Disclaimer: This is the last damn disclaimer I'm going to type up. This
applies to the next X number of chapters in this story. I DON'T OWN LOD, OR
ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. THE ORIGINAL IDEAS, PLOTS, ETC. ARE SPUN OUT OF THE
FABRIC OF MY OWN DILLUSIONED MIND, AND THEREFORE ARE MY PROPERTY.
Now that that's out of my system for good, on with the story!
Guraha's POV:
We returned to the Wingly Forest in jumps, using our combined power to take us from Zenebatos to Fort Miagrad, then to Kashua Glacier. There we rested briefly before making the final jump to the outskirts of the Evergreen Forest, landing amidst a group of startled hunters as we reappeared. After a rushed apology to the humans, we started off to the back of the forest, sending Demos ahead to inform the Ancestor of our return. I suppose we could have flown, but we didn't want to take any chances with the cygnets. Those of us carrying the crystal orbs were becoming increasingly paranoid of harming them in some way or another, and flight seemed like an excellent way to slip up and drop then on the stony ground. And of course, if we'd flown we would have had to leave Dart behind.
Even though he'd regained consciousness prior to leaving Aglis, Dart seemed only vaguely aware of what was going on around him. He followed quietly along at the back of the line with Meru, probably not even aware of the constant stream of chatter that poured from her mouth. Every so often he'd stumble and once he almost fell, but Meru had pulled him back to his feet without so much as a break in her one sided conversation. When she failed to get Dart's attention she directed questions to Ragnarok instead, trying rather desperately to get a response. But for all her effort, both dragoon and dragon remained silent.
Finally exasperated by her stoic companion, she tossed her hands in the air and stomped up beside me, muttering curses to her self. "This is ridiculous. He doesn't speak, he doesn't look around; it's like talking to a dead man! What the hell's wrong with him?"
"I wish I only knew. He's fine physically, but it's like someone reached into his mind and turned out the lights."
"Tell me about it. Fifteen minutes of non-stop talking, and that dragon didn't once tell me to shut up. I even tried calling him 'Arkie'!" She swung her hammer, pursing her lips pensively. Twirling it about with one hand, she smacked a tree trunk with it; there was a yell from Demara as a clump of snow slipped off the shuddering branch and dropped onto her head. Ignoring the fuming wingly behind her, Meru eyed the head of her war hammer thoughtfully. "Think it would do anything if I belted him one with this?"
I found that on some level I'd actually expected this question. After living with her for most of my life, I'd come to realize that this was her solution to almost everything: if it doesn't work, hit it with a hammer. And while she normally only ever applied this rule to items around the home, I knew from experience that she wasn't above using it on people on occasion. "Meru, I don't think the Ancestor would be very happy if we returned Dart to him with half of his face caved in. He wasn't too pleased when you tried to heal Bardel's toothache that way last time."
She made a face and stuck out her tongue. "He shouldn't have complained so much then. Anyway, it shut him up."
"Not for very long. He was noticeably quieter after his jaw healed though." I raked my hand through my hair, pushing it back from my eyes and glanced up at the sky. Almost sundown. Already the forest had begun to darken, the tall evergreens casting long shadows over the snowy ground. "About how far are we from the portal?"
"It's a little ways down the path from this clearing."
"Good. Is Dart still back there?"
She glanced over her shoulder and winced. "That gotta hurt. Yup, he's back there, but he's not fairing too well in this light. I'd better go help him before he walks into a tree again." Giving her hammer one final flourish, she slung it over her shoulder and strutted to the back of the line. I followed her with my eyes for a moment, then set my sights to the narrow trail at the other end of the clearing. As we neared it the portal sprung to life, a glowing sluggish maelstrom of shimmering bluish green light suspended in the air between two large old pines.
I stepped to one side and let Demos and the others pass through before me, watching as the swirling light swallowed them one by one. Dart paused momentarily before the portal, his eyes flickering in the light of the wingly magic. His muscles tensed, and for a moment I feared that he wouldn't step through. But my fears were groundless: a second later he relaxed and allowed Meru to lead him through. I glanced behind me at the now darkened woodland, shivering as a chill breeze whispered through the dense forest. Somewhere in the distance a wolf raised his voice to the skies, the melodious notes of his song both beautiful and haunting at the same time. As the sound faded, I smiled and shook my head. The woodland may be a fine home for a wolf, but it was no place for a wingly. As the wolf- song rose once more I plunged into the portal, letting the song of magic replace the heart wrenching sound of the lone wolf pouring his heart out to the oblivious moon in the sky above.
