In the outskirts of the Zelandian village called Oyto, the first outbreak of infants perishing mysteriously was reported.

“What is happening?” the village elder asked the guards. “Sir, the people are crying. Something bad is happening,” they shuddered. The village elder’s wife ran hysterically towards him. “Julian is dead,” she wailed. The village elder commanded the guards to swiftly mount their horses and get the news to the High King at Zelandia’s Capital.

The once vibrant realm withered, its people haunted by the specter of death that stalked their children. 

*****

In the bustling market of Hiron, young Alex maneuvered through the throng of merchants and shoppers. His keen eyes darted from stall to stall. The fish stock was dwindling rapidly. The boy’s mind churned with the knowledge that overfishing ravaged the delicate balance of Zelandia’s waters.

Alex paused at a weathered booth, its planks groaning under the weight of meager catches. Old Tom, a grizzled fisherman with a salt-crusted beard, greeted him with a nod. “Slim pickings today, lad,” Tom grumbled, gesturing at his paltry wares. “The fish are not to be found like before. Something is wrong with the waters. And I think we take too much, too fast.” “Aye, but what choice do we have? Gotta eat, don’t we?”

Alex opened his mouth to respond, but a commotion near the market’s entrance drew his attention. A group of dragon hunters swaggered through the crowd, their armor glinting in the sun. Tied to their steeds were the broken bodies of two young dragons, their once-iridescent scales now dull and lifeless.

The sight twisted Alex’s gut. He knew the truth that so many refused to see: the relentless pursuit of dragons upset the delicate harmony of their world. With each mighty beast slain, darkness crept further into Zelandia.

As the hunters passed, Alex caught snippets of their boastful conversation. “Two more notches on the belt,” one grinned, patting his sword hilt. “Aye, and good riddance,” another chimed in. “The fewer of these fire-breathing devils, the better.”

Alex clenched his fists, biting back the urge to challenge their ignorance. He knew the dragons weren’t the true threat. Something far more insidious lurked in the shadows, feeding on the imbalance they created.

That night, Alex could hardly sleep. He listened to the night, and he could hear something calling him. The calling silently drifted into his mind, then it started to become louder. His mother had warned him never to listen to the voice. She told him it came from the Sirens in the Sea. He shut his ears and tried to sleep. The pull was so intense that he pushed open the door and ran to the shore. The voice suddenly quietened. But in the distance, he could see the pirate ships entering the harbor. By now, the Royal Navy should have been alerted. But no one seemed to know.

He ran to the lighthouse and noticed the guard fast asleep. “Hey, there is a pirate ship in the harbor,” he shook him. The guard did not wake up; it looked like he was under a spell. Then the lights flickered on the ship like they were sending a signal. Alex took the key from the sleeping guard and entered the lighthouse. As he stood at the top peering through the glasses, he could see a small boy huddled near the mast, terrified. But who was sending the signal? Maybe it was simply a trap, Alex pondered.

Just when he was about to turn and check if the guard was awake, the light flashed again, and this time there was a fair girl beside the crying boy. She did not speak to the boy but was pointing for him to jump from the ship. But he did not move.

Then she opened her mouth and sang, and the boy clasped his ears in horror. Alex suddenly wanted to be near her. The voice was soothing. He ran down and did not even notice the guard; he plunged forward into the cold water and swam. The call was so strong that as he swam for some time, the voice stopped, and he suddenly came to his senses. He blinked bewildered, floating in the cold water. How did he get into the water?

The pirate ship was near him, and then he remembered seeing the girl sing from the lighthouse. He knew if she sang once again, he would go to her, and he would be dead. But then he saw the boy floating in the water. He was unconscious. Alex dragged the boy back to the shore, and it was not an easy task.

The Royal Navy guard appeared out of nowhere, seeing Alex crouched beside the boy. He ran towards them and shoved Alex away from the boy. “What happened here?” the guard asked with a loud voice. “The boy was drowning by that pirate ship…” Alex panted. The guard looked at the sea. “What pirate ship?” the guard asked. Alex stood up and looked, and to his astonishment, there was nothing there. “But I saw it,” Alex said, perplexed. “This boy jumped from the ship, and there was a Siren on the ship.” The guard looked at him incredulously. “Are you drunk? There is no pirate ship, and Sirens here?” He raised his voice. “I swear I saw her,” Alex said.

