Ezran sat on the throne, feeling tired. Only the guards were left in the throne room. He had dismissed Opeli and the rest of the court moments ago. He wanted some time alone to think. He looked at the messages on his lap. The country was in uproar. In general, there was a lack of understanding why they were no longer at war with Xadia, after everything that had happened. Ezran sighed. The only bright spot was that the decree to ban dark magic had been received calmly. Katolis only ever had one dark mage after all, so the influence felt by the commoners was minimal. That and the fact that people were horrified when they saw what Viren had done to their soldiers. Ezran hoped Callum would find a solution for that.
His eyes drooped. A nap would do him good, he figured. Normally, he would retire to his room, but he knew that the moment he stepped outside the throne room he would be assailed by people from his court for this and that. No, he thought, I am the king. I might as well nap here.
"I'm worried, my king."
"Hrmpf." A grunt was the only response.
"There's something wrong with her. I can understand heartbreak, but it looks like it's something more. Whatever it is, it's eating away at her health."
A large bug flew through the chamber. Zym chased it, but through him, Ezran could still hear the conversation going.
"She's a strong warrior. I'm sure she'll be fine," King Aureum Umbra replied.
Ezran saw the massive form of the queen shift from the corner of Zym's eye. "You know more about this! What did you do?" the queen hissed.
"What a king must. Enough about this now!" the king replied, more terse this time.
"Just promise me that you will take care of her."
Ezran couldn't see his reaction, but he heard hesitation in the king's voice. "...I'll see what I can do."
When Ezran woke, he was worried, very worried. Something was wrong with Rayla, and it had to do with something between the king and that black dragon. Also, whatever happened to Rayla could happen to Callum as well! Ezran thought for a while. He made up his mind and called for the crow master. He had to stay in the capital at least for a few weeks, but it was time to take action against King Aureum Umbra. And he knew a strong and wise queen in Duren who could help him with this.
-/-/-/-
The sun had set. Rayla looked towards the horizon as a stab of pain went through her chest. Still no Callum. Her hair stuck to her face, and her eyes were sunken and red. She was a wreck. The nightmares had continued throughout the week, depriving her of a good-night sleep. She tried to put up a brave face and barrelled through her various duties, but she was slipping and she knew it. The queen knows as well, she thought. Heck, probably the whole Dragonguard, even the king! She winced. To fail so shortly after her promotion, after receiving that much praise. Garlath, just kill me already, she half-mockingly sent a prayer towards the vengeful deity of the moonshadow elves.
She didn't know how to stop the nightmares. She had talked to the queen about it, but she couldn't give her any helpful tips either. The queen recommended herbs that would soothe her state of mind, but it would take a while for those herbs to arrive here. So, in the meantime, she was stuck. Rayla sat down on the ground, her shift being almost over. Nothing had happened that day. She knew how the rest of the evening would go. She would freshen up a bit before grabbing dinner with the others, pretending that everything's fine, and would talk and laugh with the new members of the Dragonguard before they all settled in for the night, except for the ones doing the night shift.
That's when the fear would start.
Rayla both longed and feared going to sleep. The nightmares were constant and intense. They weren't always the same though. Sometimes she would run through the woods searching for someone, at other times she was in a burning building. And the horrible part was that it always ended up with people dying.
She would try to save them, but she could never save them all. Rayla pressed her eyes shut. She felt her chest heave with a sob. Her tears were long gone, and the hope of Callum returning was fading fast. She was desperate. She didn't know what to do.
With a heavy sigh, she got up and walked towards the hall, dreading the night to come. Just as she reached the entrance, she heard a sound behind her. She turned, half reaching for her sword, not really expecting trouble but being careful nonetheless. A skywing elf appeared in the twilight, wearing orange and red robes Rayla recognized as Xadain army attire. The elf landed on the plateau before the entrance.
"Greetings! I have a message for the captain of the Dragonguard."
Rayla approached cautiously. "That would be me."
The elf squinted as he looked at her. "Really? You look a bit young… What's your name?"
Rayla gathered her strength and straightened her back. "I am Rayla of Xadia, captain of the Dragonguard. Now, what's the message?"
The elf shrugged. "I don't know. It is in a sealed scroll." The elf handed over the scroll. Rayla vaguely recognized the symbol of Katolis on the seal. "It was delivered to us at the Breach."
Rayla's heart beat in her chest. She looked at the skywing elf. "Thank you! Thanks a lot!"
The elf laughed at her enthusiastic response. "You're welcome. You know, you look tired! You should get some sleep."
