The Forgotten 16: Revelations
#16 of The Forgotten
Lashane let herself rest while she could, despite the fact that her body was sore and aching from the pressure of the spreader keeping her open. The sound of voices was muffled on the other side of the door, but she knew what was happening there. She could hear the tone of her former master and even the deeper sounds of someone else. The chains bit into her hide until she felt as if each breath she managed to draw in drew the chains more tightly over her body. Her scales were tough, but not tough enough to prevent the bruising that was happening from the pressure. The chains alone would have been humiliating, it was the fact her vent was displayed and spread still that made her feel the true sting of shame. She wanted to bite through the metal and tear it away from her body, but all she could do was try to ignore what she could not change. What she couldn't ignore was the voice that tickled through her mind as an insidious voice.
:You could be free, child of storm and lightening.: He purred in her ear, :I will make you a deal for the keys to your freedom if you'd like.:
:What could you offer me?: She snarled back and rolled her eyes to search for whoever possessed the voice. She knew she would find no one, but still she looked.
:You think you have been turned into an animal.: She winced and rumbled. :You see yourself as a beast. Foolish child, you are no more an animal now then you were as a human. You were more of an animal then. You touched your magic, if you give me what I desire I will give you the keys to that power.:
:And what do you desire?: She sighed wearily, :I have nothing that you could use.:
:That is where you are wrong. All I desire from you is a single death.: The voice turned deep and soothing. :When the time comes you dispatch the person I choose and you will be free of our bargain.:
:Who do you want dead?: She twisted her head and scraped her cheek as she tried to turn it to one side.
:Someone you will not mind killing. Your sire gave me a life, I want a death from you.: She closed her eyes and heaved herself forward again though froze at mention of her 'sire'.
:And if I kill who you want, then you'll show me how to get free?: She hissed the words out in satisfaction.
:Yes, you will be able to free yourself and once again touch your magic. Do we have a deal, dragon?: She barely felt a sting at being called dragon, her attention was focused solely upon the words that she would have her freedom.
:You have a deal!: She made her promise recklessly. She didn't even know if the voice was real or not, but what she did know is that she felt the first stab of hope thrill through her.
Suddenly she felt something in her own mind breeching her walls. It was almost like with the Wyvern, only this time she didn't feel a tumbling of emotions. She only felt as if someone was guiding her through the paths of her own mind. Once she remembered how to work magic. Lashane had almost forgotten the sensation of wielding it and the knowledge she had gained to master it. The voice was all too eager to teach her again and guide her steps as she could half remember doing when she had been human. Instead of walking the paths of her own mind though he guided her out. He gripped her and pulled her into the earth itself! They went beyond the soil and stone, down deeper until she felt where great veins of molten rock flowed in all of its purity. The white heat blasted and lashed at her spirit until she pulled away from it only to feel the Voice gripping her harder.
:Coward! Shall you flee from this power!: Mental talons sank into her spirit and drug her forward until she tasted the rush of energy bubbling from the earth.
It stung and burned her. It made her feel dizzy and light headed as she tried to control it. Yet it rolled through her mind and the part of her that remembered handling such powers in the past found itself on firmer ground. She didn't require the weaving of a spell or tools, instead it was by her very desires that she was able to shape what she wanted. The earths lava had given her the key and she sent the heat to points on the chains until they started to glow cherry red and burn against her scales. The pain blistered the hide beneath, but she ignored the pain as she worked at melting the metal that held her body captive. Her chest tightened and her lips peeled back as she lunged up and tested her spell. The chains rattled and shook as she reared back and twisted her lips in fury. She ignored the pain of the spread digging into her aching walls, she ignored everything save the overriding desire to find herself free.
The dragoness nearly stumbled back as the chains that held her head in place snapped and she was able to rear it backwards and her lips curled back in a silent snarl. The rattling metal fell to the ground as she lost every hard one inch she had gained in remember she had been human and instead screeched out her triumph to the world in general. Her wings rose up while she twisted and bucked to shatter the chains that still twined on her body were broken and freed her. Her eyes flashed with murderous intent as the door in front of her open and the mages piled into a dead halt. She didn't see her fellow man, she didn't see people she had known or looked familiar, she saw only those that tormented her. Without thought, without a single regard for their lives she lunged forward and slammed one of the men who had violated her against the wall with a striking crack of her forepaw until he hit the wall with a sickening crack.