The guard asked for help to carry the boy to the healer’s den. The boy was breathing, thankfully, but was not conscious. Alex’s mind reeled with questions. Did he imagine the ship? How did it disappear? Or was he the only one who was able to view it?

They reached the healer’s den, and there was an old healer woman. The woman looked at the boy, annoyed. “What happened?” she asked, making him lie on a wooden cot. “This man found him. This boy was drowning,” the guard said, sitting near the fire. “You’ve got a warm place here,” the guard continued, now viewing Alex fully for the first time. “Come here, you’re wet. Warm yourself.”

The healer was more annoyed. But as she examined him, she noticed the boy was missing a finger. “How odd,” she uttered. She examined him further, and in his pocket, there was a dragon tooth. “This boy collects dangerous things,” she sighed. “Bad omen, bad omen,” she muttered.

Both Alex and the guard came near and examined the tooth. Alex had a habit of collecting rare objects, and he knew this would make a fine addition to his collection.

The guard said, “Well, I have to be going now. I will be back in the evening with more information about this boy.” He looked at Alex. “I suggest you go and take rest.”

Alex smiled. In this life, rest was a luxury. He had to get to work in the market. There was gossip to be spread, dragons to be saved, and also mysteries to be solved.

When he reached the market, the sellers had not set up shop. He wondered what had happened. “What happened today?” he asked Old Tom. “Don’t you know?” “What?” “The ministry of trade has called for a meeting,” he sighed. “Oh really, how come I didn’t know?” Alex asked, puzzled. “Only sellers with trade licenses were asked to attend, and only late in the evening were they informed,” he said, moving his old meat.

“Something is amiss, Old Tom,” he hesitated as Old Tom was watching him intently. “I… saw… a Siren, Tom.” “What?” “Yes, it’s true. I saw a Siren,” he insisted. Old Tom took a deep breath. Alex wondered if the old man would believe him or not. “I rescued a boy, and we found a dragon tooth with him.” He looked at the eager eyes of Old Tom. “I left him with the healer.” “Okay, I believe you. I want to see the boy then.”

Alex was taken aback.

The healer’s den was locked. Old Tom looked at Alex with doubt. “Are you sure, Alex? You’re not making fun of the old man, are you?” He said, moving aside to allow Alex to call the healer.

They heard some rumbling inside the den. Then after some time, she opened the door, and she looked dazed. “Yes, how may I help you?” she asked. Alex looked at her incredulously. “Where is the boy?” Alex asked, not daring to look at Old Tom. “Boy…?” The lady looked in confusion. Alex pushed her and went inside. “Yesterday, the guard and I came and left a boy here. He even had a finger missing.” The lady looked at him with fear in her eyes. “You are trespassing,” she shouted. “No, lady,” stepped in Tom. “We just want to know.”

He looked around and noticed vials of potions. He bent down, and his skilled eyes picked up the dragon tooth Alex had told him about. “May I know how you got this?” The healer blinked. “I have no idea,” she said after a while. “I feel like I am dreaming all this.”

Old Tom suddenly took the flower vase and dropped it onto the floor. But it did not break; in fact, it floated in mid-air. “We are in a Siren bubble.”

Alex looked at Old Tom, suddenly realizing what was happening. “Someone does not want us to find the boy,” Old Tom said, looking at the shocked healer. “As you said, there is a boy here, and also a Siren is involved,” he stammered. He looked concerned now. “Something bad is happening, isn’t it?” Alex shuddered. “Sirens don’t travel so far to the South,” Old Tom sat down. “Something sinister has awakened. Come, we have no time left.”

Alex and Old Tom left the house and felt relieved to be out of the Siren’s bubble.

