Omnixius
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DKP 4-12 A spark.
🕑 Added 2019-11-20 02:32:25 +0000 UTC
They stood in the sparing ring setup beside the camp. Lilly sat on a crate in her blue dress as Mingfe stood by scowling. A dozen others from the various groups watched from the sidelines as the two crossed blades.
Gersius raised his weapon and faced off against Thayle. She smiled and cut in with a simple but effective slash that he diverted. He tried a quick cut to follow it, but her shield was already in the way.
“You don’t like shields,” Thayle said as she circled him.
“I am quite accustomed to fighting around shields,” he said. “I am only testing your ability to use it.”
Thayle dashed in with a series of three cuts. Gersius recognized it as a move he knew as three sweeps. It was easily countered a number of ways, but her shield complicated matters. He had the reach both in arm and length of blade. The simplest maneuver was to reach high and straight, putting the tip of his sword in her face. She would thrust her shield up and sweep his blade aside if he did. This would leave him wide open to attack.
The wiser move was to cut in from the side of her shield. She blocked it as predicted, but he rolled around, forcing her to turn. He pressed his blade against the shield so she would push back, keeping the shield between them. He pushed hard and then stepped back as she pushed in return. This caused her to overreach, swinging the shield out. He caught the edge with his free left hand and jerked her forward. Thayle cried out in alarm as the edge of his blade came to her throat.
“This is why she should not try to fight like a man,” Mingfe grumbled from the side. “You used your strength to overpower her.”
Gersius nodded as Thayle dropped her arms with a sigh.
“You fought well,” he said. “You are very good with a shield.”
“And yet you keep turning it against me,” she said.
“I have a free hand, and you have something easy to grab,” he pointed out.
“You didn't grab it yesterday when you tripped me, or the day before, when you used my own shield to block my view of your sword hand.”
“I am expertly trained in many combat styles,” he said. “The order of Astikar never stops drilling and training.”
Thayle shook her head. “I am one of the best fighters of Ulustrah. How am I going to lead my women against lines of men trained as well as you?”
He smirked. “You will not meet many like me in the field of battle. My father was a swordmaster, and he was training me long before I joined the order. By the time I could hold a sword, I already knew many of the postures.”
“When was that, ten?”
“Seven,” he answered.
Thayle threw her shield down in defeat and shook her head.
Gersius could see she was frustrated. She was an excellent fighter, but only in the few styles she knew. He, on the other hand, knew every major style and most of the minor ones. No matter how they looked at it, it wasn't a fair fight. To see her look so defeated made him regret agreeing to spar with her.
“Thayle, you are very good. Do not let this bother you.”
“She would be better if she would stop trying to match your strength,” Mingfe said. “Your arm is as big around as her thigh, and your upper chest is twice her size.”
“She’s right,” Thayle said. “And shield styles require strength.”
“No, they do not,” he replied. “You use your shield to sweep attacks away just as you should. You never try to block them directly unless you have no choice. The only disadvantage the shield offers you is a vulnerability to grappling attacks.”
“Which is why she should use a spear,” Mingfe added. “You cannot get close enough to grapple with the reach of a spear in your way.”
He ran his fingers through his hair as he considered what to do. Mingfe was right in many ways. If Thayle was going to fight with a sword and shield, she was going to need strength.
“Ulustrah offers no blessing of strength?”
Thayle shook her head. “Does Balisha?”
Gersius nodded. Balisha did indeed offer a blessing of strength. It was one of the blessings he was now teaching the new priests.
“And you will be able to boost it with Lilly’s power,” Thayle said with a sigh.
“It is a pity you can not draw on Lilly for it,” he said.
Thayle nodded and then paused a moment. “Wait a minute, who says I can’t?”
Gersius looked back at her and had to think about his answer. “How would you draw on it?”
Thayle looked to where Lilly sat watching. “I will make the link and draw on her power. If we can use it for the voice, and eyesight, maybe it can be used for might?”
“It is certainly worth a try,” he replied.
“Or you could learn how to fight properly,” Mingfe scolded.
Thayle smiled and walked over to Lilly. She asked for permission to draw on her for strength. Gersius watched as Lilly put her arms around Thayle's waist and pulled her in close to whisper in an ear. Thayle smiled and blushed as Lilly let her go. The smile that was on Lilly's face told him everything he needed to know about that whisper.
