Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say already, so why say it?
VI
Théraen stood in an eight-walled room over a large carving of a dragon in the floor. Shelves obscured the walls opposite to the entrance, and their contents glinted from enchanted lanterns.
The top half housed the Eldunarya, and the bottom half the eggs, both with room to spare. The largest items lined the left side, shrinking as the slots continued right.
Early in the morning, Théraen enjoyed conversing with the Eldunarya, particularly Glaedr, whose grief slowly faded, but still lingered. She often sought Oromis's council, but the ancient mind remained dormant.
A large, golden, spherical object sat on a pedestal in the center of the room, which the carved dragon seemed to wrap around.
Théraen expanded her consciousness, sensing the room for thoughts and emotion, visualizing the field of energy coursing through the room. In her mind, the energy tinted the empty space yellow, but where the energy spiked, the yellow grew more opaque of varying degrees.
Except, of course, for the shielded minds, which appeared black. Spots such as these occupied sporadic places among the top shelves, particular among the older specimens, and of course, the one in the center of the room.
She began to share the energy of her own consciousness with the centerpiece, pouring emotion and thoughts into it, aiming it at the desired target. The energy curved around the space, but after passing it, turned around to continue the assault.
Théraen could also see the other consciousness doing the same, but could not break the barriers. Neither mind slowed or intensified the flow, both parties content to wait until their opponent exhausted their resources.
Color occasionally blinked, but too brief to exploit, until the center pulsed for a moment longer, and Théraen poured all of her energy at once, cracking open the black shell.
Hello, Théraen, Glaedr greeted. It appears you have bested me once more.
It would seem so, Ebrithil, though not at your best.
No, the dragon agreed, but certainly better than Jurgenurl.
The dwarf smiled at the mention of her dragon. The name itself meant "Stone Dragon," but it varied between languages. In Dwarvish, Théraen slapped "dragon" and "stone" together, but she lacked the fluency to translate it to Elvish in an appealing manner.
She felt reciprocated affection across her bond, but as usual, her dragon spoke no words. Even upon deciding his name, Jurgenurl presented an image of a stone and himself.
Subconsciously noting the current flight lessons, Théraen analyzed what she missed when penetrating Glaedr's mind.
She felt a knife in her skull, as if a migraine ensued, and began to count.
1...2...3...
The attack left no time for barriers, so the dwarf simply forgot everything in her stable concentration on the numbers.
4...5...6...
The attacker began to count with her, but as if realizing what happened, resumed pushing through.
7...8—
A child skipped through a tunnel, pebbles in hand, stopping before where her house should've been, only to see rubble.
Glaedr had broken through to her memories. Very well; if it's memories he wants, he'll get them.
Steam ensnared her face, smells of cheese and freshly-baked bread stimulating her nostrils. She bit into the toast, the layer of melted cheese covering it adding a tang.
Théraen looped the memory of her breakfast through her mind.
Steam ensnared her face...
She disregarded everything else, feeling Glaedr re-watch the single memory, but not heeding him, lest her thoughts shift.
Steam ensnared her face...
The dwarf looped it through again.
Steam ensnared her face...
Again.
Steam ensnared her face...
How long has it been now?
The thought provided Glaedr an opportunity, which he immediately seized, finally escaping from the repeated vision.
I think that's enough for today. Work on improvising your barriers. You don't want to let someone inside you, even if you can lose them there.
Aye, Master.
One more thing: teach Jurgenurl to shield his mind better. He needs to learn to not depend on you.
Aye, Master, Théraen repeated.
The Eldunarí withdrew from her mind, signaling for her to be dimissed. The dwarf sincerely hoped she hadn't missed dinner; it'd be a shame if Glaedr didn't see it.