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DKP 8-23 Ghosts of the past
🕑 Added 2022-08-19 19:07:00 +0000 UTCSarah looked into the eyes of her husband and saw nothing but compassion. It was funny how that expression touched her heart, especially considering how new the emotion was. She took a deep breath and leaned into his arms, accepting the embrace that said everything would be alright.
They had been in camp for days, forming the third army and preparing to march to war. During that time, Sarah had done very little except wallow in emotions she didn't know how to control. Now she felt foolish and wanted to get on with the task of winning the war. There was nothing she could do about Rose, but she could end the war and hopefully find peace for her family.
Gersius had been her strength through it all, carrying her burdens while she healed. Thayle and Lilly had been her comfort, sharing her pain and assuring her she was loved. It was a whole new world from a dragon's point of view, where things were felt, and emotional pain was very real. From Numidel to her near imprisonment to the loss of her daughter, all of it tore at her heart. But there was no time to grieve over these pains, the war was yet to be won, and Lilly was growing anxious.
Sarah had never seen the little dragon so upset about anything. Lilly was angry that dragons were fighting and Rose might face them again. She spoke about how the dragons needed to be saved, and their eyes opened to the truth. She kept mentioning the Doan and how the dragons couldn't march to war without them. It was a logical assumption, but one Gersius was quick to deny. He saw no way to turn the Doan from their course of action or convince them to stand down. Lilly asked him if he had even considered trying, and Gersius shook his head. The Doan held to ridged cultural customs, and all efforts to negotiate with them in the past had failed. They saw outsiders as enemies and the things they owned as resources to be taken. To the Doan, anyone who wasn't one of them wasn't worth the time to speak to.
Lilly wasn't defeated by those remarks as she pointed out they revered dragons. They would almost certainly listen if she or Sarah went to speak with them. The stern look that came over Gersius's face, mixed with the dip of his mood in the aura, was all the answer she needed. He hated the idea of sending any of his wives to speak with the Doan, though he didn’t say it wouldn’t work.
“It might work,” Gersius said as he held her tight. “But if it did not, I would never forgive myself.”
Sarah smiled as her husband read her thoughts and admitted the truth. It might indeed at least get them to talk, but would it persuade them to turn back? Unlikely, considering there were far more dragons on the other side driving them forward. Once voice trying to counter a dozen others was likely not going to have much impact. At best, they might listen for a brief moment, then send her away, giving her a chance to escape out of respect for her being a dragon.
“I feel the same,” Gersius said and rubbed her back. “I know Lilly wants to avoid more bloodshed, but I do not believe you can reason with them.”
“The issue she brings up is that we know so little about them,” Sarah replied. “When she asks for details about their culture, none of us knows a thing. I can't believe how isolated and insular their people are.”
“We have tried,” Gersius replied. “Many lands and faiths have sent missions to the Doan to establish a relationship. Unfortunately, all have met with disaster and bloodshed.”
“But you do understand why that frustrates Lilly?” Sarah asked.
“Of course I do,” Gersius replied. “But if the only way to learn more is to send you or Lilly to speak to them, I would rather fight the war.”
“Maybe we can capture some of them and learn something in safety,” Sarah suggested.
“I have known a few Doan prisoners,” Gersius said with a nod. “But all they do is shout curses and promises of death. They never answer questions, and make constant challenges to duels, hoping to kill more of their enemies.”
“They sound atrocious,” Sarah griped.
“Well, we can assume that inside their culture, they treat one another very differently,” Gersius said. “We know they have a strict social code of some kind. Scouts watching from a distance report seeing them sing and dance around bonfires before large gatherings.”
“Hmm, so there is a people in there someplace,” Sarah agreed. “But they won't let anybody from the outside in to learn something of it.”
“That is the largest problem,” Gersius acknowledged.
Sarah considered Lilly's plan and wondered if she could open a dialog but what if she failed? She would have to go alone, and if the Doan attacked, would she be able to escape? What if there were rival dragons present, or what if the enemy anticipated this move? From what Gersius said about recovering the seals, the enemy had laid that trap weeks ago. They knew he would come for them eventually and were prepared to deal with him when he did.
“All good reasons why this plan is far too risky,” Gersius said.
“I know,” Sarah said and looked into his eyes. “But Lilly’s heart is heavy with pain. She is desperate to find a way to end this war before I suffer another loss.”
“She is particularly worried about you,” Gersius agreed. “She is terrified you will lose Rose in a future battle.”