Rayla shot an irritated look at the elf, but he already took off and flew away. She stared at the scroll. Could this really be from…? She hastened back inside, ignoring all feelings of hunger or exhaustion, heading straight for her room. She closed the door, lit the luneflame and jumped on her bed. Her hand trembled. Did she really want to open the scroll? Should she perhaps be afraid of the news it could contain? She thought of Callum. He had a scroll once that he didn't want to open at first. But he did in the end, and he was glad for it. Rayla took a deep breath and broke the seal.
Dear Rayla,
Should I write 'dear'? Is that how elves address other elves in letters? I really don't know. There's still so much I don't know about elves, or about you, for that matter! Do elves get sick? And do you like jelly tarts? Alright, sorry, I'm rambling.
It has been two weeks, three days and a couple of hours since I've last seen you (not that I've been counting, of course!), and… I miss you. Actually, that doesn't do it justice. I don't have words to describe how much I miss you. And I'm sorry if that sounds clingy. I know you're probably very busy with the Dragonguard stuff. How is that going, by the way? What do you need to do as captain? Do you get your own army or something? I do hope they will allow you to write back...
So, after being stuck with the caravan for two weeks, I decided to fly ahead of the caravan. I just wanted to get back to you so much! So I knew I had to hurry. It was a long flight, and I had to camp along the way, but that's something we've done before a lot lately. Did you know they nearly shot me when I arrived at the castle!? Can you imagine…
In the week that followed I met a man called Belt. He hit me with a rock in the face, but he wanted to learn magic, so we hung out for the week. I don't think Opeli would have approved, but she wasn't around, so, you know, I kinda get to do my own thing for once. We then got to work on Viren's room. It was… quite interesting and quite scary. I don't know how to feel about it. I know he was Claudia's father and all that, but some of the stuff that Viren had in his room, and in the dungeon was...just horrible. I'll spare you the details. We're just going to destroy it all, and I'll bring the remaining spell books as proof to King Aureum Umbra. How is he to you, by the way? Do you get along with the king and queen well? I think the king is way too strict and a big bully. I do hope that they don't check the letter before you get it. If they do: I was only joking!
Well, anyway, I'm thinking about you and I really miss you. I hope that Ezran arrives soon, so I can leave. It will take a few weeks (maybe months? Gods, I hope not!), but I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I don't know what to write anymore, and my hand is starting to cramp. I'm sorry if the letter isn't long enough, but to make up for it, I included a couple of sketches I did. They're not my best work, but I hope they show you how I feel about you.
Love you, like the moon loves the sun (too poetic? I don't know!)
Callum
Tears were streaming down her face. Her heart fluttered. He thinks about me too! A big smile was plastered on her face. A lot of passages were so typically Callum. She liked the awkwardness with which he moved through the world, never quite sure how to act, but always trying still. She giggled at his 'poetic' finisher. It was way too cheesy, but still, it made her feel warm that he tried so much.
She put the letter aside and looked through the various pages filled with sketches. She recognized some as part of their previous adventures. There was one cartoonishly drawn one where Callum tried to drag a kicking and screaming Rayla to the lake they'd been, but also a more detailed one of her wearing a dress. She blinked. She had never worn a dress in her life! But looking at the sketch, she discovered that Callum had used his imagination to create some sort of fantastical outfit for her. She found that she quite liked the thought of that. She gasped as she saw the last of his sketches. This one was hastily done, rather abstract and crude, but the essence and likeness was unmistakable. She saw the two of them together, making out, heads mashed together. Rayla blushed. She had wondered what it would look like to the other elves. Now she knew.
She stared at the sketches for a long time, and reread the letter a dozen times. Still holding the sketch of them kissing, she slowly drifted to sleep, all her hunger and pain completely forgotten.
-/-/-/-
Rayla stood atop the spire. The clouds were dark and the wind was blowing. Fear settled in her stomach. Another nightmare. The thought shot through her, and instantly she was aware of her situation. She saw Callum to her right, dangling above the edge of the cliff as if held by some invisible force. To her left, she saw her mother in the air as well, her lifeless body swaying in the wind. Rayla was horrified and closed her eyes. "This is just a dream…" she repeated to herself. She remembered the Watcher, as she had called it. In some dreams, she had seen that black shape and those blue glowing eyes. She opened her eyes and looked around, ignoring the bodies of the people she loved.
Nothing happened for a while. Then, the sound of thunder above her. She looked back and saw that the bodies were falling backwards in slow motion, away from the edge, threatening to plummet to the ground. Rayla gritted her teeth. Each time she had tried to save them in her nightmares, she failed, or succeeded in saving one of them only to have something bad happen afterwards.
She didn't want to play along anymore. And if it was a nightmare, it was her nightmare. The faint memory of Callum's letter popped into her mind. She steeled herself and watched as the bodies disappeared over the edge. "This is just a dream," she said quietly, trying to calm herself.
