46: Four Moms and a Dragon
Damara ran into the egg chamber of Tarir, her jaguar Maidy bounding beside her. She and Annhilda had both received such a disturbing dream about the crystal egg that they'd decided to leave behind Hope's Le- that was, Dragon's Watch for a few days and go to Tarir to check on the egg, and Marjory had volunteered to join them from curiosity. Ruka had greeted them with an almost un-Exalted flutter of excitement. "The egg is hatching! Glint's second scion will soon be here."
Damara nodded impatiently. "Okay, cool – hi, Caithe – can we go in?"
"I think you are the only ones who can go in," Ruka said. "The barrier will not allow us who are not attuned to the chamber."
And so she ran up the golden steps to the centre, in time to see the egg spin into a shattering explosion. She flinched and covered her eyes, but it seemed the crystalline fragments dissolved instantly – were they made of magic? Well, dragons were made of magic, so that tracked... She didn't have a lot of time to think about it anyway, because coalescing into physical permanence where the egg had been was an absolutely adorable baby dragon, with a square head, gigantic green eyes, and a perpetual playful grin.
"Oh my Gods!" she squealed – and then the golden barrier around the baby dragon fell. "Umm... is it supposed to do that?"
"On your guard!" Annhilda cried beside her, drawing her sword. "Are those... destroyers? Primordus destroyers?"
"But why are they green?" Damara asked, whipping out her bow. "We gotta defend – Aurene!" She didn't ask where the name had come from. There wasn't time. She just knew it.
There was a flash of light, and the Luminate appeared beside the dragon, holding out her hand to blast away a couple little destroyer crabs that had dodged Damara's arrows. "Something's wrong! Please, hold them off while I right this!" She projected a small white shield over the little blue dragon, and began to cast something bigger.
"We can do that, by Raven's beak," Annhilda said, and threw herself towards the nearest destroyers, ducking their hideous claws and stabbing the nearest one clean through with her longsword. She smacked another one out of the way with her shield, and Maidy sprang on it, raking it with her claws. Damara had turned her attention to one of the other openings, because the destroyers were fast and trying to get around Annhilda. A volley of arrows deterred them for a moment, but then they surged forward again.
A figure appeared by the stairs, a big, floating figure who was no Exalted. Damara yelled between arrows. "Lazarus! Leave! Immediately!"
"I do not come with ill intentions!" said the Mursaat, and Damara had to admit he wasn't throwing spells at them yet so...?
"Then earn our goodwill," Annhilda said, pointing her sword at him in the half-second she had between destroyers. "Don't let the destroyers up those stairs."
"And give the dragon a wide berth, Lazarus!" Damara called. "It would be a pity to have your second life be short-lived!" Yeah, she didn't know how to kill a Mursaat, but if he dared touch this precious wee bab she'd have his head on a plate!
But she had to admit that with the three of them to hold the three openings between the 'wings', defending the tiny dragon was much easier. And still nerve-wracking. Attackers weren't supposed to get this close! She was supposed to be able to shoot them from up above while they struggled to reach the ascending ramp! And they were relentless, stomping and skittering past Maidy with single-minded focus. She couldn't shoot fast enough, and Maidy's claws and fangs weren't that great against their rocky shells!
"Arrgh!" She gave a frustrated cry and dropped her bow to the ground, grabbing at her sword and her warhorn, blowing a sharp blast that made them flinch momentarily. Not much, but enough, and then she could hack at them, ducking around razor claws, stabbing them right in the glowy bits. Maidy scratched them from behind, sensing her intent, giving her easier targets.
"Doing all right?" Annhilda called.
"Eengh," Damara grunted, kicking a small destroyer crab like a football. "Can't they just quit?"
"That would be too easy," Annhilda said. "Keep it up! Their numbers are falling!"
Damara gritted her teeth. "C'mon, Maidy."
How long did the Luminate need? She'd feel less desperate if she had a countdown or something, assuming that the destroyers got vapourized when the defenses were restored. And the humidity was just as bothersome as it had always been in the Heart of Maguuma, making her sweat intensely, drops rolling down her brown face and into her cleavage. Kryta might have been humid and semi-tropical but it wasn't like this! She slashed and parried, trying to avoid their return swipes, Maidy clawed and bit, but slowly the defenders were being driven back.
Just when she thought one of them might get past her and make a run for the dragon, there was a whoosh and light flashed over them. The destroyers did not drop dead, but at least there weren't any more coming up! Now that was a countdown she could handle!
When the last of them had died to Annhilda's sword, Damara looked around the room, which was as wide as the civic square under the jellyfish in 'new' Lion's Arch, and saw Marjory and Caithe entering, looking around in wonder. Damara beckoned them over, and they broke into a run. "Sorry, we got held up outside," Marjory said. "What's happening?"
"It's done, Commander!" the Luminate said. "The barrier has been restored. The scion of Glint is safe."
Annhilda took a step towards the mursaat floating quietly on one side of the platform. "Not until that Mursaat is out of here."
