Reviewer Response
To SatelliteBlues: I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Trying to peer into domestic lives during the story is something that I wish to do, as it matters just as much as the battles do.
To Hunter of City: Thanks for the input. As for your two ideas at the end of the review, well, I'm not saying anything. More about this mysterious character will be revealed later.
To SkdaGamer: I went over all of your reviews on discord so there would not be a massive wall of text here lol. Anyway, I hope I did a good job of addressing the things that you brought up.
A Quillum only chapter
Chapter 14: A Mystical World
Song: (I can't find a good one, instrumental or otherwise)
The morning light shone through the windows and the thin curtains of the upstairs bedroom. Just like Bradan said, it had genuinely been a week since he ordered the teams to be dismissed. Unfortunately, their break time was up, and both he and Katrine hated that fact more than anything. But this time was going to be different. With the new group of magicians, it would open up the possibility of expansion of their particular field, allowing for more tasks to be done faster with more hands available to assist. It would also allow Bradan to take a step back a bit and appoint people to more leadership positions, taking the burden off of his shoulders
Bradan threw the covers off and rolled slowly out of bed, groaning like the wooden boards did under his feet. Katrine let out a sigh of mixed emotions, knowing that he had to go back to work, a profession that she came to despise, but knowing that this was a sign of better things to come. That after today, there would be more time between them, and eventually between their newborn child.
Taking careful steps, Bradan went to the wardrobe and selected his clothes for the day. This time, he spared all of the fancy and formal layers of clothing that he was known for in favor of a looser fitting outfit. A simple pair of denim trousers, an airy and unbleached cotton shirt, and a trench coat to go over it all to give some degree of formality. It might have been crazy to wear a trench coat with it only being three weeks until summer, but it was all about looking presentable.
He made sure to gather up the rest of the items that he would need for the day from the first floor, giving extra thought to the lab keys that he took with him. With everyone now hopefully well-rested, and their message to the War Department made clear, it was time to get back to it, but with more helping hands than before.
With a satchel thrown over his shoulder, it was time for him to leave. But before he did, there was something that he needed to take care of first. He went back upstairs, where Katrine was still in bed, but sitting up rather than laying down like she was when he went to the first floor. She was still in a daze, her sleep scheduled still off-kilter.
"I'll be back later this evening, my love," he said, running his fingers through the soft feathers on her head. She cooed in response. "Things are going to change from here on."
"I hope so," she replied, running her left hand over Bradan's scaly forearm, his fingers still running through her head feathers.
"I hope as well.
"Promise me this..." she said, trailing off before she could finish.
"What might that be?"
"Promise me that you'll be back home this time. The last time you said that, you left for the palace and I didn't see you for a week and a half."
He let out a guilty sigh. "Yeah, those nights that I left you alone… that all is going to change, I promise."
"Make sure it does, please."
"With the bullshit that's going on, I cannot guarantee that it will, but I will do my damnedest to make sure it stays that way, okay?"
"Okay. Now get off and do what's needed."
Bradan leaned in close and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which she returned immediately after. With that, he was on his way downstairs and out of the front door, and took flight to the palace where there was work to be done. He was swift this time, not like the journey home last week in which he took a more leisurely approach. The faster that he was able to get this done and over with, it opened up the opportunity for more time to be spent elsewhere, not just for him, but for everyone on the team as well.
The flight there was over quickly enough. When he landed in the royal gardens, the guardsmen took up arms as they usually would, but unlike before, actually rushed him with weapons drawn. His heart sank at the sight of dozens of guardsmen charging at him, and defensively put up a magical barrier between him and the armor-clad guards. Seeing this, they quickly halted their charge and lowered their weapons. Bradan lowered the barrier and walked past them into the palace. None of them were willing to say anything, each of them exchanging nervous looks to each other and the alchemist.
"Got an interesting choice of clothing, I see," one of the guards spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.
"You thought that I was an intruder because of that, didn't you? Don't lie, I will only be slightly offended by the answer," he jokingly said. The guardsmen only let out nervous laughs.
"Uh, yeah, w-we kind of did."
"Completely understandable. I would have done the same if I were in your boots." Bradan patted the guardsmen on the back and made his way into the palace.
As he walked into the foyer from the corridor, he couldn't help but notice a peculiar stone statue up on a pedestal. He was not all that pleased at the sight. The statue was that of a peculiar dragon, the one that he visited in the royal forest every other day. Those fucking idiots! That body is too important to use as a bloody decoration! he thought to himself in anger. He had to admit with all of the jewelry and fine linens that had been put on it gave it a very aesthetically pleasing look, but the preservation of a petrified body was more important. Needless to say, the issue would be resolved quickly, and the petrified body would be moved back into safekeeping soon enough.
As he continued onward, walking down the ornate hallways, he noticed an increase of normal soldiers throughout the building, each of whom were doing various tasks. Maybe something was going on that called for an increased alert. No matter, that was not his job. He couldn't help but see that many of the soldiers were carrying crates with them. Alongside the ordinary soldiers were Royal Guardsmen, and just like those that were outside, they gave nervous looks to one another and couldn't meet Bradan's eyes.
Although he was on a mission, he diverted down a different hallway, changing the destination from the lab to the palace kitchens. The wild-game stew that he successfully made last week was thanks to the advice from one of the chefs, and it was his intention to thank the one that gave him the advice. Naturally, the kitchens were busy as they always have been. There were always mouths to feed, mostly the large number of staff in the palace and the royal guard as well. Had he arrived at a later time, he would have caught the chef going off shift, but instead caught him in the middle of meal prep for the next rotation of guardsmen.
Making a mental note to come back when his informant was available, he corrected his course back to the laboratory. Again, people couldn't look him in the eye.
Bradan couldn't deny any longer than an ominous feeling was in the air. He continued on until he was in the Alchemist's Hallway, and that was when he saw it. Something was wrong, and it didn't take concerned members of his team beckoning for help for him to see it either.
