Part 36: Exposure
The next day, Senistraz ended the stalemate. She summoned everyone to the plateau above the lair, where she stood and watched as the first rays of the sun broke the horizon. "Senistraz will not lie in the darkness to await the Darkspawn," she said simply. "She is done waiting for others to reach their comfort zone with her being out of the lair."
As the sun topped the horizon, it bathed the world in red and orange. As its first rays touched Senistraz, she was likewise bathed in orange, so that she looked for a short time, as if she were a mirror image of Pip—as did Velistara and Alistair in their dragon forms.
It was a spectacular sunrise, and even as she gasped in surprise, they all turned together to watch it. It went from red, to orange, to pink and purple. Then the sun broke through the clouds entirely.
Blake gasped. "Oh, Maker. Senistraz." She reached out a trembling hand, and Senistraz turned to her. She laid her hand on the dragon's muzzle. "You're stunning." She could barely speak.
Senistraz was covered entirely in glass-like scales that glittered with rainbow colors. Her twisted horns were pearlescent as well, swirling with color. She was magnificent, shimmering and glowing even more beautifully than the other dragons.
Everyone stared at her, amazed by her sheer, fundamental beauty. In every way, she exactly resembled the spectacular dragon on Blake's staff.
Blake's eyes flew to Simon. "You knew!" she accused.
He blinked. "Well, sure. I told her when I first met her that she was beautiful."
"But she was gray. She was…" she turned red. "I'm sorry, Senistraz. I should have been the one to see that you were beautiful."
Senistraz nudged her gently. "Blake has always seen Senistraz the same as when she first saw her. Senistraz has waited for Blake to lose her fear, but now she knows she should not have."
Blake hugged her, and then stepped back with a smile. "She wants to fly," she said.
"Blake is not ready. Senistraz knows this." Senistraz looked at her.
"I don't need to be ready," Blake told her.
As Senistraz stepped up to the edge of the plateau, Blake turned into Simon's arms. He held her as Senistraz prepared to launch off of the edge. Those assembled all knew that this was a terribly dangerous moment. Senistraz was too big to be caught. If she leapt off and plummeted, she could not be saved as a young drake could be.
She gathered herself, and then leaped hard into the sky. Her wings strained, and for a heart-stopping moment, she lost altitude. Simon's arms tightened around Blake as the others gasped.
But then Senistraz caught the air and lifted. She flew awkwardly, lumbering in a small circle before landing roughly on the plateau, stumbling to fall on her shoulder. But she scrambled to her feet without help, retaining what dignity she could.
"Senistraz' wings will require strengthening," she announced, but there was pleasure and excitement in her thought.
There was great celebration that day, and Senistraz insisted that she be announced within a week.
So it was done. She had strengthened enough to make a graceful, but strained flight all the way to the roof of the fortress on cue as they announced her and told the story. She landed, looked down on those assembled at the courtyard and roared, a resonant, ringing roar that made the walls tremble.
"I give you…. Senistraz!" Alistair shouted, his voice echoing on the tail of her roar.
Cheers rose, starting slow but growing and growing in intensity. The shouts of joy at the presence of the beautiful dragon rose to roll over her like music.
The next day, the humans, like the dwarves, began to make minor pilgrimages to her lair, bringing her gifts, including flowers and even wall hangings. The most notable gifts, however, were the great number of books that were brought.
The pilgrimages began slowly, but word spread, and people came from the areas around simply to catch a glimpse of her. She spent much of her time on the plateau, so there were people going around the cavern and up the steps the dwarves had carved into the stone nearly all day long.
They all wanted to see what was now known as "The Pearl Dragon." She took their fascination in stride, little concerned about those who came in great part to gawk and to say they had… or to posture to prove that they could afford to do so.
The dwarves were less pleased with the influx at first, until they found that all of these travelers needed supplies, repairs, and that most popular of all pastimes—ale. They grudgingly accepted it, but they created an area intended for human habitation.
The simple truth was that the dwarven areas were considered by most humans to be uncomfortably small. So a new thriving segment of the city arose, yet still it simply retained the name of Dwarf Town.
A small, makeshift human city rose up outside the entrance to the labyrinth, anyway. Many shunned the dark corridors of Dwarf Town, and so Margarite—a name that means 'Pearl' rose up at the base of Soldier's Peak beyond the labyrinth. It seemed to happen overnight, many houses going up within just a few weeks while yet others began preparations for their own.
It was quickly discerned that this city would need its own government. Poor Darin was chosen for interim Mayor.
The first Darkspawn attack on the town came less than a day after he arrived. With a death toll of five, it was immediately apparent that the town required a fighting force. When volunteers were requested to move to the town, the question was asked… would they be serving Alistair and Velistara, or would they be serving Senistraz and Pip?
Shrugging, Alistair responded that such a decision was their own right to make, no one else's.
And so was born the first regiment of Margarite… the Pearl Hilt; followers of the Dragon of Reason and the Dragon of Loyalty.