The wind stopped blowing and it became very quiet. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt something shift behind her. Dread returned as she slowly turned around. There, in front of her, loomed a giant dark shadow with blue glowing eyes, vaguely resembling a dragon.
"An interesting choice," it rumbled.
"Who are you?" Rayla hissed. She reached for her swords but found that they weren't there. The dark shadow watched her, but didn't answer. "Why are you doing this to me!?" Rayla screamed. She was furious. How dare this… thing invade her thoughts and torture her?! In different circumstances, she would be a bit more careful about confronting an unknown entity like this, but she wasn't known for her well-thought-out plans and decisions, and she had spent too many nights in her own nightmares to be scared of this now.
The thing shifted around, still watching her, but it seemed uncertain as to what it was to do with the elf, now that it was fully aware of this nightmare. Rayla noticed this as well, and it gave her courage. "Who are you?" she pressed. "Answer me!"
The creature blinked, and slowly dissolved into mist. Rayla gave a frustrated growl. "No, no, no! Face me, you coward! You owe me that much!"
"Are you sure you want that?" the deep voice rumbled, sounding amused. Rayla couldn't discern where the voice was coming from.
"Yes!" Rayla shouted back to the mist, now hanging around her.
Silence. Then a whooshing sound. She turned just in time to see her two swords piercing the ground, blade first, having fallen from the sky. The mist parted on the peak of the Storm Spire, revealing a humanoid figure wearing a long black cloak. The figure still had a shadowy form, being mostly black and grey. It was taller than her, its features obscured, and it was wielding a lengthy sword in one hand, pointing it in her direction. Bright blue burning pupil-less eyes peered at her from underneath its hood.
"Come at me, then," the voice spoke ominously.
Rayla rushed forward towards the figure, pulling her swords from the ground without losing momentum. She sliced at the black figure with both her swords. At the last possible second, the figure blocked her left sword and sidestepped, causing her right sword to miss completely. Rayla instinctively ducked and backed up. Not a moment too soon, as the sword passed through the space where her head had been not moments ago. Rayla countered, slicing at the thing's head with one sword while trying to hook its leg to trip it.
The figure was too fast. It parried and sidestepped again, keeping its sword moving in swinging motions as to quickly intercept her blades when necessary. Rayla found herself moving instinctually to its swipes. She recognized the fighting style. It was almost the same as Kiyara's. Rayla thanked the gods she had sparred so much with her lately, even though she was the guard she liked least.
The onslaught continued. Rayla would not relent. She swiped and slashed, changing tactics on the fly to keep the figure off balance. The figure appeared adept at parrying her strikes, but could not get a cut in, being at a disadvantage with its one sword against her two. Rayla was a bit puzzled though. The thing has reach, but it hasn't properly attacked yet… is it toyin' with me?
She attacked again, but this time, instead of backing away to dodge its sword, she blocked and hooked its weapon with hers. She was only inches away from it now. She didn't dwell on it and gave the figure a swift kick to the knee. It buckled, not expecting that. She didn't waste time, released its sword and swiped at its head with her hooks, but before she could complete the motion, the figure let itself fall to the ground and rolled backwards with unnatural ease. She swore she heard it laugh.
Rayla stood at the edge of the platform. She didn't feel tired and figured she couldn't, not in her own dream or nightmare. That gave her a sense of control. But she had yet to inflict a blow upon the creature in front of her. She watched, as the figure watched her back.
"Who are you?" She tried again.
"An interested party," it replied at last.
Rayla considered this. Interested in what? "And what do you want?"
Rayla saw the figure smile, its lips parting in a wicked grin. "That, my dear Rayla, is none of your business. Not yet." It lowered its sword, and its form began to smoke, slowly dissipating. "You fought well. Till next time."
Rayla narrowed her eyes. With inhuman speed, she launched herself at it, leaping in the air to perform one last power strike, half expecting her swords to just pass through the mist, but at least wanting to show that she wasn't one to be trifled with.
But as she leapt at the figure, she saw that instead of disappearing or retreating, it simply raised its sword arm. Time seemed to slow down as, much to her horror, she realised her mistake. It has more reach… She tried to twist away, but could do nothing as she descended on the creature and impaled herself on its sword, right below her chest. Pain soared through her as her body went limp, her swords clattering out of her hands.
She gasped. This is too real! she thought. She placed her hands on the arm and tried to lift herself, but could not find the strength to do so. The creature stared at her curiously. Rayla let out a strangled cry. With the last bit of anger and rage, she lashed out weakly with one hand. The creature tried to dodge, but couldn't quite manage with Rayla stuck on its blade, and Rayla knocked its hood off. She looked directly into the figure's face. Long black hair and round, human ears adorned his head, and a young man stared back at her with cold, blue eyes.