"A Mursaat?" The Luminate flinched, as if she'd only just noticed. "The Forgotten passed on tales of these creatures. I never thought I'd encounter one... You are the dragon's champion and shepherd, but may I suggest purging this impurity directly."
Annhilda opened her mouth to object, but Lazarus broke in smoothly. "The mursaat I was in the tales of the Forgotten is dead. I have been reborn, and rising from the void brings with it a new perspective. We previously sought power through treacherous means, only to save ourselves when the Dragons rose. But now I see we must all stand against the Dragons to save everyone."
Damara gave him a side-eye. "Can I get a 'no kidding'? But why do you hope to align with us?"
"You have killed two, have you not? Our interests are the same. The Fire Dragon is rising. I cannot stand idly by and repeat past mistakes. My actions since returning prove me a useful ally."
"Like when you destroyed the Bloodstone?" Marjory asked skeptically.
"The Bloodstone was destabilized by years of misguided White Mantle tinkering," Lazarus said reasonably. "I did absorb the blast to repower myself, yes, but also, how many countless lives were saved?"
Like their own lives, Damara realized. Aurene looked back and forth between them, looking confused and utterly adorable at the same time. Damara really wished she could cuddle with her! She looked like a smaller, slightly different, bluer version of Night, her electric wyvern friend.
"What's the angle you're running?" Marjory demanded. "What's in an alliance for you?"
"The salvation of this world," Lazarus said. "The White Mantle is splintering. There are those who follow Caudecus, and those loyal to me. I can make them a force for good, another spear in an army against the Dragons."
"This is the same accord the Mursaat struck with the Forgotten," said the Luminate. "Then, they simply broke their word and disappeared."
"That was a cowardly act of self-preservation, and something I will not repeat," Lazarus said.
"You won't have the chance," Annhilda muttered to herself. "You seem earnest enough, so I hope you'll understand when I tell you there's no way I can agree to this. I can't keep an eye on you at all times."
"I have an idea, boss," Marjory said. "I'll do it. I'll dig into his claim, and if Lazarus has truly changed, we can reassess the situation."
"I welcome any inquiries," Lazarus said placidly.
"Oh, it'll be much more than that," Marjory said with an eyebrow. "I'm going to be embedded with you, shadow your every move."
"Can we talk about this for a minute?" Annhilda said, and the four of them huddled together, well away from the Mursaat. Damara glanced over her shoulder at him. She didn't know how good his hearing was. "Okay, first of all, he's absorbed the Bloodstone's power. We obviously can't just easily put him down if his story doesn't check out."
"He's touched death, boss," Marjory said. "And now he's back... There's something... The necromancer in me wants to find out more. And... who knows?"
"Damara?"
"Well, it could be a trap. It's probably a trap. It's almost certainly a trap."
Annhilda nodded. "I agree. You remember those tablets I was translating, back on the Fire Islands?"
"Yeah. It's absolutely possible he's just behaving sweet until he sees a chance to go all revenge/conquer the world on us... The Mursaat were absolutely no-holds-barred racist imperialists in the worst sense of all the words, and I wouldn't put it past a single one of them to think he could do the job on his own. On the other hand, I really like a good heel-face turn story."
"This isn't a story," Caithe said. "Not yet, anyway."
"Sorry, my point was... I'll side with Marjory. We should take a good hard look at him, not write him off with no chance."
"I appreciate you looking out for me, but I won't be told what I can and can't do," Marjory said. "I will be careful, I promise." She turned away from them and walked cheerfully over to the Mursaat. "Lazarus, let's move out," she said, and Damara had the feeling that if they'd been on the same height level, she would have looped her arm companionably through his. "We have a lot to talk about, my floaty new friend."
The Mursaat did not respond, but followed her to the door.
"I can't help but feel like I'll be explaining this to Kasmeer shortly," Annhilda said, rubbing her forehead. "Given what happened today, I'd feel a little better if someone I knew was watching the chamber."
"Someone you trust?" Caithe said.
"Yeah, so can you ask Taimi to get here right away?"
Caithe paused, then finally smiled. "You're joking with me. I take that as a good sign."
Annhilda let out a small smile of her own. "I was pretty pissed off when you interfered with Caoilfhionn's quest-thing, and refused to explain anything, but even that... you've never been an enemy of this dragon."
"I'll lay down my life for her," Caithe said.
"Wow, Aurene has a lot of moms," Damara said, joking. "You're her mom, and you're her mom, and I'm her mom, and the Luminate is also a mom, and I guess Caoilfhionn probably is too since, you know, he was one of the ones who got her here in the first place." She approached the dragon, who had flopped comfortably on her pedestal and was watching them. "Hey! Are we all your moms?"
The dragon trilled and tilted its head on one side, then looked around like she expected someone else there.
"Sorry, he's probably still having a big long nap," Damara said. "He's been through a lot. But I'm sure he'll come visit as soon as he wakes up!"
The dragon mumbled and blinked.
"Oh, man, I really want to cuddle with you," Damara said, and reached out to pet the dragon.
"You can't treat the scion of Glint-" began the Luminate, and stopped when Aurene closed her eyes and trilled happily.
