Disclaimer: I don't own The Dragon Prince.
Chapter One: Silver Tongues and Waiting Ears
A year. It had been a full year – maybe a little more - since the battle. Since they were confined to this miserable cave, living on the run like fugitives. Claudia wasn't entirely sure; all she knew was that winter had come and gone and it seemed to be another summer. Whatever the case, it was now late morning. She and her father had spoken before of what they had planned to do after they leave, which they would; Claudia refused to spend the rest of her life in some damp cave with an oversized cocoon and the rotted, butchered remains of some Sunfire elf. He'd already been injured, she reasoned to herself for maybe the thousandth time, but not so far gone that he was dead. Just weak enough that she could choke what life there was away. It was hardly her fault that he was a fine candidate for the level of dark magic she needed to bring her father back, not to mention providing her with a generous harvest, all essential to the spell. Besides, her father would be the one to save humanity; what was the life of a single elf to something like that?
It was just them now. Mom was gone and Soren was a traitor. Admittedly, Claudia had been taken aback with how quickly her father disregarded Soren entirely; he was no longer any different than the dragons and elves he had chosen to frolic with like a fool. Those had been Viren's very words, his voice as cold as a sudden icy wind, when Claudia had brought her brother up. He was every bit as dead to him as their – her – mother. They didn't talk about Soren these days. He had, in her father's words, joined the princes in their Xadian sympathies.
The princes. She hadn't liked having Ezran in the line of fire like that, but Viren had insisted that it was absolutely necessary; Ezran and his brother were traitors to their kingdom and their father. Therefore, they would join their precious elves and dragons in the fates they had chosen for themselves. This line of thought, as it had countless times already, turned her mental attention to Callum. She had seen him performing magic on the battlefield but assumed that he must have gotten a hold of another primal stone; it was just too far away to see. When her father told her of a spell that granted the boy flight, with no primal stone in sight, she couldn't believe it. Callum was a human, he couldn't do magic without a primal stone, and he certainly wouldn't let her father fall to his death in favor of some elf he'd only known for a month. Claudia believed that it had been a hallucination brought on by stress or something, but her father stubbornly refused this.
"Claudia!" Her father's voice pulled her from her musings, and she retreated into the cave, hidden from the rest of the world. Viren was looking better these days; bruiseless, unhurt and now standing, if somehow frailer. Claudia herself was paler, with circles under her now somehow duller eyes, whether from the lack of decent sleep or the dark magic, she didn't know, and the white portion of her hair was droopy no matter what she tried to do; it just wouldn't do what she wanted anymore. Propped against the wall were the two staffs, Viren's and the corrupted staff of the Sunfire elves, the now ruined, bloodstained and misshapen crown of Katolis, and a pouch of coins that she had always been forbidden to open.
The massive chrysalis was cracking. Claudia could feel her heart pounding. Viren had seemed well enough to travel for several months now, but he had insisted that they wait for his friend to emerge. They couldn't go home, not after what they'd done to half the population of the human kingdoms, and her father's face must have been well known in parts of Xadia by now. With nowhere to go, they needed his friend to help them plan their next move, even if it kept them in this miserable cave living off hastily gathered fruits.
A massive crackling sound pulsed through the otherwise silent cave; a large split had caused the cocoon to give a jerk. A hand emerged from the shell, gripping the edge, and another hand did the same with the other side before the creature straightened, slowly pulled itself out and freed itself of the now empty binding. It was fully clothed, dry and moved with more grace then most insects that went through this change.
It was an elf. A tall, regal elf, unlike any being she'd ever seen before. He had deep blue skin, long white hair, markings beneath his eyes that looked like diamonds, a light dusting of star-like freckles across his nose, and the largest horns Claudia had ever seen on an elf. Most captivating, though, were those sly, sharp eyes that seemed to know far more then they let on.
Rather than either of the humans, who held their breaths and watched him keenly, his eyes were trained on Viren's staff. He walked over to it, picked it up and ran a thumb over the large jewel almost lovingly. "Ah, for those times back. Elarion, old Ziard. Such fragile beings, you humans."
"Aaravos." Viren spoke, getting the elf's attention. He looked at the pair and gave a sly grin.
"At last. You are looking well, Viren." He spoke in a silky, alluring voice. "I trust any…liable parties have been eliminated?"
"They have." Viren said, now sounding more confident and it was clear they were talking about Soren. Claudia had to admit she found it unsettling how easily her father talked about his son with the same detached disappointment he had spoken of their mother before she became a none-entity in his life. Would Soren be erased the same way? "One weak link nearly broke the chain, but at least he had the sense to leave with what dignity he still had. Not that that was ever much."
"And this is Claudia, is it not?" the elf asked, looking at her. Her heartrate picked up in a slight panic that she couldn't explain.