“That possibility haunts my dreams,” Sarah said as she wanted to cry but held strong. “But I cannot let myself be hampered by it. I made a commitment to love you and this family, and I will not risk any of you to save her. She has chosen to stand against us. All I can do is pray she survives.”
She was surprised when Gersius held her arms and looked deeply into her eyes. His gaze was sympathetic, but it held resolve as if she shouldn't give up hope.
“She did change,” he insisted. “That flower was meant to show you that you had touched her.”
“But it wasn’t enough,” Sarah sighed.
“The seed is planted,” Gersius assured. “Give the fruit time to grow.”
“We both know nothing will grow well in soil tainted by Solesta’s curse,” Sarah said. “And Lilly being consumed by a desire to lift it somehow.”
“Lilly has compassion for her kind,” Gersius replied. “She feels the dragons waste their lives and would find them far more fulfilling and wonderful if they understood love.”
“We do waste our lives,” Sarah agreed. “But even lifting the curse might not change that. We didn’t need to be cursed to want to live in caves and sleep for years. But I suppose we were far more willing to deal with humans when we were not so blinded. If the curse could be lifted, it would change everything.”
She could feel Gersius's agreement over the bind, but such a hope was just a dream. Solesta was gone, but her curse lingered, magnifying the worst traits of the dragons while preventing them from feeling love, empathy, or compassion. Lilly was right; unless it could be somehow lifted, there was no hope for her kind.
“I wish to be in my dragon form,” Sarah said as she stepped out of his arms. “I would welcome you sitting with me.”
“I will sit with you for a bit,” Gersius agreed. “The camp has all its instructions. I am not needed to for the time being.”
“Good,” Sarah replied and took his hand, leading him out of their private room and through the larger meeting tent. They exited the back into the ring of tent that acted as a private space for the dragons to change. Sarah smiled as she undressed, feeling Gersius's response over the bind. She kissed him before walking to the center of the ring and then threw up her hands to heighten the display. Gersius took in the full view of her beauty as black smoke began to crawl across her skin. She was engulfed in a swirling ball of midnight that grew larger by the second. When it was enormous, it flashed with lightning and then began to slow, drifting away as red eyes loomed in the depths.
“I feel better already,” Sarah said as her enormous head came out of the darkness. Her red scales glistened in the sunlight as red fire danced in her eyes. “Let me carry you.” She held out a hand and laid it palm open so that Gersius could climb in. She was careful to curl her fingers to ensure he was secure before walking off on three legs and stepping over the tents. Outside the ring, she found Tavis and Gedris sitting at their tents and talking.
“Good afternoon to you,” Sarah said as she lowered her head to hover over the pair.
“Uh, good afternoon,” Tavis stammered back as he stared into that reptilian face large enough to swallow him whole.
“Do not be afraid of me,” Sarah urged.
“It is very hard not to be intimidated by your size,” Gedris replied as she clung to his arm. “We know you wouldn't harm us, but seeing you in your full power is still intimidating.”
“Hmm,” Sarah replied and lifted her head away. “And where is your wife?”
“Ayawa is out talking with Lilly,” Tavis called. “They have been meeting every day for the last few days.”
“They have? For what?” Sarah asked.
“Something to do with Ayawa’s people or culture,” Tavis explained. “She won’t talk about it much.”
“We think Lilly is trying to learn about the Doan by first learning about Ayawa’s people,” Gedris added. “She thinks they might have strong similarities.”
“I doubt that,” Gersius said as he appeared in Sarah’s cupped hand. “But I am not surprised to hear Lilly is searching for some means of understanding.”
“That girl so badly wants to end this war without having to fight it,” Sarah sighed.
“It is very noble of her,” Gedris called. “But I fear she will be disappointed.”
“She will be heartbroken,” Sarah agreed and looked into the distance. “I suppose I will have to speak to her about it. In the meantime, why don't you two come with us.”
“Come with you?” Tavis asked.
Sarah nodded and looked down. “I wish to talk to you about fire weaving. I gave you my blessing to protect you from the heat, but you can still burn out. I wish to begin teaching you my understanding of harnessing the flames. It will take some practice, but you should eventually be able to use the fire with no risk to yourself.”
“I would be very grateful,” Tavis replied with a bow.
“Then come,” Sarah urged and began to walk, being careful about her tail to avoid sweeping tents away. “I wish to lay in the sun someplace where it is open so I can be comfortable.”
Tavis and Gedris followed on foot, falling behind as Sarah took massive steps that shook the ground. Once she was free of the camp, she settled in a field and lay on her belly with Gersius at her side. By the time Tavis caught up, Sarah had used her control over fire to burn away a patch of the ground.