"Till we meet again, Rayla." the figure whispered as he slowly faded, and everything turned black.
-/-/-/-
Bosor and Kiyara knelt before the king and queen, their breaths betraying their nervousness.
"Well? How is she?" Queen Zubeia's tone was urgent and concerned.
Bosor rose. "We… we don't know. She won't wake up. The bleeding has stopped, and the wound to her abdomen is bound."
"Is she in any danger?"
Bosor shook his head. "Not as far as I can tell. She hasn't suffered any internal damage…" Bosor's tone was hesitant.
"Speak your mind, elf." The king said harshly.
"There was an exit wound. By rights, her insides should have been completely skewered by whatever weapon was used. However, only the skin and muscle was pierced. Either Rayla was very lucky, the assailant was extremely skilled, or… magic." Bosor looked down, not satisfied with the explanation he could give them.
It was silent in the hall. Queen Zubeia was the first to break it. "Who could have done it?"
Bosor hesitated again, but spoke as he saw the king was getting impatient. "We don't know. For someone to infiltrate the Storm Spire without us knowing seems impossible, but the thought that one of us would have done it is just as unthinkable. The wound only matches one blade around here: Kiyara's," he said as he gestured to the young elf of mixed blood. Bosor hastily continued his tale. "She couldn't have done it though, as she was on guard duty that night, and was seen by me and many others."
The king lowered his head towards Kiyara. "What are your thoughts on this, Dragonguard?"
Kiyara now spoke, her voice soft and emotionless. "It is possible someone using a blade similar to mine could have pierced her. However, my blade is rare. Its design is longer and thinner compared to most other blades, but still just as strong, if not stronger. I only know of my mentor to have wielded a similar blade."
"Your mentor…who is he?" Queen Zubeia asked, pressing the issue.
Kiyara looked away, showing any kind of embarrassment for the first time. "He's… a wanderer. He took me in when no one else did because of my mixed heritage… B-but… he wouldn't do such a thing!"
King Aureum Umbra glared at her. "As of now, everyone is suspect. What kind of elf was he?"
The hesitation in Kiyara was clearly visible. Bosor looked at her uneasily, not sure whether to trust her anymore.
The king noticed this too. "Tell us!" roared the king.
Kiyara looked to the ground. Her voice was soft, but not cold. There was a tremor present as she spoke. "He wasn't an elf… he was a human.."
"You were trained by a human?" Bosor was surprised, but a hint of disgust was heard in his voice.
Kiyara didn't reply but hung her head in shame. Queen Zubeia was worried by the display but was unsure of how to intervene. "What's his name, dear?" the queen asked gently, trying to ease the tension. But before Kiyara could answer, the king already continued his tirade.
"No human can get past the threshold without having an elf cast Ventus Spiralis on him," he said as he made a dismissive gesture with his claws. "I refuse to believe a mere human was able to scale the mountain and infiltrate our stronghold unseen. More likely, this human was killed and his blade was taken."
Bosor looked sideways to see how Kiyara reacted. She had lowered her face to avoid looking at the king, but in her face, Bosor saw that she very much doubted this.
The king straightened himself again. "Whatever the case may be, double the patrols for the next few days."
Kiyara nodded, still not daring to raise her head, but Bosor paled. "My lord, we are with but five. We are already stretched thin as it is."
"Then I will call upon the dragons to aid you. Hopefully, others will join the Dragonguard soon."
It was at that moment that Keryn came running into the throne room. He hastily bowed before addressing the king and queen. "My king, my queen. We have visitors approaching the Storm Spire, seeking an audience."
King Aureum Umbra grumbled. "Now is not a good time… who are they?"
"They are humans, bearing the seal of Katolis. I believe the human prince is with them."
-/-/-/-
The trek had been long and hard through the desert, but there was no way around it. Even the creature that Aaravos controlled had to stop and rest now and then, carrying its two passengers as far as it could. They were making camp now in the rocky desolate terrain.
"Tomorrow we will arrive in the mountain range. Best we rest for now, for tomorrow, we will need our strength," Aaravos informed them.
While making camp, Claudia approached her father, who still looked like he had only just been resurrected. His form was still bruised and battered, though his corrupted looks seemed to have disappeared. "Dad, why don't you use dark magic to look nice again? You look like a zombie. I mean, you always looked like that in the mornings, but now you look like that every day!" she said jokingly.
Viren looked at his daughter. He hesitated before answering. "I want us to conserve our strength, Claudia. Besides, I see only one butterfly around here, and I don't think it wants to be used for that spell." He nodded at Aaravos, who was lying on its belly next to the fire. If the creature heard his comment, it didn't show.