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Hylar stood within the cool confines of his palace while the sun glared down from overhead and illuminated the courtyard. It should have been a day of peace and tranquility, a time for his nobles to retire to the gardens and court young ladies. Instead it had been broken by strife and fear as looked over the young men that he had had his general's recruit. They were soft and fearful looking as the commander walked amongst them with his lips twisted in a disappointed snarl marring his normally handsome features. The Emperor didn't show his disappoint, despite the fact he felt it as keenly as his commander did. These men weren't soldiers, but they were high born and well educated in numbers, reading, and strategy even if they were as green as a colt just separated from his dam. He had gathered his nobles and told them sharply that he required men to lead and required each one to put forth themselves or a substitute to take their place. His hopes that they would shoulder the burden themselves had been dashed.
They had become fat and soft living in the Nyseen capitol, they had become careless with their ways and shunned what they had once learned of conquering others. He yearned for the men who had fought beside him and knew how to inspire as well as lead, but what he had was a pack of wet behind the ear puppies to place his hopes upon. They had no idea what they were doing in practice, what they did know they had used to perfect genteel hunting and what they knew of blades was fancy work that could be used to display rather than defend. Yet he had no others he could put his trust in. He would need to send his orders through letter and magic, he would need to have men capable of truly leading and his soldiers had been depleted of officers in the last ten years until they were scattered too far. He drew in a breath through his nose and sighed it out from between his lips. He could only hope that they would show a spark of leadership their fathers and mothers had shown so many years ago.
He turned his back on them and left his commander listing their probable ancestry from the lewd to the improbable. The man's disdain was called for. He knew that his hopes would prove fruitless for the most part. These children, and despite their age they were children in experience, had never known the terror of war or how to fight for a belief. They would fight as they had been told, but all too soon they would find out the real terror that the war would inspire in them and they would be stuck trying to save their own hide. Yet he would have his captains look in the ranks for likely men who could serve under the nobles' sons and help to keep them on the straight and true. It was all he could do as the Braans advanced towards the capitol. All his mages and his reports said they would be here within a hand span of days if he didn't halt the approach.
"Sire?" The voice was almost purring and he stopped to stare at Urso as he caught up to his emperor. The man's face was writhed in triumph as he bowed low. "I have excellent news for you, Majesty."
"What news is that?" He kept the weariness from his voice as the Mage rose up from his bow.
"I believe it is something you must see if you are to understand what we have." Urso barely kept the glee out of his voice.
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Lashane was fury and power. She was wind and lightening. It was she who made the thunder strike and the world quail at the sight of her. The mages ran and barred the door when she had allowed herself to grow distracted by trying to relieve herself of the spreader bar. She had to twist her head down and use her long tongue as it coiled and found the hard forged iron tool that kept her painfully open. It was only when she was able to cast it aside that she pulled her head back to consider the strange stall with her eyes swirling with carefully contained anger. With her focus still on the earth beneath her she carefully sent jabs of magical energy to probe against the shields that were held around this place. They weren't designed to withstand a magical attack trying to get out, they were crude things that were made to make sure that nothing could get in. She mantled her wings as she gaped her jaws and swelled her chest open.
The lightning that crackled from her jaws struck the door and scorched it, but the mage shield kept it from doing real damage. The next bolt she called forth was laden with the magic she filtered into small daggers so that when the strike hit the door it started to crack inwards. Her enraged eyes started to change and shift colors faster in her excitement as she sent bolt after bolt against the door. The air crackled with electricity and stank of ozone, but still she attacked the door with a single minded ferocity that allowed for no other concerns. The door started to crack inwards as she pushed her head in closer and she heard feet running and the screams on the other side. Let them scream! She would make them pay for what they had done to her! Her anger blinded her as if she were a beast in truth, until a voice boomed out like a splash of cold water.
"DRAGON!!" She froze and twisted her lips as she reared her head up . High above her in the windowed room she could see people watching. "DRAGON! Call off your attack!"
