“And what can you see aside from a massacre?” Thomas spat. I ignored his tone, knowing that he was in distress at the moment. I pressed my lips together and composed myself before I spoke.
“When we landed, I noticed that there were claw marks and gashes on the walls, and the presence of rubble on the floor. It’s clear that there was some kind of conflict, which suggests that there was more than one faction of dragon here. Now, if our assumptions are correct and there was a small community it means that likely it was one side versus another. We’ve seen that the dragons were used to shifting into human form because they went to the trouble of creating the slopes around the mountain, but I would say that they spent most of their time in dragon form. I also think it’s pretty clear that something has been taken from this place, because I don’t see any reason for these empty chambers, unless there were way more dragons than we believe. The fact that so many of the dragons were in that chamber tells me that whoever killed them did it why they were sleeping, and to kill that many dragons it must have been more than one.” I closed my eyes and tried to visualize the scene that must have happened. It made me uneasy to think of such vicious destruction, but it was my duty as an archaeologist to put the pieces of the past back together.
“I can imagine this secret faction coming in the dead of night to stand at the entrance of the chamber while the others slept. They must not have suspected a thing, which means the conflict in the main chamber happened after the massacre. There may have been a conspiracy, and the killers struck out in surprise, taking out the majority of their enemy before they could strike back. They stood there and watched the helpless dragons sleeping, and then bathed them in fire, burning them to death without mercy. But the dragons wouldn’t have died silently. The heat would have woken them up and startled them. They’d have thrashed about in panic, unable to comprehend what was happening. How would they have been able to assume that such a horrific crime would have taken place? This accounts for the broken bones, sadly they probably wounded each other in their panic. None of them would have shifted back into human form because they knew they were stronger in battle as dragons, and they hoped to endure the flames and push back to fight the enemy, but of course the flames were relentless and poured in, charring the stone above.
However, such an act couldn’t have been kept secret for long. The sounds of the dragons dying would have caused a great deal of commotion, which is when I think the battle in the chamber happened. The dragons must have fought for their lives, and perhaps some of them managed to escape and flee to the air, only to die outside, or their bones were flung into the chamber with the others, or something else happened to their bodies. And then, the victors left.
Putting all that together, I’d conclude that the conflict was about whether to leave the island or not. Whenever there’s a chance in the status quo its usually led by a minority who are passionate, and I could imagine there would be some dragons who wanted to leave the world and explore, but most dragons would have been happy here, surely? After all they have a safe place where they can keep their secret, they have enough room to fly, and the jungle itself is practically a paradise. But perhaps some of the dragons were beginning to enjoy their time as humans and wanted to explore the rest of the world, maybe they were pushing to leave their home and expand into human civilization, but most dragons wanted to remain.” I spoke quickly and passionately, remembering why I had become an archaeologist in the first place. I loved the feeling of putting together a story about a lost civilization; bringing all the facts and observations we had into a narrative.
“But why couldn’t they have just left? Why did they have to kill everyone?” William asked.
“Because of the treasure,” Thomas said after a couple of beats. He turned to the two of us with a revelation in his eyes. “Don’t you see? We’ve always been told that our ancestors became powerful members of industry and that wealth has been passed down from generation to generation, increasing in value, but if you think about what would have happened back then that can’t have been right. If the people wanted to leave they must have known what they were leaving for, so they knew how the world worked. They would have known that they needed wealth to be a in good position and not live like peasants, so they would have needed this hoard, and of course the others weren’t going to give it to them. They probably thought that as long as they kept it safe nobody would even think of leaving, because why would anyone want to leave this place and live like a commoner? But they did it, they stole the treasure and killed the rest of the dragons in the process. Those are our ancestors Will, we’re not descended from a noble breed of dragons after all, we’re just as bad as regular humans.”
I tried not to take offence at his words. The two brothers looked morose and I tried to imagine how they would feel after learning that everything they had been told all their life was a lie.
“Father must have found out something about this and wanted to know for sure. That’s why he was so concerned with finding out the truth, because he wanted to know for himself,” Thomas added.
“And it explains why Uncle was so determined to stop him, because if this secret got out it would change our entire way of thinking. We’ve always thought of ourselves as so good, so noble, but really we killed the good dragons,” William said bitterly.
“Not you,” I said, wanting to prevent them from falling into melancholy. I took their hands and brought them together, moving close to them so that I could look both of them in the eyes.