He quickly rushed over and into the lab. The sight was a hard one to see. All of their books, manuscripts, and loose notes were being packaged up in crates. On top of that, their equipment and current experiments were being moved as well, some of them in advanced stages of development being ruined because of it. Bradan was fuming, with his fists tightly clenched. If he lacked self-control, he would have blasted everyone apart in the room with magical attacks. It was clear what those soldiers were not here for an exercise or extra security, but to pilfer all magic-related items from their lab.
"What the fuck do you think you all are doing!?" he shouted at the top of his lungs, straining his vocal cords. Everyone in the room froze in their place, too scared to move in case one angry Buteo blasted them to bits with an energy blast. There was only one who had the nerve to move.
In the center of the room was the person overseeing the operation, someone from the War Department. It wasn't the Field Martial, but someone else entirely, someone that Bradan had little respect for to begin with. He lost all respect for the man right there and then.
"Ahh! About time you showed up."
"Austeyn… What in the name of the gods are you doing!? You've fucked up everything we've done here!"
Austeyn was the head of the research and development wing for the army in the War Department. At the ripe age of fifty-six, he held his position ever since the War Against the Dark Army was vanquished. Every new weapon that would be adopted by the army had to be approved by him, otherwise it would never see use in Quillum's army. It was through his 'better judgment' that the army continued to use old melee weapons and antiquated armor instead of seeking innovation as the navy did, and subsequently got. The relationship with the alchemists and the research and development wing was strained at best, and the actions that Bradan took was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"It's quite simple: ensuring our greatest asset remains at our disposal." Austeyn remarked arrogantly. That stunt you pulled last week was more than enough to prove that this organization is not in the best interest of the kingdom, and therefore all future operations will be overseen by the research and development team in the War Department."
"You can't do that, Austeyn! Just look at where you are at. The monarchs sleep four floors above us!"
"Actually, we can. We've done some researching, and this organization's charter is not a royal charter. You might have your laboratory in the palace and receive royal funding, but since you are not under a royal charter, you are not under the authority of the monarchs. So under the Wartime Act of 1981, we are commandeering this organization for the best interest of the kingdom." Austeyn produced a piece of parchment paper, the charter for the magic department, and handed it over to Bradan.
'The Magician's Guild,' as it was called in the original text, had indeed been established through a means of a regular charter, not a royal one. Bradan tried all that he could to come up with a counterpoint, and despite all of the information at his disposal, there was no way that he could weasel his way out of this one. All that Austeyn had said was painfully true. Despite being closely associated with the monarchs, there was nothing royal about them. Defeated, he let out a long and sorrowful sigh.
"I also know what you did with that black, scaly bitch," Austeyn leaned forward and whispered, smirking at Bradan's shocked reaction. "That's right, the cat is out of the bag. If you didn't leave your diary in your office, then we would not have the slightest clue. Oh well. Too bad, so sad." He leaned back. Thankfully nobody else but him heard the revelation.
Bradan's face was turning a visible red underneath his feathers. The fear he held a week ago was coming to fruition. He was content with the other alchemists knowing, but the military was the last group he was willing to tell.
"Then you know its importance and why it must be kept..."
"That, you will not have to worry about. She will be solely in your hands. Out of sight, out of mind as far as I'm concerned," Austeyn remarked, this time a bit more genuine than he had been previously. "Now start packing; there are plenty of new arms to make." For Bradan, that sent him over the edge.
"You know, I think you'll be a fine leader," he returned with a smart-ass tone, just like the one that Austeyn had been talking to him in.
"Oh?"
Fortunately for Bradan, the soldiers in the room had yet to package the siphon-style brewer as well as a handful of green gems lying next to it. It was enough gems to make one green potion, and there was more than enough water available. He forcefully grabbed Austeyn's arm and dragged him to the table that the brewer and the gems sat upon.
"You see, I like to consider what I do for a living as a way to better the lives of everyone in the kingdom. We've facilitated more innovation in history. Magic-powered lighting free from choking smoke? We made them. Effective medicine for influenza? We made them. Facilitated the growth of industry on a scale never before seen? We did that. I didn't care at first if we helped to make weapons or not, in fact, I actually supported it. My old scars reminded me of what I despised. But our unexpected guest has changed my perspective a little bit. Maybe there's more to this than just weapons."
"Don't be treacherous, Bradan! You know good and damn well that dragons have been the enemy of our people for over a thousand years! First with that purple one, then the Dark Army, and now the one that had to poke its head in our lands! This is the one advantage we have against the dragons; for us not to utilize it would be ignorance at best."
"There is no 'I' in 'us.'" Bradan pulled the keys to the lab out of his pocket. They wouldn't be used here anymore, and he would not have a use for them either. He slammed them against the table, causing the brewer and gems to bounce off the table. "Come to me when you want to put this to some actual good. Until then, I wish you luck in leading your new organization. Fuck you, you pretentious dickhead." And with that, he made for the exit with one destination in mind: home.
Everyone in the room was stunned to the point of silence and inaction. Nobody expected such a reaction from the leader of the alchemist and metaphysical research team, not even the researchers closest to him. As he left, he felt a strange feeling, a feeling of satisfaction he had not felt in a long time.
"And if you do anything to that tree or her petrified body, I will personally hunt you all down and sacrifice all of you. Every. Single. One of you." With that, Bradan walked past the threshold.
From there, he made his way out of the palace and the normal exit, where this time, unlike others, he informed the guards of his departure this time. And just like his flight to the palace, it was direct and to the point. It wasn't much, but it gave some reflection time. He left in a heat of passion and not of a sound mind. If anything, being emotionally charged was the worst possible way to be when addressing that situation. Oh well, it wasn't his problem anymore anyway. Although with that, he had handed the entire alchemist and metaphysicist teams over to a man whose job was to approve of weapons development. In his act of separation, he only exacerbated the problem at hand. Now, it would only be weapons development out of both teams.
