Nineteen: Luna Tenebris
Callum and Rayla were glad that today was one of the warmer days; they would have been shivering from the rushing air as Zubeia and their mount - the same moon dragon who had granted his services to Callum the night before discovering the Mirror of Aaravos - flew to the east. The moon dragon's name was Umbra, and according to Zubeia, he considered it an honor to offer his services to the White Mage. Though the dragons considered themselves above the elves and certainly above the humans, Callum's strange ability had gained their attention and garnered true respect from many of them. Umbra was proud to be steed to such a remarkable human, but the place they were going, the one they had come to see, had his heart pounding in excitement.
While Callum occasionally flew to the east of Xadia in small increments, he had never been this far before. Mountain ranges, wide, sprawling plains, wetlands and forests sped beneath them. Finally, Queen Zubeia landed, leading Umbra to do the same. They had landed at a tall mountain, before a deep, dark cave. There was the faint scent of salt-water in the air, though no ocean was in sight. Callum and Rayla got off of Umbra, who lowered to his belly into a deep bow. Zym was standing beside Umbra; he had attempted to get onto Callum's shoulders, only to be set on the ground and told that he was getting pretty big for these rides. Queen Zubeia, in contrast to the moon dragon, stood tall.
"Luna Tenebris." she called into the cave. After a moment of silence and stillness, there was a great stirring within the cave; the ground giving a sharp tremor, small rocks falling around the entrance, and a long, lazy moan, like a yawn, from deep in the darkness. "It is Queen Zubeia. I apologize for waking you, but we are in need of your guidance." A shuffling from the cave let the visitors know that a large body was moving in the cavern along with the sound of rocks hitting rocks, but slowly the former Dragon Queen emerged. Rayla immediately knelt and Callum lowered himself as well, though he couldn't help but continue to look at her in awe.
Luna Tenebris was a breathtaking creature. A large, mostly white dragon with the faint dapple of the lightest silver here and there, not unlike the full moon itself. He could see a dark blue, almost black, color for the webbing in her wings and the same for the sleek main that ran down the back of her neck. Her eyes shown the same luminous blue that those of her predecessor, Sol Regem, had once shown. And yet, despite all this, it was clear she was older than Zubeia.
"Queen Zubeia. And…" There was a pause as she took in the other members of their little band. The young moon dragon wasn't an odd sight, nor was the elf, but her eyes lingered on the more unexpected visitors; a human and a small dragonling. "Company."
"Luna Tenebris," Queen Zubeia addressed. "You are looking well rested. This past decade has been an eventful one. The world has…changed." Zym charged up to the older archdragon happily; she already seemed a lot nicer than Sol Regem. Luna Tenebris set her chin on the ground to be at the small thing's level, and found her nose playfully tackled for her troubles. She gave the little one a fond snort-laugh as she raised herself back up to speak to his mother. "Luna Tenebris, I would like you to meet my son, Azymondias."
"Congratulations, Queen Zubeia. I can already tell he will be as powerful as King Avizandum." The melancholy look the queen gave wasn't missed.
"I fear, my husband is gone." Queen Zubeia said, and proceeded to tell her elder a shortened version of the events that cost her her beloved and nearly her son.
"Deepest condolences, my queen." Luna Tenebris said in sincerity, thinking that this second, ill-timed yawn would surely give off an uncaring impression. "Truly." It was then that she looked at Callum. "A bit far from home, aren't we, human?" It was at this point Queen Zubeia began the somewhat more in-depth story of how the former Dragon King's murder set off a chain of amazing events leading to their current predicament.
Amer and the stranger had been traveling all night and at last came to a huge tree a few miles east of the Storm Spire. He was thankful when the mysterious elf finally stopped and set himself at the base of the tree. Had he paid any attention to the prisoner his eldest sister had apprehended hours before her death, he would have recognized the older human as her murderer. But he hadn't, he'd been attending something else when everything had suddenly erupted into chaos and it would be a few days before he saw either of his sisters again. Therefore, he couldn't recognize Viren.
Amer and the two humans regarded one another warily. "Prince Amer, Viren and Claudia." Aaravos' introduction did little to lessen the tension. "Our new friend is victim of the dragons' crimes. They pinned the blame on him when your kingdom was destroyed."
"They did!" Amer responded passionately. "It wasn't my fault your kingdom was destroyed, it was…It was those humans. That Callum and his aunt. They're the ones who did wrong and set off the dragon, they're the ones to blame!"
