Omnixius
patreon
DKP 5-10 Painful memories
🕑 Added 2020-04-18 01:23:30 +0000 UTC
The march was much faster than anticipated, and they covered the ground with ease. With the wagons weighing significantly less, they suffered almost no loss of speed when navigating hills. Furthermore, the heavy cavalry was made lighter, and the men were able to ride significantly longer on their stout chargers. There were some complications, of course, most notably the weavers themselves who demanded to be carried in wagons.
Most weavers were nobility of some sort and were used to certain comforts Gersius was in no position to provide. The wagons were full of the wounded and the priests of Vellis that were caring for them, the weavers could walk.
For short periods every two hours, he ordered a fast march, putting everybody at a double pace to gain even more ground. This produced grumbling from nearly every camp aside from Astikar. Neither the militia or the forces of Ulustrah were used to marching at such speed in armor. Blessings were used to keep them going for as long as he dared, but it did little to improve the mood.
As they passed towns, dispatches were sent to gather supplies and information. Two towns reported the raven guards stealing what they needed and riding off. By his estimation, they were barely a day ahead and traveling far slower than they should be. With any luck, he could catch them before they reached the river.
Sarah and Numidel flew well ahead, scouring the roads for any sign of the enemy and the new surprise. One of the towns they visited had proven hostile and had to be convinced they meant no harm. When Gersius finally got them to speak, he learned their farms had been burned in a dragon attack. They were told by the raven guard that the dragons were his and that he would burn the city when he arrived. Gersius left them in peace and explained to Sarah and Numidel how this was not the first town to be attacked. Sarah insisted on hunting for this other dragon, and Numidel agreed to aid her in the search. Hopefully, they would find it and put a stop to the devastation.
All of these matters troubled Gersius, so many innocents were paying for his decisions. His men were slaughtered, then Lilly was butchered. Then Thayle's order was outlawed and hunted like criminals. Women are being kidnapped to blackmail innocent men into fighting, and now a dragon is burning farms. How many people were suffering so that he could end a war? Surely this was a madness of some kind, but the Father Abbot was a shrewd man. He made every decision carefully, and with a great deal of calculation, madness was the least of his traits.
They stopped to camp two hours later than usual, and food was immediately a problem. The women of Ulustrah could work together to bring a planted crop to fruit, but that still took time, and they were not carrying enough with them to feed the army for more than four days. The women had less time to grow, and the kitchens less time to prepare meals. The cooks would be working late into the night before the camp was fed.
He leaned over the table of maps planning the next day's travel as the hours grew late. Lilly and Thayle sat nearby talking as Lengwin informed him of all the logistic problems. So many decisions fell on his shoulders now, and the mood in the camp was angry. Every member wanted to catch the raven guard as badly as he did, but they questioned the recklessness of his advance.
“Some of the workers are concerned about the strain on the wagons,” Lengwin said bring Gersius back to his long list of complaints.
“We have extra wheels,” he replied, never taking his eyes from the maps. “And they are lighter, any damage they incur should be slight.”
“It still takes time to change a wheel,” Lengwin countered. “What if they fall behind?”
“Then they will catch up when we camp,” Gersius said.
“But they could be isolated and attacked?”
Gersius knew the danger but had to take the risk. If the raven guard reached another camp, it would lead to hundreds of innocent dead men, and ten more wagons of wounded. He would risk losing a dozen people to save hundreds.
“We press on,” Gersius reiterated. “The risk ahead is worth more than a single wagon.”
“If you say so,” Lengwin sighed. As he did, the flap to the tent opened and in stepped the tall tan-skinned man known as Kilgian. He was one of the few men of Ulustrah in the camp, and well respected. He was put in charge of the acolytes from every faction to keep them working. He made his way directly to Gersius with an unhappy glare. He didn't care for the decision to bring the acolytes and had been very willing to share that fact. Even now, his broad, muscled body twitched with irritation as he approached.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked, not waiting to be acknowledged.
Gersius ran a finger down a road on the map and guessed at its distance.
“I want you to begin training the acolytes of Balisha in sword combat,” he said as he tapped the bridge to the river.
“You what?” Kilgian snapped. “They need weeks of physical training yet.”