They reached the Chamber of Trade and noticed that the meeting was already well underway. “The dragons are almost gone,” said an old ruddy man at the back. “When have you become sympathetic to those infernal beasts?” said a man with white robes, which indicated he belonged to the Trade ministry. “They don’t cause us any trouble now. They stay in the mountains, and they are content with mountain goats… it has been over a century since even a dragon was seen flying in these parts,” said the ruddy man whom Old Tom knew as Punk Jack Slayer. “Are you all in favor of not killing those beasts?” asked Bobbin, the Trade minister.

Old Tom had had enough. He stood up and said, “Pardon my intrusion, but this is important. As you are debating on killing or not killing, the enemy has made its way through the mountains. The dragons are no longer a threat; they have dwindled, and now more dangerous creatures will prowl the lands.”

Everyone looked at him silently like he had uttered something in the black tongue. The minister regained his composure and asked him, “What kind of creatures?” “This little boy here,” Old Tom pointed at Alex, “saw a Siren yesterday.”

Everyone was shocked. “That is impossible…” “Even I thought that until I went to see the boy he had rescued yesterday and left with a healer. We were in a Siren bubble.”

The minister’s face reddened. “This is all a fable,” shouted the minister. “You are trying to cause panic among the people.”

Another voice echoed from the back. It was the guard who had helped Alex rescue the boy. “It is true. I helped him. The boy was left with a healer. Even I couldn’t see the ship he saw, but the boy, the healer said, had a dragon tooth and a finger missing.”

People started to stand up. Waves of panic spread around the hall, and to add to the chaos, a guard ran hysterically towards the minister and shouted, “The king wants an immediate meeting, my Lord. There was a messenger from Oyto, and something terrible has happened.”

People began to shout now. “Quiet! We have seen worse things,” the minister shouted. “You both come with me,” he pointed at Alex and Old Tom and left the Chamber.

Accompanying the minister, Alex and Old Tom reached the palace banquet hall. They had never been inside the palace. It was absolutely beautiful with chandeliers and food that could feed the whole town. “Are they eating all this?” asked Alex to Old Tom. “Rich and their spoils,” he sneered. The minister stared but did not comment.

The meeting started immediately.

The King stood up and said, “Greetings, my fellow ministers. It is a grave time, and to discuss matters of national interest, we have gathered here.” He sighed. “I do not want this to be politicized.”

Everyone looked at each other, disturbed. “I received a messenger from two Western provinces, and they bring dire news,” he waited. “The firstborns are dying mysteriously. And this plague is spreading.”

The ministers started to become agitated. “Is this true?” shouted a short man. “Yes, it is,” came forward the King’s seer. He was the most influential man in the Kingdom. Alex had heard stories about him. “Can he really see the future?” asked Alex to Tom.

The seer continued. “The old shadows are moving again.” “Yes, it is because of you,” Old Tom shouted.

Alex was stunned. “What?” The seer said sternly.

Old Tom went forward bravely. “You killed the dragons, you fished away all the sea monsters. Now you have slaughtered the young trees.” “What has that to do with this?” The other ministers stood up. “Everything.”

The minister of trade stood up. “He is speaking the truth. This boy and that old man have visited a Siren Bubble right here in our town.”

Everyone’s eyes widened. “That is impossible,” said the king.

Old Tom continued, “It is true, my Lord. The dragons kept these shadows at bay, the sea monsters protected us from invading Sirens, and the dark forests kept the shadows…” “The balance must be restored,” the King whispered.

The seer immediately suggested, “My Lord, I think we have to consult…” he hesitated. “Gabriel Gibbon Gautav.”

The giant, Gabriel Gibbon Gautav, liked his privacy. He had retired to the Cave of Whispers with his books. He was the guardian of the wisdom pool inside the cave. But in dire situations, he would send warning letters about the future.

Then for another half an hour, everyone debated about the person to send on this mission.

Alex and Old Tom slipped into the banquet and ate all the sumptuous food while they debated.

Suddenly, the Minister of Trade let that young man Alex, along with some guards, go. Alex’s mouth dropped, and the apple pie stuffed in his mouth was visible to everyone. “If you can accomplish this mission, then you can work for the Palace Trade team,” the King suggested.