“Are you ready to try?” he asked.
“I am,” Thayle said as her blush subsided. “I may be busy later, though.”
“How shall we test this?” he asked with a smile on his face.
Thayle held out her sword and looked him in the eyes. “Meet my blade and let me see if I can push you.”
Gersius nodded and put his blade against hers. She set her feet and pressed into him, using her legs to gain. She pushed with all her might but only succeeded in making him tense his arm. She then reached out for Lilly and felt the source of power over the bind. She drew on that power and focused on overpowering the blade that was resisting her.
“I feel, strange,” Thayle said as the power flowed.
Gersius started to shake and had to lock his legs against the pressure that suddenly surged against him. He felt his arm growing strained as Thayle pushed back like ten men, and his feet started to slip.
“It’s working!” Thayle cried. “I can feel her power coursing through me!”
“You are pressing my arm to the point of pain,” Gersius said. “I can not hold you back much longer.”
He had to relent as his arms began to buckle under the pressure.
Thayle sheathed her sword and looked at her arms. “I feel like I could lift a horse.”
“This isn’t fair,” Lilly said.
“What isn’t?” Thayle asked.
“You can call on my power to make yourself stronger, but I can't' do it myself.”
Thayle shrugged, the point was valid, but she didn't have any say in it.
“Sweetheart, there must be a way to access that power yourself.”
Lilly frowned and folded her arms. “Well, I don’t know how to do it.”
Gersius rubbed his arm and turned to Mingfe. “Is she strong enough now?”
Mingfe shook her head. “Only because she has her dragon. Even so, you were able to resist her for far longer than anyone would need to in a duel. Were this a sword fight, you would not have tried to hold your blade so long.”
Gersius wanted to laugh. No matter what, Mingfe would be against a woman trying to match a man's strength in direct combat.
“I want to try it,” Gersius said as he turned to Lilly. “With your permission, of course.”
“You two don't need my permission. I give you whatever you need,” Lilly said. “Of course, I may ask for repayment later.”
“Pah! Shameless dragon,” Mingfe grumbled.
He nodded and closed his eyes, focusing on feeling Lilly over the bind.
“It feels strange when you two reach out to me,” Lilly said.
“It must be strange that you can feel us,” Thayle laughed.
“It feels like you're pulling something away.”
“It doesn't hurt, does it?” Thayle asked with a hint of alarm in her voice.
Lilly shook her head, and Gersius could feel Thayles relief over the bind.
Gersius fell into his focus, drawing on Lilly as he imagined himself getting stronger. He could feel the power flowing through him, as her strength married with his own.
“I can feel her power. It comes rushing over the bind in answer to our call,” he said.
“It's an amazing feeling,” Thayle added. “It is very similar to channeling a divine.”
“I wish I could feel it,” Lilly said sadly. “We need another dragon so I can draw on her power.”
“I won't say no to that,” Thayle said with a smile.
Gersius laughed and broke the connection.
He thought about what they were doing and what it could mean. He wanted to discuss it but not where others might hear. He tried to think of someplace they could go to be alone when his eyes went up. Above him was the vast expanse of the sky, full of white clouds rolling by. Silently over the bind, he spoke to them so no other would hear.
“I want to go flying,” he said.
“Missing the beauty of the sky?” Lilly asked silently.
“No, I want the privacy so we can speak.”
“We can talk right here over the bind, and nobody will know,” Thayle added.
“People notice when we take long pauses. They are starting to become suspicious of what we are doing,” he pointed out. “Let us excuse ourselves and take to the air so we can talk.
Thayle nodded and rubbed her arm. “I think that's enough for today. I want to take a break and do something fun.”
“Like what?” Lilly asked.
“Would you two like to go flying?” she said with a wink to Gersius.
He nodded as Lilly got up and took Thayle’s hand to lead her away. He followed them as they made their way to Lilly’s enclosure.
Lilly turned her back on Thayle but looked over her shoulder with a smile. “Would you mind helping me?”
Thayle didn’t argue and helped Lilly undress, pinching her as Lilly swatted at her hands.
“You pinch me again, and I am going to bite you some more,” Lilly said.
“I am pinching you because you bite me,” Thayle argued.