But it was the metaphysicist that he was worried about the most. While he did have the most knowledge of the procedure and had firsthand experience – albeit accidentally – with it, it would likely be only a couple weeks before they would have to perform the procedure again to start extracting souls. And while it wouldn't be his problem as he was now no longer with both teams, it was still his creation, and therefore, he was still in a way responsible for the actions that they took. Perhaps there was a way that they could fix that, but there was no way that he was going to be a part of the convoluted complex that was the hierarchy of the military, not again anyway.
Dammit, Bradan. Why did you have to do that, you fucking idiot!? he thought to himself.
He was starting to regret his rash decision making, as all it was going to do was make the issue worse overall than it was going to make it better. Leadership and experience could be replaced in time, and it was only a matter of it before the military's alchemist and metaphysicist teams were at their fullest capacity. There had to be something that he could do to fix the issue, but that solution was evading him. And it was a solution that would have to wait as he now had to explain to Katrine why he was home so early, as he wasn't expected back home until evening.
He descended quickly towards the ground, folding his wings inward and gaining speed quickly. He waited for the right moment to snap open his wings, and that moment was fast approaching. Within a couple seconds of descent, he snapped open his wings and began flapping, drastically slowing his speed as fast as he gained it. He made a safe landing just off the porch and took no time walking to the front door and into the living room.
The door remained unlocked, which for Katrine was unusual since she had a habit of keeping it locked, even when they were both there. Bradan was the one to keep the door unlocked, knowing that whatever threat came through that door was something that he was more than able to handle. As it turns out, she hadn't come to the door to notice; in fact, he hadn't been gone long enough for her to fully wake and get downstairs to lock it and go about her waking routine. She was walking down the stairs with very little clothing on – only undergarments – only to see her lover in the living room. She yelped in surprise, not expecting to see him back.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" she yelled with astonishment. "I thought you were supposed to be back in your lab."
"There was a hiccup with that." He doffed his trench coat and threw it in her general direction. "Here, cover up."
Katrine scrambled to get the coat on. The trench coat was tailored to Bradan's body proportions, and fit him snugly. Naturally, the coat would not fit Katrine as well as it would him. Where the coat stretched to Bradan's knees, the coat was only inches away from her feet, and her hands were completely concealed within the sleeves. Katrine quickly fastened all the snaps, and Bradan smiled at the sight of the large coat on her petite frame. It was quite cute.
"There was a bit of a… falling out," Bradan replied bashfully, scratching the back of his head.
"What did you do?"
"Not me, what that prick Austeyn – head of the research and development wing at the War Department – did. He used loopholes to commandeer not just our various teams, but the entire Magician's Guild. Apparently, that mandatory week-long vacation and lack of cooperation were more than enough to piss him off."
"So you left then?"
"I made it clear that we wanted to do some projects that had some betterment, not just to pump out weapons. So when he tells me, the leader of the Magician's Guild to hurry and pack so he can start developing superweapons? That is where I drew the line. So I left."
"So what are you going to do now?"
That was an excellent question. What was he going to do now? Working his magic was the one thing that he for sure knew how to do, and it was what he was good at. If Bradan wanted to, he could easily live out the rest of his life in comfort with the money that the job had brought in, but then what was there to live for? Hard questions needed well-thought-out answers, and there was one place that he could go to that would help them find the answer.
"Want to take a trip with me?" he asked. Katrine's reaction was a strange mix of confusion and intrigue.
"Where to?"
"Just a trip into the forest."
/\/\/\
By now, the news had filtered its way up into Bevan and Jadney. It was not like Bradan to storm off in the way that he did, although they could not blame him for what he did. What Austeyn did a fucked up thing to do, not only how he did it but why he did it. Of what conversations they occasionally have with him, they could tell that Bradan was shifting towards a differing mentality, one more orientated towards peaceful applications of his resources. The alchemist had every right to pick and choose what kind of project they worked on as they were, legally speaking, a private organization subsidized by royal gold and silver. And because of that, the War Department's research and development wing were able to take over the operation of that by legislation that King Dylan had enacted before Bevan ever took the throne.
The whole ordeal was something that they were not all that happy about, but there was really nothing that they could do about it without causing an internal struggle that would last for who-knows-how-long, which was something that they were not looking to cause nor resolve if there was one. Even then, they did not know what Bradan was going to do now that he quit.
I gotta go talk to him, Bevan thought to himself, pondering a potential solution. There was none to be had at the moment. The monarch palmed his face. He had been king for fifteen years, and there hadn't been drama like this. Maybe I can talk some sense into him, or at least convince him to continue living here.
And with that, he sought him out. From the throne room, he set off for the front entrance, where he would be accompanied by members of the Royal Guard. But before he did that, there was something that he had to do first. It was down multiple flights of stairs to get there, but eventually, he found himself in the basement, where the alchemist labs were situated, kept away from prying eyes and any potential touring guests. By the time of his arrival, there was nothing left, nothing that he could have done to bring a stop to the actions of Austeyn. Just peering in the door, he could see that everything that could be taken was, and all that could not be taken was left.
He stepped solemnly into the barren room, the only thing left was the immovable tables and a set of keys on them. He reached out and grabbed the keys off of the table. It was touching to Bevan that Bradan would throw down his keys, only to have the person in charge of the hostile takeover refuse to even take them when he left. He stowed away the keys in his pocket, and from there, continued on his original path, walking out of the grandiose front doors of the palace.
As the group of guards were being assembled and readied for their escort, the thought that Bradan might not even be home struck Bevan. He remembered overhearing people say that Bradan had been making trips on the trails in the forest, so if anything, he might have already left if he had not already. There was no time to walk the distance or ride upon a horse, he had to get there and get there quickly. With a shot, but lacking notice given to the guards, he quickly took the air and flew in the direction of Bradan's house. Below, the guards were showered by old feathers finally falling out of his wings as they watched him gain altitude.
Once sufficient height was gained, he took to the direction of Bradan's house. He hadn't flown anywhere in quite a while, and the feeling of flight was something that felt foreign, yet familiar at the same time. Bevan flapped his wings harder and faster, hoping that he would make it there in time. The direct flight path to Bradan's residence was quick, although relative to other means of travel. It still took him more than twenty minutes to get there.