“I love the smell of smoke,” Sarah said as Tavis and Gedris arrived.
“She really does,” Gersius said with a smile. “She insists on a source of fire in almost every room.”
“That’s only for our future home,” Sarah corrected. “If I am to dwell in this place, I wish it to suit my tastes.”
“Lilly mentioned you were going to build a home,” Gedris said. “But she also said you showed it to Rose?”
“It is hard to explain unless you understand the nature of what we dragons call the dream,” Sarah replied. She then took the time to explain the dream and how dragons dwelt there while they were sleeping. They were amazed to learn that such a thing existed and that it could be shaped by a strong will. Sarah told them that this was how they created their home temporarily, allowing them to dream of a better time and place.
“Oh, that must be wonderful,” Gedris said. “Being able to slip away from the torments of the real world and find peace.”
“It is wonderful,” Sarah agreed. “But there is no reason why such peace can't be found in this world. It is my husband's personal quest to restore peace so that families can raise their children free from fear of rampaging armies.”
“I am well aware of his dreams,” Tavis said mournfully. “Ayawa has a similar wish now.”
“She is hungry to settle down,” Gedris added. “She is ready to have a proper family.”
“Lilly is hungry for a wider family,” Sarah said as she looked in the direction of her missing wife. “She considers you two part of our family through her relationship with Ayawa. I suppose that means you are also a part of my family.”
“It does if you accept that Ayawa is her wed mother,” Gedris replied.
Sarah looked down on the dainty woman and nodded her great head. “It would please me greatly to know we are family. After my encounter with my errant daughter, I have come to realize how much I long for a larger family. I even wish to find more wives so that I might have more to take care of.”
“Ha, you are going to be a busy man,” Tavis laughed as he smiled at Gersius.
“Do not remind me,” Gersius sighed and rolled his eyes. “I have all the wives I could ever want.”
“You promised me we could have more if they met our standards,” Sarah challenged.
“I will hold to my promise,” he replied and looked up to meet her distant gaze. “But I am just one man.”
“I will help you herd the flock,” Sarah insisted as Gedris giggled at her choice of words.
“She wants a flock,” Gedris repeated. “I like her way of thinking.”
“I believe a home full of happy women will be full of love,” Sarah said. “Our husband will understand when he sees it. Part of his good nature is his simple needs. He wanted one good woman to love, but the divines have blessed him with many.”
“Or punished him,” Tavis said under his breath as Gedris glared at him. “What? I am very happy with two wives.”
“You could fool me sometimes,” Gedris said as she folded her arms.
Tavis cleared his throat as Gersius tried to hide a smile. The two women looked at their men contemptuously before Sarah lowered her head to speak softly.
“We had considered the idea of trying to get Rose to let you bind her,” Sarah said. “But we believe Ayawa would be strongly opposed to the idea.”
Gedris shook her head as Tavis tipped his hat back. He agreed that Ayawa would have been shocked by the very suggestion of the idea. He knew because Lilly had already mentioned it, and they saw the response. He and Gedris were not opposed to the idea, provided they could honestly love the woman. Sarah tried to describe how beautiful she was and shared a story of how she once bit her own tail as a broodling.
Gersius joined the conversation, suggesting that Rose had an inquisitive mind and could see that some of her logic was flawed. She was struggling to understand how Sarah and Lilly could be happy living so differently from how dragons always lived. He believed she was highly intelligent, and despite the curse, she would be thinking about the things she had learned.
“So there is hope she might come back?” Gedris asked.
“I want to say yes,” Gersius replied. “But the curse is a powerful thing. We prayed to Balisha to lift it from her temporarily, and you should have seen the change that came over her.”
“It was startling,” Sarah agreed. “For a short while, I saw the daughter I once had.”
“Oh, we shouldn’t be talking about this,” Gedris suggested as she saw Sarah’s aura fill with pain. “What did you want to show Tavis about weaving with fire?”
Sarah took a deep breath and set the sad memories aside so she could instruct the fire weaver. She asked him how he tapped the flame, and Tavis explained the process. He drew in the weave of magic, focusing it until it ignited, then continued to draw more of the weave in, feeding the flame to make it grow. In order to keep control, he channeled the flow through his own body, using himself as a conduit for the magic.
“You channel it through yourself?” Sarah questioned.
“Yes,” he replied with a shrug. “It is the only way to keep control.”