"Hold on," Claudia stood up, her expression one of anger as she protested Amer's words. "Callum would never do something like that!"
"Wouldn't he?" Amer challenged. "He nearly broke my nose the last time we met. That whole family is depraved and violent! Humans who get involved with elves are asking for trouble. The Moonshadow elf with your little 'prince', Janai and her general. Makes me wonder what poor fool the young one will grow up to ensnare and corrupt."
"Corrupt?" Claudia questioned. "If anyone's doing the corrupting it's your kind. That Moonshadow elf has brainwashed –"
"My kind?" the Sunfire elf challenged, taking a threatening step towards her. This was the last piece of audible dialogue before the two descended into a tangled mess of accusations and insults.
A flash blinded the two for a moment. Claudia being used to the staff's presence by now, recovered quickly, as did Amer, who beheld the staff in horror. It…It couldn't be. "The Scepter of Radiance?" his voice was trembling. He'd heard what happened, as well as remembered…He looked at the Startouch elf. "A-Aaravos." The other elf smiled.
Amer turned on his heels and tried to run. He had to get back to the Storm Spire. He had to warn – his thoughts were cut off when he found himself on the ground; a vine had come out of nowhere and tripped him, and more foliage was slithering towards him. Amer ran, occasionally needing to break himself free of whatever had wrapped itself around him. This was all enough, though, so that the trio caught up to him without even needing to speed up their walking. Soon, they stood in front of him and he felt it foolish to struggle as each of his limbs was taken over by ivy vines that subdued him.
"The Sunfire elves." Amer gasped, beholding the spectrum of color omitting from the black orb. White, yellow, green, blue. "The Moonshadow elves, the Earthblood elves. What are you doing?"
"That is not your concern," Aaravos' voice became mocking. "Prince." Amer's former title rang in his ears as he braced himself for whatever was coming.
"Remarkable." Luna Tenebris said, feeling the energy from Fulminus dissipating in the air above her. Callum held himself very proudly as Zym yipped and frolicked beneath the charged air; the prince loved when Callum did Fulminus. She lowered herself to Callum and gave him a sniff. Callum couldn't help but be a little on edge, remembering the last time an archdragon had sniffed him all too well. Luna Tenebris did pick up the small, stale smell of death, but far greater was the scent of ozone, with a hint of night air sprinkled in. It was a typical scent of an emerging archmage, though most tended to save the sky arcanum for later in their training, as it was one of the more expansive arcanums. "The human mages. I thought they were just a legend."
"A Startouch Dragonguard told me about them." Callum said. "That no one is sure they even really existed."
"I've certainly never met one." The moon archdragon said. "Honestly, those old stories are a part of the reason I chose to spare the humans. It never occurred to me that something like this would ever truly happen, I was just charmed by those stories and didn't want to obliterate them. That certainly made me unpopular for a number of decades; the elves and my fellow dragons said I should have just destroyed you all. That sliver of dark magic, though, worries me."
Callum, Rayla and Zubeia looked grave. "I-it was just the one time." he defended. "Before I connected to the sky arcanum. My friends were in trouble and I was useless, and –"
"Be calm, human. I know it's old and slight, it would just mean trouble down the line should it have continued." She turned to the younger dragoness. "Now, Aaravos?"
"Aaravos has returned." Queen Zubeia said. "He has stolen the Scepter of Radiance from the Sunfire elves and is using it to steal the magic from the others."
Luna Tenebris narrowed her eyes in consideration. Finally, she lowered herself once more and looked into Callum's eyes, searching. He was beginning to get used to this kind of size-up and allowed himself to be appraised. It was a few moments before she broke the eye contact. "I see a good heart, strong moral character and a drive to protect those you hold dear. I believe you are the one meant to uncover something."
"Uncover?" Queen Zubeia asked.
"You have mastered moon magic?" Callum nodded. "Go to the Moon Nexus tonight. There is something that I have hidden, to be found only by a pure heart. It may just be of great use. Return it to me, and I will explain how it will help. I can't tell you what it is, but you'll know it when you see it."
Umbra had taken off just after moonrise, and it had taken about an hour to get to the Moon Nexus. Lujanne was surprised to see them. There were five other Moonshadow elves who didn't engage the pair, but they watched them closely. Callum told Lujanne about his meeting with the former Dragon Queen and the mission he was on on her behalf. Receiving the okay from the mage, Callum began searching as Rayla filled her and the other guards in on the happenings of the last month.