He dove down quickly and landed a little faster than he was hoping for, and instead of landing on his feet, he fell on his belly and skidded to a stop.
"Ohh… that's gonna leave a mark," the monarch grunted as he picked himself up off the ground, beating off the dirt and dust off of him. The expensive clothing took most of the wear and tear of the impact, leaving the feathers underneath more intact. Had he landed in gravel instead of the grass, then that might have been a different impact.
There at the front porch, he politely knocked on the door and waited for an answer. No answer. He knocked again, this time a little harder. No answer. Next, he rang the doorbell, giving the bell mounted from the wall a good ring. Still no answer. He even tried to open the door, but the door was locked. Bevan arrived a little too late. If Bradan had gone to the forest, then there was no telling how far he was already in, nor would he be able to tell with ease what trail he was on. It was a confusing mess.
If he couldn't talk to him face to face, then maybe he could leave a note for him. The problem with that was that he had no kind of paper or parchment to write on, nor did he have any writing utensils either. Defeated, he took to the air and flew back to the palace. Bradan had a mailbox, he could easily send him a letter, although it would be quite frivolous to do so with them being in close proximity. Maybe just a small note would be fine.
Explaining to the guards that his clothes were in tatters because of an accident rather than someone intentionally harming him, Bevan found himself in his private study, a room on the higher levels of the palace. The day was young, and there was plenty of light filling the room from well-positioned windows. The note he wrote was a simple one.
"Give me a week, and I'll see what I can do."
/\/\/\
For Bradan, he was adequately clothed for the occasion beforehand. Katrine, not so much. While the trench coat was more than enough to cover up, something different was needed. It was in a similar fashion to what she had worn the week previous when Bradan arrived home: a pair of dark blue cotton sweatpants, and an airy light green, short-sleeved shirt. With the change in attire, they set off for the woods.
Bradan had known most of the walking trails through the forest, but was unsure if Katrine had ever been there or not. Either way, this time would be a different experience altogether. They walked on the primary loop, one that the other trails branch off of. To get to his own trail, he would have to get on a secondary trail, which in of itself was an arduous walk, an innate means of protecting Cynder's tree.
"So, where are you taking me? I've not been this far on a trail before," Katrine said, having reservations about coming this far deep into the forest.
"It's a special place, trust me."
"But why here?"
"You'll see."
As they walked the forested trail, the couple were coming up upon the footpath that Bradan had cut out with his multiple trips to the heart of the forest. Bradan had already begun taking the unofficial trail, while Katrine was a little more hesitant.
"Come on, Kat, it's only a little way longer."
"Are you sure we should be going off the trails like this?"
"This is my trail." He held out his hand. "It's only a short way away."
The two Buteos continued their trek through the forest hand in hand. Compared to the topography of the secondary trail that they had to walk, this one was much easier, but with a lot more branches and bushes in the way rather than steep inclines and poorly maintained trails that nobody used. It took time, but they were upon it. There, in the heart of the forest, was a small hilltop, and an evergreen tree sitting tall upon it.
"So this is the place that you wanted to take me? It doesn't seem all that special to me," Katrine said, ignorant of what made the place special.
"Do you remember the black dragon, Cynder, that came to the kingdom a while back?"
"Yes, I do. The news was hard to ignore."
"Notice how all of the newspapers never said what became of the dragon?" he asked rhetorically, trying to suppress a grin.
"Yeah, what happened to her? It seems that she dropped off the face of the world."
"That's her up there."
"What?!" Katrine was panicked at first, fearing that the ruthless black dragon that all of the papers talked about was lying right below that tree, waiting to strike. With curiosity, she slowly crept to the top of the hill to see that there was no dragon at all. "Then where is she then?"
["That tree, it's her. That is where the soul is."] Katrine gave him a funny look. ["I'll tell more about it later."] Bradan never knew, not even as long as he had been coming up here, that the dragon's soul was fully capable of listening, as well as giving replies, replies that fell on their deaf ears.
Cynder had been expecting Bradan to come up, as always, but what she hadn't been expecting was a second visitor. This visitor was a woman, close to Bradan in age as far as she could tell, and seemingly gentle in nature. Perhaps a sibling, or a romantic partner? Cynder wondered. She listened to them speak and cocked her head, eyes narrowed. "And who is this...?" she murmured, more to herself than directly to them – they couldn't hear her, though the whole thing was less awkward when she pretended they could.
["Why don't you go introduce yourself to her, Kat?"]
["Are you sure it's safe?"]
["I come up here often. If it wasn't then I would probably be dead,"] Bradan said in a jovial tone. Katrine was not all that amused by the humor. ["She does not speak our language, so I will have to teach it to you magically. Look into my eyes and I will teach you."]
Katrine nervously obliged, looking into Bradan's golden eyes, him staring back into her ultramarine eyes. He began to work his magic, his eyes changing color to the sea-green as they did when he learned Cynder's langage. After a moment, it was over, and his eyes changed back to normal.
"Ta-da! Can you understand me?"
"S-such a strange language… the word order is messed up, and it sounds strange..." Just like Bradan, she too spoke English with a thick Butean accent. ["How do you know that she can hear you?"]
["I honestly don't. I like to think that there is the possibility that she can."]
["Why? Wouldn't it be awkward if someone found you here just talking to the tree?"]
["Because she has no other company. She could have been thrown in a cell somewhere, but instead, she got solitary confinement."]
["Oh… okay then."]
["Now go on, speak to her,"] Bradan beckoned to his spouse.
She did so reluctantly, stepping closer to the tree, kneeling down close to it. Little did she know, she came face to face with the dragon herself, her ultramarine eyes looking into Cynder's teal eyes, with about three or so feet separating them. "Umm... Hello there... I'm Katrine Arren, married to Bradan Llewellyn. You are Cynder, yes?" Her words were awkward when speaking, like talking to one's self, but not at the same time.