“It most certainly is not,” Sarah corrected and began to ponder a thought. “Is that why your kind uses those magic marks? It is a way to draw the fire out before it consumes you?”
“If we lose control, the fire will grow rapidly,” Tavis explained. “When that happens, we have to cast it out, causing great bursts of flames all around us. It grows and grows, drawing on the weave until we can no longer contain it, then we burn from the inside out, dying in a great ball of fire. The marks are enchanted to allow us to channel the flames to them, instantly drawing it out and saving us.”
“But it’s very painful,” Gedris added. “The heat fills the mark. It is like somebody is holding a hot iron to his skin and branding him.”
“That sounds unpleasant,” Sarah suggested as she looked at Gersius, whose aura showed he was sickened by the idea. She looked back to Tavis and asked him to show her some of the marks. He agreed and handed his hat to Gedris before removing his shirt so Sarah could see them.
“Shadow marks,” Sarah said as she lowered her head to sniff at him. “This is a terrible way to control such a thing.”
“What is a shadow mark?” Gedris asked.
“An abomination of the weave,” Sarah said as Tavis closed his shirt. “In the darkest days of the dragon war, the shapers invented a way to enchant a person. They enchanted the magic marks directly onto the person's skin, turning them into a magical instrument. It was used in terrible ways to turn prisoners into weapons or create deadly assassins. They would take captives and enchant them with a specific power and then create a failure condition. If they didn't use that power to kill their once allies in a certain amount of time, they would suffer a consequence.”
“That sounds horrible,” Gedris exclaimed. “And they did this in the war?”
“It was heavily used by Solesta's armies. More proof of her darkness and that her cause was unjust,” Sarah said. “But sadly, it was also used by Balisha's forces as they grew desperate to end the fighting.”
“Desperation causes desperate acts,” Gersius said.
“The pain and suffering some of these unfortunate souls endured caused shadows of their existence to manifest in the dream. We dragons call them wraiths, and nearly every one of them was a victim of the shadow marks,” Sarah finished.
“My people only use them to stop us from accidentally killing everyone around us,” Tavis insisted. “There is no malice in how we use them.”
“Forgive me,” Sarah said and tipped her head. “I did not mean to imply you used them in such a horrible way. I suppose you use them to save lives by enduring burning pain. For that, I have respect for you, but you needn't bare such a burden. I will teach you how to focus the weave externally and feed it without having to channel it through yourself. If the fire becomes too great to maintain, you only have to cease the weave, and it will stop growing. I will even teach you how to smother the flames, beating them down or drawing them to a point you can extinguish by closing your hand.”
“You can do such a thing?” Tavis asked.
“You can do all that and more,” Sarah insisted. “But it will take time for you to master the technique. You must grow your control slowly and carefully, feeding your understanding like you would a fire.”
Tavis nodded, so Sarah began her instruction, teaching him a basic weave to call the fire into being. He already knew the principles of this weave, but Sarah urged him to put his mind into focus. She wanted him to see a blackness with only the palm of his hand visible. As he weaved, he was to envision a flame appearing in his palm and dancing to the weave. The magical flow of the weaver was to spiral into that flame, feeding it to make it grow. At any time he wished to cease the channel, all he had to do was close his hand. This was the first principle of control, the method by which he dominated the fire. It would take time to master, but he could turn the flame off at will once he did so.
He practiced the idea for over an hour while Sarah instructed him on how to draw the weave externally. She explained that drawing it from himself was more of how a dragon might boost a weave by drawing on its own power. Humans were gifted in their ability to draw the weave from the world around them and could surpass dragons for power when properly trained.
It was a learning experience for them both as Sarah got to see firsthand how the aura responded when he weaved. It twisted into patterns, the magic intertwined with his light, giving her new insight into how it worked.
Sarah felt pleased to be doing something useful instead of reeling in pain over her losses. She enjoyed teaching somebody her ancient arts and even more that he was essentially family. She knew it would take almost a year of dedicated practice to master the technique, but Tavis was skilled. He would master it sooner, and she would be able to move on to advanced manipulations. She began to wonder if perhaps she could train more, teaching the art of control back to the Cellic people of the north.
When she was done teaching him the basic ideas, they settled in to talk about the potential for the future. While discussing where Tavis and Gedris might settle, Lilly and Ayawa appeared and joined the group.
“Why are you in your dragon form?” Lilly asked as she looked up at Sarah.
“How am I suppose to bathe you otherwise?” Sarah asked as Lilly squirmed and blushed.
“Bathe her?” Ayawa asked, prompting Gersius to explain how Sarah could lick Lilly in order to bathe her.