Claudia smiled. "Yeah, I know. So, how do you want to catch this king rarar?"
Viren looked annoyed. "It's 'emperor reigar'. And the first thing we must do is make sure it doesn't simply fly away. Have you been practising your tentacle spell?"
Claudia nodded. "Yeah, no worries!"
"Good. Aaravos will then try to tackle it to the ground, and then I will cut its throat. If it's anything like the normal reigars, it shouldn't be bigger than the size of a large dog. Just watch out for its beak. I doubt it could kill you, but you wouldn't want it to peck out your eye, now would you?"
Claudia laughed. "Oh, I don't know! Becoming a pirate always sounded like a good career move to me." She held one hand up to cover her eye and gestured a hook with the other hand. "Aye aye! Raise the sails! Let loose the anchor! Onwards to adventure!"
"That's… not how it's done on ships," Viren deadpanned back. "But alright. I don't expect much trouble." In a rare sign of affection, he hugged his daughter with one arm. Together they watched the fire, but Viren always kept one eye on Aaravos, who had remained motionless ever since they landed here. Viren wondered about the nature of that spell. Was Aaravos controlling the creature remotely from his prison, or did he actually transfer his consciousness into it somehow?
He supposed the question was moot as far as they were concerned, but he couldn't help but wonder about Aaravos' motives. He seemed hellbent on conquering Xadia. But for what purpose? He also wanted to make Viren as powerful as he could be, first by trying to absorb a baby dragon, and now by finding a way to master all six primal elements. Deep down inside, Viren knew he craved that kind of power, but he had always kept himself in check, only pursuing such goals if they were in the interest of humanity. Or was it the other way around? Did he pursue those goals regardless, and told himself it was in humanity's best interest?
Viren sighed. He couldn't tell what his motives were right now. The only thing he really cared for was his daughter, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder, drool leaking from the corner of her mouth. He just hoped she would be all right in the end.
-/-/-/-
The Storm Spire rose up before them, piercing the skies. Callum felt his heart beat faster. I'm going to see Rayla again! He couldn't wait to ascend but figured it would be impolite to fly ahead of his escorts. Two royal guardsmen on horseback had accompanied the prince on his journey. All three of them had large leather saddlebags carrying the various forbidden tomes containing dark magic spells.
Callum had already spotted a flying elf circling them. He waved, wondering if that was Ibis, but he couldn't quite see from the distance. He sighed, remembering the long way up. "Alright, let's do this…" He cast ventus spiralis on the guards, and leaving the horses at the bottom of the mountain, all three of them began the ascend.
It took them a while to reach the top. It was dark when Callum and his guardsmen walked across the bridge. The latter were on edge, and so was Callum. On the plateau in front of them stood five figures with weapons at the ready. Callum saw a skywing elf, two moonshadow elves, a giant elf in bronze armour and an elf who was cloaked and had their features hidden. This must be the new Dragonguard, he thought. He didn't see Rayla, however, and that made him uneasy.
"Halt." The armoured elf said as they reached the plateau. "Who climbs the Storm Spire?"
" I am Prince Callum of Katolis. I'm…" He almost wanted to say he was looking for Rayla, but caught himself at the last moment, figuring he needed to do this the political way. "I-I seek an audience with King Aureum Umbra."
"Present your seal!"
Callum presented his papers. The armoured elf towered over him as he glanced at the papers. Callum noticed his hesitation but didn't comment on them, instead looking around for Rayla. She didn't appear to be here at all. I wonder where she is.
After what felt like a really long time, the elf seemed to reach a conclusion. "Very well. Follow me." The group of elves parted to let them through and together with the guardsmen, Callum entered the familiar halls. He still didn't spot Rayla.
"Uhm… where is… your captain, I guess?"
"That is none of your concern." was the curt reply.
Callum was taken aback by that. "Oh." He was confused. Certainly, if Rayla was around, she would take the opportunity to see him if she knew he was coming? He had even sent a letter! So why isn't she here!? His teenage mind began to fill his head with dreadful scenarios. Maybe something happened to her… or worse, maybe she discovered she doesn't love me after all! But he couldn't be distracted now that he was going to meet the dragon king and queen. He pushed those thoughts back as he entered the great hall where the dragons were waiting for them.
"Welcome back, Prince Callum," King Aureum Umbra rumbled. "It is good to see you in good health."
Callum wondered if the dragon really cared about his health and figured he was just being polite. "Thank you, King Aureum Umbra," Callum said as he bowed. "It is good to be back."
The king nodded, and an awkward silence ensued. Callum debated whether he should try to engage in small talk with the dragons, but failed to come up with any topics that might interest them that didn't have to do with politics. "So… lovely weather here at the Spire?"