"She is." Viren spoke, eyeing Aaravos with suspicion. The elf nodded and Claudia let out her breath when he looked away from her and back to her father.
"Lovely. Now that introductions are out of the way." Aaravos spoke. He slowly walked over to the center of the cave, stopping to look at the body of the Sunfire elf. The humans stiffened, unsure of how he would react to a fellow elf being used to resurrect a human.
"What a senseless waste." Aaravos said, sounding uncaring. "And it could have been avoided if not for that little elf playing Dragonguard. I'd venture to say, this particular death is on her hands rather than yours." His eyes slid to look at Claudia, who braced herself. Her father had told her that a young Moonshadow elf had been responsible for his fall. She wasn't sure if it was Callum and Ezran's friend from before or a different elf, but she'd immediately decided that whoever it was would pay dearly for their crime.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Viren approached Aaravos and Claudia followed him. It was too easy to see how frail her father had become, the weak frame, the smaller steps. Dark magic wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. She supposed she would just need to talk to him about rejuvenation spells.
Aaravos stabbed the ground with the end of the staff and continued to palm the jewel. "Place your hands on the staff. Then close your eyes and keep them closed." Aaravos continued to clutch the staff, Viren firmly wrapping his hand around the neck and Claudia doing the same. The exhilarating pulse of primal magic filled the cave as the elf spoke, "Aspectu."
Suddenly, there was a burst of light. Viren and Claudia's eyes somehow didn't need to adjust. The three of them were at the top of the Storm Spire. Aaravos had reverted to the phantom Verin and Verin alone was familiar with, and a quick once over revealed to the dark mages that they themselves had taken on similar forms.
"Welcome to the astral plain, my friends. No cause for alarm here." Aaravos said. The way he looked at them from the very corner of a narrowed eye made him look dangerous. "As part of my punishment, I was stripped of my power before my imprisonment in that accursed mirror. The Dragon Prince, though, has gifted us enough power for this, at least. We can see and hear them, while they are fully unaware of our presence. Useful, is it not?"
Before Viren could answer, the sight before them rendered them speechless, and in Claudia's case came with an unexpected rush of anger. There she was, Callum and Ezran's friend whose name she had forgotten. She was pretty sure it had something to do with light, but whatever. The elf had grown a little taller and filled out a bit, though her frame was still overall scrawny. She wore clothes that were strange, but familiar at the same time; a fancy purple and blue outfit that looked like it marked her as some sort of royal guard; a fashion that was familiar to Claudia who had grown up in a royal court. Beside her was an immense dragon, far bigger than any creature Claudia had seen yet. Scales and horns the color of the night sky, a white mane, and deep blue eyes; what a flawless specimen.
Dragon and elf were sitting outside the cave mouth, seemingly enjoying the calm summer morning. Claudia had never seen an elf look so peaceful; they were usually angry or in the case of their friend back at the cave, fearful. If not for those horns, facial markings and creepy four-fingered hands, the girl might actually be able to pass for a human. No matter, a single look from her father told Claudia that this had been his killer, which meant she would pay the price for her wrongdoing if it was the last thing Claudia did.
"I am a Startouch elf, and an archmage besides." Aaravos told them, keeping his eyes squarely on the younger elf. "I can glimpse certain pieces of knowledge while on the astral plain. For instance –" Aaravos closed his eyes and paused. A smile creeped onto his face. "Hmm. Interesting."
"What?" Viren asked.
"The two Moonshadow elves you battled to acquire the egg." Aaravos said. Viren had spied the mirror then and had gone back for it at a later date; it wasn't hard to imagine that Aaravos had somehow seen the altercation from the mirror. "That young elf is their offspring. Quite interesting. And sad that she should have rejected the little family reunion you so kindly offered."
"Maybe it's just a coincidence." Claudia found herself saying. She didn't know why, but this revelation made her uneasy. Maybe it was the same reason she chose to see the egg as a weapon rather than an unborn baby dragon; if she acknowledged that these creatures had families of their own, loved ones, it would humanize them, and they weren't humans. They were mindless animals, vile dragons and bloodthirsty elves, incapable of love or loyalty. Nothing more.
"Possibly." Aaravos said, closing his eyes again, and this time he couldn't suppress the dark chuckle. "Well, well, well. Here's something more…useful. And they called me an abomination."
"Well?" Viren pressed impatiently.
"That young elf's bond with the human mage." the Startouch elf said. "It can be of great use to us if we can properly harness it."
"Human mage?" Claudia questioned. What other human mages were there besides herself and her father, at least one that the elf would know?