Dart's POV:
Magic.
It swirled around me, squeezing the breath from my lungs and sealing my body into a paralysis that set my limbs afire with a sort of indefinable pain. Its heat seared through my mind and tore down whatever feeble defenses I had managed to erect, all the while burning away whatever it touched. It forced its way down my throat, like some obscene liquid, filling my lungs and stomach. I was dying. And I welcomed the oblivion that promised relief from this hellish pain.
//Dart!//
/Wha?/ Voices? It made sense that I'd be hearing voices. Voices are supposed to be there to comfort victims as they slip through deaths door.
//Dart, listen to me! You have to snap out of this!//
/Lemmie alone/ I slurred. This voice wasn't comforting; it was annoying. Why wouldn't it just let me die in peace? /Go 'way. I wanna die/
//Dart, I don't care if you want to die. I'm not going to let you// The tone in the voice was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember why.
/Wha d'ya me-/ I started to respond but was cut off as a blow sent my mind reeling. More pain shocked through my mind, making the magic's pain fade to almost nothingness in comparison . I tried to scream, but I couldn't seem to find a body to scream with. It was tearing me apart; at any moment I felt as though I'd explode-
-And then I was lying on my back on the ground, staring up at the concerned faces of Meru and Guraha. The pain was gone, but I still felt horrible. Rolling onto my side I gave vent to a series of hacking coughs that felt as though they would tear my throat out. When I finished the ground was splattered with blood; a thin trickle of the stuff ran from the corner of my mouth down my chin. Wiping it off with my sleeve, I pushed myself into a sitting position.
//Sorry about that//
/Sorry!? You almost killed me, Ark!/
//You were going to die anyway. Would you rather have had me let you go without trying anything?//
I hated to admit it, but he had a point. /Not really, but couldn't you have had tried anything less painful?/
//Not on short notice, no// Ragnarok's tone was slightly smug. //But you won't think about dying on me anymore, will you?//
/Not if you're going to do that again, no/ I looked at Meru who was trying to get a clear view of my face. "Stop it, Meru. I'm fine." Waving her away, I climbed to my feet and stood, surprised to find my legs steady.
Meru looked unconvinced, but to her credit she made no move to help me. "You sure?"
"I'm fine," I repeated, a slight edge to my voice. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate her concern, but I hate it when people don't trust my judgement about my condition. It's my body, isn't it? I should know whether or not I can move around. "Can you teleport me to the Ancestor's chamber? We need to know what we're going to do with the cygnets now that we have them." I looked at Guraha. "Where are they?"
Guraha fished around in the interior pockets of his robe for a moment, then produced a small sphere that emanated a faint golden glow. "I only have this one. Agailia, Demara, and Warren have the others: they left a few minutes ago to take them to the Ancestor." He handed the cygnet to me for inspection. "I think they turned out fairly well."
Taking the sphere, I examined it closely. /Well?/
//Wonderful. If the others turned out as well as this one, they'll hold back the Moon forever if need be//
/Great/ I passed the cygnet back to Guraha. "Nice job. Ragnarok says they're perfect."
//Nothing earthbound is perfect//
I ignored that last comment and turned back to Meru. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go see Blano."
She nodded and reached out, taking a firm hold on my arm. The world around me faded into a greenish haze and even though I couldn't see clearly I had the feeling that we were moving at a great speed. The back of my mind ached momentarily with a distant pain, and for a minute I feared that the event at the portal would repeat itself. But the pain grew no worse and we re-appeared in the Ancestor's chamber without further incident.
Blano, as always, sat in his chair on a raised dais at the end of the room with the three remaining cygnets hovering in the air before him. Their soft glow filled the chamber with a multihued light; blues, silvers, and purples reflected off the walls in a myriad of dancing color. As we re-materialized in the center of the room, Guraha's cygnet lifted from his hands to float over to join the cluster and adding its soft golden glow the blend. Blano stared at the four orbs in silent contemplation, giving virtually no sign that he had noticed our arrival.
Meru, unused to being ignored, shifted from foot to foot and cleared her throat anxiously. "Err, harrumph. Ancestor?"