Callum searched the place, in doing so, he saw that the Moon Nexus seemed to have recovered better than the still dead land around the mountain, though he knew very well that it could have been an illusion. Callum felt rather ridiculous looking for something when he wasn't even sure what it was, let alone where to start looking. Flower beds, Moon Hinge, lake. There was nothing outdoors.
After what seemed like hours, Callum opened up an old wardrobe in one of the living quarters. At last, something glowing caught his eye, shining from in between dusty, tightly packed articles of typical Moonshadow elf attire. Shoving the crammed clothing aside was no easy task, but his heart pounded in his chest as his eyes finally beheld the mysterious treasure. Callum took it and just looked at it for a moment, knowing that the moment he appeared with this, the elves would swamp him with questions.
The dawn was just starting to break when Umbra returned to his former queen with Callum and Rayla in tow, with the addition of Lujanne. Luna Tenebris regarded the mage with a court nod and looked on Callum with pride. In his hand was the treasure. The Scepter of Shadows. The top of the staff shaped itself into a crescent moon, in the center of which was a moon primal stone, looking like a tiny full moon right down to the soft white glow. Other then this, it looked very much like the Sculpture of Radiance had.
"Well done, Callum." said Luna Tenebris. "It will be of great use to you, I'm sure."
"Oh, Great Luna Tenebris." Lujanne knelt. "If I might be so bold, my people have searched for centuries to find the Scepter of Shadows. Why has it only appeared now?"
"As an extra precaution, I put a particular kind of concealment on the scepter." Luna Tenebris said, "The only one who would be able to find it was one who was looking, but not for it in particular."
"Brilliant." The mage's eyes were wide with wonder.
"Lujanne of the Moonshadow elves, this is to stay a strict secret." The moon dragon said. "The scepter will remain in Callum's custody until the time comes that he must use it. After that, he is to return it to its people, but the recovery of the scepter cannot be revealed if what Queen Zubeia has told me, if the fate of the Scepter of Radiance, rings true."
"You have my word, Your Greatness." Lujanne said, only imagining the fuss the others back at the Nexus would make; they didn't particularly care for Callum or Rayla and now they probably felt cheated out of their own quest. "We will be silent." Luna Tenebris nodded.
"So, what now?" Callum asked.
"Well, I suppose I'll go for a flight to stretch my wings a bit." The elder archdragon said. "You all need to get back to your lives, and Callum. Hide the Scepter of Shadows in a place it won't be found and do not retrieve it until the time is right."
"Okay, but can't I get more of a hint than that?" he asked. "How am I supposed to use the scepter if I don't know what it's for?"
"You have been warned about the path of the archmage, correct?" Luna Tenebris asked. Callum nodded. "Keep those warnings in mind. You will understand when the time comes, I promise."
Without another word, Luna Tenebris stood up, gave herself a stretch, walked out of the cave and spread her wings. With a few mighty flaps that kicked dust up on the ground, she rose into the sky and was soon a shape in the clouds.
By noon, the group had returned to Novus and the Scepter of Shadows was safely tucked away in Callum's room, hidden this time by a more basic concealment spell.
Alone in his room, Callum went over it in his mind. He knew the Scepter of Radiance had been stolen and corrupted. Aaravos, in the company of Claudia and Viren, had been going around, gathering different kinds of primal magic for something. He knew the staff now wielded the power of the sun, moon and earth, but the ocean, sky and stars were untouched as far as he knew. Whatever Aaravos' plan was, he needed to learn his third arcanum. Next stop was Lux Aurea. Callum had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but now there was no choice; Viren and Claudia were still out there, if nothing else.
Something about having the Scepter of Shadows seemed to make it concrete; Aaravos was up to something and as long as he stayed here, he was putting everyone in danger. He had been talking about traveling around for his training for years, but those plans had been put on hold because of Sol Regem's rampage, and now there seemed to be some kind of invisible deadline. Now it was time to open those plans back up.
Author's Notes: The idea with Luna Tenebris is that dragons live for such a long time, their idea of an afternoon nap could take decades. I also originally wanted her to give Callum a riddle, but the only one I found was obvious, especially at the Moon Nexus from a moon dragon, and I always feel insulted when characters, and presumably the audience, is assumed to not be able to work out a simple riddle. Review.