Queen Zubeia rumbled, which could be interpreted as a laugh. She ignored the question and asked one of her own. "How was your journey homewards? How fares Katolis?"
"Oh, Katolis is alright! King Ezran returned a week and a half ago, and the people seemed quite happy. In fact, they were really mad at Viren for turning soldiers into monsters, so they were glad when dark magic was banned in the kingdom."
"That is good to hear," the king said. "Tell me, then, did you succeed in your endeavour?"
"Oh! Uhm, well, I mean, I trashed his room, Viren's, I mean, and.. hum… yeah." Callum just grabbed the bags and dumped the contents on the floor. "These are all the spell books Viren had. I destroyed all the ingredients and burned other books talking about dark magic." He looked up towards the dragon. "Dark magic is now officially gone from Katolis."
King Aureum Umbra leaned closer, his head hovering above Callum and the spellbooks. He made a motion in the earth with his claw and whispered something in draconic, but Callum couldn't really understand the words. All of a sudden, the books flipped open and the dragon looked intently at their contents.
"These are indeed the spell books you spoke of. Stand back, prince," the king said as he breathed in and raised his head.
Callum knew what was coming and sprinted back a couple of yards, taking the guards by the elbow to push them back as well. The king then breathed out and searing heat escaped his mouth as a beam of blue and white light tore down upon the books. Callum watched in awe as this beam of pure heat and energy reduced the books to cinders. He had always theorised that the different species of dragons had different breath weapons, but was in awe as he saw one in action up close.
"You have done well, Prince Callum. Now, Queen Zubeia has told me that you want to study in Xadia to become adept at primal magic?"
Callum nodded, not yet fully recovered from the shock of the blast.
"We will consider this request. You will have our answer tomorrow. You may go now," he said as he dismissed them.
Callum looked about uncertainly. "Uhm, is there somewhere we can stay in the Spire?"
The king looked slightly annoyed, but it was a reasonable request. "Bosor, show these men to the guest quarters."
"Yes, my liege," Bosor said as he bowed. He gestured to follow him, but Callum hesitated.
"Excuse me. One more thing. Where is Ray- sorry, Captain Rayla?"
It was Queen Zubeia who now answered. "She has fallen ill. Don't be alarmed, she is recovering quite well, but something happened to her, and we are not sure what it was."
Callum paled at that, but was secretly glad that there was a good reason for her not showing up when he made his entrance here. "Can I see her?"
The queen hesitated. "She is recovering, Callum. Please, be gentle."
Callum nodded and turned to follow Bosor, just as another elf entered the great hall. This was the one with the hood, Callum noted.
"Your majesty," the hooded elf spoke, "A dragon called Zeron has arrived and requests an audience."
"Send him in," came the reply of the king.
As Callum walked into the hall and was led to the left by Bosor, he saw a big black dragon coming through. Their eyes met. Despite having never seen such a dragon before, he felt a faint flicker of recognition. There's something about that dragon, he thought. But the moment passed and the dragon disappeared from view as he rounded the corner. He and the guards were led towards their guest quarters, but Callum couldn't wait to visit Rayla. Bosor didn't feel at ease with bringing the human to their beloved captain, but the queen didn't outright forbid the visit, so he couldn't refuse.
It was dark in the room, being only lit by the light peeking in from the corridor. Bosor had opened the door for him and hesitated. He didn't want to leave his captain alone with this human, but he had also heard the rumours of their romance. He didn't approve, so he moved into a corner quietly as Callum walked to the bed. Rayla was sleeping, her breathing easy and even. She doesn't look too bad, Callum thought, though it was hard to really see in the darkness. I mean, her hair is a bit messy, but that's about it.
Callum knelt beside the bed and plucked her hand from beneath the covers. "Rayla…" he whispered, slowly rubbing her hand, enjoying the feel of his fingers on hers. "Rayla, wake up sleepyhead," he softly spoke.
Rayla groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times before a look of surprise crossed her face. "Callum!?" she said hoarsely. "You're back…."
Callum felt a warmth spread through his stomach as he saw the loving look in her eyes. "Well, of course, you dummy. Did you think I could ever stay away?"
She leaned up towards him with intent, and he moved towards her, finishing in a tender kiss. A cough could be heard from the corner, interrupting the two.
Rayla looked confused. "Callum? Who is that with you?"
"Oh, one of the guards who showed me where you are. His name is Bossom or something."
Rayla had to suppress a laugh as Callum butchered the elven guard's name. "Bosor, thank you. You can leave now."
"Are you sure, captain?"
Rayla sighed. "Yes, I'm sure."
Bosor slowly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, sealing them in total darkness.