She bristled and turned her head back down towards the door as if prepare to launch a second attack when she felt a prickling of magic run over her. Her wings mantled and she drew up what energy she could while her head swung up to stare at the window high above her head. Her eyes were as keen as any bird of prey. She saw that Urso wasn't the only one there, she could see the intense and eager face of the Emperor himself as he peered down towards her. She reared back and bugled her challenge to them as her eyes started to flash in violent colors. How dare they try to stop her! How dare they attempt to harness her to their will by magic alone. She could find her way out of here, if only she could remember half of the spells she had learned as a human. Even now her mind was sluggish to draw up those distant memories. They seemed as if they had happened in a far off place, another life, another world.
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"She uses magic. She doesn't simply respond as an animal that has natural defenses, her magic has the flavor of almost a spell." Urso looked down at the violent beast that bugled up at them and Hylar raised his brows slightly.
"And this means what exactly?" The beast lowered her head and the entire building shook as she struck at the doors again. The scent of ozone flavored the air until he wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"It means she's not a dragon. If they Wyvern had this power it would have escaped long ago, we have reports that the beast on the Braan's side fights by just force. She melted the chains, she used magic to reinforce her own power, she tested the strength of the shield holding her." Urso rubbed his hands against each other in a show of excitement. "She's not a dragon. There are old spells that are forbidden to us that can allow one to slip their shape to another form."
"So that's a mage?" Another blow to the doors that made the building shake and Hylar frowned. "And why hasn't she identified herself? That thing is acting like a trapped animal!"
"It could be one that has been trapped too long and is even now unable to see past the limitations of the beast's body. " Urso licked his lips. "Imagine, my lord, a dragon under your control that could work magic. We only need to find what she desires and supply it. No matter how far gone she may be as an animal, there must be some human traits left over for her to work magic. It would be exceedingly simple to bargain for her cooperation even if she is mostly animal. She carries eggs inside of her. If she is more beast then human then we can...persuade her to give those up to us. Surely the lives of young dragons would force her to obey us and if not well...we would have winged warriors of our own in time."
"So you think you can reason with it? You think that it can be spoken of as more than just a beast?" Hylar watched the beast as she threw herself at the door, her lips twisted and curled up in her rage. "Prove it to me then, Urso. Beware if you are wrong and she must be killed to stop her. I would see it as a personal loss if I learn nothing from this."
"Of course, my lord, I will promise you that you will not be disappointed in what I can show you."
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"MAGE!! MAGE!!" The voice made her freeze and every muscle tensed upon her body. "Lady of magic! We see you are more than the beast we assumed."
Lashane swung her head up and hissed at the window where she saw Urso speaking. His magically projected voice boomed through the small stall and she drew in a shuddering breath. Did they know? Did they realize? For a single moment hope shown golden in her mind before it was squashed and destroyed under the weight of the realization that if they knew it was her then her life was over. She could never live this down to become a success. Her stomach tensed up, but she couldn't stop herself from giving a short swift nod of her head as she glared at the window. They were her only hope to bring her life to what it was, they were her only hope to ensure that she would be able to return to a form that seemed like a tattered dream. She wanted to go back to what she was, but she couldn't do it alone. The Voice brushed against her mind.
:Will you let sweet words lure you in?: It sewed the seed of doubt in her mind so that she drew in a swift breath.
"Then you are a mage?" Urso sounded more than satisfied. "Your life is ours, Mage.." She snapped at the air in her rage at those words. "We have saved you from the beast who held you captive, we did not know you were a human. We realize that now and take pity upon your plight, the Emperor himself is moved."
"Dragon, the beast who stole you is aiding the enemies of our Empire, he is coming after you. We will give you the tools you need to get your revenge and return you to your human form." Her Emperor's voice held all the promises she could wish for. "All we ask is that you bow your head to my dominion and help us bring the beast to the earth and his death. Surely a cause that you support."
:Oh yes, they will help you..: The voice brushed her mind with laughter.
:Be quiet! They will help me because I am human and not an animal. That is what humans do for one another.: She stared and flexed her wings slightly.
:Of course, they only wish to do good in the world. They only wish good things for you...: The voice almost crooned. :Why not kill another dragon, Carrack was so pleased to accept his death at your hands surely Sithen will as well.