“The acolytes of Balisha are mostly adults and will toughen up,” Gersius said. “I don't have months to condition them, and the road ahead is going to be even bloodier. They need to know how to fight as soon as can be managed.”
Kilgian sighed and folded his arms.
“Then, it’s the estate all over again.”
“No,” Gersius replied. “You had a handful of young girls at the estate. The acolytes of Balisha are older and have a few men. Several of them have even dome some fighting. They were accepted into the order knowing full well the path they would walk. I will do them no justice trying to shelter them when we both know I cannot.” He studied the big man's expression as his eyes fell and searched for answers. Kilgian was a good man who cared for his charges, but it was time for those charges to stand on their own.
“This is very rushed,” Kilgian said as he looked back. “I spend a year or more with most acolytes.”
Gersius nodded, it was the same in the order of Astikar, but there was no time.
“I will begin as soon as we can,” the big man finally said. “But don't expect them to be combat-ready for months.”
Gersius nodded again; it was all he could hope for. As Gersius was about to dismiss him, the tent opened again, and a priestess of Ulustrah escorted a short man in plain clothes in.
“Mardus?” Lengwin asked as he saw the man. “You’re supposed to be at Lindendell.”
The man nodded as he came to stand before Lengwin.
“I learned of something I thought couldn’t wait for tomorrow when we linked up,” the man replied.
Lengwin looked worried, and Gersius realized this was a scout. Lengwin sent them out in plain clothes to towns and cities ahead to learn what they could. It was a good tactic and one which paid off several times now.
“What did you learn?” Lengwin asked as he leaned forward.
“I overheard some guards talking about the army that marched down the road.”
“So the Raven Guard was there,” Lengwin surmised.
“Yes, but that isn’t what they were talking about,” the man replied.
Gersius took an interest in the conversation as Lengwin looked perplexed.
“If it wasn’t the raven guard, then who was it?” Lengwin asked.
They said it was a force of heavy infantry over five hundred strong with hundreds more light troops. They met up with the raven guard a few miles west of the city, and the two forces retreated south.”
“Heavy infantry,” Lengwin repeated as his face fell.
Gersius looked to Kilgian to see the man sighing again.
“This is why they need to know how to fight,” Gersius said. “Our enemies are coming.”
Kilgian bowed and excused himself as Gersius moved to join the conversation with the scout.
“You believe what these men said?” he asked the scout.
“I checked it with a dozen others, and then went to where the armies met and spoke to some nearby farmers. They repeated the story and added one more detail.”
Gersius could see the man's aura flaring and his nervous twitching behavior, this detail was what troubled him.
“What else?” he asked.
The man stiffened and looked Gersius in the eyes.
“They were flying flags with the ravens head on them, and all their shields were decorated with it.”
A cold chill ran down his spine as Lengwin sat back in alarm.
“They were not flying a flag of Astikar?” Gersius asked slowly.
The man seemed to pale as he met Gersius eyes again. “I have it from ten witnesses who say they saw the men directly. They fly flags of black with a red raven’s head.”
“They have raised an entire army of these savages?” Lengwin muttered, echoing the thoughts in his own heart.
“We don't know that,” Gersius replied. “They may just be flags meant to confuse.”
“And what if they are false priests like those boys?” Lengwin asked. “What if every one of them can call on divine power?”
Gersius didn’t want to consider that possibility and chose not to answer that question. He focused on the scout to be sure the report was fully delivered.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
“No, sir. That was all I learned.”
Gersius nodded. “You were right; we needed to know this right away. Thank you, you are dismissed.”
They waited in silence until the man left the tent before Gersius slammed his hand on the table.
“What does this change?” Lilly asked. “We knew they would try to stop us.”
“None of us were expecting an army of raven guard soldiers,” Thayle said.
Gersius remained silent with both hands firmly planted on the table, and his head hung low. How could the Father Abbot stoop to building a whole army of those madmen? How many raven guards were there now, and how much harm were they doing across the lands?
“Does it matter what flag they fly?” Lilly asked
“In this case, it does,” Gersius replied. “If those men carry the same moral emptiness that the rest of their order has, then what happened in that camp will spread. Not to mention that if Lengwin is right, the armies ahead of us could be much stronger than we expected.”
