Chapter Thirty-one: The Star Arcanum
Callum was puzzled. The feel of this place was familiar, the feel of connecting to an arcanum. But...that was so strange. While he hadn't made a conscious effort with the sky arcanum, it had been stewing in his mind for weeks at that point, and he had gone to sleep with the conviction of connecting to the sun and moon. The acquiring of an arcanum had been the furthest thing from Callum's mind when he had somehow overtaken that bolt, thinking only of protecting an innocent child who was just caught in the middle of all of this. So why now?
The one thing Callum saw appear before him was a mirror. Not the Mirror of Aaravos, this one lacked any curious runes on the frame, and was studded instead with small, glittering jewels, like something he would have seen back in the palace of Katolis. As Callum approached it, he noticed that it did display the whiteness that the Mirror or Aaravos did, and he wondered if, perhaps, that mirror wasn't one of a kind. Suddenly, the Key of Aaravos was in his hand, and without knowing why, he set a random rune to the glass. The whiteness cleared and a figure stared back at him.
The markless light blue skin, white hair, horns, five fingered hands and his own green eyes. It was the figure that he had seen before in another dream. And he was now looking at him, his expression puzzled. Callum moved his hand toward the mirror and was stunned when his movements - including his expression of shock – were mirrored perfectly. Callum was shocked when he looked to the figure's hand, with this again being mirrored, and beheld the Key of Aaravos, in the same hand being held in the same way. This was…a reflection?
Callum looked down at his hands and saw his own pale skin. He rubbed his hair, feeling no horns on his head, with all of this copied in the mirror. So, he himself remained the same, but his reflection was still this strange five-fingered elf.
After a minute straight of staring at the mirror, waiting for something to happen, Callum finally decided to do the only thing that might make something happen; he set the sky rune to the glass, and the mirror went white again. Taking a breath, he passed through the glass.
In the waking world, humans and elves watched the little dragonling explore the cave, which thankfully wasn't very big. When the temperature outside continued to plummet, Amaya and Soren had fastened a tarp and rope over the opening to block the air out – at the moment the howling winds of a blizzard could be heard outside. Luckily the horses had been loaded with provisions such as dry wood, blankets and plenty of rope. This allowed for a small fire to be made that both lite and warmed the inside of the cave. As for food, the group sustained themselves on the breads, jams and cakes from Callum and Ezran's packs.
Between the four horses, one small elf and bigger humans and elves, one of which was hurt and needed his space, there wasn't a lot of space for the dragon to explore, with the cave coming to a harmless dead end after maybe fifteen feet. Large enough that all of these people could be comfortable for a night or two completely concealed. Occasionally, the baby dragon found a small pebble to roll around or an interesting smell or sight, but she seemed a bit less energetic than Zym had been.
"What about…Asteri?" Kiara suggested. She, Rayla and Ezran were sitting in a small trio leaning against a wall, close enough to Callum to keep an eye on him while also keeping watch over the hatchling.
The baby dragon now had free reign of the place, where before, Mira had been dutifully following her around to make sure she stayed safe. This had ended when the hour had caught up with the little elf and she had started yawning and rubbing her eyes. She hadn't put up much of a fuss when Amaya saw this, gently picked her up and pulled third and fourth blankets from the supply packs; the first used for a makeshift door and the second had been draped over Callum to keep him warm. Now Mira was sleeping soundly near him, tangled up in toasty blankets.
"No, I've heard that name for a dragon before." Rayla said. "This little one is one of a kind, I think her name should be unique, too. How about…Fulgor?"
"That sounds like some fancy drink." Ezran said. For a moment, he thought of offering up his mother's name, but thought better of it; as hard as it was to admit, both of his parents were pivotal in the death of King Avizandum, which had nearly plunged Xadia into war. Something about naming a baby dragon for his late mother just didn't seem right to Ezran, so he didn't bring it up. "Cassiopeia?"