Lashane glared up at the window as the voice's words made her stomach clench up in anger, fear, outrage and shame all in one. The grief she had felt at the Wyvern's death flooded her and for a moment she remembered his maddened state, his scream as she dug her fangs into his neck. He had been turned into a mad creature by the whims of these people. How long had he been trapped and unable to fly or to eat to his fill? Did they want Sithen dead? For a moment the rage she had felt the night he had claimed her burned bright, the shame and humiliation of being slammed down and taken as his mate. She had swore she would kill him then, she swore she would see him dead. It made her start to breath in short shallow pants. He should die for what he did her! Even when she had first taken on the female dragons body he had treated her as if she were common livestock and used her for her pleasure.
Had she been truly human, she was positive that she would have held onto that anger and eagerly grasped onto their promise for revenge. She would have clung to it until she had been able to take to the skies to tear the beast down from the skies. Yet she wasn't truly human any more, not in body, not mind, not in spirit. Like the waves of an ocean a memory overtook her with all the clarity and sharpness as if it were happening at that moment. A time before she had regained her memories as a human, a time when her world was far simpler. The thunder had been cracking through the skies and the winds howling through the mountains. The sharp rocks and peaks had made places for the wind to shove through so that high pitched howls and lonely deep whistles had echoed around creating a world that was perfect for a youngster to fear. The striking lightening caught the rock outcroppings so that claws appeared and eyes. She had been terrified. She had been so frightened that she had huddled against a wall and behind a stalagmite to try and hide from the monsters outside.
Salvation had come in the form of blue-gold eyes that had swirled calmly and drew her out from behind the rock with a purr that had seemed to shake the mountain. Lashane had been so small, so young that her wings were still three sizes too large for her body and her movements ungainly. He had picked her up in his jaws and gently placed her between his front legs and against his chest where the sound of his purr and the steady beating of his heart had drowned out the fearful sounds of the storm. Comfort was the feel of his tongue bathing over her head and the start of her mane. Home was the sound of his heartbeat and the wing that spread forward to partially cover her. She had let out soft sounds of fear and jerked under each crack of thunder. He didn't nip or disregard her terror. He didn't show frustration. Not like her human parents. The thought snuck in so that Lashane felt a stab of an emotion she couldn't quite place.
Sithen had been her mountain, her safety, her life. He stood between her and all the world until she had been lulled to sleep to the brush of his thoughts that sent images of rich forests and falling snow. Each thought had been peaceful until she forgot the storm and only remembered that she was safe. His thoughts were steady, no words, just feelings. How loved she was, how treasured, how perfect, how clever. She need not fear the storm or any ill the world could throw at her. He would bring the storms from the heavens to shatter the world to keep her safe. She could sleep because he would allow nothing to get past him. The darkness and evils of the world could not touch her hear. Her dreams had been formless childish things, but the emotions made her throat close down tightly. She came back to the present staring at the door and shaking from nose to tail as she fought the urge to keen for what had been.
:Can you kill him, dragon?: The Voice brushed her mind light as a feather. :He comes for you, to keep his promise, can you greet him with your fangs and tear him from the sky to join the Wyvern?:
:I..: Part of her was horrified she couldn't come up with an answer to that simple question. She was horrified that she didn't immediately agree, the part of her that had been born again as a dragon rejected any thoughts of betraying him.
: Make your choice, dragon. Should Sithen's broken body be thrown next to Carrack's to be dissected and examined? Or should he be shackled and broken?: The words made her wince and she snapped at the air angrily. :Do not snap at me! This is not my doing or my emotions.:
Lashane rumbled as Urso repeated the Emperor's questions. She warred against herself in a bloody battle that happened in her own mind. She might have been able to agree if the so sharp memory of that single moment of being a young dragon hadn't blossomed in her mind. It left her on less sturdy ground then she had been on just a short time before. She flicked her head up and saw movement in the window as they waited for her answer. Her mind supplied a single image that gave her the strength to push away her human side. Sithen's bloody form cast aside as Carrack's had been with his throat torn and his body being examined by the Mages. That would be his fate if she agreed. She wrinkled her lips back and shrieked her defiance to those that watched her. Her jaws parted and her tongue lashed the air before she dropped it and sent a bolt of lightning to crack against the door.