Cynder stared into Katrine's eyes and her lips curled into a small, amused smile. "Pleasure," she said. The way the Buteo introduced herself was strange – though no different from the way Bradan spoke; the dragoness had assumed it was just something odd he did to try to connect. Do all Quillians speak to trees?
Katrine turned back to Bradan for a moment. ["This is really... awkward, you know that right?"]
["Oh yeah, I know. You are the second person to ever socialize with her."]
["... Okay."] She turned back to where she had been before, again looking into Cynder's eyes. ["You know, this feels like something those strange druidic people do,"] Katrine said, tilting her head, directing more towards Bradan than the tree.
["Well, they say that Karnayna is one of the gods of nature, so talking to a tree might very well be something that he might like."]
That word, Karnayna. After Bradan had muttered that word, the air filled once again with that strange energy, similar to that when Astris made her ethereal flower for Cynder, and that day that her soul was ripped from her body.
Cynder twitched, glancing around. The energy that surrounded her made her feel as if her scales were coated in static, much like she would feel on Spyro after he used his electricity element. It left her mystified and wishing to know more about what caused this strange sensation. "What was that?" she whispered, hoping they would discuss further, perhaps causing it again.
["True, but I thought that he was more associated with animals than vegetation,"] Katrine said, turning her head towards Bradan, moving her left wing to be able to see him.
["Gods are mysterious beings. They could have domain over many things. Nya is the goddess of water, but also of healing as well."] Again, the mysterious energy filled the air, but somewhat altered from the one before. Instead of static, it was a cooling, soothing sensation, almost if Cynder were floating in a stream.
["Hmm, do you think that Karnayna would have domain over those aquatic animals, or would Nya?"] With both names spoken, both sensations were felt simultaneously, producing a very strange overall feeling that was hard to describe.
["I'd leave that one up to the mystics to decide. I'm just a follower... distantly, but a follower nonetheless."] Bradan paused, taking time to smell the fresh forest scent as a light gust of wind blew through the woods. ["Anyway, tell her about yourself."]
Cynder shifted her wings at the odd sensations, taking them in and trying to separate them as they both surrounded her at once. It was a fascinating feeling, the presence that simply speaking these words brought. As the feelings faded out, she turned her attention back to Katrine once more. She couldn't deny that she was at least a small bit interested.
Katrine turned her attention back to the tree and continued. ["Well, umm... I'm not all that sure of what to say. It's... different talking to a tree, no dragon, no... a dragon tree?"]
["You could tell her about what we are expecting soon."]
"True, true. We are expecting soon. We think sometime in February." Katrine lifted her shirt a bit to show a slightly bulging belly. "I'm gravid. It might take a couple more months before the egg comes, and a month or two longer for that egg to hatch." There were many questions Cynder wanted to ask, but Bradan was able to quickly interject.
"It's a strange quirk about our race. A mix of internal gestation followed by further development inside of an egg externally," he clarified, walking up and sitting down with his legs crossed next to Katrine.
Cynder tilted her head, eyes on Katrine's belly, and deep in thought. She had to admit, it was interesting the way these people experienced pregnancy. She'd never heard of anything exactly like it. Mammals like cheetahs and moles gave live birth, and dragons did lay eggs, just not quite in the same way. Her thoughts drifted to thoughts of this child – they would be brought into both a world of war and suffering, and a world of industrial prosperity. It would be an intriguing world to live in, for sure, but one Cynder knew all too well about.
She thought of her days as an overgrown hatchling, used as a war machine. She wished the Quillians could understand. Instead, they refused to back down. Now, all she could do was sympathize with this future hatchling, and worry about the ones back home. She hoped there would be no more child soldiers like her and Spyro. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of him again.
It hurt to hear this news. At first, she had been intrigued – and though she would never admit it, excited for the couple – but now she was only left worrying again. The desire to leave, to fly away from the hilltop consumed her and she stood, tugging at the binding chain to no avail. A monstrous wail left her throat, wings expanding helplessly. She wondered if her distress filled the air with energy like the names of those deities had, and she hoped it did. Cynder wanted them to feel her anguish, her fear. She wanted them to understand.
And just as she wished, it happened. For a moment, both avians had feathers all over them ruffled out briefly, and a chill ran up their spines. Both glanced at each other, bewildered at the simultaneous experience. Katrine though, she had a more panicked reaction.
["D-does that usually happen when you are here?"] Katrine asked, voice shaking from the unexplained sensation. The already nervous avian was already nervous to talk to Cynder as it was, but this occurrence was more than enough to turn her off to the idea of continuing.
["No... No, it does not. It's probably nothing though,"] Bradan answered, trying not to be spooked by the experience himself. ["Mind if I speak a bit?"]
["Sure, go ahead. I have nothing else to say"]
"For the bad news to you and your kind, the initial invasion force has made landfall. I know this is not the news that you want to hear, but I can say that your species made for great fighters. As of our last update, we have lost four hundred soldiers — some in the battle, some succumbing to their injuries. There were about one hundred soldiers at the fort at the time of the attack and comprised all different kinds of races. Only forty dragons were killed though; a ten-to-one ratio in your favor when it comes to killing. Maybe that bit of news will lighten the mood.
"In some other news, the War Department took over our operation as Magician's Guild, otherwise known as the alchemists, or the magic department. Thing is, I don't take orders from anyone else but myself when it comes to magical makings, so I left. I'm not having the War Department make me their bitch producing weapons. And I kind of have you to thank for that in some way."
Cynder laid down again, exhausted and breathing heavily. She listened to Bradan's news carefully. The losses were heavy on each side, and they weighed down her heart, but his words gave her hope. "We are good fighters. We just got out of a war, so there's no time to have gotten rusty."
The news of Bradan's departure from his job piqued Cynder's interest even more, though. She wondered what would become of this. If his magical knowledge wouldn't be used against the dragons, it could prove to be quite advantageous. And, perhaps somehow Bradan might come to understand her cause more. And you have me to thank for that, huh? "Well... You're welcome. At least, if that's a good thing, that is."