“They might have power, but they still lack combat training,” Thayle reminded him. “Once we close the ground, they will fall apart like before.”
Gersius nodded but saw the dangers. Five hundred priests hurling hammers and casting blessings would wither a force rushing down on them. Even with basic training, a man with a blessing of strength would be difficult to manage. Thankfully his priests could match them and overpower them, but there would still be losses. What worried him was the thought that the light infantry might also be false priests. What if there were fifteen hundred men hurling hammers?
“He must have emptied every prison in the kingdoms,” Lengwin said to his right. “Forgiven every violent man and turned him into a weapon. There could be thousands of them.”
“We don't have any indication of their true strength,” Thayle reminded them all.
Gersius looked down at the map and tapped a finger on Lindendell. It was between him and the river, and the guard's report said they fell back. He knew they would be waiting at the bridge to force his men to funnel across a narrow gap where they could concentrate their fire.
“Have Sarah or Numimdel returned?” he asked.
“Not as of yet,” Lengwin replied. “Why do you ask?
“I need to know where this army is,” Gersius said as he tapped the map over the bridge. He saw no other option and turned to the women sitting side by side to his left. “We are going to find it ourselves then.”
“Now?” Lilly asked.
“We will pass that town before noon,” Gersisu said. “That army could be on us before sundown; I need to know where it is.”
“They could come back any minute now,” Lilly said. “Sarah has probably already burned it.”
Gersius earnestly hoped that was true but doubted Sarah could survive a hundred hammers of Astikar, let alone thousands.
As if to make the night worse, the tent flap opened again, and a man ran in with a paper for Lengwin. Lengwin took it with a nod and squinted in the lantern light to read it. Gersius noted the ashen look on the Lengwin's face as his jaw trembled.
“What is it?” Gersius asked softly.
“A report from more of our scouts. They say they are seeing enemy scouts, not even a day out.”
Gersius sighed and moved from the table. “Tripple the guards on the perimeter and keep a garrison force in full armor inside,” he said to Lengwin. “Thayle, into your armor. Lilly, go and get changed.”
“What does this mean?” Lilly asked as she got up.
“It means they are looking for us,” Gersius replied. “And preparing to attack.”
The room exploded into motion, and minutes later they were climbing into the saddle on Lilly's back. She took to the night air with a mighty flap and quickly headed off. Gersius instructed her to fly high and follow the road. He hoped they would run into the Sarah and Numidel but wasn't going to gamble on it. They would find the army, and he would plan their next move.
“How do we find them in the dark?” Thayle asked.
“Look for campfires,” Gersius replied. “We should still be able to see them, even from up here.”
For several hours they followed the road and searched the surrounding countryside for a collection of fires. It was into the hours of the morning when a dark shape suddenly passed by them.
“Who was that?” Thayle asked as Lilly wheeled around in the sky. She fixed her eyes on the form that was turning back and focused her sight.
“It’s Sarah,” Lilly replied as a second form passed behind them.
“That must be Numidel then,” Gersius said as Sarah flew back toward them.
“What are you doing out here?” The large dragon bellowed. “We thought you were our prey.”
“Our scouts have news that a second army is ahead of us,” Gersius shouted. “We are looking for its camp.”
Sarah let out a bellowing sigh and turned her head as Numidel Flew up beside her.
“You were right. We should have focused on finding the raven guard,” she admitted.
“You were not looking for the raven guard?” Gersius asked.
Sarah turned her gaze back, her giant head making him uncomfortable. If Lilly could bite a man in half, Sarah could swallow two of them whole.
“We have discovered three towns southwest of here that were burning in recent dragon attacks,” she replied.
“They were still on fire?” he said in shock.
Sarah blinked her blazing eye and replied. “As if the attacks were an hour old. I decided hunting the dragon was more important since it was clearly about.”
Gersius agreed if the towns were freshly burning, the chance of finding the dragon was high. However, he had to wonder if this dragon would show up in support of the raven guard.
“We already knew this raven guard was ahead of us,” Sarah said, changing back to the subject at hand.
“Yes, but our scouts report they have been reinforced by a much larger unit flying the raven's flag. We are also seeing their scouts less than a day ahead of us. It is likely they have a camp nearby, we were searching for it so I could plan the battle.”