"Very well, beast. If you will not aid us, then you will give us the soldiers we need to kill Sithen." The voice turned cold before the taint of magic wrapped around her like a net.
The dragoness' body went cold as the magic seeped through her scales. She tried to bring up her shields, but she had not used them in so long that she could barely remember how to make them again. By the time they were up she felt something happening to her. Her heart beat started to speed up and her entire body started to shake as the magic made its demands clear. She let out a protesting cry as her body crashed to one side. The magic that hugged onto her like a second skin forced her body to follow a faster march of time then the rest of the world. She felt it in the pounding of her heart and the way her claws started to thicken and grow as if months past rather than mere seconds. Those were secondary worries, the true worry happened in her stomach as it cramped up and she curled herself around it.
Her eyes snapped open wide in fear and alarm as her stomach started to bulge wider and wider. The pair of eggs left inside of her rapidly matured under the spell so that her egg chamber was being strained open wider and wider. She watched as two distinct bulges shifted and jostled for position inside of her as they grew. The shells which had been weak and thin started to become harder and thicker as calcium layered over it. The shifting of her lower stomach made her writhe and twist back on the ground. It felt as if she were going to be sick, but it still continued until the magic started to leak away letting the steady march of time falter towards a stop. Her body ached and muscles twitched as she felt light headed and weak. She grasped after her hold on the earth magic, but fell short when a pang stabbed her stomach and she curled around her egg heavy middle. Her eyes flashed open wide as she felt her inner walls contracting down to the point that she let out a groaning cry. The first contractions of impending birth hit her. They intended on her giving into their demands immediately.
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Hylar gripped the edge of the window as he watched the dragoness twisting below the observation window. The obvious pain and fear in her eyes didn't deter from the victory he felt when her stomach started to bulge and swell outwards. The eggs would be viable, at least he hoped they would be. If not he may have to replace Urso for rushing things. He didn't know what the effects would be for the beast being forced into rapid growth and the eggs themselves. They didn't have weeks or months to wait for the natural course of things, they barely had enough time for this, but he would latch onto any hope that he could. Tomorrow his soldiers would nearly empty the capital to gather just outside of it and start to dam up the canals and bridges with iron gates. War was coming to here no matter what and he would use anything he could.
"I'll be very disappointed if that stunt ruins the eggs." He finally addressed Urso who sagged back slightly and shot him a look that might have been annoyance but quickly was replaced with a mild expression.
"It won't, Highness, it will only speed things up for us. It was an effort to keep her body nourished with magic alone, but she won't suffer for it." The mage stared down at the writhing dragoness as her body arched up from the floor.
"Will she lay them now?" The Emperor leaned forward slightly. "And can you speed up the eggs growth once they're laid."
"I might have to...experiment with other eggs first. We want healthy beasts, and if it harms them...well it would be our loss. "
"Aye, if only she would have agreed." He shook his head in disgust. "What could possibly make someone turn away from their own kind to protect an animal."
"I do not know, Majesty, but the few cases of shape changers in the past have indicated that the instincts and thoughts of the form can influence the mind. I doubt there's enough in there to do more then instinctively use magic and perhaps understand us. In a few years even that will fade and die." Urso heard the cry as the beast lurched to her feet and started to move into an awkward crouch. Her eyes locked up at the window as if she could hear them.
"Summon me when you know if we can age the hatchlings and eggs." He had no desire to watch the beast lay eggs. For now it was enough that he had some form of hope in taking down the damned creature that was causing so many problems. If things went well he would meet the Braan's with an aerial force of his own and erase them from the face of the earth for their insolence.
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"We shall travel here and here and here.." Baen jabbed the map with a stick shortly. "We must divide our forces even if it will leave us with smaller companies. If not we'll be forced to maintain a larger target and allow for flanking maneuvers."
He had gathered together those he trusted to keep their heads and even though he was confident in their abilities he found himself growing more worried. Their force was spread thin enough already with two groups, with four groups it would be hard to maintain a good front. Their only hope lay in the fact the dragon would be shadowing them overhead, but he had turned strange in the last two days. The rebel leader felt a mingling of frustration and gratitude both. He had awoken at the dragon's side with his body healed and his mind as sharp and clear as he could remember it. The aches from old wounds and badly healed bones was gone. He almost felt like a young man and rejoiced in it. In a strange way he also rejoiced in his changed eye. It was as bright and strange as Sithen's himself with the pupil surrounded by streaks of color that changed continuously.