She hoped she could continue to channel energy in the area, to let them know what she felt. She had no intention of frightening them, but she hoped they understood now. Unfortunately, manipulation of energy fields beyond compression was a much more difficult task than what her first and accidental taste of it was.
"Sadly though, I don't know how many others did. Right now, the military itself is in charge of powerful arcane forces that it has no knowledge or respect for. We facilitated weapons development, sure – more indirectly than directly - but not like they want us to. I was hoping that without my leadership, that other members would also leave, but results of that have yet to be seen. Perhaps they all left, but I probably won't know." He paused for a moment, giving time for his thoughts to formulate. The wind gusted again, sending late spring's sent in the air again. "I don't know where I'll go from here..."
Cynder tapped her claws on the ground. She wasn't sure how to respond to that - not that it mattered, of course. She just didn't know how to feel about any of it. "I... I hope the others left as well. I'm sure you know some things that they don't, though. Things the military can't use with you gone." She looked up into the sky, watching the clouds float by. So calm and peaceful. It hurt knowing that this peace would be short-lived, as she was certain that Bradan wouldn't have any good news for her the next time he visited.
["You'll be fine, sweetheart," Katrine interrupted. "We'll make it through this both you, I, and the one on the way."] She tried to reassure Bradan to the best of her abilities. As much as she hated how it consumed so much of his time, she could not deny him the fact that it was something that he loved and was proud of. Bradan turned his head and nodded at Katrine, then turned back to the tree.
"In terms of other news, there is something that you might not like to hear," Bradan said, attempting to keep a serious and somewhat somber tone while not trying to laugh at the absurdity of what it was.
Cynder let out an agitated growl. Of course, more bad news. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot below the tree and huffed. "Out with it then," she murmured, narrowing her eyes at Bradan's odd behavior. This better not be some sort of practical joke...
"Some imbecile at the palace thought that your preserved and petrified body would make a great decoration in the foyer. It sits there, for now, adorned with illustrious jewelry and draped in fine linens; when restored, you'd look like royalty." He shook his head, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. "I blew up on them, telling them off about how reckless it was, regardless of ornamental value. It should be moved back into safe storage where it was to begin with. Fucking idiots, I swear..."
The dragoness' eyes widened and she let out a snort. It was pretty absurd. Although, she had to admit – the idea of looking like royalty intrigued her, and she wished she could see the statue, despite its morbid nature. It couldn't be much different from seeing the statue of her and Spyro in the temple. But Bradan was right. It was quite reckless indeed to leave her body out in the open where it could be damaged. She didn't want to enter her body again and find that she was missing a horn, or a paw, or something worse. Being separated from her body was nerve-racking at times, and hearing this, it was one of those times.
"Before they stow it away again, I might just get a good chunk of my salary to get some glass plates developed from it. I highly doubt that there will ever be an opportunity that it'll look like that ever again. When they are developed, I might just have to show them to you here." He looked over at Katrine, who was becoming more and more restless. "Do you want to say anything else, Kat?" She shook her head.
Both Buteos got off the grass and on their feet again. Katrine was the first to move but stopped at the bottom when Bradan didn't move. ["Come on, sweetheart,"] she beckoned to him. Instead, he remained.
["Just go on. I'll be on my way down in just a sec!"] he shouted back. Lucky for him, she did, walking slowly back to the normal trails. And with that, he was alone. With late-springs leaves acting as good enough sound dampening, he could do what he wanted to do. He knelt down on his left knee, his left hand firmly planted on the ground and grasping the grass, his right over his heart, and wings slightly unfurled. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. The sight was a strange one indeed, especially for Cynder who had little indication as to what he was doing. Only until he spoke did she understand what he was doing.
["Karnayna, Karnayna, the god of nature, the wild, of animals and the hunt, I call upon thee for the protection, not of me, but of this dragon's tree..."] He was evoking one of their gods. As he continued, the same feeling of the Mysterious Energy once again filled the air, intensifying as he continued his evocation.
The prayer's energy buzzed around Cynder's ears and she glanced around, expecting to see someone else there. The intensity of the energy made her breath hitch in fear and she dug her claws into the ground. What was he praying for? Was it... for her? And who was it that he was invoking? That Mysterious Energy would come when that word, or rather that name, Karnayna, was said. Would this being appear before her or would he be on a different plane that she could not see? She tried to relax as she got used to the energy, trying to sit up and straighten her posture.
["... forbid them from felling her tree, I evoke thee."] When he finished, Bradan snapped open his wing with a flair, sending a gust of wind out doing so. It wasn't necessary, but he had seen such action done before; it was for style.
Then, a flash of intense light met Cynder's eyes, forcing her to shut them tightly and cover them with her wings as all of the Mysterious Energy in the air concentrated in front of her. When the light diminished, she finally got to see what it was. In front of her stood a towering figure, facing towards Bradan. A Buteo, well over seven feet tall, with a sturdy muscular build. Its ordinary brown feathers and yellow avian scales had stains of both blood-red and vibrant green colors, some streaks faded with time. It wore little clothing aside from a tattered piece of clothing made from felt that mostly resembled a kilt.
There were other interesting articles on the figure. Adorning his head was a stag headdress that featured large antlers. A monstrous longbow was draped around its back, the drawstring threading the gap between its wings. At the waist was a belt quiver filled with fearsome arrows that were primitively formed, almost as if they were made only a few minutes ago. On the other side of the creature's waist, tied to the belt quiver's strap, were two separate felt pouches, one filled with an assortment of wild flora seeds, the other of bait for hunting and trapping.
The rather intimidating figure looked down at Bradan, the magician not even noticing the entity's presence, but for the black dragon, it was all too real. The figure gave a nod and turned to face the black dragon. At first, it looked at Cynder with confusion in its radiant, golden eyes, then shrugged. It began to slowly approach Cynder.
