Chapter Fifty-One: Birthright

Child of Darkness: Morgan

I felt her approach before the door opened, and abandoned the text in front of me to stare at the door. "Mother." She blinked, when I addressed her the moment she entered, before half smiling. Almost her magic seethed, just the edge of my consciousness, her cloak lack it's usual swirl and energy. "I expected you to put this conversation off longer."

Mother shrugged, smile fading away, returning to a more neutral expression. "While appealing, that would ultimately be pointless. Further, leaving things to fester will only prolong and exacerbate the problem." Eyes drifting over the piles of books and scrolls I that displayed the various attempts and failures to explain my necklace. "And, while I admire the effort put into your research, I imagine you would prefer to no longer bash your head against a wall."

Crossing my arms, I fixed her with a harsh glare. "Given you know the answer, Mother, I suspect you find some measure of amusement in watching me do so." A wry smile flashed across her face, before fading once more. "I do not have time for our usual games Mother. What is my necklace, and why does everyone assume it to be a Dragonstone?"

For a split second I thought she might refuse to answer. "Because, it is a Dragonstone, or at least, began as one." A small flash of pride crossed her face, no doubt at whatever magical achievement she was set to unveil. "That stone represents the most complex piece of magic I have wrought, although not the proudest." Sitting on the edge of the table, she flicked her wrist, a small flash of magic in the direction of the door, and I could feel it seal against the outside world. Any mage could unravel the spell, but it would stop eavesdroppers. "Ask your questions, Morgan. Any of them, and I will answer."

"Then tell me, Mother, what happened to my other parent." Mother grimaced, before inclining her head, knowing what I was doing.

"Somehow that question does not surprise me." Dropping her eyes, I got the sudden feeling I touched upon something deeper than intended. "Take your guesses, Morgan, I am curious what information you came across." While the most obvious of staling tactics, I could not bring myself to be upset, having plenty of experience attempting to limit incoming and outgoing information.

Taking a moment to add the new information about my necklace to my mental list, I considered where to begin. "Not much. The fact my necklace is some variety of Dragonstone suggests them to be a manakete, although to my knowledge, very few of them survived into the modern era, although that does not preclude my other parent being one. My ability to use Divine Magic, implies my Father to be either affiliated with Naga, or trained in such magics, although again, it is not definitive, as there are many with no connection to the Divine Dragon who are able, you serving as a fair example." Shrugging my cloak off, I gestured to the scrolls and books, doing a little stalling of my own. "I cannot begin to explain how you sealed the magic of a Dragonstone, a feat considered impossible by every scholar I can find record of." Pooling magic around my limbs, I watched Mother's expression, waiting for some kind of reaction, and when none came, released the pent up energy. "If we take the assumption that I bear the blood of dragons, then the question of why I cannot transform, or interact with other Dragonstones is raised, alongside who my Father would be. I know of three Manaketes, five if you believe the legends about Grima and Naga. Of those, only two are viable candidates for this question, and given Nowi to have married elsewhere, only Tiki would be extant to my knowledge."

Behind her eyes, delight danced. "Correct. Naga represents one of the last ancient dragons, having been alive long enough to remember when they first consigned themselves to human form. Grima, meanwhile, is something else, beyond even my own understanding." Beyond even Mother's understanding of Grima? Impressive, if concerning. "I abandoned all attempts to find out, when it became apparent that it would not yield anything that might allow me to kill the Fell Dragon." Not for the first time, I found myself reevaluating my own Mother. Her warrior persona disguised a wealth of knowledge, and a sharp intellectual mind, and I often wondered how much of what went on in her head we knew, and how much she kept to herself.

"Perhaps a matter we can research at a later date." Mother inclined her head, smile lingering for a few moments. While not exceptionally valuable at the moment it would be worth researching. "I have always written off the animosity from Naga as a consequence of my dabbling in Grima's magic, or, more recently being your child." Glancing down at the necklace, on the table, I returned my focus to Mother. "That isn't the case, is it? There's more to that necklace than just a modified Dragonstone, isn't there?"

"Yes." A flash of something perhaps like delight crossed Mother's face, before vanishing into her carefully constructed façade. "The reason you cannot find an enchantment upon it, Morgan, is that you are looking for something that does not exist. Two pieces of magic are entwined with it. One binds the magic of the Dragonstone itself, the other, is tied to you specifically." Which meant, somehow, my initial insane conclusion held up. Dragonblood flowed in my veins.

"What did you do, Mother." On an academical level, I found this fascinating, while on a personal I did not enjoy any of it. Something chaining a part of my nature did not excite me in the least.

A soft laugh, and I got the feeling she knew how I felt. "A replica, in a sense, of the magic that seals Grima. The innate magic of Dragons is a fascinating and moreso the magic within a Dragonstone." Arms crossed; Mother chuckled a bit, at some joke I did not know. "I cannot say who first created them, but their creation is a process that can be kindly called difficult." She created one? "No, I cannot create a Dragonstone, even with access to a Manakete. Your necklace used an existing one as a basis." So, a manakete captured by Grima then. Nowi, or Tiki, presumably.