“And who is watching your camp?” Sarah asked.
“I have tripled the guard and ordered a garrison force to be ready to fight,” he replied.
Sarah huffed and narrowed the single eye that faced them.
“You are the commander of an army, why are you out scouting? Your place is in the camp managing the forces under your command. You could easily have sent Lilly alone to find the camp.”
“I don’t want to go alone,” Lilly protested.
“What you want and what is proper may not be the same thing,” Sarah said. “If they are ambushing your camp as we speak, will it matter what you want?”
Gersius understood her point of view but interjected his own.
“Their scouts are nearly a day out, which means the camp is a day or more beyond them,” he said. “They are in no position to attack tonight or even in the morning. If I suspected they could manage an attack soon, I would not have gone out.”
“What if you have missed a delaying force?” Sarah asked.
“A delaying force would be small and waiting in a strongly defensible position,” Gersius countered.
She huffed again and produced a puff of smoke.
“Are all priests of Astikar so military-minded?” Thayle asked silently over the binding link.
“All are trained in the tactics of formations and basic battlefield maneuvers,” Gersius replied silently. “Sarah is clearly knowledgeable in advanced tactics.”
“She is more suited to you than we are,” Lilly said.
Gersius paused in confusion before replying. “What do you mean?”
“She is more like you than we are. She has the same focus and dedication that you have, and she thinks like you.”
“She is almost a female copy of you,” Thayle agreed.
“You two should never question your dedication again,” he insisted. “It was your dedication to me that allowed us to get this far. It was your unquestioning devotion that kept me going and gave me hope to achieve this impossible goal.”
“But she said she was meant to be your dragon,” Lilly said. “If she was, you wouldn't have to train her to sword fight or explain all your tactics to her. She would be able to stand at your side as an equal in all the things you need.”
“What I need is your love, and no one is the equal of you and Thayle in that,” he insisted.
“Maybe she would have loved you?” Lilly suggested.
“I doubt it,” Gersius said. “Her nature would have kept her at a distance. She is very critical of what we do and how we do it. My guess is we would argue a great deal more if she was standing as my equal.”
“Not to mention there is nothing to tie her heart to yours,” Thayle said. “She wouldn't have needed the bind and has no reason to want to learn from you. She believes she already knows everything and more.”
“I suppose we need to find this camp and get back quickly,” Sarah said, bringing them all back to the situation at hand.
Gersius agreed and pressed the search. Sarah and Numidel split up to fly a mile to each flank. It was as he was about to order Lilly to turn around that they saw the lights behind a forested hill. Silently Lilly flew overhead, trying to count tents from well above them.
“I can’t count that fast,” Lilly argued as Gersius urged her on.
“Don’t count each tent. Count a rough section and then decided how many sections of that size there are. We can work out roughly how many there are from that.”
She growled in frustration as she went back to the task.
“Sarah would have known to do that,” she added.
“You need to stop comparing yourself to Sarah,” Gersius said. “You are the one who won my heart, and I would never trade you for her.”
Lilly sighed as they circled and finally lifted her head high.
“Alright, then I see over a thousand tents.”
“Most of them are small?” he asked.
“They have less small ones than we do. About a third of them are like the kitchen tents.”
Gersius considered that and guessed they could hold ten men comfortably, and perhaps twice that many in cramped conditions. This meant the force was two thousand to three and a half thousand strong.
“Let’s find the others and head back,” he said. “I know where they are and what their size is.”
Lilly wheeled off and headed out, finding Numidel first, and then an hour later, Sarah. The sun's light was just breaking the horizon when they touched down with Sarah scolding him the whole way.
“We should have torched it from the air,” she insisted.
“I do not believe our enemy knows you are here yet,” he replied. “I want to keep that secret until I need it.”
“A surprise attack might have routed them,” she pressed.
Gersius turned on her and spoke respectfully but firmly to make his point clear.
“That camp is undoubtedly guarded by priests. You would have dived into a hail of hammers and been pelted hundreds of times. Can you survive that?”
She looked at him with a tense expression but remained silent as he nodded. “We need to complete the morning's chores and get the army moving.” With that, he walked away, feeling a swirl of frustration and anger.
“She means well,” Thayle said, taking his arm as Lilly took the other.
