This fic was originally published HERE.
My eyes opened in the dark room. It was sometime after dinner but before
sunrise. Each room didn't have a window but magic allowed sunlight
inside. I closed by eyes but sleep seemed to be running away from me. It
wasn't that I wanted to go back to the nightmare, but I needed sleep.
It could be tomorrow or in a few days that Elfangor would finally
announce who had made it into the Dracomorphs.
I did my best not
to move as Scourge, Alex, and myself were formed into a ball of limbs.
It was more than comforting on most nights to feel the presences of my
loves so close to my body. It helped reassure me that no matter what,
there would always be those that loved me. I tried to quiet my mind and
focus on the two of the mates that were with me. I tried to ignore
thoughts of Daenerys. I tried to ignore my nightmare.
Scourge was
in the center to help keep some distance between me and Alex. She knew
we didn't love each other like we loved her. While the distance wasn't
great, it was enough. My second wife was an amazing woman who deserved
to be worshiped. She was fierce as the night but could also be as gentle
as the sound of breathing.
But even thinking of her couldn't
break me free of the nightmare. I had disobeyed Elfangor's orders to
stay in the clan and instead flew to Daenerys' side. My wings ached and
felt like they were about to fall off but I continued to fly anyways. My
lungs were about to stop working but still I pressed on. Day turned
into night and the cycle continued to repeat. But no amount of pain or
time would stop my need to get to Daenerys' side.
If I had been
able to save Daenerys it wouldn't have been a nightmare. It would have
been just a dream if, after all my sacrifice, I had been able to save
her. It was a nightmare because I had just enough energy remaining to
land beside her corpse before dying.
As I shivered at the memory,
I felt Scourge's tail brush against my own. The brief motion helped
calm my mind and sleep felt like a real possibility for tonight. But
sleep quickly went away from me again as I thought about becoming a
Dracomorph.
My service in the clan had forced Seitou to take
notice of my loyalty. Elfangor had tasked me to lead some of the
fiercest battles in the clan's history. My strength and loyalty should
ensure my place as a Dracomorph. Yet there was still doubt. While my
deeds couldn't just be brushed aside, I wasn't the most renowned dragon
in the clan.
Tobias had gotten lost and survived off of the
continent. Nazilla had earned the rank of Seitou's personal guard. Max's
actions had accidentally leveled a clan into oblivion and now she used
her powers for the good of the clan.
I needed to fly or at least
walk around to burn away the fear from my mind. But that meant possibly
disturbing the others. Scourge never fully slept due to where she grew
up. Outside of the continent there was never a moment's rest. At least
according to the brief stories Tobias sometimes told. Scourge, on the
other hand, had been able to find some measure of peace in that chaotic
land. Though that was probably because she had grown up without a deity
watching over her.
With gentle motions, I began to slowly
untangle myself from the others. Scourge immediately sensed my presence
lessening and reached out for me with a tired claw. To reassure her I
kissed it gently. This seemed to be enough to reassure her that nothing
bad was going on. She let out a tired yawn and didn't attempt to stop me
anymore.
It felt like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle
while heavily drunk. A part of my mind was aware of what needed to be
done but the rest of my body was oblivious. After what must have been
the better part of an hour, I found myself free of my two mates. Alex
must have felt the loss of my heat in some manner as Scourge was wrapped
around him much tighter than she had to be.
I spread my wings
and then folded them back again. I pulled back the curtain just enough
to leave the room before letting it fall back again. The inside of the
mound was larger on the inside than on the outside. This due to the fact
that if the outside was made to match Daenerys' size, it would take up
too much space in the clan.
A few sconces were placed along the
walls to allow us to see in the night. While it wasn't common for us to
move around in the dark, there were always exceptions. Whenever I was
sent to a battle I liked to practice until I was forced to fall asleep.
Alex had experiments that had to be monitored or examined until the dawn
broke.
When I looked up the ceiling was only barely visible. Or
was I simply imagining things? There had to be an end to the structure
as the familiars tended to sleep up there. Though it felt as if I could
simply launch myself towards the ceiling and never find it.
I
managed to turn my focus from the ceiling to the entrances to other
rooms. As normal, there were two rooms for me and my mates since
Daenerys was one of the largest breeds of dragons. The one I had come
from was only used when she was away. But since we had our own lives and
work, Seitou had also provided a room for each of us. As Jeor didn't
have a mate of his own and was too old to sleep with his parents, his
room functioned both as a work and sleeping area.