"That does not explain the other half of my parentage Mother. In order for my necklace to interact with me, I need to possess the blood of dragons, meaning I should be capable of transforming, and would have to be parented by at least one Manakete. Of which there are not many."

"Correct." Eyes dropping once more, Mother's head turned, seeming to consider what to say. "What do you know about manakete's Morgan?"

"Not much. Very little documentation can be found about them, and I've not had the time to inquire from Tiki." An abrupt sensation of foreboding washing over me. "Given that Nowi married someone else, that would imply either Tiki, which I require an explanation for, or another unknown which requires an equal but different one."

A nod. "I suppose I am dancing around the point long enough." Magic flared, her presence growing, before falling away again. "A bit of history is in order first. When Dragons first took on human form, it became quite obvious that any children they bore would bear their Blood. Whether with human, taguel, or dragon. Given how few Dragons survived the madness that took them, it proved quite fortunate to the survival of the race." That did make sense, even with the age of dragons. "More interesting however, is that regardless of partner, a Dragon could convince, and bear child."

"Thus, me." Mother stopped speaking, obviously content to let me think. "Tiki, then. Nowi would be married, and by my understanding, long dead by the time I came to be, leaving Tiki as the only option. I would suppose that Grima found this to be wildly exciting, a new way to torment you, and a new weapon against his enemies, even more than such a weapon came from the lineage of Naga herself." Her expression tightened.

"Quite. And, equally, I could not allow such a thing to pass, for what I hope to be obvious reasons." Quite. "The Dragonstone that went into sealing your draconic nature belonged to Tiki." I blinked, eyes widening at the realization. "My mind went in strange directions in that time, and it seemed appropriate, somehow, to give you some measure of protection, tied to the both of us." A long pause. "Grima did not appreciate losing a new toy." And Mother suffered, likely painfully. "You and that necklace are bound together by an enchantment that took the better part of seven months to concoct, binding both your draconic blood, and the stones powers, while still allowing the magic to burn itself off." A wry, bitter smile struck me as far more at home on Mother's face than the constructed expressions, or delight. "I intended to magic to fade, indeed to have dissolved by the time you came of age, but, it appears that I made some miscalculation…"

"Perhaps failing to account for the fact I am partially Dragon?"

"Entirely a dragon. You either are, or aren't. It's…useful." Probably in restricting me. "But, perhaps you have a point. Manakete's 'age' differently…" I could see that creating a problem, depending on how Mother crafted the magic. "Something we can unravel going forth." As long as she understood I would be taking part in that. "I am certain I made quite the mess out of things."

"That, Mother, I think is quite self-evident." She chuckled, and didn't disagree. "You are surprisingly forthcoming." One of the things I just did not understand was how much information she volunteered willingly.

"If Grima is to be stopped, and killed if needed, I know quite well that information I possess will need to be dispersed, and it will only engender further animosity when it comes out I knew something that harmed one of you." Fair enough. That did beg another question.

"Does she know?" Mother's lips thinned. "I take that to mean she does not." Typical of them both, really.

"Tiki suspects, I am sure. You do not live to her age without developing sharp instincts, and perception." A long pause. "She and I came to a sort of agreement, that I would answer questions she asked, and thus far she has not asked." I didn't understand, but wouldn't question it. Sometimes the logic they used seemed entirely contingent upon age and a weird status quo between them.

"And how do we undo this magic?" Informing Tiki could wait, in favor of my own situation, although the two would collide at some point.

"A far more difficult proposition. I designed the enchantment to fade over time but that is no long tenable as whatever miscalculation I made needs to be remedied." Sighing once again, Mother massaged her temples. "I suppose we will need to inquire with Tiki, as she should know more." I did not find that near as agreeable, but I would concede to logic.

-FE:DUL-

"Morgan. Arielle." She sat before the Altar in what might have been a meditative pose, looking up to consider us. Sharp green eyes shifted between the two of us. "You came to some degree of accord." Pausing to allow us to interrupt, she kept speaking. "Or, at the very least, an understanding of what passed between you."

Shrugging in a half degree of acceptance, I beat Mother to speaking. "My necklace is in fact a Dragonstone and used to bind both my nature and magic." Tiki blinked, expression shifting to surprise, before falling on a bland interest. "How would such an enchantment be undone?"

"I presume your Mother wove it." We both nodded. "Impressive. To create such a piece of magic in such a short time, with no basis upon which to work." Ponytail bobbing as she shook her head the older manakete laughed. "I am unsure how one might undo such a thing. Magic is not something I have studied at any length, especially not the esoterica of sealing Dragonstones." Well Damn. "I can ask Mother but I doubt she knows more than I." Any reliance on Naga sounded doomed to failure.