“She has a fiery temper to match her nature,” he said.
“She is angry that the sins of the raven guard are staining the order she loves. She's hungry to get revenge and put an end to it.”
“A priest of Astikar never seeks revenge. They seek justice and should always put the needs of the people above their own.”
“Is that why you always accepted your posts to conflicts?” Thayle asked.
Gersius nodded silently, and a tear formed in his eyes.
“This is really upsetting you,” Thayle said.
“It upsets me because I realize the Father Abbot used my devotion against me. He assigned me and anyone who objected to his questionable actions to combat posts. We always went because it was our duty.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Look what our duty has done to us.”
“It isn't your fault,” Lilly said. “He was the one person you should have been able to trust unquestioningly.”
“I wanted to retire years ago,” Gersius said. “I wanted a farm and a family.”
“You will have all that with us,” Lilly said.
“And we will make you forget all of this pain,” Thayle added.
Gersius laughed and shook his head as they entered their private space in the meeting tent.
“You both know where this path leads,” he said. “We will be the heads of the empire. There will be no quiet farm in our future, only unending duty, and responsibility.”
Thayle turned to him and put a finger to his lips. Her eyes sparkled, and she spoke softly.
“Lilly and I will find a way to fill your life with love and happiness. No matter where your duty takes you, we will fill it with love.”
He reached an arm around them both and hugged them tightly. His heart opened to Balisha to thank her and implored her to thank Astikar and Ulustrah for him. He treasured the gifts of his wives and prayed they would always be safe.
“I must speak with the dragon knights,” came a familiar woman’s voice from outside.
“Is that Mingfe?” Lilly asked as Gersius loosed his wives.
Thayle nodded and led the way through the tent flap to where a guard was impeding the angry priestess from approaching their private space.
“Priestess, is something wrong?” Thayle asked.
The guard ceased trying to impede her and stepped aside as Mingfe shot him a glance of anger. She then presented herself before the three and bowed her head.
“I request we delay our departure today by one hour,” she said.
“Why?” Thayle asked. “You know how important this march is, especially to our order.”
“I am aware,” Mingfe replied. “But if we delay one hour, I can solve our food problems.”
Thayle glanced at Gersius as he stepped forward to address the woman before them.
“How?” he asked.
Mingfe straightened and took a dignified stance. “I thought of a way to produce more food. I set teams of women to rotate in shifts growing food all through the night.”
“You had people casting blessings all night?” Thayle asked.
Mingfe nodded with a bow that never broke her stern eye contact.
“I understand the importance of the march and the limited time for us to grow food. It seemed the only solution was to put people to the task at night. I have those that are waking up gathering what was grown, but I will need another hour to complete the task.”
“How much did you manage to grow?” Gersius asked as he nodded in approval.
“Enough to feed most of the camp for a full day,” Mingfe said.
He was even more impressed to hear that. With such growth, they would be able to extend their overstretched food supply another week or more.
“Can you keep this up?” Thayle asked.
Mingfe looked uncertain, so Gersius pressed the question.
“Can you?”
“We will do what we must,” Mingfe said.
“So no,” Gersius replied. “How long before the women are overtaxed?”
“And how many hours of sleep are they losing?” Thayle asked.
“I have five teams of eight working two hours each,” Mingfe said. “I will rotate the teams to mitigate exhaustion.”
“How long?” Gersius asked.
“Two weeks,” Mingfe said. “In two weeks, they will need a few days rest.”
“This was very clever of you,” Gersius said. “I am grateful for your assistance.”
“It is clever, but these women will all be weary if pressed into combat,” Thayle said. “Were planning to march to a major battle, and hundreds of women will be tired and drained.”
“And fed,” Gersius replied. “No army is ever fully rested for battle.”
“I just wish we didn’t have to press so many so hard,” Thayle insisted.
“Maybe we don’t,” Lilly interjected.
They all turned to look at Lilly, and she nervously stepped back.
“What do you mean?” Gersius asked.
Lilly started to play with her fingers as her eyes went to Thayle’s hip.
“Maybe that could help,” she said and pointed to the sword that hung there.
Thayle looked to the weapon and then glanced back to Gersius.
“Do you think it could?” she asked.