The ancient man started slightly then looked up at us with a slight smile on his lined face. "Hello Meru. I apologize for not coming to greet you upon your return, but the cult of the Moon Children has been keeping me quite busy the past few days since you left." Rising from his seat, the wingly seemed to flicker, and then re-appeared in front of us. "But you'll learn of that later. We have more pressing business at hand." With one hand Blano gestured at the glowing cygnets behind him. "We must separate and hide the cygnets. They cannot remain here much longer for their concentrated power is too great. Up until now they have been fine because their power has been muffled by Ragnarok and Dart's presence: were it not for them they would have detonated by now."
"What do you mean?" Guraha asked, glancing nervously at the colors playing across the walls.
"Cygnets have enormous magical power. If it isn't dampened in some way when one meets another object with equal power, such as another cygnet, the two items will resonate and explode. With all four here, the detonation would be catastrophic. Even now they are resonating, but the presence of their creators keeps them from exploding."
"Why is that?" I asked, watching the pulsating glow of the nearest cygnet.
"Being their creators, your combined power is enough to override each cygnet individually. Just being in the area is enough to neutralize their power because the potential of your own powers is so great. You see-" Blano paused for a moment, searching for the words he needed to voice his thoughts. "The cygnets all have equal power. If they meet and the flow of their magic is not hampered in any way, they will explode because of this equality. In magic, nothing should be equal, because no two people think in the same way, and so each magic produced by a person will be different. Equality goes against the laws of magic, and magic's laws are very strict. Objects of equal power are not allowed to exist and so when they meet they shall destroy each other.
"However, the fact that they were created by two minds and one magic confuses the cygnets. Magic's laws do not take into account that two minds may inhabit one body, and so because of this the cygnets' magic has had to make some adaptations. Because Dart and Ragnarok's combined power is greater than their own, if they are within the area of any of the cygnets, the cygnet will be forced to neutralize until they are gone."
/What does he mean by neutralize?/ I asked Ragnarok. I understood most of what the Ancestor was telling us, but there was something I didn't quite grasp.
//They'll shut down, in a matter of speaking. The spell will become void while we're in the area//
/But won't that release the Moon?/
Ragnarok paused for a moment. //I don't think so// He told me finally. //One cygnet is all that is really needed to keep the Moon in the sky. The only reason there are four of them is so that we have a back up if one is destroyed. Neutralizing one won't be any danger. The only way I could see it becoming a problem is if there was only one left; then we wouldn't be able to even get close enough to protect it//
/What if that happens?/
//We'll just have to pray that it will never come to that//
Blano glanced over at me irritably. "Would you mind letting the rest of us in on the conversation?"
We were just discussing some possibilities, that's all," I told him mildly. He'd probably gone over the situation already, so I didn't see any point in repeating things he already knew. "So what are we going to do to separate them?"
Blano scowled at me, or rather Ragnarok, for a moment before returning to his explanation. "We're going to have to hide the cygnets, obviously. Cities aren't safe for them anymore, after what happened to the last set of cygnets, so we'll have to use remote locations." He frowned for a moment. "The one exception to this will be Ulara. The winglies there have requested that they be allowed to be guardians of one."
//Soa save us. Charle's going to paint the poor thing pink and name it fluffy//
/Shhhhh!/ I told Ragnarok absently. "I don't see any problem with that," I spoke aloud. "Ulara is probably one of the safest places in Endiness."
"I thought as much," Blano replied. "I'm going to send one cygnet to Ulara, but the rest will have to be hidden by you three." Turning to the cygnets, he lifted the blue one out of the air and handed it carefully to Meru. "Take this one to the Aquaria Coral Reef to the south of Fletz. Around low tide many places on the reef will break the water, if only for a short time. Over the years, one or two of these places have formed natural caves in the coral. Pick one and leave the cygnet there. You won't have a whole lot of time to do things, so be quick about it; those caves start to fill with water the moment the tide starts to come in."
Turning to Guraha, he handed him the gold cygnet. "This one will go to the Mountain of Mortal Dragon. If you can reach the area where Ragnarok was sealed, that would be the ideal place to leave the cygnet."
And then at last he turned to me, holding out the silver cygnet. "This one will go to the forgotten lands to the east," He told me quietly. "Humans do not often venture far into those places, so the deeper you take it the better. Ragnarok is familiar with the area, I believe, so there shouldn't be too many problems."