"She likes it!" Damara said. "Look, you gotta give babies lots of care and love and attention. It's probably been a really long time since you've been human, and maybe I don't know anything about baby dragons as opposed to baby anything else, but oo just need lots an' lots of neck-scratchies, don't oo?" She gave the dragon a big hug and lots of scritches. "Come on, you guys, give her some love!"
"I don't want to scare her," Caithe said, moving closer cautiously.
"Sure, we don't want to overwhelm her, on her first day of post-egg life, but she's bonded to all of us, right? Give her a li'l rub, she'll like it."
Caithe did so, and her whole face lightened up in a way Damara hadn't seen on her before. Annhilda came close and also reached out to the baby dragon, and Aurene shoved her head at her for pets too.
"Who's a good girl, huh?" Damara cooed. "You're the bestest little dragon in the whole world!"
"She's the only little dragon in the whole world," Caithe said dryly, stroking her tail.
Aurene, pampered from head to foot, stretched and yawned and laid her head down to sleep contentedly.
Damara wasn't able to stay in Tarir for long, but only a few weeks later, she was on the other side of Tyria, chasing down some Flame Legion bastards with Rhyoll, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked, and saw... Aurene? But... like a ghost. She managed to keep herself from jumping, and when she looked again, the dragon was gone.
But a few minutes later, she was back, frisking around Damara and her red moa, Delia, while they were trying to keep undercover. "Aurene! Stay still, just for a minute!" Aurene vanished.
"What? What's going on?" Rhyoll asked.
"I thought I saw Aurene!"
Rhyoll scratched his black fuzzy head. "What's she doing out here?"
"I don't think she really was, but... There she is again! Aurene, can you wait, like, an hour? It's really distracting! I might get hurt!"
Aurene sat down in front of her, trilled, and disappeared.
"Okay, I hope she doesn't pop up again until we're done here. But I'd better get back to Tarir afterwards."
"Aww. I wish I could come meet her."
"You can come, why not?"
"I've got another job to do for Tribune Goreblade – he's been putting me to work ever since I got back from helping you chase down that Caudecus. Not that I mind, of course. It's been good to be home! Smell the oil and all."
"Yeah, I'll stick with the baby dragon," Damara said, peeking out to see if there were any Flame Legion nearby. "But you can come visit anytime."
When she arrived in Tarir, she found Annhilda had arrived before her. "Oh good, you're here. Apparently we've got work to do with Aurene?"
"Work!?" exclaimed Damara, aghast. "You can't put a toddler to work!"
"For now, Aurene is just an infant, forming her first pictures of the world around her," said the Luminate. "But make no mistake: she'll one day achieve great power. As her guardians, it's our duty to set her down the right path."
"Okay, but..." Damara thought. It really depended on the species. Baby moas, kittens, and puppies were blind and helpless for weeks after their birth, but once they opened their eyes, they could already be directed... even if that direction usually tended more towards 'house training' than 'save the world'. But human babies, they needed... well, more than a month or two before learning 'right' and 'wrong'! But she would admit, she was no expert on dragons, and the Exalted were trained by Glint. "Well, fine. What do we need to do?"
"A bond already exists between the three of you and Aurene," the Luminate said. "It is unfortunate the Sylvari Caoilfhionn could not be here, but the three of you should be sufficient. Our goal is to nurture and strengthen this bond. To that end, we've prepared a series of challenges meant to demonstrate virtues to the hatchling. In the chambers ahead, you will help the needy, defend the weak, and train Aurene for battle. In the final chamber waits the truest test of your bond: a foe that you can only defeat with Aurene's trust and help."
"That sounds pretty complicated," Damara said. "Is she really ready for this?"
"She'll be fine," the Luminate said confidently. "Just be patient with her. Aurene's at a... rambunctious age, and she sees everything as play. Step through the portal when you're ready."
She bet Aurene saw everything as play! And she should be allowed to see it as play! Damara refrained from giving a loud, exasperated groan, but it was a near thing, even when she'd gone through the portal. "More trials?" she couldn't help saying, though. "Really?"
"Set in their ways, I guess," Annhilda said, sardonically. "Everything can be proven through trials, can't it?"
"Aurene?" Caithe called. "Aurene, are you here?"
Aurene came frisking out from behind a pillar. She grinned when she saw them all, wiggled her tail, and disappeared behind another pillar.
"Oh dear," Caithe said. "She wants to play hide-and-seek. Let us split up."
The trials were not challenging, thank goodness, and in fact, were pretty morally simplistic. Which Damara appreciated. Aurene didn't need to know the real world was agonizing shades of grey a lot of the time. For now, it was enough to know that helping others was good, whether it was to make their lives easier or to defend them in battle. Though even that rankled with her, a bit. Yes, Aurene was a dragon, not a person, and she had claws and teeth and scales and deadly breath, and she needed to know that they could hurt people should she choose to use them... but teaching a baby to fight still bothered her.
But Aurene seemed happy, just to be spending time with all her moms, and Damara resolved to try and visit more often if she could.