As if on cue, four figures appeared through the clouds, two larger and two smaller. The smaller, lighter creatures came barreling down to the plateau and landed with a pair of pint-sized crashes. They were the Dragon Prince and what looked like a baby moon phoenix. The Dragon Prince, who popped up like a piece of rubber and shook himself free of dust, seemed to be more experienced than the clumsy moon phoenix chick, who struggled to get from belly to feet.
"An excellent flight, Azymondias." The Dragon Queen spoke, her voice much calmer and more maternal than either human could ever have imagined of the beast that ordered King Harrow killed. The prince chirped and hopped over to his mother, his chin thrusted in the air proudly. Mother and guardian laughed at this little display before the elf stood up and stepped forward to pick up the moon phoenix chick.
"I think we should be thinking of getting you back to Lujanne, Phoe-phoe." She said as she held the little fluffball to her cheek. It gave her hair a playful tug. "I certainly don't like the idea of her coming here to get you." Phoe-phoe gave the elf a squeal in response.
The two larger figures touched down far more gracefully then the younger flyers. In watching this little scene, none of the phantoms had seen them approaching. One was a Skywing elf and the other…Claudia had to do a double take. Was that Callum?
He was taller and less stalky. In place of his arms were a pair of large brown wings which were now shrinking along with those of the elf, shaping back into their human forms and feathers retracting and disappearing. His arms, which she realized were surprisingly tone along with the rest of his frame, bore white runes and his jacket was gone. His hair was even messier than usual; windswept, she guessed. The grayish-blue clothes he now wore seemed more elven, though not skintight as Claudia often saw on elves. Around his neck was the old scarf he had worn since they were small, this being the only familiar article he wore. It occurred to her that his birthday had passed in the last month, and he had been a month away from fifteen at the time of the battle; he was sixteen now. He held himself higher now and he radiated a confidence she had never seen from him before.
"Callum, this is amazing." The Skywing elf told him, his eyes beaming with pride. "I still have family back home who refuse to believe that I'm teaching a human who has connected to a primal source."
Claudia blinked and stared in astonishment. But…that was impossible.
"Yeah, I don't really know how people back home will react. Everyone'll probably ask where I'm hiding the primal stone."
The two chuckled. The elf gave Callum a bittersweet look. "My friend, I deeply regret this, but there is no more you can learn from me. It has been a very long time since I've had this much fun training a pupil or have one who picked the spells up so quickly. From this day on, Prince Callum of Katolis, consider yourself a full-fledged sky mage."
Callum had tears in his eyes and a huge smile on his face, and the Skywing elf was caught off-guard when Callum hugged him. The surprised look on the elf's face was quickly replaced with a fond smile as he returned the hug. After a few seconds, they ended the embrace and walked to the others. The Moonshadow elf ran up to them and Claudia's attention was captured when she ran right into Callum's arms. Anger began to serge through her veins when she witnessed a kiss. Callum? And that…that elf? It was…It was just sick.
"Disgusting." Came Viren's snarling voice, a look of fury on his face. "King Harrow was good enough to take him in as a son, and he repays the king's kindness by cavorting with his murderers."
"All the more reason to stop them." Aaravos said. "The dragons alone hold the power in this world, with elves being a distant second, blind servants to the beasts. You claim to be working for humanity, Viren, and in that way, we are allies. My goal is merely to even out the playing field; grant the powerless the same opportunities as the others. As is typical, though, the most powerful jealously cling to the positions which allow them to dominate and abuse those they deem lesser beings. The dragons cannot be reasoned with. If humans are to flourish, these creatures must be eliminated on a global scale, and should the elves give us trouble, then they, too, shall join their masters."
"Yes." Viren said, his eyes trained on the massive queen of the dragons. "And once Xadia's highest powers are no more, I'll return to Katolis for my throne." he stopped. "No. I'll return to the human kingdoms for my throne, and lead my subjects to greatness, finally secure and free of the dragons and elves."
Claudia wasn't listening, she continued to watch Callum and his…friend. She knew Moonshadow elves were about illusions and trickery and there was no doubt in her mind anymore that Soren had been right the first time: this little floozy had done something to captivate Callum and was playing with his heart, maybe even using him for his power. It certainly would explain why he had saved her from death but allowed Viren to fall, as he claimed. The elf squealed in laughter when he grabbed her, pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. He was now half a head taller than her. Claudia's eyes narrowed in anger when she saw the elf whisper something in his ear that caused him to laugh. She could feel her fingers itching to curl around that little temptress's throat.
"Take whatever else you want, just remember one thing;" her words were venomous and dangerous as she fantasized about everything that she could do with all those parts, and how satisfying the harvest would be. "The Moonshadow elf is mine."
Author's Notes: These are my predictions for the as-of-yet unconfirmed season four and perhaps onward. Aspectu is Latin for 'sight'. Review.