Without even asking for his reply, all the ministers decided on the fact and left for the banquet. “We are going to die, and these people are interested in food,” asked Alex to Old Tom.

In the gray light of dawn, Alex slipped from his tent, a stale loaf tucked under his arm. Four guards accompanied him. They seemed to be fresh recruits. “Did you really go to Defense Damage Control Academy?” he asked them, looking at their clumsiness.

They made their way to the small woods on the outskirts of the town. “You know why many don’t want to go meet the giant?” said one guard, hoping to break the silence. “Why?” Alex said, bored. “Gabriel Gibbon once successfully predicted a siege, and in return, he asked for the hand of the princess,” he panted, climbing over a fallen tree. “Yes, I heard. He was so heartbroken that he got drunk and ransacked a town, and wrote poetry on the walls of the houses,” broke in another guard.

Alex smiled. He remembered the time he sang a song for the Bella of Darwin and got locked up in jail. “Then what happened?” Alex quipped. “He got embarrassed and never left the place.” “This is going to be a hard task,” said a guard.

Alex knew this was going to be a hard task, but he didn’t want to admit it. He knew the morale would be shattered if he thought it was an impossible task. The Cave of Whispers was at the mountain foot. “Glad the cave was not in the middle of the mountain,” a guard said.

The interesting part of the cave was the sound. The closer they got, the more quietly they spoke, the louder it became. The louder they spoke, the quieter it was heard. They shifted to sign language after yelling with less effect. The cave converged, and there was a humongous door in the middle.

“This should be Gabriel Gibbon’s home,” said Alex. “Who wants to knock on it?”

The guards recoiled as if they were asked to do something terrible.

“I don’t know if we’re going to make it out,” Alex said nervously as he knocked on the door.

The door opened abruptly. There was only nothingness. After some deliberation, they peered inside, and it was dark. They entered. It seemed like there was no one inside.

“He is not here,” a voice whispered silently, yet it was so loud the cave shook.

“He is not here… he is not here… he is not here…”

“You idiot,” shouted Alex, but it was heard as a whisper.

In the middle of the empty room was an old wooden desk. On it lay a note:

“I am on vacation”

“We came all this way for this…” said one guard, his face sulking.

Alex didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He rummaged through the desk and found copious notes on dragons, the dark forest, and also the oceans. “I’m starting to doubt if he has really gone on vacation.”

Alex noticed something odd. “Has anyone seen this Gabriel Gibbon?”

“Yes, I have,” said one of the guards. “I was a small kid when he came to rampage our town.”

“How tall was he?” asked Alex.

“He was humongous,” the guard stated. “He was twice as tall as I was; he was so large that he was larger than my barn door.”

Then Alex understood. “He couldn’t actually be in this room, right?”

“Definitely not,” all the guards’ eyes brightened.

“This is a siren bubble,” said Alex. “Something happened here.”

As he was saying the words, he noticed the table had been levitating. The guards looked at each other in shock as the realization sank in. “We need to find out what’s causing this,” said Alex, determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious occurrence. The guards gasped in horror as a gigantic toe materialized before their eyes. It was clear that whatever was causing the strange events in the siren bubble was powerful and unpredictable. Alex knew they had to act fast before something even more dangerous emerged.

“I think the bubble is going to burst; we have to get out of here,” Alex said. The guards quickly exited the room. As they ran down the corridor, Alex could hear the sound of cracking glass behind them. It was a race against time to escape the siren bubble before it collapsed completely. They barely jumped out of the cave entrance, and the place completely changed. It was not a small cave but a hidden wildlife sanctuary. A table stretched across a kilometer, and there were racks and racks of scrolls and books. Alex looked on in shock, but others were not interested in the books and other animals. Instead, they stared at the giant lying on the ground, tied down by enormous rods of iron.

Whoever had done this must be really powerful, Alex concluded. He looked about and noticed piles of maps and notes on the floor. Someone had rummaged through them, looking for something important.