“Shadros said it was responsible for the growth in the cave,” Gersius replied.
“But how do we use it?” Thayle asked as she drew the blade slowly.
Mingfe fixed her gaze on the blade and made a frown.
“What good will a sword do us?”
Thayle drew the weapon and held out the green metal for her to study.
“We found this in a cave overgrown with plants and vines,” Thayle said. “They would never have grown their naturally.”
“Then how did they get there?” Mingfe asked.
Thayle shook her head, “Shadros said the sword was causing them to grow.”
Mingfe rubbed at her chin as she looked across the blade.
“Maybe he was wrong?”
Thayle looked at Lilly, who twisted in discomfort again.
“I don't think so,” Lilly said. “Somebody went to great lengths to protect it, and Shadros said he froze the plants several times, but they always grew back. Also, the metal it's made from is very rare and prized by dragons. It's significantly more magical than gold, and just looking at it makes me crave it.”
Mingfe watched Lilly’s aura a moment and then returned to the blade.
“Then how do you use it?”
“We don’t know,” Thayle said. “None of us has any idea how to use it.”
“Have you asked Shadros?”
Thayle looked around the faces of the room, and Gersius shook his head.
“We did not want to involve him in the sword,” Gersius said. “He has admitted to Lilly that just seeing it makes him angry, and we believe he is not aware of what metal it is. If Lilly finds it hard not to covet it, what might he do?”
“He has told me his mother died over that sword, and I respect his feelings. But, if the magic of that sword can solve our problem, we must seek the secret of its use,” Mingfe insisted. “We should ask him.”
“He never intimated that he knew anything about it,” Lilly said. “It was protected in a ward that he didn’t dare break.”
“Do you have a better course of action?” Mingfe asked.
Lilly twisted again and looked to Gersius for help.
“We will ask him,” Gersius replied. “But all we do is ask. Do not bring the sword with or reveal the nature of the metal.”
“I agree,” Lilly said. “It would only make him angry if we waived it under his face.”
Gersius agreed and gave Mingfe her hour to gather what was grown the night before. He then turned to Lilly and Thayle with a sour look and took them to find Shadros.
He was where he always was, to the side of the tents of Ulustrah with a dozen guards at a safe distance. He sat looking to the distance with a small pile of gold at his feet and a nearby chest.
“Shadros,” Lilly called as they approached drawing one eye to look over them.
“What do you want now?” he asked, slowly turning his head.
“We want to talk to you about the sword,” Lilly pressed.
Gersius noted the dragon's aura suddenly filled with streaks of red, and he dug his claws into the ground in irritation. Lilly was right; this was a topic he wasn't happy to talk about.
“We were curious about how the sword was growing those plants,” Lilly said. “Do you know how it works?”
He lowered his head to look at them all, and Gersius noted the narrowing of eyes.
“I have no idea how that cursed thing works. All I know is the plants would regrow around the sword and then spread out across the cave.”
“How long did that take?” Thayle asked.
His gaze shifted to Thayle, and he let out a snort of irritation. The red in his aura grew, he was still angry at Thayle for binding him, but he answered the question.
“A few hours at most,” he replied.
Gersius wasn't sure if this was of any use. If anything truly useful was to be gleaned, they would have to ask directly.
“Did your mother know anything about the sword?” he asked.
Lilly and Thayle flinched at the blunt question, and Shadros pulled his head away as red filled his light. He curled a lip in a snarl, but Gersius continued.
“I know little about it, but your mother sounds like she was wise and intelligent. Surely a dragon as great as she was, knew something.”
“You're playing a dangerous game,” Thayle said silently in his mind.
“We are learning two things here,” Gersius said silently in return.
“What two things?” Lilly asked.
“What his mother knows, and that he knows what love is because he loves his mother.”
His wives looked up at Shadros in alarm as the dragon continued to snarl.
“Shadros,” Gersius repeated. “I am truly sorry for what happened to your mother, but here is a chance for her wisdom and light to shine through. You can be her light, here and now, to show us just how great she was.”
“I do not need to prove that to you!” the dragon growled.
“You do not,” Gersius replied. “But if you do not, no one will learn of her and remember her greatness.”
“You’re pushing your luck,” Thayle said in his mind. “His aura is on fire.”