Lilly broke free and changed into her dragon form. She took up the saddle, wrapping it over her back and buckling it over her chest.
“Come my loves. I want to share the sky with you,” Lilly said as she ducked down.
“I can’t believe we fly through the sky on a dragon for fun,” Thayle said as she climbed up.
“This is more of a private meeting,” he said.
Thayle laughed. “You can be as serious as you like. I intend to have fun.”
Gersius climbed up after her and took a firm hold of Thayle's waist. He pulled her tightly to his chest, and smiled as the scent of her hair filled his nose.
“Is my lover secure?” Lilly asked as she turned her head to look back.
“Are you going to start that again?” Thayle asked.
“She is secure,” Gersius answered as Lilly laughed and spread her wings. With a great flap that ruffled the walls of the tent, she lifted off, beating the air vigorously to gain altitude.
Once they were well above, Thayle turned to look at him.
“So, what was so important we couldn't talk in our room?”
“The tent often has visitors, and the guards walk the outer walls. I do not wish to share what we need to talk about with a random ear.”
“So, what is it?”
“I want to talk about what we did,” Gersius said.
“We can draw on Lilly’s power,” Thayle said. “Most of the people in the camp know that already.”
Gersius nodded to the truth of those words, but this wasn’t what concerned him.
“I knew we could draw on her power to aid a blessing, but this is something new. We are bypassing blessing and drawing on her strength alone.”
Thayle looked down, lost in thought. “I hadn't thought of it. You're right. I wasn't using a blessing at all. I was shaping Lilly's power without a blessing to give it form.” She paused as her mind began to spin. “But how can we do this?”
“I can only think of what Lilly told us about her magic. She uses the power of the gold to shape what she wants. She isn't using a weave, but she could if she wanted, and she could power it directly.”
“And now we are doing the same,” Thayle said. “We can use her power to strengthen a blessing like she could a weave, or we could simply shape her power directly.”
Gersius took a moment to think his thought through.
“Lilly is somehow acting as a divine source for us. Some nature of the bind is allowing us to tap into the power she absorbs and use it like she would.
“Lilly is acting as a sort of power source?” Thayle said.
“I think Lilly is a bridge to the power of the metals. She absorbs and stores it away, and then we can use it.”
“So, you can consume my hoard?” Lilly asked.
“I haven’t noticed anything being damaged,” Gersius said. “But we hardly ever tap your power. I suspect we are only taking the power that is stored within you.”
“I hope your right rodent. My hoard is small enough without you two eating it away.”
Thayle laughed and bent over to rub Lilly’s shoulder. “I am sure we could replace it if we were. The more important thing is understanding what is happening, and if it is harming you.”
“I don’t think it’s harming me,” Lilly said. “I never feel anything but a pulling.”
“So, what are we doing then?” Gersius said.
“It is as if we can draw on two divines at once,” Thayle replied
“But we know she isn’t a divine,” he reminded her.
“We talked about this before. We don’t know what role dragons play,” Thayle said. “But we have been told they carry the spark of the divine.”
“What does that even mean?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Thayle said. “All I know is we can pull on her just like we can the divines.”
“Why don’t I get any benefit from this?” Lilly asked. “You two can use my power to make you stronger, but I can’t do any of it.”
“You get the benefit of our love,” Gersius said.
Lilly turned her head to frown at him.
“Oh, I love the pouting dragon face!” Thayle laughed.
“I don’t even have the aura sight,” Lilly said. “All I have are Balisha’s blessing and my dragon form.”
“We don’t have a dragon form,” Gersius said. “At least not yet.”
“Wait, do you think we will gain a dragon form?” Thayle asked.
Gersius shrugged. “She can become a human. Maybe we will be able to become dragons.”
“Good!” Lilly quipped. “Then, maybe I can draw on you.”
“I kind of like Lilly being our special little dragon,” Thayle said.
“If you two get a dragon form, I am making you live in a cave,” Lilly said. “You can sleep on your own hoards and share your power with me.”
“I have the aura sight to give her,” Thayle began. “But what could she gain from you?”
Gersius considered the question with a nod. He had no special gifts unique to him that he could offer. Lilly worshiped the same goddess and had equal access to those blessings. He could only shrug and assume there was nothing he could genuinely provide.
“I don’t think I have anything she can use,” he said. “Unless she wants to grow facial hair.”