Mother groaned, her equivalent of throwing up her hands in disbelief. "Grima's blood." Exasperation, and amusing tinged her words, and I bit down pointing out that swearing to Grima before an Altar to Naga seemed like a bad idea. "I suppose we do it the hard way then."

"And what pray tell, is the hard way?" Tiki sounded amused, rather than concerned. Although considering she traveled with us for some time, and boasted of being about four times older than Mother, perhaps she developed an immunity to situations like this.

"Reverse engineering, and brute force." Her presence flaring as if to emphasize the point. "Between Morgan and I, we have two Sorceresses, you know more magic than you think and Lucina's Falchion, I'm confident it can be undone. Somehow." The emphasis in her words being on that last one, which implied the expected conclusion of us shattering whatever magic as involved using magic.

"I find your confidence invigorating Mother, I truly do." Both of them laughed. And I did wonder what Tiki knew, and what she did not. "However, there is one matter of greater importance we need to address." Two sets of eyes, green and grey alike, turned to me. Drawing on my magic, an old security blanket, I took a long breath. "I am, according to her," A nod towards Mother, "a Manakete." Tiki blinked, once, before dipping her head. "This," Tapping my necklace for emphasis, "is a Dragonstone. Specifically, yours."

"I see." That, for the first time, truly flabbergasted her. "That does explain quite a few things." I would leave her to draw her own conclusions for now. "I suppose a failing of mine, for not simply asking Arielle for the answer to why your necklace resembled a Dragonstone, as the person in the position to know." Probably, yes. But it took me quite a while to get around to doing so myself. "Making you, then, my daughter."

"Apparently." My voice cracked, more than I'd like to admit. I felt numb to the entire affair, caught in between anger and relief. Knowing about myself brought a sense of relief, but also more questions, and new concerns.

"I suppose this will take some adjustment for us both." Tiki's eyes turned to Mother, hardened. "And a conversation for us to have, at some point in the near future, Arielle." That sounded like an unpleasant conversation, and I didn't care to be part of.

-FE:DUL-

I found Nah sitting on one of the roots of the Mila tree, watching the armies milling about the plains below. "Morgan." She greeted me with a smile, that died in an instant, replaced with concern. "Are you alright?"

"No." Gathering magic, I blasted away the grime and dirt on the root and sat down beside her. "We were right the first time." I felt the quizzical look, more than saw it. "My necklace. Mother took a Dragonstone, bound it to me, and then wove an enchantment I can only describe as impossible, to seal it's magic and my blood at the same time."

"That's..." The other manakete closed her mouth for a while, shaking her head. "I want to say impossible when it clearly is not. She did something silly, didn't she?" And, as always, she picked out the underlying issue at hand.

"It appears so. The magic in question should have faded by now, according to her. Yet..." I stayed as knowledge was. "We are going south, to the Divine Dragon Grounds. The three of us. Your welcome to come along." To be honest, I hoped Nah would, she kept things level, often asking questions the rest of us considered stupid, or providing the insight that someone like myself, or Mother might overlook because of assumptions we held for years, or had been taught. "If nothing else we will create a new Dragonstone for me."

Nah inclined her head. "Lady Tiki?" I knew what her question was, and nodded. "That does make sense. You even share a hairstyle." While I never considered that before, it was true, and I spared a brief thought for why and how it might happen, before writing it off as something that could wait.

"Our eyes matching should have given me a bit of a clue, to be honest." From the corner of my eye, I could see Nah roll her eyes. "Now, enough of that. I need to find a scroll...again." One of the few lengthy discussions of the mechanics of a Dragonstone. "We will leave at the end of the week, so you have time to consider if you want to tag along."

I made to stand, when Nah reached up and grabbed my arm. "Morgan." Nah cut me off, a soft smile on her face. "Of course, I will go." Her expression implied I wan an idiot for thinking anything else. "I assume there is in fact a plan?"

"Yes. Mother and I believe we know how to undo the enchantments, but an untainted location is needed, and Tiki wants to visit there for reasons unclear. Mother is trying to convince Lucina to stay, which I doubt will go well." Leaving the Shepherds that helpless seemed foolish, but I understood Lucina's worries. "So we shall see."

"Lucina isn't going to give in on that. You, for all intents and purposes are her sister, and if something is a threat to you, she will be there to fight it." A long pause. "Although perhaps she will accede to Lady Arielle." Nah's lips quirked. "We will see."

"We will." Lucina would give in, I felt, if only because Mother knew how to manipulate emotions far to well for her own good. Mother would play down the dangers to us, given the magical power we possessed, while overplaying the risks to Chrom, and Lucina would cave. "If you want to join me, I have some research to do."


AN: There we go. Looks like life is winding down a bit again, so I have more time to write, and can get back on regular updates once again. Don't have a lot of comments on this one at the moment, so l'll shut up and get things done.

Questions, comments, reviews are appreciated as ever. Next chapter is up on like normal, and I shall see you next week.