“It is on fire because he is struggling against his desire to deny us and his desire to show us how great his mother was.”
“Then he must know something,” Lilly added.
“He knows something,” Gersius said. “He just needs to be goaded into sharing it.”
“His aura flashed with the truth when he said he didn't know how it worked,” Thayle pointed out.
“How it works, and what it is are two different truths,” Gersius replied.
“But he’s so angry, how do we calm him down?”
Lilly stepped forward and looked up to his burning eyes.
“I forgot to tell you. Sarah and Numidel were mad at me for knowing so little about our history. They offered to teach me about our past and our powers. I asked them if they would teach you too, and they said yes. So if you want, they will teach us both.”
His aura flashed with whites, and a pulsing appeared at the crown as a decision weighed heavily in his heart.
“That had a terrible impact on him,” Thayle whispered over the bind.
“He must know very little of his past,” Gersius said. “He desperately wants to learn.”
“But he still hates us, even if he does cooperate from time to time,” Thayle said.
“Shadros,” Gersius called. “Please, we need your help. Did your mother say anything about the sword?”
A ripple of blues and purples flashed across his aura, and Thayle covered her mouth.
“What does that mean?” Lilly asked silently.
“He wants to cry,” Thayle replied.
Shadros turned his head away and let out a quivering sigh.
“She said it was a unique sword. A weapon forged by the divines. She told me that every divine gifted their followers three items. A ring, a sword, and a symbol. This sword was one of them, and a female champion of the divines brought it and hid it in the cave.”
“Why did she bring it there?” Gersius asked.
“She came to slay the dragon that lived there before my mother, and left the sword behind.”
“Your mother moved into the cave afterwards?” Gersius questioned.
“I don’t know, I was very young and I am sure there was more to the story.
She told me the sword is imbued with the power of the divine who made it. I have no idea how it works, nor do I care. I hate it for bringing those men to her lair.”
“How did your mother know all this?” Gersius asked. “How could she know about the artifacts of the divine?”
He was silent a long moment his back turned to them, and his head held low.
“She was very old. Older than Sutherisa is now. She once bragged that she was one of the oldest dragons in the world, that only three were older, and one of those is dead now.”
“She was that old?” Lilly asked.
“She was old when the world fell,” Shadros replied. “She said that dragons of her age were called ancients.”
“But your so young,” Lilly pointed out. “Your mother waited a long time to have a brood.”
“I wasn’t her first brood. She said the calling came on her before the war. All of her first brood died in the war. She had me thousands of years later, so her blood could pass on.”
“I’m sorry,” Lilly said. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Balisha wanted humans and dragons to live together in peace.”
“My mother told me of Balsiha. She said Balisha was trying to help us grow, but it failed.”
Gersius realized that they had never asked him what color his mother was. He silently told Lilly to ask him and waited for the answer.
“Was your mother blue?” Lilly asked.
He nodded his head and let out another sigh.
“She was blue, and my father was black.”
It was out then. His mother chose Balisha in the war and kept her blue, but his father was of Solesta, turned black by her fires. He was born of parents from both sides in a terrible conflict.
Lilly stepped right up to him and put a hand to his leg as if trying to offer him support.
“Balisha is still trying. Gersius and I are her followers, and you can help us finish what she started. Your mother agreed with Balisha's plan, please, won't you support your mother and help us?”
“You two are devious,” Thayle said silently. “I should have learned that when you both hunted me in Avashire.”
Gersius struggled not to smile as Shadros looked down at Lilly.
“You believe Balisha is right too?”
Lilly nodded and stepped back.
“I am proof of it. I love two humans and would never give them up. Your mother must have believed in it too if she was still blue. If there is anything you want to know about it, please ask me.”
He looked away to the distant hills letting a long silence pass before replying.
“What is this twisting I feel inside when the Mingfe talks to me?”
Gersius noted Lilly was smiling broadly, and she practically bounced when she answered him.
“That is the first step of your freedom,” Lilly replied. “Soon, you will wonder why you ever resisted it.”
Comments
First! haha. Sorry this is so late. I covered a lot of varied things here and I had to do a little research of my past writing to keep consistent. This turned into five hours of reading book 4 and making pages of notes.
