In a frenzy, every hunter in that tent, including Raul, Falder and Edge, ran out of it. Edge stayed at the back of the pack because he had no idea about where the Coolia were, so there was no point in running ahead.

When the hunters reached the Coolia, it was making some rather strange noises. Edge had to cover his ears, as the monsters he had met hadn’t made that kind of noise, never mind a Coolia. Eri had gotten to the Coolia first, and was trying to deliver the pup. She was not having any success, however. The pup seemed stuck.

“Raul! Falder! Do something! This pup isn’t coming out, and if it doesn’t hurry up then the mother is going to die!”

“I’d like to help Eri, but last I checked, I don’t have any experience with animals.” Raul pointed out, “You’re on your own. Unless you know something, Falder?”

“No. My speciality is shooting creatures, not giving birth to them. Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Do we have any anaesthetic that we can give the Coolia, Eri?”

“Not a bit. That bastard Tyrune took it all… Sorry. I don’t normally swear like that.” Edge held back a laugh. Stress could do that to a person, he knew that well enough. What he was worried about was this pup. He seemed to remember something about his dragon that he had read somewhere. Was it in that old diary that the Seeker Compiler gave him? Did he still have it? He rummaged about in his pockets, looking for it.

The Coolia gave another roar.

“ERI! Can’t you do ANYTHING!?”

“Nothing, Raul. Nothing at all. I don’t have any medicine, any anaesthetic. All I can do is wait and see if the Coolia can do it itself. But it doesn’t look good.”

Edge rummaged through all the books he had: his rulebook from the Empire, the letter Craymen had sent him, the map showing the location of the Seeker’s Stronghold… found it. The diary of Skiad-Ops-Endow, the previous dragon rider. He opened it, and read.

“If you have received this, then the man I gave this diary to has recognised you as the true dragon rider…”

“Eri, this pup isn’t coming out!” Falder screeched at the top of his voice.

“I KNOW YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH! I KNOW! BUT I’M TRYING MY BEST!”

Edge closed the diary. He had read it at skimming speed, but he knew one thing he wanted to know. His dragon, the one that helped him through everything, was born a mutant Coolia. This pup hadn’t been known before. The circumstances were unusual enough… Could it be?

Edge ran over to the Coolia.

“Hey” panted Eri, “what are you doing?”

“I’m going to deliver this pup. I don’t care how messy it… what?”

As soon as Edge looked anything like he was going to deliver the pup, the Coolia gave a satisfied groan and the pup slid out onto the ground. It was green, which was normal for a pup, but Edge immediately noticed one thing: it had wings. Was his guess right? Was this… his dragon?

So engrossed in the wings was he that he had not heard the screams of the other hunters. Everyone was pointing at the pup, and Edge thought it was the wings they were pointing at. But it was not.

It was the glow in the pup’s throat. The “shining light” that was enough to change a Coolia’s status from normal to… mutant. Edge froze. He had heard how people treated mutant Coolias. He had seen how people had treated them, in those visions he had when he fought Sestren.

“The pup is a mutant.”

“The legends…”

“If we don’t kill it now, bad luck will befall us all.”

“Get a weapon. Somebody, get a weapon.”

Edge was amazed at the tones of their voices. They were perfectly calm. They were talking about a Coolia pup, that only seconds ago was the point of everyone’s attention, and they now wanted to kill it. Edge looked at the pup’s wings, and at the light in it’s throat. Surely he couldn’t be wrong? This WAS his dragon.

“Here, Falder. A crossbow. Kill it.” That was Eri’s voice. She was completely stressed out earlier, screaming that she wanted to save the Coolia, and now she is actually giving one of the hunters the weapon they need to kill it. Well, they aren’t going to get him. Not unless they go through me.

“Edge, put the Coolia down.”

“No, Falder. I won’t.”

“Edge. I’ll say it again. Put the Coolia down. Mutant Coolia are bad luck to everyone around them. Unless we kill it now, we will be plagued by bad luck, and Tyrune will be right. The only reason we will still be alive is for the monster’s amusement.”

“I don’t care about Tyrune. I don’t care about the monsters. I don’t want this Coolia dead. Falder, it isn’t going to die unless I go with it.”