//Let me talk for a bit// Ragnarok pushed my mind aside and slipped into control. "You do realize that we cannot leave these cygnets unguarded," he told Blano flatly.
"I'm aware of that," Blano responded, "And if you'd allow me to finish then you'd see what I'm asking you to do." When he was sure Ragnarok wasn't going to continue, he continued. "If I remember correctly, after the dragon campaign the surviving dragons left Endiness and came to the forgotten lands. We need guardians for these cygnets." Blano looked directly at Ragnarok. "Though you may have lost your true form, you are still recognized as the Lord of Dragons, correct?"
"I'd better be."
"I thought as much." The Ancestor smiled thinly. "You'll leave the cygnet with the dragons, but you'll also have to convince a few dragons to come back to guard the rest of the cygnets."
"Any specific types?"
"I'm trusting your judgement on that, seeing as I don't know the first thing about dragon breeds and hierarchy." With a sigh, Blano lifted down the last cygnet. "We'd better leave now if we're to do this as quickly as possible. The cult has been stirring up some activity lately, so we cannot leave them long unattended." Blano nodded once more, then flashed out of sight as he began his journey to Ulara. Wordlessly the rest of us separated; Meru and Guraha taking the teleport to the lower levels, myself stepping onto the lift that would bring me to the top of the forest. Once the lift stopped I stepped out into the cold night, shuddering as the cold wind whipped about my frame. Hurriedly I activated my spirit and took off, heading southeast. Once I reached Tiberoa I'd have to turn east, but until then the cold north wind would be at my back, lending me speed.
/Ragnarok?/
//What?//
/Do you think the dragons will listen to us?/
//They should. You're a dragoon; the divine dragoon none the less. That should carry some weight, even if they no longer recognize my authority over them//
/Why wouldn't they?/
//I was defeated. That would be enough// He paused a second. //Of course, if they don't recognize me I'm going to have to re-establish my authority//
/How do you that?/
//Quite easily, actually. All I have to do is defeat their champion in battle//
/You're joking, right?/
Silence.
/Damn you, Ragnarok/
//I thought you might feel that way//
Wheee! Christmas break! Candy! Nothing much to say, other than you can probably expect the next chapter to be up fairly soon.
Now that that's out of my system for good, on with the story!
Guraha's POV:
We returned to the Wingly Forest in jumps, using our combined power to take us from Zenebatos to Fort Miagrad, then to Kashua Glacier. There we rested briefly before making the final jump to the outskirts of the Evergreen Forest, landing amidst a group of startled hunters as we reappeared. After a rushed apology to the humans, we started off to the back of the forest, sending Demos ahead to inform the Ancestor of our return. I suppose we could have flown, but we didn't want to take any chances with the cygnets. Those of us carrying the crystal orbs were becoming increasingly paranoid of harming them in some way or another, and flight seemed like an excellent way to slip up and drop then on the stony ground. And of course, if we'd flown we would have had to leave Dart behind.
Even though he'd regained consciousness prior to leaving Aglis, Dart seemed only vaguely aware of what was going on around him. He followed quietly along at the back of the line with Meru, probably not even aware of the constant stream of chatter that poured from her mouth. Every so often he'd stumble and once he almost fell, but Meru had pulled him back to his feet without so much as a break in her one sided conversation. When she failed to get Dart's attention she directed questions to Ragnarok instead, trying rather desperately to get a response. But for all her effort, both dragoon and dragon remained silent.
Finally exasperated by her stoic companion, she tossed her hands in the air and stomped up beside me, muttering curses to her self. "This is ridiculous. He doesn't speak, he doesn't look around; it's like talking to a dead man! What the hell's wrong with him?"
"I wish I only knew. He's fine physically, but it's like someone reached into his mind and turned out the lights."
"Tell me about it. Fifteen minutes of non-stop talking, and that dragon didn't once tell me to shut up. I even tried calling him 'Arkie'!" She swung her hammer, pursing her lips pensively. Twirling it about with one hand, she smacked a tree trunk with it; there was a yell from Demara as a clump of snow slipped off the shuddering branch and dropped onto her head. Ignoring the fuming wingly behind her, Meru eyed the head of her war hammer thoughtfully. "Think it would do anything if I belted him one with this?"