“Oh, please don't share the with us!” Thayle laughed.
He smiled as he steered them back to the topic at hand.
“I do not want people to know how Lilly’s power works.”
“They already know we can draw on it,” Thayle said.
“Let them know we can tap into it, but do not let them know she can consume gold to power it.”
“Why are you worried about that?” Thayle asked.
“Not worried,” he said. “I may have a use for this gift in the future, and I do not want our enemies learning of it.”
“Oh a secret,” Thayle said with a smile. “Are we going to share them all now?”
“I don’t have any secrets,” he said.
“Oh, you don't?” Thayle asked.
“I keep no secrets from you two.”
“What about your use for my power?” Lilly asked.
“That isn’t a secret. That is an idea I am starting to form. When I have a better understanding of what I want to do with it, I will tell you.”
“I know a secret your keeping,” Thayle said with a smile.
“And what secret is that?” he asked.
“Who was the red-haired woman we saw you kissing in your dream?” Thayle pressed.
“Alright, I may have a few secrets,” he corrected.
“So share,” Thayle said. “Lilly told you her secret.”
“Yeah, I told you mine!” Lilly added.
Gersius squeezed Thayle’s waist. “Are you sure you want to know? This isn’t going to be as cute as you think it will.”
“Why don’t you tell me and let me decide if it’s cute or not.”
He sighed and thought back to the woman in his dream.
“Her name was Annmarie, and I knew her from my youth. We were young, and we thought we were in love.”
“You thought you were in love?” Lilly asked.
Gersius sighed. “My family grooms its men to join the order of Astikar, and when I was eighteen, my time came to go.”
“You’re right, I don’t like this already,” Thayle said.
“I want to know more,” Lilly said. “Why didn’t you two love?”
“We did love,” Gersius replied. “I thought we would be husband and wife one day. For four years, I saw her every chance I could. We spoke about getting married, but the day came when I was chosen to go on a long campaign. I told her I would be gone for many weeks, and she gave me a lover's mark.”
“Oh,” Thayle said. “This is the girl who gave you the mark and then left.”
Gersius nodded. “I was gone over six months. I spent that whole time thinking about her. I kept her mark close to my heart and would sit with it in my hand. I knew that so long as I had the mark, I was loved, but when I got home, I was proven wrong.”
“I’m sorry,” Thayle said.
“No, do not be sorry. I have grown a great deal since meeting Lilly and you. I have come to realize the greatest blessing of my life has been born out of such loss.”
“Ulustrah calls this the fires of preparation. We say that a heart is like a wild field full of flowers and weeds. The flowers are beautiful, but they, along with the weeds, block out the soil so the tree cannot grow. A fire must come and burn away the flowers and the weeds to leave the soil bare and ready for the tree. Then the tree can grow and stand like a monument above all others.”
“A very good analogy,” Gersius said.
“This is why my wings were broken and then cut off?” Lilly asked. “To prepare my heart for something bigger?”
“I would bet my faith on it,” Thayle said. “You said so yourself, you needed what happened in Whiteford to help you come to understand Gersius and feel for him.”
Lilly nodded her head in the air as she started to bank and circle the camp.
“So, if the flowers are pretty, why do they have to go too?” Lilly asked.
Thayle laughed as Lilly went back to the analogy.
“The flowers represent the good things all people have in their lives, and weeds represent the bad things. Some people will cling to the few good things they have. They will refuse to grow for fear of losing them. So the flowers become just like the weeds, a weight that prevents them from becoming more. This is why some event has to come along and take both away before they are willing to act.”
“I see,” Lilly said. “They settle for being small to protect the few treasures they have.”
“Exactly,” Thayle said with a smile. “The divines know this, so they often send something to clear away the good and the bad. This way, nothing is holding the person back. Then you will see the person rise to new heights.”
“And here I thought I was acting,” Gersius said.
“Were you?” Thayle asked. “If you believed you could win that war even if the costs were terrible, would you have sought out Lilly?”
He was silent a long moment and nodded his understanding. “No, I would not.”
“So you needed to be put into a hopeless situation and forced to act,” Thayle said. “In your case, the divines threatened to burn your field if you didn't act. So to protect it, you went to find Lilly.”
“But my field burned anyway,” he said.