"I don't even know how to spell that." Rayla said. She thought for a moment, combing her mind for any old tale or piece of information about creatures of the star primal. Aside from Kaiya back home and Aaravos, no one she knew had seen any creature that could be one. Grabbing Callum's discarded bag, she pulled out the Key of Aaravos and rolled it around with curiosity. The star rune shone purple when the pinkish baby sauntered up to them, looking closely at the thing with the pretty light.
Kiara scratched the baby under her chin, which she seemed to appreciate. "You know, I've heard you star creatures bring good luck with you. Some can even grant wishes."
"Wish." Rayla speculated. "An old Draconic word for 'wish' is Kimaare." At this, the baby's head snapped to here as though answering her. "You like that name? Kimaare?"
The little one chirped happily. Ezran laughed and petted her mane. "She likes the name."
"Okay, Kimaare." Kiara said. Rayla carefully replaced the Key of Aaravos in the bag, nobody noticing the steady blinking of the star rune showing through the bag. Kimaare, her eyes finally beginning to droop, let out a yawn and walked over to Callum, who she nestled up beside, and fell asleep.
Callum found himself in a grassy field under a sky of stars, lighting the sky up so brightly that the moon might as well have been out, which it didn't seem to be. He looked behind him to find the mirror gone, in its place was the mysterious figure, holding the Key of Aaravos.
"Aarush?" The name fell out of Callum's mouth before he realized it. The figure looked stunned.
"You…You know me?" he asked in a voice that was far less threatening than Aaravos. He shook his head and regarded Callum sternly. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time. For now, what you need to do is to walk through the mirror, find a green cloth with the star rune on it, and wrap the key with it."
"Why? What do you mean you don't have time?" Callum asked.
"My time here is limited." Aarush said. "Do this and we'll have more time to talk; ask your questions then. For the moment…" Aarush trailed off, turning his face to the stars, and Callum did the same. Callum knew he ought to be asking what was happening, but something in him refused to turn away. Th sky was as vast as ever, but now the stars spoke of hidden wonders far beyond their reach.
"Captivating, aren't they?" Aarush said, his voice calmer. "So far away. It makes you feel so small." Callum nodded. It was humbling; their worries, their joys, their very lives were so tiny in the scheme of things. "But it's all about perspective. This doesn't mean life isn't worth living, it just doesn't mean as much as you think it means. To the stars, at least. Everything, good and bad is only temporary. The good times need to be cherished and the bad times, usually, aren't the end of the world. Everything in life is just...for now."
Callum continued to watch, trying to see the farthest away of the stars, even knowing that those farthest stars were a small part of the cosmos. Still, he was confused; this wasn't like the other arcanums, but perhaps that was because the star arcanum was somehow above the others to start with. But if he didn't have some sort of epiphany…
"I told you, my time is limited." Aarush said, and Callum looked at him. "The stars aren't really known for dispensing information, at least not reliably, but on the other side, you'll get the information you need. Remember; through the mirror, green cloth, star rune, wrap the key in it."
Callum awoke feeling refreshed. He found himself in a cave, tucked under a blanket. The smell of burnt wood filled his nose and a sudden burst of light caused him to wince and try to turn away as he forced himself up. Callum might have felt refreshed, but he had apparently been asleep a long time. His joints popped and strained. A small moan escaped this mouth.
"Callum!" Callum lazily accepted when Rayla and Ezran ran to him and hugged him tightly. He should have known the onslaught of affection wasn't over, because once they pulled away, he was forced – a bit harshly – back down by some small creature that was now sniffing at him and licking at his face. He tried not to wince at the lingering pain of his injury. It wasn't the worst pain of his life, but he had the feeling that if not for his connection to the sky arcanum, he'd be gasping for breath. When the thing was pulled off of him, Callum saw it. In Rayla's arms was a pinkish-purple baby dragon with big dark green eyes.
"Aw." Callum groaned in mock-disappointment. "What else did I miss?"
"Not much." said Soren, coming over to them. He clapped Callum on the shoulder. "How are you feeling, Callum?"
"A little stiff. How long was I out?"