I found that on some level I'd actually expected this question. After living with her for most of my life, I'd come to realize that this was her solution to almost everything: if it doesn't work, hit it with a hammer. And while she normally only ever applied this rule to items around the home, I knew from experience that she wasn't above using it on people on occasion. "Meru, I don't think the Ancestor would be very happy if we returned Dart to him with half of his face caved in. He wasn't too pleased when you tried to heal Bardel's toothache that way last time."
She made a face and stuck out her tongue. "He shouldn't have complained so much then. Anyway, it shut him up."
"Not for very long. He was noticeably quieter after his jaw healed though." I raked my hand through my hair, pushing it back from my eyes and glanced up at the sky. Almost sundown. Already the forest had begun to darken, the tall evergreens casting long shadows over the snowy ground. "About how far are we from the portal?"
"It's a little ways down the path from this clearing."
"Good. Is Dart still back there?"
She glanced over her shoulder and winced. "That gotta hurt. Yup, he's back there, but he's not fairing too well in this light. I'd better go help him before he walks into a tree again." Giving her hammer one final flourish, she slung it over her shoulder and strutted to the back of the line. I followed her with my eyes for a moment, then set my sights to the narrow trail at the other end of the clearing. As we neared it the portal sprung to life, a glowing sluggish maelstrom of shimmering bluish green light suspended in the air between two large old pines.
I stepped to one side and let Demos and the others pass through before me, watching as the swirling light swallowed them one by one. Dart paused momentarily before the portal, his eyes flickering in the light of the wingly magic. His muscles tensed, and for a moment I feared that he wouldn't step through. But my fears were groundless: a second later he relaxed and allowed Meru to lead him through. I glanced behind me at the now darkened woodland, shivering as a chill breeze whispered through the dense forest. Somewhere in the distance a wolf raised his voice to the skies, the melodious notes of his song both beautiful and haunting at the same time. As the sound faded, I smiled and shook my head. The woodland may be a fine home for a wolf, but it was no place for a wingly. As the wolf- song rose once more I plunged into the portal, letting the song of magic replace the heart wrenching sound of the lone wolf pouring his heart out to the oblivious moon in the sky above.
Dart's POV:
Magic.
It swirled around me, squeezing the breath from my lungs and sealing my body into a paralysis that set my limbs afire with a sort of indefinable pain. Its heat seared through my mind and tore down whatever feeble defenses I had managed to erect, all the while burning away whatever it touched. It forced its way down my throat, like some obscene liquid, filling my lungs and stomach. I was dying. And I welcomed the oblivion that promised relief from this hellish pain.
//Dart!//
/Wha?/ Voices? It made sense that I'd be hearing voices. Voices are supposed to be there to comfort victims as they slip through deaths door.
//Dart, listen to me! You have to snap out of this!//
/Lemmie alone/ I slurred. This voice wasn't comforting; it was annoying. Why wouldn't it just let me die in peace? /Go 'way. I wanna die/
//Dart, I don't care if you want to die. I'm not going to let you// The tone in the voice was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember why.
/Wha d'ya me-/ I started to respond but was cut off as a blow sent my mind reeling. More pain shocked through my mind, making the magic's pain fade to almost nothingness in comparison . I tried to scream, but I couldn't seem to find a body to scream with. It was tearing me apart; at any moment I felt as though I'd explode-
-And then I was lying on my back on the ground, staring up at the concerned faces of Meru and Guraha. The pain was gone, but I still felt horrible. Rolling onto my side I gave vent to a series of hacking coughs that felt as though they would tear my throat out. When I finished the ground was splattered with blood; a thin trickle of the stuff ran from the corner of my mouth down my chin. Wiping it off with my sleeve, I pushed myself into a sitting position.
//Sorry about that//
/Sorry!? You almost killed me, Ark!/
//You were going to die anyway. Would you rather have had me let you go without trying anything?//
I hated to admit it, but he had a point. /Not really, but couldn't you have had tried anything less painful?/
//Not on short notice, no// Ragnarok's tone was slightly smug. //But you won't think about dying on me anymore, will you?//
/Not if you're going to do that again, no/ I looked at Meru who was trying to get a clear view of my face. "Stop it, Meru. I'm fine." Waving her away, I climbed to my feet and stood, surprised to find my legs steady.