My feet brought
me to the edge of the large hole in the center of the mound. This was
the first sleeping room for me and my mates. The Yun-Harla could have
easily made the second sleeping room accommodate Daenerys' large form.
But Vergere had tried to explain how it was easier to make a large hole
for the Imperial to sleep in, especially as Daenerys had her own room to
work in. The Coatl and her department usually appeared so powerful that
it was hard to remember that even they had limits.
Some in the
clan thought their vast powers was proof that they were in league with
the Shade. Though I didn't believe such rumors, Vergere must have used
dark magic to allow themselves such abilities. I shuddered to think what
vile secrets the Yun-Harla guarded with such devotion.
As I
gripped the edge of the hole I looked for the hidden pathways. The
pathways were made so that it was hard for me, who knew where they were,
to see them. This wasn't done for safety, but so that when we slept
together they wouldn't distract us. If we were feeling up to flying, it
was a simple matter to glide down.
Daenerys would arrive soon and
then we could sleep together. If I closed my eyes then I could see her
down there. One of her eyes would open lazily and a smile would grace
her face. Then I would be unable to do anything but fly down to her. I
opened my eyes to be greeted with the sight of an empty hole.
My
tail twitched behind me and I let out a quiet sigh. She would return and
all would be right in my world. My love would be able to flee the area
before a war began. Yara Greyjoy would, for some reason, allow the
Imperial to return back home as Seitou was not one to anger.
I
tried to distract myself by thinking of the day Daenerys had first
entered the mound. Back then it had only been me and her. I hadn't yet
realized my romantic feelings towards Scourge and so the mound had been
made to be big enough for two. There had been a look of fear on her face
as the entrance to the mound didn't appear big enough for her.
Entrances being enchanted to allow more than they appeared to weren't
uncommon on Sornieth. Many clans didn't have the physical space needed
for all their members. That didn't mean the enchantments became easier
for some to deal with over time.
Daenerys had sniffed at the
entrance in an attempt to reassure herself. I tried not to show my
amusement but I'm sure she knew my feelings. We had an uncanny ability
to understand each other that appeared psychic to many. After she had
reassured herself she started to slowly walk through the entrance.
The
moment she entered the mound I felt as if we truly belonged. Before
those small steps it seemed like her head was bare without a crown. That
if she did not rule a clan then her life was meaningless. But when she
entered our mound a void seemed to be filled and a simple life appeared
in reach. I would never stop thinking being a queen was something she
could never escape, but I was at peace with her decision. Truly at peace
living a life in Seitou's Clan.
I found myself walking the
hidden pathways to the bottom of the pit. It would have been easy enough
to glide down to the center but I needed the distraction. I needed to
pretend that Daenerys was here even though I would have been able to see
her by now. The dim light provided by the sconces above was more than
enough to show there wasn't a dragon at the bottom. It didn't make
sense, then, why I would be walking to the bottom of the pit with hope
still in my heart.
The memory of walking these paths for the
first time was hard to forget. I lightly ran a hand over the wall as I
continued my descent. There had been laughter as my feet stumbled on the
paths that were hard to see. Daenerys had helped guide me that first
time as I had refused to fly around the pit to get a better view.
My
love was a part of me that could never be destroyed. I would rather die
than see the life fade from her eyes. Even though death wasn't the end
for a dragon, it was the gateway to a new life. A life of total
servitude to a deity. Unlike when a dragon walked the mortal realm,
there was no longer the ability to choose to serve another deity.
I
looked up and saw a light coming from Jeor's room. He, like me,
couldn't sleep. Though unlike me he had an important job to do that
would help defeat the demons that were slowly invading Sornieth. There
was no point in continuing my slow descent as it would only lead to
sadness. I was sure that my son would be excited to talk about whatever
weird findings he had discovered.
"I love you, Daenerys." I said softly to the bottom of the pit. "I will always love you."
With
a few flaps of my wings, I was back at the edge of the pit. I resisted
looking behind me and walked towards my son's room. The sounds of a
quill got louder the nearer I got. It sounded like Jeor was using magic
to write which would leave him free to research more. The ability to do
such complicated things at once was an impressive feat. He would have
made a deadly warrior if he had pursued that path.
"Orbiting Spirit, you can't touch that." Jeor chuckled. "Come on, you were asleep a minute ago. Let me do my work."