“That's primitive,” Ayawa said.
“I think it’s very cute,” Gedris interjected. “It’s a beautiful display of affection between them.”
“But maybe it is something best done in private,” Gersius said and looked up at Sarah.
“Oh, very well,” Sarah sighed and glared at Ayawa. “I am pleased to see you two spending time together.”
“I enjoy talking with Ayawa,” Lilly said quickly. “She has this wonderful plant she adds to the fire that makes a sweet smoke.”
“And now they both like smoke,” Gersius groaned as Tavis tipped his hat low to cover his grin.
“What is wrong with my wife liking smoke?” Sarah demanded. “She happens to have impeccable taste.”
“I will provide you some of the plant to add to the fires in your tent,” Ayawa offered and looked at Tavis. “Why do you look as if you are thinking deeply?”
“Because I am,” Tavis replied and tipped his hat back. “Sarah has been teaching me some of the lost techniques to control the flame.”
“What? Why?” Ayawa asked and turned back to Sarah. “It is too dangerous, and he has no means to stop it if he loses control again.”
“I am teaching him how to gain that control,” Sarah replied as she cocked her head. “So he need not rely on those barbaric marks.”
“We agreed to leave the fire weaving behind us,” Ayawa argued and turned an angry glare on Tavis. “You promised me no more, yet you break that promise every chance you get.”
“Ayawa,” Gedris cut in. “Think of what a boon it would be to us if he could use the fire safely?”
“What boon will it be?” Ayawa asked. “What good will a husband turned to ash do us?”
“I had no idea you were so worried about his losing control,” Sarah said. “But I assure you, if he practices the techniques I showed him and goes about it carefully, he will master it. It will never be a threat to him again.”
“I would rather it was left in the past,” Ayawa countered. “You haven't seen what happens when he loses control. You haven't heard the screams of the innocent caught in his wake. It doesn't haunt you in the night as it does him.”
“Oh,” Gersius said as they all looked at Tavis, who lowered his hat to hide his wet eyes.
“I have lost control before,” he admitted. “There is a point when the power overwhelms your senses, and a sort of madness takes over. You feel like you can control it, even though it is well beyond your power to control. All that matters is the fire and shedding it all around you to turn everything to ash. I lost control in a village in the north and…”
“Stop!” Ayawa shouted and came to him to take his hands. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“They all died because of me,” Tavis said. “It is why I fled south when I entered your lands.”
“I know,” Ayawa replied and pulled him into a hug. “But that mob was trying to stone you. You were only trying to get away.”
“Does it matter what I was trying to do?” Tavis asked. “The mob died, and so did all the people who had nothing to do with it. They were all turned to ash in the blink of an eye.”
“All the more reason he should learn how to control it,” Sarah urged.
“He needs to put it behind him,” Ayawa countered as she held him tight. “I want to put all our pain behind us and start over. I just want to be a family.”
“You will forgive me for sounding insensitive, but how did you recover if you had lost such control?” Sarah asked.
“The marks,” Tavis replied without looking up. “If you lose control fully, one of them will activate and kill the flames, but it's usually too late for the surrounding area. When I lose control, it burns everything for a hundred feet in all directions, turning it all into a firestorm.”
“That is because you are channeling it into yourself,” Sarah said. “You cannot use your body as the focus.”
“He doesn’t need to use anything,” Ayawa scolded and turned him away. “We both need to leave our ghosts behind us and move forward with our life.”
Sarah said nothing as Ayawa led him away, with Gedris following behind. She could see the pain of remorse tinting his aura and wondered if perhaps she shouldn't teach him.
“That was sad,” Lilly said when they were a safe distance away.
“Tavis is an honorable man,” Gersius said. “He has killed innocent people by accident, and I know that pain has gone deeply into his heart.”
“I understand why he has regrets,” Sarah said. “But wouldn’t it be better for him and all his kind to recover the knowledge of safe control? It would prevent tragedies like that from happening again.”
“Maybe,” Gersius said as they watched the three in the distance. “But Ayawa is right. Sometimes the best thing to do with ghosts from your past is to leave them there. A man who lives in the past often lives in pain.”
“While I understand that logic, I must counter it,” Sarah insisted as she lowered her head to look at him. “This war and all its conflict is because of the past. If this ghost isn't put to rest this time, it will come back again and again. Mark my words, the only way forward is to remember the past and what was forgotten.”
Comments
Sam4005
Btw just saw on RR, congratz on 5k word.
Sam4005
Ty for chapy