Baen had believed it the fate of the gods themselves marking him as their chosen representative. Sithen, however, had seem repulsed by it and when he had attempted to thank the dragon for healing him the beast had snarled and nearly knocked him over as he took to the air. Now, they barely saw the beast. He didn't sleep near their camp or overfly them more than twice a day. He seemed distracted and irritated those times he was forced to pass a message before he was gone again. Strangely, Baen had found another oddity. The day after he had been healed he had found himself trying to navigate a portion of the river that was so shallow they had been forced to pull out the poles to push over it. They had talked of abandoning it completely along with their store of weapons until he had despaired and started to scour the skies for the dragon.
The desperate thought and need to find the beast had triggered something almost like a living dream. For the blink of an eye he spied clouds spilling beneath him and the wind gusting under the curve of his belly. His wings pumped at the thin air to stay aloft as he sought out a thermal that he could sense just up ahead where he could glide and rest his aching muscles. Then he had felt a start and outrage before he had been slammed back into his own body and found it collapsed and twitching on the deck. His followers had kept away with their eyes wide in traces of fear at his episode and he was left with a sense of dread that something wasn't right. He had been healed, but he was no longer the man he once was. He had believed himself god touched, now he wondered if 'god' was the word he wanted.
"We won't be able to do it." Nyl was old enough to have seen the first war right along with Baen and his eyes were shadowed. "I'm sorry, Baen, we can't."
"We can try for three group, at least we'll be able to see the pincher move if they use it." He rubbed his beard and shifted his weight.
"What about the dragon? Can't he take position as the fourth group to keep them from coming in from behind." One of the younger men chimed in and Baen shook his head.
"No, he can't. We need to keep our mind locked on what we'll do on the ground. You can't plan for the storm or control where it will be, so let us take our peace in knowing that he will see that we can break through their lines." He gestured down at the map again. "We can try to do this..."
Plans and maps and ideas swirled in his mind. It kept him from wondering about what had happened to him. He wasn't displeased. He felt alive and strong and young again despite the grey in his hair and beard. His people called him God-Touched, Dragonborn, and other names that brought to mind something greater than being simply a man. Yet he also started to feel as if his mind were following strange thoughts, as if he weren't alone or he no longer followed the linear thought patterns as he had before. At times he thought he heard a murmur in the back of his mind. It was as if someone were shouting for him far away, he could almost hear the words, but not quite. The few times he tried to reach for whatever it was he felt a wash of anger and fury before he was forced to retreat again. The dragon had done something to him, but for now he couldn't concentrate on it. He needed to concentrate on what was important and that was winning this war to free his people.
"Baen." He turned his head to look at Nyl who was staring towards the bank. He followed the man's gaze to see a young boy standing beside the river with a rolled up parchment in his hands. His eyes were wide and terror filled as he watched the boats sliding through the water.
"I COME TO CALL TREATY AND ASK GUEST RIGHT OF YOUR PEOPLE!" He yelled the words in a clear tenor.
"Who calls for guest right from us?" He stood up and marveled at the lack of pain in his knees. Despite his worries and confusion, that alone was worth the dragon's weight in gold.
"The Titus people! I am sent by my father's house and our people!" The boy called back and only those who were close to him laughed softly.
"The Titus people were a proud people. We heard that they are no more, only the Nyseen rule this land." He kept his voice level, but he felt a surge of hope.
"I am instructed to tell you that the Titus people are alive, their spirit is alive still! Allow me guest right and hear our offer. We will not turn our weapons against you no matter what your decision." The boy answered promptly before Baen barked out an order to drop anchors.
"They send us a boy that doesn't have his first beard and expect us to listen to him?" One of the younger men bit off a scornful curse. "It's a child's trick."
"Fool!" Baen glared at him. "The Titus people were hunters and warriors both, they were overrun before our people were but their ferocity was legendary. They do us a great honor by sending that boy out to us. He is their chieftains son, his oldest son. We could kill him easily. They are showing their trust and he's carrying their terms."