"You've been asleep for two days." Rayla said. Callum looked surprised to hear this. "Claudia was about to hit Mira with a Fulminous spell and you –"
"I jumped in front of it." Callum finished, slowly, remembering. He lifted up the blanket to look himself over, seeing the redness on his bare torso and along his upper arms. He'd have to find a mirror to fully take in his injuries once they got home. Mirror. That's right, he thought to himself; now there was even more cause to go back to Novus. The mirror, the key, and a green cloth with the star rune on it.
Callum looked around. A small fire was providing light and warmth to the cave, there were four horses with large travel-packs sitting near them, Rayla's father was rising and Mira and Kiara were both still sleeping. Claudia was bound and looked at him with the most life anyone has seen from her in days, maybe surprised to see him awake. She turned away, whether in anger or shame was hard to say. His aunt and her commander were nowhere to be seen.
"Aunt Amaya and Commander Gren left early to gather food." Ezran told him before he had a chance to ask about it. "Sorry, but we kinda finished off the food in the bags."
As if in response to this statement, Callum's stomach growled. He tried to laugh it off when Soren and Rayla gave him teasing looks. The baby dragon yipped happily, regaining Callum's attention.
"Callum, this is Kimaare." Ezran introduced, glad for the change of subject even though he alone wasn't responsible for the sudden food shortage. "She was hatched last night."
Callum gave her a scratch on the chin. So, this little thing was a star dragon. Callum stopped as he remembered. The star primal!
"I…" Callum paused, realizing that he was genuinely confused about something. "I think I've connected the star arcanum."
The expressions he received ranged from surprised to confused. "You think or you know?" Ezran asked.
"I have no idea." Callum said. "I can't explain it, but I…feel like something's different. If I knew any star magic, I could find out for sure." Going over his dream, he remembered the Key of Aaravos. Callum mentally slapped himself; duh. He dug the key out of his bag and pulled it to himself; the star rune shone.
"Aw, did someone forget his magic toy?" Rayla asked playfully and Callum responded with his own teasing look.
"Callum." Came Gren's voice and the next moment, Callum's still stiff muscles were being thoroughly popped by his aunt's bone-crushing hug. As Gren ran to approach, Amaya pulled back. "How are you feeling?"
"Right now? Compressed." Callum half-joked. "But I am feeling okay enough to travel. I know we need to get ho –" Callum froze as he was again tackled in a hug. By Mira.
"Mira's been worried." Rayla told him. "It looks like that stupid stunt of yours finally got through to her. She's even been okay with Ezran and Amaya." Callum smiled down at the little girl, feeling a sense of triumph as he returned her embrace with one arm, and wrapping the other arm around Rayla. Rayla melted into the embrace, feeling so peaceful to finally be able to hold him again. The three of them made a sweet little picture to their audience sans an aloof Lain and bitter Claudia, for both of who, this was rather uncomfortable. Predictably, the moment was ruined by Soren, who seemed to have decided that this was almost too good of a picture.
"And you're absolutely sure she's not yours?" he asked. Callum and Rayla pulled away to send him looks that asked if he was kidding. Mira, meanwhile, left her spot from between them and made her way over to large berries, covered in frost; one of the more appreciated features of Xadian magic was the array of fruits that flourished in winter. Amaya and Gren had brought back three baskets full.
"We're sure, Soren." Rayla told him with a tone. "Time aside, I think I, of all people, would remember something like that."
"Well, we don't know." Soren defended. "Maybe halflings…grow really fast?"
Callum chuckled, and gratefully took the basket of fruit that Amaya practically shoved into his arms. Once they ate, they could finally talk about heading home, and he would find out what Aarush wanted.
Author's Notes: So many beautiful words, but I found a couple of things. Kimaare (pronounced Kim-are-ay) has nothing to do with wishes and is actually an amalgamation of the Finnish words 'kimallus' and 'aarre', which mean 'sparkle' and 'treasure', respectively. While I would have liked to call her Twilight Sparkle and imagine all the facepalms you guys would do, I was looking for a name that fit with the motif of dragon names, a name that sounded cool and nebulous like the others. Review.