Thayle leaned back into his chest, and he smelled her hair again.
“Maybe they did that to prepare you for your new life with us,” she said.
He had to admit that seemed very plausible.
“So, we were always meant to be together?” Lilly asked.
“It would seem so,” Gersius said.
“Good,” Lilly said with a pleased feeling over the bind. “I like knowing you were always meant to be mine.”
“Claimed by a dragon,” Thayle laughed.
“The love of a dragon is a powerful thing,” he said.
They circled above for a few hours, enjoying the freedom from the world below. Gersius forgot all about the war and the struggle ahead as he shared this moment of love with his wives. As Lilly drifted in the air, he looked down and saw the mass of black scales on the ground below, and he had a thought.
“Lilly, do you think all dragons like to fly as you do?”
Lilly turned her head to look back at him. “I would think so. It is our birthright to soar the skies.”
“Do you think Shadros would like to fly?”
Lilly twisted her head and then looked down on the dragon below.
“Maybe. In those early days, I wished I could fly constantly.”
“Where are you going with this?” Thayle asked.
“He has been stuck on the ground since he was brought here. I thought maybe we should ask him to fly with us,” Gersius said.
“Why, so I can feel sick that he is so close to us?” Thayle asked.
Gersius understood the concern but let it pass. “I am hoping it will boost his mood. If it doesn't, we will tell him to go back to the ground.”
“I think we should do it,” Lilly said. “If he likes flying half as much as I do, he will be glad.”
“If you two think it will help,” Thayle relented.
Lilly twisted around and headed down, landing in the field a hundred paces from him. She walked up as he glared at her from where he lay on the ground.
“Why are their insects on your back?” he asked.
Lilly narrowed her eyes and glared down at him.
“Are you going to be insulting every time I come to talk to you?”
“Are you going to demean yourself with rodents every time I see you?”
Lilly shook her head in frustration. “I want to be there the day your curse breaks, and you open your eyes. I want to see that look of shame on your face for all the terrible things you have said to me.”
“What do you want?” he said sourly.
“We wanted to know if you would fly with us,” Lilly said.
“Why would I want to fly with you?”
Lilly blinked and took a step closer. “Because you're a dragon, and you like to fly.”
“I will find no sense of freedom in the air. I will be bound just as before.”
Lilly shook her head in disgust. “You can enjoy flying, just like you enjoy the food. Come on, let’s circle the camp for a little while.”
“I wish to remain here,” he said, turning his head to look away from her.
“No, you don't,” Mingfe said as she approached. “Your aura says you are lying.”
Shadros lifted his head and twisted it to look down at Mingfe.
“Why must you torment me with your sight?” he snapped. “I do not wish to share in anything they do!”
“That was true,” Mingfe said. “But, it is foolish.”
“Why do you insist on calling me a fool?”
Mingfe approached him calmly and stood before his glaring eyes.
“You deny yourself simple pleasures because you hate being bound. You make your chains heavier of your own accord.”
“I can not enjoy these simple pleasures when I am forced to into slavery,” he replied.
“You have been told a dozen times. We only keep you to try and save you. If you honestly find nothing of value in what we try to teach you, we will set you free.”
“You lie!” he shouted. “You will never set me free, and I will not be domesticated like that cow!”
“Hey!” Thayle said, practically standing in the saddle. “We wanted to offer you a measure of freedom because we thought you would enjoy it. If you want to wallow in your hate for me, then fine, sit on the ground and watch us fly around you!”
He huffed and put his head down, but Mingfe walked up close enough to touch him. She crouched before him and whispered to him.
“Why would I do that?” he said.
Mingfe pointed into the tents and then herself as he studied her with his eyes.
He snorted, and one eye glanced back at Lilly before Mingfe reached out a hand and stroked his jaw.
Gersius, Lilly, and Thayle were stunned to see the dragon hold firm as Mingfe began to stroke him.
“He is letting her touch him!” Lilly said, alarmed over the binding link.
“She must be breaking through to him,” Thayle replied silently. “I wish I was close enough to see his light.”
“I can not believe that woman is taming his heart,” Gersius said.
“Feel him over the bind,” Lilly said. “His anger is dipping.”
“I have to talk to her about what she is promising him,” Thayle said. “Whatever it is, it's effective.”
