blaming all of its follies on the deadly Shedun sect and propagating the manufactured narrative over decades through academia, books, and mass media.

After what felt like an eternity, the guard motioned for us to put everything back in our bags and returned our paperwork. "Good luck, lads."

I let out a breath even though there had been nothing in our belongings that could have given us away. We'd made sure of that.

Still, it was another hurdle cleared.

Codric and I gathered our bags and made our way to the next checkpoint. This one was operated by a tall woman with auburn hair that was pulled back in a severe bun. Despite her stern appearance, her expression was kind, and there was a hint of warmth in her brown eyes as she greeted us.

"Welcome to Elucia," she said. "I'm Irru, and I'll be conducting your final screening before you can board the transport. "

Codric stepped forward, turning on the charm that had gotten us out of more than a few tight spots in the past. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Irru," he said, his voice smooth as honey. "I must say, your lovely visage is a welcome sight after such a long journey."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Trust Codric to start flirting with a security guard. He was more likely to get us in trouble than to help us get through the checkpoint.

To my surprise, Irru's lips quirked up in a smile. "Flattery will get you nowhere, young man," she said, but there was no bite to her words. "Now, let's go over your documents one more time."

We handed her the papers, and as she began to review them, I studied her more closely. The efficiency of her movements and the sharpness of her gaze spoke of years of experience. Her easy charm was meant to put us at ease and make us less guarded, but she was not to be underestimated.

"So, Alar Tekum," Irru said, looking up from the documents, "tell me why you've chosen to undertake the pilgrimage. It's a hardship our youth must face, but why would outsiders volunteer for it?"

I cleared my throat, preparing to deliver the story we'd repeated countless times by now. "My cousin and I believe that we may have the gift. Our great-great-grandmother was Elucian."

Irru looked skeptical. "Your great-great-grandmother's blood has been greatly diluted over the generations, so even if she had been touched by Elu, it's doubtful that you two have the ability to bond with dragons. I'm surprised that your request to join the pilgrimage was approved."

She was right, of course.

I leaned forward. "Our Elucian blood might be diluted, but our passion for becoming dragon riders burns intensely in our veins. The guy who approved our request must have been impressed by our test scores and our desire to defend Elucia from its enemies."

He had also been impressed with our generous donation to the Elucian registry. They were trying to find descendants of exiled Elucians who had married Elurians, and the effort required funds.

Elucians were impossible to bribe, but they wouldn't say no to a legitimate contribution.

In contrast, an Elurian clerk would have gleefully skimmed from the top to make his life a little more enjoyable in the lovely and costly capital of Eluria, and I would have gladly paid to make the process smoother.

Greasing the wheels made them move faster. But with Elucians, it was less likely to work. They adhered strictly to the Precepts of Truth and were much less flexible than Elurians. Not a good quality in my opinion.

As the saying went, truth without wisdom was like a blade without a hilt. It was as dangerous to the bearer as it was to the opponent.

"The pilgrimage itself is a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual experience," Codric said, having learned from our previous exchange with the other proud and rigid Elucian guard.

" Even if we don't make the cut, just meeting the famous Elucian Shaman and hearing him declare our destinies is worth the great sacrifices we have made to get this far, as well as enduring the trek. "

I nodded in agreement.

Irru seemed impressed, but not enough to just stamp our papers and let us through. "Tell me about your Elucian great-great-grandmother."

"Ah, now that's a tale." Codric leaned in conspiratorially. "Our great-great-grandfather was quite the ladies' man in his day, and he seduced an Elucian maiden that he met on one of his business trips."

As Codric spun his tale, embellishing the truth with just enough detail to make it believable, I marveled at his ability to captivate an audience. Irru tried to maintain her professional demeanor, but she couldn't hide her fascination with his animated storytelling.

"The maiden conceived, but our great-great-grandfather was a married man, and he couldn't leave his wife.

The maiden could not raise the child on her own, so he offered to do so, and his wife, out of the kindness of her heart and her love for the scoundrel, adopted the girl," Codric finished with a flourish.

"A scandal was averted, the family remained intact, and a drop of Elucian blood was introduced into our line. "

Irru laughed. "That's certainly a colorful family history, provided that it is factual.

" She immediately looked embarrassed by her suggestion that Codric had lied, which would have been a great offense to an Elucian.

"I suppose details tend to blur over time, and eventually, the story morphs so drastically that it becomes a mere echo of its original form. "

"Oh, it is definitely true, and there is much more to it." Codric winked. "I could tell you stories that would make your hair curl."

"I'm sure you could," Irru said. "But I think I've heard enough for now."

She turned her attention to our documents, and after a few more moments of scrutiny, she looked up at us.

"Everything seems to be in order." She reached for her stamp.

"I wish you the best of luck. The pilgrimage is not for the faint of heart, and the trials you'll face will test you in ways you can't imagine. "

"We're prepared for the challenge," I said.

Irru held my gaze for a long moment, as if searching for something in my eyes. Whatever she saw there must have satisfied her, and she lifted her stamp. "Very well." She brought it down on our papers with a satisfying thunk . "Welcome to Elucia. May Elu guide your steps and keep you safe."

"Thank you." I pocketed my papers.

As we turned toward the line for the cable car, Codric cast one last charming smile at Irru. "It's been a pleasure. Will we see you up top?"

Irru shook her head, but I could see the hint of a smile playing on her lips. "I'm stationed down here for a while longer, but I might see you on your way back." She waved her hand at the cable car. "Good luck, Codric. You too, Alar."

If she expected to see us again down here soon, she didn't believe we would become riders.

The Elucian military did not recruit Elurians other than for the Dragon Force, so if we didn't make it, we would be sent home.

The only reason some with proven Elucian ancestry were allowed to join the pilgrimage was the severe shortage of potential riders.

The ability to communicate with dragons had always been rare, and after most Elucians had been massacred in the Second Extinction War and the survivors escaped to Eluria, it had almost died out.

Codric and I were incredibly lucky to have even a sliver of a chance to become riders or unlucky in the opinion of far too many.

Dragon riders were admired and envied but also despised.