"Callum, could you light the luneflame for me? I want to be able to see you." Rayla groaned as she got into a seating position.
Callum couldn't see her, but felt the movement in the bed. "Right. What is a luneflame?"
"It's a type of candle. It should be on a desk behind me." She took his hand and pointed him vaguely in the right direction.
Callum stood up and bumped into a few stools before he found the desk with the candle. He felt around, but couldn't find any flint and steel. "How do I light it?"
"Just pinch the top part. That should do the trick."
Callum did as she said. Blue light erupted as a flame appeared on top of the candle. "Whao!"
Rayla let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "Are you easily surprised by magic these days?"
Callum looked at her with a sheepish grin. "Well, sometimes, yeah." He grabbed a stool and sat next to her, now really looking at her. She was sitting in the bed, wearing a white linen shirt with long sleeves. It was weird to see her wearing anything but her armour. She looks so...vulnerable.
"So… I got your letter!"
"Oh, you did? Great! I was worried that it wouldn't get here, with the checkpoint and all that."
Rayla smiled. "I liked the letter, Callum, and the drawings even more so. Have you made more?"
Callum grimaced. "Not really. I've been so busy trashing Viren's room and solving other things back home that I didn't really have the chance to do anything like that. It wasn't the same without you anyway."
"Oh? You're sayin' you need some inspiration?" Rayla said with a twinkle in her eye, which for some reason made him very nervous. He felt his blood creeping to his cheeks and hoped the soft blue light of the luneflame would do a decent enough job to hide it.
"Well, it is easier when the source material is close at hand. Did you enjoy my sketchbook?"
Now Rayla smiled broadly. "Yes! Thank you so much for lending it to me! It got me through the last few weeks. They've been… pretty hard…"
Callum swallowed as he eyed her. She was thinner than before and looked weaker, and there was a hint of sadness and worry in her smiles. "Rayla, what happened here? Why are you in bed?"
Rayla averted her gaze and was silent for a long time. When she looked at him again, her eyes were filled with tears. "I don't know, Callum. Ever since you've been gone I've been plagued with nightmares. And I'm not sure if it's because of everythin' that has happened the last month, or because some dark force is tryin' to ruin my life." She removed the covers. Callum blushed heavily as she lifted her shirt, but was shocked as he saw the bandages with dark stains on them. "One night I dreamt about fightin' some evil human. He stabbed me right here, in my stomach. When I awoke, the other Dragonguards had already found and bandaged me, because I was lyin' in my own blood."
Callum had no words, but he gripped Rayla's hand tightly. "Who could have done this to you?" he whispered.
Rayla shrugged. "We don't know. It could be that what happened in my dream also happens to me in real life. But that doesn't make sense." Her eyes weren't really looking at Callum now, but staring off into the darkness. "I've died so many times in those nightmares… So why did this happen now?" She lapsed into silence again. Callum was speechless, and unsure what he should do, but when her shoulders started to shake and her sobs broke through, he hugged her without hesitation.
"It's not fair!" she said between sobs. "I would have sacrificed myself for Xadia that day. Why don't I deserve some rest?"
Callum knew she referred to the final battle at the Storm Spire. She had fought Viren, and in a last desperate act had thrown them both off the mountain. He could understand that this could give her nightmares, though why they were so intense, he did not know. But he was reminded of some other time when he was stuck in his own nightmare.
"Breathe."
"Huh?" Rayla untangled herself, looking at him as he spoke.
"Breathe, Rayla. Sometimes… sometimes you just need to breathe." He rubbed her back in slow, deliberate strokes. Rayla felt his hand move across her back. Warmth spread through her belly and she took his advice. She took a deep breath, and another as Callum repeated the words his mother had once said to him.
"Sometimes you just have to focus on the present. Take a deep breath, and just be."
Rayla breathed and focused on his voice, his touch.
"If things get so complicated that you can't sort them out, you just have to take some time for your mind to catch up with your body and spirit. Breathe, and just be."
Rayla felt an incredible calm come over herself. She felt the knotted muscles in her back relax, and the pain in her abdomen slowly disappeared. Callum looked at her, pleased with the result.
"See? That's better now."
Rayla smiled at him in earnest now. "Thanks, Callum." She saw Callum suppress a yawn. "It's getting pretty late, isn't it?"
Callum nodded. "It was already nighttime when we got here. I'm guessing it's pretty close to midnight."
Rayla smiled and looked down, as if contemplating something. She blushed as she moved over. "Would you sleep next to me? There's a bed over there if you don't want to!" She hastily added, wanting to give him a way out as to not pressure him. Truth to be told, she really wanted him close to her after all those weeks without him. She bit her lip as she awaited his response.