“You will hold your end of this bargain?” the dragon asked.
“If you do not trust me yet, I have not thrown enough spears at you!”
“Throwing spears at me isn’t gaining my trust!” he snarled.
“Go on,” Mingfe said. “Circle the camp as long as you like. When you come down, I will be waiting for you.”
He huffed and started to move, shifting his long tail as he got to his feet.
“I will fly,” he said. “But I will not follow behind you like I am being led.”
“Suit yourself,” Lilly said and took to the sky.
They soared upward and looked back to see Shadros taking off after them. He didn't come up to where they were, but he did begin to circle the camp, gliding silently like a patch of blackness around the tents.
“What did she say to him?” Gersius asked.
“I don’t know, but I really want to,” Thayle said.
“He feels so much calmer now,” Lilly added.
For another hour, the two dragons circled as the three watched Shadros climb higher until he vanished in the white of a cloud. He came out the other side a moment later and circled coming closer to them.
“So, you do like to fly?” Lilly asked.
“I am curious as to why they are not dead,” Shadros said. “The air is cold up here. Surely they should have frozen by now.”
Lilly laughed. “I am an ice dragon.”
“So am I, but that does not answer my question,” he remarked.
Lilly shook her head. “They are my loves and because we love they share in my gifts. They are as resistant to the cold as we are.”
The one eye that faced them narrowed as he looked back at Gersius and Thayle.
“They share in your power?”
“Yes, they do!” Lilly shouted. “They share in nearly all my abilities.”
Shadros turned his head to look at them with both eyes, and they could feel a sort of fear from him.
“You are trying to deceive me,” he said at last.
“How do you explain why they are not freezing then?” Lilly asked.
“They are using a weave to shield themselves from the cold.”
Lilly let out a low growl and flew faster to get ahead of him.
“Believe what you want,” she spat as she pulled away.
Gersius looked back as the black dragon struggled to catch up and flew beside her again.
“Why did you choose to submit to them?”
“She did not submit,” Gersius replied.
“I did not ask you,” Shadros replied.
“I am answering you,” Gersius said. “You cannot address any one of us alone. If you choose to insult Lilly or Thayle, you insult me.”
“Then you are easily insulted,” the dragon laughed.
“You listen to me,” Gersius said. “Lilly did not submit. She opened her heart and asked for something more of life. She found it, and it changed her forever. We all very much wants you to find it, but I doubt your heart will ever be able to understand.”
“My heart is strong, and I have lived for nearly five hundred years!” Shadros growled. “You have nothing to show me.”
“Then you are not paying attention,” Gersius said. “Lilly has grown beyond what you are. She is more than a dragon, and has learned to share her power with others.”
“But why would she share it? What good are you to her?”
“The answer to that is what you must come to understand,” Gersius said.
“I know more than you rodents will ever understand. I have lived for ten times your lifespan!”
Gersius smiled at him. “Your long years are meaningless. How much of them did you spend asleep? How much of the time awake did you spend lying on your hoard? What could you have possibly learned from years of doing nothing?”
“You dare mock me?” Shadros shouted.
“I am not mocking you. I am pointing out that you know very little. Hardly more than what your mother was able to teach you.”
“Do not speak of my mother!”
“Do you care for your mother?” Gersius asked.
“I am not here to answer your questions,” Shadros said and veered off.
Gersius watched him fly off and felt his twisted emotions over the bind. The mention of his lack of experience despite his years made him angry. The mention of his mother caused him pain.
“That was not the reaction I was expecting,” Gersius said.
“He must care for his mother,” Lilly said. “He didn’t like you talking about her.”
“I watched his aura,” Thayle said. “He was very interested in knowing why you submitted. He didn’t care for Gersius’s answer.”
“He wouldn’t understand the truth,” Lilly said. “Let’s hope Mingfe can reach him.”
Gersius agreed and hoped that was the path the divines had planned for him. One way or another, his attitude needed to change before they reached Calathen. He could not afford to have a hostile dragon in his ranks when the battle was joined.
Comments
WhiteRabbit
sparing->sparring Thayles relief-> 's hope your-> you're share the->that your keeping-you're
ArturScott
It's fine hope you will be okey! And Thanks for the chapter!
Sorry this is so late. I am not feeling well and I had a lot of trouble focusing on doing this.