“You call yourself a hunter, Edge, yet you cannot, will not, kill that which brings you harm!? You are no hunter. You are a coward!”

“If I am the coward, Falder, then explain to me why you are prepared to kill a creature so young. Explain to me why you are afraid of something so small. Explain to me why you are so scared!”

“That’s enough out of you! The pup dies NOW!”

Raul stepped in front of Edge.

“Raul, I don’t know what you are playing at but I am going to kill that pup. Whether I use this crossbow, whether I break its neck, whether I use an axe, I WILL save us from bad luck!”

“Can’t you see what you are doing, Falder?” Raul asked, “You are showing that you are as superstitious as the hunters of old. The mutant Coolia are harmless.”

“It is not just Falder.” Eri said, stepping up to Raul. “It is almost all of us. You and the ‘hunter’ are the only ones against killing it. Raul, if you don’t let us kill it, then we leave you here, next we travel. Don’t forget, you are our guest, not our leader.”

“Maybe that is why I am the only one who is sane!”

“GET OUT OF MY WAY RAUL!”

“NO!”

“THEN DIE!!!!”

“Falder, no!”

But it was too late, Falder had pulled the trigger. Luckily, he wasn’t as composed as he had thought, and his arm was shaking. Shaking so much that the arrow missed Raul’s heart, which was where Falder was aiming, but had hit Raul’s left shoulder. He wasn’t dead, but it hurt like hell. Raul hid his pain like a true hunter.

“That was a warning shot,” Falder lied, “The next one will hit it’s target. Give… me… the… pup.”

“Stop it, both of you!” Edge said, finally regaining control of his vocal chords.” Tell me of this superstition. What is this about bad luck?”

Falder relaxed. He lowered his crossbow to the ground, and looked at the other hunters. They nodded. He looked at Raul who, with great pain etched on his face, nodded as well.

“The mutant Coolia have often been surrounded in mystery. No one knows how they got their glow, or why. What we do know is that mutants have always been killed at birth. Once, one was given a stay of execution. That was at Elpis village, the town destroyed by the flying tower, 40 years ago. Since then, mutant Coolia have never again been given a chance to live. It is said that its owner will lose everything, should it keep the Coolia. As we are all owners of this creature, the bad luck will befall us all! Why would you want to keep it alive?”

Edge sighed. “If you had bothered to use your eyes, you would have noticed that this pup has wings.” Another sigh.” I am convinced that this pup is no mere Coolia, it is my dragon, the one that I have told you about.”

Now it was Falder’s turn to sigh. Raul followed suit, and Eri.

“I see. But I still believe in the tale. I am not happy about the mutant staying here.”

“Then I will not leave it here!” said Edge with flourish, “I will take it with me, and together we will take down this Tyrune who plagues us all!”

“Tyrune isn’t your biggest problem. He is but one of the problems we face just now. There are other dragons, and the monsters are still as bad as they always were. Edge, you would just be taking care of part of the problem.”

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step, Falder,” said Raul, grimacing as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. “Edge, take the pup. I don’t believe it brings bad luck, but these people do. You want the pup, they want rid of the pup. It’s all good. Take the pup, and go.”

“Thank you, Raul. But go where?”

“I only know one other person you do other than An’jou. Gash. You’ll find him at the village of Zoah, to the east. Don’t say it. It was destroyed. I know. But they rebuilt. It’s a long way, but you can stop at the village on the way, what’s it called? Never mind. Just head towards the rising sun, Edge, and you’ll find your way.”

“Thank you. I’ll leave now.”

Edge started to walk out of camp, the pup in his arms.

“Edge!”

He turned round. Falder was shouting at him.

“You forgot this!”

Falder threw Edge’s gun towards him. Edge watched it land, and then picked it up. He waved goodbye to the caravan, and continued walking.

“Raul, why did you send him to Zoah? There are places closer. It would be easier on the boy.”

“Edge is a tough nut, Falder. He’s travelled a lot, even out of this dimension. For him, the walk to Zoah will be no problem. It’s what comes next, after that, that will give Edge a challenge.”