I
pulled the curtain aside and suddenly the Orbiting Spirit swam right
past me. A chuckle left her lips as she continued to circle me. Some
familiars had the same capacity for understanding as a dragon. The
Orbiting Spirit, on the other hand, was as intelligent as one of our
cats. Jeor didn't have a partner but a pet. Though we weren't allowed to
treat them as such.
"Father," Jeor said with a smile and didn't pause his work. "Come in. You don't seem able to sleep whenever one of us is gone."
"I'm
not good at waiting." I admitted as I walked inside. "Except for
Scourge, I don't trust any of you to be able to defend yourselves. Your
studies must have shown you that there is a reason for my worry."
"At least you don't stop us from leaving. Not many dragons could say the same."
With
a flick of his wrist, the quill wrote on the scroll. His eyes were
focused on an ancient tome while the scroll and quill hovered in front
of it. Whatever language it was written in was ancient. Futhark must
have taught my son enough for a simple translation of the text. The pair
had become close as both liked to look to the past for important
answers. I preferred to look to the future.
There were new
drawings around my son's room. Some of the drawings seemed so old that
they could only be held together by magic. Others had been drawn by
Jeor. All of them featured the same odd creatures. They had the upper
body of a centaur but not the lower half of that creature. Instead they
had two hairless legs with five dull digits at the end.
"What are these things?" I asked and Jeor looked up from his work.
"I'm
not sure what they are or if they ever existed." He explained. "From my
research I assume they are what existed before us, the deities, and the
Beastclans. I think they are the first inhabitants of the continent."
"They look so weak that it's no surprise that they died off."
The
quill stood still and Jeor looked at me. Not for the first time, I felt
like a child when my son was in his element. He had studied history
just as much as I had practiced with a sword. There were probably things
that he could never explain to me as his knowledge extended that far.
"Whatever
they were, they made their mark on Sornieth." Jeor said. "So they
weren't weak as their presence can still be felt even if they died and
their memory is forgotten."
"If they were so strong what killed them?" I asked.
"Nothing in my studies has indicated anything. So all I can do is guess."
"And what is your best guess?"
"The demons."
"If the demons are trying to take over, isn't it more likely that they are the remnants of whatever the first race was?"
"It's
harder to imagine the first race evolving into the demons. The
Beastclans share more similarities with the first race so it's safe to
assume that's what they evolved from."
I put a hand to one of the
pictures. The first race, if that's what they were, looked wrong as if
my son had drawn a nightmare. These creatures had no tail which was an
oddity. Maybe these things had evolved as having no tail or wings left
them too vulnerable. But if their bodies were so weak, it must mean they
had other powers.
Maybe they had powers or their brains
functioned on a higher level than dragonkind. It wasn't always the most
deadly that survived, sometimes it was the smartest. Jeor wouldn't know
how intelligent they were if there had been so much lost to time. He
could find a weapon with a history that hinted at the first race, but he
couldn't go much beyond that.
"What if the demons didn't kill them?" I asked. "What if it was hubris that destroyed the first race?"
"That's
a possibility, father." Jeor agreed. "Dragons like to form connections
between things that are unrelated. It's a weakness in all of us. The
first race could've accidentally killed themselves off and the demons
only recently entered Sornieth. I think it's likely that the demons'
conquest of Sornieth is personal. Or maybe that's just what I want to
think about the situation."
I let out a yawn and smiled. Talking
with my son had helped me to feel tired. Jeor had calmed my mind down
enough that I could get the rest I so desperately needed. If Elfangor
decided that I was to become a Dracomorph, I needed to get my rest now.
"I should leave you to your studies." I said and the Orbiting Spirit curled up in a little bed beside Jeor.
"Thank you." Jeor replied with a slight bow of his head. "I think you'd make a good member."
"What?"
"I
think the Dracomorphs could use a dragon like you. You're honorable yet
willing to stain yourself when the need calls for it. You're an
excellent fighter that is loyal until the end. Elfangor would be a fool
to not choose you."
"I'm not willing to call the Mirror a fool,
no matter his decision. This clan is made of the finest fighters
Sornieth has ever seen."
"Still, you would make a good member."
"Good night, Jeor."
"Good night, father."
I
made my way out of his room and felt calmed. It didn't surprise me that
he wished me good luck in becoming a Dracomorph. He was my son and
wanted me to rise through the ranks. There was pride in my heart of
hearts for his station as weapons master. His love of learning and
weapons rewarded him with such a unique station by Seitou. The Wildclaw,
formerly a Guardian, was wise.
When I arrived back at our sleeping room, Scourge had one eye open and a smile on her face.
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