The Ddraig-Cyfrinachau - 12. Chapter 12

The next morning Alex woke up and went downstairs to the kitchen. Thomas was already up; in fact, he had been up for over an hour trying to work out how to tell Alex about him and his family.

“Good morning Alex.”

“It’s a very good morning. So you gonna spill or what?”

“Let’s wait until Joanne gets up first. I’d rather just do this the once.”

Five minutes later Alex’s mum walked into the kitchen. ‘Here goes nothing’ Thomas thought to himself.

“As you know, there is something I have been keeping secret. There is so much to tell you but it all basically boils down to one thing.”

“Thomas, what is it?” Alex asked.

“Dragons are real.”

“What?” Alex let out a half laugh.

“Alex, I’m being serious.”

“Well of course dragons are real. There are komodo dragons and bearded dragons; it’s not such a big secret.”

“Not those kind of dragons. I mean like St George and the Dragon; I mean flying fire-breathing magical dragons.”

“You are joking?”

“Nope Alex, I’m not.”

Thomas proceeded to tell Alex and Joanne the story of the coming of Yddraigfawr.

“So nobody knows where this dragon appeared?”

“No, the sacred text doesn’t give a specific location. Those in the –”

“There’s a sacred text!”

“Yes, Alex. You have to remember when she first appeared the old gods were still being worshipped, and the only way to explain who and what she was, was by building up this theology around her.” Thomas then pulled out his own copy of the Ddraig Llyfr.

“What’s that Thomas?” asked Alex.

“That is our sacred text. It’s my copy of it, here have a look.” Thomas handed it to Alex, who then passed it to his mum. “This is the English language translation.”

“How many languages is it translated in?”

“It was only among the Celtic nations that Yddraigfawr, and her later theology, flourished. An English language translation only became necessary after the decline in the number of native speakers. There is the original which is written in Proto-Indo-European, there is a translation in each of the modern day Celtic languages, and then there are surviving copies in old language forms and extinct Celtic languages; so I guess that it is probably in about seventy different language forms.”

“I’ve heard of Proto-Indo-European. I was watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel about it. Supposedly it was some kind of single language spoken across Europe and Asia, but they said that it was a spoken language, that it was never written.”

“That’s exactly right Alex, though it did exist as a written language; it’s just that none of the writings survive in the public domain. We have about five thousand texts written in that language in our archives. We’ll get a chance to see the archives in a couple of days, but there are a few stops we need to make first.” Thomas decided not to mention the Council’s ongoing sabotage of academic works on the reconstruction of this language; he didn’t want to start in with the negatives just yet, there would be plenty of time for that later.

Joanne had finished leafing through the Ddraig Llyfr and asked, “So you’re saying she’s some kind of god?”

“In the beginning she was Joanne, but over time the way she is viewed has changed dramatically. Her status as any kind of god pretty much disappeared after 1642.”

“What happened in 1642?”

Thomas was looking very carefully at both Alex and Joanne, wanting to gauge their reaction. “Her skeletal remains were found.”

“Wow! They actually found a dragon skeleton. How the hell has this been kept quiet?” Alex asked

“Her remains were found by members of the order, not by scientists or academics; and you have to remember this was just prior to the outbreak of the Great Plague. The sanctuary where her remains are is kept under very close guard and is protected twenty four hours a day.”

“Wait a minute. Are you telling me that her remains are on display? In some kind of museum? Can we go see?”

“It is not a museum. It is one of our most sacred places. A part of my father rests there now.”

“Thomas, I didn’t mean to insult you or upset you. This is just a lot to take in.”

“I know Alex. There is just so much I have to show you and tell you about. I won’t lie to you guys; there is some very dark stuff in our past. We have done things over the centuries to keep the dragons protected that many, including myself and my dad, would call, and have called, unforgivable. Let me show you this before I continue.” Thomas placed the box on the table and opened it.

“What is it?” Joanne asked.

“What you are looking at, is the last remnant of a great species. This is the last dragon egg in existence, and the dragon inside is the last of its kind.”

“It’s beautiful, Thomas. What will you do when it hatches? I mean I think having a dragon in the middle of London would be a little hard to keep hidden.”

“The egg will not hatch during my lifetime Joanne. It will probably hatch in about a hundred and twenty years time.”

“Wait a minute Thomas; I’ve seen this box before.”

“You have Alex. It used to sit on the shelf above the fireplace at my old house. You see my dad was the keeper before me. For generations my family has been the keeper of the eggs.”

“But if this is the last egg, and the dragon inside is the last dragon, then that means . . . .”

“Yes Alex. It means that we are looking the extinction of a species and an end of the line for the Ceidwadwy.” Thomas went on to explain about the Ceidwadwy and their role; but he omitted the militaristic stories and the conflicts they fought in.

“I can take you to see the skeleton of Yddraigfawr this afternoon. There are certain protocols which must be followed, but I’ll advise you of them on the way.”

“So where is this sanctuary Thomas?”

“Believe it or not Joanne, it’s in the Chilterns.”

“You’re joking? Those hills are crawling with walkers, campers, tourists and a thousand other people. How do you keep the sanctuary hidden?”

“Joanne, it’s not as though we’ve built some kind of huge cathedral or monument in the middle of the Chilterns. The sanctuary is carved into one of the caves, and we keep the entrance concealed. Before we enter the sanctuary there is a small shrine we will need to stop off at first. I told you there were dark things in our past and the shrine is the result of one of those things.” Thomas slowly told Joanne and Alex about Bryn Jones and the Chiltern Massacre. Once he finished he could tell they were shocked.

“Dear God!” said Joanne.

“That is just . . . I have no words, Thomas.”

“I can understand how you feel Alex. I was told last week and I’m still having problems coming to terms with it. Anyway, the shrine is a memorial to the expedition team who were killed. When a new Ceidwadwy is invested, he is supposed to make an offering at the shrine, as a way of asking forgiveness.”

They finished breakfast and got themselves ready to make the journey to Wendover.