The Titus people. He remembered them. They were a fond story of his father. The way they had been destroyed had roused the anger and grief of many nations, but it seemed they were still alive. They wouldn't be pure, they couldn't be. Every man alive had been killed right down to the infants after they had fought so fiercely that they had nearly beaten the budding Empire. Their women seemed to have not given up the memory of their menfolk, instead they had flourished somehow. He didn't need a bards sense to know that there was a story here. All he knew was that hope was once again rearing up. The gods were guiding them, they would continue to guide their steps until the Empire was a dead and fallen thing. He cast his eyes up as thoughts of the gods made him try to spy the dragon who had made himself absent. One of his eyes swirled with hints of silver and deep purple as he saw nothing but the clouds lazily floating overhead.
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Sithen worked his frustrations off with his wings pumping through the clouds and his body straining to catch the smallest hint of a breeze and the wind that rose up to cushion the underside of his scales. His tail lashed behind him disrupting his flight pattern so that he lost some ground before he was forced to calm down and resume his gliding. Baen was changing. He couldn't deny the fact that he was the cause, but he was doing his best to sever that bond before it became something that was twisted and wrong. No human should come close to being a dragon, no human should be able to touch a dragons thoughts or mind. They should be pets, no less then pets, they should be ants beneath the dragons that should rightfully rule over them. It would be in his own best interest to let these creatures die and Baen's change die with them.
He wouldn't do it. As much as he despised the vermin, he felt a strange loyalty to them. You didn't slaughter those that trusted you. You didn't kill creatures that put their faith in your ability to help them no matter how frustrating it was. They came here because he had goaded them out of their homes and forced them to war, he would see them to the end of this if he could. The idea of Baen taking on his attributes though bothered him enough though that he avoided the camp. He couldn't let that bond deepen, he wouldn't let it deepen no matter how much the man sought after his mind. How much of the man had he accepted? Were his thoughts tainted with humanities ways of thinking already? Or did he simply feel a rough affection for creatures that went to war to serve him.
:To serve you...: Rogeth's voice held amusement, though Sithen didn't stop in his wing beats. :A quaint way to put it, but a better way is you serve them on their way to freedom.:
:I serve no man or creature.: He snarled out in answer, bristling slightly. :What makes you feel that you can visit my mind with impunity, spirit?:
:I gave my pledge to you, Sithen, you wound me to think I would not keep my word.: Rogeth's voice was rich with amusement and for a moment he swore he the strange distortion of air on his left as if another being flew beside him.
:You will do as you wish. What do you have to offer then?: He spilled air from under his wings and dropped down to start to circle just above the clouds as the distortion continued to shadow him.
:I bring you a simple message of hope. Your daughter lives and clutches this night. She gave defiance to the people that have captured her and would not be lured into turning against you.: Rogeth paused for a moment. :She is held in a stall and bound by magic.:
His wing beats faltered at the words that he was clutching. Joy welled up in his chest. His mating had been successful. This evening she gave birth to the first of their children to continue his line and their people would ride the air again! How many would be in a clutch? Would she know how to tend them? The second question created the uncertainty and then despair that he was not there to guard her to help tend them. She was out of reach and caught by humans who endangered her life and the young dragons they had created. He hovered and swung his head towards the inland capital and fought the need to arrow towards her no matter that humans would outnumber him and their weapons would bring him down if they attacked him without distractions.
:She is of my blood, she will be strong enough. She need not wait for long and I will claim her again.: He spoke to the spirit, but his heart resonated with his promise. She would be his again and no man or beast would tear her away from his side.
:Good luck, Sithen of the storms, be careful for what you promise. Your daughter is more and less then she seems to be.: Rogeth's voice mocked him as the distortion of air faded away from his side leaving him snarling at the cryptic message. He was left staring towards the capitol still, with his heart and spirit yearning to throw away all caution before he forced himself to turn away and back towards the humans encampment. But not before he breathed his promise again to the winds. He would come for her, he would stand between her and all the world if he had too, but she would never again be torn away from him. He could only pray she would keep their clutch safe until he could rescue her.
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