“Look how big he is!” A guard gaped at the unconscious giant.

Others joined in agreement. Alex went over the fallen books, maps, and scrolls to find if there was some clue. The head librarian might have loved this place greatly, he thought as he glanced at the maps. There were copious notes made by the giant man, but how could such a giant man be able to write on such small scrolls and parchment, he wondered.

The maps showed the entire Zelandian landscape from the mountains, the seas, and the forests. But from the north, there was a dark marking coming towards the capital of Zelandia.

“He knew something…” the guards peered behind him. “That’s why they did this to him, didn’t they?”

“He must have had some idea about their movement,” Alex said. “There’s only one way to know about it; we have to wake him up.”

Gabriel Gibbon was not easy to wake up. They threw books at him, kicked him, and even used a gigantic pen nib to poke him. But nothing worked.

“He must be under a sleeping spell,” said a guard.

“What spells? You know very well spells don’t work, right?” Alex stared at the guard.

“Oh yes, but even Sirens were a legend until yesterday,” he smirked back.

Alex knew that everything was possible now. He wanted answers; something big was occurring, and only the giant could help them. Alex, without wasting time, went through the medicinal remedies section, hoping to find something useful. He came across a scroll with the title, “Are you stunned? Literally stunned? Read on.” It was written by Monks of the Nomadic, Nude wilderness clan.

“This is simply a joke,” he asked the guards. The guards laughed at the title. “This Gibbon has some real humor, all right.”

“Whatever stunning, freezing spell used by wanderers in the desert can be remedied by a Dragon tooth. That’s all you need. And good luck finding one, though. We lost two nude monks to that terrible beast.”

“Dragon tooth,” said Alex, stroking his chin as he usually does. “Oh, Pirates! I have it in my pocket.”

He took out the tooth and pressed it on the side of Giant Gibbon. Nothing happened at first, then something stirred. It was like a mountain stirring. Gibbon woke up and sat still. He looked at the guards around him and sighed.

“What are you all doing in my cave?” He sighed again. “This is private property.”

“The king wants your help. There’s news from other villages that their firstborns are dying.”

The giant’s face turned pink. “That is an old curse,” he tried to stand up. But as he stood up, his proportion decreased, and he was exactly as tall as Alex. “But this is nothing compared to the things that are about to happen.”

Alex looked stunned to see him face to face. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Werewolves don’t stay werewolves all the time, do they?” Gibbon replied calmly.

“But what happened here? The books were fallen down… who put a spell on you?” The guards started to question him.

“It was the Siren with her wretched boy,” he sat down by a pile of books.

“So you met them,” Alex asked, perturbed.

“I didn’t seek them; they sought me,” he opened a book. “To build this,” he pointed at a tower-like structure.

“What is this?” Alex asked.

“That is a voice echoer built in the ancient world to control people,” Gibbon pushed a chair nearby to Alex. “Have a seat.”

Alex sat hesitantly. “The siren, the boy, and the old plague… are they all connected?”

“Yes, of course,” suddenly Gibbon seemed to remember something. “Dear Merlin, I know what’s up,” he stood up. “Quick, we need to get going. Otherwise, many will die.”

Alex and the guards didn’t wait for an explanation. They followed him. “I hope it’s not too late…” he said, following a familiar narrow mountain trail. The wind was blowing hard; the sun was about to set. Ravens gathered around them. “Why are the ravens gathering?” The guards pantingly asked as they climbed higher.

“They’re waiting for us to be dead,” Gibbon said.

“What?”

“Don’t you know who they serve is gaining strength again?”

As they approached the top, they could see green sparks like lightning go across the sky. “She’s starting; we should not let her do it.”

“What?” Alex was exhausted. He didn’t know why they were following him. “What if it’s a trap?”

They stopped in front of a thicket that hid them from the Siren. She was waving her hands in deep concentration. “She’s creating the biggest Siren bubble that would cover the entire town.”

“Why would she do it?” A guard whispered.

“Her master will send the Harvesters to bring the old plague,” he stood up.