“This wasn’t your fault. Your ancestors may have done this crime, but you don’t have to be defined by them. You’re here because you and your father believed in something good, believed in the truth, and that’s what’s important. The only thing that matters in this life is what you do with it, and now you have a chance to go back to your people and tell them the truth,” I said passionately. Thomas and Will looked at each other and nodded. They were still tense, but they seemed a little less ready to attack each other.
To confirm our theory, we went to the final chamber to see what it offered and it did indeed seem to be the place where treasure was stored. We found a single gold coin as evidence, a piece of old currency that dated hundreds of years ago. The story we had written wasn’t concrete evidence, but it fit with all the theories available. We trudged back to the main chamber and I tried to think of what I could do to make them feel better. I don’t think any of us wanted to stay there any longer, for the place was filled with death but as we prepared to leave, Thomas and William tilted their heads. They looked up, and I followed their gaze. I looked towards the pinprick of light at the top of the mountain. At first, I couldn’t see anything but then it came into view. It was another dragon, and it was heading straight for us.
17
Thomas and William tensed and stood in front of me, guarding me from the red dragon that hurtled down through the mountain. My throat ran dry and I thought back to the bodies in the chamber and wondered if this dragon had been the one responsible for so much brutality. The dragon landed before us, its scales were blood red and its eyes were as dark as death. It snarled and wisps of smoke wafted through the air out of its nostrils, and I thought it was going to breath fire and burn us immediately, but its body twisted and transformed, and turned into a man who was a couple of decades older than Thomas and William, but who bore a striking resemblance.
“Hello Uncle,” Thomas said, clenching his fists. Their uncle smirked and clasped his hands in front of his body, looking at the three of us with much curiosity.
“It seems you found this place after all. I didn’t think you had it in you,” their uncle said.
“More like you were trying to sabotage us at every turn. But we found out what happened Uncle, we know the truth,” Thomas said.
“Truth?” he barked a laugh. “You two are just as foolish as your father.”
“Don’t speak about him like that. We’re going to go back to the world and tell everyone what happened here, tell everyone about the crime our ancestors committed,” William said.
“Even if you could escape from here with your lives, are you really so naïve that people would believe you? That’s the problem with you and your father, you all thought that you could just come here and then change the course of our lives. But we have worked too hard for all of it to be ruined by people who don’t understand what really happened.”
“And what do you understand? Were you here?” I asked, wanting to show my solidarity with Thomas and William. Their Uncle looked at me as though he had only just noticed I was present, as though I didn’t really matter.
“No, I wasn’t as a matter of fact, but there have been certain truths passed down to people who have been worthy of knowing the truth. You see, some people have poor intentions and wouldn’t know what to do with this information. My brother was one of them, and sadly he had to get your parents involved my dear.” I bristled when he mentioned my parents, but Thomas and William held me back. This seemed to amuse him. “I see you have the spirit of a dragon, very impressive.” His words were laced with derision and I didn’t believe a word of what he was saying.
“And what is this truth you speak of Uncle? How can you possibly justify what happened
here?” Thomas asked.
“The ancient dragons were old and unambitious. They only wanted to stay on this island and hoard their treasure. They wanted to keep their power hidden from the world when they could have been so much more. Look at all we have accomplished in their stead, how much power and influence we’ve accumulated over the years.”
“Like murder? Robbery? You betrayed your own people. You betrayed our birthright! This place was sacred, our home!” Thomas yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.
“This place was a dead end. It offered us nothing but stagnation! There were only a few who wanted to actually move our race forward and they took action when they needed to. They culled the herd and made dragons mighty again!”
“At what cost?” William said. This time I kept quiet, not wanting to interfere in the family argument, although it seemed deeper than a mere family dispute. This was an ancient conflict, one that had its roots in the very first dragons, and I wondered if history would repeat itself, albeit on a smaller scale. “You’ve achieved a lot, but all as humans. You’ve sacrificed the very nature of dragons to force us to live a life of isolation and secrecy. Look at all you’ve given up. This place, they lived as dragons…they soared through the sky and spread their wings whenever they wanted. They were free to be themselves, but you clipped their wings.”
“All for the greater good,” their Uncle growled. “It’s just a shame that you discovered this place. I was hoping the barrier would stay strong. It certainly did your job and kept your parents out,” he looked at me when he said this. “I had to come and ensure that you never made it off this island alive.”