Cynder shrunk in on herself, making herself look small as she stared up at the deity with large eyes. A mix of curiosity, wonder, and a bit of fear swirled around in her chest as she tried to figure out if this was real. A god... A real god. T-they do exist.She hadn't come to fully believe in deities, even after meeting the dryads, because the concept felt so foreign to her. Dragons had the Ancestors, but nothing like this. The closest thing they had to god was the Chronicler, but even his powers were limited. She decided to speak. "H-hello?"
The words he spoke were in the Butean language, yet she was able to understand them as if she spoke it herself, perhaps a product of its power. "How peculiar. It has been over a millennium since I've been invoked to protect a dragon," the entity said in a smooth baritone voice, slightly higher pitched than Terrador's. "I am Karnayna, Butean god of the wild. What is yours?" Despite the entity's intimidating looks, it was like a gentle giant.
"I'm Cynder. P-pleased to meet you," she answered cooly, straightening her posture once more as she realized he was friendly. She wondered if this was his 'true' form, or if it was one he chose simply to be comprehensible to Cynder, like the dryads. It was an interesting one, at least, she had to admit. The wave of awe had passed, and now she was simply curious. Verycurious. Tons of questions filled her head until she could almost feel it spinning, but one stuck out to her the most. "You said it's been a millennium since you've protected a dragon?" She let the question out, her cool, collected composure slipping a bit as her excitement made its way to her voice.
"Hmm, yes. Dragons with an affinity to the wind at one point frequented these lands. They were nomadic in nature, preferring to stay mobile than stationary. Those that did settle down often intermingled with my worshipers, often to great success. Buteos would pray to me and the other gods for their protection and prosperity, and they reciprocated praying to theirs. Long ago this was, the last time this happened was a century before the purple one came and wreaked havoc on these lands."
"Wait, so this is where the wind dragons came from? One of my elements is wind..." Cynder pondered what this meant for a moment. Buteos and wind dragons lived in peace together... "The Buteos must know that not all dragons are their enemy! Have they already forgotten that wind dragons were their friends? Or is that just another part of their biased and cherry-picked history they've chosen to leave out?" She gave a snort, eyes narrowing defiantly at Karnayna. He did not seem to be affected by it.
I'm being stubborn. Her thoughts forced her expression to soften, and she let her head hang, eyes staring at her silver claws, which glinted in the sun. The same claws used to kill Quillian civilians. She had, in simplest terms, committed a war crime. No matter how angry she was, no matter how absurd their reasoning for war seemed, her actions had done nothing but give fuel to the fire. She was beginning to understand that now, even if she didn't quite like the truth.
"I need to go home... I can't stay here like this, a prisoner of a war that never should have started. I came here to make peace, but instead I-" she paused to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat. "I only made things worse, a-and got myself trapped here. What do I do?" Her eyes, damp with the threat of tears, bore into the god's, clawing into them for answers.
The sharpness of her features and contempt in her voice was hard to miss, and it was much the same for her eyes. It wasn't hard to notice when the sharpness of her expressions softened, giving way to a defeated look. Karnayna could see she was thinking and feeling something, but was unsure of what it was. He could feel her emotions, but could not peer into her mind. Even his divine power had its limits. There was another entity that could peer into the thoughts of another being, but Karnayna knew that the pantheon of the dragons was completely different from the Buteo's. Belief empowered the gods, and Cynder was having a hard enough time believing in him; what would convince her to believe in the others? Cynder had said what she needed to say, and it gave time for Karnayna to formulate his response. The first part was easy enough to respond to.
"That was a long time ago, and those who befriended the Wind Dragons have since been forgotten to history. It's easier to hate than it is to love, and hatred among my devotees is deep-rooted. Wind Dragons had become few and far between when the purple one known as Malefor attacked the First Kingdom of Quillum all of those years ago and tainted the relationship between Buteos and Dragons, and there haven't been any wind dragons seen since to help heal that wound. The other encounters with dragons had happened when the Dark Army invaded the continent and ravaged the land, and when you came here..." the god trailed off. Cynder knew the details he omitted all-too-well. Karnayna had answered the dragon's first question, and he could tell that it was not the answer that the poor dragon was looking for. If anything, it only made the Cynder's situation worse.
The god let out a prolonged sigh. He sat down cross-legged in front of her, getting on an eye-to-eye level with the mortal before him. Only this time, he was fully able to carry on a conversation with Cynder, whereas Bradan and Katrine were unable to hear any of her replies or the thunderous wail she had let out earlier. Even at a distance respecting the dragon's personal space, there was a particular scent that came off the entity. It was an inviting, natural, earthy smell, notably that of sweet, summer rain – a calming scent. It was in her teal eyes that he could see her silent pleading, the pent-up emotions, and the flood of tears in her eyes being held back by a dam that was slowly beginning to crumble in front of him.
"I understand your emotions, and I will not judge you if you need to cry. The desire to return home, the anguish of being stuck here, the sorrow of separation, the utter hopelessness of it all. All I can say is to wait it out until the time of your release, which will come with time. And I hate to say this, but there is nothing much that I can do to help you out of here. My domain is the wild; I cannot manipulate souls like Edius can or how the Buteos have managed to emulate his power again. Even if I could, your body is still petrified by worldly magic back in their palace. However, there might be something that I can do to ease the pain."
A single tear rolled down the dragon's cheek, and she let her head hang. "I'm too tired to cry any more." Her voice came out dry and quiet, and she curled up into herself, shifting her wings in a way that was comfortable. "So, are you staying here?" Cynder spoke again, peering up into the eyes of the deity. She couldn't deny the extra company would be nice. At least she had some friends here in the forest. This whole thing honestly wouldn't be quite so bad were she not bound to her tree – a walk through the woods sounded wonderful then.
She raised her head as yet more thoughts swirled around in her mind. Who did he say could manipulate souls...? "Edius!" she exclaimed as the name came to her. "He can manipulate souls! Can- can he help me? And what did you mean by 'the Buteos emulated his power again'?" She sat up a bit, the sudden flow of thought energizing her.