Callum swallowed. He nodded, not wanting his voice to betray how nervous he was. He had no illusions about the intent, nor did he think this was the mood for them to passionately make out as they had done in the past. Still, in the short time they were together, they had never really fallen asleep in each other's arms, and it was something he had always dreamed about. He disrobed, leaving just a shirt and his underpants on.
"Blow the candle for me, will you?" Rayla said as she moved the covers for him.
Callum blew the candle and got into bed. As soon as he lay down, Rayla scooted over towards him and nestled her head on his shoulder. Callum put his arms around her.
"This is nice," she sighed.
Callum sniggered. "You know, you've grown really soft around me. Did you notice?"
"Shut up!" Rayla said with a giggle and hit Callum in the ribs.
Callum just laughed and kissed her on her forehead. "I love you, Rayla," he softly whispered into her ear.
"And I love you, my sweet prince." She pecked him on his cheek and wrapped her arm around him. Soon, the both of them drifted off into a blissfully undisturbed sleep.
-/-/-/-
The sound of the sick and dying filled the hall as various priests attended them as fast as they could. Muardalt watched the proceedings with interest and joy. He smiled as he closed the door and walked downstairs to his private sanctum. The plan was coming along swimmingly, with the two groups of dark magic users working in tandem to slowly but surely corrupt the people in Berylgarten to their use of dark magic. They had set up shop in the capital of Duren a little less than two weeks ago, but with the influx of wounded soldiers from the battle, they had their work cut out for them.
Sure, Muardalt thought, the queen had decreed all dark magic to be banned, but that didn't stop soldiers coming to their temple. The soldiers were desperate to cure their wounds or lift Viren's curse, as they called it. As soon as it became known that people could go to the Temple of the True Light to get healed for free, they had no shortage of work, but more importantly, they gained more followers every day, as they advertised to teach their magics freely to all who would come to their evening classes.
The queen of course had tried to put a stop to this, but this was where their other group came in. They had organised the people, spreading information about their healing activities, all the while spreading rumours about Queen Aanya wanting to keep the people sick and hungry so they would be easier to govern. Because his fellow priests were actively helping the people free of charge, the propaganda had been very successful. The few times guards had come to their temple, they had either not found anything to do with dark magic due to some quick thinking on their priests' part, or because an angry mob repelled them.
Muardalt sighed. The only downside of the plan had been the immense use of resources. It had become hard to gather the best ingredients. Therefore, he had set up a third team to scour the border of Xadia for the ingredients they needed. He hadn't told Viren about this yet. It was a small team of five of his best warriors. They had always delivered, and it was his job as head priest to process the quarry. He watched the blood seep off the kitchen sink where he had been separating the bones from the meat and organs. Before continuing with the next batch, he sharpened his knife. It's messy work. I just hope that the new initiates will understand the necessity of it. Whistling a soft tune, he got back to work.
Author's Note:
Alright, we're heading towards the end of my own "Season 4". The next two chapters will probably be a fair bit bigger than usual, but I have already written parts of both of them, so that's okay. It was more a matter of shifting story parts around to see what would make it into this chapter and what would go into the next. I am glad I finally got Rayla and Callum back together, as I love writing Rayllum stories the most right now.
I did cut it a little close with the deadline for this chapter and haven't done a thorough spell and grammar check, so please excuse the occasional slip-up. I'll probably rectify that this week. Anyways, thank you for the favs and reviews! As always, if you like the story, please leave a review! I love hearing from you all!
Review responses:
Oragonking: Yeah, I try to go for 9 episodes per story, as they did 9 episodes per season for the original (and then there's the introduction to consider, so that makes 10). But that will only wrap up this storyline. In the show, they resolved major plot points every season, but it did not end the story. I try to follow in the show's footsteps with that.
Silverspetz: I get what you're saying. My thoughts are that Callum is less opinionated on dark magic and more desperate to get back to Rayla, so destroying the presence of dark magic is more a means to an end. I think Callum does think it's the wrong kind of magic, looking back to his visions after the first and only time he used it. We may see a more nuanced view of dark magic in the future, but I don't think it will come from Callum.
As for Aaravos' plans; keep in mind he only ever revealed them step by step. I intend to do the same.
GuiltyKingOumaShu: Thank you for your comments! It is completely my intention to basically write a season 4. I'm very happy to read that my OC characters don't hog the spotlight too much. I try to keep custom creations to a minimum, but in stories like these, there's always the need for *cough* cannonfodder *cough*.
I personally enjoy stories with tender and simple happy moments between the characters. I think it's not the big heroic acts that give characters life, but those simple moments that show them their humanity (or elfanity in Rayla's case?). I hope you keep reading, and look forward to hear more of your feedback.