Meru looked unconvinced, but to her credit she made no move to help me. "You sure?"
"I'm fine," I repeated, a slight edge to my voice. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate her concern, but I hate it when people don't trust my judgement about my condition. It's my body, isn't it? I should know whether or not I can move around. "Can you teleport me to the Ancestor's chamber? We need to know what we're going to do with the cygnets now that we have them." I looked at Guraha. "Where are they?"
Guraha fished around in the interior pockets of his robe for a moment, then produced a small sphere that emanated a faint golden glow. "I only have this one. Agailia, Demara, and Warren have the others: they left a few minutes ago to take them to the Ancestor." He handed the cygnet to me for inspection. "I think they turned out fairly well."
Taking the sphere, I examined it closely. /Well?/
//Wonderful. If the others turned out as well as this one, they'll hold back the Moon forever if need be//
/Great/ I passed the cygnet back to Guraha. "Nice job. Ragnarok says they're perfect."
//Nothing earthbound is perfect//
I ignored that last comment and turned back to Meru. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go see Blano."
She nodded and reached out, taking a firm hold on my arm. The world around me faded into a greenish haze and even though I couldn't see clearly I had the feeling that we were moving at a great speed. The back of my mind ached momentarily with a distant pain, and for a minute I feared that the event at the portal would repeat itself. But the pain grew no worse and we re-appeared in the Ancestor's chamber without further incident.
Blano, as always, sat in his chair on a raised dais at the end of the room with the three remaining cygnets hovering in the air before him. Their soft glow filled the chamber with a multihued light; blues, silvers, and purples reflected off the walls in a myriad of dancing color. As we re-materialized in the center of the room, Guraha's cygnet lifted from his hands to float over to join the cluster and adding its soft golden glow the blend. Blano stared at the four orbs in silent contemplation, giving virtually no sign that he had noticed our arrival.
Meru, unused to being ignored, shifted from foot to foot and cleared her throat anxiously. "Err, harrumph. Ancestor?"
The ancient man started slightly then looked up at us with a slight smile on his lined face. "Hello Meru. I apologize for not coming to greet you upon your return, but the cult of the Moon Children has been keeping me quite busy the past few days since you left." Rising from his seat, the wingly seemed to flicker, and then re-appeared in front of us. "But you'll learn of that later. We have more pressing business at hand." With one hand Blano gestured at the glowing cygnets behind him. "We must separate and hide the cygnets. They cannot remain here much longer for their concentrated power is too great. Up until now they have been fine because their power has been muffled by Ragnarok and Dart's presence: were it not for them they would have detonated by now."
"What do you mean?" Guraha asked, glancing nervously at the colors playing across the walls.
"Cygnets have enormous magical power. If it isn't dampened in some way when one meets another object with equal power, such as another cygnet, the two items will resonate and explode. With all four here, the detonation would be catastrophic. Even now they are resonating, but the presence of their creators keeps them from exploding."
"Why is that?" I asked, watching the pulsating glow of the nearest cygnet.
"Being their creators, your combined power is enough to override each cygnet individually. Just being in the area is enough to neutralize their power because the potential of your own powers is so great. You see-" Blano paused for a moment, searching for the words he needed to voice his thoughts. "The cygnets all have equal power. If they meet and the flow of their magic is not hampered in any way, they will explode because of this equality. In magic, nothing should be equal, because no two people think in the same way, and so each magic produced by a person will be different. Equality goes against the laws of magic, and magic's laws are very strict. Objects of equal power are not allowed to exist and so when they meet they shall destroy each other.
"However, the fact that they were created by two minds and one magic confuses the cygnets. Magic's laws do not take into account that two minds may inhabit one body, and so because of this the cygnets' magic has had to make some adaptations. Because Dart and Ragnarok's combined power is greater than their own, if they are within the area of any of the cygnets, the cygnet will be forced to neutralize until they are gone."
/What does he mean by neutralize?/ I asked Ragnarok. I understood most of what the Ancestor was telling us, but there was something I didn't quite grasp.