He admired her determination and her ability to find hope in small details. It was unfortunate that he had to crush those hopes. He shook his head. "If you wish to move on to the hereafter, yes. Edius was the god of souls but is now the god of the dead. He is the one that assists the deceased move on, lest they become restless and vengeful spirits. He had the power to do what you wish, but self-limited his power to only assist the dead." In a brief pause, he took the stag headdress of, letting the late-spring air flow through the feathers on his head. "The Buteos emulating his power though... that was an interesting time."
Cynder swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed. Her tail swept through the soft hilltop grass and she crossed her front paws, trying to regain a feeling of content. "Right... that would be the opposite of my goal. So, what's this about the Buteos emulating his power? It seems important."
"Indeed it was. Four thousand years ago, eight thousand years after the Lumenarian and Noctlian kingdoms merged to form what would become the First Kingdom of Quillum, there was an attempt by religious zealots to harness divine power for their own selfish interests and lust for power. They sought to emulate the power of Edius, as, like you have discovered yourself, a body without a soul is nothing but a lump of flesh and bones. Just like Bradan had rediscovered, they did it through the use of symbols.
"You see, symbols hold power, even if it seems as if they seem insignificant. The Queen at the time had caught word of these happenings and mobilized the army to end their scheming. The zealots were slain, but at the cost of Edius' reputation and the lives of may. Those affected by the zealots pinned the blame at him, thinking that it was him allowing for the actions to take place even though it was out of his control, and because of that, limited his own power and shifted priorities to where it is today."
Cynder wasn't sure what to say. The story left her awestruck. Not even the most powerful dragons could harness the skills of a god – even the Chronicler had very minimal interference in the mortal world. The thought actually scared her. What if the Quillians managed to find some other god whose powers they could manipulate for military use? With Bradan abandoning the magic department, he wouldn't have any control over the studies and magical advancements made, and the Quillian military could very well find ways to take magical matters into their own hands. She wished she could warn him of the possibility – surely he wouldn't want this to happen? Maybe he had already thought of it, though. "What if they do it again with another god? To use in the war?"
Karnayna shook his head and smiled reassuringly. "No. The deeply religious have been trying for thousands of years to grasp our power. There are millions of combinations of symbols and shapes that one could make in an attempt to emulate our power, but only a few combinations will work, and even then a working combination might not yield the power one might be after. The zealots and Bradan were merely lucky in finding a correct arrangement - the zealots through trial-and-error, and Bradan through seeing the patterns and making an educated guess."
This eased Cynder's worries. There was a very small chance they would find the correct combinations. However, she couldn't help but ask. "And if they do find the correct one?" Her voice was soft, she feared the answer.
"Then they would use Morrigan's power to ensure victory for every battle, no matter how much of a disadvantage they are in." It was one thing to manipulate souls with the re-created power of a god, but it was another to use a war god's power. If successful, the phrase 'one-man army' might not remain a phrase for long, but rather become a reality. It could very well tip the scales of war greatly into Quillum's favor if there was even a scale left afterward.
Cynder's tail twitched, and she gave him an are you serious? look, before shaking her head. "Well, it's a good thing their chances of achieving this are low then – even better that Bradan has left the magic department. I doubt he'd help them do something like that anyway..." she said. She didn't necessarily like the guy, but she knew he wouldn't cheat to win this war. At least, she didn't think he would.
Karnayna nodded, confirming her thoughts. "It would take many years, maybe even a decade before they come close to finding it." The god stood back up, picking up the headdress and donning in once again. "Before I must return, I must ask: Do you care to take a walk? I cannot manipulate souls on Edius' level, but within my domain, I can to a certain limited extent. For a moment, we will go wherever you wish in these woods."
Cynder's eyes brightened, their sparkle returning for a moment and her head lifting. "I'd love to get away from this tree for a while. I don't know of anywhere specific I would like to go through; I've never really been here before." She stood, the grass between her claws feeling soft again as she nearly tore it out of the ground in her excitement. She wasn't even sure if she could do that in her spiritual form.
Karnayna focused, slowing his breath and closing his eyes. He held his right arm out and pointed it to the evergreen tree. The air again filled with the static feeling from before, building once again, this time to uncomfortable levels. Faced again with this torrent of energy, Cynder snapped her eyes shut in anticipation of what was to come. Then, as if the static was discharged, Cynder felt as if a bolt from the blue had struck her. Opening her eyes, she saw that instead of being bound to the tree, the silver cord that had connected her to it was now tied around Karnayna's wrist like a rope, or as uncanny as it was beginning to look, a leash. "As long as we stay in these woods, you can go anywhere. The royal park keepers have cut out some trails if you want to go there, or we can go wherever your feet wish to take you."
A new rush of excitement coursed through Cynder as she realized she'd finally get to leave the same spot she had been in for what had felt like forever. She hummed in thought, trying to decide which sounded more interesting. Finally, she made her choice. "Let's just explore. Maybe we can visit a less-traveled part of the forest." She didn't care where her paws took her now. She was just happy to stretch her legs and see new sights.
Special thanks again to SatelliteBlues for assisting with dialogue in this chapter. It was a lot of fun!
Also special thanks to SKdaGamer for beta-reading this chapter. It was one hell of a time fixing all of the little mistakes, but it was well worth it!
First off, I'm sorry for taking so long to get a chapter out. After the craziness that was the 20k word chapter last time, I got a little burnt out on writing this story for a while. I have no plans on abandoning it, but it can be difficult to put words on the screen sometimes. Another reason was that I was not happy with the direction that I was taking the perspectives in the Dragon Realms, so I decided that I would take what I had typed for the Dragon Realms and move it to chapter 15, making it a Realms only chapter.
Some other news:
I started a new story called The Year of the Forest (as you might have seen already) going into a first person account of Cynder's experience of her life in the forest. I'm really proud of how it turned out, and I look forward to working on it more as WTS evolves.
I've also been working on some other short stories, changing up my writing to keep me interested, so keep an eye out for that when it gets published.
That's all I have to say for now. Until, next time, happy reading!