“Is this how they killed in the other places?” A guard asked.

“Yes, we need to stop her,” Gibbon started to grow. He became a huge giant, and he charged as the sparks flew. Gibbon punched the little bowl of green light. It threw the Siren to the ground. She screamed. She stood up and charged towards the giant. Just then, Alex felt someone stand beside him. It was the boy, and he kept glaring at them.

“Hey, where did you come from?” Alex asked. “Are you okay?” The boy’s eyes rolled, and he ran to attack the giant. The boy went and punched his leg, and Alex and the guards let out a gasp. The foot cracked, and the giant was on his knees.

The boy walked towards the Siren and stood beside her, looking at the ground. She patted his head, and Alex wanted to help Gibbon, but the giant did not wait. He ran with extreme force towards the kid and punched him. The boy did not even flinch.

Alex and the guards could not believe what they had seen. The Siren, for the first time, spoke, her voice carrying a mesmerizing undertone. “The boy is not a boy.”

“What is this dark magic?” Gibbon asked.

“Do you want to see his real form?” The Siren teased.

Gibbon stood up swiftly as the boy slowly expanded and transformed into a redneck Dragon. The guards shrieked. No one had seen a real dragon for a long time. But here it was, standing right in front of them. The nostrils breathing fire.

“Behold my Lord’s power,” she sneered. “He is going to create an army of these.”

Alex knew this was a lost battle. Gibbon looked puny compared to the towering dragon. “Tonight we bring the plague; all firstborns will be lost.”

The siren commanded the dragon to take care of them. And she started to perform her Siren Bubble conjuration. As the dragon raised its wings to take flight, Gibbon started to decrease in size, and when he came to a normal human height, he ran to Alex.

“What do we do now?”

“There is nothing we can do… we must take this news to the King,” said Alex.

The guards were already running down the hill. The dragon had risen above the ground and rapidly shot into the sky. Then it started to descend, locking its sight on the fleeing crew. The dragon flew down, opening its gigantic mouth, sucking in the air, making a bundle of fire to spray at them.

Just then, Old Tom, along with other dragon hunters, came. Alex’s face lit up seeing them. A conjurer came forward and wove a green protective layer. The flame was thwarted back, but the conjurer turned around and said, “There is something wrong,” he shouted. “These are not real flames.”

Old Tom stepped forward. “I don’t think that is a real dragon.” The green magical layers disappeared. The dragon hunters aimed their enchanted arrows and pierced the dragon. But nothing happened. Old Tom looked at Alex for a second and asked, “Do you have the dragon tooth?”

“Yes,” Alex handed it to him, watching the dragon once again charging at them.

Tom threw it to a dragon hunter, who chucked it onto the tip of the arrow and sent the arrow flying into the dragon’s heart. For a second, everything paused. The dragon disappeared, and the boy came hurtling to the ground. But where he fell, a big crater had formed. The impact was so powerful that the siren fell down, and the green and red waves conjured disappeared, breaking the Siren bubble.

“No,” she screamed.

The boy stood up angrily.

“He will come…” he said and disappeared. The Siren opened her mouth, and everyone closed their ears. The enchanting voice echoed when a portal opened, and she was sucked in.

The guards and the hunters recovered.

“They will come back,” said Old Tom.

“But at least we saved the day,” the dragon hunters stood up.

Alex was patted by all the guards. “At least we can be ready for future attacks,” Alex said, looking at Old Tom.

The dragon hunters hit each other. “We have fought valiantly, my brothers!” said one of the hunters.

“Hang on,” said one of the guards. “I have seen you somewhere.”

“Oh, I am well known,” blushed the hunter.

The guards all seemed to recognize him suddenly. “Hey, you were on the most wanted list for scamming people with fake dragon stuff.”

The hunters, though they had valiantly fought the dragon, did not like to be confined to the kingdom prison. So they raced down the hill, followed by the King’s guards.

“Well, you did well, mate,” Old Tom hit Alex.

They walked down the hill to get Alex a job in the palace before the enemies destroyed it all.
© Ronald Hadrian 2024