//They'll shut down, in a matter of speaking. The spell will become void while we're in the area//
/But won't that release the Moon?/
Ragnarok paused for a moment. //I don't think so// He told me finally. //One cygnet is all that is really needed to keep the Moon in the sky. The only reason there are four of them is so that we have a back up if one is destroyed. Neutralizing one won't be any danger. The only way I could see it becoming a problem is if there was only one left; then we wouldn't be able to even get close enough to protect it//
/What if that happens?/
//We'll just have to pray that it will never come to that//
Blano glanced over at me irritably. "Would you mind letting the rest of us in on the conversation?"
We were just discussing some possibilities, that's all," I told him mildly. He'd probably gone over the situation already, so I didn't see any point in repeating things he already knew. "So what are we going to do to separate them?"
Blano scowled at me, or rather Ragnarok, for a moment before returning to his explanation. "We're going to have to hide the cygnets, obviously. Cities aren't safe for them anymore, after what happened to the last set of cygnets, so we'll have to use remote locations." He frowned for a moment. "The one exception to this will be Ulara. The winglies there have requested that they be allowed to be guardians of one."
//Soa save us. Charle's going to paint the poor thing pink and name it fluffy//
/Shhhhh!/ I told Ragnarok absently. "I don't see any problem with that," I spoke aloud. "Ulara is probably one of the safest places in Endiness."
"I thought as much," Blano replied. "I'm going to send one cygnet to Ulara, but the rest will have to be hidden by you three." Turning to the cygnets, he lifted the blue one out of the air and handed it carefully to Meru. "Take this one to the Aquaria Coral Reef to the south of Fletz. Around low tide many places on the reef will break the water, if only for a short time. Over the years, one or two of these places have formed natural caves in the coral. Pick one and leave the cygnet there. You won't have a whole lot of time to do things, so be quick about it; those caves start to fill with water the moment the tide starts to come in."
Turning to Guraha, he handed him the gold cygnet. "This one will go to the Mountain of Mortal Dragon. If you can reach the area where Ragnarok was sealed, that would be the ideal place to leave the cygnet."
And then at last he turned to me, holding out the silver cygnet. "This one will go to the forgotten lands to the east," He told me quietly. "Humans do not often venture far into those places, so the deeper you take it the better. Ragnarok is familiar with the area, I believe, so there shouldn't be too many problems."
//Let me talk for a bit// Ragnarok pushed my mind aside and slipped into control. "You do realize that we cannot leave these cygnets unguarded," he told Blano flatly.
"I'm aware of that," Blano responded, "And if you'd allow me to finish then you'd see what I'm asking you to do." When he was sure Ragnarok wasn't going to continue, he continued. "If I remember correctly, after the dragon campaign the surviving dragons left Endiness and came to the forgotten lands. We need guardians for these cygnets." Blano looked directly at Ragnarok. "Though you may have lost your true form, you are still recognized as the Lord of Dragons, correct?"
"I'd better be."
"I thought as much." The Ancestor smiled thinly. "You'll leave the cygnet with the dragons, but you'll also have to convince a few dragons to come back to guard the rest of the cygnets."
"Any specific types?"
"I'm trusting your judgement on that, seeing as I don't know the first thing about dragon breeds and hierarchy." With a sigh, Blano lifted down the last cygnet. "We'd better leave now if we're to do this as quickly as possible. The cult has been stirring up some activity lately, so we cannot leave them long unattended." Blano nodded once more, then flashed out of sight as he began his journey to Ulara. Wordlessly the rest of us separated; Meru and Guraha taking the teleport to the lower levels, myself stepping onto the lift that would bring me to the top of the forest. Once the lift stopped I stepped out into the cold night, shuddering as the cold wind whipped about my frame. Hurriedly I activated my spirit and took off, heading southeast. Once I reached Tiberoa I'd have to turn east, but until then the cold north wind would be at my back, lending me speed.
/Ragnarok?/
//What?//
/Do you think the dragons will listen to us?/
//They should. You're a dragoon; the divine dragoon none the less. That should carry some weight, even if they no longer recognize my authority over them//
/Why wouldn't they?/
//I was defeated. That would be enough// He paused a second. //Of course, if they don't recognize me I'm going to have to re-establish my authority//
/How do you that?/
//Quite easily, actually. All I have to do is defeat their champion in battle//
/You're joking, right?/
Silence.
/Damn you, Ragnarok/
//I thought you might feel that way//
Wheee! Christmas break! Candy! Nothing much to say, other than you can probably expect the next chapter to be up fairly soon.